Hello to all readers, writers and reviewers.
As much as I wish that I was speaking before this next chapter on a more positive note, I'm afraid an issue has resurfaced and I must bring it to serious attention. I have done my absolute best to ignore this, remembering that in life, free speech opens the door to words shaped to be otherwise unpleasant when they aren't enlightening or neutral, but my lenience has reached its breaking point.
A couple days ago, I received a scathing amount of anonymous guest reviews that accuse me, the author, of the ridiculous self-review act. They have already, of course, been deleted before they could join the list of reviews given so far for this story, along with a few older ones, for I can no longer tolerate such childishness.
Which is also why, from this point onward, I the author, shall be more scrutinizing with every guest review to come in. If I see so much as a hint of someone trying to say 'stop reviewing yourself', their review will not see the light of day. This will mark the same for any irrelevant questions or compliments that have either appeared too repetitively or have absolutely nothing to do with what I write. I sincerely apologize to the guest reviewers whom have been nothing but positive or 'tough, but fair' since the beginning, but this is what it has come to.
Those who have accounts on this site, or anyone who sends constructive criticism (repeat, constructive) will be spared, for I know I can trust people like you to say what you want to say in a professional manner.
Finally, if this problem is the work of someone(s) who(m) has/have nothing better to do than to cause issues (or to use the slang, Trolling), I pity you, and implore you to do the following: Find another story to read that you know will enjoy since you clearly don't seem to care about mine, and please stop ruining the joy of commenting an author's hard work for everyone else.
...That being said, despite the negativity, I will not let down the people who are enjoying my story, and will continue to write up a storm with all the confidence in the world :)
My thanks for your patience and understanding, be mindful of your future reviews, and enjoy the latest in this adventure!
Chapter 95: A Tale of Two Thieves, Fifty Years in the Making
It'll have been roughly two days after the events in the Demon Head Castle-Town, and we turn heads to a more rugged piece of the path cutting through the temperate forests of Edo during a more rainy afternoon, as Inuyasha and company continue in their journey...
Thankfully, it was only drizzling at the present, so no one had to break out their rain slicker ponchos, but Coraline subconsciously decided to dress a touch more warmly, wearing her flannel shirt buttoned up over a thicker-material t-shirt, the colour blue peeking out from under the checkered pattern of green and black, and thicker boot socks over her dark blue jeans and in her black combat boots.
Her irises of sky blue lined with dark turn to the clouds hovering over she and her friends, a small frown gracing her lips:
(Sigh) I guess the good weather can only last for so long...
Well, might as well make the best of it.
The redhead then started humming a tune from her era under her breath, causing her companion on her shoulder, Shippo, to ask,
"Hm? What's that, Coraline?"
"Huh?"
"Is that a song from your world? It sounds pretty."
Coraline smiles and chimes,
"Thank you, and yes. It's called Fly, by an American Country singing duo known as Maddie & Tae."
(Note: Rights and ownership to any referencing of the song's lyrics belong to Maddie & Tae themselves.)
A few feet in front of them, Freeman and Besa, donning outfits of black t-shirts, grey jeans and their signature high-tops, the former his leather jacket and the latter a dark red sweater jacket, grin and reply,
"Another point for the U.S. of A."
"Yeah!"
They highfive, causing Inuyasha, who was walking beside Coraline, to roll his eyes:
"You guys and music..."
Miroku calls back from his stand beside Sango (Kilala on her shoulder) just a foot ahead of the twins,
"Now now, my friend, no need to be so monotone. Music is a beautiful art."
Freeman drawls with a smirk,
"Aw, don't bother, Miroku. The only singing he's ever interested in is his woman's voice."
He and the monk laugh, while Sango and Besa shake their heads in exasperation, and Inuyasha's face colours a little before he barks,
"Hey, watch it!"
Coraline holds her hands up in a 'keep the peace' gesture:
"Alright, settle down, you guys. If you get any louder, you'll break the clouds and we'll really start swimmin'."
She, Shippo and Sango giggle at the notion, while the men sigh tiredly...The fox demon then politely asks the redhead if she could sing some of the lyrics to the song, to which she'd happily oblige. So for the next minute and a half, everyone would be captivated by her voice, soft and harmonious, her eyes wandering between the water droplets falling from the air highlighted by the hovering Will O' Wisp, to scanning over the faces of her friends and lover. Around halfway through the first chorus, Sango whispers to Miroku,
"The words to this melody seem to fit with the current air of our travels, doesn't it?"
"Yes, even a little inspiring..."
(Rumble...)
"Hm?"
The group pauses their steps when their ears pick up on a small drum-roll of thunder, and the rain began to come down harder over their bodies than before. Freeman covers his head and exclaims with a frown,
"Aw man!"
Sango notes,
"Looks like there's gonna be a downpour," Besa adding,
"And not the kind that's easy to travel in on foot."
Miroku replies,
"You're both right. We better hurry and try to find some shelter."
Those four begin running ahead, with Lumos darting forward to be first in line and assist in finding a viable structure to house our travelers, while Coraline takes Inuyasha's hand to pull him along in a jog:
"Come on!"
"Whoa, h-hey!"
"If we stand aimlessly, we'll soak."
The silver-haired dog demon quietly groans to himself,
Damn, what a time for the rain to be comin' down in buckets...!
...At the same time, far away from where the main group was, our familiar priestess caught between the threads of life and death, Kikyō, had arrived in a small village nestled near the green mountains and where the sky was only showing off the overcast, speaking with the locals about a problem they've been forced to deal with this last while...
"An evil demon?"
"Yes, priestess. Several villagers have already been killed by it."
"Priestess: Help us and put a spell on the demon."
As these men asked for her aid, one elderly man with lightly-weathered and wrinkled skin, short white hair tied back into a thin topknot, an eye-patch over his right eye, the other dark brown, and wearing a worn blue-black kimono, slows his pace passed them and steals a glance at Kikyō, before continuing on his way...
"Please!"
"We beg you!"
A third man of the group points to where the source of their issue laid:
"Look, yonder: The beast lives in the misty swamp at the top of the mountain."
"Priestess, have it in your heart to assist us."
Kikyō calmly agrees to help:
"I'll help you. I'll go to the misty swamp."
Kikyō's POV
After some time, I reach the area where the demon's aura was strongest in the swamp. This place was indeed blanketed in a thick mist of fog, so much so that one could barely make out the shape of the mountains in the distance...
I step closer to the edge of the stony shoreline, glancing at a skull with human origins, further confirming that this is where the beast has made its home:
"This must be the place. I can sense an uncommon air abound the swamp..."
A moment of silence passes...before something began to rise from the water, creating a billow of bubbles. I draw an arrow at the ready, just as the demon surfaces:
(SPLASH)
(Twok)
My sacred arrow flies, and does make contact...However, this demon seemed to have a hard, armoured shell, and my arrow merely bounced off!
"What?"
The beast's head peeks out shortly after, revealing itself as some kind of giant tortoise demon. Taken aback though I was, this demon did not offer what I was secretly expecting, so I calmly turned around to walk away...The tortoise demon took the bait, obviously not fond of being ignored, and tried to charge at me from the water.
That, would be its first and last mistake:
(Whirl, twok)
My second sacred arrow flies, and shoots right into the demon's open mouth, traveling down its long neck, destroying it before completely obliterating the shell:
(BOOM)
But, in my heart, the beast's demise did not offer comfort to my true objectives:
He isn't here either. I have wandered the countryside, looking for a trace of the Demonic Aura...
...but so far, I have not come across any sign of Naraku.
Once I returned to the village and informed its people that the tortoise demon was no more, I continued on my way, reaching a waterfall carved into the mountainside come the evening. By this time, my thoughts had become rather frustrated:
With Naraku's disappearance, a growing number of demons has begun to merge.
Simply tracking his Demonic Aura, will not help me catch Naraku.
...Suddenly, an elderly man wearing an eye-patch and worn armour pops out from behind a tree and aims his short knife at me:
"Halt!"
He did not seem to have much energy, judging from his trembling hands and beading sweat. Nevertheless, I stared within his Aura:
A human...He has a serious illness, and he doesn't seem to have long to live...
Yet, I sense a purpose to his will to keep going, and slight reluctance to his current actions.
At a time before, I wasn't able to sense the Aura of a Soul this clearly, but since the day my own had been restored to what it once was, my sensory for such had increased...I suspect it has something to do with Coraline's sacrifice: Her action may have bonded our spirits closer than either of us know...
But getting back to current events, the elderly man says to me,
"The villagers surely gave you a hefty sum for slaying that demon."
Ah, so he is merely a thief...
"Hefty sum? (Smile) Heh, no such thing."
"I don't care how much you have. Just drop your loot right over there."
And quite desperate too...
"I do not carry any money."
The man was understandably skeptical:
"There's no temple or shrine around here for you to lodge. What fool would travel around without even carrying a small sum?"
"(Stretches her arms) If you think I lie, go ahead and search me."
"...What do you survive on, then, mist?"
I feel a cynical smile form on my lips:
If only you knew...
"Yes, in a manner of speaking."
The man winces and clutches his chest in pain, likely from his illness acting up, before waving me away weakly:
"Never mind. Off with you."
He moves to sit down by the trunk of the tree and sheathes his weapon. I could have left then...but two things told me to stay: My good will to help those in need...and a familiar pulse of energy.
Hm? Is, that...
"W-Why do you stare? Leave me at once."
(Ping...)
A familiar pink glow emits through his kimono close to the man's heart...
"A Shikon-no-Tama shard..."
The elderly man gasps and covers his chest...
So it's not just his will.
"That jewel shard is the only thing that keeps you from death. Isn't that the case?"
"I'll be seventy-years old next year. (Cough, hack) The average man lives fifty years; I've already overstayed my welcome. But I can't die yet, and I'll hold on as long as I have this Shikon-no-Tama shard."
He coughs profoundly again, and I ask,
"What do you think you can accomplish in such poor condition?"
"I can, find my deathbed..."
Before I can ask him what he meant, the elderly thief winces and faints, his illness getting to him...
Oh dear, I suppose I cannot just leave him here, can I?
Besides...it would not do to leave his story untold.
Small Time Skip, No POV
The dark of night comes to bathe the land, with only half the light of the moon shining through the clouds, and we turn our eyes to an dilapidated temple, moss and vines growing over the eroding walls on the outside, while the inside was a little better off save some dust...
Laying at the foot of a bronze statue with Buddhist origins, was the elder thief, brought here by Kikyō, who comes back inside after gathering some fresh water into a small bowl. She kneels by the man's head and pours a powdered herb into the water:
"Drink this. It should ease your pain somewhat."
The elderly thief's eyes blink awake as he asks with a weakened voice,
"Why do you help a man like me?"
She answers simply and not unkindly,
"I wish to hear the end of your story."
Though a bit surprised, the man sits up to take the medicinal water...At the same time, unbeknownst to either party, another demon was fast approaching their direction, with one gleaming green eye opening among its thickly hair-covered purple skin...
Cutting back to the temple, the man drinks before explaining his reasons to holding onto life:
"When we met, I was looking for a suitable place to die in piece."
"I don't follow. 'A suitable place'?"
"Priestess. My real name is Kansuke, but was called during my days of crime, Mad Killer Ransetsu. That's what they called me, and rightly so..."
(Flash)
It's daytime, and a younger Kansuke, known in those days Ransetsu, was overseeing a new village to target with his band of thieves...
They would soon set the entire place to flames, leaving it vulnerable to pillaging...
"I killed, stole, I burned down houses, I did whatever I pleased..."
Ransetsu rides through the burning village on his horse, a cruel smile and laugh on his lips as he fired arrow after arrow at the screaming villagers. Soon, the bodies of many dead men laid scattered upon on the grounds, much to the horror of the women, while Ransetsu and his cohorts began hording as many treasures as possible...
"The way I saw it, I would likely be slain at a young age, so I took what I wanted, and thought nothing of the consequences..."
(Flash)
Kansuke muses,
"Somehow, I managed to escape death all these years...Here I am an old man, and still I have not died..."
He then looks at Kikyō more intently, and widens his eye a bit, causing her to ask,
"Is something wrong?"
"(Smile) Growing old is cruel; the memory plays tricks. These days, I keep forgetting what I need to recall, and recalling memories that are of no use to anyone...It stuck me when I first laid eyes on you: You look remarkably similar."
"Similar to...?"
"Long ago, I came upon a priestess who could've passed for your sister. Hnn, what was her name now? Ah yes, I believe it was, Kikyō."
Though she could've told Kansuke it was her, Kikyō opt not to:
"Huh. Pure coincidence, I'm sure."
"Yes, of course. I'm talking about fifty years ago: If she were still alive, she'd be an old woman."
Kikyō felt her eyes narrow a bit, and a tiny rueful smile graced her lips:
"Yes, if she had lived..."
Even in this new blood and flesh, I am far from being a part of the living...nor am I the same woman I once was.
"I heard through the grapevine that she had passed on, and that the jewel was buried with her in her grave..."
Kansuke takes out the fragment piece he carries and ponders,
"I can't begin to imagine where this Shikon-no-Tama shard came from, but at the very last moment, it fell into my hands."
"Were you after the Shikon-no-Tama fifty years ago?"
"Yes. Myself, and another fellow named, Onigumo."
That caught Kikyō's attention in an instant:
"Onigumo?"
"Aye. He had a burn scar on his back that was shaped like a spider. I have done countless evil deeds in my lifetime, but Onigumo was a true villain..."
Flashback
Sometime after that raid, Ransetsu encounters Onigumo, back when he was but a mere thief with an appearance similar to when he would emerge again as the demon Muso, but with an unknown facial countenance...
The two are now sitting around a fire in a new camp made by Ransetsu's men, and after taking a swig from his jug of sake, he asks Onigumo,
"So, the jewel will grant me any wish, you say?" He answers in a voice akin to the future Naraku's,
"(Nod) Anything at all."
"Where is it? Tell me: How do I get my hands on this Shikon-no-Tama?"
Onigumo points to his distant right and Ransetsu's left:
"In the village over yonder. A priestess named Kikyō is in possession of it."
"(Grin) Brilliant. We'll stage a surprise attack on the village tomorrow." The other disagrees with such a strategy:
"No, Ransetsu. I think it best if you go alone."
"Why is that?"
"Kikyō has keen senses. If we go in great numbers, she'll surely escape us."
"Tuh, then what course of action shall I take?"
Onigumo glances over where Ransetsu's bow and quiver sat:
"With your bow and arrow, you can easily strike her from a distance with a single shot. Isn't that so?"
"Hmph, of course!"
"(Chuckle) Then what are you waiting for, Ransetsu?"
Ransetsu grins in anticipation for such a profit:
"Whatever I want, huh? I'll have all the sake I desire. (Takes a swig from the jug) And I'll take the world for my enjoyment!"
So come the next day, he rides off to a cliff side just near the Goshinboku Village, and waits for the priestess to come wandering underneath...
"(Smirk) I found you. Die, priestess!"
(Twok)
...Unfortunately, there was one detail that Onigumo had left out: Kikyō had an ally with senses as sharp as hers, by name of Inuyasha! He would rush in and snatch the arrow before it could make contact with the priestess's flesh, and leaped up after Ransetsu!
"Who's that?!"
The sudden appearance of the dog demon spooks the horse, and it bucks up, causing Ransetsu to fall backwards to the ground, before he turned to address the source of his failed attack:
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Inuyasha was a bit surprised by the origins of the threat, even if his face didn't show it:
"What's this? You're just a human."
"What?"
He then glares at the thief and says,
"You've got some nerve, you pathetic human, tryin' to cut Kikyō's life short. Are you after the Shikon-no-Tama?"
"That's it. I've heard enough from you, demon!"
(Swipe, TANG)
Ransetsu's knife strikes Inuyasha's arm, but was not strong enough to cut through the fire rat kimono, breaking it in half! The sharp end of the blade flies high up into the air, before shooting back down into the thief's vulnerable eye:
(JAB)
"Aaaa-aaagh!"
Inuyasha flexes his claws at the ready with a grim smirk:
"You're just lucky I'm not a full demon. Now, prepare to die-"
"Inuyasha!"
Said dog demon peers down to the direction of Kikyō's call, and opts to spare Ransetsu's life, if begrudgingly:
"Tuh, count yourself lucky this time."
(Leap)
Inuyasha lands on the sturdy branch of a leaf-barren tree planted below the cliff, and Kikyō asks curiously,
"Did something happen up there?"
"Keh, nothin' I couldn't handle." The priestess smiles a bit:
"I'm confident that you wouldn't do anything violent when you're in my presence."
She then starts walking out of the area, with the dog demon following behind her somewhat spitefully...Meanwhile, Ransetsu was left holding his injured eye and groaning in immense pain. Eventually, he would return back to his camp of thieves by the evening, only to receive yet another unpleasant surprise:
"Huh? Where are they all? Where did my men get to?"
That's when it hits him:
"Gh! I was duped! Damn that Onigumo: He planned to steal my men away from the very start!"
After taking care of his injured eye, Ransetsu, fury boiling in his blood, gathered all his weapons and rode on horseback in the direction he was sure Onigumo took his men to...A while later, the thief came upon a large and very prosperous town, and rode past a few merchant huts to a brothel house where some familiar-looking steeds were resting at.
"(Growl) They're here!"
Ransetsu rushes inside, scaring the geshias working at the brothel, and climbs up the stairs to the higher floors before using a grappling hook to claw open the door to one room where three of his men were:
"Ransetsu, you're back!"
"Y-You're still alive!"
He thrashes open another room, exposing two more thieves of his band:
"Ransetsu, it's you! W-We didn't mean to betray you, chief!"
But apologies were not what the enraged thief was searching for:
"Silence! I'll spare your lives if you come back and serve under me...Now: Where is he?!"
He stomps down the corridor, torch in his hand, and blood lusted revenge in his thoughts:
"I'll find you, Onigumo...Where is he?! Curse you to hell, you devious swindler!"
Ransetsu would quickly find the deceiving thief in the last door down the hall:
(KICK, crash)
"I'll get my vengeance!"
"Ransetsu! Didn't that half-demon kill you?"
"I lost my eye thanks to you!"
The metal of the grappling hook clicks as Ransetsu began to swing it:
"How dare you set me up like that!"
The geishas cower together with fear, as the thief adds furiously,
"Now I'll return the favour!"
(Shoom, shatter)
The hook smashes through a vase and hits the wall just a few inches from Onigumo's head!
"Ransetsu!"
He does not heed Onigumo's call, and uses the fire of the torch to light the fuse of a bomb...
"Burn in hell, Onigumo!"
He would then use his grappling hook to escape from the brothel house just as the bomb detonated:
(BOOM)
The explosion was so potent, that the entire building went up in flames, and Ransetsu turns his eye to the sight while laughing hysterically:
"Burn, burn, burn him to Hell!"
...Once night rolls around, he and his men would return to the burned and blackened remains of the building to search for evidence that Onigumo was really dead. What they found, however, was the complete opposite:
"Rgh, Ran-set-su..."
Though true the fire left Onigumo's body severely burned with numerous broken bones and buried under a pile of charred wood, he was somehow still clinging onto life!
"Hnn, stubborn fiend refuses to die..."
Ransetsu would order his men to unbury the man before wrapping him up in a straw mat to cart him off to a less desirable location, namely, a high cliffside...
"This place is good. You, men: Throw him over!"
"Y-Yes, chief!"
Just before he's thrown over the cliff, Ransetsu sends this final word to the wounded thief:
"Onigumo, this time you go after it!"
(Toss)
"Go find the Shikon-no-Tama! (Smirks and waves) Say hello to Kikyō for me!"
End of Flashback
The priestess remained impassive as she listened to the story:
"So you threw him over?"
"Aye, to the infernal abyss..."
Kikyō closed her eyes in thought and felt a grim smile grace her lips:
And into my hands. How ironic...
She switches back to a neutral expression before asking,
"And then what: What happened after you threw him over?" Kansuke replies,
"That, was the end. (Looks at his palm) I stole this Shikon-no-Tama recently from a dying demon I came across. (Rueful smile) But for some reason, it won't grant my wishes as I had hoped. It prolongs my life, and nothing more, and tempts one demon after another to come after it..."
His voice hardens as he thought of the one who first fueled the fire to his misfortune:
"Curse that wretched Onigumo: Even in death, he continues to betray me...This fragment does help to ward off those demons as well."
Before she could ask anymore questions, Kikyō suddenly senses something dark approaching the temple, and moves to stand up.
"What's the matter?"
She narrows her eyes at the entrance:
"Something approaches. Most likely, it's come to get that jewel fragment of yours."
"Is it a demon?"
The priestess felt her muscles tense, recognizing the energy:
"Wait: I know that Demonic Aura!"
Naraku!
...No, it's not. It's different.
(SMASH)
The source of the Aura then crashes its way into the abandoned Buddhist temple, revealing itself as a demon with a purple fleshed, rounded body covered with thick, long black-brown hair, and nine, piercing green eyes (the largest in dead center and circled by the other eight)!
One of the hairy tendrils seizes Kikyō by her throat, before the beast demands with a roar,
"Give it to me! Give me the Shikon-no-Tama shard!"
(Crash)
Shortly after the demon makes a new hole in the temple's roof to see inside where the elder thief and priestess were, the latter asks sternly with some strain,
"Who are you?! What are you to Naraku?"
It obliges with an answer as it wraps another tight lock of hair around Kikyō's waist:
"Naraku...that cursed wretch! Naraku severed me from him: He left me, looking like this!"
As she struggled, the priestess concluded,
It's a part of Naraku's body, part that he abandoned!
"I need a Shikon-no-Tama shard! With the fragment, I'll be able to form myself a real body!"
Kansuke tries to rush forward and attack the demon with his knife, but was easily knocked aside into a wall by another tendril of hair:
"Surrender the jewel!"
Shaking off the impact, Kansuke curses,
"Damn you, worthless demon," before snatching up his bow and quiver:
"Die!"
(Twok)
The arrow flies, and slices away some of the hair, angering the nine-eyed demon:
"(Growl) How dare you, human!"
It then seizes Kansuke around the waist and proceeds to drag him close to the one large eye...Kikyō then calls,
"Throw it to me: Throw me your bow and arrow!"
"Hand over the Shikon-no-Tama shard!"
The elder thief wastes no time obliging both the demon and the priestess:
"If your desire for it is that great..."
He then throws down the bow, before fixing the jewel fragment onto the tip of his last arrow, and thrusting it into the beast's eye:
(Pow)
The energy of the jewel shard causes the demon to writhe and yell in pain, before releasing Kikyō and Kansuke! With the monster disoriented, the priestess wastes no time in grabbing the jewel-imbued arrow to use again to finish it off:
(Twok)
Kansuke gasps at seeing the fushia arrow:
"That arrow...!"
The point connects, and the demon screeches in agony, before backing off from the temple and zig-zags uncontrollably through the air as its body sparked, then finally exploding into a ball of energy and smoke!
...As the flamed pieces of the demon rain down to the ground, Kikyō turns calm eyes down to Kansuke:
"Are you injured, old man?"
"How pitiful, being saved by a woman...You're no ordinary woman, I must say, priestess."
Kikyō's POV
As I searched for the jewel fragment among the pieces of the demon that I had destroyed, the rain had come back again, snuffing out the last of the flames. Kansuke was resting by one of the old trees in the courtyard...I could sense his condition beginning to deteriorate again...
It would not take me long before I found the shard, before walking over to present it to the old man:
"I retrieved it for you."
"...I have no need for that any longer. Please, you take it...In return, I wish for you to grant me just one request."
"What is it?" His answer came out grim yet reflecting:
"You see, I've lived a selfish life 'til now, but these last years of age and sickness have changed me. I've become afraid to fall into the depths of Hell."
Interesting...He has lived evil, but cannot face it.
"You wish to be saved?"
"I've heard of a special place, where even villains like me can find salvation, and I've traveled in search of this place...But, I suppose I'll never find it now."
...Is he asking me to...
"So what now?"
Kansuke shakily pulls out his knife, before using it to cut his topknot off, and present it to me, looking much older than before:
"Take this. Take this lock of hair, and bury it. Bury it, so that I might be saved."
...I take the topknot into one of my hands, just as he adds,
"Woman...you never did tell me your name."
I say nothing for a moment...before deciding to reveal my identity to the dying man:
"...It's Kikyō."
"(Smile) Heh. A bad joke for a dying man."
Those would be his last words, before Kansuke succumbs to his illness and old age...I stare at his body for a moment, then turn my eyes to the water droplets falling at a brisk pace from the sky, as a sad smile formed on my face:
"The wheel of destiny is ever in motion...Eternal."
No POV
At the same time the events at the temple came to a close, we turn heads back to the main paths carved into the valley grasslands, specifically, an old wilderness hut, where Inuyasha and company had decided to shelter in for the night and get out of the rain...
Sango was laying asleep near the left wall looking in on one of the piles of hay near her things, with Shippo sprawled on his back next to her on her right, and Kilala curled up by her head. Miroku was nestled in the right corner, sleeping sitting up with his staff held in his arms similarly to Inuyasha holding his Tessaiga, the latter sleeping sitting up against the right side's wall close to the entrance. Finally, Freeman was sleeping half sitting up, half laying down in the corners of the hay piles between the monk and dog demon, while Besa snoozed away laying on his side on a blue mat near his brother's legs.
That left Coraline being the only one awake, she kneeling by the fire in front of Besa's head and near Inuyasha's left side, the chill of the wet air keeping her from sleeping. She peers behind her where her weapons and satchel sat, smiling softly at the Will O' Wisp who was letting out little snuffled moans as he rested...She then lets out a few continuous but quiet sneezes, and rubs her nose with her finger:
Shoot. I better not be getting sick. Can't afford that.
(Drape)
"Hm?"
Inuyasha had apparently picked up on the sounds, and decided that Coraline needed more layers, putting his red fire rat robe on her:
"Put this on so you won't catch a cold."
"Thank you. Ah-choo!"
"Ulp, too late. You already caught one."
Coraline half-smirks at the light teasing and replies,
"Nah, can't be. My immune system's decent enough for a human. It's more likely someone's gabbing about me."
Another small sneeze escapes the redhead, and Inuyasha decides to check her temperature while scoffing,
"Don't be ridiculous. Who'd ever gossip about you? Hm...well that's good: You don't have a fever."
Coraline blushes lightly from the care, and leans her head against the dog demon's chest:
"Thanks, Inuyasha, for caring about my health..."
His own cheeks dust with pink, before he pulls her close with an endearing smirk:
"Keh, what kind-a man would I be if I let my woman get sick?"
"Oh~, so I'm your woman now?"
"Damn right."
The two quietly laugh a little, before they shift their position so that Coraline was sitting in Inuyasha's lap and tucked into his arms, she holding him with her own while still wearing the top half of his kimono, eyes closed and with loving smiles gracing their lips...Of course, what they didn't know, was that everyone else had seen and heard the whole thing, having feigned sleep but carefully watched with one eye open, smiling at the moment between the young couple...
Time Skip
It's now morning, and we catch up with Kikyō after she left the abandoned and now damaged Buddhist temple, and was speaking with a old woodcutter and his younger assistant in the deep forest regarding the last wish of Kansuke...
"Oh, you came all this way with his remains?"
"Seems to be alot of trouble you went through..."
"It was his dying wish, and I gave him my word." The elderly man hms,
"I've heard about this place of purification you mention. I believe the monk's name was Hakushin, if I'm not mistaken, wasn't it?"
His assistant nods:
"Yes, that's it. There was this temple started by Hakushin, and if the remains are brought there, he can cleanse any sin."
Kikyō asks,
"Where can find this temple?"
"It's on Mount Hakurei."
"Mount Hakurei?"
The younger of the two men points to the left of the priestess's vision:
"Beyond this forest, you'll find a valley on which Mount Hakurei looms..."
Thanking the men for the directions, Kikyō continues her way until reaching the end of the tree cover, finding herself on a rocky cliff overlooking the tips of large hills and smaller mountains in the cloudy mist...In the distance, was one particularly tall mountain peak that caught the priestess's eye...
"So, that must be the mountain..."
She looks down at the jewel shard in her hand, a foreboding feeling rising within herself:
"Something feels strange..."
Nevertheless, Kikyō walks on, leaving the starting line of her next objective...