Chapter 109: Soul Sisters, Spelunking Life & Death
A new night comes to hover over the lands of Edo, and this time around, we catch up with our specter priestess, Kikyō, as she and a few of her
Shinidamachū allies travel through a new forest on their way towards Mount Hakurei in search of the special shrine said to be a place of refuge for the deceased seeking forgiveness for their sins...
The priestess then pauses her walk, when she senses something ahead of the tree cover.
"Hm?"
"(Distant) Help!...Someone help me...!"
"A young child, so late at night?"
Signalling the soul-catching demons to wait for her, Kikyō follows the sound of a little girl crying until she was out of the forest and in a large field of white moon garden flowers growing in front of a moss-covered cave. In front of the entrance, was a young girl with short, bobbed black hair, wearing a sea-foam green kimono, kneeling on the grass with her sobbing face buried in her hands and back turned from the approaching priestess.
"...You."
The crying stops come Kikyō's address...before the child suddenly disintegrates into dust before her very eyes.
"Oh no...!"
Next thing she knew, a strong gust of wind blows, sucking her inside the cave in a torrent of white petals!
Time Skip
Come the next day, our view shifts to looking overhead a number of irrigated fields currently being tended to by some farmers from the local village. All was rather peaceful...that is, until:
"Inuyasha, Sit!"
(Gleam...Wham)
"Guh!"
We hear the echoes of a furious Coraline and an off-guarded yelp from Inuyasha as he kisses the dirt after the subjugation beads are activated, the noise from the crash taking the men by surprise as they look towards the next hill in confusion.
Zooming up the top of said incline, the dog demon springs to his feet while glaring at the redhead responsible for his descend.
"What'd you do that for, Coraline?!"
Her glare was just as seething, if not more so:
"For your incompetence in choosing your words carefully, that's what!"
"What's that suppose to mean?!"
"The fact that you don't know is making you look worse and me all the more infuriated! Sit!"
(Gleam, Wham)
A second round of the spell is cast, and Inuyasha goes down hard into the dirt. All the while, everyone else of our group was sitting off to the side near an old oak, watching the young couple fighting with nervous and partially terrified expressions. Freeman whispers to Besa,
"And this is why we made that pact to never get on sis's bad side."
"Right..."
Coraline grits her teeth before letting out a short breath of anger while stating to the dog demon in a stern manner,
"You're lucky I have more restraint or you'd be kissing the sea floor of the South Atlantic by now."
With that, she then walks over to the tree where her satchel and weapons were sitting, and hoists on her ShatterSoul Sword over her shoulder, straps her combat knife to her thigh, before finally turning the opposite direction to march off, but not before calling her creature partner to follow.
"Lumos!"
The Will O' Wisp flies to meet her steps with no hesitation, just as Miroku calls,
"Wait, Coraline, where are you going?"
She pivots her head over her shoulder and calls back with some edge in her tone,
"To blow off some steam, and trust me, you do not wanna witness that!"
She then focuses back up front, intending to put as much distance between her and her boyfriend as possible...The monk laughs nervously with a grimace while Sango lets out a sigh of exasperation and Shippo hugs a shivering Kilala, he too a bit spooked.
"Coraline's scary, (glances at Inuyasha's form) but he did kind-a deserve it..."
The twins roll their eyes and mutter,
"Lover spats," before getting up to lend Inuyasha a hand in peeling himself from the ground...
By this time, Coraline was well into the nearby woods, greenery thick and as far as the eye could see, she still fairly miffed at the dog demon for his carelessness in his earlier commentary.
"Ugh, that's the last time I ever try cooking curry for that moron: I did my absolute hardest to make sure there was enough of a spice balance so that it wouldn't overpower his tongue, the sensitive wimp..."
She then pauses her steps, and thinks back to how she handled the situation:
"Hm...mind you, I could've done better with a calmer tone. I even used the S-word on him, twice..."
Coraline looks up at her companion with a partially-worried expression:
"Do you think I might've overreacted a little, Lumos?"
He moves in a rainbow curve from left to right, as a way of saying 'Maybe so, maybe not', causing her to sigh out a puff of air.
Alright, so I may have justified reason to be mad, but not so much that it calls for unnecessary violence...
Good thing I stopped at two, then.
(Pulse)
"Hm?"
That's when Coraline senses a very familiar beat of power:
"That was...a Shikon-no-Tama shard! And it's close...Hm, it's not as strong, but I'm sure it's the real deal. (Turn) Do you sense it too, Lumos?"
The Will O' Wisp bops up and down in a 'yes', leaving the redhead to peer between each gap of the tree trunks surrounding her with narrowed eyes...Meanwhile, back at the hill everyone else was resting at for the day, Inuyasha was still griping over his girlfriend's temper clash.
"What the heck is Coraline's problem, anyway?"
"What are you saying? Lemme tell you something, you're the one with the problem, Inuyasha!"
He retorts back to Miroku,
"How so? All I did was tell the truth! Since when is that a bad thing?"
Sango sighs,
"Ooh, so much to learn," and Besa answers a bit more specifically,
"The issue was in how you spoke the truth. I'm not saying that you don't have rights to speak your mind, but you need to be careful in what words you use as well as your tone, otherwise you'll end up hurting that person's feelings almost as bad as if you were lying to their face."
Shippo scolds,
"Coraline cooked this especially for you! How could you go and insult her like that?"
Freeman causally chides,
"Yeah, plus it's lucky of you to have a romantic partner who knows how to cook. One guy I dated was so bad at the art, he broke half a dozen appliances and eighty-five percent of the food was either burnt to a crisp or severely under-cooked. (Mumbles) Only difference was that he was stubborn to the truth to the point of ignorance..."
Inuyasha then barks,
"Oh yeah? Were you guys able to eat that stuff?"
By that, he was pointing out the large metal pot of curry that was sitting over a fire-pit (the flames already put out as soon as it was done), made from some root vegetables, spices brought back from the modern era and some salted rabbit meat caught the other day. The rest of the gang pours some of the curry into some travel plates while also scooping up some cooked rice, and were immediately taken by the flavour and texture of the food.
"You know, it's not that bad!"
"Distinct, yet pleasing to the palate."
Sango hums in agreement with Shippo and Miroku, while the twins give a quick thumbs-up, too wrapped into their eating.
Inuyasha watches them with a perplexed and disgruntled expression:
"There is somethin' wrong with you people. (Sticks out his tongue) How could you people eat somethin' so spicy it makes your tongue burn?"
Freeman gulps down some more curry before retorting with a smart-alack smile,
"Well if you're that put-off by spicy food, you should've explained that to sis from the start, duh!"
Coraline's POV
Good thing I remembered my weapons before I stormed off. Only god knows what I could be up against in terms of a jewel fragment.
Once Lumos and I zeroed in on the direction of the energy beat we felt, I made my way through a good part of this patch of forest, until I came upon a large field of beautiful white flowers growing in front of a cave entrance. Shielding my eyes from the glaring sun, I peer around before fixating the location of the jewel fragment to be inside the cave.
In there, huh?
...I don't sense an overbalance of darkness, so it's definitely not in the hands of someone, or, something with malicious intent.
That's when I heard someone, a young girl judging from the pitch, calling out from inside for help. My initial instinct was to check things out and see if they were okay...however, as I inched closer to the entrance, I felt this other part of me that was screaming 'turn back; run for your life!'.
Even so, curiousity would get the better of me, and I would walk inside...only to hear something drop behind me and shut out the natural light!
"Guh!"
I whirled around and saw the cave entrance was now blocked by a boulder:
"Aw, crap!"
Ooof course, I just had to walk into a trap, didn't I?...Great, now what?
Thankfully, I wasn't alone, for Lumos had followed in with me, and as soon as the cave grew dark, his body illuminated a bit stronger than before to provide some sort of guiding light. I smiled gratefully at my friend and chide,
"Boy am I glad you tagged along, Lumos. (Frown) Guess we'll have to just push on and find another way out, 'cause we're sure as hell not going back the way we came."
While true I could've tried using my sword to break through the garnet blocking the entrance, somehow I knew even that wouldn't be enough for such an offensive measure. So instead, I pressed on into this new, confounded underground maze, climbing over small rocky inclines deeper in and avoiding the occasional stalagmites while brainstorming over what this place may actually be.
I doubt this is an ordinary cave and I just caught an unlucky break...
There's something unnatural about this place, like it knew I was gonna come here. I bet that voice I heard was part of the trap too.
The questions are, why...and am I the only unfortunate soul trapped?
I would get the answers to both my questions, when I turn down a new path:
"...Hm? Uh!"
...Kikyō!
...Oh, that's right: If I remember correctly, she still has a shard of the jewel unmarred by hands like Naraku's.
Judging from the how heavily she was breathing and how fatigued she looked, it's likely she's been here longer than I have...and without any of the Shinidamachū near.
If she's been here long enough...then that means her borrowed energies from the departed are starting to wane.
I start making my way over to Kikyō, and when I'm close enough, she opens her eyes to glance up at me with a tired smile.
"...It seems that you too possess the powers of a priestess."
"(Grim smile) Hey, Kikyō. Been a while, hasn't it?"
She just takes in a few more deep breaths and doesn't answer verbally, opting to save her energy by nodding while keeping her mouth upturned a little. I kneel down beside her and peer into her Soul with my Aura Sight:
"(Sheen) Damn, just what I was worried about: Your ties to the living world are weakening. (Looks around) I don't sense your allies near, so they're likely unable to follow you here, correct? How long have you been in here, and what possessed you to enter?"
"You certainly ask alot of questions, young lady."
I almost rolled my eyes at her playful scoff, before grimacing when she suddenly winces from a sharp pain in her chest...
With no hesitation, I began rising to my feet while pulling Kikyō up with me:
"Whatever the case, we need to get out of here post-haste."
"It's impossible. We're in the belly of the Priestess-Sealer."
"Priestess-Sealer? So, is this whole cave suppose to be, a demon of sorts?"
She nods and replies,
"Correct. A demon who traps priestesses and absorbs their powers. It puts up a barrier outside, so no one but priestesses may enter inside."
"...Nice. Anything else I should know?"
"A priestess's powers have no effect in here. It's impossible to escape."
I found her mood to be rather deflating, and scoff while looking around this current section of the cave,
"Nothing is ever truly impossible. Every starting point has an exit, and this place, demon or not, is no different."
"It's useless to try anything."
"Oh come on, Kikyō, don't talk as if you've lost your fire!"
I hear her make a noise of surprise, and I straighten up more while supporting her body in a lean on mine, determined not to allow either of us perish in such a dumb way.
"If we don't find a way out, we lose our chance at meeting our mutual goal of taking down a certain demon bastard who's made both our lives a living hell among many others!...Now come, we need to at least try and think more logically."
Making sure Kikyō's arm was over my shoulder securely enough, I use my free hand to wet my finger and test for any wind currents...
"Okay, it's not much, but I'm getting a very faint breeze from further in. (Glance) Lumos, I need your help as a guiding light and making sure that Kikyō remains stable. Got it?"
My Will O' Wisp friend gives me a 'yes', and begins lighting the way forward in the path I pinpointed, while I urged the priestess in my arms to walk with me in a steady pace to hopefully find our escape route...
Inuyasha's POV
Rgh, I can't believe this. Why do women have to act so sensitive over these things?
Now my intended's gone and took off to who knows where...
She did take her weapons, though, so she wasn't dumb enough to let her anger blind her from going off defenseless...
I'm sitting a good distance from the others, still incredibly irritated by earlier, so much so that I couldn't stop twitching and shaking my leg from my impatience in Coraline coming back from 'blowing off some steam'. Honestly, I'm a tiny bit glad to have not tailed her and find out what she meant like that, for based on how pissed she looked, the possibilities were endless...
"He's in a bod mood."
"Why doesn't he just go and say that he's sorry?"
"Probably too scared he'll run into the raging volcano that's his girlfriend..."
I turn around and shout at the prying eyes known as Shippo, Sango and Freeman:
"Shut up! I'll burn in hell before I apologize to her!"
They just all go back to eating like they weren't doing anything but that...I scoff before facing the front again while grumbling,
Damn that girl, always tweaking my nerves...
(Sigh) But who am I kidding? There's a part of me that likes it when we fight, because it's just another sign we care enough about eachother to show off our raw emotions to one another every chance we get.
...You better return soon, Coraline, or I'm comin' after you to end it one way or another.
Kikyō's POV
Hm...while I do not fully understand what this girl is trying to do, I will admit, she is a welcomed face at a time like this.
As we kept moving along deeper down the winding paths of the Priestess Sealer, I found myself staring a little at Coraline in wonder for her stubborn determination to lead us both out of this new danger...She must have felt my eyes on her, for she then locked her blue irises with my brown...
There's an odd, three second silence, before we both hummed a laugh with awkward smiles.
"Boy, what a time for us to be meeting again, huh?"
"Indeed...We seem to be making it a habit to only see one another during the most dramatic of circumstances, or the aftermath."
"No lie...So, if you'll pardon my asking, what have you been up to since that last time?"
I was a bit surprised by her interest, but then decided to oblige her, and spoke of my encounter with the dying thief Rasetsu and my promise to take his remains (his topknot) to find forgiveness for his Soul...
"Mount Hakurei, eh? I think Grandfather mentioned that name before in one of his stories: It's suppose to be a place where sinners will pilgrimage to so they can find forgiveness for their misdeeds, right?"
"That is what I have heard from passers...But when I first laid eyes on the distant formation, I felt this strange air..."
"A strange air?"
I nod, which prompted Coraline to form an inquisitive expression:
"Hm...Well, hopefully when you get there, the feeling will just be what it is and not have an actual cause for alarm."
As do I...
"...So how have you and your friends been...and Inuyasha?"
"Hm? Oh, it's been a series of events up and down for these last few weeks...For instance, one of my brothers is now mated to a wolf demon..."
She would go on to tell me about situations that were more surprising and, dare I say, comical in a way, ending with the more recent activity involving a man that came from the same realm she did who tried to harness the power of a demon sword...
"Sounds like you've all been quite busy...And this, Saki Hikiji...he hasn't made any returns since those several days ago?"
"Thank god, no, and I doubt he'll be making such a move anytime soon. He'll be too busy figuring out a way to continue his life with his new facial disfigurement, I mean, come on, he can't exactly face the public without scrutiny anymore, can he?"
"No, I suppose not..."
Funny, the way she describes the man...He almost sounds like, another version of Naraku...
(Shakes head) No. That cannot be possible. There is no mortal that I know of who could ever measure to that demon's evil.
"Speaking of scrutiny, you asked me about Inuyasha...He's still about the same guy as before: Using honesty without configuring it in his mind first. Not that he isn't getting better, but, (groan) he's got a ways to go."
I could see the dull burn of an earlier flame of frustration in her features, which made me smile a little in a knowing way.
"Am I correct to say you and he fought recently before coming here?"
She sighs with an exasperated smile:
"Nothing gets past you, does it? Yeah, we had a spat, about cooking of all things. Apparently, his tongue is not a big fan of spicy dishes, and even though I did my best, I couldn't get the curry to a sweet enough level that he'd be able to eat it. He accused me of trying to set his mouth on fire to distract his body from the poison that was my food."
A grimace almost escaped my lips, shifting smoothly into a dry chuckle:
"Oh dear, that does sound like something he would say without thought."
"Mhm...Was there, any point back in the old days, where you and he were able to share a meal together?"
My lips form a sad but nostalgic smile at her question, before I answer in a soft tone,
"...I remember three different times, before, everything ended, when we had such a moment. They were but simple stews, but he thought all of them were well-done, except the second to which he'd complain had too much salt."
Both of us laughed a little that time, but mine would provoke a spout of violent coughing, forcing me to stop and kneel downward.
Coraline would follow shortly, worried for my condition:
"Kikyō! Are you alright?"
(Cough) Damn...this place will soon drain me completely.
I feel her hand rub my back as she directs her orb companion to assist me:
"Lumos."
(Twinkle...)
The creature releases a burst of sparkling energy over my head like it did once already, and the power rejuvenates my strength somewhat. Coraline then mumbles,
"For gods sake, I would've thought we'd be close to an exit by now..."
"You're, quite an incredible woman..."
"Hm? How so?"
"Normally, a priestess would be unable to move inside this place."
A strange smile appears on her face, like she was irritated by the occupational title, before she retorts,
"Then this demon must've made a mistake, for I have nothing in me that qualifies for a priestess...Must've been my Soul Energy that drew it to lure me in..."
Does she not believe herself as one? How strange...
Though given her life choices, including her weapons, it would be rather odd to call her a priestess, wouldn't it?
...Even so, out of the two of us, she stands a better chance at finding a means of escape.
"...Leave me behind."
"What?"
"Even with this new flesh, I am still considered among the dead, remember? You have a much better chance of living if you go on alone with your spirit partner, rather than being burdened by me."
I glance at her mysterious blade, before giving her the following instructions:
"In order to escape from here, you must destroy the heart, which you'll find deeper in the cave."
...But much to my surprise, she refused to leave me:
"You're joking, right? As if I'd ever leave you to rot."
She then stands up and states in a firm tone,
"Look: I understand our chances of leaving together are not high, but I'm not about to give up just 'cause you say I should!"
...Coraline...
She kneels back down and places a hand on my shoulder while giving me a sincere smile.
"Besides which, dying here means you'll never reach the peace you deserve. Naraku is still out there, and mullin' about here isn't gonna kill him anytime soon. So, what do you say: Are you with me, sister?"
I was left in shock from her words:
"...You're serious."
"Of course I am. One of us needs to be...Uh!"
Coraline then stiffens up on alert, before moving quickly to a stand while glaring down the way we came from.
"...I hear a drone. Something's coming for us."
I began to hear such a noise as well, and concluded,
So...the Priestess Sealer is sending out its defenses...This, could be a problem.
I hope for both of our sakes you're prepared...sister.
No POV
As we approach mid-afternoon, we quickly turn back to the rest of our main group of Edo travelers as they continue to resting by the oak tree on the hill...Or rather, Inuyasha continued to sit a distance from everyone else, growling low in impatience and irritation for Coraline to return, while they watched his twitching form.
"Hm...I think now would be the time to employ some psychological tactics."
The others nod with the whispering Besa, and Miroku clears his throat before beginning their strategy, using a purposely loud tone for conversation.
"Coraline is sure taking her sweet time! Wonder if she's alright?"
A stifled 'hmph' and an ear twitch tells us that Inuyasha was listening, and Sango takes a turn to push at the dog demon's stubbornness.
"Who knows? Maybe something happened to her!"
Que another ear twitch, before Shippo and Freeman add their own over-loud statements.
"I don't claim to be an expert, but don't you think you should bring her back, Inuyasha?"
"Yeah, if it were me and Ginta, we would've went to meet up with the other like, fifteen minutes ago!"
"Shut up! Who'd go after that...that...Guh!"
He couldn't finish his sentence, and just folded his arms with his back turned to everyone in a frustrated grunt. Besa calls over with a calm smile,
"Come on, Inuyasha, I think you've milked enough waiting time. I'm sure Cora's cooled off enough that you and her will be able to talk like adults."
Miroku chimes afterword...while discreetly inching to Sango's side,
"Besa's right: In this world, you must learn to accept things with grace and be honest with yourself. Be true to your feelings."
...Come one grope of a behind later:
(SMACK)
"Gah!"
"Keep in mind that there's a time and place for a little restraint."
Freeman chagrins while eyeing a newly-punched Miroku and replying to Sango's rather calm counter,
"I was just about to say that, actually..."
"A-Ab-solutely..."
With that stuttered word, the monk falls over at the same time Kilala mews in exasperation...Inuyasha takes a moment to think about everyone's words, as well as how he handled the situation, before slouching a little with a sigh.
...Meanwhile, back in the winding cave demon known as the Priestess Sealer, Coraline pulls out her ShatterSoul Sword at the ready of the new threat heading for her, Lumos and Kikyō's direction, they being a type of demon wasp that was built to fit the environment of the underground, thin with pointed heads of stone blue matching the colour of their spiny six legs, red eyes, a tiny yellow thorax and black abdomens.
"Alright...here we go: Spirit Slash!"
(Sheen, slash)
The redhead sends an ice blue slash mark through the air, which connects with a good number of the wasp bodies before they disintegrate from existence!
"(Smirk) Ha!"
"(Ghostly moan)"
"Huh?"
She pivots her head behind her, and sees Lumos glowing red and blue in indication from another swarm of the demon wasps heading for them. Coraline curses, before unleashing another cut of her Aura power against them, destroying those insects as well...Kikyō watched the redhead continue attack after attack with little break time between, her eyes wide with surprise by how easy each execution was.
What power...She's able to use her own Soul's energy as a weapon through her blade, much like I channel my own through my bow and arrow.
...But there is something different about the way she does it, more, raw and wild.
"Urgh, come on, you'd think the rest would hightail it after seeing their buddies get singed!"
Just as Coraline takes down another part of the swarm, two of the insects suddenly speed in behind her, prompting Kikyō to spring to her feet before using her own power to create a barrier to ward off the demon wasps, ultimately destroying them!
"Uh...! Kikyō..."
Unfortunately, that move would've cost the specter priestess some, as she then collapses to her knees again with a heavy breath. Coraline stares down at her with worried eyes:
She sacrificed some of her weakening strength, for both of us...
Her focus then shifts back to reality as another batch of the demon wasps come flying to their proximity, and she readies her sword while exclaiming with a determined glare,
"No way am I losing to a bunch of pests like these! I'm seeing this through!"
(Slash)
...We cut back briefly to the hillside, just as Inuyasha finally gets up from his seat, conceding to the growing concern in the back of his mind for his missing woman. Of course, he wasn't going to let the outside world see his hidden emotions, and he turns to look at his friends, who were observing him while having tea before glancing away from the dog demon's amber eyes sheepishly (the twins were whistling discreetly).
"Listen up: I am not going to look for Coraline! I'm just going to go for a walk to clear my head, and that's all!"
And on that note, Inuyasha pivots around to leap off in a similar direction to the redhead, leaving Sango to giggle while Miroku, Kilala and Shippo let out closed-eyed sighs, and the twins rolled their eyes with knowing smirks.
"Who does he think he's foolin'?"
"I know, right? So, anybody wanna learn Crazy Eights while we wait for the lovers to come back?"
Coraline's POV
It took a bit longer than I anticipated, but eventually, enough of the demon wasps were killed by yours truly that any others that could be here in these caves took the hint to back off...
Now I'm once again moving at a steady pace down the paths to find the heart, supporting Kikyō over one shoulder and with one arm around her waist while one of hers was around mine, and Lumos was lighting the way in front of us. Unfortunately, by this point, even he was feeling some exhaustion like we were from the draining effect of this Priestess Sealer, his glow dimming a little, while Kikyō and I both panted heavily as we struggled to keep walking.
Damn it...We gotta keep moving, or there's gonna be two new skeletons to add to this cave demon's collection.
I decided that leaning on one another wasn't gonna cut it, so I gently forced us to a stop, before kneeling down to gesture the other woman with me to get on my back.
"We need to double our speed, and that won't happen with how we're travelin' right now. (Small smile) Don't worry: If I can take grandfather's weight after he twisted his ankle that one time, you should be pretty light in comparison."
She was taken aback at first, but accepted my offer, and once she was secured on my back, I kept moving for both of us, somehow managing a slow jog...Eventually, we reach a section of the cave walls that were sporting what looked to be giant veins.
Huh...We must be getting really close to the heart. The stone is starting to look like blood vessels on the inside of someone's skin.
"...Inuyasha must be very worried."
"Hm? Oh, I dunno: Given that argument we had not too long ago, he might still be a bit steamed and denying any possible rise of worry. Besides, you said before that this place is masked from all except those with spiritual power, right? Even if he was beginning to try and look for me, he probably won't be able to track us down here..."
I shake my head a little and add with a slightly weak smile,
"If we're gonna escape to see tomorrow, we'll need to rely on our own strengths...so in the meantime, save your energy, Kikyō. I'll handle the heavy lifting."
I should be able to hang on for a while longer, but even my strength's starting to wane...
(Deep breath) You can do this, Cora. Do it for yourself, and Kikyō.
Inuyasha's POV
"Coraline!...Coraline!"
Finally giving up on pretending like I wasn't concerned for my intended's life, I hightailed it to the forest where she ran off to with that little orb Lumos to try and track her down...But I guess she must've went further than I thought, for her scent trail was going in real deep between the trees.
Geez, just how far'd she go?
...Come on, Coraline, where are you?
No POV
After another few minutes, Coraline, Lumos and Kikyō finally reach the center chamber of the Priestess Sealer, the walls and floor made to look like the inside of a major organ, salmon pink and ribbed with veins.
"...So this is it, huh?"
"Yes. The central core of the cave."
"Alright. (Glances up) Just gotta take down that center point and we'll be-"
(Rumble...)
"Huh?"
"...It's coming."
Just as the redhead moves to set the specter priestess down, the highest point of the inner cave opens up, and pushes out a dark mahogany-coloured blob of flesh that was shaped somewhere between a heart and a uvula, throbbing beats of life...!
Kikyō then says to Coraline,
"If you destroy the heart of the demon, the cave will open up again."
The latter draws her sword at the ready:
"Gotcha. A big target like that won't be hard..."
The priestess then winces and falls over on her side, her physical health deterring even more, prompting the redhead to charge her energies into the blade.
"Crap. Better step on it!"
(Slash)
An ice blue slash mark is released, and flies up through the air on a straight course for the demon heart...However:
(Sheen, bzzzzzt)
A barrier appears over the organ and blocks the attack, making the energies spark before disintegrating completely, much to the women's shock.
"It's too much for her..."
"What the hell?! That should've connected!"
"I told you before: A priestess's power and her arrows, are completely useless against this demon...And it would seem that your sword is also unable to work, given that it uses spiritual power."
"Aw man, that's not fair at all!"
Just then, Lumos begins letting out warning moans, and flies to circle around a slit on the heart's flesh...before it opens to reveal a singular eye of dark green surrounded by moss green! Coraline curses and mutters,
"Well, this just got creepier..."
To make matters worse, the flesh then begins erupting skinny tentacles which start to move in on her and Kikyō's position!
"Oh yeah, sure, add tentacles! Why not?!" The specter priestess urges weakly,
"Run, Coraline...run! It's too dangerous to stay here..."
The redhead's ears then pick up on a second beat of throbbing, and pivots around behind her to see a new pathway, which was slowly starting to shrink back in itself...
"Wonder where that leads?"
"Run, now! You'll only die if you're trapped here."
Coraline turns to glare sternly at Kikyō while retorting,
"No way, no how, Kikyō! You're my friend and Soul Sister, which like it or not, means I'll keep refusing to leave you behind!"
The priestess struggles against another wave of draining, as the redhead turns her eyes to the closing exit, adding in a mutter,
"Besides...somehow, I doubt that way leads to anywhere more promising than here...No: There's only one way to get out, and that's to take out this bug-eyed organ!"
At the same time Coraline vows to not leave Kikyō for dead and find a way to defeat the Priestess Sealer's heart, as evening fast-approaches, Inuyasha continued his search for the former.
"Coraliiine!"
His latest leap takes him to the very field of white moon garden flowers growing in front of the cave entrance, but because it was blocked off by a boulder, the dog demon just leaped on past it.
"Coraliiine!"
Meanwhile, deep inside, said redhead prepares herself to defend against the shooting tentacles of the demon heart, this time using both her sword and her combat knife to slash and hack the flesh away.
"Hah!"
(Slice, shing)
"Hrah!"
Come another slice and dice, her body slams back into the cave wall as she steadies her stance, grinding her teeth in frustration.
"Come on, Cora, think: There's always more than one way to solve a problem!"
She uses her knife to cut away a piece of one tentacle, prompting the other two attacking to falter back slightly, giving her time to rush to another part of the cave as she racked her brain for a plan.
Alright: So far, my sword's Spirit Slash didn't work, and I doubt borrowing Kikyō's bow and arrow will too.
What other power is at my disposal?
...Wait! I got it!
Pausing her steps for a second, Coraline reaches into her jean's pocket to pull out the little glass bottle containing the three shards of the Shikon-no-Tama she currently owns.
Maybe if I try a temporary fusion of power with these and my sword...yeah. Yeah, that might work!
Just as she came up with that plan, the ground beneath her booted feet began to billow like loose skin, causing her to fall frontward and lose grip on the bottle of jewel shards!
"Damn it all...!"
Coraline tries to get up and rush to the bottle, but the ground billows again, throwing her off to the side before more tentacles close in on her. She gets them to back off with a few choice slashes from her combat knife, before they settled to hovering over the jewel shard bottle...
Aw hell...There's no way I'll be able to get those shards, least not right now.
She turns to glance in Kikyō's direction, the latter's breathing becoming heavier and desperate, while her own jewel shard emits its own fushia glow.
...But maybe...Ah: Okay, I know what to do!
"Lumos: See if you can swoop in to snag the bottle of jewel shards! I'm gonna try something else in the meantime!"
The Will O' Wisp 'nods' frantically, and begins to zoom down from up high to get the bottle, while Coraline rushes over to the fallen priestess to take the single shard from her robes.
"I'll be borrowing this for a second."
She then sets the shard onto the connector point between ShatterSoul's hilt and blade, before starting to channel her Aura into the sword. This time, not only was it emitting ice blue rings of power, but it also sparked lines of fushia pink energy down the middle of the blade.
"Alright, you bastard, round two! Fushia Ice!"
(Slash)
And unlike her last attack, this cut mark had a different shape to it, like a four-point pinwheel, spinning through the air straight towards the heart's eye, which tries to hold it off with its barrier again...Coraline spotted a bit of wavering in power, making her hopeful for victory:
"This time, I got 'em...Huh?"
But unfortunately, even that wasn't enough to destroy the demon, and as the barrier dissipated, so to did the pinwheel-shaped cut mark!
"Damn it! Looks like one shard's not enough..."
"(Ghostly moan)"
"Hm?"
Luckily for the redhead, Lumos had successfully weaved through the tentacles to grab the bottle of other jewel shards, and sped over to meet her.
"Ah! Lumos, good job; you did it!"
"The shards..."
"Hm?"
Coraline turns to Kikyō's direction, who was weakly moving up to a sitting position as she urges,
"Give me, the remaining shards."
"Uh! Are you sure?" Wheezing out another cough, the priestess pleads,
"Hurry...!"
Staring with a bit of surprise at how more determined Kikyō sounded compared to earlier, Coraline then forms a firm expression, and rushes to kneel in front of the other woman, uncorking the bottle to pour the three shards into her right palm.
"Okay...now what?"
"...Give me your other hand."
"Uh, alright."
The redhead does as she's told, setting her sword down to free her left hand, and Kikyō holds both between her own, before saying,
"Now, start praying."
"Pray? But, I already said that I'm not made of the right stuff for a priestess. Plus, heh, I'm more a halfhearted prayer."
"(Small smile) It will be fine. Please trust me, and pray."
"Uh...Mm, okay, if you say so."
Both women close their eyes in concentration, and just as Lumos grants an extra boost of strength for the specter priestess, a familiar shine of fushia light begins to emit from their joined palms, the light strong enough to force the surrounding tentacles to retreat back...
Two minutes later, the hands part away, revealing that the three jewel shards had fused into one large fragment!
"Amazing..."
I see where she's going with this: One small shard may not cut it, but maybe it and this three-in-one will!
Letting in a short breath, Kikyō utters,
"There's, only, one...chance..."
With that, she collapses into Coraline's lap, too drained to assist anymore than she can...The redhead felt her eyes well slightly in worry for her friend, but swallowed thickly and drew in a calming breath, before gently setting the priestess down on the ground, and adjusts the now two shards so that they formed a cross on top of her sword's hilt.
The demon heart prepares its tentacles for a torrent attack, but Coraline was feeling more than confident that the third time will really be the charm.
"FUSHIA ICE!"
(SLASH)
This latest fusion attack would be the killer, the ice blue/fushia pink pinwheel cut mark larger than before, and powerful enough to annihilate not only the tendrils, but also grind through the eye and heart before they disintegrated into non-existence in an explosion of light!
...Just outside in the forest near the cave entrance, Inuyasha was circling around an area where Coraline's scent trail was, before he senses something back in the field he passed through an hour or so ago before nightfall.
What he sensed, was the destruction of the Priestess Sealer, the cave disintegrating into billions of sparkling fragments, with the redhead standing on her feet in an after-thrust position, taking in a few well-deserved gulps of breath, while Kikyō sat weakly in the flowers with her eyes closed, Lumos floating near her with a hum of concern...
But that worry would pass, once the Shinidamachū arrive to the area, and began replenishing the specter priestess's body with a few Souls of the Deceased. She heaves out a sigh of relief, just as Coraline moves to take the jewel shards from her sword to hold in her palm...Hmming in thought, the redhead turns to walk over to Kikyō's proximity.
"...You wanna continue holding onto your shard?"
The priestess looks at the other in light surprise for her question, but then shakes her head with a small smile.
"You keep it. I will be fine without it...Besides, I have this feeling you and your group will need it more than I will."
"Hm...alright, if that's your decision...Take care, I guess."
Coraline then moves back to a stand and begins to head off from the area, with Lumos trailing behind her...but pauses when Kikyō softly calls to her.
"Wait a moment."
"Hm? Yes?"
"Tell me: When you prayed, did you truly have that much faith in me?"
"Heh, and you say I talk alot?...To answer your question, of course I had faith in you."
A grim smile appears on Kikyō's lips as she then asks after a pause,
"...But why? Why is it you continue to have faith, in a dead person like me?"
"Because as far as I'm concerned...you're not dead to me. You're still alive in ways beyond the reasoning of life and death, Kikyō, and will be as long as you hang onto your own faith in yourself."
The priestess's brown eyes widen slightly, as the blue-eyed redhead adds casually,
"Plus let's face it: I think a certain guy we know would notice you were truly gone."
"Hm...(Smile) same for you."
The women each let out a short laugh, before Coraline salutes a goodbye and turns to move along back the way she first came, leaving the resting Kikyō to close her eyes with a knowing smile...
...After a while, the redhead and Will O' Wisp reach the other side of the forest, where a certain dog demon would be waiting, casually leaning against a tree trunk.
"Uh...Inuyasha."
He lets out a small gasp and opens his eyes to meet hers, just staring at her with silence.
Coraline scratches the back of her head with a slight blush before making her way towards him and asking sheepishly,
"So, you've been looking for me, eh?"
Inuyasha's cheeks rose a bit as the redhead reaches his proximity, before replying softly with a scoff,
"Come on, let's get goin'."
Taking one of her hands into his with a firm grip, the dog demon starts leading Coraline along back where the others would be awaiting them...As they walked along the forest grounds highlighted by the glittering stars, the redhead's mind flashes with an image of the woman she helped today, and decides to tell her boyfriend about it.
"Um, Inuyasha..."
But upon noticing the rare pensiveness in his features, she somehow deciphers that he knows who she was with, and just smiles with a puff of breath, moving closer to hug his arm with hers, he meeting the gesture just as wholeheartedly, both choosing silence as their communicator for the evening...