Chapter 110: Kōga & Sesshomaru - A Dangerous Encounter
"Hah, hah..."
"Hah! Hah!..."
It's a new day across the rolling lands of Sengoku Japan, and we zoom in over a riverbank bordered by grass rather than the more usual pebble beds, as two familiar wolf demons, Ginta and Hakkaku, rush along down one side each to chase down their latest meal, that being fish.
Once they gained enough speed on the aqua life, they both lunged into a dive.
(Splash) (Splash)
Unfortunately, it seems like they need to work on their aquaculture skills, for Hakkaku caught and fumbled with one fish, before Ginta tries to take it back, only for it to slip out of his hands too...
The wolf demons watch the fish swim away with groans of frustration and disappointment.
"...Almost had 'em." "...Almost had 'em."
They soon walked out of the blue and sat themselves on the edge, joined by their pack of fellow brown-furred canines as they postulate over the difficulty in their recent hunting/scavenging.
"Sure isn't easy finding food in unfamiliar territory..."
"I know, and I'm dying of hunger."
The regular wolves started groveling in their speech, obviously just as unlucky as they were, and Hakkaku chides to them,
"Hang tight a while longer, you guys. (Focuses on Ginta) Our bad luck's gotta change."
"We were better off attacking that human village a while back..."
"Nah, Kōga ordered us not to bother humans anymore. (Small smile) Besides, it wouldn't bode so well with your mate if he finds out you robbin' from villagers."
Ginta's lips turn upward in a longing smile as he thought about his mate, Freeman.
"Yeah, that's true, and his brother and Coraline wouldn't be too happy either."
The two look up across the way and muse,
"We sure have come a long way..."
"Yeah...definitely in more ways than one for me..."
"...There's a river, Master Jaken!"
Ginta and Hakkaku's ears then pick up on the distant sound of a very familiar young girl coming up behind them.
"We can try to catch some fish!"
"Slow down, Rin; don't be too hasty!"
They look over their shoulders with curious expressions as Hakkaku wonders,
"Who was that?"
...And emerging from the cover of a thick bush connected to the forest bordering the riverbank, was noneother than Rin! She halts upon seeing Ginta, Hakkaku and the regular wolves, eyes widening in surprise to see them, which was at about the same levels as the former.
"What? It's a human girl."
The canines move an inch or two forward with growls, their hunger starting to creep into control, until the two boys scold them for their behaviour.
"Hey, hey! Calm down, you mutts."
"We can't eat humans."
...Once Rin had enough of a look at them all, right down to the wolf-like features of the demons, her pupils begin dilating with horror, recalling the tragedy that was her old village's people being slaughtered by the likes of they, including herself...
Once the imp arrived on scene, the young girl quickly found herself cowering behind his form for protection, her fears getting the better of her.
"Master Jaken!"
Jaken looks back at her with surprise at first, until he gets a good look at the group in front of them.
Mm, no surprise that she's afraid: Rin was once attacked by wolves.
Deciding to do her a bit of kindness, the imp calls out to the demons and animals in an attempt to drive them off.
"You there, wolves: Leave this area immediately!" Ginta retorts,
"Why should we? Besides, who do you think you're talking to?"
Hakkaku starts their introduction on a dramatic note:
"We're the right and left hand men of Kōga, the young leader of the Wolf Demon Tribe! I'm Hakkaku, the shrewd one!"
"And I'm Ginta! I've got dimples."
They both laugh proudly and state,
"Must've heard of us!"
"Nope. Never heard of you."
"Guh!" "What?!"
Then it would be Jaken's turn for his own over-the-top title:
"Cower in fear, mangy wolves! It has been centuries since I began serving Lord Sesshomaru, crossed through three-thousand worlds have I! Loyal follower, I answer to the name Jaken!"
But neither Hakkaku nor Ginta would know of any such reference, naturally.
"Oh boy, what a braggart..."
"We've never heard of you or this Sesshomaru!"
"How dare you insult my lord! (Raises his staff) Rrrah!"
"We'll take you on if it's a fight you're looking for!"
...But just seconds after both sides size eachother up for a more-than-likely disaster-prone battle, said mentioned dog demon appears on scene.
"Jaken. What's all this commotion?"
Feeling that he was a better protection, Rin whimpers the dog demon's name before hiding in a stand behind his form. Thankfully, Sesshomaru's stare alone would be enough to force the regular wolves to back up slightly, while Ginta and Hakkaku try to act the braver.
"Who are you and what do you want?"
"You lookin' for a fight?"
One golden iris narrow later...
"W-We're gonna leave, but it ain't outta fear."
"Y-Yeah, you don't scare us, mister!"
But the way they took off along with their fellow wolves told a different tale...not that it really mattered to Sesshomaru, whom after staring at the retreating forms, turns to other matters.
"Um, Rin."
"Yes?"
"Weren't you going to catch yourself some fish?"
She gasps with a new smile on her face and nods,
"Yes!"
Meanwhile, Ginta and Hakkaku don't stop their retreat until they felt they were well-enough upstream that there wouldn't be much of a chance of being followed. Such a run would take them and the wolf pack to a large pine growing by a small rock wall, and they'd lean against the bark to catch their breath and rest their sweat-beading bodies.
"Hah, hah, I gotta say, he was kind-a scary, don'cha think?"
"I, agree, but haven't we seen him before?" Ginta folds his arms in thought:
"The guy said his name was Sesshomaru...I'm sure I've heard of him somewhere before...Wonder who the big-mouth is? Maybe Freeman might..."
Hakkaku doesn't miss that last bit and teases,
"Tch, you're so smitten with that human!"
"Shut up!...Anyway, we better get back to Kōga."
"Yeah, you're right. Let's go, wolves!"
But while those two began jogging off to find their leader without hesitation, the other wolves...well, let's just say they took a moment to discuss the matters of exhaustion and realism in maintaining their health.
...So where was the young wolf demon leader during all of this? He had been pursuing his own path to find Naraku in a new patch of forest connecting the river and the plains, but wound up running into Inuyasha and his team.
"Tch, what're you doin' around here, muttface?"
"Just what I was gonna ask you!"
"Cheh, well you see, I would be lookin' for Naraku except I keep runnin' into you."
"Shut up, ya mangy wolf! You don't need to butt into this; I'm the one who's gonna get Naraku!"
Behind the dog demon, would be everyone else of his group, including his increasingly-exasperated intended mate, Coraline, whom today wore a braid in her hair going over her left shoulder, a light blue crop-tank with her sleeveless gray jacket, blue jeans and her black combat boots.
She sighs through her nose before stepping over between the feuding demons and chides,
"Come on, can't you guys at least pretend to like eachother so we can skip over this nonsense and focus on the real issues?"
Both males hmph and turn away from one another with folded arms, making Coraline mumble with a sweatdrop,
"This isn't what I meant, but I'll call it progress," while Lumos hovers near her and lets out his own tired moan...
"Hey, Kōga!"
That's when Ginta and Hakkaku finally arrive on scene, and their leaders asks them as soon as they stop,
"Did ya find anything to eat?" Ginta replies regrettably,
"...No, not exactly."
"You came back empty-handed?"
Freeman, he today mirroring his twin brother with an outfit of a green tank-top with black jean-shorts and gray high-top shoes, walks over to ask with a worry brow more directed at the one wolf demon,
"Are you guys having trouble with hunting?" Ginta replies,
"This isn't familiar territory to us, so finding something to eat's been a bit tricky."
"Oooh, that sucks..."
"But we're not gonna start attackin' humans if that's what you're concerned about."
Freeman focuses eyes with Kōga, who adds casually,
"I'll just catch a boar or two in no time."
The wolf demon leader's statement confused Shippo, who was on Miroku's shoulder while he stood between Sango and Besa.
"Then why'd he try to eat me before?" Sango guesses,
"He's probably putting on an act because he doesn't want Coraline or Freeman to hate him."
Miroku adds,
"More than likely Freeman given that he and Ginta are mated..."
Besa nods in agreement, keeping his eyes and knowing smile on his brother as he and Ginta start to exchange stares of longing.
Oh geez, they both got cupid-struck expressions...
"Oh! If you guys are that starved..."
Freeman then pulls off and reaches into his satchel to grab out small three-pack of jerky to present to Ginta.
"Here, this should keep your stomachs from bitchin' at you, least for a while."
Shippo became shocked to tears at what he was giving away:
"Aww! Freeman's giving away the last of teriyaki-flavoured meat!"
Besa pats his head and chides quietly,
"Easy, little man; I've got more in my bag," while Ginta was taken aback by the gesture:
"Uh...Freeman...a-are you sure?"
"Totally sure. I can always get more back from my era, and between me and siblings (gestures to Besa and Coraline), we've got enough extra to keep our group going. (Sincere smile) Besides, the last thing I want is my mate and his buddies starvin' on me."
Everyone widens their eyes on the address:
"Uh!" "Did he, just..."
"Whoa..."
"Yeah! He called Ginta his mate!"
Said wolf demon was in awe, and takes the offering of food...before pulling the young man before him into a heated kiss!
Besa and Coraline don't miss the opportunity to tease their brother:
"Whoa, easy, easy, you two!"
"Yeah, this ain't the love parade to Tahiti."
The couple parts, and Freeman smirk-glares at his siblings while retorting,
"Oh, chillax, it's not like we're gonna start rompin' in the next minute...especially not with you people here. Talk about a major turn-off."
That would bring about a mixed chorus of reactions:
"Gah!" "Dude!"
"Really?!"
"Agh!" "Didn't need to hear that!"
"Too much information!"
"Freeman, child present!"
Ginta's face erupted into a huge blush while his mate laughed at everyone with defensive palms displayed.
"Have a sense of humour, why don'tcha, people?"
Once his red face cooled back to normal, the wolf demon then asks,
"Hey, Freeman, have you or your siblings ever heard of a Sesshomaru?"
Hakkaku comes in with a description of said individual:
"A fair-skinned dog demon who wears a fur over his kimono."
"Sesshomaru? Oh yeah, he's Inuyasha's older half-brother."
Both wolf demons felt their faces pale with shock:
"Gh!"
"Inuyasha's half-brother?! Uh, what kind of guy is this Sesshomaru?"
Coraline steps in for this round of description:
"In a nut-shell, he hates Inuyasha in another matter different from how Kōga dislikes him, has a powerful sword known as Tokijin, and with his brutal strength comes an indifferent cruelty."
"C-Cruelty?"
"Mhm. (Gestures at Inuyasha and Kōga) While those two can quarrel around like five-year olds..."
She's briefly interrupted by a twin chorus of,
"Hey!" "Watch it!"
"I don't think either's crazy enough to kill the other at this point. Sesshomaru, on the other hand...given the opportunity, his opponents are rarely left alive."
Hakkaku hisses nervously to Ginta,
"You hear that?!"
Noticing the fear, Freeman quickly adds,
"But he hasn't been as coldhearted as of late; if he was, he wouldn't have taken in Rin or Jaken."
He and Coraline then pick up on the sound of a new squabble between Inuyasha and Kōga.
"What?! You're kidding; you're the five-year old!"
"Nun-uh, you are!"
They facepalm before rushing over to stop the demons from fighting:
"Guys, knock it off!"
"Seriously, before someone loses an eye!"
Meanwhile, Hakkaku and Ginta quietly discuss about the new information they just learned.
"Sounds like one dangerous opponent..."
"Good thing we didn't engage him in a fight...hm?"
That's when they sense the arrival of the regular wolf pack, who looked a bit conflicted and antsy about something.
"What's the matter?"
The canines begin speaking in their own language about an incident they've neglected to mention before, to which the wolf demons would respond in the same tongue, momentarily horrified with the news, before settling with serious looks. Given that no one else in this area could speak wolf (except Kōga, but he was distracted), Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Besa could only watch the scene a bit perplexed, the fox demon asking,
"Anyone wanna explain what they're doing?"
The teen with cornrow hair takes a guess:
"...Can't say for sure, but I think they just learned something from the canines they should've a long while ago."
Hakkaku says to Ginta,
"You hear that? They attacked that girl we saw earlier..."
"The little kid who was traveling with Sesshomaru..."
While they cringe a bit nervously, Sango says to the others as they watch Freeman and Coraline try to shove Inuyasha and Kōga a few good feet from one another,
"Don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of this." Miroku responds,
"They can't go on for too much longer."
"Inuyasha...!"
(Kiss)
"Uh!"
Finally, Coraline had enough of the nonsense and decided to take a page out of her brother's book to distract her dog demon boyfriend, namely, by kissing him fully on the lips, leaving everyone else to gape...
Once she broke away from the newly-dazed and confused Inuyasha, she turns her blue eyes to Kōga's and says with a sheepish smile,
"I, think now would be a good time to get a move on before he snaps out of it, heh, if you know what I mean."
The wolf demon barely holds back a snicker and nods, sending a salute and replying,
"See you 'round, Coraline."
He then disappears in a new whirlwind, leaving his friends to catch up, starting with Hakkaku.
"Hey, wait up, Kōga!"
Ginta takes a minute longer to steal another kiss from Freeman before saying with a smile,
"Thanks again for these rations. Let's try to get together for a longer period soon."
"Yeah, totally. Until then!"
"See you, Freeman!"
With that, the third wolf demon takes off, the regular wolves trailing behind him...Sango notes with a smile,
"Well, at least the fight is over." Miroku nods in agreement:
"Now I guess we can pick up where we left off and move onto the next village."
...And it was just as this group begins to move out down their own path that Inuyasha finally comes out of dreamland, shooting a mild glare with a rising blush of embarrassment at a certain redhead for putting him there in the first place.
"(Growl) Coraline, did you have to do that in front of that mangy wolf of all people?!"
He rushes to catch up as she playfully retorts,
"Hey, it was either that or the S-word!"
Ginta's POV
Mm, this dried meat is fantastic!
After dividing these strange packages between my friends, we began eating my mate's gift with gusto, our stomachs thanking us for finally receiving something to eat. While Kōga was keeping his all to himself, I convinced Hakkaku to join me in giving a few pieces from ours to the wolves so they didn't have to go on too hungry...
Gee, my mate's generosity must really be rubbing off on me...
Anyway, once those packets were gone, I began to notice the particular path we were all traveling on.
"Hey, if we keep going this direction..." Hakkaku was thinking the same as I:
"We'll hit that same river..."
Kōga notes between bites of his meat,
"Should be a river up a ways. We'll take a rest when we get there."
Crap! Sesshomaru might still be there!
We try to steer him away from heading to that area:
"No no, I think we should actually go on ahead!"
"He's right, let's forget the river!"
"Nah, this dried meat is making me thirsty."
Our next plan was to try and persuade a different position of the river:
"O-Okay, then let's go up the river a ways!"
"Or even, down the river a ways!"
That was when he got suspicious of our behaviour and asked,
"Why should we do that when there's good clean water up ahead?"
"Auh...good point."
"I guess..."
We couldn't offer a straight answer and folded, knowing full-well what would happen if we told Kōga about Sesshomaru...
(Flash)
"You morons! Why should I have to go out of my way to avoid Inuyasha's older brother?! (Smirk) He's just another mangy mutt. Bring him on; show me where he is!"
(Flash)
If not for our safety, then definitely his. Fighting with Inuyasha's one thing, but Sesshomaru could be a whole new story altogether.
With that in mind, I decide to give it one more go to lead him away from that direction, this time using a bit of physical force.
"Kōga, l-let's go that way; it's way better."
But he just shoves me off and furiously asks,
"How come you two are suddenly bent on ordering me around?"
"We're not, ordering you around. We're just, suggesting."
Hakkaku tries to back me up:
"W-We don't ask much. Just, this, once...?"
Good grief, he sounds weaker than I do...
Nevertheless, we both begin shoving our friend and leader a new way, but were shaken off, he finally having up to here with our oddness.
"Enough! I'm the leader here: I give the directions, and your job is to follow!"
Something about his tone made us feel braver, and Hakkaku shouts back,
"We don't wanna follow; that's why we're stopping you!" I add in emphasis,
"We don't wanna go there!"
"You don't wanna follow me? Then go back home to the mountains!"
...Did, he just say what I think he just said...?
Hakkaku was just as appalled as I was:
"How can you say such a thing to us?!"
"You don't understand how we feel, and you should know full-well why I can't return to the mountains, at least not at this present!"
"Since when do I care about you feel?!"
Uh...!...Kōga...
My throat clenched from how careless he sounded, but Hakkaku was able to choke out a response, feeling almost as tearful as I was.
"How, could you...!"
We then ran off from the area in a mix of anger and hurt...myself mostly hurt for another reason.
Does that mean, it's possible...he lied about accepting my choices?
Time Skip, No POV
We catch up now with the Inuyasha gang as evening drops in, they finding their way down a path leading into a new village, the atmosphere fairly calm and peaceful...until.
"...You possess it. I know you possess it!"
There came a deep voice from the surrounding, and everyone stops to look around for the source.
"What was...?"
"I dunno..."
"Who or what, they didn't sound friendly...Guh!"
(Crash)
Suddenly, a humongous demon with the appearance of a scorpion-like imp but pincers of a mantis shoots out from the trees!
"You possess the shard of the Shikon-no-Tama!"
Freeman exclaims,
"Look out, people, we got a live one!"
"Give it to me! Give me the Shikon-no-Tama shard!"
It moves a pincer claw towards Coraline, Besa and Shippo's direction, but while the fox demon cowers in fear on the young man's shoulder, the young redheaded woman quickly draws her ShatterSoul sword before unleashing its power against the beast.
"Haa-ah!"
(Slash)
An ice blue cut mark slices through the demon's pincer arm, taking out a good part and making the owner cringe back with a howl of pain. It then tries to attack again, but Miroku quickly stops it in its tracks with a sacred sutra to the forehead, forcing the demon to back up, before disintegrating like glass!
The monk prays to the winds do deter any lingering darkness, while Inuyasha checks up on his intended, receiving a smile and nod of assurance from her that she was fine...
"What strength..."
"Hm?"
The group turns around to see a small group of men from the village coming to greet them. The headman steps up and says,
"Our village has long been tortured by that demon, but no more thanks to your kind assistance."
He bows in thanks, and Miroku says to him,
"Lately, it seems there's been an increase in demon attacks all over."
"Well then, you must spend the night with us."
"How kind. We'll accept your generosity."
Shippo and Sango were glad that this time around, the invitation for lodging was more legitimate.
"For once, we can accept their hospitality without guilt."
"Especially since there's no reason for Miroku to do an unnecessary exorcism."
Said monk grimaces with a smile and mutters,
"Please, please," while Besa pats his back and comments,
"Can't really blame them for thinking that way, my friend..."
Meanwhile, Inuyasha wasn't feeling particularly enthusiastic about staying for the night.
"Well we're not gonna find Naraku in a village like this, not while it's under attack by demons."
Coraline leans up and pecks his cheek while chiding,
"Which means we'll just have to keep going in the morning, after we rest up and build some more energy."
Freeman adds with a shrug,
"Besides, if that bastard was here, I don't think any of us would be standin' pretty right now."
...Moving along, we now check back with Ginta and Hakkaku in a new part of the forest where the grass grew tall over the tree roots, trying another round of combing for food, their minds still mulling over the spat they had with their friend/leader.
"Stupid Kōga, I don't believe him."
Ginta was feeling especially down, his eyes welled up with sadness and his tone a bit hushed and quiet.
"...How can he be so cruel when we're just looking out for him...?"
Like, he promised to look out for me in my decision about Love...
Shaking his head to try and dismiss the negative thoughts, the wolf demon then reaches into a hole inside one tree, but winds up being startled by a dragonfly before settling into a disappointed expression. Hakkaku starts using the stick he grabbed in the treetops to fish for anything while commenting,
"He's way too rash, that's his problem..."
He comes up lucky with a fruit and has a bite...but immediately colours purple from the flavour and spits it out.
Taking a long blade of grass to chew on absentmindedly, Ginta voices more thoughts about Kōga's personality.
"He's arrogant because he's the leader of the tribe..."
"Maybe we should join Coraline, Freeman and their friends and serve under them."
Ginta spits out the grass and becomes excited about the prospect:
"Great plan! Coraline would never treat us like this, and I would be closer to my mate!"
There was just one little problem that Hakkaku suddenly remembers:
"...Oh yeah, I forgot about Inuyasha."
Ginta slouches over with a sweatdrop:
"You're right...and he's just as rough as Kōga."
Before they could ponder any further about the possibility of leaving Kōga for another team, the two wolf demons suddenly found themselves face-to-face with a dark purple-skinned, pot-bellied ogre demon! It lets out a growl before asking,
"Who are you? You're not from around here, are you?"
Ginta and Hakkaku became spooked and started dashing the other way, only for the latter to accidentally trip and fall down on the grass while the former kept going.
"Wait for me!"
"Every man for himself!"
Hakkaku quickly gets back up on his feet and dashes after his friend to chew him out on his cowardice.
"You're despicable, Ginta! Kōga would never turn his back on a comrade, let alone abandon him! Better yet, what if I had been Freeman?"
"You leave my mate out of this, and I ain't Kōga!"
"...Yeah, you're right: If he hadn't insisted on coming this far, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
Ginta wholeheartedly agreed on that spot of blame:
"You said it: All he thinks about is going after Naraku and nothing else!"
"I know he wants to get revenge, but still..."
"It didn't seem like it'd be that difficult until Naraku disappeared..."
They remember back to a conversation they had with Kōga regarding the situation drawn thanks to the mass slaughter committed by Kagura of most of the wolf demon tribe...
(Flash)
"(Hakkaku) Why don't we give on finding Naraku's castle?"
"(Kōga) What did you say?! Have you forgotten? Naraku slaughtered all our friends and family."
"(Hakkaku) How could we ever forget?"
"(Ginta) It's just that there's no way to find him..."
"(Kōga) I'll never forget...I'll beat Naraku to death! I have to...otherwise our fallen comrades, will never forgive me."
(Flash)
The two wolf demons finally stopped running as soon as they felt they were at a safe enough distance, thinking a bit less hostile and more seriously about what they've been doing for the last couple months.
"That's what this journey's been about: A vendetta for our lost comrades."
"Kōga's the leader of the tribes. He feels responsible for their deaths."
"He's rough and he's ruthless, but he cherishes all of his comrades..."
"He's saved our butts more than a couple times too...What do you wanna do?"
Hakkaku wasn't anymore sure than Ginta:
"What do you think?"
...Suddenly, a gust of wind blows by, carrying a familiar scent:
"Uh! I know that scent: It's Sesshomaru."
"And he's coming this way!"
Ginta becomes worried when he realizes,
"Oh no, Kōga's up ahead, remember?"
"They'll run into eachother!"
"And if they run into eachother, look out!"
He holds his face with a gasped yelp of terror, already imagining a worse-case scenario...
(Flash)
Basically, Kōga stands face-to-face with Sesshomaru and Rin as he jeers to the taller male,
"You disgusting mutt! Stop giving me that smug look!"
Sesshomaru glares slightly back, and the young girl points forward, uttering,
"Lord Sesshomaru, he's the one."
That would be all he needed to hear...before he starts to shift into his true demon form!
(Flash)
Ginta and Hakkaku both yell in a panic, before saying to one another,
"We have to do something!"
"Yeah, we gotta do something to keep them apart!"
"What'll we do, though?!"
"You tell me!"
Small Time Skip
Night enters to send the sun down for rest, and we now turn to the small group consisting of Sesshomaru, Rin, A-Un and Jaken, as they make their way through the forest down the dirt path that was heading for where we last saw those two wolf demons...A few moments later, both sides meet, the imp noting as he stopped,
"...Hm? Them again."
As it turned out, Hakkaku and Ginta decided on a plan involving using their bodies to create a roadblock.
"This road is closed; you cannot pass!"
"Turn around and take another route!" Jaken asks his lord,
"What'll we do if we can't take this route?" Rin was also curious:
"Lord Sesshomaru?"
His golden irises remain focused on the wolf demons several feet ahead as they introduced themselves.
"We're the personal assistants of Kōga, the great young leader of the Wolf Demon Tribe! I'm Ginta from the Fires of Hell!"
"And I'm Slayer Hakkaku!" The imp mutters to himself,
"That wasn't what they said earlier on," while the wolf demons punctuate,
"This road is closed! Turn around!"
Sesshomaru merely glares at them for a moment, before they become nervous, and try throwing some punches and kicks in the air as a show of strength.
"You got that?" "You got that?"
But that did little to nothing, so they switch to mock-fighting eachother...
"How was that?" "How was that?"
Again, no change of reaction...Deciding to bring out the big guns, Hakkaku seizes Ginta by his torso, before throwing him upward from the shoulder!
"Throwing Stars Attack!"
Ginta spins midair before shooting back down with a strong kick:
"Lightning Bolt Attack! Hyah!"
That one did show some power by breaking the ground beneath him, and the wolf demons face Sesshomaru.
"Well?" "Well?"
"(Narrows eyes) Make way."
Their faces pale, but they nonetheless continued to try and make their stand:
"Y-You go elsewhere! This path is closed!"
"N-Nothing to see here; move along!"
Jaken felt a sweatdrop of disbelief form as he thinks to himself,
Are they trying to get themselves killed?!
That was when the dog demon lord stepped forward and repeated his message:
"I told you to make, way."
Ginta and Hakkaku start panicking again, recalling Coraline's description about most of Sesshomaru's encounters with strangers he didn't like.
(Flash)
"...given the opportunity, his opponents are rarely left alive."
(Flash)
"(Shiver) I-I-It's all over, Ginta!"
That's when the other whispers to his friend,
"Hakkaku, we might have a chance of making it out alive if we drag Kōga away. What do you think?"
"Right! Let's get Kōga outta here!"
"...Somebody lookin' for me?"
The two wolf demons jump from the familiar voice that echoed in behind them, and turn around to see their friend/leader standing atop a ledge overlooking the piece of forest.
"Kōga!" His eyes turn to meet Sesshomaru's:
"Who are you? What do you want?"
He then hops down to his comrades and notes,
"His reeks like that filthy mutt Inuyasha..."
Rin inhales a startled breath, recognizing Kōga's appearance from way back when, and mutters Sesshomaru's name in rising nerves, prompting him to glance back at her while Hakkaku and Ginta move closer to their leader's sides.
"That's him. Inuyasha's older brother."
"Don't go picking a fight with him!"
Kōga's focus was on the taller male:
"So you're Inuyasha's older brother. Heh, 'cept you're not a half-demon."
Sesshomaru shifts his irises back on the other with a glare, making the wolf demon smirk slightly.
"What's this? Looks like a struck a nerve." His friends scold him in worry:
"Kōga, no!"
Meanwhile, the dog demon lord says to the younger ward,
"Stand back, Rin."
"Lord Sesshomaru!"
Jaken leads A-Un a couple steps backwards with the young girl on the latter's back, thinking frantically to himself,
Fools! They just signed their own death warrants!
Sesshomaru moves towards Kōga as Ginta and Hakkaku rush on their knees to hold one another in fear.
"(Both) It's all over!"
...But just before something of a fight between the stronger male demons could break out, they look towards the trees and bushes behind Kōga, sensing something approaching, being noneother than that same purple ogre demon from earlier!
"Give it to me! Give me the Shikon-no-Tama shards!"
Said wolf demon who owned such a prize jump-kicks the other in the eyes:
"Not a chance!"
The ogre winces and grunts in pain, stumbling blindingly towards Sesshomaru, much to Jaken's worry.
"Look out, my lord!"
But he was more than prepared, pulling out Tokijin and cutting the other demon down in two!
...As Kōga straightens up, he says causally to Sesshomaru,
"Thanks, but I could've handled him myself."
The dog demon merely glares neutrally at the wolf demon for a moment...before:
"Help me, Master Jaken!"
His attention would turn the opposite direction as a centipede demon comes to loom threateningly over Rin! The imp lets out a panicked yelp before trying to attack the demon with his staff, but fails and is knocked down hard to the ground in a slide.
"Master Jaken!"
The centipede demon closes in on the frightened girl, just as both Sesshomaru and Kōga sprint forward, the latter reaching first!
"No humans for you, worm!"
He kicks the other in its head hard, and thanks to the power of the jewel shards in his legs, the centipede demon disintegrates on impact!
...Kōga lands back down beside Rin and A-Un, before moving past Sesshomaru, who says to the other,
"Unnecessary interference."
"Feeling's mutual."
Jaken, Ginta and Hakkaku mutter,
"Okay..."
"Okay?" "Okay?"
Kōga puts an arm around each of his buddies and leads them down the path away from this area.
"Come on, fellas, we have a long way to go."
...Sesshomaru watches them leave, as the imp walks to his side to ask,
"A-Are you content with letting them go, my lord? Those very wolves of Kōga's are the ones who attacked Rin."
"If he tried the very same thing again today, I would've killed him."
Jaken looks at his lord with surprise, as the latter adds,
"Naraku is the only one I'm concerned with now. Unnecessary conflicts don't interest me."
With that, he begins moving on, leaving the imp to gape as Rin starts to pull the two-headed dragon demon along.
"...Hurry, Master Jaken, or you'll be left behind."
"Guh! Hey, wait for me!"
...We catch up with the three wolf demons now as they sat under the tree by the riverside to rest, and Kōga asks,
"So. Guessin' you two already ate your own packets of that dried meat Freeman gave us?"
"Mhm..."
Ginta smiles with a light blush and mutters to himself,
"I gotta remember to thank him soon. Hm, what'd be an appropriate gift...?"
"...You picked a good mate, Ginta."
"Huh?"
Said wolf demon looks up with surprise at Kōga, who smiles knowingly at his friend as he adds,
"He knows his way around provisions, that one. Might end up thankin' him myself."
"Uh...Thanks."
"Hmph...So, how 'bout explaining what you both were up to earlier."
Though a bit hesitant, Hakkaku starts the explanation off:
"We knew Sesshomaru was in the area and we were worried you'd start fighting with him if you met up."
"How come?"
Ginta mutters to the other nervous wolf demon,
"I'll, let you take a shot at that one..."
But Kōga had his answer ready:
"One day, I'll defeat that Inuyasha. But as of yet, I have no gripe with his older brother."
"Oh, I see..."
"You were actually worried over something stupid like that?"
Ginta argues,
"Yeah, but who's to say that Sesshomaru wouldn't have started a fight with you? Don't you understand?"
"Why would he?" Hakkaku answers,
"Well, you know, that human girl with him..."
"Oh, right, that human kid...Wonder why he'd let a little kid tag along with him like that?"
"Aum, well, I dunno..."
"Now if it was a pretty girl like Coraline, I'd understand bringing her along, but a young kid like that-"
Ginta and Hakkaku quickly slap their hands over Kōga's mouth, nervous of the possibility that the dog demon lord might still be near the area...The wolf demon leader quickly shoves them off and darts to a stand.
"Hey, cut it out! You guys don't think I'm strong enough to defeat Sesshomaru? Fine, then I'll go prove you wrong right now!"
But he wouldn't get very far in his mission when his friends pull him to a stop by his armour and legs.
"No, please no!"
"Don't go, stay here!"
Kōga tried to struggle, but couldn't budge out of the grip of his overprotective friends, so he just gave up with an exasperated sigh.
"Alright..."
Time Skip
Come the early morning rooster crow, we would turn back to that village our main travel group stayed at for the night, as they leave to continue on their journey...
"Looks like we're starting a good note."
But Inuyasha would disagree with Coraline when his nose picks up on certain scent.
"Huh? I don't like this smell..."
And come one whirl of a tornado later, we'd find Kōga standing in front of the redheaded female.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself, Kōga."
Inuyasha quickly meets at her left side to protect his intended:
"What do you want? Didn't we just get rid of you?"
"Relax, mutt. I'm just here to drop of somethin' to one of the other humans in your pack...Freeman?"
Said teen steps up from beside his brother to stand on Coraline's right.
"Yeah?"
"Ginta wanted me to give you this as a thank-you for the food yesterday."
Kōga then pulls out a small, rounded jade stone attached to a leather string.
"It's not much, but this was what he could come up with at the last minute."
"Uh...Oh wow..."
Freeman takes the simple gift into his hands, and looks at the gem with a fond smile as it sparkled a little.
"It's beautiful...The simplicity is what I like; nothin' over the top. (Looks up) Tell him thanks, and I'm glad I could help him and you guys keep your appetites in check."
"Sure. See ya."
With that, the wolf demon takes off in a new whirlwind...As they watched him go, Miroku comments,
"Kōga sure has changed since we first met him..." Sango adds,
"I'd say some of the influence is thanks to Coraline...but I think Freeman may have a part to play too."
Said teens turn to the demon slayer with curious expressions:
"Really?"
"You think?"
Besa quirks with a slight smirk,
"It's become more recent after you and Ginta mated, brother. Kōga likely knows better than to piss off his comrade and their mate."
Freeman blushes furiously, and Inuyasha scoffs while Shippo comments,
"Inuyasha still has alot of changing and growing up to do."
The dog demon in turn would grind his knuckles on the fox demon's temples:
"Oh really?! Now whose got alot of growin' up to do?!"
"No, no, let me go, not the ears; they're my best feature!"
Coraline rolls her eyes at the display before scooping Shippo into her arms out of Inuyasha's hold, then leans back into the latter's chest with a smile at both.
"Come on, you two. Let's get along, 'kay?"
Meanwhile, Freeman finishes tying on his new gift from Ginta onto his wrist like a bracelet so it was sitting above the Seven Light Crystal bracelet, looking at the new accessory with a loving and intent smile...
And as he waited with Hakkaku and several regular wolves on a large incline for their friend/leader to return, Ginta was looking down at a matching jade bracelet he fastened onto his wrist guard, lips upturned in a smile mirroring his mate.
...Hope you liked it, Freeman.
Hakkaku then spots the returning wolf demon and waves him over:
"Kō~ga! Hey, up here!"
Kōga just speeds on past them, calling over his shoulder,
"Quit sittin' around dawdlin'! Today's the day we're gonna find Naraku!"
Ginta and Hakkaku look to one another for a moment...before smiling and rising to their feet at the ready to join the third.
"You heard 'im. Let's get going."
"We'll follow Kōga wherever he leads us!"
They break out into a run after their friend/leader with the wolves trailing behind, calling after him with upbeat attitudes.
"Hey!"
"Wait up, would ya, Kōga!"
And with the blue-eyed wolf demon up front, the group from the Eastern Tribe rushes on down a new path along the mountainside overlooking the forests, continuing their own journey that intertwined others...