Chapter 123: Hijiri Island's Barrier, Purity's Aquatic Reflection
A new night in Sengoku Japan has fallen...
Cast your eyes to the edge of a dense forest made from oak and beech, silent and tranquil in an almost oblivious manner to the troubles these lands have been facing since the day that innocently-disguised jewel of legend had been severed into pieces, now near completion save a few brave fragments still resisting their eventual re-fusion...
That quiet is suddenly broken by the release of a magenta-purple energy that bursts from the tree canopy, charging out of the forest in a high curve to crash onto the surface of a small island in the middle of a large lake, its light dancing on the earth and highlighting it for all to see...And in the distance, stood the infamous Mount Hakurei...
Sitting on the other side of the body of water was a village dominated by the fishing trade, and everyone who occupied this populace would rush out of their homes to see what the matter was, including a young boy wearing a dull yellow haori with a blue overvest and gray hakama, his short black hair tied back in a topknot, and his parent, a man of middle age with balding black hair also tied back, wearing a muted mahogany haori under a moss green overvest, and light tan hakama.
"Father: It struck Hijiri Island!"
"Yes...You must stay here, son."
"But what about you?"
"I must check Saint Hakushin's temple and see that it's safe."
The older male turns to rush back to one of the huts to gather what he needed for the journey to the island, and out of concern for him, his son would follow after...
Inside, we see the man open a case containing an ancient staff made with a golden symbol up top shaped similarly to a cross, but with a circle connecting the four points near the pointed tips, and a hollow diamond shape making up the middle. Knowing his worried son was watching, the he explains the purpose of this object.
"This is the staff our ancestors were entrusted with by the wise one himself."
"Please, Father, take me with you!"
"Shintarou...return home at once."
"But Father..."
Turning to face the younger male, the older says to him gently but firmly,
"Understand: If anything should happen to me, only you, the son of the headman, will be able to carry on as the protector of Hijiri Island."
With that in the wind, the father/son pair walk over to the docked boats, and the revealed headman settles himself into one before starting his rowing toward the distant mound of earth.
"Rest at ease, Shintarou. I shall be home by sunrise."
The young boy wasn't feeling as confident, watching his parental figure becoming smaller and smaller the farther they sailed from shore.
"...Father..."
Time Skip
We now jump ahead to around mid-morning by a river cutting through the forests near the proclaimed holy mountain, as Inuyasha examined the clear waters with his eyes and nose to try and find the specific scent the Naraku Demon Puppet emitted upon its destruction in that ruined castle...
"What do you think, Inuyasha?" He replies reluctantly to Miroku,
"...Haauh. This isn't it: It didn't smell marshy like this place."
The others with him (excluding Sango and Kilala) hum in slight disappointment as the dog demon went into thought over what he was tracking.
Naraku's Demon Puppet carried the scent of water and a fragrance with relations to the Holy Lotus...
...And it was pure, like Mount Hakurei.
Coraline, whom today wore a white tank-top, a red/black/white unbuttoned, short-sleeved flannel shirt, dark blue jeans and her combat boots, looks up at her Will O' Wisp companion wistfully floating around with a careful eye...before saying with her own sigh,
"Lumos isn't sensing anything off either...We should move onto another source of water."
Shippo, who was perched on her right shoulder (the left occupied by the strap of her sword's sheath and both straps of her satchel), wonders aloud,
"You think Sango and Kilala are okay?"
Freeman, wearing an outfit comprised of a light gray muscle tank-top, black skinny jeans with a rip in the left knee, and his monochrome high-top sneakers - contrasting his twin's clothing of a dark green buttoned-up, short-sleeved shirt, dark grey khaki shorts and brown converse sneakers - looks toward the distant Mount Hakurei with a neutral frown.
"They should be as long as they don't overdo it...but if I can be perfectly honest, I have doubts they're gonna be anymore successful than any of us have been..."
Besa nodded in agreement, following his brother's gaze with everyone else, the collective mood falling close to a hateful distrust...
Panning upward the high peak of said mountain near the gigantic tree, we see the twin-tailed cat demon flying as close to the structure of nature as possible, with the brunette demon slayer aboard her back.
"...Mount Hakurei."
...Unfortunately, they only get so close, before the sacred barrier blocks Kilala's way, even with her resistant struggles. She and Sango are thrown back harshly, barely landing smoothly on the ground, the former growling in a whimpered fashion from the pain felt by the purification powers laced in the mountain's shield. Sango gently pats her compainion's fur with an expression of guilt:
"Kilala, it hurts you too to try and go past the barrier, doesn't it? Sorry to force you...I wish I had a choice."
...After a while, the pair were forced to give up, and would meet with the rest of the group walking between the forest edge and riverside.
"Up here!"
Inuyasha addresses the slayer by name, before Coraline asks,
"I think I already know my answer, but, did you girls have any luck?"
"No good. The mountain barrier, is even stronger than before."
Miroku wasn't surprised:
"I thought so. We'll never be able to break through it."
Besa berates the monk's negativity:
"Come on now, my friend, nothing is ever truly impossible. The pathway is merely well-hidden from us; we just need to uncover it."
His brother nods in agreement, wondering with a finger under his chin,
"What's strange is that the barrier got that much stronger in that short of time...That sounds like too quick of a paranoia jump to be normal. It's almost as of that hunk of rock knows we're trying to break in, and I mean us specifically..."
Locking his green irises with his sister's blue, he adds,
"Maybe your theory from before's not off after all, sis...Maybe that holy barrier's got a dirty secret to hide."
"Yes, well, I just find it extremely difficult to believe any place is truly avoidant of chaos..."
Inuyasha concludes with a fold of his arms,
"Well one thing's for sure: Naraku's been close by, there's no question about it, which means, we'll just have to check every waterway around the mountain."
...We return now to the aquaculture village sitting near the lake of Hijiri Island, as the young boy Shintarou tries to convince three of the local fisherman to allow a ride on one of their boats.
"Please, take me with you!"
"No can do. You know you have a duty to take over as headman while your father's away from the village. We cannot do anything that would place you in danger."
That wasn't Shintarou's main concern at the moment:
"Father has been gone for two weeks already! He must have ran into trouble on Hijiri Island!"
The second fisherman reminds the child,
"Remember, boy: The only ones allowed on the sacred Hijiri Island are the acting village headman, which means your father or yourself."
"Alright, then just let me use one of your boats. I'll go there by myself."
The third man of the trio pipes in:
"Are you certain that your father didn't do anything to raise the wrath of Saint Hakushin before he set out for the temple?"
The eldest male states,
"We can't have the village cursed because of his wrongdoings."
Such suspicions would stir some anger within young Shintarou before he defended his elder.
"My father has dedicated his life to fulfilling his duties as headman! He would never do anything to harm the village!"
Even so, the fishermen could not find it in themselves to act upon the young boy's wishes.
"Nevertheless, we would be punished if we went there. Hijiri Island is scared ground."
Such a reply would make Shintarou look to the ground in frustration and disappointment...
"Hey!"
He then looks up to see Inuyasha and his group walk over to meet them, having caught the blurb about the island in the middle of the lake and its holy stance.
"We heard you mention something about scared ground." Miroku asks,
"Would you mind telling us what it is you're talking about?"
...Moving away from the shoreline, we find everyone of our travel group, Shintarou and his three elder sisters, Hana, Getsu and Yuki - the latter trio having long black hair in their own individual styles, and wearing contrasting-coloured kimonos of pink/blue, sea green/orange, and light blue/cream stripes - sitting within the latter four's home as they discussed the history of Hijiri Island.
"See out there, near the center of the lake? There's this island which is forbidden to common folk. The duty of village headman has been passed down through the males of my family. Only these select few have been allowed to set foot on the island and tend to Saint Hakushin and his temple."
Miroku hms,
"Saint Hakushin, you say?"
"Yes. He was a wise monk who lived over a hundred years ago...He became a living Buddha and is enshrined on the island."
Inuyasha could help but comment with some skepticism,
"A living Buddha?"
Our own young monk makes note of the information with a more knowledgeable air.
"It's a phenomenon called Sokushinbutsu: A monk of great virtue mediates and fasts until his death. Eventually, his body mummifies and it is then it attains nirvana."
"So we're talkin' about a dried-up old prune of a monk..."
"Watch it. You might regret that."
Coraline rolled her eyes at the two men and their contrasting opinions, while also shaking off an eeriness felt from the description of Sokushinbutsu.
That sounds both fascinating and creepy at the same time...
Makes the Egyptian mummification process sound more favourable; at least you'd be dead beforehand.
Shaking her thoughts away, the redhead then clears her throat and gently asks,
"So, Shintarou, you mentioned that your father's been absent for a fortnight after leaving to see that the Saint's shrine was still in tact, correct?"
"Right. He's been gone for over two weeks. It started when a strange light fell on the island. Father said he was concerned about the temple."
Besa asks,
"What sort of strange light?"
But Inuyasha was already drumming up a reasonable conclusion:
"What else? It had to have been Naraku."
Yuki takes her younger brother's hands into hers with a chiding expression.
"Shintarou, you cannot solve this on your own."
"I know well, older sister, but father always told me to take care of things if anything had happened to him."
Freeman comments with a brow raised,
"Really? Doesn't seem like everybody else in this village is as confident...And what was that curse nonsense those fishermen were babbling about?"
Slapping his right palm on the hardwood in a spout of anger, Shintarou argues strongly,
"The villagers are mistaken! Father protected this village, so there has to be a reason for the failure of his return!"
Yuki mutters with a concerned frown,
"Yes. My sisters and I are equally worried about our father."
Gestu and Hana add,
"And the villagers fear there may be a curse..."
"We don't know what to do."
Hearing all that she needed to, Coraline kneels down beside her dog demon lover and says to him while lightly squeezing his left arm,
"We should investigate this, Inuyasha. This may be the closest new lead we have about our current endeavors."
Placing his right hand over hers to squeeze back, he agrees to the plan, also feeling his suspicions rise.
"Yeah. Something doesn't sound right about that island."
Shintarou was surprised to hear their willingness to assist:
"You'll go then? You would do that for me?" Shippo replies with a smile,
"Of course we will. It's only natural for you to worry about your father after all."
"Thank you, friends! I will guide you across the lake to the island. The area is always shrouded in mist, and it is dangerous if you do not know your way there."
Aware that this was the only option had in finding out what happened to the original headman, Shintarou's older sisters allow the plan to take its course, but not without Yuki and Getsu requesting,
"Please take good care of our dear younger brother."
"Our brother Shintarou is the only male born to our family."
Miroku replies sympathetically,
"That must be a very deep concern for you."
But based on the knowing and slightly exasperated expressions on Inuyasha, Freeman and Besa's faces, this brand of sympathy from the monk would have an ulterior motive, made plain when he suddenly takes Hana's hands into his in an endearing manner.
"If you're willing to oblige me, I would be more than happy to help you and your sisters bear some male offspring."
(...BONK)
"Gauh!"
Unfortunately for Miroku, his fantasies would be shot to hell thanks to a certain aggravated demon slayer, who whacks him on the head with the tip of her Hiraikotsu, while the rest of the group just sighs, averting their eyes from the more or less typical scene. Shintarou's older sisters were left shocked, before Hana mutters uncertainly,
"I dunno. Are you certain we can put our brother's safety in your hands?"
Freeman waves his hand in a casual dismissal and replies,
"Eh, just ignore his garbage," while Besa replies more seriously with a gentle smile,
"Disregarding Miroku's words just now, I can assure you that Shintarou will be safe in our capable hands."
That brought a calmer wave of relief for the trio of ladies...
The group then returns to the shoreline where the fishing boats are anchored at to speak with the men from before about lending them a mode of transportation...And by 'talk', Inuyasha used slightly (by his standards) aggressive means to convince them to hand over a boat, shoving them to the ground with an intimidating expression.
"Any complaints, men?"
"N-No." "Not at all!"
Coraline lightly slaps his arm with a scolding expression:
"Inuyasha, please, they're already jitterish as it is; let's not prolong the feeling!"
She turns to calmly say to the men sitting on the sand,
"Excuse us. We only mean to borrow one of your boats for a while."
The dog demon adds with a fold of his sleeves,
"Don't worry. We'll bring it back when we're done."
With that said, the group would soon be out on the water in one of the boats, with Coraline, Shintarou and Sango sitting at the back, the twins squeezed in the middle, and Miroku and Inuyasha up front, the latter rowing the floating wood along across the water with a long pole. Shippo would find himself perched over the side near the dog demon with a sick expression (for he was never one for aquatic travel...), while Kilala was curled up in her human partner's lap trying to fight her own discomfort, and Lumos was fluttering along ahead near the front tip of the boat, acting as a guiding light through the thick mist.
...Sango comments after a bit,
"It must be the aura from Hijiri Island. It's so strong, Kilala isn't even transforming."
"To~ li~ve is to die...
To~ di~e is to live.
Saint Hakushin beneath the earth,
Mount Hakurei will return to Hijiri..."
Intrigued and slightly frightened by the words in Shintarou's singing, Coraline asks him as the rowing stick comes to splash down into the deep again,
"What, is that song?"
"It's a children's song that's been sung around these parts for a long time. Even when he was alive, Saint Hakushin had wondrous spiritual powers. They say he saved many people of this region."
"Is that right?"
The young boy points ahead to a familiar distant rock formation:
"Look. That's Mount Hakurei in the distance. At the base of the mountain, there is a place of purification."
"Place of purification?"
"It's a temple built by the wise one himself. If you pray there, they say all of your sins will be absolved."
That description triggered the memory of an old conversation Coraline recalled having with a certain priestess not so long ago.
That sounds like the area where Kikyō meant to go for that deceased bandit, the one whose actions would send Onigumo further down the path to becoming Naraku...
...But she won't be able to go there now. Not while Hakurei's shielding itself like a paranoid freak.
She looks down at her combat knife's hilt with a distant expression, specifically, the white ribbon tied upon it...Meanwhile, Inuyasha thought of the holy mountain with only disdain.
Mount Hakurei again...
"You know, there's something that's been bugging me: Who placed the barrier on the mountain in the first place? I mean, I would say it was Saint Hakushin, but, I dunno...Something about that doesn't sound correct to me..."
Sango agreed with Coraline's uncertainty:
"Yes. Someone or something had to have risen the scared barrier...Strange, though: It's the opposite of anything Naraku would use."
"I disagree."
Surprised eyes fall on Besa's form, who says while folding his arms and closing his eyes with a thoughtful frown,
"Based on everything we have learned and faced regarding Naraku's abilities and schemes, it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to try using something typically portrayed as good for something bad."
Miroku asks the young man with cornrow black hair,
"But how could someone as evil as Naraku possibly have holy power?"
"Just because a power can be holy doesn't mean it's necessarily used for the greater good all the time. After all..."
Besa opens his eyes to reveal glaring dark green irises outlined with coco brown.
"The Shikon-no-Tama has power, but you name me an instance from its history pages where its so-called pure power hasn't backfired on the individual holding it, good or bad."
...No argument is followed, the dark-skinned male's words bouncing around in everyone's heads in consideration, Coraline's especially.
He and Sango both make good points: While the barrier isn't something you would expect from someone as black-hearted as Naraku, at the same time, it falls into the brand of unexpected that's become typical of the bastard half-demon.
...And then we still don't know alot about Saint Hakushin aside from becoming a 'living Buddha'. Was that really his choice? What were his emotions at the time? And most importantly...was he truly as holy as legend says?
The redhead would have little time to ponder the notion, when the mist gives way to the coming island ahead past some protruding rocks...
"That's Hijiri Island. Be careful: There are jagged rocks everywhere. If the boat strikes an outcropping-"
Shintarou would be cut off in his warning when the boat suddenly jerks from crashing against a rock underneath the wooden belly, and it scrapes a large enough hole in the mode of transport for it to start leaking in water! Looking at the waterspout, Inuyasha mutters sarcastically,
"Yeah, thanks for the warning," before scooping up the boy and his lover and leaps out towards shore...
That left the others to sink with the boat, until the twins and Miroku were chest-deep in the water, and Shippo found himself sprawled on top of the monk's head with his tail covering the other's face.
"Did I, forget to mention I can't swim?"
"Come on, Shippo, move it; how am I suppose to see?"
Besa looks behind himself to watch the tip of the boat drop into the blue, and sighs while grumbling,
"Guess we're not goin' back that way," and Freeman replies,
"Aw don't sweat it, bro. We'll figure it out when we figure it out."
...The attention of all three men is then drawn to the one end of Sango's Hiraikotsu, she standing atop the bank of the island.
"Oh." "That's helpful." "Eh, I'm cool swimmin'."
Once they were pulled out of the water, the slayer asks,
"Are you guys alright?"
Shippo rolls off of Miroku's head with a seasick expression still plastered on his face, while the latter smiles gratefully at the woman before him.
"You saved me, Sango."
She smiles back, and the twins mutter to themselves with secretive smiles and head shakes,
"Love birds..."
...Moving ahead of those five, we find Inuyasha still carrying Coraline and Shintarou while jumping ahead to try and enter the grounds inland, but found himself facing some minor resistance thanks to another barrier similar to the one protecting the distant mountain.
"Rgh, here we go!...It's like the barrier around Mount Hakurei...Not as strong though, by the looks of it."
The young woman with blue irises nodded with her own grit, feeling the weight of the shield as well.
Mph, it does have the same purifying quality...but certainly not as hostile...
Still, even here, my prejudism towards the concepts of pure and impure is felt.
Landing on the ground, the three would find themselves standing in a large, vast field of purple blossoms of similar shape to that of the Sacred Lotus, scattering dozens upon dozens of pillow-soft petals into the atmosphere...While Shintarou and Coraline formed awed expressions, Inuyasha's was firm and absolute.
"Now I'm sure of it. (Narrows eyes) It's these flowers: They smell just like Naraku's Demon Puppet."
The young boy's irises dilate with worry when he realizes,
"There never used to be flowers like these growing around here..."
By this time, everyone else had caught up, Sango and Freeman carrying Kilala and Shippo respectively. The second former asks the fox demon with mild concern dancing in his jade green irises outlined by a light coco brown,
"Holdin' up okay, kiddo?"
"Y-Yeah, sure, I'm great..."
The demon slayer notes as the twin-tailed cat demon emits a weak mew,
"The scent is overpowering Kilala too..."
Besa moves to lean on his knees to get a closer look at the blossoms, humming,
"Well, they're definitely not the Sacred Lotus, but...their fragrance and petals are similar. Must be a hybrid species able to grow on land...but it's exactly the same as the fragments of flower that fell from the destroyed demon puppet."
Inuyasha nodded in acknowledgement to the other young man's observations, feeling the hairs of his skin slowly standing on end in a bewaring fashion.
This is all a little too convenient...Why would Naraku do this?
Why would he create a demon puppet merely for the Shichinintai to escape?
And then leave the scent of these flowers...to lure me onto sacred grounds...
"(Ghostly moan)"
The dog demon snaps out of his thoughts to the sound of Lumos emitting cries of exclamation indicating he found something, and turns left to see the orb of light bobbing up and down excitedly.
"Huh? What is it? You sense something?"
Taking that as a green light to show, the Will O' Wisp darts ahead of the group a ways, and began circling around a spot in the misty fog...that dissipates, to reveal a shrine! Shintarou would recognize the structure right away:
"It's the temple of the wise one!"
He rushes onward, noticing the considerable damage in its walls and rooftop:
It's destroyed. But why?
(Trip)
"Hah! Awah!"
His foot then gets caught on something hidden in the flowers, and the boy falls forward to the ground...Rising to his knees, he pivots his body to see what the object was...and becomes spooked in seeing the fresh skeleton of a human, wearing some very familiar clothing.
"Uh!...F-Father's clothing...Huaaaaah! It's my father!"
Coraline immediately took the initiative and rushed over to Shintarou to hold him to her torso, shielding his vision from the horrifying sight...Everyone else approached in a walk to the area, looking at the skeleton with grim expressions set, as Miroku and Inuyasha discuss what must have happened.
"Your father came to this island a mere two weeks ago..."
"He shouldn't have been reduced to bones in such a short time..."
"Perhaps one of Naraku's demons did this."
"Yeah. Now I'm almost positive of it."
Freeman, who was still holding Shippo in his arms, wonders,
"Only question though is why." Inuyasha questions back,
"What is it that makes this island so special?"
...That's when the young woman with red hair sensed it:
"Gh! Near the shrine: Shikon-no-Tama shards!"
At the same time Lumos's body began emitting that danger alerting red and blue...static electricity began sparking from inside the hanging door, accompanied by a light cerulean!
"...Damn! It's about time you showed up, making me wait so long in here."
(...Pow)
That spurt of power would then burst through the doorway on a straight course for the group, forcing them to scramble to the sides to dodge...Once the electrical sparks died down, Inuyasha growled ahead at the figure seen between the scattered petals, they holding their halberd sword over their shoulder at ready.
"This place makes even a human like me feel sick. It must be even more trying for a half-demon like you, right, Inuyasha?"
Miroku quickly puts a name to the face:
"Bankotsu!"
Inuyasha curses to himself mentally:
Damn! So it was a trap!
"Did you do all this, Bankotsu?"
"Keh, don't look at me: I was only told to wait here, nothing more than that."
As the zombie denies any involvement in the attack on the island, Coraline spots a familiar glow coming from the middle of Banryū.
Oh, crap!
"Inuyasha, take heed: His sword has the shards of the jewel the band stole from me embedded in it!"
That gave the dog demon another reason to snarl at Bankotsu, who smiled smugly and replied,
"That's right. It got scarred during our little match from the other day, so I used them to repair it."
The zombie raises his halberd straight, before swinging it upward as he charges and exclaims,
"Now, let's finish this, Inuyasha!"
Unsheathing Tessaiga, the dog demon calls back while sprinting forward,
"Kuh, this time I'm gonna cut you to pieces!"
He tries to land an attack, but it only connects with the flower-heavy dirt while Bankotsu leaps up high before coming back down in a counter.
"I'll be the one doin' the damage, half-demon!"
The blades meet in a clash, which Inuyasha was unable to struggle against for long, before he's forced to hop back from the power, giving Banryū a turn at connecting with the ground...Sango and Miroku take note of their friend's disadvantage:
"Bankotsu has the upper hand!"
"Because of the Shikon-no-Tama shards in his halberd..."
Shoving back against another clash of swords, Inuyasha exclaims,
"Dammit...I'm sick of you! Wind Scar!"
...
...
...But contrary to what usually happens in that particularly determined thrust of the dog fang blade...nothing happens...!
"Wha...What happened...?" Coraline mutters in bated shock just as high as her lover's,
"The Wind Scar...It, isn't here...!"
"Beware, chile: Beware of the air of this place!"
Uh! Rosiagnes!...Beware of the air?...Oh, of course: The pureness!
Bankotsu's lips curve into a smirk as he drew his own similar conclusions.
"Now it makes sense: No wonder he told me to fight you here!"
He charges against Inuyasha again, sparking up another contest of strength between his Banryū and the latter's Tessaiga...As their fight dragged on, everyone on the sidelines was becoming concerned by the drop of power from the dog demon.
"Why can't he use the Wind Scar?" Coraline replies after Sango,
"It has something to do with the air...That's what, Rosiagnes, my ancestor, warned me just now."
Miroku catches onto what the redheaded woman was referring to:
"Uh! Of course: The Tessaiga's demonic aura is being purified by Hijiri Island. Furthermore, no matter how evil he may be, Bankotsu was still a mere human in life."
Besa finishes,
"Which means he's not being as heavily effected by the barrier of this place as Inuyasha is!"
Freeman forms a sour expression and exclaims,
"Auh, no fair! That's gotta count as cheating somewhere!"
The zombie didn't seem to think so, as he swiftly continued to swing blow after blow against the dog demon, who could only fight to block...
"Inuyasha! You're so much weaker than the last time we fought eachother! (Clang) Surrender and die! I don't wanna stay on this miserable island anymore than I have to!"
On that note, he throws the other back hard, causing Inuyasha to go sliding headfirst through the dirt and blossoms, before barely scrambling out of the way of the giant halberd, only to be forced to block the incoming blade again with his own!
...Shintarou found himself shaking in terror from the sight, prompting Coraline to hug the young boy closer while watching her lover with her own expression of worry.
Inuyasha...
"Someone has to be putting up this purifying barrier, I know it!"
Miroku looks around for his answer...before fixating his eyes back on the ruined shrine, noticing that Lumos had begun circling the structure again, not letting up on his warning glow.
Does he sense...?...Just as I thought: It's over there.
Meanwhile, young Shintarou continued to gaze at the battle before him with fear in his eyes, particular focus being on the gritted struggle in the dog demon...He then forms a determined expression, and turns to rush towards the shrine, much to Coraline's dismay.
"Uh! Shintarou?!"
As he ran along the expanse of purple blossoms, the boy calls out,
"Saint Hakushin: Please come to Inuyasha's assistance!"
...But when he got into the trashed room, he became momentarily distracted by a familiar object thrust into the side of the center altar.
"That staff...It's father's!"
"...Shintarou?"
His ears fall deaf to the sound of Coraline's approaching voice, when he clues into the missing vital piece of the altar.
"Guh! Saint Hakushin...He isn't here. He's gone!"
"What?! Gone how?!"
"H-His body was enshrined here...!"
The redhead went into thought over this new development:
...Okay, now this is getting more complicated than it needs to...or is it?
Hang on...Uh! Now I understand!
She and Shintarou rush back outside as the other people currently not fighting shield themselves from a gust of power billowing from the fight between the zombie mercenary and dog demon.
"Miroku! The body of Saint Hakushin is gone! I believe Naraku may have pilfered it!"
"Someone has stolen the body?...Then it wasn't Saint Hakushin that put up the barrier."
Kilala emits another pained growl to meld with Shippo's nauseated groan, courtesy of the overwhelming energies of the island...
If it wasn't Saint Hakushin, then who did put up the barrier around Hijiri Island?
Back in the fight between Inuyasha and Bankotsu, the former tries to thrust his blade against the latter, who jumps out of the way, before coming back down to land a cut across the dog demon's arm!
(Slash)
"Gaaah!"
Everyone gasps with worry, and the ladies exclaim Inuyasha's name, he rising onto his feet while cursing himself for allowing the zombie access to an opening...
Attention then turns back to the empty, devastated shrine, as Coraline and Miroku - who took the fox demon into his own arms upon Freeman's request so the latter could prep himself with his long hammer - discuss a new possibility...
"So Miroku, what do you think?"
"Well, all this time, I was convinced that Saint Hakushin was the one who put up the barrier."
Hearing this, Shintarou tried to rush to the Buddha Incarnate's defense:
"Barrier?...What are you saying?! Saint Hakushin was someone who saved people! Why would he put up a barrier?"
The young monk calmly explains:
"Remember the strange light you and your father saw, Shintarou? It was a demon named Naraku."
"...Naraku?"
"Yes. I'm certain that your father had tried to fight Naraku to protect the Saint."
...Stepping forward slowly to unhook the staff of his deceased parent from the altar, the young boy looks down at the object as he tried to imagine what must have happened...He then mutters solemnly,
"...Then that skeleton...really was my father."
"Naraku wanted to use Saint Hakushin's immense spiritual power. That's why he came here to the island...and I'm guessing that when your father discovered that, he tried to stop him."
"Hrm...That is the duty of the village headman...So he didn't die because he was cursed."
Shintarou turns to look at Miroku:
"That's right, isn't it?" The young monk smiles a little and chides,
"Of course," making the other smile in relief for his father's spirit...Coraline then shifts the topic back onto current events.
"In that case, we have two questions to solve: Where is Saint Hakushin's body now...and who created the barrier?"
Was it Naraku using the Saint's robbed powers?...Or...could it be...
Cutting back briefly to the battle outside, we see that Inuyasha was still having trouble landing a hit against Bankotsu...
"One last strike! Hrrrrrrraaaah!"
The zombie comes leaping forward to try and slice the dog demon in two, who jumps backwards to dodge, causing another big upturn of grass, dirt and rock...
"This is the end for you, Inuyasha!"
...Thankfully, this was where some of our group began lending their swordsman friend a hand, as evident by the swinging giant boomerang and hammer-thrown charge-bolt through the ground, which both simultaneously force Bankotsu to halt in his next attack!
"Guh!"
With a new confidence, Inuyasha slices through the scattered blossoms to move in for a new round...
Miroku then came running out of the ruined shrine while calling over to the battlefield,
"Inuyasha! We just need you to hold him off for a little longer!"
The monk moves until he was standing in the center of the entire island, planting his staff firmly into the ground...
"Now, if I can find the core of the barrier. (Glances down) Shippo, I need to use your powers."
He then rubs the fox demon's forehead with a few of his sacred sutras, before throwing them straight forward like a pitcher's fastball.
Shippo's demonic power has been transferred into these charms...It should produce a reaction.
He would get his wish, when one sutra bounces off a specific area up ahead that emitted a dark pink-magenta barrier, disintegrating the paper!
"They've been purified! It's over there!"
Gently placing the young fox demon down onto the flowerbed, Miroku grabs his staff and rushes over to the concentrated point, before thrusting his staff downward onto the barrier.
(Bzzzzzt...)
Static resistance emits...before a golden, club-like weapon of sorts with tipped points appears! Coraline, Shintarou and Lumos hurry to his side to see for themselves, the youngest exclaiming,
"I've seen that before! It's an altar ornament Saint Hakushin used!"
"So, this is it..."
...But before he was close to breaking the barrier surrounding the object, it pushes Miroku back.
Shintarou would then offer up his own strength:
"I'll use this staff the Saint once owned, and we'll try it together!"
Coraline mutters Miroku's name...who smiles at the young boy's determination and replies,
"Let's do it, Shintarou."
They're then seen standing before the defiant mini barrier, readying their staffs for a double attack, while Coraline stood on standby, her hand inching for her combat knife.
I dunno if it can cut through something like that...but it's a decent Plan C if this doesn't work...
The young boy whispers to himself,
"Give me strength to succeed, father..."
(...CLANG)
Both ends of the staffs connect with the energy of the barrier, and this time, a strong wind accompanies the static power trying to throw interlopers away...But they would not be enough to stop Miroku and Shintarou's combined perseverance, and the shield shatters, taking the mysterious flowers with it!
Sango and Besa exclaim as they watch the field of purple fade away with the breeze,
"The flowers have disappeared!"
...Inuyasha then felt a familiar throb from his sword, and watched as a vortex of wind began to swirl around the blade.
The Wind Scar is back! The barrier has broken!
Back over a ways, Miroku, Coraline and Shintarou crowd around the impressed ground where the strange golden object laid.
"This ornament must be what created the barrier."
"But, this vajra was locked in the temple..."
The redhead wonders to herself as opposed to the verbal comments of the men,
Does this mean...the Saint could be in cahoots with Naraku?
Cutting back to Inuyasha and Bankotsu, the latter holds his Banryū over his shoulder while scoffing with a smirk,
"Don't think this'll save you, Inuyasha, because as you can see, I'm feeling much stronger too, now that the disgusting barrier is gone. Now that the barrier's gone and our powers have returned to normal..."
He gestures a few intimidating swings with his halberd:
"Let's settle this once and for all, Inuyasha!"
The dog demon could only glare back with a growl in his teeth, both aggravated and increasingly wary of the new piece of the battle he'll have to fight his way through to survive another day and get one step closer to his eventual goals...