Chapter 128: A Mercenary's Hellfire
Following the dozens of magma tubes down into that underground metalwork shop owned by the Shichinintai member whose heart burned with as much fire as his brand of attacks, we find the said zombie loading numerous cylinder-based weapons onto a wagon, preparing to head out and seek retaliation against a certain hot-blooded wolf demon.
As he bent down to check the stability of the mystery weapons on the wagon, Renkotsu grits his teeth while seething,
I should've mounted this on 'im as well.
His mind fills with memories of the recent battle's last leg, from when Kōga drove Ginkotsu's torso down into the ground from the air after twisting free from the steel threads, to when the latter invoked a self-destruction sequence, hitting everyone within close range, and finally, the aftermath when Renkotsu himself was laying on the ground, battered and bruised, before deciding to use his newly dead mercenary brother's jewel shard for himself to heal his more severe injury, not wanting to submit to Bankotsu...
Closing his thoughts, he gazes up at an old copper pot he used to craft the parts for the deceased mecha zombie, affirming his views.
"You can't accomplish anything if you're dead...Isn't that right, Ginkotsu?"
Soon enough, he would be pulling the wagon out of the underground up from the mouth of a cave sitting right to a waterfall...
Getting a better look at Renkotsu now that he was in the sunlight, we see him dressed in a new outfit - save his light blue bandana - after his old one was trashed by a combination of Kōga's claws and the explosion from Ginkotsu's last resort. Now, the fire-user wore a steel blue kosode with a gray sphere-shaped diamond pattern, a breastplate coloured in a way that made one think of the molten surface of that great star in the sky with four matching kusazuri, a white-gray sash around his waist matching his new hakama, cedar brown arm guards and suneate, and a pair of white tabi.
...Just before he got too far away from the cave, a singular Saimyōshō comes buzzing down to hover by his left.
"You found him?"
The poisonous wasp demon tells him their information...
"Excellent...Never mind reporting to brother Bankotsu. There's one more job I need you to do."
Understanding what Renkotsu meant, the Insect of Hell turns to fly away to their next location.
The former watches it go, the desire for revenge blazing in his dotted black irises.
I will obtain that wolf's Shikon-no-Tama fragments...by any means I find necessary.
...Moving along, we head back to that other cave sitting beside the more billowed waterfall river, far enough away from Mount Hakurei that the sacred barrier's purifying energies wouldn't be as heavy a bother, just as Kōga's deep blue irises finally blink awake.
"Rh...r-uh..."
He would find himself staring back at the relieved faces of twin brothers Freeman and Besa, Shippo, Ginta and Hakkaku, the latter two forcing back tears.
"Look, he's awake!"
Hakkaku chides his friend/leader's name after the fox demon's remark, followed by Freeman quirking with a smile,
"Welcome back. Gave us a good scare there, dude, unconscious all night long."
"Free-man..."
Placing a hand over the back of the addressed's palm, Ginta would gently ask the awakened wolf demon,
"Kōga, do you remember what happened to you?"
The wolf demon with the white-blond Mohawk speaks up incase their leader was suffering from memory impairment.
"You were caught in that blast when that metal monster Ginkotsu exploded."
Thankfully, the male with long black hair tied back into a ponytail wasn't inflicted with that bad a trauma, nodding a bit and replying weakly,
"That's right..." Besa then asks him with a mild frown,
"How are you feeling now? Freeman and I did use our crystal shards on your injuries last night, but we didn't want to go too far because your body needed to do most of the work."
"Ah, is that right? (Sniff) Guess that explains why your scents are on me, along with a bit of that cat demon."
"Heh, yeah. I volunteered to hang onto you as we left the battle area, while Shippo kept an eye on Hakkaku so he didn't fall off of Kilala before he woke up halfway."
The male with coco espresso skin and black cornrows sideglances his brother with a little smirk.
"Meanwhile, lover boy here piggybacked Ginta in a similar fashion to a certain dog demon's method of carting Cora."
Freeman slaps Besa's arm with an irritated smile and retorts,
"Aw, stuff it with that lover boy junk, ya dingus!"
"Tch, what, just 'cause I'm still single means I can't tease you and your mate? What kind of unwritten rule is that?"
"Brotherly respect!"
"Psh, su~re, and you follow that to a T? Gimme a break."
"Shut up!"
The demons present in the cave found themselves laughing a little at the silly argument between the bickering twins, before Kōga comments with a small upturn of mouth,
"Well, I'll say this much: I'd rather stink of your scents than dog breath's."
"Ey, watch it, ya scrawny wolf!"
Eyes turn to the cave entrance, where Inuyasha and Coraline now stood, Kilala resting on the latter's shoulder. The former had a scowl plastered onto his face thanks to the one wolf demon's insulting comment, while the redheaded woman held a hand to him in a calming manner.
"Come on, no need to let that burrow in your head. If anything, it was the least insulting comment he's made about you."
"Maybe, but doesn't make it any less annoying. And for the record, wolf, I'm also glad that I didn't wind up with your scent soaked into my clothes."
"Hey!"
Hakkaku and Ginta quickly hold back their leader before he tried to get up.
"Simmer down, Kōga..."
Rolling their eyes, the twins mutter,
"Testosterone," under their breath, before Inuyasha says to his pack members,
"Alright. We've got the wolves in a safe place like you all wanted, now let's get going."
Besa replies with a disbelieving expression,
"What? Inuyasha, we can't just ditch them here in the cave! They haven't fully healed from yesterday."
Freeman adds while gripping Ginta's hand tightly and forming a firm glare,
"Yeah, I'm certainly not leaving my mate in the shape he's in."
Said wolf demon mutters the former male's name with bated breath, and Coraline gently argues,
"Guys, as much as I agree it wouldn't be right to leave them behind, keep in mind that there's two other members of our group we've yet to hear back from."
Shippo chimes with a small gasp,
"That's right: Miroku and Sango! I wonder what happened to them after they left for Mount Hakurei?"
The twins hm with newly worried expressions forming on their faces, Besa muttering,
"If they've been gone for this long, something must have delayed them..."
"Then I propose a temporary split."
"Hm?"
He looks up to meet Coraline's two-tone blue irises (along with everyone else) as she says,
"It's not ideal, but I think we can afford having a few of us heading back to where Sango and Miroku left from while the rest hang back here. Once they're back, we'll guide them this way so we can all come up with a game plan, together."
She pivots her head to meet her lover's amber eyes:
"How does that sound?"
"Hmm...Alright. I dunno if I like teaming up with wolves again..."
Inuyasha glances over Kōga, Ginta and Hakkaku:
"But I, guess it wouldn't be right to leave you three hanging..."
The wolf demons could only stare at him with surprise for his less callous tone, he taking their silence with a quiet 'feh' before gently grabbing Coraline's hand to lead her out the cave.
"Let's go."
"Right. You comin' with too, Kilala?"
The twin-tailed cat demon mews and nods from atop the redheaded woman's shoulder.
"Alright...Lumos, I'd like you to stay back here for now. If the situation turns in any way, bolt over to us as fast as you can."
The Will O' Wisp bops up and down quick in his own nod, and the trio began to move out...only to stop fast when they see an unwanted guest already here!
"Uh!" "(Growl)"
"A poison insect!"
The single Saimyōshō takes flight from their spot atop a vine growing above the mouth of the cave, and Inuyasha spins on his heel to face Coraline while nudging her back to the others.
"Change of plans: you all stay here while I go crush that thing before it gives this place away!"
Before any protest could be made, the dog demon leaps off after the Insect of Hell...Unbeknownst to him, however, Inuyasha's locked focus on hunting the demon wasp down was exactly what their sender, Renkotsu, was edging for, he hiding behind one of the oaks in the forest as the former passes by without detecting the latter!
Coraline's POV
Something, doesn't feel quite right...I hope Inuyasha takes down that Saimyōshō quickly.
While my boyfriend left to take out that freak wasp, I signaled Lumos to release a burst of his energies over Ginta and Hakkaku to relieve any remaining pain on their bodies. They watch the sparkling white-blue lights dusting their skin with awe, making me smile the slightest, before thanking my creature partner for gifting my friends.
"Thank you, Lumos."
He chirps a soft moan in appreciation, hovering back to my side as I ask the two less-injured wolf demons,
"Feel a bit more rejuvenated, you guys?"
"A little, but not quite back to normal yet..."
"We did get hit pretty hard in the attack."
"Of course."
Freeman wraps his hand around Ginta's and softly offers,
"If you'd like, Besa and I could use our Seven Light crystal shards on you guys next. We'd use bandages, but, our first aid kit's gotten real low on supplies this last while and we hadn't had an opportunity to refill."
Hakkaku holds his hands up in a modest protest:
"Oh, no need to apologize!"
Ginta puts a hand to the back of his head with a sheepish smile and adds,
"We're just grateful you guys would even ask how we are!"
Heh, they're definitely the more humble of the three, while Kōga's the proud one...
(Pulse...)
"Hm!"
That's when I sensed a very familiar jewel nearby:
A Shikon-no-Tama shard...radiating darkness...
...Could it be the Shichinintai?
"What's up, sis?"
I mutter with narrowed irises to Besa,
"I'm not entirely sure...but some sort of hostile force is nearing us."
He takes in a sharp breath of alert, and I rise to my feet to head for the entrance of the cave, followed by Shippo who hops onto my shoulder, also sensing something strange.
"Do you smell it too, Coraline?"
"Probably not with my nose, but I can sense the dark aura of a jewel shard closing in, mixed with the undead...Tell me what your senses are picking up, though."
"I smell something like, gunpowder..."
Gunpowder...Renkotsu!
He's the only member of the Shichinintai still roaming around that uses such fuel for his brand of weaponry.
(...Sheen) Now...where is he?
Using my Aura Reader abilities, I scanned around the river/waterfall to zero in on the zombie's location...when suddenly, a section of the rock face opposite of us explodes downstream, causing a bunch of boulders to block off the directional flow, and the water level to churn into a rising whirlpool!
"Uh!"
What's happening?!
Shippo sniffs the air, before darting his head to our left:
"Something's coming!"
And that something...was a pile of fire-sparked logs, spreading a slick layer of oil overtop the blue!
...Oh crap!
The pile of burning wood crashes into the new dam, plunging the flames into the oily water, and creates a river of fire! Shippo and I yelp, barely scrambling backwards to escape a lick of the fire, causing the guys to call out from inside the cave,
"What's, the matter?!" "Sis!"
"Shippo?!"
"What's going on out there?!"
I yell over my free shoulder,
"Nobody come outside; the river's been set to flames!"
I hear a collective 'What?!' echo back, and Shippo asks aloud fearfully,
"What is this?!"
Growling, I unsheathe ShatterSoul and shout with all my might,
"Renkotsu! I know you're there, you despicable fire-eater, so if you're not a coward, show yourself!"
...I'd get my wish quickly enough, as the undead mercenary appears atop the cliff opposite the cave.
We both stare eachother down with ugly glares, before he calls,
"I have filled the river with plenty of oil! You're all trapped!"
"Says you! Shippo, head back inside and get everyone ready to bug outta here!"
"Uh! But what about you?"
"I'm gonna make sure that bastard's eyes stay on me...Go!"
The young fox kit heeds my order, and jumps down to dart back inside the cave, while I drew a big breath in accordance with my soul channeling spiritual energies into my sword, the blade billowing rings of the dark arctic blue that clouded my eyes.
I see his shard...No, shards. There's a new one in his shoulder...Could it have been Ginkotsu's?
Well, either way, if I aim an energy cut in an angle with both his neck and shoulder, that should take him out.
Just as I positioned myself to do so, Renkotsu pulls out a weapon of his own that looked like a giant, simplistic pump launcher, and expels a stream of fire straight for me!
"Aah!"
"Coraliiiine!"
Luckily for me, Inuyasha returns in that moment before I could become barbecued, using his Fire Rat kimono to deflect the shot flames before scooping me up to take back inside the cave!
Inuyasha...!
He gently sets me on the floor, before shucking off the upper coat of his robes to drape over me, then turns to snarl with a piercing glare directed outside,
"Damn that Renkotsu! He must be real anxious for me to kill 'im since he hasn't wasted any time gettin' here!"
"Wait, Inuyasha, you should be the one wearing this, not me!"
Shippo argues,
"She's right: the robe of the Fire Rat will protect you from the fire!"
My brothers even offer an alternative:
"We can shield everyone else with our crystal shards just fine."
"Please, Inuyasha, don't disregard your own safety..."
My boyfriend argues back with a shake of his head,
"Coraline, you and Shippo will need that more than I will, (looks at my brothers) and you two will have your hands full protecting these battered wolves."
Kōga would growl into the conversation next, not liking the idea of Inuyasha taking on his fight.
"Keep your hands off of Renkotsu, you mutt! It's my jewel shards he's after; I'll be the one to kill 'im!"
To my surprise, it would be Besa who counters the wolf demon's words by lightly smacking the latter offside the head before sternly reminding him,
"You're currently in no shape for battle, pal, so stuff a cork in it and let us pull the heavy weight! (Softens his gaze) It's not a bad thing to accept help once in a while. Listen to the people who want to give a damn, not your pride."
Kōga grinds his teeth at my brother, who just stares back unafraid...before the former hmphs and turns away with a defeated glare. I sigh quietly and silently thank Besa for acting as the voice of reason, before moving to a stand while gripping the Fire Rat kimono top to me tightly.
"Inuyasha, please watch it out there. I saw that Renkotsu has two jewel shards in his possession now."
He nods in understanding, but smirks confidently before replying while pecking my cheek,
"Not as many as Bankotsu had," then turns to rush out the cave...
"What's wrong?! Too hot for you in that hole?!"
I narrow my irises at that latest taunt from Renkotsu, noting,
His tone has more aggression than before...Has he become blinded by a raging vendetta, or, is this his endgame?
The sound of Tessaiga being drawn rings in next as Inuyasha retorts,
"As if! Just stay where you are 'cause I'm comin' for ya!"
Quickly gathering Shippo into the Fire Rat robe, I rush out with Ginta and Freeman to watch my boyfriend propel himself upward.
"Holy-!" "Whoa...!"
"Good jump!"
Renkotsu sneers and calls back,
"What makes you think I should wait for you?!"
He then readies another weapon, this one with an appearance akin to the barrel of a cannon, before firing out a volley towards Inuyasha, he barely shifting to the side to dodge...
"You won't be able to dodge this in midair!"
(Boom)
Another cannonball flies, and is blocked by Tessaiga's blade, causing an explosion that launches my lover backwards for the fiery river below! I cry out his name in worry, just as Kilala rowls and transforms into her full form before flying down to catch him in time! Letting out a sigh of relief, I mutter with a tiny smile,
"That was close," and Shippo chimes,
"Great! Kilala can't be hurt by the fire!"
Yet, Freeman notes,
"Still, even they won't distract Renkotsu for long. He's gonna try blasting us down here, I know it...We should all try bailing out of this area and head for the cliff forest above."
Ginta asks,
"You think we can make it?"
"Any attempt's better than being a sitting duck...Come on, let's get the others."
Deciding that my brother's logic was reasonably correct, we hurry to gather our things and people, before Lumos and I lead the way in a fast but careful trek along the edge of this blazing river, with Besa behind me, then Ginta and Hakkaku helping Kōga along with his arms around their shoulders, and Freeman bringing up the rear. We ignore Renkotsu's frustrated shout of,
"I have no time for the likes of you," followed by another blast from that cannonball launcher...
Stopping about halfway upriver, Besa suggests,
"Let's head up this section here!"
"Got it!"
We all start our somewhat slow climb up the tall rock face, the wolf demons carefully leaping up ahead while my brothers employ their Seven Light Shards to enhance their own human abilities so they could take me between them and jump together in a similar fashion, Shippo clinging to my torso...We get about halfway up, when I suddenly saw a familiar blur get smacked into the cliff a distance away from us, followed by a thick gunshot!
(Boom...)
Shippo cries out Inuyasha's name, and I curse under my breath before Freeman gasps,
"Oh shi-Everyone, move!"
I hear the sound of another blast from that cannon, just as my brothers and the wolves make the motion to jump higher...
(BOOM)
...By some miracle of fate, we all just narrowly escape being incinerated to kingdom come, and land in individual slides on the barren surface of the cliff opening from the forest...! Gingerly, I move to my feet with my brothers and Shippo, as Besa asks,
"Hah, hah, hah...Is everybody okay?"
I turn to see the wolf demons struggle a bit in standing up themselves, before replying with the rest of us,
"Yeah, we're fine,"
"Barely..." "That was too close for comfort."
"I'm good." "So am I..."
...Lumos then stiffens on alert before letting out a series of frantic moans while buzzing around in a circle, his body glowing in and out the normal white-blue, and a warning red!
"What is it, Lu-Uh! Wait...Renkotsu's heading for us. Everyone, get ready!"
The boys all resound growls and grunts of preparedness for a fight, and I turn around while pulling out my sword again, while also shifting Inuyasha's kimono so my arms slipped through the slits near where his shoulders would sit and hooded the top part over my head.
Now I feel like the warrior version of Little Red Riding Hood, teaming with a trio of big but not bad wolves...
Which I guess makes Renkotsu the woodsman gone insane.
Speaking of him, the undead male would arrive but a moment afterward, still carrying that cannon and god-who-knows what else in a wicker bag strapped to his back. Once again, we get into a mini staring contest...before I would inform him,
"Your plans are failing, Renkotsu! You may have temporarily stopped Inuyasha and Kilala, but we won't fall so easily!"
The others jeer,
"Yeah!" "What she said!"
"Ha! You think you've outwitted me?!"
The zombie pulls out a pair of way-old school TNT sticks from his bag.
"This battle is far from over! I'll blow you all to Hell!"
Besa calls in a disbelieving tone,
"Hold on: you've turned this entire area into a giant landmine! You'll be sending yourself to the afterlife if you throw that thing the wrong way!"
"Silence! There's no turning back for me now!"
No turning back? What does he mean by that?
"Kōga, I'm gonna have those two shards in your legs, no matter what it takes to get them!"
Said wolf demon growls back,
"You cretin," and Renkotsu lights a fire starter:
"This is no meaningless threat!"
Ginta and Hakkaku bravely stand protectively in front of their more injured leader with nerved glares as Shippo exclaims,
"He really means it," and Freeman retorts,
"Oh yeah? Well I really mean it when I say this: eat dirt, you pyromaniac!"
He then swings his long hammer downward to create that track of geysering earth to go shooting for Renkotsu, who swiftly moves to the side to dodge.
"I won't fall for something like that twice!"
Besa and I took this opportunity to speed forward with our own weapons at ready to strike, both of us shouting,
"Don't be so arrogant!"
I swipe ShatterSoul through the air to send a slash of energy to hit Renkotsu, who does get his side grazed even if dodging the bulk of the damage.
"Rgh!" Besa exclaims with a smirk,
"Ha! You're mine now," and swipes his demon bone sickles at the zombie's hands to knock away the explosives and fire starter!
"Uh!"
The items go flying backwards to the grounds below the cliff...
"Grrrr, you brat!"
(GRIP)
"Cau-guh!"
Next thing I knew, Renkotsu seized Besa by his neck with a single hand, so strongly that the pressure's shock causes the latter to drop his weapons! Freeman and I cry out our sibling's name in worry, while our wolf demon friends call out aggressively,
"Let him go!"
"Kuh, oh I'll let him go..."
The bastard then proceeds to hold my brother out over the ledge of the cliff!
"As the first victim of my river of fire!"
Besa struggles to get himself free, clawing at the hand that was holding him up by his throat, while I grind my teeth with hints of tears forming in the corners of my eyes.
Dammit! If any of us tries to strike Renkotsu now, he'll just drag Besa with him!
What'll we do?!
Renkotsu lets out a maniacal laugh at mine and everyone else's hesitance to make a move...
"Don't push your luck!"
"Huh?!"
His head pivots sharply to his right, meeting the very angry expression of my boyfriend! Shippo, Freeman and I exclaim in relief,
"Inuyasha," as opposed to Renkotsu's very agitated spit of,
"You again!"
"Coraline, take him down with your sword, now! Trust me!"
Nodding, I unleash an attack from ShatterSoul I hadn't used in a while, pointing it straight ahead for the enemy.
"Aura Drive!"
(...Bzzz-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow)
Those rings of dark arctic blue light shift into arrowhead-like needles of energy to launch from my blade, piercing against the mercenary's torso and forcing him to release Besa, who would be yanked away from the edge of the cliff by my fast-footed dog demon lover.
"I've gotcha!"
"Inuyasha!"
Renkotsu lets out a yell as he falls backwards over the side, seemingly to his doom...But, then.
"Oh crap, he's not down yet, folks!"
Freeman's cry would be followed by that damn zombie's hand lifting the rest of his body back up onto the flattop, somehow stopping his trajectory before he hit rock bottom!
Ah come on, seriously?! And here I thought Naraku was a stubborn bastard to kill!
Yet, the moment that the mercenary stood up straight, was when Inuyasha made his move.
"Not for long!"
He lunges forward and tackles Renkotsu over the side...both of them heading for the flaming river below!
NO!
(...KA-BOOM)
Any explosives that were still in the mercenary's pack went off the second they touched the fire, causing a massive explosion to ensue, launching a ball-like geyser of water into the air in the process of eliminating the last of the oil! We all duck down from the impact...and as soon as the ground stopped rumbling, I looked up, seeing the smoky spray...and no signs of my one and only.
...Inuyasha...INUYASHA!
"Inuyashaaaaa!"
I scrambled to my feet to rush over to the edge of the cliff, and looked down to the now raging waters below with a very sick and paranoid feeling in my stomach, fighting back the urge to burst into helpless sobs.
"...N-No...No...don't, s-s-say he's...!"
Please...Please god, let him be alive!
Small Time Skip, Ginta's POV
Shortly after that huge explosion, we would all follow after my frantic sister-in-law (since Freeman and I had mated, I've slowly begun referring to his siblings as my own) in a search along the river to try our hardest in finding any signs that Inuyasha was still alive.
Which I pray for her sake, he is...
"Inuyasha! Inuyasha, where are you?!" Hakkaku calls to the scared woman,
"I'm sure we'll find him soon," and I reason,
"He probably washed up along the riverbank."
But then Kōga had to go and say something that was way too insensitive for the situation, even for him.
"That's if the mutt wasn't blown into a million pieces..."
Oh, Kōga, why...?
...Sis Coraline slowed to a complete stop with a frightened squeak, with her brothers quickly taking the initiative to try to comfort her.
"Sis..." "Cora..."
Hakkaku and I glare at our friend and leader for using his callousness against the half dog demon at a time like this, mine particularly piercing since I understand my human in-law's strife very well when I nearly lost Freeman to that persistent she-devil of a wolf demon.
"Don't say that!"
"Grh, Kōga, you should know better! Think of her feelings; she and Inuyasha are in the middle of courting as mates!"
He barks back defensively,
"I'm just telling it like it is! Besides, if that idiot hadn't-hm?!"
Kōga immediately cuts himself off, when he sees Coraline starting to silently cry into Inuyasha's robes...
"C-Coraline..."
Hakkaku groans,
"Now you've made her cry," and my mate and his brother shoot our leader glares that nearly matched mine...
"N-No, don't cry, please..."
"This...This was my doing...! (Sniff) I, I chose to wear this, and n-not, force it back on him...!"
Coraline...
It hurt to hear how heartbroken she sounded...Kōga tries to still her tears like the friend he should've been acting like (well, kind-of).
"It wasn't your fault, Coraline; I saw the whole thing! You didn't wanna touch that thing, but he forc-"
(Bonk)
He's once again cut off...by the familiar fist of the very battered form we were searching for!
"You were saying? Who wouldn't wanna touch it even if his life depended on it?"
Hakkaku and I gasp,
"Inuyasha," and Freeman cheers with Besa and Shippo,
"Hey!" "You're alright!"
"You made it!"
Coraline stops crying, and tilts her head up to also see his form as he scoffs,
"My body's built differently than yours...and besides, as it turned out, that Renkotsu valued his life more than I would've guessed. At the last minute, he threw his pack of fire bombs away."
Oh...Does that mean the mercenary could still be alive?
I shuddered to think so, while Kōga comments as he eyes Inuyasha,
"Tuh, that's what I thought all along; you know the old saying, 'Idiots never die'."
"Idiots? Think you'll get away with that?"
"What, you wanna take me on now?!"
"Today's the day: I'm gonna put your lights out once and for all!"
"With that beat up body of yours?! Not on your-"
The sizing banter would end mid-sentence, all thanks to my sister-in-law.
"Inuyasha!"
She launched herself at her lover's torso, leaving him and Kōga at a loss for words as she held Inuyasha tightly, burying her face into his chest.
"(Sniff) In...Inuyasha...You're still here...! You're still, a-alive...!"
"...Coraline...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you all upset."
Sis Coraline peeks up and replies with a hushed voice still a little raw from crying,
"N-No need to apologize...I mean, isn't this what, lovers do? Worry for one another?"
Inuyasha formed a small gape of surprise from her statement, and I found myself sharing a meaningful smile with my mate, saying to myself like he may be doing,
Yeah...That's what lovers do.
Our dog demon friend snaps out of his daze with a firm nod, wrapping an arm around Sis Coraline in a very comforting way...I then hear a very nonchalant hm emit from Kōga, and turned to see that he was observing the two with a rather, calm air, his eyes distant like he was picturing another pair in their place.
"Kōga..."
"You were right, Ginta."
"Uh...I was?"
"Yeah, for telling me off like you did...I, should've been more considerate..."
He glances over at the human/half-demon couple and comments with only a very, very slightly bitter undertone,
"Especially since as much as it kicks me to say it...I lost the battle to you before it even started, mutt-face."
Am...Am I seriously hearing what I'm hearing? Kōga, is admitting defeat?
The rest of us were just as shocked by this humility as I was, even Inuyasha himself...But then again.
"Keh, nice of ya to finally admit it. (Smirk) You thinkin' of that wolf chick while sayin' that, idiot?"
"Guh!...Pah, as if! I'm just trying to be the bigger man here for once, which is more than you can say, moron!"
The dust of pink on Kōga's cheeks said otherwise, which Inuyasha would not waste time taunting him for.
"Yeah yeah, deny until the sun goes down, but I think we all know who really snagged your heart in the end, doofus."
A very quiet giggle sounds from Sis Coraline, and the rest of us were fighting the urge to laugh at this new version of the usual squabbles between these two men.
"Teh, well, this is different." Hakkaku nods in agreement with Shippo:
"Re~al different..."
"Different, but refreshing."
"I think the 'kids' have finally grown up."
Freeman asks Besa and I with a quirked smile,
"Yet I kind-a feel bad for both Cora's and Ayame's futures of dealing with high-maintenance husbands."
We couldn't hold back anymore after that comment, and started howling with laughter, much to Inuyasha's and Kōga's furies.
"What did you say?!"
Hahaha, these are the moments you live for!
No POV
While matters near the holy mountain have settled for another moment of peace, we move back up Hakurei to catch up with Miroku and Sango as they exit out from another cave higher up the steeping peak...
"Haaah, nothing in there either..."
"No sign of demons at all..."
Yet even with the lack of confirming evidence, the young monk was certain that this place was the latest citadel of that despicable half-demon scarred by the mark of the spider, bringing up the shrinking group of undead mercenaries.
"There's definitely a connection between Naraku and the Band of Seven though. And it was a fact that Saint Hakushin was protecting the resurrected group."
"But we still haven't figured out why."
He nods to Sango,
"Right. If he's helping Naraku by building this barrier around Mount Hakurei, then that leads us to one conclusion..."
"Yes."
The demon slayer casts her gaze to the upper mountain, noting with narrowed irises,
"That Naraku is hiding here somewhere."
"Let's go on to the top of the mountain for starters. If we turn back empty-handed, we'll hear about it from Inuyasha."
"You're right."
"One more thing..." Miroku looks down and says more to himself than aloud,
"I have to do something about this barrier. Here we are alone together and I can't even make a move towards her...! (Flexes his fingers) I can't take it much longer...!"
He then notices the demon slayer already moving ahead, so he takes a deep breath to collect himself, before making his way after her in a much more serious manner...
Moving way down the billowing waterfall river within range of the mountain's barrier, we find Renkotsu, he somehow making it out of the explosion and being washed downstream without any noticeable scathing (other than his pride), now walking through the shallow section of the blue ribbon cutting through the valley in deep thought over where he should go next.
Damn it! I failed again!...I didn't manage to steal Kōga's Shikon-no-Tama shards.
His right hand moves to hover over the shard in his shoulder.
If word gets out that I'm using Ginkotsu's jewel shard...then Bankotsu will kill me for certain.
...What should I do?
Just then, an Insect of Hell buzzes overhead.
"Uh! A Saimyōshō!"
...Following his gaze to where the poisonous wasp flew, Renkotsu's eyes widen, at the sight of the very brother he was currently worrying about!
"Ban-kotsu. This is a surprise..."
"Hey, Renkotsu. I heard the news from the insects. Our poor friend Ginkotsu bit the dust, did he?"
Ignoring the nervous bead of sweat dripping down the side of his head, the fire-user manages to mutter,
"Uh, yeah."
"That's a terrible shame, especially considering all the time you spent constructing him so adeptly..."
Bankotsu pivots his head to smile at his mercenary brother:
"I'm glad about one thing: at least you're still alive. (Sad frown) Suikotsu went after Sesshomaru, but now he's dead too."
"Suikotsu?"
"(Nod) And you know what that means..."
The young leader of the undead group steps over to wrap an arm around his elder.
"There's only you, me and Jakotsu, just the three of us are left...and that's where we stand. I'm gonna be depending on you more than ever."
"Yeah..."
"Let's move on ahead then."
Watching the male wielding the giant halberd sword walk on ahead, Renkotsu thinks to himself bitterly,
That creep Bankotsu...Didn't he even notice Ginkotsu's jewel shard?
Scoffing mentally, he starts moving after the other, choosing not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
It looks like he's got some use for me yet. I guess I gotta reprieve this time...
...Heading back up the higher peaks of Mount Hakurei, we find our duo monk and demon slayer forced to stop again, when the former comes across a section of the path that's been cut clean off like it was as easy as dividing cookie dough.
"Hmm..."
"What's the matter, Miroku?"
"Look at this...A dead end. It's almost as if someone hacked off part of the mountain..."
"...Over there, Miroku."
Following Sango's point to the broken section of the path opposite them, the monk with the very short rat tail sees,
"A cave...It looks like the path used to lead up to that cave."
"Do you wanna go in?"
"Can you get us there?"
"I can try."
The slayer with long dark brown hair tied back into a high ponytail then tosses her Hiraikotsu to land into the rock face of the pathway's other end point.
"Excellent."
She then readies a grappling hook kept under her right shoulder guard, and tosses it hard to hook onto the path's surface near the cave. Once she was sure the hook was tight and secure, she jumps and swings herself in an uppercut, then hops off of her weapon to land safely on the other side. Miroku's face contorts into a smile of awe, before being called to attention by Sango.
"Here, catch onto this, Miroku!"
He smoothly catches the tossed end of the grappling rope, complimenting,
"Very impressive, Sango."
The monk then takes a turn jumping and swinging to the other side, landing atop Hiraikotsu before being helped up by the slayer...Looking inside the new cave they found, both parties could feel a much different air compared to the dull quiet they've been getting since the start of their investigation.
"It leads far into the mountain..."
"...I sense a demonic aura here. Let's go, Sango. No doubt about it, Naraku is deep inside this cave."
Fastening her giant boomerang made from demon bone over her back again, Sango nods in agreement, before both began running down the tunnel...
Zooming to the end of this cave, we find ourselves looking downward a gigantic pit, lit with the ominous blue glow of several torches set on the walls, circular paths cut into the rock to line around the pit, and wooden parapets further lining the edges.
...Sitting on one said parapet, was none other than Kagura, her face set in an expression of bitterness and boredom.
Damn that Naraku...How long is he going to keep me shut up in this place?
"...Kagura."
She turns her head behind her, and sees her incarnation sister, Kanna standing before her.
"Oh, Kanna, it's you...Boy, you sure have got it good. You don't emanate any demonic aura, so you can come and go on sacred ground. I can't even take one step out of that annoying barrier, because if I do, I'll end up being purified."
The wind sorceress grips the parapet while cursing to herself, before Kanna's Demon Mirror glows to show off Miroku and Sango's forms.
"They're coming..."
Kagura gets down and takes a closer look at the reflected image.
"Those two. The monk and the demon slayer..."
Rising to her feet, the demon incarnation felt she was about to receive a very good distraction from all her waiting around.
"Mm, well isn't that interesting...We're long overdo for a little trouble-making."
...And hovering right behind her, was a mass swarm of demons!