~:*:~


Quests

By Seigan


~:*:~


Disclaimer-

Inuyasha does not belong to me


Rating-

Rated PG-13 for blood, violence, and romance


Genre-

Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance, Mystery


Chapter 3

Return to the Past


Miroku fought off another creepy lizard-like demon. His staff slashed it in two. However, there were about a hundred more waiting for him. He was sure that the demons would soon overrun him. Kaede wasn't that much help, either. He held off as many, but these demons were middle-class monsters, and could hold up Miroku for sometime. Their claws could block the staff before it cut the demons, and they tried to slash at him. Miroku was fighting this battle, and he was losing it.


A demon's claw knocked the staff out of Miroku's hand. It was about to claw him to pieces when a purified arrow saved him by blowing the head off of the lizard demon. Then, the yell of "Tetsusaiga!" filled the air as Inuyasha jumped into the battle. Sango's boomerang started to make contact with the necks of these lizards. And Kirara viciously jumped into the battle and started to attack the demons.


Inuyasha's sword time after time swung, but the sword was repeatedly blocked by the thick claws of the enemy. However, when the sword did hit, it cleaved the lizards in two. He swung it to the right, to the left, upwards and downwards, but there were still more. The area was urban, so he couldn't use the cutting wind. Kagome was not having a good time as well. Her arrows, when they hit, would destroy the reptiles, but the lizards kept dodging her purified arrows. Sango had trouble fighting. She was fatigued from the poison the other day, and now her boomerang was too heavy. It could not be thrown, and using it as a close combat weapon was tough for the weakened exterminator. Sango already had cuts and bruises, both from the enemy and from stress. Miroku had retrieved his staff and was now attacking the lizards. They blocked with their claws but Miroku would used his other arm or legs to attack as well. Then he would attack with his staff. This worked, but it took to much time. Shippou used his illusion tricks to confuse and scare the enemy, making them lose morale so that the adults could do more damage. He used the statues, his toy-top, and his duplicates to attack. The villagers, however, were getting slaughtered. Their spears, swords, and arrows barely pierced the thick lizard scales, and they had very weak defense. The lizards would bite and slash, ripping the men to ribbons.


However, on a hill that looked over the village, stood a chuckling man. He wore odd baggy colorful clothes, but there was an evil aura that surrounded him. He watched as the hanyou slay his lizard minions, the exterminator cleaving the reptiles with her boomerang, the monk try to fight off the green beasts, and the girl attacking with her bow and arrows. This evil person watched until most of the lizards were gone. Then, from a leather pouch on his belt, he took out what looked like a marble. He held it in his palm, and outstretched his arm. He said an enchantment, and the marble turned into a small sphere of light. It floated all the way to the village, where it turned into another demon.


Inuyasha fought off this green beast, its claws trying to block the onslaught of the tetsusaiga. Finally Inuyasha did a feint and the blade of his sword went through the hard scales of the lizard. He looked over to Sango, who was finishing off her last demon. Miroku had thrust his staff through the heart of his last opponent. Kagome fired a few arrows which finished off the last few lizard demons. Inuyasha then said, "Well guys, we did it!"


The team nodded, but stopped when they saw the small prick of light float down to the ground. Inuyasha cautiously moved forward. The light exploded, and out came a giant brown troll with three eyes. It was huge, a towering 15 meters tall at least. Inuyasha shouted, "What the hell!?" but his teammates didn't have the time to respond. It used its heavy fists to pound the ground, crushing some of the villagers. Inuyasha jumped up, preparing to slash the tetsusaiga. However, the demon punched Inuyasha before he could do anything, sending him face first a meter into the ground. Inuyasha thought, Nobody pummels me into the ground three feet except for Kagome!


Inuyasha jumped onto its shoulder and started to slash at this demon, but his sword only made nicks in the tough carapace of the troll. Stabbing didn't do more damage than cutting. The demon shook Inuyasha off of its shoulder. Kagome ran over to Inuyasha and asked, "Inuyasha, are you okay?"


"I'm fine," Inuyasha snapped, and decided to take drastic measures. "Guys, brace yourselves. I'm gonna use the cutting wind." Before the team could change his mind, he unleashed the five cuts onto the beast. Its body was so strong like steel that it was needed. However, the beast only dropped to the ground, sporting five vertical cuts across its torso. Inuyasha shouted, "What the fuck?" He found out the reason that the beast's skin was like steel because it was steel. It seemed as if the body was completely made of flexible steel. There was only one thing to do in such a dire situation.


Sango said, "This demon is strong! We need to destroy it somehow."


Inuyasha then announced, "There's only one thing we can do to stop it. I'm going to call the Bakuryuuha." The Bakuryuuha, or wound of the wind, was tetsusaiga's ultimate attack which used the cutting wind to wrap around the enemy's youki, and turned the youki against the demon. It was first used to defeat the dragon Ryuukotsusei*. However, it was dangerous and had a large damage radius.


Miroku advised, "We shouldn't do it here. It would take many lives. And plus, it hasn't unleashed any youki yet for us to counter."


"It does," Inuyasha corrected. "It has used youki in its punches. But you're right. We need to get it far away from the village." He jumped out of the way of another punch. They decided to used themselves as lure to get the demon to an empty field or something.


Inuyasha and his team repeatedly attacked the brown troll, getting its attention. Then they ran, and the troll followed. They stopped at a field about two miles from the village, far enough for a Bakuryuuha. Sango, Kirara, Shippou, Miroku, and Kagome had run for cover as Inuyasha waited for the critical moment. It came when the beast was about to summon a youki-powered punch. Inuyasha jumped up as the fist started to move, and Inuyasha unleashed the cutting wind at breaking point. The cutting wind entangled with the youki, and sent it back as white tornados which shattered the steel troll beast into pieces. The tornado scathed the ground and the hills, tearing the landscape apart. The demon was ripped along with the battlefield, sending it into hell.


On the other side, opposite and downwind of Inuyasha, stood the very same vile person that summoned the beast, who was perched on top of a tree. He observed the battle style of Inuyasha carefully. He thought, This hanyou was arrogant and cocky, but his strength matched his ego. The hanyou could summon up five blades of power that could destroy a mountain, and when combine with the enemy's youki, rip any living thing apart. But this hanyou had many flaws. Inuyasha cared for humans, and protected them. Thus, Inuyasha would not summon his weapons when needed. If I was to capture the humans and use them as hostages, this whelp would not be able to do anything. Of course, I have to learn the skills of his teamwork, as well as the other people. But I can tell that the oddly-clothed girl and the hanyou were the strongest in this team. But they will be no match for me. They are strong combined, but get them one-by-one, and they fall.


~:*:~


They sat around the fire in Kaede's hut. The old miko were treating the wounds of the team. Sango had a few cuts and was seriously fatigued. Miroku had a large gash down his right torso. Kagome had a few small cuts but they were nothing serious. Inuyasha had few wounds, mostly from the effects of the Bakuryuuha. Shippou was sleeping in Kagome's lap, and Kirara was napping on the corner of the hut. She was uninjured as well.


Inuyasha asked Kaede, "So baba, what do you know about this attack?"


"All I know is that these were not a horde, but a summoned army," Kaede slowly said. "There have been sighting of the man during the battle."


Kagome asked, "What do you think he's after?"


Kaede answered, "Me thinks he is after the sacred shards of the Shikon jewel."


"But if he's that strong, why didn't he just take it?" Miroku asked.


"Maybe his intentions were similar to Naraku's scheme," Kaede replied. "The jewel was too good, too pure for him to take. Or maybe he was trying to break through our defense. He maybe strong, but he knows that when ye are together, he cannot defeat ye. His plan is to kill us separately, making us an easy target."


"So he isn't that strong, is he?" Sango asked.


Kaede answered, "Physically, no. Those who practice Necromancy are usually not that strong themselves. But they can summon powerful creatures to do their bidding. That's why ye must take caution when fighting him.


"Feh! All I have to do is avoid his creatures and kill him myself," Inuyasha bragged.


"Inuyasha, do not be that stubborn. If he can summon, his magic is strong," Kaede informed. "And all of his summons will smell like him, so ye cannot find his scent in the midst of the horde."


Inuyasha asked, "Then what do we do? Sit on our asses and wait for him to kill us?"


"Be patient Inuyasha," Kaede scolded. "We must wait until he shows his weakness."


"How long will that take!?" Inuyasha shouted.


Kagome hushed, "Stop it! We gotta wait until he shows his weakness. Can't you just wait?"


"No, I can't," Inuyasha whined. He got up and left the hut. Outside there was hammering and other sounds related to constructing huts. Inuyasha decided to do something constructive, so he decided to help repair some of the huts his cutting wind wiped out. The hanyou took up a few boards, nails, and a hammer, and got up to help add onto the frame of a rising hut. Inuyasha thought, We should be going on the hunt, not wasting time with stupid strategies. Haven't they heard of the phrase 'No plan ever works in battle'? That stupid necromancer could have Shikon shards for all we know!


Inside the hut, the four adults were talking. Kagome said, "We need to find out if this guy has a jewel shard or not."


"I believe he would," Sango said. "Necromancy is strong, but to summon something like this would require huge amounts of power."


Miroku added, "And I can't use my air void anymore, so I can't really attack a large number of demons anyway. It would be useful in this situation."


Kagome said, "Yes, that is true. But at least you won't die from the void anymore."


"True," Miroku said. "But how will we deal with the demon hordes now?"


"I guess we'll have to depend on Inuyasha," Kagome said.


Sango asked, "But what if Inuyasha's a human during that time? Or if he's not here?"


"We'll just have to make due until he can start fighting again," Kagome said. "We're doomed if we don't have his powers."


The other nodded. They talked for the night, and later on, went to sleep. Inuyasha continued to help rebuild the village, going on for the whole night without sleeping. But tomorrow, they would not have such a chance at rest. For tomorrow is the day that they meet the enemy that they have been fighting, but can they win?


A/N: Well, I like the way this story is going so far. For those who are too stupid, necromancy is the art of summoning evil, and necromancers are those who practice it. Kinda like the hell painter except that you don't need a Shikon shard.


*Ryuukotsusei: Mortal enemy of IY & Sess's father. Inuyasha fights him in episode 53 Father's Mortal Enemy, Ryuukotsusei and defeats him using the Bakuryuuha in episode 54 Tetsusaiga's Ultimate Attack, Bakuryuuha!


Next Chapter

Tetsusaiga Vs. Necromancy


Inuyasha and his team faces off with the new enemy and his art of necromancy. What will happen? And why is this person after the jewel shards? He doesn't even use the ones he has!