Chapter Twelve: Sango vs. Inuyasha
Inuyasha heard all this, and, instead of using Sango-style strategy in his next move, used Inuyasha Battle Stratagem #1: If whacking it doesn't work, whack it again. If whacking it again doesn't work, whack it harder. This could be followed by Inuyasha Battle Stratagem #2: In the event of failure in Stratagem #1, repeat #1 until the opponent surrenders in frustration.
He held Tetsusaiga coiled on his side and charged again at his opponent. Even with the rain muddying the road he flew at his opponent with amazing speed. As he neared the cloak and began his strike, it suddenly whirled and parried his blow. Inuyasha found himself on the defensive, barely having time to block the blows as they flew at him.
Sango's eyes widened further. Kagome looked back and forth between the battle and her friend. Even Miroku wasn't sure what was wrong.
"Sango, what is wrong?" the monk inquired.
"He's... he's holding his sword… backwards."
"Huh?" Kagome's lack of experience with weapons left her confused. Sango gathered her thoughts as the opponents danced past their field of vision. Well, one was dancing. The other was trying to keep up. And unfortunately it was the latter who was wearing bright red.
"A katana has one edge, right?" Kagome nodded. "He's holding it backwards, meaning no matter what he does, there's no way for him to cut Inuyasha. He might as well be using a stick on him." As if to put a period on the sentence, Tetsusaiga landed between the three of them.
"Shit! You bastard!" Inuyasha lunged for his weapon, his opponent doing nothing to hinder him.
Sango grabbed the hilt and handed the sword to Kagome. "Don't let Inuyasha have it back yet."
"Give me that back, bitch!"
"Osuwari!"
As she walked past his muddy hole, Sango spoke to Inuyasha's temporarily inert form. "He's playing with us. You're good with Tetsusaiga, but not with normal swords. Let me handle this." She pulled her blade from its home and approached the cloak.
"I am the taijiya Sango. You will not use these jewel shards you carry to cause harm to come upon anyone."
For the first time in the conflict, the opponent spoke. "I have no intention of using the shards I carry at all. I am simply their courier, and my only intention is to deliver them to their new owner." Kagome and Inuyasha looked at each other. They both recognized that he spoke with the coolness of the hanyou's half brother, but definitely didn't fight like him.
Sango gripped her weapon tightly, assuming he meant to deliver the fragments to Naraku. "You will not reach your destination, courier. Naraku will not be receiving these shards." She assumed a stance which caused every demon she'd ever face to tremble. Though she was known for Hiraikotsu, she was no slouch with a katana.
Her opponent lazily rolled his sword back in his hand, assuming a stance with the sword's blade running the length of his sword-arm. "Who said they're for Naraku?"
Sango surged forward. Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Shippou stared with mouths open at the combatants. They knew Sango was good, but this was scary. All were having problems following which blade was which as they flew back and forth across the road. The only thing Inuyasha could compare it to was the time he watched a forest fire during a snowstorm. Neither was gaining any ground against the other, yet both contained forces to be feared.
Miroku was having similar yet different thoughts on the matter. "Daaamn she's hot when she fights like that," he whispered. "Ow! Shippou!" The kitsune smirked at Miroku from the monk's shoulder.
Kagome heard Inuyasha muttering something about fire and ice, and had to agree with him. Even with her ignorance about fencing, she could classify them that way. Sango's style was fiery and direct, designed to quickly consume an opponent and defeat it utterly to prevent it from doing any more damage to anything else. Her opponent's icy style was fluidic and appeared to be born from much sparring.
Beyond the style, it matched the attitudes of the opponents. Sango was infuriated at an opponent she saw as toying with them, and becoming angry at her inability to best this youkai. Her opponent could have out-iced Sesshoumaru; he'd said nothing since those few comments before the two locked swords. Kagome thought that if they could see his face, it would be devoid of all emotion during the battle.
The two combatants locked swords together, and Sango had the first glimpse of her foe's face. From where they were, her friends were not rewarded with the same view, but watched as the concentration and fury drained from her face. They pushed off from each other and both slid backwards in the muddy road. As soon as they each stopped, they both assumed stances, readying for each other's next onslaught.
Suddenly a gust of wind from the north caught everyone by surprise. Inuyasha's and Kagome's hair whipped into their faces. The wind caught the opponent's large cloak and billowed it out to reveal a dark garnet kimono similar to Inuyasha's. The hood fell back and silver-white hair spilled out, flowing behind the youkai. Yellow eyes stared back at the group. The youkai's companion, reading the end of the battle, walked up beside him, letting the wind blow her cloak as well, revealing a miniature, feminine version of Inuyasha. (Ruri had watched enough of Akito's anime to know this looked as cool as Hell, even in rain, and you did not miss an opportunity to pull this off.)
Inuyasha and company all stared open-mouthed at the sight before them. Everyone slowly walked up beside Sango, who was still holding her katana up in shock. The wind died down, letting the cloaks fall back down onto the shoulders of their owners. Ruri had problems hiding a smile. They'd certainly managed to make a rather dramatic entrance.
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