February 17, 2002

Sister Sister

By Yashira

Chapter 7

Inuyasha's voice was harsh and resolute as he jerked Tetsusaiga free with a viscous clang. "Miroku, go! I'll deal with Naraku! He's mine to settle with." Then leaping forward, his movements a mere blur, Inuyasha raced to meet the monster in question.

"Wait Inuyasha! Damn it. Yashira-sama," seeing that Inuyasha had already sped ahead, Miroku turned to entreat her, but discovered that, she too, was just as eager to meet Naraku. That girl was as reckless as Inuyasha.

vvv

Deep throaty laughter issued from Naraku's grinning face as he regarded the cat demon, Necoa, with amused eyes. The red haired youkai, seemingly bored, was standing in plain site within the center of the half-ruined village, admiring her finely pointed nails. She stifled a growing yawn. "Heh, humans recover quickly… that's what I like about them… so much energy to steal…"

"You'll get your chance once you deal with Inuyasha," Naraku interjected smoothly, "Just stay put until, hmm… speaking of which maybe you don't have to stay still so long." He turned, his dark mass of hair swinging along his shoulders, as he watched the rapid approaching blur with mirth.

"NARAKU!!!!"

He started to laugh, clear glee in his face now. "There he is now."

Necoa smiled zealously, her cat-like grace working double for her in this night air, as she nimbly charged and was airborne for several moments. "You're mine, dog-breath!!" Red smoldering fire shot up everywhere along with twisting pieces of rubble, as half built homes exploded into furious showers of light and wood. Inuyasha, sword to the ready, twisted and turned to avoid the noxious blades of polluted smoke which snaked hungrily towards him.

"Is that all you can do," he called out gruffly. And although his voice was taunting, it was clear he was a having a difficult time trying to find a vantage point to use his 'cutting wind' for the earth and ground cascaded in tremendous jolts of jaded stone and cat fire whenever he found equal footing. If only this youkai didn't have such a stunning smell and fire attack… if only…

Recently awaken villagers tore forth from ruined homes, their eyes horror stricken, as they fled the cat demon's onslaught in droves. Being so close to the morning's attack, it was utterly confusing and terrifying; their frantic cries reached both Naraku and Inuyasha in frighten shrieks. Naraku stood there chuckling at the whole show of destruction while his fingers playfully clutched a circular object in his hands. "Inuyasha," he called, his leering tone full of scorn, "How is it a dog like yourself is having such a problem with a little fire cat?"

"Shut up, you bastard!" His voice, hoarse from the flood of wretched smoke, was wearing thin as his eyes blistered from the heat of the unholy fumes. He started to gag. No, he had to do something before the fumes overtook him completely and he was left to the mercy of this wretched demon. HE WOULD NOT BE LEFT TO HER MERCY!!

… but no…

Even now he could feel a hazy sort of dizziness flood his senses, distorting his perception, forcing him to fall forward unto his knees and hands. Pulling Tetsusaiga free in a vain attempt to use the Kizu no Kaze was futile for the sword clattered to the ground, falling from his numb fingers, uselessly.

"Such pretty hair, don't mind me as I colour it red with your blood!!" Necoa's voice was a depraved screech of delight as she appeared over head, flying down towards him in a mad dash, claws extended.

"Heaven Ascension blast-" Yashira's own voice was a sliver of venom as she roughly slid to a halt in front of some fleeing villagers and burning homesteads. She had her hands stretched out, blue wildfire issuing forth in searching waves.

"WHAT?!" Necoa screamed as she was caught off guard, the pain lacing each word in agony, as she tried to leap backwards to avoid the purifying light. She wasn't fast enough. Part of her clothing started to burn, searing the flesh beneath excruciatingly, as the blast took her on the right side. "You bitch!"

Yashira stood there, her wild black hair blowing loosely down her shoulders, her blue eyed gaze lingering mercilessly at the demon in front of her. "I'm still here, or did you forget that piece of information in your bird size brain?" She stood there rigid and proud, watching the demon cat twist and turn now in a rapid dance which tried to outdistance the blue flames of Yashira's blasts. The hunter had now become the hunted.

"NARAKU, HELP ME!" Necoa screamed, as each additional Heaven blast, struck nearer and nearer to her again. She could feel the twisting pain gutting her side, as each step tired her more and more. She was going to get herself killed if she didn't escape now.

He chortle as he thew something to Necoa… the same something which he'd been fingering in his hands earlier. The spherical object looked much like the clay ball he'd use to summon the hell bees. "Kukuku... are you as useless as Kagura?"

"YOU," Yashira said firmly, turning her gaze on the smug face of Naraku, who was clad in some freakish white baboon skins, "So I finally meet you in person." Her eyes were twisted on him in hatred, her tone equally so.

"It would seem so miko." He bowed to her, a mocking semblance of respect as if to show honour when truly presenting disdain. "I must say that the wait was more tedious and time consuming though. You aren't even as strong as the stories go…"

Yashira sputtered, her gaze narrowing hard on the man who just simply laughed at her, "You have some nerve insulting me and then enchanting that lowlife youkai. She still does not measure up to me."

"Yeah, but did you know," he said dryly, his deceptive eyes looking at her with badly concealed mirth, "It let me meet you hasn't it. The companion to Kikyou, 50 years past, it really has been an honoured to see you haven't aged much…"

Yashira coloured, her face bristling in startlement, "What the hell are you yammering about, you stupid youkai! No hanyou…" She corrected, and yet her lips were trembling, her face flushing red. "You're confusing me with…"

Inuyasha could hardly keep conscious as the fire and smoke dwindled around him, his thinking, a jarred mass of incoherent and disordered thoughts slammed into one another repeatedly. He was utterly confused by what he did manage to overhear. "Huh?" What was Naraku and Yashira muttering about?

Naraku grinned. "Oh come now Yashira, you may have hid it well from the others, but… I can see what they do not. I was there when Kikyou died and you wandered off alone. Lone Miko… Such a laugh since you aren't even completely-" He broke out laughing as a flood of blue light raced towards him loudly. "Come now, you can aim better than that you know! Oh, that almost got me, come on try again. Kukuku, you and Inuyasha are both so hasty… I wonder if you share the same blood…"

That insult clearly got her. "You take that back, you son of a bitch!" Her voice was frigid beyond belief; the fury inside her knew no bounds. "I am NO Dog HANYOU!!!" Yashira raced forward, flinging her hands out again, her moves less then graceful… as Naraku's insult seem to unnerve her steady, usually calm, demeanor. "You take that back!!"

Naraku turned to Necoa, his tone no longer gleeful, "Take care of her. She was a mistake I left running around, I want her removed."

Necoa's eyes were wide in fear and astonishment, "But.. but.." Something flew into her hands, the ball Naraku had held earlier, and she threw a questioning look at him, "What can I do with this?" She was mewling now, tail between her legs, as her watched Yashira close ground with Naraku quickly.

He merely shrugged as the blue light enveloped him, "She fights with her hands to call the heaven blast… this will merely take that factor out of the equation." Then he broke into a glittered array of pieces. A simple thread of hair and twisted piece of wood in the shape of a crudely fashioned doll fracturing on the ground as Yashira slammed her foot down hard. CRACK!

Blue eyes turning to face the red haired demon, fingers beginning to rise, Necoa's resolution took a steady climb upward. Flinging the ball at the black hair miko, the thing exploded into a mass of spiraling vines and roots. Veins of trembling cords shot out and latch themselves along Yashira's arms and legs instantly, effectively trapping her in a cocoon of plant like cords. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!"

She stumbled and fell to her knees, arms tied securely against her sides. Unless she could move, she would not be able to use the heaven blast on Necoa, that much Naraku had said, and as the cat demon stared at the useless girl she saw how right he had been. "HAHA, finally, I can destroy you! And for what you did to my clothes and my skin… I'll make sure you pay dearly!"

"Oh no you don't! KAZA ANA!!!!"

"Eh?" Necoa spun around in sudden alarm as she watched the black blurring void appear in the right hand of the houshi who stood with it raised. "No… damn it, Naraku, why didn't prepare for this…" Yet no sooner had she begun her irritating whine, but the sound of the hell wasps broke into the air, their clamorous buzzing overwhelming. She smirked, painted lips grinning widely in triumph. "Nevermind, time to die!"

Kagome and Sango appeared to Miroku's left, riding on Kirara's white furry back, as Kagome, bow to the ready, released a blazing arrow. "Stay back, Necoa!"

Necoa grinned, ducking away from the arrow that flew towards her as she dashed past the struggling Yashira. "Now, that I can deal with the bitch later, and this dog later too, I'll just dismember each and everyone of you now!"

"Eh?" Sango unhooked her Hirakotsu, determined to fling it towards the rapidly approaching demon, when Miroku moved to stand in front of her. "Miroku, what are you doing? Get out of my way!"

Hand held out, fingers spread, Miroku's face looked painstakingly resolute in the dying glare of the leftover fires, "Stand back, I'll suck her in!"

"No, Miroku!" Kagome screamed, "You'll suck in the wasps too!"

"I know," he replied simply, "But she's a threat we have to get rid of." He let his hand begin to take in some of the hellish wasps, as he struggled to keep the Kaza Ana going. Even now, as Necoa approached, he felt his body gasp under the poison and his gaze faltered a bit.

"Huh, he's not… not stopping." She stared in shock as several of the hell wasps dove into his air hole. If he wasn't going to stop… if he didn't stop…

"Abunai," she screamed, turning around and racing away with a determined look to at least strike a telling blow on either Inuyasha or Yashira before she finalized her departure.

"I don't think so, Necoa, I can just the same change my direction to your next one!" And to accentuate his words, Kagome's purifying arrows shot directly afterwards to remind the youkai that she was still there also.

The fiery red-head, turned a moment, glaring furiously at Miroku, as she kept running. The look in her retreating face was ugly.

"Houshi-sama!" Sango cried out, leaping down from Kirara, when the cat demon in question had disappeared. Miroku started to sag to floor, his eyes closing abruptly.

vvv

In swift motions he raced through the peaceful glade of the surrounding wood. No one ever came here, no one ever crossed over to this sealed glen as his mother had been apt to tell him had once been the case. His father had crossed over to this side, a ronin wolf, but that was so long ago and he had never met him. Racing through the wood, the birds and squirrels his only companions, he stood by a great old tree. "Mother…" He whispered softly, "the woods are safe today…I hope your rest is peaceful…" Turning to glance away, swinging his black braid over his shoulder, Yajuumaru of the Whispering woods, lifted his face to the sky above.