Chapter 15 revised (2.7.04) ^-^
Disclaimer: ::still wearing the white wig and ears from before, and Inuyasha's haori. Except now she's holding a 2x4 shaped like Tessaiga in its transformed state. She has her two cats spray-painted white and pasted onto it for the fur.:: Kaze no Kizu~!
Tessen's brother:: o_0
____________________________
To Be With You Tomorrow
Part Five :: Human
Chapter Fifteen :: Earth Sprite
Sango pushed Kohaku to arm's length and wiped her face, a wide smile spreading. "Kohaku..." He blinked, rubbing his face. "Ane-ue, I--"
He didn't have a chance to say anything more, because just then, Koyama appeared. "I hate to break up this touching reunion, but you taiji-ya are in my way."
The old man eyed Kagome and gasped when he noticed the faint pink glow from her neckline. "The Shikon no Tama~? Not complete, but much bigger than the one I own..."
He started for her, and Kagome began to reach for her bow but stopped herself. *I can't fight him; he's Hana-himesama's beloved sofu-ue...*
Inuyasha stepped between them, Tessaiga drawn. "Get back, you dried up geezer, you lay one gnarled old hand on Kagome and I'll kick your wrinkled ass all the way to Hell!" Kagome put her hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Inuyasha, don't fight him, he's Hana-himesama's grandfather!"
"Kagome, he's either a demon or he's possessed by one! He's not her grandfather anymore!" argued the hanyou. And then, "That's right," said a woman's silky voice, "Koyama Mugihito is almost completely gone now. I've eaten him all up."
Suddenly a ghost-like woman with long hair appeared behind Koyama's body. The demon bared long teeth at the group and Tama cracked her knuckles. "So you're an earth sprite, huh? What happening to protecting the forest?~!"
"Worthless fucking humans are destroying my forest!" The sprite cried, "Humans are beasts. They come in and make their villages on youkai territory and then complain when they have trouble!! Countless demons are killed by Taiji-ya like you because of humans~!! I realized my forest was being destroyed but as a simple forest spirit, I couldn't fight back."
She grinned, "But I got lucky. I found a shard of the jewel and it gave me the strength I needed to take over this worthless old body and strengthen my power. But you taiji-ya are in the way--"
"Sofu-ue?!!"
They all looked up, and the princess, Hana, stood at the foot of the stairs to the walkway, staring. "W-why...??"
"Ah, my beautiful Hana-chan~" the demon said with Koyama's voice, and it rushed over and snatched up the girl. It ripped away the ceramic flower charm around Hana's neck and then tossed aside the princess, who was caught haphazardly by Kagome. Hana began to cry. "Sofu-ue, don't do this!!"
"The energy you gave this shard, my dear Hana, is what fuels my beautiful flowers. Now I will be able to kill these bothersome taiji-ya~!" She retook Koyama's body, and the old man put the ceramic charm around his neck. Then his eyes glowed red.
His legs transformed into roots, and dug themselves deep into the ground. His arms transformed into long, leafy ivy vines, and his skin darkened to a deep shade of brown, changing to bark. Tama charged first, slashing against him with her claws. "Dokka Tessou~!"
The attack had absolutely no effect, only a few chips of bark shot into the air. Tama stared. "Dammit, a youkai sprite has that kind of protective bark--" The vines wrapped around Tama, lifting her into the air, and Kagome gasped. "Tama-chan~!"
The old man swept forward with his vine-arm, and it swept aside Kagome and Hana, slipping around them without fail. Inuyasha grabbed at Kagome, only to have the Shikon no Tama's necklace rip from her neck. The sprite grinned with Koyama's face. "The large fragment~!"
Inuyasha grabbed it to prevent the sprite from taking it, and the old man growled. "Damned human~!" He swung the other vine arm and Inuyasha dodged. Miroku grabbed the kits and jumped. Koyama's arm spread in a web, catching both kits and the houshi, and then the domed web dropped down on top of Sango and Kohaku. The sprite laughed. "Weaklings... even youkai taiji-ya are still... just human."
Kohaku slashed at the vines with his chain blade, but the sprite hardened several vines into a branch and swung it. It clocked Kohaku in the side of the head and the boy collapsed, unconscious. Sango gasped. "Kohaku~!"
Inuyasha stared up at the old man turned youkai. His brown eyes traced over the forms of his friends, sizing up the situation he was in. Kagome, Hana, and Tama were wrapped in vines, hanging in midair by one of the youkai's arms, and in the other arm, Miroku and the kits were tangled in a weblike dome that was closed over Sango and the unconscious Kohaku. Only Inuyasha was still able to fight.
He breathed out angrily and then put the Shikon no Tama around his neck. Then he unsheathed Tessaiga and looked at the sprite. "Fucking fae," he snarled, "I'm gonna waste you~!" And then he charged.
The sprite shot vines at him, and then wrapped around Tessaiga's blade, and Inuyasha grit his teeth. *Damned vines're stronger than they look--* He looked up at the old man's body while still trying to hold off the vines. *Where the hell is the shard? If I can get that I can drive out the sprite and I won't have to kill the old jijii--*
Inuyasha glared up at Kagome. "Kagome! Where's the shard?!"
The miko shifted, trying to look at the monster. She was hanging upside down, and the blood was rushing to her head, confusing her senses to locate the shard, but she managed to narrow it down a bit. "U-uh, it's at his neck..!! The necklace.. I think!"
The sprite tightened Kagome's vines. "Shut up~!"
With the fae distracted, Inuyasha yanked hard on his sword, and the sprite pitched forward a bit. She shot another vine arm forward with a roar, and Inuyasha pulled Tessaiga to the side, pulling the vines already around the blade up around him in a shield. Now, out of the sprite's view, he thrust the sword away from him and pushed backwards. *Time this just right~*
The sprite pulled up the vines and saw only the rusted katana, and she frowned, raising one of her borrowed eyebrows. "Where--"
"OVER HERE!"
She turned her head to see Inuyasha leap from the side. The sprite cursed, unable to turn as she was rooted to the ground, and instead shot forward another vine.
CRACK!
Kagome and the others caught their breath, watching from their binds. Inuyasha and the sprite stood locked in a fatal embrace, both looking neutral. It seemed that neither had accomplished anything, until Inuyasha's face twisted in an expression of agony.
"Got you," the sprite growled as Inuyasha gasped in pain. Kagome noticed why. The last vine the sprite shot forward had lanced through Inuyasha's right shoulder. She bit her lip, tears gathering in her eyes. "I-Inuyasha~!!!"
Inuyasha grinned through his teeth, looking rather satisfied, and snorted. "So did I, bitch." The sprite gasped as the vine in Inuyasha's shoulder, as well as around the others, began to wither and she looked about her. "Wh-what?~!!"
Inuyasha lifted his right hand and opened it. Glittering on his palm were the shattered pieces of the ceramic necklace and the Shikon shard, glowing brightly.
"You..." The sprite glared at the wounded man before her. "Bastard..." The withered vine flopped to the ground and Inuyasha staggered back, his left hand closing over his bleeding shoulder. The sprite left Koyama's body, floating above them, and the old man, returning to normal, collapsed. The sprite bared long fangs at them. "I'll kill you~~"
From the side, a flap of paper was slapped onto the sprite's trunk, and Miroku grinned. "Judgment~!" The talisman stuck to the sprite and fizzled, and she howled in pain. "H-how.... I bound him..."
Inuyasha snorted. "ALL of your vines were gone, idiot..." With a look of horror, the sprite fizzled completely and disappeared. Inuyasha watched the o-fuda flutter to the ground and then his knees buckled.
"Inuyasha~!" Kagome ran to him and knelt in front of him. "Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine," he said, but immediately after, winced as a stab of pain and gush of new blood flowed through his fingers. "Unh.."
Kagome pulled off the kerchief of her uniform and tied it around his shoulder. "I have two things to tell you. One, keep this on until I can get it cleaned, okay?" Inuyasha watched her and she looked at him from under her bangs. "And two... I told you so."
"You told me what?" he asked, baffled, and she smiled. "...that you could protect me as a human."
Inuyasha blushed and she laughed.
~*~
"Kumasan ga ip-pai~ ip-pai~ ip-pai~ Kumasan ga ip-pai~!" sang a little girl as she followed her guardians through the forest. They did not mind, as they had become quite accustomed to the child, which was strange in itself, since the trio was quite an odd one.
One, the obvious master, was a demon, and he was a very regal, beautiful person, with long silver hair and robes of white, as well as a cloak of fur over his right shoulder. He strode in the front, a rather bored, bland expression on his face.
Behind him was a minute lower demon, who hobbled behind the first. He carried a staff with two heads at the top, an old man's and a woman's.
And behind him was the little girl. She was about eight years old, and wore a thin, worn kimono. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a side ponytail with the rest licking at her shoulders. Compared to her bland but dangerous guardians, she was bright and cheery.
"Kumasan ga ip-pai~ ip-pai~ ip-pai~ Kumasan ga ip-pai~!" Rin sang again, dancing along behind Sesshoumaru and Jaken, and Jaken eyed the little girl strangely. "What are you singing? 'Lots of bears'? You are a strange child."
"Rin is bored," the little girl said, "We've done nothing but walk for days now. Sesshoumaru-sama, where are we going?"
"Going to meet someone," the demon lord replied shortly.
"O~ka~y~" Rin moaned, and as they walked Sesshoumaru suddenly noticed a distinct scent in the air. A youkai, female. Watching him. He could feel her eyes on him. He narrowed his eyes in consternation at the sudden presence, turning to the trees. He saw a flash of red, but it disappeared immediately, and he was unable to see much of what or who it was.
"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken mused and the lord shook his head faintly. "Nothing."
But he wondered about the woman. He knew her. He knew her scent. He did not know from where, but the scent was very familiar.
He narrowed his eyes. *Like that worthless sorceress who worked for my father... Except vaguely different...* He stopped again, this time causing Jaken and Rin to bump into him. The pair backed off quickly though, as though their lord were on fire, lest he get offended and smash them to pieces.
Jaken heard Sesshoumaru growl under his breath and his face melted into a expression of worry and fear. "S-sir....?? Sess-sess-Sesshoum-m-m-maru-sa-sa-sa-ma-ma-ma-ma....?????" he wailed, trembling so much that Rin eyed him carefully before looking back at up at her silver-haired guardian. He WAS acting strange.
Sesshoumaru curled his lip in disgust. "I suppose then that *she* survived..."
~*~ To be continued ~*~
a/n :: ^-^
~*~ V^-^V ~*~
Tessen
Disclaimer: ::still wearing the white wig and ears from before, and Inuyasha's haori. Except now she's holding a 2x4 shaped like Tessaiga in its transformed state. She has her two cats spray-painted white and pasted onto it for the fur.:: Kaze no Kizu~!
Tessen's brother:: o_0
____________________________
To Be With You Tomorrow
Part Five :: Human
Chapter Fifteen :: Earth Sprite
Sango pushed Kohaku to arm's length and wiped her face, a wide smile spreading. "Kohaku..." He blinked, rubbing his face. "Ane-ue, I--"
He didn't have a chance to say anything more, because just then, Koyama appeared. "I hate to break up this touching reunion, but you taiji-ya are in my way."
The old man eyed Kagome and gasped when he noticed the faint pink glow from her neckline. "The Shikon no Tama~? Not complete, but much bigger than the one I own..."
He started for her, and Kagome began to reach for her bow but stopped herself. *I can't fight him; he's Hana-himesama's beloved sofu-ue...*
Inuyasha stepped between them, Tessaiga drawn. "Get back, you dried up geezer, you lay one gnarled old hand on Kagome and I'll kick your wrinkled ass all the way to Hell!" Kagome put her hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Inuyasha, don't fight him, he's Hana-himesama's grandfather!"
"Kagome, he's either a demon or he's possessed by one! He's not her grandfather anymore!" argued the hanyou. And then, "That's right," said a woman's silky voice, "Koyama Mugihito is almost completely gone now. I've eaten him all up."
Suddenly a ghost-like woman with long hair appeared behind Koyama's body. The demon bared long teeth at the group and Tama cracked her knuckles. "So you're an earth sprite, huh? What happening to protecting the forest?~!"
"Worthless fucking humans are destroying my forest!" The sprite cried, "Humans are beasts. They come in and make their villages on youkai territory and then complain when they have trouble!! Countless demons are killed by Taiji-ya like you because of humans~!! I realized my forest was being destroyed but as a simple forest spirit, I couldn't fight back."
She grinned, "But I got lucky. I found a shard of the jewel and it gave me the strength I needed to take over this worthless old body and strengthen my power. But you taiji-ya are in the way--"
"Sofu-ue?!!"
They all looked up, and the princess, Hana, stood at the foot of the stairs to the walkway, staring. "W-why...??"
"Ah, my beautiful Hana-chan~" the demon said with Koyama's voice, and it rushed over and snatched up the girl. It ripped away the ceramic flower charm around Hana's neck and then tossed aside the princess, who was caught haphazardly by Kagome. Hana began to cry. "Sofu-ue, don't do this!!"
"The energy you gave this shard, my dear Hana, is what fuels my beautiful flowers. Now I will be able to kill these bothersome taiji-ya~!" She retook Koyama's body, and the old man put the ceramic charm around his neck. Then his eyes glowed red.
His legs transformed into roots, and dug themselves deep into the ground. His arms transformed into long, leafy ivy vines, and his skin darkened to a deep shade of brown, changing to bark. Tama charged first, slashing against him with her claws. "Dokka Tessou~!"
The attack had absolutely no effect, only a few chips of bark shot into the air. Tama stared. "Dammit, a youkai sprite has that kind of protective bark--" The vines wrapped around Tama, lifting her into the air, and Kagome gasped. "Tama-chan~!"
The old man swept forward with his vine-arm, and it swept aside Kagome and Hana, slipping around them without fail. Inuyasha grabbed at Kagome, only to have the Shikon no Tama's necklace rip from her neck. The sprite grinned with Koyama's face. "The large fragment~!"
Inuyasha grabbed it to prevent the sprite from taking it, and the old man growled. "Damned human~!" He swung the other vine arm and Inuyasha dodged. Miroku grabbed the kits and jumped. Koyama's arm spread in a web, catching both kits and the houshi, and then the domed web dropped down on top of Sango and Kohaku. The sprite laughed. "Weaklings... even youkai taiji-ya are still... just human."
Kohaku slashed at the vines with his chain blade, but the sprite hardened several vines into a branch and swung it. It clocked Kohaku in the side of the head and the boy collapsed, unconscious. Sango gasped. "Kohaku~!"
Inuyasha stared up at the old man turned youkai. His brown eyes traced over the forms of his friends, sizing up the situation he was in. Kagome, Hana, and Tama were wrapped in vines, hanging in midair by one of the youkai's arms, and in the other arm, Miroku and the kits were tangled in a weblike dome that was closed over Sango and the unconscious Kohaku. Only Inuyasha was still able to fight.
He breathed out angrily and then put the Shikon no Tama around his neck. Then he unsheathed Tessaiga and looked at the sprite. "Fucking fae," he snarled, "I'm gonna waste you~!" And then he charged.
The sprite shot vines at him, and then wrapped around Tessaiga's blade, and Inuyasha grit his teeth. *Damned vines're stronger than they look--* He looked up at the old man's body while still trying to hold off the vines. *Where the hell is the shard? If I can get that I can drive out the sprite and I won't have to kill the old jijii--*
Inuyasha glared up at Kagome. "Kagome! Where's the shard?!"
The miko shifted, trying to look at the monster. She was hanging upside down, and the blood was rushing to her head, confusing her senses to locate the shard, but she managed to narrow it down a bit. "U-uh, it's at his neck..!! The necklace.. I think!"
The sprite tightened Kagome's vines. "Shut up~!"
With the fae distracted, Inuyasha yanked hard on his sword, and the sprite pitched forward a bit. She shot another vine arm forward with a roar, and Inuyasha pulled Tessaiga to the side, pulling the vines already around the blade up around him in a shield. Now, out of the sprite's view, he thrust the sword away from him and pushed backwards. *Time this just right~*
The sprite pulled up the vines and saw only the rusted katana, and she frowned, raising one of her borrowed eyebrows. "Where--"
"OVER HERE!"
She turned her head to see Inuyasha leap from the side. The sprite cursed, unable to turn as she was rooted to the ground, and instead shot forward another vine.
CRACK!
Kagome and the others caught their breath, watching from their binds. Inuyasha and the sprite stood locked in a fatal embrace, both looking neutral. It seemed that neither had accomplished anything, until Inuyasha's face twisted in an expression of agony.
"Got you," the sprite growled as Inuyasha gasped in pain. Kagome noticed why. The last vine the sprite shot forward had lanced through Inuyasha's right shoulder. She bit her lip, tears gathering in her eyes. "I-Inuyasha~!!!"
Inuyasha grinned through his teeth, looking rather satisfied, and snorted. "So did I, bitch." The sprite gasped as the vine in Inuyasha's shoulder, as well as around the others, began to wither and she looked about her. "Wh-what?~!!"
Inuyasha lifted his right hand and opened it. Glittering on his palm were the shattered pieces of the ceramic necklace and the Shikon shard, glowing brightly.
"You..." The sprite glared at the wounded man before her. "Bastard..." The withered vine flopped to the ground and Inuyasha staggered back, his left hand closing over his bleeding shoulder. The sprite left Koyama's body, floating above them, and the old man, returning to normal, collapsed. The sprite bared long fangs at them. "I'll kill you~~"
From the side, a flap of paper was slapped onto the sprite's trunk, and Miroku grinned. "Judgment~!" The talisman stuck to the sprite and fizzled, and she howled in pain. "H-how.... I bound him..."
Inuyasha snorted. "ALL of your vines were gone, idiot..." With a look of horror, the sprite fizzled completely and disappeared. Inuyasha watched the o-fuda flutter to the ground and then his knees buckled.
"Inuyasha~!" Kagome ran to him and knelt in front of him. "Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine," he said, but immediately after, winced as a stab of pain and gush of new blood flowed through his fingers. "Unh.."
Kagome pulled off the kerchief of her uniform and tied it around his shoulder. "I have two things to tell you. One, keep this on until I can get it cleaned, okay?" Inuyasha watched her and she looked at him from under her bangs. "And two... I told you so."
"You told me what?" he asked, baffled, and she smiled. "...that you could protect me as a human."
Inuyasha blushed and she laughed.
~*~
"Kumasan ga ip-pai~ ip-pai~ ip-pai~ Kumasan ga ip-pai~!" sang a little girl as she followed her guardians through the forest. They did not mind, as they had become quite accustomed to the child, which was strange in itself, since the trio was quite an odd one.
One, the obvious master, was a demon, and he was a very regal, beautiful person, with long silver hair and robes of white, as well as a cloak of fur over his right shoulder. He strode in the front, a rather bored, bland expression on his face.
Behind him was a minute lower demon, who hobbled behind the first. He carried a staff with two heads at the top, an old man's and a woman's.
And behind him was the little girl. She was about eight years old, and wore a thin, worn kimono. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a side ponytail with the rest licking at her shoulders. Compared to her bland but dangerous guardians, she was bright and cheery.
"Kumasan ga ip-pai~ ip-pai~ ip-pai~ Kumasan ga ip-pai~!" Rin sang again, dancing along behind Sesshoumaru and Jaken, and Jaken eyed the little girl strangely. "What are you singing? 'Lots of bears'? You are a strange child."
"Rin is bored," the little girl said, "We've done nothing but walk for days now. Sesshoumaru-sama, where are we going?"
"Going to meet someone," the demon lord replied shortly.
"O~ka~y~" Rin moaned, and as they walked Sesshoumaru suddenly noticed a distinct scent in the air. A youkai, female. Watching him. He could feel her eyes on him. He narrowed his eyes in consternation at the sudden presence, turning to the trees. He saw a flash of red, but it disappeared immediately, and he was unable to see much of what or who it was.
"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken mused and the lord shook his head faintly. "Nothing."
But he wondered about the woman. He knew her. He knew her scent. He did not know from where, but the scent was very familiar.
He narrowed his eyes. *Like that worthless sorceress who worked for my father... Except vaguely different...* He stopped again, this time causing Jaken and Rin to bump into him. The pair backed off quickly though, as though their lord were on fire, lest he get offended and smash them to pieces.
Jaken heard Sesshoumaru growl under his breath and his face melted into a expression of worry and fear. "S-sir....?? Sess-sess-Sesshoum-m-m-maru-sa-sa-sa-ma-ma-ma-ma....?????" he wailed, trembling so much that Rin eyed him carefully before looking back at up at her silver-haired guardian. He WAS acting strange.
Sesshoumaru curled his lip in disgust. "I suppose then that *she* survived..."
~*~ To be continued ~*~
a/n :: ^-^
~*~ V^-^V ~*~
Tessen