The people of the village offered to take care of the
injured castle folk. So, after they were put into care,
InuYasha and his band had a long talk with Queen La Saia. In
the sanctity of a kind old woman's house, La Saia told her
history with the ice demons.
"Ever since they heard about my shard," she said, "they have been after me. They caused pain and suffering to my subjects and my family. No one in this village deserves to be treated so cruelly. The ice demons destroyed homes, robbed and even killed innocent people. This cannot go on for much longer. Will you help us defeat them?"
InuYasha crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "What's in it for us?"
Kagome gasped. She walked up and grabbed InuYasha's arm. "What do you mean, 'what's in it for us'!?" she yelled. "It doesn't matter what's in it for us! All that matter's is the safety of these people!"
"If you help us defeat them," said La Saia, "I will give you this." She took out her shard of the Shikon jewel.
InuYasha smiled. "Fighting demons AND a shard of the jewel? Seems almost too good to be true. We'll do it."
La Saia smiled. "I knew you would help us."
OmegaNihon had absolutely no idea what they were getting into. The ice demons' lair was a freezing stronghold. Fierce creatures that controlled ice guarded it. La Saia explained this to InuYasha and his band. "Deep within its cold walls," she said, "is a very powerful demon that goes by the name of KooriKisaki, the ice queen. She is the evil creature that wants the Shikon jewel to become even more powerful. If she gets her icy hands on it, the whole world will be covered in a blanket of snow forever."
"We won't let that happen," Kagome reassured. "We beat demons on a daily basis, so it's nothing out of the ordinary for us. Right, guys?"
The others nodded, and La Saia smiled again. "Thank you all," she said.
Just then, the old woman who owned the house came in with a tray of warm drinks for her guests. She handed one out to everyone, but when she came to La Saia, it was refused.
"No thank you," La Saia said politely. "I am not thirsty."
"But, your highness," the woman said, "It is winter, and very cold. You should drink it to keep warm."
But still La Saia refused the drink. "Thank you for your hospitality, but I do not need it. I am fine."
The woman shrugged and went back to the kitchen to prepare a dinner for them.
Meanwhile, deep within the icy walls of the ice demons' lair, Gyouka was contemplating a plan of revenge on the enemy's new allies. He was joined by a group of Hyoukoumori.
"Ah," he said, "You've arrived. I want you to get all the information about InuYasha and his friends that you can. Most importantly, I want where they live."
The head Hyoukoumori nodded, and the group flew out to begin their search.
(Good. When I find out where they live, I will be able to send out troops to obliterate their homes.)
Gyouka laughed a classic evil laugh. He walked out to the balcony that overlooked the entire stronghold. It was a massive fortress made completely out of ice and snow. There was no plant life, and the only trees that were around died a long time ago. They were now only good for perches for the Hyoukoumori.
Down in the icy courtyard were the Toukaibutsu larvae. The Toukaibutsu were demons made entirely out of ice. Their bodies where nothing more than a shapeless hunk of frozen water, but they were strong. From what looked like their heads, they could spray a stream of freezing gas that would encase any enemy in an ice tomb. The only problem was they could only move on ice.
Their "mother," on the other hand, was a different story. Icykal was a massive ice demon that somewhat resembled a crab. At the end of its arms were great pinchers that could rip almost anything in half. Its body was covered in humps of ice that would eventually fall off to become Toukaibutsu.
Icykal was tending to its children as Gyouka watched over his empire.
(Well, it's not mine yet. but some day.)
"Yes," he muttered out loud, "Some day."
Gyouka sighed and walked back inside the overlooking tower.
As InuYasha and his friends were talking to La Saia, and as Gyouka was looking over what he hoped would be his empire one day, Kagura was explaining her plan of performing in the Battle of the Bands contest with Kanna.
"So," Kagura said, "What do you think?"
Kanna breathed in heavily. She didn't know if she or the rest of the band was ready for this. They hadn't been practicing much lately, so she was worried that they might be a little rusty. But maybe it would be a good experience anyways. She nodded.
"Excellent," Kagura exclaimed. "I'll go tell Kohaku and Hakudoushi, and you get your keyboards set up."
Kanna nodded again and Kagura left to talk with the boys. She found them in an obvious spot: playing on the Play Master 6000, with Kohaku loosing badly. They were playing a Mario racing game, with twenty racers. Hakudoushi was in second place, and Kohaku was in twentieth, but he had no intent on loosing like this. Kagura watched as Kohaku slowly passed the nineteenth person, then the eighteenth, and soon he was fourth. Hakudoushi had moved back to third, and Kohaku was right behind him. The two racers passed the second place one, putting Hakudoushi into second and Kohaku into third. Only one racer stood in Hakudoushi's way. Now two.
"Huh?" Hakudoushi exclaimed as he saw Kohaku's racer cross the finish line first.
Kohaku's eyes widened. "I won," he whispered dumbfounded. "I actually won." He jumped up and started to sing and dance happily. This was the first time he had ever beaten anyone at any of his games before. He was silenced by Kagura's clapping.
"Well done," she smirked, "But we have important matters to discuss."
Hakudoushi groaned. "Do we have too?" he whined.
"Yes," Kagura responded sharply. "I have entered us into the Battle of the Bands contest that InuYasha and his band entered. I discussed this with Kanna and she thinks it's a good idea-"
"You always discuss stuff with Kanna first," Hakudoushi said angrily. "Why don't you come to one of us first?"
Kagura raised an eyebrow. "The last thing I would want to do is put the fate of our band in the hands of two little boys."
"But," Hakudoushi protested, "Kanna's a little girl-"
"She's older than you," Kagura pointed out. "Why are you bothered? Do you not think this is a good idea?"
Hakudoushi was silent. He did think it was a good idea.
"Indeed," Kagura continued. "Now, don't you think it's time to put away the games and make a little music?"
Kohaku and Hakudoushi smiled and nodded. The three of them went back to their practice room to find Kanna had set up their keyboards. Too bad none of them noticed the flock of Hyoukoumori spying on them just outside their house.
Night was beginning to fall. Most of the village had gone to sleep. But Kikyou was unable to even close her eyes, let alone sleep. She decided to go for a walk around town. Maybe that would make her sleepy. She started out the door and found Jakotsu sitting on the front steps. She continued walking past him, not even looking at him.
"Hey, Kikyou," Jakotsu said meekly, "Where're ya goin'?"
Silence was his response. Kikyou continued to walk, not even turning around to give him "the stare." Jakotsu decided to follow her. Lately he had been feeling really uncomfortable about what happened the other night. He really needed to talk to Kikyou about it, but would she listen?
Jakotsu jumped up, but forgot that the stairs were covered in ice. He slipped, but caught the banister. He ran; slipping a few more times on the icy ground, and caught up to her. He looked at her face, and it seemed like she was trying to chew her tongue.
(If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.)
"So," Jakotsu said slowly, "Where'd ya say you were goin'?"
Again, Kikyou didn't even look at him. She was really hurt that Suikotsu left her, and in her eyes it was Jakotsu who ripped them apart. She was beginning to even feel hatred towards him.
Jakotsu saw that he was going nowhere with this, so he tried a different tactic. "Beautiful night," he said, looking up at the dark, cloud filled sky. Kikyou turned her head to look at him, but not for very long.
"You know," Jakotsu continued, "Silent treatment doesn't work on me. I need to talk to you. And I think you need to talk to me."
"I have nothing to say," Kikyou said flatly, and began to walk faster. Jakotsu matched her speed. "All I want to do is talk," he said.
"Talk then," Kikyou whispered.
Jakotsu smiled. "See? I knew you couldn't ignore me forever. Umm, anyways. I wanna apologize for that night. But keep in mind: that was not my original intention, and we did have a lot to drink."
Kikyou looked at her feet. That was true, but it still wasn't an excuse. The silence of the village's streets was hard for either of them to handle. They continued to walk, but said very little. And as the clouds parted, small blue objects could be seen flying through the sky high above the village, ready to report back the news of where InuYasha lived to their master.
"Ever since they heard about my shard," she said, "they have been after me. They caused pain and suffering to my subjects and my family. No one in this village deserves to be treated so cruelly. The ice demons destroyed homes, robbed and even killed innocent people. This cannot go on for much longer. Will you help us defeat them?"
InuYasha crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "What's in it for us?"
Kagome gasped. She walked up and grabbed InuYasha's arm. "What do you mean, 'what's in it for us'!?" she yelled. "It doesn't matter what's in it for us! All that matter's is the safety of these people!"
"If you help us defeat them," said La Saia, "I will give you this." She took out her shard of the Shikon jewel.
InuYasha smiled. "Fighting demons AND a shard of the jewel? Seems almost too good to be true. We'll do it."
La Saia smiled. "I knew you would help us."
OmegaNihon had absolutely no idea what they were getting into. The ice demons' lair was a freezing stronghold. Fierce creatures that controlled ice guarded it. La Saia explained this to InuYasha and his band. "Deep within its cold walls," she said, "is a very powerful demon that goes by the name of KooriKisaki, the ice queen. She is the evil creature that wants the Shikon jewel to become even more powerful. If she gets her icy hands on it, the whole world will be covered in a blanket of snow forever."
"We won't let that happen," Kagome reassured. "We beat demons on a daily basis, so it's nothing out of the ordinary for us. Right, guys?"
The others nodded, and La Saia smiled again. "Thank you all," she said.
Just then, the old woman who owned the house came in with a tray of warm drinks for her guests. She handed one out to everyone, but when she came to La Saia, it was refused.
"No thank you," La Saia said politely. "I am not thirsty."
"But, your highness," the woman said, "It is winter, and very cold. You should drink it to keep warm."
But still La Saia refused the drink. "Thank you for your hospitality, but I do not need it. I am fine."
The woman shrugged and went back to the kitchen to prepare a dinner for them.
Meanwhile, deep within the icy walls of the ice demons' lair, Gyouka was contemplating a plan of revenge on the enemy's new allies. He was joined by a group of Hyoukoumori.
"Ah," he said, "You've arrived. I want you to get all the information about InuYasha and his friends that you can. Most importantly, I want where they live."
The head Hyoukoumori nodded, and the group flew out to begin their search.
(Good. When I find out where they live, I will be able to send out troops to obliterate their homes.)
Gyouka laughed a classic evil laugh. He walked out to the balcony that overlooked the entire stronghold. It was a massive fortress made completely out of ice and snow. There was no plant life, and the only trees that were around died a long time ago. They were now only good for perches for the Hyoukoumori.
Down in the icy courtyard were the Toukaibutsu larvae. The Toukaibutsu were demons made entirely out of ice. Their bodies where nothing more than a shapeless hunk of frozen water, but they were strong. From what looked like their heads, they could spray a stream of freezing gas that would encase any enemy in an ice tomb. The only problem was they could only move on ice.
Their "mother," on the other hand, was a different story. Icykal was a massive ice demon that somewhat resembled a crab. At the end of its arms were great pinchers that could rip almost anything in half. Its body was covered in humps of ice that would eventually fall off to become Toukaibutsu.
Icykal was tending to its children as Gyouka watched over his empire.
(Well, it's not mine yet. but some day.)
"Yes," he muttered out loud, "Some day."
Gyouka sighed and walked back inside the overlooking tower.
As InuYasha and his friends were talking to La Saia, and as Gyouka was looking over what he hoped would be his empire one day, Kagura was explaining her plan of performing in the Battle of the Bands contest with Kanna.
"So," Kagura said, "What do you think?"
Kanna breathed in heavily. She didn't know if she or the rest of the band was ready for this. They hadn't been practicing much lately, so she was worried that they might be a little rusty. But maybe it would be a good experience anyways. She nodded.
"Excellent," Kagura exclaimed. "I'll go tell Kohaku and Hakudoushi, and you get your keyboards set up."
Kanna nodded again and Kagura left to talk with the boys. She found them in an obvious spot: playing on the Play Master 6000, with Kohaku loosing badly. They were playing a Mario racing game, with twenty racers. Hakudoushi was in second place, and Kohaku was in twentieth, but he had no intent on loosing like this. Kagura watched as Kohaku slowly passed the nineteenth person, then the eighteenth, and soon he was fourth. Hakudoushi had moved back to third, and Kohaku was right behind him. The two racers passed the second place one, putting Hakudoushi into second and Kohaku into third. Only one racer stood in Hakudoushi's way. Now two.
"Huh?" Hakudoushi exclaimed as he saw Kohaku's racer cross the finish line first.
Kohaku's eyes widened. "I won," he whispered dumbfounded. "I actually won." He jumped up and started to sing and dance happily. This was the first time he had ever beaten anyone at any of his games before. He was silenced by Kagura's clapping.
"Well done," she smirked, "But we have important matters to discuss."
Hakudoushi groaned. "Do we have too?" he whined.
"Yes," Kagura responded sharply. "I have entered us into the Battle of the Bands contest that InuYasha and his band entered. I discussed this with Kanna and she thinks it's a good idea-"
"You always discuss stuff with Kanna first," Hakudoushi said angrily. "Why don't you come to one of us first?"
Kagura raised an eyebrow. "The last thing I would want to do is put the fate of our band in the hands of two little boys."
"But," Hakudoushi protested, "Kanna's a little girl-"
"She's older than you," Kagura pointed out. "Why are you bothered? Do you not think this is a good idea?"
Hakudoushi was silent. He did think it was a good idea.
"Indeed," Kagura continued. "Now, don't you think it's time to put away the games and make a little music?"
Kohaku and Hakudoushi smiled and nodded. The three of them went back to their practice room to find Kanna had set up their keyboards. Too bad none of them noticed the flock of Hyoukoumori spying on them just outside their house.
Night was beginning to fall. Most of the village had gone to sleep. But Kikyou was unable to even close her eyes, let alone sleep. She decided to go for a walk around town. Maybe that would make her sleepy. She started out the door and found Jakotsu sitting on the front steps. She continued walking past him, not even looking at him.
"Hey, Kikyou," Jakotsu said meekly, "Where're ya goin'?"
Silence was his response. Kikyou continued to walk, not even turning around to give him "the stare." Jakotsu decided to follow her. Lately he had been feeling really uncomfortable about what happened the other night. He really needed to talk to Kikyou about it, but would she listen?
Jakotsu jumped up, but forgot that the stairs were covered in ice. He slipped, but caught the banister. He ran; slipping a few more times on the icy ground, and caught up to her. He looked at her face, and it seemed like she was trying to chew her tongue.
(If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.)
"So," Jakotsu said slowly, "Where'd ya say you were goin'?"
Again, Kikyou didn't even look at him. She was really hurt that Suikotsu left her, and in her eyes it was Jakotsu who ripped them apart. She was beginning to even feel hatred towards him.
Jakotsu saw that he was going nowhere with this, so he tried a different tactic. "Beautiful night," he said, looking up at the dark, cloud filled sky. Kikyou turned her head to look at him, but not for very long.
"You know," Jakotsu continued, "Silent treatment doesn't work on me. I need to talk to you. And I think you need to talk to me."
"I have nothing to say," Kikyou said flatly, and began to walk faster. Jakotsu matched her speed. "All I want to do is talk," he said.
"Talk then," Kikyou whispered.
Jakotsu smiled. "See? I knew you couldn't ignore me forever. Umm, anyways. I wanna apologize for that night. But keep in mind: that was not my original intention, and we did have a lot to drink."
Kikyou looked at her feet. That was true, but it still wasn't an excuse. The silence of the village's streets was hard for either of them to handle. They continued to walk, but said very little. And as the clouds parted, small blue objects could be seen flying through the sky high above the village, ready to report back the news of where InuYasha lived to their master.