Within the temple, things were settling down peacefully. Inuyasha and
Hikaru did sense some youki, but whatever youkai made this shrine it's home
seemed benevolent enough to let them stay the night.
She made a little offering to the shrine while the boys spread out the bedrolls on the floor. Then they all settled in for the night. It had been a long and unsettling day. With luck the night would pass by uneventfully and tomorrow will be better.
But Inuyasha felt that they would not be so lucky.
******
The nighttime forest was filled with the usual sounds of the rustling leaves in the trees and the night animals scurrying along their way. Which for the most part, was to avoid getting into the path of the twin youkai making their way to the shrine. They stomped through amongst the trees with terrible purpose, not caring what got in their way.
They knew that they would have fine feasting tonight. A pair of hanyou and a shrine youkai. Who could ask for a finer meal for their delicate palates?
The youkai chuckled in unison as they moved ever closer to the shrine.
******
In the village, most of the town had settled down for the night. The bars and restaurants were closed, shooing the last of their drunken customers off to their own homes and beds. Not one of them had any idea what was heading towards their beloved shrine.
******
Inuyasha was almost asleep when his nose caught the scent of something unfamiliar and possibly hostile not too far from the shrine. He sat up and his senses confirmed the presence of youki in the immediate area. Beside him, Hikaru awoke and also sat up. Without a word the two of them gathered their weapons and headed outside.
The twins and hanyou emerged and saw each other at the same time. There was a face off for a moment while each side judged the other's strength.
The youkai knew that the hanyou shouldn't be much trouble for them, but their swords gave off a powerful aura; and there was something about the two hanyou that seemed out of place with them. Yet they couldn't pinpoint what it could be.
Then one of them chuckled, "Good, you came out to meet us. That will save us some trouble."
"Why?" Hikaru asked.
"Because, after we're done consuming your youki, the youkai in the shrine should pose no trouble for us."
Inuyasha was quiet through all of this. He could sense the strength of the youkai in front of them and knew that he could handle one of them easily. And Hikaru should be more than enough to take care of the other one.
He looked at her and she nodded. Good, she understood. Together they charged forward. And both of them were smacked in the chest with the back of the youkai's hands as in unison they deflected the charge with practiced ease.
Hikaru and Inuyasha flew over the shrine and landed in the brush behind the building. The commotion had awakened Juanyu and Myouga, both of whom took one look outside and raced out, the human grabbing his bow and quiver.
The youkai laughed and crushed and ripped into the shrine with their bare hands. The laughter turned into rage as the youkai that was suppose to live there refused to reveal itself to them. They shredded the shrine to kindling and scattered the pieces all around them.
In the brush, Inuyasha and Hikaru sat up and looked at their opponents in wonder. How could the hanyou's attack have been deflected so easily? And they stared in wonder as they saw that the youkai moved in perfect unison. All their movements were reflections of each other.
"Youkai twins, this is not a good thing, Inuyasha-sama," Myouga said. The flea-youkai and Juanyu appeared by their side. "It will be very difficult to defeat them, Inuyasha-sama."
"And would you mind explaining to me why that is, Myouga-jii?" Inuyasha growled.
"Twin youkai are a rarity. It has always been said that twin youkai fight as one in battle, near impossible to defeat one of them," he said. "And so long as one of them is alive, they both will remain alive."
"What if both are defeated at the same time, Myouga?" Hikaru asked.
The flea nodded, "That might work, Hikaru-sama. Brilliant idea!"
"Then let's do it!" Inuyasha screamed as he got up and charged forward. He pulled his sword out and prepared to swing.
"Kaze no."
But, one of the twins noticed the approach reached out, and grabbed Inuyasha by his sword arm. The other twin took Tetsusaiga from Inuyasha's grasp and tossed it aside.
"That won't work with us, little hanyou."
"Kukuku. He's right. Not one single person can defeat us."
"Then maybe two can!" Hikaru cried out. She jumped up and swung Tennega. "Gale Wind!"
A powerful gust of wind came from the blade and buffeted them. The twins were forced to release Inuyasha to protect their faces. The hanyou jumped aside and managed not to be effected by the blast. He ran back to his sister's side with a grimace.
"Damn, this is going to be difficult," he said.
Hikaru looked at him, "No? Really, Inuyasha?"
"Bah! Don't give me any of your sarcasm, imooto-chan. We need a plan here. Can you use your lightning trick on them like you did when you first awakened the sword's power?"
Hikaru studied their opponents and a doubtful expression came upon her face. "I doubt that I could," she replied. "It seems that their skin is made of stone. The lightning won't penetrate straight through. But if there was some sort of opening, I might be able to do something."
Inuyasha grinned. "Say no more, Hikaru. Leave it to me, just follow my lead," he said.
At that moment, they both felt something tingling inside of them. But they both ignored it. Whatever it was, they were sure that it could wait until after the battle to inquire about. And they were sure that the other had not experienced the feeling; so they were determined so hide it from their sibling.
Inuyasha rushed forward and could hear Hikaru not too far behind him. He gathered his youki in his fingers and leapt at the twin youkai.
"Soul Scattering Iron Claw!" he shouted and swung down.
"- Iron Claw!" came Hikaru's voice. Inuyasha looked to his side and saw her swing her arm down in the exact same motion as him.
"How can this be?" he thought, "How can Hikaru be using the same attack as me? I thought that she was untrained in how to use her youki?"
They landed at the same time on the other side of the twins. The youkai were hurt but Inuyasha was more concerned about Hikaru. She was kneeling on the ground, clutching her right hand and biting her bottom lip.
"Hikaru!" he cried and rushed to her side. "What the hell was that just now? I thought that you didn't know how to use your youki?"
She looked up at him. "I don't know how. But somehow when I started after you, the knowledge came into my brain and my arm moved of its own volition. I saw that I was doing the same attack as you, but there was nothing that I could do to stop me."
They shared a puzzled look then turned to face their opponents again. The twins were badly damaged and really angry.
"How dare you!" one cried out.
"How is it possible that you were able to hurt us?" shouted the other.
"It doesn't matter! They won't live long enough to get second chance," retorted the first. With a growl, they charged forward to them.
Inuyasha glared at them, trying to figure out the best way to dodge their attack. The youkai were coming at them with fists raised. He jumped out of their reach just as the twins brought their fists to the ground. The hanyou went up into the air, twisted his body in mid air and landed on a tree branch right next to a wide-eyed Hikaru.
"Ho-How did you do that?" she asked.
Inuyasha grabbed the branch to steady himself as pain exploded along his spine. "I.I don't know. It was like what you told me when you first used your youki. The knowledge was there and my body moved on its own," he replied. He looked at her, "What the hell is happening to us?"
She shook her head in bewilderment.
The twin youkai growled and stepped in unison towards the hanyou siblings. They were just as confused as they were about the situation but they care less why this was happening. All that mattered to them was to wipe out their opponents and dine on their flesh before going towards the shrine youkai.
Inuyasha was silent and looked at his imooto. He had no idea what they could do now. Hikaru smiled in a way that told him that she had come up with something. "Follow my lead, ani-chan," was all she said as she leapt off the branch towards the youkai. Inuyasha saw that she planned to attack them with her bare fists. It might help; especially if he could manage to get at them with his own claws.
Then he felt something pull at him. Something wanted him to follow Hikaru precisely. He leapt off the branch and his body obeying commands that didn't originate from him.
Together they rushed towards the youkai and attacked. On the sideline, Juanyu and Myouga watched in fascination as Inuyasha and Hikaru fought the youkai in perfect unison. They were fighting hand to hand and moving at incredible speed.
"It's amazing," Myouga muttered.
"What is?" Juanyu asked.
"The way that Inuyasha can fight using his whole body. I never knew that he could. I had always thought that he lacked the knowledge and proper training for this style of fighting. He had always used his sword and youki in battle." There was no mistaking the pride in the flea's voice.
"But," Juanyu interjected, "he couldn't have."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I know those moves," he explained. "They're the same ones that I have seen Hikaru-sama practicing. There is no way that Inuyasha-sama could know them."
"Oh boy," the flea murmured. He studied the fighting and then a memory that at first seemed unimportant leapt up and a revelation was made.
"Inuyasha-sama! Inuyasha-sama!"
"What is it, Myouga? Can't you see that I'm in the middle of something!" his master answered.
"I might have an idea about what's going on, Inuyasha-sama!" Myouga cried out. "Remember what the water youkai had said! 'When you both enter a battle one shall fight as the other's twin!' That might mean that in battle, you two share the same abilities!"
Inuyasha and Hikaru leapt back from the youkai to give themselves a chance to think through what Myouga had said. The idea seemed preposterous, but it did have merit and make sense.
"All right," Inuyasha said. "If we do share the same abilities, what do we think we should do?"
Hikaru said, "I think that we should finish them now. Call Tetsusaiga to you and we'll use our swords together."
He smiled and agreed. He held out his hand called his sword to him. The blade answered promptly and came to its wielder's open hand.
++ For those of you who don't remember, he did something like this previously just after Miroku joined the group.
Together Inuyasha and Hikaru charged the youkai twins.
"Kaze no Kizu!" Inuyasha shouted.
"Maelstrom!" Hikaru cried out.
The combined attacks utterly destroyed the twins as they screamed in pain and death. Inuyasha and Hikaru stood wearily as Juanyu ran up to them with Myouga jumping giddily on his shoulder.
"You did it! You did it! Congratulations, Inuyasha-sama and Hikaru-sama!" the little youkai cried out.
"Yeah, we did," Inuyasha said with a tired smile. Then he and Hikaru fell face first on the ground.
She made a little offering to the shrine while the boys spread out the bedrolls on the floor. Then they all settled in for the night. It had been a long and unsettling day. With luck the night would pass by uneventfully and tomorrow will be better.
But Inuyasha felt that they would not be so lucky.
******
The nighttime forest was filled with the usual sounds of the rustling leaves in the trees and the night animals scurrying along their way. Which for the most part, was to avoid getting into the path of the twin youkai making their way to the shrine. They stomped through amongst the trees with terrible purpose, not caring what got in their way.
They knew that they would have fine feasting tonight. A pair of hanyou and a shrine youkai. Who could ask for a finer meal for their delicate palates?
The youkai chuckled in unison as they moved ever closer to the shrine.
******
In the village, most of the town had settled down for the night. The bars and restaurants were closed, shooing the last of their drunken customers off to their own homes and beds. Not one of them had any idea what was heading towards their beloved shrine.
******
Inuyasha was almost asleep when his nose caught the scent of something unfamiliar and possibly hostile not too far from the shrine. He sat up and his senses confirmed the presence of youki in the immediate area. Beside him, Hikaru awoke and also sat up. Without a word the two of them gathered their weapons and headed outside.
The twins and hanyou emerged and saw each other at the same time. There was a face off for a moment while each side judged the other's strength.
The youkai knew that the hanyou shouldn't be much trouble for them, but their swords gave off a powerful aura; and there was something about the two hanyou that seemed out of place with them. Yet they couldn't pinpoint what it could be.
Then one of them chuckled, "Good, you came out to meet us. That will save us some trouble."
"Why?" Hikaru asked.
"Because, after we're done consuming your youki, the youkai in the shrine should pose no trouble for us."
Inuyasha was quiet through all of this. He could sense the strength of the youkai in front of them and knew that he could handle one of them easily. And Hikaru should be more than enough to take care of the other one.
He looked at her and she nodded. Good, she understood. Together they charged forward. And both of them were smacked in the chest with the back of the youkai's hands as in unison they deflected the charge with practiced ease.
Hikaru and Inuyasha flew over the shrine and landed in the brush behind the building. The commotion had awakened Juanyu and Myouga, both of whom took one look outside and raced out, the human grabbing his bow and quiver.
The youkai laughed and crushed and ripped into the shrine with their bare hands. The laughter turned into rage as the youkai that was suppose to live there refused to reveal itself to them. They shredded the shrine to kindling and scattered the pieces all around them.
In the brush, Inuyasha and Hikaru sat up and looked at their opponents in wonder. How could the hanyou's attack have been deflected so easily? And they stared in wonder as they saw that the youkai moved in perfect unison. All their movements were reflections of each other.
"Youkai twins, this is not a good thing, Inuyasha-sama," Myouga said. The flea-youkai and Juanyu appeared by their side. "It will be very difficult to defeat them, Inuyasha-sama."
"And would you mind explaining to me why that is, Myouga-jii?" Inuyasha growled.
"Twin youkai are a rarity. It has always been said that twin youkai fight as one in battle, near impossible to defeat one of them," he said. "And so long as one of them is alive, they both will remain alive."
"What if both are defeated at the same time, Myouga?" Hikaru asked.
The flea nodded, "That might work, Hikaru-sama. Brilliant idea!"
"Then let's do it!" Inuyasha screamed as he got up and charged forward. He pulled his sword out and prepared to swing.
"Kaze no."
But, one of the twins noticed the approach reached out, and grabbed Inuyasha by his sword arm. The other twin took Tetsusaiga from Inuyasha's grasp and tossed it aside.
"That won't work with us, little hanyou."
"Kukuku. He's right. Not one single person can defeat us."
"Then maybe two can!" Hikaru cried out. She jumped up and swung Tennega. "Gale Wind!"
A powerful gust of wind came from the blade and buffeted them. The twins were forced to release Inuyasha to protect their faces. The hanyou jumped aside and managed not to be effected by the blast. He ran back to his sister's side with a grimace.
"Damn, this is going to be difficult," he said.
Hikaru looked at him, "No? Really, Inuyasha?"
"Bah! Don't give me any of your sarcasm, imooto-chan. We need a plan here. Can you use your lightning trick on them like you did when you first awakened the sword's power?"
Hikaru studied their opponents and a doubtful expression came upon her face. "I doubt that I could," she replied. "It seems that their skin is made of stone. The lightning won't penetrate straight through. But if there was some sort of opening, I might be able to do something."
Inuyasha grinned. "Say no more, Hikaru. Leave it to me, just follow my lead," he said.
At that moment, they both felt something tingling inside of them. But they both ignored it. Whatever it was, they were sure that it could wait until after the battle to inquire about. And they were sure that the other had not experienced the feeling; so they were determined so hide it from their sibling.
Inuyasha rushed forward and could hear Hikaru not too far behind him. He gathered his youki in his fingers and leapt at the twin youkai.
"Soul Scattering Iron Claw!" he shouted and swung down.
"- Iron Claw!" came Hikaru's voice. Inuyasha looked to his side and saw her swing her arm down in the exact same motion as him.
"How can this be?" he thought, "How can Hikaru be using the same attack as me? I thought that she was untrained in how to use her youki?"
They landed at the same time on the other side of the twins. The youkai were hurt but Inuyasha was more concerned about Hikaru. She was kneeling on the ground, clutching her right hand and biting her bottom lip.
"Hikaru!" he cried and rushed to her side. "What the hell was that just now? I thought that you didn't know how to use your youki?"
She looked up at him. "I don't know how. But somehow when I started after you, the knowledge came into my brain and my arm moved of its own volition. I saw that I was doing the same attack as you, but there was nothing that I could do to stop me."
They shared a puzzled look then turned to face their opponents again. The twins were badly damaged and really angry.
"How dare you!" one cried out.
"How is it possible that you were able to hurt us?" shouted the other.
"It doesn't matter! They won't live long enough to get second chance," retorted the first. With a growl, they charged forward to them.
Inuyasha glared at them, trying to figure out the best way to dodge their attack. The youkai were coming at them with fists raised. He jumped out of their reach just as the twins brought their fists to the ground. The hanyou went up into the air, twisted his body in mid air and landed on a tree branch right next to a wide-eyed Hikaru.
"Ho-How did you do that?" she asked.
Inuyasha grabbed the branch to steady himself as pain exploded along his spine. "I.I don't know. It was like what you told me when you first used your youki. The knowledge was there and my body moved on its own," he replied. He looked at her, "What the hell is happening to us?"
She shook her head in bewilderment.
The twin youkai growled and stepped in unison towards the hanyou siblings. They were just as confused as they were about the situation but they care less why this was happening. All that mattered to them was to wipe out their opponents and dine on their flesh before going towards the shrine youkai.
Inuyasha was silent and looked at his imooto. He had no idea what they could do now. Hikaru smiled in a way that told him that she had come up with something. "Follow my lead, ani-chan," was all she said as she leapt off the branch towards the youkai. Inuyasha saw that she planned to attack them with her bare fists. It might help; especially if he could manage to get at them with his own claws.
Then he felt something pull at him. Something wanted him to follow Hikaru precisely. He leapt off the branch and his body obeying commands that didn't originate from him.
Together they rushed towards the youkai and attacked. On the sideline, Juanyu and Myouga watched in fascination as Inuyasha and Hikaru fought the youkai in perfect unison. They were fighting hand to hand and moving at incredible speed.
"It's amazing," Myouga muttered.
"What is?" Juanyu asked.
"The way that Inuyasha can fight using his whole body. I never knew that he could. I had always thought that he lacked the knowledge and proper training for this style of fighting. He had always used his sword and youki in battle." There was no mistaking the pride in the flea's voice.
"But," Juanyu interjected, "he couldn't have."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I know those moves," he explained. "They're the same ones that I have seen Hikaru-sama practicing. There is no way that Inuyasha-sama could know them."
"Oh boy," the flea murmured. He studied the fighting and then a memory that at first seemed unimportant leapt up and a revelation was made.
"Inuyasha-sama! Inuyasha-sama!"
"What is it, Myouga? Can't you see that I'm in the middle of something!" his master answered.
"I might have an idea about what's going on, Inuyasha-sama!" Myouga cried out. "Remember what the water youkai had said! 'When you both enter a battle one shall fight as the other's twin!' That might mean that in battle, you two share the same abilities!"
Inuyasha and Hikaru leapt back from the youkai to give themselves a chance to think through what Myouga had said. The idea seemed preposterous, but it did have merit and make sense.
"All right," Inuyasha said. "If we do share the same abilities, what do we think we should do?"
Hikaru said, "I think that we should finish them now. Call Tetsusaiga to you and we'll use our swords together."
He smiled and agreed. He held out his hand called his sword to him. The blade answered promptly and came to its wielder's open hand.
++ For those of you who don't remember, he did something like this previously just after Miroku joined the group.
Together Inuyasha and Hikaru charged the youkai twins.
"Kaze no Kizu!" Inuyasha shouted.
"Maelstrom!" Hikaru cried out.
The combined attacks utterly destroyed the twins as they screamed in pain and death. Inuyasha and Hikaru stood wearily as Juanyu ran up to them with Myouga jumping giddily on his shoulder.
"You did it! You did it! Congratulations, Inuyasha-sama and Hikaru-sama!" the little youkai cried out.
"Yeah, we did," Inuyasha said with a tired smile. Then he and Hikaru fell face first on the ground.