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Chapter Twenty Three: Attack From An Unknown Army
Mei Lhi sighed, rolling her eyes, taking off after him.
'I swear Onii-san...you get pissed off too much...' She thought, upon reaching the Goshinboku Tree.
"Onii-san?" She called.
"What now?!" Inuyasha demanded moodily.
"Oh don't you 'what now' me! Honestly! Sheesh..."
"I have every right to! Seeing as you like to blab all my secrets to everyone you know! I thought you'd respect me by not saying anything! But what do you do?! You go find Kagome and then you tell her everything!"
"I didn't say anything, though!"
"Yeah, well Kagome's not stupid. You told her enough to figure things out."
"Oh please...spare me the drama, Onii-san. I'm only trying to help you since you're such a wussy puppy and you're so stubborn at the same time that you just don't want to admit ANYTHING!"
Inuyasha growled angrily, slamming his fist into the bark of the tree.
Fast moving footsteps approached.
"Inuyasha! I sense something! It's got a very evil youki!" Kagome called from the base of the tree.
Inuyasha's ears twitched, his nose smelling the air, trying to distinguish the scents tangled up in the breeze. His ears stopped twitching, suddenly leaping down from the branch, shoving Kagome down into the grass just as an arrow whizzed past.
More arrows came, now aimed at Mei Lhi.
Leaping from the thick branch she was on, she touched down onto the ground.
"Come on! We have to get back to the village!" Mei Lhi yelled.
Inuyasha lifted Kagome up from the ground, placing one arm securely under her legs and the other around her shoulders. Then he took off at a run, leaping into the air, as he always did, Mei Lhi leading the way.
They reached the village in a matter of seconds, the arrows still flooding in from behind. In the village, things were no better. Now getting a look at their attackers they saw a large army of men in armor. Samurai. Some had bows, others had katanas sharp enough to cut the very ocean in half.
Mei Lhi's eyes scanned the area, her nose sensing for the scents of her friends.
"Onii-san! I can't find their scents! I can't find where the others have gone!" She cried over her shoulder.
"That's because there's too much wind and too many ningens around!" Inuyasha yelled back.
Unknown to the two hanyous and Kagome, a few samurai with katanas approached, preparing to bring their blades down upon the three of them, when they were knocked down by an arrow shining of miko light. Mei Lhi, Inuyasha, and Kagome's eyes all stared in the direction of the arrow.
Hana stood with her bow in her hand, panting.
"Hana-chan!" Mei Lhi exclaimed.
"Mei Lhi, Inuyasha, Kagome, you're back at last..." Hana said, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow.
"Hana-chan, what's going on?" Mei Lhi asked.
"An army of samurai, from our village has decided to attack this one. They want Kagome's Shikon shards. Their leader is very powerful, and he has slain many. The villagers here are weak and have been injured or died. Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara should be around somewhere. My worries are settled on Kaede-bachan's safety. I have been unable to locate her. They set her hut and many others on fire. But luckily all had escaped." Hana explained.
"Wait...from our village?! From...Kiori's..." Mei Lhi tried to say, words failing her.
She gasped suddenly, her eyes blazing with fury.
"They're the ones who attacked me! This army! They attacked my home and they killed Hakaru and Kyo! And Kiori!" She yelled.
"They are also responsible for your father's death. They sent Ryuukotsei after Inutaisho. They wished to rule the western lands. But Ryuukotsei was sealed, but Inutaisho died, so the samurai were happy. But once again, their plan to rule the lands failed, for Sesshomaru took residence there. Sesshomaru rid the lands of them and has been keeping them at bay."
"Sounds like you're pretty much glorifying that damn bastard..." Inuyasha stated lamely.
"Onii-san, duck!" Mei Lhi exclaimed.
Inuyasha did as instructed, Mei Lhi leaping over him, bringing her claws down upon a samurai behind them.
"Now's not the time to talk! We have to find the others! They might be in trouble!" Mei Lhi said.
Everyone agreed. Inuyasha set Kagome down, then Hana gathered the four of them into a huddle.
"We'll split up. Kagome, you go with Inuyasha, Mei Lhi, you come with me. If we need help, we'll send a signal by shooting an arrow. But if you're unable to do that, then just give a yell or something. There's two half- demons, so your hearing should be able to pick it up. Got it? Let's go." Hana said quickly.
The group split, Hana motioning that Inuyasha and Kagome go right, while she went left. All four nodded, then ran off in their separate directions.
"Inuyasha! I need a weapon!" Kagome yelled.
"One second..." Inuyasha replied, swiping his claws at an archer samurai.
His claws made contact, and he took the quiver and bow back to Kagome.
"Here." He said.
"Thank you, Inuyasha."
Kagome flung the quiver strap over her shoulder, then reached for an arrow, fitting it into the bow, letting it fly at three samurai that were approaching. Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga, killing at least ten samurai on each swipe of his mighty sword.
* * *
Hana was shooting three arrows at a time, Mei Lhi had drawn Tetsusage and sliced and diced two samurai. A third had attacked Hana and broken her bow.
"Hana-chan!" Mei Lhi screamed.
Hana was not concerned. She grabbed an arrow from her quiver and pierced the samurai with it, her miko energy purifying his body. Hana tore off a bit of cloth from her haori and wrapped it around the wooden side of her bow where it had snapped, then flung it over her shoulder, grabbing a katana from a fallen samurai.
"Let's go." Hana said.
Mei Lhi gazed in awe, then followed Hana deeper into haze. The smoke was getting thicker, fresh oxygen was in limited supply.
* * *
"Kagome!!!!!" Inuyasha yelled.
Kagome quickly moved to the side as an arrow grazed by her cheek. It was a narrow miss, but the sharp arrowhead had cut a thin scratch on her face, blood slowly trickling out.
Inuyasha brought down Kagome's attacker in a single swing of his sword.
"Kagome! Are you alright?" Inuyasha asked, running to her side.
"I'm fine, Inuyasha." Kagome replied.
Several other samurai approached, Inuyasha was unable to sense them. The haze and scents were even more mixed than before. By the time the hanyou did sense them, it was too late...
"Hiraikotsu!" A yell sounded from above them.
A huge boomerang cut through the air, striking down the samurai. The boomerang returned to its owner, a young taijiya riding a flying nekometa youkai.
"Sango-chan!" Kagome exclaimed.
"Kagome-chan!" Sango said happily.
"Where's Miroku-sama?" Kagome asked.
"I don't know where he is...Kirara can't find his scent anywhere in here." Sango replied grimly.
"Well, let's just hope Mei-chan and Hana have better luck..." Kagome said, sighing.
"Yes...let's hope those two find that lecher before anyone or anything else does..." Inuyasha agreed.
Chapter Twenty Three: Attack From An Unknown Army
Mei Lhi sighed, rolling her eyes, taking off after him.
'I swear Onii-san...you get pissed off too much...' She thought, upon reaching the Goshinboku Tree.
"Onii-san?" She called.
"What now?!" Inuyasha demanded moodily.
"Oh don't you 'what now' me! Honestly! Sheesh..."
"I have every right to! Seeing as you like to blab all my secrets to everyone you know! I thought you'd respect me by not saying anything! But what do you do?! You go find Kagome and then you tell her everything!"
"I didn't say anything, though!"
"Yeah, well Kagome's not stupid. You told her enough to figure things out."
"Oh please...spare me the drama, Onii-san. I'm only trying to help you since you're such a wussy puppy and you're so stubborn at the same time that you just don't want to admit ANYTHING!"
Inuyasha growled angrily, slamming his fist into the bark of the tree.
Fast moving footsteps approached.
"Inuyasha! I sense something! It's got a very evil youki!" Kagome called from the base of the tree.
Inuyasha's ears twitched, his nose smelling the air, trying to distinguish the scents tangled up in the breeze. His ears stopped twitching, suddenly leaping down from the branch, shoving Kagome down into the grass just as an arrow whizzed past.
More arrows came, now aimed at Mei Lhi.
Leaping from the thick branch she was on, she touched down onto the ground.
"Come on! We have to get back to the village!" Mei Lhi yelled.
Inuyasha lifted Kagome up from the ground, placing one arm securely under her legs and the other around her shoulders. Then he took off at a run, leaping into the air, as he always did, Mei Lhi leading the way.
They reached the village in a matter of seconds, the arrows still flooding in from behind. In the village, things were no better. Now getting a look at their attackers they saw a large army of men in armor. Samurai. Some had bows, others had katanas sharp enough to cut the very ocean in half.
Mei Lhi's eyes scanned the area, her nose sensing for the scents of her friends.
"Onii-san! I can't find their scents! I can't find where the others have gone!" She cried over her shoulder.
"That's because there's too much wind and too many ningens around!" Inuyasha yelled back.
Unknown to the two hanyous and Kagome, a few samurai with katanas approached, preparing to bring their blades down upon the three of them, when they were knocked down by an arrow shining of miko light. Mei Lhi, Inuyasha, and Kagome's eyes all stared in the direction of the arrow.
Hana stood with her bow in her hand, panting.
"Hana-chan!" Mei Lhi exclaimed.
"Mei Lhi, Inuyasha, Kagome, you're back at last..." Hana said, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow.
"Hana-chan, what's going on?" Mei Lhi asked.
"An army of samurai, from our village has decided to attack this one. They want Kagome's Shikon shards. Their leader is very powerful, and he has slain many. The villagers here are weak and have been injured or died. Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara should be around somewhere. My worries are settled on Kaede-bachan's safety. I have been unable to locate her. They set her hut and many others on fire. But luckily all had escaped." Hana explained.
"Wait...from our village?! From...Kiori's..." Mei Lhi tried to say, words failing her.
She gasped suddenly, her eyes blazing with fury.
"They're the ones who attacked me! This army! They attacked my home and they killed Hakaru and Kyo! And Kiori!" She yelled.
"They are also responsible for your father's death. They sent Ryuukotsei after Inutaisho. They wished to rule the western lands. But Ryuukotsei was sealed, but Inutaisho died, so the samurai were happy. But once again, their plan to rule the lands failed, for Sesshomaru took residence there. Sesshomaru rid the lands of them and has been keeping them at bay."
"Sounds like you're pretty much glorifying that damn bastard..." Inuyasha stated lamely.
"Onii-san, duck!" Mei Lhi exclaimed.
Inuyasha did as instructed, Mei Lhi leaping over him, bringing her claws down upon a samurai behind them.
"Now's not the time to talk! We have to find the others! They might be in trouble!" Mei Lhi said.
Everyone agreed. Inuyasha set Kagome down, then Hana gathered the four of them into a huddle.
"We'll split up. Kagome, you go with Inuyasha, Mei Lhi, you come with me. If we need help, we'll send a signal by shooting an arrow. But if you're unable to do that, then just give a yell or something. There's two half- demons, so your hearing should be able to pick it up. Got it? Let's go." Hana said quickly.
The group split, Hana motioning that Inuyasha and Kagome go right, while she went left. All four nodded, then ran off in their separate directions.
"Inuyasha! I need a weapon!" Kagome yelled.
"One second..." Inuyasha replied, swiping his claws at an archer samurai.
His claws made contact, and he took the quiver and bow back to Kagome.
"Here." He said.
"Thank you, Inuyasha."
Kagome flung the quiver strap over her shoulder, then reached for an arrow, fitting it into the bow, letting it fly at three samurai that were approaching. Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga, killing at least ten samurai on each swipe of his mighty sword.
* * *
Hana was shooting three arrows at a time, Mei Lhi had drawn Tetsusage and sliced and diced two samurai. A third had attacked Hana and broken her bow.
"Hana-chan!" Mei Lhi screamed.
Hana was not concerned. She grabbed an arrow from her quiver and pierced the samurai with it, her miko energy purifying his body. Hana tore off a bit of cloth from her haori and wrapped it around the wooden side of her bow where it had snapped, then flung it over her shoulder, grabbing a katana from a fallen samurai.
"Let's go." Hana said.
Mei Lhi gazed in awe, then followed Hana deeper into haze. The smoke was getting thicker, fresh oxygen was in limited supply.
* * *
"Kagome!!!!!" Inuyasha yelled.
Kagome quickly moved to the side as an arrow grazed by her cheek. It was a narrow miss, but the sharp arrowhead had cut a thin scratch on her face, blood slowly trickling out.
Inuyasha brought down Kagome's attacker in a single swing of his sword.
"Kagome! Are you alright?" Inuyasha asked, running to her side.
"I'm fine, Inuyasha." Kagome replied.
Several other samurai approached, Inuyasha was unable to sense them. The haze and scents were even more mixed than before. By the time the hanyou did sense them, it was too late...
"Hiraikotsu!" A yell sounded from above them.
A huge boomerang cut through the air, striking down the samurai. The boomerang returned to its owner, a young taijiya riding a flying nekometa youkai.
"Sango-chan!" Kagome exclaimed.
"Kagome-chan!" Sango said happily.
"Where's Miroku-sama?" Kagome asked.
"I don't know where he is...Kirara can't find his scent anywhere in here." Sango replied grimly.
"Well, let's just hope Mei-chan and Hana have better luck..." Kagome said, sighing.
"Yes...let's hope those two find that lecher before anyone or anything else does..." Inuyasha agreed.