Inu Yasha yawned and groaned. "Hurry it up, will ya?!" he complained. "You're taking forever!"
Kagome looked up from cleaning her pack. "I'm going as fast as I can!"
Inu Yasha scoffed. "Feh. Just shove everything in there! We have to go find the shard you just sensed!"
Kagome pulled the flap of her back pack over the top and clicked it together with great difficulty. She stood up and shoved the strap into Inu Yasha's hand. Then she walked away.
Hakisuma and Hikari sniggered behind Inu Yasha's back. Hakisuma had already rested enough and she was ready to go and fight for the Shikon shards. She clambered onto Kii and motioned for Hikari.
Hikari shook her head and grinned. "I wanna be where the fighting is."
Hakisuma nodded and stroked Kii's soft fur. The blood that had been there was washed away because Kii fell into the spring when Kagome surprised Kii by yelling that she sensed a Shikon shard. Kii's fur had turned shiny and clean.
Now everybody was ready.
"Ok, kick off!" Inu Yasha hollered from the front.
Hakisuma rolled her eyes and sighed but whistled to Kii, who lunged herself into the air, about fifteen feet from the ground. They didn't want to stay too high because of last time. They wanted to be ready for battle any minute.
Sango and Miroku were beside her and Kii. Hakisuma practiced turning into a demon and back again.
An hour passed and nothing happened. Hakisuma dozed on Kii, holding onto a scruff of fur.
Sango and Miroku were bored and they were just barely holding onto Kirara themselves.
Kagome was wide awake, with a sleeping Shippo under her hair. Inu Yasha was running without stopping with Kagome on his back. Hikari was running above them on the treetops. The Shikon shard was farther away...she could barely sense it anymore.
"Ah....Inu Yasha?" she asked nervously. Inu Yasha grunted in reply.
"The shards seem farther away," she said quietly. Inu Yasha sighed but did not stop.
Above, Sango squinted to see better. "Hey, Inu Yasha! There's a village up ahead!"
Miroku snapped out of his reverie. "Food!" he cried joyously.
After about eight minutes of more flying and running, they reached the village. It seemed pretty well taken care of, and everything was clean. They stopped and looked around. Women in silk kimonos were walking around. It looked like there was a special procession going on or something...everybody was dressed up. Kagome stopped a passerby.
"Uh, excuse me...is there a special occasion today?" she asked politely.
The woman stopped and nodded. She bowed. "Yes. Today there will be a celebration..." she looked The group up and down. "You need a nice hot bath in our special hot springs and a change of attire. Please, come with me." She lead the way to a nice-looking stone house. There was a men's room and a women's room. Everyone filed into their divided sections.
After about an hour, they all came out and the females got dressed up except for Hikari. She flat out refused to change into a kimono. The group finally finished cleaning and dressing up. The woman led the group towards an inn. The smell of food filled the air. Miroku's stomach growled and he looked embarrassed. Hikari rolled her eyes. The woman led them farther into the inn. They arrived at a room with a low Japanese table and cushions on the ground. The woman waved at the seats and left to tell the cooks to prepare a serving of seven plus fire cat demon food.
Hakisuma and Hikari sat next to each other without thinking, and Kagome sat next to Sango, leaving Miroku sitting next to Inu Yasha. Shippo was on Hakisuma's shoulder this time. Kii and Kirara were in the corner on their own mats.
The woman came in with large plates of food. Everyone's eyes turned the size of the plates and their jaws dropped. The food smelled good and it looked delish! (hehe) The dish was a boat with a large arrangement of sushi, sashimi, and nigili. (I had it in California once HOOHA! Yummy!) Then, a couple of helpers brought in a steaming pot of green tea. Each person had their own set of soup. There was also beef, chicken, and other meats to Hikari's liking. Everybody's shiney eyes were huge and they clasped their hands together.
Hakisuma sighed contentedly. "Itattakimasu!" she said happily. Everyone nodded.
Kagome turned to the woman. "Domo arigato!" she thanked. The woman smiled, bowed, and left with the helpers.
Everyone started eating ravenously. Soon, everything was eaten and sake was served. (gasp! Ah! Hikari, Hakisuma, and Kagome are underage! Ah well, what the heck they're in the Sengoku Jidai, who cares? :-P) ((Ok...that was stupid....)) Inu Yasha and Miroku started a sake drinking contest. Miroku was in the middle of raising the sake to his lips when the fragile wooden doors burst open. The woman earlier, who had served them was panting and strands of hair was disarrayed around her face. "Demons!" she gasped out.
Inu Yasha stood up and knocked the table over. He swayed and hiccuped. Miroku also stood. The females rushed up to steady them.
"I'll go fight them!" Inu Yasha said with a lopsided smile. Miroku hiccuped and collapsed. He was no match for a hanyou in a drinking contest. Inu Yasha grabbed his Tetsusaiga, knocking over a vase in the process. Inu Yasha attempted to stride over to the exit, but he wobbled and fell flat on his face. Kagome turned him over and found that he was sound asleep, snoring away. Sango and Kagome exchanged glances, and shook their heads. They only had about two cups each. (Those little thingies, not a real cup) Sango turned to Shippo.
"You stay here and take care of Inu Yasha and Miroku. We'll go and fight!" she said. She grabbed her boomerang and Kagome grabbed her bow and arrows. Hakisuma and Hikari already had their weapons tied around their waists. Together, they ran through the doors and burst outside. A giant snake demon and the shadowy creatures were outside, destroying everything. Kagome groaned and then sighed.
"Not again!" she cried. "Those creatures are everywhere!"
Sango agreed with her. She jumped onto Kirara as she transformed. "GO, KIRARA!" Sango shouted. Both of the demon slayers leapt forward and fought savagely, killing off as much demons as they could.
Hikari grinned and clenched her fists. She transformed and ran to join the ruckus. Hakisuma looked over at Kii, who was watching the battle. Kii looked up and Hakisuma nodded. Both Kii and Hakisuma transformed into their more dangerous forms. They, too, left to fight, leaving Kagome standing alone, sweat-dropping. Kagome finally sighed, shook her head, put on a strong, determined face, and also joined.
(Back at Inu Yasha and Miroku...)
Shippo peered outside through the matted walls. Miroku and Inu Yasha were snoring soundly, occasionally throwing up. Shippo sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was getting sleepy....
(the fight)
Hakisuma was drenched in blood, much to her dislike. Hikari was splashing everything in it unmercilessly. "Hikari! Did you know that blood is the hardest thing to wash?!?!?!?!" she shouted at Hikari.
Hikari merely shrugged. "Well, I'm not the one washing, am I?" she grinned evily.
"HIKARI YOU BASTARD!!!!" Hakisuma yelled. She started hacking away at everything in her path, trying to get to Hikari, who was laughing maniacally. Pretty soon there were no creatures left. Sango had killed off the snake demon and gathered the two shards in its forehead. Hikari and Hakisuma had killen off all the rest of the shadow demons. Hakisuma was panting and she transformed back. She looked around at the mess. Her eyes bulged out of her head. "I did half of that?!" she said, awestruck.
"The blood was all in your head..." Hikari teased. Hakisuma pouted. The ground shook and everyone fell down clumsily. The horizon was a bloody red and a shadow appeared in the center.
"Not another demon!!' Kagome cried. The people who had not perished in the fight were crawling up and deserting the heroes.
"IT'S THE HARVEST GOD! HE'S GOING TO PUNISH US!!" a villager cried. The girl group looked at the villager.
"What harvest god?" Sango asked. The villager was shaking.
"He provides us with our food, and each month he demands a sacrifice!" he cried desperately.
Sango looked at Kagome and said, "Sounds like the water god situation to me." Kagome nodded. Hakisuma looked at them curiously but Hikari's face turned into the normal stone state. Everyone gripped their weapons and waited. The god suddenly appeared right in front of them, shaking the ground even more. Everyone gasped and took a step back besides Hikari. She stood her ground. The demon god growled and grabbed the cowering villager who was frozen to the spot.
"WHERE IS MY SACRIFICE!!??" he demanded. He was breathing heavily. The demon god was a giant human-looking being, except for that he was much uglier than any human anyone has seen before. He turned his gaze to Sango and Kagome. "YOU!" he spat. "YOU KILLED MY BROTHER, THE ALMIGHTY WATER GOD!!!" he growled.
"That 'water god' was a phony, and you know it!" Kagome retorted. "The REAL water god was actually a goddess, and she was the ultimate ruler of the water!"
The god spat again. "HOW DARE YOU?!" he lunged forward and grabbed Kagome with his other hand. Kagome shrieked and tried to pull herself out. As soon as her hands made contact with his flesh, chunks of the skin ripped open and blistered. Blood spurted on the unfortunate party. Hakisuma shook the blood off her hands.
"Great. Just great!" she muttered.
The god growled and squeezed Kagome tighter. "YOU! YOU ARE NO ORDINARY HUMAN!" he hissed. "THAT WILL MAKE ME EVEN HAPPIER EATING YOU!" Kagome screamed again, and Hikari growled. She transformed herself and her blade and lunged forward, hacking away at the god. Hakisuma followed suit with Kii. Sango and Kirara were right behind them. The demon god hissed and whacked Hikari away. She flew through the air and landed heavily on her feet, her blade supporting her weight.
She jumped again at the god. "NOBODY THROWS HIKARI LIKE THAT, NOT EVEN A GOD!" she yelled with fury in her voice. OK, lets just say that the demon god was no more than ground meat after that.
Hikari panted and transformed her blade back. Everyone else edged away from her.
"What a fight!" Sango said weakly. The fight had used up all their energy and there were tears in their clothes. The villager stumble out of the gods grasp and ran away in fear.
Hakisuma looked at he kimono the woman practically forced her in. "At least I don't have to wash these. She looked at Sango's clothes. "Damn it!" she mumbled. Sango always kept her demon exterminator suit under her clothes, and she had ripped off the kimono while fighting. Kagome and Hakisuma were the only ones that had kimonos on now, and it was such a waste to see two silk kimonos spoiled. The woman who had took them in to wash and eat ran out. She looked them up and down.
"Thank goodness you have taken care of the demon god! We were getting desperate." She said. She babbled on and on and on. "Let's go take a bath!" she grabbed Hakisuma and Sango's elbows.
(Half and hour later)
Everyone came out of the hot springs drying their hair. (They had individual cubical thingies.) They walked over to their room wearily and plopped down into their futons. They were all asleep within minutes.
(:::::::::::::::::zzzZZZZZZZ:::::::::::::::: )
Morning had come. Everyone still slept on, even though the light was blinding them through their eyelids. Finally Sango sat up and stretched. Everyone else followed suit, except for the two drunkards. Shippo bounced onto Hakisuma's shoulder.
"Have a good fight?" he asked. Hakisuma groaned and shook her head. They went to the lady who provided them with hospitality. They ate and were soon outside enjoying the garden that wasn't wrecked last night. The villagers had buried the dead and were reconstructing the damages. Hakisuma swung her feet back and forth as she sat on the raised ledge of the inn. She sighed happily and smelled the refreshing air. Hikari was cleaning her sword again and Kagome, Sango, and Shippo were picking flowers. The door suddenly opened behind Hakisuma. The lady walked out and kneeled beside her. Hakisuma looked at the lady.
"You were so nice to us! And we don't even know your name!" she said.
The lady looked at Hakisuma and smiled. "There's no need to thank me. After all, you and your friends were the ones that saved the village from the god. Oh, and everybody calls me Nichii. It's just a nickname, though. Hakisuma sighed again and gazed at Kii and Kirara frolicking in the flowers, chasing one another. Nichii spoke up again.
"You know, we have a trainer in this inn, and after she saw you fight last night, she was impressed. She told me to tell you that if you want any advice or help, just tell her." Nichii said.
Hakisuma looked at Hikari. She was putting the handle of her Divine Blade back on the tie at the waist.
"Hikari, you wanna do practice fighting?" Hakisuma asked. Hikari pondered for a moment.
"Well I suppose since we have time until the drunkards wake up...so yeah." Hikari got up.
"Good!" Nichii smiled. She took Hakisuma's hand, stood up, and led the two young fighters into the inn. The lady paused by a door. She knocked gently and said softly, "Karaichima?"
A muffled voice answered. "Come in, please." Nichii opened the door and led the two inside. A young woman was sitting in the center of her room, meditating. She wore dojo clothes. She opened her black eyes and smiled at the three. "I practice martial arts and swords art. I can improve your fighting skills. Hikari watched the woman in silence, her purple/gold eyes observing everything. Hakisuma gulped. She looked tough.
Karaichima stood up and bowed. "Domo arigato for staying at our inn." She said pleasantly. "Now, the training. First, I will teach you fighting moves that are pretty useful." She looked Hikari and Hakisuma up and down. She beckoned Hikari over.
"When your back is facing an opponent, use this attack. It's called Ryusa. Try it." She instructed. Hakisuma watched as they trained. Soon, Hikari and Karaichima were fighting each other steadily and Hikari had learned five moves. They were Ryusa, Namigatana, (which is a throw) Rasajin, Renkyaku, (which is a double kick) and Reverse Eikosai, which is a back facing attack that includes a series of punches and kicks.
Hakisuma watched with her eyes wide open. She felt nervous and queasy. They both were extremely fast. They finally finished and bowed to each other. Hikari was grinning from ear to ear. She didn't have as much of a fun time fighting before. Now it was Hakisuma's turn. She gulped as Karaichima beckoned her forward. Her palms were sweaty and she dried them off on her clothes before standing up shakily.
Karaichima taught Hakisuma Shugetsu, which is a back facing kick, Z. Hajingeri, which is a series of back facing punches and kicks, Kirimadoi, which is a throw, Hajinsai, which is a normal punch and kick attack, and Genmu, an up kick. Hakisuma was beaten up by the time they were done and she was panting. She had not transformed into her demon side, which would have given her more energy. (Whoopsie! : P) When Hakisuma thought that they were finally done, Karaichima told them both to stand up. Hakisuma almost fainted. Hikari was sniggering. Hakisuma growled weakly and closed her eyes. She transformed and Karaichima gasped.
"You're a a....demon?!" she asked.
Hakisuma and Hikari exchanged nervous glances. They both knew demons were not respected.
"THAT'S SO COOL!!!" Karaichima shouted happily. "I love demons! Well at least the good ones! You know, one of the good demons saved my life before!" she babbled. Hikari grinned and transformed too. There will be no hurt since it was obvious Karaichima loved demons, and also it would be easier and faster to fight if Karaichima was luring them into a trap. When Karaichima finally calmed down, they started on a combo. It involved two people. M. Tensho was a powerful combo attack in fighting, but it was hard to learn. When they mastered it, they all had a drink break and they got up again for sword mastery.
Karaichima took one look at Hikari's transformed sword and said, "I think this one will have to do outside..."
The three training went outside and started practice. Karaichima taught both of them series of blocks and attacks, which all were pretty useful. By the time they were done, they all felt fit but they were exhausted. Hikari and Hakisuma stumbled into their futons while Kagome and Sango watched them curiously. Sango looked at the position of the sun while Kagome checked her watch. It was only four in the afternoon! (In Tokyo) They both shrugged and went back to grooming Kii and Kirara.
:::.:::.End of chappie 22! Whew! That was the longest chappie I've ever written! I know I didn't do my best, but I had a book report, two English essays, one Chinese paper, another two packets of vocab, and a debate paper to do!!! N E hoo, the attacks were from Dead or Alive 2 (WHICH I DO NOT OWN, BUT I OWN THE GAME...disclaimer...) and the attacks were Ayane's (my favorite!) It's a pretty fun game, and maybe you should play it sometime! Bye for now! Toodles!!! : - )!!!!!