Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale
The Ringenkai Plant
Chapter 7: Smoke and Mirrors
After what seemed like at least a few hours of traveling through the rocky lands, Kouga had finally reached the last stretch of the cliffs and came upon the eastern area, being greeted by clear open ended view of the lake plains below. He had been still searching for any leads that could have pointed to Naraku's castle, but all this time his luck was out dry. It was already close to the afternoon, and the sun was down, showing signs of a starting rainstorm. He knew if he had continued wild goose chase for any longer than this, it would soon be too dark to make any proper traces.
Kouga was somewhat tired at this rate, and part of him wanted to go back to the den in the mountains and rest. Not only that, but his dwelling hunger also began to get to him the more he thought about catching some food to eat. Kouga scratched his left calf with the edge of his right food, sighing in a frustrated manner.
"*Sigh*... Its just not my day, is it? All this time and I haven't found a single thing relating to where Naraku might be hiding, or even a bite to eat. I tend to work at my best on a full stomach at that." Kouga said while taking a few jumps down the jagged platforms of the cliffs, hopping off of each one in succession. "Maybe it was a mistake leaving Hakkaku and Ginta behind before finding any food. But knowing those two idiots, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't find something until AFTER I ran off. They should be so lucky that I don't tear them a new one if that actually happened."
Kouga reached the bottom of the cliff and moved onto the plains area, his feet sunken into the deep green grass that tickled his legs as a few gusts of wind blew through the air. Kouga felt a small chill upon the field, although after taking a quick survey of the place, there was nothing specific in particular that caught his attention.
"Cold as hell around here, but still, nothing I ain't used to. But its strange... even though I don't see anything much of interest, I can't seem to shake this dark feeling I'm getting... wait a second..." Kouga stopped himself, his sensitive nose picking up a light scent. He took a few strides deeper into the fields, looking around him as the scent was growing even stronger.
"I smell something, alright... that sweet sickening smell... and its not only one, but two of them! And I know who it is. It has to be that broad, Kagura! She was around here at one point, alright. Although the scent is not as heavy, its probably been about a couple of hours, so she wasn't here recently. But I know for sure its her, because she has the same scent as Naraku himself." Kouga said, his face twisted into a rage.
"Strangely enough, this second scent I'm picking up is slightly different from Kagura's. I'm not sure who it could be, but its just as bad. If Kagura was lurking around here since yesterday, then the apple didn't fall far from the tree. She's got to be a good amount of miles from here." Kouga said, bending down on his knees. In a moment's notice, he sprang off into a blinding sprint across the fields, his body transforming into a twirling whirlwind. Kouga's wind trails were so sharp and fast that they literally mowed down the blades of grass around him.
"Heh, I'm coming for you... and your blood!" he said, his face forming to show off an evil but collected sneer.
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"Great. Now that we know where the Ringenkai Plant lies to the north, what kind of path should we take on from here?" Inuyasha said with his arms crossed as he and his friends were back on track walking down a dirt path. "The old bag was a massive help in the end, which I was hopeful for."
"Hmm. Well, being aware that getting to Mt. Harunai will take quite a few days to reach, I suggest we make haste. In all of the heated conversation we have to keep in mind that we only have four more days left before the unthinkable happens." Miroku answered.
"Its the only best possible option we have at this moment at that." Sango said, sincerely staring down at the seemingly lifeless Kagome behind her shoulder. Shippo followed up with nothing but a sad sigh from his small lungs.
As the group walked on, Inuyasha happened to draw his eyes up at the sky, and noticed a drastic change before him. He stopped momentarily, with Miroku and the others ceasing also.
"Is there something wrong? Why did you stop?" Sango asked.
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, taking note of the dead appearance of the greenery they were about to walk into up ahead. He spotted what seemed like the entrance to a heavy fog a short distance away, and the skies had seemed to transform from a bright blue to an ominous gray. "Its the sky... wasn't it just sunny awhile ago? Nothing seems right around here, either." Inuyasha motioned to the fog.
"Hey, Inuyasha's right! That is weird... and didn't you say before there was another village just down there where the fog is?" Shippo pointed out.
"Yeah... something definitely stinks around here. I can't explain it but a weird vibe just hit me when we came close. And... not only that... if I'm not mistaken I can sense the slight smell of human blood. Its awfully heavy not to be ignored. I say we check it out." Inuyasha said, his muscles becoming tense.
"Then let's go. Chances are it might be another demon attack on the village." Miroku said, as he sprinted off along with Inuyasha. Kirara followed along with her passengers.
Moments later, the group dashed straight into the village, which gave the impression that it was abandoned. Inuyasha automatically took note of the strewn items which consisted of hoes, shovels, and wheelbarrows. Sango had gotten of Kirara while Shippo remained with Kagome, helping Inuyasha and Miroku survey the area.
"I knew it. Nothing is right here at all. Even though nobody's around, these items appear to have been used recently." Inuyasha reported, his nose still continuing to pick up an even more heavier blood scent.
"Its anyone's guess that these things were just dropped in one big great rush to leave. But if this village was evacuated and left for the dogs, then what explains the odd climate change!?" Sango said.
"No, there couldn't have been an evacuation. If Inuyasha knows that blood has been spilled here and we can't see it, this only means the work of a vicious demon." Miroku concluded.
"Not a demon, Miroku... It goes deeper than that. Those same people were brutally killed. Never have I smelled such a thick amount of it either. This sensitive nose doesn't lie. But I can guarantee you it wasn't the work of a demon. As a matter of fact, I think I can even make out a significant fresh scent amongst the blood..." Inuyasha realized.
"Would it even be a perfect time to worry about what's happened? From the looks of things, a big storm is about to break out big time!" Shippo said, as he felt a trickle of water hit his head lightly. "We should hurry and move along before the rain hits."
As soon as Shippo said that, that was when the fog had started to change. The gray clouds above had become even darker to the point of a pitch black sky, and the fog had thinned out to form a purplish mist. The mist was swirling and blowing fiercely upon the crop grounds, nearly pushing Inuyasha and the others backwards.
"Damn! What just happened!?" Inuyasha said, his hand reaching defensively reaching down for the hilt of his Tetsusaiga.
"Its clear that this is obviously another one of Naraku's tricks! He somehow must have found out our location and decided spring a trap on us to catch us off guard." Sango said, reaching for her Hiraikotsu.
"I already don't like the looks of this! Is it just me, or is the fog getting even heavier?!" Shippo said in a frightened tone while swerving his gaze from side to side. The sudden forming thickness of purple mist had made it so that it was harder for Inuyasha and the others to see what was around them, and Sango's senses heightened to a new level upon realizing what was going on.
"No, this isn't any normal fog anymore! I think this might be the poison miasma!" Sango said, immediately taking out and donning her metal face mask to protect her from breathing in the harmful gas. "If there had been any people here then they were most likely already slain by Naraku!" Sango then gasped as she saw the figure of a man stumble out from the miasma, his clothes stained with blood and his face frozen with the look of death.
"What the---!? He's an undead human!" Miroku said, covering his mouth with the sleeve of his robes. Inuyasha took the initiative and ran ahead of Sango, punching the zombified man down hard onto the dirt soil. The punch was so strong that it completely dislocated the man's lower jaw as it the chunk of rotten meat flew off into the distance of the miasma cloud.
"You got that right, and from the gist of things I'd say there's only one person capable of performing this kind of act - Kagura, the Wind Sorceress!" Inuyasha concluded, and as much as he would have guessed correctly, that was the moment Kagura herself had appeared from within the mist. Her exotic beauty could only be immediately ignored by the sheer eerie presence she displayed amongst the purple winds that swirled beneath the flaps of her kimono, her bare feet sinking softly into the dirt.
"Hmm... Well, Inuyasha, it would be so negative of me to have second guessed you. While you and your friends may be well aware of my association with controlling the dead, you still tend to fall as easy prey to my traps. Like a mouse that blindly follows the path to the cheese. Clearly high intelligence isn't required to sense something so obvious to the naked eye." Kagura spoke softly as she raised her fan up to her chin, her skin showing off a pale glow in comparison to the murky fog.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, Kagura, but we're no mice. No one was going to fall for the smelly cheese you laid out onto the field. So I take it that you're doing another one of Naraku's filthy orders? I thought I may have smelled a rat earlier when we were camping." Inuyasha said, pointing his clawed finger at the demon maiden a few feet away.
"She was spying on us? No wonder we just happened to run into her of all people, way out here." Shippo said, still shaking a little. Kagura giggled lightly and closed her eyes.
"You fools. It looks like my cover was blown after all. But its no matter. After all, you are right about Naraku. He has personally sent me to gather information on your progression about trying to help that young girl Kagome. Of course he'd see fit to have you all exterminated before you can barely live to see another day past, and he won't step aside to have another one of his plans ruined by the likes of you." Kagura taunted. "My Dance of the Dead would make sure of that!!!" she said as she waved her fan in front of her, summoning an army of undead villagers.
The loud gargling of the undead human shells stumbled toward Inuyasha and his friends in a tight circle, obeying Kagura's immediate command. Many bloody slash marks could be seen on the zombies, red froth bubbling from the open wounds, caused by Kagura.
"Is that so? Well, you know I would hate to be one to disappoint, but you and your master are in for a big surprise. Don't think we're going to just stand here like a bunch of idiots and not fight back against these people you've used your magic to kill!" Inuyasha said with vigor as he drew out his Tetsusaiga, the blade gleaming as the only light in the darkness.
"You won't get away with killing all of these innocent people, Kagura!" Miroku said, his grasp tight on his staff. The zombies were coming ever so closer, and Shippo and Kirara backed up a few steps. Shippo's forehead turned purple from fright.
"Oh... n...no, guys! H... here they come!" Shippo stammered, still freaked out by the ghoulish appearance of the undead, each and every one of their faces frozen in an "o" of absolute horror and the whites of their eyes shot by the loss of blood from their pupils. However, Inuyasha and the others were unfazed but yet sorrowful for the poor men who they knew that had most likely suffered the most brutal of deaths by Kagura's unexpected attack upon the village.
"This would have been quite difficult had it not been for the assistance of my older sister, Kanna. Having to mercilessly kill these worthless humans is one thing, but having their souls stolen in order to attain their use as mere marionettes is another as you can see." Kagura said as a smaller figure appeared to her side, revealing herself to be the notorious white haired Kanna.
The deadpan expression in Kanna's eyes showed no emotion as to what was going on, as she simply held the soul absorbing mirror against the fabric of her white yukata. The mirror seemed to give off some kind of serene resonance of warmth to Kanna's body. Perhaps it was the sheer everlasting agony of the souls of men she has trapped inside the dimensional void from within the mirror, and if she was calm enough, she could actually hear the endless screaming of the poor tortured spirits. Kanna herself appeared share no sympathies as opposed as to what her master, Naraku had ordered her to carry out. In her mind, she lived only to serve Naraku and nothing more.
"Kanna is here as well! And she has a new mirror, it seems!" Miroku commented feverishly, his eyes darting from the incoming undead to Kagura and Kanna.
"It also appears to be a different looking one from last time at that. I can almost feel its strange power. We'll have to be careful..." Sango warned, gritting her teeth.
"It figures wherever Kagura is, Kanna is right behind her. Well, don't worry. I'm prepared for her little tricks this time around." Inuyasha replied in a low voice.
"Silence, fools. All of your souls will soon have a place in the eternal darkness. It is only a matter of time before Master Naraku will prove himself to be the strongest demon in this land." Kanna breathed, her gaze fixated on Inuyasha's troop.
Inuyasha cracked his knuckles and tightened his grip on the Tetsusaiga, eager to do battle. "Heh! Not if we can help it! Bring it on, Kagura. If you think we're going to back down because you're naive enough to think your tried and true sorcery has a fair advantage, then go on right head. You're in for a surprise. Better take cover, Shippo! Things are going to get bloody around here." Inuyasha glanced over at the little fox boy.
"Right! You don't have to tell me twice! Come on, Kirara. As much as I'd like to help them, we don't have much of choice but to get Kagome out of harm's reach." Shippo said, and Kirara nodded in response. The large feline took a bountiful leap up onto the roof of one of the stables nearby, clearly out of range from any type of attack.
"Hmph! Those who run away never live to see another day. Rise my puppets of the dead! Attack! Attack them all!" Kagura said, waving her fan and summoning the undead villagers toward Inuyasha and the others.
"Alright! Now that Kagome's safe, let's get this over with!" Inuyasha yelled the moment Kagura issued her orders. With yellow energy lines streaking behind Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango immediately followed right behind the half demon.
"HYAAAAHHHHH!!!!" Inuyasha yelled as he dashed across the field and effortlessly sliced his way past a group of villagers, sending a ocean of rotten blood splashing everywhere as he made his way toward Kagura herself. "Slow, dumb, and just plain ugly! Same old, same old!" Inuyasha jumped forward and attempted to behead some of the undead with his sword. Falling as quickly as they were called to battle, the headless corpses collapsed to the ground as their frothy wounds continued to bubble unanimously.
Miroku and Sango intercepted the remaining amount of the undead in front of them, with the young monk making the first move by swinging his staff in an arc and cleanly slicing through the torsos of five approaching zombies, their rotting upper halves splattering to the dirt with a sickening plop. "That's five down!" Miroku said.
At the same time Sango spun her chain blade above her head like a lasso for a few moments before letting it loose, the sharp edge of the blade hooking itself into the shoulder blade of one of the undead men. Sango used all of her strength to spin the fragile body directly into the attacking zombie group behind her, toppling the brainless fools hard like pins. "And about seven more to add to that!" Sango chimed in.
"Don't think that you can celebrate just yet! I have yet to concur to any type of defeat!" Kagura hissed. At the flick of her fan, she sent a wave of a wind across the field, its magic affecting the dead bodies littered along it. "Revive!!!"
Upon Kagura's direct command, the previously fallen villagers had arose in no less than five seconds as their detached limbs were reassembled like a mixture of dark red clay. The frothing of the villager's open wounds seemed as if their bubbles had a life of their own, and internal organs abound had dangled out from their abdomens like squiggling worms. The rotten smell their bodies gave off alone was enough to cause a sickening impurity throughout the heavy air of the fields.
"What the?! Oh no, not again! Watch out, guys! It looks like they've gotten a second wind - and a second slaughtering to go along with it." Inuyasha smirked, as he gathered a good amount of power inside the Tetsusaiga and swung it, sending forth a burst of energy towards the newly revived undead and creating a large crater blown into the ground.
"Leave this pack to me! Sango, follow up on my word!" Miroku said as he quickly fished out a talisman from beneath his robes and slung it through the air while saying a chant aloud. As he finished the chant, the talisman had stopped itself in mid-air just a foot away from the zombies. The small paper itself had suddenly lit aglow with a sparkling yellowish energy as Miroku created a spell binding circle, stopping each and every undead in its tracks. "Now, Sango! While they're still immobilized!" the monk called out.
"Right, I'm on it! HIRAIKOTSU!!!!" Sango yelled, jumping up and swinging the massive weapon in an wide arc, decapitating all fifteen of the undead villagers that were trapped in Miroku's spell. Each and every headless corpse crumpled before the two heroes drenched in an ocean of red liquid. "That's one way to take care of things when the odds are against us!" Sango sighed.
"We can't let our guard down, not even for a moment. Especially when facing Kagura. Don't let up on attacking!" Miroku said.
"Ha ha ha ha!!!" Kagura laughed. "Haven't you learned by now? No matter how many times you slay my puppets, I can just as easily revive them in an instant!" Kagura waved her fan again, sending a mystical wind upon the mutilated bodies. The wave's own power had resurrected the empty human shells once again, each one of the men slowly rising to their feet and uttering dry heaves of violent hunger.
"Damn it, just like the last time! We don't have the time to deal with these things, or else they're going to just keep coming at us! If we plan on getting out of this deathtrap alive, its best that we get to the source of it all right here and now! Nnngh!!!" Inuyasha groaned, swerving out to safety from an attack swipe from a villager that had a pitchfork shoved through his chest. His head appeared to have been once severed, probably before being killed and zombified earlier, with dark copious amounts of blood seamlessly dripping down from the cut on his neck.
Before Inuyasha could react, Sango's chain blade plunged into the back of the zombie's cranium from behind. Soon enough, Miroku and Sango caught up to the half demon.
"Thanks for watching my back, guys. Listen, we can't afford to keep killing these guys are else Kagura is just going to keep bringing them back to life. While she may be trying to maintain her distance from us, one of us will have to try to get to her as soon as possible." Inuyasha whispered to his friends, as he saw Kagura's body tensing as if she was preparing to attack. "Miroku, let's directly attack Kagura! Sango, try to keep those dead villagers at bay. We won't get very far if we don't finish this fight before things get worse than this."
"Right, no problem!" Sango agreed, taking off to another group of enemies to use her Hiraikotsu against them. Inuyasha and Miroku immediately rushed at Kagura, harshly knocking any zombies that dared to step into their path. However, Kagura had put herself on the defensive as she saw the two heroes coming straight at her.
"Hmph. When will they ever realize attacking me head on constantly leads to the gravest of mistakes? Oh well. Time to show them the power of my winds!" Kagura smirked, hopping back and whipping her large fan to create several sharp blades of wind. The slashes cut through the air like a hot knife through butter, nearly hitting Inuyasha and Miroku with amazing and forceful precision.
"This is tougher than we anticipated. No matter how we go about it Kagura's winds cover too much of a width for us to get vaguely close to her! There's has to be another way we can get near somehow!" Miroku said, as both he and Inuyasha struggled against the heavy pressure of the wind.
"Nnnghhh, that'll be impossible to do with Kagura constantly putting on heat like this! I'm just going to have to use the Wind Scar attack. Its the only way I stand of chance of nailing Kagura dead on!!!" Inuyasha said while blocking the oncoming wind blades with his Tetsusaiga. "In the meantime you'd better cover me while I try to take the lead!"
"I'll back you up the best way that I can, now go!" Miroku yelled, signaling for Inuyasha to make a fast dash forward.
"Good. Kagura can't keep this up forever... While its easy in theory to pull off the Wind Scar attack, the only problem is finding an opening to hitting Kagura with it! Because of her sorcery, Kagura is able to protect herself with the surrounding wind. Just like the last time I fought her, I was barely able to render the Wind Scar effective. I'd just have to play it safe and attempt to strike her from up close and figure out a way to blast her into oblivion... for good!" Inuyasha thought to himself, knowing that what he was about to do was a risk. But he was ready to end this charade, and placed all of his doubt behind him.
"Inuyasha, your intelligence is becoming less and less respectable! If you're even considering trying to hit me with your Tetsusaiga's special attack, your own luck is hard pressed against you! Of course, the same can be said for watching your friends' backs..." Kagura said, flinging her fan a few times. She created five new wind blades, ten times bigger than the original ones that Inuyasha and Miroku evaded. Inuyasha stood in place and put all of his concentration into making this one special attack. His eyes widened as he realized that for a brief moment but if only for a few seconds, this was an open window of opportunity presented to him.
"Wait! That's it! The moment she created the blades, the wind around her disappeared! I can see her energy colliding with my own... the moment I destroy these blades, I can snag Kagura with one mighty blast of power!!!" Inuyasha paused he saw Kagura's energy flickering against his, the glowing white light appearing between them making a fissure where he knew he had to aim.
But unfortunately, Kagura laughed evilly as she used her power to divert the five large blades away from Inuyasha, and instead, catching the half demon off caught and having them rush straight towards Miroku.
"What the!? MIROKU! WATCH OUT! THE BLADES!!!" Inuyasha yelled, as he turned to see that Miroku was in immediate danger.
"Damn it!!! Another trick!" Miroku uttered, knowing that he was unable to dodge out of the way at the last minute. Instead, his sharp wit lead him to a saving grace by releasing the rosary around his right hand. "WIND TUNNEL!!!" Miroku shouted, the mystical hole on his palm creating an immense wind to suck up the five blades that threatened to injure him.
However, this action only made things go fast from bad to worse as a swarm of Naraku's Saimyoushou insects appeared out of hiding from the forest. Miroku's eyes widened the moment he saw the insects make their way for the Wind Tunnel. "Oh no!!! Naraku's poison insects! I can't let them go into the hole!!!" Miroku said, reaching for his rosary, but everything happened within too fast of a flash. Some of the insects had already eagerly made their way into the tunnel, being sucked up into the black abyss forever but their goals were already achieved.
"Ahhhhh!!!!! No!!!! Its too late! I couldn't prevent them from getting to me in time... Uhhhh...." the monk had already started to feel the Saimyoushou's poison shoot its way through his arm and nearly onto his entire body. Miroku tightened the rosary beads around his hand with what little strength he had left in him. The poisonous matter that stemmed inside the Wind Tunnel's now sealed void had caused him to drop his staff and tumble onto one knee.
"Miroku!!! Hold on, I'm coming! Hyyyaaahhhh!!!" Sango slaughtered the remaining amount of the undead, then sprinted over to Miroku. She lifted him up by the arm to help him stand up. "Are you okay? Don't try to move!" Sango said with concern in her voice.
"No, don't worry... while only a small amount of the insects was sucked up by my tunnel, it won't be life threatening. Nnnghh... I wasn't expecting this to happen, but I don't think I'll be able to be of any further use during the rest of this fight... Uhhh..." Miroku groaned with beads of sweat rolling down the side of his head.
Inuyasha was enraged at this point, turning back to face Kagura. "You've got some nerve playing dirty games like this, Kagura! Being an extension of Naraku's certainly doesn't falter in making you so similar in terms of tact. The only thing that sickens me is that you both share one trait in common, and that's just a big crock of cowardice. Hurting my friends is one of the many worst actions you could do to solely piss me off - and you wouldn't like having to deal with a pissed off demon, would you?!"
"Ha ha ha ha! All talk and no play, Inuyasha. I do what I can to rid of my appointed enemies, even by the foulest of trickery. Mercy should only be saved for the weak. However, I wouldn't be so fast in comparing me to Master Naraku, as I am nothing like him. One day I shall be free of his torturous captivity where I can live a life of my own... for now I am only here to do his bidding. You are the only person in my way from seeing that dream of freedom. I shall... make it come true soon!" Kagura said, her nerve clearly being struck by Inuyasha's accusing words.
Meanwhile during the heat of the action, Shippo and Kirara were still watching from above, unsure of what exactly to do. Kagome's body lay slumped on Kirara's back, the girl breathing slowly but softly.
"Oh no, Miroku is down! Kagura must have had this all planned... she must have known if she tricked Inuyasha with her wind attacks, she could somehow get Miroku to open his Wind Tunnel so the insects could make their way inside it!" Shippo clenched his little fist. "Kirara, what are we going to do? We can't go into battle because we can't leave Kagome behind, and..." Shippo's voice trailed off as something caught his eye from the roof of the stable. He saw the figure of Kanna appear from the purple mist, and she was approaching directly from behind Sango and Miroku.
"Hey! Its Kanna! I was so into worrying about Kagura at the time, I completely forgot about her. She must have concealed herself in the miasma while Inuyasha and the others were fighting those people. She... she might be trying to do a sneak attack from behind!" Shippo exclaimed. "We have to stop her Kirara! Or else she might use that creepy mirror on our friends!"
Kirara jumped off of the stable and carried both Shippo and Kagome along with her, barreling straight for Kanna. At this time, Miroku and Sango were unaware of Kanna behind them, as they were distracted keeping their eye on Kagura. Shippo cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs to his two friends.
"HEY, GUYS!!! LOOK OUT! KANNA IS BEHIND YOU!!!" Shippo yelled, catching Sango and Miroku's attention.
"What!? Oh no!!!" Sango said, turning to see Kanna standing right there as her mirror was glowing with a ferocious kind of power.
"We have to stop her before she... Nnnghh!!!" Miroku tried to stand up because he knew that Kanna had caught them off guard, but he felt the poison seeping through his right side, causing him not to move any more steps further. Kanna in return could only lighten her eyes at the heroes' disposition.
"It is far too late for you both. Now your souls are all mine!" Kanna taunted. She then held her mirror out and used it to shoot forth a blue stream of energy, zapping the spiritual energy directly from both Sango and Miroku.
"Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!" Sango and Miroku cried out in unison, their bodies surrounded in the haze of energy. They both began to twitch involuntarily as they fell victim to Kanna's surprise attack. Sango tried to resist the overwhelming power and lifted her weapon to try and knock the mirror out of Kanna's hands. But having her soul drained from her body proved too much to bear as she dropped her Hiraikotsu and collapsed to the ground.
"NO!!! Sango! Miroku!" Inuyasha yelled upon seeing his friends in danger.
"Rule number one, Inuyasha. Never take your eyes off of your enemy..." Kagura whispered. This distraction gave her the chance to hit Inuyasha with one final triple wind slash from her fan, knocking the half demon great distance right into Kanna's path.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!" Inuyasha cried, the Tetsusaiga falling from his hand and hitting the ground. The three wind blades sliced directly into Inuyasha's chest and arms, a violent eruption of blood flying out from his wounds. He landed straight into the field where Sango and Miroku lay, and Kanna took the initiative by sucking his soul as well.
"Ackkkkkk!!!!! Ahhhhhhh!!!! C... can't.... move!!!" Inuyasha uttered, half of a bloody mess on the dirt ground next to his friends as he felt the painful sensation of his soul being taken right out of his shell and causing him to weaken a great deal. He too struggled just as much to break free from the impending constraint of Kanna's mirror but it was only a manner of seconds before his body went limp. "K... ago... me... I'm... sor.. ry..." whispered Inuyasha just before he fainted.
"INUYASHA!!!" Shippo yelled, jumping onto the scene on Kirara's back. "Kirara, ram right into Kanna!!! We can't let their souls get sucked up by that mirror!" the fox boy sad angrily. But he was too late as well, as Kanna whisked around and stole Shippo and Kirara's soul energy in an instant.
"Noooooooo!!!!!" Shippo flew back and crashed into a wheelbarrow, and Kirara was weakened to the point where she transformed into her smaller self. Kagome's body slammed onto the field and rolled over into the purplish mist unseen. "I... I can't... move..." said a weak Shippo, his eyes drifting shut.
"Sleep. Do not fight back, but sleep. Your soul is exhausted in this world but will prove to be as of use in the next..." Kanna remained stationary with the same emotionless expression on her face, channeling the last of her power into the mirror as she moved on to collect the last remnants of the spiritual energy from Inuyasha and his allies. Sango and Inuyasha still showed signs of trying to resist a little, but they were no match for the mirror.
Kagura smiled to herself, taking long strides to her older sister unable to thoroughly appreciate the fact that they have defeated their enemies. But she dismissed her doubt because this meant she was only one step closer to winning her freedom from Naraku's clutches. Having no choice to be enslaved by a demon with no remorse for none other than his own self for this long has sickened her to the contemplation of escaping into the vast world she was born into. But alas, had she dared to take upon such an action she knew Naraku would only get back at her by destroying her external heart. Kagura wouldn't have lived in this world as long as the amount of time she was created. She cleared her mind as she appeared to Kanna's side.
"Well done, Kanna. Inuyasha is defeated, and this only means the final curtain is about to be drawn upon him and his good for nothing friends..." Kagura raised her fan above Inuyasha's twitching body, preparing to kill him. But something caused her and Kanna to freeze as she felt a slight pang of a powerful energy moving towards her at a fast pace.
"What...!? Who is---- Ahhh!!!!" Kagura's words were cut off as a windy tornado blazed onto the scene. The dark miasma and flying debris had caused a bit of utter confusion, and a slim figure could be seen leaping through the air past Kagura and towards Kanna. Kanna gasped and her eyes widened only about three inches as the figure performed a powerful kick, knocking the mirror out of the pale faced girl's hands and sending it into the distance. The interruption of the mirror's soul absorption had saved Inuyasha and the others as they felt their soul essences return to their respective bodies.
"Wha... what happened!? My... energy seems to have come back!" Inuyasha said, opening his eyes. He slowly lifted himself up onto one knee, the blurriness of his vision clearing as he tried to make out what was going on. Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara had also recovered their strength if not a little disoriented. "Guys, are you alright?" Inuyasha asked his friends. Miroku and Sango shook their heads and Shippo's eyes swirled in circles. Kirara roared, transforming back to her larger form.
"Yes... but what caused our souls to return to us? One moment I could barely move and the next moment..." Sango trailed off.
"Your guess is as good as mine, Sango... whatever is going on its doing us a whole lot of good." Inuyasha said, reaching for his Tetsusaiga. But the moment he picked it up and raised his eyes to see who had saved them, his gratitude had changed into total disgust. "On second thought, forget what I just said. I spoke way too soon."
"Well if it isn't Kouga. Who would have guessed that he, of all people, would have come here to risk saving our lives. I'm quite surprised..." Miroku said with a raised eyebrow.
"You mean to hog all of the action and act like a smartass." Inuyasha said, as he and the others stood up. Kouga stood with his arms crossed prominently amidst the fog, his full presence revealed to everyone. He smirked at Inuyasha and the gang, giving a tidy little salute.
"Hey, guys. What's up? I just happened to be in the neighborhood and was seeking some action. I figured I might as well drop in, do my part and give the losing side a helping hand." Kouga greeted.
Kagura raised herself up from the ground, her mouth twisted into a nasty scowl. Dirt had caked Kanna's yukata, but she made no effort to brush it off. She silently stood next to her younger sister, blankly watching the upcoming banter commence.
"So, the leader of the wolf tribe has arrived to save the day. Not only you have ruined my plans, but I will have you know now that you're here... I won't allow you leave this place alive. You only dug yourself an additional grave to join Inuyasha and the others in by bringing your putrid aura here." Kagura mocked, closing her fan shut.
Kouga turned to face Kagura and Kanna, grinding his teeth in complete anger. "You're one to call me putrid, you twisted broad. I was right after all in sensing that you were here. It didn't take much for me to sniff out your scent, being it so similar to Naraku's and just as disturbing. You may have escaped from me the last time but don't count on disappearing to safety." Kouga said, an invisible fire brimming within his eyes.
"Oh, really? And why is that? Surely you can't prove yourself to be any stronger than the weak and pathetic fools that currently stand behind you?" Kagura asked, a soft giggle escaping her smooth lips.
"Why? I'll tell you why! Because tonight, Kagura, you die!!!!!" Kouga said, clenching his fists as many entrails of wind swirled around his feet. The winds only added to the calm before the storm, as Kouga's anger rose to the maximum with the thoughts upon finally taking his revenge on the woman he despised so much. The dead smoke of the miasma was cleared and the mirrors of trickery were disabled, leading to the final hurrah of an already heated battle.
The End of Chapter 7.