As Kura hurried through the forest as fast as her legs could carry her, the only thoughts repeatedly running through her mind were those of constant worry. What if Isamu was already in the village and reeking havoc? Would her friends be safe or would they be in grave danger? The more she thought about it, the more worried she became. She decided to stop thinking so negatively and to just focus on the present circumstances, which was simply getting to the village.
Meanwhile, as Inuyasha and the rest of the gang slept rather peacefully in their hut, they were completely unaware that someone had just entered the village…someone who was potentially dangerous to their lives…
Isamu crept around silently until he stumbled across the particularly large hut. He stepped inside, trying to avoid making unwanted noises. He looked around, only to notice that the girls, Sango and Nekura, along with Kilala and Shippo were lying on one side of the shelter and the males, Miroku and Inuyasha were sleeping on the other side. Even though Miroku and Sango were currently dating, she still did not trust him enough to keep his hands to himself. Then again, who would trust a lecherous monk that used to constantly hit on other women, and occasionally younger girls and ask them to bear his children? Not many women would, and if they did, it would take an awfully long time to ensure their loyalty.
Inuyasha stirred slightly and Isamu breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that the half-demon had not yet awoken. He then turned his attention to Nekura and Sango who were sleeping ever so peacefully. However, he was not concerned with the females themselves; what he really wanted was the weapons they possessed: Sango's Hiraikotsu and Nekura's samurai sword. However, he was also quite interested in Miroku's staff and Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga. Then again, who wouldn't want such a powerful sword? He looked around at all four individuals once more before thinking his idea over thoroughly. He didn't want to keep all four weapons in his possession in case they were untraceably stolen; he simply only wanted to extract the power from each item and use every last bit of it to forage an ultimately powerful piece of weaponry. So without any more hesitation, he walked silently up to each member of the group and grabbed a hold of their weapon. It was surprisingly easy to snatch up Sango and Nekura's, seeing as how they were both lying in front of their owners. However, acquiring Miroku's staff and Inuyasha's sword wasn't going to be quite as simple. Miroku's staff was placed behind him so Isamu had to slowly and carefully pull it out from its resting place. Inuyasha, on the other hand, had the Tetsusaiga encased tightly in his sheath because of the incident that happened with Kura. He was now taking extra precautions so that he would not end up losing it a second time. As the wolf demon tried to come up with a flawless plan to obtain the Tetsusaiga, nothing came to mind…that is until he thought of something. He placed his hands firmly on the handle of the sword and started to pull. With some effort, the sword came out, fully transformed and rather heavy for the half demon. This was because he had not fought with the Tetsusaiga before, let alone touch it. Then, once he made sure that he had obtained all of the weapons, he proceeded to exit the hut and walked away in the opposite direction that he had come from. What he didn't know, however, was that Kura was hot on his tail. She was almost in the village and ready to do whatever was necessary…as long as it meant banishing him from the village…or quite possibly killing him if the need for it arose. The only times that Kura would even think of killing a demon or a human was if they caused massive damage to a sacred place or shrine or inflicted serious pain, whether it be physical or emotional, to one or all of her friends. She could never, and still can't bare the thought of seeing a friend lying on the ground, unconscious or possibly dying. It was just too much to handle for a young half demon such as herself…
Once she arrived in the village, she looked around, only to find that nothing or no one could be seen. The place was deserted. When she walked into the hut, the first thing that she noticed was that her father's Tetsusaiga was removed from its sheath. She didn't know how this was possible. Who would risk stealing the Tetsusaiga right under its owner's own nose when there's a good possibility that he could of woken up? Someone who is very brave, that's all she could think of. It was then that something struck her mind: Isamu. He must have taken the sword for some unknown purpose. Did he simply want it for his own personal benefit? No, that would be too predictable. He must need it for something of relative importance…but what could it be? She didn't want to think of that now. Right now, her first priority was to wake up her father and tell him the bad news. She didn't know how he was going to take it but figured there would be a lot of curse words coming from his mouth. She prepared herself for the worst as she shook him awake.
"Dad… Dad, wake up…" she spoke rather softly, nudging his shoulder with her right hand. Inuyasha groaned but did not even make the slightest attempt to wake up. She shook him a little harder, hoping that he would awaken and ask her what the problem was. Well, she got her wish a few seconds later, for Inuyasha started to stir and his eyes eventually fluttered open. He looked into his daughter's worrisome amber orbs and looked confused.
"What's wrong?" he asked curiously, tilting his head to one side. Kura looked down at the sheath and then back up to her father. The first time she tried to speak, her words failed her. When she opened her mouth, nothing came out. She then took a deep breath and prepared to try again. This time, she was successful.
"Well…um…do you feel any lighter?" She knew this was a stupid question to ask but it was the only one she could think of at the time.
"What do you mean, 'Do I feel any lighter?'" Inuyasha inquired, wondering just what she was getting at.
"I mean, do you feel any lighter? As if you're missing something important…" This only confused the hanyou even more. He couldn't understand what Kura was trying to get at and every time he thought about it, it only made his head hurt.
"I still don't follow you…"
Kura sighed. "Look at your sheath…" she stated simply. The half-demon did so and nearly flipped with what he saw.
"MY TETSUSAIGA! IT'S GONE!" he exclaimed standing up and causing such a racket that it caused everyone else to wake up, slowly but surely. They all rubbed their eyes and looked as though they were going to kill whoever or whatever woke them up.
"What's going on?" Nekura asked groggily. "I was having the best dream. I was fighting…"
"NO TIME NOW!"
"What?" Nekura looked at Inuyasha strangely, as if wondering what had caused him to act this way.
"TETSUSAIGA'S BEEN STOLEN! I HAVE TO FIND IT! NOW!" He then ran out of the hut and out of sight.
"What's he talking about? How can the Tetsusaiga be missing?" Sango inquired, staring curiously at Kura.
"Well, I have suspicions that someone managed to sneak in here and steal father's sword…and I think I know who it was…" At that particular moment, everyone's eyes shot wide open with extreme curiousity.
"Who is it that you suspect?" Miroku questioned, standing up and reaching for his staff. However, because it was not there, it was impossible. "What the -? Where's my staff? Don't tell me it got stolen too! But how? I was leaning against it the whole time. No one could of taken it without waking me up…"
"Maybe they were just too sneaky. They did manage to get a hold of Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga after all…and it was placed safely in its sheath…" Nekura stated, matter-of-factly. "Anyone who is able to swipe the Tetsusaiga out from under Inuyasha's nose is definitely brave…and devious…"
"Oh no, they're an idiot…"
"What are you talking about? Who is it?" Sango asked, rephrasing the question that Miroku had asked only about a minute or so ago.
"Isamu…"
"Who?"
"Isamu. He's a wolf demon, or to be more precise, half-demon. He wants nothing more than to kill me…and since I won't let him, he decides that he's going to take everything out on the ones I care about most…"
"That bastard. How can he even think about sinking so low?" Nekura swore.
"Just like you said, he really is a bastard. I can't wait until I see him next because when I do, I'm going to be ready," Kura replied, standing perfectly tall with a serious expression plastered across her face. Everyone knew that when she got that look, she was ready for action and you were best to stay out of her way.
"We'll all be rea…" But before Nekura could finish her statement, she glimpsed down in front of her and noticed that her sword was gone. "Dammit! My sword's gone! Now I'm really pissed!" she shouted angrily, looking as though things couldn't get any worse. But unfortunately, they did…
"No! My Hiraikotsu has been stolen! How on earth did Isamu, or whatever his name is, manage to steal all four weapons? It just doesn't make sense…"
"He's sly, I'll give him that. But if hedoesn't give me back my damn samurai sword, we won't be calling him sly anymore…" Nekura added, threateningly.
"Yes, we know perfectly well what you're capable of. After all, you were the one that my father fought earlier, when you first joined our team and I was there to watch," the female demon informed.
"I know, which is exactly why you shouldn't be surprised when you see what I'm going to do to him…"
"Well, if you really want to get back at him, I suggest less talking and more focusing on how we're going to find him. Where do you think an idiotic wolf demon would go with four powerful weapons?" Kura pondered aloud.
It was then that an idea struck Nekura's mind. "Totosai!" she exclaimed.
Kura smiled. "That's it! I bet you anything he went to see Totosai in order to get him to forge a new weapon out of the four!"
"WHAT? I'LL KILL HIM!" Nekura roared loudly.
"Okay, calm down and let's head out. The sooner we can find Totosai, the better," Kura suggested, walking out of the hut. The minute she did so, she saw Inuyasha waiting by the fire pit. "Hey dad, what are you doing?"
"Nothing. So, going to go see Totosai, eh?" The male demon raised an eyebrow as he spoke.
"Yes. Sango, Nekura, Miroku and I are all going to try and find Isamu…"
"Isamu?"
"I'll explain later. C'mon guys, let's go!" And with that, before Inuyasha managed to get out another word, Sango, Miroku and Nekura emerged from the hut and soon enough, the group of four were gone in an instant.