Chapter 13: Light and Shell
No event in this world is isolated from each other,
As no person can ever live by themselves.
Is it a breeze kicking up a storm on the other side of the world,
Or a butterfly causing ripples that unleash tidal waves?
{Opening: Kimi ga Inai Mirai}
As the Antidragoons launched their assault, the dragons of the party outmaneuvered them to get their partners out of harm's way and counterattacked with their breaths, but the Antidragoons put up barriers to block them.
- "What the hell!?" – said Gerardo angry when they finally had a chance to breathe – "How can scum like them have dragon partners of their own!?" –
- "Gerar…" – said Iadla shaking her head as she glared at their enemies – "See how their eyes seem to be devoid of life? It's because these dragons aren't real partners with them! They are instead brainwashed and only serve as puppets to these guys! It's nothing like the partnerships we have with each of you!" –
- "Okay, that's really sad" – smirked Gabriela – "Your hearts are so rotten that no dragon'd ever agree to partners with any of you!" –
- "Not like we need to be partners with our slaves!" – said Toledo as he showed a demented smile.
- "Yeah! These guys only need to obey our orders!" – said Ana laughing evilly.
- "As if I'd want to share my mind with these stupid lizards!" – said Roberto.
- "Okay, that's enough!" – said Pyrafile as he charged a fireball for a few seconds to then launch a focused fire beam. Roberto avoided it by making his dragon fly out of the way, but then he got hit in the shoulder by a fire arrow shot by Tiffany – "Ah, nice shot, Tiff!" –
- "The only one who can quarrel with you is me, Flameck! Not gonna let anybody call you in that horrible way!" – said Tiffany as he glared at Roberto, who seemed visibly scared.
- "Hoh, and here I thought you'd have lousy aim! But what can I expect from a descendant of the stupid Indians?" – said Ana as she smirked at her. She then revealed her weapon: a gun that had some black jewels socked on its body – "And you're not the only one that can shoot here!" –
She then started firing at her, so Tiffany moved out of the way and closed her armor's wings in front of herself to protect herself better.
- "Leave her alone, you bully!" – said Gabriela as she fired a Light Arrow to force Ana to stop attacking her, but she then was intercepted by Toledo: he had jumped off his dragon and had flown to her with a polearm on his hands – "Aghh! Get away!" –
- "Leave my sister alone, you traitorous cretin!" – said Gerardo as he jumped off from Iadla and drew his sword and shield. However, Juan anticipated his movements and tackled at him through the air enshrouded in a dark watery aura and holding a sword on his hands.
- "I'm your opponent, retard!" – said Juan smiling as Gerardo had to interrupt his flight to cover himself with his shield and wings. He managed to block the attack, but this broke his momentum and caused him to start falling down – "How easy it is to get you to lower your guard!" –
- "Aaaaagh!" – shouted Gerardo as he fell down. However, Iadla caught him before he had touched the ground – "Thanks, Iadla!" –
She then spat a water ball at the same speed as a bullet, causing Juan to have to retreat, though his dragon also retaliated by doing the same thing, causing them to have to move out of the way. He then saw that Gabriela seemed to be safe, as Toledo had flown away from her.
- "Thanks for the save, Drago!" – said Gabriela after her partner had launched a photon ray to get Toledo away from them.
- "You can pay me with some nice food once we get to a safe place!" – said Drago smiling.
On the other hand, Miguel was having a hard time with Ricardo, as they were fighting on the air and he had his katanas locked against the axe his opponent was wielding.
- "Yeah, an axe fits perfectly an idiot like you!" – said Miguel gritting his teeth – "Pure brute muscle and zero brains!" –
- "Brains aren't needed for tearing you apart!" – said Ricardo as he pulled back to then try to attack Miguel with a downward slash, but he pushed him back with a cast of his Zephyr Blade – "You coward!" –
- "It's not cowardice to use my powers against somebody whose head is just for decoration!" – said Miguel as he flew back to Eolia's back as fast as he could. He then saw how the formation they had made to attack Mouryoumaru had been completely broken and they were all fighting their opponents however they could – 'But still, I don't get it… The way they've been fighting is as if they had been planned on this sort of formation before attacking us…" –
Roger was using his dagger to get Brayan away from him, who was using his fists to attack him.
- "Damn! He's fast!" – said Roger parrying his punches with his own weapon, as Brayan had thrown him off Daichi and they were now fighting while levitating on the air.
- "Huhu! Fast for an Earth-elemental! I should've figured out you'd be part Wind too due to how airheaded you are!" – said Brayan to then try to tackle him, but Roger flew down to get away from the attack, giving him the chance to get out his guns and start firing at him – "Damn you!" –
- "Who's the airhead now!?" – said Roger angry, but he then was hit from behind by what seemed to be a bunch of boulders. He saw some more were being thrown in his direction and he tried exerting control over them, but they didn't respond his commands. As far as he could see, they were being spat out by Brayan's dragon – "No!" –
- "Careful there, chibi!" – said Henry as he went in and turned his liquid metal sword into what seemed to be a large rock grater and placed it before himself, causing the rocks to be reduced to gravel when they were smashed against it – "Phew, that was close!" –
- "But not as close as what'll happen to you!" – said Roberto as he tried stabbing Henry with a lance from the side, but Anryuujin spat a sphere of darkness that seemed to absorb matter around itself and subject it to a strong pressure, forcing him to retreat – "Damn stupid black lizard!" –
- "Thanks, pal! That gravity ball really saved my back!" – said Henry taking advantage of the chance to return to his dragon's side, as also did Roger.
- "You're welcome!" – said Anryuujin.
- "Still, who'd have thought these guys'd come to get in our way" – said Miguel gritting his teeth as he looked away for a moment, and saw how Inuyasha and Kouga were struggling for the latter to get released form Mouryoumaru's grip.
- "And we'll make sure you don't help them!" – said Roberto smiling in an arrogant way. However, he then had to get away to avoid a series of ice spears that Carlos was shooting at him from Chills' back.
- "Watsa ya cryocezara iolas sos zarecall yst torowas'ara tastsaks ika! Hail Lances!" – chanted Carlos to continue summoning and launching ice spears to Roberto.
- "Damn you! How you dare!?" – said he as he tried to tackle him, but then Kember had to conjure a bunch of vines enshrouded in light to block his path – "What are these stupid plants doing!?" –
- "Looks like Carlos and Kember did get some new spells in there!" – said Gabriela as she saw how Kember kept on chanting.
- "Ochis meya, baprou florast, iarsara sos omedaisaks yst protasec sossaks! Overgrown Wall!" – chanted him as more vines kept on growing and surrounded Roberto, leaving him unable to move.
Meanwhile, Kouga had already managed to break free from Mouryoumaru's grasp between his own attacks, and Yasha's and Inuyasha's help.
- "Hey, stupid wolf, can ya still keep fighting?" – asked Inuyasha as he flew down and stood next to him.
- "Isn't that obvious!?" – replied Kouga angry.
- "Well, you got pretty beat up while you were caught in there" – snorted Yasha from Pyrafile's back, causing Kouga to growl at him.
- "Hmph, thanks to you Kouga, and to that kid, I've managed to get yet more shards of the Shikon Pearl…" – said Mouryoumaru with a confident smile.
- "Get in my way and you're gonna regret it!" – shouted Inuyasha as he readied his sword.
- Heh, that's MY line!" – said Kouga.
- "These two can't never get along, huh?" – commented Miroku unimpressed.
- "And it doesn't seem he likes Yasha much either" – said Shippou observing how Yasha was sticking his tongue out at Kouga now he couldn't see him.
- "Still, maybe the ancestors' protection was used up already" – commented Hakkaku as they kept watching over the battle.
- "It's fine. The shards he's got on his legs are still being protected" – said Kagome.
- "And we'll make sure they don't get taken away, right? Onee-san?" – said Miko with a smile.
Kouga then rushed Mouryoumaru:
- "Eat this! Goraishi!" – shouted Kouga as he launched a series of thunderbolts with his claws.
- "Hehe…" – chuckled Mouryoumaru as he had extended the shell covering his left arm over his face so Kouga's attacks wouldn't reach it. He then shot off lances of the Kongousouha he had stolen from Inuyasha, forcing Kouga to avoid them.
- "Impossible…" – said Miko looking at how Kouga's attacks seemed to be ineffective now.
- "Not even a single scratch…" – said Kagome.
- "On his shell…" – finished Miroku.
- "Keh…" – snorted Inuyasha as he changed Tessaiga to its Dragon-Scaled form.
- "Nii-san… Okay" – muttered Yasha as he followed his older brother's movements – 'I'm not really sure about how to use it or how to find the youketsu… But…' –
- 'I'll find Mouryoumaru's… And split it in two!' – thought Inuyasha as a series of purple-colored energy vortexes appeared before him.
- 'Eh!? I can smell and see them now… But which one I've gotta cut…?' – thought Yasha terrified.
- 'Yeah, no other way 'round it… He's got so many youketsu because he's formed by lotsa youkai…' – said Inuyasha as he tried to focus on which one was the central one.
- "Stop being all spaced out!" – shouted Kouga as he ran next to him, breaking his concentration. He then managed to throw a punch that reached Mouryomaru's head, destroying half of it. However, he just regenerated it as he chuckled.
- 'He's… Regenerating…!?' – thought Kouga upon seeing how his successful hit had been for nothing.
- 'Okay, here goes nothing! We'll have to cut one by one!' – thought Inuyasha as he also focused on conveying these ideas to Yasha.
- 'Got it, Nii-san!' – thought Yasha as he nodded, and they then jumped off their dragons to start cutting the youketsu they had nearest to them.
- "Hey, idiots! Where are you cutting!?" – shouted Kouga, unable to understand what they were doing. However, the next second Mouryomaru's left arm and right leg broke off him, causing him to stare in horror at what both brothers had done.
- "Keh, now ya won't be able to grow these parts back!" – shouted Inuyasha triumphantly as he and Yasha jumped away to just a few feet in front of Kagome and Miko.
- "You can try it if you want!" – said Yasha with a smile.
- 'You bastards…!' – thought Mouryoumaru as he tried to make the parts reattach to him, but they had now decayed into dust – 'Impossible… The demonic energy around the Dragon-Scaled Tessaiga is nothing like I had seen before… And now there's a kid that has a second sword identical to it too…!?' –
- "Ya better get ready to die!" – said Inuyasha as he and Yasha charged at him and launched a combined crossed slash, cutting two more youketsu and causing Mouryoumaru's shoulders to start falling apart. As they started spitting miasma, Kagome and Miko shot Purifying Arrows at them to remove the danger.
- "Good save, Kagome! And you too, Miko!" – said Sango as she saw how both girls were supporting Yasha and Inuyasha. The alluded didn't respond though, as they were focused on what their next movement would be.
- "The youketsu cutting is doing its work, as also is our miko duet with purifying the miasma he spews out" – said Miroku observing the situation.
- "Ya see now, stupid wolf!? Our Dragon-Scaled Tessaigas're doin' all the heavy…" – said Inuyasha but he then saw how Kouga was rushing ahead while ignoring him – "Hey, I'm talkin' to ya!" –
- "You two're only ripping smalls pieces away from him!" – shouted Kouga. He then went and removed the remainder of Mouryoumaru's right arm with a strike of his claws.
- "It's not growing back!" – said Hakkaku shocked.
- "Looks like after Yasha and Inuyasha cut his youketsu, Kouga is free to use his Goraishi" – observed Miroku.
- 'Neither of them is experienced using the Dragon-Scaled Tessaiga yet, and neither them or us two are that well-versed in using our dragon powers or Seirei Magic. We won't be able to beat him like this…' – thought Kagome – 'But if we join forces with Kouga…' –
- "Hey, dogs! Keep attacking the shell like you've been doin'! I'll then…!" – said Kouga, but he then got a nice hit on the head from Inuyasha. The pain also got amplified from the gauntlet he had on his hand.
- "Hey, idiot. I'm not yer helper…" – said Inuyasha pouting.
- "Got any problems with that?" – asked Kouga.
- "Nii-san! This isn't time to be fighting among ourselves!" – said Yasha.
- "Yeah! You three are better when you work together!" – said Ginta.
- "Come on, join forces!" – said Kagome.
- "I don't like Kouga either, but we gotta beat Mouryoumaru first, Inuyasha-nii!" – said Miko.
- "It's pretty sad how the children here act more mature than these two" – said Miroku shaking his head.
But then Mouryoumaru took advantage of their infighting to grow wings from his back.
- "He's trying to get away!" – said Ginta.
- "Oh no, you won't!" – said Yasha as Pyrafile positioned himself over Mouryomaru and spat a stream of fire at him to block his path.
- "What!?" – said Mouryomaru.
- "Our dragons aren't just for show, you awful living armor!" – shouted Yasha – "Take this!" –
He cut another of his youketsu, and this was followed by Inuyasha destroying another, Kouga hitting him with his Goraishi, a duet of Sacred Arows from Kagome and Miko taking out his wings, and streams of fire and light launched by the four dragons they had with them. This caused Mouryoumaru to fall down to the ground again, now reduced just to his torso and head.
- "Impossible… I can't perish… In a place…" – said Mouryoumaru as he tried standing up again in vain. But then, he as well as everybody else noticed that a swarm of the Saimyoushou were flying around.
- "Damn, looks like Naraku is watching over the whole battle…" – said Miroku worried.
- 'Damn you, Naraku. So, you're playing them as pawns to destroy my armor…' – thought the baby that was inside Mouryoumaru.
- "Looks like the events from the manga are playing more or less the same" – noted Gerardo after he had managed to break away from Juan and had taken a bit of distance to see how their friends were doing.
- "Well, Kagome is assisting more here, and Mouryoumaru got double battered up thanks to Yasha's presence" – noted Gabriela, who was now surrounded by a white barrier provided by Drago.
- "Still, I wish we could be helping them" – said Henry to then eye the Antidragoons, who were now spread and seemed to be thinking of how they'd attack them, as he and his friends were now covered by their dragons' barriers or behind Kember's Overgrown Wall – "I'm sure we'd have finished that thing off by now if we didn't have these nuisances in our way" –
They then saw how the vines that Kember had put up were being burnt away and had a large hole punched through them by a flaming beam, causing them to wither away and fall apart.
- "What!? What caused this!?" – asked Kember shocked.
- "Uhuhu, did you like my Catastrophe Bazooka?" – asked Ana while smirking at them and their spooked faces.
- "And these barriers won't help you for much longer!" – said Juan as he started chanting – "Ikuyu poak nullast'ara tastsaks maha ika! Removal Beam!" –
He then held his sword aloft and caused it to charge with a large wave of shadow energy, which then spread in the form of a multitude of black beams that homed into the barriers the dragons had put around their partners and hit them, dissolving them much to their horror.
- "No!" – shouted Gerardo upon seeing this, and then he had to put up his shield again to keep Juan from running him through.
- "You thought we wouldn't have measures to deal with your stupid protections or whatever!?" – said Juan smiling like a madman as he hit Gerardo – "And with that pathetic skill level you've got, you won't be a match for us!" –
- "I hate to say this… But that cretin is right…" – said Miguel, as he noticed how Ricardo was not giving him even a single second of breathing room to change his vantage point or start formulating strategies. In fact, in that same instant he was flying around with Eolia to avoid wind blasts and axe throws that returned to his enemy like a boomerang – "We're severely lacking in training and we still don't have good techs or spells to face them!" –
- "But we can't let them kill us here either!" – said Henry angry as he avoided Roberto's stabs over and over. He then had an idea – "Dark Sphere!" –
He shouted as he and Anryuujin blasted their opponent away with a combined gravity blast, which Henry took advantage of to focus into his blade.
- "Come now… Take that shape… I know that sword as well as its owner, and I know we can use its skills… Trace, on!" – said he as he put his head against it and focused his feelings. The blade then shifted and took a form identical to Tessaiga much to the shock of Carlos and Kember, who were right behind him – "Great, I did it!" –
However, his joy was short-lived, as he saw how its form started falling apart right away.
- "Okay, I've gotta make this blow count…!" – said Henry as he forced it to take a crystallized form – "Guys, open the way for me! I'm gonna send these bastards reeling!" –
- "Wait, that's…!?" – said Gerardo shocked, but then Miguel motioned to the others right away:
- "Guys, get away from Henry's line of sight!" – said he as he realized what Henry was about to do, which caused the party to clear the way as fast as they could while their enemies stared at them confused.
- "Okay, here's goes nothing! Kongou-Kaze no Kizu!" – said Henry as he brought the crystallized blade downward, sending away five energy waves surrounded by diamond lances in the enemies' direction. This caught the attention of everybody in the ground, shocking them all.
- "No way…" – said Inuyasha with his jaw dropping to the ground.
- "Impossible… Henry-nii's blade can do that too…!?" – said Yasha struck speechless.
- "How did that guy copy dog breath's weapon!?" – said Kouga with widened eyes.
- "And I'm not going to just stay put in here!" – said Gerardo as he chanted his Water's Scar as fast as he could and launched it in the same direction.
While the blue waves were weaker than the ones he used to launch in the previous journey, they bounced into the diamond lances and coiled around Henry's Kaze no Kizu, turning the waves green in color and increasing their reach and power.
- "Hah, that attack must be like simple breeze!" – said Roberto confidently, but as he tried to tank the attack, he realized too late that he wouldn't be able to withstand it – "No!" –
The waves and diamond lances then hit all the Antidragoons, who got badly damaged by them: their dragons were left badly injured, while their armors got shattered, with only some of their parts remaining after the attack.
- "Whoa, that was amazing, Henry!" – said Roger amazed.
- "Yeah! I didn't know your blade could copy others!" – said Gabriela smiling.
- "Thanks guys, but looks like I won't be able to do it again" – said Henry as he looked at the blade again: it had returned to its usual shape and was now glowing in red, as if it had been melted – "Copying Tessaiga's powers was too hard on it, and it'll need some time to cool down before I can copy anything again with it" –
- "Damn you…!" – said Juan as battered as he was: his armor was now missing its breastplate, skirt and helmet, and he was burnt and bruised all over. He still had the wings attached to his back and the small section of the breastplate where the Dragtemn would normally be stored over his chest – "I didn't think that idiot could do something like that…!" –
- "Where did you get that power…!?" – said Roberto angry, now only wearing the arm protectors, helmet and breastplate, all of which were covered in cracks.
- "And this is what happens when you go to an anime world and you hate anime" – said Miguel rolling his eyes.
- "Hey, I don't know much about it either!" – said Tiffany offended.
- "I didn't mean you with that comment!" – said Miguel as he laughed nervously. They then saw how the circular plates on what remained of the breastplates of their enemies were now blinking – "Huh? Looks like your transformations won't last much longer!" –
- "You better retreat now" – said Gerardo as he pointed Ryuuga in their direction – "Keep attacking us like this, and you're sure to end up dead" –
- "We don't want any mercy from you idiots!" – said Brayan angry, whose armor was now reduced just to his wings and plate – "Remember we're all here to kill you!" –
- "Looks like we've gotta withdraw anyway… But we'll leave you with a parting gift!" – said Ana as she snickered. Her armor was reduced to her breastplate, skirt and arm protectors. They then saw how Toledo, whose armor consisted now of just its leg protectors and breastplate, seemed to be chanting something.
- "No! Guys, get away now!" – said Miguel horrified as he realized what was happening – "He was chanting a spell while they kept us distracted!" –
- "Too late! You won't be going anywhere now!" – said Ricardo – "Ikuyu poak iolois siraekalt'ara syayul clala'uk yst cascerp're syayul ika! Whirlwind Wall!" –
The party was then surrounded by walls of wind in all directions, leaving them with no escape.
- "Damn it!" – said Roger as he looked at the trap – "They got us!" –
- "I'll try to remove a side so we can get away!" – said Gabriela as she fired a Light Arrow behind herself. The arrow managed to open a hole large enough for a dragon to pass through after she did – "Let's hurry! I don't like what he's casting and I don't wanna find out what'll happen when he's done!" –
Tiffany tried to launch some arrows, Miguel a Zephy Blade, Carlos his Hail Lances, Gerardo his Dragon Wave, and the others their elemental spheres to try and interrupt Toledo or at least slow him down, but they all got intercepted or blocked by their enemies or their slaved dragons.
- "No way you're gonna interrupt that spell!" – said Brayan as he grinned at them like a madman.
And unfortunately, before they could have fled, Toledo opened his eyes and held a hand aloft.
- "Ikuyu poak yallara clara lusya yst kust'af briyat hyz'ara millauk ika! Nuclear Wave!" – shouted he as he launched a sphere of darkened white light that flew at a high speed and exploded when it was midway to reach the party.
- "Aghh!" – screamed everyone as they got caught in the explosion. This caused them all to drop from the sky gravely injured, with their armors mostly destroyed and their dragons out for the count. The Inuyasha group then looked at the bright explosion and were shocked at its power, as well as horrified at the screams of their friends, while Mouryoumaru just shielded his eyes from the light.
- "Uhuhu… That's why we said you were idiots…" – said Juan as he descended to Gerardo's side, who was thrown on his stomach unconscious, breathing raggedly, beside Iadla in her small form and with the only parts of his armor remaining being the breastplate and wings, and he had several bleeding cuts on the cheeks and arms. Juan raised his sword and prepared to finish him off – "How great it's to finally end you!" –
- "Get away from him!" – said Kagome flying on Shia as she shot a Sacred Arrow at Juan.
- "You stupid girl!" – said Juan avoiding the arrow, but then the remainders of his armor started dissolving and disappearing – "No, not now!" –
- "I'm not going to miss this time! Leave Gerardo-kun alone!" – said Kagome as she put some of her spiritual power into her arrow, causing it to start shining in purple. Shia also started charging a photon blast in her mouth.
- "Damn, I was so close…" – said Juan as he surrounded himself in a black aura – "But mark my words! Next time we'll kill you for sure!" –
They then saw how the other Antidragoons professed their own curses at both girls and Gerardo's party, and they and their dragons vanished in puffs of black aura.
- "Onee-san, are Gerar-nii and Iadla okay!?" – asked Miko as she flew in with Gabriela and Drago unconscious on Neria's back – "Gaby-nee was about to get stabbed by the bully's lance, but Neria managed to cut him off before that happened!" -
- "Yeah, I got here on the last possible second too!" – said Kagome sighing relieved. However, she then saw how some of Mouryoumaru's tentacles had chased them and were now trying to stab them – "No!" –
- "Stop there, you freak!" – shouted Yasha as he flew in with Pyrafile and cut the youketsu for the tentacles, causing them all to fall to pieces – "Man, this battle has been a mess! Are you okay, Kagome-nee? Miko?" –
- "Yeah, thanks to you, Yasha!" – said Miko smiling. Yasha smiled back at her relieved.
- "How are Gaby-chan and Drago doing!?" – asked Kagome upon seeing her: she had bleeding wounds on her legs, had some burns on her face and the pauldrons, helmet, and leg protectors of her armor were now gone.
- "She's still breathing, but we need to heal her and Gerar-nii!" – said Miko.
- "How are the others!?" – asked Sango as she flew in Kirara with Miguel and Eolia on her back, the first with his breastplate cracked and missing his wings, skirt and leg protectors. He had burns all over his face and legs.
- "We've gotta go for them now! We need to get them to a safe place and treat them!" – said Kagome as she directed Shia to go on a direction while Miko and Sango went on the other – "Hang in there, Gerardo-kun! Iadla!" -
After a few more minutes of flying around, the three girls and Yasha had picked each of the fallen party members and their dragons, and had taken them a bit more behind from where Mouryoumaru was still fighting against Inuyasha and Kouga.
- "Onee-san, do you know how to use the Healing Sounds of Light song I always use?" – asked Miko after they had put the downed party members on the ground and prepared to treat them. Yasha had now returned to the front to assist Inuyasha and Kouga.
- "I have the feelings for it down thanks to you Miko, but I'm not sure whether I'll be able to sing it well… I've never used it before…" – said Kagome as she took out her first aid kit, and she and Sango started putting band aids and bandages over their friends' wounds.
- "Be confident, Kagome" – said Sango with a smile – "If Miko can do it, so can you too" –
- "Sango-nee is right!" – said Miko to cheer her up – "We both have the same powers after all!" –
- "I'm sure you'll be able to do it well, Kagome!" – shouted Shippou.
- "Okay" – said Kagome still a bit nervous, but smiling at her friends for her support – "Miko, let's do it!" –
- "Yeah!" – said Miko. They then put themselves back to back, held their hands and started singing:
{Song: Nail wo Shizumeru Uta – Haruka Shimotsuki}
The magical circles drew themselves at their feet as bands of light stretched from below them and started spreading all around them and reached their downed friends, as well as Inuyasha, Yasha and Kouga.
- 'Focus fully on these feelings of wanting to heal and cure them…' – thought Miko to herself as she kept on singing.
- 'Stimulate the body's regeneration… Speed up the blood flow… Enhance fibrinogen and platelets… Enhance the bone marrow…' – thought Kagome as she remembered what she had learned of biology and anatomy to tell the song exactly what it needed to do.
- "What are these two doing!?" – shouted Mouryoumaru shocked as he tried to attack them, but he only got another of his youketsu destroyed for his trouble, causing his newly formed arm to fall apart instantly.
- "Yer not getting anywhere near Kagome or Miko!" – said Inuyasha as he flew in front of him.
- "Damn you…!" – said Mouryoumaru, but he then got struck from the side by Kouga's Goraishi.
Kagome and Miko's song then carried out its work by closing up the bleeding wounds the downed party had, cleaning off the dirt they had on them and removing their burns, but they still had several bruises and swollen parts on the face, arms and legs, and they were still lying unconscious.
{End Song}
- "Looks like you've done your work" – said Sango smiling as both girls stopped singing and they separated again.
- "Yeah" – said Miko while looking at their friends – "We couldn't heal them fully, but this should be enough for them to be okay" –
- "I'm still surprised I could sing a song like the one Gaby-chan used in our previous journey" – said Kagome looking at one of her hands.
- "Anyway, I'm intrigued at the fact that Naraku seems to just be watching around while we're defeating Mouryoumaru" – said Sango looking at the abomination.
- "Most likely that's not what is happening here" – said Miroku as he walked next to them and turned to face Mouryoumaru again.
- "What do you mean, Miroku-sama?" – asked Kagome.
- "Mouryoumaru contains Naraku's heart inside himself" – said Miroku gripping his shakujou – "And abandoning him to his luck means Naraku's own death" –
- "In that case, I'm gonna finish him off before that bastard starts tryin' to help him!" – said Inuyasha as he jumped off Gouka to slash Mouryomaru again with the Dragon-Scaled Tessaiga.
- "Same here, Nii-san!" – said Yasha jumping from Pyrafile to do the same thing.
However, they had to use their armors' wings to back away when Mouryoumaru turned himself into a cloud of miasma.
- "No!" – said Kagome and Miko.
- "He's trying to get away!" – said Sango.
They then were shocked to see how Mouryoumaru started changing around the composition of his body and also removed some parts from it: in fact, they were the ones that he was unable to regenerate.
- "He's falling down to pieces?" – asked Hakkaku.
- "That's not it!" – said Kagome as she pointed her bow at the monster and focused her energies into an arrow – "He's reconfiguring his body!" –
But before she had a chance to let it go, Kouga moved Mouryoumaru away from her sight by striking him with the Gouraishi's lightning blasts.
- "How funny! So, you still wanna fight? Fine by me!" – he said as he slashed at the monster again – "Goraishi!" –
- "Agh, he ruined a perfect shot, Onee-san!" – said Miko frustrated as she tried to aim at him too.
Then they saw how some of Mouryoumaru's tentacles were trying to get close to Kouga's legs.
- "He's aiming for his legs!" – shouted Kai.
- "He won't do that!" – said Kagome as she finally managed to line up her sight against the tentacles. She then felt as if some feelings started welling up into her heart – "Alt tok dulafara royawfle dat sos meitam yst lusya tast ika!" –
A magical circle formed under her feet as the emblems manifested over her hands, chest and forehead and her eyes became white, while the arrow she had prepared to shoot started shining in white – "Lightsoul Arrow!" –
She then shot a white shimmering arrow that had also smaller purple trails.
- "Amazing!" – said Yasha.
- "It's…" – said Miko surprised – "The same sort of arrow I've been practicing to make with Selfaia-san…!" –
The arrow hit in the area of the ground before the tentacles, causing a small explosion that disintegrated them.
- "What the hell!?" – said Mouryoumaru shocked.
- "Nice save, Kagome!" – said Inuyasha as he jumped next to Kouga to take advantage of the surprise to attack Mouryoumaru. However, next Mouryoumaru attacked them with tentacles coated in diamond – "What!?" –
- "What's up, Nii-san!?" – said Yasha as he tried to help – "Impossible… The tentacles are so hard we can't break them!" –
- "So, he's not just disposing of the body parts that are now useless to him!" – said Sango having figured out the monster's plan – "He's also surrounding himself with his tentacles and shell!" –
- "And he's also covering himself with the Kongousouha!" – said Miroku – "He's reinforcing his defenses as much as he can!" –
- 'Even so… Inuyasha and Yasha should be able to cut the youketsu…' – thought Kagome worried.
- 'Why… Why aren't Inuyasha-nii and Yasha trying to cut them…?' – thought Miko.
- 'Nii-san… I can't see the youketsu anymore…!' – said Yasha to Inuyasha's mind.
- 'Yeah, it's the same to me Yasha… That stupid baby must be using the fuyouheki to mask them!' – growled Inuyasha mentally – 'That's why he's trying to make himself pass for a damn fortress now!' –
- "Hey, dogs! What're you two doing, standing around like statues now!?" – growled Kouga seeing how they were motionless now – "Hurry up and cut him down to size!" –
- "Shut it!" – said Inuyasha angry.
- "Doing what we're doing isn't easy!" – said Yasha upon seeing how stupid Kouga was acting.
- 'Still, even if the fuyouheki makes them invisible…' – said Inuyasha to Yasha through their mental link.
- 'They still should be there, right!?' – said Yasha understanding the conclusion Inuyasha had arrived at.
- 'Yeah! Follow me, Yasha!' – said Inuyasha to him as he jumped onto Mouryoumaru's shell and launched a Kaze no Kizu enshrouded in fire at it. Yasha did the same thing, but unfortunately, the shell didn't even get scratched from their attacks.
- "This isn't good! His defense is too tough!" – said Shippou worried.
- "If we only had Gerardo-kun's Dragon Dispel still available…" – said Miroku with a hand on his chin.
Inuyasha and Yasha growled to then slam their swords against the shell again with all their strength, which caused it to start cracking.
- "They did it!" – said Hakkaku.
- "It's started breaking!" – said Ginta.
But then, Kouga jumped above Yasha and Inuyasha, fully intending to take advantage of the cracks to attack Mouryoumaru.
- "Now it's my turn!" – said Kouga excited.
It was then that Yasha and Inuyasha noticed something strange: the cracks that they had finally made on the shell closed up themselves.
- "No, it's a trap!" – said Inuyasha feeling his blood go cold.
- "Get away from here, Kouga!" – said Yasha launching a stream of air with his Tessaiga at Kouga to get him away from them.
- "What're ya doin'!?" – asked Kouga as he tried to reposition himself, but then he felt his blood get drained away from his face when he noticed his legs weren't responding him again.
- "I'll go for him!" – said Miko flying off using her armor to catch him, but before she could reach him…
- "Aghh!"- screamed Kouga as Mouryoumaru stabbed his tentacles on the upper part of his legs, piercing them from extreme to extreme and drawing a large amount of blood.
- "K-Kouga!" – shouted his henchmen.
- "Dammit!" – shouted Inuyasha as he flew to them and dragged Kouga and Miko away from the tentacles through the air, leaving them far apart from Mouryoumaru and Kouga in Miko's hands.
- "Ugh! You should lay off on the meat for some time!" – said Miko trying as hard as she could to carry Kouga's body – "You're too heavy!" –
Kagome just burst laughing at this while Miko did her best to place Koga softly on the ground, who was fuming about her comments on his weight.
- "Sorry guys! I couldn't help laughing at what Miko said!" – said Kagome trying to control herself.
Meanwhile, Yasha had jumped away and was combining a Kaze no Kizu with Pyrafile's fire breath to attack Mouryoumaru, but the shell blocked it entirely.
- "Shit… That bastard's too tough…!" – said Yasha gritting his fangs.
- "Huhuhu… Looks like your legs are rendered immobile sometimes, Kouga…" – said Mouryoumaru after he scared Yasha and his dragon away with a swat of his tentacles that they barely managed to avoid.
Kagome and Kouga's henchmen then went to check on him.
- "Kouga!" – shouted Ginta.
- "Dammit!" – said Hakkaku.
- "Kouga!" – said Kagome as she rushed to start singing to at least close up the wounds while Kouga growled and gasped from the pain.
- "No healing this time for you!" – said Mouryoumaru as he tried to attack them – "This is the time I've been waiting for!"
But then his tentacles fell apart as they were closing in on Kagome and the others.
- "What!?" – shouted him. He then realized that Inuyasha had slashed the air near where the tentacles had last been.
- 'I could see 'em… The youketsu near the tentacles' tips…!' – thought Inuyasha.
- 'Ah…! That's because they're far away from the fuyouheki! Right, Nii-san?' – asked Yasha to his mind realizing what Inuyasha had just noticed.
- 'Yeah, Yasha! That damn baby's gotta be where the evil presence is the weakest!' – said Inuyasha as they both focused on the disgusting, writhing mass of tentacles and diamonds Mouryoumaru had become.
- 'Right! Even if we can't see it, that's where his youketsu should be located!' – said Yasha as they both jumped from their dragons with their swords held aloft and flapped their armor's wings to gain a boost in speed.
- "Get ready to die, ugly!" – shouted Inuyasha.
- "We're going to end you now!" – shouted Yasha.
They then both struck at the same time a point on Mouryomaru's shell, causing it to start breaking apart and shattering.
- "They did it!" – said Miroku amazed.
- "The shell's breaking down!" – said Sango.
- "Look out!" – said Miko as she shot a Sacred Arrow above them: two of Mouryoumaru's diamond tentacles were reaching out and trying to attack Kouga and Kagome again. The arrow struck them, destroying them instantly.
- "Thanks for that, Miko!" – said Kagome as she knelt near Kouga now she had finished singing – "I've finished treating your wounds, but how are you now, Kouga?" –
- "Thanks, Kagome. It still hurts like hell, but at least I'm in better shape now" – said Kouga getting up again with difficulty. The gaping holes in his legs had been closed and only a few bloodstains were left around them now, but he still grit his teeth and growled from the pain.
- "I'll go shield them, Nii-san!" – said Yasha as he retreated and stood levitating above Kagome and the others – "Go and finish him off!" –
- "Got it!" – said Inuyasha as he turned back his attention to the shell. He then realized something had entered his head – "Keh… Looks like yer beyond done, idiot…" –
He held his sword aloft as he started chanting:
- "Watsa ya piralya dat wasryats, cubra'alia sos Tessaiga yst uythas'alia sos eols ika! Kajisenpuu no Kizu" – said Inuyasha as Tessaiga covered itself in flames and the waves of the Kaze no Kizu. He then brought it down into the shell, rupturing it completely and exposing the baby as it held a blue crystal orb: the fuyouheki. He was also surrounded by a purple circular barrier and had the Shikon shard he had stolen from Kai floating near him.
- "Ya made the mistake of coveting Kouga's shards even after you stole Kai's" – said Inuyasha as his Tessaiga started covering itself into crystal.
- "Damn you! You think you'll be able to enter my shell so easily!?" – said the baby gritting his teeth.
The shell then started closing itself, causing parts of it to start driving themselves into Inuyasha, who with a thought closed up his armor's mask and joints to not get wounded from them.
- "Just give up already, bastard!" – shouted Inuyasha as he chanted again the spell to combine it with his Kongousouha – "Crystalfire Blast!" –
He then drove the crystallized sword covered in flames into the barrier, causing an explosion that destroyed most of the outer shell's remains and that removed the barrier protecting the baby.
- 'No…! My barrier is…!' – thought the baby scared to death.
- "He did it! He destroyed the shell and the barrier!" – said Miroku amazed.
- "Good going, Inuyasha-nii!" – said Yasha pumping a hand while both Pyrafile and Gouka roared triumphantly.
However, the baby then shone in a dark purple.
- "No! The shard he stole from Kai is…!" – said Miko, but it was too late: the baby released a purple shockwave that sent Inuyasha flying a few meters away from him. He then turned into a whirlwind of miasma and started flying away from the area.
- "He got away!" – screamed Ginta and Hakkaku.
- "I'm not gonna let him!" – said Yasha as he tried to chase him while Miko fired a Purifying Arrow at him. However, it was for naught, as the whirlwind disappeared into the air after a few seconds.
- "Damn it…!" – said Inuyasha opening again his armor's mask, revealing his frustrated and irate expression.
- 'Damn you, Naraku… You used Inuyasha and others to have Mouryoumaru destroyed… And I didn't think they'd have gotten these powers… They got as far as destroying my shell and barrier, and were seconds short from killing me…' – pondered the baby as he vanished – 'My death is your death too… That's why you couldn't help yourself and gave me that kid's shard… Naraku! I'll show you who's the master here!' -
A short while later…
- "What!? How's that we're parting ways!?" – asked Ginta shocked. They were now at a crossroads in the middle of a mountain path.
- "Like you two heard. I've made up my mind already" – said Kouga, who had now several bandages on his legs to speed up the healing effects from Kagome's song.
- "Kouga!" – they heard a voice as they saw a whirlwind approaching them – "At last I found you!" –
Then a girl emerged from the whirlwind: it was Ayame.
- "Ayame!? What're you doing here!?" – asked Kouga surprised.
- "I came running because I felt a strong scent of wolf youkai blood from this area, and also yours… I was really worried" – said her while her eyes got watery.
- "Don't worry. I'm not gonna die so easily!" – said Kouga smiling.
- "Even though you weren't too far away from getting yourself killed?" – said Yasha with an unimpressed face. He, Inuyasha, Miko and Kagome had now dismissed their armors.
- "Oh? There's a mini-Inuyasha and an eight-year old Kagome with you guys now?" – asked Ayame as she widened her eyes and looked at both children with surprise.
- "Hi, Ayame!" – greeted Kagome – "Looks like you've now met our younger siblings!" –
After they introduced each other…
- "Hehe, I once saw your older sister when she looked just like you, Miko!" – said Ayame as she knelt before her and smiled at her – "And you're pretty cute, Yasha!" –
- "Hehe, Kagome-nee and I were the same person before, Ayame. It's just that we're now separate people" – said Miko putting her hands behind herself while Yasha looked downward and blushed.
- "Hmm, I don't really get it, but it's great you two are also travelling with your older siblings!" – said Ayame smiling at them. She then noticed the small dragons they had with them, as well as the whole unconscious party – "And… Who're these people and these lizards you've got with you? I mean, I recognize Gerardo and Gabriela from the time we traveled together, but the rest…" –
- "They're friends of us" – said Kagome, who then sweatdropped when she saw how all the dragons were protesting for being called lizards – "And these little guys here are our dragon partners. Don't call them lizards, they're very touchy about it" –
- "Ah, got it" – said Ayame with a smile – "Still, I'm surprised you've got so many people traveling with you now" –
- "Indeed. We need all the help we may have for fighting Naraku, as well as a demon from another world called Tenebross" – said Miroku in a serious voice.
- "Anyway, you came at a good time, Ayame" – said Kouga as he looked at her with a serious gaze – "I need you to take these two guys and these two kids to another of the wolf youkai tribes. Make sure they get to a safe place" –
- "Wait a second, Kouga!" – protested Ginta – "What're you gonna do!?" –
- "Don't tell us you're gonna go all alone!" – said Hakkaku angry.
- "Your wounds haven't healed completely either…" – said Shinta worried.
- "And the other guys haven't regained consciousness after they were blasted out from the sky…" – said Kai as he saw Gerardo's party still unconscious, who were all lying on the ground near them.
- "I'll get fine in a day or two at most" – said Kouga shrugging his question.
- "And we're still sore… But I think we'll be okay soon too…" – said Gerardo trying to sit up, but his torso still hurt too much to even do that – "Aghhh…!" –
- "Gerardo-kun, don't try to move!" – said Kagome as she and the others went to tend and check on him – "You guys got badly hurt from that battle, and you still need to take it easy!" –
- "Ahaha… How ridiculous… to think my damn ex could've left us like this…" – said Gabriela with a bitter smile as she put a hand over her face despite the pain – "Now I don't even have energies to heal myself…" –
- "Well, you did get some healing from Onee-san and me, Gaby-nee" – said Miko as she walked to her and smiled at her – "See how all the major wounds you had are closed off now? But yeah, you all were left in pretty bad shape" –
- "Anyway… Kai, you were saying that bastard was attacking all the wolf youkai clans one after another, right?" – asked Kouga with a serious face – "Besides, it's like you said: it's my fault that your comrades that managed to escape got killed" -
- "Kouga…" – said Kai as he left his mouth gaping in sad expression – "I'm sorry… I…" –
- "Don't mind it… It's the truth after all…" – said Kouga as he snorted and turned around to look at Ayame – "Ayame, Kai, Shinta, the wolf youkai clans being dragged into this mess was because of the shards in my legs…" –
- "Kouga…" – said Kagome feeling sorry for him.
- "As much as I dislike him, I feel kind of bad for him" – said Miko looking downward with her hands entwined.
- "But Kouga…!" – said Ginta.
- "You don't know when your legs will be paralyzed again!" – said Hakkaku.
- "What!?" – asked Ayame terrified – "Sometimes your legs don't work!?" –
- "Yeah. It's because the shards in them are controlled by the miko Midoriko's will" – explained Miroku – "If she wills so, Kouga will be unable to move at all" –
- "Then you shouldn't be fighting, Kouga!" – said Ayame as she grabbed one of his arms – "You should come home with us!" –
- "Forget it, guys!" – said Kouga angry as he released himself from Ayame's grip – "Don't you get that staying with me is far more dangerous!? You do nothing but get in my way, dimwits! And Ayame, if I went home with you, I'd only put your whole clan in danger!" –
- "That's not true!" – said Ginta.
- "Yeah! You wouldn't have ever done anything if it wasn't for us!" – said Hakkaku.
- "…How can you two be so sure of yourselves?" – asked Kouga shocked.
- "But… What he said about our clan is true…" – said Ayame as she gripped the flower on her hair hard.
- "Anyway, guys, don't fret" – said Inuyasha sighing – "That stupid wolf's not gonna be fightin' alone. We'll be there too!" –
- "Inuyasha…" – said Ginta surprised.
- "Besides, I'll be the one to kill Naraku! The stupid wolf can content himself with whatever leftovers I leave him, as he'll just be a support!" – said Inuyasha as he pointed to himself to then scoff.
- "Yeah! If we're gonna travel together, we gotta cover each other's backs!" – said Yasha smiling as Kouga was about to hit Inuyasha.
- "Yasha, don't be saying that aloud!" – said Inuyasha as he started blushing.
- "Inuyasha, shouldn't you start learning to be more honest?" – asked Sango sighing – "If you keep letting Yasha voice your feelings, you'll just continue getting embarrassed" –
- "Yasha!" – said Inuyasha as he started running at him and Yasha started avoiding him.
- "Hehe, can't catch me, Nii-san!" – said Yasha laughing.
- "Just wait until I get ya!" – said Inuyasha gritting his fangs.
- "Looks like they're playing tag now…" – said Ayame as flabbergasted as everybody else, but then they just started laughing. Once both boys got tired and the laughter had ceased…
- "Okay, we'll take these children with us and get them to a safe place" – said Ayame with a smile – "But make sure to be careful out there, Kouga" –
- "Yeah, don't worry. I'm not planning to die at that bastard's hands!" – said Kouga snorting.
- "We'll catch up to you later!" – said Ginta.
- "Don't go too hard on yourself!" – said Hakkaku.
- "Aha, if you can find us"- said Kouga rolling his eyes.
- "Maybe that'll be impossible" – sighed Shippou.
- "Beyond impossible, better said" – said Yasha shaking his head.
- 'But it's okay… As he won't be alone…' – thought Kagome.
- "See you guys later!" – said Kai as he waved his hand at them.
- "Thanks for everything!" – said Shinta as he said goodbye too.
- "So, guys, are you ready to keep going?" – asked Miroku to Gerardo's party, all of which were now awake and standing. However, most of them had to use Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, or their own weapons as support to not fall over again.
- "Yeah. We're still beat up, but we can manage some walking and flying" – said Henry.
- "Still, who would've imagined Kouga would be joining the party?" – said Carlos rolling his eyes.
- "But wasn't this what happened in the manga too?" – asked Kember.
- "Wait. All this happened in the manga!?" – asked Miko amazed.
- "Not down to the exact details, but the same general things happened: Mouryoumaru stole Kai's shard, he escaped, and Kouga ended up travelling with you guys" – said Gabriela shaking her head.
- "What? You guys're seers now or what?" – snorted Koga annoyed.
- "We could say so, yeah" – said Kember while hanging on his lance to not fall headfirst on the rocky ground.
- "Anyway, if we're following the manga's story to some extent, I don't think Mouryoumaru and Naraku will be a worry for now" – said Gerardo – "I'm more worried about these damn Antidragoons…" –
- "The guys who attacked ya and that wore dark dragon armors, right?" – asked Inuyasha with his hands inside his sleeves.
- "Yeah" – sighed Miguel – "Looks like Tenebross had the courtesy to choose the people that antagonized each of us the most to be thorns on our side while we're here and in Dragonia" –
- "From that sarcastic tone I can hazard the guess that the hatred is mutual" – said Miroku as he shook his shakujou once.
- "Well, considering they all bullied us…" – said Gerardo.
- "And also, what Gaby-chan said about that guy being her ex, and that he made her whole class call her names and all…" – said Miko remembering her words, to then shake her head – "What a disgusting traitor and bully!" –
- "You said it, Miko" – said Gabriela, who was pleased to see everybody else in the party shared her disgust for Toledo. She then shouted – "Aaaaagh! So frustrating! Not only we got this badly wounded thanks to that cretin, he also did so with a dirty version of my own element!" –
- "I know this is personal, Gaby" – said Gerardo while he eyed his sister – "But believe me I'm wanting to tear him a few new ones too for what he did to you…" -
- "Ehehe, overprotective brother much?" – asked Kagome nervously upon seeing the murderous aura Gerardo was emitting.
- "Not like you can blame him after what he did to Gaby-nee, Onee-san" – said Miko as she looked at Gabriela with worry.
- "Yeah. I share that feeling about the kids that bullied you, Miko" – said Kagome as she smiled at her sister with pity in her eyes.
- "But leaving that aside, we should be on our way now, right?" – asked Gabriela.
- "Hmm, to where?" – asked Sango confused.
- "We need to go to Ryuusei again" – explained Gerardo – "The reason we came here was because the monarchs of Dragonia gave us a few free days to ascertain something" –
- "Wait a second… I remember the Dragon Gods mentioned something about the Seirei" – said Miroku reminiscing about the last time they had seen them and having a hunch about what that goal of theirs was – "Do you want to make sure about whether the Elemental Nucleus of Water is still inside that cavern?" –
- "Exactly!" – said Miguel with a smile – "Heh, you're pretty smart when you're not making yourself look like a fool with your perversion and stuff!" –
- "Ahaha, I've been told that before" – said Miroku laughing nervously.
- "You should act more respectably then, Houshi-sama!" – said Sango as she glared at him.
- "Anyway, let's get going" – said Shippou – "We gotta get there before the sun sets, right?" –
No one had objections with the plan, so the dragons took again their larger forms and after their respective partners had mounted them, and Kouga mounted on Kirara with Miroku, Sango and Shippou, they all took off into the blue sky to head to Ryuusei.
{End of Chapter}
{Ending: Fukai Mori}