In the Beholders Eye
Written By Sarga
May/June 2006
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters, I'm just taking a theme and running with it...
Chapter 10: Biggest
They had made their way up the mountain, the slope rather shallow, the trees growing more sparse as they had proceeded. They had been attacked twice more before the trees spread out and became thinner, too thin, it seemed, for the creatures to jump from.
"Shippo," Miroku turned to the boy. "Can you shape change and see how much further we have to go?"
"Sure, Miroku." Shippo morphed in a cloud of smoke, shifting into a hollowed out ball of air. With Shippo floating gracefully to the top of the trees, Miroku took the time to rest. Plopping down to the ground, he sat his back against a tree and closed his eyes.
Sango eyed him from a distance, and decided to do the same, picking a tree just out of arms reach from the resting monk. She carefully shifted Kilala in her arms, who took the opportunity to lick her wounded paws.
"It looks like Kilala should be fine by tomorrow," Sango commented. Kilala purred in response, rubbing her head against Sango's stomach.
Shippo returned after a few minutes, popping back to normal a few feet from the ground.
"We're almost there," he reported. "But..." He looked nervously at Miroku, who opened his eyes at Shippo's hesitation. "There are a lot of flying demons. They keep circling Iyouko's fortress. Like they're going to swoop in to attack." Shippo played with his hands nervously.
Sango narrowed her gaze in determination. "It'll be okay, Shippo. We need to go there for Kagome's sake, you know she'd do the same for us. Besides, he's a powerful monk, he'll know of a way that we can get back safely." Sango hoped her voice was as convincing as she wanted it to be. Frankly, she wasn't as sure as her words indicated.
Standing from his resting place, Miroku looked forwards, as if trying to peer through the greenery that was in their path.
"Let's go."
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They reached the edge of a clearing, dozens of meters of short grass providing visibility on all sides of the fortress before them. Overhead they could see the flying creatures, their forms noticeably larger than either of the demons they had previously encountered.
"Shippo, you protect Kilala," Miroku ordered. He knew the child would be underfoot if he had come with them, but he also knew that without a 'mission' he would feel like a burden.
Chest puffing out with pride, Shippo gave Miroku a bright-eyed solute. "Right!" he turned to Kilala, who Sango had laid behind the cover of some underbrush.
Straightening up, her hand on her weapon, Sango looked to Miroku. "You ready?" she asked.
With a quick nod, the two started running towards the front gates. They made it three quarters of the way before the flying creatures bore down.
"Hiraikotsu!" Sango flung the blades towards the flock coming towards them, killing two and scattering the rest.
Leaping from the grass, Miroku swung his staff, hitting a demon as it tried to tear him from the ground.
"I'm going to run out of sutras!" Miroku mumbled, throwing sutras at the approaching demons.
A break in the beasts allowed the pair to make a dash for the gates. Entering an enclosed entryway, they were startled by the sight that met them. Hovering a few feet off the ground was another demon, this one larger than any of the others, about twice the size of the ones flying above and just larger than Miroku.
Much to their surprise, instead of attacking, the creature spoke. "What has possessed you to cross the outer ring forest?" its guttural voice boomed across the entryway.
Boldly Sango stepped forward. "We seek the monk Iyouko!"
"He does not wish to be sought," The demon landed gently to the ground folding his arms and black wings about himself, making a solid block between them and the door.
"We need to speak to him. Our friend has been injured by magic and we seek his knowledge to help us heal her."
"If you refer to the demon cat you left in the woods, he does not heal demons." The demon growled low in his throat, eyes narrowing at the two human intruders.
"Sango," Miroku whispered, taking a step back.
Ignoring her ally's hesitation, Sango took another step forward. "We demand to see him now! Our injured friend is not the demon of which you speak. We only wish for his knowledge, not his skill."
The demon threw back his head in laughter, amused by some private joke neither of the two humans were privy to. Spreading his wings wide, the demon ceased his laughter, taking a step toward the pair.
Sango tightened her grip on her weapon, ready to fight the demon for the chance to enter.
"Fine," said the demon with a deep-throated chuckle. "You may enter," he stepped aside, making a sweeping gesture with his wing. "I will go pick up your tiny friends." Without waiting for a response, the demon jumped to the sky and quickly flew for their hidden allies. Within seconds he returned, carrying Shippo and Kilala in his hands. Both were struggling to get free, having been taken off guard.
"It's alright, Shippo," Miroku called from the ground. The last thing they needed was for the child to be dropped to the ground from so high. Hearing their friend from below, both demons stopped their escape attempts.
Not sure why the demon was suddenly so friendly, Sango kept a tight grip on her blade. He flew in front of her and dropped the two unceremoniously from several feet up. Turning his back on the group he walked to the front gate, opened it and stepped inside.
"Come in if you're coming," he demanded from the other side of the wall.
Sango picked up Kilala with her free arm and Miroku grasped Shippo. Keeping her eyes trained on the demon, Sango entered first, followed by Miroku. Closing the gate behind them, the demon locked it from the inside.
"Now," the demon turned to face towards the visitors. "I should introduce myself," The demon started to shrink, its wings disappearing and it's features becoming more human. "I am great monk Iyouko."
End of Chapter
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