Maria wasn't quite sure what had happened. They had left the village that Irene was recovering in, and had made their way back to the mountains where the wolf demons lived. Kōga needed to check up on things and make sure they hadn't gotten too crazy while he was away, and Maria needed a good spar to vent out her emotions. She was… frustrated.
Annoyed. Hurt. She understood why she and her sister had to split up, but it didn't make it hurt any less.
But that hurt didn't last long- instead replaced with something much stronger, much fiercer , and much more horrified. They had been making their way through the forest near the mountain base when the wolves began acting up, Hakkaku and Ginta and even Kōga tensing and sniffing the air around them, their fur standing on end. Then Kōga was taking off on his own, acting almost panicked about something.
Maria had no choice but to follow, scratching Saun behind the ears to calm him down as they started running, concern flooding through her.
And then she saw it.
Their allies, their comrades, members of the wolf pack being burned alive, screaming as loud as could be as their weapons fell from their grasps and they collapsed. From the corpses she could make out familiar faces- Shin'ra, Kira, Kenta. Mitsuki and Rai. Still fighting, she realized, was Shinku and Hige- but a red fiery snake slithered out and buried its fangs in Shinku's neck, tearing deep and causing him to spit blood.
The fire of its body spread out and engulfed him whole, burning him just like the others, and Hige screamed- lunging, aiming with sword, to slice at the attacker's head. But… she avoided it, and a ball of flame shot forth from her palms, large and all encompassing. His cries rang in Maria's eyes, and she could only look on in shock and disbelief as the attacker turned to face them, red painted lips tilted downwards and dark brown eyes devoid of all emotions.
With sickeningly pale skin and dark chocolate hair cut short, there was only one person it could be- even as the snake returned to her, coiling around her arms and resting upon her shoulders, awaiting further orders.
"Irene?"
She was dressed in her shrine maiden robes. It… couldn't possibly be her, and yet… she looked identical to her younger sister. No. No, that's not Irene. Irene would never look so… wrong. She was so full of emotion, constantly wearing her heart on her sleeve. Irene wouldn't kill people. She wouldn't hurt their friends.
This was not Irene. So Maria gripped her sword and she ran, charging at the imposter, but when she swung the woman disappeared in a flurry of flames and wind- and Kōga was shouting out frenzied instructions to the survivors, trying to tend to the wounded.
Unfortunately, the attacks only continued. Day-after-day, never ending. The woman that looked just like her sister would appear, killing all those she could find. In the forest, in the mountainside. She was relentless.
And Kōga had finally had enough. That's how they got to where they were now, in the midst of Ayame Village's forest, the wolf leader determined to kill Irene in an act of revenge. Maria had barely caught up with him in time to stop him, though she dreaded to think of what would have happened if she had been even a second late.
After Kōga took Kagome and left with Hakkaku and Ginta, all Maria could do was approach her sister- the real Irene- and make sure it was truly her this time. And it was; she could tell. Her eyes, though drained from exhaustion and illness, were full of life and emotion. Her Irene. Her little sister.
And now they needed to find a way to prove her innocence.
…
That didn't make any sense. There was no way that could have been me- nonetheless someone that looked like me. It had to have been a trick, an illusion even, set by Naraku and Anastasia.
But how? What could be gained from having Kōga attack me?
They needed me alive, so maybe they just wanted to divide our forces? To tear us apart so we can't trust each other? It was the only thing that would make sense. They knew the wolves had helped us, that they helped rescue me from the panthers.
And… they might have figured out that Maria was staying with them as a result. Damn it. They really weren't holding back anything to get to me.
I still can't believe I'm an actual target.
I've never been anything more than the sickly, bubbly sister of my siblings. I barely existed at all. Yet now I had powers, a connection to nature's spirits, and because someone wanted my soul so badly that they would risk killing me for it, my body is going to give out on me completely within the next three days.
Maria…
Wretched Naraku- he was going to make this as personal as he possibly could. Turning her new friends against me and having even more of them killed. With each new scheme, he becomes even more despicable than before.
"Sounds to me like someone is going around pretending to be you." Miroku stepped forward, the rings on his staff clicking with the movement, the sound snapping me out of my thoughts. He frowned deeply. "Attacking Kōga and his men like this… definitely sounds like something Naraku would do. And it wouldn't be the first time he massacred them like this either."
"Yeah!" Shippō nodded fiercely, little hands balled into fists. "He's all about getting people to turn on each other! He did it with Inuyasha, then again with Sango, and had Kagura mess with Kōga once before this! Setting him against Irene like this just reeks of Naraku!"
"Agreed." Sango walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder. "There's still the matter of Anastasia being able to mimic voices. Naraku can transform himself at will, but there's a lot we don't know about her."
"Uh…" I hesitated, lifting a finger and faltering for a second. Is it okay to tell them? Will the spirits be upset? "A-Actually…"
They all looked at me, surprised.
"She's not… really a demon."
"What?" Inuyasha's eyebrows flew high up on his face, the half-demon taken aback by my words. He folded his hands into his sleeves. "The hell does that mean? What is she then?"
I tried to ignore their piercing stares, scratching my neck. I hadn't the slightest idea on how to begin explaining. "She's… human. Or, at least, she was a human. She died a long time ago."
Shippō blinked, Miroku and Sango stared, Inuyasha looked skeptical, and Maria just gave a look that demanded details immediately. I cleared my throat, wheezing and coughing into my fist.
"The… The spirits told me." Gods, I sounded ridiculous. I wouldn't blame them if they didn't believe me. "They said that… They said that she used to be their previous master, but she was brought back to… to life and has been trying to get them back ever since."
"So she does want your soul in order to get the Shikigami." Miroku clarified. "That's incredible- you speaking to the spirits, I mean. I knew you could communicate with them in a way, but not through actual conversation."
I gave a weak laugh, flashing a grin, curling my hand to my chest. "Me neither… I just found out when I was sleeping earlier, but… only because they initiated the talk."
"But wait…" Shippō looked confused. "How was Anastasia revived?"
That's a good question. I have no idea. "Something about… gods and a secret? But she's not fully alive right now; she's just, like… a wandering corpse or something. Her soul is dead, and she needs a living one to revive completely. Or, at least, that's what I understand from it."
"And since you already have the spirits she wants," Sango realized, "that makes you the perfect target."
"So, it's kinda like Kikyō?" Shippō asked.
Now it was my turn to be confused. "Kikyō?"
Inuyasha quickly changed the subject. "So, basically, if Anastasia manages to steal your soul she gets your Shikigami and becomes a living person again."
Yeah, pretty much. All this talking was wearing me out and leaving me quite breathless, so I gave a small shrug instead as a response. Inuyasha hmph'd and turned his head, scowling into nothing.
"Damn. Things just got a lot more complicated…"
"Eh." Not really. "We just have to… make sure that… she doesn't get my soul. Same as ever."
His ear twitched at that and he looked at me, something flickering in his amber gaze, before he sighed, folding his hands into sleeves. "Fair enough. So, what exactly do we do now? Search for survivors?"
I could feel Maria tense at that, the hand on my back shifting to my shoulder. I reached up and gave it a light squeeze, leaning to the side and resting my head against her armored chest. It wasn't the most comfortable, but it was all the comfort I was capable of giving her in my current state.
It was… all I could do, knowing what I do. She was going to be the one most hurt by my death. Her being this protective, this defiant, only made my heart ache more.
"Anastasia… killed my friends." Maria murmured, voice low and cold. Her expression darkened considerably, her hazel green eyes burning with a vengeful fire. "She did so, pretending to be my sister. I am not going to be letting her get away."
Right. Okay. I took a deep breath, slowly pulling away from Maria and watching as she started to make her way over to her large wolf, Saun. My fingers buried themselves into Kirara's fur.
If I was going to die regardless… then I would go the way I wanted. I was going to help all I could. Clearing my name didn't matter that much to me, but if it meant fixing a grave misunderstanding and taking down the person who caused it, then so be it.
I faced forward, Kirara turning towards the forest, Sango climbing on behind me- her hands on my waist. I can do this. I'll heal them, all of the survivors we find. I'll do my part as best as I can, in the only way I know how to do it.
Shikigami… please help me just a little bit longer. Until we have to part. I have no idea what will happen when I die- if I'll go to heaven or hell, or somewhere else entirely. Maybe I'll even be reincarnated.
But… I'll pray for you. Just this one, I'll pray. I'll pray that you find a master who will accept you and be kind to you, and won't force you into anything you despise.
So please… for these last few days, help me.
For the most part, when we began our search for survivors, we had to rely on the strong noses of Inuyasha and Saun. They could scent out blood and lead us to other groups that had been attacked, but the majority of what we found were mostly corpses. Until…
"Wait!" Sango called out, hopping off of Kirara and heading towards one of the many bodies ahead of us. She grasped hiraikotsu, observing closely in case the demon sprung to life and attacked. "I think this one is still breathing."
She knelt down, furrowing her brows and checking his wounds and vitals.
"He's seems to have lost consciousness. I think we can save him if we use Kagome's medicine, though without her here I'm not really sure how to apply it…"
I pat Kirara's side and she headed to the body, Sango turning in confusion and quickly standing when she saw me slide off the cat demon's back.
"Irene, what are you-"
"It's fine." I can do this.
"You really shouldn't-"
"Sango." I looked up at her, pleading. "Let me do this. Please."
Anastasia caused this. It was only right that I did everything I could to set things right. If she wanted to try to pin all this death and destruction on me, then she was going to have to try a lot harder. She's not getting my soul that easily.
Rather, she won't be getting it all.
Sango held my stare for a long moment, before giving in with a sigh and kneeling back down. She rested a hand upon my head, ruffling my hair, a soft smile upon her lips. "Just be careful."
"What is she doing?" Maria asked, frowning. "Irene?"
Oh, right. She hasn't seen me in action. I flashed her a closed-eye grin from over my shoulder, before holding my hands out over the wolf demon's body. Taking a deep, shaky breath- I tried to focus, calling out to the Shikigami.
The koi fish didn't seem to like me very much, though if memory serves they've always been kind of indifferent to me. Whenever they were summoned they'd give me the most scolding, judging look they could muster.
Still, I don't think they hated me. They just… thought me a bit pathetic, which is quite fair in all honesty. I'm nowhere near as capable as Sango or Kagome.
"It's gonna… be okay." I murmured to the wolf man when he began to groan, cool blue flames licking my fingers and slowly spreading to the burns on his arms. "I've got you."
Maria stepped forward, staring in both surprise and curiosity, yet something twisted her features- something I wasn't sure how to properly describe. It was almost like she was lost, filled with anger and rage yet not knowing where to direct it to. As if the ground beneath her feet had vanished, and she was left falling through a spiralling abyss of chaos where everything she had once understood was ripped away and replaced with something new. Something that shouldn't be there.
And I had a strong feeling most of it was my fault. I wasn't the little sister she once knew. So much was happening in such a short span of time and it… was all because Anastasia would stop at nothing until she got what she wanted from me. I was her target, and because of that she was attacking those I cared about and the people they knew.
I ruined her plot with the panther demons, so now she was taking a much more direct approach. How she looked like me- if she looked like me at all and wasn't actually one of Naraku's schemes- I wasn't sure, but I was planning on finding out real soon.
The wolf demon I was healing seemed to have more burns than gashes, which worked in my favor as they took less energy to mend. Unfortunately, he started to wake up mid-healing and the second he saw me, he aimed his claws towards my throat. "You!"
He would have successfully gotten me, too, if not for Sango being there next to me. She caught his wrist and effectively blocked his attack, and upon releasing him he went scrambling back, fear sprawled across his face like a beacon.
"D-Don't come near me! Stay back! I-I'll kill you!"
Miroku blinked, then stepped forward- outstretching his arms to show we meant no ill will, while Sango remained crouched in front of me protectively. "It's okay- we don't want to hurt you. We're here to help. There's no need to be afraid."
"You're lying!" He growled, shakily pushing himself up onto his feet, stumbling and wobbling sideways as one of his wounds dripped with blood. It trickled down his arm and off his fingertips, coating the grass red. His dark eyes turned towards me, glaring vehemently with hate. "You've come to finish me off, just like you did the others!"
"I didn't attack you…" I wheezed, holding my hands up defensively. Sweat beaded down the sides of my face. "I-I promise. I just… patched up your wounds."
"I saw your flames! You can't trick me!"
"H-Haku…" Maria finally spoke, redirecting the wolf demon's attention to her. He stiffened, alarmed to see she was with us. The woman stepped forward, not stopping until she behind both me and Sango, and just in front of Miroku. "She is… helping. Irene. Irene is not… the killer."
"Kōga will never forgive her for what she's done! Your sister killed my friends!"
"She did not!" That was when we heard it. The crack in her voice. Her accent became thicker and it became harder for her to get the right words out, her eyebrows furrowing as she struggled to translate what she wanted to speak out into a language the wolf could understand. "She… has healed you! Some… Someone else did the attacking. Trust me!"
"But…" He glanced down at me, uncertain.
Miroku raised a hand to his chin, thinking deeply. "Someone really is trying to frame Irene for this. It has to be Naraku and Anastasia behind this. I can't think of anyone else who would target her."
"This isn't fair!" Shippō huffed, climbing onto the monk's shoulder to join the conversation. "Irene's never done anything to the wolf demon tribe; if anything, she's helped them before! When she first met Kōga, she healed him!"
"That was a really risky fight." Sango sighed, biting her lip. "Irene put herself in serious danger to save him, even going so far as to attack Kagura herself. But now, to have that trust between them broken like this…"
Inuyasha scowled, the bicycle Kagome left behind tossed over his shoulder. "Naraku would have already figured out that we aren't exactly buddy-buddy with those scrawny wolves. It's not surprising that he would try to tear whatever "alliance" we have against him apart. They're already after Irene- so it's not surprising they would try to use her to do it. Especially since she's still new to this place."
"But she didn't do it." Shippō said, frowning.
"I know that, stupid."
"Don't call me stupid!"
Ignoring the dizziness and attempting to remain steady so I didn't fall over, I spoke up before their childish argument could escape. "Look. You don't… You don't have to believe me, okay?" I fixed my stare on the wolf demon, meeting his gaze with misty eyes. A part of me wondered if he could smell the pain I was in, as I knew all too well that Inuyasha and Kirara could, and if the pain showed on my face at all. "But… I'm really just… trying to heal you. See- look."
I held my hands out in front of me, pressing them to my face, and little cool blue flames sparked from my fingertips, dancing along my cheeks. The wolf demon tensed, watching with suspicion, but overall did not move to attack or run away.
"It's… not painful. I swear. It won't… It won't hurt." I can't keep up with all this talking. Just listen to me already, I beg of you. My head is killing me. Probably literally. I reached out and touched Sango's arm, and she gave a nod for confirmation that what I was saying is true. "L-Look, you… you trust Maria, right? My sister?"
He hesitated, looked at her, and she swallowed thickly- glancing down at me. I looked her in the eyes, brown staring deep into hazel green, knowing that she must be hurting, that she was breaking apart inside, and that I must be so confusing to be around after all this time, and I silently asked her to trust me. To trust in the sister she loved. I held my other hand out towards her, asking her to believe in me.
For a few seconds… I found myself afraid. Afraid that I had changed too much.
Afraid that she didn't recognize me anymore.
But then she reached out and touched my hand, lacing our fingers together, a relief so strong blossoming in my chest that it brought a smile to my face, the tears falling and burning my cheeks. I wanted to thank her, but I had to turn back to the wolf demon and try convincing him once more. "She trusts me . So… trust in the her who… trusts in me, okay? If… If you feel any pain at all, any in the slightest, then… you can attack me. I won't stop you."
Sango grasped the hand I had on her arm, and I was surprised to feel both her and Maria squeeze them tightly.
"I won't retaliate. So just… let me heal you."
He said nothing. The wolf demon stood still, intense and untrusting, the silence suffocating, the thudding of my heart painful and burning as my lungs stuttered within my chest, and then… he began to move. He gathered what little courage he had left and slowly wandered back over to where he was before, sitting down cross-legged and glaring at me with narrowed eyes.
"I'm watching you," He warned, "so don't try anything funny."
"Yes, yes." I responded, wheezing, wearing a weak grin. "Now hold still."
He did as told, though jumped a bit when he felt the blue flames touch his flesh. His eyebrows furrowed and his nose twitched, and as the remaining gash and burns began to heal his eyes widened and he looked at me, leaning forward a few centimeters and closing the gap between us a bit more. "You're…"
I blinked, uncomfortable by the sudden closeness, and leaned back a little, resisting the urge to cough. "What?" He was very obviously sniffing me rather than the air, and it took all my self control to not push him away and hide behind one of the women on either side of me.
"You're like… the person who has been attacking us, but… your scent is a bit different. Your aura is completely opposite of what her's was like. How is that… possible?"
Inuyasha scowled. "That's what we've been saying , dumbass!"
"Sorry."
"N-No, it's… it's fine." Whatever happened with whoever it was that looked like me seriously messed with them. They brutally massacred the wolf demon clan from the looks of it. I let out a shaky sigh, scratching my neck. "I-I'm just… glad you realized… that it wasn't me."
"Now all we have to do is clear up Kōga's misunderstanding." Miroku sighed, hanging his head.
"N-No…" We all paused, turning to look at Maria in surprise, but her face was quickly falling into that of a blank slate. Silent tears dripped, and she wandered over to the wolf- shocking everyone when she threw her arms around him. The wolf demon tensed, before slowly raising a hand up and patting her on the back. "Sur… Survivors… more of…"
The demon appeared confused, but then realization dawned on him. He nodded, and looked at us. "There might be more survivors. So'aku was leading a pack of wolves to search for any wounded to take them back up to the mountain, but then that…"
His eyes glanced at me for a moment, before turning back to everyone as a whole.
"...person showed up and ambushed us. I barely survived, but So'aku led them astray somewhere and we haven't seen her since. Some of my friends have been looking for her, but-"
"They haven't been able to find her." Sango finished. The wolf demon nodded. Maria inhaled sharply when she heard this and stiffened, pulling back, the woman trembling as she stepped back and hugged herself. "Any idea where they went?"
He shook his head. "None. I'll… try talking to Kōga for you, but if you can find my friends or even So'aku… it would be a great help. She's practically Kōga's right hand- she raised a lot of us wolves and taught us to fight."
"Okay, well…" Miroku thought about it. "It would be a good start on a lead. If we find So'aku, she might be able to tell us more about these attacks."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Inuyasha demanded. "Let's get a move on already!"
The wolf took off, and Maria returned to Saun's side- quiet and not saying a word. If she did say anything, it would probably be in shaky English due to the weight of the emotions that were crushing her. She was very particular about when she was able to be touched in times like this, but… as close as we were, I still wasn't sure when that time was able to take place. I hated myself even more for that.
Pressing a hand to my face and wiping away all the tears, I staggered onto my feet and Sango helped me back up on Kirara. We tried heading deeper into the forest, following the strongest scent the wolves gave off and where the freshest blood was at. The entire time I could feel Maria staring at me- her eyes digging into the back of skull as if demanding answers to questions she currently did not have the strength to ask.
I could only imagine what kind of questions those were.
Between the blood and the corpses and the gore, the magic and the spirits and the people after my soul; it seemed like there was an endless array of things that needed answers to, yet I lacked the air and time to give them. There were still dozens of questions that I had myself, only… I doubted I would ever be able to get the answers to them before it was too late.
Steadying my breathing, I almost fell asleep there on Kirara's back, leaning against Sango as we followed Inuyasha through the forest.
The dizziness, the exhaustion- it was all dragging me down, deeper and deeper to the day where I would eventually breathe my last.
"It's her!" A voice suddenly shouted. Up ahead we could see two wolf demons, surrounded by even smaller actual wolves, and they looked horrified upon seeing my face. "Quick, run away!"
"Shit!"
They were quite fast. Faster than Hakkaku and Ginta, though not quite as fast as Kōga.
"She caught up again! Move faster!"
"I'm trying! You're the one that's slow!"
They disappeared through some foliage, and after a few more minutes of trying to locate them the gang came to a halt, exasperated and confused. Miroku hunched over, gasping as he tried to catch his breath, tired from all this exercise. "Every time we catch up… they run away as soon as they see your face!"
"Whoever is pretending to be you is doing some really awful things to them." Shippō commented.
"Damn it!" Inuyasha growled, teeth grinding together. "Let's just catch one of 'em already and make 'em tell us where Kōga's lair is!"
Maria glared at him when he said that, and Miroku stood up straight- shaking his head. "That wouldn't be right." He stated. "Then we'll really become the bad guys. We need to find them, talk to them, and see if they can lead us to wherever this So'aku person is. I know how you feel, Inuyasha, but we have to be patient."
The half-demon's ear twitched irritably as he let out a sneer, boy hmph'ing and turning away, marching towards where we last saw the wolves. He raised his head, sniffing the air, and crouched down so his nose was closed to the ground. "Damn it…! I hate this. Kagome's stuck in that scrawny bastard's lair with him trying' to do who-knows-what to her, and I'm stuck sniffin' around for some cowardly wolves!"
"Can't you catch their scent?" Sango asked.
Inuyasha sniffed a few more times, huffed, and sat up on his feet- still crouched low on his feet. "No, I've got nothin'. There's so much wolf around here it blends in; it's too faint for me to get a good whiff. If it was stronger, then…"
What? We'd be able to track them?
I wracked my brain for anything that we could use, head leaning against Sango's shoulder. It wasn't as if we had perfume; there was no point in it since we spend days travelling at a time without taking a bath. We're covered in dirt and blood and grime more often than not. And, sure, Sango has poison powder and some really other dangerous smelling stuff, but we don't want to kill the wolves or hurt those in our party with strong senses.
It's not like we have another one of those really stinky insect flowers either…
"Oh no." Inuyasha suddenly choked. He stepped back in alarm, greatly disturbed. "It's that smell again."
Smell? What smell…? Oh!
I shot up in my seat, sitting upright with big eyes. "The garlic!" Ow, okay, let's not shout. I broke out into a few coughs after that outburst, pressing a hand to my chest. Everyone looked at me, their eyes wide, and I turned to Inuyasha with pained eyes. "W-We can… use the garlic to… to track them… I think."
Inuyasha turned green almost immediately. He clamped his free hand over his mouth, gagging. "Why would you do this to me…? I feel sick just remembering that smell. Don't make me go anywhere near it again. I can already sort of smell it from here."
"That's right!" Sango smacked a fist into her palm, quickly catching on to what I was suggesting. "Inuyasha could smell that garlic field when we were still quite a ways away from the village! If he could smell the garlic from there, and even where we are now, then if we throw some at the wolf demons we might be able to track their scents much more easily!"
"Yes." Miroku grinned, walking over and giving Inuyasha's back a light encouraging slap. The half-demon sent him a look, clearly not on board with this idea. "If we do that, then no matter how far they run away he'll still be able to follow them. I think it's worth trying; don't you, Inuyasha?"
He flashed the teen a smile, leaning in close, practically threatening him to go along with it. Inuyasha slumped over, ears hanging low, looking mere moments away from throwing up. "You all really do hate me."
We don't hate you, we just… don't have any better options at the moment. Sorry. When Kirara moved close enough to him, I gave him a few light pats on the head. Miroku chuckled at this, and Inuyasha lightly batted my hand away and scowled.
Needless to say, it was a long walk back to the village… and I was asleep for most of it. Apparently the man in front of the garlic farm was still just as eager to share garlic as he was when we first met him and happily gave us one of the largest and stinkiest garlics he had.
I ended up waking up due to the smell and had placed my mask to block it out, but… poor Inuyasha did not have that option.
"G-Get that away from meeeee!"
Shippō leaned back from his spot on Miroku's shoulder, his eyebrows raised high on his forehead. He watched as the color drained from the half-demon's face. "Inuyasha doesn't look so good…"
"Let's hurry back to the forest and try to find those wolves." Miroku suggested, raising a brow when he saw Inuyasha nearly throw up all over the place. "I'm afraid we might start seeing something rather unsavory if we remain here any longer."
"S-Save me…" Inuyasha whimpered, collapsed on the ground, hand pulling on the hem of the monk's purple robe. "Please, I can't… ughhh…"
Oh boy. Miroku shook his leg to get him to let go, bopping himself upside the head with his foot, and Inuyasha face-planted into the dirt. Kirara shook her head, letting out a low noise that almost could have been a sigh, before she wandered over and picked him up by the back of his collar.
She dragged him with us as we made our way back to the forest, and halfway there he managed to recover- stumbling from scent overdose. Poor guy was totally overwhelmed by the garlic scent.
Luckily it didn't take too long to bump into some wolf demons, though they were a different pair from before. They looked at us in alarm, but before they could run off Sango tossed the ball of garlic in the air, caught it, and then reeled her arm back as far as she could before flinging it at the demons.
The garlic broke into pieces the moment it touched the ground, the sheer force of her swinging causing it to explode. As a result, the wolf demons were left coughing and gagging at the sudden scent, stumbling backwards. "W-What is that!?"
"It's so awful! My nose is clogged from the smell alone! I need to get outta here!"
"You'll pay for this!"
Inuyasha smirked as they ran through the tickets, only to have to cover his face with his sleeve again as the garlic scent hit his senses hard. "That'll show them! Ha! Urk- oooh, I can't do this."
He hunched over, cheeks a nasty shade of green.
"I'm gonna die…"
Me, too, but you don't see me bragging about it. I gave him an awkward pat on the back, and Shippō sent the half-demon a mildly disturbed look. "You're such a mess."
"Shut up, Shippō!" Inuyasha barked, stumbling forwards through the garlic cloud. "I'll… get you later… eugh…"
Oh gods. Inuyasha actually vomited this time. He dropped the bike he had been carrying and threw up all over the nearby bushes, body convulsing as the stomach acid bubbled up his throat and spilled out of his mouth. I cringed and hurriedly looked away, resisting the urge to throw up myself after that sight.
Unlike before when Miroku was teasing Inuyasha, he was now staring at the half-demon with genuine sympathy, watching as the teen struggled to recover. "You poor thing…"
"Like you care." Inuyasha coughed, wiping his mouth off with his sleeve. He stuck his tongue out and groaned a bit more, grimacing as he dared to sniff the air once more. "Ugh… I think… they went this way. Yeah. Let's go before I throw up again."
"You can do it!" I cheered, voice weak and a touch raspy. "Think about Kagome. She's… She's waiting for us."
That seemed to perk him right up. His grimace turned into a glare, and he folded his arms across his chest, stubbornly pretending he was mad at her. "Why should I be worried? She went off with that scrawny wolf of her own free will! Tch. We need to find this So'aku person quickly so I can go and give Kagome a piece of my mind!"
Shippō snorted. He leaned in close to Miroku, holding a hand up to whisper, "He's totally worried about her."
"Mmhm."
"Shut up and follow me already, damn it." Inuyasha ordered, snatching up the bike he had dropped and marching off into the forest.
Shippō laughed. "You can do it, Inuyasha! We believe in you!"
"Yes." Sango smiled in amusement. "If anyone can track their scent, it's you."
"Whatever! Stop with the cheering already; it's giving me the creeps!"
"We're counting on you." Miroku teased.
The half-demon rolled his eyes. Maria said nothing during this encounter, and I cast a worried glance at her over my shoulder, but she simply charged forward on Saun and followed Inuyasha. She probably thought we were ridiculous, running around in a wild goose chase, or maybe she wasn't even thinking about it at all.
Maria must have so much on her mind.
She was there when the attacks first occurred, and she was there when they continued. Every day until now, she had to watch the wolf demons whom she had come to care for be slaughtered and hurt, and she went so far as to chase Kōga down when he tried to kill me- the man under the impression that I was their murderer.
I couldn't blame him for wanting revenge, but… I don't know. I have a lot of mixed emotions about this. I was sick of being a target.
"Damn it- why is it so faint?" Inuyasha grimaced. "I could smell it clear as day earlier."
True. I can't even get that big of a whiff. I looked around, blinking away the grogginess, leaning over Kirara and trying to find any hint of the garlic scent. I couldn't smell anything, but I did see something.
Little red droplets scattered against the dark, seemingly wet grass. My lungs stuttered as my heart rate picked up, momentary panic encasing me. "Is… Is that blood?"
"Where?" Sango asked, and Maria and Inuyasha quickly turned to look at me. "I don't see anything."
"I don't smell anything." Inuyasha stated, even more confused.
Wait a minute…
I slowly slid off of Kirara and made my way over to where the little specks of blood were, a bit alarmed when I felt how mushy and wet the ground was beneath my feet. A thought came to mind. "Doesn't scent, like, disappear around water?"
I reached out to push some taller strands of grass aside, heading deeper into the thicket, feet sinking even more into the soggy ground. The splotches of blood were leading farther in.
"Irene, wait!" Sango suddenly called out. She leapt off Kirara and made to stop me, but by then it was too late. "That's-"
I stepped on a particularly soft and wet piece of ground, and went sliding downwards with a tiny screech- splashing right into some muddy brown water that smelled as bad as it looked. The momentum of my fall caused the water to soak me head-to-toe, almost reminiscent of the time when that one servant had spilled a bucket over my head.
Sango winced and retracted the hand she had intended to grab me with. "-a swamp…"
Miroku let out a sigh. "Too late."
Maria snapped out of her trance, alarmed to see I had fallen, and leapt off of Saun and rushed over to see if I was alright. I coughed harshly, dazed and not really having the strength to stand up after what just happened. The mud and water were thick and heavy, and given that my jeans and turtleneck were already made out of thick material to begin with it felt like I had been covered in cement.
"Irene, are you alright!?" She hovered for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to pull me out without getting sucked into the swamp as well.
"I-I can't…" I wheezed, struggling to sit up. "I can't move."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and wandered over, not having a single care as he waltzed right in and knelt down, grasping my arm. "Yeah, yeah. Come on. Grab onto me."
Maria looked at him in surprise, and I did as told- latching onto his sleeve and allowing him to hoist me up onto my feet, the half-demon pulling me out of the swamp.
"You've really been making a habit out of this, huh?" He asked, sarcasm rolling off his tongue in a teasing manner. He picked me up by the waist and set me down back on solid ground, his smirk showing he had no malice. "This is the second time you've gotten soaked this week."
Blegh. I can smell the mud. It's so gross. I think I actually preferred the garlic smell over this.
I stuck out my tongue at Inuyasha, a touch disturbed yet also amused by his jab. I chuckled weakly. "It isn't… intentional. Promise."
Sango curled hand to her chest, deeply upset, and bowed her head in apology. "I'm sorry, Irene. I tried to warn you…"
"It's…" I took a deep breath, forcing a smile on my face. Maria moved to stand next to me, gently resting a hand on my shoulder and looking me over to make sure there were no visible wounds. "It's fine."
Everything hurts. It feels like my entire backside got bruised from that fall, and I can't tell if that's because my body has become so fragile or if I was just that weak. It's so frustrating. I didn't even have the strength to get out of the mud on my own.
I was like a porcelain doll, easy to break with a single touch.
Miroku knit his brows together. "This is really bad. We need to get you out of those clothes fast."
For a second, I thought he was being perverted again, but then I realized it was coming from a place of actual concern with his next words.
"You might get really sick again if you keep wearing those."
"Yeah!" Shippō exclaimed. He looked at me and then at Sango. "We still have those clothes from Grandma Kaede, right? Kagome washed them for Irene a little while ago. She can wear those!"
"Yes, that's true!" Sango let out a breath of relief. "Thank goodness we've been taking them with us everywhere. Inuyasha, can you-?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah! Here." He set the bicycle down so Sango could rummage through the blue backpack attached to it, the woman stopping only after she pulled out the red hakama and white kosode.
I wobbled over to the back of a nearby tree to change, having to stop to catch my breath in the middle of ditching my turtleneck for the kosode. Once I had everything on, I bundled up the muddy modern day clothes I had been wearing and shoved them in the backpack. Then I carefully hid my inhalers and mask into my kosode, just in case something happened.
After the way I got kidnapped before… I'm not taking any chances.
When Maria saw me in my priestess clothes, her expression morphed again. It looked similar to the one she wore when she saw me healing her wolf buddy, Haku. Disturbed, confused, uncertain. Like she was trying to remind herself that I was really her sister.
Just… how identical did I look to the attacker? Who were they?
I guess we'll be finding out soon enough, hopefully. Climbing back up on Kirara, and Maria back on Saun, we observed Inuyasha sniffing the ground for about a minute until he took off down the forest path again- the garlic scent stronger in that direction. I still felt that the blood from before was highly suspicious, but Inuyasha said the wolves we were following were heading in a different direction- farther upstream and closer to the mountains.
"The smell of wolves is really strong over here." Inuyasha informed, scrunching up his nose in disgust as we headed closer to the mountains.
Most of the wolf demons we found turned out to be dead, and every time Maria gazed at them with dark eyes, grieving, her expression cold and filled with fury.
Inuyasha looked them over, expression equally grim. "These corpses are fresh. Whoever did this is probably still nearby."
"Wait, Inuyasha." Miroku called, holding an arm out when the half-demon stood to take off again. He gestured with his staff to a nearby cliff ahead of us. "Look! Someone is still alive."
Sango pursed her lips. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but… it's time to do your thing, Irene."
I'm so worn out. Between my body giving out on me, the fall from earlier, and healing all these survivors; I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to stay awake. Kirara was nice enough to fly over to where the survivor was resting, near a small entrance within the mountains, before letting me get off of her, so I only had to walk a short distance and kneel down afterwards.
Praying to the Shikigami for assistance, a blue star-shaped pentagram appeared beneath my feet and I pressed my palms against the unconscious wolf-demon's chest, his wounds and bruises slowly faded away. "Th-There, there. You'll be… okay from now on."
"You know…" Inuyasha stared deep into the cave. "I think those demons brought us straight to their lair, rather than where that So'aku person is. Which means Kōga's right inside- with Kagome. We already know that someone is framing Irene, so I say we just go in and take her back."
"We can at least try and explain things first." Sango said, helping me back up onto Kirara. "It's worth a shot."
"I can only hope it all ends well." Miroku sighed.
Deeper into the mountain, right into the caves, we wandered into darkness with only torches to light our way. We went in pretty deep- deep enough to make me nervous- and we finally reached the farthest part where we could see several bones and a large bed of hay.
On that bed of hay was Kagome, who looked up with wide eyes when she saw us. She quickly stood, a smile big on her face. "Inuyasha!"
He rushed over to her without hesitation, dropping the bicycle once more. She leapt into his arms and he grinned, spinning her around before letting her stand on her feet. "Are you alright, Kagome?"
She beamed. "I am now- whoa!"
There was a gust of wind and then she was suddenly ripped out of Inuyasha's arms, Kōga pushing her behind him possessively. "Get your hands off'a her! You're not trying to take Kagome away without me knowin', are ya?" The wolf demon chief held a fist up, tail lashing behind him as he growled.
"What?" Inuyasha demanded. He reached out to grip the handle of his sword, baring his fangs. "You wanna fight, you mangy wolf!?"
"Watch it, mutt, or I'll knock you down flat on your face!"
"Irene, look!" Sango gasped, and I followed her stare to look at the demons beside Kōga. On either side of him were Ginta, Hakkaku, the wolf demons we followed, and Haku. "There's the wolf demon we helped."
"Um, Kōga…" Haku began, a bit awkward and unsure of how to interrupt the shouting match, turning to face the wolf demon chief. "There's, uh, something I need to talk to you about…"
"Not now." Kōga dismissed, turning his nose up at Inuyasha. He focused his glare onto me and I tensed, Sango wrapping an arm around my waist protectively- trying to comfort me. "No matter what you tell me, Irene, it's not like I can believe just like that!"
Haku faltered when he heard that, uncertainty washing over him. "That's… true."
"She really does look just like the woman that attacked us." Ginta whispered to Hakkaku, leaning over with a hand cupping his mouth.
Hakkaku nodded, mimicking his action and whispering right back to him. "She really does. You don't think they're twins, do you?"
"But Maria said she only had one sister, didn't she? Wait- there's Maria over there!" Ginta pointed at the woman behind us, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "Maria, why are you with them!?"
She said nothing, simply lowering her head. "...Sister. Irene… innocent. Is innocent." She shook her head, eyebrows furrowing. "Irene… is innocent."
Kōga's scowl deepened. "You can say that all you want, Maria , but she still has to prove she didn't kill everyone!"
Inuyasha flexed his claws, growling in frustration. "Damn it…"
I hate this. I can't deal with this. Everything hurts too much. I'm tired, I'm upset, my sister is grieving, I can barely think, my head is throbbing, and my back still aches from the fall earlier. Why won't he just believe us already? What even makes him think I'm capable of killing someone in cold blood?
Does he not see how sick I am right now? How pale and weak I look? I'm practically a ghost myself with how ghastly white my skin is.
I want to get mad at him so badly. I really, really do.
"Or," Kōga cracked his knuckles, fangs poking out from behind his lips as he sneered, "you can just hand her right on over to me and end this right here, right now."
"Irene didn't do anything!" Shippō cried, digging his fingers into Miroku's shoulder. Tears were stinging his eyes. "She's been trying to help you!"
"As if I'd believe that." Kōga scoffed. "Try again, kiddo. She looks even more like the killer in that get-up than she did before. She's practically confessing to us that she's the murderer."
"It really wasn't her." Kagome pleaded, reaching out to touch his arm. Kōga refused to look at her. "Please, believe us."
"I'm not gonna listen to you, Kagome. Not this time."
Damn it. Damn it! I could care less, but they keep bringing my friends into this! "Just listen to us. I-It really wasn't…" No. I'm not going to cry. I won't. My lips curled back and I choked, hunching over and shaking my head. "It wasn't me . So just let Kagome go."
"Not until you give me a reason."
I worried my bottom lip, desperately thinking through the pain, only to come up short with any kind of idea out of this. They were all completely convinced I had done it. Whatever Naraku or Anastasia, or whoever, had done to look like me… they won. They actually won this time.
"O-Okay…"
I can't get out of this. Head hanging low, I buried my fingers into Kirara's fur, before carefully unravelling Sango's arm from my waist and sliding off the cat demon's back. My feet touched the earthen ground, and I looked up at Kōga, my voice buried so far back in my throat it hurt to speak.
I really don't want to do this, but if I'm going to die it'll at least be through my own choice. "So, if I… if I listen to what you say… you'll give Kagome back? No… No lies?"
Sango and Maria were very much alarmed.
"What're you saying?" The demon slayer exclaimed, horrified. "You can't do that; I won't let you!"
"Irene!" Maria's eyes were wide. Her expression quickly contorted into that of anger. "Don't you dare! No! Get back over here!"
Kōga grinned, stepping forward and flexing his claws. "So, you're finally admitting you killed them. Good. I'll make your death a quick one, then."
"I did not kill anyone." I stated firmly, ignoring the stinging in my eyes. "But I'm… I'm not just… going to let Kagome o-or… the others get caught up in this. Besides, if… if I die… then no one can take my soul. They won't… get the spirits."
"Do you even realize what you're saying?" Inuyasha demanded, looking at me incredulously. "He'll seriously kill you, Irene!"
I curled my hands up near my chest, swallowing thickly as black spots danced in the corners of my vision, my fingers fiddling with each other anxiously. After a moment of tense silence, I gripped my hands tightly. "I-I know. I just… I'm just tired . I'm tired… of getting you guys hurt all the time. I can't…"
I looked back at them, the tears starting to fall against my will, my lips curling back as a sob strangled itself in the back of my throat.
"You've… all been so good to me and I can't… I can't tell you just… how much you mean to me. You're… You're the first real friends I've ever really had and I-I'm so sorry. Maria…I-"
I can't breathe. I can't think. It hurts. I brought my hands up to my face, cupping them over my nose and mouth as I coughed and choked and wheezed.
Everything hurts so much. But I did my best to remain standing, and though it was insanely difficult I forced a smile upon my lips. "I love you. I love you guys so much. I'm sorry. They won't win with this, and… and you guys don't… h-have to get hurt because of me anymore. It-"
Miroku interrupted with a heavy sigh, stepping forward and letting the rings on his staff swing side-to-side. "That's enough of the waterworks, Irene. I understand how you feel. Perhaps truly, for the first time."
Wh-What…?
I stared through blurry vision, blinking fiercely, completely befuddled when he smiled at me, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "I guess this just means we'll have to teach Kōga a lesson, huh?"
Shippō nodded in agreement, seeming a little misty eyed himself. "Despite having such good hearing, these wolf demons really don't know how to listen."
"I already told you, Irene," Sango began, voice taking on a bit of a deeper tone, and I stiffened, knowing full well she was angry with me. I watched as the demon slayer jumped off of Kirara, reaching over her shoulder to grab her hiraikotsu, her brown eyes glaring at Kōga as she took a step forward, "I'm not letting you do this. Now, Kōga, you answer me; is this really how you want this to end up?"
Panic flooded through me and I staggered backwards towards the wolf demons, looking at my friends in alarm, my hands hovering in the air in an attempt to placate them. "N-No, wait, don't; please, just let me do this for-!"
"You idiot!" Inuyasha snapped, unsheathing his tetsusaiga, fixing me with the most irritable amber glare I've seen him wear yet. "You're not the only one in this fight! Your battle against Anastasia is part of our battle, too! Or did you forget that you forced your way into our life? You're the one that called us your friends!"
"But…" I couldn't believe this was happening. "I-Inuyasha…"
"If you're on her side, mutt, then I'll kill you too!" Kōga hissed. "Bring it on!"
No. This isn't what was supposed to happen.
"Stop…" The pounding in my skull became too much and my legs gave out, the tears falling uncontrollably as I began to sob. Kōga, who had been about to pounce, froze, and my friends who had been about to attack him faltered. I buried the palms of my hands against my eyes, trying to get the stinging and throbbing to stop as I cried, hiccuping and choking and gasping for air as my chest burned. "S-Stop it…! Please! Stop it…"
Just stop.
Why do you all even care about me so much? I don't understand. I've only ever hurt you or got in the way. I'm just a burden. I can't handle this. All this care, all this affection, all this desire you give me that makes me want to live another day. It's making me selfish. It's making me even more scared. I'm drowning in all this guilt and I can't handle it.
It hurts.
It's so lonely and it hurts .
"Kōga, let's get her now while she's down!" One of the wolves exclaimed. "She won't be able to fight back if she's like this!"
"Yeah! We can tear her apart easily while she's in this state!" Another said.
"Uh… Kōga?" Haku awkwardly outstretched a hand, unsure of what was happening.
Kōga let out a very long and heavy sigh, relaxing his stance and resting a hand on his hip instead. He eyed my pathetic form in disbelief, before his expression softened considerably. "Okay. Fine. You win. I can't kill you if you keep crying like this. You're no murderer."
I hiccuped, slowly raising my head up to look at him, sniffling and wiping my face with my hands and sleeves. "Wh… What?"
"You heard me." Kōga scratched the back of his head, looking ashamed and even guilty for nearly killing me. "You're too weak to be the murderer we're looking for. Just look at you. You're practically falling apart as is. Now stop sniffling- you're getting snot all over the floor!"
Kagome let out a sigh of relief. She smiled at him. "Thank you for understanding, Kōga. So… can I go now? I want to make sure she's alright."
"Yeah, you can go." He relented. "I wanted you to stay longer, but…"
Kagome rushed over to me the second he gave permission, and looked up at her pained eyes. She smiled gently at me and cupped my face, and I wasted no time in leaning into her touch, squeezing my eyes tightly shut and muttering repetitive, breathy apologies. "It's okay, Irene. I'm okay. Don't ever throw yourself into danger like that again, though, alright? That was really dangerous."
"I'm sorry," I whimpered, clinging to her and burying my face in her chest, "I'm sorry!"
"Come on, you need to stop that. Try and calm down for me, alright?" Kagome looked up at our friends, who were just watching the scene sadly. "Hey, Sango! Can you get some tissues from my backpack? Oh- and maybe Irene's rescue inhaler? I think she might need it."
"Of course." The demon slayer wasted no time in doing what was said, and I ended up breaking into a really bad coughing fit when trying to blow my nose and wipe away the falling tears. Sango knelt down beside us, resting an arm over my shoulder and helping me stay upright. She frowned, hardening her expression after I had finished using my rescue inhaler. "Don't you ever do that kind of stunt again, Irene! Do you understand me? I will not let that slide a second time!"
If the situation weren't so serious, I might have laughed. She sounded a bit like a stern mother. Unfortunately, I didn't have much of a voice anymore and simply gave a weak nod.
"Hey, mutt!" Kōga suddenly called out. Inuyasha's eye twitched and he scowled, glaring at him.
"Whattya want, you scrawny wolf!?"
"Kagome is my girl." He declared. "You can have her back for now, but you better not touch her! Got that?"
"Just what kind of mangy wolf do you think you are?" Inuyasha demanded.
"Shut up! Kagome needs a man like me!"
Kagome glared up at them, unimpressed. "Hey! What about how I feel?"
"They're both idiots." Shippō stated bluntly, not at all surprised by their arguing.
"Oi." A low voice interrupted the conversation, and we all turned to see Maria walking over- thoughts hard to read due to her dark expression. "Shouldn't… we be doing the look out for the real killer?"
"Well, yeah, but…" Kōga hesitated. "...how are we supposed to find them? They didn't leave any clues!"
"Think, Kōga." Kagome urged. "Can't you think of anywhere you haven't checked? Anywhere nearby where the killer could be?"
"If I knew that, I wouldn't have gone after her ." Kōga scowled, gesturing with his head towards me. I sniffled, curling closer to Sango, guilty and ashamed of the secret I held and the friendship I had made. "We looked in every possible place that she could be hiding, but we've found no signs of her or my right hand wolf."
"Right." Miroku realized. "So'aku is still missing. That wolf demon over there said that she had led the killer astray to try and save the others after they had been ambushed."
"Exactly." Kōga ruffled his hair, irritated. "Things have been even more chaotic ever since she went missing."
"But didn't you say the killer attacks every single day?" Inuyasha asked, furrowing his brows.
Sango nodded. "Yeah. In order to do that, they would have to be somewhere nearby, wouldn't they?"
"Somewhere close…" Kōga murmured, raising a hand to his chin as he thought. His eyes went wide. "That's it! That's the only place we haven't checked!"
Without so much as a warning, he took off in a gust of wind. Sango and Kagome helped me stand up, but before they could get me back on Kirara I heard a pair of footsteps- walking fast and heading in my direction- and when I looked up I was barely able to get a glance of Maria's face before she latched onto my shoulders and started shaking me for all I was worth.
"Idiot! What… What is wrong with you!?" She broke out into English and dug her nails into my flesh, holding me tight as the tears burned her hazel eyes. "Did you even think!? Fucking hell-!"
I was left disoriented and dizzy from the violent shaking, spots dancing in my vision, and as a result I was still processing what she just did when she suddenly wrapped her arms around me, pulling me to her with a hand pressed against the back of my head.
"Don't…" She choked. "Don't do that. Not again…. Never again."
I knew she would be upset. Angry. Maria lost a lot of friends in her life, and I knew losing me would only make her feel worse. But at the time- knowing what I do- self sacrificing seemed like… the best way to go. I'm sorry. I won't… do it again- not in front of you, at least. Tired eyes sliding shut, I gave a weak nod. "Okay."
I was still going to die, no matter how much anyone wished otherwise, and for that I apologize.
Forever and after; I am truly, deeply sorry.
Maria was trembling as she gave me one more tight squeeze and pulled away, biting down hard on her bottom lip. Awkwardly giving my shoulder a light smack and sniffling, she let the others help me up onto the cat demon and we made our way down the mountain- surprised to find Kōga standing in the swamp I had fallen in before. I nodded off a little bit during that time, but awoke when I felt Kirara come to a halt, and wasn't all too startled to find Shippō in my lap.
The wolf demon chief looked at us, hand on his hip. "Took you long enough. Thought I was gonna have to wait all day."
"You're the one that disappeared!" Inuyasha snapped.
"It's not my fault you're slow!"
"What did you say?"
Oh my gods, they never quit. Kagome seemed just as fed up and let out a noise of frustration, stomping her foot. "Both of you, stop it! We need to concentrate on finding So'aku and locating the killer!"
"Yeah, yeah. Right. Anyway," Kōga held a hand out- gesturing to the large swamp before us, "this is the only area we haven't been able to check. My wolves can't exactly traverse through it without falling in and sinking, and I've been busy trying to keep everyone alive, so we've left it alone for now. We figured that if we couldn't go through it, the killer wouldn't have been able to either."
"Yes, we saw Irene slip into it earlier." Miroku explained. He hummed, staring into the distance. "Unless we can find a way to move through the swamp without sinking, we can't go on. There has to be a way…"
Everyone turned to look at Kirara and Shippō, and the two nervously stepped back. Shippō held his hands up. "Wh-Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Mrrrow!"
The group just smiled at them, and I awkwardly pat Kirara and Shippō on the heads to comfort them. "Sorry."
The poor things ended up being subjected to being the group rides throughout the swamp. Sango dressed herself in her armor, she and Maria climbing on behind me atop Kirara, while Kagome and Miroku and Inuyasha all snagged a ride on the transformed Shippō- who was floating about in the air in a pink balloon-like state. Kōga said it was his wolves who couldn't check out the swamp without getting stuck, but he ran so fast it didn't bother him. And running fast he did, for he took off without bothering to wait for us.
I doubted he could even feel the water long enough to risk sinking into it. Miroku shook his head, exasperated by the wolf demon chief. "He's got no patience. I guess I can't really blame him, circumstances considered…"
"C-Can we go already?" Shippō wheezed, struggling underneath all the weight. "I-I don't know how long I can carry you guys like this…"
"You heard him, Kirara." Sango said, patting the cat demoness. "You're doing great. Now let's go!"
She nodded and took off, flying over the swamp with Shippō following suit. Wandering through the swamp was a bit easier from above, though it was hard to track scents through all this mud. We were flying blind for the most part, and I was slowly drifting back off into sleep. Luckily Inuyasha caught sight of a blood trail after a few minutes, and that reminded me of the time I had found droplets of red earlier when I fell into the swamp.
Our best guess was that it meant that So'aku really had come this way… but was badly injured by the looks of it. Maria asked for us to hurry, determined and angry, her sword out and ready to avenge her fallen comrades. I was the only one who wouldn't be able to contribute anything, barely holding on as is. I fiddled with the gas mask in my hands, having kept it in my kosode for safekeeping, wondering if I might have to wear it soon depending on who or what we found. Tucking it back into my kimono, I shuddered and leaned forward, clinging tight to Kirara and watching as the blood trail grew stronger.
"Kōga!" Inuyasha suddenly exclaimed. He clicked his tongue and scowled. "Damn wolf- how did he get himself hurt already!?"
Maria leaned over and looked down in alarm, eyes wide. "Kōga! And… So'aku? So'aku!"
Down below, collapsed in the swamp, were the two wolf demons. So'aku was a woman dressed in fur and armor, and had a large gash running across her back as she lay slumped in the muddy water. Kōga was bleeding nearby, skin shredded and burned, the demon chief struggling to push himself up onto his knees as he glared at his attackers.
Oh, how the rage filled me. I hardened my tired stare into something cold, staring daggers at the woman whose face was somehow now devoid of all scarring, her red eyes and beauty just as intense as the last time we met. Kagura. And beside her- in a white-and-red outfit near identical to the one I was wearing- with that godawful mask on as always, was Anastasia.
"Yo." Kagura greeted, red lips painted in a smirk.
"Kōga!" Kagome exclaimed. Shippō and Kirara lowered us to the ground, and the middle-schooler hopped over and rushed over to him, feet nearly getting stuck in the thick mud. She knelt down, reaching into her pocket to pull out some tissues, dabbing at the blood and trying to stay the bleeding. "Are you okay?"
"They took me… by surprise." He bit out, coughing. "I couldn't… land a single hit on 'em. They were using… that damn barrier magic again."
Anastasia and Kagura watched us, and Sango and Maria leapt off of Kirara. They readied their weapons, and the two villainous women observed them- Kagura opening her fan and hiding the lower half of her face as she gazed at us. Anastasia hummed, the sound low and cold, before stating, to the confusion of us all, that, "It's still not enough."
Maria froze. I tensed. I knew my sister recognized the voice she heard- Maria had heard herself in plenty of recordings, had seen herself speaking in several videos from film classes back in school. She knew what she sounded like to others. She knew that that was her voice. That this… being… sounded exactly like her.
And she finally understood just what we all meant we told her about Anastasia.
"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha growled, unsheathing tetsusaiga. The blade transformed, bright and gleaming and ready to battle.
"It's been a while." Kagura continued, ignoring his question. "I guess you didn't fall for our tricks, since you're all here and that little Shikigami priestess of yours is still in one piece. A pity."
What, were they planning to swoop in at the last second to steal my soul? Or were they expecting Kōga and the others to fight, to wear each other down, so that they could take my spirits while they were all distracted? I grit my teeth and tightened my hold on Kirara's fur, before slowly sliding off of her back.
Those jerks... ! Their whole thing was trying to pit my friends against each other, wasn't it? They wanted to make things easier for themselves by getting rid of all of us at once!
"Kaguraaaa!" Inuyasha roared, effectively enraged by her words. Tetsusaiga's blade bled red as he ran at the two women, leaping into the air, the mud doing little to slow him down. Demonic energy gathered and twisted around his blade as he swung, swirling through the air and rushing towards the duo with a fearsome blast of water of wind, the sheer pressure of the tetsusaiga tearing cracks deep within the earth. " Wind Scaaaaar! "
Kagura wasted no time in leaping out of the way, as if assisted by the wind itself, the woman leaping far from danger and on the opposite side of where Kagome resided with Kōga and So'aku. Anastasia, on the other hand, merely stepped to the side- moving between the cracks of the blow with an astonishing confidence that she could avoid them. And she did, which left Inuyasha to curse as his attack failed to hit either of them, the only thing he succeeded in being the fact that he broke the barrier around the priestess.
Only… something wasn't right. The mask Anastasia was wearing cracked- breaking from the pressure the attack unleashed, and it shattered, falling from her face, the pieces collapsing into the swamp below. And what we saw…
...was my face staring right back at us.
I stood there, looking back at me, a hand to my face where the mask had once been, brown eyes cold and devoid of all life, yet somehow filled with hate all the same. And, suddenly, everything- from how I was brought to this time, from the story the spirits told me, to the panther demons kidnapping me and our conversation in that prison, to this moment now- made sense in more ways than one.
We really were the same.
