Nobody expects me to post two chapters within a week of each other!
Chapter 7: The Lake of the Evil Water God/The Chapter Where Daitan Discovers That Water Is Not Her Favored Terrain
"I suppose even a large castle can be difficult to find…" sighed Kagome. The group had spent the past few days attempting to find Naraku's castle, but with so little information, they might as well have been searching for a needle in a haystack.
"Yes, especially when you don't have any directions or landmarks to go by." said Miroku. Daitan nodded from her seat on the grass.
"Not to mention that there are literally thousands of castles all throughout Japan at this time." she muttered, shredding blades of grass between her claws.
"Oh come on," groaned Inuyasha, looking over at Sango impatiently. "You've gotta be recovered by now – don't you want to hunt down that Naraku creep too? Why don't you join us for a while?"
Daitan chuckled to herself. Inviting in new members of the group of his own accord? Maybe I did get through to him the other day.
Sango only hummed and didn't seem impressed. Inuyasha pushed on.
"Hey, we know a lot more about Naraku than you do, and since you're alone now, it's not like you have anything to lose by tagging along with us." he said matter-of-factly. Sango only scowled, but didn't question him.
As Miroku made his case to Sango, Daitan got to her feet and stretched, brushing leaves and blades of grass off her pants. Looking up to the sky, she noticed Shippo, in the form of a large pink orb with googly eyes, slowly floating back towards the group. He came to a stop in front of her, wobbling slightly in the air, before turning back into himself with a pop. Daitan caught him when he fell out of the air.
"What were you able to see, Shippo?" asked Kagome, walking up to stand beside Daitan.
"There's a large lake just over the hill to the north – there's a huge shrine right in the middle of it!" he said, spreading his small arms wide to demonstrate. Kagome looked thoughtful.
"Are you sure it's a shrine?"
"Is it Naraku's castle?" piped up Inuyasha, his interest immediately piqued.
"I'm pretty sure Shippo can tell the difference between a shrine and a castle, Inuyasha." deadpanned Daitan as she used her claws to detangle a few knots in Shippo's mop of ginger hair. Inuyasha started to growl at her, but Kagome cut him off.
"Can we please just get to that lake before you two start fighting again?"
Daitan shrugged. "Might as well. It would be a waste of energy anyway…" she muttered.
—-
It didn't take very long to get to the lake that Shippo had described, and the scene of uprooted trees, churned earth, and the wreckage of buildings greeted them. About a dozen villagers were working to salvage some of what had been lost, but Daitan could tell that it would probably be a fruitless effort.
"There must have been a flood…" pondered Miroku.
"That's terrible…" Kagome breathed, gazing out at all of the damage. Suddenly, a bell tolled in the distance, and the group looked over to see a group of villagers carrying a small red palanquin. Daitan's ears twitched slightly, hearing the slight mutters of the villagers working in the previously flooded area.
"...the human sacrifice… it was a devastating flood this year… I wonder whose child it is this time…"
Kagome must have heard them too, because she gasped in horror and disgust.
"A child sacrifice?!"
"But that's barbaric!" exclaimed Miroku.
"And just when my faith in humanity was being restored…" Daitan growled, clutching Shippo tightly to her chest. Inuyasha said nothing, but dashed over to the palanquin to sit on top of it and talk to who appeared to be the leader of the village. Daitan set Shippo back down on the ground and followed after him with Miroku by her side.
"...A youkai is taking advantage of his newfound strength from a jewel shard," said Inuyasha, getting in the headman's face. "Don't even try hiding anything from us." he smirked. The procession stopped abruptly, and the headman stumbled backward in surprise.
"Look at his ears," commented another villager. "Is he a youkai?" the headman frowned and squared his shoulders.
"Listen to me – we are a peaceful village, protected by a great Water God – youkai are not welcome here!" he spat, and Daitan cleared her throat loudly.
"Welcome or not, when I hear that a child is in harm's way, I tend to get a bit unpleasant." she growled, arms crossed and golden eyes narrowed.
"Yeah, just who do you think you're talking to, old man?!" Inuyasha's voice had almost risen to a shout. The headman stood his ground, but the men behind him backed away a few feet.
"Stop that, you two," Miroku's staff whacked both Inuyasha and Daitan on the back of the head. He turned to the headman. "Our company is not hostile, despite what my compatriots may have you believe. Our mission is to travel the country and assist those in need. We've heard of your misfortune; if you allow me, I will exorcise this village."
Some of the villagers began to mutter, and someone spoke up.
"Are you really that powerful?"
"I think an exorcism is a good idea…"
The headman, however, wasn't convinced.
"Don't let yourself be deceived so easily! They are conniving imposters!" he said, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "If we indulge the whims of shysters and rely on their trickery, only to raise the ire of the Water God, who knows what else will befall our village? How can I justify an exorcism now when it's my son's turn to be sacrificed? How could I risk undoing all the sacrifices made by the children who went before him?" he bowed his head, but Daitan still wasn't having it.
"So what? Your image matters more than your own child?" she snapped. "Well I don't know if you know this, but sacrificing children to some youkai already makes you look pretty bad."
The headman paid no heed to any of Miroku or her words, and started up the procession once more. Daitan crossed her arms, a sour expression twisting her features.
"That guy with the mustache is weird, I don't trust him." remarked Shippo, staring at the headman's back. Inuyasha nodded.
"I agree. He's acting as though he wants his son to be sacrificed."
"There's definitely something off about him. Maybe he knows something..." Daitan thought aloud.
"Yes, he was strangely upset with our interference," said Miroku. A moment of silence passed, before Inuyasha sighed, putting one hand on his hip.
"Well, I guess we move on and let him dunk the kid."
A sharp whack to the back of the head made the hanyou pitch forward and he stumbled, clutching his head. Daitan stood in front of him, her frown now deepened considerably.
"You've clearly never been an older sibling, Inuyasha. What if it were Shippo in that palanquin?"
"So what? If it were Shippo, he probably deserved it." another sharp whack.
"Yeah, not on your life we're leaving that little boy to die," said Kagome, stepping forward. "We're going to save him, right?" she turned to Sango, who nodded her agreement.
"Are you serious?" someone piped up from a nearby ditch. It was a boy, around eleven or twelve, wearing a straw mat over his head. "Then follow me!" he trotted off on dirty bare feet, calling for the group to follow him.
"What's with him? Bossy kid." commented Inuyasha. Curious, he walked off after the boy, the rest of the group following behind him.
"Not to mention," Miroku turned to Daitan. "You're an older sister?"
Daitan just waved a hand in the air.
"Not really – I'm an only child by blood, but there are a lot of youkai who live on my father's land, and I'll watch their kids from time to time when their parents are busy." she explained. Miroku hummed thoughtfully.
"Come to think of it, how old are you, Daitan?" Sango whacked Miroku sharply on the arm for the impolite question. "Ah…! I was just curious…" he defended. Daitan laughed.
"It's alright. As of now, I'm two hundred and twelve years old."
Up in front, Inuyasha stopped dead, before groaning and digging his claws into his hair.
"Gah, don't tell me you're older than I am!" he blustered.
"Why? Feeling intimidated?" teased Daitan. Inuyasha whipped around, pointing a clawed finger in Daitan's grinning face.
"As if! Besides, it's only twelve years' difference anyway…" he turned back around, grumbling. The kid they had been following stopped abruptly in a forest clearing, and wordlessly pulled a large bag out from under the roots of a tree. He then dumped its contents onto the ground, revealing numerous expensive silks, jewels, and artifacts.
"You can have 'em. Take your pick!" he said. Daitan knelt down, examining a hairpin decorated with cherry blossoms. That's funny… I've seen one just like it back home… She pocketed the hairpin.
"What is all this garbage?" asked Inuyasha, toeing a few of the spilled items.
"Some of these artifacts are quite valuable." remarked Miroku. Sango picked up a bolt of blue fabric.
"I've never seen such fine silk before…" she said, feeling its texture.
"You done choosing?" asked the boy, hands on his hips. "Good. Then consider yourselves hired."
"Hired?" asked Inuyasha, one eyebrow raised, and the boy nodded.
"I heard you bragging to the villagers. 'Coming to peoples' aid is your mission.' So I want you to live up to your reputation. You're working for me now, to destroy the Water God." he said confidently. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, before walking right up to the boy and giving him a hard bonk on the head with his fist.
"Hey, what did you do that for?!" Inuyasha didn't listen, only pulled the boy into a headlock and repeatedly bonked him over the head.
"Inuyasha, stop! He's only a little boy!" shouted Kagome.
"He needs to be taught who the boss is around here."
"'The boss', huh?" Daitan cut in, and before Inuyasha could dodge, she whacked him hard over the head with her sheathed sword, making him let go of the boy. Inuyasha groaned in the dirt.
"Just apologize," Shippo piped up, addressing the boy. "Even if you don't mean it. Inuyasha can be really childish sometimes."
—-
Night had fallen, and the boy had led the group to a break in the trees to witness a lone boat approach the pier at the lake. It had the snarling head of a dragon at its prow, and it glided, unmanned, through the fog and across the smooth surface of the lake.
"The human sacrifice is taken to the shrine in a boat," the boy explained. "So we'll follow the boat, and attack it when the Water God surfaces and is about to devour the sacrifice. Got that?"
Inuyasha ignored the boy, instead looking down at the colorful bolts of silk in Miroku's arms.
"These are stolen goods, I just know it." he said, his eyes narrowed. Miroku simply brushed him off.
"That's none of our concern."
"Well maybe we shouldn't take them…" Kagome chimed in, to the annoyance of the boy in front of them.
"Are you even paying attention?" he asked angrily, and Kagome looked over at him, curiosity coloring her tone.
"So, whose child are you, anyway?" at her question, the boy went silent for a moment before speaking.
"...My family is none of your business."
"Well that's not a suspicious thing to say at all." commented Daitan, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrow at the boy. Kagome smiled at him conspiratorially.
"You know, I've got a sneaking suspicion that you're the real son of the headman, not the other boy." she said, and the boy jerked back and choked in shock. Miroku approached to get a closer look at the boy's face.
"Hmm… now that you mention it, they've got the same eyebrows and forehead."
"And the same attitude." snarked Inuyasha.
"So that boy in the procession was a stand-in?" concluded Kagome. The boy nodded.
"Yes, my name is Toramaru, and I'm the headman's heir."
Daitan nodded, thinking back to their earlier conversation with the headman himself.
"Well, I guess that explains why he didn't look too torn up about sacrificing his kid." But that doesn't really explain why Toramaru is so determined… or maybe he's just a good kid… Seeming to sense her question, Toramaru spoke again.
"The Water God started demanding human sacrifices about six months ago. We've had a lot of heavy rains and flooding, and the Water God told us that in order to lift the curse, a human sacrifice was necessary. A child would be selected when a white arrow landed on the roof of his home. Father would always say to 'bear the loss for the sake of the village'," Toramaru's hands clenched into fists. "but when the arrow landed on our roof, he told me to go and hide."
Inuyasha scoffed, "So he found another child to take your place and meanwhile, you're in hiding?"
"Hm. What a stupid selfish parent." commented Miroku, turning up his nose. Daitan, meanwhile, thought back to her own father. For not wanting his kid to die? There's no doubt that Dad would do some pretty heinous things for my sake, and the sake of everyone under his care… But I can't find it in myself to excuse the headman for bending to this Water God's will so easily and not first seeking help from a priestess or monk, letting other peoples' children die in the process.
"The boy in my place is one of my very best friends," Toramaru explained. "We grew up together. There's no way I'm gonna let him take my place."
"Well, I hope you have a boat," Sango had emerged from the brush, now changed into her taijiya armor. "That youkai has to be exterminated, and I have a reputation to uphold. I'll take care of the Water God by myself."
"Alright," said Daitan, raising an eyebrow at Sango. "I was with you until you said 'by myself'. You're aware that we're all part of the same group at the moment, right?"
"Yeah, and you're still recovering – stop trying to act so tough, show-off," Inuyasha smirked. "I bet you can't even lift that heavy weapon over your head yet." Daitan's heart lifted. He's learning!
"Is that a challenge?" Sango's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Inuyasha grinned, fangs bared as he rolled up his sleeves.
"Bring it on anytime!" …Nevermind. While Kagome stepped in to chide Inuyasha, Miroku stepped in between Sango and the hanyou.
"Listen, we all received payment for our services. So, let's band together and finish the job."
"You should really stop picking fights all the time, Inuyasha." deadpanned Kagome. Inuyasha scoffed.
"Tell that to her, not me. And what about Daitan? She picks fights with me all the time!"
"You're just such an easy target, Inuyasha!" Daitan said. "Getting under your skin is child's play compared to my dad. I swear, that guy is like a brick wall sometimes…" she muttered.
"Hey, aren't you on my side? You're all about working together and looking out for each other! She-" Inuyasha gestured at Sango. "-wants to work alone all the time and doesn't want to join our little team!"
Sango said nothing for a short moment, but the boat at the pier was leaving, and they had to move fast.
"...Fine. We do it your way." she relented.
It took a bit of convincing to get Kirara to agree to being hooked up to a rowboat so that she could tow everyone to the Water God's shrine, but it was well worth it. Without the splashing of oars, their approach to the shrine would be silent. Daitan hoped they could pull off a successful sneak attack when the Water God came to take the child sacrifice. She still had her doubts, though. Inuyasha seemed incapable of being at all sneaky.
Out of the fog, a dark silhouette came into view.
"There it is," whispered Toramaru. "The Water God's shrine gate."
As the group passed through the gate, a large shrine loomed into view, completely dark, except for two burning torches on either side of the entrance. Under their flickering light, Daitan could see two figures guarding the doors.
"Gatekeepers! Hide!" whispered Toramaru, but Inuyasha wrinkled his nose.
"Why the hell should we hide?" he asked at full volume, before he leapt right out of the boat and landed on top of the two gatekeepers. They were immediately out cold. "You're in the way!" and Inuyasha kicked them aside for good measure, punching the doors to splinters. Daitan sighed in exasperation, jumping out of the boat herself, and following after the hanyou.
"You could have just lifted the bar out of the way…" she grumbled. Inuyasha only let out a 'tch!' and turned to the rest of the group.
"Hurry up! Don't just stand there – we're going in!"
Daitan's nose twitched. She could smell the pungent scent of another youkai, but more importantly, the boy was close, and she could hear distressed whimpers coming from inside the temple. Unsheathing her katana, she dashed forward with Inuyasha and they both kicked the door open.
A few guards stood inside, and Daitan could faintly hear Inuyasha shouting something at them, but all of her focus was on the little boy gripped in the outstretched hand of the Water God in front of them. She made a dash forward, aiming to cut off the Water God's arm, but he only squeezed the boy's face harder.
"Careful… you want to save this boy, but he will die before your sword even touches me." he hissed, grinning widely. Daitan's face contorted and she stopped in place. A low growl rumbled in her throat. It was then that Inuyasha burst in behind her, smirking.
"Did I interrupt dinner?" in Daitan's opinion, he was being far too cocky for his own good. From the grip of the Water God, the child's muffled voice could be heard.
"Master Tora…?"
"Suikichi!" exclaimed Toramaru, and Daitan immediately rounded on Inuyasha, eyes flashing.
"You let the kid come in here?!" she snarled, and Inuyasha took half a step back before squaring his shoulders,
"Hey, calm down! I got him, see?" Inuyasha caught Toramaru by the collar and held him back. Daitan looked and felt like she could have breathed fire, but the Water God's voice snapped her back to the main goal.
"You're dressed like a dirty urchin, but you are the headman's son, aren't you?" he inquired. Toramaru's expression read nothing but determination as he shouted,
"That's right! Now that you've got me, release Suikichi! I'm the real human sacrifice!"
"What the-" Inuyasha shook Toramaru a bit with the hand holding his collar. "What was the point of hiring us if you're just gonna throw yourself at him?!" he faced the Water God, smirking. "The only thing strong about you, 'Water God', is your scent – you reek of a youkai!"
And with that, Inuyasha shoved the kid aside and leapt straight at his target. Daitan caught Toramaru by the arm and pushed him behind her, closer to Miroku and Kagome, as Inuyasha swung the Tessaiga down in the imposter's direction. Upon contact, he was thrown backwards, and the imposter now wielded a large golden trident, and before everyone's eyes, the Tessaiga shrank down to its decrepit state.
"What… the Tessaiga…" mumbled Inuyasha, confused. The youkai in front of them chuckled.
"A petty youkai blade is no match for the power of the Trident of Amakoi. You have committed a great crime in defacing my shrine, and now you will pay for this with your lives!" with that, the youkai tapped the trident on the wooden floor, and wind with the strength of a hurricane began to roar around them as water flooded the room. Before any of them knew it, the entire group had been washed away, and Daitan lost her grip on Toramaru's arm.
The water was still rushing around her, but Daitan could just barely see that Kagome had grabbed hold of Toramaru, and Shippo was clinging to her leg. Turning the other way and attempting to orient herself, she spotted a boulder smash into Inuyasha from behind and knock him out cold. Daitan fought against the current, and dived down after him, gripping tight to his robes. She attempted to kick her way to the surface, but it was slow going, and with Inuyasha unconscious, she had no idea if he would inhale too much water before then.
Something brushed against Daitan's bare ankle, and she jerked in surprise, blinking in the murky water. Two koi spirits had risen from the depths of the lake, and helped Daitan carry Inuyasha back to the surface.
Daitan's head broke the surface of the lake, and she looked around for the nearest bit of land, but the koi were already ahead of her. They gently nudged her and Inuyasha to a nearby boulder, upon which stood Miroku and Sango. Daitan dragged Inuyasha up onto dry land and shook her head to dry out some of her hair, splattering water everywhere.
"Daitan, are you alright?" asked Miroku, and she nodded.
"I'm fine; where are Kagome and the others?" she asked. Daitan's heart sank when she couldn't catch sight of them. Not to mention that being in the water had messed with her nose a bit.
"I don't know," said Miroku worriedly. He turned to the two koi spirits, who were waiting nearby. "Thank you for your help – did you save us from drowning in the flood of water as well?"
"Yes!" they replied in unison. That's a little creepy. Thought Daitan.
"But judging from your appearance, you look like you were servants of the Water God…" Miroku remarked. Fat tears welled up in the kois' large eyes.
"The Water God is nothing but an imposter!" cried the koi on the right, and the koi on the left nodded.
"He used to be a simple water sprite like us, and lived here in the lake, but he resorted to trickery to gain power… he sealed the real Water God in the craggy rock over there." she gestured with her head to a rock nearby.
"Then he took the trident of Amakoi and with a great declaration, fooled the villagers into thinking he was the Water God!"
"Now I understand," said Miroku. "That means we have to rescue the real Water God!"
Inuyasha coughed and sat up, wiping water from his face.
"You need to get your priorities straight, you idiot – what are you thinking?" he coughed again. "I'm heading back to the shrine now."
"I'll head back too," said Daitan, leaping after Inuyasha. "Kagome and the kids are still in danger!"
Inuyasha and Daitan jumped from boulder to boulder until the shrine came back into sight, and Daitan heard rumbling and the crunching of wood under force.
"Over there!"
As the two got closer, Daitan spotted Kagome, her ankle trapped in the grip of a silvery, snakelike tail. Inuyasha leapt forward and attempted to cut it off with the Tessaiga, but the same golden trident from before flew out of nowhere and sealed the sword's demonic power.
"Kagome, is everyone safe?" asked Inuyasha, and Kagome nodded, jerking her head over to where Shippo, Toramaru, and Suikichi had been covered with some of the remains of the roof. Daitan lifted it off of them so they could crawl out. Shippo's eyes suddenly widened.
"Hey, the Water God is escaping!" he cried, and Daitan whipped her head around just in time to see the imposter disappearing into the mist with the trident, his legs now transformed into a long serpent tail.
Inuyasha approached the edge of the pier and shouted,
"Hey, where are you, Water God-?!"
The wooden planks that Inuyasha had been standing on exploded, and the long serpent tail coiled around his waist, pulling him into the water. Daitan made to step forward to help, but Inuyasha suddenly appeared above the water again, still trapped in the serpent tail's grip, and gasping for air. The Water God's body rose above the surface once more and he hissed threateningly.
"Ha!" grinned Inuyasha. "You're showing your true colors now – you're not the Water God, you're a fake! And without that trident, you're back to the bottom of the food chain!" Inuyasha managed to tear himself free, but the small victory was short lived as the imposter roared with anger and caught him in his coils again, this time dragging him deeper into the water.
Kagome and Daitan ran to the edge of the pier, where a large whirlpool was beginning to form in the water.
"Inuyasha-!"
"He's not coming up!" squealed Shippo, biting his nails. Daitan clenched her jaw and unsheathed her sword.
"Daitan, what are you doing?" asked Kagome.
"The only thing I can do at the moment – trying to save that idiot." and with that, she leapt into the air, oriented herself with her head down, and let loose a blast of her youki. In a flash of light, she had Dashed straight into the water, and was now approaching the imposter Water God at high speed. With a grunt, she sank her sword deep into the youkai's back, making dark blood billow out and cloud the water around her. She kicked off the Water God's back, just in time for the water to suddenly part, sending her crashing to the ground, coughing.
"Gah-! What the f-"
"-freed the Water Goddess," she heard the imposter say. "But it doesn't matter; now, I am the reigning Water God!"
"Even though she's the Water Goddess, she's powerless without her sacred trident!" Miroku's voice cut through the sound of rushing water, and Daitan got to her feet, leaping up toward the Water God's body and bringing her sword down upon it several times in quick succession before landing back on the pier, looking for another opening. Inuyasha seemed to have a similar idea, as he dug his claws into the youkai's scaly hide and attempted to tear flesh from bone. Sango and Kirara soon jumped into the fight, and Sango's hiraikotsu spun through the air, but was deflected by the trident. None of the attacks seemed to do anything except annoy him.
"You fools! Now you shall feel the awesome and powerful wrath of the Trident of Amakoi!" the Water God lifted the trident into the air, and as it glowed with power, storm clouds gathered above them. A roaring gust of wind knocked Sango off of Kirara, and in the confusion, Daitan saw her opening and used her Dash once more, shooting up toward the Water God. Her sword flashed only once, and the Water God's arm holding the trident was severed at the elbow. Inuyasha's hand shot out, catching the trident, but Daitan didn't have time to get away – the Water God was too fast, and her energy was running low after using two Dashes in quick succession. A hard hit to the stomach sent her flying, and Daitan slammed into the side of the pier and dropped her sword. She definitely heard something crack.
"Daitan!" cried Kagome, who came running as Daitan got to her feet, looking up at the Water God.
"I'm fine…" she said, picking up her sword. The Water God had completely abandoned his humanoid form, and had fully transformed into a giant snake. He had Inuyasha, who was letting out a string of curses, trapped in his jaws.
"Enough is enough, you overgrown inchworm!" he shouted, and punched the snake hard in the middle of the forehead. Somehow, despite snakes having limited abilities regarding eye movement, this snake's eyes rolled all the way backwards in his head and passed out, dropping into the seething waves below.
"The twister is heading for the village!" cried Kagome, and the tiny Water Goddess in her hands, who Daitan had only just noticed, huffed.
"Calming a twister is a simple matter. I could do it in my sleep."
"What? Are you serious?"
"Well don't just talk about it, do it!" Toramaru ordered, but the Water Goddess only gave him a sharp glare.
"I would be happy to, young man, as soon as you retrieve my sacred trident."
The surface of the lake then exploded as Inuyasha burst out of the water, still caught between the jaws of the Water God.
"Don't worry, guys! It'll take more than this pathetic reptile to get rid of me!" he shouted.
"Just hurry up and get the trident, you nitwit!" Kagome and Daitan shouted in unison. Inuyasha disappeared beneath the waves once again, but popped back up just as quickly, trident in hand.
"Here, take the stupid thing!" he shouted, and lobbed it in their direction. Unfortunately, the snake's tail smacked it out of the air, making it fall back into the water. Daitan didn't hesitate to dive in after it. Her clammy fingers wrapped tightly around it, but the snake's tail suddenly rose up from the depths and flung her into the pier once again. Another crack came from her ribs, and she coughed, standing back up just in time to see Inuyasha cut the snake in half lengthwise, and Miroku suck the remains into his wind tunnel. Daitan nodded to herself, then made her way over to where the Water Goddess sat waiting in Kagome's hands.
"Here." she said, handing the trident over to Kagome. The young girl set the Water Goddess down on the pier, and held the trident in front of her.
"Please Water Goddess, work your magic." Kagome pleaded tiredly.
The Water Goddess approached the trident, and as soon as her fingers made contact with it, she grew to full size. Holding the trident up in her right hand, she commanded,
"Clouds, disperse!"
The rain and high winds immediately vanished, and sunlight began to pour out from between the separating clouds, creating a stunning shine on the surface of the lake, now calm.
There was silence for a bit, then…
"Well I guess we did it… woohoo…" groaned Daitan. The adrenaline had worn off, and now all she could feel were cracked ribs.
"Daitan, are you okay? You really took a beating back there!" worried Kagome, checking her over. Daitan just waved a dismissing hand.
"I'll be alright. I'm a youkai, it'll be gone in a couple days-" she cut herself off, wincing when Kagome found the cracked ribs. "I'll just need some rest."
—-
The gang didn't waste any time leaving the village, and Daitan was currently dozing on top of the wagon of fine goods they had received as payment. Shippo was attempting to braid her snowy white hair, and it was getting tangled beyond belief, but Daitan couldn't bring herself to care too much. She half-listened to Inuyasha complaining about not getting any jewel shards, and Miroku being his usual carefree self.
Opening her eyes to the clear blue sky, she fished around in her pocket and pulled out the hairpin she had taken for herself. The metal sakura glinted in the sunlight as she tilted it back and forth.
"What made you choose just that for payment, Daitan?" asked Shippo, now attempting to detangle some of the mess he had made of her hair.
"I'm not sure… but somehow it just felt right." she said, considering it one last time before she placed it back in her pocket.
A/N: Wow, I guess I was pretty inspired this week. Also, I really appreciate the new review I got recently, reviews can be very encouraging to read, though I won't hold chapters hostage for them. Whether or not I update depends on if I get writer's block and/or if I get too busy. I would also like to say that I appreciate all you lurkers as well for giving this story a chance :)