The task was simple. Both competitors had to break all of the jars aligning the spring in one hit. If both opponents tied, then the match would end. No one would be claimed victor and the match between all males would continue.
Sango glanced at the male beside her, who was currently sizing her up. Wary and suspicious, she briefly pondered what the consequences of losing would be. Was he just trying to scare her like Kagome said? Somehow, she thought it was strange, but she tried to push those negative thoughts away. Grasping the small fairy boomerang, she readied herself. Pushing her feet apart, she narrowed her eyes before throwing the small weapon toward her targets. Of course she could have used her original boomerang, but she thought a little practice couldn't hurt. Besides, she had yet to test the strength of her new blessing the Great Fairy bestowed upon her.
Everyone in the room gasped when the jars broke apart in one motion, easily scattering many shards across the room. The speed in which it traveled was so fast, that it left the leader stunned, it even shocked Minarv, but his surprise quickly vanished.
Upon seeing the sight, Kagome jumped elatedly. "You did it Sango!"
Squinting, Miroku placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "I'm afraid not all of the jars were broken…"
"Huh?" The priestess looked along the edge of the spring, hoping her friend was mistaken, but to her disappointment, there was one pot untouched. "What?" How did that happen? Sango was an expert with her Hiraikotsu. On closer inspection, she realized that her friend was not using her primary weapon as it was currently strapped to back. 'Sango used her new weapon?'
Sango eyed the mini version of her Hiraikotsu. 'Looks like a little practicing is in order,' she thought before putting the weapon away. The slayer missed, and so it was Minarv's turn.
Chuckling, Minarv scoffed at the woman. "How unfortunate. Just one more and you would have won," he explained with a shake of his head. He appeared disappointed. "Though I admit that wasn't bad…"
The woman turned toward him. "I don't mind. Winning isn't everything," she replied. Sango was a head shorter than he was. Whether he won or not, it made no difference to her. She wasn't in for it for the glory.
Minarv shook his head again before turning away from her and readying his own weapon. "That's too bad." He watched the Zoras replace all of the pots before taking a step forward. "I guess you aren't worried then?"
Sango eyed him suspiciously. "Why should I be?"
Minarv smirked. He wondered if all humans were clueless. "Because you've already lost," he replied. Just as soon as he said that, quite sure of himself, the sharp blades on his forearms broke off and sailed in the direction of its target.
To her companions surprise, plus her own, all of the jars were destroyed. Kagome's mouth fell open with great disappointment, and Miroku frowned with dismay. Somehow I just didn't seem right that their friend had lost. After all, Sango wasn't one to back down from a challenge or lose so easily.
Again Minarv chuckled. "I'll see you later," he said before walking away.
The match was finished. Sango lost, but she wasn't upset. Winning wasn't everything in her opinion. She'd lost fair and square, and she would accept that. Although anyone else would have dropped their head in embarrassment, she held hers up and returned to her companions. "Well, that's it."
While Minarv returned to his station, the entire room grew quiet. Some of the Zoras were quietly observing the woman from afar, while others were visibly disappointed that she hadn't won. They guessed that human women were just as weak as their own females.
"Let us carry on with the competition, shall we?" Larith exclaimed with a wave of his hand. The elder Zora knew the outcome of the quick match, but he never thought the female would destroy even one of the pots.
Regardless of her miss, Sango smiled, earning a grin from Miroku and a frown from Kagome. "It's alright," she said.
OOO
Inside the mighty fortification, several guards roamed the grounds on patrol. Elaborate red cloths hung on the beige painted walls, revealing the symbol of their dominance and existence. Along the far left side wall, a large staircase stood, allowing access in to one of the many entrances to different rooms in the area, of course, many of the entrances were quite hard to get to, considering their location. Crates filled almost the entirety of the grounds, their placement quite spacious and out of sorts, but then again, it was also beneficial to Link and Shippo.
The two had arrived a short moment ago without raising another alarm. Getting inside was easy enough, but now they were at a standstill. Hiding behind one of the many crates, both youths spied on the encampment. So far, everything was calm and the security looked tight.
"Now what do we do, Link?" the fox child asked in a hushed whisper.
Link continued observing the area before his eyes fell on a tall watch tower positioned in the center of the open area. From their vantage point, Link's eyes fell on the ladder which he knew he and Shippo would need to reach in order to gain access to the leader's chambers. Of course, getting past the guards was their first priority. He pondered his strategy.
A conversation broke the boy from his musings suddenly, and he and Shippo turned their attention to the two guards straight ahead; two women were standing in front of the watch tower, completely oblivious to the intruders hiding a small distance away.
One of the guards, quite youthful, sat down on one of the crates with her feet hanging off the edge. Long brilliant red hair was held high in a ponytail, cascading down her back gently. Strands fell around her bronze face, framing it well. From so short a distance, the young girl wore a beige strapless top, exposing the rest of her skin without a care in the world. A golden necklace with a red ruby hung around her neck. On her left upper arm she wore a golden bracelet. Her stomach was exposed, as of the rest of the women in the vicinity. Not only that, but she wore red blooming pants with white slippers.
"Amber, return to your post immediately!" A taller woman ordered. The guard wore a purple veil over her mouth, and her hair was pulled back in to a bun. She resembled many of the other lookouts around, wearing similar purpled blooming pants with purple slippers, oddly enough. Perhaps that was because of their stature; it was a step up at least from the lower classman pirates.
The young Gerudo sighed and dropped her shoulders. "What for? This is so boring!" She complained. "Besides, what's the point staying watch when no one can cross the water?" She questioned.
Hearing this, the older woman leered and planted a hand of her on her hip while she held her glaive in the other. "Aveil will be angry with you again," she replied. "Return to your post!"
Amber sighed, but instead of following orders, she stretched her arms above her head, yawning as she did. "But I don't want to!" Her eyes looked upward at the hovering eclipse. "What was up with those alarms a while ago anyway? Did those Zoras get loose again?" she questioned, staring back at the woman curiously.
"No, there was an intruder," the guard replied. "Someone managed to fly over the walls."
Amber's mouth flew open at this. "For real? How could someone fly over?" She asked. This was news to her. Was it magic? She found this odd. "Are you sure it wasn't just a bird?"
The guard shrugged. "I'm certain. But the intruder was shot down, probably drowned in the lake just beyond our home," she explained.
Again Amber sighed. Well that wasn't any good. Here she thought something interesting would happen, but it turned out they killed the person trying to get in. The young girl pondered who that person was. Of course she was a little dismayed by that.
Before the guard could scold the younger girl yet again, a rush of footsteps drew her attention away. Turning, her eyes fell on several guards directly behind her. "What's going on?"
One of them stepped forward, her expression troubled. "Aveil requests our audience."
"Oh?" Puzzled, she glanced back at Amber, who was still lounging around, her eyes elsewhere. "I see. And what news do you have about…"
Amber wasn't stupid. She knew something was up. While overhearing most of their conversation, she turned noticing their retreating forms. "Hey!" She called, and the woman who had reprimanded her a moment ago, stopped and glanced back.
"Return to your post and stand watch," she ordered. "And if you see anything out of the ordinary, alert us at once!" After that was said, she sauntered off, along with a few other guards in the area.
Growling at the orders, Ambers crossed her arms. "Stay and watch she says. Hmpt!" What was the point in watching when nothing was going to happen? During all of her fourteen years, no one had ever crossed over the walls. 'Wait…that's not true…' She thought for a moment. 'No…some kid snuck in a few years back, I remember that much.' That of course was a long time ago. Ever since the ocean turned to acid, no one had been able to cross over, not even their best boats could make it without disintegrating.
Sighing yet again, the small pirate placed her head in her hands.
Noticing that the area was mostly clear, Link placed a finger to his lips, telling Shippo to keep silent. Removing themselves from their hiding spot, he and Shippo stealthily ambled forward. Now was their chance. As they sneaked by, they were cautious of the young girl sitting with her face covered.
Link found this too good to be true. Now that most of the guards were sent away, the area was mostly clear, and they could easily manage to cross the perimeter of the courtyard without the fear of getting caught.
"It's not fair!"
Her loud outburst nearly gave both youths a heart attack, mostly Shippo who hadn't seen it coming. Fortunately for him and Link, they were well behind the girl by that point. They held themselves still as they watched her lift her head from her hands while clenching them.
"What's the use staying watch when no one is going to break in?" she asked herself. "Gosh, I don't know why everyone is so worked up!" If they wanted her to stay and watch then they had another thing coming. She'd been staying watch since she was ten years old. Sure she was the youngest of the tribe, but she was tired of being bullied and ordered around. "No more! I'm not taking any more orders from them!" Abruptly she stood up, her posture rigid.
Her loud cry caught the ears of the woman just above the watchtower standing watch. Leaning over the railing, the guard glanced at the girl. "Aveil ordered you to stay watch Amber! No slacking!"
With her back still turned, Amber pouted. "I hate this!" She sat back down with her arms crossed, while muttering low under her breath. For now she would stay put, but she had bigger and better dreams that would one day come true.
Holding their breaths, both Link and Shippo glanced at each other. Quietly, they both ascended the wooden ladder, careful of the woman above patrolling the bridge.
Upon making it to the final step, Link raised himself out of the opening and onto the wooden surface above. The woman was well across the bridge that connected to the tower right now, and that gave Link enough time to plan his next move.
The child leaped from the warrior's shoulder. "That was close," Shippo muttered. His heart was still racing when he thought they had been caught just seconds ago. So far they were safe. Still, he wondered about Link's plan. Obviously he'd done this sort of thing before; otherwise they'd been caught for sure.
The child heard approaching footsteps walking in their direction, and he had the urge to climb back down the ladder. Instead of running like a coward, Shippo remained where he stood. Both he and Link were concealed behind the tall post which separated them from the fast approaching woman on the other side.
Before Shippo knew what to think, Link suddenly took action. Without any warning, he moved away from the column until he stood directly behind the woman, who had yet to sense his and Shippo's presence. As she was about to round the corner where she would most likely spot Shippo, Link covered her mouth and applied pressure to her neck with his index finger. Instantly, her vision faded, and Link carefully lowered her still form to the ground, careful of her weapon still grasped firmly in her hand.
Shippo blinked, stunned for a moment. "How did you do that?"
Link shrugged. "I'll explain later. First we need to concentrate," he replied. Link's eyes settled on the bridge. Just ahead, he knew there was a drop off where he and Shippo could take that would lead them to Aveil's chambers. "Shippo, I want you to transform in to this guard."
"Huh?" Shippo looked at the unconscious woman at Link's feet.
"That way you won't get caught," he explained. "Hurry before she wakes." Link knew that he had to get Shippo to resemble the guards. If not, Shippo would no doubt get in a bad predicament.
The tyke nodded and transformed. He took on the form easily enough. The boy had the red hair, the bronze skin, and the outfit down perfectly. The child bent down and grasped the large staff like weapon with the long curved blade.
Link nodded. Shippo had done as he asked, and he knew that as long as he stayed in that form that he would be alright. "Shippo, your task is to act natural and try to obey Aveil." For the child's sake, Link would take care of the rest.
"Huh? What for?" he asked.
Link looked around before turning his ears to Shippo. "Because if you do not, then they'd suspect you."
"Oh…" Shippo was unconvinced though.
Kneeling before the child, Link whispered the plan in his ear. He wanted Shippo to be aware of what might happen in case things should go wrong and to not panic. When the boy nodded in understanding, Link pulled away. "Are you ready, Shippo?"
Shippo nodded. "I'm ready." For his friends' sake, he was determined not to screw this up. He'd do his best. With that taken care of, Shippo followed the young warrior across the bridge, where they knew they would confront more obstacles in their path. Whatever the case, they would push forward, in hopes of retrieving the pendant.
OOO
After managing to fly over the wall with Kirara's help, the two tailed hovered over the lake below. From his line of vision, Inuyasha could not locate any signs of Link or Shippo.
A chorus of shouts brought his attention to miniature boats beneath him where young women stood upon looking up at him. Obviously he'd been spotted, and he narrowed his gaze. Too bad for them, they were only girls. What damage could they do when he was so high up? He would have laughed at their meaningless shouts and warnings.
"Looks like we got trouble!" One of the guards muttered with agitation. There was no way some perpetrator would get inside so easily. What made matters worse and questionable was that they were flying. Certainly that was impossible. "Ready! Fire!"
An onslaught of arrows, wrapped by flames flew in Inuyasha's direction. The sudden attack urged Kirara to move out of harm's way. Arrow after arrow soared past the feline, many narrowly missed Inuyasha. Just when it seemed like they halted their attack, more arrows flew at them.
"What the heck!? Cut it out!"
The female in charge of her crew gritted her teeth. "No good! Why are we missing?!"
Another female couldn't explain. "He'll get inside our walls!"
Annoyed, the woman in charge took from her pocket a strange item, and tossed it in to the water. "This ought to take care of them."
After nimbly dodging the attacks, both Inuyasha and Kirara's attention shifted away from the guards and to the water. A strange blue static swirled around the lake ominously, and it was so strange that they couldn't take their eyes from it. The sight was oddly mystifying to the human.
Immediately, dozens of orbed lights appeared on the surface of the water. All at once, many the spheres shot up from the lake toward the two above.
Snapping from his sudden daze, Inuyasha nearly cursed. "Watch out Kirara!" He warned before unsheathing his sword. Seemed like the enemy decided to show themselves. Now that he knew who was in charge of those beasts, he would take care of the situation. "Take this!" Inuyasha raised his mighty sword above his head. With deep concentration, a bright light enveloped his form until it wrapped itself around the point of the blade.
"What's that?" cried one of the many guards from their small boats.
"Magic? Impossible!"
Inuyasha couldn't help but smirk. "Take this!"
The moment he brought his sword down, a gush of air whipped past him and a bright light shot from the blade and toward the enemy below. The light was so intense, that it brightened their surroundings with great intensity.
OOO
On account of hearing the sudden explosion so close by, Amber shot to her feet. Her blue eyes turned toward the walls, and they widened. "What the?" From where she stood, a wave of blue light swirled in the night sky just above the walls, its width expanding by the second. The sight was enough to drop her jaw. Instantly, a smile spread across her face. It was about time something interesting happened. Rather than alert the others, she made a dash toward the light. On her way, she watched as one of the walls close by crumbled. 'This is great!'
Because of the impact, a massive whirlpool formed. The boats found themselves trapped by the vortex, if only for a short time while Inuyasha and Kirara made their escape. As for the few remaining left standing, they managed to lift themselves onto the bank; they're boats likely destroyed in the water.
After climbing the steps that led to the exit, Amber finally made it, but to her disappointment, the light show ended without her. She saw a wreckage of the boats in the lake, along with a mighty whirlpool where dozens of scaly bodies were tossed to and fro with great force. The young girl frowned until her gaze fell on a few of her female friends kneeling on the other side of the bank. 'I wonder what caused that?'
"We have to warn Aveil!"
Amber's ears perked up at suddenly. 'Huh?' In hopes of listening in, Amber leaned over the railing.
One of the pirates in charge coughed before nodding. "They escaped over the wall!" She attempted to stand, but she fell to the ground clutching her ankle. The pirate cursed under her breath. "How did this happen?"
Stepping away, Amber nearly jumped with glee. This was almost too good to be true. Someone had actually gotten over the walls, and better yet, they were able to cause so much damage. "This is great!" With renewed enthusiasm, she dashed away from the scene in hopes of being the first to spot the invader.
OOO
Not too far off, a figure shrouded by darkness chuckled. He thoroughly enjoyed watching the group of strangers who had arrived in this world a short time ago. He raised his hand and moved it in a fashion to rid himself of the mist in front of him.
"Master?" A male voice called from behind.
Still wearing his dark cloak, the figure turned and stared at the frail pathetic Terminan with a smirk. "You have done as asked?"
The male nodded, while clasping his hands. "Yes!"
"Good…very good." Soon he would destroy the group of travelers. He wasn't a fool; he knew well enough that they were on a quest in search of the pendants. As if those trinkets would be of any harm to his person. Scarlet eyes wondered through the darkness surrounding him before settling back onto the human. "You've done well, but I'm afraid you're still of use to me."
Sakon gulped. "What is it you ask of me?"
"Hmm? What was that?" The cloaked male asked with a tilt of his head. A dagger was grasped loosely in his hand, which he brought up as if to inspect it for any scratches.
Almost forgetting his loyalty, the young man threw himself to the ground. "I mean master!"
A chuckle escaped the man suddenly, sending chills down the thief's back. "That's better," he replied, his sharp teeth glistening from under his hood. Scarlet eyes fell upon the blade, and he ran a single finger over the edge. "If you do that last favor for me, I will grant you what you most desire. What do you say?"
Lifting his head, Sakon's eyes widened with disbelief. All he ever dreamed of was to be the richest man in the world. Although he was a wanted man, he knew he could still get around to stealing, but this was a chance in a lifetime. "Yes master…but what about…"
"Hmm? Ah that's right…you're still feeling those emotions of love and lust, aren't you?"
The man in question nodded with embarrassment. He bit his lip, wondering if he had just overstepped his boundaries.
"Do not worry, my pet," he turned his back. "Just do this one favor and you shall have your precious delights."