"Pay no heed to Inuyasha, child," Kaede says but the mass of villagers lining up behind him isn't all that comforting.
Andy eyes Inuyasha- as his name appears to be- suspiciously as he smiles at them. There are too many teeth displayed for it to be a nice smile which tells Andy he's trying to threaten them, scare them into giving him the jewel. Intimidation tactics have never worked on Andy before and they're certainly not going to work now. If he wants to see scary Andy will gladly give Inuyasha something to remember.
"I hate having to wait and I hate the smell of you." Inuyasha snarls, and then he's running.
Behind her Kagome gasps and the thumping of feet tells Andy that she's falling back, away from Inuyasha who jumps up into the air and slashes his claws at Kagome's back. Andy growls as she takes off after Inuyasha, closing the distance between Kagome and herself in a matter of seconds. After placing herself in the space between Inuyasha and Kagome, Andy catches a pair of golden eyes with her own.
"You want me to scratch your back?" He asks, knuckles cracking as he flexes his fingers.
Before Andy can say anything Kagome is shouting an affronted, "You really tried to hit me just now, didn't you!"
Behind Inuyasha villages assemble and fire off a volley of arrows, none of which hit Inuyasha and soon the half-demon is using his claws to cut down the trees to either side of the small group. None of them are killed, Andy notes, and she frowns as Inuyasha perches on one fo the tree stumps to yell at the men.
"Who do you people think I am? You think you can hurt me like I did that centipede?" Inyasha asks, tone mocking and cruel.
Andy takes the moment of distraction to haul Kagome up and shove her in the direction away from Inuyasha. They don't speak but Kagome must understand because she doesn't hesitate to take off running, Andy close on her heels. Inuyasha snarls when he realizes they're gone and quickly chases after them, closing the distance faster than Andy honestly likes. A glance over her shoulder shows the dog-boy falling down upon them with his claws at the ready. Screaming, Andy shoves Kagome out of the way as hard as she can, only just managing to get her out of the way before Inuyasha's claws catch the ground directly behind her and the ripple of power nearly sends Andy sprawling.
Whipping around Andy finds Inuyasha coming at them again, only this time shimmering beads of light are gathering around his neck and forming some sort of necklace. It distracts him long enough for him to forget about the jewel gleaming where Kagome dropped it.
"Quickly, child! The word of subjugation!" she hears Kaede yell.
"What word?" Kagome calls back.
"It matters not! Your word has power to hold his spirit."
Instead of coming up with something Kagome grabs the jewel and runs. Andy respects her newfound self preservation but when the ground she was standing on collapses under her and Kagome disappears Andy decides that she likes stupidly bold Kagome much, much better. Heart hammering in her chest Andy runs for the aread Kagome disappears, swearing loudly when Inuyasha goes flying over her head and down to where Kagome must have landed. When Andy reaches the small cliff-like area she finds Kagome sprawled out on the ground while Inuyasha reaches for the jewel that has rolled onto the bridge.
As he's no longer near Kagome the fluttering of her heart steadies to something more natural and Andy watches through narrowed eyes as Inuyasha's attention falls solely on that of the jewel. She isn't aware of the crowd gathering around her until Kaede's arm brushes her own.
"Sit, boy!" Kagome screams and the beads around Inuyasha's neck light up before the dog-boy's body hits the ground.
Rage and panic forgotten Andy does the only thing the situation calls for; she laughs. Laughs and laughs until her eyes water and her laughter sounds more like a wheeze. Because he's a dog, and she told him to sit, and it worked! No one else seems nearly as amused but they allow her to laugh until she manages to get a hold of herself, at which point Andy wipes at her eyes and giggles quietly for a moment while Kagome tells Inuyasha to sit, sit, sit, until his body breaks right through the planks of the bridge and he goes toppling for the water.
As his body disappears down the current Kaede says, "Well then, shall we head home?"
Easy as that the villagers begin making their way back and Kagome grabs the jewel before making her way up to where Kaede and Andy are standing. Andy frets over Kagome for a moment before deciding she's perfectly fine, not a scratch or forming bruise on her as far as Andy can see save the one that's now oozing sluggishly at her side. With a grimace Andy turns back to Kaede suddenly feeling exhausted.
"She needs medical attention." She says, perhaps unnecessarily because Kaede nods absently as she turns and begins making her way back in the direction of the village.
Andy and Kagome follow closely behind, the younger girl clutching at Andy's wrist and hand as they navigate through the shadowed forest. Having been sprinting after the centipede creature and Kagome earlier that evening Andy hadn't realized how far they'd all run until she began the trek back. It feels like they've been walking for hours, though, that could be because she's just so worn out that her body's protesting any more exercise. Andy bites back a groan as the inky darkness of the sky begins to bleed into a pretty navy. How long have they been hiking through the forest? Probably a really long time. With all the adrenaline Andy doesn't think it would be too hard to loose track of time. When they finally make it back to Kaede's hut Andy flops onto the mat she'd been offered the first time while Kaede orders Kagome to sit so that she might be treated.
At some point Inuyasha slips into the room and sprawls himself out on the floor facing away from Kagome. Andy watches him for several long moments before she decides that he's not going to do anything. Oddly enough. She wonders if maybe he's not a complete dick but seriously doubts it.
Wounds are cleaned, an antiseptic paste of some sort is made, and then Kagome's wound is carefully wrapped in fresh white bandages. It's a long process, one Andy watches out of sheer respect for Kagome's pain tolerance, because seriously, and when it's all said and done Andy helps Kaede put away her things. Beyond the woman's home the other villagers are going about repairing the damages from last night's attack as if it's a common occurrence, which really sucks and Andy wishes there was something she could do for the people to help but... She's not architect and she's certainly not a carpenter.
"I noticed your rebuilding the houses wrecked by Mistress Centipede," Kagome must feel the same way Andy does, "what a pain."
"Pain, yes, and only the beginning. Now that the sacred Shikon No Tama is back among us far worse than Mistress Centipede will come to claim it." Kaede says as she scrubs blood and dirt off of her hands.
"Worse than yesterday?" Kagome asks.
"And not just humans," Kaede intones, "there are humans whose hearts are more evil, still, and only the jewel has power to make real their petty, grasping ambitions."
"Speaking of petty," Kagome whips around to glare at Inuyasha's back, "what are you still doing here?"
Good questions, excellent really. Why is Inuyasha still here? Clearly he wants the jewel but it's not like he can get it with those crafty little beads around his neck. So why bother? Why torment himself like this? Andy frowns as she stares at him.
"I'm waiting for the jewel." Is the quick reply.
As if that explains anything.
"Why do you want the jewel anyway? It seems to me you're strong enough as it is. What power can the jewel give you that your don't already have?" Kagome asks the boy.
But isn't that more obvious still? Seeing what the jewel did to Mistress Centipede, seeing the way she'd salivated at the thought of it, makes it pretty clear that the jewel gives demons more power, and Inuyasha is only half. Would the Shikon jewel give him the power of a full blooded demon? Would it make him a full blooded demon? Andy doesn't doubt that being a half-blooded child of any sort in these times is easy. Being human or a full blooded demon would make him a more accepted member of a society that likely shuns him. Andy doesn't know enough about the social climate of this time to really commit to that idea but... God, it can't have been easy growing up with people looking down on you for being half of something they fear. Andy's still going to kick him in the knee for going for Kagome like he did but she totally understand why he would want the jewel.
It is horrific, that disjointed voice intones, that a child of two races must give up so much for even a scrap of acceptance.
"Ah," Kaede grunts as she rises, "but he is just half-demon.
And then Inuyasha's hand goes straight through the floor boards as he twists to glare venomously at Kaede.
"You know what? I'm sick and tired of hearing some dried up witch I just met talk like she knows me!" Inuyasha snarls, which, to be fair Andy would be a little testy too after hearing so many people poke at her breeding in one night.
"So ye don't remember, I thought at much, I am the younger sister to Kikyo. She who bound ye to the tree- Kaede."
"You're Kaede?" Inuyasha blinks. "So you're the brat, huh?"
"Fifty years have passed and I have grown old." Kaede says as she leans over a fire to check it.
"If you're this old Kikyo must be pushing a hundred... I'm sure glad I don't gotta worry about being old, at least not for a while."
Something dark settles in the air around them as Kaede grumbles, "Kikyo didn't worry, either. Kikyo died." Inuyasha goes incredibly still, eyes that had once been closed opening with a hesitant kind of despair as Kaede continues, "It was on the same day she shot ye with that arrow."
"Gee, sorry to hear it, not that I really care or nothing. It's one less thing for me to worry about." Inuyasha says flippantly.
"Hey, don't talk like that to her." Andy snarls, because she doesn't know what it must be like to loose a sibling but she imagine's it's terrible and no one deserves to have that kind of pain thrown back in their face.
Inuyasha glares at her but must understand why she said it to a certain extent because he just huffs at her and lays back down.
"I wouldn't let my guard down just yet, Inuyasha. I now know that Kagome is the reincarnation of my sister." Kaede says and when Kagome looks at her wide eyed and confused Kaede responds with a gentle, "It's not just because ye resemble her. The jewel of four souls was in your body, that alone is proof enough. It's up to ye now child, to take over its protection."
Silence settles over the occupants of the room. No one wants to say anything in the wake of such devastating revelations but it raises several questions, the biggest one being; what does this mean for Kagome? Clearly this Kikyo has many enemies and not all of them are going to know the difference between Kagome and some long dead priestess. Andy looks at Kagome to find her twisting a section of her hair anxiously around her finger. Sighing, Andy turns to Kaede.
"I don't believe we've been properly introduced my name is Andromeda Gataki, but please call me Andy or Andromeda. I prefer Andy but you can call me whichever suits you best." She winces slightly as she bows to Kaede in what she hopes is a respectful gesture.
The older woman eyes her for a moment, her long red hair and the sharpness of her features, "Ye've an odd name."
"I'm Greek, originally, I mean, not that I'm not still Greek but just-" Andy waves her hands slightly as she glances at Kagome.
Blue eyes dance with mirth as Andy stumbles her way through her introduction which only makes Andy feel even more embarrassed then she had before. Maybe she should have just kept her mouth shut, let people figure out her name through Kagome or something, because clearly she's having a hell of a time.
"And do all of the people of yer land have yer coloring?"
Absently, or perhaps hesitantly, Andy tugs at her hair as she shakes her head and says, "It's, uh, not really that common for somewhere with full Greek heritage. Dark and lighter browns are usually the go-to."
"I see."
Andy nods awkwardly before shuffling over to where Kagome is seated. They sit together for several long moments before Inuyasha grunts and storms out, they all watching him for for a moment before Kaede sighs and returns to her tasks. Eventually the two girls decide to go out and explore as they've got nothing better to do with their time and Kaede seems to think it's a wonderful idea because she sends them off with what might be a fond little smile. It's wild, really, walking through a feudal era village, but in a good kind of way. It's very interesting. And as Kagome settles into her own thoughts Andy allows her attention to rove over the people and homes and other little tidbits.
Many of the villages stop to stare at her and Kagome, most of them whispering about how Kagome's the reincarnation of Kikyo, some even go as far as to bow to her which only makes Kagome blush as she rushes off down the road with Andy at her heels. Their adventures through the village end up with Kagome and Andy getting some food, Kagome keeps insisting that they go off in search of Inuyasha, why? Andy has no idea, but she tags along with Kagome anyway.
It proves a very therapeutic as Andy gets to lob a fruit at Inuyasha's head when they find him sitting in the branches of a tree. He catches it, of course, but Andy likes to think he's aware that she would be totally willing to rub his face in the mud if she got the chance. Because whoever throws there food at another person's head isn't fooling around.
"Hey, don't you want to eat?" Kagome calls when Inuyasha whips around to glare at her.
"Where'd you get all that stuff from?" Inuyasha asks.
"The villagers gave it to me! Why not come down here and help us eat it?" Kagome is so sweet, very kind, and maybe a little bit naive but Andy isn't judging her for it. Sometimes people need a little kindness is their lives.
"I mean, you can either come down or we'll come up!" Andy calls out in a show of solidarity.
Surprisingly, Inuyasha jumps down and actually sits with them as Kagome and Andy spread out the food. He doesn't eat anything, instead he glares back and forth between Kagome and Andy like they're going to jump him any minute. Andy just rolls her eyes as she takes an obnoxiously loud bite of the fruit in her hand. Eventually he grabs a carrot out of the bag and munches down on it with equally obnoxious vigor. It quickly escalates to the two of them being as obnoxious as possible to out-obnox the other. Andy wins, because she's not a loser.
"Whatever you're up to, I ain't buying it." Inuyasha growls.
"Buying what? Look, it's fair to say you don't like me right?" Kagome asks.
"Way more than fair."
"Whatever, it's not even me you dislike, it's this Kikyo person." Kagome retorts.
"Which is fair, I mean, I'd be a little pissy about someone shooting me too." Andy says around a mouthful of pear to which Inuyasha glares. "Still doesn't give you the right to be a jerk."
And up into the trees Inuyasha goes with Kagome saying up after him, "I'm not Kikyo, ok? I'm Kagome! Can't we just call a truce?"
"Ha! I knew it! What you don't get is that I'm only after the jewel! You're just trying to lure me into a false sense of security!" Inuyasha calls from where he's crouched and waving from his perch.
He's a little high strung, Andy thinks, or maybe a little tightly wound. Either way. He's annoying.
"Oh really. That's funny, considering all I have to do to make you obey is say the word "sit"."
And down out of the threes Inuyasha comes.
Wincing, Andy decides that she can forgive his annoying behavior as it's very likely going to be the only coping mechanism Kagome's going to allow now that she has him essentially bound to her will. Subjugation beads truly are a bitch. Andy smiles sympathetically before finishing off her fruit. She'll make sure to pocket the seeds, she'll plant them somewhere sometime and they'll be kick ass additions to whatever garden she plants them in.
"What about you?"
Startled, Andy looks over to Inuyasha and finds his eyes drilling holes into her skull. It's disconcerting, makes something in Andy's hind brain snarl.
"What about me?"
A dark eyebrow rises up and Inuyasha scowls at her as he says, "You're not all glow-y today. Unwound a little bit have ya?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Lie, lie, lie, he saw it too. He knows. What he knows Andy isn't sure but clearly he's suspicious. A glance at Kagome shows her happily munching away unaware of the tension. Andy looks back to Inuyasha, who's frowning at her but also looking like he... gets it.
"Heh, whatever."
Then he's gone and Andy's left staring at the space he used to occupy as her heart slows back into it's regular pace. She turns her attention back to the seeds in her palm, smiling as they seem to leech away her anxiety. They're going to grow tall and produce lots of fruit, they came from a strong tree and they're going to be strong when they start producing as well. Andy isn't sure how she knows this but she knows that when these little seeds sprout they're going to grow, and grow, and grow until their boughs sag under the weight of their produce and their trunks twist to offer little places for animals to live or people to sit. Good trees, strong trees, trees that deserve to live. Before she forgets Andy shoves the seeds in her pocket and focuses back on Kagome.
The rest of the day passes rather quickly. Kagome and Andy entertain themselves by exploring the village and the forest around it, neither of them stray far enough to loose sight of either the village or each other because they don't want a repeat of last night. Even while they can still see the village and those living there Andy doubts that would deter anything that really wanted to munch on their bones. Shuddering at the thought Andy presses closer to Kagome, pretending that the rustling of trees above her head when birds flit from branch to branch doesn't bother her.
Eventually, the sun begins to sink in the sky and they decide to meander back to Kaede's home despite there being several hours until the sun goes down. Kaede welcomes them with a nod before she sets about feeding them, she checks Kagome's wound as the younger girl eats and must find it looking pretty good because she wraps a new bandage around it and smiles at Kagome before moving to clean up. Andy helps, floundering awkwardly as she attempts to put everything back where she'd seen Kaede put it earlier that morning. She's rewarded with a fond look and a command to go and eat before her food got cold. At some point they slip into idle conversation about the happenings of the village as the sun slowly sinks below the tree-line.
Finding herself terribly exhausted Andy stretches her arms up over her head while attempting to stifle a yawn. Kaede catches it though and goes to fetch them something to sleep with. Obviously, she hadn't been expecting visitors and with everything that's happened Andy doubts there's really going to be an extra tatami mat or two lying around. But Kaede pulls through and gets them both something to rest their heads on and a yukata to cover themselves with. Kaede sets about lighting a fire in the hearth while Kagome and Andy set up their sleeping areas. And slowly they all settle into sleep.
"It's two days now that we've been here," she hears Kagome say and rolls over to face her friend. "Grandpa, Sota, mom, your aunt... They must be so worried."
"We'll figure out some way to get back, Kagome, I promise."
Kagome nods hesitantly before rolling away and closing her eyes.
Sleep doesn't come easily for Andy. Well, it comes easily, she's exhausted, but her sleep isn't peaceful by any means. Normally after this much running and emotional excitement Andy would be too tired to dream, now she dreams of intense heat and gentle wind and something wiggling in her hands as she soars over a- Andy wakes, violently, to the feeling of someone jabbing her in the ribs.
When she manages to untangle herself from the yukata and pry her eyes open Andy finds Inuyasha hovering over her with a scowl.
"This better be important or I am going to find a newspaper and swat you with it." Andy groans as she twists to bury her face in her makeshift pillow.
"You're friend's gone."
Springing up onto her hands and knees Andy twists her head to look at the spot Kagome had been sleeping the night before only to find it empty, the yukata and makeshift pillow neatly folded by the hearth. With a muttered curse Andy is up and shoving her feet into her shoes, uncaring of whether or not she looks like some sort of demented forest witch who's never learned what a hair brush is. If Kagome's gone off in search of the well Andy's going to throttle her. Not because Kagome left her, because there's no doubt she'd come back, but because Kagome knows how dangerous going off on her own is right now. With both shoes on and secured Andy whips around to face Inuyasha.
"Where is she?" She asks, the barking tone of her voice causing Inuyasha to flinch slightly.
Pack mentality, maybe? Some sort of weird dog-demon dynamic thing? She'll look into that later, because that's something she is going to invest in. Enthusiastically. But not until she finds Kagome.
"I think someone took her." Inuyasha says as he turns to make his way out of Kaede's home.
"I'm sorry? Taken?" Her voice is shrill enough to make a person's ears bleed but that's not really her problem right now. "How could you let this happen!"
"Excuse me? You're her friend! How could you let this happen!" Inuyasha screams back.
"I'm not the one that wanted the jewel!"
"What does that have anything to do with anything?"
Spitting man Andy bites back the urge to throw her shoe at Inuyasha's face and instead retorts with a blistering, "Um, first rule of stealing anything off a living thing; you keep an eye on the person you want to steal the thing from so that they don't disappear with the thing you want!"
"That's not a rule!"
"It's unspoken!"
Around them villagers are looking over worriedly and many hustle off in order to avoid any possible violent fallout their little argument produces. Andy watches as a mother rushes her small child off and swallows the scream building in her throat. It's cool. It's fine. Inuyasha is an idiot but clearly this is his first time keeping an eye on someone. Andy presses a knuckle to her mouth, admits that she's also kind of bad at this whole keeping-an-eye-on-Kagome thing too, and turns to Inuyasha. He stares at her like one might stare at a rabid cat.
"Look, I get it, where did they take Kagome?"
"I don't know but I might be able to pick up their scent." Inuyasha says while eyeing her balefully.
"How are we doing this then?" She asks but she doesn't bother to ask why.
She's probably the tallest person in the village, well, tallest girl anyway. Combine that to the fact she's naturally broad shouldered and covered in lean muscles Andy can be pretty physically intimidating, it doesn't hurt that Andy has literally no fear of people taller and bigger than her, which is stupid she knows but it comes in handy when people try to get handsy with her or attempt to use superior build to make her feel small. Fuck that.
Inuyasha turning around and crouching in front of her still takes her aback a little, but never one to back down from a challenge Andy scrambles up his back, wraps her arms and legs around him like a spider, and bites back a blatantly sexual innuendo when Inuyasha's hands move to cup the back of her thighs so she doesn't go flying off. Andy trembles as he leaps up off of the ground, soaring above trees and houses and landing delicately on branches, it's not fear that makes her body quiver though. Oh no, it's something more akin to excitement, because this? This almost feels like flying... You know, until Inuyasha begins descending into the trees and Andy feels her stomach lodge in her throat.
"What do you think took her?" Andy asks as they leap from tree to tree, Inuyasha sniffing maybe a little too aggressively at the air. She figures with his heightened senses he really doesn't need her screaming at him.
"Bandits."
"Bandits?" Andy raises an eyebrow. "You mean, human bandits? Human."
"They don't smell like demon."
Well, on the one hand that makes it easier for Andy as she probably has a smaller chance of getting her throat ripped out and her body consumed by a human than if it had been a demon. Also means Kagome is probably, hopefully, still alive. An odd burning rushes through Andy's chest at the thought of Kagome dying. Quick to shut down that trail of thought Andy presses closer to Inuyasha and buries her face in his shoulder to shield her face from the wind. The fact that he smells comfortingly helps soothe Andy's quickly frazzling nerves.
"Stupid girl." She hears Inyasha growl when they stop to linger in a tree. "I don't care where she goes, but she took the jewel with her."
Unable to come up with anything snappy to say before Inuyasha is leaping through the air once more Andy decides to get her jabs in later. When he least expects them. That'll show him who's stupid. Andy giggles madly at the thought of confusing Inuyasha with her pop-culture references, gallows humor, and inability to leave well enough alone. According to her aunt she has some impulse control issues. Her train of thought is interrupted by a high-pitched shriek and Inuyasha telling her to get ready as they literally go crashing through a fucking wall.
Andy grunts as Inyasha twists and flings her off his back, she hits the ground and continues to roll until she hits another wall and when she manages to catch her breath and get her feet under her Andy finds a katana broken in half and a giant of a man lumbering toward Kagome.
Dead, Andy realizes with a chilly sort of certainty, that lumbering giant is dead, and something else is wearing his body.
With quick, jerky movements Andy is across the room and putting Kagome and Inyasha behind her, acting as a barrier between them and the giant dead man. Clawed fingers curls around her wrist, tugging slowly at her in an attempt to ease her back behind her potentially-new-friend, which she complies with as a three-eyed crow slowly pushing out of the dead giant's chest.
"How much you want to bet that bird ripped his living heart out and made itself a bloody nest?"
Inuyasha is way, way more excited about this than he has any right to be.
"I knew there was something wrong. The bird made him a puppet." Kagome says.
"Yeah, and it was either really convincing or those bandits were morons." Andy adds scathingly.
"Carrion crows don't fight on their own when there's dead bodies handy. They ain't so tough." Inuyasha springs forward to shove his hand through the giant's chest with a cry of, "But they're hella nasty!"
Andy watches through narrowed eyes as the bird escapes the body and flies for the blocked entrance. Inuyasha seems pleased with himself but Kagome looks terrified. The two discuss the merits of going after the demon, Inuyasha bringing up a surprisingly valid point, while Andy begins looking around for the jewel as it's clearly not around Kagome's neck anymore. It'd be a bad situation all around if someone else got their hands on it. Kind of makes turning the jewel into a necklace a little silly. Probably would have been best to out it in a silk bag of some sort with a bunch of sacred sutras, or something to ward off evil. Andy thinks it's probably more dangerous to have the thing but dangling from Kagome's neck than tucked away in a silk pouch in one of her pockets but what does she know?
When Andy doesn't find the jewel she turns to follow Inuyasha and Kagome up the rubble blocking the front entrance where they look out the small opening to find the carrion crow... flying off with the sacred jewel.
"That stupid crow is making off with the jewel! What's wrong with you?" Inuyasha growls at Kagome, because if someone threw it outside it was definitely Kagome, even Andy has nothing to say.
"What do you mean what's wrong with- go after him!" Kagome yells.
And then an arm is wrapping around Andy's waist, pulling her closer to Inuyasha's side so that when he kicks through the rubble and goes tearing after the crow she and Kagome, who has also been snatched up, aren't left behind. Cool. Inuyasha has officially gone to definitely-a-friend status. He quickly looses that status when Inuyasha stops suddenly and accidentally drives Andy's sternum into his shoulder. She gags slightly as she catches her breath but no one seems bothered as Inuasha grabs a bow and quiver off an abandoned horse, shoves it into Kagome's hands, hoists her up onto his back, and gathers Andy into his arms before taking off for the trees again.
"What are you waiting for?" Inuyasha asks as they near the bird. "Hurry up and shoot!"
"Shoot? You're kidding right?"
"Kagome! I seriously doubt he is!" Andy yells, suddenly terrified as Inyasha puts them well above the tree line and practically dangles her with one hand as he uses the other to secure Kagome. Thankfully they touch down again pretty quickly and Inuyasha steadies her again.
"I've never used a bow in my life!"
"The crow lives by eating human flesh. If you think that's bad let it swallow the jewel." Inuyasha tells Kagome.
It isn't until after the thing has actually swallowed the jewel that Kagome tries to shoot it down. Which doesn't actually work out like they all clearly hopes it would. Andy barely has enough time to groan as she watches the arrow miss it's target by a good few yards before Inyasha is plummeting to the ground and crushing her beneath his body. Landing on rocky surfaces with two other people on top of you isn't all that pleasant and Andy smacks Desperately at Inyasha's head to get him off of her so she can breath while Kagome rants about Kikyo being some master archer. They're all quick to get up and back into the air as the creature grows bigger only this time Andy waves them off with the excuse that they'll be faster without her. While it isn't a lie Andy's more concerned about becoming a human landing pad. So she ends up sprinting after Inuyasha and Kagome instead.
They disappear on her for a moment but Andy soon comes to a skidding halt when she finds Kagome standing in the middle of the road screaming for Inuyasha to come back. A quick look is shared between the two of them before they go racing after their runaway pup. The two of them make it to the edge of the village closest to the bridge just in time to see the demon snatch a kid out of his mother's grasp and into the air.
Horrified, Andy can do nothing but watch for a long moment before a great, terrible rage flares up. Without thinking she grabs hold of Kagome and takes off running for the bridge where people are gathering. Andy lets go of Kagome to press closer to the rail, eyes catching sight of Inyasha's red clothing almost instantly. He's going for the demon but Andy can't say whether or not he's going for the kid. Clearly, Kagome can't either.
"Inuyasha, no! You're going to hurt the boy!" Kagome screams, knuckles going white with her grip on the wood of the rail.
"Stay here!" Andy tells Kagome as she pulls away from the group to sprint across the bridge and up the riverbank as Inuyasha uses some his claws to slay the demon.
The kid hits the water first, disappearing with a sickening sort of plunk! before bobbing back to the surface. He screams and flails in the water, clearly unable to swim, and Andy doesn't even bother kicking off her shoes before she banks left and dives head-first into the water. Fighting against the current Andy pushes her way through the water until her lungs scream and then she breaks the surface to get air but continues making her way to the center of the river where the little boy is screaming.
"Help!" He cries desperately, only just managing to keep himself above water, "Help!"
Aunt Phoebe had been adamant that Andy take swimming lessons growing up, she claimed they spent too much time around water for her not to know how. Back then Andy hadn't much cared. She'd enjoyed the water, liked playing in the ocean whenever she and her aunt visited the beach, but it hadn't seemed that important. When she gets back Andy is going to give her aunt the biggest hug because if it wasn't for that woman Andy probably wouldn't be able to save this kid.
Straining against the current Andy manages to snag the little boy's wrist and pull him close to her chest where she holds him firmly so he doesn't slip away. Now with only one arm Andy has to let the current carry her a little down stream as she swims her way over to the bank so that she doesn't tire herself out and accidentally kill them both. The moment Andy's shoe brushes against sludgy ground she's hoisting the boy more securely into her arms so that she can stomp her way up the bank where Kagome and half the village seem to be waiting for her.
Inuyasha is shouting something behind her but Andy's more interested in making sure the kid gets back to his mom so she lets Kagome handle him. Because he's dead to her right now.
"Thank you for saving me!" The little boy wails as he clings to his mother, who looks like she might cry as she bows her head and says, "Thank you! Thank you!"
"It's ok," Andy says in an attempt to deflect the situation, "are you alright?"
Before he can answer something shoots out of the water behind them. The crow demon. Andy used to like crows too, she thought they were cool, now? Not so much. Especially when the foot still clinging to the boy's collar begins to wriggle and twitch. Shrieking, Andy grabs hold of the leg and pries the talons out of the kid's yukata. It's hard to hold on to the thing but Andy manages well enough until Kagome returns with a bow, an arrow, and a leather cord. Because Kagome is a genius and Andy ha no right to question her brilliance she bites down on any doubts that try to rear their ugly heads as Andy helps Kagome tie the demon's foot to the shaft of the arrow. Once it's secured Andy stumbles back to put herself between the kid she saved any any potential negative fallout.
The sister-of-our-soul is such a clever, clever thing, the disjointed voice coos as Andy watches the arrow sail through the air toward the demon.
Andy's too distracted by the sight of the crow disintegrating and the jewel exploding in a burst of pink hued light and fragmented parts to realize there's something odd about that statement. But the voice doesn't speak again and Andy is too busy watching the Jewel shards disperse themselves through the air to care. But maybe she was just imagining things. It was so bright and no one's eyesight is that good. And, no offense meant to Kagome, but she's not that good of a shot. The leg trick worked, yeah, but the arrowhead couldn't have cracked the jewel right? Right?
Wrong.
Somehow Kagome; sweet, kind, loving Kagome, managed to shatter the Shikon No Tama. The proof currently sitting in the palm of Andy's hand for the three of them to view with with no vague sense horror. This is bad. Andy chews on her thumbnail as she carefully hands the jewel shard to Kagome. She feels no desire for the shard, no need to possess it, but she does feel the call of it's aura- the good and the bad and the dangerous. If only a fraction of the jewel can still call out like that? Andy shudders at the thought of what hundreds of those shards can do scattered across the whole of Japan, nothing good obviously. She has a feeling that this is only the beginning of a very long, very obnoxious headache.