Andy takes her first photo four days away from Kaede's village after the incident with Nobunaga and the toad demon that had possessed his lady-love's husband, which had been an ordeal in and of itself for various reasons and Andy's more than happy to wipe her hands of that situation. It takes her a moment to explain the concept of her camera and it's portrait taking abilities but once Inuyasha and Myoga consent to her wishes Andy takes great care to position everyone just so, with Inuyasha standing behind Kagome, who she has perched on a tree root, with Myoga in plain view on her shoulder. Once everyone is in position and smiling Andy snaps a picture and smiles brightly at the three of them.
"Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!" Andy says as she slips her camera into her pack.
"Keh. Want do you want a silly portrait for anyway?" Inuyasha asks from where he's standing against the tree.
"I want them because I don't want to forget any of this, you know, later."
"And some little box is gonna help you remember?"
"No! The photos that I'm going to develop are going to help."
Before an argument can pop up between Andy and Inuyasha about the value of photos Kagome trots over to them and offers a bright smile and a question on whether or not everyone is ready to head out. Nodding, Andy secures her pack to Kagome's bike before going over to stand behind Inuyasha, who crouches low enough for Andy to hop onto his back without much trouble. She and Kagome have been rotating turns on the bike in an attempt to make it easier on their friend but sometimes Inuyasha just ends up having to cart someone around. Today it just so happens to be Andy's turn. Thankfully, Inuyasha doesn't seem too bothered by the fact that he's giving her a ride.
With as early as it is they make pretty good time, but with no sign of a jewel shard and no one to fight Inuyasha is quick to become a bit irritable which then prompts Andy to use his new obsession with 'future food' to get him to agree to a break. Only it would appear that their lunch break is going to be had in a field surrounded by dead bodies. Inuyasha doesn't seem to notice, too busy attempting to dig through Kagome's bag while she pulls out her camping supplies so she can make them ramen to notice anything outside the norm. It takes a bit for the water to boil, much to Inuyasha's displeasure, but soon enough Kagome's setting her time and carefully pouring boiling water into the ramen containers.
"And there you have it," Kagome says as she shuts off her timer, "your noodles are ready."
It's vaguely disgusting watching Inuyasha slurp down his noodles like they aren't surrounded by dead things but Andy watches it happen all the same, because she has nothing better to do while she waits for her lunch to cool down enough that it won't burn her tongue off when she goes to eat it. The sooner they get their food ate the sooner they can leave or figure out what happened here.
"Not bad. Not bad." Inuyasha says around a mouthful of ramen, "I can see how this would catch on!"
"Next best thing to sliced bread." Kagome sarcastically agrees, eyes flicking to Andy who has to look away so she doesn't laugh and end up choking on a noodle.
"Come on Kagome, aren't you gonna dig in?" Inuyasha asks, completely ignoring the blue eyed girl's comment.
Kagome's annoyed growl sends crows scattering around them, their cawing almost loud enough to drown out Kagome's angry, "Speaking of digging, have you noticed we're surrounded by corpses here? No, I guess you were too busy rummaging through my backpack to realize that we happen to be sitting in an old battlefield! Then you have the nerve to expect me to eat here!"
"Geez, Kagome." Andy can't help but laugh a bit.
"Even the blood-sucking flea buddy has better manners!" Kagome hisses.
Myoga looks up from his treat to address Kagome as pleasantly as he can, "Finally, I found someone who has good taste and tastes good. I must say how impressed I am by the conveniences of your era- that bicycle and your instant foodstuffs. Tell me, has our lands started trading with other lands?"
"Yeah! Good observation, Myoga! Figures you'd notice!" Kagome holds up a container of instant ramen, "Actually, instant noodles were invented right here in Japan during the Space Age. Everyone eats them, but originally they were meant for astronauts in outer space!"
"Astro-nuts?" Inuyasha asks.
"Astronauts. We've explored outer space. Hey, right! I guess you don't even know we've been to the moon!" Kagome cries.
"Man has been to the moon?" Myoga asks, eyes bulging.
"On a Bicycle?" Inuyasha adds on in clear confusion.
"No, in a rocket of course!" Kagome says which makes Andy roll her eyes a bit.
"A rocket is a large contraption that's meant to be able to keep their passengers alive during the travel through earth's atmosphere. They're built so that humans can leave earth, travel to the stars, and return home safely."
Inuyasha nods slowly before turning his attention back to his ramen. Andy doesn't mind, it must be a lot to take in considering the drastic difference in technology. Inuyasha's just taking it all in right now, figuring it out and attempting to understand, if he needs to pull away from the conversation and think about it later then that's fine with Andy. Apparently Kagome was expecting a larger reaction.
"Trust you to be more impressed by noodles than by space travel." Kagome says in a huff, arms moving to cross over her chest.
Before Andy can nudge the other girl a shadow is cast over them which has everyone looking to the sky while the shadowy haze gets steadily darker. Andy rises, presses herself closer to Kagome, and tries to ignore the panic that's been trying to make itself a fixture in her life ever since her dream.
"What's going on? Why is it so dark?" Kagome asks, eyes wide.
"I don't know, but something tells me it's trouble." Inuyasha says as he tosses his empty container of ramen to the side.
Myoga offers a slightly chastising, "Lord Inuyasha, no littering.
"This is no time to talk trash!" Inuyasha snaps back as his eyes rove the sky.
They all catch movement in the corner of their eye and jerk around to stare at the swirl of clouds beginning to light up and form in front of them. Andy shifts in front of Kagome while the other girl reaches out to grab hold of her wrist. It's not a fearful touch. Andy thinks it has more to do with Kagome knowing something's been going on with Andy and is attempting to offer some sort of comfort.
"You down there," a disjointed, vaguely high-pitched voice emits from the swirl of cloud, "you possess a piece of the Sacred Shikon Jewel."
Inuyasha's hand goes to his sword as he demands, "Who's that?"
"A demon?" Kagome replies in vague sarcasm, because none of them really know but is it really that hard to guess.
"I believe it's a fox." Myoga offers to which Inuyasha scoffs.
"No likely, Myoga."
Above them, the swirl condenses into a ball of light that bursts open to reveal a large pink orb with bulbous eyes and a large mouth. It looks more like a child's play toy than anything else so Andy has a really hard time taking it seriously as it says, "Hand over the jewel! The jewel or your life!"
Muffled laughter escapes her as the orb attempt to put Inuyasha's head in its mouth, which obviously doesn't work and only makes the half-demon more annoyed than anything. Andy is about to step forward and try to reason with whatever the demon is as it's clearly not trying to hurt them, or can't, when Inuyasha smacks it out of the sky. It shoots around in the air for a moment, loosing size, until it's nothing but a small ball of light that quickly transforms into a... Andy races across the old battlefield to fall at the kid's side. Kagome and Inuyasha follow suit only seconds later.
"It's a kid." Kagome says.
The child, who probably only reaches the middle of Andy's shin, pops up and snarls at them, "Who dares to burst my bubble?"
Before he can run or try to attack them Andy scoops him up, ignoring the flailing of his little clawed hands and his aggressive noises, and holds him close as she makes soft humming noises in the back of her throat. When Inuyasha attempts to grab him Andy smacks his hand away, curls her lip at him, and hopes her body language screams all sorts of fuck off.
"Feisty little thing aren't you?" Inuyasha asks as he rubs his hand and leans down to look at the kid in her arms. "Nice tail. Looks like a badger or a squirrel."
"I'm a fox, heathen!" The kid screams, attempting to shoot out of Andy's hold and go for Inuyasha's face but doesn't quite manage it as Andy's more than ready for it.
"A fox? It talks." Kagome says as she moves closer to Andy. "Cool! Let me touch him when you're done!"
"You mind? I'm trying to teach him a lesson." Inuyasha tells Kagome as he once again moves to grab the kid, only for his attempt to be smacked away by Andy.
He trembles in her arms and Andy doesn't know a whole lot about kids aside from the fact that she thinks they're awesome, but she knows that if a kid is trembling that probably means that they're scared. She also knows that parents don't tend to leave their kids just wandering about. Andy rocks from side to side and massages her fingers into the kid's hair in an attempt to calm him down. Her plan goes to shit when the kid in her arms turns into a large stone golem. Startled, Andy whips around to find the little demon kid rummaging through Kagome's things.
Andy doesn't manage to get over her surprise until he holds Kagome's jewel shards aloft and even then she's still pretty shocked.
"Found it! A sacred jewel shard! Our time together has been short but sweet. Farewell." is the only thing the kid says to them before disappearing in a swirl.
Unfortunately for him, stealth is something he's going to have to work on as they all notice the skull with the giant, bushy tail attempting to scurry across the field. Andy doesn't manage to get to him before Inuyasha and she winces as the older half-demon smashes his fist into the kid's head. It makes him fairly compliant, enough for Inuyasha to remove the jewel shards from his person. Once the jewel shards have been taken from him the demon kid allows Kagome to treat the nasty looking lump forming on his head.
"This might sting a little, think happy thoughts," Kagome says as she sprays something on the lump, probably either an antibiotic spay or a cleanser of some sort, Andy doesn't pay much attention but it smells like chemicals. "So why were you so determined to get the jewel shards from us?"
"For my father, I need to get the shards of the jewel to avenge him." is the bitter reply.
"What do you mean "Avenge"? You don't mean your father was killed do you?" Kagome asks.
Andy loves Kagome dearly but sometimes she just doesn't have a lick of tact in her body.
"I get it. He's not strong enough so he needs the power of the jewel to take out his enemies." Inuyasha tells them, and soon falls into an argument with Kagome while the kid continues to talk.
"I'm strong enough to take on an enemy. I wanted the jewel as a precaution." when it becomes obvious that Inuyasha and Kagome aren't listening the kid cries, "Hey! I do the talking here!"
As outbursts go it's not the most startling one Andy's ever seen but it does do the trick of catching everyone's attention. Sighing, Andy settles down next to the kid and slowly raises her hand to the lump. He eyes her strangely, clearly not trusting her, but Andy's attempt at a warm smile seems to settle his nerves enough for Andy to continue with her task without scaring him off. All she wants to do is help him and so it's a little easier to call up the power, forcing just enough of it into her hands to soothe the ache and make the swelling go down.
"There," She says as she pulls away, "good as new."
"Thank you." He replies gruffly.
Andy smiles and attempts an introduction, "My name's Andromeda, but my friends call me Andy, that there is Inuyasha and our friend Kagome. What should I call you?"
Big green eyes watch her carefully for a long moment before he bows his little head and says, "My name is Shippo."
"Can you tell me what happened to your dad, Shippo?" Andy asks, aware of the curious ears listening behind her.
"They call themselves the Thunder Brothers," Shippo begins hesitantly, quietly, before saying more loudly, "they slaughtered my father for his jewel shard and the younger kept his pelt."
Which means they skinned him, unless demons are different and skinning isn't a necessary action, either way the fact of the matter is that the simple action of slaughtering him and taking his pelt for the fun of it is a vile act. Kagome creeps a little closer, careful not to scare the kid away but obviously curious about something.
"They killed him for his jewel shards? But why did he have it?" Kagome asks.
"I couldn't say. All I know is that the Thunder Brothers steal the jewels from demons." Shippo says.
"Thunder brothers?"
"It's a nickname- because of their thunder and lightning attacks." Shippo explains.
"And you said they took jewel shards?" Andy asks for clarification.
"Yes."
The three adults share a look, knowing that they'll need to handle these Thunder Brothers in order to get their jewel shards. Inuyasha frowns a bit before turning away to have a private conversation with Myoga so Andy takes the opportunity to see to Shippo's personal needs. If he's been on his own for a while it's uncertain if he's had a decent meal and Andy doesn't feel right about leaving a hungry kid hungry.
"Do you want something to eat, Shippo?" She asks and notes how his eyes go a bit wide, "I have some food in my pack that you're more than welcome to if you are."
Feeding Shippo isn't a hard task. They heat up some ramen, give him something to drink, and Andy produces a sucker from the bottom of her backpack when he's finished with his lunch. It's a little harder to convince him to travel with them and he only relents when Andy quietly vows retribution on the Thunder Brothers for their actions against Shippo's father. Kagome glares at her as she says it but Andy ignores her because if it gets the kid to stay with them so that Andy can keep an eye on him then she'll promise as much fiery retribution as she wants. Soon enough they've gathered everything back up and secure everything to Kagome's bike, which she and Shippo end up taking down the worn dirt path while Inuyasha carries Andy and Myoga through the trees.
Shippo points them off in the direction the Thunder Brothers are rumored to be in and despite her earlier hesitance Kagome seems more than willing to follow his questionably reliable information. Andy doesn't think he would lead them off on a wild goose chase but Shippo is still a child and hasn't had access to new information on the brothers since his last encounter with them, and rumors aren't exactly something Andy would lean too heavily on.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Andy says to Inuyasha as they stop so Inuyasha can search out anything suspicious smelling.
"All I gotta do is defeat the brothers," Inuyasha says, "and I'll walk away with all their jewel shards- and then man will walk on the moon!"
Below them, Shippo's voice rips through the air like a knife, "Hey! You're no match for the evil thunder brothers. You're only half-demon, I can smell the human in you. This is between demons, it's got nothing to do with half-breeds such as yourself. Stay out of it!"
Irritation causes Andy to grip onto Inuyasha a bit tighter as Kagome stops the bike to address the small demon fox. Inuyasha seems pretty mad too because he drops down from the tree to stand ominously behind the kid.
"That's no way to speak to Inuyasha." She tells him just before Inuyasha smacks him upside the head.
"Oh! you big-" Andy scrambles to climb off Inuyasha as he begins thumping the kid on the head, driving him into Kagome's yellow monstrosity of a backpack.
She grabs hold of his wrist and uses her body's weight to pull Inuyasha off balance enough to tug him away from the kid, who honestly doesn't seem all that hurt despite the clobbering. Though he does grovel.
"Forgive me," he says. "No hard feelings! Very sorry!"
"Someone's gotta teach him a lesson." Inuyasha says rather blandly as he slips his hands into the sleeves of his haori.
Shippo reaches into the pocket of his vest, pulls out something that looks like a sutra, and Inuyasha grunts as the strip of parchment turns into a large stone totem that forces him to bend under the weight. Andy watches, arms crossed, as Shippo slaps another sutra on the stone before bouncing away with a cackle.
"Is this supposed to be funny?" Inuyasha asks, voice closer to a snarl than anything else.
"You're stuck until you can get that spell scroll peeled off!"
"Don't be so childish, Shippo!" Kagome barks, tone firm in the way Andy would think a mother's would be when disciplining a child. "Take the spell off him."
Shippo ignores her, tilting his head off to the side and crossing his arms over his chest. Andy snorts as she looks to Inuyasha.
"It can't be that heavy." She says to the dog-eared boy, who snarls at her.
"I'd like to see you free yourself." Inuyasha attempts to tug his fingers out from under the stone and Andy rolls her eyes at his attempts.
She's about to go and help him when she catches a murmured, "I don't like playing tricks on women if I can avoid it. Don't hold this against me, Kagome."
Andy takes three steps before Shippo leaps up into the air, smacks Kagome on the back, and is caught by an irate looking Kagome. Seeing as whatever trick he attempted to play hasn't worked Andy isn't too concerned about it, so she lets Kagome handle Shippo. Because he clearly needs someone to offer a bit of parental advice right now and after promising retribution Andy wonders if she's the best person to fill that role. She can always play the role of the cool aunt who buys dangerous toys and gives slightly sketchy advice.
"A little respect, please." Kagome says to him, and then Shippo has the audacity to steal her jewel shards.
Again.
"Thanks, I'll use this to lure out the Thunder Brothers!" Shippo says before disappearing in a swirl of blue light.
"Hey!" Kagome cries into the air, "That little dog!"
"At least we know they'll all be in one place." Andy offers.
"Yeah, and when the Thunder Brothers get those shards it'll make them all the more powerful." Inuyasha says.
Andy's response is brought to a halt by Kagome who has grabbed her bow and quiver and has taken off after Shippo with a cry of, "Get back here you mangy mutt!"
"Wait! Kagome, you can't just leave me stuck here like this!" Inuyasha cries and Andy hesitates for a moment before taking off after Kagome.
Quickly, Andy takes off after her friend while Inuyasha screams at her to come back and get the spell scroll off. She's not too worried about him seeing as he's more than capable of keeping himself alive and so hurries after her friend instead of turning around and helping Inuyahsa- it's a choice that will come back to bite her in the ass later. As Kagome and Shippo had a bit of a head start Andy is forced to follow the dirt path that leads around a bend that takes leads her along the bank of a river. It would be really pretty with it's gleaming water and towering reeds if Andy wasn't getting all sorts of bad vibes from something.
An experimental tug has the tension bleeding out of Andy a bit as her power reaches out to brush against her. It's not perfect but she's gotten better at calling for her magic over the past few days. Using them on the other hand? Not as great. Better than it was her first day though.
Darkness and the flashing of light in the near distance has Andy pushing herself to go a bit faster. Leaping over weeds and rocks, Andy closes the distance between the flashing light and herself all the while wondering where the hell Shippo and Kagome are. Well, she assumes they're probably engaging with whoever is causing the light flashes but what does she know? Shippo could have lead Kagome in the opposite direction and at this point Andy would never know.
Gritting her teeth, Andy pushes herself faster and soon finds herself standing only a few feet away from Kagome and a large male demon who whimpers and holds his hands up near the top of his head. His whimpering soon turns into a cry of outrage, a large ball of crackling light filling his mouth as Shippo tells Kagome to run, because it's the same attack that killed his father and oh no, oh no because this is a Thunder Brother and Shippo's dad was a full blooded demon and Kagome is certainly not. With a cry Andy throws herself between Kagome and the enraged Thunder Brother, her power welling hot in her chest and filling the space around them with swirling fire seconds before that cackling ball of energy smacks into the shield.
Andy cries out as the energy of the attack presses her backward, her shield sputtering but remaining strong at Andy's insistence, Kagome and Shippo's concerned calls only helping to distract her as the shield snaps and seethes around them.
"Run." Andy grits out, sweat beading on her forehead.
"Andy, no!"
"Get out of here, Kagome!"
Andy doesn't dare to look behind her, doesn't dare to check and see if Kagome has followed her instructions, all she does is glare through the fire at the shark-like face obscured by her shield's swirling colors. Exhaustion seeps into Andy's bones and the shield dies as black spots pop in and out of her vision. As she stumbles backward her feet get tangled up in the reeds and drag her to the ground where she lays groaning softly as blackness sinks into her vision.
Too much energy spent, that voice murmurs as the darkness grows, should have grabbed the sister-of-our-soul and the kit and fled when you had the chance.
A snarky reply sits on the tip of Andy's tongue but it's forgotten as thundering footsteps rock the ground beneath her, the shaking is followed by rustling, then an almost disappointed remark about how Shippo and Kagome had gotten away. Andy can't gather the energy or the focus to call her powers to defend herself with and forces herself to remain still in the hopes that the Thunder Brother will think her dead when he eventually notices her. And he does, notice her, but he also notices that she's not dead and, much to Andy's discomfort, how pretty she is.
Like any other woman, Andy likes to be told she's pretty in a non-sexual context. Nothing like an awe-inspired, breathy exhale of, "You're so pretty." to make a girl's confidence shoot through the roof, but this? While it's still breathy and awe-inspired this is different. Andy doesn't like it. She tries not to groan, to make any sign of wakefulness, as the demon slips his arm under her waist and hoists her up so she's dangling against his body before taking to the sky on a cloud of rolling black mist that rumbles and roars as it carries them away from Kagome, Inuyasha, and Shippo. Her allies, the only people who would be able to help her in her current situation. Hopefully, Kagome has enough sense to get Inuyasha before coming after her. It's the last coherent thought she has before she's ripped into darkness.
Shaking wakes her, gentle presses against her shoulder that has Andy groggily turning her head to the side in order to look at whoever is trying to wake her. Grogginess disappears in an instant when she realizes it's Kagome. The younger girl presses a finger to her mouth to stop Andy's questioning before using that same finger to point at something behind her. Slowly, so as not to draw attention to herself, Andy twists to look behind her and finds the demon from earlier sitting before a pot that he stirs the contents of with slow, even motions.
Andy blinks to clear her head.
Kagome was probably snagged by the riverside with Andy when she was out of it, which means that Shippo and Inuyasha are still out there and are going to come for them at some point. But until they do Andy's got to keep them alive.
"Awoken have you, my fair maidens?" The demon asks, glancing at them over his shoulder.
"Where have you taken us?" Kagome demands, voice firm as she presses herself against Andy.
The fox pelt tied around his hips is the first thing Andy notices when he rises and turns to face them. It makes her sick to her stomach knowing that Shippo's father has been forced to endure such a humiliating fate, by some miracle she manages to keep her cool and not lash out at the demon wearing his skin like a belt.
"Why are you looking at us that way?" Kagome demands and Andy is honestly surprised by the question because she hadn't noticed any weird looks, too caught up in staring at Shippo's dad to notice anything out of the norm.
"I will tell you. The flesh and blood of young maidens does marvels for hair growth. Some call it the wonder potion of the century." The demon says it so calmly, as if he isn't implying that he's going to bleed them dry over a pot of boiling... whatever that is.
"Touch her," Andy snarls, blood burning, "and you die."
Her warning is followed by Kagome's outraged cry of, "I'd rather be eaten alive than boiled down for some hair concoction!"
The demon is in front of them in seconds, eyes wide and terrified as he says, "Shh. Keep your voices down! If brother Hiten hears you, he might just fulfill your wish!"
Andy blinks.
So he doesn't want to kill them just yet but he also doesn't want his brother to find out about them. Which of the two evils is the better? Which brother does Andy think she can get the upper hand on if this one is the weakest? Even as the less powerful of the two Andy had been forced to use quite a bit of energy to defend herself against his attacks, which doesn't mean good things for her in a future smack down, drag out between them. Frowning, Andy glances around the room. It would probably be best to keep the other brother out of the picture for the time being.
Crunch!
The sound of wood splintering has Andy swearing under her breath as she puts herself between Kagome and the new threat; a truly beautiful male demon with a long, dark braid and a pair of sharp red eyes. He's got his arm around a demoness with equally dark hair and a gossamer skirt that does less to cover her than the snake draped over her breasts.
"Thought I heard voices," He says to them, "back so soon, Manten?"
Andy keeps her mouth shut but can't help but glare at the demoness as she drawls out a vaguely disgusted, "Huh. That thing is your brother?"
Their kidnapper ignores the jab in favor of attempting to distract his brother with small talk.
"Hiten, good to see you." is honestly was way less distracting than he believes seeing as red eyes snap to Andy and Kagome quicker than either of them can blink.
"Who are they? What are they doing here?" Hiten asks, unfazed by Andy's heated glare.
Manten is quick to put himself between them and his brother, claiming, "They're mine, I found them first."
"No need to worry. I have no use for them, not when I have this little vixen." Hiten says just before the demoness begins to purr.
Purr.
Like a cat.
"Oh, while I'm thinking about it," Hiten pulls away from his purring woman and smiles at his brother, "How'd you fare in your search for more jewel fragments?"
The question brings their kidnapper up short. Clearly his search hadn't gone very well and instead of bringing back what he was supposed to Manten brought back two women who hold no use to either of them. Forcing herself not to smile, Andy watches the less handsome brother squirm.
"How could I have forgotten?" He replies nervously, his attempt at deflecting only making his brother more irritated as he growls and stomps across the room as Manten grovels, "My apologies, dear brother! I found one but I lost it!"
"Found one but lost it? Don't tell me, you were more interested in these women, so much that you forgot all about the precious jewel shard!" Hiten's voice slowly rises in pitch and fury, power glowing at the palm of his hand.
Andy throws up a shield to defend her and Kagome against the blast but can do little for the half-naked demoness who had been standing behind him. She dies without so much as a chance to scream. Andy watches through the haze of fire as the woman's charred body topples over, hitting the wooden floor, the force causing flakes of blackened skin and ash to peel away from her body and scatter across the floor. She was definitely better off with the less powerful of the two brothers.
"Please, Hiten, forgive me!" Manten begs, his voice full of terror.
"You bring nothing but shame to this family. If you were not my younger brother, I would've done you in long ago!" Hiten screams, his rage far more controlled but no less dangerous.
Her shield fades, Kagome wraps her fingers around Andy's wrist, and the two of them watch as Manten passes the blame to Shippo, who he claims stole the shard of jewel and ran before the younger brother had been able to stop him. Hiten believes it easily enough, his rage present but no longer aimed at his brother. It's a dick move on Manten's part, directing that sort of rage at a kid, and Andy looses any ounce of respect that might have been lingering in the dark corners of her mind. Unfortunately there isn't much she can do right now to stop either of them from going after Shippo, so while they argue about whether or not to go after him Andy nudges Kagome to get her moving. The younger girl makes it about three shuffles before Manten whips around and makes a grab for her.
"Where do you think you're going?" He demands, grabbing hold of the butcher's knife resting near the pot and swinging it at Kagome.
In a flurry of clumsy movement Andy has pushes Kagome out of the way, caught the blade between her palms, and smiles savagely as the metal begins to turn molten under her touch. She lets the brother have it when he pulls away. The knife is no longer usable, the metal too damaged to do any harm to Kagome. He looks at the blade, taps it against his palm, and level her with a look.
"I meant to make it quick so you wouldn't have to suffer. And there's no sense in delaying, since I wouldn't want the main ingredient for my hair potion escaping." Manten says, voice a dangerously low timbre that has Andy baring her teeth in a mockery of a smile.
"Unfortunately, I think you've forgotten that I'll kill you if you touch her." Andy snarls back at him, unafraid and challenging.
"Wait! You don't want to kill us!" Kagome screams, drawing Manten's attention to her.
"And why not?"
"Because," she hesitates a second, "Because then you'll never be able to find Shippo! Or his jewel shards!"
The dumb one blinks, blanches, and Andy know that his brother is the one Kagome will have to convince. She'll let the other girl play her game as it'll get them out of here if she plays it well, but she's got her eyes on both brothers and her rage is still screaming for blood.
"Are you two familiar with Inuyasha, the strong, brave, handsome warrior?" Andy casts Kagome a glance but doesn't interrupt her.
"Him? Strong? That Inuyasha's merely a half-demon." Hiten says.
"And you're brother's a full demon, didn't mean much when I stopped him from killing a child." Andy snaps, causing both brothers to growl at her.
Kagome's quick to get attention back on her, "But he is strong! He's defeated all kinds of monsters single-handed! And more to the point, he has most of the fragments of the Shikon jewel!"
Lies. But they seem to catch the attention of the brothers.
Andy has to repress a wild growl when Hiten makes his way over to them, sits down beside them, and addresses Kagome with a, "You...Are you lying?"
Kagome giggles while Andy scoffs. At least he had the sense to ask. His brother probably would have just believed them and carried them off in search of Inuyasha had Hiten not been around.
"I wouldn't lie about him. The guy's madly in love with me."
A slow breath is expelled from Andy's lungs as she can't laugh at the blatant lie. Though, Kagome probably wishes it wasn't. Inuyasha is handsome by even modern standards, a total babe, and also really good at protecting his people. Andy doesn't blame Kagome for crushing on their half-demon friend, hell, if Andy didn't see him as a brother she'd probably be all over that. But alas, the second rule of girl code; don't mess with your best friend's crush.
"If you tell him you're holding me captive, I know my one true love will gladly hand over the jewels." Kagome breathes, face contorted in an expression of blind devotion.
"Something tells me she's lying." The dumb one says.
"I think she's telling the truth." The other says before moving to grab Kagome by the front of her blouse, "Wench! Take us to the Inuyasha lover of yours at once! But be warned, if you're lying, you'll suffer the same fate as she... and I doubt you'd enjoy being fried to a crisp."
Andy stares at the charred remains of the female demon and hopes they'll be strong enough to get through this without ending up dead. She might be able to regenerate but that doesn't mean a whole lot when her friend's can't. Fighting the Thunder Brothers isn't something Andy is comfortable doing but she's not going to let Kagome and Inuyasha fight them alone, which means she's going to have to go after the younger brother because he's the weakest of the two and Andy doesn't think she can beat Hiten. Swallowing, Andy shares a desperate look with Kagome before turning away with the hope that this won't be one of the last times she sees Kagome alive.