Lady Kikyo left Hotaru and Kohaku hiding in a cave with her shikigami. Hotaru had seen Kocho and Asuka before. They often did tasks for Lady Kikyo. They didn't really have personalities. Hotaru didn't feel comfortable around them. Rei used to give her and Chibiusa casual lessons in the Shinto faith back at home. Rei had explained the concept of shikigami but warned that only extremely skilled priests and priestesses can control one for long. If the person who invoked them does so carelessly the shikigami can get out of control, and the results can be disastrous. While Hotaru didn't believe Lady Kikyo would do anything carelessly, and Kocho and Asuka both seemed incredibly loyal, they still made Hotaru uneasy. They were creatures that didn't belong in the world of the living, nor did they come from the realm of the dead. Trusting them went against Hotaru's instincts as Sailor Saturn.
Hotaru, Kohaku, Kocha, and Asuka sat in that cave for a long time. Hotaru had transformed and was clutching her glaive. All her senses were alert. She noticed every flicker of movement in the trees, every insect flying past, and every animal scuttling by. Her ears were attuned to the rustling of the leaves, the singing of birds, the water rushing through a nearby stream. She was aware of the life forces around her, from a rabbit getting it's life cut short by a hungry fox to a family of deer grazing further away. She noticed the way the barrier would occasionally weaken and flicker, and she felt Kohaku's increasing agitation as hours stretched on.
There was nothing within a five mile radius that Hotaru wasn't acutely aware of. Which made the sudden appearance of Naraku's energy all the more frightening.
"I can see you." A man appeared above them. He had cold purple eyes and pointed ears. His aura was almost identical to Naraku's.
"It's you!" Kohaku said.
"Run away." one of the shikigami commanded. Hotaru realised she had never actually learned which one was which.
"Yes, you must flee." The other added.
The two shikigami attacked in order to give Hotaru and Kohaku time to escape. The children raced from the cave. Hotaru felt a pang of guilt; she was running away instead of standing to fight. But the memory of yesterday's battle was still fresh. She hadn't expected Naraku's energy to be so immense, or his aura to feel so putrid. He had committed acts of taboo so heinous that Hotaru couldn't even properly understand his energy. He was alive, but his soul was so corrupt it felt more like he was a corpse. She did not want to fight him until she understood more about him.
"Who is that?" Hotaru shouted to Kohaku as they ran.
"Another one of Naraku's incarnations." replied Kohaku without breaking stride.
Another? How many incarnations did he have? They both stopped hard when the man appeared again in front of them.
"You can't escape me." the man said cooly.
"Death Reborn Revolution!" Hotaru shouted, sending a wave of destructive energy at the man. It hit him square in the chest, but all that did was dispel the illusion. He appeared again several meters away.
"It appears you've found yourself a girlfriend." The man said. "But she can't protect you."
The man pulled out a bottle and released a horde of snakes from it.
"Silent Wall!" Hotaru shouted. The snakes hit her barrier and bounced off. Hotaru smirked. I can't protect him, huh? The man scowled but didn't seem discouraged. With a flash he vanished again and reappeared behind them.
Kohaku reacted quickly enough to throw his scythe at the man. He grabbed Hotaru's hand and pulled her back into a run. The man cut them off at the top of a ravine.
"This is pointless, Kohaku." said the man cooly.
He was right. They couldn't run forever. The second time he released his bottle full of snakes, Hotaru was a second too late to block all of them. One latched onto Kohaku's throat, another his arm. He fell backwards with a cry of pain.
"Kohaku!" Hotaru shouted.
Suddenly another attack sliced through the air. Hotaru was taken aback. The attack had ripped a hole through dimensions. For a moment, she felt the pull of the underworld. A tall demon with long white hair appeared.
"I see your tricks haven't changed." Naraku's incarnation said. "What brings you here, Lord Sesshomaru?"
"Moryomaru's scent has disappeared." The newcomer's voice was cold and dispassionate. "I presume he was absorbed by Naraku."
"So you've come to rescue these children? How out of character."
Hotaru wasn't sure what was going on, but she used the distraction to run to Kohaku and pull the snakes off of him. He had lost consciousness already. She immediately started healing him.
"I noticed a foul smell and came to get rid of it." The man called Lord Sesshomaru replied. "And here you are…"
"Hate to disappoint, but I must take my leave." Naraku's incarnation summoned a giant origami crane out of thin air and gracefully leapt onto it. "Perhaps next time you'll be so kind as to announce yourself." With that he disappeared.
Hotaru had finished closing the puncture wounds on Kohaku's throat when the bushes rustled. Hotaru still had adrenaline racing through her body. She prepared herself to attack. She was just barely able to stop herself from acting when she saw it was a child who appeared from the undergrowth. A small green demon followed her.
"Kohaku!" The little girl cried. She ran to Hotaru's side and dropped to her knees. "Is he okay?"
Hotaru blinked in surprise. The little girl looked at Hotaru with so much concern in her eyes. She called him by name; she obviously knew him. Judging by the fear in her face she knew him well. As far as Hotaru knew the only family Kohaku had left was Sango. So who was this girl? How did she know him?
"He'll live." Hotaru replied. She was still extracting miasma from Kohaku's wounds, but she could already tell there would be no permanent damage. The little girl looked relieved.
Hotaru looked up to the tall white-haired demon who was still looking in the direction Naraku's incarnation had disappeared in.
"Thank you for saving us, Sir."
"That was not my intention." Lord Sesshomaru replied, "I have a vendetta against Byakuya. You happened to be in the way."
Kohaku made a noise, which drew Hotaru's attention back to him.
"Kohaku?" The little girl asked. "Are you alright?"
"Rin?" muttered Kohaku, "What are you doing here?"
"We could ask you the same question," The green impish demon who had been following Rin replied. "Everytime you show up trouble is not far behind!"
"Hotaru...we have to get to Lady Kikyo…" Kohaku said, ignoring the imp.
"I'll go." Hotaru told him. "You're too weak."
Kohaku attempted to get up, but his muscles gave out on him. Lord Sesshomaru shot them a glance. His eyes were bright gold and had a cold and calculating look.
"Neither of you are going anywhere." He said. His voice sent a chill down Hotaru's spine. The authority in his voice was hard and absolute. This was a man she did not want to cross. "Not until you answer some questions."
Hotaru tensed again, wondering if she was now going to have to defend herself and Kohaku against this man as well.
"What do you want to know?" Hotaru asked, hopefully coming off as more confident than she currently felt.
"Your scent is unnatural. What are you? Why can I smell Inuyasha's scent on you, along with the scent of Naraku's miasma?"
"My name is Hotaru, this is Koha…"
"We know the boy!" The imp piped up.
"Master Jaken, don't be rude!" Rin whispered.
"You didn't answer my lord's other questions! Why do you smell like Inuyasha and Naraku?" Jaken demanded.
Hotaru decided very quickly that she did not like Jaken.
"We recently met up with Inuyasha and my sister." Kohaku replied, weakly.
"There was a fight against Naraku." added Hotaru, "One of their friends was poisoned by miasma. I helped Lady Kikyo heal him."
Lord Sesshomaru studied them for a moment. Hotaru met his eyes just long enough to show she wasn't afraid of him, then quickly lowered her own gaze to show respect. Her heart was beating almost as fast as when she was running from Naraku's incarnation. Every one of her instincts was telling her this man was very proud and very dangerous. Her actions in this moment would be just as important as her decisions in battle. If she presented herself as too strong or confident, she could be seen as insolent. If she presented herself as too weak, she could be seen as prey.
The tension was broken by Jaken. "How can we trust you're telling the truth? I for one don't believe a pipsqueak like you could have been in a fight with Naraku and survived."
"Jaken." said Lord Sesshomaru.
The imp froze and gulped in fear. "Yes, my lord?"
"Leave them be."
Hotaru quietly let out the breath that she had been holding. She gained safety, at least for now. She could feel herself coming down from the battle high. Her heart slowed down to it's normal speed. Her chest loosened. The blood that had been pumping to her brain rushed into her checks. Her sailor uniform faded into her street clothes, which were now rather torn up and stained.
"Woah." The little girl said. The imp made a sound of surprise. Lord Sesshomaru's eyebrows raised, but he otherwise didn't react.
"Your name is Rin?" Hotaru asked the little girl. Rin nodded. Hotaru ripped a length of fabric off her tattered skirt. "Can you go down to the stream and get this wet for me?"
"Sure!" Rin agreed. She took the fabric and ran to a tiny stream at the bottom of the ravine. She quickly returned and handed the folded cloth to Hotaru.
"Thank you." Hotaru replied. She used the damp rag to wash away the blood from the snake bites. Kohaku winced at the sudden cold. "I managed to get all the venom out of your system. Do you think you can walk?"
Kohaku nodded. He pushed himself up once more, this time he was stable. "We have to get to Lady Kikyo."
"You're too late." Lord Sesshomaru said. "The scent in the wind has changed."
Hotaru had sensed it, too. A shift in the energy of the world. Lady Kikyo was dead.
Author's Note:
Hey all. Hope you're all still doing well. Thank you all for reading this far. I hope you're enjoying it.
I'm having a lot of fun reimagining this, so I hope it's still fun to read. I know it's a little slower than my first telling, but I also think the quality is a lot better. Let me know how you all feel about the pacing.
Anyways, I just wanted to check in. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home if you can.
Please review and have a good day :)