I do not own InuYasha or the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi.
The Mysterious Thief - Part Ten
Inuyasha dropped down onto a hard, dirt floor in a dimly lit underground corridor. Although there was no immediate danger around, his left ear began to twitch. He glanced up and swiftly leapt out of the way just as Sango came through. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough to avoid Miroku, Kagome and Shippou.
"Well it seems the lightning was just a trick," Miroku observed. "It distracted the viewer long enough for an underground shoot to open up."
"Aaaah! Miroku!" Kagome screamed when she felt a hand stroke her bottom. With Kagome unable to deliver his well deserved slap, Sango gladly administered it for her.
Inuyasha stormed over and pulled Kagome to her feet, allowing Sango to get up as well. "Keep your hands off of her!" Inuyasha barked.
The monk sighed and dusted himself off. "Would it make a difference if I thought she was Sango?" he mumbled. The demon slayer stared at him incredulously.
"Why, I oughta…" the half demon threatened, shaking his fist at Miroku.
"What is this place?" Kagome asked, bringing Inuyasha back to their task at hand.
"I don't know. Can you sense where the jewel shard is?" he asked impatiently.
Kagome focused her energy to locate the power emanated by the jewel shards. "Yes, but it feels like it's beneath us."
"Uh…guys?" a nervous Shippou called out. "The…Ther…There are some large shado…dows moving towards us," he stammered.
They turned to look in Shippou's direction just in time to see the shadows vanish from sight. Kirara transformed and approached the area where the shadows disappeared. Inuyasha let out a low growl and gripped the hilt of tetsusaiga.
"That may not be such a great idea in this small space," Shippou pointed out, but the half demon didn't remove his hand from tetsusaiga.
"Kirara, watch out!" Sango called to her.
But the warning was too late. Kirara roared and thrashed about as a shadowy figure engulfed her. Sango ran towards her, but the cat demon's eyes were already turning black and the shadow nowhere to be seen. Kirara lunged at the approaching demon slayer with her fangs bared, but Miroku pulled Sango out of harm's way. As a result, her fingers lost their grip on hiraikotsu's and they both tumbled to the ground.
Inuyasha stepped in between the pair and the possessed cat demon. "I don't want to hurt you Kirara, but I will, if I have to," he declared, pointing his sword at her. She stood her ground, but did not advance. From behind him, he felt something coming at him. He dodged it and whirled around to see Miroku charging at him again.
"You know, I'm starting to wonder why we came after this girl," the half demon complained. He sheathed his sword and punched the monk in the stomach. Miroku slammed up against the side of the cave, knocking the breath out of him. He slumped down awkwardly to the floor, but was attempting to get up again.
"Inuyasha, don't hit him so hard, he's human you know," Kagome scolded him.
Suddenly, Kirara switched her attention to Kagome, gradually closing the distance between them at the same time that Sango lunged at Inuyasha with her sword.
"Well maybe you should think of another way out of this or worry about yourself instead," he countered. He blocked the demon slayer's blow with his fire rat robe and yelled to Shippou. "Shippou, stay by Kagome!" he ordered and then turned back to fight Sango.
The fox demon was fighting off the shadows with his fox fire. He was trying his best to keep the shadows away from Kagome.
"Right!" the fox demon confirmed, even though his trembling increased as Kirara loomed closer. Kagome took a few careful steps backwards. She hated seeing her friends fight each other and wished there was something she could do.
"Wait...the light! The shadows don't like the light!" she exclaimed. She grabbed an arrow out of her quiver and notched it. She knew she couldn't hit them directly or she would risk purifying Kirara and hurting the others. She furrowed her brows as she scanned the dim corridor for the source of the shadows. Her eyes finally caught slight movements coming from the bottom of the cave walls.
"That must be where the shadows originate from," she reasoned. "Hit the mark!" she shouted as she released the first arrow. As soon as the arrow hit the ground, a bright purple light washed over everyone. Miroku was the first person to be freed from the shadow's grip. He looked quite bewildered and stumbled over his own feet as his eyes returned back to normal. Kagome notched another arrow and shot at the other side of the cave. Once again, bright light spread throughout the cave and Sango was released. She held her head with her right hand and used the other to steady herself.
Now Kirara was advancing on Kagome at full speed. The demon slayer reacted quickly and ran to hiraikotsu.
"Kirara, no!" Sango shouted as she threw hiraikotsu to block her path. This delay gave Inuyasha enough time to get to Kagome.
"Do you know where to shoot next?" he prompted. She nodded with certainty. "Okay, do it now," the half demon urged.
He stood beside her in case Kirara reached them before she shot the arrow. Kagome loosed the third arrow, just as Kirara lunged at her. The cat demon transformed in mid-air back into a cute kitten and landed in Kagome's arms. The young girl sighed with relief and hugged Kirara.
Back in the lab Hideaki had been observing the group while he worked. He glanced at a clock-like device on the desk, "Even my distraction ran according to schedule. Isn't that wonderful Yuta? You won't need to intercept them after all." The demon picked up a small white mechanical device and pressed a button on the bottom. "Now take this device and place it underneath Airi's bed. It emits waves that will wake her up. But first set this painting within arms reach, next to the bed," he instructed and turned back to his work.
In the caverns above the monk dusted off his robes, "Well, that wasn't too bad," Miroku commented. The rings on his staff jingled as he picked it up from the ground.
"That's because you were do the attacking," Inuyasha objected.
"I do have considerable pain in my stomach though," Miroku mumbled under his breath.
"Kagome did tell Inuyasha to take it easy on you," Shippou reassured the monk.
"Oh Kagome, how sweet of you. How can I ever repay your kindness?" The monk asked with arms open, while walking towards Kagome and fingers already twitching. Inuyasha who had been inconspicuously listening, squared off to Miroku. The monk took quick note of Inuyasha's bad mood and thought better of his actions.
Kirara mewed and jumped down from the the girl's arms. She leapt over to Sango and the demon slayer scooped her up and held her close. "Which way should we go then?" Sango questioned.
They knew the jewel shard was below them, but their current position didn't indicate which way would take them deeper down. They all instinctively turned to look at Inuyasha, causing him to flinch.
"What're you all looking at me for?" he barked.
"Come on, Inuyasha, don't be like that," Kagome soothed. "You're the best man for the job," she encouraged.
The half demon raised an eyebrow at her, "I can't smell which way is down, stupid," he half mumbled and plunged his hands in his sleeves.
Kagome's annoyance multiplied at the word stupid. "You don't have to insult me, you know," she raised her voice, bringing her face close to his.
"Oh, I wonder who was the one who did the insulting first?" he scowled, turning his face away from hers.
Shippou edged closer to Miroku and Sango and exchanged a quick glance. They silently decided it was best to just continue down the corridor and leave the bickering couple.
The half demon's ears twitched at the sound of their receding footsteps. "Oi! You're going the wrong way!" He hollered.
Shippou turned to face him, "How would you know that? I thought you couldn't smell which way to go!" he shouted back.
"I can't, but the air is more stale this way," he trailed off and started walking away.
Kagome's knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists, knowing damn well, that he knew which way to go the whole time. Miroku walked up behind the young girl and placed a hand lightly on her shoulder, "Just let this one go Kagome. I'm sure that distraction was planned to slow us down," he explained. "And I have a feeling it's not the last one, either." The girl took a deep breath and remembered that they were there to save Airi. Shippou hopped up on her shoulder with an encouraging look and the young girl turned to walk after Inuyasha.
Meanwhile, in the cozy cavern, Airi slowly blinked her eyes open and the current events of the past few days flooded back to her. She sat up and pushed back the covers. There was a small bedside table that wasn't there before. Laid upon it, was a hand-size painting of a woman who looked almost identical to her. She had the same wavy hair, but the woman's hair was white instead of grey and the woman had pale skin, rather than the tan undertones she had. But they had the same cool, green eyes. Airi studied the picture, knowing somewhere in her heart that this woman was indeed her mother.
And then her eyes rested at her mother's neckline. Graciously hanging around her neck was the same exact necklace she wore now. Unconsciously, she lightly touched her necklace and remembered her father's warning: to never remove it. "Ikue," she whispered, longing to know the mother she never knew. Her eyes lingered a moment longer on her mother's portrait before placing it back on the bedside table. The thought that Hideaki knew more about her than she did was disturbing, which only fueled her distrust in him.
She swung her feet around, set them on the floor and leaned her elbows on her knees. She lowered her head into her hands while she thought about how to escape. She had no weapons, no clue where she was or how to get out and she already knew that it would be too complicated to secretly navigate the underground labyrinth. She had no chance in fighting her way out, which only left her with one choice.
Airi stood up and walked towards the doorway when she caught a glimpse of movement. She paused, but instinctively knew that it was the ape ready to escort her. No, she wouldn't fight just yet. She would go through with the procedure that Hideaki proposed, in hopes that she could use whatever power he was talking about to get away. She composed herself once more and followed after the ape.