CAUTION: If you have not re-read the updated version of the previous chapter (Updated Thurs. 2, March) then you'll most likely feel a little bit of deja vu here.
Just FYI before you start reading ;)
My first real chapter addition since 2011 I think! :O
All characters belong to the amazing Rumiko Takahashi (except Inunomaru of course)
The Rise of Seven
Inuyasha was in much higher spirits the next morning. The promise he and Kagome had made to protect his brother brought a sort of peace of mind to his worry. If he couldn't convince that stubborn dog to listen to him, he knew Kagome could. With the way she had handled him the day they ran off and last night with her insistence on tending his wounds; there was no way he'd be able to argue against her.
They started off their morning early, leaving the shelter of the cave before sunrise to try and make up for the time they had lost the evening before. Apart from Inunomaru, who had kept watch all night, they each got a decent night's rest, something which was hard to come by when it came to traveling in the wilds of feudal Japan. The wilds which they were more than in the middle of, for it wasn't ten minutes after they reached a road before Shippo spotted small rays of light flickering on the edge of sight.
"Hey Kagome, what's that light from?" he said, pointing in its direction.
They all turned, spying what the kitsune motioned to. It was faint, but Kagome could sense it. "That's from the sacred jewel!"
"Didn't Kouga-san's trail head in that direction?" Miroku asked.
Kagome gasped, "You don't suppose…?"
"Could Kouga-san and Naraku be fighting?" Sango asked, pulling her hirakotsu from her shoulder.
Inuyasha sniffed the air, "No, I'm not picking up Naraku's scent," he turned to his brother behind him, "Inunomaru?"
"I cannot pick up the scent of Naraku either. However, Kouga-sama's scent is easy to recognize," as expected, his words, like his face, were the opposite of everyone else's, calm and quiet, "I am also picking up a second scent with him."
"Yeah," Inuyasha nodded, "It's just like Ayame said, corpses and graveyard soil. This has gotta be the specter that she was talking about."
Kagome looked back at Inuyasha. "Naraku or this giant specter, it doesn't matter. We have to go and see if Kouga-san's okay. I promised Ayame-chan I'd tell him that she was safe and I can't do that if he's dead."
Inuyasha smirked with an excited growl, "Yeah, and I can't let that wolf have all the fun either!"
Kagome rolled her eyes and jumped up onto his back.
By the time everyone reached the clearing, all that remained was a pile of massive bones and the remnants of a fight. Kouga, luckily, was nowhere to be found. Though slightly depressed he had missed a good fight, Inuyasha ran up to the bones and sniffed around. It didn't take long for their theory to be confirmed.
"Yup, this was definitely it. It smells just like corpses and graveyard soil. Damn, Kouga must've finished him off then took off somewhere," he said with a disappointed grumble.
Kagome was almost shaking, "How do we know that he didn't get his shards stolen or something…or that somebody else could have kidnapped him…or that…"
"Kagome-san," Inunomaru walked up beside the worried looking miko and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Do not worry. He left this area on foot by his own power, and was followed by two more of his kin. Their scents follow the same path as ours."
Her sigh of relief was palpable, "Thank you, Inunomaru-san. At least we know he's alive then. But…how did he manage to kill it?"
Inuyasha stood and crossed his arms. "Keh, probably got lucky."
"You do not give Kouga-sama very much credit, Inuyasha," Inunomaru replied, the corner of his mouth tilting up slightly, "Wolves do have an uncanny talent for outwitting larger prey."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "Ha ha."
"We can go now right?" Shippo shuddered as he hopped up on Inunomaru's shoulder, "These bones are creepy."
"Agreed. Let's go," Kagome urged, taking the initiative to start them walking again.
The sun had reached its peak before they came upon the signs of civilization, the lightly tended fields of rice spreading wide below their high road. It wasn't much later before the miko heard the whinnies of many horses then noticed a mass of soldiers in the distant town that lied across the fields. She had seen groups of soldiers traveling around the countryside before, but never to this scale. It was a full tilt army from the look of it. What could an army that big be doing all the way out here, she thought.
"Inuyasha, look," she said.
He glanced over to where her eyes fell, "Keh, just another group of soldiers out to go slay something," he put his hands behind his head, "A bit overkill if ya ask me."
"Seeing a group that large does worry me though," Sango said behind them.
Miroku nodded in agreement with the taijiya, "Maybe we can ask someone about it when we pass them by. Surely the locals would know something."
"And why does this all of a sudden matter to us?" Inuyasha grumbled, "It's not like that giant specter is still runnin' around. Kouga made sure of that."
"In our situation, Inuyasha, any form of information could be an asset," Inunomaru said beside him, "You cannot paint a sunset with but only one color."
"Nice proverb there," Inuyasha monotoned, "Really eye opening."
"I have more if you would like."
The bright inu-glint of amusement in the daiyoukai's eyes and the returned glare through his younger brother's furrowed eyebrows was more than enough to send Kagome into a fit of giggles. "He is technically right you know," Kagome said through bit lip.
"Yeah, yeah…blah blah blah," Inuyasha snorted and started walking again.
Shippo giggled from Inunomaru's shoulder, "Good one, Inunomaru-sama."
"Indeed"
Kagome, Shippo, and Inunomaru shared a few humored glances then followed the cantankerous hanyou. It wasn't long till they passed a few farmers digging furrows. They seemed deep in conversation and spoke just loud enough to be overheard by the seven on their high road.
"I heard tell that the men out on patrol were completely destroyed," one man said.
The oldest man nodded, "Yes…torn to pieces. There's no way a man could've done that kind of damage."
"Is it true what the others say then? Has the Band of Seven been resurrected?"
"Band of Seven? What the hell's that?" Inuyasha asked out loud to no one in particular.
Sango raised an eyebrow, "I've never heard of them. Hoshi-sama?"
Miroku shook his head, "No, nothing from what I recall."
"I have heard tale of those they speak of," Inunomaru interjected.
"So what…or I guess, who, are they?" Sango asked.
The group paused, their attentive ears focused on the daiyoukai's every word. "The stories of them appear approximately ten years ago, I believe," Inunomaru continued, "They were a group of seven mercenaries, men who apparently fought with the strength of youkai, who chose their allegiances conditionally upon the highest amount of bloodshed they could cause."
Shippo shivered on his shoulder and Kagome wrapped her arms around herself.
"From what pieces I have heard, their evil became so great that even the warlords who hired them began to fear what they could do. The seven were hunted down, beheaded, and their bodies entombed near the base of the sacred mountain in the hopes to keep their evil spirits at bay," he paused and placed his hands inside the sleeves of his kimono, "What perplexes me is that all of these stories have been just as I said, stories…written to warn people of the penalties of unnecessary violence and bloodshed. I have never come across men like these in my travels, nor heard of their deeds by witnesses. Clearly, it appears I have been mistaken."
"Hmm," Miroku said, chin in his hand, "If the Band of Seven is real like those men believe, then something must've happened to the tomb that holds their spirits."
"You said it was at the base of the sacred mountain right?" Kagome asked.
He nodded, "Indeed."
"Well, then all we need to do is find this tomb and see if it's been messed with right?"
"Eh-hem, if I might say something?" They turned to look at Inuyasha, who stood with arms crossed and eyebrow raised, "We're headin' to the northeast…the army's goin' to the northeast…the mountain's in the northeast…maybe we should just forget all this sittin' and talkin' and just keep going northeast! Youkai, specter, whatever, if we meet up with one of these things than we'll just kill it…simple as that!"
"Inuyasha does have a point," Shippo said.
Kagome had to agree. Everything evil they seemed to run into was all coming from the northeast. If they stayed their course as planned then they were sure to find out everything about…well…everything. The only thing that she really worried about was the term 'resurrected'. It was one thing fighting youkai, but 'resurrected corpses' was another thing entirely. She couldn't keep images of zombie movies she'd watched back home from flashing through her mind. Her face grimaced at the thought, shoot it in the head, shoot it in the head twice. And don't let it bite you!
"You alright there, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked.
She shook her head and giggled, "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Youkai, zombies…all we need now are some vampires and werewolves and we have a right out horror movie!"
Inunomaru turned to the kitsune on his shoulder, surprisingly serious, "Are we required to have knowledge of such things?"
"Nope," Shippo said with a smile, "That's just Kagome. She says a lot of weird stuff."
He raised an eyebrow, "Indeed."
"Speaking of knowledge," Kagome said as she slowed to catch up with Inunomaru, her curiosity finally getting the better of her, "How did you hear about the Band of Seven?" she asked, trying her best not to sound too eager, she even noticed one of Inuyasha's ears turn in their direction.
"When one travels as much as I have, you hear many stories," he replied nonchalantly.
"Where all have you been?"
He raised a slender eyebrow, either confused at her curiosity or intrigued by it, she couldn't tell. "During quiet years I traveled down to the southern islands. I also managed to make my way over the Himalayas once…Roman architecture is quite impressive."
Her eyes grew huge, "Rome! You went all the way to…? Wow!" Even she hadn't been that far from home, and they had airplanes!
"It is rather enjoyable to see cultures and places so far from your own. You learn much," his eyes had a glint to them as memories appeared to come back to him.
Kagome couldn't help but smile. She could see him as a guy who traveled a lot. Maybe at dinner she could get him to tell some stories about where all he'd been. She always wanted to know more firsthand things, and the fact that they were learning about world history for their senior finals helped to. Her thoughts were trying to come up with other questions when the sound of gunfire echoed through the air.
Shippo jumped off of Inunomaru's shoulder into her arms, "What was that?"
"I could be wrong, but it sounded like..."
"…Gunfire," Inunomaru finished.
"You've heard guns before?"
"Indeed," his voice was partially distracted. "Inuyasha," he walked past her and up beside his brother, eyes narrowed, "Do you smell that?"
Inuyasha growled, "Yeah…blood…lots of it."
"Could it be one of the Band of Seven the town's folk spoke of?" Sango asked.
Inunomaru and Inuyasha glanced at each other, shared a nod, and took off. "Only one way to find out," Inuyasha exclaimed as they disappeared over the hill.
The carnage wasn't hard to miss. Masses of sliced and dismembered bodies lay surrounding a single, oddly dressed, squatting figure in an almost perfect circle. He appeared to be trying to figure out how the barrel of a rifle worked.
Inuyasha and his brother stopped short, trailed closely by the others.
"These are the soldiers we saw earlier!" Miroku said, hands defensively around his staff.
Sango ran up beside him, "One person did all of this?!"
"This ain't no person," Inuyasha growled, "I caught his scent the second I got passed all the blood he's spilt."
"Corpses and graveyard soil," Inunomaru gave a slight growl of his own, "This is undoubtedly one of the seven's work."
The figure turned at the sound of their voices. One look at Inuyasha and his eyes seemed to light up with joy. "Oh my! Are you Inuyasha?!" his voice had the same giddy tone as his eyes.
"How the hell do you know my name?!" Inuyasha yelled, unsheathing Tetsusaiga.
The purple clad figure nearly bounced in his sandals, "Oh, you're adorable! And would you look at your ears! They're so fuzzy!" Inuyasha was instantly taken aback, and even more so when the specter's eyes narrowed murderously. "I will have them," his soft words came out like an order before he licked his lips.
Inunomaru ignored the man's unsettling comments and stepped forward. His voice was almost malicious, "The villagers spoke of evil men belonging to the Band of Seven being resurrected. Judging by your scent, I would assume you would be one of these seven. I'm I correct?"
The man merely tilted his head as he looked the daiyoukai over.
Miroku ran up beside Inunomaru and threateningly pointed at the specter with his staff, "You will answer him!" he ordered.
"Mmm," the specter lowered his head and smiled, "Inuyasha is handsome and the monk is sexy as well, but I've never had the pleasure of seeing a full-blooded, human form youkai before. Mmhmhm, delicious."
The hanyou and monk's faces went uncomfortably blank.
Inunomaru's blades shot out from his wrists, "Neither of you protest against me killing him do you?"
"Nope"
"By all means…"
Kagome rushed up between the two inu-brothers, "Be careful! I sense a jewel shard!"
"Where is it, Kagome, so I can cut it out of him?" Inuyasha snarled.
She pointed, "There, in his neck. Do you think he could've been resurrected with it just like…"she trailed off, eyes falling sadly back to Sango.
Sango's eyes didn't have the same sadness as Kagome, it was much closer to fury. "Like Kohaku," she said as she swung her hirakotsu off her shoulder and clenched her teeth, "If he was resurrected with the power of a jewel shard then Naraku is definitely involved."
Inuyasha ran closer to the man and brandished the Tetsusaiga with an even harsher growl, "Hey you, specter! Who gave you that jewel shard?! Talk or I'll make you talk!"
"Hmhmhm, you're cute when you're angry," he grinned and stretched his sword over his head, "How about we test that anger, Inuyasha. Your sword…against mine!"
Inunomaru must've sensed something because he flashed in front of the others just as the specter swung his sword down at Inuyasha, a whip of metallic light blasting through the air. Inuyasha blocked just in time, flipping out of the way as the strange blade arched back for another hit.
"What kind of sword is that?!" Kagome gasped.
"I noticed how odd the placements of the dead soldiers were when we first came upon him," Inunomaru said as he crouched and spread his arms out like a shield in front of them, "It is clear that my assumptions at a specialized weapon were not wrong."
The strange blade fell back to its owner. "You are a smart one aren't you, youkai! Too bad you're not as cute as Inuyasha or I'd kill you first!" he laughed then launched full force back at the hanyou. The strikes of his sword sang through the air like a drum, leaving no opening for Inuyasha to strike back. The specter laughed louder at every attack, "Tell me, Inuyasha, what do you think of Jakotsu of the Band of Seven?!"
"I think you need to shut the hell up!" Inuyasha charged, but miss-stepped just enough to leave an opening. Jakotsu took full advantage and pulled back his blade, sending it raking over the skin of the hanyou's arm, a streak of crimson its trail through the air.
As you can see, I moved the ending of the previous chapter to the beginning of this chapter after my update. Sorry if that confused you guys at all, just felt the ending of the last chapter needed a little more "bonding time" *hugz*
Anyways, since I'm trying to keep the story more streamlined around Kagome and the Inu-boys, I decided to keep Sango with the group instead of going off after Kohaku. Same result basically happened though ;)
Till next time!