Chapter 4: Troublesome Tengu
"Koga, Ayame, wait up!" Yelled Ginta, one of Koga's lackeys. The other lackey, Hakkaku yelled, "Come on guys, you know we can't run that fast!" He then said to Ginta, "Even without the power of the Shikon Jewel, Koga's incredibly fast." "You said it Hakkaku, and Ayame's just as fast if not faster." Replied Ginta. Without stopping Koga looked back and growled before yelling, "Hey, we can't waste this precious sunlight, so hurry up or go back to the den!" Confused, Ginta asked, "Where are we going anyway, and what's so important about the sunlight all of a sudden?"
Ayame immediately answered Ginta by saying, "This place is notorious for the rumors of vicious nocturnal demons. As for where we're going, I'm looking for the Hi tsume, a demonic power that is rumored to exist in this region. You see, after Koga obtained the Goraishi I decided I wasn't going to slow him down. That's why I've come for the Hi tsume. Koga wanted to come as a bit of protection, and you two just decided to tag along." Ginta and Hakkaku kept running but they said in unison, "Ohhh." "Yeah, now you know, so don't keep us waiting!" Yelled Koga. They all kept running, and searching, and while they searched a demon watched from its lair, shrouded in the darkness of its cave. It was not one of the nocturnal demons, and it sought the same thing Ayame did. Unlike Ayame and her group however, this demon could suddenly sense the power of the Hi tsume. The demon laughed and stomped out of its den and into the partial cover of the trees. He was a Tengu, one that like many demons was out only to satisfy himself. He spread his large wings and took off, soaring over the wolves.
Koga stopped suddenly at a bend in the trail they were following, which caused Ayame to stop. However, sensing the danger, Koga yelled, "Ayame keep going! I'll catch up!" "What? What's up Koga?" Asked Ayame, in response to which Koga pointed up at the Tengu. Ayame looked up and gasped, causing the Tengu to laugh. "Now you see? Go on Ayame I can take him!" Yelled Koga. The wolf demon male then called upon the Goraishi, and jumped up onto a boulder before lunging at the Tengu. The demon laughed and vanished, resulting in a surprised, "Huh?" From Koga, who started falling into a gorge beyond the trail. Meanwhile the Tengu reappeared in front of Ayame, who had yet to move. "I thought it was you." Said the Tengu. "Yes, no wonder I could never find what I seek. You have it." Ayame backed up slowly, and after a few steps bumped into the Tengu, causing Ayame to realize how fast he was. Ayame jumped forward and turned in mid-air so she was facing the Tengu when she landed. Surprisingly he was still in her view, meaning he wasn't planning on showing off anymore. The Tengu said to her, "You have the Hi tsume, I know you do!" Ayame simply replied, "I don't! That's why I came here was to find it!" "Liar!" Yelled the Tengu, who then lunged at Ayame. The female wolf demon punched the ground, summoning a twister that raged toward the Tengu, who said, "Hmm, Interesting." However, with a single mighty flap of his wings, the Tengu dispersed the twister. The blast of wind also threw Ayame off guard.
By this time Koga had gotten himself out of the gorge, and lunged at the Tengu from behind with the Goraishi. The Tengu must've noticed him somehow, because he vanished again and reappeared behind Koga before flapping his wings to send a blast of wind at him. The wind sent Koga into a boulder, and the impact caused the boulder to crack and Koga to groan in pain. He wasn't knocked out, but he was somewhat disoriented from the hit. Ayame yelled Koga's name in concern, but the latter simply said, "I'm fine, don't worry about me." He clenched his right hand, the one with Goraishi, into a fist before relaxing the hand again. He then jumped at the Tengu, who laughed and disappeared again right as the Goraishi was about to reach it. Koga however, turned and looked carefully for anything that could be the Tengu moving. With his eyes darting left and right, he suddenly caught a split second glimpse of a blur headed for Ayame. Koga growled and used the Goraishi's energy attack in an attempt to strike the Tengu from a distance. However, the blast kept going after it would have hit the Tengu, so Koga yelled, "Ayame get down! Ginta, Hakkaku you too!" Ayame and the two lackeys dropped low to the ground and the Goraishi's energy blast soared over them, slamming into a large mass of rock and turning a good portion of it into pebbles.
The lackeys looked at the damage and gave a sigh of relief that Koga had warned them. Ayame on the other hand, shook her head. She couldn't believe how reckless Koga seemed to be with such a powerful weapon. Then she realized that the Tengu was nowhere to be found. She looked up and pointed at it in the sky before saying, "Up there Koga!" Koga looked up at him and said, "Damn. If I could just get him with a single blow from my Goraishi it'd be over, but he's too fast." "Well, have you given up? I really never wanted to fight you. I simply seek the power that your woman possesses." Said the Tengu. Ayame responded with an irritated, "I don't have it!" The Tengu was right in front of Ayame and was making some sort of preparation when the female threw a leaf in his eye. He screamed and held his one hand over the pained eye, and then noticed Koga rushing in on the offensive. The Tengu whipped around and thrust out his unused arm, reaching for Koga's neck. Koga reacted by thrusting Goraishi forward to meet the Tengu's hand, and as they collided Goraishi surged with demonic energy that severely burned the Tengu's hand. The Tengu pulled his hand away and looked at it. Even as his hand sizzled the Tengu clenched it into a fist and growled in his throat. As if he wasn't angry enough already Hakkaku suddenly yelled from his position, "Hey birdbrain! Why not try picking a fight with someone like me?"
The Tengu looked at Ginta and Hakkaku with rage in his eyes before taking flight and rushing at them. Hakkaku jumped, startled by the fact that he had just baited a demon without even thinking. Koga used the given opportunity to try to blast him, since he wasn't making any attempt to use his full speed. Ayame realized because of this that it was obviously some kind of trick, perhaps an attempt to make Koga take out one of his own lackeys, but Koga acted too quickly to be warned and without thinking; obviously desperate for a chance to strike. Right before the blast from the Goraishi made contact with the Tengu, he turned around and opened his mouth, eating the blast. This resulted in a surprised, "What?" From Koga, but he wasn't able to stay surprised for long. The Tengu opened his mouth again after swallowing the blast of demonic energy, and a split-second glow inside his mouth was the only warning before a blast identical to the ones from Goraishi was shot at Koga. The wolf had little time to react before the blast reached his position, but he barely managed to evade a direct hit. Still, he was still blown away by the impact. Landing hard on his chest, he coughed and slowly stood up, and saw the Tengu grab Ayame before taking off. He looked at Koga with a smile before saying, "I'm taking your woman with me. There's much to be done if I am to have the Hi tsume. If you want to see her again...then too bad for you I suppose!" The Tengu then laughed before setting off for his cave. Koga slammed his fist into the ground as he watched the Tengu escape, and said to himself, "This is bad. I hate to admit it, but I just might be in over my head." He stood up and look at his lackeys before saying to them, "Ginta, Hakkaku, let's go. We're going to see an old friend." Though confused, neither dared to question Koga at that moment, so they simply followed with only Koga knowing that they were going to request the help of Kagome and as much as it almost made him gag, Inuyasha. His only hope at that time was that he wasn't too late.
