Chapter 22

Shinta and his brothers hurried back to the compound and picked up another vehicle. Kanaya went inside and resupplied their arsenal while Rikiya explained to Izayoi and the other pups present what had happened. The brothers then jumped into the 15 passenger van and took off. A ways down the road, they ran into Yasha and the twins,

"Hey guys,", Shinta called out, "What happened to you?", he said as the two vehicles pulled up beside each other.

They shared information of what had happened. All the brothers were shocked at what their father had accomplished,

"Damn! I'll make sure never to argue with him again!", Kai said from the back of the van as others agreed.

Yasha and the twins agreed to join the others to track down Bunza, Kieran, Kiyoshi and Kentaro. As Shinta drove forward, Yasha turned the car around and followed them back to the Bridgemont. Arriving at the hotel after driving for three hours, the brothers exited and equipped themselves. Except for their size, they almost looked like Ginkotsu. Just like their father, they burst into the hotel,

"BUNZA! KIERAN! KIYOSHI! KENTARO! ANSWER ME, GUYS!", Yasha screamed out.

"Well, well, we have more company. How many puppies did that damn dog have?", said a young man, who walked out of the kitchen and into the main lobby.

"HMPH! Enough to keep your sorry asses from destroying the universe!", Yasha growled.

"Who wants to destroy the universe? I just want to destroy Inuyasha and his offspring as well as Sesshoumaru. Now, where is that mutt?"

"None of your business. We're your opponents now.", said Shirrow.

"Before we kill you, which one of the Shichinin-Tai are you?", asked Shinta.

"I am the leader, Bankotsu."

"Well, Bankotsu, you might want to know that our father just single-handedly killed 4 of your men - Kyokotsu, Ginkotsu, Renkotsu, and Jakotsu. And my brother, Miroku, in Tokyo took the head of Suikotsu. So you don't seem so tough to me.", yelled out Yasha.

Bankotsu kept an even face on the outside, even keeping his cocky smile, but inside he shook. Were they telling the truth? Did Inuyasha really defeat 4 of his band by himself? Impossible!

"Oh yea? Then show me their jewel shards?"

On cue, the brothers displayed the four shards of jewels. This really made Bankotsu mad and nervous inside. Pissed off, he yelled,

"I WILL AVENGE MY COMRADES! MEET MY BANRYUU!"

It was obvious Bankotsu wasn't used to fighting in the 21st century, and the brothers opened fire on the hapless leader. Taking hundreds of rounds, the young man fell to his knees, his halberd falling to the side. As he took his dying breath, he cursed the brothers and their father.

"This is pitiful.", Yasha said, almost sadly, "It would have been enjoyable to fight them with swords. Too bad it's outdated."

"Speak for yourself, Aniki.", Shaoran said, "I prefer peace over violence."

"Spoken by a true hunter.", commented Shinta.

"Well, that's 6 down and one to go. Whose the last one?", commented Kanaya.

"Let's see - Bankotsu, Suikotsu, Ginkotsu, Kyokotsu, Jukotsu, and Renkotsu. That leaves ...", he paused as the lobby began filling up with smoke.

"SHIT!", yelled Kai, "Is the place on fire?"

"That ain't fire, it's..."

"POISON!", yelled Yasha, "Mukotsu, the poison wielder is left!"

The brothers covered their noses and followed the direction of where the smoke came from. it didn't take them long to track down the source of the poison and dispense with it.

"Spread out, guys. Look for Bunza and all and find that Mukotsu!", said Yasha.

"They'll be no need for that.", came a male voice from behind them.

The boys turned towards the voice and saw,

"UNCLE!", a few of them cried together.

"Of course.", said Sesshoumaru.

Behind Sesshoumaru were their four missing brothers. The brothers greeted each other happily.

"What happened?", Yasha asked his four brothers.

"Apparantly, Uncle saved us with the Tenseiga.", said Bunza.

"You were dead?", Rikiya softly whispered.

"I guess so.", Bunza agreed.

"Where is Mukotsu, Uncle?", Kai asked Sesshoumaru.

"Dead, of course. Here, he had this on him.", Sesshoumaru said, handing Yasha another piece of the sacred jewel.

"They each had a shard of this jewel on them.", said Kanaya.

"Except Bankotsu. He had two shards on him.", said Yasha.

"So we have 8 shards of this jewel?", asked Shinta.

"7. Miroku has a shard in Tokyo.", replied Yasha, thoughtfully.

"Where is your Otou-san?", Sesshoumaru asked.

"Looking for Okaa-san. I think he probably went to the ghost house.", Yasha replied.

Without another word, Sesshoumaru walked out the door, turned into a ball of light and disappeared.

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Inuyasha sped through the trees. In his full-demon form, his energy seemed limitless. Arriving at the ghost house, he broke down the door and entered. He was greeted by his mate, with her bow and arrow aimed straight at him. Before it registered what was happening, he heard his mate scream,

"LEAVE INUYASHA!"

Just as she released the arrow. The arrow found its mark, deep in his flesh, near his heart. Inuyasha simply pulled it out and threw it away. Growling at his mate, he grabbed her. Even though he was full-demon, he recognized the look in her eyes. She was under the control of another, but she was fighting it.

Kagura saw the whole incident, but stayed in the shadows. She had never seen Inuyasha in this state and it frightened her. Yet, even in his monstrous state, she watched as he pulled Kagome closer and kissed her. She responded slightly, but she was still fighting the spell over her. She managed to say one word,

"Adimara."

And then she fainted in his arms. Picking her up, he sniffed the air. Growling, he followed the scent that came to his nose. As he rounded a corner and entered a room he faced the source of the scent and he growled fiercely.

"Lord Inuyasha,", said Mashai weakly. It was evident he was fighting a spell as well. Inuyasha laid Kagome down and took a defensive stance. He prepared to level a tearing blow to Mashai's midsection. As he began to slice, he heard a scream of,

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"