Hello once again friends and reviewers, I hope you're excited for this one. I know I am, we're so much closer to the surprise chapter.
The Great Wizard Qui Quae Quod. New reviewer, I'm assuming... I know what you mean, but I have a few surprises in future chapters. I continue this story only because I have fans that wish to see this story through, they are the reason I continue.
Soul, I know the last chapter was rushed and I apologize. I just wasn't feeling, you know? I know InuYasha would have trouble carrying three people, but in the episode in the anime where Sango was introduced, he carried three AND Hiraikotsu. And that boomerang weighs alot on it's own. Yeah, you could say he did I guess. About tossing Kenshin on his behind.
Yes, he did discover the snack of potato chips~ lol. Yeah, I know InuYasha is a little piggy when it comes to those, unlike Kenshin who needs a drink every few bites. xD
Inu Battousai, I see that contrast too. It's actually sort of entertaining, I think. You know, to see two clashing personilities. Also another yes, they discovered ninja food. Yum yum!
Yeah, I could only assume, but I can see InuYasha being somewhat gentler as the redhead grows on him. lol.
Zanza, yes Nobunaga is indeed a sorry case, but sweet either way. That comment about sodium intake... Maybe, but not likely. No one including myself would want to see that happening, I hope. o.o
Last Time:
Soon, it was morning once again, and the group left the castle after everything was settled. The inu group was seated onto a blue picnic basket, even InuYasha was seated with them. The only one that was not, was Nobunaga which was seated in the grass, a little ways away. Currently, Kenshin was sipping away at his tea after having let Kagome treat his injuries. Kagome and InuYasha looked towards the fellow ahead of them.
"Oh come on, say something Nobunaga, won't you?"
"Idiot. Even though he practically got himself killed, he went of his way to save the life of his only romantic rival"
Nobunaga lowered his head with a short laugh, even though the pain shot up his arm with that movement.
"That's me, alright. Amari Nobunaga, world's biggest idiot and fool"
"You are an idiot, but you also saved a lot of lives, so don't beat yourself up, there's plenty of others who'll do that"
"Know what? that does cheer me up, okay!" he said with a smile, using a wooden cane to help him stand before walking ahead.
"Hey! Wait, look out"
"wouldn't go that way if I were-..."
His warning was cut short as Nobunaga slipped and fell from the steep heel. Kenshin nearly winced but settled for a sigh while remaining on his spot, the other two though...
"... you"
"he's an idiot alright"
The Ribbon That Binds Us (The Fox and The Hound)
"Three, two... One!" came Kagome's voice over the light beeping of a blue portable clock, which she silenced with a click of a button atop the device.
InuYasha was quick to dig into the morsels of food she dubbed as noodles. His tastebuds immediately danced at the taste, though he wouldn't dare admit they were delicious.
"Not bad, not bad, I can see how this would catch on" he said, slurping up the noodles.
"Next best thing to sliced bread" she sat there, watching him with a bit of an annoyed glance.
Kenshin was seated next to her with a nervous smile. Though he said nothing but sip at his tea, trying to keep from saying anything. But that didn't stop InuYasha. Dog-boy paused from his eating; before pointing his chopsticks at the remnants of ramen packages, asking her why she wasn't "digging in". That did it... Kagome pushed herself to stand with a glare aimed right at the halfling.
"Speaking of digging, have you noticed we're surrounded by corpses here?! No! I guess you were too busy rummaging through my backpack to realize that we happened to be sitting in an old battlefield! 'I'm hungry' he says, then he has the nerve to expect me to eat here."
Kenshin glanced at Kagome who plopped back down next to him, seemingly annoyed as ever.
"Geez! Even your blood-sucking flea buddy has better manners!"
"Finally, I found someone who has good taste and tastes good. I must say how impressed I am by the conveniences of your era. That by-cycle and your instant food stuffs... Tell me, has our lands started trading with other lands?" said the flea from his seated position on InuYasha's fang rosary.
"Yeah! Good observation Myouga, figure you'd notice. Actually, instant noodles were invented right here in Japan during the space age. Everyone eats them, but originally they were meant for astronauts in outer space."
"Astronuts?" InuYasha and Myouga said in unison.
Kenshin blinked and listened in, himself. This was curious indeed.
"Astronauts, we've explored outer space. Hey right! I guess you don't even know we've been to the moon!"
"Man has travelled to the moon?"
"On a by-cycle?" InuYasha asked.
"No, in a rocket of course" Kagome shut her eyes, acting somewhat like a teacher from her era at this point.
"And a rocket would be...?"
"They're long, and usually white, and flames shoot out the bottom. Countdown to launch, zoom!" she exclaimed excitedly, while doing necessary actions for the things mentioned. Just to realize that the only one not paying much attention was InuYasha, who seemed much too busy slurping away what remained of the noodles, and the chicken broth.
She stared at him before turning her head away, crossing her arms over her teenage bust, clearly upset as she griped about how he was more interested in this future food than space travel.
"Miss Kagome, I am quite interested in this spa-..."
Suddenly the surrounding area turned dark, causing confusion between the group of comrades. Kagome looked about the darkened area with the questions of what was going on and why it was so dark. Kenshin was also quite concerned about the darkness that so abruptly interrupted their... unique spot for a meal. He stood much in the same fashion as InuYasha, although his hand was already reaching for his blade, this was clearly not an original type of darkness.
"No idea, but something tells me it's trouble"
"InuYasha, no loitering" chided Myouga to his master's lack of care for the environment.
"Keh! This is no time to talk trash" he retorted, reaching for his Tetsusaiga.
Just as Kenshin was about to turn to glare at InuYasha with a face that showed some sense of annoyance, something happened. A blue ball of flames erupted in the sky, into a cyclone shape expanding quickly, but causing no damage whatsoever. And a voice... The small voice of a child.
"You down there, you possess a piece of the sacred Shikon Jewel."
"Who's that?!" InuYasha was about ready to draw out his sword, and the redhead wasn't far behind either.
"A demon?"
Myouga jumped onto InuYasha's shoulder again while looking up at the flame cyclone, and didn't take but a minute to mention what this was.
"I believe it's a fox"
"Not likely Myouga"
Kenshin and the others watched in amazement as the blue flame cyclone was reduced to an odd shaped pink balloon with large eyes and small black and yellow arms and legs... or what they could be considered as. The inu group looked suddenly underwhelmed at this turn of events, if not annoyed and perhaps even dumbfounded. The pink balloon floated over to InuYasha, demanding that they only had two options; give up the Jewel or their lives. Then it somewhat bit down on dog boy's head. Though that didn't seem to phase him so much, so that he used a claw to scratch at his temple gently in irritation. And in an instant, his hand came up and slapped the balloon which flew back, then popping out of it and a small bout of blue flames, was a child.
A child with red orange locks tied neatly with a blue bow and green eyes, he wore dark blue hamaka pants with a matching light blue top containing white leaf patterns. A brown fur-like coat was also seen over the child's back. He also seemed to have a beige tail, moving this way and that, as he pushed himself up in a seated position, revealing his set of small fox-like feet and the pointed ears of a youkai. Currently he was fighting tears that threatened to escape his eyes, while moving his hand along his throbbing cheek. It hurt. The inu gang approached and stood just as surprised as they seemed before, but with a little less irritation, mostly on InuYasha's part.
"It's a kid"
"That it is..."
"Who dares to burst my bubble!?" said the child, while shooting up on his little fox feet.
That was one decision he quickly came to regret in seeing InuYasha reach to grab him, and despite his attempt to try and run, dog boy caught him. By the tail! The young fox struggled for the first few seconds as he was held above ground.
"Heh, feisty little thing ain't ya? Nice tail, looks like a badger or a squirrel" InuYasha stated, even more so staring back at the fox, who stopped struggling to look at the halfling.
"I'm a fox, heathen!" shouted the child, quite angrily at being accused of being anything but what and who he was.
"A fox?... It talks?"
"It would appear so, Miss Kagome"
"Cool!" she smiled suddenly, rising a hand to her cheek in the process.
Kenshin watched with some amusement dancing in his eyes at the sight of Kagome approaching InuYasha; exclaiming in an excited manner that she wished to, at the very least, hold the fox child. To which dog boy looked at her with a... refusal to allow that just yet. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide as a strange stone of what appeared to be a praying dog with a red scarf pulled him down, and kept his right hand underneath it.
"Where'd that come from?" Kagome asked curiously.
Kenshin was curious about that himself, yet that question was quickly answered. Sounds of clattering and such was heard coming from the direction of Kagome's bag, to which the schoolgirl shouted for him to get out of her things. Though the young fox seemed to be ignoring her until his little hands found what he sought, and with an exclamation of victory he turned around in time to see the swordsman fast approaching. He shrieked and moved to dodge the redhead's attempt at catching him. Then he vanished with the Jewel at hand, in a cyclone of blue flames into the sky, after saying his quick goodbye. InuYasha let out a growl as his brows furrowed and Kagome's did much of the same.
"He disappeared!" she exclaimed, clearly upset.
Kenshin looked at them, lifting a hand to brush the back of his scalp with a nervous laugh, though a sudden clattering of bones was heard behind InuYasha and Kagome. All three of them looked over at the source, and sure enough, that little fox had hidden himself within the skull that had been laying around. It took a moment for InuYasha, just as Kenshin thought, to raise his fist angrily and give chase after the runaway skull.
Moments later, the group found themselves seated around, fox child included. He had his arms crossed over his chest and put up a tough demeanor, despite having had his head pummeled by an angry dog-boy. Kagome was presently spraying some kind of liquid, explaining to the young kit that it may sting a little, and to think happy thoughts.
"So, why were you so determined to get the Jewel from us?"
"For my father. I need to get the shards of the Jewel to avenge him"
"What do you mean, avenge? You don't mean... your father was killed, do you?" asked Kagome, once she stopped herself from spraying the futuristic spray liquid onto the child's head bump.
"Oh, I get it. He's not strong enough so, he needs the power of the Jewel to take out his enemies" InuYasha pointed out, while taking out the small container with the Jewel inside from his shirt, to which he noticed Kagome move right up to him.
"Hm?"
The young fox demon was trying to explain to the pair arguing, as well as Kenshin, whom sat there with a nervous laugh, about how he was strong enough and such. That was proving to be difficult though, with InuYasha trying to keep the Jewel from her and Kagome trying to get it back.
"HEY! I'm doing the talking here!" he finally snapped.
Both teenagers stopped immediately and turned to the furious little kitsune, while Kenshin sat there with a sigh. Thankfully, that had stopped the two from continuously arguing about who should hold the shard in their safety. Once they had all settled down, their new friend the little kitsune, sat there before them to explain his story thus far.
Flashback:
Hundreds of warriors on either side of a field, each side in its own type of armor, wielding various spears and other weapons, as well as differences in flags. The sun has shone down to what would be their battlefield, near a forest where the young kit and his father resided. Suddenly dark clouds approached, while a horn was blown by one of the two sides. As described by the storyteller, it was one so dark and evil that none could imagine the horrors it would bring.
"Look something approaches" said one of the warriors, pointing towards the skies above.
Where he pointed the eyes of the others followed, in time to see and hear the clapping of thunder and the roar of lightning. Two figures suddenly pushed through the light, coming from the lightning. One seemed to be flying on his own with flaming wheels at his ankles while the other was seated on a smaller cloud.
"Time to hunt, Manten"
"Aye brother, start the hunt"
The one with a pike in hand showed no hesitation in sending out a large burst of lightning to the opposing army, obliterating all within its range. That attack was followed with the spear thrown to the Earth, sending another blast towards what remained of the enemy army.
"They eliminated the enemy with a single strike of lightning" said one of the soldiers on the opposing side, shocked at this turn of events.
"What is their purpose? Do the beasts claim to be our allies?" asked another, while the other stared in disbelief, much like his comrade was.
The two beasts flying in the sky lowered their altitude as the pike returned to the one that looked more human with a full head of black hair, held back in a braid that reached his back. While the other on the cloud, looked a lot less human than his companion and had very little hair atop his head. That one seated on the cloud, turned towards them with quite the serious look.
"You entertain the thought of being our allies?" he asked before opening his mouth to reveal many sharp teeth.
Moments later a light of yellow took shape inside the demon's mouth, with sounds of lightning heard. The humans below were shocked and continued to stare in disbelief, only to have the thought of running away shooting through their minds. However, that was a second too late. From the demon's mouth came a large quantity of lightning, shooting right for them. Their screams of agony echoed through the area, before it was faded into the blast, and their bodies vanished without a trace. All that was left of the destruction were corpses of horses and some remains of the humans, all motionless. Several patches of the Earth were set ablaze. The two within the sky took a moment or so, to admire their work here, before going on their way.
"Ahh, that was certainly entertaining"
"Yes indeed, pitiful warriors" said his brother on the cloud behind him while brushing at the few strands of hair that remained.
"But the day is still young and I'm feeling restless. The shikon Jewel shard embedded in my forehead leaves me with power to spare," said the more human-like brother, while pointing with his thumb to the shards there.
"So true" stated the other, finished in brushing the three strands of hair that remained.
"Imagine what powers we would have with even more Jewels"
"We must search among the beasts and relinquish them of their precious treasures. As we did with our dearly departed friend, the fox", the larger of the two exclaimed, ruffling the fur of a skinned fox around his waist.
The two carried on their way while letting out a hearty laugh.
After the storytelling, the group was once again on the road. Kagome rode her bicycle with her yellow backpack, the kit seated atop that. To InuYasha's dismay, Kenshin once again rode his back, upon Kagome's convincing. He ran alongside her with a look of annoyance, and she offered him a short lived smile before looking over her shoulder to the fox kit, whom they learned was named Shippo.
"So they murdered your father to get his piece of the Shikon Jewel? But why'd he have it?"
"I couldn't say. All I know is that the thunder brothers steal the Jewel from demons."
"Thunder brothers?" Kagome asked, coming to a stop on her bicycle.
InuYasha was quick to skid to a stop a little bit ahead of them. He turned to look at them as he listened in, too.
"It's a nickname because of their thunder and lightning attacks"
"Heard of them Myouga?" he asked his flea friend after pushing Kenshin off his back, having had enough of the male enjoying a free ride on his back.
Kenshin sent him a glare once he stood to dust off his clothing, rubbing his sore bottom, but it was mostly ignored by the halfling. Kagome watched the two closely for a moment, before turning her attention to Myouga whom now sat on InuYasha's shoulder.
"He must be talking about Hiten and Manten, and if the rumors are true... Those two are evil incarnate."
"Big deal! All I gotta do is defeat the brothers, and walk away with all their Jewel shards" InuYasha stated proudly, while crossing his arms over his chest with a smirk.
"And one day man will walk on the moon, you're no match for the thunder brothers. You're only half demon, I can smell the human in you. This is between demons. It's got nothing to do with half-breeds such as yourself, so stay out of it." Shippo started sarcastically but ended with a serious tone, crossing his arms and turning his head away, while closing his eyes.
Kenshin looked at the small kitsune with a bit of surprise on his features, not only was he brave for his age but also, it was sort of serious the way he was portraying his personality at the moment. The following events however, took place in a matter of seconds. First, Kagome mentioned that was no way to speak to InuYasha and he, the halfling was quick to leap over, hitting Shippo over the head with his right fist. The young kitsune felt tears starting to leak from his eyes, but refused to let them fall. The next few moments after Shippo's near outburst, he felt a barrage of hits to his head from InuYasha's left fist.
"Go easy on him" Kagome moved to try and diffuse the situation, currently ongoing.
"She is right you know, he is still young" Kenshin approached, butting in too.
"Forgive me! No hard feelings. Very sorry, forgive me" Shippo moved to bow a few times to InuYasha; from his spot on the yellow bag left on the back of the schoolgirl's bicycle, once the hanyou stopped the barrage of fists to his head.
"Someone's gotta teach him a lesson" InuYasha stated confidently, folding his arms in his sleeves in the process.
"As a token of my apology!" He started calmly before pulling out a stone toy in the shape of a semi-human-like figure, before it enlarged and the kitsune trapped either of InuYasha's hands beneath it. He followed by pulling a paper of sorts to place onto the stone statue's head, a small chuckle escaping him.
"This is supposed to be humorous?" InuYasha asked the kit with furrowed brows and an angry scowl, while struggling to get free to no avail.
"Hehehehehe, you're stuck until you can get the spell scroll peeled off"
"Don't be so childish, Shippo. Take the spell off him." Kagome scolded, in a bit of a motherly, yet stern voice.
"I agree with miss Kagome, Shippo... That I do"
With that, Shippo turned his head away. A sign of defiance. Kenshin sighed as Kagome turned to InuYasha, stating that the stone couldn't be that heavy, and he retorted with a response. The redhead moved to try and get the stone off the dog's hands.
"I don't like playing tricks on women if I can help it. Don't hold this against me, Kagome", he exclaimed before jumping into the air, and patting her on the shoulder.
Kenshin turned his head just in time to see the young fox do it, and for Kagome to temporarily become dazed. The next moment however, proved to the two males that it hardly effected her, if at all. She snapped out of it, quickly grabbing Shippo before he could return to the ground.
"A little respect please!" she stated, frowning.
Shippo's eyes were wide with surprise at that, and he seemed to have panicked. Quickly enough, he curled into what could be seen as a ball, before a blue aura in the shape of flames burst out. That caused her to drop him, in fear of getting burned or otherwise. He landed with ease before turning to them with a victorious smirk. In his hand was the bottle containing the shards of the Jewel, that they'd collected.
"Thanks, I'll use this to lure out the thunder brothers"
"Hey! That little dog! He's got my Jewel shard again! Get back here, you mangy mutt!" She started before running to her backpack, to retrieve the bow and quiver of arrows given to her previously. Kagome begun to chase after the young fox despite InuYasha's plea.
"Miss Kagome, wait!"
"You stay with InuYasha, I'll get him!"
"I am sorry InuYasha, but I can't get the stone off your hands" the redhead lamented, sweat beginning to gather at his brow.
InuYasha turned his attention to him, as there was a brief pause between the two, before the halfling's struggles begun anew. Kenshin sighed out, as he looked back to where the two ran off to. Then, he returned his attention to InuYasha, who continued to struggle, but stopped and glared at him.
"Why in the hell didn't you stop him?"
"I can't very well hit a child, that I cannot"
While the two argued; Manten, one of the two brothers, was sitting by a river as he stared at his reflection. He was dressed in armor that fit his large frame rather well, that included the ones around his arms and shoulders. He had a pair of black pants, that was almost entirely covered, by the yellow-beige fur of Shippo's fox father. His skin was awfully pale, and his eyes rather small. Two black marks was drawn under either of his eyes, as he constantly looked at himself.
"What a pleasing visage, but with a few more hairs I could attract the ladies as brother Hiten does" he stated more to himself, but a rustling coming from behind, interrupted his thoughts.
Looking in the direction of the rustling, he was met with that same sound again and found himself before the little kit. What was his name? Oh, what did it matter. As Manten stomped the floor, Shippo turned towards the sound, terrified.
"What a coincidence, if it isn't the son of that flea bitten fox"
"What do you want?" he asked, shaking before taking notice of what, or rather who, lay wrapped around the enemy's waist.
Manten grinned at this and patted the fur a few times, keeping his eyes on the kit as he took a step back in shock.
"Like my fur coat, do you? Just like your father's" he stated, then laughed aloud.
"Monster!... You'll pay for what you did!" Shippo exclaimed, as anger boiled in his blood. He leapt for Manten, but his attempt was easily thwarted with a single punch, that sent him flying into the dirt.
When little Shippo came to a stop in a sitting position, the container with the shard of the Jewel slipped from his vest, falling to the ground next to him. The young kit was quick in gathering the glass vial with his small hands, but Manten had already spotted it. When Shippo was about to run, he felt pressure on his tail, and he turned his head to see what was the cause. Manten had stepped on his tail to prevent him from running.
"Now hand it over like a good little lad, or else..."
It was then that Shippo begun to shake in fear, as that same yellow energy that killed his father previously, was being charged in the mouth of that monster. For a moment longer, he thought that was the end of him, when suddenly an arrow shot forth and right through that demon's nose. Not only did that halt the attack, but also surprised the one who was hit. Shippo couldn't help but stare at him, until the voice of Kagome reached his ears. Either one turned to look at her, one with a surprised expression and the other, was more or less shocked.
"Wow, I can't believe I hit him..."
"Who are you?"
Shippo looked down at the bottle and stayed put, even as Manten reached for him. Though his reach was halted by Kagome's voice, telling him to stay as he was, while she notched another arrow.
Meanwhile, Kenshin had long since left InuYasha. Telling the halfling he'd return shortly to help him, once he retrieved the kit and Kagome from wherever they might have gone. InuYasha now, was in a bit of a panic, due to his predicament.
"Please, get this thing of me!" he shouted desperately, to a human villager that happened upon him.
The man took one look at him and shook in fear, then turned to run to safety despite InuYasha's pleas for help and such. Meanwhile, Kagome was in a standstill of sorts with Manten; Shippo in the middle of it all.
"Kagome..."
"My beautiful nose"
"Don't move an inch!... Or whatever. Shippo, get over here and bring the Jewel Shard with you" she ordered, pointing the arrow right at Manten.
Shippo took one look at him then and knew. He knew the monster who killed his father was struggling with the decision of staying put, or go after him, despite the risk of being shot again. The moment he moved though, is when Manten chose to chase after him, despite the danger.
"No! I must have that Shikon Jewel!"
/ He has two Jewel fragments in his forehead... /
"If I can hit him there, then I can bring him down" Kagome repositioned her notched arrow to that glow she saw.
The series of actions happened next. First, the area was hit, though the arrow merely grazed him, and flew off elsewhere. Then, Manten stopped in his chase just long enough, to reach up to his three strands left, while Kagome took that chance to get another arrow from the quiver at her back.
"What's his problem?"
As soon as that was said, two of the three strands left fell from his egg-shaped head. This caused the demon's eyes to grow wide and anger to boil his blood. So much so, that the very same energy begun to charge in Manten's mouth, with sounds of electricity reaching each of their ears. He leaned his head back, looking to the skies, even as tears leaked from his eyes.
"Come on! We gotta leave! That's the same kind of attack that killed my dad..." Shippo shouted, looking towards Kagome before either of them turned to sprint.
It was far too late however, the blast was shot out shortly after their sprint began, and either of them tripped and flew off some distance, away from the force. The blast soon subsided and Kagome fell unconscious, amongst the tall grass. Shippo found himself landing by her side. Quickly, he moved to try and wake her but failed, worried he looked back, in hearing the footsteps approaching. Quaking in fear, he dashed out of sight, before Manten got to where Kagome still lay.
"So, the little fox managed to escape. Hm? She looks good enough to eat. She's lovely" Manten started, somewhat irritated. But the more he looked at Kagome, the more he was convinced that this would be the turn-around he'd need.
Meanwhile Shippo hid among the tall grass and looked up in time, to notice Kagome being carried off on Manten's cloud, to Lord knows where. His tail flickered about once or twice, before moving to dash after them. But he was halted, upon realizing that he might actually need extra help with this goal; as well as the sounds of footsteps behind, stopped him altogether. Turning, young Shippo was met with the angry glare of a swordsman. The fox gulped, feeling the fear rise again.
"I can explain"
"You will explain when we return to free InuYasha from that stone."
Meanwhile, Myouga was left to try and help InuYasha on his own. Despite his size, the old flea was attempting to lift the spell scroll off the stone, with little to no success. After a short time of trying, Myouga stopped and looked up to the irritated face of his halfling master.
"It's no use my Lord, I can't remove the spell scroll"
"Why that little fox- He'll regret doing this to me!" InuYasha barked, struggling to pull his hands from under the stone once again.
Kenshin approached InuYasha, and by his side was the young fox who looked nervous now. InuYasha glared at the kit and opened his mouth to argue, but Kenshin was quicker.
"InuYasha, he has agreed to help. Besides, this is no time to argue, that it is not."
InuYasha growled at the redheaded swordsman before glaring at the fox again, who stared back, despite his nervousness.
"I'll help get you free on one condition, which is... You promise not to hit me anymore"
"Where's Kagome?! Why didn't she come back with you?"
"Will you promise me or won't you?"
"Okay, I won't strike you!"
Kenshin breathed out a sigh of relief, as Shippo moved closer to remove the spell scroll off the stone, causing it to return to its miniature size. As soon as the young fox mentioned that he'd tell, InuYasha moved in to smack Shippo over the head several dozen times, the last being the most brutal. Kenshin would have felt bad if it were not for Kagome's kidnapping. It was his duty to look after the girl per Kaede's order, yet he'd failed such a simple task. He'd have to get back her to safety before anything happened to her, or he'd not be able to forgive himself.
"I thought we had a promise..." said Shippo from his spot on the ground.
"Oh right, that reminds me, you have something that belongs to me" InuYasha snarled before standing, pulling the fox with him to shake the shard from Shippo's hidden stack of toys in the boy's jacket.
Kenshin glared at InuYasha and was quicker to retrieve the shard from the cold ground, which was followed by his irritated growl. The redhead was unphased, and merely showed the bottle with the shard to him.
"This is Miss Kagome's and we shall retrieve her, now. She was abducted, and all you appear to care for is this object, so I will hold onto it until we get her back"
InuYasha's growl was soon interrupted by Shippo's outburst.
"You idiot! She was abducted by the thunder brothers, so shouldn't you go after her?"
"Huh? The same two brothers who killed your father abducted Kagome? You let them get away?!"
Shippo turned his head away, despite InuYasha leaning in to inspect him.
"You're not exactly reeking of the scent of victory. What did you do? Conceal yourself in the bushes while they made off with her?"
"Why do you pin all the blame on me!? She's your woman! You should at least do some of the rescuing!" retorted the fox, which he soon came to regret.
Soon the kit found himself on the ground, with InuYasha's hand looming of over him, then turned with his arms crossed, clearly irritated. He stated quite clearly that Kagome wasn't his woman and Kenshin would have laughed, if it weren't for the seriousness of this situation.
"...But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to save her."
Shippo sat up staring at him, dumbstruck for a moment before InuYasha's demand of an apology and a hot bath came up, to which the young fox's little fists curled up with an angry stare. Kenshin sighed out at this, and turned to head in the direction Manten was bound for. This was clearly a joke to that halfling.
"Shippo, give the master what he wants. Time is wasting and the girl is in danger" Myouga pleaded, once on the boy's shoulder.
"Grr... why am I always the one handing out apologies? But I can't rescue Kagome on my own... Okay! I apologize!" Shippo begun thinking aloud, feeling irritated himself, but then the mental image of Kagome being carried off by Manten crumbled his walls. He found himself on his knees apologizing, despite his want to defy the mutt.
"Don't mention it. Come on, we got a lot to do, Shippo... Besides, I can't let that redhead get too much ahead of me" InuYasha huffed, picking up Kagome's pink bicycle, bag and all, over his shoulder; then turned to look at the fox.
Meanwhile elsewhere, within an area of mountains with dark clouds looming over, stood a tall wall with a strong structure. Two large, wooden doors sat at the front, either one shut off from the world. Within the walls, stood a house of sorts where Manten was currently stirring a bubbling, purple liquid. He let out a laugh suddenly...
"Mother would be proud, if she knew the family recipe was being put to use. The only ingredient left to add is the most important one, the one I like to call, deliciously awful." he ended with a cackle.
Kagome, whom was laid on her stomach on a wooden make-shift bed, awoke from her slumber. Once her eyes opened, she took in her surroundings and almost immediately noticed the demon across from her, still stirring whatever he was cooking... Or whatever.
"Awoken, have you my fair maiden?"
"Where have you taken me?" Kagome asked, pushing herself up in a sitting position.
"That's the least of your worries" Manten stated, turning to her while putting down the spatula he was previously using, for whatever he was cooking up.
"Why are you looking at me that?" she asked sternly, yet clearly afraid, while moving her arms over her chest in a protective manner.
"I'll tell you. The flesh and blood of young maidens do marvels for hair growth. Some call it the wonder potion of the century." He begun, turning his head once to check the progress of the "potion" he was concocting, only to return his gaze at her soon after.
It took a short moment for Kagome's mind to process what he'd said. Needless to say, that not only frightened her, but it also made her a tad bit angry.
"I'd rather be eaten alive than boiled down for some hair concoction!" she shouted, curling her hands into fists, her brows furrowed in the process.
"Shhh! Keep your voice down. If brother Hiten hears you, he might just fulfill your wish!" Manten replied, sweat forming around his brow.
At that moment, the wooden door that led to the room they were in, was smashed into several dozen pieces. Each one falling and revealing what was the cause. There stood a fairly tall man, his skin was tanned and wore similar armor and clothing that his brother seemed to have on. With a few differences in shape and colors. Unlike his brother though, Hiten seemed to have a full head of black hair, groomed back into a long braid at his back. Each of the thunder brothers had gold earrings on their pointed ears. Another difference was that Hiten's eyes seemed to have a deep red hue with black slits. His right arm was around a woman whose skin was paler in comparison, and a head full of thick raven hair. The woman's eyes differed, as well as her choice of attire.
"Thought I heard voices, back so soon Manten?"
"That thing's your brother?"
"Hiten! Good to see you" Manten managed to squeak out, sweat gathering on his brow.
"Who's she? What's she doing here?" Hiten asked, moving his sights on Kagome who still sat on the make-shift bed table.
"She's mine! I found her first" Manten was quick to move before her, holding his right arm out to protect her in some sense.
"No need to worry, I have no use for her. Not when I have this little vixen" he chuckled, turning to the woman in the end of that sentence, giving her a smile.
She on the other hand, gave her own little smile before shutting her eyes, and turned her head slightly toward him.
/ At least that brother looks human... Maybe I can talk my way out of this /
"Oh, while I'm thinkin' about it, how'd you fair in your search for my Jewel fragments?" Hiten turned, opening his eyes to look at his brother.
"Hum.. Hmm... How could have I forgotten?" Manten begun, looking at the ground then turned away, clapping his hands together, clearly nervous.
Kagome watched with anxiety creeping up on her as Hiten approached his brother, both of his fists were clenched. Manten was still quite jittery himself, as he scratched a bit at his near bald egg-shaped head, sweat still gathering at his brow and such.
"My apologies dear brother, I found one but lost it..."
"Found one but lost it? Don't tell me you were more interested in this woman, so much that you forgot about the precious Jewel shard!" Hiten shut his eyes, raising his right fist that was still clenched quite tightly. Finally he aimed back at the door, opening his eyes in the process and grunting; as a large blast of power obliterated the woman that once stood there, in a matter of seconds.
That blast was quickly accompanied by the sounds and power of lightning across the room, which luckily hit neither Kagome or Manten, but both had to brace themselves to be sure. When the blast subsided, the woman that once stood at the doorway, fell to the floor, her body incinerated, nothing but a dark shape remained.
"Please, Hiten! Forgive me!" Manten shouted, in quite the panicked tone.
"You bring nothing but shame to this family. If you were not my younger brother, I would have done you in long ago!" he ended with a bit of a growl to his tone.
While the two continuously argued between themselves, Kagome stared in fear. Her immediate thought was indeed, that she was in very serious trouble. Her second thought, was that she very much needed to get out of there, and quickly.
"So, this little Shippo tyke has our Jewel shard?" Hiten asked before turning his back on his brother to head out and search, however the voice of his brother halted him in taking another step.
"Are you going after him?"
"Of course I am, and you're coming with me"
/ This is my chance to try and escape... / Kagome thought, turning around as quietly as she could manage, to do just that.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Manten's voice reached her ears, along with the sound of an object being picked up from where it was found, leaning against the table.
Kagome let out a scream before moving out of the way of the sharp cleaver, held by Manten.
"Hey! Watch where you're aiming that!"
"Oh, a thousand pardons. I meant to make it quick so you wouldn't have to suffer, and there's no use delaying since I wouldn't want the main ingredient for my hair potion escaping." Manten stated, laying the blunt part of the cleaver against the palm of his hand while speaking.
"Wait! You don't wanna kill me!"
"And why not?" he inquired, his approach causing her to cower against the wall.
"Uh... Because... You won't be able to find Shippo and his shards of the Jewel!" she replied after a moment, pointing her finger at his nose while her brows furrowed.
Manten, naturally grew somewhat curious at the mention of a shard and Kagome smiled, though sweat was forming on her brow at the nervousness rising in her. She turned her sights on Hiten, who she was most skittish about. Kagome was glad she'd convinced "the dumb one" as she dubbed him in her mind, but now she had to do the same with the more human-like brother.
"Are you two familiar with InuYasha? The strong, brave, handsome warrior?"
"Him, strong? That InuYasha is merely a half-demon"
"But he is strong! He's defeated all kinds of monsters, single-handedly. He currently travels with a master swordsman, teaching him all kinds of new moves, and making him stronger. More to the point, he has most of the fragments of the Shikon Jewel!"
Both Hiten and Manten turned to her in surprise, most likely due to the mention of Jewel fragments and not the swordsman, in her little story. If only they knew what the swordsman could do. Kagome would have thought back to when InuYasha was freed from the tree, and Kenshin went after him like a wild dog, if it weren't for the danger she was in right now. She begun to celebrate in her head, something that was short-lived when Hiten sat next to her with a look that hinted at curiousity, or something else, more like.
"You. Are you lying?"
"I wouldn't lie about him. The guy's madly in love with me. If you tell him you're holding me captive, I know my one and only love will gladly hand over the Jewels." She stated aloud, during which she did the necessary actions to emphasize her point.
"Something tells me she's lying"
"I think she's telling the truth" Hiten said, standing on the make-shift bed table.
In a matter of few seconds, Kagome found herself being pulled by her red ribbon towards the slightly tan-skinned demon.
"Wench. Take us to this InuYasha lover of yours at once. But be warned. If you're lying, you'll suffer the same fate as she. And I doubt you'd enjoy being burnt to a crisp" he started, his eyes moving to the burnt corpse of the woman he'd previously called "vixen". By the end, his eyes returned to her while cupping her chin with a smirk.
/ This guy would do it too! And probably enjoy it... /
Meanwhile, InuYasha was seen running along the ground, Kenshin running alongside him. Shippo sat clinging to the basket attached to the bicycle, while the halfling carried it. As they got to a steep rocky cliff, InuYasha groaned inwardly before taking Kenshin by the arm and leaped his way up. Once above, he landed on a rock and soon enough, the guy was on his back again. He didn't like the idea of having the damned redhead on his back for a free ride again, but he could already hear Kagome... And if he was honest with himself, at the very least, just thinking of hearing her yell gave him somewhat of a headache. Speaking of headaches... InuYasha took a moment to glance up at the frightened kit in the basket, before looking at where he was going with a bit of a smirk.
"What's the matter, Shippo? Not afraid of heights, are ya? I could always take you back, if you're frightened"
"I'm not afraid. I'm gonna save Kagome and avenge father!... With a little help from you, that is... You better be as strong as you say you are, those thunder brothers have Jewels in their foreheads, making them powerful"
Soon after that, InuYasha landed on a rock and lost his balance, nearly falling off the last rock. That caused panic with his other two passengers, but with some luck and maybe a little of Kenshin's help, the halfling regained his balance. He turned to look at the redhead with a little bit of a glare, before turning back to Shippo.
"It'll only make defeating them more enjoyable"
"Master, we must hurry before they do something to Kagome" Myouga said from his seat on one of the many beads from the necklace InuYasha was wearing.
"I'm sure she can handle herself, she's probably got 'em cleaning their cave" InuYasha said, nonchalantly.
It was Kenshin's turn to glare at him, and many could almost see the annoyance he felt at the moment.
"We can only hope. But if the rumors are to be believed, the thunder brothers do not keep pretty young ladies for long before devouring them"
All annoyance left Kenshin's face, quickly replaced with a wide-eyed stare that just screamed, WHAT?!
"Devouring them? InuYasha, do you suppose Kagome is..."
"Get real. Didn't you hear him? He said, pretty young ladies."
And then Kenshin's glare returned at that comment, but InuYasha was merely too preoccupied with his little argument to do anything about it.
"Yeah! She is pretty, and brave and smart"
"Hmm... Isn't anyone going to ask my opinion?"
"Ahh, this is my fault! She's probably being eaten alive as we speak!" Shippo said in a panic, desheveling his hair a little in the process.
"Mayhaps, me thinks it's not too late" Myouga stated, standing on the bead he'd previously been sitting on.
"If it's not too much trouble, could we continue the search? We might be able to get to Kagome before the thunder brothers get hungry"
"What's the rush? She ain't pretty so they're definitely not gonna go for her"
"We could always take a vote, and seeing as I have four hands instead of two, I should be allowed to vote twice"
"Aah! She'll come back and haunt me for this! I've heard the legends and I know how it works."
Kenshin had it at this point, and started to busy himself at searching for a possible trail, despite being fairly high up on a rock with that red clothed idiot. His eyes looked to the dark clouded sky, finally noticing that thunder and lightning were fast approaching them. Could that be the sign that they were close?
"Quit gaggin'! I'm goin', alright?! Stop yappin' at me and point me in the direction of the evil thunder brothers!" InuYasha finally snapped.
It happened so suddenly and quickly too, Kenshin looked up in time to see the biggest lightning bolt he'd ever seen, headed right for them. With wide eyes, the bolt hit the ground right by the rock they stood upon, causing it to shatter to bits, forcing either males to fly off in different directions, due to the power of that blast. Shippo's landing was further off than InuYasha, but he was used to this and landed on his two feet, in a crouched position. Amber eyes rose up to meet the sight of another lightning bolt headed right for him, and InuYasha was quick to turn to run. On his way to safety he swooped up Shippo, who was just beginning to recover from the last blast. The halfling leapt to safety as the second lightning blast occurred, and he was left to brace his eyes as well as the kit's, to keep from going temporarily blind.
"Very impressive maneuver. Dodging my lightning bolt, especially in light of your dull and uninspired conversation just now. You must be the reputed InuYasha, himself" stated Hiten. This time, he carried with him a pike with a strange-shaped blade, somewhat resembling a lightning bolt or two.
"Master InuYasha, that is Hiten, the elder of the thunder brothers" Myouga whispered out, once he was out of InuYasha's long silver locks.
"Where's Kagome!? What have you done with her?!" Shippo was quick to ask but only once he was safely on the halfling's shoulder.
"Don't despair, we've done nothing to her as of yet. Manten!" Hiten turned to look up at his brother.
Sure enough, Manten moved in behind his brother somewhat on a smaller version of a storm cloud. Both InuYasha and Shippo glanced up higher to see the demon reach back to show Kagome was with him.
"InuYasha!" she exclaimed with a smile.
"Kagome!" InuYasha shouted back, his brow furrowed and either of his hands clenched under his sleeves.
/ Well, at least they haven't hurt her...Yet. /
"Judging by your expression, it seems the girl spoke the truth. Now hand over the fragments of the shikon Jewel to me. Or you'll never see your lover alive again!" Hiten spoke out angrily by the end. What added to that effect were several waves of lightning, being produced from his body.
The expression on InuYasha's face then could be considered priceless, but given the situation...
"See my lover?" he stood there, dumbstruck.
/ Some people just can't take a joke / Kagome thought, her face turned away with her eyes shut, and a bead of sweat sliding down from her temple.
Meanwhile, Kenshin had landed by his lonesome self in the opposite direction of where InuYasha was blasted. He'd, in the time that Hiten and InuYasha exchanged words, approached yet remained at a distance, overhearing the demon's shouting. His eyes grew wide in surprise and caused him to nearly fall over. Those two were lovers, now?!
"Um... There must be some misunderstanding. Let me get this straight, you and I are supposed to be lovers?" InuYasha asked, taking several steps forward before stopping, either eyes of his staring up at her in slight annoyance.
"This is no time to get all shy" Kagome was quick to answer, she had to be... Given her current situation.
Manten looked back at her as she did much of the same, for a moment thinking that this might actually be the end of her. Although, all he did was raise his hand, to lightly spin his knuckles slightly into her hair with a bit of a smile. Kagome naturally braced herself in a peculiar way, while he did that, both of her hands tucked under her chin in a cute manner.
"You little vixen, I knew you were fibbing"
"You'd actually think I'd hand over the Jewel shards as a ransom to get you back?!"
"Of course you would, because that's what a lover would do!" Kagome quickly retorted, causing Manten to lean back a bit in surprise at the sudden outburst.
"But we ain't lovers and without love, the whole argument kinda falls apart!"
"So now some little gems are more important than me?! How dare you say something like that, after all we've been through together! In the meantime, you'd better admit to yourself how much you really love me!" She began to shout back, her brows furrowed and by the end, pointed right at InuYasha.
"I believe I've heard my fill, it seems you do have some jewels for us, InuYasha. Jewels that will be mine!" Hiten leaned forth and with the help of the flaming wheels at his ankles, propelled himself towards the halfling.
"Not in my lifetime, pal!" InuYasha withdrew Tetsusaiga from its sheath, allowing the blade to transform from a rusted sword into a deadly fang, and held it in his usual way.
By that time, Hiten charged up lightning into his weapon, the pike he held within his right hand. Soon enough, the blades at the end responded and a blue glow formed in the shape of lightning. Once at his target, the elder thunder brother tried to end this quickly, but with InuYasha being as stubborn as a mule, the halfling blocked the attack even as large amounts of bolts scattered about. Sooner rather than later, InuYasha was slowly getting overpowered, with one mighty push though, he managed to toss that damned spear back, along with its wielder.
"You do have power, but no style. This should be an interesting battle"
Unfortunately for InuYasha, Kenshin from his current spot, thought the same of him. He had the strength, just not the style. Then came the thought that perhaps, teaching the halfling a trick or two would be in order, but shaking his head cleared those thoughts. It was such a silly idea, wasn't it? The swordsman looked up at the cloud carrying both Kagome and Manten. After a short time, he looked to the other two, a sweatdrop forming on his temple and sliding along his cheek. Not only were they quite powerful but quick too, was it perhaps due to their will? Or the power of the shards clearly and visibly produced from their forehead? He'll never know.
/ And hopefully your last. / InuYasha thought.
"Heh, you wish for me to draw out this game, I see. Fine, I shall relish in your prolonged suffering."
"I've heard similar threats from a number of poor fools, whose memories I keep alive by dancing on their tombstones!" InuYasha was quick to retort, after a short laugh.
"Perhaps in your dreams. Enough delay! Time to meet your own unfortunate demise!" Hiten was quick to respond, spinning the pike once or twice before rushing in to attack InuYasha from the air again.
InuYasha let out a low growl rumble from his chest before jumping away, and in turn avoiding the blast of lightning that burst into the ground, which sent debris and large rocks flying this way and that. He leapt from the danger while Hiten flew into the air, in order to prepare for another attack. The halfling had to turn quickly, lest he feel the enemy's weapon pierce through his torso, but luckily his blade was able to halt the spear from doing just that. As Hiten moved to repeatedly strike at him, InuYasha managed to block each one, despite the bolts of lightning shooting out.
"Enjoy your last moments of life!"
/ One touch of this lightning and I'm a goner! /
The force in which Hiten was using to push InuYasha back increased, forcing the halfling to re-position his arms in order to shove away the lightning pike meant for his chest. While the two fought, Shippo watched them for just a moment before looking up to Manten's cloud where he and Kagome still sat. Kenshin looked over to the movement of the kit, realizing that they could put their heads together to save Kagome. As he was about to join Shippo however, Kenshin halted in his tracks in time to see Manten charge an attack to "aid" his brother, the very same he saw back at that lake. His eyes grew wider when he noticed Kagome shout something, and what's more, she leaned over to push him off the cloud. Something she'd likely regret, and as luck would have it, she did. The cloud vanished beneath her the moment Manten hit the ground, after unleashing his charged lightning blast.
"Miss Kagome!" Kenshin shouted, standing up to race over to the direction she was seen falling.
InuYasha's ears twitched at the voice, turning his attention to Kagome falling from sky and screaming for her life. He shouted her name, some part of him felt the urge to rush over and catch her. Yet that was quickly moved to the back of his mind when he was struck at again, forcing him to block the strike with a grunt, due to the force behind it.
"A true warrior never puts a woman before a battle!" Hiten shouted, trying his damnedest to get his opponent knocked back, but that was proving more difficult than he'd hoped.
Hiten drew his spear back, immediately afterwards. Then he sought to strike at him once more, yet the attack was blocked again.
"Kagome...!"
Just as Kagome was fast approaching the crater left by Manten, Kenshin quickened his pace and jumped over said crater, where he caught her while airborne. Quickly, the redhead held her close to brace her, as he maneuvered himself in the air so that he could land within the crater. Upon landing, he immediately looked at Kagome whom had a wide-eyed, surprised expression on her face. He blinked several times in concern as he stared at her.
"Miss Kagome? You aren't hurt are you?"
"Huh...? No, I'm fine" she quickly responded after a brief pause, pushing herself from his arms.
Kenshin offered her a smile with a chuckle. Their little reunion was cut short however, when the voice of the other demon reached their ears. The redhead turned quickly, his hands reaching for the sheath and hilt of his reversed blade sword, while using his body to keep Kagome behind him and protected. Manten looked awfully angry, and his rage was about to charge up the same attack. Just as Kenshin was about to turn and take Kagome to safety, a little red and green spinning top came out of nowhere and landed atop Manten's head. For just a moment the thunder demon was clueless, as was the redhead. But as the top expanded and became larger, both males grew surprised. One more so than the other, seeing as he toppled over while the spinning top kept him in place.
"Get away while you can!"
Kenshin and Kagome turned to see Shippo just outside the crater. Shortly after, both he and the girl made their way of the crater, and she smiled at the little fox.
"Nice work, Shippo"
"Ah, it was nothing" Shippo stated, turning his head away in the slightest, a bead of sweat slowly sliding down from his temple.
"It's far too early for celebrations" Myouga stated, hopping onto Shippo's shoulder while doing so.
"You and your big mouth..."
"Shippo's so-called magic, is all about illusion"
"That's an illusion? It looks pretty real to me" Kagome responded, turning to look at the still trapped Manten.
After a moment or so passed, the spinning top was slowly reduced to toy-size once more, allowing Manten the chance to stand. He took a minute to inspect the object that had managed to hold him down for so long, before noticing the last and final strand of hair falling from his head. Letting out a few noises that sounded like whining, he reached up to touch his entirely bald head. The younger thunder brother rose his face to the skies, slightly opening his mouth to charge another attack. Kenshin took notice of this. He was quick to take Kagome's hand, shouting for Shippo to follow them as they ran, but it was much too late. A large yellow blast of lightning shot up and expanded outwards, then eventually various blasts were shot out in different directions, destroying rocks and killing trees with ease. During all of the blasts, the group managed to run and hide together, despite the destruction going on around them.
"Looks like we added fuel to the proverbial fire"
"You said it" Shippo responded.
Kenshin felt a bead of sweat slipping from his brow, peeking over the rock they hid behind, just to peek at where that crazy demon was located. Though he was quick to hide again, if not for his sake, then for the lives of the two with him.
"I can smell your fear. I'll hunt you down, and use one for my hair potion and the other for a new pelt!" they heard him shout as he approached, then carried off to search again.
"Got any bright ideas? 'Cause something tells me we're in some trouble..." Kagome whispered to the other two.
The schoolgirl peeked a little over the rock despite her fear. It gave her the chance to finally notice the arrow still being seen through either side of the demon's nose. Kagome's thoughts flowed quickly and she turned to the other two, keeping her voice like a whisper.
"The arrow. Maybe I could use it again."
Kenshin stared at her then, did she really mean to walk into danger like before? She really would be the death of him, if this continued.
"Shippo, I need your help" she leaned over, telling the boy and Kenshin her plan.
He was concerned about her and the little fox walking into danger like that. But he agreed on the condition he'd be allowed to intervene, if the situation got messy. Once they got their affairs in order, Shippo got into position almost immediately, after a lightning blast shot in his direction. Sure enough, Manten approached the smoke vanishing into the air. There, he noticed Kagome laying on her stomach, looking very much bruised and helpless. He walked closer, taking a handful of her hair to lift her up.
"Did you honestly think you could elude a thunder brother?"
"Yeah. Actually I did, you slimy mud-skipper" she retorted, once her eyes were opened, smirking at him.
It took a moment or so, for Manten to process this strange behavior, and it confused him. She never acted like that, much less sounded that way before.
"Funny. I just can't do a thing with my hair today" she stated as her hair moved to wrap and bind his wrists.
Kagome was seen running over with Kenshin, and Manten looked at the two stopping to his left.
"What trickery is this?!"
"I'll be taking that arrow back if you don't mind!" she snipped, while taking that chance to pull out the arrow.
"You're that miserable fox!"
"In the flesh and blood, here for my father's revenge!"
"Hold him down Shippo, this may be our last chance. Here goes nothing!" Kagome shouted by the end, planning on using the head of the arrow to remove those shards, and likely kill him in the process.
Manten had other plans, he looked at her and ripped his arm from the hair bind grip, intent on knocking her back before she could. Quickly, Kenshin moved to push her out of the way. With his reverse blade sword he managed to block, although he was sent skidding back. In that time, Manten had tossed and kicked the kit away. Believing Kenshin was no threat because he was human, the thunder demon reached for Kagome, intent on squeezing the life from her. The samurai glared at the demon even as he overheard InuYasha shout her name, likely upon noticing the position she was in. Kenshin moved swiftly, using the speed of his Hiten Mitsurugi style technique, striking horizontally right at Manten's right arm in hopes that it would be just enough, to stop him from choking the life from Kagome. Manten had looked up from her face in time to see him coming, but not quick enough to avoid it, and so the blade hit its mark. Though it was the blunt side, the thunder demon felt the force behind it. All three believed they might have heard a crack, quickly followed by a scream from the beast.
That caught the attention of Hiten, only after another attempt at a stab towards InuYasha's torso, which was fairly easy to block due to the distraction. While he was engrossed, the halfling let out a growl and moved to slash Hiten with Tetsusaiga, something that was avoided. He turned towards InuYasha with an angry scowl, as he dodged the strike. Now infuriated, Hiten moved with more strength with the true intent to kill. Figuring that if he finished this quickly, he could help his brother.
Meanwhile, Manten was having his own little fight, with a human no less. Kenshin stood before Kagome, as she took the time to catch her breath, with the occasional cough. Shippo was quick to approach them, making sure she was alright while the redhead kept his eye on the demon.
"How is it that a weakling human like you..."
"It is never wise to underestimate someone, be it human or otherwise, that it is not" Kenshin responded quickly, crouching to the right slightly, while sheathing his blade.
Manten blinked a few times, confused at this action which caused a slight chill down his spine. This man, he was not ordinary yet... The younger thunder brother smirked suddenly as his mouth opened slightly, the yellow lightning ball forming inside, with the sound of lightning accompanying it.
"You will die here, human!"
Kenshin narrowed his eyes at the demon, before crouching just an inch or two further. Before the blast was shot out of Manten's mouth, shock was quick to appear on his face, as the swordsman vanished from sight. Kagome gasped as did Shippo, both of them were now in the open. As Manten forgot his confusion and snickered, a blade was met against his neck from the left. The impact was strong, and caused the yellow ball to subside and vanish. Manten was sent flying into a tree that had been scorched, while both Kagome and Shippo stared at his work, very much surprised. Kenshin lowered his blade slowly, turning to them with a smile.
"That should keep him away."
Meanwhile, InuYasha and Hiten continued their battle, that is until both males overheard the loud crash. They looked over in time to see Manten flying into a scorched tree, with a slight yelp from the demon. Hiten let out an infuriated growl at that and shouted out:
"Manten, this is no time for play!"
"A-aye brother", he responded weakly as the wound on his neck was touched, and he stood.
"You just won't quit, will you?" Kenshin asked, turning towards him again, narrowing his eyes at the demon.
While Kenshin did his best to fight off his current opponent, InuYasha moved after Hiten, just as he returned his attention to his dog-eared opponent. The elder brother let out a grunt as he avoided the vertical strike of the Tetsusaiga, quickly countering with his pike, causing him to groan at the pain when his torso was finally hit. The attack sent him flying back, due to the blast of lightning sent right in his direction. InuYasha fell to the ground, along with his sword. It stabbed into the rock with ease, slowly reverting to its rusty form with smoke coming from the blade. As InuYasha moved to sit up, his face however was met with the very sharp point of Hiten's spear.
"Pathetic, you don't live up to your reputation. Human compassion will prove your undoing, half-breed. Which will die first, this cursed wretch or the three over there?"
InuYasha let out a low growl as he reached his right hand to lay over his wounded shoulder, looking at that damned smug face was irritating him. But the sound of a crash was heard behind Hiten, the pair of amber eyes previously looking at the elder of the thunder brothers, who turned to check out the cause. Kenshin had been sent flying onto the ground, with Manten looming over him for the moment. The redhead glanced up at the demon standing above him, as InuYasha let out another growl from his spot some distance away. Amber eyes rose again to meet the red ones of Hiten, who still kept that damn spear in his face.
Meanwhile, Manten attempted a punch right at Kenshin, but was avoided quickly with a push of his feet, sending him to slide back a bit horizontally, though that put his back at risk. Due to that quick movement, some rocks cut through his clothes, and injured his back somewhat, though not enough to cause serious pain for the battle ahead. In that time, the punch made contact with the ground and with it, a smaller crater than the last was made. Kenshin felt a bead of sweat forming on his brow and repositioned himself to prepare an attack.
"You best stay out of this, human fool!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, you are a risk to Miss Kagome and Shippo" he retorted, quickly.
With that, Kenshin separated his feet somewhat, placing his right palm on the butt of the hilt, pointing the blade towards that beast. Manten on the other hand, charged the same attack as the last, but this one seemed to be quicker. Unfortunately for him, Kenshin was quicker, he disappeared from sight and again, appeared behind the thunder demon. Manten turned to look back, but his face was met with the blunt side of the blade the samurai carried. Once again, he was sent back, his attack was diverted to the right, luckily away from the two that watched the battle in amazement. Kagome knew he was skilled, but never this skilled. And that sword, it didn't cut. Why?
Manten had it at that point, he was very much angry. How was it that one stupid human held such power over him?! A low rumble that sounded like a growl erupted from his chest, and once more he charged that attack, this one was nearly immediate. The thunderous blast was sent towards Kenshin, as a few others were shot in other directions too. Ironically enough, all were directed at the samurai, who had to dodge each one. On the last however, the blast was too strong. The afterwave of power sent Kenshin flying a fair distance away, as another blast of thunder targeted him, even before the redhead could maneuver his way into a landing. Kagome gasped as the blast exploded, hitting its target. The attack caught the attention of Hiten and InuYasha whom both looked in that direction. The elder brother smirked, chuckling darkly, "Well half breed, it looks like your friend's dead. How about we see who'll be next?" he turned to look at the halfling.
InuYasha let out a low growl as his brows furrowed at the demon. His eyes moved towards Kagome, who by that time was overpowered by Manten, her neck being squeezed. His first thought was that stupid redhead had to get involved and get himself killed. But now that he saw Kagome's life being squeezed from her, his second thought was that he wanted to tear that damn demon to shreds.
"What do you think, Manten? Should we put these fools out of their misery, or make them suffer a little while longer?"
"I'm in no rush Hiten, I'm quite enjoying myself. What is it about the sight of a woman before death that is so exquisitely irresistible?" Manten responded, looking over to Hiten for a moment, then returning his attention to Kagome with a smirk.
Shippo stood from his spot where he was previously tossed. He gave his only little growl before moving to jump onto Manten's arm, where he shouted at the demon to release her. Despite his efforts, Manten merely sent him flying again. Roughly the little fox landed, but was quick to sit up again, laying his small hand on the cheek that had been hit. Manten laughed aloud, keeping his eyes on the small tyke.
"When I'm done, I have a surprise for you. My girth has been expanding of late, and I could use another small fox pelt to keep me warm at nights. It'll be like a family reunion. Should I slay you first, or skin you alive like your father? Perhaps I should sever your toes and use them as a new set of earrings."
"Very clever Manten. If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you have become quite the villain"
"How kind of you to say so, Hiten" he laughed out, before and after those words.
"You won't get away with this!" Shippo shouted, leaping over towards Manten once again. Quickly, he buried his small fangs into the skin of that demon's neck.
"Hm? Trying to hasten your fate?" the younger of the brothers asked, as he tried the pry the tyke off.
Shippo though, stubbornly refused to let go and shut his eyes, while tears slowly slipped through, even as Manten began to hit him over the head. He overheard the younger of the two say something about releasing his hold on him, or he'd have to re-think the order in which to kill them. Hiten lent his brother advice about Shippo, to which he responded with a comment of his own.
"Hey! I'll be the first to admit that I racked up my share of bad karma in the past, but I'm innocent compared to you two swine!" InuYasha finally stood on his feet, reaching up to his shoulder to dig his claws into it, letting blood seep into them, which he used to send several blades of blood directly towards Hiten.
That caught the elder one by surprise, and he was quick to block them with his pike and a little thunderous energy. Hiten grinned at InuYasha, very much prepared for a battle.
"Finally, this is starting to get interesting"
InuYasha rushed over to his sword which he picked up. Immediately, the blade responded by transforming into the sharp fang that his father had left him. With a grunt, he leapt into the air and aimed quickly, throwing his Tetsusaiga at high speeds, right at his target. Hiten dodged it easily enough, but wasn't aware of the halfling's true intent.
"Nice throw if you're aiming at the rocks"
"Did I get him?" he asked aloud, as he landed on his feet again.
Realization quickly hit Hiten, as he turned in time to see his brother being shot through with the Tetsusaiga. Manten let out a pained cry as he fell, releasing Kagome in the process, as well as the little tyke, who only let go after the younger of the two fell.
"Manten! Are you alright?!"
Kagome recovered after a moment or so of coughing, immediately heading over to Shippo after gathering the lost arrow quickly. With the kit gathered in her arms, her eyes fell onto InuYasha's sword. She reached for it, ready to pull it out.
"Don't leave my father..."
"Yeah of course, but I can't carry your father and the sword back..."
"Manten!" Hiten shouted, the wheels at his ankles accelerating him towards his dear brother.
"Kagome! Get out of there before he kills you!"
Kagome managed to gather the pelt and the sword, while keeping her hold onto Shippo, but with her hands quite full, she couldn't move very quickly. Hiten slashed the air near her feet, sending her, the items and tyke she carried, flying off elsewhere. In the meantime, the elder brother knelt next to Manten, laying down his pike in order to take his brother in his arms, despite his larger size.
"Hiten, they're gone. Every last strand of my hair has fallen and with them, my hopes of becoming happy" Manten cried, barely a whisper.
"Don't be so foolish Manten, we can make it grow back..."
"It's no use. I'm only kidding myself, I'll never have your beautiful hair. You were fortunate enough to inherit father's looks, but fate smote me. It was me unfortunate lot in life to resemble our homely mother. With her receding hairline and decidedly reptilian appearance. How I longed for the looks of you and father..."
"Beauty isn't what's on the outside. I wouldn't change a thing about you brother, I love every bald inch of you."
"Oh, thank you... Even if you don't mean it. Say a prayer for me when I'm gone. Say that I'll be reborn as a fuzzy caterpillar, covered from head to furry toe. No brother, who am I trying to kid... I'd rather be reborn bald again. I'd make that sacrifice if I could be reborn as your brother. Wouldn't that be nice, Hiten?" And with that, Manten finally took his final breath, allowing his eyes to close, welcoming death.
"No, please don't die Manten!"
Meanwhile, InuYasha ran over to where Kagome and Shippo lay, his only concern at the moment was Kagome. Kneeling by her side, worry filled him because she was laying still. Thankfully after asking aloud if she was alright, she opened her eyes to sit up and look at him.
"I'm okay, but I dropped Tetsusaiga when we were hit by the lightning attack..."
"No problem, there's more where that came from"
"I just wanted you to know... I'm sorry I messed up"
"Damn right you messed up! You messed up, big time! But sword or no sword, you're wrong if you think I'll let Hiten get the better of me!"
"Manten... You wretches! You slaughtered my brother!" they heard him cry out. Looking on as Hiten leaned in, to give one final embrace to his brother's corpse and finally whispered a promise.
After that promise was made, Hiten bit into his brother's forehead where the Jewel shards were located. To add to that effect, his eyes glowed red as thunder roared above them and lightning struck.
"Hiten's a cannibal?" Kagome asked horrifed.
"Wait! Things are not always what they appear. Hiten bit into his brother's head to fuse the Sacred Jewel shards with his own body. Master, you must be even more careful than before, for now Hiten holds the power of five Jewel shards" Myouga explained, moving onto InuYasha's shoulder.
"Gee, you think? Hey, you wanna explain your noticeable absence until now?"
"Convenient how you disappeared, just before the going got rough" Kagome butted in, before Myouga could explain.
"Didja catch that? That was sarcasm, as if it wasn't convenient, that you bailed on us when we needed you most!" InuYasha quickly cut him off too, pointing a clawed finger at the small bug.
"I didn't bail on you!... I was making sure that our swordsman friend was-" Myouga finally worded out, with sweat on his brow, though was he once again interrupted.
A blue glow from behind them was seen, InuYasha the first to notice it. The humming of power was heard as well and his ears twitched at the sound. Quickly, he gathered up Kagome and the kit with his father's pelt, in order to dodge the large blue ball of lightning. Upon landing, he set them down, then turned to look at Hiten whom hovered just above the ground.
"How dare you strike down my beloved brother. I shall not stop till I've returned the deed!"
InuYasha felt a bead of sweat sliding down from his temple and along his cheek. This was going to be much tougher, considering Hiten now had five shards to give him power. He stood upright and kept his eyes on the enemy, watching whatever movement he might make.
"Kagome, take Shippo and get as far as you can from here."
"We can't leave you..." she responded after gathering Shippo and the fox pelt of his father.
"Do it now."
Reluctantly, Kagome nodded to him and turned to run, looking for a place to hide. The halfling watched her before returning his attention to Hiten, who by then had surrounded his pike with lightning.
"I shall avenge my brother! Prepare to die!" Hiten rose the pike to the sky, and lowered it again, aiming it right for InuYasha.
A moment later, a small blue orb took shape at the point of the pike, and quickly it expanded into a very large ball-shaped size. One that was sent straight towards InuYasha, who stood there with a wide-eyed expression. He stated that it was too large to avoid but with Myouga's advice about the sheath, the halfling pulled the sheath out and held it out before him. Once the large ball of lightning made contact, it begun to disrupt its energy flow, causing it to move around him rather than at him.
"What?!" Hiten shouted, he was shocked but still very much angry.
Once the the attack subsided into nothing, there was a path dug at least three feet into the ground. Where InuYasha stood, was the only place that was spared from the destruction; his current position.
"Huh? Wow, it actually worked"
"Just as I presumed. The sheath keeps the almighty Tetsusaiga's power in check, so naturally it can repel a mere lightning bolt. Phew, glad my hunch was correct on that one"
"You sent me into battle armed with a mere hunch?!"
"I wouldn't exactly call it a mere hunch, my lord. More like a highly educated guess. But let's get back into the more important matter of escaping with our lives?"
"No chance, I'm gonna use this baby to defeat that demon" InuYasha shouted out before running a few steps and leaping right for Hiten.
The demon grunted, aiming his weapon at InuYasha followed by the same sort of attack, to which the one clad in red used his own, as well. Unfortunately, once outside of the lightning ball, the silver-haired halfling was surprised to see Hiten gone. Shortly after, shooting pain filled him due to the pike having pierced his back, and the overflowing surge of lightning wasn't helping any, either. InuYasha fell into the ground with a large crash, followed with a grunt when he attempted to move.
"InuYasha!..." Kagome shouted out, from her position farther off from the battle.
Kagome overheard Shippo groaning as he woke from unconsciousness. She moved to get closer to him, as he touched the unmoving muzzle from the pelt. He whispered into his father's fur, which he found to be laying on when he finally woke up.
"Kagome?" he asked, sitting up while turning to look at her.
"Shippo, are you alright?"
"What happened to Manten?"
"InuYasha brought him down, but now Hiten's thirsty for revenge"
Meanwhile, the two still fought on. InuYasha had to defend himself the entire time, after having recovered from the last blow. Hiten on the other hand, surrounded the halfling with lightning, forcing him to dodge as he moved back. That gave Kagome and Shippo a chance to observe the two. Now Hiten had the one clad in red on the run, he didn't plan to stop until that half-demon lay dead at his feet! While the battle was ongoing, Kagome turned to Shippo after exchanging some words about a bow. Shippo took a leaf from his jacket and turned into a bow, that was revealed to her once the smoke subsided. It was a yellow furred, swirly bow.
"I wanted a bow not a snail..."
"I am a bow!" he responded with a sweatdrop.
Kagome picked up the newly transformed bow, and took aim at one of Hiten's wheels.
"What's taking so long, Kagome? Hurry up and fire"
"I only have one arrow left, and I'm not exactly a marksman, you know."
"You will be, with me as your guide."
"Thanks Shippo, let's get that sucker" Kagome shut her left eye for a moment, and a second later, the arrow flew through the air.
Just as Hiten was moving in for the kill, the arrow flew quickly and destroyed the left wheel, halting his killing blow. He stopped a few inches above ground, forcing the last wheel to accelerate in order to keep him in the air. Despite the pain throughout his body, InuYasha moved to stand and grabbed the pike. But quickly enough, that was an action he regretted. Lightning was formed around the weapon, sending it right through the dog-eared fool, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Your confidence is annoying!"
"I don't need this thing anymore!" InuYasha tossed the sheath away, while refusing to release the pike, despite Myouga's warnings.
Myouga and the rest watched in amazement as InuYasha gave a nice right hook to Hiten's face, forcing the demon to turn his head with that action, flying back with his pike in the process. The elder brother slid along the ground and crashed the pike into a rock, halting it.
"Not bad for a half-breed. Right, Hiten?" InuYasha shouted out, lifting his clenched fist into the air.
"Well... That's one way of defeating him" Kagome commented from her spot a distance away.
"Whatever works for you, I say"
"K.O for Master InuYasha, he slugged him right in the kisser!"
"Weren't you calling him a fool a few minutes ago?"
Hiten slowly pushed himself up in a sitting position, brushing his right thumb over his left cheek. With a slightly annoyed growl escaping him, he turned to look at InuYasha.
"I've never been struck in the face before, and I refuse to allow it again!" he roared, as a blue glow formed around him, while moving to stand.
Kagome and Shippo watched with wide-eyed expressions, commenting once again on the battle so far. One out of worry and the other, of fear.
"I'll see you in hell, you swine!" he shouted, leaping right for InuYasha with the intent to kill.
InuYasha bared his fangs and leapt to his right, grasping the sheath in order to block the strike from the pike, which he did. That however, left him in a fairly vulnerable position on his feet, in a low crouched position, even more so when the sheath began to crack under the pressure.
"I shall relish in your demise like any other, half-breed" he crowed, pushing his pike down more into the sheath.
Kagome in her worry, after Myouga's comment about the sheath shattering, looked around and noticed Tetsusaiga just sitting there. Shippo was the first to run ahead, with Kagome in tow after gathering the pelt.
"Wait, Shippo!"
Hiten turned his head at the two running for the sword, he furrowed his brow slightly and opened his mouth, allowing the same familiar power. InuYasha's eyes widened at the realization. That was Manten's ability!
"Kagome! Run for it!"
The warning came too late, the powerful ball of lightning was shot out and obliterated a good portion of the area where Kagome and that little fox stood. What they didn't see, what they couldn't see because of the light from the blast, was that a certain redhead moved to shield the two, despite the very large and electrifying danger. And none could see the blue glow from the pelt sheltering each of them, due to the attack sent by Hiten.
"Kagome..."
"Heh, wouldn't waste my breath on her"
"Kagome!"
"What a shame, it seems that they are dead" Hiten turned to look at InuYasha with a smirk.
InuYasha, with renewed vigor, rose up and forced Hiten to move back a few steps while he shouted some profanities at him. Hiten was then met with a strike to the head, with InuYasha's own force sending him stumbling back a little further, where he regained his footing quickly enough.
"That's right, half-breed!" he shouted, crouching in the slightest, to be in a defensive position.
"You'll regret the day you ever crossed me! I promise you that!"
"I think the blood's gone to your head ever since you've lost your beloved woman. When will you learn that no woman is worth risking a battle over?! A brother's revenge on the other hand, is well worth fighting to the death for!" With that, Hiten moved to strike InuYasha down.
The halfling had other plans. He blocked the strike, despite the risk of having the sheath shatter. As the sheath reached its breaking point, InuYasha felt a pulse and quickly enough, realization hit when the Tetsusaiga flew through the air right for him. He let himself reach out and catch the hilt. He then pushed the pike aside using the sheath as the blade transformed. Quickly, he rose Tetsusaiga above his head, and with one fell swing Hiten and his pike were cut in half. Once on his knees, Hiten's whole body became blue, much like crystal before shattering into nothing, leaving only the five shards. InuYasha slowly lowered himself to his knees; his eyes, downcast.
"Lord InuYasha, the uh... Sacred Jewel Shards?" Myouga inquired as he approached the five gems.
"I don't care about them... If only I'd taken care of Hiten sooner, I could've saved Kagome and Shippo", his voice was laced with something that was not heard very much.
"InuYasha"
Either of the triangular appendages atop InuYasha's head moved towards the voice, that was...
"Kagome?..." he asked turning his head, but what he saw was something he'd not expected.
Kagome carried Shippo in her arms, with Kenshin standing behind her. Each of their hair moved with an unseen force, while smiling.
"InuYasha, you fought the battle hard and well"
"And in the end, I was finally able to avenge my father"
"Witness! The souls have come to bid you a final farewell before they make their departure to the other side" Myouga stated as he hopped onto InuYasha's shoulder.
"Huh?"
It was then that the blue flame-like aura surrounding each of them, hummed and whirled with small gusts, while InuYasha rose to his feet despite his injuries and rushed to them. Quickly he took hold of Kagome's arm with his clawed hand, while shouting out at them not to leave him, which surprised her. The halfling watched as the aura shot to the sky and formed into a shape resembling a fox, InuYasha's eyes witnessing the whole thing.
"Kagome!... Huh?" lowering his sights, he noticed she was still there and very much alive, like the other two.
"InuYasha?" she asked, curiously.
"But... Hey, you're still here" InuYasha leaned closer, thinking that he was seeing things, but his hand was telling him otherwise.
"Oro?" Kenshin said, with confusion.
"Yeah, what's with the 'don't leave me' stuff?"
While the adults were having their conversation, Shippo was looking to the sky above them, at the shape slowly vanishing. He smiled, knowing it was his father that protected them, during the whole ordeal.
"I should clarify. When I said souls, I really meant to say foxfire that shot out from the fur of Shippo's father"
"Yeah sure, I make that mistake all the time..." InuYasha grumbled, his left eye and brow twitching in irritation.
"Well, you're only human... or half human"
"Do you mind...?" Kagome interrupted, with a slight hint of red on her cheeks.
InuYasha, turning to look at her again, realized that he still held her arm which he tossed away rather quickly, his own cheeks tinted with a light shade of red. Kenshin couldn't help but laugh at the two and their antics, moving to scratch the back of his head.
"This is all your fault with that sappy 'you fought the good fight' line. Die if you're gonna die, it's not like it matters to me, anyway" InuYasha began arguing, eventually turning his back on them with his arms crossed, mumbling under his breath after that was all said and done.
That left the three a bit confused, more so in Kagome's case, yet Kenshin had the feeling that it might be a bit of a cover-up. He merely smiled at that, turning to look at the destruction left behind. Eventually, the group found themselves on the road again. InuYasha walked ahead, Kagome behind him with Kenshin to her right, and Shippo was seated on the frame in the back of the bicycle.
"Come on InuYasha, your lips are flapping but I'm not getting any audio. How about telling me why you're so upset?"
"I believe that Master InuYasha is ashamed that he believed you were dead, and in a moment of grief, may revealed more than he bargained for"
InuYasha turned at that, to stare angrily at Myouga while raising a fist in the air, causing the flea to hide in the basket attached to the bicycle.
"What'dya still doin tagging along with us, Shippo?" the halfling asked, by then he kept his pace, his hands inside his fire-rat sleeves.
"Why do you think?! You need me and you know it!"
Kenshin looked at the fox with a smile as he appeared to be in a child-like pose, with a serious frown and furrowed brow. He could almost laugh at how that little one acted, demon or otherwise.
"Go easy on him, he doesn't have a home. Besides, he's not hurting anyone"
"Yeah, I'm a defenseless orphan, how am I supposed to get by in the world?"
"Alright, you could stay with us, but only if you could look after yourself."
There was a brief pause then, and Kenshin looked over to InuYasha, expecting something else.
"So Shippo, their village called. They're missing their idiot"
And there it was...
"Kagome, he's being mean to me" he whined, pouting.
"Now, look what you've done! You've hurt his feelings" Kagome was quick to scold in response.
InuYasha tsked slightly and finally, Kagome sat him. Kenshin sighed out at this. This'll be a very long journey.
~~I'm sorry I didn't answer all of your questions but I am tired. Author's need their rest too, and this chapter's pooped me out. Hopefully you all enjoyed it. If you didn't I'm sorry.
On another note, Soul is now officially my beta. ^^ And I appreciate their help with this chapter and chapters to come.~~
