Hey, back with more. Sorry for not being able to post last week. I didn't have any internet connection, and I've had to focus on a lot of stuff since we're soon going back to school so there was a lot I had to fix. Anyway, now that that's over, I've got a lot of time to do this. So let's get this going!
Thanks a lot for the reviews!
Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or Nurarihyon no Mago
The Three of The Band of Seven Appears
Rikuo, his friends and Jess were walking into a big area, sensing a strong aura from something that wasn't Demonic. They looked around, the girls except Jess and Yura seemed scared, as did Jiro. While Kiyotsugu was excited, Rikuo was very cautious about their surroundings.
"I don't see anyone, or anything unusual for that matter," Rikuo said, Jess looking around. She heard something in the tree nearby, narrowing her eyes. She though she saw a robe which looked like it was meant for girls. What the hell? She thought, moving closer. As she did, something shined from the sunlight, Rikuo's attention being drawn to it.
"What's wrong?" Kana asked, looking nervous. Jess didn't say a word, nor did Rikuo. Yura looked over there as well, pulling out a piece of paper with something written on it. Jess noticed it from the corner of her eye, thinking it was her one of her Shikigami. As she lost focus on the tree's shadow, something moving fast towards her.
"Watch out!" he yelled, moving and pushed her down and ended up on the other side of a long, big blade. Actually, more than one. There were a lot of them. Jess thanked Rikuo for his help. He smiled and the weapon was drawn back, leaving a big line to probably say no one was going over it.
"Get up and run. We can lead whoever it is away from the others," she whispered to him, Rikuo nodding as both of them got up and ran as far away from the person. The others yelled after them, the figure following them close behind. Rikuo looked up, seeing the sun setting. Soon. He thought focusing on running again. The weapon once again stopped them and the owner jumped down from the trees.
"Wow, you guys sure are fast. I'm very, very impressed. But how well do you fight?" the person asked, Jess being very surprised and creped out by the appearance of the man in front of her.
The robe she had seen was being worn by him, so she thought of him as a cross-dresser. He robe was pink and looked like it had green leaves patterns on it. He also had a purple scarf around his neck, and purple make-up making it look like he was crying. The sheath for his blade was fastened to his back.
"Who are you?" she asked, the man not looking at her at all. He was staring at Rikuo. He was sweating a little bit, feeling weird with how he was staring at him. Jess looked closer in his eye, and she swore she saw a twinkle in his eyes. What the hell is up with this creep? And what's he doing here to begin with, he's not a Demon in any shape or form. So why? She thought, Rikuo asking the same question she asked that never got answered.
"I'm Jakotsu, one of the members of the Band of Seven. And you're a real cutie," he added in the end, making Jess sick and Rikuo worried.
"Rikuo, I'd get back if I were you. I don't know whether this is true are not, but I've never seen you fight," she said, about to walk past him. Jakotsu looked very annoyed by what she said, not wanting to fight a girl from the looks of it. However, Rikuo held his hand up and looked back at her.
"I'll be fine, better off than you at the moment. You haven't completely recovered yet, so you wouldn't be able to hold your own for too long," he said, Jess narrowing her eyes. She looked up at the sky afterward. The sun was almost completely gone, making her think the moon was soon coming out. Demons are usually seen at night time. Does he have confident in himself because it's almost night time? She asked herself, looking over at him as she moved back a few steps.
"Thank you darling, I'll be sure to give you an interesting fight. That is, if it's long enough for you to see my skills," Jakotsu said, Rikuo looking at him with calm eyes. It was almost as if he wasn't faced by what he said. Jakotsu moved his sword towards him, the distance between them being rather big. However, the sword extended and went straight towards Rikuo and the area around him being hidden in smoke.
"Rikuo!" Jess yelled, about to go and get involved. The moon reflected on her, Jakotsu noticing her moving closer and a annoyed looked appeared on his face. He pulled his blade back and sent it towards her, Jess not being able to react fast enough to get out of the way. She used her arms to block, waiting for the pain.
But it never came.
She opened her eyes and looked up, seeing a katana holding the blade away from her. She looked at the person who protected her, her eyes widening as she noticed him.
"You're not hurt, are you?" he asked, Jess not really paying attention. She was too busy studying the appearance of the man. He looked a lot older than Rikuo, taller as well. His narrow eyes were red and always looked cold, despite the fact that he had a smile on his face. His hair was longer as well, the color being white on top and black on the bottom half, similar to the style Rikuo had. He also wore the kimono he wore while he was in the household.
"…Rikuo?" she asked, everything pointing over to him. He smirked and nodded, looking back at Jakotsu, who's eyes were sparkling with pleasure.
"Oh my, you look a lot more handsome now. Now I wanna fight you even more," he said, creeping them both out. But Rikuo hid it a lot better this time. She looked at him, noticing how different he was acting in his Demon form. He was more confident, not to mention he looked more menacing.
"Don't worry, you won't be enjoying this too much longer," he said, Jess not sure what she should do. And she was confused until Rikuo spoke to her. "You should go and make sure the others don't come over here. You'll only be in the way with the condition you're in," he said, Jess narrowing her eyes at him. She knew he said it because he was worried, but the way he said it made her mad. I like the kind-hearted Human better. She thought, about to do what she was told.
However, she heard someone walking towards her from behind, seeing another man walking towards her. She took a few steps back, her back hitting Rikuo's, making turn his head and noticing the newcomer.
"Oh, hi there Bankotsu. How nice of you to show up. I was just having some fun with this young demon here," Jakotsu said, Rikuo looking back at him with a scowl.
When she looked at his clothing, he looked like he was raised by a wealthy family. He wore a white shirt with a piece of armor. Underneath the armor was a blue patch. His shirt cuts off at mid-way on his forearm, with the rest of his arm being protected by gray guards that leave only his fingers exposed. His armor looked like a uniform with a blue fern design and black rims. A bit of a red cloth of some sort tied his shoulder armor to his chest armor.
His pants are long and bell-shaped, cutting off mid-way of the calf. The remainder of his leg down to his feet are protected by the same thing as his arm, reveling on his toes. His hair was worn back in a long braid that drops below his waist, tied at the end with a piece of white cloth.
"Well, seems like you're having a lot of fun as well. I guess the girl isn't getting involved," he asked, Jess looking at him and narrowed her eyes. She kept her guard up, hearing Jakotsu's bade moving towards her and Rikuo. Both of them moved away, Jess unintentionally moving towards where Bankotsu was standing. He quickly moved his arm around her neck, holding her close.
"Let her go," Rikuo said, looking over at him while keeping a ear open for Jakotsu.
"Why should I? A woman is always good to have around. Especially one that can assist you," he said, tightening his hold on her as she was struggling to get lose. "Not making her a member, but you never know when you need someone to serve you drinks," he added in the end, making her even more annoyed.
"I'm not some waitress who'll do whatever you tell me to. There's only one who can tell me what to do, and you're not him. Nowhere close," she said, regretting it quickly. He made his grip even tighter, making her unable to breathe. She tried moving his arm away slightly, but he was a lot stronger than her.
"You should be careful with what you say. I could easily kill you if I wanted to," he whispered in her ear, making her shiver from his breath touching her skin. She tried moving, but it only made it worse. Rikuo was going to attack him, before Jakotsu interrupted him and forced him further and further away from them.
"I'll take care of him, Bankotsu. You can get going with the girl if you want to," he said, smiling as he kept pushing him further away. Jess felt she was about to lose her consciousness, just when Bankotsu loosened his grip on her and let her breathe and she started coughing. Her coughs were heavy and rough, her chest heaving and falling as she was breathing heavily.
"Heh, you've got guts, I'll give you that. Sounds like you've been fighting against strong guys before. But that doesn't change the fact that we need a little waitress as you called it," he said, making her growl at him. "Don't be like that, it makes me sad. Just don't do something you'll regret and I won't hurt you," he promised her, making her worried.
InuYasha and Koga kept trying to get some hits on Renkotsu, but were having a very hard time. They also had to make sure they weren't burned to a crisp, even though InuYasha's attire would give him some protection, he wouldn't want to risk it. Even Renkotsu seemed to be annoyed by this fight.
"If you two would just stay put, this would've ended already," he said, still trying to hit them with his attacks.
"This isn't going anywhere, we need to stop him from using his attacks somehow," Koga said, InuYasha sniffing the air.
"There's water nearby, we could use that. Only problem is, how?" he whispered, Koga saying they would think about that after they've reached the place. They both jumped InuYasha getting a scratch on Renkotsu's cheek before dashing off. He knew he had to tempt him into following them, so that would be a good reason.
"You little fleabags, get back here right now!" he yelled, very angry. They quickly reached the water, Renkotsu sending fire towards them while their backs were turned. Neither of them could react in time, ready to get hurt by the flames. But, as soon as they closed their eyes, a wall of water protected them and went towards Renkotsu. He jumped out of the way, looking over at the water.
"I don't usually attack Humans, but you're not any normal Human either. You shouldn't be making a mess in this place, or else the Young Master will be very angry at you," someone said, a Demon standing on the water. Behind him was Marie and Johannes along with another girl, who was also a Demon. Tsurara had met them and called for Kappa to help out.
"You two were lucky I bumped into these Humans, or you would've been hot dogs by now," she said, Marie almost letting out a laugh. InuYasha smirked, as well did Koga, both of them looking back at Renkotsu.
"Tch, this just went the opposite way for me. And here I thought I would easily get my hands on our target," he said, sounding like he was thinking out loud. Just then, someone else jumped out of the woods and stood in the moonlight, both Tsurara and Kappa calling out to him.
"Young Master!" they said, Rikuo turning to meet their gaze, Jakotsu jumping out of the woods as well, noticing both Koga and InuYasha and looking very pleased.
"Oh, this is just too good to be true! Three hotties in one place, this is more than I hoped for!" he said, jumping around like a idiot. Both InuYasha and Koga sweated a bit, while Rikuo narrowed his gaze at Renkotsu.
"Why are you here? You were supposed to be finding the girl," he said, almost scolding the happy Jakotsu. He calmed down and smiled.
"Bankotsu already has her, so there's no need for you to get angry. We've got what we wanted, so we could just leave now," he said, Marie worried about who their target was. Then she remembered what he said earlier about a girl with a blade.
"If you've done anything to Jess, you'll be sorry!" she yelled, both Kappa and Tsurara looking shocked.
"How do you know she's the one they were after?" she asked, Rikuo answering.
"We were together before Jakotsu forced me back, making sure I couldn't do anything to help her. So it'll be hard to believe she's not their target," he said, not finished yet. "Although I would like to know why she's your target. I don't remember hearing she did anything to Humans,"
"Is not that she's done something, dear. Her sword is very powerful, and has powers a Demon could only dream to control. So, the one who helped us wants her power to be his, which is why we need her," Jakotsu said without hesitation, Renkotsu sighing as they both got ready to leave.
"Hold it!" Koga yelled, going after them in a flash. InuYasha quickly followed, Rikuo standing in place.
"Young Master, do you know who they were talking about?" Kappa asked, walking towards him. Rikuo didn't turn, but shook his head. It wasn't until he heard a scream from behind him that he quickly turned. Marie had been grabbed by a huge snake Demon, and she wasn't enjoying it one bit. Tsurara was about to help her, but it's tail threw her away rather easy as Johannes quickly ducked.
"Let her go right now!" Tsurara yelled as soon as she got up, the Demon not listening. Rikuo quickly drew his katana and cut it up, catching Marie and landing neatly on the ground. She looked up at him, blushing slightly.
"Uh…thanks a lot," she said her voice sounding weird. Johannes sighed in relief as he put her down, hearing footsteps walk towards them.
"So, this is your Demon form," a deep voice said, Sesshomaru walking into view. Marie quickly went behind Rikuo, still scared of the big bad Demon wolf. Although she talked tough when he wasn't around, she didn't have a death wish.
"Jess didn't come back and neither did you, so Lord Sesshomaru was asked to go and look for you. You should be grateful he bothered using his time on something so useless!" Jaken said, Rin nowhere to be seen. Jaken added that she stayed behind in case Jess came back.
"Speaking of her, where is she?" he asked, not sounding too happy. Rikuo narrowed his eyes, telling Marie to get away from him.
"Taken by someone calling themselves the Band of Seven. They said the one who had helped them wanted the power her sword had, so they needed her. I don't know where she is now," he explained, Sesshomaru looking at him with a cold stare.
"And you didn't do anything,"
"I couldn't do much considering I was forced back they the other member while the leader took off with her. Not to mention using her as a shield. I had no intention of hurting her," he said more specifically, His gaze not getting any nicer.
"And you think that you're going to make it as the next Heir of a Demon Clan. You've got a long way to go, boy. You're nowhere close to being called a leader," he said, this time getting a cold stare from Rikuo.
"Are you trying to pick a fight?" he asked, getting his katana ready an Sesshomaru drew his sword, Tokijin.
"To show how strong a true Demon Lord must be, yes. You need to prove you're the most powerful Demon in the Clan to be seen as a Lord. Even if you're smart of they respect you for other things, power is still everything for Demons," he said, both of them getting ready to fight.
"Since you wanted a test in power, how about we only use our weapons? That should make things interesting," Rikuo suggested, trying to taunt him. Sesshomaru's expression didn't change at all, he just nodded in agreement. There was a few seconds silence before both of pounced at each other. They seemed at equal strength, but Sesshomaru quickly pushed him away and strikes quickly again. Rikuo was able to keep his ground, but was having some trouble getting the upper hand.
"You're not even trying, yet you think you can lead a Demon parade by underestimating you opponent," he said, not really taunting him either. Rikuo kept his ground, but it seemed like Sesshomaru had pulled a nerve since he instantly pushed him off and was suddenly the one attacking. Sesshomaru didn't change his expression, just continued attacking. Neither of them tried using other methods.
Tsurara and Kappa were having a hard time not getting involved, seeing how he was the Young Master of the Nura Clan. Jaken was wanting to help as well, but knew he would be dead if he got involved. Marie and Johannes were fine where they were, but something else made them worried.
"How can they do this when Jess could be in serious trouble right now? I'm starting to think he's more concerned with proving he's strong than actually helping Jess," Marie said, sounding very annoyed.
"I'm sure he's worried about her, but Demons are used to being above Humans. So maybe because Rikuo is more Human than Demon, he feels he needs to prove he's stronger," Johannes said, sounding like he knew what was going through his head. But understanding Sesshomaru was like trying to read a book in a language you've never heard about.
Soon after Marie mentioned Jess, Sesshomaru quickly attacked Rikuo with a lot more force, pushing him close to the water edge. Rikuo tried holding his own, but Sesshomaru was a lot more experienced in fighting than he was. So the winner would've been him anyway. And because Sesshomaru didn't seem afraid of him, he couldn't use the fear as a weapon.
"Young Master!" Tsurara called, running over and forcing Sesshomaru back with her ice powers. He jumped back, and instantly after, he sheathed his sword. He didn't say a word after that, he just left with Jaken following behind him.
"What's his problem? He looked like he was going to kill you!" Tsurara said, not happy. Rikuo stood up, looking in the direction Sesshomaru had left.
"He got serious because he wants to find Jess, the one Humans who is very useful and dangerous in his enemies hands. He's heading towards where that crack is, going after them," Rikuo said, almost sounding like he was just suggesting it. Tsurara and Kappa slightly nodded, Marie and Johannes looking very worried about their friend.
They heard footsteps behind them, both Johannes and Marie turning really fast to meet Kagome and Kirara. They looked like they've been running really far, Kagome gasping for breath.
"What's going on? I sensed Jewel Shards not too long ago, so we rushed here to see who had them. But on the way, they just disappeared," she explained, Kirara in her big cat form and looking over at Rikuo.
"Someone calling themselves 'The Band of Seven' came here. They seemed to be after Jess's sword, but since she's the only one who can use it at this point, they took her with them. We don't know much other than that," Johannes explained, Kagome looking both worried and annoyed.
"Uh, those guys have been causing us trouble as well. Naraku brought them back from the dead with the help of the Jewels Shards, and now their causing trouble like they did in the past. We've already taken care of 2 of them, Sesshomaru actually helping us. But the other five are still around," she said, Rikuo looking t her.
"This Naraku, what do you know about him?" he asked, Kagome hesitating before answering.
"He's used to be a human, a very injured human. A priest called Kikiyo was talking care him, going to see him every day. He started falling in love with her, but knew he couldn't do much in his state, so he gave up his body to Demons in order to follow her, which created Naraku.
He's a Half-Demon to put things simply. And because he hasn't gotten rid of his Human heart yet, he can't hurt Kikiyo. He tried once, but he ultimately needed it back because he discarded it too early," she said, giving a brief explanation. Rikuo's eyes had grown darker as the story had gone on, not looking too happy.
"So he's the one behind all this trouble that's being caused here? If that's the case, then I'll have to take care of him before people get seriously injured," he said, Tsurara's eyes sparkling with awe and Kappa slightly laughed in agreement. Johannes and Marie also nodded, though they weren't that confident that they would be doing anything.
"Then, how about I show you where we can go and get him? You might wanna tell your family first, since we might be gone for a while," she said, Rikuo nodding as all of them went their separate directions.
Wow, this chapter became a lot longer than I thought. Seeing how I had to stop for one day because I didn't have internet to really do the fight scene. Oh well, it makes up for the short chapters and the fact that I didn't post anything last week. Oh, and I'm really sorry about this, but I'm going on a month brake. School is starting soon, so I have to double check everything is ready. And I really don't want to focus on writing the first week of School. So I hope you all understand. Anyway, leave a review and I'll see ya next chapter!