No review replies today BUT a very special thanks goes out to DemonDeReves for the wonderful idea.
Thank you. You were the inspiration for this chapter :)
Chapter 24 - Purity
He double checked all his supplies until finally, he was satisfied that he wasn't forgetting anything. Hao mounted the magnificent beast and making sure that the others were paying close attention, took to the skies.
The hot sun had not faltered for an instant; it had beat down mercilessly upon the weary travellers all morning. Nonetheless, they didn't complain. They no longer had as long as they needed to reach Sesshomaru's castle; they no longer had any time to waste.
Ten minutes passed.
Fifteen.
Twenty.
They just kept walking quietly at the fast pace that Yue had set.
Suddenly she stopped. Yue's nose twitched and she turned around.
The group stopped walking and followed her gaze to find three beasts soaring through the sky toward them.
"What's that?" Sango asked bewildered.
Yue squinted and made out a figure on top of one of the creatures. She recognized the silhouette and jumping up and down, waved.
The group waited patiently as the creatures flapped their great wings and sailed toward them with the graceful fluidity of silken scarves slipping through spread fingers.
Despite the enormous distance between them, the beasts landed before the group within a matter of minutes and folded their wings.
The glorious beasts towered over the group, their bodies larger than several huts stacked upon each other. They were all different shades of green; from a bright, vibrant green to a dull, dark green. Jade coloured scales adorned their bodies, reflecting the light of the sun in a brilliant show of colour. They each had two ivory horns protruding from their heads just above their large ears. Long snouts overhung wide jaws with mouths that resembled thin slits travelling from jaw to jaw. Rows of vicious teeth could be seen every time the creatures opened their mouths. Overall, it would have been a terrifying sight had it not been for their kind, green eyes. They shone with an intelligence one would only have thought possible of humans.
Off one of the creature's back stepped Yue's revered brother; Hao.
"Ah, Hao-sama; how good to see you again," Miroku greeted.
Hao's regal features split into a kind smile, "The same goes to you Miroku-san." Hao greeted everyone in the group in turn, his eyes lingering on Kayo with an unreadable expression in his eyes. No doubt Kayo would pick it up though.
"Brother! I thought you'd never come! The humans were getting tired."
"Please forgive me for the delay, but I had to work out a deal with these three," Hao said gesturing toward the three creatures.
Inu Yasha quirked an eyebrow, "And what exactly are they? Demons?"
Hao smiled at his distrust and ignorance, "Well… I suppose you could argue that they are a breed of demons, but they are more commonly referred to as dragons."
"Dragons?" The question arose mutually from Miroku, Inu Yasha, and Kayo.
Sango's eyes had widened with something that looked like recognition as she stared at the three magnificent beings. She'd heard of them as a child, but had never really believed that they were real even after that little incident. Sango knelt on one knee and inclined her head toward the three dragons.
Inu Yasha watched in amazement and one of the dragons stepped forward, touched his snout to the top of Sango's head and stepped back.
Sango smiled and arose. She found liquid green eyes watching her as she stepped forward and placed her hand on the dragon's massive haunch, "Greetings Great One."
The dragon bobbed his head and sent a burst of air through his nose to acknowledge her words.
"Sango…?" Miroku said, not bothering to voice his question, sure that it was fairly obvious.
"My mother used to tell me stories of dragons when I was a child… and once, I encountered this very dragon," Sango replied, tenderly stroking the smooth scales of the dragon.
"Really?" Miroku asked quirking an eyebrow. "Care to share what happened?"
"I was but a child when it happened. Even after, I didn't believe that it'd really happened. After all, who else had ever seen a dragon?" Sango began.
The dragon watched her curiously as if contemplating something.
"I had accompanied my father on one of his demon slayer missions and I had gotten into an argument with Father about whether I could participate in the battle. He still thought I was too young. This angered me greatly for I was the strongest child in the village, why should I not be allowed to fight? So I left the group. I had only meant to go away for a little while to give them a little scare. I found a stream and as I sat there sulking, I fell asleep. I was awakened by the splattering of water on my face and a horribly powerful gust of air.
"When I looked about, it was dark and I couldn't remember where I was. I was cold, lost and hungry. I didn't know what to do. I began wandering through the woods and suddenly I heard a ferocious growl. Lightning flashed and red eyes glinted in through the trees. Frightened, I turned and ran in the opposite direction. I tripped over an overgrown root and as I stumbled to get up, something grabbed my ankle. I turned and stared up into the terrible crimson eyes of a demon. I closed my eyes preparing to die when the pressure on my leg disappeared. I opened my eyes and above me stood a great magnificent creature…"
Sango stopped and rubbed the scales of the dragon and looked at it fondly, "You saved my life that day and I'm forever indebted to you for that."
The dragon exhaled softly and lowered its head slightly to show that it understood.
"After that, he led me back to my father. When I turned to say thank you, he'd disappeared." Sango looked the dragon in its eye and murmured, "Thank you."
The dragon bobbed its head in acknowledgement.
The group stood in silence pondering Sango's story while she eyed the dragon adoringly.
"Wait… what's so special about dragons?" Inu Yasha asked confusedly. "And how exactly are they going to help us reach the castle faster? Kirara can fly too."
"That's a good question, Inu Yasha," Hao began. He gazed around the circle of friends before continuing. "You see, dragons are not ordinary demons. They're the most revered, the most feared, the most powerful, the strongest and so on. On top of all that, they're immortal and they rule the four elements; fire, earth, air and water. These are a few from the Earth Clan. They've agreed to help us reach Sesshomaru-sama's castle."
"Agreed? To what terms?" Miroku asked, picking up on the slight implication.
Hao's eyes rested on the monk and he answered casually, "The death of the demon known as Naraku."
"But how could Naraku possibly be a threat to immortals?" Sango asked, puzzled.
"Many ways," Hao answered gravely.
Sango opened her mouth to inquire further when she thought better of it and snapped her mouth shut.
Miroku glanced between the two and then asked, "So… how far did they agree to take us?"
"They agreed to carry us halfway to Sesshomaru-sama's castle," Hao stated, eyeing the dragons admiringly.
"Enough wasting time," Yue said, "Everyone choose a dragon and get on it. We don't have any more time to waste."
Murmurs of agreements arose and the dragons lowered themselves further so that the mortals could mount. Sango and Miroku mounted the dragon that'd saved Sango all those years ago, while Hao and Yue made themselves comfortable on the dragon Hao had been sitting on before and Inu Yasha and Kayo sat carefully on the third dragon.
A low growl escaped Hao's dragon's mouth and all three set off in the direction of Sesshomaru's castle.
Even before Sesshomaru opened the door and entered, he could feel the anticipation mounting. The soldiers were all eager to get going. The demon lord opened the door and the room quietened at once. Only his squad leaders were present, and they weren't as thoughtless as the soldiers.
Sesshomaru surveyed the scene. His squad leaders were all seated comfortably at the large table in the room. They bowed their heads when they saw him; Sesshomaru nodded in response. He went and stood at the head of the table.
"Men, it has been a while since we were last gathered. I hope you have all kept yourselves in shape?" he began confidently.
"Hai."
"Of course sir."
"Definitely."
Similar murmurs of agreement radiated throughout the room.
"Good. Well then I can get straight to the point. We are about to go to war. It has been many, many years and I know that your skills might be a little rusty, but sharpen them up and get the soldiers ready. Make sure that everyone is prepared. This is the biggest threat we've ever faced and you need to give it your all.
"I'm sure that many of you are familiar with the name Naraku?" At the sight of nods, Sesshomaru continued, "He's the one who has challenged us and backing him is a vast army of ruthless demons. An army that hopes to annihilate the Western Lands; destroy all that we've worked so hard to build and to protect. Are you going to let him kill all the families that depend on you; that look up to you? Are you going to let him defile the purity of the Western Lands?
"Are you going to be defeated by the scum of Japan? Are you going to allow other soldiers to look upon you with pity and disgust?" Sesshomaru saw all the men in the room getting riled up and he stopped so that they could voice their agreement.
A roar filled the room and Sesshomaru knew that he needn't continue. They agreed with him fully.
"Well then, go and alert the soldiers. I'm giving you three days to get them prepped. Have them ready to fight four days from now. And remember that Naraku can attack at any time. Don't let your guard down. The people of the Western Lands are depending on you. Don't let them down." Sesshomaru inclined his head to show that he was done and turned and exited the room. Even as he turned the corner, he heard the loud cheering of the men and their chairs scraping as they rose.
A satisfied smirk unfurled across his features, 'This is going to be fun.'
Sesshomaru made his way back to Kagome's chambers and boldly strode into the room. He froze when he saw that the room was empty except for Kiara who was tidying things up.
"Where is Kagome?" he demanded.
"She's with Jin," Kiara answered promptly.
Sesshomaru's good mood immediately crumpled, 'Damn! I should've known she would do something like this!'
Scowling, Sesshomaru began toward the training chambers.
"And that, is how you release a powerful amount of purification energy without depleting too much of your strength," Jin said calmly. "Now, I know that you've been told that purification powers would purify all demons within range, but the miko can set limits so that if she's a demon herself, or if she has a demon ally she wishes to protect, then she can. But creating those barriers is extremely difficult and demand full concentration. It takes years to be able to do this without complete concentration and even then, mistakes are made. Therefore you mustn't be distracted. You must always have perfect concentration otherwise you pose a formidable threat to your non-human allies. One slip up and you might never see your friends again. I will demonstrate for you. Watch carefully, for afterwards, you are to do the same."
Kagome nodded and trained her eyes on Jin. She had to watch and do it perfectly herself, otherwise Jin would be purified.
"Ready?" Jin asked, her eyes closing.
Kagome nodded again and replied, "Ready."
Jin's grey-blue eyes snapped open and began glowing a sharp red colour. From experience, Kagome knew that it was too late to stop her now. She watched calmly, trying not to move much so that she wouldn't disrupt Jin's concentration.
Sesshomaru rounded a corner and came into sight of the training room door. He scowled when he felt the pulses of pure energy on the door. There were seals on the door.
'If they think that they can keep me out with these puny seals, they're sadly mistaken,' Sesshomaru thought with a fierce scowl.
He stormed up to the door and forced it open, demolishing all the seals that'd been placed on the door.
Before him were what—or rather who he'd expected; Kagome and Jin.
They were facing each other with Jin facing away from him.
Kagome frowned at the sudden noise and froze when she saw bits of paper floating to the ground. They were the seals that Jin had placed on the door.
Kagome's eyes widened as she looked over Jin's glowing shoulder and saw Sesshomaru at the door.
Sesshomaru's eyes widened when he caught sight of the writing on a torn seal. They weren't meant to keep him out, they were meant to keep whatever was inside from reaching the inhabitants of the castle.
His anger dissolved into confusion. What could possibly be strong enough for the mikos to need to put seals on the door? All of a sudden, he felt as if he were being suppressed and his youki flared; resisting it.
He looked up and froze when he saw a faint glow surrounding Jin. It was growing stronger and the feeling inside him was growing more painful.
'Move!' His mind screamed, 'MOVE!' He tried to move; tried to escape, but he could no longer move. It was as if the purification powers had him in their grasp and didn't want to let him go.
His vision was going white and the faint buzzing in his ears got louder and louder.
Kagome's mind finally started functioning again and a scream escaped her mouth, "IEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
A/N) And if that wasn't enough, we got some exciting stuff coming up next chapter ;)