Disclaimer: No, of course I don't own Inuyasha... :(
Should I have also said that this was rated M because of the violence...? Oh, I don't know about anything when it comes to rating something -_-.
~Stars Of The Moon~
Chapter 12
"Hurry up, Kagome! We're going to be late again!"
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright already!"
She turned to her family. "I'll be off again for a few weeks. You see, we have this huge problem to take care of, and..."
Her mother stopped her. "Ah, ah, ah... I don't want to hear anything about it. As long as you come home safely, we're perfectly fine with whatever you're up to. You have to get your friend back, don't you?"
The miko smiled gratefully at her mother. "Mom..."
Her grandfather held up a sutra and said proudly, "If you bring this sutra with you, it shall bring you protection whenever you are in danger! This has been passed down from generation to generation! You never know when you're going to need it!"
A drop of sweat could be seen on Kagome's forehead as she took it from his hands. "Er... Thanks, Granpa... I'll make sure that I don't lose it..." "I guess I'll just have to ask Miroku if this is still working..."
"Hey, Grandpa, if that thing really does protect, why didn't you give it to her earlier?" Sota asked.
The old man crossed his arms. "I've just found it yesterday in the storage room. I found many other sutras, and I couldn't decide which one to give, but then I thought that this one had a greater value than the others. All your ancestors' powers are with you!"
From inside the shrine, Inuyasha yelled, "Hey! I'm getting old here!"
She rolled her eyes again. And waving a 'bye' to her family, she ran into the shrine and said, "Demon don't grow old very fast, so don't complain!"
Inuyasha snorted. "Whatever. Let's just get going before anything bad happens."
They both jumped into the well and felt the blue light envelopping them.
But something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Kagome could feel a cold presence very near... A demon's aura... Something she hadn't felt in a very long time. This was the same feeling she had the very first time she went through the well. "Inuyasha... Can you feel that too?"
The half demon grunted. "Yeah. Looks like we're not the only ones here. Do you think...?"
Before they knew it, they were back in the Feudal Era. Swift like the wind, Inuyasha jumped out of the well with Kagome in his arms, laid her down on her ground, and pulled out his sword.
He said, "There's a demon nearby, so get ready. You don't have your bow and arrows right now, but the least you can do is protect yourself with your spiritual powers."
Then, a loud roar was heard behind them.
It was coming for the well.
And they heard a voice. It wasn't clear, but it sounded so familiar.
"Power..." Whatever it was whispered. "Yes... I feel it... I need more... more... power... Power!"
With another loud roar, a huge body rose up from the well. Its piercing eyes stared straight at the two with pure hatred. It arms and legs flexed itselves to prepare for battle. Its long black hair covered only half of its face.
As it looked up with its black sharp eyes, and as the hair covering its face slid away, Inuyasha and Kagome stared in complete shock. After such a long time...
It growled, "You... you two... again..."
That demon was the very first demon the two have encountered.
The very first demon to attack Kagome.
And one of the two demons who have seen the complete Shikon Jewel before it shattered into millions of pieces.
Inuyasha and Kagome could never forget those eyes.
The eyes of...
Mistress Centipede.
*O*~*O*~*O*
"I want to talk to you for a second," Hikari whispered into Bankotsu's ear.
He turned his head to the other side and continued polishing Banryuu. "There's nothing to talk about," he grumbled.
A single day after the... ummm... 'incident', Mukostu seemed to be getting a little better. This time, he obeyed evreything Hikari told him to do, and even started calling her by her name.
Even though it pleased Hikari very much, and even though she smiled a lot more now, Bankotsu never stopped sulking. He was in a rotten mood and didn't talk much to his brothers, nevermind Hikari.
But, on the bright side, the rest of the members seemed to have gotten used to the girl.
They knew that they should never really put her in a bad mood, and that she didn't eat much meat... when it was cooked by Renkotsu's fire. She prefered to cook her own meal.
But what had shocked them the most was that time...
FLASHBACK
The morning after Mukotsu got better, he called her by her name. "Excuse me... Hikari?"
The L. Healer blinked in surprise. And so did his brothers. "Ummm... Yes?"
The old stared at the bowl of soup that was supposed to heal his sore throat. "Don't you think that... something's missing in this?"
Her eyes brightened. "Oh right! Sorry about that."
She added something to the soup and smiled at him. "It should be okay now. Drink up!"
He did. When he had finished his soup, he grimaced. "This isn't the best thing I've ever tasted." He expected Hikari to retort, but she didn't do anythinng. In fact, the smile on her face didn't disappear.
He narrowed his eyes. "Why is it that you seem so happy? I didn't do anything."
Hikari's smiled widened. "You... called me by my name. It kind of makes me happy that you don't call me 'woman' or 'girl' anymore."
Mukostu blushed. Well, of course, anyone would have. Her face looked so angelic and beautiful when she smiled. And his brothers noticed this too.
The happy face never left her as she turned around and said, "Well, then. Now that that's done, let's get going!"
END FLASHBACK
Ever since that moment, the brothers have stared calling her by her name as well. All, except Jakotsu. He still called her 'woman' or 'wench'. But Hikari didn't mind that. It would have been a miracle if he actually started liking her.
The time the Shichinintai decided to take a rest, the healer was getting tired of Bankotsu ignoring her this whole time, and decided to put an end to all this gloomy atmosphere.
Looks like things are going well so far, aren't they?
She growled in frustration. Bankotsu and her would not be going anywhere with this if they were surround by a tiny crowd. So she grabbed his hand and dragged him into the forest.
Bankotsu's eyes were shocked, and when he tried to pull away... "Hey! Let me go!"
And she literally threw him deeper into the forest. When she heard a great 'Thud', she walked to its direction.
Suikotsu spotted her leaving and yelled, "Hey! Where are you going, Hikari?"
Her head poped out of the bushes and she smiled sweatly, "Don't worry, it's nothing we'll be right back!" And she disappeared. Banryuu was abandonned in the middle of the clearing.
The doctor smirked as naughty thoughts of the two alone together came into his head. It seemed that being alone really might lighten up the leader's rotten mood.
When Hikari found the leader of mercenaries, she placed her hands on her hips. "Get up. We've got a few things to talk about."
Bankotsu grunted and stood up. He brushed the dirt off his clothes and said, "Like I said, there's nothing to talk about. Let's hurry up and get back before Jakotsu suspects something."
She hit him hard on the head. "That's supposed to be my line when we're alone! Don't just steal it from me!"
He growled. He was trying to avoid her at all cost for the past few hours, but it seemed that in this situation... There was no way that he would be able to ignore her.
So what if he didn't say anything?
Yes, that sounded good.
Her voice softened. "I don't see why you're so mad at me. I mean, what did I do wrong? You're holding a bigger grudge than Jakotsu would."
He wanted to yell 'What the hell do you mean, you don't know why I'm mad at you? Isn't it obvious? You can't be that clueless, right?'. But he decided to stick to his other thoughts, and kept quiet.
She narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me you're still mad about what happened yesterday?"
He stiffened. "You read my thoughts, didn't you? That's just plain dirty!"
She rolled her eyes. "Oh please, it was just... reflex."
"Reflex, my ass!"
She paused and stared deep into his blue eyes. "Why are you so troubled by what I did? Did you really think that I'd kiss an old rinkly man?"
Bankotsu looked away.
"That was an obvious 'yes'," Hikari thought.
She sighed. "Is it how I looked when I said that I'd 'kiss' him? Did I... maybe surprise you too much...?"
He mumbled, "That's not..."
"It is, isn't it?" she interrupted. "There's no way that you wouldn't be disturbed by that. I know you far too well, you can never ignore me when I suddely turn into a something like that."
When she mentionned that, he smirked. "Yes. A beautiful and sexy woman, if I do say so myself."
Hikari blinked. "Ah, so you admit that you were troubled."
Silence.
She sighed again. And then, she smiled. She folded her arms across her chest and said, "Go on. You can let it all out now, I'm here to listen. I'm ready for whatever you have to say."
Bankotsu still didn't say anything.
But then...
He bursted.
He jumped up to his feet and yelled at her at the top of his lungs. "Why the HELL did you have to use that method to force him to eat it? You could've used anything - anything! - but no, you just had to take the flirting one!
"My brothers saw you! I want them to think of you as their sister, not some woman they can touch! Do you have any idea what sort of things can be going on in their heads? Of course you do, you can read minds! You must have seen perverted things, right? That's the result of having to use that!"
At the other side of the forest, the rest of the Shichinintai members heard everything. They all looked at each other akwardly.
"So?" Jakotsu asked suddenly. "Did you guys think of perverted stuff?"
Everyone quikly shook their heads. Everyone, except Mukostu.
"Mukotsu?"
The old man looked down and mumbled. "Perhaps... just a once."
Bankotsu noticed that he was speaking too loud and lowered his voice slightly. "And how could you even try to do something like that? You already said that you... you... loved me, and yet you tried to... It makes me sick just thinking about it!
"How, just how, could you, of all people, do... I thought you didn't like to flirt with guys! Hell, I thought you hated it! Were you lying? Don't tell me you actually enjoy doing things like that!"
All this time, Hikari remained quiet. She would frown, or even smile, but she didn't say anything. When Bankotsu seemed to have finished talking, she asked, "So. Are you done now?"
Bankotsu was confused. She had no reaction at all. How odd.
He slowly nodded, slightly afraid of what was going to happen next.
She took a few quick steps to close the gap between them, and hugged him tight.
Everything went so quickly that Bankotsu didn't have enough time to register what she was doing. He blinked his eyes to make sure that he wasn't just seeing - or feeling - things.
She pressed her forehead against his, and smiled at him. She giggled. "Idiot."
His eyes were confused. She continued, "I can't believe you thought that I would actually do something so disgusting. You're right, I could have used another method, but pinning someone down and forcing it down their throat isn't very good for an old man like him. I used his weak point so that making him eat the medicine will make everything easier."
Bankotsu frowned. "I don't see the difference between what you did and forcing the food down someone's throat."
Hikari decided to ignore that and went on, "It's not like I wanted to use that method. Mukotsu's old, and since he's getting weak I had to make things go a little slow. What I did was the only thing that seemed effective to me at that time."
Her eyes softened. "I'd never kiss someone just so that they can eat some little herbs. I have patients, friends, enemies, rivals..."
And she giggled. "... And then I have you. I can't imagine myself kissing another guy after knowing how you're so good at it."
He smirked. "Oh is that so? Please, would you mind describing for me?"
Hikari broke away. "I'll pass."
Bankotsu chuckled. And all of a sudden he asked, "What do you think of me?"
She blinked in surprise. "... Are you talking about what I first thought of you, or what I thought of you when I got to know you?"
"Both."
"Hmmm... Let's see... You aren't as cold and evil as people think you would be."
In an offended tone, Bankotsu said, "You thought I was cold and evil?"
She nudged him. "Oh, shut up. I'm just saying things I thought about you at the very begging, that's all."
He pouted. "And you thought I was cold and evil."
"Yes, I did. Don't complain. Remember, I was told that you were a clod-blooded mercenary, and you didn't treat me very nicely the first and second time we met. Plus, I'm not the only one who thought you were cold and evil at first either. I can name a few if you'd like," she teased.
"Please, don't. Continue with your description of me."
Hikari stared straight into his eyes, looked down, and thought carefully. "Suprisingly, you really do care a lot about your brothers and other who are close to you."
"Surpisingly? Of course I'd care for them, they've been with me the whole time I've had my job!"
She gave him a stern look. "Are you going to interrupt me everytime I mention something?"
"Yes, I am."
She laughed softly. "You're very impatient... You have the proof right there...". Before he could add anything to that, she continued, "... But you don't loose your cool easily."
He grinned as she went on, "When things become too tense, you try to lighten up the mood. You're childish sometimes, but that just makes you look cute," she giggled.
He raised a brow. "Cute?"
"Cute."
"Really?"
"Yup. It's a good thing if you try to attract girls," she teased, and she went on, "You don't kill people unless they really piss you off, or unless you were hired to do so. You can't stand betrayal and unloyalty."
"And..." she said as she giggled a little more, "You've never let go of your precious Banryuu. In fact, you've never slept a night without it ever since you got it when you were a kid. You were so scared that someone would try to steal it."
He blushed, and stuttered, "H-hey! T-that's dirty! You can't just reveal secrets like that!"
Hikari never stopped laughing. "You've always kept Banryuu by your side... But I guess that today's a little different, don't you think?"
Bankotsu blinked. "What?" He took a quick look around him. Then he remembered that he left his precious sword at camp. "Shit!" And he ran off.
She watched him run back to the others with amused eyes. "I should have said that you can be kind when you want to, and that when you loose your temper, you can become a real storm... But I guess that can wait a little longer."
*O*~*O*~*O*
Inuyasha and Kagome should have seen this coming, and yet, there they were, frozen to the spot.
Mistress Centipede's eyes shot daggers at them. She knew very well who these two were. How could she forget the ones who have killed her? The demon flexed it arms and legs, still not taking her eyes off the two.
The half demon and the priestess who have killed her were standing right in front of her. Oh, how perfect this was. She could get her revenge right here and now.
The last time she saw Inuyasha, he was unarmed and only had his claws as his weapons. And now he had a sword. The miko was different as well. Mistress Centipede knew that the girl's spritual power had gotten much stronger.
But she didn't care.
She felt more and more power flowing through her veins, and she thought that if this went on, she would soon feel invincible. The scowl on her face disappeared, and she started snickering. And soon, her snickeres turned into evil laugher.
Inuyasha and Kagome contined to stare as she spoke, "Wonderful! It has been a moment since I have come back from the dead, and now here I am, my revenge just minutes, no, seconds away from me! This is beautiful!"
"Seconds?" Kagome thought with horror. "Could it be that she feels that much power? Does she really feel that she could defeat us in a matter of seconds?"
Her friend growled. "I wouldn't say 'seconds', you overgrown worm! Don't think that you're the only one here who got stronger!" And he said to Kagome, "Get ready. You don't have your bow and arrows, but you should still be able to use your spiritual powers, right?"
Kagome looked down at her hands. "Yeah..."
"Then we should handle this without any problems."
"What are you two mumbling about at a time like this?" The monster screeched. She charged at them, her devilish claws shining as they swooped down at Kagome.
Kagome barely dodged the attack. She quickly ducked down to avoid the claws, but she wasn't quick enough. Mistress Centipede's nails left deep wounds on her right arm.
She shrieked in pain and clutched her injured arm. Her huge yellow bag fell to the ground.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha hurried to her side and took a quick check at the wound. There were only two claw marks, but the blood was flowing out so much that it wouldn't have made a difference if there were five.
Kagome held back her tears and dared to take a look at the wound. And almost instantly, she shut her eyes shut again. The wound felt worse than it looked. Never before had she felt such an immense pain.
"It... it burns..." she whimpered.
A concerned looked crossed Inuyasha's face. "Just bear it for a little longer, I'll deal with this as fast as I can. Don't worry."
Sure he said not to worry, but his expression clearly stated that he was starting to panic.
"She's loosing blood fast," Inuyasha inwardly growled. "If this goes on..."
He scowled at a smirking centipede demon. "Damn. So she's got claws now, huh? Not only that, but they're longer and sharper than any other one's I've ever seen. But... other than that, what else can she do?"
He jumped up to his feet and yelled. "It's between you and me now, so leave her out of this!"
The demon snickered, "Oh, but I don't think I can. It was because of both of you that I ended up in hell."
And it went for Kagome again. "And I'm not thinking of going there again!"
This time, Inuyasha grabbed his friend and jumped out of the way. As soon as he sprag up, the giant bug charged at him while he was in mid-air.
He used the centipede's long body as a support to land on and to jump again. As his feet came in contact with the earth, he started running towards another direction.
Mistress Centipede wasn't far behind him. "Running away, are you? Don't tell me you're afraid!"
And the half demon looked back and yelled, "Oh, shut up!"
He was shocked to see the demon so close behind. If he slowed down just the slightest, he would be dead. So he ran on ahead... Getting a little closer to Kaede's village with every step.
"I have to get Kagome to safety first," he thought. "I won't be able to protect her for long. If I get a little closer to the village, Miroku and the others might hear the commotion and show up."
He took a few turns before stopping on his tracks and laying Kagome behind a tree. Inuyasha looked around quickly. "This should be a good spot. I barely escaped that thing... That centipede is getting close fast, and if I go any further, the village will be in danger."
Kagome was breathing heavily from the pain, and perhaps from the loss of blood. Sweat covered her nearly pale face, and the blood from the wound just wouldn't stop pouring out.
He squeezed her hand lightly and assured, "It's going to be okay, Kagome. You just stay here out of sight. I can handle this."
It wasn't very long before Mistress Centipede found them again.
Inuyasha faced the bug and held Tetsusaiga firmly. If he wanted to bring Miroku and the others for help, he'd have to make a lot of noise.
So without any hesitation he launched an attack. "ADAMANT BARRAGE!"
Millions of shards of adamant flew out at the centipede demon. Only...
When the shards hit its body, they bounced right off.
Inuyasha's eyes went wide in surprise. "Wha... What?"
He wasn't the only one who wa shocked. Mistress Centipede closed her eyes just when the adamant was about to hit her. And when she realised that it didn't affect her, she stared at her body.
Inuyasha looked at his sword and back to the enemy. "Don't tell me that her defences are stronger too? The Adamant Barrage didn't even leave a scratch! Then how can I defeat her? Should I just send her directly to Hell with Meido Zangetsuha?"
Mistress Centipede smirked. "Oh, this is just beautiful. Though the Shikon Jewel doesn't exist anymore, I still feel as strong as if I still had it! Now do you see, half demon? You cannot defeat me with that weak sword of yours. I am far too invincible for something as weak as that!"
Inuyasha growled. "Then I'll just have to wipe that head of yours off your shoulders to kill you!"
The two charged at each other. The ground trembled and the clash of the demonic auras was incredible.
Every time Inuyasha delivered a blow, it would be blocked or countered. The centipede demon's skin was as hard as stone and was unpenetrable, he knew that very well. The only parts he could cut off were those tiny legs, and cutting them barely made a difference.
Its defence was still too strong.
"I'm tired of this!" Mistress Centipede screeched. She opened her mouth wide, revealing her sharp white fangs. Just when Inuyasha was too busy trying to make a scratch on her body, her long body wrapped around his and almost sqeezed all the air from his lungs.
As soon as he was trapped, the bug demon planted her fangs deep into his left leg.
His cry of pain echoed throgh the forest.
Kagome opened her eyes and took a little peek at the battle, and she gasped. His leg was bleeding as much as her arm was. In a few seconds, he'd end up like her... But he was a demon, so he must last a little longer than her, right?
"But it's not like he's invincible or anything, and even if he is a demon... he still has his limits... If Inuyasha doesn't finish this up fast..."
Kagome closed her eyes shut again.
This wasn't going to end good.
*O*~*O*~*O*
Suikotsu was awfully disturbed.
Ever since the day he had started to call Hikari by her name, he has been having these odd uncomfortable dreams. And during the day, he would get some sort of migraines.
His brothers noticed this.
They knew what was going on, but decided not to do anything about it. It was going to fade sooner or later.
The men didn't care much, but Hikari sure did.
"Are you sure that everything's going be okay?" she whispered during one of their breaks to Bankotsu.
"For who, Suikotsu?" He shrugged and continued polishing Banryuu. "Probably. I mean, it's happened before, but it always leaves after a few days."
She casted a worried glance towards the spiky-haired man. "But what's going on? He says that it's nothing but a headache, but it's big enough of a 'headache' to stop him from walking."
Bankotsu sighed. He was going to have to explain everything one day or another. "You kow how Suikotsu has another person inside of him, right? That saint-ish doctor. Well, sometimes, something happens, and causes the doctor to want to come out, to take over again.
"Of course, our Suikotsu tries to stop that from happening. It's like there's a battle inside his body whenever the doctor wants to come out. Suikotsu has to fight it, and it takes a while before he's okay again."
Hikari nodded. "I see... but isn't there a way for him to be okay? I mean, that nothing like this happens again?"
Bankotsu shrugged again. "I've never really thought about that. I've never been interested. Try to ask him yourself."
She blushed. "M-me...?"
He smirked at her red face. "Sure, why not?"
"Whoa, there. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the type to ask people I barely know about their personal life."
"In that case, you might get to know him a little more. If you're that worried about him, just ask. I'm sure he wouldn't mind that much."
She narrowed her eyes. "You sure...?"
He grinned. "Positive. By the way..."
Hikari blinked. "What?"
He smirked. "It seems that you're getting more comfortable around here."
And again, she blushed, and looked away. "T-that's absurd! How can I find comfort around here? I'm surrounded by men, and there isn't a single woman here! When I was with Kagome and Sango, it was always easy to talk to them about my problems."
His eyes gleamed. "Why would you need friends like them when you have me?"
She poked his chest. "You and friends are two different things. I said that before, didn't I?"
"Yes, but you also said that you have me, as in a special person. As in a very important person, a unique guy."
"Unique doesn't always mean good."
She continued, "Sometimes a girl needs to be someone she can talk to, someone who actually understands woman problems. If I'm surrounded by men, how will any of you be able to understand anything?"
Bankotsu frowned. "I can understand. Go on, tell me something that you talk about with girls."
"Do you really want to hear me chatter on about what things make you and Inuyasha alike?"
He stiffened when he heard 'chatter on', but when he heard 'Inuyasha' and 'alike', he growled, "Inuyasha and I. Are. Nothing. Alike."
Hikari rolled her eyes. "Right, and Renkotsu has hair. I can go on for our whole break talking about what makes you two so similar. For instance, you both have huge demonic weapons."
"Mine is a halberd and is double my size, and his is a sword and goes in a sheathe!" he protested.
She ignored his comment and mumbled, "You're both very impatient and arrogant, and you're a total pain in the ass for me and Kagome when you won't change your mind about something."
"... Alright, so I'm a pain in your ass sometimes, but I can change my mind!"
"You're both leaders of a group, and very good ones at that. You both want to get stronger, and just recently, you, Bankotsu, started hating Naraku, so that would make another similar element."
"..."
Hikari had a proud smile on her face. "Speechless?"
He sighed. "I admit defeat."
She giggled. "You can't keep up a competition with me forever, you know?"
*O*~*O*~*O*
Just when everything was about to go wrong with Inuyasha and Kagome... Out of nowhere came a...
"Hiraikotsu!"
Kagome opened one of her eyes. Miroku, Sango and Shippou were running to her. "Kagome! Are you alright?" Miroku called.
She winced and smiled. "Yeah, I'm feeling just fine."
Her friend's eyes wiidened when they saw her arm bleeding. "You're injured!" Shippou exclaimed.
Sango lifted her arm gently and inspected it. "And this isn''t just a small scratch. If we don't treat it soon, it'll get infected and you'll loose a lot of blood."
"I can say the same for Inuyasha," Kagome whimpered. "He took a nasty shot at his leg, and he won't be able to move much, let alone dodge any more attacks."
Miroku nodded. "Alright. Sango and I will take care of the demon. Shippou, we're going to call Kirara back here so that you two protect Kagome."
The tiny fox demon nodded, and the monk and the demon slayer ran off to Mistress Centipede.
"Be careful!" Kagome yelled. "Those scratches of hers are deadly!"
She winced as she felt the pain again.
"Don't move too much," said Shippou. "I'll try to find something that might make the bleeding stop." He looked around. "Oh no, your bag isn't here... Umm... Let's see... Hikari said that soft leaves are good to clean and to patch up wounds, but only when they're wet... Oh, but where am I going to find some water?"
Inuyasha was still trapped, even when the Hiraikotsu hit one of Mistress Centipede's six arms. The arm wasn't slashed off, but then Kirara came flying from above, burried her fangs deep into it.
Kirara ripped it off, and the demon screeched in pain.
Sango appeared from behind and catched the Hiraikotsu. "Kirara! Go back to Kagome and Shippou, we'll take care of this!"
The cat demon gave her a quick nod and flew to where her friends were hidden.
Her mistress made sure that she left before looking ahead and getting ready to attack. "This one's strong..." she said to herself. "Even though my Hiraikotsu can cut through demonic aura, I couldn't slash it off that arm or make much damage."
"In that case, we'd better be careful with this one," Miroku said as he showed up next to her.
"And finish up fast, by the looks of it," Sango added. "Inuyasha and Kagome won't last very long. We have to get them to the village as soon as possible."
Miroku pulled out a few sutras and said, "I'll place these on the demon. Sango, I want you to attack the surface of where these sutras have landed."
She nodded. "Alright."
The monk took aim at the demon's body and casted his sutras. As they came in contact with her body, Mistress Centipede howled in pain. The sutras left huge burns on her hard shell.
Sango launched her Hiraikotsu. She hit one of the burn marks, and she and Miroku stared in shock as the giant bug's body split into two. Mistress Centipede finally let go of Inuyasha who landed with a big 'thud'.
The half demon growled. "Damn it..."
"Inuyasha, are you alright?" Miroku called.
"What does it look like? My leg's bleeding like hell!"
"He's fine," said Sango.
The monk nodded. "Yup."
"Where do you think you're looking?" Mistress Centipede screeched. Even with her body split in two, she endured the pain and charged at the three.
And just then, the Hiraikotsu came from behind her.
And slashed her upper body from the rest.
They all stared at her body crumble to the floor, her heavy defence prooven useless agaisnt sutras. Her head was still stuck to two of her arms, and as she tried to get closer to Miroku and Sango by pulling herself to them, she wheezed, "Damn it... Not... again... I... Cannot... Loose..."
Her head jerked up, and as her final words, she screamed up to the sky, "DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS OVER! THIS WORLD WILL SOON BE GONE FOREVER! DEMONS SHALL RULE! WE WILL..."
Mistress Centipede couldn't say any more. She choked on her own blood and suffocated. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she collapsed in her own pool of blood, her long black hair covering her dead, pale face.
Miroku and Sango shivered.
What a horrible death.
They stared at her one last time, before walking over to Inuyasha.
Miroku grabbed Inuyasha's arm and slung it over his shoulder. "Looks like you need a hand."
"Thanks, but I'm going to need Tetsusaiga too," his friend said as he looked around. "With all this blood, it shouldn't be a problem to find a shining sword somewhere."
"Found it!" Sango exclaimed as she ran over to the sword which was planted in one of the centipede's arms. She called back to them, "It's not shining right now, if you ask me! It's just an old dull blade!"
"Just hand it over!" Inuyasha yelled.
Then, looking around again, he said in a paniked voice, "Wait, where's Kagome?"
Miroku smiled. "Don't worry, she's fine. We're going to get you both to Kaede as fast as we can."
"Heal Kagome first," Inuyasha quickly said. "I can take a little bit of damage, but Kagome won't last too long if she looses that much blood."
When Sango brought his sword back, he said to her, "I want you to go back to the village first with Kagome."
Sango shook her head. "Oh, no. With that leg of yours, you're going to need Kirara's help to get back. You and Kagome will get back to the village on Kirara. Miroku and I will stay back here to search for anything suspicious. These were one of your first enemies, right Inuyasha?"
He nodded. "The very first one, actually. She was the first demon to see the Shikon Jewel full before it shattered."
"Then we might find some clues about the Ressurector," said Miroku.
"So now we're calling the person who brought our enemies back the 'Ressurector'?" Inuyasha asked.
Sango nodded. "It's much simpler if you ask me. I'll go and get Kirara, you two wait here."
She ran off with Hiraikotsu on her back. The two men watched her leave in silence, when Miroku suddenly said, "Inuyasha... to search for clues and to gather more information about the Ressurector, I have to know of everything that happened here. Tell me everything, without leaving any details."
Inuyasha sighed. "Right, but I might forget a few things, so I'll try my best to think of everything..."
*O*~*O*~*O*
"Suikotsu! You're taking the night shift for a while", said Renkotsu. "I'll tell when to switch with me."
Suikotsu nodded. " 'K."
He stretched his arms out and laid his back to a tree. He watched everyone settling down to sleep.
Renkotsu and Hikari rested on Ginkotsu. The second in command was on the tank's left side, while Hikari stayed on the right. Jakotsu and Mukotsu slept in the grass, and Bankotsu slept at Ginkotsu's right, beside Hikari. Ony, he wasn't on Ginkotsu, he stayed in the grass.
Suikotsu sighed. Just how long were those headaches going to go on?
He knew very well the reason why the doctor wanted to come out again.
"It's because of her."
He glanced at Hikari's form lying on Ginkotsu. To the doctor inside of him, nobody here was actually sain. They were just a bunch of mercenaries who loved killing. Who did it for a living. The doctor never wanted to come out.
But then, Hikari came.
She was someone who didn't kill without any specific reason. A kind-hearted woman who didn't want to see anyone die. Even to men like those of the Band of Seven, she didn't even have to think twice about helping Mukotsu when he was sick.
And on top of that, she was a L. Healer.
She knew many things about medicinal herbs, and healed anyone she could.
Just like a doctor.
For once, there was a sain person closeby. That's what the doctor Suikotsu would have said, anyways.
When Hikari first came, everything was fine. No headaches or anything.
But then, she helped out Mukotsu.
And when everyone saw her smile, they started calling her by her name.
And then, she seemed to be happier with them.
And that pushed everything off the edge.
The doctor inside of him wanted to talk to her. He wanted to see what kind of person she was, how he felt around this many cold men. He wanted to talk to someone who was like him.
He wanted to talk to someone who understood him.
"Suikotsu?"
His eyes flew opened in surprise. Hikari was up and was standing a meter away from him. He was so deep in his thoughts that he hadn't realized that she was up.
In a more soothing tone, she said, "Sorry. Am I disturbing you?"
He snorted. "If you're talking aboutmy night shift, then kinda, yeah."
She smiled. That beautiful smile of hers again. Suikotsu could have sworn that he felt the doctor moving again. Damn it all.
She looked up at the sky with the same smile on her face. "It's a beautiful night, don't you think?"
He looked up too. "I'm not the type to care or to notice about those kind of stuff."
"Yeah, I seem to notice that a lot with you men."
Suikotsu shrugged.
It may not have seemed like it, but inside, he was fighting hard not to let the doctor take control. The rest of his brothers were all asleep, which meant that he and Hikari were all alone. This may have been the one and only chance for the doctor to talk to her.
And he was determined to take it no matter what.
Suikotsu wanted to punch himself in the stomac. He couldn't take this. How long was this going to last? "Just go away, damn it... Just go... away..."
"Say..." Hikari suddenly said. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"
Suddenly, the pain stopped. It simply vanished. Suikotsu blinked, and nodded to her.
"Recently, you've been having a lot of headaches... And I know that it's because you're having a hard time fighting with your other side, the doctor. I just want to know... Your fights with the doctor, how many times did it happen in the past?"
It was almost the same thing she asked Bankotsu, but she just wanted to hear the answer coming from another person.
Suikotsu didn't answer immediatly. He could have taken a while to answer that question, but after that 'while', he still didn't say anything.
Hikari could've banged her head agaisnt a tree there and then. But she still kept her cool. "Damn it, Hikari! It's not like you're as close to him as you are to Bankotsu! Of course he might not answer, it's only been, what, a day since he's called you by your name? I should've asked him later! Oh, Bankotsu, this is all your fault! You know how I can't deal with men like-"
"... Why do you want to know?"
She blinked. The question caught her off guard. She stuttered, "Oh, uh... well... I was... umm... Just curious... I mean, it's not like I see headaches every day... And I have habit of getting worried whenever someone looks hurt..."
Suikotsu sighed. "I can't remember how many times I've went through this. The doctor only comes out when some sort of event happens. For example, whenever I killed... innocent children -that time, Hikari flinched- I had headaches for the next few days. That's why I've decided to keep away from kids and stick with other victims."
He growled. "It pisses me off how easily he can get to me. He never gave up on taking over me. The only times he'd actually admitted defeat were when I had serious injuries."
He glanced at her. "But you know that right? It was that time on Mt. Hakurei, when I was stabbed with Inuyasha's older brother's sword."
She nodded. "Sesshomaru threw his sword at you, and it shot you right at your chest. But you were still up and alive. I guess that was the power of the Sacred Jewel."
"Oh yeah," she continued. "And one more thing. Has it ever happened that both of your minds were at peace?"
Suikotsu had a thoughtful look on his face. "I don't know if you'll call that peace, but I know that this one time I felt different. And better. I had the doctor's figure, but my mind was still awake."
Hikari's eyes brightened in recognition. "That's right, I remember now. You took that nice face of yours to trick - What was her name again...? Oh yeah, - Rin into following you."
And she mumbled, "Though it wasn't very nice. Making a child believe that someone was kind when they weren't..."
He nodded. "That time, I've never felt any better. It was like my body was finally at... 'peace', as you say, with the doctor."
He looked down at his hands. "When I died back at Mt. Hakurei, I died with that face. But when I was ressurected a second time, I found myself 'normal' again, with face markings like before."
"And I'm guessing that you don't know how to change back to that form, right?" Hikari asked.
He shook his head. "No."
Why did he tell everthing to her, their captive? She didn't need to know anything, and it was her fault that the doctor started showing life again. She was the 'event' that started it.
But somehow, it just felt right. To tell someone about everything that happened. And it was to someone who cared.
Finally, he didn't think that he minded her presense at all. Even if it did mean that the doctor was trying to come out again.
Hikari didn't need to ask anything else. She had all the answers she needed. "I was hoping that I could do something to help him... But the only way he's ever going to get rid of this is by fighting on his own."
She looked up at the sky one more time before saying, "Well, that's all that I needed to know. Thanks for answering my questions. I'll get back to sleep. 'Night."
Suikotsu watched her leave back to her place next to Bankotsu and Ginkotsu. And when he saw her passing Bankotsu, he said. "Oh yeah, and Hikari?"
She turned back at him "What?"
He smirked at her for the first time. "You're lucky you survived Big Brother's wrath. Not anyone can do that, you know."
And Hikari smiled back. "Yeah. I know that more than anyone else."
Since I forgot Mistress Centipede's name, I had to watch Episode 1 again. And I needed to know how she attacks. I'll probably have to go through things like this again for all the other characters who are coming back to life...
The vacations are coming to an end... in like 2 or 3 weeks. But time goes by and eventually, I guess I'll be stuck in class sleeping or something again. :P
~FoxRain7~