A/N: where we last left off, Korihime had chosen to go with Koga not only to help him keep his Shikon Jewel shards but to also help him restore his tribe he lost by Naraku's hand. will she be successful in helping him keep his shards?
disclaimer: i don't own InuYasha; my OCs belong to me.
Chapter 35: Blood Moon, Silver and Guns
She bristled slightly at the sight of the priestess, stiff-leggedly moving to stand next to him. "You're the priestess that shot Moryomaru last time with a sacred arrow. Kikyo, wasn't it?" She greeted, feigning politeness even though the stink of death that reeked from the woman stung her nose.
"So you're after Moryomaru too, then." He guessed of the priestess.
Her brown eyes looked determined and sharp, making the female wolf tense and bristle again as she instinctively reached for her bow. "Listen to me," she declared, grabbing an arrow and her bow, aiming at the male wolf. "Cease your pursuit of Moryomaru." She ordered.
He snorted derisively as his female companion growled and also loaded her bow, aiming at her as the arrow in her bow glowed pink. "Lady, I heard you were reckless, not stupid."
"I have no intention of taking your life, I just need you to give me the Shikon Jewel shards in your legs…" The pink arrow sailed past her right ear, surprising her.
She huffed and loaded another arrow, her blue eyes frigid. "That was a warning shot: if you fire that arrow at him I'll end your worthless afterlife. Got it?" She growled, reminiscent of her sister in the cold and protective manner she guarded her companion with.
"Kori," he began.
"Wolf, you know as well as I that if I do not take the shards from his legs, he'll be most likely consumed by Naraku or Moryomaru and have his shards taken regardless. Why do you prolong his inevitable fate?" Kikyo demanded sharply.
Korihime bristled again, a fang showing in her grimace. "Because even if he may seem like just another demon not utilizing his powers to help purify the Shikon no Tama to you, he's someone important to me! I won't hesitate to kill a priestess bitch that threatens the life of the man I've promised to protect. Koga is my pack and my future, you miserable specter, so you'll have to kill me to get to his shards." She snarled coldly, bristling like mad as her aura spiked and flared that soft pink color until it framed her body.
"I'm starting to think you're both insane," Koga muttered.
"You must've noticed by now that the shards in your legs are being controlled by the will of another; I'm sure you've realized that your legs have stopped moving each time you're in the face of an enemy."
"Kagome mentioned that, something about them being controlled by an ancient priestess named Midoriko."
The bow trembled slightly. "And now I've fused her soul with mine in order to defeat Naraku. In order to destroy him, the Shikon Jewel must be completed and then purified. Every time your legs stop moving it's because Midoriko is trying to give the shards to Naraku. But if you lose your shards in the heat of battle, you may very well lose your life along with them."
Korihime winced and then growled loudly.
"Oh, so I'm just supposed to hand them over to you instead then?" Koga wondered sardonically.
"I've made a vow to destroy Naraku; I give you my word…" Kikyo began.
Koga snarled and bared his teeth. "Don't give me that bullshit! You're not the only one who's got a score to settle with Naraku; he's the one who destroyed hundreds upon hundreds of members of my tribe and you expect me to just run away to save my own skin? You're nuts…!" He leaped at her as she fired the arrow.
Korihime released her own arrow, sending it flying as the arrow ripped into the right sleeve of her white kosode.
"You're dead so you should know your place!" She barked angrily.
"Your aim sucks; Kor, let's go." Koga declared, perking her ears.
Korihime glowered at the priestess's brown orbs. "Come at him again and I'll send you back to the netherworld on a one-way." She vowed, leaping after her companion.
"Your attacks cannot penetrate my armor…" He sneered.
"KURO-FUBUKI TAIHO!" A wide barrage of black ice shards sailed at the hodgepodge, sending him flying back into the air several hundred yards.
The hanyou landed next to the two wolf demons, looking at the female as she glowered after the distracted demon, her aura having spiked and now emanating a soft pink glow around her body. "Korihime," he said in something like awe and surprise that she had unleashed such a strong attack.
She looked at him and smirked, flexing her claws. "Been awhile." She greeted.
He smiled at her, looking at her male counterpart. "Oi, scrawny wolf boy, I need you to lure him down to the ground; we don't stand a chance against him while he's in the air. On the ground I can hit him with Dragon-Scale Tetsusaiga and destroy his demon vortex." He instructed.
"Hurry up, InuYasha, before Moryomaru completely consumes the Shikon Jewel!" The priestess barked.
Why do I have the sinking feeling Naraku is going to come back from being consumed by Moryomaru? She wondered, scowling at the hovering demon.
"I still don't think it's such a great idea," Koga huffed.
Korihime rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. "C'mon, it's easier if we hit him when he's not using his wings." She declared, squeezing his hand and taking off first; InuYasha sprinted after the two wolves as Moryomaru sent shards of adamant at the heels of the trio.
:::::::oOo:::::::
There're no demon vortices, otherwise he'd have already slain him; that damn Fuyoheki is hiding them! She mused, leaping out of the way of the stinger-looking limbs. Not again! She loaded an arrow in her bow and coated it in pink ice, sending it flying at the limbs, freezing them instantly. "Koga, the Goraishi!" She barked.
"Goraishi!" Electric sparks shattered the limbs frozen in pink ice before he dropped back to her side and landed nimbly on one foot. "Nice thinking there, Kor." He smirked at her.
She smirked back and chuckled. "Something I picked up from my big sis," she shrugged, loading another arrow into her bow out of instinct.
"Koga, hit him here!" The hanyou barked.
"Be back," he planted a hard kiss on her lips before leaping forward and slashing the place the Tetsusaiga had struck, sparks flying.
More limbs shot up at the two males.
"Run, Koga!" She barked alertly as the half-breed decked him and sent him flying for his own safety; she fired again, pink ice freezing the oncoming limbs before she hurried to shatter them with the bottom of her long bow, leaping back as more limbs sailed at her and sprinting away in time.
"Kori, move!" He shoved her out of the way of several limbs that flew to grab at her ankles, instead getting captured.
She skidded to a halt and widened her eyes slightly. "KOGA!" She shouted.
"My injuries don't hurt anymore now that you healed them." He smirked at her.
THWACK.
"Give it a rest, womanizer." She growled, resting her long bow and quiver against the tree before plopping down at his side, letting the kitsune shuffle to sit in her lap.
The hanyou guffawed as a large bump swelled on his head.
"Oi, that hurt, Kori!" He griped, glaring at her in hurt.
She shrugged innocently, eyes closed in serene contentment. "That's what you get for scarin' me earlier, and for harassing poor Kagome after ya've already been promised to another female." She reasoned with a sagely nod.
The aforementioned priestess smiled humbly and waved it away as her red-clad companion snickered and grinned smugly at seeing the ever-arrogant male wolf being kept in check.
He blinked his blue eyes at her words and quieted, looking at the small fire. "I had a feeling I'd spooked ya," he mumbled.
She opened one eye at him and exhaled, opening both blue eyes before leaning in to kiss his cheek sweetly, perking his ears and making him blush. "So modest," she teased, smiling and then giggling quietly.
He smirked gently and poked her forehead with two fingers, making her pout. "Shut up, pedigree," he chuckled.
"Ugh, I just might be sick from seein' all this mushy bullshit…" The hanyou grumbled grouchily.
A set of blue and a set of brown eyes scowled at him.
THWACK. "BAKA-INU!"
"SIT BOY!"
WHAM. "G-geh!"
The male wolf and kitsune deadpanned.
"… What an idiot."
::::::xXx::::::
A loud snarl rang out as she slashed at his throat with her claws.
"Too slow!" He leaped back, watching the she-wolf draw her katana and glare at him with stony silver eyes. "Lady Getsuei, we meet again." He greeted with a fake smile.
"Byakuya," she growled.
I told you to stay back, he thought with an inward sweatdrop, gripping the hilt of Tensaiga.
"And Lord Sesshomaru! What brings you here?" He wondered, speaking as if he were talking to two old friends.
He glared stonily at him, mirroring his mate. "Moryomaru's scent has disappeared; I would imagine he was consumed by Naraku." He guessed coolly.
"And you're here to save Kohaku. This is rather uncharacteristic of you; perhaps having a spoiled bitch around for so many years has made you grow soft." He rebutted in the same tone.
He growled, "I smelled a foul stink and came to get rid of it. And here you are."
"Sorry to disappoint, but I must take my leave." He held up a small origami crane before disappearing in a cloud of miasma, lifting into the air on a larger crane. "Farewell for now, Lord and Lady of the West. And next time I suggest you announce yourself instead of jumping in so callously!" He declared before leaving the scene and effectively avoiding a jet of blue fire that was sent his way.
She flexed her claws and grumbled, sheathing her katana. "I'm really starting to hate him."
"The feeling's mutual." He mused as he followed suit and then looked at the unconscious boy. "Poison should be easy for you to take out." He guessed, looking up at her.
She nodded, hesitating to take a step closer to the snake-afflicted child, folding her arms in the sleeves of her kimono. "Pretty easy, considering I've lived alongside your Poison Claws for a few centuries." She snickered when he pouted at her, smiling cheekily.
"Kohaku!" The girl exclaimed as she and the imp scurried out from the hiding of the bushes to draw closer to the unconscious boy.
"The snakes are poisonous, don't touch him. Otherwise Getsu will have to extract the poison from more than just one… "patient"." He warned calmly without looking at the girl.
She nodded. "Um, okay, but what if you've already been bitten…?" She wondered innocently, looking at the writhing purple snake that had its fangs embedded in the imp's right arm.
The she-wolf grinned evilly as a dark aura came from behind her. "Then we'll just need to cut off the limb." She said in a dramatic voice, effectively spooking the already-petrified imp further.
"P-please help me, Lord Sesshomaru…" The imp whimpered.
The girl sweatdropped.
"Goraishi!"
"Kuro-Fubuki Taiho!"
The wolf demon leaped away in time as a torrent of blackened ice shards sailed at the hanyou, breaking bits and pieces off of the adamant limb as most of them struck at his face.
His red eyes glared from the wolf demon to the owner of the ice cannon, sneering at the she-wolf. "Korihime, it's been a while. Don't tell me your precious sister has finally abandoned you." He growled.
"We had our difference of matters; but enough about me. Let the priestess go, Naraku." She spat, loading an arrow into her bow and aiming at his head.
"Kori, fire!" He barked, perking her ears.
You got it! She released the arrow, a thick glow of pink consuming the wooden projectile as it sailed at the hanyou.
It destroyed one of the various limbs that sailed past her at her companion.
"Not again!" She formed the ice daggers into her hands and flew at him, tearing at the limbs just as the shards in his legs started to feel heavy again.
Damn it, not now! He inwardly snarled, perking up as miasma spewed into the air. "Kori, get away!" He shouted, punting her out of the way of more limbs that latched onto his ankles.
"Koga, no!" She cried, her heels bouncing against the wall of the gorge before she launched herself at the wolf demon, an arrow in her bow. "KOGA!"
The adamant limb smacked her right in the face, making her yelp and be sent flying in the direction of the monk, demon slayer, kitsune and neko that caught her from crashing into the gorge wall.
"Korihime!" The demon slayer exclaimed as the monk helped her onto the back of the large neko, looking at her concernedly.
Koga snarled, "you sick fuck, how dare you hit the woman I love!?" He bared his teeth angrily.
Naraku cackled and sneered up at the caught wolf, "I wouldn't be worrying over that pathetic bitch so much as for myself if I were you, Koga." He taunted, feeling the Okami-yokai's aura spike wildly in his hatred.
Korihime heard her inner conscious snarling at her.
Wake up! Koga's in trouble; didn't you hear that he loves you? WAKEUP! KORIHIME!
'Korihime!' Her sister's smiling face flashed in her mind.
Her brow quivered.
Onee-chan…
'Korihime!' Her parents' smiling and happy faces appeared.
Mother, Father…
'Kori!' The male wolf's cocky grin flashed in her mind and seemed to linger there the longest.
Koga… Koga!
"NARAKU!" The hanyou's roar awoke her.
Her eyes flew open and she looked up into a pair of eyes the color of a clear sky.
"Koga," she mumbled.
He flashed that cocky grin she found that she loved most. "Hey there, beautiful." He replied softly.
"Korihime!"
"Kori-chan!"
She looked to see the faces of Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kagome and Kirara looking at her in relief. "You guys," she smiled, looking away and pushing on his chest gently, straightening on her own.
The wind whipped softly at her hair as she looked at the two hanyou, the red-clad better half and the vile and putrid worse half, both glaring at each other. InuYasha, she thought, reaching for her quiver and loading an arrow into her bow.
"Dragon-Scale Tetsusaiga!" He sliced through the swirling violet demon vortex with the scale-coated fang, surprising her.
Did he do it? She wondered, feeling that such a thought was vain.
Knowing Naraku, he was just too damn vile to die so easily… He always had a contingency plan, just as Getsu had said a while back.
Adamant formed quickly over his right arm as the hanyou landed on his left limb.
He regenerated? She thought, her subconscious seeming to snort in confirmation that realistically she was correct; her eyes widened alertly as the said hanyou was about to gloat heartily before a wide dark red void opened up where his right arm was. "Is that…?" She began.
"The inside of Naraku's body." The male wolf finished grimly.
"Dragon-Scale Tetsusaiga must've worked!" The demon slayer guessed.
"That and Koga's jewel shards," the monk chimed.
Her eyes sharpened as the Shikon Jewel shined from inside the depths of his body. "InuYasha, the Shikon Jewel is inside his body!" She cried.
"Good, that means I'm gonna destroy you AND the Jewel!" The hanyou growled.
The worser hanyou growled, releasing the priestess at last and letting her fall into the gorge.
"Kikyo!" He flew down after her.
Everyone gathered perked up as the void was beginning to close in.
The void's closing! "Idiot, drop the priestess and get back up here! INUYASHA!" She shouted loudly, her voice echoing off the walls of the gorge.
The male wolf flew forward into the void.
"Koga wait!" The priestess barked.
"My jewel shards are supposed to purify Naraku, aren't they? Well it's now or never; let's see if it works!" He shouted back.
Her eyes widened again. That fool!
"I can't sense the jewel's presence anymore; it's a trap!" Kagome shouted.
"WHAT!?"
She gritted her teeth. "KOGA, IT'S NOT THERE!" She screamed.
"What!?" He barked.
"Too late!" Limbs shot out from inside the void, coiling around the wolf demon.
"NO!" Korihime shouted.
::::::dOb::::::::
"Come back, Kohaku, you're not supposed to move!" The girl cried.
She dusted her hands and straightened, exhaling. Geez that kid is stubborn, she thought, meeting his gold eyes.
"At least you cleansed him of the poison," he mused.
She nodded, looking at the boy and the girl they had raised and sighed again. "Hold that thought." She declared, shrugging past him to go talk some sense into that stubborn child.
"Just to be clear, don't go asking Lord Sesshomaru to come with us… G-geh!" The imp squawked when she stomped her foot onto his head, rubbing his face into the dirt with well-practiced ease.
"Getsu-onee," the girl mused.
She sighed. "If you think for one second that you're gonna go and be a hero to a dead priestess then you're more bull-headed than Sesshomaru or me combined. You're still recuperating, and it'd be both wrong and foolish of me to let you just walk out of here like that." She kicked the imp away effortlessly, stooping a little to stare eye-to-eye with the boy.
"But Lady Getsu, you don't understand, Lady Kikyo is in trouble…" He began to protest.
She scowled and gently cuffed him over the head. "Idiot pup, don't delude yourself. You're staying with us, at least for as long as it takes to be rid of Naraku. Ontop of that, you would make Rin a very unhappy girl if you went and got killed by that prick, and I made a promise to make sure that doesn't happen to her. You're staying, Kohaku." She decided sternly, reminiscent of the rare times she would scold Korihime in the past for pulling a stunt or trying to be bold and foolish.
"Lady Getsu…" He said in something like surprise, brown eyes wide.
She flashed a kind smile, tousling his brown hair. "C'mon, we'd better keep moving. Rin," she declared, straightening to trod after her mate that awaited her a few yards away.
The girl beamed brightly, grabbing her friend's wrist. "Let's go, Kohaku!" She giggled.
"H-hey, wait for me!" The imp squawked and flew after them.
"The scent in the wind has changed." He noted, perking her ears.
She sniffed the air and widened her eyes a little, catching her sister's scent with it. Korihime, she thought, frowning softly.
"Has something happened to Lady Kikyo?" The boy asked alertly.
He saw the frown in her brow and dropped his gaze from the scarlet twilight. "It's too late."
She nodded, looking at the boy and smiling a little out of sympathy, walking at his side as he continued.
"I'm sure she's alive." He assured softly, his voice quiet enough even the children couldn't hear.
"I know she is… She has to be." She whispered, her silver eyes dropped as she let a curtain of ebony hair fall down her shoulder gracefully.
He lifted his hand to brush the hair from her face, tucking the locks behind her right ear. "I really would have to kill that damn wolf if anything happened to her." He mused.
She blushed softly at his gentle touch before smiling for him, chuckling. "Don't hog all the fun." She chided.
He smiled at hearing her laugh even if it was only a chuckle, he himself chuckling softly.
A/N: and so Naraku survived, something that doesn't surprise me knowing him. anywho, so now what will happen?
** Korihime's attack "Kuro-Fubuki Taiho" (according to my engl. to jap. dictionary) = "Black Blizzard Cannon"