Chapter 17: Teamwork
Alice brought down her flaming sword on the demon, dispatching it swiftly and silently. Inuyasha mirrored her, quickly bringing down the other demon that stood in their way.
"Let's go!" Alice called back to the others as she dashed down the hallway.
She was about to turn a corner when she felt Inuyasha roughly tug her back and put a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. Alice stared up questionably at Inuyasha, who motioned Alice to look up ahead.
Alive did as instructed and saw what deadly of a mistake she would've made if she hadn't been stopped. There was a whole swarm of demons just sitting there in the courtyard of the mansion, talking to each other and seemingly having a good time.
"There's so many of them," Alice whispered as she stared at the seemingly endless amount of demons.
"They must be having a get together or something," Shippo pointed out quietly.
"Keh, no kidding," Inuyasha added while looking around the area suspiciously.
"We're going to be able to eat some female flesh soon, oh I can't wait," a demon exclaimed happily.
"Young girl's flesh at that," another demon put in overjoyed.
Alice, Kagome and Sango all stiffened at this and Alice remembered what the two demons posing as women were talking about before the group confronted them. It all makes sense now Alice thought grimly.
"Are they talking about us!" Kagome whispered worriedly as Sango reluctantly replied, "I'm afraid so."
"Look guys, over there on the other side of those demons," Alice whispered while pointing towards a section of the mansion, "Do you think Miroku is over there?"
"Yes, but I doubt we can get over there," Kagome answered.
"Yeah, there's too many of them," Sango agreed.
Alice had to admit they had a point and replied, "Let's head back for now and see if we can come up with some sort of plan."
Everyone nodded and returned to the hallway they were in just moments ago.
"I guess now all we can do is see what we have here to work with," Alice went on a little louder as they walked through the halls.
"Maybe that building over there has something in it," Shippo suggested while pointing over to the named building.
"We'll find out," Inuyasha replied as the group entered the building.
Once inside, everyone scattered, looking for any possible item they could use to get around the swarm of demons.
"Hey guys, look at this," Alice called as everyone gathered around her.
"Oh, that's some Ayakashi Sake," Kagome explained as they looked at the jug of sake in Alice's hands.
"Yeah, I've heard that this particular kind of sake is coveted by all demons," Sango put in.
"Great, then we can use the sake to trick the demons into going away from the group and attack each small group at a time," Kagome finished happily.
Everyone nodded in agreement to Kagome's idea and Inuyasha led the way out of the building as Alice took to the rear, holding the jug in her hands.
As Inuyasha led the group back to the hallway near the demons Kagome pointed out, "This hallway is perfect for our trap. It's small enough to limit the amount of demons that come through at one time and it'll give us the advantage."
Alice nodded and put the jug of sake in the middle of the hallway near the end they were at. She then backed up and unsheathed her sword, prepared for the demons arrival.
Not even a minute ticked by before the voice of a demon was heard saying, "I smell sake, and not just any sake Ayakashi Sake!"
Alice tightened her grip on her sword as she heard the tapping of the demon's feet as it walked down the hallway.
"Here they come, be careful," Sango advised as Alice closed her eyes in a moment of rest. And here we go…
Right when the demon reached the sake it jumped in surprise at seeing everyone poised to attack it but before it could even yelp in surprise Alice jumped and swung her sword, silencing it for good. The two other demons that were behind the one Alice slew were also quickly slain themselves courtesy of Sango and Inuyasha.
The voices kept coming as everyone returned to their positions and Inuyasha warned, "There's more coming, don't let your guard down!"
The scene repeated itself, Alice slaying the first demon while Sango and Inuyasha slayed the other two.
Still, more demons came pouring down the hallway as Shippo whispered worriedly, "How many demons are there?"
"A lot," Alice muttered as she slew demon after demon that came down the hallway, switching spots with Inuyasha and Sango with every swing.
Sweat formed at Sango, Alice, and even Inuyasha's foreheads as the demons just kept coming.
"Just a few more, come on we can do it," Sango whispered in support of everyone as yet more demons came.
Alice was panting lightly when Sango slew the last demon and let out a sigh of relief as Sango called out happily, "That was the last one."
"Okay then, let's go," Alice said as she regained herself and led the way down the halls.
"We have to hurry, who knows what has happened to Miroku," Sango called out worriedly as they ran by the spot the demons were just in moments ago.
Miroku… Alice thought worriedly as she pushed harder with every step, making her go that much faster.
"It really is a nice night." Alice came to a screeching halt at the sound of the monk's voice, surprise flashing through her ice blue eyes.
"That's Miroku's voice," Alice said while looking back at everyone who shared in her confusion.
"I think he's just ahead," Sango replied walking up to Alice so they could both lead the way.
"Please, I'm so lonely… Will you comfort me?" Yurihime's voice begged sadly.
"If it is alright with you," Miroku replied with a hint of happiness.
"Wha…?" Sango mumbled as she walked a few steps ahead of Alice, pain and confusion glowing in her brown eyes.
Miroku… Alice thought as she shook her head and looked over at Sango, feeling a wave of pity for the young Demon Slayer.
"Oh Miroku!" Yurihime's voice echoed out into the hallways was soon followed by a painful grunt from Miroku himself.
"That dirty monk," Sango exclaimed angrily while clenching a fist.
"I've got him now," Yurihime went on happily.
Wait… Something isn't right here… Alice thought as more confusion and worry filled her mind.
"Wait Sango! Something isn't right here," Alice said as the named person turned back to look at her for a moment, understanding flowing into her eyes.
Sango quickly turned around and ran into the building where the monk was. Everyone followed after the monk and once inside came to the scene of Miroku kneeling on the floor in front of Yurihime.
Worry instantly forgotten Sango snapped, "You dirty monk! What're you doing here?"
"Sango please, wait. Something is wrong with Miroku," Alice pointed out worriedly while looking at the young monk, "He's not moving at all, like he's in some trance or something."
"Girl, why are you here? Where are my guards?" Yurihime asked with irritation dripping off her words.
"If you're talking about those demons guards out there, then they're long gone," Inuyasha replied smugly.
"Why you…" Yurihime yelled angrily and in a flash of smoke she transformed into a demon as well.
"Miroku!" Sango called as she ran towards the monk.
Right when she was about to reach Miroku, some unseen force threw Sango back right into Alice. Alice gasped at the sudden attack and soon fell to the floor alongside Sango.
"What the…?" Alice questioned while getting back to her feet and looking at the demon with a mixed look of confusion and anger.
There's nothing there, then why was Sango thrown back?
"You're wasting your time trying to rescue the monk," the demon pointed out, "He's in a trance at the moment and you can't do anything about it because of my barrier."
"Miroku, wake up! Please, wake up!" Sango called out to Miroku desperately.
"I'll use the Tessaiga to break it," Inuyasha said as he raised his sword and started towards the barrier.
Kagome quickly stopped him explaining, "No Inuyasha! If you break the barrier Miroku could be injured as well."
"Damn," Inuyasha growled in frustration while Alice glared at the demon wishing by some miracle they could take down the barrier.
The demon laughed, "You humans are so amusing, the way you try something even though it's obviously not going to work. But I have a liver to eat, so just stand back and watch. Now monk, give me your power."
"Like I'd do that," Miroku yelled back, startling everyone.
"What? You're supposed to be in a trance," the demon stumbled in shock.
Miroku smiled, "Unfortunately for you, those types of trances don't work on me."
Eyes still wide in surprise and relief, Alice watched as Miroku ran over to the corner of the room, where a glowing crystal floated, and destroyed the crystal with one swing of his staff.
The barrier immediately collapsed and the demon stuttered, "No… It can't be!"
"The barrier's gone," Sango pointed out happily as Inuyasha added, "If there's no barrier, then we've got the upper hand. Let's go!"
Alice nodded and her sword immediately went a flame as she ran towards the demon.
The demon, after a quick second of recovery, immediately summoned two other demons and turned on Alice, wrapping its long hair around her ankle. Alice gasped as she flew into the wall and onto the floor hard. Nevertheless, Alice quickly got up and ran over to everyone else.
"You okay?" Kagome asked worriedly while aiming at one of the smaller demons.
The demon was quickly purified by Kagome's arrow and yelled in pain as it disappeared. One down, two to go Alice thought as she turned her attention towards everyone else.
Miroku and Inuyasha were both lashing out at the head demon, while Sango and Shippo were both fighting off the smaller one, which soon succumbed to Sango's Hiraikotsu. Alice smiled. Great, now we can focus on one demon and attack together.
Everyone formed a line facing the demon, poised to attack when given the chance. The demon chuckled as it tried to wrap its hair around Alice's ankle again.
Alice merely cut the hair with her sword snapping, "Yeah right! Don't even bother trying that one again."
Kagome instantly aimed an arrow at the demon and released it. Though the arrow did have some effect on the demon, it did no good in bringing it down. Miroku soon followed with some of his scared sutras, but they too did no good in slaying the demon.
We need to finish this fight quickly before someone grows weary, but to do that we need more strength behind our blows. But how do we do that? Alice thought wildly before stiffening at a sudden blinding light that filled her vision.
Alice gasped; she was floating over a training field, the exact one where she had been to before when she was taught her other Shikigami techniques. We really need to work on the timing of these things Alice thought as she searched for the person who would teach her a new technique.
There! Alice spotted not one, but two people standing in the field facing a great demon. One was a woman, whose aura flowed with the power of her Shikigami while the other was a man, pointing his spear threateningly at the demon.
Alice stared in bewilderment at the two as the woman simply sat down and started to meditate while the man distracted the demon by circling it. What are they…? Alice was cut off as the woman stood up and held up her hand that now glowed with a light blue hue.
That's Shikigami! Alice thought as she watched the woman throw her Shikigami towards her partner.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Alice yelled in surprise, "You're not supposed to attack…"
Once again Alice was cut off as she watched the Shikigami surround the man for a moment before gathering at his spear. With his spear glowing with the woman's light blue Shikigami, the man swiftly attacked the demon, easily bringing it down with ease.
Alice flinched. I'm back she thought as she stared around the room. Not even one second seemed to have ticked by, but it felt like an hour for her. Alice shook her head, wiping away her confusion and trying to focus. We need to end this quickly, so the obvious choice is…
"Inuyasha!" Alice called out, looking up at the hanyou, who immediately turned around in surprise before growling, "What? Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Yes I can, I'm not blind you know! But come here for a moment."
Inuyasha sighed irritably before jumping over to Alice.
"What?"
"I know of a way to defeat this demon, but in order to do that we need to team up," Alice replied.
"Okay, what do we have to do?" Inuyasha asked, keeping one eye on the demon.
"I'm going to lend you my Shikigami, and all you have to do is protect me while I get ready," Alice explained.
"Fine, that seems easy enough, when you're ready," Inuyasha replied but before he could run off again Alice stopped him and said quickly, "Just don't freak out when it happens."
"Keh," Inuyasha replied before running off towards the demon.
Alice sighed. I hope this works… She then sat down, crossed her legs, and meditated, letting her Shikigami flow within her. Alice felt her hair swish lightly around her as her Shikigami fanned out around her.
"Alice?" Kagome's voice asked worriedly, but Alice just ignored her. Focus…
Alice's eyes snapped open as she got up. In her hand was a glowing sphere of Shikigami.
"Inuyasha, you ready?" Alice called out.
"Go for it!" Inuyasha replied.
Alice smiled and held up the hand holding a sphere of Shikigami, "Go!"
Alice immediately threw the Shikigami towards Inuyasha, who was in midair and stared back widely at her.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled as everyone else gasped in surprise as the blue flaming Shikigami surrounded Inuyasha.
"Don't worry," Alice reassured everyone. Within seconds Inuyasha broke free of the cloud of Shikigami, his Tessaiga glowing with power.
A smirk lit his face as her yelled out, "Bakuryuha!"
Fueled by Alice's Shikigami, the tornadoes that formed from Inuyasha's blade immediately engulfed the demon. The demon in turn screamed out in pain and when the smoke cleared it was nowhere to be found.
"Awesome! How did you do that?" Shippo asked while jumping onto Alice's shoulder.
"Oh, it was nothing. Just your usual teamwork in action," Alice explained happily before looking over at Miroku, "Are you guys okay?"
Everyone nodded as Alice let out a sigh of relief.
"That demon sure was troublesome, especially because it could use the power of a barrier," Miroku explained, "But because you guys for distracted the demon I was able to shatter the barrier at its source, the crystal."
"So you knew all along what was happening huh?" Alice replied while Miroku nodded.
Sango turned away from the monk, blushing a tiny bit as she said, "I really thought you were in danger, thank goodness you're okay."
"Were you impressed?" Miroku asked with a smile lighting his face as he moved closer to Sango.
Not even a second had passed by before Sango stiffened and turned towards Miroku.
"You dirty monk!" She yelled, followed by a slap to Miroku's face.
"You just don't know when to give up, huh?" Inuyasha said with his hands crossed behind his head.
"If only he could learn how to control himself," Shippo added while mimicking Inuyasha's stance.
"If only," Alice sighed.
"Poor Sango," Kagome put in, "We should head back to Tsuzumi Village and get a good night's rest before heading to the castle."
"Yeah, let's go. No way am I staying here for the night," Alice agreed as the group headed back towards Tsuzumi Village to get some much needed rest.
Wow I need to come up with better chapter titles - -"
But yay! Miroku was safe, thanks to his experience battling demons I guess... But hey, he would've gotten me fooled easily if I were in the group's position xD
Soo, Alice learned another technique! Yay for her~ I do have to admit though that the visions she gets indeed have horrible timing, but that's what makes them so fun right? xD
In the next chapter we'll finally reach the castle, hope things turn out well for our friends, but usually when Naraku is involved, no one makes it out happily.
Please read and review~
