A/N: I can't say I'm entirely satisfied with this chapter, and it's the shortest one yet, but I figured it had been long enough, and you guys deserve something after *checks date* six months with no update. So here it is :)
Chapter 10: Tessaiga Is Stolen! Showdown at Naraku's Castle!
Everyone had retreated into the shack for the night, except for Daitan, who sat on the roof and contemplated her argument with Inuyasha. It wasn't that she couldn't understand where he was coming from, wanting to get rid of Kohaku to remove an obstacle that most refused to take care of. I just can't take seeing a child die when there's still the possibility of saving him.
She took a deep breath, staring up at the crescent moon, hanging among the glittering spray of stars in the night sky. What would you do, Dad? I know I'm supposed to take your place one day… but am I making the right decision, refusing to kill Kohaku, even if he ends up hurting the pack in the end? The moon stared right back at her, and Daitan averted her eyes. I'll have to think on it, I guess.
Unfortunately, fate did not leave time for Daitan to think on it, as the scent of numerous youkai reached her nose. In her musings, she hadn't realized that they had completely surrounded the shack. Daitan banged her sheathed sword against the roof below her.
"Hey, we've got company!" she shouted, eyes still on the treeline where hundreds of youkai were emerging from large glowing balls of light. Only a single small figure stood out from the snakes and worms around it: Kohaku.
Inuyasha rushed out of the shack first, Miroku and Sango close behind him, and Kagome, Shippo, and Kirara bringing up the rear. Miroku immediately made to unwrap the prayer beads from his cursed hand, but Shippo objected.
"Miroku, your hand's still not fully healed yet!"
Daitan took initiative and jumped down next to Inuyasha, who flexed his claws threateningly at the dead-eyed boy facing them.
"All I gotta do is take out their ringleader and then the rest are toast!" he said, baring his fangs. Daitan growled low in her throat, but kept her eyes on Kohaku and the youkai around him. Kohaku stood motionless, waiting for them to make the first move.
"Remember what I said earlier, Inuyasha?" hissed Daitan, and Inuyasha scoffed.
"Just because you have a weak heart doesn't mean I'm listening to any of your threats - I'm killing the kid!"
Despite the strong urge to turn around and thoroughly put Inuyasha in his place, Daitan ignored his words. With so many youkai around, they couldn't afford to turn against each other. This turned out to be the right call, since the moment Inuyasha finished speaking, the horde of youkai surged toward them.
With several quick slashes of the Tessaiga, Inuyasha disposed of the youkai in front, heading straight for Kohaku. Daitan had planned on going after him, having no intentions of letting him go through with his plan of killing the boy, but the youkai behind the group had also advanced toward the group's essentially unprotected back.
Despite her worry about Inuyasha killing Kohaku, Daitan grit her teeth and turned away from them to focus on the youkai approaching from behind, slicing them to pieces with her sword and using her whip to slam them into each other. Just as she tore apart the last serpent with her claws, Daitan spotted Inuyasha jump up, the Tessaiga held high above his head and prepared to strike down Kohaku as he shouted,
"It's over!"
"Inuyasha, don't do it!" shouted Kagome, and Daitan raced to the front again, intent on stopping Inuyasha's blade before it could touch Kohaku…
The Tessaiga landed, point first, in the ground right next to Kohaku's head. Daitan skidded to a stop. He actually listened?
Inuyasha growled in irritation, and drew back his fist to plant a right hook on the side of Kohaku's face, which sent the boy flying.
"Dammit! I don't know why I caved in. It's okay to kill him, he's just another one of Naraku's traps, I should kill him!"
"Inuyasha," Daitan growled. Inuyasha's lip curled into a sneer as he turned to look at her. Daitan met his eyes with a level stare. "If you kill him, you'll regret it." she said.
"Oh yeah?" he scoffed. "What are you gonna do, beat me up again?"
"I won't let you kill him, not when there's still a chance."
From behind Inuyasha, Kohaku shakily got to his feet. Swaying in place, with his kusarigama held loosely in his hand, he spoke.
"He's right… you should kill me. I deserve to die. I killed them all," Kohaku's voice was completely devoid of emotion, his eyes blank. "Father, mother, the villagers… I slaughtered them, one by one. It's true, that's why I shouldn't be allowed to live." he then angled his kusarigama… and dug it into his back.
At first, Daitan didn't understand what had just happened, and neither did Inuyasha, apparently. The cut hadn't been nearly deep enough to do much real harm…
"Hey, what are you doing that for? What are you trying to prove?" demanded Inuyasha. Kohaku did not react, and only reached back to dig his fingers into where he had cut himself so he could try and withdraw something…
"Don't do it!" yelled Sango, and Hiraikotsu whipped through the air to come into contact with Tessaiga. The force of the boomerang dislodged the sword from the ground and flung it up into the air. It landed, point first once again, in front of Sango. Inuyasha and Daitan both looked up, nearly identical looks of confusion on their faces. What…? I've never known Sango to miss with her Hiraikotsu before…! Thought Daitan.
"Sango…? Are you alright?" she asked.
"What are you doing, Sango?" Shippo squeaked from his perch on Kagome's shoulder. Sango's eyes were fixed on the now depowered Tessaiga, which looked as ancient and decrepit as ever, and no one's questions seemed to be getting to her.
While everyone was distracted, Kohaku made his escape on the back of one of the few remaining serpent youkai, and Sango snapped out of her trance. She made a grab for the sword, the ever loyal Kirara appearing at her side, and wrenched it out of the ground to pursue Kohaku on the back of the nekomata.
"Wait, Sango!" shouted Inuyasha as the taijiya flew into the sky. "What the hell are you doing?"
Daitan's light whip flew into the air, just barely catching on to Kirara's back leg and hoisting the inu youkai into the air. Kirara growled, kicking her leg to try and dislodge the whip, but Daitan only retracted it to get closer. Sango readied her Hiraikotsu in her free hand.
"Don't try to stop me! I've made my choice – this is the only way I can save Kohaku!" she loosed the boomerang, but Daitan Dashed in the air, swinging over to the opposite side of Kirara and dismissing the whip to land on the nekomata's back. Sango prepared to swing at her with the Tessaiga, but stopped. Daitan didn't do anything, but her ice cold stare sent a shiver of fear down Sango's spine. The taijiya broke eye contact. When Hiraikotsu spun back into Sango's grip, she replaced it on her back, and lowered Tessaiga.
"Why are you-?" Sango didn't get to finish her question, as Daitan looked past her to watch the youkai's orbs of light gather around Kirara and swallow them all.
—-
They flew for a time through a purple mist that smelt of earth, blood, and the sweet sting of rot. Naraku. Daitan shifted her gaze away from Sango after the mist thinned, and then broke all together to reveal a dark castle, wreathed in shadows. The only sound was that of whistling wind, the area devoid of all life. Or rather, all natural life.
Kirara landed on the roof of one of the many buildings, and Sango and Daitan slid off of her back. Now that they had stopped moving, the air felt stiflingly still and oppressive. Daitan's lips started to curl into a snarl.
"This castle…" murmured Sango. She turned to Daitan. "Why did you come here with me…?"
"Don't talk to me right now." Daitan didn't even look at her. Sango swallowed, and called out, "Kohaku? Kohaku!" The taijiya's echoing voice was not met with an answer. Until…
"First… put down your weapon." Naraku's voice seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Sango scowled, and reluctantly slid Hiraikotsu off of her shoulder, only to fling it defiantly into one of the buildings in front of her. A dark mist lying over the entrance of the castle itself lifted to reveal a figure in a white baboon skin. Sango jumped down from the roof to face Naraku, and Daitan followed behind. Naraku hummed in thought.
"I don't recall instructing you to bring anyone else… although I can sense that this mere pup is no threat to me. Have you brought her as an offering for me to devour?" he sneered. Neither of them took the bait, although Sango could see Daitan's hand had clenched into a tight fist. Naraku hummed again.
"I see you have brought me the Tessaiga, as promised. Well done, Sango." he said.
"Let me see Kohaku," demanded Sango, taking a step forward. "I will only hand over the sword after I see him!"
The room behind Naraku immediately lit up with an eerie red glow, and Kohaku's silhouette could be seen just behind the screens, before vanishing. Sango's face twisted with rage, and she brandished the sword at the youkai in the baboon pelt.
"Naraku! Return Kohaku to himself immediately!"
Daitan placed a hand on her sword, fangs bared, and prepared to draw at any second.
"Killing me won't help, you should know that by now," Naraku chuckled. "This is the fault of the sacred Shikon Jewel. Youkai and humans desire it, and out of that desire, youkai attacked your village. That's why your father was killed. That's why your brother Kohaku's soul now wanders in darkness – it's all part of the curse of the Sacred Jewel."
"Stop lying!" shouted Sango. "You were the one who killed my father and comrades! You coveted the Jewel – you're responsible for everything!"
"People live and people die because of the power of the Sacred Jewel. There's no reason to despise it as much as you do. Remember, Kohaku was revived because of the Jewel's power." Naraku's voice was like slick oil, he never once raised his voice, despite Sango threatening him with the Tessaiga.
"Only so you could use him as a pawn in your sick game, Naraku." growled Daitan. Her gaze looked like it could cut diamonds. Below the hood of the pelt, Naraku smiled.
"Of course, your weak heart betrays you, pup. I have made no deal with you, and so you may as well have just walked to your own death."
Without warning, several tentacles burst out from under the baboon pelt, heading straight for Sango. Daitan immediately Dashed in front of her, severing the tentacles with her sword, but hadn't realized that Naraku was counting on her moving to protect Sango. A second set of tentacles coiled around Daitan's body, immobilizing her before she could Dash out of the way.
Sango also leapt into action, throwing the Tessaiga at Naraku's face to distract him from the blade on her arm. Unfortunately, Naraku easily caught the Tessaiga, and steel clashed as Sango fought to lop off his head. Daitan strained to get out of the tentacles, but the harder she struggled, the more they squeezed. She dug her teeth into one of them, but was only met with the acrid taste of miasma. She had dropped her sword in the chaos, and it now glinted from its place on the ground, harmless.
As Daitan struggled, Sango was flung aside, her blade broken. Kirara roared, leaping down from the rooftops to sink her fangs into Naraku's shoulder, but a spray of miasma burst out of his skin directly into the nekomata's face. Kirara reared back, reverting to her smaller form.
"Nothing can survive an attack from my poison gas. Not even you, Sango. The pup, though…" Naraku mused, looking over at Daitan. She hadn't seemed to suffer any ill effects from the miasma. "Despite your weak heart, perhaps it would be more beneficial than I thought to devour you."
To Daitan's horror, the tentacles began to retract into Naraku's body, taking her with them. Slowly, as if he wanted her to suffer as much as she could before being absorbed. She struggled harder, grunting and tearing into the flesh that was binding her with her teeth, more desperate than she had felt in decades. Naraku was saying something to Sango, who had collapsed on the ground, but Daitan's blood was pounding in her ears, and heat began to build in her chest as her youki expanded… I am not… dying like… THIS!
A blast of green light blew apart the tentacles surrounding her, and Daitan was launched out of their grip as they writhed in pain. Naraku stumbled slightly, taken off guard. Looking down, Daitan noticed the tentacles were blackened and burned into stumps, and a few wisps of green light lingered in the air before vanishing. Naraku's head snapped over to look at Daitan, his jovial expression replaced by cold irritation, and her instincts immediately kicked in.
Daitan didn't think she had ever moved faster in her entire life.
Her feet dug deep into the ground and she shot forward, reaching out for her sword, but was blocked last second by Naraku's tentacles. Out of the corner of her eye, Daitan saw Sango attempt to come to her aid, but Kohaku's kusarigama whipped out of the darkness from inside the castle and made a deep cut in her shoulder.
Daitan summoned her light whip, smacking away Naraku's tentacles as she Dashed in and out of them and slashed with her claws. She was brimming with energy, her body practically humming. An opening finally appeared where her sword lay on the ground, winking at her, and she reached it not a moment too soon. Her fingers clasped around the hilt, and immediately whipped it behind her, severing a tentacle that had tried to wrap itself around her ankle. However, in her peripheral, she saw Sango fall to the ground in front of Kohaku, succumbing to the poison. Daitan turned with the intent to help her, but Naraku took advantage of her turned back, and caught her in his grasp once more, dragging her back into the darkness of the castle.
"You're more powerful than I gave you credit for, I'm impressed," chuckled Naraku. "But I won't drag this out any longer, I won't give you room for any more tricks." he began to absorb Daitan into his body, and she roared, managing to free her right arm to dig her claws into the floorboards, attempting to drag herself away. Outside, she could hear Kagome's voice. They must have caught up…!
"He's in there! Take this!"
A bright light flooded the room as a sacred arrow exploded through the wall and hit Naraku in the shoulder, blowing it to bits. When Daitan's vision cleared, she saw Kagome standing front and center, another arrow nocked and ready to fire. However, once the young girl saw Daitan, half consumed by Naraku's body, she gasped in horror.
"Daitan-!"
The inu youkai growled, her claws still dug into the floorboards. Naraku shifted Daitan in front of him to block Kagome's next arrow. Her left arm was now stuck inside of Naraku's body, and her claws dislodged from the floor.
"Do it!"
"But-"
"NOW!" roared Daitan, and Kagome fired her sacred arrow.
Daitan pulled away from Naraku as hard as she could, exposing his chest, and Kagome's arrow pierced where his heart would have been. Immense spiritual power blasted most of Naraku's body apart, and electric pain raced through Daitan as she was forcefully expelled from him. She landed hard on the ground, limbs twitching as Kagome's residual spiritual energy ran its course through her body and left her trembling.
—-
The twittering of birds, the smell of grass, and a weight on her stomach were the first things Daitan sensed when she came to. She opened her eyes, feeling as though they were made of stone. The weight on her stomach quivered, and Shippo crawled up to look at her face.
"Hey…" said Daitan, and the little kitsune's face split into a wide grin.
"Daitan, you're awake! We were so worried!"
Daitan sat up, rubbing her head. That arrow really packed a punch… I hope I don't get sick again…
"You're awake!" Kagome had jogged over to where Daitan was sitting. "I was worried that you wouldn't ever wake up… that arrow was meant to just get Naraku, not you too…" Daitan just shook her head, a little smile on her lips.
"Don't worry about it. Actually… I thought you were really cool back there, Kagome." she said, carefully getting to her feet. Kagome's face lit up with a blush, but her irritated expression overpowered it.
"Yes," agreed Miroku, coming to stand next to Daitan. "We should really be thanking you. Without you, Daitan would have been devoured by Naraku, and the rest of us would be dead by now."
Inuyasha, having been drawn over by the conversation, knelt down by Kagome.
"I've never seen you fight like that before… It was almost as good as me…"
"Listen here, Inuyasha," said Kagome, the frustration evident in her voice. "We have to do everything we can to destroy Naraku, no matter how hard we have to work, we've got to pull together as a team."
"Speaking of which…" said Daitan, moving gingerly over to where Sango was sitting. She could already feel soreness gathering in her muscles from Kagome's sacred arrow.
Daitan's gaze turned icy again as she stared down at Sango. "My first thought when you used your Hiraikotsu to steal the Tessaiga was that you missed. The thought of your betrayal hadn't even crossed my mind until you placed your hands on that sword."
"I know… and I have no good reasons why I should stay with all of you if I'll just end up betraying you again-"
"But," Daitan interrupted. She crouched down to Sango's level and tilted her head, examining her. "I'm not angry anymore. And I am aware that Naraku was holding your brother's life hostage. To be honest, I was more upset that you didn't come to the rest of us for help, especially since this nearly cost you your life."
"And what do you intend to do if you leave us?" asked Miroku. "Go after Naraku on your own? You'll never succeed that way." he said.
"I don't have any other choice." gritted out Sango. Kagome shook her head.
"That's ridiculous – we'll all work together to try to save your brother!" she reassured, and Daitan nodded in agreement.
"I'm not kicking you out, and honestly, I'm not so sure I can trust you to be on your own right now – you're actually kind of reckless."
"But… why?" Sango still looked genuinely confused.
"Will you stop whining, Sango?" groaned Inuyasha. "We want you to stick with us because you're not a half bad fighter, and that's all there is to it!" Miroku patted Inuyasha on the shoulder.
"See? Even Inuyasha wants you to stay, and that's something coming from a guy whose sword you stole so easily!"
"Sango, don't you like us anymore?" asked Shippo with big, tear-filled eyes.
"Of course I do, but it's all my fault that this happened, and I might end up doing it again!" Sango's voice broke into a sob, and she flung herself into Daitan's arms. "I'm so sorry, you almost got devoured and it's all my fault…" her tears soaked into Daitan's shirt, and the inu youkai held her close.
"I wouldn't say it's entirely your fault I almost got devoured… I did make the conscious decision to follow you, after all. Just know that you can always count on us, no matter what."
Kagome knelt down beside Sango and Daitan and rubbed the taijiya's back, a gentle smile on her face.
"It's going to be okay Sango, I promise. We're here with you now."
A/N: Why do I just love beating up Daitan? It's necessary this early on though, believe me. There'll be a gradual increase in power for her, with some spikes here and there. She's a late bloomer, is all, but constantly being called weak by her enemies (in comparison to the rest of her family) certainly doesn't help. However, it seems she's already making some progress... who knows how far she'll have gotten by the end... ;)