I'm back and hope you're ready for this excellent next chapter!
"You what!? Max exclaimed.
"How do you know these two? They're the worst fighters I've ever seen. I mean, did you see the way they tried to take us down?" Nikki asked as she pointed her thumb at the two knocked-out young men with a chuckle.
"Well they weren't completely hopeless, I mean they tried to divide and conquer by attacking us from both sides and then they tried to go for the weakest to most likely take them hostage so they'd stop us from attacking back and-" Neil started only to have Max cut him off.
"And the only mistake they made was that David here wasn't completely unable to defend himself"
"Exactly, but that's not the point, why would Ginta and Hakkaku here attack us in the first place?" Erin questioned out loud.
"Those are their names?" David asked Erin, who nodded.
"Yeah, the one with the mohawk is Hakkaku, and the one with the white tuff of hair is Ginta. These two are the right and lefthand men of the young Lord Koga Okami, heir of the Okami clan"
"Wait, 'The' Okami clan? No way!" Nikki exclaimed as she then pulled Neil aside. "What does 'Okami' mean?" she whispered, making Max facepalm.
"Okami means 'wolf' in Japanese" David clarified.
"Come on Nikki, did you even read that book I gave you on the Japanese language?" Neil asked.
"Nope!" Nikki stated proudly.
"Of course, you didn't" Neil breathed.
"Guys, we need to focus on the matter at hand. We need to know why members of the Okami clan attacked us. From what I remember we've done nothing to upset them, if anything they owe us their lives," Erin stated frowning in deep thought.
"Yeah, I know 'E', you, your mom, Kirara, and Gwen helped them with an ogre problem a few years back, right? You were twelve and had just finished the most advanced combat training of all the seven demon slayer villages, why would they attack you of all people?" David asked suspiciously.
"I guess there's only one way to find out; let's ask them ourselves," Max said.
"Good thinking Max, me and David we'll take care of that, as for the rest of you, I want you to scout the area and make sure no one else is around, but go off in groups of two. Max you're with Neil, Kirara you go with Nikki, and stay on guard, we still don't know why they did this" Erin warned as her teammates did as instructed and scattered.
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"Well that should take care of them," David said as he finished tying up Ginta and Hakkaku to each other back to back. He had also tied their ankles together for good measure.
The doctor then noticed Erin was in a deep state of thought.
"Um, Erin are you okay?" David questioned.
Erin blinked and turned to the doctor. "Yeah, what is it David, did they wake up?" she asked.
"Um, I just asked if you were okay" the doctor clarified.
"Oh… yeah, I'm fine" she insisted.
"You don't seem fine, whatever it is you can-" David started but she cut him off.
"I said I'm fine, just drop it" Erin stated in a firm and serious tone that reminded David of a parent talking to their child when they did something wrong.
"Uhhhhh, what happened? A voice moaned.
Erin and David turned to see Hakkaku had woken up.
"Long time no see, Hakkaku," Erin said menacingly as she approached him.
"AH! M-miss Erin!" He stuttered as he elbowed Ginta as best he could while tied up. "Hey man, wake up! Wake up!" He said making Ginta stir.
"Ah, five more minutes…" he groaned.
"Idiot," Hakkaku said quietly as he then took a deep breath and cried out loudly, making Ginta jolt awake.
"What, what!?" he shouted as he then noticed Erin and David frowning in front of them.
"Oh, right" he stated in defeat.
"Care to explain why you attacked me and my team?" Erin asked with a serious expression.
Ginta and Hakkaku began to sweat. "Oh well, it's hard to explain," Ginta said unconvincingly.
Erin then kneed down to look the two in the eye. "Did Lord Koga put you up to this?" she questioned seriously.
Ginta and Hakkaku only remained silent.
"ANSWER ME!" Erin thundered starting the two and David.
"L-lord Koga ordered us to bring you to him when he found out you were in the area!" Hakkaku blurted.
"Oh, way to go big mouth!" Ginta scolded.
"Hm… and what does he want with me, you and your clan owe the slayers your lives, so why do you return the favor by attacking us?" she asked.
Ginta and Hakkaku bowed their heads embarrassed before answering. "Our lord wants to tell you himself what's going on, and he wanted you to come alone, so… we may or may not have thought you'd refuse…" Ginta trailed off nervously.
Erin stood back up. "And how do I know your Lord Koga didn't order you to attack me and my team?"
"No, we swear he didn't! He told us to see you weren't provoked or injured when we asked you to come!" Hakkaku stated.
"Well, she's not going anywh-" David started, only to have Erin cut him off.
"I'll go," she replied.
"What?" all three men questioned.
"I have one condition though, I will bring my team. That's the deal take it or leave it," Erin proclaimed.
Ginta and Hakkaku looked at each other and sighed. "Very well," Ginta said.
"Um, 'E' a word please?" David gritted through his teeth as he pulled Erin aside. "What are you doing?!"
"I'm going to see what Lord Koga wants, I haven't heard anything about or from the Okami clan for a while, something has to be wrong. We have to check this out," Erin said firmly.
David raised an eyebrow at her. "Why do we 'have' to check this out at all, you don't even know what this guy wants from you" the doctor argued.
"I don't know why, but I have the feeling that I'm… needed…" Erin trailed off and looked down. But she then shook her head. "Let's just go okay?" she stated as she then walked over to Ginta and Hakkaku. "I'll untie you both, but if either of you does anything funny, I won't hesitate to teach both of you a lesson you will never forget, do you understand?" she asked seriously.
Ginta and Hakkaku shuttered at the look in the young woman's eyes.
"Y-y-yes ma'am" Hakkaku stuttered as Ginta nodded frantically.
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"Remind me again why the hell we're doing this?" Max asked dully as he and the rest of the team followed Ginta and Hakkau from behind. After he, Neil, Nikki, and Kirara had returned to find the there two attackers untied, they were immediately prepared to take them down, only to have Erin and David stop them. After their leader had explained the situation, they were then on their way to the Okami castle.
"Erin didn't give a good reason other than 'we have to check this out,' and is it just me, or is she acting strange?" Neil whispered, glancing at Erin who had Kirara sleeping on her shoulder and her face looking downward and almost… worried.
"Yeah, now that you mention it she does seem a bit unease" Max replied.
Erin gave them a sideways glance, but what they saw shocked them. Their leader looked 'nervous', that couldn't be possible, Erin was never nervous, she had always walked with confidence and bravery no matter the situation, so why, why was the strong leader they looked up to acting so strangely?
"Uh, Erin are you okay?" Neil questioned nervously, but their leader's mind was elsewhere.
"Um, 'E'?" Nikki asked waving her hand and beside the young woman, trying to get her to respond to Neil.
"Huh? What?" she asked blinking from her distracted state.
"I asked if you were okay," Neil said.
"Why does everyone here keep asking me that? I'm fine! Now let's go we don't want to lose Ginta and Hakkaku!" Erin snapped walking further ahead.
"Geez, I was just trying to be nice" Neil stated.
"I don't think it's us, something tells me there's more to this than Erin's willing to tell us," David said walking alongside the three kids.
"What? Erin doesn't keep secrets from us, she trusts her team more than anyone else along with you and Gwen!" Nikki stated defensively.
"Then why would she keep secrets now?" Max asked crossing his arms.
But before anyone could answer they all noticed a large walled, blue, Japanese-styled castle not too far ahead of all of them.
"We're here," Ginta stated.
Erin then took a deep breath and quietly let it out. "Let's go," she told her team and then turned her attention to the two men before her. "Take us to Lord Koga at once"
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"Damn, this place is gross" Max gaged as he looked around at all the dust and mold on the walls, floor, and furniture.
"Max!" David scolded lightly.
"I'm with Max, this place smells like a barf puddle that someone left out in the sun," Nikki said looking more than a bit green in the face.
"Tell me about it, who died in here?" Neil whined.
Erin however said nothing, her focus was on something that had been bothering her since the moment she stepped foot in the castle. Though it was faint, she could clearly feel her Hiraikostu twitching as if it was… 'excited', "but how could that be possible?" Erin asked herself. "My boomerang bone is a weapon, it has no feelings. It's made of the bones of dead monsters, it's not alive at all," Erin was so lost in thought that she almost didn't see the flash of red from a corridor they were all passing.
"Whose that?" Erin asked, stopping in front of the corridor.
Ginta and Hakkaku stopped dead in their tracks.
"Ayame, you shouldn't be this close to the lord's bedroom at this time you know that," Ginta said, now facing the end of the corridor, where a little girl with thick fire red pigtails, emerald green eyes, fair Irish skin, wearing a pink kimono, and was barefoot stepped into view.
"I-I'm sorry" the little girl squeaked nervously.
"This is Lord Koga's sister Lady Ayame, she's seven years old," Hakkaku said.
Without thinking, Erin approached the timid little girl and kneed down to her height.
"Hello Lady Ayame, it's nice to meet you"
Ayame stared at Erin for a few minutes, but then her face lit up with realization. "You're Lady Erin of the White Rose Demon Slayer village aren't you?" she said rather than asked, excitement laced in her voice.
"Um, yes I'm Erin, but I have no title or anything like that-" the slayer woman started only to have Ayame cut her off.
"Big brother's told me so much about you, are you two going to get married like you both promised?" she asked.
"WHAT!?" everyone in the room other than Ayame, Erin, and Kirara shouted, utterly shocked, while Ginta and Hakkaku only cringed.
"You promised to marry this Koga guy?!" Nikki yelled.
"When was this?!" Neil demanded.
"Please tell us you're not fucking serious!" Max shouted outraged.
"Is he nice?" David asked excitedly, making everyone turn to him.
"That's all you have to say, idiot?" Max asked face-palming.
"What? If Lord Koga and Erin like each other who are we to stop-" he started only to have Erin cut him off.
"SHUT UP!" she yelled at the top of her lungs making everyone freeze while Kirara jolted awake on her partner's shoulder.
"Erin, we-" Neil started only to be cut off by his team leader.
"Just. drop it" she demanded as she then patted a startled-looking Ayame on the head. "Sorry about that, could you tell me what your brother wants of me?" she asked the little girl.
"To where white and walk down the aisle apparently," Max grumbled in a hushed tone.
Erin gave him a sideways glare, making the boy shut up altogether. Satisfied with that, she turned back to Ayame.
"You did nothing, wrong princess, please I need to know why your brother needs to see me"
Ayame sighed. "It all started two months ago, our castle and our whole clan were attacked by an army of all different kinds of monsters. Everyone including me and Koga's father was killed. me, my brother, Ginta, and Hakkaku are the last members of the Okami clan. But there's more… while trying to defend our people, my brother was bitten by a werewolf…" Ayame trailed off with tears in her eyes.
Erin froze. She knew what that meant, why she had been summoned here was now crystal clear to her. "You all wanted to see if my people had a cure for the werewolf venom that now runs through Lord Koga's veins," she said rather than asking.
"You've become smarter as you have grown more beautiful…" a deep male voice trailed off from the shadows behind Ginta and Hakkaku, who both gasped in shock.
"Koga!" they exclaimed.
Erin sucked in a breath. And she felt her Hiarikotsu twitch again this time even stronger than before. The young man standing before her and everyone else was about a year or two older than herself and had long black hair in a high ponytail, tanned skin, a brown fur band tied around his forehead, was barefooted with two brown fur leg warmers on his lower legs, wore a brown fur pelt around his waist, black Japanese armor on his chest and shoulders, on his right arm was a brown fur sleeve from his wrist up to his elbow, and finally on his left side was a European sword with a red handle and a golden blade. But what stood out the most were his eyes, a dark sky-blue color that Erin could never forget. Those eyes…
"It's been a long time, Erin" Koga said with a smile, his canine fangs showing themselves.
"He has been bitten by a werewolf," Erin thought to herself, as she also noticed a brown wolf tail on Koga's back side wagging ever so slightly.
"Lord Koga, I've heard of you're situation, but I'm sorry to say there is not a known cure for werewolf venom among my people" Erin seriously, but traces of sadness and worry could be heard within her voice.
Koga's face fell. "I see, then I have only one request now,"
"What would that be?" Erin asked.
Koga looked to Ginta and Hakkaku, and then to Ayame. You take my two men, and my little sister back to you're village for them to live"
"NO!" Ayame protested.
"But Koga…" Ginta trailed off.
"We're not leaving you, man," Hakkaku stated.
Ayame then took the opportunity to run to her big brother and hug him around his waist. "Please don't leave us, big brother, I promise I'll be good, just don't send us away!" the little girl said in tears.
Suddenly Koga let out a growl and bowed his head as his hands then turned into fists.
"Oh no, EVERYONE RUN FOR IT!" Hakkaku shouted as Ginta pulled Ayame away from a snarling Koga.
Max, Nikki, and Neil positioned their weapons, while Kirara growled fiercely on Erin's shoulder.
"You need to run-" Koga started only to have Erin place Kirara on Nikki's shoulder and walk over to him calmly.
"And what 'you' need, is help…" she trailed off as she then took out a small crystal as clear as water from under the armor plate on her right shoulder and placed it over the skin of Koga's neck.
Immediately Koga's breathing slowed and his fists loosened.
"How… did you do that?" Ginta breathed as he still held a squirming Ayame back from the scene.
Erin turned to face the others without removing the small clear crystal from Koga's neck. "This is a gemstone that surpressess monster powers, it needs to be recharged of its magic from time to time by a mage. It's no cure, but it's the best thing my people can offer to Lord Koga for now… until we find a cure…" the lead slayer trailed off.
Everyone stared at her with confusion and disbelief.
"Y-you mean-" Hakkaku started but Erin cut him off,
"That's right, I'm going to help you find a cure for the werewolf venom in Lord Koga's body"
Everyone in the room stood speechless at the lead Demon Slayer's words.
"Ha, you really haven't changed much since we were kids," Lord Koga observed quietly while placing a hand over Erin's hand, which was holding the gemstone to his neck. "Come with me," he said as he held the clear quartz crystal on his neck while taking Erin's hand in his own, holding it by his side, leading her away from the group.
"Where do think you two are-" Max started only to have David place a hand on his shoulder to stop him from following the two.
"Let's let them talk for a bit they seem to have a lot to discuss" the doctor clarified as Max simply shrugged himself away from his dad and crossed his arms.
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Koga couldn't believe it, he just couldn't, after all this time, after seven years of waiting he was finally able to see 'her' again. The girl he had promised himself he would marry and stay with forever… only to be cursed when they were finally old enough to become one. Even so, he knew Erin would be able to do something about his curse, even if it only bought him a little more time before he turned into a complete werewolf, at least he would give him time to do everything he wished to do before he lost himself completely.
"Where are we going?" Erin asked as she looked up at Koga, who smiled upon seeing the faint blush on the demon slayer's cheeks.
"I wanted to show you something," was all he said as he then opened the double red wooden doors at the end of the corridor they were walking in to reveal a beautiful outdoor garden in the center of the castle.
Erin let out a light gasp as she gripped her Hiraikotsu tightly. The garden was surrounded by large blooming white roses, their petals covered in sparkling dew drops that reflected the light of the sun into tiny colorful rainbows all over the garden itself.
"I-it's beautiful" was all she could say in a light whisper.
Koga smiled at her as he guided her to a bench in the middle of the garden. "I had it grown just for you shortly after you left this castle seven years ago… do you remember…?" he asked.
Erin turned to stare out into the garden's beauty. Of course, she remembered. "Yes, I remember how quiet you were until you actually came to talk to me when we were alone" the demon slayer proclaimed with a snicker.
Koga blushed. "Yeah… I still remember it like it was yesterday…"
FLASHBACK IN NEXT CHAPTER!
