Chapter 34:
Arisa.
Sesshomaru mentioned in his mind as he casually passed by a river, though he was obviously in a rush. Jaken frantically followed behind, while pulling Ah-un to get him to move faster.
"Milord…!"
A giant hamster demon with big eyes called out to him, bowing deeply.
"I am offering myself to be a part of your army again, Sesshomaru-sama!"
Sesshomaru gave him a brief glance before answering.
"Royakan."
"Y-yes?" he replied with a hopeful tone.
"Leave before I bite your head off." Sesshomaru sharply replied.
Royakan was crestfallen, and Jaken went to his rescue.
"But Sesshomaru-sama…perhaps we may need more allies this time…"
"There is no need."
"H-how about Inuyasha? He could at least help—"
"Jaken."
"Yes…?"
"Having you as my ally is enough."
Never having a compliment with that level of appreciation, Jaken was moved to tears, and forgot about insisting his suggestion.
"I will follow you forever, Sesshomaru-sama…!" the little demon sincerely cried as he ran to tag along with him.
Arisa carefully observed the area for roaming cat demons, and deemed it clear. As quietly as possible, she walked away from time to time, until she could at least reach what seemed to be the exit. But when she reached for it, only then did she realize that the place contained a barrier.
I don't even know how to undo a barrier…! How am I supposed to get help?
Just then, the barrier went down in an instant, and soon, Inuyasha appeared, together with a guy in wolf-skin clothing, his black hair tied back.
"Inuyasha…!" Arisa called out in relief, catching his attention.
"Wha-what are you doing here?"
"I got controlled by Shunran, one of those cat demons…and was brought here, apparently as bait."
"Bait for who?"
"Sesshomaru…"
Inuyasha gave her a confused look. "Why is Sesshomaru involved in here?"
"I don't know. But he knows these cat people."
Inuyasha pressed his lips together, and didn't ask any further.
"At any rate, have you seen Kagome?"
"What!? Kagome has been kidnapped?"
However, the cat army became aware of their barrier's disappearance, and went marching off to their location. Soon, the cats surrounded them and released a gas bomb, clouding their vision and making them outnumbered.
"Hey, what the hell is with this gas!?" the guy in wolf clothing commented aggressively.
"Shit…! I didn't see this coming!" Inuyasha complained, covering his nose.
"I'll try to make a path…!" Arisa suggested as she prepared herself to fight; unaffected by the gas.
"You better get away from here…!" Inuyasha protested, but Arisa only glanced at him with determined eyes.
"Trust me…! I will try to ward them off while we make our way to where Kagome is…!"
"Rin!Kyo!To!Sha!Kai!"
Arisa immediately chanted while performing the hand signs; and a significantly wider wave of white light cleared a path, all the while purging the cat demons who were caught in it.
"Let's go now…!"
Inuyasha and the guy in wolf-clothing staggered upon following her, as they got stunned at her work.
"Yo, woman!"
"What?"
"What's your name?"
"Arisa. How about you?"
"I'm Koga, from the Wolf-demon tribe."
So he really is a wolf demon. Makes sense in his clothing.
"Nice meeting you, Koga!"
Arisa continued to chant the five cuts, while Inuyasha and the wolf guy fended off the numerous cats that started attacking as well. Unfortunately, Arisa was starting to get exhausted.
"Aren't we there yet!?" Inuyasha asked hastily.
"I…I don't know. The smoke engulfed the whole village. I am not even sure anymore if we're heading correctly to their hideout…"
"Damn…!"
Nevertheless, she continued to cast her five cuts, until she couldn't anymore; with her vision starting to blur. She helplessly fell to her knees, and was panting a little.
"H-hey! Arisa, are you okay?"
She only looked at Inuyasha with her eyes half-open, and couldn't grasp what he was saying. The smoke blocked their path once again, making her two companions panic a little. Miraculously, before the smoke got to the three of them; it started dispersing, and the numerous cats that were all around began retreating.
When the smoke was gone, Sesshomaru was revealed to be there, apparently choking the leader who initiated the gas attack.
"Karan, huh." Sesshomaru said in an apathetic tone.
"C-curse you…!" she managed to say, despite struggling in his hands.
"Sesshomaru!"
Shifting his attention to Inuyasha, he threw Karan away like an object who landed hard on the ground. It then caused the remaining cats to flee, including her.
Though Arisa still had her knees on the ground due to exhaustion, she was mindful of her surroundings. She knew that Sesshomaru was there, and it made her feel very relieved and astounded.
He really came…
"Stay away from this." Sesshomaru uttered coldly at Inuyasha as he walked past him, going towards the spot where Arisa was sitting.
"What the hell? Why would-"
Sesshomaru promptly glared at him, cutting him off. "Silence! What right do you even have to participate in this war!?"
For the first time, there was emotion in his voice, like he was somewhat resentful.
Inuyasha went speechless, his expression softening in a guilty way. And just in time, Myoga arrived together with Miroku, Sango, Shippo who were above them, riding on Kirara. Myoga then jumped off into Inuyasha's shoulder, then proceeded to explain Sesshomaru's involvement and the war that happened fifty years ago, and even prior to that.
"The first war happened when the Panther King tried to claim the western lands. The warriors composed of your father - the Great Dog General, Sesshomaru, and many others who served the dog demon clan, along with Royakan. They emerged victorious, but fifty years later; after learning about your father's death; the cats started a war again. Though, your clan's members had decreased due to your father's absence." Reaching this point, Myoga stuttered, and Jaken took the chance to continue.
"Sesshomaru-sama had inquired for Inuyasha's assistance, only to find out that he was sealed on a tree by a human priestess. Thus, Sesshomaru-sama headed the small army alone. But even if that was the situation, they won the fight."
Inuyasha looked down for a while, but he didn't give in to Sesshomaru's orders.
"I don't care what happened fifty years ago! This time, we both are their targets, and they even took Kagome. I'm not going to back out from this, so I'm going ahead to fight!" Inuyasha blurted out and went straight to find the cats' hideout.
"Hey mutt! How dare you go ahead of me! I will be the one to save Kagome!" Koga protested as he chased him, running like the wind.
Miroku and Sango also headed off to save Kagome, but in a different direction, while giving their regards to Arisa, who only managed to give them a single wave.
Although he was annoyed by his younger brother's nuisance, Sesshomaru watched him go and then approached Arisa.
"Can you stand?" he asked flatly, and she only responded by slowly shaking her head. He then crouched down in front of her and noticed that she was pale. His brows knitted for a second.
"What happened to you?"
Arisa faced him, and his expression was as blank as usual. But, there was a sign of worry in his gaze, which made her heart warm.
"I am fine, but now is not the time to be choosy about allies…" She softly replied with a smile, before finally letting her consciousness fade.
Sesshomaru had his right arm support Arisa right away upon falling onto him. As he continued to stare at her for a moment, Shuran and Karan arrived.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX