Chapter 17.- Splinters
There was a scent following her trail.
One Inuyasha was annoyingly familiar with.
Claws dug into the skin of his palms as the hanyou sped up, ignoring Miroku and Shippo's loud complaints. It shouldn't be that surprising. The mangy wolf had been sniffing around for a while now, chasing the Shichinintai, but Kouga knew the time-traveling priestess' scent and would recognize the dark stains of maroon smudged on tree trunks and rocks spread a few ways from each other as blood left behind in a very intentional trail. Annoying as Kouga was, the male truly cared about Kagome, of course, he'd track her down, especially when the hanyou's scent was missing from the group.
Ever since the girl had fallen through time, she'd always been by his side. Splitting off usually meant something had gone wrong, and he had to get her out of whatever dangers had separated them to begin with. That's just the way things were, and he'd been happy with it.
It wasn't perfect.
Whenever Kikyo got involved, things would get complicated, leaving him conflicted over what to do and how to act. He still wasn't sure why the woman had stolen their fragments, but it was evident Kikyo didn't approve of her reincarnation. As for Kagome…she'd never actually brought any of that up; despite the awkward silences stretching out when Inuyasha went to the undead miko, the girl had simply stayed by his side, never blaming him for a single thing. For the most part, it was easy to about the whole situation; nothing had truly changed after all. His role was to keep the girl safe and everyone else, even the persistent wolf, had accepted it. No matter how angry Kagome got or how much they'd yelled at each other, she'd never once suggested separating when chasing one of Naraku's minions. It just wasn't safe.
Only…it was now, wasn't it?
He still wasn't sure how Mukotsu had been killed, but it was obvious the so-called was the one who beat him. In the midst of the chaos of the last battle Inuyasha hadn't been able to keep an eye on Itachi, but he was almost certain the man could've finished the fight earlier than he had. If the guy were to fight the remaining Shichinintai, would the warrior truly be at such a terrible disadvantage?
Biting his tongue, Inuyasha sprinted past the last patch of land as the makeshift camp came into view.
Piercing blue eyes bore into him.
For once, the hanyou was less interested in picking up a fight, his focus was centered instead on the expression painted on the girl's face. Honestly, part of him had expected to be on the receiving end of sharp accusatory glares or straight-out reproaches. Perhaps there'd be some sort of relief when she saw him; the stench of death wafted into the campsite despite its distance from the clearly ruined town, even a human's dull sense of smell should've been able to notice it. With danger so close, she should've been relieved to see him. Somehow, though the girl was certainly smiling, the expression on her face was odd yet again; there was no real sense of urgency in the sigh she let out when the wolf turned away from her to face him.
"What took you so long, dog breath?" Of course the idiot would start trying to pick a fight.
"Pretty sure we left you behind days ago," Inuyasha scoffed, arms crossing. "The hell are you even doing here?"
"More than you, clearly."
"It's okay, Kouga-kun." Kagome was still smiling, hands raised in an obvious attempt to calm the other male down. "We were the ones who kept going."
Right, that's what was truly bothering him, wasn't it?
As much as he disliked the man, Inuyasha could admit how unlikely the idea of Itachi forcing the girl to push forward was, especially since there was no way Sango would just let something like that happen without a fight, and looking at her now, the demon exterminator was as relaxed as she'd ever had before before a battle as she finished whatever the girls had had for breakfast. Kagome had been fine with the idea and only stopped at nightfall. Had they managed to catch up to the undead mercenaries, the hanyou doubted they would've waited for him to engage. They didn't need to anymore. She would've never done this before the odd warrior intruded in their lives.
"…say, Inuyasha?" Sango's voice broke him out of the spiral of annoying thoughts he'd been in. "Where's Miroku-sama and Shippo?"
"Keh, he'll catch up." In a bit…probably.
"Great, so we still have to wait." With an overly irritated grunt, Kouga crossed his arms. "Just wasting time."
Any guilt he may have had at Sango's exasperated glare was shoved away with a huff. Truth be told, the hanyou had wanted to give chase almost as soon as Kagome was well out of view. With how weakened Kikyo was, that wasn't an option, but his original intention had been to leave the moment the woman was able to move. Thanks to Miroku, however, he'd had no choice but to wait around. For some reason, the monk was interested in what had happened with Suikotsu, asking one question after another like the inner workings of a bloodthirsty mercenary actually mattered. Admittedly, the mention of the sacred mountain that came with it was likely relevant, but Inuyasha still found himself impatiently tapping his foot on the ground, he'd been severely against the idea of doubling back and trying to go up the Mt. after coming across the platoon of human soldiers, making it impossible to catch up before nightfall.
"Wait for what?"
"Oh, well…" Blue eyes flickered down; she was bracing for impact. "We came up with a bit of a plan."
"What's there to plan for? We just need to go there and beat them to the ground," Inuyasha grunted, not liking where this was going.
"Unlike other opponents, these mercenaries fight with militaristic strategies." And this was where the so-called warrior chose to jump in, standing up from the rock he'd been sitting on. "And with the right plan, it doesn't matter how weak the enemy is."
"Like it'll make a difference, those assholes are just gonna do what they want?" That's just how things worked here.
"Jumping head first is not going to work; we already tried that," Kagome shook her head, her tone soft but refusing to budge. "One of them has two shards, we can't go in blindly,"
"Ha, let me guess whose bright idea this was —
Dull pain bloomed, stopping him from finishing his sentence, a soft thud taking the place of his accusation; Miroku had done nothing to soften the blow of his shakuhachi as it connected with his head, his breathing clearly heavy and mixing with Shippo's amused giggling. Right, the con artist of a monk could not be happy about being left behind after being ignored last night. But he hadn't been in the mood to hear whatever preaching the man wanted to force him to listen to.
"Human…" the monk panted, clearly leaning on his weapon. "Still, human…you blasted…"
"You still caught up fine," Inuyasha mumbled under his breath. Maybe he should've let the man eat something before starting over for the day.
"Now... can we finally get going?" Impatience bled through the wolf's tone. The hanyou couldn't help but wonder how long ago had Kouga found the campsite. "We're not waiting around for anyone else, right?"
"Maybe we should wait a few more minutes; we do need to explain the plan," Sango added, concern evident in the way she stood up to help the monk sit on a rock.
"Is there any breakfast left?"
In hindsight, the fact that it was weird for them to have a strategy to act on was weird in and of itself.
There was a certain calm frenzy to their journey. They could spend days just walking in the countryside, occasionally spending a night in an inn or scamming their way into a wealthy lord's estate, collecting rumors and whispers they could chase. And then, they'd be plunged into a fight with Naraku, one of his pawns, or a random crazed youkai that happened to be threatening a village or trying to hunt the shards themselves. Even when they were the ones doing the hunting, most of their plans could be summarized as: hit hard and keep dodging. For the most part, Kagome and the others trusted Inuyasha to take the front while providing support. It may not be perfect, but when facing a single enemy or dealing with more animalistic demons, that was usually enough.
Clearly, it wasn't going to work this time around. Itachi was right; the Shichinintai were mercenaries who were highly experienced in actual warfare and they knew how to follow the plans of their strategist. Blindly going in would only give the undead mercenary an advantage. A long talk over dinner had made that quite evident. So they'd come up with a plan of their own. It was a bit vague since they couldn't exactly coordinate things properly, but at the very least, they should be able to level the playing field by getting either, Jakotsu or Renkotsu out of the picture.
Once they limited the mercenaries' attacks to short range, one-to-one, the rest of the combat should be easier. That's what Itachi had said, and Sango had agreed with the notion; Miroku and the others shared their approval earlier too, and while she wasn't used to some of the terms, she could see the logic behind the plan.
Restless fingers tightened their grip on her bow, azure eyes focused on the corrupted light of the Shikon fragments lazily waiting within the ruined walls of the main estate. Their vague strategy was not bad, all of it made sense, but it still felt a little odd to be here, half-hidden between crumbling houses instead of ready to storm the place. Archery was a long-range affair; she didn't need to be in the middle of the fight to be useful.
"You can reach them." Itachi's voice at her side was reassuring, even as his gaze was focused on the estate.
"That obvious?" She attempted to smile, but she could feel her nervousness seeping through. "It's just…we never thought to try this."
"You covered more distance when we tried it this morning. Even if you miss the first shot, we can relocate and wait for a chance for another shot. I can also get us there without any problems if necessary." He was only reinstating the facts, and yet, she could feel some of the tension leave her.
"Right, I guess this is just a little unusual."
Jakotsu's biggest strength was how wide a range his attacks covered; it basically let him keep everyone at a distance with just one swing of his sword, forcing them to remain on the defensive. Renkotsu could achieve a similar effect with his fire and explosives. If they wanted to gain the upper hand, then at least one of them had to go at the start of the battle, and Kagome was the one who could deal that one decisive blow. One arrow hitting the shard would be enough; all they'd needed to figure out was how to create that opening for her.
Kagome had never truly considered what she did as fighting. Shooting a couple of arrows during a battle never really fit the idea of what a fighter was; even the basics Sango was teaching her seemed more like something for her to use as a last-minute resort she could buy time with than anything else. But archery was a martial art, and she hadn't been treating it as one. Usually, she was right there with the others, in the middle of the fray, while technically always staying in the back. Despite the fact that archers were supposed to be long-distance fighters, the girl was always close enough to the fight to have to run around to avoid becoming collateral damage. Maybe when she learned how to handle her powers better, she wouldn't have to worry so much about being targeted; for now, however, she was more effective in a place that'd kept her far from any instant retaliation still within her range.
Earlier this morning, they'd confirmed two vital things.
First, her purifying arrow covered far more ground when she focused on pouring her energy into the projectiles; far from the main estate as she was, her arrows would still reach. And second, while trying to differentiate between her friends when she focused only on her senses was still a work in progress, Itachi's chakra was different enough that even in the mayhem of a battle, she should be able to distinguish it from afar.
All in all, the plan was relatively simple. Have Inuyasha destroy the remainder of the walls, clearing the way for her, and wait until one of the others set off the odd paper seals Itachi carried with him to set off a flare that'd signal what shard to target. Of course, regardless of whether her first shot was successful or not chances were one of the mercenaries would be sent to hunt her down, so someone had to stay with her. Unsurprisingly, the hanyou complained about Itachi taking care of that role, but there was no way Inuyasha could stay with her; the Shichinintai would be looking for him, his absence would be noticed. Itachi's would as well, but the warrior was a new addition to their group, and Naraku would've told them to prioritize the silver-haired male, so their focus was likely to remain with the silver-haired hanyou. With Itachi staying behind with her, she could focus on what truly mattered, to get that first shot out.
Letting her gaze flicker to the young warrior's calm form, Kagome couldn't quiet the idle whisper that wondered if any of this was necessary.
What had become increasingly obvious as they traveled was that Itachi was stronger than any of their original assumptions. The humans from his world were capable of far more compared to her world, and the older teen had willingly joined their travels, well aware of what it implied. He was careful about how much he showed, but Kagome believed him when he said he could've dealt with the mercenaries they'd faced until now. Honestly, a part of her didn't doubt he'd be able to beat even the mystery leader who carried two shards on his neck. Were she to ask him to just deal with them on his own, there was a chance he'd actually agree… and the mere fact that the question crossed her mind even for a second had been enough for her to feel disappointed in herself.
This was her mess, and the girl wasn't about to dump her troubles onto the young warrior just because it'd be convenient.
"Sorry…" Kagome let out a sigh, already knowing what his response would be, but she kept going anyway. "… for dragging you into this."
"You don't have to apologize for anything." Despite the repetitiveness of her apologies, Itachi didn't seem to mind.
"But you don't like fighting." He'd never said it outright, but the girl had noticed it anyway. "And that's exactly what I'm asking you to do.."
"That's…I don't enjoy active combat situations, true…but if that's what's necessary to protect what's important, then I don't mind it." One of his hands fell on her shoulder, a gentle pressure that reaffirmed his words.
Heat rushed through her eyes as she did her best to share back any thought that could lead to a misinterpretation of his words because this was not the time for her to get distracted; she could sense the others rapidly approaching the crumbling walls.
Determined, Kagome took a deep breath as slender fingers closed around one of her arrows. Careful motions placed it on the right position against her bow, ready for her to notch it as soon as she sensed the signal. Almost as if they'd been waiting for her, the loud, familiar sound of the Kaze no Kizu reached her ears, the wall around the rich estate falling to pieces, creating a clear path for her arrows. Any moment now, she'd get the signal any moment now, and then she'd either get the chance for a second shot, or they'd have to race to the battlefield.
"Don't grow impatient; focus on your breathing." Calm but firm instructions helped ground her.
Kagome nodded, closing her eyes and concentrating on the feelings of the auras she'd come to recognize as her friends, the shine of the fragments visible even in the darkness.
"You've fired an arrow a hundred times before." Carefully, he took his hand off, unwilling to affect her aim. "This is no different."
Right, no reason to grow anxious; she'd done this before, and she'd do it a hundred more times after this.
Azure eyes opened when she felt it, her gaze locked on the fragment closer to the flare. She brought up her bow, right arm moving back, drawing the arrow as far as it could go, the tension filling her as she exhaled, reiki poured into her arrow. Far from the field as she was, this is what she could do to help. In this fight, against these enemies, this was the place she could carry her own weight from.
The string slid snapped forward as she let go, the low, whistling sound of her arrow filling her ears, bright pink trailing after it, speeding towards a corrupted shard.
Blood filled his mouth as he bit down, doing his best to ignore the taunts.
Without Kagome here, there was no way to confirm it, but Inuyasha knew for sure that the bastard waving the giant halberd around like it was nothing, Bankotsu, was the one with two Shikon fragments. The blows were heavy; if the hanyou were to take a direct hit, he wasn't sure how much damage it'd make, and yet, Inuyasha couldn't stop his gaze from drifting back around him. Kouga was running away from Renkotsu's fire, Miroku kept trying to get closer to Suigetsu, and Sango was blocking Jakotsu's attacks with her hiraikotsu. They were fine; they'd separated them all. Sooner or later, they'd manage to make one of them face away from the destroyed wall.
The plan was working.
It was ridiculous; he should be able to move freely since he didn't need to worry about having to protect anybody, and while agreeing to a plan proposed by that guy left a bitter taste in his mouth, he couldn't deny this was the smart move for them to make. All that was left for him to do was wait until Sango or Miroku used that weird paper thing they'd tested this morning. By all means, he should not be getting distracted by literally nothing at all. Because it felt wrong, Kagome should be here, just like every other time where he could see her and protect her. Besides, she was too far away. Human sight wasn't all that great; there was no way she could see what was going on here, let alone reach it. Had Kikyo ever tried to fire from this long of a distance?
"Aren't you missing some people?" Bankotsu's confident voice was impossible to ignore. "Did they run off because they knew you can't win?"
"Shut the fuck up!"
The sound of metal against metal filled his ears; there wasn't enough time for him to launch an attack. Bastard was too fast for the giant sword he was swinging. Teeth clenched as the hanyou tried to push back. He had to finish this quickly before Kagome managed to make her way here. The sound of the others attempting to keep the rest of the mercenaries at bay fizzled out in the background. They could handle themselves. He had to cut off this asshole's head first.
The hairs at the back of his neck rose, half of his blood reacting before he even noticed it, the bright pink blazing through the chaos.
For a moment, the fighting stopped, movements frozen at the unexpected trail of power. Purple eyes were wide open, looking down at the red-stained metal arrowhead sticking out of Jakotsu's neck. The wild patterns of the undead mercenary's attacks uselessly focused forward, powerless to stop the sacred arrow that came from behind him. Sango was the one who'd maneuvered her opponent into facing away from the ruined town, giving Kagome a clean, perfect shot. The stillness lasted only a heartbeat before shattering as Jakotsu's body began to crack together with the silence, his flesh turning back into dust as the fragment in his neck became pure once more.
The shot reached.
"It's the woman!" Renkotsu shouted.
"Where is she?!" Anger bled through the three words Bakotsu spit back.
"I'm your opponent!"
Inuyasha swung again, his sword clashing against his enemy's blade. Another stalemate. Rage distorted the mercenary leader's features, fury at the loss of his comrade. At the second death of a swordsman Inuyasha hadn't been able to defeat. Jakotsu almost killed Kikyo, and he was gone now, with just a single arrow. Gritting his teeth, the hanyou pushed None of that mattered right now; Sango had joined Miroku, trying to fend off Suikotsu, Kouga somehow evading Renkotsu's fire. And Kagome…
Debris covered his vision for an instant as he landed, his arms raised in a rush. Dull ache spread through his tightened grip as he blocked the massive blade. One swing of his arm, the mercenary stumbled; no time to hesitate. He could feel the demonic energy building up, Inuyasha lifted Tessaiga.
The ground parted, torn by the cutting wind of his attack. Golden eyes impatiently scanned the aftermath, his breathing still heavy when he found the metallic shine of Bankotsu's sword. Its blade dug into the ground, still in one piece despite a large gash marring its center. Uncertainty remained as he caught his breath; it felt too easy. Had that been enough to…
"Ah, that was a close one." Not one scratch was visible on the man's body as the mercenary stepped out from behind the halberd. "Dammit, my Banryuu's been fucking injured."
"Bankotsu, the insects…" Renkotsu tried before trailing off. Only now did Inuyasha notice the small collection of saimyosho swarming around.
"I'm not leaving until I've spilled that archer's blood!" The man wildly waved the halberd. "She will pay for this!"
"We don't know where she is; we're at a disadvantage!"
"Fuck it, I get it already." Bankotsu swatted at the small swarm of insets that had hurried to hover around him. "Inuyasha! That'll be all for today; tell that woman to get ready to beg for forgiveness."
"You gotta be kidding, you bastard!"
Fire blocked his way as the remaining two regrouped with their leader. The ground shook under his feet, fissures parting the floor as the half of the estate the Shichinintai was standing on began to rise. Frustration built up as the hanyou struggled to stay on his feet, fingers closed around Tessaiga's hilt. This had to be Naraku's doing; the bastard was doing all of this just to get them away from the fight. His glare was useless as what was left of the Shichinintai turned around, following the small swarm of saimyiosho. An outraged scream got stuck in his throat, even as the ground finally seemed to still, because he could see that fucking baboon pelt jumping out from the broken ground, wriggling tentacles extending to block as much of the space as possible.
Of course, that bastard would show up here.
"Naraku!"
"You did well to make your way here." Low and grating, the laugh seemed to echo in the ruins of the castle town. "And I see the new face has joined at last."
Silver hair whipped as he turned back.
Itachi was standing on top of a pile of rubble, carefully placing Kagome on her feet, his motions as calm and unhurried as always; as far as he could see, the warrior was completely unbothered by Naraku's appearance or the spider's words. Those red eyes of his seemed far more interested in studying the raised land. Right, the warrior was fast; he likely had no real reason to worry about an attack directed at him or the girl, even though they were now in sight. Before Inuyasha could think of something to say, his attention was snatched by the sight of the priestess racing down the debris, clearly scanning for injuries. She wasn't injured, of course, she wasn't, and she didn't look tired either. The plan had worked, the parts that didn't involve him.
"Another human, it seems," Naraku pondered, clearly interested. "At first glance, at least."
"The hell's that supposed to mean?!" Inuyasha interrupted, unwilling to let the bastard keep talking as if he were in control.
"Bah!" Kouga scoffed; he'd found his way to the front. "It's clearly a puppet"!
"Gaining time for the Shichinintai to escape," the hanyou mumbled; he was trying to gain time and was getting it.
"Kukuku," Again, the spider was laughing. There was no point in this confrontation. "I won't let you destroy them."
The puppet moved, twisting tentacles speeding towards the group. Accumulated anger exploded as both his hands closed around Tessaiga's hilt, demonic energy swelling and tearing through the ground, destroying the replica with ease. It was even weaker than the ones they'd fought before. It didn't have a shard; it didn't even bring the usual swarm of lower-level demons to distract them with…and yet, Inuyasha couldn't see any of the Shichinintai's figures anymore.
"Kouga, you bastard!" Inuyasha was already trying to run off after the wolf. "Getting a head start, huh?!"
"Shut up, dog turd! With an idiot like you, they'd just get away again, wouldn't they?!" Kouga yelled back without stopping.
"Wait, you fucking asshole!"
"Hold up, Inuyasha!" Kagome's voice rose above the insults.
A sigh of relief escaped her as she saw the hanyou stop.
From the place she'd been hiding in, Kagome had done her best to monitor the fight; she'd seen the glow of the Shikon being taken away from the battlefield, she'd waited for a bit to see if another flare would be used. It was improbable that the remaining mercenaries would place themselves in her line of sight again, but immediately showing herself would paint a giant target at her head, and there's no way Itachi would leave her alone when there was no guarantee one of the Shichinintai would manage to slip away, trying to hunt her down. But when the ground began to shake, and the shards were obviously moving away at once, it became obvious they had to regroup at once. The puppet itself hadn't been a surprise; Naraku was the type of vile being who'd bring back the Shichinintai to use them as his next set of pawns. What was unexpected was the odd feeling she got from it.
Waving away the questioning look Sango sent her way, Kagome knelt down by the puppet's torn remains.
"So you noticed it too, Kagome-sama?" Miroku followed behind her, studying the scattered parts.
"What's up with you guys?"
"This puppet's strange." She wasn't sure if she was answering Inuyasha's question or just talking to herself. "It seems somehow…pure."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"It feels the same…" Kagome trailed off again. "It feels like what I felt from the base of that mountain, back in that town."
"…it does feel similar to Mt. Hakurei," Miroku added.
Silver ears twitched once, a thoughtful look coming over the hanyou as he knelt beside her. Tension filled and left her in a heartbeat when Inuyasha leaned closer to the puppet's pieces to try and sniff something the miko's senses couldn't detect. It looked like Naraku showing up here was enough to distract Inuyasha from her unusual behavior. Hopefully, it'd last long enough for them to either deal with the remaining Shichinintai or find Naraku himself.
Brushing her hands on her skirt, azure eyes couldn't help but find the young warrior's figure, the spider's words circling within her head. She'd known Naraku would notice the new addition to the group; as much as the girl hated the male, she could admit he was crafty and annoyingly observant. Sooner or later, he'd try to go after Itachi, she'd warned him of that much when he insisted on tagging along. It still felt too soon for the spider to obsess over the older teen. If she was being entirely honest, Itachi was far more capable of handling himself than Kagome had been when she first fell down the well and still was even now. If she and Inuyasha could fend him off back when they were still floundering and trying to figure out how to fight together, Itachi would be able to do the same. But the spider was a coward, and when he realized physical attacks wouldn't work, he'd attempt to hurt him with a different approach.
"This thing…" Inuyasha's voice startled her out of her reverie. "It smells of water and flowers."
"Did Mt. Hakurei smell like this?" Inuyasha asked.
"No, I don't think that place had the kind of flowers that'd smell like this." The hanyou shook his head, still far too focused on Naraku. "Don't think we've passed wherever this came from."
"Could you recognize where it came from from the smell alone?" Kagome's voice was soft, not wanting to shift his attention back to their strained relationship.
"Yeah, just need to find the river or pond or…whatever."
"They have to be close by," Sango added, absentmindedly placing Shippo on her shoulder. "We could probably find it if we scout around that Mt."
A fluff of orange leaped into her arms, Shippo wasted no time in finding a perch on her shoulders. She knew what they had to do; it's what they'd always done, but it took far more effort not to let her hesitation show in her face.
Even when they weren't on friendly terms, Kagome hadn't spent much time thinking about the implications of being carried on Inuyasha's back. They needed to move fast, and this was the most efficient way to give chase; her bike was too fragile for feudal Japan, and even if she could afford to buy a new one every time it broke, or was stolen, or left behind because of an emergency, it simply wasn't good enough for her to keep up with the others. Setting her hands on Inuyasha's shoulders, the girl forced back a frown at the awkwardness of the action. She wasn't sure there was a solution for this if it hadn't mattered at the start; it shouldn't now, but emotions were tricky, and Kagome had a feeling that things would get complicated once the topic she'd been desperately trying to avoid came to light.
Shaking her head, the girl did her best to shove the thoughts away. If they could find the place Naraku was hiding in they'd have way more important things to focus on and getting distracted could very easily get them badly injured or worse.