InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Blackout ❯ The Barrier around Mount Hakurei ( Chapter 16 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: King Baka 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure / Angst | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 07.01.2014 | Pages: 3 | Words: 7.3K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure / Angst | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 07.01.2014 | Pages: 3 | Words: 7.3K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha or any of the publicly known characters, plot, etc. I’m just renting them from Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, etc. I do own the plot of this story and any original characters I’ve created. I will make no money from this fic; I write for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of my readers.
The Barrier around Mount Hakurei
Kikyou landed softly on the grass outside the hut, her shinidamachu retreating to hover behind her as they always did. She paused for a moment to study the surrounding area, but could detect nothing unusual, other than the unnaturally strong purity of this place. It had grown steadily more intense the closer she came to Mount Hakurei, to the point of being significantly uncomfortable. It was hard to believe that this level of purity would not have affected her at all while she was alive. Now thanks to her artificial body, she felt physically ill.
She wanted to leave this place immediately, but she had not come here on a whim. This hut was seemingly innocent on the outside, but something sinister had occurred here. The light from a fragment of the Shikon no Tama had emanated from this place. She had been tracking it just a few minutes ago, as it flickered dangerously between purity and corruption, until at last the darkness took over. Soon after, the shard had moved rapidly toward Mount Hakurei until it suddenly vanished, and she could sense it no more.
Kikyou strode cautiously closer to the hut, moving in a circle to inspect the entire exterior. She froze as she rounded the corner and glimpsed the first sign of something amiss—the door smashed apart and lying in pieces strewn across the yard. It appeared that something had violently burst forth from inside the hut, with far greater power than the average human possessed. The sun was on the other side of the building now, casting the room in shadow. But Kikyou could see irregular shapes within, and what appeared to be dark stains on the floor. With a sinking feeling, she crept closer.
For once, Kikyou was glad not to be alive. Her clay body was incapable of vomiting, which was surely the natural human reaction to a scene such as this. At least two dozen people lay dead inside the hut, their blood leaving barely a square centimeter of floor unsullied. Some had started to decompose, but others appeared to have passed away quite recently. And as she gazed at the carnage, her lips pursing with fury, Kikyou began to comprehend what had occurred here. Whoever possessed the Shikon fragment had been locked in here with these corpses. Some had obviously been cared for by a doctor, though not one with very good medical supplies. There was a certain sense of desperation in the hastily wrapped bandages made out of spare cloth, the effort which had been expended to make the dying comfortable. She could almost picture the poor doctor, slowly losing himself to despair, as the Shikon no Tama drank in the sorrow and became corrupted beyond redemption.
Why said doctor possessed a shard in the first place was another matter. But someone had used this room as a place of torture, for healer and victims alike. These people had died in agony for some twisted end. Pure rage surged through Kikyou, and she slammed her fist against the wall. No, she was not the woman she used to be, selflessly devoting her life to a thankless profession for the sake of others. But nor could she condone the killing of innocent people. Whoever did this would answer for it.
One of her shinidamachu soared into the room, quickly capturing something which Kikyou had not noticed. The light of a soul, lingering around the body of a young woman, appearing perhaps thirteen or fourteen years of age. Kikyou beckoned the shinidamachu closer, and took the soul in her hands. It was agitated, haunted by pain and despair and refusing to accept death. Bitterness and anger, Kikyou knew these emotions well. She whispered to the soul, not to soothe, but to turn the girl’s hatred towards a new purpose. Join with me, sweet child, and remain on this earth for a little longer.
Soon, the soul accepted her and she took it into her body. Then she departed from this horrible place, moving towards Mount Hakurei until it became too dangerous to proceed further, until the pressure of the pure energy was a great weight upon her shoulders. Another step, and the souls maintaining this artificial body would be drawn out. Cursing, Kikyou retreated. She would find a way through this barrier, no matter how long she had to search. Naraku would be made to pay for his crimes. She did not know if the dark hanyou had slaughtered the people in the hut, but he was surely behind it. Everything she had learned through her tireless pursuit had led her here, to this mountain. To this strange peak where any normal priestess would be able to go without difficulty, but which cruelly rejected her as an impure abomination.
Naraku was so close, yet so far.
But it was another, unexpected encounter which loomed ahead for the Inu-gang, in the form of several shinidamachu, quickly followed others bearing Kikyou herself. Inuyasha cursed under his breath as the snake-like creatures set her down a few meters away. If he had known that Kikyou was in the area, he would have gone off to confront her by himself to spare Kagome the trauma of facing her again. But Kikyou likely knew this, and apparently had no intention of letting her reincarnation off so easily.
“Still hauling your pregnant whore around, Inuyasha?” Kikyou sneered. “I had hoped that you would have come to your senses by now.”
That small, involuntary noise of misery from Kagome caused Inuyasha to clench his jaw hard enough to crack a tooth. But though his stomach churned and sweat pooled on his brow, he felt in touch with his manly parts today. Somewhere between his harrowing fight against the Shichinintai, nearly losing Kagome, and growing ever closer to her during their stay in her time, he had finally discovered that he did in fact possess the balls to answer Kikyou. Just not in front of everyone.
“You lot,” he told his friends, without turning to face them. “Go make camp somewhere. I’ll be there soon.”
Kikyou laughed mockingly, and started to say something before he silenced her with a glare. A combination of anger and sadness welled up inside, hardening his emotions. But still, he didn’t want to have it out with Kikyou unless it was just the two of them. He owed her that much, at least. He just prayed that his friends would understand and heed his request. They did begin to move away, some more reluctantly than others. He knew why Kagome lingered, why he could feel her huge brown eyes boring into the back of his head. She was afraid, terrified that he would go with Kikyou to hell, either willingly or by force. Dammit, Kagome. You’re just gonna have to trust me. Please, trust me.
Finally, after an encouraging word from Sango, Kagome departed with the others. Inuyasha allowed himself a sigh of relief when they were gone, before straightening his shoulders again and firming his countenance. The sun shone brightly overhead, but his mood was grim. For Kagome’s sake, this could not keep happening every time she and Kikyou ran into each other. Inevitably they would, since they were pursuing the same enemy, even if Kikyou didn’t literally drop in on them as she had today. Somehow, Inuyasha needed to get his dead former love to back off. A daunting task, but one he would not shrink from. He had an unspoken vow to keep, after all.
“Kikyou,” Inuyasha ground out, fighting to keep his voice level. “Stop calling Kagome a whore.”
“Would you prefer a synonym?” she remarked casually. “Slattern or harlot, perhaps?”
“No! She’s not—”
“You are a fool, Inuyasha. Admit the truth.”
“Dammit, Kikyou!” he shouted, before pulling back. He didn’t want to yell at her, but she was making it difficult to control himself. Something about hearing Kagome be insulted like that set his insides to boiling.
“Kagome is not a whore, Kikyou,” he continued more calmly, though still with fury simmering under the surface. “Do you know how many times she’s had…relations, in her entire life? Once. One fucking time. And you call her a whore?”
Kikyou studied him for a moment, seemingly surprised by his statement. Finally she scoffed. “I am not sure I believe you.”
“Have I ever lied to you, Kikyou?” Inuyasha asked quietly, voice lowered with hurt. For once, Kikyou seemed to have no answer, and Inuyasha saw an opportunity for reconciliation. “When I tell you that I still care for you, do you doubt me?”
Kikyou’s eyes softened for just a moment, before grief and bitterness settled back in. “And if I ask when you might decide to honor your promise to me?”
Inuyasha grimaced. “Kikyou…”
“I thought as much,” she snapped. “Why can you not see that this wh—girl does not belong here? Whatever usefulness she presented to your quest is now lost. Everyone would be better off if—”
“You’re wrong, Kikyou,” he stated firmly, cutting her off. “Kagome regained her spiritual energy. She’s as powerful a miko as she ever was.”
The sense of pride in his tone seemed to take Kikyou aback. She glared accusingly at him, as if to demand how he could tell so blatant a lie. But something in his expression, in the smoldering of his amber eyes must have convinced her to hold her tongue. Go ahead, Kikyou. Tell me I’m lying.
“Well, then,” she hedged, clearly off balance. “I suppose even the Kami make mistakes occasionally.”
Inuyasha found himself agreeing wholeheartedly. One of their greatest blunders had been allowing Kikyou’s soul to return to this world inside a body of clay and graveyard soil. All that had done was bring suffering and heartache, especially for the dead miko herself. More than anything else, he longed to see her at peace. But Kikyou was most certainly not at peace. He could see it in her eyes, as she recovered quickly from her shock. A storm of loathing brewed in those dark depths, and Inuyasha could only stand there helplessly waiting to be struck.
“Perhaps it was wrong of me to place all of the blame on my reincarnation, then. Perhaps her only crime is being overly willing to spread her legs. Tell me, Inuyasha, did you seduce her? Does the fault for your one fornication lie with you?!”
“It was an accident, Kikyou,” he blurted out, unable to stomach the idea of her believing him to have betrayed her in such a manner. If he had seduced Kagome, then Kikyou would have every right to hate him for it. And that was something he simply couldn’t handle. He didn’t know exactly what he wanted from her, but it wasn’t hatred.
“Explain,” she ordered curtly.
Inuyasha gulped, suddenly realizing how foolish this was going to sound. “W-we were at a celebration one night, drinking sake…and we both drank too much. It…just sort of happened. Neither of us even remember it.”
Kikyou studied him briefly before glancing away with a grim smile. The look of outright superiority she adopted forced Inuyasha to wonder if telling her the truth had been the right thing to do. Would it have been better to simply take the blame upon himself? That would likely have stopped Kikyou from abusing Kagome because she thought the latter had seduced him, which had been his primary goal in having this discussion. But now he couldn’t help but feel that he’d betrayed Kagome in some way, by telling Kikyou more than she needed to know.
“I wasn’t aware that you drank,” Kikyou observed quietly, now seemingly in a much better mood.
“Of course you weren’t!” Inuyasha snapped, frustration and guilt bubbling forth in the form of bitter anger. “You think I would ever allow myself to drink in your presence? I always had to be careful what I did or said around you.”
Kikyou gazed at him in disbelief mixed with a twinge of hurt, and Inuyasha was tempted to try to retract his statement. But he was too pissed off to care that he’d wounded Kikyou’s feelings. What he said was completely true; he had never really felt comfortable with showing Kikyou his true self. Even when they were alone, they never fully removed the masks they wore for the rest of the world. And that was one of the primary reasons why it had been so easy for Naraku to trick them. But dredging up the past would do no good. In fact, the prospect of leaving and getting back to his friends suddenly seemed very appealing. He had accomplished his objective, though in a fairly asinine way, and was ready to end this.
Without waiting for prompting, he began to tell Kikyou of the Shichinintai, which she would probably run into if she hadn’t already. The knowledge might prove helpful to her, and he considered it part of his duty to protect her when he could. When he was finished, Kikyou informed him of the barrier around Mount Hakurei, and how only those with purely human bodies and souls would be able to pass. Inuyasha easily inferred from her irritation that Kikyou had been denied entrance. When she was finished, he thanked her for the information and departed. All in all, their entire conversation had taken less than fifteen minutes. But still Inuyasha felt weary, as though he’d fought a difficult battle. It was always a mental strain to see Kikyou these days.
By contrast, his heart lightened with every step he took towards Kagome. She stood as he approached, not concealing her happiness, and his lips quirked into a tentative grin despite his remorse. The rest of his friends seemed pleasantly surprised by his appearance, but they also had not started to set up camp yet, perhaps because they hoped that he would return quickly as promised. For once, no one seemed upset with him in the slightest, which was an entirely new development when it came to his relationship with Kikyou. He decided he could get used to this, but knew it wasn’t likely to remain the status quo. The next time he went off to see Kikyou simply because she called for him, he would surely get the cold shoulder again. But that was apparently a worry for another day.
Kagome watched him as he led them back to the road. He had seemed genuinely happy to be back, and wasn’t brooding miserably as he sometimes did after Kikyou came around. But still, he was distracted, and Kagome could tell that something was bothering him. She wanted to ask, to see if maybe she could make him feel better. But she wasn’t sure if he would appreciate the interest or if he would brush her off. In the past, the answer would have been obvious. But she liked to think that he was a little more open with her now. And if he did desire to be left alone, she would try not to take offense.
So she sidled up next to him, close but not touching. Inuyasha glanced over at her as if to wonder what she was doing, but neither commented nor moved away. Kagome took that as a sign that he wasn’t automatically opposed to talking with her.
“Are you okay, Inuyasha?”
The brief flash of guilt in his eyes caused a dull dread to settle in Kagome’s stomach, but she vowed not to jump to conclusions. Perhaps she was imagining things; Inuyasha was now frowning and staring straight ahead, as if debating whether or not to open up.
“I’m fine, wench,” he finally replied.
Kagome nodded and folded her hands in front of her, trying to conceal her disappointment. She respected Inuyasha’s privacy, but had really hoped that he would choose to share his emotions with her. Then again, it wasn’t unusual for him to be somewhat withdrawn after meeting with Kikyou. He would come out of his shell again, sooner or later. And she would be there waiting for him.
“It’s just hard…to see her like that,” he continued suddenly, causing Kagome’s head to snap around. His grimace had taken on an edge of sorrow, and the young miko saw just how difficult it was for him to interact with Kikyou in such a manner. Because he hadn’t just stood there and let her berate him today. No, this time he had fought back; she could tell from his tone of voice, his body language as she left him there with Kikyou. Today, Inuyasha had risen to her defense. It warmed her heart, but also saddened and infuriated her that a former love would force him to go to such lengths.
“Thank you, Inuyasha. For doing that for me.”
“Keh!” he snapped, fueled once more by righteous anger. “She shouldn’t be saying that shit about you.”
Kagome looked away to hide her light blush. Inuyasha’s fierce response had instantly elevated her heartbeat, in a good way. He was always protective of her, but this was different. Rather than her physical well-being, this was concerning her feelings and honor, and it was not any rogue youkai he was standing up to. It was Kikyou, the woman who still somehow retained his loyalty and devotion despite how she’d treated him since her resurrection. It should have been a given that Inuyasha would come to her defense, even against Kikyou, but Kagome had learned that nothing was guaranteed where the dead miko was involved.
“I don’t think she’ll be calling you…that, anymore.”
Something in his tone caused Kagome’s brow to furrow. She found him gazing at her nervously, as if he’d accidentally said more than he should have. He probably wanted her to let it go, but there was no way that was going to happen with her curiosity peaked as it was.
“Why do you say that?” she asked.
There was that guilt again, and this time Kagome knew she wasn’t imagining things. That feeling of dread returned, stronger than before. She was positive she wasn’t going to like the next words out of his mouth.
“I, uh…told her how you got pregnant.”
Kagome didn’t react immediately; she simply wasn’t sure how to feel. On the one hand, it could be argued that Kikyou deserved to know. She and Inuyasha had nearly been married; she was much more of a love interest to the hanyou than Kouga had ever been to herself. But on the other hand, she had been willing to lie to Kouga about the conception of their child, or perhaps not tell him the whole truth. Yet, Inuyasha was not willing to do the same with Kikyou. What did that say? She shook her head. Maybe it didn’t say anything. Inuyasha had promised to stay with her, and Kikyou knew…she did know about his promise, didn’t she? Kagome was almost afraid to ask.
“Did you tell her that you promised to stay with me?”
Inuyasha’s look of panic told her everything she needed to know. If she was reading him correctly, his expression was one of a man who had forgotten to do something important, rather than someone caught neglecting said task on purpose. So perhaps he hadn’t deliberately avoided discussing that tender subject with Kikyou. That didn’t make her feel much better. What must Kikyou be thinking right now? That not only were Inuyasha and her reincarnation not a couple, but that he hadn’t made any sort of formal commitment to her at all. Kikyou was probably quite pleased with the news. The fact that Inuyasha had allowed her to entertain these delusions hurt. A lot. Kagome suddenly found that she needed a change of company.
Without a word, she drifted back to walk beside Sango and Miroku. Inuyasha could only stare after her, at least until he noticed Sango glaring at him. The taijiya probably hadn’t heard all of their discussion, but given Kagome’s sudden shift in mood, she blamed him automatically. Unfortunately, in this case she was absolutely right.
How exactly had he managed to fuck this up?
It seemed impossible, a logical paradox. He had finally stood up to Kikyou, told her point blank to stop insulting Kagome. That should automatically put him in good standing with the latter miko, shouldn’t it? Perhaps that assumption would make sense, but for a couple minor details. It also made logical sense that what he actually told Kikyou would determine how Kagome felt. Too bad that little element of wisdom hadn’t occurred to him until it was too late.
The thing that really annoyed him here was that none of his mistakes were intentional. Informing Kikyou of the nature of his child’s conception had been a knee-jerk decision, and he honestly hadn’t thought to bring up his commitment to Kagome. He hadn’t purposely given Kikyou a selective version of events which favored her and belittled his relationship with Kagome. Yet, somehow it had happened anyway. What really mystified him was why. The conception thing he could brush off, and Kagome probably would have done the same if he had made clear to Kikyou where he stood on the matter of going to hell with her. And there had been plenty of opportunity to do just that. It just hadn’t occurred to him.
Inuyasha felt very stupid. He knew he could be dense at times, but he wouldn’t have believed himself to be dumb enough to forget something that important. But was a simple lapse in memory really the cause of all this? Or was there something deeper? People could probably blot out things they didn’t want to remember, even subconsciously. He was sure that enlightening Kikyou as to his new commitments would be extremely unpleasant. Maybe his brain had conveniently misplaced that thread of memory for a few minutes, in an accidentally-on-purpose sort of way.
Whatever the psychological machinations, he resolved to correct his error the next time he saw Kikyou. Even if he had to write a message on his hand or get it tattooed on his forehead. He just hoped that Kagome would start talking to him again before then. He certainly wasn’t going to approach her now, what with her brooding silently and the rest of his friends favoring him with varying degrees of the icy treatment. He sighed heavily. It took a special kind of idiot to mess up something which should have been a guaranteed success.
A special kind, indeed.
A short while later, however, Inuyasha’s mood suddenly brightened. There was nothing better to take one’s mind off of an emotional screw-up than a good fight. The scents of corpse and graveyard soil were on the breeze, and the heavy sounds of machinery in motion could be heard growing every closer. The Shichinintai were coming out to play. Inuyasha cracked his knuckles, eagerly anticipating the opportunity to take out some his frustration on the enemy.
A chorus of gasps rang out behind him as the Shichinintai crested a nearby rise, and even Inuyasha had to blink in shock. Three relatively normal-looking humans rode atop what could only be adequately described as a tank, and even then only by the sole member of the group familiar with modern armored vehicles. Only the head and torso remained from Ginkotsu’s formerly humanoid form. Around it a squat body had been constructed, supported by giant saw-like wheels. Behind his head loomed a massive double-barreled swivel cannon. Overall, he was the single most technologically advanced piece of machinery that anyone hailing from the feudal era had ever seen.
“You lot,” Inuyasha told the others. “Get on Kirara and get in the air. Don’t go anywhere near that gun.”
No one protested this directive; they too sensed how dangerous the cannon could be to someone not blessed with superhuman reflexes. Kagome’s weapon was most effective from a distance anyway, and Sango could fight in close and at range. So even if the Shichinintai decided to attack him en masse, he wouldn’t be completely bereft of backup. But crucially, his human friends had to prioritize their own safety so he could prioritize his. Satisfied with their battle alignment, he drew Tetsusaiga and waited.
Ginkotsu rumbled to a halt twenty or thirty meters away, and a man hopped down and stood regarding Inuyasha silently, leaning his massive halberd against his shoulder. This must be Bankotsu, the leader, Inuyasha deduced, by process of elimination. Jakotsu was nowhere to be seen, and Renkotsu was atop Ginkotsu. Also, Suikotsu’s claws and clothing gave him away, though his face was unrecognizable from that of the ‘good doctor.’ That left only Bankotsu, the youngest and most formidable member of the Shichinintai, according to the villager Yuu. The one who, like Inuyasha, was said to wield a mighty blade with ease through strength of will alone. Looking at him now, the hanyou didn’t doubt it. But there was something else about Bankotsu which caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. It wasn’t that arrogant smirk, or the supreme confidence which exuded from the man. Inuyasha was unable to put his finger on it until he heard Kagome’s shout.
“Inuyasha! That guy has three jewel shards in his neck!”
Inuyasha nodded, not surprised. He couldn’t see the Shikon no Tama, but when an enemy was using the power of three shards, even he would notice the difference in aura.
“Clever girl,” Bankotsu observed, almost conversationally. “Yes, I borrowed Kyoukotsu’s and Mukotsu’s shares. It will make it that much sweeter when I avenge them.”
“You bastards have had your own way until now,” Inuyasha snarled, drawing the enemy’s attention. “I’m going to send you back to your graves.”
Bankotsu grinned. “You must be Inuyasha. There are very few men alive who can claim to have survived an encounter with Jakotsu, and none save you who have escaped him twice. I’ve been waiting to test my skills against the man who bested the Shichinintai’s attack captain. Don’t disappoint me!”
Bankotsu charged, and Inuyasha could at least appreciate that the man didn’t like to beat around the bush. Less talking and more fighting was perfectly fine with him. Tetsusaiga and Banryuu came together in a mighty clash, each combatant swinging diagonally from right to left so that the swords formed a large cross at impact. Inuyasha applied more force, intending to throw his opponent back, but to his surprise Bankotsu was able to hold his ground. Due to the three jewel shards in his neck, it appeared that the leader of the Shichinintai was nearly his equal in terms of pure strength. Bankotsu pulled back and swung his halberd in a lateral arc. Just as Inuyasha blocked the blow, his opponent whirled Banryuu over his head and struck from the other direction. The hanyou blocked that attack, as well as all of the others which followed. After several dozen blows, Bankotsu paused and regarded his panting enemy with a smirk.
“Is that all you’ve got, half-breed?”
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, but did not rise to the bait. So far, he had been relegated to fighting defensively, due to Bankotsu’s superior swordsmanship. But over the many battles he and Tetsusaiga had fought together, he’d learned that his father’s heirloom was not a club. He wasn’t a master swordsman by any means, but he could fight with some technique too.
The battle resumed, with Inuyasha the aggressor this time. Watching from above, Kagome tried not to flinch with every clang of steel on steel. Inuyasha was holding his own, and in fact appeared to be having a much easier time with Bankotsu than he had against Jakotsu. Probably because the former’s fighting style was much more akin to his own.
“Oi, oi,” came a taunting shout from below. “What are you cowards doing up there? Come down and face me.”
It was Suikotsu, who had advanced to stand almost directly underneath them. The mercenary glared up at them with a level of bloodlust rivaled only by his absent comrade. Kagome eyed Ginkotsu and Renkotsu warily, who had not moved from their original position. At this distance, Kirara would be able to avoid the shells if that large cannon was fired. If they moved much closer, that might no longer be the case.
Suikotsu shrugged and started walking towards where Inuyasha and Bankotsu were having it out. Obviously, he intended to get his satisfaction at the hanyou’s expense if no one else would accept his challenge. And with Inuyasha hard-pressed already, Sango knew she had to do something.
“Let me down, Kirara.”
“Be careful, Sango,” Miroku told her.
The taijiya grinned confidently as Kirara descended. “I’ll be fine, Houshi-sama. I won’t let him draw me in close to that gun.”
Miroku nodded, relieved that Sango understood the situation. If Suikotsu suddenly moved away or was killed, Sango might have to avoid a cannon blast on foot.
“A woman?” Suikotsu pondered as the taijiya approached, appearing genuinely amused by the prospect. “That’s new. I’ve killed many women before, but never fought one. Should be fun!”
He charged, and Sango drew her katana, wielding it with her right hand as she held hiraikotsu in her left, using it as a shield. Miroku’s concerns that Sango wasn’t up for this were quickly dispelled; she moved fluidly without any sign of being hampered by the poison. She appeared to be hesitant to use her injured right hand too much, but that could be construed simply as a defensive-oriented fighting style. Suikotsu apparently hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. Although the mercenary was physically stronger than she was and sported fierce weapons, Sango was able to block or parry his strikes and launch a few of her own. Nevertheless, Miroku watched her closely, his heart in his throat. And with Kagome engrossed in observing both battles, prepared to fire an arrow if necessary, it was very fortunate that at least Kirara was paying attention to the danger.
All of her riders nearly became dislodged when she suddenly dropped several meters in the air. Kagome lost her arrow but managed to save her bow. She quickly drew another projectile as Miroku snatched Shippou out of the air by his tail. Yet, no one complained about the rough ride, thanks to the shell which soared through the space where they’d just been and exploded when it impacted the ground several hundred meters behind them. Kirara surged ahead to dodge the second shell, and again everyone struggled to hang on. After that, they kept one eye on Ginkotsu at all times. Renkotsu had reloaded the gun and seemed to have no qualms about expending more ammunition.
Inuyasha spared a glance to make sure his friends were all right, and as a result was caught wrong-footed by Bankotsu’s overhead slash. He caught it on Tetsusaiga, then tilted his sword so the halberd slid off to the side. He followed with a quick counterstrike, which Bankotsu blocked with Banryuu.
CRACK!!!
That foreboding sound caused both combatants to pause for a moment, as one’s eyes widened in alarm, and the other’s narrowed in anticipation. Banryuu and Tetsusaiga had clashed literally hundreds of times over the past several minutes. Bankotsu had used three shards of the Shikon no Tama to make his body more or less equal to Inuyasha’s in terms of strength and stamina. But crucially, his sword possessed no shards, nothing to boost its natural resiliency. And no human sword could hope to match Tetsusaiga on its own for very long.
Flush with exhilaration, Inuyasha went on the offensive, targeting Banryuu with powerful swings of Tetsusaiga. Bankotsu tried to dodge where he could, but he was forced to block with the halberd more often than not. The small cracks in Banryuu multiplied, and Inuyasha knew that it was only a matter of time before the sword shattered and Bankotsu fell under his blade. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one who realized this.
It was a combination of Kagome’s cry of warning and his own sense of imminent danger which allowed Inuyasha to avoid the dual shells fired at him. He charged through the dust cloud kicked up by the explosions, to find Bankotsu high-tailing it toward Ginkotsu. Suikotsu was retreating as well; in fact, the entire Shichinintai seemed ready to withdraw.
As if Inuyasha would allow that. He charged after them, only to skid to a halt when a giant white form appeared directly in his path.
“Kukuku, Inuyasha. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Naraku!”
He had to leap back reflexively to avoid the tentacles which sought to impale him through the chest. But this Naraku was probably just a puppet, sent to grant the Shichinintai time to escape.
“I don’t have time to fuck around with you!” Inuyasha cried, launching a Kaze no Kizu. The rippling blades of youki decimated the puppet, and the entire body dispersed to the winds.
Inuyasha wasted no time in pursuing his prey. There they were, just up ahead. Ginkotsu moved faster than a human could run, but he could never hope to outpace the hanyou. Soon he had closed to within thirty meters of them. He had to dodge a couple hastily fired shells, but it wouldn’t matter. He would obliterate the whole lot of them long before they had a chance to fire again.
Then, all of a sudden, the Shichinintai vanished. One moment they were there, and the next there was only grassland and forest stretching out before him. Inuyasha faltered in his stride but quickly regained it, determined to smash through whatever illusion the cowards had used. Then hostile energy crackled around him, the very air seemingly repulsed by his presence. His pace slowed as the resistance became more intense, until finally he gave up and drew to a halt. This wasn’t an illusion. It was the barrier around Mount Hakurei.
He heard Kirara growl in pain, and turned to see her landing nearby, maintaining her larger form just long enough for her riders to slide off. Shippou wobbled on his feet, his eyes unfocused. But what caused panic to settle in Inuyasha’s gut was the way Kagome’s hand rested over her belly as she looked down at herself in concern. In moments he was by her side, asking if she and the baby were okay.
“We’re both fine, Inuyasha,” she answered, clearly more confused than worried. “He doesn’t like this, but it isn’t hurting him.”
“Yet,” Miroku interjected grimly. “If you were to proceed further, Kagome-sama, I doubt your child would escape purification.”
“Why, Miroku-sama? What is this?”
“It’s a barrier,” Inuyasha replied, remembering what Kikyou had told him. Between his own failings and receiving the cold shoulder, he hadn’t had a chance to bring the others up to speed. But the pieces were falling into place now. The great evil which had passed over these parts and then vanished without a trace. The band of human mercenaries resurrected with the power of the Shikon no Tama, and using Mount Hakurei as a safe haven. Naraku’s puppet, sent to protect the Shichinintai. The final bit of evidence came when Kagome declared that said puppet had been unusual, emanating a pure aura. Finally, Inuyasha could come to only one conclusion: Naraku was inside the barrier. His friends gazed at him in shock when he told them, but they soon solved the puzzle for themselves. No one spoke for several minutes, as each person came to terms with this new development.
“If you think about it,” Miroku observed, voice tinged with frustration, “once inside the barrier, Naraku could find no safer place to hide. Most of his pursuers possess youkai blood. And without even realizing it, he has blocked Kagome-sama out as well. The only ones who can go after him now are Sango and myself, though this intense purity is uncomfortable even for me.”
Sango snorted. “Well, since I’m perfectly fine, that must mean you’re rather impure, Houshi-sama.”
Miroku shrugged and adopted an innocent expression. “At any rate, only a human of incredible skill and purity could erect a barrier of this magnitude.”
“Bah, probably just some idiot who got tricked or blackmailed by Naraku,” Inuyasha retorted. “We’ll find a way in.”
One by one, his friends nodded in agreement. This was just another obstacle on the path to destroying Naraku. Nothing the dark hanyou had thrown at them thus far had managed to stop them for long, and this effort would likewise fail. No matter what, their determination would not waver. Naraku could hide, but he could never truly escape.
A/N – I emphasized the superiority of Tetsusaiga over Banryuu here more than the manga did. In canon, it’s the Kaze no Kizu which scars Banryuu. But it was also a very short battle. I think that if Inuyasha and Bankotsu traded more blows, the strength of Tetsusaiga would naturally win out. Banryuu is only a human sword, after all. I’m not following the 1,000 humans and 1,000 youkai transformation thing that the anime did.
The Barrier around Mount Hakurei
Kikyou landed softly on the grass outside the hut, her shinidamachu retreating to hover behind her as they always did. She paused for a moment to study the surrounding area, but could detect nothing unusual, other than the unnaturally strong purity of this place. It had grown steadily more intense the closer she came to Mount Hakurei, to the point of being significantly uncomfortable. It was hard to believe that this level of purity would not have affected her at all while she was alive. Now thanks to her artificial body, she felt physically ill.
She wanted to leave this place immediately, but she had not come here on a whim. This hut was seemingly innocent on the outside, but something sinister had occurred here. The light from a fragment of the Shikon no Tama had emanated from this place. She had been tracking it just a few minutes ago, as it flickered dangerously between purity and corruption, until at last the darkness took over. Soon after, the shard had moved rapidly toward Mount Hakurei until it suddenly vanished, and she could sense it no more.
Kikyou strode cautiously closer to the hut, moving in a circle to inspect the entire exterior. She froze as she rounded the corner and glimpsed the first sign of something amiss—the door smashed apart and lying in pieces strewn across the yard. It appeared that something had violently burst forth from inside the hut, with far greater power than the average human possessed. The sun was on the other side of the building now, casting the room in shadow. But Kikyou could see irregular shapes within, and what appeared to be dark stains on the floor. With a sinking feeling, she crept closer.
For once, Kikyou was glad not to be alive. Her clay body was incapable of vomiting, which was surely the natural human reaction to a scene such as this. At least two dozen people lay dead inside the hut, their blood leaving barely a square centimeter of floor unsullied. Some had started to decompose, but others appeared to have passed away quite recently. And as she gazed at the carnage, her lips pursing with fury, Kikyou began to comprehend what had occurred here. Whoever possessed the Shikon fragment had been locked in here with these corpses. Some had obviously been cared for by a doctor, though not one with very good medical supplies. There was a certain sense of desperation in the hastily wrapped bandages made out of spare cloth, the effort which had been expended to make the dying comfortable. She could almost picture the poor doctor, slowly losing himself to despair, as the Shikon no Tama drank in the sorrow and became corrupted beyond redemption.
Why said doctor possessed a shard in the first place was another matter. But someone had used this room as a place of torture, for healer and victims alike. These people had died in agony for some twisted end. Pure rage surged through Kikyou, and she slammed her fist against the wall. No, she was not the woman she used to be, selflessly devoting her life to a thankless profession for the sake of others. But nor could she condone the killing of innocent people. Whoever did this would answer for it.
One of her shinidamachu soared into the room, quickly capturing something which Kikyou had not noticed. The light of a soul, lingering around the body of a young woman, appearing perhaps thirteen or fourteen years of age. Kikyou beckoned the shinidamachu closer, and took the soul in her hands. It was agitated, haunted by pain and despair and refusing to accept death. Bitterness and anger, Kikyou knew these emotions well. She whispered to the soul, not to soothe, but to turn the girl’s hatred towards a new purpose. Join with me, sweet child, and remain on this earth for a little longer.
Soon, the soul accepted her and she took it into her body. Then she departed from this horrible place, moving towards Mount Hakurei until it became too dangerous to proceed further, until the pressure of the pure energy was a great weight upon her shoulders. Another step, and the souls maintaining this artificial body would be drawn out. Cursing, Kikyou retreated. She would find a way through this barrier, no matter how long she had to search. Naraku would be made to pay for his crimes. She did not know if the dark hanyou had slaughtered the people in the hut, but he was surely behind it. Everything she had learned through her tireless pursuit had led her here, to this mountain. To this strange peak where any normal priestess would be able to go without difficulty, but which cruelly rejected her as an impure abomination.
Naraku was so close, yet so far.
* * *
Kagome raised her arms over her head and stretched, not caring if her blouse raised high enough to reveal a little bit of her slightly enlarged belly. She was so glad to be on the road again, that she almost felt like skipping down the path. She settled for bouncy steps instead, so as to limit how foolish she looked. It had been a long recuperation at the temple, eight days to be exact, but the Inu-gang was finally at full strength again. They probably could have departed a day or two earlier, but Inuyasha wasn’t taking any chances. In the hanyou’s own words, ‘those bastards can wait until we’re damn good and ready.’ Now they were. And with their course taking them in their previous direction of travel, they didn’t think the next encounter with the Shichinintai would be long in coming. But it was another, unexpected encounter which loomed ahead for the Inu-gang, in the form of several shinidamachu, quickly followed others bearing Kikyou herself. Inuyasha cursed under his breath as the snake-like creatures set her down a few meters away. If he had known that Kikyou was in the area, he would have gone off to confront her by himself to spare Kagome the trauma of facing her again. But Kikyou likely knew this, and apparently had no intention of letting her reincarnation off so easily.
“Still hauling your pregnant whore around, Inuyasha?” Kikyou sneered. “I had hoped that you would have come to your senses by now.”
That small, involuntary noise of misery from Kagome caused Inuyasha to clench his jaw hard enough to crack a tooth. But though his stomach churned and sweat pooled on his brow, he felt in touch with his manly parts today. Somewhere between his harrowing fight against the Shichinintai, nearly losing Kagome, and growing ever closer to her during their stay in her time, he had finally discovered that he did in fact possess the balls to answer Kikyou. Just not in front of everyone.
“You lot,” he told his friends, without turning to face them. “Go make camp somewhere. I’ll be there soon.”
Kikyou laughed mockingly, and started to say something before he silenced her with a glare. A combination of anger and sadness welled up inside, hardening his emotions. But still, he didn’t want to have it out with Kikyou unless it was just the two of them. He owed her that much, at least. He just prayed that his friends would understand and heed his request. They did begin to move away, some more reluctantly than others. He knew why Kagome lingered, why he could feel her huge brown eyes boring into the back of his head. She was afraid, terrified that he would go with Kikyou to hell, either willingly or by force. Dammit, Kagome. You’re just gonna have to trust me. Please, trust me.
Finally, after an encouraging word from Sango, Kagome departed with the others. Inuyasha allowed himself a sigh of relief when they were gone, before straightening his shoulders again and firming his countenance. The sun shone brightly overhead, but his mood was grim. For Kagome’s sake, this could not keep happening every time she and Kikyou ran into each other. Inevitably they would, since they were pursuing the same enemy, even if Kikyou didn’t literally drop in on them as she had today. Somehow, Inuyasha needed to get his dead former love to back off. A daunting task, but one he would not shrink from. He had an unspoken vow to keep, after all.
“Kikyou,” Inuyasha ground out, fighting to keep his voice level. “Stop calling Kagome a whore.”
“Would you prefer a synonym?” she remarked casually. “Slattern or harlot, perhaps?”
“No! She’s not—”
“You are a fool, Inuyasha. Admit the truth.”
“Dammit, Kikyou!” he shouted, before pulling back. He didn’t want to yell at her, but she was making it difficult to control himself. Something about hearing Kagome be insulted like that set his insides to boiling.
“Kagome is not a whore, Kikyou,” he continued more calmly, though still with fury simmering under the surface. “Do you know how many times she’s had…relations, in her entire life? Once. One fucking time. And you call her a whore?”
Kikyou studied him for a moment, seemingly surprised by his statement. Finally she scoffed. “I am not sure I believe you.”
“Have I ever lied to you, Kikyou?” Inuyasha asked quietly, voice lowered with hurt. For once, Kikyou seemed to have no answer, and Inuyasha saw an opportunity for reconciliation. “When I tell you that I still care for you, do you doubt me?”
Kikyou’s eyes softened for just a moment, before grief and bitterness settled back in. “And if I ask when you might decide to honor your promise to me?”
Inuyasha grimaced. “Kikyou…”
“I thought as much,” she snapped. “Why can you not see that this wh—girl does not belong here? Whatever usefulness she presented to your quest is now lost. Everyone would be better off if—”
“You’re wrong, Kikyou,” he stated firmly, cutting her off. “Kagome regained her spiritual energy. She’s as powerful a miko as she ever was.”
The sense of pride in his tone seemed to take Kikyou aback. She glared accusingly at him, as if to demand how he could tell so blatant a lie. But something in his expression, in the smoldering of his amber eyes must have convinced her to hold her tongue. Go ahead, Kikyou. Tell me I’m lying.
“Well, then,” she hedged, clearly off balance. “I suppose even the Kami make mistakes occasionally.”
Inuyasha found himself agreeing wholeheartedly. One of their greatest blunders had been allowing Kikyou’s soul to return to this world inside a body of clay and graveyard soil. All that had done was bring suffering and heartache, especially for the dead miko herself. More than anything else, he longed to see her at peace. But Kikyou was most certainly not at peace. He could see it in her eyes, as she recovered quickly from her shock. A storm of loathing brewed in those dark depths, and Inuyasha could only stand there helplessly waiting to be struck.
“Perhaps it was wrong of me to place all of the blame on my reincarnation, then. Perhaps her only crime is being overly willing to spread her legs. Tell me, Inuyasha, did you seduce her? Does the fault for your one fornication lie with you?!”
“It was an accident, Kikyou,” he blurted out, unable to stomach the idea of her believing him to have betrayed her in such a manner. If he had seduced Kagome, then Kikyou would have every right to hate him for it. And that was something he simply couldn’t handle. He didn’t know exactly what he wanted from her, but it wasn’t hatred.
“Explain,” she ordered curtly.
Inuyasha gulped, suddenly realizing how foolish this was going to sound. “W-we were at a celebration one night, drinking sake…and we both drank too much. It…just sort of happened. Neither of us even remember it.”
Kikyou studied him briefly before glancing away with a grim smile. The look of outright superiority she adopted forced Inuyasha to wonder if telling her the truth had been the right thing to do. Would it have been better to simply take the blame upon himself? That would likely have stopped Kikyou from abusing Kagome because she thought the latter had seduced him, which had been his primary goal in having this discussion. But now he couldn’t help but feel that he’d betrayed Kagome in some way, by telling Kikyou more than she needed to know.
“I wasn’t aware that you drank,” Kikyou observed quietly, now seemingly in a much better mood.
“Of course you weren’t!” Inuyasha snapped, frustration and guilt bubbling forth in the form of bitter anger. “You think I would ever allow myself to drink in your presence? I always had to be careful what I did or said around you.”
Kikyou gazed at him in disbelief mixed with a twinge of hurt, and Inuyasha was tempted to try to retract his statement. But he was too pissed off to care that he’d wounded Kikyou’s feelings. What he said was completely true; he had never really felt comfortable with showing Kikyou his true self. Even when they were alone, they never fully removed the masks they wore for the rest of the world. And that was one of the primary reasons why it had been so easy for Naraku to trick them. But dredging up the past would do no good. In fact, the prospect of leaving and getting back to his friends suddenly seemed very appealing. He had accomplished his objective, though in a fairly asinine way, and was ready to end this.
Without waiting for prompting, he began to tell Kikyou of the Shichinintai, which she would probably run into if she hadn’t already. The knowledge might prove helpful to her, and he considered it part of his duty to protect her when he could. When he was finished, Kikyou informed him of the barrier around Mount Hakurei, and how only those with purely human bodies and souls would be able to pass. Inuyasha easily inferred from her irritation that Kikyou had been denied entrance. When she was finished, he thanked her for the information and departed. All in all, their entire conversation had taken less than fifteen minutes. But still Inuyasha felt weary, as though he’d fought a difficult battle. It was always a mental strain to see Kikyou these days.
By contrast, his heart lightened with every step he took towards Kagome. She stood as he approached, not concealing her happiness, and his lips quirked into a tentative grin despite his remorse. The rest of his friends seemed pleasantly surprised by his appearance, but they also had not started to set up camp yet, perhaps because they hoped that he would return quickly as promised. For once, no one seemed upset with him in the slightest, which was an entirely new development when it came to his relationship with Kikyou. He decided he could get used to this, but knew it wasn’t likely to remain the status quo. The next time he went off to see Kikyou simply because she called for him, he would surely get the cold shoulder again. But that was apparently a worry for another day.
Kagome watched him as he led them back to the road. He had seemed genuinely happy to be back, and wasn’t brooding miserably as he sometimes did after Kikyou came around. But still, he was distracted, and Kagome could tell that something was bothering him. She wanted to ask, to see if maybe she could make him feel better. But she wasn’t sure if he would appreciate the interest or if he would brush her off. In the past, the answer would have been obvious. But she liked to think that he was a little more open with her now. And if he did desire to be left alone, she would try not to take offense.
So she sidled up next to him, close but not touching. Inuyasha glanced over at her as if to wonder what she was doing, but neither commented nor moved away. Kagome took that as a sign that he wasn’t automatically opposed to talking with her.
“Are you okay, Inuyasha?”
The brief flash of guilt in his eyes caused a dull dread to settle in Kagome’s stomach, but she vowed not to jump to conclusions. Perhaps she was imagining things; Inuyasha was now frowning and staring straight ahead, as if debating whether or not to open up.
“I’m fine, wench,” he finally replied.
Kagome nodded and folded her hands in front of her, trying to conceal her disappointment. She respected Inuyasha’s privacy, but had really hoped that he would choose to share his emotions with her. Then again, it wasn’t unusual for him to be somewhat withdrawn after meeting with Kikyou. He would come out of his shell again, sooner or later. And she would be there waiting for him.
“It’s just hard…to see her like that,” he continued suddenly, causing Kagome’s head to snap around. His grimace had taken on an edge of sorrow, and the young miko saw just how difficult it was for him to interact with Kikyou in such a manner. Because he hadn’t just stood there and let her berate him today. No, this time he had fought back; she could tell from his tone of voice, his body language as she left him there with Kikyou. Today, Inuyasha had risen to her defense. It warmed her heart, but also saddened and infuriated her that a former love would force him to go to such lengths.
“Thank you, Inuyasha. For doing that for me.”
“Keh!” he snapped, fueled once more by righteous anger. “She shouldn’t be saying that shit about you.”
Kagome looked away to hide her light blush. Inuyasha’s fierce response had instantly elevated her heartbeat, in a good way. He was always protective of her, but this was different. Rather than her physical well-being, this was concerning her feelings and honor, and it was not any rogue youkai he was standing up to. It was Kikyou, the woman who still somehow retained his loyalty and devotion despite how she’d treated him since her resurrection. It should have been a given that Inuyasha would come to her defense, even against Kikyou, but Kagome had learned that nothing was guaranteed where the dead miko was involved.
“I don’t think she’ll be calling you…that, anymore.”
Something in his tone caused Kagome’s brow to furrow. She found him gazing at her nervously, as if he’d accidentally said more than he should have. He probably wanted her to let it go, but there was no way that was going to happen with her curiosity peaked as it was.
“Why do you say that?” she asked.
There was that guilt again, and this time Kagome knew she wasn’t imagining things. That feeling of dread returned, stronger than before. She was positive she wasn’t going to like the next words out of his mouth.
“I, uh…told her how you got pregnant.”
Kagome didn’t react immediately; she simply wasn’t sure how to feel. On the one hand, it could be argued that Kikyou deserved to know. She and Inuyasha had nearly been married; she was much more of a love interest to the hanyou than Kouga had ever been to herself. But on the other hand, she had been willing to lie to Kouga about the conception of their child, or perhaps not tell him the whole truth. Yet, Inuyasha was not willing to do the same with Kikyou. What did that say? She shook her head. Maybe it didn’t say anything. Inuyasha had promised to stay with her, and Kikyou knew…she did know about his promise, didn’t she? Kagome was almost afraid to ask.
“Did you tell her that you promised to stay with me?”
Inuyasha’s look of panic told her everything she needed to know. If she was reading him correctly, his expression was one of a man who had forgotten to do something important, rather than someone caught neglecting said task on purpose. So perhaps he hadn’t deliberately avoided discussing that tender subject with Kikyou. That didn’t make her feel much better. What must Kikyou be thinking right now? That not only were Inuyasha and her reincarnation not a couple, but that he hadn’t made any sort of formal commitment to her at all. Kikyou was probably quite pleased with the news. The fact that Inuyasha had allowed her to entertain these delusions hurt. A lot. Kagome suddenly found that she needed a change of company.
Without a word, she drifted back to walk beside Sango and Miroku. Inuyasha could only stare after her, at least until he noticed Sango glaring at him. The taijiya probably hadn’t heard all of their discussion, but given Kagome’s sudden shift in mood, she blamed him automatically. Unfortunately, in this case she was absolutely right.
* * *
Inuyasha kicked at a stone and watched it roll down the path. If only all of life’s little problems were so easy to get rid of. Once again, he repeated in his head the question which had occupied his thoughts for the past hour. How exactly had he managed to fuck this up?
It seemed impossible, a logical paradox. He had finally stood up to Kikyou, told her point blank to stop insulting Kagome. That should automatically put him in good standing with the latter miko, shouldn’t it? Perhaps that assumption would make sense, but for a couple minor details. It also made logical sense that what he actually told Kikyou would determine how Kagome felt. Too bad that little element of wisdom hadn’t occurred to him until it was too late.
The thing that really annoyed him here was that none of his mistakes were intentional. Informing Kikyou of the nature of his child’s conception had been a knee-jerk decision, and he honestly hadn’t thought to bring up his commitment to Kagome. He hadn’t purposely given Kikyou a selective version of events which favored her and belittled his relationship with Kagome. Yet, somehow it had happened anyway. What really mystified him was why. The conception thing he could brush off, and Kagome probably would have done the same if he had made clear to Kikyou where he stood on the matter of going to hell with her. And there had been plenty of opportunity to do just that. It just hadn’t occurred to him.
Inuyasha felt very stupid. He knew he could be dense at times, but he wouldn’t have believed himself to be dumb enough to forget something that important. But was a simple lapse in memory really the cause of all this? Or was there something deeper? People could probably blot out things they didn’t want to remember, even subconsciously. He was sure that enlightening Kikyou as to his new commitments would be extremely unpleasant. Maybe his brain had conveniently misplaced that thread of memory for a few minutes, in an accidentally-on-purpose sort of way.
Whatever the psychological machinations, he resolved to correct his error the next time he saw Kikyou. Even if he had to write a message on his hand or get it tattooed on his forehead. He just hoped that Kagome would start talking to him again before then. He certainly wasn’t going to approach her now, what with her brooding silently and the rest of his friends favoring him with varying degrees of the icy treatment. He sighed heavily. It took a special kind of idiot to mess up something which should have been a guaranteed success.
A special kind, indeed.
A short while later, however, Inuyasha’s mood suddenly brightened. There was nothing better to take one’s mind off of an emotional screw-up than a good fight. The scents of corpse and graveyard soil were on the breeze, and the heavy sounds of machinery in motion could be heard growing every closer. The Shichinintai were coming out to play. Inuyasha cracked his knuckles, eagerly anticipating the opportunity to take out some his frustration on the enemy.
A chorus of gasps rang out behind him as the Shichinintai crested a nearby rise, and even Inuyasha had to blink in shock. Three relatively normal-looking humans rode atop what could only be adequately described as a tank, and even then only by the sole member of the group familiar with modern armored vehicles. Only the head and torso remained from Ginkotsu’s formerly humanoid form. Around it a squat body had been constructed, supported by giant saw-like wheels. Behind his head loomed a massive double-barreled swivel cannon. Overall, he was the single most technologically advanced piece of machinery that anyone hailing from the feudal era had ever seen.
“You lot,” Inuyasha told the others. “Get on Kirara and get in the air. Don’t go anywhere near that gun.”
No one protested this directive; they too sensed how dangerous the cannon could be to someone not blessed with superhuman reflexes. Kagome’s weapon was most effective from a distance anyway, and Sango could fight in close and at range. So even if the Shichinintai decided to attack him en masse, he wouldn’t be completely bereft of backup. But crucially, his human friends had to prioritize their own safety so he could prioritize his. Satisfied with their battle alignment, he drew Tetsusaiga and waited.
Ginkotsu rumbled to a halt twenty or thirty meters away, and a man hopped down and stood regarding Inuyasha silently, leaning his massive halberd against his shoulder. This must be Bankotsu, the leader, Inuyasha deduced, by process of elimination. Jakotsu was nowhere to be seen, and Renkotsu was atop Ginkotsu. Also, Suikotsu’s claws and clothing gave him away, though his face was unrecognizable from that of the ‘good doctor.’ That left only Bankotsu, the youngest and most formidable member of the Shichinintai, according to the villager Yuu. The one who, like Inuyasha, was said to wield a mighty blade with ease through strength of will alone. Looking at him now, the hanyou didn’t doubt it. But there was something else about Bankotsu which caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. It wasn’t that arrogant smirk, or the supreme confidence which exuded from the man. Inuyasha was unable to put his finger on it until he heard Kagome’s shout.
“Inuyasha! That guy has three jewel shards in his neck!”
Inuyasha nodded, not surprised. He couldn’t see the Shikon no Tama, but when an enemy was using the power of three shards, even he would notice the difference in aura.
“Clever girl,” Bankotsu observed, almost conversationally. “Yes, I borrowed Kyoukotsu’s and Mukotsu’s shares. It will make it that much sweeter when I avenge them.”
“You bastards have had your own way until now,” Inuyasha snarled, drawing the enemy’s attention. “I’m going to send you back to your graves.”
Bankotsu grinned. “You must be Inuyasha. There are very few men alive who can claim to have survived an encounter with Jakotsu, and none save you who have escaped him twice. I’ve been waiting to test my skills against the man who bested the Shichinintai’s attack captain. Don’t disappoint me!”
Bankotsu charged, and Inuyasha could at least appreciate that the man didn’t like to beat around the bush. Less talking and more fighting was perfectly fine with him. Tetsusaiga and Banryuu came together in a mighty clash, each combatant swinging diagonally from right to left so that the swords formed a large cross at impact. Inuyasha applied more force, intending to throw his opponent back, but to his surprise Bankotsu was able to hold his ground. Due to the three jewel shards in his neck, it appeared that the leader of the Shichinintai was nearly his equal in terms of pure strength. Bankotsu pulled back and swung his halberd in a lateral arc. Just as Inuyasha blocked the blow, his opponent whirled Banryuu over his head and struck from the other direction. The hanyou blocked that attack, as well as all of the others which followed. After several dozen blows, Bankotsu paused and regarded his panting enemy with a smirk.
“Is that all you’ve got, half-breed?”
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, but did not rise to the bait. So far, he had been relegated to fighting defensively, due to Bankotsu’s superior swordsmanship. But over the many battles he and Tetsusaiga had fought together, he’d learned that his father’s heirloom was not a club. He wasn’t a master swordsman by any means, but he could fight with some technique too.
The battle resumed, with Inuyasha the aggressor this time. Watching from above, Kagome tried not to flinch with every clang of steel on steel. Inuyasha was holding his own, and in fact appeared to be having a much easier time with Bankotsu than he had against Jakotsu. Probably because the former’s fighting style was much more akin to his own.
“Oi, oi,” came a taunting shout from below. “What are you cowards doing up there? Come down and face me.”
It was Suikotsu, who had advanced to stand almost directly underneath them. The mercenary glared up at them with a level of bloodlust rivaled only by his absent comrade. Kagome eyed Ginkotsu and Renkotsu warily, who had not moved from their original position. At this distance, Kirara would be able to avoid the shells if that large cannon was fired. If they moved much closer, that might no longer be the case.
Suikotsu shrugged and started walking towards where Inuyasha and Bankotsu were having it out. Obviously, he intended to get his satisfaction at the hanyou’s expense if no one else would accept his challenge. And with Inuyasha hard-pressed already, Sango knew she had to do something.
“Let me down, Kirara.”
“Be careful, Sango,” Miroku told her.
The taijiya grinned confidently as Kirara descended. “I’ll be fine, Houshi-sama. I won’t let him draw me in close to that gun.”
Miroku nodded, relieved that Sango understood the situation. If Suikotsu suddenly moved away or was killed, Sango might have to avoid a cannon blast on foot.
“A woman?” Suikotsu pondered as the taijiya approached, appearing genuinely amused by the prospect. “That’s new. I’ve killed many women before, but never fought one. Should be fun!”
He charged, and Sango drew her katana, wielding it with her right hand as she held hiraikotsu in her left, using it as a shield. Miroku’s concerns that Sango wasn’t up for this were quickly dispelled; she moved fluidly without any sign of being hampered by the poison. She appeared to be hesitant to use her injured right hand too much, but that could be construed simply as a defensive-oriented fighting style. Suikotsu apparently hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. Although the mercenary was physically stronger than she was and sported fierce weapons, Sango was able to block or parry his strikes and launch a few of her own. Nevertheless, Miroku watched her closely, his heart in his throat. And with Kagome engrossed in observing both battles, prepared to fire an arrow if necessary, it was very fortunate that at least Kirara was paying attention to the danger.
All of her riders nearly became dislodged when she suddenly dropped several meters in the air. Kagome lost her arrow but managed to save her bow. She quickly drew another projectile as Miroku snatched Shippou out of the air by his tail. Yet, no one complained about the rough ride, thanks to the shell which soared through the space where they’d just been and exploded when it impacted the ground several hundred meters behind them. Kirara surged ahead to dodge the second shell, and again everyone struggled to hang on. After that, they kept one eye on Ginkotsu at all times. Renkotsu had reloaded the gun and seemed to have no qualms about expending more ammunition.
Inuyasha spared a glance to make sure his friends were all right, and as a result was caught wrong-footed by Bankotsu’s overhead slash. He caught it on Tetsusaiga, then tilted his sword so the halberd slid off to the side. He followed with a quick counterstrike, which Bankotsu blocked with Banryuu.
CRACK!!!
That foreboding sound caused both combatants to pause for a moment, as one’s eyes widened in alarm, and the other’s narrowed in anticipation. Banryuu and Tetsusaiga had clashed literally hundreds of times over the past several minutes. Bankotsu had used three shards of the Shikon no Tama to make his body more or less equal to Inuyasha’s in terms of strength and stamina. But crucially, his sword possessed no shards, nothing to boost its natural resiliency. And no human sword could hope to match Tetsusaiga on its own for very long.
Flush with exhilaration, Inuyasha went on the offensive, targeting Banryuu with powerful swings of Tetsusaiga. Bankotsu tried to dodge where he could, but he was forced to block with the halberd more often than not. The small cracks in Banryuu multiplied, and Inuyasha knew that it was only a matter of time before the sword shattered and Bankotsu fell under his blade. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one who realized this.
It was a combination of Kagome’s cry of warning and his own sense of imminent danger which allowed Inuyasha to avoid the dual shells fired at him. He charged through the dust cloud kicked up by the explosions, to find Bankotsu high-tailing it toward Ginkotsu. Suikotsu was retreating as well; in fact, the entire Shichinintai seemed ready to withdraw.
As if Inuyasha would allow that. He charged after them, only to skid to a halt when a giant white form appeared directly in his path.
“Kukuku, Inuyasha. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Naraku!”
He had to leap back reflexively to avoid the tentacles which sought to impale him through the chest. But this Naraku was probably just a puppet, sent to grant the Shichinintai time to escape.
“I don’t have time to fuck around with you!” Inuyasha cried, launching a Kaze no Kizu. The rippling blades of youki decimated the puppet, and the entire body dispersed to the winds.
Inuyasha wasted no time in pursuing his prey. There they were, just up ahead. Ginkotsu moved faster than a human could run, but he could never hope to outpace the hanyou. Soon he had closed to within thirty meters of them. He had to dodge a couple hastily fired shells, but it wouldn’t matter. He would obliterate the whole lot of them long before they had a chance to fire again.
Then, all of a sudden, the Shichinintai vanished. One moment they were there, and the next there was only grassland and forest stretching out before him. Inuyasha faltered in his stride but quickly regained it, determined to smash through whatever illusion the cowards had used. Then hostile energy crackled around him, the very air seemingly repulsed by his presence. His pace slowed as the resistance became more intense, until finally he gave up and drew to a halt. This wasn’t an illusion. It was the barrier around Mount Hakurei.
He heard Kirara growl in pain, and turned to see her landing nearby, maintaining her larger form just long enough for her riders to slide off. Shippou wobbled on his feet, his eyes unfocused. But what caused panic to settle in Inuyasha’s gut was the way Kagome’s hand rested over her belly as she looked down at herself in concern. In moments he was by her side, asking if she and the baby were okay.
“We’re both fine, Inuyasha,” she answered, clearly more confused than worried. “He doesn’t like this, but it isn’t hurting him.”
“Yet,” Miroku interjected grimly. “If you were to proceed further, Kagome-sama, I doubt your child would escape purification.”
“Why, Miroku-sama? What is this?”
“It’s a barrier,” Inuyasha replied, remembering what Kikyou had told him. Between his own failings and receiving the cold shoulder, he hadn’t had a chance to bring the others up to speed. But the pieces were falling into place now. The great evil which had passed over these parts and then vanished without a trace. The band of human mercenaries resurrected with the power of the Shikon no Tama, and using Mount Hakurei as a safe haven. Naraku’s puppet, sent to protect the Shichinintai. The final bit of evidence came when Kagome declared that said puppet had been unusual, emanating a pure aura. Finally, Inuyasha could come to only one conclusion: Naraku was inside the barrier. His friends gazed at him in shock when he told them, but they soon solved the puzzle for themselves. No one spoke for several minutes, as each person came to terms with this new development.
“If you think about it,” Miroku observed, voice tinged with frustration, “once inside the barrier, Naraku could find no safer place to hide. Most of his pursuers possess youkai blood. And without even realizing it, he has blocked Kagome-sama out as well. The only ones who can go after him now are Sango and myself, though this intense purity is uncomfortable even for me.”
Sango snorted. “Well, since I’m perfectly fine, that must mean you’re rather impure, Houshi-sama.”
Miroku shrugged and adopted an innocent expression. “At any rate, only a human of incredible skill and purity could erect a barrier of this magnitude.”
“Bah, probably just some idiot who got tricked or blackmailed by Naraku,” Inuyasha retorted. “We’ll find a way in.”
One by one, his friends nodded in agreement. This was just another obstacle on the path to destroying Naraku. Nothing the dark hanyou had thrown at them thus far had managed to stop them for long, and this effort would likewise fail. No matter what, their determination would not waver. Naraku could hide, but he could never truly escape.
A/N – I emphasized the superiority of Tetsusaiga over Banryuu here more than the manga did. In canon, it’s the Kaze no Kizu which scars Banryuu. But it was also a very short battle. I think that if Inuyasha and Bankotsu traded more blows, the strength of Tetsusaiga would naturally win out. Banryuu is only a human sword, after all. I’m not following the 1,000 humans and 1,000 youkai transformation thing that the anime did.