King Inuzhao suddenly stopped, wrapping his arm protectivley around his mate's waist, in the meantime drawing his sword and emitting a dangerous growl. Immediately becoming guarded and tense, Sesshoumaru and Inu Yasha visibly sniffed, then emitted similar growls, also pulling out their swords Tetsusaiga and Toukijin. The foul scent that flooded their noses smelt like rotten cheese, and they quickly assembled themselves around the King and Queen, while barking out orders.
"Protect the Queen! Prepare for an attack! Those damned bird demons arriving in our territories is a sure sign of a fight. Get into position, NOW!"
Latching onto Inu Yasha, Sui snuggled up next to him, forcing him to focus on her rather than the incoming threat to his mother.
"Oh, Inu Yasha, darling. You needn't worry for me, you know I can take care of myself."
Trying to get himself out of the ditzy girl's arms, he turned to face Kagome. "You'd better stay here or you'll get your little human ass in trouble." Frowning, she nodded and moved to assist the Queen. 'Guess I'll just have to jump into the fight, then.'
A shrill, ear-piercing screech was all the warning that they had, before the leader of the dozen bird demons swooped down at them, much too close for the comfort of the King, who snarled, his arm still around the Queen's waist, pulling her closer. In the same instant, he pulled his sword in a downwards slash, missing the demon, but close enough to give a fair warning.
From then on, pure chaos was the only description. Inu Yasha let out a furious roar and lunged at the other demons, who had landed, in their humanoid forms. The leader, however, opted to stay back, still in the true demon form, and screeched orders at the 12 demons already engaged in battle with the Lords and guards there. Sesshoumaru stood his ground in front of his father, and though he hated the human bitch, his father's mate as well. The other petty females concerned him not, and so he guarded the two as his half brother took on a wild attack against the bird demons.
Sui, seeing her beloved Lord fending off the intruders with such graceful visciousness, decided to further please the hanyou by fighting with him, side by side, as they would when they became 'true mates." So in a streak of peach and silver, she clawed at the demon that had lunged at Inu Yasha. Her kimono didn't seem to bother her or her fighting in the least way, and neither did her lack of a weapon. But then again, the claws were weapon enough.
The demons were not large in number, but these tori youkai were especially trained, and with the species' shielding, steel-like feathers and extra rapid healing abilities, they just kept getting up and fighting. Lord Yamashin had also assumed a fighting role, protecting his younger daughter, who did not have the skills of fighting, like his older daughter did. His wife was with Lady Kaze, so he was unconsiously protecting her as well.
Seeing a demon lunge at Inu Yasha while he was occupied with stabbing a demon through the chest with his sword, Kagome took the opportunity to set her "fainting plan" into actiion.
"Inu Yasha-sama! Look out!" At the same time as she yelled, she ran into the whole mess, putting herself directly in the path of the lunging demon she had warned him about. Inu Yasha whirled around in time to see Kagome within half a meter's range of the oncoming assault. "Dammit, Phoenix, get out of the way!" Grabbing her arm and with lightning speed swinging her behind him, he took the blow for himself, but managed to block it with the giant fang of a sword. 'Damn. That would have wor-' Just as she was cursing because of the perfect-plan-gone-awry, she was grabbed from behind and, apparently, flung onto one of the bird demons' shoulder. Reflexively screaming to act the 'weak little human who needs to be rescued,' she called out to Inu Yasha as she was carried off into the air. Swirling around for the second time to her distressed voice, his eyes widened for a brief moment before a viscious roar escaped his snarling lips and his eyes narrowed into furious slits.
Kagome bit back another fake scream, her mind suddenly whirling with a plan. Apologizing mentally to the hanyou, she slipped a round, flat pebble from her sleeves, and shot it at the following hanyou with a flick of her thumb and index finger. The pebble whizzed past him, cuting his cheek a bit (enough to inform him it was quick enough to kill), and headed for Lady Sui, who had stuck close to Inu Yasha no matter what. Startled, the said hanyou frantically pulled on the arm of Sui, and in that brief second when he saved Sui from getting a speeding pebble to drill a hole through her face, the demon carrying Kagome fled into the forest which connected to the garden they were in, off the estate property, and further into the forest. Finally arriving to a clearing quite a distance away from the estate, the demon set her down. Without so much as a single warning, Kagome's hand came down hard on the back of the demon's head, killing him in an instant. At least, it was supposed to; she hadn't noticed the metal collar around the area of neck with the death-dealing pressure point..
"Kagome-hime-sama. I am a messenger for Higurashi-sama. Your honourable father requests your presence back at the Sunset Palace. Higurashi-sama wishes for you to resume your role as the kingdom's general."
Shocked, Kagome stared intently on the bowing demon, circling around a couple of times. throughout the inspection, the demon kept his head bent in respect, left elbow resting on his bent knee, the other lax at his side next to the kneeling knee. After she stood in front of him after the ordeal, he bowed deeper, the lax hand coming up to rest in a fist at his heart, the gesture of respect towards people of the court or the Royal family in the small but powerful Higurashi Kingdom.
Now thoroughly confused, Kagome asked the first thing that came to mind that was not in the tangles of her confusion. "How do you know my name?"
"Do you not recognize this old, loyal servant of yours, General Kagome?"
Peering closer, her confusion turned to one of joy. "Lord Taitou? Is that really you?"
"Yes, Hime-sama. It's been a while." Kagome motioned for him to rise, and he did so, done with the formality. Hugging Kagome tightly, his face was joyous but held the same seriousness. From this, Kagome knew she was about to get another message from her father, but...
"Taitou-sama. Hold on. My father... my father is dead. He died the day I was born."
"Your father was revived."
"..."
"Hime-sama."
"What does he want?" The sharp, cutting tone of her voice surprised Taitou-sama greatly, and he took a step back, nearly feeling the angered chi pouring off of his princess in waves.
"Higurashi-sama sends you a mission: to assassinate the Zanitaka Family, and turn the property and kingdom to your father's hands."
Fuming, Kagome was ready to yell, but kept the formality and air of authority all the same; "I will do no such thing, especially if an order such as this came from my Father! Call your men back, or you'll have to deal with me!"
"Hime-sama, to call my men back I'd have ot be there; your Father has restricted our demon powers to minimal effect, and short distance. It is a precation in case any of the demons plan to rebel or harm the royal family."
Scowling, Kagome crossed her arms and glared at the metal collar around her long-time friend, knowing that the four dark priestesses had cst the spells to restrict the demons.
"Fine, then. You go back to the palace and tell my honorable Father you couldn't find me, and I'll go back to the clearing to kick some demon butts. Deal? Deal." Without waiting for a response and trusting their age-old friendship to keep the deal, Kagome turned and leapt off, back to the group that was, no doubt, still fighting with the demons she herself had once trained and taught. 'I hope Sango's not out yet... Those guys don't know who she is, and she doesn't know them. If they really get into a fight, no doubt there's going ot be some serious bloodshed...'
** ** **
"URGH!"
The scene was a mess; trees uprooted and splintered to millions of pieces; rocks constantly exploding, fires starting up and being extinguished by struggling bodies... needless to say, both sides were pretty worn out by now, but they still fought on, urged by the hate towards one another's species. Inu Yasha, sporting quite a number of deep scratches and wide stabs, had to worry for both himself and Lady Sui, who's condition was much better in comparison to all the other fighters, mainly due to Inu Yasha's constant last minute saving, but was quickly tiring, her progress anfd reflexes slow and forced.
Suddenly, a high pitched, hollow whizzing sound filled the air, followed by many pained yells. Blood splashed everywhere, two times more than had been made spilt during the time that Lady Phoenix had been taken, all with that single, gleaming boomerang.
Both parties stopped their fighting for a while, taking a step back from one another, and all turned to the young girl who had just caught her boomerang, high up in one of the only standing trees in that hundred-meter radius of fighting. Turning to one another, they didnt know whether or not this newcomer was on who's side, silent as she was, so both sides took precation, setting themselves and an angle to see both the girl and the enemy. Both parties had been informed before, in their seperate locations, about the appearance of the second Angel of Death, but still, the mystery was unsolved. It was easy to tell which Angel was the original — the original's cloak had not yet been taken off, therefore she would keep it on whenever making an appearance, while this second Angel's cloak had been unhooded in the first encounter with the first, so she now wore hers with the hood down, a hankershief to cover half her face, with a gas mask over top of the hankerchief.
As both the Dogs and the Birds leapt into action, the girl casually threw her boomerang, still silent. Suddenly, a quick figure raced from an edge of the clearing to the centre, leaping up and catching the boomerang, throwing it back to the girl a half millisecond later. Standing in a defensive stance with her back to the now extremely confused battlers, she shook her head and sheathed her sword.
Nodding, the girl on the tree leapt down, boomerang over shoulder and hand on the hilt of her katana, another easy identification aspect. Once the second Angle was next to the first, the Angel of Death turned ot face the uneasy audience.First, she stared puposefully at the bird demons, until she was satisfied that they had all sheathed their weapons and stood straight with respect, not counting those with serious injuries. Next, she turned to the Royal family, and bowed deeply. Next to her, the second Angel hesitated a bit, before following suit.
"So you are with the Birds, then, Angels of Death?" Myouga, evidently showing disappointment and hope, stepped up and assumed the negotiator role.
The Angels of Death shook their heads, straightening up from their respective heights. Inu Yasha, having moved back to his mother's side after the first sight of the Angels, now gripped his sword more tightly, eyes flaring with anger.
"Liars! Who'd believe snivelling thefts like you?" Raising his precious sword over his head, he charged at the two, aiming for the Angel of Death. She, having seen his slowed attack, purposefully shoved hte second Angel out ofhte way back to the tree the girl had leapt out of. Drawing her sword, she attacked as well, though in a purely defensive form, rather than offensive, or a combination of both.
As Inu Yasha cursed and attempted hits, The Angel of Death calmly avoided them. Then, so quickly that Inu Yasha didn't notice it until it was too late, she had sheathed her sword, avoided a stab by turning perpinidular ot the oncoming attack, and flung her right arm across Inu Yasha's shoulder, her neck gripping his neck enough to get the message. Due to the lack of a scent, no one could tell the emotions of both Angels, but their calmness of the whole situation was enough to put them all into allied positions. Well, it would be thought so, since the Dogs didnt know of the informative Birds' knowledge. Had the Angel intended to, all understood that Inu Yasha's neck would have been snapped into about four seperate pieces, all severing either the wind pipes or the nerve cords there. So, Inu Yasha wisely froze in the exact position he had been in not seconds ago, when the Angle had stood right in front of him, in the direct area for his attack.
It was silent for a while, then, out of the army of the Birds, a man shouted: "You were ordered to kill them! So do it! What are you waiting for?"
A new, furious snarl rose from the hanyou, despit ethe position he was in, and he was echoed by his kind. "Let my son go, Angel of Death. We know now what your true intentions are, and that you trully have killed my wife's dear brother!"
A soft sigh escaped the Angel's lips; so soft only Inu Yasha heard it. Her grip losened a bit, but not enough for him to get out of it. She looked towards his family, then to her partner, then finally the the man who had spoken, and then the crossbow in his hand, pointed right at Inu Yasha.
A couple things happened after the audience took her silence as a comfirmation. The Dog clans rushed forward, determined to avenge the death of a member of their kingdom; the Bird army leapt forward, determined to slaughter the Dog clans. The demon who had shouted about her supposed mission stayed rooted to the spot, however, and stayed there until he made his move. As the two side merged into one once more, Kagome released Inu Yasha, shoving him away from the path of a spear, and turned to fight her way through the oncoming demons out to kill her. Sango joined in as well, attempting to clear a path for her friend whilst defending herself. After another while of fighting, several quick, powerful, sharp, metallic twang~zuoosh sounds could be heard, followed by a soft, pained "Ah!" and a startled, confused "Ooomph!?"
In that slpit second of startlement, the boomerang whizzed through the air, slicing the man with the crossbow in half lengthwise, and returned to the owner, now runner towards her fallen friend. It was then that they saw the seen clearly: the Angel of Death had taken three arrows to the chest, dagnerously close to hte heart, for the hanyou, ho was currently behind her leaning against a splintered tree, the source of his discomfort. The arrows were no ordinary arrows, as the demons could scent; they were covered with a thick, acidic poison that not even the best demons could heal without a scar or missing body part. The acid slowly entered the blood stream, its journey always aginizing and burning, and the arrow itself, like any other arrow from the Higuarashi Kingdom, as Kagome absently noticed, was made of metal.
Reflexively and out of respect, Inu Yasha had instinctively grasped the now-weak warrior girl by her arms, keeping her upright ewhile he regained the wind that was knocked out of him when she suddenly crashed into him. Absently, he reminded himself to bring uop the subject of how fast a human could be; she was as fast and maybe even faster than a demon. Her small frame was shacking violently, he poison already taking affect, as her friend came over, Inu Yasha handing Kagomeover to Sango. As Kagome fell to her knees, her hand lifted and motioned for the remained Higurashi soldiers to leave. Then, she sank into unconciousness into Sango's worried arms. Frantically, the older girl wrapped her arm around Kagome's waist the other pulling kagome's arm over her shoulders. She gave one last look at the leaders of the Kingdom, whom were all choosing to play safe by not helping, and sped off into the forest, taking to the trees once more.
Dazed, Miroku walked up to an equally dazed Inu yasha, he could make out his friend mumbling something, the confused look in the hanyou's face and his distant eyes worrying the priest.
"...nts...."
"Inu Yasha?"
"Mints."
"Pardon me? Are you hurt badly? Come, we need to get you bandaged up; you're probably the worst out of us a-"
"Mints. She smelled like mints."
Finally turning to his monk friend but with the equally distant eyes and confused expression, he continued.
"She smelled of mints... I could smell her... when she had taken the blows meant for me, and her body was so close to mine.... I could smell it... her true scent smells of mints...."
Now thoroughly confused, the monk inquired, "I've never smelt or heard of anyone with the scent of mints. Flowers and grasses, maybe, even manure or urine, but never mints. Not for their true scent, anyhow."
"There's no mistaking it.... mints.... but why did she save me?...."
"Inu Yasha, you need to let me look at those injuries, you've lost a lot of blood."
Concerned over his firend's dazed state, Miroku led Inu Yasha gently back to the estate, aided by a few of the better-off guards.
AN: okay pples! i know i havent updated for such a long time, and i thank all those that have emailed me and told me to update and all, becasue i really needed to know that people really liked my story. Arigatou to you guys! Also, i trully do not know when the next chapter can come out, but the thing is, that whenever possible, even at school during lunch, i always type a few sentences during my spare time, and so the chapter gets built bit by bit. Due to school startuing and all that crap, i wasnt able to finish the chapter, when i had it 3/4 done over the summer, sorry!
but i'll keep trying, and you guys just keep enjoying and asking questions, kay? Oh, Sunflower Obi, if you're reading this, becasue i just wanted to get this chapter up and out, i didnt change anything else yet. next time, kay? (it's 12 in the morning right now; bite me~!)
Disclaimer: me no own. dont sue.
GOODNIGHT YOU ALL!!!! LUV YA!!!!!!