RPG Inuyasha: Search for the Sword[M-LVS]

[Frankie]

Tao noticed Hana's seriousness but tried to look like it wasnt a big deal to her so Hana would notice she wasnt afraid. Tao was her self again. If hana while full demon tried anything she could defend herself but she wondered what Hana would be like.

This sparked another thought too. What would she be like if she wasnt just half tiger demon. She wondered what she would be like if she was full tiger demon. She nodded to herself and closed her eyes.

She fell asleep almost instantly. The only thing that moved was her chest with her breathing and the tip of her tail twitched around. Occasionally her ears would twitch in the direction of a sound and then settle down again.

Hours seemed to pass and then the wun was up again. Tao leaned up and with a mighty yawn smiled at Hana. "Ready to go?"

Hana nodded, "Yes."

Tao stood up and put her armor back on so it hid her tail. She shook herself and got off all the dirt and then moved towards a small path into the canyon. Hana silently picked up and followed behind her.

It only took a few minutes for them to easily jump from rock to rock to get to the bottom. Tao felt more energised with this workout. She felt ready for the fight. If nothing else this would be a nice workout and a bit fun.

She entered the demons hideout and the other demons just stared at the two of them. She approched a pile of black shiney scales. She grinned.

"Yo! scale head wake up." Tao shouted.

The mound of curled up scales began to move. Slowly two arms pulled the upper body up out of the mound. His arms were black and scaley. He looked almost human from his arms up. He had a firm chest and a regular human head except for his extreamly large fangs. His arms were spikey too. His neck and the top of his head made the shape a cobra did. The Black Cobra was fitting.

He moved and you could see the spine on his tail. He growled and glared at Tao, "It isnt wise to wake the king of the snakes you know." He hissed.

"I was never know to be wise." Tao replied.

"You know you have been fooled right? You silly cat. I know of your scouts and i sent false imformation with him." The large snake man pointed to a demon i nthe corner that was taos scout.

"Good cause I know that too."

The snake man looked confused, "But you still unwisely walked into a fight you cannot win?"

Tao nodded, "Yup. Because I still know your weaknesses. I had my own spy that none of you knew about. She has been great help."

You could not tell how long this snake man was but he started to unravle himself. He was well over fifteen feet. Tao didnt seem to mind much.

The black cobra made a signal with his sharp hands and suddenly twenty of his fellow demons lunged. Hana and tao leapt in different directions and started tearing apart the demons. The cobra man also tried to get rid of the two pests by spitting acid venom. Tao liked this and let him aim at her. She moved just in time to let the acid hit one of the demons she was fighting and he melted into a pile of bones.

"Why you!" The cobra hissed getting even madder. This continued for a few minutes untill tao stopped by hana. "Can you stall them and keep scaley here occupied while i take a trip into the cave?"

Hana looked up and suddenly noticed that the snake was coiled up in front of a cave and only when he moved a bit did he make an opening.

Hana nodded, "Sure... These guys arent to strong and mister snake isnt to hard to dodge."

Tao looked at him, "Um... He can attack four different ways at the same time. Both hands his mouth and his tail. Be quick."

[natchan]

"Demon blood, and 17 years of martial arts training, I'm not too worried." Hana replied dodging another attack. Her moves were graceful and delicate, battle is when her cat like abilities were most obvious. Her custom claws tore through demon after demon as she evaded each attack that came from their leader. She recieved a minor wound from one of the flunkies but it was nthing she even noticed.

She watched as Tao made her way up to the cave, she smiled as she again moved out of harms way. Landing lightly in a crouch on a higher rock she smiled down at her opponents, which were closiong in on her.

"Is that all you brutes got? Come on I was hoping for a challenge." She taunted. They came closer and all attacked at once, she leapt into the air turning a 180 flip and landing behnd her enemies, then rolled out of the way of the King's attack.

[Frankie]

Tao had slipped into the dark cave but her eyes made seeing in the pitch black of the cave easy. Only occasionaly did that king move a bit and let light in but it never lasted long. Tao didnt mind though because her eyes could handle this dark cave.

She glanced around and moved closer to the back. She knew it was in here, she could feel it.

"Tsst... Finally made it did you?" A voice came from beside tao.

She glanced down at the rock and grinned. There was a small creature sitting on the rock. "Yeah... Cant see a thing can you?"

The creature nodded, "Right... I can hear and smell but cannot see anything in this darkness. How did the fight go?"

Tao laughed, "He isnt dead yet if thats what you mean. I have a friend handling the goons and the king. Once I get it I can take out the kind easily but first i need to find it."

"There is a puzzle in here or so I have heard. It is to prove you are who you say you are I guess... So no one but a tiger clan member can aquire it." The creature said. It had tiny pointy ears and a long pointy nose. It looked like a tiny human.

Tao nodded, "Ok."

She then darted along leaving the creature on the rock. She made her way into a chamber. There was two pedestals. She glanced at the floor to look for secret switches or traps and moved forward when she saw non.

Suddenly the room began to fill with mist. The silvery mist began to shape into the form of a grand tiger. It had silvery eyes and a body of mist which made tao just stare at it.

It opend its mouth and spoke, "Three things must be done. Here is thing number one."

Tao looked at it a little strangely, "Great... It thinks its a poet."

The mist tiger glared, "Fine fine... You must do three things to get what is hidden here. First you must drop fur of the black and fur of the orange into the pedestal of fire! If the flame turns blue your heart is true."

Tao shook her head, "Again with with the poetry stuff. Sheeesh. Fine fine." Tao walked over to the left pedestal that had a fire mark on it. A small fire started atop the pedistal and tao stared into the flames. She slipped off her armor and moved her tail in front of her. She pulled off some black and orange hairs and tossed them into the fire.

The fire flickered for a few moments and the silvery mist tiger watched as the fire went from orange to blue. It nodded. "The second thing you must do is drip some of your fresh blood into the pedestal of water. Wait for a reflection to appear and tell me what you see."

Tao didnt like this much because if she had to cut herself the snake would surely smell it. She shook her head and dug one long claw fingernail into the tip of a finger and dripped some of her blood into it. She watched the water carefully.

"What do you see?" The mist tiger asked.

Tao frowned, "Nothing. There is no reflection at all. The water is all cloudy."

The tiger nodded, "Now to prove yourself you must let your voice be heard. Only the roar will open the door."

Tao knew if she did this she would get the snakes attention if he wasnt to proccupied by fight. Tao instantly changed into her large tiger form and roared with all her might at the misty tiger. It nodded and stepped to the side and a rock moved aside. It led into an even darker room.

Tao stepped inside and the misty tiger followed her. Tao returned to her normal form and looked around. The room was empty she noticed.

She could see the misty tiger grinning, "Tell me child... What was wrong with those three tests?"

"A quiz?" Tao asked.

"Just answer."

"Fine. One... Anyone can get their hands on black and orange tiger fur... Or at least they could have if they knew how. SPecially after the slauter. Also any demon could have gotten the blood. Capturing one of the tiger clan could have been easy seeing as how the young arent to bright when they are blind and after the slauter there was plenty of blood. And as for the roar... There are all kinds of cat demons who can roar... Even plain regular tigers can roar... So those tests would not have filtered out the fakes from the real tiger clan demons."

The silver tiger nodded, "Exactly..."

"Then WHY did we do that?"

The silvery mist tiger thought for a moment and laughed, "Iv been here for ages waiting for someone to get the item hidden here. I was bored."

Tao glared, "Bored? You telling me I plucked my own fur, drew my own blood and probabbly gave myself away with my voice to entertain you?"

The mist nodded, "Yeah..."

Tao growled and paced, "Just tell me what I must do to get the sword. The blade of Tigers... The blood red blade thats true power comes in the form of a blood red stone."

The mist tiger nodded for a moment and floated there, "I never said there was a sword hidden here."

Tao was growing more impatient. "I know! My family knew about it. Now that they are all dead I seek the blade because there is no one else to retrieve it. It belongs to me."

"It was mine originaly cub! I made the sword with my own two hands and the stone as well! I put my heart and soul into both items. Wait... dead did you say?"

Tao nodded, "Yes a demon slaugtered every last tiger clan demon except for me. It took my brother. I know you have been in here for a long time with no entertainment of conversation and all but can you please just get this going so i can get out there. My fr-.... My friend is fighting the demon that blocks this cave!"

The mist sighed and flew into tao without another word spoken. Tao suddenly saw the battle. Hana was doing fine but the king was growing more and more angry. The mist then left taos body.

"That battle hmm... Mmm alright. You are indeed of the tiger clan I can tell. Hell you wouldnt have been able to enter the depths of this cave if you werent. That is how I tell if you are who you say you are. But tell me one thing and ill give you the blade."

"What?"

"Why are your black with orange stripes instead of orange with black?"

Tao nodded, "I am unsure... A mere halfbreed and I have the rare colors or whatever... I truely dont know."

The mist nodded, "I too was colored like that. You are the only other tiger clan demon I have known to be colored like that... Thats why I asked. This was no coincidence that it was YOU to claim the sword i belive. I warn you though... This sword is not for the weak hearted and weak minded. It has a heard of its own and the stone has its own as well. The stone and the blade together are not easy to weild."

Tao nodded and the mist began to form a stone pedestal. Laying carefully was an old looking sword. Tao picked it up and felt its lightness. She placed the blood red stone into a small hole in the blade and it burst into flames. The plain looking sword grew. It had a straight back and the blade edge was curved and jaged in places. The shape was indeed different but it felt light as a feather and it seemed to have a will of its own. It seemed that it could sense the fight and wanted to tear into flesh.

Tao realized the mist was right. This sword was indeed more challenging to wield. She would have to work at it. With a nod she dashed to the exit where the snake was. She raised the sword at his body that blocked the path and concentrated. She then brought the blade down onto the ground. Four giant red waves of energy blast from the sword like she did with the blade she made with the stone but this time it was much more powerfull.

It tore into the king and he hissed with pain. Tao lept out of the cave and landed next to Hana, "Well Im back did you miss me?"

[natchan]

"Of course I missed you, this is no fun with just one person fighting." Hana replied, an unusual smile across her face. "Now, hows about we finish this." She cried out charging at two of the kings underlings and quickly dispatching them. Tao tightened her grip on her newly claimed sword and dodged attack from the king then quickly countered with a slash at his tail.

OOC: Sorry its so short I have to go t class! But I didn't wanna leave you empty handed.

[Frankie]

The black scales were very hard and just hitting them with her new sword wasnt working. She leapt backwards to avoid the flying acid from his tail. She shook her head and her earts twitched. She sliced off an underlings head with much ease and moved on. She lifted the sword and concentrated. She brought it back down into the ground and four red blasts of energy raced at the King.

The king saw this and slithered out of the way. "You missed!"

Tao laughed, "No I did not."

The king looked behind him and realized the blast soared right into the rocks over the cave entrance but before he could move they started falling on him. Large boulders hit him extreamly hard on the head and he hit away others with his large spiney arms. He hissed and roared with anger once the rocks stopped falling.

"Dirty Trick!" He hissed. But tao was not paying much attention to him anymore. She was slicing away at his minions. He took this moment to slither his tail around behind Tao.

Tao killed another lowly demon and moved on to the next. Hana noticed the King's tail was rearing up to fling acid into Taos back. Hana grabbed Tao and got her out of the way just as the acid hit where she was standing. Small bits of grass melted away as did the remains of some of the demons laying in that area.

Tao nodded to hana, "Thanks... Im focusing so much attention to control this sword I didnt even hear him sneaking around. Shall we finish this?"

Hana grinned, "Yes."

Tao lifted the sword again and brought it back down. The four energy waves were sent flying at the king who now had no where to go. They ripped into his flesh and bones. Once the tail was cut he was renched in his oun acid. The acid had no effects on his scales but his flesh on the inside was just as anyone elses. He hissed as he felt his own flesh digesting away.

Tao took the stone out of the sword and it shrank down and looked like a normal sword with a hole in it. She put the stone on the chain around her neck and tied the sword onto her belt.

"Lets go... The others might have had fun without us!" Tao laughed, "And id hate to miss out on all the fun."

[natchan]

It took about 5 hours for the two of them to catch up with InuYasha's group, when they arrived the group, all but InuYasha that is, seemed surprised to them.

"Its great you came back." Kagome stated greeting the two feline girls.

"Well of course we're back, I can't just abandon those that I promised I would accompany."

[missrelena]

Kana sniffed the air. "Snake men. Their venom always stinks the forest up more than any other poison I know. I hope you killed him. It also smells like you found your sword. Hope it was worth all the hassle the cuts I see show that you went through."

Kagome walked up to Hana with a spraycan of antiseptic.

"Don't you spray that stuff on me." She took a few steps away from the young priestess.

"What is the problem?" Miroku questioned. "Lady Kagome's medicines and potions always promote fast healing. Will they have an adverse reaction to your demon blood or something? They never seem to bother InuYasha."

"No. It'll just STING!" Hana yaowled as Kagome managed to spray one of her cuts on her left arm. "I [I]hate[/I] that stuff. Man! It's worse than getting cut in the first place. My mom is addicted to spraying it all over me every time I go home. Ow! Ow, ow, ow!" It had nearly turned into a wrestling match untill Sango and Shippo stepped in to help keep the cat-girl still. Hana howled like a wounded - well - cat.

"Hail the returning heros." Kana muttered to Satsuke. Then she spoke up. "How are you doing, Tao? With all the venom in the air, I can't smell if you're bleeding or not." :catgirl:

[Frankie]

Tao shrugged, "I will be fine. I mainly cut the snake kings tail off and he melted in his own acid... As for his followers they werent that herd to exterminate. This sword is rather nice." Tao said looking down at the old looking regular blade on her waist.

Inuyasha frowned at it, "You went all that way for that lousy piece of metal? Seems like a waste to me.Just look at it... It has a hole in it."

Tao untied the sword, took the gem off its chain, and put the gem in the hole in the blade. The blade instantly burst into flames and got larger and sharper and newer than before. Its curves and sharp edges sparked.

"Really? I didnt know this was a waste of time. A waste of family skilll, or a waste of fur..." Tao said mummbling the fur part to herself.

Tao held it up for a moment and shippo stared at it and miroku did as well. She then took the stone out and put it back on its chain. Doing this caused the sword to retun to its old look. She tied it to her waist and looked around.

Hana wasnt very happy about kagome and her healing items and tao had to laugh in her mind.

Tao looked down at her feet and up to her hands. She had dirt and marks but no cuts. She then lifted her tail around to look at it and nodded silently to herself. She then looked on her arm and noticed a tear in her clothes. The cloth was bloody but the skin looked like it wasnt touched.

"What happend there?" Miroku asked.

Tao hesitated for a moment, "I uh... " She knew it was there at one point but she couldnt remember what gave it to her. The real question was where it went so fast. Cuts dont dissapere in only five hours after all. "Uh I got it during the fight but I cannot rememeber what caused it."

Miroku blinked, "No cut I have ever seen on someone normal has vanished that quickly."

Tao glared at him, "Who is calling me normal?"

Miroku stepped back and was silent for a moment , "Oh I uh... I only meant that iv seen demons heal like that before but not without extra help like with a shard or when they were possesed orsomething like that... But i wasnt suggesting you are possesed... " Miroku rambled.

Shippo laughed, "His big mouths getting him hurt again. Idiot"

Tao smiled at Miroku, "No no Sir monk do not worry about it. I know what you mean and I can assure you I am not possesed. No harm caused so case closed."

Miroku sighed a sigh of reliefe when he realized she wasnt going to hit him or yell.

Shippo looked at Tao strangely, "Uh... She didnt yell or harm him... Where is the fun in that..."

Tao looked at Sasuke and Hana. She then looked at Kana and then looked ahead of the group. She stretched, yawned, and then smiled again.

"Why is she so chipper?" Miroku asks Hana.

Hana shrugged, "I havent a clue."

[missrelena]

"Well, I guess we ought to keep moving." Kagome announced to the group. "It's not that we're not happy that you're back," she smiled at Hana and Tao, "but we haven't got much time to spare now."

"I don't know if you two have heard of Kagura, the Wind Sorceress." Kana said to the two cats.

"I've [I]heard [/I] of her, and none of it was good." Hana affirmed.

"Well. . ." Kana caught the two up on what had happened during their meeting of Naraku's spawn, with Satsuke, Kagome and InuYasha filling in details that she missed.

"So now it's a three-way race, as far as we know, between us, Shesshoumaru, and Naraku's minions." Kagome sighed. Kana guessed that the girl was just wishing that her small group of close friends could catch a break. She sympathized, but there really wasn't anything anyone could do, so they just had to keep traveling forward and hope for the best.

As evening drew close, InuYasha, Kana, Tao and Satsuke all sniffed the air in turn. "Does anyone else smell hot-spring stink?" Kana asked. She turned and grinned at Kagome and Hana when InuYasha confirmed her suspisions. "You know what this means?! Hot baths tonight! I won't mention anyone else, but my own nose can't stand the way[I] I stink[/I]."

[lil kitsune boy]

ooc: sorry, everybody. my brain's been fried, lately and i haven't been able to think of anything for this. i'll get something up soon, though. i promise.

[natchan]

"Yipee! HOT SPRINGS here I come!" Hana replied excitedly. "I love hot springs, my mopther and I always used to go and then after ward she would always buy me ice cream, ah childhood memories." Hana's smile was bigger than ever.

"You had a good childhood I take it?" Kana asked amusment filling her voice.

"Oh yes I have almost nothing but good memories, even today I am making memories that will cherish forever. How about you guys you have any wonderful memories that make you smile?" Hana asked adjusting her pack.

[lil kitsune boy]

'Hot springs?' Sasuke asked. :animeblus Miroku's arm fell across his shoulders.

'There's no need to be nervous,' he said, 'It's simply a chance to relax and enjoy the sights.'

'Sights?'

'The scenery,' he said, 'Is quite beautiful around hotsprings.'

'Miroku...' Sango began.

'What?'

'Stop putting ideas in the kid's head.' Inuyasha said, 'We don't need him getting beat up, like you.'

Sasuke sighed as the sun began to fall and they reached the hotspring.

'This won't end well.' he said, under his breath.

[Frankie]

tao smiled.

Hana looked at her, "Whats the smile for?"

Tao grinned, "Tigers love water." She dropped her armor plate that covered her tail and leapt forward, "Sorry but im not waiting for you slowpokes!"

With two quick zips she was there. There was two parts to the spring. One hot spring them some very large rocks and another on the other side. Tao went to the side with the smaller hot spring. When the others caught up she turned to them.

"More girls. Girls get the big end. Boys get this small one. Meaning you miroku, sasuke, and inuyasha."

Sasuke nodded, "Uh.. What about you."

Tao grinned at miroku, "I happen to be on guard. To keep a certin someone from sneaking peeks."

"Now see here missy! Thats just an excuse to peek at us!" Inuyasha yelled instantly.

Tao put a claw on her hip and grinned, "Hun... You dont have ... ANYTHING that I havent seen before. Stop being big babies."

[missrelena]

?Hey!? Kagome?s voice came from beyond the dividing rocks. ?You might not mind what you?re seeing, but some of US mind you seeing it!?

?Yeah!? was the agreeing chorus of feminine voices. Then several female hands -- attached to long, lithe, bare arms ? grabbed various parts of Tao and she vanished behind the rocks with a loud splash.

?Besides, the guys can see anything coming toward us from where they?re at,? Sango added, ?so the only thing we need to watch for is them. Some of us are quite practiced in that. . . SOME of us more than others. So while your offer was ? um ? kind, it really isn?t necessary.

InuYahsa whispered to Miroku, ?What do you think they meant when they said they minded her seeing something??

?Never mind!? came the shout from the other pool.

?If you don?t know what they meant, InuYasha, you need more help than I can give you.? Miroku snickered.

?And I like him that way!? Kagome responded.

Shrugging at the mysteries of the females of the race ? any race ? InuYasha shrugged out of his clothes and joined Miroku, Satsuke and Shippo in the smaller hot spring. He had had a few scrapes when it came to hot pools and Kagome, and he was determined that nothing like that would happen this time. He was tired of being told to ?sit?. And besides, things had been going rather well between himself and Kagome lately, and he didn?t want to spoil that.

Suddenly Kagome screamed. ?There?s something furry swimming around my ankles! There?s something in here with us!? Kana then let out a shriek of pain to add to Kagome?s panic.

?What! Are you okay!?? Almost predictably, the men of the group jumped the rock divider, sans clothing, and came splashing down in the midst of the ladies. InuYasha took in the tableau before him and knew what was coming. Kagome was out of the water on one side looking both apologetic and shocked. Kana was out of the water a few feet from the priestess nursing her throbbing tail. The other girls were staring at the male intruders, and they didn't looked pleased.

A few slapped faces later everyone had settled down and continued their bathing.

"When we want you're help, we'll call." Kagome grumbled loudly at the boys.

"But. . ." InuYasha knew a losing battle when he saw it, but he couldn't just sit there and take abuse that was undeserved. At least the 'sit' command hadn't been used. That was something.

"You did call." Kana pointed out.

"What?" Kagome wasn't sure she had heard the wolf-girl right.

"You did call them. You shouted out. Why would you do that unless you wanted help. Besides, I think we owe them an apology." Kana went on.

"Apology?! For what?" Sango wasn't about to apologize to Miroku. He had found a reason to sneak a peek like this too many times before.

"Well, you would think that with as much time as Kagome has spent with Shippo, you would think she would remember that some of us come with tails. Instead of calling out in a panic, she could have asked if anyone else had felt something or realized that I was sitting next to her and it was MY tail she was feeling. She did shout for help, and all of the guys came to our aid instantly. I think that's really admirable and heroic. I'm sure they knew what would happen to their faces as soon as the danger was over, but they came anyway. Granted, Miroku might have had a few alterior motives, but should Satsuke and InuYasha be punished for his foibles? Like I said, I think we owe them a big apology. Speech over, I'll be quiet now."

"I guess I had never thought of it that way." Kagome sounded a little dubious, but at least she was considering Kana's point of view. That was more than InuYasha had ever thought possible. "I am sorry for calling out like that, guys. She's right. If I don't want you coming to our rescue, I shouldn't shout for one."

"So, Kana, why did [I]you[/I] scream?" Satsuke asked. The men looked a bit molified, even if Kagome was the only one to apologize.

"When Kagome scrambled out of the pool, she tried to smash her attacker. That just happened to be my tail." she explained. Then she turned to the priestess. "Did you really have to step down so hard, lady? I'm going to be bruised for a week!"

Miroku chuckled. "Not having a tail, I do not personally know what that might feel like. However, I imagine it is quite uncomfortable."

"Doesn't take a genuis to figure that out." InuYasha muttered. "She screamed, didn't she?"

"Alright, I give." Sango said. "I am sorry that you came to help us and we slapped you for your troubles." She didn't sound happy about it, but she apolgized none-the-less. Though not one of the slappers, Hana added her own apology, too.

"And despite what Tao said," Kana chimed in, "The view was extremely nice, too."

"Kana!"

"What? It was." :catgirl:

[natchan]

"Well I must admit this is definatly my most monumentous trip to the hot springs." Hana replied happily, she hadn't moved or said a word durring all the comotion.

"Hey what are we doing for dinner tonight?" Tao asked outloud to anyone who would listen.

"Well I brought some instant noodles that we could have, unless someone has a better idea?" Hana stated pointing to her rather full backpack.

"Nope noodles are fine, thats a great plan!" InuYasha shouted from the other pool, a glare crossed Kagome's face.

"InuYasha has a strange addiction to those noodles Kagome brings from your world." Sango replied placing a hand on Kagome's shoulder.

"We don't have to eat whatever InuYasha says we have to eat." Tao stated.

"No its fine, theres no problem with the noodles." Kagome replied.

[lil kitsune boy]

'We don't have to eat whatever Inuyasha says we have to eat.' Tao stated.

'No, it's fine. There's no problem with the noodles.' Kagome replied.

Sasuke shook his head and looked off into the forest.

[I]Is this really happening?[/I] he thought, [I]Am I really surrounded by these people? In the middle of the fuedal era?[/I]

Suddenly, he and Inuyasha looked up at the same time.

'Demon.' they said, in unison. Sasuke wasn't sure how he knew, but he did. This scent couldn't belong to anything else.

'Now?' Sango asked.

'Yeah.' Sasuke said, drawing his swords.

'You know how to use those, kid?' Inuyasha asked.

'Pointy end goes into the bad guy, right?' Sasuke shot back as the others grabbed their weapons.

Inuyasha smirked as he drew the Tetsusaiga. Sasuke's jaw dropped as it transformed before him.

'Ok, I gotta learn how to do that.' he said as something burst throught the treeline.

'What the [I]hell[/I] is that thing?' Sasuke asked.

[missrelena]

Kana hadn't reacted to the new demon presence. She grew up in a pack of demons, so she had nearly stopped registering their approach. [I]Gotta work on making that awareness sharp again, I guess. Where's paranoid Koga when you need him?[/I] she thought to herself. She bounded lightly into the nearest tree to see what type of demon was causing Sasuke to pale like that.

She hopped noislessly from tree to tree, trying to get a better look. Being light and waif-like had it's advantages every-so-often. She got as far as InuYasha and Sasuke and froze.

[I]Flea-bitten Hell! What [B]is [/B] that thing?[/I] Her heart banged inside her chest with the force of her astonishment and fright. She'd never seen anything like this before.

[lil kitsune boy]

The demon resembled a giant, roughly humanoid beetle. With gorilla-like arms and giant pincer jaws.

'Wha- What is that!?' Sasuke asked.

'Doesn't matter.' Inuyasha said, raising his sword, 'We're gonna kill it, anyway!'

Inuyasha jumped at the demon, slashing with all his might. The beast reeled as the Tetsusaiga impacted against it, but seemed uninjured.

'What!?' Inuyasha asked, not believing the demon was that tough.

The demon swung, catching both Inuyasha and Sasuke with it's arm and sending them flying.

'Everyone, look out!' Miroku called, unwrapping the beads from around his right hand.

'Wind Tunnel!' he shouted. Everything in front of himwas sucked into the vacuum that resided in his palm. The demon reacted quickly, throwing a nearby boulder in the way, in a vain attempt to seal the hole. When that didn't work, the demon dug it's claws into the ground. As it came closer to Miroku it jumped, clearing the pull of the Wind Tunnel and landing behind the monk. It swung it's arm back and sent the monk sprawling a few yards away.

'Miroku!' Sango cried, sending her horaikotsu at the creature. The creature simply raised it's arm and smacked the weapon away.

'Damn,' Inuyasha said, rising to his feet, 'This thing's better than I thought.'

'Yeah,' Sasuke grinned as he reached his feet, as well, 'Smarter, too.'

'You look like you're enjoying this, kid.' Inuyasha remarked.

Sasuke shot him a glance as his grin grew into a smile, 'A little bit, maybe.'

[missrelena]

Kana was trying to keep focused on the massive demon. She knew Koga had told her about one that was sort-of like this, but she couldn't remeber what he had said about weaknesses. What a lousy time to be foregetful.

"Wind Scar!" InuYasha shouted, and warned, all his comatriots fell back to watch the four energy blades slice through the air and ground. The attacking beetle demon dodged, but was still hit with two of the cuts. It's green blood oozed out like poisonous icor.

"Poison! That's it!" Kana shouted down to the defending half-demons. "The blood is poison! All insect demons have poisonous blood. Be careful!" She didn't know if they heard her. They didn't even nod or look at her, not wanting to divert theri attention away from the giant bug.

[I]I hope that helps.[/I] she thought as she went back to wracking her brain for any knowledge on this thing's possible weaknesses.

[lil kitsune boy]

Sasuke jumped backwards as the demon's blood splashed down where he was standing.

'Good to know.' he said, glancing back at the wolf girl.

'Sasuke, watch out!' Shippo yelled. Sasuke turned in time to be struck again by the creature, sending him soaring through the air and knocking the beaten katana out of his hand. The demon reached for it.

'Don't even think about it!' Inuyasha yelled, sending another Windscar attack at the beast. It jumped, letting the blast pass harmlessly under it. It grabbed the sword and ran, picking up the sheath where it had fallen the first time it had struck Sasuke and disappearing into the forest.

'Damn,' Inuyasha said, 'it got away.'

'With Sasuke's Tetsusaiga.' Kagome added.

'That wasn't the Tetsusaiga!' Inuyasha insisted.

'Wait just a moment,' Miroku said, 'Where is Sasuke?'

'Over here!' Shippo called, 'I think he got knocked out.'

[natchan]

"Aw, his first KO. I remember mine, it was back when I was fighting-" Hana began to recall the stroy when Kana interupted.

"Not to break your memory stroll but Satsuke is unconcious." Kana replied hoping she didn't sound rude.

"Oh no, of course silly me." She stated quikening her pace to catchup to everyone else.

"He'll come around in a moment. We could take this moment to rest ourselves while we're waiting for him." Kagome suggested sitting down next to the unconcious Satsuke.

"This is a perfect opportunity to take a picture, everyone gather around Satsuke." Hana replied happily as she dug into her pack pulling out a small silver object. She lifted the camera up to her eyes and pushed the button. A bright flash blinded everyone for a moment, and hana smiled there thats good.

[missrelena]

"Hana, next time you want to do something like that, warn those of us with dark-vision that you are going to be flashing extremely bright lights in our faces. All I can see are multi-colored spots now." Kana rubbed her eyes, trying to get them to clear. "What is that, anyway? And why flash it at us? Why not flash it at the attacking-thing and blind it? That, at least would be helpful."

"This [I]is[/I] helpful. It helps us all remeber what we looked like tonight. Come here and I'll show you." Hana motioned everyone to gather around her. Satsuke was still out, so it seemed like a good way to spend the wait. Kana looked at the shining square on the back of the little silver box.

"Hey! That's us! How did you do that?"

"It's a camera, idiot. That's what they do." InuYasha scoffed.

"You only know that because Kagome told you about them a few months ago." Miroku chipped in.

"Didn't have to tell her that." the half-demon growsed.

"Um, Hana, you might not want to save that picture. It's isn't very flattering for Satsuke." Kagome put in, diplomatically. "I'm sure once he wakes up and you asked, he would be more than happy to be part of a group shot."

"Well, I [I]could[/I] do that, but it wouldn't be as much fun. Sssssooooo, I'll save this one [I]and[/I] get another one after he comes around. Like a before and after shot." Hana grinned at the priestess and they all began their vigil over Satsuke.

"Did anyone else notice that the creature left as soon as it got posession of Satsuke's sword?" Sango asked quietly.

"Yes," Miroku agreed, "it was a rather blantant retreat. As a matter of fact, it seemed to target InuYasha and Satsuke specifically. It could have easily knocked Kana out of the tree after she shouted and gave away her hinding place, but it didn't. It focused on the two with the magical blades. Very curious."

"Look." Kana walked over to the prone young man. "He's starting to come around."

Satsuke groaned as he opened his eyes. He felt battered and bruised. Fortunately, his body had already started healing. He wasn't going to feel like tap dancing anytime in the near future (not that he ever did) but it wouldn't be as bad as it could have been without his demon blood.

"How ya feelin'?" Hana asked, the image on innocence.

"Like I was run over by a bus. Did you get that guy's licence plate number?" he muttered as he heaved himself upright.

"What?" Kana didn't get it.

"I'll explain later." Hana tossed over he shoulder at the confused wolf-girl. "Acutally, we didn't get him." She continued to Satsuke. "And he got away . . . with your sword."

"What!?!" Satsuke roared increadulously.

[demonslovehurts]

(May I join?)

Faye hide down low as she watched Miroku closely.She smiled and blinked a few times. 'Yes...that's him allright.The monk...'She thought as she griped her sword Kurda tight.Her black hair fell around her face and the wind slowly gazed umong the group.She rested a hand on her bladed rod.She wore a red and black kimona and two red and black slashes were on her cheeks.Her brown eyes watered with happiness.

"Found him?"A small young kitsune girl appeared from behind.She had violet colord eyes and black hair.She wore a blue and white dress.Kouru screamed.
"Don't scare me like that,Kiona."Faye sadi whispering really loudly.

[lil kitsune boy]

(sure, why not?)

'This is sooo not good...' Sasuke said, stumbling to his feet.

'You shouldn't stand, yet.' Miroku said as he reached out to steady the young demon.

'Shut up,' Sasuke said, whirling on the monk angrily, 'I've gotta go find that thing and get my grandpa's sword back!'

Suddenly, Sasuke stopped, glancing towards the trees.

'Who's there?' he growled, gripping his other sword tightly.

(sorry it's so short guys, i've been unexpectedly torn away from my internet connection and am dealing with short stints on dial up, for the moment. i promise you'll get something longer and much better, next time)

[missrelena]

Kana was about to greet the newly awakened Satsuke till he turned toward the nearby bushes. He called out, and Kana perked up her pointed ears, listening.
"I don't sense demons, but that doesn't mean much. I've been wrong before." she said.

"I'm not sure what it is, but I hear it, too." InuYasha added.

"There's no more reason to hide. We know exactly where you are. Just make it alot easier on everyone and come out!" Satsuke yelled.


OOC: Sorry this is short, too. Welcome back! Missed you Satsuke!