Be there for me

Chapter 14





"That must be the castle" said Sango as she and the monk came into sight of a large structre dotted with towers. They landed within the court yard, surpised to find that there was no barrier protecting the castle, and suspecting that it was a trap of some kind.



The latter was confirmed for them when they saw figures running out of the nearby houses and hutts, soldiers wearing battle uniforms. But unlike the undead demons that they had fought earlier, these men were alive, and appeared to be either possessed, or fooled into believing that they were defending a real warlord rather than a powerful and evil demon.



"We have to tread carefully here Sango. Although these men are in the service of Naraku, I do not feeling like killing any real humans." said Miroku as he removed some sacred sutras from his robes. The demonslayer nodded her asent and removed her boomerang, leaving the sword in it's sheath. The firecat stayed in her battleform, but didn't bare her fangs at the humans.



"Pikemen, to the front. Prepare your spears." ordered the figure who was obviously acting as a commander for these men. He seemed familiar to them in a way, Sango and Miroku thought.



"Hey Sango, recognize the commander for the soldier detachment?" inquired Miroku as he studied the man intensly. If he hadn't have already confirmed that he was dead, he would almost be sure that the enemy commander was none other than Takemaru of Setsonna, the man who had fought and killed Inutashio some two hundred years ago. More recently, he had been possessed by Sounga, the sword of calamity, but hadn't he been defeated and descended into hell along with the sword?



"Is that...Takemaru?" she asked, suprised to see him herself.



"Filthy humans who share an affiliation with demons. Thanks to Naraku and the power of the sacred jewel shards, I once again walk and breathe in the world of the living. Now prepare to die and enter the neverworld." he proclaimed as he raised his right hand, seeming as if it was an order for his men to attack.



The monk and the demonslayer readied their weapons, however Kirara sensed a strange smell and gave a little yelp to let her masters know that something seemed out of place here.



"Attack now! Riflemen, open fire!" yelled Takemaru as he chopped downwards with his hand. The pikemen standing in formation suddenly dropped into a kneeling position, revealing behind them two lines of men armed with muskets. Suddenly, their guns discharged, sending a hail of bullets towards Sango and Miroku. The two recoiled in suprise, but they were too late to get out of the way.



Which left their only saving grace in the form of the cat demon Kirara as she used the bulk of her body to shield her masters from the rain of bullets. The cat demon was hit several times and fell to the ground, mortally wounded. As her masters looked on in sudden shock and sadness, Kirara let out a long and sad mewling sound before closing her eyes and going totally still. Sango looked like she was about to cry, but Miroku held up his right hand in a praying sign, hoping that the cat's spirit would find a safe transition into the after life.



"Hurry and reload, prepare to fire again. Pikemen, resume your shielding." ordered Takemaru. The pikemen once again stood up and formed ranks to shield the gunners as they reloaded their muskets. The two humans looked at them with mixed anger and hate, ready to kill them if they needed to in order to ensure the cat demon's sacrafice was not in vain.



"Wind Tunnel." Miroku unbound his right hand, but only for a second, long enough to send all of the pikemen flying forwards towards them. He then resealed his hand, and along with Sango, ducked as the one hundred or so men flew past them headfirst into the wall, killing a few with broken necks but leaving most of them merely knocked out.



"Hirakotsu." Sango, now having a clear line of fire to the gunmen, threw her boomerang at them, knocking the rifles from their hands and leaving them weaponless. She retrieved her weapon as Takemaru threw them a look of pure hatred for spoiling his tatics. He had only one real tatic left up his sleeve, and he had left this one for the last.



"Swordsmen, attack." he yelled as he withdrew his own sword and lead the charge against the monk and the demonslayer. Sango drew her own sword and prepared her boomerang, while the monk prepared his staff and some sacred sutras that had the ability to stop an enemy cold in his tracks without harming him.



The two of them met the enemy charge head on....



* * *



Kagome looked up from the ground, having gotten a little motion sick from hanging onto Fluffy's fur as the dog bounded over the landscape, sniffing out their escaping quarry. He came to a pause as she called out. They could see the dark sky which presided over a large castle. The smell in the air left little doubt that this was Naraku's castle.



"Hang on." he growled as he took off running again. In one easy bound he was over the walls and had entered into a courtyard which was the scene of a furious battle.



Kagome gasped as she saw Miroku and Sango surrounded by humans, dueling with swords and pikes. The two were heavily outnumbered, although it looked like they had already eliminated about half of their opponents.



Then, one of the enemy soldiers, one wearing battle armour that was somewhat familiar, struck past Sango's defenses and let a long trailing cut down her back. The demonslayer fell to the ground and was writhing in pain. Before Kagome or Miroku could act, the soldier stepped over to her, and raised his sword, prepared for the plunging kill.



However, before he could bring the sword down, he suddenly found a glowing green hand sticking out of his chest. Having come from behind, Sesshomaru growled as he recognized the features and smell of Takemaru. He pulled away his hand, leaving the figure to turn around and stare at him.



"Sesshomaru, so nice of you to come to your death. Where is your insolent whelp of a half brother, Inuyasha?" mocked Takemaru as he covered the hole in his chest with one hand, the other hand still on his sword.



"He is none of your concern, vile vermin. Prepare to die." responded Sesshomaru in a cold voice.



"Sesshomaru, look out, he has a sacred jewel shard in his neck." yelled Kagome, sensing the shard from where she was standing on the sidelines. She realized that Naraku must of resurrected him, similar to how the band of seven was brought back. As she was standing there, Miroku carried Sango over, having used the confusion of their intrusion to make a hasty withdrawal.



The remaining forty or so swordsmen surrounded Sesshomaru in a circle.



"Kill him." ordered Takemaru, as he stood his place, with his men all charging in at once.



Rather than draw his sword, Sesshomaru placed his middle and index fingers on his right hand together, and began spinning around in circles. As he did so, his poision whip appeared in his hand, and barely a few seconds passed before all of the swordsmen had been cut to pieces, including Takemaru with his head landing a few meters from Sesshomaru's feet.



Kagome hurried over and picked the sacred jewel shard from the ground, purifying it in an instant. While Sesshomaru turned and headed towards the castle, Kagome hurried over to where Sango was being tended to by Miroku. The monk looked up at her then nodded his head.



"Just leave the first aid kit and go. I can tend to her injuries. You should go with Sesshomaru and help rescue your family." said Miroku.



"Okay, good luck." replied Kagome as she dropped off the kit, then with her bow and arrows in hand, went to join the dog demon lord.