#cursedbellflower

He could smell it before anything else -- the scent of smoke and blood. As he raced closer, he sensed it -- multiple bundles of demonic energy.

                                                        And it was all coming from her village.

He sprang from tree to tree, hit the ground running, and leaped into the canopy again. The closer he got, the more overwhelming the smell. He could tell they were using scent beads -- the sickly, overpowering smell made his head throb -- but even that wasn’t enough to cover the scent of human blood.

He broke through the tree line, the village finally in sight. Columns of smoke rose from burning homes, and villagers flooded the paths. Amber hues darted from body to body looking for the becomingly familiar red and white, but all he saw were drab outfits of the common villager.

He landed on the roof of a hut that had survived the flames. He traced the demonic auras, spotting an abundance of bug-like demons running rampant through the village. Desperate for the Scared Jewel or not, even he knew it was foolish to attack this village.

                                                                          Especially with her here.

the demons had made quick work of many parts of the town. The villagers who were fighting were ill-equipped and falling fast. InuYasha brought the sleeve of his haori to his nose, trying to block out the mingling smell of blood and scent beads.

                                                                             He still didn’t see her.

A scream to his right quickly drew his attention. A woman held a young child in her arms, and she slowly backed away from a large, ant-like demon with enormous pinchers. The half-demon cracked his knuckles and sprang from the roof.

                               “ IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER! “

He dragged his claws through the demon, severing it completely in half. The woman screamed again, and the child started to cry. InuYasha flicked the blood from his hand, his gaze sliding to the hysteric woman.

                                                                           “ --Get outta here. “                                                                                                 he said.

InuYasha emerged through the roof of the temple, using the height from his jump to examine what he was dealing with. There were still a lot of demons closing in on the temple, and more still ran rampant through the town. He gritted his teeth and growled, flexing his claws as he approached the ground.

Bare feet hit the dirt, and InuYasha immediately sprang back from a large beetle-like demon with a hard shell and pinchers that snapped at him. He snarled, preparing to launch himself back at the demon.

He staggered, his movement thrown off as the roof of the temple practically exploded outward. He held up an arm, shielding his face from flying debris. He peered up, surprised to see two flame-engulfed golems emerging from the temple.

A flood of villagers came forth from the temple, guided by a young girl. The golems lumbered forward, sending fiery blasts into the herd of demons. An arrow seared through more of the threats, dissolving them with a mauve light. Just as Kikyo emerged from the temple behind the golems, the building collapsed inward, no longer able to support its frame. As more debris scattered throughout the area, InuYasha took another leap backwards, distancing himself from the cloud of dirt and dust that billowed up from the force of the collapse.

He immediately turned to his right, landing a solid punch on a small, flying demon with enough force to knock it out of the air. Another demon of a similar type buzzed up to him and was met with a similar fate. He turned back to the temple as the cloud of debris dispersed.

As the dust cleared, he saw a demon swoop down on the form of red and white he could barely make out through the chaos. He heard a chilled threat as the winged beast doubled back, preparing to swoop back in for a second attack.

                          “ --Kikyo! “

He jumped past several other demons who snapped and snarled at him, feet hitting the ground in front of the prone priestess. He launched himself back into the air, landing forcefully on the back of the demon that was aiming its second attack. He snarled, raising a clawed hand before forcing it through the body of the bug-demon. His hand emerged through the underside of the demon as it released a piercing screech. InuYasha ripped his hand out of the demon, sending a splatter of blood to the ground below. The braced himself as the demon slammed into the ground, sliding to a halt in front of Kikyo.

He jumped from the back of the demon and approached the priestess. He coughed once before leaning down to help her to her feet.

A low growl rumbled in his chest. Since he had entered the shrine under the protection of night’s darkness, she had maintained the upper hand. She had removed his suikan, leaving his hanjuban in a state of disarray as he only managed to bare her shoulders and untie her red hakama. In a rush of lips and tongue and hands, they ended on the floor, Kikyo straddling his lap.

He buried his cold, wet nose in the nape of her neck, breathing in her scent. When he felt her lips brush against his ear, her hot breath on his soft, velvety pink inner ear, he couldn’t stop the sound -- the helpless moan -- that escaped from his throat. Snow-white ears flickered and swiveled away from the playful lips and teeth that sought them out.

A frigid breeze seeped in between the gaps in the hut’s foundation, the priestess pulling on her apparel faster as her younger sister visibly shivered and curled farther into the futon. Autumn was nearly done with, the approaching winter setting in and changing the land. Crops would grow no more, travel would be limited and most time would be spent indoors and so while time still allowed her, Kikyo departed, attempting to savage the last of the summer herbs before they wilted and vanished till the following year came.

His voice, familiar, rough and soft all at the same time broke the dawn’s silence, whiskey eyes rising to gaze at his crimson robe.

“Not all of us have the luxury of hanging lazily from the treetops.” jested the priestess, an empty basket in her arms, bow and quiver slung over her back.

Leaning his head back, the hanyou’s lips curled slightly into a cheeky grin, “Heh, if I had a choice, I’d rather be in that hut where it’s warm instead of out here freezin’ my ass off. Someone’s gotta watch out for you n’ that jewel.” 

「巫女」::  The other girl couldn’t help but giggle. Well, she couldn’t say that Kikyou didn’t get her money’s worth~! Though sixty cakes...She glanced at the older girl who still looked bewildered.::

“Yeah, yeah. Sure. I can keep a secret...Though goodness knows how we’re going to keep sixty cakes a secret from him. Nose and all, you know?”

::She mused as she poked into the box of pastry, and lifted one out to inspect it. It was pretty~ She could say that much! The cake decorators had gone all out for these cakes.::

“What are we going to do with all of them? Especially before Inuyasha comes home!”