Otherworld 2 - 5 - The Search



Chapter 5 - The Search

Shido woke up a little over an hour later, alone in Tyrrl's dark, empty room. He sat up, head spinning from the loss of blood. He grabbed his clothes and put them on, wincing when he pulled on his trousers. Damn! It hurt! Putting aside the pain, he went out into the hall, calling for his men. He ran to his mate's room and threw open the door. Liho lay there, in a pool of blood. Sobbing with grief, Shido took her in his arms. His beloved mate! The men searched the room but there was no sign of Shilo. Of course not! Naraku had made good his promise. His son and his daughter were now hostages of that murdering Demon. Liho had fought and had been killed trying to protect their young son.
	Long hours passed by before Shido could bear to release Liho's body. He felt empty inside; both his mate and his partner had been taken from him. If it were not for his children still in jeopardy, he might never have moved again. But for them, he had to function. He finally gave Liho to his men and then went to his own room. He ripped off his clothes, which were covered in his mate's blood and his own and, after a scalding and very painful bath, dressed.
He would have to go to the Castle for help. With three Blood Demons helping Naraku, his men could never get close enough. He sent for a feeder and when the human came, he fed from the young man's wrist. He vowed that he would never again feed from his usual place. After feeding, he cloaked himself against the sun, and started the journey to Princess Aara.

Even going at their top speed, InuYasha, Souten, and Kome did not reach the way station until mid-morning the next day. They could smell the blood long before they reached the station. Souten went to Bankotsu first. He was a fellow Thunder Demon and a friend to both himself and his father. Kome checked out the other body that was blackened and burnt. Bankotsu had killed this one. This damage could only have been caused by a direct lightning strike. InuYasha went into the hut and came charging out.
	"Naraku was here!" he told excitedly them. "I'd know his scent anywhere! I am going after him. You two take Bankotsu and the other one back to the Castle. Ask them to send help after me." And without another word, he took off, following Naraku's scent. This was the first time Souten had ever seen a friend die and he was heartbroken. Tears ran down his face as he knelt next to Bankotsu's body.
Kome gently bent down to him and together they stood up. He then put Bankotsu's body in Souten's arms. "Let's take him home now." Souten nodded mutely, and took to the air. Kome slung the other body over his shoulder and raced after his friend.
	At top speed, they returned to the Castle, arriving after midnight. Kome left the unidentified body outside with the guards while Souten carried Bankotsu into the Castle. The Princess was waiting and he gently laid Bankotsu in her lap. She cradled his torn body in her arms, her tears running unrestrained down her face.
Hiten had returned to the Castle that afternoon, and now put his arm around his son's shoulder, comforting the heartbroken boy. Kome told Kurama about InuYasha and Naraku. The scent of Ashara and Tasuki had also been in the area - they must be captives also. Bankotsu must have died trying to save Ashara. There were other scents, but they didn't recognize them. Kurama sent Hiei and Hiten after InuYasha. Hiten picked the fire Demon up and then took the air. Hiei could easily sense InuYasha, being bound as brothers, so Hiten could fly as fast as possible. Kurama and Kaiba examined the other body, but it was badly damaged. When they turned it over, they noticed a large scar. Even with that clue, they had no idea whose body it was. Then they went inside to check Bankotsu's body. While Vash held his mate, they pulled him from Aara's arms. She buried herself in Vash's arms. On Bankotsu's left arm, Kurama found the characters he had written there: A + N. Kaiba looked at the Fox Demon. "The A must mean Ashara and the N is Naraku. Ashara is not a captive of Naraku! She is with him. That is what the plus has to mean. And he wrote this after he was hurt and dying, and after they all had left him. She must have known that Bankotsu was mortally wounded!"

	"Sadly, I agree. Tasuki would not go along with Naraku, no matter what. I feel that he is a captive. I don't understand how this happened." Kurama pondered it for a minute. "So, who is helping Naraku? Naraku by himself does not have the power to kill a Thunder Demon and to capture Tasuki, who has the power of fire. And the body that was killed by Bankotsu tells us that Naraku has help."

Kaiba agreed and added, "Tasuki went with Ashara three days ago, probably on the pretense of returning to Suzaku, since that's the direction they were heading. Tasuki was surely caught off guard and he cannot create flame, only direct it. And Ashara must have sent for Bankotsu, with the intention of capturing him. But he was stronger and fought. Wait! We forgot about Sesshomaru! If Ashara called Bankotsu to her, she probably called Sesshomaru also." Kurama went to the Princess and told her what they had deduced. She wiped the tears from her eyes and Vash helped her stand. She was dismayed, but not surprised by her daughter's duplicity. She had to bring Sesshomaru to her before he fell into Ashara's trap. But how? He was no longer bound to her and she could not call him to her. "I need Bakura," she said and the mage was sent for. When Bakura appeared, she asked, "Remember the crystals that you once made into communication devices?" He nodded. "Will they still work?" "Yes, but both of you would have to have them on your person to work." "Mine is upstairs. And Sesshomaru will be carrying his with him. He carries everything of value on him, a habit he picked up from long years of walking his land." With that, she ran up the stairs to find the pendant, calling to Vash to help her. Together, they tore their room apart. Where did she put that thing??? Vash called to her "Is this it?" and dangling from his fingers was her pendant. Thanking him, she held it tightly and sent her thoughts to Sesshomaru. It had to work! While she was looking for her pendant, Kurama sent messengers to Kaide's Village to bring Kouga, Kenshin, and Toyna, along with part of the wolf pack, to the Castle. Yusuke and Sanosuke would stay to protect the Village. Then he sent Toya and Suzuki to find Sesshomaru. He wished that Jin was still living in the Castle, but the Wind Demon had left them years ago, returning to his father's land. When the Princess returned to the main room, Kurama asked if the crystal had worked. "I don't know. He didn't answer, but I felt the connection. I only hope that he listens to me and not Ashara. But he is bound to her. I don't know what he will do."

	Just then, guards came into the halls, escorting Shido. The Demon Lord looked terrible, with deep dark circles under his eyes. He told them his story, leaving nothing out. Naraku had deceived them, although he still didn't understand how it had happened. Kurama told him what had happened to Bankotsu and Ashara.

Bakura listened to them and then spoke, "Many years ago, I knew a Demon that was a blending of two Demons. And he could take the form of both Demons at times. One mind but two bodies. Perhaps Naraku, who is comprised of many Demons, can do this." "He did say that Tyrrl and the others were just his puppets, extensions of himself." Shido added. "And he might have many more puppets." "How can we tell who they are?" Kurama asked. Shido asked to look at the other body and immediately recognized Vos. Kaiba showed him the scar on his back. "Vos did not have a scar. But Naraku does have one exactly like that! If all of his puppets have scars, then we can know them by the scar." Kurama immediately ordered every servant and guard examined for the scar. None were found, but they did report the disappearance of Rana, personal servant to Ashara. He had last been seen riding out with Ashara and Tasuki. "That's how he did it! Naraku used Rana to get to Ashara!" Aara exclaimed. "She might also be a victim after all, believing in his lies." "Naraku is an expert manipulator. Look how he managed to deceive us all." Kurama agreed. "Especially me." Shido said sadly, "And my stupidity cost me my family and friends!" "Don't be so hard on yourself." Aara told him. "He deceived us all. I think InuYasha may be the only one that was never deceived by him. But I am worried about him going against Naraku alone. I know that InuYasha almost killed Naraku before, but now he has Blood Demons with him. I tried calling him back but he would not obey. His blood lust is up and he only hears its call."

The next day, messengers were sent to Raizen to warn him of the escape of Naraku, and also to Suzaku, warning them that Tasuki was a captive of Naraku. In the afternoon, Kenshin, Kouga and Toyna arrived at the Castle. Kouga and Kome immediately sped off to find InuYasha and give him what aid they could.

	Hiei and Hiten had traveled northeast rather than due north; going by Hiei's binding sense. Suddenly, Hiei told Hiten to head downward. There was a smoky hazy in the air around a large area that encompassed almost half a mile. Hiei cautiously went into the haze, while Hiten went airborne again to watch over him from the sky. About half way into the haze, Hiei spotted a splotch of red. InuYasha was sitting against a tree trunk, his head hanging down and the front of his clothes covered in blood. Hiei called to Hiten and rushed to the Dog Demon. Hiten landed near them.

InuYasha was alive but nearly unconscious. While Hiei was checking on him, InuYasha suddenly heaved and vomited up blood. Hiei suddenly realized what had happened. Naraku had prepared for the possibility of a confrontation with InuYasha, the only one who had managed to hurt him. Naraku had targeted InuYasha's main weakness - his acute sense of smell. That's why the entire area was filled with hazy smoke. As soon as Hiei told Hiten his theory, Hiten picked up the Dog Demon and carried him away from the smoke. They had recently passed a small lake and Hiten took him there, with Hiei following close behind. Once at the lake, Hiten landed with InuYasha. During the short trip, InuYasha had vomited more blood up. He had already vomited up whatever had been in his stomach, and now he was now tearing out his own stomach lining with the spasms. His clothing and hair reeked of smoke. They removed his clothing and carried him into the lake to wash away as much of the smoke as they could. Hiei asked Hiten to fly back to the Castle as fast as he could with InuYasha while he continued to check out the area. He promised that he would not go after Naraku by himself. Hiten wrapped up InuYasha's smoke-filled clothes and strapped them to his back, then he wrapped the dog Demon in the light blanket he used for sleeping and took the sky. Blood kept bubbling from his mouth. During the trip back to the Castle, Hiten spotted Kouga and his son, Kome. He went down and told them where Hiei was and what had happened to InuYasha. The Wolf Demons sped off to find Hiei while Hiten continued his journey to the Castle. Hiei was still searching in vain for a trail when the wolves found him. Even with their sensitive noses, they could not find a trace of Naraku. The smoke had not only felled InuYasha, it had obliterated his trail. Naraku had disappeared! Although they were disheartened, the three Demons refused to give up. They moved north into the mountains that stood between Otherworld and Demon World. They would have been even more disheartened if they realized that if they had gone east instead of north to the next village, they would have found the clues they were looking for. Tyrrl and Ralf had gone into the town and taken three people from the village. One was a woman who was still nursing and two young men. The wet nurse was for Shilo. Naraku found out, much to his dismay, that Blood Demons only ate blood after they reached puberty, around the age of 13. Until then, they nursed from their mothers. No Blood Demon could tolerate solid food. Naraku now had to procure a wet nurse for Shilo and also a couple of feeders for Tyrrl and Ralf. His entourage now consisted of Ashara, Tasuki, Ralf, Tyrrl, Lido and Shilo, plus three humans for food. This was getting ridiculous! He was trying to escape without notice and he had a parade following him! He had absorbed Rana into himself, but he needed Tyrrl and Ralf for the hostages. Even though Naraku controlled their minds, the Blood Demons still functioned as individuals and that included feeding. But fortune favored him and the smoke bomb he had used on InuYasha worked better than he hoped. Hiei could not pick up his trail. Traveling by night and hiding by day, Naraku headed east to Seiryuu. Flying as fast as he could, Hiten reached the castle just after dawn. He handed the Dog Demon to Kaiba and then made a quick report to Kurama. Hiten was exhausted, stumbling to his bed, and he was asleep the second his head touched the pillow. Kaiba took InuYasha to his room and, after making an herb to heal his torn stomach lining, he asked Kurama to grow one of his sleeping plants so that InuYasha would rest. He asked Mirago to watch over him, telling her to be careful not to get too close or the plant would put her to sleep. Throughout the rest of the night, Mirago sat next to the balcony's open doors watching InuYasha sleep.

	The next morning Bankotsu was buried on top of a nearby hill overlooking the Castle. It seemed fitting to lay him at rest there. Aara was deeply affected by his death. Although he always seemed happy and carefree, she knew that Bankotsu had never known much peace in his short life. She prayed that his next life would truly be a happy one. Kurama planted a flowering cherry tree near his grave and it sprang to life, pink blossoms filling the air.