"Hmph, ambush the demon? You think you can pull that off?"
With Kagome siding with Hojo Akitoshi time and again, the jealousy-prone Inuyasha finally couldn't sit still any longer.
Before Kagome could speak, Inuyasha stepped forward.
"Hojo Akitoshi, was it? I think you'd better stay in the back. Look at those scrawny arms and legs."
"Don't go failing to beat the demon and delivering yourself straight into its mouth instead."
Once Inuyasha finished speaking, Kagome's and Akechi Mitsuhide's reactions went without saying.
Both glared furiously at him. Even Kaede, who was still caught between hope and worry...
She, too, rather resented Inuyasha for blurting things out without reading the room.
After all, Hojo Akitoshi had contributed both his own efforts and his men. Even if he hadn't achieved anything yet, he deserved credit for trying.
The strategy he'd proposed was meant to save more villagers, and he was even willing to put himself in danger.
And what about you, Inuyasha?
You haven't lifted a finger this whole time, so what are you doing standing here making snide remarks?
Could it be...
Kaede noticed something a little odd in Inuyasha's eyes, particularly the way his gaze shifted between Kagome and Hojo Akitoshi.
Now I get it!
With the same "there is only one truth" expression on her face, Kaede didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"You!"
Kagome and Akechi Mitsuhide were just about to give Inuyasha a piece of their minds.
But Hojo Akitoshi stopped them, his gaze sharpening as he stared into the darkness ahead.
"It's coming."
"Huh?"
As Hojo Akitoshi's words fell, the others had no time to ask what was happening.
The villagers of Kaede's Village, who had been fighting fiercely against the Hojo Army's Hatamoto Samurai under Yura of the Hair's control...
Just as Hojo Akitoshi had predicted, they all abandoned the samurai in front of them in an instant.
Then, with lightning speed, they charged headlong toward the walls of fire on either side, heedless of their lives.
Had Hojo Akitoshi not warned them in advance, this sudden turn of events...
Would have turned every last villager still there into a half-cooked roast turkey!
Fortunately, thanks to their lord's arrangements, the Hojo Army's many Hatamoto Samurai were already prepared for such an emergency.
The demon-controlled villagers of Kaede's Village moved fast, but the samurai were no slower.
Though the scene looked somewhat frantic and rushed, the samurai still managed to hold the poor villagers back.
"Hmph."
From the darkness, Yura of the Hair saw that her scheme had only half succeeded.
Her ample chest rose and fell as she used every ounce of her willpower to suppress her anger.
"Don't get angry. My plan still worked!"
Cold killing intent surged in her eyes as her graceful figure advanced with the churning, invisible Hair Sea.
This time, Yura of the Hair was going to take action herself.
Following the gaps the samurai had left while saving the villagers, she was determined to kill Hojo Akitoshi, who had repeatedly thwarted her that day.
Then she would seize the Shikon Jewel!
"My lord, watch out!"
Staring into the pitch-black night ahead, Akechi Mitsuhide was no fool.
His lord had already warned them, and the prickling alarm of his warrior's instincts was stabbing at his heart as well.
Stepping in front of Hojo Akitoshi, Akechi Mitsuhide prepared to live up to his samurai convictions.
"Move!"
Unfortunately, while Hojo Akitoshi appreciated Akechi Mitsuhide's good intentions, he wasn't actually going to hide behind him.
And let his subordinate take the hit for him.
"Throw the dye bombs!"
With a roar, Hojo Akitoshi slashed his blade along the direction his instincts indicated, all while continuing to issue orders.
"Got it!"
The feedback from Hojo Akitoshi's sword was unmistakable: his blade had indeed cut through something.
Meanwhile, the dye bombs thrown by the samurai guarding him revealed the newly attacking invisible Hair Sea.
"Amazing!"
Admiration filled Kagome's lovely eyes. She had never imagined Hojo Akitoshi could be so formidable.
She stared at the demon's hair scattered on the ground, then looked up at Hojo Akitoshi, who stood at the very front, leading the samurai steadily forward.
The girl gazed at him in fascination for a moment before hurriedly picking up her bow and arrows to help.
"Hmph, I'm way stronger than him!"
If I can't stand it anymore, then why should I?
Though he kept saying Kagome wasn't cute at all, that she was the ugliest girl in the world...
And the misunderstanding over his fifty-year sealing had yet to be cleared up, seeing Kagome, who had a face identical to Kikyo's...
Acting that way toward Hojo Akitoshi over and over...
Inuyasha simply couldn't take it anymore. To salvage his dignity, and driven by his male instincts...
He spat out an insult, then went all in, swinging his claws as he shot forward like a gust of wind.
He moved as fast as wind and lightning. Before Hojo Akitoshi and the others at the front could react...
The surging Hair Sea controlled by the demon had been shredded into a carpet of scraps by Inuyasha's claws in the blink of an eye.
Standing ankle-deep in those scraps with his back to everyone, the sharp night wind blowing around him...
His red Robe of the Fire Rat billowed as Inuyasha showed them a handsome profile and a crooked grin he thought would make him infinitely more charming.
Pretty impressive, huh?
Imagining the praise that was sure to come, Inuyasha had everything ready, just waiting to show off in a fresh and dazzling way.
"Lord Hojo Akitoshi, I saw it! I saw it!"
"There's one strand among all this hair that's different. I think that must be the one connected to the demon herself."
Yet while Inuyasha's fantasies were beautiful, reality sometimes had a harsh, bare-bones beauty of its own.
Kagome didn't even look at Inuyasha as he tried to show off. She simply hurried to Hojo Akitoshi's side and spoke urgently.
"That ugly woman!"
With the frustration of someone whose flirtatious glances had been wasted on a blind person, Inuyasha watched Kagome chattering at Hojo Akitoshi's side out of the corner of his eye.
His face flushed red with anger.
"I-!"
Inuyasha was just about to curse them out, but Yura of the Hair, who was actually even angrier than he was, had already attacked.
A cool yet seductive female voice rang out through the night sky.
"Demon Fire Hair!"
Along with that voice came a towering wall of roaring flames!
"Fall back!"
Acting without hesitation, Hojo Akitoshi scooped up Kagome beside him and immediately retreated.
The battle-hardened Hatamoto Samurai and Akechi Mitsuhide withdrew with him.
"Huh?"
Looking from side to side, Kaede realized she seemed to have been forgotten. Not one of the retreating samurai showed any intention of helping an old woman like her.
With a resentful look, she could only get her old legs moving and hurry after the main group.
But Kaede certainly wasn't the only one who had been forgotten.
Amid the raging flames Yura of the Hair had unleashed, someone rushed out with his clothes pulled over his head and face.
A closer look revealed that it was none other than Inuyasha, who had been swallowed by the fire moments earlier.
"You bastards!"
Having escaped the flames, Inuyasha stamped his feet as he glared at everyone standing safely behind him.
If not for the treasured robe he wore, impervious to water and fire, that attack would have finished him!
And what were Hojo Akitoshi and the others doing?
Didn't a single one of them think of me?
The more Inuyasha thought about it, the angrier and more hurt he became. But before he could start cursing again...
"A half-demon really is just a half-demon. To think you'd side with humans."
Yura of the Hair attacked again, swinging Red Glow, the sharp katana in her hand that could itself be considered a treasured blade.
The female demon had her sights set on Inuyasha's neck.
"Damn it!"
Having been distracted by Hojo Akitoshi and the others, Inuyasha had no chance to react.
By the time he realized he was in trouble...
It all seemed a little too late.
Before you continue