Love and War
Disclaimer: I do not own, or make any money from, the stories of Inuyasha.
All Inuyasha characters are the sole property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise and Viz
All original characters belong to me.
Chapter One
A New Warlord
Springtime. A beautiful blue, cloudless sky. Bright sunshine. An eerie air devoid of most sounds ... except for the buzzing of flies around a field of rotting, decaying corpses. The gentle clip-clop of a horse's hooves could be heard entering the battlefield slowly. A royally appointed arabian and his rider examined the carnage that lay before them. In the distance, the galloping thunder of a herd of horses broke the silence,
"My lord!", called the man leading the horses and the soldiers riding them.
The man on the magnificent stallion turned towards the approaching army,
"Ahhh. General Ashikawa. I am glad to see you in one piece.", the man spoke to the leader. His language was native but, his accent was not.
"Lord Nishimura, the castle has been captured.", the general announced.
"He is dead?", Nishimura asked.
"Yes, m'lord. You can now take your place as the new daimyo of this region.", answered the general.
"Very well. You and your men will be well compensated for your assistance.", Nishimura informed them.
Nishimura turned the stallion around and steered him away from the battlefield and on towards the castle. His army followed close behind. The band of horses entered the castle town and proceeded to the beautiful castle in the middle. Townspeople stared at the sight of the new warlord as murmurs rumbled through the throng. Nishimura stopped at the castle gates. Lead samurai opened the gates for him to enter. He just sat there and stared,
'Ahhh. Takeda castle. It is mine.', he thought proudly.
He was about to urge his horse onward when a flurry of activity erupted inside the castle. Moans and cries could be heard as a group of samurai were forced outside,
"My Lord!", said a guard, "These samurai refuse to give you allegiance."
Nishimura stared the samurai down, "You are Takeda's men?", he questioned.
"Yes.", answered one of the samurai, "And we will never bow to you. Takeda was a good man and he didn't deserve what you did to him!"
"I see.", Nishimura said. He turned to the guard, "Kill them.", he ordered.
The guard bowed, "Yes. We will allow them seppuku.", said the guard.
Nishimura raised his eyebrow, "Ritual suicide? For traitors? Absolutely not. They shall die a traitor's death. Burn them. Alive."
The samurais faces registered fear and confusion. The guard looked at his lord in disbelief, "My lord?", he queried.
"You have a problem with my order? I ordered you to burn them at the stake ... alive. In the center of town for all to see. Now, carry out my order or you will join them."
The guard looked nervously at the general and swallowed hard. The punishment was not one that Japanese warlords used and it bothered him greatly. Realizing that he had no choice, he regained his composure and ordered his men,
"You heard the lord. Let's go."
Nishimura smiled evilly as the samurais were led away. General Ashikawa studied the lord and thought,
'He is not one to be messed with. He will not hesitate to kill whatever and whoever is in his way.'
--
Nishimura took his place, sitting on an ornate pillow in the main chamber of the castle. He looked around at the paintings and katanas that decorated the walls. His appearance was not Japanese. He was much taller, standing nearly 6 ft, and his face was clean-shaven. His dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail. His manner of dress was similar to that of mainland China.
A guard entered the chambers. With him were a woman and a young girl, dressed in brightly colored kimonos,
"My lord. I bring you the wife and daughter of Takeda."
Nishimura stood up, "Ahhh. Such lovely maids.", he said, with a lecherous voice.
Coming nearer to the older woman, he realized she was with child,
"I do not need a pregnant whore here.", his voice was filled with disgust, "Especially if she's pregnant with the child of my adversary!", he pushed the woman towards the guard, "Take her away. Make sure she suffers the same fate as the traitorous samurais."
The woman pleaded for her life,
"No, wait my lord. Please, reconsider ... my child ... please ..."
Nishimura wasted no time. With lightning speed and deadly accuracy, he shoved his sword through the woman's belly,
"Is no longer a concern.", he spoke, as he removed the blood covered blade and the woman collapsed into a heap on the floor, screaming in pain, "Take her away!", he ordered.
The young girl quivered in fear, silent tears flowing down her cheeks as she watched what had occurred to her mother. Nishimura came over to her and gently lifted her chin with his fingers,
"Ahhh, my lady. What is your name?"
The young girl mumbled, "Ai."
He smiled, "That means 'love', am I correct?"
She nodded feebly. Her body shook with fear,
"How old are you?"
Taking a deep breath, she replied, "I just turned 13."
"You will do fine in my bed.", he told her.
"But, my lord, I am slated to marry soon."
"Fine. He can have you when I am finished with you.", his smiled chilled her to the bone. He summoned a guard, "Take Lady Ai up to my bed chambers. I will join her shortly.", he dismissed the guard with a wave of his hand. He returned to his spot on the pillow,
"Ahhh. This will do nicely.", he said to empty air.
--
"SHINTA! SIT DOWN!"
SLAM!
"KA-GO-ME!"
Kagome looked at her husband, "OOOPSS!", she said with a smile.
Inuyasha stood up and brushed the dirt off his face, "Dammit all! I wish you would take this fucking necklace off of me!"
Kagome smiled coyly, "No can do."
"Why not? Why do you need to control me ... still ... after all this time?", he demanded.
"Just keeping ya honest.", her attention diverted, "SHINTA! STOP CLIMBING UP THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE! KAI ... STOP EMULATING YOUR BROTHER! GET BACK HERE! KAI! SHINTA! WILL YOU TWO JUST SIT ..."
SLAM!
Kagome cringed, "whoops ... sorry."
"If you refuse to take this goddamn necklace off of me then at least change the fucking trigger word, wench!", Inuyasha seethed.
A little female voice began chanting, "fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking ..."
Now it was Kagome's turn to seethe,
"INUYASHA! SIT BOY!"
SLAM!
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR, WENCH?"
"Watch your language, Inuyasha. Your daughter is in the parroting stage. Didn't you hear her repeating your words?"
Inuyasha huffed, "Fine. If you don't want me around, I'll see what Miroku is up to."
"Please do, Inuyasha.", Kagome said, getting back to her work weeding the herb garden.
Inuyasha started to walk away. He stopped and turned back to look at his hut and family. It had been six years since Kagome had been granted her god-like powers and changed into a half-demon. Although she looked human in every way, her senses were highly acute. Her powers ranged from spiritual to demonic to the divine. While she could call on her demonic or spiritual powers at any time, the divine powers could only be used with the permission of the gods.
He watched his sons play around the tree by the hut. Shinta looked identical to Inuyasha. He had long flowing, silvery-white hair, two white, fluffy dog ears on the top of his head and golden-amber eyes. There was no way to tell that he wasn't Inuyasha's biological child. He remembered when they found the baby underneath his dead mother, an inu-demoness from a low ranking clan. The child's father was obviously human. He and Kagome adopted him and named him after the baby wolf demon they had saved from Naraku. Now 7 years old, Shinta was coming into his own demonic powers, learning and experimenting with each new discovery.
Kai was now 6 years old and extremely precocious. He also had long, silvery-white hair but, his ears were black. His eyes were an interesting combination of violet and gold that turned a deep brown on his human nights. Kai was the child Inuyasha never expected to have ... he and Kagome had tried for a child with no success. Kagome finally conceived on the night that the demon bats attacked the village. Inuyasha transformed when she became injured and, after defeating the bats, ferried Kagome away. His battle lust satieted, his demon lust needed attending too. When it was discovered she was unexpectedly pregnant, every one came to the same conclusion. For Inuyasha's semen to be fertile he had to be a transformed demon.
He and Kagome tested this theory out when Kai was 2. Kagome wanted to try for another child. As luck would have it, the night that Inuyasha smelled would be Kagome's optimum night to conceive, a blue demon went on a rampage in a nearby village. By this time, Inuyasha was becoming more adept at allowing his demon blood to takeover his body without losing his mind. Destroying the demon satisfied his demonic thirst for blood and he returned to the village hungry for sex. Kagome conceived their daughter, Izayoi, that night. Now 3 years old, the little girl was the spitting image of her mama, with long, jet black hair and chocolate brown eyes. Proof that she was Inuyasha's was evident by the small, black furry triangles that adorned her head and the claws and fangs she sported.
His eyes fell on Kagome again. She had changed over the past six years. Although she looked no older than 16, her body had matured greatly. Her muscular, tomboyish frame had been transformed into a raving beauty. Her hips were full and her legs had taken on a more shapely tone. Her waist remained small, but larger than it had been when she traveled in search of Naraku and the jewel. Her breasts, always larger than an average Japanese girl's, had become rounder and fuller after Kai's birth. Her hair had grown longer and she had to tie it up to keep from sitting on it. He smiled as his eyes fell back to her stomach. Kagome was pregnant with their fourth child ... due in late summer. He looked at their modest hut. Yup, he would have to enlarge a bit to house their growing brood.
His concentration was disrupted by his friend's voice,
"HELLO, MY GOOD MAN!", Miroku called out.
Inuyasha turned to see who Miroku was talking to. He sighed. A man driving a horse drawn wagon entered the village. A woman and three youngsters sat inside the wagon that was filled with their personal belongings,
"Can I help you, sir?", Miroku asked as he walked up to the wagon.
"You are the village spiritual man?", asked the wagon driver.
"Yes, you could say that. I share my duties with a couple of Shinto priestesses. What can we do for you?"
"Do you have room in your village for my family. It has been an exhausting journey and I am looking for a peaceful village away from any wars to settle my family down."
"Of course, my good man. My name is Miroku and I welcome you to our humble village."
"Ahhh. Thank you. My name is Takahiro."
Miroku turned and saw Inuyasha watching the exchange, "Inuyasha. Some assistance please."
Inuyasha sighed again before walking over to his friend. The village had also changed in the last 6 years. With Kagome's powers and Miroku's management, the village had become a bit wealthier. The crops boomed forcing the villagers to build silos for the excess rice and grain. What they didn't need for the village was sold at market for a hefty price Looking to cash in, more people began coming to get land in the village. Never one for crowds, this made Inuyasha a little uncomfortable.
The man eyed Inuyasha,
"You allow demons to reside here in this village, monk?", he asked, is voice nervous.
"We have a couple, yes.", Miroku answered, "Inuyasha isn't an ordinary demon. He protects this village and others around it from demons who would do us harm. I assure you, he is perfectly harmless. Inuyasha, could you assist this man's family over to the hut where they can relax?"
"Yea. Yea. Whatever.", Inuyasha grumbled.
Miroku ignored Inuyasha's complaint, "My wife runs a small tea house. She'll be glad to offer you some tea and you can relax for a while.", he said to the man's family.
Inuyasha and Miroku assisted the woman and three children, two boys and a girl, from the wagon,
"Follow me.", Inuyasha instructed.
As Inuyasha led the family to Sango's tea hut, Miroku directed the man to a place he could park his wagon. Inuyasha parted the reed door,
"Yo. Sango. Ya got guests.", he called to the back of the hut.
A small child of about eight walked out from the back,
"Hi. I'm Suki. My mama will be out real soon. She's changing my brother's diaper.", she informed the guests.
"Ok, kid. They're in your hands now.", Inuyasha stated as he walked out the door.
Suki smiled, "Bye, Uncle Inuyasha."
A young woman emerged from the back, carrying an infant in a carrier on her back,
"Suki,", she spoke to the girl, "Help Cho bring the tea and dumplings up."
"Certainly, mama."
The little girl skipped to the back of the hut as the woman introduced herself,
"Hello, my name is Sango. I assume you've met my husband, Miroku and also Inuyasha?", she queried.
The woman nodded, "Yes. My name is Hisa. This is my oldest son, Taro, he's 12. My second son, Jiro, he's 9. And my daughter, Hoshi, she's 6.", she introduced herself and her children.
Two girls brought out trays with cups, a teapot and skewers of dumplings and began to pass them out. Sango started,
"This is my oldest daughter, Suki. She's 8. Her sister, Cho, is 7. My oldest son, Mikito, is 6. There's also my 5 year old son, Reiji, my 3 year old daughter, Tae, and this guy,", she said, pointing to the child on her back, "His name is Junji. He's a year old.", she concluded.
"My, you have your hands full, don't you?", said the woman.
Sango laughed, "Yes, I suppose I do."
A young maid walked in with some boxes,
"Oh, Rin. Thank you so much for bringing those boxes in.", Sango acknowledged the girl.
"Certainly, Lady Sango. Is there anything else you wish me to do?"
"No. Not right now. Kohaku was looking for you earlier. I think he said he'd be down by the god tree. Oh, Rin, this is Hisa and her children Taro, Jiro and Hoshi.",Sango introduced the people.
Rin bowed politely, "Are you moving in?", she asked.
"We hope to, yes, child.", Hisa answered her.
Rin smiled a small smile "Ok. Well, I'm off.", she waved to Sango and walked out the door.
Rin saw Inuyasha a short distance from the tea hut,
"Master Inuyasha?"
He turned, "Yea, Rin?"
"Have you seen Kohaku?"
"I think he's down near goshinboku. You look unhappy. What's up with you?"
"I'm just tired of all these people moving in. I liked the village better when it was smaller ... not that I like villages that much. I miss traveling with Lord Sesshoumaru."
"You must hate villages if traveling with Sesshoumaru and Jaken sounds better."
Inuyasha felt a FLOP! on his head,
"Hey, Rin. Kohaku's looking for you. He said to tell you he's at the waterfall."
"Thanks Shippou!", Rin said as she ran off.
Inuyasha grabbed the kitsune's tail and took him off his head, "Don't you have a girlfriend to bother, runt?"
"Geez. Looks like somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. What's your problem?"
Inuyasha looked at Shippou, "Nothin', runt.", he lied, while thinking, 'Rin, I know how you feel.'
--
Miroku walked beside Takahiro on their way to the tea hut,
"I hear this village has a very powerful priestess.", the man spoke.
"Yes. Lady Kagome is extremely powerful. We are grateful that she is here."
"That is good.", the man agreed, then changed the subject, "On my way through the plains, I overheard that the local daimyo was overthrown in a vicious coup."
"What?", Miroku questioned, 'Takeda was taken down?', he thought, fearfully.
--
A/N: Hello and welcome to the sequel to "Who's That Girl". Just so we are all on the page I am on ... my complete and 100 inspiration for Lord Nishimura was actor Jason Isaacs and his character, Colonel William Tavington, in Mel Gibson's "The Patriot", with a smidgen of his character, Lucius Malfoy, from the "Harry Potter" franchise thrown in for good measure. Yup. Really evil and creepy. I really love these two character's of Isaacs' ... they both make my skin crawl. And that's what I wanted in my character, Nishimura. Chapter two will be up shortly. See ya soon!