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 Nine

Refuge

Sango took a tally of the escaped villagers and returned to Kagome and an injured Kaede,

"We have 5 elderly, besides Lady Kaede,", she informed Kagome, "Except for my 6 and your 4 ... and Shippou ... most of the children over 6 were either captured or killed. We have 13 children under 6 ... including two suckling infants. Then there's us, Hisa, and 4 other village women that escaped. And ... I don't know what became of Rin. She was with us ... but, she disappeared.", Sango finished, sitting down beside Kirara.

Sango's children huddled up to her,

"Where's father?", asked Cho.

Kaede and Kagome watched Sango's eyes filled with tears,

"I don't know.", she answered.

Kagome looked out of Onigumo's cave into the dawn sky. Thanks to Kazemaru's cleansing of the cave, they were able to use it as a sanctuary. She inhaled deeply. Her own pups had asked the same question of her, earlier,

Flashback

'Where's daddy?'

End flashback

'Inuyasha. Miroku. Where are you?', she worriedly thought.

--

Inuyasha felt himself being unceremoniously dumped onto the ground, his aching body complaining the whole time,

'At least I'm alive.', he thought to himself, silently cursing his mortal body.

As he felt the sun register on his face, he felt his strength returning. His mind realized that his claws, fangs and dog-ears were re-forming,

'The moonless night has ended!'

As he began to regain conciousness, his nose twitched,

'SHIT!'

He sat up, trying to ascertain where he was,

"Sesshoumaru!", he spat out.

"You filthy whelp!", his brother replied, "I save your sorry, disgusting ningen ass and that's how you greet me?"

"I didn't ask you to save me.", Inuyasha replied, getting up, 'Ouch! That still hurts!', he thought, then realized, "I'm healing! My healing powers have returned!", he commented out loud.

"Of course. You're on sanctified demon ground. Humans cannot survive here and neither can their influences.", Sesshoumaru informed him.

Inuyasha looked at him, his interest piqued, "Do you know what's going on out there, Sesshoumaru? Because if you do, you'd better tell me."

"I owe you no explanation. All I do know is what Myouga has told me. The Western Lands haven't been attacked yet, though it is only a matter of time. Most of the Eastern Lands have fallen to that ningen. The demons have run scared to Toutousai's mountain. The Western human lords have looked to me for assistance."

"Will you help them?", Inuyasha asked.

"I have no time for human wars.", his brother replied.

"Then, why were you at Kaede's village?", Inuyasha asked Sesshoumaru suspiciously.

"Hello, Master Inuyasha.", came a female voice.

"RIN! What the hell are you doing here? You left with Sango ...", Inuyasha spoke.

"And, Lord Sesshoumaru sent Ah-Un for me.", she replied.

"She'll be safer here than with the taijya.", Sesshoumaru scoffed.

'Taijya,', Inuyasha's mind sped up, "Rin ... were Kagome and the pups safe?"

"Yes.", she replied, then her tone turned worried, "Do you know what became of Kohaku?"

"No, I don't. Did my family escape to the cave?", he pushed her.

"Yes. That's where Ah-Un came to get me.", Rin explained.

"Fine. I'm off.", Inuyasha spun around and disappeared.

Sesshoumaru just watched as his brother disappeared,

"Come, Rin.", Sesshoumaru told her.

"Right away, my lord.", she said, taking Ah-Un's reins.

--

Miroku sputtered and shook himself off when a bucket of water was thrown into his face,

"Get up, holy man.", he heard the voice.

Miroku opened his eyes and started to sit up. He realized he was inside a building. As his eyes focused, he took in the ornateness of the room,

'Am I in a castle?', he thought.

His thoughts were answered when his eyes focused on the men in front of him,

"NISHIMURA!", Miroku spat out.

"Ahh, I'm pleased to know that you recognize me, priest.", the lord spoke with a sly smile.

"I'm a monk, not a priest.", Miroku informed him, as he stood up, "Where's my staff?"

"Do you actually think I would let you keep a weapon?", Nishimura laughed, "I'm not stupid. Oh, by the way, allow me to introduce you to your commanding officer. This is General Ashikawa."

"Commanding officer?", Miroku queried, "I am a peaceful man of the cloth. I do not fight battles."

"Oh really?", Nishimura looked at him in mocked surprise, "According to the general, you fought amazingly well last night against my troops."

"I fight only when I must to survive.", Miroku said, quietly, then, looking at the general, "Where is Kohaku?"

Ashikawa stared back, "Kohaku? I have no idea who you are talking about."

"A young man from the village ...", Miroku explained.

"I don't ask names, monk. As long as they are strong and healthy enough to fight, that's all I care about.", the general told him.

Miroku sat back down on the floor. He knew he had to come up with something and fast. Right now, he simply resigned himself to surviving.

--

"DADDY!", Izayoi cried out.

Kagome rushed to the front of the cave, Shinta and Kai on her heels,

"INUYASHA! You're safe!", she hugged him tight, as three pups jumped on their dad.

"Where's Shiori?", he asked of his littlest pup.

"She's fine. She's with Kaede, sleeping.", Kagome informed him, "Do you have any idea where Miroku, Kohaku, and Rin are at?"

"Miroku's not here?", Inuyasha asked her and she shook her head, "Damn! Nishimura's army must have captured him along with Kohaku. Rin is with Sesshoumaru."

"Sesshoumaru?", Kagome looked at him strangely.

"I'll explain later. As long as you and the pups are okay, I'm gonna go look for Miroku and Kohaku.", Inuyasha told her.

He looked deep into her eyes. He tried to convey as much of his feelings as he could in that one, short look. Kissing her deeply, he conveyed his gratefulness that she was alive. Hugging the three present pups, he backed up slowly, as if afraid to look away. Finally, he turned and disappeared,

"Hurry up, Inuyasha.", she pleaded to the air.

--

Inuyasha sniffed the air,

'I can pick up Miroku's scent.', he thought, thankful for that, 'But, Kohaku's scent has dissipated. They must have moved him elsewhere.'

He raced at lightning speed. Leaping through the treetops, he was able to catch glimpses of neighboring villages,

'All the villages are nothing but ruins, just as Sango said.', he thought, 'And, no one buried the dead.', he thought, sadly, as he saw mutilated corpses ... the results of wild dogs, wolves and carrion birds.

He landed on a tall oak just outside the castle town. As he watched the town, he realized that the only townspeople he saw were either elderly, older women, or very young children. The elderly and women, he saw, were working making a building,

'A temple?', he questioned himself.

He sniffed again, 'Miroku is definately inside.', he realized.

He was about to leap into a tree within the town when he stopped. He saw a man atop a brilliant, white stallion approach along with another man on a lesser steed,

'That's Nishimura and the leader of the army from last night.', Inuyasha realized.

Inuyasha was about to leap down and confront them, using the Tessaiga to destroy them once and for all, and end this hell that the warlord had subjected the surrounding areas too. As he was about to jump, he heard the lord cackle,

"Look at him, Ashikawa, maybe we should take some target practice."

Inuyasha followed Nishimura's stare. He saw an elderly man, obviously blind, attempting to drink from a cup held up by a woman. To Inuyasha's surprise, Nishimura raised a bow and arrow instead of a gun. The lord notched his arrow and sent it flying, just barely missing the old man. The woman dropped the cup and stomped over to the lord,

"My lord,", she said, using politeness even though her voice was curt, "He has worked on your church endlessly for 5 weeks now. He is starving and thirsty. And, thanks to your army, now blind. He is of no threat to you."

"I don't give a damn if he is a threat. He is a waste to me. He can no longer work so he shouldn't be using up te grain and water from the other workers.", Nishimura smirked, as he notched another arrow and fired, this time hitting the man squarely in the chest. Inuyasha cringed as the man fell over. The woman ran up to him,

"FATHER!", she cried out.

Another arrow flew through the air and hit the woman in the back, killing her,

"That's for talking back, bitch.", Nishimura spoke.

Inuyasha decided now was the time. He unsheathed Tessaiga and prepared to leap when he realized,

'Tessaiga?'

He stared at the untransformed sword,

'What the ...'

His mind traveled back to Sesshoumaru's words,

'Of course. You're on sanctified demon ground. Humans cannot survive here and neither can their influences.'

'Damn. Nishimura has something to do with the loss of some of my powers. And, now I'm in his territory. So, it's probably affecting the Tessaiga. As well as any of my demonic powers.'

Coming to the realization that he was defenseless against Nishimura and, especially a gun, Inuyasha decided that stealth was the preferable option in rescuing Miroku. Staying outside the town, he went from tree to tree until Miroku's scent became the strongest. He then entered the town through the trees and swiftly entered the castle,

'Damn. I hate having to watch myself.', he thought, as he slowly wound his way around the castle.

Miroku's scent permeated a few rooms, 'Shit. They've had him all around this damn place.'

Peering in one room, he saw Miroku's shakujo in a corner. He walked in and grabbed the holy staff. Hearing voices outside, he slipped into a small room. As the voices faded away, he was about to leave when,

"Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha turned around. Sitting on the floor, bound, was Miroku. Inuyasha quickly went over to him and sliced the ropes holding him,

"At least you're alive, monk.", Inuyasha said to him, "Here, I believe you're missing this.", he said, handing the staff to his friend.

"My shakujo. Where was it?"

"PFFT. Next room. C'mon. We can't dawdle here. My demonic powers are useless here.", Inuyasha informed him.

"As are my spiritual powers. This is the center of whatever is disturbing our world."

"I won't disagree with you there. I feel like it's the day before the moonless night."

Miroku followed Inuyasha as the half-demon slowly wound his way back to where he had entered. Kneeling down, Miroku hopped on his back,

"Let's get the hell outta here. I feel like shit!", Inuyasha exclaimed as he leapt out of the castle window,

"Shouldn't we find Kohaku?", Miroku asked, as they left the castle town,

"He's not here. His scent isn't around here. He was, but now he's gone and the scent is too eroded for me to follow.", Inuyasha told him.

"And Sango?", Miroku asked, his voice concerned,

"Fine. As are your pups. They're with Kagome, Kaede, and Shippou at Onigumo's cave."

Miroku cringed as he saw the remains of the villages,

"Have you seen Kaede's village yet, Inuyasha?"

"No. But, I was gonna go and see if there's anything salvageable there for the survivors.", Inuyasha told him.

The two landed near the goshinboku. Thick, black smoke arose from the village,

"All I can smell is smoke and blood.", Inuyasha said to Miroku.

They headed into the village,

"DAMN!", Inuyasha swore.

"Everything is gone.", Miroku said softly, "The huts, the fields, the animals.", he began to pray over the dead bodies.

Inuyasha stared at the corpses littering the ground,

"Let's bury these people. It's the least we can do for them."

It was dark by the time Miroku and Inuyasha returned to the cave. Along their way, Inuyasha captured as many deer, boar, and fish as he and Miroku could carry. Their arrival was greeted with relief and happiness. Sango didn't want to release her husband from her grip.

Kagome had fires lit in the cave. As she and Kaede prepared the food, Inuyasha took Shinta and Kai out to gather some wild vegetables and roots. Sitting around the cave with the few surviving villagers, the half-demon made sure that all the humans and the children had their fill before he ate. He eyed Kagome and her still half-full plate,

"Why aren't you eating?", he asked her.

Kagome stared at the plate, "It's mostly boar liver that's left.", she said.

"And? You need to eat all the organ meat you can. I've told you that before. You're feeding a pup ... you need more food."

"Shiori's fat and happy. I'm not short on milk ... in fact, I've nursed two other village babies today who lost their mothers."

"All the more reason. NOW EAT!", he ordered her.

Kagome picked up her chopsticks and picked at the meat. Inuyasha always gave her extra organ meat when she was nursing and frankly, ever since she had learned what his special cold medicine was made of, she had to force herself to eat liver,

"Ka-go-me ...", Inuyasha stressed every syllable,

She smiled a fake smile and forced herself to eat,

"Happy?"

"I will be when that plate is empty."

"Who do you think I am ... one of your pups?"

"When you act like this ... yes."

She stuck her tongue out at him in defiance,

"Keep it up and I'll take you across my knee.", he teased.

"Promises Promises.", she teased back.

Shiori squirmed and fussed in her basket. Inuyasha leaned over and picked her up, cradling her against his chest and patting her back. She quieted down immediately. Kagome watched as Izayoi crawled into her father's lap and got comfortable,

"Seems you have a way with women, Inuyasha."

It was Shippou.

"Yea. He's two-timing again.", Kagome teased.

"It's my pups. I can two time, three time, however many time ... the more girls you have ..."

"Oh hush, Inuyasha. I'm just impressed with how the babies respond to you.", Kagome said.

"And, what's that supposed to mean?", he looked at her.

"It means,", Shippou spoke up, "That with the way you always treated me, it's amazing how you treat the children."

"HMPH! Yea, you were always a pain in my ass."

Kaede came up to the front of the cave,

"Inuyasha. Miroku says the village is in ruins."

"Yea.", he agreed, "It'll take a hell of alot of work to get it functional again."

"Only for it to be raided by Nishimura's men again.", said Shippou.

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders. He knew the kitsune was right.

"So, what do we do?", asked Kagome, "We can't live in here."

"And, returning to the village isn't a wise decision.", Kaede concurred.

"I have an idea..." Inuyasha started, looking lost in thought.

"What?", Kagome, Kaede and Shippou chorused.

Inuyasha looked out at the night sky, "I'll tell you tomorrow. There's nothing we can do right now. Let's get some sleep."

Kagome sighed but, Shippou and Kaede yawned,

"Good idea.", Shippou agreed.

Inuyasha laid the now sleeping infant in her basket and placed a very tired Izayoi on the floor. She began to complain until Shinta and Kai joined her and the three fell asleep curled up together. Inuyasha pulled Kagome into his lap and she snuggled into his hitoe. Her breathing soon indicated to Inuyasha that sleep had won its battle. He gazed back outside the cave, up at the stars,

'I wonder if it's still there.'

--

Shortly after midnight, Inuyasha slipped a sleeping Kagome off his lap and laid her beside the children. He waited a few moments, making sure she didn't stir. Confident she was sound asleep, he exited the cave and disappeared.

--

Kagome awoke as the sun hit her face. She stretched and yawned. Seeing that Inuyasha wasn't there, she assumed he had gone off to get breakfast. Shiori began to fuss and make her hunger known,

"Wow. You slept through the night.", she said to the baby, as she prepared to nurse.

When Inuyasha hadn't returned by mid-morning, she became concerned. Kaede had started to cook the last of the meat and vegetables from last night for the hungry refugees. Shinta, Kai and Izayoi went to play with Shippou and the other children. Kagome sat at the entrance to the cave, soon joined by Miroku and Sango,

"Where did Inuyasha get too?", Miroku asked.

As if knowing he was being talked about, Inuyasha landed directly in front of the cave,

"INUYASHA!", Kagome got up and ran to him, throwing her arms around him, "Where were you?"

"Sorry to worry you.", he said, softly into her hair as he wrapped his arms around her, "It took me a little longer than I expected."

"What took you a little longer than expected, Inuyasha?", Miroku questioned.

"Fixing up the new village."

"HUH?", said Sango.

"C'mon. It's kinda far. Get the villagers. We'll put as many elderly on Kirara's back as we can. I was also able to find some horses. I think they escaped from some of the villages. The other villagers can ride them."

The tachi gathered the refugees together and they headed out following Inuyasha. By early afternoon, some of the villagers were complaining of hunger and thirst, so they stopped to rest,

"It really is far, isn't it?", Kagome said.

"Not much farther.", Inuyasha informed her through bites of deer meat.

Leaving right after lunch, Inuyasha again took the lead. Shinto, Kai and Izayoi screamed and giggled in happiness at their father's speed and leaps. Inuyasha looked down on his left and thought to himself,

'Mother.'

Sango turned to Miroku and whispered,

"Say, Miroku, isn't that Inuyasha's mother's gravesite?"

"Yes.", he answered, almost solemnly.

Inuyasha landed softly on the ground. Kirara landed beside him and the horses stopped, too. Kagome got off of Inuyasha's back and looked around. Before her stood a small, Heian era castle town. Looking around, she realized that the town was deserted yet, the place looked recently lived in,

"Inuyasha?", she queried.

"This is what I was doing this morning. There was alot of overgrowth and the buildings looked horrible. Doesn't look too bad now. I think, with Miroku's assisatnce, we can have this place comfortable in no time.", he explained.

"Where are the townspeople?", asked Shippou.

"Hasn't been any for about a century or so.", Inuyasha told them.

"It's hidden.", Miroku noticed, "And, quite far from Nishimura's castle."

"The villagers should be safe here.", Kaede mused, as she began to explore the buildings.

"No huts.", Shinta commented.

"Nope. These are strong buildings. They've survived many earthquakes with minimal damage.", Inuyasha stated proudly.

"Amazing.", Sango spoke in awe.

"How did you know of such a place, Inuyasha?", Kagome asked him.

"It's where I was born."