Chapter Twenty-One –New Plans
"Bold" –Foreign Language
Metal sliced through human soldiers before their guns could be triggered. Sesshomaru led the army into a battle against an endless sea of Japanese soldiers. It seemed the enemy planned to defeat them by outnumbering them. This was no less than a massacre. The cries of human flesh being torn sounded from every direction as they were easily cut down by his youkais men. Germany and Japan had underestimated youkais if they thought the number of humans would cause the slightest hindrance to them.
"Kaze no Kizu!"
Golden eyes narrowed as he stepped to the side to avoid a wave of youkai ki slice through where he had just stood. Ignoring the hundreds of humans that disintegrated from the strike, Sesshomaru said icily, "Your aim is horrible, Inuyasha."
"Keh," Inuyasha huffed as he appeared from behind with the entire army from their Youkai base. "I was hoping you'd get hit," he muttered lowly, still angry at Sesshomaru's past actions of placing Kagome in danger in Japan.
"Retreat!" the opposing soldiers screamed and scrambled to escape.
Sesshomaru eyed the countless forms of humans retreating, but something felt off. The battles they fought these days were short before the humans quickly ordered for a retreat. If they were planning on losing all these battles, Japan shouldn't bother sending more soldiers and yet the number of soldiers seem to increase. "Secure the area."
As the soldiers left him to do as ordered, he called out, "Shin."
Immediately Shin stood before him. "Go after the humans. Report back to me anything you find."
"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama." Lowering his eyes, Shin bowed in obedience to his Lord.
With only two remaining in the trench, Sesshomaru turned to stare at Inuyasha. "What are you doing in France."
Inuyasha's back straightened as his eyes steeled with seriousness. He reported, "The American Youkai Army secretly got in touch with us informing that their human army will launch a deadly bomb that even youkais will not survive in. They do not know specifically where the bomb will land, so they advised us to leave the country."
Sesshomaru's lips thinned. The army Inuyasha had come with was only a quarter of what he had left with when he left for Britain. It seemed the civil war in Japan had killed off most of their youkai soldiers. "The Elders," he pointed out their absence.
"They stayed behind."
"Hn." He thought it would turn out this way. They were attached to their native land as if their blood streamed through the grounds.
"But they did place me in charge to pester you until you found a mate," Inuyasha grimaced.
"Unnecessary," he said stoically. At the thought of her, his eyes softened with a hint of gentleness. He had already decided who his mate would be.
"Wah..." Inuyasha stood staring at Sesshomaru with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open. Just by seeing his brother's expression, he knew what it meant. Kagome had finally accepted Sesshomaru's feelings. Shock was replaced with a smirk. 'Finally.'
##
Yamamoto got off the army truck the moment it halted in front of his concentration camp. He paced past the guards that saluted him and hastfully flung open the doors to the the nearest warehouse. The bright sunlight reflected hundreds of youkais raising a hand to protect their eyes from the sudden light.
Relief.
Slamming the door shut, Yamamoto calmed his nerves. The Miko had yet to rescue the youkais in this camp. In the corner of his eye, he spotted the head officer of the camp site walking towards him. With a salute, the head officer informed, "We have carried out your orders and begun exterminating the youkais."
"Good. How many days will it take to exterminate them all?" Yamamoto grunted harshly. He wanted them all gone before the Miko could take any action.
The officer paused before asking, "All?"
"Yes, of course," he snapped sternly.
The soldier glanced at his men and saw the hesitation written across their faces. Voicing their resistance, the head officer asked pitifully, "Even the women and children?"
Was it pity he just heard from a humans mouth towards youkai?
"We placed the women and children in one warehouse...thinking you would spare them..." The head officer trailed off the moment he saw Yamamoto's displeased frown.
"It seems I've picked the wrong person to be in charge," Yamamoto snarled mercilessly. Snatching the badge that indicated the head officer's rank, he ripped it off his uniform and threw it onto the ground. He barked out, "Kill them all!"
The soldiers hurried to their stations as the killing process began. Human soldier shouted for the youkais to walk in a straight line as they headed towards one warehouse. Yamamoto watched as the first batch entered the killing arena. The doors were securely closed before a bright light of purification exploded from within.
Everything happened within seconds. The prisoned youkais had no time to utter a scream as they disintegrated into dust.
The doors slowly slid back open, revealing an empty space that had just been filled with hundreds of youkais. The next batch of prisoners that were lined up trembled in fear at the sight. They cringed at the raw power that still radiated from inside.
Yamamoto simply watched with justice shinning past his eyes, not realizing the pity each human soldier felt at the sight.
"General, you have a call waiting," one of the messengers approached him. Yamamoto headed for the office with a smile on his face the entire way. He reached for the phone and placed it against his ear. "What is it?"
"Yamamoto-san, it is General Okamura speaking."
Remembering the General he had placed in charge for the invasion of Normandy, he answered, "Yes, update me."
"We have been retreating like you've requested. Where is the location you wanted us to bring them to?"
"All the way to the heart of France, there I have set up my trap," Yamamoto explained. A dark smile tugged along his lips as he hung up the phone. Glancing down at the blue prints of his trap, he scanned the purification mines he planted beneath the earth. He was certain that not a single youkai would remain standing after entering into his trap.
Eyeing the drawing of the youkai army he had added to his blue prints, he whispered, "Keep chasing us, youkai. I have a surprise for you."
##
Her eyelids felt heavy.
Hearing whispers, her consciousness tried to figure out where she was. A grunt sounded from her lips causing the murmurs to stop. Opening her eyes, her vision blurred before making out General Hildebrand's figure.
"How long was I asleep for?" She croaked with a voice that sounded unused for days.
"A week, Miko."
Quickly sitting up, she whispered, "No."
Dizziness slammed against her head at the sudden movement. Groaning, she massaged the side of her head. She had been asleep for too long. Ignoring the pounding in her head, she asked, "What has happened to the remaining concentration camps?"
Pause.
The tense silence caused her stomach to droop with dread.
"There is only one concentration camp left to save."
A shudder escaped her lips, horrified. Yamamoto had slaughtered one entire camp...100,000 youkais...in a week.
Hildebrand stepped in before the Miko resorted to self loathing, "There's nothing we could have done, Miko. We have saved more than we expected. You are not at fault."
Closing her eyes, she bit her lower lip. There was no time to allow the guilt to sink in, rather she told the General, "We need a new strategy to rescue the last concentration camp."
Though he knew the Miko should rest, he was certain she would bite back if he dared point it out. Yamamoto's next target was to exterminate the last camp. They needed to move quickly before it was too late. "Having you as a distraction while we transfer youkais through the black hole will not work for Yamamoto knows our plan."
Kagome nodded. She was certain Yamamoto was enraged after finding his previous camp emptied as she stalled him. Recalling how she escaped from Yamamoto's army, she wondered, "What if I place my barrier around each warehouse? You could probably use the black hole to transfer youkais safely knowing that Yamamoto's men are not ready to attack from the other end."
"And how will you be able to place a barrier on each warehouse? You will need to be in close distance to do so," Hildebrand pointed out.
"Is there a kitsune residing here?"
"He does."
A smirk appeared on her lips and asked, "Bring him to me."
##
Hidden behind layers of leaves, Shin rested on a tree branch that overlooked the enemies camp site. Sensing two aura's in the General's tent, he used his demonic hearing to overhear their conversation.
"Looks like Yamamoto-san destroyed an entire camp filled with youkai. He did not even spare the women and children," a harsh voice that most likely belonged to the General sounded.
"I don't know whether I should call him a brave man or a heartless one," the second presence confessed.
"I heard rumors of a mysterious group that rescued four out of the six camps though."
"Really? A mysterious group? I heard from one of the guards that it was a Miko."
"A Miko? I thought they were extinct decades ago!"
Shin frowned at this. 'Kagome-sama? She should be safely residing within the hide out. There's no way...'
"Well, how else would anyone break into the camp when it is surrounded by Yamamoto-san's barrier?"
"Did the guard tell you how the Miko looked like?"
"A beauty! She had black hair and pink eyes!"
The General barked with laughter, "The guard must have been drunk! Pink eyes!? HA HA!"
Shin felt his eyes narrow and knew Sesshomaru-sama would not be pleased with this update.
##
Kagome stared at her reflection with fascination. Her pink eyes were now striking blue. Her ebony long hair was now coloured dirty blonde and styled in a short cut. An army green hat positioned slightly to the side of her head while the large German uniform hid her feminine curves. The swastika symbol hung above her left pocket. She stared at the illusion her kitsune friend had placed on her. She was quite short to pass as a male soldier, but no one would stop to question her.
"I look quite handsome as a male, don't you think so, General Hildebrand?" Kagome said staring at his reflection through the mirror.
"Miko, going inside enemy territory on your own is too dangerous," he said sternly, clearly ignoring her light hearted remark.
She turned away from the mirror and faced him with a confident expression. "I'd rather go in by myself and fail than go in with a troop and risk their safety as well."
Seeing the General keep silent; unable to deny the truth of her words, she said, "The kitsune said the illusion only keeps up for 2 hours. When we depart?"
"...We leave in 5 minutes," Hildebrand grunted with much dislike towards her plan and quickly left the room to prepare.
The moment she heard the door close, Kagome let out a heavy sigh.
Alone, she whispered to herself, "It is the last concentration camp...the last one."
She was certain she would be meeting Yamamoto there.
'You must seek to undo such hatred in order for your wish to become complete.'
She was certain the well would not take her to another time after this mission.
'Near the end of your journey, a choice will be given to you; one selfish and one pure. That is what will determine the fate of this world.'
'Tell me I can do this, Sesshomaru,' her heart cried, craving his presence. She wished he could fight by her side instead of battling somewhere far away.
'Tell me you'll be there to save me if I fail.'
Clenching her hands into a fist, she tried to endure it.
'Sesshomaru.'
Author's Note: If you haven't read my one-shot Christmas story, "Christmas Magic", please do. I will be publishing the sequel on December 25th, 2015.
Thank you for reading,
Yes, reviewer 'Smile Black', even the simplest review is cherished.