Amaterasu did a happy dance. The sky shook and woke up the god of storms. Soosanoo gazed at his sister. Maybe all of those years of being in charge had finally gotten to her. Or maybe something was about to happen on earth that would make her happy. He gazed at the pieces spread about Japan. Something was going on. Surely, it had to do with Nobunaga. There is only one thing at this point that could make her happy. The death of Nobunaga. He examined the players again. The hanyou was running from Edo toward Kyoto. What had he been doing in Edo? Those were Hojo lands. Nobunaga was not at war with the Hojo so what was he doing there.
That must be investigated. Hideyoshi who was at Takamatsu Castle . Shibata Katsuie was guarding the border with the Uesegi. Why was Akechi Mitsuhide hanging around Kyoto when he was supposed to helping Hideyoshi? His board was still not clear to send dreams. Only one person could be get away with this kind of tampering. He had two choices. Either he could investigate the hanyou or Akechi Mitsuhide. The hanyou was always more interesting. Soosanoo had been maneuvering him for years. Surely, he was good for a few more laughs. Something about Akechi Mitsuhide bothered him. There was a passage about him in the Book of Life. He would have ten days of fame. Soosanoo simply could not remember why he was so important. So he went to back to his game of hanyou harassment.
Amaterasu kept an eye on her brother. Somehow her antics had alerted him to the arrangement of the pieces on the board. It was clear that he did not know what was going on. She had managed to get the hanyou out of the hands of Nobunaga and under her control without Soosanoo even noticing. Either she was clever or he was an idiot. Maybe a little of both. Akechi Mitsuhide was in place to force Nobunaga to surrender. He would think that it was all his own doing. Two weeks from now. The little man would be dead. He was a pawn no more. Once he had forced Nobunaga's surrender with his treason all hell would break loose. Nobunaga's sons would battle for power. Hideyoshi would run to Kyoto to kill Akechi Mitsuhide. Tokugawa would finally be free of Nobunaga and able to build his own empire not simply assist Nobunaga. The threat to the kami would finally be crushed once and for all by Hideyoshi and Tokugawa. Amaterasu could sleep easier knowing everything would come to pass just as it had been written in the Book of Life.
Nobunaga felt a sense of unease.. Here he was in the safest place in Japan. Yet somehow he had a premonition of doom. He had received no dreams of warning. The fortunetellers had not foretold anything ominous for this day. He would stay at Honno--ji, a temple in Kyoto. Surely, no one would attack in a temple. There had been no word from the demon. Hideyoshi reported that he had gone south towards Kyushu. Maybe no news was good news. The demon needed to be killed. He was out of control. The sight of him hovering Nobunaga's bed ready to strike with his fangs and claws had triggered Nobunaga's sending him to face Sesshoumaru. One or both them could die and rid him of his demon problem forever. Hideyoshi was still asking for more men to fight the Mori. Had he not sent Akechi Mitsuhide to assist him? Surely, that would be enough. He would join Hideyoshi in a few days after they had taken the castle. Together they would move to the Chu-goku region. The Mori would finished and way would be open to Kyushu. He would intervene on the side of Otamo who were under assault by the Shizamu. After he had secured the West, he would return to the north. With the assistance of Tokugawa he would sweep the Hojo and the Uesugi before him.
Inuyasha was traveling as fast as he could. It would take him almost a three days to travel to Kyoto from Edo (229 miles as the crow flies). He would keep to the treetops to avoid troops on the road. The desire to kill humans was no longer in him. The sooner he was done with this trip the better. Kikyou had given him no hint as to what he would face in killing Nobunaga. He knew now that the gods had convinced Nobunaga to send Inuyasha away so that he would stripped of his protector. How ironic that same protector was now being forced to carry out the mission of the executing Nobunaga. He had no interest in the reasons that the kami wanted Nobunaga dead. Vengeance was his reason. Nobunaga had taken his trust and imprisoned him for eleven years. He had loosed the part of Inuyasha that should forever be hidden within the sword. Tetsusaiga would barely speak to him now. He understood the horror that it felt. It was designed to protect humans. The demon had forced it to kill innocent woman and children against its will. He could still feel the residual charring on his hands from Tetssusaiga's attempts to break free from the demon's will. When he was done with Nobunaga, he could return to Kikyou and start his life over.
Soosanoo had found the hanyou flying over the treetops. Where was he going at such a high speed? In all his time observing the hanyou he had never seen him move this fast. It was as if the hell hounds themselves were on his heels. What could he do about the hanyou? He needed some way to slow him down so that he could talk to him. It began to storm around Inuyasha. The rains and hail pelted him. Twice he was hit with bolts of lightning. Still he struggled. Soon the rain was so heavy he no longer could tell where he was going. He had been hoping to reach Gifu, but at the moment he had no clue as to where he was. Ahead he noticed a light. He would have to stop for the night. Nobunaga would have to wait until tomorrow.
Amaterasu. noticed the storm over Inuyasha's flight path to Kyoto. Only her brother had the gall to interfere with her plans. She noticed that the hanyou was aiming towards a light which appeared out of nowhere. This was not good. She would have to go on and take Inuyasha out of her brother's hands directly before he did any harm.
The light was directly in front of him. It appeared to be coming the door of a small hut. Inuyasha was glad to be out of the rain. His fire-rat was drenched. His ears were burned where the lightning strike had hit him. The odor of wet and burned dog hung on him. He could smell a human in the hut. There appeared to a fire going. It would nice to get out of the rain for the evening. He stooped to enter the hut, drawing aside the curtain covering the door frame. Inside he saw an old man sitting in front of a fire pit with a stew pot. The man motioned for him to sit down and offered stew from the pot. Inuyasha was starving as he had not eaten since he left Nobunaga. to find Sesshoumaru. Just then an old woman with a bundle of sticks on her back stumbled through the door way. Inuyasha rushed to help her out. She smiled at him as he took her pack and helped her sit by the fire.
The old man scowled at her and growled " What are you doing here, sister."
" What kind of greeting is that, dear brother. Don't you want to invite me in out of rain?"
" What rain?" he asked as the rain disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared.
Inuyasha stared. What was going on here. Who were these two and why were they here?
The old man laughed. " Well, Inuyasha, I am glad to finally meet you. I feel like I have known you all your life."
The old lady hit the old man with her cane and screamed at Inuyasha " Don't listen to him. He is crazy."
Inuyasha was dumbfounded. Who the hell were these people? How did they know him? They seemed to know each other. Did they just happen to show up at the same place and the same time as him. He notice that the amulet on his wrist was glowing. What did that mean? Was it connected to these strange people? The old man interrupted his reverie.
" A yen for your thoughts. What would you say if I told you that everything you have ever done was predetermined by the kami and that you were just a puppet on string dancing at their whim."
"I would be angry." answered Inuyasha angrily.
"My sister there has a book that can tell you everything that will happen from the beginning of time to the end of time. Would you like to take a peek."
Amaterasu was furious. What was her brother's game. Why was revealing the secrets of the gods.
Inuyasha paused and stared at the amulet that was glowing and pulsing at the moment. Finally he spoke. " I would do what I have to do whether I knew the outcome or not. I have had very little choice in life. Most of my childhood was spent surviving until I met Kikyou. I thought I had a choice with her, but everything turned out to predetermined. I thought that my decision to love Kagome was my choice. Now I have discovered that I was merely a pawn in the kami's game. Since Kagome left my choices have been few. I find that the kami have been directing my actions for their amusement. I deeply resent what has happened to me. Now they force me to kill the man who enslaved me for eleven years. But I get no satisfaction from it. They have tied the woman I love to a post and force me to do their bidding again by placing this amulet on me. Any satisfaction that I get from killing Nobunaga is negated by the fact that I am doing it for the kami and not for myself. My only relief will come when I have returned to my Kikyou and get a moment's respite from the endless use of me that had gone on over the past eleven years"
Amatersu stared at the hanyou. He was playing a dangerous game Maybe she should just allow Soosanoo to kill him and allow Akechi Mitsuhide to finish Nobunaga.
"Young man. We have offered you a singular boon for your efforts and struggles. Akechi Mitsuhide will kill Nobunaga whether you existed or not. You have been offered the chance to gain some revenge for the way that Nobunaga used you over the past eleven years. Whatever you may think about us, you need us. We do not need you. Events will occur in their proper order whether you want them to or not. The kami have power over you. The amulet on your wrist binds you to Kikyou and to us. You have no choice. You will do what we want or you will die. Do you understand?'
Soosanoo intervened on behalf of the hanyou. " Don't be so harsh on the boy, sister. He has had a hard life. He has just found that most of the bad things that have happened to him in his life are as direct result of his interference in his. life. You did not even tell him that his dad spent the last two hundred years in hell because he interfered with your plans and had him as result of his bedding of Izayoi...Oops, maybe I was not supposed to say that."
Inuyasha was furious. " You mean that you sent my dad to hell just because my mom gave birth to me. What is wrong with you. That book is more important than people's lives. I have promised Kikyou that I would do your bidding. I am doing it for you or your precious book. What I am doing is for Kikyou. It is clear that the only way that I will ever get back to see her is if I do exactly what you wish me to do."
Amaterasu gazed upon him. " So be it. We will continue to allow you to carry out your mission.One slip up and both and Kikyou will wish you were dead. As for your opinion of our methods we really do not care. We do what we do. I make sure that what is written in the book of life occurs. I will not brook anymore interference from anyone, Brother. By the way my brother here is responsible for Kagome mating Sesshoumaru, you meeting Nobunaga and you becoming a demon. Not all the kami are as friendly as me. You had no place in the book of life until my brother put you there. If it had been up to me, you would never have been born. We are allowing to continue your existence only so long as you do not screw up what is supposed to happen."
The three spent the remainder of the night in silence when Inuyasha awoke the next morning they were gone. It was June 20,1582. Nobunaga had only one more day to live.
Akechi Mitsuhide spent the day preparing. He informed his troops that they would be on parade in Kyoto in the morning. They were never told of the orders that he had been given to assist
Hideyoshi. . He knew that Hideyoshi was gone to attack the Mori clan; Niwa Nagahide was preparing for an invasion of Shikoku; Takigawa Kazumasu was watching the Ho-jo- clan from Kozuke province and Shinano province; and Shibata Katsuie was preparing to invade Echigo province, the home domain of the Uesugi clan.. , Tokugawa Ieyasu was touring the Kansai region at Nobunaga's request in celebration of the demise of the Takeda clan. Nobunaga was all alone. He would never have suspected Akechi Mitsuhide. The traitor spent the night at Tamba in a session of Renga with several prominent poets, where he made clear his intentions to rebel .The poets would not betray him. He obviously though much of himself. One of the lines he spoke that night was"Toki(Time) shall now rule the realm under the sky". Nobunaga had only a dozen retainers against 18,000 of his own troops. When they arrived in Kyoto at dawn they were told that that the enemy was at Honno-ji. Nobunaga would fall and Akechi Mitsuhide would take his place.
Inuyasha awoke several hours before dawn. He knew that something was afoot in Kyoto and if he wanted to be the won who killed Nobunaga, he must hurry or Akechi Mitsuhide would do so. He must put aside everything that he had heard last night. literally fly to Kyoto. The miles flew by and soon he found himself outside the gates of Kyoto. It was place that brought back so many memories. He had secured control of shogunate for Nobunaga here. It was here that he had been imprisoned when his demon first appeared. His demon had been summoned here. He had helped Nobunaga control the city from here. This had been Nobunaga's safe house. Now it was to be his dead zone.
Nobunaga awoke early on the morning of June 21,1582. It was still dark outside, but he could hear the sound of troops moving through the streets outside the temple. The voice of Akechi Mitsuhide could be heard clearly yelling to the troops outside that the enemy was at Honno-ji. Why was Akechi Mitsuhide attacking him? He had never done anything to this man. What was he doing in Kyoto anyway. He had given orders to him to help Hideyoshi besiege the Mori. Nobunag's next thought was of his family. His eldest son Nobutada was sent to Nijo Castle in Kyoto. The the ko-taishi(heirs) were also sent away. All that remained were his page and a few retainers. There was no hope against the forces arrayed against him. He found it ironic that he would die in a Buddhist temple. Considering all of the Buddhist monks and priests he had killed he was sure that somewhere the gods of Buddhists were laughing at him. He could not understand. The visions he had received showed him conquering Japan. Now when he had just made his biggest conquest in the destruction of the Takeda Everything was to be snatched from him by a traitor whom he had no clue why he was betraying him. .It became clear to him that the kami had misled him over the years. It had all started when that hanyou had shown up. Now he was gone. Sent away to his destruction at the hands of Sesshoumaru. He wondered how he would be judged in the afterlife. Would the kami realize what he done for Japan or would spend he spend an eternity in hell for actions which he had led to believe were his destiny. The traitor would not be given the satisfaciton of seeing him surrender to him. Nobunaga ordered that his retainers were to set fire to the building. Perhaps he could escape in the smoke and confusion. But then his honor would be besmirched if he ran away. Honor was not a subject that he had worried about in a long time. He had been too worried about surviving and destroying his enemies. He gazed at the ceremonial dagger which was used for seppaku. It had never occurred to him that he would die so he did not have a death poem prepared. Only his page would be present to cut off his head after he had completed the required cuts. He assumed that his page would follow him in death At least someone was loyal to him.
The hanyou finally arrived at the temple of Honno-ji. There were flames rising from the temple and confusion reigned. No one seemed to be entering the temple. It was clear that Nobunaga was inside and that he was under assault from the troops surrounding the temple. Inuyasha did not have much time if he wanted to secure the head. He picked a spot where the troops were the thinnest and unleashed the wind scar. The five furrows of fire ripped through the temple and opened a path for the hanyou. He passed the dazed troops and entered the temple. The smoke and fire made it difficult to find Nobunaga. At last Inuyasha found the Demon King huddled with his page in a portion of the inner temple. Nobunaga looked up at him in surprise. Perhaps Nobunaga did not expect him to return from his mission to kill Sesshoumaru in Kyushu. Inuyasha knocked aside the page and grabbed hold of Nobunaga. For a moment Nobunaga actually had hope. Perhaps Inuyasha was still under his control. If he was Inuyasha could fight his way out of this situation and spirit him away. Then he saw the truth. Inuyasha was no longer his demon. The offuda binding him had been removed and been replaced by a glowing amulet on his wrist. Inuyasha was free of him. What did this mean. He had known Inuyasha for twenty-two years. Surely, their time together meant something to him. They had been together since the beginning of his efforts to unite Japan. Without Inuyasha none of this would have been possible. The hanyou motioned for him to kneel. Nobunaga knew that his time was at hand. There would be no escape from death.
Finally, Inuyasha spoke to him. " You took my honor away. You made a slave to my demon and to you. In your name I did so many despicable acts that the kami may never forgive me. I cannot never forgive you for what you made me do. You had a choice and your choice was use me and enslave me as a tool of destruction. I cannot pardon you. The kami have not forgiven you. Just as I was your tool, now I am the Kami's tool. They have ordered me to kill you. If I do not kill you they will kill me and all I hold dear and let Akechi Mitsuhide kill you. I have no more love for the kami than I have for you. I will not simply execute you. I will give you chance to reclaim your honor even though I may never have a similar opportunity. I will act as the headsman while you commit seppaku. Your honor will be restored and you will be able to meet your ancestors knowing that you died honorably. I do not need vengeance. I will not deny you honor., but I will carry out the will of the kami.
The page looked up at Inuyasha and asked " Demon, would you take my head too so that I can die with my lord. Inuyasha nodded. The pair drew their knives and prepared to make the cuts of honor. When it appeared that they were about to pass out, Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga and took their heads in one cut. He had been instructed to bring only the head of Nobunaga with him as proof of the deed. The bodies were left where they were as the flames became an inferno inside the Temple . Inuyasha knew the body of Nobunaga would never be found, but that was not his problem. Somehow he needed to escape the temple and the troops surrounding it. He blasted another hole in the wall of temple and exited with a mighty leap through the hole. The temple collapsed into a pile of blazing rubble. All the observers kami, demon and human were satisfied that Nobunaga. was dead.
Amaterasu was overjoyed. The human she had feared most in the world was dead. She had already discussed his case with King Enma.. Nobunaga's soul would not be reincarnated for a long time. She hated owing favors to Buddhist gods, but just this once she wanted to make sure that Nobunaga was where she had put him. With Nobunaga safely in hell, she could afford to take a day off and let events take their course. That day, June 21,1582 became known as the sunless day.
Soosanoo surveyed the wreckage. Akechi Mitsuhide had already seize Nijo Castle and forced , Nobunaga's eldest son Nobutada to commit seppaku. It was remarkable that Akechi Mitsuhide 's troops stayed so loyal to him after what he had done. The man was already gathering allies. His couriers would have to be stopped. Hideyoshi and the remaining commanders would have to be warned. Tonight would be a busy night on the dream front. Hideyoshi needed to come to Kyoto and kill his sister's tool. Tokugawa needed to be kept out of this fray at all costs. He was the future. The kami could not afford to lose him. He gazed at the sunless sky. It appeared that his sister had decided to take the day off. And so the news of Nobunaga's death traveled throughout Japan like wildfire.
Hideyoshi would make peace with the Mori by arranging the surrender of Takematsu. He would march towards the capitol gathering in Niwa Nagahide and Oda Nobutaka in Sakai along the way. In ten days Hideyoshi reached Kyoto. He routed. Akechi Mitsuhide at the battle of Yamazaki on July 2,1582. less than two weeks after the assassination. Akechi Mitsuhide was killed before he could flee to his castle. Hideyoshi was now firmly in control with an army of over 40,000 men. He would destroy the Akechi clan at the Battle of Uchidehama.
Tokugawa who had been at Sakai avoided the battle by fleeing to Ise and returned to his home province of Mikawa by sea. By the time he returned Hideyoshi would be firmly in control of the majority of the Kanto. Tokugawa did manage to seize control of the old Takeda homelands of Shinano and Kai and negotiated a peace with the Hojo. He was now in his strongest position ever and was prepared to enter the civil war when the pretenders had been weeded out by Hideyoshi.
All of this was irrelevant to Inuyasha. He no longer cared about the machinations of the kami and the daiymo. Nobunag was dead. At the end ,at least he had his honor restored . Inuyasha's only thoughts were of returning with the head to Kikyou. She had told him that the kami were weighing his future. Upon his return, he would learn what it was that they required from him to atone for his sins. Running mostly at night and sticking to the treetops he was able to reach Kikyou's village in a few days. He finally arrived in the early morning after running for four nights The distance did not seem that far when he knew that his love awaited him at the end of the journey.He threw the head down on the ground in front of the little shrine and waited. Kikyou was watching him when a visitor arrived. It was hard to mistake Amaterasu. Kikyou had never met her. She was too far down the list of kami to meet the queen of the gods. Why was she here?
"Kikyou, you have done well. Inuyasha has completed his first task. His next task is very important. He must guard the children of his brother and sister-in-law at the Western Shiro. The kami have plans for them which must not be upset. Hideyoshi and Tokugawa will be coming to Kyushu soon. Inuyasha knows them both. He must ensure that they conquer Kyushu and drive out the gai-jin and their foreign kami. Hideyoshi and Tokugawa will unify Japan and end the blood shed. It is up to Inuyasha to see that Sesshoumaru does not interfere with the conquest of Kyushu. The youkai must restrict themselves to their castles. This is the age of men. Sesshoumaru must know that men must rule now. The time of his kind has past and it will neverreturn. "
"How long will it take to complete this task."
"In human years the task will take about twenty five years. When he is done, I will leave instructions on his next task with you."
With those words, the sun goddess departed in a blaze of glory leaving the distraught former miko in her wake. Kikyou gradually gathered her dignity and ventured forth to meet Inuyasha.
"Greetings, Inuyasha. I see that you have completed the task assigned by the Kami. The head will be delivered to them. The Kami have more tasks for you. You are to protect the children of yourbrother and his wife. Sesshoumaru must be convinced that Hideyoshi and Tokugawa are the wayof the future. The Kami will veil the Western Shiro so that no man can find it. They will hide the youkai from humanity. In return they demand that the youkai not interfere with the world of youkai. Otherwise, the Kami will allow humans to hunt down all of the youkai with their guns. Sesshoumaru must choose. You must ensure that he chooses wisely. Otherwise, you will never be released from service to the Kami"
Inuyasha grabbed by the hands and pulled her to him " I do not care what they want me to do. Iwill only be happy if I can be with you."
Kikyou gazed into those beautiful golden eyes which she had adored for so long. She knew at this moment she could not resist him. The lust in his eyes melted all of her resolve. Kami or not she wanted him Amaterasu be damned. She had been denied Inuyasha twice., she would not be denied. The youkai and Kami lights again lit up the hilltop shrine. The mating was glorious as Inuyasha took her again and again until the sun began to rise. Kikyou made a decision. She knew that it would twenty five years before she would see Inuyasha again.. She wanted a piece of Inuyasha. As Inuyasha came for the last time into her, she captured his demon seed with her Kami spirit. She would produce a new life from their combined spirits. This spirit would be hers to cherish while Inuyasha could not be by her side. It would always remind her of the love that waited for her. She would have to hide it somehow from the Kami. They certainly not approve of what she had done without their permission. But as she basked in the glow of her demon lover, she did not care. Somehow, she needed something to remember him until they met again..