AN: ". . ."
Disclaimer: idontowninuyasha
Kinome woke the next morning with the covers pulled tight around her, the chill from the night before having not fully worn off. She had slept little during the night, her thoughts of the conversation she had heard had kept her awake. She shivered in the morning light. So many thoughts had pervaded her mind the night before of the battle that was going to take place. From what she had heard, it was going to be a tremendous and decisive conflict. Everyone she knew in the west as well as Inukatsu and his father were going to be involved. She shook her head in refusal to think about what that could mean.
"Miss Kinome, are you awake?" came Miu's voice through the door.
"Come in, Miu." she replied tiredly. Her head began to ache in the bright sunlight, and her eyes felt swelled.
"Lady Misora wishes to speak with you this morning." Miu told her. "She says that she has something important she must discuss with you."
Kinome stiffened as she wondered if it had anything to do with what she had heard. "Did she say what it was that was so important?" she asked Miu.
"No, milady, only that she needed to speak to you as soon as possible." came the reply.
Kinome dressed and prepared for the day as quickly as she was able, then making her way to Misora's quarters. She entered rather quickly, eager to know what the important matter was. Her mind was on high alert already, and this had only fine tuned her senses. She wondered if Misora could sense her taught manner.
"Please Miss Kinome, sit down and allow me to put you at ease." Misora said as she extended her hand toward the mat in front of her. Kinome did as she was asked, and wondered that she could have doubted the demoness' senses.
"There have been rumors circulating recently about an ensuing battle, and I was wondering if any of them had reached your ears." she began.
Kinome nodded almost sheepishly. She wondered if Misora really wanted to know if she had been listening to the rumor mill or if her husband had told her that he suspected Kinome of overhearing him. She certainly wasn't about to tell her she had been eavesdropping, so she let her nod be her answer.
"There is, indeed, a battle with the dragon clan on the horizon." Misora continued. "Unfortunately it is quite unavoidable. However, I wished to tell you that the battle is to take place far from the castle grounds, and that you needn't worry about your safety here." she told her. "I wished to ascertain what you might have heard and allow you to make any fears you might have known so that they could be relieved." she finished.
"I have heard rumors that the soldiers here were going to be called into battle." Kinome confessed. "I must admit that I have had very little experience with war; my father was fortunate enough not to have been called to battle very often." she told Misora. "I worry more for the safety of those who must go into combat much more than I do my own." she said sadly.
"Yes, I understand." Misora said, sadness touching her voice as well. "If the worst should happen, and the battle spills onto the castle grounds, there are cellars under the castle for the women and children to take refuge." she said. "But, please try not to trouble yourself with these matters; I am certain things will be fine." she finished, trying to sound upbeat. However, something in the tone of her voice and in her eyes belied a flicker of doubt, and Kinome knew that she was only trying to hide her own concerns with their conversation.
As Kinome left Misora's quarters, her fatigue and jumbled thoughts gave her the strange sensation that she was trapped in some kind of dream. She spent the rest of the day as she usually did, much of it with Inutaisho, and drifted in and out of paying attention to him as he spoke of his desire to join his father in battle, despite his size and age.
Kinome stopped and turned to the young boy. "Inutaisho, I know that you are very brave," she began, "but you must not wish to rush into battle. Even if you wait until you are older, it is likely that you will wish you had never seen it." she told him, her voice grave. "There are other ways to prove your honor and nobility than being a great warrior." she told him. At that, she turned and walked on, not waiting for a response from her nephew. Inutaisho followed after a moment, confused by her dark mood, having never seen it before. He decided that no reply would be the best idea, and followed her in silence back to the castle.
The sun was setting and the north wind grew colder by the moment. Inutaisho watched his aunt's retreating form as the wind stirred her hair that had been set ablaze by the autumn sunset. A chill ran through him suddenly, and he did not know whether it was from the wind's quickening pace or the shadow cast upon his aunt's usually genial mood. She turned once to see if he was still behind her, and he jogged a few steps to catch up. He took his leave of her quietly, and went with a heavy heart to his evening studies.
Kinome slept poorly again that night, this time being plagued with nightmares of a battle in the rain. She woke early to unfamiliar sounds, and shook the sleep and dreams away as quickly as possible in fear. She could hear voices in the hallway, and many footsteps passed back and forth. The castle was stirring with preparations for battle.
Kinome tried to find things to occupy her in her rooms for the better part of the day, having no wish to be in the way of all the hustle and bustle in the castle. She wrote a letter home to her mother, and finally ventured outside to pick the few remaining autumn flowers in one of the nearby gardens. Even after she had assembled them into a suitable arrangement, it was still only mid afternoon. She tried to read, but her thoughts kept returning to the upcoming battle. From what she had heard, the reinforcements from the south were to arrive that night, with any luck. She wondered if she would get to see Inukatsu before they left for battle. For perhaps the last time, her mind whispered to her, though she tried to keep it quiet.
She fell asleep early that evening due to the lack of sleep from previous nights. She had intended to stay awake until the soldiers from the south arrived, just in case, but she nodded off still fully dressed while reading a particularly boring historical novel. Dreams began to form and shift in her mind once again, and then the nightmare of a terrible battle was playing itself out. There seemed to be fire and destruction everywhere, while a storm raged and torrents of rain poured from the sky. The thunder was so loud it seemed to shake everything, so much so that Kinome was jolted awake.
The sound of the thunder in her dream still echoed in her head, and she blearily looked around her room to find that things seemed to have fallen over as though some earthquake had displaced them. Before she had time to wonder, a tremendous explosion rocked the castle again, and dust fell from the ceiling above her. She could hear shouting outside, and realized with horror that the castle must have been attacked early. The sound of racing footsteps passed her door, and she sprang up and dashed into the hallway herself. Servants and guards were running past, and smoke was already filling the corridor.
"My lady, you must find shelter immediately! The castle is under attack!" a guard shouted as he paused momentarily in his flight. She thought of Misora's words about the shelters under the castle. Kinome stood rooted to the spot for a moment before her feet finally began to work and she ran as fast as she could in search of someone who could tell her what to do.