Chapter 38 Gathering Forces
"When will they arrive?" Sesshoumaru asked. Standing outside the town's gate and watching the golden disk of the sun as it began to dip beneath the horizon, losing its bottom portion in the process, it was almost possible to push the slaughterhouse in back of him to the rear of his thoughts.
It was obvious from the increasing number of howls and relative loudness of them that Kouga's pack was getting steadily closer. However, as Sesshoumaru was used to flying in this era, he was uncertain about the time it would take to cover the distances involved.
Too bad mass transit hasn't been invented yet. The idea of Kouga and his tribe riding on a subway almost caused his lips to twitch upwards, which caused Kagome to look at him askance. Going to have to guard my thoughts more carefully. Doesn't look appropriate to be experiencing a moment of mirth amidst such carnage, Sesshoumaru thought to himself.
"Won't be long," Kouga answered, unknowingly preventing Kagome from pursuing the matter further. "From the rise and fall of the pitch and length of the howl I can tell we will be having company soon enough."
"Hey, Sesshoumaru," Kouga asked. "Since you have the Tensaiga, why haven't you tried to restore all those people to life?"
Sesshoumaru regarded Kouga for a moment. He suspected that the real reason Kouga wanted him to use the Tensaiga was to see if in the upcoming confrontation with Wei he could count on minimizing how many of his pack would be lost.
What any good leader would want Sesshoumaru allowed as he felt a slight increase in the amount of respect he held for Kouga.
"The Tensaiga is capable of reviving the dead, it is true," Sesshoumaru responded, "but there are limits to what it can accomplish. In order for the resurrection to work properly a majority of the body must be intact."
Sesshoumaru motioned toward the piles of organs, headless and eviscerated bodies back in the town. "Unless you want to try to piece together the various parts, a resurrection would not be advisable. The most you would be able to gain, under the present conditions, is a multitude of spasming body parts."
"I see." Kouga paused and looked at Sesshoumaru's shoulder. "Mind if I ask what happened-"
"It is no longer considered fashionable to wear such furs," Sesshoumaru said, in a tone that discouraged further questions about it. He then glanced at Kouga's ankles and wrists. "What are those bracelets?"
"Think you are the only one who can afford Totosai's labor?" Kouga asked with a mixture of pride and resentment. "They cost an arm and a leg but they give me strength and speed that makes it worth it all."
"I'm sure Japan will be needing every ounce of strength and speed you have," Sesshoumaru said, while directing his molten gaze at Kouga.
"Japan has it," Kouga returned with a seriousness that matched the icy resolve in his eyes.
"Look," Kagome said, while pointing at the setting sun. Little black dots of flickering motion were bobbing up and down in the distance.
Hundreds of them.
"Finally," Kouga said, as his pack came into view.
"Not a moment too soon," Sesshoumaru said, but silently added possibly too late.