Disclaimer: This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied.
Chapter 36: Battle, Part One: Engagement
A dark tide of panthers oozed out from among the trees in the valley. More than a bit apprehensive—he didn't worry about the youkai one on one, but there were so many—Inuyasha gripped the hilt of Tessaiga, dithering about whether he should draw it or not.
"Not yet, hanyo," came a barely audible brother from the youkai standing to his left. "You display fear."
Inuyasha growled a little, annoyed at Sesshomaru's insult. He was not afraid!
Nevertheless, he released his grip on Tessaiga, forcing himself to breathe slowly, reminding himself to stay calm. Letting his eyes slide out of focus, he reached for his youkai senses, examining the gathered army below. They dissolved into a thousand loci of youki auras and smells, all very much alike. Youki spat and sparkled as the auras jostled against each other, in a continuous display. He should have no trouble finding a 'scar' to slice through, Inuyasha thought as he drank in the sensations, striving to memorize the 'feel' of the youki. He would have to be careful not to trigger the Windscar unless everyone on his side was out of the way.
"It's gonna be hard to use windscar once we're in a melee," he observed aloud.
"Any youkai fool enough to get in front of you deserves its fate," came the emotionless replay.
The hanyo growled again. "I know accidents happen in battle, but I'd rather not kill youkai who came because they felt obliged to the old man's memory, thank-you very much!" He refocused his gaze, watching as four panthers with obviously stronger auras than the rest moved out in front. "You gonna fight in your true form?" he asked, curious.
A snort. "They are not worthy. Be silent, hanyo."
"Silent, hanyo." Damn stuck-up half-brother. Inuyasha huffed to himself, keeping it quiet. And what did 'worthiness' have to do in a war? Didn't a general use his best weapons in a war?
Or was the true form not Sesshomaru's 'best weapon'? Inuyasha smirked inwardly at the thought, though that was something he would never dare voice his question.
But, he had to admit; someday, he would like to see Sesshomaru's true form—if only to compare it to the old man's bones.
As long as that true form wasn't coming for him.
The quartet of panthers was suddenly in the air and flying. Immediately, Inuyasha found himself in the air with a roiling carpet of youki beneath his feet. Ascent and descent rose and fell in near synchronization, leaving the two groups about fifty paces either side of the two carcasses. Inuyasha tried not to wrinkle his nose at the stench of poison and eviscerated bodies.
The tallest youkai—a slender woman with blue hair, a sword, and a lance stepped forward. Sesshomaru took a step forward as well. Inuyasha didn't need directions to stay still, keeping his attention focused on the quartet. The single male felt to be the most powerful, by a slight edge, but Inuyasha had already noticed that his motions were slow. Pretense, or slow reactions? Inuyasha suspected the latter.
"Sesshomaru."
"Toron."
"That is your half-brother?"
"The other is the hanyo known as Inuyasha." No direct acknowledgement of their blood-ties, Inuyasha noticed.
Asshole.
"Surrender, and your death will be painless, and your followers will be free to depart," was Toron's opening offer.
"This Sesshomaru cares nothing for threats. Leave. Or die."
She laughed. "And leave our master unavenged? Think again, dog."
"Hurt feelings over the outcome of fair battle are of no concern of this Sesshomaru."
Toron's eyes narrowed as she glared. "You will die at our hands, Sesshomaru. And we will see how long it takes to make your weak little hanyo beg for mercy."
Inuyasha gritted his teeth to keep from reacting to the taunt, trying to keep his ears from flattening. This was just words; he reminded himself. He'd have plenty of chance to prove those words wrong; he told himself.
"Those of inu youkai blood need have no fear of weak panther blood," came the slightly-bored sounding reply. "Last chance. Leave." Knuckles cracked, and the acrid smell of fresh venom bit Inuyasha's nose.
Toron laughed. "Fight and die, inu!" She swept up her lance, made a small circle with the head, then brought it slashing down to the ground, even as the man made a gesture of throwing.
Ice zigzagged up the ground from the point of the lance, as lightening crackled in a ball hurling straight towards the pair. Inuyasha leapt sideways to avoid the strikes, pulling out Tessaiga, then mentally swore as Sesshomaru leapt not just sideways, but forward. Landing on one foot, Inuyasha jumped again, knowing he would never dare try the Windscar as long as Sesshomaru was in front of him.
Sesshomaru might not even be thinking of him, as he flashed forward. The full inu youkai ducked a fireball, ignored a cloud of pink mist, and then the quartet scattered as he swiped with envenomed claws. The male panther yowled with pain as Sesshomaru's claws opened his shoulder, but before the inu could follow up, Touron was between them with a whirling lance. "Get him clear!" Inuyasha heard her shout. "Call the charge!"
Inuyasha leaped forward, seeing his opportunity as Toron and Sesshomaru engaged. Both hands on Tessaiga's hilt, he concentrated on looking for a 'scar' to slice through.
He had to dodge a fireball, then ran into the pink mist. A cloying smell of flowers filled his lungs, and his senses splintered. Shit! Youki auras and images of a giggling youkai girl whirled around Inuyasha's awareness. Inuyasha froze from the sudden confusion. Damn it! Where was anything!
The massive aura of his brother's youki attracted his attention. It was also jiggling and swirling about, but nowhere nearly to the extent that the other auras where. Ignoring his vision entirely, Inuyasha oriented himself against the center of where his brother was, and worked out against that. A burning orb of pure youki was skittering erratically towards him, powerful enough to injure him if it hit squarely, and he was running out of time to dodge. But, Tessaiga was in his hands. He could sense no firm 'scar,' but with the massive center of his brother's power stabilizing his senses, Inuyasha was certain he knew the path of the fireball. He swung straight down as the fireball closed on him.
The blade met the fireball and cut cleanly through it. The two halves crackled, spat, and then disintegrated into unorganized, harmless youki. Hearing a yelp of dismay, Inuyasha grinned and leapt towards it, delighted in the affirmation that Tessaiga could do more than create a wind-scar when swung just right.
He dodged a slow bolt of lightning, then heard the yowling as the gathered panthers charged. Taking a few skipping leaps back, Inuyasha quickly assessed the situation. Sesshomaru and Touron were a tightly wrapped ball of fighting: her aura was clearly lesser strength than his, but she was using her weapon's reach and a speed that must approach his, to keep the inu out of striking range. The other three were backing down the mountain, now that he had momentarily abandoned his attack. But, the forces on his side were still standing at or behind the top of the mountain, not moving.
What the hell?
Inuyasha realized that Sesshomaru had not given orders to attack. And probably wasn't even thinking about it, as fast as he, and Toron were moving. But, the panthers were on the move, and if he didn't get some clear shots with the Windscar, he was going to get surrounded—shit.
No help for it. Straightening, he raised Tessaiga and whirled the glowing blade in a circle. "Oi! Some of you, come down here and keep the panthers off our flanks!" he called out. "You two hawks, keep an eye out for any groups sneaking around, and call in the reserves if they do!" He whirled Tessaiga again, then held it straight up. "For the memory of the Inu no Taisho! Let's send the panthers running!"
A distant roar answered him, and he felt the throng behind him beginning to move. Bringing Tessaiga back down to guard position, Inuyasha started back forward, drifting a bit to the side to keep clear of the duel. He hoped he'd done the right thing. How could you have a battle if the leader didn't give orders? What kind of leader got involved in a duel at the beginning of the fight?
Inuyasha forced himself to stop worrying about it, weighing whether it was worth trying to catch up with the trio, and deciding he didn't want to get in front of Sesshomaru.
The final, flickering thought was that his uncle would have thrashed Sesshomaru for such actions, were he human.
But, maybe that was simply the way youkai did battles.
... ... ...
Toron was not good enough to engage all of his attention, though she was powerful enough, fast enough, and skilled enough to elicit mild respect. Sesshomaru continued to spar, probing for a flaw in her defenses, gradually increasing his speed, testing her limits.
He was perfectly aware of his situation, and a lesser being might have cursed when his brother called on the army to join the attack. His fault, for forgetting that lesser beings needed explanations and orders. Not that it would make any difference in the end.
He hadn't asked for the army's presence, after all.
Toron executed a disengagement move, somersaulted backwards, and danced down the mountainside. "I thought you were the leader, Sesshomaru!" she jeered with a laugh. "So, why is the mere hanyo giving the orders?"
Sesshomaru lunged on the attack, increasing his speed, his external expression unchanged, assessing the situation with cool precision. Inuyasha was scampering back down the slope, moving sideways to clear his range. The lesser siblings were backing away, supporting the wounded brother, who's aura was starting to recover from the poisoned cuts. Not all the panthers were charging, and about half of 'his' army were on their way down. And the hawks had given angry, but assenting squawks to the hanyo's 'orders.'
It was going to be a melee soon, he reflected, even as his fist deflected the blade from a path that would have taken it into his neck, unopposed. A pity his father had been so stupid as to leave the Tessaiga to the idiot hanyo: with the blade, the battle would be over in a few more dozen heartbeats.
He would observe whether or not the hanyo could control the sword on the chaos of the battlefield. If he couldn't, Sesshomaru was going to find a way to break that sword, when Inuyasha proved that he didn't deserve it.
... ... ...
He hadn't responded to her taunt. Worse, Toron was starting to get the sense that she was not even managing to push Sesshomaru to his full strength. Was he still getting faster?
Yes. She was not hard-pressed, yet. She still had the inner space that allowed her to simultaneously track what was going on around her, including the way that the hanyo had easily cut through and destroyed Karan's fireball. Since Sesshomaru hadn't even tried to unsheathe the sword at his hip; that meant it was the hanyo who controlled the 'Tessaiga' and it's reported ability to kill a hundred.
And her clan was charging. They knew they were supposed to surround any inu with a bared sword, but what if the hanyo could get the attack off first?
She felt the first, cold drops from the looming clouds. Hah! Disengaging, she leaped backwards, spinning her lance rapidly in a circle, building a wall of ice. Sesshomaru swept it aside effortlessly, but she was already three lengths into the air, rotating, both hands now keeping the lance spinning, as all about her, the rain turned into hail. A final spin, a spurt of speed that kept her feet just out of reach of Sesshomaru's swipe, and she unleashed a snow- and hail-filled whirl spout directly at the hanyo.
His reflexes were good. He reacted, and swung the blade through the first bits of snow and ice. Golden light flashed and flared, exploding the first bits into nothingness. But, her attack was too diffuse to be handled in a single swing, and as the momentum of the blade to it past the perimeter of the whirl spout, the hanyo was left vulnerable. With a yelp, he disappeared into the rapidly building drift of ice, and Toron whipped higher, and yowled a fresh command, before ducking and flying to rejoin her siblings. She landed with a final loop that brought her facing outward, back to her siblings, her lance straight ahead, as Sesshomaru landed short. The ice drift moved behind him, and then came apart as the hanyo exploded upwards. He landed, shaking his head violently for a few moments, sending ice pieces everywhere. Toron chuckled, hiding her disappointment that the hanyo hadn't been taken out. Nevertheless, her attack had drawn blood, in dozens of tiny scratches along his face and hands, and ruffled cuts in his clothing.
The hanyo would be shedding a lot more blood before this was done.
... ... ...
Ow. That had stung, his pride more than his skin. Why couldn't he have seen it in time to get out of the way?
He glared down the slope, where Toron had rejoined her siblings. He could feel the youki winds shifting among the five auras in front of him: if Sesshomaru were not in the way, he could lunge forward and probably find a scar to slice through before they could all scatter. Damn!
"S—Taisho-sama, give me a shot at them!" he yelled, hoping that—for once—Sesshomaru might take a hint and be gracious about it.
No such luck; of course. A growl answered him. "These are my prey, hanyo. Find your own."
Great. Inuyasha shifted his attention, and swore mentally. The panthers' charge had broken into five distinct streams; one heading directly towards the quartet, the others angling away. Reaching for his awareness of the youkai on his side, Inuyasha realized that he might have made a mistake in calling them down. Even if no one tried to interfere, there was no way he could reach each of the five groups before they merged with the oncoming allies. Damn it!
No help for it now. He'd do what he could. Inuyasha broke into a run, and headed towards the first group on the right.
"After him!"
He heard Toron's yell, and grinned. He increased his speed to his utmost, focusing his attention on his senses, trying to be alert to an attack from any angle.
His grin widened as he felt Sesshomaru move. Hah! Couldn't let one set of 'prey' take out his older 'prey', right?
Focus, hanyo. Inuyasha concentrated on the nearing party, ears flattened against the rain, eyes narrowed. The panthers saw him, and their advance wavered for a moment. Then with shouting, they hurtled themselves forward, spreading apart. Inuyasha growled a little, trying to increase his speed, searching for a windscar to slice through. He could 'see' the flickering clashes between the panthers' youki, though the intensity and frequency were decreasing rapidly. Damn! What was the reach of the blade? If only he could somehow 'push' his aura forward, brush against those auras more quickly, draw out the windscar sooner!
Tessaiga pulsed, and, as if directing him, Inuyasha perceived his aura moving outward with that pulse. Yes! He pushed his energy outward, feeling the blade feeding his own. Closer and closer he came. He saw alarm take hold of a few who veered away. But, most, with flattened ears and raised claws or swords, ran towards him, most on two feet, a few on four. Closer, closer—
Yes!
Inuyasha plunged to a stop as his youki wind crashed against the nearest. Gleaming in the growing darkness, Tessaiga rose. And then, it swung. The glowing, golden-white fang bit into the eldritch clash between youki wind and youki wind—
"Kaze no Kizu!"
... ... ...
Kaze no Kizu!
The cry that had not been heard in two centuries, as it rose above the wind and the rain. As the blade cut through the interface between the winds, it released a torrent of the eldritch energy that was the source of youki being. Power and light exploded upwards and outwards, and almost every being on or above the battlefield froze. Thunder rolled, and then with a ripping, howling roar, five golden columns grew and raced away from their source, pulverizing air above and ground below. The panthers in the path froze, or tried to run. They failed, as the edges of their youki auras were caught, and exploded, ripping the bodies apart, giving only some enough time to scream. The darkness of the storm was illuminated by a growing, devouring light.
It lasted forever, it seemed. Or, perhaps, but a handful of heartbeats. It was a holocaust; though brief and contained. It faded, the spreading furrows of destruction fading, the gashes in the ground growing more shallow. The gray semi-dark retook control.
But, for a long moment, only the wind, and the rain spoke, as nearly every eye stared at the five spreading, smoking furrows.
Kaze no Kizu.