The dragon rushed toward them.
Inuyasha dashed out of the way, holding Kagome tightly against him as the impact of the dragon shook the ground. The phantom of the white dog vanished as he moved, the shinidamachū scattering along with it. The dragon attempted to curve toward him at the last minute, but still missed as its massive ethereal body collided with the earth. Miroku and Sango had dodged in the opposite direction, rolling out of the way with just enough clearance to keep them from going flying. Still, the impact was hard. Clouds of dirt and torn up grass rose up from the explosion, and from out of the haze, the furious maw of the blue dragon roared out after its prey. With his arm still holding Kagome tightly to his side, her arms around his neck, Inuyasha swiped the tessaiga in a wide arch to sever the creature's neck - the blade went straight through it, and out the other end with the creature unfazed.
Inuyasha landed in a crouch shifting Kagome onto his back. The moment he felt her thighs tighten against his waist, her familiar weight settling against his spine, he brought both hands to the hilt of the tessaiga, and watched with a snarl as the dragon rounded towards them once again. They saw only the white glint of its eyes before it shot at them, mouth open, spectral fangs bared. Within its body, Masao mirrored its every movement - or rather the other way around. There was little human left in him, in the unnatural split of his mouth and the frenzied glaze over his eyes.
Leaping out of the way again before the creature could attack, Inuyasha soared high above the next cloud of debris kicked up by the beast. Even in spite of its phantom form, the dragon seemed corporeal enough to cause real damage. It writhed and shrieked from the ground, its head whipping wildly through the debris until its eyes locked on the two of them again. Still soaring back through the air, Inuyasha and Kagome watched as it reared up to attack again. Kagome drew an arrow from the quiver on her back, and with a graceful strength, notched the arrow, pulled back, and let it fire in a burst of vibrant light toward the dragon's head.
Just like the sword had moments ago, the arrow flew straight through the dragon's body. The pink light that surrounded Kagome's arrow burst into a blinding white, shifting into blue before being consumed by the dragon's form. Its eyes flashed brighter, as it lunged for them again. Inuyasha tightened his hands around the hilt of his sword, gritting his teeth as he braced himself to land and fight back the dragon all at once. His feet skidded onto the ground, leaving two trails of torn-up grass in his wake. Tensing to prepare for the attack, Inuyasha had been twisting his body into a swing, when the hiraikotsu came spinning through the air. The boomerang cut through the dragon's long neck, harmlessly shifting through its image.
Masao turned toward the source of the attack in a fit of rage, where Inuyasha looked as well to see Sango still poised in her throwing stance. The dragon's body shifted, coiling as if to strike, but did not get the chance before the hiraikotsu came back around. The bone was covered in violet flames, coming down low enough to target Masao's body within the dragon instead this time. Just moments before the boomerang struck, Masao turned, and the dragon's tail swept up to bat it away. The hiraikotsu crashed back down into the earth, stuck upright in the dirt. The moment Masao tried to single in on Sango again, Inuyasha deposited Kagome on the ground and leapt up, sword drawn high over his head and glistening with shards of diamond. The adamant barrage burst from the blade, hundreds of diamond spears soaring toward Masao.
They hit. Those that shot through the body of the dragon did so without effect, but Masao's body was struck through by half a dozen shards. He did not flinch, hardly budged an inch as they sank through his flesh. Inuyasha flipped over in mid air, high up above the dragon's head, and watched as Masao pulled one of the shards from where it had impaled the centre of his chest. There was no blood, not even a drop as the diamond shrapnel crumbled away into sparkling dust in Masao's hand. The hole in his chest mended, as every other piece still embedded in his body disappeared just the same.
If there was one thing Inuyasha was certain of now it was this; whatever Masao was now, he was no longer human.
When Inuyasha landed, he found himself on the stone summit of the hill, his would-be spot of execution, with Masao rushing toward him, eyes now glowing the same piercing white as the dragon's. He gritted his teeth, braced himself, sword held strong in front of his body as Masao's power crashed into him head on. The Warlord drew the katana from his side as he came flying down, and lashed out wildly at Inuyasha with a guttural roar. The moment the swords hit, the phantom dog reappeared around Inuyasha in a burst of crimson light, baring its fangs at the opposing dragon. The reverb of the blades meeting struck through Inuyasha's bones, vibrating up his arms and into his core as he fought to keep his stance. Any mortal's blade would have shattered immediately on impact with the tessaiga. Masao's seemingly ordinary katana did not so much as crack, giving off the same haunting blue glow as the dragon still surrounding his body.
As Inuyasha and Masao pushed back against each other, Masao hovering just a foot off the ground as he bore down on Inuyasha, the mirages of their respective beasts did the same. Inuyasha had the upper hand in strength, and with a roar, managed to shove Masao back, but it did not last. As Masao came swinging at him again, Inuyasha countered, knocking Masao's weapon off course before coming back with an attack of his own. Each time their swords collided, the phantoms did the same, lashing out with fang and claw and deafening roars across the valley. As Inuyasha slashed down, the phantom dog sank its teeth into the dragon's neck. As Masao parried and followed through with a sharp jab, narrowly missing Inuyasha's heart, the dragon mirrored him with a savage swipe of its claws at the dog's chest.
Masao was not letting up. Not for a moment. Inuyasha struggled to release any greater power at this close range and narrowed his focus down to this deadly dance with the Warlord. The sun was rising higher and higher above the mountains, chasing away the long shadows cast by hill and forest and summit, and with it came the full scope of the destruction Masao was reaping. Still, as the sunlight glared in his eyes, Inuyasha could not tear his attention away from Masao. The self-proclaimed God was growing more and more deranged as this fight went on, more frenzied as he attacked with growing strength. Inuyasha had no issue in keeping up, but it was not a fight like any he'd had in a long time. He'd known this going into it. Masao was not an ancient beast lying in dormancy, nor an all-powerful demon come to challenge him. He was not a corrupted sorcerer, nor a restfulness spirit.
Masao was not Naraku. He did not create demons from himself to send out and do his dirty work, did not hatch plans for constant attacks, did not wreak chaos simply for the sake of it. Masao was a strategist, not a trickster. He moved armies and allocated resources to build his empire. Oh, they were alike in some of their ways - in their power, their dominion over their followers, but in every other manner they were dissimilar. Naraku hadn't fought like Masao did. In the years since, Inuyasha had begun to understand that Naraku's schemes were fuelled by fear. He'd known that they were coming for him and getting stronger by the day. He'd done everything in his power to stall his own demise. Masao wasn't like that. His desires were much more grounded in human greed. He conquered and he ruled, something Naraku never had an interest in. Masao had been motivated by his own crazed need for perfection, and it had blinded him to his true opponents until the last moment.
In the end, the comparison was this; a human whose avarice lead him to demonic possession, versus a human whose ambition lead him to godhood. And they'd both gone mad at the first taste of power.
Masao was unlike any human Inuyasha had faced. His mouth, grinning and snarling as he laid into Inuyasha, had split into an unnatural maw, his eyes impossibly wide, face so pale the blood scarcely had any place in his body. His hair had gone wild, tendrils falling in his eyes, flowing and twisting in the energy of the dragon surrounding him. Still, he was unschooled in his attacks, so hellbent on killing Inuyasha that his movements grew sloppy. Inuyasha began to use it to his advantage, the irony in his own growth not lost on him as he used Masao's anger against him. For every three strikes Masao tried to land, Inuyasha struck back with only one, stronger and more precise. He managed at last a few times to land a hit - not a lethal hit, but a hit just the same. Every time, the wound healed over, and Masao barely reacted.
But, every time, the wound took a moment longer to vanish. So, he had a finite amount of energy. Inuyasha could work with that. The moment Inuyasha saw the last cut, a deep slash through Masao's left side, stitching itself together with a slower pace, he smirked, pushing all of his weight against Masao's sword with a roar. He shifted his grip on tessaiga's hilt, dipping one shoulder down before drawing up. The fang carved into Masao's chest, nearly slicing him in half. High on the small victory, Inuyasha continued with the momentum, sword still held over his head, as he prepared to bring it down.
He was reminded of his own overconfidence when Masao's katana grazed his shoulder, cutting him from collar bone to the centre of his torso. It was a shallow wound, but enough to cause him to stumble. The pain throbbed through his torn flesh, but Masao seemed unperturbed by his quartered body The Warlord pushed forward, preparing another blow - and was unable to follow through before a glistening pink arrow embedded itself through his neck. Masao stopped, sword halting mid-arch, eyes wide. Slowly, he rounded toward the direction. The arrow was still lodged in his neck as he stared back at Kagome.
Inuyasha watched her from over his shoulder, standing across the meadow with her bow still drawn. Miroku and Sango stood beside her, the three of them standing back-to-back as they took on rogue soldiers fighting in the chaos. As Kagome prepared another arrow, her attention was drawn away from Masao, though it wasn't without a piercing glare, and to a soldier who had been attempting to line up a shot at Miroku. Sango shielded her from a samurai's attempted attack with her recovered hiraikotsu, pushing back the man's sword. Under her cover, Kagome swept low, aimed her arrow, and fired it at the soldier, hitting his calve before he could shoot the Monk. Even in the middle of battle, surrounded by death, she could not seem to bring herself to take the killing shot.
Masao reached up to the arrow in his neck and pulled it through with a sickening squelch, momentarily choking as he drew the arrow out of his throat from the other end. Kagome looked back at him, and even at that distance Inuyasha could see her go pale. The arrow was still glowing, covered in her shimmering rose energy, and as Masao held it in his hand, the light grew momentarily brighter. It seeped through his hand, absorbing into his body. Masao's eyes flashed with the same hue. As Kagome quickly drew another arrow, Masao tensed to focus an attack on her.
Inuyasha had to think quick. He swept his leg out while Masao was distracted in an attempt to knock him off his feet. It succeeded... though not how he was hoping. Masao did not so much fall over as get swept up, suspended in the blue light of the dragon once again. Still, it was enough of a distraction for Inuyasha to jump back, his own immaterial guardian spirit mirroring him with a snarl. The tessaiga's blade turned pitch black, a void of distant stars and nebula. With a hard swing, Inuyasha unleashed a barrage of crescent meidos, all whipping their way toward Masao.
The meidos could not cut through him though - they stalled in mid air around him, caught in the opposing energy of the dragon. Masao was held in place, temporarily trapped in the gravitational pull of a dozen different portals. Not what Inuyasha had been expecting, but he would take the moment of opportunity while he could. The moment he landed on his feet again, he pushed off, dashing across the meadow back to Kagome, Sango, and Miroku. A ring of soldiers was beginning to descend around them, as the fight began spilling over across the empty field. Inuyasha propelled himself over their heads, flipping over and lashing out with his claws rather than his sword to avoid hitting anyone else. The soldiers staggered back with blood-curdling creams as they were sliced through, falling to the ground. Inuyasha took no pleasure in killing humans, but he had more than learned at this point that he was left with little other choice.
Landing on his feet in a crouch, Inuyasha held his sword out in front of him as he rose up in a defensive stance, shifting in front of Kagome. The phantom dog gave a loud growl above their heads, sending any assailant who dared get too close running back in fear. There would be more, though - there would always be more.
Pressing her side against Inuyasha's as he joined their tight circle, Kagome looked back at him over her shoulder. "Stay close, huh?" she teased, out of breath but still standing strong.
"Shut up," he retorted. Twenty feet away, three soldiers had lifted their muskets to take a shot. The moment Inuyasha looked at them, the phantom dog unleashed snarl, its paw lashing out to swipe them off their feet. Inuyasha took the opportunity to cut down a brazen samurai, half transformed into a unrecognizable creature with horns protruding from his head, coming toward them with his sword drawn. With his back turned to an oncoming soldier on horseback, Kagome stepped around him and shot the man in the shoulder. The horse cried out, rising up on its hind legs and knocking the wounded soldier off before running away out of danger.
And it was the same scene that stretched across this newly blood-christened battlefield. Mayhem had descended on this once peaceful meadow, spilling down into the village, through the meadow and into the hills. Every soldier in Masao's standing army had either dropped their weapons and ran out of fear or began fighting back, as the villagers took up arms to reclaim their occupied home. Even with those soldiers that fled, there were more than enough to make it an even fight - and more were coming. The drums were still distant, but they were coming closer, and Inuyasha knew that Masao would have called every stronghold he had left. The frustrating part of it all was that Inuyasha knew he had the power to deal with those hoards on his own, sweeping through them without mercy. He could do it - but he couldn't. There were too many innocent men and women in between, the fray was scattered with no clear lines. He couldn't unleash a windscar without killing them too.
Inuyasha's ears twitched to the bell-like tones of Miroku's staff as he disarmed a soldier, one of the many who'd abandoned their muskets in favour of hand-weapons. He worked in tandem with Sango, as she used the hiraikotsu to shield them from bullets and take out attackers before they could come close. The sounds were discordant - the twang of a bowstring as Kagome fired another arrow, the solid impact of the boomerang hitting a man's armour, all around the screams and shouts and gunpowder exploding.
Miroku grunted as he shoved the unconscious body of the soldier away after he'd beaten him over the back of the head with his staff. "Inuyasha," he panted. "How long will that hold Masao?"
Inuyasha looked back to where he'd trapped the Warlord in between the meidos, the man screaming in pain as the dragon's body twisted and writhed around him. Already, he could see the black crescents begin to weaken. "Not much longer," he replied. Wrapping an arm around Kagome, he spun her around, out of the way of an enemy arrow as he sliced it in the air. The scent of smoke drifted in on the wind. Homes were being set on fire in the village, thick plumes of smoke revolting against the soft peach dawn. "Miroku, Sango," he called out. "You go help in the village."
Catching the hiraikotsu as it came spinning back to her, Sango looked back at him. "But Masao-"
"They need your help more," Inuyasha cut her off. "Nothing we've tried has worked so far. You're better off fighting there until I come up with something."
"And what would that be?" Sango asked as she swung the boomerang over her head and released it into a crowd of soldiers.
Inuyasha shifted to cover her back, cutting down a sword-wielding soldier. He was the last for a good while, the others all focused on other outbreaks of fighting. Inuyasha barely looked at the man as he fell, shouting back to Sango over his shoulder. "I don't know! Something!"
The white dog snarled once more, echoing through the meadow as it focused back on the writhing dragon. The meidos were fading away. They didn't have much more time. Sango and Miroku shared a look, all four of them taking one more moment to acknowledge each other. Miroku touched Inuyasha's shoulder, nodding to Kagome. With no more time for arguing, the two of them made a break for the village, cutting through the battlefield. Inuyasha and Kagome were left in the epicentre of a dead and wounded soldiers lying in the crimson-stained grass. Kagome's breath hitched as he surveyed the damage, and Inuyasha was quick to pull her head in against his shoulder to block out the violence. They had a moment of stillness- just a moment, one that wouldn't last, but was no less needed.
"Kagome," Inuyasha began carefully.
"No," she interrupted before he could continue. She took a deep breath, pulling her head back to look him in the eye, resolve strengthened. "I'm not going anywhere, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha felt everything in him screaming to send her off, to do whatever necessary to protect her, but he knew the truth - he'd be just as anxious about her safety if she were out of sight. Though reluctant, he nodded. There was no time to send her away, in any case. The meidos finally vanished in a flicker, and Masao was freed, the dragon twisting its massive body to narrow in on them. The white phantom howled. Inuyasha lowered himself down on his knee and Kagome climbed on, already stringing an arrow to her bowstring. It wouldn't kill him, they'd discovered that much already - but it was better than nothing. They needed to take what they could get. As the dragon rushed towards them once again, they met it head on.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
The village was scarcely recognizable by the time Miroku and Sango arrived. It had been largely abandoned, with most villagers having taken shelter in their home the night before, but those that hadn't been able to get away and had been forced to witness Inuyasha's near-execution were left to fend for themselves amoung the chaos. Some were trying to take cover between buildings, cowering in their huts, trying to gather what little valuables they owned before their homes were sacked. There was little left of it all now, houses reduced to timber and ash, broken pottery left in the streets, blood running in the puddles of last night's rain. Those that had come with the two of them were trying to fight back, to protect the village, but there wasn't much left to protect at this point.
The structures that were left, if nothing else, were good for cover. Miroku and Sango pressed their backs up against the standing wall of collapsed house as a round of muskets went off, the deafening explosion echoing off the ruins of the village. There was very little organization to Masao's men at this point. With the Generals transformed into hideous creatures, and their Warlord in a frenzy, they were left to assemble themselves into half-formed ranks. Many had abandoned order all together and were focused only on preserving their own lives. Others were still clinging onto the formations they'd been taught.
As they took a moment to breath and protect themselves from the gunfire, Sango looked to her husband. Like her, his back was pressed against the wood, but she could see clearly how much pain it was causing him, the not-yet healed whip scars still tender as the wood dug into them through his robes. Sango pressed her head back against the wall, tilting it up toward the sky as she caught her breath. "Are you still with me, Monk?" she asked, the familiar old nickname rolling off her tongue with a breathless smile.
Miroku looked back at her, and though it was exhausted, the smile was mirrored on his face. "Nowhere I'd rather be, my love," he replied. The sound of half a dozen muskets musket locks clicking into place resounded through the village. Miroku lunged for Sango, pulling the both of them down as the wall they had been using to take cover burst with a spray of bullets and wood debris. Sango brought the hiriakotsu up to shield them from the blast. "On second thought," Miroku murmured. She caught him for just a moment, staring down at the palm of his right hand.
Sango reached out and grabbed onto his wrist, forcing him to look her in the eyes. The intensity in her gaze was enough to make him pause. "Don't," she said, knowing the turbulent thoughts in his mind without words. Her meaning was clear; do not wish for a moment you had the wind tunnel again. She gently squeezed his wrist, searching his eyes until she found the understanding there. Miroku exhaled slowly and nodded. "Go," Sango jerked her head toward the lane beyond the decrepit house. "I'll cover you."
Miroku nodded, and dashed out with Sango following close behind. She held up the hiraikotsu at her side, using it to shield them both from any oncoming attack. As they dashed between two buildings in a narrow side road, Miroku came upon a soldier with a mase drawn high above his head. He quickly intercepted it with his staff, the chain wrapping around it. Before the soldier had the chance to pull back, Miroku yanked his staff down to disarm him. He swept the staff up, smashing his head against the wall. The soldier dropped to the ground. Without pausing the two of them continued out between the houses and onto the street - where another line of soldiers in rank were loading their weapons to fire at a group of feeling villagers.
"Miroku, down!" Sango shouted, already winding back with the boomerang. The moment he dropped down, without hesitation, she released, sending the hiraikotsu flying into the line. Their muskets misfired, as the loose black powder was disturbed and touched their burning matches. Sango threw herself down to the ground beside Miroku before any stray bullets could hit her. In the confusion, the hiraikotsu was left to spin over their heads, crashing into the building behind them. Sango pushed herself up on her elbows beside her husband, watching as a few of the soldiers still standing began to advance on them in fury. Miroku threw his arm around her, trying to pull her up to her feet and shield her at the same time.
The soldiers never got that close. A feline roar erupted overhead, a shadow passing over them from above before either of them had the time to comprehend what was happening. The soldiers staggered back in fear, unable to react as a chain wrapped sickle flew down and made clean cuts through each other of their chests. Kohaku landed in a crouch between Miroku and Sango and the soldiers, pulling back hard on his sickle. The chain wrapped around their weapons, disarming them with ease. One enraged soldier tried desperately to attack with his fists, but Kohaku jumped up and kicked him in the side of the head, sending him to the ground unmoving. The rest were chased off as Kirara, fully transformed in her beast state, landed in front of them and let out another ear-splitting roar.
As soon as the initial shock wore off, Sango was scrambling to her feet and rushing toward her little brother. "Kohaku!" she cried, pulling him into her arms. She held him tight before holding him at arm's length. "What are you doing here? How did you know?"
"The entire province is in an uproar," Kohaku replied. "Probably more. Lord Masao ordered all of his armies here yesterday."
Miroku's hand tightened around his staff as he joined them, a grave shadow darkening over his face. "So, more are coming."
"Yes, but..." Kohaku stopped, looking back over his shoulder at the direction he'd first come in. Kirara did the same.
Sango frowned. "But what?"
"I saw it as we were flying in," Kohaku said. "Reinforcements."
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
The first priority was to get Masao away from the village, and away from the central battlefield. Inuyasha and Kagome lead the fight far out beyond the meadow, and into the surrounding hills where they slopped up toward the mountain. It wasn't a difficult task by far. Inuyasha was leagues faster than Masao, even with the dragon's power, but the point was to keep him engaged without outrunning him. It became a game of cat and mouse, the two of them leading him away, but always staying just barely out of reach. Steadfast on Inuyasha's back, Kagome twisted around to fire arrows at Masao behind them. Each one was either deflected or taken without batting an eye, the pink energy absorbed as if it were nothing. The arrows could very well be making him more powerful - but it was a strategic price to pay to keep Masao's attention focused solely on the two of them, managing at the same time to slow him down just enough each time for Inuyasha to get ahead.
But Kagome didn't have an inexhaustible supply of arrows. They had to make a stand. The moment the dragon let out a roar of earth shattering frustration and pushed ahead of them finally, she knew that this would have to be where they made it. They'd stopped on the mountainside, high up over the fires and the bloodshed. The impact of Masao landing in front of then nearly sent Kagome falling off of his back, but Inuyasha steadied a hand behind him to keep her close.
And the battle went on - for ages it felt like, though Kagome knew it hadn't been nearly so long. The sun was climbing higher into the sky, just barely rising toward its zenith. The heat had come along with it as the shadows grew shorter, the cool morning chased away by the blinding sun. The sky was all-too clear, too bright. It would have been a beautiful day, and that fact alone made all this horror feel so painfully out of place.
Kagome clung to Inuyasha's shoulders as he leapt out of the way of a swipe of Masao's sword. The dragon and the dog continued to battle it out over their heads, a reflection of every evasion and attack. One hand still gripping tightly to her bow, Kagome drew an arrow from her quiver and prepared it, waiting for the opportune moment as they came falling back down through the air to shoot. She aimed for Masao's hand, hoping to at least get him to release his hold on his sword, but Masao cut it down before it could hit. Still, it served as a distraction enough for Inuyasha to release a windscar, the energy racing from the blade of the tessaiga and clawing across the mountainside. The echoing boom of trees falling down the rock face thundered through the valley below.
Masao roared out, the dragon momentarily disappearing amoung the golden light. The moment the windscar faded, the dragon reappeared, unaffected but all the more enraged, as it raced back toward him. Inuyasha quickly landed, depositing Kagome on the ground before jumping up to meet the dragon head on. Kagome's world turned over as she fell to the ground, catching herself on her hand and elbow, and looking up just in time to see the explosion of the two opposing energies colliding. As they came falling back toward the earth with the speed of warring comets, Kagome dashed for the trees, ducking down in the cover of the forest as dust and dirt burst on impact. When she looked out, Inuyasha and Masao were in a stalemate, their blades locked as they pushed back at one another.
From the shadow of the forest, Kagome watched as Masao's eyes, still glowing their unnatural white, flickered down toward Inuyasha's chest. He bared his teeth, giving one final push to knock Inuyasha back before letting go of his sword with one hand and reaching out. Masao's fingers grazed against the crimson crystal tied in the cord around Inuyasha's neck. Inuyasha howled. Above them, the dog did the same, their voices, human and inhuman, were an awful, dissonant screech. The red light surrounding Inuyasha grew brighter and flickered, as if trying to fight off Masao's influence.
Kagome didn't give it a second thought before she bolted out from behind the trees. With all her strength, she threw herself at Masao, letting out her own furious shout as she shoved him away. It was enough to relinquish Masao's hold on Inuyasha, but now within reach of Masao, his rage turned toward her, his head whipping around in her direction. His eyes had hardly landed on her before Inuyasha was pulling her behind him, growling back at Masao in challenge.
Masao released a deafening shout, the dragon rising high above them and taking him along with it, still centred in the heart of its spectral body. As it lifting higher and higher in the air above, them a blinding white ball of energy in the dragon's mouth grew until it rivalled the strength of the sun. Kagome had to shield her eyes from its light - but in front of her, she could hear the unfazed smirk in Inuyasha's voice. "Finally," he said.
She did not have the chance to question him before he leapt up into the air. The dragon released the energy, sending it shooting toward Inuyasha. The silhouette of his body eclipsed the beam of devastating energy. Inuyasha lifted the tessaiga above his head, a corporeal wind swirling around the blade. Just moments before the energy would have struck him down, Inuyasha sent it straight back at Masao in a backlash wave, his own power returned tenfold at him. If Masao shouted, his own voice was overpowered by the bellow of the dragon as it was blown back. The dragon crashed further up the mountain face, landing straight into the fortress above the village. The column of smoke and ash that rose up from the impact alone told that there would be nothing left of it - the village certainly would not miss it.
Inuyasha landed next to her again. The two of them watched, breathes held, as the plume above the fortress grew. A momentarily stillness fell over them as they watched. They waited. And sure enough, the faint blue glow flickered to light again, as it slowly picked itself out from the ruins of the fortress. Though it hadn't been enough to kill him, it had at least, finally, dealt a good deal of damage. Still, Kagome couldn't help the soul-aching disappointment as she gazed between the titan clawing its way out of the wreckage and the desolation in the valley below. She was exhausted already. Her body ached, her lungs burned, and the mental toll to add to it all was beginning to weigh too heavily on her shoulders. Her shoulders slumped, and heartbroken sigh rattled from her chest. "There's no end to it," she whispered.
That is when she saw it - Inuyasha's ears twitched. She saw him tense, his entire body going on alert as his head snapped toward the northwest. His gaze scanned the forest, far beyond the horizon's edge, beyond what they could see even at that height. "Wait," he murmured as he stepped up to her side. "I think..."
A massive form broke over the horizon, flying toward them with incredible speed. It grew larger and larger as it approached. On instinct, Inuyasha threw his arm around Kagome, pulling her tight against his side, hand tightening around the hilt of his sword. However, when he finally saw who it was, his hold become one of comfort rather than protection, although he did not release any tension from his body. From the mountain, they watched as a large white dog touched down in the centre of the meadow, baying loudly at the sky. As it lifted its head, the markings on its fur, the red streaks and violet crescent moon, became visible. The fighting below momentarily paused, every human looking on at the beast in shared horror. As its voice rumbled through the valley, an answering cry echoed back - a dark haze rose over the forest, expanding into a horde of flying demons. What could have been mistaken for its shadow on the ground over the distant planes soon grew in tandem, as a legion of demons following on foot spilled down toward the battle.
Kagome felt the fear grip her heart with a physical, jolting pain. Her first reaction, anyone's first reaction, would have been terror. But all it lasted was a second. When she looked back at Inuyasha, though it was faint at the corner of his lips - he was smiling. There was pride in the lift of his chin as he watched the demon armies come to their aid. On the opposite horizon, Masao's own troops were close to approaching, an untold number of humans under his command for this final stand.
"They came," Inuyasha breathed, as if he couldn't believe the words coming from his own mouth.
Kagome tore her gaze away from the hellish sigh, saw how much hope it had restored in Inuyasha, and felt it doing the same in her. A breeze drifted through the valley, and for a moment, she could breathe without the assault of smoke and blood in her nostrils. The sun was soft on Inuyasha's face. She hadn't realised just how long it had been since she'd seen him in daylight, the gold of his eyes iridescent.
Further up the mountain, the dragon's roar drew their attention back to the battle at hand. There would be an end to this.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Shippo had to hold on by fistfuls of fur, ducking his head down against the wind as he rode on Sesshomaru's back. The wind alone was nearly enough to choke the wind from his lungs at the speed they were travelling. Beside him, Rin held on just as tightly, but seemed a thousand times more at ease, riding on the familiar back of her former caretaker. Takuya, behind the two of them, was no so relaxed. Evidently, having ridden on the back of a large dog demon to get to their Mountain Hideaway hadn't been experience enough to get the old priest used to it. The kitsune, for his part, had been shocked enough that Sesshomaru had allowed Shippo to come with them (especially given what had happened the last time, which had mostly involved a lot of screaming). Still, with the demon horde following close behind, there was no time to lose. Quite literally - dawn had long since broken by then, and Shippo feared they may have arrived too late to stop Inuyasha's execution.
By the time he finally peaked up, as Sesshomaru began to descend toward the village he'd once considered his home, it was difficult to imagine that they had made it on time. His heart dropped into the acidic pit of his stomach the moment he saw the plumes of smoke, the scent slamming into him on the harsh wind. More of Masao's armies had already begun descending on the valley, thunderous gunfire ringing out against the mountain face. He almost believed, just for a moment, that Sesshomaru had brought them to the wrong village. That he'd mistaken some other tragic scene for the quiet countryside he'd known.
Shippo had never been so tempted to revert to his smaller form again, to burrow down somewhere and close his eyes until it was all over - but, as he reminded himself, this was far from the first battle he'd seen, a thought that left a bitter taste on his tongue and was even more difficult to swallow. This was just another, he told himself. And hopefully the last he saw for a long, long time.
Sesshomaru touched down. Even from their place on top of him, they could feel the tremble through the earth as his enormous form landed. Fear rippled through the battlefield, enemies all alike in their instantaneous horror at the creature that had seemingly crashed down from either heaven or hell into the middle of their war. As Sesshomaru lifted his head in a deafening howl, his form shifted and glowed, a cyclone of wind lifting up around his body. Shippo scrambled for purchase as the body began to fall away, leaving both him and Takuya to gradually slip off and fall to the ground behind the great demon. When the light and the wind all faded, Rin was holding onto the fur hanging off Sesshomaru's armour, harmlessly lowered to the ground.
Sesshomaru drew the bakusaiga from its sheath, and with one devastating swipe, unleashed a warning to anyone who dared to come closer, a wave of crackling energy decimating any soldier within its range. Shippo recovered from the fall beside Takuya, shaking his head to clear the disorientation before looking over at the priest to make sure he was alright. Takuya was already rising to his feet, offering a hand to the boy to help him up as well. Shippo took Takuya's help, but released his hand in favour bringing his own trembling fingers to the small dagger at his side. His eyes frantically scanned the battlefield, what he could see beyond Sesshomaru's tall figure, in search of any sign of Inuyasha, Kagome, or any of his friends. He saw no one.
"Shippo," Sesshomaru's voice cut through his rising panic, stern and sharp enough to draw the kitsune's full attention. He didn't even think Sesshomaru knew his name, let alone if he would ever acknowledge him. Ill-formed creatures in samurai's armour, the transformed ranks of Masao's generals, were the only ones brazen or foolish enough to approach Sesshomaru at this point. Sesshomaru slashed the Bakusaiga at an oncoming beast, its face half melted off its skull. Back still turned to Shippo, Sesshomaru merely raised his head to address him. "Take Rin to safety."
Rin clung tighter to Sesshomaru's fur, her breath hitching in rising distress. "But-!"
"Now," Sesshomaru snapped.
Takuya placed his hand on Rin's shoulder, gently trying to pry her away from the Demon Lord. "Go with him, Rin. Miroku and Sango's home should still be safe. I'll be needed in the village."
Rin looked frantically between Takuya, Shippo, and Sesshomaru. It was only when Sesshomaru spared a glance down at her, face stoic yet eyes piercing, that she reluctantly let go. Takuya gave her shoulder a sqeeze, but as more of Masao's men began to advance on them, was quick to push her toward Shippo. Sesshomaru shifted to cover their escape, bringing his sword up at eye level. Shippo saw the reflection of his eyes in the shining surface of the blade, narrowing back at him. "Go."
The monsters, what was left of Masao's closest followers, were attempting to crowd Sesshomaru. As Sesshomaru lashed out with the bakusaiga again, the intense light nearly swallowed him whole along with the newly formed demons. He had no mercy for the mindless things. As Rin stared in terror at Sesshomaru's silhouette, Shippo grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the forest's edge. "Come on!" he cried.
It took some pulling, but he finally managed to get her to follow willingly. Leaving the dismal scene behind, Shippo and Rin dashed across the meadow. There were few on the battlefield who paid any attention to the two children running for their lives, few who bothered to attack. As they ran, a soldier on horseback fell in front of them, screaming out in agony. Shippo skidded to a stop, pulling Rin back with him as the horse kicked and nearly trampled them. Gaze darting around, he found a shorter distance to the forest, and yanked Rin in that direction. They raced into the trees, the shadow of the thick forest blocking out the sun and its unforgiving mid-day heat.
The sound of the battle was muffled here. The trees were a barrier, the clangs of swords and cracks of gunfire all echoing out and dying out into a distant hum in the sea of green. Scattered amoung the foliage, some soldiers and villagers still fought. Though it was more difficult to fight in the forest on uneven terrain, it seemed that there was nowhere the battle hadn't boiled over. Shippo tried to lead the way, avoiding these dispersed brawls. All the while, Rin clung tightly to his hand, constantly looking back the way they had come in search of danger they hadn't seen.
Shippo heard screaming up ahead, followed by a dozen popping sounds, and more shouted orders. Footsteps clamoured toward them from somewhere off in the trees. He stopped, nearly tripping Rin. Not far from them was a hollow beneath the overgrown root of a tree, a small space hidden half underground. "Over here," Shippo panted. They took off running again, nearly sliding down in the damp dirt as they scrambled for shelter. They crawled inside the hollow, pressing their backs against the earth wall, just as the footsteps thundered closer. Shippo held his arm out, keeping Rin back and hidden, as he peered out to see the feet of a group of soldiers running by. Only when they'd passed did Shippo let out a long breath.
"We'll be safe here for a minute," he panted as he dropped his arm and sat back.
Rin nodded, drawing her knees up to her chest. She wrapped an arm around herself, the other reaching down to drag her finger through the dirt in aimless shapes. "Do you think Inuyasha and Kagome are okay?" she asked quietly after a long silence.
Shippo did his best to hide his own fear. "Yeah, 'course."
Finger still tracing in the earth, Rin sniffed. "And Miroku and Sango?" she continued, voice thick. "And the babies?"
"I-I mean..." Shippo stuttered. "I'm sure they are."
Rin stopped her fidgeting. She swiped her hand through the patterns she'd made in the dirt, hugging her arm around her and pressing her face into her knees. "I hate this," she choked. "I don't want to lose anyone else."
Stunned for a second by Rin's emotions, Shippo nodded and leaned further back against the wall. That was a sentiment they both seemed to share. "Yeah, me too…" he muttered. A profound silence fell between them. In the far distance, the battle continued to rage on, broken up by rumbling canon blasts. Here though, in the thick of the forest, sunlight was still filtering through the green leaves overhead. The wind through the trees was a soft noise, nearly downing out the sounds of war. Shippo looked back at Rin. "Uh, what you said back at the mountain…" he started, bringing his hand up to the back of his neck. "You were really brave, standing up to all those demons. For a human, I mean."
In spite of everything, Rin laughed. Shippo hadn't been expecting it. The laugh was thick, quiet, and uneven from the hitch of her breathing, but it was there. Rin finally sat up, rubbing her palm over her eyes to rid herself of any stray tears. "Well, you were brave too… for a demon," she offered a weak little smile. Shippo tried to smile at her in return. Rin stared out of the hollow at the forest floor. "Is it true what you said? About your school?"
Shippo tensed at the memory, but managed a quiet, "Yeah..."
"I'm sorry," Rin sighed, as if she had any reason to be amoung all this. She peered up at the canopy of leaves overhead. "I just want this all to be over. I want things to go back to the way they were."
"Do you really think they can?" Shippo asked.
Though Rin opened her mouth to answer, she never had the chance. Light footsteps overhead had them both gasping and trying to push back into the hollow as deep as they could to remain out of sight. Shippo's hand flew to the dagger at his side, but did not unsheathe it yet for fear of giving them away. It was a tense moment of silence before they heard it again - the trotting footsteps, claws scraping at the dirt, and a high-pitched whining. Four paws stepped in front of the hollow's opening - covered in a light tan fur. Kei dropped her nose toward the hollow, before lowering down on her belly and whining at them.
"It's Jun and Kei!" Rin cried, already climbing out from under the roots to throw her arms around the dogs. She was nearly shaking with relief as she held onto them, Jun licking her cheek. Shippo climbed out after her, a touch more cautious as he kept a watch out for any danger. Kei shook herself free from Rin's embrace, biting onto the edge of her sleeve and pulling her forward. Jun did the same, trotting behind Shippo and nudging him with his head in the same direction. "I think they want us to follow," Rin said as she looked back at Shippo.
Shippo nodded. As soon as they obeyed and started in the direction the dogs were so intent on, Jun and Kei ran ahead, urging them to follow faster. The dogs lead them through the trees, far away from any fighting until they stumbled out in a familiar field. Miroku and Sango's home, far on the outskirts of the forest and higher above the decimated village, was shielded in one of the largest barriers Shippo had ever seen. Inside the barrier, hundreds of villagers had taken refuge from the battle, surrounding the home and trying to make best of the little resources they had amoung themselves. Rin smiled, safety finally within reach, and ran ahead. Some of the other village children were already calling her name, their parents beckoning the girl inside. She ran through the barrier and it shimmered around her.
But as Shippo tried to follow, he found himself thrown back by a powerful force. He shouted, purified energy sparking over his skin like lightning. Rin turned around, pressing her hand up against the barrier. "Shippo!" she called out, looking back to the adults behind her. "Let him in! We have to let him in!"
A village woman placed her hands on Rin's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Rin," she shook her head, staring back at Shippo in sympathy. "The barrier does not allow demons to pass though."
"No, we have to get him inside!" Rin argued.
Shippo grunted as he picked himself up, shaking off the last painful vestiges of the spiritual energy. He pushed himself up to his feet, looking back at the first and to Rin again. "It's okay," he said. "I'll be fine, I promise. Stay here, I'll find a way to help." Rin shook her head, fresh tears welling in her eyes. Shippo knew he couldn't stay. With Rin shouting after him to wait, Shippo dashed back into the shade of the forest.
