Nocturne - Chapter Fifty-Seven: They Who Come
Rated - M (for extremely suggestive adult themes, references to harsh violence, and coarse language)
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
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Kagome had always been afraid of unintentionally releasing her spiritual powers against Sesshomaru. There was no telling what would happen. It could kill him, quite possibly, as evidenced by Fan's scarred face. And that was only a fraction of her power. Thankfully, it only surfaced when she either drew upon it or her life had been threatened, neither option ever required for Sesshomaru.
The idea to use the "gift" and channel her newfound ability to heal as she channeled her innate spiritual powers was sudden and desperate. She prayed it would work. It had to work, she pleaded, holding onto the matted fur of Sesshomaru's pelt. She breathed in the smell of burnt fur and flesh, mingled with blood and another pungent scent, but held firm, willing Sesshomaru to heal.
A tug, more like a jerk, pulled at something within her. Her eyes were still closed as she held him tight. Maybe her silent prayer had been answered, and it was working. Whatever it was, it quickly left her breathless and exhausted.
Whatever it was, she struggled to open her eyes, they seemed as though they were weighted down. Firm arms supported her, she realized, cocooned in strength and the warmth of his furs. Opening her eyes she saw him.
Sesshomaru had reverted to his usual form. He looked down at her with a golden softness that pulled her in, and she felt comforted for the moment, however brief.
He looked no worse for the wear. It seemed that whatever she had done had worked, or at least he had the time to recover on his own. Either way, he was back, and Kagome allowed herself to feel. Tears filled her eyes, and she tried to speak. "Inu-Inuyasha...he…"
"This one knows." Sesshomaru moved her gently, guiding her by the arms as he stood up. He helped her up as well and moved to stand in front of her. Grabbing Bakusaiga by the hilt, he whipped the sword out in a flourish.
Fan Tsenpo scowled, annoyed by the tender display. He cocked his head to the side. "Relish this moment while you can, Lord Sesshomaru. Your time left here is finite."
"Hnn. We shall see." Sesshomaru used his left hand to push Kagome back. She stumbled at first and took the hint to get back and out of the way.
Kagome retreated, giving the two daiyokai some space. She pulled her bow from around her chest and gripped it. The feel of the wood under her fingers gave her some strength. She still felt a bit woozy, but her clarity was coming back to her, and with it, the memories she had shoved down. It made her feel sick again, but now wasn't the time to swoon. Not when it could distract Sesshomaru. She laughed in her head, knowing it would not. Sometimes he had a one-track mind.
The clang of blades was clear, ringing through the small valley as Fan and Sesshomaru began to trade blows. Kagome watched as the pair danced with lethal grace. Their motions were fluid and swift, almost hard to keep track of, which made what she needed to do more difficult.
There would have to be a moment for her to strike while Sesshomaru kept Fan busy, she hoped. But she only had one arrow left, and it was defunct, missing an arrowhead. She grasped around her back to her quiver, but came back empty. It must have fallen out in the chaos.
Even if she had an arrow, or 20, there was no way she would be able to hit such a fast-moving target, she realized and lamented. They were like hummingbirds in the air, flitting from place to place, all the while with the scream of metal upon metal.
In the brief intervals that they slowed, she could tell there was blood flowing from wounds on both men. So, they had exchanged glancing blows, but nothing to slow the other.
"I have heard that it was your bastard brother that took your arm and left you to run with your tail in between your legs," Fan cajoled. He slowed his movements and held his sword ready, using the opportunity to throw cutting words and strike where Sesshomaru may be most sensitive; his pride in his heritage. "Sad how such a noble warrior as yourself could be brought to heel by such a whelp. I had no trouble with that one."
Sesshomaru looked unmoved. "You heard true." He lashed out with his light whip, which Fan easily avoided.
Fan scoffed. "Pathetic. You shall be eliminated just as easily." His blade glowed with a deadly blue sheen.
"You talk too much," Sesshomaru retorted and struck out with his whip again to no avail.
"It unsettles you." Fan grinned. He jerked his head to the side. "Speaking of unsettling things, I want your last thoughts to be of your mortal woman and the seed I planted in her just hours ago."
Sesshomaru's jaw feathered, but he did not react, waiting for Fan's next move.
"No retort for that? Cat got your tongue?" Fan baited.
Two could play in that game. Sesshomaru smirked. "Did one leave the marks on your face?"
Fan frowned, pulling the scars of his face into a gruesome sight. "I will repay the cause of this," he gestured to his face, "with death."
They had been talking long enough - long enough for Kagome to find her stray arrow on the ground, pick it up, and aim. She tried to infuse enough spiritual power into the shot, but it was annoyingly elusive today. That did not stop her from losing the arrow and striking Fan right in the eye.
Fan screamed and grabbed for the arrow, yanking it from his orbit. "You-you shall pay for that little miko!"
He looked furious, fuming and clenching his teeth in a frozen snarl. Fan looked entirely disheveled, which was nearly uncharacteristic for him. It was enough to send chills through her rather than elation over her well-aimed shot. But her shot was not fatal - not to him - and it was not enough to give Sesshomaru an edge. If anything, it seemed to invoke a wave of fiery anger within Fan.
He seemed to phase in front of her, moving too quickly for Kagome's eyes to register. She gasped at his sudden closeness and his menacing glare, despite only one gleaming eye tinted red with rage. The other orb was empty, a phantom eye staring through puffy lids and blood pouring from the wound. He still had the arrow in his hand as he raised it to strike her, perhaps to repay the favor knowing she would feel the acute pain yet heal from it.
"You don't need eyes to whelp," he hissed through his teeth.
Sesshomaru was glued in place. Kagome could see him from over Fan's shoulder and wondered if his face would be the last thing she ever saw, and then why the hell wasn't he doing anything about it. She felt her heart hammer in her chest. She had failed and would now suffer. Her hands strayed up in an attempt to protect herself from an attack, but she couldn't move quick enough.
Fan's look of fury evolved to one of confusion as his eyes fluttered rapidly. Kagome felt warmth spray her face, causing her to look down at the strange thing protruding from Fan's chest armor. It looked vaguely like a bloody hand, but Sesshomaru was standing too far away for it to have been him, and last time Kagome checked, his limbs didn't detach.
A young girl jumped from Fan's back, looking quite feral. Her long, silver hair denoted her as inhuman.
"Se-Setsuna?" Kagome stuttered once realization struck her. Where had she come from? How could her darling child look so intense and angry?
Setsuna pulled her hand from Fan's chest cavity and took along his beating heart. She walked around to face him with the organ held in front of her like a gift she had collected and was presenting to him. The bloody lump of flesh looked large in her small hand. Fan looked down at the child, sputtering and gasping for a brief second, his brain trying to register why his heart no longer beat within his chest.
"You hurt my mother," the child growled. "Now you die." She squeezed her hands and crushed the fleshy lump until it crumbled and fell apart into visceral chunks.
His eyes went wide with shock as his head lost its purchase and rolled along the grass, coming to rest between Kagome's feet. Her breathing hitched to see him so close, even as a disembodied head. She kicked it away in disgust, booting the head out into the open field where it rolled in a heap of disheveled silver hair before finally stopping some distance away.
Kagome looked up, seeing Sesshomaru holding an offensive stance with his sword held horizontally in front of his face. His eyes were narrowed into slits and a barely veiled sneer. He lowered his sword with a flourish, flicking any perceived visceral liquids from the blade.
She looked over to the head, sitting alone in the field between the two parties. The remaining hanyous seemed lost at what to do, all in shock at this unexpected turn of events. Many shuffled around, looking to one another for guidance. A few snarled and gnashed their fangs in anger, but all looked for a leader in the untimely absence of their own.
The lieutenant, Feng, launched forward towards his master's head and knelt over it in some kind of perverse reverence. He lifted the head aloft and howled, raising his voice in a throaty keel. The others watched on in silence, only raising their weapons or fists in solidarity.
Feng seemed to be picking up the mantle lost, grabbing his spear and pointing it towards the group, but aiming specifically at Sesshomaru. "For Fan Tsenpo!" He yelled and the hanyo all converged towards their enemy, who now stood in front of his family in a protective stance.
Feng led the charge, his speartip down and ready with the butt of the shaft under his armpit for balance. He gestured with a free hand towards the loose throng of Taijiya, who were in various stages of preparation. Some of the enemies broke off into a separate faction to continue their assault on the recovering slayers.
Kagome winced, knowing their reprieve had been short-lived, and now she was defenseless, holding a bow and no arrows despite Sesshomaru's protection. Kagome also had Setsuna's safety to worry about now that the girl was present, and even though she could likely defend herself, she would be no match for the seasoned warriors they were up against.
Feng was only several paces from them, and he lodged his spearhead into the ground, effectively pole vaulting and launching himself towards his enemy.
He was knocked out of the air by a well-placed kick from another completely unexpected arrival. Feng sputtered and twirled around to face a new aggressor and found his eyes widening in shock.
Kagome gasped at the sight. Tsering stood between them and Feng, her back towards them. Her loose hair blew in the breeze, and her sleeves flowing around her as she made graceful movements.
Feng could not speak, his words evading his tongue as he wrapped his mind around Tsering's sudden appearance and what would seem, a change of sides.
"Are you mad?" He called out once he got his wits about him. "Did you not see Lord Fan's head out on that field?!" He got up and grabbed his spear angrily.
Tsering's arms were held before her, fingers splayed. Every part of her looked perfect, even in a fighting stance, much to Kagome's chagrin. "Enough bloodshed. We are done," she called out.
Feng spit. "No. I will finish what Lord Fan Tsenpo started." He snarled at her like an angry curr. "You can get out of the way or die alongside them."
Tsering gestured him on, wiggling her fingers in an inviting move.
Feng shrugged, unperturbed. "So be it," he growled and barreled forward with his deadly spear.
Tsering was armed with nothing but didn't look so helpless now in a position that reminded Kagome of those crazy martial arts movies her younger brother used to watch when she still lived in the future. Kagome's eyes narrowed as she watched, wondering where this sudden outburst of capability had come from or whether or not Tsering's act earlier was a feint.
The yokai had seemed utterly hapless while she prostrated herself in front of them, and now here she was, busting out kung fu that even Bruce Lee would be envious of. That made Kagome wonder what Tsering was truly afraid of and what her motives were.
Tsering timed it perfectly, waiting until Feng was nearly upon her before reacting with lightning-quick reflexes. She immobilized the spear, bracing its shaft with one arm, resting the shaft in the crook of her elbow, and grabbed it with her free hand to dislodge it from Feng's grasp. She casually used the end to swat him on the rear with the butt of the shaft. "I said no more."
Her voice was authoritative and clear; A complete divergence from the groveling and sniveling mess they had encountered before. The other hanyos stopped in their tracks, some backing up if they were already engaged with a slayer. The small bastard army's training and submission to authority were fairly evident now as they wordlessly obeyed Tsering's command. The lieutenant seemed to be the exception.
Feng bared his teeth in a scowl. "What is wrong with you? Can't you see you're defending the enemy? I don't want to kill the sister of Fan Tsenpo, but I will do as I must to avenge his death."
Tsering threw the spear away and stood straight. "You fool. I am not defending them but granting you and your kin the opportunity to live!"
Feng roared in frustration and came forward with a clawed fist in the air, the next best weapon in his arsenal. He was swift, as most yokai, full or half-blooded alike, were, but his assault was stopped with nothing more than the swat of a hand.
Tsering lowered into a squat; one foot pointed towards her opponent and the other under her, unseen and hidden by the fabrics of her loose dress. She moved into another defensive stance, ready to block against any more attacks.
Feng looked perturbed, unsettled by this casual display of expertise. It wasn't just Kagome or her group that had been taken aback by Tsering's knowledge of martial arts then, but Fan Tsenpo's lackeys as well. Kagome absently wondered if Sesshomaru had ever practiced martial arts or if he thought it was a human construct beneath him. It seemed something a noble DaiYokai would deem inferior, but here one was, displaying prowess in the field.
The lieutenant changed tactics, pulling out all the moves he had been taught; most were all-out attacks and a few feints, but nothing that could break through Tsering's guard. Feng may not have been thoroughly equipped to handle anything beyond a fellow half-breed at best. Fan Tsenpo probably didn't anticipate any incursions against a true yokai, not to mention his twin sister, so Feng was limited in his skill and would have to rely on his ability to defeat Tsering.
Each move was deftly blocked, and he was pushed back several times by a half-hearted blow. "Enough," Tsering called out. "I am through with this game, and it is clear I am the victor. You may accept this, or I will be forced to put you down."
Feng growled and stood, not yet ready to surrender.
Tsering glanced over her shoulder, catching Sesshomaru's eye. She gave him a small nod with some hidden meaning that he understood, nodding back in affirmation. Or perhaps it was just an acknowledgment from one daiyokai to another. Kagome wasn't sure, but at the moment, she wasn't about to question it.
Tsering glided out towards the remaining
hanyos, walking by Feng and ignoring him as he sputtered with indignation. The collection of hanyos looked to Tsering with reverence. Whether it was due to her lineage or her quick subjugation of Feng, no one knew, though the former seemed most likely.
"My brother has deceived you," she announced loudly. "You've been brought up as tools, designed and forged for one thing. Now, I grant you a choice denied from the beginning. Leave of your own volition, go and strike out paths denied to you, or stay and meet your end."
The hanyous looked around at one another, some shifting nervously and gripping weapons with clear uncertainty. Tsering looked around at the group with a hardened, level gaze, taking the time to look at each one individually to drive her words home.
Kagome wondered if it would be the dainty DaiYokai to enforce her threat. Given her recent display of hidden capabilities, she seemed capable, but the odds were against her if the small army ignored her words and attacked.
As if reading her thoughts, Sesshomaru's steady voice answered. "She warns of the DaiOzuko." He stood slightly in front of her, one of his hands outstretched to guard her and their daughter. Kagome grimaced and looked down at Setsuna beside her, standing on tiptoe and looking around her father's large furs in an air of curiosity. It was a strange change in demeanor from a feral child to curious and wide-eyed. Kagome wondered what this "DaiOzuko," some grand party of yokai, would think of her child if what she thought was true.
Miroku did not stand far with his family surrounding him and watching with amazement as well. His wife and her large bone boomerang supported him, still beaten up and weak from being in the hanyo army's clutches. " I get a sense that this group may not look too kindly on mixing of the bloodlines," he said allowed.
Sesshomaru cut the monk a slight glare, the monk's words hitting a sensitive nerve. His reply was smooth and did not betray his worries. "This is so."
"Lord Sesshomaru, you are not under their jurisdiction?" The monk inquired.
"They may not agree. The DaiOzuko hold themselves, lords, over all inuyokai," he said with a touch of anger.
Sango shook her head, "if they come from the mainland, why should they care what transpires here? As if these are the first to be born. What about Inu.." She choked on the name, looking around as if remembering he was no longer among them, "Inuyasha?"
"They would not have known, nor cared lest it was brought to their divine attention. Even so, it no longer matters."
Miroku pondered. "I suppose the unasked question is who told them?"
Kagome had a good idea of who the informer was. The demoness had a knack for putting her nose where it didn't belong if she thought it would bring her some benefit to her son by extension.
Sesshomaru's grunted reply was all the affirmation she needed to know she was right. "I presume we shall learn the answer soon enough."