Disclaimer: This story is loosely inspired by "A private affair" by Beppe Fenoglio.
None of the characters belongs to me but the original ones.
The war described in this story is of pure fiction and in no way relates to actual historical events.
Chapter Six: No Footprints
"He was already far away, crushed by wind
and water, marching blindly but unerringly, mumbling 'Over the rainbow'."
After a small and moving reunion that only a select few had the joy of witnessing, Toga immediately took matters into his own hands. The first thing that didn't escape his notice was the smell of his son's blood, still human, nor the fact that the same smell surrounded the guard kept under control by Katsuo. Though he wished he had more time to seek a punishment worthy of Michi's crime, Inuyasha made it clear to him there were more pressing matters and no time to waste. The blood boiled in Toga's veins at yet another insult to his son, especially in such a cowardly and vile manner. However, he nodded to Inuyasha and only ordered that the bull demon be immediately taken into custody and guarded as he thought of a more fitting punishment.
The Inu-no-Taisho then headed for his private office, followed only by his youngest son and Koga. Once alone and out of prying ears, he immediately demanded all information from Inuyasha.
The half-demon explained why he had been chased by the hunters and spiritualists that tried to capture him and use him as bait to take back a monk currently their prisoner. He didn't dwell too much on why he was in enemy territory, and his father realized Inuyasha didn't want to disclose certain information at the moment, despite Koga being his friend. He knew he could have an even more private conversation with his son, one it was about time they finally had, on many fronts. The half-demon went on, recounting how the young priestess had devised a plan to get him out of the enemy lands without the spiritualists could understand it. Since they had their ears pricked up to perceive every demonic aura – although Inuyasha hadn't been happy about it –, that plan had involved the temporary purification of his demonic powers. The underground passages, even if unknown, could not hide his aura, and Kagome had declared it safer that way.
Her participation in that well-articulated scheme had caused no small amount of surprise.
"What on earth were you thinking?" Koga exclaimed, "you let a priestess purify you of your own free will? It could have all been a plan to trap you after making you think you were safe!" He ran his hand through his hair and shot his friend a look full of disapproval. He could not believe that, in such a dangerous situation, Inuyasha had let a priestess purify him, that he had even befriended the enemy.
"Shut up, Koga!" Inuyasha exclaimed in reply. "What the hell do you know about the situation I was in? Besides, I think Kagome had already proven to me that she was trustworthy after all the trouble she got into just to hide me from the hunters' eyes. If it wasn't for her and her family, I would really be their prisoner now, and who knows what the fuck they would have done to me!"
"It could all have been a brilliant scheme: helping you to make you think you were safe and then stab you in the back!"
"And why would she go through all this trouble when all she had to do was report me the same night I was hurt? Didn't think about it, you mangy wolf, did you?"
Their faces were now inches apart, fangs bared and murderous glances as low growls drifted through the room; Toga sighed heavily at their little show. "Would you two be serious only this time?" he finally said, dividing the two immature demons, despite their age, once and for all. "I think that, since Inuyasha is here alive and well recovering his demonic powers, we can say the priestess who helped him is not an enemy. Please remember, Koga, that just as there are people who did not want a war among us, it is the same among the enemy ranks. Evidently, Kagome-sama is one of these people since she has not hesitated to help my son. I, myself, will be the one to give her my heartfelt thanks when this vile war is over."
"I would not trust her so easily, Toga-sama, if I may say so." Koga, who had little trust in any human being with spiritual powers, tried to intercept again.
"This is not the time, Koga. My son is safe and sound, and whether you trust her or not, I don't think this girl would be stupid enough to turn him in after putting her life at risk. What's the point? Besides, now he's here in our lands, and she's on the other side; she would be in serious trouble if she revealed she helped the enemy escape. Those hunters can be very ruthless even against their own people, especially young women," the General continued with apprehension. "This is one of the reasons why I would like to end this conflict as soon as possible. Although we are not free of inner ones..." a still fresh pain flashed across his eyes at the thought of his beautiful Izayoi; his arm instinctively rose to clasp his son's shoulders, as if to make sure at least Inuyasha had escaped such horrors, "our enemy's situation is worse. In these two years, I had the opportunity to observe how humans fare. With great regret, I must admit that apart from the committed advocates, everyone else die of starvation or violence. For the most, the hunters are the culprit, but I wouldn't forget those holy men who have forgotten their path."
"Shouldn't we be worried about our people dying?" Koga asked again, still a hint of scepticism in his tone.
Both Toga and Inuyasha immediately gave him the hairy eyeball. "How in the seven hells can you say such a thing, Koga? Those bastards would be capable of raping even a defenceless little girl. Is it her fault her parents or grandparents decided to fight for this sick war? They are innocent people, whether they are in enemy territory or not!" A shiver ran down his spine at the mere thought of Kagome and little Rin in the hands of a slimy man like Kiyoshi.
"Well said, son. Koga, I don't want to hear you talk like that again. You are an honest man and a good warrior; I know you will see my point without much trouble. Now the main problem is figuring out how to reach the final battle between the humans and us. This war has gone on for far too long."
"In this regard, father, I believe we won't need to rack our brains too much. The humans themselves will come to us and provide us with the last fundamental dispute. We'll just have to prepare ourselves properly," Inuyasha interjected. He had not yet told them about the surprise attack planned by the enemy faction.
"What are you talking about, son? Do you still have something to tell us?"
Inuyasha nodded, his expression now incredibly serious. "The reason I was caught off guard by the sentries that night was that I was too lost in my own thoughts because of what I had just discovered. In fact, I had stopped at a human camp to listen to what they were saying. This way, I found out that they are planning a surprise attack to take back the monk currently in our dungeons and intend to turn our strengths into our greatest weaknesses."
"Damn it!" Koga exclaimed. "Those morons continue to cause us nothing but trouble," he continued referring to those who had captured Miroku. It was known how sometimes certain captures were just motivated by the sadism of part of the guards under Sesshomaru's command. Now what? Were they going to wreak even more havoc?
"Silence, Koga, let my son continue. So these hunters want to take Miroku-sama back," Toga mused. "He was quite right in saying that they are not very smart and could have thought of something like this."
"Have you spoken with him, father?"
"Hn," the dog demon nodded. "When Koga came with the news of your capture, I tried to get as much information as I could from the monk who unfortunately couldn't be of more help. A poor unfortunate soul too," he added.
Inuyasha grimaced at that last comment. It was obvious that, as he had predicted, Miroku was not having a good time. "Miroku is the same monk who helped me that night of the new moon when I infiltrated the enemy territory," he revealed.
His father's eyes gleamed; that's why the name was not new to him. He offered a tilt of his head, and his son continued.
"Apparently, he's a good one, and his people aren't happy with the stupid way he was captured. Even if they manage to free him, I see a good lecture in his future, if not worse."
"Tsk, as if they could," his friend interrupted him with a frown and crossed arms, visibly annoyed with the whole situation.
Inuyasha glared at him, then continued, "They said they wanted to use our heightened senses to knock us out. I don't know exactly how, but they wanted to use the slayers' weapons for that. Do you know of anything, father?"
Toga seemed to think about it for a moment; he was familiar with slayers and their ways of fighting. Before the war broke out, he had even had the opportunity to ally with them, and that certainly gave him a good vantage point. "Unfortunately, I am well aware of how dangerous these weapons they are referring to can be to some of us, especially us canine species. It is quite common for them to use powders aimed at overwhelming our senses and in this way making us faint; we would not have much of a chance once we inhaled the fumes if we were caught off guard."
"Ah, but that's not going to happen. We know when they will attack, and we will prepare properly. Don't we have enough masks in the weapons storage, father? I'm sure something like this has been used thousands of times before during this war, and we have moved accordingly," Inuyasha reasoned. "Unfortunately though, we have little time to prepare everything. Koga, you should go and warn the Commanders; the attack is scheduled for tomorrow at dawn," he instructed. He turned to his father to seek his consent, and the latter nodded. "Gather everyone together and inform them of what we talked about; order someone to check the reserves. It is crucial to surprise the enemy army in this. Without these powders of theirs, they won't have as much of an advantage, and I'm sure we will have the upper hand as far as numbers are concerned."
Koga nodded then scrutinized him with strange eyes as if trying to ask him something. He shook his head then asked, "Shall I inform them to expect another announcement from you, Toga-sama?"
"Do as my son just said, Koga. Tell them that they will have to follow your orders this afternoon. My son and I will have more to discuss before the battle. I will see to it that the army is assembled again this evening," the General replied.
"Very well," the wolf demon bowed and left the room, though he was not entirely satisfied with the information he had been given. He had a more important task at the moment, so he would spare Inuyasha the scolding for the time being; once the war was over, his friend would not escape him again.
Left alone in the room, father and son did not speak for several minutes. Toga watched Inuyasha, trying to understand his secrets but not pestering him with questions and waiting for the moment he would finally open up to him. He could tell the half-demon's soul was in turmoil, and his chest tightened as he understood he had no idea why. His son's pain seemed as much as his own did. How had he been able to ignore it until now?
"Father..." Inuyasha began, "I would like to ask your permission to visit the monk who is currently in our dungeons. I have something to ask him."
Toga raised an eyebrow. "Does it have anything to do with the reason why you were in the enemy territory, son?"
Inuyasha didn't answer, but his expression was a satisfying answer for the General. He would not insist on his reasons just yet but would grant his request for the time being. "Very well, I will accompany you to Miroku-sama myself. I would like to ascertain his condition, and I think it would be a very good idea to move him in preparation for battle. Someone could sneak into the dungeon while we're too busy fighting tomorrow morning. Don't worry, I'll give you the privacy you need."
It didn't take them long to reach the cells as, all around them, chaos seemed to break out. Although Koga had given very specific orders and was expertly coordinating each soldier, it was difficult to keep tempers calm before such an important battle. It always was.
When they arrived in the dungeons, they found the same guards of that morning controlling Michi, currently the only occupant of those cramped cells. Toga raised an eyebrow looking at the two of them with disappointment. A slight movement of his nose confirmed his worst fears; the air had become unbreathable as a result of what must have happened a few hours earlier.
"Haru, Shigeru, what is the meaning of this?" he sharply demanded.
The two guards visibly trembled in front of the General's powerful and intimidating aura, they didn't even try to cast hateful glances at the half-demon who was flanking him. They lowered their heads, unable to maintain eye contact, and in a feeble voice, they explained the orders they had been given earlier by Sesshomaru.
"Sesshomaru-sama ordered us to kill the prisoners for the insult to you, Toga-sama. The three of them had been executed on the spot and their bodies laid out as usual," the first one revealed, his tone proving how much effort he had put into mustering up the courage to speak.
Suddenly the Inu-no-Taisho's aura vibrated powerfully next to that of his son. The two guards, along with Michi, who had been following the exchange from his position, fell to their knees unable to withstand such power, bowing their heads and expecting the worst.
"How dare you!" Toga shouted as he forcefully grabbed his son's arm and held him immobile. Inuyasha had regained his powers just before they left the office, and now it seemed his demonic side wanted to overpower his human one despite the presence of the sword at his side that usually functioned as a seal. He saw red for a moment and tightened his grip on Tessaiga's hilt as his father held him steady. The latter's aura wasn't helping him regain control either.
Sesshomaru, his bastard of a brother, had killed the last hope he had of finding Kikyo and getting to the bottom of his problem. He had murdered a blameless monk in cold blood, just as he had done before a thousand times.
"I ordered you not to take action against them. How dare you overstep me!" the General continued, chilling the two demons at his feet with a look full of contempt.
"T-Toga-sama," the second one continued, "your son has been very persistent and..."
"Silence! I don't care what my son wants. As long as I am alive, my word will always be worth more than his. Do you mean to tell me that you and my son are planning an uprising against me? I told you to stay put this morning when I came to visit the prisoner!"
Their foreheads came to touch the floor as the first resumed his speaking, "My L-l-lord, we had received no w-word from you concerning the execution and when your son-"
"I said silence!" the General repeated. "You have now gone too far in this castle. Too many prisoners have been killed without my consent and in the most brutal of the way. My son will listen to me. For now, you are removed from your duties and demoted to simple soldiers. I will see to it that more trustworthy guards are sent to supervise this other useless guard," he added, shooting another dark glare at Michi, who was also prostrate at his feet. "Though I don't know how long he'll be able to call himself one."
He turned on his heel, dragging his son behind him by the arm while his aura, which showed no sign of calming down, had already sent a definite signal to the older one.
Returning to his office, Toga meticulously observed his son's behaviour as they waited for Sesshomaru. The way Inuyasha reacted to the news definitely had something suspicious about it; it was far too much of an overreaction for a monk he had only met once. Whatever the reason Inuyasha was in the east two days ago was not to be underestimated if that was the state he was reduced to.
He was still pacing back and forth, hands in his hair and a dark frown on his face as he cursed his half-brother's name and repeated 'there's nothing left to do'. What exactly did Miroku have to do with Inuyasha's unfortunate capture? The way the monk had been speaking suggested he didn't know Inuyasha, and Toga had detected no lies coming from him. What was his son looking for that could no longer be obtained after the Miroku's death?
Studying his youngest son's behaviour while his own mood was not the best – between Sesshomaru's disrespect and the upcoming fight – was not the easiest thing to do, and Toga wondered several times in those few minutes of waiting if it was a good idea to broach the subject with Inuyasha now. The young man seemed out of his mind; he was upset for one reason or another, and facing a battle in that state posed many dangers. Somehow, he had to work it out, even if the topic would hurt them both or reopen old wounds – he wasn't going to risk his son's life by sending him to the battlefield in that state of mind.
However, before they could finish their talk or even start it, there was an even more important matter to fix. In order to do so, Toga had to wait for his oldest, who kept overstepping him and showing a lack of respect that was not becoming of him as general and future heir to those lands. If Sesshomaru continued this way, he was not sure he wanted him to be the next Inu-no-Taisho. The only reason why he had not yet taken away his title was that he knew doing so would only make things worse and not calm him down at all. Yet somehow, he had to wake Sesshomaru up and make him understand that his behaviour in their castle was not welcome and could not continue.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the demon appeared on the doorstep. He wrinkled his nose as if to suggest that Inuyasha's stench caused him immense discomfort, gave him an icy look – the kind he didn't even reserve for his worst enemy – and then turned to his father after having once again put on his mask of indifference. The whole thing had lasted not even a handful of seconds.
"Father."
"Sesshomaru." Toga immediately looked up at him as Inuyasha returned the glare and stopped his pacing. "I'm hearing reports of how, once again, you have shown that you place no value on your father's word, and even worse, your General's word," he said in a harsh and disappointed tone. Sesshomaru didn't seem the least bit shaken by the sentiment he read in his father's eyes and tone. He only sought his approval on the battlefield now; everything else might not even exist for him.
"You're wrong, father," he corrected, "I value your word when it matters." The corners of his mouth turned up in a cocky grin, yet another straw to break the camel's back.
"I didn't think you had it in you, you bastard," Inuyasha spat. "Are you able to crack a joke now?"
Toga raised his arm to signal Inuyasha to be quiet for the moment. He sensed the difficulty his hothead son was having keeping quiet, but Inuyasha didn't protest. At least, of his two sons, one still obeyed him – sometimes.
"Hush, half-breed. No one asked for your opinion," Sesshomaru hissed without even taking his icy gaze off his father.
"You're going to force me to take harsh measures one of these days, my son," Toga replied, not at all fazed by his behaviour, at least on the outside. "Should I suppose you have grown weary of the way I lead my people? I've been getting a lot of signals like that lately. Am I to be afraid of my own son now? Are you rounding up my own commanders to stab me in the back? Because this is what I gather since you try to overstep me and give orders opposite to mine. Will you kill your father and brother to take my place, Sesshomaru?"
The tone was neutral and controlled, and their eyes remained locked throughout the entire speech. Toga challenged his son to look at him even for a nanosecond defiantly to confirm his conjecture.
"I care nothing for the half-breed; he can die as he pleases. He is not even worthy of being touched by my claws. Rather, father, being your heir, I must learn to recognize a mistake when I see one and, as the current Inu-no-Taisho, you should know how to recognize your own. I could not allow such an insult to continue to stain the walls of this castle. It's a shame that mere humans could believe they had you in check because of an insulting lump of flesh. Such weaknesses are not becoming of you, father. The prisoners had to die because a clear message had to reach our enemy's ranks," he only offered as an explanation.
Toga chuckled, but his laughter contained no amusement as Inuyasha clenched his fists and struggled to control himself. "Ah, so you wanted to send a message, Sesshomaru. And how many more would you like to send them? How many have you already sent by killing our prisoners, one after the other, not even giving me a chance to interrogate them, glean important news or use them to our army's advantage?" He shook his head. "You speak of acknowledging mistakes, Sesshomaru. You tell me that I must admit mine, and I do son, I know I have done everything wrong with you, but this will serve me well not to make any in the future. Yet, you do nothing but prove to me that you are not fit for the role of the General if you continue to act this way. You want my approval as a fighter; you want it on the battlefield. But remember that one doesn't just fight with swords and claws, Sesshomaru, and you, unfortunately, got everything wrong."
The younger demon's gaze hardened. "Are you threatening me, Father?" he asked indignantly.
"I do not lower myself to such means, Sesshomaru," his father began again. "I am simply setting the record straight. If you want my approval, if you want to be worthy of becoming the Inu-no-Taisho someday and follow in my footsteps, then you will have to earn it and show respect without making my job harder by killing crucial prisoners during such a delicate war!" He returned his son's icy stare.
"Follow in your footsteps?" a mocking smile graced his lips. He shifted his gaze to Inuyasha, for a moment, to indicate clearly what footsteps he was thinking of and then laughed, as he never had, a laugh that could have chilled the blood in anyone else's veins, but not Toga's. "I have no intention of following them, father. You lost your way long before I did."
"You leave me no choice then," his father murmured, turning his back on him.
The tension in the room suddenly increased as a result of those words and, for a moment, Inuyasha feared that Sesshomaru might strike his father from behind. It was only a second, but instead, the demon gritted his teeth, clenched his jaw and shut up. Inuyasha looked at him with a critical eye. Sesshomaru was a bastard and a racist, but he filled his mouth with words about honour – when he spoke, that's it. He would never attack his father from behind because the day he fought and defeated Toga, he would do it with honour so that no one, not even himself, could question his victory.
But that day was still far away, and Toga, once again, wondered if there was really any hope. The conversation with his eldest son was now over, but before sending him away, he once again opened his mouth and spoke some more words.
"Tomorrow at dawn, we will face the enemy for the last time. Will you show mercy to your enemy when the time comes? Will you be a true General?"
A/N:
Don't kill me because I killed Miroku, this had been the plan since I started writing the story and, even if it broke my heart, it was necessary and you'll see why in the next chapter.
If you're liking this story so far please leave feedback.
Lots of love!