Paradigm Shift
Chapter Twenty-five: Regroup
… … …
"Lord Haruki. So far from your own lands. What might bring you into my waters?"
A smile curved his lips as the dark fox sprawled himself comfortably on the woven nest of grass and leaves that covered the floor. Dark rock curved around the nest as if one of the ocean's waves had been petrified in its prime; made that way just for Yuuko.
"Come now, Yuuko. When have you ever stood on so much formality? Can't I just come for a visit with my dear friend?"
Haruki tucked one hand under his head and raised the other hand above his face. He snapped his fingers, conjuring a tiny ball of blue fire at the tip of his finger. He snapped again and it flickered out. Again and it was back. He continued playing with the flame as his smile grew wider and crinkled the corners of his eyes in mirth.
"Haruki, if you set my nest on fire, I'm going to hurt you. Do you realize how long it takes to build one this nice?" The click of Yuuko's long, dark, curved talons was loud against the rock wall where he stood, looking down at the mischievous fox lord. "I know you despise the water. I have never had the patience for your mischief. Get to it, fox."
Haruki clicked his tongue and pouted.
"You take all of my fun away, Yuuko." He sat up and scooted around to face Yuuko. "You look well, my friend. I hate to bear bad news but I must. The Western Hall has fallen." He watched the pale yellow of Yuuko's irises nearly disappear as the man's pupils dilated. To most, it wouldn't mean much. Haruki had known Yuuku for their entire lives, though. He knew how angry Yuuko was at that moment.
"What of our brother?" The smooth black and white feathers that covered Yuuko's head in place of hair bristled and fluttered as he spoke.
Haruki shook his head and looked away.
"I do not know. The report that I received didn't say." His eyes hardened and his jaw clenched as he glanced at the eagle and then looked away again. "I cannot believe that Sesshomaru would be defeated so easily. His Hall may be taken, but no." He shook his head, dark waves scattering around his shoulders.
"No. He still lives." His hands clenched into the nest at his sides. "We would know if he had been defeated. We would."
Yuuko smoothed his feathers with both hands and walked to the edge of the rock, letting the spray of saltwater dampen his hakama and wash up over his bare feet.
"I like to believe that, as well." He looked down the side of the rock, maybe a ten-foot drop to the water, watching the waves crash against it. "So it is that we go to war." He looked over his shoulder and watched Haruki stand, nodding.
"Yes. All of those on the Southern Isles who wish to fight are gathering at the Southern Hall in Kushima."
"They will not cross into the west undetected."
"No."
"Then we will fly."
And Yuuko smiled a truly intimidating smile as he leaped from the rock toward the water. Streaks of silver and yellow jaki were left in his wake as Haruki took his place at the edge of the rock and watched him. It was a magnificent sight, watching his friend assume his beast form.
His eyes sharpened and cut through the darkness of the night as he watched Yuuko's body grow and stretch.
An echoing screech sounded into the air as Yuuko took on his form. The talons on his feet dipped into the water and his wingtips dragged along the surface before he pumped his massive wings and shot into the air.
"We shall fly, brother." Haruki whispered.
As Yuuko circled through the air and passed near to the rock outcropping, Haruki jumped. He landed in a crouch on the giant eagle's neck. His hand stroked down the soft feathers as he draped himself along the crook between Yuuko's skull and neck.
"Naraku will rue his very existence, Yuuko. He will pay dearly for these crimes."
Another loud cry from the eagle answered him in agreement.
… … …
Heiji shot a rakish grin at the pale taiyoukai bounding over the land next to him. In his next stride, he hit the earth with a resounding blow. His knees bent to their limit and he propelled himself over the canopy of the forest, laughing as he surveyed the surrounding land. They had come more than halfway already. He bellowed with laughter as he landed again, looking ahead of him at the long silver braid swinging behind Sesshomaru.
Every now and then, he would gain ground on Sesshomaru, only to fall back when he was leveled with an impatient glare. He would hold his hands up in surrender even while his face split open to show his teeth in amusement.
They traveled swiftly and, as the sun began to wake, the great trees that housed the bear clans finally came into view.
Sesshomaru smirked as he looked to the sky above the towering trees. His brothers had come to him before he had even set out from the bears to find them.
Heiji spotted the eagles circling his home amongst the trees, as well. He watched Sesshomaru vault high into the air, consumed by greens and gold jaki as he took on his great dog form. If they weren't so imposing, they could almost be called adorable.
A long, pink tongue lolled between huge, pointed teeth as Sesshomaru bounded and swatted and snapped around the equally large eagle in greeting. A barking laugh rent the air when the eagle dove and latched its talons in the long white fur of the dog's back; lifting him from the ground with straining flaps of his wings.
As Heiji came to a stop near the suspended houses in the treetops, he watched the swirl of clashing jaki in the morning sky. He was pulled into a tight embrace by his father and they clapped each other on their broad shoulders before turning to watch the taiyoukai reign their beasts back into submission. Three figures fell gracefully to the ground in the distance and Heiji looked to his father as a heavy arm was slung around his shoulders.
"It has been quite a long time since the three of them have been in the same place at the same time, son." There was no light humor or easy-going air that their clan was known for around the man as he spoke.
"Not in my lifetime."
"No. Not for over two centuries."
"They are definitely a spectacle to behold. I have never felt such a swell of jaki all at once."
His father squeezed his shoulders as he replied.
"Nor will you, often. There are not many taiyoukai left and they are usually too busy for social calls. When they gather, you can be sure that danger will follow. Danger and vengeance."
Heiji nodded to his father as the three approached. Quite a sight indeed.
Haruki bounded ahead of the other two and Heiji's father released his shoulders, stepping away from him off to the side as the dark fox collided with his chest and he found himself rolling over the dirt. There were snarls and yips as roots and vines shot from the earth and flashing blue flames overtook them in a scuffle.
"Should I be concerned?" Heiji asked Sesshomaru who had come to stand at his side.
Sesshomaru shook his head and the eagle at his side chuckled.
The ground shook as Heiji's father was pinned to the ground by Haruki.
"Good to see you, old man." Haruki grinned down into an answering expression.
"Welcome, Lord Haruki." He accepted the hand up. "Though the circumstances are grim."
Their playful demeanors changed in an instant. They turned back to the other leaders, not giving any mind to the flashes of jaki in the sky as the other eagles released their best forms. Foxes and eagles joined bears on the walkways in the treetops. Some leaned over railings to watch, some fell to the ground to gather near their meeting, and some coaxed children into a group near the base of the widest tree in the middle.
Sesshomaru and Yuuko were each pulled into a hearty embrace in turn.
"Raiden, I see that I have little need to explain the reason for my visit."
"There are not many reasons that would bring two youkai lords and the eagle king to my doorstep."
Sesshomaru nodded and gestured to the assembled bear youkai.
"Your clan will join us in the mountains, then."
"Of course. Did you ever have a doubt?"
Sesshomaru rested his hand on Raiden's shoulder.
"Not for a moment, Raiden. I may have been young, but I remember well what you and yours did for myself and the west."
"Where would the lovely Yua be?" Yuuko asked.
Raiden turned and pointed to the group of small figures at the base of his home.
"Yua has gathered all of the cubs together for the trek." He looked into Sesshomaru's eyes. "All of the cubs, brown and black alike."
"So Taadaki and Naiko will join us?"
Raiden grit his teeth and clenched his fists at his side.
"No. Not yet. They will travel to the south to retrieve the cubs from their kin. The rest of their clan goes with them. They have not decided one way or the other, and they won't until they're sure their cubs are all safe." He blew a hot puff of air through his nose. "You remember what happened to their clan."
Sesshomaru nodded, his eyes following Yuuko's progress through the crowd toward Yua and the clan children.
"If your clan is prepared, we should be on our way. If we keep pace with all of the clan, we can be at the dens in a day's time."
Raiden smiled at him.
"You underestimate my bears, Lord Sesshomaru. We could be there by mid-day. My people are not so weak as we are assumed to be." He pointed a furry finger between Sesshomaru, Yuuko, and Haruki. "You three may want to reign in all of that jaki though. You're not easily overlooked alone, even less when you're all together like this. You'll be a beacon."
… … …
Atsuta Shrine practically buzzed with tension and everyone was fed and gathered, preparing for their departure. A handful of residents would accompany the inu pups, along with Kagome, Miroku, and Nozomi.
The gray inuyoukai was uncomfortable leaving Atsuta bereft of both herself and Heiji, but she had enough faith in Tatsuo and her twin Seijun to leave for one day. The thought still put her on edge, though. They were too impulsive. Too reactive and full of bluster. Too young to be left with so much authority for too long.
Her hackles rose in her discomfort. Times like this would always be filled with uncomfortable decisions and actions. She bared her teeth and shoved down the urge to snarl at the monk and miko busily preparing the inu pups. Humans had no part in the affairs of youkai. When would the western line learn? Her hackles practically stood on end as she turned and stalked away from the two humans.
Kagome stiffened as she felt Nozomi's jaki flare briefly and looked up through her lashes at the woman as she walked away from them.
"Nozomi doesn't like us much, does she?"
Miroku just rubbed his hand over her back in response.
Kagome gave herself a shake and twirled the pigtails of the little girl's brindled hair into twin buns at the back of her head. She wrapped the girl up in a hug, trying to quiet her sniffles. She couldn't do much to help get all of the kids ready, no one could do much other than explain what they would be doing and where they were going without giving away too many details. That, or finding new clothes for the pups whose clothes had been torn up the worst as the fled the Western Hall with the guards… some had even fled on their own; the oldest of the children.
Kagome and Miroku had taken it upon themselves to mingle with them all, trying to distract, entertain, and comfort the scared inus.
"You look so cute, sweetie!" Kagome nuzzled at her little cheek, but the girl's sniffles wouldn't subside.
"Th-Thank you."
Kagome wiped the tears from her little face with a sympathetic smile, nearly crying herself. Some of the pups had been inconsolable. It was only expected, she thought. When her dad had died, she had been a wreck for a long time. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like to lose both parents. And in the midst of so much blood and violence, no less.
"I can't find my brother…"
The girls big chocolate eyes looked up into her own, swimming with fresh tears and it twisted Kagome's heart painfully. She didn't know what to say. Didn't know how to comfort her. So she pulled the girl into a tight hug and hoped for the best.
"Come on sweetie, we have to get going. I think the others are ready, too."
She pulled the girl up with her as she stood, cradling her close. Miroku's hand at the small of her back was a welcome repose, drawing her focus away from the little girl's pain.
"Rin and Shippou are with the younger ones, waiting for us and Nozomi to head into the cave passages."
Just the sound of his voice warmed her. He made her want to believe that everything would turn out okay, that somehow everything would be alright eventually.
"Well, let's get going then. The sooner we get them safe, the better, right?"
"Mhm." Miroku rubbed across her back from side to side until Kagome walked away to join the group that was leaving Atsuta. He picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder with a deep breath, thankful that Kagome seemed to be dealing with everything better than he had hoped.
After everything she had been through in the last few months… everything that they had all been through, she was finally coming into her own, showing her true strength, letting herself believe in her own ability to endure and overcome.
Nozomi had decided that they should all start out as early as they could instead of waiting until the evening. She told them all that the children shouldn't be allowed to settle in, just to be uprooted again just as they began to relax and that nothing could be accomplished by sitting around until that evening, anyway. She didn't receive a single disagreement, so the haggard group stood at the edge of Atsuta's grounds and watched as Nozomi spread her blood over some nondescript rock wall, letting her jaki pulse into the stone.
Miroku and Kagome had expected some sort of dramatic grinding or shifting of stone, but the whole thing was pretty anticlimactic. The stone just shimmered and faded from view, revealing the passage that led into the wolf dens.
They didn't rush as they made the long walk through all sorts of areas. Some parts were steep inclines and others level. There were wide caverns and narrow crevices to squeeze through, jagged floors, slick and damp passages, caves full of hot air currents, and even some amazingly beautiful crystal formations. The crystals turned out to be a lot sharper than Kagome had expected.
Rin was nestled into a guard's arms and Kagome could completely sympathize with her. It was a hard task to keep pace with a group of youkai, children or not. Her legs and sides burned from the hike and she hoped that they would reach the dens soon.
Kagome glared at Miroku's back. He didn't seem phased by the exertion at all. She wondered if she should pick up some martial arts training. With her focus elsewhere and her body struggling to keep up after the long hours of difficult travel, Kagome missed the smooth, flat chip of stone laying on the cave's bottom.
She took off down the smooth incline on her back as she stepped on it and fell with a scream that only lasted until she hit the floor and had the air knocked from her.
"Kagome!"
She heard a few of the group behind her call out. There was another familiar voice in the mix, though. She could swear that it was ahead of her, too.
Kagome found the bottom of the incline painfully, her left leg slamming into the rock as it leveled out. She went stumbling forward, biting her cheek as her left leg had to take her weight and she collided with something warm and hard.
"Owww" She groaned.
The thing that broke her momentum happened to be a hard chest covered in harder armor, and it was laughing at her.
"Good to see you, Kagome. You okay?"
She turned her face up into warm blue eyes and a roguish smile with relief as strong arms wrapped around her waist.
"Kouga!"
"Yep! Just got back, actually. Haven't even had time to see my cousin. Gotta say, having you fall into my arms is a nice welcome home."
Kagome sighed and let herself sag into his arms.
"I think I twisted my ankle."
Not needing any other excuse, Kouga swept her up off her feet and walked to the mouth of the passage she had flown out of.
"Oi! Everyone alright up there?"
A chorus of affirmatives echoed down to them. Satisfied, he turned and made his way into the open space of the cavern.
"So. Want to fill me in on what I've missed? All the wolves are in an uproar and I haven't been here long enough to ask any questions."
Kagome opened her mouth to tell him that she wasn't sure where to start when she was interrupted by Kazuo's shout.
"Kouga! Welcome home, cousin." He eyed the two of them. "Oh-ho! Don't let Sesshomaru catch you manhandling his little miko. He's pretty possessive."
Kouga's arms tightened around her back and thighs.
"Yeah, well, tell me something I don't already know."
"Come on, Cousin. Let's talk." He laughed. "Bring your bundle of miko if you want."
…
Kagome curled her toes and hissed.
"Yeah. Definitely a sprain. Ouch."
"How long until you'll be able to walk on it?"
Kouga sat on the ground with Kagome's foot in his lap, fussing at her even though he knew there wasn't anything he could do for her. He'd missed her, after all, and wolves were widely known to be very physically affectionate.
"Just a couple of days. It'll be sore for a few weeks though."
"So delicate. I forget how fragile humans are." Kazuo interjected.
Kouga rolled his eyes and Kagome puffed her cheeks full of air.
"I'm not delicate! Why does everyone think I'm delicate?"
"Because you are, my sweet." Kazuo rolled over onto his side on the floor and propped his head on his hand to look at her. "You could be one of the strongest humans out there and you'd still be delicate to us. You have to know that by now."
"Knock it off, Kazuo. Just tell me what the hell has been going on since I left." Kouga lifted Kagome's foot out of his lap and stood to kick Kazuo in the thigh.
"You saw what the pack is doing, Kouga. You know exactly what it means."
"Not exactly. How bad is it?"
"The Western Hall was attacked." He stood and pointed to some open scrolls spread out around them in their little corner. "We have to figure out how far they're spread out and what our first move is going to be."
"Attacked how badly, Kazuo? I do know why we're following the old plans, you know. How bad?"
"Taken. A handful of guards, some of the kids, whoever could make it out without being noticed. Dead or scattered or here."
Kagome's face flickered between the two wolves. She was doing her best to wrap her head around the fact that there was this whole world of cultures and politics among the youkai population. She'd never thought much of it when Kouga's wolf pack had called him Prince Kouga but it was apparently a real title.
And now she was smack in the middle of a youkai war. Because of Naraku, who would never have gotten so strong if she hadn't broken the Shikon Jewel in the first place.
"There's more to come, Kazuo. Yokuto and his damn birds are gathering in the eastern lands. They've allied with Naraku."
"We figured out that much. Sesshomaru said that Naraku's hordes weren't the only ones to attack the Hall." Kazuo crouched over one of the bigger scrolls and gestured Kouga to copy him. "I've already shown this to Sesshomaru. This cavern in the middle, here. This is where we're going to set up the barriers. There just aren't enough of us anymore to bring up barriers over the whole system."
"That's true. They'll have clean water there, that's good." Kouga tapped his fingers on his knees. "How many of the pack are going to stay with them?"
"Depends on how many kids there are. Sesshomaru is bringing the bears back here soon. He left last night after taking your little miko to Atsuta."
When they both looked over their shoulders at her, Kagome blushed and smiled nervously, giving them a little wave.
"Both clans?" Kouga asked.
"Don't know. Shouldn't be long until they're here. I'm surprised that he isn't back yet."
"He might be keeping pace with the clan if they're bringing their cubs."
"True."
Kouga walked over to Kagome and scooped her up off the floor.
"Not much for us to do until everyone gets here, then. I'm gonna go see the women about getting this delicate miko cleaned up."
Kagome couldn't decide whether to be aggravated at being called delicate again, or thankful at the mention of a bath. She settled for smacking Kouga in the shoulder.
"She knows that a female showing aggression toward a male is a sign of interest in a potential mate with wolves, right?" Kazuo's voice was laced with humor and his smile was hidden behind his fingertips.
"Come on, man. You had to tell her, didn't you?"
Kagome was doing a lovely imitation of a tomato, mouth agape and fighting the urge to shove Kouga in her indignation now that she knew it was considered flirting in some way. "I was hoping it would take at least a few days in the dens before she figured that out."
"Kouga!"
"Awe, don't be mad, Kagome." He gave her a calculating look. "On second thought, it's okay if you're mad. I like it when you're a little violent."
"KOUGA!"
"Let's see about finding the girls, hm?"
He laughed as he walked, marveling at her ability to keep everyone smiling just by being present. Even bright red with embarrassment, arms crossed and pouting, with a little anger on her face, she still made everyone around her feel a little bit lighter just by being there. Here they were talking about war, death, and betrayal, and this tiny woman in his arms managed to coax teasing and playfulness from them with nothing more than her existence.
… … …