A/N: Thank you once again to little25victor for the review. Things are certainly heating up. This chapter is a bit more serious than the others but does have some humor.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Rumiko Takahashi et al.
One Hanyou Too Many
The Four Generals
There was an air of expectancy in the castle while everyone waited for the first daiyoukai to arrive. Sesshoumaru and his mother sat and stood outside, the Honorable Mother's throne making a lot more sense to the others now than before. Inside a castle they could see having something like that but having one outside hadn't until her true position was known. She was the Lady of the Moon and was a general in her own right. A general who was the first defense against invaders that would destroy the land. The Inutaisho had been a general too, once standing by her side as an equal. His death had allowed much evil to creep over the territory they served.
"Will they come?" her son asked absently, his eyes on the horizon.
"I invited them, but it is more likely that they will send their generals. The Four Cardinal Beasts rarely leave their positions."
"Even Byakko?"
"His Grace may move himself to join me. Mankind is supposed to be under his protection."
"What of Kirinmaru and Zero?"
"Kirinmaru once again neglects his duties as a daiyoukai and guardian of Japan in favor of finding a powerful adversary on the continent to defeat. As for his sister, do not ever speak of her to me again. She knows well that I would slaughter her if she were show her face here."
"Still cannot forgive her for trying to seduce Father?"
"Love is no excuse for what she did."
"Do you not feel the same about Lady Izayoi?"
"No. Inuyasha's mother was a naïve princess who fell for him because he focused all of his considerable charms on her. He is the one who pursued her first. It is not uncommon for men in his position to have lovers. However, Zero was my friend. Going after the husband of a friend is a betrayal of the worst kind."
"Ah. Is that why you removed the Shikon Jewel from their possession all those years ago?"
"Of course. They would only taint it further with their greed and neglect."
"Not to mention what happened to Rion."
"That child should never have been on the battlefield. Your Rin is equally as vulnerable. You father would be most displeased if he were here. He warned Kirinmaru what could happen, and the beast did not listen. You have already used Tenseiga on Rin once, it will not work again."
"Understood," Sesshoumaru bowed, intent on giving his mother's advice serious thought. Perhaps after Naraku was nothing but a memory, he could find a nice village for Rin to live in.
"Good. Look, they come."
Four daiyoukai resembling the Four Cardinal Beasts approached their courtyard via the air. Each floated on a cloud of their own youki, expressions set in stone. The Lady of the Moon remained where she was, the fang at her side giving a faint hum in response to the great power it was sensing. "Welcome, old friends. It has been too long."
"Our masters are not pleased, Lady," the dragon daiyoukai declared, coming to a stop in front of her. He did not plant his feet on the stone courtyard.
"So I have heard. How does Their Graces fair?" she asked to be polite.
"Seiryu-sama is well, thank you for inquiring," her verbal sparring partner returned. Manners were important to dragons, and he couldn't very well ignore her asking after the health and wellbeing of one of the Cardinal Beasts.
"Suzaku-sama is also well," the red bird still hovering in the air beside the dragon stated. She was often mistaken for a phoenix and sometimes used that to her advantage.
"His Grace, the White Tiger, Byakko, will be joining us soon. He wishes to speak with you directly, Lady of the Moon," the third general informed.
"I am delighted. Come, I have refreshments waiting. You have traveled far, my friends and must be parched." Sesshoumaru's mother rose, showing that she too was dressed for war.
"Do not think to placate us so easily," the fourth daiyoukai warned.
"My mother is merely being a good hostess, Lady Shinkō. It has been many years since you were here last, and she does love company." So much so that she would design elaborate plots and games just to get her son to visit. Not that Sesshoumaru was about to tell the others that. He didn't think they were in the mood for joking.
The Honorable Mother ignored the grumblings and entered her home where the others waited. They had remained standing while the elder two dog demons went to greet their guests. Yukari stepped forward and bowed low, her braided hair falling almost to the floor. "Let me introduce my daughter, Yukari. Yukari, dear, these are the four generals of the Four Cardinal Beasts. Your teacher told you about them yesterday."
"Yes, Mother. I am pleased to meet you, Kahi-sama, Chishiki-sama, Masayoshi-sama, Shinkō-sama. We are honored to have you in our home."
"Child," Masayoshi acknowledged. His master would be meeting the young dog demon soon. The House of the Moon had been under the supervision of the White Tiger for many generations. It would be favorable for him to be polite to the youngest member.
The other generals each murmured greetings, their attention more on the other inhabitants of the room than another child of the Honorable Mother's. "Who are these humans and half demons you have brought into our esteemed company?" Chishiki demanded, her ruffled feathers showing her displeasure.
"Ah, they are a wonderful blessing. Inuyasha, dear, would you please step forward? Allow me to introduce you to the War Council of the Four Cardinal Beasts. Your great father served on it for many centuries with these four. I occasionally offer my advice when warranted, as it is now. Inuyasha is the half demon son of Toga, the Inutaisho. His mother was a human princess named Lady Izayoi. Behind him is his beta Miroku, a Buddhist monk that Lord Byakko will no doubt be interested in meeting. The women are betrothed to them, although they too are warriors. Sango is a taijiya of some renown, and Kagome is a priestess-in-training. She is the protector of the Shikon Jewel. What shards they have managed to collect are in her keeping and she can purify them with only a touch, regardless of their taint. She is also the young woman who freed Inuyasha from his eternal sleep."
"A half demon monk?" Kahi asked dubiously.
"Yes, well, there was a slight mishap on Yukari's part, and he ended up taking that form temporarily. After this business with Naraku is over, he'll be changed back to his normal human self.
"Slight mishap, my arse," someone muttered but it wasn't loud enough for anyone but the dog demons to hear.
"Now, now. You know I didn't mean for that to happen," the demoness chuckled.
"And the other children?"
"Their wards. My sons have soft spots for orphans. They are also very conscious of their duty as lords of the Western Lands. Shippou and Rin have nothing to fear while under their protection."
Inuyasha almost protested being called her son, but something stopped him. If she was laying claim to him, it was for a reason. "Keh," he scoffed instead. Why she was trying to make Sesshoumaru and him sound saintly was beyond him. He'd taken Shippou along because Kagome had begged him to. The runt had just never left. Sesshoumaru's reasoning for keeping Rin were cloudy. He had brought her back to life with Tenseiga so perhaps he thought he was now responsible for that life.
"If they are so aware of their duty, why is Naraku not dead?"
"Same could be asked of you lot," Inuyasha charged, not liking Kahi's tone. "Naraku has been alive for fifty years. He wasn't a problem for you until he got a hold of the shards of the Shikon Jewel. That begs the question of why you all have never done anything about the jewel if you're so worried about Naraku now. If you had destroyed the thing before Kikyo had it, Naraku wouldn't be after the blasted thing."
"It is a failing of ours," Chishiki admitted. "As demons, I do not think it is possible for us to destroy it. We have given it to human priests and priestesses to keep pure, but the 'right' wish has eluded us thus far."
"That's because there is no such thing," Kagome said. "Only a selfless wish would be the right wish and any wish is inherently selfish. We all want the jewel gone. Nothing we could ask for would banish it from this world." Everyone stared at her in shock, the truth striking them mute.
"You are truly the Miko no Shikon," The Honorable Mother praised. "She is correct. Not wishing on the jewel is the only way to destroy the blasted bauble. We can discuss what other method to use later. Naraku is the main concern at the moment."
"Indeed," Sesshoumaru concurred.
"We will hear your plan now," Masayoshi declared.
"Plot, you mean," someone coughed into their sleeve. It wasn't clear who.
"Let's have those refreshments!" the dog demoness said loudly, gesturing to the maids that had been standing around waiting. She pointedly ignored the younger generation as they gave her wary looks.
Sesshoumaru summoned one of his mother's servants, giving the long-suffering woman a pointed look. "Perhaps something else is in order," he suggested.
"Sake? We thought so too." She gestured to a demon coming from the kitchens with a tray. On it sat several carafes of sake, their scents as varied as the people his mother was entertaining.
"You know her well."
"Based on your reaction last night, we thought it best to be prepared. The generals have never been known for their sense of humor."
"I seem to remember that," Sesshoumaru murmured, recalling the last time he had met them. He'd been a child then, his father holding a conference at the behest of Seiryu, the Cardinal Beast of the East.
When the sake was handed out, the Honorable Mother shot glares at her people while her children and their friends waited only a moment before pulling one towards them. "Sake, at this time of the morning?" Chishiki asked, her tone disapproving.
"It's five o'clock somewhere," Kagome informed her.
"Excuse me?" the fire bird nearly screeched. She did not like being spoken to so casually. She also didn't like it when she didn't understand what was being said to her.
Kahi, having known the Honorable Mother the longest, sighed. "Prepare yourselves, generals. If what I believe is true, we are going to need fortification."
"Alcohol has never been an affected fortification," Masayoshi pointed out.
"It can't hurt," Miroku shot back. He wondered if being half demon meant that he could drink more without feeling the effects. Inuyasha never drank when he offered it to him. Either he was afraid of what he would say or do when drunk, or he just didn't like the taste.
"Master Byakko will not like it if you end up impaired," Shinkō warned.
"Slightly tipsy can't hurt," Sango muttered.
Two hours later Byakko, Cardinal Beast of the West, entered the Castle in the Sky without invitation. The white tiger lumbered towards where he could smell his general and the others. The scent of strangers mingled in, and apprehension filled the guardian of humanity. The sight that greeted him completely shocked and flummoxed the giant beast.
"You there! What travesty is this?" Byakko demanded angrily. Masayoshi was curled in a ball, out like a light. Shinkō had her head in her hands, muttering to herself that the world was ending, while Chishiki was pouring over a book of unknown origin, chattering like a magpie with one of the strangers. The last general, Kahi, had passed out, his large body sprawled inelegantly all over the floor.
"The Lady of the Moon," was the answer that came. The young man that answered was perched in the rafters, his outer kimono hanging from one shoulder. White hair in a topknot gave away his heritage.
"Up to her tricks again, is she?" Byakko asked.
"I believe she outdid herself this time, Your Grace," Sesshoumaru intoned, returning to the dining hall in his usual clothing.
"Where is she?"
"Off to seduce Naraku."
"Pretend, Inuyasha, she's going to pretend to seduce him," the young woman Chishiki was talking to corrected. "Besides, she's just in her office writing to him."
"Hn. If he falls for her tricks, he will do whatever she asks of him."
Byakko broke out in laughter, the loud noise echoing off the large walls of the chamber. "Chūrippu was always a mischievous pup."
"That's your takeaway?" Inuyasha demanded, jumping to the floor. Miroku, who had consumed too much sake even for a half demon, shot up, instantly awake. Sango had left a long time ago, ushering the children away from seeing the adults in such a sad state.
With the wisdom of over a thousand years, Byakko sat on the vacant pillow Sesshoumaru's mother had left at the head of the table and said, "Think about it, young friends. Naraku has been the mastermind for so long, he probably can't conceive of anyone doing the same to him."
"Indeed," Sesshoumaru conceded. "I do not approve of Mother's methods, but she must have given this a great deal of thought."
"She did," Byakko affirmed. "She consulted the Four Cardinal Beasts almost from the moment Naraku got a hold of the Shikon Jewel shards. She knew that the more he obtained, the more powerful he'd become. She also knew that if she told her son and stepson to work together, you would have ignored her. Your mother's mind works in mysterious ways, always has. We should never discount help simply because it comes from the mind of a slightly nutty dog demoness."
"You admit she's crazy?" Chishiki asked, forgetting who she was talking to.
"I would not say crazy, but missing a few important pieces, perhaps."
"Oh, like common sense," Kagome said, rising to her feet. Bowing lowly, she addressed Byakko formally. "Forgive my rudeness, Byakko-sama. My name is Kagome Higurashi. I am the priestess-in-training in charge of the collection and protection of the Shikon shards."
"Hmm. You do seem to have a pure scent coming from you. It is a pleasure to meet you, Higurashi-san. Perhaps you would be so kind as to introduce the monk that appears to be a half demon."
Miroku, finally coming to his feet, smoothed down his robes and bowed. "A pleasure, Byakko-sama. I am the monk Miroku. Normally a human, I have been transformed due to the rosary around my neck."
"Ah, I thought I recognized the stones. Got you good, didn't she?" the White Tiger chuckled.
"You have no idea," Inuyasha grumbled.
"When this is all over, remind me to tell you of the time Chūrippu dyed my tail." The assembled company that was awake looked at him, speechless. "Worry not, a cat's revenge lasts seven lifetimes. I'm still biding my time."
"Oh, good, I can't wait," Inuyasha commented.
"I don't suppose you'd move up your timeline so that us lowly humans could be there to see it, my lord?" Miroku asked hopefully.
"We shall see, my boy, we shall see."
A/N: The four Cardinal Beasts introduced here are important to Japanese (and Asian in general) culture. Although they take different names depending on the country, Seiryu, Suzaku, Byakko, and Genbu, embody many aspects. Seiryu is the Dragon that represents green/blue, spring, wood, and propriety and the cardinal direction East. Suzaku is the Red Bird, sometimes seen as the Phoenix, and is associated with summer, red, fire, knowledge, and the cardinal direction South. Byakko, representing the cardinal direction West, is said to guard Buddhist teachings and mankind, while representing fall, white, metal, wind, and righteousness. He is known as the White Tiger and replaced a creature named Kirin in Japanese mythology. The name Kirin should strike a bell for those that have watched the Yashahime sequel. The last Cardinal Beast is Genbu and is the Tortoise. He/It represents winter, cold, earth,, faith, black, and the cardinal direction North. I used the Japanese words for propriety (Kahi), knowledge (Chishiki), righteousness (Masayoshi), and faith (Shinkō) for the generals. Or at least they are according to Google Translate.