Intro
Getting this chapter started a lot sooner than I had expected. This chapter will mark the two-thirds completed point in this particular fanfiction (I'm aiming for twelve chapters). I've pretty much planned out everything from this point on, so hopefully the chapters will start coming quickly.
Chapter 8
**Part 1: Revolt***
Inuyasha and Sesshomaru walked through the cold, torch-lit hallways of the fortress for several minutes before Inuyasha actually spoke up.
"Where are you leading me, Sesshomaru? We should have been there some time ago, I would think..." Inuyasha grumbled lightly, still wary of Sesshomaru's motives.
Sesshomaru sighed heavily and half-turned his head to his little brother, who was walking behind him. "How would you know how long it would take to get there? You weren't even aware of existance when you were taken to the dungeon. It will be only a few more minutes, Inuyasha. This place isn't small."
Inuyasha grumbled some but continued to follow his older brother. After a bit of time, they came before two large iron doors, easily twelve feet tall. Two torches, burning with blue flames, lit the area right out from of the doors.
"Alright then, we're here...." Sesshomaru spoke in a hushed tone. "I cannot emphasize our silence enough. The Laevateinn as well as the Gram may still be in the armory, and they are sentient and combat able on their own."
"Heh...are you afraid of a piece of steel, Sesshomaru? Never pictured you to be the..." Inuyasha was cut off by an angry gaze from Sesshomaru. "Alright alright, I'll be quiet, jeez...."
Sesshomaru shook his head some and pulled one of the doors open slowly, as to avoid any noise. Once the door was fully open, he and Inuyasha walked into the large room slowly, watching their steps.
Within the room was what seemed like an unlimited supply of weaponry. Everything from an adze to a whip. The two walked through the large room for some time. Sesshomaru had to stop repeatedly to wait up for Inuyasha, who was in awe of all this weaponry.
Sesshomaru whispered to Inuyasha. "Come on.....this is all just mundane equipment. What we're looking for is in this room..." He pointed a finger to a normal sized iron door on the other side of the room. "Come now."
After a moment, Inuyasha looked to Sesshomaru and nodded, sneaking up to the door, still wary to keep the noise down. As they stood in front of the door to the magickal armory, Sesshomaru placed a hand on the door, as a faint blue light covered it. Moments after the light faded, the door opened slightly.
"It was magickally sealed. We haven't much time before it seals itself again..." Sesshomaru said as he promted Inuyasha to follow him into the room, to get the Tetsusaiga back.
Within the chamber were a multitude of shimmering blades of every variety, though it did not take Inuyasha long to find the Tetsusaiga. He snatched the blade from it's place on the wall, and turned to Sesshomaru with a grin.
"Well then...I think we can safely be on our way, eh?" Inuyasha had a lighthearted tone to his voice as he unsheathed a little part of the sword, to make sure it was indeed the Tetsusaiga.
Raising his voice involuntarily, Sesshomaru's eyes widened as he motioned a hand to Inuyasha. "Sheath the blade!" A sweatdrop ran down his cheek, for he realized he was too late.
At the same moment Inuyasha heeded Sesshomaru's words, one of the blades on the wall sprung to life, dropping it's sheath and turning upright; it's blade pointed up. It was the Gram.
"III dddooo bbbeeellliiieeevvveee yyyooouuu hhhaaavvveee gggooonnneee fffaaarrr eeennnooouuuggghhh, tttrrraaaiiitttooorrr!" The Gram's voice shouted out, furiously.
"Inuyasha..." Sesshomaru whispered. "You know as well as I do that we need to avoid this thing....you've seen it in action..."
"Don't remind me...." Inuyasha had a tight grip on the Tetsusaiga, ready to enter combat with the sword. "How do you propose we get out of this?"
"Good question....." Sesshomaru cleared his throat and took a step towards the Gram. "I have permission from Lord Barbarossa to escort Inuyasha to a new holding facility. He told us that we would have no troubles from you, and if we did, he was going to destroy you. Do you understand?"
"III aaammm nnnooo fffoooooolll, SSSeeesssssshhhooommmaaarrruuu! DDDooo yyyooouuu ttthhhiiinnnkkk III dddiiiddd nnnooottt hhheeeaaarrr yyyooouurrr cccooonnnvvveeerrrsssaaatttiiiooonnn jjjuuusssttt nnnooowww!?"
"Nice try...." The sarcasm in Inuyasha's voice was dripping from his words.
"Do not start with me, Inuyasha....I suggest that we...run." Sesshomaru spoke with his usual calmness, as he then dashed out of the room.
Inuyasha blinked a moment and started to follow. "Hey! Wait for me!"
The two brothers ran out of the magickal and mundane armory alike, making their way through the hallways of the giant fortress. Inuyasha had no clue where he was going, but hoped that Sesshomaru did. The sound of the Gram giving chase was beginning to wear on Inuyasha's nerves. It made a high pitched hum constantly as it ripped through the air, easily watching Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's great speed.
A growl escaped Inuyasha's lips as he turned around and unsheathed the Tetsusaiga. "Enough of this! I'm fighting this thing!"
"No! You fool! The Gram cannot leave where Barbarossa left it! It's duty is to guard his fortress! Once we escape, it HAS to give up chase!" Sesshomaru spouted off as he grabbed ahold of Inuyasha's arm and continues running to the exit.
The Gram had made considerable gain in the moment of the brothers talking. It was no more than ten meters away from them. Also, the pitch of it's ringing seemed to have increased, as if it were done for the express purpose of goading Inuyasha into fighting it.
After four more minutes of solid chase, the main doors came into Sesshomaru's sight. An all too rare smile crossed his face as he pushed through the large doors and rolled into the snow right outside, dragging the held Inuyasha down with him accidentally.
Sesshomaru pushed his brother off of him, and looked to the doors. The Gram floated there at the edge, as Sesshomaru had expected. As Sesshomaru had hoped.
**Part 2: The Mountains***
The four friends stood in eyesight of the daunting mountain range. It was significantly colder where they stood than where they stood fifteen minutes ago. It wasn't hard to tell that it was going to be an arduous journey. Each Miroku, Sango, and Kagome wearing thick cloth robes, and Shippo hiding in a large inside pocket of Miroku's, they were all ready to try and topple the large mountain, uncertain of what exactly they were looking for.
Starting up the mountain, the bitter winds and snow drifts from the mountain peaks were already starting to take their toll. Inuyasha was part demon, thus could handle things a bit better. These ill conditions were not suited for the human body.
Three hours had passed since they began their trek, but exhaustion and the bitter cold were in control. Sango stopped for a moment and looked around, searching for a cave orf some sort in which they could rest for a while. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a shallow crevice in the mountain face that should hold the four of them.
"Hey!" She shouted out, over the heavy, snowy winds. "Over there! We can rest awhile!" She pointed towards her discovery.
With a light smile on everyone's face, they trudged over to the would- be cave, to take shelter from the snow and winds. Even though the opening was easily within eyesight, it took at least fifteen minutes for them to get through the snow, and to it.
With a heavy sigh on relief, they huddled close into the shallow cave, with the wind not biting at them for the first time in what seemed like forever.
Brushing the ice from under his nose, Miroku opened up his coat to see that Shippo, confined in warmth, had fallen asleep. "Lucky little fox...." He laughed lightly to himself, and looked over at Sango and Kagome. "Are you two all right?"
Shivering some, they looked up at Miroku and simultaneously nodded. "Miroku..." Kagome sniffled lightly. "We're going to die here, aren't we?" A tear rolled down her cheek as she clung onto Sango's arm, who was closest to her.
"No, Kagome. We'll be just fine." Miroku closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall. "We just need to get moving again soon. The longer we sit here, the less and less we'll want to actually go out again. We need to keep going while the fire still burns in our hearts. We must find Inuyasha."
With a mildly worried smile, Kagome nodded her head and stood up, ready to face the cold once more. After but a moment, Miroku grabbed hold of her arm and sat her down with an embarrassed smile on his face.
"Uhm...we CAN sit here for awhile." He shivered lightly, implying to Kagome that they should have at least a little time to warm up before going out again.
***Part 3: Conscription***
"Took you some time to get here, Inuyasha. Did you get lost?" Sesshomaru smirked some as the two brothers walked down a rough cut path which led to and from the castle.
"Well excuse me for not seeing this little pathway you've got here..." Inuyasha mumbled to himself some and held a hand out, letting the unseasonable warmth take full effect. "What's with this anyway? A few days ago it was a snowstorm..."
"Magick has it's advantages, little brother. This pathway keeps a constant warmth. We may be able to tolerate the cold, but demons usually prefer the warmth. Did you actually trek all the way across these mountains?" Sesshomaru laughed lightly. "I swear, you're more foolish than I though." He grinned some and looked to Inuyasha.
The two brothers walked the path down the mountain for about twenty minutes before something hit both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's noses. Looking around for a moment, Inuyasha spotted something in the distance and dashed over to investigate.
Sesshomaru sighed some and sat down on a nearby rock. "Impatient, foolhardy child....one day he'll have to learn caution." He cracked his neck lightly and watched Inuyasha fly off into the snowy area ahead.
Some five minutes later, Inuyasha found what he saw again, only a little bit in the distance. Creeping up on the figures, Inuyasha got a better smell...a familiar smell. Edging closer from behind, he was right up next to the one in the rear.
"Miroku?" Inuyasha questioned lightly.
As if second nature, Miroku spun around with his clerical staff held out. Inuyasha barely ducked it. At that moment, Miroku sort of froze in his place, locking eye with Inuyasha.
"Uh....Kagome? I think we found what we were looking for....or he found us, as it were." Even though he was joyous, he kept concealed in the robes, as to stave off the cold.
"Follow me...I know someplace warm." Inuyasha, while wanting to be with them where they stand, figured it best to get into the warmth before any such pleasantries.
After another five minutes later, Inuyasha led his companions into the path where warmth prevailed. After a few minutes of welcome backs and how are yous, they all froze, save for Inuyasha. The eyes of his friends were stuck on Sesshomaru.
A weary sigh escaped Sesshomaru's lips as he caught on to their staring. "Ugh....I don't feel like explaining myself.... Inuyasha and I have come to an agreement. Get over it." He stood up, waiting for them to get ready to travel again.
Inuyasha looked to Kagome and then to Sesshomaru. "Where exactly are we going, anyway?"
"To my castle...well, not so much a castle as a fortification. We need to conscript some...soldiers. Barbarossa plans a war. I know he will. We'll need soldiers to fight in a war." Sesshomaru rolled his shoulders some, restlessly.
"Where are we getting these soldiers? I never knew you kept a military."
"I don't, Inuyasha, but my name is a revered one. Demons will flock to my banner if they hear I am in need. Don't worry about soldiers. We can get them with ease...now, can we please be on our way? It's not like Barbarossa doesn't walk these paths to the keep...I don't know when he is supposed to be coming back."
"Yeah...it's best we don't have to battle him any time soon. Let's get going..." Inuyasha said with a nod, and took his place right next to Kagome. They all made sure to be standing behind Sesshomaru, not one of them, including Inuyasha, fully trusting him.
End of Chapter 8
Had a real good vibe on this one...but it really started to trudge on. Maybe I'm not as good a writer as I had thought/hoped. I guess I should have expected this though. I really didn't know what I was going to do on this chapter. The next ones I pretty much have down, so with any luck, they will come quickly, and be pretty good...or decent, at the very least. Until next time,
Getting this chapter started a lot sooner than I had expected. This chapter will mark the two-thirds completed point in this particular fanfiction (I'm aiming for twelve chapters). I've pretty much planned out everything from this point on, so hopefully the chapters will start coming quickly.
Chapter 8
**Part 1: Revolt***
Inuyasha and Sesshomaru walked through the cold, torch-lit hallways of the fortress for several minutes before Inuyasha actually spoke up.
"Where are you leading me, Sesshomaru? We should have been there some time ago, I would think..." Inuyasha grumbled lightly, still wary of Sesshomaru's motives.
Sesshomaru sighed heavily and half-turned his head to his little brother, who was walking behind him. "How would you know how long it would take to get there? You weren't even aware of existance when you were taken to the dungeon. It will be only a few more minutes, Inuyasha. This place isn't small."
Inuyasha grumbled some but continued to follow his older brother. After a bit of time, they came before two large iron doors, easily twelve feet tall. Two torches, burning with blue flames, lit the area right out from of the doors.
"Alright then, we're here...." Sesshomaru spoke in a hushed tone. "I cannot emphasize our silence enough. The Laevateinn as well as the Gram may still be in the armory, and they are sentient and combat able on their own."
"Heh...are you afraid of a piece of steel, Sesshomaru? Never pictured you to be the..." Inuyasha was cut off by an angry gaze from Sesshomaru. "Alright alright, I'll be quiet, jeez...."
Sesshomaru shook his head some and pulled one of the doors open slowly, as to avoid any noise. Once the door was fully open, he and Inuyasha walked into the large room slowly, watching their steps.
Within the room was what seemed like an unlimited supply of weaponry. Everything from an adze to a whip. The two walked through the large room for some time. Sesshomaru had to stop repeatedly to wait up for Inuyasha, who was in awe of all this weaponry.
Sesshomaru whispered to Inuyasha. "Come on.....this is all just mundane equipment. What we're looking for is in this room..." He pointed a finger to a normal sized iron door on the other side of the room. "Come now."
After a moment, Inuyasha looked to Sesshomaru and nodded, sneaking up to the door, still wary to keep the noise down. As they stood in front of the door to the magickal armory, Sesshomaru placed a hand on the door, as a faint blue light covered it. Moments after the light faded, the door opened slightly.
"It was magickally sealed. We haven't much time before it seals itself again..." Sesshomaru said as he promted Inuyasha to follow him into the room, to get the Tetsusaiga back.
Within the chamber were a multitude of shimmering blades of every variety, though it did not take Inuyasha long to find the Tetsusaiga. He snatched the blade from it's place on the wall, and turned to Sesshomaru with a grin.
"Well then...I think we can safely be on our way, eh?" Inuyasha had a lighthearted tone to his voice as he unsheathed a little part of the sword, to make sure it was indeed the Tetsusaiga.
Raising his voice involuntarily, Sesshomaru's eyes widened as he motioned a hand to Inuyasha. "Sheath the blade!" A sweatdrop ran down his cheek, for he realized he was too late.
At the same moment Inuyasha heeded Sesshomaru's words, one of the blades on the wall sprung to life, dropping it's sheath and turning upright; it's blade pointed up. It was the Gram.
"III dddooo bbbeeellliiieeevvveee yyyooouuu hhhaaavvveee gggooonnneee fffaaarrr eeennnooouuuggghhh, tttrrraaaiiitttooorrr!" The Gram's voice shouted out, furiously.
"Inuyasha..." Sesshomaru whispered. "You know as well as I do that we need to avoid this thing....you've seen it in action..."
"Don't remind me...." Inuyasha had a tight grip on the Tetsusaiga, ready to enter combat with the sword. "How do you propose we get out of this?"
"Good question....." Sesshomaru cleared his throat and took a step towards the Gram. "I have permission from Lord Barbarossa to escort Inuyasha to a new holding facility. He told us that we would have no troubles from you, and if we did, he was going to destroy you. Do you understand?"
"III aaammm nnnooo fffoooooolll, SSSeeesssssshhhooommmaaarrruuu! DDDooo yyyooouuu ttthhhiiinnnkkk III dddiiiddd nnnooottt hhheeeaaarrr yyyooouurrr cccooonnnvvveeerrrsssaaatttiiiooonnn jjjuuusssttt nnnooowww!?"
"Nice try...." The sarcasm in Inuyasha's voice was dripping from his words.
"Do not start with me, Inuyasha....I suggest that we...run." Sesshomaru spoke with his usual calmness, as he then dashed out of the room.
Inuyasha blinked a moment and started to follow. "Hey! Wait for me!"
The two brothers ran out of the magickal and mundane armory alike, making their way through the hallways of the giant fortress. Inuyasha had no clue where he was going, but hoped that Sesshomaru did. The sound of the Gram giving chase was beginning to wear on Inuyasha's nerves. It made a high pitched hum constantly as it ripped through the air, easily watching Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's great speed.
A growl escaped Inuyasha's lips as he turned around and unsheathed the Tetsusaiga. "Enough of this! I'm fighting this thing!"
"No! You fool! The Gram cannot leave where Barbarossa left it! It's duty is to guard his fortress! Once we escape, it HAS to give up chase!" Sesshomaru spouted off as he grabbed ahold of Inuyasha's arm and continues running to the exit.
The Gram had made considerable gain in the moment of the brothers talking. It was no more than ten meters away from them. Also, the pitch of it's ringing seemed to have increased, as if it were done for the express purpose of goading Inuyasha into fighting it.
After four more minutes of solid chase, the main doors came into Sesshomaru's sight. An all too rare smile crossed his face as he pushed through the large doors and rolled into the snow right outside, dragging the held Inuyasha down with him accidentally.
Sesshomaru pushed his brother off of him, and looked to the doors. The Gram floated there at the edge, as Sesshomaru had expected. As Sesshomaru had hoped.
**Part 2: The Mountains***
The four friends stood in eyesight of the daunting mountain range. It was significantly colder where they stood than where they stood fifteen minutes ago. It wasn't hard to tell that it was going to be an arduous journey. Each Miroku, Sango, and Kagome wearing thick cloth robes, and Shippo hiding in a large inside pocket of Miroku's, they were all ready to try and topple the large mountain, uncertain of what exactly they were looking for.
Starting up the mountain, the bitter winds and snow drifts from the mountain peaks were already starting to take their toll. Inuyasha was part demon, thus could handle things a bit better. These ill conditions were not suited for the human body.
Three hours had passed since they began their trek, but exhaustion and the bitter cold were in control. Sango stopped for a moment and looked around, searching for a cave orf some sort in which they could rest for a while. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a shallow crevice in the mountain face that should hold the four of them.
"Hey!" She shouted out, over the heavy, snowy winds. "Over there! We can rest awhile!" She pointed towards her discovery.
With a light smile on everyone's face, they trudged over to the would- be cave, to take shelter from the snow and winds. Even though the opening was easily within eyesight, it took at least fifteen minutes for them to get through the snow, and to it.
With a heavy sigh on relief, they huddled close into the shallow cave, with the wind not biting at them for the first time in what seemed like forever.
Brushing the ice from under his nose, Miroku opened up his coat to see that Shippo, confined in warmth, had fallen asleep. "Lucky little fox...." He laughed lightly to himself, and looked over at Sango and Kagome. "Are you two all right?"
Shivering some, they looked up at Miroku and simultaneously nodded. "Miroku..." Kagome sniffled lightly. "We're going to die here, aren't we?" A tear rolled down her cheek as she clung onto Sango's arm, who was closest to her.
"No, Kagome. We'll be just fine." Miroku closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall. "We just need to get moving again soon. The longer we sit here, the less and less we'll want to actually go out again. We need to keep going while the fire still burns in our hearts. We must find Inuyasha."
With a mildly worried smile, Kagome nodded her head and stood up, ready to face the cold once more. After but a moment, Miroku grabbed hold of her arm and sat her down with an embarrassed smile on his face.
"Uhm...we CAN sit here for awhile." He shivered lightly, implying to Kagome that they should have at least a little time to warm up before going out again.
***Part 3: Conscription***
"Took you some time to get here, Inuyasha. Did you get lost?" Sesshomaru smirked some as the two brothers walked down a rough cut path which led to and from the castle.
"Well excuse me for not seeing this little pathway you've got here..." Inuyasha mumbled to himself some and held a hand out, letting the unseasonable warmth take full effect. "What's with this anyway? A few days ago it was a snowstorm..."
"Magick has it's advantages, little brother. This pathway keeps a constant warmth. We may be able to tolerate the cold, but demons usually prefer the warmth. Did you actually trek all the way across these mountains?" Sesshomaru laughed lightly. "I swear, you're more foolish than I though." He grinned some and looked to Inuyasha.
The two brothers walked the path down the mountain for about twenty minutes before something hit both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's noses. Looking around for a moment, Inuyasha spotted something in the distance and dashed over to investigate.
Sesshomaru sighed some and sat down on a nearby rock. "Impatient, foolhardy child....one day he'll have to learn caution." He cracked his neck lightly and watched Inuyasha fly off into the snowy area ahead.
Some five minutes later, Inuyasha found what he saw again, only a little bit in the distance. Creeping up on the figures, Inuyasha got a better smell...a familiar smell. Edging closer from behind, he was right up next to the one in the rear.
"Miroku?" Inuyasha questioned lightly.
As if second nature, Miroku spun around with his clerical staff held out. Inuyasha barely ducked it. At that moment, Miroku sort of froze in his place, locking eye with Inuyasha.
"Uh....Kagome? I think we found what we were looking for....or he found us, as it were." Even though he was joyous, he kept concealed in the robes, as to stave off the cold.
"Follow me...I know someplace warm." Inuyasha, while wanting to be with them where they stand, figured it best to get into the warmth before any such pleasantries.
After another five minutes later, Inuyasha led his companions into the path where warmth prevailed. After a few minutes of welcome backs and how are yous, they all froze, save for Inuyasha. The eyes of his friends were stuck on Sesshomaru.
A weary sigh escaped Sesshomaru's lips as he caught on to their staring. "Ugh....I don't feel like explaining myself.... Inuyasha and I have come to an agreement. Get over it." He stood up, waiting for them to get ready to travel again.
Inuyasha looked to Kagome and then to Sesshomaru. "Where exactly are we going, anyway?"
"To my castle...well, not so much a castle as a fortification. We need to conscript some...soldiers. Barbarossa plans a war. I know he will. We'll need soldiers to fight in a war." Sesshomaru rolled his shoulders some, restlessly.
"Where are we getting these soldiers? I never knew you kept a military."
"I don't, Inuyasha, but my name is a revered one. Demons will flock to my banner if they hear I am in need. Don't worry about soldiers. We can get them with ease...now, can we please be on our way? It's not like Barbarossa doesn't walk these paths to the keep...I don't know when he is supposed to be coming back."
"Yeah...it's best we don't have to battle him any time soon. Let's get going..." Inuyasha said with a nod, and took his place right next to Kagome. They all made sure to be standing behind Sesshomaru, not one of them, including Inuyasha, fully trusting him.
End of Chapter 8
Had a real good vibe on this one...but it really started to trudge on. Maybe I'm not as good a writer as I had thought/hoped. I guess I should have expected this though. I really didn't know what I was going to do on this chapter. The next ones I pretty much have down, so with any luck, they will come quickly, and be pretty good...or decent, at the very least. Until next time,