"One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that
to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one."
~Agatha Christie
All's Fair in Love and War
Chapter 21: War
~Road to the North (Kagome's POV)~
We have finally stopped for the night beside the road. It has been decided that Aoi Kaze's soldiers and my soldiers will break up into two traveling groups to give the illusion of a small army. I have been very careful to keep our allies a secret. I don't think it is possible that Inuyasha could have heard anything about the sudden growth of my army. Already I have an advantage.
We all sit around large fires eating plain army food of soup and bread. It is much better then what we ate at Regenbogen because of the supplies from Aoi Kaze.
Tomorrow at dawn we march again until we find Inuyasha's army and then we must fight for the freedom of all Shi Wase.
~Battle Field (Inuyasha's POV)~
Dawn comes with a sense of apprehension. The soldiers pack up camp and prepare for battle. I see many new soldiers with fear written clearly on their faces. They do not know what to expect in this battle, they do not even know if they can stand bravely in the face of the enemy. A few will desert, they always do.
I pace impatiently, I am already dressed in my armor and the plans for battle are already planned. All I can do is wait for Kagome's army to advance close enough for me to give orders to start formation. Time seems to drag.
Finally a scout reports that the rebels number less then two thousand and are a twenty-minute march away. Quickly everyone is in neat rows and files facing the south. Horses paw the ground impatiently as riders try to keep them calm. Foot soldiers nervously check he swords, spears and daggers. The archers try to find good spots to have clear sight. Scanning the field I see Sango among the cavalry. Anger rises within me. I forbad her from fighting in this war. She promised she would stay back and be ready to flee if we were to lose.
Sango waves at me teasingly, I know she never had any intention of staying out of the battle. As father always reminded us: better to die a hero then live as a coward.
In the distance I make out a sea of soldiers on the horizon. It seems to me that there are more then two thousand soldiers. I almost think Kagome's army matches my own. It stretches back out of sight and continues to march forward. I decide that it is simply a trick, there is no way Kagome could possible have that many soldiers.
We wait tensely as they come closer and closer. A few archers let their arrows go in nervousness but they fall harmlessly ahead of the army. I bark orders for everyone to hold back. Rushing ahead is sure to be suicide.
Kagome's army comes into the archers' range but still I hold my army back. Everyone looks around restlessly. With panic I notice that Kagome's army is huge. It must almost match mine! They have almost equal cavalry and everyone is well armed. This is not who I expected to fight. Where are the peasants armed only with cheap swords and armor?
The twang of a bowstring rings in the silence. I see an arrow fly from behind me into the chest of a woman riding a horse in the first row. She tumbles from the saddle and hits the ground with a thud that echoes though their field. The time for peace is over, everyone charges together.
It is a massive crowd of confusion. No one understands what is happening. The instincts take over, forcing one to fight for survival. Everything is a haze.
I am the center of the battle fighting against a skilled warrior. He and I circle each other will our horses, exchanging blows with our swords. He is talented but he has already been wounded in his left shoulder making his blocks weak. I feign to the right then jab forward in the opening. The sword sinks into his chest. His mouth opens in silent protest and he slumps forward. I pull the bloody sword his body. The force knocks him to he ground to be trampled along with all the other dead and wounded.
Death is nothing new to me. Coldly I look around for the next opponent. Just a little way away I see Kagome fighting with two foot soldiers. I rush to confront her, motioning to the soldiers that I will continue the fight.
Kagome and I face each other. She has subtly changed. Her eyes are colder and her cheeks and eyes are sunken into her face. She is still beautiful but I can see she is not well.
I put my sword into a downward swing. Kagome reacts with ease to block my sword with hers. A good swordsman has taught her. Though my strength gives me an advantage.
"You can still surrender!" I call to her.
"Surrender? Are you blind? I have to reason to surrender! Look around you! I am winning!" She replies with a smile.
I do look around and see she is right. Her soldiers are starting to overwhelm mine. We need to regroup. The Regenbogen soldiers have managed to break up my soldiers into small groups. It is impossible to fight them all split up.
I do what is needed though I have to though I hate the look of triumph on Kagome's face. I call the signal for retreat. Everyone who is able fights his or her way out of the army and run in the opposite direction. I look into the sky and see that hours have passed in what seemed to be minutes. My army is noticeably smaller.
I turn to see Sango riding just behind me with that annoying little boy in front of her. We ride away from Kagome's army and she lets us go unhindered. It is the honorable to let the losers of a battle go. Her army easily beat us. If we do not find a way to beat her we will surely lose.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THANKS TO: Brood Mayran, Paragorgon, hyperchica11, Jazzy, SwtAngl53, Queen of Shadows, bonessasan, Thesmartazngirl, ShadowSpinner, Soudesuka-Shurikens and Kitten Kisses FOR REVIEWING LAST CHAPTER!
~Agatha Christie
All's Fair in Love and War
Chapter 21: War
~Road to the North (Kagome's POV)~
We have finally stopped for the night beside the road. It has been decided that Aoi Kaze's soldiers and my soldiers will break up into two traveling groups to give the illusion of a small army. I have been very careful to keep our allies a secret. I don't think it is possible that Inuyasha could have heard anything about the sudden growth of my army. Already I have an advantage.
We all sit around large fires eating plain army food of soup and bread. It is much better then what we ate at Regenbogen because of the supplies from Aoi Kaze.
Tomorrow at dawn we march again until we find Inuyasha's army and then we must fight for the freedom of all Shi Wase.
~Battle Field (Inuyasha's POV)~
Dawn comes with a sense of apprehension. The soldiers pack up camp and prepare for battle. I see many new soldiers with fear written clearly on their faces. They do not know what to expect in this battle, they do not even know if they can stand bravely in the face of the enemy. A few will desert, they always do.
I pace impatiently, I am already dressed in my armor and the plans for battle are already planned. All I can do is wait for Kagome's army to advance close enough for me to give orders to start formation. Time seems to drag.
Finally a scout reports that the rebels number less then two thousand and are a twenty-minute march away. Quickly everyone is in neat rows and files facing the south. Horses paw the ground impatiently as riders try to keep them calm. Foot soldiers nervously check he swords, spears and daggers. The archers try to find good spots to have clear sight. Scanning the field I see Sango among the cavalry. Anger rises within me. I forbad her from fighting in this war. She promised she would stay back and be ready to flee if we were to lose.
Sango waves at me teasingly, I know she never had any intention of staying out of the battle. As father always reminded us: better to die a hero then live as a coward.
In the distance I make out a sea of soldiers on the horizon. It seems to me that there are more then two thousand soldiers. I almost think Kagome's army matches my own. It stretches back out of sight and continues to march forward. I decide that it is simply a trick, there is no way Kagome could possible have that many soldiers.
We wait tensely as they come closer and closer. A few archers let their arrows go in nervousness but they fall harmlessly ahead of the army. I bark orders for everyone to hold back. Rushing ahead is sure to be suicide.
Kagome's army comes into the archers' range but still I hold my army back. Everyone looks around restlessly. With panic I notice that Kagome's army is huge. It must almost match mine! They have almost equal cavalry and everyone is well armed. This is not who I expected to fight. Where are the peasants armed only with cheap swords and armor?
The twang of a bowstring rings in the silence. I see an arrow fly from behind me into the chest of a woman riding a horse in the first row. She tumbles from the saddle and hits the ground with a thud that echoes though their field. The time for peace is over, everyone charges together.
It is a massive crowd of confusion. No one understands what is happening. The instincts take over, forcing one to fight for survival. Everything is a haze.
I am the center of the battle fighting against a skilled warrior. He and I circle each other will our horses, exchanging blows with our swords. He is talented but he has already been wounded in his left shoulder making his blocks weak. I feign to the right then jab forward in the opening. The sword sinks into his chest. His mouth opens in silent protest and he slumps forward. I pull the bloody sword his body. The force knocks him to he ground to be trampled along with all the other dead and wounded.
Death is nothing new to me. Coldly I look around for the next opponent. Just a little way away I see Kagome fighting with two foot soldiers. I rush to confront her, motioning to the soldiers that I will continue the fight.
Kagome and I face each other. She has subtly changed. Her eyes are colder and her cheeks and eyes are sunken into her face. She is still beautiful but I can see she is not well.
I put my sword into a downward swing. Kagome reacts with ease to block my sword with hers. A good swordsman has taught her. Though my strength gives me an advantage.
"You can still surrender!" I call to her.
"Surrender? Are you blind? I have to reason to surrender! Look around you! I am winning!" She replies with a smile.
I do look around and see she is right. Her soldiers are starting to overwhelm mine. We need to regroup. The Regenbogen soldiers have managed to break up my soldiers into small groups. It is impossible to fight them all split up.
I do what is needed though I have to though I hate the look of triumph on Kagome's face. I call the signal for retreat. Everyone who is able fights his or her way out of the army and run in the opposite direction. I look into the sky and see that hours have passed in what seemed to be minutes. My army is noticeably smaller.
I turn to see Sango riding just behind me with that annoying little boy in front of her. We ride away from Kagome's army and she lets us go unhindered. It is the honorable to let the losers of a battle go. Her army easily beat us. If we do not find a way to beat her we will surely lose.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THANKS TO: Brood Mayran, Paragorgon, hyperchica11, Jazzy, SwtAngl53, Queen of Shadows, bonessasan, Thesmartazngirl, ShadowSpinner, Soudesuka-Shurikens and Kitten Kisses FOR REVIEWING LAST CHAPTER!