Thanks to reviewers: loozer-09, Hanamaru285, Guardian Angel of ALL Anime, Chibi-Kerochan, Angel of Saturn1, hanyou punk chick, colly, and feudaltera.
And I'd like to thank hanyou punk chick for this review: hanyou punk chick says- are u trying to kill us by not updating! want to know what happens! That review has gotten my lazy butt into gear and that's nearly the reason why I've been working on the chapter over spring break. So y'all should thank her for urging me to update. Thanks hanyou punk chick!!!!!!! If I get lazy and don't update for a few months just yell at me and I'll become motivated. Yelling at me definitely works.
Sorry that I haven't updated in a long while! My motivation levels have been down; wwwwwaaayyyy down. But here I am with the next chapter so don't think too badly of me. ^_^
Disclaimer: I do not own the anime/manga "Inuyasha".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was around six-thirty in the morning and the young, orange sun rose over the bay to the east and set its rays of light upon the ground. Birds and trees alike awoke to the glorious sunlight filtering over the gray and glistening bay. Ever since the Lord-King Naraku of Uranin had taken claim over the country of Hathar, the great bay of Mythora steadily lost its ephemeral blue color and taken on a sickly gray. The people who still remained in Hathar and Mythora hated waking each day to the cheerful sun and sky while the bay, and seemingly the earth itself wore depression. But today, things might change; things might remain the same and many Hatharans woke to this day with some renewed hope, for the armies of Yogo, Girth, and Veralind was on the outskirts of the city, waiting to annihilate the tyrant who held their lands.
While the people of Hathar remained subdued, but optimistic, the army of Yogo on the whole felt as if the world rested upon their shoulders. Anyone could walk through the encampment with a sword and slice through the tense air. King Inuyasha of Yogo felt much like testing that theory but he knew the results; one truly cannot cut through air. Every person he came across flashed him a smile backed with bravado and lined with fear, and even though it is not within his nature, Inuyasha truly desired to take away their dread.
Inuyasha stood up straighter when the command central came into his sight; it was the only remaining tent left up. The night before command central had been alive with people and the large desk in the center was covered in old maps of Mythora that had somehow been smuggled out of the city. Now the tent was cleaned and hardly any evidence of it being full to capacity remained. Inside were Balthos Korrigor, Kouga, and Giltong from Veralind –the heroes of the battle in Yogo- with the best generals the Yogo, Veralind, and Girth nations had to offer.
As courtesy demanded (and damn did he hate it) the generals and heroes bowed respectfully to King Inuyasha. He presented a thankful nod of the head while grinding his teeth in irritation.
"My King," said General Vovoz of Yogo, "as we speak the army is assembling to march into the city."
"I know," Inuyasha responded weakly. "I saw them on my way here and it was quite obvious they are afraid to be entering battle."
"That does happen, your majesty," a general from Girth said.
With sleep deprived eyes Inuyasha scanned the faces of those surrounding him and saw they too looked as frightened as the troops they fought with and commanded. Does my face hold those same expressions?, Inuyasha wondered. He knew the answer without thinking about it. Yes, he obviously was afraid and his face would expose that. But what man that ran a country, was liberating another nation, and had wife and children would not be scared?
General Vovoz cleared his throat slightly to gain Inuyasha's attention. "Your highness, I think it best to send a messenger out to the bugle men to sound the horn for formations."
Inuyasha nodded in consent.
The next few minutes were a blur of sound a movement as all those in command central went outside to join up with their respective groups. Inuyasha walked on leaded feet, unsettling dirt and grass as he watched all the scared stragglers get into formation. All eyes rested upon his form and his heart called out to Kagome and his children who remained in Yogo. Call it instinct, intuition, or whatever you wish, but Inuyasha felt afraid he would never see his family again; that this battle would be the end of him.
A swift breeze blew off the bay and swept over the army as if pleading to be freed from Naraku's clutches. In that wind Inuyasha caught the scent of lavender and vanilla as a woman wearing the Veralind armor passed him by. His heart beat with excitement that it could maybe be Kagome and he would not be alone during this ordeal. With mind and body drawn out of the stupor, Inuyasha pursued the woman, desperately trying to catch up. As if sensing his presence moving ever closer the woman ducked into the mass of armored men and women in an obvious attempt to evade the youkai king's pursuit.
"Damn," Inuyasha cursed under his breath when he lost the woman's scent.
How he ached even more for Kagome's comforting presence and the cheerful ambiance his children seemed to provide. Inuyasha longed for home and family like never before and felt his heart chap and crack with loneliness.
Inuyasha was startled from his thoughts when a young inu youkai messenger tapped him apprehensively on the shoulder and handed him a letter. With his mind concentrating only on the written word before him Inuyasha read the letter over and heaved a sigh of dread. The letter was from General Vovoz stating that with Inuyasha's command the army would march forth onto Mythora and secure the city before dusk if all went according to the plans from the night before.
"Tell General Vovoz that he may start the forward advance," Inuyasha softly commanded the messenger.
************************************************************************
After one large exhale, Kagome stopped running. Just moments before her husband, Inuyasha, had been chasing her down. It hurt her deeply to run away from Inuyasha but she could not bring herself to face him. With each pound of her foot against the dead, brown grass Kagome felt her heart wrench and twist as if wordlessly chastising her actions. If the situation wasn't so dire and if Inuyasha was the type of man to insist she not go home, Kagome would have faced him without faltering.
"Leizle," a dog-eared face appeared in her vision. "Are you alright, Leizle?"
Kagome started with Balthos Korrigor's visage popping unexpectedly into sight. His warm, golden eyes shone with concern and he reached out with a clawed hand to grip her shoulder.
"My name isn't L-", but Kagome caught herself before she reveled her identity. She almost forgot that everyone she met so far knew her as Leizle. "I mean, my name is Leizle."
Balthos smile humorously and said, "I know that, but how are you? Just now you looked like your body was here but your heart and mind were somewhere else."
"Oh, I'm fine," Kagome waved nonchalantly. Balthos raised a skeptical eyebrow at her, prompting Kagome to defend her wellbeing even more. "Truly, I feel fine! I just didn't sleep too well, that's all. With this battle looming over all our heads, how can anyone sleep at all? I honestly couldn't and did not. Too many thoughts about things that can happen today are running through my head and I feel as if I have no control over anything anymore."
Small tears welled up in the corner of Kagome's eyes for no reason she could think of. Maybe it was stress? Maybe it was knowing that many people, possibly even the dog demon standing before her, would die horribly bloody deaths? Whatever the reason was, Kagome could not restrain the body wracking sobs that claimed her.
"I am afraid too, Leizle," Balthos whispered. "Too much is riding on this battle for me not to be fearful. But despite that all we can do is fight and hope that we kill Naraku and his hoards to save everyone else."
Kagome nodded as Balthos opened his mouth to say something more, but the clear, sharp notes of a bugle sounding the forward march flew through the air and drowned out his words. With heavy hearts and light feet the armies of Girth, Veralind, and Yogo marched forward. The armies were separated according to divisions which ranged from purely magic to purely physical combatants. Kagome and Balthos found themselves in a division that combined those who fought with their own bodies, those who fought with weapons, and those who used magic. There were three of these particular divisions scattered throughout the three army expanse. The division Kagome was in was named Rascher Tod, "swift death" in the original tongue of Girth.
As each moment passed the anxiety of battle spread through every person like an electrical shock, and Kagome could not help but shiver as the sensation shot through her. Kagome was quite impressed with the cool and confident front Balthos placed forward so no one would know his fear. His eyes were slit against the fierce glow from the early morning sun and his silver hair lay still because there was no wind to move it. In many ways the soldier Balthos reminded Kagome of her brother-in-law Sesshoumaru and the more personable Balthos reminded her of her dear dead friend Horaku in the days before Naraku's corruption.
Minutes seemed to fly by as hours and Kagome could only hope the forward march would soon halt. And eventually it did, right on the outskirts of a city she had not stepped into in nearly four years. Even though there were numerous people in standing in ranks before her that were much taller, Kagome could still make out the finely constructed stone buildings that remained for the most part intact during Naraku's rein. Though it appeared the stone took on a more gray tone than normal –quite like the bay beyond- to reflect the Uranin Lord-King's rule.
A cheer rang through the air from somewhere in the streets just ahead that sounded like it came from a young child. The joyful yelp was cut off rather abruptly and a shiver spread backward through Kagome's division; she guessed by the soldiers' reactions something in particular had silenced the child.
"What happened?" Kagome whispered to Balthos.
"Well," Balthos turned to her with his bright golden eyes expressing sadness, "you heard the child's cry. He was unattended to and an imp sliced his throat. The boy could not have been more than five or six in human years."
Kagome had nothing to say in response but nodded in understanding and mentally asked the gods above to protect the soul of the little boy.
"The hell," Inuyasha mumbled as he trudged through the crowd.
Kagome held her breath and slowly backed away, hoping he would not find her or her scent. Whether or not he did, Kagome never found out, for Inuyasha continued tramping to the front of the army. He was obviously upset by the little boy's murder.
************************************************************************
Inuyasha reached the front of the Combined Division Three in record time and was sickened with the ghastly sight of a five year old boy lying dead on the cobblestone street. The boy's hat lay a few feet from him and blew into the city with each gust of air while the boy himself looked like a fallen angel with crimson blood pouring from a terrible gash on his neck. He must have died right away and felt no pain, thought Inuyasha.
Blinking and startled, Inuyasha noticed a light fog settled over the city streets. The scent of grave soil and dried bones entered his nose and behind him many other demons remarked at the strange odor permeating from the mist.
A clinking began from deep within the fog and grew louder with each passing moment. It sounded like chains hanging off a person and hitting together which each step. The soft padding of feet in simple cotton foot coverings and the clunk of booted feet accompanied the cacophonous noise of metal on metal. As seven silhouettes of various sizes appeared in the fog, Inuyasha couldn't help but feel slightly lightheaded with the overwhelming tang of grave soil and long buried bones.
"Here arrives the heroes." a mocking voice rang out. Inuyasha assumed it was the shadow with a long braid and even larger sword who had gesticulated with his or her hands as the voice emerged. "King Inuyasha has come, fellow comrades… he has come along with his fellow cats, dogs, and humans!"
Laughter followed the short and contemptuous speech. The chuckles were so different, Inuyasha noted, seven versions of malice filled laughter that chilled him straight to his core. Inuyasha could hear two or three people approach from behind and could smell them as being General Vovoz, Balthos Korrigor, and Giltong.
"My King, who are they?" Balthos asked quietly with urgency lining his every word. "I don't recall our spy in Naraku's castle telling us about a group of warriors, only Naraku himself and his creation Kanna."
"Who are we?" that same unsettling voice echoed off the stone buildings. "We are the Shinchinintai. Naraku hired us to get rid of the armies; that guy has serious issues with soiling his hands," the person chuckled.
From his peripheral vision, Inuyasha noticed General Vovoz jump in fear or shock or something when the person mentioned the name of their group. "What do you know about them, General?"
"Huh?!" Vovoz started again when Inuyasha spoke. "Oh, I am sorry my king. You had not even been born when the Shinchinintai were running rampant. As a matter of fact your father was just a young lad and in order for him to inherit the throne over his older brother Chin'sai, your grandfather Inukai had your father defeat the Shinchinintai. I was assigned as your father's squire to assist him in taking down the Shinchinintai. We had fought, but I was injured during the fight with Makotsu the poison master and was not able to assist Inuki in fighting the rest of the group. One by one they fell to your father's sword, the Tetsusaiga. The leader of the Shinchinintai, Bankotsu, is the one that your father had the most difficulty with. I do not understand how they can be alive, for I and Inuki killed them over fifty years ago. This must be one of Naraku's tricks or he is truly capable of bringing the dead to life. Your highness," General Vovoz turned and tightly gripped onto Inuyasha's shoulder, "please take great caution when dealing with them. They are not to be trusted."
Inuyasha nodded in understanding, his mind drinking in all that General Vovoz had told him. "Balthos, Giltong, do you have any more information about them?"
Balthos simply shook his head no, but Giltong did know something.
"King Inuyasha, the Shinchinintai come from the country of Uranin just like the Lord-King Naraku and all have strange and sinister abilities. One example is Makotsu, the one that injured General Vovoz here. Makotsu's sole ability is to poison those he fights against and uses his small stature to his advantage. I'm just guessing, but the short, squat one there is Makotsu," she pointed just to the left of the one who spoke earlier. "That is all I know of them."
The Shinchinintai member from before snarled and walked forward a few steps, "Are you done chatting? I would truly like to fight your grand army."
"Now, now Bankotsu let's not be hasty," a shorter member of the group with a lithe, feminine form chided. "We should allow them to call the shots, after all," he shrugged, "we are at an advantage. They only have six strong warriors that I can sense and we have seven. A small advantage, but we are after all the Shinchinintai."
"Very true, Jakotsu," the apparently name Bankotsu agreed. "Inuyasha, I propose a challenge for you and your army and I hope that you will rise to the ordeal."
Apprehensively, Inuyasha looked to General Vovoz for advice but the older dog youkai simply shrugged; there was no other way into the city then through the Shinchinintai. Inuyasha realized this and did not now how to go around this particular problem. They are not to be trusted, rang clear as a bell through his mind. They did seem like a group of adult-like misfits (or worse) and he could sense the immense power emanating from each of them.
I can't loose anything from listening to them, Inuyasha thought; I might as well hear what Bankotsu has to say.
"Alright, name your conditions and the challenge," Inuyasha yelled. "First clear this fog so I know who I am talking to."
The Jakotsu character waved a hand nonchalantly at the heavens and a rather warm breeze blew, sending the thick fog over the bay.
To say the least, Inuyasha was rather surprised with how normal most of the Shinchinintai looked. Bankotsu, Jakotsu, and two other member looked human or youkai for the most part while three other member were abnormally tall. The one at the farthest left of the Shinchinintai was a red head with a rather large scar running down the side of his face while his metal lips protruded from his mouth. He had body armor that spanned his chest in two plates and more durable armor with spikes covering his shoulders. He, out of the entire group, looked least human or youkai and more like a walking scrap metal pile. H one eye rested on General Vovoz and the scratchy, sneering laugh that emerged from his steel lips suggested he wanted to settle some fifty-year-old score with the older man.
"I'm glad you accepted," Bankotsu bowed his head in mock respect. "I will get right to the point. I propose a tournament in which one of my fighters meets in combat with any fighter you choose. At various points throughout the city one of the Shinchinintai members will be there to fight with one of your fighters. If we win, well… we just made it easier for Naraku to crush you all later on, and if you win your army gets to move forward and gain secure ground. For the most part it is to your advantage to enter this little game of ours. However, one of the conditions is that neither you nor I can fight until the last round. Of all my years in hell I have wished to fight against the wielder of the Tetsusaiga. I myself now have a weapon to match the strength of the inu fang sword."
"Everything sounds reasonable," Inuyasha murmured. He turned around and faced Balthos, Giltong, and General Vovoz. "What do you all think?"
"Like the General said before," Giltong answered, "they are not to be trusted, but we truly have no choice but to fight them. We need to find fighters to face off against the Shinchinintai and I fear that might be difficult; they have great power."
"I agree. We are walking into their hands and there is no way we can back out. Shit! I honestly did not expect this to happen, but I volunteer myself as one of our side's fighters. That Jakotsu person said we have only six soldiers of significant powers that he could sense and sadly I have to agree. We are not exactly brimming with outstanding warriors."
Inuyasha smiled weakly, "Thank you volunteering."
"I do as well, King Inuyasha," said Giltong.
"I might as well," General Vovoz sighed, "but I want to be the one to fight Ginkotsu; he and I have something to settle from fifty years ago."
"Well," Inuyasha scratched his head, "so far all we have are you," he pointed to Vovoz, "Giltong and Balthos, and I suppose I'm the last round fighter. That leaves us to find two more warriors."
Giltong snorted and said over her shoulder, "I will break Kouga out of formation; I am sure he is itching for some action."
As much as Inuyasha hated to admit it, they did need Kouga's strength in combat and taking him out of whatever division he was placed in was a good thing. All they needed was one more person…
"I volunteer my services," a meek voice said from next to Balthos.
Inuyasha had not noticed the approach of this woman. From her armor he could tell she hailed from Veralind, but the helmet and visor she wore were of the Yogo army. All that could be seen of her face were nervous eyes like that of a child waiting to be scolded.
"And who might you be?" Inuyasha asked.
"Well," the woman breathed in heavily and removed her helmet and visor. She then shook her hair off her face, "I'm your wife."
"K-Kagome!" Inuyasha sputtered utterly flabbergasted. Each time he smelled vanilla and lavender it truly had been her. He rushed forward to his wife and gripped her arms, though not tightly. "What are you doing here? I thought you were home with the kids!"
Kagome bowed her head, knowing that a severe scolding was going to erupt soon. "I couldn't allow myself to be away from you, Inuyasha. I was afraid of loosing you and I knew that if anything was to happen to us that Fiore and Kreiger would be safe with Rin and Sesshoumaru."
"Gods, Kagome," Inuyasha whispered and let all restraints go and hugged the wife he had so very much missed. He wanted ever since he had left Yogo to hold his Kagome in his arms once again and to fell her embrace him back.
"Inuyasha," Kagome said as she pulled away, "I will fight, so please don't argue."
"I don't have the will power to ar-"; Inuyasha began but was cut off when Kagome kissed him. He reveled in the feeling of her sweet, soft lips pressed against him and even though it is quite "mushy", Inuyasha could feel his heart skip a beat. Kagome was with him.
Even with the upcoming fights with the Shinchinintai looming over their heads, Balthos couldn't help but chuckle at himself. To think the entire time he was with Leizle he was truly with the queen!
"Well it is settled then," General Vovoz said heavily. "King Inuyasha, Queen Kagome, Balthos, Giltong, Kouga, and I will make up the team to fight the Shinchinintai."
"Looks like we got ourselves a match, boys," Bankotsu grinned and spoke to his comrades. "Inuyasha the first round is here and now. Ginkotsu will fight this round against whoever you throw at him so I suggest you choose well."
Inuyasha did not even need to say anything as General Vovoz straightened up and walked proudly toward Ginkotsu as the ten foot tall machine man stalked to him. Both men met half way and dropped into fighting stances. Ginkotsu snapped the pinchers of his left hand menacingly while General Vovoz drew out his trident.
"You recognize this weapon, do you not?" the General sneered as Ginkotsu only eye widened in recollection. General Vovoz snarled, "Yes, you do!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, there is chapter 21! I hope you all weren't bored to death by the dialog n' stuff, but I tried to make it as interesting as possible. And I apologize ahead of time if I get the personalities of the Shinchinintai wrong. You see, I've only watched two episodes of the series with the Shinchinintai so I only have a vague idea of how they act and fight, but I'll try my best to make it accurate.
And once again I'm sorry for the wait, I truly am! I think I've finally found my motivation and I have a reason to keep the story going. Originally this was going to be the last chapter but then I decided to add the Shinchinintai to lengthen in. So for each Shinchinintai member there will probably one chapter for that fight plus Naraku so we're looking at possibly another six or seven chapter.
Well, it's great to be back writing this story and I sincerely will try and update sooner than I have been. Once again, thanks to hanyou punk chick for her review urging me to continue.
Oh! And if you don't know much about the Shinchinintai or would like to know more about them go to www.inuyashaworld.com. That's the web site that I got all my info from.
Thank you all for sticking by this story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Buh-bye!!!!!!!!
~Happy Youkai ^_^