Seven-thirty now. He'd managed to get a bite to eat before joining the audience in the main events hall, though Sesshoumaru wished that they was a decent sushi restaurant in the area. As it was, he missed the old world meals when going out and about, making public appearances and such. Sometimes, being the head of a multi-national conglomerate wasn't all it seemed cracked up to be. Such was the price of maintaining a position of power in the human world.
There were Kitsunebi and his sons, no doubt here to watch his youngest on stage. That was a youkai Sesshoumaru still did not understand, even after the three hundred years since the little kitsune boy Shippo had become the youkai lord of the south. Then again, many surprises had come in those five hundred years since his own youth. Namely, he'd garnered a respect for humans, for their desire to survive and their ingenuity. Sometimes Sesshoumaru wondered why quite a few of them hadn't been born youkai.
Half an hour though through the contest and the group still hadn't appeared. Granted, there were a lot of people to go through, and many very well done costumes, although some of them...best to leave that unsaid. Still, he had that announcement to make, particularly before the judging started.
Something odd, a strange scent. He tilted his head, sure he recognized it, but he couldn't quite remember. It wasn't one he knew should have been there, however. It was definitely some type of youkai, but something was off about it. If only he could...
Of all times, now Daniel and his friends went up on stage, after the announcement of the group's members, the costume designers, and characters. Better to watch and observe while mulling on that smell in a moment. It was getting stronger. Wait a minute, he knew that scent. "Oni," he whispered just as he turned towards Kistunebi, who also had that expression of shock on his face. Having smelled that freak Happosai was one thing, Kistunebi had warned him Myoga had sensed that rotten pervert of a demon. He was just an annoyance, but there was no reason at all for oni to be here. Damnit, hadn't he told Jaken to make sure nothing happened?
"If there are any lovely ladies who would like to bear my children-"
"Would you spare them, monk!" Well, Daniel was certainly trying to live up to his image. "We don't need more of you running around, one is bad enough!"
There. Something was crawling about, like a shadow across the back of the stage. Definitely oni, one of the kage variaty if he recalled. But he hadn't seen oni make such a move in centuries, why were they risking everything now? One answer came to mind; two certain taiyoukai who were attending this convention.
There was a gasp as that shadow began to rise from the stage, taking shape behind the group while they continued their skit. The gods help them, Daniel had no idea about how to fight with his real power. Sesshoumaru stood and glanced to Kistunebi. Someone was trying to destroy everything that they had worked for in the last three centuries, to hide their kind from the humans at large. The shadow was forming into tentacles, now slithering about while people started to scream.
Jaken was going to get an ear-full for this breach.
"Daniel!" he cried just as the boy finally turned after realizing something was behind him. One large tendril came up and lashed around the boy's leg, pulling hard and slamming him to the ground. Now, the entire room was in a panic, people screaming out, some calling for the police, others racing to escape. Who would send a kage oni here, and why? No one was foolish enough to make an attack on two taiyoukai, no matter how much of an irresistible target it was.
Well, there was someone screaming out "demon!". The jig was up, might as well do his part to contain it. Too bad it had to be like this. "Kistunebi!" he called to his fellow youkai lord while pushing his way through the crowd. "We have to subdue that oni!"
"I'm on it!" the kitsune cried. Already, several people were pushing their way towards the stage. No doubt, they were part of Kitsunebi's own private security force, being they smelled of fox spirit. "Gin, you know what to do!"
One lithe silver haired woman shot out of the crowd, drawing out a set of taser weapons that were built like tonfas. A pair of strikes, and the creature was driven away from Daniel, who was now being dragged away by his friends. Good, that meant that he had his own clear shot once the kistune woman was out of the way. His disguise vanished, his claws coming up as the oni swat Gin away and made a beeline for the teenagers. So, it wasn't the taiyoukai it was after; it was the children. But why?
No time for questions now. He clenched his fist, then, snapping his hand out flat, a long glowing ribbon of yellow light erupted from his claws. "You have offended the Lord of the West," he growled while he stepped before the group of children. "Who sent you!"
The shadow halted only when Sesshoumaru snapped that ribbon like a whip. It let out a hiss, then reshaped into the form of a very ambiguously handsome male with long black hair that reached down to its waist. "Who sent me is none of your concern," the oni growled while now shaping his left arm into a pole of blades. "The hanyou is my target, so get out of my way, and this shall end more peacefully."
To say nothing of the fact he'd just blown three hundred years of a masquerade just for one hanyou. "You have disrupted this gathering," Sesshoumaru replied, now speaking as calmly as was possible. "You have exposed our kind, you fool. We have spent three hundred years maintaining our veil, and in three minutes, you have totally destroyed it just for the assassination of a simple hanyou?" Now a brow went up, expressing both disappointment and disgust. "Your master is indeed a great fool. I will have to go to a great deal of trouble to arrange for this event to be wiped from the humans' memories."
The oni growled, then surged forward at Sesshoumaru. A single snap of his wrist cause the ribbon at his claws to lash into the oni's side, but the creature simply shadow-shifted and melded into the ground. An instant later, it was bursting up at him from the floor.
Something came between those blades and his body. It was now shattered, pieces of ivory colored plastic raining about while the broken shaft of it pushed the oni back. Daniel was standing there, looking at the broken prop in his hand, then dropping it and flashing out his own claws. He took a very defensive stance, clearly revealing his years of disciplined training. The question now on the youkai lord's mind, however; did he know how to use those claws he had?
"Stay out of this," he ordered. Daniel refused to move. Indeed, he was his father's son in that respect; a stubborn child. "Daniel, you can't fight him in your current level of ability, nor do you have anything to protect you."
A flash of his teeth and he still refused to move. "I know what I'm doing," he said clearly while shifting a foot forward, readying himself. "And it's me he's after."
"Danny, would you listen to the youkai!" Kyle hissed when he finally ran over and grabbed the hanyou by the back of his costume. "You are not InuYasha himself, you can't do what he can yet!"
He growled, then finally conceded, allowing Kyle to pull him away. The older boy was very surprising good at being the voice of reason at times. Sesshoumaru readied his left set of claws while Kistunebi assumed what the inuyoukai knew was a battle form of sorts that kistune had developed in the last century. "He has a decent arsenal of skills in the human fighting arts, but the boy is not ready for this kind of fight yet."
"I've already gotten the call to our human allies," Kistunebi stated while his own security team joined them. "They'll be here to do memory scrubs and put things as they were before this."
Yes. Their human allies. Interesting group they were, known to the public as a urban legend called "men in black". They made sure that the mask of the youkai stayed in place, being that those lords like Sesshoumaru had cut deals with many the world's governments; they helped maintain the masquerade, and in return, the youkai aided in advancements and funded secret projects.
"You informed them of the exceptions, correct?"
"If you mean our little pack of pups," the kistune replied while the oni lept toward them. "Yes, they know to leave them be."
Good. This shouldn't take more than a few minutes now that all the formalities were taken care of. Time to teach this oni why one did not offend the taiyoukai of Japan or break the masquerade.
They'd been herded away from the rest of the guests by Chris himself, who had insisted that they stay separated from the normal humans. "Sesshoumaru's called in a special unit to get things cleared up once he and Fox Fire take care of that thing." Something fell down from behind them. Two silver automatics were whipped out from under his red coat and fired the instant a second oni leapt forward.
"Holy shit!" Kyle exclaimed, now staring in shock at the smoking ends of Chris' firearms. "You've been packing this whole time!"
His ears twitched, nose flaring as he caught a scent. "Only since tonight," he replied while leading the five down the hallway to safety. "Jaken gave me the call that Sesshouaru was suspecting trouble. Considering I've been a target a few times due to grandpa's association with Sesshoumaru, I learned not to go anywhere without my boys." Now his eyes went narrow like a cat about to pounce. "There's still one more oni around here." He turned a corner, then was struck hard, sending him crashing into the wall while his guns hit the ground. The third oni came about swinging viciously as Daniel, who quickly deflected most of the blows, but his arms were starting to get cut up from those claws. The sleeves of his costume, however, were now completely ruined.
A hard kick hit the creature. It screamed out while backing away, and Chris kept his leg up to reveal the knife blade that had been stowed in the sole of his boot. "I go for every detail," he muttered just before jumping up and bringing a wicked spin-kick slamming into the oni's head. The moment it took the demon to get back up was all he needed to drop down, grab his weapons, and pump a series of rounds into its body. Now the group could see why he treasured these autos; the ammunition had a very acidic effect on youkai.
"You have weapons designed to kill spirits like this!"
A snort as Chris led them down the hall once more, now stowing away his weapons under his coat while tapping the side of his mirror lens sunglasses. Come to think of it, they were not the pair he'd worn last night as Vash, and despite the obviousness of the coat being part of the Vash costume, it looked noticebly different. "Youkai and their cousin races have been killing each other just as long as mankind has done the same. Sesshoumaru is the one who designed the ammo I use, he's the main supplier of the American youkai counteraction squads here in the US." He was sniffing again, but now, his stance was more relaxed. "You might know them as men in black." As they came to a secure spot, he sighed and finally took the chance to tap that same spot on the frames of his sunglasses. "Lord Sesshoumaru, we're safe. Whoever arranged this attack sent a couple more oni, but they're dead. Have the MiBs clear up the back halls to get rid of the bodies."
"What about the children?"
With a smile as he checked Daniel's arms, he let out a sigh and tapped the switch again. "They're good. Danny got a bit scratched up trying to help me out, and his costume is ruined now, but he's a hanyou, it'll be gone by tomorrow."
There was a squelch from the compiece. "Take them back to my room and have Daniel change into the old kimono I have in there." A pause as some more static came over the comline. "Kistunebi and I didn't get anything out of the main oni, but our would be assassins have been thwarted, and the governmental units will be keeping watch for any further activity." There was a belch of static, and then Sesshoumaru's voice returned. "And Blair-san...good work. If you ever need another job..."
"I'm fine doing what I do now," he stated, though there was a grin on his face. Yeah, he'd impressed the youkai lord of the West, that was for sure. "But, if the voice acting industry ever goes down the hole, I have your number." Tap. He turned back and noticed a couple of men in black uniforms approaching, quickly pulling his hair up to let them know that he was a changeling. "You guys get the oni cleared up?"
One of them nodded. "We've already gotten most of the convention neuralized so they won't remember a thing." He glanced to the teenagers with Chris. "These the ones we're to leave alone?"
A nod as he let his hair come back down over his ears. "I'll make sure you guys get a nice amount of funds from Caliburn," the boy stated while now leading his charges toward the elevators. God, MiBs creeped him out, even if he'd dealt with them a few times already. Crack commandos, trained as assassins and every one of the field agents was proficient in weapons that were designed to kill spirits. Thank god his family had never gotten on their bad list.
Now heading up in the elevator to Sesshoumaru's room, Chris sighed, pulled his shades off, and wiped the sweat from his brow. "That actually had me scared when he caught me off guard like that," the young man admitted while glancing to Daniel and the shreds that had been the sleeves of his costume. "Thanks for back there, Danny. Too bad all the work got diced."
Yeah. Sleeves little more than ribbons dangling from his arms now. Looks like they'd be using the kimono Sesshoumaru had after all. "This sucks," he muttered while now pulling off the costume top. "Who the hell sent those...whatever they were?"
If only he had an answer to that question. "We still don't know," Chris replied as the elevator stopped and let them out on the second floor. Now heading through the hall, Chris pulled out a small black card from under his coat and slipping it into the electronic key lock. A series of lights flashed on the card, and the confirmation light on the lock blinked before he pulled the card out and opened the door.
"Code cracker," he explained while letting the five into the room. "Yet another present from Sesshoumaru." Chris took the chance to looked about for any sign of something that shouldn't be there, then, satisfied, opened the ancient box and handed the fire-rat fur kimono to Daniel. "Get changed, and make it fast, we need to get you kids back out there." He paused while Daniel and Lily head back to get him into the kimono. "Sesshoumaru's had the contest list altered, you guys are gonn'a just go up for his announcement about the performance team." Yeah, they were a bit disappointed now, but they recognized that it was better to be safe than sorry at this point. "The MiBs did full wipes of your skit and the attack, so as far as anyone will remember, it was from one group to the next. That gives you guys time to calm down and go back out there to be presented by Sesshoumaru."
It took a few minutes, but Daniel and Lily came out from the bathroom, the boy now clad in the genuine article of fire-rat's fur. He was blushing nervously, while Lily simply gave him a slap on the rear. "Stop being like a little kid!" she quipped while they glanced toward the rest of their troupe. Kistu took his chance to leap up onto Daniel's shoulder again. Damned if these five didn't make the perfect look-a-likes of the cast. "We should get back down there, shouldn't we?" Lily inquired. Chris could hear the tremble in her voice. Considering they'd just escaped an oni attack, she was no doubt still abit scared.
"You've got me and one of the government's best trained youkai counteraction squads to keep an eye out for trouble," he said while slipping his sunglasses back on. "That's not counting our taiyoukai themselves." Now smiling as he opened the door and gestured to the hallway, Chris was quick to give Stephanie a slap on her butt as she walked by him. "Kyle, I still say it; you are one lucky bastard to have her."
With the rest of the contest having gone along as if nothing had happened, thanks to the work of the special unit who even now was station in locations around the hotel to make sure nothing else disturbed the convention, Sesshoumaru took a deep breath and stood up after the judgings were made and prizes handed out. It was now time for him to make that rather important announcement.
"Thank you," he intoned as he accepted the mic and looked out at the audience. The United States special youkai unit certainly had made sure no one remembered the attack, and made them all think that the contest had gone on uninterrupted. He'd have to drop them an extra bonus in the funds he supplied. No doubt, Chris had already promised them something in his grandfather's name. "I'm honor to be here again, since I have a rather exciting announcement to make. No doubt, a few of you have already heard from the party involved, but still, I would like to make this official." He glanced off stage to the five. That was their cue to get ready. "Some time ago, Takahashi-san and I discussed the idea of a performance troupe to promote the InuYasha manga and anime. The idea was originally dismissed due to the difficulties pertaining to whomever would be performing as the title character. However, that is not so anymore."
With a motion of his hand, Sesshoumaru gave the children their cue to head up on stage. "Ladies and gentlemen," he continued as there was a bit of an applause for the five. "Starting next week, these five will be the official performance group for Rumiko Takahashi's InuYasha. Kyle Miyaoto as Miroku..." A loud roar as the boy stepped forward, bowed, and did a quick act for the benefit of the audience. Well, he certainly was a showman, that was definite. "Stephanie Morgan as Sango."
Another thunderous roar and round of cheers while the girl gave a florished bow, now twirling her boomerang over her head just to show off. She'd obviously been practicing with that thing, even if it was made of foam and tape. Very talented girl. "Kistu Kistunebi as Shippo."
The little kistune hopped out into the spotlight, very much acting like his father at that age while the crowd went crazy. There were quite a few cries of how "cute" the youkai child was, and when he decide to try and looked tough, standing all proud on the stage, almost everyone started laughing. "Lily Bennett as Kagome Higurashi."
Jumping forward, Lily gave a very exaggerated bow, which resulted in her skirt flipping up and gaining quite a few catcalls in addition to the applause. Seeshoumaru didn't have to hear that growl to know that Daniel was bristling. Best get him out there so that he would calm down. Speaking of Daniel, they'd need a new Tetsusaiga for him, after what had happened to his previous prop. That could wait, though.
"And Daniel Stevens, as InuYasha."
He gulped, his ears twitching as he took that step forward to be greeted by the massive roar and cheers. Was this really what everyone thought of him? People were cheering for him, accepting him for what he was. This was what he wanted, to be seen for who he was, not what he was. Schoolyard bullies and oni assassins be damned, he knew where he belonged now, and he was enjoying it.
And finally, Daniel shifted out into ready combat posture, getting a massive cheer while the cameras began snapping pictures. For once, it felt good to show off what he was, he was enjoying the attention. And when the rest of the group gathered around him, Kistu on his shoulder while Lily was hugging his arm, Daniel couldn't think of anywhere else he'd rather be than with these four people.
Now, he only had to think of what tomorrow would bring. ooo
