Disclaimer: Inuyasha is Copyright of Takahashi Rumiko
Nothing Without The Other
Chapter 34
Jaken silently crept up the tall tree and sat on a thick branch, keeping himself hidden amongst the leafs as he lay flat on his stomach. He watched for any movements in the camp, mentally memorizing all he saw. The castle the youkai had built was large, but rundown. There had to be at least twenty rooms, each held together by wooden planks that looked as though they had tried to make the planks themselves, but obviously lacked the necessary skills. He assumed that the eyesore was meant to be used temporarily and perhaps could explain why so little effort was made to construct a worthy establishment.
He huffed out an angry breath. As if Sesshoumaru-sama would let his lands be taken by such poor excuse for youkai.
He quickly quieted himself when he saw several youkai leaving the castle. There was a lone creature in the rear which he immediately assumed to be the leader. He was proved correct when the raion-youkai transformed into the full glory of his true form. He towered some feet above his underlings and followed after them as they made their way into the forest, obviously heading in to battle.
Jaken waited several long moments before jumping from the tree. The two inu-youkai that he accompanied were already making their way to investigate who, if anyone, had remained at the castle. By the time his short legs brought him to the doors, they had already looked through every inch of the castle.
"No one is here, Jaken," one of the soldiers told him.
Jaken took a moment to catch his breath. "Did you find anything that looked suspicious?"
"I found this near a fire," the other soldier handed a scroll to Jaken. "Either they were careless and accidently dropped it in, or they were careless and did not make sure it burned completely."
Jaken opened what remained of the scroll and recognized the handwriting immediately. "You, go quickly and warn Sesshoumaru-sama that the clan's leader is currently on his way. You can help me make sure this entire place burns to the ground."
When one soldier took off into the forest, Jaken set the Staff of Heads firmly in the ground and braced himself. In the next few moments, nothing was left but a cloud of smoke.
Sesshoumaru thrust Toukijin one last time and pulled back upon hearing his name. A soldier approached him quickly and told him what he had learned upon visiting enemy headquarters. Satisfied with the information, he helped to spread word that they were about to get an unexpected visitor. He knew, however, that his soldiers were prepared for this sort of thing and the moment the leader decided to show his face, they would change formation and target him exclusively.
He glanced over and nodded to Inuyasha, confirming that they had both received the message. Then he attacked again, determined to clear the field for his visitor. He would give him the best welcome before sending him to the other world. So he rushed into the midst of his enemy, clutching Toukijin in his left hand. He formed his youki into a whip and using both weapons, he shredded his enemy into pieces.
The ground began to shake and a fierce roar pierced the air. Hundreds of more rogue youkai swarmed the field, catching the inu-youkai off guard. Sesshoumaru quickly regrouped, encouraging the others to do the same. He raced forward again, determined not to be pushed back and attacked, slashing ruthlessly through any youkai that approached him.
Inuyasha unleashed his Kaze no Kizu, wiping out another hundred youkai at once. But they seemed to keep coming as if unaffected by his attack. He realized right away that something was off, just like it had been yesterday, but he could not figure out what it was. He leapt into a tree and jumped into the air, looking to see how many more were approaching. He saw nothing, nothing but the raion-youkai that was racing toward them.
The moment he was on the ground he dashed forward and went to Sesshoumaru. "They're fake, this is some kind of allusion!"
Sesshoumaru sliced through another youkai. "Tanuki magic."
Inuyasha's eyes widened in surprise. "You don't think Lord Shun-"
The giant lion youkai chose to pounce at that moment, forcing Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha to break away. Inu-youkai scattered every where, barely dodging the sharp claws of their enemy. Some were caught up in it's jaws and spat out in a pile of saliva and broken bones. Arrows and spears filled the sky, but nothing had an impact on the youkai's massive skin.
"Kagome-chan," Rin looked over at her.
Kagome turned to her, recognized that look in her eyes. "Iie, Rin-chan! They told us to stay here."
"I can't just stand here and do nothing! Only your arrows will affect him. And the only other weapon I have..." she trailed off, looking down at her new sword.
"I know, but if we get any closer, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru will have to worry about protecting us from the raion-youkai."
Rin looked at Kagome incredulously. "Poor excuses, you want to help just as much as I do."
Kagome bit her lip and then stood up straight. "Fine, lets go."
Rin took off her sling and had it refilled with arrows before handing it to Kagome. "Can you carry both?"
Kagome flashed her a smile. "Trust me, Rin-chan, I've carried a backpack much heavier than this."
"Good," she turned to face their squad. "Archers, stand firm! Aim for the youkai on the ground, leave the raion-youkai for Lord Sesshoumaru and Lord Inuyasha."
"Inuyasha is going to kill me," Kagome muttered, tying Tetsusaiga's sheath to her side.
"We'll worry about that later," she said, waving to three soldiers. "Oi, you three, come over here."
The three inu-youkai wobbled over to her, each carrying large shields. "Hai, Lady Rin."
"Go with Lady Kagome and protect her at all costs."
"But Lady Rin, Lord Sesshoumaru-"
"That is an order. My order," she said, looking at them fiercely.
"H-hai, Lady Rin."
Kagome quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing. "Don't forget Tenseiga."
"I won't," Rin said, picking up Tenseiga and placing it at her side. She withdrew Tsurugidoku and instinctively twitched her wrist. The blade transformed before her eyes, earning sharp gasps from those around her. It was thick just at the hilt and curved into a thin and sharp tip. Testing its weight again, she nodded in approval then turned her attention to Kagome.
"Ikou, Kagome-chan."
Rin led the way into the field, shielding Kagome and the others for the moment. A strange creature with three heads rushed toward them, bearing each set of it's fangs and a pair of razor sharp claws. She stopped, forcing the others to do the same and waited. When it was close enough she dashed forward and sliced off one of its arms. She turned quickly, prepared to fend off another attack, only to watch it's shoulder melt away.
She put the youkai out of its misery and welcomed the youkai that leapt from the trees to attack her with one swing of her sword. "Dokkasou!"
Both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha turned at the sound of her voice. Inuyasha cursed Kagome wildly before he was forced to dodge the raion-youkai's powerful paw. More youkai appeared seemingly out of no where and attacked. Even though they were not completely real, their weapons still had the power to induce wounds. Inuyasha retreated for a moment, trying to decide what he should do.
"Rin-chan, wait!" Kagome called.
Rin skidded to a halt and quickly returned to Kagome. "What is it?"
"Do that attack again, only aim it over there," she pointed to the left of the raion-youkai where all the youkai seemed to quickly reproduce.
"Okay!" Rin darted forward, gripping her sword in both hands. She came to a quick stop and swung the blade. "Dokkasou!"
A wide arch of poison flew from the blade, cutting through trees and eating away at them like nothing. A tanuki-youkai fell from one, barely missing being victim to the poison. He raced for cover, trying to seek refuge amidst the trees that had been left standing. Kagome trailed him like a hawk, her arrow pulled taut in her bow, and waited patiently. Then she let it fly. It sped forward quickly, purifying the poison in its wake, and pierced through the tanuki, sealing him to a tree.
The raion-youkai roared at this and bounded toward Rin. She swung her sword again, unleashing more poison that seemed to burn through a layer of flesh on its legs. It reared back on its hind legs, clawing at the air as if to cool the burning sensation. She swung again and seared its belly. Sesshoumaru was the first to react and did not waste another moment before unleashing a massive amount of power from Toukijin.
Inuyasha followed suit and aimed for the fresh wound. "Kaze no Kizu!"
Kagome notched an arrow. "Ike!" She quickly released it.
Rin jumped into a tree, barely knowing why, twirled Tsurugidoku, and swung. "Amedoku!"
Everyone pulled back as poison rained from the sky, eating away at what remained of the raion-youkai.
Sesshoumaru turned on his heel and marched toward Rin, anger burning in his eyes. Inuyasha followed after him with an equally fearsome look on his face.
Rin squealed and ran over to Kagome. "Kagome-chan, what are we going to do!"
"Ano..uh...Just smile!" Kagome said, not knowing what else to do.
"Cut the crap, Kagome!" Inuyasha barked as soon as he reached her. "I thought we told you to stay back?"
"Inuyasha, onegai, don't be angry," she pleaded. "We just wanted to help, and I wasn't even in any danger. I just needed to be a little closer."
Rin stole a glance at Kagome and Inuyasha as they argued, wishing Sesshoumaru would at least yell at her. Instead he stared silently, burning holes into her face with his eyes. "Gomen ne, Sesshoumaru. This was all my fault. I told Kagome to follow me. She would have stayed, just like you told her."
"Hnn."
Rin looked up at him, knowing that meant he was not extremely upset. "I did great, didn't I?" She said with a bright smile.
Sesshoumaru chose not to answer.
"We all did great. Isn't that right, Inuyasha?" Kagome said and rose on her toes to kiss him lightly.
"Keh." He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.
"You two are to return to the estate immediately," Sesshoumaru stressed. "Inuyasha and I have some loose ends to address."
The inu-youkai brothers watched their mates disappear without argument, watched until they faded into the distance.
"I swear, Sesshoumaru. Someday," Inuyasha said, releasing a sigh of longing and frustration. "Those women will be the death of us both."
Sesshoumaru smiled lightly. "So they shall."
--/-- Onegai: Please --/-- Ikou:Let's go --/-- Ike:Go --/-- Iie:No --/-- Dokkasou:Poison Claw (Sesshoumaru's attack) --/-- Tanuki:Raccoon dog --/-- Raion:lion --/-- Ame:Rain --/-- Doku:Poison --/-- Tsurugi:Sword --/-- Gomen ne:Sorry --/--
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