I Was Invincible: Chapter 6
Sengoku Jidai, location unknown...
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As the sun made a determined arc through the skies of a bygone world that was not Higurashi Kagome's (and yet she had found a home within it), the schoolgirl from the far future was still seated upon the banks of an unnamed lake with people who were forgotten (save by her) phantasms in her own era.
By then, Miroku and Sango had filled the reincarnated miko on much of what they knew, which really wasn't that impressive. Suddenly and without warning, the village had been attacked by a unit of soldiers who were purportedly under the banner of Nobunaga Oda, a daimyo who was quickly gaining prestige and fame throughout the entire area. The man was warranted to be a trickster, and in his employ he had amassed several types of weaponry and plans that had never been seen in all of Japan. These new tactics and items of destruction were from foreign lands, and his enemies suffered heavily at their might in battle. They were unprepared and naive of this warlord that had emerged from parentage of unmentionable blood, this daimyo who so quickly turned the tables on tradition and embraced western weaponry.
It was almost ludicrous on how fast he was gaining footholds in all of Japan.
...And so it appeared that the raid on the village had nothing to do with the youkai at all...
It had been a pleasure outing for samurai and foot soldiers alike.
Burn a few huts (or all), pick up a few women (unwilling though they may be), have a feast (all stolen rations).
Oh yeah, they went out and painted the town red that night.
As she listened, Kagome was simply aghast. She could not put into words the empathy she felt for those people beyond the hill, that modest gathering of survivors who had their very lives shattered while the soldiers enjoyed the spoils of war. To the unit, they had been pawns.
"Just who do they think they are?" Kagome groused bitterly, once she was fully informed to the extent of both Miroku and Sango's knowledge of the event.
"Samurai?" Miroku interjected quietly, while Sango threw him 'the look'. He appeared oblivious to it.
"I know that, but... but..." Kagome paused, then finished. "They can't just come and kill everyone and not expect some sort of retaliation. Once we find the other guys, I'm sure we can..."
"Are you talking about revenge, Kagome-chan?"
Kagome skirted a slightly startled look to Sango. "I... well... no... but... we can't just let it go by! What I saw... no, what we all saw... and Kaede is dead now, too." Her voice cracked, and she couldn't prevent it in time.
Sango's eyes darkened with emotion as she observed Kagome. Reaching across to touch her friend's shoulder, she sighed. "We'll do what we can. You're right. We will find Kirara, Shippo and Inuyasha again." She spoke no further of vengeance against the daimyo's forces, however. To do such a thing was asking for suicide. Sango very well knew that Nobunaga was under the command of the highest shogun of the day, Yoshiaki Ashikaga. To cross any shogun was lethal, and so therefore touching his retainers were in fact like hurting him. With that thought, Sango's hand fell away from the curve of Kagome's shoulder as if it had been a mistake to set it there in the first place.
Sango wouldn't hesitate to take out a youkai going village to village in search of kills, but she did have a problem with creating chaos in the human hierarchy of things. Looking to Miroku now, who sat cross-legged beside her, she couldn't help but to frown. What he had told her that day... the day after she had been consumed by the jaki of that malevolent water youkai... it seemed there might be a future for them both, together.
He was still planning on cheating on her, though. She would cross that bridge when she came to it. There was no way she would permit herself to marry him with the acceptance of that fact.
He would just have to change his amorous ways by then. Period.
Out of the corner of his eye, Miroku caught Sango looking at him. He was attempting to be absorbed into the conversation that Kagome was so rapidly feeding, but it became impossible.
Sango and Miroku's eyes met.
Sango blushed, her cheeks tainting a light crimson that burned. This wasn't the time to be caught up in Miroku's eyes like some maiden village girl!
Miroku, on the other hand, completely tuned out Kagome altogether for a few seconds. His expression softened around the edges, especially the stubborn set of his jaw as he fought off the dull ache in his missing ear. All he could see was Sango, and how the light illuminated the shine on her dark hair. She was so beautiful to him, even though she looked haggard from the defense they had attempted back at the village. He was almost in disbelief that she was here, at his side. He thanked Buddha for her safety, and had no idea what he would do without her. She was his companion and his best friend (even though she sometimes broke into temperamental fits and had the tendency to hit him with large objects). Beyond that, he knew deep down that he could more than care for her if things ever settled down and he could see her in a more peaceful light. He could fully show that he loved her. Sango.
"Um... guys...? Earth to Sango and Miroku!" The spell was broken the instant Kagome found herself swiping a hand back and forth between the pair.
Miroku and Sango twitched, and then muttered out a hasty apology at the same time.
Again, they found themselves looking at each other.
'At least this time the eye contact didn't last for more than half a second,' Kagome mused. Both of them were looking at her now, with forced, undivided attention. The dark-haired girl couldn't help but notice that Sango was as red as a beet and even Miroku seemed to be sprouting a faint flush.
"So.. as I was saying, do you guys know why the others are gone? I mean, if you think about it, Inuyasha, Shippo and Kirara are youkai. We aren't. When did you last see any of them?"
Miroku, who still looked a suspiciously darker shade of tan, sighed. "That is a very good observation, Kagome-sama. Sango and I noticed it ourselves after we began to escort the remaining villagers away from the village."
Kagome turned to Sango, who for all appearances was getting over the past awkward moment. She looked somber sitting there, a perfect portrayal of contrition. When she spoke, her voice sailed along smoothly save for perhaps an anxious undercurrent. "Kirara was helping me. She and I had gotten several children to the safety of the forest when one of them began to cry. I bent down to tell the child she couldn't make much noise, and when I looked up... she was gone." An aggravated exhale of air came from the demon exterminator as she hugged her knees to her chest.
Kagome knew that Sango was missing Kirara horribly. Miroku noted this as well, and leaned almost imperceptively towards her, as if unsure how to broach the situation. Clearing her throat, Kagome smiled encouragingly towards Miroku who put a hand on Sango's shoulder. Looking between them, the miko marveled at the recent change in their actions towards one another.
Kami, she missed Inuyasha. Where was he? Was he alright? Was he...?
'No,' she firmly thought, 'he isn't. He can't be. I can't feel the way I feel about him and then he's gone... I have to tell him before...' She could feel the corners of her eyes prick with tears, but she fought them back.
"What about Inuyasha and Shippo?" she inquired softly.
"Shippo ran off to go help Inuyasha when we heard the sounds of horses. He went to go meet them," Miroku informed.
Kagome felt herself choke. "No," she whispered.
In a flash, she was on her feet. She strode with purpose to the other side of the bluff, towards the huddled fraction of village people that had survived. She could hear the muffled sounds of children crying, an old man snoring, and several women weeping quietly. Faintly, she caught the startled exclamations of Miroku and Sango at her sudden departure, but she would not be stopped. When she finally crested the hill, her breath hitched in her throat.
There they were. There was so few left. It amazed her that she expected more of them. Most of them were women and children, save for the two younger men and the elder who made the loud noises in his fitful sleep. She had seen these men before too, just as she had seen the woman that died at the hands of Nobunga's men. They had been farmers, most likely, and now they were the caretakers for a group of about twenty people besides themselves.
It shocked her, really. 'Twenty left.' Out of the hundred or so that had populated Kaede's village once, a mere twenty or more had lived past the raid. Her eyes surveyed their weary and gaunt faces, the defeated way they held each other, and she was again shocked to note that of this sum, about six were children between the ages of infant and adolescent.
There had been far more than that. Those must have been the ones Sango had explicitly saved. The rest... gone. The woman who had lost her baby and mother to the swirling river... she was there, too. Propped up against a woman of about the same age for support, it appeared as if she were a life-sized doll. Meaningless words and phrases escaped her lips as she stared at and past the ground at her feet. Every now and then her despairing friend would adjust the river woman's position, just to alleviate the pressure on her arm that caused it to fall asleep in spots. Other than that, there was no movement from the two.
Everyone looked dead.
'Can I really blame them? They have nothing now. Nothing. Neither do you, if Inuyasha...'
"No!" she whispered fiercely to herself again, just in time for Sango and Miroku to hear as they came trailing up after her from the lake.
"Kagome-chan!" Sango said breathlessly. She was so sore, and it seemed too soon to move.
"Guys..." the girl responded hesitantly, "is there any way we can help them? Where are you planning on going from here?"
Although she could not see him, she knew it was Miroku's soft baritone that reached her ears. "We are bringing them to a remote village about a day or so from here once they feel they can walk again. After that, we plan to go find Inuyasha, Shippo and Kirara."
Kagome nodded dumbly. Words suddenly seemed worthless and wasteful.
Sango took charge, and walked past Kagome to speak publicly to the others. All of the exhausted men save for the grandfather glanced up at her form as she presented herself to them, but their eyes were the glazed over orbs of frozen fish. Other glum villagers turned to acknowledge Sango too, but the looks on their countenances were not wholly there.
As Sango spoke of their destination and Miroku stood behind her in his apathy, Kagome crept quietly back into her own thoughts and meditations. It was now fully obvious that this calamity was the work of humanity, not the youkai. What she couldn't understand was exactly how and why the youkai-blooded members of their group unexpectedly vanished without a trace.
It didn't make sense. She was aware of the era she was in, but experiencing the suffering first-hand was like being slapped.
'Baka. You never thought it would affect you this much.'
Inuyasha...
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A/N: Done with that one. :) I know this story is progressing slowly, but I plan it to. This thing is gonna be looooong. Oh, and I just wanna note that Nobunaga actually existed, and so did the shogun I mentioned. You can look them up if you want. I'm throwing in historical figures and places from now on, too. They'll all be central to the ending of this story. Nothing like a good dose of reality!
Also, I'd like to thank Inuyasha Babe for all the support she has given me. She keeps making me want to turn out chapters faster than I already can, but unfortunately real life gets in the way, you know? So here's to Inuyasha Babe... thanks for all the good comments! You too, Bachan! I appreciate the suggestions! Thank you all!