UnSpoken Love By: OtakuSailorV
Chapter 24: The Council's Last Stand"Long ago, when the race of men had stopped believing in youkai, in heroes, in anything that made their imagination move, the Council, a group of humans that did still believe – and knew – that such things existed took charge.
At first they had been dedicated to the preservation of what was left of the forest spirits, as well as preserving their own existence as well. For they were being doubted along with the youkai, the powers that normal humans had so long trusted and looked to in times of trouble were now nothing but fairy tales to them They believed themselves to have been duped, to have been taken in. They were in a revolutionary age of science; there was no such thing as fairies, kodoma's, itako's, anything of that nature. It was all a lie.
The Council consisted of several well-trained miko's and monk's who were wise beyond even the standards of they're own kind, and often came into famous stories with youkai and other spirits. Excuse me, but they (the humans) have informed me that I must keep the facts straight – those 'spiritualists' were simply part of famous legends, bed-time stories for ningen children.
The dwindling population of spirits quickly adopted the Council as their own, and allowed them to be hidden. There were at first rebellions, as there were tribes of youkai that did not like the idea of being 'ruled' by humans, no matter how powerful and close to youkai-status they were. But a Demon Lord known as Inutaishou quieted them down.
He was powerful and had a great deal of influence, having only one son at the time. At first the mighty leader had been against the growing population of humans, and their advancements into a world of science that left his kind withering in the dark as nothing but mere myths.
But he could not deny that the power of the Council was more than could be staved off by his kind any longer. They were growing in influence, and there was little hope that they would ever be weakened. Grudgingly, he had given in to their terms, allowing them to rule over the youkai and hide them, letting the foolish humans believe that they had finally freed themselves of the medieval nightmare.
There was to be no peace though. Despite the efforts of the first generation Council, they were too young to understand the depth and nature of what they were dealing with. Despite being wise beyond their years, they were still only humans and ran rashly into things, making mistakes everywhere.
They punished harshly those that broke their strict laws, and soon the demons were nothing but a small handful that had a growing agitation and anger toward the Council mounting in them.
In the years that they had been in power there had only been one to take a human mate and go undiscovered for a vast period of time. Lord Inutaishou, who had long been known as one of the most stout-hearted and powerful youkai was brought down to a level where he consorted with humans.
Naturally there was an outcry from the demon population left when they found out that their beloved leader was mingling with the 'enemy.'
Soon enough, the Council found out, and then all hell broke loose. Those that still believed in the dog-demon Lord came to his aid against the forces of the Council, and those that were in opposition to his 'unworthy' choice rallied to the only other option left to them - the Council.
It was a short, but very bloody war. The demons were suppressed and those that had been in support of the Council during the war were given special jobs that involved policing their own kind. So the demons had been split into two separate groups opposing each other.
Inutaishou had died, and his demon mate, Lady Tsumi became somewhat of a recluse for two haggard years, mumbling insanely to herself her husband's dying words. "The light."
The human and her child fled, and were constantly pursued by the Council, while the eldest son, the full-demon heir to Inutaishou's throne took power. He had an icy demeanor, and his face seemed permanently set in one position, making him appear disgruntled at all times.
The Council came into a higher power, and soon it corrupted them. Those that had once preserved youkai because of the need that the world had for magic now preserved them as a means of blackmail. They took pride in the fact that they held even the most noble and powerful of the Demon Lords under their thumb, or so they believed.
Lord Sesshoumaru let the Council believe that they had him under their iron rule, but truly he had no care for them. Their rules did not apply to him; he found no reason to ever transgress them anyway. They might be strict, but all the things they had forbidden he found he would not do if he were dying.
So as the years progressed, Lord Sesshoumaru never heard of his father's last words, even when his mother finally did come and start a new life again. She was bitterer than she had been, and Sesshoumaru grew to dislike her more every day.
The Council grew in power and soon every last youkai was watched from birth until death to make sure they never disobeyed the tight laws set up by the Council.
Do not blame them too much for their corruption, they were only human.
They were only human. . ."
A scrawled writing from a (Council forbidden) youkai history book, author deceased
The Council leader looked up at Onigumo-Naraku with an angry expression, his withered old features pulling tautly in his outrage at being addressed in such a manner. "How dare you!" Was the first thing that fell from his lips, and that was on impulse.
The old man continued on in a tirade, yelling repeatedly that 'Onigumo' was evicted from his status as part of the Council. The other members were rigid as the massive insect-like body of Naraku slithered and crawled toward them. The dark-haired hanyou seemed quite disgruntled with the ranting old man and the click of claws only seemed to exemplify that.
"I think it's time you died, old man."
Before another word could be said, one of the razor-edged claws came forward in such a swift motion, there was hardly any time to react. Rin's hands went to her mouth as she gasped. Kagome and Sango recoiled in much the same action; though being quite used to seeing death of this nature, they did not have quite the same reaction as their cousin.
Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha watched placidly as the Leader was struck down, thrown a good distance, looking much like a rag-doll. Obligingly, Sesshoumaru noticed that one of his hands had moved to shield Rin's wide eyes as her own clasped her mouth to keep the objects in her churning stomach from coming back up into her throat. When this had happened he did not know, but it was for the best that she did not see the violence. Surely there was more to come, but he could spare her as little as possible.
The Council members, however, immediately acted upon seeing Naraku's advance. Even as their Leader was struck down, they did not waver in setting up a barrier around the rest of them and pelting Holy spells through little pockets at him.
Naraku let out a low growl as one of his many limbs was severed and fell tot he ground, writhing. More of the Holy magic fell in on the open wound and the flesh hissed and bubbled, smoking angrily.
Despite the barrage of attacks, Naraku was still standing; a smirk on his features even though he had had several of his insect-limbs taken off.
Rin, her eyes lingering on the bloody and mangled corpse of the Council Leader finally let her eyes drift up to the shimmering globe that protected the last of the Council members. As she watched, Naraku sent several of his own attacks their way, and she saw the barrier starting to crumble. The faces of the old ones looked strained, beads of sweat were evident on their wrinkled brows.
"They're not gonna make it." Rin said, turning her eyes pleading first at her cousins and Inuyasha and then to her youkai protector. "Can't we do something to help them?" The feeling of being nothing but a helpless burden overcame her again and she glanced around as she spoke, looking for a weapon of some sort.
Inuyasha was watching something else in a curious manner and Sesshoumaru seemed quite ready to just watch the rest of the Council perish. Her cousin sighed and dropped her eyes wearily. "Even if we would help them, Rin, they would never accept it. They have a foolish form of pride in them and would never let us help them. It's best to let them do this on their own."
". . .But they'll die." Rin said after a brief pause.
"Yes, they will, but they will have died the way they wanted." Sango mused in a cold, isolated tone that made Rin shiver suddenly.
"Hey Sesshoumaru, your mom's comin' this way. I was wonderin' where she went after that Council bastard started yellin' his lungs out." Inuyasha reported in a I-Could-Care-Less tone.
Rin blinked, suddenly noticing that the group of people that had accompanied the Council had vanished. Quickly, her eyes searched for Kikyou, Keade and the young monk that had been with them, but found no one but two solitary women that resembled Sesshoumaru.
"Where's Kaede-Obaa-chan?" She questioned her cousin.
Kagome's eyes moved upward, toward the dark sky, and Rin looked up to see a large yellow, balloon-like creature hovering far above. They were riding on THAT thing? What was it, a youkai?
Suddenly there was loud, deafening sound, and all parties stopped their activities as cries went up from the Council members. A white light flashed and soon diminished, revealing that Naraku had finally broken through their barrier and had scattered the broken bodies about the field. Blood covered the expansive area, tinting the dirt a dark red that was horrible to look upon.
Satisfied, Naraku turned back on Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's groups, blood matting his dark hair and splattered on his face. Without a word he advanced, limbs flying, sneering and leering at his enemies confidently.
Sesshoumaru drew Toukijin and like lightening striking, he had sliced away the sharp claws aimed at himself and Rin before she had time to blink. Inuyasha had flourished Tetsusaiga and his war cry went up as he let out a wave of 'Kaze no Kizu's' to rip Naraku apart.
Above the balloon-creature had popped and the monk was suddenly among their ranks, unleashing a small black void within his hand. It sucked everything up that was within range. "Stand back!" He called to them.
Immediately the Saimyoushou appeared, buzzing loudly. The monk's eyes widened and he pulled his hand back roughly, glaring at the insects. "Damn." He cursed under his breath as he picked up a large golden staff that he had rammed into the ground upon falling from the sky.
Inuyasha turned on the monk, growling in the back of his throat. "Watch it!" He ordered, frustrated that he had been interrupted.
"My apologies, I did not realize he had the Saimyoushou with him."
"Inuyasha, watch out!" Kagome called as a new barrage headed their way, guided by the Saimyoushou. The monk jumped forward, spinning his staff as he went while uttering a chant under his breath. Inuyasha ground his teeth, but charged off as well, brandishing Tetsusaiga wildly.
More for explanation's sake than actual action here, I'm sorry guys.
To look forward to in the future though, we see a confrontation with Sesshoumaru's mother and the long awaited explanation to the whole 'light' thing that V-chanhas been raving about this entire time! I'm sorry for the long delay, I'm so stingy when it comes to revealing things about my fictions before I intend to. sweatdrop
Thank you for the reviews and continued support everyone, I truly appreciate your patience with me while I work on this fiction. bow bow
I'll see you all soon hopefully, ja'ne.
Review Please.