Hey guys. My dearest apologies for not updating yesterday, but I just got the edited chapter back from Claire today. Unfortunately this is only one chapter. The other chapter is only half done since I lost it first and had to rewrite it. Not to mention school has been kicking my ass. Well enjoy!
Everlasting Love
Chapter Thirteen
January 28th 1553
From his spot on the castle roof, Inu-Yasha watched amazingly as Kagome created a barrier almost as big as the field she was standing in and then in a blink of an eye she disappeared, along with any sign that a barrier was even there. The smile on his face widened as Sesshoumaru and some of the Panther Demon tribe attacked the barrier, only to be blasted back by the purified energy. They were thrown back almost twenty feet before hitting the ground and skidding to a stop. Inu-Yasha's ears twitched as he heard someone approaching him, but didn't need to turn around to see who it was.
"I see that the training Kagome has been going through has paid off," commented Miroku, taking a spot beside the half demon, "She will be able to protect the castle well while we are off in battle,"
Inu-Yasha nodded, "I almost ripped Kouga's head off when he suggested she use that barrier during the battle,"
Miroku chuckled softly, "Well at least we know that as the battle is going on, the pups and women will be safe,"
"I wouldn't be getting cocky yet monk. She can't hold it up the barrier for very long, not unless she puts her power into an object,"
Both human and half demon watched as Kagome brought down the barrier and apologized to Sesshoumaru and the Panther Demons for hurting them.
"I take it that your knowledge of that came from Kikyo?"
"And if it did?" growled the half demon.
Miroku put his hands up, "Nothing . . . I was just surprised you knew such a thing. Although I'm sure Kagome will be able to learn to put up a strong barrier for a long amount of time soon since it's not that difficult,"
Inu-Yasha nodded softly, watching as the priest that Sesshoumaru had brought was now teaching Kagome how to fire her arrows properly.
"So where did Sesshoumaru find this priest?" asked Miroku.
"No clue, but who cares really. He's helped Kagome with her powers and that's all that matters,"
"I suppose, but why didn't she ask me for help?"
Inu-Yasha glared at the monk, flexing his claws, "Do you really want to me to answer that question?"
"Ah . . . no . . ." said Miroku, shifting a little further away from the half demon. "Besides I think Kagome would get distracted if you were the one teaching her, or even Kaede for that matter,"
"Speaking of Kaede is there any news from the village?"
"None, but I'm sure everything's fine. Bunrakuken has no reason to attack it after all. Unless he wants to destroy my house or something stupid like that, but he can't get to it after all with all the talismans you and Kaede put up,"
"Point taken," sighed Miroku.
Silence filled the air as the two men watched Kagome firing her arrows at her targets, almost hitting the bull's eye, but getting closer with each shot.
"How's Sango doing?" asked Inu-Yasha.
Miroku sighed, "Good I suppose. Still a bit angry that she won't be helping out in the war, but it can't be helped. Sesshoumaru won't allow it and I'm against it since she is fourth months pregnant now,"
"You wouldn't let her fight even if she wasn't pregnant," commented Inu-Yasha.
"The only reason for that would because of the opponent we're facing. If it was any other demon she could have at it,"
Inu-Yasha chuckled softly, "Same here,"
Miroku stretched his arms above his head before speaking again, "I hear that the Panther Demon army is heading out two weeks early to the battle ground,"
Inu-Yasha's ears perked up, "Now why are they doing that? Is that Sesshoumaru's idea?"
"According to Rin he wants to get them out there and blended into the battle ground as soon as possible. If this plan fails, we could all be in very big trouble,"
"I suppose he does have a point . . ."
"He's just being precautious,"
"Which is really weird since he never has been before; half the time I'm walking down the hallway and running into him, I'm expecting him to attack me,"
"He has changed after all, and I think we have Rin to thank for that," commented Miroku.
Inu-Yasha nodded once again, before standing up and brushing the snow off his clothes, "I'm going to check on the pups, I don't trust them in the care of Jaken or Jarlarg,"
"In that case mind checking on mine? I think I'm going to stay up here for a bit longer,"
"Suit yourself, but don't fall off or Sango will have my head for leaving you up here,"
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Kagome smiled as another arrow hit its target and was praised again by Sesshoumaru and the priest.
"You have improved," said Sesshoumaru, a very small smile on his face.
"I think that is enough for today," informed the old priest, "Tomorrow we will be working on your barrier and I will show you how to keep it up for a long amount of time,"
Kagome bowed softly to the priest and Sesshoumaru, "Thank you very much for helping me improve my skills,"
"Think nothing of it," smiled the priest as he started to head up towards the castle.
Kagome picked up her remaining arrows and moved to follow the old priest.
"Kagome, might I have a word with you?"
Taking only one step forward, she turned around to face the demon, "Yes?"
Sesshoumaru's eyes moved to watch the old priest, waiting for him to be out of hearing range before moving back to her, "Are you confident enough that you will be able to hold up a barrier long enough while we are in battle?"
"I believe so," answered Kagome.
Sesshoumaru slowly walked towards her, "I'm just making sure since you will be in charge of protecting everyone during the battle. If you can not I know that Inu-Yasha, Miroku, Kouga, and myself will be worrying in the back of our minds if you are all okay. During this battle we must have complete confidence that you can do this, or our full concentration will not be where it should be,"
Kagome nodded softly, "I will . . . I will be able to do this,"
"Good . . . I trust that you will," whispered Sesshoumaru, passing Kagome and heading up to the castle himself. A soft smile tugging at his lips at the confidence Kagome had in herself with her power.
Kagome remained behind for a moment, before drawing another arrow and aiming at the furthest target away. Focusing her concentration she released the arrow and smiled as it hit the bulls-eye of the target. Nodding with satisfaction she turned and headed up towards the castle. 'Sun's going to be down soon . . . and then I'll have to get ready for Natasha's birthday. I can't believe she's going to be five . . .' thought Kagome as she closed her eyes and stretched her arms.
Slowly opening her eyes Kagome stared up at the castle, taking a deep breath of the cold winter air. It was hard to believe that they were in the middle of a war since it was so peaceful, but two weeks from now it would all change. Sighing heavily she started to walk up towards the castle, wondering briefly what she would do for her daughters birthday party tonight.
A flash of red caught her attention as she saw Inu-Yasha leaping towards her. Kagome watched as her lover, mate, and husband game bounding at her only to collide with her. She giggled softly as they tumbled down the hill in the snow to the bottom. Coming to a stop Kagome found herself pinned by the weight of the half demon above her, the small chuckle leaving his lips causing her to smile as well, her bow and arrows laid forgotten a distance away. With no words said between the two, Inu-Yasha softly kissed his mate. Kagome simply pressed her lips back into his as her hands rose up to tangle in the half demons silver mane.
"Hmmm . . . I was cold a minute ago . . . now I'm toasty warm," whispered Kagome as Inu-Yasha's lips left hers to pay attention to her ear.
Inu-Yasha smirked, "Well that means I haven't lost my touch,"
Kagome lightly slapped his shoulder, "Cocky as usual . . ."
Snickering softly Inu-Yasha stood and helped Kagome to her feet as well, "You're done training right?"
"Yes, and I'm slowly making progress,"
"Miroku and I saw that from the roof,"
"Spying on me were you?" teased Kagome.
Inu-Yasha shrugged before scooping her up into his arms and leaping up the hill towards the castle, "We have a small party for Natasha?"
"Of course," said Kagome, "It won't be as big as the other years with the whole village participating in it,"
Inu-Yasha nodded softly. Since he was the 'village protector' the celebration of both his children's birthday was celebrated with the entire village like the birthday of the headman's children. It wasn't something he thoroughly enjoyed, but seeing the smile on his pups faces made up for it.
"So Miroku tells me that Sango is still pissed about not being able to fight," commented Inu-Yasha as they landed near the castle's front door.
"Yes well that's to be expected I suppose. Sitting around and doing nothing isn't exactly her cup of tea," sighed Kagome.
Inu-Yasha rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah well nothing can be done,"
Silence fell between the two as they walked into the castle and up the first flight of stairs toward their room.
"So the battle starts in three weeks?" asked Kagome quietly, suddenly coming to a halt.
Sighing softly Inu-Yasha wrapped his arms around his mate, lightly kissing her brow, "We've talked about this before Kagome . . . I'll be coming back,"
"Is it wrong for Sango and I to be scared for our husbands?" whispered Kagome, her voice wavering slightly as if she was on the brink of tears.
"Of course not . . . but your going to have to be strong . . . you know this . . ."
"I know . . ."
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Sesshoumaru watched from his short distance away from the small party that was taking place. A soft smile spread across his lips as he watched his niece open one present after the other, that bright smile never leaving her face. A soft tug on his sleeve caused him to turn his head slightly to see Rin standing beside him. Letting a sigh escape her lips she laid her head against his shoulder, her eyes never leaving the scene of the party.
"According to Kagome . . . when there are wars going on in the future . . . you rarely get to see happy faces . . . since everyone is worried that at any minute they could be killed," commented Rin, "And yet right now . . . you would just think Inu-Yasha and Kagome are simply visiting us and were having a party for Natasha,"
What sounded like a soft chuckle left Sesshoumaru's throat, "That's the problem with humans . . . they fight dishonorably against each other,"
Rin opened her mouth to comment but was silenced by her mate's finger.
"I know what you're going to say . . . yes Bunrakuken is fighting dirty on many levels . . . and in return we are going to show what happens when you do that,"
"By fighting dirty back huh?" asked Rin.
"He's attacked me when my army is weak, tried to send his son here to kill the children, kidnapped you . . . I think that calls for me to fight back dirty with good cause,"
Rin lightly nudged her mate, "If you say so. So then if it was a battle against the other lands what would happen then? Meet at a certain spot and duke it out until there's a winner?"
"Pretty much . . ."
"Sounds too simple to me,"
Sesshoumaru shrugged softly, "It is the way it is. Of course the 'victor' of the battle has a choice to make. He could wipe out the rest of the people in the land he has taken over since the main battle is over, or perhaps take them in as his slaves, or tell them to flee,"
"And what are you going to do if you win?" asked Rin nervously.
"Hikozaemon will more than likely become the new lord,"
"You've made an agreement with him?"
"Yes . . . but I'll be talking more about that in the meeting which takes place in four days . . . which will be two and a half weeks before the battle starts. So for now . . . let's just enjoy the party . . ."
Rin nodded softly as she and her mate left their spot against the wall and joined into the party.
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February 1st, 1553
The room was full of chatter as everyone waited patiently for Sesshoumaru and Rin to enter the room and start the meeting. Inu-Yasha glanced over at Miroku who was currently talking to Sango and encouraging her not to attack Sesshoumaru this time. A small smile left his lips at the thought of the demon slayer taking down Sesshoumaru while four months pregnant. His eyes scanned the table as he saw everyone gathered for the meeting. It was the same crowd as the last meeting, but this time the general's from the North and East dog demon armies were here as well.
Suddenly the room became dead silent as the throne doors opened to reveal Sesshoumaru and Rin, dressed in fancier robes than they usually wore. Everyone stood and bowed to them as they made their way to their seats at the front of the table. Inu-Yasha would have preferred not to show 'respect' to his older brother, but the look in Kagome's eye told him if he didn't he would be getting a 'sitting' later. As Sesshoumaru and Rin took their seats, everyone sat as well.
"I wish to thank all of you for being here today and to let you know this afternoon we will be discussing the battle strategy which we will be performing less than three weeks from now," informed Sesshoumaru.
A soft murmur of agreement was heard as everyone nodded their heads.
"To begin with here is how the battle has been planned out so far . . . if anyone has any suggestions or different strategies they will be discussed once I am finished. Now . . . in four days the Panther Demon Tribe will be marching out to the battle field,"
"Why would you have them do that?" asked Kouga.
Hikozaemon stood, "From what we have heard from Sesshoumaru's spies my father is planning to send someone to watch the battle field a week before it will take place. He wants to make sure that we don't set up any traps,"
"So the Panther Demon tribe is supposed to wait in the cold for two weeks?" asked Kuranosuke.
"We will be quite fine your majesty . . . we have endured much harder tasks than this," smirked Toran.
"In any case . . . the rest of us will remain here and continue our training before the battle," said Sesshoumaru, "Now are there any more questions before I continue?"
Silence was his answer.
"On the day of the battle we will march to the meeting point. Kuranosuke, your army will be in the front since you're the bait to lure Bunrakuken down. Behind the humans will be the Wolf Demon tribe along with the dog demon armies from the North and East, and then in the rear will be my army. Now at the battle field Kuranosuke their will be a mark where your men are to stand. If they go past this mark then they could hit the barrier of the Panther Demon tribe and ruin everything if Bunrakuken sees it,"
"So were to simply stand there?" asked Kuranosuke.
"Of course not. You are to look ready to fight his army. You want to encourage him to attack you, as if this were a normal battle for you,"
"It's basically called acting Kuranosuke, I'm sure you can at least pull that off," commented Miroku.
Kuranosuke glared at Miroku and opened his mouth but was interrupted by Sesshoumaru. "That is enough you two. Fighting amongst ourselves isn't going to help,"
The two men nodded before taking their seats, but their eyes continued to glare at each other.
"Now as I was saying, you will pretend you are ready for a fight and encourage Bunrakuken's army to attack you,"
"My men won't be injured at all?" asked Kuranosuke.
"No, the Panther Demon tribe will make sure of that,"
"We will make sure none are left alive," smirked Toran.
Sesshoumaru nodded, "Good, then when the second line attacks . . ."
"Now hold on a minute! If Bunrakuken suddenly sees his first line disappear without a trace, don't you think he's going to get suspicious and not try to attack again?" asked Kuranosuke.
"We already have that part planned out . . . Shunran if you would please explain?" requested Sesshoumaru.
The Panther Demon nodded and stood, "When the first line of Bunrakuken's army attacks, what he will see is them being purified by a false illusion of Kagome purifying them with her powers, while we kill the soldiers,"
Everyone nodded and murmured again in agreement.
"Kagome has given me some of her clothes so that I can mimic her scent. I will then make it seem that she is mortally wounded and fall dead to the ground,"
"And I'll be screaming in agonizing pain seeing my 'mate' dead," snickered Inu-Yasha, knowing that Kagome would really be safe inside the castle walls.
"Then Bunrakuken will attack again with his second line, which is when the Panther Demon tribe will reveal themselves. During that time the human army will retreat and head back to the castle where they will be safe by Kagome's barrier," finished Sesshoumaru.
"So basically after that we just need to fight and kick some ass?" asked Inu-Yasha.
"To an extent yes, I just request that Bunrakuken be left to me and Sakurako be left to Hikozaemon. Other than that you can all fight to your hearts content, but don't get cocky or ahead of yourselves. I would like the number of deaths on my side to be as minimal as possible,"
"So once my men and I leave the battle ground, are we guaranteed that no one is going to attack us?" asked Kuranosuke.
"Rin will meet up with you in case something like that happens. She will escort you to the castle where you will all stay until this is over,"
Kuranosuke nodded before sitting back down.
"Now are there any other questions?"
Silence filled the room as everyone looked back and forth from one another.
"Good . . . and you are all clear of what you will receive as an award for helping me?" asked Sesshoumaru.
Everyone nodded once again.
"Excellent . . . if nothing else needs to be discussed then this meeting is over,"
"What do you plan to do with Bunrakuken once you kill him?" asked Kouga.
"That is not open for discussion here. It will be something that Hikozaemon and I will talk about,"
"Let me guess . . . you're going to pin up his body somewhere to warn off others never to mess with you again?" asked Kuranosuke.
"No . . . there are little children here and that is not something they should see," commented Sesshoumaru.
"I agree with that, and I think everyone else here with pups does do," said Inu-Yasha.
Kuranosuke nodded once again and sat down.
Sesshoumaru sighed softly and rubbed his forehead, being thankful that he wouldn't need Kuranosuke for much longer and have to deal with him. His eyes shifted over to Hikozaemon, who during the entire meeting seemed like he wanted to say something, but kept quiet.
"Alright that is all for now," said Sesshoumaru standing up from his seat. Everyone else stood up, bowed, and then started to leave the room as well.
"Inu-Yasha, Miroku, and Hikozaemon . . . can I talk to you three . . . privately?"
The two demons and man nodded. Inu-Yasha and Miroku quickly talked to their wives before approaching him along with Hikozaemon. No one said a word until everyone had left the throne room. When the doors finally shut did Inu-Yasha speak, "So what's wrong?"
"Did I say anything was wrong?" asked Sesshoumaru.
"Don't give me that crap. If you only want to talk to just us three that means something's up,"
Sesshoumaru ignored his brother and turned his eyes to Hikozaemon, "During the meeting it seemed to me that you wanted to say something . . ."
Hikozaemon chuckled softly, "Nothing gets by you now does it?"
Inu-Yasha crossed his arms, "Don't tell me you know something we don't know about the battle were about to go into?"
Sighing softly Hikozaemon nodded, "Unfortunately I do . . . I just didn't want to say anything in front of everyone,"
"Does Bunrakuken have something planned that we are unaware of?" asked Miroku.
"Yes . . . and the only ones that would be affected by this plan would be the human army,"
"How will they be affected?" asked Sesshoumaru.
"My father plans to set a trap, so that if you attempted to escape, you would be blown up,"
"Blown up?" asked Miroku.
"How the hell does he plan to do that?" questioned Inu-Yasha.
"He's using some kind of human weapon. He knows it won't affect us, but it will kill the humans,"
"So all in all when Kuranosuke's army returns to the castle . . ."started Miroku.
"Big 'Kaboom'," finished Inu-Yasha.
Sesshoumaru sighed, "So how does he plan to do this?"
"During the battle when he sends a group to attack the castle. They'll be setting up the bombs on their way to the castle," said Hikozaemon.
"Is that all he has planned?" asked Sesshoumaru.
"As far as he told me, yes,"
Sesshoumaru sighed again and was silent for almost three minutes.
"Please don't tell me you aren't going to inform Kuranosuke about this? I know he's been pissing us off lately but his men shouldn't have to pay for it as well," hissed Miroku.
"Well what else is he going to do?" asked Inu-Yasha.
Miroku glared at the half demon.
"Look I'm not saying it's right either, but we are going to be busy with the battle and it's not like Sango and Kagome can do anything, and neither can Rin," offered Inu-Yasha.
"So we are just supposed to sit back and watch these men die who have come out of our way to help us?" demanded Miroku.
Inu-Yasha growled before turning and rubbing the back of his head. Miroku sighed and knew that right now Inu-Yasha was wracking his brain trying to think of something.
"So you don't plan to do anything?" asked Miroku, directing his question towards Sesshoumaru.
"I'm trying to think . . ." sighed Sesshoumaru rubbing his temples.
"Why don't we just head to bed? I'm sure after some sleep we'll think of something," suggested Hikozaemon.
Inu-Yasha nodded, "Agreed," he sighed before heading towards the throne door.
"But . . ."
"It's okay Miroku, we'll think of something tomorrow," assured Hikozaemon.
Inu-Yasha yawned as he exited the throne room and blocked out the voices coming from the room he just left. All he wanted to do right now was head back to his room and be with Kagome. He slowly walked up the stairs as his mind wandered to what he had been doing last year at this time. Once February hit the weather wasn't as cold as December and January, which meant they could use the small hot spring that was secluded only to them. As he reached the top step instead of heading towards his room his feet took him to the near by window, staring out onto the castle grounds. The snow had melted almost with only a few patches of it here and there. His eyes stared up at the sky which was full of stars. The past few nights had been cloudy, but tonight it was crystal clear. He was very rarely romantic around Kagome, but for some reason tonight he felt like doing something special.
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Sesshoumaru took in a deep breath as he stepped out onto the balcony, letting the wind flow through his hair. He closed his eyes and allowed the wind to sweep over his clothes and air. He didn't even jump in surprise when he felt Rin's hands on his shoulders, lightly massaging them.
"You feel tense . . ." whispered Rin, her clawed hands moving across his shoulders and up to his neck.
"With what's been going on lately . . . I'd be surprised if I wasn't . . ." whispered Sesshoumaru, relaxing into Rin's hands. His eyes slowly opened to see Inu-Yasha walking through the garden with Kagome at his side. The two were holding hands and walking very close to each other.
"It would seem that Inu-Yasha is having a romantic walk with Kagome," whispered Sesshoumaru.
Rin took the few steps to walk around Sesshoumaru to look down at the garden too, "Well that's nice . . . Inu-Yasha really isn't all that romantic after all. I bet she's enjoying herself," smiled Rin.
"I'm not very romantic," sighed Sesshoumaru.
Rin shrugged and kissed him on the cheek, "And I don't mind that . . ."
Sesshoumaru watched as Rin passed him and headed back into their room, a soft smile on her lips. His golden eyes watched his mate as she slipped under to covers and onto the futon before resting her head on the pillow. Glancing one last time at his younger brother he followed Rin, closing the shoji doors behind him to keep the cold out before joining her. Settling his body next to hers his arms snaked around her waist as his lips lightly caressed her ear.
"When this is all over . . . when everything is done and settled . . . I'm going to take you somewhere . . ." whispered Sesshoumaru into Rin's ear.
Rin shifted slightly, "Oh? Something like a honeymoon?" she asked, remembering that when Kagome and Inu-Yasha were wed they took a small trip afterwards. Kagome had called it a Honeymoon.
"Something like that . . . even though I don't think Honeymoons exist during this time,"
Rin snickered softly, "So where would you take me?"
"Somewhere in the south . . . near the ocean . . . according to Hikozaemon it's a beautiful spot,"
Rin hummed softly as Sesshoumaru's continuous attention to her ear was starting to put her to sleep, "Sounds wonderful . . ."
Sesshoumaru smirked against her ear as her body completely relaxed against his and he knew she was on the verge of falling asleep. Taking a deep breath he let the scent of his mate to help him relax and join her in sleep.
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Kagome could not stop the smile spreading on her lips as Inu-Yasha lead her through the large garden. She had been ready for bed when Inu-Yasha had suddenly come into the room and took Shippo aside for a moment. Next thing she knew he was leading her outside with a big smirk on his face. Now she was outside staring up at the crystal clear sky which was filled with glittering stars.
"So why is it that you brought me out here tonight?" whispered Kagome, staring up at the sky.
"Do I need a reason to have some alone time with you?" Inu-Yasha asked, leading her deeper into the garden.
"Well no, it's just been so long since it was just you and I doing something,"
"Exactly . . . that's why I brought you out here,"
"I take it Shippo is looking after the little ones?"
"Of course, it's the only thing the runts good for,"
"Inu-Yasha . . ." warned Kagome.
The half demon shrugged and continued to lead his mate to his secluded spot.
"You know . . . the last I remember you being romantic was during our wedding anniversary last year," commented Kagome.
"And you're complaining now?"
"Not at all . . ." whispered Kagome
Stepping into a small clearing, a smile softly spread across Kagome's face at the sight before her. There was a small fire going to keep them warm with a blanket laid out on the cold ground. Inu-Yasha gently led her to the blanket before sitting cross-legged on top of it and pulling Kagome into his lap. Kagome's arms wrapped around her mate while her fingers tangled into his hair. His own arms came to embrace her as his head rested gently on top of hers. The two lovers enjoyed each others company as no words were said, but their actions spoke louder. Their hands traced each others body while light kisses were exchanged between them. Kagome shivered softly as her lovers clawed hands began to run through her hair, lightly massaging her scalp. Her own hand came up to the silver ears on top of Inu-Yasha's head, lightly massaging the furry triangle between her fingers.
Inu-Yasha slowly opened his eyes half way to stare back into Kagome's, a soft grin on his face as he saw the look in hers. It was the look he knew very well, and without hesitation he kissed her again, slowly lowering her to the blanket until her back rested against it.
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February 8th, 1553
It was colder than it had been the past few days. No snow had fallen, but the cold winds and dark skies were enough to drop the temperature. Even though it was cold, no words were spoken as all eyes watched the Panther demon tribe marching out of the castle gates and towards the south. It wasn't until that moment that it finally hit everyone that a war would be starting in less than two weeks now. Watching the Panther demons marching sent a chill down everyone's spine that was enough to make them shake. The way Sango was holding Miroku's hand in a death grip spoke volumes to everyone. Rin stepped closer to her mate, wrapping one arm around his waist but keeping her eyes on the marching army. Sesshoumaru returned the action, but held Rin much tighter than he usually would with such a simple movement. Kagome sighed softly and leaned more back into Inu-Yasha's chest. His long haori sleeves covered and protected her from the cold air, while wondering if she would ever feel his warm embrace again.
Kouga was with them as well, an arm wrapped securely around Ayame's shoulders. Kuranosuke stood apart from the group with his general, however instead of a soft/sad look on his face like everyone else, he was smiling. In general he had nothing to worry about . . . at least not yet anyway . . . Sesshoumaru still wasn't sure what they were going to do when Kuranosuke's army tried to head back to the castle they would be blown to kingdom come. There would only be two weeks for him to come up with something, otherwise all the humans fighting for him would die.
Suddenly snow started to fall from the sky. Light snow flakes fell into everyone's hair, but their eyes still remained on the scene before them. Finally the last Panther demon marched out of the castle, but all eyes continued to watch until they couldn't see them anymore.
"We should head inside," whispered Sesshoumaru, "It's getting cold and the pups are probably wondering where we are,"
Everyone nodded silently as slowly they all filed back inside the castle.
"Tomorrow we will have a meeting in the throne room to discuss a few minor details, but for right now . . ."
Sesshoumaru didn't need to say anymore as everyone parted, going their separate ways towards their families. The next two weeks would go by fast, and during that time they would be spending it with the ones they loved most. Even though they tried to keep their thoughts positive, there was still that doubt creeping in the back of everyone's mind that they might not live through this ordeal. Right now they would use the little time they had to spend it with the ones most dear to them . . . for once the day of the battle hit . . . not all of them would be returning . . .
TBC . . .