Disclaimer: I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.
Chapter 10.
Tae watched the two of them move to the music and sighed. Life was too short to be spent in indecision. She sat and watched the others. It was perfect… for them.
"Sake?"
Tae turned to the large man who had sat down next to her. He was much larger than she was, his hand dwarfing hers as he handed her a bit of sake.
"Uh, thank you, Master Hiko."
"Please. You were right. No one should be left alone when there's music and sake to be had."
Tae smiled as she took the sake from Hiko. "Again, thank you."
"The hall is crowded now, so why don't we just sit out here and enjoy the sake, and watch the children play."
Tae smiled and looked at the dance floor. She felt like the chaperone, or everyone else's mother. She shivered a little as the wind blew in. With all the people in the other room, the heat had left with them. Tae looked up again as she felt something slide around her shoulders.
Hiko's massive cape surrounded both of them, and Tae moved closer to keep warm. True the sake was starting to make her feel warm too, but somehow getting close to the muscular form next to her seemed to be the more pleasant alternative. She didn't object when Hiko's massive arm moved around her and pulled her close. He didn't strike her as the very romantic type, but it was nice to have someone not to be alone with.
The rest of the party had been wonderful. They had danced for hours. It was late evening now and the light from the lanterns danced across the yard. Inside everyone was relaxed and was still sipping on the sake. Even the ladies had little red noses. Kaoru was thankfully asleep against Kenshin's shoulder, not being able to hold her sake. Kenshin had stopped Yahiko from getting any, but he and Tsubame were nevertheless already asleep huddled next to each other in an adorable embrace. Kagome looked at Shippou asleep in her own lap. The two little playmates he had found were curled up in Sano and Megumi's laps.
A cold wind blew through the dojo as everyone still awake and/or sober talked to one another. It took a few moments before Kagome noticed the figure in a western suit standing in the doorway.
"What have you DONE, child?" Alanor said as he stepped in looking around at everyone. Kagome was surprised to see how fast the men went from half drunken and snoring to full awake with drawn swords.
"Alanor-sama! What are you doing here?" Kagome sat up from where she had been resting against Inuyasha. She'd been thinking about going to sleep on him.
"I came as soon as I realized where you were!" Alanor said with disdain. "You should never have come here child."
"I was just trying to…" Kagome started.
"ENOUGH!" Alanor said incensed. "You've already done enough damage to history." Alanor looked at the rest of the people in the room. "The rest of you can put your weapons away. I'm not an enemy… yet." He said dryly.
Kenshin moved Kaoru into a sitting position as she groggily wiped her eyes and tried to focus on the new visitor. "I'm sorry sir, this is a private party. Kagome-dono is our guest. Please state your business here."
"I am the 'sensei' of 'Kagome-dono', and right now she is in desperate trouble for coming here. There is no end to the mischief she might have caused. My suggestion to the lot of you is to go back to your party and to forget that she was ever here." Alanor looked at the people surrounding him. None of them looked very inclined to comply as far as Kagome could tell.
Kagome thanked the stars that Hiko was there. "Well, I'm sure there hasn't been any major harm done. We were just celebrating and invited the girl in for a night of partying is all. Trust me, if ANYONE could have messed things up it would have been my own baka deshi. Why don't you sit down and take a load off. We definitely have plenty of sake."
Alanor looked at the rest of the men and moved over to stand beside Kagome. "Because if we don't leave soon we're going to have another visitor…" Alanor said ominously to Kagome.
"Oi, what, another demon?" Sanosuke said as he hiccupped slightly.
Alanor looked at Sanosuke until he started to squirm under his gaze. "Another demon?" This time his gaze moved to Kagome.
"Yeah, one attacked us the same day we got here."
Alanor's face grew pale as he silently repeated the words. "How long have you been here child?"
"Only a few days Alanor-sama. You said I should limit trips to short visits."
"I meant HOURS you little twit, not DAYS!" Alanor said obviously loosing his cool. "Do you have any idea how much danger you've put these people in?"
Inuyasha growled as Alanor sat down heavily. He reached into his coat and pulled out a large tome and set it in front of him. Kagome looked at the massive thing and wondered briefly how that thing had fit in his coat without bulging out. He next pulled out a small orb and let it hang in the air in from of him. He now had the undivided attention of nearly everyone in the room.
Opening the book, he began flipping the pages until he came to a large picture of someone Kagome recognized. It was a picture of Kenshin. "What is that?" Kagome said amazed as the picture actually moved showing Kenshin from all angles.
"This is the 'Book of People', a must for traveling through time if you don't want to disrupt history. So pay attention." Alanor said annoyed as he scanned the page.
"But the words are moving!" Kagome said surprised.
"Yes, they display all the information in the book much like a web page in your own time. Think of it as a magician's pocket PC."
Kagome didn't understand the words, but she watched as Alanor flipped through the pages looking up each of the people there. Finally, he looked over at Kagome. "This could have been a whole lot worse, if you had been here a few months ago this would not have ended as well."
Alanor suddenly sat up straight and looked into the small sphere as it began to glow red. Inuyasha tensed, and Kagome watched as slowly the other men in the room began to sit up and look around. The winds had begun to die down. Alanor said something in what she assumed was his native tongue and began to stand up.
Kagome noticed a lot of other people had begun to stand up. "Kagome, get these people out of here." There was a quiet command in Alanor's voice. Unlike his earlier bluster, this tone indicated that arguing was irrelevant. "All of you, I promise to you that all of this will be explained later. Right now you must listen to me and believe me that your lives are in grave danger. I know that many of you are masters in your own right of combat, but your skills will not avail you here. You must flee this place and go with Kagome. She will take you someplace safe."
"Safety is a relevant thing for people such as ourselves, sir." Kenshin said gravely. "I do not abandon my home lightly." Kagome saw happy tears welling up in Kaoru's eyes. Others were muttering agreement.
"If you stay here you will die. What were you able to do against the other demon?" Alanor said bluntly.
"Our weapons had no effect, but Kagome was able to destroy it." Kenshin told him.
"That may be, but this is different. An army is coming." Alanor looked out the door of the dojo and began to get nervous. "There will be too many and they will be more powerful. This is too soon."
Alanor looked at them and then motioned to the sleeping pair of Tsubame and Yahiko. "All of you must make a break for the well. I don't have time to explain now, but these two MUST survive. Do NOT let anything happen to them."
Alanor turned and headed for the doorway. Everyone else quickly gathered their things and walked out behind him to the dojo gate. As they stepped out into the street, the light of the moon danced off of the dark mist that was slowly advancing up the street. Alanor turned to them all as some of the men looked as if they were getting ready for combat. "Don't just stand there… run you fools!"
The first wave came crashing towards them like a torrent of darkness. Dark shapes mixed with the glint of steel in the moonlight as a host of nightmarish warriors charged into battle. Alanor raised his hands and arcs of light flew from them catching the first few warriors in the chest. More were charging behind them though.
That seemed to convince the men as suddenly, Kenshin grabbed Kagome. "Lead the way," he said, as he picked up a still wobbly Kaoru whose kimono didn't allow much freedom of movement.
Kagome ran for the temple with Shippou in her arms. Behind her she could see the rest of the people following. Kenshin, of course, was carrying Kaoru. Saitoh was carrying his wife. Sano had picked up Megumi and Anji was right behind them carrying a little girl in each arm. Hiko had grabbed up Tae and had her over one shoulder, his long strides outpacing nearly everyone. Misao had grabbed Tsubame, and Yahiko was yelling bloody murder as Soujiro carried him. Kamatari seemed a little miffed that Aoshi wasn't carrying 'her', but 'her' dress did allow 'her' to run just fine as Aoshi hauled 'her' along behind him. Cho was bringing up the rear looking back.
Kagome tried to find her friends and realized they were fighting. They were the only ones with weapons that could stop the demons, so they had stayed behind to fight and give the rest of them time to escape.
Kagome ran for the temple as fast as her legs would carry her. Once she got there she looked around and found the well guarded by more of the dark warriors. Kagome stopped and the rest of the men started setting down their passengers. Saitoh suddenly seemed in control. "Himura, Shinomori, Segara, and Seta; you four come with me. The rest of you, get out of here."
There seemed to be a general nod of agreement among the men before Kagome could say anything. Why did men always have to come to these conclusions on their own?
These five men rushed the pack of dark warriors around the well. Kagome had to admit it was impressive. The five of them were some of the most impressive fighters she had ever seen. Soon a hole opened up as the five pressed the dark warriors back from the well.
Kagome charged forward to the well and jumped in. There was no time for climbing right now. Anji dropped to the ground beside her with the two girls and let them down.
"What there isn't a tunnel here!" Anji said in disbelief.
"I'll explain later!" Kagome grabbed the two little girls and disappeared. She reappeared in the feudal era and looked around. Shippou jumped from her arms and raced to the top of the well.
"It's all clear Kagome!"
"Good try to keep the girls calm! I'm going back for the others!"
Kagome shifted through time again. This was getting easier. She reappeared in front of a startled Anji who nearly dropped Yahiko. Tsubame was trembling next to the big man and latched onto Yahiko as soon as his feet hit the ground.
"What's going on?" Yahiko yelled, "No. Waaaaiii…" he started.
"…iiiittttt" and finished as he and Tsubame reappeared in the feudal era.
"Yahiko get the girls out of the well. We've got to get everybody through."
Without waiting for a reply, Kagome shifted again. Kaoru and Tae followed Megumi and Tokio as Kagome brought people back to the past. Kagome returned to find Kamatari wrestling a frantic Misao, "I have to help them."
Kagome grabbed them both. The two of them looked startled for a moment as they reappeared. "You've got to help protect the others!" Kagome said desperately. "I'll go back for them."
Misao finally stopped struggling as Kagome disappeared again. This time Anji was there, holding a severely injured Sano and Cho. They looked like they'd been nearly cut to ribbons. Kagome took hold of the two and reappeared in the past.
"Shippou! Go to the village and get Kaede! We've got injured!" Kagome laid Sano and Cho down and flashed back to the future.
She reappeared amidst her pack and a suitcase? "What's this?" Kagome said looking up to Anji.
"Your friends have arrived. They brought these things and said Alanor told them to make sure they brought them to you." Kagome shook her head and set them aside for a moment. "Whose next?"
Her question was quickly answered as Miroku dropped beside her with an injured Sango. She didn't even ask as she grabbed the two of them and shifted them back. Shifting forward brought more injured. Anji was gone, Aoshi was hurt badly, and Saitoh had definitely seen better days. "I'll be back," Saitoh started to say as Kagome shifted him and Aoshi back.
"There's no time for bravado right now pal, get topside, there's a healer on the way." Kagome said with a tone she hoped was commanding.
She shifted back and found Anji severely battered. "What are those things?" he said with wide eyes.
"Demon ninjas I think." Kagome replied. She shifted once again and laid Anji down. She shifted back to an empty well. Fearing the worst she climbed to the top to see the battle still in full swing. Inuyasha was cutting the demons to ribbons, but there were too many for just one half demon to handle. Hiko limped towards the well, carrying Kenshin. Kagome dropped to the bottom. Hiko landed beside her.
"Baka deshi, you shouldn't go jumping in the way of swords meant for you master. My superb skills would have protected me." Kagome didn't think Hiko's voice sounded very confident though. He also looked worried over his former pupil.
Kagome shifted them and the bags back to the past. Hiko carried Kenshin out of the well. Before she could return Inuyasha appeared next to her carrying Soujiro. "What happened to you?" Kagome said. Soujiro looked uninjured except for being covered in dirt and having a few scrapes. He was still smiling too.
"He broke his leg." Inuyasha said with disgust. "He's faster than me! None of the ninjas could touch him, but then that one with the chain…"
"He tripped me!" Soujiro said scandalized. "Nobody's EVER been able to trip me before."
"Where's Alanor?" Kagome said suddenly.
"The old man told us to run and he'd catch up later. He said not to worry about him, because he might be gone a while." Inuyasha said nonchalantly.
Inuyasha grabbed Kagome around the waist and leaped to the surface. Kaede was already there with Shippou tending the injured. Kagome did a quick headcount to make sure everybody was there.
Yahiko. Check.
Tsubame. Check.
Kenshin. Check.
Kaoru. Check.
Megumi. Check.
Sanosuke. Check.
Suzume. Check.
Ayame. Check.
Saitoh. Check.
Tokio. Check.
Aoshi. Check.
Kamatari. Check.
Misao. Check.
Soujiro. Check.
Cho. Check.
Anji. Check.
Miroku. Check.
Sango. Check.
Sesshomaru. Check.
Kagome suddenly stopped as her mind caught up with her. Sesshomaru? Undoubtedly, there he stood watching the group as they clustered around the well.
"Damn. What does he want now?" Inuyasha swore as he pulled out Tetsaiga.
"I see you've started collecting humans brother." Sesshomaru said pulling out his own blade. "I thought I was going to have to go into the well after you."
"Sesshomaru, we don't have time for this!" Kagome yelled at him. Everybody was looking at her. A moment later however the two brothers went back to ignoring her and began fighting, as usual. Kagome had been through enough. It was bad enough she could never go home, and she had dragged all these innocent people into her problems, but now having to deal with this was too much.
Kagome stalked over to Kaede. She had seen her do this once, and she'd been studying it with her. "Kaede, I need another one of those necklaces."
Kaede looked at Kagome with a stunned expression as she handed to beads to Kagome. Kagome had been studying these things thinking to release Inuyasha, but now she was glad she hadn't. Ignore HER, would they.
Kagome began to chant as the beads disappeared from her hands. The look on Sesshomaru was priceless. He nearly lost his head from the distraction. He knocked Inuyasha back and looked down at the necklace around his neck and then looked up at Kagome.
"You don't honestly think that this is going to…" he managed to get out.
"STAY, boy!" Kagome shouted.
The beads glowed brightly and Sesshomaru found himself face down in the dirt. She could practically feel the anger rising off his body.
"Great work Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted. "Now to finish the job!" Inuyasha raised the Tetsaiga over his head to slay his brother.
"SIT, boy!" Kagome shouted.
Inuyasha slammed into the ground next to this brother. "What did you do that for you stupid wench!"
Sesshomaru and Inuyasha stood up. She had their undivided attention now. Sesshomaru was the first one to take a step forward.
"STAY, boy!" Sesshomaru hit the ground.
"SIT, boy!" Inuyasha hit the ground.
"SIT, STAY, SIT, STAY, SIT, STAY!" Kagome shouted. The two finally stayed down groaning. "I have had all I'm going to TAKE!" she screamed at the two of them.
"We have just been through a war, these people are injured, and all the two of you can think about doing is trying to kill each other! Well, I've HAD IT. Help us get these injured people back to the village so we can tend to their wounds, or else I'm going to pound you two into the ground until I loose my voice!" Kagome glared at the two brothers.
"But…" they both started in unison.
"NOW!" Kagome shrieked at them. Flames seemed to appear around Kagome and she looked ready to murder.
The two of them finally got up and started walking over to the injured. Inuyasha was grumbling, and Sesshomaru never stopped glaring at her, but they obeyed.
"Good work, Kagome." Kaede said next to her pleased. "I never would have believed your power could have bested a full demon like Sesshomaru."
Tokio and Megumi were looking at Kagome as well. "Do you have any more of those?" They whispered.
The trek back to the village had been a swift one. It was late at night, but they finally managed to get all the injured moved into a storage building large enough to hold all of them. The ladies and Sango had gone to the hut of Kaede. Kagome had then ordered the two demons she had control of to keep watch and guard the village, promising bloody murder if they didn't keep from fighting each other. Miroku had gone along to play chaperone.
Kenshin looked at his companions weakly. Even Hiko was injured. Yahiko was moving to each of the men tending wounds. The only 'man' not injured had been Kamatari, but 'she' had gone to the hut with the women.
"I guess Alanor wasn't kidding when he said we wouldn't be much good against those things, that he wasn't." Kenshin said finally.
"My superior fighting ability can stop anything." Hiko said defensively. "It's not my fault that our weapons couldn't hurt them."
"At least we got the women to safety." Soujiro said hopefully.
"I'm surprised we did that well, all things considered." Aoshi said glumly.
"Hey we did all right!" Cho piped up. "Even if most of my swords did get broken." He added slowly.
"I STILL can't believe they broke my leg." Soujiro offered.
"I am REALLY looking forward to the explanation that old man promised us." Saitoh said with a certain degree of menace in his voice.
"I too look forward to this man's story." Anji said.
"I'm sure that Kagome-dono will explain as much as she can until her sensei returns." Kenshin offered apologetically.
"Strange people you keep under your roof Battousi." Saitoh said disapprovingly.
"We're ones to talk." Aoshi said coldly, much as he said EVERYTHING coldly.
"Yeah, but DAMN what a party! I haven't had that much fun in years!" Sano said perking up.
Everyone, who was able, turned to look at him like he was crazy. Then they started looking at each other. No one wanted to admit it, but he was right.
"Such things shouldn't happen in the Meiji Era." Kenshin said stiffly.
"Quite right." Saitoh agreed.
"It was still fun though." Sano continued. "You can't tell me you guys have had a good scrap like that recently."
"Not since Shishio." Kenshin agreed.
"The police station has been pretty quiet." Saitoh reflected.
"I haven't stretched my skills like that in years." Hiko chuckled.
"I've missed battle." Aoshi said with more emotion than he normally showed, but still sounding subdued by mortal standards.
"I'm afraid we must all face the truth." Soujiro added. Everyone looked at him.
"We're all warriors trapped in a time of peace. We've all spent an extremely large portion of our lives working towards perfection in a profession that is becoming unnecessary. Even the nature of war is changing. Now it's who has the best strategy and the most guns and cannons. True, some of us have adapted to peace better than others, but we're all still the same men inside. Fighting is a part of us and I'm not ashamed to admit that I had the most wonderful time knowing that I was doing it to protect Misao." Soujiro suddenly realized what he said and looked at Aoshi. Aoshi was still able to move, and if he wanted to Soujiro would be dead.
Aoshi just looked at Soujiro and then looked back at Sano. "I had fun too."
Kenshin sighed. Once he had seen Kaoru get away safely he'd let go. The Battousi had found release and now he found it much easier to keep calm because the beast had been fed. His weapon had been useless against the demons so he had opened up to Battousi and let him run free. If he had been fighting men he would have been sick right now, but it had felt good. Feeling the power run through him without the fear or moral indecision about taking a life. It had allowed him to use the Battousi to actually protect for the first time in his life. It had calmed his soul in ways he never would have imagined. Kaoru made him feel forgiven; tonight made him feel clean.
The rest of the men were starting to relax thinking about the battle. "We could have beaten them with the right weapons." Cho said out loud.
"Sango said something about knowing how to get weapons that could harm them." Yahiko added in helpfully.
The rest of the men started mulling this over. "I do need a new sword." Hiko said looking at the ragged remains of his once pristine blade.
"I'm always collecting good swords." Cho said happily.
Kenshin didn't really like the thoughts he saw running across the faces of the men gathered there. Grins were starting to appear as similar ideas started forming in the heads of the gathered warriors. Kenshin could practically see the word 'rematch' forming above their collective heads.
The men quickly became lost in their own thoughts. Kenshin looked at Yahiko. None of them had allowed him to fight during the battle. He looked a little down about it too. If he had, he would have been killed. Apparently Yahiko understood this too, looking at the injuries the rest of them had endured. The old man had singled him out. Kenshin had to admit he didn't understand why, but he was still concerned for Yahiko. He was the closest thing to a son he had ever had.
Oddly, it was Aoshi who broke the silence. "Soujiro."
"Y-Yes, Aoshi-sama?" Soujiro said getting a worried look on his face.
"What are you intentions toward Misao?" Aoshi said with less emotion than normal.
"Nothing. I mean she's just my friend. You don't have to worry about me getting in the way Aoshi-sama. I know she's in love with you." Soujiro had his eyes cast down.
Aoshi looked over at him. "Protecting Misao is my only concern. I have watched over her since she was little. She's like a sister to me. If you wish to pursue her you may. She's become a handful, and I could use the help protecting her. The only thing YOU need to be worried about Soujiro is if you hurt her." Aoshi didn't say anything else. He didn't really have to. Kenshin had a pretty good idea about what would happen to anyone who tried to hurt Misao.
"So what are YOUR intentions towards Kamatari?" Cho snickered. The rest of the men suddenly became uncomfortable at the mention of the cross-dresser's name. More than one glanced at Aoshi and began to squirm a little.
"What do you mean?" Aoshi asked.
"Kamatari used to be a companion of ours and we've noticed she's taken a shine to you Shinomori. You don't seem to mind the attention either. I hate to say it, but we don't want Kamatari getting her feelings hurt and all that anymore than you want to see Misao get hurt. She's one of us." Cho said.
"Yes." Anji agreed. "She's always been rather…"
"Sensitive." Soujiro finished uneasily.
Most of the other men looked extremely uncomfortable discussing the subject. Aoshi merely shrugged. "The actions of other people are of little concern to me. If Kamatari wants to act like a woman and pursue men then that is his concern. I am not gay. Kamatari is a pleasant enough companion, and if he were a woman things might be different. However, things are not different."
Most of the men seemed to breath a sigh of relief and relax a bit. Hiko was the next to speak up. "I don't think it would be safe to try going back home just yet."
Thankful for a more comfortable topic the men agreed. "Tomorrow morning we need to discuss this fully and then we'll see to what must be done. I think Soujiro is going to be the only one who isn't going to be mobile."
The rest of the men finally surrendered to the sleep that had been threatening to claim them. Kenshin looked at Yahiko. He needed to be needed. Kenshin pulled out his sword and gave it to Yahiko. "Yahiko. We need to sleep and recover. Please guard the door for us."
The look on his face made Kenshin smile. The boy tucked the sword in his belt and went to stand in the doorway. Kenshin let himself finally drift off to sleep.