A/N: Hi! Ok, this is really rare. For all of you who are coming back from my last story, "Dude, Where're My Kids?", you know that it usually takes me about two weeks to get another chapter out. But, it's a four day weekend, and I'm bored. Really bored. So, here's the next chapter. It should be a good length, and if you found something that you liked or didn't like, or something that is unclear, WRITE ME A REVIEW! Contrary to popular belief, I DO check my reviews daily, and I know how many people read my story vs. How many people reviewed. So, please review so I know what to continue or what to stop doing. Thanks! Please enjoy!
All's Fair in Love and War
Inuyasha grumbled. I can't believe he won't let me fight… He thought. Well, no king is going to keep me from battle! Inuyasha smirked rebelliously as he made his way down the hallways. He opened one of the doors that led to a balcony overlooking the courtyards. He stood at the edge of the balcony and looked over the demons that had lined up below him. He saw old demons, veterans that had seen many a battle, and he saw demons just barely fifty. He shook his head as the king walked up beside him.
"What do you think, Inuyasha?" King Seiji asked. Inuyasha continued to survey the demons before turning towards the king.
"This is a pitiful group of demons. Can I be excused?" He asked. King Seiji raised an eyebrow and laughed.
"You said that last time we were at war as well, and look how you handled them."
Inuyasha scowled. "What did we do to get into war anyway?"
"Apparently the humans have had enough of us raiding their villages." King Seiji shook his head. "Like they have a choice what we raid."
"It's our right as the superior species." Inuyasha grumbled. "They should just let us continue it…"
"True, true. But you know mortals. Stubborn as demons, every last one of them." King Seiji turned his attention towards the army of demons below them. "Go on, start training."
Inuyasha scowled and jumped off the balcony to the ground below. Instantly silence fell over the army. Inuyasha straightened up and glared at the demons. "All right, troops. My job is to make you all fit for war. No questions, no comments. You will all eat, sleep, and fight when I tell you. Is that clear?"
No one spoke. Inuyasha was about to split the group up and start training when a lesser demon walked forward. "Yes?" Inuyasha spat.
The demon straightened up before speaking. "You are but a mere half-demon! Why should I follow anything you say!"
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. Great, a defiant one. "You refuse to go under my command?"
The demon nodded as some of the veterans took a few steps back, knowing what was about to happen. Inuyasha looked back up at the king as if to get permission to kill the demon.
"Don't kill him, Inuyasha. We need all the demons we can get." King Seiji ordered. Inuyasha's ears twitched and he turned back around to face the demon.
"Fine. Let me demonstrate my power to you." He turned to a large boulder and unsheathed his sword. (A/N: In this story, Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga transforms at any time he pulls it out, it doesn't matter if there's a human to protect or not.) Immediately the demons in his way moved out of range. "Wind Scar!" He pulled the sword down as five light streaks raced towards the boulder. When the dust cleared, there was no boulder, just a small pile of rubble.
"Any more questions?" Inuyasha snarled. The demon shook his head and jumped back into line. "Good. Now, does any one else want to get me even more angry!"
"Sir no sir!" The demons chanted.
"Good. Veterans over there, newbies over there!" Inuyasha said, pointing to two different places. Immediately there was a scuffle as the demons hurried to do his bidding. Inuyasha walked over to where the veterans were and stood in front of them. "Now, since you have experience, start dueling. Don't kill, just get practice." Inuyasha said the last part extra loud so everyone would hear it. "If anyone kills, then they can expect no future."
"Yes sir!" Rang out from the demons. Inuyasha nodded his head.
"Continue." He then went to the newbies. "Who here has had experience fighting?" Several calls rang out, and Inuyasha held up his hands.
"Let me rephrase that. Who here has not had any fighting experience?"
No one moved. Inuyasha smirked. "Seems that I got a good batch this time. All right, those boulders over there are for practice! Use them!"
Within an instant the boulders were destroyed. Inuyasha nodded his approval. "Good." And so it begins… He thought.
Kagome stood in line, looking up at her mother. Sota and Kohaku stood on her left side, Sango was on her right.
"Welcome!" Her mother started. Kagome chuckled, even though she was a great fighter, she was too nice sometimes. "I hope you all got your weapons in the two days we gave you off. Now comes the fun part.
"You will all be training in different places, depending on your special abilities. There's no time to waste, we go to war in a month! Now, I need mikos and monks over here, adults with fighting ability over there, adults with no fighting ability over there, and children fifteen and under over here." Yumiko smiled as everyone moved to where she indicated. Kagome waved to Sango, Sota, and Kohaku and went to where her mother had pointed. She saw about two-dozen mikos along with about a handful of monks. Yumiko walked over to her group first.
"All right, now. This," She motioned to a monk with dark purple robes on, "Is Miroku. He will be instructing you all in your spiritual abilities. Treat him as you would me, and be sure to obey what he says. Don't fool around, magic is a dangerous thing when not used properly. And beware of Miroku; he's a bit of a pervert. Good luck!" She waved and walked to another group. Miroku stood and walked over to them.
"Hello. Please don't be alarmed, I commit no perverted acts when on duty, and I'm not as strict as General Yumiko." He said. A few chuckles ran throughout the group. "However, she is right, magic is dangerous. That is why I'm going to be going through the group to check on everyone's magical ability. We don't want a beginner trying something too advanced." He walked up to the first person, a female miko. After a moment, he nodded, muttered, "Intermediate." To the girl, and walked on. This went on for a while, and Kagome was getting impatient. She turned to the girl next to her and smiled.
"Hi, I'm Kagome." She held out her hand. The girl turned around, and Kagome blinked. This girl looked like a mirror image of her!
"Kikyo." The girl said stuffily, ignoring Kagome's hand. Kagome frowned and withdrew it.
"Nice to meet you, Kikyo." She said, trying to start a conversation. "What do you think about this?"
"War? It's fine." She said airily. Kagome scowled, she didn't like this girl very much.
"How long have you been training as a miko?" Kagome tried again.
"Since I was able to walk." Kikyo grinned in an I'm-better-then- you-and-I-know-it way.
"Really? Me too." Kagome couldn't help but show off to the girl as well. Miroku walked up to the pair and chuckled.
"My my, twins!" He stated. Kagome glared at him.
"We are not twins." Kikyo said. "An idiot could figure that out." Miroku didn't look taken aback, instead he flashed a charming smile.
"Well, my mistake." He said. "This will only take a minute." He set his hand on Kikyo's forehead and for a second it glowed a faint pink before he removed it. "My my, such power. Very good, you're with the advanced group. Over there." He pointed to a small group of about four people.
"Yeah, I know." Kikyo said smartly before stalking off. Kagome glared at her retreating form.
"Goodness, what a girl." Miroku said in a dazed voice. Kagome faced him once more.
"Uh, Miroku?"
"Hmm? Oh, right. Sorry." Miroku grinned sheepishly and set his hand on her forehead. Instantly her vision was filled with a light blue tint, and she closed her eyes to escape it. As she did that, the Shikon Jewel around her neck began to glow slightly.
"Wow." Miroku stated. Kagome opened her eyes to see her normal vision had come back again. She smiled at that, then noticed the way Miroku was looking at her. Actually, he seemed to be looking at her breasts.
"Pervert!" She screamed, slapping him. Miroku shook his head and frowned.
"What!" He asked. Kagome glared at him.
"I thought you said you didn't do that when you were on duty!"
"Huh?" Miroku thought for a moment. "Oh, that. No, I don't. I was, in fact, looking at that extraordinary necklace that you have."
"Necklace?" She asked, looking down at the jewel. "Oh, that."
"Yes. Might I ask where you got such a thing?"
"My grandfather gave it to me." She said. Before Miroku could respond, a hand was put on Kagome's shoulder.
"Miroku, what did you do to my daughter?" Yumiko raised an eyebrow.
"Me?" Miroku asked innocently. "What makes you think I did something, Lady Yumiko?"
"That's General Yumiko to you." She corrected. "And I know you did something because I could hear her scream all the way over there." She pointed to where one of the adult classes was staring at them. Kagome blushed.
"Sorry, mom." She said. Miroku grinned.
"I should have known that such powerful magic could only come from your daughter, General Yumiko." Miroku said mockingly. Yumiko shook her head.
"You never change, Miroku. Get back to your task at hand. And keep your perverted hands off my daughter!" Yumiko glared at Miroku before walking back to her group. Kagome smiled at her mother and turned back to the monk in front of her.
"Hmm. A threat from the general. Interesting." Miroku grinned and tuned back to Kagome. "Ahem. In any case, you're in the advanced class. Good luck." He waved and walked off. Kagome stared in disbelief at him before shaking her head and walking over to the advanced group and Kikyo.
"What a day…" Kagome muttered to Sota as she collapsed on the bed. After she had joined the advanced group, Miroku had made them run twice around the very large courtyard, saying it was to build endurance. Then he had each of them set a shield up, timing how fast they were able to do it. Kagome could get one up in less then five seconds, which was, to her satisfaction, two seconds faster then Kikyo. Then he took them to the archery fields because everyone in the advanced class preferred to use bows and arrows to anything. Finally, he had ended the day with teaching them to conjure fireballs and making them run another lap around the courtyard. "If I see Miroku one more time, I swear I will kill him."
Sota laughed. "At least you got to do something! All we did was practice with our new weapons. It was boring." Kagome bit her lip and looked at her brother in envy. She was about to say something when someone knocked on the door.
"You get it, I'm too tired." Kagome said. Sota shrugged and walked up to answer the door. Kagome closed her eyes and listened to the conversation.
"Hi!" Sota was saying. Someone else said something quietly. "Kagome? Yeah, she's here. Who are you?" More mumbling, then, "Miroku! Kagome's been talking about you! Come in!" Sota beamed and let the monk in. Kagome sat up and shot daggers at her little brother.
"I'll get you for this." She muttered to him before smiling at Miroku. "Hi, Miroku. What brings you here?"
"Your necklace, Lady Kagome." Miroku pulled up a chair and sat down. Sota sat down on his cot, eyeing Kagome. Of course he and his mother knew about the necklace, but he didn't think that anyone else did.
"Uh, this?" She pulled off the necklace and set it on the bed.
"Yes. Do you know what that is?"
"Something called the Shikon Jewel?" Kagome asked.
Miroku nodded. "That is the Shikon Jewel, or the Jewel of Four Souls. Legend has it that whoever possesses it wields great power, and that if it falls into the hands of a demon, terrible things could occur. Judging by what power you demonstrated today, I'd say that the legends are true."
"Power?" Kagome trailed off as Miroku spoke again.
"Yes, power of unimaginable proportions. If that is indeed the Shikon Jewel as we are led to suspect, you might just be the key to winning the war." Miroku stated. Silence rang throughout the room as Kagome thought this over.
"Wait, Kagome being the key to winning the war?" Sota repeated. "Wow. You sure are lucky, sis."
"Uh huh…" Kagome said weakly, inspecting the jewel. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Kagome quickly put the jewel back around her head, tucking it in her shirt. Moments later, Sango barged in with Kohaku in tow.
"Kagome!" She called. "Kago—"
"Sango!" Kagome interrupted. "I'm right here."
"Oh, good." Sango smiled and climbed onto the bed. Kohaku broke from her hold and ran to Sota, muttering something about a 'deathly terrifying sister' and a 'maniac relative'.
"What's up? You sound urgent." Kagome asked. Miroku blinked, forgotten.
"Nothing. I just felt like making a scene. So, how was training?"
"Good. Except Miroku over there worked our butts off so now I can hardly move!" Kagome glared at the monk. Sango looked over her shoulder and jumped in surprise.
"Kagome, there's a man in your room!" She said. Kagome sighed.
"Thank you, Sango." She said sarcastically. "This is Miroku, he's my training master."
Sango stood up and walked around Miroku, inspecting him. "Hmm. A monk, eh?" She grinned. "You go for all the noble men." Kagome blushed.
"It's not like that!" She insisted angrily. Miroku grabbed Sango's hands and got on one knee. He dropped his professional manner and looked up at her with vibrant purple eyes.
"Sango, your name was? I have an important question."
Sango blushed fiercely, looking at Kagome for support. Kagome shrugged, and Sango was left on her own. Kohaku and Sota giggled. "Uh, yes?"
"Will you consider bearing my children?" Slap! Miroku stood up, sporting a large red mark shaped like a handprint on his cheek.
"You're deranged!" Sango shouted.
"Me?" Miroku put on that innocent look again, and Sango rolled her eyes.
"Did I mention Miroku is a bit of a pervert?" Kagome asked, chuckling. Sango gave Kagome a look that could peel paint.
"No, you conveniently forgot!"
"This will be the start of a weird friendship." Kohaku whispered to Sota, who nodded.
"It's so obvious."
Inuyasha smirked as he watched his new army. The king walked up behind him and grinned as well.
"Nicely done, Inuyasha. You've worked wonders in four weeks." King Seiji surveyed the strong demons with an approving glance. "They will do nicely. Come, we move at midnight."
"Good, I'm aching for a fight." Inuyasha said.
"In case you've forgotten, you're restricted to your room. I'm sorry, but we have to do this."
Inuyasha growled angrily. "You still haven't seen reason! I'm perfectly capable of fighting!"
"I know you are, but we can't risk losing our only general. This is the way it has to be. Report back to your room while I ready the troops."
Inuyasha turned and stormed off, muttering curses under his breath.
Four weeks passed extremely fast. Miroku and Sango became friends, but it was a rocky relationship. Kagome poked and prodded them to take it to the next step, because it was obvious that Sango was beginning to fall for the lecherous monk. Of course, when Sango realized what she was doing, she vowed to get the girl back, telling her that Kagome was number 1 on her 'hit and kill' list. Kagome just giggled and continued to interfere.
Training went well, and it was easy to see the progression in the troops. They went from rookies to professional in whatever they did, but Yumiko constantly said that they could get so much better in another month. Unfortunately, they didn't have another month; war was fast approaching.
Kagome's own abilities far surpassed everyone else. She managed to throw up a shield in less then two seconds, which was fast enough to protect herself from an oncoming demon or enemy arrows. She could produce a large fireball on command, and once managed to almost destroy the stables. Luckily they put the fire out in time, and instead of being mad, Miroku had complemented her on the large fire. She learned how to engulf one of her arrows with her spiritual power, which made them several times deadlier.
Finally war was upon them.
Kagome awoke from her sleep to the castle bells. "Whazz happenin?" She mumbled. Yumiko was already out of bed, putting on her armor.
"The alarm bell! Demons must have made a move. Get up, you two, war is here." Yumiko said urgently. Kagome was up and awake instantly.
"War?" She asked, wrestling into the special armor mikos were given.
"Yes. You know, that thing that you've been training for for the last four weeks?" Yumiko pulled Sota out of bed and whispered something to him. His eyes broke open and he grinned madly.
"Finally!" He cried happily. Yumiko frowned at his eager behavior but said nothing.
"Hurry up, kids. We leave in fifteen minutes." She said, rushing from the room.
When Sota and Kagome met Sango and Kohaku moments later, they were surprised at the large army. It hadn't looked this big when they were practicing.
"All right, troops! Move out! Be prepared for war, death, and victory!" Yumiko cried. Several loud yells echoed the air. "Good luck! VICTORY TO HUMANS!" She screamed.
"VICTORY TO HUMANS!" The army yelled. Yumiko jumped on her horse and galloped out of the castle as the gates opened.
"Good luck, mother." Kagome whispered a prayer silently.
"Don't worry, General Yumiko won't be hurt." Miroku came up behind them. "She's too good for that."
"Miroku, what are you doing here?"
"Preparing for battle." Miroku answered as the first line walked out of the castle, including Kagome, Miroku, and Sango.
"Oh." Kagome grinned sheepishly. She still couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling in her gut as she walked out. "Good luck to you too, Miroku."
"Same to you, Lady Kagome." Miroku nodded and rode on his horse over to Yumiko, as did four other people. Kagome guessed they were trainers like Miroku.
"Don't worry, Kagome, it'll be ok." Sango put her hand on the girls shoulder as the army came to a halt.
There were the demons. Kagome was honestly surprised at how large their army was. It was just as big, if not bigger, then the humans. There were demons in the air, on the ground, hiding in the forest on the right of them, and swimming in the ocean on the left. All of them looked extremely skilled, and Kagome felt fear rising in her chest. She shook her head and banished it. This is what we trained for; let's make it count!
Suddenly an arrow was shot, from which side Kagome couldn't tell. That was all it took, however, and the first battle had begun.
"Dammit!" (A/N: I don't approve of cussing, nor will you hear me do it in real life, but to give the story a more real sense, I am forced to do it anyway.) Inuyasha threw another vase against the door where the king had set two strong demons to guard the half-demon. He fell silent, collapsing on his large bed. He closed his eyes and listened to the war sounds outside. He could hear screams, both from humans and demons, as well as horse hoofs on the ground and arrows being released.
"This is all that king's fault…" Inuyasha mumbled. He glanced around the room for any way of escaping besides the door. The window! He thought. For a king, he's not too bright sometimes! I can't believe he didn't think about that. He ran to the window and peered outside. It was a two-story drop, but he could handle that. What made his ears droop is that the king had several guards patrolling the ground as well. Hmm. Can't go down, so I'll go up! Inuyasha could have easily killed the demons on the ground, but he preferred not to kill any of his soldiers that he worked so hard to train. He climbed out of the window, silently making his way up the castle wall. His sharp nails dug into the rocks, working their way to the top. He jumped up and stood in triumph once he reached the roof.
Inuyasha ran quietly across the roof to the other end of the castle. The forest folded out below him, and he immediately leaped off the building and into the trees. Within minutes, he was on the ground sprinting to the battlefield.
Kagome shot another arrow, killing a large portion of the demons charging towards her. She smiled grimly. War was anything but fun. She noticed one of their soldiers get grabbed by a demon, who made a sprint into the forest. Kagome bit her lip and debated going after it. She decided that it was the right thing to do, so she quickly raced after it. She ran for a long time before the battle sounds died away. She saw the demon in a large clearing, devouring the human it had taken. Kagome felt tears begin to stream down her cheeks, and she quickly conjured a fireball and threw it at the demon.
It didn't stand a chance, and it burst into flames seconds later. Kagome turned away, hurt that she didn't make it in time to save that poor soul. She looked up, running right into a large something. The momentum knocked her down, and she looked up at what she had run into. A demon stood there. He looked like a human, except for his silvery white hair and blazing golden eyes. Also, he had two dog-ears on the top of his head. Sango's words rang throughout her mind.
The most dangerous demons are the ones that wear a human form.
Kagome backed up a bit, glaring at it. "Who are you?" She cried.
"Me? I'm Inuyasha, but I don't expect you to remember it."
A/N: Wow, I'm not to good at cliffies. Ok, well, maybe the next chapter will be out before you all die! Ha ha, writers humor there. Just kidding, it'll probably be out within a week, if not sooner. So, have a great day, what's left of it anyway, and check out my next chapter when I get it up! Thanks! (Review!)