RK Quote of the Day:
Kenshin: "Tokio"?
Saito: "My wife."
Kenshin and Misao: "W-W-W-WIFE? YOU'RE MARRIED?"
Saito: "Don't worry. Tokio is a good woman. She'll take good care of Eiji."
Misao: "She must be something…if she can be this guy's wife."
Kenshin: "A veritable Bodhisattva."
Inuyasha Quote of the Day:
Sesshoumaru: "Unnecessary interference."
Kouga: "It's a mutual feeling."
Recap: When last we saw our quartet of hooligans, they had stopped in the city of Kurashiki. Saito and Shippo realized that Captain Buntaro of the district police office in the city was really a youkai in disguise. Kouga and Sanosuke provided a distraction later on that night so that Shippo and Saito could investigate further.
Kouga and Sanosuke, while supposedly inciting a fake Socialist riot, accidentally started a real one. Nearly the whole city rose up in a Socialist revolt. While this was going on, the Shinsengumi wolf and the kitsune discovered that Buntaro was really a kitsune named Yoichi, from the Shadow Fox Clan. Shippo and Yoichi fought, with Shippo winning in the end. He discovered that Naraku had been controlling the other fox with the demonseed. Our four heroes are now heading towards Kurashiki to investigate.
Shippo's hanyou son, Namu, is still wandering around with Kirara. The young fox is determined to prove that he can be as strong as Inuyasha.
In the last chapter, we found out that Naraku is in the process of removing his demonseed from Kurashiki, so that it can be placed in another location. Naraku has sent Gojin, one of his new incarnations, to assist in the removal process. He's also made plans to unite Inuyasha's old enemies against him.
Naraku has also made plans for the resurrection of Shishio Makoto, who he plans to send to Kurashiki in order to assist Gojin.
The Samurai of Tomorrow
Chapter 34: Shishio Awakens, Part I
Namu groaned at his stupidity. He had been so obsessed with becoming as strong as Inuyasha, that he had forgotten that tonight was the night that he became human. At least he had Kirara with him now, but it was still idiotic. He should have waited a few more days before leaving the castle.
Kirara mewed up at him. It was still a few hours until nightfall, but she could already sense the change in the young man's body. By the time the crescent moon rose, he would be a mortal.
She hoped that the night would be uneventful.
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Hajime Saito stomped on ahead of the others, vastly irritated with having let his guard down. He should have known better. He should have known it was coming.
They had stolen his cigarettes.
They had stolen his cigarettes!
He heard the other three snicker behind him. Damn them all. They would pay dearly for this. No one touched his cigarettes.
Shippo had cleverly distracted him while Kouga had snuck up behind him, pinned him to the ground, and raced off with his last pack of cigarettes. Then the damned wolf had thrown them down a ravine.
Needless to say, Saito was very unhappy. He imagined himself surgically removing all of Kouga's inner organs with his sword. Damn wolf. Damn fox. Damn rooster. He didn't know how he was going to survive without his nicotine. Saito could almost swear that his hands were starting to shake.
He told himself that they were shaking with anticipation. There was going to be a bloody massacre tonight, starting with a certain loud mouthed wolf in a fur kilt.
Then he would crucify Shippo to a tree. Yes, that sounded nice. He would make it very painful. Then he'd beat Sanosuke to a bloody pulp. The rooster already had it coming anyway.
Saito needed to get back to civilization. He couldn't survive without his daily intake of nicotine. It was unnatural. It was torture. It was inhumane.
There was a flash of silver as the main source of his current agitation landed in front of him. Kouga's armor glinted sharply as the wolf smirked at him.
"Feh. You're more upset than I thought you'd be. Stupid human. You'll thank me later. That stuff's poisonous…"
Kouga barely jumped out of the way as Saito threw a punch at him. Then he took off down a nearby hill and jumped over a creek. Shippo shook his head as the irate Hajime Saito chased after Kouga.
Maybe they should have left him at least one cigarette.
Shippo paused suddenly and sniffed the air. Something…was that? No…he was supposed to be back at Inuyasha's castle.
Even so, the very faint scent of his son was still there.
"Shippo?" Sano asked. Shippo sniffed the air again. Yes, it was there. But he couldn't quite tell where it was.
"Kouga!" Shippo yelled. "I need your nose!" Kouga's sense of smell was far superior to his own. Moments later, Kouga was at his side.
"What?" he asked.
"Namu," Shippo answered. "I think I've caught his scent and…." he paused and sniffed again in surprise. "I think Kirara's with him. I just can't tell where…"
Kouga ran up to the top of a nearby hill and paused. He sniffed the air carefully before pointing towards the southwest.
"He's that way!" Kouga yelled. Shippo nodded once and took off. He knew full well what tonight was. Tonight was the night his son turned human.
Namu had better have a good reason for being out here.
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Naraku closed his eyes as he turned his attention inward. He gave a low hiss before holding out his hand. There was a ripple in his flesh as something surged beneath the surface.
A mass of skin, bones, hair, and blood burst out of his right hand. His hand reverted back to its normal shape as the purged flesh of his new incarnation pulsed briefly before forming itself into a body.
Naraku smirked as he bent down to investigate it. His new incarnation wasn't complete. The body was formed, yes. The spider mark was even present on his back. However, this one was different than his previous incarnations.
This one still lacked a soul.
Which would be remedied very shortly.
"Basir," he said quietly. The dark skinned sorcerer inched forward at the mention of his name. Naraku looked at him before motioning down to the lifeless body on the ground.
"Awaken Shishio Makoto," Naraku ordered. "Now is the time to prove your usefulness. Place his soul in this incarnation of myself, and you will be rewarded."
The Turkish sorcerer nodded his head as he placed his hands over the as of yet lifeless body. He sprinkled magic herbs over the body as he chanted deeply in Arabic. The herbs soon dissolved as a glowing violet mist formed above the body. Sweat ran down the Turk's neck as he chanted even louder.
Basir's hands shook with extreme effort as he finally placed his hands over the body's chest. There was a flash of blinding light as energy suddenly surged into the lifeless incarnation. The Turk's voiced faded as the last strains of his strange chant echoed in the room.
There was a long pause.
The Turk held his breath. His life depended upon whether or not he had succeeded. A finger on the incarnation twitched. Then another finger twitched. Basir let out a sigh of relief as he watched the left hand clench into a fist. Then the eyelashes fluttered briefly before they finally opened to reveal deep crimson irises.
Shishio Makoto had awakened.
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"Namu!"
Namu paused in shock as his father came charging out of the forest. Damn it. Why hadn't Kirara smelled him…
Damn it. She must have smelled him, but had decided not to tell him. Namu felt betrayed.
The young fox shook slightly before clenching his fists. He clenched his teeth together as he glared at Shippo.
"Leave me alone," Namu said through gritted teeth. He saw his father halt in surprise before a flash of anger darkened his face.
"Why are you out here?" Shippo asked angrily. "You're supposed to be at Inuyasha's."
"Well I'm not!"
"Tonight's the night when you…" Shippo faltered before he could say, 'Tonight's the night when you become human!' He didn't smell anyone, but that didn't mean there weren't any unfriendly ears nearby. He wasn't about to accidentally give away when his son became a mortal.
"I can take care of myself!" Namu protested. "I'm not a child!"
"You're my child," Shippo warned quietly. "It's too dangerous out here. Go back to Inuyasha's home."
"I'm not a weakling!" Namu yelled. "Just because I'm half human doesn't mean I'm weak! I can take care of myself! If you weren't so judgmental…" His father's green eyes glinted at him and Namu trailed off with shame. He knew that his father looked up to Inuyasha. He had also looked up to Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Kaede. Namu knew that his father wasn't prejudiced when it came to humans.
"Is that what you think?" Shippo asked quietly. "Do you think I look down on you because you're half human?" Namu caught the tone of disbelief in his voice and reddened. The young man caught sight of the three men watching them and lowered his eyes.
"No," Namu muttered. "I think you look down on me because I'm not Souten's child. I'm the bastard son that you didn't want. You…" he looked up at his father's stunned face. "You…you've always loved my sisters, but I was a mistake!"
"That…that's not true…" Shippo sputtered. He himself was also self consciously aware of Kirara, Kouga, Saito, and Sano watching them.
"Oh yeah? Then why'd you send me off to Inuyasha? It's because you were too ashamed to have me around!"
"That's not true!" Shippo yelled. "Inuyasha's half human too! He knew better than I what you were going through…"
"I needed a father! Not Inuyasha!" Namu yelled. A stunned Shippo stared at him as the young man turned around and angrily ran into the forest. The kitsune stared after his son as a faithful Kirara ran after him. He barely noticed the sudden presence at his side as he stared blankly in front of him.
"I'll go after him," Kouga said quietly. "Kirara and I will bring him back."
Shippo nodded numbly as he rubbed his eyebrows. They didn't really have a choice now. Namu was going to have to travel with them. Without a word, he vanished into the forest. He needed to be alone to think.
Saito and Sanosuke stared after the anguished fox before looking at each other. The former Shinsengumi raised an eyebrow.
"Seeing as how we won't be moving for a while," Saito pointed out dryly. "Perhaps you should explain what just happened." Sano sighed in irritation as he stuck a blade of grass between his teeth. This was one complication that they really didn't need right now.
"Namu is Shippo's half human son. They don't….exactly get along too well," Sano answered. Saito listened silently to Sanosuke as he stared off into the distance. He could faintly see Kouga walking slowly back with the young man.
As a former Shinsengumi, very few things bothered him. However, now that he now had a wife and two children, the adopted Eiji and his young daughter, he felt deeply disturbed. As a father himself, the hostility between Shippo and Namu troubled him more than he would willingly admit.
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"What is this?" Shishio Makoto asked. He stared at his hands and then down at his naked body. There weren't any burn marks. In fact, his body seemed…different. Not just physically, but it also felt stronger. Much stronger.
An amused chuckle made him look up. A long haired man, dressed in an elegant hakama and haori, stared down at him. No, not stared. Studied. A pair of sharp, red eyes were staring intently at him.
"Who are you?" Shishio asked carefully.
"I am Naraku. It was I who had this human resurrect you." 'This human'? Shishio slowly stood up and scrutinized the man in front of him. He eyed the dark skinned Turk out of the corner of his eye. Every carefully honed instinct he possessed told him that this Naraku was not a man to be crossed. He radiated a darkness that even the Battousai and the Shinsengumi wolf together hadn't possessed.
"You're not human," Shishio stated. Naraku's lips twitched. "Then again," Shishio continued. "Most humans aren't necessarily human. They're either wolves or mere livestock to be trampled on."
"True," Naraku said. "However, your first assumption is correct. I am a youkai. As now are you." Shishio looked down at his body again before narrowing his eyes at Naraku.
"Explain."
Naraku was pleased with the deadly fire he saw in the other man's eyes. However, he also knew that Shishio must realize who in fact was in charge. He narrowed his eyes at the other man and his newest incarnation clutched his chest in pain.
"You are a part of me," Naraku explained coldly. "Your body is an incarnation of mine. I had this sorcerer place your soul within it so that you may serve me." Shishio glared dangerously at him a moment before chuckling darkly.
"I see," Shishio said dryly. "So as long as my flesh is a part of you, then I can not act against you."
"Yes."
The two men stared at each other. Basir slowly back out of the room. He had thought that Naraku was bad enough, but this resurrected human was nearly as dangerous. Their mere presence in the room together was enough to make him quake in fear.
"What is it that you want from me?" Shishio finally asked.
"I want you to kill the Battousai, among others."
A light flared in Shishio's eyes and Naraku smirked. Yes, this man just might do nicely.
"Tell me…more," Shishio said. "But first, perhaps you have some spare clothes?"
"Indeed," Naraku answered. "Then we shall have some tea and speak about the future of Japan."
Intrigued, Shishio followed after him.
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Sanosuke quietly stoked the fire as the stars began to slowly dot the black sky. The group had paused for the night, even though they had originally intended to continue on. A dark mood seemed to have descended upon the group since Shippo and Namu's meeting.
Sano poked the roasting fish as he covertly eyed Shippo. The fox was sitting up in a tree a short distance from the group. A human Namu was sitting under a tree on the far opposite end from his father. He poked the fish again as a nearby Kouga muttered under his breath and tapped his foot impatiently. Saito too, seemed to have withdrawn from the others. He was seated a few meters from the fire, where he had a convenient view of both Shippo and Namu.
Sanosuke kicked a nearby piece of wood at the same time that Kouga sprang up in agitation. An irate Kouga stormed over to the seated Namu at the same time that Sano marched over to Shippo. Saito merely shook his head and stayed put. He turned to look at the youkai cat sitting near the fish.
"You sure put up with a lot," Saito pointed out. Kirara mewed in reply. The former Shinsengumi took that as a yes. At first he had found it strange, and slightly humiliating, to be talking to a cat, even if she was a youkai. However, as he soon realized, Kirara possessed much more intelligence than the average feline house pet.
Saito pointedly ignored the heated arguments taking place to his left and right as he pulled two of the fish off the fire. He placed one on the ground in front of Kirara and took a bite out of his own dinner. Kirara looked down at it and then back at Namu.
"He'll be fine," Saito said. "You'd better eat." Kirara mewed again in reply and set to work on her meal. She knew that Namu was upset with her for having led him to his father. However, the cat knew that it was safer for them to be with the others, especially tonight.
She was also going to do what she could to bring father and son together. As Kirara licked her lips, she knew that Saito Hajime was having similar thoughts. Her instincts told her that this cold human cared more than he let on.
Kirara mewed again and Saito smirked. This cat was far more intelligent than Sanosuke. Then again, perhaps that wasn't saying much. Many people were more intelligent than that rooster.
"Kirara, this is going to be a long journey," Saito observed. Kirara mewed softly in agreement.
"I still have to get those bastards back for my cigarettes," he growled. Kirara wisely chose not to say anything. She had no idea what cigarettes were.
Saito leaned back against a tree and closed his eyes. Between himself, three youkai, a hanyou…even if he was human at the moment, and even a pea brained rooster head, he had little fear of an attack. The former Shinsengumi drifted off into a light sleep.
Kirara transformed into her larger form and sniffed around the area. Satisfied that the area was safe, she curled up near Saito and kept watch.