Recap: The Sakabatou, as well as Aoshi's short swords, were reforged in the last chapter. Totousai has given the name of Tenya to Kenshin's reverse blade sword. Kenshin also used the Tenseiga to bring Kagome back to life. Much of Ken-san's inner turmoil was revealed through his nightmares as well as in a heart to heart talk with Inuyasha. While this was going on, they received an unexpected message from Shippo's daughter, Sango. The Western Lands were under attack.
The Samurai of Tomorrow
Chapter 37: Assault on the Western Lands
Megumi watched as an enraged Amaya stood her ground. Several armored youkai charged at her with drawn swords. The nimble, raven haired woman leapt up and swung down with her claws. The youkai were cut to pieces as the quarter-youkai continued on her rampage, golden eyes gleaming with rage.
Meanwhile, Amaya's husband Akio, Kouga's son, was busy directing the wolf youkai tribe. The youkai forces had decimated the wolf tribes in the mountains during a surprise attack. Many of them had fled to the Western lands. Megumi gave a start as she felt a tug on her clothes and looked down.
"Lady Megumi, it isn't safe here," Jaken said. The small youkai had developed a growing respect for the human after seeing her tend to the wounded wolves. The doctor nodded her head and took one last look at the fighting before turning around to follow Jaken back into the Great Hall. She had set up a temporary infirmary there and had enlisted young Sango as an aide.
She would have to leave the fighting to the others and hope Kenshin and the others showed up soon. She had her own duties to attend to.
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"Ginta, any news from my father?" Akio asked. The other wolf shook his head no. Damn. Why now? We defeated these bastards back during the Great Youkai War. Why are they attacking now? Akio had an idea though. Naraku must be behind it.
"What about my mother?" he asked.
"The last we heard, Lady Ayame was trying to protect your borders. As soon as it's possible, she said she'd send reinforcements," Ginta said. Akio swore again. He hoped his mother would be alright. She had a feisty fighting spirit.
The wolf cast his eye out over the attacking hoarde. The last time that they had fought, his family had been allied the Shadow Fox Clan, the Panther Tribe, the Western Lands, and the Thunder youkai tribe. However, this time the kitsunes and the panthers were no where around, Inuyasha wasn't here, and Shippo and Souten weren't here.
"Ginta," he asked suddenly. "Lady Souten and her daughter Kagome are still in China as far as I know, but her other daughter Nariko had stayed behind in their lands..."
"She's fine Lord Akio," another voice called out. "In fact, I have good news!"
Akio swung around to see that Jaken had joined them. He must have been distracted if he hadn't smelled the smaller youkai approaching.
"What do you mean Jaken?" he asked. The ugly youkai smiled as he grasped his two headed staff.
"Young Sango just received word from her home. Her mother and older sister have returned from China. Lady Souten and the twins are coming to help us," he explained. Akio smirked at that. Souten was a master fighter and a brilliant strategist. She and her two older daughters would be welcomed very much.
"How long until they get here?" Akio asked. A look of dismay crossed the smaller youkai's face as he shook his head.
"I don't know my Lord. I'm also afraid I don't know when Lord Inuyasha and the others will manage to get here," Jaken answered. Akio sighed before nodding his head.
"Very well. Jaken, return to the infirmary and help Megumi and the others."
"Yes, my Lord."
Akio drew his sword as the smaller youkai ran off. He was a strong fighter in his own right, although he felt that he was still living in his father's shadow. As Kouga had stood up to Naraku a few centuries ago, his son ran out to meet this new threat to his tribe and family. He had a wife and daughter to protect.
The wolf's green eyes flashed as he joined the fight head long, just as much of a menace in battle as his father.
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"Tell me Shishio, how is the assault faring?" Naraku poured himself a glass of European brandy as he felt Shishio study him.
"Everything is going as planned," Shishio said. "Inuyasha has taken the bait and is currently on his way back to the Western lands with the Battousai." Naraku set down his glass but didn't yet turn around to look at the other man.
"You wish to be there," he stated calmly. Shishio's eyes narrowed coldly before he nodded his head.
"Battousai and I have a score to settle Naraku. You know that."
Naraku chuckled darkly as he looked out the window. His eyes slowly followed a couple of government bureaucrats making their way arrogantly down the street. They were flanked by five police officer. Three of them we knew were under the control of his demonseed. His other plan was working well.
Shishio said nothing as Naraku stared out the window. He knew that the other man was trying to bait him with his silence. He refused to rise to it. After a moment, Naraku chuckled again as he realized what the other man was doing.
"Shishio, you are of more worth to me than any of my past incarnations," he said smoothly. It was true, the man was far more competent than any of the fools he had relied on in the past. Shishio again said nothing and Naraku finally spoke again.
"You will face Sesshoumaru in soon, Shishio. Just as I will kill Inuyasha, I will allow you the pleasure of killing him. In fact, you may go to the Western Lands to observe things if you wish."
"Only to observe?" Shishio asked.
"Yes, although I do have a task for you to perform. However, if you wish you may make an appearance to Sesshoumaru, but now is not yet the time to kill him."
"Very well." Shishio turned to leave after the other man explained his intentions and paused. "Naraku...what about the fox? What have you done with him?" he asked curiously. Naraku turned around to look at him and smirked. Shishio gave a start as a pair of jade green eyes studied him in wry amusement.
"His fate, shall we say, has been taken care of."
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"Come on Hachi, hurry it up!"
"I'm sorry Inuyasha, I'm going as fast as I can!"
Hachi was quickly making his way towards the Western lands, but not nearly as fast as Inuyasha or the others would have preferred. Myouga had quickly filled the hanyou lord in on the details, after expressing his surprise at seeing Kagome and the Sango possessed bow. The Western lands were being attacked by remnants of the youkai army that had invaded a century earlier from the Chinese mainlands.
"Why would they attack now?" Kaoru asked. "You guys defeated them, right?" Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as he stared off into the distance.
"We did," he answered stiffly. "I'm not sure why they're back, but seeing as how things have been going..."
"Then Naraku is most likely the one who is supporting them," Miroku finished. Yahiko looked back and forth between the solemn adults.
"So will Naraku be there?" Yahiko asked.
"No," Sango answered. "This isn't how Naraku works. He's probably directing it, but he must have some other purpose for this."
"A diversion," Kenshin suddenly said. "He's trying to direct our attention to the Western lands."
"Then we are walking into a trap," Aoshi added. Misao fingered her shuriken as she glanced around at the others.
"Yes," Sango finally said in agreement. The rest were silent for a time, then...
"I don't care," Inuyasha growled. "My home is under attack. That's good enough for me."
"Even so Inuyasha," Miroku started. "We must be cautious if..."
"I know Miroku!" Inuyasha snapped. Then a moment later, he spoke again in a calmer voice. "I know, but I don't have a choice Miroku. At least we all know it's going to be a trap."
"Yeah," Kagome said. "Inuyasha's right, we don't really have a choice."
Kenshin looked off into the distance as the group fell into silence again. Unconsciously, his hand fingered the hilts of the Tenya and the Tenseiga. What could Naraku be planning?
"Inuyasha," Kenshin suddenly said. "Is Naraku planning to spring a trap on us, or is he in fact attempting to divert our attention from something else?" Inuyasha looked over at him sharply.
"You mean he might be planning to do something else?"
"It's possible," Miroku said. "With Naraku, it is difficult to know what his true intentions are. But as you and Kagome have already stated Inuyasha, we really have no choice. We must defend the Western lands."
Inuyasha said nothing as he stared off into the distance. He hoped that Shippo and the others were making better progress than they were. He was a bit uneasy about the fact that no one had heard from them for some time. The kitsune should have either contacted him or the others back home by now, but Myouga had said they had heard nothing from the fox.
The hanyou tore his mind away from the others. Shippo and the others would have to take care of themselves for the moment. He had other more immediate priorities that he had to take care of first.
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It had been over an hour since Akio had spoken with Jaken. He willed himself not to give into the fatigue that was threatening to overtake him. They had managed to hold them off for now, but the wolf knew that unless they had support soon, then all would be lost. The youkai army kept growing larger as their own small numbers continued to exhaust themselves. Akio knew that his wife was wishing that she had the Tetsusaiga right now.
It was in this exhaustion that Akio almost missed it. He was leaning back against a stone wall when his nose smelled the scent of foxes. What the hell? The wolf slipped off into the castle as he followed the scent. Why were there kitsunes here? With their shapeshifting abilities, they could be any where...
Akio suddenly sliced his sword down into the shadows. A scream echoed down the hall as a black haired kitsune sprawled out onto the floor. The wolf hissed as he rolled the dead man over. He was a member of the Shadow Fox Clan.
What the hell are they doing here? They're our allies!
The wolf sniffed once as he caught a faint, sickening smell underneath the kitsune's clothes. He reached a clawed hand out to pull back the man's kimono to reveal a spider mark on the chest.
Akio stared at it.
He rolled out of the way just as sharp leaf came flying out of another shadow. It struck the ground where he had been kneeling and pierced the stone floor.
"Intruders!" Akio yelled. His enraged voice thundered down the large corridor. "The Shadow Fox Clan has turned against us!"
There was a ripple of movement as several faint shadows began to glide towards the Great Hall, where Megumi had placed the wounded. As Akio raced after them, he missed the small spider that crawled out of the dead kitsune's chest. It paused a moment before it began to scurry down the opposite end of the hallway.
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Amaya glared hard at the scores of youkai still approaching. She hadn't heard her husband's warning during the heat of battle. Many of the wolves who had been fighting with her had already died. The woman growled as she looked out over the still growing army. No matter how many they killed, more seemed to come.
An explosion of foul smelling smoke threw her back. She instantly recognized it as gunpowder. Amaya dodged another explosion as a new 'rat tat tat' sound reached her ears. Bullets ate at the ground around her as she rolled out of the way. She hadn't expected them to be using human weapons.
She hissed as the ground shook beneath her and exploded in a gush of hot air. A large demonic youkai reared out of the ground and roared at her. Gunfire continued to fly over her head, trying to block her movements. Her eyes glistened red as her she flexed her claws.
"You bastard...I'll get you," she growled. Amaya was preparing to rush at the youkai when a flash of movement rippled in front of her. The quarter-youkai hit the ground as a wave of fire burnt into the ranks of enemy youkai behind her. The huge youkai in front of her fell as it was cut to pieces. She looked up to see a tall, stern faced woman standing next to the corpse.
"Souten!" Amaya yelled in surprise. She jumped as she felt the ground rumbling beneath her. The woman spun around to face a large, red scaled dragon. "Kouryuu!" Kouryuu had grown greatly since when he and Souten had first encountered Inuyasha and the others a few centuries ago.
The dragon chuckled at her before turning to stampede off into the ranks of screaming youkai. Kouryuu blew flames into their retreating backs. Amaya turned back to look at the approaching woman. A pair of red eyes studied her wryly underneath long raven hair. Souten carried her sword, the heirloom of the Thunder youkai tribe, over her shoulder. A formidable looking set of armor was worn over her white shirt and pants.
"Souten," Amaya said again. "I'm glad you guys are here. Where's Kagome and Nariko?" Kagome and Nariko were Shippo and Souten's twin daughters.
"They went into the castle," Souten explained calmly. She looked around at the devastated landscape before studying the younger woman again. "Where's your father?"
"He should be coming," Amaya said. "Sango set him a message."
"Is she all right?" Souten asked, concerned for her youngest child.
"She's fine. She's helping a friend of ours attend to the wounded."
Amaya looked over at the burnt remains of some sort of weapon. She guessed that it must have been the thing that was firing at her. She'd never seen a gun like that.
"What is that called Souten?" she asked.
"It's a Gatling gun." Souten kicked over the smoking remains of the Gatling gun before looking over at the castle. "Amaya, why don't you return to the castle? Kouryuu and I can handle things out here until your father arrives." Amaya nodded and leapt up the hill towards the castle.
Souten's red eyes gleamed as she held out her sword. She had inherited it after her brothers had been killed by Inuyasha. It was ironic that she was using it to defend his home. Her eyes gazed piercingly over the scores of youkai as she searched for a weakness.
There.
Souten leapt over the heads of several youkai and raced towards two wagons in the distance. She killed the youkai guarding them and found that her assumption had been correct. The wagons were full of bags of gunpowder and several crates of dynamite.
She sheathed her sword as she grabbed hold of the wagons and flung them into the youkai ranks. Gunpowder and dynamite went flying into the wind.
"Kouryuu! Fire!"
Souten raced out of the way as the red dragon came thundering into the fray. Red fire spew out of Kouryuu's mouth, igniting the flying gunpowder. Great explosions rocked the earth as hundreds of youkai caught fire. She unsheathed her sword and raced off to further terrorize the attacking youkai.
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"Why the hell are you doing this?" Akio yelled. His sword sliced through one of the kitsunes. "Why are you attacking us? I thought we were allies!" The wolf youkai stood in front of Megumi, Sango, and Jaken. Two of the Shadow Foxes had already managed to kill most of the wounded in the Hall.
"Why?" he yelled. None of the remaining fox youkai answered him as they circled the room, flickering in and out of his vision. Akio eyed the spider mark on the chest of one of the two men. The other surviving three were women. Why have they allied with Naraku? Akio swung his sword in an arc before throwing it through the chest of one of the kitsunes.
"Akio! Look out!" Sango yelled. The young kitsune had placed herself in front of Megumi as Jaken stood at the other side of the doctor, staff at ready. Akio grunted as one of the leaf knives pierced his left shoulder. He growled and raked down with his claws. Two more sharp leaves buried themselves in one of his legs.
"Akio!" Sango shot a wave of foxfire between the wounded wolf and two of the Shadow kitsunes. "Stay away from him!" One of the female foxes turned to glare coldly at her. Then she raised her right hand and shot out a hot wave of blue foxfire at the child. Sango shot out her hands, but the older kitsune's flames were far more powerful.
"No!" Akio yelled. He watched in horror as the child, Megumi, and Jaken were thrown back. The female fox appeared behind the three and gutted them with her claws. The stunned wolf watched as the three bodies slumped to the floor.
No...
The wolf's face contorted with rage as he found a new strength. His eyes glowed red as he launched himself at the remaining kitsunes. Moments later, he was gutting the last fox when he saw the kitsune's chest bulge outward. Akio dropped the body and saw a small spider crawl out from the chest.
What the hell...?
Akio crushed the spider and looked around in shock as spiders began to crawl out of the chests of the dead kitsunes. His eyes widened as he saw a spider mark disappear from the chest of one kitsune as the creature crawled out. What did this mean? Had they...could they have been controlling them? The wolf tried to kill the fleeing spiders, but it was difficult to target each one.
"Akio!" Akio stopped as green fox fire burnt the escaping spiders in a single, sweeping wave. He looked over to see two teenage girls, one with red hair, and another with black hair.
"Nariko, Kagome!" he yelled in surprise. The twin daughters of Shippo and Souten smiled grimly as they searched the room for any remaining spiders. Nariko, the red haired one, cried out in surprise as she found the dead body of their younger sister. Akio's fists shook as the young twins gathered around the dead Sango, Jaken, and Megumi. Damn it...
The wolf's green eyes snapped open in sudden remembrance. He had killed one of the Shadow foxes in the hallway. That meant that there was another one of those strange spiders on the loose. But where could it be?
Without realizing, the wolf broke into a dead sprint as he raced up to his daughter's chamber. The two year old girl had three guards with her, but...
"Izayoi!"
Akio ignored the pain in his leg as he finally burst into the chamber. He found to his horror that the three guards were dead. The wolf had no time to ponder this as he saw a small, brownish spider crawling over the sleeping form of his and Amaya's daughter. He gave a cry and launched himself at the child.
Akio crushed the spider and picked up the girl. He lightly kissed Izayoi's chubby cheek as he thanked the gods. The wolf's mind suddenly became alert as his instincts detected another presence in the room. Everything happened before the wolf had time to react. A sharp pain pierced through his chest as a sword was thrust through him.
The last thing that Akio saw was the fading image of his sleeping child.
Shishio smirked as he resheathed his sword and picked up the young girl. Foolish man. The wolf had allowed himself to become distracted. He smirked again as he walked out into the corridor, carrying the child.
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Souten stepped back as a wave of energy shot through the retreating ranks of youkai. She had been about to attack when she had heard someone yell for her to get out of the way. That was right before the Wind Scar blew through the retreating youkai.
"Inuyasha!" she yelled. The hanyou lord raced up to her, clearly not having expected to see the leader of the Thunder youkai tribe here.
"Souten? Feh, you could have left me some to kill," Inuyasha said. Souten smirked back as she studied the group of humans with him.
"Inuyasha...where is my husband?" she asked. Inuyasha grimaced as he admitted that he didn't know. The hanyou looked around at all the dead bodies before suddenly whipping around to stare at Kenshin.
"What is it?" he asked in alarm. Kenshin stared off at the castle with his hand resting on the Tenseiga. He could feel them...
He could feel all the dead.
Tears slipped down his face as he saw all of the dead in his mind. The Tenseiga began to pulse as he pictured the dead Akio in the castle, with a grieving Amaya at his side. He saw Megumi, Sango, Jaken, and all of the dead kitsunes lying cold in the Great Hall. He saw the faces of the innocent dead lying on the battlefield.
His hand gripped the Tenseiga and pulled it from its sheath. Kenshin barely heard the gasps of surprise as something extraordinary happened.
The Tenseiga transformed.
Tears of cold rage slipped down Kenshin's face as the Tenseiga changed into an identical twin of the transformed Tetsusaiga. He mind didn't wonder if he would be able to pick up the now heavy sword. His hands lifted it up unconsciously.
Sesshoumaru, the Tetsusaiga has the power to kill one hundred youkai. The Tenseiga has the power to bring that one hundred back. Your sword, not Inuyasha's, is the more powerful sword. It's not difficult to kill. What is difficult is bringing the dead back to the land of the living.
Father...I need this power now...
For the moment, Kenshin ceased to exist. He was not Himura Kenshin, he was not the Battousai, nor was he Shinta or even Sesshoumaru. He just was.
The Tenseiga glowed as Kenshin swung it in an arc. A blazing blast of energy shot from the sword, not unlike the Wind Scar, yet...very much unlike it. The energy shot through the devastated landscape and through the castle. The bright energy slowly faded and the world seemed to hold its breath.
There were groans around the battlefield as the dead began to wake up. Those who had died defending the Western lands stood up in confusion as the invaders from the Chinese mainland continued in their eternal sleep.
Megumi sat up in surprise just as Sango and Jaken opened their eyes. She blinked her eyes as everyone else in the room, wolves and foxes alike picked themselves up in confusion. The doctor braced herself as the Shadow foxes stood up, but none of them appeared to be the least bit aggressive.
Akio opened his eyes to see a tear faced Amaya holding him. His wife's eyes opened in shock as she hugged him to her chest.
"Akio," she sobbed. "You're alive!" Akio blinked as his memories returned to him.
"Izayoi!" he yelled. The wolf jumped to his feet. "Someone took our daughter!" The startled Amaya sat up and looked around. It was true. Their child was gone.
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"K...Kenshin?" Kaoru asked quietly. The others were staring wordlessly at the swordsman. Inuyasha stared as the Tenseiga reverted back to its usual form.
"Kenshin?" he asked. Kenshin resheathed the sword and turned around. He and Inuyasha locked eyes and the hanyou saw that Kenshin's eyes had turned golden again. The two men stood there as if frozen in time, until they, Souten and Aoshi's heads all suddenly whipped to stare behind the group.
A strange, cloaked man was standing behind them.
"Who the hell are you?" Inuyasha growled. The man smirked, causing the hair to rise on the back of Kenshin's neck. Aoshi gripped his short swords.
"Who are you?" Aoshi repeated calmly. His instincts were telling him that this man was dangerous. The strange man chuckled as he swept his gaze over the group. He seemed to be holding some large bundle underneath his dark blue cloak.
"You know who I am..." The man's red eyes locked with Kenshin's. "...Battousai." Kenshin gasped. That voice...he knew that voice!
"Shishio?" he asked, not quite able to believe it. The other man chuckled again. Aoshi, Misao, Yahiko and Kaoru all grabbed their weapons. Inuyasha's eyes were locked suspiciously on the unseen bundle under Shishio's cloak. His eyes snapped open as he suddenly recognized his granddaughter's scent.
"Izayoi!" he yelled in dismay. Kagome and the others looked at him in surprise. Inuyasha pointed a finger at Shishio and growled again. "He has Izayoi! He has my...our granddaughter!" Kagome gasped as Shishio brushed aside his cloak to reveal the sleeping child underneath of it.
"Naraku has requested an audience with your grandchild, Inuyasha," Shishio stated matter of factly.
"YOU BASTARD!"
Inuyasha launched himself at Shishio, but the resurrected human merely jumped out of the way. His speed was far superior to that of the hanyou's.
"Inuyasha!" Kenshin yelled. "Stop! If this is Shishio, as he claims to be, he'll kill the child if you continue to attack!"
"I am Shishio," Shishio declared. "Naraku resurrected me and gave me this youkai body. It has served me quite well. If you don't believe me, you should ask that green eyed fox friend of yours. What was his name...ah, yes...Shippo."
Inuyasha stopped cold.
"What have you done to him?" he growled. Shishio smirked mockingly at the hanyou as he ran a finger through the sleeping child's hair.
"Don't touch her!" Inuyasha yelled. Kagome drew an arrow and notched it. She aimed at Shishio.
"I wouldn't if I were you, Woman," Shishio warned. "I'm much faster than you. You might end up hitting your own grandchild." Shishio turned his head as he heard another set of growling.
"Why...Battousai, I don't believe I've ever heard you growl like that before, and those facial markings of yours are quite interesting. I am eager to see what kind of power your youkai soul gives you when we fight." Shishio watched in surprise as Kenshin's eyes suddenly glowed red. His red hair, for the briefest instant, flickered silver.
"Shishio..." Kenshin growled. Unconsciously, he flexed the claws that had suddenly grown out of his fingers. "Shishio...I will kill you..." He bared a set of fangs at the curious Shishio.
"Interesting," Shishio murmured. "I hardly even recognize you. Perhaps you really are this Sesshoumaru." He tucked the girl back underneath his cloak.
"Inuyasha, Battousai," he said loudly. "If you want the child, then go to the Shizu Temple in Tokyo. Naraku will be waiting...as will I, Battousai," he warned. Inuyasha growled and launched himself at the other man, but Shishio disappeared with a flash of smoke.
Inuyasha pounded the ground where Shishio had been standing. Damn Damn Damn...
"NARAKU!"