Sorry for the delayed update. I haven't had much time since spring semester started. I'll update as quickly as I can.
Recap: The final battle began in the last chapter. Sesshoumaru's power grew in Kenshin, causing him to find that he had poison claws again. Inuyasha faced off against Naraku as Kenshin fought Shishio. Naraku was about to kill Kagome when Shippo unexpectantly managed to gain enough control to stop him. Meanwhile, Saito, Kouga, Sano, Namu, and Kirara infiltrated the Imperial palace. Kouga smelled a large amount of demonseed underneath the palace grounds and they have decided to check it out.
The Samurai of Tomorrow
Chapter 40: The Fight Continues
"You'd better be right about this wolf," Sano warned. He, Saito, Kouga, and Namu were currently battling their way down through the palace.
"Shut up Rooster," Saito said. "Even I can smell it now." Sanosuke glared at the former Shinsengumi as he punched one of the soldiers. According to Kouga, the Imperial guards all smelled like those spiders. He wrinkled his nose as he raced after the other three. He hated to admit it, but there was a growing stench in the air. It grew worse the further down they went.
"You think Kirara's okay?" Namu asked worriedly. He swung Shippo's sword, causing a blast of green foxfire to roar down the enclosed staircase they had just entered. As if in answer, they faintly heard the youkai cat roar somewhere on the Imperial grounds, followed by a faint thunderous crash.
"I believe she's fine," Saito replied dryly. He drove his katanna through the stomach of an unlucky soldier. He knew that they probably were being controlled, but they didn't have the time or luxury of trying not to kill every human and youkai that attacked them.
Saito halted as he saw a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye. Namu started to yell a warning, but the Mibu wolf sliced his sword through the shadows on the wall. A wounded kitsune fell onto the stone steps. Saito looked at him a split second before deciding that he was no longer a threat. He turned and continued down the stairwell.
The former Shinsengumi and the fox hanyou were about to leap down the last few steps when Sano and Kouga called out a warning. Twin catlike roars assaulted his ears, causing them to ring for several minutes after. Saito's eyes shot over to the two huge youkai cats guarding a set of doors. Their golden ears flattened menacingly as bright amber eyes glared at them. They bared their fangs before roaring again.
The thick stench in the enclosed air made even Saito Hajime nauseous.
Kouga hid a disgusted look by smirking at the two lionesses. The smell was overwhelming his and Namu's senses. He wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.
"There's something behind the door," the wolf growled. He launched himself at the cat youkai and gave a wolf-like howl. The hairs raised on the back of Sanosuke's neck as Kouga's howl rebounded in the enclosed area. Sano smirked as he flexed his fists before launching into the Mastery of Two Layers. His fist landed on one of the lioness just as Saito spun at it with his sword.
The lioness gave a yelp of pain as the impact from Sanosuke knocked her back. Saito rushed in and decapitated the creature an instant later. The two humans turned around to see that Kouga and Namu had also finished off the other lioness. Unlike the lioness they had killed, this one was considerable messier as the wolf had ripped it to shreds with his claws.
"Let's get in there and get this over with," Kouga growled. "I can't take this stench much longer. It's worse than your damn smoke sticks."
"They're called 'cigarettes'," Saito corrected dryly. He too though was ready to get this over with. If the stench was this bad for he and Rooster Head, then he could only imagine how much worse it was for the other two. Sanosuke, also eager to be away, rushed at the heavy doors and brought his fist against it. His Mastery of Two Layers had increased since their encounter with Shishio. The doors smashed open immediately.
The four rushed in and halted as a blast of even fouler air assaulted them. This time both Kouga and Namu actually gagged and very nearly threw up. Saito and Sanosuke held their breaths as they stepped ahead of the weakened youkai and hanyou.
"Holy..." Sanosuke gasped. Saito's eyes widened as he took in the enormous, cocoon like object pulsing in the middle of the room. The darkened chamber was crawling with small spiders as a yellowish-brown slime dripped from the ceiling. He had seen many strange things in his life, especially in the last few weeks, but Saito had never seen anything that had horrified him quite like this.
Saito gave a start as Kouga suddenly pulled the two of them back with a sharp jerk. Instincts now on full alert, he realized that the wolf had just saved them from something very unpleasant. Something huge had dropped from the ceiling, right over where he and the Rooster had been standing.
"What the hell is that?" Sano asked warily. The creature shook slightly as it stood up. Eight grotesque legs spread out from underneath the bulky form as hundreds of red eyes stared at them.
"It just got worse," Namu muttered.
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Kenshin wiped a smear of blood away from his mouth. His fight with Shishio was dragging on longer than he had wanted. Inuyasha was also equally engaged with Naraku. The Tenseiga had begun to pulse at Kenshin's side, but the swordsman couldn't figure out what the sword wanted.
The Tenseiga wishes to be used.
Kenshin pondered at that thought as he blocked an attack from Shishio. The two of them so far had proved to be equally matched. He had a feeling that if he allowed Sesshoumaru's personality to take over, then his speed and strength would greatly increase. Kenshin had become increasingly aware of his other half since he had begun to switch back and forth between the battle. However, the thought of his youkai soul taking over terrified him.
"Battousai, this battle has been dragging on long enough," Shishio warned. "We must end this." Kenshin leapt out of the way and ran as a barrage of lightning followed closely behind. He finally whipped around and swung his sakabatou at it. The sword glowed a bright silver as it deflected the energy.
Totousai always did do excellent work.
"Shishio," Kenshin called out. The Tenseiga's message had suddenly become clear to him. "This one took an oath never to kill again, but you have already died. That body is not your own." Kenshin ducked under Shishio's sword and struck him across the neck with the sakabatou. Shishio stumbled back with a growl before regaining his senses.
"Perhaps not, but this body is mine now," Shishio shot back with a smirk. For the first time since their battle, Kenshin felt an unexpected flash of pity.
"Naraku is using you," Kenshin warned. "If his goals are completed, he will send you back to the land of the dead, that he will. Naraku will not tolerate a rival."
"Naraku has control over me," Shishio growled angrily. "This body is an incarnation of his. I couldn't act against him if I wished too."
He sounds like Kagura.
"That body of yours won't last as long as you believe," Kenshin warned. The Tenseiga continued to glow at his side, allowing his eyes to see what he couldn't before. There was a faint seal that was holding Shishio's soul inside the youkai body. If he sliced through it, then Shishio would be separated from his current body.
"Shishio, if Naraku was out of the way, what would you do?" Kenshin asked. Shishio smirked in reply.
"I would do what I was planning to do when I was a human," he answered. "I'd take over from where Naraku would leave off now." Kenshin sighed. That had been the answer he had been expecting, even though he had vainly hoped it would be otherwise.
A large crash drew both of their attention as Inuyasha crashed through one of the temple walls. The hanyou shook himself with a growl before launching himself at Naraku again. Just beyond the four of them, Kenshin could see Aoshi, Kagome, and Sango fighting off a small hoard of youkai and humans. The three seemed to be trying to avoid killing the mob since they were being controlled by the demonseed. However, as Kenshin could clearly see, that goal was proving to be more difficult as the battle drew on.
My great niece is still in danger.
Kenshin's blood suddenly boiled at the thought of the young child in Naraku's clutches. Shishio had stolen Inuyasha and Kagome's granddaughter and given her to Naraku.
How dare they? How dare they attack a child of the Western lands? The smiling image of a young Rin formed in his mind as she handed him a bouquet of wild flowers. Her image then shifted into a memory of Ayame and Suzume chasing fireflies with Tsubame.
Shishio warily brought his sword in front of him as he saw the pure rage darken Kenshin's face. His mouth pulled back in a snarl as he bared a set of sharp fangs. Is this the Battousai? No...it wasn't. Shishio watched as Kenshin's eyes narrowed into glowing red slits. Nearly half of Kenshin's hair had turned the same silver as Inuyasha's. So this is the Demon of Kyoto.
"Shishio," Kenshin growled. "I will protect the Western lands. With my swords I will protect those who can not protect themselves. You have already died. I will not be breaking my oath." Shishio watched with a strange sense of alarm as Kenshin finally drew the other sword at his side.
Shishio leapt back as Kenshin raced after him. The strange sword in his hands seemed to glow with an unnatural light as Kenshin swung it at him. Shishio jumped out of the way, but the blast of the sword followed him. There was a piercing sensation as his vision split. A blinding light was the last sensation he had as the seal that was holding his soul to his body split.
Kenshin stared at the now empty body before sheathing the Tenseiga and racing to join Inuyasha.
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"I'm not sure how much longer we can keep this up without killing them," Sango said. Kagome aimed the bow as she shot an arrow in front of several youkai.
"We can't kill them," Kagome objected. "Naraku's controlling them!"
"Sango is correct," Aoshi stated calmly. "We can not keep fighting like this. Kenshin can always use the Tenseiga to resurrect them if need be." Kagome grimace as she reluctantly agreed with him. She sighed as she notched another arrow and aimed at a group of rifle bearing soldiers.
"Sorry," she whispered. Then she fired her arrow.
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"Sano!" Kouga shoved the human out of the way as the giant spider crashed down among them. The wolf growled loudly as he silently cursed himself. The stench was weakening his youkai powers.
"Kid, clear us a path!" Sano ordered. Every inch of the room was covered with crawling spiders. Shippo's youkai sword glowed with green fire as Namu swung the blade in a circle. A hot wave of foxfire burned through the stone room, scorching most of the spiders. The giant cocoon remained untouched.
"Noooo!" The giant spider screeched. "Sabra's children!" Saito whirled around in understanding. She was the mother of all the spiders. If they killed her and destroyed the cocoon...
"Kouga!" he yelled. The wolf grimaced as he glared around. He had come to the same conclusion.
"Namu, Sano," Kouga ordered. "Distract her while Saito and I take out that cocoon. Don't let any of her children touch you." Namu nodded as he swung his father's sword at the giant spider. Sanosuke began to taunt the spider as he and Namu ran around it. Kouga and Saito slipped silently around the spider and raced towards the cocoon.
"How're we going to destroy that?" Kouga growled. "This stench is weakening me. If I touch her webs, I might get stuck." Saito smirked as he gave a Kouga like growl.
"We're wolves," Saito pointed out. "Are you going to let a spider beat you?" Kouga looked at him in surprise before an identical smirk grew across his face.
"Saito, you're not half bad for a human. You want to join my clan?"
Saito unsheathed his katanna in reply. Kouga grinned as he raked his claws down at the cocoon. His claws sliced through the silky threads that had been holding it to the ceiling. The cocoon dropped with a crash and split partially open. Kouga and Saito paused as hundreds of spiders began to pour out of the opening and race towards them. Without a second thought, the two men turned around and raced in the opposite direction.
"Namu!" Kouga yelled. The spiders were pouring after them in a dark brown flood. Unfortunately, the young fox hanyou and the rooster head were both trying not to get killed by the mother spider. By a stroke of luck, or celestial guidance...Saito wasn't sure what, he spotted a several doors on the opposite end of the chamber that were near them.
"Kouga!" he yelled. Kouga yanked open on of the heavy doors and froze. Saito raced up next to him. "What are you doing Idiot? Get in there!" Saito yelled. Despite the incoming spiders however, Kouga still balked.
"It stinks in there too!" Kouga protested. Saito kicked the wolf through the opening and slammed the door shut behind them. The wolf youkai jumped to his feet and glared at the police officer. Saito, however, ignored him as he took in the contents of the room. The small room was stacked to the ceiling with boxes marked with the three Roman letters of 'TNT'. Boxes of gunpowder were stacked in one corner of the room as various firearms hung on the opposite wall. Three Gatling guns were sitting in the other back corner.
"There's enough firepower in here to blow up the palace," Saito mused. He and Kouga looked at each other and smirked; then they both froze as their predicament dawned on them.
They were trapped in a room filled with explosions as thousands of spiders piled up against the door. If Namu attempted to help them with his foxfire...
"Ah hell..." Kouga muttered.