Well everyone, I updated sooner than last time. That's good. Just to let you know. In 2 weeks I have finals so things will get hectic around then. Also the week immediately after I finish finals I'll being going back to work. I don't know how things will go when that comes around but we'll see. As it stands now there will be about 5 more chapters before I take my break and then come back to do the Sess/Kagura pairing and tie up everything in the story.
Questionable - 8 hours, now that takes some dedication and I admire you for that. I've only known one other person crazy enough to do that if not more. Do you know who that person is? .........ME! Yep, I've done it before. Fun isn't it?
chinita - Thanks for the suggestions, even though I'm not using any right now I will keep the Izarou in mind. The fact that it starts off similar to Izayoi, Inuyasha's mother, leaves for an interesting idea.
Ryngrl15 - Well thank you so much for your one entry for the names. I always tell people who buy a bunch of lottery tickets, 'You only need one to win.' Well it seems that the one you entered made it. I've decided to use Kyo for the guy. Probably because I've watched Samurai Deeper Kyo and I liked that show. lol.
DestroyerDRT - You've hit the nail on the head just don't tell anyone else.
brlousee - that is quite interesting. I didn't know what Tai Azuma translated to. No one has gotten this yet but Tai was named after his grandfather, Inutaisho. Tai is just a short version of the name. As for Azuma, that comes from Phantom of Inferno, which is a cool DVD game I've played (if you want to know what its like you could check out the OVA Phantom the Animation). Thanks for the heads up though.
Well I want to thank all those of you who suggested names. I've decided to go with my original idea for a female name, which was Rika, while I went with Ryngrl15's single suggestion for a male name, Kyo. I will keep in mind all the names in case I need them again. Also the first scene here is one that was supposed to be in the last chapter but I forgot it. Sorry. Also I gave Tai a nickname. Those of you who know Japanese, please tell me if I said it right.
Disclaimer: I don't own IY but I do own Tai and have now gotten ahold of Rika, Kyo, and Hiko.
Chapter 41: The Battle - Part 1: Knowing Friend from Foe
Sango was just returning from guard duty when she saw one of her fellow slayers rushing towards her. "What is it?" Sango asked.
"Midoriko wishes to speak with you. She says it is rather important," the slayer said.
"Thank you," Sango said as she rushed off. When Sango arrived at her house, she found Midoriko in the living room. It also seemed that Miroku was there as well. "Is something wrong?"
"Now that both of you are here I can begin," Midoriko said. "I have not told you this but for the past few months since Kagome reached her time, she and Inuyasha have been fighting against a new enemy."
"Are they okay?" Sango asked worried for her friends.
"At this moment they are fine. I do not know how bad this enemy is but it was bad enough for Inuyasha to seek out his father so as to reseal his demon blood. Inuyasha and Kagome were here in this time for the last two weeks training with Inuyasha's parents."
"They were here?" Miroku asked in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell us before?"
"I didn't realize how bad of a threat this was and I also didn't want to you go see them because you would have interrupted their training," Midoriko replied.
"Is there anything we can do to help them?" Sango asked. "I know we're on this side of the well but I don't want them to fight this alone."
"At this moment, they are not alone. They have an ally in the future but I do see that your help would be appreciated. So I guess it is time to give out the rest of my gifts."
"What do you mean?" Miroku said.
"You do remember that I gave Inuyasha a gift which was in fact knowledge of the future," Midoriko said. Both Sango and Miroku nodded in understanding. "Well he isn't the only one with a gift but I didn't think it was time for yours." Midoriko then reached down to her waist and removed her sword. She held it out until it glowed for a few seconds. She then turned to Sango, "Sango, I want you to give this to Kagome. I feel that she will need it in her upcoming battle."
"I would love to do that but I can not cross over to Kagome's time. Only Inuyasha and Kagome ever had that ability."
"Give me your hand," she said to Sango and repeat the same for Miroku. She then put their two hands together, which caused Sango and Miroku to blush slightly. She then put her hands around theirs and once again started chanting to herself. Soon Miroku and Sango found themselves giving off a small pink aura. When Midoriko let go it stopped. "You two will now be able to cross over but this is only one time. You can go to the future and come back but not constantly back and forth like Inuyasha and Kagome. If you choose to spend some extra time in the future after the battle that will be fine but don't stay too long and once you come back you will not be able to go back. Do you understand?"
"Yes, thank you," Sango said as she and Miroku started to get up.
"Miroku, there is one final gift for you but it is optional."
"And that would be?" Miroku asked.
"I can give you access to your wind tunnel but only for a limited amount of time," she told him. Miroku was surprised by this. "I can give it to you that it will last for about 1 day. It will take you half a day just to reach Kagome's time. The only thing is that the same risks apply as before. If you keep it open too long or it opens wide enough you can get sucked it. That is why I'm giving you the choice."
"I think it would be best for me to take you up on the offer. I believe it will be needed in this battle," Miroku said as he took the rosary beads from around his neck and placed them over his hand like before. Midoriko then placed her hands around Miroku and chanted like before. Soon Miroku could almost feel a hole being torn in his hand. It felt just like it had when his wind tunnel had grown in the past but this time the feeling was multiplied.
"You can leave as soon as you are ready. I have placed the same spell on Kirara that you have so she can take you to the well and cross over with you. I have also spoken with your parents, Sango. So they know that you will be going."
"Thank you," Sango said.
Miroku on the other hand looked at Midoriko with a weird look on his face. "Is there something the matter?" she asked him.
"You know I remember you mentioning you had very little of your power left. Yet you did all this. I don't think you're as weak as you let on," Miroku said not mad about it just stating the facts.
"You are as perceptive as ever. It is true I am not totally weak but when I told Kagome she had surpassed me I was not kidding. Her power as it is now is much stronger than I was in the past. Now if I were you, I'd be going. Your friends are going to need your help."
"I agree. Thank you very much," Miroku said. "Shall we go, Sango?"
"Yes," Sango said as they rushed out to help their friends as soon as they could.
Inuyasha and Kagome woke up early. They wanted to be fully awake before they left to fight. The fight was at 12:30 and it was 11:30 now. It wouldn't even take 30 minutes to get to the battlegrounds. "You ready?" Tai asked as he walked into the kitchen.
"As ready as we're going to be," Kagome said. "And who gave you permission to just barge into my house without even knocking?"
Tai didn't reply he just smirked back. "So what about our reinforcements?" Inuyasha asked.
"I don't know for sure. Like I said they might get here they might not. I wasn't going to force anyone into this battle."
Inuyasha then realized something about Tai's appearance. "Since when did you have silver streaks through your hair?" Inuyasha asked.
"Ohh, I've had that since I was born. I just dyed it black before I started teaching. I didn't need you to know who I as too early. I guess the rest of the dye came out when I showered." Tai then turned to Inuyasha with a total serious face and lacking emotion. Inuyasha shivered slightly and was certain that Tai was Sesshomaru's son. "Listen Inuyasha, I can tell that you still don't trust me. No matter what I've done to help you, you still doubt all my actions. Well I'll give you this warning you had better learn to trust me really quick. When we are out there fighting today we are going to have our hands full and you don't need to be extra burdened by keeping an eye on me to make sure I don't try something. I give you my word that you can trust me."
"Feh, whatever," Inuyasha said. "Just do me a favor. Don't look at me like that again, it reminds me of Sesshomaru. Speaking of which, will he be joining us for this fight?"
"I'm sorry to say but he will not," Tai responded.
"He busy or something?" Inuyasha asked.
"Not as far as I know. He just declined to take part in this battle. He said it was our battle to fight and he had no place in it."
"Sounds like he's being a coward," Inuyasha said getting angry once again at his half-brother.
"You are welcome to think what you want," Tai said not wanting to provoke him any further. "The actual reason is that he doesn't want you to start thinking any better of him. If you return to the past you must feel the same about him then as you did before. My helping you has probably started to sway your belief of him but this should offset it enough," Tai thought.
With that nothing else to say, the three of them walked towards the front door. Tai was the first to exit since he was closest to the door. Before he took one step out the door, he motioned to Kagome and Inuyasha to wait. Inuyasha didn't like the idea but decided to trust his nephew. After Tai had taken two steps out the door, his hand shot up and caught a small dagger right before it could hit him in the face. Inuyasha immediately pushed Kagome behind him so as to protect her. In the meantime, Tai's other hand shot up to caught yet another dagger but this one was headed for his chest. Tai then quickly placed the two blades between his fingers of one hand as if they were throwing knives. Using his other hand, he sent of gust of wind through a tree where the daggers and come from. Inuyasha and Kagome could her someone lose their balance and start to slip within the tree. Just as the person lost their balance Tai threw both daggers. Kagome and Inuyasha watched as the culprit fell from the tree and watched as the daggers got closer and closer. They could tell how bad the assailant had been hit so they walked over with Tai towards the attacker.
"You know you're going to get hurt if you play with knives," Tai said in a mock warning tone of voice. Kagome and Inuyasha were surprised by his voice and looked at the attacker. It was a girl that looked to be no older than Kagome. They also noticed that the dagger's had missed her body completely though it had caught her clothing and she was stuck to the tree.
"Well that someone should have been you. Just a little cut would have done," she spoke back. "Ohh well. Get me down from here!"
"Why would we do that?" Inuyasha said.
"Calm down, Inuyasha. She's on our side," Tai told him.
"What?! What do you mean she's on our side? She just tried to kill you," Inuyasha said.
"Actually no she didn't. She tried to see if she could wound me. Neither of them have been able to yet," Tai replied.
"Neither of them? What are you talking about?" Inuyasha said getting angry since he was getting confused.
Tai then turned back to the girl. "Yes, where is your partner? You two don't go far without each other," Tai asked.
"He didn't feel like coming," she said.
"Yeah right," Tai said as he quickly turned around while raising Toukijin from his belt. He brought it up just in time to deflect about 3 deadly ninja stars from hitting him. He then proceeded to pick up one of them and fired them at the point of origin. Tai didn't hit is attack but he wasn't aiming at him. Using the star, he was able to cut the branch the person was standing on in a tree that had been directly behind him. All four watched as the branch and then a boy, about the same age as Kagome, fell out of the tree.
"Damn, I was so close," the boy said.
"Yeah sure you were. Now get over here," Tai said as he turned around and freed the girl from the tree.
"Why couldn't you pin me to the tree as well?" the boy asked as he rubbed his sore butt.
"Because you can take the fall much better than she can," Tai said. "I would like you two to meet Inuyasha and Kagome. Inuyasha, Kagome, this is Rika and Kyo." Kagome gladly shook their hands while Inuyasha just looked on.
"So how are 2 humans going to help us?" Inuyasha asked.
The two seemed to take a bit of offense to it but Tai quickly jumped in. "Though you may not notice it, Rika is one of the descendants of Rin and Kohaku. She is also one of the few from that family line to take a liking to fighting. That's probably because she has been best friends with Kyo since they were born. Kyo is a descendant of Miroku and Sango and they are both qualified demon slayers."
Kagome and Inuyasha were surprised to hear that. So the demon hunters still existed in this time. "So what was with attacking us?" Inuyasha asked.
"I wasn't attacking you, just Uncle Tai," Rika said with a smile. "He usually boasts that he's better than us so I'm usually trying to catch him off guard. Besides that, he called me 2 days ago and warned me about this. I was in America at the time visiting Hiko. I don't get to see him that much and it was really cool staying at his place." Rika said as she glared at her uncle.
"Hiko? Who's he?" Inuyasha asked.
"Nobody," Tai answered quickly.
"So how's the Kaze no Inu doing?" Rika asked teasingly.
"Will you quit calling me that?" Tai yelled.
Rika and Kyo laughed at Tai's anger. Even Inuyasha and Kagome found it a little funny. "Where did you get the nickname Dog of the Wind [or Wind Dog, whichever you feel like]?" Kagome asked.
Tai just sighed. "My mother gave it to me when I was young. When I was still young I liked being called it but now its more of an annoyance."
"Ohh, I think it's cute," Rika said and then added, "Kaze no Inu."
"If you don't stop that you won't make it to the fight," Tai threatened. "Speaking of the fight, we'd better get going or else we'll be late."
Tai, Inuyasha, Kagome, Rika, and Kyo stood in the large field that was in the rural area outside of Tokyo. They looked on at the people before them. Tai hadn't been joking when he said they would be fighting 500 demons. There was a huge crowd of them about 300 yards away.
"Well this is going to be fun," Inuyasha said. "I take it this Kitiara is the one on the hill." Inuyasha motioned towards the hill behind the demon army.
"Yes," Tai said. "The only thing is that you'll have to get through this army to get to her."
"Well there's 500 of them and 5 of us. I guess that leaves us with about 100 each," Inuyasha stated.
"I don't know about you but I don't think I can fight 100 demons by myself," Kagome said.
"Don't worry, as we fight through them you won't notice how many you kill. Not to mention, Inuyasha and I will probably end up killing more than 100," Tai said.
"So when does this fight begin?" Kyo asked. Nobody really knew the answer but they started to see movement from the demon yakuza army. The army was charging as they spoke.
"Okay, dumb question," Rika said as everyone got into a battle stance.
Inuyasha looked around at his allies for this battle. Kagome had a bow she had received from Kaede as well as arrows. Tai had Toukijin out and was ready to use it. Rika had her two daggers and from the looks of it she had two extras just in case. He then looked to Kyo who had a bunch of ninja stars. "Please tell me those aren't you only weapons?" Inuyasha asked Kyo.
"No," Kyo almost gave a laugh. "I'd be a sitting duck in close quarters combat with just these. I've also got a kitana and I'm quite proficient with it."
"Good. Now," Inuyasha said as he withdrew Tetsusaiga. "Let's get this fight started! KAZE NO KIZU!" The Windscar tore threw the ground towards one of the army's flanks. Another flank was being torn apart by the energy from Toukijin.
Only two attacks and the yakuza had already lost more than 100 of its men. The battle of the century had finally begun.
~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&
Well to all of you who know Japanese, tell me does Kaze no Inu translate to Dog of the Wind aka Wind Dog. This was a guess but I felt like taking it. I liked how it sounded. To everyone, let me know what you think of the name. Well here's some trivia:
In the next chapter or two, 3 groups of 2 people each will be showing up. Who do you think it is? (One of the groups is obvious)
Well now that, that is said I don't have much else to say. Well join me next time for:
Chapter 42: The Battle - Part 2: Reinforcements Arrive (Very Tentative title. I'm not too happy with this one right now)