A/N: A handful of reviewers to thank for last time: Rukia's Reflection, dxlmao, Mondtanz, Lynansidhe, and KitElizaKing. And thank you to anyone who put this or its author on their lists. Surprise! A Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukah, Yule, and Pancha Ganapati holiday treat from me to you! (I didn't forget a holiday, did I?) From Dec. 25th through Jan.6th I'll be posting a chapter a day for one of my stories. If all works out, that'll be two chapters for each story by the time Epiphany (a.k.a. Little Christmas) comes. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Bleach or Inuyasha characters, mangas, animes, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Tite Kubo et al and Rumiko Takahashi et al, respectively.
Secrets Abound
On the Hunt
Bright and early the next morning Ichigo and the others were greeted with a visit from not only Kouga and Ayame but Hisana and the twins as well. The teens stared at their unwelcome visitors with blurry eyes, their sleep addled brains not quite registering what was going on. "You look positively worn out," the lady demon declared. "Are the beds not comfortable enough?"
"Beds are fine," Ichigo assured. "We just woke up. It takes a minute for the brain to work."
"You did have a trying time of it last night. It wouldn't be any wonder if you were still asleep," Ayame commiserated.
"We did sleep rather hard," Rukia admitted. Her hair was still mussed and her stomach begged for food. She had thrown clothes on when she'd sensed the others' youki. She was a far cry from presentable but at least she wasn't wearing her nightclothes as the others were. "Is there something we can help you with this early?"
"It is time we attack, dear. However, I do believe it can wait until you're dressed and fed. Shu, go have the kitchen send a nice, traditional breakfast up."
Shu's attention was immediately taken from staring at Orihime and centered on his grandmother. "Ah, yeah, sure," he agreed reluctantly and left the suite. He'd just been saved from a beating and an arrow to a very sensitive body part but he didn't need to know that at the moment. His sister grinned at the closed door, wondering how long it would take her twin to realize what had happened.
"Quick, while he's gone," Fumiko said. Tatsuki didn't have to ask what she meant but drew her dozing friend back into their bedroom and shut the door. The others followed her example leaving the demons to talk amongst themselves while they showered and dressed. It took nearly a half an hour before they were once again gathered in the living area and by then Shu had returned. The quarter demon seemed a little disappointed that the flower wielder had all her foundation garments on but at least he was in no danger of ending up an extinct species.
Breakfast arrived ten minutes later and the wolves marveled at how closely human teenagers resembled a pack of their brethren when eating. Rukia noticed Kouga's incredulous stare and wiped her mouth delicately before smiling apologetically. "The more reiatsu a person has, the more energy they burn and thus the more they need to consume. I'm afraid this lot has a vast amount and can eat like an army has descended up the unfortunate soul who decided to feed them."
"Youki behaves in a similar manner. Since I am used to feeding an 'army' as you put it, this isn't surprising in the least." Hisana smiled indulgently at the Shinigami and her friends. "Now that your reserves are being filled, I wish to explain the next part of your mission. Kouga and Ayame found the cave the traitors are using for their secret base and you will go there to apprehend them. As it happens, both groups that were spotted already left this morning for a meeting there and I have little doubt that whatever they are trying to do will be implemented shortly. As I mentioned when this all began, the ones with actually powers will engage in battle while the ones that don't will gather as much evidence as possible."
"Sure. How do you want to go about doing this? Did you draw a map or something of how to get there?" Ichigo gulped down some tea before moving on to sip his miso soup.
"As it happens, I have," Ayame said and pulled a large piece of parchment from her handbag. Unrolling the paper, she spread it out on the coffee table so that they could see if from their places at the table. You'll have to be careful as there are many plants that are hanging over the path. Brushing up against them could alert the demons that someone is coming. I suggested that you go as a group without a guide and send Shu and Fumiko after you as if you'd gotten lost. Kouga and I will hang near the forest edge in case things really go wrong. Yell for us if something does. Don't be too proud to admit you need help."
"Should Ichigo and I go in our soul forms or keep our bodies? We can't summon our swords while in our bodies and if we transform just to get our swords, it would kind of defeat the purpose of being stealthy. Ichigo's is too big to hide and would tip off anyone on the lookout."
"I think I should be insulted," Ichigo said in an aside to Ishida.
"You probably should," his friend said and smiled innocently at the glare he got in return.
"Hmm, you have a point. How good is your hand to hand combat?"
"We are considered experts," Rukia answered, a little pride creeping into her voice.
"Good, then take these with you," Hisana said and pulled two thin blades from her kimono sleeves. "These are blades made from demon bone and are stronger than steel. Sango gifted them to me a couple of centuries ago so I will want them back." She handed one to each Shinigami, noting with satisfaction how they tucked them away with care.
Chad was the last to finish eating and excused himself briefly before returning. Ishida and the others were standing near the door, the demons having long since departed. "Ichigo…"
"Let's get this over with. These old guys can't be half as troublesome as Aizen and his lot."
Ishida stared at his classmate as they filed out the door, tempted to bang his head on the doorframe. If there was one thing that he hated more than that clown of a Shinigami, it was when Ichigo went into things half cocked. "He just had to go say something stupid," the Quincy muttered and brought up the rear. He knew it would come back to bite them.
He just knew it.
The forest was about as inviting as Hueco Mundo and just as hot. Unfortunately, unlike the home of Hollows, the forest was humid thanks to an overnight rain and the heat of the subtropical island only made things uncomfortable. Their shirts were damp by the time they were ten meters down the path and sweat was beginning to run down their shoulder blades making things worse. Ishida had to keep taking his glasses off to wipe them and he was getting the feeling that the atmosphere wasn't entirely natural.
Since their little lesson about demons and the nature of their powers, it was entirely possible that one had the ability to manipulate the weather. Changing the air temperature and the humidity level would discourage anyone sensitive to heat from trying to investigate things that the perpetrator didn't want investigated. Gauging the distance to the nearest branch that would hold his weight, Ishida used his ability to manipulate reishi to propel himself upward.
"Ishida-kun?" he heard Orihime call up to him and the others stopped as one.
"I believe the weather is unnatural. It is much cooler up here and dryer. I will go ahead and see if the effects are all along the path. Keep to the path and the map. This is only supposed to discourage tourists and nosy demons." Ishida began to use hirenkyaku to travel above the heat, returning moments later with a frown.
"That was fast, even for you," Ichigo called up, not liking the look his friend was wearing.
"There's some sort of barrier right before you get to the cave. I think it's been activated because there are people in there."
"A demonic barrier is going to be difficult to bring down. I know some anti-barrier spells but I can't guarantee that they'll work," Rukia mused.
"Tsubaki can do it!" Orihime said cheerfully, calling for her attack flower. The spirit appeared in a huff, even the camellia a little droopy in the heat.
"What nonsense have you gotten us into now, missy?" Tsubaki questioned irritably.
"Not nonsense, Tsubaki-chan. We're on a very serious mission. And to do it, we need to get through that," Orihime answered, pointing at the pale red shield that blocked their way. They stopped and studied it, the flower spirit putting his fists on his hips.
"So let me guess, you want me to break it," Tsubaki stated. "Very well," he continued when his wielder nodded her head. He circled her head once before barreling ahead. He pierced the barrier, frowning when the hole he made closed behind him. When the same thing happened a second time he paused in midair and tapped his foot.
"Tsubaki?"
"Is this thing made from demon energy?"
"Yes," Ishida answered for his friend.
"Well, that explains it. Okay, summon Baigon, Lily, and Hinagiku. Tell them to use their shield to block the hole from closing once I've made it again. After that, Quincy, you will use your powers to break the demon energy apart."
"Nice thinking, Tsubaki," Tatsuki cheered.
"We're not all airheads," the spirit returned and backed up so that he could get more speed. "Anytime now, missy."
"Right." Orihime called the other three flowers and explained Tsubaki's plan. They nodded in understanding and quickly did as they were told when Tsubaki blew a hole in the shield. Ishida stepped in, breaking apart the energy making the shield as he would as if it were a Hollow. He poured his spiritual power into the fluctuating barrier. It took a few moments but eventually the barrier cracked and broke apart.
"That's not going to go unnoticed," Keigo remarked as the breaking shield made a large noise.
"No," Ichigo said, pulling the thin sword out. "At the ready, everyone. Keigo, you, Mizuiro, and Tatsuki stay behind us until it's safe." He'd no sooner spoke than a large ogre charged at them. Ichigo sprung into action, blocking the ogre's club when the demon tried to cave his head in. Rukia took the opportunity to use her kido to kill the enemy, a little surprised when the lumbering giant dissipated like dust.
A demon wielding fire appeared next, and they left this one to Rukia who used a bakudo kido spell known as Hyōga Seiran to neutralize the element that could potentially burn the whole forest down. When the demon stood there in a frozen pillar, the teens contemplated breaking it but decided to set a trap for it instead. Sesshoumaru had wanted them to take as many prisoners has they could so just leaving the combatant in a prison was the better option.
"You know, if they just come at us one on one, this isn't going to be much of a challenge," Ichigo mused, tapping the sword on his leg. "These are pretty weak demons and I'm pretty sure that ogre was already dead."
A thunder clap echoed overhead and Ishida gazed up at the darkening sky as a horde of low level demons swarmed down from above. "You know, Kurosaki, one of these days you're going to tempt Fate too far and we're going to end up in a whole lot of trouble," he remarked conversationally. Summoning his bow, he sent a volley of arrows to take out the swarm, satisfied when he got them all.
"Probably, but I doubt it's today."
"Then you'd be wrong, human," a gravelly voice retorted from the entrance of the cave. "Taisho erred in sending you and sadly you won't even get to live to regret it."
"If I had a yen for every time I heard that," Ichigo shot back cockily.
"Defeat him, don't talk to him. And be careful, you don't know what he can do."
"That's okay, he doesn't know what I can do either," Ichigo said and prepared to cross blades. The demon cackled, likely believing Ichigo was all hot air. The daiko smirked before the first attack, the slight tilt of his lips becoming a true grin when he blocked the blow easily. "Go on ahead, I got this."
Ishida would have said not to do anything stupid but this was Ichigo Kurosaki and to do that would have just been wasting his breath. He passed the clashing duo and stepped into the cave. Surrounding a stone table stood five other elderly demons, their grey beards giving testament to their age. Straightening his uniform he pointed a Seele Schneider at the assembled company. "Surrender now and we'll go easy on you."
"We'll decline the offer, thank you. Any agent of the emperor's isn't likely to be merciful." Swords appeared from hidden sheaths and Ishida sighed.
"You know, just once I'd like the bad guys to actually do that," the Quincy remarked.
"Maybe some weakling will someday," one of the men said before moving forward. "But it won't be us."
"Your funeral," Keigo said from behind Chad.
Really, one would think that after all this time they'd come up against someone with an actually brain and some common sense. Shaking his head, Ishida put his blade away and summoned his bow. The hunt was over and now the battle would begin.
And the traitors would fall.
A/N: You've done the math by now and have realized something didn't add up right, right? If I have five stories that are in progress, and I give each story two new chapters that means there will only be a new chapter for ten days. There are thirteen days between Dec. 25th and Jan. 6th, meaning that I have three extra days to do something special for you all. I'm not quite sure what that is yet, but I know you'll enjoy it.