A/N: Monster King, SavoirEmmaJones, KitElizaKing, and Dragon and Sword Master, I thank you for the reviews. And thank you to anyone who put this or its author on their lists. Look, an update! I'm surprised as you. Finally, something productive done. It only took, what, a year? Hope you 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
War Council
The Taisho clan arrived at dark. No sooner had the sun set to complete dark than a knock herald the arrival of a very pissed off inutachi. Each member wore their battle gear and were armed to the teeth with weaponry. Miroku and Kagome had foregone their regular cleric clothes for suits like Sango's although their color scheme was still the classic white and red for Kagome and purple and black for Miroku. The demons of the group were in youkai silk and fire rat fur, each topped off with armor of some demon bone origin.
Ichigo studied the group with calm contemplation, knowing that this situation was harder on them than his friends. The older group had seen the damage done by a Shikon no Tama before, they didn't want anyone to experience the horrors of another. He wondered if telling them they understood the consequences would lift the black aura suddenly hanging over the entire room.
"Where are the prisoners?" Sesshoumaru demanded, his eyes reddened by his demonic anger.
"Ah, well, Uncle, there's a slight problem with that…" Shu began hesitantly. He jumped behind his sister when the older dog demon transferred his ire on to him without saying a word.
"A problem?" Inuyasha snarled.
"Yes, Papa, just a small one…" his daughter hedged. She looked to her older brother for support but only found a look often found on her sire.
"What kind of problem?" Kagome asked, a sliver of dread wandering down her spine.
"They're all dead," Ichigo declared, deciding to take the brunt of the damage.
"I was afraid of that," Miroku sighed in disappointment. The humans of the group jumped when youki swirled unchecked in the air.
"Put a cork in it, Sesshoumaru and help me get this in the room," a new voice snapped from the doorway. As one the room's previous occupants glanced towards the opening that had yet to be closed and sighed in relief when they found Chise standing there with a large box reminiscent of a tackle box in one hand and a carrying case for something else in her other. There were other things behind her in the hall. Unlike her cohorts, she was only dressed in pants and a shirt, no weapon in sight.
The teens from Karakura High were surprised when Sesshoumaru immediately reined in his power and temper to do as she demanded. Chise went about setting things out on the empty table, snapping on a pair of sterile gloves when she was done. "You did get evidence, didn't you?" she asked when she was ready to proceed.
"Some, yes," Rukia answered. "Some papers, a couple stacks of money and a diagram of the Shikon no Tama."
"The money is probably a lost cause because of handling but the papers and diagram should yield some results. Who has touched them?" When Tatsuki, Mizuiro, Fumiko, and Shu raised their hands, she sighed in disgust. "Come here, Arisawa-san, Kojima-kun. I need to take a sample for elimination purposes. We'll see if we can't find who else has had this. If we can narrow things down, we may be able to track this 'Naraku.' I'll do my forensics thing while you tell the rest of this lot what went on. Sesshoumaru is going to sulk no matter what so you may as well get it over with." With that, she went to work, one ear cocked to listen as she worked.
"Begin," Sesshoumaru demanded, standing still as a statue. He might not like Chise's choice of words, but he was unhappy that there were no prisoners to take his anger out on. It only meant that he'd have to wait to find the mastermind and make the person suffer a slow death.
"Right, well…" Ichigo began, starting the explanation. Each of his friends took turns putting in their own experiences, the whole thing not taking more than ten minutes to go over.
"Wait, you said some of them disintegrated into dust?" Kagome asked, holding up a hand to forestall anyone else's questions.
"Yes, like ash in the wind," Ishida affirmed. "That means something to you, doesn't it, Taisho-san?"
"Unfortunately, yes. Shippou, take your siblings and return to the site of the battle. You know what to look for. If you find them, put them in here, but do not touch them under any circumstances." The miko handed her elder son a small bottle and made a shooing motion. The three younger demons left, lifting the oppressive atmosphere slightly.
"Miko-san?" Chad questioned lightly.
"Our apologies, Sado-kun. Usually if a demon is dead and brought back by an unnatural means, say a fake shard of the Shikon no Tama, then it will disintegrate exactly as you described. It sounds as if those that you faced might have been on the receiving end of a nasty experiment."
"Not all of them did that," Rukia mused. "Perhaps it was a way to persuade some demons who were reluctant to join the other side."
"Quite possible. Or it was a way to accumulate man power," Sango added. Sighing, she found the nearest free space and sat. "I do not like this. Kirara had to be sedated when she heard the news. This is becoming exactly like back then."
"We will not allow it to happen, my dearest." Miroku placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.
"Indeed." Sesshoumaru glanced at his brother, surprised that the half demon had not said anything yet. He could see the thoughts broiling in his brother's eyes and couldn't figure out why he'd stayed silent. "Inuyasha?"
"A priestess must be used to create a new one but there are not many who are powerful enough to be considered capable of doing what Midoriko did. I know of no one here in Japan save Kagome that could pull it off successfully. At least not yet. There are a couple of candidates that could maybe do it in a decade or so but not now. And the ceremony or whatever has to be planned for soon or we wouldn't be finding out about things now."
Rukia frowned and began to pace. The others watched her for several moments before Hisana placed a clawed hand on her arm to stop her back and forth motion. "My dear?"
"What if the whole thing isn't be planned here in Japan? What if the mastermind is keeping things separated in case someone got wind of it? They could get a priestess from somewhere else and bring her here when the time came. Japan isn't the only place demons reside either. They could gather them and import or kidnap or whatever and pit them against the priestess. If her techniques don't work, she would have to resort to desperate measures."
"Makes sense," Ichigo said.
"A sick sort of sense," Inuyasha snarled. "And right up the original Naraku's alley. I didn't think there was anyone still alive who knew how to do what Midoriko did save Kirara but…"
"There is one…" Chise interrupted. Her words gave everyone pause and when the assembled warriors turned to look at her, they found her violet eyes glaring at Kouga. The wolf demon flinched and scooted away from her.
"What'd I do?"
"You touched it and didn't say anything. Almost had me confused. I hate it when my evidence gets contaminated. Anyway, the documents are lineages of priestesses beginning here in Japan and going to the States. It ends at a very specific family and the only remaining member of that family is said to have a gift for purification."
"Her family would have passed the knowledge down through the generations as a last resort. I don't understand though, I thought we made it very clear that that method was never to be used again." Kagome shook her head in frustration.
"Knowledge is a hard thing to let go of, Kagome. I'm sure somewhere someone kept it hidden until we were no longer vigilant." Sango stood, her eyes becoming hard. "Whatever the case, this person cannot be allowed to be taken."
"Taisho-sama," Rukia began hesitantly. She waited until she had Sesshoumaru's full attention before continuing. "I have asked my people if they can be of assistance. They are aware of the implications and consequences of what we have found. I just heard back from the Soutaicho and he has agreed to lend you the expertise of the Stealth Squad and any soldiers you may have need of."
"Hn."
"I believe it may to be your benefit, Taisho-sama," Ishida prodded. "The Stealth Squad is not unlike your kitsune network. However, they would be unfamiliar to the mastermind whereas I'm sure your spies are kept track of very carefully. If the perpetrators do not know they are being watched and cannot feel the reiastu of the ones watching them, they might unknowingly give away more information than you'd get from the kitsunes on their own."
"They have a point," Hisana put in. Her son gave her a bland look, letting her know that he was aware of the value of the offer.
"Ah, Taisho-sama," Orihime began. "I know you don't know the people of Kuchiki-san's place, but you can trust them. They may be a little quirky but if someone's in danger, they'd want to help. Captain Soifon and Yoruichi-san are really good at their jobs too, so I know no one would catch even a whiff of them coming or being there."
Since the child had no idea that scent was important to dog demons and other canine youkai, Sesshoumaru took her words at face value. "Indeed. We need eyes and ears that have not been seen before. Call your Stealth Squad, Shinigami. I want this world covered. Whoever has planned this will perish by my hand."
"We will not have to look the world over, Sesshoumaru," Chise cut in.
"Explain," Sesshoumaru ordered, not even bothering to be polite.
"I have found our potential priestess. She's in one of the most populated cities in the world. She's also in the States, as previously stated. You do not get along with the youkai emperor there, so I doubt he would have let you know of any plot. However, if you explain to him that this is about the Shikon no Tama, he will relent and let you send people of your choosing. Of course, they can't stop Shinigami from going but he could make things difficult otherwise." Chise turned her monitor towards the crowd and showed them a picture of a young girl. The grin that looked back filled a face that was all-too-familiar to the inutachi. Bright green eyes sparkled with happiness instead of brown, but there was no mistaking whose reincarnation she was.
"Rin," Shippou gasped, having come back without a sound. He put words to what the others were trying not to say, knowing it would only upset the demon emperor more.
"Kurosaki, you and yours will prepare yourselves. You still have vacation. You will go and protect this child. Under no circumstances is she to fall into the hands of the enemy. Understand?"
Ichigo would have protested on basic principle but he'd seen the look on Sesshoumaru's face when he'd seen the girl's face. "Is Rin…?"
"Yes," Ayame answered for the others. "Please do not let her end up as Kagome almost was."
"I've got no problem going, but not all of us have passports," Tatsuki said. The white-haired demon had obviously loved this Rin and he just as obviously felt a responsibility to her reincarnation.
"Come morning it will be done," Sesshoumaru decreed and left the suite. No one followed him, and they soon felt the building shake with the power of his roar.
"This Naraku is either the dumbest son of a bitch alive or he deliberately chose this Akira Watanabe." Inuyasha went to the window and looked out. He could see his brother on the beach below and was thankful this place was strictly for demons.
"It was deliberate," Chise said regretfully. "He had to because of her power. I doubt he knew that Sesshoumaru would react this way though. A pity I cannot go with you to find the culprit. I must remain and continue my investigation with what you've given me. However, if you have need of anything, do not hesitate to call. What I have will be yours."
"The States, huh? Never been. Guess we'll have no trouble pretending to be lost tourists in New York City," Ichigo said, turning in time to see Kagome slam the bottle on the table in a fit of anger. "Ah…"
"Chise," Kagome began, her voice cracking with the effort it took to not cry. "Check your database of missing spiritual empowered people. I want to know who was killed to create these fake shards."
"Will do."
"Perhaps we should adjourn for tonight, children. We can do nothing until the morning and this is only upsetting you more the longer we discuss it." Hisana rose and gave those congregated a sweeping glance. "Rest tonight, and we will go to war tomorrow."
Her family did not contradict her and followed her out of the suite without another word. Chise left her equipment where it was, aware that no one would be using the table to eat any time soon. Kagome went out clutching Inuyasha's hand with Shippou at her back and the twins following close behind. The wolves exited after them, leaving Sango and Miroku to bring up the rear.
The heavy atmosphere didn't leave with them, making Ichigo and the others droop in exhaustion. "Rukia, send in the request while I go call Goat Chin and let him know our vacation has taken an odd turn."
"I am," his partner returned.
Ichigo looked at the rest of his friends and scratched the back of his head. "I won't make any of you go if you don't want to."
"While I have no desire to get involved further, Ichigo, I may be able to help you navigate the city as I've been there before," Mizuiro replied. He hadn't once picked up his phone during the whole war council.
"Thanks, we'll take all the help we can get," his friend returned.
"You're not leaving me out of this," Tatsuki declared. "That girl can't be any older than us. And it says she doesn't have any relatives left. Even if I can't fight, I can still be there to support her."
"You know me, Ichigo, I'm not one to turn down a free trip. Besides, if you all go, and I return home, the bad guys might find it suspicious." Keigo got surprised looks and he chuckled ruefully. "I'm not a complete clown."
"He has a point," Ishida said, as loathe as he was to agree with the class clown. "As I cannot leave the last-minute planning to you, I will be going to ensure nothing goes wrong passed the point of no return."
"I am going," Chad announced, and no one had to ask why.
"As I am," Orihime agreed lastly. "She'll end up like me when I was kidnapped by Aizen and them. Except she won't have anyone to help her escape if we don't go. And we know our powers work on demons, of all kinds."
"Great, now that we have that settled, I'm heading to bed." Ichigo left the rest to their own devices and went to call his dad. He doubted he'd get much of a protest, but he owed the old man an explanation.
Isshin picked up on the second ring, making the son wonder if he was just waiting around for the phone to ring. "My derelict son, you're not molesting my third daughter, are you?"
"No, you old fart. I just wanted to tell you I'll be leaving the country for a while."
"Oh? Things did not go as planned?"
"They went to hell in a hand basket. Gotta go save some kid from a demon in the States."
"Oh, well, if that's all. Have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't!" Isshin hung up on Ichigo, leaving the younger Kurosaki staring at his phone.
"Idiot father," Ichigo growled but didn't question his good fortune. Only his dad would merrily wish him on his way whether he was going to a different country or a different dimension.
"Ichigo?" Rukia questioned from behind him.
"Yeah?"
"What'd he say?"
"Have fun."
Rukia shook her head and went to gather things for a shower. Have fun?
Right, because everyone went to a foreign place to save the world and had fun.