Chapter 5
Enter Akito
Disclaimer- Time to face the harsh reality. I do not own Inuyasha. If I did Sesshomaru would be all MINE!
"WINDSCAR!" Inuyasha could be heard above the roar of the battle calling out to
Tetsusaiga. The great fang was lashing out at the youkai as hard and as fast as Inuyasha called to it, oftentimes it acted like a shield for its master when a youkai got to close and attacked. Inuyasha was concentrating on ending this battle quickly and did not see the rapidly approaching threat to his life. Kagome, who was placed upon a slight rise, did see the threat. She notched an arrow and laced it with purifying energy. Taking careful aim she let the arrow fly with a last bit of purifying energy charged with the hope that she would hit her target. Inuyasha felt a spray of blood land upon the exposed skin of his neck, turning his head slightly he watched a large snake youkai fall to the ground surrounded in glittering pink purifying energy. Inuyasha glanced at Kagome and nodded his head to her in thanks. Kagome smiled and went back to her own battles.
They had been attacked many times in the two weeks since she had rejoined the group. It was as if every youkai wanted something from the group and was determined to get it. The inu tachi were growing weary from the constant battle, even Inuyasha was beginning to show weariness. This was the third time in two days they had been attacked and every time the battles just got more gruesome. Finally, the last youkai went down in a shower of blood from Tetsusaiga last desperate swing. Inuyasha sat down next to the dying youkai and heaved a sigh.
"Well, where is the shard? Which one has it?" The hanyou was obviously exhausted.
"Inuyasha, there is no shard." Kagome was becoming more then a little concerned about the attacks there had not been a shard involved in any of the battles. The youkai did not even attempt to take the shards from around her neck. Perhaps they don't want the shards. But why else would they attack us? Could we have something even more valuable then the shikon no tama shards in our possession? Everyone in the group was thinking these same thoughts. Inuyasha stood and began to walk away from the blood and gore.
"Well then let's go find a safe place to rest." Inuyasha was snarling at his own inability to understand the situation.
The little group made for a peaceful looking meadow with a happy little creek bubbling lazily along. The sun shone brightly and all of the meadow was covered in bright yellow flowers. Kagome and Sango sighed with delight and began to wash the blood and gore from their bodies in the little stream. The meadow was a little slice of heaven for the weary group and they settled down to rest for as long as they were able to.
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The acid soaked whip slipped out and connected with its target and left the pitiful youkai howling in pain on the ground. A single silver eyebrow merely rose in response to the easy defeat of the youkai. If someone were so intent on killing the Taiyoukai of the Western Lands then why did they send these weaklings? Sesshomaru was becoming very annoyed with all of the interruptions in his patrol of his lands. And when Sesshomaru was annoyed the entire world paid for one fools error. So, the price of one fools wish to rid the world of Sesshomaru-sama was one destroyed village, three burned rice fields, and several dead cattle all done during this new youkai's attack on Sesshomaru. There was a small difference between this battle and all the others before it, the attacker was still alive and he would answer the taiyoukai's questions.
Walking gracefully towards the fallen youkai, Sesshomaru cracked his knuckles and began to release the poison from his claws. The young assassin grimaced. How did this happen to me? I was the best of my kind and he has dealt with me as if I am nothing more then a human female. How could my lord ever believe he could bring harm to Sesshomaru? The young assassin refused to give up any information to the taiyoukai. The reward for his unfailing loyalty to his master was his death. Sesshomaru merely stepped over the youkai and continued on his chosen path back to his castle. Perhaps some of his own spies would know who was seeking his death.
Upon reaching the gates to his castle, Sesshomaru slowed his pace to allow the samurai time to open them. Once inside the castle Sesshomaru walked towards the great towering form of his castle. To say the least it was an impressive castle. Set upon a towering cliff two hundred feet above the ocean the castle was impenetrable from enemy forces. The castle was five stories tall and placed upon a stone wall that raised the castle fifteen feet into the air. To attain the first level a set of sixty polished white marble steps had to be climbed. The top story of the castle was covered in bright green tile and had a triangular sloped roof. The two corners of the roof had brightly shining golden inu's standing guard over the royal family. Each of the other four stories had a mock green tiled roof that the story above sat upon. Graceful upswept corners on each side were also guarded by a golden inu. The walls of the castle were a pristine white. To the left of the great castle sat a white two story building with a gray tiled roof, this was Sesshomaru's dojo. The training grounds for his best samurai. The castle was surrounded by lush inviting gardens containing sakura trees, magnolia trees, and hydrangea, lotus, azalia, daphne and snow willows. The flowers were just now beginning to blossom and flood the area with their riot of color and their delicate scents.
Sesshomaru paid no heed to these sights as he stalked through the entrance and into his private study. He was not surprised to see the kitsune youkai there waiting for him.
"My lord Sesshomaru, welcome back." The kitsune's voice was not there to welcome Sesshomaru back.
"What have you learned?" Straight to the point, Sesshomaru did not have time to waste.
"You have become a target for Akito, lord of the northern lands. He seeks to take the Western Lands and add to his own wealth." The kitsune seemed to have something else to say but was unsure of how to say it to his lord. Sesshomaru could sense the samurai's unease.
"Whatever it is just say it." The kitsune glanced to his lord and wondered if the rumors were true.
"It is being rumored that a human miko spent seven days in a cave with you and Lady Rin. Akito believes her to be your concubine and you have placed her in the protective custody of your brother for her safety. He has begun to send assassins after the miko. Their orders are to leave her body bloody and broken in every way." To hear the things he had heard the northern lord was going to have done to the young miko angered the kitsune. He had no desire to see another suffer especially an innocent human girl. He believed his lord would send him to protect the girl and very nearly fell over with Sesshomaru's next words.
"You will remain here and protect Rin while I go and retrieve the miko. Her death would upset Rin." The samurai bowed his understanding and watched as the lord exited the room. His protection of Rin's feelings was very understandable if you had ever seen the lord with his human charge. No one in the castle denied the child anything and not only because she was impossible adorable but also because they accepted her as Sesshomaru's pup, even if he did not.
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Once again the little group found themselves in the midst of battle. Their perfect meadow had been overtaken and thrown into chaos. The perfect yellow blossoms were now stained with drops of red and the happy creek was soon rushing around the bodies of several youkai.
The first course of action for the youkai had been to drive the group apart. Inuyasha was completely segregated from his companions and surrounded on all sides. It seemed as if the youkai merely wanted to keep the hanyou busy as he was the greatest threat to their mission. Inuyasha could not even use Tetsusaiga's windscar or backlash wave because the youkai kept pushing either Miroku or Sango into his line of fire, as if they knew he would not hurt them.
Miroku could not and would not use his wind tunnel for fear of harming Sango. Every time the monk prepared to remove the rosary the exterminator was pushed to close to the youkai he was preparing to suck up.
Sango could not seem to gain enough ground to throw her giant boomerang in. For every step she took the youkai took two. They were effectively keeping the boomerang in her hands.
Kagome was slightly to the left of Inuyasha and was firing her purifying arrows at anything that came to close. The youkai seemed to stay back from her just enough to keep her from hitting them with the hated arrows. They had no wish to be purified. They would wait until she either ran out of arrows or until the bow could be taken from her. A few who were either very brave or very stupid would rush her occasionally but they were soon purified.
The small group was effectively cut off from each other and was losing ground quickly. If they did not regroup and fight harder they were going to die in this blood soaked meadow. Inuyasha looked at each of his friends and noticed something odd about the battle. What's going on? It's like they don't even care about us. They are all surrounding Kagome but seem to be afraid of her arrows. They're after her shikon shards. Inuyasha's eyes flew to the mikos neck and noticed the shards were gone. His eyes took in the entire meadow and he saw Shippou hiding behind an outcropping of rocks near the creek. In the kits tiny paws the glass jar containing the shikon shards could be seen. Shock and confusion flashed across the hanyou's face. They're not after the shards. They're after Kagome!
"KAGOME!" Inuyasha was enraged. Glancing to the hanyou, Kagome was slightly confused. Why would he call her name during battle? A youkai took her moment of distraction and made an attempt to get close to the miko. Kagome turned her attention back to her own problems and promptly sent the youkai to hell.
Inuyasha was in a rage, the only thing keeping him from transforming was the seal on the Tetsusaiga and now he could feel a much stronger youkai force approaching Kagome very quickly. If it did not change course soon it would collide with the delicate miko. Inuyasha watched in horror as the next events transpired.
Kagome notched an arrow and pulled the string back on her bow as a vicious looking lizard youkai made his attack. Before the string was pulled completely back, Kagome heard the most horrific noise she could ever imagine. The sound of her bow string snapping in two. She raised large fear filled blue eyes to the smiling lizard youkai. He neared her preparing to end her life. Inuyasha screamed in disbelief believing he would watch her die just as he had Kikyou. The youkai was within an inch of Kagome when a rush of wind blew her ebony hair and short skirt up slightly. She had closed her eyes in fear, when she opened them she got quite a shock. The lizard youkai was dangling with its head to leaning on its own shoulder from the clawed hands of Sesshomaru. The taiyoukai dropped the lizard, placed himself between the miko and youkai, and lowered himself into a battle stance. Inuyasha could not believe his eyes. Sesshomaru had just saved Kagome a second time and was obviously preparing to protect her during the battle. The hanyou fought with renewed strength, if he knew anything it was that Kagome would be well protected by his brother.
Kagome watched as Sesshomaru waited for the attack.
"Stay behind me, miko." Ice dripped from his voice but Kagome knew he was not directing the tone towards her. The youkai stood with baited breath. Dare they attack Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands? They all seemed to be holding their breath waiting and thinking about this new development. Would they be able to defeat the taiyoukai? Seemingly as if they were one, the youkai surged forward prepared to kill the taiyoukai. Sesshomaru drew toukijin from his obi and waited for the wave of youkai to hit him.
The first wave was easily dispatched with a few swipes of Toukijin. The second wave became more demanding as more and more youkai attempted to swamp the taiyoukai. The youkai had decided as a group it would be easier to attain the miko if they dealt with Sesshomaru first. Besides with so many of them he could not withstand them very long. However, Sesshomaru did enjoy upsetting inferior beings and he was soon giving them a fight to the death. The youkai surrounding Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku abandoned fighting the three and instead turned their attention to the taiyoukai. He was deemed the greatest threat and needed to be delt with swiftly.
"Inuyasha what is going on? Why are they attacking Sesshoamaru?" Pain mingled with the monk's words.
"Because he's protecting Kagome and he is the greatest threat. They want Kagome." Inuyasha swung tetsusaiga at the youkai on Sesshomaru's far right.
"WINDSCAR!" The youkai fell, but it seemed as if a hundred more rose up to take their place. Sesshomaru was going to be over run. Already Inuyasha could smell his royal blood on the air.
Kagome watched as Sesshomaru moved fluidly to deliver several death blows using his claws and poison whip. She watched as blood sprayed all over his perfectly white kimono and into those flowing silver locks. Several youkai got close enough to inflict wounds upon him. They had been attacking in small groups but their tactic suddenly changed, Kagome watched as several youkai moved towards Sesshomaru and one bold youkai pounced upon his back as he fought the others. The youkai upon Sesshomaru's back was obviously a neko youkai. The neko slammed its clawed hand through Sesshomaru's chest narrowly missing the taiyoukai's heart. Sesshomaru's eyes widened slightly as the neko pulled its hand out and inflicted several other wounds Sesshomaru made attempts to pull the youkai off of his back but every attempt only added to his list of wounds.
Kagome looked at her last arrow and pooled her purifying aura into the arrow. Running to Sesshomaru, she slammed the arrow into the neko's back and watched as the he was purified. Sesshomaru turned and looked at the miko. She should have been afraid and running for her life, but she trusted the great taiyoukai. So, she stood her ground even in the face of his blood rage. Sesshomaru's eyes were the deepest darkest ruby red she had ever seen a youkai's before. His fangs and claws had elongated and his royal markings were standing out vibrantly against his pale skin. He was covered in so much blood his one white clothes were red.
In his blood rage all Sesshomaru kept thinking of was his need to protect the miko. He turned back to his self appointed task and continued to fight off the youkai. The others were making their way to the two and soon the battle was ended. Sesshomaru killed the last of the youkai. Inuyasha was slightly worried. If his brother remained in the throes of his blood rage he would kill them all. The taiyoukai was deeply wounded and something under his protection had been under attack, this knowledge sent him spiraling into an even bloodier rage. And then something happened.
Kagome ran to Sesshomaru and grabbed his hand.
"KAGOME! Get away from him!" The hanyou could not believe she would be so stupid as to approach an enraged taiyoukai.
Kagome ignored Inuyasha and drug Sesshomaru's face to hers, so they were standing forehead to forehead.
"It's okay Sesshomaru. You protected me they are all dead. I'm not hurt." She kept her voice soft and as calming as she could. She hoped it was enough. She merely kept repeating herself until his eyes began to fade into a lighter shade of red and then returned to their normal golden color. Sesshomaru looked at Kagome.
"Are you harmed miko?" The cold tone was back in his voice.
"I'm fine Sesshomaru. Not even one little scratch on me." Smiling reassuringly at the taiyoukai Kagome wondered if she could convince him to sit down.
Sesshomaru took one step away from the miko, swayed on his feet, and then crumpled into a mass of blood soaked silk, silver hair, and pain. Everything hurt, everything was bleeding.
Inuyasha watched in disbelief as Sesshomaru literally fell at Kagome's feet. Kagome bent down and checked the youkai's pulse. It was there. He would heal himself but it would take time and energy he did not have at the moment. Kagome put her arms beneath his arms and tried to pull him from the meadow.
"Oi wench! Leave him here to die." Inuyasha saw this as the perfect time to rid himself of an overbearing half brother. Kagome turned angry blue eyes on him and Inuyasha laid his ears flat on top of his head and snarled at the miko.
"SIT BOY!" Into the hole that housed Inuyasha, Kagome called out. "I will not allow him to die. He has saved my life twice and I will not just leave him here when he needs me the most!" Kagome turned back to her self appointed task and was surprised when two more pairs of hands assisted her in lifting the youkai. Kirara transformed and allowed them to lay Sesshomaru across her back. Looking at her friends, Kagome, was glad they had helped because for looking so light and delicate Sesshomaru was VERY heavy! They set off towards the village to help Sesshomaru heal.
Inuyasha drug himself out of the hole of his own making and mumbled "Stupid wench!"
From the distance a distinct voice called out "Sit boy."
Authors Note
I am very sorry I have not updated in quite sometime. I will only be able to update on the weekends now because I have taken a job in my chosen field and must move. Internet service is erratic there and I am very behind in my work as I was hired literally a week before the work begins! I will update as soon as I can.
Also the castle I described in this chapter is an actual castle in Japan called the Nagoya Castle. To see a picture of this castle just do a google search. It really is very impressive.
To my reviewers:
Simple Dream- Thank you! I finally noticed I was misspelling sama! Inuyasha's fate has yet to be decided. I am not a fan of him going to hell with Kikyou so that is not going to happen.
kowzkowzkowzkowzect.- I am deeply sorry this took so long to update! There are so many people I would sit the police would come and take me to jail!
Gothic-ember- Please don't cry!
Bankostu-Lover- Rin is not meant to be sad. She has been cared for by the Taiyoukai and I believe she would develop a fear of others if her protector found them, shall we say distasteful (Inuyasha).
Kagamoesiun- I'm not telling what happens! You will have to keep reading!
MiDnIgHtKoI- Slightly funny! I hoped I got at least a little bit of humor across. Thank you! It's difficult to think of a different kind of plot. How else would Sesshomaru come in contact with Kagome unless he kidnapped her for the sword.
inuyashasgirl74- Thank you! I am so glad someone has told me my bumbling efforts to describe the scenery are worthwhile.
sataness-ov-desire- Thank you! I loved writing this chapter and did not do much rewriting because I felt like I had done it right. (This is unusual.)
LynGreenTea- More as requested!
Shavaineth- Keep reading because there is going to be a lot for these two to work through!
PlayingWithDemons- A true storyteller! I am completely blushing right now! Thank you so much!
inupupluvr- Well Sesshomaru is an inu youkai and taking care of everything is the way of a male inu. I cannot wait until I get to write other characteristics of the inu.
Sora Chi Kaminari- Thank you for your review!
Killing Freedom- I am blushing yet again! Thank you!
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