Ages of Mythology
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Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters and so on and so forth
Chapter 7: The Wolf Tribe
A few miles away Sesshomaru was up and ready dressed having breakfast wondering how his brother was doing. His long and faithful family servant Jaken refilled his cup of tea.
"Thinking about Inuyasha sir?" he asked recognizing the look on his master's face. "I wouldn't worry all that much sir" he mused smiling "Inuyasha knows how to take care of himself."
"I know… I know…" said Sesshomaru sounding very unconvinced.
Sesshomaru climbed gracefuly on his stallion and eyed his army which was ready to move at his command. He gave a nod to his second in command who gave the order to move out.
The army marched on towards their destination. Till now they had encountered little trouble except for the biting cold which hid them as they started up the mountain on top of which lived the Wolf Tribe they were
seeking to recruit.
Unlike his brother, Inuyasha had lots of trouble with every step he took. After the wolf attack on their first night, they were attacked by a zillion of enormous grasshoppers flying over from the desert, then it was bats on the same night and the day after it was a dozen wild boars gone mad. They were still nowhere close their destination and his army was being peeled off little by little.
After a week's travel his army had been reduced by half after the last attack from poisonous snaked which had made their way into their campsite late at night. Things were definitely not going the way he had planned and Inuyasha was becoming more worried and frustrated by the day.
High up on mount Olympus Kikyo was trying to hold back the tears…
"I can't!" she said… you can't ask me to do that… " she said giving her back to her father.
"You can't refuse! You're my daughter and you will do as you're told!" he yelled angrily.
"You can't drag me into this " she replied just as angry "if you're looking for trouble suit yourself but I will not ----"
A resounding slap cut her off… she turned speechless… no one had ever dared to hit her before….
"You fool!" said her father with disgust "You're in this already whether you like to or not… don't you see that if you refuse or seek help of that pompous old fool we'll both be dead in a flash? You'll do as you're told and that's the end of the story" he said with finality as he walked away leaving Kikyo holding her red check staring blankly after him a single tear running from her cold blue eyes.
Frosty winds hit hard as Sesshomaru's army marched up the mountain getting closer to their destination. Sesshomaru's demon nose was picking up a strange scent with the wind. He could distinctly smell that rusty scent of blood. He was starting to worry when the scent was getting stronger plus his keen hearing could pick up the sounds of fighting.
Sesshomaru called out orders to his men to be on their guard as they were about to reach the plateau. What they found before them was a total massacre. Bodies of the warrior wolf demons were sprawled all over the field covered in their blood. The rest were fighting off an army of a ghostly sort of demons which seemed to be controlled by a warrior in red armour. Sesshomaru stared in amazement when he realized that the warrior was in fact a woman, a very powerful wind youkai. Her scent flickered a memory but it soon faded away and he shouted to his men to join the fight and aid their allies .
While his men fought to defend the injured wolves, he made his way to the heart of the battle were the wind youkai was fighting what seemed to be the leader of the back. The wind youkai turned her red eyes towards Sesshomaru and swished her giant red fans in his direction successfully sending him of his horse. He jumped to his feet just in time to see her swing her fan in a sort of dance which made her fallen warriors rise back to fight who surrounded his men.
'So they are ghosts after all.' Thought Sesshomaru as he withdrew his sword. It was a beautiful sword left to him by his father. A slivery thin and long blade, with a golden hilt. Like the one Inuyasha had, it had a special power. Unlike his brother though, he had uncovered it's secret. He struck the air in front of him with it and embedded it in the field giving life back to the fallen wolves and wolf demons. The wind youkai's eyes flashed in anger when she realized they were outnumbered. She withdrew a feather from her hair and with a flick of her fan enlarged it. She took off on the feather and with another flick of her fan, her ghostly army disappeared in thin air. She hovered a minute over Sesshomaru …
"Next time you won't be so lucky "she said with an evil smile and with that she flew off.
Sesshomaru sheeted his sword and helped the wolf demon leader to his feet. He was tall and well built with piercing green eyes and long dark hair tied in a careless pony tail. He was dressed in furry rags like the rest of his tribe.
The wolf demon shoved Sesshomaru's hands away and got to his feet with pride.
"I can stand on my own village lord" he said with dignity. Sesshomaru smiled amused. He reminded him of his little brother with his insufferable pride.
"You must be Kouga, leader of the wolf tribe" he said giving out his hand to shake.
Kouga nodded shaking his hand gruffly. "And you are?"
Jaken stepped in front his master "This is the great Lord Sesshomaru and you can start by thanking him for the help he just gave you" he said with a bow to his master.
Kouga raised an eyebrow and turned to see how his men where doing. Most of them were wounded. But he was surprised to see his fallen brothers up unscathed.
"Dam bitch's been attacking us all over the fuckin place" he snarled angrily "she killed off half of my tribe in the last two attacks. I, Kouga, vow that I will kill that bitch with my own bare hands if it's the last thing I ever do. My pack will accept the mission and join your quest."
"Good" said Sesshomaru "Then we'll camp here for the night and your men will have enough time to recover. You and I can go over the plans for our next move"
Kagome waded slowly out into the river. She let herself relax in the cool water while she stared up into the night sky. It had been another long and tiring day of marching and fighting wildlife on rampage.
'Maybe I should have a talk with Aunt Demeter and mum and see why all these animals are going on a killing spree. Something tells me this is no coincidence.' she mused as she felt the pain in her muscles ease.
It was a good thing that they were following the river path. At least she could get a refreshing bath every night, Miroku permitting. The letch had taken to spying on her. Inuyasha's attempts at threatening or strangling did little to deter him from his mission. He seemed set on trying to seduce her or spying on her or groping her every chance he got.
She heard some rustling at the opposite bank. 'Here we go again' she thought as she reached for a suitable rock from the river bed. She took careful aim and sent the rock flying as hard as she could. The rock hit its intended target which a resounding thud. Miroku jumped out of with a cry of pain his hand rubbing the brand new lump on his head.
"Oh Lady Kagome… that was awfully mean of you!" he said with a smile. "Maybe I should come after you and punish you eh?" he added with a devilish smile while reaching for his robe.
"Or maybe you should go back to your tent where you belong before I reach for bigger rock or worse my arrows to purify your lecherous ways!" replied Kagome anger rising.
"Oh come now my dear… no need to get violent. After all the Gods created a woman's body to be praised by men's eyes." he said while removing his belt.
"And the gods created my legs to kick your sorry ass" snarled a very angry Inuyasha edging closer to his friend.
"Where did you come from?" asked Miroku aghast.
"If I were you I'd be more worried about my life" remarked Inuyasha.
Miroku saw a tinge of red flashing in the golden eyes of his friend so he decided not to push it. He put his belt back on and walked away towards the campsite. Kagome laughed heartily.
"Thanks, I was starting to feel cold" she said "Can you please hand me my clothes?"
"Dam letch" he mumbled handing her, her white robes, "I swear if he wasn't my friend he'd be dead by now! Tomorrow I'll make sure he doesn't disturb you"
"Oh… my hero!" she said with a smile as she got out of the water and hugged Inuyasha.
Inuyasha turned a deep shade of red. He could distinctly see every curve of her body through that thin and transparent material and his mind was already traveling uncontrollably through lecherous lanes until Kagome shoved him in the water.
He surfaced and sputtered out the water he had swallowed while Kagome put on her black cloak over he wet clothing with a laugh.
"What was that for!" yelled Inuyasha as he got out of the water and removed his shirt to dry it out.
"Cause you're just as bad as Miroku… don't think I didn't hear you up in those trees doggy boy!" answered Kagome.
"That's the thanks I get for watching out for you. I came looking for Miroku when I found him missing and knew he'd be here!" he huffed looking away hoping to get away with it.
"Sure, whatever you say … but just so as you know…. You're not the only one with good hearing!" she said as she walked away to the campsite.
Inuyasha laughed as he removed his trousers and hung them up to dry. He heard a rustle in the background and shook his head.
"Like what you see Kags?" he called out with a laugh. He shook his head as he heard her laugh and call back "Nice abs!".
He was walking around the big garden when he heard crying. He followed the whimpers and found a little girl. She had short white hair and red eyes. He realized that she was youkai like him.
"What's the matter? Why are you crying?" asked the boy sitting down next to her whilst putting his arms around her for comfort.
"My daddy… my daddy …" she said between tears " he… he hit mommy and me… and left…mommy didn't get up"
The boy hugged her closer realizing that the girl had no one left for her.
Sesshomaru woke up with a start. Dreams had a strange way to bring up old memories. And he remembered the little girl.
End Ch7