I Do Not Own InuYasha
Ichariba Chode
行逢りば兄弟
"Though we meet but once, even by chance, we are friends for life"
IV: 27
Year 839...
Akai Taiyō Castle...
Odate watched as the human walked the young pup through a sequence of moves very slowly and he softened. He had always had a soft spot for Kimi and her offspring, Kimi had been a dear friend when he had needed one. Though he had lost to Kimi he could never hold a grudge against the bitch, she was a wild one, and she was more than any one male would ever be able to handle, he knew that after having hunted her for well over a century only to have her thwarting him at every turn at every encounter. He had been disappointed to hear that the Westerner had beaten her, but he had been the first to congratulate her on her pup, he remembered how tiny the pup had been in his hands when birthed. Part of him yearned to reach out, to take the pup under his wing, to raise him like he was an Akita, but the boy was a Shikoku.
Rin handed Sesshōmaru her weapon as she walked him through the sequence again, the pup learned quickly.
"That was very good," he said. There was a well concealed flinch from the pup as he moved between Odate and Rin. Odate was proud of the boy for protecting the mortal but saddened at the abuse that the Westerner had inflicted upon the pup. "When you do as Rin is teaching you should use your smaller weight to lead the larger opponent," he explained crouching. "It will make you more fluid and adaptable, something many of your larger opponents will not possess."
"Father says that brute strength is the way to win," Sesshōmaru retorted.
"Your mother is one of the most brilliant warriors I know who's only lost to your father, I have never seen her utilize brute strength."
"Mother is…"
"An Alpha Bitch," he cut off before the boy could have whatever misconceptions his father had likely taught him. "She is slayer of kami, vassal of Tsukuyomi-kami, servant of Izanami-kami, defender of the East, General of the Shikoku InuYōkai Clan, Lady of the East, sole heir and daughter of the Mighty Shikoku-sama; there are few more crafty, cunning, and ruthless than your mother and she is frequently believed to be the weaker creature because of her build, her sex, and her temperament but you will find no finer warrior."
"Father beat her though."
"Your father defeated her in the hunt, it does not make him her better, if anything the great Tōga is inferior to your mother in every way. You should not aspire to be like Tōga, he is a bad Alpha."
"I am not my father," Sesshōmaru growled.
"Of course not," Odate agreed as he looked at the mortal standing behind the pup as she placed her hands on Sesshōmaru's shoulders. "You will be better than him, the greatest Inu no Taishō ever," he decided. "But to do that you will have to be better than he."
Understanding dawned in Sesshōmaru's eyes.
"Brute strength will never win a war, cunning and wits will, strength will win you a battle, but never a war, and you seek to win wars, not battles, pup," he chimed. "Rin, come," he motioned as he stood fluidly.
"Yes, Odate-sama?" she asked as she accepted her kaiken from Sesshōmaru.
"Do not hit my mokomoko, show me the move," he ordered. She came at him, he countered, she turned as she shifted her weight, he caught her arm, she slipped from his grasp as she came behind him. "See how she adapts to use my weight and power against me?" he demanded of the pup as they continued their move.
"Hai," Sesshōmaru replied.
"The longer she can use my energy against me, and keep from using much of her own energy, the quicker I will tire," he explained. He caught Rin's throat as she held the kaiken to his own throat. "Very good," he nodded and released her.
"Any heathen can swing a sword with all their energy, but they will tire, if you wish to be a master of fighting you will learn to control yourself, to use your opponents strength as your own, to use it against them."
"I see," the pup whispered rather contemplating. Odate stood straight with his hands in his sleeves as he watched the pup think and waited for the boy's questions.
"How do I do that?" he asked rather hesitantly.
"Rin has shown you her techniques," he admitted. "But she is a small mortal female, her technique will not be applicable to you for much longer, you will grow into a strong inuyōkai, you will be much larger than Rin. However, for now, this technique is good for a pup, and safer to learn."
Sesshōmaru stared at his claws then.
"Your mother bears such an ability," he said softly. "I will speak with her come spring about furthering your education without the influence of your father," he decided.
"That is most kind Odate-sama," Rin bowed slightly.
"Of course, I am fond of the pup, I would like to see him to be a better warrior than Tōga," he sneered. He despised that Westerner with a passion, he looked at Rin again. "Practice your sets, pup, I will return, Rin, walk with me," he ordered.
Sesshōmaru grabbed Rin's waist then, his eyes were wide as he stared at Odate.
"I am not your father, pup," he reminded the boy softly. "I have no desire to hurt Rin, I will return with her after our discussion and to check on your progress with your sets."
"I'll be fine, my lord," she promised as she slipped from Sesshōmaru. Odate wanted to tear Tōga apart for the way that pup reacted to authority, he wondered if Kimi knew the abuses happening in her home. If the boy was like this… Odate paused, what did Tōga do to Kimi!? The thought was horrifying.
"You desired to speak with me," Rin said as they left the dojo.
"Hai, I do," he smiled kindly down at the human.
"May I ask about what?"
"You have been here for the duration of this weather," he said.
"Hai."
"I believe that it is time we became acquainted Rin," he stated. "I know you are bound to Sesshōmaru-sama as a mate is, not as a littermate, and I am sure the pup feels that too. But I know you bound to goshinboku, what I would like to know, is why?"
"And why should I tell you?" she asked testily.
"This is a large shiro, a very long walk before we return to the dojo, it will pass the time," he said dismissively.
"I'm sorry Odate-sama, but I do not…" she started.
"I met a woman bound to goshinboku, she told me of her era, of a terrible creature from mortals, a weapon which scorched earth, boiled blood, burnt flesh and bone to nothing more than ash and how hot it is," he said. "Her name was most odd."
"Why…" she started.
"Her name was Elizabeth 'Betty' Johnson," he said turning towards her as he said all that, his tongue moving carefully over the name. It sounded so strange and foreign in Rin's ears. "She said she was a teacher in a land called America. She had been captured when working a place called Singapore, a girl with ebony hair and green eyes, she was to be brought to Japan and she was about to die when she fell into a hole at the roots of goshinboku, into my lap. She became dear to me in the time she was here, but in time I had to return the mortal to goshinboku. So, Rin, why are you here in this time? I wish to aid you, Kimi is a dear friend of mine, and her son important to I, and as a result, I wish to aid you."
Rin assessed the daiyōkai before her carefully, in her time Odate was a respected Alpha and revered. He had lost his eye for underestimating an opponent, he had been reputed as an arrogant, aggressive Alpha, completely blood thirsty. But then he was one of Kimi's dearest friends, she had heard her mentor speak fondly of the Akita InuYōkai Clan Alpha, and Kimi's respect was hard one, and her friendship harder to win.
"I am here to collect the souls of my lord to defeat Magatsuhi who escaped Honekui no Ido after the Shikon no Tama was destroyed in my time. Magatsuhi has marked my lord for death, I am not going to let that happen," she stated.
"I see, and how have you accomplished this thus far?"
"Initially I had not, in my time, Tōga willed this to me," she explained as she pulled the pearl out from under her layers.
Odate looked this over.
"I wished to speak to Bokusenō about this," she admitted. "He would be a thousand years already, and perhaps he could tell me how I am collecting these bits of my lord's soul."
"I see, and the shina will be after you?"
"The shina?" she asked as she slipped the pearl under her layers again.
"My apologies, the westerners," he said.
"Oh, hai, I believe they will."
"I will not aid your quest girl, I cannot go with you, though I wish I could. However, if you should find yourself in a different time, in need of an ally you will have mine. When the Chinese come, I will take care of them," he stated. "I will aid you in supplies for you and Sesshōmaru-sama, as well as taking care of the boy in place of his father," he stated.
"Why would you do that?"
"I fucking hate Tōga!" he growled lowly. "Fool does not realize how lucky he is and continues to squander it in the name of stealing glory and discarding his Western roots. Emperor Tiāngǒu's son is a disgrace upon this land, I would purge it, but I have a fondness for Kimi-sama and her pup," he shrugged indifferently about that.
"You're in love with her," Rin whispered as it dawned on her.
Odate snorted then as his lips curled in a self-depreciating smirk. "Oh, mortal you may be but fool you are not. Hai, I am, but her heart belongs to one she cannot have. For Daiyōkai love is a curse, because once our hearts are given, they can never be reclaimed, it is not ours anymore. Kimi-sama possesses mine."
"But you don't possess hers?"
"No, that aspect of hers is well placed to another who she can never have."
"Really?"
"If you must ask me about it, human, then you have not learned all your lord mother's secrets," he smiled softly. "You remind me of her."
"Oh Kami…" she groaned.
"No, not in a way that he will ever notice when he is older, just merely the air about you, the confidence you possess," he countered. "When Tōga comes I shall stall him, return the pup to his mother," Odate murmured. "I do not trust the westerner."
"He hates me, so thank you," she murmured. She remembered Tōga's warning to her from when she had met him, he would not go easy on her. Especially not now, he would see to it that he killed her if he got his claws on her.
"Tōga is a pompous inugami pretending at being an inuyōkai," Odate dismissed.
"Thank you, again, for all you've done for my lord and I," she bowed her head slightly then.
"Of course, child, I think you will find that it is important for me that you succeed, and if we should cross paths ever again, know you have an ally," he promised.
"Why do you want to help us so badly?"
"Because I should have the first time," he murmured. "Ah, here is the dojo, we should check the boy's progress," he smiled as they walked into the dojo and she smiled seeing Sesshōmaru determinedly running through his sets.
"That's perfect my lord!" she chuckled when he noticed her.
"Well done boy, do it a hundred more times and it will be time for supper," Odate declared
Year 1581...
Tsuzuki Castle...
Kimi walked calmly through her home towards her study.
"My lady!" a voice shouted and she turned to see young Ai coming towards her.
"Ai," she turned folding her hands as she flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"This has come for you, my lady, it came with a yāoguài," the young hanyō explained.
"I smell," she remarked with disdain as she accepted the scroll.
"Is there anything you should need of me, my lady?"
"This is all, Ai, attend to your studies, find me in the evenings," she dismissed as she walked into her study. Kimi settled at her desk when there was a shift in the air, the room seemed to darken but she didn't take her eyes from what she was reading.
"I can smell you," she informed the intruder.
"So you can, and what has the Lady of the Shikoku so upset."
"Nothing," she retorted as she lowered her message to look at the Kami. "To what do I owe the pleasure to, my kami," she asked pleasantly.
"Can I not call upon my old friends?"
"You dare to comment on my age?" she quipped.
"Never, you don't look a day over a thousand," he promised.
She preened a bit as she settled. "What brings you here, my kami, you do not come unless it is important."
"It has come to my attention that your son is about to because the Emperor of the West," the kami said as he settled down, materializing tea. She accepted the cup when he served her as they settled.
"I was just invited to his coronation by his grandmother, Chang'e," she frowned as she dropped the invitation on her desk with disdain. She had always despised the immortal, the kami that was no longer a kami but was immortal because of her mortal choices. Kimi had never understood how the Western kami could flitter between mortal lives and kami lives.
"He will take this crown," the kami said.
"He still is bound to you and our Clan," she pointed out.
"Kimi-sama, this is not a bad thing," the kami chuckled. "Gaining a hefty, powerful foothold in the west will be of use, though I think Sesshōmaru-sama will despise taking his father's role."
"He never did want to be like Tōga," she admitted dryly. Her mate had been a dear friend of hers, but she could admit that he had not been a good father or mate. "What brings you here, Tsukuyomi-kami?"
"Amaterasu has given summons," he said. "As has Izanami and Izanagi," he murmured.
"Why?" she asked.
"There's been stirrings in the Dark which have come to their attentions, I need you to encourage Sesshōmaru to accept Tōga's throne," he explained. "We obtain that foothold and it will deter the Kami of the West from coming near us. We will have an invasion power and strategic foothold to make them nervous enough that they won't come to the East."
"You want to invade the West?" she asked as she moved her mokomoko to be more relaxed.
"No, but I want you to draw up the plans for such an invasion for this council meeting, the more we possess for this meeting the better."
"I agree," she nodded.
"I will need you to contact the Shiba, the Akita, the Kishu, and the Hokkaido," he explained.
"Would you like me to reach out to the dragons as well?"
"Hai, I believe one is your ward."
"Hai, as is the hyakkikoumori heiress," she smiled predatorily to her kami who chuckled knowingly.
"You just collect power."
"Hai, I do," she smiled bitterly now. "I must inform you, Tsukuyomi-kami that there is an upstart within the Shikoku Clan, my nephew; Kochi."
"And what is he up to?"
"I do not know, yet, but he did claim one of the Pack Leaders in a Hunt, which is concerning. I've collected the rest of the important females within the Clan to my pack for my son's harem," she explained.
"I thought Sesshōmaru-sama had no intention of being like his father," Tsukuyomi said levelly.
"He doesn't, I did this," she explained. "His heart is forever his mortal's, but the good of the Clan is vital, should Kochi claim these bitches then we will lose power and you will have to deal with Kochi and no one would like that."
"What is Kochi like?"
"He is a politician, a very greedy, conniving politician."
"I see, and who is your son's champion in his absence?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"I am," she stated.
"Kimi," he started.
She held up her hand to cut him off as she looked out at the garden. "I am his mother, I am the Lady of the Shikoku, and I am your top general, am I not? I think I should be able to trounce a measly politician back to his little hovel. You trained me after all, my kami."
"So I did. And what does Shikoku think of his daughter getting into petty fights?"
"Nothing, he is in the West to save my sons."
"NANI!?" he bellowed as he surged to his feet.
"Sit down, my kami, you embarrass yourself," she ordered sharply and the kami settled to sit again. "I have adopted Tōga's hanyō progeny as my own, InuYasha, his mate and pups reside in Tōga's old quarters at this moment. And I did not ask my father to go save Sesshōmaru, Shikoku decided this before he left, he also decided that he would be eliminating Chang'e after the monk and InuYasha reversed her immortality. Of course this will lead Chang'e to return to her Kami life and my father decided that that just wouldn't do."
"He will be killed."
"Hai, and he has decided this is how he would like to die. He has already made arrangements with the yume no seirei and baku for the reparcussions," she stated.
"You mean…" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Hai."
"You know what this will do to them?"
"Hai, I do. But I have faith in them."
