Chapter 41: Between the Hammer and the Anvil
Tsutomu looked up, disturbed from his thoughts by a summons from his Lord but nodded at the messenger his acquiescence calmly enough. Standing easily he headed for his lord's aura, wondering what he was needed for.
He wasn't left wondering for long, although he was a bit surprised by who actually began speaking to him when he appeared. Though, he admitted to himself with an inward smile filled with irony, perhaps he shouldn't have been.
"Tsutomu-san," Kagome greeted with a small polite smile. "I was curious to know what you have done with Hisashi. You did say that you wouldn't be able to keep him where you've had him 'til now for very long once we began the march, did you not?"
At her question his face lightened and he grinned expansively. "Ah, yes... Hisashi. It would be much easier to keep him where he's at if he were dead, my lady, my lord," he said cheerfully. "If you like I could return him here and you could take your justice on the traitor now."
Touga's brow shot up and he sat up from where he'd been lounging next to his wife in their particular little encampment under the trees as they waited for dark and the next march.
"You know, it probably would be a good idea to do it now while we don't have anyone else bothering us," he mused, rubbing his chin with a solemn look that fooled nobody – he would be very, very happy to squeeze the life from the former head of his council for his act of betrayal to not only he, as the Lord of the West, but all the citizens of the western lands, as well.
Kagome dropped her gaze and rolled her eyes in a discreet manner that no one caught at her husband's ploy. "Yes, it would probably be too dangerous to do it once we are facing Ryukotsussei – not to mention that the dragon won't care that we've killed his spy, but the shock that we'd found out who it was would certainly throw him off. That's all we were really going for, anyway."
"True, true," Tsutomu agreed jovially. "And since you are both in agreement, I will return him here to stand before you so you may pass sentence-" his grin widened considerably, "-and carry it out."
Everyone could tell that he was loving what was about to happen; Hisashi had always been a thorn in his side and he could hardly wait to see the traitor's expression when he was faced with his culpability and then sentenced to death.
Kagome watched with interested eyes as the councilor reached into his sleeve and pulled out what looked like a black pearl – and then another flash of memory overtook her, and she inhaled faintly in surprise. "Let me guess," she said, eyeing the rather beautiful pearl with a knowing expression, "Hosenki-dono's work?"
The group surrounding them and watching with bated breath for Hisashi's death turned curious eyes on her. She sighed. "Another memory flash," she replied to the silent question on everyone's tongue. And then she frowned. "It was Inuyasha – he had one hidden in his eye. But Sesshoumaru-sama-" she continued lightly with a small, ironic half-bow at the inuyoukai who was watching the discussion silently as was usual for him, "-wanted it for some reason and took it from Inuyasha. I wish I could remember more, but that's the extent of that memory," she apologized regretfully.
"Interesting," her husband said, looking at his son with a curiously intent expression which Sesshoumaru returned blandly before returning his attention to current circumstances. "Well, that's neither here nor there, at least at this time; Tsutomu, why don't you summon our... guest?"
"With pleasure, my lord," Tsutomu grinned merrily, throwing the dark pearl hard against a protruding rock. Nothing happened for one swift second, and then the pearl pulsed and a portal opened almost too suddenly for words as the struggling form of Hisashi tumbled out of the portal and fell to the ground.
There was a thick silence as the male looked around with wide eyes and then scrambled to his feet, glaring at Tsutomu.
"What was the meaning of keeping me locked in that hellhole, Tsutomu?" he demanded, looking at the group surrounding him with affronted eyes and insulted demeanor – as though he were being wrongly abused. He wasn't able to meet his Lord's eyes, though, his gaze falling and his face paling as his current circumstances sank in and the fear that he'd been found out began to literally leach the scent of said fear into the air around him.
Touga sniffed appreciatively as the sweet and sour scent of that fear began to waft through the clearing, his eyes flashing redly, followed by the eyes of all the other youkai within scenting distance. Izayoi simply watched coolly as Hisashi quailed back from Touga, his weakly voiced, "My Lord?" falling into the suddenly voracious circle of youkai surrounding him with fanged grins.
"It would perhaps have behooved you to remember that fact a little earlier, Hisashi," Touga purred, "for if you had you might have had a much longer life. But as it is, you forgot who was Lord and who was not and tried your hand at a coup – and failed, as it should now be obvious. You should never have turned on me and taken up with that damned dragon, but you did and now it is time to pay the piper for those actions." Touga's already deadly grin widened as Hisashi's wide, terrified eyes and stuttering denials were immediately silenced as he stepped forward menacingly, crowding the horrified male back into a tree.
"You betrayed not only me but every single citizen of the West in your attempt to gain not only the West, but the Shikon no Tama." He chuckled wickedly as Hisashi's eyes widened even further at the naming of the jewel he had so coveted. "But you see, there was never any chance for you to have what you aimed so high for because I would never have told you or any of your former backers where it is. I'm well aware that you have been hiding your true scent from me for a long time, but even with those scent-confusing potions of yours you always stank of betrayal quite clearly, and I am not your fool - or Ryukotsussei's."
Tsutomu shook his head as the cornered betrayer tried to break and escape his fate, watching with that broad grin of his as the fool realized that he was now bound and unable to move. "Don't think so, Hisashi."
Claws lengthening lethally Touga prepared to take his justice on the former head of his council, but paused for a moment and looked at his wife. "Turn away, my love, for I would not wish for you to see what I will do to this offal."
Izayoi knew she should stay. She knew that if she didn't it would be a black mark against her in the eyes of the youkai she was surrounded by, a mark of weakness. And so she steeled her spine, raised her chin and shook her head. "No. I would see his punishment for betraying you and all the rest of us. I would see justice done," she said, her voice going grim as she met Hisashi's wild eyes with unblinking and damning ones of her own.
Her husband sighed faintly, but he knew why she was doing what she was and he could not do anything but allow her to stay and witness the judgment he was about to eke out.
Striking swiftly and deeply, Touga sank one wickedly clawed hand into the struggling Hisashi's chest and ripped out his heart in a spray of blood he was very careful to keep away from his wife. Holding up the still weakly fluttering heart of the traitor for all those in the clearing to see, he cast it at his feet and crushed it beneath one booted foot. "And so just price has been taken from the one who would betray us all. Let everyone gathered here take note – for if you choose the path he did you will find your end in the same way," he finished, voice steely as he met the eyes of everyone gathered.
Burning off the now dead traitor's blood with a burst of his youki, Touga turned and made to move his wife as far from the remains as possible as Tsutomu once more called open the portal and quite cheerfully tossed what was left of Hisashi back into it, waiting as it spiraled closed and drew back inside the pearl, then stuffed it into his sleeve.
"Ah... much better. Now that the fool is dead I won't have to expend all that extra energy to keep him sealed away until we need him." He glanced at his Lord questioningly. "Was there anything else you wanted from me?"
"No, that was all," Touga returned as he sat down once more, drawing Izayoi to him as he did so and cradling her to his chest as they resumed their patient wait for darkness once more.
And so the hours slowly ticked away as the combined armies of the three cardinal lands hid in broad daylight in the shadows of the thick forest, practically right on Ryukotsussei's doorstep.
~oOo~
Deep in the grasses of the former battlefield a small, silvery dragon stirred, his strength draining with his blood, but yet still aware and strong enough to move. Loyal to his lord, the small dragonlet gathered his remaining energy and lifted himself into the air, flying low to the ground and anxiously searching the area for any remaining enemies.
Fortunately for him there were none, only the still smoldering remains of the few enemies that had fallen.
Using every bit of speed he could muster the little beast flew swiftly, easily avoiding the forest and sticking to the open fields until he finally reached the area of the dragon lord's palace and was given quick entrance into Ryukotsussei's presence, where he was able to warn him about the dog lord and his army.
"How many were there?" Ryukotsussei barked, and the tired and dying dragonlet reported what he'd seen, giving his lord an idea of what they had faced.
With a sharp hiss he reached out to the little dragon and took his life. He looked up at those gathered as the little dragonlet shuddered and died and said, "Remember what failure brings, for if you fail as the force that one had been part of, you will also die."
Standing from his throne, Ryukotsussei smirked wickedly.
"We must prepare a proper welcome for the dog, don't you think?" he asked pointedly, and his general and Koume and Kotake followed him from the room into conference to prepare a very bloody welcome for his deadliest enemy while servants were left to see to the sad remains of the loyal little dragonlet.
Unfortunately for him, what his little soldier had reported to him was what he'd seen – which was actually only a very small portion of what was coming. Ryokotsussei was surprised that the dog lord was leading such a small force against him, and was actually almost insulted. Did Touga think to defeat him with a measly force of a mere five or six thousand?
He scowled inwardly to himself at the thought – I will be sure to make him suffer even more for that... that he would think so lowly of me. I will definitely enjoy teaching him his place, which is at my feet - and dead.
And so they planned and plotted as the day waned and time ran through their fingers like grains of sand.
~oOo~
"Izayoi," Touga's voice washed softly across her and she smiled as she woke from her doze and looked up at her husband.
"Yes?" she asked easily, pretty much knowing what he was going to say. It was just after midnight and time to move on – the rest period was over.
"We will be moving out soon," he said as he ran the back of his hand over her cheek gently. "Are you going to be alright?"
"I'm fine, my love, do not worry so for me. And I have even come up with a strategy to defeat my opponents – so be at peace. I have been fine through all that has already happened and I will be fine through the rest of what will take place, as will you. I know it."
Touga's brow rose sharply at her tone of surety and he couldn't help but to ask, "You have dreamed something that has told you that this is so?"
She shook her head with a small smile. "No. But some things that my little furry companion here-" she stroked a drowsy Kirara's soft fur, "-has said to me along with some of my memories and the knowledge that there is still Takemaru and the Shikon jewel to deal with have told me so. So you see, this battle, while important is not the ultimate confrontation that we will have, and so we both must remain alive to deal with what the kami have appointed us to."
"Hmmm," he said, slanting her a slightly skeptical look that she just grinned and shook her head at again, her long locks brushing softly against his arm in the tight plait she'd brushed them into. "Well, be that as it may I will still worry, and you will still be carefully guarded, my dear wife. Come," he added after a moment, lovingly affectionate looks flashing between the two as he held out his hand to help her to her feet, even as Kenji, Nami, and Mine appeared around her, all smiling approvingly at her.
Kenji was finding it quite difficult not to crow with glee – just as he'd known she would Izayoi had risen to the occasion, facing everything that had been thrown at her with a calm elan that even surprised him. He knew that the attempted rape had been her most frightening moment, and while she would definitely have scars from that attack she had come out of it still strong and with a fighting will he'd told Touga many times that he'd seen in her. She had a strength of will that was almost scary, and that gave her a determination to rise above whatever was thrown at her that very few had.
And she was proving his words to Touga and his own confidence with every breath she took. Already the gathered youkai were accepting of her in their midst, treating her just as if she were one of them.
Which was just as it should be, because she was.
"Sesshoumaru, Satori, you should go now and join Akira and Masao, and move your forces into place as we discussed," Touga was saying, and Izayoi's gaze sharpened on her husband as she listened, "And you, Tamotsu, should take your force and also depart."
"You decided your strategy whilst I slept?" she asked, needing to know what was going to happen as Satori and her son streaked off and disappeared under the trees in the direction of the aforementioned Generals, followed by Tamotsu and his wolves backed by a small contingent of Touga's own forces.
Touga glanced at her for a moment, a little surprised, and then nodded apologetically as he realized his error. "I'm sorry, Izayoi – I simply forgot to wake you when we discussed what is to happen." She nodded in return in acceptance of his apology, and he quickly filled her in on the main points of what was to take place. "Does that sound like something you can handle? You said you had come up with a plan to defeat your opponents, did you not? Will anything I just said make that difficult?" he asked, suddenly concerned.
Izayoi shook her head. "Oh, no. It doesn't really matter what's going on around us, as the two of them will be focused on me and I on them. In fact, I'm almost positive that our fight will be conducted a bit away from the main troops, anyway. After all, the kind of fight we will be having isn't really possible while right in the middle of a raging battle."
At that, a light frown touched her husband's brow and he met her gaze assessingly. "Please tell me that you are not going to be trying to escape your attendants, Izayoi," he almost demanded as his eyes sharpened suspiciously on her.
He was soothed from those suspicions by a light laugh and a sweetly-voiced, "No, Touga – in fact, my attendants will actually play a major role in my stratagem against the dragon ladies I will be facing." And I'm pretty sure that once that 'major role' has played itself out, the dragon sisters themselves will find a way to scatter my attendants for themselves, she thought to herself silently as her husband nodded after one final sharp glance at her before turning away to face the terrain outside the cover of the trees they had spent their last hours under.
"Very well... then if there is no more to be said, we should be gathering our own forces and leaving," he said, raising his voice to call to those he would be leading.
Without further ado, he gathered his youki and sped away, his force following swiftly at his back as they prepared to finally face the dragon himself.
~oOo~
The distance to Ryukotsussei's palace was not really that great, and so it was not too long before the lights of it and the forces he had arrayed a ri away from said palace were visible even to Izayoi's human eyes. She took a breath and blew it out as Touga signaled for his force to slow and they all did so.
There were a great many youkai arrayed against them. It was going to be a hard-fought battle, there was no denying that. But... she had some memories of her past life as Kagome, of facing hoards of youkai not much smaller than what she could see ahead of them as they slowed even more and finally came to a halt a good thousand feet away from the other army watching silently as they gathered, and with a much smaller force of just five people. This was certainly doable, but she frowned; turning her head to look over her shoulder, she looked at Mine's frightened but determined face.
"Did you not say the force he had gathered was... greater than this appears to be?" she asked softly, so that even those directly around her barely heard her.
Mine poked her head up over the shoulders of those taller than she was and – a little timidly – looked at the army facing them down across the field. Her eyes swept over them and though she wasn't able to know an exact count for what was there, it didn't look as though there were quite as many as what her father had boasted he had. She frowned uneasily.
"Yes, my lady. He boasted quite clearly that he had more than enough forces to destroy any amount of soldiers your honorable husband would be able to bring."
"Could he have been lying, trying to talk it up, so to speak?" Izayoi asked, a flicker of amusement flashing through her eyes swiftly at Mine's slightly confused expression at her odd turn of phrase.
She finally reasoned it out and shook her head. "I don't think so, my lady. He is a braggart of the worst sort, and he had an iron grip on all those forced to bow to him – or so he thought. He would never have considered betrayal from within and so he felt safe in his bragging. But he was always honest in his self-aggrandizing, at least in the sense that he wouldn't have even seen a need to lie about the matter."
Touga had been looking over the army arrayed against him with a frown marring his brow and listening quite openly to his wife's discussion with her newest lady. So the bastard then has other forces somewhere else. If what she says is true, which I don't doubt it is, then there's another army that he's going to try to smash us between, I'm almost positive. I'm going to have to slightly modify my plans... and hope that the others can hold their parts in this, or we might be in trouble.
As his wife's discussion with her lady finished, Touga motioned silently for two of his Generals to approach and quietly began speaking, the males nodding occasionally and then saluting silently as they faded back into their places with the modifications to the original plans echoing through their minds.
Touga went back to studying what lay before him in the dark as they also studied him and those he had gathered against them quite openly, as all could clearly see. What the western lord was interested in was the fact that neither Ryukotsussei or his pet sorceresses were to be seen – it truly appeared that they were gone back to the palace for the night and would arise to face him when they felt like it. He scowled for a moment, irritated at that fact. Well, he'd just have to take out the payment for this little game in blood when the dragon appeared and teach him the error of his ways, that was all.
Should I simply ignore his absence and begin the attack anyway? After a few minutes thought he shook his head finally, frustrated a bit. No. It is too dangerous, especially as I don't know for sure where the ambush is going to take place or in what manner. We will just have to wait for that fool to wander out here in the morning and then begin. A thought occurred to him, then, and his frown lightened again. Actually, now I come to think of it, it would be more interesting to throw Hisashi at him in broad daylight, so he can fully see how his attempt at spying and subversion of my council turned out. The thought made him grin like a child about to get his greatest wish and actually rub his hands together in glee.
Oh yes, I will really enjoy seeing that bastard's face when what's left of his little friend Hisashi is thrown at his feet.
Touga motioned for his troops to step back from combat formation and into a watchful at-ease position, since there was several house yet before sunrise and the fool's attack from the position in front - and likely from behind, as well.
Oh, I'm sure that he will attempt an attack from behind – let's just hope that he doesn't have more numbers than we had estimated. If he does, then this whole thing is going to be a lot trickier than we planned.
But then he grinned – it was a good thing for his army that he enjoyed challenges such as this, because he was quite good at planning for the unforeseen events. Not that he couldn't be taken by surprise; after all, he was not an all-knowing kami. But that was where the fun lay, after all – in the unknown. Testing yourself against an opponent, not just in open combat, but in the mental game. There was a reason he was Lord of the West and Inu no Taisho.
He excelled at the game.
Now it was just left to see who was better – he, or the bastard dragon.
~oOo~
Sesshoumaru paused and tilted his head for a moment as a very faint sound just taunted his ears with its barely there brush, and then turned his head and looked over the forces he held under his command. They were all on a watchful guard while they waited for the signal to advance to join his father and the rest. He and his forces were hidden away on the left flank at a distance of about two ri, and his mother and her new mate had the rest of their forces hidden an equal distance away on the right flank.
He was no fool. There was every chance that Ryukotsussei had forces hidden somewhere behind them all, and so he had scouts out to watch their own rear. But then there was also Tamotsu and his wolves. They were hidden even further behind all their positions... just in case. If this battle turned into the attempted rout his father had surmised that it might, then it was going to be a very interesting battlefield.
His father's own forces were going to be deployed in a very odd way for a traditional battle of youkai or even human samurai. It was an adaptation that Izayoi had mentioned to his father, who had immediately seen the brilliance of it and been quite intrigued.
Instead of lined up evenly facing each other across the field, his father's force of soldiers were going to be in an arc formation, with the sides closest to the enemy and the middle furthest back. The idea behind holding such a line was that as the enemy approached they would end up surrounded as the sides folded in around the attackers and they engaged the more distant middle section, trapping them.
He himself had been quite intrigued with such an idea, which Izayoi said had been an innovation of an ancient culture in another part of the world. They had apparently been an entire society of warriors, all male children being taken from their families and trained intensely as fighters from quite a young age. He felt a modicum of approval for something that was actually human for a moment. So far, none of the humans in his own land had shown such impressive battlefield acuity, at least in his opinion.
The wind shifted; for a moment another faint sound whispered across Sesshoumaru's ears and he turned his head, tilting it and closing his eyes as he focused all his attention on what his senses were reacting to. Of course, the noise was probably just something from his own forces, but there was every reason to be intensely cautious and pay attention to the least little bit of information that his advanced senses could give him.
After a few seconds the sound faded once again, and he turned around, looking to the rear of his own troops and lifting his nose into the air to filter all the scents and see if there was any cause for concern from that direction.
At this point, he decided after a few moments, there was not and so he relaxed just a little and went back to his ruminations.
Those at his back watched the heir quietly and waited for the call to battle with barely leashed primal natures reddening their eyes.
~oOo~
Satori, regal figure limned by moonlight as she stood with her still-new mate, General Masao, let her eyes fall closed as she listened to her other senses. A small smile fell over her lips as she inhaled deeply and appreciatively. It was so good to be alive! She could feel the excitement in the air, could already almost smell the blood that would be spilled soon, could almost hear the clash of armor and swords and power still to come.
Masao watched his mate quietly as a catlike smile stretched her lips, and smiled himself. He knew what fed that smile for he could also feel the coming battle in the air itself, and it was making his own blood run hot and heavy through his body.
"Our first true battle together," a feminine voice came softly through the still air, and Masao's smile widened a little.
"Yes," he agreed. "There is nothing that could make this better, save an overwhelming victory for us, of course."
She slitted her eyes open and cast a side-long glance at him. "Do you doubt that we will win, then?"
"You know better, Satori," he murmured. "But there are no guarantees, are there? If there were, then there would be no need to actually go through with the fight. It would be a neater solution, truthfully," he added.
"But much less entertaining," Satori returned.
Another faint smile washed across Masao's face as he looked at her, then turned his head up to look into the dark night sky. "True," he agreed.
Silence settled between them again, and Masao turned his mind to once more studying Touga's battle plans. After a moment, a small sigh left his lips as his eyes fell closed and he visualized what was supposed to happen. I'm sure that this is the best plan that we could have followed with the information that we had. I suppose it will come down to who had the best spies, in the end, he thought ironically. I have no doubts that Touga-sama is the better tactician. In the political arena, on the battlefield, it doesn't matter. And so I, along with all those who are behind me, will bet our very lives on that belief.
"What are you thinking?"
He opened his eyes and flicked them her way, his face now serious and unsmiling in the faint light. "Of battle plans and politics and betting."
"Ah," she replied, cocking a brow at him as she slid a hand slowly through her pelt. "We have the best odds, Masao. From whatever angle we view this situation from."
An odd flash passed through her mate's eyes, a slight frown following it. "I can't help but wonder, if you have so much faith in Touga-sama, why you did not choose to become his mate rather than just give him an heir," he said with a little bit of bite in his voice that his mate did not miss.
It seemed to amuse her as well as stroke her pride, that bite.
"That was never on the table between he and I, Masao. But do you not also have faith in him? If you thought him a poor leader, you would not have sworn yourself to his service. Nor would any of the rest of us. There is a reason he is alpha, and you know it."
Feeling a little foolish truthfully at his little bit of jealousy, Masao nodded. "Yes, I know. I have no doubt that, whether Ryukotsussei is just slightly stronger than Touga-sama or not - which is by no means certain, of course - that our Lord is the smarter of the two, hands down. But it is not just intelligence, planning, and even numbers that decide a battle – but luck, as well. We have the first three – but do we have the last? This is what I ponder."
Satori scoffed pointedly. "Luck," she dismissed with a shrug of her shoulders. "There is no such thing. There is only intelligence, planning, and numbers. What most call luck is simply the capriciousness of the gods. Most times I don't turn a thought to their interference, for what are the gods to me? But this time... this time I think we have everything on our side, for this time we have Izayoi. And after all, has she not been tasked by those very gods to destroy the Shikon no Tama? She cannot do so if she falls in a battle with a waste of flesh such as that glorified snake," she dismissed, contempt quite clear in her voice for Ryukotsussei.
"Hm," her husband replied, glancing at her with amusement. "So it is not so much Touga-sama that you have the faith in, as it is his wife?"
"I suppose you could say that, in a way. Izayoi will not be defeated by such an opponent, no matter anything else. There is something within her that Ryukotsussei does not have, Masao, and that is an indomitable will. I do think that our dear, beloved new Lady is just about unbreakable. And it is that along with Touga's intelligence and planning that will win this war. Simple as that."
Masao nodded, but before he could say anything she spoke again, her words uncompromising, sharp, and very clear.
"The smartest thing Touga has ever done is wed Izayoi. It is that one act that will guarantee that we will rise above and conquer the dragon – and all his armies with him."
Those that waited at their backs that were close enough to hear her words could not help but agree.
Once again silence fell as they all waited for the darkness to fade and daylight to come bringing the red horse of war with it.
~oOo~
Tamotsu growled low in his chest as his nose caught an odd scent for just a second, a continuous sound of warning to whatever was out there that they'd better stay away. The scent faded again, just as it had the last three times, but by now he was certain that whatever it was it was not just a random, stray animal or small youkai - but something bigger.
Growl changing tempo and pitch he ordered his wolves to the hunt, determined to find whatever was out there before it found them. Hackles raised he waited, crouched silently in the sibilantly hissing grasses in a smaller version of his true form, for word from one of his hunters that their prey had been found.
They were positioned midway between the parts of their army that were being led by Sesshoumaru and on the other side by his mother and her mate and about four ri south of them, putting them about twelve ri from the bulk of the army. They were a contingency force, stationed so far behind just in case there were enemies out here that Ryukotsussei had managed to outflank them with.
So Touga was right, and Ryukotsussei has more soldiers behind us in an attempt to ambush us. He snorted gustily, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as long fangs flashed as a glint of light hit them. Soon now blood will be spilled and the carrion crows will descend to feed upon the carcasses.
He shifted a bit nervously; something was wrong. His hunters were not returning and nor were any calls to battle being sent. By now one or more of those ranging around the gathered pack should have found their mark. His ears perked and swiveled as he strained them to their utmost to catch any untoward sounds, and he sniffed the air currents for any telling scents of blood. The pack, gathered around him as they waited were becoming nervous as their senses also began jangling, and Tamotsu snarled lightly to let them know to keep still so that he could listen.
There! A familiar, loathed cold scent slipped teasingly past his sensitive nasal tissues before fading away but it was too late; he had their scent now – and their location. Heart beginning to race he commanded the pack to follow and he rose from his haunches, trotting off towards the south at a slower, more cautious pace – until he knew for certain exact location and number of enemies he would keep the pace slower despite the wish to run straight at the enemy and tear into their blood-filled bodies in a glorious rush.
Just then a strong scent of said blood hit the nose of every wolf in the pack; growls and snarls shook the air around them as the smell of the blood of one of their pack-brothers was immediately identified.
Now knowing that danger lurked close Tamotsu slowed and began to slink closer towards the scent, the pack at his back following his lead effortlessly and with anger at the spilling of one of their brother's blood. The enemy who had done this would pay...
If Tamotsu had still been standing up instead of slinking along low to the ground he would have been dead as the prairie grasses around them suddenly boiled over with a large force of enemies, mostly higher-level snakes and some smaller dragons.
Howls, snarls, growls and yelps suddenly surrounded him as he trumpeted a challenge and began tearing into any enemy close to him, his mind flooded with anger and even fear; it was clear from the scents and sounds that they had run into a much larger force than he and his pack.
Damn! How many are there, and how did they hide themselves so well from our noses?
Allowing himself to grow, he took on his true stature – that of a great direwolf as large as two horses and lifted his nose into the air; with a great, bell-toned howl, he sent the message across the veldt that an ambush had indeed been set. Afterward he once more tore into the enemy as more and more of his pack fell around him, outnumbered by far too many cold-bloods to get out of this fight without great losses. But if he and his pack were to die then he would take as many of these kami-forsaken bastards with him as was absolutely possible, and as his own blood began to flow from slashing wounds he gave himself over to the rage and let his higher consciousness fade into instinct, instead.
Ripping out the throat of his current opponent he took a quick survey of what they had run into, and every curse word he knew began running through his mind as he snapped a snake in half with slavering jaws. It was apparent that this force was almost the same size as the one that their warriors had fought yesterday, and he only had a thousand or so with him – which meant that they were outnumbered more than three-to-one. And while his wolves were smarter than their opponents and were fighting well, the odds were still against them.
This might just be his last stand, came the grim thought, and he was overtaken by a rush of sorrow as he thought affectionately of his wife and son even as his great teeth tore out the wing of one dragon, causing it to crash into the ground before him and take out several snakes as it fell. Outnumbered or not, he would make sure the pack gave a good accounting of themselves in this fight.
He could do little more than hope that the rest of their army faced better odds than what he and his pack had been given before he had no more time to worry about anything but the next enemy.
~oOo~
Bloody foam flying from deadly fangs, Tamotsu took note of the silence taking over the battlefield and the lightening of the sky to the east and then lifted his head once more. He howled, putting all of his last strength into the sound and then lowered his great head and continued the fight. He was faltering now and most of his pack was dead around him, but as long as he could still stand he would continue to fight. The ground wavered beneath his feet, and he accepted that this was his death – his strength was spent.
May the gods favor you more than they did me, Touga, was his last thought before darkness reached up and took him down with it, the body of his last opponent still clenched in his jaws.
~oOo~
The two dragons flying high above the battle twined together gleefully as they cast their enchantment over it, dulling all sound from within its circumference and making sure that Tamotsu's howl did not reach Touga's ears.
And so the first steps of the true battle began...
~oOo~
Eyes bleary, Shinji stared out over the veldt that was lit by the fires raging across it from the towns that had been destroyed. For two days now surrounding towns had been attacked, falling one by one to the invading youkai.
Takemaru had been at his persuasive best and had all the men under his command completely and totally on his side – youkai were evil and humans were pure, and it was through their leader that the world would be changed. He would gather the greatest force that their land had ever seen and then lead it on to destroy the youkai ravening across the countryside.
So far only a few people had made it out of those towns and villages alive, and most of those were from two villages that had gotten smart and come to them suing for protection before their homes could be destroyed.
Surprisingly enough those villages had even given him a few more warriors for his ranks, and with a smiling face Takemaru brought those villagers within his now much more cramped walls.
They had even learned from some of them what the place had originally been used for though most of those there had already pretty much guessed its origins and why it had been abandoned.
It seemed that the lord of this region had fallen in battle many years ago and the clan, wiped out almost to the last man, had no power left to retain their hold on their lands. This place had once been an outpost of that clan's army and had even been used a few times in the intervening years by others, which was why it was in such good repair, lucky for them...
He blew his forelock back out of his eyes as the smoke burned them, and sighed. I wish I knew what has these damn youkai out here in such a furor. It's odd and almost unheard of that higher youkai even bother with human habitations.
Could it be because of that war going on up north of here? It just doesn't make sense, though – there has to be more to it.
But what?
He was distracted from his thoughts by Takemaru, who appeared out of the darkness to stand next to him on the wall – the wall that was now surrounded by a fire-break so as to keep the fires from burning them out of their fort.
"Has there been any more villagers?" he asked as he clasped his hands behind his back and stared out over the darkly lit plain.
"No," he grunted, passing a hand across his burning eyes and holding back a sneeze as his nose also revolted at the poisonous air. "I honestly don't think there's anyone else still living out there, either. If there were, they'd be bound to find themselves cut off and surrounded by flames, anyway."
"Hm," Takemaru breathed in agreement, his dark eyes catching the red of the flames and sending a shiver down Shinji's back.
It's as if the fires of hell are burning in his eyes...
The momentary flight of fancy faded as Takemaru glanced back over his shoulder and down into the yards where the villagers were huddled in quiet masses with their few effects. "If we are going to have more mouths to feed we are going to have to find a way out of that mess out there and 'forage' for more supplies," he said, finally coming around to his reason for seeking Shinji out.
"And none to soon, either," he agreed. "We're already running low and this bunch weren't able to bring much with them."
"Not Surprising," Takemaru sighed. "But what's going to happen is that we're going to have to split our forces more than I had originally planned when going out. There will have to be more left here to guard the fort than would have been necessary before. I will lead those going out. You will stay here and watch over what we've gathered already – men and goods," he smiled ironically as Shinji snorted.
"Got more of one than the other," the mercenary grunted acerbically as he inhaled deeply of a cooling breeze that drifted past his face. He sighed tiredly and nodded. "Very well. I will take over here until you return."
Takemaru clapped him on the back. "Good. We will leave at first light. May the kami guide and protect you from the youkai plague ravaging our fair land."
Shinji just raised a hand in answer as the Captain leapt lightly to the ground to go gather those he would be taking on his 'foraging' foray.
And may the kami have mercy on your soul, Takemaru. I can only be glad I don't suffer the same madness you do.
~oOo~
Still holding ranks though in a slightly more informal manner, Touga's forces glared across the field at their enemies, who glared back though no taunts were spoken. Touga himself stood at the head of his warriors, his wife and her entourage standing just to the side and a little behind. They waited with scarcely hidden impatience as the sky lightened by slow increments and the sun made its stately way up over the horizon.
As the light grew and touched the gathered armies Touga made a curt gesture with one hand and the combined soldiers snapped to attention from their earlier rest. He glanced over his shoulder at the new head of his council.
"You are ready?" he asked as Tsutomu nodded, holding up the pearl he was rolling absently between his fingers for his Lord to see. "Good," he grunted, motioning for the other male to step forward so as to be in position as soon as he was needed.
They stayed that way as the new day brightened, waiting for their main opponents to show their faces. Finally, just as the sun touched the lowest part of Ryukotsussei's palace, the devil himself came sauntering out accompanied by his General and his officers.
Touga studied his enemy and his companions, a very slight frown washing across his face before fading away. Where are the two female dragonesses? he wondered, but then nodded to himself as two massive dragons flared their fringes and came to a crashing landing before the enemy army just as Ryukotsussei and his entourage arrived. As Touga watched the two wrapped themselves in their youki and shimmered into their human forms.
And speak of the devil's compatriots. Powerful, his eyes narrowed as he studied their youketsu. He didn't even need to look to know his wife was doing the same thing, and he let his eyes fall to the ground and smiled slyly as he waited for the bastard to speak.
"So we meet in war at last, dog," the dragon purred, smirking as he looked around the field at the forces arrayed against him – in an odd manner he'd never seen before. But he brushed that thought away for the moment – it mattered not how the dog deployed his forces – he would still be destroyed. "But did you perhaps forget to bring your army with you?" he asked mockingly. "This little get together would have been so much more enjoyable if you'd brought more to the party, don't you think?"
Touga, who had maintained his silence as well as his stance while Ryukotsussei spoke, began to chuckle. He raised his head and looked across the field at his opponent with scornful mirth.
"Oh, I think that I have more than enough here to entertain you, snake," he chuckled again, knowing that insult would bite – dragons did not like to be reminded of their kinship with those that they considered the dregs of their race. "Especially as you were not able to find where I had hidden the jewel you so coveted. I hope that you weren't too disappointed with the help you had purchased from the one who tried so hard to insinuate himself into my trusted circle."
Ryukotsussei's smug smirk faded and his eyes narrowed at that jibe. "What nonsense do you speak, mutt?" he snapped, not looking so happy now.
Touga motioned over his shoulder with a crisp twist of his wrist; Tsutomu, smiling blandly, stepped forward and once more opened the dark portal. As Hisashi's now rigid corpse fell to the ground, Touga picked him up and threw him across the intervening space to land before the dragon. "Why, this is what I mean, Ryukotsussei – did you really think I wouldn't peg your little spy? I am not as much a fool as you like to think."
Ryukotsussei stepped back in offended shock as the smelly corpse landed before him, anger beginning to burn through him at the proof of his failure to steal the Shikon no Tama. He was well aware of the silence at his back as the dragon clans watched, their bright pennons snapping in the morning breeze. He knew they were judging him, and so far he hadn't come out looking so good.
It was time to change that.
He took another step back and hissed, "Get this smelly thing out from in front of me, one of you," as he lifted his head up and smiled coldly, once more trying to get his feet under him as one of the junior officers whisked the corpse out of sight.
"So... I hear that the mutt has finally taken a mate," he quipped snidely, "though I don't see her. I was so disappointed not to be invited to such an event as the wedding of the wily Western Lord. But then again, from what I've heard she is just a weak human, so I suppose it is not surprising that you feared to bring her. My friends here," he motioned to the two females standing beside him, "are sure to be most disappointed, since they came quite a long way to meet her."
That was Izayoi's call. Without pause and before her husband could even open his mouth to answer that bit of tripe, she stepped through those surrounding her and met the dragon's gaze herself for the first time. She weighed him and then dismissed him, turning her gaze to the two females standing with him. After a moment she smiled faintly and then spoke.
"You have no need to fear then, dragon, for I am here just as is my husband. I would not miss such an occasion as this and... disappoint you so severely." While speaking in a cold, unimpressed tone, inwardly she was shivering at the look in the dragon's eyes as he ran them over her. She well remembered the little bit of memory she'd gotten from Takako, and she could understand the female's fear all too well.
This male was evil. He was the epitome of what humans always feared about youkai, the kind of being they would hold up as proof that youkai were bad, impure and nothing more than raving devils with a thirst for death and destruction on a human scale. And they wouldn't be wrong – at least not about him.
Tall, he had orange eyes and red hair that waved like fire in the air, an odd thing that was strangely mesmerizing and was all in all a handsome enough male. But it was a lie, because once you got past the outer shell, you saw hell staring back at you.
Still, she would not let him see her falter at the expression he was now sporting as he looked her over, and she stepped forward to stand at her husband's side, reaching over her shoulder for her bow and an arrow with a crisp efficiency and even a deadly beauty to the move that drew the beast's eyes upward again, and she raised her chin.
"And so are you through with the ridiculous posturing, or must we stand here and listen to more of it?" she asked archly with an unimpressed overtone to her voice that none there missed.
Everyone could see the anger in the male's eyes but surprisingly he held it in and looked at Touga with a raised brow. "I had no idea your taste in female's was so exotic, dog. It is no wonder that well-worn whore Takako couldn't entice you to play. It's too bad I didn't find this wife of yours first – I would have loved to break her. And there are so many pleasurable ways – at least for me – to do so, too," he sighed with mocking regret as he watched his enemy closely to see what effect his words would have.
His words were a deliberate stab at what he knew of youkai possessiveness and jealousy. He was baiting Touga, wanting to sink the knife in first psychologically, and then physically.
This was where Touga would best him first before besting him in battle, as well. He would never allow his sweet Izayoi to be contaminated by that bastard's touch.
Though anger and rage burned within at dragon's provocative words, at the fact that the fool was daring to look at her and imagine such... disgusting things, he did not allow his anger to show one iota, keeping it locked deep inside. He would most definitely make Ryukotsussei pay for what he was thinking about his wife – shortly.
"You are not good enough to lick the ground my wife walks on, carrion, and your words hold no merit because never would you be allowed to touch her – if I don't kill you, she will," he said with a dangerous grin as his eyes ignited hungrily. "And her words were most definitely to the point – the point that you do not seem able to make yourself. How much more drivel must we listen to?"
Face once more losing its dangerous smirk Ryukotsussei scowled and snapped his fingers for his General. When the male stepped forward, bowing, he asked in a quieter voice, "That formation he has his little army in. What could he be planning by lining them up in such an odd way?"
His General shook his head, frowning faintly. "I have been wondering the same thing, my lord," he replied carefully, hoping not to lose his head before the battle even got underway because he didn't have an answer for him.
Fortunately for the General no one else had an answer either, and so Ryukotsussei's anger was directed once more at the waiting Touga.
"Well, then, my lowly opponent, why don't we get down to business since you seem so eager to die?" The dragon turned his head over his shoulder and yelled, "Attack! Let us teach the fool dog and his measly force to fear us! The dragon's of the North will never bow to the dogs of the West!"
The front lines of Ryukotsussei's force broke into a run and Touga's warriors braced, waiting for their foes to reach them.
Izayoi, on the other hand, gathered her attendants and followed the twin dragonesses, who had veered off from the main force to a small rise about half a ri away from the main battle, riding a very ready Kirara for ease.
As she and those around her came to a halt facing the two females Izayoi had one last moment to worry about her husband before she was forced to turn her mind to her own fight.
Be safe, Touga... and don't throw your life away just to kill Ryukotsussei!
Her arrow glinted wickedly in the morning light as she drew it and held it ready for her first testing skirmish against her foes.
Wait for me!
