I do not own Inuyasha!
Writing a battle scene can be hard but it is even more difficult when it involves many people. I tried my best and I think I did alright! Well I hope you like it?
He sighed heavily as he looked upon his men; men that would give their very lives to serve him and knew that when it was all over many of them would have done so. The life of a soldier was hard, fleeting like the changing of the seasons, especially now in times of unrest the sentiment was even more profound.
The army was divided into three battalions, the first, second and third. The latter he was in charge of with two of his most trusted and wise generals. The second fleet consisted of human and hanyou soldiers fighting along-side each other for a common cause. The first was the largest, consisting of experienced and powerful demon warriors, the heart and soul of Sesshomaru's army.
Many soldiers were new recruits and hence were not fully trained. The decision he had taken of including them into the war at hand did not sit well with his conscience. However, the attack on his son changed the dynamics of his strategy and so they march. The rest of Shun's and Hitoshi's army were dispersed along a ten miles radius outside of the western empire, spies and archers were cleverly placed inside the city's wall that on his command would open the main gates to start the attack.
Inuyasha and Koga brought to the gathering their own unique fighting styles and demon weapons. They would each jointly oversee a battalion consisting of a general. All was set, the land still dark as soldiers traverse the steep and narrow pathway down the hillside.
They had an hour's walk to get within striking distance of the west. As he thought on these things he knew that the first wave of attacks was just about to begin. Getting rid of the guards along the five mile radius was significant. It had to be clean and swift, there could be no survivors, no one left alive to warn the kingdom of its impending downfall.
There was one other that he was anxious to see and that was his friend Tora, he had a very special ability among his list of arsenals, the war could not be won without his expertise. This capability would serve a greater purpose when facing dragons and that included his dam lady Harumi.
The timing was perfect, he couldn't have planned it any better than fate already has. It was the day before the start of the council of elders. All would be in attendance and away from their regions and guards relaxing before the summit started; never knowing until it was too late that their lives would soon come to an end.
Ryoma and his dam would only benefit from the soldiers in the capital city. All others would be in the provinces of their homes and away from the west's main city. By the time the storm broke it would have already been too late.
The descent from the mountains was quick yet silent. Yuki watched the procession some distance away hiding between trees and boulders. She didn't think to breathe as she wanted to go undetected. Dog demon noses were highly sensitive, if the ogre could have founded her so easily before, then it would be wise to stay downwind until the army passed.
She knew the makeup of her father's army based on conversations that she has had with him. She would wait until the first battalion marched by then join in with the second. It was the only way she could blend in and hide, because that fleet had mostly human and hanyou soldiers. As it were she was still a hanyou with mostly human appearances; in another week her form would be that of a full demon.
Yuki turned to examine her surroundings; she had to make sure that she followed by at least fifty meters to the left of the army, when the timing was right and the moment presented itself she would take it. She had to do it before her father and his men came from the mountains.
Lord Shun and his men moved silently like cats stalking their prey as they gathered momentum. With their eyes steadily focused on the prize they moved in for the kill on the unsuspecting soldiers. The order was given with the flick of a finger and the infantry surged forward silently like a wave of smoke in the darkness.
The ground shook as the men descended upon their victims with claws, swords and spears. The massacre was quick and precise, unsuspecting guards were like lambs to the slaughter. With three hundred dead the way was cleared. The infantry surrounded the city as the sun begun to rise in the east. Sesshomaru and his men took the northern gate while the first regiment stormed the back entrance.
The men were poised and ready to fight. One hundred archers gathered on top of the structure adjacent to the council building, while another hundred perched on the narrow slope of land on the hill looking down into the city.
Shun's men bordered the capital city, where they would stand guard for escapees and any infantry who tried to aid the kingdom. The city was flooded with soldiers and each regiment served a purpose. When all the fighters were in place, Sesshomaru shouted the order and the second wave of attack was discharged.
Raining down on the city and buildings inside the enclosure was a volley of two hundred torches from the archers on the hill; their aim was the barrels of sake placed in carts and smaller surrounding structures in the town's center. The impact caused a huge explosion that sent the fires in different direction. It was a tactic used to wake up the city and to cause confusion.
Ryoma jumped from his bed alarmed and made a mad dash to get to his daughter, as volley after volley of arrows beat down mercilessly on the palace sounding like a hailstorm. Izumi awoke and ran to her father who grabbed unto her wrist and pulled her roughly after him.
"Father," she cried, "what is happening?"
She screamed in terror as a boulder came crashing through the side walls of the castle. Her father was unable to answer as he too was fearful; the only thought that he had now was to get her to the dungeons where she could escape. He tugged on her arm forcefully, pulling her after him.
His mind wandered to his sons, but that could wait as his daughter needed protection, up until now she had not shown any signs that she'd inherited his bloodline traits of transforming into a dragon.
The members of the council were up startled by the loud noises outside and the smell of smoke; it was a mixture of fighting and shouting. Thick black smoke covered the sky over the kingdom forming a curtain that blocked out the sun.
The empire's guards and soldiers moved into position as it became increasingly clear that they were under heavy attack. The corners of lady Harumi's eyes twitched frequently as she watched the onslaught from a window, the upstart made her blood boil with rage and vexation. In one mighty swoop she flew into the midst of the attack wielding her whips like a sword that viciously took the heads of those in its reach.
Izumi cried as her father opened the iron bars of the dungeon and pushed her in then closed it after she was inside. The noises outside sent a wave of panic throughout her system, spreading each time that a boulder catapulted against the walls.
"Please father don't leave me!" she cried. "I'm scared."
He looked at her sad eyes and felt his heart beating like the thunder. He closed his eyes and turned away, leaving his crying offspring alone. He sighed, he had an empire to defend and his daughter would have to escape and survive until they were re-united.
"Cavalry follow me!"
The human general shouted as he spurred his horse into the middle of the square where a lone demoness was killing his foot soldiers. Sesshomaru and his men stormed the front gates with swords drawn fighting their way through a sea of men.
The slicing of flesh and breaking of bones were disturbing as Yuki fought her way to the center of the town, she could barely see with all the smoke, and the blood that splashed into her eyes each time that she used her weapon to kill blurred her vision even more.
Inuyasha and Koga finally fought their way inside the council building looking, searching and sniffing their way to the traitorous council members. They could smell the fear as it rippled passed their noses and onto their skin.
"Show yourselves you stinking cowards or I will blast you to bits." Inuyasha shouted angrily.
One by one the remaining council members came before them moving from the shadows like ghosts. There were five of them, three with weapons and two without. Inuyasha didn't wait, he charged forward within their midst and attacked.
Outside Sesshomaru pointed to six young demon soldiers who came forward and knelt before him. But before he addressed them he scented the air for his mother and the ryu, but the scent of someone very close to him mingled with the others.
His eyes widened a fraction, but as he scented the air again to confirm his suspicions it vanished, the sky darkened even further as loud and deafening screeching broke his concentration. The darkness was a moving one and he knew who was responsible as the cries reached fever pitch.
Hurriedly he spoke to the young males. "There are six secret exits from within the castle; they lead from tunnels that end just outside bordering the city's wall. Make haste and guard them."
"Hai," the soldiers responded and then left.
Koga and Inuyasha made fast work of their opponents leaving one alive at the request of Sesshomaru.
Izumi crawled through the tunnel that seemed never ending, but just when she felt like stopping a ray of light shone through the darkness and she continued on.
The moving darkness spewed breath of fire on the men taking down half the building and the archers who occupied it. Their screams of death sent chills up the spines of all who witnessed it. The archers along the narrow hill came into view letting loose volley after volley of arrows into the body of the beast. It had no effect as it failed to pierce the leathery tough skin.
Yuki looked upon the creature in awe and wondered if they stood a chance against it. All the while the white haired demoness killed every opponent who faced her with green energies that formed whips, poisons that spilled from her claws that melted flesh from bones, and a jewel housed around her neck that she used to suck the lives and souls out of multiple persons at a time.
She knew the demoness was her father's mother and her maternal grandmother, but she was repulsed by the woman.
She will be the one to kill her for what she has done to her parents and brother, she decided.
With a growl from him Sesshomaru's men rushed forward with swords and shields, the earth shook with the efforts. The dragon ascended higher and higher, then dived forward swiftly with a ball of white energy regurgitating from his elongated jaws, the force descended upon the men with a light so bright that no one could see save for the strongest. When the light vanished only the floating ashes of the men remained, they were burnt to cinders.
He didn't manage to kill everyone, but the attack seemed to have weakened him immensely, as he perched on the balcony and seemed to be panting. The barrier that Yuki had used to protect herself held only a moment before it shattered under the onslaught, luckily the attack was from pure energy and it did not affect her adversely.
The first infantry that was at the back gate descended upon the city like a swarm of bees when it grew quiet; it was their time to join the fight. Sesshomaru walked unhurriedly to the center of the town just as his mother turned and walked away. He nodded to Tora who followed her quietly to her destination.
Six young soldiers waited almost in boredom next to the tunnels wanting to join the battle at hand. The sound of one of the metal enclosure as it came flying outside by a vicious kick ended their boredom. The noise startled them briefly, but quickly they regain their composure and re-armed themselves with their swords, that had been resting idly against the wall. As they were on alert a beautiful young demoness crawled out of the tunnel.
Sesshomaru watched the creature and saw that it was recuperating, the battle would begin again. All around him there were clashing of steel on steel, the grunting of soldiers as they died; fire and smoke, pungent blood as it ran along the ground in streams permeating the air with rawness. He sheathed his sword; he had made a very useful discovery.
The young men descended upon Izumi in excitement, groping and feeling her very inappropriately, she fought them hard kicking, biting and screaming. She cried for her father but he was too far away and the noises of the battle drowned out her cries for help. They held her down and tore the kimono away from her body. In their minds all who resided in the castle were vile and needed to be destroyed, but she was young and pretty and they did not want to kill her just yet, they would use her then kill her when they were done.
She felt agony as one of the males plunged into her center, ripping her innocence away, he moved deep and hard within her womanhood, and after awhile she stopped struggling. Something as potent as a raging fire ran through her belly, consuming her entire being, making her blood boil with rage as it flooded her system spreading like wildfire.
Her spine twisted, her face and form took another shape and she blasted the males away killing them instantly. Her feet lifted off the ground, and wings that she'd never seen before lifted her higher. When she stopped she was beside another being just like herself.
What a spectacle they made? Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed from the sun as well as from the sight the pair made. Ryoma smiled inside grateful that his daughter had finally transformed and would be able to assist him while his sons were missing in action.
The rest of the first regiment at the back gate was engaged in battle by the majority of Ryoma's soldiers. They had the upper hand, they parried and thrust moving with agility and deadly force, they saw every attack and avoided them. They would keep fighting holding everyone else at bay until lord Sesshomaru conquered his enemies and thus reclaiming his kingdom.
Tora followed the demoness inside and came to a halt, refusing to get any closer than he had to.
"Do you wish to die?" She asked him in a casual manner.
"I will not be the one to die here today my lady."
She turned and looked upon the ginger eyed cat, and she could sense that he was very powerful by his strong aura and youki.
Smoke still assaulted her nostrils causing it to twitch as she gazed upon the cat while reaching for the jewel around her neck. Giving her no time to use her sorcery Tora blew a long breath so subtlety into her direction that she was stunned.
Her skin grew colder and colder as if she was being frozen, she couldn't move, her mouth opened to say something but her body had grown numb. Only the powers of a priestess or the caster of the spell could undo what he had done.
Two dragons took to the skies and sprayed the earth with fires of a thousand degrees. Smoke bubbled into the atmosphere spreading along the flanks of the city, many more soldiers perished. The ground was ablaze; hot and only those who were capable of flight were spared the torture to their feet.
Tora ran outside after sensing the effects of the fires. With a few puffs of breath he cooled the place down and the cold chill deadened the flames. Sesshomaru nodded to him while Yuki went inside the building unseen after her grandmother.
Dust and stone rose from the ground as static energy charged the air around the center of town. The earth shook as Sesshomaru transformed, Tora took up a bow and arrow, Koga and Inuyasha rushed to the town's center breathlessly after taking the sole elder to the army on the outskirts of the city for security reasons.
It was a puzzling situation as Yuki came face to face with her grandmother and viewed her frozen form. Maybe the tiger had something to do with this spell? She wondered. Lady Harumi was quite aware of everything around her, even though she could not move.
She smiled on the inside, her time was not yet over, of that she was certain as she gazed upon her granddaughter.
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