Rain: Ed are you still mad?
Ed: No. Why should I be mad? You only pushed me aside for the others. You only forgot me and neglected me.
Rain: But Ed you must have patience with us, your going to come in with a bang.
Snow: Sorry Ed for taking so long, we still love you.
Zel: Roy is better.
Ed: -Attacks Zel- Take that back!
Rain: Ok then lets just get started before Kaden makes a short joke…
Kaden: That reminds me, Hey Ed Rain is taller then you.
Ed: -Attacks Rain-
Snow: Go for it Maru-chan.
Sesshoumaru: You foolish mortals you are as unintelligent as you are weak to think Rain would own any anime… That damned monk would be happy if she did.
Chapter XI Part III
Back in Black
Rain stood just outside of a lush forest in front of Zane's castle, it was time, It was a day of fiery reckoning for all kitsune Rain would make sure they all knew her and feared her power even if she had to set the lands to fire she would prove that without a shadow of a drought that these lands were and would always be her families under Apollo's law and blood.
She smirked devilishly gazing at the castle, it was impressive a true marvel of a defensive structure, what it would defend agents Rain wasn't sure because she was the only danger here and that wouldn't stand up to her for very long.
She spread out her arms and legs for a better foothold in the dirt. With a grin of pure joy she flung flaming boulders ramming into the stone walls, stomping her foot she brought forth directly under the castle earthquakes strong enough to strike fear into the foxes living there. As people flooded out of the palace trying desperately to escape the falling walls she threw balls of fire into the crowd not caring at this point who it killed. They should have taken the warnings for granted now all they would hear would be burn.
Caught in her laughing frenzy Rain was caught off guard by a cloud of steam and being knocked over by a large block of ice.
"You fucked up my kitchen I'm gonna kill you!" her attacker screamed at her picking her up by her shirt making steam rise off of her.
"Tusrai, chill man it's me Rain…" She chuckled removing his hand.
"Rain! But you died." He looked like he saw a ghost. But hugged her anyways.
"Died!… No tall dark and scaly it would take a lot more then some psycho with a whip to do me in." She laughed trying to flee from the unfamiliar jester.
"So what are you going to do now." He asked.
"Well I've got a few house calls to make." She unsheathed her sword and took off running to the entrance Tusrai the dragon not to far behind.
Back in black,
I hit the sack,
I bet you know I'm glad to be back,
Yes I'm let loose,
From the noose,
That's kept me hanging about.
Rain and Tusrai ran trough the panicking masses to what was left of a throne room. Rain felt like killing every single one of them, there loud screams beating in her sensitive ears like needles, but no Tusrai wouldn't let her he surly was no fun at all. They ran through that damned crowd for what seemed like hours but was only a few minuets until they saw the Youko imposter. Rain stopped, glaring at his smile. He really made her sick, how could she have let him get that close, He walked to her slowly wearing that insane grin that was like a punch in the gut to her, he ran a hand through his hair laughing slightly.
"Couldn't keep away could you?" He still laughed. Rain growled in return Tusrai stood behind her this was her fight she might kill him if he interfered.
"Who are you?" She screamed, grabbing his neck and gripping tightly.
"You hurt me Rain… don't you know your own lover's face." He laughed at her which pissed her off more, now she drew his blood trying to keep from killing him before she heard what she wanted to know.
"That won't work this time you bastert! Now give me a name!" He reverted to his natural form, he had not been a silver but a black fox, the forbidden race the exiled from the fox lands who were more like the shadows then the reds and silvers could never be and Rain was filled with an all to familiar anger.
"My name is Kimari Jango. Does that please you, You Gunji-koppa?"(1) He snapped at her. Revealing just how tempting he was when angry. His eyes were not green or gold but were like amethyst fire, framed by his long black bangs and short hair. He was a six tail all black, Rain promptly stopped investigating this black fox and flung him with a flick of the wrist into the wall behind her.
"You should have never returned to these lands the black kitsune are not welcomed here." She yelled running over to him sword raised high in the air.
"You say you want to reunite the clans!" He screamed while rolling over, "But all you Gunji forget that we Kokuen-Kitsune are kitsune too!"(2)
"Be that as it may you are all forbidden to set foot in the lands." Rain yelled back.
"By who's law!" He growled back.! Rain finally had had enough, she twisted a knife in his gut cutting his head off with White Storm it was two quick movements made as one, Kaden-sempai would have been proud of. She looked down at the body and spit on his head.
"Mind your betters fool."
I've been looking at the sky,
'Cause it's gettin' me high,
Forget the hearse 'cause I never die.
"Are we done?" Tusrai asked looking down at her with his arms crossed.
"Yeah I just gotta take care of Zane."
"Alright kitsune, You go take care of him I'll take care of any guards hanging about here." Tusrai told her just needing to feel useful.
"That's good… meet me at the gate I'll try not to take to long."
"Don't have too much fun."
"I won't make that promise dragon." he laughed took out his double bladed ax and ran off in the opposite direction.
After a short sprint she found Zane trying to escape.
"Kimari told me you'd died!" He yelled with fear in his eyes as she stepped slowly to him.
"Well he lied…" She laughed feeling White Storm almost beg to feel his blood and feel his life leave him.
"It was all Kimari's idea I swear!" The fox lord fell to his knees before Rain, crying and begging for her to have mercy.
Rain's eyes flashed red in her anger, He wasn't even going to try to defend himself. She grabbed him by the hair and pulled him up to look her in the eyes.
"Guess what bitch I'm alive and kicking, it's not one of your sick and twisted nightmares that make you piss your bed at night and I hate it when fools like you try and beg. It reminds me of the humans." She smirked at the fear in his eyes… yes there it was exactly what she was looking for. She let go of him and crossed her arms, doing so she bent in closer to whisper in his ears.
"Run away. Run away and never return." she laughed like the mad woman she always was. He nodded and took off as fast as he could.
"Oooh I'm sorry that's a bad getaway." With that she threw a kunai straight into his neck
"Now no one can say I don't keep my promises. "She smiled walking over to the dead man, grabbing his hair and the blade taking his head clean off his neck and throwing it over her shoulder.
got nine lives,
Cat's eyes,
Abusin' every one of them and running wild.
"Hey Tusrai, come on lets go I still got things to do and your burnin' daylight." She laughed seeing her dragon friend leaning on a strong old tree reading a book called 'Cooking for Demons'.
"Dear lady I think it's quite impossible for me to burn anything." he put the book in a leather bag and walked beside the Kitsune Furor. "Where to now?"
"Well we are going to my family reunion." She smirked and kept walking.
"Why do I think it's not going to be a happy one?" She didn't answer him and they walked on.
'Cause I'm back,
Yes, I'm back,
Well, I'm back,
Yes, I'm back,
Well, I'm back, back,
Well, I'm back in black,
Yes, I'm back in black.
-O-
They reached the border with Rain still holding the silver's head by his hair She smiled and took in a deep breath. The strong sent of smoke and ash filled her nostrils and she knew she was home. Tusrai couldn't help but chuckle noticing Rain's almost at peace smile.
"Homesick huh?" He joked.
"Me? Nawh I've never been homesick." He knew she was lying but didn't say a word.
"Where are you going? The castle is over there!" Tusrai yelled seeing her change direction.
"I've got to do something that should have been done before…. Wait here I'll be back."
"But…Alright but stay out of trouble."
"Yeah.. Ok."
-O- At the ruins of an old castle
Rain looked around this place…. It had been torn down quickly and pushed aside like some piece of trash that needed never to be remembered. Much worse this was her place of birth, this was where her mother died, this was where she saw her father cry over her mother's body. This was where the wolves had him buried. This was where Kitcho told her to never let anyone see her tears, to be strong , to hold her head up and to walk straight and upright living on her terms, and her uncle Kitsou, who she knew with out a drought in her mind had destroyed this once beautiful building had not even the courtesy to clean out the land or use the rock for something useful. She was more then pissed now that dumb fuck was gonna fucking die. She moved over to the grave stone under the sakura tree… her mind flashed back to much happier times when she used to climb that tree with a little boy she used to beat up and race through the hills and fields. He was taller then her and far less stubborn, They fought like an old married couple knowing what buttons to push was easy back then …. She fell hopelessly for that little red headed boy but was to hardheaded to admit it, her mother would tease her making Rain swear that boys were nasty and carried diseases. That was the summer that everything changed, when she came home her mother was dead and her home was destroyed, her father sent her to Koga's to live and she never saw the boy again…. She bent down to the grave and placed a blossom on the stone.
"Father, I'm sorry it took me so long to come see you." She choked This was harder then she thought it would be.
"I'm back home… I'll take care of this mess. Yeah Your little girl grew up father. There's a guy in my life now. I think you'd like him…. He's not always around but when he is father he makes me happy." She fought back tears of missing him, even if she had her own child, her own life, even if he had been dead for over five hundred years, after all these years she was still his little girl… oh how she wished daddy could be here but well she could wish in one hand and shit in the other, We all know what hand would get filled up faster.
"Well I've got to be going now, but I promise I wont take so long to come and see you again." with that she stood up and met up with Tusrai.
"Well are you ready now Rai?" He looked worried, but Rain smiled like nothing had ever been wrong.
"Yeah Lets go meet up with Shea."
"Who is Shea?"
"My spy here."
"Oh…"
Back in the back,
Of a cadillac, Number one with a bullet,
I'm a power pack.
-O-
"Hey Shea Know anything I wanna know?" Rain popped up behind the taller kitsune with.
"No… not much has changed Rain-sama but it appears Kitsou is building up an attack force."
"Ah.. Well that doesn't matter… we'll sleep here tonight then we'll walk in tomorrow."
"Are you sure your prepared for this?" She asked while Tusrai gave a 'I am very lost ' look.
"Yeah I walk in I challenge him, I take his head, I show the clans I'm boss then I visit the temples piece of cake." She yawned and laid her head on her arms.
"And you are sure we can trust this guy?" She asked referring to the Ice dragon.
"Who Tusrai? Of course we can. Now get some shut eye it's gonna be a long day tomorrow." And with that she was dead to the world and asleep.
Yes, I'm in a bang,
With a gang,
They've got to catch me if they want me to hang.
-O-
The following morning Rain was on the move before her to accomplices woke up she had snuck into the room where Kitsou kept his whores she wasn't very surprised by the stench of human's in the large room he always did have some sick human fetish… she took the one rumored to be his favorite , gagged her and jumped out the window. Once outside the castle grounds she slit the human's neck and carved into her skin a message for her dear uncle.
Dear Uncle Kitsou,
I'm back and I would like to inform you that you are breaking the law, you will be pushed as I am challenging you to Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp… you know the consequence of not accepting our agent battle for the throne. You will be killed in the manor most fit.
-Your niece Rain
Cause I'm back on the track,
And I'm beatin' the flack,
Nobody's gonna get me on another rap.
She cleaned off her knife and snuck into the old man's room to let him lay with his dead whore… She laid the woman in bed with him then left before he woke up.
-O- In the dirt arena outside the castle
Kitsou surprised Rain by showing up… he was her father's twin except he kept his long red hair tied back and his eyes although they were the same shade of green as her fathers they were not as gentle or as kind.
"Alright Rain I'm here… and I think it's time I showed you your not as grown as you think."
"Stow it old man!" She yelled, foxes cheered and yelled needing to see some blood spilled.
A tall red kitsune stepped in front of them holding a long ribbon at both ends for them to take.
"In Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp you must never let go of the ribbon in your teeth at any point in the battle. It is a fight to the death. You may only use a butterfly knife no powers at all. To the winner go the spoils to the loser there is death. FIGHT!"
The two kitsune growled and showed there white fangs like pit bulls in the arena the one could smell the anger in the are as Rain pulled to the right to avoid a quick slash from her uncle's blade.
Rain was force to crab at his weapon with her free hand to escape another attack he smirked seeing the blood from her and fall down her arm and into the dirt. Rain growled still holding the blade it now diving deeper into her palm She brought back her sword arm and stabbed him in the gut until he used his free hand to smack her across the jaw making her trip backwards dragging him with her she rolled two her back and kicked him with both feet pushing him with a grunt to the ground forcing him to hit his head and her to be launched on top of him, Sword in hand she stabbed right into his shoulder. Still holding the cloth in her teeth she let go of the knife and punched him with every bit of strength she had over again, his blood flung into the air with every hit to the head it was all over her face as she snarled around the red and black ribbon her eyes holding every wild blood thirst of a beast when angered. Soon she had smashed in his skull and he was dead. The ref raised her fist high in the air as the crowd went crazy.
"My fellow Gunji, I give you the furor the daughter of the great Lord Kitcho Rain 'The Great Red Devil' May her rule be just and may we prosper like summer wine and may she always have the power to lead our army to greatness… In her lifetime may there never be a time when our swords get dusty." His voice echoed as Rain struggled to come down from her after battle high. She looked into the crowd… Tsurai and Shea watched as she addressed her people.
"My fellow Gunji I can only hope to be half the leader my father was and I shall strive to do so." She took her hand back bowing at the waist.
So look at me now,
I'm just makin' my play,
Don't try to push your luck, just get out of my way.
-O-
Rain looked into the mirror of her new castle it was where her father's once stood, she had Ember Town rebuilt and several others that Naraku and Zane and Kitsou had destroyed. She worked hard these past six months, She rebuilt and refurnished forts and bases and got kitsune jobs working in, for or with her armed forces…. The silvers glad that Zane was out of the picture accepted her rule mostly… she even appointed generals. Shea the red, and Isaak the silver, Tsurai was appointed head chef and war council after beating Rain in a very long game of chess.
It had been more then hard work but as she looked in the mirror and gazed at the red sun on her forehead she knew it was al worth it and even if she and her family would always owe Sesshoumaru she would put the kitsune first. She would never declare war on the Inu but if he was ever pissed enough and decided to attack her lands she would fight even him with everything she had. This was all true and some how Rain felt he knew and understood. She had asked the inu taiyokai already if she could move the bar closer to the boarder she did not know why or how but he said it was fine… it must have been Snow's power of persuasion working overtime either way it was none of the kitsune's concern. She had visited the temples and Zane's head along with Kitsou's were piked outside the ruins of there castles as a warning to those who got stupid.
"Hey Tsurai … come with me." She told him as she was leaving.
"Where are we going Rain?" He looked up from his book titled 'Cooking of the Western Lands'
"We're going home…"
"But we are home."
"I'm going back to my bar and my family and I was thinking about adding a grill to the place but I can't cook… And I did destroy your kitchen…. The job is yours if you want it." He was so overcome that he hugged Rain a little too hard.
"Thank you Rain my own place it's a dream come true I'll never forget it!" He almost yelled
"Can't…. breath… let go…" Rain sputtered till he complied.
Well I'm back, yes I'm back,
Well I'm back, yes I'm back,
Well I'm back, back
Well, I'm back in black, Yes, I'm back in black,
Ohooohooo YEAH!
OH YEAH! Yes i know!
Aieeee Yeah! Yeah!
Ohhhh YEAH,
YEAH! Give it up!
-O-
"Shippo, Zel, Dark Everybody I'm home." Rain called out late that night tossing her duffle bag and weapons down. Soon the upon the stairs was the sound of stampeding buffalo as her house mates rushed her at the door.
"Mom your back!" Was the voice of her now taller then his mother son. She looked up at him and smiled holding back a tear of joy.
"I've been gone to much your not my little kit anymore son."
"No mom… I'm not." He grinned like the full grown kitsune he was. Rain pulled him into a hug she missed that little brat. She looked to Snow.
"Thanks for looking after things for me… What did you feed my kid?"
"Oh you know the usual, cat nip, cigarettes and bourbon." the neko smiled looking over to the dragon.
"Who's ya friend Rai?" She asked eyeing the stranger cause it was after closing time.
"Oh him? Everybody this is Tsurai an ice dragon… he is gonna be our new cook he saved my life back when I was in Zane's jail." Cheers erupted throughout the bar as all it's residents took in a new pack member…. The night was full of dance, drink and song.
Well I'm back, back,
Well I'm back, back,
Back, back, Back in black,
Yes I'm back in black!
Out of the sight!
-O-
Later when everyone had gone to bed Rain stepped out and leaned on the large old tree taking in the cold night air watching the moon seem to just sit in the sky. She jumped when strong arms circled her waist from behind and hair tickled her neck, but knowing his sent she relaxed completely.
"Rain….I have come to you." He berried his nose in her long red hair. She melted herring his voice again.
"The question is for how long Youko." She brought up, leaning into him. She heard him sigh And prepared herself for the worst .
"For as long as you need me." He whispered while nibbling on her ear. She brought her lips to his in a long burning kiss… this was unbelievable he would stay at least for a little while it was more then she could have ever asked for and just what she needed. That night that tree was witness to the frolic of two foxes to caught up in each other to care.
Rain: Hey that chapter was bigger then me.
Kaden: Rain everything is bigger then you.
Tsurai: Yeah Rain do you need to stand on this stool to see it.
Rain:-Kicks Snow in the shin- Tsurai for every short joke you make I'm kicking her!
Snow: She kicks me again I'll kick your ass dragon!
Tsurai: Ok then. -whispers to Kaden-
Kaden: -smiles wickedly- Hey all you readers review shortie's story!
Rain: -Pouts- I'm not short!