Love and War
Disclaimer: I do not own, or make any money from, the stories of Inuyasha.
All Inuyasha characters are the sole property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise and Viz
All original characters belong to me.
Chapter Four
Village in Dispair
"Hey, lookee here, boys!", the burly guard called out, "We's gots ourselves another pretty lady to have fun with!"
The samurai and castle guards hollered and yelled their happiness at having yet another girl to do with as they pleased. They were enjoying the new lord's generosity. One young samurai, however, wasn't so happy,
"Tama? Great Kami, Tama, is that you?", the samurai ran up to the naked girl, her face and body swollen, bloody and covered in bruises. He tore off his coat and wrapped it around her,
"Yoshimaru, please, leave me be. Don't look at me.", the young girl tried to turn away,
"Yea, you heard her, Yoshimaru, leave her be. Leave her to us.", one guard called out as the others laughed,
"This is my fiancee, you bastards, you aren't touching her.", Yoshimaru said to them.
The huge, burly guard walked over to him, "The lord says we can. Now, get outta the way before I kill you."
Yoshimaru threw a right hook, hitting the guard in the face. It barely fazed him. The guard responded by punching Yoshimaru repeatedly, knocking him to the floor, where he then proceeded to kick his opponent endlessly. The onlookers laughed at Yoshimaru's plight. The young girl just stared, her tears falling freely,
"Yoshimaru.", she whispered.
The guard finally stopped attacking the young samurai. He walked over and grabbed the young girl and practically dragged her away,
"Let's go fellas.", he said, "Let's see how many of us she can take at one time, shall we?"
The men walked away laughing and cheering. Yoshimaru managed to stand and stagger out of the courtyard and head into the castle.
--
Nishimura was preparing for lunch when the young samurai staggered in,
"You bastard!", he spat out weakly, "You gave me your word, that you would not harm my fiancee or sisters."
"Did I now?", mused the lord, "Hmmm ... I do not recall. But, yes, I did have a wonderful time with a beauty named Tama last night. Very fiesty girl, I must say."
The samurai came over to the lord and started to draw his sword. Before he could, the lord had him around the neck and lifted off of the ground. The man valiantly tried to get free,
"You are trying to rush to your death, are you? Your struggles are in vain ... if I tighten my fist just a bit more,", Nishimura began tightening his hand to prove his point, causing the samurai to gag, "I could easily break your windpipe.", he dropped the samurai to the floor.
Yoshimaru struggled to catch his breath, grabbing his throat with his hands,
"That's too good for you. No, I know a better punishment for you. I will have you hanging by your arms in my bedroom while you watch me deflower your sisters.", he laughed evilly.
"You ... bastard.", Yoshimaru coughed out, "You gave ... me ... your word ... as a gentleman ... dammit."
Nishimura knelt down by the samurai, "Yes, I did.", he told him, "But, one must be a gentleman to give his word as such."
The lord stood up and called a guard,
"Take him to my bed chambers and tie him up. I will tell you what to do with him when I return. And, bring my horse, Khan, around. I ride with the army today."
"Yes, my lord.", the guard bowed.
--
Nishimura was in high spirits as they headed toward the "problem" village,
"You see, captain,", he spoke to the new captain of the army, "Villagers are more reasonable when you kill.", he said, looking at the wagon full of rice, vegetables, and goods.
"Yes, my lord.", agreed the captain heartily, "I understand.", he said, hefting up the huge bag of money.
Nishimura stopped at the entrance to Kaede's village and looked at the shrine,
"A living deity resides here?", he asked, reading the shrine.
"That is what the shrine says, though it makes no mention of whether the deity is male or female.", said the captain.
"Really!", admonished Nishimura, "Fairy tales. Deities are only in imaginations. Let's go and beat these villagers into submission, shall we?"
--
Inuyasha looked up from his work at the approaching horses. Miroku walked up to him,
"Damn! Didn't they learn their lesson?", Inuyasha complained.
"Apparantly not.", said Miroku.
The two men walked towards the horses. Kagome and Sango watched from the tea hut, nervously,
"Suki.", Sango urged, "Take your brothers and sisters to Onigumo's cave. Stay there until we come for you."
"Yes, mama.", Suki said, as she went back into the hut to get her siblings.
Kagome looked down at Shinta, "Shinta, take Kai and Izayoi to the same place. Do not return no matter what. One of us will come get you soon, ok?"
"Kay, mama.", Shinta agreed, heading back into the hut as well,
"Where's Shippou and Kirara?", Kagome asked Sango.
"I don't know.", her friend answered.
Kagome gulped hard. Something wasn't right. Her eyes returned to Inuyasha and Miroku,
"I am Lord Nishimura, the new daimyo of this region. Who is the one who claims to protect this village?"
Inuyasha stepped forward, "You're looking at him."
Nishimura grinned, "And, just, what are you? This isn't Halloween, you know?"
Kagome's eyes widened, 'His accent. He speaks Japanese fluently but his accent is ... something else. And, Halloween? The people of Japan in this era no nothing of Halloween.', she thought.
Inuyasha voiced her thoughts, "Hallo ... what? What the fuck are you talking about? I'm a demon, you idiot."
"A demon, you say? HMPH! There are no such things.", the lord said, cockily.
Inuyasha cracked his knuckles, "Well, this 'no such thing' is gonna kick your ass, you bastard!"
Miroku stepped back. Something didn't feel right to him. He always worked on instinct and had learned to trust his vibes. And the vibe he was getting wasn't good,
"Watch yourself, Inuaysha.", he warned.
"PFFT! As if I'd lose to a human like him.", Inuyasha responded.
Nishimura ordered his troops,
"Raid this village, men. Set fire to all the huts and get all the valuables, rice and food you can find. Kill all the livestock, too. If they want to disobey, they will pay for it."
"Yea, yea ...the last guy said that too.", Inuyasha informed him, "And I sent him back to you with his tail between his legs. I'll do the same to you, asshole!"
The soldiers dismounted and quickly started to follow the lord's orders. Miroku attacked a few, but was quickly outnumbered,
"HAIRAKOTSU!"
Sango's weapon broke up the mob around Miroku and he was able to get back on his feet. Inuyasha, meanwhile, was trying to get through the throng to get to the lord. He punched and threw soldiers as fast as he could,
"THERE'S TOO MANY OF THEM!", Miroku yelled.
"DAMN!", Inuyasha exclaimed. He decided to just aim for the lord. As he started his leap over the soldiers, he felt Kagome's energy behind him. He knew she was trying to protect the villagers and their homes. He also realized that the release of her powers had gotten the lord's attention, 'DAMMIT ALL.', he cursed inwardly, 'I don't need him knowing about her powers!'
Inuyasha thought the lord was distracted enough by Kagome's powers that he could get a clean shot. He thought wrong. He had no idea what happened next ... all he knew was he heard a loud BANG and felt fire ripping into his chest as he fell to the ground,
"INUYASHA!", Kagome screamed.
The village forgotten, she ran to his side She heard the loud bang again and saw Miroku fall. A sobbing Sango was by her husband's side. Kagome tried to stem the bleeding from Inuyasha's chest wound. His blood quickly soaked every cloth she placed on his chest,
"Stay with me, Inuaysha.", she told him, trying not to sob.
She looked up at the lord when she realized she was being watched. The lord stared at her curiously and with rapt fascination. Her anger built up inside her. Closing her eyes and her fist, she prayed to the gods,
'Please give me this power.'
The energy swirled around her fist and she began to open her hand and aim it at Nishimura. She wasn't quick enough. He sensed the impending danger and sounded the retreat, himself urging his horse into a full gallop. The energy blast that was released from her hand hit empty space,
"DAMMIT!", she cried out at her failure.
--
Nishimura thought about the young girl that had come to the man's side, as he rode back to the castle,
'Her power. I could sense incredible power from her. Is she a witch? A sorceress? And her beauty ... a simple peasant but, quite beautiful.'
He was so lost in thought, he hadn't realized they had arrived at the castle. He dismounted his steed and entered the castle. As he entered, a guard stopped him,
"The young samurai, my lord, what do you want done with him?"
"Ah, yes, him. Tie him up by his wrists on the wall. And bring me his family. All of them. He will watch their torture."
"Yes, my lord."
--
Kagome surveyed the damage. Corpses of villagers littered the village. Some huts, fields and the silos were in ruins. Livestock had been saved thanks to the armies retreat when she started to call forth her energies. Kohaku and other village men were digging graves. She left the minor injuries to Kaede. She picked up a bucket of water and headed into her hut. Miroku and Inuyasha lay on the floor. Sango knelt beside Miroku,
"Miroku's injury is not as bad.", she informed Sango, "Inuyasha's is worse. I must attend to him first."
"Is there anything I can do?", Sango asked.
"Miroku's bleeding has stopped. That's good. But, I must remove the bullet from his chest. I'm hoping I can keep the bleeding to a minimum using my powers. Just stay by him, Sango."
Kagome began to work on Inuyasha. She turned Inuyasha over and realized that the bullet that had hit him exited through his back. Her main worry was the bleeding. Removing his yukata, she realized her worry was not necessary. He was healing already. She figured he was still unconcious due to the loss of blood. She turned her attention to Miroku. Cutting him open carefully, she located the bullet. Removing it, she applied pressure with her hand and sent healing energies into him. She could feel his lifeforce return with strength,
"He'll be fine now.", she told Sango.
Sango breathed a sigh of relief, "I wish I could say the same about the village and villagers."
"I agree. Luckily, a few huts were spared. But, we lost alot of food."
"I'll head over and get the children from the cave.", Sango said.
"Ok.", Kagome watched as her friend left. She sat down and thought,
'This man, Nishimura. What is his story?'
--
The lord walked into his bed chambers after a large feast. He was pleased to see the samurai hanging on the wall,
"I hope you enjoy tonight's entertainment.", Nishimura told him.
A guard entered the room dragging a small, screaming girl by the arm. The saumarai's eyes widened in fear,
"NO! DAMN YOU! NO! NOT MY SISTER! SHE'S ONLY 7 YEARS OLD, DAMN YOU!!"
Nishimura ripped the child's clothes off and tied her to the bed as he had done to the other girls. The child cried uncontrollably. He looked at his prey,
"Your name is Mariko, am I correct?"
The child nodded slowly,
"Well, Mariko. You can blame your brother for tonight. I shall enjoy this immensly.", Nishimura grinned evilly, as he removed his clothes.
The girl's screams and her brother's anguished wails echoed throughout the castle.