Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha.

Chapter 30: Touken

"I'm telling you, Oyaji is the hot-headed one and Sesshomaru is ice cold. If you told him a giant bug just ate off his leg he'd just stand there as passive as ever." Shippou chuckled as he walked Kigai to the front entrance of the castle.

"He's just a leader. We're all a bit passive-like when we have to be." Kigai replied.

"Ha! You'll be lucky to even get an acknowledgement of your presence from the 'great Ice lord'. I swear, if you're looking to be thanked, you might as well forget it."

Kigai held his head high and regal-like as he Shippou lead him through the main hallway in the castle. There, Shippou hung back while an inu lead him further down the hall, which opened up into a large room where the inu lord stood waited. The inu-youkai that led him in quickly bowed and made his exit. Kigai bowed to the lord, and Sesshomaru gave a slight nod and motioned the wolf-prince to sit.

"Lord Sesshomaru, my tribe and I will be honored to fight along side of you and your kin. InuYasha has been our ally for a long time. My Okaa-san's tribe from the mountains has also agreed to join you, and should be arriving in a few days."

Sesshomaru looked off to the side. "Your tribe can find suitable places to stay outside of the castle grounds. This Sesshomaru will not have you wondering around in his presence."

"Very well, lord." Kigai stood back up and turned out the door and back down the hallway. Shippou was leaning propped against the wall with his arms crossed smirking as Kigai approached.

"Told ya."

Kigai chuckled. "He is a cold-shouldered one, isn't he? I would think that he'd be a bit more peppy since his daughter is a human. Or he could at least show a bit of gratitude that we're on his side of this war."

"Ha! Sesshomaru show gratitude? He'd rather have is other arm ripped off, eyeballs plucked out, and toes fed to the birds."

Kigai gave a quizzical look. "Toes?"

Shippou shrugged. "So I'm a bit off today, can you blame me?"

"Guess not. Your Okaa-san okay?"

"Yea. She'd be better if Makoto would just get his tail back here. I know he has to work things out, but we've more pressing matters right now." Shippou clenched and unclenched his fists.

"Oi. When did you get here?" InuYasha walked up with his arms crossed. "And where's that mangy wolf?"

"I just got here about an hour ago. Otou-san and Okaa-san are still in the mountain den. They'll be here in a few days." Kigai scratched the back of his head. "Care to get me updated on what's going on out there? Your brother doesn't seem like one to elaborate too much on things."

"Keh. A war is going on, that's what. Haru and his followers made it to the Southern Territories."

"Well, they won't catch us down there, now will they?" Kigai smirked.

"Nope. I think they managed to get a few of the southern bear-youkai and the bat-youkai tribe, though. We already know his has the North and East wolf-youkai tribes, the Northern eagle flocks, and the Eastern fox-youkai. That's all we're completely sure of, but he has more followers than that. Anyone with a distaste for humans is bound to show up."

"…What about our side? How are we fairing so far?"

"Keh. We've got a couple of wolf-packs, whatever is left of Sesshomaru's followers, a few of Shori's bat-relatives, and a few stray youkai and humans. All the rest are either with Haru or are trying their best to keep out of the fightings." InuYasha gazed intently at the stone floor, lost in his thoughts. They were fiercely outnumbered. What had began as a simple plot of revenge had become a war across half of Japan. Humans were being slaughtered in their villages; youkai pups were being trapped and murdered, leaving their vengeful parents to kill even more. Haru had turned his little feud into a blood-bath for the innocent and the real war hadn't even started yet. Kigai and Shippou seemed to be thinking the same thing, their gazes following InuYasha's as they, too, thought through the situation.

"Whatever happens, we can't let anything happen to the castle. Okaa-san, Tani, and the pups will all be here."

InuYasha nodded. "That's for you, Miroku, Sango, Makoto, Kita, and whoever else we can afford to spare. Maybe some of Kigai's tribe." He looked up at the two. "We can't loose this fight."

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Kagome placed the sleeping Gina down on her pallet and edged her way to the window on one side of the stone wall. The cool night air flowed through, making the dark curtains flap in the breeze and cast eerie shadows through the moonlight. She folded her arms against the frame and lay her chin down as she gazed out into the night. The front of the castle was lit with dozens of small camp fires from humans and youkai alike. She could see Kigai and his tribe huddled close to the castle gates, their wolf servants sniffing around, swiveling their ears to the sounds of the night.

Among the rest of the youkai were a few dragon-youkai, a fox tribe, what looked like a tiger clan with two humans and a little tiger-hanyou with neko ears and a long twitching tail, sitting under a darkened tree were two sets of golden eyes which Kagome knew belonged to a couple of eagle-youkai, there were even some reptilian and other youkai Kagome couldn't quite identify in the dark. In the sky was a swarm of bat-youkai. Kagome recognized Shori leading the others as they swooped and dived through the late night mists. Further back were groups of humans huddled against their fires or settling down for the night in small tents with their horses tied to trees and stumps. All together Kagome figured there were around two-hundred, while she had overheard from InuYasha and Sesshomaru that Haru was known to have around six-hundred followers. So far they were outnumbered 3-1.

She sighed. It was now two weeks since Kagome and the others had stayed in the castle, with no sign of Makoto. Sesshomaru made it known that that they couldn't wait for the boy any longer, and that the small army would be moving out first thing in the morning. Haru was slowly making his way back to the Western Lands, and Sesshomaru was bent on meeting him along the way and stopping them from reaching the castle. InuYasha would be leaving with them. He and Sesshomaru had ordered all the children, elders, and anyone else not fit to fight to stay in the castle. Shippou, Sango, Miroku, Kita, Yukio and a couple of other inu, and some of Kigai's men were to stay at the castle and protect it.

Kagome smiled as she felt strong arms wrap around her waist and gentle lips caress the back of her neck. InuYasha nuzzled his nose into her hair and pulled her away from the window, turning her in his arms and laying her against his chest. She nuzzled into him and sighed.

"Do you have to go?" she asked after awhile.

"You know I do." His answer came out dry. Kagome gave a half-hearted nod into his chest as he sat down with her in his lap. InuYasha just looked down and stared at her. He forced his golden eyes to memorize every feature of her face before focusing on her lips. He leaned down and barely brushed his lips against hers, calling out to her. Kagome situated herself so she was turned toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for another kiss. This time it wasn't so gentle, but a fierce, passionate kiss, full of unspoken fears and emotions.

InuYasha pressed his lips down harder on hers as Kagome tugged at his hair. When she dubbed him close enough, she released the silver locks and groped around until her fingers latched onto his fuzzy ears, rubbing then gently in rhythm with InuYasha's kisses. One of his arms snaked its way around Kagome's back while the other under her knees as he lay her down on the futon, not once breaking connection with her sweet lips. She sighed into his mouth as she felt the weight of his body over hers. InuYasha rubbed his hands against the contours of Kagome's side, moving slowly up her arms and grasping both of her hands above her head. A small whine from the other futon caught the couple's attentions and stopped InuYasha's advancement. He groaned, closing his eyes and laying his forehead against Kagome's.

Kagome pushed at his chest and rolled out from underneath him, making her way to where the pups where sleeping. Mehiji was whining in his sleep, one of his clawed hands scraping at the futon's material. Kagome rubbed one of his ears and the pup turned onto his stomach and laid still and silent. Gina, however, continued to whimper until InuYasha picked her up and tucked her in his arms. She was always more sensitive when it came to feeling the emotions around her. Sliver eyes met smooth golden one's as she stared up at InuYasha. It was as if she knew, and was asking her Oyaji not to leave them.

"Gina," he said getting her full attention, "Oyaji has to go away for awhile, but before you know it, I'll be back. Promise."

"Mak'to no back." She whined. "Oyaji go and Mak'to no back."

InuYasha let out a low growl. "Listen up, baby girl. Oyaji and Makoto are coming back. We've got things to take care of to make you safe and then we're getting outta this place and back home, you got that pup?"

Gina nodded and yawned. Satisfied that he had gotten his point across, InuYasha motioned for Kagome to join him as he lay on his back, putting the pup to rest on his chest. Kagome scooted Mehiji between them and grabbed hold of InuYasha's outstretched hand. InuYasha leaned over until his lips were right beside Kagome's ear. "You hear that, wench? We're all gettin outta this and goin home." He whispered gently before kissing her cheek and laying back down.

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The youkai Makoto snarled as he felt the uneasiness of the forest around him. The air was still and quiet, not like a forest should be. It should have been full of life and sounds this late in the morning, but not even the birds where making their usual annoying chirping and squawking noises. Youkai-Makoto twisted his ears around for any sound, sniffing the still air. There was something moving his way, no doubt that something was the same thing that had the forest dripping with fear. More curious than anything else, youkai-Makoto dropped his half-eaten prey to the ground and set off slowly toward the offending smell. As he got closer, his memory told him the smell was wolf-youkai, not any that he knew, but the smell had a familiarity to it. He was about to investigate his intruders when a clang from his side caught his attention.

Youkai-Makoto snarled and let out a low growl as he noticed the pulsing sword attached to his waist. His hand moved to the sword and removed it from the scabbard, holding in away in front of him with fangs bared. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew the sword was something bad. It made him go away. That's all youkai-Makoto knew about it. Before he could figure out what to do with the sword, it started to glow a bright blue color. It started at the tip of the blade and worked its way down, past the handle, across Makoto's arm, and down his legs.

Soon the youkai's whole body was consumed by the light, and he wasn't too happy about it. He tried to drop the sword, but his hand wouldn't unclench. Then he began to feel himself change. His claws and teeth shrank down to nothing; his ears disappeared only to reappear in a fleshy heap on the side of his head. The rest of the time, youkai-Makoto was lost. His eyes turned brown as his hair turned black and his super strength and senses left him completely.

Makoto plopped down and lay back in the dirt with a heavy sigh. He looked down at his human hands and grunted to himself before grabbing Touken from and throwing it against the nearest tree. The sword clanged as it hit the ground and rolled until it was right back at his side. Makoto growled a strange human growl, taking the sword and throwing it with even more force. This time it went past the tree and disappeared through foliage. "Keh." Makoto smirked to himself. Then he strained his human ears at a metal clanging sound coming from behind a few bushes. He cursed under his breath and rolled to the side as Touken flung itself from the bush and impaled the ground where Makoto had been laying just seconds before. He knew that the sword was doing something to him, but every time to tried to get rid of it, the stubborn thing came right back. There had to be some sort of spell on the thing.

Makoto squeezed his eyes shut as the sun poked through the trees overhead. Everything was so sensitive in his human form. He remembered from last time the back of his neck, his cheek, and nose burned red from being exposed to the heated sun. He grumbled again. Ever since that first episode with the sword he had been changing from human, to youkai, and back to hanyou, and not necessarily in that order. The first time he turned human was right after Touken's images. The sword had pulsed, and as Makoto took it out from curiosity, he found the blade had changed its color into a soft blue. As he watched, the blue glow worked its way up his arm and covered his entire body. Then it forced him to transform to human. It was another five hours in that state until the sword pulsed again, turning sliver this time, and transformed him back to hanyou. A few hours after that, the sword pulsed again, with more force than the other two times.

Makoto figured what was going to happen, and refused to draw the sword from its scabbard. Touken shot out and landed directly in Makoto's hand with a red glow that worked its way around him and forced his transformation into youkai. He didn't remember very much from his transformation that time, but when Touken transformed him back to hanyou again there was no smell of blood or death. With every transformation he remembered a bit more than the last, but he still had no idea of what he was doing in the first place, and every time he fought against it.

That's what had kept him from meeting Kita and the others at the castle. A third of the time he was youkai, and who knows what he would do. Another third of the time he was human and practically defenseless. Wasn't the sword supposed to suppress his youkai side and defend him on human nights? Makoto planned on having a talk with his oyaji about whom he let make the sword for him. Maybe it was cursed, or he wasn't using it right. Or maybe something had just gone wrong with the sword, like it was malfunctioning? He was in human form in broad daylight for crying out loud!

Makoto huffed as he pushed himself to his feet, once again latching the hated sword to his side. He wanted to go to the castle to get things straightened out, but what if he transformed again? He could risk hurting the others, especially with Tani, Kagome, the pups, and other humans there, too. Shippou and InuYasha may be able to handle his youkai side, but they may not be able to stop him in time if he did transform. The only thing he could think of was to stay as far away as possible until he figured out what exactly it was that the sword wanted from him. If he had his hanyou ears, they would be dropping along with the dejected look on his face. Was he really going to have to make the choice between being a human or being a youkai?

He remembered back to just this past time he turned youkai. Makoto had half a mind to throw it down and run, but he knew that wouldn't work, so instead he had pulled it out and gazed at its color. Red. He didn't even try to fight against the stream of energy as it made its way up his arm, across his shoulders, down his legs. 'No, no, no, no no!!' He remembered thinking to himself. His entire body pulsed and he started to feel the changes begin. His eyes had turned red, fangs and claws extended, purple stripes appearing on his cheeks. The last to go was his consciousness, all he remembered was dropping the sword and Touken launching itself back into its scabbard. Makoto remembered a bit of his venture as youkai. He had hunted most of the time, only small prey. Then he remembered the smell of wolves. It was probably Kouga's pack going to the castle, but there was no way he could tell now, not with just his human senses, and he could remember the scent enough to figure it out on his own. 'Better turn normal soon.' He growled to himself.

Without really paying attention, Makoto had started walking in the same direction as the wolves, toward the castle. He stopped himself. 'I want to see Kita.' He thought. 'But what if I hurt her? I can't let myself near her…not if I can't control my transformations.' Touken shook at his side. This time Makoto completely lost his temper. The vein in his temple bulged out as he grabbed the sword and pulled it out in front of him. His grip on the hilt was so tight his knuckles where turning white. "WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" he yelled, not feeling silly at all for yelling at an inanimate object. All the color drained from his face as he looked down at the blackening blade. Makoto felt the familiar tug as his gaze transfixed on the swirling darkness of the blade.

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Makoto flung his arms out to the side to wrap around the sleeping form of Kita. She mumbled something in her sleep as she turned and nuzzled against him with a sigh. Makoto cackled and used one hand to tickle at her ribs. Kita jerked away in a fit of giggles, grabbing his hand to stop his advancements and opened her eyes to stare up at him. Her intense emerald eyes cut straight through to his very soul. In one swift movement he threw a leg over and straddled her waist, pulling most of his weight on his hands just to the sides of her head. Her eyes fluttered closed as he leaned down, touching his nose and forehead with hers. Makoto let his lips barely touch Kita's in a chaste kiss before allowing his fangs to gently nibble at her bottom lip.

Just as Makoto had decided to stay like that for the rest of eternity, a loud crash broke them apart. His ears swiveled on top of his head for the location of the sound. He silently told Kita to stay where she was on the futon as he got to his feet and made his way to the window. Outside the castle he could see the early morning lights hitting the trees and dew covered ground. Everything thing seemed normal, until another crash and with it a swarm of youkai breaking through the tree-line. Makoto could just make out InuYasha, Kaiga, Shippou, and the others running out the front gates to meet the youkai head-on. He swiftly turned back to Kita, grabbing her hand and pulling her down the hall. He reached one room at the end and opened the door to find Kagome, Gina, and Mehiji huddled in a corner. Makoto shoved Kita through the door and gave her a look that told her not to leave the room.

Skidding to a stop at the other end of the hallway, Makoto leaped down the steps four at a time and made his way out into the front of the castle. There was already the scent of blood everywhere and bodies littered the front gate. InuYasha and the others were still holding back the horde from entering, but more and more were coming with each passing moment. Makoto tried to find where he would be the most use, taking down a wolf-youkai that had gotten past Shippou in the process. There was another loud booming noise that came from the castle. Makoto looked to the sky to see a herd of fire-horse youkai, each carrying a master on its back. Under their master's command they were forming giant fireballs with their mouths and front hooves and sending the flaming attacks soaring to the ground with a loud whistling sound.

Before long, the entire castle was lit by the flames on the surrounding grounds. The air filled with smoke and heat, the red and orange glow taking over the sun's hidden rays. Some of the stones from the castle were blasted off and landing among the frenzy of youkai. Another glance up and Makoto's fears were realized. A large portion of the top of the castle had been blown away, whether it was near enough to the room here his siblings, Okaa-san, and Kita were he had no idea. He saw the others rushing past him one by one. Miroku and Sango came back out holding on to their daughters, Shippou with Tani, InuYasha with Kagome and the pups, even Sesshomaru and Usagi managed to walk out with Keiji unscathed. But where was Kita?

Makoto's heart sank and a lump formed in his throat. He told her to stay in the room. Without a seconds hesitation he was running, shoving past the joyous others holding their loved ones close and stepped to the edge of the giant door. He brought his hands up to guard his face from the heated flames. It was almost unbearably hot, but he didn't have a choice, not with Kita trapped inside. Taking a deep breath Makoto closed his eyes as he lunged for the door and braced for the impact…which never came. He cautiously opened his eyes to find himself in the middle of the forest. Over the horizon was the castle, engulfed in flames, the smoke creating dark spirals into the sky.

How did he get way out here?! Now he would never be able to reach the castle in time to save Kita! Makoto hit his knees and howled in frustration, and something howled right back. He looked up into the smoke-covered sky to see two different shapes forming overhead, his youkai self and his human self. They both seemed to be arguing, then they both turned to Makoto and pointed down to the castle. "Choose."

A/N:

This chapter was a bit long. Hmm. Oh well, I hope you don't mind. I'm going to try to get one more chapter up before Christmas, but no promises. Anyway, yes, the war is coming; blood, fights, glory, yadda yadda. Kita faces an enemy, Makoto continues to talk to his sword (which is kinda bossy in my opinion) and maybe we'll finally figure out what the sword is trying to tell him in return. Any guesses? Hmmm…

By the way, there was a slight hint about a surprise villain in the upcoming war. ;)