"I know indeed what evil I intend to do, but stronger than all my afterthoughts is my fury, fury that brings upon mortals the greatest evils."
Euripides - Medea
Night had fallen. Isamu stood on the wall with Hotaka and the archers and watched the moon disappear as demon after demon filled the sky. On the ground he saw Tatsuo leading another horde on foot.
The fight was at their door.
His gaze shifted to the gates and the outer edges of the wall where InuYasha, Sesshomaru, and Kagome (much to the hanyou's displeasure) stood shoulder to shoulder and faced them in a twisted version of what Kagome would call a Mexican standoff.
All the creatures and normal sounds associated with living on a remote mountain top in the middle of vast forestland seemed to have stilled and the silence was even more deafening because of it. The barrier hummed behind the silence like a steady heartbeat, bringing comfort and courage to their small band of hunters, mikos, and demons, both whole and half.
The ronin glanced back and felt his heart skip a beat. Riko stood within the protective glow of Komaku's power, next to Lady Kaede, Kohaku, and Shippo. She had his daughter in her arms while Benji clutched her hand. Unable to dwell on the significance of the picture they made when he was about to engage in a battle he might not survive he shifted his eyes.
His gaze came to rest on the tallest of the boys. They had stationed Lady Sango's brother with the elderly miko and the healer to help defend the wounded if Tatsuo's horde managed to break through the barrier.
He saw the light of conviction shining in the young slayer's own brown gaze and the determined lift to his chin. Kohaku nodded to the ronin and Isamu nodded back. It was as good as a spoken promise, and despite Kohaku's turbulent personality the ronin trusted him.
He'd told Lady Sango many times that even though Naraku had taken something of the boy she'd known, he was still her brother. They both held the honor, conviction, courage, and sheer stubborn will and fortitude of her parents, her ancestors, her people. Naraku might have damaged him, but he did not take his soul.
Isamu had decided long ago that the piece of the boy that echoed Lady Sango was the piece that he saw the most, and thus he had earned the right to be trusted.
In the grand scheme of things it was probably one of his safer options at the moment. Isamu turned and waited for the other shoe to drop. He didn't have to wait long.
"Tatsuo you pansy ass bastard! I'm gonna rip your head off!"
Isamu smirked. Subtly, the hanyou never had any aptitude for it.
The evil thing that Tatsuo had become gave a chilling smile.
"Attack," he said, almost too quietly to be heard. Hotaka called the archers ready and then gave the command to aim and fire. A hail of arrows blackened the sky and the squishy sound of youkai bone and demon flesh colliding echoed as they found their mark.
Demons dropped form the sky like swatted flies. Isamu drew his katana, motioned for those villagers that were to join him to follow and made his way to the gates to wait for the signal.
It came when the hanyou bellowed, "wind scar!" Isamu wasted no time. He and his small army burst through the gates and engaged the surprised horde as they erupted into the fray. Isamu dodged a boar faced demon as he swung a battle ax at his head and promptly ran the demon through before pivoting and slashing the monster that had tried to sneak up behind him. He turned again and in one deadly, fluid movement decapitated another.
Blood dripped from his sword and his kind eyes were hard and determined.
It had begun.
InuYasha fidgeted nervously next to his mate and his bastard half brother, ready to get this over and done with. Tatsuo stood beyond him and he shot the asshole a cocky, feral grin, making sure to bare a hint of fang.
His half brother would have rolled his eyes if he'd been anyone else, instead he simply settled for a disdainful glare. The hanyou did roll his eyes and dismissed the demon lord to rest his golden gaze on the girl to his left.
As if she felt his gaze on her she glanced at him through chocolate eyes and tilted her chin up in defiance. He scowled.
Dammit, fuck, shit, motherfucker, he thought and by the look in her orbs he was sure she knew exactly what he'd been thinking. She pursed her lips and shook her head imperceptibly and he cursed under his breath.
"I'm not going back under the barrier baka. I'm staying here." The, 'with you,' was implied and it did nothing to ease the vise gripping his heart.
His eyes traced her heart shaped face and tried not to remember the late and early morning hours he spent buried in her warmth, surrounded by her scent, and cradled in her love. He'd spilled his seed into her so many times, needing to reaffirm his position as her mate and protector in the face of his brother's ego crushing appearance.
Now though, he was speculating on what the results of their frantic mating could be. With a quick glance at her flat stomach he had a brief thrilling and terrifying image of that lovely surface rounded with his pups. He frowned and almost said something until he got a reminder that now was not the time.
A demon roared and his wayward thoughts moved back to the creepy possessed man in front of him. He said nothing but he bared his teeth again and Tatsuo smirked.
Much to InuYasha's dismay the things inside the fleshy corpse said only one word.
"Attack." It hissed out in a stream of echoing voices and flowed over their skin like a chilling caress. InuYasha watched the horde surge forward and without thinking he stepped in front of Kagome and bellowed, "wind scar!"
Tetsusaiga roared its displeasure and an arc of pure power swept through the demons, killing the first wave instantly. Unfortunately, like locusts swarming over a field, the wave behind them stepped over the scattered parts of their maimed comrades and fell upon them.
InuYasha snarled and brought his sword up to block the downward swipe of a battle ax and used his claw to gut the demon, twirled and took two more out with Tetsusaiga. He saw Isamu and the slayers he was leading burst through the gates and fall upon the horde, but he was only able to give them a passing thought.
With his peripheral senses he managed to keep an eye on Kagome as she drew her bow and launched blessed arrow after blessed arrow into the demons. His brother was also engaged, having done a graceful somersault over the heads of the demons, landing in their midst, and calling upon Tokijin to blast the wave attempting to flank him and engaging the rest with poisoned claws.
Graceful and deadly the daiyoukai cut a swath through the demons, but they just kept coming and coming and coming. InuYasha deflected another blow and ripped his claws through a demon, pivoted again and sent, 'blades of blood," into the lizard demon that had tried to flank Kagome.
His focus had narrowed to two purposes, protect Kagome and survive, but it felt like the horde was infinite.
Grimly he sent a backlash wave towards another legion and continued to fight as if he were the last angel standing between an overwhelming tide trying to escape through the gates of hell. He twisted, decapitated a demon, whirled, ran one through, and pivoted again just in time to watch in horror as a demon behind Kagome shoved his sword through her gut.
His world tilted and he watched in slow motion as her chocolate eyes went wide, blood bubbled at her lips, and her bow fell from limp fingers. She fell forward to her knees and collapsed on the ground.
A red haze of rage colored the hanyou's eyes and his demon clawed at his essence, demanding to be set free. He threw his head back and roared, causing the demons around him to halt and instinctively cower before him.
The blood chilling howl had only been heard by a few of them once before when InuYasha's father, the Great Dog Demon, found his human mate murdered in her bed. It was the howl of a grief so profound that only those who have loved deeply would have been able to understand.
It struck terror in the horde, and as the sound faded InuYasha gazed upon his gathered enemies with red tinged eyes and growled, low, soft, and menacing.
"You will all die."
He stuck his claws into the nearest demon and ripped out his heart. They watched in fascination as the misshapen organ beat a few times and the body fell back. For the first time since the battle had begun, Tatsuo's horde was afraid.
Miroku felt like his head was going to explode at any moment. Groaning, he pushed his aching body up, only to be jerked back down. Confused and disoriented he looked at his hands and found them chained to a large stone. He shook his head a bit to clear it and finally the pieces of the picture morphed into something his brain was able to comprehend.
He was in a vast clearing and above him the blood red moon beat down on an altar positioned in the very center.
He focused his indigo eyes on the altar and felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Straining he yanked against his bonds and forcefully tried to move forward.
"Sango!" He yelled. The slayer, his beloved, looked up and met his gaze with fear filled cinnamon eyes.
"Miroku," she almost whispered and he pulled his chains again. A low chuckled answered him and a moment later Toyotomi stepped into the moonlight.
"Well, well…isn't this touching. I'm slightly disappointed in you monk, displaying your pathetic affection so blatantly. Don't you know that it is never a good idea to give your enemies such a blatant advantage?"
Miroku forced himself to calm down and sat cross legged in front of the bastard. He ignored the taunt and regarded him steadily.
"Why are we here, Toyotomi?"
The mad man tilted his head and smirked. "You mean why did I bother to keep you alive?"
Miroku inclined his head and Toyotomi's smirked widened while he linked his hands behind his back and leisurely circled him.
"Monk, your family history is fascinating. You, your father, your grandfather, all destined to be destroyed by a lithe body and a pretty face. It was a shame really, that even after Naraku cursed your line; you still managed to learn absolutely nothing from your grandfather's grievous mistake."
Miroku scowled. "And what, perchance, do you believe I was to learn from my grandfather's misfortune?"
Toyotomi raised an eyebrow. "Why, that women…all women, are truly only good for one thing and one thing only, and that if you allow a woman to have power over your emotions, as you have so obviously done, you allow yourself to become weak and malleable. I would wager that you would do anything to stop your little taijiya whore from being hurt…am I right?"
As if to test his theory he raised his hands and motioned one of his demon guards forward. The pig faced demon that'd secured her to the altar, drew his knife and slowly drew a thin line along the top of her thigh, cutting through her armor and causing blood to well. Sango clenched her teeth and refused to jerk her leg, knowing that if she did, it would only make the cut worse.
A low curse of, 'bastard," hissed through her teeth. Miroku was unable to contain his knee jerk reaction and attempted to lunge toward her only to be held back by his chains. Toyotomi chuckled.
"See…you're as predictable as your relatives. They too, were enchanted by beautiful women and it brought them nothing but heartache."
Sango breathed through the pain, seeing the look of absolute rage on her monk's face, and yelled. "Miroku, don't listen to him. He's trying to bait you into doing something foolish."
Disgusted with himself and his complete lack of control when it came to all things pertaining to Sango he forced himself to back down, but not before meeting her eyes and silently promising to get them out of this. He pulled his gaze away from her and looked at the Lord.
"You speak of the women that accompanied my father and grandfather on their respective quests. You killed them."
An indecipherable look crossed Toyotomi's face, a look that was equal parts gleeful and knowing. Creeping forward, he grabbed Miroku's chin and yanked his face close. In the background Sango commanded him to let him go, but he ignored her.
"No monk…I did not kill them. I simply provided the blade and your father and grandfather took care of the ritual for me."
A choking revulsion gripped Miroku's chest. "No," he breathed. "It can't be," and then much louder he snarled. "You lie!"
Toyotomi reached into his ornate kimono pulled out a small vial, pop the stopper, forced Miroku's mouth open, and spilled the contents down his throat. He pulled out of Toyotomi's grasp sputter and hacking, trying to keep the vile liquid out of his blood stream.
Calmly, his enemy placed the empty vial back in his pockets and look down at Miroku in amusement.
"Love is a powerful force…one of the greatest in the universe some would say. When that bond is betrayed it creates a flux in the energies of the world. You will kill the one you love the most, like your father and your father's father. With each death my master comes closer to the freedom he craves and with this final sacrifice…he will reign once more. You will bring about a new world, a new era…and all because you had the impunity to fall in love. It's very…poetic."
Miroku was struggling in earnest now, but soon he felt his head begin to swim and it wasn't long before the black bitter poison rendered him once again into unconsciousness.
The last thing he heard before letting the darkness take him was Sango weeping his name in terror.
Lord Sesshomaru swiped Tokijin through the air with an impassive, bored look on his handsome face.
"Vermin," he muttered and swiped again, sending an energy wave and dispatching another wave of demons. He felt the pull to his east and turned his head slightly to watch his half-mad, half-brother send wave, after wave, after wave, of attacks from Tetsusaiga into the never ending horde.
He turned again and saw the human woman, the one he owed his life debt to, surrounded by the ronin and his archers while they defended her broken body from further harm. Tenseiga pulsed and sang to him and he frowned deeply as he flawlessly dispatched another group of demons without breaking a sweat.
The sword was pulling him away from the miko and he knew why. It was telling him that it had already saved her once. This time…she was on her own.
The thought troubled him slightly and he found it surprising. Still, he was never one to lie to himself. After all, a man was only as good as his understanding and he was willing to admit that he was not the same youkai he was before meeting Rin.
Rin…how one small, human girl held such power over him was a mystery, one that he did not wish to dwell on. He'd chosen to protect the girl. His reasons were both simple, profound, and entirely his own, and they did not require him to look any deeper than that.
With an elegant shrug he returned to the battle. She was still alive and as such he was still bound to his word. Even if it appeared she would not last much longer.
With a flick of his wrist he killed three more demons.
"Amateurs," he muttered, killed another two, and walked deeper into the haze of battle.