Chapter Twenty-Two: Vengeful Petals
I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell.
-William Tecumseh Sherman
"What do they want?" Kaede asked with a frown creasing her old face. Rin had come in, the younger woman often ran as messenger in the tiny village of the few priests and priestess' that didn't agree with Kushizu's faction.
"They said just to talk." Rin shrugged at her. "I'm not sure. Do you want me to tell them just one is allowed to come in?"
"Probably the best idea." Miroku commented, walking into the room. "We don't want them to start trying to make converts."
Kaede nodded. "I suppose tell whichever one is acting as leader can come."
"Right." Rin nodded, heading off again, she was perhaps the single most similar of the priestess' in their lifetimes, despite centuries in soul society she retained a certain childlike nature. She appeared to be in her early twenties and had a dexterous manner that had her out to the group and telling them the compromise before long.
Back inside the main tent Miroku and Kaede exchanged concerned glances. "They're up to something in particular if they're contacting us."
"They are." Kaede agreed with Miroku, giving him a nod. "I worry about it...but we've agreed to stay uninvolved. I wonder if they're getting desperate."
"They're involving us now I think." The priest shrugged at her, going quiet as he heard them returning. Frowning vaguely but nodding politely nonetheless as a woman entered. "Hitomiko."
"Komitohi." She replied, taking on the same way of changing her name that the others of her group had. "We want to ask you about the priestess Kagome."
"Kagome?" Miroku blinked in instant recognition but surprise.
"She's finally alive..." Kaede commented with her own frown. "Why do you want to know about Kagome?"
"She was alive but she died and was here, but then she vanished...Oyikko told us that it was the cause of a blade that could bring people back from the dead. We wanted to know what you knew of it." She answered seating herself on the floor near to where Kaede was. Miroku still stood nearby.
"Kagome...wouldn't join your side..." Miroku answered aggressively. "What did you do to her?"
"Kaede once said the same of Oyikko." Komitohi answered with a superior shrug. "I hardly believe anymore that a soul remains pure forever. I vaguely remember your group but I wasn't nearly as involved as Oyikko and she knew very little of this demon and his mystical blade."
"The Tensaiga..." Miroku recognized it.
"Tensaiga!" Rin poked her head in the door, eyes bright with her own recognition. "Lord Sesshomaru still lives?"
"So it seems." Komitohi answered, glancing between them as they spoke, eyes settling on the hopeful young priestess nearby. "You knew him?"
"I miss Lord Sesshomaru most of all." She stated with a wistful smile. "He was wonderful. It's so nice to hear he's doing well. He used the Tensaiga on Kagome? That's good to hear...spoiling your evil plans I hope."
Komitohi turned a bit more red, frowning at the girl's attitude. "It's just a matter of time, she can't live forever."
Miroku resisted the urge to laugh at the way Rin irritated the unwelcome visitor and instead spoke himself. "Which returns us to why you want her."
"You can't possibly!" Kaede realized the implications before anyone else. "Why would Kikyo help you in that sort of manner? She knows more than almost anyone how evil the jewel is."
"And also the power it's capable of." Komitohi replied. "You all know what we work for, it's no secret to you. Your small group breaks apart more and more as the years go on. Even you must admit this eternal struggle against the hollows is something you don't want to keep repeating."
"Our personal feelings aside, what you are doing is wrong. You must realize that the jewel isn't a real answer to this." Kaede commented, glancing toward Rin who seemed like she wanted to say something but was staying quiet. "We won't help you with such a ignoble cause, we want nothing to do with it."
"All I wanted to do was ask questions." Komitohi returned, glancing back to the 'leader' of the stragglers. "Who this demon is, why does he possess such an incredible blade?"
"Lord Sesshomaru is the strongest being that ever existed or probably ever will." Rin replied, her words less childlike but more revenant. "He brought me back once as well...before I was a priestess. If he holds the blade, I know you'll all never get it."
"Either way, please leave Komitohi, we leave you to your foolish actions, leave us to exist in what little peace we have with the low amount of hollows right now." Kaede answered. "Rin, don't tell her anything else, return her to the edge of the city."
"Okay." Rin replied, her steps light, she seemed ready to dance having heard about her old father like figure. "I'll be glad to. Come on."
Komitohi rose with a sigh. "I'll take my leave then, some of our questions were answered well enough."
After they left Miroku finally sat down, echoing the sigh with more length. "I can't believe they're trying to remake a jewel...they all have some idea that it's completely evil. No matter when or where it's created. It never does what people actually want..."
"I know." Kaede answered looking at the sandy floor of the room. "Though there are days when the hollows are worse than now that I don't wonder if they are justified. I tire of this existence as well Miroku. None of us deserved this..."
"Yeah." He agreed, running hands through his hair. "But to bring more evil to try to remove evil just isn't the correct path. But Kagome...I was starting to think she'd never come along...I knew she'd been from the future but."
"It was quite a long time." Kaede agreed. "We can't just let them use her though, as you said, she would not want this. I wonder though, why Sesshomaru would bring her back to life."
"I'm not sure." Miroku answered. "Perhaps he's learned some compassion over the years...though if he's involved, that makes things even more complicated. He was always the one creature capable of standing against Inuyasha or Naraku without any concern. I'm certainly glad I never absorbed him into the wind tunnel."
"We'll need to have people keeping a closer look. If they want Kagome here for their plans, they'll try to kill her again." Kaede observed darkly. "Please let the others know."
She waited until Miroku left and shook her old head negatively. "I'm sorry Miroku, Rin..."
ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo
Kagome found it difficult, but not impossible, to breath as they glided over the trees a moment then landed when more winds began to pick up.
"The Prince is fighting." Kagome stated the obvious, running with Byakuya toward a field in the distance where the issues seemed to be coming from.
Byakuya had landed because the chaotic winds curling from the battle made it too difficult to stay airborne, getting used to wings wasn't something on his list of priority's at the moment. He instead was slowly moving toward the battle to stay near Kagome, he could feel the two battling, but the intense pressure didn't really slow him. He felt fine even he knew how high the level of spiritual energy actually was, he should have been slowed other than by Kagome.
He pulled Kagome with him though as the battle seemed to be steadily getting worse, the darkened clouds in the sky were a sure sign of that. The pair made it to the end of the path and over a small hill that turned so quickly into a valley that Byakuya had to catch Kagome so she didn't go tumbling down it's side.
It wasn't a natural change, the earth had been shifted by the tempest eyed Prince, who was immediately obvious in the sky above the apocalypse scape below him. A man that looked a lot like him, but older, was floating not too far off from him, but seemed more to be standing on thin air. There were thick clouds around him and where energy around Sestran made people uncomfortable Kagome had to look away from him, he was painful to look at.
He was the problem, she knew it right away, whatever had happened to the man in the sky, he wasn't holy at all anymore, he was like the roots of some weed that was over-growing whatever purity should have been in this place. She buried her head in Byakuya's shoulder, trying to get rid of the nauseous feeling she was having because of how close it was.
"Kagome..." He frowned a bit at her reaction, uncertain himself as to why he seemed immune to whatever was bothering her. "...are you okay?"
"Not really..." She managed to say, shaking her head. "He's...there's something really wrong with his father. He's...I dunno how to explain it."
"The arrow!" The Prince's voice was difficult to hear but they both managed to make it out over the din of wind. "Shoot him with the arrow!"
Kagome blinked at the demand, and while she wanted to listen a moment out of natural reaction to the Prince's charisma she took it out and looked at it unwrapped with a frown. She didn't know this man, and while there was something wrong...she couldn't just kill him...she even shook her head negatively.
"Shatter." She glanced up at the now familiar command, blinking as Byakuya was in front of her and the blinding light of his wings were to either side of her. She could see the pink sheet in the air that was Senbonzakura, it broke apart a flash of lightning that had come from the apparent king.
"You..." The king paused after the initial strike. "The priestess I understand...how did you get here soul reaper? How dare you draw your blade on me."
The older combatant had to flicker away though as lightning curled around his spot and exploded in a thunderous roar. He didn't have much time to look away from Sestran without the younger royal immediately taking the initiative.
"Didn't leave me much of a choice." Byakuya returned coldly, turning the hilt of Senbonzakura so half of the flower like petals drifted toward the king while the other half remained nearby, creating a wall of pink around Kagome. "You'd better be right Prince Sestran."
Sestran smiled some, despite the thoughts of some outside of the heaven's gate the arrival of the sixth squad captain was unexpected for him as well, he had hoped to get the arrow from Kagome mostly, the fact that Byakuya had managed to come was an added bonus. He sent further lightning at his father and frowned at Kagome's hesitation, if she wouldn't attack with it he'd have to do it himself.
"Give me the arrow!" He called over the din toward them, shifting a bit closer to them while doing what he could to push his father further away. "Toss it into the air."
Kagome frowned some, glancing down at it and remembering that it'd killed her, hesitated again.
"Do you think any of you can really stand against me! All of you will fade to dust for this outrage!" The king's own rage erupted onto the field as lava curled out of broken ground, Kagome frowned at the place where they'd been moments before being covered in the thick fiery liquid. She tossed the arrow toward Sestran from her place in one of Byakuya's arms, she couldn't continue to hesitate when he was trying to kill her, she was against dying again.
The arrow stopped midair, Sestran flickering twice, once to grab it, then again behind his father to put them on opposite sides of the older royal. "I think perhaps father you are getting slow."
A few strands of pale hair fell from where the Prince barely evaded a sword strike from the older royal. Kagome was about to ask Byakuya why it was Senbonzakura was returning but she didn't have the chance, frowning as a flurry of arrows was cut apart behind her, she could feel the dark energy from them being cut apart. The man that had been after her, Keshizu, was there, she could see him in the forest.
Byakuya however was still scanning, and looked right past him, making her frown, he couldn't see him. "Byakuya look out, he's to the right!"
Senbonzakura curled upward, cutting away more arrows that came from that direction, then sped the direction where they'd come from.
"He can't win Kagome...can't kill what you can't see." Keshizu mocked, then had to move quickly to dodge the pieces of Senbonzakura that got a lot closer to him. Making him scowl at the captain. "What the hell is he to get that close on sound alone?"
"There." Kagome pointed again, and Byakuya followed her gaze, with Senbonzakura speeding after. Keshizu frowned and shot a arrow through the chasing Senbonzakura to disrupt the flow of the petals then ran at Kagome but found his way blocked by Byakuya. The man wasn't even looking at him, he was looking at the grass, which gave his place away weather he himself was invisible or not.
He growled a bit and stepped a little to one side but found the Captain unwillling to give him any ground.
"You'll find that your fight is with me." Byakuya stated.
"Be careful..." Kagome said nervously, wishing she'd brought a bow. "He's their leader...if you can't see him...I should fight him."
"Without a weapon?" Byakuya replied without looking at her. "Unlikely."
"Just back away...I can fill her with another poisoned arrow and take care of this now." Keshizu mocked, getting better at dodging around the petals that were following him half-blind. "If you couldn't take care of her before, it's just a matter of time before I get shot through now. The Prince and King will be busy enough that I have the time."
Byakuya paused then, eyes narrowing on the spot where he could best guess the creature was, taunting the leader of house Kuchiki had been an unwise desicion. Byakuya pointed and his deep voice spoke the words of the binding spell. "Way of Binding Sixty One. Six rods prison of light."
The spell shifted into effect and even if he couldn't see the target he could feel he'd captured something. Kagome meanwhile blinked in surprise at the spell, she hadn't seen him use spells very often, and the fact that he always seemed to skip the incantations made her realize how powerful he was in kido for the first time. No wonder it had bothered him when he couldn't teach her...
"Even if you kill me, I'll just come back again...we don't truly die." Keshizu mocked as he struggled against the rods of light, his invisibility fading away so Byakuya could see his target. The noble sixth squad captain seemed unimpressed.
"You believe you've mastered the ability to do whatever it is you wish...if you come for Kagome a thousand more times you will only find agony and failure that many more. You may return, but I will make you regret ever having considered touching my beloved if I must hunt you down and slay you eternally in Hueco Mundo itself." He turned his blade vertically with the hilt facing the sky, dropping it from his hand. "Bankai. Senbonzakura Kageoshi."
The blade passed into the ground and the mirrored blades that began to rise were more massive even than they normally were, as they broke apart the entire sky seemed to be replaced by vicious pink petals and the battle between the king and prince faded from view behind the fresh horizon.
End Chapter
Thanks for those that offered birthday wishes, it was a good day :) Whee, always fun to get to use a Bankai. Byakuya isn't exactly in a forgiving mood...bad guy mistake of the day? Telling the main char you killed their woman! The Prince and King are dealing with their own issues too ;) Lots happening this chapter!
-Aura
P.S. Woot to 60,000 words, takes me into the next search bracket...only 40,000 to go...
To my reviewers:
Teldra - Well, he does have wings in one of the released forms of Senbonzakura.
Sugar0o - I rarely write Kikyo as very nice, but she has been tormented for centuries so she has reason. And...reference what I said to Teldra :) It's just I made things a little more complex...I like to make things complex. I liked Rin's reaction to Sesshomaru, as for implying she wasn't there, it wasn't my intent. There is a reason Byakuya got through the gate related to Kagome but I haven't gotten to it yet.
KaneRyuMoon - TY! Yes, I do try to keep people on their toes, I don't really like to be predictable when I can help it.
Neo-Crystal - Hehehe, I figured they'd look like the ones he gets in the final form of Senbonzakura. Rin was around, perhaps my words weren't quite right? Oyikko yeah, she's a bit...of a villain, you aren't suppose to like her. The Priest/Preistess HM issue will be addressed soon, within the next two chapters. I loves your reviews, I hope you keep reading them!
fierynightangel - More to come soon *nod nod*