Author's Note: I'd like to apologize for the long delay in getting this chapter up. I sort of had a case of writer's block with this story and decided to take a break and turn to another project for a bit. Of course then I ended up having trouble with that project as well. In any case, this story probably won't be updated as regularly as it was in the beginning, at least not for the moment.

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or Yashahime.

Chapter 8: Prelude To Battle

It was the dead of night as Inuyasha lay in his home, his hands behind his back as he stared up at the ceiling. Kagome was asleep next to him on her side. Inuyasha would've been asleep as well, but sleep for him was proving to be unobtainable. For one thing, Moroha was snoring loud enough to wake the dead over in her little corner of the hut. His daughter's snoring wasn't the main cause of his insomnia though.

Kagome suddenly turned and propped her head up to speak with her husband. "Can't sleep?"

"No. You can't either?" Inuyasha responded.

"Not really. For one thing, our daughter snores like a rusty chainsaw."

"Yeah. The kid's not wrong about us needing a bigger place."

"I know. But honestly, it's more than just Moroha's snoring keeping me up."

Inuyasha turned his head to look at Kagome. "You're thinking about Towa's sister, aren't you?"

Kagome nodded. "The whole thing reminds me of what happened to Kohaku. It's like history's repeating itself, except this time it's happening to a member of our family."

"I know. Well, I guess I'll just have to knock some sense into Setsuna the next time we see her."

"…Setsuna's not the only thing bothering you though, is it?"

Inuyasha turned his head back towards the ceiling. "I told that girl, Suzumi that we didn't want to get involved with her little war from the future…but the truth is we're already involved. Those soldiers found her in our time, and after they did they sent Setsuna to grab her a second time. They're going to come here after her again, and next time they'll probably send even more soldiers to grab her."

"You think the village might be in danger?" Kagome asked, becoming alarmed.

Inuyasha nodded. "In the morning I think we should pay Kohaku a visit. If I'm right, we're probably going to be in for an all-out war."

It was the lunch period as Suzumi headed up to the roof of the school. Earlier one of her classmates mentioned that Towa usually eats alone up on the roof, and so Suzumi decided she should join her. Right away she found Towa sluggishly eating from her boxed lunch. Suzumi could tell Towa was depressed, and she knew very well what the reason was.

Suzumi came over and stood next to Towa. "Mind if I join you?"

Towa looked up at Suzumi, surprised. "Be my guest."

Suzumi sat down next to Towa. "I wanted to talk to you before, but the other girls kinda swarmed all over me as soon as I came into the room."

"It's fine. I'm glad you've become so popular."

"You're pretty popular too from the sound of it."

Towa smirked. "Yeah, but in kind of a different way."

Suzumi smiled. "So how are you doing?"

"…Okay I guess. But…I know I'm probably going to have to fight Setsuna the next time we go back to the feudal era, and I'm not sure if I can do it."

"Maybe it would be best to let your uncle and cousin handle Setsuna."

Towa shook her head. "No. It's my responsibility. What happened to Setsuna…it's my fault."

"What do you mean?"

Towa looked at her hand. "In that tunnel of light…I was holding onto Setsuna's hand, but she slipped from my grasp and fell into the future. If I had just been able to hold onto her hand that day…"

Suzumi took her hand and cut her off. "I don't remember what happened that day, but odds are if you did keep holding onto Setsuna's hand you just would've ended up in my time with her and me. And just like with Setsuna, you probably would've been captured and conditioned to become a soldier for the empire, perhaps even a member of the Nine Tails. If anyone's at fault here, it's me."

"You? How can this be your fault?"

"The other day I dragged you and Kazuki into my problems when I came to your family's shrine and opened up the well. I also got your aunt, uncle and cousin involved too, and likely their entire village. And the only reason you were separated from your sister and parents was because I was there with you. Saionji and his men attacked your family because he had come to capture me. I've been told over and over again I'm supposed to be humanity's last hope…but most of the time I feel like my existence is only a curse."

"Suzumi, that's just not true! Look, I don't know why these demons from the future are after you or why your resistance group thinks you're so important, but I'm glad I met you. It's thanks to you I finally know more about my past and my family. I don't want you blaming yourself for any of the horrible things happening now."

Suzumi smiled again. "Thank you. And I promise I'll do whatever I can to help you get your sister back, even though I probably can't do much."

Towa smiled back. "Right now you just being here is enough for me."

Setsuna emerged from the state of the art training room used exclusively by the members of the Nine Tails. She had spent the last six hours straight running through battle simulations against holograms of Moroha, Inuyasha and Towa. The holographic opponents Setsuna fought were based on limited data taken from the soldiers who had faced the three in previous battles, so there was a huge margin for error on whether or not the holograms had been accurate in regards to battle style and technique. Setsuna was willing to take whatever she could get though. She was fine with anything that would help her avoid failing again in her mission and getting punished personally by Tamamo no Mae.

Setsuna was about to head to her quarters when she heard an unpleasantly familiar voice. "Oh yoo-hoo! Setsuna-chan!"

Hugging Setsuna from behind only a few seconds later was a young-looking woman with fair skin, green cat-like eyes, and black hair cut just above her shoulders. She also had a pair of black cat ears growing from her head and a black cat tail growing from her rear. On each of her cheeks was a set of three red markings resembling whiskers. The woman was clad in a shiny black skintight bodysuit, and had red armor with gold trim covering her upper torso, shoulders and wrists. She also had on a pair of red knee-high boots and a red belt with a large round silver buckle baring the emblem of the Nine Tails.

Setsuna let out a heavy sigh. "Hello Nekohime."

"Oh come on! Why so gloomy?" Nekohime asked as she turned Setsuna around in her arms. "Let me guess, upset about how you screwed things up on your last mission? Well don't you worry, your big sis is here for you."

Setsuna freed herself from Nekohime's arms. "I did not screw up! The enemies protecting the target…they're stronger than we expected."

"I highly doubt your assessment," a deep voice interrupted.

Walking up to stand next to Nekohime was a seven-foot tall monkey with a long tail and muscular build. He had red eyes and pointed ears. Around his head was a gold circlet, and black samurai armor with gold trim covered his chest, shoulders, wrists and ankles. Emblazoned on the armor covering his chest was the emblem of the Nine Tails. In his right hand the monkey held a red staff with a gold tip on each end.

Setsuna went pale upon seeing the monkey. "Lord Godo! What're you doing here?"

"I think it should be obvious," Good responded coldly as he glared down at Setsuna. "I'm here to help you make up for your complete and utter failure. You honestly expect me to believe a mere quarter-demon gave you so much trouble? The only one at fault is you and your sloppiness!"

"But don't worry. The two of us are here to help make sure you don't screw up this time," Nekohime revealed.

"Both of you are coming with me on the mission?" Setsuna asked, startled.

"Those the Empress's orders," Godo confirmed before turning around. "We still have three hours before we leave for the mission. Let's go to the training room and run through some battle simulations until then."

"But, I just came from the training room. I was planning to rest a bit before the mission."

"Did it sound like I was making a request?" Godo asked, glaring back at Setsuna.

Setsuna cast her eyes downward. "No sir."

The moment school let out, Towa and Suzumi left and headed straight for the Higurashi Shrine. When they arrived, they found Kazuki waiting outside the old shrine containing the well. Kazuki was dressed a little differently than the way he normally dressed. In addition to the usual large black backpack he had been taking with to the past, Kazuki had on what looked like a kevlar vest over a black t-shirt. He also had on a pair of grey jeans and black combat boots, and on his hands was a pair of fingerless gloves.

"Hi guys. Ready to go?" Kazuki asked as the two walked up.

"Yeah, although you look like you're even more ready," Towa observed. "I mean you look like you're ready for war."

Suzumi nodded. "Where did you even get the body armor?"

"Ordered it online last night," Kazuki revealed. "Honestly one of the best inventions of the twenty-first century is next-day delivery."

Towa took a closer look at Kazuki's vest and noticed something mounted on his left shoulder. "Is that a body camera?"

Kazuki nodded. "Rigged it up myself from some left over bits I had lying around. It's synced up to my phone."

"Okay, but why would you even need a body camera?"

"Are you kidding? These trips are terrific opportunities for scientific study! How could I not get some of this on camera for later study? I've also brought a few homemade smoke bombs I think might come in handy."

Towa shrugged her shoulders. "Okay then. We should probably get going."

"Hey Towa, are you doing okay?" Kazuki asked just as they were about to head into the shrine. "I mean…we may end up fighting your long-lost sister again."

"…I know," Towa responded without turning to face him. "And I've already come to a decision. One way or another I'm taking Setsuna back from Tamamo no Mae, even if it means I have to fight her myself."

Kazuki and Suzumi said nothing and followed Towa into the shrine. All three of them jumped into the well, and in a few moments they were falling through the tunnel leading to the past. When they emerged up out of the well in the feudal era, Towa and the others headed straight for the village. As soon as the village came into view they saw something they did not expect. At the very edge of the village were a few catapults being set up by men and women wearing peculiar black bodysuits.

"What's going on?" Towa wondered.

"Clearly a lot's happened since we were here last," Kazuki stated as he adjusted his glasses.

The three continued on to the village and found Inuyasha, Kagome and Moroha. With them was an old woman wearing the same priestess garb as Kagome. The old woman was armed with a bow and arrows and had an eyepatch over her left eye.

"Oh! Hey guys!" Moroha greeted with a wave as Towa and the others walked up.

"Hi Moroha!" Kazuki responded as he ran up. "I'm pretty relieved to see you awake after what happened yesterday."

Inuyasha got between Kazuki and Moroha and glared at the bespectacled young man. "And what the hell are you doing back here kid? Don't you have something better to do than sniff around my daughter?"

"Sit, boy!" Kagome commanded.

Inuyasha's necklace pulled him hard into the ground at Kagome's words.

As Inuyasha grumbled, Moroha stepped around him and came up to Kazuki. "Boy Kazu, you look like you're all geared up for battle."

"Looks like the people of your village are doing the same," Kazuki observed, looking again at the catapults.

"We are preparing in case the demons from the future who have been after you all show up to attack again," the old woman with the eyepatch explained.

"Oh. Guys, this is Granny Kaede," Moroha introduced. "She's sort of the senior priestess of the village and taught my mom pretty much all she knows. Lady Kaede's also the little sister of my dad's ex-girlfriend."

Kazuki raised an eyebrow. "Um…how long ago did Lord Inuyasha date his ex?"

"T'was over sixty years ago when my late sister sealed Inuyasha to the Tree of Ages with her arrow," Kaede answered.

"She shot him?" Towa asked, stunned. "That's what I call a bad breakup!"

"I'm kinda bumping more on the age difference between Moroha's parents, but yeah. Not a positive resolution," Kazuki agreed.

"Never mind all that!" Inuyasha cut in as he finally recovered and got to his feet. "We have more important things to worry about."

"Oh, right. Uncle, who are the soldiers you have putting up those catapults?" Towa asked.

"Those are the demon slayers," Kagome answered. "Last night Inuyasha and I realized the village could be in danger if more soldiers from the future showed up, so we called the slayers in to help shore up the defenses."

"I feel I should apologize," Suzumi interjected. "You wouldn't need to do all this if I hadn't gotten you involved in my problems."

"Save the apologies, kid," Inuyasha told her. "We didn't wanna be involved in your mess, but we are. So now we gotta deal with it."

Walking up to the group just then was a fairly young man with tan skin and dark-brown hair tied back in a ponytail. There was a horizontal scar on the man's face across the bridge of his nose. The man was dressed like the demon slayers, only his outfit also included a cape with a high collar.

"My people have finished setting up the defenses at the other three sides of the village," the scarred man reported. "We should be ready no matter where this enemy attacks from."

"Towa, Kazuki-kun, Suzumi-chan, this is Kohaku," Kagome introduced. "He's the leader of the demon slayers."

Kohaku walked up to Towa. "So you're Towa? It's been years since I've seen you. Glad you're doing well."

"We've met before?" Towa asked.

Kohaku grinned. "You were only a baby the last time I saw you, so I'm not surprised you don't remember. I traveled with both of your parents for a short time during the war for the Shikon Jewel. In fact I sort of served as your mother's bodyguard."

"So you knew my parents too."

"For years."

"Kohaku's actually the one who told Inuyasha and I where Sesshomaru moved you and the rest of your family," Kagome interjected.

"It was on your mother's request that I told them," Kohaku revealed.

Walking up to the group just then were two young women with identical faces and short brown hair cut in the same style. One of them was dressed as a Buddhist nun while the other was dressed like a normal villager.

"Uncle, I've finished putting protective sutras on all the homes in the village," the nun reported. "If any demons try to bust in, they'll be stopped by a protective barrier."

Kohaku nodded. "Good work, Kin'u. We'll have the villagers stay in their homes in the event of an attack. Hopefully these demons will never get that far. Gyokuto, how's the arsenal coming?"

"Mom and I have just started making another batch of poison pellets, but we're running out of supplies," Kin'u's twin answered.

"Understood. Just make all you can and distribute them to the others as soon as possible. Kin'u, go help them."

The twins nodded and left. Soon after, a large two-tailed cat with cream-colored fur flew in above the group. The cat had red eyes and a pair of saber-like teeth protruding from its mouth, and red flames burning from around the ankles of its black paws. Riding on the back of the cat was a young man with slightly tan skin and tied back dark hair. He was dressed as a demon slayer and had a giant boomerang slung across his back.

"Uncle! I've done another pass of the area," the young man reported to Kohaku. "Still no sign of trouble."

"That's good, Hisui," Kohaku responded. "Take Kirara and do another pass. We don't know when these demons are going to show up. We need to know the moment they do in case they attempt a sneak attack."

"Understood," Hisui responded before flying off on the giant feline known as Kirara.

"Nepotism certainly is thriving in this era," Kazuki remarked.

Suddenly the area was lit by a massive flash of red light. When the light cleared there were eight columns of cyber demons in their futuristic samurai armor marching towards the village.

"Guess they decided not to waste any time," Inuyasha observed as he unsheathed his sword. He raised the massive blade above his head with both hands. "Wind Scar!"

With one mighty swing, three massive streaks of yellow light shot across the ground towards the soldiers, tearing up the earth as they traveled. Three whole columns of soldiers were bit and their bodies were instantly ripped to pieces. When the attack ended, the remaining soldiers continued to march on. Meanwhile the catapults the demon slayers had set up began launching large brown pots with lit fuses attached. The pots exploded as they came near the oncoming cybernetic demons.

"Towa, you and the others head for the woods!" Inuyasha ordered.

"Shouldn't we stay and help?" Towa asked.

"They're after your friend, Suzumi, right? This is the one place she shouldn't be right now."

"Don't worry. We can handle the soldiers," Kagome declared. "You just worry about keeping Suzumi-chan safe."

"C'mon Towa! Let's move!" Moroha told her.

Reluctantly, Towa began running towards another area of surrounding forest with Moroha and the others. Meanwhile Inuyasha launched another Wind Scar attack and took out another few columns of soldiers.

Suddenly Hisui flew in on Kirara. "More soldiers are coming in from the north and the east!"

"Lady Kaede and I will help handle the soldiers attacking the east side," Kagome decided.

Kohaku nodded. "I'll help take care of the soldiers attacking the north. Hisui, you stay here and help Lord Inuyasha clean things up here."

"Understood!" Hisui responded.

As Kagome, Kaede and Kohaku rushed off, Inuyasha prepared to take out another batch of soldiers. Right as he was about to raise his blade though, he heard a footstep and saw Setsuna standing at his right pointing her naginata at him.

Inuyasha sighed and rested the massive blade of his sword on his shoulder. "Sheesh. Hisui, you're gonna have to take care of the rest of these soldiers on your own! Looks like I've got some family business to take care of."

Hisui nodded and flew off on Kirara towards the remaining soldiers coming at them. Meanwhile Inuyasha turned to face Setsuna.

"Where is Suzumi Yoshina?" Setsuna asked.

"Ya just missed her," Inuyasha responded. "Gotta say, this many soldiers for just one girl is kind of overkill, don't ya think? What's so special about the girl anyway?"

"All I know is I have orders to bring her in. If you do not hand her over, I will be forced to eliminate you."

"You're welcome to try," Inuyasha responded as he pointed his blade at Setsuna. "Gotta say though, I'm not crazy about having to fight a member of my own family."

"More nonsense," Setsuna coldly responded. "Prepare to die!"

Towa and the others had successfully made it back into the woods without being followed. Currently they were fairly deep among the trees.

"Okay, I think we should split up into two groups," Moroha suggested. "Towa, you stick with Suzumi. Kazuki and I will head off somewhere else."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Towa asked. "That sort of thing never works out well in horror movies."

"I still don't know what these mo-vie things you and Kazuki keep talking about are, but if we split up we might be able to confuse anyone who might be after us."

"I think it's a good plan," Kazuki agreed. "Besides, I think Moroha and I should circle back to the village and help out there. Not to belittle the skill of the demon slayers, but I just don't think they stand a real good chance against those soldiers. The technology those cyber demons have is just way too advanced."

"I think they're right, Towa," Suzumi agreed.

Towa sighed. "Okay, fine. But let's be careful out there."

The four split off into the two proposed groups and ran off in different directions. Towa led Suzumi by the hand further into the woods. They didn't get very far though because soon after Nekohime jumped down in front of them out of the trees.

The cat demon removed the cat o' nine tails hanging from her waist and cracked to the side with a flick of her wrist. "I'm Nekohime of the Nine Tails. One of you is Suzumi Yoshina, correct? Be a good girl and come with me."

Towa pulled out the handle of her broken sword from its scabbard and activated her energy blade. "She's not going anywhere with you!"

Nekohime smirked. "I was hoping you'd put up a fight. After all, we cats love to toy with out prey before we kill them."

After splitting off from Towa and Suzumi, Moroha and Kazuki started gradually turning back towards the village. They were about half way back when Godo jumped down in front of them out of the trees.

Kazuki let out a startled cry. "A giant sentient monkey?"

"It's a sarugami, a monkey demon," Moroha explained. "Only ever heard stories about these guys."

"I am Godo of the Nine Tails," the monkey announced. "Where is the girl, Suzumi Yoshina?"

"Sorry. Ya just missed her," Moroha responded, smiling. "Looks like you get to deal with me."

"Why is Suzumi so important to you people?" Kazuki asked. "What is Project Angel?"

"Project Angel is the codename given to Suzumi Yoshina," Godo answered. "I do not know just what her importance is. All I know is the Empress has ordered me to capture her. And that is all I shall tell you."

"Fine with me," Moroha responded. "I'd rather fight than talk. Get ready monkey boy, because I'm about to take you down!"

Please review and let me know what you think.