A/N: Sorry for the long hiatus, I simply got discouraged and distracted. Here I present the next chapter for you, and more to follow soon enough. :)
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Kirara had mysteriously vanished again; being a cat, she was very good at that, but wrapped up in their own thoughts, nobody really had noticed it this time either. Her ability to read situations was phenomenal really, an often overlooked quality she possessed.
Well, fetching Lady Mud Nose had not done what she had thought it might. Now it was time to seek out others that she knew of, others she had met in all their travels as the humans rode upon her back...
She first went to find other cats, for they could understand her meows and growls and yowls; the lynx she had caught scent of when Inuyasha had come back from Toutousai's forge one day, Bunza, came to her mind, and she headed swiftly to his tribal lands.
Now Bunza had been about Shippou's age, and had grown to be about a few inches taller than the kitsune, being of a larger species of youkai, and had begun to take leadership roles alongside his Father, who was leader of the tribe. They had all started to train themselves for more battles after what had happened with Nanafushi, and though they were a small tribe here, they were fierce and willing to help any friends.
After Kirara landed and called for Bunza, he came rushing out, recognizing her from one of Inuyasha's visits.
"Kirara, Kirara! What's happened, what's wrong?" he sensed her distress, and as she began to tell the tale, the other lynxes gathered and soon almost the whole tribe, save the mothers with young babes nursing, had heard the whole story as much as Kirara knew it.
"This sounds awful...but, Kirara, I really hate to say this...I'm not sure we'd be able to do much to help. We have plain swords and just claws and fangs, we really don't have the means to fight such power..." Bunza said, his tears showing his genuine regret, "we're just not strong enough, Kirara."
Kirara shook her head and revealed her true intentions-being a cat without a humanlike form or voice, her ability to communicate with other youkai was limited. She needed their voices, their human words, to speak to the others she would like them to fetch on her behalf and tell them as she had told the lynxes all that had occurred.
"I see, Kirara. You just tell us who to fetch from where and we'll gather them all wherever you need us," Bunza nodded firmly, "that much I know we can do for you. Our feet are swift and light, our bodies lean and strong, our hearts willing."
Kirara nodded affirmation at them and they all nodded back; then the list poured from her meows and purrs and growls and noises; and they all smiled as the list grew longer and longer. Bunza and his Father began to assign lynxes to and fro, to scatter about all the lands in search of all the allies Kirara knew of...
The Fox tribe and all of Shippou's willing friends and followers from the Maboroshi.
The Panther Tribe devas, Touran, Shunran, Shuran, and Karan, who had been grateful for Sesshoumaru returning their souls their Master had stolen for his own greed and power, and any of their followers they'd bring along.
Suijin, the water goddess whose Trident of Amakoi had been returned to her by them so long ago after her own servant betrayed her.
Kouga, Ayame, and their tribe's wolves, and any other forest wolves they could pull into the pack along the way.
Jinenji, the apothecary horse hanyou.
Hachiemon, the tanuki loyal to Miroku.
The Thunder Youkai Souten and her loyal dragon follower Koryuu.
The bat hanyou Shiori and any who would come with her; Kirara figured most of the hanyou children from Hourai Island had gone to live with Shiori these days.
The Monkey God and his three sprites.
Kanta and his father, the otter youkai Shippou had compelled Sesshoumaru to save.
Shouga, the flea who once sought to marry Myouga, and had powerful magic to control others that she attached herself to.
Momiji and Botan, the now-reformed Red and Blue priestesses who had once been tricked by Tsubaki.
Hosenki's son, Hosenki the Second, whose father created the Black Pearl in Inuyasha's eye that contained the portal to his father's grave.
The three tailed fox diety whom they had saved from the parasite youkai long ago.
Yoreitaisei, the old hermit who had taught Inuyasha how to unlock some of the most vital aspects of Tetsusaiga, teaching him how to identify the youketsu whirlpools.
Yakurodokusen, who had healed Hiraikotsu when it had become badly damaged beyond Sango's ability to repair it, and in doing so had imbued it with greater powers.
Kirara drew upon a whole slew of old memories, conjuring up every name and tribe she could think of, until at last exhausted of all but one more ally, she took it upon herself to track down Kuroro, the other two-tailed cat that almost looked just like her with more black. Her kittens would be old enough by now to have gotten hold of their powers, and could be a fierce band of felines when necessary.
"Where shall we all meet?"
Kirara smiled. The Mage had said he cared not if all the world were to watch Zusaku's return...so she figured, they may as well watch for Zusaku's return all at once. She instructed them to first meet at the long-abandoned shell of a village just over the hill from hers, so they could all wait for each other and make sure all the responses were in from all the messengers. From there they could make plans together.
"Understood, we know the place. We'll meet you there," Bunza nodded firmly, then with a fervent note, "I pray that somehow we can all help."
Kirara assured him that somehow, this would all help tremendously. She was sure that together, they would find a way.
The lynxes paired up in twos to travel more safely, one who could become humanlike accompanied by one who was unable to do so but would help protect them along the journey, and were off to gather these many allies and friends and favors owed, with the fastest going furthest.
Taking off to find Kuroro and her children as the lynxes sped off in every direction, Kirara felt hope rising in her chest...
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Ah, something puzzles me still.
What's that, Un?
When we heard the story of the creation of the Crystal and the sword of Sou'unga.
What about it, brother?
Shishinki said that the Crystal was made by his own Mother.
Oh? I do seem to remember that.
Well, how do you explain it?
Hmm. Maybe it was Shishinki's Mother who disguised herself as the priest, and sought their power for her own?
Well, if she was that powerful then it would make sense that she could disguise herself.
But wasn't she a youkai, and incapable of using seireiki?
Well, not All Youkai are incapable of using seireiki.
But that would mean she had to have a Heavenly connection.
Do you think she made deals with more than one Celestial?
It wouldn't surprise me.
Perhaps there are other means by which she could have been involved, which we do not yet know.
Strange that Sou'unga himself does not seem to know precisely who it was that imprisoned him.
He was weakened greatly at the time, and surely his senses were focused only on Thanh Long by then.
Yes, this is true.
Do you think Jaken will send for reinforcements from Lord Sesshoumaru's army?
No, he wouldn't dare. The forces are spread thin from expansion already, and Zusaku's own army is poised to attack should his defenses fail.
True. If Lord Sesshoumaru had wished it, he would have given Jaken the signal.
Lady Mud Nose's own army then?
Being beside her son's territory, she has lent him many soldiers for his inner defense. She too has this same problem.
So this is why they have not spoken of this option.
It is really not an option.
Not that an army of mere soldiers would do much here.
This is true, brother. What we need is a different kind of army.
An army of Spellcasters, perhaps?
If only we had such a thing!
Well, we have two powerful Sorceresses and a Chief Minister with a Staff of Dragons.
So far it's not enough, but it is a start.
Shippou is still badly injured. He heals very slowly.
Yes. Lord Sesshoumaru weeps still. Will his tears ever run dry?
Not while his heart still bleeds, brother.
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Kuroro and Kirara meowed and purred and growled and made all sorts of Cat Noises; after a little bit of thought, Kuroro turned to her kits, and bade that her second litter, two younger cats from last year's litter, protect the village as usual, while she brought along the three older siblings. These three were the ones Kirara had first met just after they were born, the ones Shippou and his friends had saved, whom were eager to help repay the same ones who had saved all their lives that fateful day and night of terror. In the village, they all looked very similar to the humans and so had all just been called "cat friends" after awhile; but in Cat, between Kirara and Kuroro, they knew the Mother Names for them were Fire, Claws, and Pounce, each named for their personality when practicing battle with each other in their youth.
And their Father? Kirara had asked her in cat.
He protects the forest nearby, and guards from a distance against all that they cannot handle in their youth. He raises two other litters of hanyou as well.
He turns human?
No, he mates with other cats, and they have pure cat offspring which are half youkai.
Does that bother you?
What concern is it to me? I raise my young. He protects the forest, Kuroro had whisked her tails lightly, and Kirara left it at that. Surely in her association with complicated humans, she had somewhat forgotten how uncomplicated the mating practices were among her own kind.
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"What?! Impossible!" Kouga huffed in disbelief after the lynx messengers were delivered to the den with an urgent message, "Well, you don't smell like you're lying, and you wouldn't have come here shouting for me all by yourself with just a plain sword and one bodyguard, so I have to believe you, it's just...hard to believe," he huffed.
"Go, Kouga, I've got the den and the Packlands, you take care of helping your friends. Take half my warrior white wolves with you too, you'll need to bring a strong front if you're going against someone like the Southern Phoenix Lord Zusaku. We've held down this turf comfortably for a long time, we can patrol with even less than half the forces here," Ayame assured him, and glad that his wife was so resolved, Kouga nodded and clenched his fist, turning to look at the lynx again.
"We'll escort you there with more wolves than you can count. Ginta! Hakkaku! You heard," he nodded, and they nodded, and lifting their noses in a great howl, the betas summoned the wolves to assemble for a Long Run. Within minutes they were off with the lynxes among their ranks, heading to the abandoned village just down the way from Inuyasha's own village, the meeting-place Kirara had chosen for their staging area.
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"No way! If Master Shippou is trapped by this youkai, we'll find a way to trick that Mage out of it, won't we?" the foxes all agreed, and there were about thirty of them at the Maboroshi that night; hearing this resolve, two Instructor foxes revealed themselves to be a five-tailed and a six-tailed fox, respectively, and they also vowed to help. And one of them said they knew the Fox Diety of which had been spoken and would send word through Fox Magic to this diety to lessen his distrust of the messenger, and would summon also through this same magic any foxes he knew, and the other foxes agreed to do the same. For Shippou was one of the most legendary of foxes of the current era, having played a major part in the whole journey to defeat Naraku, and the other obstacles in the way, like Menomaru, Takemaru, the Four False Gods of Hourai Island, and now possessed the legendary Sou'unga as his blade...
"We'll have foxes from every tribe and every corner of the lands, as far as the sea in every direction, even some with Chinese friends and relatives. Expect hundreds of foxes to arrive," the five-tailed instructor smiled, lifting his lips as his hands both glowed in bright blue foxfire, casting his communication spells, "over the course of two days, from different distances and directions, foxes will pour in and become as an army of magic."
"Awesome," the lynx grinned, raising his sword high in salute, "Truly, Shippou has great allies indeed!"
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"The firecat called you to fetch us to help Lord Sesshoumaru?" Touran gasped, "This must be very serious indeed, siblings."
"They might have powerful magic," Shunran, the illusionist sister, murmured, "but I will do my best to help however I can."
"They might be immune to my fire, as Phoenixes," Karan, the fire weilder, muttered, "but I too will do anything I can to help."
"They might be smarter than me with their clever plots," Shuran, the youngest and the only large male among them, "but I will strike with my thunder and lightning until I cannot fight anymore."
"They might think they have Lord Sesshoumaru trapped," Touran spoke icily, "but we shall find a way to free him. We owe him our lives."
"Let's leave my Flame detachment behind to guard the Panther Lands," Karan suggested, "but we should be sure to bring your specialists, the Flower Power crew, Shunran."
"It's Not Flower Power," Shunran huffed, shooting an irritated glare at her sister, "it's DE-Lusionals. DE-, like the Opposite of Illusion, but also a clever-oh, nevermind, I'm wasting my breath on you!"
"Would you two stop teasing? We're wasting time!" Shuran huffed, then looked to his eldest sister expectantly, "Touran?"
"Karan is right, her Flame Guard won't be much use against phoenixes. We'll leave them and half each of our specialists, Shuran. Shunran, you bring your entire...delusional...crew. Are you sure that's what you want to call them?"
"You are all so picky," Shunran rolled her eyes, but having decided thus, they snapped to and went each their way to distribute orders and assemble their elite task forces. Each had hand-picked from hundreds upon hundreds of very promising candidates with the same magic weilding potential they had each mastered; to be precise, Touran had forty-two Ice Warriors, Shunran had thirty-six Delusionals, Karan had forty Flame Guards, and Shuran had fifty-six Thunder Cats. Leaving some advisors and Generals in charge, Touran and Shuran took the more experienced halves of each their specialists, Shunran took all, and Karan charged the Flame Guard with defense as they headed out with the lynxes.
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"Shippou, in trouble?" Souten raised both eyebrows, then glanced at her friend Koryuu, "we have to help him, Koryuu."
She had grown to be a young woman, but Not Quite old enough to desire children yet; puberty had hit her but only very recently, and she now looked perhaps thirteen years old by human estimation. Koryuu had also grown to almost the shoulder height of a large dog or a wild wolf when he was on all fours on the ground, and from his now elongated neck to the tip of his tail he was about twice the length of one.
"Then let's go," Koryuu agreed, and though his body seemed Just A Bit Small for her to ride, his strength was easily enough to have carried three or four of her, and so she climbed on. He was faster with his now Very Large wings than she with her cloud, so took to the skies, nodding to the lynxes below that they would clear the path on the way so there would be no trouble trailing on the ground behind.
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"Inuyasha's brother and friend are in trouble, and Inuyasha's sword has been sealed from being able to break barriers? This is indeed very troublesome. Tetsusaiga bound by a barrier it cannot break free from..." Shiori murmured, then glanced at the many hanyou behind her, and bit her lip. "I can't take you all with me, it would be too dangerous for most of you." Looking at the first group of hanyou to have joined her, the children from Hourai Island, who had grown somewhat since then, "Asagi, you have to stay here and keep everyone safe, you're the best one to maintain order while I'm away. Shion, Moegi, you have to make sure everyone stays calm and keep patrolling for the dangers nearby. The barriers I create for you will be less powerful when I'm not here to maintain them against attack. Roku, Dai, you two have become strong, you can come if you like. Ai-"
"I want to come, Big Sister Shiori," Ai said. Though she had been a very young toddler when she first arrived, she had grown into a larger and much fiercer child; she looked perhaps ten or eleven now, and her ear-fins had grown longer, her spirit stronger. "I'm not just a little kid anymore, Big Sister. If these are fire creatures, maybe my water powers can be of some help."
"You Are still just a little kid," Dai huffed, crossing his arms at her. He and his twin Roku had grown to the size of large sixteens, almost full adult size by now. Shiori and Asagi barely looked older than they did these days, the two girls appearing perhaps seventeen, and were a bit shorter than the boys now actually. Shion and Moegi were only a bit younger, seeming perhaps fourteen and thirteen. After they had left the enchanted island, they realized they aged faster; something about that place had slowed their aging and hindered their powers, but now they had become independently dangerous enough to fend for themselves in their own rights.
"But, she's got a point," Roku said, "her water power is probably worth more than brute force against a fire bird."
"If you come with us, make sure you're very careful, Ai," Shiori said meaningfully, "but if you want to stay-"
"We have to help Big Brother Inuyasha's Big Brother and Fox Brother," Ai said with determination, and thus it was settled.
"Lead the way, lynx friends," Shiori gestured, and they were waved off by the other hanyou kids as they ran to meet where Kirara had chosen.
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"Sorry about the pranks, we're supposed to protect the Monkey God's forest," the three sprites apologized to the flustered lynx messengers after hearing their whole story. These three had grown to be more powerful adolescents, and now had long gangly limbs and very long tails, but their childlike mischief had remained fully intact.
"Go ye, my avatars, Gon, Bun, Ken, and assist Shippou, the fox whom ye befriended. I shall remain to guard the forest myself, 'tis nothing to it now that yon villagers respect the balance between us."
"Yes, Monkey God!" they bowed their heads and spoke in unison, and went with the lynxes without hesitation.
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"Momiji, this sounds like a very serious problem."
"Yes, Botan, and we'll have to work with a lot of youkai to help solve it."
"Well, do you think they'll trust us, being priestesses?"
"I think if we've been sent for, that means we're trusted, sister."
"Alright, sister. So we're going?"
"Yes, we're going. Show us the way, friend!"
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"Lord Sesshoumaru and Shippou? Oh no! Father, we must go," Kanta insisted.
"Anything for those two," Kanta's father agreed, and resolute, they followed the lynxes without any questions as to their safety.
.
"Kirara sent you to find me?" Hachi raised both eyebrows, shooting a glance at Mushin, "well, that's odd. I'm not sure how much help I can offer, but...I think I must be going, old man. Will you be alright without me?"
"Oh, Hachi, if I die of old age, you won't stop it by being here," the old monk waved him off, "go, go, best not keep Fate waiting."
"Silly old drunk," Hachi sighed, "I really do worry about you being alone."
"Well don't," Mushin wagged a finger at him, "or you'll jynx me. Off with you, off I say!"
"Here, I'll take us there, I know the place," Hachi said, transforming into his large flying form and carrying the lynxes along.
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"How did Kirara know where to tell you to find me?" Shouga asked, puzzled, but after a moment, she huffed, "well, I will do whatever I can to help the old friends of Myouga. Even though he's always running off on me again and again, still, they were kind to me and forgiving of my borrowing their bodies, and I owe them something for that. Let's go then," she hopped onto the one lynx's back as the two headed off.
.
"How terrible," Jinenji said somberly, "no wonder I had those feelings, Ma. I should have gone sooner."
"No, I bid you stay when you wanted to go, that's my fault, boy," his mother sighed, "although you were smart, preparing all those medicines when you were worried. You've already got most ready to go. Alright then, I'll help you finish packing your bundle. Waste no hands in haste. Say there, you help me stuff this bundle, cat," she gestured, and the lynx with hands obliged while the cat-form one watched the doorway, just as curious of the peering villagers as they were of it.
"Now see here, men," Jinenji's mother called to them as her son left with the lynxes, "Jinenji has important work to do helping friends and you'll have to be especially alert to defend yourselves while he's gone. Best keep sharp eyes and ears!"
"Will do," they agreed, nodding at each other.
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"Hmm," Hosenki the Second murmured as the lynx finished delivering his message. "Well, my powers to help in this matter are very limited, but let me offer this. Here are a dozen pearls I just finished making last month, Power Pearls that a strong mage will know how to use. I am very slow in battle and have no means to attack effectively, and the journey for me and my shell would be arduous after all the energy I used to craft those. But carry these pearls with you and my blessing with them, and I pray that they will help with this fight," Hosenki the Second said, and the lynxes nodded and clasped the pearls tightly and made sure to keep them safe as they went on the way to the meeting-place.
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"To unseal the Tetsusaiga from it's sheath, you must travel to seek the one who birthed the branch it was crafted from. Seek Bokuseno, and he will tell you secrets you must carry to the others," Yoreitaisei said, adding, "were I to involve myself in this matter, it would hinder the ability of Tetsusaiga to learn to overcome this barrier itself. And none of my other powers will destroy the bloodbound barrier or phoenixes. This is all the help I can offer you, so make light with your swift feet and find the enchanted forest of the tree youkai as I have shown you."
The lynxes nodded in understanding and followed his directions, sure that the powerful mage wasn't lying to them.
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"You want me to *hic* help those youngsters again, eh?" Yakurodokusen hiccupped, giving the lynxes an unsteady, cockneyed look for a long, wobbly pause before he turned about to look at his jugs. "I don't intend to *hic* leave my realm, but bring them this," he brought a very small jug out of a very large jug, "it's not what it looks like. One of the *hic* magic users will know what to do with it. At least, you better hope so. Don't drink it!" he warned, and the lynxes vowed they wouldn't, and sped off with the magical jug.
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"So Tetsusaiga has been sealed within it's sheath, and Sesshoumaru and Shippou within a draining barrier," Bokuseno pondered slowly for a long moment. "Now the firecat has sent you and your tribe to gather together all of an army of both warriors and spellcasters. Yes, this is fortuitous, her instincts were good, her age has made her very wise. Toutousai will arrive in the village proper soon, and the cow will be with him, and the flea also. Tetsusaiga would have summoned him, but being a coward, he will not approach it so close with so many strong youkai around. Take this one of my branches with these three flowers and fruits," here one branch extended lower, to be at eye level with the lynx who had hands, "and carry them preciously to Toutousai. Be swift about your sword blow, for it stings to lose it."
"Thank you, wise old tree. Your kindness will not go to waste," the lynx bowed low before drawing his blade, and with as much force as he had in his body, he lopped off the branch and cringed at the noise of pain the tree made, a creaky noise with a sort of roar.
"Go, go, I will heal," the tree insisted, and the lynxes went off to do as bid, one holding the long branch tight as he ran.
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"Phoenixes, you say?" Suijin raised both eyebrows, "Well, then it makes sense to ask a Water God for help. And I do owe them for restoring me to my power and station, of course. I will leave my most trusted subordinate in charge, and may the Trident of Amakoi serve as a worthy and powerful weapon in this fight against beasts of fire," she hoped out loud, nodding to said subordinate as she took off with the lynxes.
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All across the lands their allies were gathered together, and began to move in waves aross the country towards the abandoned village near Inuyasha's village. All across the lands, forces gathered together under one purpose, with one heart. All across the land, magic coalesced.
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Miroku, Sango, Kagome, Kaede, Kohaku, Rin, and Rikichi were all in the middle of trying to think around things when Toutousai arrived on Moumou with Myouga in tow, and after all conversing with each other, they collectively sighed at their inability to come up with a good plan just yet.
"Say, is Sou'unga still over at your house, Lady Kaede?" Myouga asked curiously.
"Aye, but I dare not think-"
"No, I wasn't saying we should be so foolish as to risk anything stupid by trying to sneak it to Shippou, but maybe he and Saya know things that can help us," Myouga hastened to clear up the confusion, "Toutousai, let's retrieve them and bring them here."
"Makes sense," Toutousai agreed, stalking across the village warily to fetch the sword and bolt back to the taijiya house with almost funny displays of nervous cowardice all the while...but they understood why he was so fearful, and made no remarks about his behavior.
After now being present where they were, Sou'unga and Saya explained why they had not dared to make a move when Zusaku had first arrived; that all being said, they knew not what to do now, any more than anybody else did...
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Lord Sesshoumaru has not slept all day and night.
His tears still fall as if they will never cease.
He keeps vigil over Shippou.
He blames himself for the fox's wounds.
He blames himself for all of this.
Have we not already said to each other, lo, it is not his fault?
Have we not already said to each other, lo, he will always feel it is?
I am very sad, brother.
I am very sad also, brother.
Sesshoumaru no longer even noticed the tears that hadn't stopped. They made little spots on his clothes and little puddles of mud in the dust on the ground and soaked into the little patches of grass, but he no longer paid them any heed. He sat there keeping Shippou asleep, hushing him every time he woke, staring into the distant nearness of his own thoughts or looking over Shippou's wounds, silent, crying...defeated.
Jaken, Lady Mud Nose, Kagura, Royoukan, and Inuyasha had a few spurts of awkward conversation and long, depressing silences. They didn't know what to do, or say, and it seemed nobody had the heart to just walk away from the hill, to walk away from the barrier that contained Shippou and Sesshoumaru...to walk away from where the Tetsusaiga was sealed inside it's sheath, where the Mage and the phoenix guards stood unmoving as stone, obviously trained for this kind of duty.
By now the dawn of another day approached; as long as the day had felt, they almost agonized at the sunrise-would this next day feel just as long as the last had? Watching Sesshoumaru cry silently over Shippou and nobody knowing what to do to help the situation was maddening.
"I should kill them all just to spite the bird," Lady Mud Nose muttered, eying the twelve guards.
"Noble Lady," Jaken dared not say her name out loud in front of these youkai, "I beg of you not to be so wroth that you forget that-"
"I said I Should, little Jaken. Not that I Would. Not yet, anyways," she added darkly, and Jaken understood her now, that she was venting.
"If only we knew how to undo that barrier..." Inuyasha mumbled, his ears flicking in thought.
"We wouldn't need to undo anything if it had not been done in the first place," Lady Mud Nose huffed, her filter long ago lost in life.
"Listen, we all know what led to this, but what's happened can't be changed, so let's just focus on what to do next," Kagura tried to lessen the tension, but Inuyasha's ire had already been on edge, and now he was more focused on his stepmother than his stepsister.
"Listen, Lady, I know you think you're better than I am, and I bet in some ways you really are, and much as it suits you to hold it over my Fucking Head while you're here, could you stop long enough to Shut Up and help us Think, instead of just Bitching about what we did wrong already? Like if you're not gonna Help, you could at least not make it worse and go shove off to be mad somewhere else."
"Well if That's how you Feel about it, Inuyasha, by All Means, start Thinking Up some Wonderful Plan! Oh, what's the matter, haven't you got the Knowledge to deduce how to remove a magical barrier without your Stinking Sealed Sword?!"
"Oh Really?! That's how you wanna come at me, you old bitch? And where were You when he-"
"Enough!" Sesshoumaru said the first word he'd spoken in a day, and it came out in a low snappish snarl, and they both stopped, guilty and ashamed, and he looked over his shoulder at them, then simply repeated in a lower, hoarse whisper, "Enough."
And he turned his head again, and it fell a degree lower; and ashamed of themselves, they now looked at each other.
"S-sorry," Inuyasha flicked his ears low.
"It is the stress. I too am ashamed."
They grew silent again after that for a little while, until Kirara landed, accompanied by Kuroro and her children Fire, Claws, and Pounce.
"Kirara? You went and got...Kuroro?" Inuyasha raised both eyebrows, as did the others. "Uh, how are they...?"
Kirara had been in her large form and had carried Kuroro and her children on her back. She gestured for those who were gathered to follow her, looking at each of them in turn, Inuyasha, Lady Mud Nose, Kagura, Royoukan, Jaken. She paused as her gaze went to Ah-Un, but shook her head and decided he was right where he needed to be.
However, they were not.
"Well, we're making no progress here," Lady Mud Nose finally huffed, "let's be off to see what she will show us, then," and they all began to follow her.
The Mage frowned at their backs as they left, but knowing his orders, he made no move to follow them or send any others to do so. In fact, he thought, the cat coming back with what appeared to be her kittens meant she could very well be leading them away to a safe place, rather than making any kind of aggressive maneuver. Of course he hadn't thought to look into any of those kind of things when the spies had brought reports and since Kuroro and her children just looked like the same tiny cats as Kirara in her small form, he didn't know better than this.
Kirara had counted on this, an instinct subtler but wiser than she could have explained in Human Words guiding her decision to do that. As she led the others away with what appeared to be gentle urgency, she gave no sign of excitement or the like; they were puzzled but they all trusted that she knew what she was doing, and let her lead them a few miles away until they were around a bend around a hill and out of sight of the phoenixes entirely.
"Okay, okay, we're out of sound and out of sight, what's going on? Why did you bring Kuroro and...and these other cats? Where are you taking us, Kirara?" Inuyasha asked, tense from the stress of not knowing how this would help.
Kirara reowed at him reprovingly, as if to tell him that she couldn't really tell him with meows, and he would just have to follow her and find out the hard way. Which of course, by nature of knowing her so well, he understood and sighed.
"Well, okay, lead the way then," he agreed, and Kirara began to fly fast, and Kagura gestured for Jaken to hop onto her back in her true form as she sped behind the cat, and Inuyasha ran along behind, and Lady Mud Nose levitated much like her son did, and they swiftly came upon the old abandoned village...
Which was full of Kouga's wolves, and foxes were showing up now, and Jinenji and Hachi were there, and some other cats that Inuyasha now recognized as members of Bunza's tribe, and the younger Thunder Sister Souten and her dragon friend Koryuu...
"Hey, Inuyasha!" Kouga called, running over to greet him, "these lynx friends of yours told me we were all meeting here to come up with a plan. They said the firecat came to them first so they could use their human voices to speak her words, and she's asked them to gather up this army of all your allies from your travels," the Alpha Wolf beamed, eyes alight with anticipation, "it looks like this will be fun."
"Wow, Kirara," Inuyasha gasped, amazed, "you organized this?"
"And more," one of the lynxes had walked over, beaming with pride, "more allies will hail from every direction, panthers, hanyou, mages, youkai of all kinds, in honor of the great deeds you've all done to help all of us. Kirara chose our tribe as the fastest, fleetest couriers of her great warcry abroad, and we expect everyone else to arrive by the end of the day."
"Incredible," Jaken breathed, "I keep being amazed at the cleverness of youkai who do not use common tongue," he blushed, "but I should have learned already that speaking words has nothing to do with intelligence."
"Indeed, there is much wisdom in that statement," Lady Mud Nose agreed, herself marvelling.
"Let's get you guys to the headquarters," Kouga, as an Alpha Wolf, had already assumed charge, naturally, "It's the best building in this rundown hole. I'm really not sure what all we're doing yet, but the lynxes tell me that Kirara said that as soon as everyone is here together, that's when we'll be able to really make a plan. In the meantime I figured we'd make this place into a more proper camp. A few of my wolves are out hunting for some food for everyone, and some lynxes and foxes are patching up the worst parts of a couple other buildings so we can use 'em. You feel like spending some of your rage on musclework, eh?" Kouga glanced at Inuyasha with the last question.
"Count me in," Inuyasha agreed, relieved that there was finally something he could Do.
"Say, Kagura, you control the wind, right?" Kouga recognized her, she realized, by scent alone-for what other bird smelled like algae?
"Yes, of course," she fluttered her wings, "why do you ask?"
"Make sure all of our scents are carried towards us, not away from us in the direction of those birds you just walked off from, okay?"
"Understood," Kagura nodded, closing her eyes to speak to the wind, and it obeyed, and shifted, so that their scents were not carried up towards the Mage and circle of guards with him.
"I shall gather together volunteers to collect firewood and start them ablaze with my staff," Jaken decided, and Kouga nodded.
"I'll be speaking," Lady Mud Nose narrowed her eyes sharply, "to those two five-tails there, to see what magics they know," and she was off.
Over the next hours all the others came pouring in; true to the lynxes prediction, almost every lynx that had been sent out returned, and all the allies that they had been sent to gather had either arrived or sent their gifts along with the lynxes themselves...
And the last lynx, having run about the most, finally arrived, not at the abandoned village as Kirara had said, but the village where he went to the taijiya house, as Bokuseno had bade him. Finding the sacred cow outside, he knew immediately which house he had to go to, and with a hesitant soft call, he tapped on the door...
"Please don't kill me, I know I'm a youkai but I'm a friendly one, honest!" were his first words, and he winced and added, "a friend of the firecat Kirara, who bid me to find the youkai who helped Inuyasha with his sword, who when I found him, bid me to find a tree who made the sheath of his sword, and that tree told me to find the smith who made the sword..."
"You've come to the right place alright," Miroku lifted the door-shade, and the lynx sighed in relief.
"I'm to deliver this special branch with these special flowers and fruits, from Bokuseno's own limbs, which he had me sever alive," and here the lynx reverently presented this gift to the smith who reached for it, "but he didn't tell me what it was for," he added sheepishly, "and he was in a lot of pain after he had me cut it off, and I dared not ask."
"It will tell me what it wants to become," Toutousai mumbled.
"So Kirara fetched you?" Sango had raised her eyebrows.
"Oh, yes, come on with me, my friend is just outside the door and we're to take you to the others now," he added hastily, gesturing for them to follow him, "to an abandoned village nearby, and if we go over the hill we won't have to pass the birds to get there."
"Yes, we know the place," Miroku nodded, then pausing, "Kaede, Rin, Kohaku, you'll have to stay here in case the village needs to be-"
"Evacuated again?" Rikichi groaned, "Oh, great. We may as well keep our houses packed in saddlebags," he joked, and by way of making sure they knew it was a joke, he smiled and elbowed the monk in the ribs, "Don't worry. We'll be okay."
So Toutousai, gingerly carrying Sou'unga by Saya's sheath, with Moumou, Myouga, Miroku, Sango, Kagome, and the lynxes, skirted about the backside of the village and took the shortcut through the woods to the other side of the hill, which led to the same abandoned village everyone else had met at; and they marvelled at the story of Kirara having summoned the help of the lynxes to gather their allies abroad, and marvelled even more as they saw those who had all come together.
By now camp had been swiftly made much better by organization, which Kouga had realized Jaken was very good at and left most of it to him in that department; fires were spaced evenly through the middle of one side street, roasting several beasts at once, while some of the less picky youkai were eating raw meat off at the far end near an overgrown field that had once been a pasture. There were now five buildings that had been salvaged in the town, and Jaken had assigned each one a purpose-the one in best shape, he agreed with Kouga, was headquarters. Then the other four were Rations, where the food from the hunters and gatherers and cooks was divided up before being handed out; Supplies, where their personal belongings and other things they'd brought that would need to be sheltered from the weather could be stored; and the other two were Bunks, which was in itself fairly obvious. Of course not all would want to sleep in the buildings in piles with each other, but it was there if they so chose, and it made the place feel Proper, and Good, and it was well.
Meanwhile, of the many assembled forces, the leaders and the strongest and the wisest and the most experienced among them had all gathered in the headquarters, and there was a conference of sorts, where they exchanged with each other all sorts of information and ideas, thinking of new ways to use their powers, and the feeling of Hope was alight in the large main room as these last guests were hurried to enter. Already present, in no particular order, Lady Mud Nose, Kirara, Inuyasha, Kagura, Royoukan, Jaken, Kouga, Hachi, Touran, Shuran, Shunran, Karan, Souten, Koryuu, Shouga, Shiori, Ai, Gon, Bun, Ken, Suijin, Momiji, Botan, and four foxes the rest didn't know personally but were instructors of Shippou's, each with five or more tails, by the names of Jinchuu (with seven), Itachi (with five), Raijuu (with five), and Kai (with six).
For his part, Jinenji had decided to go outside, as he felt he was more able to be of use in planning simple things rather than great things, and assisted with the smooth running of camp, helping everyone find what they needed and organize themselves whilst Jaken was in conference. Roku and Dai were strong and didn't feel like listening to a bunch of complicated planning, and Kanta and his father humbly felt that most of what they had to offer was their muscle and fishing skills, so went to help in that way. The lynxes that delivered the gifts given by the non-attending youkai had now gone to rest from their long hard runs with the rest of their brothers, and Bunza had gone to count just one more time when finally, the last two he was worried about arrived at last.
"You've finally made it," Inuyasha beamed, "hey Sango, you know it was Kirara who organized bringing all these guys together?" he said absently as Kagome ran to greet him with a kiss, having left some friendly villagers with their sleeping children and carrying her bow ready.
"So I heard," she marvelled, then spotting Kirara, bowed her head, "and even I never knew how wise she really was. Kirara, you are amazing."
Having reverted to her kitten size a little while ago, Kirara meowed and happily bounced into her arms, rubbing against her for comfort.
"So, Ai," Touran turned to the small hanyou girl thoughtfully, "you were just telling us about your water powers, weren't you?"
"I can summon water from under the dirt, if it's close enough," Ai repeated, "or condense it from the air, which is easier if it's more humid, and I can cast it out like a wave, almost like tossing a bucket of water for you, or like a fine mist, and I can bring it together to make fog in an area maybe almost as big as this abandoned village," she said eagerly, and Touran smiled and knelt to be at her eye level.
"Well, Ai," she grinned, "all of those things would be very useful to me, as my magic is that of pure ice. I can combine my powers with yours to great effect, and even teach you a few things about water magic yourself. You may yet even be able to unlock ice magic powers too. What kind of youkai blood is in you, Ai? I smell the waters, but I can't tell exactly what you are."
"I'm a Koi Fish!" Ai beamed proudly, and Touran chuckled.
"Well, then we shall have good luck, am I right?"
"What do you mean?"
"Koi fish are symbols of good luck," Touran informed her, "and you shall be my good luck charm, Ai. You are just adorable."
"Touran, don't get too mushy over there, this is a battle, not a nursery!" her younger brother Shuran stuck out his tongue at her.
"Don't you start, Shuran!" Shunran warned him, and he huffed and rolled his eyes.
"Of greater concern than using water against fire," Suijin narrowed her eyes, "is this barrier which prevents our attack to begin with."
"Agreed," Lady Mud Nose nodded to the Water Goddess who had just spoken, "for that is the key to freeing them before Zusaku returns."
"Sir Jaken," Shiori said, not sure what his actual title was, "your staff seems to be infused with a lot of barrier magic."
"Oh? You sense that with your powers, do you?"
"I am the one who once weilded the blood crystal of my bat family, which Inuyasha broke to gain the Red Barrier Breaking technique. I know quite a lot about barrier magic," she nodded, "and I think if we work together, maybe we can enhance these powers somehow."
"Well, I certainly won't say no, if you've got that kind of talent," Jaken agreed.
"Those pearls," Myouga murmured as he saw them on the table, "look like they came from Hosenki the Second, am I right?"
"Yes, and there is also this jug which came from the youkai who repaired Sango's bone weapon," Lady Mud Nose gestured, then peering over with a delicate sniff, "ah, I see that is from Bokuseno, meant to be delivered directly to you, old smith."
"Quite the keen senses," he agreed, presenting the branch, "though I'm not sure I know what it wants to be yet. Puzzle, that."
"Well, that seems to be everyone we sent out to everywhere," Bunza nodded, satisfied that all his lynx tribe members were accounted for safe and sound, "I'll be outside if you need me."
"Thanks, Bunza," Inuyasha nodded to him sincerely.
"Myouga, you ran away from me for Five Months this time," Shouga narrowed her eyes across the room at him, and he gulped.
"Kirara, did you really have to bring her here?"
"She does have extraordinary powers," Inuyasha smirked, still finding it in himself to recall the old mischief with a slight chuckle.
"A flea, with extraordinary powers? How so?" Lady Mud Nose asked curiously.
"Oh, I bet she'd love to show you," Inuyasha's eyes went devilish, and Shouga, flattered, blushed and turned her head.
"Oh, it's nothing really," she said daintily, "but if you insist, I'll show you."
"You should definitely show her," Inuyasha giggled even more.
But, careless as he was for what he wished for, he missed the gleam of mischief in Shouga's eyes when she spoke her next words.
"Well, Inuyasha, if you insist, I shall show her," Shouga agreed.
And then, leaping over to Inuyasha, she bit him and possessed him, and began to dance about with his body...
Well, the whole room got a great laugh out of that, and embarrassed, Inuyasha learned something about the value of not trying to trick two old ladies into doing what one young pup wanted them to do for His Amusement, for old ladies were smarter than young pups as a rule of thumb.
That fun being over in a few minutes and all of them settling, they agreed that this was indeed a useful power to add to their repertoire, and began to ask each other several more questions about their powers and the like; by the time this first conference was done, it was well into the later hours of the night, and they decided that most of them should rest, save the ones with more energy to patrol, and reconvene in the morning with fresh minds hopefully full of bright ideas...
.
The others left, brother.
Kirara carried other cats with her, of her own kind it seemed.
I wonder why she went to fetch them.
I don't know, brother.
Lord Sesshoumaru won't let him stay awake for all the pain.
No, he wants to spare him as much suffering as possible.
He hasn't eaten or slept.
Nor will he, brother. He's too worried.
Look, Shippou is stirring.
Poor Shippou.
"Ses...shou...maru," Shippou breathed, barely whispering through parched lips, "why...why are you...the only...one...here?"
"Shhh, don't ask any questions. Have some water," Sesshoumaru shushed him, gently lifting the fox's head with Mokomoko-sama as he held a canteen to the fox's lips, "here, drink. Not too fast. There you go."
Thirstily, Shippou slowly sipped water for a long few minutes. Having been tossing in fits of unconscious unease this whole time, and now finally awake for longer than it took to be coaxed back to sleep, his mind started to pull out of it's lucid state and a bit of fuzz cleared. Now he struggled to make sense of jumbled thoughts and tumbled questions; his eyes were still swollen shut and he felt as if he'd been asleep for a hundred years, but his body HURT All Over and even twitching his toes caused pain. He barely recalled seeing some kind of youkai come storming into Kaede's house when-
"Inu-Inuyasha, is he-"
"Shh, Shippou, everyone is alive, and safe, don't worry. You got the worst of it, Shippou," Sesshoumaru said, and something about the way he said that made Shippou struggle just a little more against his pain, and force one eye open to look up at the taiyoukai...
Fortunately for him it was night, and the light wasn't too bright for his wounded eye to adjust; after a few blinks with the one eye he could open, however, what he saw made him almost wish he'd kept his eye shut.
There was a barrier around them, obviously not one that was made by Sesshoumaru himself, who wasn't wearing armor or his swords but rather a binding rope hung from his neck and was sealed with a powerful sutra to another one that tied his wrists. And he was crying. Shippou could scarce smell much of anything past his own blood in his own nose; but the salt from the dog's tears had permeated the air enough to be able to smell that now that he thought about it.
Shippou shut his eye again and felt a tear of his own leave it; but not from the physical pain he felt, rather from seeing what Sesshoumaru was suffering now.
"You...should have...let me die. Ten...seiga..."
"Tenseiga alone could not have saved you if your body was burned to ash," Sesshoumaru whispered, "the youkai who ambushed you was a phoenix. Sou'unga was unable to unleash a power strong enough to defeat him with two humans that close to him. Being a phoenix, for Zusaku, death is only temporary anyways. Had he even been killed by Sou'unga when he attacked you, he would have risen from his ash to a rage surely worse than what he already did. It was..." Sesshoumaru shuddered, his voice trembling as he spoke, "it was a sign of how threatened he felt by your presence, that he did so much to incapacitate you. I think he was afraid to give you a chance to fight fair, Shippou."
"You're...just saying...that. To...make me...feel better," Shippou huffed, his jaw aching from having barely healed from the fracture.
"No, it's true. He barely broke any of Inuyasha's bones, and didn't even touch Kaede. You took the brunt of it, Taiyoukai Kitsune."
"Well...lucky me," Shippou wheezed, and it sounded like he tried to laugh, and Sesshoumaru, for the first time since this all happened, felt a flutter of hope, and Shippou's dark humor touched his own dark mood, and he snorted, not quite smiling, but he felt his heart lighten.
"Luck, I think, has nothing to do with it. It's your skills that make you dangerous."
"Butter...and honey," Shippou scoffed, a glimmer of Faith in the fox's voice as he echoed the taiyoukai's playful words from days past.
"You will see, Shippou. You will see the fear in his eyes one day," Sesshoumaru whispered, and Shippou snorted, derisive this time.
"Yeah...I guess I...I will," he mumbled, his mind slipping again, for he was still badly damaged and barely healed, "Sesshoumaru...what will happen...to us?"
"Nothing," Sesshoumaru said, sounding much more certain than he really was, and tired as Shippou was, he didn't question that tone, merely felt reassured by it, and fell asleep again, a more easy sleep than before.
Lord Sesshoumaru has stopped crying.
Now he has hope.
Because Shippou spoke?
Because Shippou Believed. In him.
Ah, I see.
.
.
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If you're still reading this, thanks for tuning in. Next chapter will be out sooner than the last.