InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Displacement ❯ "We Have Much to Discuss" ( Chapter 4 )

Displacement

 

Chapter 4

 

“We Have Much To Discuss”

 

The leather straps holding the bamboo bars together were undone, and Kagome climbed to her feet.

 

“What's going on, where's Inuyasha?” she demanded. Ryuichi held up his hands.

 

“Relax, my dear girl, your companion is safe,” he explained. “Our lord has sent him on a journey to prove his loyalty to him. Our most hallowed priests are working on a way to send you home as we speak.” Ryuichi removed a small jade pendant from his robe and held it out. “Please, wear this. It will you allow to understand the native tongue of the land. I have been instructed to see that you are properly clothed and fed. Come with me,” Kagome took the small jade talisman and slipped it over her head.

 

“Do you think you can find a way to send us home?” Kagome asked. Ryuichi turned and frowned, leading her from the jail.

 

“I assure you that such a thing is certainly within our lord's power,” he said slowly. Lying was not something Ryuichi liked doing to innocents. The fact this young woman was a native of his homeland did not help.

 

“Good. I heard he was a great ruler…” Kagome said. It wasn't a lie, really. Ying Zheng would be vilified by the Han Dynasty that would overthrow his own, but modern scholars would come to understand the significance of the unification he established.

 

“Yes. Our lord's methods are brutal to those who do not understand the times,” Ryuichi agreed, leading her into the courtyard. “For a great many years the states of China have fought, and all rulers before our lord failed to curb the wars. Our lord will usher is a new era of unity that will last for a thousand years. Under his reign, peace shall finally become the doctrine of our land.”

 

- - - - - - - - - -

 

“You have returned,” Ying Zheng muttered, narrowing his eyes. Jao Szu, emissary of Guangzhou, bowed low.

 

“My most sacred lord, I have returned,” he agreed. Ying Zheng stood and walked to him.

 

“Did you find it?” he asked. Jao Szu slowly stood, but kept his head bowed.

 

“My lord, the southern jungles yielded a great many treasures. The Nanyue barbarians have been repelled with our superior training and weapons, and their most valued items are ours. Large quantities of sacred jade and a great many stores of iron await you in the coming caravans, and their crops are most bountiful-.”

 

“You did not answer me,” Ying Zheng interrupted coldly. Jao Szu gulped.

 

“Although many valued items and new tonics were found in the Nanyue kingdom…I'm afraid the elixir you sought is not among them…” he whispered.

 

“You are certain?” Ying Zheng growled, drawing his sword. Jao Szu's eyes tracked the blade as the inside of its curve came to rest on his neck. “You are aware of what will happen if you lying. You did not take it for yourself, did you?”

 

“No, my most sacred lord, I would never betray you! The elixir is yours and yours alone, I swear it!” Jao Szu pleaded. Ying Zheng drew his blade back to rest on his shoulder.

 

“You did not take my elixir?” he repeated. Jao Szu shook his head, and Ying Zheng nodded. “Good. But, I'm sure you can understand that I need to be sure,” Ying Zheng continued. Jao Szu's eyes widened as the blade in his lord's hand quickly flipped around. A quick flick of the wrist, and a thin, narrow band of red appeared on Jao Szu's neck. Jao Szu's mouth fell open as he crumpled to the ground.

 

“You spoke true,” Ying Zheng muttered, looking down at the dying man. “Under the circumstance, I'll understand if my reaffirmation of your loyalty is insignificant to you.” Ying Zheng knelt and took Jao Szu's sleeve, cleaning off the tip of his blade on it before standing and waving his hand. His guard moved in to pick up the corpse and carry it away as Ying crossed to a cabinet on the side of the room.

 

“It would appear the Elixir of Life is as rare as the gods that created it,” Li Si said. Ying Zheng nodded and opened the door of the cabinet, withdrawing a small box. Li Si was his most trusted adviser, had been for many years. It was he who had suggested the treatment in the box in his hands.

 

“There are only many places it can be hidden. The land only has so many li,” Ying Zheng replied. He lowered his head and lifted a hand. He knew he had many years left in him, a great deal many due to the treatments in the box before him. But blades and armor had been of no use against a foe as powerful and relentless as Time. He saw the wrinkles that covered his hand; felt that, though he was as skilled a warrior as any in the land, he was not as agile or strong as he once was.

 

“Of course, we shall find it. It is merely a matter of time,” Li Si agreed. Ying Zheng was silent for a moment before opening the box. Inside laid several small, round niches in a wooden tray. Each niche held a small, soft ball, about the size of a man's fingertip. Ying Zheng picked up a ball and held it up to eye level.

 

“Time…is the one thing I cannot acquire more of through conquest,” he whispered, studying the ball. It was green and gold in color, with small streaks of gray. It took a great deal of trouble to manufacture this particular delicacy. The millet and wheat in the ball had spent much time in bowls of quicksilver, absorbing its life-giving powers and giving it a tolerable taste. Ying Zheng popped the ball of plant and mercury into his mouth, chewing and swallowing. He closed the box and placed it back in the cabinet.

 

“Send another scouting party to the north,” he ordered. “Arm them well, I do not want the Xiongnu to cause them problems.” Li Si bowed.

 

“Of course, my lord,” he replied, leaving.

 

- - - - - - - - - -

The sun had set long ago and the moon, bright as any beacon, had risen high into the sky by the time Inuyasha reached what was more than likely the Qin-Chu border. Although the land didn't have any obvious indications of the difference in ownership, the two states had obviously laid claim to their territory and told the other about it in the most obvious way possible. Although he had spent most of the day dashing across the countryside, past the occasional farm or settlement, he skidded to a halt when he reached the border.

 

Long wooden spikes had been pounded into the ground. They emerged almost six feet from the ground, and Inuyasha wrinkled his nose and held up his sleeve to block out the overwhelming stench of death and decay. Each post held a suit of armor before it, the arms bent back and lashed around the wood with thick straps of leather tying their wrists. As near as Inuyasha could tell, the soldiers had been tied to the stakes and left to die. Most of the bodies were still in the process of decomposing, and several had been picked at by animals.

 

Inuyasha growled and marched past the grim markers, sniffing. There were definitely lots of youkai scents. None of them were particularly strong, but one…Inuyasha stopped and dropped on all fours, sniffing the ground. He stood up and scowled. There. Faint but unmistakable, the scent of a fully mature, full-powered youkai. Inuyasha walked forward, scanning the horizon. Little more than odd rocks and trees barred his path. Although seeing an enemy would be easy, ambushing one in the open space would be just as easy…

 

Inuyasha stopped, and stared ahead. The plains ahead were the same combination of dirt and grass he had seen the rest of the day, but the scents of the plain just stopped. He put out a hand and snorted as it met a ripple in the air. A barrier. Inuyasha pushed and watched his hand go through with a smirk. It was mostly for keeping out humans and hiding whatever was inside, even a weaker youkai could pass through. He stepped through the threshold and stared at the plain ahead.

 

The plains gave way to a small, gentle hill. At the bottom loomed what was obvious the Japanese camp Ying Zheng had spoken of. Several tents and campfires loomed about the area, the scents of cooking meet and human sweat reaching Inuyasha's nose. Several dark but human forms were walking around. Near the middle of the camp rose a surprisingly large Japanese castle.

 

“A phantom castle…” he muttered. The scent of youkai was much stronger here, and Inuyasha could identify a few of the breeds. At least two neko, one kitsune, one inu-youkai, and three koumori youkai were among the troops, along with several other scents he couldn't identify. Inuyasha smirked and leapt.

 

He landed behind a tent and crept along the ground. A koumori was to the left, and heard him. It turned, and he jumped, landing on its shoulders and kicking it in the head as he spring boarded forward. There were a few cries, and a rattle of iron, but he ignored it and dashed forward. Three forms - one of them a neko - loomed from the darkness ahead, and Inuyasha leapt up. The castle lay right underneath him. With a flash, he drew Tetsusaiga and dropped, swinging the blade.

 

The wood of the roof crumbled before the fang, and Inuyasha landed inside, crouched in a cloud of dust. He stood up and narrowed his eyes at the flowered shoji. He snarled and jumped forward, slashing it apart. The thin wall fell, and Inuyasha hefted the Tetsusaiga over his shoulder.

 

Behind the shoji lay a small room. Two small windows lay on either side of th room, covered by fluttering blue curtains. There was a small fire with a metal pot boiling over it in the center. Behind it laid a small, squat table. A being sat behind it, cross-legged. Slim, clawed fingers reached to the table and picked up a small ceramic cup. The figure's torso was dark from the dim lighting, but the figure's white hakama was clearly visible

 

“Found you,” Inuyasha chuckled.

 

“You are a fast one,” the being said, sipping the tea.

 

“You were waiting?” Inuyasha muttered.

 

“But of course. I sensed it when you passed my barrier. No doubt you are another assassin sent to slay me by the Qin. Although I must admit I am surprised they found a youkai to pursue me, much less a Japanese one.”

 

“Yeah, you'll have plenty of time to think it over when you're dead,” Inuyasha snarled, holding out the Tetsusaiga. The figure set down the tea and stood.

 

“You will not kill me, youkai…oh…you're a hanyou,” the figure replied.

 

“Yeah, what of it?” Inuyasha snapped. “I've killed plenty of stronger youkai than you!”

 

“Good for you. But as I said you will not kill me, I will not allow it and find my interests currently involve you begin kept alive,” the figure explained. “We have much to discuss.”

 

“Oh yeah, like what?” Inuyasha muttered, narrowing his eyes. The figure put a hand to their hip, and there was a small `click' of metal. There was a flash of light, and a gust of wind and youki rushed past Inuyasha, flinging back the light blue curtains covering the windows, bathing the room in moonlight. Tetsusaiga clanged to the ground as Inuyasha's eyes went wide.

 

A baggy white hakama led up to a black sash, tying two sword sheaths to the figure's hip. A black kimono covered their torso, twin metal plates with large spikes covering the figure's upper arms and shoulders, along with a larger plate covering his chest. Leather gauntlets covered the figure's wrists. A long boa of white fur was wrapped around his chest and trailed down his back. Long white hair tied up in a ponytail near the scalp mixed in with the fur. But what chilled Inuyasha's blood was the gigantic, gleaming sword held over the figure's shoulder.

 

“For starters,” the figure said, narrowing a pair of gleaming gold eyes, “you will explain to me how it is you wield the sword of my fang.”

 

Phantom Castle - remember how Naraku always turns his castle to dust and whirls it away to reform somewhere else? Same basic principle.

 

Historical Notes

 

Ying Zheng was obsessed with death. Worried that the vengeful souls of his enemies would attack him in the afterlife, he had the famous Terracotta Army built to protect himself. When he became convinced that even this mighty army would not be strong enough to ensure his soul's safety, he then began the search for the Elixir of Life that could bestow invincibility and immortality, hoping to prevent his death entirely. In the meantime, he became to consume mercury, aka quicksilver, in the hopes of prolonging his life. Because it could dissolve gold, the Chinese believed mercury possessed supernatural powers, and longevity was supposed to be one of them. Ironically, eating mercury on a regular basis more than likely hastened his death rather than delaying it.

 

Li Si is not an OC, but was Ying Zheng's actual advisor for much of his reign. He was also who advised Ying Zheng to outlaw the studies of Confusious and to ban most books in the hopes of suppressing rebellious thought. Due to his insight, Li Si proved vital to the efficiency of Ying Zheng's campaigns by helping plan his empire's structure.

 

The Xiongnu were a group of nomads that lived to the north of China, in modern Mongolia. They were a periodic trouble for the Qin Dynasty and several dynasties before and after Ying Zheng's rule, although they weren't much more than nuisance. Ironically, in 209 BC, only one year after Ying Zheng's death, the Xiongnu formalized into a confederate empire to become a real and formidable foe rather than a handful of barbarian tribes.

 

Tea was not really introduced into Japan until around the 9th century AD. But in China it was known as far back as 2700 BC. And, ironically enough, it was Japanese envoys to China who brought back the seeds. The Japanese Emperor liked the drink, and Japanese tea cultivation was born, some three millennia after it began in China. That's history for you…