InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Forgotten ❯ The Gathering Storm ( Chapter 46 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Black Wren 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Hentai / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.20.2013 | Pages: 5 | Words: 8.2K | Visits: 145 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Hentai / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.20.2013 | Pages: 5 | Words: 8.2K | Visits: 145 | Status: Work In Progress
Kakiboufuu has the backup he needs to ma ke rescue possible but time is not on&nb sp;his
side. Naomi rush to save he r father has caused her to fall for ;Kuromakaze‟s trap. If
Kakibouf uu wishes to save both his niece and&nbs p;brother, he‟ll have to team up with
the very person he exiled.
145 years before the search for ;the jewel shards
Chapter 35: The& nbsp;Gathering Storm
I was too far gone to realize what was happening at&n bsp;the time. Only later was it
ex plained to me what transpired that day. Knowing Kaiyoshinju‟s temperament, I
found myself filled with new admiration for my brother. I would not have& nbsp;been able
to do the same if I& nbsp;our positions had been reversed.
-Sessho maru
“So you didnâ& euro;Ÿt think to stop her, despite my&nb sp;reasons for not going after
Sesshomaru?&ac irc;€ demanded Kakiboufuu. Himawari prostrat ed before him, quivering
in fear. Lady Kou grunted her disapproval. Temari&nbs p;was kneeling but she remained
aloof re fusing to be cowed by his anger. & nbsp;
Servants were dressing the hanyou& nbsp;in his armor. He had changed cloth es after
returning to the temple. He now wore a red haori over a whit e kimono with a red
hakama. The&nb sp;armor was brown with gold highlights. &nbs p;Three fangs lined each
shoulder guard. ; Every inuyokai there thought their Taisho&n bsp;resembled his father
the greatest when&nb sp;he chose to wear his armor. Little&n bsp;did they know this was his
reason&nb sp;for not donning his armor more than n ecessary. He was still sour toward his& nbsp;
dead father and didn‟t like being compared to him, especially favorably.
He glared at Temari who ;glared back at him, unrepentant. She s eemed to have
gotten bolder since their& nbsp;initial meeting. Temari‟s refus al to inform him of Naomi
disobedience&n bsp;until it was too late was no surpris e. She despised the dragoness for
not choosing her during the marriage agreemen ts. Himawari was another story.
< br> “She is not clan,†s aid Temari. “Why should we&nbs p;be concerned about her choices?â€
“I agree with Temari,⠀ said Lady Kou, surprising everyone. &n bsp;“She may have
disobeyed you , but unlike your brother, she is not&nb sp;of the inu clan. Clan should not&nbs p;
have to worry about one that cannot&nb sp;follow her own lord.â€
Wh en Kakiboufuu had returned, he called a meeting with the entire clan. Once all& nbsp;
were gathered, he discussed his plans&nb sp;to rescue Sesshomaru, much to the surprise
of the inuyokai.
â€&oe lig;I had no desire to have it even ;brought up before I had secured the hel p we‟ll need
if we are ;to pull this off,†Kakiboufuu replied when questioned why he hadn‟t&n bsp;
mentioned it before. “I&nb sp;was uncertain whether or not I could obtain this aid and I
didn‟ t want the clan moral negatively affected&nbs p;if I could not. The fall is far& nbsp;longer
when one‟s hopes are high. However, I was made aware o f an unfavorable
development that will f orce me to move faster than I would ;like. Naomi has
apparently taken upon& nbsp;herself to rescue her father on her ;own, against my orders!â€
T he clan had reacted with surprise save f or two members. Himawari, Sesshomaru†Ÿs
fiancée, went ashy pale and trembled. Temari simply looked bored.&nb sp;
“Himawari, Temari, do you have anything you wish to share with the rest of the
clan?†he&n bsp;asked, his voice neutral. He had no t thought it possible but Himawari
went& nbsp;even paler.
Temari drawled, & acirc;€œI heard Naomi tell Himawari wha t she was planning. She
sounded co nfident she could handle the rescue on h er own.â€
Kakiboufuu narrowed&nbs p;his eyes and said with a growl, â ;€œOnly because she has no idea of what is awaiting her. He will&nbs p;allow her to come close, even enter th e castle
ground before springing his tra p. The deeper inside his nest you go the harder it is
to escape.â&eu ro;
“So how would yo u propose we pry Sesshomaru from such ir on strong clutches?â€
asked Lady K ou.
“We go in hard,& nbsp;full frontal attack,†replied Kakibouf uu. “Our strongest and most&nb sp;
talented will lead. When we close&nb sp;on the castle and he thinks he has&nb sp;us. Hotaru
here will summon her ;comrades from the other side. The pres ence of the firebirds
will create chaos; that unpredictable element will be our edge in this battle.â€
He&nb sp;ended the meeting there and ordered all&nb sp;to prepare. A few had remained behin d
to speak with the Taisho privately;&nb sp;Temari and Himawari were ordered to stay.& nbsp; He
still had to decide how to reprimand them for not telling the othe rs of Naomi‟s
departure.
&n bsp;
Now as the clan made ready for the battle, Lady Kou continued to push t o stop it.
Her remark about Naomi& nbsp;annoyed Kakiboufuu only because it made sense logically,
but it was Xeno who&nbs p;spoke next.
“You forget she is still the Taisho‟s kinswoman,†said the soft-spoken fire demon in
his harsh and heavy accent.&nbs p; “Even if the clan feels ;no obligation because her blood
favored ;the dragon and not the dog, it does&nbs p;not change the fact that she is still& nbsp;
Reihane. She is no mere vassal&nbs p;to be thrown away when a burden. ;Since you are
sworn to the Taisho, his family is of concern to you wh ether they are inu or not.†;
Lady Kou snarled at him but he clo sed his violet eyes and ignored her heat .
“I have a question , Taisho,†Xeno said after a mome nt. “Are we really going to be
enough? Even we have Eternal ‟s firebirds on our side in ;the battle, will we really be
able ;to hold out until your brother is extra cted?â€
“I don&acir c;€Ÿt know,†replied Kakiboufuu a s he straightened his armor. â€&o elig;I don‟t yet have
the f ull measure of Kuromakaze‟s ability&n bsp;to plan. I cannot know how fast&nbs p;he can
change them or what he has in reserve. I have information on ;Kaiyoshinju‟s
whereabouts. I w ill be approaching her for assistance as ;well.â€
“It would& nbsp;help us immeasurably if you could secure her aid as well,†agreed Xeno.&n bsp;
“You shouldn‟ t be so furious with us then,â€&nb sp;said Temari. “With Naomiâ& euro;Ÿs life on the
line, her help& nbsp;should be guaranteed.â€
&aci rc;€œIf you wish to do the negotia ting with Kaiyoshinju on those terms,†said
Kakiboufuu in a light voice, “I will guide you to her l ocation and leave her to you.†&n bsp;
Temari blanched and recoiled from the&nbs p;Taisho as Xeno chuckled. “Di dn‟t think you
would be so& nbsp;foolish. So don‟t think I& nbsp;would be either. I hope I can ;last long enough
to explain that her&nb sp;daughter is entirely to blame for the ;situation and I did not
encourage her&n bsp;in any way.â€
â€&o elig;How will you approach her? And how will you broach the subject of Naomi&nb sp;without
it sounding like you are hold ing her hostage?†asked Xeno. Th e foreign fire demon
understood Kaiyoshinju&n bsp;well. To try to speak with her ;without bringing up Naomi
until the end would be impossible. Kakiboufuu would have to bring it up at the
start&nb sp;just to hold her attention. Even the n she might not listen as she would ;
assume it was Kakiboufuu‟s faul t that Naomi was in danger.
< br> “I think I shall have to&nb sp;open with „Your daughter has no self-discipline. Did you not
raise&n bsp;her to understand the need to obey h er Taisho?‟†Kakiboufuu replie d as he
made the final adjustments to Rokukafuga. He clenched his fists an d the blades
expanded in a burst of flame.
Beneath his veil, Xeno&nbs p;smirked.
******
Hotaru loc ated the sea dragon hanyou with ease. &n bsp;Kakiboufuu wondered if fire
spirits were& nbsp;always aware of the presence of their&nb sp;enemy element for self-
preservation reasons.&nb sp; He put that idea from his mind as he faced down the
infuriated she ;dragon.
He had pitched to her&nbs p;like he said he would and now he held her complete and
undivided attention.&nb sp; The good news; the phrasing had made her pause before
attacking him. T he bad news; she still hated him for&nbs p;the humiliation he handed her
that nig ht years earlier.
“Is&nbs p;that the only reason why you sought me out?†snarled Kaiyoshinju, here viole t
eyes blazing. Her fingers tensed ;and her claws extended as she prepared to strike.
“I‟m&n bsp;glad she‟s giving you trouble,&nb sp;you deserve nothing less!â€
Without altering his mask of irritation he continued, “I would save the&n bsp;praise until
after you know what ord ers she chose to disobey.†Kaiyo shinju remained in her
stance but didn&a circ;€Ÿt strike, her eyes focused on&nbs p;the inu hanyou.
So far so g ood, he thought, releasing just enough of&nbs p;his power to evaporate the
sweat befor e it could reveal his distress. â €œI had told her to remain at ;the temple
pending further orders. &nbs p;I had told her not to take action;&nbs p;to do nothing until I said
otherwise.& nbsp; She disobeyed and now she has fall en into the hands of the coldest and&nbs p;
most merciless Tenko our country has.â ;€
“What?!†c ried the dragon hanyou coming out of her stance, anger vanishing as fear
took&nb sp;over. “What is she trying&n bsp;to do?â€
“She&n bsp;is trying to rescue her father,â€&n bsp;replied Kakiboufuu. “He was&nbs p;captured a few
days ago.â€
“And you‟re not&n bsp;doing anything to save him yourself? &nbs p;And you call yourself his
brother!â&e uro; she snapped.
Kakiboufuuâ€&Yu ml;s expression changed to mild surprise. &nb sp;“Oh? So you still care ;about
your former lover? I thought&nbs p;we would not care that he was in enemy hands.â€
“Wha t goes on between Sesshomaru and myself is personal. It doesn‟t involve
anyone else!†she said with ;a snarl after being taken aback by his& nbsp;words.
Feeling more secure in ;his position, he hopped over to her. &n bsp;“I had no intention of
leaving things as is but Kuromakaze is no enemy to take lightly. He took
Sesshomaru with the intention of using h im as bait. I know where he has&nb sp;gone and
I roughly know what to expect. I could not risk attacking with out first finding away
to shift the ;odds in my favor and with him that ;would be most difficult. I was not&nbs p;
sure I could so I kept my true&nb sp;intentions from everyone until I had that& nbsp;shift.
Naomi‟s actions hav e forced me to step up the timing o f the attack. I needed that
time&n bsp;to plan an effective counter strategy wit h my generals. The plan I have now
will get more people killed than I intended and we may still fail.â€
Kaiyoshinju eyed him suspiciously.&nbs p; “You didn‟t encourag e her to go?â€
â& euro;œNo, she would have been more effe ctive at this stage than where she is&nb sp;now,â€
replied Kakiboufuu, meeting h er gaze unflinching. Kaiyoshinju looked away . “That
is where you ;come in, Kaiyoshinju.†He reached&nb sp;into his haori and pulled out a
golden circlet with a sapphire jewel embedded into it.
She turned b ack to him, shocked. “I t hought you didn‟t trust me with& nbsp;this.â€
“I don ‟t,†he said. She f linched from the snap then glared at him . “However,
circumstances dema nd I return it. You are the only&n bsp;one who can control it, wield it, without revealing it.†Her face&nb sp;revealed her confusion though she said not hing.
He leaned forward and said in a soft voice, “I d oubt Kuromakaze was aware of your
exile. He probably planned on you showing&nbs p;up with the rest of us. However, ;even
when one is expecting a typhoon&nb sp;there is little one can do to prevent the damage it
wreaks.†Kak iboufuu smirked as he took her chin into his hand. “You have alwa ys
been a force of nature. Between you and the firebirds, I‟m ;confident we can
overwhelm my cousinâ& euro;Ÿs calculations.â€
â&e uro;œWell, as long as you understand th at,†she said placing her hand on his cheek,
stroking the jagged purple&n bsp;stripe. She dropped her voice to a& nbsp;bare whisper, “But
donâ&e uro;Ÿt think this means I‟m ;getting soft on you.â€
Kaki boufuu grinned then kissed her forehead. &nbs p;He slipped the circlet over her head < br> and danced out of her reach before h er hand could meet his face. â&eu ro;œBastard!†she
hollered, more ;indignant than furious.
â€&oelig ;Indeed,†he said before disappearing into the trees on his way back to t he temple.
Kaiyoshinju grumbled, straightene d the circlet then ran after him.
& nbsp;
**************
Toromaru ;grimaced, as did several generals, when his& nbsp;father appeared on the steps
leading&nbs p;to the courtyard. Kuromaru had grayed ;and wrinkles now decorated his
face but he remained strong and straight. Tenko aged slowly and, though, they
grayed&nb sp;in the later part of their life, they did not become bent or decrepit until&n bsp;after
they completed a hundred years.&nbs p; Most did not live long after that.&nb sp; His father was
close but he had n‟t achieved the centurion mark yet. Toromaru wasn‟t certain ho w
much more the clan could survive of his leadership.
Following Inuyasha&a circ;€Ÿs suggestions had averted the wor st but they still suffered.
Especially& nbsp;when his father chose to make public&nbs p;edicts that could not be altered or ignored. It looked like he was about to make another and Toromaru just bowed his
head and awaited his fatherâ& euro;Ÿs commands.
“I ;have thought long and hard about are pr evious battles and taken a look at the&n bsp;
information scouts have provided us. &nbs p;I now know how to end this war,â € he
announced to the assembled sam urai, demons, Tenko and spiritualists.
Not another end-the-war campaign, thought Tor omaru with dread. These
campaigns his&n bsp;father ran were attempts to put a st op to all the fighting with one
dec isive push against the Kuro Tenko. Howe ver, the three previous campaigns had
al l ended in defeat with staggering loses both in men and land. Worse he led the
pushes himself so there would be no way for Toromaru and his allies&nb sp;to prevent the
disastrous move. &nbs p;
At this rate we wonâ€&Yuml ;t last to see his hundredth birthday, h e thought gritting his
teeth. He s till wondered how his father kept coming ;back alive when so many of
those w ith him perished. Maybe my brother is&n bsp;still sentimental about Chichiue. Or
maybe he is enjoying how Chichiue is&n bsp;making things so easy for him. That seemed
the more likely possibility. &nb sp;Keep the fool in power; makes the war that much easier.
“ We will be attacking Castle Arai, the en emy‟s main fortress and where th eir leader
is staying,†continued ;Kuromaru, oblivious to his men‟s&nbs p;grumblings. “Prepare
yourselves&n bsp;for battle; we will eliminate the source& nbsp;of the scourge once and for all.â& euro;
He turned away and the gathe ring rose to their feet.
â&e uro;œMaybe this time a lucky arrow will end this,†muttered Kenji. The& nbsp;wolf demon had
been party to the&nb sp;last two campaigns. In the first one , Kuromaru had wanted
things to be ended by “Tenko handsâ€. He changed his mind after the defeat&nb sp;left him
with few Tenko with both&nbs p;the training and experience to defend their holdings.
He didn‟t say who the arrow would hit but those&nb sp;who heard understood it wasn‟t&nbs p;
Kuromakaze he was thinking of. Toroma ru sighed. No one would report his ;less
than patriotic comment. Even Toro maru found himself hoping the same.
&nbs p;
“Let‟s get ready,&aci rc;€ Toromaru said to the others. “Maybe this time we can keep&nb sp;the
causalities to a minimum.†;
*******
Kakiboufuu regarded ;his clan. He had been careful to make certain those
remaining behind were ;protected. Men of various experience and&nb sp;age remained
behind including General Raik en.
He had taken the general aside as those going gathered in the cou rtyard. “If things
go bad ly, take them and abandon Tenji.†;
“Where should we go?&aci rc;€ asked Raiken.
â€&o elig;Anywhere, just don‟t stay here,& acirc;€ replied the Taisho. â€&oe lig;I can‟t bear the thought of& nbsp;
any of you having to submit to ;Noriko.â€
“I under stand, Taisho.â€
Now he stoo d before the assembled attack party, knowing& nbsp;he could be leading them
to their&n bsp;deaths. Am I really being selfish i n trying to save Aniue? Hotaru, perched
on his left shoulder, rubbed her h ead against his in reassurance. He took a deep
breath to steady his nerves .
He turned to face the north east, the direction of Castle Arai, and said, “Let us fly,
and ton ight, beneath the full moon, we shall sh ow the Kuro Tenko what made us
the& nbsp;demon lords of Tenji!†His people cheered. “Let‟s fly!†The inuyokai surrounded < br> themselves in demon light and rose from&n bsp;the ground. Kakiboufuu spread his wings.
Xeno‟s phoenix, Scheherazade,& nbsp;grew in size, took hold of her mast er then carried
him into the sky. & nbsp;Soranoko pulled a feather from her hairp iece and she and Yukibi
rode the gi ant feather it became.
Raiken watc hed them leave and prayed they would ret urn safe. If you do not
return,&nb sp;I fear we will follow you and end&nbs p;ourselves. No matter where we go we&n bsp;will
have to fight to create a new home and we do not have the mea ns to maintain such
a fight. I&nbs p;will not burden you with such knowledge,&nb sp;though. You have enough
concerns. &n bsp;If things go poorly, I can at least& nbsp;grant you the peace of believing we ;will
be all right.
************** *
“Forward!†shout ed Kuromaru from atop his horse and kick ed the beast into motion.
The legi ons behind him, both mounted and on foot , began the hard march into
enemy&n bsp;territory. Kenji and his wolves as well several other types of demons ran < br> ahead to scout for Kuromakaze‟s&n bsp;troops and deal with them if able. < br>
Toromaru watched them leave with tr epidation. As the lord‟s heir,& nbsp;he had been
ordered to remain behin d with the skeleton guard. It wonâ ;€Ÿt make much of a
difference ;if I‟m here or there if th ey lose this time. There isnâ€&Yu ml;t enough to ward off
any of the& nbsp;Kuro Tenko‟s attacks if they&nbs p;defeat the main force. This is the&nb sp;end.
Chichiue has killed us all!&nbs p;
The army disappeared into the fo rest and Toromaru sat down on the edge&n bsp;of the
engawa; waiting for death to& nbsp;arrive.
_________________________________________ ___________
Chapter 36: Fire and&nbs p;Water: Chaos Absolute
Kakiboufuu m oves against Kuromakaze to save the lives&nbs p;of his brother and niece.
At the same time, the Shiro Tenko move in ;what many believe to be a suicide attac k
against the Kuro Tenko. The elem ents of Kakiboufuu‟s counter-strategy ;begin to
fall into place.
-- ----------
___________________________________________ _________________________
Translations:
Tsuchi: ea rth
Hi: fire
Mizu: water
Ki: w ood
Kane: metal
Kaze: wind
Him izu: as discordant as fire and water
Hikaze: fire wind
Tenki: weather
Enzer u: angel
Hanyou: half-demon
Obi: the&nbs p;sash that is wrapped around a womanâ& euro;Ÿs waist to hold her kimono closed.
Matte: wait!
Shoji: sliding door.
Engawa: veranda, walkway running along the&nb sp;outside of the buildings.
Temee: you, ;derogatory term, very insulting.
Kisama: you , derogatory term, more vulgar than temee&nbs p;
Ano: uh
Hai: Yes
Aniyome: elder&n bsp;brother‟s wife; sister-in-law
Him e: Princess
Waka: Young lord, used for&n bsp;the son of a noble.
Otouto: Little&n bsp;brother.
Onii-(__): Big brother, general. ; Honorific added on to end, determining ;level of
respect of love. (Can al so be used when addressing a young man.)
Aniue: Big brother, formal.
Imouto:&nbs p;Little sister.
Onee-(__): Big sister, gener al. Honorific added on to end, determin ing level of
respect of love. (Can also be used when addressing a young&nb sp;woman.)
Aneue: Big sister, formal.
Oj ii-(__): Grandfather, general. Honorific added&nb sp;on to end, determining level of
respe ct of love. (Can also be used when addressing an elderly man.)
Obaa-(__): Grandmother, general. Honorific added on to& nbsp;end, determining level of
respect of&nbs p;love. (Can also be used when addressi ng an elderly woman.)
Oji-(__): Uncle,&n bsp;general. Honorific added on to end, ;determining level of respect of
love. & nbsp;(Can also be used when addressing a ;middle-aged man.)
Oba-(__): Aunt, general. & nbsp;Honorific added on to end, determining l evel of respect of
love. (Can also be used when addressing a middle-aged w oman.)
Mina wa ookii aho desu: Eve ryone‟s a big idiot.
Sumimasen:& nbsp;Excuse me.
Oyaji: Father, informal mascu line.
Otou-(__): Father, general. Honorific& nbsp;added on to end, determining level of&nb sp;respect
or love.
Chichiue: Father, fo rmal.
Ofukuro: Mother, informal masculine. Okaa-(__): Mother, general. Honorific added&nb sp;on to end, determining level of respect&nb sp;
or love.
Hahaue: Mother, formal
Otaa-sama: Mother, said by children of court& nbsp;nobles to their mothers.
XX-(blank): Int imate or rude address depending on usage.&nbs p;
XX-kun: Male honorific, friendly
XX-chan:&n bsp;Female or young boy honorific, friendly < br> XX-san: general honorific, polite, (Mr. or&nbs p;Ms.)
XX-sama: formal or very polite ho norific, used for those of superior status&nb sp;or to show
great respect. (Lord or&nb sp;Lady)
XX-dono: more formal honorific, more respectful than XX-sama. Derived from tono
= lord.
side. Naomi rush to save he r father has caused her to fall for ;Kuromakaze‟s trap. If
Kakibouf uu wishes to save both his niece and&nbs p;brother, he‟ll have to team up with
the very person he exiled.
145 years before the search for ;the jewel shards
Chapter 35: The& nbsp;Gathering Storm
I was too far gone to realize what was happening at&n bsp;the time. Only later was it
ex plained to me what transpired that day. Knowing Kaiyoshinju‟s temperament, I
found myself filled with new admiration for my brother. I would not have& nbsp;been able
to do the same if I& nbsp;our positions had been reversed.
-Sessho maru
“So you didnâ& euro;Ÿt think to stop her, despite my&nb sp;reasons for not going after
Sesshomaru?&ac irc;€ demanded Kakiboufuu. Himawari prostrat ed before him, quivering
in fear. Lady Kou grunted her disapproval. Temari&nbs p;was kneeling but she remained
aloof re fusing to be cowed by his anger. & nbsp;
Servants were dressing the hanyou& nbsp;in his armor. He had changed cloth es after
returning to the temple. He now wore a red haori over a whit e kimono with a red
hakama. The&nb sp;armor was brown with gold highlights. &nbs p;Three fangs lined each
shoulder guard. ; Every inuyokai there thought their Taisho&n bsp;resembled his father
the greatest when&nb sp;he chose to wear his armor. Little&n bsp;did they know this was his
reason&nb sp;for not donning his armor more than n ecessary. He was still sour toward his& nbsp;
dead father and didn‟t like being compared to him, especially favorably.
He glared at Temari who ;glared back at him, unrepentant. She s eemed to have
gotten bolder since their& nbsp;initial meeting. Temari‟s refus al to inform him of Naomi
disobedience&n bsp;until it was too late was no surpris e. She despised the dragoness for
not choosing her during the marriage agreemen ts. Himawari was another story.
< br> “She is not clan,†s aid Temari. “Why should we&nbs p;be concerned about her choices?â€
“I agree with Temari,⠀ said Lady Kou, surprising everyone. &n bsp;“She may have
disobeyed you , but unlike your brother, she is not&nb sp;of the inu clan. Clan should not&nbs p;
have to worry about one that cannot&nb sp;follow her own lord.â€
Wh en Kakiboufuu had returned, he called a meeting with the entire clan. Once all& nbsp;
were gathered, he discussed his plans&nb sp;to rescue Sesshomaru, much to the surprise
of the inuyokai.
â€&oe lig;I had no desire to have it even ;brought up before I had secured the hel p we‟ll need
if we are ;to pull this off,†Kakiboufuu replied when questioned why he hadn‟t&n bsp;
mentioned it before. “I&nb sp;was uncertain whether or not I could obtain this aid and I
didn‟ t want the clan moral negatively affected&nbs p;if I could not. The fall is far& nbsp;longer
when one‟s hopes are high. However, I was made aware o f an unfavorable
development that will f orce me to move faster than I would ;like. Naomi has
apparently taken upon& nbsp;herself to rescue her father on her ;own, against my orders!â€
T he clan had reacted with surprise save f or two members. Himawari, Sesshomaru†Ÿs
fiancée, went ashy pale and trembled. Temari simply looked bored.&nb sp;
“Himawari, Temari, do you have anything you wish to share with the rest of the
clan?†he&n bsp;asked, his voice neutral. He had no t thought it possible but Himawari
went& nbsp;even paler.
Temari drawled, & acirc;€œI heard Naomi tell Himawari wha t she was planning. She
sounded co nfident she could handle the rescue on h er own.â€
Kakiboufuu narrowed&nbs p;his eyes and said with a growl, â ;€œOnly because she has no idea of what is awaiting her. He will&nbs p;allow her to come close, even enter th e castle
ground before springing his tra p. The deeper inside his nest you go the harder it is
to escape.â&eu ro;
“So how would yo u propose we pry Sesshomaru from such ir on strong clutches?â€
asked Lady K ou.
“We go in hard,& nbsp;full frontal attack,†replied Kakibouf uu. “Our strongest and most&nb sp;
talented will lead. When we close&nb sp;on the castle and he thinks he has&nb sp;us. Hotaru
here will summon her ;comrades from the other side. The pres ence of the firebirds
will create chaos; that unpredictable element will be our edge in this battle.â€
He&nb sp;ended the meeting there and ordered all&nb sp;to prepare. A few had remained behin d
to speak with the Taisho privately;&nb sp;Temari and Himawari were ordered to stay.& nbsp; He
still had to decide how to reprimand them for not telling the othe rs of Naomi‟s
departure.
&n bsp;
Now as the clan made ready for the battle, Lady Kou continued to push t o stop it.
Her remark about Naomi& nbsp;annoyed Kakiboufuu only because it made sense logically,
but it was Xeno who&nbs p;spoke next.
“You forget she is still the Taisho‟s kinswoman,†said the soft-spoken fire demon in
his harsh and heavy accent.&nbs p; “Even if the clan feels ;no obligation because her blood
favored ;the dragon and not the dog, it does&nbs p;not change the fact that she is still& nbsp;
Reihane. She is no mere vassal&nbs p;to be thrown away when a burden. ;Since you are
sworn to the Taisho, his family is of concern to you wh ether they are inu or not.†;
Lady Kou snarled at him but he clo sed his violet eyes and ignored her heat .
“I have a question , Taisho,†Xeno said after a mome nt. “Are we really going to be
enough? Even we have Eternal ‟s firebirds on our side in ;the battle, will we really be
able ;to hold out until your brother is extra cted?â€
“I don&acir c;€Ÿt know,†replied Kakiboufuu a s he straightened his armor. â€&o elig;I don‟t yet have
the f ull measure of Kuromakaze‟s ability&n bsp;to plan. I cannot know how fast&nbs p;he can
change them or what he has in reserve. I have information on ;Kaiyoshinju‟s
whereabouts. I w ill be approaching her for assistance as ;well.â€
“It would& nbsp;help us immeasurably if you could secure her aid as well,†agreed Xeno.&n bsp;
“You shouldn‟ t be so furious with us then,â€&nb sp;said Temari. “With Naomiâ& euro;Ÿs life on the
line, her help& nbsp;should be guaranteed.â€
&aci rc;€œIf you wish to do the negotia ting with Kaiyoshinju on those terms,†said
Kakiboufuu in a light voice, “I will guide you to her l ocation and leave her to you.†&n bsp;
Temari blanched and recoiled from the&nbs p;Taisho as Xeno chuckled. “Di dn‟t think you
would be so& nbsp;foolish. So don‟t think I& nbsp;would be either. I hope I can ;last long enough
to explain that her&nb sp;daughter is entirely to blame for the ;situation and I did not
encourage her&n bsp;in any way.â€
â€&o elig;How will you approach her? And how will you broach the subject of Naomi&nb sp;without
it sounding like you are hold ing her hostage?†asked Xeno. Th e foreign fire demon
understood Kaiyoshinju&n bsp;well. To try to speak with her ;without bringing up Naomi
until the end would be impossible. Kakiboufuu would have to bring it up at the
start&nb sp;just to hold her attention. Even the n she might not listen as she would ;
assume it was Kakiboufuu‟s faul t that Naomi was in danger.
< br> “I think I shall have to&nb sp;open with „Your daughter has no self-discipline. Did you not
raise&n bsp;her to understand the need to obey h er Taisho?‟†Kakiboufuu replie d as he
made the final adjustments to Rokukafuga. He clenched his fists an d the blades
expanded in a burst of flame.
Beneath his veil, Xeno&nbs p;smirked.
******
Hotaru loc ated the sea dragon hanyou with ease. &n bsp;Kakiboufuu wondered if fire
spirits were& nbsp;always aware of the presence of their&nb sp;enemy element for self-
preservation reasons.&nb sp; He put that idea from his mind as he faced down the
infuriated she ;dragon.
He had pitched to her&nbs p;like he said he would and now he held her complete and
undivided attention.&nb sp; The good news; the phrasing had made her pause before
attacking him. T he bad news; she still hated him for&nbs p;the humiliation he handed her
that nig ht years earlier.
“Is&nbs p;that the only reason why you sought me out?†snarled Kaiyoshinju, here viole t
eyes blazing. Her fingers tensed ;and her claws extended as she prepared to strike.
“I‟m&n bsp;glad she‟s giving you trouble,&nb sp;you deserve nothing less!â€
Without altering his mask of irritation he continued, “I would save the&n bsp;praise until
after you know what ord ers she chose to disobey.†Kaiyo shinju remained in her
stance but didn&a circ;€Ÿt strike, her eyes focused on&nbs p;the inu hanyou.
So far so g ood, he thought, releasing just enough of&nbs p;his power to evaporate the
sweat befor e it could reveal his distress. â €œI had told her to remain at ;the temple
pending further orders. &nbs p;I had told her not to take action;&nbs p;to do nothing until I said
otherwise.& nbsp; She disobeyed and now she has fall en into the hands of the coldest and&nbs p;
most merciless Tenko our country has.â ;€
“What?!†c ried the dragon hanyou coming out of her stance, anger vanishing as fear
took&nb sp;over. “What is she trying&n bsp;to do?â€
“She&n bsp;is trying to rescue her father,â€&n bsp;replied Kakiboufuu. “He was&nbs p;captured a few
days ago.â€
“And you‟re not&n bsp;doing anything to save him yourself? &nbs p;And you call yourself his
brother!â&e uro; she snapped.
Kakiboufuuâ€&Yu ml;s expression changed to mild surprise. &nb sp;“Oh? So you still care ;about
your former lover? I thought&nbs p;we would not care that he was in enemy hands.â€
“Wha t goes on between Sesshomaru and myself is personal. It doesn‟t involve
anyone else!†she said with ;a snarl after being taken aback by his& nbsp;words.
Feeling more secure in ;his position, he hopped over to her. &n bsp;“I had no intention of
leaving things as is but Kuromakaze is no enemy to take lightly. He took
Sesshomaru with the intention of using h im as bait. I know where he has&nb sp;gone and
I roughly know what to expect. I could not risk attacking with out first finding away
to shift the ;odds in my favor and with him that ;would be most difficult. I was not&nbs p;
sure I could so I kept my true&nb sp;intentions from everyone until I had that& nbsp;shift.
Naomi‟s actions hav e forced me to step up the timing o f the attack. I needed that
time&n bsp;to plan an effective counter strategy wit h my generals. The plan I have now
will get more people killed than I intended and we may still fail.â€
Kaiyoshinju eyed him suspiciously.&nbs p; “You didn‟t encourag e her to go?â€
â& euro;œNo, she would have been more effe ctive at this stage than where she is&nb sp;now,â€
replied Kakiboufuu, meeting h er gaze unflinching. Kaiyoshinju looked away . “That
is where you ;come in, Kaiyoshinju.†He reached&nb sp;into his haori and pulled out a
golden circlet with a sapphire jewel embedded into it.
She turned b ack to him, shocked. “I t hought you didn‟t trust me with& nbsp;this.â€
“I don ‟t,†he said. She f linched from the snap then glared at him . “However,
circumstances dema nd I return it. You are the only&n bsp;one who can control it, wield it, without revealing it.†Her face&nb sp;revealed her confusion though she said not hing.
He leaned forward and said in a soft voice, “I d oubt Kuromakaze was aware of your
exile. He probably planned on you showing&nbs p;up with the rest of us. However, ;even
when one is expecting a typhoon&nb sp;there is little one can do to prevent the damage it
wreaks.†Kak iboufuu smirked as he took her chin into his hand. “You have alwa ys
been a force of nature. Between you and the firebirds, I‟m ;confident we can
overwhelm my cousinâ& euro;Ÿs calculations.â€
â&e uro;œWell, as long as you understand th at,†she said placing her hand on his cheek,
stroking the jagged purple&n bsp;stripe. She dropped her voice to a& nbsp;bare whisper, “But
donâ&e uro;Ÿt think this means I‟m ;getting soft on you.â€
Kaki boufuu grinned then kissed her forehead. &nbs p;He slipped the circlet over her head < br> and danced out of her reach before h er hand could meet his face. â&eu ro;œBastard!†she
hollered, more ;indignant than furious.
â€&oelig ;Indeed,†he said before disappearing into the trees on his way back to t he temple.
Kaiyoshinju grumbled, straightene d the circlet then ran after him.
& nbsp;
**************
Toromaru ;grimaced, as did several generals, when his& nbsp;father appeared on the steps
leading&nbs p;to the courtyard. Kuromaru had grayed ;and wrinkles now decorated his
face but he remained strong and straight. Tenko aged slowly and, though, they
grayed&nb sp;in the later part of their life, they did not become bent or decrepit until&n bsp;after
they completed a hundred years.&nbs p; Most did not live long after that.&nb sp; His father was
close but he had n‟t achieved the centurion mark yet. Toromaru wasn‟t certain ho w
much more the clan could survive of his leadership.
Following Inuyasha&a circ;€Ÿs suggestions had averted the wor st but they still suffered.
Especially& nbsp;when his father chose to make public&nbs p;edicts that could not be altered or ignored. It looked like he was about to make another and Toromaru just bowed his
head and awaited his fatherâ& euro;Ÿs commands.
“I ;have thought long and hard about are pr evious battles and taken a look at the&n bsp;
information scouts have provided us. &nbs p;I now know how to end this war,â € he
announced to the assembled sam urai, demons, Tenko and spiritualists.
Not another end-the-war campaign, thought Tor omaru with dread. These
campaigns his&n bsp;father ran were attempts to put a st op to all the fighting with one
dec isive push against the Kuro Tenko. Howe ver, the three previous campaigns had
al l ended in defeat with staggering loses both in men and land. Worse he led the
pushes himself so there would be no way for Toromaru and his allies&nb sp;to prevent the
disastrous move. &nbs p;
At this rate we wonâ€&Yuml ;t last to see his hundredth birthday, h e thought gritting his
teeth. He s till wondered how his father kept coming ;back alive when so many of
those w ith him perished. Maybe my brother is&n bsp;still sentimental about Chichiue. Or
maybe he is enjoying how Chichiue is&n bsp;making things so easy for him. That seemed
the more likely possibility. &nb sp;Keep the fool in power; makes the war that much easier.
“ We will be attacking Castle Arai, the en emy‟s main fortress and where th eir leader
is staying,†continued ;Kuromaru, oblivious to his men‟s&nbs p;grumblings. “Prepare
yourselves&n bsp;for battle; we will eliminate the source& nbsp;of the scourge once and for all.â& euro;
He turned away and the gathe ring rose to their feet.
â&e uro;œMaybe this time a lucky arrow will end this,†muttered Kenji. The& nbsp;wolf demon had
been party to the&nb sp;last two campaigns. In the first one , Kuromaru had wanted
things to be ended by “Tenko handsâ€. He changed his mind after the defeat&nb sp;left him
with few Tenko with both&nbs p;the training and experience to defend their holdings.
He didn‟t say who the arrow would hit but those&nb sp;who heard understood it wasn‟t&nbs p;
Kuromakaze he was thinking of. Toroma ru sighed. No one would report his ;less
than patriotic comment. Even Toro maru found himself hoping the same.
&nbs p;
“Let‟s get ready,&aci rc;€ Toromaru said to the others. “Maybe this time we can keep&nb sp;the
causalities to a minimum.†;
*******
Kakiboufuu regarded ;his clan. He had been careful to make certain those
remaining behind were ;protected. Men of various experience and&nb sp;age remained
behind including General Raik en.
He had taken the general aside as those going gathered in the cou rtyard. “If things
go bad ly, take them and abandon Tenji.†;
“Where should we go?&aci rc;€ asked Raiken.
â€&o elig;Anywhere, just don‟t stay here,& acirc;€ replied the Taisho. â€&oe lig;I can‟t bear the thought of& nbsp;
any of you having to submit to ;Noriko.â€
“I under stand, Taisho.â€
Now he stoo d before the assembled attack party, knowing& nbsp;he could be leading them
to their&n bsp;deaths. Am I really being selfish i n trying to save Aniue? Hotaru, perched
on his left shoulder, rubbed her h ead against his in reassurance. He took a deep
breath to steady his nerves .
He turned to face the north east, the direction of Castle Arai, and said, “Let us fly,
and ton ight, beneath the full moon, we shall sh ow the Kuro Tenko what made us
the& nbsp;demon lords of Tenji!†His people cheered. “Let‟s fly!†The inuyokai surrounded < br> themselves in demon light and rose from&n bsp;the ground. Kakiboufuu spread his wings.
Xeno‟s phoenix, Scheherazade,& nbsp;grew in size, took hold of her mast er then carried
him into the sky. & nbsp;Soranoko pulled a feather from her hairp iece and she and Yukibi
rode the gi ant feather it became.
Raiken watc hed them leave and prayed they would ret urn safe. If you do not
return,&nb sp;I fear we will follow you and end&nbs p;ourselves. No matter where we go we&n bsp;will
have to fight to create a new home and we do not have the mea ns to maintain such
a fight. I&nbs p;will not burden you with such knowledge,&nb sp;though. You have enough
concerns. &n bsp;If things go poorly, I can at least& nbsp;grant you the peace of believing we ;will
be all right.
************** *
“Forward!†shout ed Kuromaru from atop his horse and kick ed the beast into motion.
The legi ons behind him, both mounted and on foot , began the hard march into
enemy&n bsp;territory. Kenji and his wolves as well several other types of demons ran < br> ahead to scout for Kuromakaze‟s&n bsp;troops and deal with them if able. < br>
Toromaru watched them leave with tr epidation. As the lord‟s heir,& nbsp;he had been
ordered to remain behin d with the skeleton guard. It wonâ ;€Ÿt make much of a
difference ;if I‟m here or there if th ey lose this time. There isnâ€&Yu ml;t enough to ward off
any of the& nbsp;Kuro Tenko‟s attacks if they&nbs p;defeat the main force. This is the&nb sp;end.
Chichiue has killed us all!&nbs p;
The army disappeared into the fo rest and Toromaru sat down on the edge&n bsp;of the
engawa; waiting for death to& nbsp;arrive.
_________________________________________ ___________
Chapter 36: Fire and&nbs p;Water: Chaos Absolute
Kakiboufuu m oves against Kuromakaze to save the lives&nbs p;of his brother and niece.
At the same time, the Shiro Tenko move in ;what many believe to be a suicide attac k
against the Kuro Tenko. The elem ents of Kakiboufuu‟s counter-strategy ;begin to
fall into place.
-- ----------
___________________________________________ _________________________
Translations:
Tsuchi: ea rth
Hi: fire
Mizu: water
Ki: w ood
Kane: metal
Kaze: wind
Him izu: as discordant as fire and water
Hikaze: fire wind
Tenki: weather
Enzer u: angel
Hanyou: half-demon
Obi: the&nbs p;sash that is wrapped around a womanâ& euro;Ÿs waist to hold her kimono closed.
Matte: wait!
Shoji: sliding door.
Engawa: veranda, walkway running along the&nb sp;outside of the buildings.
Temee: you, ;derogatory term, very insulting.
Kisama: you , derogatory term, more vulgar than temee&nbs p;
Ano: uh
Hai: Yes
Aniyome: elder&n bsp;brother‟s wife; sister-in-law
Him e: Princess
Waka: Young lord, used for&n bsp;the son of a noble.
Otouto: Little&n bsp;brother.
Onii-(__): Big brother, general. ; Honorific added on to end, determining ;level of
respect of love. (Can al so be used when addressing a young man.)
Aniue: Big brother, formal.
Imouto:&nbs p;Little sister.
Onee-(__): Big sister, gener al. Honorific added on to end, determin ing level of
respect of love. (Can also be used when addressing a young&nb sp;woman.)
Aneue: Big sister, formal.
Oj ii-(__): Grandfather, general. Honorific added&nb sp;on to end, determining level of
respe ct of love. (Can also be used when addressing an elderly man.)
Obaa-(__): Grandmother, general. Honorific added on to& nbsp;end, determining level of
respect of&nbs p;love. (Can also be used when addressi ng an elderly woman.)
Oji-(__): Uncle,&n bsp;general. Honorific added on to end, ;determining level of respect of
love. & nbsp;(Can also be used when addressing a ;middle-aged man.)
Oba-(__): Aunt, general. & nbsp;Honorific added on to end, determining l evel of respect of
love. (Can also be used when addressing a middle-aged w oman.)
Mina wa ookii aho desu: Eve ryone‟s a big idiot.
Sumimasen:& nbsp;Excuse me.
Oyaji: Father, informal mascu line.
Otou-(__): Father, general. Honorific& nbsp;added on to end, determining level of&nb sp;respect
or love.
Chichiue: Father, fo rmal.
Ofukuro: Mother, informal masculine. Okaa-(__): Mother, general. Honorific added&nb sp;on to end, determining level of respect&nb sp;
or love.
Hahaue: Mother, formal
Otaa-sama: Mother, said by children of court& nbsp;nobles to their mothers.
XX-(blank): Int imate or rude address depending on usage.&nbs p;
XX-kun: Male honorific, friendly
XX-chan:&n bsp;Female or young boy honorific, friendly < br> XX-san: general honorific, polite, (Mr. or&nbs p;Ms.)
XX-sama: formal or very polite ho norific, used for those of superior status&nb sp;or to show
great respect. (Lord or&nb sp;Lady)
XX-dono: more formal honorific, more respectful than XX-sama. Derived from tono
= lord.