InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Forgotten ❯ Fire and Water: Chaos Absolute ( Chapter 47 )
[ 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: 9 | Words: 14.7K | Visits: 129 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Hentai / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.20.2013 | Pages: 9 | Words: 14.7K | Visits: 129 | Status: Work In Progress
Kakiboufuu moves against Kuromakaze to save t he lives of his brother and niece. ;
At the same time, the Shiro Tenko move in what many believe to be a s uicide attack
against the Kuro Tenko. &n bsp;The elements of Kakiboufuu‟s coun ter-strategy begin to
fall into place. < br>
145 years before the search for&nbs p;the jewel shards
Chapter 36: Fir e and Water: Chaos Absolute
High-s trung and largely undisciplined, Kaiyoshinju would not have been my first
choice in&n bsp;taking into such a battle, but against&nb sp;the ultimate strategist… If&nbs p;I found
her lack of self-control dange rous; Kuromakaze would find it a terror. ; If I could
keep her wrath steered in the right direction that is.
-I nuyasha
Naomi shrieked as lightning&nbs p;shot throughout her body causing it to ;twist and
contort in many unnatural way s. Kuromakaze watched his smile gone as he
became bored of the whole spect acle. He had given Yamibi the pleasure& nbsp;of dealing
with the she dragon sinc e he refused to let her have Sesshomaru. However, this
type of physical to rture had no value to him. There w as little entertainment in it.
He much preferred the form of torture that worked on the mind. If one did it& nbsp;right,
the victim would do most of& nbsp;the work themselves and it was harder&nb sp;to recover from.
Even if they e scaped, their damaged minds kept them prisone r. It made them
easier to predict& nbsp;and control.
Sesshomaru‟s& nbsp;pathetic state was out of a need to keep him helpless. If Kuromakaze
had realized his daughter would arrive ahead& nbsp;of the clan, he would have at least let
the inuyokai keep an ear. &nbs p;And maybe his tongue so the hanyou cou ld hear
Sesshomaru plead mercy for Naomi as Yamibi tortured her death. Now ;that would
have been entertaining. &nbs p;However, while Sesshomaru could sense the p ower being
released in his vicinity, he& nbsp;had no idea what was happening.
&nb sp;
Kuromakaze let out an impatient sigh when Yamibi stopped her attack again to
allow Naomi to recover. The raven-haire d hanyou wanted to make the woman
s uffer as much as possible. Naomi collap sed to the floor and this time didn&acir c;€Ÿt rise.
She cringed instead&nb sp;waiting for it to start all over.
She‟s finished, thought Kurom akaze. Though, I doubt she is. He glanced at Yamibi
who smiled and l icked her lips. That woman is too easily amused. The wind
whispered to&nb sp;him and his attention turned away from&nbs p;the women. His eyebrows
furrowed as&n bsp;he read the scene the wind showed hi m.
He turned back to the pair . With Naomi no longer able to ris e, Yamibi had resorted
to more direct&nb sp;attacks, kicking and punching the downed w oman. “Finish her,
Yamibi,&aci rc;€ he ordered.
“Wh at? But you said I can take my&nbs p;time with her,†said the female ;hanyou,
pouting.
“More&n bsp;guests are arriving,†he said as&n bsp;he pushed open the door and entered the hall
beyond. “The inu yokai are coming but so are the Shiro&nb sp;Tenko.â€
And they are com ing from opposite directions, he thought grin ding his teeth in fury.
This is&nb sp;most unexpected. If they were coming ;together, they would be easier to
handl e. I was anticipating focusing on one&n bsp;location. Now I will have to divide my
forces to face them both. ;Kakiboufuu, you have certainly out done your self this
time. I will just have&n bsp;to make sure to end you before you&n bsp;manage to find a way to
top it.
Yamibi growled. â€&oe lig;Fine.†She looked down at th e moaning Naomi. “Your kin&nbs p;are
coming but their arrival will only spare you further pain. It is far too late to save
you.†&nbs p;Yamibi drew her sword and brought it d own on Naomi‟s neck severing her
head and silencing her voice. She pointed the sword at Naomi‟s&nb sp;chest and light
flashed from the tip& nbsp;of the blade. A whole burned throu gh the rib cage, devouring
the organs&nb sp;beneath, leaving an empty hollow in its&nb sp;place.
“Not even Tense iga will be able to heal that. Say onara, Reihane Naomi,†said
Yamibi&nbs p;with a smile. She then ran to ca tch up with Kuromakaze, pausing only long&nbs p;
enough to close the door to the c ell.
Silence descended and the onl y movement was the dance of the flames&n bsp;of the
torches. Then Naomiâ€& Yuml;s body shimmered, losing color and form. It became a lump of
wet clay roughly in the shape of a body and head. The air by Sesshomaru twisted&nb sp;
and Naomi appeared, sitting next to h er father. She held her ribs and b lood trickled
from her mouth. She stared at the mass of earth that has&nbs p;masqueraded as her only
moments earlier.&nb sp;
If she hadn‟t looked&nb sp;away… thought Naomi and shivered . In the moment that
Yamibi had&nb sp;turned to glare at the departing Kuromakaz e, Naomi had pulled her
clay doppelgange r from her hip pouch, the item expanding to take her form, and
rolled away& nbsp;from the sadistic hanyou, casting a mira ge around her to hide her
movements.&nbs p; Breathing raggedly, she began to cast ;a healing spell on herself. There
was no telling when someone would return&nbs p;and she needed to be able to stand&nbs p;and
fight again if she were to ge t her father out.
I will take whatever sentence Oji-sama hands me, she&nbs p;thought, and I will be
properly gratef ul to be alive to take it. She&nbs p;turned her attention to the iron spikes&nbs p;
coming from her father‟s back. I wonder if that bastard will not ice if I cut these?
********* *
“There it is, Cast le Arai,†declared Kakiboufuu. The&nb sp;castled towered over the land,
black against the moonlit night.
â&euro ;œShouldn‟t we have met some&nb sp;resistance by now?†called Saben. < br>
“Don‟t worry, ;we will soon,†replied Kakiboufuu. &n bsp;“He wants us closer. He&nb sp;won‟t
impede our travel until we are right where he wants us to& nbsp;be. That said, rear guard
stay&nbs p;alert. If he does what I think h e‟ll do, he‟ll want ;to cut off our retreat. Heâ€&Yum l;ll
start the attack from behind.â&eur o;
The others called their acknowl edgement. It seems, he‟s made&n bsp;further
improvements to the castle since& nbsp;the last time, thought the Taisho, squin ting at the
distant keep. Even wit h the help from Eternal, this may not&nb sp;go well. I may have to
prepare& nbsp;myself. If I cannot recover Aniue, ;the only thing I can do is to end& nbsp;him. At
the very least, I can make certain he won‟t suffer&nb sp;anymore.
*********
Kenji and his pack ran through the forests wit h their ears and eyes open and noses&nbs p;
flared as they sought the enemy guard& nbsp;they were certain was there. Only small
groups, quickly dispatched, had appeare d since the start of the campaign. ;It made
the wolf demon uneasy.
&nb sp;
There should be more guard posts than this, he thought. We‟ve p enetrated far into
their territory yet m et little resistance. Something isnâ€& Yuml;t right.
He stopped and the&n bsp;rest followed his lead. Without taking&n bsp;his eyes away from the
scenery befor e him he asked his mate, “ Do you hear anything, Tsubame?â€
< hr>
Tsubame closed her eyes as she ;concentrated. She had the best hearing ;of all the
wolves in the pack, her ability to detect and discern was secon d to none, but she
needed to focus& nbsp;to use it. With her ears, she ;could hear the heartbeats of hidden
sen tries from a hundred yards away. After& nbsp;a minute, she shook her head.
;
“No one‟s there,â ;€ she said, flashing worried blue eyes& nbsp;at Kenji.
Kenji growled and c hewed his thumb claw. “This&nb sp;isn‟t right. I feel like&nbs p;we‟re being
drawn in.â€& nbsp;
“Should we go back&n bsp;and inform the lord?†asked Tsubam e. The others were quiet as
they&n bsp;waited for their leader‟s decisio n.
Kenji cast his gaze to the fragments of sky he could see between&n bsp;the leaves. The sky
had lost i ts last light from the vanished sun. &nb sp;“The army has already stopped&nbs p;for the
day. They may even be&nb sp;bedding down to prepare for the dawn rising,†he muttered.
â€&o elig;Kuromaru won‟t march them in&nbs p;the dark.†He sighed.
He turned back to face his pack and&n bsp;the other demon scouts gathered. â €œI very much
doubt Kuromaru will& nbsp;listen to mere suspicions. It wonâ ;€Ÿt accomplish anything going
back ;to him now. Instead of stopping, we&ac irc;€Ÿll press ahead and see if we& nbsp;can find
where the Kuro Tenko troop s are being positioned. Once we have&nb sp;something
confirming the suspected trap. & nbsp;We‟ll head back to warn the army.â€
“Will ;he even listen then?†asked one of the wolves with understandable doubt.
The wolf shook his head. â €œI don‟t know but we ;stand a better chance of convincing
him with actual evidence instead of speculations and suspicions.â€
He t urned around and trotted forward through the& nbsp;trees. The rest followed without
a word. I just hope we aren†Ÿt the ones that end up springing t he trap, he thought.
I‟d&n bsp;hate to die for that worthless lord. ;
******
“So wh ere are they now?†asked Yamibi a s she came up behind Kuromakaze. He&nbs p;
stood on the highest tower of his ;castle with his eyes closed listening to&nbs p;the wind
that circled him.
“They are not as in sync a s I originally feared,†he said w ithout turning to face his
second-in-command.
“So how close are&n bsp;they?â€
“At the rate they‟re marching, the Shir o Tenko won‟t arrive here for&nb sp;another two
days. They have a s mall vanguard to clear the path of obsta cles. They‟ll arrive
sooner,&nb sp;possibly near dawn, if they stop to r est.â€
“Arenâ&euro ;Ÿt you concerned about them? About&nbs p;what they could report to your father?&acir c;€
“If he were ;a man who was concerned about what the& nbsp;vanguard will see he would
not have embarked on this campaign of his to&nbs p;begin with. There is nothing they wil l
see that will change his mind. &n bsp;If we let them return to him that&nb sp;is.â€
“Should we send someone to meet them?†aske d Yamibi as she combed her long
rav en locks with her fingers.
â €œNo, let them come. It will ;make escape that much harder.†Kuromakaze opened
his eyes and turned to the southwest. “They should&n bsp;arrive after Inuyasha does.â€
Yamibi followed his gaze and saw the&nb sp;demon lights of the approaching inuyokai < br> clan. “Are the troops in&n bsp;position?â€
“Just&nb sp;awaiting your command,†replied Yamibi.& nbsp;
“Excellent, now it i s just a matter of timing.â€
********
The inuyokai clan w as almost to the castle when Kakiboufuu inexplicably whirled
around and set off a barrage of fireballs, causing the other&nbs p;demons to scatter.
Everyone hollered their startled protests as they dodged the&nb sp;flaming bombs, their
lines falling apart.& nbsp; The fireballs exploded against the grou nd, lighting up the forest
and igniting& nbsp;the trees that survived the initial impa cts.
A half-a-minute later a secon d series of explosions occurred. The cl an, with their
formation already broken and scattered into small two-three man partie s and
individuals, easily avoided the wh istling missiles that shot into the air and
exploded, scattering sharpened metal and& nbsp;semi-molten slag in all directions. The
clan managed to avoid the worst of the falling debris.
Saben, face&n bsp;pale, turned to his lord and asked, “How did you know?â€
Kakiboufuu, equally pale, shook his he ad and replied, “Just a feeling .†He yelled to
the others, “Don‟t bunch up! Maintain your distance from now on. &nb sp;There may be
more such surprises befo re we are permitted to engage the main&n bsp;force.†Everyone
began to mo ve forward again but more spread out tha n before.
“What was that?†asked Xeno flying closer.
“I think that was a& nbsp;Chinese rocket, though, modified,†rep lied Kakiboufuu,
grimacing. “T hough, I‟ve never seen one befor e. I‟ve only heard about t hem from
overseas traders and Iâ€& Yuml;ve never heard of them being stuffed&nbs p;with metal.â€
“He hasn‟t used such weapons before ,†said Xeno. “He must have recently gained a
tie to the mainland. The longer this war is&nb sp;prolonged the more it seems to favor
him.†The Arabian fire demon&nbs p;glanced at the hanyou. “I&nb sp;have noticed his holdings
in Tenji ha ve increased.â€
“It would be nice if we could end this tonight, but I am not so foolish a s to believe
it,†said Kakiboufuu . Another series of whistles behind the m made the clan
increase their speed&nbs p;and turn their attention to the flying ;bombs. The fires in the
forest wa s causing them to launch randomly, some didn‟t even get off the ground&n bsp;
before exploding.
Hitenko were ;supposed to launch those once we had pa ssed by overhead. They were
supposed&nb sp;to be shot into our backs, thought Ka kiboufuu. He tried not to think
ab out the strange impulse that had made hi m fire through his own clan into the&nbs p;
dark forest where the rockets had been hidden.
****
Naomi bit her thumb and her blood across her ;father‟s eyes, down both sides of his
nose and dripped it into his mouth and ears. She needed him aw are before she
could free him. Bef ore she had been too desperate to free&n bsp;him and too confident she
could snea k out the way she had snuck in. &nb sp;She had also been afraid of revealing ;her
presence if she used her powers&nbs p;while within.
With the clan comi ng, maybe Kuromakaze will be too focused ;on what‟s going on
outside ;the castle to notice what‟s hap pening within it, she thought and prayed.&nbs p;
Either way, I can‟t ;wait to heal him. Chichiue needs to&nb sp;be able to stand on his own
feet when we leave.
She pressed b oth hands against his cheeks and concentrated , expanding her youki
and pushing it&nbs p;into him. Her energy gathered around her blood and called to his
waning powers. Several minutes ticked by, then ;his eyes opened and he stared into
her face.
“Naomi,â&euro ; he whispered. Naomi opened her eyes&n bsp;and smiled even as he asked,
â €œWhat are you doing here?†;
“Saving you,†she replied. “Isn‟t that obvious?â€
“Yo u shouldn‟t be here,†he& nbsp;went on. “It‟s&nb sp;a trap.â€
“We&ac irc;€Ÿll discuss that later,†she said, deciding now was not the time&nbs p;to bring up her
close call. When Chichiue‟s feeling better, she thought, he may well take me to task&nbs p;
for coming here against orders.
She stepped behind him and asked, â ;€œCan you tell me if I need to remove the spikes
in your back f irst or the shackles? They look like&nb sp;they are inside your back but I
don‟t know beyond that. I was going to cut the metal but if I can remove them it
would-â€
“You‟re going&nbs p;to have to cut them if you can,â € said Sesshomaru with a hiss. &ac irc;€œWhen
they captured me, they broke my back then use the iron to support it. That metal is
wrapped around the bone.â€
Naomi cur sed and placed her hand over a spot ;several inches above the skin. She
summoned with her celestial magic a small&n bsp;plasma ball and pushed it against the&nbs p;
upper spike. The metal glowed th em parted and deformed in the intense he at.
Unfortunately, some of the molten&n bsp;metal dripped off the spike and onto ;Sesshomaru
armor, burning through to the&nbs p;skin. Sesshomaru grunted and growled.
“I‟m sorry!â&eu ro; cried Naomi.
“Never&n bsp;mind,†Sesshomaru said hastily. & acirc;€œIgnore it and go. Iâ&eur o;Ÿll survive a few burns.â€
Dust fell from the ceiling and the both felt the tremble of the earth ;as a groan
sounded from outside. “That must be the clan,†said Naomi. They‟re already&nb sp;here!
“Then go faster, †he snapped. “Kuromaka ze was expecting them this whole time. & nbsp;
He‟ll slaughter them if the y linger too long.â€
Naomi bit her lip as she struggled to melt the iron spikes. Thatâ€&Y uml;s easy for you to
say, Chichiue.&nbs p; It‟s not easy for me to& nbsp;maintain his plasma ball without burning ;my
own hand off.
**********
Kuromakaze growled as the rockets fired uselessly into the air well ahead of their
timed send off. The fire& nbsp;from Inuyasha‟s attack continued ;to spread finding the
other hidden catc hes, pursuing the attendants that were assign ed to light them. He
had planned&n bsp;on the demons being in the air. &nbs p;Non-aerial fighters had been kept on
t he ramparts and near the base of the&nbs p;castle where he expected the inuyokai to&nb sp;
make landfall. The aerial units woul d attack only after the rockets struck, cutting
off the path of retreat and ;creating casualties and confusion among the attacking
clan. Inuyasha had ruined tha t set up and Kuromakaze quickly went thr ough his
list of strategies, seeking the one that had been built on this ve ry possibility.
“How ;could he possibly know those were there?&aci rc;€ snarled Yamibi, echoing
Kuromakazeâ ;€Ÿs thoughts. “We only&n bsp;just received them a month ago and k ept them in
reserve just for this m oment.â€
“Instinct,&acir c;€ whispered Kuromakaze as his mind rac ed to pull together a different set
of strategies as the clan approached, spread out more to better defend against the&n bsp;
missiles from the ground.
&aci rc;€œWhat?†Yamibi blinked at&n bsp;her commander in confusion, not understand&nbs p;his single-
word remark.
†œNever mind, the traps,†he said , the vision of his plans playing before his eyes, the
lines changing in ac cordance with the new battle data. &aci rc;€œSignal the troops to strike
n ow. Push them further apart and overwhe lm their small groups.â€
*** ****
Kakiboufuu saw the Kuro Tenko ‟s signal flares and shouted, &a circ;€œRise and exchange
partners, he&a circ;€Ÿs going for the straight attack&n bsp;now that his ambush has failed. Do& nbsp;not
land or you will be overcome&nb sp;by his ground troops.â€
I n the planning stage, he had determined whose powers and abilities were most
com patible. These predetermined teams were to&n bsp;meet up once the fighting began. The impromptu scattering had separated most&nbs p;of the teams but nothing that could not be overcome. Everyone rose and r epositioned themselves to be with their
teammates. They could see shadows rising&nbs p;from the ramparts as Kuromakaze‟s&n bsp;
aerial troops took flight.
&ac irc;€œGuardians to the front,†c alled the Taisho. Kaiyoshinju, Xeno and ;Soranoko pulled
even with him. â €œHe tried to lower our numbers wi th a surprise attack. Let‟s&nbs p;return
the favor even if our atta ck isn‟t a surprise. Just don‟t hit the castle. We s till need
to be able to enter and&n bsp;exit in a hurry. A mess inside ;would only hinder our efforts.â€
“Hai!†the three c himed. Xeno drew his strange curved swo rds he called scimitars.
Soranoko drew& nbsp;her two fans from her obi and snapp ed them open. Kaiyoshinju
raised her&nb sp;staff in right hand and brought her l eft hand forward.
“You&nb sp;may begin,†said Kakiboufuu. He&nb sp;extended the first two fingers of his ;left
hand and spun his arm in a&nb sp;full circle, his right followed though he& nbsp;could not control
the movements of individual fingers, so they all remain extend ed. Lightning danced
around him and&nbs p;he thrust both hands forward, all fingers&n bsp;fully extended. The
lightning flashed&nb sp;from his claws and snaked toward the approaching enemy forces.
A dozen were& nbsp;struck directly while others nearby were ;caught by the lightning‟s
energ y surge. Most dropped to the ground.&nb sp; A few righted themselves before impact&nb sp;
and rejoined their comrades.
Xe no snapped his swords, edge end forward, ;toward the Kuro Tenko. Fire sizzled from the blades and flew like handle-less& nbsp;scythes. Scheherazade added her own
strike by opening her beak and breathing&nb sp;a column of fire. The aerial troops& nbsp;dodged
the flaming projectiles. Some,&n bsp;kazetenko, attempted to blow them back, b ut Xeno
was an old warrior who knew his craft well. As soon as the&nb sp;wind of the Tenko
encountered the fla mes, they erupted in a backfire, engulfing&nb sp;all those near. The
phoenixâ€& Yuml;s attack punched through the inferno to& nbsp;take a few more by surprise.
“I came east because I was weary of war,†said Xeno. “Yet I find myself on the
battlefield once more. I guess Allah&nb sp;was not ready for me to lay down ;my swords.â€
“My&n bsp;apologies for dragging you into our probl ems, Xeno-san,†said Kakiboufuu as he& nbsp;
launched another lightning strike.
;
“Don‟t, Taisho. & nbsp;At least these battles are not empty&nbs p;of purpose,†replied Xeno. He
added in a whisper of deep regret, “At least it is not a batt le of revenge.â€
Kakiboufuu glanced at the fire demon and muttered t o no one, “Pointless indeed. &n bsp;
Such wars would never end. They&nbs p;just go on until no one remains; an&nb sp;endless
landscape of bodies and restless&n bsp;ghosts.â€
Kaiyoshinju raised her staff and massive clouds materialized fro m several points in
the sky, blocking&nb sp;out the moon and sending the entire a rea into darkness save
where torches and fires raged. Thunder rolled through th e heavens and the wind
rose. The&n bsp;rain that would have fallen gathered abov e her in an aerial whirlpool
that g rew larger as the seconds ticked by. &nb sp;When she was satisfied with the amount,&nb sp;
she weaved her hand through the air&n bsp;and the water channeled into a tube shape,
launching like a great water serp ent. The enemy troops couldn‟t& nbsp;dodge it as it wove
through the&nbs p;air and swallowed all in its path.
Soranoko stood atop her feather and&n bsp;extended both arms out to the side. She then
spun, weaving the fans in an upward motion. Great cyclones dropp ed from the
heavens. She spun once more and ended with both fans snapping& nbsp;shut just as they
pointed toward th e aerial troops. The cyclones‟& nbsp;tips changed directions and dove
among&n bsp;the advancing troops. Kazetenko, unable to take control of the winds
directly,&n bsp;launched their own counter cyclones only to have them devoured by the
hungry ;maw of Soranoko‟s.
The&nb sp;cyclones died a premature death and so&nbs p;did the water snake. The funnels spli t
apart and lost shape. In the&nbs p;flash of lightning from the storm, Kakibouf uu saw the
culprit. Kuromakaze hung&nbs p;in the air, his black leather wings sp reading from his
back, his lips pressed& nbsp;into a frown as he stared at the&nb sp;inuyokai. The water snake
exploded i nto a mass of steam and superheated wate r. A woman hovered where it
h ad been, dressed in red with raven hair& nbsp;and ruby eyes. Great white wings b eat the
air.
“A ;Kurohane,†stated Xeno. â€&oel ig;I wonder where he found her. They&nb sp;were supposed to
be wiped out.â&euro ;
“She may have foun d him,†said Kakiboufuu. â&euro ;œNow where are Noriko and her
fol lowers?â€
“W ell met, Inuyasha,†said Kuromakaze, h olding his naginata at his side; red run es
glowed along the blade.
&a circ;€œI take it no one had bother ed to inform you of my name change,&acir c;€ said Kakiboufuu,
spreading his aware ness around him. Looking for the strike that Kuromakaze‟s
presence was& nbsp;attempting to distract him from. Noriko and her clan are still
nowhere to& nbsp;be found, thought the Taisho as his ;flicked his gaze around in time with the lightning flashes. Kaiyoshinjuâ€&Yum l;s storm has inadvertently given them cover.
“I assume then that it has changed to „Kakiboufuu&a circ;€Ÿ. How predictable,†said& nbsp;
Kuromakaze.
Kakiboufuu shrugged an d gave Kuromakaze a lazy smile even as&n bsp;he placed his
hand behind his back&n bsp;and gave a series of complicated fire&nbs p;signals. “I thought you
liked predictability,†he said, playing&nb sp;Kuromakaze‟s game even as his ;clan slowly
shifted position to his sil ent commands. “There was alway s „Avenging Fire Angel‟ if
you like.â€
†œAvenge is a good label for you,â € said Kuromakaze as a smile began to bloom in all
its sickening glory ;across his face. “Since that& nbsp;is all you will be able to accompli sh
tonight in regards to your niece.&aci rc;€
“What do y ou mean by that?†demanded Kaiyoshinju , losing herself to his verbal
trap.&nbs p; Kakiboufuu knew exactly what it meant ;and it wiped the fake smile from his&nb sp;
face. They had been too late, d espite their rush.
“It&nb sp;means what it means,†said the ;Kurohane. “That accursed Reihane&n bsp;is dead and I
was the one that& nbsp;dispatched her not even an hour before&n bsp;you arrived.â€
â €œKaiyoshinju, don‟t be baited! †hissed Xeno.
â€&oel ig;It was so wonderful hearing her scream,&nb sp;helpless before my power,†she cont inued
with a smile, her voice taking&nbs p;on the edge of insanity. Then the&nbs p;smile faded and
heat infected her word s. “Like so many of my&nb sp;family were before the Taisho.â€
Masaka! Don‟t tell me&a circ;€¦ She‟s an actual& nbsp;survivor and not a descendant of one,&nb sp;
Kakiboufuu thought with alarm. That would make her older than Aniue, much older. And she‟s been holdin g this grudge for all this time. H e heard the confused
murmurs behind him. Does the clan not know of that&nb sp;event? Is there no one alive
no w who lived through those days? Wait&ac irc;€¦ He turned his attention t o the fire
demon. Xeno‟s&n bsp;violet eyes were narrowed as he stared&nb sp;hard at the Kurohane.
â€& oelig;Damn you!†screamed Kaiyoshinju and&n bsp;she charged.
“All the Reihane deserve to die for what they&nb sp;did to my clan,†the woman sho uted
and sent bolts of energy flying&nbs p;toward Kaiyoshinju.
Damn! Kakiboufuu dove to intercede before the attack cou ld land. He flared his
wings befor e realizing why, killing his dive a seco nd before wind blades spun
through the&n bsp;air where he would have been if he&n bsp;had kept going. He looked toward the source and saw Kuromakaze charging him .
“Let‟s&nbs p;just let them continue,†Kuromakaze said with a laugh and swung his black&nb sp;
naginata as Kakiboufuu‟s head.&nbs p; Kakiboufuu rolled and activated Rokukafuga ;and
slashed it at his cousin.
&nbs p;
Kaze no Kizu‟s hungry lances&n bsp;reached for the other hanyou. Looking&nb sp;bored,
Kuromakaze tried to turn them as he done at the Inu no Taishoâ&e uro;Ÿs grave.
Kakiboufuu smirked and&nb sp;Kuromakaze realized too late he couldnâ&e uro;Ÿt control this Kaze
no Kizu. & nbsp;He struck his naginata into the current& nbsp;to divert it but still took a
punishing blow and was sent flying.
&nbs p;
Kakiboufuu turned his attention back to&nbs p;Kaiyoshinju, fearing the worst. Xeno
hovered between the two women his scimitars&n bsp;to either side having deflected the
strike. Kakiboufuu had little time to b e relieved before Kuromakaze was targeting him again. The Taisho turned to face his cousin.
“Go bac k, Kaiyoshinju,†ordered Xeno. â ;€œI‟ll finish her myself.&acir c;€
“I‟ll&nb sp;take my own revenge,†roared Kaiyos hinju.
“This isnâ€& Yuml;t for revenge,†he said. &a circ;€œThis is clean up. She was& nbsp;supposed to have died
centuries ago.&aci rc;€
“What?â€
“Go back!†he ;barked again. “You are able&n bsp;to handle Noriko, I presume.â€
“I can,†she repl ied, a mixture of anger and bewilderment.&nbs p;
“She‟ll be attacking soon and the rest of the ;clan can‟t stand against her,⠀ said Xeno.
“Take h er head and let the rest end her me ager band of traitors.†Kaiyoshinju&n bsp;
turned away reluctantly and flew back&nbs p;to the main group. Xeno focused all&n bsp;his
attention on the enraged hanyou before him.
“You particip ated in the massacre of my clan?†she breathed, her face a mix of shock, disbelief and outrage.
â ;€œI suggested it,†replied Xeno . “Your whole clan was in volved in a plot to overthrow
the T aisho, Tenko Lord and the Mikado. Your& nbsp;whole clan desired absolute power
over&n bsp;all this country and were willing to ;use their celestial powers to reestablish th e
ancient order of the Enzeru, with ;themselves as the divine rulers. Your clan
betrayed the Taisho with that consp iracy alone. He could not wait for ;your clan to
act, the lives of man y innocent, the peace of the land, depen ded on his preemptive
strike. Your ;whole clan was involved. Though , he&n bsp;did not wished to slay the
children. He knew, as I did, that no m atter how he would try to change their&n bsp;
feelings, those children would only grow& nbsp;to be his enemy. There was no ;hope in
changing that reality so the&nb sp;only solution was to end all of your& nbsp;clan at once,
children included. B ut apparently we missed you.â€
&nb sp;
The female hanyou screamed and launched&nb sp;a string of attacks against the fire
demon, refusing to give him a single&nbs p;moment to strike back. It was all&nbs p;he could do
just to divert the fu rious blows. Xeno, however, was patient.&nbs p; Waiting for the
moment she would ;tire. With the amount of power she&nbs p;was hurling, he knew it
wouldn†Ÿt be long.
****
N oriko and her small band of loyal follow ers dropped from the cloud cover
Kaiyosh inju had so generously created. The fem ale inuyokai grinned at the irony.
Let this be the day Kaiyoshinju dies,&n bsp;she thought, her blue eyes glittering in& nbsp;the
dark. I would have had Se sshomaru much sooner if not for her and& nbsp;it would have
been with his father& acirc;€Ÿs blessings. This war wouldn&ac irc;€Ÿt even have been necessary.
& nbsp;
She prepared to strike the unsuspecting& nbsp;inuyokai of the Taisho below. Despite&n bsp;the
repeated warnings from Kakiboufuu, th ey were too busy tangling with the
kazetenko and lesser flying demons to watch&n bsp;their heads. Noriko licked her lips ;in
anticipation in destroying those that&nbs p;opposed her. Then in the flash of&nbs p;lightning,
she noticed something that gave& nbsp;her pause.
“Saben!⠀ she growled. Saben, the son of&n bsp;one her most loyal generals, the traitor& nbsp;that
had abandoned her the moment h is father was killed, the moment when th e new
Taisho had appeared. He had& nbsp;chosen a mere hanyou as lord over h er pureblooded
family. The scarlet-haired&nb sp;man, perhaps sensing her burning gaze pier cing his soul,
looked up and blanched.&n bsp;
“SABEN!†Noriko&nbs p;roared; abandoning the planned ambush, she shot toward the
man. Saben tried t o retreat but Noriko braked hard to foll ow. Like the other
inuyokai, he co uld not move as quickly in the air and Noriko, being a celestial
demon, was at home in the sky. She came ;at him, her claws extended and celestial&nbs p;
energy coiling around her fingers. On ce she struck, he would die as so m any others
before, his body vaporizing.
A stream of fire sliced the a ir between Noriko and Saben, forcing her ;to brake and
retreat. Saben glanced&nb sp;to the side and saw the firebird Hota ru swooping toward
them. The scarlet&nb sp;inuyokai retreated further from Norikoâ€& Yuml;s reach as Hotaru
continued to fire at the female. He took in the&nbs p;changed battlefield.
Norikoâ& euro;Ÿs yell of fury had alerted the&nbs p;rest of the army to her minionsâ&euro ;Ÿ imminent
attack. His comrades w ere holding their own but barely. He&nb sp;turned to regard
Hotaru again and&nbs p;remembered the phoenix was supposed to summ on others to
bring confusion to the ;Kuro Tenko. Why she had not done so yet, he didn‟t know. However, he believed they needed to be&nbs p;here now. He rushed to the phoenix.&n bsp;
“Hotaru-san!†he&nb sp;cried. “Now, please! Do&nb sp;it now!â€
†œDo what now?†said Noriko as&nb sp;she dodged a flurry of fireballs while&nbs p;being driven
closer to the ground. &nb sp;“Well, I‟m not letti ng you!†she cried and threw a&nb sp;celestial
attack spell at the phoenix.&nbs p;
Saben gasped in horror as the&nb sp;spell struck the firebird only to stare&nb sp;in dumbfounded
surprise when Hotaru shrugg ed off the effects of the spell without& nbsp;losing speed.
Noriko was wide-eyed ;in shock. Hotaru opened her beak to&nb sp;line up another attack
then closed it without doing anything. Saben saw the& nbsp;reason before Noriko.
Kaiyoshinju followed through with the silent drop ambush& nbsp;that Noriko, in her
anger, had aban doned to the detriment of her minions. & nbsp;Some instinct, perhaps the
movement of&n bsp;Saben‟s gaze, made her look up a second before Kaiyoshinju brought
h er staff down with all her immense stren gth.
Noriko‟s fast summons of a shield and allowing gravity to&nbs p;take hold of her body
saved her f rom the fatal strike. She still struck& nbsp;the ground with all the gentleness
of a meteor. Despite the earlier order& nbsp;to stay in the air, Kaiyoshinju followed her
prey to the ground.
“Kaiyoshinju-san!†cried Saben.&n bsp; Hotaru echoed his cry with a raptor shriek. The
inuyokai moved to fol low, more from habit than actual wisdom but the firebird
blocked his path. ;The ground erupted as several grounded Tenko of water, fire and
earth launched attacks against the sea dragon hanyou.
They were countered by her&n bsp;overwhelming water magic that swept the f orest in a
sudden flood and ripped trees from the suddenly sodden ground. The fires in the
forest went out pl unging the battlefield into further darkness. ; The increased
release of power intensi fied the storm around them. Winds grew& nbsp;into gales that
threatened to blow even the kazetenko away. Lightning strikes&n bsp;in the clouds and to
the ground ;became so frequent the darkness could not&nb sp;claim the area for more than
a f ew seconds. Thunder drowned out the noi se of battle, deafening all. Then it&nb sp;
began to rain; ice cold drops that&nb sp;lanced the skin and stripped the fighters& nbsp;of their
inner fire. The Tenko&nbs p;were powerful but were still human. T he cold began to take
its toll on&n bsp;them first as they began to succumb to hypothermia.
Saben needed to ge t back to the battle but he wasnâ& euro;Ÿt certain where to strike first. & nbsp;
He took in the scene trying t o gauge where he was needed the most&nbs p;before glancing
at the firebird. &aci rc;€œI supposed now would not be a good time for your comrades to
app ear,†he said.
The firebird warbled a note that sounded like a ;laugh then he felt something rise
from& nbsp;within. A strange voiceless voice echoe d within his head, “Actually, n ow is
perfect. Water is our greate st opponent and partner.â€
S aben gaped and the phoenix raised her cr est, flashing white feathers, and sang. ;
Within moments, the sky erupted in ligh t and hundreds of firebirds flew to join the
battle. A scene already begin ning to disfavor the Kuro Tenko was rapi dly turning
toward the inuyokai‟ s victory.
*****
Kuromakaze& nbsp;stared, dumbfounded at the change in the battlefield. He summoned
water and&nbs p;fire to create a battlefield of absolute&nb sp;chaos, he thought in horror and
fury. Inuyasha, you are indeed a power to be feared.
____________________________________ ____________________
Chapter 37: The Power to Break the World
Kakiboufuu‟s clan an d the Shuro Tenko‟s vanguard. &n bsp;The unexpected collision of
these indepen dent forces may change the course of bat tle in their favor… or it ;may
cause the greatest catastrophe of a ll time!
---------
Author&nb sp;Notes:
I was able to show a little bit of Toromaru and give you&nb sp;all a peek at what is
happening with the Shuro Tenko right now. As ;you can see Kuromaru has not
improved&n bsp;in leadership ability.
_________________ ___________________________________________________
Translations:
Tsuchi: earth
Hi: fire
Mizu: water
Ki: wood
Kane: metal
Kaze:&nb sp;wind
Himizu: as discordant as fire an d water
Hikaze: fire wind
Tenki: we ather
Enzeru: angel
Hanyou: half-demon < br> Obi: the sash that is wrapped around ;a woman‟s waist to hold her&nbs p;kimono closed.
Matte: wait!
Shoji:&nbs p;sliding door.
Engawa: veranda, walkway runn ing along the outside of the buildings.
Temee: you, derogatory term, very insulting.& nbsp;
Kisama: you, derogatory term, more vulga r than temee
Ano: uh
Hai: Yes
Aniyome: elder brother‟s wife; s ister-in-law
Hime: Princess
Waka: Young lord, used for the son of a noble.
Otouto: Little brother.
Onii-(__): Big b rother, general. Honorific added on to end, determining level of
respect of lov e. (Can also be used when addressing&nb sp;a young man.)
Aniue: Big brother, for mal.
Imouto: Little sister.
Onee-(__): B ig sister, general. Honorific added on to end, determining level of
respect of& nbsp;love. (Can also be used when addre ssing a young woman.)
Aneue: Big sister, formal.
Ojii-(__): Grandfather, general. &nb sp;Honorific added on to end, determining lev el of
respect of love. (Can also&n bsp;be used when addressing an elderly man.)& nbsp;
Obaa-(__): Grandmother, general. Honorific&n bsp;added on to end, determining level of&nbs p;
respect of love. (Can also be us ed when addressing an elderly woman.)
Oj i-(__): Uncle, general. Honorific added on&n bsp;to end, determining level of respect of&n bsp;
love. (Can also be used when a ddressing a middle-aged man.)
Oba-(__): Aunt, general. Honorific added on to end,&nb sp;determining level of respect of
love. ; (Can also be used when addressing a&nb sp;middle-aged woman.)
Mina wa ookii aho ;desu: Everyone‟s a big idiot.& nbsp;
Sumimasen: Excuse me.
Oyaji: Father,&nbs p;informal masculine.
Otou-(__): Father, gene ral. Honorific added on to end, determi ning level of respect
or love.
Chic hiue: Father, formal.
Ofukuro: Mother, inform al masculine.
Okaa-(__): Mother, general. &nb sp;Honorific added on to end, determining lev el of respect
or love.
Hahaue: Moth er, formal
Otaa-sama: Mother, said by ch ildren of court nobles to their mothers. ;
XX-(blank): Intimate or rude address dependi ng on usage.
XX-kun: Male honorific, fri endly
XX-chan: Female or young boy honor ific, friendly
XX-san: general honorific, pol ite, (Mr. or Ms.)
XX-sama: formal or&nbs p;very polite honorific, used for those of&nb sp;superior status or to show
great resp ect. (Lord or Lady)
XX-dono: more formal honorific, more respectful than XX-sama. &nb sp;Derived from tono
= lord.
At the same time, the Shiro Tenko move in what many believe to be a s uicide attack
against the Kuro Tenko. &n bsp;The elements of Kakiboufuu‟s coun ter-strategy begin to
fall into place. < br>
145 years before the search for&nbs p;the jewel shards
Chapter 36: Fir e and Water: Chaos Absolute
High-s trung and largely undisciplined, Kaiyoshinju would not have been my first
choice in&n bsp;taking into such a battle, but against&nb sp;the ultimate strategist… If&nbs p;I found
her lack of self-control dange rous; Kuromakaze would find it a terror. ; If I could
keep her wrath steered in the right direction that is.
-I nuyasha
Naomi shrieked as lightning&nbs p;shot throughout her body causing it to ;twist and
contort in many unnatural way s. Kuromakaze watched his smile gone as he
became bored of the whole spect acle. He had given Yamibi the pleasure& nbsp;of dealing
with the she dragon sinc e he refused to let her have Sesshomaru. However, this
type of physical to rture had no value to him. There w as little entertainment in it.
He much preferred the form of torture that worked on the mind. If one did it& nbsp;right,
the victim would do most of& nbsp;the work themselves and it was harder&nb sp;to recover from.
Even if they e scaped, their damaged minds kept them prisone r. It made them
easier to predict& nbsp;and control.
Sesshomaru‟s& nbsp;pathetic state was out of a need to keep him helpless. If Kuromakaze
had realized his daughter would arrive ahead& nbsp;of the clan, he would have at least let
the inuyokai keep an ear. &nbs p;And maybe his tongue so the hanyou cou ld hear
Sesshomaru plead mercy for Naomi as Yamibi tortured her death. Now ;that would
have been entertaining. &nbs p;However, while Sesshomaru could sense the p ower being
released in his vicinity, he& nbsp;had no idea what was happening.
&nb sp;
Kuromakaze let out an impatient sigh when Yamibi stopped her attack again to
allow Naomi to recover. The raven-haire d hanyou wanted to make the woman
s uffer as much as possible. Naomi collap sed to the floor and this time didn&acir c;€Ÿt rise.
She cringed instead&nb sp;waiting for it to start all over.
She‟s finished, thought Kurom akaze. Though, I doubt she is. He glanced at Yamibi
who smiled and l icked her lips. That woman is too easily amused. The wind
whispered to&nb sp;him and his attention turned away from&nbs p;the women. His eyebrows
furrowed as&n bsp;he read the scene the wind showed hi m.
He turned back to the pair . With Naomi no longer able to ris e, Yamibi had resorted
to more direct&nb sp;attacks, kicking and punching the downed w oman. “Finish her,
Yamibi,&aci rc;€ he ordered.
“Wh at? But you said I can take my&nbs p;time with her,†said the female ;hanyou,
pouting.
“More&n bsp;guests are arriving,†he said as&n bsp;he pushed open the door and entered the hall
beyond. “The inu yokai are coming but so are the Shiro&nb sp;Tenko.â€
And they are com ing from opposite directions, he thought grin ding his teeth in fury.
This is&nb sp;most unexpected. If they were coming ;together, they would be easier to
handl e. I was anticipating focusing on one&n bsp;location. Now I will have to divide my
forces to face them both. ;Kakiboufuu, you have certainly out done your self this
time. I will just have&n bsp;to make sure to end you before you&n bsp;manage to find a way to
top it.
Yamibi growled. â€&oe lig;Fine.†She looked down at th e moaning Naomi. “Your kin&nbs p;are
coming but their arrival will only spare you further pain. It is far too late to save
you.†&nbs p;Yamibi drew her sword and brought it d own on Naomi‟s neck severing her
head and silencing her voice. She pointed the sword at Naomi‟s&nb sp;chest and light
flashed from the tip& nbsp;of the blade. A whole burned throu gh the rib cage, devouring
the organs&nb sp;beneath, leaving an empty hollow in its&nb sp;place.
“Not even Tense iga will be able to heal that. Say onara, Reihane Naomi,†said
Yamibi&nbs p;with a smile. She then ran to ca tch up with Kuromakaze, pausing only long&nbs p;
enough to close the door to the c ell.
Silence descended and the onl y movement was the dance of the flames&n bsp;of the
torches. Then Naomiâ€& Yuml;s body shimmered, losing color and form. It became a lump of
wet clay roughly in the shape of a body and head. The air by Sesshomaru twisted&nb sp;
and Naomi appeared, sitting next to h er father. She held her ribs and b lood trickled
from her mouth. She stared at the mass of earth that has&nbs p;masqueraded as her only
moments earlier.&nb sp;
If she hadn‟t looked&nb sp;away… thought Naomi and shivered . In the moment that
Yamibi had&nb sp;turned to glare at the departing Kuromakaz e, Naomi had pulled her
clay doppelgange r from her hip pouch, the item expanding to take her form, and
rolled away& nbsp;from the sadistic hanyou, casting a mira ge around her to hide her
movements.&nbs p; Breathing raggedly, she began to cast ;a healing spell on herself. There
was no telling when someone would return&nbs p;and she needed to be able to stand&nbs p;and
fight again if she were to ge t her father out.
I will take whatever sentence Oji-sama hands me, she&nbs p;thought, and I will be
properly gratef ul to be alive to take it. She&nbs p;turned her attention to the iron spikes&nbs p;
coming from her father‟s back. I wonder if that bastard will not ice if I cut these?
********* *
“There it is, Cast le Arai,†declared Kakiboufuu. The&nb sp;castled towered over the land,
black against the moonlit night.
â&euro ;œShouldn‟t we have met some&nb sp;resistance by now?†called Saben. < br>
“Don‟t worry, ;we will soon,†replied Kakiboufuu. &n bsp;“He wants us closer. He&nb sp;won‟t
impede our travel until we are right where he wants us to& nbsp;be. That said, rear guard
stay&nbs p;alert. If he does what I think h e‟ll do, he‟ll want ;to cut off our retreat. Heâ€&Yum l;ll
start the attack from behind.â&eur o;
The others called their acknowl edgement. It seems, he‟s made&n bsp;further
improvements to the castle since& nbsp;the last time, thought the Taisho, squin ting at the
distant keep. Even wit h the help from Eternal, this may not&nb sp;go well. I may have to
prepare& nbsp;myself. If I cannot recover Aniue, ;the only thing I can do is to end& nbsp;him. At
the very least, I can make certain he won‟t suffer&nb sp;anymore.
*********
Kenji and his pack ran through the forests wit h their ears and eyes open and noses&nbs p;
flared as they sought the enemy guard& nbsp;they were certain was there. Only small
groups, quickly dispatched, had appeare d since the start of the campaign. ;It made
the wolf demon uneasy.
&nb sp;
There should be more guard posts than this, he thought. We‟ve p enetrated far into
their territory yet m et little resistance. Something isnâ€& Yuml;t right.
He stopped and the&n bsp;rest followed his lead. Without taking&n bsp;his eyes away from the
scenery befor e him he asked his mate, “ Do you hear anything, Tsubame?â€
< hr>
Tsubame closed her eyes as she ;concentrated. She had the best hearing ;of all the
wolves in the pack, her ability to detect and discern was secon d to none, but she
needed to focus& nbsp;to use it. With her ears, she ;could hear the heartbeats of hidden
sen tries from a hundred yards away. After& nbsp;a minute, she shook her head.
;
“No one‟s there,â ;€ she said, flashing worried blue eyes& nbsp;at Kenji.
Kenji growled and c hewed his thumb claw. “This&nb sp;isn‟t right. I feel like&nbs p;we‟re being
drawn in.â€& nbsp;
“Should we go back&n bsp;and inform the lord?†asked Tsubam e. The others were quiet as
they&n bsp;waited for their leader‟s decisio n.
Kenji cast his gaze to the fragments of sky he could see between&n bsp;the leaves. The sky
had lost i ts last light from the vanished sun. &nb sp;“The army has already stopped&nbs p;for the
day. They may even be&nb sp;bedding down to prepare for the dawn rising,†he muttered.
â€&o elig;Kuromaru won‟t march them in&nbs p;the dark.†He sighed.
He turned back to face his pack and&n bsp;the other demon scouts gathered. â €œI very much
doubt Kuromaru will& nbsp;listen to mere suspicions. It wonâ ;€Ÿt accomplish anything going
back ;to him now. Instead of stopping, we&ac irc;€Ÿll press ahead and see if we& nbsp;can find
where the Kuro Tenko troop s are being positioned. Once we have&nb sp;something
confirming the suspected trap. & nbsp;We‟ll head back to warn the army.â€
“Will ;he even listen then?†asked one of the wolves with understandable doubt.
The wolf shook his head. â €œI don‟t know but we ;stand a better chance of convincing
him with actual evidence instead of speculations and suspicions.â€
He t urned around and trotted forward through the& nbsp;trees. The rest followed without
a word. I just hope we aren†Ÿt the ones that end up springing t he trap, he thought.
I‟d&n bsp;hate to die for that worthless lord. ;
******
“So wh ere are they now?†asked Yamibi a s she came up behind Kuromakaze. He&nbs p;
stood on the highest tower of his ;castle with his eyes closed listening to&nbs p;the wind
that circled him.
“They are not as in sync a s I originally feared,†he said w ithout turning to face his
second-in-command.
“So how close are&n bsp;they?â€
“At the rate they‟re marching, the Shir o Tenko won‟t arrive here for&nb sp;another two
days. They have a s mall vanguard to clear the path of obsta cles. They‟ll arrive
sooner,&nb sp;possibly near dawn, if they stop to r est.â€
“Arenâ&euro ;Ÿt you concerned about them? About&nbs p;what they could report to your father?&acir c;€
“If he were ;a man who was concerned about what the& nbsp;vanguard will see he would
not have embarked on this campaign of his to&nbs p;begin with. There is nothing they wil l
see that will change his mind. &n bsp;If we let them return to him that&nb sp;is.â€
“Should we send someone to meet them?†aske d Yamibi as she combed her long
rav en locks with her fingers.
â €œNo, let them come. It will ;make escape that much harder.†Kuromakaze opened
his eyes and turned to the southwest. “They should&n bsp;arrive after Inuyasha does.â€
Yamibi followed his gaze and saw the&nb sp;demon lights of the approaching inuyokai < br> clan. “Are the troops in&n bsp;position?â€
“Just&nb sp;awaiting your command,†replied Yamibi.& nbsp;
“Excellent, now it i s just a matter of timing.â€
********
The inuyokai clan w as almost to the castle when Kakiboufuu inexplicably whirled
around and set off a barrage of fireballs, causing the other&nbs p;demons to scatter.
Everyone hollered their startled protests as they dodged the&nb sp;flaming bombs, their
lines falling apart.& nbsp; The fireballs exploded against the grou nd, lighting up the forest
and igniting& nbsp;the trees that survived the initial impa cts.
A half-a-minute later a secon d series of explosions occurred. The cl an, with their
formation already broken and scattered into small two-three man partie s and
individuals, easily avoided the wh istling missiles that shot into the air and
exploded, scattering sharpened metal and& nbsp;semi-molten slag in all directions. The
clan managed to avoid the worst of the falling debris.
Saben, face&n bsp;pale, turned to his lord and asked, “How did you know?â€
Kakiboufuu, equally pale, shook his he ad and replied, “Just a feeling .†He yelled to
the others, “Don‟t bunch up! Maintain your distance from now on. &nb sp;There may be
more such surprises befo re we are permitted to engage the main&n bsp;force.†Everyone
began to mo ve forward again but more spread out tha n before.
“What was that?†asked Xeno flying closer.
“I think that was a& nbsp;Chinese rocket, though, modified,†rep lied Kakiboufuu,
grimacing. “T hough, I‟ve never seen one befor e. I‟ve only heard about t hem from
overseas traders and Iâ€& Yuml;ve never heard of them being stuffed&nbs p;with metal.â€
“He hasn‟t used such weapons before ,†said Xeno. “He must have recently gained a
tie to the mainland. The longer this war is&nb sp;prolonged the more it seems to favor
him.†The Arabian fire demon&nbs p;glanced at the hanyou. “I&nb sp;have noticed his holdings
in Tenji ha ve increased.â€
“It would be nice if we could end this tonight, but I am not so foolish a s to believe
it,†said Kakiboufuu . Another series of whistles behind the m made the clan
increase their speed&nbs p;and turn their attention to the flying ;bombs. The fires in the
forest wa s causing them to launch randomly, some didn‟t even get off the ground&n bsp;
before exploding.
Hitenko were ;supposed to launch those once we had pa ssed by overhead. They were
supposed&nb sp;to be shot into our backs, thought Ka kiboufuu. He tried not to think
ab out the strange impulse that had made hi m fire through his own clan into the&nbs p;
dark forest where the rockets had been hidden.
****
Naomi bit her thumb and her blood across her ;father‟s eyes, down both sides of his
nose and dripped it into his mouth and ears. She needed him aw are before she
could free him. Bef ore she had been too desperate to free&n bsp;him and too confident she
could snea k out the way she had snuck in. &nb sp;She had also been afraid of revealing ;her
presence if she used her powers&nbs p;while within.
With the clan comi ng, maybe Kuromakaze will be too focused ;on what‟s going on
outside ;the castle to notice what‟s hap pening within it, she thought and prayed.&nbs p;
Either way, I can‟t ;wait to heal him. Chichiue needs to&nb sp;be able to stand on his own
feet when we leave.
She pressed b oth hands against his cheeks and concentrated , expanding her youki
and pushing it&nbs p;into him. Her energy gathered around her blood and called to his
waning powers. Several minutes ticked by, then ;his eyes opened and he stared into
her face.
“Naomi,â&euro ; he whispered. Naomi opened her eyes&n bsp;and smiled even as he asked,
â €œWhat are you doing here?†;
“Saving you,†she replied. “Isn‟t that obvious?â€
“Yo u shouldn‟t be here,†he& nbsp;went on. “It‟s&nb sp;a trap.â€
“We&ac irc;€Ÿll discuss that later,†she said, deciding now was not the time&nbs p;to bring up her
close call. When Chichiue‟s feeling better, she thought, he may well take me to task&nbs p;
for coming here against orders.
She stepped behind him and asked, â ;€œCan you tell me if I need to remove the spikes
in your back f irst or the shackles? They look like&nb sp;they are inside your back but I
don‟t know beyond that. I was going to cut the metal but if I can remove them it
would-â€
“You‟re going&nbs p;to have to cut them if you can,â € said Sesshomaru with a hiss. &ac irc;€œWhen
they captured me, they broke my back then use the iron to support it. That metal is
wrapped around the bone.â€
Naomi cur sed and placed her hand over a spot ;several inches above the skin. She
summoned with her celestial magic a small&n bsp;plasma ball and pushed it against the&nbs p;
upper spike. The metal glowed th em parted and deformed in the intense he at.
Unfortunately, some of the molten&n bsp;metal dripped off the spike and onto ;Sesshomaru
armor, burning through to the&nbs p;skin. Sesshomaru grunted and growled.
“I‟m sorry!â&eu ro; cried Naomi.
“Never&n bsp;mind,†Sesshomaru said hastily. & acirc;€œIgnore it and go. Iâ&eur o;Ÿll survive a few burns.â€
Dust fell from the ceiling and the both felt the tremble of the earth ;as a groan
sounded from outside. “That must be the clan,†said Naomi. They‟re already&nb sp;here!
“Then go faster, †he snapped. “Kuromaka ze was expecting them this whole time. & nbsp;
He‟ll slaughter them if the y linger too long.â€
Naomi bit her lip as she struggled to melt the iron spikes. Thatâ€&Y uml;s easy for you to
say, Chichiue.&nbs p; It‟s not easy for me to& nbsp;maintain his plasma ball without burning ;my
own hand off.
**********
Kuromakaze growled as the rockets fired uselessly into the air well ahead of their
timed send off. The fire& nbsp;from Inuyasha‟s attack continued ;to spread finding the
other hidden catc hes, pursuing the attendants that were assign ed to light them. He
had planned&n bsp;on the demons being in the air. &nbs p;Non-aerial fighters had been kept on
t he ramparts and near the base of the&nbs p;castle where he expected the inuyokai to&nb sp;
make landfall. The aerial units woul d attack only after the rockets struck, cutting
off the path of retreat and ;creating casualties and confusion among the attacking
clan. Inuyasha had ruined tha t set up and Kuromakaze quickly went thr ough his
list of strategies, seeking the one that had been built on this ve ry possibility.
“How ;could he possibly know those were there?&aci rc;€ snarled Yamibi, echoing
Kuromakazeâ ;€Ÿs thoughts. “We only&n bsp;just received them a month ago and k ept them in
reserve just for this m oment.â€
“Instinct,&acir c;€ whispered Kuromakaze as his mind rac ed to pull together a different set
of strategies as the clan approached, spread out more to better defend against the&n bsp;
missiles from the ground.
&aci rc;€œWhat?†Yamibi blinked at&n bsp;her commander in confusion, not understand&nbs p;his single-
word remark.
†œNever mind, the traps,†he said , the vision of his plans playing before his eyes, the
lines changing in ac cordance with the new battle data. &aci rc;€œSignal the troops to strike
n ow. Push them further apart and overwhe lm their small groups.â€
*** ****
Kakiboufuu saw the Kuro Tenko ‟s signal flares and shouted, &a circ;€œRise and exchange
partners, he&a circ;€Ÿs going for the straight attack&n bsp;now that his ambush has failed. Do& nbsp;not
land or you will be overcome&nb sp;by his ground troops.â€
I n the planning stage, he had determined whose powers and abilities were most
com patible. These predetermined teams were to&n bsp;meet up once the fighting began. The impromptu scattering had separated most&nbs p;of the teams but nothing that could not be overcome. Everyone rose and r epositioned themselves to be with their
teammates. They could see shadows rising&nbs p;from the ramparts as Kuromakaze‟s&n bsp;
aerial troops took flight.
&ac irc;€œGuardians to the front,†c alled the Taisho. Kaiyoshinju, Xeno and ;Soranoko pulled
even with him. â €œHe tried to lower our numbers wi th a surprise attack. Let‟s&nbs p;return
the favor even if our atta ck isn‟t a surprise. Just don‟t hit the castle. We s till need
to be able to enter and&n bsp;exit in a hurry. A mess inside ;would only hinder our efforts.â€
“Hai!†the three c himed. Xeno drew his strange curved swo rds he called scimitars.
Soranoko drew& nbsp;her two fans from her obi and snapp ed them open. Kaiyoshinju
raised her&nb sp;staff in right hand and brought her l eft hand forward.
“You&nb sp;may begin,†said Kakiboufuu. He&nb sp;extended the first two fingers of his ;left
hand and spun his arm in a&nb sp;full circle, his right followed though he& nbsp;could not control
the movements of individual fingers, so they all remain extend ed. Lightning danced
around him and&nbs p;he thrust both hands forward, all fingers&n bsp;fully extended. The
lightning flashed&nb sp;from his claws and snaked toward the approaching enemy forces.
A dozen were& nbsp;struck directly while others nearby were ;caught by the lightning‟s
energ y surge. Most dropped to the ground.&nb sp; A few righted themselves before impact&nb sp;
and rejoined their comrades.
Xe no snapped his swords, edge end forward, ;toward the Kuro Tenko. Fire sizzled from the blades and flew like handle-less& nbsp;scythes. Scheherazade added her own
strike by opening her beak and breathing&nb sp;a column of fire. The aerial troops& nbsp;dodged
the flaming projectiles. Some,&n bsp;kazetenko, attempted to blow them back, b ut Xeno
was an old warrior who knew his craft well. As soon as the&nb sp;wind of the Tenko
encountered the fla mes, they erupted in a backfire, engulfing&nb sp;all those near. The
phoenixâ€& Yuml;s attack punched through the inferno to& nbsp;take a few more by surprise.
“I came east because I was weary of war,†said Xeno. “Yet I find myself on the
battlefield once more. I guess Allah&nb sp;was not ready for me to lay down ;my swords.â€
“My&n bsp;apologies for dragging you into our probl ems, Xeno-san,†said Kakiboufuu as he& nbsp;
launched another lightning strike.
;
“Don‟t, Taisho. & nbsp;At least these battles are not empty&nbs p;of purpose,†replied Xeno. He
added in a whisper of deep regret, “At least it is not a batt le of revenge.â€
Kakiboufuu glanced at the fire demon and muttered t o no one, “Pointless indeed. &n bsp;
Such wars would never end. They&nbs p;just go on until no one remains; an&nb sp;endless
landscape of bodies and restless&n bsp;ghosts.â€
Kaiyoshinju raised her staff and massive clouds materialized fro m several points in
the sky, blocking&nb sp;out the moon and sending the entire a rea into darkness save
where torches and fires raged. Thunder rolled through th e heavens and the wind
rose. The&n bsp;rain that would have fallen gathered abov e her in an aerial whirlpool
that g rew larger as the seconds ticked by. &nb sp;When she was satisfied with the amount,&nb sp;
she weaved her hand through the air&n bsp;and the water channeled into a tube shape,
launching like a great water serp ent. The enemy troops couldn‟t& nbsp;dodge it as it wove
through the&nbs p;air and swallowed all in its path.
Soranoko stood atop her feather and&n bsp;extended both arms out to the side. She then
spun, weaving the fans in an upward motion. Great cyclones dropp ed from the
heavens. She spun once more and ended with both fans snapping& nbsp;shut just as they
pointed toward th e aerial troops. The cyclones‟& nbsp;tips changed directions and dove
among&n bsp;the advancing troops. Kazetenko, unable to take control of the winds
directly,&n bsp;launched their own counter cyclones only to have them devoured by the
hungry ;maw of Soranoko‟s.
The&nb sp;cyclones died a premature death and so&nbs p;did the water snake. The funnels spli t
apart and lost shape. In the&nbs p;flash of lightning from the storm, Kakibouf uu saw the
culprit. Kuromakaze hung&nbs p;in the air, his black leather wings sp reading from his
back, his lips pressed& nbsp;into a frown as he stared at the&nb sp;inuyokai. The water snake
exploded i nto a mass of steam and superheated wate r. A woman hovered where it
h ad been, dressed in red with raven hair& nbsp;and ruby eyes. Great white wings b eat the
air.
“A ;Kurohane,†stated Xeno. â€&oel ig;I wonder where he found her. They&nb sp;were supposed to
be wiped out.â&euro ;
“She may have foun d him,†said Kakiboufuu. â&euro ;œNow where are Noriko and her
fol lowers?â€
“W ell met, Inuyasha,†said Kuromakaze, h olding his naginata at his side; red run es
glowed along the blade.
&a circ;€œI take it no one had bother ed to inform you of my name change,&acir c;€ said Kakiboufuu,
spreading his aware ness around him. Looking for the strike that Kuromakaze‟s
presence was& nbsp;attempting to distract him from. Noriko and her clan are still
nowhere to& nbsp;be found, thought the Taisho as his ;flicked his gaze around in time with the lightning flashes. Kaiyoshinjuâ€&Yum l;s storm has inadvertently given them cover.
“I assume then that it has changed to „Kakiboufuu&a circ;€Ÿ. How predictable,†said& nbsp;
Kuromakaze.
Kakiboufuu shrugged an d gave Kuromakaze a lazy smile even as&n bsp;he placed his
hand behind his back&n bsp;and gave a series of complicated fire&nbs p;signals. “I thought you
liked predictability,†he said, playing&nb sp;Kuromakaze‟s game even as his ;clan slowly
shifted position to his sil ent commands. “There was alway s „Avenging Fire Angel‟ if
you like.â€
†œAvenge is a good label for you,â € said Kuromakaze as a smile began to bloom in all
its sickening glory ;across his face. “Since that& nbsp;is all you will be able to accompli sh
tonight in regards to your niece.&aci rc;€
“What do y ou mean by that?†demanded Kaiyoshinju , losing herself to his verbal
trap.&nbs p; Kakiboufuu knew exactly what it meant ;and it wiped the fake smile from his&nb sp;
face. They had been too late, d espite their rush.
“It&nb sp;means what it means,†said the ;Kurohane. “That accursed Reihane&n bsp;is dead and I
was the one that& nbsp;dispatched her not even an hour before&n bsp;you arrived.â€
â €œKaiyoshinju, don‟t be baited! †hissed Xeno.
â€&oel ig;It was so wonderful hearing her scream,&nb sp;helpless before my power,†she cont inued
with a smile, her voice taking&nbs p;on the edge of insanity. Then the&nbs p;smile faded and
heat infected her word s. “Like so many of my&nb sp;family were before the Taisho.â€
Masaka! Don‟t tell me&a circ;€¦ She‟s an actual& nbsp;survivor and not a descendant of one,&nb sp;
Kakiboufuu thought with alarm. That would make her older than Aniue, much older. And she‟s been holdin g this grudge for all this time. H e heard the confused
murmurs behind him. Does the clan not know of that&nb sp;event? Is there no one alive
no w who lived through those days? Wait&ac irc;€¦ He turned his attention t o the fire
demon. Xeno‟s&n bsp;violet eyes were narrowed as he stared&nb sp;hard at the Kurohane.
â€& oelig;Damn you!†screamed Kaiyoshinju and&n bsp;she charged.
“All the Reihane deserve to die for what they&nb sp;did to my clan,†the woman sho uted
and sent bolts of energy flying&nbs p;toward Kaiyoshinju.
Damn! Kakiboufuu dove to intercede before the attack cou ld land. He flared his
wings befor e realizing why, killing his dive a seco nd before wind blades spun
through the&n bsp;air where he would have been if he&n bsp;had kept going. He looked toward the source and saw Kuromakaze charging him .
“Let‟s&nbs p;just let them continue,†Kuromakaze said with a laugh and swung his black&nb sp;
naginata as Kakiboufuu‟s head.&nbs p; Kakiboufuu rolled and activated Rokukafuga ;and
slashed it at his cousin.
&nbs p;
Kaze no Kizu‟s hungry lances&n bsp;reached for the other hanyou. Looking&nb sp;bored,
Kuromakaze tried to turn them as he done at the Inu no Taishoâ&e uro;Ÿs grave.
Kakiboufuu smirked and&nb sp;Kuromakaze realized too late he couldnâ&e uro;Ÿt control this Kaze
no Kizu. & nbsp;He struck his naginata into the current& nbsp;to divert it but still took a
punishing blow and was sent flying.
&nbs p;
Kakiboufuu turned his attention back to&nbs p;Kaiyoshinju, fearing the worst. Xeno
hovered between the two women his scimitars&n bsp;to either side having deflected the
strike. Kakiboufuu had little time to b e relieved before Kuromakaze was targeting him again. The Taisho turned to face his cousin.
“Go bac k, Kaiyoshinju,†ordered Xeno. â ;€œI‟ll finish her myself.&acir c;€
“I‟ll&nb sp;take my own revenge,†roared Kaiyos hinju.
“This isnâ€& Yuml;t for revenge,†he said. &a circ;€œThis is clean up. She was& nbsp;supposed to have died
centuries ago.&aci rc;€
“What?â€
“Go back!†he ;barked again. “You are able&n bsp;to handle Noriko, I presume.â€
“I can,†she repl ied, a mixture of anger and bewilderment.&nbs p;
“She‟ll be attacking soon and the rest of the ;clan can‟t stand against her,⠀ said Xeno.
“Take h er head and let the rest end her me ager band of traitors.†Kaiyoshinju&n bsp;
turned away reluctantly and flew back&nbs p;to the main group. Xeno focused all&n bsp;his
attention on the enraged hanyou before him.
“You particip ated in the massacre of my clan?†she breathed, her face a mix of shock, disbelief and outrage.
â ;€œI suggested it,†replied Xeno . “Your whole clan was in volved in a plot to overthrow
the T aisho, Tenko Lord and the Mikado. Your& nbsp;whole clan desired absolute power
over&n bsp;all this country and were willing to ;use their celestial powers to reestablish th e
ancient order of the Enzeru, with ;themselves as the divine rulers. Your clan
betrayed the Taisho with that consp iracy alone. He could not wait for ;your clan to
act, the lives of man y innocent, the peace of the land, depen ded on his preemptive
strike. Your ;whole clan was involved. Though , he&n bsp;did not wished to slay the
children. He knew, as I did, that no m atter how he would try to change their&n bsp;
feelings, those children would only grow& nbsp;to be his enemy. There was no ;hope in
changing that reality so the&nb sp;only solution was to end all of your& nbsp;clan at once,
children included. B ut apparently we missed you.â€
&nb sp;
The female hanyou screamed and launched&nb sp;a string of attacks against the fire
demon, refusing to give him a single&nbs p;moment to strike back. It was all&nbs p;he could do
just to divert the fu rious blows. Xeno, however, was patient.&nbs p; Waiting for the
moment she would ;tire. With the amount of power she&nbs p;was hurling, he knew it
wouldn†Ÿt be long.
****
N oriko and her small band of loyal follow ers dropped from the cloud cover
Kaiyosh inju had so generously created. The fem ale inuyokai grinned at the irony.
Let this be the day Kaiyoshinju dies,&n bsp;she thought, her blue eyes glittering in& nbsp;the
dark. I would have had Se sshomaru much sooner if not for her and& nbsp;it would have
been with his father& acirc;€Ÿs blessings. This war wouldn&ac irc;€Ÿt even have been necessary.
& nbsp;
She prepared to strike the unsuspecting& nbsp;inuyokai of the Taisho below. Despite&n bsp;the
repeated warnings from Kakiboufuu, th ey were too busy tangling with the
kazetenko and lesser flying demons to watch&n bsp;their heads. Noriko licked her lips ;in
anticipation in destroying those that&nbs p;opposed her. Then in the flash of&nbs p;lightning,
she noticed something that gave& nbsp;her pause.
“Saben!⠀ she growled. Saben, the son of&n bsp;one her most loyal generals, the traitor& nbsp;that
had abandoned her the moment h is father was killed, the moment when th e new
Taisho had appeared. He had& nbsp;chosen a mere hanyou as lord over h er pureblooded
family. The scarlet-haired&nb sp;man, perhaps sensing her burning gaze pier cing his soul,
looked up and blanched.&n bsp;
“SABEN!†Noriko&nbs p;roared; abandoning the planned ambush, she shot toward the
man. Saben tried t o retreat but Noriko braked hard to foll ow. Like the other
inuyokai, he co uld not move as quickly in the air and Noriko, being a celestial
demon, was at home in the sky. She came ;at him, her claws extended and celestial&nbs p;
energy coiling around her fingers. On ce she struck, he would die as so m any others
before, his body vaporizing.
A stream of fire sliced the a ir between Noriko and Saben, forcing her ;to brake and
retreat. Saben glanced&nb sp;to the side and saw the firebird Hota ru swooping toward
them. The scarlet&nb sp;inuyokai retreated further from Norikoâ€& Yuml;s reach as Hotaru
continued to fire at the female. He took in the&nbs p;changed battlefield.
Norikoâ& euro;Ÿs yell of fury had alerted the&nbs p;rest of the army to her minionsâ&euro ;Ÿ imminent
attack. His comrades w ere holding their own but barely. He&nb sp;turned to regard
Hotaru again and&nbs p;remembered the phoenix was supposed to summ on others to
bring confusion to the ;Kuro Tenko. Why she had not done so yet, he didn‟t know. However, he believed they needed to be&nbs p;here now. He rushed to the phoenix.&n bsp;
“Hotaru-san!†he&nb sp;cried. “Now, please! Do&nb sp;it now!â€
†œDo what now?†said Noriko as&nb sp;she dodged a flurry of fireballs while&nbs p;being driven
closer to the ground. &nb sp;“Well, I‟m not letti ng you!†she cried and threw a&nb sp;celestial
attack spell at the phoenix.&nbs p;
Saben gasped in horror as the&nb sp;spell struck the firebird only to stare&nb sp;in dumbfounded
surprise when Hotaru shrugg ed off the effects of the spell without& nbsp;losing speed.
Noriko was wide-eyed ;in shock. Hotaru opened her beak to&nb sp;line up another attack
then closed it without doing anything. Saben saw the& nbsp;reason before Noriko.
Kaiyoshinju followed through with the silent drop ambush& nbsp;that Noriko, in her
anger, had aban doned to the detriment of her minions. & nbsp;Some instinct, perhaps the
movement of&n bsp;Saben‟s gaze, made her look up a second before Kaiyoshinju brought
h er staff down with all her immense stren gth.
Noriko‟s fast summons of a shield and allowing gravity to&nbs p;take hold of her body
saved her f rom the fatal strike. She still struck& nbsp;the ground with all the gentleness
of a meteor. Despite the earlier order& nbsp;to stay in the air, Kaiyoshinju followed her
prey to the ground.
“Kaiyoshinju-san!†cried Saben.&n bsp; Hotaru echoed his cry with a raptor shriek. The
inuyokai moved to fol low, more from habit than actual wisdom but the firebird
blocked his path. ;The ground erupted as several grounded Tenko of water, fire and
earth launched attacks against the sea dragon hanyou.
They were countered by her&n bsp;overwhelming water magic that swept the f orest in a
sudden flood and ripped trees from the suddenly sodden ground. The fires in the
forest went out pl unging the battlefield into further darkness. ; The increased
release of power intensi fied the storm around them. Winds grew& nbsp;into gales that
threatened to blow even the kazetenko away. Lightning strikes&n bsp;in the clouds and to
the ground ;became so frequent the darkness could not&nb sp;claim the area for more than
a f ew seconds. Thunder drowned out the noi se of battle, deafening all. Then it&nb sp;
began to rain; ice cold drops that&nb sp;lanced the skin and stripped the fighters& nbsp;of their
inner fire. The Tenko&nbs p;were powerful but were still human. T he cold began to take
its toll on&n bsp;them first as they began to succumb to hypothermia.
Saben needed to ge t back to the battle but he wasnâ& euro;Ÿt certain where to strike first. & nbsp;
He took in the scene trying t o gauge where he was needed the most&nbs p;before glancing
at the firebird. &aci rc;€œI supposed now would not be a good time for your comrades to
app ear,†he said.
The firebird warbled a note that sounded like a ;laugh then he felt something rise
from& nbsp;within. A strange voiceless voice echoe d within his head, “Actually, n ow is
perfect. Water is our greate st opponent and partner.â€
S aben gaped and the phoenix raised her cr est, flashing white feathers, and sang. ;
Within moments, the sky erupted in ligh t and hundreds of firebirds flew to join the
battle. A scene already begin ning to disfavor the Kuro Tenko was rapi dly turning
toward the inuyokai‟ s victory.
*****
Kuromakaze& nbsp;stared, dumbfounded at the change in the battlefield. He summoned
water and&nbs p;fire to create a battlefield of absolute&nb sp;chaos, he thought in horror and
fury. Inuyasha, you are indeed a power to be feared.
____________________________________ ____________________
Chapter 37: The Power to Break the World
Kakiboufuu‟s clan an d the Shuro Tenko‟s vanguard. &n bsp;The unexpected collision of
these indepen dent forces may change the course of bat tle in their favor… or it ;may
cause the greatest catastrophe of a ll time!
---------
Author&nb sp;Notes:
I was able to show a little bit of Toromaru and give you&nb sp;all a peek at what is
happening with the Shuro Tenko right now. As ;you can see Kuromaru has not
improved&n bsp;in leadership ability.
_________________ ___________________________________________________
Translations:
Tsuchi: earth
Hi: fire
Mizu: water
Ki: wood
Kane: metal
Kaze:&nb sp;wind
Himizu: as discordant as fire an d water
Hikaze: fire wind
Tenki: we ather
Enzeru: angel
Hanyou: half-demon < br> Obi: the sash that is wrapped around ;a woman‟s waist to hold her&nbs p;kimono closed.
Matte: wait!
Shoji:&nbs p;sliding door.
Engawa: veranda, walkway runn ing along the outside of the buildings.
Temee: you, derogatory term, very insulting.& nbsp;
Kisama: you, derogatory term, more vulga r than temee
Ano: uh
Hai: Yes
Aniyome: elder brother‟s wife; s ister-in-law
Hime: Princess
Waka: Young lord, used for the son of a noble.
Otouto: Little brother.
Onii-(__): Big b rother, general. Honorific added on to end, determining level of
respect of lov e. (Can also be used when addressing&nb sp;a young man.)
Aniue: Big brother, for mal.
Imouto: Little sister.
Onee-(__): B ig sister, general. Honorific added on to end, determining level of
respect of& nbsp;love. (Can also be used when addre ssing a young woman.)
Aneue: Big sister, formal.
Ojii-(__): Grandfather, general. &nb sp;Honorific added on to end, determining lev el of
respect of love. (Can also&n bsp;be used when addressing an elderly man.)& nbsp;
Obaa-(__): Grandmother, general. Honorific&n bsp;added on to end, determining level of&nbs p;
respect of love. (Can also be us ed when addressing an elderly woman.)
Oj i-(__): Uncle, general. Honorific added on&n bsp;to end, determining level of respect of&n bsp;
love. (Can also be used when a ddressing a middle-aged man.)
Oba-(__): Aunt, general. Honorific added on to end,&nb sp;determining level of respect of
love. ; (Can also be used when addressing a&nb sp;middle-aged woman.)
Mina wa ookii aho ;desu: Everyone‟s a big idiot.& nbsp;
Sumimasen: Excuse me.
Oyaji: Father,&nbs p;informal masculine.
Otou-(__): Father, gene ral. Honorific added on to end, determi ning level of respect
or love.
Chic hiue: Father, formal.
Ofukuro: Mother, inform al masculine.
Okaa-(__): Mother, general. &nb sp;Honorific added on to end, determining lev el of respect
or love.
Hahaue: Moth er, formal
Otaa-sama: Mother, said by ch ildren of court nobles to their mothers. ;
XX-(blank): Intimate or rude address dependi ng on usage.
XX-kun: Male honorific, fri endly
XX-chan: Female or young boy honor ific, friendly
XX-san: general honorific, pol ite, (Mr. or Ms.)
XX-sama: formal or&nbs p;very polite honorific, used for those of&nb sp;superior status or to show
great resp ect. (Lord or Lady)
XX-dono: more formal honorific, more respectful than XX-sama. &nb sp;Derived from tono
= lord.