InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Forgotten ❯ The Power to Break the World ( Chapter 48 )
[ 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: 10 | Words: 15.9K | Visits: 150 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Hentai / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.20.2013 | Pages: 10 | Words: 15.9K | Visits: 150 | Status: Work In Progress
Kakiboufuu’s clan and the Shuro ;Tenko’s vanguard. The unexpected&n bsp;collision of
these independent forces may change the course of battle in their&nb sp;favor… or it may
cause ;the greatest catastrophe of all time!
& nbsp;
145 years before the search for the jewel shards
Chapter 37: The&n bsp;Power to Break the World
While Naomi struggled ;to free me from my bindings, my brother fought to save us
both. No o ne could have predicted the arrival of K enji and his pack to the battle. < br> Nor could we have predicted the consequen ce of having all five Jewels of Life&nbs p;used
simultaneously in the same area. It was not a lesson we would dare& nbsp;forget.
-Sesshomaru
Kuromakaze sep arated from Kakiboufuu, retreating several yards&n bsp;as he tried to
analyze the shifting& nbsp;battlefield, a rare moment of dumbfounded&nbs p;shock. The pair of
hanyou were b reathing hard, both unable to gain advantage& nbsp;over the other. Both
learning more about each other’s strengths a nd weakness during that exchange
than th ey had in the many years prior.
He summoned water and fire to c reate a battlefield of absolute chaos, he&nbs p;thought in
horror and fury. He c ame here with this already planned. Whe n did he realize my
one weakness? & nbsp;When could have learned of such a t hing? He thought hard about
their two encounters in the past; the first tr ap involving Kakiboufuu’s wife and&n bsp;the
later fight in the Inu no T aisho’s tomb. Did he really&nb sp;figure it out just from those
exchang es? Did he really analyze those battles and realize the reasons for my
fai lures? He glared at his cousin even&nbs p;as respect rose within him. Inuyasha, ;you
are indeed a power to be feare d.
He growled as he twirled&n bsp;his naginata. Kakiboufuu was a natural&n bsp;as a warrior; able
to adapt in the middle of the fight, reading his opp onent with no conscious
awareness. This was something Kuromakaze could not claim.&nb sp; Constant repetitions
of combinations and& nbsp;training with other warriors had allowed ;him to learn reaction
based defenses an d quick counter-attacks but the ability to&nb sp;adapt was not his. It
was his&n bsp;most vulnerable point in actual combat. & nbsp;That was why his weapon was the
long naginata. It forced others back so he could think of his next move. ;
Kakiboufuu’s only weakness wa s the short range of his physical weapon s.
Kuromakaze’s naginata force d the other to remain out of his zo ne while still
keeping him within lethal range. However, longer weapons were sl ower to recover
from a strike and K akiboufuu knew it.
They bot h were aware and employed the virtue of& nbsp;patience in battle. Kuromakaze
because& nbsp;he needed the slower paced fight to ;think his way through it. However,
Kakiboufuu exhibited the true lethal potential&n bsp;of this virtue by maintaining his
de fense and baiting Kuromakaze into striking wh ile waiting for the opportunity to
duck& nbsp;under the other’s guard. Kuromakaze understood the strategy and tried to
compensate for it by launching long-r ange weapons attacks. He summoned his < br> wind scythes to force Kakiboufuu to retre at and give Kuromakaze time to recoup. & nbsp;
Kakiboufuu hadn’t f orgotten about Kuromakaze’s flying b lades and revealed his
new defense. &nbs p;Ropes of blue plasma sprang from his b ody and struck all the blades,
reducing& nbsp;them to white molten slag. Once su perheated, Kuromakaze lost control
over the&n bsp;metal and they dropped to the earth below. The ropes, however, collapsed
qu ickly and Kakiboufuu struggled to control his breathing but failed to hide it
co mpletely; informing Kuromakaze that his cousin&nbs p;couldn’t maintain them for long.&n bsp;
Which also explained why Kakiboufuu ;wasn’t attacking with it. Sho rt-term power
attacks, when they failed, ;could leave the caster more vulnerable than& nbsp;before.
Kakiboufuu wouldn’t&nb sp;gamble that the ropes could reach the ;agile Kuromakaze.
The two hanyou& nbsp;were both wind users and able to ho ld themselves aloft without
flapping their&nb sp;wings. Kakiboufuu’s were real&nb sp;despite the wreath of flame but they
weren’t required like Sesshomaru&aci rc;€™s to maintain an aerial battle&nbs p;without utilizing
large amounts of youki.&n bsp; Kuromakaze’s were strictly cere monial. In a prolonged
battle, if both exhausted their wind jutsu, Kakiboufuu c ould still maintain altitude;
Kuromakaze woul d drop like a rock.
Kuromakaze&nbs p;had come to the conclusion the battle would go better on the ground
for h im. It would eliminate the limiting aff ect of the wind jutsu on their battle&nb sp;
while giving him cover he could use&n bsp;to sneak in fatal strikes. However, ;the troops
on the ground had made the Taisho already leery of dropping to down to the earth.
Kuromakazeâ€&t rade;s earlier attempts had been blocked.
Now as the sky filled with fireb irds and the icy rain fell, Kuromakaze r ealized how
badly he had underestimated his enemy. Kakiboufuu moved in again to test his
defense. Kuromakaze growled.& nbsp;
******
Naomi pulled her father’s arm over her shoulder s and wrapped her arm around his
wa ist. She then half carried him toward&n bsp;the door, Sesshomaru struggling to shuffle&nbs p;
his feet forward so he didnâ€&tr ade;t become dead weight for his daughter.&nb sp; The cell
continued to rattle with&nb sp;dust falling from cracks in the ceiling.&n bsp; She placed her hand
on the cel l’s door and paused.
Water flowed from underneath the door and&nb sp;passed their feet. The room trembled ;
again but this time no dust fell. Instead, water drops fell and splashed onto the
floor and her head. She&n bsp;glanced around and saw streams of water&n bsp;beginning to
push through the cracks.&nbs p; A stone in the ceiling fell and hit the floor with a splash
and&nbs p;a crack. Water fell like a small ;waterfall from the vacated spot and more&nbs p;tiny
streams forced their way passed c eiling stones.
She pushed on the&n bsp;door and it didn’t budge. & nbsp;Grimacing, she could not put more
f orce in the shove without dropping her f ather, she placed her hand on the door&n bsp;and
sent a small pulse of power ;through it. The metal door crumpled an d fell inward.
Naomi and Sesshomaru&nbs p;toppled backward as they avoided the fallin g slab of iron
and the older demon& nbsp;cry out when the metal barbs in his spine struck the floor. At
the&nb sp;same time, knee-high water washed into the room, drenching them.
Naomi climb ed to her feet and pulled her father&nbs p;up on to her back; the blow to hi s
spine had cost him what little mo bility he had. The water was now m id-thigh and
she could see to the o ther end of the hall where the water&nbs p;was cascading down the
stairs.
I can create a space around u s to keep the water away as we move , but the amount
of energy used cre ates a powerful aura. If an enemy detects it within the castle…, ;
she thought, her violet eyes narrowing. ; The water climbed to her waist and&nbs p;she
growled. No choice. I can&n bsp;breathe underwater but Chichiue canâ€&tr ade;t.
She concentrated and summoned&nb sp;a sphere around herself and Sesshomaru, pu shing
the water away from them. Sh e then hurried forward, feeling the pressure& nbsp;of the
current as she climbed the&n bsp;stairs. She hoped the flooding would&nbs p;at least drive the
guards on the upper levels away. It flowed around and over them, blinding her
view of th e stairs above.
*******
Kenji gazed up at the storming s ky. The trees around him bent and waved in the
gale winds as lightning&nbs p;crawled across the bottom of the low c louds. Tsubame came
up behind him& nbsp;and asked, “Should we stop ;until it lets up? I can’ t detect anyone in
this weather.â€
“This storm came ou t of nowhere,†complained one of the others. “It was clear ;a few
hours ago and now we have&nb sp;a full typhoon on our hands.â€
“Typhoon?†repeated&nbs p;Kenji still staring at the storm and w ondering why it seemed
familiar. Cold&n bsp;water struck his ankles and he glanced&nb sp;down as the others yelled in
surprise . “What the…?⠀ He looked forward and, in the&nb sp;sudden flash of lightning
saw the che st high wall of water heading toward the m.
“Whoa! Everyone into the trees!†he shouted and j umped into the branches of the
large&nbs p;oaks. The rest followed him before th ey understood why and narrowly
avoided b eing washed away by the sudden torrent.
“There’s no ;river nearby,†said Tsubame. â €œWhere did this flash flood come from?â€
“Kenji! &nb sp;Your earring!†cried a wolf.
& nbsp;
“Eh?†Kenji pulled his earring off and looked at it. The emerald held a faint glow,
but in the darkness between strikes, it was brilliant. “An on-land typhoo n and
river-less flash flood, I think&nb sp;Kaiyoshinju is up ahead and sheâ€&tr ade;s not holding back.â€
&a circ;€œMaybe we should head back,â&eur o; suggested another demon scout. â&eu ro;œWe shouldn’t get in
t he middle of a fight involving that sea& nbsp;dragon.â€
“Castle&n bsp;Arai is not far ahead,†said Kenji as he replaced his earring. &acir c;€œIf she’s
fighting she ’s there. I think we need to learn why before we head back t o
Kuromaru. No one’s seen her since before the start of the war. So why would she
attack Castl e Arai?†And why is the Jew el of the Land glowing? he wondered.
******
Kuromakaze noticed the flood Kaiyoshinju had released and was&nb sp;continuing to fuel
with a reverse wat er cyclone that drew water from the stor m above. The rain had
once again&n bsp;stopped as the water was funneled to ;the ground, but not before taking
down& nbsp;the human fighters with its chill. ;His demon warriors, save for Norikoâ€& trade;s
inuyokai, weren’t capable&nb sp;of handling the stronger and more skilled& nbsp;demons of
Kakiboufuu’s clan.&nb sp;
“Are you sure you ;want to allow that female to keep flood ing the area?â€
Kuromakaze said, t rying to distract his opponent. â&euro ;œThe dungeon is beneath the
castle&nbs p;and all this water had probably begun to fill his cell. He will drown if you do
not force her to withdraw&n bsp;it. It would render your entire ope ration meaningless.â€
Kakiboufuu drove hard and Kuromakaze barely raised his&n bsp;naginata between them.
Kakiboufuu caught the haft on the backs of his arms& nbsp;but his face came within
inches of& nbsp;his cousin’s. Kuromakaze was&n bsp;shocked by the ice he saw in Kakibou fuu’s
eyes. His gaze was& nbsp;so frigid the gold had faded to a&n bsp;pale yellow, almost as white as
the& nbsp;rest of the eye.
â€&oel ig;The point of this operation is to fre e Aniue,†said Kakiboufuu in a wh isper. The
tone sent shivers up Ku romakaze’s spine. His voice so mehow dropped even lower.
â€&oeli g;There are many ways to free a person.& acirc;€
Kuromakaze was stunned. &n bsp;He had not anticipated that response; had not
anticipated the cold now exuding&nb sp;from the other. So shocked by his&nb sp;cousin’s words
he almost did n’t react to Kakiboufuuâ€&trad e;s point-blank Kaze no Kizu. His panic created
a funnel that blew Kakiboufuu&n bsp;and nearly all the aerial combatants to&n bsp;the ground
but it drained him of&nbs p;all his wind jutsu forcing him to drop to the ramparts below.
&acir c;€œCommander!†shouted the nearby&nb sp;archers.
“Continue the ;fight!†he barked in irritation.
The men flinched back then cried, ;“Hai!†They returned t o their posts on the wall
with arro ws notched. The men on the ramparts&nbs p;had endured better, able to take
shelt er once the rain had started to fall.&nb sp;
Kuromakaze rose to his feet and turned to look over the ramparts to&nbs p;where the
entire battlefield had been plunged. His chest heaving, he thought, ;How terrifying
to be facing an opponent who actually understands the limits of sentimentally.
*****
Yamibi surfaced gasping and grabbed hold of a tree ;before she could be swept away
by the current. Pulling herself free of th e flood, she sought out her enemy. ;The cold
water, however, had cooled her head. Once she confirmed he hadnâ ;€™t landed nearby
she then turned her attention on the rest.
Revenge for her clan would always be her main objective but the fire demon was
just a small fish. He ma y have said he had suggested the massacr e but, even if it
was true, it ;was still just a suggestion. The Inu&n bsp;no Taisho was the leader. He had&nb sp;
made the decision to end her bloodlin e. She needed to return the favor. ; She cast
her gaze about for the&n bsp;other Reihane, the hanyou Taisho.
********
Demons pulled thems elves from the water, both sides calling ;a temporary halt to
the fighting as&nbs p;they struggled to catch their breath and&nb sp;assess injuries. The wind
blast ;had scattered everyone, the inuyokai teams h ad been separated and things
were about& nbsp;to get worse for the Taishoâ€&trad e;s troops.
The hitenko, kanetenko ;and tsuchitenko that weren’t washed away during the
initial wave of wa ter were also in the trees. Some t suchitenko had attempted to
raise plateaus&nb sp;to stand upon when the water struck b ut the flood had greedily
devoured their little islands. With no sign of a let up, the giant trees were the o nly
sure footing in the entire area.&nbs p; The hitenko were able to ward off&nbs p;hypothermia for
themselves and their neighb oring kanetenko and tsuchitenko with their fi re jutsu.
With their footin g depending on the trees and the depth&n bsp;and strength of their roots
grip on& nbsp;the earth below, both the tsuchitenko an d hitenko would be limited in their
attacks. Tenko, though, never relied solely on their powers. The tsuchitenko
carried chains ending in spiked clamps that&n bsp;held rocks. The hitenko would rely
heavily on their handheld weapons. The& nbsp;kanetenko, with their metal jutsu, were
not so limited.
The mi zutenko were completely in their element. &nb sp;Able to repel and shed the cold
water, hypothermia had failed to catch them,& nbsp;and their numbers had not been
depl eted by the flood. Able to skate a cross the water footholds were not necessary& nbsp;
and thus they had free reign with&n bsp;their water jutsu. As long as they& nbsp;minded where
their comrades were.
& nbsp;
Saben snarled an oath as he saw&nbs p;several of the mizutenko shooting among the trees
toward him. He raised his&n bsp;sword and shifted his feet on the br anch on to have the
weapon yanked f rom his hands. He looked back and saw a black Tenko on another
tree s everal yards away. Damn it! The s word flew back at him and he dove i nto the
water to avoid being beheaded&nb sp;by his own blade.
When he& nbsp;tried to surface a wave summoned by ;the mizutenko forced him back
under. &n bsp;Saben swam with the current and once ;again scrambled to rise only to be
force under again before he could take in more than a small gasp of air. & nbsp;He grabbed
hold of a tree and a sharp current cut across to drive him& nbsp;off it. I’m going to ;drown!
he thought in panic as white&nbs p;spots began to dance before his eyes.
A hand gripped his scruff and ;drew him out of the water and onto ;a sycamore. He
coughed and choked ;while clinging to the branch, shivering unco ntrollably. He saw
another wave heading toward him from the corner of his eye and braced himself. It
never l anded. The wall of water exploded into& nbsp;steam and superheated liquid and
blew&nb sp;back toward the Tenko, scalding them. &nbs p;They screamed and retreated.
Saben&nb sp;looked up and realized who his savior ;was. “Taisho!†he crie d.
“Get yourself out ;of the water completely, Saben-kun,†said Kakiboufuu. Dripping
wet, his silv er hair clung to his face and neck as did his red kimono and hakama.
& nbsp;
The scarlet-haired inuyokai dragged himself&n bsp;higher into the tree until he was ab le
to sit on a branch with his ;feet out of the water. “ What happened to your battle
with Kuroma kaze?†he asked, panting.
& acirc;€œRemember I suspected he it wasn ’t easy for him to adapt t o the appearance of
unknown elements,â& euro; said the Taisho. “He&nbs p;apparently can’t handle surprises well,
either.†The hanyou sounde d sheepish as he spoke though, his face& nbsp;remained
passive in the flickering light of the storm.
“He&n bsp;panicked? Isn’t that good?&acir c;€ said Saben.
“I&a circ;€™ll leave that for you to fi gure out. Meanwhile I have to make ;arrangements to
drop the sky,†s aid Kakiboufuu with a grunt. As Saben&n bsp;stared in confusion, the
Taisho wave d his hand and Hotaru flew down and ;landed on his outstretched arm.
â ;€œHow many firebirds do we have l eft?†he asked her.
Hotaru& nbsp;warbled, “Less than twenty perc ent. The rest drowned when the wind&nbs p;
struck.â€
“Will&n bsp;that be enough to protect the clan?â ;€ he asked. Hotaru cocked her hea d to the
side, as if trying to ;figure out the hanyou, then bobbed her head in assent. “Good. < br> Relay the order; they have twenty minutes to figure out where everyone is and&nbs p;to
get to them.†Hotaru f lew off and Kakiboufuu closed his eyes.
Saben watched his lord in bewilder ment, unsure of what he was trying to&nb sp;do. Then
he saw a glow appear&n bsp;at the hanyou’s throat. Th e lightning in the skies above
began&nbs p;to increase its frenzy, though it remained& nbsp;in the clouds and didn’t t ouch the
earth.
*******
;
Intense fighting kept the clan pinned t o the trees. Any attempt to break to the sky
was met with deadly forc e. Soranoko struggled to hold off the&n bsp;attacks of the
grounded Tenko from w here she floated just above the waves. & nbsp;Yukibi knocked away
shuriken after shuri ken as the kanetenko persisted in their attacks. In the oaks
near them wer e several of their comrades, many injured&nbs p;already from trying to
regain the sky. The ones that could still fight w ere struggling to hold off the
kanetenko as well.
The wind demon had& nbsp;been pulling many of the clan from the water after everyone
was driven to&n bsp;the ground. Getting everyone together in creased their chances of
survival, but w ith the enemy controlling the water and others waiting in the trees
escape was&n bsp;impossible.
“We are&n bsp;in quite a fix aren’t we,&n bsp;Wind Guardian,†said Yukibi, breathless . “We need
the flood ;to end to reduce the effectiveness of t he mizutenko. However, once it does
the tsuchitenko and hitenko will be able&nb sp;to attack us without reserve. We wil l be
done in within seconds.â€&nbs p;
“I didn’t ;need to hear that, you know,†sa id Soranoko as she waved her fan and&nbs p;blew
away another water attack. She&n bsp;knew things were bad. She just coul dn’t believe
how fast the tables had turned. The Taisho’ s strategy had been working, we were
winning and now we can’t even retreat, she thought.
She f elt a weight land on her shoulder and&nb sp;she turned her head, preparing to strike.
The wind sorceress was surprised to&nbs p;see a blue firebird. It raised its&nb sp;wings to
balance at her sudden moveme nts but didn’t fly away. Yukibi had a red one on her
and,&nb sp;as Soranoko looked to the trees where ;the inuyokai were sheltering, saw each
had gained a phoenix themselves.
& acirc;€œWhy do I have a bad feelin g about this?†said Soranoko with ;a weak smile. Yukibi
didnâ€&trad e;t look anymore assured when they noticed&nb sp;the display in the sky.
â €œLet’s get to the trees, †said Yukibi as she stared at&nb sp;the crazed lightning. “I do n’t
want to be dumped back into the water if you lose your co ncentration on this
feather.†A& nbsp;vein pulsed in Soranoko’s foreh ead but she said nothing as she complied
with Yukibi’s request.
&n bsp;
******
“Oi, oi, oi, that’s scary,†said Kenji from the treetop. The others wari ly watched the
dancing bolts as well.&nb sp;
“Are we really go ing to continue forward?†asked Tsubam e, her tone one of disbelief.
The wolf demon stared at the heavens an d felt a strange tugging sensation from the
emerald on his ear. It had&nbs p;been getting brighter the closer they got&n bsp;to the castle.
He had two conf licting feelings smoldering within him, both growing stronger just
as the jewelâ&eur o;™s light was. The urge to get&n bsp;to the castle and the urge to turn&n bsp;around
and leave. He was certain&nb sp;his instincts were trying to warn him ;of something, but
with the two opposing sensations he wasn’t sure what .
“I think weâ&euro ;™ll sit tight here and see how th is plays out,†he said.
*******
Toromaru stood on top of his make shift levee staring down at&nb sp;the river below. He
looked back ;at the gathering of people behind him. The villages and farms below
had v anished beneath the muddy waters of the torrent. There had been little
warning& nbsp;before the wall of water had come c rashing into the valley. The thin
skeleton crew of samurai, spiritualists, demons&nb sp;and Tenko left behind to guard the civilians had been struggling for hours to pull the farmers and animals from the&n bsp;
flood.
He had ordered the ;signals towers to be lit to try to ;warn communities further
downstream while he and other tsuchitenko raised the earth to hold back the river
as it contin ued to rise. Even as he stood atop , he could see the hungry river eating&n bsp;
away at the sides. Their castle&nbs p;had been on higher ground but the rive r was
threatening its lowest levels now. If the tsuchitenko could not maintain& nbsp;the levee
that now surrounded the c astle, the entire building would drown along& nbsp;with the
people they had just rescu ed.
“Toromaru-dono,â€&nb sp;cried one of the men. â€&oelig ;Look!â€
Toromaru turned tow ard the southwest and gasped. The entir e horizon was lit with
the rapid fl ashes of what could only be distant ligh tning. It revealed massive,
towering th underheads that blocked out that quarter of&n bsp;the sky. Toromaru glanced
back at&n bsp;the river.
“That must be the source of the flood but whe re did that storm come from?†sai d
Toromaru as he stared. He turned to the others. “Did anyo ne see clouds this
afternoon?†&n bsp;Everyone shook their heads.
A tenkitenko, one that controlled both water an d wind thus was given the
description&nb sp;“weatherâ€, stepped forward ;and said, “As you know, I ;check for weather
that may threaten cam paigns and villages alike. I detected n othing the day before
the campaign was&n bsp;to begin, I detected nothing earlier toda y to suggest such a
massive storm e ither. That is no natural storm. It formed after dark and is too big ;
to have formed in mere hours.â€&n bsp;
“Maybe it is the ;lord and Kuromakaze clashing,†suggested&n bsp;one of the men.
â€&oelig ;It’s too soon,†said To romaru as he stared at the horizon. &nbs p;“They shouldn’t be < br> anywhere near Castle Arai at this time.&a circ;€ The levee shuddered beneath him& nbsp;and he
and the other tsuchitenko we nt back to work shoring up its sides.&nb sp; Their castle had
to remain above&nbs p;water. There was nowhere left for any one to run.
******
Xeno pulled himself higher into the trees. & nbsp;When he had been blown back, he had
realized that Scheherazade couldnâ€&tr ade;t stop their fall, the wind had been too strong.
He had then taken&nbs p;hold of her and threw her above him,&n bsp;filling her wings with his
flames&nb sp;so that she would rise higher still. He had seen her escape the blast w ind
before he had plunged into the water.
He lost his scimitars in&nb sp;the fall and his cloak and headdress in the water. He stood
on the ;branch of a fir and gasped. His h air was pure white with age and his ;
wrinkles etched deep lines through his tan face. “Oh Allah, Iâ& euro;™m getting too old for
this,â ;€ he muttered in his native tongue.&nbs p; He looked around but he couldnâ&euro ;™t find his
opponent. He grimace d.
It’s too much to& nbsp;hope for that she was carried away by the current, he thought. He
wat ched the water churn as it continued on& nbsp;its way. He had been carried far&n bsp;by the
flood; while he could swim,&n bsp;he wasn’t the best. It&nbs p;had taken him considerable
amount of t ime to get close enough to a tree w ith a strong low branch to catch hold&nb sp;
of. He ached and he knew he&nbs p;would ache worse tomorrow. He was sor ely tempted
to just sit there on hi s tree and wait for the battle to b e over.
If she wasn’ t swept away by the current then she&nbs p;is still in the battle, he thought. &n bsp;If
she doesn’t come after&n bsp;me then she may return her attention ;to Lucifer’s heir. I
can ’t let that troublesome woman s urprise him. He rose to his feet a nd his knees
cracked.
â&euro ;œGrow old or die young, what a ch oice,†he muttered.
A famil iar screech had him turning his head to& nbsp;greet his beloved phoenix.
Scheherazade rubbed her head against his then took&n bsp;hold of her master and carried
him&n bsp;into the air. They needed no words; she knew where they needed to go.
********
Yamibi spotted ;the young Taisho, his eyes closed as he concentrated on some spell.
The r aven-haired female didn’t care what& nbsp;he was doing but his focus meant he was
vulnerable. She grinned and l eapt toward him, power gathering around her&n bsp;fist as
she prepared to smash his&nb sp;head in. She was thrown off when&nbs p;an energy whip
wrapped her hand and&nb sp;swung her away.
She caught hold of a pine and looked for the inter vener. She caught sight of the
sca rlet-haired inuyokai standing on a branch abo ve his lord’s head. His o range eyes
glowed with fury. She g lared back.
“So he w asn’t so foolish as not to ;have a guard about,†she snarled,&nbs p;“but what a
pathetic guard&nb sp;you are. You only managed that becau se I wasn’t expecting you. &nbs p;
You won’t stop again.â€
“I won’t&n bsp;let you near the Taisho, traitor kin,&aci rc;€ said the man. She gaped in&nb sp;shock and
he added, “I heard what Xeno-san said. Of course, th ey were erased. Your whole
clan ch ose to betray the world for personal gai n.â€
Yamibi growled and poin ted her finger at the man. A bolt& nbsp;shot toward him. He
raised his&nbs p;arm in instinctive, if useless, defense. &n bsp;It never reached its target. Hotaru ;
dove between the two, catching and redi recting the lethal bolt to the water whe re it
sizzled for a second.
Yamibi snarled in frustration. Sh e wanted the pleasure of burying her han d into
the Taisho’s flesh. ; His strong resemblance to his father, the demon blood that
carried no other,&n bsp;played into her fantasy of killing the&nb sp;Inu no Taisho and avenging
her clan.& nbsp; She wanted to crush his skull, to& nbsp;devour his heart, to drink his hated&nbs p;
blood and know the Reihane were finish ed.
Once the young Taisho was dead, she wouldn’t need Kuroma kaze or his allies.
She’d go and kill the helpless Sesshomaru and then it would all be over. Now&nb sp;her
fantasy was being ruined. With&n bsp;the Taisho right before her, she couldn&a circ;€™t get close
enough to finis h him in the way she wanted. She&n bsp;would have to satisfy her fantasy
wi th Sesshomaru then. She cast a greater& nbsp;spell with the intention of killing all& nbsp;
three as once and hurled it will&nb sp;all her hate.
*****
Xeno saw what she was attempting as he&n bsp;and Scheherazade approached. The
phoenix beat her wings harder and the fire ;demon called upon the power of the
Jewel of the Inferno he guarded. He&nb sp;would need it if he were to stop ;her attack
from hitting. Lightning sur ged from his fingertips intercepting her atta ck. In that
moment the lightning i n the sky came to earth striking the&nbs p;unprotected Kuro Tenko
and demons.
&nb sp;
Then everything went wrong.
*** ***
Soranoko hit the surrounding t rees with a powerful blast of wind as&nb sp;she expanded
beyond her personal ability&n bsp;to drive the enemy back. She didn&a circ;€™t know why the
firebirds we re clinging to their shoulders but she n eeded to keep the enemy away
from t he injured and it was getting harder to& nbsp;achieve this with small attacks.
< br> At that moment, lightning fell and the&nb sp;field vanished in light. The firebirds,&n bsp;wings
rising, created a barrier that ;warded off the lightning from them and the person
whom they perched upon.
Then a nightmare unfolded before their& nbsp;eyes.
******
Kaiyoshinj u and Noriko were locked in mortal comba t, neither yielding ground and
oblivious ;to the battles around them. With the&n bsp;power of the Jewel of the Sea
a mplifying her own abilities, the sea dragon&n bsp;maintained the storm above and the
w ater cyclone. The sea of water gave&nbs p;Kaiyoshinju limitless resources to attack with&n bsp;
while reducing Noriko’s foothold s. Mizutenko that foolishly tried to as sault her
from behind were dragged down& nbsp;and drowned by the water the thought&nbs p;they
controlled. This was her ocean&n bsp;not theirs.
Lightning rained down&n bsp;obliterating the field. Kaiyoshinju roared&nb sp;at the
interference, unaffected by the&nbs p;lightning only because she was a dragon.&nb sp;
Then her rage turned to& nbsp;horror.
******
Kenji an d his group sat in their tree waiting&nb sp;to see how it all would end. Th anks to
the constant lightning, they rea lized they were closer to the castle tha n they
originally thought and they could see how crazy the battlefield had becom e.
“Kaiyoshinju never doe s anything half-ass, does she?†said&n bsp;Kenji.
“More like dou ble-ass,†muttered one of the other&nb sp;wolves.
The hairs on the back&n bsp;of his neck rose. Unaware of the&nb sp;danger that caused his
instincts to s cream, he summoned the earth below to co ver them in a shielding
dome. Unab le to make contact with the earth, he&nb sp;used the powers of the Jewel of
the Land to summon it from thirty feet&n bsp;below. Everyone yelled in surprise as&nb sp;the
earth blocked out the dancing&nbs p;sky. They were silenced by the scream of thunder
that shook their earthen&nbs p;barrier, the tree they were on and the ir bodies.
“Where would&n bsp;we be without your instincts?†sai d Tsubame when the thunder
passed. ;
“Triple-ass,†sa id another in reference to the earlier c onversation.
“That wasnâ €™t Kaiyoshinju, she doesn’t&n bsp;control… yah!†Kenji&nb sp;cried out as his body
began sliding&n bsp;forward. Earth magic flowed through him& nbsp;and his body glowed green.
&a circ;€œKenji!†cried Tsubame as her mate fell from the tree. She l unged to catch him but
he slipped t hrough her outstretched fingers. The earth&n bsp;rose above the water and
knocked out the side of the dome creating a pa th leading to the castle. The wolf ;
demon landed on it, the air blasted&nbs p;from his lungs upon impact. It rolled
underneath him before he could recover& nbsp;and he was sliding forward.
K enji grabbed his earring without thinking and tried to dig his heels in but it&n bsp;had
ceased heeding his commands and he continued sliding forward. The lightning& nbsp;
outside had ceased but the scenery was being lit by another more sinister l ight. A
white pillar reached to th e heavens and he was being dragged towar d it.
“What the&nbs p;hell is going on?†he yelled in terror. His pack ran to catch the ir leader.
******
Kakiboufuu felt the lightning strike then p ain unlike any he had felt before pierce d
him. He feared for a moment ;he had been struck by his own lightning , only to
realize it was coming fro m the Jewel of the Heavens around his&nb sp;neck. He screamed
an unearthly screa m as the jewel’s power filled&n bsp;him beyond what he could handle.
Saben stared as the Taisho howled&nbs p;then vanished within a brilliant white ligh t so
intense it blinded him. He&nb sp;felt Hotaru take hold of his kimono a nd pull him back.
He fell from&nbs p;the tree into the water and blindly so ught another branch. Hotaru
screeched a nd he followed her voice, finding a trun k and clawing his way up it. He&nb sp;
looked over again and gasped at the&n bsp;sight of a white pillar ascending to ;heaven.
He heard another screech and looked up. Scheherazade struggled to&nbs p;keep what had
to be Xeno from bei ng pulled into the light. Her great&nbs p;wings flapped in desperation
as Xeno c lenched his chest, his whole body wreathed&nb sp;in flames. His violet eyes wide
in terror.
He looked away and&nbs p;noticed the water level was dropping rapidl y. He glanced at
the place where&n bsp;the cyclone had been and found it mi ssing. “Why is only Xeno being
affected by that pillar?†h e wondered aloud.
“It&nbs p;isn’t just Xeno!†screeched Hotaru. Saben glanced at her. He r crest was raised
with green feathers&n bsp;exposed this time, alarm. â€&oelig ;The Jewel of Life is trying to
reu nite.â€
“Impossible!&nbs p; It can’t! It will dest roy the world,†cried Saben, recalling the legend of
the all powerful jew el.
*****
Yukibi dug he r claws into Soranoko’s wrist. Soranoko was in the air, being carried& nbsp;
away by a wind she hadnâ€&tra de;t generated. The white kitsune had g rabbed her arm on
instinct when she ;began to rise into the air unexpectedly ;and the other inuyokai
had taken hold&n bsp;of fox. One held each of her l egs and her tail as she struggled to&nbs p;
maintain her grip on the screaming win d sorceress.
Soranoko’s&n bsp;free hand was wrapped around the Jewel&nb sp;of the Wind.
Inuyokai he ld their comrades and clung to the tree& nbsp;as they struggled to keep
Soranoko away from the pillar of light. The ;sound of splintering wood sent them all ;
howling in fear. If the tree gave , it would be all over.
***** *
Kaiyoshinju trapped within a sph ere of water that had formed around her& nbsp;when the
pillar of light appeared a nd now she was being carried to it. ; Fearing what it meant,
she released&nb sp;all her demon energy and drove her st aff into the ground. Her
momentum came to a halt but the pull was unb earably strong.
Noriko stared in h orror at the sight. Being a celestial,& nbsp;she had blocked the
lightning easily,&nb sp;now she found herself facing something out of nightmare. Her
mind tried to&n bsp;find a reason for it but nothing it& nbsp;came up with was anything she
wante d to happen. Putting aside her personal feelings, she wrapped herself around
a& nbsp;tree then sent her energy whip into ;the water sphere and entwined Kaiyoshinju. & nbsp;
The dragon felt the tug but was&nbs p;too focused on not moving to give it&n bsp;any attention.
*****
Yam ibi gaped in shock at the sight as she too realized what must have been
happening. The ground began to shake and the trees, which had held so strongl y
against the flood, now uprooted themse lves. The earth was breaking before the
might of the Jewel of Life. The pieces were still separate but the t entative
connection was starting to give ;it back its original, terrifying power.
If they reunite the whole world&n bsp;will shatter, thought Yamibi. She looked up and
saw the fire demon. A t first, she was startled by his ancient appearance then she
recognized the dang er he was in.
No! This cannot happen! This must not be! No revenge is worth the world. It
would be the absolute end.
Sh e launched herself into the air as the&n bsp;big maple gave out and tumbled forward,&n bsp;
charging Xeno. She collided with hi s chest and pushed as hard as her w ings could
give.
They must no t reunite!
*******
Kuromakaz e had seen the frenzied lightning and or dered those in the castle
indoors. ;He had launched a retreat signal for th ose in the field but few responded
before he had to go inside, seconds befo re the lightning had crashed down. He&n bsp;
emerged to see the pillar of light&n bsp;in the field.
â€& oelig;What is that?†he wondered then& nbsp;he heard screaming and ran to the e dge of the
ramparts. In the bright light who could see the field as c learly as if it were day. He
saw several inuyokai struggling to hold onto& nbsp;their oak tree while hanging onto their& nbsp;
wind sorceress, who looked as if sh e were being pulled away by an invisible force.
He looked the other way&nb sp;and saw Noriko holding fast to a tree while clenching her
demon rope, which&n bsp;was wrapped around the waist of Kaiyoshin ju. The dragoness
was within a bub ble of water and was leaning hard agains t her own staff. Both
were trying& nbsp;to keep from moving forward. He tu rned to look at the light and saw < br> Yamibi struggling to push the old fire&nb sp;demon away from the pillar.
Trees fell around the pillar and he co uld see layers of earth rising and foldi ng back
like a flower in bloom. &nb sp;Sweat beaded on his forehead as a ter rible answer emerged.
Then he heard&nbs p;howling from the northeast side of the ;castle and ran over to see the
com motion. The ground rose in a straight&n bsp;path leading passed the castle and to&nbs p;the
light. On it was a wolf ;demon, glowing green with power, sliding alo ng on his back
despite his vain eff orts to stop himself. Several other wol ves raced after him
screaming in terror, unable to catch him. Now he was&n bsp;certain.
“No!†;he shouted as realization dawned and from&nb sp;somewhere within he tapped
reserves he&nbs p;never knew he had. His wind came ;to his exhausted call. He whirled
his naginata above his head, summoning a&nbs p;giant cyclone. “This world& nbsp;cannot be
allowed to end!†h e roared and hurled the cyclone at the&n bsp;wolf demon.
___________________________
Author Chat:
A lot of back&nb sp;and forth with this one with the dire ction of the battle. Yes,
Kaiyoshinju&n bsp;is not a team player. She never&nbs p;was and never will be. Thatâ€&t rade;s why she
was brought along. She’s so overwhelming that there&nbs p;isn’t much anyone can do but& nbsp;
ride it out.
If you lot& nbsp;think Kakiboufuu was cold for voicing th at he would let his brother die or
even kill him himself, yes he is co ld. He can be very cold. Remember , ordered a
bunch of people to comm it suicide within the first week of his& nbsp;becoming Taisho. If
he couldnâ&eu ro;™t save his brother he would kill&nb sp;him to save him from suffering, though&nbs p;he
would regret the need forever after .
The Prophet’s Eye continues to play a role throughout the story but more of its
sinister nature&nb sp;is revealed in later chapters. Kakiboufuu does have a reason to be
fearful.& nbsp;
___________________________________
Chapter 38: Flying the Blue Third
&nb sp;
Disaster is narrowly avoided by the q uick thinking of none other than Kuromakaze.& nbsp;
A truce is called in the afte rmath for no one wants to wait around&nb sp;for the arrival of
the Shiro Tenko&nb sp;and their lord, Kuromaru.
_____________________ _______________________________________________
Translations:&nbs p;
Tsuchi: earth
Hi: fire
Mizu: wate r
Ki: wood
Kane: metal
Kaze: w ind
Himizu: as discordant as fire and&nb sp;water
Hikaze: fire wind
Tenki: weathe r
Enzeru: angel
Hanyou: half-demon
Obi: the sash that is wrapped around a&n bsp;woman’s waist to hold her k imono closed.
Matte: wait!
Shoji: slidin g door.
Engawa: veranda, walkway running ;along the outside of the buildings.
Tem ee: you, derogatory term, very insulting.
Kisama: you, derogatory term, more vulgar t han temee
Ano: uh
Hai: Yes
Ani yome: elder brother’s wife; sister-i n-law
Hime: Princess
Waka: Young lo rd, used for the son of a noble. Otouto: Little brother.
Onii-(__): Big bro ther, general. Honorific added on to en d, determining level of
respect of love. (Can also be used when addressing ;a young man.)
Aniue: Big brother, forma l.
Imouto: Little sister.
Onee-(__): Big sister, general. Honorific added on to end, determining level of
respect of&nb sp;love. (Can also be used when address ing a young woman.)
Aneue: Big sister,&n bsp;formal.
Ojii-(__): Grandfather, general. ;Honorific added on to end, determining level of
respect of love. (Can also&nbs p;be used when addressing an elderly man.)&nb sp;
Obaa-(__): Grandmother, general. Honorific&nbs p;added on to end, determining level of
respect of love. (Can also be used when addressing an elderly woman.)
Oji- (__): Uncle, general. Honorific added on&nbs p;to end, determining level of respect of&nbs p;
love. (Can also be used when add ressing a middle-aged man.)
Oba-(__): Aunt,&n bsp;general. Honorific added on to end, ;determining level of respect of
love. & nbsp;(Can also be used when addressing a ;middle-aged woman.)
Mina wa ookii aho d esu: Everyone’s a big idiot.&n bsp;
Sumimasen: Excuse me.
Oyaji: Father, ;informal masculine.
Otou-(__): Father, general.&n bsp; Honorific added on to end, determining&n bsp;level of respect
or love.
Chichiue:& nbsp;Father, formal.
Ofukuro: Mother, informal&nbs p;masculine.
Okaa-(__): Mother, general. Hon orific added on to end, determining level&nbs p;of respect
or love.
Hahaue: Mother,&nb sp;formal
Otaa-sama: Mother, said by children of court nobles to their mothers.
XX-(blank): Intimate or rude address depending&nbs p;on usage.
XX-kun: Male honorific, frie ndly
XX-chan: Female or young boy honori fic, friendly
XX-san: general honorific, poli te, (Mr. or Ms.)
XX-sama: formal or ;very polite honorific, used for those of&nbs p;superior status or to show
great respe ct. (Lord or Lady)
XX-dono: more formal& nbsp;honorific, more respectful than XX-sama. &nbs p;Derived from tono
= lord.
& nbsp;
these independent forces may change the course of battle in their&nb sp;favor… or it may
cause ;the greatest catastrophe of all time!
& nbsp;
145 years before the search for the jewel shards
Chapter 37: The&n bsp;Power to Break the World
While Naomi struggled ;to free me from my bindings, my brother fought to save us
both. No o ne could have predicted the arrival of K enji and his pack to the battle. < br> Nor could we have predicted the consequen ce of having all five Jewels of Life&nbs p;used
simultaneously in the same area. It was not a lesson we would dare& nbsp;forget.
-Sesshomaru
Kuromakaze sep arated from Kakiboufuu, retreating several yards&n bsp;as he tried to
analyze the shifting& nbsp;battlefield, a rare moment of dumbfounded&nbs p;shock. The pair of
hanyou were b reathing hard, both unable to gain advantage& nbsp;over the other. Both
learning more about each other’s strengths a nd weakness during that exchange
than th ey had in the many years prior.
He summoned water and fire to c reate a battlefield of absolute chaos, he&nbs p;thought in
horror and fury. He c ame here with this already planned. Whe n did he realize my
one weakness? & nbsp;When could have learned of such a t hing? He thought hard about
their two encounters in the past; the first tr ap involving Kakiboufuu’s wife and&n bsp;the
later fight in the Inu no T aisho’s tomb. Did he really&nb sp;figure it out just from those
exchang es? Did he really analyze those battles and realize the reasons for my
fai lures? He glared at his cousin even&nbs p;as respect rose within him. Inuyasha, ;you
are indeed a power to be feare d.
He growled as he twirled&n bsp;his naginata. Kakiboufuu was a natural&n bsp;as a warrior; able
to adapt in the middle of the fight, reading his opp onent with no conscious
awareness. This was something Kuromakaze could not claim.&nb sp; Constant repetitions
of combinations and& nbsp;training with other warriors had allowed ;him to learn reaction
based defenses an d quick counter-attacks but the ability to&nb sp;adapt was not his. It
was his&n bsp;most vulnerable point in actual combat. & nbsp;That was why his weapon was the
long naginata. It forced others back so he could think of his next move. ;
Kakiboufuu’s only weakness wa s the short range of his physical weapon s.
Kuromakaze’s naginata force d the other to remain out of his zo ne while still
keeping him within lethal range. However, longer weapons were sl ower to recover
from a strike and K akiboufuu knew it.
They bot h were aware and employed the virtue of& nbsp;patience in battle. Kuromakaze
because& nbsp;he needed the slower paced fight to ;think his way through it. However,
Kakiboufuu exhibited the true lethal potential&n bsp;of this virtue by maintaining his
de fense and baiting Kuromakaze into striking wh ile waiting for the opportunity to
duck& nbsp;under the other’s guard. Kuromakaze understood the strategy and tried to
compensate for it by launching long-r ange weapons attacks. He summoned his < br> wind scythes to force Kakiboufuu to retre at and give Kuromakaze time to recoup. & nbsp;
Kakiboufuu hadn’t f orgotten about Kuromakaze’s flying b lades and revealed his
new defense. &nbs p;Ropes of blue plasma sprang from his b ody and struck all the blades,
reducing& nbsp;them to white molten slag. Once su perheated, Kuromakaze lost control
over the&n bsp;metal and they dropped to the earth below. The ropes, however, collapsed
qu ickly and Kakiboufuu struggled to control his breathing but failed to hide it
co mpletely; informing Kuromakaze that his cousin&nbs p;couldn’t maintain them for long.&n bsp;
Which also explained why Kakiboufuu ;wasn’t attacking with it. Sho rt-term power
attacks, when they failed, ;could leave the caster more vulnerable than& nbsp;before.
Kakiboufuu wouldn’t&nb sp;gamble that the ropes could reach the ;agile Kuromakaze.
The two hanyou& nbsp;were both wind users and able to ho ld themselves aloft without
flapping their&nb sp;wings. Kakiboufuu’s were real&nb sp;despite the wreath of flame but they
weren’t required like Sesshomaru&aci rc;€™s to maintain an aerial battle&nbs p;without utilizing
large amounts of youki.&n bsp; Kuromakaze’s were strictly cere monial. In a prolonged
battle, if both exhausted their wind jutsu, Kakiboufuu c ould still maintain altitude;
Kuromakaze woul d drop like a rock.
Kuromakaze&nbs p;had come to the conclusion the battle would go better on the ground
for h im. It would eliminate the limiting aff ect of the wind jutsu on their battle&nb sp;
while giving him cover he could use&n bsp;to sneak in fatal strikes. However, ;the troops
on the ground had made the Taisho already leery of dropping to down to the earth.
Kuromakazeâ€&t rade;s earlier attempts had been blocked.
Now as the sky filled with fireb irds and the icy rain fell, Kuromakaze r ealized how
badly he had underestimated his enemy. Kakiboufuu moved in again to test his
defense. Kuromakaze growled.& nbsp;
******
Naomi pulled her father’s arm over her shoulder s and wrapped her arm around his
wa ist. She then half carried him toward&n bsp;the door, Sesshomaru struggling to shuffle&nbs p;
his feet forward so he didnâ€&tr ade;t become dead weight for his daughter.&nb sp; The cell
continued to rattle with&nb sp;dust falling from cracks in the ceiling.&n bsp; She placed her hand
on the cel l’s door and paused.
Water flowed from underneath the door and&nb sp;passed their feet. The room trembled ;
again but this time no dust fell. Instead, water drops fell and splashed onto the
floor and her head. She&n bsp;glanced around and saw streams of water&n bsp;beginning to
push through the cracks.&nbs p; A stone in the ceiling fell and hit the floor with a splash
and&nbs p;a crack. Water fell like a small ;waterfall from the vacated spot and more&nbs p;tiny
streams forced their way passed c eiling stones.
She pushed on the&n bsp;door and it didn’t budge. & nbsp;Grimacing, she could not put more
f orce in the shove without dropping her f ather, she placed her hand on the door&n bsp;and
sent a small pulse of power ;through it. The metal door crumpled an d fell inward.
Naomi and Sesshomaru&nbs p;toppled backward as they avoided the fallin g slab of iron
and the older demon& nbsp;cry out when the metal barbs in his spine struck the floor. At
the&nb sp;same time, knee-high water washed into the room, drenching them.
Naomi climb ed to her feet and pulled her father&nbs p;up on to her back; the blow to hi s
spine had cost him what little mo bility he had. The water was now m id-thigh and
she could see to the o ther end of the hall where the water&nbs p;was cascading down the
stairs.
I can create a space around u s to keep the water away as we move , but the amount
of energy used cre ates a powerful aura. If an enemy detects it within the castle…, ;
she thought, her violet eyes narrowing. ; The water climbed to her waist and&nbs p;she
growled. No choice. I can&n bsp;breathe underwater but Chichiue canâ€&tr ade;t.
She concentrated and summoned&nb sp;a sphere around herself and Sesshomaru, pu shing
the water away from them. Sh e then hurried forward, feeling the pressure& nbsp;of the
current as she climbed the&n bsp;stairs. She hoped the flooding would&nbs p;at least drive the
guards on the upper levels away. It flowed around and over them, blinding her
view of th e stairs above.
*******
Kenji gazed up at the storming s ky. The trees around him bent and waved in the
gale winds as lightning&nbs p;crawled across the bottom of the low c louds. Tsubame came
up behind him& nbsp;and asked, “Should we stop ;until it lets up? I can’ t detect anyone in
this weather.â€
“This storm came ou t of nowhere,†complained one of the others. “It was clear ;a few
hours ago and now we have&nb sp;a full typhoon on our hands.â€
“Typhoon?†repeated&nbs p;Kenji still staring at the storm and w ondering why it seemed
familiar. Cold&n bsp;water struck his ankles and he glanced&nb sp;down as the others yelled in
surprise . “What the…?⠀ He looked forward and, in the&nb sp;sudden flash of lightning
saw the che st high wall of water heading toward the m.
“Whoa! Everyone into the trees!†he shouted and j umped into the branches of the
large&nbs p;oaks. The rest followed him before th ey understood why and narrowly
avoided b eing washed away by the sudden torrent.
“There’s no ;river nearby,†said Tsubame. â €œWhere did this flash flood come from?â€
“Kenji! &nb sp;Your earring!†cried a wolf.
& nbsp;
“Eh?†Kenji pulled his earring off and looked at it. The emerald held a faint glow,
but in the darkness between strikes, it was brilliant. “An on-land typhoo n and
river-less flash flood, I think&nb sp;Kaiyoshinju is up ahead and sheâ€&tr ade;s not holding back.â€
&a circ;€œMaybe we should head back,â&eur o; suggested another demon scout. â&eu ro;œWe shouldn’t get in
t he middle of a fight involving that sea& nbsp;dragon.â€
“Castle&n bsp;Arai is not far ahead,†said Kenji as he replaced his earring. &acir c;€œIf she’s
fighting she ’s there. I think we need to learn why before we head back t o
Kuromaru. No one’s seen her since before the start of the war. So why would she
attack Castl e Arai?†And why is the Jew el of the Land glowing? he wondered.
******
Kuromakaze noticed the flood Kaiyoshinju had released and was&nb sp;continuing to fuel
with a reverse wat er cyclone that drew water from the stor m above. The rain had
once again&n bsp;stopped as the water was funneled to ;the ground, but not before taking
down& nbsp;the human fighters with its chill. ;His demon warriors, save for Norikoâ€& trade;s
inuyokai, weren’t capable&nb sp;of handling the stronger and more skilled& nbsp;demons of
Kakiboufuu’s clan.&nb sp;
“Are you sure you ;want to allow that female to keep flood ing the area?â€
Kuromakaze said, t rying to distract his opponent. â&euro ;œThe dungeon is beneath the
castle&nbs p;and all this water had probably begun to fill his cell. He will drown if you do
not force her to withdraw&n bsp;it. It would render your entire ope ration meaningless.â€
Kakiboufuu drove hard and Kuromakaze barely raised his&n bsp;naginata between them.
Kakiboufuu caught the haft on the backs of his arms& nbsp;but his face came within
inches of& nbsp;his cousin’s. Kuromakaze was&n bsp;shocked by the ice he saw in Kakibou fuu’s
eyes. His gaze was& nbsp;so frigid the gold had faded to a&n bsp;pale yellow, almost as white as
the& nbsp;rest of the eye.
â€&oel ig;The point of this operation is to fre e Aniue,†said Kakiboufuu in a wh isper. The
tone sent shivers up Ku romakaze’s spine. His voice so mehow dropped even lower.
â€&oeli g;There are many ways to free a person.& acirc;€
Kuromakaze was stunned. &n bsp;He had not anticipated that response; had not
anticipated the cold now exuding&nb sp;from the other. So shocked by his&nb sp;cousin’s words
he almost did n’t react to Kakiboufuuâ€&trad e;s point-blank Kaze no Kizu. His panic created
a funnel that blew Kakiboufuu&n bsp;and nearly all the aerial combatants to&n bsp;the ground
but it drained him of&nbs p;all his wind jutsu forcing him to drop to the ramparts below.
&acir c;€œCommander!†shouted the nearby&nb sp;archers.
“Continue the ;fight!†he barked in irritation.
The men flinched back then cried, ;“Hai!†They returned t o their posts on the wall
with arro ws notched. The men on the ramparts&nbs p;had endured better, able to take
shelt er once the rain had started to fall.&nb sp;
Kuromakaze rose to his feet and turned to look over the ramparts to&nbs p;where the
entire battlefield had been plunged. His chest heaving, he thought, ;How terrifying
to be facing an opponent who actually understands the limits of sentimentally.
*****
Yamibi surfaced gasping and grabbed hold of a tree ;before she could be swept away
by the current. Pulling herself free of th e flood, she sought out her enemy. ;The cold
water, however, had cooled her head. Once she confirmed he hadnâ ;€™t landed nearby
she then turned her attention on the rest.
Revenge for her clan would always be her main objective but the fire demon was
just a small fish. He ma y have said he had suggested the massacr e but, even if it
was true, it ;was still just a suggestion. The Inu&n bsp;no Taisho was the leader. He had&nb sp;
made the decision to end her bloodlin e. She needed to return the favor. ; She cast
her gaze about for the&n bsp;other Reihane, the hanyou Taisho.
********
Demons pulled thems elves from the water, both sides calling ;a temporary halt to
the fighting as&nbs p;they struggled to catch their breath and&nb sp;assess injuries. The wind
blast ;had scattered everyone, the inuyokai teams h ad been separated and things
were about& nbsp;to get worse for the Taishoâ€&trad e;s troops.
The hitenko, kanetenko ;and tsuchitenko that weren’t washed away during the
initial wave of wa ter were also in the trees. Some t suchitenko had attempted to
raise plateaus&nb sp;to stand upon when the water struck b ut the flood had greedily
devoured their little islands. With no sign of a let up, the giant trees were the o nly
sure footing in the entire area.&nbs p; The hitenko were able to ward off&nbs p;hypothermia for
themselves and their neighb oring kanetenko and tsuchitenko with their fi re jutsu.
With their footin g depending on the trees and the depth&n bsp;and strength of their roots
grip on& nbsp;the earth below, both the tsuchitenko an d hitenko would be limited in their
attacks. Tenko, though, never relied solely on their powers. The tsuchitenko
carried chains ending in spiked clamps that&n bsp;held rocks. The hitenko would rely
heavily on their handheld weapons. The& nbsp;kanetenko, with their metal jutsu, were
not so limited.
The mi zutenko were completely in their element. &nb sp;Able to repel and shed the cold
water, hypothermia had failed to catch them,& nbsp;and their numbers had not been
depl eted by the flood. Able to skate a cross the water footholds were not necessary& nbsp;
and thus they had free reign with&n bsp;their water jutsu. As long as they& nbsp;minded where
their comrades were.
& nbsp;
Saben snarled an oath as he saw&nbs p;several of the mizutenko shooting among the trees
toward him. He raised his&n bsp;sword and shifted his feet on the br anch on to have the
weapon yanked f rom his hands. He looked back and saw a black Tenko on another
tree s everal yards away. Damn it! The s word flew back at him and he dove i nto the
water to avoid being beheaded&nb sp;by his own blade.
When he& nbsp;tried to surface a wave summoned by ;the mizutenko forced him back
under. &n bsp;Saben swam with the current and once ;again scrambled to rise only to be
force under again before he could take in more than a small gasp of air. & nbsp;He grabbed
hold of a tree and a sharp current cut across to drive him& nbsp;off it. I’m going to ;drown!
he thought in panic as white&nbs p;spots began to dance before his eyes.
A hand gripped his scruff and ;drew him out of the water and onto ;a sycamore. He
coughed and choked ;while clinging to the branch, shivering unco ntrollably. He saw
another wave heading toward him from the corner of his eye and braced himself. It
never l anded. The wall of water exploded into& nbsp;steam and superheated liquid and
blew&nb sp;back toward the Tenko, scalding them. &nbs p;They screamed and retreated.
Saben&nb sp;looked up and realized who his savior ;was. “Taisho!†he crie d.
“Get yourself out ;of the water completely, Saben-kun,†said Kakiboufuu. Dripping
wet, his silv er hair clung to his face and neck as did his red kimono and hakama.
& nbsp;
The scarlet-haired inuyokai dragged himself&n bsp;higher into the tree until he was ab le
to sit on a branch with his ;feet out of the water. “ What happened to your battle
with Kuroma kaze?†he asked, panting.
& acirc;€œRemember I suspected he it wasn ’t easy for him to adapt t o the appearance of
unknown elements,â& euro; said the Taisho. “He&nbs p;apparently can’t handle surprises well,
either.†The hanyou sounde d sheepish as he spoke though, his face& nbsp;remained
passive in the flickering light of the storm.
“He&n bsp;panicked? Isn’t that good?&acir c;€ said Saben.
“I&a circ;€™ll leave that for you to fi gure out. Meanwhile I have to make ;arrangements to
drop the sky,†s aid Kakiboufuu with a grunt. As Saben&n bsp;stared in confusion, the
Taisho wave d his hand and Hotaru flew down and ;landed on his outstretched arm.
â ;€œHow many firebirds do we have l eft?†he asked her.
Hotaru& nbsp;warbled, “Less than twenty perc ent. The rest drowned when the wind&nbs p;
struck.â€
“Will&n bsp;that be enough to protect the clan?â ;€ he asked. Hotaru cocked her hea d to the
side, as if trying to ;figure out the hanyou, then bobbed her head in assent. “Good. < br> Relay the order; they have twenty minutes to figure out where everyone is and&nbs p;to
get to them.†Hotaru f lew off and Kakiboufuu closed his eyes.
Saben watched his lord in bewilder ment, unsure of what he was trying to&nb sp;do. Then
he saw a glow appear&n bsp;at the hanyou’s throat. Th e lightning in the skies above
began&nbs p;to increase its frenzy, though it remained& nbsp;in the clouds and didn’t t ouch the
earth.
*******
;
Intense fighting kept the clan pinned t o the trees. Any attempt to break to the sky
was met with deadly forc e. Soranoko struggled to hold off the&n bsp;attacks of the
grounded Tenko from w here she floated just above the waves. & nbsp;Yukibi knocked away
shuriken after shuri ken as the kanetenko persisted in their attacks. In the oaks
near them wer e several of their comrades, many injured&nbs p;already from trying to
regain the sky. The ones that could still fight w ere struggling to hold off the
kanetenko as well.
The wind demon had& nbsp;been pulling many of the clan from the water after everyone
was driven to&n bsp;the ground. Getting everyone together in creased their chances of
survival, but w ith the enemy controlling the water and others waiting in the trees
escape was&n bsp;impossible.
“We are&n bsp;in quite a fix aren’t we,&n bsp;Wind Guardian,†said Yukibi, breathless . “We need
the flood ;to end to reduce the effectiveness of t he mizutenko. However, once it does
the tsuchitenko and hitenko will be able&nb sp;to attack us without reserve. We wil l be
done in within seconds.â€&nbs p;
“I didn’t ;need to hear that, you know,†sa id Soranoko as she waved her fan and&nbs p;blew
away another water attack. She&n bsp;knew things were bad. She just coul dn’t believe
how fast the tables had turned. The Taisho’ s strategy had been working, we were
winning and now we can’t even retreat, she thought.
She f elt a weight land on her shoulder and&nb sp;she turned her head, preparing to strike.
The wind sorceress was surprised to&nbs p;see a blue firebird. It raised its&nb sp;wings to
balance at her sudden moveme nts but didn’t fly away. Yukibi had a red one on her
and,&nb sp;as Soranoko looked to the trees where ;the inuyokai were sheltering, saw each
had gained a phoenix themselves.
& acirc;€œWhy do I have a bad feelin g about this?†said Soranoko with ;a weak smile. Yukibi
didnâ€&trad e;t look anymore assured when they noticed&nb sp;the display in the sky.
â €œLet’s get to the trees, †said Yukibi as she stared at&nb sp;the crazed lightning. “I do n’t
want to be dumped back into the water if you lose your co ncentration on this
feather.†A& nbsp;vein pulsed in Soranoko’s foreh ead but she said nothing as she complied
with Yukibi’s request.
&n bsp;
******
“Oi, oi, oi, that’s scary,†said Kenji from the treetop. The others wari ly watched the
dancing bolts as well.&nb sp;
“Are we really go ing to continue forward?†asked Tsubam e, her tone one of disbelief.
The wolf demon stared at the heavens an d felt a strange tugging sensation from the
emerald on his ear. It had&nbs p;been getting brighter the closer they got&n bsp;to the castle.
He had two conf licting feelings smoldering within him, both growing stronger just
as the jewelâ&eur o;™s light was. The urge to get&n bsp;to the castle and the urge to turn&n bsp;around
and leave. He was certain&nb sp;his instincts were trying to warn him ;of something, but
with the two opposing sensations he wasn’t sure what .
“I think weâ&euro ;™ll sit tight here and see how th is plays out,†he said.
*******
Toromaru stood on top of his make shift levee staring down at&nb sp;the river below. He
looked back ;at the gathering of people behind him. The villages and farms below
had v anished beneath the muddy waters of the torrent. There had been little
warning& nbsp;before the wall of water had come c rashing into the valley. The thin
skeleton crew of samurai, spiritualists, demons&nb sp;and Tenko left behind to guard the civilians had been struggling for hours to pull the farmers and animals from the&n bsp;
flood.
He had ordered the ;signals towers to be lit to try to ;warn communities further
downstream while he and other tsuchitenko raised the earth to hold back the river
as it contin ued to rise. Even as he stood atop , he could see the hungry river eating&n bsp;
away at the sides. Their castle&nbs p;had been on higher ground but the rive r was
threatening its lowest levels now. If the tsuchitenko could not maintain& nbsp;the levee
that now surrounded the c astle, the entire building would drown along& nbsp;with the
people they had just rescu ed.
“Toromaru-dono,â€&nb sp;cried one of the men. â€&oelig ;Look!â€
Toromaru turned tow ard the southwest and gasped. The entir e horizon was lit with
the rapid fl ashes of what could only be distant ligh tning. It revealed massive,
towering th underheads that blocked out that quarter of&n bsp;the sky. Toromaru glanced
back at&n bsp;the river.
“That must be the source of the flood but whe re did that storm come from?†sai d
Toromaru as he stared. He turned to the others. “Did anyo ne see clouds this
afternoon?†&n bsp;Everyone shook their heads.
A tenkitenko, one that controlled both water an d wind thus was given the
description&nb sp;“weatherâ€, stepped forward ;and said, “As you know, I ;check for weather
that may threaten cam paigns and villages alike. I detected n othing the day before
the campaign was&n bsp;to begin, I detected nothing earlier toda y to suggest such a
massive storm e ither. That is no natural storm. It formed after dark and is too big ;
to have formed in mere hours.â€&n bsp;
“Maybe it is the ;lord and Kuromakaze clashing,†suggested&n bsp;one of the men.
â€&oelig ;It’s too soon,†said To romaru as he stared at the horizon. &nbs p;“They shouldn’t be < br> anywhere near Castle Arai at this time.&a circ;€ The levee shuddered beneath him& nbsp;and he
and the other tsuchitenko we nt back to work shoring up its sides.&nb sp; Their castle had
to remain above&nbs p;water. There was nowhere left for any one to run.
******
Xeno pulled himself higher into the trees. & nbsp;When he had been blown back, he had
realized that Scheherazade couldnâ€&tr ade;t stop their fall, the wind had been too strong.
He had then taken&nbs p;hold of her and threw her above him,&n bsp;filling her wings with his
flames&nb sp;so that she would rise higher still. He had seen her escape the blast w ind
before he had plunged into the water.
He lost his scimitars in&nb sp;the fall and his cloak and headdress in the water. He stood
on the ;branch of a fir and gasped. His h air was pure white with age and his ;
wrinkles etched deep lines through his tan face. “Oh Allah, Iâ& euro;™m getting too old for
this,â ;€ he muttered in his native tongue.&nbs p; He looked around but he couldnâ&euro ;™t find his
opponent. He grimace d.
It’s too much to& nbsp;hope for that she was carried away by the current, he thought. He
wat ched the water churn as it continued on& nbsp;its way. He had been carried far&n bsp;by the
flood; while he could swim,&n bsp;he wasn’t the best. It&nbs p;had taken him considerable
amount of t ime to get close enough to a tree w ith a strong low branch to catch hold&nb sp;
of. He ached and he knew he&nbs p;would ache worse tomorrow. He was sor ely tempted
to just sit there on hi s tree and wait for the battle to b e over.
If she wasn’ t swept away by the current then she&nbs p;is still in the battle, he thought. &n bsp;If
she doesn’t come after&n bsp;me then she may return her attention ;to Lucifer’s heir. I
can ’t let that troublesome woman s urprise him. He rose to his feet a nd his knees
cracked.
â&euro ;œGrow old or die young, what a ch oice,†he muttered.
A famil iar screech had him turning his head to& nbsp;greet his beloved phoenix.
Scheherazade rubbed her head against his then took&n bsp;hold of her master and carried
him&n bsp;into the air. They needed no words; she knew where they needed to go.
********
Yamibi spotted ;the young Taisho, his eyes closed as he concentrated on some spell.
The r aven-haired female didn’t care what& nbsp;he was doing but his focus meant he was
vulnerable. She grinned and l eapt toward him, power gathering around her&n bsp;fist as
she prepared to smash his&nb sp;head in. She was thrown off when&nbs p;an energy whip
wrapped her hand and&nb sp;swung her away.
She caught hold of a pine and looked for the inter vener. She caught sight of the
sca rlet-haired inuyokai standing on a branch abo ve his lord’s head. His o range eyes
glowed with fury. She g lared back.
“So he w asn’t so foolish as not to ;have a guard about,†she snarled,&nbs p;“but what a
pathetic guard&nb sp;you are. You only managed that becau se I wasn’t expecting you. &nbs p;
You won’t stop again.â€
“I won’t&n bsp;let you near the Taisho, traitor kin,&aci rc;€ said the man. She gaped in&nb sp;shock and
he added, “I heard what Xeno-san said. Of course, th ey were erased. Your whole
clan ch ose to betray the world for personal gai n.â€
Yamibi growled and poin ted her finger at the man. A bolt& nbsp;shot toward him. He
raised his&nbs p;arm in instinctive, if useless, defense. &n bsp;It never reached its target. Hotaru ;
dove between the two, catching and redi recting the lethal bolt to the water whe re it
sizzled for a second.
Yamibi snarled in frustration. Sh e wanted the pleasure of burying her han d into
the Taisho’s flesh. ; His strong resemblance to his father, the demon blood that
carried no other,&n bsp;played into her fantasy of killing the&nb sp;Inu no Taisho and avenging
her clan.& nbsp; She wanted to crush his skull, to& nbsp;devour his heart, to drink his hated&nbs p;
blood and know the Reihane were finish ed.
Once the young Taisho was dead, she wouldn’t need Kuroma kaze or his allies.
She’d go and kill the helpless Sesshomaru and then it would all be over. Now&nb sp;her
fantasy was being ruined. With&n bsp;the Taisho right before her, she couldn&a circ;€™t get close
enough to finis h him in the way she wanted. She&n bsp;would have to satisfy her fantasy
wi th Sesshomaru then. She cast a greater& nbsp;spell with the intention of killing all& nbsp;
three as once and hurled it will&nb sp;all her hate.
*****
Xeno saw what she was attempting as he&n bsp;and Scheherazade approached. The
phoenix beat her wings harder and the fire ;demon called upon the power of the
Jewel of the Inferno he guarded. He&nb sp;would need it if he were to stop ;her attack
from hitting. Lightning sur ged from his fingertips intercepting her atta ck. In that
moment the lightning i n the sky came to earth striking the&nbs p;unprotected Kuro Tenko
and demons.
&nb sp;
Then everything went wrong.
*** ***
Soranoko hit the surrounding t rees with a powerful blast of wind as&nb sp;she expanded
beyond her personal ability&n bsp;to drive the enemy back. She didn&a circ;€™t know why the
firebirds we re clinging to their shoulders but she n eeded to keep the enemy away
from t he injured and it was getting harder to& nbsp;achieve this with small attacks.
< br> At that moment, lightning fell and the&nb sp;field vanished in light. The firebirds,&n bsp;wings
rising, created a barrier that ;warded off the lightning from them and the person
whom they perched upon.
Then a nightmare unfolded before their& nbsp;eyes.
******
Kaiyoshinj u and Noriko were locked in mortal comba t, neither yielding ground and
oblivious ;to the battles around them. With the&n bsp;power of the Jewel of the Sea
a mplifying her own abilities, the sea dragon&n bsp;maintained the storm above and the
w ater cyclone. The sea of water gave&nbs p;Kaiyoshinju limitless resources to attack with&n bsp;
while reducing Noriko’s foothold s. Mizutenko that foolishly tried to as sault her
from behind were dragged down& nbsp;and drowned by the water the thought&nbs p;they
controlled. This was her ocean&n bsp;not theirs.
Lightning rained down&n bsp;obliterating the field. Kaiyoshinju roared&nb sp;at the
interference, unaffected by the&nbs p;lightning only because she was a dragon.&nb sp;
Then her rage turned to& nbsp;horror.
******
Kenji an d his group sat in their tree waiting&nb sp;to see how it all would end. Th anks to
the constant lightning, they rea lized they were closer to the castle tha n they
originally thought and they could see how crazy the battlefield had becom e.
“Kaiyoshinju never doe s anything half-ass, does she?†said&n bsp;Kenji.
“More like dou ble-ass,†muttered one of the other&nb sp;wolves.
The hairs on the back&n bsp;of his neck rose. Unaware of the&nb sp;danger that caused his
instincts to s cream, he summoned the earth below to co ver them in a shielding
dome. Unab le to make contact with the earth, he&nb sp;used the powers of the Jewel of
the Land to summon it from thirty feet&n bsp;below. Everyone yelled in surprise as&nb sp;the
earth blocked out the dancing&nbs p;sky. They were silenced by the scream of thunder
that shook their earthen&nbs p;barrier, the tree they were on and the ir bodies.
“Where would&n bsp;we be without your instincts?†sai d Tsubame when the thunder
passed. ;
“Triple-ass,†sa id another in reference to the earlier c onversation.
“That wasnâ €™t Kaiyoshinju, she doesn’t&n bsp;control… yah!†Kenji&nb sp;cried out as his body
began sliding&n bsp;forward. Earth magic flowed through him& nbsp;and his body glowed green.
&a circ;€œKenji!†cried Tsubame as her mate fell from the tree. She l unged to catch him but
he slipped t hrough her outstretched fingers. The earth&n bsp;rose above the water and
knocked out the side of the dome creating a pa th leading to the castle. The wolf ;
demon landed on it, the air blasted&nbs p;from his lungs upon impact. It rolled
underneath him before he could recover& nbsp;and he was sliding forward.
K enji grabbed his earring without thinking and tried to dig his heels in but it&n bsp;had
ceased heeding his commands and he continued sliding forward. The lightning& nbsp;
outside had ceased but the scenery was being lit by another more sinister l ight. A
white pillar reached to th e heavens and he was being dragged towar d it.
“What the&nbs p;hell is going on?†he yelled in terror. His pack ran to catch the ir leader.
******
Kakiboufuu felt the lightning strike then p ain unlike any he had felt before pierce d
him. He feared for a moment ;he had been struck by his own lightning , only to
realize it was coming fro m the Jewel of the Heavens around his&nb sp;neck. He screamed
an unearthly screa m as the jewel’s power filled&n bsp;him beyond what he could handle.
Saben stared as the Taisho howled&nbs p;then vanished within a brilliant white ligh t so
intense it blinded him. He&nb sp;felt Hotaru take hold of his kimono a nd pull him back.
He fell from&nbs p;the tree into the water and blindly so ught another branch. Hotaru
screeched a nd he followed her voice, finding a trun k and clawing his way up it. He&nb sp;
looked over again and gasped at the&n bsp;sight of a white pillar ascending to ;heaven.
He heard another screech and looked up. Scheherazade struggled to&nbs p;keep what had
to be Xeno from bei ng pulled into the light. Her great&nbs p;wings flapped in desperation
as Xeno c lenched his chest, his whole body wreathed&nb sp;in flames. His violet eyes wide
in terror.
He looked away and&nbs p;noticed the water level was dropping rapidl y. He glanced at
the place where&n bsp;the cyclone had been and found it mi ssing. “Why is only Xeno being
affected by that pillar?†h e wondered aloud.
“It&nbs p;isn’t just Xeno!†screeched Hotaru. Saben glanced at her. He r crest was raised
with green feathers&n bsp;exposed this time, alarm. â€&oelig ;The Jewel of Life is trying to
reu nite.â€
“Impossible!&nbs p; It can’t! It will dest roy the world,†cried Saben, recalling the legend of
the all powerful jew el.
*****
Yukibi dug he r claws into Soranoko’s wrist. Soranoko was in the air, being carried& nbsp;
away by a wind she hadnâ€&tra de;t generated. The white kitsune had g rabbed her arm on
instinct when she ;began to rise into the air unexpectedly ;and the other inuyokai
had taken hold&n bsp;of fox. One held each of her l egs and her tail as she struggled to&nbs p;
maintain her grip on the screaming win d sorceress.
Soranoko’s&n bsp;free hand was wrapped around the Jewel&nb sp;of the Wind.
Inuyokai he ld their comrades and clung to the tree& nbsp;as they struggled to keep
Soranoko away from the pillar of light. The ;sound of splintering wood sent them all ;
howling in fear. If the tree gave , it would be all over.
***** *
Kaiyoshinju trapped within a sph ere of water that had formed around her& nbsp;when the
pillar of light appeared a nd now she was being carried to it. ; Fearing what it meant,
she released&nb sp;all her demon energy and drove her st aff into the ground. Her
momentum came to a halt but the pull was unb earably strong.
Noriko stared in h orror at the sight. Being a celestial,& nbsp;she had blocked the
lightning easily,&nb sp;now she found herself facing something out of nightmare. Her
mind tried to&n bsp;find a reason for it but nothing it& nbsp;came up with was anything she
wante d to happen. Putting aside her personal feelings, she wrapped herself around
a& nbsp;tree then sent her energy whip into ;the water sphere and entwined Kaiyoshinju. & nbsp;
The dragon felt the tug but was&nbs p;too focused on not moving to give it&n bsp;any attention.
*****
Yam ibi gaped in shock at the sight as she too realized what must have been
happening. The ground began to shake and the trees, which had held so strongl y
against the flood, now uprooted themse lves. The earth was breaking before the
might of the Jewel of Life. The pieces were still separate but the t entative
connection was starting to give ;it back its original, terrifying power.
If they reunite the whole world&n bsp;will shatter, thought Yamibi. She looked up and
saw the fire demon. A t first, she was startled by his ancient appearance then she
recognized the dang er he was in.
No! This cannot happen! This must not be! No revenge is worth the world. It
would be the absolute end.
Sh e launched herself into the air as the&n bsp;big maple gave out and tumbled forward,&n bsp;
charging Xeno. She collided with hi s chest and pushed as hard as her w ings could
give.
They must no t reunite!
*******
Kuromakaz e had seen the frenzied lightning and or dered those in the castle
indoors. ;He had launched a retreat signal for th ose in the field but few responded
before he had to go inside, seconds befo re the lightning had crashed down. He&n bsp;
emerged to see the pillar of light&n bsp;in the field.
â€& oelig;What is that?†he wondered then& nbsp;he heard screaming and ran to the e dge of the
ramparts. In the bright light who could see the field as c learly as if it were day. He
saw several inuyokai struggling to hold onto& nbsp;their oak tree while hanging onto their& nbsp;
wind sorceress, who looked as if sh e were being pulled away by an invisible force.
He looked the other way&nb sp;and saw Noriko holding fast to a tree while clenching her
demon rope, which&n bsp;was wrapped around the waist of Kaiyoshin ju. The dragoness
was within a bub ble of water and was leaning hard agains t her own staff. Both
were trying& nbsp;to keep from moving forward. He tu rned to look at the light and saw < br> Yamibi struggling to push the old fire&nb sp;demon away from the pillar.
Trees fell around the pillar and he co uld see layers of earth rising and foldi ng back
like a flower in bloom. &nb sp;Sweat beaded on his forehead as a ter rible answer emerged.
Then he heard&nbs p;howling from the northeast side of the ;castle and ran over to see the
com motion. The ground rose in a straight&n bsp;path leading passed the castle and to&nbs p;the
light. On it was a wolf ;demon, glowing green with power, sliding alo ng on his back
despite his vain eff orts to stop himself. Several other wol ves raced after him
screaming in terror, unable to catch him. Now he was&n bsp;certain.
“No!†;he shouted as realization dawned and from&nb sp;somewhere within he tapped
reserves he&nbs p;never knew he had. His wind came ;to his exhausted call. He whirled
his naginata above his head, summoning a&nbs p;giant cyclone. “This world& nbsp;cannot be
allowed to end!†h e roared and hurled the cyclone at the&n bsp;wolf demon.
___________________________
Author Chat:
A lot of back&nb sp;and forth with this one with the dire ction of the battle. Yes,
Kaiyoshinju&n bsp;is not a team player. She never&nbs p;was and never will be. Thatâ€&t rade;s why she
was brought along. She’s so overwhelming that there&nbs p;isn’t much anyone can do but& nbsp;
ride it out.
If you lot& nbsp;think Kakiboufuu was cold for voicing th at he would let his brother die or
even kill him himself, yes he is co ld. He can be very cold. Remember , ordered a
bunch of people to comm it suicide within the first week of his& nbsp;becoming Taisho. If
he couldnâ&eu ro;™t save his brother he would kill&nb sp;him to save him from suffering, though&nbs p;he
would regret the need forever after .
The Prophet’s Eye continues to play a role throughout the story but more of its
sinister nature&nb sp;is revealed in later chapters. Kakiboufuu does have a reason to be
fearful.& nbsp;
___________________________________
Chapter 38: Flying the Blue Third
&nb sp;
Disaster is narrowly avoided by the q uick thinking of none other than Kuromakaze.& nbsp;
A truce is called in the afte rmath for no one wants to wait around&nb sp;for the arrival of
the Shiro Tenko&nb sp;and their lord, Kuromaru.
_____________________ _______________________________________________
Translations:&nbs p;
Tsuchi: earth
Hi: fire
Mizu: wate r
Ki: wood
Kane: metal
Kaze: w ind
Himizu: as discordant as fire and&nb sp;water
Hikaze: fire wind
Tenki: weathe r
Enzeru: angel
Hanyou: half-demon
Obi: the sash that is wrapped around a&n bsp;woman’s waist to hold her k imono closed.
Matte: wait!
Shoji: slidin g door.
Engawa: veranda, walkway running ;along the outside of the buildings.
Tem ee: you, derogatory term, very insulting.
Kisama: you, derogatory term, more vulgar t han temee
Ano: uh
Hai: Yes
Ani yome: elder brother’s wife; sister-i n-law
Hime: Princess
Waka: Young lo rd, used for the son of a noble. Otouto: Little brother.
Onii-(__): Big bro ther, general. Honorific added on to en d, determining level of
respect of love. (Can also be used when addressing ;a young man.)
Aniue: Big brother, forma l.
Imouto: Little sister.
Onee-(__): Big sister, general. Honorific added on to end, determining level of
respect of&nb sp;love. (Can also be used when address ing a young woman.)
Aneue: Big sister,&n bsp;formal.
Ojii-(__): Grandfather, general. ;Honorific added on to end, determining level of
respect of love. (Can also&nbs p;be used when addressing an elderly man.)&nb sp;
Obaa-(__): Grandmother, general. Honorific&nbs p;added on to end, determining level of
respect of love. (Can also be used when addressing an elderly woman.)
Oji- (__): Uncle, general. Honorific added on&nbs p;to end, determining level of respect of&nbs p;
love. (Can also be used when add ressing a middle-aged man.)
Oba-(__): Aunt,&n bsp;general. Honorific added on to end, ;determining level of respect of
love. & nbsp;(Can also be used when addressing a ;middle-aged woman.)
Mina wa ookii aho d esu: Everyone’s a big idiot.&n bsp;
Sumimasen: Excuse me.
Oyaji: Father, ;informal masculine.
Otou-(__): Father, general.&n bsp; Honorific added on to end, determining&n bsp;level of respect
or love.
Chichiue:& nbsp;Father, formal.
Ofukuro: Mother, informal&nbs p;masculine.
Okaa-(__): Mother, general. Hon orific added on to end, determining level&nbs p;of respect
or love.
Hahaue: Mother,&nb sp;formal
Otaa-sama: Mother, said by children of court nobles to their mothers.
XX-(blank): Intimate or rude address depending&nbs p;on usage.
XX-kun: Male honorific, frie ndly
XX-chan: Female or young boy honori fic, friendly
XX-san: general honorific, poli te, (Mr. or Ms.)
XX-sama: formal or ;very polite honorific, used for those of&nbs p;superior status or to show
great respe ct. (Lord or Lady)
XX-dono: more formal& nbsp;honorific, more respectful than XX-sama. &nbs p;Derived from tono
= lord.
& nbsp;