InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love Thy Enemy ❯ Chapter 14

Love Thy Enemy

 

Another cameo from one of my OCs here!

 

Chapter 14

 

“How long have we been out here?”

 

“Three minutes more than the last time you asked, four hours and thirty six minutes total.”

 

“I'm losing feeling in my ass, let's just go already!”

 

“Shut up!”

 

Yuka glared at Inuyasha angrily from the darkness of the railroad car, and the hanyou glared right back. She shook her head and turned back to look out at the abandoned train yard, scanning the tracks.

 

“Yuka, four and a half hours, I think we got jipped,” Inuyasha grumbled. “Damn spy again.”

 

“Be patient, the tip off said there would be a miko meeting here tonight,” Yuka said, not turning to him this time. “An item of great value will be changing hands. We are to investigate what this item is and intercept the exchange if needed.”

 

“I remember, shut up,” Inuyasha snapped. Yuka looked, and hunkered back.

 

“There,” she pointed. Inuyasha followed her gaze to see a group of uniformed mikos crossing the yard, five in total. Two of them carried a large black truck between them.

 

“Let's go,” Yuka said, standing up. She moved inside the dark train car and grabbed her katana and armor from the floor. Inuyasha tossed the fire rat cloak over his arms and stuck Tetsusaiga through his belt. The two leapt to the ground and quietly followed the miko through the yard. As they tracked them, the miko entered a derelict train station. Inuyasha made to go towards the door, and Yuka clamped a claw down on his shoulder.

 

“What?” he growled.

 

“For all you know there are ten miko behind that door,” Yuka said. “Never go in the front door when you're trying to be subtle.” With that, the neko leapt up onto a train car nearby, then leapt onto the balcony on the second floor of the station. Inuyasha grunted and followed, landing beside her. Yuka stood up and carefully pushed open the door inside.

 

“Hear that?” she asked, looking at Inuyasha.

 

“No,” he scowled.

 

“Talking,” Yuka explained, going inside. Inuyasha followed her inside into a dark mailroom, the floor and a table covered in dusty old letters. The two slipped out into the hall, where a dim light came from the end.

 

“You're late!”

 

Inuyasha and Yuka froze at the accusation.

 

“My apologies, acquiring transportation discreetly was difficult.”

 

“We do not care for excuses, wench. Did you bring the item as commanded?”

 

Above, Inuyasha and Yuka crept forward to the end of the hall. A balcony overlooked the main floor below. A single lamp on a wooden desk in the middle of the floor cast the dim light seen above. Several lesser youkai crowded around one side of the hall. At their head stood a man in a black and red kimono with long red hair and green eyes. A small badge was pinned on his kimono. On the opposite side of the desk stood five mikos, their leader, not that Inuyasha had a better look, had long white hair and dark blue and black robes.

 

“Of course,” the white-haired miko said. Behind her, the two miko carrying the trunk approached and set the trunk down. The white-haired miko turned and opened it, withdrawing a large mirror. It was over two feet in diameter, perfectly round and flawless. A light blue frame held it in place, ornate swirls and runes carved into it. The handle was large and looked more like the hilt of a sword. The white-haired miko strained to lift it with two hands and placed it on the table.

 

“The sacred mirror, Lord Kagemusha,” she said, stepping back. The red haired youkai called Kagemusha reached out a claw and picked up the large mirror effortlessly with a single hand. He held it up and gazed at it, running a claw along its edge. He brought back his hand, made a fist, and slammed it through the mirror. The miko flinched as shards of the looking glass tinkled down on the ground.

 

“What are you doing!?” she shrieked. Kagemusha's lip curled as he slammed the remains of the mirror of the table.

 

“You ignorant wretch, Tsubaki!” he snarled. “This is not the Yata-no-Kagami!”

 

“Impossible!” Tsubaki protested. “The spiritual powers of that mirror are incredible, it must be the Yata-no-”

 

“You mistake this dime-store looking glass for the sacred mirror? You deserve not the right to utter its true name!” Kagemusha cut off. “Your incompetence knows no bounds, you pathetic miko.”

 

“My incompetence?” Tsubaki said. “It is because of my assistance that the Order was able to recover the first of the three Treasures! Had it not been for my efforts to track its location, you would never had found it?”

 

“She's spying on the mikos for the Order?” Inuyasha whispered above the argument.

 

“It appears so,” Yuka nodded.

 

“Yes, you did assist us in recovering the Yasakani-no-Magatama, true,” Kagemusha said. “But apparently your usefulness is limited. We will have to mobilize our other informants to make up for your error.”

 

“Others?” Tsubaki muttered, Kagemusha picked up the ruins of the mirror and held it up.

 

“But of course, we have many. Did you think we would have a spy in the miko ranks, and not have one in the youkai camp? She's been a bit less willing than you, but she serves us all the same.” Kagemusha turned around to face the youkai behind him. “We're done here, clean up this mess,” he ordered. The youkai grinned and flexed their claws, advancing towards Tsubaki. The white-haired miko took a step back and seized a staff from the back of one of her escorts. Her bodyguards likewise readied their weapons.

 

“What treachery is this, Kagemusha?” Tsubaki demanded.

 

“We've no further use for you,” Kagemusha sneered, turning back to her. “This mirror,” he held up the item, “has sealed your fa-” Kagemusha stopped and cocked his head, peering at one of the shards of the mirror still in the frame. He scowled and whirled his head around to stare up at the balcony. Yuka pulled back behind the doorframe.

 

“What happened?” Inuyasha asked.

 

“I think he saw me,” Yuka replied. Below, Kagemusha dropped the mirror as his hand and lower arm became engulfed in flame.

 

“Pathetic vermin!” he roared, bringing back his hand.

 

“Yup,” Inuyasha nodded, unsheathing Tetsusaiga. Kagemusha flung out his hand and fired a blast of fire at the balcony. Inuyasha leapt off the balcony, swinging Tetsusaiga and cutting through the flames. He landed in front of Kagemusha and charged. The youkai snorted and drew a katana from his waist, catching the Tetsusaiga. Kagemusha turned a crimson eye to Tsubaki as his minions attacked her.

 

“Don't let her escape!” he ordered.

 

“Don't worry, we're gonna want both of you alive,” Inuyasha smirked. Yuka landed behind Inuyasha and stood up. The movement made Kagemusha turn his attention back to his opponent.

 

“And you are, hanyou?”

 

“Inuyasha, brother of the Inu-no-Taisho and more than strong enough to kick your ass.”

 

“How quaint,” Kagemusha cried, bringing up his other hand to blast him with another wave of fire. Inuyasha jumped back and landed beside Yuka several feet away. Kagemusha ran a hand through his hair and flicked out his sword. “I am Kagemusha, lord of flames and ranked seventh within the Order of the Three,” he announced.

 

“Yeah, well I'm gonna rank you seven feet within the ground,” Inuyasha snarled. Kagemusha smiled wickedly and held out a claw. A plume of flame erupted from his feet and circled him. Inuyasha cried out as the wall of flame shot up, blocking his sight.

 

“Kill all of them, including the hanyou and his pet cat!” Kagemusha roared from the flames.

 

“Pet cat?” Yuka shrieked. Several youkai leapt at them, and Inuyasha lashed out Tetsusaiga, cleaving them apart. “Divide and conquer, you handle the youkai, I'll take care of the miko,” Yuka ordered, turning to the women in question. The four miko bodyguards were busy fighting Kagemusha's minions while Tsubaki made her way to the exit of the building.

 

“Right,” Inuyasha agreed. Yuka charged towards the mikos as Inuyasha turned to confront a wave of lesser youkai that burst in from the wall.

 

“You always see this much action in the field these days?” Yuka grunted, swinging as she leapt. Her katana cleaved apart the serpentine youkai in front of her. A miko turned to her as Yuka landed in front of her, but the neko kicked off her shoulders to continue to pursue Tsubaki outside.

 

“Yup, just another day on the job,” he nodded, kicking away the segmented youkai. Inuyasha cut the air with Tetsusaiga and leapt back as a blast of energy exploded at his feet. He looked up to see a miko drawing an arrow along her bow, and jumped towards her. The arrow flashed blue as it fired, and Inuyasha twisted in mid-air to avoid it. The arrow passed by harmlessly, and Inuyasha landed in front of a youkai. It screeched, and Inuyasha rammed his fist down its throat.

 

Outside, Tsubaki pushed open the doors and fled down the dirt and wood steps. Yuka emerged from behind her and leapt, landing in front of the dark miko. Tsubaki halted and held out her staff in defense.

 

“Out of my way youkai, I've no business with you,” she growled.

 

“Too bad I've business with you,” Yuka replied. She ran forward and swung, and Tsubaki lifted her staff to deflect the blow.

 

“Do not make me destroy you,” Tsubaki hissed. “The Order has granted me power beyond your comprehension.”

 

“Looking forward to it,” Yuka said, swinging again. Tsubaki parried and blocked every attack as Yuka forced her back. Yuka swung and grabbed Tsubaki's staff when the miko blocked her strike. Tsubaki cried out as Yuka flipped her weapon, slamming the staff into Tsubaki's head and knocking her to the ground. Tsubaki groaned and sat up, but Yuka stepped on her stomach and held her katana to her throat.

 

“Who is the spy in the youkai camp?” she demanded.

 

“I don't know, I just found out tonight!” Tsubaki replied.

 

“Why has the Order of the Three resurfaced, what do they want?”

 

“I don't know, but even if I did I'd never tell you. The punishment for betraying the Order is far beyond any death you could inflict on me.”

 

“You're lying. You brought them that mirror, they said it was…” Yuka gasped, and her eyes went wide. “Yata-no-Kagami…they're after the three treasures,” she whispered. Tsubaki looked up at her, and put a hand on her stomach. Yuka went flying back as Tsubaki sent a blast of miko power surging through her palm. Yuka yowled as she landed, tingling with purity. Tsubaki climbed to her feet and grabbed her staff, fleeing into the night.

 

- - - - - - - - - -

 

Two mikos cried out as a blast of flame caught them, burning them to a crisp. Inuyasha looked away in disgust, and lifted the Tetsusaiga to cut apart a rat-youkai leaping at him.

 

“Do not fear, hanyou, you shall share their fate!” Inuyasha gasped as Kagemusha appeared in front of him, a fireball in his palm. The blast of fire flung Inuyasha back, and he hit the wall with a loud thud. Kagemusha smirked and summoned another fireball in his palms, flinging both arms forward. Inuyasha lifted the Tetsusaiga as a shield crying out as the flames blasted off the fang.

 

“Silly hanyou,” Kagemusha laughed. “Do you think you can hide from the flames?” Kagemusha turned a hand away and fired another blast. The roof rafters lit up, and Inuyasha looked up as a beam fell towards him. He leapt out of the way, watching the wooden beam crash to the floor. He landed and jumped again to avoid a second burst of fire. “I can keep this up as long as I wish!” Kagemusha called, flames surrounding his arms as he continued to throw fireballs. Inuyasha evaded each of them, then jumped and pushed off the wall, charging towards him through the air. Kagemusha hurled a fireball, and Inuyasha slashed at it.

 

The fireball dispersed, and Kagemusha gasped as Inuyasha landed and dashed towards him, Tetsusaiga over his head. Kagemusha fired a final burst of flame as Inuyasha leapt and cleaved the Tetsusaiga down. The fang ripped through Kagemusha's shoulder, and the youkai howled in agony as his right arm fell to the ground. He stumbled back, gasping for breath as he looked at Inuyasha.

 

“You…” he muttered, glaring.

 

“Spill it. What is the Order?” Inuyasha demanded. Kagemusha smirked and held up his remaining claw.

 

“We are older and more powerful than a hanyou like you could possibly comprehend,” he chuckled darkly. “The cause we serve is greater than simple conquest, greater than anything you fight for. We fight for Lord Magatsuhi, we serve him…” Kagemusha lifted his claw to his throat. “And to die for him, is a great honor!”

 

“No!” Inuyasha cried, running forward. Kagemusha grinned, and whipped his claws across his throat, crumbling to the ground. Inuyasha stopped and looked down at him, grimacing. Kagemusha's chest rose a few more times, and then was still.

 

“Hey,” Yuka called. Inuyasha turned as the neko limped into the building. “Mine got away. Yours?”

 

“Right here, sorta,” Inuyasha jerked his thumb at Kagemusha's corpse. “What about the miko?”

 

“I think I saw one split, the other three are probably lying around somewhere,” Yuka shrugged. “Good work on him. It's not easy to kill a member of the Order. That's two and zero for you now.”

 

“What?” Inuyasha cried, whirling back from Kagemusha. “You know about them?”

 

“I don't think there's a youkai alive that doesn't know about them,” Yuka replied. “Why, didn't Sesshomaru tell you?”

 

“Have you met him?”

 

“Son a bitch,” Yuka muttered. “You fight Muso, you fight Kagemusha and they don't tell you about the Order of the Three?”

 

“Apparently not, wanna clue me in?” Inuyasha asked.

 

“On the way back, I got hit with a miko blast,” Yuka replied. “Let's get back to the truck, we can chat on the trip.”

 

 

It's been due for a while now. Next chapter, the big plot dump to explain exactly who and what, Magatsuhi and the Order are.