InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Battle of Heart and Land ❯ First Battle ( Chapter 9 )

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! :)

-MissKatt

DISCLAIMER: All Inuyasha goodness belongs to the amazing Takahashi-san!

The Battle of Heart and Land

By: MissKatt

Chapter Nine: First Battle

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She glanced at Sesshoumaru who had his eyes narrowed at the servant, but she knew it wasn't directed at her.

“Hurry and bring me Bakusaiga.” He commanded.

“Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama!” Yune bowed and quickly ran down the hall towards her Lord's room. Kagome looked over at Sesshoumaru as he walked out of the dojo. She quickly picked up her pace and followed him as he walked over to the half-wall lining the second story. They stared out at his lands for a moment in silence. Kagome ran her blue eyes all across the land that was visible.

She didn't see anything.

She looked up at the dark lord as he lifted his head ever so slightly, his nose rising into the air as he did. He lowered his head a few moments later, his golden eyes narrowed once again.

“Where are they coming from?” She asked quietly.

“The East,” He replied. Obviously, if there were coming from the Eastern Lands, they would be coming from that way. Was everyone so simple minded?

“I mean, where are they regarding the castle's location.” She replied, pursing her lips together. Did he really think she was that stupid?

“They are directly north of us.” He turned and held out his hand to Yune as she sprinted towards him with her demon speed. It was nothing compared to Inuyasha's or Sesshoumaru's, but it was definitely faster than what Kagome could run. He gripped his weapon and then slid the sheath into his obi before walking down the hall.

“Thank you, Yune-san,” Kagome said quickly to the servant, who bowed in response, before following Sesshoumaru again. “You're just going to go down there like that?”

“Is there something wrong with my apparel?” Sesshoumaru questioned, but didn't turn towards her. He began to walk down the stairs and down to the hall to the left where it opened up into the throne room.

“No, but shouldn't you put your armor on or something?” She asked curiously. She had never seen him engage in battle without his armor. Granted, he didn't wear his armor when he was training her, but that was hardly called a fight, let alone a battle.

“No.” He remarked simply as he continued on his journey through the long entry hall. She huffed when he didn't explain further, so she decided to pry the answer out of him.

“Why not? Isn't this a war? Do you really think you're that invincible?” She questioned, folding her arms over her chest as they walked outside through the iron clad doors. The rain had stopped, but the clouds were still darkening the sky. For the past week the rain and had been on and off.

“I am invincible,” He stated coolly. “In regards to your other questions, yes this is war. However, this is but a small nuisance. Juto is either testing our skill or simply playing with us to show his.”

“Juto?” She repeated. Was that the guy who started all of this? “The Lord of the Eastern Lands?”

“Yes.”

“And you said a small nuisance. Does that mean he didn't send his whole army?” Why would the Lord do that? Sesshoumaru mentioned to `test their skill'; did that mean he didn't know what the inuyoukai were capable of? Or was the neko lord playing with them like Sesshoumaru said?

“Indeed. This is a small troop of perhaps fifty.” He informed her and then walked over to his General of the army.

“Your orders, Sesshoumaru-sama?” The tall inuyoukai spoke in a deep voice. Kagome looked him over: he had short, cropped, gleaming white hair, his bangs hanging on the side of his face. He had brilliantly blue eyes and his left ear was pierced, a white feather hanging from it. Wait, he looked really familiar now that she thought about it.

“Miko-sama, Sesshoumaru-sama,” A familiar voice came. She turned around to see Tekkan walking towards them. He bowed once he was close enough and then smiled at the miko. He handed her a quiver and arrows before turning towards the General. “Miko-sama, this is my twin brother, Taku. He is the General of the Western Land's army.”

“Oh! I thought he looked familiar! Nice to meet you, Taku-san!” She said, smiling at the general before bowing. Taku bowed to her and took her hand before kissing the top of it.

“The pleasure is mine, Miko-sama.” He replied smoothly. She smiled awkwardly at him; that was different. “Your orders, m'lord?” he asked again once he turned towards Sesshoumaru.

“Keh! Don't waste your precious army for these small fries, idiot!” Inuyasha's voice rang as he and Inukimi walked towards the group. Kagome lifted her brow at the pair. Why was he hanging around the Lady of the Western lands lately? She hadn't seen him all week. She wasn't sure if he was avoiding her or if he was truly that busy.

Tekkan and Taku glared identical looks at the hanyou. He continued to insult their lord in front of them. They were growing tired of it. They had to work with him for the past week and it had nearly drawn them mad from not being able to rip him to shreds. Yet, Inukimi had refused to say anything when the hanyou would say anything. How could she allow such disrespect? They did not care that he was Inutaisho's other son. He was nothing compared to their lord.

“As much as I loathe it, I agree with him. We do not need to put our recruits at risk for something that could be handled by this Sesshoumaru.” The Western prince said and then turned his amber eyes on the twins. “Taku, you will accompany me. Tekkan, go back and tell the troops they are not needed for today's battle.” The two bowed and Tekkan took off towards the side of the castle.

“Don't think I'm going to let you have all the fun! I'm goin' too!” Inuyasha replied and cracked his knuckles. Sesshoumaru merely glanced at him.

“If you choose to. Come, we shall meet them before they reach the border.” Sesshoumaru said before disappearing as he ran off with his speed. Taku was then gone as well, following his Lord. Kagome watched as Inuyasha began to start to run.

“SIT!” He went crashing into the ground before he could kick off after the other two youkai. It took him a moment to gather himself up. When he did, he wasn't happy!

“What was that for?!” He screeched, clenching his hands into fists. She rolled her blue eyes at him.

“Don't get so upset! I had to stop you somehow. I'm going too and I need you to take me there. There's no way I can catch up to you guys on my own!” She said, her hands on her hips. He narrowed his eyes at her and crossed his arms over his chest.

“What makes you think you're goin'?” He asked, turning his head to the side.

“Because I want to see what we're up against! I've never been in a war like this before.” She replied lamely. It was true. They had faced swarms of rogue youkai being controlled by Naraku, but these were powerful youkai like Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, and even Kouga. She furrowed her brows when she heard him sigh.

“Kagome, it's too dangerous for you. I don't want you to go and get hurt.” He said softly, still not looking at her.

“I've been training for this, Inuyasha. I want to go.” She said sternly. Ok, so, her training wasn't exactly too much of a success so far, but hey she had made some progress. And if all else failed, she could still use her original powers. Still, she was touched that Inuyasha still cared about her. But, why didn't she feel the familiar sensation of butterflies flying around in her stomach?

Inuyasha turned his head back to her, but before he could get a word out Inukimi spoke up.

“Take her, Inuyasha. She deserves to see what is to come.” She said gently, her hands folding into her sleeves. Kagome looked at her and gave her a thankful smile.

“Fine,” He said with a sigh and bent down. She smiled before climbing onto his back. She looked back at Inukimi and waved.

“We'll be back!” She said happily. Inukimi nodded at her with a small smile before Inuyasha took off.

Kagome put her hands on his shoulders and closed her eyes. Memories flooded past her eyes of when they used to always travel like this. There were just too many to count! Being like this, with him, THAT made the butterflies return to her stomach. She had missed it, oh so much. It made a small jab in heart that they weren't as close any more, but she tried to push it aside; she had bigger things to worry about.

When they arrived at the border of the lands, Sesshoumaru and Taku had already drawn their weapons. They were in a rather large field that was caked in muddy grass. Kagome jumped off of Inuyasha's back and walked with him to stand with the other inuyoukai, her feet squishing against the wet grass. Between them and the fifty soldiers was a line of boulders that were embedded into the ground.

Inuyasha drew his sword as he focused on the lines of nekoyoukai in front of them. Kagome drew an arrow from her quiver and slipped the notch onto the bowstring, ready to pull back and fire.

“Sesshoumaru, Prince of the Western Lands. I see you have yet to inherit your lands properly. Mommy still refusing to give them to her pup? What a shame.” A neko spoke as he stepped out of one of the lines of youkai.

“Is that Juto?” Kagome asked, looking up at Taku with her blue eyes. He shook his head, his feather whipping around his head.

“No, that is Hekai: Juto's commander. He is also Juto's oldest friend and best fighter. We have dealt with him before.” He said, his crystal blue eyes never leaving the brown haired nekoyoukai.

“Indeed, Taku, we have. Also, we have much unfinished business, for one of us is still alive.” Hekai said, examining his fingers. Taku narrowed his eyes at him.

“I have not forgotten. By the end of this war, you will be dead.” The General replied, baring his fangs at the cat.

“We shall see. By the way, where is your little twin? Did he finally die from the exhaustion of trying to walk in your shadow? Tsk, tsk. Such a pity.” He laughed harshly when Taku began to growl. No one insulted his brother!

Kagome looked at him from the corner of her eye.

`Shadow?' She thought herself. `Tekkan is always trying to be his brother's shadow? Why?'

“Taku.” Sesshoumaru spoke coldly and the growling instantly stopped.

“My apologies, Sesshoumaru-sama.” He said and bowed his head to his lord. He couldn't let himself get all riled up; that's what Hekai wanted. He was usually a very calm person, but Hekai always managed to get him all worked up.

“The ever faithful dog, Taku, aren't you?” Hekai laughed and raised his arm to the side. Instantly, all the nekoyoukai hunched forward, all black eyes staring back at the inuyoukai. “Allow me to show you my own ever so faithful pets.”

“Get ready. He's doin' something!” Inuyasha announced, bracing himself. Kagome drew her bowstring back, ready to fire. Sesshoumaru and Taku also took their stances.

“Now, my faithful minions! What do we have in front of us?” Hekai shouted towards his small army.

“INU” They all chanted. Kagome couldn't help the chill that ran down her spine. She scanned the lines of neko and bit the inside of her lip. These poor creatures. She couldn't help but feel sorry for them. They were all mangled beyond belief; body parts in places they shouldn't be and facial features all disarrayed. She wondered how they could even be anatomically alive.

“Correct! Now, show them your power! First line!” Hekai commanded and lowered his arm. The first line took a step forward, still hunched over, and thrust their arms back, their heads snapping back and faces turned up towards the clouded sky. They all opened their mouths, black globs beginning to form and bubble up from them. From the fifteen of them, the black globs began to rise up towards the sky, forming a wave of miasma.

“NOW!” Hekai snapped at his minions. Suddenly a harmonious, horrendous screech rung out through the forest clearing and they snapped their heads down in union. The wave of black water began to fall towards the four.

“Priestess.”

That one word swam into her ear canal and without even thinking, her fingers slipped off her notch. The arrow glowed with her pink purifying aura as it soared towards the dark wave. As it made contact with the miasma, it almost instantly disintegrated.

Kagome blinked. She hadn't even been sure that was what Sesshoumaru wanted her to do, but she felt it was right. She was proud of herself for being able to stop it. See? And Inuyasha didn't want her to go! Ch, yeah right!

“Huh?” Kagome looked up as it began to thunder. She flinched as a rain drop fell on her cheek. The rain had apparently decided to fall again as the battle began. Great.

“Now take this! Kaze no Kizu!” Inuyasha shouted and swung his massive fang-blade. The attack went charging at the crowd. Hekai leapt up into the air to dodge the attack, but it successfully took out a decent fraction of his recruits. The neko general hissed disapprovingly. What had that girl done? What was she? There was no way a simple human could have gotten rid of an attack that large. He would have to tell Juto-sama about it.

“Second and third line, go!” Hekai growled. He was not going to let them be defeated so easily. There was another echoing screech as a few of the creatures slammed their fists into the ground, the others throwing their hands out. The youkai that threw their hands out began to undergo a transformation. Their arms turned into branches, their wood-like arms shooting out towards the four.

Sesshoumaru released an attack from Bakusaiga and destroyed a good portion of the branches coming their way, but the nekos just continued to shoot out more. He narrowed his eyes again, the rain making his bangs cling to his forehead. He swung again, releasing a stronger wave of his green and yellow energy, this time destroying the branches and a few of the youkai it came from.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha released another Wind Scar attack on the branches, splitting them as they came. He swung the Adamant Barrage and sent the attack to the mangled cats, killing a few of them before they could generate more tree stumps.

Kagome released another arrow, it didn't destroy any of the wood, but it did go straight to the creature that had released it, killing it and the one next to him as it got caught up in the blast. At least she thought it was a he. Or was it a she? She couldn't tell by their deformed nature. She nocked another arrow and managed to glance to the side to see a small group of the creatures starting to escape through the forest on the side, heading towards the kingdom.

“Inuyasha! To the right! They're going to the castle!” Kagome shouted through the rain, looking at him.

“I'm on it! No way are they getting past me!” Inuyasha called as he sped off into the forest to stop the group from getting to the castle. Kagome watched him leave with furrowed brows.

`Be safe,' She thought. She hoped he would be okay. She knew he could take them on, but as they were experiencing, they didn't know what the youkai could do.

“Watch out!” She heard, before she was tackled into the muddy puddle. She pushed back the bangs that were clinging to her face and looked up at Taku who was looking over his shoulder. She followed his gaze to the sharp wooden stake that had just shot out from the ground where she had been standing. “Up!” he shouted at her as he grabbed her arm and leapt up, pulling her with him. Another branch had shot out where she had been laying. As soon as he landed he had to jump again for a branch had begun to emerge where he landed.

Kagome looked over at the bent over cats on the other side. They had their fists in the ground and she knew they had to be the ones doing it. She looked over at Sesshoumaru, who was now flying in the air. He had his eyes pinned on the same demons she did. Until they destroyed them, the ground wouldn't be safe for them to be on. However, Taku couldn't fly like his lord could and they were soon falling back down towards the ground.

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“Get back here!” Inuyasha shouted as he ran at the group of trudging cats. He held Tessaiga to the side, getting it ready to swing an attack at the group, destroying them before they reached the castle. They suddenly stopped, causing Inuyasha to slide into a stop.

“Eh?” He asked, blinking. What was going on? He watched them as they formed a circle around them. “I see how it is. Alright! I'll take you all on!”

“You will not be taking anyone on, Inuyasha. We simply want to talk.” His ears twitched the feminine voice that came from in front of him.

“Talk? Who are you? Show yourself!” He demanded and held his sword out in front of him as the nekos parted to the side to let someone through. His eyes widened as he saw the female walk closer to him. Her attire was the same as he had always remembered, her hair was a little disarrayed from the rain, but it was in its usual low ponytail.

“B-but, you died. How?” He stuttered. No, this couldn't be. It was a trick, wasn't it? He stiffened as she wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest.

“Oh, I have missed you, my love.” She whispered.

No, no, no! He wouldn't fall for this trick again!

He inhaled deeply and his amber eyes widened more. But this scent; it didn't lie.

“K-Kikyou…”

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A/N: REVIEW! :) k thanks :P

-MissKatt