InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Time Soul Exodus ❯ Chapter 13: =Third Battle Begins= ( Chapter 13 )

Written by: Zelix

 

VERY IMPORTANT: I apologise for the lack of updates for this one, I made this chapter really long AND I now have a Beta-reader as well: Osuwari00, so it took a little longer because I needed him/her (I didn't ask which one, hehehe…) to run down a check of spelling/grammar errors, so the updates from now on will a take just a tad bit longer than they might usually have because of the quality checking.

 

But, BIG thanks to Osuwari00 for volunteering to be my Beta-reader, big thanks and I hope we will do well with this one together, I really do… though, like I said, this story will be `epic' and with that I mean REALLY long, so I hope you can bear with me to the end, if not, you can Email me and tell me whenever you wish to quit, though I hope you won't.

 

Well, that's that, let's get started!!

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that's related to Inuyasha, I do own Arc though and if someone intends to copy him without my permission I'll F*** you up!

 

 

“Talking”

`Thinking'

[Check the bottom for details]

*Flashback/Switch in Time or place*

=Used when mentioning a technique, attack or something important=

 

 

If this was a TV series:

 

Opening: Chihiro Yonekura - Butterfly kiss

Ending: Hikaru no go - Bokura no boken

 

 

 

 

Time Soul Exodus

 

 

Chapter 13: =Third Battle Begins=

 

 

 

The morning sun was rising, the new dawn was the same as always but today… nobody knew but today, was the day when Arc would know what the sentence `Fight for your life' truly meant, but not until later on today, right now, he was at peace.

 

 

Arc slowly opened his eyes as he began to rouse from his sleep and getting ready to wake up and face the new day. He felt surprisingly warm and comfortable… not to mention he felt like a completely new man. For the first time, he had actually enjoyed and felt comfortable in his sleep, he had dreamed, a beautiful and wonderful dream.

 

 

He had dreamed about Kagura and himself, but instead of seeing a replay of his memory, this one had been a pure dream about a possible future: They were out in the country by themselves, it was Christmas and they were outside playing and wresting in the snow while it was gently falling, with flakes that were pure like crystals…

 

 

After having much fun in the snow, both of them had gone back into the house, gotten their wet clothes off and were sitting half naked near the fireplace… though, knowing Kagura she never wore bras, she always said they were a waste of time. There, next to the fireplace, surrounded by the fires gentle light… they shared with each other the greatest Christmas present they had: The eternal love they shared with one another, meaning they had made love for hours upon hours, never leaving the warmth of the running fireplace…

 

 

Then, a few hours after they had drained themselves of whatever energy they had left, he had smelled a change in her scent, like there was a third one coming from inside her stomach. When he had asked her about it, she had simply smiled, kissed him and said the two words, two words for which he would give anything right now to hear: “I'm pregnant.”

 

 

That was the moment his dream had slowly ended… to those two words…

 

 

So now, Arc slowly opened his eyes and saw the through the door as the morning sun was slowly rising up… for the first time in a long time, he wished he could sleep just a little longer, to dream that dream just a little longer… he could actually feel a tear running down his eye across his cheek. That dream, that image, that future… that were what he wanted, god, what would he give in order to have it.

 

 

Arc could still remember the first time he and Kagura had discussed about having kids… it had been about 2 months before she had disappeared, that was the… biggest argument they actually had, Arc, being mostly human and almost 19 years old, had been pretty much scared shitless about having them while Kagura, clearly much more older than he was and a full Youkai at that, well, being soul mates had made her `maternal' instincts grow and increase dramatically and had Arc himself been a full Youkai himself, they might have a kid right now but…

 

 

Instead they had argued about it, a LOT to be accurate… Arc himself had been scared about having kids while the Youkai part of him was more than ready to go for it, Kagura, well she was even more than ready for them but because of her mental state at that time from having her maternal instincts growing, she hadn't really been in her reasonable mood… hence, after those fights they hadn't talked to one another for a week and least. Both had been miserable about it, they did make up however when Kagura's moods calmed down and she was easier to reason with again. Both had admitted they had been acting stupid but it had been inevitable, the differences between quarter Youkai's and full Youkai's biological clocks and instincts were too different… hence they both just needed time to clear their heads before trying to reason with each other again.

 

 

That night when they had made up, they hadn't mated or made love, they just simply held one another and Arc promised that by the time his high school was over, when they had less stress to worry about, they would discuss about having a pup then… and with that, the argument was over and things had calmed down. That is, until she had disappeared two months later… and now he was here, looking for her.

 

 

So, right now he was awake and looking at the rising sun as it slowly rose from the horizon and the first lights that shone from it made the sky look like it was on fire. It was a truly beautiful sight…

 

 

He felt something snuggling against him and slowly looked down to see the sleeping face of Chizu. He smiled at this, she looked so innocent while sleeping and she felt so warm… and it was in that instant he became curious about something, what would it feel like if this was his own pup sleeping against him like this? He got the answer to that when Chizu said while still sleeping: “Papa…”

 

 

To say he felt warm was an understatement, to be accurate, there weren't words to describe what he felt the moment those words had left the innocent little girls lips… `Papa', such a simple word, yet to him it was a trigger for an enormous amount of warm, pleasant emotions… the innocence of a little child, it was something that could make any rainy day seem bright like a sunny day and to him, it had made his long, restless Youkai side calm down and allow him to see that one warm, beautiful dream.

 

 

Still smiling, Arc slowly disentangled the little girl from himself and got up. While doing so, he slowly and silently picked her up as well and without making a sound or disturbing the other resident of the hut, Renko, he slowly laid Chizu next to her and watched as Chizu in her sleep, out of instinct, rolled over and snuggled against her mother… making him think: `Chizu, thank you… for allowing me to dream again.' And with that, Arc grabbed both of his swords and walked out of the hut, without making a sound.

 

 

What he hadn't known was that Chizu's eye had glowed again and the mysterious voice from last night was inside her head again, thinking: {[That boy… he has a beautiful heart, pure, strong and steady despite all the scars and wounds it has in it. The dream he had, it was truly beautiful… it made me think, how are my own babies doing? Not too well I think, since they were left without nourishment and are now helpless against any danger that might threaten them… that boy, he dreams about having a family while I, who already has a family, ran away from them and left them to fend for themselves… but, that boy… he is my only hope now. It will be hard though, since the =White Fang= cannot be awoken yet and this body is not strong enough to contain me much longer… and especially because of what he is up against, the odds are against him but there is just something about him that makes me believe that he will succeed. So for now, all I can do is hope…]}

 

 

*At the shrine where the Shikon no Tama used to be housed*

 

 

Jei was sitting on the ground while meditating calmly. He had done nothing but meditate during the entire night because yesterday he had given into anger while punishing Flint for his disobedience… it was rare that Jei would give into anger but yesterday had been rather eventful and so many things had happened that made no sense. Then coupling those with Flint's little stunt as well, he had just snapped and let his anger out.

 

 

While meditating to calm his angry state of mind, he had also tried to figure out what had happened… how did that woman recover from divine retribution? Had that strange warrior Arcerdo done something to it? But that is impossible, divine retribution was god's will, no mortal could possibly go up against it! Then he had floored Flint with a single blow despite being clearly exhausted, not to mention he had said things that might split the villager's into two sides… they had spent weeks trying to get the villager's obedience and belief in them, yet this man in a few moments had jeopardized everything they'd built up for weeks.

 

 

Right now, he was thinking while letting his holy powers, and oh, what powers they were, his aura was smooth, strong and intense, it made the inside of the shrine glow and it coiled around his body like a snake, or to be accurate, like a lover. If compared to Arcerdo's aura, it was quite hard to say which was stronger. While Jei clearly had more control over his aura, Arc's aura was clearly more intense… it was impossible to say which was stronger.

 

 

Anyway, Jei was thinking: `Arcerdo, who are you? You have the eyes of a warrior and yet you do not have the experience of a warrior… your voice and words were enough to make the villager's doubt us and your actions have caused turmoil not only among the villager's but also within my mind as well, who are you, where did you come from?'

 

 

While Jei was meditating, Flint and Arbel were in the village, observing the aftermath of what happened yesterday… and it did not look good.

 

 

So, by the time Jei finished meditating, Flint and Arbel returned and began to report, starting with Arbel: “Lord Jei, we have finished observing the villager's reactions to what happened yesterday and…” Flint finished for him with a shook of his head: “It is not looking good.”

 

 

Jei merely put on his armour and priest robes, then strapped his sword onto his waist before asking, “How bad is it then?” Both of them hesitated for a moment before Flint decided to answer: “To be blunt, it isn't evident yet but if we cannot rectify this situation soon… it is only a matter of time before the people are split for good. There were people already whispering about the truth behind Arcerdo's words…” Flint suddenly put a hand onto his jaw and groaned, the punch he'd received from Arcerdo yesterday…the pain still hadn't eased down one bit. It was hard to even chew on anything, not to mention having some of your teeth missing wasn't helping at all.

 

 

Jei and Arbel noticed this so Arbel finished for him, “While some were already whispering about Arcerdo's words, some were saying him to be a dangerous heathen. Some were just being indecisive about what he had said… it's just like Flint was about to say, if this keeps up, we won't only have to worry about the insects but we will also need to watch out for the villager's, should they start an uprising against us… this isn't good at all, Lord Jei. Ever since Arcerdo somehow healed that woman's curse, the people are seriously starting doubt our words about `divine retribution' being irreversible, not to mention they are slowly beginning to doubt the very god we serve.”

 

 

Jei closed his eyes, this was not good… not good at all. How could a single person disrupt the control they'd had over people ever since the war between human and Youkai ended? How…? And why were people starting to believe him as well, the people should know that straying from god's path will only bring disaster and doom upon them, and yet, now they were starting to stray from the path they'd been showing them all this time, what did it mean?

 

 

Had the villager's not learned that co-existence with Youkai will only end in a massacre? Had the insects not been proof enough, had they not suddenly attacked the village and it's inhabitants without a reason? Had they not killed most of the young and kidnapped or killed most of the children as well?

 

 

So why, why were the people starting to stray from the path of god, the path that shows that Youkai bring nothing but ruin with them? It doesn't make sense… what was with these villager's? Why did they hesitate about believing in the god he represented?

 

 

There was something about Arcerdo and his words, his voice… his presence that made the villager's remember something, feel something that made them hesitate about all this… `My god, give me the strength to lead these people away from this path of doom and ruin… Help me understand all this…' Those were Jei's thoughts before he turned around to face both Flint and Arbel.

 

 

Jei then said to both of them: “Flint, Arbel, my brothers in arms… This man named Arcerdo is without a doubt a test sent to us by our god, to see if we can lead these people away from the path of doom and ruin they've began to return to due to his words. We must not falter, we must bide our time for now and calmly observe this person, we must find his weakness and use it against him. If we use brute force now, we will divide these people into two and then those people will be lost to us.”

 

 

He took the necklace around his neck into his palm and after squeezing it a bit and muttering a silent prayer (For details about what the necklace looks like, check out the chapter “Priests and Demons - part 2”) and then finished: “We are the representatives of our god, the one who will lead our people away from this path of doom and ruin, therefore we must act accordingly to that role. We will not let emotions get the best of us, we will not give into anger or turmoil but instead we will calmly observe this threat called Arcerdo, we will find his weakness and we will use it against him, but in order to find it, we must remain calm… do you both understand, my brothers in arms?”

 

 

Jei's voice, it held the sound of a true leader… those words made the mist of confusion and inner turmoil clear within Flint and Arbel as they nodded, clearly understanding what Jei meant: Do not attack the threat head on, instead find a way around it and attack it from where it cannot see you.

 

 

For they were the Moon Priests, they represented the very god who will show mankind the way through these dark times… and they would be ones who held the torch for the people to find their way through the darkness, for that is the will of their lord.

 

 

(What do you think about these guys? Be honest with me, please?)

 

 

*A small forest near the village (Not Inuyasha's forest, there were other smaller ones besides it)*

 

 

It was early morning now. The sun was still rising but it was enough to have made the villagers start their daily chores again. Though this morning, the villager's moods were mixed rather badly. Ever since yesterday's events between the stranger and the Moon priests, the villager's had begun to doubt quite a lot of things and it was clear the people had began to divide into those who believed the priests while others were starting to believe that stranger, Arcerdo, instead.

 

 

But all that was not the point at the moment.

 

 

Within the woods, surrounded by trees there stood Sumira, in her Miko clothing, and right now she was practicing her archery. After all, she was the village Miko and had sworn to protect it and in order to do so her skills with her holy powers, medicine, and archery were not allowed to rust, especially now with those insects crawling everywhere around them.

 

 

As she was surrounded by trees, she was aiming at one of them in particular, firing arrows to it's trunk so they would form a perfect circle of arrows. It was her way of sharpening the sense of shooting the arrows into the spot she wanted them to hit. Slowly firing them would be tough but she was firing the arrows so fast that by the time one was flying towards the tree she had already taken another out and was ready to fire it.

 

 

This way, she could train her body to fire fast and accurately, because when Youkai attack in swarms you don't have a lot of time to draw an arrow, ready it, aim and then fire it. No, there wasn't a lot of time at all to perform those so she had to practice like this, to fire fast and perfectly without really thinking about it… just like the legendary priestesses, Kikyo and Kagome.

 

 

Sumira could still remember all the times Kaede talked about those two while she had been in training… saying that her elder sister, Kikyo had been enormously powerful Miko who protected the Jewel and never missed with her arrows. Also, the stories about the mystery Miko (Priestess), Kagome Higurashi. Those tales where the ones she had always found so amazing to hear, no matter how many times she had heard them. Of course travellers had heard different versions of them and they changed so much with each region, some say that Kagome had in fact been a divine deity in the disguise of a human, while others said she was some kind of a divine being who was supposed to cleanse the world of Youkai but one of them killed her or something like that…

 

 

Only Kaede and some of the elders of the village knew the real facts of who she had been anymore and those truths were a carefully guarded secret, since the mysterious Miko had a lot of Youkai enemies. Then there were the rumours about the Shikon no Tama, the legendary jewel she had taken with her. The truths were a carefully guarded secret and now there were only about 5 people left in this village who knew the truth, four elders and Sumira herself.

 

 

The tale about the Mystery Miko stated that she had come through the Bone-Eaters Well and due to the powers of the Shikon no Tama she had in fact come 500 years through time. The well had been the portal to go through time itself because of the jewel. She then freed the notorious hanyou, Inuyasha, from his imprisonment, the jewel shattered soon after and the two began the journey that was now one of the most well-known stories in this entire land…

 

 

Their companions, Miroku, Sango, Kirara and Shippo were all very well-known names in this land as well… though their current whereabouts have been unknown ever since the war between human and Youkai ended. Some rumours say they are all dead while other say they are hiding… though no one knows for sure.

 

 

The two climaxes of the story however were the point where the most evil Youkai to have ever existed, Naraku, was defeated. That monster had truly been a devil from hell, the stories say that he fought to the very last breath and even at the point of dying he refused to go down without a fight. In fact, at his dying moment, Naraku had unleashed an enormous amount of poisonous gas that destroyed anything by simply touching it. Those poisons left his mark on the land as he died. The place where Naraku was killed was currently called “Forbidden Land” and travelers avoided that place like the plague… and for a good reason. The poisons were still there, even after over 30 years the poisons refused to leave the area and anything that was alive could not survive there. The nature and the earth there were dead and corrupted beyond salvation.

 

 

The second climax of the story however was that no one knew what happened to the Mystery Miko or the notorious hanyou she'd been travelling with. Now, after the war, when humans disliked Youkai more than ever before, stories like the hanyou betraying the Miko had began to surface, and the name of the Mystery Miko was used to increase the hatred between Youkai and humans. In other words, no one knows the truth anymore nor would they believe it without solid proof.

 

 

The truth was so amazing that Sumira sometimes could not believe it, yet her mentor, Kaede, had been there and seen it all happen. The mystery Miko fell in love with the hanyou and their love grew stronger with each passing day. It was so hard to believe that the mysterious Miko, Kagome, the most pure-hearted person to have ever existed had fallen in love with a hanyou. It just sounded so surreal, yet it was a fact and it had happened right here in this village. With those stories and her teachings, Kaede had taught Sumira to keep a very open mind about things and people. That was why she had stood up to the Moon priests, that was why even though Arc had admitted being a quarter Youkai she was not trying to purify him… Just because someone is not human does not make them a blood-thirsty monster and just because someone has power does not mean they are always right and should be obeyed without question. (Refers to the Moon Priests)

 

 

As Sumira kept firing the arrows at the tree, she was thinking: `Arcerdo, a quarter Inu-Youkai (Dog demon)… It is hard to believe that in this era of chaos there are people who can overcome the boundaries between two races and produce someone like him… a quarter Youkai with a heart more human than normal humans possess, not to mention holy powers and a non-aggressive nature. It is so hard to believe. Just who are his parents anyway? Who are the two people who would risk so much to be together and have a son like him, knowing the ties between human and Youkai are worse than they have ever been before? It's like that tale about the Miko, Kagome and the hanyou, Inuyasha… wait a minute, could he possibly be…?'

 

 

That thought distracted her concentration enough to shoot the last arrow so it missed the tree and flew straight past it towards the clearing ahead. She silently berated herself for losing focus like that and began to follow the path of the arrow, hoping that it hadn't hit anyone by mistake, all the while thinking: `No, it is not possible that Arcerdo could be their son… because if he was, why doesn't he possess anything like them? Inuyasha is said to have had silver hair and amber eyes while Kagome herself had black hair with brown eyes, Arcerdo's hair is steel grey and his eyes are obsidian black… not to mention that if a Youkai and a human have a son, the son will most likely inherit the father's personality rather than his mothers and from what I've heard, Inuyasha was a cocky, arrogant `jerk' as Kagome put it, according to Kaede… but Arcerdo, he is nothing like that, he seems so frail at times and during other times he looks fierce like a tiger. (Refers to the time he stood up to the Moon priests and then the time she found out his secret)'

 

 

So with that, she concluded her thoughts even though it kept bugging her, there was no way that Arcerdo could be Inuyasha's and Kagome's son… besides, the name “Arcerdo” didn't even sound like a native Japanese name either, so that settled that.

 

 

As Sumira made her way through the bushes and roots, looking for the arrow, she saw that it must have flown straight into the clearing ahead. She had to give herself credit, even with a failed shot the arrow had flown straight through all those bushes and trees without hitting them, that's some skill right?

 

 

But… what she saw in the clearing however, took her breath away completely…

 

 

There, in the centre of the clearing, stood Arcerdo. Dressed only in his Hakama and lower clothing, no upper clothing whatsoever, showing off his chest, abs, arms and back… his entire upper body and what a body it was! The colour of the skin held a tint of bronze in it, the muscles were perfectly formed and his body held no battle scars whatsoever in it. The way the rising sun made his skin look like it was made out of liquid and it was alive, combined with the look of his almost liquid-like black eyes and his body covered slightly in sweat, made her eyes almost drop out of their sockets. Whoever his mate was was indeed one lucky woman… to have a… a… reflection of perfection like that as her mate. (Okay, I'm shooting overboard about what Arc looks like right? But so what? He is Inuyasha's and Kagome's son so of course he would have… godlike looks right?)

 

 

Arc's arm was holding something though, when she had ogled his chest long enough, she saw what it was: The arrow she had fired. So this is where it had flown and judging from the way Arc was holding it, it was quite clear that it had almost hit HIM, but thanks to him being a quarter Youkai, he'd heard it coming and using his reflexes, that were high thanks to his dad's constant times of catching him off-guard during that survival training, he had caught the arrow with ease.

 

 

There was an awkward moment of silence as Sumira tried to think about what to say, she had almost shot an arrow at him for god's sake by accident… but under Arcs liquid like gaze, she found herself unable to say anything at all, not to mention it was really hard not to keep ogling at his chest…

 

 

Arc then said with a grin to her, “Look, I know that I'm somewhat… nice looking but could you care to explain why during the middle of my morning exercises this arrow nearly hit me on the arm?” Arc just loved this, he could still remember the times he'd been a timid little boy… though, sometimes he still was… who hadn't had the guts to say or do anything bold like that, not to mention he had during those times he had been shy about his body in all possible ways but now, now he felt no shyness or anything like that. He simply felt mischievous and found it irresistible to see how she would react to that one, thanks to Kagura, he was quite aware of how his body had Greek god like looks that drove women crazy… he'd tried it once during school too.

 

 

One time, he'd covered his face with a commando mask and during lunch break, he'd simply walked without any kind of upper clothing on through the school grounds to see how people would react… and from all the scents of arousals he'd picked up from just about every girl student there were, Kagura had been right, his body indeed drove girls and women crazy. Though he never did that again, since even though he'd covered his face with a commando mask, his parents had found out about it and well, while dad had been laughing his ass off, his mother had scolded him so badly he hadn't dared to act or talk boldly while one of them was in hearing range for a week. His mom could get really scary when lecturing him about never doing things like that again.

 

 

And now, seeing Sumira blushing and shaking her head while trying to say something that sounded even remotely Japanese… Arc simply chuckled. Man, he's still got it. The only people who could make him feel timid anymore were his parents and Kagura, there was no one else who could do that anymore.

 

 

After a moment, when Sumira go her vocal ability back, she had explained that she had been training with her archery skills and that arrow had accidentally missed it's target and almost hit him instead. After hearing what sort of training she did, Arc was pretty impressed, shooting a perfect circle with her arrows at a fast pace… that's pretty good. She clearly had been studying under Kaede and from what he'd heard about Kaede from his mother, even though she had been a very old woman and had only one-eye, her accuracy with the bow was superb.

 

 

After giving Sumira back the arrow, Arc said to her while walking back to the centre of the field, “Sumira-san, I will do my morning exercises now so please stand back…” She nodded and backed away. She found a pretty large, smooth rock to sit on and decided to watch what sort of exercises Arc would be doing. Since he wasn't human, not entirely anyway, his training must be something else as well and she was curious as hell about him.

 

 

Arc though, didn't know that Sumira was watching him, since whenever he trained, he would enter a trance-like state and while in that state of mind he did not register the outside world at all, he would simply feel the flow of the world around him and go with it. That's why he told her to stand back, so he wouldn't accidentally hit her by mistake.

 

 

As Arc breathed in and then out slowly, he closed his eyes and held his two swords in a fighting stance (I can't describe that one, too hard for me) while allowing his senses go blank completely and allowing himself to feel the world and it's flows around him, trying to find a point where to join it… his fathers words echoing in his mind…

 

 

=Son, when I first began to fight, I fought with nothing but brute strength… just as any other Youkai did at that time and I did okay, for a while. I first thought that physical strength was everything and that everything else was just some weird shit everyone was making up, since it didn't make sense to me. However, after I acquired Tetsusaiga for the first time, I slowly began to realize that using it required a lot more than just physical strength…

 

 

It was your mother that slowly made me realize that the world isn't all about physical strength, but also of things around me and what I felt during a battle. Whenever I wanted to protect your mother with all I had, I felt invincible and the fights felt like a flow to me… it's still kind of confusing to me but basically it's like we all have a certain `flow' an that is when we do things that require physical strength and that `flow' is the nature of how we should be doing it. When I fought with nothing but brute strength and only for myself, I was going against my own `flow' and it would make the fights a lot harder than they should have been…

 

 

But whenever I fought to protect those close to me, I was going with my own `flow' instead of going against it, which allowed me to use all my strength that was normally wasted onto going against my own `flow'…

 

 

The same applied to my Tetsusaiga as well. Whenever I would calm down during a fight and concentrate onto the world around me, I was able to use it's true power and like everything else in this world, Tetsusaiga also has a `flow' of it's own, which means it's purpose was to protect those around it and if I used it for any other purpose… then it would not allow me to use it's full power…

 

 

So what I am saying, Son, is that you have a `flow' of your own as well. What that is though… hell, even I don't know that, I wasn't even aware of my own for all my life until meeting your mother. The only way you can discover your own `flow' in life is by being honest with yourself and doing that what you deep down desire to do, you will eventually find it son, so keep looking for it… and if you give up, I will spank you from here to kingdom come, hehehe…=

 

 

Arc groaned mentally, his dad always had the last word like that…

 

 

So now, he allowed the flow of the world to go around him, trying to look for a spot where his own would be… but no matter how many times he looked for it, he could never find it. To be more accurate, he always did find it during his exercises but he could never identify it, so whenever he stopped training, the feeling of that `flow' stopped and he couldn't identify what it was again. If only he could figure out what his flow was about, he could do something about it, but like his father said, `you don't `know' what your flow is, you just `feel' it when it comes to you'… it was hard to explain or understand.

 

 

That was what was going on inside Arcs mind, on the outside however, something entirely different was happening.

 

 

Sumira had been watching as Arc's eyes closed and his breathing evened out, yet as he had stood there with his fighting stance on… he hadn't done anything for several seconds and she thought he had fallen asleep or something. When she had been about to ask if something was wrong, Arc had at that exact moment begun to move and boy, did he know how to MOVE.

 

 

His eyes remained steadily closed as his body moved with elegance like the wind itself, he swung his swords like they were an extended part of his body, he would spin them, make all sorts of slashes, stabs, and swings with them that made it his body look like it was made out liquid. The way he moved had at first been elegant like the wind but now it flowed like water did.

 

 

Then, when he made a sideways slash with one of his swords, it caused a strong, sudden gust of wind, which made the grass around them bend in the wide and long radius of the slash. When he did that, Sumira's senses picked up the sudden burst of energy behind the wind, it had not been caused by the speed of the slash but because of the constant supply of holy power his arms were pushing into the swords!

 

 

As Arc continued his slashes and strokes, he would occasionally cause more gusts of wind like that and each of them was stronger than the previous one. Sumira was looking at him with wide eyes, now she began to see how he had made it through the forest and the insects, those swords… Even though sheathed, they were still lethal weapons because Arc was, without really realising it, supplying them with holy power. She could see his aura wrapping around the swords with each strike or slash he made.

 

 

The reason why this was so amazing was because imbuing a weapon with holy power constantly like that wasn't possible unless a person had a tremendous amount of holy power within yourself, not to mention the control it required was something that would take years to master. Besides the Moon Priests, there weren't many people left who could do that technique anymore, they say that true masters of this technique could even turn a wooden stick into a lethal weapon against Youkai since the holy power was the thing that actually cut them, not the sword itself (That should answer how in the chapter “Inner Demon” he was able to cut the insects so the wounds looked like they had been burned, remember?).

 

 

The strong gusts of wind though, even if caused by the holy power of the swords, just did not feel… `complete' for some reason. It was more like those winds were a prelude of something greater that Arc wasn't capable of grasping yet, like a warning signal or something.

 

 

But even if his body movements were excellent and his aura impressive, it was clear that he had very little actual combat experience. It was visible from the way he held his swords and how he swung them around. That seemed to be his weakness. He had a lot of natural talent and innate abilities with his holy powers, which she still couldn't figure out how he could use them, especially because he was a quarter Youkai… but his weakness was his lack of experience. He had a tremendous amount of potential but no experience to utilize it with, that would be bad when facing someone experience with a sword… though, the thought about his lack of experience made her wonder just where had Arcerdo come from?

 

 

Was there a place in this chaotic land that was so peaceful that a hanyou and a human could have a child who would grow to be so innocent, so pure hearted and gentle? That just wasn't possible, ever since the war there isn't a single place in this entire land that hadn't been touched by the war… yet, here was proof that there must be at least one place, because otherwise there was no way that someone with so much natural talent could not have any actual combat experience at all, since anyone with holy powers or skills with a sword were recruited one way or another by feudal lords or the Moon priests to fight in smaller wars that were ravaging the lands now.

 

 

So… the level of potential and talent Arc is showing, it was obvious that Moon Priests or at least a feudal lord would have taken him as their ward and trained him to be a samurai, yet… *sigh*… Arcerdo really was a box full of mysteries, yet, that's what made him so interesting to be with. You never knew what would pop out of him next.

 

 

Then, she saw Arcerdo slowing his movements down until stopping completely, his arms crossed in front of his face while holding swords and his chest moving deeply and slowly from the panting he did. The sweat glistering on his body from the morning sun's rays as it reflected on them was a truly inspiring and beautiful sight to behold.

 

 

Arc was panting, today's exercise had felt… different than it usually did, for some strange reason he felt… more fulfilled than before, not to mention he had felt the flow of the world around him about 3 times more clearly than he had back home. Was it because he was in the past or was it because he had used his Youkai blood a lot yesterday? Had the continuous use of his Youkai abilities made him more perceptive of the world around him…? Did this mean he was getting closer to finding his own `flow'…? Whatever the reason was, his mind felt clear like crystal and his mind felt fulfilled and satiated, like his entire being had just made journey of discovery within itself and without realizing it, found what it was looking for… it was confusing but he didn't complain, he felt great and calm right now.

 

 

Suddenly he was pulled out of this state of mind by Sumira when she walked next to him and stated, “You should consider becoming a performer, that was really impressive to watch.” He snapped his head towards her. He hadn't expected Sumira to see that! Yet, the more he looked at her, the more he realized just how lucky he was at the moment… because right in front of him stood a person who he could trust, who knew his secret and still could look at him with that trusting look in her eyes. It made him feel rather good, to know that there was someone he could trust.

 

 

Then her words did actually do something he hadn't expected to happen: He blushed lightly, it was rare for a stranger to make him blush like this and yet… well, she just did, so that meant he wasn't as tough as he wanted to be yet but what can you do?

 

 

Sumira saw the blush and said with the same mischievous glint in her eyes that he had had a moment ago: “Ahh… look at that, a blushing little quarter Youkai boy… that is so cute!” Her voice was like that of a high school teen, teasing him on purpose, especially because she held her hands together while saying it…

 

 

Arc blushed further while he glared at her and made a mock growl, which only made her giggle and then laugh before saying with a teasing voice: “Oh no, I made the puppy boy angry… maybe if I rub his stomach he will forgive me…?” And with that, she fell onto the ground and held her stomach while laughing, especially because Arc kept glaring at her while his nerves twitched slightly.

 

 

Arc really wanted to teach her a lesson about what she just said but deep down he found it amusing as well. Instead he calmed himself, he deserved this one for mocking her with the comment about his body's, how to say, irresistible looks? So he waited until she stopped laughing… which did take a while too.

 

 

After her laughter had died down enough and Arc had finished putting on his upper clothing again, they were walking back towards the village…Arc needed to get something to eat now, he hadn't eaten anything yet but it was best that he would eat in the hut with Chizu and Renko, since going to the village might not be a good idea right now because of all that had happened yesterday. He didn't want to create anymore confusion or turmoil, especially after Sumira had told him a little about what the villagers were talking about with each other right now (Basically the same thing that Arbel and Flint told Jei).

 

 

While walking towards the hut, Sumira asked Arc the question that had been itching in her mind since this morning, “Arc, there is something I need to know…” Arc looked at her and asked with a calm voice, “What is it?” Sumira then looked up for a moment before asking a bit hesitantly: “Well… Arc, to be blunt, where are you from and who exactly are your parents? I know that yesterday you mentioned it wasn't an easy subject but…”

 

 

He just lifted his hand, signalling her to be quiet and answered with a sigh, “I know I said that… it still is rather touchy for me but… I can't tell you exactly where I am from or who my parents are since it's supposed to be a secret but I'll answer the best I can, okay?” She nodded, understanding his need to protect his home and parent's identity, since if there was a peaceful place like that here in this land, it should remain a secret. After seeing her nod, Arc took another deep breath and began: “The place where I was born is very peaceful, in fact, humans and Youkai there do not harbour any hatred for one another at all. Not to mention it's also a place that the war did not touch in any possible way, which is why no one there really practices the art of the sword or any kind of combat at all…”

 

 

(Kind of true don't you think?)

 

 

“My father was… how to say, an `outsider' since he wasn't born there, he was an inu-hanyou (Half dog-demon) and besides my mother, he did not trust anyone else and did not like largely crowded places but had come there along with my mother, who had originally been born there. My mother had been travelling back and forth between those places, why? That I can't answer I'm afraid. But when she came back for good, since the war broke out, she brought with her some outsiders besides my father as well… then, two years later after returning for good, they had me.”

 

 

“One of the other outsiders, a Youkai, who my parents had set free from the grip of previous evil master… she became my mate when I was 17 years old. We met by complete accident and well, since we were soul mates it didn't take long before we became mates for life. During that entire time, we had peaceful times and there was no need for me to train in the ways of a warrior, until months ago, when my mate mysteriously disappeared without a trace. I was devastated and broken because of it for a long while, then, the bond we shared that had been silent the entire time, suddenly told me she was somewhere in this land. Even though I have no idea where to look or where to even go, I will find her no matter what. Of course before I left, my father and mother taught me all they could about survival and how to fight, use the swords and even how to control my holy powers, which I inherited from my mother. I began my travels to find her and ended up here, the rest you already know.”

 

 

Sumira was, least to say, shocked… she already knew that Arcerdo loved his mate very much and would indeed do anything to find her, that became apparent yesterday, but now she clearly saw just to what extent he loved his mate. He loved her so much that he would gladly leave to an unknown place, face unknown dangers, go through anything and anyone in order to find her. Soul mates… if only humans could possibly sense something like that… to be honest she was envious of both Arcerdo and whoever his mate was. If only she would someday have a husband like him, who would do anything for her.

 

 

Yet, the story he told her… why did it make her think about the story about Inuyasha and Kagome? Why did it sound so similar to theirs…? Interesting, if she understood what he just said, then there had been another Miko like Kagome here before the war too… hmm, but how come there weren't any stories about her then? That didn't make sense… but she thought better than to question him about it, since he had warned her about it being a secret. So for now, she just pushed it away and they continued the walk to the village, but not before she said to him while patting him on the shoulder, “Don't worry Arc, I know you'll find your mate again, since soul mates cannot be torn apart by anything, not even death… that's what Kaede always taught me. And by listening to your story, I'm positive of it now. So don't give into despair or lose hope, okay?” He nodded and smiled to her, Sumira… she really was something else wasn't she?

 

 

Though, before they had to part on their separate ways, Sumira saw the rosary around his neck (Check the prologue for details) and couldn't help but ask, “Arc, what is that rosary you have? Something your mate gave you?” Arc didn't tense this time, even though the memory of his mate made him feel bad since he didn't know where she was, this time it made him remember that dream he'd had… which made him feel warm instead.

 

 

So he answered her with a small smile, “Yeah, it's called the “=Shiroi Tama no Kokoro=… I gave her a bracelet in return called =Bracelet of the Eternal Bond=, this rosary holds in it the most precious memories I have, it is also a constant reminder that of what I am trying to do out here, to keep me motivated and focused.”

 

 

Sumira thought for a moment, she had heard about those two items before. She couldn't remember what she'd heard about them at the moment, so she simply said, “Well, you two must love each other very much to give each other such… precious gifts like those two.” Arc smiled and nodded, though he wished he could have given her that what she most likely had wanted the most from him, a family of her own… a child if you will… but as much as he hated to think this thought, `Though now I'm glad I didn't give her that at that time, considering what kind of a situation we are in now…' He shouldn't be thinking like that, but it still didn't change that it was a fact, how would they be able to raise a pup/child when things were like this now? But, as soon as he found her and gotten back home, when things settle down… then, there was no doubt or hesitation left for him, he would start a family with her, that was his dream now.

 

 

And may god help those who would get in his way or try to stop him… May god help them all…

 

 

*After a few hours, Inside Inuyasha's forest, at the barrier separating the village and forest*

 

 

The forest of Inuyasha, the place that held the Bone Eaters Well and Goshin-boku and was also the birth cradle for the greatest legend that would be forever told throughout the lands: the legend of the Shikon no Tama.

 

 

Yet now, at the point where the barrier laid by the Moon Priests separated the forest from the village, a massive formation of Youkai was gathering, lead by a mysterious spider/scorpion Youkai, Kedaru. The insects that had once been peaceful were following this monster because if they did not, the eggs of their newborn infants would be destroyed and since there was no queen at the moment, the code of honour made them swear absolute obedience to this monster.

 

 

While the scouts and warriors held fury towards this monster, they still obeyed him. But right now there were four creatures around Kedaru, they were at the size of the warriors themselves but every last one of the swarm knew what they were… `guardians', the four final guards to protect the queen. They were lethal, absolutely obedient and practically invincible in a fight, even if the entire nest was to fight them at once, they still wouldn't be able to win… that is how powerful they were.

 

 

After they had been moving towards the barrier and gotten close enough, Kedaru let out a “Khiaah!” sound and they all stopped. Kedaru walked in front of the barrier and thought to himself while looking at the village beyond the barrier: `Khäh… I can't believe that a puny village like this one could cause me so much trouble. My time is almost up and I need to find that `crystal' right now and obtain the power it unlocks so I can get my revenge on that cursed Heitaro and whoever his master might be. This barrier is not a problem, I could have torn it down the moment it was placed but I was under orders not to reveal my existence so I had to be patient and wait for that child to come out on her own… and when she finally did, that stranger came in and took her from right under my very nose. So now I must resort to more drastic measures: go to the village, grab the child, and kill every last one of them. No witnesses and by the time the Moon Priests send in more people to find out what happened, there will be nothing left to connect anything to me. It will just be marked as another random act of Youkai violence… perfect.'

 

 

And with that, Kedaru said to the insects, “When the barrier is destroyed, kill everyone in the village, leave no survivors except the child, bring her to me alive!” The insects let out sounds that meant the orders were received and understood, then Kedaru turned to the guardians and said, “You four stay here for now but at a moments notice you will attack as well. You're targets are the stranger and the Moon Priests, kill them without hesitation.” The four guardians eyes flashed with red colour, meaning the orders were received and they were ready for action.

 

 

Kedaru then turned to the barrier and slowly opened his mouth, you might think his mouth was big… well, it wasn't big, it was ENORMOUS, the cheek parts opened sideways and upper and lower part opened widely as well… the inside of Kedaru's mouth did not look like a mouth at all but more like a highly advanced energy cannon.

 

 

Then the insides began to vibrate and light began to form from all four corners of his mouth into the centre. It began to become more and more intense with each passing second until it formed a big sphere of energy that was a mixed with red and gold, exactly like fire itself. Then the air in front of the mouth began to vibrate and after a few more moments, the sphere was unleashed.

 

 

Kedaru let out a very loud roar like sound as the sphere of pure, fire-like energy was shot straight onto the barrier wall and upon impact, the invisible wall that had kept the insects out of the village became visible. It was purple and pink coloured and filled with white runes and incantations. The energy from the sphere and the wall began to crackle and lighting like energy was dispersed into every last direction as the barrier tried to repel the sphere…

 

 

… but after a while of this, the barrier was simply no match for the sphere that held in it heat that was equal to that of hell itself. The sphere suddenly exploded and the shock of the blast made the barrier that had kept the village safe all this shatter like glass and the effect was seen throughout the village as the barrier around them just broke into pieces like fine glass did…

 

 

Time seemed to freeze in the village as the realization of the barrier shattering registered in everyone's minds. It felt like an eternity before any kind of sound was heard in the entire village… Then, at the entrance of the forest, Kedaru gave a simple order to the insects behind him, “Kill them all.” With that, the swarm began it's lethal assault on the village…

 

 

Total pandemonium broke loose among the villagers… death had arrived and it brought friends it along with it…

 

 

To be continued…

 

 

“The battle has began… or to be accurate, it is not a battle but a bloodbath…

 

Now, I must fight to my fullest extent or watch those around me die…

 

Why does this happen? What has driven us to fight like this…?

 

Whatever the reason may be, I will get to the bottom of it…

 

… And end this pointless bloodshed, no matter what.” - Arcerdo Higurashi

 

 

Next chapter: =Reawaken the Lost Pride=

 

 

A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, I made his chapter extra long and the next chapter will be even longer, so stay tuned and review!!

 

 

- Zelix, see ya next time