InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Trust ❯ Chapter 19

Hi everyone. Thanks for sticking with me to this point. Just want to let people know that updates will be coming a bit less frequently than before. When I started posting, I had over 100 pages written, and I've almost caught up to myself now. I'll always try to have more written than I have posted, but I won't have the flexibility I've had up to this point. We're getting into the actual battle now, and battle scenes are hard as hell (for me, at least). I can see it all in my head, but it's hard to get it down on paper. So if you see any room for improvement as far as that goes, please let me know (respectfully!).

And I know the italics get weird sometimes…I don't know how to fix that, the formatting is correct on my hard drive. Please bear with me.

Also, I'm going home for a few weeks, and those weeks have already been planned out by my loving family, so I don't know how much time I'll have to write. That's what happens when you're the youngest and you move 3000 miles from home.

Ah, well. On with the story.

Chapter 19

Sesshomaru made his way to the war room, where the Commander and other officers were already gathered.

"Pack leader," Naota acknowledged his entrance with a nod of the head.

"Commander. I apologize for being late."

A slight smile crossed the Commander's lips. "You're not late, pack leader. This planning session has been on-going, you could say." He rubbed a hand over his face, looking exhausted.

"We've established that we need to hold the Pass until reinforcements arrive. Fortunately, they are not far from here, a few days travel at the most. I shudder to think of our position had we not sent word as soon as your brother arrived with his warning. Unfortunately, as you know, Naraku's forces are closer still. With the reported numbers of his forces, I have a feeling this will be more than a siege. They have a very good chance of gaining the wall."

Sesshomaru nodded. "I agree. Despite the strength of the Pass, with those numbers, it is not a question of if they break through, but when. As long as we hold it until our forces are relieved, we have a chance. Has Shri been here yet?"

Naota blinked, then grinned. "Yes, she has. She's quite…enthusiastic in her trade, is she not?"

"She is indeed. She is our best siege person, and her cousins are coming right up in her footsteps."

"I never knew there were so many ways to cause someone pain from a distance." Captain Saito spoke from across the table.

Sesshomaru allowed himself a slight smile. "Shrikirti comes from a very old and very distinguished lineage. Subjugation is in her blood."

Naota laughed. "Your brother was by, but he's not of a siege mentality."

The silver haired man snorted elegantly. "No…he's best used on the walls, beating them back once they reach us…if we can get him to wait that long."

"Well, it's almost dinner. I'll have some food brought in when it's ready." He signaled to a page, who nodded and ran off to see to it.

"Now, gentlemen…let us continue." The men all huddled over the table to confer over a map of the area.

Dinner was tense, and sparsely attended. The kitchens, anticipating this, had cooked dishes that would keep, and did not need to be eaten hot. They set up one of the dining rooms to be open at all hours, and it was stocked with dried fruits and meats, breads, pies and flagons of water and wine.

Sango and Kagome sat silently at one of the tables. Sango's family came by at one point exchange greetings and encouragement, but they both had to hurry to their own duties. Leilani and Kohaku would be helping to guard the children as they were moved out of the fort and to safer areas. Hiro would be helping to plan the defense.

Neither woman was hungry, but both knew they would need their strength in the days to come.

Finally, Kagome spoke. "Have you seen Nzinga?"

Sango started. "No, not since this afternoon. Do you know where Inu Yasha is?"

"He and Miroku are patrolling…checking the fortifications and such." Kagome took a sip of water.

Sango nodded, and conversation died once more, until Nzinga sat down at their table a few moments later.

"There you are!" Kagome exclaimed.

"Are you feeling better?" Sango asked.

"Oh, I'm more or less recovered." She answered. "Mmm…meat pie…"

Her friends laughed. "I guess you are. If you're ever not excited about food, then I'll know something's wrong." Kagome teased.

"Keh." Nzinga responded.

"So I hope you weren't in too much trouble today when Sesshomaru found you." Sango said slyly.

Nzinga just smiled. "Don't think I didn't notice that monk dragging you off when Sess was carrying me away. What was that all about?"

Sango could not prevent either the blush or the smile from crossing her face at the question.

Kagome clapped her hands. "You have to tell! What happened?"

Sango hesitated before answering, the smile still on her face. "He asked me…when this is all over…if I would marry him."

A shocked silence greeted her words. Kagome clapped her hands to her face as tears of joy appeared in her eyes.

"Sango," she whispered. "I'm so happy for you!"

Nzinga, no less happy, but noticing a bit more than her friend asked, "And what did you tell him?"

Sango's smile became wistful as she answered, "I told him I needed more time. This is all so new to me…I told him I needed time to sort out how I felt."

"And how did he take it?" Kagome asked.

Sango blinked back tears of her own. "He said he understood…and that he would give me as much time as I needed."

Nzinga smiled. "He's a good man…and you're a lucky woman."

"We all are!" Kagome said earnestly.

"I hate to spoil the mood…but do we know where we're supposed to be tomorrow?" Nzinga asked.

Kagome nodded. "I'm up on the higher walls with the rest of the archers, and Sango is too. The idea is so that in case she misses catching Hiraikotsu, she doesn't hit anyone behind us." She giggled, while Sango looked slightly affronted.

"It only happened that one time." She muttered. "And it was years ago."

Nzinga laughed. "I fall under Sesshomaru's command, so I suppose he'll let me know when it's settled."

"Why are you under his command? Just because you two…" Kagome stopped.

Nzinga guffawed, as her embarrassed friend sputtered and tried to explain herself. "No, no, no. As the eldest son of the Clan Leader of the Dog Clan, he outranks every shifter here."

"Really?" Sango asked. "Why is that?"

Nzinga looked at them incredulously. "Has no one mentioned this? The Dog Clan is the ruling clan of the shifter nation."

The two women were speechless for a moment. Finally Sango said slowly, "So, Inu Yasha is royalty?"

Zi snorted. "You'd never know, would you?"

Sango looked at her friend. "Kagome, you've married into royalty!"

Kagome sat, still speechless. "I wonder what else my mate has forgotten to tell me?" She said slowly.

"Well, here's a quick lesson on Clan structure." Nzinga sat up and pushed her plate away slightly. "Most canine Clans, like Wolf, Dog, Fox, and so on are made up of packs. In the wild, canine packs usually begin when a male and female mate, and join together to hunt and raise young. Other members join later on. Shifter packs don't necessarily begin with a male and female. It's usually a group of friends who go out into the world to gain experience.

"Now felines are more likely to be loners. Lion Clan is one exception, they live in prides, like regular lions."

"What about sept?" Kagome asked. "I'm not really clear on that."

"Septs are Clan subdivisions. How you gain membership to a particular one depends on the Clan. Dog Clan children are born into their mothers' septs. I became Storm Water sept when my fighting skills became evident."

"Why is Dog Clan sept determined by your mother and not father?" Sango asked, curious.

"Probably because you always know who a child's mother is, even if the father is in question. I think it may be a holdover from when Dogs mated with multiple partners." Nzinga shrugged.

"Anyway," she continued, "Within each group, there is a senior clan. Lion Clan is senior among felines, Owl Clan is senior among birds, Buffalo is senior among hoofed animals and so on. But Dog Clan rules over them all."

"I have a feeling this won't be the last thing Inu Yasha has forgotten to tell me about." Kagome said after a moment.

Zi nodded. "Probably not."

Sango looked around, surprised. "We've been here talking for a while! Maybe we should turn in."

"You're probably right." Kagome looked at her two friends, already worried about the next day's battle.

"Don't look that way," Nzinga chided gently. "You can't go into battle like that. Besides…we're all going to sleep off the same hall. We'll at least see each other to bed."

Kagome smiled. "You're right. Let's go, then."

As the three friends left the dining hall, Nzinga stopped short. Waving her friends on, she made her way to the barracks where the other shifters had been bunked. Nodding to those she met, she made her way to the corner that Shri and her cousins had staked out as their own.

"Shri, Puja, Samarjit, Vijay," she greeted them. They looked up with smiles of welcome. It was obvious they were related, all of them slender with dark hair and large eyes. Shri and Vijay had liquid brown eyes, while Samarjit and Puja had striking light blue gazes.

"Well met," Samarjit saluted her.

She smiled in return, his good nature infectious. "Well met." However, she could not help a shadow crossing her face. This did not go unnoticed.

"Don't frown, beautiful." Samarjit winked at her. "I have yet to fail to live up to my name."

Nzinga smiled. In one of the old tongues, his name meant, "victorious in war."

"Have no fear," Puja said soothingly. "Naraku will have no chance against the might of the shifter nation."

Nzinga paused. "So all Clans will ride?"

"That's what we have been told." Puja nodded firmly. She gave her sword a final swipe with the cleaning cloth, then sheathed it.

"So what brings you here, Nzinga? I figured you'd have to be in bed by now. I know how you kitties need your sleep." Her cousins chuckled.

Nzinga took it all in stride. "I want a tattoo."

They all perked up at this. "Really?" Vijay said smoothly. "You can get my name, as a symbol of your devotion to me."

She snorted. "Right."

Puja cuffed her cousin in the back of the head with a growl. "Idiot. Nzinga, what did you have in mind?"

"Nothing large…it shouldn't take long." She smiled. "But I want it to be a surprise, so don't say anything about it."

Shri looked intrigued. "What color?"

"Blue."

"Where do you want it?"

Nzinga turned around, motioning to the small of her back. She then looked at Shri and told her what she wanted mentally.

Her eyes widened and she smiled. "I think he'll like that. Get me some more light." She called to her cousins. "This won't take long at all…pack mother."

***

Naraku's vanguard arrived during the night. It was impossible not to hear them, as they shrieked and roared in an attempt to unnerve their opponents. However, they did not immediately attack, seeming to prefer waiting for daylight to break. They would have the advantage in that, as they attacked from the east, and would have the sun at their backs.

Conn, Inu Yasha and Miroku stood watching, as the night gradually gave way to the day. In the faint light, it was becoming apparent that whatever was out there was neither human nor shifter nor animal. There was also a feeling of…wrongness to this host. They felt somehow unnatural, like they did not belong here.

"What the fuck does he have out there?" Inu Yasha asked softly.

Conn shook his head, helplessly. "I have no idea." His face firmed. "But as long as I can grip my axe, they will not break through this Pass."

Miroku smiled at his friend. "Conn, it's always good to have you near in a fight."

Inu Yasha could not help looking back at the archers once again. Kagome was not there yet, but she would be soon.

"She'll be fine," Miroku assured his cousin. "She can't be any farther away and still be in the battle."

"If I could stand having her away from me, I would send her off." Inu Yasha muttered.

"I doubt she would allow that." The monk countered.

As they spoke, dawn was breaking. The light of the sun was growing, although the sun itself had yet to make an appearance. A gasp from another fighter turned their attention back to the army in front of them. The three friends looked on horrified, as they heard the sound of retching in the background.

The creatures facing them were a gruesome amalgamation of eyes and claws; tentacles and fangs. Some walked, others crawled, while the most disturbing of them slithered over the ground, leaving corrosive-looking ooze in their wake.

As the horrified silence grew, Inu Yasha broke the spell by turning and snarling to all who could hear, "There is no fucking way those things are getting past me. You want those things having free run of the Domain? They cannot pass us!"

Conn drew his axe and roared, "They will not pass us!"

The answering cheer, though ragged at first, grew and swelled to meet the cacophony from the field. Naraku's creatures gibbered and howled with fury as the Domain fighters screamed their defiance.

The Kieran's Pass horn sounded, bringing the fighters to attention. As the echoes died out, the Commander's voice thundered, "Archers!"

Kagome nocked her arrow, and waited for the final command. She had felt Inu Yasha's revulsion through the Bond, and added to her own it was almost enough to knock her off her feet. However, she also shared his determination.

That army would not take this pass.

"Aim!"

They would rid the Domain, the world, of these abominations---they could not be allowed to win…

"Fire!"

The first volley was loosed. Then the second. As Kagome nocked her third arrow, she felt that peculiar thrum beneath her skin that signaled her gift. Thinking of nothing but destroying those…things before her, she let her arrow fly.

And gasped in shock.

Her arrow was glowing. It shot straight for the middle of a group of the enemy, surrounded by a nimbus of pale fire. It exploded on impact, giving off a light that momentarily blinded any who did not look away. When it cleared, the enemy was gone, and a smooth circle had been burned into the ground.

Inu Yasha turned to look at his astonished mate with a fierce grin on his face. She looked back at him, stunned, mouth open in shock.

"Bitch, do you know what that does to me?" he sent. "Makes me want to get you pregnant right now."

She blinked. Then smiled, feeling his fierce pride and possessiveness through the Bond. "Later, mate." She then nocked another arrow, concentrated her power, and loosed once more.

Down on the lower walls, Sango and Nzinga were recovering from the flash of power. Gingerly, Sango lowered Hiraikotsu, behind which both women had shielded themselves.

"What was that?" Sango finally managed.

"That," Nzinga inhaled deeply, "was Kagome. She somehow learned to infuse her arrows with spirit."

They both watched as another arrow streaked into the mass of creatures advancing on the fort.

"Inu Yasha," she sent. "Make sure she doesn't drain herself. She may not know how to regulate her energy yet."

"Right." He acknowledged.

"That's slowing them…but with those numbers they'll be to the wall soon enough." Sango said worriedly.

"And that, my friend," Puja interjected, "is where we come in." She flashed Sango a predator's grin. They will reach this wall…but they will not leave it."

The three women exchanged hard looks. "Works for me." Sango struck her weapon against the walk one time. Looking out into the host, she frowned.

"It's wrong to make such a beautiful woman frown." Vijay said smoothly as he landed behind his cousin. "For that crime alone, I would make them pay." Sango laughed, as the man then turned to Zi. "And this woman, who breaks my heart with her words."

"I could always break your arm with my morningstar," she said absently. Her gifts were reacting to those creatures. Her affinity with the earth let her sense its abhorrence and dismay at the creatures advancing before them.

"The very earth shrinks from their touch…" she murmured.

"Don't be so cruel…" he whined, running a hand down her back to the bandage just above her behind. She slapped it away, and he pouted.

"It's for your own good." Zi said, still distracted. "Sess would cut your arm off if he saw you doing that."

Sango looked more closely at it. It was small, and seemed to be held in place by ointment. "What is that? You can't have been wounded already?"

"Nope!" Her friend sang out. "Shri gave me a tattoo last night."

"Are you sure it's not my name? I mean, it's small, but it could certainly fit…" Vijay pretended to consider.

Sango smiled as she turned her eyes back to the advancing forces. Everyone has their own way of dealing with battle, she supposed. But she was still somewhat surprised that seasoned warriors would argue over something as small as a tattoo, even as the enemy advanced.

As Vijay continued to nag Zi, she finally snapped, "Fine!" and peeled off the bandage, wiping away the excess ointment. When it was finally visible, Puja held a hand to her mouth to cover a smile, and Vijay sighed theatrically.

"Why not simply brand yourself and be done with it?"

Nzinga winked at him, but said nothing. Sango, for all her pretense of not paying attention, finally turned around to see what all the fuss was about.

There, at the small of her friend's back, still slightly shiny from the ointment was a small blue crescent, matching the one on Sesshomaru's forehead.

Sango raised an eyebrow. "Couldn't you have just asked him for a ring?"

Zi sighed. "Not you too…oh look! There's an army. Maybe we should pay more attention to the battle and less to my ass."

Her friends laughed, as the army was indeed to the wall. Naota barked commands, and flaming arrows began to hail down on Naraku's forces in an attempt to render their ladders useless. But the numbers were so great, that for every ladder they set alight, it seemed as though another two came to take their place.

And this was only the vanguard.

"This is it." Sango murmured. Leaping to a clear space in between two turrets, she flung Hiraikotsu into the heaving mass below her. The bone weapon tore through them, cleaving a path until its flight brought it back to its mistress. She jumped back down to the walkway.

"I knew I should have made you leave that thing." Nzinga complained. "The only reason we let you fight here is because you said you wouldn't use it. You know you're supposed to be up near the archers."

Sango merely smiled. "Scared?" she taunted her friend.

"Just don't want to die," she returned, removing her morningstar from her hip. She leaned out from the turret, and quickly jerked back as a hiss greeted her from the creature scaling the wall. Her friends looked at her like she was insane.

"There was probably a smarter way of seeing how close they are, wasn't there?" She grinned. She was beginning to feel the heat of battle singing in her veins, and it was making her less prudent than usual.

"I don't ever want to see you do something like that again." Sesshomaru's message chilled her from the inside out. She turned to see him regarding her coldly. She blew him a kiss in return and hefted her weapon as the first head appeared over the wall.

"Nasty." Was all she said as she brought the morningstar down, smashing the creature's head to pulp. With a mighty heave, she tried to push back the ladder it stood upon, but it was too heavy.

"Sango, Hiraikotsu!"

The other woman immediately ran over with her weapon, placing it against the ladder. With the added leverage, the two women were able to tip it enough so that gravity did the rest, and the ladder toppled, crushing those on it and those beneath.

"Make way!" Came the cry further down the wall. The two warriors looked over to see a steaming cauldron being wheeled out. Shri and Samarjit each had wicked grins on their faces as they tipped the machine, delivering hot oil to the masses below.

The screams of the enemy were sweet music to the fighters.

Throats grew hoarse with shouting, arms grew weary from swinging, but the fort held, and so did the fighters.

And so passed the first day of battle.

***

Inu Yasha was forced to rethink his previous opinion on war. He still enjoyed fighting. He may even still like battles. But the prolonged, drawn out tedium of a siege was too draining both mentally and physically. For the past two and a half days, this siege had dragged on, with no end in sight. The wall had held, but the fighters were exhausted and outnumbered. It was only a matter of time. But at least they had no rain to complicate matters. The sun beat down out of a clear sky, as if to mock their petty war with the beautiful weather.

Shri's group had been kept busy. Cauldrons of oil and rocks had been emptied on the enemy. They had also filled small clay pots with pitch. These had been sealed shut and tied to burning arrows. The pots shattered on impact, spraying burning pitch and clay shrapnel over whatever creature unlucky enough to be in the sights of a Kieran's Pass archer.

Inu Yasha grinned tiredly at the thought, then heaved a sigh. Emotionally, it ripped at him to see Kagome so exhausted. She deserved better than this, even if she managed to keep her spirits up. Her newly discovered ability was definitely of great use, but she still needed to learn to better reserve her power.

"Son."

He blinked.

"Inu Yasha."

He sat up from where he had been resting in Kagome's room. "Dad?"

"Don't give up…your old man's coming to save you."

Inu Yasha tried to sound sour, but could not contain his relief. "Is Mom with you?"

"As if I could make her stay." The elder shifter heaved a long-suffering sigh. "At any rate, we'll be there before nightfall. You'll probably be able to see us soon."

"Alright, Dad." He heaved himself up, and began to make his way to the wall. Suddenly, a loud explosion shook the keep, and he began to run. Passing wounded and previously resting people, he had no time for their questions. Bursting onto the wall, he looked around wildly for someone who knew what was going on.

"Inu Yasha!" Conn called, pushing his way through the masses. "It looks like they tried to ignite something to blow a hole in the fort!"

He looked at his friend, aghast.

"Don't worry." Conn spoke cheerfully. "Turns out they've only harmed themselves. The wall itself is unmarked." He shook his head in disbelief. "We knew they were stupid, as any army that size should have at least taken the front walls by now…but that's just beyond anything I've seen."

"Good thing." Miroku's robes were dusty and stained, and his face haggard. The blade at the tip of his staff was dulled with the ichor that oozed from their enemies. "That's where the wounded are."

Another explosion knocked them from their feet, seeming to drive home his words. When the smoke cleared, it was obvious that the stupid creatures would eventually get lucky.

"Inu Yasha!" It was Sesshomaru.

"Yeah, I know. Where are the women?"

Sesshomaru paused. "With the wounded." He finally answered.

"Where are you?"

"In the front."

Inu Yasha looked down to see his brother's slim, proud form slice through another monster with less than his usual grace. Sesshomaru was running on nothing but sheer will, as he had been fighting almost the entire time, with little rest.

As the last tremors began to cease, Kagome and Sango helped the healers begin moving the wounded further into the fort. Nzinga stretched from where she had been resting on the floor, and felt a familiar, unwelcome sensation; an insistent demand for attention from the blade strapped to her back.

She heaved a great sigh before drawing Scathach from her scabbard. "All right, you pushy bitch," she muttered. "What is it you want now?"