InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ War's Shadow ❯ Momentum ( Chapter 23 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

23 - Momentum

Everything was so heavy. The night sky was a hovering shroud, darker than black, but the clouds were moving on and faint white starlight was coming through, as though someone had methodically poked holes into a bolt of dark cloth and held it up to light. The terrain under Rin's feet was soft, malleable, and shifted underneath her periodically, still unstable from the recent rainstorms that had passed through. The sandy mixture sucked at her shoes in some places. Even her mind felt heavy, as though bracing an uncertain and worried heart.

Where is he? Every thought was a prayer for him, and it made her unfocused as she waited, perched atop the steep cliffside. The trees behind her felt like a wall of shadows, so thick and impenetrable by sight that it felt as though nature had cut off an escape route.

Not that there was anything to escape from...yet. Her nerves were on edge. She felt like a midget among giants, halting steps carrying her past the towering, omnipresent army of bear youkai around her. Their leader was kneeling at the edge of the hillside, precariously close to that edge in her estimation, but he gave off an aura that was comforting at the moment; unimpressed by the seemingly endless numbers of youkai soldiers they were able to eye from their vantage point, appearing to be little more than ants scrambling back and forth around their colony from this distance. Furu appeared calm, thoughtful, one arm slung carelessly over a massive, armored knee as he peered outward at their enemies, and Rin found her feet carrying her toward him.

"One thing I can say for that unexpected western army," he began in his low, rumbling voice, "they are an effective distraction. As scattered and unformed as they are, they've caught Kawahira's attention. He doesn't even appear to realize I am here. But," and he turned to smile meanly at Rin, "then again, he believes that I am on his side. How unfortunate for him. It will surely dent that alarmingly large ego he carries between those pointed ears of his."

It was convenient that he was kneeling, because Rin found that he was nearly at face-level, saving her some neck strain. "You are going to wait for Sesshoumaru, aren't you?"

"I won't wait all night for him," Furu replied, sight falling to her hands and the bow she was lightly rubbing between her fingertips. "I have no way of knowing his status. And those poor western bastards are going to need some help with this. It's just too bad he's not here to do something with them."

"He'll be here," Rin said fervently.

"I'm taking my cue from Kanaye," Furu went on. "When he comes out, he's going to need some help. Not even that blood-thirsty cur will be able to get through that many soldiers. And that's where we come in."

"He'll be surprised to see you here," Rin murmured, taking a moment to clasp her long hair away from her face as the wind picked up again. One less distraction...

"He'll love me for being here," Furu wryly replied with a slowly widening grin. "It'll give him an excuse to exercise those profanity-flinging muscles. Be prepared to close your ears." The wind changed and he lifted his head. Rin watched his eyes as the pupils dilated into something feral; there was a tensing to the muscles, and then just as quickly he relaxed and appeared sly as he announced, "You were right."

Her face fell into a frown at first, uncertain of what he meant, but there was some movement behind her and a hand fell across her shoulder before she could turn to register who it was. Rin whirled, already recognizing that touch before her sight found him and Sesshoumaru instantly found himself assaulted by embracing arms, the surprised and curious looks of an army of bear youkai, and the relieved exclamations of a female who somehow managed to air everything in one breath, a string of questions he had to work to follow.

"You're all right!" came the triumphant cry as she pulled back, fingers folded around his wrists as though he was likely to flee from her. Then, more uncertainly, "Are you all right? And Kagome? Where is she? Did you find Aite? I lost sight of him and he never followed---"

"We'll discuss it later," he answered evenly and she appeared suspicious of that statement, so he added, "Nothing has happened tonight that cannot be corrected." He was as calmly composed as ever, and so frustratingly unreadable. "How did you end up with Furu?"

"Kanaye pitched her off of a bridge. I think there was something charitable meant in that somewhere," Furu answered with a shrug. "Isamu brought her to me."

"He's here?" Sesshoumaru questioned darkly.

"Yes, and he didn't bring anyone with him. What does that tell you?" Furu responded in a grim tone. "He said he'd give you until dawn. And, interestingly..." he went on, pausing and looking up as Inuyasha descended from among the trees like a white-and-red monkey, Kagome clinging to his back in jeans with ripped knees. "Ah, the half-demon and the miko," Furu acknowledged, ignoring the biting greeting he received in return as he focused back in on Sesshoumaru. "There is a mish-mash conglomeration of western youkai heading in this direction...I hesitate to call it an army..."

"I didn't call for any such thing."

"Of course you didn't, but they are here now and they are a mess. If you have any interest in seeing them return home, I suggest you give them some sort of instruction. All they have been useful for thus far has been to draw Kawahira's eye. I went to speak with their leader only to discover that there really wasn't one. All I heard was a chorus of 'Sesshoumaru-dono' until I was sick of hearing your name."

Looking supremely put-upon, Sesshoumaru glared back at this news, but his ears picked up the acerbic tones of Inuyasha as he muttered something to Rin and Kagome, and a thought appeared to come to him.

"Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru said, turning to eye the hanyou behind him, "did you hear that? There is an opportunity for you to be useful."

Dog ears flattened in high suspicion as Inuyasha seemed to catch on to what Sesshoumaru was hinting at. "I'm not your lackey!" he charged hotly.

"Then be their leader," Sesshoumaru replied with a conciliatory calm that made Inuyasha feel even more paranoid.

"Keh...you just want me to do your dirty work; the stuff you can't be bothered with."

"That is what inept younger brothers are for."

"Do you hear yourself when you speak?"

Stalemate. A matched golden glare, unblinking. Rin and Kagome breathed a collective, simultaneous sigh. The stubborn fix to Inuyasha's face said that he was not about to give in, and Sesshoumaru's ireful glare finally melted, changed into that eerie diplomatic cool he had sunk into earlier. Inuyasha's face darkened further.

"You want to prove that you can fight along with those that are better than you? Then do it."

"One day I'm gonna take you out," Inuyasha grumbled sulkily.

"Not today. I'm busy," came the frosty reply.

And then the stares broke, as though they had come to some agreement that was not evidenced by their words. Inuyasha's head swung toward Kagome and he barked a gruff, "Stay here," before leaping back off into the trees, a shower of damp leaves raining down from his departure.

As though having brushed off some unwelcome insect, Sesshoumaru turned back to Furu, composed and expressionless once more. "And why are you lingering here?"

"When Kanaye comes out, I'm going to give him a clear path. But I also know that he rarely does anything on a small scale, and so distance is a virtue. Need I remind you what happened to that village that kept sending exterminators after him?"

"It no longer exists."

"Precisely," Furu agreed with a nod.





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It was more difficult to push her out of his mind. Ashihei's demise had been a tragedy, but the boy's brainlessness had long-since been established and so it had not been a terrible shock. Keito's death had hit a little harder, either because of the gruesome manner or because it had been the second such event in a short amount of time. Eizan was not sure, but it had created a well of regret and had trenched a bottomless hole of rage. Elif, however...

She had always been very clever. Even as a child she had had a way with words; she had been able to talk her way out of punishments that were delivered to her brothers for the same act; she had been adept at charming herself out of trouble in more instances than he could count, with him, with Kawahira. Elif always got her way. She had been spoiled and held in a different regard as the supreme female in his household. Truly, she had reigned over it like a queen, and he had let her. Repayment for the incident with her mother? Perhaps so. But where he had been proud of his sons, it had always been the girl that had garnered his attention, his affection. He had been pleased to give her anything she wanted.

Except this. He had left her inside that mountain, abandoned her to a dark and closed-in grave, no light, no memorial. And why?

As he determinedly began the journey back to his home, first trudgingly and then gathering speed along with his anger, he realized that as much as he had loved Elif...and yes, he had...there was something even more precious to him, and that was his vendetta. He would happily allow her to remain within death's grasp, because it meant he would not owe Sesshoumaru anything. What idiocy had that been? That last, sharply-worded sentence he had hurled? Remove her? Allow her to be revived by him? Never. Eizan had lost her to that mutt, just as he had lost his wife to the mutt's father. He would not give Sesshoumaru the satisfaction of bringing the girl back, basking in that superiority of being capable of something that Eizan himself was not.

It was not an ideal outcome, but it was something he could live with.

He had Kawahira. And knowing that boy and his eerie sixth sense when it came to an encroaching threat, he had likely already mobilized their armies. Eizan had no question in his mind that he was following on Sesshoumaru's heels, that the west would attempt to capitalize upon his absence by assaulting his territory as soon as they could possibly manage it.

And Eizan would crush him. Just the image of that bastard's corpse at his feet was enough to spur him on even faster, hurtling past a blurred dark wall of trees and landscape. He kept inhaling the scent of dust, the mountain's insides, his own blood. He was lucky to still have that arm. He could remember every twist and turn in that fight with Sesshoumaru, every movement, every motion of muscle and bone and thought. There had been that one mistake; he had been off-step and Sesshoumaru had used that instant to shove his sword through Eizan's shoulder, just above his heart. That moment had frozen, was locked in his mind and he could have sworn in that instant he had been staring back at Inutaisho. The deceased western lord had been known for being magnanimous, generous...but no one could summon so predatory a look, as though death was a foregone conclusion and he was merely playing his part in prompting the inevitable. Sesshoumaru lacked the more positive qualities of his father...but that, that intangible thing was the same. And for a moment, he had been afraid that perhaps he would die at the whelp's hand.

And then a resounding chaos, and all he could recall were those last snide words from Sesshoumaru and those from Elif. He had railed against her for being so much like her mother, but in the end he had seen just how much like him she was capable of being. Who else would spend their last breaths to try to prove a point? To argue something to the very last moment of their existence? Perhaps that was something he had in common with her, maybe he was hurtling toward his final argument. If so, he was content with that.

He did still have Kawahira. The boy had been the future of the north since the moment of his birth. He excelled at everything, even beyond what Eizan was capable of. The loss of the other three was acceptable as long as the end results justified their deaths. If Sesshoumaru lost, then those deaths would have meaning and his conscience would be assuaged. He would take the west, he would start eradicating the humans, beginning with the pests that swarmed throughout his own borders, most especially the parasites that were Zadi's people. He would find a way, because that was yet another characteristic he had had in common with Elif. He always knew what it would take to get his way.




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The sounds of running feet and her own rapid breathing felt overly-loud to Sashe's ears. She had spent so long in such complete silence, such deprivation, that now everything was a surprise, everything was hitting her senses; colors, textures, sounds, smells...lit torches, fleeting shadows, mirror-like floors that shone with a recent polishing. The air was so clean, it pumped in and out of her lungs and it was like she had never breathed before. It sent blood rushing and she felt so very awake and alert. Her fingers were folded around Zadi's sword, and she could count the grooves in the hilt by feel alone. It was like waking from a dream and being thrust back into reality.

A reality with a murderous guide.

She had seen her father fight before; more times than she could count. Really, it was what he was best at, and he was in high form at the moment. The blade of Zadi's sword was pure and shining, unused. Sashe hadn't had a need to use it. She was following in Kanaye's wake and it was as though he was parting a path through water, bodies in various forms of dismemberment striking the walls on either side of the orange-lit corridor they were in, some hitting the floor with a disturbingly final sound. That pure air became coated with something more sickening and reminiscent of what she had left behind.

She looked up as he gave a sweeping glance behind him, as though to make certain she was still there. He looked positively feral, the unbroken hand dripping and bloody from use, but he also seemed very at ease, as though the hard part was overwith. He probably felt that way, but that's where their opinions differed. The bellowed war cry of another of Eizan's soldiers brought his attention back around to the front, but his body blocked her view of what he was doing and so all she caught sight of was a vicious sweep of the arm and another resounding thump as what was left heeded gravity's call.

"Where is Kawahira?" she questioned nervously. That man had eyes in the back of his head, and it unnerved her more that she did not see him. She found it difficult to believe that all of this commotion was occurring and he was simply unaware...

"Hopefully he'll show up," Kanaye bit back wickedly.

"It may be a trap, Father..."

"Then let him spring it," Kanaye instantly replied with a carelessness that only made her more nervous. As though sensing her unease, he glanced back at her once more, appearing faintly amused. "You worry far too much."

But there was no trap. There was no need for one. When the first wave of fresh, outside air reached her face there was a euphoric moment of freedom, a rush of dark sky overhead and grass underneath her feet...and a near collision as Kanaye's forward motion halted with catlike-precision. She stepped around him and peered outward, scant light illuminating a veritable sea of armed youkai. The absolute silence that greeted their rush into the outdoors rang inside her head as soundly as a shriek. The rows of soldiers curved around the sides of the fortress, walling them in like a segmented snake, and Kawahira was the head.

He hovered directly across from her father, hands free of weapons, eyes dark and challenging. She remembered that day when she had been poised to kill Eizan and he had caught her nearly in the act. He was an impressive fighter. Kawahira had been trained and molded into a skillful army commander and he was just as adept at personal combat, but...

Sashe glanced at her father's profile, backlit by the torches bracketed to the outside wall of the castle. He had that feverishly intense look to him, the one that always preceded a brief and bloody mess. Kawahira was good, but he was not possessed by that instinct to kill as Kanaye was. Her father was one that willfully surrendered to that less-than-civilized youkai side and he adhered to no rules of combat. Yes, Kawahira was well-trained, but so was Kanaye and he was the dirtiest fighter she had ever known. How many times had she scolded him over that? And now she could not be more pleased; so much for ethics...

"Kanaye, it was thoughtful of you to bring yourself here. It will save me a lot of time and effort," Kawahira offered politely, and a light chuckle rippled through the assembled lines of soldiers.

"I should thank you for the escort," Kanaye graciously answered in return, pushing Sashe's arm away as she attempted to place the stolen sword's hilt in his hand. "I rather enjoyed myself. I made friends," he announced airily, and his head turned, eyes sliding through the crowd until he locked onto someone of interest. Kawahira's gaze followed suit until both youkai were settling weighted stares on a suddenly-nervous Shoujiro.

"I asked you to hold something for me. I would like it back," Kanaye requested of Shoujiro with false politeness.

"Did you honestly think I would just hand it back to you?" Shoujiro sneered, but his voice lacked the confidence he was so desperately trying to muster.

"Do you think it matters?"

Sashe could tell that that was not the response Shoujiro had anticipated and he looked suddenly conflicted. It made her wonder what exactly her father had done while captured. But her attention was diverted, along with everyone else's, as she sensed...something...and then, suddenly, there was chaos as a group of bear youkai descended upon the rows of neatly-lined soldiers, who quickly drew weapons in anticipation of defending themselves. The air rang with shouts and clashing weapons, complete disarray as the northern soldiers recovered from the surprise of the sudden assault.

"Right on time," Kanaye murmured near her ear, and then he grasped onto her arm and all but dragged her past the violence. A few stray flying daggers dissected the air, cutting through it with a whistling sound that prompted him to pull her into a defensive embrace and leap beyond the fray. Damp night air flew past her face, wildly blowing her hair. The sounds of the battle became much more distant, and then he touched back down, released her, and she took an unsteady step away from him, turning to find herself surrounded by even more bear youkai...she recognized Furu-sama...and, that girl...Rin, wasn't it?...another human woman she did not know...and...

Sesshoumaru was eyeing her with a thoughtful expression, neither welcoming nor forbidding, eyes half-closed as though deciding whether or not it would please him more to send her back. She exhaled a weary breath, not hearing whatever it was Kanaye was saying behind her, wanting nothing more than to find a hole and crawl into it. She felt even guiltier; looking at him at all was difficult, at any of them, and she wondered how many of those youkai were going to be killed in that effort to free her. She moved to slip past, but a heavy hand reached out and wrapped itself firmly around her forearm, followed by a stiff voice.

"You have something to say to me," Sesshoumaru prompted icily.

Here it was. She had been right. He was not one to forgive, especially a betrayal. He had the longest memory of anyone she knew. She was certain he would be able to recite grievances from childhood. She took a deep breath and expelled the apology. "I am very sorry, Sesshoumaru. I cannot say---"

"That is not what I'm looking for," he quickly cut her off, and she glanced up at him, but he was not returning the look and she wondered what it was he wanted to hear. The grip did not lessen, as though he was waiting for something. Her mind delved into that last conversation they had had. She had stubbornly defended Eizan; he had voiced a very clear punishment. She pondered through every syllable, because it was etched into her mind and had been considered carefully over the past few months.

"Thank you?" she questioned miserably. What does he want? He did look at her then, head turning with an expression of such open exasperation that she would have found it funny under a different circumstance. And then she remembered who it was she was speaking to.

She hung her head, a silky white curtain of hair hiding her face as she exhaled a quiet laugh. "You were right, Sesshoumaru. I should have listened to you."

And that did it, because he released her. "Remember that the next time you tell me I am wrong," he muttered, and moved past her to Furu. "Call them back. If you are going to insist on interfering, then it will at least be organized."

"Only you would organize a killing spree," Kanaye sighed dramatically.

"And only you would call it a 'killing spree'," Sesshoumaru snapped back distastefully.

Furu made an ear-piercing whistling sound that prompted both dog youkai to turn wordless wrath in his direction, but he ignored it, and whatever that call signified, it worked. Within moments, massive shadows attached to even larger bodies began appearing once more on the hillside. There was a quick count that found none missing, as the injured had been brought back by the more able-bodied, and Furu put Rin and Kagome to work on the wounded. Before the request had been completely voiced, Kagome was all-business, regretting having left her backpack behind at the mountain, but focusing in on what they had available.

"Give the word," Furu invited Sesshoumaru. "You might want to check on that little brother of yours, though. Something tells me that 'army' is going to give him more frustration than he's prepared for."






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"What'd you call me?!" Inuyasha roared back into the face of the youkai, an elemental one that resembled a mobile sapling, willowy and more than a little snotty in his estimation.

"Half-breed. That is what you are, after all," she responded unapologetically. "Do you think we are actually going to take orders from you? Just because you are Sesshoumaru-dono's half-brother? He despises you, that much is well known. And we are to believe he sent you to lead us?"

"You weren't half as shocked as me, and don't think I want to be here," he snapped back. "But, hey, do your own thing for all I care. I'm here just to tell you to get your shit together because you're wandering around like a herd of cattle."

He heard a grumbling of disatisfaction in the masses of youkai that circled him, and he resentfully worked to make his voice more conciliatory. Time was a factor, after all. "You want to help Sesshoumaru out? Then don't embarrass him because I'm telling you now, if you humiliate the guy, Eizan's soldiers are going to be the least of your problems."

The annoyed mumbling quickly turned to something resembling concern, and Inuyasha discovered that he had hit on what would motivate them. "So either shape yourselves up into something halfway respectable or clear the hell out. He doesn't need you lot anyway."

A collective gasp of dismay. You poor, brainwashed bastards...

"We can be useful! So many times he and his father protected our homes," came one pleading, faceless voice within the crowd.

Probably not purposefully, at least on Sesshoumaru's part, Inuyasha's mind grumbled.

"He never asks for anything in return!"

Do ya really think he'd deign to speak to you?

"It always falls on him. He never allows for any expression of thanks..."

That's because he's an asshole, came Inuyasha's mental nod.

"All right, then. If you're so anxious to do this, then do it right!" Inuyasha barked at them. He pointed toward the back of the assemblage. "You three! Whatever you are...come up front. Those are longer range weapons, right?" Surprisingly, there was no more dissent, and the youkai began to eagerly follow his directions. Inuyasha wasn't used to this type of fighting; he was more accustomed to the smaller, specialized group, but the same principles applied and so he worked to arrange them into something respectable, weeding out the obviously weak and pushing them toward the back, moving them about according to strengths and faults.

By the time Sesshoumaru materialized beside him, the army was neatly-formed, quiet in order to hear instruction...well, quiet until a chorusing echo of "Sesshoumaru-dono!" rang out to greet his arrival.

"They're less an army and more your mobile shrine," Inuyasha muttered in quiet sarcasm.

"That is why I left them to you," Sesshoumaru coolly answered and he was instantly rewarded with a wilting glare.




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"Ji-sama!" Ashitera crowed ecstatically at Eizan's sudden, grim arrival. Zadi's head snapped upward toward the doorway, praying that the little girl did not say anything that would cast her into suspicion. She rose quickly to her feet, outfitted for battle, skirts and kimonos left behind, traded in for boots and something more form-fitting. As much as she despised fighting, she was taking this very seriously. Everything rested on this. She was certain that neither side would withdraw, and so it would continue until one side was destroyed. Hopefully not until both sides are destroyed...

Zadi watched as Eizan stared blankly at the little girl for a moment, as though mentally digging her up from the past. He was in complete disarray, coated in gray dust that smeared across his face like some primitive war paint. Blood was pooling from fingertips to floor, an ugly spreading wave of crimson. She glanced back up at him then. The sounds of battle outside had faded away, and she wondered what that meant. She had had to restrain herself from peering out the window to watch...to watch for him.

"The...western army has arrived, and he has some help from the southern territory as well. Furu's people are here, and so I can imagine that he is as well."

Zadi's eyebrows rose at the ancient tone in which those words were uttered, and she nodded as though he was simply verifying things she already knew. "You should let me do something about the injury," she graciously offered, practically choking on the attempt at concern.

"It won't bother me," he said fervently, and his eyes shone with a strange, hard light. "Why aren't you helping Kawahira?"

"I received no orders to do so," she replied sweetly, when, honestly, she had been trying to stay free of that skirmish. She needed to wait for the right moment, and that had not been it, too many innocent people would have been involved. "But as you can see," she went on, gesturing to her attire, "I am ready to go when asked. I have my end of the bargain to fulfill still, do I not?" she inquired, reaching out to stroke Ashitera's dark hair back from her cherubic face.

"Yes," Eizan said haltingly, "and if all goes as planned, you should be able to leave with her before the night is finished."

"Then tell me what you need." It felt like that night months earlier, when he had come to her village in search of her, feigning cordiality, approaching her as though they were old comrades instead of enemies separated by a century and the ugliest battle she had ever been involved in. That night he had requested her assistance as though she was an equal. She had disliked him then, distrusted him. Nothing had changed. If nothing else, she had come to abhor him even more. He showed decency in only the barest of shreds. The north would fair much better with him gone.

He fixated on her with an intent, amethyst stare, as though willing her to cooperate with him. "Do you remember what you did to my army the day we first encountered your people?"

"All too well," she answered quietly, and her mind turned inward to the remnants of that chaotic night...

They had been near the base of the mountain, choppy, frigid waves crashed up against the rocky shore not far away. It had been a frigidly cold, unforgiving day. The sky had been gray-shot and storm-tossed; the rain had wet her hair and the cold had stiffened it, froze it until it felt like icicles were hanging from her head. Her lips had been numb, face, fingers, toes. And those youkai, they had been completely unaffected, as comfortable as if it had been a sunny spring day. She had been left behind with a small group of armed men and women, and the children, while the rest of her tribe had split off into groups to search for someplace suitable in which to build a village. But Eizan had come, and so had his massive army, and she had been the only one there at the time with an ability suited for protecting them all. She remembered warning Eizan, cold wind whipping into her face. All that youki, so much of it gathered into one place. She had seized it, used it, and she could remember shrieks of pain and surprise, of sharded swords intermixing with the driving ice in the wind. But that had not been enough. Eizan had sent another wave forward and she had been forced to do it again, until he had finally given up. It had been excruciatingly exhausting. She had merely blinked, or seemingly so, and had been warm, and dry, and back with the others, Koron's blonde head bobbing into view as he eyed her with bemusement.

"You have to do everything, don't you, Zadi? Either your ego is completely out of control or you see yourself as expendable. Why is that?"

Why indeed, Koron? She felt it was because they were like her children. All of them. And as precious as her life was to her, theirs meant more, especially now when she felt as though she was on borrowed time, an extended life bought through violence against other beings. She should be long dead, dust even, forgotten. How strange that she was in another position so similar to a century ago. Three months earlier she would have told Eizan to go to hell, would have taken Ashitera, and would have left. But she had to do what she could, and Ashitera no longer belonged with her. She belonged with another woman, with Rin, the one she had been crying over until Zadi had made a concerted effort to cheer her.

"I want you to do that again," Eizan said slowly, as though to make certain she understood him. "To them. Hurt them, disorient them, disarm them. This will be over quickly."

Zadi felt Ashitera's wide, innocent eyes turn her direction and she blinked away those far-off memories, giving the girl a reassuring smile. "This is hardly something that needs to be discussed in present company, Eizan..."

"Will you do it?" he bit out darkly.

Of course, I will. You need not have even asked, she thought coldly, but kept her tone level as she voiced a simple, "Yes."

He nodded back at that, and she could see no sign in him that he suspected her of treachery. How unfortunate for him.

She turned a bright smile on Ashitera, reached out to tap her on the end of her nose, inciting a giggle. "You stay here, all right? Don't look out the windows. Someone will come for you soon."

Ashitera nodded solemnly and watched as Zadi-san and her Ji-sama left, the door clicking shut behind them. She swiveled her head, looking about, searching for something to pass the time. Zadi-san had said someone would come for her. She would be a good girl and wait. A loud gust of wind tore past the window, moaning and making her shiver. She cast her eyes upward to the scrolls that hung from the wall, but she could not understand them. She remembered that night...the one where he had taught her to make those characters. She could recall the long, easy strokes...her name...and then, again, when she had asked...his name...

When Ashihei-sama had wanted to speak to Ji-sama and Kawa-oji-sama he had written characters down and sent them. That was how they talked from so far off, and she wondered...

She glanced over at the long-cold fire, at the blackened cinders. She walked to it, and knelt, carefully poking one tiny index finger into the dark powder to make certain it was not still hot.

Not even warm. And so, as the wind screamed around the corners of the castle once more, Ashitera bent over the shiny wooden floorboards with a soot-blackened finger and began neatly, methodically, to write out Sesshoumaru's name.





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Kawahira had been surprised when Furu's people had relented and dissipated, returning to their leader as suddenly as that call had echoed out into the night. But he was not stupid enough to believe that was some sort of a surrender. Even so, he took advantage of the break in fighting and reformed the various detachments of soldiers, giving specific instructions to their commanders, of when to hold back, when to attack, how to attack. He gave them some of the insights he had acquired from previous battles with Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Kanaye, and Furu. He informed them of tactics used, tricks, weaknesses, strengths, movements to avoid, attacks that would merely be wasted energy. He fell into form as the commander of his father's military, and it was a comfortable position, one he was accustomed to and best suited for. He could now see the subtle movements on that distant hill that suggested enemy movement, likely Furu's people since they tended to keep to tree-cover. He knew from gathered information that Inuyasha was with the lackluster western army, a half-breed brat who knew nothing of conventional warfare. Inuyasha counted on his sword to maintain his life. Kawahira knew that Kanaye was injured, a mangled hand. He would not be able to transform and he still lacked his weapon, was forced to rely on some spare trinket he had stolen from Zadi. And he relayed all of this, everything he thought of until his people were as informed as he was, and they, in turn, would pass this information on to the rank and file soldiers.

His father arrived then with Zadi in tow, and the woman looked as though she had stepped into form as a demon exterminator. He barely recognized her; her expression had turned from the usual calm kindness to something vaguely sullen, nearly predatory and he wondered if his father had had to coerce her to participate. Something about it felt wrong, but before he could pinpoint exactly what was bothering him his attention fell to his father. He could smell blood. Eizan's and...

"Where is Elif, Father?" he questioned, his voice sounding odd and vacant to his own ears. But he already knew, and it was just the manner of it that would dictate his response.

"We'll discuss it later," Eizan replied stiffy.

"Did you kill her?"

"No," Eizan answered and he looked fully into Kawahira's challenging face, "but she did die a traitor, thanks to her own stupidity, and it was all uneccessary. She would be here now if we had kept a better rein on her, but I was not the one that allowed her to leave, was I?" came the venomous retort.

Kawahira was silent at that for so long that Eizan began to wonder what sort of response he would be able to expect. Finally, eye contact was broken and Kawahira muttered, "Perhaps you should leave this to me."

Eizan gave a bitter laugh then. "Do you honestly think I am going to cower in my home while this goes on outside of it? After everything, now that all is left is you, do you think I would not want to watch his destruction? If you seek to blame constructively for your sister's death, then place it at Sesshoumaru's feet. He somehow charmed her into plotting with him, against us. Just like his father and your mother."

Kawahira listened silently to that. Something was pounding within his head, rage...or grief...? They felt the same at that moment. He wasn't even certain who it was aimed at, but he could feel that something was going to start soon and he needed his bearings. Wordlessly, he moved away to give last minute orders. But he could remember Elif's unease, her worry, and that day when she had insisted that this would kill them all. Her words, her voice thumped in the back of his skull. He would have to prove her wrong. He would make all of this worthwhile. And he would long regret not having been at that mountain.




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She felt like she had been watching him for ages, but it could not have been for very long. Minutes, perhaps? She and Kagome had seen to Furu's injured comrades, and now they were all waiting. For what exactly, she did not know, but there was surely some rhyme or reason to it. Last minute admonitions were being called, messages were being hurtled back and forth between Inuyasha's group and those that remained on the hillside. It was situated like a throne overlooking the lit fortress, which now, with the lanterns lighting the windows, reminded her of a pile of alternately stacked skulls, eyes glowing with malcontent.

And as much as it seemed like a throne, Sesshoumaru gave off the aura of its king. He was standing near the edge of the downward slope, keen sight piercing the darkness to watch the movements of his enemy, arms folded as though he was becoming impatient. If she was not mistaken, the sky was becoming more blue than black, and she recalled that, for some reason, they had until dawn and then Isamu was going to intervene. That made her nervous, mostly because it appeared to make Furu nervous.

The faint words of a low argument reached her ears, and she turned to peer over her shoulder, eyeing Sashe and Kanaye. The young woman had been out of that horrible place for scant minutes before she began talking about fighting with the rest of them. Rin had a feeling who would win that argument. She then cast a sweeping glance over to Kagome, who was speaking kindly to one of the wounded bear youkai. It amused Rin that someone as sweet as Kagome was able to invoke such mistrust just from the fact that she was a miko. It had taken much coaxing, bargaining, and even threats from Furu in order to force some of them to accept some sort of treatment from the human women. It seemed Kagome was still doing her best to win them over, but she appeared faintly nervous as well, and Rin knew that was because of the absent Inuyasha.

Her thoughts went to Ashitera then, and it felt as though a rock was clenched within her stomach. It was difficult to fight the impulse to convince Sesshoumaru to go get her, but she knew that distracting him now was not the thing to do. Ashitera was surely safe inside that castle; she was with her own people. She had not been mistreated by the soldiers while Rin had been with them; they had just seemed intent on keeping the little girl separated from her. When this was over, when this was won they would take her back... If he will allow it, came the uncertain thought as she watched the back of his head, white hair faintly stirring in the breeze.

Stepping forward, Rin moved to stand beside him, looking down over what was about to become a battlefield. "If...anything happens to the castle..."

"The girl will be fine."

She glanced up at him, and she supposed she should be reassured by how completely unaffected he appeared to be. There was a serene intensity and focus, no nerves, but, then again, when did he ever suffer from a bout of nervousness?

"Will you be?"

That stare broke and he angled his head toward her, eyebrows rising as he admonished, "When did you acquire so much fear?"

She blinked at that, at first feeling the question to be strange, then understanding what he meant. "I don't know," she admitted with a faint smile. "I think it sort of...snowballed. Constantly having to look over my shoulder, worrying about what would come from where and when and how bad it would be."

"Have I seemed particularly bothered by any of this?" he questioned.

"No, and that worries me even more," she lightly teased.

"That is because I am better at this than he is," came the ego-stroking declaration, but she could hear how very serious he was when he said it. "That is also why this entire conflict began. He fears me. Some can ignore their fear, but others allow it to eat at them until they either go mad or destroy the source. Eizan lives off of an ancient vendetta. He has willfully allowed it to consume his children. Now he will succumb to it as well."

"It seems rather sad if you put it that way," she murmured, thinking of Elif's end. How strange that she would regret that...

"You have an overabundance of sympathy," he lightly scolded.

At that, her mind swept to Aite and she felt her throat constrict. "And...Aite...why didn't you try to revive him?"

Sesshoumaru's attention wavered for a moment as he cast an irritated look in Kagome's direction before glancing back at Rin. "She speaks more than she should."

"Sesshoumaru?" she prompted.

"I did not restore his life because it is not my decision. He does not belong to me. He is yours, and not so long ago you were more than anxious to be rid of him. You would not allow me to end his life, but in this instance, it was lost naturally while in your defense. It is a choice for you to make, so I leave it to you."

Rin brightened instantly at that, looking as though something had just been lifted off of her. "Then you will do it?"

"I'll do what you want."

"You are...wonderful!" she exclaimed, blinking back tears.

"Your standards are interesting," he remarked dryly. "But even I can do only one thing at a time. Let me see to this ill-bred mongrel before I see to yours."





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The western army was the first to arrive. Zadi saw them coming across the field, at first a distant moving mass and then, as they drew closer, she was able to pick out individual faces and she wondered when Eizan would attempt to give her the order. She also wondered how much control she would have. Would she be able to hone in on the correct target? It had been so long since she had done this on such a scale, and there had been no need to thread through youki to pick and choose targets. It had been one instantaneous, mass decimation. Movement came from the direction of the hill on the eastern side, but by the time she turned her head Sesshoumaru and Kanaye were already on the field surrounded by an assemblage of large, stockily-built youkai.

Wind swept through the tall grasses, flattening them and the patches of wildflowers that grew at will. She kept her sight locked on Kanaye; he looked like a deity, white and ghostly in the darkness, like an apparition. Even now she could feel it, a swelling power, practically tangible, and visible to her like a faintly rotating mist, tornadic. It hovered overhead; intermixed, intertwined. Her heart began to pound nervously. She remembered that first night when she had sought him out, and in her mind's eye she could recall his sudden surprised grasp for his own power. She had beaten him to it; it had been like two enemies diving in for a weapon at once, and she had emerged the victor.

She gathered a steadying breath, turned to look out over Eizan's army. Many of them had their weapons in hand, those that Kawahira had set to lead the attack. She supposed there would be no perfect opportunity. She looked beyond them to the glistening perfection of the lake in the distance. Starlight shone off the water, creating small beacons of light, as though lanterns were lazily floating in the depths.

Could she acquire that much focus? People milled around behind her, awaiting Kawahira's order to attack. Eizan hovered next to her, intent on his enemies; the hatred he was exuding was nearly palpable. Her fingers were shaking. She was afraid. It would all be for nothing if she harmed Sesshoumaru's side as well...

Zadi glanced up once more across the sloping field. Kanaye was speaking to someone, one of the large demons that she did not recognize. She suddenly wanted to capture his attention, to make him understand. He was so smart, it would not take much. And then it occurred to her; her concern was that she could not pick and choose while unleashing that attack, but she could focus in on one. That was what she was accustomed to, how she always attacked, how she had assaulted him. Her sight locked in on the weapon in his hand, her own sword, and she did not blink until it became visible, the youki that emanated from the hand that held it, wispy silver tendrils of raw power, unused, there to be grasped...




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Kanaye broke off mid-sentence and glanced down at his hand as it suddenly, inexplicably warmed, the skin heating, and underneath it the hilt of the sword he had accumulated from Zadi began to shake subtly, prompting him to glance up and across the field. She was eyeing him intently, looking tense, fearful...

He frowned at her stupidity, but took the warning for what it was. "Tell your people to drop their weapons," he barked at Furu, bringing Sesshoumaru's head around at the demand, but he did not pause to answer questions, instead hurtling off into the pitch-dark copse of woods that separated them from Inuyasha and the western youkai. When he emerged from the leafy overgrowth, he honed in on Inuyasha, dropping in beside him so suddenly that the hanyou jumped at the sudden intrusion.

"What the hell are you...?"

"Tell them to disarm, mutt."

"Huh?"

"Do what I told you. If you don't, I'm not mopping up what's left of you," he snarled before disappearing into the darkness once more.





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"They're beginning to disarm," Eizan murmured in surprise, watching as Furu's people suddenly sheathed their swords. "Your reputation precedes you, Zadi. Hurry with it."

Instead of agreement, he was surprised by the sound of amused laughter, and it prompted him to turn and stare at her as though she had been suddenly and irrevocably relieved of her sanity.

"Oh, Eizan," she said mirthfully, with a shake of her head, "you are so stupid. It would almost be endearing if I didn't detest you."

His face darkened angrily, "Now is hardly the time to air our problems." Behind him, he heard Kawahira's commanding voice ordering the first wave to ready themselves. Zadi's eyes fell to them before roving back to Eizan, pools of blue venom. Something in his head set off an alarm as she backed several steps away from him, appearing eerily focused, intent. Instinct told him not to draw his weapon, and it served him well.

An earth-rending boom! sent tremors underfoot, and the night air was filled with agnoized screams of pain, of shock, and dismay. What looked to be silver fireflies arced into the sky, shining, like miniature stars that rained down upon an unsuspecting army, biting, tearing...fireflies that were actually remnants of ruined weapons, useless, turned inward to attack their wielders. The smell of blood fused with the wind, the sickening scent of overconfidence and betrayal.

Zadi's sight shifted and focused in once more on Eizan's face, which was now ugly, seething with fury. He was livid, and she was exhausted. It felt as though every muscle was shaking and spent, but she was so pleased with the result that she could not help but smile triumphantly as Kawahira worked to calm the chaos somewhere on the distant field. Sesshoumaru did not give him the courtesy of time, however, and suddenly the noise intensified, became a menagerie of pounding footsteps, shouting, and, quickly, clashing weapons. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see movement as the western youkai poured across the field, immersing themselves into the fight with the confused and disarrayed northern army.

Her sense of triumph was short-lived, however. Zadi was drained and slow, and so she did not move quickly enough when Eizan, caught in a rage, drew his own sword. The first swing caught her by surprise, something cold cut through the skin just below her neck, knocking her backward into the damp grass. She inhaled a sharp breath, but her field of vision was filled with a descending blade...and then, quite suddenly, Eizan was plowed from his feet by a silvery blur that collided with audible, bone-crunching force. The sword was sent flying, embedding itself into the loose earth with the force of its own momentum. Muffled curses, a roar of pain, and the sound of a ferocious struggle ensued. Zadi pushed herself painfully to her knees, ignoring the raucous battle that was full-blown behind her. Instead, her attention was squarely focused on what looked less to her like a battle between two grown youkai and more like a fist-fight between a pair of boys over some aired insult.

Kanaye got the upper hand when he grabbed Eizan by the shoulders and pinned him down, claws gleefully digging into the wound until he was rewarded with a bellowed obscenity. Eizan retaliated by grasping his opponent's broken hand and wrenching it, which did less to ease his predicament and more to enrage Kanaye, who began hurling expletives in more languages than Zadi could identify and repeatedly shoving a fist into Eizan's face until the knuckles split and the unfortunate youkai lord was much less recognizable.

"She was mine from the beginning, you stupid bastard," Kanaye hissed with evil satisfaction, reaching for Eizan's forgotten sword...but his victim took advantage of the shift in balance and shoved him off, clambering unsteadily to his feet and instantly throwing himself into his canine transformation. His ruined face elongated, blue-black fur rippled outward, arms and legs extending to grow vicious claw-tipped paws until a colossal, seething beast replaced Eizan's more civilized form.

"I would accept the invitation, but that mode of attack is temporarily incapacitated for me," Kanaye called dryly, leaping easily out of the way as a heavy foot smashed down, cracking the earth where he had been standing.

Zadi was not certain how he had done it, but at some point Eizan's sword had ended up in his hand. There was a feeling of dread at that, because she was watching strength and size versus speed and agility...which meant that Kanaye was forced to remain defensive. All around her were the sounds of impact...weapon to weapon, weapon to flesh, flesh to ground. Her head was pounding with it all, and it was frustrating, because she could not see the youki...it was as invisible to her as if it did not exist, and that came from the exhaustion of her earlier attack. Her fingers clenched themselves into nervous fists as she watched Kanaye impale Eizan's sword through the canine's right eye...only to be caught by a massive paw that sent him crashing into a heavy collision with the ground. And then, to add to the confusion, an arc of brilliant yellow-white energy spewed from the darkness behind her and struck Eizan full on, crushing him into the ground with what felt like the force of an earthquake.

As though scrambling for his life, Eizan detransformed, grasped for his sword, and barely lifted it in time to meet a wrathful descending Sesshoumaru, whose own new weapon was still ringing from the assault. Kanaye rose to his feet and watched the quickly-intensifying melee for a moment before turning to glance Zadi's way...and then, quite suddenly, he was kneeling next to her, appearing completely unmoved, and she marvelled at the fact that he was not even breathing hard.

"You're an idiot," he proclaimed. "A warning would have been ideal."

"I did give..."

"That was an announcement, not a warning. I had enough time to tell people to drop their weapons and have a zen moment before you started blowing people to spare parts," he complained. "And now, instead of tracking down my damned sword...my last good one, thanks to you...I am here to make sure your scrawny ass doesn't get trampled. It's a requirement of that 'friend' shit, right?"

She said nothing, merely blinked at him as though trying to follow the quick shifts in conversation.

"Although, I will admit," he said conspiratorially, glancing over his shoulder as though to make sure no one was nearby, "that was quite impressive."

"Are you complimenting me?" she asked in genuine confusion.

"I'm complimenting the results," he explained. His eyes fell to her throat and he extended his good hand, thumb brushing across the cut to inspect its depth. "You're lucky your head is still attached. Now quit bleeding on my shoes."

She exhaled a weary breath, feeling at a loss for words. Her muscles felt like they had been liquified, her head was foggy. Everything sounded eerily distant.

"Zadi..."

She blinked at the sound of her name. Had he ever called her that before? She didn't think so. It was always something derogatory; wretch, bitch, shrew, among other less-than-desirable names. It sounded strange coming from his lips, different in his dulcet Japanese than it sounded in her own native language, smoother and more refined. It had always sounded clunky to her, but she infinitely preferred it his way. "It sounds so much better when you say it."

"Say what?"

"My name."

"Is that so?" he questioned dryly, as though humoring her. He then cocked his head slightly and frowned at her obvious exhaustion, looking to be considering something. "Youki absorbed from the attacks extends your life. Can it restore the energy you expend on something of this scale?"

"I...don't know...," she answered slowly, as though the idea had never occurred to her.

That hand reached out once more, palm up and fingers outstretched, an invitation. "Then shall we give it a try, leech?"




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Inuyasha found that he missed the old way of dealing with the bad guys. Just him and Kagome, Sango and Miroku, and even that brat, Shippou. There had at least been some order to that, some sense. This, on the other hand, was a complete free-for-all, pure madness, and any attempt at controlling the western youkai was pointless. Some of them had not fared well, but most were still upright and in the middle of the fray. After the insanity of the start of the battle, it had taken Eizan's people a moment to adjust to the sudden, unexpected blow. But many of them were now weaponless and injured, those that were not were outnumbered, and then there were the poor bastards who had never gotten back up after Zadi's initial strike.

He supposed that he was meant to be doing something, but he was no commander, and Sesshoumaru knew that. He guessed he had done all he had been intended to do. And that was a good thing, because his attention was quickly side-tracked from watching those youkai and gauging how well they were doing to being caught up in his own battle.

Kawahira had come up out of nowhere, halberd-swinging, but it seemed clear to Inuyasha that the guy had purposefully hunted him down within the masses of battling youkai. That was fine with him. He hadn't gotten a chance to repay that last attack in the woods the other night, the one that had been flung out from the shadowed safety of the trees, a desperate attempt to take out both him and his brother in one sweep. But Kagome had been there as well, and Ashitera...

Yes, there was certainly a lot of score-settling to do. Tessaiga versus Ryuujin. Inuyasha fanged a mean smile as he returned Kawahira's swing, meeting him with a clash of sparks, catching onto the cool composure in his opponent's face. Ryuujin certainly wasn't in charge anymore. It was all Kawahira this time, and Inuyasha was more than happy to show him just what a hanyou could do.





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They had simply picked up where they had left off, when they had been interrupted by Eido and the mountain's collapse. As Sesshoumaru continued to battle the physical wreck that was Eizan, he found that the man appeared to be summoning strength, almost as though a sense of self-preservation was kicking in and, anticipating a near end, his body was throwing everything it had into the fight. Sesshoumaru knocked him backward a few steps and then leapt in once more, bringing his blade crashing against Eizan's, shoving against that adrenaline-induced rush of strength until they were nearly nose-to-nose, glaring spitefully into each other's faces.

"Did you remove her?" Sesshoumaru questioned coolly, as though none of this was costing him the slightest amount of effort.

"I'd rather she be dead than owe her life to you," Eizan hissed, the words sounding sluggish and vaguely serpent-like through a mouth that had been pulverized thanks to Kanaye's thorough beating.

"As I said, it was your decision," Sesshoumaru replied, eyes narrowing, "but it does not matter. You'll be reunited with her soon."

Eizan shoved off, leaping backward to gather some space before lunging in again on his own terms. Sesshoumaru met him, but he could not help recalling the sincere threat he had voiced to Eizan so many months earlier, just before all of this had started...that snowy day when his training had been interrupted and he had met Eizan at the bridge near his home. There had been the attempt at civility, and then the exchange of threats, and his own promise came back to him now. He had sworn he would own the north by the end of this conflict, and they had not been idle words.