Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

SURVIVE	By : ajj77sunhawk Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 26393 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 27
- 28
- 29
Happy new year all. Hugs and thanks to all who read and for the wonderful reviews, I soooo appreciate it.

Read, review and enjoy.

Chapter 28 : Intentions

General Bankoutsu's giant sword ripped through a faceless enemy, the being almost exploded as it died leaving behind nothing but gore. Fire raged around him as the General and his team took the offensive against the enemy. The battle was brutal as it was brief. Having received distress call from the border town, the General's team of fifteen warriors had used mirrors to teleport to the closest outpost. They had swept into battle, and had caught the enemy by surprise.

Bankotsu and his team made swift work of the enemy. The illusions hiding the true nature of the enemy did cloud demon senses, but the team handpicked by the General proved that success in was happened before a battle was joined. Only two members of Bankotsu's team were precision attackers, the other thirteen all had wide area attacks. Blurring forms made no difference to Demons who took out, not just you; but ten feet around you with the same force. Ariel poisons were contained wind generated by the great wind flaps and containment powers of the Seraphic warriors. The precision members used their speed to save as many of the town's inhabitants as possible. In short order, silence filled the village as the last enemy fell to a Seraphic arrow and exploded into a cloud of glue.

It was the first attack on a proper town rather than an isolated village or caravan, and it was the first loss that the enemy faced.

The enemy had cast a vortex of power around the town to stop anyone from within the area from opening a new portal. The enemy had not counted on the Youkai being so well prepared for war that they had almost fixed mirrors in hidden outposts around the land. The discovery of how to maintain stable fixed mirrors was only three hundred years old, and the enemy having been in an isolated human city for so long, had very little idea of what the Demons were now capable of.

In the City of the West, the body of the high priestess glowed red as the Shikon's anger spilled out. The barely clothed group of kneeling minions, cowered and cringed in fear as the displeasure filled the air and malicious burned their skin.

The viewing mirror it used to watch the attack spluttered to darkness as the last of its minions exploded. The Shikon tore the mirror off the wall and smashed it into the small crowd, shards liberally spraying them. While they covered their faces none dared move from the places their master had set for them. The Shikon, with exception of a select few, did not need beings of will around it, it needed dolls. Perfectly obedient dolls, who would do anything from killing, to suicide, to fucking on their Masters whim. The twelve that knelt belong to the Shikon totally. They had volunteered to serve without understanding, but they had understood real fast what it meant to be dolls of the Shikon, when the Jewel had ripped into their minds. As they had once done to Inuyasha, all their thoughts were laid bare to the Jewel. In between planning world domination, the Shikon had relaxed by training its' dolls. Molding them into its perfect guards; perfect toys. Beings to guard it and carry out its will without thought.

Immediately, snapping back to outward calm, it turned to glare out the painted windows.

So fast, the demons had reacted so fast. It had thought this would be an easy victory, indeed in the past the initial stages of its wars had always met with victory. What had changed? How had they mobilized so fast. The Shikon ground its human teeth. This was a fluke. It had underestimated its enemy. NO! This was not an underestimation; the enemy had just got lucky. The weak simpering fools who wanted unity between blood, who shunned the glory of being the last one standing – they were weak. Unfortunately they were also lucky.

Its wars in the past had been built slowly. A ten course meal to be savored. It was years before the Overkings had even realized it had awakened. The Shikon preferred that, the slow seeping destruction of his enemies. The games of turning friends into enemies, or slowly creeping into the hearts and conquering the land, as it had done in the City of the West. But this time it was different, the abomination walked free, and the Shikon would not have it. There would be no slow build up like in the past. The Shikon could not afford to lose warriors in small skirmishers, not when its supply of minions were currently limited to the City of the West. No more of these games, this would be a buffet.

The Overkings had yet to enter the fray. It presented a golden opportunity to the Shikon. It would gather its forces and crush the underlings who opposed it. The abomination would belong to it once again, and when the Overkings finally stepped in, it would be too late. This time the Shikon would win it all.

A cold smile painted across the marble-like face. With an almost absent gesture, the dolls immediately crawled across the broken pieces of the mirror to worship gratefully at their Master's feet.

** :D *O* :P

Inuyasha watched solemnly as the Bankotsu's team gave their grim briefing. Though they had successfully routed the enemy, they still had little clue to the nature of the creatures they were dealing with. Human, demon or seraphim they had no real idea what the attackers were as each and every enemy had exploded when they died. What was left over, could not be viewed or scented in any practical way possible. While the team were comforted that they could kill this level of their enemy easily enough the power of the one behind the frontlines worried them.

Even as the briefing ended a flurry of activity had them looking towards the great doors. The doors swung open and Lady Kaede walked into the hall. Her walking stick firmly in hand, her step was paced and deliberate. Her white hair and stout solid body made her seem grandmotherly. Her eyes however bright blue and sharp, scanned the gathering before her. Nothing missed her gaze. With a definite stlye, she tossed her walking stick at one of the servants, straightened up and strode with the strength of one many years her junior towards the group.

Bakusen'O raised an eyebrow, "You do not need the walking stick?" The elderly Youkai a long time peer of the Priestess asked casually.

Kaede shrugged, "There are no stubborn priest-lings here who need a good smack and one has found that it is to one's benefit to seem slightly weaker than one is. It makes the younger come forward and volunteer assistance rather than sit back and wait for one to do things for them. Now is not a time to hide one's power, our enemy is is on the move. Of the seven scouts sent to the city only three managed to escape and return, the rest were attacked and killed. A shroud of mist has engulfed the city, and none who have gone into the mist have returned. The shroud is expanding outward, it has literally swallowed up the outlaying villages, and it keeps growing." Kaede's voice was controlled and matter-of-fact. Her confidence and demeanor made one thing clear; underestimating the seeming old woman would be a grave mistake.

The old woman nodded at Sesshoumaru and Kouga in greeting. Her steady pace carried her to the middle of the room. All of a sudden she faltered. Coming to an absolute stand still, her eyes widened in shock. "Child is that ye?" The words left her lips at a whisper. The sharp eyes suddenly filled with moisture. "By the light, do not allow these old eyes to be playing tricks, please say that it is thee child?"

Calm golden eyes blinked at her. Inuyasha stepped out from the shadow of the pillar he had been standing under. In a strangely graceful move, the Hanyou sank to his knees before the Priestess, his head however was unbowed. "Mistress." It was all he said in confirmation.

Before anyone could move, Kaede grabbed the walking stick back from her servant and bonked Inuyasha gently on the head. "One spoke too soon, there are stubborn youngling here!" she huffed. "Stand boy, one has told you that thou should only knee before the light, not before its poor servants." Inuyasha made to stand, but his movement was arrested in an awkward half crouch, when the Priestess caught his cheeks between the palms of her hands.

The old woman looked deep into the rich gold orbs, the welling tears spilled out, and dripped onto the Hanyou's face. "Your eyes… they are alive… finally.. they are alive." She whispered, her thumbs caressing his cheeks. "By the light young one, one is sorry. One is so very, very sorry. One tried, one tried everything one could, but Lady Kikyo would not release thee to me. One has never felt so powerless. One is so sorry…" The last words came out as a sob, her relief so great at seeing the Hanyou who was the largest source of guilt in her life was finally free of the nightmare she had been forced to leave him in.

The priestess sagged against Inuyasha and the Hanyou suddenly found himself floundering as he was in unlikely position of comforting someone.

He cast a rather desperate look at his Alpha.

Sesshoumaru smirked in response. Any emotional show from his Beta was welcome, and even if he was not too comfortable with the priestess familiarity with his Beta, he had a feeling that the human side of his Beta needed this. For Inuyasha to truly heal validation from humans as well as the other races was required. All three aspects needed to accept their unique strengths.

Of course as much as Sesshoumaru could see Inuyasha needed the contact, there was only so much touching of his Beta that he would allow. So after a few long moments, the still smirking DaiYoukai glided forward and lifted the Priestess off Inuyasha.

The Priestess stood on her own feet and leaned a little into Sesshoumaru's strength. "Milady, do you need some time?"

The lady shook her head, she wiped off her tears and straightened up. "Nay, My Lord. This is joy not sadness, it is not every day when one's dearest wish is granted so easily. One sees your hand in this My Lord and I do thank you for saving this young one."

"You do not need to thank me for saving what is mine." Sesshoumaru's voice contained a hint of the warning, as he stepped away from the Priestess and stood just in front of the Hanyou. "Inuyasha is my beta."

The Priestess blinked, she could not help a wave of concern that engulfed her at the sheer possessiveness in the DaiYoukai's tone. Was the young one a prisoner here as well? Her eyes drifted with concern to the silent young one standing straight and tall next just behind the Lord. The Lady drew her power around her, she could not allow any uncertainty in this matter. She glanced calmly at Sesshoumaru, and deliberately released a spell. Sesshoumaru growled silently but he still stepped away giving silent approval for the Priestess to continue.

The priestess moved two feet in front of Inuyasha. She began to glow and a circle of sliver blue expanded outwards encompassing Inuyasha.

"Child, this may be my own issue, however this old one requires confirmation. Speak without fear, none may speak a word that is false within this circle. What do you want for your future? What is your choice in this matter?" The old woman spoke with a powerful tone, her voice demanded an answer. The spell she called on was ancient and rarely used as it left the one who cast the spell open and very vulnerable to physical attack. It spoke of Lady Kaede's trust in her surroundings that she dared to use the spell. She would have never even considered using it in the Western Temple of Light.

Both Miroku and Sesshoumaru's attention was riveted, this was something they wanted to know as well.

Inuyasha tilted his head, he blinked, the only outward sign of his confusion. His brow furrowed as he thought deeply before answering. "My choice.." he spoke slowly, with the voice of one unused to giving their personal opinions. "My choice, is to serve Lo…" Inuyasha went bright red as he corrected himself. "..is to serve my Alpha. I want to learn, to do my best to keep those who serve and who are friends with my Alpha safe." His voice slowly gained confidence.

"You are wholly willing to stay in the Western Demon Lands? Do you want this to be your home child? Are you happy here?" Kaede pressed gently.

"Yes, milady" Inuyasha replied without hesitation.

There was a small pause, and Kaede realized that Inuyasha had no intention of saying more, the Hanyou felt he had adequately answered her questions.

The spell faded and the old woman smiled at the Hanyou. "Very well, it is done. Stop dawdling all of you, we have battle plans to discuss." The elder snapped at those around her, gaining their attention and moving them forward to other discussion topics. Having cleared the key question, Inuyasha's situation was no longer a matter of concern, and just like that the group moved on to battle plans.

Inuyasha appeased by the warm possessive light in his Alpha's eyes, took his place by the pillar once again.

They strategized for war.

:P :X

From out of the murky dark, purple tendrils shot straight at him, he ducked and slashed. Razor claws cuts through the thick mass that once severed from the main body disintegrated. Blood splattered, coloring the grey outfit a dark red as the defender's arm was cut by another tendril.

Spikes exploded from the tendril to shred the defender, but a deft sword pieced the offending piece and hauled it away, slicing it in the process.

The battle was eerie in its silence. The tendrils made no sound as they were cut, sliced and destroyed. Two of the defender's dripping sweat and blood were equally silent. Only the battle cries of one defender broke the unnatural quiet. The defenders in this unnatural battle pushed the tendrils back into the darkness. They could not see the source of the tendrils, but with each cut, with each successful strike, their combined light grew, and the darkness retreated.

The battle lasted for what seemed to be hours. Claws, teeth and sword meeting and forcing back the onslaught. The scent of the defenders blood was thick in the air as they finally combined their strength in one big attack, pushing the tendrils out of their consciousness.

The three defenders stood silent, as the darkness and the attack receded.

"Well, that was fun." Yasha's teeth gleamed as he smirked at the retreating darkness. "It was good to test our new skills."

The other two nodded but solemnly looked to the edge of their world.

"Keh! Come on guys, the sanctuary is safe. We just had a good fight. Can't you enjoy that a little?" Yasha asked his grin fading at the heavy energy of his other.

Inu looked deep into the shadows as he sheathed his sword, "Yasha do you not see what this attack means?" He ran his clawless hand through his thick black hair.

The teen Youkai unconsciously mirrored his human counterpart as he scratched his hair and shrugged. "No." He replied honestly.

"We are targeted, the enemy is focusing on us. To enter our mind like this; to attack us with ferocity from such a distance means…" Inu's voice was deep, thoughtful.

"Oh!" Yasha said as the penny dropped, "The enemy is powerful, very powerful. No! You cannot think that the enemy is more powerful than our Alpha!" Inu spluttered rather indigently at his hero being challenged.

"I do not need to think it. I can sense it. Individually this enemy is much more powerful than anyone we have met." Inu said his voice no louder than a whisper. "But.." Inu stalled Yasha's outraged protest "… but our Alpha does not fight alone." Inu glanced at his dominant aspect.

Clad in the red blood stained outfit, wounds still leaking, Inuyasha turned to his two aspects. "No, our Alpha is not alone. The enemy targets us… that is good."

"Inuyasha we should tell Alpha what is happening." Yasha said uncertainty tinged his words, telling someone, expecting another to protect them was alien, wrong.

Inuyasha slowly shook his head, blood dyed hair brushed against the stained outfit. "No, Alpha has many things to do. We will not disturb him with such a petty concern. We will not distract him. The enemy targets us, that is good, because we can use that to help Alpha destroy the enemy."

At that point three levels of understanding merged, they all felt a sense of rightness at the silent decision. All three looked at each other solemnly.

"I will keep Pup close" Yasha's voice suddenly took on a much, much more mature tone. "We will not be alone."

The ebony locks bounced slightly as Inu nodded. "Our pack, we will keep them safe. We will not fail."

"We will draw out the enemy, we will weaken it, wound it." Inuyasha's voice matched the others.

"Is that enough?"

"That is the realistic assessment of our strength. We will make it enough. We the enemy comes for us, will last long enough to give our Alpha the edge to defeat the enemy. We will do what we can to keep everyone safe. We will protect them." Inuyasha's voice was filled with unwavering determination

"We had such a short time with Alpha. Are we sure we cannot tell him?"

"Alpha is honorable, he will seek to protect us, we will become his weak point. That is unacceptable. It has always been our task to guard. It is the right of the Beta to sacrifice. We have had a short time, but we had much more than we ever expected. Everything has a price." Inuyasha's voice trailed off, as he paused and the three aspects shared a long solemn moment.

In perfect unison the three spoke together, "This price is acceptable. We will protect them all. Until we give our people the edge, we will not fall." The three unified voices swore, the words resonating in their mind's eye. They made this oath with dead calm, they did not fear death, they did not fear pain. They would serve their Alpha and they would do whatever it took to keep their new family safe.

Without another word Inuyasha faded from the sanctuary, Inu and Yasha both drifted into the inner sanctuary, they needed to be with Pup, to touch and be touched. Death was not something they feared, and this would be a geed death. They had so little time, but it was much more than they had ever dared to expect, so much more. They would keep their family safe.

:C :X :K :O

Sesshoumaru's eyes snapped open and scanned the room, something had disturbed him. His Hanyou stirred restlessly in his arms. A bad dream? Before Sesshoumaru could even stroke the cotton soft hair comfortingly, Inuyasha relaxed and seemed to slip back into deep sleep. Sesshoumaru pressed Inuyasha close to him, luxuriating in the warmth that the young body emanated. Inuyasha fast asleep cuddled into him, a soft smile touched Sesshoumaru lips. The nightmare seemed to have passed, his eyes drifted shut.

===TBC===

I must admit that this is one of the hardest chapters I have ever written, mainly because I have to move the story on and pick up the pace as the enemy is on the move. Its hard to balance action with the romance. So what do you think? Please review.
- 27
- 28
- 29
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

SURVIVE