86Chapter Twenty-Nine: Draconic Upheaval
"Fiat justitia et pereat mundus."
- Ferdinand I
Let justice be done, though the world perish.
Almost one thousand years ago, the Inu no Taishou sealed away a great dragon. His crimes? Treason. Assassination of a holy emperor. Patricide. Genocide. One hundred years ago, an untrained monk released a hanyou from a tree and accidentally released a portion of the great dragon's mind into the unsuspecting world. In the decades between then and now, the taiyoukai have played a great game of cat and mouse, trying to trick the dragon into admitting his presence and submitting to them and returning to his captivity. But another party has spent over a millennium working towards a far different result. Finding someone with power enough to destroy divine magic. Their pawns are the same- members of an ancient bloodline descended from gods long turned to dust, names barely remembered in the Shinto registry. These two paths are about to crash headlong into each other, and the results will be nothing like anyone imagined. And it will take more than just luck for any of them to get out alive.
- Late Afternoon, May 23, Maebashi, Japan -
The dragon in the cliff face was writhing continuously, the fang buried into the cliff face slowly shaking loose. Below it, a tall, aged youkai stood, arms upraised to the sky. On each side, a pair of bound people, two humans to his left, two youkai to his right. Pale blue and dark amber magic on one side, sea green and brilliant red to the other. In the center, in one upraised fist, a pink light lit up the entire glen. And deep within the stone cliff, a great mixture of magic that overshadowed those gathered below, coalescing into a pure white color with each word that fell from the dragon youkai's mouth.
Rituals had long ago fallen out of common use. Powerful as they were, they also required a great deal of power and concentration to complete, and mistakes were often fatal. Only the most experienced of practitioners used them, and only if they had a good enough cause. Using a ritual without ever having cast it before- without anyone having ever cast it- was tantamount to suicide.
Ryukotsusei was neither foolish nor self-destructive. Just very confident in his powers. And because he was certain of success and his concentration was focused solely on the upkeep of the ritual spell and the bindings on his sacrifices, he did not notice when it began to go awry.
- Las Vegas, Nevada, United States -
Even in the crowds of Sin City, people made way for certain individuals. A deep, instinctive recognition of power, title, and youki. Sesshoumaru easily made his way to the one of the many poker tables in the casino at Caesar's Palace. It had a 'Professionals Only' sign hanging above it, warning off newcomers and amateurs of the game.
Five players and a dealer sat there, surrounded by a large crowd attracted to the higher-than-usual stakes two of the players were using, and the way they kept winning at it too. They sat at opposite sides of the table, but they had played at that dealer's table often and she knew them to be family. The attractive brunette was in her early twenties, and the dealer had heard her call the man across the table 'father' often enough. The redheaded man was aging impossibly well, looking in his mid-thirties. The brunette's game was not as self-assured as her father's, but he was her only real opponent in the current seating.
She watched out of the corner of her eye as a tall, silver-haired man in a neat business suit made his way directly towards the redhead.
The redhead was looking up before the other gentleman had finished his walk. He folded- to his daughter's irritation and the other players' relief- and stood, another playing taking his seat. The redhead moved away from the table to talk with the newcomer and the dealer returned her attention to the betting.
"Shippo," Sesshoumaru said in greeting. "You are looking remarkably well for being dead."
"I'm like a bad penny," the redhead grinned. "I keep showing up."
"Not in Japan, however."
"Yoko made the two of us leave," he said in explanation.
Sesshoumaru eyed the brunette, her long hair worn loose in subtle waves, as if they were normally in a braid. "I remember seeing your daughter in Niigata earlier."
"We've been here all week."
"Which makes this Sesshoumaru wonder what Yoko is up to. Ikiryoko taking his appearance, and him taking the kit's."
"My father has never been one for explanations. No doubt you know more of his plans than me."
"My apologies for interrupting your game."
"There's always another one."
At the table, the brunette succeeded in making the last of her opponents go all in, and moments later, left them pale-faced as she revealed a royal flush in spades.
She said to the dealer as she stood, gathering her winnings into a pretty gift bag, "It's no fun playing without my father. There's no challenge without having a player better than you. But it's also no fun when the player is just too far ahead of you."
"Their pockets are certainly a great deal lighter," the dealer agreed. "Perhaps they'll remember they were pretentious little snots when they first started card counting as well."
"Everyone needs a lesson in humility. But I'm not counting cards. I'm just the handmaiden of luck," the brunette grinned.
- Tokyo, Japan -
Yoshi lay on the couch, watching through half-lidded eyes as Kagome took stock of his small apartment.
Finally she spoke. "Why isn't your apartment in shambles like the other buildings? What does your aunt have to do with anything? What do the gods have to do with what's going on? How are they going to get everyone killed? And why do you have so many plants?"
"I have so many plants because I've been training an earth elementalist. Her magic was practically wild, so lessons in control were key. Plants hold energy well, and they don't hurt anyone if they accidentally blow up. The lattice could, I suppose, be considered her thesis paper. This building was reinforced magically. My aunt is a lovely girl. Unstable, though. On good relations with Yoko-sama." He closed his eyes.
"As for what's going on, the simple explanation is Ryukotsusei killed the previous lord of the West. He's also killed the a great deal of other people, human, youkai, and god alike. He has the irritating habit of bringing himself back from the dead, so the taiyoukai decided to just seal him away alive. As he's escaped, the taiyoukai are trying to reel him in to be captured again."
Kagome took a seat on the floor in front of him. "And Tokyo?"
"A casualty in their war. The youkai lords were overconfident, and thus, they will get us all killed. Ryukotsusei is overconfident, and will get us all killed, as well as himself," Yoshi explained.
"How do you know all this?"
"As Sesshoumaru said, Yoko favors me."
"You mean Inari," she corrected.
His eyes snapped open to look at her. "How'd you- never mind. Yes. As I was saying. Yoko told me a great deal, and the rest of it is from eavesdropping and divination. No one notices the humans. Might I ask a question of you?"
Kagome shrugged. "I probably don't know the answer."
He smiled half-heartedly. "I'd be worried if you didn't, actually. What happened to the Shikon no Tama? Your aura is completely out of control."
"You can sense- It was-" she paused, rubbing one hand on her side over her scar, no longer covered since she had torn half her shirt off earlier. "Ryukotsusei took it."
Yoshi's eyes closed again and he leaned his head backwards. Sighing, he said, "It was to be expected. It also explains why you haven't asked-" he stopped himself. "Dependency is a poor thing, especially in your case. While waiting, why don't you try focusing on the plants?"
She scrunched her nose up, confused.
"Plants don't have memories or thoughts, thus there is no loss of self," he explained. "You need to regain your control of your powers before Ryukotsusei realizes he needs you for his ridiculous ceremony, not just the Shikon no Tama."
"What do you mean by that?"
There was no answer. Kagome looked closely. His skin was still far too pale, but the slow rise and fall of Yoshi's chest reassured her he had only fallen asleep. She stood silently.
At heart, he was a teacher, she knew. And he had been trying to tell her something more than just what was going on with dragons. But it wasn't as important as finding the dragon and stopping him from freeing himself. If he had the power to level Tokyo now, there was no telling what he could- and would- do once he reunited with his freed body.
Kagome walked to a part of the latticework and placed her hand above it, barely touching it. She closed her eyes, trying to see how Yoshi's former student had created the masterpiece.
She imagined the soil, placed in a shallow shelf that replaced the bottom molding of the room. Seeds scattered through it, tiny lights of green and life, full of potential. Wooden lattice nailed into the walls. She could feel someone beside her, concentration so focused their world was narrowed to nothing but soil and frames and floral life. Even more faintly, she could feel her aunt- a combination of fading memory of a teacher and sharp memories of her divination abilities. Slowly, so slowly, she could see tiny vines creeping out of the soil, growing towards the framework.
Kagome could feel herself putting down shallow roots into the soft wood, anchoring her, but letting her move forward. A helping hand, a ladder to higher places. Vines intersected, and she knew what each one knew, where they were, where they had been, where they wanted to go. She faintly felt the concentration beside her snap- the leftover trace of a memory of a student who tried so hard and could not achieve her needs. But Kagome was past her. She was a tiny leaf in a giant lattice, a part of a whole that grew increasingly, spreading out over the room, over the walls, over the city.
She could feel others, creatures unknowingly helping in the growth of the latticework, trapped by their pain, unable to move onwards, but still able to tell you what paths to avoid, if only you listened. And she was Japan, she was Asia, she was not a spirit of the earth, but the Earth herself, a giant lattice of lives, reaching towards each other, staying or continuing on, touching lives and being touched in return.
It was beautiful.
And then she was back inside herself, just Higurashi Kagome, miko priestess, pre-med student, waitress. But there was an awareness there- a sense of the larger picture- that she had not had.
Yoshi knew it. Sesshoumaru was looking for it. And someone else- maybe something else- was guiding it.
She knew where she was going. Where it all began. Where it all ended. The Shikon no Tama was not just a jewel of power hidden away inside of her. It was alive. Aware. And it called to her like a siren to a sailor, still a part of her, but not actually herself. Where the jewel was, were the endgames.
And she, merely a pawn trying to make it across the board, to stay alive until the opposing king was deposed, saw every move needed to reach the end- if not safely, then with her life intact.
- Niigata, Japan -
Fukii woke to loud swearing. They stopped suddenly as Inu-Yasha noticed her.
"He fucking left me with you two babies to go have revenge. Like I know how to deal with magic."
"We're not babies," Fukii said, voice barely rasping, as she sat up. "I'm not that much younger than you, and there's something old about the kit."
He ran his hand back through his hair. "Well there's going to be something dead about her if we can't get those bindings off of her. Sesshoumaru should be dealing with this, not me. That asshole's the one who got this whole thing started anyway."
Fukii looked at the bound kitsune. Chame was still unconscious, most of her covered with dark strands of black ropes that glowed faintly. Her features looked paler- as if the spell was sucking the color out of her.
"Yoko wasn't really Yoko," she said, thinking out loud. "And so the vixen was able to throw off the binding spell."
"And the fox was able to throw it off because his divided loyalties," Inu-Yasha continued. "But that doesn't mean shit for unwrapping the genko."
"No, no," Fukii said, thinking quickly. "That will work. All kitsune have divided loyalties. Friend one minute, enemy the next, bed partner sometimes. They always have little back-up plans. But would one as young as Chame have a slippery enough mind to convince the spell she isn't a loyal follower of Inari?"
"Seems to me that she's the one who needs to get the magic off of her, not us helping her." Inu-Yasha prodded the kit, black ropes twining about his finger, and then slipping off. He tried picking up a piece, but his fingers wouldn't hold.
Fukii copied his movements, noting the strands weren't as quick to move away from her as they had been for the hanyou. "We can't just leave her like this, though."
"Well unless you were blessed with knowledge along with the responsibility of controlling the Northern territories, neither of us knows jack shit about dealing with divine magic."
"What I don't understand is how he could use divine magic. And he targeted the fake Yoko- she wasn't Inari, so the spell shouldn't have worked. Not unless-" Fukii paused, frowning at the kit.
"Not unless Inari was actually present," he finished, following her train of thought. "That's how it goes, right? But wouldn't that mean-" He stopped, catching on to what the wolf pup suspected.
They stared, neither of them wanting to voice it. One didn't simply just bind millennia-old gods by wishing it so. And it seemed even the taiyoukai had vastly underestimated the amount of power the dragon had gained.
"It still doesn't explain how he could use divine magic," Fukii said softly, as if their new knowledge would wake the kitsune if they spoke too loud. "Only the gods can use it- all magic is based upon the user. Youkai can't use human magic, humans can't use youkai magic."
"And only gods and miko can use divine magic," Inu-Yasha interrupted. "Except that doesn't explain me seeing the kit using youkai magic, and the dragon has been too."
"I didn't even think the gods really existed anymore," Fukii said. "It's been centuries since they were seen."
He snorted. "It's not like they can die. Maybe they're all like him now," he said, eyes flicking to the kit. "Disguised as youkai."
"But Ryukotsusei isn't a god. He's just a dragon youkai," Fukii argued.
Inu-Yasha stared ground, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Not completely. Sesshoumaru once told me that all dragons are descended from the Dragon Emperor."
Fukii shook her head. "Not enough so to actually be able to use divine magic."
"Oi, I wasn't done," he said, looking up to frown at her. "The old stories say the Emperor had two sons."
"And lo, the elder son did lay low Ryujin, Dragon Emperor, and the Heavens did know war. For the Four Guardian Beasts did take offense with the elder, and did battle for control. And in the end, the Beasts did triumph and both sons fled east to the lands of the barbarians. Then were the Heavens closed in mourning for the Emperor, and the gods and the creatures of the Heavens did walk the mortal plane," Fukii recited. "I already know the stories," she huffed.
"Yeah, but did you know the sons are still alive?" he asked smugly.
"Impossible. Your own father hadn't even been born when all that went on, and it's not like he wasn't ancient when he died," Fukii argued; mind already calculating dates and piecing together clues.
He looked irritated. "And do you really think it could be anybody but someone descended from a god who could have killed him?"
Ryukotsusei killed the Inu no Taishou. He had been cursed to slumber- an entire mountain range growing up around him. The taiyoukai and other powerful people made frequent trips to reinforce his seals. The only reason they would do that was if they were really worried- maybe even feared- that he could wake up. But if you followed Inu-Yasha's suspicions, it became obvious why they didn't simply kill Ryukotsusei. One didn't just kill the son of the Dragon Emperor- even if he had killed the Emperor. Death freed the soul for possible reincarnation, and the powers of one life often followed into your next. The punishment had to be sterner- had to last forever.
Awareness and power, but the complete inability to do anything but watch as youkai, and then humans, take over the world he had once thought to become Emperor of. He had to have burned with hatred.
Something had gone wrong though, and he was partially free and now apparently had the means to completely free himself.
"We're so fucked," she stated, staring wide-eyed at the hanyou.
- Maebashi, Japan -
Mischa watched from her uncomfortable vantage point as huge cracks went tearing down the cliff face. The dragon embedded in the stone was shuddering- either in pain or to shake off the rocks.
Gods, she hurt. And she was going blind from all the power smashing about the place. She didn't think this was what the dragon had expected to happen.
Green mist suddenly rose from the ground, and a tall silver-haired youkai popped into view.
The mountain finished giving way and rocks went flying everywhere.
Sesshoumaru drew his sword and charged towards the chanting dragon youkai.
The dragon in the cliff face gave one final shudder, and the great dragon soared free from its imprisonment, eyes red with rage.
Kino's head severed from its body, and both parts dropped to the ground, silent under the din of the rocks crashing around them.
The inu taiyoukai landed gracefully opposite where he had started his attack on the dragon. Then, realizing he hadn't been in time, went racing after the dragon flying north.
Mischa wondered where all the energy still bounding around the clearing was supposed to go. She started struggling, furiously, pain shooting through her broken arm. She had to get Souta and herself out of here before that magic hit them.
Fifteen feet across from her, the bound phoenix burned through the black strands of magic tying her, and watched as all the magic in the clearing swirled into one huge beam and headed straight for the tied girl. Her scream tore through the air, and the firebird blinked out of the clearing before the explosion she knew would happen.
- Tokyo, Japan -
Kagome reached a hand out to the sleeping brunet and concentrated, focusing on the oneness she had felt. Soft magenta light surrounded him, and the gray pallor to his skin disappeared. Kagome smiled brilliantly as he opened his eyes, startled.
"You ready to go?" she asked.
Yoshi blinked at her, confused.
"I know what's going to happen," she explained. "And Sesshoumaru-sama said you're an air master. I figure you've got a faster means of transportation than just a car. We need to get to Ryukotsusei's resting place."
He slowly sat up.
"Now," she stressed. "Or bad things will happen."
"It's not that simple. I'm completely drained, no matter that you just gave me a little pick-me-up," he said. "Nice job on that. Should have realized you'd be as quick to learn as the other two," he added vaguely.
"Miko magic is compatible with human elemental magic. I recognize the power in the plants here- it's the same as when Mischa showed up in Niigata. Which means you can manipulate others' magic. Use mine to get us there," Kagome ordered.
"Kagome-san," he said with a sigh, not bothering to ask how the miko had so quickly grasped whose plants were here, "it's not that simple. Meirin-san is an elementalist. I am an elementalist. You use holy magic. They're not interchangeable."
"But they're close enough you can force it. Please, Yoshi-san," she said pleadingly. "We don't have any time."
"Don't say I didn't warn you," he muttered. "Give me your hands."
She placed her hands in his upturned ones. "Air elementalists," he said, "are the closest things to telepaths an elementalist can be. Never try this again, Kagome-san. You must open your mind completely for me to be able to manipulate your magic and not every elementalist out there is a nice guy like me."
Kagome opened her mouth to ask how he'd manage to get Mischa to go along with this.
"Silence, please." There was a strange flickering inside her head, and whatever he had metaphorically bumped into had triggered one of the others' memories inside of her.
(A redhead sitting across from her, leaning backwards with his arms crossed, emerald eyes staring seriously at her.
"You went into a rage. I've been expecting it for a few years now and had planned for it. That pain you're feeling is the seal I placed on you. I don't feel like having to run around after you to clean up your messes like Sesshoumaru does with his hanyou. So I made sure it represses all youki, not just set a limit to the youki entering you. I'd wondered after the phoenix went youkai if you could make a hanyou human. You've probably still got youkai longevity. I'd suggest leaving the country for a while. I don't want your father finding out about you. Maybe China. There's a nice monastery there that trains magicians."
"Yoko-sama," a familiar voice said in a pained tone, "I'm an agnostic."
"Not my problem. Come back when you're useful.")
"You're hanyou," Kagome said, then shuddered as her power triggered. Magenta light burst in the apartment, and the two faded slowly from the room.
- Niigata, Japan -
"There's a huge amount of youki coming this way," Fukii said, staring south.
"Dammit, Sesshoumaru," Inu-Yasha swore.
"We're fucked," she repeated.
Inu-Yasha drew his sword. "But we ain't gonna lie down and take it," he barked at her.
"Easy enough for you to say," she said, hopping up and cracking her knuckles. "You've got your inheritance to aid you. I've got my fists."
"Quit your whining," he said, ears twitching like mad as he listened to the roaring sound coming closer. "You've got all that taiyoukai power in you. Try and tap into that."
A white streak could be seen in the distance, rushing towards them.
"I wonder why it's coming this way," Fukii said softly.
Both hanyou and wolf noticed the pale blur chasing after it. Neither voiced the thought that it wasn't because Sesshoumaru was following it.
The mad eyes of the dragon locked onto the two ground-bound demons and dove towards them.
So she was the taiyoukai of the North now, was she? And she stood in its seat of power; barren though it may be of life, the miko had purified the soil and souls here. She glared skyward. "Stop." She poured all her need for vengeance into that single word. All the power she could feel swirling inside of her, trying to settle into its new owner. The dragon froze momentarily, assailed by an unexpected foe.
"Kaze no kizu," Inu-Yasha shouted, swinging the Testsusaiga towards the two oncoming youkai. Behind the dragon, Sesshoumaru swung an acid green whip. The dragon roared in outrage as the two attacks slammed into it, tearing down its entire length. The dragon dissolved.
"What the fuck?" Inu-Yasha said, torn between relief and confusion that the dragon hadn't been difficult to kill.
Fukii looked around. "That was it?" She asked, frowning. "Where did all that youki go?"
Sesshoumaru frowned. That was the question, wasn't it? The wolf-girl hadn't enough power to stop the true Ryukotsusei, which meant this had been a decoy. What had he missed?