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The Meikai War	By : saiyanb Category: Yuyu Hakusho > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 11640 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuYu Hakusho, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Meikai War
Chapter 16
"Stop!" screamed
Koenma as he was dragged along towards the case that held his father�s golden
seal. He tugged at the tiger demon�s arms trying to keep him from the one thing
that could give him full power over the Reikai.
Annoyed with the chibi
god�s struggles Korin smacked him away with one hand. He gave the godling a
wicket grin before walking over to the case. Studying the podium the seal
rested on he raised his hand, his teeth found one long clawed finger and sliced
into it. Blood flowed freely and in alarming amounts to splatter across a
transparent shield of energy that hadn�t been noticeable before. Korin smiled
in satisfaction and with his other hand began to trace runes in the coating of
blood.
�Stop this Korin, you don�t
know what you�re doing!� shouted Koenma, that wasn�t no simple spell on his
father�s seal. If taken down wrong it could very likely destroy the whole room
they were in or worse. His father had placed several more layers of protection
on the seal after the little mishap with him being kidnapped; they shouldn�t be
taken lightly. Staggering to his feet he was prepared to throw himself at the
tiger demon to get him away from the seal, when the barrier over the seal
shatter like glass causing a vortex of wind to pick him up and slam him into
the wall. Dazed he watched as Korin, who seemed not to have been affected by
the blast, reached down and picked the small golden seal up. Just like that�
why was he spending so much money on security that didn�t work; this sucked!
Korin laughed and tossed
the seal up catching it in his hand. "Won�t Enma be surprised when I pay
him a visit?" he said with a grin turning to look at Koenma�s terror
stricken face.
"I won�t let
you!" shouted Koenma with a flash of light he morphed into his adult form,
the pacifier he bit down on tingled with power, unfortunately it was still
fairly drained from the last time he�d used it, but he had to do something!
"Oh?" said Korin
turning to face him. "I had no idea you were so handsome," he said
with a grin licking his chops.
Koenma took a step back,
swallowing hard. What the hell am I thinking?! His mind screamed at him, this
guys going to murder me!
In a flash Koenma found himself
pinned to the ground by the tall tiger demon, one of his arms held painfully
behind his back the other pinned under Korin�s knee. The tiger demon grinned
down at him and raised a hand to trace the Jr. on his forehead slowly ran it
down Koenma�s face. The long manicured like nail snatched over his nose and
down to his pacifier. In panic Koenma clenched his teeth down on the nipple in
an attempt to keep it, with out that he won�t have any power to call on; he�d
be helpless!
Korin clicked his tongue in
annoyance and wagged a finger at him. �knotty knotty,� he cued. Koenma�s world
swam in circles when the tiger demon�s fist slugged his jaw. Not able to tell
up from down, he didn�t think twice about the pacifier and keeping it from
Korin all he wanted to do was curl in a ball and hold his aching face.
With a smug �hn� korin took
the source for the young god�s power and put it in his pocket. "Such a
spoiled child you are," said Korin. "Your father should have
disapined you better then maybe you won�t be so soft.� He patted the side of
Koenma�s face. �Don�t worry I won�t be so easy on you,� he purred purple eyes
feasting on his helpless state. �Hmm, as a god you are incapable of death so I
need not worry about over doing it. How fortunate for us both; however, some
would say there are things far worst then death," he said moving closer to
the now terrified godling. "Maybe I'll keep you as a toy," he purred
dropping his hand to pick up the seal, raising it to Koenma�s eye level.
Koenma�s eyes widened as he
realized just what Korin was going to do, he thrashed under the youkai
desperate to get away.
"I think I�ll seal you
for awhile, so you can�t get in my way. Maybe later we can �play�," he
laughed, his free hand fisted in Koenma�s brown hair as the seal lowered to
touch Koenma�s forehead right over the Jr. sign.
Koenma breathed in sharply,
every muscle in his body went taunt. His mouth dropped open in shock as numbing
ice ran through his body, burning his nerves as it did. Soon he couldn�t feel
anything, couldn�t feel his legs, arms, his heart beat! He was frozen! His
immortal soul trapped in a now dead immortal shell. Oh god, he wished he were
truly dead right now instead of his terrifying feeling of nothingness. His eyes
became dull and lifeless as every muscle in his body loosened till he was
boneless; a limp rag doll.
Korin laughed down at him
and patted the side of his face once again. "Good night sweet
prince," he said running his fingers over Koenma�s lips. "I would
play with you now, but I�ve got a bigger fish to fry. You understand
right?" he said with a grin moving to stand over the fallen Reikai prince.
Laughing Korin left the room without a backward glance.
"Lord Korin,"
called a submissive tone. The tiger demon turned to look at he blood stained
ryu who looked back with eyes just as red as the blood on his black and white
skin. The ryu held the blood stained Ghostslayer sword up to him. "It is
done."
Korin�s grin widened.
"Keep the sword Suoh, you will be needing it soon." Korin started
down the hall, Suoh fell in line behind him.
"Suoh, tell me, would
you do to Enma what he did to you if I gave you the chance?" asked Korin.
"I will do what you
tell me to," said the ryu.
Korin stopped and glared
back at the ryu. "That is not what I wanted to know." He walked over
to Suoh and cupped the ryu�s cheek. "If you could make Enma suffer the
same icy fate as you did, would you Suoh."
The black ryu was silent a
long time. "Yes, but it wouldn�t make me happy."
"Revenge will not make
you happy?" asked Korin. "Tell me Suoh, why not?"
"Because it will not
give me back what I have lost," answered the ryu in an emotionless voice.
Korin grinned, turned and
started walking again. "So true, ancient black, so true. But it does not
matter; your feelings and opinions hold no value now do they. Slaves have not
that luxury. Do you hate being my slave Suoh?"
"Yes and no,"
said Suoh.
The tiger demon gave the
ryu a wide smile. "Do explain farther for me, my black."
"I hate following
orders from another, especially one that hasn�t earned my respect, but there is
no reason for me to hate being your slave. I�m hoping it will lead to my death
so that I might escape this nothingness."
"Sorry to disappoint
you Suoh, but you will not die. I believe you understand just how tightly I�ve
bond us with that collar, it�s different from the ones you knew so long ago,
your death is unthinkable. I won�t let you die, you are mine now body and
soul."
"Iie," said the
ryu softly. "You are mistaken."
Korin glared over his
shoulder at the ryu. "And how am I ryu?!" he snarled turning and
grabbing Suoh to slam him against the wall. He pressed himself bodily against
the ryu and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "I can do anything I
want to you."
"That is true, you own
my body, but not my soul," said Suoh.
"Oh, but soon I will
be the Lord of the Dead Suoh, all souls will bow to me," he said reaching
up a hand to fist it in Suoh�s hair yanking the ryu�s head up so he could look
into those bloody eyes; such beautiful eyes.
"Iie," said Suoh
emotionlessly. "You may become the Lord of the Dead, but my soul has been
and always will be Inari�s."
Korin growled in his face.
"You�re the property of a �dead� god! He will not come to collect you ryu,
you are mine!"
"Gods, can not
die," said Suoh.
Korin grinned and raised up
a hand to run it over Suoh�s lips. "Oh, but the silver Inari is dead,
Suoh. He doesn�t exist in this time, he is no more."
"Iie, he exists,"
said Suoh. "He will always exist, nothing can ever change that."
"My poor Suoh,"
said Korin grabbing a firm hold of both sides of the ryu�s face. "You�re
in love with a ghost," he said leaning forward to kiss the ryu on the
mouth, passionately invading and tasting his servant. Suoh didn�t flinch didn�t
move at all, it was a one sided pleasure.
Korin pulled back and
looked at those empty red eyes again. He smiled again and pulled off the ryu.
"You could learn to enjoy this, Suoh," he said turning to walk down
the hall again. "I will treat you well if you please me."
The ryu did not answer, he
had nothing to say to that. "The youko," he spoke after a long pause.
"Do you love her?"
"Yoko?" said
Korin not even turning to glance over his shoulder at the ryu. "She is a
silly girl, but useful. No I do not love her."
"Then you are even
more empty them I am," said Suoh. "At least I know how it feels to
love and be loved."
"Why would I care
about such things," said Korin. "Soon I will be ruler of all three
worlds, I�ll have anything I desire at my fingertips: gold, gems, men, women,
all the treasures and goods of the lands, mine. What does love towards one
silly red youko have to compare to that."
"Everything,"
said Suoh softly.
Another long pause filled
the air between them as they walked towards the one person that stood in their
way from total control of the Reikai: Emperor Enma.
* * * * * * * * * * *
The group watched as Inari
raised up one slender hand and ran it through Kaoru�s silky black hair. He
gathered a section up and raised it, bring down a wickedly sharp knife.
"I can�t watch!"
said Botan covering her eyes with her hands as the golden fox god ran the blade
over the long stands of hair cutting them short.
"Botan it�s just
hair," said Yusuke next to her.
"But it�s such
beautiful hair, Yusuke!" she shouted in his face. "I know a million
people dead and alive that would kill for hair like that!" she shouted
pointing at Kaoru as Inari ran the blade through his hair again severing more
silky strains. "Ah!" she said coving her eyes again. "Sacrilege!"
Yusuke scratched his head
and watched as the haircut progressed. Kaoru�s hair appeared to be similar to
Suoh�s and Hiei�s, as soon as Inari cut it, it jumped up to defy gravity.
Personally he agreed with Inari that it had to be cut, how did one fight with
so much hair? He himself knew that from experience when his Toushin aspect had
emerged and he�d been left with one wild thick mane of hair. He didn�t think
the wild haircut made Kaoru any more or less attractive, he was still
beautiful, but in a more cute way like Hiei. He narrowed his eyes at Kaoru,
Gods, is he really Hiei and my past self�s kid? He wondered.
"I�ll bet that�s how I
died, Kurama probably killed me." He paled thinking about what Kurama
would do to him if he was ever caught with his pants down around the Koorime
boy; the fox sure seemed protective of him. He sighed looking at Kurama who was
once again out cold. Jeez I how his type need their beauty sleep but this is
ridiculous! Just what�s happening to you Kurama? If only there was a way I
could help you, he frowned in concern and leaned down to pet the red heads
silky hair.
"Don�t worry
Kurama," he spoke softly to the red head. "We�ll get Hiei back, some
how," he said.
"There," said
Inari brushing some long hair off Kaoru�s shoulder. "Done."
The ryu stood up and shook
his now wild spiky head. He was dressed in white robes with black and red trim.
"Is it just like mama ryu�s?" asked the ryu.
Inari smiled softly.
"Hai, just like you asked," said Inari. He had a distant look in his
eyes as he gazed at the tall black ryu.
The ryu grinned and flipped
the rattail over his shoulder stroking the long ponytail fondly. He glanced at
Botan to see her still covering her eyes. "Botan-chan, you don�t
like?" he asked.
Botan peeked through her
fingers at the ryu and slowly lowered her hand to look with wide eyes at the
black.
"Ne?" said Kaoru
tilting his head to the side and smiling brightly at her.
"Oh!" said Botan
running over to jump on him. "You�re cute no matter what you do!" she
said the hearts once again back in her eyes.
Kuwabara scratched his
head. "He looks even more like the shrimp now. Only well� longer� or
taller," he said shaking his head, not liking the fact that he had to look
up to meet Kaoru�s face, Kaoru�s very Hiei like face. Kaoru seemed to be a
length version of Hiei. It was like mixing Hiei with someone that was taller
and more muscular. "I think we�ve wasted enough time. I�m worried about
the Reikai."
"Yes, we should be
going," said Inari bushing himself off and stepping out of the long waves
of black hair at his feet. "Just like that time," he whispered
bending down to pick up some long hair. "Your hair looked like this that
day."
"Eh?" said Koaru,
looking down at him. "What do you mean Onii-chan?"
Inari smiled and stood up
letting the long hair slide through his fingers back to the gold littered
ground. "Never mind Kaoru, just thinking about old times."
"Old times,"
smiled the ryu. "Saa, shall we be off then, to ride the winds like old
times" he said once again that intelligent light shone in his eyes.
Inari nodded. "You
guys better stand back," he said.
"Why?" asked
Kuwabara. "Jeez!" said the carrot top falling backwards.
Kaoru was engulfed in a
bright light as his shape twisted and began filling the cavern. When the light
vanished Kaoru�s head almost touched the ceiling, his body was a gleaming
midnight black. The ryu roared powerfully as he spread his long wings: he was
absolutely massive!
"That�s why," smiled Inari.
"My god!" said Yusuke. "He�s bigger
then Suoh was!" he said looking up at the giant form.
"About the same size you were as a black
ryu," said Inari next to him.
"Really," said Yusuke unable to believe
he could have ever been like that.
Inari walked over to the
black who lay down and lowered his head to allow him to climb on. "You�re
far more intimating like his, Kaoru," he said to the black.
The ryu chuckled low to
itself, shaking the place. "I guess that means you�ll look good going into
battle, ne?"
Inari petted the ryu�s neck
fondly. Old memories, good times filled his mind. He shook them out and turned
to the group. "Come, let�s be on our way."
"We�re going to ride, that," said
Kuwabara all the blood drained out of his face.
Inari grinned. "If you really are Huma you should have no problem with
riding Kaoru. He and Rouin were close fighting companions in the final
battle."
Yusuke and Kuwabara
exchanged glances before looking back at the tall black and his golden brother.
"We should get Hiei
and Kurama," said Yusuke softly.
"Um, yah�" said
Kuwabara.
"You�re not afraid of
heights are you?" asked Yusuke.
"Me?! No way," it
didn�t sound nearly as convincing as he wanted it to. "What about
you?"
"Hell no," said
Yusuke picking up Hiei. "Let�s go!" he called moving toward the ryu.
Kuwabara gulped and picked
up Kurama. "I hope my stomach can take this," He said following after
Yusuke.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Sunoo looked down from the
thick cloud cover, below her was an army so large it stretched as far as she
could see, which was quite far since she had a bird�s eye view at the moment.
"Oh golden ryu,"
whispered the white dragon looking down at the armed force gathered.
With the shear mass of enemies to fighter the gods and her kind might just
be buried when battle began. There was no doubt the Meikai was getting ready to
launch a full scaled attack.
Silently the white ryu flew
behind a tall mountain and circled around to glide low. She landed lightly at
the base of the mountain and changed shapes to her small more humanoid and less
noticeable form. Silently with much skill she moved towards their main camp,
keeping to the shadows and out of sight of the many sleepy demon�s laid all
over the ground.
Unnoticed she was soon
leaning up against the King of the Meikai�s tent itself, Yakumo. She pressed
the side of her face to the thick material and listened.
"Raiko, why haven�t
you found that ryu yet?"
"Forgive me lord, I
have been unable to continue my search due to all the planning and perpetration
we�ve been doing for our grand attack against the Ningenkai.
Sunoo heard a heavy sigh.
"I do not like this unknown factor running wild. I�ve seen it, seen it
burning in my dreams. Such power, such rage, such things should be harnessed
and used. It�ll appear soon and if the Reikai gets a hold of it first it could
be trouble."
"Surly lord it is just
one ryu you dream of, what threat is that?"
"A very real one if
the forces that power the Meikai show it to me."
"My lord has this
vision interfered with your powers in any way? You will need perfect sync with
the Meikai�s energy if we are to take over the Ningenkai by merging it with the
Meikai."
Sunoo couldn�t help the
small gasp that escaped her lips. She clapped a hand over her mouth eyes wide
as she stared forward. No the Meikai wasn�t planning to concur the Ningenkai it
was planning on making it part of the Meikai. Was that even possible? The
Ningenkai and the Meikai were totally different from one another, they would
have to share some common ground to permanently link them together as one. The
Ningenkai was more in tune with its heaven, the Reikia, what were they planning
to do?"
"I�ve had no
interference with my ability to tap into the Meikai�s engery, everything is as
it should be. Once the Meikai�s and Ningenkai�s moons fall into sync together
I�ll be able to fully unleash all the Meikai�s energy in the Ningenkai and thus
tap into the Ningenkai�s energy as well."
Tap the Ningenkai�s enery?!
Was it even possible for a creature of the Meikai to tap the human world�s
energy? And if he did what sort of being would he become? A god among gods Lord
of two realms made one, he would be unstoppable, the Meikai would become
unstoppable.
"What if the Reikai
manages to contain the Meikai�s energy? It could have a reversed affect, we
could have all our power stolen and contained if they did."
Yakumo laughed. "And
just how can they do that? No Raiko we are quite safe as far as tapping into
the Meikai�s energy is concerned. The Reikai is too holy, too pure, to touch
Meikai energy. Even Enma can not handle its dark power. Only a being of the
Meikai with a will and strength like mine can touch it, control it. The Reikai
will never be able to tap our energy, they�re too weak." Yakumo laughed
again quite loudly and Sunoo shivered.
This was bad, very bad, she
needed to return to the Reikai and tell Ryuujin at once. She turned around and
walked right into a giant one-eyed Meikai demon.
"Intruder!"
bellowed the demon lifting his spiked mace over its head.
Sunoo nimbly jumped over
the mace�s wild swing, once her feet hit the ground he was a white blur; he
brother wasn�t the only one to inherit increasable speed. A call of alarm rose
though all the camp and soon the whole place was jumping. Sunoo�s graceful
white form stood out like a sore thumb among all the dirty and filthy demons.
"It�s a white ryu!
Let�s get her!" shouted one demon. Sunoo gasp softly under her breath as
she was cornered by a horde of Meikai demon, her back to a cliff wall.
They laughed evilly at her
as she shook before them, reaching up dirty hands to grab for her.
"Don�t come any
closer!" screamed Sunoo in a ryu voice so loud it made the demons near her
deaf.
"What�s going
on!" demanded Raiko stepping out of the tent. He came out just in time to
watch the slender form of Sunoo increase in size to a massive white ryu, far
larger then most of her kind she screamed down at the demon�s all around her and
blasted them with her icy breath, freezing them solid like gross statues.
The white ryu spread light
featured wings and leapt into the air.
Yakumo pushed past Raiko
and watched as the white ryu flew up into the cloud.
"Find it and kill
it," he hissed between his breath in anger.
"Yes, my lord,"
said Raiko turning to call for troops.
Sunoo�s heart beat wildly
in her breast as he flew, nothing more then a white arrow parting the clouds
around her with her sleek body. Unfortunately for Sunoo shear speed would not
help her escape as ryus of all colors rose around her with Meikai demon�s on
their backs.
A blue fire ryu screamed a
blast of hot orange flames to her left and the feathers of her wing lit.
Sunoo rolled, the wind whip
past her and blew the fire out before it could do her real damage. She dove out
of the clouds with three ryus on her tail.
One circled in front of her
and snapped at her long neck with sharp teeth. Sunoo turned to the side out of
range of its fangs as it made its pass, but its sharp claws raked down her side
in five bloody trails. Sunoo snapped her head back and scream at the ryu�s
face. The yellow ryu that had damaged her reared in the air raking at its own
face to try and get the layer of ice off. She swiftly passed by it.
The other two ryus followed
in pursuit. One snapped at her tail pulling out several long feathers as it
did. The other breathed a bolt of lightening in her path. Sunoo screamed and
reared in the air making the ryu hot on her heels slam right into her. The two
ryus tangled and began to fall.
Sunoo and the purple ryu
she was tangle with pushed and shoved at each other trying to get free, but
they were too mixed up and intertwined to do so.
Sunoo screamed in fear as
the ground came up to meet them and they impacted with earth shattering force.
Sunoo groaned, she was
still alive! Looking up she realized she�d landed on top of the other ryu who
wasn�t moving, its neck twisted at an impossible angle. She glanced up at the
blue fire ryu hovering above them and held her breath hoping he would think her
dead.
The blue ryu drew in breath
and breathed a long line of fire down on her.
Sunoo rolled off the dead
ryu and changed shapes as fast as he could, the fire blazing all around her.

Satisfied that the white
ryu was dead the Meikai demon on the blue fire ryu pulled on its reins telling
it to return to base. The blue ryu cast an eye down at the burning ground in
sorrow. Hope flashed in its orange eyes as it spotted movement. Not wanting to
put the white ryu in any more danger then she already was he turned and swiftly
flew away, wishing her luck.
Sunoo ran out of the
burning fire and screamed in fear as she dropped to the ground rolling and
ripping at her burning robes. She thrashed for several minutes before she
stopped with a sob and looked down at herself. She was alive, but�. her robes
were rags, her wings burnt and tattered, flesh burnt and blackened, and her
hair- her long beautiful hair had been burnt up to her shoulder blades unevenly.
Sobbing softly she reached behind and pulled the once brilliant black hair over
her shoulder stroking it with tearful eyes. Wiping her tears away with the back
of her hand she pulled herself weakly up to her feet and limped off. She
couldn�t return to her ryu form and fly away her wingers were too damaged, but
she wasn�t in much better condition to walk. Holding her arm over a burnt and
bleeding wound she dragged herself along, trying to get as much distance as
possible, but it was slow and she didn�t get far before she tripped and fell to
the ground.
"Onii-san," she
wept into the ground too exhausted to move any farther; she closed her eyes and
let the darkness have her.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Kogare crouched low to the
ground, back to the stone tunnel wall as he turned his head from side to side,
ears twitching as he listened.
With a loud roar that
echoed around the tunnel Kaoru leapt out of his hiding place and right onto his
golden brother�s back.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
shouted Kogare jumping five feet in the air before losing his balance,
pin-wheeling his arms, and falling flat on his face.
Kaoru laughed happily and
patted his brother on the shoulder. "You�re dead! I win again!" sang
the ryu flapping his wings and wagging his tail.
"Oh yah!" shouted
Kogare grabbing the little black ryu and rolling him under him.
"Hey! No fair you�re
dead!" whined Koaru.
"Hahahah, I�m a god. I
can not died!" said Kogare then processed to tickle his little brother
till Kaoru couldn�t breath and started to turn blue in the face.
"Stop�. Ahahahah��
gasp��. Can�t breath!�.." said Kaoru wiggling crazily under the grinning
golden fox. With a laugh of his own Kogare let up on the ryu and leaned back
watching as Kaoru slowly got back his breath.
"No fair you
cheated!" said Kaoru once he�d recovered. "Cheater, cheater!"
said the little ryu sticking out his tongue at the golden fox god.
"A cheater am I
now?!" said Kogare pinning the little ryu again as his hands moved down
intending to attack the little ryu with tickling again, but Kaoru knew what he
was doing and wasn�t about to let him. "Ahhhh!" said Kogare as he
felt Kaoru lift him off the ground by his legs which were planted right on the
fox�s stomach.
Kaoru grinned up sweetly at
his big brother then tossed him up in the air making him flip and caught him on
his back. He did it again, and again, and-
"Ahhh! Kaoru!"
shouted Kogare as he was tossed about like a salad by the increase strong,
cute, and small black ryu. The ryu caught him on his stomach again and his
little clawed toes began to clench and unclench raking his nails along Kogare�s
rib cage.
"Ahhhh! Who�s the
cheater now!" shouted Kogare between laughing as the little black ryu
continued to tickle and toss him.
Once Kogare started to look
like the tossing would make him stick, Kaoru stopped his play and let his
brother down, then jumped on his stomach and affectionately licked his cheek as
Kogare gasped for breath.
"I like these games,
Kogare onii-san," smiled Kaoru.
Kogare smiled down at him
and patted his spiky head. "And you�re getting better at them. Soon, I
think very soon, we�ll be able to go to the Meikai and help Inari papa and Suoh
mama," smiled Kogare.
Kogare was excited, Kaoru
was incredibly strong he could easily fill the part of ryu mount for him. He
just needed to condition his little brother some more and get him ready for
combat. Of course, Kaoru thought his was all some fun game, but once they got
out on the battlefield he was sure that the killer ryu instinct would kick in
they�d be an unstoppable pair; just like Inari and Suoh. He hugged his brother
to his chest and grinned into his spiky hair, yes he�d finally make them proud
of him, finally show them just what he could do. He was ready and when he
finished training Kaoru then the Meikai would know true fear.
Kogare caught a glitter of
light to the side and glanced over to see an opening to a cavern that was lit
with golden light.
"What�s that?"
wondered Kogare out loud sitting up and turning his head in the direction of
the golden light.
Kaoru looked as well and
gasped in his throat. "Nothing!" said the little ryu grabbing Kogare
by the arm and dragging him away.
"Wait a minute!"
protested Kogare getting to his feet and lifting his arm, Kaoru dangled from it
little legs still moving to tread air. "I want to see what it is,"
said the golden fox turning around and heading towards the cavern.
"No, no, no!"
said Kaoru jumping around the taller golden fox. "You mustn�t!"
"Gee, Kaoru, I don�t
know why you�re so upset its just a�." his voice trailed off as he looked
through the opening to see piles and piles of treasure inside.
"Oooooowww," said
Kaoru hiding his eyes with his hands.
"Wow," said
Kogare and began moving towards the treasure.
"Kogare! No, this is
papa ryu�s!" said Kaoru jumping on his back.
Kogare glanced over his
shoulder at his little ryu brother. Rouin�s horde? He and Kaoru had been
playing and running around in the tunnels of Mt. Hiei for years now and not
once had he happened upon the large black ryu�s horde of treasure. He looked
around with wonder at all the glittering gold and gems, he�d never have guess
Rouin had so much treasure. The part of him that loved shiny things was going
wild, he wanted to run around the room and roll in all the gold. He also had
the strongest desire to stuff his pockets.
"Kogare!"
protested the little black ryu as the golden fox began to play around in all
the treasure looping long necklaces around himself, covering his paws and arms
with gold and gems, even crowning himself with a jewel crown of some long dead
king.
"Wow Kaoru your papa�s
rich!" grinned Kogare lying down and spreading out on a pile of gold
coins. "What does he do with all this stuff anyway?" asked Kogare.
"He sleeps on
it," said Kaoru going over to him to start pulling the rings and bracelets
off his arms.
"Sleeps on it?!"
said Kogare in shock. "He�s got all this and all he does is sleep on
it?"

Kaoru nodded still working on
getting all the stuff off his brother�s arms. "All ryus do."
"Do you have a horde
like this somewhere?" asked Kogare lifting his head so Kaoru could take
off some of the necklaces.
"No, not yet, I sleep
with mama and papa ryu in their dens. I�ll start collecting my own hoard when
I�m older."
Kogare looked around and
scratched his head. "Rouin must be pretty old to have so much. Too much
for him to just sleep on it� boy that�s one big bed�."
"No it�s just the
right size for him and not as big as some ryu�s. I imagine Ryuujin has the
largest horde since he�s had the longest amount of time to collect it all,
probably several hundred times more then Rouin papa."
"You�re kidding
right?!" said Kogare in amazement.
Kaoru shook his head.
"Man! I Still don�t
see why he needs so much of it� he�s only the size of a large human," said
Kogare looking around at all the glittering treasure.
"We like to sleep
stretched out in our true ryu forms. Rouin papa almost fills this cavern in
that shape."
Kogare blinked his eyes at Kaoru. "True ryu form�
can you do that?"
"Of course!"
smiled Kaoru. "But, I�m a lot smaller because I�m so young."
Kogare�s golden eyes took
on a glitter of their own as he looked down at the small ryu cub. He grinned
widely then scooped Kaoru up and ran out of the cavern with him tucked under
his arm.
"Onii-san?!" said
Kaoru in confusion as Kogare jumped out of the entrance leading to the tunnels
in Mt. Hiei and ran over to a clearing not far away.
Kogare put Kaoru down and
backed away from him. "Change," he grinned crossing his arms.
"What?" asked
Kaoru titling his head to the side.
"Change into your true
ryu form, I want to see it."
"Now?" asked the
ryu.
"Yes now, do it,"
said Kogare, there was great excitement in his voice.
Kaoru gave him a curious
look then shrugged closing his eyes. Kogare smiled brighter as the small ryu�s
shape twisted and grew in size. His head tilted back as he watched, the light
around Kaoru flashed out and the young ryu roared shaking its head.
Kogare could never remember
being his excited in all his long life as he looked up at the ryu. Kaoru wasn�t
small at all now he was huge! Maybe not as big as some of the ryus he�d seen
flying overhead, but still it was an impressive sight. He ran his eyes up and
down the young black and came to the conclusion that he was about the size of
an average white ryu- the smallest of the ryus- small but quite large for such
a young ryu. Kogare walked over to Kaoru�s chest and motioned for him to lower
his head, Kaoru did and the fox fisted his hands into the wild black mane and
pulled himself up on Kaoru�s neck. He was all smiles as the ryu lifted his head
above the treetops.
Kogare ran his fingers
thought the black mane fondly and slid down to sit on the black�s back.
"Kaoru, fly!" he said fisting his fingers back up in the black mane.
"But-" said the
much deeper ryu voice.
"Do it! Come on, I
want you see what it�s like," said Kogare eagerly.
"Okay," said
Kaoru spreading his impressive wingspan and coiling to leap into the air.
Kogare nearly slipped right
off the ryu�s back with the move, but managed to keep a firm grip of the wild
mane. He clung to the black as Kaoru continued to climb.
"Okay! That�s high
enough!" shouted Kogare as he slipped down a bit more on the ryu�s back.
Kaoru didn�t stop he
continued to climb till the clouds swallowed them. Kogare gasped as they broke
through the other side and leveled to sore over a sea of clouds.
"Incredible�"
said Kogare leaning over to look down at the white clouds. Leaning more over he
reached down a hand and ran his fingers thought the white mist. Delight lit his
face which quickly turned to panic as he almost fell right off. With a sigh of
relief he righted himself. "Why did you go so high!?" shouted the
golden fox.
"This isn�t
high," said Kaoru turning his head to look back at him.
"It isn�t?" said
Kogare looking back down. His eyes widened as he looked down through a break in
the clouds to see a forest with �tinny� trees. "� um� of course this isn�t
high!" said Kogare trying to sound calm and in control but ending up with
anything but that.
"Are you scared
Onii-san?" asked Kaoru in concern. "I can go down lower if you want."
"What?! Me?! Scared?!
Ha!" said Kogare sitting up straight and crossing his arms. "I�m not
scared of anything." He reached down and fisted his hands back up in the
wild mane. "Let�s see what you can do! Do a dive and then a climb."
"But you�re not-"
"Kaoru!"
"Um Yes," said
the black ryu diving.
Kaoru�s eyes widen and he
would have gone flying off if he didn�t have a death grip on the black mane, as
it was he was almost vertical and the only part of him touching Kaoru was his
hands. He slammed into the ryu�s back, the air forced out of his lungs as the
ryu climbed again above the clouds.
"Onii-san you
okay?" asked Kaoru in concern.
"Of� of course I
am," said Kogare sitting up slowly. "No problem." Boy how does
Inari otou-san stay on mama ryu�s back and fight at the same time he wondered
silently to himself.
"Maybe we should
stop," said Kaoru.
"What?!
Nonsense," said Kogare waving his hand at the ryu. "Barrel roll,
now!"
"But-"
"Barrel roll!"
barked Kogare. "Do you want to be my ryu or not?!"
"Yes�"
"Then you�ve got to
learn to follow my orders without hesitation. In a real fight we�re going to
have to understand and depend of each other, you have to trust me. Barrel
roll!"
The black turned to the
side and began to roll over the tops of the clouds, wing tips dipping into the
mist and trailing puffs of white as they pulled out.
Kogare clung tightly to his
side. If Papa Inari can do this so can I, he thought grinding his teeth and
trying to hold on. His grip slipped and the fine black mane was pulled out of
his hands. Kogare could only gasps as he fell right off Kaoru�s back and down
toward the closing ground.
"Kaoru!"
A black shape swooped down and clawed feet caught
the golden fox.
"Onii-san?!"
Kogare sighed loudly in
relief, sinking into the grip of his ryu brother. "That was close,"
said the fox softly to himself.
Kaoru landed on his hind
legs and lowered his front paws to let Kogare down.
"You okay?" asked
the ryu lowering his head and nuzzling the golden fox god.
Kogare raised up his hands
and ran them over the large snout. "Physically I�m fine�" said the
fox sounding disappointed.
"Onii-san� what�s
wrong?" asked Kaoru nudging him again.
Kogare sighed. "I want
to help, I want to fight, I want to be strong enough to fight like Inari Papa
and Mama ryu�. but I failed," he said looking down at his hands.
Kaoru titled his head to
the side in a curious manner. "How did you fail?"
"I couldn�t hold
on," snapped Kogare.
Kaoru tilted his head to
the other side. "But you did good for ridding bare back," said Kaoru.
"Bare back?" said
Kogare looking up at the ryu.
"Yes, Inari-san uses a
saddle to ride Suoh mama."
Kogare�s mouth dropped.
"Why didn�t you say so sooner?!"
"I tried, but you
won�t let me continue," said Kaoru lying down on his belly. "If we�re
going to be a team you need to listen to me too."
Kogare looked at Kaoru a
moment longer in shock then smiled warmly at the ryu. "Yes, perhaps you�re
right. We need to listen to each other," he reached up a hand and ran it
down the front of the ryu�s snout. "And now that I know the problem I know
how to fix it!" cheered Kogare.
"Huh?" said Kaoru
titling his head again to the side and blinking large red eyes at the golden
fox. Kogare grinned widely and cracked his knuckles.

Five minutes later�
"Hahahahahahahahhahahaha,"
laughed the young black ryu uncontrollable as he rolled on the ground like a
large puppy dog, feet kicking at the air.
"Kaoru! Stop that! How
am I going to do this if you keep squirming around!" barked Kogare
crossing his arms and glaring at the rolling ryu.
"I� I can�t heheh� I
can�t help it- it tickles!" shouted the booming ryu�s voice.
Kogare slapped a hand over
his face and looked at the black ryu through his fingers. He�s been using his
powers to grow strong vines and such to form his own hand made saddle,
unfortunately for him Kaoru seemed to be very ticklish under the belly and had
started giggling as soon as the vines started snaking around his tummy.
Finally after several more
minutes he managed to get several strong vines wrapped around the ryu�s body
and a smooth leaf saddle for himself to sit on him. He grinned up looking at
his work, it didn�t look as impressive as the one Suoh wore, but it would do
the trick.
"All right let�s try
it again," grinned Kogare motioning with his hand for Kaoru to lower his
head so he could climb aboard. The ryu did and Kogare strapped himself in
tightly shifting around to make sure he was comfortable and could move freely.
Satisfied he patted the ryu on the neck.
"All right Kaoru, take
her up!"
"Right," said the
ryu once again coiling and leaping into the air.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Sunoo groaned low in her
throat and slowly opened her eyes, she blinked them a view times till her
vision cleared enough. She bolted up as she realized she was in a hut of some
kind. A hiss escaped her as the move jolted one of her injuries.
"You awake?"
asked a familiar voice.
Sunoo turned her head and
watched as that orange red haired human she�s met not long ago walked into the
room.
"Huma?"
The human smiled and moved
over to her to sit down on her bed. "I�m so glad you�re awake. You had me
very worried," he said brushing some of her black hair out of her face.
Sunoo reached up a hand and fingered a few strands of her own black hair, she
blinked her eyes as she realized it had all been cut even and was now to her
shoulders. She glanced down at the rest of her self to see her wounds had been
treated, her clothes changed, and herself washed. She looked back up at Huma to
see he�d notice her looking and then blinked her eyes in confusion as a bright
blush spread on his cheeks.
"I� I um� I had to
clean you up and� and um�" he turned as red as an apple.
"IhadtotakeyourclothesoffI�msorry!" he shouted in a rush bowing his
head apologetically.
"Hmm?" said Sunoo
not understanding why he was so embarrassed about having to take her clothes
off (after all she is a ryu and they weren�t embarrassed about those things).
"Thank you," she said. "I don�t know how I�ll ever replay you
for your help," said Sunoo bowing at the waist to the human. "If you
ever need my services please call on me."
"Oh no, it was my
pleasure and duty, my lady," he smiled at her then froze and turned red
again. "I mean, when I say pleasure I don�t mean I enjoyed looking at you
nude, I mean I did but- No I didn�t mean that to sound so perverted- I�m,"
he bowed his head. "Gomen!" he shouted clasping his hands together
before his face.
Sunoo raised her hand to
her mouth and giggled, this human sure was funny. She didn�t understand why he
was acting so strange, but it was very cute and entertaining in a way.
"Thank you," she moved to get out of bed wincing at the pain that ran
through her. Huma at once reached up his hands and pushed her back down on the
bed.
"My lady, please!
You�re still injured you need rest and time to heal. You maybe a ryu, but you
were badly hurt when I found you." He looked down at his hands and
realized he was hovering over her, his face turned red once again and he jerked
back. "Gomen, gomen!" he said waving his hands.
Sunoo raised an eyebrow in
confusion at his reactions again. "But I need to go, I must report my
findings to Ryuujin they are very important."
Huma stopped looking so
embarrassed and a serious look crossed his face. "The Meikai?"
She nodded, "how did
you know?"
"That�s where I found
you, I was out scouting for information myself when I found you lying on the
ground unconscious. The animals in the area tell me many strange and
frightening things are happening there."
"Yes," said
Sunoo. "Terrible things and I must report them to Ryuujn."
"I won�t have you
moving around when you�re so injured. I will take your report in for you, tell
me and I will give Ryuujin the message," he said clasping her small hand
between his larger two.
"I can�t ask that of
you, you�ve already helped me so much," said Sunoo.
"Please, I want to
help," said Huma.
Sunoo smiled softly at him.
"You will never get close enough to speak to Ryuujin only another ryu can
do that. My brother the black ryu, Suoh, tell him and he will inform Ryuujin.
"Suoh Ryu,"
nodded Huma he leaned forward and kissed her hand. "I will not fail you my
lady, now tell me all that you have learned."
* * * * * * * * * * *
Huma stepped outside of his
small hut and whistled. A hawk swooped down from a nearby tree and landed on
his shoulder. "Keep an eye out, tell the others, and protect the
girl."
The bird of prey screeched
softly and Huma ruffled the feathers at the back of his neck affectionately,
then tossed it back into the air and watched it flew away. Once it was gone he
reached around his waist and unsheathed a simple looking sword with a gold
trimmed handle. He widened his stance and thrust the tip of the blade into the
ground, the world around him blurred and shifted and when the warping stopped
he was no longer in the Ningenkai, but the Reikai standing at the edge of some
thick woods. He pulled his sword out of the ground and jumped back into a
defensive stance as he caught movement out of the corner of his eyes. He
relaxed as he looked upon a small black ryu cub with large red eyes who was
looking at him in a curious manner, the ryu sniffed the air and backed away
from him.
Huma smiled. "Don�t be
afraid little one, my name if Huma, I�m a beast master, you have nothing to
fear from me."
"You�re human,"
said the little ryu in an untrustworthy fashion.
"Yes I am,"
smiled Huma. He was confused as the little ryu continued to back away from him.
"It�s okay, I would never hurt one of your kind," said Huma stepping
towards the ryu cub. "I�m looking for-ahhhh!" said Huma as he was
suddenly hanging upside down by a vine rope.
"Ha! You humans are
all the same," said Kogare stepping out from behind a tree. "You
never look before you leap."
Huma blinked his eyes at
the upside down golden youko, he could sense that this creature wasn�t a simple
youko, oh no. No doubt about it its aura was unmistakably godly.
"Inari-sama?"
asked Huma.
Kogare stiffened and looked
closer at the human, his interest perked. He was more then a little curious
about the human�s sword, which appeared to have some kind of magic power to
transport without draining its users ki, that could be rather helpful.
"My name is Huma and
I�m looking for Suoh Ryu."
"Suoh?" said
Kogare in shock. "What business do you have with Suoh?" he asked
narrowing his eyes.
"I-" Huma stopped
as the little black ryu cub walked over to him and sniffed him, breathing in
deeply. The ryu grinned and flapped up to slice the vine that was holding Huma
by the foot.
"Ahhh!" said the
human as he landed on his head in a heap.
"Kaoru! What are you
doing?" demanded Kogare.
"He smells like Sunoo
Oba-san," smiled Kaoru.
"Oba-san? Are you the
cub of Suoh Ryu?" asked Huma.
"Hai!" said the
little ryu cub flying over to perch on his shoulder.
"Good," smiled
Huma. "I need to speak to your father about your aunt, she�s given me a
message and asked for me to relay it to him."
"A message about what?"
asked Kogare.
"The Meikai,"
said Huma getting up.
"Meikai?" said
Kogare ears twitching on his head. "What about the Meikai?"
Huma brushed himself off.
"Well since you�re a god I guess you�ll find out soon enough. The Meikai
is going to attack the Ningenkai during the next full moon."
Kogare got a gleam in his
eye, a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Really?"
"Yup," said Huma.
"Will you please take me to Suoh now?"
"Sure!" chirped
Kaoru jumping off his shoulder to hover before him. "Follow me!"

Inari watched as Suoh and
Rouin sparred, they moved as blurs, clashing and raking at each other. Both
were powerful, but it was still easy to see that Rouin was much stronger then
his smaller black ryu companion.
Suoh jumped high to avoid a
punch from Rouin, but the taller black ryu simply unclenched his hand and
snapped it up grabbing Suoh around the ankle. With shattering force he slammed
the light ryu into the ground then knelt down, his knee pressing into Suoh�s
back painfully.
"Ahhh! I give,"
growled Suoh in pain.
With a laugh Rouin patted
the wild spiky hair and let up to sit down beside Suoh as the small ryu got to
his hands and knees.
"You�re going to have
to do better then that Suoh if you ever want to beat me," grinned Rouin.
"Hn," snorted
Suoh sitting down next to the ryu. "I�d be as good as you if I went around
trashing Meikai demon�s all day long too," he grumbled.
"Someone�s got to put
them in their place," said Rouin blood lust lighting his eyes. It faded
just as quickly as it came. "Strangely I haven�t been able to find many
Meikai demon�s lately. It�s like they�re all hiding or something."
"That �is�
strange," said Inari to the side. "I wonder what they�re up to
now," he said rubbing his chin.
"Papa ryu!" said
an overjoyed voice before a ball of black rammed into Rouin pushing him back to
the ground.
"Kaoru! You little
squirt!" he said affectionately tossing the little ryu up and catching
him.
"And you say I need
practice when you�re tackled by a hatchling," grinned Suoh watching the
two.
"Can�t help it Kaoru�s
just too cute," he said tossing the ryu again. "Besides he�s my son
after all, of course he going to be a great fighter. Aren�t you," he coed
to the ryu cub.
"Hai! I�m going to as
strong as Papa ryu," laughed Kaoru.
"Of course you
are," smiled Rouin patting his head.
"Excuse me."
They all turned to see a
human standing before them, Kogare standing next to him. The human glanced at
Inari on the ground then over his shoulder at Kogare looking a little confused,
he then turned his attention back to the two of them. "Which one of you is
Suoh Ryu?"
"Who are you?"
asked Suoh getting up.
"My name is Huma,
beast master, I�ve come here on the behalf of Sunoo ryu."
"Sunoo?!" said
Suoh moving closer. "What about her?" he asked face hardening.
"Have you done something to her?"
"Me? No, she was
injured in the Meikai. She asked me to give you a message for Ryuujin."
"Injured?" said
Suoh. "Is she okay?"
"She will be given
time."
Suoh sighed in relief.
"What did she find?"
Huma frowned. "The
Meikai is going to attack the Ningenkai on the next full moon. Sunoo says that
when the moons are in sync the Meikai�s king, Yakumo, will be able to access
the Ningenkai�s power and merge their two worlds into one."
A grave look passed between
them all.
"This is bad, very
bad," said Inari.
"Yes, I agree,"
said Huma. "If you don�t mind I�ve been thinking about their strategy and
I think I know a way to stop them, catch them in their own trap."
"Really?" said
Rouin sitting up. "How?"
"In the Ningenkai
there are five stones that can tap and store elemental energy: the fire stone,
the water stone, the earth stone, the wind stone, and the spirit stone. With
these five stones sites can be created that will store and hold massive amounts
of energy. If we can create these sites on the chosen battleground we might be
able to trap all the Meikai�s power inside of a barrier and contain it long
enough to defeat the Meikai.
The two black ryus and
Inari exchanged looks.
"What you say is
possible," said Inari. "Yes, it could work," said the fox
rubbing his chin. "We could trap all the Meikai�s forces and its energy
with a barrier of that sort. Containing the energy is another matter, not even
Enma can handle Meikai power."
"But even if we can�t
contain it, we can limit it to a select area and make it so they�ll be
powerless outside of that area. We can crush their forces while they�ve lost
the source of their power," Suoh turned to look at the human, Huma, with a
small amount of respect. "Not bad for a human."
Huma grinned. "There
are five temples guarding those stones, I can get all five if need be. I�m a
very well known figure in the Ningenkai and I have connections."
"Are you Huma anshinritsumei
(spiritual peace/enlightenment), the spiritual advisor of the emperor of
Japan?" Asked Rouin.
Huma bowed low at the
waist. "At your service."
"Hmm, no wonder you
know so much," said Rouin. "I�d thought those stones were
myths."
"Not myths, just well
guarded," said Huma straightening.
"Just a minute,"
said Inari. "I�ve heard that those stones were created by the first god
and thus couldn�t be used by any lesser god then he. If we can not tap their
power then what good are they?"
"True," said
Huma. "A god can not tap their power but a mortal on the other hand can,
though it may cost the user their life. The mortal using the stone would become
a conductor of sort, they would have massive amounts of power coursing though
them while the energy was being gathered and when the barrier was up."
Inari frowned as a sudden
feeling of foreboding hit him.
"I wish to speak to
Ryuujin about this, if you will permit me to see him," said Huma.
"Take you to see the
Dragon King?" scoffed Suoh. "You may be an important human, but
you�re still a human."
Huma frowned at the short
ryu. "Is your prejudice so great that you�d dismiss me and a worth while
plan simple because I�m human?"
Suoh smirked, but it left
his face as he turned to look at Inari. "Prejudice�," said the ryu
softly closing his eyes. After a long pause he sighed loudly. "I will take
you to see our king, human, consider it a great honor few of your kind have
seen his grace and lived to speak of it."
"Suoh," protested
Rouin. "You can�t take him to see Ryuujin."
Suoh waved him off.
"If Ryuujin will speak to him then it is his wish, if not then I will
personally drag him away."
Huma frowned again.
"Then I shall come
with you," said Rouin. The large ryu�s form blazed brightly as he shifted
to a massive ryu that towered over them all, he was a great deal larger then
Suoh in ryu form, sleek and beautiful, corded muscles causing his glossy scales
to flash with his every move and breath. Suoh smiled up at the tall ryu as Huma
looked upon him with an open mouth in awe.
"I�ve never seen a ryu
so powerful and large before," said Huma in a dazed voice.
"Well you�re about to
see one even stronger then Rouin," said Suoh jumping on the shocked human�s
shoulders and flying him up to Rouin�s back. Suoh perched on the other large
black�s back and looked down at Inari and his two children.
"We�ll be back soon
Inari, wait for us please," said the ryu bowing slightly at the waist.
"Do not keep me waiting
long," said Inari with a soft smile.
They share a brief loving
gaze before Rouin spread his impressive wingspan and took off into the air.
Inari watched them go. "And where do you two think you�re going?"
asked Inari not even turning around.
"Eek!" said
Kogare tail standing up.
"We�re just going to
play, Inari papa," said little Kaoru hovering by his brother�s shoulder.
Inari glanced at them.
"You�ve been going off to �play� quite a lot lately. Are you two up to no
good?"
"No," chirped
Kaoru. "Onii-san�s just teaching me to play all kinds of fun stuff,"
grinned the little ryu.
Inari looked at them both
hard then sighed. "Very well, you may go, but be back before dark."
"Hai!" said both
running off.
"What are those two up
to?" wondered Inari out loud.
"Onii-san? Where�d you
get that?" asked Kaoru landing on his shoulder and leaning over to look at
the gold and silver object his brother was holding against his side.
Kogare laughed and held the
sword up tossing it in a flip and catching it by its gold trimmed handle.
"Now I�ve got a ryu, a sword, plenty of power, and a date for my first
battle," grinned the fox god. "We�re going to fight with Inari and
Suoh on the next full moon."
* * * * * * * * * * *
The two black ryus stood
waiting outside two large stone doors as the human, Huma, spoke to Ryuujin.
"I still can�t believe
Ryuujin agreed to see him," said Rouin glancing at the twin doors.
"Do you think that human�s plan will work?"
"I can not say, I know
little about these stone or how they work. It could be a very risky plan."
"True," said
Rouin leaning back against the wall. "But if it means the defeat of the
Meikai, I will do anything to make sure it successes."
Suoh glanced at him seeing
the blood lust light up his eyes again. Rouin your obsession with destroying
the Meikai may some day be the very thing that destroys you. I almost feel
you�d give your very soul to avenge Chi, I fear it will make you take too many
risks. Suoh turned to stare blankly forward, he too would do much to defeat the
Meikai once and for all but he had so much more to consider. He couldn�t go
charging blindly into combat, a battle cry on his lips, no he had things worth
protecting, things worth living for: Rouin, Sunoo, Kogare, Kaoru� Inari. Suoh
closed his eyes, there was a chance, a very good one, that the Reikai and the
ryu clans wouldn�t come through the final battle victorious.
There was a good chance
that the ryus, all of them, would be killed; none of them would give in even if
they were hopelessly out numbered and doomed. They were not immortal and they
made up the largest portion of the Reikai�s troops, the Reikai wouldn�t
hesitate to send them in as the front line, won�t hesitate to sacrifice them to
win and they all knew it. Winning meant everything in this battle, win and
live, lose and cease to exist that was where the Reikai stood in this war. They
would either gain greatly from the end resolute or they would know nothingness,
for a god can not die, can only be unmade; no body, no soul, nothing. In a way
that made it more frightening for the gods to lose then the ryus, for if the
ryu�s were destroyed at least their souls would live on to be reborn as new
life, the gods would exist forever in a never ending limbo of nothingness.
With that hanging over their
heads Suoh could understand why they won�t hesitate to send them to their
deaths, could very well agree with it. If it came down to a choice Suoh would
die a million times over to keep Inari from that fate, would die every time
with a smile on his face for there could always be hope that in another life or
time they would meet once more. We will win this war Inari thought Suoh to
himself, we will win it no matter the cost�.
Both ryus turned their head
and watched as Ryuujin pushed the two large doors out, Huma by his side.
"You understand King
Ryu, that there is a great chance that you and the other stone carries will
be-"
The golden ryu smiled at
the human and wave a hand to silence him. "Yes, I know. But I know my fate
as well and fear it not." He lifted his head and looked at Rouin with a
kind of pride and sadness. His eyes went to Suoh and he lowered his gaze.
"It is the ones that survive that I fear for, Huma."
"But King Ryu, if the
Meikai is defeated then you�ve won, the nightmare would be over," said
Huma.
"Life is a dream
human, and only when you die do you finally wake up and understand that,"
said the Golden Ryu confusing the human with his words. "Suoh,
Rouin," called Ryuujin lifting his head to look at the two once again.
"I wish to call a gathering for both the ryus and the gods. Suoh inform
the clan leader, Rouin I want you to help Huma collect the five stones."
"We are going with the
human�s plan to seal off the Meikai�s power and fight their weakened army on
the field?" asked Rouin.
Ryuujin paused looking at
the tall black a long time. "No, but we are using the stones to create the
elemental sites. There will not be a massive lose of life in this battle, I will
see to that," said the golden dragon king. "Now you must hurry, the
moon is moving fast on us, soon it will be full."
"Yes," said both
blacks bowing low to their king. Suoh spread his wings and left with all speed
to tell the clan leaders and Rouin walked over to Huma and jumped up to perch
on his broad shoulders. He lifted into the air with the human held tight in his
claws.
"Tell me," said
Rouin as they flew. "What did Ryuujin mean? We will not fight the Meikai�s
forces?"
"If the plan goes well then most of the
Meikai�s forces will destroy its self."
"How?" asked Rouin.
Huma was silent a long
time. "Ryuujin plans on creating a forbidden land in the Ningenkai, where
he will trap and contain all of the Meikai�s power and most of its forces
inside."
"A forbidden land?" said Rouin looking
down at the human.
"Yes, in a sense the
Meikai will secede in merging the Meikai and the Nengenkai, but they shall have
only a small portion of the human world. The land inside the five elemental
sites shall become their new kingdom and the Meikai world will disappear with
its life blood drained from it. Forcing so much power and life into such a
small place will cause it to turn and start destroying itself. By the time the
barrier will drop the Meikai land will be no more and their forces will have
been depleted to a size that can not hope to stand against the combined might
of the gods and the ryu clans."
"But won�t that
require completely containing the Meikai in the one space? I can understand how
we can contain its power for a while with the stones, but what about the
troops? Surely they will be able to simple walk out of the barrier."
"No, this is Ryuujin�s
plan. Five stone holders shall remain at the sites and contain the elemental
power flowing through their bodies for as long as possible, in doing so they
form a barrier that will hold both that of Meikai�s flesh and power. Living
things of the same element as the side of the barrier they wish to enter may do
so, but the Meikai�s power shall have no common ground with the elemental sites
and be unable to leave. Once a creature enters the barrier and stands in the
new Meikai land, they will become part of it and be unable to leave till the
barriers all drop."
"Yes, but who will be
the stone holders? They have to be of the same element as the stone they
touched or the element will kill them, and the gods can not touch them or use
them. Even if they could everyone knows those born from the Reikai can not
contain Meikai energy inside them it is the opposite of their own."
"Yes, no gods shall
hold this barrier they�ll be in charge of getting the Meikai�s force inside of
the sites and finishing them off when the stone carriers become too exhausted
to keep it up any more. I�m afraid five of your kind will have to hold the
sites."
"But, that will surly kill them."
"No, there is a chance
they will survive if they can with stand the power coursing through them.
Unlike the gods ryus are creatures of all four lands. They can tap and hold any
kind of power in their bodies."
"But only five, holding the whole of the
Meikai�s strength?! That�s crazy."
"Crazy maybe, but the
lives of five is nothing compared to the number that would die if it is not
done this way, and like I said there is a chance that they will live."
"What if they can not hold the energy?"
asked Rouin.
"Then the shield will
be greatly weakened and the added strain of supporting the missing site will be
spread among those still standing till they all drop one by one."
"And the stone
carrier, can they use that power in them? If too many holders become exhausted
can the remaining ones drop the barriers and use the remaining power in them to
fight with?"
"Use the stones?"
said Huma looking up at the black ryu. "The stones themselves are
incredibly powerful, they amplify and increase energy that is of their element.
If an elemental creature touches the stone of their element and can not handle
and control it, the stone consumes them and brings out their full potential,
something that will most surly cut the users life short and use up their very
essence till there is nothing left. Someone that has control of the stone can
use it and not die from it, but it is a difficult thing to do. Some have tried
and been half eaten by the stones only to gain control of the power and then
die from the wounds inflicted upon them."
"Has anyone been
consumed and regain consciousness enough to control the power they�ve
become?" asked Rouin.
"No, I have not heard
of such. If you are consumed you�ve been eaten, your body burned into pure
energy to fuel the stone, you would be dead and only the power would be left of
you."
Rouin shivered. "And the Meikai? What if they find a way to break out?
Will their be anyway to contain the Meikai�s power if the stones fail?"
"No, only the Meikai
king, Yakumo, can contain the Meikai�s energy, there is no other known that can
do so."
"But it�s not impossible that another could
tap its power and control it, is it?"
"Nothings impossible,
but where would you find such a being? They�d have to be powerful, with an iron
will, and a purpose that they believe with all their heart must be full filled.
Their very soul would have to touch that power and make it their own, I know of
none, not even the Dragon King, who could do that."
"You do not think
Ryuujin is capable of doing so? I would have thought he�d be the perfect one to
try."
"Ryuujin sees fate and
try as he might he has been unable to alter it. I think he already knows
vaguely how this war will end, therefore his heart won�t be so pure to secede
if he did not believe he was the one to try. Beside Ryuujin has already decided
his rule in the up coming battle."
"He has? What?" asked Rouin.
"He will be the stone holder for the
soul," said Huma.
"What?! What if he dies!" shouted Rouin.
"Then it is the fate he foresaw himself and
he�ll greet it without fear."
"Damn it," cursed
Rouin trembling. "Ryuujin won�t die, he won�t. He won�t die till this war
is over, I know he won�t."
"You have great faith in him," said
Huma.
"We all do," said Rouin with pride.
"Then maybe you�re right, black ryu, maybe
you�re right."
TBC
- 16
- 17
- 18
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The Meikai War