Till The End Of Time [Inuyasha Fanfiction ]
Chapter 55's

The morning had arrived, the winter sunlight that entered the window did not wake Aya, Maya, Mamoru and Shiro who were still asleep. Staring at them Kohaku thought, they were so great, the noise and drums of war last night did not wake them up. But, come to think of it, the young taijiya was also grateful that they were sleeping, there was no need to show them hundreds of youkai with such terrible youki to them, right?

Looking out the window, seeing that the morning had arrived, for the first time, Kohaku felt a sense of silence. Hundreds of youkai have gone to war, this huge palace now has not many inhabitants.

Sighing, he thought, what are Inuyasha and the others doing? Sesshoumaru, the ruler of the western lands had already gone to the battlefield; the war was not stopped anymore.

Knowing nothing to do, Kohaku then got up to his feet. His footsteps towards the exit, he had to find breakfast for the children first, after which, he would think about what to do.

Opening the door, Kohaku felt a powerful youki attack darting towards him. Surprised, he immediately pulled out his weapon, a kusarigama, a large scythe with long chains that he always carried; fending it off.

That powerful youki attack pushed him a few meters back, however, he was not injured in the slightest. Raising his face, his brown eyes were directed at the door of the room that had been broken.

The loud noise in the room instantly woke Aya, Maya, Mamoru and Shiro who were asleep. They stared at the serious-faced Kohaku with the weapon in his hand.

"Uncle Kohaku, there's a—" asked Aya confusedly. However, his question cut off the voice of a laughing man. "I didn't think you could hold it, man."

"Children, come here" Kohaku ordered without leaving his eyes at the door. "Stand behind me."

Aya and Maya did not say anything, swiftly the two twin sisters took a hold of their smaller family and ran behind Kohaku. Aya held Shiro while Maya held Mamoru, the two of them had no idea what was happening, but they knew there was danger.

From behind the broken door two youkai people walked out. A black-haired male youkai and a brown-haired female youkai. The flat female youkai's face was expressionless, while the male youkai smiled smirking her sharp fangs.

"Who are you?" asked Kohaku without reducing his vigilance. His brown eyes closely watched the two youkai.

The male Youkai had a pretty handsome face with green eyes, as well as the female youkai, although her blue face and eyes were expressionless, her beauty remained clear. However, the most important thing for Kohaku now is that the two of them are not youkai from the west.

"You don't need to know, who we are," the male youkai smile smirked. "Give the kids to us."

The youkai's words let Kohaku know the meaning of their arrival. He doesn't understand why they want children.

"You talk too much, Yuu." said the brown-haired youkai woman who had been silent from earlier.

Yuu, the male youkai laughed out loud. "It's okay, Sen," the grinning smile on his face grew wider. "The man will die here right now."

Without warning, Yuu immediately ran quickly to Kohaku. He pulled out the katana sword at the waist and swung at the young taijiya.

Kohaku wanted to jump dodge, but the presence of the children behind him did not allow him to do that, he could only fend off the attack.

The two youkai in front of him right now were not reckless youkai, they were strong. And he was in a pinch condition, because in addition to fighting, he must be able to protect the children entrusted to him.

"Yes, Maya's getting away from behind me!" kohaku orders as he begins to be overwhelmed by Yuu's attacks.

Aya and Maya obey Kohaku's orders despite fear. The two twin sisters immediately ran to a corner of the room away from Kohaku and the two youkai.

Kohaku started attacking back when he saw the children were already in a safer position. Moving all his strength, he pressed Yuu's sword forward and jumped away.

Yuu was quite surprised by the strength of a human being who was able to press him backwards, and yet to stop his shock, the scythe in Kohaku's hand had shot out its neck.

Yuu immediately moved the katana in her hand to fend off. A wide smile flashed across his face, the young taijiya in front of him was strong and it made him impatient to torture her.

Kohaku pulled back his scythe sword with the chain in hand. His vigilance grew even higher as he looked at the smile on Yuu's face.

"You are strong human," Yuu said then with a laugh. "But I'm stronger. I'll show you what a strong one really is."

Yuu's human-like body changed. Accompanied by the red smoke, his green eyes turned blood red. The body is enlarged, the legs until the plate is elongated, blackened and transformed into segments with a pair of sharp insect legs. The good looks on his face had disappeared, with blood-red eyes and abnormally wide mouth that had sharp fangs poisonous.

Kohaku knew what youkai Yuu was with once a look, no doubt the youkai in front of him was a centipede youkai.

Yuu's large body filled the room, and Kohaku knew, it didn't benefit him, because he couldn't move freely anymore.

Yuu moved her tail, darting rapidly towards Kohaku. The young Taijiya jumped dodging while throwing a scythe in her hand at the huge body. But, the body of the centipede youkai was quite hard, the scythe of Kohaku bounced around.

Changing the direction of his attack, Kohaku began to move closer to Yuu. He could not injure his enemy's body, however, looking at the structure of the centipede's youkai body, he knew, the neck was his weak point.

Realizing where Kohalu's attack was directed, Yuu dodged. His tail immediately returned leading to the young taijiya attacking.

Sen who saw the fight between Kohaku and Yuu did nothing, he remained silent. A moment later, his eyes were directed at Shiro, Aya, Maya and Mamoru who were in the corner of the room. Stepping slowly, he approached the children.

Aya and Maya retreat backwards until their bodies touch the walls of the building. Shiro and Mamoru who were in their arms began to fidget with fear as well as with the twin sisters, because they did not know what to do.

In silence, Sen then pulls the collars of Aya and Maya's kimono with one hand, snapping them from the top of their tatami floor on foot.

"Uncle Kohaku!!!" yell Aya and Maya together.

The cries of Aya and Maya make Kohaku's focus on Yuu distracted, the young taijiya's eyes widened upon seeing Shiro and the others already in the hands of the woman's youkai.

Dodging Yuu, Kohaku immediately shot towards Shiro and the others. But just a few steps he took, Yuu's large body moved swiftly wrapped around the young taijiya's body, locking onto his every move.

"Godhaaaa!" yell Kohaku in pain. He couldn't move the kusarigama in his hand.

Sen who saw the helpless Kohaku, said nothing. Reversing her body, she walks out of the room with Shiro, Aya, Maya and Mamoru who continue to rebel.

"Uncle Kohaku!!"

"Uncle!!!"

Kohaku could only stare at the horror of the children who disappeared from his sight.

....xoxOx....

Rin walked over with a smile. Her feet freely walked towards Akihiko's favorite concubine room, Tsubasa.

Today was the sixth day he was in the south, and unlike usual, today this southern palace looked even more deserted. He did not even find Akihiko in the arid ground field where the ordinary youkai wolf was practicing sword this morning.

It's been two days that Rin hasn't seen Tsubasa. He knew it was youkai who kidnapped him from the west. But, the youkai never hurt or harmed him, even his attitude was quite good. The favorite concubine of the ruler of the southern land did not mind providing thick winter clothes and food for her while in this palace. It was not delivered directly by him, but, Rin knew, Tsubasa was the caretaker of this palace.

As Rin's feet stepped on the garden in Tsubasa's living pavilion, she was perplexed when she saw a male youkai standing looking at her with a smile.

The youkai had long, messy black hair, deathly pale skin with a pair of pitch-black eyes framing the face. Rin had never seen this youkai before, there was an uneasy feeling coming up, but she still tried to be polite. "Good morning, is Tsubasa-sama there? Rin wants to see him."

The youkai smiled increasingly grinning at Rin's attitude. Remaining silent, he stepped closer to the human girl in front of him.

Rin's heart beats fast, his intuition warns him to run, because he can feel the bad intentions of the unknown youkai.

Reversing his body, Rin immediately ran, but only a few steps were taken, he stopped again. Five youkai men stood guarding the exit of the Tsubasa pavilion.

"Why did you run, Hime-sama from the west?" said the youkai behind Rin all of a sudden. "Taken this by you, the servant's heart is wounded."

Rin turned back to look at the black-haired youkai, his face paled slightly, but he tried to control himself. "Who are you? Whatdoyouwant?"

"Hamba wants something you have, Hime-sama." Answer's relaxed. His feet kept on moving closer to Rin. "Something you hide is always behind your kimono."

The youkai's answer made Rin's face paled even more. Both of his hands hugged himself, trying to protect what the youkai in front of him wanted.

Meido Seki, one of the youkai heirlooms from the west, the birthday present from Inukumi is on Rin. Always wear and hide behind a thick winter kimono so that no one looks. How did this youkai know?

Rin's paled face made the big smile on the youkai's face widen, he liked the look of fear on the pretty face.

Hime from the west.

Rin closed his eyes as he saw the black-haired youkai raise his hand. Fear filled his heart, the face of the high-pride inuyoukai loomed in his mind. "S-shou—"

"Hijinkes!"

A blood-cloud sword suddenly flew towards the black-haired youkai. Surprised, the youkai immediately jumped back dodging.

Rin opened her eyes hearing the familiar voice. A wide smile graced his face as he saw a silver-haired hanyou with dog ears standing in front of him.

"Inuyasha-sama." pangil Rin was happy.

"Key! You okay, Rin?" inuyasha asked with a smile. She turned her face to check if the girl was injured, and a feeling of relief filled her as she saw the girl was fine.

"Rin-chan!" call a woman's voice suddenly from above Rin.

raising his face to look at the source of the voice, the smile on Rin's face widened when he saw who it was. "Kagome-sama, Miroku-sama, Sango-sama, Kenji-sama."

Kagome who was on Kenji's back, as well as Miroku, Sango who was holding Kirara immediately jumped down. With the weapons in hand, they surrounded Rin, as if to be the shield of the human girl.

Rin has no idea what happened, and how Inuyasha and the others got here, but at least now things are improving.

"Yukimura from the east, why are you here?" kenji asked coldly when he saw the black-haired youkai. He knew the youkai, he was a subordinate youkai of Asano, the ruler of the eastern lands.

Yukimura was quite surprised by the appearance of Inuyasha and the others in the south. But, he didn't care so much either. "I don't think you're in the south, but the west-south war has already begun."

"Western-south war?" sela Rin cuts the conversation and makes all who are looking their eyes look at her.

"South declares war on the west, Rin," Sango explained slowly. "And last night, Akihiko, the ruler of the southern lands and his army had advanced into battle."

Yes, Akihiko and his army have advanced into the battlefield. The war they want to stop is going to happen in a matter of hours, and they still haven't managed to get Rin out of this palace.

'We rescue Rin-chan as Akihiko and her troops advance into the battlefield. If the ruler and the troops go to the battlefield, automatically the guard of the southern land palace will definitely become loose. That's our chance.'

It was Miroku's plan that turned out to be running smoothly. Helped again by Koga who attracts the attention of the youkai-youkai still left in this palace with his status as one of the young masters in the south, they managed to find Rin without fighting. But the most important point of Miroku's plan has also not been reached.

'Remember the time we have. When we find Rin-chan, we have to take Rin out immediately. We must meet him with Sesshoumaru before the western and southern forces clash.'

It's ironic that they only found Rin when time was really desperate, and plus youkai from the east who suddenly appeared after this human girl - they had to race against time.

"Kenji-san, you can take Rin-chan to brother, right?" kagome said suddenly. "Give these youkai-youkai to us."

Kenji understands Kagome's intentions, and he is quite confident in Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku and Sango's abilities. Those who were able to defeat Naraku a few years ago, were definitely not just humans.

Not wasting any time, Kenji directly carried Rin and jumped high up into the sky.

The five youkai subordinates of Yukimura who were guarding the garden exit of the southern land palace concubine pavilion immediately moved to chase after Kenji, however, a holy arrow with powerful spiritual power shot towards them.

"Don't go anywhere" said Kagome flatly. His brown eyes stared at the youkai-youkai vigilantly with a directional bow arrow. "Defeat us first."

Kagome's words made Inuyasha laugh out loud. There was joy in his day. Finally he can fight as much as possible after almost a week of being a coward who continues to avoid the youkai. Pulling out the tessaiga on his waist, the sword enlarged back to its original form. Stopping him, he stared intently at Yukimura. "You're my opponent."

....xoxOx....

Kohaku tried to move his body wrapped around Yuu's body. The centipede youkai did not seem to have any intention of directly killing him, he wanted to torture him first; making himself wish for a faster death. The typical cruel youkai is heartless.

Yuu laughed at Kohaku's condition, but the satisfaction in her heart had not been met, she wanted a look of fear on the young taijiya's face. Strengthening the twists of his body, he brought his head closer to the victim."You're gonna die here, man."

Kohaku said nothing, he kept trying to move his body. He must not die here, because now Shiro, Aya, Maya and Mamoru are in the hands of unknown youkai with bad intentions. The nephews were entrusted to him, with the purpose of his guarding, how could he neglect to do so?

Yuu could see the worry on Kohaku's face, and she also knew to whom the worry was aimed. "You're worried about Hanyou and the human children? Relax, they'll soon follow you to the afterlife."

Kohaku's eyes widened to hear Yuu's words. Anger filled his heart. "Who are you?"

Yuu laughed, "Consider it as a gift from me before you go to the afterlife, I am Yuu from the North, a loyal subordinate of Takeru, the lord of the northern lands."

Kohaku was unable to hide his shocked feelings when he heard Yuu's reply. The north? Why are they here? And what does it mean that they kidnapped Shiro and the others?

The twists of Yuu's body intensified and made Kohaku difficult to breathe.

"W-What do you want?" tanya Kohaku stammered. His brown eyes stared sharply at the youkai in front of him fearlessly.

Yuu loses her interest in playing with Kohaku seeing an expression of fear that never comes. The human before him was unattractive, and he did not want to waste any more time in this western land palace. "You don't need to know that" she smiled

Yuu opened her wide mouth, her venomous long fangs pointed at Kohaku to stab him.

"Goma Subushi!!" the voice of a child suddenly.

A small gasing suddenly appeared and revolved around Yuu's head, but a second later, the gasing enlarged and enlarged, as well as its weight.

Yuu is surprised by what happens, automatically the twists on Kohaku's body become loose. Not wasting the opportunity, the young taijiya immediately crushed the kusarigama in his hand and slashed Yuu's neck to the point of breaking.

Yuu's eyes widened, she fell down without being able to do anything. It never occurred to him that the end of his life would be like this. Before his consciousness disappeared he saw the figure of a fox youkai child panting behind him.

Kohaku gasped for breath inhaling oxygen in the air. After somewhat calming down, he smiled slightly looking at his helper who was none other than; shippo.

"Thank you, Shippo." said Kohaku slowly.

However, the little fox youkai immediately ran towards the young taijiya. "We don't have time Kohaku! we must move quickly to save Shiro and the others!!"

....xoxOx....

"Kenji-sama, what really happened? What does it mean for a south-west war?" ask Rin who's in Kenji's arms. His brown eyes could not hide the feeling of worry in the heart.

"The day after you were kidnapped, the south challenged the west" explained Kenji without lowering his running speed. "And, Sesshoumaru accepted the challenge. Now the two armies are moving towards Mount Houshi."

Rin was silent to the information she had. Face paled. A war? West and south?

The faces of Sesshoumaru and Akihiko appeared in his mind, as well as the youkai he knew in the west and also; south. As long as he was in the south, the youkai in the palace did not treat him badly, he knew they were not evil youkai. Now they're going to war?

The chaos of the war will have a terrible impact on the surroundings, let alone this is a youkai war. The death and loss of loved ones - there will be many broken families, be it human beings or youkai.

"I will take you to Sesshoumaru, Rin-rin. And you have to persuade him to stop this war." Kenji continued, he could face a deathly pale mistrust the human girl in his carrier.

"Stopping Sesshoumaru-sama?!" rin asked with wide eyes in disbelief. "How can Rin do it, Kenji-sama??!"

The shocking news that Rin has gotten in a row, leaves him deeply confused, and now, Kenji has him stop Sesshoumaru? Stopping war? How could she do it - she was just an ordinary human girl with no spiritual power.

"You can, Rin-rin," said Kenji convincing Rin. She knew, this human girl was not confident and also, she did not know the meaning of her existence in the west; in the heart of Sesshoumaru.

Early before things became like this, Kenji thought of asking Rin to persuade Sesshoumaru not to go to war. West would be considered a coward for refusing war?—no. Kenji knew there were many ways to avoid this war without smearing the greatness of western names.

Now, that plan is impossible. But, seeing the circumstances, when she heard from Koga's mouth, Akihiko who was attracted to Rin and guarded her tightly, a new hope appeared in her heart. Not only Sesshoumaru, this human girl might also be able to persuade Akihiko to undo his intention to go to war.

The risk of Seshoumaru and Akihiko even going to fight to the end if Rin appears is indeed high, but the possibility of the human girl being able to stop the two daiyoukai is also very high. And Kenji is betting on that second possibility.

"Only you can do that. You can stop this war, Rin." said Kenji again reassuring the human girl in his arms.

....xoxOx....