The Sacred Trees

This week has been ridiculously busy and packed. Drowning in work, bah! Still finally managed to squeeze some time in to write and Sacred Trees won the mental toss. Lots of planning went into this.

Will respond to reviews when I have more time to breathe, PLEASE review!

Read, review and enjoy

Chapter 30 : Battle plans

The mood of the day was somber. Troop carriers moved the army swiftly north. Early that day at sunrise, many a tearful goodbye was made in Tokyo. The farewell with the pups had been heart rendering, the three little Youkai''s clinging to Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru until the absolute last moment. With their parents gone the pups clung to their adoptive and step siblings, no other was allowed near them. Yuusha and 3 of Sesshoumaru's daughters moved into the Inu Youkai's chambers to watch the pups. Yuusha had said his goodbye to Kouga before they left the chambers, as the Wolf General bordered the troop carrier, only a solemn nod passed between them, their eyes saying it all.

Shark Youkai loyal to the Bears had spotted the submarine armada made up of 2 dozen nuclear powered subs, heading to Japan and were discreetly keeping track of its movements. They had triangulated the path of the submarines and the troop carriers landed on a deserted Island that was almost in the path of the on coming army. They had slightly less then two days to prepare.

Lord Akaishiimaru of the Serow Demons, had arrived the day earlier. The most experienced at setting up sanctuaries and care centers for Demons, they had on the main Island set up a temporary base for the sick and injured in the war. The plan was not to fight the enemy on this Island, rather it was to fight from this Island. The Island was positioned around a number of huge Icebergs and shelves, the main attack was to take place 5 kilometers away from the base.

The Base Island was made of Volcanic rock and had natural tunnels and caves. One main cave heavily fortified by volcanic rock and magic was to act as the hospital. Lady Shiba in defiance of the Shogun's orders appointed Matianna and Lord Kayenkura (salamander demon) to guard the home fires in her place as she went North ahead of the army. She was the first Youkai Sesshoumaru saw as the troop carrier landed, his narrowing gaze was met with an elegantly raised brow. She was the best healer, and she would lead the healing of those hurt in battle.

Sesshoumaru was irritated by the defiance, still a part of him was relieved. Clear instructions had been given to Lord Akaishiimaru to be passed on to the healers. The healers were to treat all those hurt in the war - Shogun, General or warrior the same way. None were to get preferential treatment, none that is except a certain impetus Hanyou. Sesshoumaru made it clear, that if Inuyasha was hurt, every single resource was to be used on him. The reason stated by the Shogun was that they could not afford to lose the only being able to heal the trees. The Serow Lord had managed to hide his smile until the Shogun had left, it was cute the way Sesshoumaru was trying to rationalize the order. But in truth the order was unnecessary, the Silver haired Hanyou was dear to all of them.

The troops that landed all immediately went to work. The war room, from where Lord Mirei and a bank of supercomputers, would be stationed to coordinate and monitor the rooms had to be built. So too the mess hall, tents and provision areas, under the supervision of the Lord Akito Kudo (Snake Demon) – who better then an expert on poisons to ensure that their meals were safe. Wall and barraks had to be built, defenses fortified, surprisingly The Canine human sub-Generals took charge on this endeavor, maybe it was not so surprising as human and Youkai magic were used in the creation and buffering of the defenses.

Lord Kuroyukitake the Manatee Demoness and Lord Bunza had both come to the Island the night before, and they were busy crafting a means to bring to the surface the enemies' Air Independent Propulsions Submarines. These subs were built so that they did not need to rise, and the challenge to the Demons was to force the Subs to rise without polluting their waters and destroying marine life. The workshop set up by Bunza was precariously placed half in land half in the water. It was poorly fortified as Bunza was totally focused on the task at hand. The Dragon Lord took over the task of fortifying the workshop as well as getting his Youkai to take charge of patrolling the air and sea around the Island.

2 dozen subs, with an estimate of 500 individuals in each sub, gave the the Japanese Alliance an estimate of the enemies army being made up of at least a thousand strong. The number may seem small as compared to human armies, but then the invading army was not made up of humans- but of Youkai. And none were deluded enough to believe the army of the attacking Youkai would be made up of less then elite level Youkai.

The numbers of the Japanese Alliance in comparison was small, but all warriors were of elite class. Not counting the Lords the dragon and the lightning Demons were each only represented by a 100 warriors. That was all the the two clans could spared away from the hope base. 50 Canadian Demon had joined the battle. 12 of the reclusive mountain Kitsune joined the effort – their focus was solely to stay in the far background and boost the magical power of the army. 5 Phoenix Demons supported by 20 Serow Demons and 20 snake demons made up the medical and support part of the army.

Unsurprisingly the Feline and the Canine Youkai as the only two truly organized groups made up the bulk of the army, with 180 warrior felines.

The Canines made up the rest. Inuyasha was impressed at he mix that represented the Canine army. 150 warrior Canines composing of Inus, Ookamis, Panther and elemental demons. 50 Kitsune Demons who were to focus on the defensive aspects of the battle, getting hurt Youkai to safety and as well as magical support. 20 Ryuku Serpant Eagle Demons and 20 SparrowHawk Demons were Canine troops that would provide Ariel support. 48 humans in 2 battalions under the sub-commanders were to provide the Miko support, barriers and field healing during the battle. Most surprisingly to Inuyasha were the 24 Hanyou under the 2 Special Forces Commanders Inuyasha had met during the pup's naming ceremony. The Hanyou were each mounted on what looked like Kilala's descendants and remembering Sesshoumaru's statement that Hanyou's were not sent into the front lines, Inuyasha wondered at their presence. Since they were mounted troops Inuyasha counted them as one unit rather then two.

That made the Canine forces involved in battle (not counting the humans) 264 Youkai, plus 12 lieutenants, 2 sub-commanders, 2 special forces commanders, 2 Generals, One Shogun and One Inuyasha, number at 284. The actual fighting force of the Japanese Alliance numbered at about 750 including the Lords and other Generals; in terms of numbers the Japanese Youkai would be at a disadvantage, but in terms of power, well of that – Inuyasha grinned evilly, - the enemy would not know what hit them.

It was five hours until the estimated time the Armada would reach them, when all the preparations were completed. All preparations that is except for the crucial means of bringing the nuclear subs to the surface. The curses whenever any approached the workshop however ensure that most kept their distance. Bunza and team were hard at work, everyone was confident they would succeed – they only question was when.

The leaders of the Japanese Alliance gathered in the command center. The rest of the army gathered in the mess area, where relevant information would be announced to them as well. The one question one everyone's mind that needed answering were what the hell was a Human Youkai. And that was the question the council answered first, well actually Inuyasha who was the only one who had dealings albeit in dream state with human demons explained.

"Human demons, as I mentioned earlier, unlike most Youkai have little or no respect for nature and the natural rhythms provided by nature. They seek always to dominate nature and bend it to their will. This is what ultimately caused their downfall. They are the only Youkai that I know of that came close to actually ruling the while Youkai world for a few reasons. Firstly at their time, they were the only Youkai who were willing to mix technology and magic, that made their armies superior to other Youkai of their time. That advantage today however no longer holds true. The second and most deadly reason they were so effective is that Human Youkai can turn into Humans at will. As humans they could manipulate and influence human settlements against other Yukai, and as they did during the secret wars they are Masters of manipulation – of turning Youkai against Youkai. More then that what makes them dangerous to other Youkai is when they turn human, they retain their Youkai strength and speed, and at the same time are able to tap into human magic and miko abilities." Shocked reactions were heard in the mess area and among those ranked below Generals, the Council had been briefed earlier on these matters.

"Human Youkai can bring to bear both Youkai and human abilities, few can stand against this combination. We are strong, but we cannot underestimate the enemy." Inuyasha continued when silence once again descended. "One weakness that they have when human is that while they have the strength and speed of Youkai they do not have our resilience and endurance, they can get hurt like humans and are easier to kill. IF we can get through their magic, amour and barriers that is. Also in human form you have to make a killing blow, because when they transform back and damage including a broken back that they sustained while they were human is healed completely. So make your blows count."

There was a disturbed silence as the gathered army considered the Hanyou's words. They had never faced an enemy like this before.

The Shougun choose that moment to step in. Inuyasha stepped back with a smirk on his face. Who can imagine the Sesshoumaru of old being a motivator and a Youkai capable of making other Youkai cheer from just his words. The Demon Lord had come a long way in the last 500 years. Inuyasha remebered rather fondly that once Sesshoumaru believed that the only battle cry he needed was "Die, worthless half breed!" Yes siree, Lord Sesshoumaru just needed more time then most to mature. Still the Hanyou listened with pride to the words of his older brother. The Shogun had been in power for a long time, and had in the process learned the skill of leading and working a crowd.

"Those afraid to face the so-called Human Youkai are free to leave on the next carrier." his voice and upper body transmitted magically to the outside mess area,Sesshoumaru raised an imperial brow and paused for effect – as Inuyasha expected - no one moved. Sesshoumaru then spoke of the strengths of each group in the army, he said no more then a word or two, but since it came for the Shogun, the impact was much much more then an hour speech by any other leader.

Sesshoumaru finished by assuring the army that plans to counter what the Human Youkai could do was already in place and that if all the Youkai did their pat victory would be assured. Once the cheering died down, the external feed was released, and the Youkai Council went to the serious work of winning the war. AS Shi Tzzu said, victory in war came to those who planned for it, and the Youkai of Japan intended to win.

A couple of hours later, Bunza ran in with his plans and inventions. An hour after that the army moved out. The Youkai stood silent as statues waiting for the enemy to spring the trap, and they could finally finish the war.

--tbc--

Well what's next is obvious, am not diluting the preparation and planning by writing more. :) review please. Gaaahhhh falling asleep.. MUST post!!!