A/n: I don't own InuYasha, Rumiko Takahashi-sama does. I am merely borrowing her characters for a fanfic of my own design.

Summary: It begins with the Papa fighting Ryuukossei, and leads to some reflection on InuYasha's part.

Rating: T for mild violence.

-InuYasha's Old Man-

A large white dragon looked down upon the Dog General, and snorted.

"I ask for an opponent, and this is what they send me?" Ryuukossei taunted. "An old dog?"

Inu no Taisho growled.

"You have terrorized these people for far too long, and I plan to end it!" He snapped back.

"And what will you do? Bare your fangs until I step down?" Ryuukossei smirked.

"Heh. You'll wish." Inu no Taisho's eyes glowed red. "It's time that you learned your place, dragon..."

Inu no Taisho's face elongated, and his ponytail flew free, whipping around him as he grew into his true form. A howl in the air sent shivers down the backs of the lesser demons in the area.

"It's about time you stopped barking and began fighting!" Ryuukossei's power clashed with the Dog General's, and the fight was long and tedious on both of their parts. Ryuukossei looked worse for the wear, but the Dog General had his own injuries, in varying degrees of severity. Blood dripped onto the dirt as Inu no Taisho lunged at Ryuukossei, and pinned him to the wall, his fangs buried in the dragon's throat, his hind claws digging into the dragon's thick, rough hide. When the dragon stopped struggling, the Dog General released his throat, and stepped back, ripping out one of his hind claws, but paying it no mind. Blood dripped onto the ground as Inu no Taisho lumbered away from the site of the battle, his injuries weakening him, and slowing him down.

"Izayoi...InuYasha...Sesshoumaru..." the Dog General's voice rumbled through the air. "He will...threaten you no more..."

Inu no Taisho let out one last howl, before collapsing to the ground, the loss of blood and the shock of his injuries finally overcoming him.

"Hey, InuYasha, what are you thinking about?" Kagome's voice interrupted InuYasha's train of thought.

"Huh? Not much..." InuYasha looked at the fallen dragon, and the battle scene. Blood dripped down his arm from an injury sustained during the battle. "Why don't you go with the others?"
InuYasha's words were more of a command than a suggestion, and Kagome did as he said, mostly because of the serious look on InuYasha's face.

When Kagome was gone, InuYasha walked until he reached a stream near the battle scene, and kneeled beside the water, clutching his injured side. Droplets of blood hit the water, turning it pink before dissolving completely. InuYasha looked at the water, and what he saw made him look again.

A face. Familiar, yet unrecognizable...where had InuYasha seen it before? He strained his memory, but drew a blank. The face smiled at him before disappearing, down the stream. Then, it hit him.

Oyaji...

InuYasha realized that it was his father's face that had given him a smile of approval. Had InuYasha imagined it? No...he couldn't have. InuYasha had no idea of what his father looked like, save the stories that his mother would tell him as a child.

"Dad..." InuYasha murmured. What he wouldn't give to spend a day with his father, even if it was just a half of a day... "Why did you have to go?"

"InuYasha..." The wind whispered, in an unfamiliar voice. InuYasha turned, but saw no one.

"...Dad..." InuYasha murmured again, the name sounding more and more like a prayer. InuYasha looked at the water again. Nothing, save his own face. But he looked a lot like his father, as his mother had always said. Izayoi always told InuYasha that his father was never truly dead, that he would always live in InuYasha's heart, guiding him. InuYasha had never believed her, but this was quite convincing.

"Dad..."

InuYasha looked up at the bright golden sun, and it reminded him of the face's eyes. Did a father truly live on through his children, even he was physically dead?
"...I'll make you proud. I'll make your sacrifice worth it..." InuYasha murmured.

"...Talking to the dead?" Sesshoumaru's voice cut in. "Ridiculous."

InuYasha turned and looked at Sesshoumaru, his amber eyes burning fiercely. Sesshoumaru showed no outward emotion, but InuYasha resembled their shared father more now than ever...and would continue to resemble their father more with every passing year, whether InuYasha realized that or not.

"What do you want, Sesshoumaru?" InuYasha demanded.

"..." Sesshoumaru said nothing, which made his younger step-brother furious. Finally, the dog demon replied. "You know what I want."
"You're not getting it, Sesshoumaru." InuYasha growled, resting his hand on Tessaiga's hilt. "Tessaiga is mine, and you know it."

Sesshoumaru smirked. "Like you, in your current state, could stop me?" He taunted.

"I could..." InuYasha unsheathed Tessaiga. "Beat you..."

InuYasha lunged, but staggered when the wounds he had throbbed angrily, and blood splattered on the ground when Sesshoumaru's Toukijin met InuYasha's flesh.

"Really, now?" Sesshoumaru sounded almost amused. "It seems to me that you cannot, little brother."

His voice was sneering, mocking...and InuYasha hated it.
"I...can...too!" InuYasha raised Tessaiga up and lunged once more. He struck at Sesshoumaru, but Sesshoumaru dodged it, and knocked InuYasha to the ground.

"Pathetic..." Sesshoumaru glared. "I don't see why Father chose to give you the treasure sword...You're weak..."

Sesshoumaru stalked off, as emotionless as ever.

"...Nnngh..." InuYasha struggled to get up, but made it to his feet, using Tessaiga as a crutch. "I'm not...weak..."
InuYasha looked at his father's sword, the steel-cleaving fang, and attempted to stand up straight, staggering as he put away the weapon.

"You're weak..." Sesshoumaru's words echoed through InuYasha's head. "Weak..."

"InuYasha..." the wind whispered again, this time as InuYasha came across the battle scene once more. For the briefest of moments, InuYasha caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye..a man who was unfamiliar to him, yet, at the same time, as recognizable as InuYasha's older brother.

Oyaji...

InuYasha slowly made his way back to camp, where he knew the others were waiting. He never spoke a word to them of what he saw, yet even Kagome noticed that he seemed more determined to become a full-demon.
"Kagome, boil some water, will ya?" InuYasha dug through her bag.

"InuYasha..." Kagome said, annoyed by his demand, "osuwari!"

InuYasha met the ground with a loud thud.

-

Like it, love it, hate it? Review and tell me what you think. I have an idea for a sequel, but it's up to y'all to tell me if you want to see it or not.

-Red.Tokyo.Rose-