Heirlooms

Author: Shortey 83

Summary: What would happen if the Great Dog Demon, Inu no Taisho, never actually died? What would happen if a new enemy appeared that his sons couldn't defeat? What if he needed to return?…

Author's Note: To all of my wonderful readers! I will be updating A Shunned Princess first, and then My Dog, Sesshomaru. I appreciate each and every review and hope see just as many for this story and would really like to know which story you would prefer to have updated more often. Hope you all enjoy this one, and just so you know I will be refering to Sesshomaru and InuYasha's father as Inu no Taisho rather than InuTaisho.

Story Start: Outside of her window, Kiyoshi watched as the other girls went off to enjoy the first day of their freedom. Yesterday she had graduated top of her class, and two years early and she was still being forced to stay home by her grandfather. "I need your help around here." he had told her. "I'm getting too old to do all the grounds keeping by myself." She sighed, It was just like her grandfather to put their little home outside the city before her enjoyment and freedom. Sure, she was only sixteen, but shouldn't he at least take her out for lunch or something and give here a few hours freedom? "Are you day dreaming again, Kiyoshi?!" he yelled up the stairs. "No gramps. I'm still working." she called down to him as she returned to her cleaning the upstairs. "Well come down for a minute. I need you to run an errand for me." Kiyoshi jumped up eagerly at that and practically flew down the stairs, nearly running into her grandfather in the process.

"Where am I going?" she asked, looking at the little wrapped package he was holding in his hand. He eyed her for a moment, studying her eagerness before he held out the package. "I need you to take this to the Higurashi Shrine, and make sure to give it to the old shrine keeper. Give it to him and no one else." Kiyoshi nodded, taking her turn to eye the old man. "Okay…" she said, and took the small package. "I'll be back soon, Gramps!" she called over her shoulder as she hopped onto her bike, placing the little parcel in the basket and peddled onto the street. She sighed, the shrine was only a ten minute ride from her house, so it wasn't anything too exciting and gramps would expect her back soon. If only she would have known the significance of that little package and how it would turn her world upside down, she might not have prayed so hard for a little bit of excitement in her life.

Meanwhile in the Feudal Era…

Trouble was brewing, and Kagome Higurashi could sense it. The priestess in training was noticing how demons were appearing fewer and fewer-not gone, but in hiding like during the times with Naraku. Her friends agreed with her. Miroku said he kept feeling a ominous presence at a distance, but nothing close. InuYasha had been on edge too, refusing to let her out of his sight for even a moment, and even Sesshomaru had been lingering for longer periods of time much to Rin's enjoyment. Rin was now on her way to becoming a fine young woman and it hadn't gone unnoticed by the boys of the village, Kagome realized, even Kohaku had noticed as well as Shippou… when they were in the village at least. "Everything seems quiet." InuYasha said upon entering their small hut. Kagome looked up at him and smiled "I just can't shake the feeling that this is going to be big." her smile faded "Bigger than Naraku." A shudder ran through her body at the memory. InuYasha chose not to make any comments, but just sat next to her then pulled her to him allowing her head to rest on his shoulder.

A few minutes went by before he heard the pattering of footsteps outside their hut. "It's Rin." he informed Kagome before he stood went to see what she needed. "InuYasha!" she said, wrapping her arms around his waist in typical Rin fashion. He knew then that she wanted something "Can you take me to catch some fish? Please, please, please!" He rolled his eyes, knowing that no one, not even his cold hearted brother, could resist that pleading. "Fine." he grumbled, and passed the message to Kagome.

Kagome smiled as she watched them walk off to the nearby lake remained standing at the door to their hut for a few minutes after. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a streak of white approaching. A moment later, Sesshomaru was standing in front of her. "InuYasha just took Rin fishing." she told him, not that she expected an answer. "I came to speak with InuYasha." It took her a moment to recover from her shock. "Well, um, do you want to wait for them here?" He surprised her with answering her yet again "I do not wish for Rin to know that I am here yet. I will come back when he returns." This time he didn't wait for her to respond, but rather headed into the trees. Now she was sure of it, things were definitely not right. She couldn't even know how right she was- That in that very moment, an evil was growing that not even her half demon , his brother, or all of their friends together would be able to overcome. She couldn't know that all their fates rested on the shoulders of a young girl carrying a package to her families' shrine back in her own time.

Present Time…

It had been a few weeks since she delivered that package to the Higurashi shrine and gramps hadn't let her leave since then. He kept finding things for her to do inside and out, but today he was acting strangely. He had kept his gaze on the evening sky since it began getting dark, and he hadn't said a word. Kiyoshi sat down beside him, finally glad that he had seemed to run out of things for her to do and watched the moon start to rise… a full moon. "Kiyoshi." he finally said "There is something that I have to tell you," Uh oh she thought This doesn't sound good. "What is it?" She could hear the worry in her own voice. "For over seven hundred years, our family has kept a secret." he began "A great secret. One that will decide the fate of our world as we know it." Oh great… she thought Gramps is going senile. "I have something to show you." he told her, and led her down to the basement. He walked to the far side and pressed in one of the bricks there. Kiyoshi , barely covered her snort of disbelief. It was a good thing she did, because a second later, a section of floor sank down and rolled back, revealing a stairwell. "Come" he said as he grabbed a flashlight and began heading down the stairs.

Kiyoshi began to wonder if her family had been involved in some sort of cult, and if she should run upstairs and grab a sutra or perhaps a crucifix. "Kiyoshi!" her grandfather ordered her into action and she reluctantly began her decent down the cold, dark stairwell listening as the old man continued his story. "Many, many years ago this was the very sight our ancestors house was built. They were simple farmers, with the exception of their oldest daughter. She was a sorceress of sorts, but a good one- a healer and a prophetess." Kiyoshi listened intently as they continued down the long path of what she could tell were well worn steps "While she was a child, she served as a playmate to a princess Izayoi and despite their status the two were great friends. Whenever the lady Izayoi was ill, it was our ancestor she called on to treat her. Upon one of her later visits, she found that Izayoi was with child outside of wedlock- a horrible disgrace at the time- and then found that the child's father was a demon- an even greater disgrace." While it was an interesting story, Kiyoshi was beginning to worry if her grandfather actually believed this story himself, but let him continue "Izayoi's demon lover was a powerful being, perhaps the most powerful of anytime, but he cared for her and their unborn half-demon child. Our ancestor foresaw the great demon's demise, and passed the knowledge on to Izayoi along with two other visions. The first was of her son, and how he would be sealed to a tree after her death, only to wake and fight against and another ,evil, half demon."

Her grandfather made a sharp turn as the passage continued even deeper into the earth then continued "She saw that they would prevail over the evil half demon, but the next vision didn't have such a happy ending." he paused a moment before he continued "In the next vision, a new enemy would threaten the entire world, one that couldn't be defeated since Izayoi's demon lover would perish protecting her. So, Izayoi and our ancestor plotted. They decided to let the world think he had died from the rescue of his child and it's mother, they would let him think he was going to die. And so, after Izayoi had delivered their son and escaped the palace that was up in flames, our ancestor was to prevent his death, shielding him from the collapsing, flaming debris and hide him in her home to heal him and keep him there, until it was time to wake him." Kiyoshi was now completely enthralled in the story "However, he was a demon of supreme power, and it was impossible to return him to full health with her own mortal powers. Eventually the time came when her second vision came true, but she had long since died, so she passed on the task of caring for the demon onto her oldest grandchild, and they to their oldest grandchild and so on. It has been that way for centuries."

He paused at an old stone door covered in what looked to be spells. He then turned to his granddaughter "You are the first and only grandchild of our family. You are also the first woman since our sorceress ancestor, and maybe that will be significant. Maybe with you he will finally wake and be ready to fight." Before he could open the door Kiyoshi asked "But if the whole world would have been destroyed five hundred years ago, why is everything fine now?" He must have asked the same question because he was quick to respond "That is just how time works. None of us can explain it." He opened the door, revealing a hallway. "It's just inside." he said. Kiyoshi was too frightened to ask what was but followed him anyway. She paused at the end of the hallway "It's alright, Kiyoshi." he coaxed her. "I don't want to observe a seven hundred year old corpse, Gramps. Thanks anyways." she said, loosing her nerve. She should have known Gramps wouldn't let her out of it that easy. "Kiyoshi. Get. Over. Here. Now." He said each word as an order, and she never disobeyed his orders. Slowly she walked over to where he stood next to a raised portion of stone on a pedestal that was covered in more spells, a pale green light shining from each character. There were three stairs leading up to the alter like resting place, and to Kiyoshi it felt more like three hundred from how heavy her feet were. "Kiyoshi, meet the demon lord, Inu no Taisho, our most guarded secret and… heirloom, so to speak." the old man chuckled as his young granddaughter gazed into his stone resting place.

Kiyoshi was stunned. She was expecting to come upon a dust covered pile of bones, instead, she saw the most handsome being she had ever lain her eyes on. His pale, silver hair was tied up in a ponytail at the top of his head. Pale skin covered his perfect face, with the exception of two jagged blue stripes, one on each cheek. He wore a white kimono under what appeared to be very heavy looking armor, and he lay on something that looked to be a large white pelt of some sort that was attached under the shoulders of his armor. To top it all off, if he was standing, he would have easily dwarfed Kiyoshi, not that she was very big to begin with. The thing that got her the most was his steady breathing. He's actually alive! she thought watching his chest rise and fall with amazement. "This is my granddaughter, Kiyoshi, my lord." Her grandfather introduced her as he knelt down to his old knees and bowed low before he continued. "It is time that I pass my duties to her, since I will not be around much longer." Kiyoshi gasped "what do you mean?" she demanded, watching her grandfather's slow, tired movements, wondering how she missed it before now. "I'm sorry, Kiyoshi. I didn't have the heart to tell you this before now, but I'm dying." He sighed as he met her agonized face "I have a cancer that they cannot treat, they only discovered it last month. Here, "he said, handing her a journal "I have written down the instructions that you must do in my place. You must watch over him now." Kiyoshi turned to protest, but he stopped her "I have made all the necessary arrangements for after I have gone, but first I have a few things to show you." He reached to the inside of his shirt collar, pulling out a necklace with a large gold amulet attached to it, engraved in the center was a picture of a great dog, standing on clouds. He handed it to her "This was a gift from him to Lady Izayoi. Make sure you always wear it so he knows you are not an enemy in case he wakes. I have learned from the old priest at the Higurashi Shrine of his well and his granddaughter. Do not inquire about it, through, unless he wakes. There can be absolutely no suspicion about him." He placed the necklace around her neck before he grabbed her hand and led her to a bench to sit down.

They both sat in silence for a few moment before she asked "What kind?" "What?" She clarified "You said he was a great demon. What kind of demon is he?" His brows raised in understanding "He is a dog demon." Kiyoshi ran her hands over the amulet. "Is this him?" she asked next. The old man nodded. Silence again. "What am I supposed to do in order to care for him?" she finally broke the silence while doing her best to avoid the other topic of importance. "Just talk to him. It doesn't matter about what, but don't worry, you only need to come down here on the full moon, and possibly wipe the dust from his armor. That's when she predicted he would wake. Other than that, just study the journal. It will explain the spells and teach you more." Kiyoshi was vaguely aware of the tear that had brimmed over, until he wiped it away with his old, weathered hand. "You'll do just fine without me. I promise." he assured her, pulling her into a hug. It wasn't two weeks later, that her grandfather passed, leaving Kiyoshi alone to care for the demon lord. It seemed crazy to her at first, but it was his dying wish for her to care for him and to find happiness no "matter when it would be." The doctor passed that particular phrase off as the cancer messing with his brain, but she knew better. She knew that his hidden message of time and the well at the Higurashi shrine were connected because if this was such a great secret, then he wouldn't have told a soul about it, of that she was positive.