Engaging the Enemy
A/N: I don't own Inuyasha...Inuyasha/Kagome, Miroku/Sango and Lord Inu-no-taisho (Inutaishou) /Izayoi (Inuyasha's parents). You're probably are gawking or something about the kinship of Kagome being related to Naruku, but that my dears will be a great twist in the story as it unfolds. ; I probably got the names of the spelling of Inuyasha and Sesshamoru's swords wrong but…eh.
Full Summary: He had the need to destroy the man that cost him much pain. The opportunity comes in the form of a spirited young human girl, Naruku's daughter, who's about to set his cold, calculating world on fire! Kagome wants to find her uncle to lend her funds to return home but instead finds herself in a wicked game of revenge. Soon they're both knee-deep by passion that could seal their fates...forever.
Lord Inu-no-taisho rushed into the palace, his once clean and white kimono was stained from blood. An open gash to his side of his stomach and cuts to his knuckles were nothing to him for he had something to protect, his family to be exact.
I will not let my family die! Lord Inu-no-taisho thought and grabbed his sword, the Souga.
Priests, farmers, peasants, nobles, the young and the old, all rose against the threat, none caring of the other's status. They were there to save their families and that of the royal family. Even now the howls of the innocent hammered down on his heart, but as long as his family remained safe and alive, he could die happily...without his dear Izayoi.
"Izayoi! Izayoi! Get into the cellar now!" He roared. He scanned the large palace and felt fear engulf him. All the blood and noises from the outside mixed and he found it difficult to discover the whereabouts of his wife and son.
Inuyasha, now about ten couldn't move. He was stunned. His father had been gone for more than a month and had finally returned. It seemed his heart stopped completely as he saw his father. It stopped from happiness...and fear. He was fearing that his father was hurt...or worse.
"I-is he hurt?" A tiny voice whispered beside him, a small hand touching him.
Inuyasha turned and saw the servant boy, Houjo. He bit back a scowl. "No." Inuyasha said a bit sharply and saw the boy wince. Inuyasha drew in a deep breath, "At least I hope not."
"Inutaishou! Thank the gods, I've been so worried." Izayoi cried, coming down the stairs. Her black hair flowed down her back and her eyes were filled with tears. Before now she'd looked as pale as a ghost but seeing her husband, her mate there, she'd instantly glowed and all the youth rushed back into her.
He held her to him and took in her jasmine scent once more. "Izayoi."
"Yes, dear husband?"
"Take Inuyasha and Houjo into the cellar with you."
"Husband--"
"Now!" He said harshly, at this both young boys winced. His wife understood and nodded her head. He gripped his side and bit his lower lip so he wouldn't howl in pain. Dammit...
Izayoi drew his hand from his side and saw the blood on his palms. Blood!
"Father." Inuyasha said and swallowed the large lump in his throat.
Izayoi cried out, her brown eyes filled with fear, she looked straight into his eyes. "You are hurt!"
He withdrew his hand, "It is merely a cut. Just do as I say, Yoi. Please." He looked away to the windows.
Inuyasha followed his father's gaze. He could see the smoke and hear their people's cries. Lord Inu-no-taisho turned to the floor and revealed a hidden door using his sword to activate the once hidden stairs.
Izayoi swallowed. "What will happen to us?" And then, lower. "What will happen to you?"
He opened the cellar. "Never fear. Everything shall be fine," He said confidently. But his wife could see through his words and see his fear. She said nothing for Izayoi knew it was merely for their benefit. "You and the boys will be safe, my love" He kissed her deeply. Savoring her, remembering her and engraving her into his soul...
...as if it's a goodbye kiss...please gods no. Izayoi thought and felt tears running down her cheeks.
"I am not hurt." He withdrew his lips and used one clawed-finger to wipe them away, "Do not cry, my love."
"I-it's hard not to." She stared up at him, her eyes filling with more tears. "I love you."
"And I you." He whispered to her. He kissed her on the forehead.
He removed himself from her and took his sword and pointed it at the cellar entrance. A blue light formed from the sword. "I have created a barrier with my sword for the cellar to keep you three safe. Now go downstairs and do not come out until I say so."
Izayoi looked as if she wanted to speak once more but decided against it. She mouthed 'I love you' once again. He nodded and she went down the stairs.
Inuyasha rushed to his father. "Father! Let me come with you--I can help. Pl-"
"No." He said. "Do as I wish."
Inuyasha flinched at the harsh tone of his father; never had he'd spoken like such until now. He gasped as he felt his father hugged him. "Be brave. Take care of your mother, my son." He hugged his father back until his father removed himself from their hug and stood with his back to them.
Inuyasha blinked back tears of despair and humiliation. He looked behind him and saw a very silent Houjo. There was a question in the human's brown eyes, which remained wide with fear. Inuyasha got to his feet, shaking the puny child. There was no question of what he must do. He had never disobeyed his father before but he'd be damned if he was about to let his father fight alone.
Inuyasha looked at the windows. He knew his father was losing way too much blood to live much longer, yet he continued to fight for what he loved and believed in. Inuyasha looked at his claws. If father is going to die, then I'll die with him. He clenched his fists.
Willing himself to be a man like his father he turned to look at the human servant once more. "Go down there with my mother." He said quietly and didn't wait to see if he was obeyed. He ran up a few sets of stairs into the armory room, to the room that kept his father's most prize swords.
"Y-you are going after him." Houjo questioned.
Inuyasha scowled. He picks the most damning time to get a backbone.
Instead of commenting, Inuyasha paid no heed to Houjo instead he looked at his father's most prized swords. There were three holders and each with its own barrier of some sort. The one his father controlled was the most dangerous. The next was the Tenseiga, the one for his cold-hearted half-brother. And lastly...the Tetsuagia.
W-will you reject me, Tetsuagia? He reached for it and found it resisting.
Houjo covered his eyes as the light coming from the great sword became too bright for him to look any longer.
Inuyasha remembered the cries of the people, his mother's tears and that of his father's words...
- "Take care of your mother, my son."
"Please Tetsuagia, don't reject me!" Inuyasha yelled and the barrier snapped and his fingers clasped around the sword.
Houjo opened his eyes and saw the bright smile on Inuyasha's face. That dinky old sword is the great Tetsuagia--? "OUCH!" He yelped and rubbed the large bump on his head, "Lord Inuyasha, what was that for, sire?"
"This isn't some 'dinky' sword, idiot!" Inuyasha snapped and knocked Houjo in the head again.
He knew what I was thinking? He gulped. "Lord In-Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha didn't answer for a purpose filled him. He could feel it in his bones.
Houjo looked at Inuyasha who was before him and blinked twice. Something had changed when Inuyasha had grasped the sword. Houjo no longer saw the boy he'd served for most of his life. Instead, he saw a man. Lord Inu-no-taisho and Lady Izayoi's son.
Houjo flinched when he heard more cries of the dying and the horses wailing in the distance. "T-They're close."
"Hey," Houjo looked up. "Go to the cellar with my mother."
"But sire--"
"Just do it!" He gripped the sword tightly. I will not let father die alone...I will not let more killing of our people continue.
"Here." It was nothing more than a small dagger but it would do the job. "If anything, I want you to protect my mother with your life."
"Yes, sire." Houjo looked at the sword. It was a privilege to work for the royal family but it was the greatest of honor to protect them.
Inuyasha rushed out of the palace and nearly fell back. The stench of blood and the dead hit him with such a force he was shocked that he hadn't been knocked out cold. He used one of his sleeves to prevent the smell to get too close to his nose. Father? Where are you? Inuyasha felt his heart crack as he saw a piece of his father's great kimono on the ground stained with so...so much blood.
"We fight until they are all dead!" He heard a great voice shout.
Father!
His men, both humans and demons nodded, "Aye, sire."
In the distance, with his great hearing, Inuyasha heard: "Burn everything! All the huts, the harvest, the people if need be. And make sure that the palace is burned down to the ground."
Mother! Inuyasha panicked.
He saw his father being held by his hair by some being in some sort of baboon attire. "Burn the palace!"
"No...Izayoi...Inuy..." His father said through gritted teeth. He had slashes through his entire clothing; his silver hair was coated in blood.
W-why can't I move...my body... Inuyasha wondered. Fear's consuming me...even with this sword...I'll never be nothing like father...
"Ah? The family's inside?" The man chuckled. "Excellent. This will prove most interesting." He turned to his demon followers, "Burn it all!"
Damn him to hell! That barrier will not last long...m-my body is too weak...Damn you... Lord Inu-no-taisho thought. How could I have been so foolish as to let such a monster get through my defenses? Now those I love will die.
"Lord I-Inuyasha?" Houjo questioned, gripping his arms to stop the blood flow.
Inuyasha yelled, "I told you to stay--"
A scream cut through the night and pierced through both Inuyasha and his father's very being.
"You're wife, I presume." The man said in a dark manner. "What a lovely set of pipes."
New strength filled him as he landed a punch to the other demon, sending him flying a great distance. He ignored the pain coming from his body. He could not die just yet. He had to protect them. "Naruku! You touch a hair on their heads and I'll cut your balls off one by one."
Naruku arched an eyebrow, "Really, and from a man who's getting beaten by a half-breed? Don't make me laugh, Inutaishou."
"Inutaishou!" His wife cried out as she tried to remove herself from the demons that had taken her captive.
"Izayoi!" He called out, and those where his last words for another wound was inflicted upon him, right into his skull.
It seemed like the world had gone still for both Izayoi and Inuyasha. They felt their hearts shattering.
"No." Izayoi cried out, "NO! Kami, no! Inutaishou! Inutaishou!" She broke free from the demons, tearing their arms off.
She ran to her husband and fell onto him crying. She held him and felt him dying. "Oh my love." She brushed back his bangs to look into his golden eyes. "Please, don't die on me. Don't die on us." She wept.
He moaned and reached up to touch her. "I love you, Yoi."
"I you. I you." She gasped, "Inutaishou."
"F-forgive me," His eyes held tears in them and his hand began to slide away, leaving a trail of blood.
"No, please..."
Naruku laughed, "Stupid demon."
No...No... "FATHER!" Inuyasha whorled around.
He heard a large intake from behind and saw his mother with blood seeping from her chest and a sword penetrating it.
"M-mother!" He ran towards her.
She gasped in pain and knew tears were running down her cheeks. She had not the strength to wipe them but the little strength she did have, she said, "No my son..." Her voice was that of an angel's. "You must live...for me and your father. Live, Inuyasha." She cried out as another sword was placed into her, ending her life.
He ran towards his parents who lay in a pool of blood side by side. "Mother...Father..." He looked at their hands and held them in his. He cared not that they were now cold, contained blood and was lifeless. Then he put his father's hand on his mother's. "I'm so sorry...t-that I was such a weak son." He wiped the tears from his eyes, but I'll make him pay for what he did to you. Inuyasha stood up. You did not deserve to die like that.
He didn't see the burning huts, nor the smoke or the dead. All he saw was Naruku, the man he would kill.
Naruku laughed, "Ah, I see you've come out of hiding, little man."
But he does.
Raged filled him. It seemed he could no longer control himself. You've taken everything from me, Naruku! You've taken my father...and now my mother! I kill you, you damn bastard!
It seemed those words had activated something within him. It began somewhere deep inside his soul, emanating its huge, dark waves of some emotion he couldn't yet grasp. It crept into his very blood and ate away at his soul; it consumed him and assure him all the same. He wasn't sure what happened next, he felt himself pulsing and he felt he was losing control of himself. A scream emanated from somewhere, a monstrous sound, filled with bitter rage and great grief. He vaguely remembered the sound had come from him. All he wanted was to murder the bastard that had killed the ones he loved. "I'll make you pay!"
The sword pulsed in his hands and grew to its full form but Inuyasha didn't notice. It all seemed like a blur to them all. For flesh connected with the blade, and blood spurted out landing on an angered Inuyasha's face.
Naraku's eyes widen and chocked out some blood. "T-That half-breed just..." He never finished for felt his body disintegrating into nothingness. He wasn't satisfied just yet, Inuyasha destroyed the demons one by one as his heart wept.
When he was done, the sword transformed back to its original state. Inuyasha stood there and remained still. The night air did nothing to cool the boiling in his blood. If anything, it made it worse. The cries of his people, the words of his parents...
-"Be brave... my son."
-"You must live...for me and your father. Live, Inuyasha."
...would haunt him for the rest of his days. Inuyasha knew even though he was gone, Naruku wasn't dead. Inuyasha collapsed onto his knees and ignored Houjo's questions about his wellbeing.
Damn it! Inuyasha slammed his fist into the ground, and oddly enough, enjoyed the feeling of pain it brought. I swear I'll find you. And when I do, I'll kill you, you son of a bitch. He clenched the sword tighter. I swear it!
Next Time: Return home to despair
A/N: (sniffs) I love this chapter, and yes we'll get some Kagome in here on chapter two. I thought it would be too long if I continued. I adored how this chapter went...even with its sad ending. I'm such a hopeless romantic sometimes...all the time. So now you know what fuels Inuyasha and the bases of this story, and boy, the language of a ten-year-old Inuyasha, interesting. Please review, I'd love to hear from you.