A/N: Again, the amount of reviews this story is receiving is ASTOUNDING me! Gosh, I love you guys! And a special shout out goes to dreamgirl398 for leaving me such great feedback!

But, for some reason, I feel like my story is still not up to my personal standards, so I'm going to keep working to improve it as I write more chapters. Enjoy this new update!

(Also, just so you know, Sesshoumaru has both arms in my story and already has Bakusaiga)

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Kaka Kara No Bourei

Part Four:

Risen

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"Perfect."

A cruel smile stretched Naraku's lips as the dust settled. Hovering safely in a pinkish barrier high above the carnage, he looked gleefully at his newest slave.

The inuyoukai stood now in what had once been an insignificant meadow. The destruction that just his soul had caused was enough to make Naraku dizzy with excitement. Not even the almighty Sesshoumaru would be able to defeat such an opponent, and Inuyasha would be dead before he knew what hit him.

The depraved hanyou drifted lazily toward the resurrected daiyoukai. Once again, he was impressed with the Shikon's power. It had not only been able to restore the Taisho's flesh, but also reduce his huge skeleton back to a humanoid form. And all this was done with merely a portion of the jewel! If anything, such a show of power made Naraku want the full jewel all the more.

The red eyes of the former demon lord followed the spider's every move. White-hot power crackled warningly across his skin as the half-demon neared, giving Naraku pause. With deliberately slow movements he landed in front of the feral-looking demon, but made no move to approach. It would seem that, despite having just been forcibly removed from the afterlife, Inu no Taisho already did not trust him.

Naraku smirked. Smart puppy.

Though not quite smart enough.

The corrupted Shikon pulsed lightly in Naraku's hand, and he wasted no time thrusting it forward. Burning purple light erupted from the small bauble, bathing the Taisho in its malevolent energy, and a deep rumbling suddenly emitted from the daiyoukai's throat. His eyes flashed from red to gold and back again, and Naraku, thinking he had succeeded in his plan, foolishly stepped closer.

Though, on his part, the assorted hanyou was certain he had nothing to fear. He was inside his impenetrable barrier, and assumed the dark power of the jewel had taken over the Dog General's mind. So it was with great confidence that he came within arm's reach of the dangerous youkai-

And abruptly felt claws ripping through his skin and bone as the Taisho impaled him through the chest with his arm.

Blood spurted from the wound and dripped messily to the ground. Naraku choked as his own thick lifeblood filled his mouth and spilled down his chin. Frozen in pain and surprise, the devious hanyou watched in morbid fascination as the demon he had sought to use for his personal gain ripped his arm free, taking fleshy organs with it.

It wasn't enough to kill him. Naraku knew this, but the fact that he had allowed himself to be injured so easily flared his considerable temper. However, Naraku also knew there was a time to fight and a time to flee. This time, it was the latter.

So Naraku fled, using the black pearl he had stolen from Inuyasha, and returned to the world of the living to seethe and plot revenge.

And Inu no Taisho let him go.

The pathetic spider half-demon did not concern him. The scent of human blood, however, did.

From the second his soul had become one with this new body and he had taken his first breath in countless years, the smell of that blood had invaded his senses and befuddled his mind.

Disoriented as he was by both his unanticipated resurrection and the sweet, heady scent wafting on the breeze, the Taisho had watched as the one responsible for gifting him with new life approached. But, even in his stupor, the demon had immediately categorized the hanyou as two things:

A weak threat, and an obstacle.

A threat, because the inu could feel the spoiled power of the black jewel in Naraku's grasp, and an obstacle because the insidious half-demon was in his way.

The source of the scent he was so infatuated with lay just beyond the decimated clearing, and the only thing blocking his path had been the strange being swathed in a shining barrier. It was apparent the fool had thought himself well-protected.

The daiyoukai enjoyed proving him wrong.

Now there was nothing standing between him and the priestess whom he could sense the phenomenal scent belonged to. In all his long years, the daiyoukai had never experienced anything like it.

He reveled in the thought for a brief moment. This second chance at life was unexpected, but not unwelcome. He inhaled deeply, tasting the various smells on the air, and smirked. His sons were close by, as were two other humans, a neko demon, and a . . . adolescent fox kit, according to his nose. And, along with that, came the faint scent of female human blood. She was closer than the rest, and he suspected she had somehow been separated from her companions.

She was not fatally injured, but the Taisho decided to see if she required any assistance. After tending to her, he supposed he could wait for his sons to come upon him there with the woman. It would be dishonorable to leave her alone, especially while wounded, and he'd rather Inuyasha had a good first impression of him.

And so he began the short walk to where he could feel the human's aura, testing his new body as he did. From what he could tell, he was no different now than he had been when he died. The colored markings along his arms were the same, and so too were the claws tipping each of his fingers, though those of his right hand were now stained red. A dark chuckle started in his chest as he grinned. He was unsure as to what exactly the hanyou wanted with him, but he was sure it had everything to do with his sons. Sesshoumaru could be a right pain in the ass when he wanted to be, and Inuyasha was probably the same way.

With another chuckle, the Taisho flicked his long blood-smeared fingers and a brilliant white whip shot forward. It sliced cleanly through the air in a wide arc before the general let it fade. Next, he called forth his dokkasu. The livid green poison sizzled to the ground, eating through the soil and grass in record time. Satisfied, Inu no Taisho concluded that his new body worked just as well as his old one, if not better. But, there was one more thing he wanted to try . . .

Elfin ears twitched delicately as the Taisho listened to the heartbeat and breathing of the woman not fifty feet from him. They were strong and steady, and that told him all he needed to know. She would be fine, and would survive a few more minutes without him.

With this in mind, the great daiyoukai unleashed his aura and took to his true form.

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Inuyasha froze in place, mouth falling open, as a damn enormous demonic aura exploded in the distance.

He and the rest of the gang had been looking everywhere for Kagome, but finding her had proven to be a lot more difficult than any of them thought it would be. Apparently, Naraku had totally drenched the place with his scent and miasma on the off-chance he was followed, so that meant finding the young miko by smell was out of the question. And then, for some inexplicable reason, the weather had started acting up. The wispy clouds had turned cottony gray, and the wind had become so strong it blew Sango, Miroku, and Shippou off their feet. Lightning had split the sky, and then . . .

Sesshoumaru had gone completely rigid as a thunderous roar shook the ground.

Inuyasha took that as a bad sign.

Now, however, the sky was clear, the earth was still, and a giant-ass aura had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Weird day.

Sesshoumaru suddenly vanished in a swirl of silk, leaving the Inutachi to scramble after him. Inuyasha, though slightly taken aback, raced behind him, but he wasn't nearly as fast as his older brother and quickly lost sight of him. He continued to pursue the demon lord, pushing himself as hard as he could, until he came upon something he'd never thought he would witness.

Inuyasha blinked once, twice. When nothing changed, he rubbed hard at his eyes, certain he was seeing things. No way, he thought. There's just . . . no way . . . He opened his eyes again and they popped in disbelief.

What the hell?

Ahead, towering above the tree line, was a white dog.

And it was gigantic

At first, Inuyasha really thought it was Sesshoumaru. It looked a lot like him: the glowing red eyes, the facial markings, the fluffy white fur. But there was definitely something different about this one.

He'd seen Sesshoumaru shed his human guise before and, while he was big, he wasn't this big. Their father in his true form had been at least ten times his size, and this guy here would've given the old man a run for his money-

Inuyasha suddenly scowled. "Wait a second . . ." he muttered. Then the light bulb flickered on.

Oh holy shit. Holy shit.

That . . . that . . .

Inuyasha peered up at the colossal dog demon, his eyebrows in danger of shooting off his forehead. "Dad?"

And the demon, even though it was at least a good hundred feet away, shifted its devilish gaze to him, pulled back its lips, and barked.

Inuyasha couldn't help what happened next.

Staring at the daiyoukai that was his father, Inuyasha twitched, his expression a mix of shock and elation, and promptly fainted like a girl.

OooooOooooO

Sesshoumaru watched with cool aloofness as his father frolicked like a newborn pup.

Or, perhaps 'frolic' was the wrong word. 'Caused untold amounts of destruction' seemed like a much more suitable description in his opinion.

Impassive golden eyes assessed the former Western lord. Already, Sesshoumaru could see that death hadn't changed his father in the slightest: still playful, still carefree, and still incredibly deadly. Memories of a long-forgotten past flashed through the mind of the younger daiyoukai, and fresh betrayal and anger surged within his veins. But of course, he remained collected and cold on the surface. His father need never know of the bitterness that enveloped his eldest son.

The older inuyoukai knew the moment Sesshoumaru entered the clearing. In a whirlwind of energy, the Inu no Taisho began to wrap himself in humanoid skin to greet his first son. There would be time to reacquaint himself with living another day. For now, it was time to reacquaint himself with his family.

Sesshoumaru stood immobile while his father reined in his formidable strength. It was truly a sight to behold and, without warning, Sesshoumaru found himself thrust back into his tumultuous childhood, to a time where the top of his head hardly passed his father's knees . . .

"Sesshoumaru."

Said lord turned icy amber eyes to the right and met another pair of the exact same shade. "Father," he replied.

His sire looked just as he always had. Silver hair, currently loose, fell to his striped ankles. The same crests from two hundred years ago adorned his face and, with a dull feeling of exasperation, Sesshoumaru realized he and his father resembled each other far too much for his liking. He sighed silently. Mother is going to have a fit.

Inu no Taisho smirked. Even with no expression, he could guess what the pup was thinking. Striding forward, heedless of his bareness, he clapped his son's cheeks in his palms and proceeded to scrutinize him. He'd missed over half Sesshoumaru's life, but now he'd been given the chance to make up for it and he wasn't about to let it slip through his fingers.

Sesshoumaru bore the indignity, though he was pleased to note he and his father were now nearly the same height. Never again could the Taisho look down on him, and the satisfaction that knowledge brought was worth the embarrassment.

"You're the spitting image of your mother."

Glancing at his father in mild surprise, Sesshoumaru made to speak when loud rustling sidetracked him. He wasn't distracted enough, however, to miss the color that bled into the whites of the Taisho's eyes as Inuyasha's miko stumbled upon them.

And again, Sesshoumaru released a silent sigh.

It would seem that Katashi, former lord of the West, really hadn't changed.

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A/N: Okay . . . That was an extremely hard chapter. Extremely hard. But I've finished! Yay! For a while there I wasn't sure where this chapter was headed :P It's all good now, though! Please review!