Disclaimer: Inuyasha does not belong to me.


The Gatherer of Souls


Chapter 7


The demon leaped right for Inuyasha.

With the sound of tearing cloth, he slashed his sword across Inuyasha's exposed stomach. The hanyou doubled up instantly, dropping to his knees in front of the black-clad demon.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed.

Sango was already running forward. She drew her boomerang back over her shoulder, then hurled it with all her strength at the demon.

The demon had not expected interference. He looked up just in time to throw himself backwards out of the path of the hiraikotsu. In his first ungraceful move, the demon landed hard on his back.

Inuyasha was already on his feet, bringing the Tetsusaiga down on the vulnerable demon. The black-clad demon rolled, the Tetsusaiga's blade smashing into the ground inches from his arm. As Inuyasha raised his sword again, the demon kicked out, knocking Inuyasha's feet out from under him.

The hanyou toppled down on top of the black-clad demon. They rolled in a tangle of limbs, then the demon broke free, leaping to his feet in a motion so graceful nothing remotely human could have made it. As Inuyasha jumped to his feet as well, the demon once again leaped into motion, slicing Inuyasha's shoulder.

With a bellow, the hanyou swung Tetsusaiga viciously, forcing the black-clad demon back. Pressing his advantage, Inuyasha pushed the demon back step by hard fought step, not giving him a chance to evade, not giving him enough room to bring his superior speed into play.

Then, by pure chance alone, the demon's foot caught on a root and he stumbled. He recovered almost instantly, but not quite fast enough. Tetsusaiga sang through the air, biting deep into the demon's thigh.

Pain flickered across the demon's cold face and was gone.

He leaped backwards, simultaneously drawing his second sword. And everything went downhill from there.

The demon, now that he was doubly armed, was near invincible. His devastating attacks were lightening fast, and in a matter of minutes, Inuyasha was bleeding from dozens of wounds all over his body. The hanyou's reactions were slowing even further, and his defenses kept slipping as he weakened.

"Inuyasha!" Sango cried. She hurled her hiraikotsu again.

This time the demon was ready. As the weapon spun towards him, he broke off his attack on Inuyasha and slammed one of his swords into the boomerang in midair. The weapon crashed to the ground, useless.

But that moment of distraction gave Inuyasha a chance. Jumping in blade first, he aimed the Tetsusaiga right for the demon's heart.

One of the demon's blades connected hard with the Tetsusaiga, knocking the weapon right out of Inuyasha's hands. The demon's elbow slammed into Inuyasha's chest, knocking the hanyou to the ground.

The black-clad demon's other blade came to rest against Inuyasha's throat.

Silence fell once again, the clash of metal still echoing in Kagome's ears. Her heart pounded hard against her ribcage. The demon's expression was unreadable.

"Foxfire!"

An explosion of blue flames blasted towards the black-clad demon where he stood over Inuyasha. Startled, the demon leaped away, dodging the flames.

Shippo scuttled backwards to hide behind Sango. Kagome felt a surge of pride. Shippo had risked himself to save Inuyasha.

Inuyasha was on his feet instantly, grabbing Tetsusaiga and backing away from the demon. Miroku ran forward.

"Get back, Inuyasha. I'll take care of him with my windtunnel."

Inuyasha growled breathlessly. "Don't interfere, monk," he grated, though it sounded halfhearted at best. The hanyou was clutching one bloodied hand to the wound across his stomach.

Miroku ignored the hanyou. Before the black-clad demon could react, Miroku whipped the sutra beads off his hand and unleashed the windtunnel.

The void opened, the howling wind sucking up leaves and branches in a deadly maelstrom.

Surprise revealed itself the demon's face, and he slammed both swords into the ground to brace himself against the wind. Almost instantly, however, he began to slide towards the black hole in Miroku's hand.

The demon's expression darkened, the first real emotion Kagome had seen him express coming to the surface. Anger.

"Stop this, monk, before I have to kill you."

The demon's voice was calm and cold. There was no hint of fear in his tone or on his face. Didn't he realize what was happening?

"No one has ever escaped my windtunnel!" Miroku yelled over the howling gale. "This is the end for you, demon!"

The black-clad demon slid forward another foot, his hair whipping about his face. "I will say this only once more. Stop or die."

Kagome felt a prickle of fear run down her spine. The demon wasn't afraid. Could he really kill Miroku without being sucked into the windtunnel?

"I'm not going to stop just so you can kill my friends, demon!" Miroku shouted. The demon was pulled another two feet towards the monk.

"Then so be it."

The feeling of the sinister aura in the air suddenly thickened, and a darkly glowing, faintly transparent wave of blackness encircled Miroku and began to constrict. The windtunnel didn't affect it all.

"Miroku!" Sango shouted.

With a startled exclamation, the monk flung his beads over his hand, closing the windtunnel. The dark cage tightened around him.

The demon, released from the windtunnel, shot forward. The circle of darkness evaporated without a trace at the same instant the demon's elbow smashed into the Miroku's face.

The monk crashed to the ground. Sango cried out and leaped forward, drawing her sword and putting herself between Miroku and the demon. Swearing, Inuyasha did the same.

The demon stepped back, not raising his swords.

Kagome, while the darkness had been about to devour Miroku, had inched her way around until she was standing perpendicular to the demon and the others. Keeping her movements slow so as not to draw the demon's eye, she had nocked an arrow, drawing the string back to her cheek.

"Inuyasha," the demon began quietly, his voice still soft and cold. "You—"

Kagome realized a second too late that she shouldn't fire. With a cry, she tried to stop herself, but the arrow slipped from her fingers and shot forward in a blast of blue light.

Time seemed to slow as the arrow sped towards the demon. Kagome watched in horror as the black-clad demon began to turn, his eyes widening in surprise as he saw the arrow shooting towards him, engulfed in a blue glow.

Time resuming its normal pace, Kagome's scream filled the false night as the demon leaped backwards—too slow. The arrow connected with his shoulder, blasting a gaping hole in his shoulder.

Silence descended on the clearing. In a sudden burst of light, the dark shadow over the sun disappeared, the black fog dissolving. Through her shock, Kagome realized that it had all been an illusion.

The demon staggered, clutching the wound, his other arm hanging limply, then dropped to his knees with a soft moan.

Kagome ran forward, stopping a couple feet from the demon, her eyes wide with the horror of what she'd done. The demon hadn't killed Inuyasha when he could have. He had spared Miroku as well. She didn't know what this demon's purpose or motive was, but he hadn't killed them when he easily could have.

And now she had maimed him, probably killed him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I thought—I-I couldn't stop it . . . I'm sorry."

The demon's head was bowed, his hair hiding his face. "Stupid girl," he growled.

Kagome flinched, then stepped back with a gasp as the demon started to glow with a dark light.

Inuyasha's hand closed on her arm, pulling her back. They all watched in stunned amazement as the dark radiance around the demon increased. The black glow pulsed over the wound, and slowly, the light thickened, becoming solid, extending up to fill the gap where his shoulder had been destroyed by the arrow.

The glow slowly faded. The demon flexed his healed arm. Even his sleeve had been recreated. Kagome stared in fixated wonder. He had the power to regenerate himself . . .

The demon rose to his feet, lifting one hand to push his now very messy hair—the windtunnel was very hard on one's hair—out of his face. He turned his dark gaze, now burning with anger, on Kagome.

"I should send you to Hell."

Inuyasha shoved her behind him and raised Tetsusaiga once again.

His expression filtering into one of disgusted annoyance, the demon ignored the sword pointed at his face and turned away, walking over the where his other sword lay.

Picking up his second sword, the demon sheathed both of them. Kagome was impressed—he hadn't even had to look to insert the swords into their sheaths. She had thought sheathing a sword over one's shoulder without looking would be difficult.

The demon turned back to face them, his face once again blank and unreadable. His dark gaze flicked from face to face, then once again came to rest on Inuyasha.

"You are your father's son beyond any doubt, Inuyasha," the demon said quietly.

Kagome blinked in surprise. Just who was this demon?

Inuyasha seemed to be thinking exactly the same thing, for he spat angrily. "Okay, demon, start talking. Just who the hell are you?"

To Kagome' surprise, the corners of the demon's lips curved up in a very small smile. "Have you not guessed, Inuyasha? I am the Gyazaseishou."


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A/N:

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