Hey there everyone! So, what's new in my life, hmm… My dad and I have nearly finished putting up hay for the year, though we have one more field to cut, yet it has begun to become rainy once more. That's alright, after dealing with the hay we bailed last… The bailer dad bought last year throws a very heavy bail out, which I knew in first cutting. Well, the bails we picked up last week were even heavier, which was shocking to me since the hay was dry and good and all. I'd say they weighed at least 80-100 lbs each. Now imagine about 80-100 of those, lol. Needless to say, I was exhausted after that night. Heh, even dad was, which was kind of humorous in itself. He is determined to find out if he can adjust that thing so that it throws a lighter bail, or else he's getting rid of the bailer. Hopefully it can be adjusted, because having a second bailer is handy. Makes it easier for when we move the equipment between farms. Anyways, I'm supposed to paint my grandfather's (dad's side) roof with roof paint when I get a chance. Ugh, I did that last year, but for some reason, one side is rusting out faster than it should be. I'm not a fan of heights to start with, but add painting into the mix just sets me up for a really nerve racking time. (/Lets out a puff of sigh smoke.\) Ah yes, I did finally get the results of my sleep study test. And the results say: I'm normal… So I did that test for nothing, like I figured all along. (/Releases another puff of sigh smoke.\) Plus I got the bill for that, which wasn't cheap. Ah yes, and to top it all off, the doctor noted in his letter that if I had any questions, I could make an appointment to discuss my results. Yeah, I'm sure I'm about to throw another pile of money his way to explain that I'm normal… I saw my grandfather (mom's side) last week. He sleeps all the time anymore, which worries me a bit. He sleeps during the day, but is awake all night. It's a bit stressful for my grandmother, I know that much for certain. I worry about him all the time, and more so for my grandmother. She does a wonderful job of taking care of him, but I know it has to be harder on her than it is on any one else in the family. Ah yes, how could I forget to mention the project I'm working on. To start off with, the Air Force has given us a deadline of November 15th, which is like a week or two short of what we projected it would take for us to finish our project. So, we got another person added to the team and think we'll be fine now. We have less than 7 weeks to finish, and whether we'll get done or not is up in the air. I think we'll be done by the 15th of November, but it'll be close. We'll see I suppose. Anyways, not much else is new.
Writing wise, things are progressing nicely, though with my project going on, progress may slow down a bit. Can't write and program at the same time, hehe. My best estimation is there are 4-6 chapters left. Right now I'm thinking 5, but it maybe 6. Just letting you all know how much longer this story will last. Ah yes, plus I may begin work on a few one-shots that have been plaguing my mind for the last month or two. There is one for Bleach, another for Inuyasha, and a few ideas on Yugioh GX ones. We'll see, I suppose.
Moving along, it's once more time for reviews!
Kattana: Yep, Iya has a son. Kind of a shocker I suppose, hehe. Yeah, the white hair, muddy brown eyes, and personality were kind of hints. But yes, he has hair much like his uncles and grandfather, but has Iya's eyes. True, one would have to wonder how Lilly will take the news that he has a son. And a more important question you asked is will he be able to kill his own blood. Hmm, that one is hard to determine. Well, not really for me since I know what happens, lol. Thanks for the review!
The Rainwalker: Not too bad. Yeah, I took a glance at your blog, but I've yet to really find much time to look again. You know me, busy till no end, lol. I need a vacation to catch up with everything, but I don't see that happening, like ever, lol. Cool about Kumoricon. There was one in Pittsburg recently that a coworker of mine went to (his family lives there and he happened to go home to find it there). Heh, he bought a wooden Keyblade (from Kingdom Hearts, if you didn't know) while there. Anyways, yes, Yukio is Iya's son, which does make things a bit awkward, hehe. Yep, he's definitely not a saint, lol, but he does have things in the past that plague him. True, the fight does seem to be getting more complicated, especially on Iya's part now that he knows he is fighting his son. Yeah, hopefully he can last till his hanyou form returns. Heh, thanks. Iya is really kind of complex in a lot of ways. He's had a good life, but a rough one at the same time. Thanks about letting me know about Kumoricon. I checked on the forums, but again, I just glanced. I'll let my wife know about the good luck. She could use it, hehe. Thanks for the review!
And that would be it for the reviews. Thanks to both of you for them. I know I say that weekly, but in all honesty, it's the reviews from fans that really help me gauge how well I'm doing. I've heard some people say judge it by the number of favorites you get, but that does nothing for me. I would rather have input from people. Otherwise, I might as well ask a computer how well I did. That's what a favorite says to me, kind of. It does say "I like this", but at the same time, it says nothing about what they like. Eh, maybe that's just me, but I'd rather hear what people think than look at number of hits and favs. Anyways, enough of my philosophical thoughts.
At any rate, I hope everyone likes this upcoming chapter. Things will heat up, that's for sure. Thanks to everyone once more, and enjoy!
Chapter 7
Finding his mouth dry, Iya tried to process the words of the hanyou across from him. In a faint but soft tone, he asked "What did you say?"
"You are my sire, Iya Taisho." Yukio repeated with coldness in his voice. "Those words leave an awful taste in my mouth, but they are the truth."
"He is my son!? But how, when!? Kaia and I were together for only that one night! I couldn't have…"
Remaining emotionless, the hanyou spoke up again, waking the human from his thoughts. "I'm sure you have many questions, so allow me to fill in a few of the blanks for you. You're probably wondering how I am a hanyou, so I will answer that one first."
"When you raped my mother, you were in your full demon state at the time. Due to that, I was born a hanyou instead of a quarter demon, which was perhaps better for me in the end."
Staring into the eyes of the hanyou, Iya swallowed the lump in his throat, whispering "You are my son…"
"Don't show any sentiment to me, you worthless bastard!" Yukio snarled. "I want nothing from you! There is but one thing that you have that I want and that is your pathetic life! Your death is all that I desire to have."
Clenching his hands tightly around the hilts of his swords, the hanyou cast his eyes onto the ground for a moment before returning his gaze into the brown eyes of the black haired human. Revealing a slight bit of sadness within his muddy brown eyes, he quietly said "She never could love me like she wanted to due that I hold your cursed blood in my body."
"Because of what you did to her, she never could look me in the eye for very long. The raw pain would resurface after a few moments time. Once that happened, she refused to be near me."
In a loud snarl, the hanyou cried out "DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE FOR YOUR MOTHER TO BE AFRAID OF YOU, TO FEAR EVERYTHING THAT YOU ARE!? DO YOU EVEN KNOW THE KIND OF PAIN THAT NOT ONLY SHE SUFFERED THROUGH, BUT I TOO!?"
Silence filled the air for a moment before the hanyou continued in a cold tone, saying "I doubt you do. You, a bastard child of the Lord of the West, would never know true suffering. I know what it is to suffer. I daily suffered because of what you did to my mother. I could never truly reach her because of you. She was afraid of me because of the blood that flowed in my veins, and because I had your eyes."
"It's because of you she suffered and I never got a proper childhood. You robbed me of it because you wanted to fulfill your desires. It's because of those two reasons that I can never forgive you for what you have done."
Drawing himself back into a long left forward stance, he added "The only way you can atone for your crimes is with your life. I'll avenge my mother and sate my anger by destroying you."
Looking into the eyes of his son, Iya saw nothing but anger and vengeance within them. Not finding a bit of any other emotions, he could not help but suppress a sad sigh. "He has been carrying around so much pain and sadness all these years. It's no wonder he hates me. Because of that one night, his life was never given a chance."
"Lord Iya?"
Dragged out of his thoughts by the voice of the small flea that was hanging off of his earlobe, the black haired hanyou lowly whispered "Myouga, I need you to do me a favor."
"What is it you need me to do, Lord Iya?"
"When I attack him, I need you to sample his blood. Find out if he is for sure my son."
Taking in the words of the human, the flea tentatively asked "And if he is, Lord Iya, what do you intend to do?"
Staring at the hanyou for a moment in silence, Iya quietly whispered in reply "I honestly don't know what I will do, Myouga… Get ready."
Tightening his grip on the hilt of Ketsaiga, the black haired human raced forward at top speed that his body could produce. Pushing himself harder than he knew he should, Iya soon arrived before his opponent. Swinging his sword in a wide arc, he watched as his blade was parried by one of the hanyou's, sending out a shower of sparks into the nighttime air.
Drawing back his mighty halberd, he struck out again, this time overhead, only to have his sword caught between the two small swords of the hanyou. Grinding against it, the human pushed all of his weight and strength into his sword, hoping to push through the defense, only to feel the hanyou beginning to push back.
Taking his opportunity, Myouga leapt onto the neck of the white haired hanyou and quickly dug into the neck of the hanyou. Quickly working while keeping an eye on the battle, the flea took a slurp of the crimson liquid that oozed out. Hearing the sounds of the grinding swords starting to fade, he quickly made his escape and leapt back onto the safety of the head of his master.
Feeling the flea back on his head, the black haired human quickly retreated to a safe distance and kept his eyes focused on the hanyou. The blade in his hands instantly reverted from it's halberd form back to it's smaller shape. In a quiet whisper, Iya asked "Well Myouga, is he my son?"
Sitting in silence for a moment, the flea hesitated, but slowly replied "He is indeed your son, Lord Iya. There is no mistaking it since his blood is definitely similar to yours."
"I see…"
Remaining silent for a minute, Iya finally spoke up once again, saying "Myouga, I want you to find Inuyasha and relay this information to him. Also send it to Sesshomaru. Let them know that it is my request that neither kill Yukio."
"But Lord Iya…" Myouga began protesting, only to be cut off by the black haired human.
"No buts, Myouga. I won't have my only son killed."
"But what of yourself?" the flea questioned. "You can't defeat him in your human form, and sunrise is still some time away."
Closing his eyes for a moment and slowly reopening them, the black haired human whispered "I know that. There is still almost thirty minutes till sunrise. Even if I evade him, I'll never make it to sunrise in a fight like this. Still, I refuse to let him kill me. My life is linked to Lilly's, so I must find a way to live."
"Even though that is the case, I want you to go and tell the others this information. Tell them just that he is my son. Should I die, you may tell the whole tale, but till then, tell them only that he is my son and I don't wish him killed. Do you understand?"
Hesitating, the flea began to argue, only to be cut off by the human. "I'm sure of this Myouga. I want you to do as I say. That's an order, from one of the heirs of the Western Lands."
Looking down at the ground for a moment, the flea slowly nodded his head, saying "Very well, Lord Iya. I shall do as you ask."
With his words said, the flea quickly fled from the battlefield, leaving only the hanyou and human behind to stare one another down.
Drawing up both blades before his body, the hanyou hooked the two together by their hilts and pulled apart, allowing the chain within them to come rolling out. Releasing his hold on the right hand blade, he reached out and took hold of the chain and began swinging the blade around by the tight hold of the chain.
Bringing Ketsaiga before himself, Iya tightened his grip on the halberd. Looking into the angry eyes of the hanyou, he calmly asked "Do you truly intend to cut down your own father?"
"YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN FILTH TO ME!" Yukio snarled. Without warning, he threw the spinning blade at the human.
Watching the incoming blade, the human called forth the transformation of the sword in his hands, returning it to it's larger halberd form. Expertly, he used the broad side of his blade to knock away the incoming sword, which was quickly drawn back to the hanyou. Immediately, he began spinning the sword once more by the chain while eyeing the human.
Trying to hold a grimace of pain, the human reversed form of his sword without warning into it's smaller form once more. Noting this, the hanyou stopped swinging his sword and took hold of the hilt of the flying blade.
"So, using your sword is finally taking it's toll on you." the hanyou announced. "I had wondered how you were able to, but I think I finally understand. If I had to guess, you trained for years to learn to handle that sword while human. Even though you've learned how to, the blade is still a demon's blade, thus it is harmful to your human form. The very aura of your own sword is harmful to you as a human. That explains the burns on your hands."
Keeping his eyes locked on his opponent, Iya quietly replied "Ketsaiga never was meant to be wielded by me as a human. My father, your grandfather, explained that to me when I was still young."
"I am not a part of your family, Iya Taisho." Yukio coldly retorted. "You are nothing to me, other than the person that I must kill to avenge my fallen mother."
"Yukio…" Iya softly began. "I know that you are angry with me, and I don't blame you for that at all."
Looking downwards at the ground, he continued on, saying "I've done terrible things in my life, things that I can never forget or forgive myself for doing. Believe me when I say there are things I wish I could undo, but I cannot."
Bringing his head back up to look the hanyou in the eye, the human calmly said "I wish I could have corrected the mistake I made to your mother. For years on end, I have been haunted by the memories of that night and of what I did to her then…"
"Just shut up!" the white haired hanyou screamed with anger flaring in his eyes. "You have no right to speak of her!"
Putting the two blades together into the large halberd form, the hanyou brandished the sword towards the human, saying "You know nothing of the pain she suffered through! Because of you, she was always miserable and in pain! Nobody could ever make her feel better, not me or Lord Byakuya! It's your fault she was that way, yet you stand here making weak excuses saying you suffered too! Don't make me laugh! You know nothing of true suffering!"
"It looks like I can't get through to him. That means I only have to make a decision on what to do now. I could just run from him and try to evade him for the next thirty minutes till dawn, but I know for certain I could never escape him, nor evade him for that length of time."
Hardening his eyes on the hanyou glaring at him, Iya ground out in his mind "The second option would be to kill him. That option is just not viable on several fronts. Besides the fact he is my only son, I don't think I have enough strength left in my human form to kill him."
"And then there is my final option. I need to knock him out long enough for dawn to come and allow me to regain my demonic powers. That seems reasonable since I have one last Wind Slash left in me before I can no longer use Ketsaiga. The only problem is this is an all or nothing attack. If I fail, I'll be at his mercy."
Gripping the hilt of Ketsaiga and focusing completely on the white haired young man across from him, Iya mentally growled "I can't fail! No matter what, I must live and return to Lilly! I promised her I would return to her, so no matter what it takes, I will survive."
Shifting his weight onto his left foot, the human raced straight towards the hanyou with a burst of speed that he never knew he had as a human. Paying no heed, he struck out at the hanyou, only to have their halberds clash together.
Staring into the eyes of the black haired human, Yukio calmly commented "You have the look of a man determined to kill. I wonder though, will you kill your own flesh and blood? Can you kill your own son and prove to be as cold as my mother thought you were?"
Grinding his blade against the hanyou's, the human ignored the words of his opponent and dug into the ground and pushed with all of his might, catching the hanyou off guard and forcing him to begin to slide backwards. Gritting his teeth, the black haired human threw all of his strength into his blade, sending the hanyou flying backwards.
Drawing the sword up above his head, Iya screamed loudly while swinging downwards "WIND SLASH!"
Erupting from the edge of the blade was a white blast of demonic energy that slammed heavily into the shocked white haired hanyou. Raising his blade up quickly as he could, the hanyou managed to block most of the blast with his sword, but a great deal of it still slammed into him, sending him skidding backwards while the ground beneath him was torn up. At last, the blast came to rest, exploding and causing the hanyou to scream out in pain.
Dropping the large halberd from his hands to the ground, Iya grit his teeth to keep from yelling out in pain. His hands were smoldering and seemingly badly burned, with the scent of charred flesh filling the air around him. Pushing the pain back in his mind, he raced towards the cloud of dust and smoke where the hanyou had come to rest. Rushing headlong into the cloud, he soon found the panting form of his son near the center of it with his sword still defensively protecting himself.
Drawing back his right fist, the black haired human attempted to deliver a heavy blow into the right cheek of the hanyou, only to miss as the hanyou dodged the attack and leapt backwards out of the cloud of dust. Falling to one knee and panting heavily, the human watched the dust vanish, revealing the hanyou. His body had minor cuts on it with some blood seeping from the small wounds, but nothing life threatening. Part of his clothing was ragged and torn, but for the most part, he was unharmed.
"I should have known you would try something like that." Yukio coolly commented. Lowering his sword slightly, he added "From the way you look, I gather that you are at your limit."
Taking in the looks of the heavily panting human, he continued on, saying "Using that sword of yours while human takes a lot out of you. After all, demonic weapons were never meant to be handled by humans. Your hands tell me that much since they are charred."
"It seems you are now at my complete mercy. I will admit, that last attack was daring and may have succeeded if I hadn't guessed what your strategy was at the last moment. You had planned to knock me out and hoped to buy yourself some time till dawn came. A good plan, but it was poorly executed on your part."
Panting heavily still, Iya growled lowly at the words of the hanyou, but did not reply. Noting this, the white haired hanyou slowly began walking towards the kneeling human.
"You were interesting to fight. I wish to have fought you when you were in your hanyou form, but I have no intentions on allowing you to live till then. You have lived for far too long already and require your sentence to be carried out."
Circling the kneeling human slowly, he added "I will make your death swift as possible. That much I could give you I suppose. My mother would have loved to have seen you tortured for hours on end, and I can't say that I don't disagree with her. You tortured her in such a manner, so it would only be fitting for you to leave this world in such a manner, but alas, time does not allow for that."
Moving back before the human, the hanyou stared down at his opponent, asking "Do you have any final words to say before I send you on to Hell?"
Slowing his breathing a bit, Iya looked up into the muddy brown eyes of the hanyou for a moment before sadly smiling. Tears slowly trickled down his cheeks as he softly mumbled "I'm sorry for the pain I caused you, my son. I never knew that your mother was pregnant back all those years ago. If I had known she was, I'd have taken responsibility and mated with her. Even if she wouldn't have agreed to that, I'd have done whatever it took to help raise you. For what I have done to you, I can never be forgiven."
"Still, I cannot accept what you have decided become. We all have a choice in what we do with our lives, Yukio. Living for vengeance alone is not a way to live. Eventually, it will consume you and leave you with nothing but an emptiness that can never be filled. Your mother, Kaia, she knew that after all these years. She was filled with anger and hatred and wanted nothing more than vengeance on me for my actions nearly three hundred years ago."
"I don't deny it, what I did was atrocious and can never be forgiven. To this day, I still feel as if her blood is on my hands, and no matter what, I can never remove it, but that is my burden to bear for what I did. I do so in hopes that something like that never happens again."
Pausing for a moment, he slowly added "You may not believe me, but I do care about you. What father could not love their son, I don't know, but I know even though you wish to kill me, I still hold you with love in my heart. I may not know you at all, but I still care. If you must kill me to sate the anger and hatred that was built up between us, then so be it. Just know, no matter what, I care about you. I know also that your mother loved you just as much, if not more so. I don't ask you to forget or forgive me for what I did to your mother and you, but ask that you try to let go of that hatred."
Digesting the words of the human for a moment, Yukio drew his blade over his head and coldly said "You are truly a fool to the bitter end. I will never acknowledge you as my father after what you did to my mother. Go into the afterlife and know what a failure you were."
Swinging downwards at the head of the human, the hanyou watched in shock as his blade stopped just inches above the head of the human. Frowning, he noted that his blade was being held back but a thin cloud of ash that was acting like a shield.
"Step away from my mate!"
Looking behind the black haired human, Yukio spotted the young woman he had seen take off to face off with Kenji. She had a bloody slash on her upper chest and one on her right shoulder, but other than that, he determined she was unharmed for the most part.
Leaping backwards while the young woman rushed to the side of the fallen human, the hanyou let out a ragged sigh. "A shame, it seems Kenji wasn't quite capable of killing you. I take it you finished him."
Ignoring the hanyou for a moment, Lilly reached her mate and quickly bent down before him, asking "Iya, are you alright?"
Noting his burned hands, she whispered "You overdid it, didn't you?"
"Just a bit…" he miserably commented.
Reaching out and helping her mate stand, the young woman turned her attention back to the white haired hanyou. Noting he was for the most part unscathed, she frowned.
"Lilly, I don't want you to fight him."
Turning back to her mate, she ground out "Why not!? He nearly killed you! If I hadn't arrived when I did, you'd be dead."
"I know, but…"
Letting out a ragged breath, Iya quietly mumbled "He is my son."
Eyes widening, Lilly asked with surprise in her voice "Your son? But how is that possible? I know for a fact you told me you've never mated with anyone before me, so did you…"
"I didn't lie." Iya interrupted. In a sad tone, he whispered "Yukio is mine and Kaia's son…"
A small gasp of surprise escaped the lips of the young woman before her eyes fell to the ground with sadness in them. Noting this, the young man quietly said "I didn't know either. From what I gather from him, that one night produced him. Since I was in my full demon form that night when we were together, he became a hanyou."
"Are you sure he is your son and this isn't a ploy to trick you?"
Shaking his head in a no motion, Iya replied "I'm sure he is. Myouga already confirmed the truth for me. He was certain that Yukio is most definitely my son. Our blood is similar."
Taking in the information that her mate had just given her, Lilly softly asked "What do you want to do then? He is obviously not going to stop till he kills you."
Remaining silent for a long moment, the black haired young man slowly replied "We have to wait for dawn before I can do anything… Once I'm a hanyou again, I feel fairly certain I can deal with him, but I have no chance right now. I'm already at my limit with Ketsaiga."
"Speaking of which, where is it?"
"I had to drop it when I made a last ditch effort to knock him out." Iya commented. "I'll grab it here in a moment."
Glancing over his mate's body, he noted the injuries to her and said "You're injured…"
"It's not that bad." Lilly cut in. "Most of the wounds are superficial."
Returning her attention to the hanyou across from them, she noted he seemed to be waiting on the two of them. Gently, she said "Kenji is alive. I didn't kill him."
Remaining emotionless, Yukio remarked "I'm amazed a human managed to beat him. I take it is due to that ash that surrounds you."
"Haineko was the main reason I won, yes. Don't worry, he's only knocked out. I did cut him up somewhat, but he'll recover in time. I doubt he'll be fighting for a few days or more."
Pursing her lips for a moment, she added "I suggest you go and tend to him. This battle doesn't need to progress any further. Let's stop before someone is killed or seriously hurt."
Keeping his emotionless mask on, the hanyou sharply replied "That maybe something you are willing to do, Lilly Taisho, but I will not. Not until the judgment of The Thirteen is carried out."
"All but one of them is dead." Lilly countered with a touch of irritation in her voice. "The Thirteen is no more. You have no reason to follow what they said any longer, so why bother?"
Pausing for a long moment, she slowly added with softness in her voice "Besides that, Iya is your father."
"He is nothing to me." Yukio deadpanned back. "Iya Taisho is nothing more than a criminal that requires his sentence to be carried out."
"How can you say that about your own father!?" Lilly demanded with anger flashing in her eyes.
Boring into her light blue eyes with his own muddy brown ones, the hanyou replied "Because of what he did to my mother. He deserves no sympathy, only death."
Lowering her head and clenching her free left hand tightly into a fist, the young woman softly said "You have no right to say such things."
Looking up with shimmering eyes, she cried out "He has suffered just as much as your mother and you! Because of that one night, he went through his entire life feeling guilty over it. He had no control of his body, yet your mother never cared! All Kaia wanted was to kill Iya and blame him for his mistake."
"He did make a mistake, and he knows that, but at the same time, neither you nor your mother had the right to not let him move on to try and correct that mistake! Both of you have done nothing but blame him! You never tried to understand him or his reason, you both just allowed hatred to fill your hearts and blame him for what happened. Iya couldn't help it that his demon heat came that night! He didn't know what it was at the time, nor was he prepared for it! You can't blame him for something he knew nothing about and had no control over."
Feeling a hand on her right shoulder, the young woman glanced over to see her mate standing there. In a quiet voice, he softly said "It's alright Lilly… I deserve the hatred he feels for me. It's because of me he never could be truly close to Kaia."
"But Iya…"
"But that still doesn't mean what he intends to do right." Iya commented, effectively stopping his mate. Turning his full attention to the hanyou, he calmly said "Yukio, I don't want to kill you, but if you continue this fight, I can't guarantee you won't be killed in the end."
Scoffing at the words of the young man, the dog hanyou coolly remarked "Neither of you has the strength to kill me, nor the heart. Don't make me laugh if either of you are entertaining the idea of defeating me. I cannot be stopped by two weakling humans."
Before either could reply, the hanyou suddenly went racing towards the pair, putting both at high alert. Drawing the sheath out of his obi as a defensive weapon, the black haired young man could not help but suppress a gasp of shock when the hanyou took aim at his mate instead. Instinctively, he leapt in front of her with his sheath held out by both hands, stopping the halberd of the hanyou from striking her.
Grinding his blade against the sheath, Yukio coolly remarked "That sheath of yours has a barrier from what I heard, but how long will it last against my blade I wonder?"
Growling in response, Iya glanced over his shoulder at the fallen blade laying on the ground some distance away. It had reversed it's form immediately when he had dropped it and was now a normal looking sword.
Grasping the sheath tightly, the young man called out "Ketsaiga!"
Releasing a pulse, the sheath seemingly called out to the blade that was laying limply on the ground. In response, the blade released a similar pulse and soon lifted up off of the ground. Hovering in mid-air, the blade suddenly rushed towards it's master. Seeing the sword nearly to him, the black haired human reached out with his right hand and expertly caught the blade by the hilt. Using it to replace the sheath, he held the halberd of the hanyou back with his blade while allowing the sheath to fall harmlessly to the ground.
Letting out a low growl, Iya snarled out "Stop this Yukio! I don't want to hurt you!"
"Don't worry, I shall remain unharmed. You on the other hand will not." Yukio icily countered.
Without warning, the hanyou leapt backwards just as an ash cloud began swarming around the area he had once stood. The ash soon receded back around the young woman and began encircling her.
Picking up his dropped sheath and placing it into his obi, Iya couldn't help but grimace from the pain his hands. Noting this, Lilly moved before him, saying "I'll fight him, Iya. You need to rest up for a while."
"But Lilly…"
"Don't but me." the young woman countered with her back to her mate. "You're already torn up enough as is, and if we're going to stop him, I need you ready when dawn breaks."
Smiling slightly while looking back at him over her shoulder, she added "Besides, I can take care of myself. After all, I have Haineko, and he can easily help me hold out till dawn."
Returning her attention to the hanyou some thirteen feet away, Lilly slowly padded towards him while the ash cloud continued to encircle her. Coming to rest with seven feet of distance, she peered into his muddy brown eyes, finding anger and hatred swimming within them.
"Yukio, please, I know you are angry with your father for what happened to your mother, but don't let it consume you like it did her."
"He is nothing to me. You are as foolish as he is for attempting to change my mind." Yukio emotionlessly stated.
Sighing slightly, she quietly replied "I don't want you to die like your mother did."
Looking straight into his eyes, she softly added "I was the one who fought your mother last and killed her. So please, don't blame Iya. I made him leave so I could fight her. Believe me when I say I tried to reason with her and tried to get her to stop her hatred for him, but she didn't care, much like how you don't."
"Yukio, it's not too late to stop. Do so before more blood is spilled. You already have lost your mother, don't lose your father also." Lilly pleaded.
Not changing his facial expression, the hanyou coolly replied "Your words are nothing to me."
With that said, he suddenly charged towards the young woman. Calling forth her ash cloud before herself, she managed to block an incoming swing, allowing the ash to take the full blow. Throwing her right arm forward and pointing at the hanyou with the remains of her sword, she watched as the ash surrounding her suddenly began moving towards it's target.
Backing away, the hanyou eyed the young woman momentarily before suddenly charging at her once more. Again, the ash came to the defense of the young woman, protectively stopping the blade of the hanyou several inches away from her face. Like before, the young woman quickly attempted to launch the ash as a counter attack, but before she could, the hanyou had vanished from before her, only to reappear several feet away with his halberd in one hand.
"So that's how it works." he casually commented. Seeing confusion in the face of the young woman, Yukio coolly remarked "Your sword, you can not only control it with your mind, but also with your hands. Using your hands seems to somewhat speed up the power of it."
Sighing slightly, he added "But there is a limit to what you can do while you are human. I can tell by the concentration reflecting in your eyes that it takes everything you have as you are to control it. I gather that when you are a hanyou, you can use it more freely, but using it as it is, the movements of it are hampered."
Remaining silent for a moment, the young woman allowed a small smile to grace her face as she calmly said "It's surprising how quickly you analyzed my sword after I've only used it against you only four times."
"I'm a quick study, woman." Yukio quipped. "Though your blade has great offensive and defensive capabilities, it has a weakness."
Readying his halberd before himself, the hanyou icily said "Allow me to show you the true power of Fenrir."
Without warning, a white demonic aura erupted around the hanyou and seemed to wrap itself around the halberd in his hands. Bolts of white lightning seemed to flare out from the aura, leaving the air in the area with an eerie feeling. Taking a hesitant step backwards, the young woman grit her teeth and forced herself to stop losing ground.
"Brave of you to try and stand your ground, but foolish." the white haired hanyou coolly declared.
Drawing his blade up over his head, he cried out "Denkou no Kizu!"
Flaring out from the large blade instantly was a claw like blast of light blue lightning. It went racing towards the young woman, who was seemingly in complete shock.
Forcing his body forward towards his mate with wide eyes, Iya yelled out "MOVE LILLY!
Hearing her mate, Lilly woke herself out of her shock. "Block it Haineko!"
Moving before her, the ash cloud formed into a forward shield before her while the young woman braced herself for the incoming attack. The blast of lightning slammed hard into the ash barrier, giving off the sound of electricity sizzling. Grunting heavily, the young woman quickly moved both hands before her body, seemingly trying to strengthen the barrier before her.
Sweat began pouring down the sides of the young woman's face as the brute force of the attack continued to assault her barrier. Feeling the ground underneath her beginning to crumble, Lilly dug deeper into her body, looking for any power to help. Drudging up reserves she didn't know she had as a human, she poured it all out into strengthening her barrier. The attack didn't let up one bit, but slowly, bit by bit, it began to fizzle out till finally it faded completely.
Falling to one knee and panting heavily, the young woman felt her mate run up beside her and kneel down next to her. Whatever words he said didn't register as she was concentrating primarily on calming her breathing. Her body was coated in sweat, with her kimono top soaking it in. Finding it hard to focus on the white haired hanyou, she closed one eye, allowing her vision to refine itself a bit.
Without warning, the ash cloud that had been encircling her slowly fell to the ground before glowing and rebuilding itself into the blade of her sword.
With concern and worry in his voice, Iya quickly asked "Did you hear me, Lilly!?"
Weakly, she replied "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. That took a lot out of me…"
"I asked if you were alright."
Still panting, she quietly rasped out "I don't think I can go on… It took everything I had just to block that attack with Kimi."
Nodding, the young man glanced at the hanyou, whose white aura had faded away. Calmly, he asked "That attack, you called it the Denkou no Kizu, correct?"
Receiving a curt nod in reply, Iya quietly responded with "It's an attack that my younger half brother knows as well, but with a different element. His attack is called the Kaze no Kizu, which loosely translates to the Wind Scar. Since you used lightning instead, I take it that is your element type."
"You would be correct, Iya Taisho." Yukio coolly commented. Looking at the panting young woman, he added "It is surprising you managed to block that attack in your current condition, Lilly Taisho. It is most impressive, but it seems you have reached your limit as well in that form, meaning this battle is over."
Moving defensively before his mate with Ketsaiga in it's untransformed state, Iya ground out "I will not allow you to harm her."
"This battle is over with, Iya Taisho. Accept your punishment. No matter how hard you try, your death, along with your mate's, is inevitable."
Glancing up at the eastern sky, the young man silently cursed to himself. "Damn, still about twenty minutes left until dawn. There's no way I can hold him off that long, but I have to try. Lilly won't be able to fight any longer, so it's up to me to protect her with my life. I swore I would always, and I'm not about to back down now. Yukio maybe my son, but I will not allow him to kill my mate, no matter what."
Sliding his left foot forward a few inches, the hanyou instantly raced forward with his halberd drawn up to attack. With only four feet between them, a voice called out.
"Tilt the goblet to the west – Emerald Grail! Wolke!"
Without warning, a blast of light blue energy in the shape of lightning struck out at the spot where the hanyou was. Reacting quickly, the hanyou leapt backwards into the air just as the blast struck the spot he had once stood in.
Hearing the sound of calm footsteps approaching, all three participants of the battle turned to find the lone Quincy walking towards them with his right hand extended and small wisps of smoke pouring off of his hand. Using his hand to push his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose, he casually said "Looks like I made it just in time to save you two."
