Chapter 9
It had taken over two days to reach Totosai's home. The old demon hobbled out of his home and smiled upon seeing Inuyasha and Kagome leading the group to his doorstep. He had always enjoyed the rare times the group would come by as they adventured across the land.
Kirara trotted up to him and he scratched the demon cat's head as she purred. Inuyasha and Kagome hung back as the others greeted the old demon with Inuyuka hiding behind her brother. She tried to stay clear of demons and she was sceptical about this weapon maker. She peeked between Inu and Kagome just enough to observe how everyone else was getting along. Within a few seconds or so, her ears flatten and she starts to growl viciously.
Inuyasha suddenly realizes why she's getting so mad; he's a human looking demon, reminding of her of the time she was taken. He gets her to calm down, telling her that he's too old to try anything stupid, plus he's an old family friend and to be nice.
She looked at Totosai's face and faintly recognized him as someone their father held in high regard as both the weapon maker he was and a friend he became to the mighty Inu Taishio.
"You ready?" Inuyasha whispered, tilting his head to take in his sister's nervous yet determined face.
"Guess so." She muttered.
"Lady Kagome! Inuyasha! Come here and let me look at you two." Totosai hollered as he made his way shakily toward them.
"Sure thing Totosai, but first, I have someone you need to see." Replied Inuyasha with a grin to rival the sun itself. He and Kagome stepped away from each other at the same time leaving Inuyuka suddenly in the open.
Inuyuka stood there like a deer and waited for the questions of "who is she?" and "what does she want?" And then have to explain everything to him. She was sure that he wouldn't remember her after all this time, sometimes she didn't even recognize herself.
But she was surprised when she heard the old demon gasp and drop his walking stick. She looked up to his face and was even more surpised to see tears in his eyes.
"Is it...? Is it you? Can it be?" Old Totosai tried to move toward her quickly but his legs gave away and he toppled. Inuyuka dashed over and caught most of him before he hit the ground and set him gently down for him to catch his breath.
"I'm sorry my dear, but I thought you to be dead a long time ago." He placed his hand on her head between her ears and massaged her scalp like he used to when she was much much smaller. "I always hoped that you to survive." He turned to Inuyasha. "How did you find each other?"
"Long story," Inuyasha replied. "How about we get you back into the cave and we can talk?"
"Oh my yes! Yes! Come in. Come in." Totosai said as he stood up with Inuyuka and Kagome supporting him. Iro picked up his walking stick and returned it to the old demon as the whole gang walked into Totosai's home.
*****Time skip through the catch up conversation. Everyone is caught up so far.*****
"...And we decided to come see you. We were hoping that maybe you had something she could use like me." Inuyasha concluded.
Totosai looked thoughtfully into the fire, then remembers the third sword made from Inu Taishio's claw. He goes and gets it and brings out a sword in a scabbard wrapped tightly in red and light blue fabrics.
"I held onto these all these years hoping that one day I could give them to you." Totosai said kneeling in front of Inuyuka and presenting the bundle to her. They hanyou girl knet on her knees and gratefully took them from him, instantly recognizing the intricate knots and folds as that of their mother. "They asked me to protect them for they are one of a kind and one of set."
"what's a set Totosai?" asked Kagome.
"Why the swords of course. Inu Taishio commissioned 3 swords to be made. Two by fang and one by claw, from his sword hand mind you. These three swords are a balance." He paused to look Inuyuka in the eyes. "However, this sword holds no power until you release it." He said nodding. "You know it's name don't you dear?"
Inuyuka gently untied the fabric and unveiled the scabbard holding the sword. It pulsed as she took a gentle hold of it. The whites of her eyes became an icy blue but her irises remained golden. She stood up and walked out of the cave. The gang and Totosai followed to see what she was doing.
The girl looked up at the clear night sky and the stars above. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she gripped the handle of the sword with her right and the scabbard in her left.
"Thank you father." She whispered with a smile before opening her eyes and drawing out the sword, calling it's name aloud, "Tetsusaki!" With a flash the small frail looking sword became a large icy blue blade the size of Tetsaiga with white fur on the hilt and faint snowflake patterns across the blade that seemed to move on their own accord.
She felt a strength coursing through her veins both igniting and calming her inner demon. She had never felt this before as she watched the snowflakes dance on the blade. A smile began to form on her face. She could feel her father standing next to her, his voice, carried on the breeze of an attack command for Tetsusaki. She readied the sword, holding it above her head and called out the command with confidence and authority.
"KAZU NO YUKI!" Her voice echoed and she swung the sword down. At the sound of the command the snowflakes in the blade began to swirl rapidly into a icy-blue blur, as she swung down, an eruption of ice and snowflakes came from the sword and sliced through the air like ninja stars, into a nearby boulder. After the storm ended there were thousands of cuts and gashes in the boulder. InuYuka placed Tetsusaki back into the scabbard a few inches before fully encasing the sword. She flicked her wrist and Tetsusaki's hilt clicked the scabbard, echoing in the silence of the air around her. Then, as if that sound was it's command, the boulder crumbled into smaller rocks and dust.
Yuki's face displayed so much pride and happiness that Inuyasha felt his heart swell with admiration for his sister.
If you listened closely to the wind as InuYuka ran to InuYasha and embraced him in a rib crushing hug, you could almost make out a voice of a very proud dog demon whispering, "That's my girl."
