Chapter ten: The Three Gates of Hell

The wind was carrying hell's coolness and Inuyasha kept shaking in its blows, arms crossed on his chest. He was looking in the darkness, thinking. From time to time he checked on his older brother who was still, leaning against a stone with his eyes closed. It had already been two hours and he hadn't yet woken up.

"So you're keeping your brother's guard?"

Inuyasha looked up. Onyudo was standing in front of him, watching him. He glared at Sesshomaru and walked over him. Crouching, he raised an arm and touched his chest. Sesshomaru winced.

"Don't touch him!"

Inuyasha got up, pushing Onyudo aside harshly. Onyudo stood up, not paying attention to that at all.

"The hellish poison from the curse on your father's fang is taking over your brother right now."

"What?"

"You can see the Tenseiga pulsing constantly."

Inuyasha lowered his eyes to the sword that was laying far from his brother. The violet colour was still gleaming around the blade like dark smoke.

"You see..." Onyudo continued. "It means he is no longer able to suppress it. The curse is getting too strong."

"What the hell does it mean?"

"He may regain consciousness but his mind will be clouded."

Inuyasha gazed at his elder brother. Clouded?

"Why did you come?" Inuyasha asked then, silently.

"You wondered how Mizuchi could break the barrier," Onyudo answered, standing beside him with the staff in his hand. His piercing blue eyes were fixed on their path disappearing in darkness.

"There is one way. A tricky way. But to deceive a goddess is no simple task, that's why I call it imposible. The only way how to break it is having the goddess Izanami's nail she drew the barrier with."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.

"How?"

"That's it, half-demon. You can't just go to Izanami and take her nail. I have no idea how Mizuchi intends to do it. But if he does and if he slays Yobuko, he is free."

Inuyasha frowned.

"Mizuchi talked about a spell that's on Rin. The spell won't break till Sesshomaru is in Jigoku Gyou."

Onyudo nodded.

"That's possible. He secured your brother really coming there. Although - he would more likely do it nevertheless with his pride pushing him forward. But..."

Onyudo gave Sesshomaru a look, his eyes hazed with thoughts.

"I wonder... what Mizuchi really intends to do with the child... He may say the spell would break but it's possible he is just laying to you to get you there."

"Yeah..." Inuyasha sighed. "I thought so... But we must try it anyway."

Onyudo thought for a while, creases forming on his forehead.

"I shouldn't be helping you," he muttered, apparently annoyed. "It's definitely easier to stop you from going... But somehow I sympathize with you. Therefore, half-demon, hear my words. You won't just enter Jigoku Gyou. There are three gates you must pass."

Onyudo gestured to his staff that bore three signs. He pointed to the lowest one.

"The first gate is called Naii. It weighs your intentions for going there. If you seek power it will easily seduce you, leaving you no option to go back. There is no simpler way how to stay in hell forever than coming there with the desire for more power. Keep in mind why you are there, don't forget it whatever happens. Many things will be offered to you but it's all just deception."

Onyudo moved his finger to the middle sign.

"The second gate is Ryoku that tests your strength. Not just physical but mental. If you are really determined to go, despite your fears or worries, if you accept the risk and possibility of death. Believe me this test is difficult. Only those with an honest mind and strong will can pass."

Finally he stopped at the highest sign.

"Osore," he said with his voice quiet. "The worst one. It strips you off everything you have, leaves you naked in darkness. There's a high possibility you will go insane there. Your worst fears, materialized, visual, a hundred times worse than you've ever imagined it. But if you are able to keep your mind sane, you are through."

Onyudo fell silent and Inuyasha slowly went through what he heard. He didn't like it at all but he was glad to know that. That would be quite a nasty surprise.

"What about Sesshomaru?" he asked him. "If he's in such a state...?"

"It certainly will have some negative effect," Onyudo said, looking at his older brother contemplatively. Suddenly he turned his head up at the sky, frowning.

"Be careful..." he murmured. "Waira has left Jigoku Gyou..."

"Is it after us?"

"I'm not sure..."

Onyudo got up, giving Inuyasha one last glare.

"We'll see each other, half-demon...The first gate is just a few steps away..." he said, turning.

"One more thing... When you are there, make sure you don't eat anything. You mustn't eat the food of the netherworld."

Those were his last words as he dissolved again, changing back to his form of a crow and flying away. Inuyasha watched the black bird with an unpleasant feeling in his stomach before going back to his brother. He put a hand on his shoulder. They had to go.

"Sesshomaru, wake up," he urged him. His brother didn't move and by the coldness of his skin Inuyasha would say he had been already dead.

"Sesshomaru..."

He shook him. Sesshomaru opened his eyes then. The once bright yellow orbs were now black as the marks on his cheeks.

"Shit..."

Sesshomaru breathed in deeply, slowly. He turned his head at his younger brother and in a minute he grasped his neck. Inuyasha backed off, alarmed.

"You..." Sesshomaru growled like an animal. "You filth..."

"Sesshomaru..." Inuyasha rasped. "Stop..."

Sesshomaru closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head a bit. When he looked at him again, his eyes were yellow just as they used to be. He saw his fingers around Inuyasha's neck and released him. He was frowning, his face full of wrath.

"Mizuchi..." he said with hate. "Do you think your curse can take over my mind as well as over my body? Did you try to make me kill my brother?"

Sesshomaru got up, his left hand still covering the wound on his chest, dark blood seeping through his fingers. His eyes were focused on their path.

"You will have to think better than that..."

"Sesshomaru?"

"Quickly, Inuyasha," his brother said, taking the Tenseiga and placing it by his waist.

"As long as I have power to hold the curse down."

He started walking uphill with Inuyasha behind him. Inuyasha would probably never say that aloud but at the moment he was proud of his brother. Too bad Onyudo wasn't there to see his older brother's "clouded mind," Inuyasha thought with a small smirk.

A well-known snake formed in front of them. Mizuchi... What was he going to say them this time?

"Sesshomaru, you still don't have enough? I must say you -"

"Shut up!"

Sesshomaru drew his sword in a second, splitting the snake in two.

"Yes!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "Serves you right, bastard!"

They kept walking for one more hour until reaching the very top of the mountain. There was a huge black stone with sharp edges, towering above them. Sesshomaru stopped in front of it, running a hand across it. There were signs dug into it and Inuyasha sensed the hellish smell at maximum. No doubt. This was the...

"Right..." Sesshomaru said silently. "The gate..."

Naii... The first gate...

Inuyasha remembered what Onyudo told him about the three gates, sharing it with his older brother.

"I see," Sesshomaru said. "That old monk was kind enough to tell you what to expect... Perhaps he should have told you how to open the gate in the first place."

Inuyasha looked at the sky but the always following crow wasn't there. He swore under his breath. Stupid Onyudo, keeps blathering and when you really need him... Wait, what did he say? The first gate weighed the intentions? Like the reason they were going? Was that what it wanted to know? Simply, why?

Inuyasha made a few steps further, facing the stone. Sesshomaru stepped aside and watched him from behind. Inuyasha ignored the doubts in his expression. He breathed in deeply, thinking it all over again. He touched the gate then, speaking with a clear voice.

"My name is Inuyasha. I'm a half demon who intends to go through this gate to save a human friend."

He heard the sound of mocking laugh behind his back but didn't pay attention and kept waiting. If only he were right, he though. At least this time...

All of the sudden the colour of the stone darkened, turning into pitch black. Inuyasha backed off a little with a gasp of surprise. A wave of immense coldness washed over him and took his breath away.

"What..."

Was that the pathway?

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder to see his brother's eyes being widened slightly, returning to normal immediately after meeting his gaze.

"So? How was it?" he asked him with an ironic smile. Sesshomaru shifted his look from his younger brother to the gate.

"It wasn't that difficult," Sesshomaru remarked. Inuyasha grimaced at him.

"Yes? Well, something doesn't have to bee so hard, ya know. And I bet you wouldn't find that out anyway, ha?"

Sesshomaru was silent but although he didn't praise him, the fact he didn't insult him right away was like a warm hug - as Inuyasha thought to himself with sarcasm. Also, Inuyasha had this not very cheering idea it wasn't so difficult to get in hell like walking out of it.

The gate resonated and the runes on its edges glowed red.

"I'm going..." Inuyasha said, not intending to make it sound like a question as it did. Sesshomaru nodded.

"I'm behind you," he said.

Inuyasha entered the gate with one small, slow step. The gate swallowed him instantly. The silence... Wind stopped blowing... He felt the coldness spreading inside of him. It was like walking in complete darkness with absolutely nothing around. He glared over his shoulder again. Sesshomaru wasn't there.

"Sesshomaru!" he called his name with fear and worry. Did he leave him? Or got lost?

Then he heard his brother's voice, deep and echoing all around.

"I am Sesshomaru. The son of Inu-no-Taisho. I am here to save the life most precious to me. Open yourself."

In the blueness of his ice home Mizuchi stiffened. He looked up at the ceiling of the great hall, his eyes fixed on something distant.

"The fang... is near..." he whispered. Rin came closer to him.

"Is something wrong, mister?"

Mizuchi's expression showed both anticipation and hesitation.

"There's still time... I can still stop it..."

Rin was listening to his muttering, looking up at him with concern.

"Mister?"

She tugged his sleeve and he finally acknowledged her presence. She repeated her question and he was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"No... Everything is fine," he murmured quietly. "Only one of my old friends is almost here."

"Your friend?" Rin wondered. "Is he going to visit you?"

"Yes."

Mizuchi gave her a look.

"Would you like to hear a story, little girl?"

Rin wasn't excited about it much. Long stories weren't her favourite thing to do. But this mister looked so sad and lonely, she thought. She should listen to him. He definitely had no one to talk to. She nodded then and Mizuchi started his tale.

It was a starry night. In the middle of summer, hot and scorching. On the top of the highest hill around, in the dark grass waving in soft night wind, two men were standing - opposite to each other. One of them was tall, with long white hair in a ponytail. The silver armour on his shoulders gleamed faintly, reflecting the star light. He was empty-handed and watching the man in front of him with a calm expression of friendship.

The other man was wearing a chest armour in black colour and his dark hair was combed into a bun. Judging from the look on his face he was a bit curious.

"Mizuchi," the man with the ponytail said. "Do you know why I've called you here tonight?"

"No, my lord," Mizuchi said.

"I heard about your wedding with Izumi and about the birth of your son. I wanted to congratulate you."

"Thank you, my lord," Mizuchi said, showing a small smile. "However I want this to remain a secret. I've chosen to live with my family away."

"I respect your decision, my friend. But because you are leaving my services, I wanted to give you something as a reward for your loyalty."

"You shouldn't have bothered, my lord."

"It was you who saved my family once. You tore my just born son out of Akashita's hands. Therefore you can name anything and I will give it to you, if it's in my powers."

Mizuchi was silent for a long time. It appeared he would choose nothing just out of the great respect he felt for his lord. But he changed his mind eventually.

"If it's so, my lord Inu-no-Taisho, I choose one of your fangs."

Inu-no-Taisho didn't answer, but there was a moment of hesitation and surprise in his eyes. It melted away soon, though, and the demon lord nodded.

"You shall have it, my friend."

"Thank you, my lord," Mizuchi said and bowed. He looked up, clearly thinking of something.

"I would like to ask you a question."

Inu-no-Taisho gestured with his hand for him to continue.

"I know you are very fond of lady Izayoi. I was curious about loving a human. My wife Izumi... I have never cared for someone like I care for her... Is that because she is a human?"

Inu-no-Taisho took some time before answering his question and his voice was serene.

"It would be foolish to say demons and humans are alike. We demons are made of a slightly different matter. There are demons who only care about gaining more and more power. Because demons value power. Power, loyalty and pride. Humans are much less physically strong. When we are with them, we sense their vulnerability and fragility. That makes us protective over them. Their ability to feel and show emotions is something that amazes us. Still there are demons who would say we have nothing to learn from humans."

As Inu-no-Taisho paused for a few seconds, Mizuchi smiled with a hint of bitterness.

"Is that Sesshomaru that you have in mind?" he asked the lord. There was a shadow crossing the dog demon's face.

"My son is at the beginning of his journey..." he said silently. "But I believe in him."

Inu-no-Taisho met Mizuchi's eyes.

"There are many things we should learn from humans," he said. "They are not so weak as many demons assume. And loving a human is the most beautiful feeling you can ever experience."

It appeared that statement made Mizuchi satisfied.

"Thank you again, my lord," he said and Inu-no-Taisho nodded.

"Live in peace with your family, Mizuchi. It will be an honour for me to give you my fang. However I hope you don't mind I will make a barrier around it so it would never become a sword. It's a gift from a friend to a friend. It should not become an instrument for killing."

"I don't object, my lord..."

Mizuchi finished his story and Rin was a bit confused about it. As she was sitting on Mizuchi's knee, the man stood up and she climbed back down.

"Mizuchi deceived his former master," Mizuchi said, more to himself. "He did turn his gift into a weapon. Although not a sword. But something far worse."

"But why?" Rin asked.

"Because he wants to kill his son."

"But in the story you said he had saved him once... Why does he want to kill him now?" Rin said, shaking her head.

"He saved him, yes..." Mizuchi said. "That proved to be the worst mistake in his life. But he won't make such a mistake again..."

Chap 10 done. Did you like it? It needed to be more explanatory for the following stuff but promise there will be more "action," ha ha.

Next: Behind the Naii gate...