I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. This is purely a fan-made story. Also, I would like to thank Wolflover235 again for her wonderful reviews! Please review my story if you read it, and let me know if you like it because it will encourage me to finish this tale. Enjoy! ~xXPixieCorpseXx~
This part of the Netherworld was not what I expected. Everything looked dead and charred. There was no sun, just a blood-red sky. The earth was brown with a grey tint. The heat was almost unbearable and made me break into a sweat. The creeks were filled with lava. The birds that soared above were skeletal. I was scared of the world I just stepped into.
"We are not quite in Hell. This is simply the borderlands of it. My informant had told me that this is where Sounga was last seen." Lord Sesshomaru said as he gestured towards the land. "Will we have to travel into the depths of Hell?" I asked fearfully. "We cannot, for we would reside there permanently. The heat of the flames and the wicked souls of the dead would devour our flesh. However, we must be extremely cautious. As I said before, we do not want to draw attention to ourselves." Sesshomaru explained. I nodded, and Akito jumped down from my arms.
"Where exactly will we find Sounga?" I whispered as we walked across the borderlands. "The informant told me that it was last seen in the skeleton of a massive dragon demon. We must continue heading in this direction until we find an enormous tree that burns with a blue flame. Once we reach the tree, we must head north until we see the skeleton." Sesshomaru answered swiftly. Akito meowed and transformed into his larger form. His baby-blue eyes looked into mine and a word floated to my mind. 'Fly?'
"My lord, wouldn't it be faster if we flew?" I suggested. "It would," he responded hesitantly, "but the birds and other creatures here would notice us. They would attack and slow us down. We will fly to escape if we have been discovered." I frowned slightly but continued to follow Sesshomaru.
After a while of walking in silence, I started looking at the ground. I had been so accustomed to such that I had almost ran into Lord Sesshomaru when he had stopped. I peered around him and noticed a dark blur ahead that seemed to grow closer in the distance. I wondered if it was the tree. Unexpectedly, Sesshomaru grabbed my arm and pulled me close to him.
"Those are a few spirits of the dead. They are dangerous but they cannot smell us. They must not see us, or we will have a lethal fight on our hands." Sesshomaru whispered. "How many are there?" I gasped in fear. "I'm guessing one hundred as the least amount of them." he pondered. Sesshomaru swiftly moved us behind a cluster of charred trees. Akito shrank down and leaped into my arms, meowing softly. "We must not move or make a single sound." Sesshomaru commanded, giving Akito a harsh look. I nodded in acknowledgement and watched as the dead came closer.
Shrieks and cries of the damned filled the air around us. The hairs on the back of my neck felt like they were raising and chills ran down my spine. These morbid skeletal beings had glowing red eyes and fangs about two inches long. They wore tattered clothing that revealed rotting flesh and bone. The stench these creatures protruded reeked of death and decay. It made my stomach churn with nausea. I covered my face with one hand and covered Akito's with my other. The creatures weaved in and out of the trees in front of us.
Finally, the mass of the damned had passed. We stepped back out to our path and continued our journey. I felt slight relief as I spotted an enormous burning tree. Our first checkpoint had finally been found. As we got closer, I realized that this was the biggest tree I've ever seen. The blue flames engulfed the branches, yet it was not actually burning the tree down.
"We are very close. The demon's skeleton is nearby." Sesshomaru smirked. We headed north at a swift pace. I felt excited that we were so close. I began to wonder why Sounga was here. It had never occurred to me to ask.
"Why is Sounga here of all places?" I inquired. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow but decided to answer. "The last known demon that possessed Sounga swallowed the blade and carried it here. The demon must have thought no one could retrieve the blade. He didn't realize that I have no restrictions." Sesshomaru answered smugly. I rolled my eyes behind his back. "There it is." Lord Sesshomaru breathed.
The skeleton before us was enormous. The dragon's bones were covered with charred vines. The only entrance was to walk into the mouth. The fangs were almost as tall as I was. A mental image of the demon that attacked me and Inuyasha materialized in my mind. I shivered and pushed the image away as we entered.
Bones and skulls of smaller demons littered the insides of the beast. The light from the sky shined in between the gaps of the vines and dragon bones. The belly of the demon was enormous as well. In the center, a big slab of rock rested with a bit of parchment laid on top. We wondered over and Lord Sesshomaru picked up the little paper.
"To whoever reaches this place first, the sword, Sounga, is in my possession. I have retrieved Sounga in order to keep this blade from falling into the wrong hands. I have also stolen the blade to keep weaker demons and humans from being possessed by Sounga. This blade holds the soul of a powerful bloodthirsty demon. I have a strong enough power to wield Sounga without succumbing to its will. Sincerely, The Lord of the Eastern Domain," Sesshomaru read. He growled and crumpled up the parchment. He tossed it aside angrily and strolled towards the exit. I hurried over and retrieved the paper before following Sesshomaru.
"So your father took Sounga?" I asked. "Yes," Lord Sesshomaru stated curtly. "What happens now?" I wondered. "My father has hidden it somewhere. Sounga does not rest with him. I have been to his grave when I tried to take Tetsusaiga." Sesshomaru growled. I decided it would be best to leave Sesshomaru in peace. He looked like he was ready to kill.
"I know who to ask, to discover what father did with Sounga." Sesshomaru muttered. I bit back another question. Lord Sesshomaru began to walk swiftly. Akito and I had to jog to keep up. "Would it be ok to fly? We could leave here faster so you can ask this person about Sounga." I suggested. Lord Sesshomaru slowed down a bit. "One condition, we fly just above the ground." Sesshomaru agreed.
Akito offered his back to me. I hugged his neck and climbed on. Sesshomaru could fly on his own. I felt slightly left out, but I enjoyed feeling the air brush my skin. The air was still dry and hot, but flying made it more tolerable than walking. The ride made everything go swiftly.
We were almost back to the doorway when everything fell apart. Lord Sesshomaru had been flying in front of Akito and me. All of the sudden, he came to a dead stop. Akito roared and swerved around him. My cat tried to stop as swiftly, but the sudden swerves and halting dislodged me from Akito's back. I flew twenty yards and slid painfully along the hard dirt ground.
As I tried to sit up, I heard a blood curling shriek. I looked around and spotted the gigantic swarm of the damned. They had spotted us and charged. I could sense their hunger, and I was sure they could sense my terror. Lord Sesshomaru picked me up and placed me gently on Akito's back.
Lord Sesshomaru took his stance in front of Akito and me. Sesshomaru pulled out one of the swords at his side. To my surprise, the sword was Tenseiga. The souls were ten feet away, and Sesshomaru waved his sword. The blade emitted a force that took out a forth of the blood thirsty dead. The spirits engulfed us like a tidal wave. The dead grabbed my arms and began pulling me. I could hear Sesshomaru swinging his blade and the shrieks of the damned. Akito was biting the heads off the souls that grabbed me.
The dead started to bite Akito's legs and back. My cat roared out in pain and anger. I grabbed my mirror and transformed it into my mother's twin blades. I tried to help free my beloved Akito. The dead grabbed my legs and pulled me off Akito's back. My cat demon growled and howled out to me. The creatures started biting into my flesh. I could feel each of the fangs pop into my skin. I screamed in agony as they clamped onto my sides and began to tear bits of my flesh off. "Akito! Sesshomaru!" I shrieked in anguish. I could hear Akito's screams and Sesshomaru's grunts and groans. I closed my eyes and surrendered. It was hopeless, we were going to die.