Chapter 12
Shippo slowly moved away from the hole in the wall, preying Inuyasha didn't see him looking through.
Ryu stepped out of the light, hiding behind a stack of crates, hoping to avoid combat.
Sesshomaru stood coolly in the spot of light, waiting patiently for Inuyasha to make an entrance.
Inuyasha noted a flicker of light at the second floor of the building. He slowly circled his way around the building, finding the Wolf Demon's entrance point. He could smell the wolf stench all over.
Deciding it probably wasn't the best idea to use the same entrance as the wolf; he continues around, searching for another entrance he finds a small hole, using that he crawls in.
Sensing Inuyasha's entrance, Sesshomaru turns to the left, smirking as Inuyasha noisily enters the building. He waited for Inuyasha to breach the crates, the noisy entrance transforming into a stealthy attack. Another rustle to his right signaled Inuyasha's first attack, turning around he grabbed Inuyasha's outstretched hand, pinning him to the ground.
"Do you ever pay attention to anything Inuyasha?" he smirked, releasing his grip from the squirming form beneath him.
"What are you doing here Sesshomaru? Why am I here if you doing all the work?" Inuyasha quickly stood up, brushing off his clothes.
"There's no Wolf Demon here Inuyasha, I had someone come in to place the scent to trick you. There are just you, me, the executioner, and the cleanup crew" Sesshomaru said coldly. Inuyasha watched him closely, wondering what game the asshole was playing.
"What are you getting at Sesshomaru?" he shouted, his legs tensing into a defensive stance.
"Today you die Inuyasha, not by my hand however, I promised your head long ago…"
Sesshomaru governed the funeral for Yuki, his youngest niece. Having watched his siblings die, a now teenaged equivalent Shippo sobbed over the dead body of his sister, his slender frame convulsing with each cry.
"Shippo" Sesshomaru said sternly, pulling the boy back in order to continue the flow of grievers.
Heading outside Sesshomaru found Ah-Un grazing nearby, heading to the beast he ran his fingers through Ah's mane. Every time he saw one of these it reminded him of Rin's death. He was thankful he would no longer have to bury the children from his household.
Shippo followed Sesshomaru outside.
"Is he here Sesshomaru-sama?" Shippo asked, snuffling into the sleeve of his shirt.
"No, you should go home Shippo" Sesshomaru stated, motioning for the boy to mount Ah-Un.
"He'll never come, just like he never came back to get us that night, or any other night…I hate Inuyasha" he shouted.
"I would think that after the life I have provided for you and your sisters that you would have forgotten about Inuyasha kit" Sesshomaru responded coolly, frowning at Shippo's tantrum.
"It's not about how well our life became. We almost died, if Rin hadn't found us, we wouldn't have lasted more than a week" Sesshomaru's heart softened as the image of Rin holding the two young pups as if they were pets, begging to be able to keep the trio in their household.
"What do you want done about it Shippo? No one knows where he is or if he's even alive" Sesshomaru responded, relief filling him as the boy pulled himself on top of Ah-Un.
"If the chance is ever provided, promise me that I can kill Inuyasha for abandoning us" Sesshomaru eyed Shippo, the seriousness on his face causing him to take the kit seriously.
"Fine, if we are ever presented with the opportunity, and I believe you are ready, I will allow you the chance to fight Inuyasha, whether he dies at your hand or not depends on your performance." A brief smile flittered over Shippo's face before grief claimed him once more.
"Now go home Shippo, in a week's time I will be there with a Kitsune teacher, you'll need proper training if you want to master anything and I will teach you how to fight" with that Sesshomaru headed south into the woods, starting his search for Shippo's teacher.
Inuyasha looked around annoyance etched in his being, wondering what Sesshomaru could have meant. He kept one eye on Sesshomaru, wary of being attacked by another person.
"What do you mean you've promised my head? What did I do that deserves death?" he asked, not noticing as Shippo crept around the building to be behind of Inuyasha.
"Where were you this morning?" Sesshomaru asked, noting the shock on Inuyasha's face, "And what did you do while there, how difficult was it for you to control yourself? How long will that restrain keep you from doing something that damages our past as it harms our future?" Inuyasha shook his head slowly.
"I would never hurt Kagome, I love her!" Inuyasha claimed nervously.
"Yes but you're a stranger to her and I don't trust you not to act before she knows you" Inuyasha began to look around for and exit.
Suddenly Shippo leapt out of hiding, his fist landing swiftly with the back of Inuyasha's head, Inuyasha staggered forward, quickly recovering her rolled over and turned to face Shippo, crossing his arms in front of his face, a second fist landing on the crossed area.
"Shippo" Inuyasha whispered, even with the system that had been developed by the demons that connected everyone, Sesshomaru made sure that Shippo never interacted with Inuyasha, planning to prolong the inevitable.
"Shippo I don't want to fight you, but if you don't back down I'll kill you" he warned, dodging as Shippo continued his onslaught.
"You're the only one in danger here Inuyasha" Shippo stated.
"Fox Fire" Shippo shouted, blue flames billowing out of his hand, surrounding and engulfing Inuyasha. Panic froze Inuyasha as his brain sent signals to prepare for the heat; his body was shocked by the coolness that danced upon his skin. While Inuyasha was distracted Shippo gently placed a leaf on his forehead, five copies of himself popping up around him.
Finally grasping that the fire did nothing more than cool his limbs, Inuyasha chuckled. "That move's as useless as ever huh Shippo?" he sneered, looking around for his foe.
"I wouldn't say it's useless, kept you stupid long enough huh?" he snickered.
"Iron-Reaver Soul Stealer!" Inuyasha shouted raking his claws across Shippo's stubble covered face; the loud pop as it disappeared making Inuyasha annoyed.
"But I guess you've always been stupid" Shippo mocked, another attack by Inuyasha ending the clones mockery.
"Shippo stop playing and fight me!" Inuyasha shouted, lunging and falling to the ground as another pop met his ears. He ground his teeth in frustration, standing up he headed for another Shippo, not noticing the one that walked closer behind of him.
"Little incapable Inuyasha, always abandoning his family" watching as Inuyasha lunged for the clone, Shippo made his move.
"Heart Scar" Shippo shouted, a red aura surrounding his body as he and Inuyasha connected, Shippo bit hard onto Inuyasha's shoulder, a version of fox fire filling Inuyasha's body as Shippo stayed latched on. Inuyasha thrashed around as the fire spread through his body.
"Fox Fire" Shippo mumbled, watching as once again blue flames surrounded Inuyasha, Inuyasha's body began to glow the same faint color as Shippo had when he bit Inuyasha. The two conflicting fires began to torture Inuyasha slowly, the burning inside causing him to faint.
"Bit of an overkill don't ya think Shippo?" Ryu asked as he stepped from behind of the crates.
"Not to me it's not" Ryu noted Shippo's hazed over eyes, the stoic look on his face covering his internal battle.
"Are you okay?" Ryu asked, Shippo hesitantly shook his head.
"I always thought that would make me feel better" Sesshomaru stepped up from behind of them.
"Shippo" Inuyasha coughed, soot rising from his lips. Shippo looked down at Inuyasha, pity flickering over his face before he turned and walked out.
Sesshomaru took Shippo's spot, kneeling over Inuyasha. He watched as Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes, surprised to find Sesshomaru. "Sesshomaru save Kagome… please" Sesshomaru slowly shook his head.
"Inuyasha I can't keep her from going-" Sesshomaru started, repulsed when Inuyasha grabbed his ankle.
"Sesshomaru, don't let her die, you promised" with one wracking breath Inuyasha slowly faded away.
Sesshomaru stood back, streams of yellow-green energy dripping from his fingertips netting over Inuyasha's chest. Within seconds of finishing the net a black hole opened on Inuyasha's chest, Sesshomaru turned away to see Shippo watching intently as hundreds of demons shot out of Inuyasha's body, flailing in their toxic death.
"What's going on" Shippo asked hesitantly, the black hole slowly closing. Ryu looked around surprised at what had happened.
"Out of desperation Inuyasha made a pact with a group of demons; in exchange for his human soul Inuyasha was provided with the longevity that was necessary for him to live long enough in order to keep Kagome alive. So long as he didn't die in combat. His soul is still gone of course, no way to get that back" Sesshomaru began to walk out.
"Sesshomaru-sama…does that mean Inuyasha was like Naraku?" Shippo asked nervously.
"Don't cloud Inuyasha with thoughts like that Shippo" Sesshomaru responded, pitying Shippo's confusion to how he felt about being the one to end Inuyasha's life. "He wanted to save Kagome, Naraku wanted to take Kikyo for himself. They are not the same." Sesshomaru left the building, thinking of how he could keep his promise to Inuyasha without having it change the past. While many things had changed about him over the years Sesshomaru still held his honor and keeping is word high above anything else.
Shippo stared at Inuyasha's motionless form, lost in thoughts of the past. Ryu cautiously walked towards the dead body, pitying his friend's fate.
"So are you planning to watch because… there's a lot." He stated looking over the building, trying to count all of the demons that had died in flight.
"Sesshomaru said I should wait until more people get here to help you clean up" Shippo said as Ryu settled down to begin.
"Well I'm going to get started so you might want to turn around" Shippo hastily turned away, choosing to listen to music to avoid hearing eating sounds.