Disclaimer: The characters of the anime InuYasha are the property of Takahashi Rumiko/Shogakukan and Yomiuri TV Sunrise 2000. I do lay claim, however, to Eadoin and Aine.

Chapter Twenty-Four: An Azure-Lit World

'It seems that the Tenseiga has something to impart, but refuses to do so... unless it is to both of us. Together.'

After her initial surprise at hearing this declaration, Aine felt both intrigued and cautious. This was an unexpected development. She had been told by Kagome and her companions that the sword possessed some sort of awareness, but learning that it actually spoke to its master was quite a revelation. A remarkable and rare artefact, indeed, she thought.

So, what in Danú's name could the demon's sword want from her? Judging from Sesshoumaru's irate reaction, he was also baffled by its request. 'Has the Tenseiga given a reason why it wishes this?' she asked.

The taiyokai drew a deep breath and slowly exhaled. To say that the dog demon disliked this new development would have been an understatement. It was extraordinary to him that the Tenseiga had presented him with such a dilemma. And, though he had never considered the sword's powers worthy of a demon of his stature, he recognised that he was now... resentful that this sword, which was his only legacy from his father, wished to communicate with someone else, and a foreign human at that. Nevertheless, he realised that it was illogical to direct his anger at the woman. And, he could hardly lash out at the sword, though he never would have suspected that the self-aware blade was capable of such subtle manoeuvring.

If he was to be honest with himself, he had to admit that he had never regretted following the blade's instructions in the past, no matter how much he had disputed them at the time. Now, it seemed that the sword had urged him to seek out the healer not only to resolve his disquiet from subconsciously retaining her song, but to facilitate some unorthodox meeting between the three of them. Clever of you to prevaricate, Tenseiga, he thought. It was doubtful that he would have approached the woman if he had fully understood the Tenseiga's intentions when it had spoken to him back at the cavern.

Aine waited patiently for the demon to answer her. She watched him draw the weapon and stare at it, as if willing the blade to speak aloud. He then looked at the healer again, his eyes no longer so cold and unreadable. She could see that he was perplexed.

'It has only said,' he replied finally, impatiently sheathing the sword again, 'that this meeting is essential to vanquishing the creature my sire placed under seal so long ago. It seems that your presence, healer, is required for Tenseiga to make its meaning clear.'

'Perhaps Eadoin would be better suited...?'

'No,' Sesshoumaru interrupted, his vexation evident. 'The Tenseiga would speak with... you.'

'Well then.' Aine took a steadying breath. ' Presuming I consent to this... how would it be possible, so?' she asked.

'You will need to touch the sword,' he said curtly.

'That's not done lightly, Lord Sesshoumaru – taking hold of an unfamiliar magical artefact, especially one which is self-aware,' she answered. 'And if it wishes to somehow speak with us together, I suspect that will mean more than my simply touching it?'

Sesshoumaru nodded. 'It will.' On this point, the Tenseiga had been quite clear with its master. Not only would the proud Sesshoumaru have to permit the Dé Danann to touch his father's fang, but he would have to allow her to connect to his life-force, his jaki – the very source of his demonic power. Aine would have to be in physical contact with the demon, opening a link of magic such as that she had used to read his life energies, while both of them were also in contact with the sword. As he explained this to her, the tone of his voice made it apparent to the healer that the proposed connection was too personal, too invasive for the demon's liking.

'Make no mistake, healer,' he then stated, his visage stern. 'Though you may create a link to my jaki, our connection to the sword means that, this time, I shall be the one in control. The Tenseiga may be directing this "dialogue", but I command the Tenseiga.'

'I see,' said the healer, her voice low and thoughtful as she considered all he had said. If we're to do this, Sesshoumaru will have to tolerate contact with Dé Danann magic again, and I'll have to relinquish all control of the link to him. Personally, she felt that it was she who would have to make the greater concession. Though she had been told that the sword of healing did not harm the living, she still felt cautious about handling an inanimate object with a mind of its own. And, should she place so much trust the taiyokai? It seems I must... the fiend must be destroyed. If my participation in this link will help Sesshoumaru to do this, then so be it.

Sesshoumaru's next words almost had Aine wondering if he could read her mind.

'The Tenseiga will not harm you.' The dog demon paused, regarding her silently before adding, 'Nor shall I.' Unless you give me cause. But, no... he did not really believe that she would, remembering how she had given of herself to restore his jaki. And, there was still the matter of the life-debt he owed to her.

'It seems our positions have been reversed,' she said. 'Last night, you needed to trust me – now I must trust you.'

Again, he stared at her, waiting for her answer. In fact, he approved of her careful consideration of the sword's proposal – he would have thought her a fool otherwise.

'Very well, Lord Sesshoumaru – I shall take this leap of faith.'

For only a moment, the dog demon's face showed surprise. A leap of... faith? He realised that he did not know whether he had been hoping she would accept or refuse. But, he suddenly understood how her acceptance was a gesture of faith in him, and in the Tenseiga. It was a level of trust in the inu yokai which few, knowing his strength, would risk. He nodded, acknowledging her consent.

He continued to watch her as she set aside the harp and began to unfold its wrappings. As he regarded the instrument beside her, Eadoin's words echoed in his mind. 'The bard also spoke of faith,' he said.

She looked up at him. 'Aye, so he told me,' she said softly. 'Though I doubt he expected that my creating a healer's circuit with yourself and your sword would be an example, so.'

The taiyokai's eyes narrowed. 'So, your... companion... would object.'

'If he were here? Certainly he would, though,' a smile briefly tugged at the corners of her mouth, 'I'd soon talk him 'round it. In the end, he'd not object to anything that might aid in the destruction of that abomination in the cavern. My Eadoin can be protective of me, as you no doubt noted at our first meeting.' Aine sat back for a moment, and stroked the smooth wood of the harp. 'We are more like siblings than cousins, you see.'

'Siblings?'

'Aye. We were born within a year of each other, and grew up together. Eadoin is the brother of my heart.'

A bond of affection between siblings was, personally, an unknown commodity to the dog demon, but his frown lightened as he took in her meaning. 'So. Shall we expect him to come to your defence again?' he asked, as he remembered the bard's charge across the meadow behind the inn.

'Eadoin is currently in a much-needed sleep, at my insistence. The other morn, he awoke when I raised my wards, and, he may detect whatever the Tenseiga plans to do... but,' she looked into his eyes, her own conveying the truthfulness in her words, 'he'll not sense any wards because they'll not be needed...'

'I've already said you will not be harmed,' said the demon, hearing the implied question.

'So you did,' she replied. 'My apologies – what we propose is outside my experience. I do believe you, Lord Sesshoumaru. I think that, like Eadoin, you're an honourable man.'

Sesshoumaru found himself caught off-guard by this comment. He was not sure that he liked being compared to the bard, but he understood that she had complimented him. He said nothing in response, however.

She had finished putting the harp in its protective wrappings and was gently setting it on the ground in front of the rock ledge. 'I'll just be putting the Amhrán Iúr to the side.'

'Amhrán Iúr?' he asked.

'It means "Yew's Song",' she replied. 'This instrument is Eadoin's pride and joy. I want it well out of the way of any strange magics.'

His voice was almost mocking. 'The instrument has a name?' he asked.

She turned toward him. 'And aren't your fine swords after having names?' she asked, her eyes holding a sparkle of amusement.

'Hnh.'

Aine and the dog demon faced each other in the sunlit clearing. Remembering the carrion crow, the healer had wondered if she should set boundary wards after all, but the taiyokai tersely informed her that he and the sword would be aware if anything approached. Sesshoumaru regarded her silently for a moment, then he grasped the hilt of his sword, again drawing it from its sheath. The Tenseiga pulsed twice as he held it crosswise before him.

'Come nearer,' he said to the healer, his elegant features stern in expression. 'You must grasp the hilt, and my hand.'

She moved to stand close to him, and placed her hand over his, her fingers touching the hilt of the sword as they wrapped around it, her finger-tips resting against his thumb. His grip on the hilt tightened at her touch. Aine looked up to meet his golden eyes – there was some emotion there this time, she was sure... irritation? Disquiet? Yes, the dog demon was decidedly ill at ease.

'Complete your link,' he said abruptly.

She nodded, reaching up to place her right hand on his face, just as she had when she had read his life energies. Again, she felt his jaw clench as she touched the smooth skin over it. Danú, she thought, be at peace, mo chú – one would think you're about to have a tooth pulled. She kept to herself the slight irritation she felt at this reaction to her touch, and softly rested her fingers below the paired magenta stripes on his cheek; closing her eyes, she reached for his life energy with her power, the probe just strong enough to allow their two life-forces to touch.

Behind her closed lids, a blue light appeared. She opened her eyes, but saw only a soft, blue haze. Faintly, she could 'hear' a whispered voice, reassuring her that all was well, and bidding her to let it guide her. Aine relaxed and followed the soothing voice, which she realised must be that of the sword.

The healer soon became aware of the sensation of being in two places. She knew that she was yet standing in the clearing, her hands still in contact with the sword and Sesshoumaru. She could even faintly feel the dog demon's breath as it brushed against her arm. But, she also stood in this azure-lit world of mist. The whispering voice then revealed her location to her – her consciousness, her very soul, though still anchored in her body, was also within the Tenseiga.

She held up her hand in front of her face and studied it. It looks solid enough. She saw that her aura of power was visible, though she had not called it and could not feel it manifesting in her actual body. Perhaps it was visible in this blue reality because it was such an inherent part of who she was? She looked down and also saw that she was wearing a favourite leine, a soft, silky sídhe creation. A part of home... she thought. Then, her musings ceased as a form slowly coalesced out of the fog ahead. The mist parted to reveal Sesshoumaru, walking toward her.

The taiyokai could hear the Tenseiga speaking to him as the woodland clearing slowly faded from his sight to be replaced by the nebulous, blue vista now before him. I understand you, Tenseiga, he thought impatiently. This realm is of the spirit. Sesshoumaru again made it clear to the weapon that he resented this experiment. In all his past communications with the blade, he had never been drawn into this sort of link with its consciousness, though he suspected that the only the healer's connection to them both had made this possible.

Nevertheless, Sesshoumaru continued to follow the voice as it led him into the depths of this blue world that was the Tenseiga. Soon, he saw a form in the mist ahead. This, he knew, would be the manifestation of the healer's soul. Then, he halted in amazement at the sight before him.

Though the dog demon had sensed no use of power, the woman before him glowed with a warm, golden aura. Everything about her appearance was more brilliant – the shining copper and gold of her hair, the green of her eyes... Her soul radiated magic – in this plane of reality within the sword's consciousness, it was truly evident that she was far more than human.

He frowned, noting that the healer's woollen cloak and linen garments had been replaced by a gown of a shimmering, silky material the creamy colour of sea foam, its sleeves and hem embroidered in a complex pattern of intertwining knots. Curious, he thought. If the healer's appearance has changed... How, then, did he appear to her, he who had often been described as having a black soul?

Sesshoumaru had always had little regard for such labels. Without regret, he had slain many yokai and humans over his long life, doing what he had felt was necessary to survive and to achieve power. Even so, he knew a moment of hesitation before looking at his hand.

Although his yoki was quiescent, Sesshoumaru saw that he also emanated an aura. Like Aine had, he studied his hand, and the silver-blue light that flickered and shimmered across it. Not like the healer's radiant glow, but not so black, after all, he thought cynically. His eyes narrowed – he had seen such a light before. The dog demon also noted that he was wearing his customary armour and fur,and that the left sleeve of his haori was still empty. He then saw that while the Tenseiga was sheathed at his side, the Tokijin was absent.

Interesting, he thought. The Tenseiga has a stronger tie to me than my Tokijin. But... somehow, he would not have expected the amputation of a limb to extend to one's soul. Did this reflect the finality with which he had accepted its loss, or... something else?

The demon looked up and saw that the healer was watching him. He lowered his hand to his side. 'Tenseiga,' he said, 'I have waited long enough. We are both here. Reveal the purpose in this meeting.'

Sesshoumaru stared fiercely at the swirling blue-lit clouds about them. What does this mean? Why are you silent, Tenseiga? The taiyokai growled deep in his throat in anger. He should break this useless link now, he thought, when... the sword spoke – to them both.

Its directions were quite simple. And quite impossible, as far as the taiyokai was concerned. The inu yokai would not be able to understand how to destroy the fiend unless he achieved an even deeper link with the Dé Danann woman. For their souls to truly meet on this plane of reality, they must touch.

Aine found this proposal intimidating, and more suited to one of Eadoin's talents. But, her instincts told her that, if they had come this far, they should complete the task the sword had set. She said as much now. Sesshoumaru glared at the healer in response, his eyes emphatically expressing his distaste for what the sword had planned.

'Lord Sesshoumaru,' she asked, 'surely the Tenseiga would not have led us to this point if it were not important? And, if our spirits are to somehow connect beyond this level, I suspect that whatever it is that we have to discover, it will be within ourselves... or each other.'

The dog demon's frown eased. Sesshoumaru grudgingly admired her assessment of the situation. True – there was no deceit in his father's fang. Though this would be an even more intimate contact, the sword had promised that their thoughts would remain their own.

But, he had never heard of, let alone experienced, such a thing as two souls connecting. Such an esoteric concept seemed more the province of human clerics, he thought irately. If not for his burning need to utterly destroy the hell-spawn in the cavern, he would never have consented to this...

'Apparently,' he said finally, 'all that is required is that we... touch.'

Aine took a deep breath. 'Time for another leap of faith, then,' she said. Moving closer to the mighty taiyokai, she held up her left hand, her palm toward him. 'Among my people,' she said softly, 'the offer of one's hand is a gesture of goodwill.'

His eyes never leaving her face, the dog demon raised his hand and pressed his palm against hers. His hand was larger than the healer's, but her long, slender fingers easily interlaced with his own. He noted that her skin felt as warm in this reality as it did in the physical world, where, distantly, he could still feel her firm grip on his sword hand.

Around their clasped hands, their respective auras began to swirl together, gold and silver-blue mingling in a glittering blossom of light. Sesshoumaru's mouth tightened as he realised that the warmth he perceived in her palm was extending over his whole being, just as her life energies had when she had healed him. This sensation though, was more akin to that induced by the song she had just sung – calm and... human emotions...

Aine's first thought as she entered the connection was relief to find that this 'touching of souls' did not result in an actual merging of their spirits. There was no mixing of consciousness or thought, just as the sword had promised. But, rather, it was an empathic link. She could feel the great strength and determination within the dog demon's being – it was enveloping her like a warm blanket. And, shielded deep beneath these traits, she perceived hints of more complex emotions... It was as she had thought – there were many layers to Sesshoumaru's character.

The walls of mist surrounding them swirled, and images appeared fleetingly in their depths. 'What is this, Tenseiga?' asked the dog demon, but the sword gave no answer.

'Memories.'

It was Aine who spoke. The Dé Danann woman was watching the mist closely. She had glimpsed images that the Tenseiga could never have known, and knew they could have come from only one source. Herself.

She looked up to meet the dog demon's questioning gaze. 'The mist holds reflections of our memories.'

Sesshoumaru peered at the clouds, searching for any familiar image. Was there something in his history which would give him an advantage against the fiend? If so, why go to these elaborate lengths? Why could not the sword simply tell him?

Suddenly, the mist vanished before his eyes. They were now standing in a green meadow, near the edge of a cliff. Large, dark grey stones patterned with white mould and lichen dotted the terrain. He could hear the surging breath of the sea below, and overhead, seagulls cried and soared. The diffuse light that surrounded them was now the soft gold of sunlight and beside them rose a grass-covered, rounded hill, its gently sloping sides dotted with low, mauve-flowered shrubs.

'Tá sé mo bhaile seo... this is my home,' Aine whispered, as her gaze turned from the mound to the dog demon. Sesshoumaru actually looked amazed, and she could not blame him. She herself was astonished with the intensity and clarity of this image taken from her memories. It was as if they were actually outside the mound that held the portal to her clan's sídhe; she could even feel the sea breeze against her skin and smell the sweet scent of the heather under her feet.

Sesshoumaru regained his composure within moments, but still could not help staring at the sight before him. This was but an illusion, yet... it felt so very real. He could smell the sea and the vegetation and could feel in the earth beneath his feet... power. Her land is old... as old and full of ancient power as my own. But, how can I know this? The demon's analytical mind worked rapidly. It is because of this link... this place has had much to do with the nature of her soul... The Tenseiga obviously wanted him to see this – but why?

Her aura had become even brighter surrounded by this vision of her homeland, and the warmth emanating from her soul was becoming distracting in its intensity... Still, he wondered... how was this supposed to help him defeat his enemy? The sword spoke to him then, telling him to see what was before him – a soul which embraced life and light, and which was the opposite of his foe. The colours within their merged auras flared around their joined hands as Sesshoumaru reached further into the link, trying to understand the significance of the sword's message.

At this, the vista around them began to change, the soft golden light being replaced by one of silver-blue – the same colour as the halo of light surrounding the dog demon's soul. Aine could hear the voice of the Tenseiga. It made the same request to her as it had to its master, for her to see what was before her. As she watched, the dog demon's aura glowed more brightly and the vison of her homeland slowly faded as a new, mist-shrouded landscape formed around them.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as the armour and bones of the Great Dog Demon appeared in the mist before them. He heard Aine inhale sharply at the sight of the immense skeleton.

'My father's tomb,' he explained curtly. His voice sounded low and strained. This is not a stranger's business, Tenseiga... he asked silently. Why bring her here? Did this mean that this place was as much a part of his soul as the healer's home was a part of her? The image in the mist began to change. A brilliant silver-blue light appeared before them, and Aine saw the skin on Sesshoumaru's jaw tighten as he clenched his teeth.

'Father...' he whispered. Before them was his father's spirit, just as he had appeared before the taiyokai and InuYasha after they had watched the evil Sounga fall into the gates of Hell, banished from the earth forever. Again, he saw the Inu No Taisho's kind smile as he stated his pleasure with his sons, that together they had defeated the Sword of the Netherworld. What had the old flea Myoga said then? That his master had believed in his sons...?

'Enough, Tenseiga,' he stated, releasing Aine's hand as he turned away. 'I have seen enough.'

A/N: Again, my sincere thanks to those who have reviewed. Next... a healer's insights...