The Book of Sorcery
By: BlackShade
Updated:3/3/12
Disclaimer: All of the Inuyasha characters are not mine, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I own the plot of the story and my OC's.
Beta-ed by: ShadowEntity
AN: I decided to combine last chapter and this chapter to make the full chapter 25. Enjoy!
Separated Sorcerers
After the incident with the book, time seemed to go by quickly and was very uneventful. The days soon blurred into weeks and the weeks blurred into months.
Izayoi made sure to keep the book hidden from the sight of others and periodically check the levels of dark magic; to make sure there were no more escape attempts.
Everyday was almost the same routine for Inuyasha. Involving family, friends, music, and training. Little did he know that was about to all change . . .
Inutaisho was in his study looking over a document from the Lord of the ninja demon tribe, Hoshiyomi. He was requesting a treaty between the Western lands and the lands of the ninja demon tribe.
Placing the document on his desk, the youkai contemplated whether he should go personally or send one of his advisors. He knew from experience, a lot of experience, that if an important matter was being discussed, he couldn't leave it up to the others. The court officially hated him the last time he did that, even though it was a simple matter.
Inutaisho smiled wryly. That Aka Manto spirit event always lightened the Lord's day.
The leader flicked at his paper, the document resurfacing to his mind once more. Right before the older demon was to flick at the proposal again, he arched his head to look behind himself.
Knock, knock, knock!
Taisho coughed out a "come in" before turning back to his paper and studiously eying every little detail.
Inuyasha walked in, his face open and youthful. With a small smile to his father, he went to the miniature sized cabinet that he knew would have maps.
Taisho raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" He asked curiously. He was eager for a new subject, other than peace treaties, war declarations, and bla, bla, bla.
"Shiori is helping me with my geography," Inuyasha answered, leafing through the folders.
The Inu no Taisho watched as his son stumbled through the various maps until he found the right one. It was at that moment that the great leader had an amazing idea.
"Inuyasha, how much have you seen of the West?"
Turning around to face his father, Inuyasha frowned. "Not much." Then, suspicious, "Why?"
"How would you like to join me on my way to the ninja demon tribe?"
Inuyasha's eyes widened. "You don't think I'm too young to leave the palace?" His mother sure did.
"We won't be alone; Sesshomaru will be there as well!" Inu no Taisho exclaimed happily. He moved closer to Inuyasha. Farther away from the documented proposal.
Inuyasha thought it over. It would be nice to see more of the West, but, Inuyasha paused, why was he leaving in the first place?
"Why are you going to the ninja demon tribe?" Inuyasha wanted to know.
The father made a brush movement with his hand. "The leader has requested a treaty between the lands."
"When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow," was all Taisho said, although his grin widened immensely knowing he was close to winning.
Inuyasha thought about it, he did want to go but what about his magic training?
Noticing that his son still looked unsure, he said, "You don't have to go if you don't want to, Inuyasha." Inside, he was begging the young half-boy to come. He'd be a much needed ray, especially compared to the serious, no-play Sesshomaru.
Not even bothering to answer, Inuyasha bowed and said, "I need to speak with mother." And quickly left.
Inutaisho looked at the door confused and pursing his lip. It was almost comical, his mixed expression. However, Taisho really was confused as to why the young half-demon needed to confront with Izayoi. He narrowed his eyes, demon instinct and political experience kicking in.
Izayoi was, as normal for this time of day, reading through the spells in the book. With help from her trainers she had managed to keep the levels of dark magic under control. Thankfully, there were no more escape attempts.
Izayoi looked up as she sensed her son nearby. Deciding to play it safe, she hid the book from sight.
"Kaasan," Inuyasha said, entering the large room.
"Hello, dear." Izayoi smiled sweetly, slowly inching away from the place where she hid the book
"I need to talk to you." Inuyasha sat on the queen sized bed. The covers sunk in some.
Sitting beside her son, Izayoi kept silent, waiting for Inuyasha to continue.
"Chichi-ue asked me if I wanted to accompany him to the ninja demon clan."
Now Izayoi understood. "There's no need to worry about your training; we'll continue when you come back. But, this of course means you'll have to work harder in your dreams." Izayoi smirked at the groan from her son.
In that instant, both sorcerers looked up at the sound of footsteps. With out further adue the door opened to reveal Inu no Taisho. The suspicion was clear in his eyes. Izayoi and Inuyasha looked at Taisho then each other then back to Taisho.
"Is something wrong, dearest?" Izayoi asked innocently, shifting her weight slightly on the bed.
"I came to see what our son came to talk to you about. What was so urgent." Taisho answered plainly.
Thinking quickly, Inuyasha said, "I came to talk to her about the new moon."
Taisho's eyes widened, then in a split second were back to normal. He had forgotten the new moon was tomorrow.
"The trip to the ninja clan takes about two days. The only ones to see you human will be us," Taisho reassured.
Inuyasha looked to Izayoi, almost like he was asking permission. With a small nod to his mother, he turned towards his father.
"I'll go with you."
Taisho smiled. "I need to discuss this with the others." Then he left.
Once Inutaisho was out of hearing range Inuyasha stood, "You think he believed us?" He asked his mother.
"Maybe, he's still suspicious that we're hiding something from him." Izayoi looked to the place her husband had just left. She wondered if his acute youkai hearing did catch what they had been saying, but he just didn't understand it. Therefore he didn't say anything. She hoped that was not the case.
"Humph." Izayoi eyed Inuyasha as he yawned. He asked, rubbing his eyes, "I'm sure you won't mind, but I'll ask anyway. Can I take a nap in here?"
Izayoi giggled. "Sure."
"Thanks, mom." Inuyasha hugged his mother before plopping down in the middle of the large bed, causing another round of laughs from Izayoi.
The Next Day...
Taisho, Sesshomaru, and Inuyasha were saying their goodbyes, preparing for the journey ahead.
Inuyasha gave his mother one last hug, then with a wave set off with the other youkai.
Once they reached the front gates Inuyasha noticed there was no carriage or other way of transportation. Turning to his father he asked, "How exactly are we getting to the ninja demon tribe? Are we walking?"
Taisho and Sesshomaru shared a look, both with a small grin.
Next thing Inuyasha knew he was being lifted into the air on a cloud of demonic energy. Letting out a yelp of surprise the young inu-hanyou clung to his father.
Inutaisho chuckled at his son. "No need to worry, you won't fall."
Letting go of the larger inu, Inuyasha looked over at his brother on his own youkai cloud, then down at the ground carefully.
"Says the one who knows how to fly." Inuyasha muttered under his breath.
Both full youkai looked to each other and then to the distracted hanyou; hearing every word.
Izayoi sighed as she watched her husband fly off with her son.
"Worried?"
Her breathe hitched but that was it; she didn't show any other surprised emotions. Turning to her husband's youngest sister, she gave a small smile.
"No, not at all, Yuka." Without waiting for a reply Izayoi spun on her heels and quickly walked back towards the palace.
Despite the fact she couldn't see it, Izayoi knew that she was being watched by a pair of amber spheres.
Sighing again, Izayoi glared off into the surrounding trees.
"This is going to be a long ten days."
Inuyasha stared absently at the sky while it dimmed into an orange blur. He had zoned out the sound of his brother and father talking a few hours ago. They were speaking of matters that really didn't interest him, like the possible upcoming treaty. And, simply put, Inuyasha was bored.
"Why did I agree to come with them again?" Inuyasha thought apathetically, interrupted only by a well-timed yawn.
Inutaisho looked to his younger son, hearing the noise. The Lord could tell he was tired, Inuyasha's expression was like an open book. Following the half-demon's gaze to the sunset, he decided it was time to stop. He slowed down until he was at an acceptable speed to descend to the ground.
Inuyasha's eyes widened as he felt the motioning of the youkai cloud descending.
It wasn't until they reached the forest floor, landing softly on the wet soil, that Sesshomaru raised a brow curiously.
"Why did we stop, Father?"
"Because it's about time we settled down for the night." Inutaisho gestured toward Inuyasha, being careful to not have him see it.
Sesshomaru looked at his tired brother, whose eyes were drooping and limps were lax. He nodded, mouth setting into a grim line.
The father lord turned his attention back to their surroundings. Lifting his chin to the air, he sniffed. The scent of fresh coral and moss wafted through. Twitching his ears in that general direction, Inutaisho picked up the faint sound of rushing water.
"Sesshomaru," Inutaisho ordered, "go to the nearby river and catch some fish for dinner."
The prince nodded before diligently following his orders.
Inutaisho turned to look for his other son. As he laid eyes on him, he smiled softly. Inuyasha had already gotten comfortable, leaning on a nearby tree. Abruptly, Inuyasha threw up his head and their eyes met.
"Do you want me to go and get firewood?"
Inutaisho blinked and tilted his head. "Why?"
"Are you eating the fish raw or cooked?"
"Raw. But if you want it cooked, I could-"
"No! It's fine. I just don't eat raw food very often." He explained, making gestures with his hands.
Taisho's eyebrows further went into his hairline. "Why not?"
"It would bother kaasan." Inuyasha answered simply, shrugging indifferently.
Taisho nodded and took the seat next to his youngest son. He figured since they were alone that it would be the perfect time to talk uninterrupted.
"Son, how do you like life at the western palace?"
Slightly surprised by the question, but not showing it, Inuyasha thought on the question. How did he like life at the western palace? Well, he did make some great friends, and one of them was even hanyou like him. The rest of his family seemed to like him as well.
And then on the down side there was Sacura. The evil (in his mother's mind) demoness, who was out to get him and his mother.
"I guess over all it isn't that bad." Inuyasha thought, smiling softly. "It's alright. I thought it would be awful living there. But it turned out to be better than I thought, far better." His smile widened. That bit of information made Taisho smile as well.
"What about Sesshomaru, how has he been treating you?" The slight worry in his voice was noticed by the hanyou.
"Just fine. He's been...very kind."
Taisho gave his son a surprised look and was about to say something if the sound of nearby footprints didn't distract him.
Sesshomaru came from the surrounding bushes. One hand pushed through the branches, while the other was carrying enough fish for the three of them, each cleaned and skinned. Gold eyes landed on Taisho and he looked back unflinching.
Dinner was a surprisingly talkative affair...well for the two youkai at least. Inuyasha watched as his father and half-brother conversed, mostly about politics, like the hopeful upcoming treaty. He had never seen his brother talk so much. Which was surprising considering how much time they had been spending together lately.
"He must be very interested in these types of things; after all, he is heir and will have to do this himself one day." Inuyasha watched with interest, finally finding something that he could be curious about in the boring topic.
He was brought out of his musings when he heard his father's deep, booming voice.
His head snapped up to see two pairs of golden eyes looking at him expectantly. Did they say something to him?
He said something that earned him strange looks from the older youkai.
"Are you alright? You seem... distracted." Sesshomaru told him in a matter-of-fact voice.
"I'm fine, just thinking," Inuyasha urged.
"Would you like to talk about it?"
"No," Inuyasha blurted quickly. "It's nothing, really."
The two youkai looked to each other, neither one convinced, but in the end decided to not comment.
Izayoi panted as the large amount of magic she used depleted her energy.
"Come on Izayoi! I know you can do better than that!" Sakini shouted harshly, sending a ball of fire at her opponent.
Despite her lack of strength, Izayoi managed to artfully side step the oncoming assault, and with a hidden ice blade managed a deep stab wound in her trainer's side.
Sakini's breath caught as she felt the unexpected sharp pain in her side. At that moment Katosaga ambushed with a swift kick, knocking Izayoi to the ground once more. This time remaining where she was.
"Are you alright?" Katosaga asked both wounded sorceress.
It was a moment before Sakini caught her breath, clutching her side she rasped out in a low voice, "Yes, I'm fine. It's Izayoi you should worry about."
Izayoi was silent and unmoving from her position. After a few more moments she managed, with great difficultly, to stand.
"You two are working me too damn hard." Izayoi muttered, more to herself than the others.
Kato grinned. Izayoi always acted childishly when she was frustrated.
"It is necessary for you to become stronger, Izayoi." Sakini uttered staring at her cloths soaked with blood and sweat.
Izayoi wasn't in any better condition. This time it had been a test of survival. To see how long she could last against someone of greater strength. Or in her case, two sorcerers of far more powerful than her.
"You did well Izayoi," Sakini praised.
"Yes, very impressive."
Izayoi glared at her trainers. Without another word she walked up to Sakini, and rudely snatched the healing wand from her hands. Still remaining silent, she began the slow process of healing her injured body.
The twins laughed at the human sorceress good naturedly and aided her in healing her wounds.
With the extra magic the healing process was sped up and the soon there were no signs tat the human princess had been hurt.
"Shall we go again?" Izayoi asked hesitantly. The twins shared a look then turned to Izayoi.
"I believe that's enough for today. You should get back to the palace before anyone gets worried."
Izayoi nodded, suspicion rising. She could tell by the look in their eyes that her trainers were hiding something from her.
"Farewell, my friends." With that Izayoi exited the middle dimension.
The twins were silent, both contemplating the same thing. Izayoi was strong, but was she strong enough?
Inuyasha felt his eyelids grow heavy. He was trying to stay awake as long as possible. He knew his mother had the training session of a lifetime waiting for him and was try to stall as long as he can.
"I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work." He heard his mother's voice in his head.
Clutching the medallion around his neck, Inuyasha sighed. He might as well just end it…
Inuyasha stood facing his mother. He noticed her slouched posture and hard breathing.
"Are you okay?"
Izayoi, noticing her son's concern, gave him a small hug. "Yes, I'm fine."
Although he wasn't entirely convinced, Inuyasha said nothing, returning his mother's hug with full force.
"So what do you have for me today?"
Izayoi thought on the question herself. She had spent most of the day training her own self and didn't have much time to plan the night's training session. Then a thought came to her.
"Let's see how well you last against me."
"What!" Whatever Inuyasha was expecting, it wasn't that.
"I want to see how well you last against someone more powerful than you." Izayoi explained, smoothly falling into a battle stance.
Inuyasha stayed rooted, immaturely crossing his arms. "Care to explain why?"
Izayoi sighed. "Inuyasha, I won't always be with you to protect you...and I want to be certain you can take care of yourself."
Inuyasha's mouth opened and then closed. Speechless, he watched his mother with wide eyes.
"There...there are dark forces out there and... I want to make sure you're strong enough." Izayoi voiced. Stunned by his mother confession, Inuyasha nodded his head in understanding.
Without another word, Inuyasha fell into his battle stance and lifted his fists. Throughout the night the two battled as fierce sorcerers.
So sorry for the evil wait! The next chapter is coming soon! :)
Hint to Next Chapter: The Ninja Demon Tribe
~BlackShade~