Light Me A Lantern

by Novaviis

Picking up the pieces after being separated for three years isn't as easy as it may seem. A quiet, burning kind of chaos sweeps through Feudal Japan, and it's going to take a lot more than a fairy tale ending to put things back together. They defeated a man who would become the Devil. Can they survive a man who would become a God?

26. Chapter 26

Here we are again, my friends. Those of you who don't follow my tumblr may not know this, though I'm sure that you've figure it out, but I went on hiatus for the past few months to focus on school. I think the time off is just what I needed. I hope you'll forgive me.

Now, before we get on, I just want to preface this chapter by sharing a little something. As I've said a few times in the past, Light Me A Lantern has been in progress since I was fourteen. I'm 20 now, and these ague ideas for scenes and plot points have been turning over for years. A few of them, I've written out so far, like the mob forcing Kagome to pin Inuyasha to the tree again, and the snowy castle encounter. This next chapter is another one of those scenes. I can still remember the night it came to mind, listening to a few songs from the Balto soundtrack. Heritage of the Wolf is a huge influence on the end of the chapter, but I won't spoil anything.

In short, this means a lot to me, and I think 14 year old Lauren would love this. I hope she would. I write this for her. Keep that in mind with the themes you'll soon encounter.

Edited by Hanmajoerin

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They came in hoards. Inuyasha dove out of the way of one wild beast, tensing his claws as he rolled to his feet. Following through the motion, he took three more out in a single golden flash. The dogs were grotesque, shrouded in black, with the bulk and power of oxen. As soon as Inuyasha destroyed ten, twenty more materialized. Ahead, Koga jumped onto the back of a beast. He slashed through its neck with the goraishi clasped to his hand. Sesshomaru struck out with precision, poison claws creating a swirling whip around him.

There was no time for distraction. Inuyasha barely managed to duck under a snarling maw, bracing himself on his hands to roll backwards. He sprang up again, his claws tearing into the monster in one swipe. Another shadow dog managed to fly past him. Inuyasha spun around—heart in his throat—to find Shippo fending off the dogs with bursts of blue flames. Shippo'd honed his skill with the kitsunebi over the years, Inuyasha could tell immediately. The erratic flickers had given way to controlled blasts and streams that shot from the boy's palms with ease. Still, Shippo had a long way to go; he was too focused on attack and not on defense. Inuyasha intercepted a hound moments before it pounced on Shippo's back.

As he watched the demons dissipate into thin air after each slash, Inuyasha couldn't help but wonder if these shadow dogs were just that: shadows. He hadn't actually felt their claws or fangs, evading them too quickly. Inuyasha rose to his feet then, facing one of the shadows head on. He braced himself to feel nothing.

Before he could regret his decision, he was thrown back, twisting landing face first in the snow. Koga appeared above him as he turned over, slashing through his attacker. "Moron! What the hell are you doing?"

Inuyasha snarled up at him, shoving the wolf prince out of the way as the dogs kept coming. Finally, he'd had enough. Rising up, Inuyasha drew the tessaiga, and with a roar, summoned the wind scar. The mass of hounds were cut down, and their howls echoed as they vanished. It was only after they were destroyed that Inuyasha realized they were turning into snow. He reached a hand out to catch the flakes as they drifted downward, melting on his skin.

"Alright, what the fuck were those?" Koga growled. He turned on Sesshomaru, fully expecting answers.

All he got was a cold shoulder. Sesshomaru walked onward as if Koga hadn't spoken at all, without another look or acknowledgment and while Koga continued to shout after him, Sesshomaru continued to ignore him. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and sheathed his sword, pausing only to make sure Shippo was nearby and on his feet. The two of them followed silently. Inuyasha hadn't expected any explanations from Sesshomaru, anyway. Not that he believed it was solely because of the secrecy of the trial, Sesshomaru was just a dick. Koga begrudgingly followed a few paces behind the rest of the group, once it was clear that he would get no response Frost crept up the goraishi claws on his hand, but he kept it clasped onto his wrist. His instincts could not be fooled. They were headed into dangerous territory.

The white tundra spread on as far as the eye could see. No mountain, no hill, not even a single bush tainted the pure landscape. Their footprints were solitary, carving out a singular track. Every once in a while, Sesshomaru would hault and lift his head to the sky, indistinguishable from the barren plain, and just stare. Inuyasha would stop to watch him, trying to hone in on whatever sense he was using to guide them, but before he could grasp it, Sesshomaru would abruptly snap out of it and continue on in a different direction. The wind whipped the snow into their faces from every angle. The dull gleam behind the solid clouds was piercing. Inuyasha wasn't sure if the sun existed in this place.

Shippo, having gotten bored of all the walking, transformed into his fox form and began leaping into the snow ahead of everyone else. Watching him out of the corner of his eye, Inuyasha fell into step beside Sesshomaru. "So," he began, "what exactly were those dogs back there?" Sesshomaru offered no reply. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm not trying to make small talk, I just—"

"Those hounds were failures," Sesshomaru cut him off. "Noblemen and royalty of the inu yokai, our ancestors, who failed their trials. Rather than return and disgrace our kind, they are banished here. If you fail your trial, you will share the same pitiful fate."

Inuyasha peered up at his brother under a heavy brow. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Again, Sesshomaru did not respond. "Obviously you didn't fail it. It can't be that hard if you passed," Inuyasha scoffed. "When did you take the trial, anyway?"

"Over a century ago," Sesshomaru answered. "The trial is meant to grant the victor their true form, Inuyasha. You, however, are half mortal and do not possess the ability to transform."

"So, you're saying you have no idea how this is gonna turn out. Great. Sounds exciting," Inuyasha grunted. "Your mother said I'd be pitted against my greatest enemy. Who was yours?"

"That is none of your concern."

"Then what power did you earn when you beat it?"

"None of your concern," Sesshomaru repeated. Although his stone demeanor was unchanged, the irritation was clear in his voice. Whether he realized it or not, he clasped the tensaiga hanging from his sash. Inuyasha didn't miss it.

"Fine. One last thing," Inuyasha pushed on with a smirk. "Are you aware that you just had a full, civilized conversation with me without keeling over on the spot?"

Sesshomaru's eyes snapped down at Inuyasha in a venomous glare. For a moment, Inuyasha thought he might actually kill him, but his smirk never dropped. After what seemed like a moment of tremendous self restraint, Sesshomaru stalked ahead. Inuyasha watched him, hanging back a few paces to put some distance between them. He couldn't get his mind off of the fact that Sesshomaru had acknowledged, in so few words, that they were his ancestors too. It was just a slip of the tongue most likely, but then again Sesshomaru had always been one to chose his words (or lack thereof) carefully. There was no use losing his mind over it, though. Inuyasha pushed the thought to the back of his mind, and watched as Koga fell victim to his own boredom. The wolf demon crept up on the little tuft of red fur prancing around in the snow. Shippo was crouched, preparing to leap, when Koga let out a loud shout. It startled Shippo so badly that he burst back into his true form. Koga walked on, his obnoxious laughter unaffected by the kitsune's glare.

"Learn to watch your back, Shippo," Inuyasha commented. "You have to constantly be on your guard and watching your peripherals. Not all opponents will attack you head on. The cowards are the ones fighting dirty, and sometimes they're the most dangerous."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it!" Shippo rolled his eyes. "So I forgot to watch my back one time, big deal."

Inuyasha glared down at the boy. "One time is all it takes."

Shippo kicked his foot through the snow, shoving his hands under his vest for warmth. "But did you see me take out those other hounds back there? I had them! None of them could get through my fox fire," he boasted.

"I saw," Inuyasha nodded slowly. "I also saw you being a little show off and wasting energy throwing fire around."

"Like you're one to talk!"

"Watch it," Inuyasha growled in warning. "Look, you did good. I'll give you that, but you still need work. Conserve your power, and don't leave your back unguarded."

Shippo rolled his eyes again, mocking Inuyasha under his breath. Finally, Inuyasha decided that he had enough of the little shit's attitude. As Shippo continued to walk on, Sesshomaru and Koga just up ahead of him, he failed to notice Inuyasha falling behind a few paces. But, the moment he noticed, it was too late. An open palmed swipe at the back of his head had him crying out in annoyance more than pain. He turned around, sucking in a shout to scold Inuyasha with, only to find the space behind him empty. Another palm smacked the back of his head. Shippo spun around. "Inuyasha, cut it out!"

"I told you not to leave your back unguarded!" Inuyasha taunted from behind.

Shippo stumbled around in every direction, catching only flashes of red fabric in the corners of his eyes. It moved too fast for him to keep up with, and seconds later, Inuyasha swept out his legs, sending Shippo face first into the snow. Even as he scrambled up again, he couldn't catch sight of the hanyou tormenting him. "No fair!" Shippo cried. "How am I supposed to guard my back? We're on an open plain! There's nowhere for me to stand against!"

"I never said corner yourself! Stand your ground, anticipate what your opponent is going to do. Otherwise," Inuyasha tugged on the kitsune's hair ribbon then leapt away, "you're dead meat!"

Shippo stilled, fists clenched. Stand his ground, he could do that. He tried to sense where Inuyasha was, to anticipate what he was going to do. The moment he heard a movement behind him, Shippo whipped around, fox fire blazing from his palms. The flames collided with the snout of a shadow hound, its open jaw only an arm's length from his face. Shippo yelped, his fire bursting out to push the creature away.

"Shit!" Inuyasha cursed at his side and lept forward. In a flash of gold, the tessaiga transformed in his hands and cut down the first wave of another hoard. The battle began anew. Inuyasha glided between opponents, the sword an extension of his body as he slashed his way through the hounds. Shippo found himself stunned for a moment, but forced himself to push on, turning Inuyasha's advice into a mantra. He couldn't let his guard down. Hell, he'd keep it up just out of spite, at this point. With screeching howls, the dogs were cut down. Inuyasha sheathed his sword once the last beast became snow. He walked back toward Shippo, and the boy glared up at him. He couldn't help it; Inuyasha burst into laughter, clapping Shippo on the shoulder. "Well, at least you were ready," he snickered.

Shippo shot a blast of fire at Inuyasha's foot, sending the hanyou stumbling backwards. Apparently, he didn't find it funny.

Sesshomaru cleared his throat, smothering the green energy sparking around the bakusaiga as he sheathed it. "If you could take this seriously," he said.

Now it was Inuyasha's turn to roll his eyes.

"This isn't the most welcoming place, huh?" Koga commented, flexing his armor clad hand. He swept his gaze around the area to make sure they wouldn't be attacked before falling into step with Inuyasha. "Kind of familiar, to be honest."

"What are you going on about?" Inuyasha asked.

Koga shrugged. "When I obtained the goraishi, I had to undergo a test like this. I had to travel to the grave of my ancestors and battle a guardian to be deemed worthy enough to use it. I'm guessing you'll have to do something similar to get whatever it is you're here for."

"Do not compare that simple trick to the inu yokai's trial." Sesshomaru's voice cut through the howling wind. He did not turn to face them as he spoke, his shoulders squared on his invisible path. "This is more than a trap to stop foolish thieves. This trial is a rite of passage, and is sacred to our kind. You would do well to remember that, wolf."

"Just saying," Koga huffed, eyes tracing the intricate patterns etched into his golden claws. "It's a little similar. The unfriendly guards, the goal at the end. What is this place anyway, the inu yokai's burial ground?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, I've been there, it looked nothing like this. We're—uh, they're buried in the borderland between the worlds of the living and the dead."

"Fools," Sesshomaru scoffed. "This is not a burial ground, nor is it the world between the living and the dead. This is the Spirit Realm."

Koga's eyes widened at the clarification, but very quickly, a cocky grin pulled at this mouth. "Well, I guess that's convenient."

Inuyasha frowned. "What do you mean?"

"If you fail your trial and get your ass killed, at least you don't have very far to go."

"You wanna say that again?!" Inuyasha bellowed. He sliced his claws at Koga only for the wolf demon to flip out of the way.

Shippo heaved a sigh, his breath rolling off of his lips in the thick fog. "Sesshomaru," he addressed the man timidly. "Are we there yet? The snow's getting thicker, and I can hardly see three feet in front of me."

Sesshomaru abruptly stopped. Shippo opened his mouth to ask why, but one sharp look silenced him. Ahead, he watched Inuyasha and Koga spar. They hurled insults at one another as they evaded their attacks. Their images flickered in the blinding snow, building up until they'd all but disappeared from sight. Shippo groaned, muttering under his breath about how Inuyasha couldn't go five minutes without picking a fight with someone. If he kept this up, it was going to be a long journey. Shippo had been moments away from calling out to them that they should both grow up, but the wind picked up in a squall. Shippo braced himself, lifting an arm to shield himself from the blizzard. But just as soon as the wind came, it stopped. Each snow flake hung in mid air, drifting tranquilly down in the aftermath.

Koga stood alone.

Inuyasha had disappeared.

Shippo sprinted forward. "Inuyasha? Inuyasha! This isn't funny! Where'd you go? Inuyasha!" he called out, turning in all directions.

"We cannot reach him any longer," Sesshomaru interrupted. "His trial has begun."

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Inuyasha rolled to the ground, landing on his haunches, prepared to block a hit from Koga. Nothing came. A solid wall of snow blew him down. Raising his sleeve against the wind, Inuyasha jumped to his feet and found himself entirely alone. A lump of fear rose in his throat. Before he could call out to any of them, Lady Shimonami's voice echoed in his mind. "... When the trial begins, they will not be able to help you." It looked like he was on his own now. Inuyasha straightened up, shaking the snow from his hair as he turned to the open landscape.

A crimson blur growled in his ear, and before he could move, it sliced a deep cut through his arm. Inuyasha yelped and fell to his knees, clutching the wound without a chance to recover before the same creature landed a punch to his jaw. He skidded back through the snow. Enough. As the blur descended on him again, Inuyasha lashed out, using his feet to push his opponent backwards, and rolled up. His attacker was nowhere to be seen. Inuyasha dared not breathe too loudly and give his own location away. He strained his ears to hear any movement in the lethal silence.

A guttural snarl – Inuyasha couldn't even pick up the direction it came from before claws were tearing across his back. His eyes blew wide as he braced himself not to collapse. With a roar of frustration, Inuyasha unsheathed the tessaiga and spun to his feet. The fang collided with a body, but did not cut through. Inuyasha flipped backward to put distance between them, landing in a crouch.

His attacker mirrored his movements with predatory mimicry. Inuyasha slowly rose, watching the silhouette do the same. Out of the cloud of snow they'd kicked up, his own image snarled back at him. Inuyasha stiffened. Violet markings stretched like lightning down the creature's cheeks, the whites of his eyes red, and fangs elongated. A sinister grin bloomed on his face like a bloodstain. Inuyasha'd never seen himself like this, had no idea of the way his face distorted. This was the monster that sang in his veins like a hornet's nest. This was what Kagome saw when he lost control. Inuyasha understood immediately what he had to do. "The trial will pit you against your greatest enemy. If you survive it, you will earn the power to overcome them" So be it, then.

Inuyasha raised the tessaiga toward his opponent, glaring at him down the edge of the fang. The gleeful smile he received in return made him nauseous; Demon Inuyasha looked excited. "Only one of us is leaving here," said Inuyasha.

The Demon Inuyasha cocked his head to the side, his frozen irises slicing through Inuyasha. A growl crescendoed from his chest. Inuyasha hardly saw him move a muscle before he was surging forward with claws outstretched. Inuyasha lunged sideways, bringing the sword up to block a swipe. He pushed back with a wide swing, but his demon self disappeared before he could even land the strike. Too fast. Too fast, and too unpredictable. Inuyasha turned, barely blocking an attempt the demon made to cut his neck. Blood from his arm and back crystallized onto the snow, leaving a trail wherever he went. Demon Inuyasha appeared to his left, and lowered himself onto all fours. Keeping his red eyes onto Inuyasha, he dragged his tongue over the frozen blood. A shiver cut straight through Inuyasha's gut. With a mad grin, the demon lept forward, his appearance flickering into a shadow hound and back again.

Inuyasha lashed out, frustration mounting. He couldn't keep up, and his attack and defense was suffering from it. It was a flash of red, or black—a growl and a howl—and he'd feel claws tearing into his flesh. Roaring in anger, Inuyasha struck out with the wind scar, tearing through the snow. For a moment, he let himself believe he'd landed a hit, but then the demon's fist collided with the side of his head.

"Still relying on Father to fight your battles for you?" his own voice cooed in his ears; the sound like bloody nails peeling off from his fingertips one by one.

Inuyasha sucked in a harsh breath at hearing his own voice. He hadn't even thought the demon could speak. He recovered, swinging up in a diagonal arc. "Shut up!" he screamed.

The demon rolled out of the way, taunting Inuyasha by evading every move with a wild smile. "You still need Father to save you," he sneered. "Without his fang, you are nothing."

"No!" Inuyasha growled as he lunged forward. In his fury, he managed to slice at his demon form's arm, repaying him for his own wound. Colliding in mid air, the two pushed away and landed in identical crouches. "The tessaiga is my weapon, re-forged with my own fang." Inuyasha summoned the wind scar, and with the blinding golden light reflecting off the snow, the demon disappeared. His own advice to Shippo rang through his mind, and Inuyasha spun around the moment his demon form attempted a swipe at his back. The blade cut into his gut. "I trained!" Inuyasha swung, but the demon jumped up, feet landing on the blunt side of the fang. He used it as a platform and landed a kick to Inuyasha's chest. Inuyasha caught him with his own foot as he was landing. "I worked! I risked my life to make my sword as powerful as it is!" he seethed. "Father may have created the tessaiga, but it's my legacy now!"

The Demon Inuyasha slowly rose to his feet, dragging himself up. His head snapped up, and once again, his image flickered into that of a black, featureless hound. Before Inuyasha could blink, he was on his back, claws digging into his skin as the demon gripped his neck. The sword fell from his hands as he pried at the hands choking him. "But it's not enough!" the demon grinned. "Don't you see?! It doesn't matter! You can spend your life making your sword strong, but it won't matter. You will never," he punched him with a force that made the earth quake, "be," again, "strong," again, "enough!"

Inuyasha's vision began to blacken, but the demon would not let him faint. Pulling him up by the folds of his robe, he denied him the bliss of unconsciousness.

"Oh no, no, no, not enough for me." Dropping him, the Demon Inuyasha rose up. "I am your weakness!" He stomped down on Inuysha's head. Blood tricked from the corner his victim's mouth. "No matter how powerful you become, you will never be able to control me." The Demon cocked his head to the side, his manic grin glaring down at Inuyasha through crimson eyes. "I will always be there, scratching at the back of your mind. Father dearest's sword can't help you. I will always be there, and as long as I am," he pressed his foot down hard against Inuyasha's chest, exhilarated by the sound of ribs cracking, "you can never win."

With that, he pulled his arm back, claws tensed as he struck down toward his heart. He was only an inch away when he stopped short. His prey was smiling, laughing. "What?" the demon snarled. "What are you smiling about?!"

"Shouldn't leave your back unguarded," Inuyasha smirked through a rough cough.

The Demon Inuyasha's eyes widened. The tessaiga, which had been abandoned in the snow, flew toward the sheath in Inuyasha's hand. Inuyasha grabbed the hilt, and instantly the blade was covered in green dragon scales. Summoning what strength he could, Inuyasha threw the sword into the air, piercing it into a vortex of energy visible only to his eyes. The demon cried out, thrown back in a burst of light. Inuyasha caught the sword as it fell, somersaulting up to his feet. However unsteady he was, he recovered.

Another squall blew over the plain, the torrential winds haphazardly blowing around the snow. Inuyasha winced, eyes squeezing shut.

When he opened them again, the world was red. Not a trace of snow remained. The plain was replaced with a barren desert of dry, cracked earth. Inuyasha's breath caught in his throat as he looked around frantically. Above him, dark clouds churned against a bloody sky. A black moon eclipsed the sun and set itself on fire. The change in atmosphere offset him, but Inuyasha couldn't comprehend anything; his mind was exhausted. He hadn't the presence of mind nor the time to try to understand what was happening. Behind him, he heard Miroku and Sango's voices shouting some distorted words he couldn't translate. When he turned around, he saw that they were only images, figures with no faces, paralyzed in time as they reached out ahead of themselves.

A string of petrifying fear threaded through Inuyasha's chest. Miroku and Sango were pointing at Kagome, her image clear as water at the edge of a cliff. Her gaze penetrated directly into his. She began to fall backwards in slow motion. And then, it didn't matter that Inuyasha didn't know what was happening. It didn't matter that he was in the middle of a trial, or that this could not possibly be real. She was in danger. "Kagome!" Inuyasha cried as he sprinted forward, hands outstretched as he struggled to catch her. But like a nightmare, no matter how fast he ran, Kagome was out of reach. Inuyasha launched himself off the edge of the cliff, following after her without a second thought. He never even graze her hand before his vision erupted into white, and he landed face first in the snow. Inuyasha sprung up, seeking Kagome out, but it was as if she was never there; maybe she hadn't been.

Shaking his head, Inuyasha decided that he'd rather not stay in this place any longer. Tightening his grip on the tessaiga, he swept his gaze across the white plain until he found a red stain hunched over. Inuyasha approached it with confidence, shoulders squared and back straight despite his bleeding body. As he stopped behind his opponent, he raised the blade to the back of his neck. "I win."

The figure sank down with a shuddering sigh before sitting back up. Black hair cascaded down from his head. Inuyasha stumbled back as his human form turned to face him, the pure hatred in his brown eyes devastating. This human was a pathetic sight, sharing every wound dealt to his demon form and shivering in the cold. Still, there was nothing that could quench the abhorrence in his glare. "Not what you expected?" he hissed.

Inuyasha swallowed hard. "You..."

The human tilted his head up, exposing the vulnerable flesh of his neck. "What's the matter? Just do it, there's no difference." Inuyasha's hand fell to his side. It only made the human angrier. "Look! The abomination pretends to have morals!" He spat blood at his feet. "Who are you kidding? You're no different than him!" Human Inuyasha threw his arm out, pointing at the demon as he appeared behind them. "You are just as blood thirsty, just as dangerous. You're selfish for ever believing you could change."

"You're weak," the demon leered. "Running on borrowed power and dumb luck. It's not enough, it will never be enough."

"Do it!" the human shouted, grabbing the fang. The blade's edge dug into one palm as he held it up to his neck, drawing a trickle of blood from his skin. "Just give in already! You're already a monster, you always have been! It's either him or me, and we both know what you're going to pick, so just get it over with!"

Inuyasha couldn't take it. "Stop it!" he yelled, throwing the tessaiga away. It landed vertically in the snow, reverting back to a rusty katana that tipped over easily in the wind. Inuyasha's breath came heavy in his chest, but he stood his ground, scowling at his demon and human forms. "I... am so... sick and tired of everyone telling me to pick sides," he seethed. "I'm done. I'm not doing this anymore."

"Reject us both then," the human scoffed. "You'll be an outcast for the rest of your life."

"No," Inuyasha growled, and both forms of himself paused. "I'm not rejecting any part of myself anymore. That's what got me into this whole fucking mess in the first place!" He had no idea what sort of bullshit he was spewing, but he meant every word of it. Inuyasha would finish the trial, but he would do it on his own terms.

The idea sounded good in his head, but before he could think his way out of the hole he'd dug for himself, the demon surged toward him with a savage roar. Inuyasha grappled with him, the two of them tumbling into the snow. He struggled with the beast, fighting to keep his claws from his throat, until he felt something fall out of his robe. The idea was faint, but it was there. Whether or not it would work was a matter of fate. Managing to throw the demon off, Inuyasha swept the Godstone out of the snow and held it outwards, willing it to work.

The effect was immediate. Inuyasha watched as the crystal sucked the demon's glowing energy vortex. It burned in his hand, but he persisted, and with a thunderous screech, the demon's image faded into the falling snow. When he turned, his human form had disappeared just the same. He was alone. Inuyasha dropped to his knees, battle fatigue pulling him to the ground. He fought to catch his breath, and although his bones ached, his wounds stung, and his throat was raw from screaming, he felt a weight he'd known all his life lifted off of his shoulders. Rising to his feet once again, Inuyasha waited for some finality. Nothing happened. He'd expected a grand ceremony, to receive the ancient power he'd earned, but the silence dragged on. Not even his companions appeared to guide him back to the inu yokai castle.

Inuyasha sheathed his sword and began to walk. Perhaps he'd have to find his own way back, but that was fine. He'd make it back, and he'd discover how to defeat Masao with this victory, and then he'd return to Kagome. Inuyasha trekked through the blizzard, the thick snowfall and wind covering his tracks only three paces behind each step. The longer he went on, the stronger his disappointment and frustration grew. He walked until he could see mountain peaks rising up in the distance. "What more do you want from me?!" he exclaimed, raising his arms and turning his fury toward the sky. It was as if he could argue with the Spirit World itself, or whomever designed this damned place. "I defeated my greatest enemy! I did what I was supposed to do! No one ever said I had to kill him!" Only his own voice echoed back in reply. Inuyasha dropped his arms back down and his shoulders slumped forward.

Had he failed? Would he wander this endless world until he went insane or became one of the shadow hounds trapped here for eternity? Inuyasha clenched his teeth at the thought. He'd have given anything to lash out—to vent his anger—but there was nothing there aside from himself. No trees to cut down, and no boulders to smash. "Fuck the trial," he seethed. "I stand by my decision. You hear that, you bastards?! Fuck your trial! I'm done being my own worst enemy! I'm done hating myself!"

The earth shuddered. Inuyasha stumbled to stay on his feet, turning frantically about himself in anticipation. There was nothing there, nothing changing, only the blizzard and the mountains—the mountains that began to shift and rise. The breath rushed out of Inuyasha's lungs as he watched, through the blinding veil, the silhouettes he mistook for mountains get up and walk toward him. His hands shook, and as the mountains moved, their peaks sharpened and defined into the figure of a behemoth white dog. He'd never in his life seen anything so unfathomably enormous and imposing. Yet, the dog was regal in its movements, even as each paw landing on the ground created violent tremours. Golden eyes the size and intensity of two suns peered down at him.

The only thing that could tear Inuyasha's gaze away was the brilliant red light glowing from the crystal in his hand. Inuyasha looked down at his palm, squinting through the glare as he watched it grow brighter, until he caught more movement out of the corner of his eyes. Behind him another white dog, the size of an oak tree, stepped forward. It had the same golden irises as the last. Inuyasha turned around to face the colossal dog. He tensed, waiting for something to happen, anything other than being stared at. The dog's gaze was unbearable, and Inuyasha felt himself entirely consumed by it.

The dog lifted its head and howled, the sound rolling through the clouds, rivalling thunder. Inuyasha felt something within him stir, something that begged him to act, but before he could wonder what it was he needed to do, the smaller dog behind him howled in reply. The blizzard grew thicker, and the dog towering above him disappeared. A whirlwind of snow spun in a vortex not far ahead of him, swirling faster, until in one pulse, every single snowflake hung suspended in mid air. The wind ceased. Out of the white spiral, a tall man with silver hair tied back and the markings of an inu yokai appeared, dressed in royal armour. Inuyasha would have mistaken him for Sesshomaru had he not been smiling. The man swept his arms out wide, his smile nearly taking up his entire face.

"My boy," he grinned, pulling Inuyasha into a strong embrace. He laughed, and his voice was so deep and jovial that it seemed to ring through his bones. "You've done it!"

Inuyasha froze, hardly able to breathe with the man's arms around him. He couldn't even get a word out until he was being held at arm's length. It'd been difficult to process, but the hanyou wasn't dense. He'd been able to put the clues together on his own. Still, it was surreal. "Father...?"

Lord Toga laughed again and shook his head, lifting one large hand to hold the side of his son's face and laying the other onto his shoulder. "My boy," he repeated. "Look how you've grown—the man you've become—I have never been more proud of you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha tried to think of something to say, but ended up just staring wide-eyed up at his father, mouth agape.

Lord Toga chuckled and patted his shoulder. "Come now, after all this time, this is how you greet your own father?"

"I... I don't know what to say," Inuyasha admitted.

"I understand," he replied with a more subdued smile. Looking down at the sword hanging at his son's side, Lord Toga gestured to it. "May I?"

Inuyasha was hardly going to refuse. With nothing more than a nod, he unsheathed the tessaiga and passed it to its original creator.

The great General took the sword and held it up in the glinting light, turning it over in his hands. "Hello, old friend." He ran his palm along the surface, before handing it back. "I can hardly recognize it. You've done well, Son."

"Thank you, Father," Inuyasha murmured as Lord Toga passed it back to him. His tone was earnest, a little shaken by the honour that simple compliment brought him. He held the blade in his hands for a moment as well, then slid it back into its home.

"I know you have questions for me," Toga began.

"Understatement."

"I know, I know," he laughed. "Unfortunately, we do not have time for them all, so let me explain what I can in what time we have. Inuyasha, you were born out of love, never doubt that. However, you were born on the cusp of two worlds with no love for each other, and so you were taught to hate humans and to distrust demons. Words cannot express the sorrow I feel for having to leave you to fend for yourself. It hardened you, and while you came to accept yourself as a half demon, you could not go on ignoring your heritage. That is why you so desperately needed this trial, and now more than ever, to learn balance. If you hadn't had the Godstone with you, you might have figured out another way to summon this form of your spirit," he gestured to the dog apparition still standing behind him, "and you might not have. Hard to say. But you discovered it in your own way. I find it fitting! You've used your greatest weakness and turned it into your greatest strength. That, son, is balance. Remember the two worlds you belong to, and hold onto what you love. Only then will no one be able to take them from you."

"Balance," Inuyasha repeated.

"Inuyasha, you are the very embodiment of balance! You possess both darkness and light, but just as your light does not mean purity, your darkness does not mean evil." Lord Toga turned to look over his shoulder, his expression pensive. He looked back at his son. "I am afraid we are out of time."

"But—"

Toga raised his hand to silence him. "It's unfair, I know, but we'll have all the time in the world to talk in the next life." He grinned, "And I expect that'll not be for a long while. I want to see you become a wise, bitter old man before you see me again, understand?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me what to do."

Lord Toga burst into thunderous laughter. "Well, can't say I didn't try." Pulling his son into one last embrace, this time returned, Toga patted his back and found the courage to step away. "I am proud of you, Inuyasha. You've become a strong man, as well as a good one." With that he turned, and the snow began to fall again as he walked away. His figure was nearly masked in white when he stopped and glanced back. "And Inuyasha! If I may help you one last time, remember this: You will know what to do when you hear the howling!"

Inuyasha frowned. "What do you mean?!"

No reply came. The armoured figure turned and walked on. Inuyasha wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he could have sworn he saw a woman's silhouette, dressed in elegant robes, reach out to take his hand.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.