Inuyasha gazed at Kami no ko as he practiced the katas with Kusanagi. The boy was graceful. He looked like a young god. The blue aura he radiated gave him an eerie glow.. He had inherited his mother's black hair and blue eyes. His smile was still that of a child who known love and never known hardship. The dimple on his chin made him look like a cherub.
Inuyasha had not learned the katas growing up. Sesshoumaru had never permitted him to enter the Western Shiro as a child. He had only learned them by watching Sesshoumaru practice had a grace in motion that he lacked. He had never thought them useful, but only practiced them because them because of the emphasis that Sesshoumaru gave to understanding his sword.
He had only shown them to Kami no ko once. Yet the boy looked as if he had been doing them since birth. His grace surpassed Sesshoumaru. Of course, Sesshoumaru was only a taiyoukai and did not have the beauty and grace of the kami. If the boy could master the sword, perhaps the did have a chance against the dragon.
He began to slowly prepare the boy. They would spar daily. He would only proceed when the boy was ready. As much as he feared for Kikyou, the boy was their only hope of beating the he could be made into the weapon that would destroy the beast, they could not go on.
His mother had told him the story of the dragon. He thought it was disgraceful that Soosanoo had used sake to make the dragon in order to defeat him. It was the kind of tactic that Myouga had urged on him when he had fought Ryuokotsei. It was certainly reminded of him of all the dirty tricks that the old man had pulled on him over the years. The sword he had recognized as the one which Soosanoo had found inside the dragon. He had been told that Amaterasu had given it to the Emperor. It was one of the three sacred objects which supported the Emperor's divinity. He was glad that the old man had given it to them. His question was how he had obtained the sword from the Emperor. He hoped that having the sword would not cause the sun goddess to hate him. Kikyou was suffering from her anger. He did not need any further trouble.
At last the boy was as ready as he was ever going to be The plan was for Inuyasha to distract the beast. He would dart among the eight heads and eight tails stinging and burning. The dragon must think that he represented the major threat. It was possible that the worm recognized the sword since he had eaten its previous owner. If he did remember Inuyasha would have to use major attacks to keep him away from the boy. He would use the flames from the asura to cauterize the heads as the boy chopped them off. He would open with the backlash wave while the boy radiated his .
Nothing seemed to go as planned. The dragon actually surprised them which was amazing considering its size. Inuyasha was unable to summon the wind scar so the backlash wave wasout of the question. The boy was almost catatonic with fear. Inuyasha had to whisk the boy out of the way as multiple heads snapped at them both. The only good thing was that the more fear that the boy felt the more his aura radiated that blinding blue. Inuyasha had to be careful not to look directly at him or he would have been blinded also.
The dragon followed him. Finally, they reached the valley where the humans were being baked inthe ovens. Inuyasha had an idea. He would fly into one oven and out the dragon would enter one Inuyasha would come out the other end and raise around to hit the dragon with adamant barrage from the other end.
His sword began to change on its own. It was becoming covered with dragon scales. The sword must want him to absorb the youki of the dragon. He had assumed that the dragon was a spirit and only attackable on the spirit level. Maybe he was wrong. Gradually, he changed tactics. He would chop off the tails as the dragon would enter the ovens. The sword began to absorb more and more of the power.
His confidence soared. Perhaps he could defeat the dragon without risking the boys life. The dragon was finally catching on to his tricks. It began to refuse to enter the ovens. When he exite them, the dragon was waiting for him. He found felt the fangs biting his legs., the claws scratching his stomach, the breath searing his body. If not for the fire rat robe he would already be dead. He had to retreat.
He flew back to where the boy was and grabbed him. The boy was still in a state of shock . They would have to find a new approach. Their present plan of action had not worked. At least the dragon was not following them. It seemed to be stuck within a certain perimeter. This must be due to its guardian role. It could not stray further without allowing access to Kikyou. At least he knew the general area in which Kikyou was being kept. She must be within one of the ovens. He had gone through many of them yet had not seen her.
The boy's confidence was shot. Somehow he must be made to believe that what happened was not his fault. He needed to believe that he could kill the dragon. Until he overcame that fear the boy would not believe in himself. To distract the boy he again had him practice the katas. Although they were worthless against the dragon, they would calm the boy and help him forget his fear.
Eventually, the boy tired and finally slept. Inuyasha put his fire rat robe around the boy and comforted him. He knew how the boy having lost his own mother at a very young age. It had not been easy. Running from mobs. Chased by youkai. Never being able to sleep without fear.
He would never allow the boy to grow up in this manner. Kikyou would be returned to her shrine. They would have to see where it went from there. He wished that Kikyou had told him.
The boy was his also. He should have been allowed to share the boys life while he grew up instead of being presented with this boy who was almost a man. Somehow he would have defended him against the kami.
Instead he had wasted all of those years as guard dog for his brother. In the end he had given in to temptation with Kagome. He deserved all of their hatred . His behavior had been dishonorable.
He was glad that Tokuagawa and the old man had been there to save him. His welcome at the Western Shiro had been worn out., especially with Kagome. It was not a place where he expected to return anytime soon if he ever got out of Naraka.
His resolve stiffened. Somehow, he would take down the dragon. Kikyou would be saved. The boy and his mother would be reunited. His fate was irrelevant. His focus was on the dragon. He was going down.
He took the boy to the entrance of one of the ovens and waited. The boy would be the bait to bring out the beast from its hiding place. Sure enough soon the beast appeared. The snarly eight headed dragon snarled and whipped its eight tails at the boy.
Inuyasha intercepted it. The kenastu of his sword flared against the mighty beast. He kicked the boy out of the way of one of heads. He was more able to absorb the fangs of the beast than his son. The boy sat somewhat stunned on the ground as his father punished the beast first with fire from the asura, then the pure kenatsu of the sword stroke. followed attempts to strike at the youkatsu of the beast.
Finally the boy raised himself as one of the heads aimed straight for him. His aura flashed in the beasts eyes and blinded it moment. The boy struck. The blade penetrated one of the eyes of the beast. The dragon jerked back in pain. The sword was now stuck in its eye. The beast was flailing around trying to remove the sword.
Inuyasha saw the danger to Kami no ko who stood bewildered without his weapon. He grabbed the boy and took him away from the immediate vicinity of the dragon. The dragon tried to follow but Inuyasha intercepted him. He pulled the sword from the dragon's eye despite all of the pain that it caused to him. It was the boy's only weapon. He could not allow the boy to be completely defenseless. At last he was able to outdistance the ponderous beast and return the weapon to Kami no ko.
His fire rat was in tatters and his arm was blackened. Now he understood how Sesshoumaru felt. The weapon was meant only for the kami. The boy would have to fight with it in order for them to win. A plan occurred to him. He quickly explained it to the boy. He would play hide and seek in the ovens with the dragon. Each time the dragon emerged the boy would attack the distracted dragon and chop on it heads off. When it turned to attack the boy, Inuyasha would draw it off again until the beast was finally dead.
As with all plans this one had flaws. It depended on the boy not being eaten. It assumed that he could lure the beast away from the boy. The boy had blooded it. Surely it would remember who had injured it. He had to distract from the boy. He flamed it to no avail. The lightning of the Gorashi sizzled on its hide. At last he was able to cut. It flinched protecting its youkatsu. Several tails dropped off and he seared them with the flames from the asura. The beast was his. Again it chased him through the ovens until finally he reached the one where his son was waiting. He darted through the superhot flames and out the other side. He had gained enough time to maneuver above the oven. He threw the fire rat robe to his son who quickly donned it.
Just as the beast was about to emerge he struck. He put all of his strength into one final swing. All of Tetsusaiga's power was centered on a single spot. The oven collapsed on itself. belching forth flames from all sides. Inuyasha smiled. The dragon was trapped. Several of heads which had emerged from the oven hung limply from mouth of the crumpled oven.
"Now" he yelled to Kami no ko. The boy emerged from the shock of taking a full blast from the ovens and walked over to the dragon and begin to cut his heads off. The process took a little over an hour. Inuyasha watched as the boy removed decapitated the crushed reptile. The blood flowed over the plain like a river.
At least this part was over. The boy would need to rest before the task of rescuing Kikyou. The fire lord had not told them what the next test was. He had merely told them that he would be surprised. That boded ill. It meant something from his past that he thought was dead was about to return to haunt.
What could hate him and Kikyou so much that it could survive in hell and be thought of as a punishment for Kikyou.. Only one thing came to mind. That was impossible. He had disappeared forever with the Jewel. Inuyasha face flushed in horror. The truth stared him square in the face. Only one person could be tormenting Kikyou.
Naraku.