A/N: As an author, I tend to write the way I think, which is erratically. This often reflects in my sometimes abrupt transitions from a direct thought as it sounds in the mind of the character to the simple omniscient point of view describing a thought in great detail. Then sometimes there's emphasis on a thought, or Emphasis In General, and Sometimes, there's even MORE EMPHASIS than THAT!
However, at other times I might use these font variations to represent other distinctions as well, or perhaps I won't feel like using them at all, which is actually much more common with me, since I like to rely on character conveyance more than visual accents. *[In fact, this story was written in Notepad and I only did the bold/italics/underline after uploading the base documents. So what you really see is the extent of my patience with re-editing., chapter by chapter...]*
Later on, though I won't spoil it for you, you'll cleverly deduce one of my aforementioned variations, and you'll do it all on your own too, because I won't tell you at the start of that chapter.
There's also the matter of dividing marks, which I use to sometimes separate .'.'.'. different scenes .'.'.'. or ...'.'.'.'.'... visions ...'.'.'.'.'... into more effective distinctions. Note that sometimes there are still interjections, from outside the vision as a thought of an observer for example, and these marks are meant to help with the ease of reading and discerning where one scene ends and another begins. To use an analogy, they aren't necessarily doors as much as transition strips between carpet and hardwood floor.
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This much longer dividing mark beneath this sentence separates the bullshit here from the Actual Story. [Yes, now I've stated the obvious a sufficient number of times to have condescended to you. You may continue reading.]
.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.
Two days later, Toutousai, Moumou, Myouga, Shippou, and two of Shippou's devout apprentices were at the cave.
Yes, Shippou had a following of sorts. Just as the five foxling brothers from long ago, word of Shippou the Mighty, Fox Warrior and Slayer of Naraku, Master of Trickster Arts...well, that and his rapid ascension through the ranks of the Kitsune Youjuijitsu Academy made him a very popular fellow indeed. So he'd found the nearest two reasonably capable foxlings he knew and brought them along to help stabilize the simpler aspects of the illusion. It was much easier to keep all the details in order if some other fox was keeping up the disguise over the real cave and another was helping divert or lure the travellers to the proper spot for the complex illusion.
Toutousai and Myouga secretly marvelled as Shippou fell to the task swiftly once they arrived.
"Maku, Saitou, from what I've seen you two are decent at keeping up some stable illusions. Maku, you're pretty fast and you do better with your transformations, so I want you to be on patrol point. You'll make sure they don't have a reason to try and push at the illusions or look too close, that they get over here instead. Saitou, you've got great skills with camoflauge and scenery illusions, so I need you to make sure that cave and the whole pathway in front of it looks like something they'd never suspect as an entrance to a cave. Don't worry about doing anything just yet, I wager it's gonna be at least another three days before they get here, and that's at top speed. During that time, I want you two to start taking up scout patrols. This is a little advanced for where you are in the Academy, but you may as well learn now, while you're in the first stages of war-camp. And don't forget to mask your scents and cover your tracks! We're Foxes, not deer!"
"Hai, Sensei Shippou!" they both snapped a pose of attention before splitting off into opposite directions and going round in overlapping circular patrols, one of the simpler maneuvers taught to cadets who were training to move with a war-camp, whether they were going to be soldiers, mages, healers, tacticians, advisors, or recovery teams.
"He handles leadership roles quite well, have you noticed that?" Toutousai remarked from up above on Moumou's back.
"Indeed, he always has," Myouga chuckled, recalling several run-ins with Akitoki Hojou, among others.
"Toutousai, Myouga!" Shippou called once the apprentices were gone, "Let's go in and make sure it's intact."
"Here we go, you had to say it," Toutousai sighed and lowered his gaze at the flea. "Now what do we do?"
Myouga frowned and crossed his arms.
"We really have no choice, do we?"
"I don't suppose we do."
"Then we must."
"Indeed, we must."
Myouga paused, then started to cry.
"I don't wanna think about what's gonna happen if this all goes wrong!"
"Oh, me neither," Toutousai shuddered, but Moumou began to fly into the cave as the fox beckoned. Somehow the old girl knew the cowardly geezers had something important to do here, and she dragged them to their undecided fate.
.'.'.'.
Sesshoumaru paused as the Tenseiga fluttered, then lifted his nose against the breeze and sniffed about.
There is no scent of death or someone dying, nor of Inuyasha and Tetsusaiga. Tenseiga hadn't bespoken an impulse or thought, direction or purpose or sensation of any kind. Over time he'd learned it's subtle moods, it's tugs and it's way of telling him which way to walk when a soul needed saved. He'd stopped resisting it...
But this, this was just a soft pulse, nothing more. So faint, he thought, perhaps I just imagined it.
Somehow, though, he just Knew he didn't.
.'.'.'.
Shippou studied the entrance to the maze before them, then smiled as he pulled out several leaves.
"This will be over soon. I learned something valuable about mazes...never go into the danger yourself, when you can go as yourselves without any risk at all. Multiply!" he flicked out the leaves, and a dozen copies of him began to scatter and navigate the labyrinth with amazing speed, although all but two of them were destroyed by the traps they encountered along the way.
Yet that was honestly the purpose of doing it that way, and Shippou smiled as he led them through the correct path, skirting around one of the traps that wasn't disarmed, and again they were impressed by his clever use of talents. Finally in the chamber where the Crystal of Souls was concealed, they observed that it was inside a sealed box on a dusty pedestal at the far end of the room, which was further protected by a barrier around the whole thing.
Shippou furrowed his brow, then glanced at the two old youkai.
"You were afraid that something would happen to it after all of that? It would take a normal person or youkai a long time to get through that maze, if they even survived it, and then after they get through that, there's still a real strong barrier and what looks and seems to be a very powerful sealing spell on it. Why were you so worried?"
"N-no reason, c'mon and let's go then, looks like everything is in order," Toutousai stammered and tried to get his cow Moumou to turn around, but she mooed loudly and refused to leave the cave.
Had it not been for that very strange behavior from the otherwise docile and Seemingly Dumb simple animal youkai, Shippou might have thought nothing else of it. He'd have shook it off as perhaps bad memories of a long-ago event, something silly like that. But as Moumou stayed in place, Toutousai and Myouga nearly shot through the roof, then panicked and leaped off her back to bolt back into the maze.
"Hey, wait, come back!" Shippou called, but they were gone so fast they left billowing clouds of dust trails.
Moumou mooed again rather insistently, and Shippou realized she was trying to draw his attention.
Then, the cow did something the fox had only seen once before. From her three eyes a light projected onto the wall just above and slightly behind the artifact, and the cow played a scene from times long past...
...'.'.'.'.'...
It depicted Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's Father, whom Toutousai and even on occasion Myouga had referred to as Touga-although Shippou had always thought of him as InuTaishou, but that was actually just a title. In this scenario, he was speaking to Toutousai about what he wanted.
"Wow, Toutousai looked young back then...and so did InuTaishou. I mean, Lord Touga," Shippou corrected himself. He studied the dog's softer features, slighter build, and much less heavily-armored attire, at least compared to the one time he'd seen the spirit form after the fight with Sou'unga. He looked about Sesshoumaru's age, although to be honest that could be any age at all for a taiyoukai such as he.
However, seeing Toutousai look about the equivalent of a forty-something year old man instead of the old geezer he was now gave Shippou an indication of just How Long Ago this was.
"So you see, Toutousai, you're the only smith worthy of crafting this blade," Touga flashed a charismatic grin.
Oh, geez. Shippou heard a familiar tone and realized he was about to see a side of Touga he'd never imagined.
"Tetsusaiga, you say? And you want it to be able to take on Shishinki, to literally Absorb the Meidou? But...why?"
"Because Shishinki has been undefeated for too long," Touga shrugged, yet his all-too-innocent answer was hiding a secret that he wasn't ready to disclose yet, something Shippou was fascinated to watch. Was this the moment when the planning began, the creation of Tetsusaiga...not to protect a human, but to destroy Shishinki?
Wait a minute, if that was the case...
"Is this because of that human?" Shippou heard Toutousai's voice as Moumou's image fixated on Touga's face. Shippou presumed this was due to the way that the visions appeared to Moumou, what she focused on, which eye she used maybe.
"Shishinki had no right to do that," Touga said quietly, "whether the child was a human or not. Though he may never know it, the day he did those unspeakable things was the day he died. I will avenge her."
"If I were you," Toutousai said with a shrug, "I'd take a few weeks to cool off and just find another pet. It's not worth fighting somebody like Shishinki."
"Pet?!" Touga snarled, leaping to his feet, "PET?! Listen, old man, you might not know me very well, but here's one thing you need to understand right now. Humans aren't slaves, servants, cattle, prey, or PETS. They think and they feel and they Love. They express emotions that most youkai are too Afraid to show! You feel all those so-called Weak Human Emotions just as I do, just as all natural-born youkai. Yet you and everyone else would rather pretend that it would be unfitting to show them because it would make us weak. You're all pathetic. Love is no weakness. It is vast and immeasurable, and powerful beyond compare. And I will avenge her, not out of hate for Shishinki, but out of love for a human girl who was like a Daughter to me. She was Never my Pet, Toutousai. Don't you forget it!" Touga hissed.
Shippou gasped in wonderment, seeing both brothers reflected as the halves of their father all in that one scene. A conversation that sounded like one of Inuyasha's, with an eerily similar situation to that of Sesshoumaru and Rin.
"Alright, okay," the smith put up his hands appeasingly, "I'm not sure this is really gonna work the way you want it to, but I'll do it. I need that fang," Toutousai said as he pointed with his tongs, "the long one there."
Touga opened his mouth, but as Toutousai yanked to dislodge the tooth, it snapped and broke right near the gumline.
"Was that supposed to happen?" Touga raised an eyebrow, wincing and covering his mouth with his hand.
"Uh...y-yes, yes indeed," Toutousai said nervously, "that's exactly so. I'll have the sword ready in two months."
"Good. It can't be done soon enough."
"And just whaddya suppose yer gonna pay me with, hmm?"
"Don't you even know who I Am?" Touga blinked at the smith.
"Not a habit of mine to keep up with unfamiliar uppity youngsters who go picking fights to get themselves killed."
"I'm Touga, First Lieutenant of the Moon-Dog Clan. You may have heard tales of my Glorious Conquests," he grinned.
"Conquests? And here you were telling me you wanted this sword to protect humans from Shishinki. Tell me, Touga, if you even understand how a living sword made from your own fang will react to your heart's desires...do you?"
Touga raised both eyebrows.
"Huh?"
"This sword you want me to make, from your own fang...it will be linked to you for all your life. And if you want to have the sword crafted to protect humans, then it will gain it's strength, not truly from defeating enemies, but from the conviction in your own heart. If you wish to defeat your foes, I can make you a blade to cut through the mightiest of enemies. But this Tetsusaiga of yours will be a pitiful blade indeed if you desire Conquest more than you yearn to protect the people you care about. You can't really have it both ways. Lust for power corrupts the very thing you need to protect somebody...compassion. I suggest you think over what you're asking of me very carefully before I continue making this blade. We wouldn't want to waste your fang on the wrong kind of weapon, now would we?"
Touga stood there with a thoughtful look on his face, and the image faded out as the cow's projection fuzzed dark.
...'.'.'.'.'...
Shippou was in awe. He'd glimpsed a piece of history that he dared to wager wasn't a well-known fact. And he'd now learned something else important.
Tetsusaiga had been Made to absorb the Meidou...which means it was forged specifically to create Tenseiga. Having heard enough between the time they came upon Shishinki fighting Sesshoumaru and this new information, Shippou put the pieces together easily from there. Touga had Toutousai forge the Tetsusaiga, to steal the Meidou from Shishinki, not only to defeat him, but to use the technique himself, or at least try to. Having captured the essence of the link to the Netherworld, Touga went back and had Toutousai cast a new sword which could be reforged with the Crystal of Souls into a blade specifically designed to resurrect, since apparently Tetsusaiga in it's energy-stealing form wouldn't be able to do it.
So...the Purpose of Tetsusaiga had been hidden in Tenseiga's truest ability after all!
"That must have been why it reformed out of the Meidou, even though it was broken on Tetsusaiga," Shippou gasped as the realization clicked. "It couldn't be destroyed inside the very energy it was created from. Incredible...huh, I wonder if Touga knew that though."
Moumou mooed at the fox and looked over at the pedestal, and Shippou furrowed his brow at her.
"What's wrong, Moumou? You seem awful insistent. I'm not sure if you're upset or just anxious, but whatever it is, I'm definitely sure I don't understand what you want me to do about it," Shippou huffed.
Moumou snorted loudly and turned her head a few times, as if to express slight agitation, then stilled herself and projected more images onto the walls.
...'.'.'.'.'...
Toutousai was sitting at the forge, frowning as he looked over the fang he'd broken off.
"Moumou, you think I should take the other one instead?"
A slightly higher-pitched moo seemed to disagree.
"Hmm, indeed. From a youkai with an aura as strong as his, I won't really need the root of the fang. Besides, it's not a big deal anyways, is it?"
No sooner had he spoken than Touga stomped into the forge, and Shippou saw where Inuyasha had gotten his attitude.
"Hey, Toutousai," Touga growled, and the fox chuckled softly. Yup, definitely Inuyasha's Dad alright!
"Eh, hello. It's been a while, hmm?"
"You didn't tell me it wouldn't grow back if you didn't take the whole thing!" Touga yelled, pointing to the half of a fang still in his mouth.
Toutousai blinked. Then, sharp as a whip, he smiled at the dog.
"Well, think of it this way, Lieutenant. Everyone will know your sword is made of your own fang, and you'll have a way to dare anyone to prove they can knock out your tooth. Because until they do, you'll always have a sign that you can't be touched, and it's a direct link to your sword."
Shippou sweatdropped. THAT was why the old dog's tooth was still only half a fang at the gravesite?!
"Hey, that's actually pretty clever. I like it, swordsmith," Touga patted his back. "So, I've been thinking about a lot of what you said. And it seems to me that you're right. I can't have it both ways."
"Then I'm to make you a weapon to defeat your enemies?"
"No," Touga shook his head, "I want to protect people. I've decided to give up my pursuit of power and to dedicate myself to helping those who are in need of a savior. I'll beat Shishinki alright, and when I do, I'll need you to do something that will make you even more legendary if you pull it off."
"Oh? How so, Lieutenant?" Toutousai chuckled, clearly not believing him, but indulging the dog's whims.
"I'll bring back the Tetsusaiga with the power of the Meidou harnessed inside, and you'll use that to reforge it into another sword, one that can bring her back using the Meidou Path to resurrect the innocent who were slain."
"Ooohhh, indeed! And I suppose you'd know how to make sure you got the right soul, hmm?" Toutousai crossed his arms.
"The...the right soul? But of course! I would...I'd have to...go find them."
"Listen, it's not that simple, or else Shishinki himself would resurrect his loyal servants all the time, don't you think? If it were that easy, he'd have figured it out and started doing it by now. No, there's rules, limits, and certain methods to resurrecting people. You can't just take the Meidou Zangetsuha and expect to be able to use that power in a way you don't even understand. You would need to tailor it to your own abilities. You're not Shishinki."
"So you're telling me...it can't be done?" Touga's face fell a bit.
"Oh, nonsense, I can do it," Toutousai huffed, "just not with only the Meidou Zangetsuha. You'll also need some way to harmonize the energies into a technique you'll be able to use to do what you want without undue effort. However, I'm afraid that if all you want is to bring back a person long-dead, it may be beyond your reach. We can try, but I only promise that I can make something that will draw back the soul Before it has moved on from the mortal plane. And because of that, it will probably only work on the same person once. A soul doesn't tend to linger the second time they die, y'know."
"I have to try," Touga said, raising one clenched fist in emphatic determination. "Make me this sword, Toutousai, and I'll pay you any price."
"Very well, come back in, oh, three months."
"I thought you said two months when I asked you before," Touga blinked.
"I did, but that was then, and this is now, and you've asked for a much more complicated sword than before. I'll have to adjust my techniques greatly."
"Fine, make sure it's done in three months when I come back for it," Touga huffed, turning about to leave.
"Just one more thing, Touga," Toutousai said quietly, and the dog paused.
"What's that?"
"You'll need to find a sacred object after you have the Meidou. Before you've beaten Shishinki, it's pointless to fetch it. As soon as you destroy him, though, you must seek out the Crystal of Souls. I'm telling you now, because though many smiths have heard of this item, none have been able to find it. You've got a lot of clout and resources, perhaps if you start searching now, you'll have some luck by the time you need it. Without that, though...I'm not sure you'd be able to do what you want, or control Meidou Zangetsuha like Shishinki. After all, Shishinki was born to that jyaki as much as you were born with a keen nose."
"You mean, Shishinki was born of death?" Touga frowned, then added, "You seem to know an awful lot about him."
"Shishinki was raised near the place where I learned my trade," Toutousai shrugged. "His father was a being born of the Netherworld itself, and his mother was a mistress of the dark arts who gave her soul to him and bore his child. He was always attuned to that energy, the jyaki that allows him to easily weild the powers he has now. For another who has no blood connection to the Netherworld, and no affiliaton with the dark arts or anything similar, though, it would be very difficult to harness that power."
"I understand, Toutousai. I'll find out everything I can about this Crystal of Souls," Touga nodded as he left.
...'.'.'.'.'...
Moumou blinked away her projection from the past again, and Shippou petted her head absently as he thought over all that he'd learned from her. She was an awful lot smarter than anyone gave her credit for, the fox realized idly.
So Touga had made the Tetsusaiga to take the Meidou to make the Tenseiga to resurrect a human. And the power of the Crystal is what allowed that energy to be harnessed by a youkai who wasn't inherently connected to the Netherworld.
But that still didn't answer what was so important that Moumou wouldn't move from the spot Now.
"Moumou, I'm happy to have learned all that you just showed me, but what does it have to do with what's going on in the here and now? Far as I figure, we were only here to make sure it was safe and keep those humans away from it. I don't really understand why you're not leaving."
Moumou mooed and snorted softly, turning to gaze at the fox for a moment, then she took a few steps closer to the barrier and mooed at it more loudly.
The Crystal seemed to pulse just slightly as she did so, and Shippou gasped.
"Moumou, what are you doing? Are you trying to get it out of here? But why?"
Moumou stomped one foot on the ground, as if highly irritated that her attempt had done so little, then she lifted her head and blinked her three eyes again as yet another projection played across the walls.
...'.'.'.'.'...
This time, Tetsusaiga had already been made, and Toutousai was looking at it with a pensive concentration.
"So you've beaten Shishinki. Have you tried the Meidou Zangetsuha yourself yet?"
"I attacked him with it once, but I didn't try to travel through it, no. I came here straightaway. And I have the Crystal of Souls," Touga said, pulling a large, jagged crystal that was pulsing with energy from his chest pocket.
"Indeed, that is the right one," Toutousai murmured, amazed that this uppity dog had found the fabled crystal so fast. In truth, he'd thought it would never be found.
"Now, Toutousai, make the Tenseiga."
"You realize that the Meidou Zangetsuha will be very different as part of a new sword...and just like Tetsusaiga, it's not going to work very well if you swing it around callously. These blades must resonate with your heart."
"I know that. Why do you constantly question my heart?"
"Tetsusaiga is a blade that cuts. It will always be a blade that cuts. That is the nature of that sword. Tenseiga, though, will be a sword which you mean to use to bring back the dead. Therefore it must cut down those born of the Netherworld...but then it would be difficult to also give it the power to destroy the living. The Meidou Zangetsuha was never intended to be extracted for it's connection to the Netherworld, but once it is, then it's energy will be stripped down to the most basic form. If you wanted to use the Meidou Zangetsuha for an attack, you'd have to go and train it all over again, and that would, in itself, be a hindrance to the sword's powers. It feeds on compassion, on your love for humans and desire to protect them, not on the lust for power. Are you still sure you want to sacrifice this powerful technique to create a sword you essentially cannot kill your enemies with? It'd almost be a waste..."
"I'm positive, Toutousai. No technique holds as much value as her life," Touga said firmly.
"Hmm, I see that you truly believe that. And you have brought the Crystal. Very well, I shall do as you ask. But you may yet need help from one more source..."
"And who's that?"
Toutousai cringed slightly, about to say something he knew would displease the dog.
"You're of the Moon-Dog Clan, so you probably know of the Ice Sorceress..."
"Oh, Her?" Touga raised an eyebrow, "Yes, of course. But why would I need to speak to that crazy bitch?"
"Because she holds the key to combining these powers in the final stages of crafting this sword. The Meidou-seiki, the powerful gem which can summon creatures from the Netherworld, a jewel which was made from soaking a strong soul crystal much like this one in the blood of Shishinki's own father. She can unleash one of her Meidou hounds for you to test whether Tenseiga can defeat the minions of the Netherworld, before you try to navigate it blindly. And with her experience in the matter, you may just want to have her guidance when you attempt to bring back the dead."
"I guess I'll go see her, then...but I hear she charges a hefty price even when she does help..."
"It wouldn't hurt to sniff around," Toutousai said cleverly, and Touga rolled his eyes at the smith.
"Just get the forging done, I'll be back when it's ready," he muttered as he left.
"I didn't even tell him how long it would take," Toutousai blinked, then shrugged, "well, I'll send for him then."
...'.'.'.'.'...
Shippou almost expected the scene to end there, but it didn't. Instead, although looking a bit more fuzzy and with a lot less color, he got to see Moumou's divinations of what he presumed to be Touga's first meeting with Sesshoumaru's mother.
Oh, wow, the fox thought. This was incredibly exciting...and, mischievously, he felt like he was getting all kinds of great dirt to blackmail...well, okay, that was a bad idea in itself, but he couldn't help but think of it.
Just one thing about all of this bothered him, though. He'd thought that Sesshoumaru's Mother had been given the Meidou-seiki not long before Touga died. How was it that the story had gotten so confused?
There wasn't much time for him to dwell on that thought, for the scene unfolded in front of his curious eyes.
...'.'.'.'.'...
"Ah, First Lieutenant Touga. I was expecting to see you soon."
Wow, stunner. Shippou almost did a double-take at seeing the younger Lady...Lady...well actually...Jaken had only ever called her Lady Mother. Huh. I don't know her name.
"Ice Sorceress," he nodded, addressing her by title, "I thought perhaps you'd noticed some particular events, but I must be honest when I tell you that I had no plans to visit. Were it not for my swordsmith's suggestion, I'd be out attending other matters."
"Indeed you would," she said icily, true to her nature, then gestured towards the sitting area outside, "Tea?"
"You will insist, I suppose."
"Yes, I will."
"Very well," he sighed and sat down.
A few attendants brought tea. There was relative silence for a couple minutes as they sipped and said nothing.
Finally, formalities sufficiently appeased, Touga cleared his throat and began to speak.
"I'm currently having a sword crafted which will be able to defeat the creatures in the Netherworld in order to save the souls of the dead. It was suggested that I ask you to summon a creature, once the sword is ready of course, and allow me to test the blade on it instead of travelling through the entrance to the Netherworld to find that I'm not able to slay those I must defeat to accomplish my goal."
"Very well, but I require payment."
"I expected you would..." Touga eyed her warily, "what is your price?"
She smiled.
"I've been wanting to find a worthy mate to give me a litter of pups. You strike my fancy, and you're not married. Elope with me until I am sure to bear children, and I shall do this deed for you."
"Children?!" he yelped and leaped out of his chair, flipping the table to the side and spilling everything in the process.
Shippou laughed pretty hard as he saw That reaction.
"Yes, children. Oh, don't worry, you'll have your firstborn son as your own heir. I claim the firstborn daughter as my heiress, of course. I suppose you have every right to want the second son too, just in case the first dies and cannot continue your legcay-"
"I mean no disrespect when I say this, but I'm not sure I'm ready to father any children yet," Touga said, hastily climbing to his feet and standing a bit of a distance away.
Pouting with almost shameful despair-Shippou applauded her acting ability, or her craziness, whatever it was-the Ice Sorceress (he still didn't know her NAME yet, dammit!) clasped her hands together and gave him The Puppy Eyes.
"Oh, you wouldn't need to Father them, I'll do all the raising, Lieutenant. I want so badly to be a mother, and yet I have so few appealing choices for a good strong bloodline! You're powerful, you're handsome, you're brave, and you have enough intelligence to ensure they're not going to be stupid. I have no desire to impose on you to care for the pups, just elope with me so I may have the joy of mothering them, Touga," she said as she walked closer and began to lay her arm across him, draping herself slowly onto his body...
Well, he was a young man, she a young woman...Touga relaxed and began to kiss her, began to undress her...
...'.'.'.'.'...
"OOoookkkaayyy, Moumou, I don't need to see the rest of That, I mean...now I know how Sesshoumaru was conceived."
Oh, gods. Now I know how Sesshoumaru was conceived!
Well, it was no wonder Sesshoumaru acted so much more like his mother than his father. He grew up mostly with her.
Wait, she'd said 'pups' in the plural. Did that mean Sesshoumaru had Other Siblings, besides Inuyasha?!
Moumou had paused after the fox spoke, but not for long. This time she was focusing on Touga's return to Toutousai yet again, and the first look at Tenseiga.
...'.'.'.'.'...
"Here you go, The Coffin Cheater is ready," Toutousai announced, handing him Tenseiga.
"It's Tenseiga," Touga sniffed, one eyebrow raised in irritation.
"Eh, that's what I meant," Toutousai scratched the back of his head and smiled. "Tenseiga, right. Tenseiga."
"How does it work?"
"Well, the method used to stop a soul from leaving the mortal plane is simple. You focus on the sword, and the veil between this world and the Netherworld will become unmasked so that you can see the pall-bearer imps from the other side. If you slay them, you'll prevent them from guiding the soul away from the body, and it will return within but a few moments. However, for a soul that's already departed, you'll need to get into the Netherworld. Here's what I think you should do. Instead of using the Meidou Zangetsuha yourself, since you're not sure how it works, go take what's left of the Crystal of Souls with you to the Ice Sorceress, and see if she can open a portal for you to cross over. The Crystal should be able to help you locate the person you're seeking, and I think Tenseiga or the Crystal will tell you from there. They're made of living souls, you know, so they have some of a mind of their own."
"If you say so," Touga huffed.
The picture became fuzzy and blurry and the colors bled into a grayish muck again, but the images were still clear and the voices distinct enough that Shippou barely took notice, enraptured by the story itself.
Touga stood near the Ice Sorceress, Crystal of Souls in one hand, Tenseiga in the other, as she summoned a great and powerful Meidou Hound.
Touga sliced through it with ease using the Tenseiga, then leaped into the Meidou portal it had opened in trying to flee from him.
"Touga, what if you can't escape?!" she called, her first sign of actual worry.
Touga paused, glancing down at her.
"Don't tell me you're actually worried about me! You're already pregnant, no need to concern yourself with my safety any longer, Ice Sorceress. Thank you for your help, but I'll take my chances from here."
As the portal closed behind him, she sank to her seat with a heavy sigh.
"That damn fool...he weilds a sword made to resonate with his heart, but he only cares for those weak humans. And I am to sit here and watch him do it...love, you cruel mistress! Why would you bring me the perfect man, only for him to have no thought to my eyes upon his noble figure? If only I..."
And she wept.
Wept! Shippou couldn't believe it. Sesshoumaru's mother had been In Love with Touga?!
Well, now that he thought about it, he honestly hadn't known what to think about it, and it shouldn't have seemed so very odd to think that Sesshoumaru's parents had once been...
Wait, that was the weird part. THEY, Both of them, hadn't been in love With Each Other. Just Sesshoumaru's mother had been in love with his father. Touga apparently lacked interest, at the very least emotionally, and physically his desire seemed minimal as well. His eyes didn't rove across her perfect body to undress her in his mind, nor did his hands reach to touch her wantingly...
Shippou realized that probably had a LOT to do with the way Sesshoumaru had been raised, how he felt about love...
Oh, wow.
Meanwhile, Shippou was also watching Touga traverse the Netherworld in splotchy segments. It was likely Moumou's way of getting to the point, skipping most of the unimportant things, blinking through visions to find the right one.
Now it settled onto the moment Touga had found the person he sought.
"Arakumi, I'm here to save you," he whispered, reaching out to touch the spirit.
And his hand went through her. For a moment he looked shocked, then he just smiled.
"It's okay, Arakumi. I'll return you to your..." Touga stopped as a thought occurred to him.
Shippou realized what that thought was as he spoke the sad realization out loud softly.
"It took him a long time to get Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga finished. Months. A year maybe. Her body would be decayed so much by the time all those months had passed, she'd hardly be able to live anyways."
"Oh, Touga," Arakumi's spirit looked as if she would cry, and Shippou almost couldn't bear it. The girl was near the age of perhaps seven or eight, a little bigger than the first time Shippou had seen Rin, and yet she spoke with the kind of wisdom that far surpassed her years...much as Rin often did.
"Arakumi..."
"Touga, you gave me the best two years of my life, and that's enough for me," she said with a big sad smile.
"But I...all of this, I was doing it because-"
"Touga, Papa...I'm not meant to come back. I went in peace," she said gently, "and the Tattarimokke played with me and soothed me with it's songs until I could bear to let myself move on. Papa, don't worry. There are many others to save with your beautiful new sword. It's the best katana I've ever seen, and I hope you use it often. But I did all I ever wanted to do, Touga. I was happy. I had nothing left to finish."
"Arakumi, you were only eight years old, how could you have done everything you wanted to do?" he cried miserably.
"I wanted to escape the bad men, I wanted to have a family again, I wanted to love, and I wanted to be loved. You've done all those things for me. I didn't want anything else, Papa."
Touga broke down into sobs and fell to his knees, bawling his eyes out. Arakumi's spirit soothed him for hours until he was ready to let go of her, and when he finally did, the Tenseiga glowed a brilliant blue and enveloped all the area in light, whereupon Touga reappeared just about where he'd leapt into the Meidou Hound's portal, alone, bleary, and yet a little relieved after all this.
"You didn't bring her back?" the Ice Sorceress asked quietly, her own voice sounding sad.
"Arakumi is at peace. She cannot return to a body half-rotted, nor would she come back even if I had a proper body to offer for her soul. She said that she'd done everything she wanted to do. Seven years old, and all she wanted was a family to love her, an escape from the evils of her young life."
"Yet you still suffer much grief, though she is at peace."
"I will always suffer the grief of loss," Touga sighed, "but I cannot throw my life away for it. There are many who must to be saved, others who need me. Arakumi has done more than she will ever know. Tenseiga will save many lives, all because of one human girl. Tetsusaiga will defeat many evils that threaten the weak, because of one human girl."
Touga didn't notice the way the Ice Sorceress hung her head slightly and sighed at his back.
"I wish you much luck in that, Lieutenant Touga. At least your sword does as you intended it to."
"Yes, indeed. Thank you, Sorceress," he nodded almost absently.
"Touga..." she began in a softer tone, making him pause, though he didn't turn his head.
She stopped, closed her mouth, pursed her lips, then spoke something that wasn't at all what she Wanted to say.
"I hope you forgive yourself for having lost her. Sometimes, even the strongest of us are not able to save everyone we care about. I must also warn you to be careful, should you ever try to use the Crystal of Souls within the bounds of the Netherworld again. I presume when you finished off Shishinki, you used the Meidou Zangetsuha against him, did you not? Being a youkai of death, his soul might be trapped inside, but it could never be consumed as others would. The more often you bring the Crystal into the Netherworld, the more likely he will find it and be able to get out."
...'.'.'.'.'...
"So that's why Shishinki couldn't just drag himself out after Sesshoumaru banished him, even with a complete Meidou technique. I always thought it was because his Meidou was just too small," Shippou murmured out loud.
"No, it's because he would need the power of the Crystal of Souls," Toutousai piped up, having finally returned.
Moumou stopped her vision projections and mooed reprovingly at him, which was in itself a strange thing, because as far as Shippou was concerned, he'd never thought he'd hear a cow moo and know it was a reproving noise. But there it was, Moumou went and did it.
"Moumou, you can't keep chewing the cud of the past, you old cow," Toutousai sighed and rubbed her head. "Besides, I dare say there's not a good reason for him to even try to use it right now anyways. Who would he even look for? I'd wager he knows better than to try and fetch out his Father, that much is certain!"
"Besides, the danger of allowing the Crystal of Souls into the Netherworld is far too great. Shishinki is a great foe, but more importantly, he's not the only one. There are hundreds, thousands of Netherworld youkai who would hunt down anyone with the Crystal for a chance to escape and prowl among the living. Most of them are nearly invincible in this realm, and they would surely destroy everything in their path. It can't be allowed!" Myouga agreed firmly.
.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.
Yes, yes, I know. Why bring Sesshoumaru's parents into this mess? Well, you'll see, you'll see. All in due time :)