Disclaimer, in case it wasn't obvious. I don't own Inuyasha, or really any other property. Thank you.
Being Alive
Chapter XXII: By Blood and Trial
Sango:
I am what he knew I was from the start.
Days and weeks had gone past. Slowly the venom had seeped into her veins, but it'd always been there. It was the same thing that'd allowed her to be controlled. It was the same thing that allowed her to kill her family and friends. How could she have been strong enough to reject Naraku's gift when she herself hadn't been strong enough to do anything for anyone regardless? She was where she belonged. With the other monsters. Even if she was just some human, it didn't matter.
It went as far as her taking a grim joy in seeing one of her two mocking attendants shackled into the same room near her. Her friend clearly looked different when she was wearing fury, and now misery, on her sleeve. Even without that, she looked wizened now, as if she'd been through a series of events of extreme duress. She knew the look all too well, even if she'd not received a mirror, she knew. And it wasn't as if she had any pity for her. She had the same pity as any of these monsters did, even for one another.
"Enjoying the view?" Kagura's voice appeared, noting the looks she'd been receiving.
Neither had said a word to one another for hours. She almost gave a spiteful noise in turn but held it back for now. Opting instead to give her a satisfied stare in turn. It wasn't her place to normally be so outwardly cruel, but she'd been stuck here for months, and she'd been left to suffer by these creatures. It was only fair that they suffer in turn.
"Do you have a staring problem?" Kagura's voice came back, her tone becoming more annoyed.
"No, I'm just wondering how you got brought down to my level," Sango responded, closing her eyes briefly and tilting her head away.
"Who said I'm on your level? I'm in time-out for making a mistake. Your whole life was a mistake from what I can put together."
Opening her eyes furiously, Sanga would have tried to lung from the wall as she snarled at her cellmate.
"My, what a lovely shade of red those eyes have become. If I didn't have my own pair, I'd be jealous."
Red? My eyes? My… my eyes are brown.
Unfortunately, the remark was enough to give the demon a moment to revel her in comment. A cruel smile appeared as if she had some kind of secret that she didn't have. Now she was just angry. Pulling against her own chains, she felt them snap together while she made a bid to rise to her full height. It'd been the first time she'd fought against them in weeks, and even now she felt like she'd have ripped them out of the wall.
"Yes, very frightening, but you'll only escape those shackles if Naraku wants you to, and if he's kept me down here like this, then he needs me," Kagura said, her own tone less amused than before. "You need to start realizing where you are, girl. This isn't the place for acting out or trying to take heads. You need to be smart. And by smart I'm meaning not dumb. Chiyaku already is stupid enough for everyone else."
She was trying to give her advice now? Now only was that rich, she hardly believed anyone was looking out for her, and definitely not here. Pulling against her chains one more time, Sango felt her muscles flex with a strength she'd never felt before. Outwardly, she'd barely changed, but she already knew something was off. She felt as strong as a horse. When the growths had disappeared and the bile had vanished, she'd assumed that whatever it was had finally passed through her.
Why would it though? Look what I did? Look at what I am.
The realization was starting to settle in about the comment about red eyes. These freaks had done something to her. Her heart started to race, but it felt like there were things grabbing at the side of it as it did, as if purposely trying to slow it. How much of her own body was… was…
"You should sit down," Kagura advised. "You look like you're going to be sick."
"What the fuck did you people do?" she demanded, turning her head immediately to Kagura, her own eyes blazing with anger as she felt the shackles biting into her wrists again.
"You people? If it were up to me, I'd have killed you and danced your corpse through your village, rather than just danced you through the village," Kagura answered her. "It's what did Naraku do to you. If I need to make it clear to you that I don't make the decisions around here, I am trapped in here now with you."
Looking at this thing here, Sango did pause as she realized something. Regardless of her mocking or cruelty before, she was stuck down here with her. This was the first other thing she'd had to interactive with other than Naraku. She wasn't getting out, and even if she did, there would be strings attached. They all had strings attached to them, even now. She knew there had to be, because she didn't feel violent towards Naraku, despite all he'd done. Her own memories were all there, but she even felt willing to listen to him…
My body isn't mine anymore. I don't get a say, do I?
"Clever girl."
The whisper in the back of her mind left her with the answer. Falling back to the ground almost, she just sat down, her hands hanging limply in her chains, looking back at the other woman.
"What would he even want with me? All I can do is kill. Why doesn't he just finish me off?" Sango said, before looking over to see Kagura staring back at her with some modicum of sympathy.
"He needs you to kill, the same way he needs me to kill, or the others. If you're alive, it means you are useful. Once anyone stops being useful, I don't think they'll have very long," Kagura remarked. "So, if you want to live, you should start thinking with that in mind."
"I don't want to live," Sango admitted, trying to diffuse the knowledge she was begin given.
"Then don't tell him that either. If living for you means suffering, he's likely to let you live longer than you want," she said bluntly.
What did any of these things want here? They all had their own plans then? At least Kagura did. Why was she choosing to play nice with her, or at least offer advice? Sango now guessed she was alone here, which meant needing someone for support. There was maybe a bit more in common between them now, at least in that regard.
"You've changed your tune," Sango said, her own voice raising some of her suspicions. "I'm guessing you've got your own problems to handle and don't want me getting in the way."
The demoness just gave a half huff of entertainment before looking back over to her, her own eyes glinting with something she didn't quite know herself yet.
"We now have more in common than we did before," she explained. "If you're not dead yet, it means Naraku won't be killing you yet. And I'd rather not have a dagger in my back. Besides all that, there is one important thing that we still don't have in common."
She's looking at all her friends as would-be enemies? Why am I not surprised?
"Oh, and what's that?" Sango asked.
"I think, sadly, that these chains look better on me than they do on you."
For the first time in as far back as she could remember, Sango managed to laugh. After the months of being abused in this terrible place, shut-in, left to fester and rot along with nothing but her own guilt, Sango had forgotten what it was like.
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Naraku:
Plots and schemes. He expected no less. Kagura after all, knew she'd made a series of mistakes. It was of little consideration to him at the moment. Any plotting she was doing down there with the possessed demon slayer wasn't his interest. Yudarin's death had been ill-timed on many levels, though now he was sure he had the right piece to watch over Kagura. As no matter what Sango thought, she was his eyes and ears. She was his to control, and in the end, she would always side with what he wanted. Her disdain for him was another benefit. Though he'd had to waste a great deal of what made himself, himself.
Yudarin, Shorin, Chiyaku, Kanna, and Kagura had taken a great deal of his power to create. With the death of Yudarin it wasn't so easily replaced, even with his plans for the kiln. He would require more time to amass more power, from more powerful demons. It meant being unable to risk his assets in such a clumsy way. It also meant not risking any of his detachments needlessly. That meant if he needed to confront certain figures, it would have to be through puppets, and puppets alone. Or through manipulating events to his benefit. Better to have others to solve his problems for him, if he could.
Though he could use Kagera for certain things as it still. Fast, agile, able to fly, and able to approach at least one person named Sesshoumaru without risk to her person. Sango's usefulness was also yet to be fully determined beyond using her as a watch-dog with his least trusted component. Still, it was better to use these things, than not use them. Chiyaku would likely lose his mind in some short amount of time if he didn't find something for him to do.
Looking out at the darkened skies above, Naraku narrowed his eyes at the half moon while he sat, a circle of salt around him and several candles lit. Even now he was trying rituals to improve on some of the tasks he had in mind. It would be only a few more weeks, perhaps a month, before his grand ritual was ready, and so far, he only had seven candidates. He needed more, or it could take too long to operate once more. Twice as many at a minimum, perhaps 3 times as many if he could find them.
Turning his head to the heavy footsteps as they thud behind him, Naraku's eyes narrowed as the large figure of his first detachment made his way into the room. Obviously, his creation was wanting something which was a mere irritation to him now when he had other things to focus on. Behind him, however, he could see Kanna's form gently moving in the giant's wake. Narrowing first his red eyes on her, before looking to the tower that stood over him, Naraku just waited to hear what the fool had to say.
"Sesshoumaru is dying," Chiyaku grumbled. "I want an opportunity to kill him. Send me now and I will grind his bones into dust."
Sesshoumaru was dying? A fascinating change of fortunes, now wasn't it? Gesturing to Kanna to move before him, holding up her mirror. Staring into it, he could see indeed a wounded and dying Sesshoumaru laying there, with Inuyasha standing over him, a hand on his blade. He could feel the agony through the mirror and almost chuckled to himself, though he did allow himself a cruel smile.
Perfect. Now I only need deal with Inuyasha and… what is Inuyasha holding? What blade is that? Is that… Tessaiga? The legendary fang of destruction?
Irritated eyes now allowed the mirror to pan to the other Sesshoumaru, who too, looked worse for ware, though obviously was not dying. This was still a problem. If Inuyasha possessed Tessaiga, there was no guarantee that Chiyaku would win even if he approached.
"A fascinating discovery, Chiyaku, but it is not our concern. If he is already dying, and dying a miserable death, then I fail to see why this needs my intervention," he said.
"But Master-"
"YES, Chiyaku? But what?"
"I want to be the one to kill him," Chiyaku almost demanded.
"Well you're too late, he's already dead," Naraku commented. "Even if you pressed your foot on his throat, you're not the one who killed him. Take solace in your failures, Chiyaku. And be glad that you are useful to me, because I do not like being questioned."
The figure stepped back, bowing respectfully before turning to leave.
"And Chiyaku? Find Shorin. The two of you are to gather more demonic specimens for me. Find the strongest ones you can."
"As you wish, Naraku."
The acceptance of the command was biting, but obedience, was obedience. Not all of his detachments could be as reliable as Kanna. The footsteps of the lumbering demon slowly disappeared, leaving Naraku only with the girl in question. He briefly went back to his work, preparing a new ritual to expand his power. He needed more power, and soon. There had to be an externality he could find that would amplify his powers.
If only I had access to the Sacred Jewel itself. I would be able to achieve anything I desired…
… I could have anything I desired…
His mind gave him a glimpse of Kikyo. There was a noise that escaped his nose and lips as soon as he thought of the foul woman. The thing which had driven Onigumo. The weakness he repeatedly tried to purge from his body. With her death, he was no longer held in place by any obligation to the woman. Onigumo's quest would never be achieved, and his heart was buried within him. There could be no future for what he wanted, and that suffering pleased himself very much. But even a hint of the idea of claiming Kikyo brought such joy to that piece of himself it made him sick.
Silence yourself, Onigumo. I am not interested in your distant dreams. The Shikon Jewel has long disappeared, destroyed with that vile woman you so desired. Remember this, and remember that your fate is because of her.
Looking back towards Kanna, Naraku paused himself as he noticed the girl hadn't moved. Was it possible that she wanted something? An intriguing prospect.
"What is it, Kanna?" Naraku asked, his tone temperate.
"Do we need to leave Kagura locked in the cell?" the low, gentle voice asked in turn.
Concern for her dear sister? How adorable. He didn't bother to even answer the doll that stood before him, simply rolling his eyes before gesturing for her to come closer.
"Show me the fate of Sesshoumaru, I wish to see it for myself, Kanna."
Looking into the mirror itself once more, he saw the figures appearing to him, coming back to life.
At the very least, he was going to be entertained tonight.
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Inuyasha:
The moon illuminated them perfectly for his eyes to see as the pale skinned figure edged towards him, her subtle shadow against the ground expanding faster than her movement. It didn't seem worthy of note outside of the fact she was a demon trying to kill him. Any kind of unnatural circumstance surrounding any creature such as her was something he needed to pay attention to, or he was going to get his guts ripped out.
The huge blade in his hands curved to one side, then the other as he moved with her, trying to gauge where the attacking point was going to come from. Already his mind was putting together quick, savage attacks he wanted to do, but discretion was the better part of valor. If this was a death demon, and it definitely seemed to be that, not just from Miroku's talk but even from its own attitude, he was going to need to be extra careful. Messing around with things that passed in and out of this world didn't always have the best of consequences.
Two fanged axes appeared in the demon's hands a second later as he felt the red eyes lock onto him once more.
"Last chance. Stand. Aside," she ordered.
"Funny, I was going to say the same thing to you first," he responded. "Guess I figured I'd be polite and let lady's go first."
A silent charge followed, she moved without any noise, both her body or her voice. Her body shot towards him, almost entirely consumed by her own shadow as she moved. Only at the last motion of her 'attack' did he realize she was feinting towards him. Her real target had been the one she'd stated all along.
Shit, Sesshoumaru!
Realizing the nature of her trick, he was quick to intercede, his legs bounding to one side before he landed in front of his brother, dropping to his knees and raising his sword to catch the axe's attack through the air, deflecting it with ease before driving her back, pushing her blade before swinging straight at her, only finding her offhand axe parrying the blow. Sparks scattered through the darkness of the night as they clashed. Three more strikes were parried before he tried to attack with one axe while moving past him. Blocking with Tessaiga, he grabbed the blade before she could make her way past him, pulling on it hard. She didn't release in time as he wrenched her backwards before swinging his sword once more. Another parry landed as the silver mask turned directly towards him, offering her irritation.
"Half-demon fool," she sneered.
"Hey, that's on you if you're getting slowed down by a half-demon."
Another pair of overhand strikes came down as her black axes deflected off Tessaiga helplessly before he routed her, forcing her back once again before driving his blade forward, she was knocked off balance finally before he cut clear through her abdomen. The blade passed through one side and out the other… but it did so as if nothing were there. Eyes bulged in his head as he almost fell over, expecting some resistance on his swing. Rolling instead of falling, he managed to dodge another axe swing in his direction, moving under her, trying to grab her foot as he did, only to feel his hand pass through the air as if it were passing through smoke.
What the Hell!? The only thing I can even touch are those Axes?!
She was already rushing for Sesshoumaru again. His brother was looking straight at her.
"Sesshoumaru, rightful Lord of the Western Lands!" he heard her shouting as she prepared to strike.
He'd never run so fast in his life, his feet pounding against the ground with an intensity he didn't even know. Without even swinging his sword, knowing it was useless, he reached out with his hand, reaching to grab the raised axe in the air preparing to strike. He caught it, grabbing the shaft above her hand before ripping it out of her hand, throwing it aside. Her other blade came around, trying to cut through him once more. He made two quick steps back as each slash missed him, finally, she was no longer silent.
Furious noises of anger emerged from her mask as the red globes focused on him. Each axe strike got increasingly fast and hateful, but it couldn't get past his defense. Curving Tessaiga to meet each strike no matter how elaborate was easy once he knew she couldn't land any other physical strikes on him.
Driving his sword down, he snatched the last axe she had away, throwing it aside with a motion of his blade, leaving only her standing there. Another attempt to finish things was made, he cut through her chest and arm as if it were nothing, hearing only an amused noise from her. Scowling into her mask, he cut upwards, trying to catch the silver piece, she twisted her head away, shifting as the blade cut behind the mask, rather than threw it.
Found you.
The key he was looking for had just opened, only as soon as he came around for another strike, another attempt at the top, she rolled through his legs, her body passing through his, all save her mask which made a clear way through just as Tessaiga chopped into the top of the earth in front of him.
Damn it!
The sound of the axes returned to their home, drawn to her hands by an invisible force was obvious as he turned and confirmed it with his eyes. Black bolts of energy crackled off the ground around her as she turned to face him once more. He already had an idea what she was up to if it involved some kind of demonic energy attack or magic. She was going to feint again, she wasn't trying to kill him, she wanted to get around him. The real prize was Sesshoumaru, it always had been.
Another pulse of dark energy rippled between the two of them, this time he braced himself, trying to determine where her next attack would go.
"You are more formidable than I imagined, half-demon," she admitted, her tone almost conciliatory. "I trust that you know though, I cannot be felled by one such as you. Your brother will not be able to evade my axes for long."
"Miroku," Inuyasha hollered back. "You got your eyes peeled back there?"
"I'm keeping tabs on things," he responded. "Inuyasha, you should know that her powers are likely not all that they appear. She has been gathering demonic energy for something."
Turning his full attention back towards her, the half-demon just narrowed his eyes.
"Yea, I know."
Black auras swirled through the shadows around them as Kaishi's shadow turned into a pool around her. More bolts of the vile energy scattered upwards, shooting around the figure and her weapons. Something was definitely coming, and coming quickly. He didn't even want to consider the Wind Scar for one reason in particular. If he threw that out now, or even to counter an attack, it might not go into the attack, and it might not even hit whatever he wanted to hit. He needed to use it only once he knew what this thing was doing.
He needed the right moment.
She flipped her axes in her hands and he could almost see her mask smiling. There was confidence emerging there and he guessed why immediately, seeing both axes starting to glow with the reverse light the energy seemed to emanate.
Two attacks. She's going to throw one at me and one at Sesshoumaru. I can't block both!
"Curved Death Slasher!"
Fling axes forward as if she was going to cut with them, two waves of black and purple energy emerged, sparking through the night. It was hard to follow, but he could sense the presence of the attacks. They were fast, too fast. Decisions had to be made immediately and he knew which one had to be.
Throwing Tessaiga forward at the one which was aimed for him, he sensed the blade smash into the energy wave. He didn't have time to cut through the wind. Pulling his body back into a full run, he blitzed towards where he knew the others were.
"Miroku, back!" he shouted before grabbing Sesshoumaru's shoulder, feeling the heat at his back.
Trying to pull his brother back, he managed to slide them almost a full metre before the wave collided with him, making sure to place himself between his brother and the blast. He heard himself screaming as his robe of the fire rat was shredded in the midst of the inverted light-blast. Without being able to control it, he felt his body take off the ground, scattering through the air, his body breaking through branches along the way before he felt himself collide with the ground. There was a hard thud with the impact as he felt himself just lay there.
The things I do for people.
Nearby, he heard Sesshoumaru's body land with a similar, shadow thud.
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Kaishi:
Close.
Life flowed like a river. She knew where it started and where it ended. Down the twisting paths of the lives she now followed, she was certain she'd found the greatest extent of their length. Now it was coming to a close. The one who had craved death, would receive death, and in exchange she would take all that was his and have it for herself. A soul without reincarnation, an end to all suffering. There could be no more pain or failure for the supposed Lord Sesshoumaru. No, whatever he had been would become one with her, as many others had been in her long lifetime. Those who craved death and accepted it, were her sheep. It was a service… to end suffering, truly.
The bodies had plunged deeper into the forest. It was a shame that Inuyasha offered her no sustenance. It was a shame that the younger of the brothers had the fire of life still within his belly, wishing to survive, and even wishing to allow his powerful sibling to survive as well. He was anathema to what she was. But that meant nothing now. Wounded as he was, it would only be a short matter of time before she collected that which had been promised. Even if she killed Inuyasha, she was still generous, taking away his pain as well, if only temporarily.
Taking her next steps, she froze in place, pausing as she'd taken the final step, her eyes pointed forward as she sensed something dangerous to her flank. The monk was still here, wasn't he. With a gentle, slow motion, her neck began to crane and turn to one side, her eyes searching out the one who would still intervene. He was standing, though was clearly heavily wounded. Yes, this one would be a problem. He had several sutras prepared in his left hand, and his staff in his right as he tried to remain bold. Even if he could not kill her, she knew very well he might slow her.
"Your presence is not desired here any longer, demon, go back to the underworld and revel in despair there. The soul you seek was not promised."
"Oh, but it was. For when you slumbered, we heard his plea for dignity. We heard his desire to die with what little of his honour he could salvage, rather than to boil in his infection for another day and die in a fevered nightmare. If only you could have sensed his mind, as it finally grasped onto sanity once more. Such a tormented thing, so lonely…"
The human's resolve steeled, much to her annoyance. Was everything here to deny her the meal of a lifetime? Perhaps even the meal of many lifetimes? All for the selfishness of those who stood guard over this corpse? Their ignorance was painful. Why would one wish another life on this creature? Why would one wish for him to survive through this one? Why would one not want to take their own life? Such tranquility awaited those… who were left to a void, rather than left to reincarnation.
The act of living was reserved for beings such as herself. Those who took pain away from the dying and the dead.
Flipping her axes in her hands, she cautiously took a step forward before the sutras were thrown. Scrolls impacted even her incorporeal body, sticking to it as she felt true pain for the first time in the fight at all. Monks and priestesses were truly the vilest things she'd ever dealt with. They consoled the dying and steered them away from their fate. Dealing with one who was injured would not be nearly as difficult a task.
Her body almost became one with the darkness as she jetted towards the priest, his staff raised as a ward against her powers. She however, had no intention of using any of her abilities on him, her only task was to cleave through him with an axe. Swinging her weapon towards him, she recoiled at only the last moment as she saw the jug tossed towards her. Her axe managed to avoid clipping it as it passed through her body, landing just behind her.
"Was that your plan? A bottle of blessed water? Truly?" she mocked, preparing to close the distance between the two.
"No, that wasn't the plan."
The ward he seemed to place vanished as his staff shot forward, her axes catching it between them as she held him in place.
"I will credit you with an attempt, but you cannot harm me."
A string?
Her red eyes turned away from him, noticing a string attached to his free hand. It looped around his wrist, mixing in with his prayer beads…
A trap?!
Looking back at the monk, she could see a grin on his face as he held her axes in place. Pulling back the water container as quickly as he could, she only had a second to act. Her hands let go of her axes before the water passed through her body again, cracking open as it did. It doused the monk but didn't touch her. Like the sutras, it should have inflicted a great deal of pain on her, it should have moved around her demonic powers. She looked down at herself, checking to make sure none of the liquid had contaminated. If it didn't touch her… that meant it was simply… normal water?
But why would he use normal?
When her attention turned back up, she saw only a flash of gold and the heard only the clattering of the head of the staff. When the staff cracked into her mask, she felt it. A small fissure appeared in her face as a piece of her silver simply broke away. Her entire body recoiled as she felt herself almost get ripped back into the physical plane. Reaching up with both hands she grabbed her face, screaming out before leaping backwards. Landing near where the fire hand been, she felt her breathing intensifying with every new intake of air.
My face! My FACE!
When her eyes looked up at him again, she could see that the monk had anticipated making a greater gain on her. The fact he had not would be his own downfall.
The shadows around her began to pool into the ground as she felt herself summoning her true power. The two axes on the ground were drawn back to her hands as she felt the intensity of her gaze intensify. To interrupt her with this indignity was too much. To be made a fool of by this monk pushed her well beyond that.
He was standing there when he gave a smile, as if somehow trying to calm her mood. Clearly, his plan hadn't worked to the extent he'd desired. And he knew there would be a price to pay. She intended for him to pay that and more.
"So, I take it that you didn't appreciate my handsome charm, you must really know that despite my best efforts my natural charisma and good looks are lost on many beautiful women, and you yourself have the opportunity to-"
Drawing the shadows from the very ground around her, pulling them into the night's air, she pulled the entirety of it into her control, sucking the very shadows into a sphere of her own making. The souls of those she'd consumed over a dozen lifetimes slowly started to manifest in her power. Faces pushed out of the orb as she prepared to annihilate the priest with the power she'd brought forth.
Fear and panic were delicious on their own, and she could feel them oozing from the monk… only to realize she could feel Sesshoumaru growing more distant.
Shadows vanished from her hand, as the trees and all that were lit by the stars and the moon were sucked back into place. Her head turned to one side, sensing the movement.
No!
The monk couldn't give chase, even bothering him with at all had been nothing but a distraction!
He said nothing as she hissed, jetting back into the woods as she took after the prize. The grandest prize of a lifetime.
I cannot let this slip away! He must be mine.
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Sesshoumaru the Elder:
There had been a flash of anti-light around them, as if the shadows had exploded into the void of the night. Already he had seen the reaper which had come for its harvest. He'd somehow doubted that anything stalked him in his final hours such as this Kaishi. A death more fitting than dying in the stew of his own fever and liquids was what he'd asked for. Perhaps he'd wished he could have walked into the forest after Inuyasha's wife and Rin. Of all the delusions he'd suffered while under this state of duress, that was the only one that truly stuck. The idea of seeing the people who'd left him behind… perhaps the fever had left him in a delirium. Even why he persisted here was only to somehow try to right the wrongs of his own past.
But those wrongs would never be fixed. He would have still lived that life. In his memories, just as Rin told him, their lives were stored. They lived in their own way, frozen in the moments he experienced with them.
It would have been fitting to have allowed Inuyasha to do it, to have expedited his death through a swing of their father's sword. Even if his struggles with this one had already ended, and he didn't have the same storied history of conflict as they'd had in his own era. It would have been something which he could have looked back upon from the next life, whether through reincarnation or otherwise, and seen through the lens of honour, or at the very least dignity.
With Tessaiga now as well, he knew Inuyasha would have found a way to have survived, whether he was there or not, tonight alone seemed to prove that. But here he was, being dragged, his arm hung limply over Inuyasha's shoulder as he rushed downhill with him, trying to get distance on his killer. Behind them the monk was the only thing left behind, though even as he was, he could sense the encroachment of their stalker.
Turning his head with the greatest of effort, he saw the struggle in Inuyasha's features. The attack had been brought mostly on him, and his body bore the burns of the attack, along with opened cuts and wounds.
I don't need him to save me.
To be the dead weight left few options for him.
"Inuyasha," he finally spoke, his voice sounding distant to himself it was so weak, and feeling his vocal cords barely managing to work enough to bring up even the volume needed to hear himself. "This is far enough."
The half-demon stopped as they approached a cliff-edge. Across the ravine there would be no solace.
"What? You think you're going to turn around and fight that thing? Good luck with that," Inuyasha mocked. "You'd be lucky to keep water down. We've gotten some more distance. I think I can keep us ahead. Now, when I make this jump, you've gotta hold on-"
He tipped his head to the side, managing to shake it back and forth. He didn't need Inuyasha to save him, because he didn't need anyone's help. He'd seen the fates of everyone else, their struggles near the end. He saw how they chose to face that fate, and facing it while relying on his sibling was the last thing he intended to do. Even in this world, he couldn't escape Inuyasha pull it seemed, but he would admit to enough as to say that Inuyasha not only needed to save himself.
"You can't just expect me to let her fucking have you," Inuyasha said. "Are you crazy? Does being this hurt that much? Come on! Don't listen to that shit. Look, we're going to jump-"
He wants to save me. Ridiculous.
"No," he managed. "It's not a fear of pain, or the state of my death. I do not want your help, Inuyasha. Leave me, go tend to the monk. Go find your own fate. Mine is here, yours is where the Tessaiga will lead you. Now. Go."
There was a stunned, almost hurt look on the half-demon's face when he told him that his words were at least effective. Better that Inuyasha find his fate. Their father's sword would protect him and guide him, that much he was certain of. Whatever occurred to him here would fade with time, just as the shrine and graves in his own world did. Even if this thing consumed his soul, as it claimed to, he would pass beyond the barriers of this world. He'd seen the afterlife more than once. If this creature contained his essence, it too would die one day, and it would be released, to be reborn or to be left to the dredges as Rin had been in her second death. Perhaps his soul would simply be carried away on the winds.
Wishful thinking amidst his fever, no doubt. But it didn't matter. The pain his chest was too much. His body was too weak. The best he could do was stare death in the face, and smile back at it.
Perhaps that is why she smiled.
A last act of defiance. An act of freedom. It felt incomplete though, but it might have been close enough for him.
But there was something wrong, Inuyasha hadn't let him go yet. Instead, he saw his brother's features hardening. His own mind was having trouble racing to conclusions as too many thoughts entered his mind. In these, the last minutes of his life, dying a miserable death as he was, it only came to mind finally that Inuyasha was ignoring him.
Carefully, he felt his body being set down near the edge of the cliff. The cold night's air was more present as his sweat picked it up, feeling his boiling body wincing in pain from the stiffness and weakness it was causing. Though for the first time tonight, he almost felt like he had the strength to reach out and grab at the person putting him down. His own breathing picked up as he realized what was happening, and it was an outrage.
"I'll be back soon," Inuyasha said bluntly.
"You won't defeat her," Sesshoumaru managed, feeling his eyes barely narrowing.
"Watch me," Inuyasha said seriously. "I'm not about to let her eat your soul, or whatever, you got it? I'm going to finish this bitch off. You can whine about it to me later."
Walking back towards the trees, almost in the same path where he'd seen Inuyasha's wife and Rin walk into in his waking delusion, Sesshoumaru saw Inuyasha pass beyond his vision. And just like before he wanted to go with him, not even to fight along side him, no, to fight for himself, and not have his brother do it for him… not to have him recognize that right now he couldn't. He would rather die than be spared by the sword-arm of another.
Trying to get up again, he felt his body pushing back against him. An outraged growl managed to come from the bottom of his throat as he tried once again, and only managed to flop onto his side, hissing as he felt his chest wound becoming aggravated once again. It was humiliating to feel his entire body convulse from the shock of the sudden shifting of his wound, his right arm starting to quiver.
A pitiful death, not just a miserable one.
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Inuyasha:
Round 2, and apparently no Tessaiga either. Great. Axes are dangerous, and I can't touch her. Except she dodged when I went for the mask.
He could smell her as quickly as the silver mask came into view, ducking and weaving between the trees. She was going to try and bypass him and he knew it, but that meant that this was his advantage. He just needed to pick the right moment to strike. The axes were what he spent all his time focusing on before, but really, he should have gone straight for the silver display the whole time. That meant the key was that mask, that was either where her demonic essence was held, or it was holding her true form back and allowing her body to be the shadow he cut through.
Bursting into a rush himself, hopping and jumping through the trees, he knew that she'd expect him to go for the axes first, and he wanted to oblige. If he went straight for the mask it'd be too obvious, she was fast. He needed her to think he didn't know. Even in the night, even with the canopy overhead, he could see a chip in the mask and cracks running through it. Miroku must have come to the same place he had. Too bad he wasn't clever enough to stop it. At least there was no human blood in the air, meaning that the human was fine for the moment, or at least he assumed so. The only blood he could smell was his own, and Sesshoumaru's.
"Again?" she seethed. "Did you not learn your lesson last time?"
Jumping off one tree, spring-boarding forward, he saw her shift like a liquid shadow in the air, trying to bend around him. Reaching out with his claws, he felt his right claw making good, grasping the hilt of her axe and dragging them both out of the air, crashing into the ground along with her. Rolling forward, he saw her body morph more than roll to her feet, bracing her two axes as he saw the two ruby glowing gems staring back at him from behind the mask. Great, he'd managed to capture her attention again.
"You had your chance to get away, you might have made enough distance to end his suffering without my chance to benefit. Why would you throw that all away to come back and fight me?" she asked. "Are you so foolish that you might think he'll survive?..."
She paused in place, almost lowering her guard before starting to cackle. Her head was even thrown back, the mask tilting upwards in the moonlight as she gave her hearty bellow of laughter.
Maybe he didn't think Sesshoumaru would survive, Hell, maybe he almost finished him off, but he still hadn't been there. But there was one thing that all of this was teaching him, which was he didn't just want to give up on him. He didn't want to give up on himself either, and if that meant facing down this thing and taking it down by himself? Well that was exactly what was going to happen, whether Sesshoumaru believed he could do it or not.
"I know even if he doesn't, you're not going to either," Inuyasha reminded her of his previous threat. "I make good on my threats, you stupid bitch."
The laughter ceased immediately as he saw the two flashes of glowing light turn back towards him.
That's right, get good and mad. Come at me. I know what I'm doing.
The two axes danced between her fingers as she flipped both around several times, beginning to move around him, trying to measure up her attacks. All he had were his claws and the scabbard of the Tessaiga. He knew the wood on that was strong, but it wasn't going to be used to block for anything, not this time. He just needed to be quick, and wait for the right moment.
The gap between them narrowed to only a few feet before she swung the axeblade straight for his neck. He managed to duck under it before curving himself back almost immediately after as the upswing from the next blade swept past him. Another swing and another dodge, barely keeping himself ahead of each edge of the axe. Swipe, swipe, thrust, swing, each attack was barely kept at distance as he smirked back at her, further enraging her. Shadows were already starting to pool around her again. Clearly, he'd made her angry enough to try something new, and he could see his opening appearing.
"Half-demon bastard," she snapped. "I will not be detained any longer by you. I will find you after your rebirth and make you suffer another lifetime for this!"
Just as her axes went to her sides in a low guard, Inuyasha sprung forward, pouncing with all of his force and speed. Both axes began to raise to complete her guard, trying to cut into him, still acting as if he was going for the axes themselves. Energy crackled off the edges of his claws as he closed in with her. There was a thunk as her right axe imbedded itself in his left shoulder. Thick gore formed around the injury, soaking through his under kimono immediately before he felt the other axe-head slash across his leg, cutting into muscle and past his skin. If he not a half-demon both of these blows would have probably been fatal, but he was a half demon. That meant he had the power to push on and to push past the pain and injuries.
Throwing his right claws out, breaking past her guard and moving straight towards the chipped and cracked mask, he unleashed the attack he could always rely on, sword or not.
"IRON REAVER!"
Blades of gold cracked into the mask at high speeds and with a deadly force. Each one hitting in successive order within a micro-second of the other. Chips broke off of the silver accessory as he heard her screaming in outrage and confusion before the entire silver frame shattered. He passed through her as his attack finished, his body ploughing into the ground and rolling along the forest floor. Blood trailed behind him as he gagged himself at the pain of his own injuries. He'd be able to get up, but he was definitely slowed down. His left arm was barely working and his right leg was not exactly going to be making sprinting ventures for the rest of the night. That didn't even count the burns and other injuries from prior to all this.
Pulling himself to his feet, Inuyasha grabbed hold of a nearby tree to steady himself, turning to look at the now frozen form of the death-demon. Black strands of energy were coming off of her body as he saw her body trembling, frozen in place. The fact she hadn't started to disintegrate yet was not a good sign, but getting rid of that damn mask had clearly helped.
The shadows began to draw into her body as her form started to quiver and shift.
"You… half-demon… you've… ruined… EVERYTHING!"
Shoulder's expanded first as her skin tone went from pale to a strange colouration of deathly-grey. The shadowy elements of her form began to transform as well, taking on the appearance of this new flesh. Her outline grew in size as her hind legs shifted, revealing the form of almost goat-like legs before horns protruded from her head. It was the same outline he thought he saw when she first arrived. The mask had contained this form. This was what she really was.
Taking a single step to the side, her entire body twisted to gaze at him. Her goat-like face peered through him, her red eyes glowing brightly within her head. This was what she really looked like. She was enormous in totality, at least three times bigger than he was, with arms seemingly the size of trees. Fanged teeth protruded from her strange, mutated mouth as she breathed out through her nostrils and a mist of air could be seen in the night.
Her hooved foot took another step, crashing against the forest floor, breaking roots laying in its path as the soil broke beneath her.
"My face. You've ruined my face!"
"Feh! So, you get shallow now? I guess you don't like people seeing you for what you really are, huh? Are you going to have to baaaahd things to say about me after this?"
Well, that was probably dumb.
Speed. This thing had speed. When it lunged at him, even without his injured leg, he'd have not gotten away. The androgynous form tore through the brush around them, shattering trees as it closed in on him in a second, it's huge first collided with his chest and he felt the meat in front of his bones become pulverized in a second. Bones nearly buckled as he felt multiple ribs fracture, least of all to say that all the air was sucked out of his lungs before his body was sent ripping backwards, his already burned back crashing through a thick tree, splintering it in a heartbeat before his body slapped against the side of another tree. He bounced off the side, leaving only a mark where he'd hit, landing on his feet but immediately falling to his knees, breathing in desperately for air and coughing up blood.
Shit. This thing hits harder than I thought. I can't even breathe.
The shadow of a huge hoof came down over him, as it was already back on top of him. Taking a deep breath, he rolled to the side as the cloven appendage crashed into the base of the tree as the beast howled. Jabbing his hand into his shoulder's wound, Inuyasha tore his claws out a second later, sending a scattered number of Blood Blades out at the leg. When it turned towards him, he said Kaishi's eyes widened before the arcs of burning blood cut into its leg above the hoof. A howl of pain emerged, roaring like he imagined a storm in Hell sounded like. She fell to one knee as her red eyes glowed, showing the intensity of her hatred growing.
Taking these seconds to catch his breath despite the pain, Inuyasha prepared himself for whath e knew was going to be the final moments of this fight. One of the two of them was going to come out on top. Both were slowed, and he was much more wounded, and despite her being huge, she wasn't nearly as tough as her size let her on as being. Definitely strong, but his claws could get work done where needed.
"Not so tough when I can actually hit you, are you?" he breathed, keeping his golden eyes locked with her red ones. "All that new muscle doesn't do you any favours if I can make you bleed."
A furious snort came from her nostrils as the demon began to drag herself up, her left hoof still actively bleeding. At least she was going to be slowed down now as well, it evened the playing field.
A sweeping motion came towards him as her arm stretched out. Managing to step back, he cut across the back of her hand with his claws, before her other arm came in, almost extending out, much to his surprise, in an unnatural way, the limb itself extending as she grabbed his chest, slamming into the ground. He gagged as he felt her starting to crush his chest. Grabbing her hand, he started to dig his claws into the flesh, feeling it almost repulse several times.
I can't breathe… C'mon! Get off me you fucking bitch!
With the last of his strength, he shoved his fingers deep into the flesh. Finally, the limb retracted. Only as soon as he got to his feet, her head leered down at him, opening as black fire appeared in the back of her throw, bleeding through her teeth. There was a grin on the monster's maw as its goat-like features twisted to assault him. As if in instinct, he raised his scabbard to protect him with one hand, while raising the other, his palm out and waiting.
"You will be removed from my path, Inuyasha," she said, her tone filled with an air of vengeance. "I will see you in your next life."
But he could feel it. It was gliding through the air towards him. Perhaps he'd lost his mind, but he could sense what was coming, it was coming back to him almost as if under its own power, just like Lyssa would have. The sound of a swoosh in the air, and the collision of tree branches were the only noises he could hear beyond the burning furnace inside Kaishi's chest. Even the demon herself seemed to notice, briefly turning her attention away from him as in a blur of steel in the night's air, the Tessaiga flew to him. The grip was caught in his hand as Kaishi's head turned back to face him. Its grey chest glowed black as it snarled, opening its jaw and unleashing what he could only see as glowing, obsidian fire.
"Tessaiga!" he shouted, the blade transforming into its true form, cutting into the flames as he slashed straight forward and across.
The scolding hot fire felt like it was trying to burrow through him, rather than burn atop him. It spread over his skin and penetrated into his muscles. It didn't even stay, it didn't burn, or leave a fire in its path, it blasted and blistered, as if it were a stream of deadly water, simply trying to wash him away. But the flames did stop as he saw through them. A great gaping wound appeared across the monster's belly as she staggered back, her hands going to her guts, her body trembling as she tried to remain standing but quivered, falling to her knees.
A desperate, pained noise escaped the creature before it looked up at him, her glowing, hellish red eyes filled with nothing but contempt.
"You… have… deprived me… my… my…. my everything," it gasped. "When… I f-find you… next… I'll-"
"Lady," Inuyasha breathed once more, looking past her, looking through her, seeing where the wind met before his eyes as he narrowed them on her. "I think you're going to have bigger problems then finding me. I've heard reincarnation's not great to people who were assholes."
Hoisting Tessaiga forward with all his strength, the blade glowed a hot, golden colour before he reared it back, slashing forward.
"WIND SCAR!"
The wind tore open in front of him as golden energy combined with the cyclone of his power. The monster itself looked back at him through the vortex's core in a state of disbelief. As soon as it was hit directly before the energy tore through it, he saw the giantess rear back, her horns tipping back into the air along with her head before the golden energy tore through her. Pieces of the body vanished and vaporized as she howled once more. Her scream echoed throughout the forest before the explosive force of the Wind Scar itself blasted past her, having consumed everything that the demon had been and detonated. The light from it illuminated the night around him for a full ten seconds before it died, leaving the forest back to its shrouded darkness.
He almost fell over, but allowed the Tessaiga to return to its smaller, more manageable form, sheathing his sword. Everything hurt, and it hurt a lot. Even while he started moving forward, he felt like he was walking like Miroku with a stupid limp…
How's that Sesshoumaru? Didn't think I could pull that off, well who's laughing no-… Oh shit Sesshoumaru!
Leg be damned, Inuyasha knew where to go.
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Sesshoumaru the Elder:
The blast told him enough. An extraordinarily rare smile pulled barely at the right side of his lip. He'd not moved since he'd managed to push himself back onto his back, but he had an idea of what happened. Inuyasha had killed the creature which had come to falsely give him the end he'd wanted, rather than the one he would now be receiving. It did give him one small comfort, it confirmed to him that Inuyasha was no different than he was in his own time. He would find a way to survive and move forward. Inuyasha's friends had been apart of almost all the success's he had in his own time. He wasn't a single person as a warrior, but a piece of others. Even here, he had relied on others to win his battles. This was the first one where he knew that was not the case.
His limbs felt colder than his body, but he knew that was apart of his fever. Closing his eyes again, he let his head slide back to one side. When he opened them again, he almost groaned at the drawn-out nature of what this was. Killed by his own sword. Poisoned by that which he'd used to poison others. When his eyes reopened, it was no longer night, but it was cold as if it were. There was a villain surrounding him, but he wasn't inside a hut. It was too familiar, but strange, it was a dream while he was awake. Another hallucination. He was still cognitive enough to understand that.
His eyes briefly searched the scenery around him before noting when his eyes traveled from one side, to the other, the landscape had changed, mixing elements of where he was with what he was seeing. The sun in the sky faded, turning into the half-moon, and by the time there was a break in the trees, he saw what he knew was Inuyasha. Battle-worn and exhausted looking, the half-demon walked towards him with a slight limp before dropping into a half-hearted sitting position next to him.
"Fuck you by the way," Inuyasha almost laughed. "That thing was horrendous."
He managed to give a small 'hmph' at the remark but little else, his eyes being drawn to the stars above. The uncomfortable truth was he was unlikely to survive until morning. Expecting Inuyasha to provide him with a more fitting death was probably no longer an option regardless. This was what it was like for the humans when they died. Their bodies failed them, and they died deaths over the course of hours or days as their bodies failed them.
It was what had happened to Kohaku. The term the humans would use was that he'd been surrounded by friends and family, and it was true, he had been. But Kohaku died a death which Inuyasha himself could only vaguely explain. The failure of several organs from age, and from the hardships of life. It took him two days to die, much the same as it was now taking for him. He remembered being there and seeing Rin looking distraught for the first time, her children trying to put on a brave face as the boy he once knew, Kohaku, fell to the inevitable. He'd been unresponsive for most of it, managing only a few words as his eyes lost more and more life in them over every hour. They'd tried any medicines they could, but it was just simply the end.
Rin's death had been much the same, though she was more aware until the end. It was too painful now for him to want to revisit. Though one prominent thing he remembered was her daughter sobbing, asking him to save her. She already had been saved, there was nothing more he could do. Just as now there was nothing Inuyasha or the monk could do for him.
A human death.
That was the death he would suffer. The irony was not lost on him.
"You didn't have to do most of this stuff you know," Inuyasha voiced. "… The helping me, working with Miroku… you know that stuff."
I am aware.
The mental message clearly wasn't sent, but when he looked back over to his brother, he could see that it was received mostly.
"I've been alone most of my life. After mom died, I was alone. Then I met Kikyo, and for a little while I had someone. Someone I knew. She didn't call me a half-demon on sight, and I knew she cared about me. I knew she loved me. I would have done anything for her. It's why I grabbed the jewel; I didn't want to wait anymore. I didn't want to just be who I was, and let Kikyo's life just pass her by while she tried to hold onto the jewel. I was going to wish to become a full-demon or a human. I knew I'd pick becoming a mortal man. I was scared, you know that? But I was more afraid of watching her go and being left behind, or never being with her. I wasn't even sure if I'd… if I'd be able to handle it. But I thought I could for her."
The confession wasn't lost of deaf ears. It was just something Sesshoumaru would never anticipate. Why he was telling him was still beyond him, but to hear of Inuyasha's fall prior to being reawakened was not something he wished to know now. Especially since he'd already put enough of the pieces together… beyond hearing that he'd wanted to become human. There was something true in his seeing however. Inuyasha understood that he'd be leaving people behind. It was something it'd taken him over a century to learn, and Inuyasha understood it before he did, despite his younger age. They'd both suffered some loss in the same time… so how did Inuyasha know it before he had? What made things different?
"You gonna make it to morning?" Inuyasha's voice changed as he looked at him more seriously than before.
Looking to one side, Sesshoumaru gave his answer only by averting his eyes, trying his best to save any strength he needed to speak when necessary. The wound had already become hotter again, it was burning now even worse than before. When he looked back at his brother, he saw a sadness in his eyes and face, but it was restrained.
Good. Don't do me a disservice by displaying your weakness for everyone to see-
"Yea, I get you," Inuyasha said, turning his own vision back towards the stars.
It felt very much like the day Kagome had died, along with their stillborn child. Before coming to find Inuyasha, he'd tried to use Tenseiga to save them. It was something he'd never told his brother before. What he'd not known was that the sword would not work. He suspected, ironically, her divine powers had intervened with the sword itself. The sword that never worked when he wanted it to. It only worked… it didn't matter.
"What I wanted to tell you, Sesshoumaru, is despite you being a total prick, and a complete reclusive asshole…"
If I'd known this would have been my deathbed conversation, I would have perhaps allowed my other-self to kill me in a more immediate way-
"… but you're the first person I can remember outside of Kikyo who tried to help me. I know you won't admit it, I wouldn't have admitted it either if you weren't… leaving. But… I thought you should know. I'll miss you. I won't forget what you've done for me. And I won't forget that you were my brother."
The sound of the jingle of the monk's staff interrupted in time, but Sesshoumaru's eyes didn't stray from Inuyasha until his sibling looked back towards him. He tried to speak this time, his throat contracting to say something, mostly, frankly, a rebuke. Even in death he recognized that certain behaviours took longer to die than the body. The sentiment wasn't lost, it was… understood, even if uncomfortably. A part of him recognized his father might have been happy to have seen this moment, were his own impending death not apart of it.
Failing to speak, he managed to give Inuyasha a brief glance and a nod, but little else.
"You know I'm right about the reclusive asshole part," Inuyasha jested lightly.
"I take it you killed Kaishi, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, hobbling into view.
"Yea, I got her. She messed me up pretty bad though. We're going to need to find somewhere with more shelter to rest. I don't know how well we can defend ourselves if…"
The rest of the words became more distant as he saw Miroku sit near Inuyasha. It wasn't the monk's concerned glance, or the conversation that was ahead that drew his attention. It was an arrival, and an understanding. An understanding his own mind gave voice to as he realized what it was. A buried feeling, one which he'd thought he'd given away with the prized possession Rin had forced on him so many years ago.
There is one thing I would have wanted. I would have wanted to see her one more time before I left.
A ridiculous thought, even if true. And all the more disappointing for it. This was what he'd been lowered to in his final minutes.
His senses dull, he only noticed a single figure emerge from the trees in the darkness when her appearance became clearer to him. His struggling heart stopped in his chest as his eye's tried to focus. This was another delusion, wasn't it?
"Kagura?" he managed to voice.
The shame of him being in the state he was in fell upon him, but not before his vision already started to blur. Anger mixed with confusion and boiled underneath the surface as a voice… a voice that was not Kagura's dully hit his ears.
"I see you've all made a wonderful mess of things."
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Author's Notes:
One thing I've wanted to do to separate the two Sesshoumaru's is the older one, with more experience and life lessons, is ironically less confident. He's more confident when he knows he has the advantage, I should say. But when he's been fatally wounded such as this, he knows what's coming his way. Clawing back to life at this point is beyond him. I liked his reflection on his own condition over the last few chapters, culminating in this one where he determines his death would be a human death, rather than just miserable or pitiful.
Writing can be a difficult medium for some of the characters who don't talk as much. So, I've been trying to reduce some of the words Sesshoumaru uses openly. I gave him a bit of self-pity this chapter, just due to him knowing how ironic and miserable the circumstances of his own death are. I don't think he'd be as down on it if he died another way, but getting stabbed by your own sword and given an infectious, unhealing wound that kills you slowly over 48 hours, is just not a cool way for a dog-demon with poisonous abilities to die lol.
Ironically and thankfully there is going to be a reprieve from action for a while now. We've got one more Sesshoumaru centric chapter coming up, and then I want to do a bit of time advancement and shift focus onto Kagura, Sango, Kanna, and Naraku for a while.
Also, if you're wondering about where the title of this chapter comes from, I named it after what Toga says to Sesshoumaru in Chapter 7, where he states Sesshoumaru's never been a brother to anyone, by blood or by trial. Because I think at this point, that'd not be true anymore. :)
Quick note for updates. There will be one more chapter update before the end of the year, which will be Chapter 23. It'll either drop next week (maybe) or the week after.
Everyone whose left a review has received a message for their review! Thank you everyone for providing feedback on this project!
