Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! You all rock! I will someday hopefully get around to acknowledging people, but until then please accept this 3k+ word chapter! 3
Note: Healing isn't linear, and I hope to have portrayed that with this fic, that's why somethings bring him back to the thoughts from forever prior.
Also. Writing fight scenes is HARD. Extra kudos to all those of you that do them so well because holy moly. Literal tears involved with this. Also, writing from this perspective (and staying there) is HARD.
S'ounga's power was unmistakable the closer he got towards it. The evil aura spread its tendrils out seeking, searching, and once they landed on him, he could tell it had found what it was looking for. He would retrieve that sword, he had to. The destruction that S'ounga could leave across not only Nipon, but the entire world is something that Sesshoumaru knew he could not let happen.
Cresting the top of a hill, he could see the army of soldiers prepared to meet him. Their scent of rot strong in the air. Drawing Tokijin in a smooth arc he swung, sending forth a blast of energy that sent dozens of the reincarnated soldiers flying.
He felt the pressure around him change, and cutting his eyes to the side he saw the Wind Scar tear across the land.
A tingling flare of pure energy came across his senses and he realized that Kagome was there as well. His eyes glanced across the field to where she should be, and he saw that not only was she here riding upon a flying three eyed cow being directed by Totosai, but Rin was flying A-Un while Jaken used the Staff to try and destroy enemies.
This was becoming tedious. The soldiers just continued to regenerate once he had destroyed them, and Tokijin was beginning to not be able to handle the amount of energy he was putting in it.
'An inferior blade made from an inferior demon' He thought with a mental sigh and destroying an enemy with his claws.
One was running towards him, a change from the shuffling groaning mass that kept attempting to surround him. The others were letting this one through. He swiped his claws, sending it back, only to realize it had grabbed Tenseiga from his open side as he swiped at it. His eyes widened as they landed on the creature. He barely had enough time to bring his arm up to cover his face when the explosion went off.
Tensaiga flew through the air with the explosion, and he lost sight of where it landed as the shuffling mass began to close in again. Drawing the Tokijin again, he continued to slice his way forward. His thoughts returning to his father once again that day until he heard a distinctly feminine yell.
"Lord Sesshoumaru help us!"
Rin. He turned, eyes immediately focusing on the red oni that had not only Rin but Kagome in its grasp and leaping up the side of the monstrosity of a citadel with Inuyasha in hot pursuit.
He lept, taking the same path up that the oni had taken. Reaching an intersection, he realized that Inuyasha was just at the bottom of the steps cutting down some of the undead enemies and running towards him. Coming back to back against the enemies, he felt that in this moment, fighting along side his brother, things clicked into place.
"I am surprised to see you here little brother" he said glancing over his shoulder. "Youre lucky to be alive"
"Sesshoumaru, when this is over we settle things between us for good" Inuyasha bites out towards him.
A wind scar opens the path before him and he takes it. Rushing ahead of his brother, they both enter the citadel. Rin and Kagome are close, their scents strong and pure against the nasty scent of the rotting tendrils that stretch across the walls. Inuyasha is right behind him when they hear Kagome yell out in pain. He makes eye contact with his brother, and he knows that Inuyasha knows.
"NO RIN!"
There is absolute terror in her voice as he becomes an incorporeal ball of energy traversing the distance to the two women in heartbeats. Heartbeats that feel too long. Tokijin is still in his hands and he sees them. Rin, eyes squeezed shut, standing in defense of Kagome who is on the ground and barely conscious. Sounga, in slow motion, is lowering towards her to cleave her to pieces.
He grunts with the force of the swords meeting. Sounga is considerably stronger than the Tokijin, yet it holds steady from the onslaught of energy from the sword.
"Lord Sesshoumaru!" Rin cries out in joy. He will never be able to understand her whole hearted faith in his abilities, but that faith gives him strength he never knew he had before. "Your sword, Lord Sesshoumaru" she says placing the Tenseiga on the ground.
"Go now, you will only be in the way here" he tells them. He can sense Rin helping the injured Kagome to her feet and down the hallway.
"You're too late" Takemaru taunts as he drives the Sounga forward "I will have them, they are just like Izayoi are they not?"
"That left arm" He replies, knowing that the arm that had been severed from his own body was the connecting piece for S'ounga to Takemaru.
"It used to be yours, you want it back I suppose?" Takemaru replied, swords locked at the hilt. He recalls finding Takemaru's body amongst the ashes and burnt out husk after he had died. The thoughts that it was pathetic he had lost his arm, and that there was some poetic justice that they had both lost the same arm in a fight with the same sword and in regards to the same pup.
Takemaru twists his wrist suddenly, disarming him and Sesshoumaru knows he's at a disadvantage as it seems that with S'ounga and his arm, Takemaru has become a much more apt swordsman than he was in the past.
Tokijin lands just out of reach and if he goes for it, Takemaru will cut him down.
"How does it feel to know you will be defeated by your own hand?" Takemaru has him at the end of S'ounga.
"Takemaru, you disappoint me, you havent even realized that you are merely S'oungas puppet. You actually believe that it is your own power. What a miserable spectre you truly are."
"Silence, you will suffer the same humiliation that you and your father inflicted on me" Takemaur announces before making the same mistake so many have made before him. He rolls his shoulder back, putting his weight on his back foot and pulling S'ounga back away from Sesshoumaru's throat, allowing him to duck under the swing forward.
While Takemaru is off balance he feints towards Tokijin and dives right to grab the Tenseiga, sliding the sheath into his obi in a fluid motion and drawing the Sword of Heaven as he turns.
Sesshoumaru understands now. This sword has the ability to not only return life to those who have died, but it is also able to sever the ties of those who are on this plane unnaturally.
"You should be grateful" he replies confidently "you will die by my fathers fang"
"What good is a sword that can not kill?"
"Not humans, but it can kill the living dead." he replies as he slices Takemaru down. He is surprised as the creature pulls back together and begins attacking with renewed vigor.
"What's wrong Sesshoumaru? You're disappointing your father's fang, just like you disappoint all those around you"
He hesitates, his ears ring with the disappointed tone in his fathers voice as he asks if he has someone still to protect, Izayoi's disappointment when he left her in the woods, Inuyasha's disappointment when he was removed from the West. The hesitation almost causes him to lose his head, but he deflects the blow, the sword slicing into mokomoko.
The pressure changes in the room, a static warning runs across his skin and his nose tingles. He lunges back as a wind scar races across the room catching Takemaru in its wrath. Inuyasha has finally arrived.
"Your nose is as sharp as ever Sesshoumaru" Inuyasha remarks without the venom he has come to accept in his words. "I was hoping to take both of you out with my wind scar."
"Your wind is more like a gentle breeze" Sesshoumaru replies, smirking in his brother's direction. Catching Inuyasha's eye he knows that something has changed. There is no heat and anger in his gaze towards him.
"Two brothers working together to avenge the death of their father, don't tell me even demons have feelings" Takemaru has pulled the pieces of himself back together and is advancing.
Inuyasha rushes him "Yea well, who the hell are you to talk?" Their swords clash in a beetle of wills to overpower the other.
"You look like Izayoi." Takemarus lips curl in a cruel smile as he leans in close. "That woman abandoned me when she gave birth to you, it was your brother who stole her first! Then that miserable demon that sired you, a miserable half-breed. Listen up Inuyasha, if you haven't figured it out yet, I am the man who sent your wretched mother to hell!" The pups eyes widened as the words sunk in.
Putting Tenseiga between his teeth he grabbed Tokijin and flung it towards Takemaru breaking apart the standoff and taking Inuyasha's place against Takemaru. The battle raged on for several minutes. Neither brother gaining the advantage. The S'ounga began to glow, wrapping its dark energy around itself and preparing to use the Dragon Twister. The Tetsusaiga rang out loudly against the sword, interrupting the attack.
"You don't know when to give up" Takemaru yelled in Inuyasha's face
"No, I just don't like to give up, there's a difference"
Takemaru's eyes widened and Sesshoumaru knew what he was seeing. The fire and determination in Inuyasha's face that was an almost perfect mirror of Izayoi and confirming it moments later when a stunned "Izayoi" passed his lips. The youki from Inuyasha's attack pushing the samurai through the wall. Takemaru slumped and his deranged mutterings seemed to become clear, to himself at least. "I always loved her, Lady Izayoi" he mumbled as his body turned into ash.
"It's over." Inuyasha said aloud as he walked up next to him. Tensaiga pulsing in his hand. Slicing through the imps of the underworld cutting through the connected fate of Takemaru to S'ounga.
"We need to talk and I don't know what you're playing at"
"Look again, little brother, it is not over yet" he replied as the hellish sword began pulsing life anew. It having realized that it could use Sesshoumaru's residual youki left in his severed arm to move.
"I shall open a portal to the netherworld!" The disembodied voice of S'ounga echoed around them. The ground beneath their feet began to shake and come apart as S'ounga opened the Gates of Hell. He could feel the pull on his soul as the portal to the underworld opened wide like a gaping maw drawing in all living things to be devoured into itself.
Grabbing the back of Inuyasha's fire rat he pulled them both back away from the portal and deposited him nearby and engaging the S'ounga in combat. Inuyasha, unable to just stand back, shoved into him in an attempt to destroy the sword.
There were moments he wasn't sure who he was fighting. Inuyasha or S'ounga as the three swords clashed again and again, youki flaring with each attempt.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled. Her voice was little more than a sigh on the winds, but he heard her as clearly as if she were standing next to him. "You've got to join forces with Sesshoumaru! Please!"
"You know I wont!" Inuyasha yelled back to her.
"Sesshoumaru! Work with Inuyasha! Can you hear me, Sesshoumaru?" His eyes strayed towards hers as the Tenseiga clashed once again with the S'ounga. Of course he heard but it wouldn't be possible. Their youki would have to come together and accept the other and with their history, it just would not be possible.
Like a bolt of lightning a purified arrow slammed into the false body of S'ounga, causing it to pause.
"Now" Inuyasha yelled, yet he had already moved towards the sword, interrupting his brother's attack. They both heard the feminine scream, and he turned just enough to see and the ground gave out beneath Kagome. He was too far into his attack forward to change direction now, his widened eyes saw Inuyasha begin moving towards her and he refocused on his attack forward.
He would destroy this amalgamation and in the meantime, Inuyasha would keep her safe. He continued to meet blow for blow with the sword, yet the Tokijin was beginning to crack and fracture. He would not be able to continue with this sword much longer. A burst of youki pushed him back and in that moment the sword had set its sights on Inuyasha.
Releasing a Dragon Twister towards the two perched on a small raised piece of land he could only watch while feeling his heart clench as Inuyasha raised the Tessaiga. Sesshoumaru could see the rise of his shoulders as Inuyasha drew in a deep breath. The concentration on his face was the same as when he was but a pup. Determined, strong, sure. In that moment it became clear. Although they both had their shared, devastating history, they would be able to fight together. Their hearts both beat to protect those they loved. Their souls burned brightly with their will.
"BACKLASH WAVE"
The Dragon Twister snapped back towards its origin, however with the size of the attack Inuyasha ended up missing on the return attack. S'ounga raised again for another attack and he lashed out with his energy whip and caught the top of the sword preventing the completion of the attack. The closer they got the less power the S'ounga was able to use. Inuyasha had caught up and rejoined the fight. Yet, with Inuyasha next to him they were an easy target for the S'ounga to attack together, the sword sending yet another Dragon Twister towards them. Far too close for them to block, even if they had some protective enchantment. Inuyasha had given Kagome the sheath to Tessiaga and the Tokijin was useless. He could get away, but he would not leave Inuyasha.
"No! You're in the way!" He yelled at Inuyasha, shoving him out of the way of the blast and attempting to draw the Tensaiga. The full blast hitting him directly, as Tensaigas barrier barely activated.
Another Dragon Twister caught Inuyasha straight on, there was no way for him to get to him, nothing he could do. His body just wouldn't move after the blow he had received and he saw as Inuyasha lay prone, he stood, raising the Tensaiga. The anger he felt was controlled and he was focused. Movement to his right had him drawing in a sharp breath. Inuyasha was rising, and still talking back to the sword.
"I hate giving up and I have something to protect! I will NEVER give up!" Inuyasha rose to his feet and raised the Tessaiga in a ready stance. His ready form the same as Sesshoumaru's.
"Fool! As if your sword alone is enough to defeat me!" S'ounga taunted. "I will send you to hell along with those mortal girls!"
As their attacks combined, tensaiga began to rattle. That is the place where he would need to hit.
"Have you someone to protect?" He heard his sire's voice in his head again. He closed his eyes drawing on his power. Their faces were so clear in his mind. Jaken looking up at him as if he could do no wrong. A-Un as a hatchling rubbing their snouts against his face. Rin and her gap toothed smile as she gave him flowers. Kagome's smile as he took interest in the things that she enjoyed, Inuyasha as a pup, his face and claws covered in the blood of his first kill as he held it up to him. His breath stilled, he could hear the roar of the attacks coming together again and his sword sang as it sliced through the air. He opened his eyes watching as Inuyasha's youki and his own combined their attacks into a glorious display of strength and power, completely obliterating the false body of S'ounga.
The clouds above them began to be swallowed into the pit and he looked at Inuyasha, their eyes met and then Inuyasha jerked his chin towards the rise where Kagome was, then he turned towards their combined packs.
Sesshoumaru was gone before Inuyasha fully turned. Arriving heartbeats later next to Kagome.
"You are unharmed?" he asked, dipping his head to her neck, his hand coming up onto her nape on the other side, thumb rubbing against her cheek.
"Yes, are you alright?" she breathed to him, rubbing her nose along his.
"Yes, I have to bring you back to your pack. My brother has an idea of what is going on between us, yet I have not confirmed it"
"Well, I'm surprised if he didn't, I'm sure he's scented you on me"
"Hnn" he hummed as he drew back, "Hold on" he told her as he drew his youki towards his feet, thin wisps of youki curled around their feet like a cloud ass he brought them to their packs. The ground repairing itself as they watched.
As S'ounga fell into the pit, a large burst of light burst from the depths. A familiar youki he never thought he would feel again. He forgot about the pain for a moment as the comfort of his fathers youki washed over the clearing. He stiffened then turned, eyes opened wide to catch any glimpse he may be able to. Distantly he felt Kagomes hand on his arm, the warmth of her hand in his.
"Father" His breathing hitched. Inuyasha came up along his other side.
"Wait, thats our father?"
"Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, you have finally found the answer. You have ensured that S'ounga will be sealed forever. I have nothing more to teach you" Touga said.
Sesshoumaru just stared up at his father, his eyes watered and his heart hurt and he saw his fathers head tilt towards Kagome as he appraised her. A small smile appeared on his face and Sesshoumaru pulled her behind him, finally regaining sense and baring his teeth. Touga laughed.
"I am proud of you Sesshoumaru. You have become a great demon in your own right. And to you Inuyasha, you have come so far and I look forward to watching you also become great in your own way." He looked back towards Sesshoumaru again, nodded and then faded.
He turned back towards Kagome, yet before he could speak, she smiled up at him and said " I know" and she was off, running towards her pack, giving Rin a quick hug, and saying that she would see her soon and they were off. He looked down to Rin who was watching them leave while holding onto his sleeve. Raised his hand and placed it on her head garnering a smile from her.
"Come Rin, let us find something to eat and then rest. You did very well today." He said with a small smile to her. With that, his small pack was also off.