Update (May 2020): Chapter edited and lengthened! Also, a little note for those unfamiliar with Irish sayings (which I'll be slowly integrating into Coraline's manner of speech), "Sleeven" refers to a sly or underhanded person.
Chapter 6: An Unmother's Love & Tessaiga, The Fanged Sword
"Lady Coraline!"
"Lady Coraliiine!" "Are you near?!"
At the same time Inuyasha and Coraline were dealing with the emerging cruel antics of Lord Sesshōmaru and his vassal Jaken, men from the Goshinboku Village had begun searching for the missing teens, the redhead in particular considering how much more vulnerable she was to this era's dangers compared to the half-demon...
Suddenly, two of them come across the girl's leather satchel and army surplus backpack sitting under a tree, but without her attached to them.
"Oh no...Over heeere!"
The others of the search party come running, murmuring in puzzlement and worry as they start to conclude that their attempts to locate Coraline might prove pointless...
Meanwhile, through the well and back in the modern era, we find Akari leaning against the frame of the kitchen's sliding glass door, looking up at the stars as she thinks about her adopted daughter.
Mm, I hope Coraline is doing okay in that other place...
Any sane mother wouldn't allow their child to go time-traveling into an era when the dangers of the world were higher...but then again, I didn't even think time travel was possible until a few days ago...
I'm not entirely sure what sort of daunting task she's been given (at least not yet), but I know she'll go forward carefully.
(Smile) She's become such a strong young woman, one her own parents would be incredibly proud of.
(...Slide)
Just then, a pajama-dressed Sōta comes wandering down to see his single parent after discovering the outside light's been turned on.
"Mom? What're you doin' out here?"
"Oh, did I wake you up? I'm sorry. I just couldn't get to sleep yet, with Coraline still on my mind...Remember? She left to the other world not too long ago, so I can't help but wonder what she's doing right now..."
Nodding understandingly, the young boy comments,
"She'll be gone a couple of days this time. Both her packs had been filled with enough things to go campin' in the mountains, heha!"
"Right. She always seems to be ready for what comes her way...Hopefully, she won't have too much to worry about when she gets back."
"She's lucky to have you to worry about her. I'm sure glad that I don't make you worry like that."
"But I do, how can I help it? I'm your mom. You do still wet the bed-"
Sōta quickly rebukes such a claim with an embarrassed smile.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa mom, I don't do that! I'm in third grade, remember?!"
Akari laughs a bit and responds sincerely,
"All I really want for you two is to be happy."
"Thanks, I know."
They look back up at the sky, and spot a shooting star.
"Oh, quick, make a wish!"
"To be happy, hoh, and win the lottery..."
...
...
Returning to Edo and picking up where we left off, Coraline has discovered that Inuyasha's Mother is not who she appears...Unfortunately, due to a strange case of paralysis, the redhead could only watch as the 'mother' and 'her son' continue to converse.
"Inuyasha...I must return now to the netherworld."
"D-Do you have to?"
The woman holds out her hands, forming a lotus flower between her palms and then directing it to the water...As it fell apart, the petals glow a bit as they touch the clear water.
(Plink...)
"The petals...look into the water."
Inuyasha does so...and the liquid ripples before revealing a memory from long ago.
(Flash)
A ball bounces across a garden bridge, pursued by what appears to be a younger version of the half-demon...
He catches the ball, as his mother watches from afar in an area surrounded by flowers...
Young Inuyasha sees her, and drops the ball to run into his maternal parent's waiting arms...
"That's me...back when I was still small..."
The scene shifts to the little boy being held by his mother in another pavilion similar to the one in the present riverside area.
"You remember. That's good...As a child, I often held you that way."
(Flash)
The 'mother' once again embraces Inuyasha from behind, a gentle smile on her face.
"I held you to my heart, just as I'm doing now."
"Hmm..."
The young man leans into the comforting touch...unaware of the hands shifting to his back...before proceeding to sink into his body!
"I'll never let go. Not now...not ever."
Inuyasha grimaces a bit from the intrusion, before succumbing to her hold.
"M-Mother..."
Coraline watches from afar, becoming mad at herself for not being able to do anything.
Inuyasha!...Dammit, I'm still stuck. Why can't I move?...Uh!
Suddenly, chains begin to reveal themselves around the girl's body, controlled by those same imps from the destroyed carriage...Not only that, but the once beautiful river gradually fades out into a rather dismal area darkened by the night, tar bubbling in one spot...
So this is an illusion...I though' something was off. That fake mother must be controllin' it...
And now tha' I have a better look...I can feel a demonic aura radiating from her.
...She's not from the realm of the dead at'all!
Just as she reaches this epiphany, help to her at last, in the form of Myōga the flea!
He hops onto her cheek while trying to get her to respond.
"Coraline, snap out if it! It's me, ME, Myōga the Flea!"
The flea demon moves onto her shoulder as he thought aloud to the corresponding events.
"Who would've thought Sesshōmaru, Inuyasha's older brother would be the one seeking the tomb? And what a foe he is. And here's Coraline, poor thing, chained head to toe. So wrapped up she couldn't swat a-...c-couldn't even, swat a..."
Myōga becomes distracted by a rather tempting thought.
"Hmm, blood..."
He then hops back onto the redhead's cheek, and begins to suck out some of her red life force...
(Slap)
Coraline's hand hits him, revealing that she wasn't as incapacitated as once thought! The imps scatter away from her as she lifts herself up into a sitting position, remarking as she looks at her palm,
"Huh. Guess I wasn' paralyzed after all..."
Myōga's flattened body floats off her cheek as he mutters,
"H-Happy, to hear it..."
...In the distance, Jaken comes up the river on a boat, fixing his vision on the silhouette of the 'mother'. Zooming in on her now, she's revealed to have lowered her kimono - exposing her chest - as she proceeds to absorb Inuyasha!
"My boy...My precious boy..."
The imp vassal hurries to shore, calling out to the other,
"Stop that, what are you doing?!"
(Whack)
"No soul-sucking till I tell you!"
The 'mother' easily regenerates her face from the injury caused by the staff Nintōjō.
"...S-Sorry."
"You can have your way with him later, after he tells us how to find the tomb of Lord Sesshōmaru and Inuyasha's father."
As the imp finishes reminding the creature the terms of their agreement, Coraline creeps close to their area behind some tall grass and reeds. She meets Myōga's eyes and asks in a whisper,
"So that's Jaken, Sesshōmaru's evil henchm'n?"
"Right, but keep your eye on his staff."
She nods firmly and begins crawling for another spot, intent on getting the jump on the imp...Meanwhile, the 'mother' continues to pry into Inuyasha's mindscape to find the answers she needs to fulfill her master's wish.
"Inuyasha. (Ba-bump...) Inuyasha..."
Inside the illusion, the young half-demon is held underwater by the stretched arms of the more-than-likely-a-demon as her voice came ringing in.
"Your father's tomb, where is it? Please, tell me!"
"I dunno..."
"Then think harder! Let me see into your heart..."
The 'mother' sends her hands deeper into his mindscape...and sees a shape.
"Ah! What's that?"
Back outside the mind, Inuyasha answers in a slightly muffled tone,
"Black pearl...on the right..."
Jaken is not satisfied by the rather cryptic answer.
"What black pearl? Where?...We need more than that! Go deeper!"
The creature masquerading as the half-demon's mother is hesitant to meet the imp's demand.
"But, Lord Jaken...if I delve deeper, his spirit will be broken."
"I don't care, do it!"
...She reluctantly complies with the demon's command, and increases her sedative power.
"Inuyasha, shhh..."
Back in the illusion, the silver-haired youth feels a growing pressure in his lungs.
"M-Mother, I can't breathe..."
Opening his eyes, he looks up, only to see the truth behind the lies.
"Hh! Her face...That means she...!"
But before he could act upon the deceptions, Inuyasha is completely encased by her arms, her hands choking his neck...Back in reality, Jaken grows impatient:
"What's taking so long?! Get a move on before Lord Sesshōmaru comes back and-uh?"
Suddenly, he's robbed of the staff Nintōjō, before letting out a cry of alarm as he's stepped on by a combat-booted foot, Coraline's to be more precise! Raising the weapon like a golf club, she yells angrily,
"T' hell with you, you bastard imp!"
(Whack)
"Aaaaaahhhh!"
And just like that, Jaken is punted into the river...The redhead then turns focus on the 'mother' as she rises, taking Inuyasha with her!
"Stop!...Le' go of him, please!"
"No!"
Coraline continues to chase the creature as she forces boy deeper withing her body...
"Inuyasha!"
She tries to save him, grabbing the sleeve of his kimono and pulling him out some, before losing grip when she trips on a protruding stone...Watching her friend sink deeper into the fake mother's being, Coraline remarks worriedly,
"Damn! At this rate, Inuyasha will be lost within 'er!"
Myōga then comes to her aid:
"Coraline! His spirit; awaken it!"
"Awak'n his spirit? How?!"
The 'mother' settles none too far from the two, and the flea demon explains the former's nature.
"Behold, the Unmother. Born from the grief of losing children to famine and war, she seeks to fill the void within herself, by taking the spirits of others. In this case, Inuyasha."
The teenager narrows her eyes in thought, recalling something from her past.
"Hm...soun's like another version of the Beldam Witch I encountered in France a few years ago...Anyway, how do you suggest we-Hh!"
"That's the way. Soon we'll be together always..."
Inuyasha's arm was now the only part of him not encased within the Unmother...!
"Damn, now what-...Hang on a sec..."
Coraline's eyes fixate on the water's reflection, which is depicting a much different scene than the true one.
"Tha' child...That's Inuyasha, isn' it?"
"An illusion, but yes, that's how it works."
"I see...So if I can take ou' the illusion..."
The redhead then runs into the river, and swipes at the enchanted reflection with the staff Nintōjō.
"Inuyasha, wake up!"
The illusion ripples into nothing, and the Unmother cries out in pain before releasing the half-demon from her hold!...Coraline hurries to help him sit up:
"Thank gods...Are you alrigh'?"
After a few pants and his eyes dilate back to normal...the boy shouts in anger and betrayal,
"How, dare she! You pretended to be-and I fell for it! I can't believe I thought she was...!"
"Jaken and Sesshōmaru are t' blame here, not you."
"What did you..."
Suddenly, the voice of the latter-mentioned broke out, his tone triumphant.
"Inuyasha..."
"Huh?"
Looking up in the distance, we see the dog demon behind this cruel facade (even though his vassal was the mastermind).
"I know where it is now."
"Grrrrrh...Sesshōmaru!"
Inuyasha prepares to get revenge on his half-brother, but the latter uses his demon speed to rush in front of the former and grasp him by his throat!
"Ga-hh! You, bast-!"
"Of all the places for him to find it, all this time beneath our very own noses...Or to be technical, above our very own noses...right above one might say. Our father was determined to keep it a secret, which is why he chose here to hide it."
"Wha', are you talking, about?! You're making no sense at all!"
"Well then, little brother, since this was obviously done without your knowledge, how would you like to come with me and find out?"
Sesshōmaru then holds out his free hand to direct his index and middle fingers towards Inuyasha's right eye...and invokes a bolt of energy to shoot straight into the half-demon's pupil! Coraline and Myōga cry out his name while he lets out a yell of agony...The bolt of energy soon extends, before extracting a jet black orb from his pupil and into his half-brother's hand...!
...The younger half-dog demon is dropped to the ground, and he grimaces while placing a hand over his right eye...
"Inuyasha!"
Coraline hurries down to his side as Sesshomaru chuckles a bit before remarking,
"No wonder searching for it beneath ground was useless. 'Seeing, yet never seen. Protected, yet never known to its protector.' Our father's tomb, hidden in a black pearl deep within your eye."
Inuyasha shudders in both pain and anger, before removing his hand from his eye, revealing that it has lost its pupil.
"And all for something like that?! You pretended she was my mother!"
"Hm, you're not amused?"
The redhead shouts in disgust,
"Of course he isn', y' sleeven," and the boy yells,
"No I'm not...YOU, BASTARD!"
He then tries to take a swing at Sesshōmaru, but the older demon easily leaps away before sending an energy whip at him.
"Die."
(Whau-tk, whau-tk...)
Inuyasha dodges the incoming attacks...but misses sight of another one aimed for his torso!
(Whau-TK)
"Aaaaauuurrrhhh!"
He falls backwards to the dirt, leaving him wide open for a final blow...But, just as the whip is sent out, the Unmother leaps in the way, taking the strike to her own body! Coraline gasps, watching the demon fall apart, her head being the only part still somewhat in tact while pieces of her jūnihitoe float in the atmosphere like ripped flower pedals...
"The Unmother!"
"She, gave 'er life, to protect him..."
Myōga alliterates,
"Demon spirit or not, she still had a mother's heart...and isn't protecting her child what a mother can't help but do?"
The Unmother's head echoes a final cry of,
"My boy..."
(Whau-TK)
Before Sesshōmaru whips the head to pieces!...Both teenagers found themselves growling at the same time, and the human of the pair doesn't hesitate in joining the half-demon's side, much to the flea demon's protest.
"Coraline, don't, or he'll kill us both!"
"Stuff it, will ya?"
Nearby, the vassal imp of the dog demon lord had just crawled back to shore through the tall grass and reeds, before hearing the latter call for him.
"Jaken...Jaken."
"Uh! Aye, milord!"
As he hurries to his master's side, Coraline notices that Nintōjō was back in his grasp!
"Oh no!"
"Lord Sesshōmaru, Nintōjō is ours once more!"
Sesshōmaru takes the staff for his own hand, gazing at the black pearl in anticipation.
"At last, the moment has come."
He drops the jet black orb to the ground, then taps it hard with the bottom of the rod...The pearl glows, and the head of the man opens its mouth, before proceeding to break out in a strong, maniacal cackle!
"The old man laughs! That means the tomb will open!"
A final flash emits from the orb before it vanishes, and in replacement, there emerged a large, gaping black portal!...Sesshōmaru and Jaken waste no time in jumping through...
"They're gone."
Myōga hops off of Coraline's shoulder to Inuyasha's and says with urgency,
"The portal; we must move quickly before it's closed! Do you want your brother to take sole possession of your father's treasure?!"
"...Let him. Whaddo I care?"
"But sire..."
"I never said I'm not going in there, okay? Say your prayers, Sesshōmaru..."
He rips off a piece of jūnihitoe fabric from his other shoulder and yells,
"Cause you're dead!"
He darts his head the other way to tell Coraline,
"You stay here! It's too dangerous for y-huh?"
But, she wasn't there...He turns back to the portal, and sees her with one leg already inside!
"Guh!"
"Well, what're y' waitin' for, an invitation?"
She jumps in...
"Hey!"
As the redhead floats through the temporal path, Inuyasha comes up from behind her and says,
"You realize Sesshōmaru's there...!"
Coraline pivots her head over her shoulder to retort,
"Yeah, and wha' of it? I don't care who 'e is; he's not gonna get away with this! Besides, he's no' the first arrogant bastard I've dealt with in my years..."
They eventually reach the end of the tunnel, coming out in a misty, mountainous space where in the distance, stands a giant armoured skeleton, the bones looking more canine than human...The two land atop of a skeletal bird, and begin flying towards the giant structure...
"Father..."
"This is your fath'r's skeleton?"
"What else would it be?"
"Incredible. So this is wha' can happen to demons when they-...Hey, whaddo ya mean 'what else'?! They're ginormous, okay?"
Myōga comments,
"It's true. They're huge because he himself was of incomparable stature. Here he is in truest form, undisguised!...The treasure sword embedded in his bones. That is what Lord Sesshōmaru is after..."
Deeper within the bony tomb of the once great demon lord of the Western Lands, Sesshōmaru and Jaken have reached the central inner chamber where the object desired by the former resides, it being an ancient katana embedded within a golden pedestal...
"Here is what I have sought. At last, I shall take possession of the sacred sword...The lethal legendary blade known to kill a hundred in a single stroke...Tessaiga."
As the dog demon reaches to grab the hilt of the sword, the imp comments with bated breath,
"They say it was forged from the fang of your father's own mouth! Once you possess the blade Tessaiga, you'll possess his power as well!"
...But when Sesshōmaru went to lift Tessaiga from the pedestal...
(Bzzztttt)
A barrier of energy sparks out and forces him to relinquish his hold! Jaken cries out in surprise, while Sesshōmaru looks down at his hand to see it glowing dark blue and looking more canine than before...
"It's not stuck, is it?"
"Father has done his work well. The blade is insourceful."
"...Sesshōmaru!"
He turns his head to see Inuyasha and Coraline atop of some of the enlarged rib bones, and the half-demon leaps down shouting,
"We're not finished yet!"
(Swipe)
His claws don't meet the mark, however thanks to his older half-sibling's speed, and crashes to the ground while crushing a few of the skulls that made up the floor...He gets up nonetheless, fists at the ready.
"Now where'd he go? Huh?"
He spots Sesshōmaru up on a ledge, who calls down,
"Be more respectful. It's our father's tomb."
Inuyasha smartly retorts,
"Look who's talking! You're the one here who's robbing his grave! Why not respect him by leaving?"
Myōga then exclaims,
"Lord Inuyasha, look back, look back!"
"Back where? How come?"
The half-demon turns around, and sees the old katana...
"Do you see it? The blade forged from your father's fang, Tessaiga!"
Inuyasha walks over to the pedestal, the skepticism heavy in his next tone.
"Huh, what, you mean this? What a piece of junk. Tessaiga what? It wouldn't even cut paper, wet!"
"Lord Inuyasha, you must draw the sword. Please! And you, Lord Sesshōmaru, you couldn't pull it out, could you?"
...Said dog demon was silent for a moment, before asking the flea demon,
"Do you mean to say Inuyasha can?"
"Of course. It was always intended that Lord Inuyasha should inherit it. He, he was entrusted with the tomb, wasn't he? That, should be prove enough, if you ask me. Now hurry, hurry and claim what's yours!"
The boy in the fire rat kimono looks at the sword again, then shakes his head in disbelief before spitting out,
"What entrusted?! What inheritance?! For all I care, he can keep the rusty piece of junk!"
He then directs his eyes at Sesshōmaru before shouting,
"What I do mind though is all the other stuff! Good thing you're in a grave 'cause you're gonna die!"
He then attempts another leaping swipe of his claws, but the older sibling easily dodges.
"Now was that aimed at me?"
Sesshōmaru lands on the ground, before using his superior speed to evade more oncoming attacks from Inuyasha...
(Crash)
The half-demon is eventually forced to punch his fist through bony wall, and he falls to the skull-littered floor.
"Damn...!"
He turns to Sesshōmaru, who insults him by saying,
"You fight as though you're still a child."
Myōga tries to urge his young master to retrieve the ancient katana.
"You can't fight him unarmed. The sword! Get the sword!"
"You shut up!"
"Inuyasha!"
"Huh?"
The silver-haired youth turns his gaze above to where Coraline remains, and she shouts,
"Get th' damn sword!"
"...Coraline?"
"Sesshōmaru wasn' able to pull i' out, bu' who's t' say you can't? If you can't hit him physically, hit 'im mentally! Hurt his pride!"
...A smirk carves onto Inuyasha's mouth as he fully grasps the redhead's intent.
"Heh-ha, I get it...!"
He glances at his half-brother, and says to him,
"I'll do it, if only to see the look on your face!"
Eyes fix onto the young son of the once great dog demon as he walks over to the pedestal, and grabs the hilt of the sword, ready to pull it out.
"This is gonna be more fun than I thought!"
...At this time, Jaken emerges from a small pile of skulls that were knocked around by the antics of the half-brother's, only to gape and exclaim,
"N-N-N-No! Inuyasha is immune to the spell that thwarted Sesshōmaru!"
Myōga wasn't as surprised:
"I knew it! Tessaiga is fated to become Lord Inuyasha's!"
Said boy begins to pull, using all the strength he could muster in his arm as the area surrounding the blade begins to glow...
"You can do it, Inuyasha! Draw it ou'!"
He continues to struggle in yanking at Tessaiga, putting everything he has into drawing it out...
But despite his best efforts, the katana would not yield!
"What?!"
"Huh?"
Both teenagers were dumbfounded...but then Inuyasha addresses Myōga in a low tone.
"Yo."
"Yes?"
(Squish)
"I couldn't pull the sword out, could I?!"
"N-Not, really, no..."
Sesshōmaru grows tired of the scene.
"Are you done? I am."
Using his enhanced speed, he takes a turn attacking Inuyasha, who barely dodges a swipe from the former's claws...only to be pinned to a wall! As he struggles, Sesshōmaru then holds his free hand out and says with a menacing smile,
"I don't think you've met my poison claws."
His palm and claws glow an acid green, before he tries to land a much more deadly blow. Inuyasha barely manages to get away, leaving the acid attack to melt the bone wall rather than his own flesh...
That was too close!
(Dash)
"Running?"
Knowing such a plan was fruitless, the half-demon tries again to go on the offensive, but the full demon dodges before brandishing out his whip, landing a few blows against the former! Inuyasha goes down hard...Jaken laughs, waving his staff a bit before stating,
"Don't worry, milord, it's all taken care of."
"Hah!"
Coraline then lands down on the imp's back, turning to him at the ready in a fighting stance.
"(Glare) You coward!"
Jaken quickly recovers, glaring at her in return.
"Why, you...!"
He then attempts to whack her with Nintōjō, but the girl grabs the staff before it could make contact. She and Jaken now square off to see whose strength will prevail.
"You damn imp!"
"You damn human!"
"Yeah? Well this human's gonna kick yo'r-"
"I don't think so!"
Unfortunately, the strength of the demon vassal wins this round, shifting position so he could punt Coraline in the gut with the heads of the staff, sending her to the ground near the pedestal. Inuyasha looks over her way with concern as he continues to dodge Sesshōmaru's whip.
"Corali-Urrgh!"
But his distraction would allow the other to punch him hard in the gut, just as the human struggles to get up.
"Rrgh..."
Cripes, gettin' bested by an imp. How embarrassing...
"What's the matter? Is that all you got?"
She subconsciously grips the hilt of Tessaiga, and retorts as she lifts herself up,
"Not, even close..."
(...Ba-bump...)
"Hm?"
A beat of power. (Looks at sword) It's, coming from, Tessaiga...
Is it trying to respond? But why now?
"Rraaaahhh-Augh!"
The redhead whirls focus back Inuyasha's direction as he tries to charge at Sesshōmaru, but is stopped by another blow to the gut!...The older dog demon holds his younger half-sibling up, positioning his poison claws threateningly.
"The time has come...Die."
He pins the other to the ground, ready to kill...
"Hh!...Inuyashaaaa!"
Coraline prepares to run over and help in whatever way she could...
(CLACK)
But, she had forgotten what she was gripping the entire time, and in a twist of expectations, Tessaiga is pulled out!
"Uh...Crap."
(Freeze)
Sesshōmaru stops, sensing something wrong, and turns around to see Coraline with the sword in hand...She shifts her grip on the katana to hold it upright by both hands, and says in a hushed, helpless tone,
"...It just, came out..."
Jaken is stunned beyond comprehension, as are both sons of the former great dog demon...
"Um..."
The girl could only look down at the blade, thinking to herself nervously,
...Cripes, whaddo I do now?!