"Ho- How is it – That's impossible! You're just a pathetic human!" The imp shouts; sweat drips down his face in streams. His master, Sesshomaru, remains cool and collected, but his eyes speak volumes of uncertain frustration.
"Hey! Don't look at her! Look at me!" Inuyasha shouts.
In milliseconds, out from my peripherals I spot a white blur darting at me with incredible speeds and before I can blink Sesshomaru stands before me inches from my face. The well-kept-rage seeps off like summer heat. The man is taller than me, a good foot or two, so looking up at his face requires a strain on the neck.
"What are you…You are no normal human."
"Leave her alone! She's not involved in this!"
The demon peels his eyes off me like a bandage on hair, I take the second he does to step back, holding the sword ready at my side just in case I'll need it to defend myself. Although I've never even held a sword before this, the weight and feel, feels natural in my hold. Almost like it is a part of my arm.
"For some unknown reason I was unable to draw Tetsaiga, fortunately you were not able to draw it either. It's obvious she must die." From what I can tell Sesshomaru hasn't noticed I've moved away but his focus is back on Inuyasha.
"You're right, it's weird she could do it and we couldn't. But she's still just a human girl. Keara, give him the sword."
"No!" I snap. "He couldn't pull the blade, so he can't wield it either! You were able to at least hold it without being shocked."
"Inuyasha, your patience with this creature is astonishing to me. To protect her, to indulge her – even seem to love her." My heart jumps at the very last few words; how can he say that? And so casually as if he knows anything. The grip I have on the hilt tightens; I take another step back until my back is flush against the rib cage. "Certainly these 'feelings of mercy' of yours are not something I inherited from our great and terrible father. It must have been that mother of yours, that – human – mother, who caused our father to meet his end in this ignoble place. Her blood affects you as well. Is it that which endears them to you? When it comes to humans, I, of course, bear no such weakness."
Sesshomaru twists towards me once again, his eyes a playfully coy glare – instinctively I get defensive under those eyes. Quickly I lift the battered sword in front of me like a pathetic shield of some sort. A little grin forms on his lips, he lifts his right hand, palm towards me and fingers straight. Narrowing my eyes suspiciously at him, a shower of green mists from his palm at me.
At first it feels like a hot rain against my skin followed by an awful death stench, so foul that I buckle to my knees with the sword above my head facing the spray. The green liquid thickens the more it comes from his palm, enveloping me in a nasty hot slime – the skulls below my feet melt into a heavy thick muck that slowly sucks at my bare feet. The mist hardly burns my skin and feels more like a hot shower that I'd take at home but the smell is nearly unbearable. Before I know it, I'm covered in a grey muck, probably from the rib cage around me melting from the green liquid and the more that packs on the thicker it gets until it dries into a hollow shell around me.
"Keara," I hear Inuyasha call, his voice sounds further away now. The smell is so terrible that it burns my nose hairs, I know for a fact that if I open my mouth, I might release the contents in my stomach so I stay still, hoping that the smell will slowly disperse from me and free me from this god awful prison.
"So fragile, don't you agree, little brother? How they could have bested…." Sesshomaru pauses briefly, even his voice sounds far away though he's so close, "But not just humans, half breeds, too."
A thundering explosion occurs somewhere nearby, the force so powerful that it rattles the bones that have not melted, beneath me. Through the thicket of the muck, I can still hear the battle going on between brothers; Inuyasha grunts and groans, I can almost picture him fighting in my head with his claws clenched.
"How can you think with your dirty blood that you are my equal?" Sesshomaru provokes.
Another thundering impact shakes the bones and even the hollow muck around me but this time, a hair thin crack crumbles up the side of the thick walls. Cool air with a faint light breaks through and I can almost breathe again.
"Half breed or full breed, to me it doesn't matter but when you insult my mother, that's when I get angry for her sake then, if nothing else, I'm gonna make you pay!" Inuyasha yells. There is movement outside of my shell, the sound of skulls shuffling, the whistling of wind as one brother moves after the other and the taunts they give one another. "That was for my mother!" Inuyasha shouts, "And this, this is for Keara!"
Hearing him say my name has my heart beating quickly again, but this time is different from before. It's like a pulse that releases from me, a wave of some sort, much like my powerful when it bursts from me. The beating is loud in my head, like war drums going off. Somehow, the stench around me doesn't bother me anymore.
With the pulses, my body quivers and shakes, at first doing absolutely nothing to help me but as the seconds pass I notice the crack on the sides of the muck grow longer and wider. I think of Inuyasha, his amber eyes as they glare at me when he's angry or when they are soft, like liquid when he's content. How, regardless, all he wants from Kagome and I, is the jewel and yet he always protects us.
The sword above my head vibrates in my hands, I open my eyes to glance up at it and see that the pulsing isn't just coming from me – but from the sword as well. It's telling me something…I have to break free.
With the little strength I can use in such a small space, I push my body against the cracks in the muck. They grow and grow, the more strength the more groaning sounds come from me. And then suddenly, a huge crack splits from the top and pops down the rest of the muck until it cracks and breaks from around me as I stand up from my knees.
I drop the sword back in front of me, the blade still pulses in my hands, there is a fighting fire in my that makes me feel fierce and dangerous – I glare at Sesshomaru as the brothers' stare bug eye at me. The demon lord's eyes return to normal quickly, and something like a frown ages his face.
"You're not…dead." Inuyasha mutters bewildered on my left. Shaking my head, I kick the rest of the muck down just to prove to Sesshomaru that I'm not so easily dealt with and step out from the hole he had me trapped in.
"It's alive," I say.
His expression turns to one of confusion, he hesitantly approaches me and as he does I lift the blade in my left hand alone and hand it to him. He stares at the blade, the longer it sits in his hand, the more the pulses fade away. "How are you?"
"The sword," Sesshomaru interrupts. "It protected her."
"It's true, those claws of his drip deadly acid poison. It had to be the sword or she would have died. Why not put it to a real test and try it on Sesshomaru?" Myoga finally chimes in after all this fighting; the little flea clings to Inuyasha's shoulder for dear life but his comment earns a wicked glare from the older brother.
Hisssss…..
We all turn our attention back to Sesshomaru; the sound of a snakes hissing mixed with a low rumbling growl comes from deep inside him. His eyes flicker wide open, pools of blood spills into the white of his eyes, twisting around his amber irises until they turn into a vibrant dark blue. Twirling around him out of nowhere comes a gust of wind powerful enough to lift his long silver hair above his head and even sending full skulls in random directions, colliding them so strongly against the rib cage that they crash and break.
"Big words for such small vermin. Let's see if a half breed can even wield the Tetsaiga. I, myself, shall be the witness." Sesshomaru's once regal faces distorts into something monstrous. His teeth turn into elongated fangs that along with his jaw, comes outwards into a dog like nose; beneath him an explosion of blood colored smoke overtakes him completely – bursting from where he stands until it expands so large that it practically takes up the entire stomach cavity.
Inuyasha takes a single step and already he's ahead of me, guarding me from the flinging skulls that are suddenly directed at us, but each impact of skulls that hit shatter against him like glass on cement.
The smoke disperses once it reaches the height of four stories, and behind its cloudy mass reveals a gigantic white dog that looks like he came right out of a mythology book. This is not your average puppy; this dog is the size of a three story building. A long tail sweeps the skulls below, ears flop as if they have their own gravity and on his forehead is his recognizable purple crescent moon. He growls and roars; the very sound shakes the massive skeleton around us.
"Now we know his real form. With this sword, I'll win for sure. I'd say this battles just about finished before it even starts." Inuyasha swings the rusted blade around with an uncomfortable grip, "Keara, go hide until it's over."
"What?" I raise a brow at him, "Hide?" We are surrounded by a rib cage in a room full of bones with no crevices – there is no place to hide. Even with my confusing and sarcastic question, Inuyasha doesn't even peer at me over his shoulder. He's certain on his demand and honestly, I can't fight that monster of a dog, I have no weapons. Shaking my head, I head to the nearest wall and begin my ascent up the ribs using any knick and crack to pull myself up the great demon's stomach.
Behind me, the demon roars once again, the ribs I hold onto vibrate under my grip but it doesn't deter me, I'm so swift that in the matter of seconds I can already see the light coming from the gaping hole through the giant's neck and mouth.
"This is it, sword! Time to show me what you're made of!" Inuyasha shouts.
Again, the skeleton quiver against me turning my weakening fingers into claws of steel that hook to the broken bone with dear life; I pause, glancing over my shoulder down at Inuyasha who swings at the massive monster with a toothpick of a sword. There is no damage where ever the sword meets fur.
"It didn't even leave a scratch!" Inuyasha yells, pushing back from the demon as it swings a paw at him, "Myoga! What's goin' on? This sword can't even bruise, let alone cut!"
This is wrong – all wrong. When the bones melted around me from that acid I was sure that sword pulsed with life. It had power underneath its blade. It can't be just a pathetic rusty blade. The dog demon is closer to me now, almost against the rib cage below me with purple waterfalls of slimy liquid dripping from all sides of its jaw. Each drop splashed on the skulls below like magma exploding from a volcano, melting the world below just the same. A nauseous gas fills the room, covering the floor with a blanket that both melts and suffocates. It crawls up the ribs with a speed far faster than I can climb. The odor burns the hairs of my nose, itching it – I start to sneeze, dizzying me.
I kick my body up with my legs and continue my ascent upwards on a much slower pace, having to pause to cough as the green screen of smoke climbs closer to me. Next to me a cloud of grey smoke zips on by only stopping next to my right hand far above my head to look back at Inuyasha. It's Myoga, with a backpack of stuff tied to his back as if he's running away from home forever. "I suppose…that, uhmm, it'll make a lovely heirloom, if nothing else! Besides, it's the thought that counts. Now if you'll excuse me. Don't let Sesshomaru push you around, okay?"
"Hey! Where are you going?!" Inuyasha shouts, but Myoga is out of here faster than I can attempt to snatch him. And I wanted too, he got us in this situation blabbing about that sword and now he's running! I follow suit after him, focusing solely on the idea of catching that little bug instead of the death smoke that follows me.
The flat of my feet start to burn, I look down to see the green fog meeting my flesh and the more it crawls up my red pants holes begin to sprout all over as the cloth burns away. "Shit…" I mutter. No matter how fast I go it'll still get me, I look up and see the neck is only a few more feet away and then I will be in a tunnel of doom where the green smoke could suffocate me.
I know I can survive it – I did before but this time I don't have a magical sword in my hand or surrounded by melted bone. I climb, faster and harder than I can, passing the vale between the open cavity and the throat. Luckily, his neck isn't very long and his head is practically on his shoulders, I am sure from the years of the skeleton sitting still and the sun beating on it.
The echoes of the two battling are much louder up here than I thought. Their groans and growls are like earphones in my ears playing music. The light burns my eyes now but warms my flesh in the most comforting away as now my calves and knee caps are burning from the gas.
I reach the top with the way out behind me, a decent size gap separating me from my freedom. There is no other way for me to reach the other side but to jump and I was never a good sportsman. With my lack of emotion, I lacked the motivation to run or play sports in gym, my legs are weak and I've never had to jump for my life. Taking in a deep breath, I glimpse to the other side.
I don't have a choice. Just shut up and jump.
Thinking like a frog, I bring my feet up as high as I can to the core of my body, crouch forward into a ball, taking another deep breath – I push with all my weight and strength off the wall. Instinctively I throw my arms in the direction of the mouth, forcing my body to twist towards the opening just enough for me to catch a ledge.
BOOM, CRASH!
The giant skeleton groans as if it is alive, an earsplitting explosions causes the bones to vibrate with such an intensity it literally starts to crumble and move from the impact. My chest collides against a ledge, forcing out all the air in my lungs. Thrusting my arms forward to grasp for anything, my tiny hands grip to a back molar of the skeleton's mouth. A scream rolls through my chest and past my lips; I bite down to halt it from letting out too much.
My chest burns, my lungs feel like I've been punched a hundred times. My stomach rolls like I'm about to vomit and my hands have caught onto something on this tooth that feels sharp and they may be bleeding. Below me, my legs dangle helplessly. I'm going to die…I feel like I am going to die. My arms struggle to hold my weight and my eyes burn from sweat and tears.
Fight…Survive.
The voice is sweet and familiar; it sounds like it is coming from above me. Squinting my eyes through the burn, I can only see the blue sky from the open mouth. No woman, no person. A chilly crisp breeze touches my cheeks; I inhale all that I can take of this sweet freedom. For a split second, I force my eyes shut so tight that the rest of the tears roll down my cheeks, leaving a trail of ice. I need to survive…
I begin by swinging my legs back and forth, first slowly and then quickly enough for my legs to get close enough to a ridge to catch the edge with my toes. With my hands I pull my chest and stomach over the lower jaw until I am able to roll the rest of the way into the mouth. Relief spreads through my lungs, they ache less now and my hands are covered in small, dirty cuts. I lie on my back staring at the top of the mouth while the breeze chills the rest of my body. Outside I can hear the commotion of a battle, the last bang most have been them exiting the skeleton somewhere.
A groan leaves my body as I roll onto my side and struggle to stand. My legs wobble but that's it, I focus solely on exiting the mouth and when I climb over the last bit of teeth, the sun blazes over me and warm me to my soul. The outside world is bright and painful on my eyes; it is the first time I can see myself fully after my climb. The red pants are frayed up to my knees from the acid; my calves are decorated with small bubble like blisters. They burn and ache like no tomorrow. My hands, as I had seen before, are covered in small cuts that are so dirty that they look like tar.
RAWR!
The ground shaking growl comes from my right, I'm on the shoulder just enough to spot Inuyasha and the Dog demon Sesshomaru, fighting near the edge. Between us is a small forest of baby trees and bushes, I trudge through them with every step a dreadful one as the bushes and trees grab at my legs and arms like hungry hands. Near the two, I see a colossal size hole in the giant's armor that wasn't there before.
They are separated, Inuyasha nearest me and Sesshomaru near the edge. Finally, the dog demon looks a little banged up with a few cuts on its shoulder and arm. "Now do you see the power of Tetsaiga? You're giving Sesshomaru, 'Whatever'. I hope." Myoga's nasally voice comes from beside me, I glance over to spot his tiny form perched on a leaf of a bush a few feet away.
Inuyasha glowers back at the both of us then, his eyes pause on me, his eyes fall to my legs and as they do I follow his line of sight to find that my red pants are burnt up to my upper thighs, my calves and kneecaps are bloodied and blackened from the acid mist. Now that I see them in the light, the damage is more real and the pain rows over me. I bite down on the inside of my cheek to prevent the pain from showing on my face.
He pulls his eyes from my legs and looks back over to Myoga, "Where've you been?! This thing's 'bout as useful as a walking stick."
Suddenly, the dog demon lurches forward, massive paws release their sharp claws as he comes down towards Inuyasha. Inuyasha's white ears twitch, just in time his eyes shoot up and he leaps backwards towards us. "What am I going to do?" He questions, mostly to himself.
The blade seems less alive now than it did when it was under the melted sludge with me. There is no pulse and it appears to be a normal, rusted blade – but I know it lives. I felt it alive in my palm but I was fighting for my life…At the time all I was thinking was survival, to get out and to help Inuyasha. I thought nothing else.
"You have to believe in something, you need something to fight for. The blade can sense it. It was pulsing in my hands when I felt the need to fight!"
"It pulsed?" He asked, he turns partly to me, eyes soft as liquid.
My heart beats loud in my chest; I can taste the tasteless lump in my throat when our eyes meet. "Like a beating heart."
A thundering snarl erupts from Sesshomaru once again, regaining our attention; his large form steadily walks towards us like an elegant dance. Inuyasha tightens his grip around the handle and he repositions himself into a fighting position.
"She's right Inuyasha, your father made that sword, he made it with you and your mother in mind." Myoga finally chimes, this time; he's made it to my shoulder.
"To protect us…" Inuyasha repeats in a whisper. He looks over the blade in awe, even with the blade covered in rust, there is a shine behind the orange that shows it still lives beneath the dark. He glances back at me again, this time over his shoulder but with a much more thoughtful and warm expression than before. I'm afraid to say anything that I might distract whatever deep thought is on his mind regardless of the towering beast heading our way. It is his moment. He needs to find his strength and connection to the sword.
Just like that, without another spoken word, he turns his attention back to his brother and starts walking towards the incoming beast. The beast growls at this, his tongue flailing about at the sides of his mouth like hunger flames.
"Yeah, yeah, growl to you too buddy. Let's get this over with." Inuyasha swings the blade to his side in a ready position and when he does, the blade pulses letting off small waves that fly outwards. Without time for any of us to react to this, the beast leaps high into the air and dives back down towards Inuyasha with one paw stretched out for him. Four sharp talons glisten in the sun and my heart jumps into my throat.
"Now!" Inuyasha shouts, on time for him to leap up towards the incoming mass that shadows in him seconds. At his side, the sword bursts into smoke, and as the smoke disperses a large fang-like blade is left in its place. He swings the fang with ease towards the paw that nears him, in seconds, blade meets flesh, shredding through the giant dog's arm with a brilliant trail of light following. When the blade reaches the nape of the shoulder, Inuyasha twists it and off pops Sesshomaru's left arm.
The arm collides onto the shoulder of the skeleton; blood splatters everywhere like rain, droplets just barely reach at my bare feet. Not too long after, Sesshomaru lands face first into the shoulder plate and skids along the metal with a shuddering bang. His red eyes are wide with surprise. A few feet from his jaw Inuyasha lands with a grin of pride. The blade at his hand has steam hovering from the clean metal.
"It's a fang. The ol' man really did leave something worthwhile."
Sesshomaru scrambles to his other three feet, struggling as his limbs wobble beneath his now awkward weight. Where the arm is missing, blood comes down like thick red waterfalls.
"So here we are two brothers fightin' over father's sword, compared t' him you an' me are nothing. Don't you get it? We're like a couple of fleas jumpin' around on his body. So what if I don't have any memories of him. It was me, father chose to hide his tomb in. I'd rather give up an eye than give up his sword."
Sesshomaru lurches forward with a roar louder than any before. Inuyasha reacts by rushing for him, swinging the glowing blade with his right hand and aiming for the beasts' chest. The fang collides with him once again, leaving a brilliant light where the strike wounds, sending the beast with enough force, to fly off the skeletons remains and down to the world below.
The imp screams, "Lord Sesshomaru!" And as he does the beast implodes into a small orb that glows a white light, it dances in the air for a second like an elegant faerie before jolting off away from the skeleton. The imp scurries after the orb in a panic rush.
Inuyasha lands down next to me, planting his sword into the shoulder of his father. He looks exhausted but satisfied; a little grin marks his cheeks. "I take it back. The swords not such a piece of junk."
"You see? I was right, of course if you'd listen earlier, you'd never have – "Myoga's cut off, Inuyasha's finger comes down upon him and smashes him against my shoulder. His smile falls when he looks at me and a more serious expression follows stead.
"Are you ok? You went through a lot today."
Now that everything is at calm, and he's brought my attention back to my own body, I can feel the tang of pain that runs through my legs. It is a hot sensation, a burning that can't be described. Though I should be crying, I can't feel the tears at my lids, only the satisfaction of winning a battle against someone that felt to terribly powerful to defeat.
"I'll be fine."
"Ye wielded the sword?"
We all sit around the fire pit watching as a pot of stew boils in the center. The only one not present is Inuyasha. After we returned back to this realm, the pearl that had sent us to the land of the dead, appeared in the sky and fell into Inuyasha's eye, returning his iris and his sight. We walked back to the village in silence, the blade returned to its normal shape and now secure around Inuyasha's waist where it much belongs. He didn't stay long, only long enough to explain everything that went on and where we were off too.
"And heard it pulse. It felt alive. Like a living being."
Kaeda and Kagome look at each other in surprise.
"My theory is that it's because Keara is mortal. Don't forget Tetsaiga was forged by Lord Inuyasha's father as a way to protect his mortal mother. It was his feelings towards mortals that allowed Lord Inuyasha to wield it effectively. For someone like Sesshomaru, who only hates humans, wielding Tetsaiga was impossible." Myoga states.
"Is it just a demon thing to hate humans? Or does he have a reason?" I ask. The hate that came off that man was an energy I'd never felt before – almost like a wave that developed the power he had at the same time.
Myoga shrugs all four shoulders, "I don't know much about Sesshomaru's past. It's typical for demons to dislike and feed on humans but he has a special hate for humans that even his father troubled over."
Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's father was a powerful demon Lord one that Myoga even admitted was the most powerful to have existed and yet he hated no humans that he ran into. Obviously with Inuyasha being a half demon so why does Sesshomaru, a demon of the same blood line, would hate humans with so much anger?
My legs are as stiff as rocks; I'm almost walking like a zombie with how they won't bend. Kagome was no medical aid, she wrapped my legs to the best to her ability but we had to do it over twice because the first time was cutting circulation. I can't complain, I wouldn't have been able to do it myself. I can't even reach my toes. All those years of sitting in the corner during gym has back fired on me.
Kagome and I have been slowly making our way to the outskirts of town for at least ten minutes now. She surprises me with a bright smile every minute and half, when she turns towards me and patiently waits for me to wobble towards her like a learning toddler. I like this Kagome, but something doesn't seem right. She's been really quiet since the moment we've returned only speaking up here and there to add on to the questions Kaeda has asked. And then after all of it, she asked if she could speak to Inuyasha and I alone. We've been on this walk ever since.
We finally see Inuyasha on a branch about half way up a tree around a corner. He's swinging the now back to normal sword as if he's swatting at flies. There is a bit of irritation on his face, maybe he's been doing this since we've gotten back?
As we approach closer to the tree, Kagome takes in a deep breath and shakes a little. My eyes narrow as I watch her nerves get to her suddenly. "Inuyasha?"
"Huh?" He responds, his swings come to a stop and he looks down at us with surprise. He must have not heard us coming. Ironic – half demon.
The nervousness spreads to Kagome's hands; they retreat from where they sat against her back and rub against each other in front of her. She kicks the dirt and lets out another long, exhaled sigh. "I know this has all been my fault – the jewel shattering and all. I want to help but I'm no good at fighting and not being caught," you can say that again. She clears her throat and sorrowfulness drains her visage. This must have been bothering her this entire time when Inuyasha and I had just suddenly disappeared… "What I'm trying to say is, I think my help would be better if it came from the present. I can stay home, go to school and leave the jewel here with you guys. In the present, I can gather food, medical supplies, clothes, and any other necessities and once a week or a couple of days, Inuyasha can come pick them up."
Inuyasha and I look at one another, his more suspicious where as I am happier. Her leaving will benefit our journey but it will also provide us things we can't get here. She can stock up on items that can be super beneficial…I could even ask for history and demon books to help with identifying some of the enemies we may run into. Plus, there are no feminine products here in this time period.
"Maybe it's for the best…" I break the silence, earning a raised brow from the half demon. Kagome's eyes are wide in shock as she stares at me with an almost puppy look. Did she expect me to say no out of the two of us? "It will help…Just send us a notepad and a pen so I can write things we may need. There aren't any hygienic items here for a girl and I could use some history and demon books to identify with what we're up against."
Inuyasha grumbles, "Fine, but you better have all that crap together when I come. I don't want to be wasting any time in the present when all the jewels are here in the past." He sheathes his sword and crosses his arms.
"I will have all the stuff together in a few days, I promise! I don't want to not help; I just feel like I am better help there than here."
"It's okay, Kagome. Really." I assure.
She twirls fully to me; suddenly she quieting her voice and leans forward towards me with a somber expression on her face. "Do you…" She starts, pauses for what I think is to rethink what she's about to ask. "Do you want me to inform your foster parents?"
My heart drops, the blood drains from my face. I had forgotten all about them…So many families, so many faces that blurred together before I went to sleep at night. None that really cared and those that tried gave up in days. The family I was with now was never really home. They worked constantly and only accepted me in because the agent that worked with me at the foster home was related to them and felt bad I was back for the number of times. Out of the peripherals of my eyes I spot Inuyasha staring at me with a look of curiosity and sadness – like he already knew. Was it because he was listening to me a couple of days ago? About my past…I don't remember mentioning this family but he must have figured…I think.
A lump fills my throat and all I can do is shake my head.
"You sure?"
"She said no." Inuyasha pushes.
"I was just asking! You never know."
I take a second to clear my throat a couple of times, "It's okay. Don't worry about them."
"Well…Okay."