Chapter Twelve:

The Beast Within the Hanyou

Takara sat in her basement, working hard at patching up some clothing.  Suddenly, she froze; she could sense Michiomaru very near, and coming nearer.

Like a bolt of lightening, she raced to her front door, and arrived to see a note pinned to the door.  Her nose told her that Michiomaru had been there just moments earlier, but he was nowhere to be seen.  She closed the door and turned her attention to the letter, her eyes first narrowing and then widening in horror as she read.

"My Beautiful Takara,

I apologize for not returning to you sooner, my dear mesuinu.  I have a guest in my home who I would like you to meet.  I believe you know him – he has the same blood you have, though half of it is ninjen.  Is the name Inuyoshi familiar?

You should be able to find me from the scent on this paper; I have faith in your powers, dearest Takara.  I would be very disappointed if you didn't come to meet this hanyou; in fact, I may have to kill him if you don't.  I look forward to your visit, mesuinu.

Your Admirer

The note crumpled as she clenched her fist, and her eyes burned red.

"Michiomaru."

*          *          *

Inuyoshi groaned as he awoke, and found himself lying on a slab of rock.  His wrists were tied above his head, and his ankles were similarly bound.

Looking around, he saw that he was in a cave, most likely somewhere in the forest.  Panic seized him, and he started to pull frantically at the bonds that held him down.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

A dark figure stepped into his line of sight.  He recognized him as the youkai who had come to his door; suddenly, he remembered what had happened.

"What do you want with me?" Inuyoshi growled.  The stranger smiled, revealing long fangs.

"It is not you I want, hanyou," he replied.  "You are merely bait for my true target.  After all, what use does a youkai have with a hanyou?"

A deep growl started back in Inuyoshi's throat, and his eyes narrowed.  "And who do you think you can lure here with me?  I know no one of any interest to a youkai."

"It is not someone you know, hanyou; rather, someone you once knew, and share blood with, though she has the blood of a full youkai."

The inu's eyes widened.  "My imouto [younger sister]."

"She has already been alerted of your current situation.  If she is a good imouto, she will come for you.  If she isn't…" he grinned. "Then you die."

He chuckled as the hanyou began to struggle with his bonds again.  "It is useless to fight them; they are special youkai bonds.  You will only wear yourself out."

Inuyoshi pulled one more time, and then was still again, breathing hard.  "What do you want with her?"

"We have some unfinished business."

At that moment a koumori youkai entered the cave, his purple eyes glaring into the hanyou's gold eyes.  The daija youkai, as Inuyoshi could now tell, turned towards the newcomer, and then looked back at the inu.

"I'm afraid I have business elsewhere to attend to, hanyou," he said.  "But Kentaro will keep you company.  I'm sure the two of you will make friends."

"Is she on her way, Michiomaru-sama?" the koumori asked.

"The note has been delivered, if that is what you're asking.  Whether or not she comes depends on her feelings towards her hanyou tanechigai.  If she is not here by midnight, you may kill him.  But not a minute before, understand?"

Kentaro bowed his head slightly.  "As you wish, Michiomaru-sama."

Michiomaru departed, and Kentaro smirked at his prisoner.

"So you are the eldest child of the great Sesshoumaru-sama," he said, walking up closer to examine the hanyou.  "It's rather ironic, don't you think?  Sesshoumaru spent his life despising ninjen, yet his first mate was one.  And his only son is exactly like his tanechigai – a worthless hanyou."

A low growl came from deep in Inuyoshi's throat.  "Considering the heartless animalistic nature of the youkai I've met, I'm proud to be a hanyou.  At least I have some feelings and civilization in me."

Kentaro struck Inuyoshi, leaving red claw marks across his face.  The hanyou didn't cry out, just clenched his teeth and glared at the youkai before him, his growl becoming slightly louder.  Kentaro couldn't see, but Inuyoshi's claws were beginning to get longer, as well as his fangs.

"Remember who is in charge of your life right now, worthless hanyou," Kentaro hissed.  "I cannot kill you yet, but that doesn't mean I can't beat you senseless."

"Just try it," Inuyoshi growled.  Purple stripes formed on his face, one curving upward under his right eye, and the other curving down on his left cheek.  Kentaro's eyes widened at the sight of the stripes, and he stepped back.

"What the…"

Suddenly, there was a deafening explosion at the entrance to the cave.  The rocks collapsed, and within seconds, the entrance was completely caved in.  Dust swirled around them, and smaller rocks fell closer to where they were.

A second later the caved in entrance exploded again, sending large rocks hurdling towards Kentaro and his prisoner.  The koumori youkai dropped close to the ground as the boulders flew over him.

In the cave entrance stood a tall figure with long hair ruffling in the wind.  As the dust settled, Kentaro could see red eyes shining down at him.

"The mesuinu…" he gasped.  He scrambled to his feet and drew a sword.

Takara's body began to radiate green, and she raised her right hand towards Kentaro.

"Taste my doku, koumori," she whispered, and suddenly the toxic glow around her body centralized in her right hand.

"Grrrraaaaaaaaar!"

Inuyoshi tore away from his bonds and leapt to his feet, his transformation complete.  His eyes burned red, his senses overwhelmingly sharp for a hanyou.  But he was no longer a hanyou.  Growled loudly, his head jerked towards Kentaro.

"Impossible…" the youkai whispered.  "Your scent…it is that of a pure youkai!"

Inuyoshi stepped forward towards the koumori, his shoulders hunched and his frighteningly long claws extended.

"Worthless rodent!" he screamed in a voice that wasn't his own, and then launched himself at Kentaro.  Takara watched, shocked, as the transformed hanyou ripped the screaming youkai apart with his claws.  She had heard about how a hanyou's youkai blood could take over if the hanyou was in great danger, but she had never seen it happen before.

Within moments Inuyoshi stood over a bloody mess, blood staining not just his claws, but his hands as well.  Takara could sense that Kentaro was no longer alive.