Chapter Thirteen:
Inuyoshi's Inheritance
"Inuyoshi," Takara said softly. The transformed hanyou turned around quickly at the sound of her voice, and began to growl at her.
He's lost his senses, she thought. He doesn't know who I am.
"Inuyoshi, control yourself," she commanded. He answer, but instead launched himself at her. She leapt straight up, and then landed behind him.
Quickly, she took hold of his arms, and shook him violently. "Inuyoshi! Snap out of it! Now!"
A pure animal roar came from his mouth, and he struggled to break from her grasp. She held his arms back with her right arm, grabbed his ponytail with her left hand, and then yanked his head backwards so he was practically laying against her.
"Let go of me!" he yelled. She pulled his head back farther, and bit his dog ear. He didn't even register that he felt pain; instead, he snapped his own teeth at her.
Both hands full, she bit him again, harder. Blood trickled down into his white hair.
"Get a hold of yourself!" she commanded, speaking directly into his ear. "You are a hanyou. Your youkai blood is overwhelming your body. You must get control."
He shook his head violently, growling and snapping his teeth. Sensing that the transformation would not soon undo itself, she released his hair, and then punched him hard in the side of the head, knocking him out cold. He slumped to the ground, taking her with him, as she still had a tight hold on his arms. She fell onto his body, caught herself, and then stood, lifting him up. Putting his arm around her shoulders, she wrapped her arm around his waist to steady him. She was very strong, and could handle his weight easily.
Slowly, she exited the cave, and then cautiously took to the air, holding Inuyoshi tightly.
By the time they had reached Takara's cabin, Inuyoshi's claws and fangs had returned to normal, and the markings on his face had disappeared. He was still unconscious, and she carried him to her spare bedroom, where she laid him on the bed. She could see faint lines on his face where he had been scratched and the wounds had healed, and she quickly brought a rag and a bowl of water to the room.
Sitting on the bed beside him, she wiped his face with the wet rag, cleaning off the blood. She cleaned the blood from his ear where she'd bit him, and then cleaned Kentaro's blood from his claws. She examined him for any other wounds, and then, satisfied, she left him alone.
After scribbling a quick note, Takara left her cabin and flew back to the partially destroyed cave. The entire area now reeked of death and blood, making her slightly nauseous. She deposited the note quickly, and then flew back to her cabin.
Around midnight, Michiomaru returned to the cave, and recoiled at the sight and smell that greeted him. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he spotted Kentaro's bloodied body lying in a heap, and then narrowed further when he saw the note.
Daija,
You underestimated my oniisan [older brother]. I have grown tired of this game you are playing. I will meet you a mile further into the forest by the ancient willow tree that grows there this Saturday evening at sundown. If you do not show up, I will consider your absence an act of forfeit, and will not accept any later challenges on the grounds that I have defeated you already. Be punctual.
He crumpled the note, and his eyes flashed red.
"So, it is you who does the challenging now, mesuinu. How…perfect."
* * *
Inuyoshi opened his eyes and groaned. His head felt like it had been hit with a sledgehammer. Groaning again, he sat up.
"You are awake," a voice said. He glanced over at the doorway and saw…Sesshoumaru?!
Momentary panic seized him, but then he saw golden highlights in the white hair. Looking closer, he could see now that it wasn't Sesshoumaru. It was a female for one thing; her baggy clothes hid her figure. She also had black stripes on her neck, and no magenta stripes on her cheeks. But other than that, the similarities between the girl and his father were far too numerous.
She must be my imouto, he realized. He'd only ever seen his sister once when she was very young, and he didn't know her name. But that's who it had to be; no one else could have such a striking resemblance to the youkai he hated so much.
"How are you feeling?" she asked. She walked closer to him, and sat on the edge of the bed.
"My head hurts," he admitted. He looked closely into her gold eyes. "Are you…are you my imouto?"
She smiled. "Yes, oniisan. Yes, Inuyoshi. I am your imouto. My name is Takara."
Of course. He struggled to keep the contempt from his face. The name Takara meant "treasure"; she had been adored by their father. His own name literally meant "dog adopted son". Sesshoumaru had despised him so greatly he'd refused to even acknowledge that Inuyoshi was truly his son.
"Takara…imouto…what happened?"
"Aa [yes], you don't remember. Your youkai blood transformed you; you killed the koumori. You attacked me, but I knocked you out, and brought you back to my home."
Inuyoshi squeezed his eyes shut. No! He couldn't have! He'd made a pledge to himself long ago that he would never take a life. He would not let his fierce youkai blood control him. He owned no weapons, and lived peacefully. And now…
Now I have once again become what I tried so hard to forget, he thought bitterly.
"Who was that daija who kidnapped me?" he asked quietly.
"His name is Michiomaru, and he is the youkai who killed otousan so long ago. He is now trying to kill me for sealing him up for two hundred years."
"Imouto," he began carefully. "I cannot say I am sorry about otousan's death, for that would be a lie. But I wish you luck in avenging the death. I know he meant a lot more to you than he did to me."
Takara nodded, her face having taken its emotionless mask. "You were not there when his inheritance was passed on."
"I didn't feel I needed to be. He would have left nothing to me."
She shook her head in disagreement. "Come with me, oniisan. I have something to show you."
He stood, his headache beginning to go away. He followed her to the door leading to her secret basement.
She lit the lantern, and began to walk towards the back of the huge room. She soon felt that she was no longer being followed, and turned to see that Inuyoshi had stopped, and was staring at the three great paintings. His eyes burned at the sight of Sesshoumaru, and he turned his gaze to one of the smaller paintings. Instantly, his face softened, and he stepped closer towards the painting of the human woman, Rin. His mother.
Timidly, he reached out a hand and gently touched the painting. He had the same sad look in his eyes as Takara always had when she looked at her father's painting.
He loved her, she thought. Silently, she walked back to him.
"I wish I could have met her," she said softly.
"I wish you could have too. She was the kindest individual I have ever known. Before you were born, she was the only being otousan loved."
They stood gazing at the painting for a moment, before Takara turned. "Come."
Inuyoshi followed her deeper into the room, and stopped beside one of the smaller chests. They knelt, and he could see writing on the front of the chest. His eyes widened in surprise as he realized what it said.
"To Inuyoshi, First Born Son of Lord Sesshoumaru"
He was further surprised when he realized the writing was in Sesshoumaru's script. Did he really set something aside for me? Inuyoshi thought.
"Go ahead," Takara said. "I never opened it; I didn't think it would be right."
Shakily, he lifted the top of the chest. Inside were two ancient scrolls, another painting of Rin, and two things that made them both gasp in surprise.
One was Toukijin, Sesshoumaru's deadly sword.
The other was Sesshoumaru's fur.