Chapter Four:
Toukijin's Mission and The Western Castle
Inuyoshi sat in his home looking over some papers. ~Nothing ever changes,~ he thought. ~Here I am, living by myself, bored out of my mind. Maybe I'll pay Takara a visit.~
The hanyou [half breed] rose to his feet and headed towards his bedroom. On the way there, he passed a side room where he had placed Toukijin, the great sword he had inherited from Sesshoumaru. He glanced into the room, and unconsciously stopped walking. There was an evil aura around the sword; one that he was sure hadn't been there before.
Slowly, Inuyoshi stepped into the room, as though pulled by an unseen force. He could see the evil radiating from Toukijin as an eerie glow. Some rational part of his mind wondered why the sword had just now reverted back to its wicked self, but he continued walking towards it, unable to pull away.
He approached the table it lay on, and reached out to touch the hilt. The moment his hand made contact, the room filled with an intense jaki [evil energy], and Inuyoshi's eyes turned red as he lifted the wicked sword, evil radiating from both the sword, and his body. All rational thoughts evaporated from his mind, and in their place was a single overpowering desire that had been transferred from Toukijin to the hanyou.
"Inuyasha," he hissed, as the sword pulsed in his hand. "I must kill… Inuyasha…"
He pointed the sword at the outer wall of the room, and power shot from Toukijin, destroying the wall. Then, he left his cabin, his suddenly overwhelming senses pointing him towards a faint feeling that Toukijin knew was Inuyasha.
But Inuyasha died many years ago…
* * *
"There it is. The ancient castle of the Western Lord."
Takara and Rei stood before the ruins of a once magnificent castle as the sun began to set. In the golden glow, the old castle looked very mysterious. ~A perfect haunted house,~ Rei thought.
"During the day people are allowed to walk through it," Takara said. "But there should be no one there at this time."
"How will we get in?" Rei asked.
"The nontraditional way."
Takara wrapped one arm around Rei's waist, and launched herself into the air. Rei flung her arms around Takara's neck and closed her eyes.
"You really need to warn me before you do that, Takara-sama," Rei muttered. Takara grinned slightly, and they flew through a partially intact window on one of the upper floors. She set Rei down, and looked around at the room they were in.
"Guest quarters," she said. "I never understood why otousan kept rooms for guests. He rarely had any. Follow me."
Takara led the demi-youkai deeper into the castle, and the further they went in, the darker it got. Rei soon stumbled in the darkness.
"Takara-sama, I can't see," she said.
"Yes you can," Takara replied. "I've taught you to focus your ears so you can hear better. You can do the same thing with your eyes. Pick a point in front of you and focus on it. Your eyes will adjust accordingly to the darkness."
Rei locked her eyes on Takara's back, and to her amazement, the hall began to lighten. It wasn't as good as having a light, but she could see well enough to move without stumbling.
Takara led her further downward, and soon they reached what had once been a latched wooden door. It was now in splinters. Takara's breath caught in her throat. She could smell Sesshoumaru. He had been here very recently.
Quickening her pace, she walked down a flight of stairs to the burial chamber beneath the castle. One look around told her everything she needed to know. There were three old wooden coffins in the room. One of them had been nearly destroyed. Wood was scattered across the floor, and Sesshoumaru's scent filled her nose.
"He's gone," she said mostly to herself. Suddenly, she heard a startled cry.
"Takara-sama!"
Turning, she saw what had frightened Rei. There was a pile of recently stripped bones in the corner. Human bones. Takara nodded slightly, putting together the puzzle. She didn't need to smell them to know what had happened.
"Nani [what]…" Rei stuttered. She instinctively had drawn closer to Takara.
"The ningen was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Takara told her, not wanting to upset the demi-youkai by telling her what most likely had really happened. "That is not our problem now. What is our problem is this – otousan is no longer in the castle, or I would have sensed his youki. That means he is out in the city somewhere, and we must find him before he does someone harm. A youkai from the past loose in present time is not good."
They rose from the burial chambers, and Rei stifled a yawn. Takara led her back up and into an old bedchamber. It was dusty and full of spider webs, but the old feather mattress was still there.
"Sleep here," Takara said. "We will continue in the morning."
Rei nodded, and before she could change her clothes or dust off anything, she was asleep, exhausted from the days traveling. Takara sat in the windowsill and looked out, and the moon shined down at her.
~Wherever you are, otousan,~ she thought, ~keep safe.~
