Guest: Thank you again for your review. I'm sorry if my own comment caused confusion. I didn't mean to disagree, I just meant to just give insight on why I portrayed them that way. I'm glad you enjoyed their characterization. Sesshomaru in particular, I agree that he did end up kind in his own way, definitely more so than the original, I think as his curiosity led him to interact with Inuyasha more peacefully.


Chapter 5

This path, it seems familiar. Sesshomaru took another sniff of the air to make sure he was still going the right direction. He wished he could just fly there, he'd been running for hours and couldn't know how much further Inuyasha was. What was even more concerning was the light scent of blood along the trail, Inuyasha's blood. His wounds must not have recovered from the earlier fight, and yet he said nothing. Yet again, he was proud of his brother's resistance.

This valley… this cliff… His blood ran cold, he knew exactly where they were going. He continued running ahead until he saw exactly what he knew he would: Ryukotsusei. Except circumstances were not as they should've been. The dragon who his father barely defeated, was very much awake.

A scream caught his attention and his eyes went wide. Inuyasha, his little brother, someone had successfully struck a tentacle through his stomach. A closer inspection showed that that was hardly the full extent of his wounds.

No! In an instant, he was before his brother and cut through the tentacle, forcing it to release his brother.

"Hmm," came a rough voice. "I recognize you. You're that wretch's son, aren't you? Come to protect the family disgrace?"

Protect? Sesshomaru looked down at his brother, he was badly wounded and barely conscious. He turned to the dragon and answered without hesitation, "Yes." He then turned to the other foe, the one who had stabbed his brother, "and would you be Naraku?"

The man, dressed in a baboon outfit, laughed before answering, "I am. Hmm, you're a powerful one. I think you'll make a wonderful addition to my own power." He still didn't know the creature's connection to his brother, but it was obviously a malevolent one. Even further, odds were likely that this was the being that removed Ryukotsusei's seal. He would die for both insults.

"S-sessh," came the whispered voice. "Take Tessaiga. That dragon, he's too powerful. Even the windscar didn't scratch him and Naraku just keeps regenerating."

The dragon merely laughed, "Take it, little man. Even with that sword, you can't hope to defeat me."

He looked at both his foes, "Unnecessary." In truth, it was tempting, but his father had warned him long ago that the sword had a barrier against youkai. Besides, if he were ever going to have a chance to surpass his father, it would be now.


Since when was his brother insane?! He couldn't take both of them! His brother struck first, using his whip against Naraku. Naraku dodged, but the whip managed to strike his arm, completely removing it. To the surprise of only Sesshomaru, the mindless youkai he'd been ignoring as beneath his notice, began swarming the area and became a new arm to Naraku. He used his whip once again, but continued to use it on the surrounding youkai this time to prevent the regeneration. It didn't work, there was practically an endless supply of them. His brother attempted to rush in to decapitate Naraku only for an energy blast from Ryukotsusei to force him back. He heard his brother growl in frustration.

Putting both feet underneath his body, Inuyasha forced himself to stand, his whole body protesting the action. "Wind scar!" He aimed it at Ryukotsusei. As unfortunately expected, the attack didn't do much.

"What's this? You don't know when you're beaten," Ryukotsusei taunted before launching an energy blast at Inuyasha. He was able to dodge it.

"I'll handle Ryukotsusei! Do something about Naraku!" He wasn't sure he could win, but maybe buy time. It was the best plan he had. Fighting Ryukotsusei was mostly a matter of brute force, but his wounded body couldn't keep up with Naraku's appendages. Nor could he remotely figure out how to beat him for good.


He would handle Ryukotsusei? Sesshomaru paused his thoughts for a moment as he observed. His brother was not seriously fighting back, merely avoiding the attacks. So be it. He allowed himself to focus on Naraku. If his trick was regenerating endlessly, then one must simply destroy the entire body instantly. Gathering his youki around his body, he transformed into his true inuyoukai form. He noticed Ryukotsusei take a shot at his larger form, but his brother's wind scar dissipated it. Something seemed odd about that wind scar. Red eyes locked on white baboon fur and his whole body leapt forward to consume him. He dodged, but that was hardly his intent. He let his poison drip all over the area, getting denser by the second. He would melt him into nothing. He kept an eye on his brother, the open air would limit his exposure as long as he didn't get too close. This Naraku, however, would not be getting away.

Several wasp youkai appeared and began stinging his large form. As if their poison could harm him. Suddenly, Naraku's behavior began to change. Instead of trying to get away, he started getting closer. He was wary, but continued to let his poison flow onto the form. Tentacles, hundreds of them, suddenly sprouted from Naraku's body. They began wrapping around his form, some, but not enough, being burned by the poison. Realizing he was in trouble, Sesshomaru started to squirm in his restraints, chewing at the wrappings, but it was completely ineffective. More tentacles continued to wrap his form. His only option was to shrink back down.


"Sesshomaru!" He could barely see his brother under Naraku's mass. He breathed a sigh of relief seeing his brother shrink down and escape the trap. At the same instant, Ryukotsusei noticed his lack of attention and used his tail to strike the back of the rock he was standing on. He didn't see it coming, and the attack caused Inuyasha to crash into the side of the cliff before tumbling to the ground.


He heard his brother's grunt of pain.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the dragon charging up energy.

His brother did not rise.

'Have you someone to protect?'

'Protect? The answer is no. I, Sesshomaru, have no need of such.'

The sight of a pup with a toothy smile, small fangs poking out, greeted him. His innocence. He lost it far too young.

'I come when the pack calls.'

'I will be around if you need guidance.' Father.

'Come to protect the family disgrace?'

'Yes.' Yes.

Pushing himself forward as fast as he could, Sesshomaru grabbed his brother out of harm's way. Pain, overwhelming pain, flooded his body. In the same instant, a powerful pulse went through him.

Clutched protectively in his right arm, was Inuyasha. In his left… he wasn't fast enough.


The moment Sesshomaru grabbed him, he realized he had blacked out. Well if he hadn't died, then Sesshomaru must've won. Great.

Not great. He noticed the blood. He noticed the labored breathing. The grip on him grew tighter, so tight it became painful, but he hardly cared.

Laughter came from the side. "Protecting the half breed? You are like your father," observed Ryukotsusei.

Naraku joined in on the laughter, "getting hurt protecting others seems to run in the family." Naraku's tentacles began to extend again. "Fortunately, the loss of an arm doesn't affect the power I will gain from you."

Inuyasha felt a pulse go through him. The pulse came again, it was coming from Sesshomaru.


The pulsing power going through him overshadowed the pain from his arm. He could barely remain alert to his surroundings. The tentacles began to wrap around his and Inuyasha's forms. Shifting his brother, he tried clawing at them, but everything that fell, merely regenerated.

If I could stop his regeneration, then this youkai would be powerless.

He growled as he felt the pulse go through him again before settling around his wounded arm. A green light burst out and through Naraku's hold.

This energy, is it a new attack? Wrapping Inuyasha protectively within mokomoko, Sesshomaru forced all of the energy out at once. It tore Naraku's tentacles to shreds. The attack continued towards Naraku's body until he personally removed the appendages to prevent the attack from spreading.

Sesshomaru, meanwhile, looked on in amazement. He could feel his arm, no, he could feel something solid within his hand. Bakusaiga. It was a sword.

'When we youkai form a blade made from our own power, it becomes an extension of ourselves, our truest power.'

He looked down at the cradled Inuyasha who was staring at him wide eyed. Not allowing himself to be distracted in the middle of a battle, Sesshomaru turned his attention back to his opponents. Naraku was apparently fleeing. Coward. Ryukotsusei was once again launching a sphere of energy at the two. Sesshomaru swung at the attack using his new sword. It successfully dissipated the attack, but stopped there. Before Ryukotsusei could attack again, Sesshomaru swung Bakusaiga straight at Ryukotsusei's body. To his surprise, it successfully chipped his armor, but didn't do much more.

Ryukotsusei laughed, "As I told your brother, my body is harder than steel." He followed up the comment with another blast. The sword could effectively deal damage, but it would be a long struggle. Sesshomaru had begun charging his own youki into the blade when he felt Inuyasha roll out of his grip.


Sesshomaru was going to be ok. He could feel the raw power coming from Sesshomaru's blade. But Naraku was running away, like always! Not this time!

He could afford to pass out now, thus pouring every last ounce of strength into his blade, he stared down Ryukotsusei's attack. He would get it right this time. It's dense. Find the center. Cut through the smoldering spot with the wind scar. He leapt at the dragon's attack. "Backlash Wave!"


If it were not for the sheer look of determination on his brother's face, he would've caught him with mokomoko the moment he leapt towards Ryukotsusei. But then the attack and sword collided. For a moment it looked as though the sword swallowed up the attack, but in the next moment, Ryukotsusei's own attack was hurled back at him with even greater force. His body was ripped to shreds.

He approached his brother, who was once again lying on the ground unable to move, limbs twitching in aggravation. "Kill him." He blinked. "Kill that fucker, before he gets away again, please." Right, Naraku. He would not leave his brother on the ground vulnerable, and once again wrapped his unresisting body in mokomoko before following Naraku's scent.

The scent led him into the air to a cloud of miasma which he struck with Bakusaiga. A figure emerged. It was not a figure dressed in a white baboon pelt, rather it was a man with black hair and red eyes. The scents were the same. The man attempted to shoot more tentacles at Sesshomaru, further confirming his identity. Using Bakusaiga, he stopped Naraku's attack and sent his own at the main body. It burst into several pieces which all seemed to try to exist independently, but Bakusaiga's power would not be denied. Within a few moments, all of the pieces disintegrated.

Naraku was dead.


AN: I hope you've been enjoying this story. The next chapter will conclude it as an epilogue. And looks like I will meet my one week goal. This is why I can't write too many stories at once. Cliffhangers drive me crazy, even cliffhangers within my own mind, thus I can't not update.