The God of the Demons
The Great Demon Inuyasha: Part 9
By B.C.
Inuyasha's Choice
By the hut, Kagome was considering running to Inuyasha, but abandoned this when she realized that Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were both naked. They didn't seem to be fighting anymore, as far as Kagome could tell, and now there was a small boy talking to Sesshoumaru. Then in a pleased tone the woman said "Ah, he recognizes his brother."
"Brother?" Kagome asked in confusion.
"Yes. Nerumon is Sesshoumaru's brother." Kagome had to dwell on this for a second. Then she asked "Are you Sesshoumaru's mother?"
"Yes, but it fells like it was so long ago. Funny how we both fell in love with humans." Kagome stared at the woman with eyes full of curiosity.
"How, when?" Kagome was just blurting her thoughts.
"Long before any of them were born I met Inuyasha's and Sesshoumaru's father. He was a beautiful Taiyoukai, and we fell in love. We birthed Sesshoumaru, his father named him. But soon after that we fell away from each other. I found a man, he found a woman. I birthed Nerumon, He birthed Inuyasha." she paused and then gave a subtle smile form the corner of her mouth. "I was a god once, you know. I was in fact the god of the demons, but my desire for earthly existence caused me to be banished from the heavens. Then my sons murder followed by my own made me a mononoke (vengeful spirit), but I retained some of my heavenly powers. However I never would have been able to give Inuyasha his power if it weren't for this." The woman reached in her kimono and reviled a shikkon shard.
"How could I not have seen it? Her powers must have hidden it from my senses. Wait. Was she trying to use it to resurrect Nerumon, and is that why I could sense it pulsing?" thought Kagome.
"Is that what's making Inuyasha so strong, your power?"
"No. I only used my power to make Inuyasha a true youkai. Inuyasha has much of his father's strength in him. That's probably why he is such a strong Hanyou. What he is now, is what he would have been had he been born a full Youkai. Heh. Strange. I, a fallen god, could not birth a healthy Hanyou, but a Taiyoukai could. At least Sesshoumaru is strong." her voiced seemed sincere. "I have always been proud of him. He isn't the most compassionate son, but he is honorable." she sighed and then stood, "I can't let them kill each other. Not even if it rids me of this curse."
In the center of her kimono a light shinned like an explosion of fire and color. Her legs disappeared and the eternal flow of skirt faded once again into the night. The swirls and streams of color danced around her like pink comets of light.
"He won't save you. It's not his style." Inuyasha said coldly to the corpse of Nerumon. He looked to his left were a sword from one of the samurai corpses unearthed in their battle laid with an old rusty katana in his hand. Inuyasha pried it from the skeletal hand and walked closer to Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru was in conflict with his own emotions, as though the boy's aura was hurting him.
"Don't worry. Once I've killed him, I'll use Tenseiga to help you." Inuyasha said as the corpse was still hugging Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha's words stirred Sesshoumaru.
"You wouldn't know…what to do with that sword, Inuyasha." Inuyasha only smiled. He raised his sword back in aim for Sesshoumaru's head.
"No!" the corpse pleaded, "Please…don't kill…my brother." Inuyasha made a face of disgust. Seeing his rotten tongue flicker between his rotten teeth while rotten flesh crawled from his shriveled gums to touch for the sake of clear pronunciation was something Inuyasha could have died happy without seeing. But the corpse's words caused Inuyasha to pause. The corpse had called Inuyasha his brother as well. Did he say this to everyone? Inuyasha considered this and decided it so. "He's not your brother." Inuyasha snarled.
"Yes he is." Inuyasha was startled by the closeness of the voice. He turned toward the hut to see Azumanera floating towards them. "She is so beautiful," thought Inuyasha. And yet there was still the sadness emanating from her. Inuyasha's attention was then taken away by the motion he caught in the corner of his eye. His jaw dropped as he watched. The light illuminating from Azumanera was reflecting off of Nerumon, only the reflection wasn't the rotted and decrepit corpse but the Hanyou boy. For the first time Inuyasha had a glimpse of the true face of the child. He was relatively good looking, and had a wise look about him, as though he would have been knowledgeable in his former life, although, his face now looked simple. Nerumon smiled at the sight of his mother while he kept his hands on Sesshoumaru.
Azumanera was right next to them. She looked down at Sesshoumaru who was still on his knees.
"Sesshoumaru, my son, would you do nothing and let me become an eternal mononoke? Would you not lift your sword to save you half brother?" she said softly yet sternly. Sesshoumaru was coming back to his senses. He stood and looked her coldly in the eyes and gave a small laugh to himself.
"Funny you should say half."
"Sesshoumaru why such hate for hanyous. Both your mother and your father found a place in their heart for humans. Why are you so incapable of understanding?"
"I don't concern myself with humans. Their value lies in their usefulness. Hanyous are a different matter."
"Are they," Azumanera sounded slightly offended. Sesshoumaru had his usual poker face on.
"Yes. They encompass the negative of both races. To weak to be a true demon, too strange to be human. They are abominations; unnatural acts of nature, and should be dealt with accordingly. I never understood my father for creating one, and I'll never forgive you for doing the same. You should be dead, as well as your freak of a son." A tear rolled down Azumanera's cheek. She looked like she was going to burst into a fit of crying, but she fought it with every ounce of strength in her body. Inuyasha's rage was well over the boiling point. He could feel every memory he had of being physically or mentally abused rushing into his mind at once. Sesshoumaru's words summed up the mentality of anyone who ever judged a Hanyou. Inuyasha hated him. He hated him more than if he were everyone who ever called him names or hurt him in his entire life.
"You…bastard!" He shouted at Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha was beginning to shake with anger, and his voice was quivering as a result. "I'm gunna cut you into a thousand pieces and give one to every Hanyou on earth as a reminder that people like you will not be tolerated." Sesshoumaru smiled at Inuyasha's response. The fact that Sesshoumaru was happy that he angered Inuyasha as much as he did only made Inuyasha even angrier.
"Inuyasha, even though your body may resemble a Youkai, your mind is still as simple as always. I can see what you would intend to do. Do you think you will survive if we fight again?"
"I don't care I'd rather die than hear the crap you say. I'll shut your mouth once and for all! Sankontetsu!" Pulling back his injured arm was incredibly painful. The yellow waves of energy missed Sesshoumaru and sent rock and earth into the air. Sesshoumaru never flinched, just stared coldly at Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru still had Toukijin in his hand and was ready. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru stared at each other waiting for either to make the first move. "Will I survive this," thought Inuyasha, "will either of us."
To Be Continued…
Author's Notes: I was recently asked the question of the sources of the names of some of the original characters in this fic. Azumanera's name is actually a quick decision of slightly altering the title of "Azumanga Daioh!" (good show). Nerumon's name came from a combination of Neru (first Prime Minister of India) and Soramon (from LOTR). Well that's it. As always your criticism is welcome and appreciated whether it is positive or negative. Thank you again for reading.