Oh yes it's worth the wait! Combined episodes 5 and 6 yes I did. So you
get a huge seventeen-page update.
Don't you all feel special?
Anyway, some questions are answered at the end and I've listed all those who I worship. Of course I worship all my reviewers but I'm lazy so I didn't list all of them. What? Why do you think it takes me two weeks to update?
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Part One: Sesshomaru, Aristocratic Assassin.
The harsh wind smelt of grass and leaves and water as it brushed by his face, its cool probing fingers bringing him news of the world it had passed over. It was early evening, and the air was cooling rapidly and carried the unmistakable odor of village dogs.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" The tall demon looked down at the toad like little creature that scuttled along by his feet, barely even tall enough for his pointed black cap to reach the tips of the grass strands. His eyes, two vast amber orbs, were fixed on the strangely carved staff that floated before them. "The staff has been pointing this way for days. Perhaps this is the grave we seek."
Sesshomaru said nothing as the staff drifted towards the mound of dirt. It was possible but he did not let his excitement show. He had been seeking this grave with earnest for some years now but the smell of mongrels was still heavy on the wind.
They emerged from behind the grave, gaunt scraggly creatures with more bone then flesh. Most likely strays. He thought as he watched them, their jagged teeth leaking ropes of yellowish saliva as they growled deep in their throats.
"You are not worth my time." He informed them stiffly. He extended his index finger and pointed at the pack leader, a scraggly black bitch with narrow yellow eyes that leaked greenish fluid over her nose. With barely a flick of his wrist he killed them, his demon powers rising in an instant and vanishing the next.
"Jaken finish with this grave." He instructed and the toad like creature hopped forward as the staff positioned itself over the grave where it levitated for a moment. Finally the second of the two heads, that off a woman with long black hair that curled around the staff handle, opened her mouth and screamed a shrill note into the darkness.
"This is not the grave we seek." Jaken squeaked looking up at his lord. The tall demon said nothing, not a hair on his head stirred as he stared at the face of the woman. Then he turned quickly on his heel and strode off through the billowing grasses.
~IY~
Inuyasha leaned against the tree, breathing in the misty smell of leaves and bark. It was a hot day, the kind that makes even a half demon sluggish and lazy. He toyed with the confining beads with one clawed hand as he contemplated their master.
Amber's temperament had not improved over the last few days, she seemed quite put out by the fact she had a ring of purple bruises around her neck from the strangling hair while he didn't even bear a scratch from their fight. She'd spent her days avoiding him and every other life form in the village aside from Kaede. When Inuyasha had tried to speak to her she had sat him rudely and walked off muttering under her breath. Inuyasha did not like that girl.
"Hey mutt man!" The call came from the base of the tree. Inuyasha looked down and caught sight the aforementioned girl on the ground dressed in the clothes she'd brought back from her time. Her black hair rippled in the wind like a banner and great hazel eyes were a tad bit less aggressive then he remembered.
"What?" He asked irritated by her various nicknames for him.
"I brought you something." She called taking off her backpack and beginning to rummage through it.
Inuyasha glared down at her suspiciously. "What if I don't want it?" He asked arrogantly.
"Don't make me say THE WORD!" Amber threatened ominously. The bruises around her neck had faded and she no longer walked with a limp but she still winced as she sat down against the tree, her back against the trunk.
"Go ahead." He said leaning back and closing his eyes.
"Sit."
Inuyasha had lost count off all the times he'd been sat but the experience never failed to draw a yelp out of him. He felt himself smashed horribly against the ground as his face was propelled into the soil, his features leaving a perfect mold in the soft ground.
Amber tossed him a box she had fished out of her backpack and stuck a cigarette in her mouth.
"What are these?" He asked. The box was bright red and printed with big yellow letters and a picture of a fluffy, stupid looking dog. Amber lit her cigarette and took a long drag before she answered.
"Milk bones." She said blowing the sour smelling smoke out of her nose. Inuyasha remembered Milk Bones, those cookies from the future. He opened the box and pulled out the bone shaped cookies in their strange bag.
"Thanks." He muttered gruffly. He slid his claw along the bag to open it and picked out a cookie, smiling as he savored its goodness. He liked these future cookies, though he didn't quite understand why there was a dog on the box.
The prick on his neck was barely noticeable. He swatted at it carelessly and felt the tiny round body beneath his fingers.
"Dammit." He swore, picking the creature off his neck. "A flea."
Amber looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Well it appears Barbie Boy is in need of a flea collar." She taunted. He didn't understand that but he rarely understood Amber's jibes.
"Lord Inuyasha!" The flea said.
"Oh it's you." Inuyasha growled with obvious distaste, glaring at the creature in his hand. It was a tiny little man, his head bald and shiny with a tiny straw like mouth, dressed in miniscule clothes with a bundle tied about his shoulders. "Myouga."
"Who's Myouga?" Amber asked curiously. She smirked as Inuyasha looked up. "Your imaginary friend perhaps?"
Inuyasha glared at her and addressed the tiny demon. "What are you doing here?"
"Lord Inuyasha! I must consult with you and Kaede in her hut, something very important has come up." The fat little youkai crossed his arms and drew himself up. "Very, VERY important."
"Fine. Come on Amber." He popped another cookie into his mouth and watched as Amber picked herself up, wincing in pain. "Let's go."
~IY~
"So you see, the place I was protecting was only a gravestone. You're fathers grave must be located elsewhere." Amber was leaning over squinting at the little creature as he finished his tale. It had taken most of the day between questions and answers and the flea mans talk, the round white moon was rising, its rays filtering through the small windows. Kaede was sitting cross-legged on the reed strewn floor, her face creased in thought and a stick of incense burning in a tall brazier. She said nothing for a long moment so Inuyasha looked over at the creature perched on his shoulder.
"Any idea where?" He asked gruffly, brushing him off.
Myouga landed neatly and turned Amber still looking at him as though he was some fascinating magical creature instead of a flea. "None." He answered sadly. "But your father was a powerful demon Lord Inuyasha, his grave is sure to be beyond the reach of these intruders."
Amber was piecing all this together in her head, trying to form a family tree in her head. Inuyasha was half demon, that she knew so if his father was a demon his mother, of course, was the human side of his family. She drew her attention away from the fascinating little bug and turned it back on her companion.
"I'm sure he was." Inuyasha was saying to Myouga. "But I don't have any memories of the guy so I can't tell you where his grave is."
"If your father was such a powerful demon, what was your mother like?" Amber asked curiously. She must have had something that would attract the attentions of a demon.
"She was a very beautiful woman..." Myouga began closing his eyes and drawing himself up but his story was silenced by Inuyasha's foot. The angry half demon ground the poor creature into the floor then turned to Amber his golden eyes smoldering with anger.
"It doesn't matter what she was like." He informed her stiffly. "My mother died a long time ago." He turned briskly on his heel and stalked out of the small hut.
"What was that all about?" She wondered aloud.
"Ye must not let such a thing trouble ye child." Kaede answered, pushing herself up with one hand and lifting the crumpled form of Myouga the Flea off the floor. "Inuyasha always acts like this when someone mentions his mother."
The old priestess made her way to the door and stopped before passing through, still holding the wounded demon. "I suggest ye do not speak with Inuyasha about his mother Amber. He does not approach the subject easily." And with that she was gone.
~IY~
Inuyasha ran his fingers through his hair and swore inwardly as he remembered his reaction to Amber's innocent question. He sighed as unwanted memories surfaced, their icy crippling grip tightening over his mind. He hated memories.
The wind had picked up during his talk with Myouga. It was strong now, blowing away some of the heat as he perched among the branches of the tree. He banished the memories as he was so used to doing and took a deep breath of the air, watching the moon and peeling the smells it carried apart.
There was one he could not recognize for a long second. As the realization hit him Inuyasha felt an icy fist grab hold of his heart and shove it into his neck. It wasn't possible, he couldn't be here. Not now.
Inuyasha leapt from the tree to see Amber climbing the hill towards him, with a rough sword belted at her waist and a bow across her back. She had been practicing with both, showing more shine with the sword then the bow though even the youngest of trained warriors could still dump her ass down in the dirt. She covered her eyes with her sleeve as the wind blew grit into her eyes.
"Inuyasha!" She yelled pointing. "Behind you!"
He turned. There was a black carriage in the sky, obscured by the swirling clouds of dust and grit. The sky boiled like a stew pot, the clouds gathering to hide the black carriage in their depths. Inuyasha shielded his eyes and glared up at the form of the horseless carriage and the face of the woman staring back at him, her body wrapped in chains. He knew that face. Knew as well as he knew his own.
His mother called out to him. Her voice sweeter then his memories and full of suffering as a massive three fingered hand reached out of the thick clouds. He knew that face so well and he knew the pain that shot through it as the scaled hand snatched the tiny carriage up and smashed it with a careless flick.
"Inuyasha!" The woman called as the huge clawed fingers closed around her slender body. "Inuyasha!"
"Mother!" He called as the hand began to crush her. The fire bright eyes of the monstrous demon pierced the clouds, flashing and spitting sparks as it crushed the helpless woman.
"Mother? I thought you said..." Inuyasha did not have time to listen to Amber. She drew her sword and fought her way against the wind towards him but he was gone in a flash of red cloth. Leaping up and towards the helpless woman in the demons hand.
He sensed the attack before he saw it and pirouetted in mid air, the blazing ball of red fire scorching the very tips of his silver hair. The enraged hanyou landed gracefully, not five feet from where he'd leapt and spied the little creature clutching its staff, his huge bulbous eyes looking down on them.
"Jaken." The bored voice came from the shoulder of the giant demon and the toad like creature lowered its staff reluctantly. "You can kill Inuyasha after I talk to him."
"YOU!" Inuyasha snarled up at him, his amber eyes flashing like pools of molten gold.
"So glad to see you remember me." The white haired demon said, gazing down at the blazing ball of fury that was Inuyasha. "Little brother."
~IY~
"THAT'S YOUR BROTHER?" Amber felt no safer with the bare steel in her hands then she had the moment the black carriage had came out of the sky, horseless, carrying a woman wrapped in chains.
The strange man turned to her, his narrow yellow eyes widening slightly as they came to rest on her slender form. She wished she was more impressive but all she could manage was a glare as the faintest of smiles touched his lips.
He was handsome, far more handsome then Inuyasha with longer hair the same beautiful silver and shining golden eyes. He was tall and graceful looking his long limbs garbed in white and red with a yellow sash and sheathed sword at his slim waist. She saw the strange markings on his high cheekbones and the purple crescent on his brow and a long fluffy rope of white fur rested on his right shoulder. Handsome but cold as ice as he turned back to his angry brother.
"A human Inuyasha?" He asked cocking one eyebrow mockingly. "Wasn't this pathetic pink bag of rice paper flesh enough humiliation?" The human woman writhed as the demon crushed her easily.
"FUCK YOU FLUFFY!" Amber yelled. She had fought her way to Inuyasha's shoulder, the wind tearing at her blue jeans and whipping her hair around her face.
If the demon was surprised by her courage he did not show it. Merely turned back to his younger brother, dismissing her.
"Really, as if you haven't brought enough shame to this family already. Perhaps you'll bed this one before I kill you and father a few half-breeds of your own." His face did not move as he taunted the hanyou, it remained an emotionless mask.
"HEY!" Amber roared an obscenity that scorched the air and made the toad like little creature called Jaken gasp, almost losing his grip on the staff before giving the tall demon a one-finger salute.
"How quaint." The demon said flatly then turned back to his brother without even glancing at her. "I'm looking for our fathers grave Inuyasha. Tell me where it is."
"I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE OLD MAN IS BURIED!" Inuyasha roared angrily. "AND EVEN IF I DID KNOW I WOULDN'T TELL YOU!" He was angrier then Amber had ever seen him.
"Well then your mother will have to suffer." The demon said. Even as Amber watched he pulled a whip from the air. The whip was long and poisonous green, it hissed as it slid through the air, like a living thing before snapping against the demon that clutched the human woman.
"SESSHOMARU!" Inuyasha roared charging forward. "DON'T YOU DARE HURT HER!"
"Where one can see but cannot be seen." Sesshomaru intoned from his seat. "A place where its own keeper cannot look upon. That is the clue Inuyasha. Think."
"It's okay son." Inuyasha's mother screamed as a bright ribbon of blood flowed through the fingers of the demon. "I've already died."
The demon swatted Inuyasha out of the air with one massive hand. He landed hard by Amber's feet and she dropped to her knees pulling him up with both hands.
"SESSHOMARU YOU BASTARD!" Inuyasha yelled hoarsely, brushing Amber away. She sheathed her sword and stood, dark eyes flashing. "Leave her out of this!"
"Which one? Your mother, or that pet human of yours?" Sesshomaru looked down at her. "Would you tell me what I wanted if it was her being crushed?"
"She's nothing to me. Leave Amber out of this!" Inuyasha yelled trying to push the human behind him.
"Oh how cute. You gave it a name. Does it have a collar and a basket by your bed as well?" Sesshomaru snapped his whip again and the creature leant down its clawed hand reaching for Amber.
"I SAID LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!" Inuyasha roared leaping forward. His claws flashed and four red fountains spurted out of the demons hand as Inuyasha severed it from his wrist. Another leap carried him to the hand gripping his mother. Again his claws flashed and the woman fell, the handless demon bellowing in rage.
"Here, let me help you." Amber whispered, helping Inuyasha's mother to her feet. She was bleeding from a cut concealed somewhere in her clothes, the metallic scent of blood clouding Amber's senses.
She did not speak, merely raised her hands and Amber watched as a glowing orb, no bigger then a grain of sand appeared within them.
"What th—WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" Amber cried backing away as Inuyasha's mother stretched the orb, glowing white and bright as the sun. "STOP!" She yelled lunging forward. The lily flower in its depths sang with power, it's glow engulfing the arrogant girl, she screamed and thrashed away. But in a flash of brilliant white light that lit the very sky she, Inuyasha and his mother were gone.
"The plan is going well Lord Sesshomaru." Jaken squeaked as the stony demon looked down to where they had vanished. "Leave the rest to me."
Sesshomaru looked down at his huge demon, the red eyes leaking tears of pain.
"I have no more use for you." He said quietly. The green whip sprang from his fingers and he killed the monster with a negligent flick of his wrist.
"Yes. Make no mistake Jaken. If you fail I will kill you." He did not even turn to face his minion as he spoke and Jaken felt the chill travel down his spine.
"Yes Lord Sesshomaru." He squeaked bowing deeply. Sesshomaru did not reply, but merely looked away, towards the horizon. Jaken shivered as he began to work, his thoughts clouded by fear. Sesshomaru was a cruel master.
~IY~
The mist rolling off the lily pond covered Amber's face with cool beads of water, her face relaxed and peaceful in her slumber. Inuyasha woke to see her nestled among the tall grasses, sprawled at the edge of the pond, her body limp and motionless. He couldn't tell if she was alive or dead.
There were lily pads dotting the calm dreamy water, their blossoms white and yellow bursts against the muted world that surrounded him. There was soft grass beneath his feet and the sun shone warm and golden, bathing the world in a safe glow. He heard her steps in the grass and turned to face her. His mother.
"Inuyasha." She said, she was beautiful as ever, her long dark hair shining wherever the dim light hit it, sleek and black as a raven's wing. Her heart-shaped face was ever young, the same face that she had died with. She smiled at him and his heart ached. By his feet Amber mumbled something that sounded like his name but she was a million miles away from him. A billion, so far away that it seemed she would never come back. His mother smiled at him here brown eyes full of love and Amber was gone from him.
"Where I am mother?" Inuyasha asked as he stepped away from the girl he'd already forgotten.
"The boundary between life and death." She said. She walked and Inuyasha followed, caught in a trance. "This place is pretty but I cannot dwell here. I will go onto the world of the dead from here." She smelled like spring, a familiar fresh scent that sent him hurdling back through the years into his memory. Memories of the village where he grew up and of her death, especially her death. And the dark, stinking room where she had died.
"I'm sorry I left you alone." She was saying as Inuyasha pulled himself out of the swirling dark of memory. "All alone in that dark time. I hope you can forgive me Inuyasha."
"Mother..." He whispered, his throat aching. All else was forgotten, there was only her, right here, right now. There was something he had forgotten but that seemed so unimportant now. "Mother..."
~IY~
She opened her eyes. It seemed like a superhuman effort to her but she opened them just the same. She was alone in the grass, the cold wet dew soaking through her clothes and chilling her bones.
She couldn't move. There was no sound for a long minute and Amber Lote thought that she had died. She wondered what had become of everyone in the village, what would become of those in her own time when they realized she was never coming back. The voice brought her back, floating across the still pond.
"I'm sorry I left you alone." The sweet voice was that of Inuyasha's mother. The woman who had conjured that ball of light that had brought them here. Wherever here was. She stood across the pond from her, with Inuyasha behind her, a dreamy, lost look in his amber eyes. She wanted to call out to him but her mouth would not move.
The pond swept cold mist over her and she looked down towards the surreal calm of its surface. She could see their reflection in the water, mother and son. But no, that was not the same woman. She had no face. Amber stared hard and looked back to the two people on the shore. Frightened for the first time.
"INUYASHA! THAT ISN'T YOUR MOTHER!" She screamed, but no sound came. Not a single sound. She couldn't move, couldn't save him. He was talking to her, believing she was his dead mother alive again. She screamed in her head, again and again, willing him to look into the pond, to see what she saw. But he had eyes only for his mother who he had lost and who know stood before him. Inside her head Amber screamed.
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Part Two: Tetsusaiga the Phantom Sword
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"Inuyasha." His mother knelt by the water, a lily in her hands. She placed it on the surface and as the hanyou watched the petals broke apart and floated its petals were splashes of vibrant white against the gray-blue water.
"Mother?" He asked.
"Look into the water Inuyasha." She urged quietly. She pointed to the broken flower and her son obediently knelt and looked, confused yet unafraid.
He saw the rooftops, a birds eye view of the village he knew so well. There were people in a ring, an old hide ball passing between them as they laughed. He had wings, he flew and landed on the thin edge of the roof watching them play their game. He knew what was coming. He remembered.
A little boy dressed in red, his long hair flowing behind him, a banner of rippling silver silk. He tried to step into the circle among the boys his own size but they cut him out roughly, stepping on his bare feet and ignoring his yelps of protest. The boy looked baffled and ran to a larger man laughing.
"Can I play?" He asked smiling. His silver ears perked as the man laughed at him.
"Of course." He said kneeling down. He gave the boy the old ball, it was dirty and worn but the child smiled as though it was golden and precious. "But not with us." At his words a ripple of laughter ran through the group, the left, fading out of the memory like phantoms into the mist. And the boy ran, not understanding what the man had meant when he'd turned his back and cursed him with that horrible word.
"MOTHER!" He cried. The woman turned her face hidden in shadow and opened her arms to him, her pink kimono fluttering in the wind. He was small, only up to her waist but the tall powerful Inuyasha who watched him felt so much envy as the woman enveloped him in her embrace. "What does half-breed mean?"
She looked as though an arrow had pierced her chest as soon as the word passed over his lips. She hugged him closer to her, kissing the top of his head. A tear slid down her cheek catching the moonlight, sparkling like diamond of sorrow. She was crying for him, crying for the little boy in her arms.
Crying for her son.
~IY~
"INUYASHA YOU DUMB FUCK!" Amber thought ferociously. "WAKE UP!"
She fought the paralysis. Fought it with all her heart and soul, willing her limbs to move, twitch DO SOMETHING. They felt like heavy cement and wet sand, like she was chained. The words flashed through her mind. And she saw. She finally saw.
The valley was not beautiful, it was a stagnant swamp, the heavy perfume of the lilies the stink of rotting vegetation. She saw the metal chains wrapped around her body, the creatures that climbed over her, pink and green and blue. She saw Inuyasha weep a single tear and embrace the creature he thought was his mother. She saw her hands disappear inside his back and cried out, nothing more then a whisper. She swore and urged her body to move.
"MOVE DAMN IT, MOVE! She cursed, forcing her limbs to move. Her fingers twitched then moved. Her arms, sagging with the weight of the chains lifted slowly and dropped down. She struggled helplessly. The prick on her neck was all that saved her.
The chains seemed to evaporate as she instinctively slapped the itch on her neck. The creatures dissolved, and she moved and pulled Myouga the Flea from his place at her throat.
"Myouga?" She asked hoarsely. The little creature looked up at her and nodded. "Get down." He whispered.
Amber dropped into the grass at his command.
"Over there. On the lake." She looked, the tiny creature Jaken moored his boat and hopped out scolding the creature who was absorbing Inuyasha.
"That staff he carries is the staff of heads. With it he has power. Take it away and he is nothing." Myouga informed her crouching behind her ear. She nodded her understanding and stole forward through the grass.
"Please god." She thought to herself. "Don't let him see me."
~IY~
"Nothing Woman." Jaken barked his bulging eyes angry. "Have you found out where Lord Sesshomaru's father is buried?"
The faceless woman shook her head and forced the boy further inside her chest where she absorbed him. Jaken frowned and hit the creature with his staff.
"Stupid creature! Stop absorbing him so fast! You'll kill him before we get the information we need!" The toad like creature hopped about the Nothing Woman in anger his staff waving and bobbing.
"The right black pearl." Inuyasha muttered as the Nothing Woman absorbed him.
"That! That was something! Dig further Nothing Woman!" Jaken hit her with his staff again and the woman turned her featureless face towards him.
"If I go any further his soul will break!" The Nothing Woman wailed but she pushed him further.
"Where is the grave?" She whispered.
~IY~
"Where is the grave? Where is the grave? Come on little Inuyasha you can go farther." His mothers' voice was urgent but seemed so far away. He couldn't breathe and there were so many shadows all around him.
"Mother I can't breathe." He gasped. His eyes opened. They saw. Saw Jaken beating the creature who entwined him in her arms and pulled him inside her body, saw the face of his mother melt away to reveal the blank fleshy wall of her face. Not his mother. Not his mother.
"Dig further Nothing Woman!" Jaken squeaked. The woman cried out, her strange featureless face unmoving. Not his Mother.
Something exploded inside of him.
~IY~
She seized the staff easily and pulled it away. Jaken turned, his yellow eyes turning from angry to frightened. She kicked him twice until he fell over then stepped on him, grinding him into the ground with her heel. He squeaked and squirmed in pain as she slammed the end of the staff down on him and finally kicked him away.
The Nothing Woman looked at her, but she had no eyes. Spoke to Inuyasha when she had no mouth.
"You must wake Inuyasha's soul if you plan to free him!" Myouga called from her shoulder. He was hopping up and down in excitement and tugging on her ear lobe.
"Right!" Amber yelled. She held the staff like it was a club and hit the Nothing Woman with it, once, twice three times and then a last before she began to release Inuyasha. Amber threw away the staff and seized Inuyasha with both hands and pulled, her shoes making deep ruts in the dirt.
He slid out, awake with the dreamy film of the trance gone from his eyes.
"YOU!" He roared at the Nothing Woman. She recoiled in fear but as Inuyasha brandished his claws Sesshomaru was there. He threw Amber away, the slight brush of his hand sending her flying. She landed badly but stumbled up, unhurt and swearing bloody murder.
"NO AMBER!" Myouga yelled as she took as step towards the brothers. "DO NOT GET INTO A CONFRONTATION WITH SESSHOMARU! HE'LL KILL US BOTH!"
"A place where even it's keeper cannot look upon it." Sesshomaru whispered. He did not smile, his face did not change as he seized his younger brother around the throat, and his claws pricked the soft skin until five bright spots of red blood welled up on his throat.
"I should have figured it out sooner. I apologize." He looked for a minute as though he was going to pull out Inuyasha's eyes but instead he flicked his wrist and in a flash of bright sparks he drew out a glowing black pearl. He dropped Inuyasha who crumpled into the dirt clutching his eye.
"INUYASHA!" She screamed. Sesshomaru ignored them both and placed the pearl at his feet. "LISTEN YOU FLUFFY FUCK..." Amber began but Myouga bit her hard behind the ear to stop her and she began swatting at him and cursing.
Sesshomaru barely glanced at her.
"YOU USED ME!" Inuyasha staggered to his feet his eyes blazing golden flame. "YOU MADE ME BELIVE YOU'D BROUGHT MY MOTHER BACK FROM THE DEAD YOU EVIL, IGNORANT FUCK." He stood there glaring at his brother for a long second. "You bastard." He cursed before attacking.
Sesshomaru was as emotionless as ever as he summoned his poisonous whip. It hissed as it snaked through the air at the enraged demon.
"NO!" The cry came from the faceless Nothing Woman as she threw herself before the whip. Amber watched, mystified as the whip tore her apart. What it would have done to Inuyasha if not for her.
"What the? Wasn't she trying to eat him or something?" Amber asked the flea on her shoulder.
"The Nothing Woman is the essence of women whose sons died at war. She absorbed Inuyasha. She saw him as her son." Myouga explained. "And though he was not it does not mean her love was any less pure."
"This world is fucked up beyond all recognition." Amber swore as Sesshomaru called his toad forward. Jaken scuttled forth holding the staff he'd retrieved. He handed it to his lord who placed the end of it on top of the pearl he'd fished out of his brothers' eye.
The old man opened his mouth and started laughing, his wooden eyes scrunching up. Amber swore again in disbelief as the pearl glowed purple and a portal opened up beside their competitor. He turned and left, his toad hopping along behind him.
~IY~
"Amber you stay..." Inuyasha turned to where his companion had been standing. She was not there. He looked around frantically for a minute, just in time to see her shoe disappear through the portal.
"God damn that girl." He swore and followed.
The land beyond the portal was nothing but rock hills and patches of green trees. He saw Amber standing there with Myouga on her shoulder, looking confused.
"Are you hurt?" He'd seen Sesshomaru throw her and saw her land badly on her stomach. She lifted her shirt to show him her flat belly, already turning an unsightly purple.
"I'll be fine." She said pulling it down. "At least I didn't bust any ribs." She winced as she spoke and Inuyasha looked around. His brother was nowhere in sight.
"Where did..." He began turning back to him but he felt claws close around him and looked up, ready to fight.
A huge bird, a living skeleton no less, had him about the waist and Amber to. It screeched hoarsely and Amber coughed and choked in pain as it tightened its grip around her.
"Are you sure you didn't break any ribs?" He shouted at her, she did not reply merely swore in pain. Her face was twisted in agony but she pointed to the horizon where an enormous skeletal figure began to take shape.
It was monstrous, taller then fifty houses stacked on top of one another and wide as a football field at the base. The skull was fanged with thick ivory, each razor piece as long as Amber was tall. The sightless sockets stared out at horizon where the sun rose slowly, spraying the sky with crimson and gold.
"Is that what I think it is?" Inuyasha asked as the bird set them down. Amber almost crumbled, holding her side, just below her right breast.
"You forget sometimes that your father was a great demon. A taiyoukai." Myouga replied.
"A teriyaki?" Amber asked shaking her head dimly. Inuyasha put his hand on her side, gently feeling her rib. It was not broken, or if it was it had not moved. She had cracked it at the very least; he could feel it swelling beneath his fingers.
"A taiyoukai." He corrected her and she nodded weakly. He could not find it in him to be angry with her for this. Once he would have cursed her weakness but her face was drawn with pain and streaked with sweat, too tired and bruised to condone his anger. He lifted her gently onto his back as he approached the socket. She gasped slightly in pain but said nothing, her grip so tight that her knuckles had gone the color of snow.
"Into the abyss." She muttered looking over his shoulder. And Inuyasha couldn't help but agree.
~IY~
Tetsusaiga was not an impressive sword. It was small and chipped seemingly nothing more then an old katana with the tip of its blade lodged in a slab of stone. Sesshomaru observed it quietly for a moment before he extended his hand.
The sword's handle was wrapped in old leather that grated his hand as it closed around the sword hilt. He pulled softly and was met by a cackle of power that repelled his hand. Sesshomaru looked at the sword again, looking for anything special.
He heard Inuyasha rather then saw him and swerved to the side as he attacked. Sesshomaru caught sight of his brothers' pet up above their heads perched on one of his fathers' massive ribs. He snorted in laughter and pointed at her.
"Never far from her are you?" He asked mockingly. "I'm beginning to wonder who the master is in this relationship you have." He dodged Inuyasha's angry slash.
"How many times do I have to tell you? LEAVE AMBER OUT OF THIS!" He roared slashing at his brother.
Up on the tree trunk sized ribs, clutching her side Amber could see the hopeless fight. Sesshomaru was much faster, full demon and not even batting an eyelash as his brother flew at him again and again, attacking the air as the tall man slipped away forever out of reach.
"Lord Inuyasha!" Myouga cried. His voice carried through the small space and Amber caught sight of Jaken watching the fight a few feet away, the staff of heads clutched in his wrinkled hands, completely oblivious to her presence.
"The sword! Tetsusaiga!" The tiny man was jumping up and down as Amber slid to the ground, the skulls that made its floor slippery and treacherous as she approached the toad man.
Again she seized the staff but this time the deformed little creature clung onto it, screaming at her. She hit him against the wall until he went flying across the room and turned back to the fight. Inuyasha was attacking his brother again, his claws smashing the many skulls that formed the floor.
"With it he has power." She remembered Myouga telling her as she crouched in the grass. In one smooth motion she brought up her knee and broke the brittle old wood into two pieces across it. "Take it away and he is nothing."
The woman and man did nothing for a long moment. The stillness the crack had wrought hung in the air and Amber felt the eyes of every demon in the skeleton upon her. Then the heads screamed. Both of them, loud and shrill, full of pain.
"She broke the staff!" Jaken cried out as the screams faded away. Inuyasha was looking at her strangely as she kicked the toad roughly.
"Get away you freaky little toad." She cursed as the tiny creature flew away landing with a crunch in a pile of bones.
"Jaken." Sesshomaru said calmly turning to his quivering minion. "Are you so incompetent as to allow a human to take that staff from you?"
"Well she is much bigger then me my lord." Jaken whimpered softly rubbing his pencil thin body where Amber had bruised it in her fury. "She kicked me."
"You are a demon, the staff would have burnt her to a crisp. Yet still you allowed her to take it." He looked back at Amber his yellow eyes cold as winter ice. "That staff took me a long time to find human. When I am done with this simpering pet of yours I will draw its price from your flesh."
"Are you deaf as well as stupid Sesshomaru? How many times have I told you to leave her out of our fight? She's a human, no threat to you." Inuyasha struck again his claws nicking the fabric of his brothers billowing sleeves.
"Lord Inuyasha! The sword! Get Tetsusaiga! Pull it from the pedestal!" Myouga was hopping around in a frenzy, his fat body bouncing like a rubber ball. "Unarmed you don't stand a chance! With the sword you can wreak your vengeance on Sesshomaru."
"I don't need the sword." Inuyasha roared.
"OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" Amber screamed at him, stepping on Jaken. "JUST TAKE THE DAMN THING! KILL HIM WITH THE WEAPON HE WAS TOO WEAK TO PULL HIMSELF."
She'd crossed the line. Sesshomaru turned to her, his yellow eyes afire with rage.
"When this is over I will take you." He informed her coldly. "And I promise you, you insubordinate piece of mortal trash, that you will beg for death before I end it for you." His flat voice chilled her to the bone but Inuyasha snorted with laughter.
He grabbed hold of the sword hilt with one hand.
"Amber has a point big brother." He spat the word like it was the foulest curse. "I think I'll take this sword after all."
He pulled his body tensing stiff and rigid as a whip. Light shone from the stone as he pulled, his face twisted with pain. The light engulfed him, dancing beams of white and rainbow so bright every spectator needed to shield their eyes to prevent themselves from going blind. In the midst of it Inuyasha screamed his cry one of strength and frustration and his form, outlined by the bright light writhed as he pulled. Amber squeezed here eyes shut, as the light grew brighter, and saw no more.
When at last the brightness had faded Inuyasha stood on the pedestal, the carved runes and sculpted gold untouched. Tetsusaiga had not moved.
"To weak to pull it?" Sesshomaru laughed turning to Amber. "Looks like your little hero couldn't do much better hmm?"
Amber frowned as Inuyasha turned on the flea.
"Myouga." He said his voice deadly calm. "I couldn't pull out the sword could I?"
"I don't know what went wrong!" Myouga squeaked, hiding in Amber's hair.
"No time for talk." Sesshomaru cut in. "I have wasted enough of my time on you. I'll kill you and then your human bitch before I claim Tetsusaiga, but it WILL be mine." He lunged. "Taste the poison of my claws." He taunted and they glowed the green of poison death.
Jaken was there, one half of the staff in each hand. "YOU BROKE IT!" He yelled beating her legs pointlessly. Amber stumbled backward in surprise and almost fell. Her hands groped for something and found a handle, wrapped in sweat stained leather.
"For that you die toad man." She told him coldly. He looked scared for a minute but her threat was never finished. She heard Inuyasha cry out as Sesshomaru plunged his fist into his stomach and drew back the poison claws to end the fight.
"NO!" She lurched forward, forgetting she held Tetsusaiga in one hand. She felt it come loose in her hands, then slip from the rocks cold grip. She held it in her hands and swore again in disbelief.
Sesshomaru halted his attack and turned to her, his golden eyes full of confusion. "How did you..?" He asked angrily as she brandished the blade.
"Well this just proves men in the feudal age are just as helpless as they are in my time." Amber thought to herself as the two demons stared at her in amazement.
"What?" She asked as the chipped blade shone in the weak light. The silence stretched on, all eyes fixed on her. She was reminded for a moment of elementary school when the other, wealthy children used to stare at her patched jeans and worn old jacket.
"What?" She asked again.
"Give me that sword." Sesshomaru said his eyes glowing. "And I'll let you live when I'm done with your master.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
WHOOT!!! A chapter I actually liked! It's a miracle. No it wasn't as funny as it could have been but it's hard to make emotionally non-existent Sesshomaru funny okay? Well it is when you're keeping to his original personality! REVIEW ALL MY PEOPLES! AND READ MY RANTS!!! AND MY THANK YOUS!!!
Ok first off, I LOVE ALL MY REVIEWERS! * Hugs them all. * You guys make writing all worth while. Secondly, WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL MY REVIEWS? YOU ALL E-MAIL ME THREATENING MY LIFE IF I DON'T UPDATE AND NOW I HAVE! MAKE WITH THE REVIEWS ALREADY!
Yes I'm trying to hurry this story along; I'll shorten some of the chapters and skip a few episodes. Basically my plan was to follow the story until their first battle with Koga and then take this story in my own direction. Just so you guys know.
And to the several when will Amber and Inuyasha start snogging each others faces off inquiries I'm tentatively exploring the time line for that right now. All I know is you will not have to wait as long as you do for stupid whiney Kagome because once Amber decides she wants Inu she's going to go after Inu instead of crying and hiding in modern times.
And for those people who have reviewed asking my why I hate Kagome all I can say is shut up. I hate Kagome for my own reasons, which have been clearly stated several times. If you're going to review then at least have the decency to read the story.
Anyway enough of that.
People who have reviewed (almost) every chapter and thus deserve the never ending worship I give them:
KagomeHater Raynee Jamya GreenLeaf Fluffy_Chan Kinelea Wolf Demons Rule Kurama (Though I may need to beat her if she doesn't review soon.) InuSangoLove (Though not for much longer! * sob sob * WHERE ARE YOU? Chibi Moon Roswells Fallen Angel
YOU GUYS ROCK MY SOCKS! :D :D :D
Don't you all feel special?
Anyway, some questions are answered at the end and I've listed all those who I worship. Of course I worship all my reviewers but I'm lazy so I didn't list all of them. What? Why do you think it takes me two weeks to update?
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
Part One: Sesshomaru, Aristocratic Assassin.
The harsh wind smelt of grass and leaves and water as it brushed by his face, its cool probing fingers bringing him news of the world it had passed over. It was early evening, and the air was cooling rapidly and carried the unmistakable odor of village dogs.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" The tall demon looked down at the toad like little creature that scuttled along by his feet, barely even tall enough for his pointed black cap to reach the tips of the grass strands. His eyes, two vast amber orbs, were fixed on the strangely carved staff that floated before them. "The staff has been pointing this way for days. Perhaps this is the grave we seek."
Sesshomaru said nothing as the staff drifted towards the mound of dirt. It was possible but he did not let his excitement show. He had been seeking this grave with earnest for some years now but the smell of mongrels was still heavy on the wind.
They emerged from behind the grave, gaunt scraggly creatures with more bone then flesh. Most likely strays. He thought as he watched them, their jagged teeth leaking ropes of yellowish saliva as they growled deep in their throats.
"You are not worth my time." He informed them stiffly. He extended his index finger and pointed at the pack leader, a scraggly black bitch with narrow yellow eyes that leaked greenish fluid over her nose. With barely a flick of his wrist he killed them, his demon powers rising in an instant and vanishing the next.
"Jaken finish with this grave." He instructed and the toad like creature hopped forward as the staff positioned itself over the grave where it levitated for a moment. Finally the second of the two heads, that off a woman with long black hair that curled around the staff handle, opened her mouth and screamed a shrill note into the darkness.
"This is not the grave we seek." Jaken squeaked looking up at his lord. The tall demon said nothing, not a hair on his head stirred as he stared at the face of the woman. Then he turned quickly on his heel and strode off through the billowing grasses.
~IY~
Inuyasha leaned against the tree, breathing in the misty smell of leaves and bark. It was a hot day, the kind that makes even a half demon sluggish and lazy. He toyed with the confining beads with one clawed hand as he contemplated their master.
Amber's temperament had not improved over the last few days, she seemed quite put out by the fact she had a ring of purple bruises around her neck from the strangling hair while he didn't even bear a scratch from their fight. She'd spent her days avoiding him and every other life form in the village aside from Kaede. When Inuyasha had tried to speak to her she had sat him rudely and walked off muttering under her breath. Inuyasha did not like that girl.
"Hey mutt man!" The call came from the base of the tree. Inuyasha looked down and caught sight the aforementioned girl on the ground dressed in the clothes she'd brought back from her time. Her black hair rippled in the wind like a banner and great hazel eyes were a tad bit less aggressive then he remembered.
"What?" He asked irritated by her various nicknames for him.
"I brought you something." She called taking off her backpack and beginning to rummage through it.
Inuyasha glared down at her suspiciously. "What if I don't want it?" He asked arrogantly.
"Don't make me say THE WORD!" Amber threatened ominously. The bruises around her neck had faded and she no longer walked with a limp but she still winced as she sat down against the tree, her back against the trunk.
"Go ahead." He said leaning back and closing his eyes.
"Sit."
Inuyasha had lost count off all the times he'd been sat but the experience never failed to draw a yelp out of him. He felt himself smashed horribly against the ground as his face was propelled into the soil, his features leaving a perfect mold in the soft ground.
Amber tossed him a box she had fished out of her backpack and stuck a cigarette in her mouth.
"What are these?" He asked. The box was bright red and printed with big yellow letters and a picture of a fluffy, stupid looking dog. Amber lit her cigarette and took a long drag before she answered.
"Milk bones." She said blowing the sour smelling smoke out of her nose. Inuyasha remembered Milk Bones, those cookies from the future. He opened the box and pulled out the bone shaped cookies in their strange bag.
"Thanks." He muttered gruffly. He slid his claw along the bag to open it and picked out a cookie, smiling as he savored its goodness. He liked these future cookies, though he didn't quite understand why there was a dog on the box.
The prick on his neck was barely noticeable. He swatted at it carelessly and felt the tiny round body beneath his fingers.
"Dammit." He swore, picking the creature off his neck. "A flea."
Amber looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Well it appears Barbie Boy is in need of a flea collar." She taunted. He didn't understand that but he rarely understood Amber's jibes.
"Lord Inuyasha!" The flea said.
"Oh it's you." Inuyasha growled with obvious distaste, glaring at the creature in his hand. It was a tiny little man, his head bald and shiny with a tiny straw like mouth, dressed in miniscule clothes with a bundle tied about his shoulders. "Myouga."
"Who's Myouga?" Amber asked curiously. She smirked as Inuyasha looked up. "Your imaginary friend perhaps?"
Inuyasha glared at her and addressed the tiny demon. "What are you doing here?"
"Lord Inuyasha! I must consult with you and Kaede in her hut, something very important has come up." The fat little youkai crossed his arms and drew himself up. "Very, VERY important."
"Fine. Come on Amber." He popped another cookie into his mouth and watched as Amber picked herself up, wincing in pain. "Let's go."
~IY~
"So you see, the place I was protecting was only a gravestone. You're fathers grave must be located elsewhere." Amber was leaning over squinting at the little creature as he finished his tale. It had taken most of the day between questions and answers and the flea mans talk, the round white moon was rising, its rays filtering through the small windows. Kaede was sitting cross-legged on the reed strewn floor, her face creased in thought and a stick of incense burning in a tall brazier. She said nothing for a long moment so Inuyasha looked over at the creature perched on his shoulder.
"Any idea where?" He asked gruffly, brushing him off.
Myouga landed neatly and turned Amber still looking at him as though he was some fascinating magical creature instead of a flea. "None." He answered sadly. "But your father was a powerful demon Lord Inuyasha, his grave is sure to be beyond the reach of these intruders."
Amber was piecing all this together in her head, trying to form a family tree in her head. Inuyasha was half demon, that she knew so if his father was a demon his mother, of course, was the human side of his family. She drew her attention away from the fascinating little bug and turned it back on her companion.
"I'm sure he was." Inuyasha was saying to Myouga. "But I don't have any memories of the guy so I can't tell you where his grave is."
"If your father was such a powerful demon, what was your mother like?" Amber asked curiously. She must have had something that would attract the attentions of a demon.
"She was a very beautiful woman..." Myouga began closing his eyes and drawing himself up but his story was silenced by Inuyasha's foot. The angry half demon ground the poor creature into the floor then turned to Amber his golden eyes smoldering with anger.
"It doesn't matter what she was like." He informed her stiffly. "My mother died a long time ago." He turned briskly on his heel and stalked out of the small hut.
"What was that all about?" She wondered aloud.
"Ye must not let such a thing trouble ye child." Kaede answered, pushing herself up with one hand and lifting the crumpled form of Myouga the Flea off the floor. "Inuyasha always acts like this when someone mentions his mother."
The old priestess made her way to the door and stopped before passing through, still holding the wounded demon. "I suggest ye do not speak with Inuyasha about his mother Amber. He does not approach the subject easily." And with that she was gone.
~IY~
Inuyasha ran his fingers through his hair and swore inwardly as he remembered his reaction to Amber's innocent question. He sighed as unwanted memories surfaced, their icy crippling grip tightening over his mind. He hated memories.
The wind had picked up during his talk with Myouga. It was strong now, blowing away some of the heat as he perched among the branches of the tree. He banished the memories as he was so used to doing and took a deep breath of the air, watching the moon and peeling the smells it carried apart.
There was one he could not recognize for a long second. As the realization hit him Inuyasha felt an icy fist grab hold of his heart and shove it into his neck. It wasn't possible, he couldn't be here. Not now.
Inuyasha leapt from the tree to see Amber climbing the hill towards him, with a rough sword belted at her waist and a bow across her back. She had been practicing with both, showing more shine with the sword then the bow though even the youngest of trained warriors could still dump her ass down in the dirt. She covered her eyes with her sleeve as the wind blew grit into her eyes.
"Inuyasha!" She yelled pointing. "Behind you!"
He turned. There was a black carriage in the sky, obscured by the swirling clouds of dust and grit. The sky boiled like a stew pot, the clouds gathering to hide the black carriage in their depths. Inuyasha shielded his eyes and glared up at the form of the horseless carriage and the face of the woman staring back at him, her body wrapped in chains. He knew that face. Knew as well as he knew his own.
His mother called out to him. Her voice sweeter then his memories and full of suffering as a massive three fingered hand reached out of the thick clouds. He knew that face so well and he knew the pain that shot through it as the scaled hand snatched the tiny carriage up and smashed it with a careless flick.
"Inuyasha!" The woman called as the huge clawed fingers closed around her slender body. "Inuyasha!"
"Mother!" He called as the hand began to crush her. The fire bright eyes of the monstrous demon pierced the clouds, flashing and spitting sparks as it crushed the helpless woman.
"Mother? I thought you said..." Inuyasha did not have time to listen to Amber. She drew her sword and fought her way against the wind towards him but he was gone in a flash of red cloth. Leaping up and towards the helpless woman in the demons hand.
He sensed the attack before he saw it and pirouetted in mid air, the blazing ball of red fire scorching the very tips of his silver hair. The enraged hanyou landed gracefully, not five feet from where he'd leapt and spied the little creature clutching its staff, his huge bulbous eyes looking down on them.
"Jaken." The bored voice came from the shoulder of the giant demon and the toad like creature lowered its staff reluctantly. "You can kill Inuyasha after I talk to him."
"YOU!" Inuyasha snarled up at him, his amber eyes flashing like pools of molten gold.
"So glad to see you remember me." The white haired demon said, gazing down at the blazing ball of fury that was Inuyasha. "Little brother."
~IY~
"THAT'S YOUR BROTHER?" Amber felt no safer with the bare steel in her hands then she had the moment the black carriage had came out of the sky, horseless, carrying a woman wrapped in chains.
The strange man turned to her, his narrow yellow eyes widening slightly as they came to rest on her slender form. She wished she was more impressive but all she could manage was a glare as the faintest of smiles touched his lips.
He was handsome, far more handsome then Inuyasha with longer hair the same beautiful silver and shining golden eyes. He was tall and graceful looking his long limbs garbed in white and red with a yellow sash and sheathed sword at his slim waist. She saw the strange markings on his high cheekbones and the purple crescent on his brow and a long fluffy rope of white fur rested on his right shoulder. Handsome but cold as ice as he turned back to his angry brother.
"A human Inuyasha?" He asked cocking one eyebrow mockingly. "Wasn't this pathetic pink bag of rice paper flesh enough humiliation?" The human woman writhed as the demon crushed her easily.
"FUCK YOU FLUFFY!" Amber yelled. She had fought her way to Inuyasha's shoulder, the wind tearing at her blue jeans and whipping her hair around her face.
If the demon was surprised by her courage he did not show it. Merely turned back to his younger brother, dismissing her.
"Really, as if you haven't brought enough shame to this family already. Perhaps you'll bed this one before I kill you and father a few half-breeds of your own." His face did not move as he taunted the hanyou, it remained an emotionless mask.
"HEY!" Amber roared an obscenity that scorched the air and made the toad like little creature called Jaken gasp, almost losing his grip on the staff before giving the tall demon a one-finger salute.
"How quaint." The demon said flatly then turned back to his brother without even glancing at her. "I'm looking for our fathers grave Inuyasha. Tell me where it is."
"I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE OLD MAN IS BURIED!" Inuyasha roared angrily. "AND EVEN IF I DID KNOW I WOULDN'T TELL YOU!" He was angrier then Amber had ever seen him.
"Well then your mother will have to suffer." The demon said. Even as Amber watched he pulled a whip from the air. The whip was long and poisonous green, it hissed as it slid through the air, like a living thing before snapping against the demon that clutched the human woman.
"SESSHOMARU!" Inuyasha roared charging forward. "DON'T YOU DARE HURT HER!"
"Where one can see but cannot be seen." Sesshomaru intoned from his seat. "A place where its own keeper cannot look upon. That is the clue Inuyasha. Think."
"It's okay son." Inuyasha's mother screamed as a bright ribbon of blood flowed through the fingers of the demon. "I've already died."
The demon swatted Inuyasha out of the air with one massive hand. He landed hard by Amber's feet and she dropped to her knees pulling him up with both hands.
"SESSHOMARU YOU BASTARD!" Inuyasha yelled hoarsely, brushing Amber away. She sheathed her sword and stood, dark eyes flashing. "Leave her out of this!"
"Which one? Your mother, or that pet human of yours?" Sesshomaru looked down at her. "Would you tell me what I wanted if it was her being crushed?"
"She's nothing to me. Leave Amber out of this!" Inuyasha yelled trying to push the human behind him.
"Oh how cute. You gave it a name. Does it have a collar and a basket by your bed as well?" Sesshomaru snapped his whip again and the creature leant down its clawed hand reaching for Amber.
"I SAID LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!" Inuyasha roared leaping forward. His claws flashed and four red fountains spurted out of the demons hand as Inuyasha severed it from his wrist. Another leap carried him to the hand gripping his mother. Again his claws flashed and the woman fell, the handless demon bellowing in rage.
"Here, let me help you." Amber whispered, helping Inuyasha's mother to her feet. She was bleeding from a cut concealed somewhere in her clothes, the metallic scent of blood clouding Amber's senses.
She did not speak, merely raised her hands and Amber watched as a glowing orb, no bigger then a grain of sand appeared within them.
"What th—WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" Amber cried backing away as Inuyasha's mother stretched the orb, glowing white and bright as the sun. "STOP!" She yelled lunging forward. The lily flower in its depths sang with power, it's glow engulfing the arrogant girl, she screamed and thrashed away. But in a flash of brilliant white light that lit the very sky she, Inuyasha and his mother were gone.
"The plan is going well Lord Sesshomaru." Jaken squeaked as the stony demon looked down to where they had vanished. "Leave the rest to me."
Sesshomaru looked down at his huge demon, the red eyes leaking tears of pain.
"I have no more use for you." He said quietly. The green whip sprang from his fingers and he killed the monster with a negligent flick of his wrist.
"Yes. Make no mistake Jaken. If you fail I will kill you." He did not even turn to face his minion as he spoke and Jaken felt the chill travel down his spine.
"Yes Lord Sesshomaru." He squeaked bowing deeply. Sesshomaru did not reply, but merely looked away, towards the horizon. Jaken shivered as he began to work, his thoughts clouded by fear. Sesshomaru was a cruel master.
~IY~
The mist rolling off the lily pond covered Amber's face with cool beads of water, her face relaxed and peaceful in her slumber. Inuyasha woke to see her nestled among the tall grasses, sprawled at the edge of the pond, her body limp and motionless. He couldn't tell if she was alive or dead.
There were lily pads dotting the calm dreamy water, their blossoms white and yellow bursts against the muted world that surrounded him. There was soft grass beneath his feet and the sun shone warm and golden, bathing the world in a safe glow. He heard her steps in the grass and turned to face her. His mother.
"Inuyasha." She said, she was beautiful as ever, her long dark hair shining wherever the dim light hit it, sleek and black as a raven's wing. Her heart-shaped face was ever young, the same face that she had died with. She smiled at him and his heart ached. By his feet Amber mumbled something that sounded like his name but she was a million miles away from him. A billion, so far away that it seemed she would never come back. His mother smiled at him here brown eyes full of love and Amber was gone from him.
"Where I am mother?" Inuyasha asked as he stepped away from the girl he'd already forgotten.
"The boundary between life and death." She said. She walked and Inuyasha followed, caught in a trance. "This place is pretty but I cannot dwell here. I will go onto the world of the dead from here." She smelled like spring, a familiar fresh scent that sent him hurdling back through the years into his memory. Memories of the village where he grew up and of her death, especially her death. And the dark, stinking room where she had died.
"I'm sorry I left you alone." She was saying as Inuyasha pulled himself out of the swirling dark of memory. "All alone in that dark time. I hope you can forgive me Inuyasha."
"Mother..." He whispered, his throat aching. All else was forgotten, there was only her, right here, right now. There was something he had forgotten but that seemed so unimportant now. "Mother..."
~IY~
She opened her eyes. It seemed like a superhuman effort to her but she opened them just the same. She was alone in the grass, the cold wet dew soaking through her clothes and chilling her bones.
She couldn't move. There was no sound for a long minute and Amber Lote thought that she had died. She wondered what had become of everyone in the village, what would become of those in her own time when they realized she was never coming back. The voice brought her back, floating across the still pond.
"I'm sorry I left you alone." The sweet voice was that of Inuyasha's mother. The woman who had conjured that ball of light that had brought them here. Wherever here was. She stood across the pond from her, with Inuyasha behind her, a dreamy, lost look in his amber eyes. She wanted to call out to him but her mouth would not move.
The pond swept cold mist over her and she looked down towards the surreal calm of its surface. She could see their reflection in the water, mother and son. But no, that was not the same woman. She had no face. Amber stared hard and looked back to the two people on the shore. Frightened for the first time.
"INUYASHA! THAT ISN'T YOUR MOTHER!" She screamed, but no sound came. Not a single sound. She couldn't move, couldn't save him. He was talking to her, believing she was his dead mother alive again. She screamed in her head, again and again, willing him to look into the pond, to see what she saw. But he had eyes only for his mother who he had lost and who know stood before him. Inside her head Amber screamed.
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
Part Two: Tetsusaiga the Phantom Sword
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
"Inuyasha." His mother knelt by the water, a lily in her hands. She placed it on the surface and as the hanyou watched the petals broke apart and floated its petals were splashes of vibrant white against the gray-blue water.
"Mother?" He asked.
"Look into the water Inuyasha." She urged quietly. She pointed to the broken flower and her son obediently knelt and looked, confused yet unafraid.
He saw the rooftops, a birds eye view of the village he knew so well. There were people in a ring, an old hide ball passing between them as they laughed. He had wings, he flew and landed on the thin edge of the roof watching them play their game. He knew what was coming. He remembered.
A little boy dressed in red, his long hair flowing behind him, a banner of rippling silver silk. He tried to step into the circle among the boys his own size but they cut him out roughly, stepping on his bare feet and ignoring his yelps of protest. The boy looked baffled and ran to a larger man laughing.
"Can I play?" He asked smiling. His silver ears perked as the man laughed at him.
"Of course." He said kneeling down. He gave the boy the old ball, it was dirty and worn but the child smiled as though it was golden and precious. "But not with us." At his words a ripple of laughter ran through the group, the left, fading out of the memory like phantoms into the mist. And the boy ran, not understanding what the man had meant when he'd turned his back and cursed him with that horrible word.
"MOTHER!" He cried. The woman turned her face hidden in shadow and opened her arms to him, her pink kimono fluttering in the wind. He was small, only up to her waist but the tall powerful Inuyasha who watched him felt so much envy as the woman enveloped him in her embrace. "What does half-breed mean?"
She looked as though an arrow had pierced her chest as soon as the word passed over his lips. She hugged him closer to her, kissing the top of his head. A tear slid down her cheek catching the moonlight, sparkling like diamond of sorrow. She was crying for him, crying for the little boy in her arms.
Crying for her son.
~IY~
"INUYASHA YOU DUMB FUCK!" Amber thought ferociously. "WAKE UP!"
She fought the paralysis. Fought it with all her heart and soul, willing her limbs to move, twitch DO SOMETHING. They felt like heavy cement and wet sand, like she was chained. The words flashed through her mind. And she saw. She finally saw.
The valley was not beautiful, it was a stagnant swamp, the heavy perfume of the lilies the stink of rotting vegetation. She saw the metal chains wrapped around her body, the creatures that climbed over her, pink and green and blue. She saw Inuyasha weep a single tear and embrace the creature he thought was his mother. She saw her hands disappear inside his back and cried out, nothing more then a whisper. She swore and urged her body to move.
"MOVE DAMN IT, MOVE! She cursed, forcing her limbs to move. Her fingers twitched then moved. Her arms, sagging with the weight of the chains lifted slowly and dropped down. She struggled helplessly. The prick on her neck was all that saved her.
The chains seemed to evaporate as she instinctively slapped the itch on her neck. The creatures dissolved, and she moved and pulled Myouga the Flea from his place at her throat.
"Myouga?" She asked hoarsely. The little creature looked up at her and nodded. "Get down." He whispered.
Amber dropped into the grass at his command.
"Over there. On the lake." She looked, the tiny creature Jaken moored his boat and hopped out scolding the creature who was absorbing Inuyasha.
"That staff he carries is the staff of heads. With it he has power. Take it away and he is nothing." Myouga informed her crouching behind her ear. She nodded her understanding and stole forward through the grass.
"Please god." She thought to herself. "Don't let him see me."
~IY~
"Nothing Woman." Jaken barked his bulging eyes angry. "Have you found out where Lord Sesshomaru's father is buried?"
The faceless woman shook her head and forced the boy further inside her chest where she absorbed him. Jaken frowned and hit the creature with his staff.
"Stupid creature! Stop absorbing him so fast! You'll kill him before we get the information we need!" The toad like creature hopped about the Nothing Woman in anger his staff waving and bobbing.
"The right black pearl." Inuyasha muttered as the Nothing Woman absorbed him.
"That! That was something! Dig further Nothing Woman!" Jaken hit her with his staff again and the woman turned her featureless face towards him.
"If I go any further his soul will break!" The Nothing Woman wailed but she pushed him further.
"Where is the grave?" She whispered.
~IY~
"Where is the grave? Where is the grave? Come on little Inuyasha you can go farther." His mothers' voice was urgent but seemed so far away. He couldn't breathe and there were so many shadows all around him.
"Mother I can't breathe." He gasped. His eyes opened. They saw. Saw Jaken beating the creature who entwined him in her arms and pulled him inside her body, saw the face of his mother melt away to reveal the blank fleshy wall of her face. Not his mother. Not his mother.
"Dig further Nothing Woman!" Jaken squeaked. The woman cried out, her strange featureless face unmoving. Not his Mother.
Something exploded inside of him.
~IY~
She seized the staff easily and pulled it away. Jaken turned, his yellow eyes turning from angry to frightened. She kicked him twice until he fell over then stepped on him, grinding him into the ground with her heel. He squeaked and squirmed in pain as she slammed the end of the staff down on him and finally kicked him away.
The Nothing Woman looked at her, but she had no eyes. Spoke to Inuyasha when she had no mouth.
"You must wake Inuyasha's soul if you plan to free him!" Myouga called from her shoulder. He was hopping up and down in excitement and tugging on her ear lobe.
"Right!" Amber yelled. She held the staff like it was a club and hit the Nothing Woman with it, once, twice three times and then a last before she began to release Inuyasha. Amber threw away the staff and seized Inuyasha with both hands and pulled, her shoes making deep ruts in the dirt.
He slid out, awake with the dreamy film of the trance gone from his eyes.
"YOU!" He roared at the Nothing Woman. She recoiled in fear but as Inuyasha brandished his claws Sesshomaru was there. He threw Amber away, the slight brush of his hand sending her flying. She landed badly but stumbled up, unhurt and swearing bloody murder.
"NO AMBER!" Myouga yelled as she took as step towards the brothers. "DO NOT GET INTO A CONFRONTATION WITH SESSHOMARU! HE'LL KILL US BOTH!"
"A place where even it's keeper cannot look upon it." Sesshomaru whispered. He did not smile, his face did not change as he seized his younger brother around the throat, and his claws pricked the soft skin until five bright spots of red blood welled up on his throat.
"I should have figured it out sooner. I apologize." He looked for a minute as though he was going to pull out Inuyasha's eyes but instead he flicked his wrist and in a flash of bright sparks he drew out a glowing black pearl. He dropped Inuyasha who crumpled into the dirt clutching his eye.
"INUYASHA!" She screamed. Sesshomaru ignored them both and placed the pearl at his feet. "LISTEN YOU FLUFFY FUCK..." Amber began but Myouga bit her hard behind the ear to stop her and she began swatting at him and cursing.
Sesshomaru barely glanced at her.
"YOU USED ME!" Inuyasha staggered to his feet his eyes blazing golden flame. "YOU MADE ME BELIVE YOU'D BROUGHT MY MOTHER BACK FROM THE DEAD YOU EVIL, IGNORANT FUCK." He stood there glaring at his brother for a long second. "You bastard." He cursed before attacking.
Sesshomaru was as emotionless as ever as he summoned his poisonous whip. It hissed as it snaked through the air at the enraged demon.
"NO!" The cry came from the faceless Nothing Woman as she threw herself before the whip. Amber watched, mystified as the whip tore her apart. What it would have done to Inuyasha if not for her.
"What the? Wasn't she trying to eat him or something?" Amber asked the flea on her shoulder.
"The Nothing Woman is the essence of women whose sons died at war. She absorbed Inuyasha. She saw him as her son." Myouga explained. "And though he was not it does not mean her love was any less pure."
"This world is fucked up beyond all recognition." Amber swore as Sesshomaru called his toad forward. Jaken scuttled forth holding the staff he'd retrieved. He handed it to his lord who placed the end of it on top of the pearl he'd fished out of his brothers' eye.
The old man opened his mouth and started laughing, his wooden eyes scrunching up. Amber swore again in disbelief as the pearl glowed purple and a portal opened up beside their competitor. He turned and left, his toad hopping along behind him.
~IY~
"Amber you stay..." Inuyasha turned to where his companion had been standing. She was not there. He looked around frantically for a minute, just in time to see her shoe disappear through the portal.
"God damn that girl." He swore and followed.
The land beyond the portal was nothing but rock hills and patches of green trees. He saw Amber standing there with Myouga on her shoulder, looking confused.
"Are you hurt?" He'd seen Sesshomaru throw her and saw her land badly on her stomach. She lifted her shirt to show him her flat belly, already turning an unsightly purple.
"I'll be fine." She said pulling it down. "At least I didn't bust any ribs." She winced as she spoke and Inuyasha looked around. His brother was nowhere in sight.
"Where did..." He began turning back to him but he felt claws close around him and looked up, ready to fight.
A huge bird, a living skeleton no less, had him about the waist and Amber to. It screeched hoarsely and Amber coughed and choked in pain as it tightened its grip around her.
"Are you sure you didn't break any ribs?" He shouted at her, she did not reply merely swore in pain. Her face was twisted in agony but she pointed to the horizon where an enormous skeletal figure began to take shape.
It was monstrous, taller then fifty houses stacked on top of one another and wide as a football field at the base. The skull was fanged with thick ivory, each razor piece as long as Amber was tall. The sightless sockets stared out at horizon where the sun rose slowly, spraying the sky with crimson and gold.
"Is that what I think it is?" Inuyasha asked as the bird set them down. Amber almost crumbled, holding her side, just below her right breast.
"You forget sometimes that your father was a great demon. A taiyoukai." Myouga replied.
"A teriyaki?" Amber asked shaking her head dimly. Inuyasha put his hand on her side, gently feeling her rib. It was not broken, or if it was it had not moved. She had cracked it at the very least; he could feel it swelling beneath his fingers.
"A taiyoukai." He corrected her and she nodded weakly. He could not find it in him to be angry with her for this. Once he would have cursed her weakness but her face was drawn with pain and streaked with sweat, too tired and bruised to condone his anger. He lifted her gently onto his back as he approached the socket. She gasped slightly in pain but said nothing, her grip so tight that her knuckles had gone the color of snow.
"Into the abyss." She muttered looking over his shoulder. And Inuyasha couldn't help but agree.
~IY~
Tetsusaiga was not an impressive sword. It was small and chipped seemingly nothing more then an old katana with the tip of its blade lodged in a slab of stone. Sesshomaru observed it quietly for a moment before he extended his hand.
The sword's handle was wrapped in old leather that grated his hand as it closed around the sword hilt. He pulled softly and was met by a cackle of power that repelled his hand. Sesshomaru looked at the sword again, looking for anything special.
He heard Inuyasha rather then saw him and swerved to the side as he attacked. Sesshomaru caught sight of his brothers' pet up above their heads perched on one of his fathers' massive ribs. He snorted in laughter and pointed at her.
"Never far from her are you?" He asked mockingly. "I'm beginning to wonder who the master is in this relationship you have." He dodged Inuyasha's angry slash.
"How many times do I have to tell you? LEAVE AMBER OUT OF THIS!" He roared slashing at his brother.
Up on the tree trunk sized ribs, clutching her side Amber could see the hopeless fight. Sesshomaru was much faster, full demon and not even batting an eyelash as his brother flew at him again and again, attacking the air as the tall man slipped away forever out of reach.
"Lord Inuyasha!" Myouga cried. His voice carried through the small space and Amber caught sight of Jaken watching the fight a few feet away, the staff of heads clutched in his wrinkled hands, completely oblivious to her presence.
"The sword! Tetsusaiga!" The tiny man was jumping up and down as Amber slid to the ground, the skulls that made its floor slippery and treacherous as she approached the toad man.
Again she seized the staff but this time the deformed little creature clung onto it, screaming at her. She hit him against the wall until he went flying across the room and turned back to the fight. Inuyasha was attacking his brother again, his claws smashing the many skulls that formed the floor.
"With it he has power." She remembered Myouga telling her as she crouched in the grass. In one smooth motion she brought up her knee and broke the brittle old wood into two pieces across it. "Take it away and he is nothing."
The woman and man did nothing for a long moment. The stillness the crack had wrought hung in the air and Amber felt the eyes of every demon in the skeleton upon her. Then the heads screamed. Both of them, loud and shrill, full of pain.
"She broke the staff!" Jaken cried out as the screams faded away. Inuyasha was looking at her strangely as she kicked the toad roughly.
"Get away you freaky little toad." She cursed as the tiny creature flew away landing with a crunch in a pile of bones.
"Jaken." Sesshomaru said calmly turning to his quivering minion. "Are you so incompetent as to allow a human to take that staff from you?"
"Well she is much bigger then me my lord." Jaken whimpered softly rubbing his pencil thin body where Amber had bruised it in her fury. "She kicked me."
"You are a demon, the staff would have burnt her to a crisp. Yet still you allowed her to take it." He looked back at Amber his yellow eyes cold as winter ice. "That staff took me a long time to find human. When I am done with this simpering pet of yours I will draw its price from your flesh."
"Are you deaf as well as stupid Sesshomaru? How many times have I told you to leave her out of our fight? She's a human, no threat to you." Inuyasha struck again his claws nicking the fabric of his brothers billowing sleeves.
"Lord Inuyasha! The sword! Get Tetsusaiga! Pull it from the pedestal!" Myouga was hopping around in a frenzy, his fat body bouncing like a rubber ball. "Unarmed you don't stand a chance! With the sword you can wreak your vengeance on Sesshomaru."
"I don't need the sword." Inuyasha roared.
"OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" Amber screamed at him, stepping on Jaken. "JUST TAKE THE DAMN THING! KILL HIM WITH THE WEAPON HE WAS TOO WEAK TO PULL HIMSELF."
She'd crossed the line. Sesshomaru turned to her, his yellow eyes afire with rage.
"When this is over I will take you." He informed her coldly. "And I promise you, you insubordinate piece of mortal trash, that you will beg for death before I end it for you." His flat voice chilled her to the bone but Inuyasha snorted with laughter.
He grabbed hold of the sword hilt with one hand.
"Amber has a point big brother." He spat the word like it was the foulest curse. "I think I'll take this sword after all."
He pulled his body tensing stiff and rigid as a whip. Light shone from the stone as he pulled, his face twisted with pain. The light engulfed him, dancing beams of white and rainbow so bright every spectator needed to shield their eyes to prevent themselves from going blind. In the midst of it Inuyasha screamed his cry one of strength and frustration and his form, outlined by the bright light writhed as he pulled. Amber squeezed here eyes shut, as the light grew brighter, and saw no more.
When at last the brightness had faded Inuyasha stood on the pedestal, the carved runes and sculpted gold untouched. Tetsusaiga had not moved.
"To weak to pull it?" Sesshomaru laughed turning to Amber. "Looks like your little hero couldn't do much better hmm?"
Amber frowned as Inuyasha turned on the flea.
"Myouga." He said his voice deadly calm. "I couldn't pull out the sword could I?"
"I don't know what went wrong!" Myouga squeaked, hiding in Amber's hair.
"No time for talk." Sesshomaru cut in. "I have wasted enough of my time on you. I'll kill you and then your human bitch before I claim Tetsusaiga, but it WILL be mine." He lunged. "Taste the poison of my claws." He taunted and they glowed the green of poison death.
Jaken was there, one half of the staff in each hand. "YOU BROKE IT!" He yelled beating her legs pointlessly. Amber stumbled backward in surprise and almost fell. Her hands groped for something and found a handle, wrapped in sweat stained leather.
"For that you die toad man." She told him coldly. He looked scared for a minute but her threat was never finished. She heard Inuyasha cry out as Sesshomaru plunged his fist into his stomach and drew back the poison claws to end the fight.
"NO!" She lurched forward, forgetting she held Tetsusaiga in one hand. She felt it come loose in her hands, then slip from the rocks cold grip. She held it in her hands and swore again in disbelief.
Sesshomaru halted his attack and turned to her, his golden eyes full of confusion. "How did you..?" He asked angrily as she brandished the blade.
"Well this just proves men in the feudal age are just as helpless as they are in my time." Amber thought to herself as the two demons stared at her in amazement.
"What?" She asked as the chipped blade shone in the weak light. The silence stretched on, all eyes fixed on her. She was reminded for a moment of elementary school when the other, wealthy children used to stare at her patched jeans and worn old jacket.
"What?" She asked again.
"Give me that sword." Sesshomaru said his eyes glowing. "And I'll let you live when I'm done with your master.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
WHOOT!!! A chapter I actually liked! It's a miracle. No it wasn't as funny as it could have been but it's hard to make emotionally non-existent Sesshomaru funny okay? Well it is when you're keeping to his original personality! REVIEW ALL MY PEOPLES! AND READ MY RANTS!!! AND MY THANK YOUS!!!
Ok first off, I LOVE ALL MY REVIEWERS! * Hugs them all. * You guys make writing all worth while. Secondly, WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL MY REVIEWS? YOU ALL E-MAIL ME THREATENING MY LIFE IF I DON'T UPDATE AND NOW I HAVE! MAKE WITH THE REVIEWS ALREADY!
Yes I'm trying to hurry this story along; I'll shorten some of the chapters and skip a few episodes. Basically my plan was to follow the story until their first battle with Koga and then take this story in my own direction. Just so you guys know.
And to the several when will Amber and Inuyasha start snogging each others faces off inquiries I'm tentatively exploring the time line for that right now. All I know is you will not have to wait as long as you do for stupid whiney Kagome because once Amber decides she wants Inu she's going to go after Inu instead of crying and hiding in modern times.
And for those people who have reviewed asking my why I hate Kagome all I can say is shut up. I hate Kagome for my own reasons, which have been clearly stated several times. If you're going to review then at least have the decency to read the story.
Anyway enough of that.
People who have reviewed (almost) every chapter and thus deserve the never ending worship I give them:
KagomeHater Raynee Jamya GreenLeaf Fluffy_Chan Kinelea Wolf Demons Rule Kurama (Though I may need to beat her if she doesn't review soon.) InuSangoLove (Though not for much longer! * sob sob * WHERE ARE YOU? Chibi Moon Roswells Fallen Angel
YOU GUYS ROCK MY SOCKS! :D :D :D