QoH: As promised, the face-off between Inu-Yasha and Jashin-Jadoku begins here!

Chapter 5:... So Very Different?

                Inu-Yasha was getting a tad impatient. If that twisted freak doesnt show his ugly face soon, I just might go in there and drag him out, he thought to himself as he paced irritably.

                "You bellowed?" a cold, mocking voice hissed from behind him.

                He whirled, taking Tetsusaiga out as he did. The tall demon leaned against the doorframe casually, as though he were greeting a long-time friend, instead of someone who'd just pulled a sword on him. Dressed as "lord of the manor," his black hair done in a short braid at the base of his neck, one would almost think him human. Inu-Yasha knew better. Apart from the strong youki emanating from him, all of Inu-Yasha's memories of the snake's attack on his family all that time ago had returned when he'd finally decided to make his appearance. At last, he could avenge what had been done to his parents. "Jashin-Jadoku," he growled, as the sword transformed.

                Icy amusement glittered in his eyes, "And here I was thinking we'd already established my identity when you came shouting your challenge right in the middle of my lunch," his gaze wandered to Tetsusaiga, "My, isn't that a big sword for such a small child. Are you sure you can handle it?"

                Inu-Yasha responded with a feral grin, taking a fighting stance, "I'm sure. I've dispatched tougher swine than you with it."

                Jashin-Jadoku raised a sarcastic brow, and remained where he was, "Oho! Isn't someone the braggart? And why, pray tell, are you challenging me? Usually, it is I who does the attacking. Not many are stupid enough to try it the other way around, and on my home turf, too. Not that I really care, since I will be the victor, but I must admit, it does intrigue me, just slightly."

                Come on, Kagome! I hope you've found the captives. I don't know how long I can keep him like this... "Among other things, you terrorize humans, simply for your 'amusement.' Who knows what else you do with them." Inu-Yasha glared at him in disgust, "That's enough for me to want to destroy you."

                "Those pathetic wastes of space is why you are willing to sacrifice yourself?" he asked incredulously, laughing, "Come now, surely you have a better reason than that!"

                "You know, I used to hate humans, myself." Inu-Yasha replied conversationally, smiling a just a bit to himself as he changed tactics, "Not that long ago, I only saw them as weak, useless fools. Then I really got to know some of them. They have more power than most give them credit for. A special few can even defeat demons," he smirked at the snake, "Like you, for instance."

                "Oh really?" Jashin-Jadoku yawned widely, clearly unimpressed, "Just who would these 'all-powerful' mortals be, little pup?"

                "I'm sure you've heard of Kikyou, the guardian of the Shikon Jewel, a shard of which I believe you happen to be using as we speak." Inu-Yasha was pleased to see his eyes widen in surprise, yet he recovered himself almost immediately.

                "So? I heard that miko died over fifty years ago. Don't tell me you count her as one of which you speak."

                I don't, not when I know someone who's so much more than Kikyou ever was, but there's no way I'm mentioning Kagome. I can't put her in danger like that. "Did you also hear that she had returned, and died yet again?"

                "You lie!" the snake cried, a bit uneasy at this idea, "No mortal can come back to life! Even demons are denied that power!"

                "I didn't say she did it herself. A witch brought her back, against her will."

                "How?" he asked, interested now. If I can harness that, no one will stand against me!

                 "How would I know? I'm no witch." Inu-Yasha retorted, unwilling to reveal Kagome's part in the incident. He shrugged, "It doesn't matter anyway. The witch who performed the ritual is dead, killed by her own 'creation.' When she was returned to 'life,' of a sort, well, she wasn't a very happy priestess, I can tell you."

                "How is it that you know all this?" Jashin-Jadoku eyed him dubiously.

                "I was there," was the simple reply.

                "And you say she died again?"

                "Yes. The demon called Naraku killed her." Guilt flashed across Inu-Yasha's face.

                "Heh," Jashin-Jadoku started to smile, very coldy, "you were attached to this girl, weren't you?"

                "No, not at the time of her second death," he frowned, not liking the look on that viper's face at all, but determined to keep him quietly occupied for as long as he could, "I knew her, a long time ago, when I still hated humans. I'd decided to make an exception in her case. That was before I thought she'd 'betrayed' me, and I ransacked her village. Severely injured, she still had enough strength to send me into an enchanted sleep, pinned against a tree. She died, not long after, thinking I had betrayed her. That, also, had been Naraku's doing. He'd bewitched us both into thinking the worst of each other."

                "Well, as touching as all that was, I found it a bit too melodramatic for my tastes," Jashin-Jadoku sneered derisively as he straightened from the doorframe, "But then again, at least I know who you are now. I've been wondering, since you didn't see fit to tell me your name, Inu-Yasha."

                "I figured you might already know it, considering the fact that we've met before."

                "Oh, and when was this?" he asked, amused.

                "When you killed my parents." Inu-Yasha answered shortly, keeping his anger in check.

                "Oh, yes..." Jashin-Jadoku studied him closely, then waved his hand carelessly, "I remember you now. You're that little hanyou brat who tried defending that puny human woman at the castle I invaded all those years ago. So, you're the son, all grown up, eh? I thought you died when I tossed you over the wall. A little mutt such as you should have died, but you'll meet your end soon enough, so I don't suppose it really matters," he ambled forward, entirely unconcerned, confident in his power, "Shall we begin, then?"

~And maybe I'll find out
  a way to make it back someday,
  to watch you, to guide you,
  through the darkest of your days.~

****

                After a long and tedious search, they finally found the prisoners. Even then, it was only thanks to the help they'd gotten from a servant boy they'd met along the way. According to Tuya, the "master" didn't let more than one "slave" out at a time. Evidently, he'd taken the saying "there's strength in numbers" quite seriously.

                "You see," he'd explained as he led them through the shadowy depths, "though he considers us to be incapable of even the simplest things, he knows that if we were to use our 'combined skills,' we would attempt to stand up to him. Therefore, he locks us away, and chooses which one he wants each day," anger mingled with grief flickered in his eyes then, "He doesn't always return them, however. Even when he does, they're certainly not in the same condition (which wasn't wonderful to start off with) that they left in."

                When they reached the large, crowded cell, they received something of a mixed greeting. Some were just happy that Tuya had returned safely, while others were suspicious of the "visitors" he'd brought. Others were really too far-gone to care.

                "Easy, my friends." Tuya quieted those who were more outspoken against the group before them, "These courageous people have come to rescue us."

                "How can you trust them so easily?" a withered man of indeterminate age glared at him as he pointed at Shippou, "That one is clearly a demon, and who can even tell with the other three?"

                Kagome smiled gently at him, then at the others, "I know you've been hurt, taken from those you love and forced into labor by a demon whose evil is beyond imagining. But, not all demons like that," she picked up a rather insulted fox-child, "Shippou, you've seen both the best and worst of your kind. Would you agree?"

                He nodded seriously up at her, "I know we're not perfect, but we have our good points, too."

                She looked up at the prisoners, "Exactly. Demons are just like humans, with each race having its good and bad apples. It's how the world works, unfortunately. As much we wish to the contrary, there's always going to be someone who's bent on destruction, be they demon or human."

                "I see your point, miss," the man answered, a new respect in his eyes, "You are wise, well beyond your years." His cellmates seemed to agree. Sango, Miroku and Shippou all grinned at her.

                Kagome blushed, "It's the way I was raised, that's all. I was taught that all beings are equal, regardless of origin or circumstances. It's only our choices that separate us, not what we are."

                Tuya smiled at his new friend, then at his fellow captives, "So, are you all ready to get out of this dank pit of ours?"

                "But, how?" piped up a young girl with bright green eyes from the edge of the group, "How can any of us leave without the master noticing?"

                Sango knelt down to her level, smiling at her, "Would your name be Midori, little one?"

                "Yeah, who are you?" aked Midori, in typical kid-fashion.

                Miroku joined Sango, "We've come from your grandmother. This is Sango, and I'm Miroku," he looked up at the other two, then back again, "That's Kagome, holding Shippou there."

                "Really?" squealed Midori, now full of questions, "You talked to her? Is she OK? Whose kitty is that? Can I pet it?"

                "Yes, your grandmother's just fine," Sango laughed, holding her little friend, "This is Kirara, and I'm sure she'd love to have you pet her when we get you all out of here."

                "How are we going to do that?"  Kai, the spokesman from earlier, wondered, "You haven't explained that yet."

                "We're going to have to hurry," Tuya answered, then looked at their rescuers, "If I'm not mistaken, your friend with the ears is to distract the master while we escape?"

                Kagome nodded, worried, as Sango began working on the lock, "Inu-Yasha has his own reasons to face that viper, so I think he wanted to do it one-on-one."

                Tuya shook his head emphatically, "No. That's the worst thing he could do. He's going to get himself killed that way."

                "Why?" the group chorused, disturbed now. Kagome had to hold onto the bars to keep herself steady.

                "Well, when you're a servant, you're often invisible," he explained as Sango opened the cage and everyone started to pour out, "You can see and hear things you're not supposed to. Why do you think he only let us out one at a time? His greatest weakness is, like I said earlier, a group's greatest strength. Numbers. Being a snake, he can strike quickly, but only at a single target."

                "We have to get to him!" Kagome cried, now hopping from foot to foot in her nervousness.

                "I agree," Tuya said, then looked into the depths of the cell, where a few still huddled, lost in their own nightmarish worlds, "But, first, we have to take care of these poor souls. They're my friends, and I can't leave them in this hole."

                "Kirara can carry them, and we can make sure they don't fall off." As Sango said this Kirara transformed, making a couple people scream, "Don't worry, she's only dangerous to my enemies."

                "Big kitty, now," a delighted little Midori clapped, petting Kirara's bent head, whose deep purr echoed weirdly off the narrow walls, "Big, furry kitty." Everyone smiled at this display of irrepressible innocence, and the prisoners were heartened by the notion that their own may not be so impossible to regain, after all.

~If a great wave should fall
  and fall upon us all,
  well then, I hope there's someone out there
  who can bring me back to you!~

QoH: Ugh. _ I gotta break it up again. I tried havin 5 & 6 together, but FFN wouldn't take it. So… I'm tryin it this way, instead. (WAI! I'm back after over a week out! I HATE ICE STORMS!!!!)