Inuyasha
Coming of Age
((Author Note: Ah, we're coming done to the end. I predict to be less then 10 chapters left. It depends how I break things up. It could be less then that. Once this is finished I may do another spin off with Kisho. Who knows? If anyone would like to request some sort of story feel free to ask. I'll see what I can do. I have a list of manga's I read so I can write about any one of those.))
((Special Note: There's a preview for the next chapter at the end!))
Chapter 14
The twelve guardians of the lands were once proud and noble youkai, but their pure hearts just made it easier for Naraku to taint them all. They were bonded to the lands they were born from and thus with their evil hearts their very existence poisoned the world they once protected. As the twelve guardians slowly began to be destroyed by the one called Kisho an ill decision would have to be made. The leader of the twelve, known as Tora would soon have to be destroyed for his heart lies the seed of evil and there is no coming back from the poison set by Naraku. Tora knew this and even as he fights to destroy his own comrades he knew that one-day the claws of the Inu would slice his flesh.
Tora slowly made his way through the tunnels as he ran as fast as he could through the darkness. He held his injured arm close to his body as he tried to make the bleeding stop. The pain didn't bother Tora, but loosing too much blood would just slow him down. He was already feeling the woo zing affects. Ryo, the dragon youkai was close in pursuit the sound of his foot steps echoed in Tora's ear like a hammer against iron. Tora ran left through one cave and then he went right. The way back outside seemed almost impossible to find, but Tora could smell the faint breath of fresh air. "Damn Naraku and this blasted cave. I hope the others managed to find their way out."
Tora slowed to a walk when he heard an eerie cry echo out in the caves, "I hope nothing has happened to Inuyasha...and Kisho."
"Oh? Kisho is safe and sound. It's you who should be worried for your safety," Ryo said, as he stood infront of the surprise Tora.
Tora sneered lightly as he took a step back. Has he grown that weak? A petty trick like that shouldn't have worked on him.
"Why so surprise, Tora? Feeling a bit weak?"
"Hardly and I wouldn't speak with such confidence. You know well enough that I'm stronger then you."
"You were," Ryo spitted the words out like a curse, "But things change and so does time. A dragon grows stronger as he grows older. What happens to a tiger? Hmm? I believe it dies!"
"Perhaps, but this is under normal circumstances. I'm a youkai tiger and you are a youkai dragon. Things happen differently for us. I will not die until I see Naraku dead against the ground and I made a promise to reunite Kisho with his family."
A light grin spread across Ryo's face as he began to walk backwards, "Ah then this news should interest you then." He spread out his arms as he walked. Tora snorted lightly as he began to follow him. Ryo was stepping back out into the fresh air where there was plenty of room to spread his arms as wide as he wanted.
"Kisho is alive, but Naraku has something instored."
"What!?" Tora said surprised.
"Kisho is to serve Naraku under his new form."
"New form?"
"You should know this, Tora. Your own son became that hideous creature. Now Kisho is the same. A ravage beast with a thirst for blood and power."
"No," Tora said as he remembered his own son going crazy from the transformation. Tora leaped at Ryo and grabbed him by the shirt. His tiger fangs grew in his mouth as he growled. His temper was calling to his youkai blood. Tora's hands trembled as he held Ryo off the ground, "What did you do to Kisho?! He can only transform into that if he was pushed to do so."
"I did nothing. It was his own doing!"
"Where is he?"
"Ah, wasn't it you Tora who said that some things must be learned by one's self. This is a lesson for young Kisho. Naraku is testing the boy. You can do nothing."
Tora growled lower, he hated when Ryo actually made sense. He threw Ryo against the ground as he walked past him, but he didn't get far when he ran into an invisible barrier. Ryo brushed off his cloths as he tilted his head to the side, "The only thing you can do now is fight me. Perhaps if you defeat me in time you can see Kisho's rise to victory over his own father."
Tora hissed as he turned around, "I vowed to never fight you in my true form, but if you will not step aside then I must break my vow."
"Then break it. Fight me as your youkai tiger form!" Ryo said as he began to transform into his large dragon self.
Tora watched as the pupils in his eyes began to turn into slits. For years dragons had fought tigers. Tigers held power and wisdom while dragons just held power. Dragons had always believed that they were more powerful and therefor should rule. Perhaps it was true dragons were more powerful, but their over confidants have always been their downfall and the tigers have always taken advantage of that weakness. It was natural for a dragon to want to challenge a tiger. It was also natural for a tiger to accept the challenge, but Tora never did since he never wanted to give Ryo the pleasure. Tora stood there pressed against the barrier as he readied his body to shed his human half. ---
Meanwhile the rest of Kisho's gang was still trying to escape the hoards of demons after them. Each had split off into different tunnels in order to have some hope of escape.
Keiji and Kyoko were moving quickly through the tunnels with the help of their jewel shards in their legs. The demons were having trouble keeping up, but they still followed the two twins scent. Keiji gripped his swords handle on his back as he yelled to his sister, "Let's fight them. We can escape faster that way."
"We don't have time!" Kyoko yelled back, but Keiji stopped anyways.
"Well I do," Keiji pulled out his sword from the sheath on his back and he held the large sword out in front of him, "I'm tired of running away all the time."
As the demons rounded the corner Keiji leaped out and attack. Of course the demons hadn't expected a young wolf demon to attack and the first few were sliced in half in an instant. The other demons backed off some before a few began to make an attempted to attack Keiji. The wolf demon was quick and he avoided their attacks with ease. He leaped away from them before he attacked with a mighty swing of his sword. Keiji was getting too confidant in his abilities though and this caused him to make a slip up. He had been avoiding the demons in the same manner over and over and one of the demons caught on to his movements. The demon knew how he would avoid and it swung its claw right when Keiji landed against the ground. The claw went right through Keiji's leg, knocking his jewel shard out. He cried out in pain as he swing his sword frantically to hit the demon. His efforts proved futile since his swings were desperate attempts. The demon pulled its claws out of the wolf youkai and slithered off into the darkness taking Keiji's jewel shard with it, leaving the injured wolf to the remaining demons. Keiji looked up at them in pain, but as he looked up to them a single arrow flew out of the darkness and destroyed the demons. Keiji lifted his head up to see who had saved him, but his vision blurred and he blacked out against the cave ground.
Not to far away from Keiji and Kyoko were Shippo and Kirara. The two were making good progress through the cave system, but the demons were getting to close for Shippos taste.
"Kirara, we may have to fight pretty soon. You ready for that?"
Kirara nodded her head in her giant cat like form. Shippo patted her head gently, "Good while you fight I'll be running ahead to see where we need to go next."
Kirara roared at Shippo as the demons neared them. Shippo laughed lightly as he rubbed the back of his head, "I was only kidding."
Shippo leaped into the air and transformed into a large dragon while Kirara stood there hissing at the demons. As the demons neared them both, Shippo roared at them all in his dragon form and all the demons skidded to a halt giving Shippo the chance he needed to attack. He turned back to his normal self except he was glowing blue from his fox fire that was around him. "Go Kirara!"
Kirara nodded her head as she turned around and headed for the tunnels exit. Shippo charged at the demons to lunch his attack, "Fox Fire!" His fox fire had burst out from his body and lunched itself at the demons. The demons cried out in terror as the flames danced around along their bodies. In the confusion, Shippo leaped away to catch up to Kirara, "Ah, I love being a fox."
Outside of Naraku's tunnel was Sango and Miroku. The two had made it out of the tunnel way before anyone else and they have even destroyed the demons that had been following them. Miroku was collecting some firewood while Sango sat on one of the dead logs waiting for the others to come out of the cave.
"You ok, Sango? Do you need to lie down?" Miroku asked as he threw the wood that he had gathered in his arms to the ground.
"I'm just worried is all. I hope Kisho is ok. If he isn't then that would just crush Inuyasha. I don't think he can handle any more of this. I know he's strong, but no one should have to endure such pain."
Miroku took a seat next to Sango as he patted her shoulder. The entire time Miroku had been in the cave he had lost a lot of hope, but Miroku needed to believe in everyone once again. "Kisho...will be ok. He's Inuyasha's son after all. Kisho is too stubborn to die."
Sango smiled lightly as Miroku gave her a light wink, "I suppose you're right. Everyone else I think is too stubborn to die to. Even Naraku."
"Well, then it comes down to who can endure the most. I know we'll come on top. We can all endure whatever Naraku has planned."
"We'll stop Naraku and then your hand will be better. I know there isn't much time left for you."
Miroku nodded as he glanced to his wind tunnel, "I managed to find a spell to prolong the wind tunnel from opening up, but it can't stop it."
"Don't worry you'll make it."
"Thank you, Sango," Miroku said as he lightly leaned against her as the two waited for the rest of their group to return.
Ryo coiled his long slender dragon body as he hovered over Tora, "So what do you choose to do, Tora? You can either fight me now and maybe help Kisho or you can remain in his barrier and rot the rest of your nine life's."
"I'll fight you, but you have to lower this barrier."
Ryo was silent for a moment before he nodded his dragonhead, "Agreed."
Tora took in a deep breath as he summoned up his youkai powers that had remained dormant since the time he had merged with a human. His powers had been asleep the entire time he had been a hanyou. He needed to repair his full youkai half and now he was ready to leave behind his human body. 'This body has suited me well through these years. It has allowed me to repair myself and now I no longer need it. My deepest thanks to you my fallen monk friend.'
Tora felt a snap in his body and he fell down to his knees. Ryo watched with amazement as Tora began to transform. His human skin from his body was splitting apart to reveal his rich orange fur. His bones cracked and snapped as they shifted to their suitable places. A bright light engulfed the entire area, blinding Ryo completely. Once the light faded away and Ryo's eyesight returned to normal he looked back down to the spot where Tora was.
Standing in Tora's place was a large orange tiger. His tiger body was twice the size of a normal tiger and he was ten times stronger. His noble head was held high as he met Ryo with his large cat eyes. His stripes on his body were raven black that ran down his body in a unique pattern. Even his stripes on his forehead formed the symbol for tiger in the Chinese language. Over the years his body had changed to a more pure hearted being. His tiger form had a stronger and noble look to it and even his youkai aura had an almost calm feeling to it. His fur blew gently in the wind as he stared at Ryo.
Ryo snorted when he sensed Tora's aura, "Tora, you have lost all your honor in being a youkai. You're almost human."
Tora held his stance and stare as he replied in a clam tone, "My honor hasn't gone anywhere. I'm still the same youkai."
Ryo stared back down at Tora with a pleasing growl, "So you say. We'll put that theory to the test soon enough." This was the moment Ryo had been waiting for his entire life. Tora was the last of the tiger youkai. If he succeeded in killing Tora he would be longed remember in his dragon line. "So it comes down to this?"
"I suppose so..."
A quiet wind blew past Ryo and Tora. The air was tense with their strong gaze. For a split second there was a dead silence in the air. The earth around them seemed like it had to catch its breath before these great titans would clash. As the wind blew through the trees a branch cracked. With sound returning to the surrounding area Tora and Ryo charged each other to attack.
Ryo slithered his body through the air as his claws flexed in eagerness. His teeth were barred as he flew towards the orange figure running towards him. The thought of sinking his pearl white teeth into tiger flesh made drool roll off his tongue. Tora thrusted his legs against the ground as he charged the slithering figure in the sky. It had been quiet awhile since he had fought in his youkai form, but he had gained a lot of experience over his lifetime and this was the time to see if all his training had paid off. 'I'm doing this for Kisho...Inuyasha and Kagome. I have to. I have to make up for my own past mistakes. They can't walk the same path I did...'
"...Because I won't allow it!" Tora yelled out as he leaped high into the sky to meet his attacker in the air. Tora would be at a great disadvantage in the air, but it was a risk he was willing to take.
Ryo saw the Tora leap and he quickly made his charge to strike. He lashed his head out to attack like a coiled snack, striking its prey. The attack was almost lightning fast, but Tora was prepared to counter. He twisted his body just enough to avoid his deadly snapping jaws. As Ryo's head past under him, Tora dug his front claws into his head. Ryo's hide was so thick he hardly felt Tora catch his head. He shook his head violently as he flew straight up into the air. Tora held on the best he could as he tried biting Ryo's thick skin, but he had no luck in injuring him. As Ryo flew higher, the air was beginning to get colder and harder to breath. Tora could feel the tips of his whiskers beginning to freeze over. He had no choice but to let go of Ryo. He retracted his claws back and he slowly fell from Ryo's head.
Ryo sighed a relief as he looked down to the falling tiger. With a shake of his head Ryo dove for the falling tiger. Tora tumbled through the air, but his cat like instincts flipped himself over so he would be face down to the ground. He caught the sight of Ryo diving for him once he was flipped right side up. There wasn't much for Tora to do, unless Ryo came into close range.
Ryo knew Tora's fighting style rather well and he knew that the tiger had no real long range attacks. With this disadvantage Ryo was quick to take advantage of it. He took in a deep breath and exhaled a stream of fire down at Tora. As Tora fell he could hear the roaring flames tumble down. He glanced over his shoulder as he fell to see the fiery stream flying right towards him, "That's not good..."
Tora rolled on his back and took in a deep breath of his own. There was a brief pause before Tora roared out in his tiger voice. His roar was extremely powerful and it created a break right down the middle of the flames, saving Tora for now. Ryo bit down on his jaw, 'Blasted tiger. Screw this tactical fighting!'
Tora was becoming too close to the ground and he prepared himself for impact. From behind Ryo charged with his full strength and he attacked with his powerful bite. This time he grabbed a hold of Tora by his right shoulder. Ryo quickly veered to the side to avoid impact against the ground. His body was to close to the ground and part of his lower body ran into the forest of trees. The bumpy impact caused him loose his grip on Tora and the tiger was flung back into the forest like a rag doll. Ryo slide across the ground a few feet until the larger trees stopped him. He laid against the ground for a moment, shaking off the initial shock from hitting so hard against the ground.
As he laid there Tora didn't waste anytime in attacking. Tora had leaped off from one of the trees to attack Ryo while he was down. Ryo hissed as he saw Tora insight again and he quickly got up. Tora just missed him by an inch and as he landed against the ground he quickly turned around and slashed at Ryo with his claws. Ryo blocked Tora with his harder scales on his back and once Tora took a step back Ryo stuck with his snapping jaws. Tora leaped back and to the side to avoid Ryo's deadly jaws. Tora allowed Ryo to get dangerously close to him with one of his attempted attacks, but Tora raised his claw quickly and slashed Ryo right across his face as hard as he could. Ryo's hide was tough to cut, but Tora managed to slice him pretty good by sacrificing his claws in doing so. All his claws on right paw snapped off, leaving nothing but broken nubs for nails.
Ryo's head snapped back from the hit and he shook his wounded face, "Fool. If that's the only way you can hurt me then you have a problem. You'll run out of your set of nails."
Tora stood steadily against the ground with his ears flat against his head. The white of his eyes showed as he growled, "I have more then just nails."
"Ah, yes our youkai power. This would be a good time to prove yourself, tiger," Ryo breathed his flame breath again without inhaling air. Tora quickly leaped into the air as the flames engulfed the area around him. As Tora flew up into the air his eyes glowed red. He looked down to Ryo for a split second before he curled his body up into a ball. As he did he began to spin at a rapid speed. Ryo tried to fly up and attack but the wind Tora was creating became to strong and Ryo was flung into the air. Tora's spinning had created a huge twister that was getting bigger and bigger by the minute.
Not to far away Inuyasha noticed the large twister carrying the large dragon into the air. His ears perked up as soon as he recognized the creature, "That bastard, Ryo...that means that other guy is there."
Inuyasha glanced down to the sleeping Kisho, "He'll be fine for a few minutes. I think he's proved to be able to take care of himself anyways."
Inuyasha slide out from under Kisho's head slowly. Once he was free he made sure Kisho was sound asleep before he ran off towards the action.
Ryo struggled to get out of the wind vortex, but he was really struck, "Damn tiger. Think some wind is going to kill me!"
"No..." Tora hissed, "But this will."
Inside the funnel of the twister a burst of youkai powered coursed through the winds creating a razor sharp wind. Even Ryo's body couldn't last long against it. The winds sharp like slice were pounding against his body. The air was littered with his armor like scales that were being sliced from him. Ryo roared out in pain and in a desperate attempt he shot his flames into the twister. Soon the entire twister was engulfed until Tora fell out. As soon as he did the entire twister disappeared and Ryo was free again. He fell against the ground as well, being too weak to fly.
Even though he was too weak to fly he wasn't too weak to attack. He crawled against the ground like snake until he found Tora panting against the ground. He licked his lips as he coiled his neck and lashed down. His jaws struck from above, giving Tora little room to escape. Tora was exhausted and there was no way for him to leap out of the way. Ryo bit down on him from above and dug his sharp fangs into his skin. Tora cried out as he felt his own blood being spilled. Ryo had a good hold of Tora in his jaws and he shook his head violently. Tora felt his skin being ripped apart inside the dragon's mouth and his vision was blurring quickly. Ryo kept shaking him like a derange animal playing with its kill. Tora was dying, but even so he wasn't going to die in a dragon's mouth. He raised his left paw and he smashed Ryo's canines and incisors on his left side of his mouth. With the lost grip in Ryo's mouth Tora fell from his jaws and onto the ground in a bloody mess.
Ryo hissed as his teeth fell against the ground but seeing the bloody tiger made him regain his composure again, "Ah, so this is what it comes to in the end? I'm left with the final kill while you lie there against the ground like a weakling."
Tora laid there unable to really answer. Ryo smiled lightly, "No smartass comment to make?"
"Shut...up..." Tora mumbled in a shaky voice.
"I can't believe you were the leader of us. Your evil aura is nothing now and so is your strength."
"My strength comes from my friends. Not my desire to be stronger anymore...I finally understand that now."
"Pitiful..." Ryo said as he looked down at Tora with a curled neck, "Just like your son and wife."
Tora's ears perked up slowly in hearing him. Just above them both, Inuyasha landed on the cliff that overlooked the valley that they were in. He saw Tora laying there in a pool of blood while Ryo talked, "Great..."
"I suppose I'll give you this pleasure in knowing what happened to them. Your last bits of wisdom before you die," Ryo said in a slow manner, enjoying every last bit of this moment.
"It was I who turned your son into his beast like form. He deserved it though," Ryo said with a growl, "He had discovered that I was planning to attack the village. I pushed his weak little mind until he was broken. Nothing more then a savage beast. Just like, Kisho. As for your wife the reason why you never found her is because I ate her. With one snap of my jaws she was gone."
Inuyasha heard what Ryo was saying as he slowly leaped down from the cliff side, "I can't believe that bastard did that. Why eat humans? It's not like they fill up much in his big mouth."
Tora heard every word of it and deep inside he knew. Ryo had always been the source of problems for him, along with Naraku of course. His bloody fur blew gently as a wind blew by. His body was broken and he just couldn't go on. Just like what happened before he turned into a hanyou.
Ryo lifted his head up to use his finishing blow on Tora.
The wind in the air blew around them slowly as Tora laid their. He was ready to accept his fate. He had done all he could and this was where his path ended. Funny thing was he never thought he'd die by Ryo's hands. 'At lest I made friends...I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise to help Kisho and the others.'
The wind blew past Tora's ears and he heard a light whisper, 'This is not your time, Tora. You have much greater things to do. Wake up...Wake up...'
Tora slowly opened his eyes again, hearing someone's voice.
"Wake up!" Inuyasha shouted from above.
Ryo thrusted his head down towards Tora. With his suddenly renewed energy, Tora got to his feet and leaped to attack Ryo. Tora had leaped when Ryo's head was just over him. In his short leap, Tora bit down on Ryo's throat, right into his jugular vein. With one good pull, Tora ripped a hole on the side of Ryo's neck. The dragon flung his head back in pain as he fell to the ground, his entire body tossed against the ground until it finally became still.
Tora collapsed against his stomach as he panted. He was still having trouble breathing and the bleeding on his back just wouldn't stop. Tora glanced to the side to see Inuyasha scrambling down the cliffside to get to him. "I can't help them now...if I do I would slow them down. I don't think I will able to help them again...but Kisho doesn't need me if Inuyasha is their now."
Inuyasha was close enough to the bottom now to just fall the rest of the way down. He fell the last few feet and once he hit against the ground he quickly ran where Tora was. When he arrived Tora was gone. Their was no sign left of him except the blood stain left against the scared ground, "He was the one that woke me from the seal... so where ever you are. Thanks..." Inuyasha mumbled the last part since he could hardly bring himself to say a thank you. After a short look around Inuyasha headed back to the sleeping Kisho, it was only a matter of time now before Naraku would face all there wraths for the pain he had caused and for the life's he had destroyed.
Chapter 15 Preview
((There are just bits of things here, this is no way in order too))
"Lady, Kikyo..." a small girl mumbled as she pulled on the priestess robe.
"Yes? Is something wrong?" "There's a strange youkai we saw by the river bed. It looks injured."
Kikyo nodded her head lightly as she walked over to her things to pick up her bow, "I will go see to it then. Stay here in the village until I get back."
-------- "Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
Kisho's ears perked up, "Its uncle Sesshomaru."
Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were both caught off guard by what Kisho said.
"Kisho! Don't say that. He's a bad guy..."
Kisho tilted his head, "No he isn't. He helped me find you. You know he just has his special ways in helping. It's kind of painful sometimes, plus he's your brother, right? "
"Stop speaking mindless gibberish!" Sesshomaru ordered them both.
---
"I saw that girl with the bow..." Keiji said as he held his knee's close to his chest.
"What girl with a bow?" Miroku asked as he placed a wet cloth on Keiji's head.
"The one that shot Kisho...his mother..."
"What?!"
----- "Naraku? The guardians are almost gone. Soon you will not be able to hide your self from them."
Naraku looked to Iluska, "I hardly find that a problem. Especially you're the one hiding something from them."
Iluska was silent as she tossed her hair back, "I'll reveal it to them out next meeting then."
"Good, the girl has located the last shard as well..."
Coming of Age
((Author Note: Ah, we're coming done to the end. I predict to be less then 10 chapters left. It depends how I break things up. It could be less then that. Once this is finished I may do another spin off with Kisho. Who knows? If anyone would like to request some sort of story feel free to ask. I'll see what I can do. I have a list of manga's I read so I can write about any one of those.))
((Special Note: There's a preview for the next chapter at the end!))
Chapter 14
The twelve guardians of the lands were once proud and noble youkai, but their pure hearts just made it easier for Naraku to taint them all. They were bonded to the lands they were born from and thus with their evil hearts their very existence poisoned the world they once protected. As the twelve guardians slowly began to be destroyed by the one called Kisho an ill decision would have to be made. The leader of the twelve, known as Tora would soon have to be destroyed for his heart lies the seed of evil and there is no coming back from the poison set by Naraku. Tora knew this and even as he fights to destroy his own comrades he knew that one-day the claws of the Inu would slice his flesh.
Tora slowly made his way through the tunnels as he ran as fast as he could through the darkness. He held his injured arm close to his body as he tried to make the bleeding stop. The pain didn't bother Tora, but loosing too much blood would just slow him down. He was already feeling the woo zing affects. Ryo, the dragon youkai was close in pursuit the sound of his foot steps echoed in Tora's ear like a hammer against iron. Tora ran left through one cave and then he went right. The way back outside seemed almost impossible to find, but Tora could smell the faint breath of fresh air. "Damn Naraku and this blasted cave. I hope the others managed to find their way out."
Tora slowed to a walk when he heard an eerie cry echo out in the caves, "I hope nothing has happened to Inuyasha...and Kisho."
"Oh? Kisho is safe and sound. It's you who should be worried for your safety," Ryo said, as he stood infront of the surprise Tora.
Tora sneered lightly as he took a step back. Has he grown that weak? A petty trick like that shouldn't have worked on him.
"Why so surprise, Tora? Feeling a bit weak?"
"Hardly and I wouldn't speak with such confidence. You know well enough that I'm stronger then you."
"You were," Ryo spitted the words out like a curse, "But things change and so does time. A dragon grows stronger as he grows older. What happens to a tiger? Hmm? I believe it dies!"
"Perhaps, but this is under normal circumstances. I'm a youkai tiger and you are a youkai dragon. Things happen differently for us. I will not die until I see Naraku dead against the ground and I made a promise to reunite Kisho with his family."
A light grin spread across Ryo's face as he began to walk backwards, "Ah then this news should interest you then." He spread out his arms as he walked. Tora snorted lightly as he began to follow him. Ryo was stepping back out into the fresh air where there was plenty of room to spread his arms as wide as he wanted.
"Kisho is alive, but Naraku has something instored."
"What!?" Tora said surprised.
"Kisho is to serve Naraku under his new form."
"New form?"
"You should know this, Tora. Your own son became that hideous creature. Now Kisho is the same. A ravage beast with a thirst for blood and power."
"No," Tora said as he remembered his own son going crazy from the transformation. Tora leaped at Ryo and grabbed him by the shirt. His tiger fangs grew in his mouth as he growled. His temper was calling to his youkai blood. Tora's hands trembled as he held Ryo off the ground, "What did you do to Kisho?! He can only transform into that if he was pushed to do so."
"I did nothing. It was his own doing!"
"Where is he?"
"Ah, wasn't it you Tora who said that some things must be learned by one's self. This is a lesson for young Kisho. Naraku is testing the boy. You can do nothing."
Tora growled lower, he hated when Ryo actually made sense. He threw Ryo against the ground as he walked past him, but he didn't get far when he ran into an invisible barrier. Ryo brushed off his cloths as he tilted his head to the side, "The only thing you can do now is fight me. Perhaps if you defeat me in time you can see Kisho's rise to victory over his own father."
Tora hissed as he turned around, "I vowed to never fight you in my true form, but if you will not step aside then I must break my vow."
"Then break it. Fight me as your youkai tiger form!" Ryo said as he began to transform into his large dragon self.
Tora watched as the pupils in his eyes began to turn into slits. For years dragons had fought tigers. Tigers held power and wisdom while dragons just held power. Dragons had always believed that they were more powerful and therefor should rule. Perhaps it was true dragons were more powerful, but their over confidants have always been their downfall and the tigers have always taken advantage of that weakness. It was natural for a dragon to want to challenge a tiger. It was also natural for a tiger to accept the challenge, but Tora never did since he never wanted to give Ryo the pleasure. Tora stood there pressed against the barrier as he readied his body to shed his human half. ---
Meanwhile the rest of Kisho's gang was still trying to escape the hoards of demons after them. Each had split off into different tunnels in order to have some hope of escape.
Keiji and Kyoko were moving quickly through the tunnels with the help of their jewel shards in their legs. The demons were having trouble keeping up, but they still followed the two twins scent. Keiji gripped his swords handle on his back as he yelled to his sister, "Let's fight them. We can escape faster that way."
"We don't have time!" Kyoko yelled back, but Keiji stopped anyways.
"Well I do," Keiji pulled out his sword from the sheath on his back and he held the large sword out in front of him, "I'm tired of running away all the time."
As the demons rounded the corner Keiji leaped out and attack. Of course the demons hadn't expected a young wolf demon to attack and the first few were sliced in half in an instant. The other demons backed off some before a few began to make an attempted to attack Keiji. The wolf demon was quick and he avoided their attacks with ease. He leaped away from them before he attacked with a mighty swing of his sword. Keiji was getting too confidant in his abilities though and this caused him to make a slip up. He had been avoiding the demons in the same manner over and over and one of the demons caught on to his movements. The demon knew how he would avoid and it swung its claw right when Keiji landed against the ground. The claw went right through Keiji's leg, knocking his jewel shard out. He cried out in pain as he swing his sword frantically to hit the demon. His efforts proved futile since his swings were desperate attempts. The demon pulled its claws out of the wolf youkai and slithered off into the darkness taking Keiji's jewel shard with it, leaving the injured wolf to the remaining demons. Keiji looked up at them in pain, but as he looked up to them a single arrow flew out of the darkness and destroyed the demons. Keiji lifted his head up to see who had saved him, but his vision blurred and he blacked out against the cave ground.
Not to far away from Keiji and Kyoko were Shippo and Kirara. The two were making good progress through the cave system, but the demons were getting to close for Shippos taste.
"Kirara, we may have to fight pretty soon. You ready for that?"
Kirara nodded her head in her giant cat like form. Shippo patted her head gently, "Good while you fight I'll be running ahead to see where we need to go next."
Kirara roared at Shippo as the demons neared them. Shippo laughed lightly as he rubbed the back of his head, "I was only kidding."
Shippo leaped into the air and transformed into a large dragon while Kirara stood there hissing at the demons. As the demons neared them both, Shippo roared at them all in his dragon form and all the demons skidded to a halt giving Shippo the chance he needed to attack. He turned back to his normal self except he was glowing blue from his fox fire that was around him. "Go Kirara!"
Kirara nodded her head as she turned around and headed for the tunnels exit. Shippo charged at the demons to lunch his attack, "Fox Fire!" His fox fire had burst out from his body and lunched itself at the demons. The demons cried out in terror as the flames danced around along their bodies. In the confusion, Shippo leaped away to catch up to Kirara, "Ah, I love being a fox."
Outside of Naraku's tunnel was Sango and Miroku. The two had made it out of the tunnel way before anyone else and they have even destroyed the demons that had been following them. Miroku was collecting some firewood while Sango sat on one of the dead logs waiting for the others to come out of the cave.
"You ok, Sango? Do you need to lie down?" Miroku asked as he threw the wood that he had gathered in his arms to the ground.
"I'm just worried is all. I hope Kisho is ok. If he isn't then that would just crush Inuyasha. I don't think he can handle any more of this. I know he's strong, but no one should have to endure such pain."
Miroku took a seat next to Sango as he patted her shoulder. The entire time Miroku had been in the cave he had lost a lot of hope, but Miroku needed to believe in everyone once again. "Kisho...will be ok. He's Inuyasha's son after all. Kisho is too stubborn to die."
Sango smiled lightly as Miroku gave her a light wink, "I suppose you're right. Everyone else I think is too stubborn to die to. Even Naraku."
"Well, then it comes down to who can endure the most. I know we'll come on top. We can all endure whatever Naraku has planned."
"We'll stop Naraku and then your hand will be better. I know there isn't much time left for you."
Miroku nodded as he glanced to his wind tunnel, "I managed to find a spell to prolong the wind tunnel from opening up, but it can't stop it."
"Don't worry you'll make it."
"Thank you, Sango," Miroku said as he lightly leaned against her as the two waited for the rest of their group to return.
Ryo coiled his long slender dragon body as he hovered over Tora, "So what do you choose to do, Tora? You can either fight me now and maybe help Kisho or you can remain in his barrier and rot the rest of your nine life's."
"I'll fight you, but you have to lower this barrier."
Ryo was silent for a moment before he nodded his dragonhead, "Agreed."
Tora took in a deep breath as he summoned up his youkai powers that had remained dormant since the time he had merged with a human. His powers had been asleep the entire time he had been a hanyou. He needed to repair his full youkai half and now he was ready to leave behind his human body. 'This body has suited me well through these years. It has allowed me to repair myself and now I no longer need it. My deepest thanks to you my fallen monk friend.'
Tora felt a snap in his body and he fell down to his knees. Ryo watched with amazement as Tora began to transform. His human skin from his body was splitting apart to reveal his rich orange fur. His bones cracked and snapped as they shifted to their suitable places. A bright light engulfed the entire area, blinding Ryo completely. Once the light faded away and Ryo's eyesight returned to normal he looked back down to the spot where Tora was.
Standing in Tora's place was a large orange tiger. His tiger body was twice the size of a normal tiger and he was ten times stronger. His noble head was held high as he met Ryo with his large cat eyes. His stripes on his body were raven black that ran down his body in a unique pattern. Even his stripes on his forehead formed the symbol for tiger in the Chinese language. Over the years his body had changed to a more pure hearted being. His tiger form had a stronger and noble look to it and even his youkai aura had an almost calm feeling to it. His fur blew gently in the wind as he stared at Ryo.
Ryo snorted when he sensed Tora's aura, "Tora, you have lost all your honor in being a youkai. You're almost human."
Tora held his stance and stare as he replied in a clam tone, "My honor hasn't gone anywhere. I'm still the same youkai."
Ryo stared back down at Tora with a pleasing growl, "So you say. We'll put that theory to the test soon enough." This was the moment Ryo had been waiting for his entire life. Tora was the last of the tiger youkai. If he succeeded in killing Tora he would be longed remember in his dragon line. "So it comes down to this?"
"I suppose so..."
A quiet wind blew past Ryo and Tora. The air was tense with their strong gaze. For a split second there was a dead silence in the air. The earth around them seemed like it had to catch its breath before these great titans would clash. As the wind blew through the trees a branch cracked. With sound returning to the surrounding area Tora and Ryo charged each other to attack.
Ryo slithered his body through the air as his claws flexed in eagerness. His teeth were barred as he flew towards the orange figure running towards him. The thought of sinking his pearl white teeth into tiger flesh made drool roll off his tongue. Tora thrusted his legs against the ground as he charged the slithering figure in the sky. It had been quiet awhile since he had fought in his youkai form, but he had gained a lot of experience over his lifetime and this was the time to see if all his training had paid off. 'I'm doing this for Kisho...Inuyasha and Kagome. I have to. I have to make up for my own past mistakes. They can't walk the same path I did...'
"...Because I won't allow it!" Tora yelled out as he leaped high into the sky to meet his attacker in the air. Tora would be at a great disadvantage in the air, but it was a risk he was willing to take.
Ryo saw the Tora leap and he quickly made his charge to strike. He lashed his head out to attack like a coiled snack, striking its prey. The attack was almost lightning fast, but Tora was prepared to counter. He twisted his body just enough to avoid his deadly snapping jaws. As Ryo's head past under him, Tora dug his front claws into his head. Ryo's hide was so thick he hardly felt Tora catch his head. He shook his head violently as he flew straight up into the air. Tora held on the best he could as he tried biting Ryo's thick skin, but he had no luck in injuring him. As Ryo flew higher, the air was beginning to get colder and harder to breath. Tora could feel the tips of his whiskers beginning to freeze over. He had no choice but to let go of Ryo. He retracted his claws back and he slowly fell from Ryo's head.
Ryo sighed a relief as he looked down to the falling tiger. With a shake of his head Ryo dove for the falling tiger. Tora tumbled through the air, but his cat like instincts flipped himself over so he would be face down to the ground. He caught the sight of Ryo diving for him once he was flipped right side up. There wasn't much for Tora to do, unless Ryo came into close range.
Ryo knew Tora's fighting style rather well and he knew that the tiger had no real long range attacks. With this disadvantage Ryo was quick to take advantage of it. He took in a deep breath and exhaled a stream of fire down at Tora. As Tora fell he could hear the roaring flames tumble down. He glanced over his shoulder as he fell to see the fiery stream flying right towards him, "That's not good..."
Tora rolled on his back and took in a deep breath of his own. There was a brief pause before Tora roared out in his tiger voice. His roar was extremely powerful and it created a break right down the middle of the flames, saving Tora for now. Ryo bit down on his jaw, 'Blasted tiger. Screw this tactical fighting!'
Tora was becoming too close to the ground and he prepared himself for impact. From behind Ryo charged with his full strength and he attacked with his powerful bite. This time he grabbed a hold of Tora by his right shoulder. Ryo quickly veered to the side to avoid impact against the ground. His body was to close to the ground and part of his lower body ran into the forest of trees. The bumpy impact caused him loose his grip on Tora and the tiger was flung back into the forest like a rag doll. Ryo slide across the ground a few feet until the larger trees stopped him. He laid against the ground for a moment, shaking off the initial shock from hitting so hard against the ground.
As he laid there Tora didn't waste anytime in attacking. Tora had leaped off from one of the trees to attack Ryo while he was down. Ryo hissed as he saw Tora insight again and he quickly got up. Tora just missed him by an inch and as he landed against the ground he quickly turned around and slashed at Ryo with his claws. Ryo blocked Tora with his harder scales on his back and once Tora took a step back Ryo stuck with his snapping jaws. Tora leaped back and to the side to avoid Ryo's deadly jaws. Tora allowed Ryo to get dangerously close to him with one of his attempted attacks, but Tora raised his claw quickly and slashed Ryo right across his face as hard as he could. Ryo's hide was tough to cut, but Tora managed to slice him pretty good by sacrificing his claws in doing so. All his claws on right paw snapped off, leaving nothing but broken nubs for nails.
Ryo's head snapped back from the hit and he shook his wounded face, "Fool. If that's the only way you can hurt me then you have a problem. You'll run out of your set of nails."
Tora stood steadily against the ground with his ears flat against his head. The white of his eyes showed as he growled, "I have more then just nails."
"Ah, yes our youkai power. This would be a good time to prove yourself, tiger," Ryo breathed his flame breath again without inhaling air. Tora quickly leaped into the air as the flames engulfed the area around him. As Tora flew up into the air his eyes glowed red. He looked down to Ryo for a split second before he curled his body up into a ball. As he did he began to spin at a rapid speed. Ryo tried to fly up and attack but the wind Tora was creating became to strong and Ryo was flung into the air. Tora's spinning had created a huge twister that was getting bigger and bigger by the minute.
Not to far away Inuyasha noticed the large twister carrying the large dragon into the air. His ears perked up as soon as he recognized the creature, "That bastard, Ryo...that means that other guy is there."
Inuyasha glanced down to the sleeping Kisho, "He'll be fine for a few minutes. I think he's proved to be able to take care of himself anyways."
Inuyasha slide out from under Kisho's head slowly. Once he was free he made sure Kisho was sound asleep before he ran off towards the action.
Ryo struggled to get out of the wind vortex, but he was really struck, "Damn tiger. Think some wind is going to kill me!"
"No..." Tora hissed, "But this will."
Inside the funnel of the twister a burst of youkai powered coursed through the winds creating a razor sharp wind. Even Ryo's body couldn't last long against it. The winds sharp like slice were pounding against his body. The air was littered with his armor like scales that were being sliced from him. Ryo roared out in pain and in a desperate attempt he shot his flames into the twister. Soon the entire twister was engulfed until Tora fell out. As soon as he did the entire twister disappeared and Ryo was free again. He fell against the ground as well, being too weak to fly.
Even though he was too weak to fly he wasn't too weak to attack. He crawled against the ground like snake until he found Tora panting against the ground. He licked his lips as he coiled his neck and lashed down. His jaws struck from above, giving Tora little room to escape. Tora was exhausted and there was no way for him to leap out of the way. Ryo bit down on him from above and dug his sharp fangs into his skin. Tora cried out as he felt his own blood being spilled. Ryo had a good hold of Tora in his jaws and he shook his head violently. Tora felt his skin being ripped apart inside the dragon's mouth and his vision was blurring quickly. Ryo kept shaking him like a derange animal playing with its kill. Tora was dying, but even so he wasn't going to die in a dragon's mouth. He raised his left paw and he smashed Ryo's canines and incisors on his left side of his mouth. With the lost grip in Ryo's mouth Tora fell from his jaws and onto the ground in a bloody mess.
Ryo hissed as his teeth fell against the ground but seeing the bloody tiger made him regain his composure again, "Ah, so this is what it comes to in the end? I'm left with the final kill while you lie there against the ground like a weakling."
Tora laid there unable to really answer. Ryo smiled lightly, "No smartass comment to make?"
"Shut...up..." Tora mumbled in a shaky voice.
"I can't believe you were the leader of us. Your evil aura is nothing now and so is your strength."
"My strength comes from my friends. Not my desire to be stronger anymore...I finally understand that now."
"Pitiful..." Ryo said as he looked down at Tora with a curled neck, "Just like your son and wife."
Tora's ears perked up slowly in hearing him. Just above them both, Inuyasha landed on the cliff that overlooked the valley that they were in. He saw Tora laying there in a pool of blood while Ryo talked, "Great..."
"I suppose I'll give you this pleasure in knowing what happened to them. Your last bits of wisdom before you die," Ryo said in a slow manner, enjoying every last bit of this moment.
"It was I who turned your son into his beast like form. He deserved it though," Ryo said with a growl, "He had discovered that I was planning to attack the village. I pushed his weak little mind until he was broken. Nothing more then a savage beast. Just like, Kisho. As for your wife the reason why you never found her is because I ate her. With one snap of my jaws she was gone."
Inuyasha heard what Ryo was saying as he slowly leaped down from the cliff side, "I can't believe that bastard did that. Why eat humans? It's not like they fill up much in his big mouth."
Tora heard every word of it and deep inside he knew. Ryo had always been the source of problems for him, along with Naraku of course. His bloody fur blew gently as a wind blew by. His body was broken and he just couldn't go on. Just like what happened before he turned into a hanyou.
Ryo lifted his head up to use his finishing blow on Tora.
The wind in the air blew around them slowly as Tora laid their. He was ready to accept his fate. He had done all he could and this was where his path ended. Funny thing was he never thought he'd die by Ryo's hands. 'At lest I made friends...I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise to help Kisho and the others.'
The wind blew past Tora's ears and he heard a light whisper, 'This is not your time, Tora. You have much greater things to do. Wake up...Wake up...'
Tora slowly opened his eyes again, hearing someone's voice.
"Wake up!" Inuyasha shouted from above.
Ryo thrusted his head down towards Tora. With his suddenly renewed energy, Tora got to his feet and leaped to attack Ryo. Tora had leaped when Ryo's head was just over him. In his short leap, Tora bit down on Ryo's throat, right into his jugular vein. With one good pull, Tora ripped a hole on the side of Ryo's neck. The dragon flung his head back in pain as he fell to the ground, his entire body tossed against the ground until it finally became still.
Tora collapsed against his stomach as he panted. He was still having trouble breathing and the bleeding on his back just wouldn't stop. Tora glanced to the side to see Inuyasha scrambling down the cliffside to get to him. "I can't help them now...if I do I would slow them down. I don't think I will able to help them again...but Kisho doesn't need me if Inuyasha is their now."
Inuyasha was close enough to the bottom now to just fall the rest of the way down. He fell the last few feet and once he hit against the ground he quickly ran where Tora was. When he arrived Tora was gone. Their was no sign left of him except the blood stain left against the scared ground, "He was the one that woke me from the seal... so where ever you are. Thanks..." Inuyasha mumbled the last part since he could hardly bring himself to say a thank you. After a short look around Inuyasha headed back to the sleeping Kisho, it was only a matter of time now before Naraku would face all there wraths for the pain he had caused and for the life's he had destroyed.
Chapter 15 Preview
((There are just bits of things here, this is no way in order too))
"Lady, Kikyo..." a small girl mumbled as she pulled on the priestess robe.
"Yes? Is something wrong?" "There's a strange youkai we saw by the river bed. It looks injured."
Kikyo nodded her head lightly as she walked over to her things to pick up her bow, "I will go see to it then. Stay here in the village until I get back."
-------- "Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
Kisho's ears perked up, "Its uncle Sesshomaru."
Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were both caught off guard by what Kisho said.
"Kisho! Don't say that. He's a bad guy..."
Kisho tilted his head, "No he isn't. He helped me find you. You know he just has his special ways in helping. It's kind of painful sometimes, plus he's your brother, right? "
"Stop speaking mindless gibberish!" Sesshomaru ordered them both.
---
"I saw that girl with the bow..." Keiji said as he held his knee's close to his chest.
"What girl with a bow?" Miroku asked as he placed a wet cloth on Keiji's head.
"The one that shot Kisho...his mother..."
"What?!"
----- "Naraku? The guardians are almost gone. Soon you will not be able to hide your self from them."
Naraku looked to Iluska, "I hardly find that a problem. Especially you're the one hiding something from them."
Iluska was silent as she tossed her hair back, "I'll reveal it to them out next meeting then."
"Good, the girl has located the last shard as well..."