Aftermath
Inuyasha sat on a snowy bench below Tokyo Tower. Like so many times before, he took a moment to observe the jewel hanging from his neck: the Shikon Jewel, or one-third of it. Sesshomaru had decided that keeping both of their shards in a vault was asking for both to be stolen. Instead, they'd be kept separate. And eventually, they came to the conclusion that it was best kept in Inuyasha's possession.
It had been nearly three months since the attack by the band of seven. Things had changed. No matter how much anyone tried to avoid it, or refused to accept it, the outcome was unavoidable. A large majority of people began believing that youkai were more than just the characters of myths. The park where he rested was proof. Even now, the destruction could be seen including the charred stains from the bolts of lightning that had rained down.
After being arrested, Bankotsu had utterly refused to speak about the comments he made during their battle. However, the one spiritualist policeman had been recorded trying to put up barriers. A simple background check later and everyone knew he had family associated with shrines. It wasn't that hard to piece together that if youkai supposedly existed, people with reiki likely did as well. Eventually, with agreement from the youkai council, the spiritualist council made a public statement admitting the existence of youkai society. Sesshomaru had known it was unavoidable, and instead it was better to admit the truth while controlling the information.
He sighed. So much had changed, and yet so little really came from it. Even though everyone knew youkai existed, it amounted to little. Youkai mostly stayed in hiding because they wanted to maintain their peaceful lives and had little interest in human affairs. For the first month, there had been panic and intrigue. But the vigilante remained the only exposed youkai in the world. A merciless hand from the spiritualist and youkai councils made sure it stayed that way, at least until things calmed down. Thus, it was hard to say that anyone really rejected youkai, after all, what was there to reject?
Per Sesshomaru's instructions, he'd only been attending college part time, and instead devoting most of his time to being the crimson vigilante. Sure, some people were afraid of him, but everyone he saved was one more positive story for the youkai. Plus, the people seemed more ok with him since he'd admitted to being only half youkai during the fight. And after three months, most people had more questions than concerns.
Inuyasha, however, was filled with concern. Sesshomaru had been unable to obtain any more information about Onigumo and didn't want to confront him directly while he held Kanna hostage. That was why he wore the jewel, to let Onigumo come to him. Ordinarily, he'd scream Sesshomaru's head off about using him as bait, but he had been convinced.
He walked up to the familiar house and let himself in. "Mom, I'm here!" he yelled as he began taking off his shoes. It had been a couple weeks since the battle. She had, out of the blue, asked him to come home immediately, and even specified not to tell Sesshomaru. That seemed… suspicious, but it was his mother and he was mad at him anyways.
It only took a moment for her to appear. "Come in, we have a guest." A guest?
He followed her only to stop short at seeing who the guest was. "D-dad?"
Said man smiled and approached. He wrapped his arms around his son and pulled him into a crushing hug. "Pup." He was too stunned to reply. After a moment, his father let go and approached a nearby blade. Smearing it with blood as he himself had done so many times, he watched as his father's features began to change. Most of his traits matched the two brothers, and he had stripes on his face like Sesshomaru, but they were a different color. He also had Sesshomaru's fluffy thing. He chuckled. "Are you going to stand there all day or let me see how you've grown up?"
Inuyasha startled and grabbed his own wrapped blade before repeating the motion. Now in his true form, he went to his father and gave him a hug. He took in the man's scent, it smelled… right, powerful. "H-how?" Wasn't he unconscious, was this somehow a trap from Onigumo, was that why he wasn't supposed to tell Sesshomaru?
The man took a moment to feel the ears his hanyou son had been born with. He hadn't seen them since the boy was born. "I honestly don't know all the details, but it seems Sesshomaru found whoever was imprisoning my soul for Onigumo and threatened them while also offering protection. It seems they accepted the deal."
Threatened them? Inuyasha shivered as he thought of the few times he really managed to piss off his brother. "Does this mean Onigumo is finally going to attack?"
His father shook his head. "Our current understanding is he doesn't know I'm awake. The being who imprisoned my soul also holds Onigumo's final shard. He manipulates her life as the shard is the only thing keeping her alive."
"If she was able to betray him to release your soul, can't she just bring us the shard?"
"No." The man looked worried. "You have never faced the jewel before, pup. It is not simply a granter of wishes. It is sentient, and carries its own agenda. Supposedly, Onigumo's wish is to eradicate magic. If restored, it is possible the jewel will grant such a wish, but it will not eradicate magic, it would likely steal all of it. The jewel, in possession of all the magic in the world, can you imagine the devastation it could bring with Onigumo there to wield it?"
Inuyasha blinked. "Wait, why would the jewel then give that power to Onigumo?"
The man considered how to answer. "The jewel is not a single lifeform, but it has its own conscious thoughts. It cares nothing for itself, but is comprised of the joint forces of good and evil. A selfish wish will strengthen the jewel's dark side and bury the light. That evil will desire to be wielded. It cares little about by whom. That is why even a shard can strengthen any being, the jewel empowers them to bring about evil from their own selfish desires."
"I can see Bankotsu's wish for revenge enhancing the evil side, but if Onigumo wishes to eradicate magic to bring balance to the world, isn't that technically for the benefit of others? I mean, I don't know, at least Kikyo seemed genuine about the wish, not as though she wanted to wield the jewel's destructive power."
"Do not make the mistake of trusting this Kikyo." The Inu no Taisho took a step back and stared into his son's eyes. "You wear a shard of the jewel now, pup. You must be cautious not to listen to it. If nothing else, remember this: the jewel must never be used. There is no correct wish."
Inuyasha's ears flattened in annoyance and he looked away. He wasn't planning on making any dumb wishes. "Keh! I know that, you don't got to lecture me, old man." He shook his head and wanted to change subjects. "So, how long have you been awake? You, uh… seen the news?" How does one ask if their father is ok with them becoming a vigilante and accidentally exposing youkai society?
To his surprise, his father cringed. "I've…" He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I've been awake for a bit over a month now."
Inuyasha froze while the words digested. "A MONTH?!"
He scratched the back of his head, "well… your brother thought you'd be better motivated in battle if you were fighting for my life, and at first I relented, but with the current downtime…" He didn't have a chance to finish.
Inuyasha growled. "S-E-SSH-O-MA-R-UUUU!" In an instant his eyes were bloodshot and his claws and fangs extended. 'Kill him' something whispered in the back of his mind.
Seeing the deteriorating conditions, the Inu no Taisho let his own youki rise to the surface. He jumped slightly in surprise as his son launched himself, claws raised. He even heard his wife's gasp of surprise. The bloodlust radiating from his son was shocking. He'd never personally felt a hanyou's inner youkai be released before. The older man quickly grabbed onto Inuyasha's wrist before it could land. He saw the other hand coming at him, and caught it as well. The boy tried to lurch his whole body forward and reach his fangs for his throat. When Sesshomaru had first admitted to releasing his son's seal, he'd actually been both ecstatic and disappointed to miss that mess. But now, seeing his son like this, he felt only disappointment. He should've taught the boy sooner. And he never should have agreed to Sesshomaru's plan of staying 'dead'.
Seeing the boy's fangs getting too close, he wrapped his mokomoko around his pup's body and slammed him to the ground. He kept a hold of the squirming, growling, boy's hands and pinned them behind him. "Pup, you must calm down." The boy showed no signs of stopping. The Tessaiga was just in the boy's belt, it should've been doing its job. It was then he noticed the dangling jewel had grown much darker in color. With a growl of frustration, he let go and maneuvered his arms below his son's, pinning him with his shoulders. The jewel was attached to the beads of subjugation which shocked him with reiki as he got close. His momentary interruption gave the wild Inuyasha an opening who promptly bit down on the arm hanging around near his chest. Using his own fangs on the back of the boy's neck, he forced him to the ground, his arm still in Inuyasha's teeth, and used his other hand to grab the jewel. With a large shock, it came free. Instantly, Inuyasha went slack. "Pup?" After a moment, the fangs in his arm were removed, but the boy didn't answer. Still, he was back in control apparently, so he allowed himself to stand back up. He was greeted by his wife holding a first aid kit. He smiled realizing she trusted him to handle it. But he frowned as after several moments, his son still hadn't moved. "Son, I am not mad."
Inuyasha suddenly turned over to face him and sputtered. "M-mad? I lost my mind and fucking bit you. What the fuck?!" He started desperately trying to remove the blood from his face.
His father knelt back down and put a hand on his shoulder. "It wasn't just your hanyou blood." He held out the jewel. "This apparently helped the transformation." He sighed and smiled sarcastically. "Did I not just warn you? If you're going to keep wearing this, you need to become more aware of its influence."
"If I keep wearing it? You just gave me another reason not to! I didn't ask it for anything, it just took over!"
His father hummed. "Technically your youkai side asked for death and destruction. It obliged." He handed his son the jewel fragment.
Inuyasha pushed it away. "Like hell, I don't want that thing."
His father sighed. "I know, but you are the best person to keep it. In the hands of a youkai like myself or Sesshomaru, the dark side of the jewel naturally grows. I can feel it resonating within my grip even now. Your hanyou blood balances it. That's why I have to keep our shard in a specially designed inhibiting vault."
Inuyasha was shocked to hear that even his father could feel the jewel's influence. "Why not the spiritualists?"
Inuyasha saw a look of pain come over his father's face. "The spiritualists believe in giving the jewel to their most powerful, the one best suited to purify the evil within the jewel."
At his father's silence, he asked, "so?"
He sighed. "During my last month of being 'dead', I did some investigation into the relationship between Kikyo and the jewel. As it turns out, she was only given the jewel 6 months before her betrayal. Out of all the spiritualists in Japan, two had been selected as capable of purifying it."
"Only two?"
"Yes, even for a human, the jewel is a powerful force. You saw what it did to Bankotsu." He watched his son nod. "The first and chosen candidate was the experienced and powerful Kikyo. The second… the second and now, only, candidate is Kagome Higurashi."
"K-Kagome?"
"She is powerful. Perhaps more powerful than she realizes." He reached down and grabbed at the beads of subjugation that shocked him. "It was my idea to Sesshomaru to attach the jewel to these. Even this small amount helps keep the jewel stable. Her reiki is remarkably pure." He looked towards his son. "Do you understand, pup? You are the only one besides her that has a chance of resisting the jewel. As your girlfriend, she is at risk, but as the carrier of the jewel, anything could come after her. Use your desire to protect her, to keep your youkai at bay."
Inuyasha looked away. "You really think I can control it?"
"I do. Keep your friends, your family close. Lean on us to support your heart. It's why I couldn't let this farce go on any longer. I'm here for you."
Inuyasha held back any tears. "I'm still going to kick Sesshomaru's ass for keeping this from me."
His father laughed and ruffled his son's hair. "Don't be too hard on him. He's not very good with his emotions, and besides, it was my mistake too. I could've disobeyed him sooner."
"You should've."
"At the time, I had considered he was right. Having something to fight for, to protect, makes you stronger, but you're different from youkai. You won't settle for only having me back. You want to protect everyone." He chuckled. "You've never walked away from a bully, even though it got you in trouble constantly."
His mother then came over and gave him a reassuring hug. "Be you. Our hero in crimson."
Looking back on it, Inuyasha couldn't help but laugh. Sesshomaru still didn't know that he knew their father was awake since the man didn't want to have another argument with him. Besides, since this mess began, he'd always felt a step behind, but at least now he could silently snicker as Sesshomaru talked about rescuing their father's soul. And it really didn't seem to be a trap. No one could fake being his father so well. He smiled thinking about how his father said he would complete the bonding ritual with his mother as soon as Onigumo was no longer endangering them. He sighed and tightened his grip on the jewel. Come on Onigumo, let's end this. A buzzing snapped him out of his thoughts. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the dog whistle to read the text. He stood up and brushed off some of the snow that had accumulated on top of his body. First bending down to wake up his legs, he jumped.