CHAPTER FOUR

This town was more of a ruin than anything. Perhaps it had been a town at one point, but in the course of some feudal conflict or war it had been destroyed. Inuyasha knew of it simply by proximity. He had run around nearby long enough to know where it was. Perhaps someone could loiter about in it if they wished, or some travelers could seek shelter there, but where he was headed in question there was none of the above to be found.

Mid-day was here now. The sun was high in the sky. There were some thick clouds, however, indicating a coming rainstorm later. The sky was blue for now, and things were clear enough for Inuyasha. The dog demon strolled into the central area of the town just at the right moment. He looked around himself a bit to try and take in the surroundings. Where he was now seemed to be an old training ground, or perhaps a pagoda site. It was mostly an empty feel with an old stone circle surrounding it. Columns, some broken and some still standing, stood around the area, casting no shadows at the moment but nevertheless tall and impressive. Ahead of Inuyasha, the valley sloped upward sharply. To either side, rocky cliffs, small but high enough to serve, rose on either side. The forest loomed in all directions except the clearing in the center. But Inuyasha noticed something else too. There were old braziers in place around this area, and they had recently been relit. They were burning freshly now. Whoever this thing was had been expecting him.

He merely frowned at the whole sight. He wanted to get this over with.

Inuyasha's bare feet crunched against the dusty ground as he moved toward the center of the new area. He felt unprotected and in the open here, but he wasn't about to let a thing like that scare him. The wind was still, just as he had been noticing it lately. Everything in the forest was still. Abruptly, a flock of birds took flight in front of him. But they too were so quiet he seemed to not notice them until they flew overhead. He paused a moment there, and looked before him. It was only then that he began to hear a light crunching of footsteps up ahead. He looked into the forest at that, and watched as a person emerged.

Inuyasha could smell the human on the person…and yet somehow he had a hard time believing it. He smelled something else too. Not only that, but he felt an itching prickling up the hair on his back. The figure looked human enough, but he almost wanted to pull Tetsaiga to see whether or not the sword would indeed turn into a monster fang. In fact, though she was nowhere present, Inuyasha began to try to visualize Kagome helpless nearby and needing protection, even though it wouldn't matter before a human. The youth continued to approach, and sure enough Inuyasha saw the clothing of a miko on him. He almost expected Kikyo to be the one to emerge, the way he was dressed. His hair was the same color as hers, but he bore no arrows. Only that same sword that he had heard about earlier. He had a confident, calm look on his face, and he strolled rather than marched straight up to the dog demon.

"Lord Inuyasha." He greeted. "Your companions told you about me, I take it?"

Inuyasha snorted. "Yeah. So who the hell are you?"

The boy did not respond, but calmly walked straight up to the Hanyou. Inuyasha didn't react, but stood his ground. At last, the youth was about ten feet away from him, and there he stopped. He stared right at the monster, and he stared right back. They both examined each other and sized each other up for a brief moment.

"…You're much different from your half-brother." The youth commented.

Inuyasha snorted again. "What would you know about my half-brother?"

The boy raised his eyebrows. "Many things." He answered. "I know he still has a grudge against you from when you defeated him, despite being in full demon form, using your fathers' blade. He further is upset that he must wield Toukijin while you bear Tetsusaiga, even if it could break your sword. It's not the blade of his father and he feels denied because of that. I know he spared you in your full demon form so that he could get a better fight from you…and I know that despite his alleged hatred for humans…" Here, he paused and snorted a bit. "He keeps interesting company."

Inuyasha turned his nose at him. "So what are you then? Some sort of stalker?"

The youth almost seemed to chuckle at this, as if it was a private joke. Inuyasha was quickly growing sick of his mannerisms. And how did he know all of those things anyway? No one knew them…unless for some reason Sesshomaru had decided to swap stories with this human.

"I'm much more, actually." The youth answered. "But introductions are in order. You, of course, need none, while my name is Sanhou. I am the last survivor of the deep forest miko tribe. And I've been looking forward to meeting you for some time, Inuyasha. It seems I may have a connection with you."

"How so?" Inuyasha responded in a bored voice.

Sanhou paused a moment at that, pausing long enough to draw himself up for a lengthy answer. "Until about a month ago, I was one of Naraku's slaves." The boy began darkly and plainly, his voice grim and stoic. "I've done my research. Your little Youkai huntress friend? She has a brother, who also is one of his slaves. I was much the same way. My very body was infested with Naraku like a disease or virus infects its host. I was another tool for him to use to not only accomplish his ends but create misery. Your friends believe I destroyed the deep forest tribe. They are correct in assuming such. I killed every last member, sparing not family or friends."

Inuyasha grunted at Sanhou's calm voice. "From the sound of your voice, you seem to still be catching Zs fine."

Sanhou paused at that, and swallowed. "…The incident is one I have accepted." He calmly answered after a pause.

"In that case, maybe I should off you right now." Inuyasha retorted. "Naraku doesn't just let people go. You probably still have him running around in your veins, assuming I'm not talking to him face-to-face this minute."

Sanhou cracked a slight smile at that. "You, Lord Inuyasha, should know of all people that his power is not always absolute. Don't you remember what happened a month earlier?"

Inuyasha growled. A million things happened to him on a weekly basis. How could he be expected to remember just one? However, regarding Kohaku, Naraku, and matters of control, one event did stick out in his mind more than anything else.

"That princess from the moon…" He ventured.

Sanhou nodded. "Exactly. Your temporary victory over Naraku meant my temporary freedom. I regained my senses and remembered everything I had done. But unlike the huntress' brother, I not only remembered everything, but I saw the spider shaped lesion on my own forearm. I knew he was there…I knew he was festering inside me, perhaps even feeding off me and enjoying the warmth of my flesh, waiting to again rise and consume me and then send me on another of his little errands of death." His smile vanished, and he swallowed hard. "I might have destroyed myself right there…" He spoke with a sort of faraway tone in his voice, looking almost as if he was traumatized about it. But it lasted only a moment, and he drew himself up and was calm again.

"But then I noticed the Saphsaiga, something I had been brought up to protect my whole life. I noticed it was still untouched…but more so…" The boy paused a moment, and seemed to grow a bit more deep and serious. "…It called to me. It told me to use it. My family was dead, I was distraught, and so discarding everything I had learned I broke the seal, took up the sword, and pierced Naraku's bit within my arm." The boy inhaled sharply here. The memory went through him as he stiffened, and he seemed to relish it. "…You can only imagine what it felt like to stab him…to feel that piece of him wither and die within me. I slashed open my skin to get it out, but it didn't matter. Saphsaiga sucked the life out of the piece of him within me and left me purified of him.

"So now, here I am, and all because of you, Lord Inuyasha. Perhaps Saphsaiga drew Naraku from me like poison from a wound, but it is you who made it possible. Because of you, I am no longer a slave of the demon. I'm clean. Free. Able to once again pursue my own destiny." Sanhou hesitated a moment at that. With some veiled loathing…he spoke to him reluctantly. "…I thank you."

Inuyasha merely frowned back. "I only wanted him dead. I didn't do it to save you or Sango's brother."

"…Exactly." Sanhou softly replied after a pause. His voice was odd. It was as if he had just tested Inuyasha, and he had reacted as expected. "Just as I'm sure you didn't come here entertaining thoughts of revenge for the huntress' feline. All about the shards, correct?"

"That's about the size of it." Inuyasha responded. "I trust you have a point to all this?"

Sanhou's face stayed calm. He slowly began to walk forward a few more steps before stopping again, and spoke as he did so. "I am free, Inuyasha. But…I do not intend to waste such freedom. I came to a realization after ridding myself of the demon." Sanhou's voice dipped deeper here, growing dangerous and cold.

"I'm not truly safe, am I? None of us are truly safe…not so long as he lives. But as I thought on…I realized it's not just a matter of whether Naraku lives. It's a matter of whether all demons live. Youkai…Hanyou…they mean only one thing. Pestilence. Destruction. Death. They are an infection on the human race just as he was an infection within me. Always eating…always feeding…on our lives, our blood, our livelihood… And I'm not really free because none of us are really free…we're all slaves of them. We're all their toys…all their victims. We all live and die because they decided not to play with our lives for that day. We cannot advance…and our lives cannot be our own…so long as they live.

"And so I took it upon myself to be the savior of my race…my people…and our way of life. It is a mission that I realized I lacked the power to do, but it was something that I knew I could complete along with Saphsaiga. And certainly enough, the blade revealed to me the way I could gain enough power to rid the world not only of Naraku but all of his kind." Sanhou lowered his head and gazed right in Inuyasha's eyes. The dog demon, at this moment, received a sense that Sanhou was indeed more than human…and that there was a maliciousness and evil inside him the likes of which he rarely saw. And his comments were making it increasingly obvious that he wasn't looking to be friends.

"The Shikkon shards."

Inuyasha raised a brow at that. "The shards?"

"Perhaps a mere human cannot wield them, but we can." Sanhou continued. "Already, we have collected nine. They have given us power beyond our wildest dreams. And with each new shard our power increases. It was hard going at first, but already I have vanquished a hundred and forty-seven demons. I continue to speed up in terms of finding them and dispatching them."

Inuyasha frowned back. He felt his fist beginning to tighten and his teeth clench. "Demons?" He asked with a tone of anger. "Or have you just been killing any spirit you come across? I thought I heard this forest going dead. It's because of you, isn't it?"

"That brings me to why I asked you here." Sanhou darkly continued, ignoring this. "It wasn't just to show my appreciation. No…that brief 'thank you' is the extent of my appreciation. For you see, Inuyasha…you too are what is wrong with the world. The time will come sooner or later for me to dispatch you as well. But if you would not like it to be sooner…I suggest you hand over the shards you have collected. You alone have a greater collection than I do…save perhaps for Naraku. With your added shards, my power will be great enough to kill Naraku or anyone else." He paused a moment…and then something came over him. An evil aura swept over his face, and his mouth turned into a wicked smile. Hate blazed in his eyes. "So why don't you tell me where they are, hmm?" He mocked.

Inuyasha crossed his arms and scowled in response. That did it. "Alright, you obnoxious little twerp. I don't know who you think you are, but you're never getting my shards. And I don't know what you think you're doing, but you sound like just another close-minded little jerk I've had to deal with my whole life who thinks all of my kind are bad. And I've long since lost patience with trying to reason with you idiots. I run into you cowards all the time who get pitchforks or stones or whatever and poke fun at all the little Hanyou who can't fight back, then think yourselves some sort of heroes for harassing them. Yet if you ever ran into a real monster they'd have your head for breakfast before you even knew what happened. And I don't care if Naraku personally violated you; I don't like you. So run along before I give you something a bit more permanent than a scar. As for the shards, I don't have them and I sure as hell ain't telling you where they are."

Sanhou snorted himself, his strange evil aura vanishing, but now being replaced with a softer anger. "You stupid little mongrel." He hissed. "You're just as dumb as your brother was…before I killed him."

Inuyasha's eyes opened a bit at this, before he snorted again. "Yeah right. Some weakling like you?"

"You're fatheaded, full of hot air, and arrogant as anything." Sanhou went on with mounting anger. "You think of me just like all the other humans. You think because I'm human I'm nothing to you. Each and every demon I killed thought the exact same thing before I ran my blade through them. You don't want to tell me where the shards are? Fine. I'll find out right now."

Before Inuyasha could react, Sanhou yanked out his blade in a flash, and in a smooth stabbing motion went right for the Hanyou. Luckily, the dog demon saw this coming, and just in time managed to dodge so that the blade missed his chest. But instead, the blade went right through his arm. Inuyasha almost cried out, feeling the blade's coldness and almost ripping at his flesh and insides. But soon, it was in and it was over. Normally, Inuyasha would have scowled and ripped the blade right out, before rearranging the human's face.

But then, the dog demon froze. He felt cold all over. He felt all warmth and life being sucked out of him. His eyes bulged as his face turned to surprise, and he opened his mouth to cry out only to find all breath gone. His heart began to slow in his chest. His feeling began to leave his fingers and toes. He looked up in shock to Sanhou. His face had again turned evil, and his eyes blazed with fury and malicious hate. He grinned in reply, as if to ask, "Enjoying it?"

"A girl named Kagome…has the shards…" He began to say with eagerness, sounding like he was decoding a message and reading it aloud. "Yes, yes, tell me more, then settle down for a long, dreamless sleep, Hanyou."

Inuyasha was shocked that he knew this, but his thoughts were growing fuzzy. His vision was turning black. His body felt like a giant piece of ice, and all feeling was fleeing him. Soon, Sanhou turned into a fuzzy image.

"That's right, Inuyasha. It's almost over..."

Somehow, the mocking voice, the circumstances…something…made Inuyasha resist. He was fading quickly, feeling his life being sucked out of him and into the blade Sanhou carried. But just as he was about to pass out, the dog demon forced his other arm to move up. Not wasting a second, using power that was nearly gone, the Hanyou belted Sanhou across the face. The impact was so strong that the youth fell back, and the Saphsaiga was ripped from Inuyasha's arm.

Inuyasha felt like he had been frozen in ice for hours, and that he was only slowly thawing out. But warmth and life slowly began to return to his body, and he quickly put it to good use. With one nimble movement, he reached to his side, yanked out Tetsusaiga, and then swung it hard right in front of him. Sanhou could only lose his evil and gape in surprise instead before the blade easily cut right through his neck, and his head was sliced clean off his body. Immediately, his own body went lifeless, and collapsed to the ground. The head plopped down moments later and rolled a few feet before stopping as well.

Inuyasha staggered back, gasping for air. He had stopped breathing, and his heart had nearly stopped beating. He nearly dropped Tetsusaiga in the process, but managed to hold on. His vision slowly cleared, and he looked over himself as warmth continued to spread through his body. His arm was bleeding now, but the blood was dark and nearly black, and seemed to only slowly pick up speed rolling out of his arm. But more than that, he noticed Tetsusaiga. His worst fears had been correct. It was in the shape of a monster's fang. So whatever Sanhou had been, he had been a demon. But he seemed so human… He also knew why it had shown its true form. He had heard Sanhou talking about Kagome…he had known about her…he knew if he didn't kill him he'd go for her next…

"Impressive, Hanyou."

Inuyasha froze in his train of thought, and looked over to the dead body. It was impossible. He had just killed him… And sure enough, the head and body were still laying there in two pieces…

But the head was now upright and looking right at him, smiling.

"I didn't think anyone could resist the Saphsaiga." The head went on. As it did so…a lump began to form under its head. It began to grow and swell, and enlarge over an area. Four small nubs appeared on all sides of it, and those nubs began to enlarge and grow too. The head calmly rolled and rocked as the lump lengthened, and the nubs grew longer and larger. Soon, the lump had become a mass, and began to bend and curve. The nubs became long strips and began to do so as well. As for the body, it suddenly rolled up, and formed a lump of its own on top of itself. The lump enlarged and grew until it was head sized, and then the body picked itself up off of the ground. As for the other, the mass off of the head was now in the shape of a body. Hands and feet began to sprout from the ends, and little digits extended from the ends. As they did, fabric burst forth and swaddled the new body, and a long growth appeared at its side. The headless body with the head shaped mass sprouted hair, which tied itself back after doing so, ears, nose, mouth…everything. The process took only seconds. Soon, both bodies were standing there.

Where there had been one Sanhou before…there were now two.

And both had a Saphsaiga.

Inuyasha gaped. "You're not human…"

"Perhaps I'm not." The formerly headless Sanhou replied, raising his blade again.

"I am Death for all demon kind!" The other spat madly, as it drew its own blade. Then, both Sanhou's charged Inuyasha at once.

Soon, the Hanyou was staving off an attack from two blade swinging opponents at once. Inuyasha backed up, blocking against one blow, then another, from either opponent. He guarded against three strikes from each, before he managed to knock one's blade away and try and different tactic, slicing off that one's sword arm. He then quickly leapt over the other one, trying to get behind. Sanhou was quick, and turned and swung at him again, but Inuyasha managed to guard against it with a behind-the-back block. He turned around and crossed blades with the opponent again for a few more moments, guarding against a few more blows, before he managed to knock the sword away, bring Tetsusaiga up, and then swing down to cleave the Sanhou in half from top to bottom.

The Hanyou gasped and stepped back, looking back over to his previous damage. However, to his shock, not only did a new arm sprout from the old Sanhou, but the old arm grew into an entirely new Sanhou, again complete with sword. Both of them lunged at Inuyasha at once, and soon he was backed up as he struggled to stave off their assault. During that time, the two separate halves both regenerated to form two more Sanhous, and both charged at him too. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Inuyasha abruptly swung Tetsusaiga around to cut the two ones attacking in half, before diving his blade forward to run one of the new ones through. When he pulled the sword out, the foe collapsed, but the remaining Sanhou was already diving at him. Inuyasha had to quickly hold his blade over his head to block the blow, and soon the new one was pushing him back with his onslaught.

As Inuyasha guarded against him, swinging and clashing his blade left and right, he realized the new one was giving the others time to regenerate…and indeed they were. Angry, he suddenly smacked the Saphsaiga away and spun forward, not only cleaving the new one in two but dicing up another that was regenerating into additional pieces. Two more had recovered at that point and were coming at him from either side, but he quickly leapt into the air and kicked out at either, sending both flying back from the impact. Another came up to battle him, but he smashed his elbow into his face, spun around behind him, and then stabbed him through the chest from behind.

Inuyasha hesitated to look over the battlefield…only to have more horrors revealed. Not only did the stabbed ones also regenerate, but entirely new bodies arose from the mere drops of blood that came from their wounds. They were growing into more Sanhou's right now, and attacking him all at once. One came to his back and slashed downward, cutting through his kimono and slicing into his back. Inuyasha cried out in pain. It felt like jagged ice tearing at his flesh. He turned around and swiped his claws at that one's face, raking it and sending its blood splattering to the ground. But that only gave another the chance to come forward and slice at his mid-section, causing more pain. Roaring in anger, he spun forward to slice not only through this one but two more, before two of them blocked him at once and began to force him back, into a growing circle of pain. Another one was rushing to stab him from behind. Gritting his teeth, Inuyasha twisted the blades of both warriors in front of him, then quickly leapt into the air and spun kicked in order to knock the one from behind back. Still gritting his teeth in anger, Inuyasha quickly did a backflip to launch himself out of the circle of Sanhous and place him in the air. Once there, he quickly focused on as many of the mikos as he could and brought his blade back. Moments later, a wave of energy ripped out from his blade as he swung it down straight at the far majority of them.

"Wind Scar!"

They only could gape in shock before their bodies were obliterated in a brilliant explosion. As the remaining ones shielded themselves, a terrific blast went off as Inuyasha landed. Soon, only a blacked slice in the ground remained of the rest of the warriors.

Inuyasha quickly moved in to give more pain. Unfortunately, the one he had slashed in the face not only regenerated, but because he left four piles of blood on the ground, four new Sanhous had sprung up. They rushed in to meet him. Inuyasha contented himself to block their blows, one at a time, as they came in, although the four of them together were murder. As the fifth one came in to join, he shoved his elbow forward and smashed one in the face, before slapping another out of the way. He narrowly missed another, and leapt up to give him a double kick in the chest to send him flying back, then slugged a fourth one. The fifth one then moved in to cross blades with him. But as for the others, while they couldn't replicate now, they still were getting up after only a moment's hesitation and coming to fight back, now moving to strike him from the sides.

As Inuyasha blocked the fifth one with one hand, and reached out another to seize him by the neck and throw him into another incoming fighter, he began to think.

How am I going to get out of this!

Sanhou calmly walked forward to the edge of the battlefield. As he looked down, he watched with happiness as the Hanyou struggled to stay alive in the midst of all his "brothers". He crossed his arms and bided his time, watching as he continued to beat them away and struggle not to use his precious monster fang sword…

He heard a rustling nearby, and calmly looked over to the corner of his vision. There, another Sanhou was emerging from the forest, and soon he joined him at his side, looking down on the battle as well. The Hanyou had grabbed two of them and bashed their heads together, before flipping back twice to avoid two more swinging swords. He was staying alive well enough…

"Shall we help?" The new Sanhou asked.

"No." Sanhou answered, shaking his head. "He's digging his own grave the more he drags this out. Besides, in another few seconds, if his kind lifts his leg before they wet themselves, then I feel he's going to be close to snapping his own off…"

Inuyasha darted his body left and right, dodging two more blades. He then quickly leapt in the air to avoid another one, before smashing his own head forward into another Sanhou. However, he cursed as he broke this one's nose, causing more of his blood to spill. Angry, the Hanyou swung his blade around and sliced the nearest two in half as well, deciding "to hell with it" for a moment. The two others came in, and he intercepted their blades and swung them out of the way, before following through with a somersault kick to knock both of them back. He then quickly got in the ready position again…

Only to gape in near horror.

Smiling, a Sanhou just pulled himself up over the edge of the hole in the ground left from the Wind Scar. He grinned at Inuyasha a moment, before smiling, pulling out his sword, and then charging right for him. He soon was followed by forty more, which had grown from their obliterated remains that Inuyasha had made before. They came pouring out of the hole like a tide, and went straight for Inuyasha.

The dog demon struck down one only to have another club him in the face. He grit his teeth, seized this one, flipped him over, and bashed him into three approaching Sanhous. More flooded forward, and Inuyasha snarled as he picked up the power of his attacks. He struck one so hard that he fell to the ground, then spun forward to decapitate three more. But another Sanhou came in and pounded him hard within the stomach. The Hanyou doubled over, and just in time too, for another sliced his hair, nearly missing his head. He soon was snapping back up, forced to ignore the pain in his side, to dodge two more blades coming at him from either side. But that also gave another the opportunity to smash him in the back, making his ribs strain under the stress. Furious, Inuyasha snapped an elbow back to bash him in the stomach, before swinging his fist up to smash him in the face. He then swiped a claw forward to catch another one and smash his head into an adjacent Sanhou, before leaping over the growing crowd of Sanhous and landing on another, both feet down and giving as much pain to him as possible.

However, fighting one opponent was very different from fighting a few dozen. No sooner had he landed then one greeted him with a kick in the face, and another sliced him from behind with the Saphsaiga, again causing the cold pain. He spun around and backhanded this one into the growing mass of Sanhous, but another simply stepped forward and smashed him in the face. He staggered back, right into another Sanhou who promptly held him in a full nelson. Two more came forward, and as one pounded his tender side, snapping a rib in the process, another clubbed him across the face so hard that a bloody tooth flew out. The pain was hard and strong, but only fueled Inuyasha's rage. He flung his feet up to kick the two in front away, then went back down to violently flip the one holding onto him over, throwing him into the crowd in front of him and knocking at least ten of them down.

Bringing up Tetsaiga again and having no choice, Inuyasha slashed through one on his right, blocked another on his left before swinging his blade around and cutting off his hands, and spun around to hit another. But that only left him open for another Sanhou to leap up and hit him in the back, sending him flailing forward and sliding on the ground. Other Sanhous jumped out of the way, but quickly drew their swords to beat him again. However, Inuyasha was more resilient than that. The Hanyou soon recovered, leapt up, grabbed another Sanhou by the head, and with a mighty swing smashed him into another crowd of Sanhous…making sure to break the one he had's neck in the process.

Taking up Tetsaiga again, Inuyasha ran through three that were coming at him, then kicked to the left and right together at once to knock out too more. He then had to pull his blade out and block another one, giving another the chance to rush forward and slash him across the cheek. The cold pain so ravaged him that his sight went dim in one eye, and that only gave another Sanhou the chance to kick him in the face. Not letting up, another kicked him again there, making him stagger back, and then another followed up with a hook to the face while another pounded him in the same sore side. That wound hurt bad now, and Inuyasha was so furious he snapped his head over to bite the Sanhou in the cheek, then duked another in front of him. Two more moved in and grabbed him by the arms, however, and before he could stop them another jumped forward with incredible power and kicked Inuyasha in the chest with all his might.

The Hanyou was sent flying through the air, crashing through other Sanhous all the way, before he smashed right into one of the stone pillars surrounding the field. He slumped down in a heap after doing so, bloody and beginning to grow tired. He looked up, and saw the newest Sanhous finish growing and begin to smile at him. Others cracked their knuckles and smiled mockingly at him, walking forward slowly to continue the pain.

"Why don't you just come forth and tell us where those shards are, Inuyasha?" One of them cooed.

"Or perhaps you would like to join your Youkai brethren inside Saphsaiga?" Another chuckled.

Inuyasha snarled, spitting out a wad of blood. Quickly, the Hanyou shot back to his feet, and was greeted by some fifty drawn blades in front of him. The dog demon hesitated a moment, glaring at them all and sizing them up. He looked around the battlefield a moment…but then reached a decision. Slowly, he replaced Tetsaiga back in his sheath.

"Does this mean you're giving in?" A Sanhou asked.

"You wish." Inuyasha dangerously answered. Then, he turned around, and seized the base of the stone column. He grit his teeth and struggled for a few moments against it. But then, the entire stone column cracked off, and the whole bulk shifted right into Inuyasha's arms. It was large as a heavy tree trunk, but Inuyasha easily manipulated it down to the halfway point. Then, holding his new weapon, he spun around furiously and smashed the column as hard as he could into five Sanhous. Immediately, the five went flying like chaff in the wind, sailing backwards through the sky before landing hard against the ground.

The Sanhous were likely surprised, and Inuyasha grinned.

"My turn now."

Soon, another crowd of Sanhous went flying as Inuyasha darted forward and smashed the column in to them. A few tried to approach him from more than one side, but he merely spun the column around to smack them all at once and send them flying everywhere. Another tried to leapt at him, but he twirled his column, going down to the lower part of it, before smacking the Sanhou at the length of his swing to send him flying out of the battlefield and into the forest. He then brought it down to smash another flat, then used it as a vault to jump forward and kick another in the face, sending him crashing in to others. He brought his column up after him, and swung it to either side to smack into two more Sanhous coming from either side, before swinging it around behind him to strike down four more that were coming at him. Once around, he picked up the column, grunted, and then threw it as hard as he could into another incoming mass. Not only did it drop another score of them, but the column went flying back into his grip, for him to manipulate around and smash down another.

Another managed to leap in at that point and get close to Inuyasha, but the dog demon seized him by the throat as he approached with one hand. Other Sanhous tried to move in to press the advantage, but Inuyasha merely dropped the column and kicked it out, sending it again flying into the enemy, bowling over another dozen of them, and then bouncing back into Inuyasha's grasp. As for the Hanyou, he twirled the Sanhou in his hand upside down and then threw him into another oncoming mass, sending them flying. He then grasped the column again, charged forward, and swung out. Like a child jumping into a pile of dead leaves, the Sanhous went flying. Moments later, Inuyasha snapped around to bat away yet another coming at him from behind, sending him flying back and crashing him so hard into a column that he broke the whole stone mess off. The huge structure came tumbling down on the Sanhou, momentarily burying him in rubble.

As Inuyasha continued to flog the other Sanhous, this one threw the rocks aside and wearily got himself back to his feet. He seemed a bit tired, but he also smiled. He turned his head over to the side, where another Sanhou stood at the ready near one of the flaming braziers. This one turned and looked to the former, who gave him a nod. This one smiled and nodded back, before turning to the brazier and then flinging himself on top of it. Not crying out at all, he allowed himself to be enveloped in flame and begin to burn. He didn't care at all as the fires began to burn and roast his flesh, and as he began to grow blackened and dark. All he cared about…were the little flakes of ash that soon began to fly into the air off his body…

Inuyasha, of course, didn't care. He merely continued to bat away Sanhous left and right. He smashed the column's base right into one, then gave it a quick jerk to mow down a few others. Another Sanhou came and grabbed him from behind, but he merely swung the column behind his own head to smash it into his. He continued to swing it around afterward, either sending Sanhous flying or pounding them into the ground. Soon, they began to hang back, staring into the chaos that the Hanyou wound around himself, but getting in too much pain to do anything. For a moment, Inuyasha, as he knocked one into the air and then smacked him out of it, began to think it was in the bag.

But then he caught sight of the brazier.

Sanhous poured out from the brazier like a living flood. A huge monolithic crowd poured forth, each one drawing his sword, and all coming at Inuyasha at once. More came out all the time, each one arising from even a fragment of ash. They kept coming forth continuously without end. Inuyasha stared in shock at this a moment, before growling and moving in.

Inuyasha smacked the first two away, before forcing to twirl the column off his shoulders and smack one hitting him from behind. He spun it around again to knock off more, but more were closing in now, pressing in the loop. He jabbed his column out to smack two more, then vaulted off it again to send another flying into the crowd before spinning his column through his move and smashing two more flat. The crowd kept surrounding him, pressing in and making themselves thick so that they caught each new one that came out. The dog demon twirled the column over his head, batting away Sanhous that grew too close in the head. But they soon began to realize this, and kept their distance. Eventually, Inuyasha had to stop, and now they could press their number advantage. Two jumped in at once. One on top of him in front to block his column, while another grabbed him from behind and put him in a headlock. Inuyasha angrily used the column to bat the one in front away, then clutched the other's arm around his neck. Two more quickly jumped in, grabbing him from either side. The Hanyou responded by smashing his head back into the one, then furiously whipping around to fling all three off. Another Sanhou came in and tried to swipe him with his blade, but he dodged and kicked that one out of the way. However, he bent over and left himself exposed for a moment, and another Sanhou took the opportunity to lunge forward and smash him in the face, hitting him with so much power that he was thrown back, releasing his weapon in the process. More Sanhous swarmed in and grabbed him on all sides.

Inuyasha snarled and gave a yell. He backhanded another Sanhou, jabbed one in the stomach with his elbow, bashed one in the face was the back of his fist, then seized another by the head and proceeded to start smashing the Sanhous away using his body as a weapon. He smacked away three before he was forced to throw the one into the ever-flowing crowd of Sanhous coming forth from the brazier to stave their flow. Another moved in at that and pounded him in the side. Inuyasha reeled back in pain at that, allowing two more to come up and beat him in the face. Yet another came in for the kill, stabbing with Saphsaiga. He had to move out of the way, but not before another deep cut was made in his side, draining him of more energy reserves and making his consciousness waver.

Enraged, Inuyasha had no options left. Tetsaiga was again pulled from its sheath, and he swirled it around to slice one Sanhou in front of him to ribbons. He swung it down on another side to slice up another, then slashed up to decapitate one more. But then, two managed to block him, and two more rushed in from either side. He nimbly dodged each of their blows, only to have to more stab him in either leg. Crying out again and feeling his energy being drained out of both at once, because both stayed in his legs, Inuyasha fell. Quickly, five Sanhous grabbed him and held him. Another moved in to put him in a headlock and hold him. Two more stabbed their blades into his sides, but the air was already gone from his lungs to cry out in pain. They all pressed in, making it impossible to escape. Inuyasha felt his senses growing dim again as his life began to flee him…

"Just give in, Inuyasha." One mocked.

"You can't kill us."

"We're unstoppable."

Inuyasha felt his vision go black. Everything was leaving him. It felt like he was controlling his body only vaguely and remotely. In another moment, it would be over. Hissing…feeling his full Hanyou nature nearly burst out…he summoned whatever power he still had left to himself to make one more move. He shoved his numbing talons down into the wounds that they were making…

"…If you want…my blood…then here it is…!"

In a flash, Inuyasha burst forth with everything he had left to tear his arms up and fling out long blades of blood in every direction around himself. The blow must have been strong, and perhaps held a gram of him bursting out into full Hanyou for a moment, for the Saphsaiga blades went flying from his body as well as their owners from the sheer power. The rest of the Sanhous went flying forth from him, as their blood mingled with Inuyasha's and dozens of them were sliced into ribbons, and all surrounding miko warriors went flying back and crashing into the others, causing a chain effect that sent all of them flying away. For a brief moment, all were struck down and left senseless, if not chopped into shreds, and Inuyasha alone stood, panting, bruised, bleeding, and standing in the center.

Inuyasha had never run willingly from a fight before. He'd sooner get beaten into a bloody mess of broken bones. And yet…nearly drained of life…his very memories and mentality seeming to almost have been sucked out…not even fully aware of where he was or what was going on…he finally made a wise decision. Using every bit of strength that returned to him, the Hanyou, dazzled and weak, leapt out of the mob of Sanhous and up onto one of the overhanging cliffs. The moment he landed, he wobbled and ran from the area, leaping as he did so to get farther and farther away. Soon, he was gone, and all that was left on the now silent battlefield were the Sanhous, slowly picking themselves up.

Both the old and the newest Sanhous, made by Inuyasha's final attack, began to rise after that. One of the nearest ones to where Inuyasha had been stood and spat a wad of blood to one side. He waited for the wound in his mouth to close, and he looked in the corner of his eye…expecting the blood to grow into another Sanhou. However…neither happened. His mouth continued to bleed, and the blood lay there.

The others soon rose up as well, and observed this. They looked over themselves, how they were now a division of Sanhous rather than just a team, and stewed over the latest events. One saw the blood on the ground and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you know…he pushed us to our limit."

But another looked to the trees now and smiled. "Look at him run. The brave, mighty Inuyasha…running away in terror from mere humans."

"A pleasing sight…but not nearly so much as it will be when we see Naraku flee from us." One more added.

"Well, that's unfortunately a ways off." One informed. "That Hanyou pushed us to our limit. Naraku will be worse. We'll need the shards and to defeat more demons."

"Then let's get to it. The girl named Kagome has them."

"But where is she?"

"Obviously, she's one of Inuyasha's little band. They fled to the nearest village. She's no doubt there."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

As one, the Sanhous turned and made their way off of the battlefield, revealing only Inuyasha's blood staining everything, and not so much as one of their bodies left behind.

...You probably realized by now that Sanhou was inspired by a certain film villain. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story regardless.