CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

x.

Kagome shrieked. Then silence fell over the field.

Inuyasha's scarlet eyes went wide as his father bit down into his throat. A look of shock came over his face, as if he couldn't quite grasp what was happening. Blood was trickling down to the grass, from the bite marks in his throat, and the clawed fingers digging into his wrists.

For a moment, the two demons were completely still. Then a tremor ran through Inuyasha's prone body, stiffening his limbs and curling his clawed fingers. He grunted faintly, trying to push away his father. His head jerked a little. But the Dog-Lord was immovable. He was pinning Inuyasha down, restraining his arms and legs with his own hands and feet. And now Kagome saw that he had bitten his son to keep him from head-butting.

Slowly the Dog-Lord's eyes opened, and looked at Kagome. She had the feeling he wanted her to do something, but his fangs were still locked on Inuyasha's throat.

"Kagome..." Miroku said quietly. "Go get the sword."

"Go get..... oh yes..." Kagome ran over to where Tetsusaiga was stuck in the ground, and pulled it out.

Then she slowly approached where the Dog-Lord had Inuyasha pinned down. The crazed Inuyasha was twitching and pushing at his father's larger body. But he wasn't having any luck. The Dog-Lord was too big and too strong to just be pushed away, even by Inuyasha at his most powerful. She just hoped he could keep Inuyasha restrained... just a little longer.

Kagome could feel the Dog-Lord's grim golden eyes following her. She crept over to Inuyasha's outstretched hand. His wicked-looking claws were curled almost into a fist. But as she came closer, his fingers curled out. She stopped, shivering. How could she give him the sword without getting too close?

Gingerly, she gripped Tetsusaiga's blade and lowered the hilt toward Inuyasha's groping hand. He clutched at it, and the livid red in his eyes began to fade. A pulse ran through his body....

x.

The first thing Inuyasha felt was his father's fangs, biting deep into his throat.

He didn't know how it had happened -- his last memories were hazy thoughts of something fast and unseen attacking him. He felt a spike of fear. For a few moments, he was sure that his father was trying to kill him -- and that he had no chance of fending the old man off.

Had he ticked off the older demon that badly, with the comment about his human heritage? He didn't know. But he did know that a ring of hot pain was circling his neck, and smaller ones on his wrists where his father was holding him down. And that his father was practically lying on top of him, keeping him helpless as a baby.

He managed to draw in a breath. "F-Father..." he whispered.

He felt his father tense. Then the Dog-Lord released his bite, and sat up, straddling Inuyasha's stomach. Blood was smeared on his lips, and his golden eyes were still blazing. Inuyasha didn't dare to move again.

"You gave me a hard time," the older demon said. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, then licked a smear of blood from his fangs.

It was slowly dawning on Inuyasha that his father wasn't angry. The Dog-Lord stood up with a grunt, and held his hand down to his son. After a moment's hesitation, Inuyasha took it, and let his father yank him up to his feet. He felt dizzy and sick, and he could feel blood trickling down his neck and wrists. His head and ribs ached as well, where his father had smashed into him.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome came rushing up to him. "Are you all right?"

"I-I think so," Inuyasha said. He didn't say it, but he was glad Kagome was there. She was already dabbing the blood from his neck. "What the hell was going on?"

"You lost Tetsusaiga in a fight," Kagome said. "And then you transformed. Your dad had to really beat you up to keep you from killing us."

So that was it. Inuyasha felt slightly better, although again he cringed at how his father had seen him -- completely insane, unable to handle the demon blood that his father had given him.

Then they both looked at the Dog-Lord.

He was standing with his back to them, squinting off into the distance. He sniffed the air, then grimaced. "I remember this scent," he growled.

TO BE CONTINUED