CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

x.

"What kind of scent?" Miroku asked, gripping his staff.

The Dog-Lord's eyes narrowed as he sniffed the air. His golden eyes narrowed. Then he turned with a growl, and leapt into the woods. Then he raced away, fast enough that Kagome hardly had time to blink before he was gone.

"Wait-" Inuyasha choked, starting to stand up. But his legs failed him, and he ended up sitting down hard.

"Inuyasha, stay still," Kagome said, grabbing his arm. "Your dad really beat you up so you'd turn back to normal."

"I have -- I need to go -- " Inuyasha coughed a bit of blood up.

"Your dad would just tell you to go back here," Kagome said firmly. "And if you didn't go, he would drag you back."

It galled Inuyasha to admit it, but it was true. He stood up unsteadily, still feeling blood tricking down his wrists and throat, and seeping down his back. He felt like hell -- he could feel where his father had thrown him against a rock face. Dammit, he thought, fingering his throat. The old man really didn't hold back on me...

Deep inside, he felt dazed that his own father had done this to him. But at the same time, there was a sort of relief. His father hadn't looked angry as he sat up. He'd looked tired, haggard, a bit peeved, but not angry. And he had sounded... relieved when he was up as well.

Or had he just been relieved that his berserk son was finally under control?

Inuyasha sagged as he stumbled along with Kagome and Miroku. He was too tired, too bloodied to think about it now. But he had a feeling that those doubts would haunt him all through the night... before or after his father returned.

x.

The Dog-Lord returned long after sunset. He stalked straight to the fire and sat down, staring into the flames. Kagome recognized his expression -- that frustrated, almost sulky look that Inuyasha got when he had failed to do something. She offered the silent demon some ramen, and he began wolfing it down as if he hadn't eaten in months.

Inuyasha was on the other side of the fire, with even more band-aids and gaze on his face, his wrists and his throat. His voice was a little raspy, but Kagome was relieved that he was no longer spitting up blood. But he hadn't said much ever since returning to the cave.

After a few minutes, the Dog-Lord sighed. "I didn't find it," he growled. "But its scent was all over that field. And..." He paused, staring at his son. "All over you."

"The scent of what?" Miroku asked.

That blank look came over the Dog-Lord's face. "I don't remember. But it's familiar."

"How is it familiar?" Sango asked. "Was it an enemy of yours from sixty years ago?"

The Dog-Lord frowned. "I don't remember."

"So... if you can't remember, how can it be familiar?" Shippo asked.

The Dog-Lord's golden eyes seemed to flame from the inside, then died away. "Familiar... but I don't know how," he growled. "It makes me think of.... fire. Fire. Stone. Smoke. Wind." His fingers tighted on the ramen cup, crushing it. "And it doesn't make me remember..."

"Do you think this demon was the one who attacked Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

"It was. I know," the Dog-Lord said tightly. "I doubt it meant for him to transform, given that he wounded it. But it meant to disarm him... and perhaps kill him."

"Why is that?" Shippo asked.

"To harm me," the Dog-Lord growled. "That was their reason... when they attacked him."

The tone of voice made a chill go down Kagome's spine. But at the same time, she felt a little relieved. He sounded angry at the idea that someone had hurt his son, and caused him to transform into a full demon. Inuyasha, she thought. Don't you see how your dad feels about you? She glanced quickly at Inuyasha, but the younger demon didn't seem to have caught on.

Instead, Inuyasha was leaning forward, listening to every word. "We'll find him," he said hoarsely.

The Dog-Lord blinked. "What?"

"We'll find this damn demon and make him talk," the younger demon rasped.

For a moment, the Dog-Lord stared at Inuyasha gravely, and Inuyasha began to wonder if he had overstepped it. But then his father nodded slightly. "We'll leave in the morning," he said. Then he retreated to his own corner of the cave, his eyes glinting as he watched the others.

TO BE CONTINUED