Chapter Two
Inu-Yasha gazed thoughtfully at the stars. It was now dark, and he was lying on top of Kaede's hut. He turned his head when he heard Shippou's claws scratch the roof just slightly.
"How is he?" Inu-Yasha asked, as Shippou sat down beside him.
"The bleeding's stopped, but Kaede said that he's got a high fever. I don't think she's seen wounds as severe before." Shippou murmured.
"I know. Only our father, Inu-Taisho, could have given Sesshomaru those wounds. I think we're in over our heads this time." Inu-Yasha admitted.
"You really think so?" Shippou asked, amazed that Inu-Yasha had actually admitted such a thing. The hanyou nodded.
"It doesn't matter how strong I become with the Tetsusaiga, or how strong Sesshomaru will be when he recovers, Inu-Taisho would be able to grind our bones into powder without even having to think about it." Inu-Yasha said, grimly.
"Whoa………….." Shippou muttered, then lapsed into silence. It was a few moments before he spoke again.
"I understand how Naraku could control Sango's brother, but how could he have enough power to control the former Lord of the Western Lands?" Shippou asked.
"I don't know. I wish I knew." Inu-Yasha said, as he resumed gazing silently at the stars.
Naraku smiled, pleased with his work. There, standing before him, was Inu-Taisho himself, in all his former majesty. Long, waist-length, silver hair, silver armor with a katana at his side and a pelt draped over his shoulder. Yet the golden eyes were unfocused and dull; they had no life in them whatsoever.
"It took a lot of power to bring you back, Inu-Taisho, and I almost lost control of you when I did. Yet now I have complete control, thanks to the collar around your neck. You will follow my every command to the letter." Naraku thought, then looked directly into the unfocused eyes.
"You will go and find Sesshomaru. Finish him off. Return with the Tokijin, leave Tenseiga. If anyone tries to stop you, kill them as well." Naraku commanded.
"Yes, Naraku-sama." Inu-Taisho murmured, his voice as dead as his eyes. Within seconds Inu-Taisho was gone.
"Soon. Soon you will see what a mistake you made in crossing me, Sesshomaru." Naraku thought, as the howl of a transformed dog youkai split the night air.
Sesshomaru awoke to the feeling of a soft hand against his brow. He was a bit surprised to see Sango sitting alongside him.
"What are you doing, wench?" Sesshomaru asked, his voice frustratingly soft and weak.
"Keeping an eye on you till Kagome-chan and Inu-Yasha get back." Sango replied, backing up a little when the youkai tried to move, but found that he was still far too weak to do anything.
"Where did they go?" Sesshomaru asked, with a tiny bit of curiosity in his voice.
"Back to Kagome-chan's time to get some more 'first-aid' supplies. Inu-Yasha seems to be really worried about you." Sango said, noting the surprise in the wounded youkai's eyes.
"Him? Worried about me? He should save his strength." Sesshomaru grumbled, then asked, "Where am I, anyway?"
"We're in a village not far from where we found you. Sesshomaru-sama, do you know where the little girl and the toad are? They should know that you are all right." Sango said, quietly. Sesshomaru's eyes widened for a moment, then an unusual softness appeared in them.
"Rin……………………Rin! She's still back there!" Sesshomaru said, suddenly finding the strength to sit up and try to get out of the makeshift bed he'd been placed in.
"Lie still! You'll reopen your wounds if you keep at it!" Sango said, as she placed both hands on the youkai lord's shoulders, forgetting for a moment who she was trying to subdue.
"But………………Rin is……………" Sesshomaru whispered, before lapsing back into unconsciousness, and falling back onto the bed.
"Sango, how is he?" Kaede asked, as she entered the room, with some bandages and herbs in her arms.
"He's unconscious again. He'd said something about someone named Rin before passing out, but I don't know who he was talking about." Sango replied.
"It must be that child he has been looking after. Where has Miroku gotten to?" Kaede asked, changing the subject as she sat down to change Sesshomaru's bandages.
"I think he's keeping an eye out for youkai. He feels the same way I do about this situation. There could be more trouble on the way." Sango murmured, as she watched the youkai lord sleep.
"Oh, there is no doubt in my mind that there is trouble ahead, child. If Naraku is involved, then the trouble will be very great, indeed." Kaede said, as some concern emerged in her only remaining eye. Outside, Miroku scanned the horizon, looking for anything that seemed out of place. He froze when he heard a deep-throated howl far off in the distance, and shuddered at the blood-curdling note in it.
"That wasn't a wolf that I'd heard just now. It was something bigger…………" Miroku thought, his face paling at the thought of what it could be.
"Kaede, Sango, I think we'd better get ready to move." Miroku warned, not even turning around to look into the hut as he said that.
"What did ye hear, Houshi-sama?" Kaede asked, as she emerged from the hut and stood alongside the monk.
"Listen." Miroku replied, simply. Moments later, the bone-chilling howl sounded again, closer now than it had been before, yet still a good distance off.
"I think ye are right, Houshi-sama, yet Sesshomaru-sama is too badly injured to be moved. Ye would be taking a mighty risk to move him from here so soon." Kaede said, flinching when what appeared to be a strong wind blew past her.
"What the…………?!" Sango yelped, as the living whirlwind known as Kouga skidded to a halt in front of her.
"Where's Kagome?!" Kouga asked, frantically.
"In her own time, why do you want to know?" Sango asked, in turn. Kouga appeared to breathe a sigh of relief, and calm down slightly.
"There's something you guys need to know. Something Inu-Koro needs to know, too. My pack and I have sighted his sire, Inu-Taisho, late Lord of the Western Lands, heading this way. There's bloodlust in his eyes." Kouga said, with a gravity in his tone that Sango had never heard before.
"That's all Naraku's doing. That bastard simply can't let the dead rest in peace." Sango growled, angrily. Kouga nodded in understanding.
"I agree with you there, human. And it appears that the current Lord of the Western Lands would agree with ya as well, if he could." Kouga said, for once in his life sounding very mature and rational. Sango nodded and looked down at the unconscious youkai lord.
"Will you stay and fight alongside us, Kouga? We could use all the help we can get at this point." Miroku said, as he joined the pair in the hut.
"Nah. I've done my part by warning ya. Tell Kagome to keep safe for me, will ya?" Kouga asked, as he prepared to leave.
"We'll tell her." Sango promised. Kouga let slip a relieved smile, before he was gone again into the night.
"It's a good thing he decided to come and warn us. If the wolves could see Sesshomaru's father, then he must be on his way here. But what are they after?" Miroku asked.
"Tokijin……………….." Sesshomaru muttered, softly. Both humans looked down upon the youkai lord in shock. For a moment, Sesshomaru's eyelids fluttered, then opened to reveal his fever-glazed golden eyes.
"Your sword, Sesshomaru-sama? Why does Naraku want it?" Sango asked, even though she had a feeling of what his answer would be.
"He wants it's power………………..in order to destroy…………….all those who stand in his way………………….For what purpose…………..I don't know." Sesshomaru gasped, as sweat beaded on his pale brow.
"I certainly hope we don't find out." Miroku muttered, as he turned his gaze to the window, knowing that they were all in a dangerous position at that moment. And in the distance, the howls were coming ever closer………..
Inu-Yasha sniffed the air, as he and Kagome climbed out of the Bone-Eater's Well.
"You seem awfully cautious tonight, Inu-Yasha." Kagome commented, as she hefted her backpack onto her shoulders.
"Gotta be. If it's true that my father is out there somewhere, then we've got to be careful. He was a powerful, cunning youkai in his day, and there is no doubt in my mind that Naraku is using that to his advantage." Inu-Yasha murmured, stiffening when he heard a howl in the distance.
"Inu-Yasha…………..what was that?" Kagome asked, unnerved by the sound.
"Even though my memories of him are vague, I know that howl………He's heading for the village!" Inu-Yasha muttered, as he dashed off; barely giving Kagome time to grab onto his shoulders before he did so. They got to Kaede's hut in record breaking speed.
"Kaede-baba! Miroku! Sango! Get Sesshomaru ready to go! We've gotta leave now!" Inu-Yasha shouted, as he skidded to a halt in front of the hut.
"But your sire is still a good ways off. Surely we have time……….!" Kaede started, then stopped when she saw the grim look in Inu-Yasha's eyes.
"Don't underestimate Inu-Taisho. Just because he's under Naraku's control doesn't make him any slower. If anything, he's even more powerful now than he was in life." Inu-Yasha said, as he went into the hut and carefully lifted Sesshomaru from his bed. The full-blooded youkai grimaced as Inu-Yasha moved him, but managed to look directly into his eyes for a brief moment.
"Inu-Yasha……………..why are you risking your life to save mine?" Sesshomaru asked, his voice soft and pain-filled.
"I can't just leave you here to get killed by our father. Nobody deserves that kind of fate." Inu-Yasha replied, as he moved his elder brother as carefully as he could.
"Fool…………I'll only slow you down……….take your wench and the rest away from here……….I'll hold him off……….." Sesshomaru said, with cold determination in his voice, as he struggled out of his younger brother's grasp, then valiantly stood on his own.
"Don't be stupid, Sesshomaru! You'll only throw your own life away! You should know better than anyone how powerful Inu-Taisho is!" Inu-Yasha argued, for some reason not willing to leave his elder brother behind to face certain death. Sesshomaru gave Inu-Yasha a stern look.
"I know. And I also know that I don't stand a chance against him. Yet you stand even less of a chance. Don't make me say it again, Inu-Yasha. Take your group and run. Don't look back." Sesshomaru growled, as he limped over, retrieved his swords from the far wall, and tucked them into his sash.
"Why? Why are you doing this?" Inu-Yasha asked, dumbfounded by his half-brother's actions. Sesshomaru shrugged.
"I don't know………..I'm asking myself that same question." Sesshomaru murmured, not even turning around to face his brother before he walked out of the hut.
"Inu-Yasha?" Kaede asked, when she saw that the hanyou was still standing there, looking at a loss for what to do.
"What should I do, Kaede-baba? I can't convince the stubborn bastard to come with us!" Inu-Yasha growled, in frustration.
"I think we should follow his advice, Inu-Yasha. He's a proud, stubborn youkai, and forcing him to come along with us will only wound his pride and further estrange you." Kaede said, knowingly.
"Yeah, I know, but what good is preserving his pride if all he's gonna do is throw his life away?" Inu-Yasha asked, yet moved out of the hut anyway. Once outside, he could see that Sesshomaru was standing some distance away from Miroku, Sango, Kagome and Shippou, and that Kirara was standing beside him.
"What's going on with Kirara? Why is she standing next to him?" Inu-Yasha wondered, as he watched the pair.
"I think he's giving Kirara some last minute instructions. Making sure we don't come back for him." Kagome murmured, unwittingly answering the hanyou's thoughts.
"I never thought of Sesshomaru as being a brave warrior, but he's certainly acting like one now. His demeanor is different from before." Sango mused, as they watched Sesshomaru look down at Kirara one last time, then send her back to the group. Before Kirara could get to them, however, a blast of wind knocked everyone to the ground. Even Sesshomaru was felled by the wind.
"He's here!" Miroku shouted, his eyes wide with something almost akin to fear as the form of a huge dog youkai materialized before them.
"Yeah……………and look who's with 'im." Inu-Yasha muttered, when he saw who rode on the late youkai lord's head.
"Kohaku……….." Sango whispered, as she watched the boy jump down from his seat and face them, his kusari-gama in hand as he did so. Kagome's attention, however, was on Sesshomaru; he was struggling to get to his feet, even as Inu-Taisho swiped at him with his massive clawed paws.
"Oh, no! If he doesn't transform, he won't stand a snowball's chance in……………..!" Myoga yelped, then was cut off when he got squished by a slightly miffed Kagome.
"And just where have you been, Myoga?" Kagome asked, her expression deadpan as she said that.
"Uh…………..getting a season pass to one of your 'theme parks'?" Myoga replied, meekly. Kagome rolled her eyes in exasperation. The moment was broken when Sesshomaru abruptly transformed into his true form and faced his father.
"He's missing a leg!" Sango yelped, when she'd noticed Sesshomaru's handicap and, in this case, his weakness.
"And to add to it, he's been pretty badly injured as well. Those wounds of his could not have healed that quickly, even for him." Kaede mused, as she watched father and son face off.
"This isn't going to be pretty…………." Inu-Yasha thought, as he tensely watched the showdown. With loud roars, both dog youkai leaped at one another, with their fangs and claws bared.
"For having such a handicap, Sesshomaru seems to be able to move well." Sango said, as she watched the fight and dodged Kohaku's attacks at the same time.
"He's had time to get used to it. That's how he's able to move so quickly without losing his balance." Kagome thought, then gasped when Sesshomaru missed Inu-Taisho's throat and snapped at empty air. He yowled in pain when the larger dog youkai buried his fangs deep into his left shoulder.
"Sesshomaru!" Inu-Yasha shouted, eyes wide with alarm as he watched his brother fall to the ground, his shoulder gushing blood from the new wound.
"Inu-Yasha……………get out of here……………I can't hold him off for too much longer!" Sesshomaru's voice said, in Inu-Yasha's mind.
"Like hell!" Inu-Yasha replied, stubbornly, as he deflected Kohaku's kusari-gama with the Tetsusaiga, then leaped in and swiped at Inu-Taisho's face. His vain attempt to drive the bigger youkai back worked, to some extent; he managed to get some ground between the downed Sesshomaru, and the snarling Inu-Taisho.
"Hey, I don't know if you remember me or not, and I don't give a damn! But you've gotta at least see that you're attacking your own flesh and blood!" Inu-Yasha cried, trying to reach his father by talking.
"Inu-Yasha,………………..what are you doing?!" Sesshomaru asked, as he struggled to get back to his feet.
"What's it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to see if I can reach him!" Inu-Yasha replied, in kind.
"It won't work. Naraku has too strong a hold over him." Sesshomaru said, as he finally stood back up, swaying a little when he did so.
"Heh, watch. All the stories about Inu-Taisho will be proven false if he doesn't come out of this on his own. 'Sides, I don't intend to fail this time. I couldn't reach Kikyo; so I sure as hell am not going to lose my own father!" Inu-Yasha retorted, mentally, not moving an inch when the former youkai lord slashed at him.
"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome yelped, horrified when she saw how close that attack had come to striking the hanyou. Inu-Taisho turned his head when he heard Kagome's voice, and he focused his attention on her.
"No you don't! You're not making her your target, puppet of Naraku!" Inu-Yasha shouted, his words meant to insult the former lord. What Inu-Yasha's words were meant to do, Sesshomaru backed them with action. He put himself directly between Kagome and Inu-Taisho and growled fiercely.
"Your fight is with me, Father. Not the hanyou or the wench." Sesshomaru said, directing his mental voice to his once-dead sire. Kagome watched as Inu-Taisho backed up a little, then launched himself at Sesshomaru's throat. With a move that was spurred by desperation, Sesshomaru moved a fraction of an inch, and clamped down on Inu-Taisho's left ear when his head had moved past. The dog youkai bellowed with rage and, just as quickly, turned his head and grabbed Sesshomaru by the neck in his massive jaws.
"Sesshomaru!!" Kagome cried, in horror, as the young Lord of the Western Lands cried out in pain and struggled to get free. He went limp when Inu-Taisho put more pressure on his neck.
"Sesshomaru!" Inu-Yasha shouted, watching in numb shock as his brother's lifeless body fell from Inu-Taisho's bloodied jaws. Without even fully realizing it, Kagome found herself racing to get to the fallen youkai's side, joining a dumbstruck Inu-Yasha who had had the same thought in mind.
"Sesshomaru…………." Inu-Yasha muttered, as he kneeled down beside his fallen brother.
"Inu……………Yasha…………….run…………" Sesshomaru said, as blood bubbled from the deep neck wound and from his mouth.
"Don't give up! You've gotta live, Sesshomaru-san!" Kagome shouted, as she tried in vain to stop the bleeding.
"Leave me……….Don't look back…………." Sesshomaru's mental voice gasped.
"No way. I'm not leaving you here to be gloated over by Naraku when you're dead. You're going with us even if I have to drag you across this whole damn land!" Inu-Yasha growled, as he took a defensive stance between Sesshomaru and Inu-Taisho. To his surprise, Kagome did the same.
"Kagome?!" Inu-Yasha wondered, as the girl took aim with her bow.
"Kagome, what're you doing?! He'll kill you!" Shippou yelped, when he saw that Kagome was in the line of fire. But Inu-Yasha could see what his companions could not; it wasn't Inu-Taisho Kagome was aiming at, it was the collar that was around the dog youkai's neck!
"If I can hit that collar, I'm sure I can free him! I just have to hit it in the right spot….." Kagome thought, as she let loose her arrow. Through fading vision, Sesshomaru watched as the arrow burst into pure, white hot flames before it struck the collar that he was only now noticing.
"The wench………….has the right idea…………" Sesshomaru thought, before the last of his consciousness slipped away.
Naraku snarled when he saw that the spell he'd had over Inu-Taisho was broken so quickly.
"But Sesshomaru is as good as dead. Those wounds will kill him." Naraku thought, then issued the order for Kohaku to return to the palace.