O muse, o alto ingegno, or m'alutate; o mente che scrivesti ciò ch'io vidi, qui si parrà la tua nobilitate.

O muses, O high genius now assist me! O memory, that didst write down what I saw, here thy nobility shall be manifest!

Legacy - Rise and Fall of the Western Lands

The End of the Cats and the Beginning of the Legacy

When Inutaisho had rested, he awoke to the bite of Myouga on his chin. The bite felt like a small thorn. Inutaisho slowly opened his golden eyes, letting his eyes adjust to the harsh sun streaming through the doorway. He pulled Myouga from him and turned onto his stomach. His armor was off and he wore a simple white kimono. His muscles hurt and his knuckles bled. Inutaisho opened his eyes again and realized that a large meal sat before him with a bowl of rice and some organic drink in another bowl.

"Good to see you awake, my liege," Myouga spoke with a humble tone. His black hair was held on the sides of his head while the top was bald and shining. He wasn't much bigger than the big toe of Inutaisho. Yet when he drank blood, he grew bigger with the fill.

"Yes, any news of the neko?" Inutaisho asked.

"Actually, there have been some attacks. On one of the bodies your soldiers found — don't give that look, the peasants were of the South, humans, sire — anyway, here is the note, I shall read it to you:

You have failed your attempt at killing Oyakata-sama.

With this attempt to kill him, you should understand,

we will be back to finish this duel with your death.

Prepare, Inu no Taisho, for the Neko no Taisho will extract his revenge.

Toran."

"That can't be; the cat spilt more blood than possible to survive," Inutaisho stated to his servant.

"That may be true, but there is something strange about that youkai. I've seen these youkai in action. If Oyakata-sama is wounded, he has the power to use the souls of the dead to heal him. Perhaps he wasn't dead when they left with his body as we thought. Perhaps that was the point of the bodies killed in the South."

Inutaisho sat up on his elbows. "Get my armor and Sou'unga."

"You mustn't use Sou'unga. If you are in rage, sadness, or any reflection of pride, he will possess you. Do not make it out to be the ultimate power because the ultimate power is the control over yourself to not use it," Myouga told his master, his arms crossed.

"Besides, the sword also has the control to overpower one's mind. You saw that when you clenched the sword in your hand. I suggest you win this battle with your own might and the company of your soldiers, my lord."

Inutaisho slumped his shoulders forward and began to shake his head. "I'm afraid, Myouga. More than ever now that I know father isn't here to tell me that I can win, that I can beat these youkai."

Myouga nodded and ordered a passing maid to get the master's armor. "I suggest battle plans, your best warriors." He left the room with a few leaps from his tiny legs and body.

Around the time when the moon was at it's highest, illuminating the earth with a silver glow, Oyakata and the Hyounekozoku returned. Wicked laughter came through their lips and their golden eyes gleamed in the moon's light. Oyakata led the vagabonds over the ledge and to the court, his eyes large and his human form red with excitement and rage. He seemed to have healed in the hours on which he had been absent.

Save for his right eye.

He could not resurrect a new eye with the dead souls. He was scarred for the rest of his days.

Inutaisho, whom had taken to resting woke with a start and went out into the court to meet again the neko-youkai. He wore his armor, passed down to him when he had turned the age two-hundred fifty. He did not hold Sou'unga, his father's words and Myouga jii-chan's words resonated inside him.

A lightning bolt flashed out of nowhere and struck the building Inutaisho stood in front of.

"I am sorry, Father. I missed him," Shuran, the large neko, apologized whom had carried the bodies of his peasants. He was also slow with his magical attacks. The other three, Toran, Shuran, and Karan, stood behind him.

"Lord of the Dogs," Oyakata began, pushing Shuran away, "prepare, for this is the night on which you will die. For I have painted my blood on it and so it shall be mine."

Inutaisho laughed, "Do you petrify me with your words? Blood is not the way to gain this land. For killing brings neither valor, nor honor, nor decency."

Oyakata created an uproar amongst the feline demons. "Valor? Honesty? Decency! Even your own kith consider you an unreliable to this kingdom in which your forefathers have created. You who are to have been a valiant warrior as to lead your people speak of peace when the only thing this land wants is a fight in which to crown their king!"

Inutaisho flexed his middle and index fingers and thumb inward and folded his ring and small finger into his palm. "If you want a fight, Oyakata then so be it." Inutaisho charged him and sliced at his arm.

Oyakata became angry and sliced towards Inutaisho with both sets of claws. Inutaisho dodged most but was swiped a few times on his cheeks.

Oyakata leapt backwards and began to transform into his true form. Spikes had begun to form out of his elbows and knees. They grew larger as he transformed and one began to form on his forehead. Inutaisho wasted no time into changing into his. When he had reached his true form, Oyakata had already begun to claw at him. He immediately bit towards Oyakata's neck and searched for his throat. When he had found it and clamped down with his large white teeth, Oyakata gave a gurgled sound. Karan and Shunran immediately induced their magical attacks towards Inutaisho.

Inutaisho, though, barely felt the small pricks on his thick white fur and tough skin. The attacks only caused him to bite deeper onto Oyakata's throat until he began to draw trickles of blood down Oyakata's plain brown hair. His golden eyes became glazed and rolled back into his head. Inutaisho's eyes pulsed a dark red, his youkai blood pumping towards evil. His white fur showed droplets of red from the lightning and fire blasted at him. It didn't matter though, just a little more.

Then it was done.

Oyakata gave a sigh as his neck snapped under the teeth of Inutaisho. Toran screamed and ran towards the large youkai. As she ran closer their bodies began to revolt back to their human form. Inutaisho let go of Oyakata's throat and wiped the blood away from his mouth which had spilt from him.

He realized that Oyakata had cut up his legs and arms deep. Inutaisho dropped to the ground with a deep sigh.

"Chichi-ue!" Toran cried alongside Karan.

"No!" Shunran cried in Shuran's arms.

Toran charged at the kneeling leader. "You murderer. You have robbed him of his life again!"

Inutaisho smiled as she neared him, her unnatural beauty and icy white hair down along the middle of her back, gleamed under the moon. "And nothing can bring him back, not even a soul from a death such as that. Slicing his artery and breaking his neck."

Toran spit on his face, on his left cheek. "Yes, something can bring him back. Something that he has wanted since your father's campaign. Sou'unga, Hell's patron."

She ran as fast as she could to the room where Sou'unga resonated with his red glow. Inutaisho yelled out for his soldiers to kill her. She mustn't have Sou'unga. The soldiers went after her, but she threw spikes of thick ice towards them, killing but a few. She had just reached the building when Urasue stepped out in front of Toran, a candle in her hand. Toran stopped her sprint and fell backwards away from the witch. Urasue's eyes pulsed onto Toran and she began screams of pain as her own face became a strange color of green and brown. The candle showed the color and Toran tore at her face.

"I have seen you, Toran, as you watch yourself at night through the pools of water in the East. How you comb your hair with your fingers and pride on your magic of the freezing of water. Now you will be ugly and fear the lakes of water and stray from the comb!"

"No!" she screamed. The green and brown disappeared, yet her face lost it's innocence and became coarse and scars formed on her cheeks. Her hair formed split ends and grew grey and dirty under the light of the candle and moon. Inutaisho watched in horror as Toran stood and cried under the roughness of her skin. She covered her face with her forearms and ran past Inutaisho and her followers. Karan and Shuran managed to gather the body and took to running out of the kingdom while Shunran used spells to help their escape. Inutaisho's soldiers managed to kill all of the neko-youkai whom were without charms and took to gathering the bodies in a heap to burn.

Inutaisho was helped up by the servants of the castle and taken to his quarters where he was bathed in hot water and given enough food for fifteen youkai. Myouga entered the room and kept him company throughout the night.

"A fine battle plan, my liege. I should hope that your kingdom would begin to appreciate your courage and strength," he smiled.

Inutaisho turned, "I could care less for those fools. Leave, Myouga jii-chan. I'm tired," he sighed and closed his eyes.

"Yes, my Lord. Oh, and by the way, Sou'unga has been taken to the Savage Garden. Where the great tree Goshinboku, the Tree of Ages, grows."

"Why there?"

"It wishes to reside there. I do not know why, my Lord."

"And so you grant this wish?" Inutaisho's face grew hot with agitation as he still could not move his aching limbs. "Bring the sword back and keep it hidden under sheets so its light may not shine through. You are a fool to even let the thing out of the kingdom, Myouga jii-chan. I would think you more intelligent than listening to a sword."

"Twas not my idea to let the sword go, twas your lady, Urasue's. She spoke that sword spoke to her to leave. She leads the men right now to the deep South."

"My lady? Hardly. Return my comrades and keep Urasue outside the gates. I have not a use for her anymore, as I have defeated my enemies."

"Yes, Master." Myouga left the room to stop the march to the Savage Garden of Goshinboku.

Author's Notes:

new edit:

Egad! I didn't know I had mixed up the names of Shunran and Shuran... I feel kind of bad because he's so big and she'll so small... Lots of grammical errors and missed words...

Gosh it feels so good to be writing again. It took me awhile to get back up here, considering I've been reading Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicals (which I highly recommend). I was hoping more people would atleast review... I don't want to resort to the no reviews, no updates like I had first wanted to do... but I know that a lot of people hate that, as I am one of them. I hope that the people who have read this though do take the minute to review even if it is a flame. I love flames because then I get to argue about why I made it as it was...

I'll try to get the next chapter up by this coming Friday though I wouldn't want to rush it because then I write very short chapters and no one likes them...

P.S. By the way, these last two chapters have to do with episodes 74, 75, & 76 when it speaks of the Inu no Taisho killing Oyakata-sama. Sorry if the writing is a little off of the anime and manga, but I like it to be different.

Nikki