Inu-Yasha

A Feudal Fairy Tale


Disclaimer: This episode of Inu-Yasha is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Inu-Yasha. "Inu-Yasha" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1998-2003 Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc. Inu-Yasha is a trademark of Viz Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.


A Change of Heart
Scroll Eight:
The Joining of Forces


A few hours after Inu-Yasha and Sesshô-maru's encounter, the slowly growing group is traveling northward, following Kikyo's intuition about finding more Shikon Jewel shards. The inu hanyou and miko know that the more shards they can find, the more likely they will have an encounter with Naraku or one of his 'offspring' who can lead them to him. The only member of the group who wholeheartedly disagrees with this joining also happens to be the smallest of them.

'Lord Sesshô-maru must be insane,' the small toad youkai Jaken thinks to himself. 'Allying himself with his filthy half-breed bother Inu-Yasha.I refuse to believe he has done this by his own choosing!' He quickly glances up ahead at Kikyo, who is walking alongside the aforementioned hanyou. His bulbous yellow eyes narrow in suspicion. 'It must be her!' his mind hisses. 'She must be using some kind of miko trickery to influence Lord Sesshô-maru to come along with them! I must put a stop to this!'

He slows his pace inconspicuously so he falls behind the group. He takes a quick glance ahead to make sure nobody has noticed and when he is satisfied, he lifts up his staff and slams it onto the ground. Both the tiny woman and old man's heads come to life, opening their mouths as energy begins to form in them. With a look of determination in his eyes, the strange little youkai lifts the staff back into the air and points it directly at Kikyo. "For the good of my Lord Sesshô-maru," he mutters before releasing the blast.

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Up ahead, Inu-Yasha and the miko are calmly talking to one another. "I'm not too sure about this Kikyo," the hanyou mutters, trying to keep his voice low enough so his older brother a short distance behind him won't hear. "We've never gotten along before, never! Why the hell would he want to join us now? Is he trying to get close so he can kill me or something?"

Kikyo gently places a hand on the inu hanyou's shoulder, her touch instantly calming him down. "Inu-Yasha, I believe there is more to this than a simple despising of one another."

"What do you mean Ki..." he trails off as a sound from behind distracts him. Acting quickly, he moves the miko aside and unsheathes the Tetsusaiga. The incoming energy blast is a few feet from him when a large white blur suddenly appears in front of him and takes the blast full force. Inu-Yasha shields his eyes for a brief moment and when he uncovers them, he sees Sesshô-maru standing in front of him, his demon sword, the Tokijin unsheathed and smoking slightly.

Without a simple word to his younger brother, the youkai lord swiftly walks up to his servant, who is now cowering in fear at the look his master is now giving him. Sesshô-maru slowly sheathes his sword, his death glare never leaving Jaken. In the blink of an eye, the toad youkai's staff is in his master's hand. He swiftly hits his servant over the head, knocking him onto the ground hard. "Behave yourself Jaken, or you will find your head to be removed from the rest of your body," he calmly, yet dangerously says.

"Y-Y-Y-Yes Lord Sesshô-maru!" he sputters out, his entire body shaking madly. 'This proves it!' his mind hisses in anger. 'Why would my Lord Sesshô-maru protect that filthy half-breed and dead miko and strike me down? There is foul trickery afoot and I will stop this madness as soon as possible!'

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At the front of the group, Sesshô-maru calmly walks on with Rin happily trotting by his side, holding the harness for the large two headed flying youkai that they occasionally ride. The young girl keeps on looking up at her youkai 'father' and giggles every so often. After the fifth time, it begins to rake on the inu youkai's nerve. When Rin looks up at him again, Sesshô-maru quickly snaps his head towards here, giving the child a penetrating gaze and startling her. "What is it Rin?" he sharply asks. "Why do you keep on looking at me and then laughing? I am growing annoyed."

"Lord Sesshô-maru, you were very nice to help your brother and the nice lady," she plainly states.

The lord of the western lands stays silent for a moment. "Do not mistake my action for concern over their well-being," he answers after the brief pause. "I was simply stopping Jaken from making a foolish mistake, nothing more."

"Okay Lord Sesshô-maru," the child responds, though she begins to giggle again.

The inu youkai holds in a sigh that is longing to come out and quietly walks on, although his mind is currently working in overdrive. 'Why did I help them?' he wonders. 'Inu-Yasha could have easily deflected that blast on his own, yet I helped. I do not even recall thinking about assisting, my body seemed to move on its own. Could it be that I do not hate that half breed as much as I had originally believed?' He mentally shakes his head. 'No, that is impossible. What I told Rin is the absolute truth.' With that little piece of uncertainty on his mind, Sesshô-maru walks on with the entire group right behind him.

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A rather good distance north outside of the valley, Kagome and company are calmly walking along a dirt path in a large field. The young woman from the future feels better and better with each step she takes away from the valley where she has gone through so much angst about her true feelings for Inu-Yasha and his departure with Kikyo. Then there was Naraku's attack and then finding out that Inu-Yasha is still after Shikon Jewel shards…but now with the miko who died fifty years ago.

Her thoughts are interrupted by Koga stopping in his tracks. She looks up at him curiously. "Hey...what's wrong?"

The rest of the group stops as well. The ookami youkai just stares straight ahead, his eyes narrowing slightly. A few seconds later, two figures emerge from the forest ahead, both hurriedly moving towards Koga. As they get closer, everybody recognizes them as two youkais from Koga's tribe. One of them, with a white hair spiked into a Mohawk, kneels over, catching his breath while the other one, with gray and black hair, speaks up, "Koga! Oh man, we're so glad we found you!"

"What's up guys?" his eyes go wide as he catches the scent of blood, ookami blood. He grabs his nearest comrade and pulls him up close. "What's going on? Why do you two smell like ookami blood?"

"T-T-The Harpies!" the gray and black haired youkai stutters. "They're back!"

Koga drops the other ookami, shaking his head. "Impossible! We went through their mountain and destroyed every last harpy! We killed them all!"

The other one with the spiked Mohawk takes his turn. "Yeah, but we think there was a hidden nest or something, and these ones are different. They're bigger, faster and stronger, and we're having trouble fighting them! We called our brothers from the northern tribe to help, but we're still struggling! We need your help Koga!"

The leader of the eastern tribes turns to his newfound traveling companions, a serious look in his blue eyes. "Sorry guys, but my tribe needs me." He gets ready to rush off, but a hand on his shoulder stops him. He turns to see Kagome smiling at him.

"Hey," she softly begins, "you're a part of the group now, so we're going with you, right guys?" Miroku, Sango and Shippô all nod vigorously. "Okay then, let's get going!"

Koga smirks widely at her. He kneels down to allow her to climb onto his back with the small kitsune in her arms while Kirara transforms so Sango and Miroku can ride atop of her. Everyone nods quickly before running off to save the ookami tribes.

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Inu-Yasha and his new traveling companions pause for a short break, young Rin complaining that she's hungry and wants some food. Kikyo places the small basket of food and supplies the inu hanyou found for her down onto the ground and rummages through it, looking for something to quench the little girl's hunger. She finds some rice that was leftover from earlier and hands it to Rin, who happily takes it and eats up the rice very quickly. The young girl walks up to Sesshô-maru and tugs on his pant leg, getting his attention. "Rin is thirsty too!"

"There's a small river nearby," Inu-Yasha answers, his dog-ears twitching slightly. "Its a little ways over there," he points to the east, into a small forest area. He starts to walk over to them, when his older brother stops him with a look.

"Do not bother yourself Inu-Yasha," the full-blooded youkai begins in his calm collective voice, "I will escort Rin to the river. Jaken, you stay here, we will return shortly." And with that, the two depart, leaving the little gama, his two headed flying youkai, Kikyo and Inu-Yasha behind.

The bulbous eyed little youkai takes one look at the hanyou and miko, then snorts derisively and turns his back to them. A shadow suddenly covers him from behind and he turns around to see Inu-Yasha glaring down at him, his arms crossed and a not too happy look on his face. "What do you want you filthy little half-breed?!" he snarls out, well as much of a snarl as his squeaky voice can make. Jaken then yelps in pain as a clawed fist collides with the top of his head, causing a rather large bump to form. "Why did you do that?!"

"Why the hell did you attack Kikyo and me a little bit ago you stupid gama?!" the inu hanyou shoots back, his sharp golden eyes blazing in anger.

"Isn't it obvious?" the little gama asks, his abnormally large eyes narrowing. "That no good miko of yours is influencing Lord Sesshô-maru somehow! I just know it!"

Kikyo slowly walks up to him and stands side by side with Inu-Yasha. "I am doing no such thing to your master," she replies. "He has joined us of his own free will and he may leave any time he desires to do so."

"You lie!" Jaken hisses, pointing an accusing finger at the two of them. "You have done something to Lord Sesshô-maru and I will not stand by while you poison his mind with your miko trickery!" He lifts up his staff and the old man's mouth begins to open when a small pebble comes flying out of the forest area and strikes him sharply on the back of his head, promptly knocking him down on his face.

Sesshô-maru and Rin come walking out, the young girl skipping happily, her thirst quenched, while the youkai looks rather bored. "Honestly Jaken," he begins, "you are greater a fool than I originally gave you credit. Did you think that miko could have easily influenced my mind in any way, knowing the power of the blood flowing through my veins? Had she tried anything, I would have known and swiftly put a stop to it."

"P-P-Please forgive me Lord Sesshô-maru," the pathetic little gama begs, tears forming on the corners of his yellow eyes. "I...I wasn't thinking cl..."

"Precisely," the inu youkai interrupts. "You were not thinking. I suggest that you begin to think more about your actions, for I grow increasingly weary of you. Do not try my ever thinning patience." His bubbling servant bows again and again, backing away. The elder inu brother looks to his younger sibling. "Since I am in a mood to talk, tell me Inu-Yasha, what exactly are you and your miko doing? I know that you are still hunting down Naraku, but I sense a deeper on goings with your intentions."

Inu-Yasha sits down, Kikyo quickly joining him. "Well we want to destroy that bastard for everything he's done. We're also still hunting down shards of the Shikon Jewel."

"Ah yes," Sesshô-maru replies, nodding slightly. "So you still desire to become a full-blooded youkai like father and myself."

"That is not the case anymore," the miko responds. For the briefest moments, the youkai lord is surprised at this answer. "As you already know, I am dead. This...body," she indicates, gazing down at herself, "is nothing more than a shamble of clay and bones and grave soil. My soul is not complete and I can only exist in this world by absorbing the souls of young dead maidens. It is not a way to live," she adds sadly.

Inu-Yasha wraps a comforting arm around her shoulder. "We're going to find the rest of the shards and complete the jewel. Then I'm going to wish that Kikyo has her real body again and a full soul of her own."

"Admirable," Sesshô-maru comments, looking back and forth between the two of them. "To think that my little brother, who so desired to become a full youkai for as long as he lived, is giving that one chance up to grant the desires of a deceased miko."

The inu hanyou looks at his older brother, his eyes burning with a fierce determination and resolution. "I felt what it was like to become a full youkai, and I didn't like it. All I wanted to do was kill, and I didn't care who it was, friends, family, anyone. I just wanted to see more and more blood being shed. I could never live like that." He shakes his head with a sigh, gazing at his clawed hands.

His older bother is about to say something else, when something catches his ear. Looking over at Inu-Yasha, it appears that he has heard something too, judging by his focus on his eyes and his twitching ears. They both look up just as several large winged creatures emerge from the clouds, dive-bombing down towards the group. They all scatter to get out of the way, but one of the creatures grabs Kikyo by the arm and lifts her into the air. The miko shouts, "Inu-Yasha!" as the creature soars away with her in its clutches.

"Kikyo!" the hanyou screams, racing towards her quickly retreating figure. "No!" he shouts, sprinting in the direction the creature is carrying her as fast as his legs can take him. A blur suddenly appears by his side, which he quickly recognizes as Sesshô-maru. "What are you doing?" he questions the youkai.

"I am assisting in the return of your beloved miko," he simply responds. Before Inu-Yasha can add a cocky remark, he adds, "Do not mistake this as an act of kindness on your part. Rin would become most upset if something tragic were to befall the miko. She has grown rather fond of her, and I wish not to hear nor see her cry over the loss."

Inu-Yasha smirks, rolling his eyes slightly. "Whatever you say." The two race eastwards, starting to catch up with the flying youkai that kidnapped Kikyo.

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A horrendous bloodbath.

That is what best describes the scene that Kagome and the group sees as they enter the lands where the ookami tribes are battling the harpies. Mangled corpses, body parts, entrails and an endless sea of blood litters the battle field, most of which belongs to the ookamis. These harpies are indeed much different than the ones they previously encountered. They are larger and much fiercer. The lower bodies covered in red and dark brown feathers while the upper bodies are covered in gloss black skin, their whole appearance being much more demonic in nature.

"This is horrible!" Kagome gasps, not believing the carnage before her. A scream up ahead diverts her attention. Tow harpies have grabbed an unfortunate ookami youkai and are flying opposite of one another, trying to pull him apart. Thinking quickly, the young girl from the future pulls out her bow and an arrow and launches it at one of the harpies, purifying its body and completely destroying it. The other harpy lets go and turns around just in time to see the other spiritual arrow that is about to strike. The horrible creature lets out a mighty bellow before disappearing.

The ookami quickly runs up to Kagome, bowing to her. "Thank you sister! Those foul beasts would have torn me to pieces!" He looks next to her and instantly recognizes the youkai. "K-Koga! You've returned!"

The young leader of the eastern ookami tribe smirks cockily at the subordinate. "You bet! And now were gonna kick some harpy ass!" He and the other youkai with him quickly rush into battle, defending their tribe.

The ookami youkais, inspired by Koga's sudden appearance, now fight back with a renewed vigor. The leader of the northern tribe rips off a nearby harpy's head and shouts over at Koga, "I thought you weren't going to show up!"

Koga rushes around three harpies, the Shikon shards in his legs making him nothing more than a blur. Within seconds, all three harpies fall to the ground, having been struck many times in numerous places. The young leader places his hands on his hips and retorts, "What? Did you think I was gonna miss out on all this fun?" A giant boomerang suddenly swooshes over his head and slices apart another harpy that was reaching for him. Koga looks up at Sango, who is riding on Kirara, and frowns at her. "I was just about to get him!" he complains.

The taijiya shakes her head, thinking, 'Baka!' as she catches her Hiraikotsu. She looks around, noticing that there aren't a whole lot of these new harpies around. "Something's wrong!" she shouts down at the group. "This seems too easy!"

"What are you yapping about?" Koga barks at her. "We're just..." he trails off as the ground shakes and a thunderous screeching sound erupts from the mountain. Everyone looks up as suddenly hundreds, maybe even thousands of dark harpies come flying up. "Oh shit," the young ookami leader whispers, realizing now that this is going to be a major problem.

Miroku confidently walks ahead, beginning to remove the prayer beads around his cursed right hand. "Everyone get down here and get behind me! I'm going to use the Kazaana!" Sango and the ookamis all quickly comply and get behind the houshi.

He holds his right hand up and is about to release the terrible power the prayer beads contain when Shippô suddenly shouts, "Wait Miroku! Don't do it!"

"Why? What is wrong?"

"Look!" the little kitsune says, pointing up at the incoming harpies. They all gaze up and notice that there are small wasps flying down with the torrent of harpies.

"Saimyôshô?!" the houshi shouts, his eyes going wide while he quickly covers his cursed right hand again. "If they are here then that means..." he trails off as the harpies suddenly stop, a group of them moving aside to reveal the evil creature that they have been hunting for a long time now, "…Naraku!"

The hanyou chuckles at the group before him. "Yes, and I must say that I am disappointed at how easily all of you fell into my trap. I find these harpies much more useful than those pathetic ones that used to live here. These ones are quite willing to obey my every command, seeing as how I killed their leader, making me their new leader." He looks up as several harpies come flying in from the west. He smiles evilly as he sees the cargo one of them is carrying. "Good, everything is going along nicely."

Kagome's eyes widen as she recognizes the figure clasped in one of the harpy's sharp talons. "Kikyo!"

The harpy suddenly drops the miko, flying back to join its brethren. Kikyo screams as she plummets to the ground, having no way to save herself. Her descent is suddenly stopped when Kirara leaps to the rescue, catching her easily. The neko mata lands and Kikyo gets off, albeit rather shakily.

"Welcome my dear Kikyo," Naraku greets. "Now once the last member joins, we can finish this once and for all." He looks up as a speck in the distance quickly gets closer. "Ah, and here he..." the hanyou trails off as he notices a second speck, this one moving much faster. His red eyes narrow in anger. "Now this was unexpected."

Kagome's breath is caught in her throat as a certain inu hanyou leaps over the entire group and lands in front of them, facing the endless harpies with his Tetsusaiga unsheathed. "Inu...Inu-Yasha," she mutters, feeling her chest tighten. Suddenly another figure appears next to Inu-Yasha, this one being taller and more elegantly dressed, though the long silver hair and sharp golden eyes are the same. The youkai unsheathes his sword, the Tojikin, and the two brothers face the villainous Naraku and his horde of harpies and Saimyôshô. Kagome and the others are in complete shock at the sight they are seeing. "Inu-Yasha...and Sesshô-maru are working together?"


To be continued...

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Translations (in order of appearance):

Saimyôsh: Poisonous Wasps, these are the hell wasps that Naraku uses when Miroku is around since if he absorbs them into his Wind Tunnel, he will be poisoned. They also act as reconnaissance.

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Author's notes: Holy crap! I haven't updated this story in like forever! I only had a few pages done for the longest time, but these last several pages just flew off my fingers today as I finally got some good ideas brewing. Now I should get some more done sooner since this idea can last a couple of more chapters.

Right now as you're reading this, I'm getting to work on my 'What's a Hanyou to Do?' fic, seeing as this one needs to be updated as well. Keep patient and I will have more in soon. - lighthawkdemon

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com