As they raced toward the source of the evil aura—toward the dragon Ryuukossei—Sango urged Kirara to fly ever faster. She knew Kirara was doing her best, but she couldn't help being afraid for Inuyasha. Recovering from his injuries, facing a dragon alone, armed with a sword he could not wield to the fullest…
She fought hard to remain calm as the evil aura grew even stronger. She could not allow her fears to control her on a hunt, she knew, especially not when a friend's life was at stake.
Up ahead it swiftly became obvious where the battle was raging: the oppressive aura was all but visible, crackling in the air as hanyou clashed with dragon. Despite her training, or perhaps because of it, Sango felt fear claw its way back into her heart. A dragon. A dragon.
What hope could any of them have in a battle against a dragon?
As they drew closer, coming as near as they dared, it became apparent that Inuyasha had at least some chance of surviving this encounter. He had not been killed immediately, at least, and had so far managed to avoid being hit by the dragon's powerful breath or crushed by its enormous body. In fact, it appeared that he was making a valiant effort to cut the beast open with the Tessaiga, though the sword had little effect against its tough hide.
The two went back and forth for several agonizing minutes. Ryuukossei should have easily dominated the fight, but thus far Inuyasha had held his own. But the longer the fight went on, the greater the dragon's advantage would be. Inuyasha would tire. Small injuries and fatigue would add up. Should the dragon be so inclined, he might be able to escape with his life… but he would have failed in his effort to strengthen the Tessaiga.
Better alive to fight another day than dead in pursuit of a better sword, Sango thought.
But Inuyasha was too stubborn to give up just yet, even as Ryuukossei seemed to be growing tired of toying with him. Quick as lightning, Ryuukossei reared back and tried a new tactic: it reared upward and blasted at the hanyou with breath like directed lightning. This attack was so powerful it knocked Inuyasha back. When he got up to try again, the dragon pinned him down with one of its massive claws. He struggled against it, raging until he at last broke free.
Sango realized—too late and with a wince—that the dragon had let him up. As he fumbled free, Ryuukossei reared back and unleashed its powerful breath on him again.
Under the force of the dragon's blast, Inuyasha went down hard. Worse, he lost his grip and the Tessaiga tumbled away, lost amidst the rocks.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed.
When the hanyou got back to his feet, a chill shivered down Sango's spine. There was no mistaking those blood-red eyes, that angry baring of teeth. Without the Tessaiga it was too late: Inuyasha had become fully youkai once more, or he was well on his way to doing so.
Miroku realized it the same time Sango did. "He's transformed again…"
"Is there any hope that he might turn back again?" she asked. If only she weren't so afraid of the answer.
"Where is the Tessaiga?"
Sango scanned the ground, but at their height and with all the destruction—the rocks and uprooted trees—down below, it was hard to tell. "I don't know, but Inuyasha obviously doesn't have it."
Below, the dragon blew a powerful energy blast toward Inuyasha. It flashed like lightning, shattering rocks and leaving a swath of destruction in its wake, but with his fully youkai reflexes Inuyasha was able to dodge easily. Not only that, but he followed up with a powerful attack with his claws.
Although the two were occupied fighting each other, Sango had little hope of finding the Tessaiga and getting it back to Inuyasha without drawing their attention. And in his current state… she hated to think it, but there was no guarantee Inuyasha wouldn't turn on them if he thought they were interfering in his fight. She wasn't willing to risk becoming a target unless she had a clear view of the missing sword. Inuyasha was their friend, and she wanted it to stay that way.
Without warning, Toutousai announced, "We're withdrawing."
"Why should we?" Kagome demanded, even as Sango wondered exactly the same thing. Inuyasha might have transformed, but this high up they were relatively safe from him, and the dragon only seemed interested in fighting Inuyasha so far. To Sango it seemed clear that they should stay and find a way to help.
"Can't you tell that he's fighting as a youkai down there?" Toutousai asked.
"If we stay here while he's like this, we'll be in terrible danger." The small voice, barely audible over the sounds of the battle below, must have come from Myouga. Sango hadn't seen the flea youkai in a while; he must have been spending his time safely with Toutousai.
"Once he's finished with Ryuukossei, he'll come after us!" the flea cautioned. "Inuyasha-sama's judgment has been getting worse and worse each time he transforms. We can't trust that he will recognize us as friends any longer. Kagome, even you won't be an exception to that, if he's lost his mind."
Even before she said anything, Sango knew from the determined look on her face exactly what Kagome intended. "I understand," she said. "Myouga and Toutousai, you two can run away, but I can't. Let me down, please. I'll stay with Inuyasha."
Sango was too shocked to interfere. And maybe a little too relieved, as well.
Toutousai, however, tried to dissuade Kagome. "You can't be serious."
"I understand your reasons, but…"
It was at that moment that Sango also resolved not to abandon either of their friends. If Kagome was determined to risk going down there, then she and Kirara needed to remain in position. They might be able to swoop to the rescue if the situation got too bad down below.
"Look at Inuyasha," Miroku cut in suddenly.
Sango saw it at nearly the same time Miroku and Inuyasha did. The hanyou's gaze had fallen on the Tessaiga, which was now gleaming brightly amid the rubble, plain for anyone to see. If they could just get it to him…
Unprompted, Inuyasha staggered toward the sword. His hand wrapped around the hilt, and he pulled it free of the rocks. The moment he touched the sword, the blood red color faded from his eyes, leaching slowly back into the usual golden hue. The markings on his face began to fade, too. Bit by bit, he began to look again like the Inuyasha they all knew. Even in his fully transformed state, he had chosen the sword over a mindless rampage.
"Having a great big body like that makes you think you're superior, huh?" Inuyasha asked, looking up at the dragon with his usual irascible determination. He'd spoken, and done it coherently, for the first time since Sango and the others arrived. Another good sign. "Well you're no better than this sword. I don't need to be a full youkai—I'll defeat you with the Tessaiga!"
The dragon gave a rumble that might have been a laugh; it was strong enough to rattle Sango's bones even at this distance. "How amusing. You will kill me with that feeble form and blunt sword, then?"
"Shut up!" Inuyasha shouted back very effectively. "It's pointless for me to fight without the Tessaiga."
This time when he engaged the dragon, it was with the Tessaiga in his hand, and it appeared as if the sword had somehow become lighter again. They had seen it happen before, but Inuyasha had never quite seemed to get the hang of controlling the sword, or maintaining its lighter state. Now, however, he seemed to be having none of that trouble.
For a moment Sango was hopeful that the fight would go his way and would soon be over, but the dragon breathed lightning over Inuyasha again in what looked to be a direct hit. Her hopes were restored a moment later when the hanyou emerged from the cloud of debris, unharmed and ready to take down the dragon. Already it was apparent that either the sword had gotten stronger, or Inuyasha had, or both.
The dragon could only stare in shock as the hanyou plunged his unwieldy sword through its thick-scaled hide and into its heart. It should have signaled the end of the fight, and victory for Inuyasha, but as he pulled the Tessaiga free and leaped to the ground, the dragon moved sinuously to follow. It was spurting thick red blood from the wound in its neck, but it was definitely not dead.
"It's not dead!" Shippou stammered.
"Ryuukossei even gave Inuyasha's father a lot of trouble," Toutousai explained. "You can't just pierce the heart. You must also destroy the body."
Sango gripped the hiraikotsu hard, ready to throw it as a distraction if necessary. Down below, Inuyasha seemed completely reinvigorated. He deflected another of the breath attacks with the Tessaiga and went on the offensive.
From his stance alone, Sango could tell when the revelation hit him. An instant later, he shouted, "Take this!"
Before the dragon could react, he used the wind scar attack. It hit Ryuukossei full in the face. The beast crumpled to the ground, overwhelmed by the power of the wind scar.
"Got 'im!" Shippou cheered.
For the first time, Inuyasha acknowledged their presence, turning his head to shout up at Toutousai. "You see that old man? I did it!"
"I did," Toutousai agreed. "I congratulate you on surviving this long, but I wouldn't go thinking the battle's over just yet."
Even as he spoke, the dragon's body rumbled and began to right itself. Huge lengths of muscled body looped all around Inuyasha as Ryuukossei reawakened. "Is that all, whelp?" it asked, giving a bone-chilling laugh.
"What is that thing?" Shippou demanded, clinging to Kagome's shoulder. "It's fine after being hit by the wind scar?"
Sango hated to break it to him, but this was one of the things that made dragons so dangerous. They weren't like other youkai, easily wiped away by the power of something like the wind scar. They were much, much more powerful.
"I told you," the dragon said, "My body is harder than steel. It can't be cut by that pathetic sword of yours." It continued gathering itself, rising up again to launch yet another attack.
"Get away from there, Inuyasha!" Toutousai called down.
"What?!" Inuyasha demanded. Toutousai's urging had annoyed him enough that he wasn't even looking at the dragon anymore.
It was going to launch its attack at any moment. He couldn't hope to escape, much less counter, if Toutousai kept distracting him. Frustrated, she wondered why Toutousai didn't just tell him about the sword's ultimate attack. Surely, given the circumstances, that wouldn't be too inappropriate. He had already proved that he could use the sword.
Sango hesitated. Should she shout to him? Or would that only be another pointless distraction?
"You've become able to use the Tessaiga," Toutousai went on, sounding more frantic with each word. "Just leave it at that!"
"Shut up, old man," Inuyasha countered. "Ryuukossei is ready for a fight. You really think he's gonna let me just run away now? And besides… if I can defeat him, I'll surpass my father!"
He raced forward to meet the attack that Ryuukossei unleashed, an even more powerful blast than the others it had used so far. He held the Tessaiga at the ready, but vanished into the beam of light.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted in alarm, even as Toutousai shook his head and muttered, "The fool."
But Inuyasha was determined. There was no stopping him now. He had committed fully to whatever was about to happen.
And as he faced down Ryuukossei's attack, Inuyasha unleashed something like Sango had never seen before. A swirling tempest of power rippled forth from where the sword cut, growing until it formed a massive wave—a wave that crashed against the dragon with enough force to push it back. The dragon's face contorted in shock as this new attack slashed through its body any place the wave contacted.
Bits of the dragon's enormous body fell to earth all around Inuyasha as the massive forces faded away. By the time Sango and the others were able to land and join him, he was staring at the sword in shock.
Kagome and Shippou were the first to reach him, exclaiming excitedly. While Toutousai explained the details of the new abilities Inuyasha had discovered within the sword, Sango hung back with Kirara. She was glad to see Inuyasha smiling again, but couldn't help thinking of the destruction such a powerful attack might cause.
She would just have to hope he would use it wisely. Though, she supposed, at least he also had a new incentive to keep hold of the sword, if it could unleash power like that. Maybe she was worrying for nothing.
Inuyasha, of course, chose that very moment to demonstrate his newfound control over the sword's wind scar attack, using it to blow up a nearby boulder.
On second thought, Sango thought as dust and debris blew past her, maybe it was better to worry.