Freedom Chapter 17: Chp17: 14 Months Thereafter Part I, an inuyasha fanfic

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Freedom

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Chapter 17: 14 Months Thereafter Part I

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The roar of the crowd was deafening and one would think that after more than a year of hearing it, one would get used to it. Inuyasha hated it. It represented something ugly, primal and dark. He hated it like he what hated himself for being apart of it. But these things are to be weathered. He'd almost saved enough money to buy himself from Touran. Then he could walk away with any regret. She had once said he could walk away from her if he'd wanted to, and oh, did he want to. But if he didn't put some type of closure in it the act of walking away from her, and her dreams for him, would haunt him forever. So he would buy himself, and then run away from her and her stupid rebellion.

"Hey mutt! At least pay attention when people throw themselves all over you!"

Inuyasha raised his head and peered at Kouga from inside his hood.

"It's not me they're grapping for. No one knows I'm in here."

Kouga grunted to show his annoyance only to snarl as another hand reached through the carriage window to grasp at his shirt. He grabbed the hand and thrust it back out the window.

"Keep your grimy hands to yourself!"

He settled back into his seat across from Inuyasha and instantly felt weirded out when he felt the hanyou's gaze on him. He gave Inuyasha a mild glare and crossed his arms.

"Why do you wear that thing?" he asked, waving a hand at the dark cloak Inuyasha had wrapped himself in.

The hood was large and shadowed the hanyou's face so much that his features couldn't be seen. After his third tournament he had reached literal stardom all over the state. A half-breed that could take out any opponent that faced him was rare and people idealized him like few other Shihitou had been idealized before. Where others would soak this up and become big-headed, Inuyasha seemed disgusted that people would applaud what he was doing.

Tsuta chuckled from beside Inuyasha and Kouga gave him a disgruntled look.

"Isn't it obvious?" Tsuta ruffled Inuyasha's hair through the hood. "He's shy. Isn't it cute?"

Inuyasha turned to glare silently at the other Shihitou, but it had little affect because no one could see it. Tsuta laughed again gave Inuyasha's head a little pat. Kouga began to chuckle as well, which only served to direct Inuyasha's ire to him.

"I hate both of you," he hissed softly.

Miroku, who had been silent the whole time, looked up from his book to give Inuyasha a hopeful look.

"Does that mean that you don't hate me?"

Inuyasha turned towards the man to glower at him from inside his hood. "I forgot that you were in here."

Miroku blinked, sighed and shrugged before he turned back to his book. Kouga and Tsuta began to laugh again and Inuyasha heaved an internal sigh of his own as the carriage continued down the crowded street. He was sure that he had tried his hardest not to make any friends. Miroku, he could stand; the man was almost as reclusive as him in his own way. However in a little under a year, he was surprised how many people he found himself spending time with. Befriending Kouga was something that he had never seen coming. Tsuta was so nosey and so determined to butt into everyone's lives, he had no chance of chasing him off. Once word had spread around the compound about who he was the affect had been instantaneous. People had started bowing to him; people had started calling him Lord Inuyasha; and worst of all people had started looking at him with this…hideous look of…hope.

The hyou siblings had warned everyone not to let word leak out that the surviving son of Lord Hoseki was living at the compound. For his safety they said. It didn't matter much to him either way. A few more fights and he would have more than enough money to buy himself.

Inuyasha gave a relieved sigh when the sounds of the crowd finally died out. Tsuta and Kouga were still snickering back and forth and Miroku rolled his eyes.

"Okay, Inuyasha take it off," he said, sounding like he'd been dying to say something about the hanyou's cloak the whole time he had been wearing it.

Inuyasha spared him a fleeting glance before he leaned out of the window and glanced around to make sure that no one was around. The last thing he wanted was someone to see him through the carriage window and begin screaming his name, alerting everyone in the vicinity of his presence and causing a mob that would dismantle the carriage just so they could pounce on him. Once was enough, thank you.

Tsuta, Kouga and Miroku seemed to be remembering the same thing because they all threw their heads back and laughed. Inuyasha ignored them and continued to check the surrounding area.

It seemed that they had finally made it to the Choten arena and the only people that were around were the arena workers. Inuyasha leaned back in his seat and threw off his hood.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Tsuta asked as the carriage rolled to a stop.

Inuyasha gave him another one of those angry looks he had been throwing around and glanced outside again. He saw Shuuran walking along the carriage train, unlocking all the doors. Over-enthusiastic fans had taken to forcing the doors open as the convoy passed by. Miroku followed his gaze and seemed to be thinking of the same thing.

"Isn't it sad? We've become so popular we have to fear for our safety from those who say they love us."

Kouga nodded in agreement while Tsuta shook his head. Inuyasha ignored all three of them and literally jumped from the carriage as soon as Shuuran opened the door. The hyou youkai watched him run towards the road leading back to the city before looking up at the three Shihitou who had shared the carriage with him.

"What did you guys do now?" he asked as they stepped down onto the pavement.

Tsuta began to snicker again but Kouga and Miroku managed to look innocent. Shuuran wasn't fooled by this at all and just heaved a sigh as he continued unlocking the carriage doors.

Kagome, Sango, Ayame and Tsuta's Enjo, a young hanyou named Jiru, stepped down from the carriage that Shuuran opened next and glanced over at Kouga and Tsuta who had begun to laugh again. Miroku, upon seeing Sango, rushed up to her and grasped her hands in his.

"Dearest Sango, I hope that you were able to enjoy the last part of our journey. I have not been able to gaze upon your beauty for many hours and it saddens me to the point--,"

Sango stared at Miroku like he had grown another head. When he'd walked over she'd simply let him grab her hands, to deep in shock to do anything about it. But she'd quickly recovered and ripped her hands from his, shaking them out as if something he'd wiped something nasty on them.

"Don't touch me with your dirty hands," she snapped, clarifying her desperate hand motions further. "They've been everywhere."

Miroku looked down at his hands as if he could find the secrets of the universe on them. Sango rolled her eyes and stalked past him but Kagome hadn't moved. She scanned the surrounding area for her Shihitou and instantly became worried when she didn't see him. She looked to Kouga and Tsuta who stared back at her levelly. She narrowed her eyes. They blinked.

"Where is he?" she asked with a mock brightness that had soon become infamous to all those who knew her.

Kouga and Tsuta blinked again before shrugging and attempting to walk towards the arena entrance. Kagome's voice stopped them.

"I said that if I let you guys ride in the carriage with him, you would keep an eye on him. If he's run away, it's on your heads."

The two Shihitou paused and looked to Sango, Miroku, Ayame and Jiru for help. Sango and Miroku simply walked past them with twin smiles on their faces. Smiles that plainly said 'It was nice knowing you.' Ayame and Jiru paused and stood as if thinking before they both began laughing and walked away. Tsuta looked slightly insulted and Jiru gave him a little pat on the arm before following Ayame. The two men looked up and stared at Inuyasha's Enjo.

"He ran off," Tsuta said as calmly as he could.

Kagome sighed and turned away from them, glancing in the direction that Inuyasha had disappeared. Tsuta smiled and gave her a pat on the arm, like Jiru had done to him. "Don't worry too much about him. He's been doing that a lot lately, but he's always come back."

Kagome gave the road leading back to the city another look before she allowed Tsuta and Kouga to lead her towards the arena entrance. She looked down at her feet and sighed before looking over at the two men again.

"You do know what he's planning to do don't you?"

Kouga refused to look at her but Tsuta's eyes locked with hers as a serious looked crossed his features. "It's his choice," he said flippantly.

"I can't help but think he's making it for the wrong reason," Kagome said with a shake of her head.

Kouga finally looked up at her. He looked as if he were fighting the urge to smile. "That's weird. When all of us found out I thought that you were behind him no matter what he did."

Kagome narrowed her eyes at him as they made it across the grounds and began the trek up the rooms given to the by the owners of the inn connected to the arena. The hyou clan, having grown in strength and popularity, had been given a whole wing of the inn to themselves. The ten Shihitou that were fighting in the tournament and their Enjo, plus Touran and Shuuran and a few servants that they had brought, were all able to have their separate rooms. Kagome found herself being a little upset over that, and embarrassed when she understood why. She continued to give Kouga a hard look as she thought over her reply.

"I still do. It's just that…I think he wants to run out of stubbornness just because he doesn't want to be seen as his father."

Both Kouga and Tsuta gave Kagome a long thoughtful look. Finally Tsuta drew himself up and gave her his reply. "Perhaps we should just leave him alone. It's his choice to make, and if he makes it for whatever reason he'll have to deal with it."

Kagome could think of nothing to say, so she said nothing. The three of them went their separate ways. They had a tournament to get ready for tomorrow.

OXOXOXOXOXO

The crowd was roaring again as the Shihitou from the Hyou clan, the Risu clan and the Ga clan all stepped from their alcoves and onto the sand of the center of the arena. Most of the shouting was done for the figure near the back. Clothed in black ungathered hakama and shirtless, he looked up at the people screaming his name and snorted in disgust. Miroku laughed and slapped his back in good nature.

"Look at all the women yelling at you. Quite the popular one of you ask me."

"No one asked you."

A few of the Shihitou from the hyou camp heard him and laughed. They all arranged themselves into the formal oath formation and looked up at the Lord of the province that they were in, a large middle aged looking man with graying black hair named Raibaru. The crowd's roar dulled to a multitude of soft mutterings as Lord Raibaru stood and took a step forward. He looked down from his place of honor in the stands and seemed to draw himself up to speak.

"What is your oath Shihitou?" he boomed in his deep baritone.

Inuyasha's ears flicked and flattened themselves on his head and could swear he heard a few women beginning to giggle. The youkai members of his camp shot grins at him as they all bent at the waist.

"We pledge to live and die by the sword. We will cut through everything; Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Metal. To the four corners of the world we make this oath: To live, breathe, and be like the sword. To this we pledge, we will cut everything and never stop. To this we swear!"

The crowd screamed and the Shihitou unbent themselves, dipping their heads to Raibaru. His eyes scanned the death-fighters below him and stopped when he found Inuyasha's. A slow smile caused the skin around his eyes to tighten and he finally dipped his head in return, his gaze not leaving Inuyasha's. He began to speak and the crowd fell silent so they could hear him.

"Ah, what an honor it is having the great Inuyasha himself fighting here today." The crowd yelled in agreement. The two other Shihitou camps turned to stare at Inuyasha while the ten men from the hyou clan continued to stare up at Raibaru with narrowed eyes. His smile widened. "Yes…quite an honor indeed. I'm sure the other camps will do their best to offer you a challenge. Does that suffice?"

It grew silent in the arena and Inuyasha sneered up at Raibaru, his fangs glinting. "I suppose it will have to."

Raibaru's smile slipped and the crowd gasped before they began screaming again. The Shihitou from the other camps were giving him murderous looks while the ones from his camp gave him appreciative grins. He grinned back and turned to walk back to his alcove, the other nine Shihitou following him. Touran tried her best to look disapproving, but she couldn't keep the smile off of her face.

"You've set yourself up for a hard tournament," she said as he walked past her.

The hanyou turned to give her a haughty look and shrugged his shoulders. "Just as well. Like he said, maybe I'll get a challenge this time."

"The last two tournaments were rather pathetic weren't they?" Shuuran drawled, chewing on the end of a pipe.

Touran sighed and laid a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Just be careful okay?"

He gave her a toothy grin. "Aren't I always?"

"I call to honor their oath, Inuyasha of the hyou clan and Saburo of the Ga clan."

Kagome came forward and handed him his sword and he gave her a little smile as he slid the sheathed sword into the slit made for it in his pants. She returned the smile and repeated Touran's word to him.

"You're a fool form making him mad at you. Be careful okay?"

He offered her the same grin that he had given Touran and shrugged thin shoulders. She eyed this disapprovingly. "I wish you'd wear armor, or even a shirt."

"Don't need neither."

Kagome rolled her eyes and pushed him out of the alcove. His camp watched him walk into the center of the arena and listened to the crowd screaming his name, most of them women. Miroku sighed.

"I wish I could walk around without a shirt on."

Raian, a seasoned Shihitou with shape features and a large strong body, looked over at Miroku curiously. "Why can't you?"

"My wounds don't heal as nice as Inuyasha's does. His scars are all neat and attractive. Mine are all ugly and different colors and whatnot."

Kouga gave Miroku an understanding look. "I know what you mean. I have this really nice one on my leg but then have this really ugly raised one my butt."

Tsuta laughed. "How'd you get a scar on your butt?"

"Long story…"

Miroku brought the attention of the men back to the arena by frowning pointing up at Raibaru. "I think Inuyasha really managed to piss him off."

Another Shihitou named Hiroshi shrugged and leaned back on the cushioned bench. Was there ever a time they hadn't had these? "So, he was asking for it."

Raian shushed him and they all strained to hear the argument going on between Inuyasha, Raibaru and Saburo.

"You say that you're so strong Inuyasha, surely you should be able to fight without a weapon," Raibaru said with a sneer.

Inuyasha sighed and shook his head but Saburo turned his dark crimson eyes upon the Lord, his gaze disdainful. "When I beat the Great Inuyasha I don't want people saying I managed to do it because he was unarmed."

Inuyasha heaved another sigh, giving Saburo an annoyed look. "Listen kid, just let me fight you. It's gonna turn out the same either way."

"I've been training for this tournament for a long time. I will beat you at your full strength!"

Inuyasha's face twisted and Raibaru barked out a deep laugh. "Child, you do know how you are speaking to, don't you?"

"Of course I know!"

Inuyasha rubbed the bridge of his nose with his hand and turned to glance at his camp alcove. He saw the other Shihitou and the Enjo staring at him and a few of them offered him confused frowns. He shrugged and turned back to the Lord and the young Shihitou as they argued back and forth. He was getting annoyed with the whole thing and the crowd was as well. They began to murmur amongst themselves and a few were beginning to shout at them to hurry up and start the fight.

Inuyasha snarled and threw his sword down, drawing Raibaru's and Saburo's attention to him. "This is bullshit!" He looked to Saburo and the young hanyou flinched under the elder one's glare. "You will get over your pride and fight me unarmed or I will kill you right now, got it?"

Saburo scowled but said nothing as he followed Inuyasha to the center of the ring. When the elder hanyou barked bow, he did so. After they had straightened Saburo dared to glare at Inuyasha as he unsheathed his sword. "I will defeat you!"

Inuyasha watched him with raised eyebrows and crossed his arms. "Come on then."

Saburo charged Inuyasha with a shout and the hanyou sidestepped out of the way without even uncrossing his arms. Saburo twisted his torso and splayed his feet as he switched sword hands and tried to slash off Inuyasha's head. The other hanyou shot his leg out and placed it on the other side of Saburo's, their feet facing in opposite directions of each other and their legs resting against each other. As Saburo swept his sword out Inuyasha leaned back and supported himself with Saburo's leg. The young hanyou snarled down at Inuyasha and Inuyasha only stared back impassively as the crowd roared at the spectacular move.

Saburo tried to twist his leg away from the lock that Inuyasha had it in but couldn't. So he gripped his sword with both hands and attempted his plunge in down into Inuyasha's seemingly unprotected midsection. Inuyasha was finally forced to uncross his arms so he could punch the sword out of Saburo's hands. The crowd gasped before beginning to cheer again. Saburo tried to twist away again and Inuyasha smiled at him.

"You said something about beating me?"

Saburo's face twisted and Inuyasha laughed as he released the lock on Saburo's leg, simultaneously placing his left arm on the ground. He pushed off of it and twisted his body in midair in a no armed round-off. Saburo, with nothing to support his weight anymore, stumbled but managed to catch himself before he fell. He looked up at Inuyasha; his face twisted in hate, and scooped up his sword.

He charged Inuyasha again and the other hanyou ducked under it. He stabbed at Inuyasha's shoulder and it was sidestepped. He aimed a punch at the other hanyou's face and it was caught in a clawed hand. Saburo screamed through clenched teeth in frustration and the elder of the two remained impassive in the face of the younger's anger.

"How old are you?" Inuyasha asked softly.

Saburo gritted his teeth and slashed at Inuyasha again but the other hanyou just sidestepped. "Does it matter? Stay still! Fight me!"

He feinted to the right and slashed at Inuyasha's left shoulder. His sword finally broke Inuyasha's skin, leaving a shallow cut on his upper arm. Inuyasha didn't even flinch.

"How old are you?" he asked again as Saburo jumped back to put some distance between them.

"19 summers old," Saburo finally answered as he tried to catch his breath.

Inuyasha sighed and closed his eyes. "You shouldn't even be here, kid."

Saburo charged Inuyasha again and this time the elder hanyou did more than dodge. His fist flew out and wrapped around Saburo's throat. He twisted the younger hanyou's body so that his back was against the elder's chest. With his other hand he grasped the wrist that still held the sword and directed it into Saburo's exposed neck.

He died instantly.

Inuyasha ignored the blood that dripped down his face as he pulled the sword from Saburo's neck. He released the younger hanyou and watched impassively as the body collapsed bonelessly onto the arena floor. He looked up at Raibaru with a smoldering look.

The Lord was laughing and clapping his hands as the crowd screamed their approval of the kill. Inuyasha turned on his heel and marched back to his alcove, but Raibaru's booming voice stopped him.

"That was very enjoyable! Who would like to see the great Inuyasha fight again?"

The crowd began to shout their agreement and Inuyasha closed his eyes in resignation. Everyone in his alcove was sending him sympathetic looks when he opened his eyes again. When he turned around he could see Raibaru gazing at him in amusement. The lord glanced down at a roll of parchment in his hand and smiled suddenly.

"Ah! I think this will due. Because your last battle seemed so easy, why don't we make it a little more interesting? I call to honor their oath Kuro and Taro of the Risu clan!"

Inuyasha sighed and walked back to the center of the arena as two identical men walked out one of the other alcoves.

"Would you like your weapon for this one Inuyasha?" Raibaru asked loudly with a smile.

Inuyasha looked up at him from the center of the ring and raised his voice so that he could be heard over the mutterings of the crowd.

"Fuck you!"

Back in the hyou alcove Touran shook her head and placed a shaking hand on her forehead. Next to her Shuuran nearly choked on his pipe as he laughed and all of the Shihitou were in the same situation. A few of the Enjo had covered their mouths to hide their smiles but Kagome didn't look very happy. Raibaru didn't either.

With a wave of his hand the twins Kuro and Taro rushed at Inuyasha and he was forced to duck and weave to avoid all four of the short swords aimed at his person. The twins were fast and as perceptive Inuyasha thought himself to be it was hard to keep track of them as they slashed at him from all sides. Taro managed to disable the arm that Saburo had injured before. The hanyou's blood sprayed as he plunged the sword into his left shoulder and then ripped it out through the side taking bits of skin with it. Inuyasha's face twitched and he did a nimble back-flip to create some distance between the twins and him. It was good that he was able to recover quickly because the twins were on him again before he could pull his thought together. He punched Kuro's sword away with his right fist and twisted around to place a roundoff- kick to the side of Taro's face. Kuro slashed at him with one of his short swords, seemingly trying to take the hanyou's head off of his shoulders. He tried to sidestep but had to duck as Taro tried to do the same. He jumped away again and landed a few meters away from the twins. They straightened from their crouch and turned to stare at him, their faces impassive as his was. The hanyou tried to raise his arm only to stop when he found that it simply hurt too much. Identical smiles bloomed on the twins' faces as they saw this and Inuyasha breathed out a sigh. The twins flew at him again but before they could reach him completely he threw his injured arm out and used it to backhand Taro away. Kuro didn't stop and sunk one of his swords into Inuyasha's thigh. Inuyasha didn't even flinch as he grabbed the hand that held the sword and twisted it, feeling the bones under his fingers crack, then give.

Kuro screamed his agony and raised his other sword and tried to stab at Inuyasha's unprotected chest. The hanyou grabbed this hand with a similar hold and twisted the sword away from him. He held Kuro like that for a few seconds before turning them both around in time to meet Taro's sword. Kuro's eyes widened and he coughed, his teeth clenching. Taro's eyes widened as well and he looked down at the right sword which was imbedded to the hilt in his brother's chest. Slowly Taro pulled it out and threw it away from him like he couldn't bear to hold it anymore. He looked from his brother's face to Inuyasha's and his features twisted.

"You've killed him."

Inuyasha blinked and looked up at Taro. He released Kuro's hand and the man's body crumpled to the ground.

Dead.

Taro watched this with glazed eyes before looking over at Inuyasha again. The hanyou looked up at him and sighed, reaching down to pick up one of Kuro's dropped swords. He held it in a defensive position and seemed to beckon Taro with his eyes, saying 'please don't make me come to you'. Taro saw this and reached down to pick up the sword that he had tossed away. He cast hardened eyes on Inuyasha and charged.

Inuyasha allowed the sword to pierce his side and Taro collapsed against him his breathing harsh.

"You were a challenge," Inuyasha said softly, his voice steady.

Taro had no time to respond. Inuyasha raised his borrowed sword and sunk it deep into the nape of Taro's neck. He was once again coated with blood and he breathed the scent in before tugging Taro away from him and letting him fall to the ground. Inuyasha stood there staring at the twins for a moment. His gaze shifted to Saburo's body as well, which laid a few meters away. He sighed and limped over to where he had dropped his sword, ignoring the crowd's cheers. Raibaru watched him from where he sat and stood just as Inuyasha reached down to pick up his sword.

"Amazing isn't it!" the Lord shouted to the crowd and they yelled louder in agreement. "Should he fight again?"

The hyou clan's alcove grew silent and Touran and Shuuran were both on their feet looking between Raibaru and Inuyasha worriedly. Kagome had stood as well. Her face had paled and she clenched her fists. The other Shihitou and Enjo were looking just as murderous. Jiru's pale violet eyes flashed as she stood next to Kagome.

But the crowd was screaming their approval of the idea. Before anyone could blink Touran and the huge intimidating form of her brother were marching across the blood soaked arena.

"Raibaru! I must protest this! Three times in a row?" she shouted as she came to stand by Inuyasha's side. He looked even worse close up. Shuuran stood directly behind Inuyasha and placed a large hand on the hanyou's shoulder. Inuyasha heaved another sigh and tried to smooth his blood soaked bangs from his eyes. A lost cause. "I refuse to allow this to go on any longer!"

"Why? He is simply a slave, is he not? There are troves of them that you can pick from."

Shuuran's hand on Inuyasha's shoulder tightened and Touran's face flushed. "He is not a slave. He is a Shihitou and he is not yours to treat this way."

"I'm fine," Inuyasha said shortly.

Touran gave his wounds an incredulous look. "No you're not. I won't--,"

"I'm fine Touran," Inuyasha nearly snapped. He stepped away from Shuuran and gave Raibaru another smirk. "Throw them at me bastard."

Raibaru's eyes narrowed at Inuyasha's disrespect but he allowed himself a small sneer. "As you wish. I call to honor their oaths…"

OXOXOXOXOXO

Touran and Kagome hovered over Inuyasha worriedly as Shuuran placed him onto the padded bench. The hanyou's head lolled to one side limply and Kagome blinked back tears. Touran's face was deathly pale. She wrung her hands and kept reaching forward to smooth the hanyou's damp bangs back. The other Shihitou and Enjo hovered as well, cursing Raibaru.

The hanyou had broken a record today for most fights won in a row, totaling 11. He had also fought them all weaponless. After beating the last two Shihitou from the Ga clan, he had collapsed. Exhaustion, blood loss as well has shock had been the causes. But they couldn't take him back to the inn. They couldn't call the healer they all knew he needed until the day's fighting was over. Kagome and Ayame began to patch him up as well as they could with what they had but it couldn't be enough, it could never be enough.

Touran turned to glare at Raibaru as well as she could from the distance between them. The Lord didn't notice her and continued to watch Shihitou from the Ga and the Risu clan's fight. She looked back when Raian shouted something like shock and convulsing. Inuyasha's body was indeed shaking violently and Shuuran had sacrificed his pipe to be put in-between the hanyou's jaws so that he didn't bite his tongue off. Touran dropped down on her knees next to him and placed her hand on his forehead.

"You little fool," she snapped, but the sad smile curling her lips took out much of the venom of her words. "You are always your father's son."

Inuyasha's muscles continued to tense and relax spasmodically for the next couple of minutes before he fell limp again. The fights were almost over. Only a little longer. Two other Shihitou had gotten injured as well. Hiroshi and Miroku, but they allowed no one to care for them. If they had something that could help them, then they had something that could help Inuyasha. Two hours after Inuyasha had collapsed they were free to take him back to the inn.

Shuuran lifted him and with the entire camp following him, Hiroshi and Miroku helped by Kouga and Raian, they all rushed back to the inn. No healer was available to see him that night so most of them attempted to stay awake and watch them. None could stay awake for a few hours though, so most of them took shifts. At least one Enjo was with him at all times Trained in the art of healing, like Shihitou were trained in the art of killing, they did their best to make him as comfortable as possible.

It was a long night for everyone.

OXOXOXOXO

Translation(s):

Raibaru-Rival

Jiru-Flowing Time

Raian- Safe Thunder

Hiroshi-Generous

Saburo- Third Son

Kuro- Ninth Son

Taro-First Born Son

(AN): Long wait? Maybe. Was it worth it? (looks over chapter) I think it was. Thank you for the reviews. It looks like enough people are interested enough so I'll keep writing.

I hope you all noticed the leap. Did you? Good! Just to let you know, this point of the story could be called the second part. Things start moving fast now and I'm sure a few of you are happy about that. There might be fluff, but not a lot. Things also get bloody. When I say bloody, I mean bloody. This chapter was nothing. So now's a good time to heed the warning.

This is rated 'M' correct?

I'm not going to make you guys review for this chapter. But it would be really nice if you did.

Read and Review. No I don't own Inuyasha. Chapter 18 coming to a screen near you!