Chapter Forty-Two
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So...yeah, I've been a bit longer than usual this time.
Unfortunately my family lost my grandfather just over a week ago. It wasn't from COVID (feels weird that I actually feel the need to have to address that). He died comfortably. The staff at the hospital was absolutely amazing! In all the craziness, and amid a hospital wide lock-down, they were kind enough to allow my Mother, her sister, and of course my Grandmother, to say goodbye. I know a lot of people out there right now aren't blessed with the same kindness and opportunity that we were. My heart truly goes out to you.
With that happening and Christmas right around the corner, I was truly busy. When I wasn't busy, I wasn't really able to get my head on straight enough to edit and post.
I hope this chapter makes up for the wait!
Onward!
Our group moved as quickly as Inuyasha was physically capable of given his injuries after the battle with Goshinki, wanting to put as much distance between us and the battleground as possible. Inuyasha healed rather quickly in the days following, but a cloud hung over his head all the same. The others put his somber mood off to his prized possession, and inheritance, Tessaiga being broken.
I knew better.
I feel goosebumps prickling at my skin and the hair on my arms standing on end as the memory of just a few days ago rushes forward for what felt like the hundredth time.
In his place there stood a demon with blood red eyes, purple stripes much like his half brother's decorating his cheeks. His fangs were larger, much larger, and his voice deeper.
It was his eyes that shook me to the core, however. Not that they were red, rather than their usual warm gold, no.
They were emotionless, cold, distant.
A shudder of understanding rolls down my spine, something in my gut telling me that what I thought I was seeing was true.
Inuyasha had unleashed something deep within himself, something dark.
Inuyasha had almost become a full fledged demon, though none of us really knew how or why he was triggered. The only difference I could see this time during the fight, was that the Tessaiga had been broken. Chewing on my lower lip, I reach up instinctively as the bite mark on my neck tingles, resting my hand inconspicuously over it. My eyes widen as another thought hits me.
'And he had claimed me as his mate.' I look towards Inuyasha as he sat a distance away from us by the river, staring down at the remains of his sword, seemingly deep in thought. 'He's never reacted like that when I've been in danger before. Could his mark have something to do with it as well? Could it have caused me to change too?'
"BLADES OF BLOOD!" He shouts, aiming his attack directly for Goshinki's chest. The large demon takes the hit, before delivering one of his own. Horrified, all I can do is watch as Goshinku's claws rip through Inuyasha's still healing torso, sending him rolling along the ground till he comes to a stop, unmoving. Goshinki laughs lowly. I'm running before Inuyasha's body even hits the ground, dropping down to my knees when I reach him and frantically checking for a pulse.
I find one, but it's weak.
"Inuyasha, it appears that your mind has now gone blank. Your sword is broke and so is your spirit." Goshinki goads. "Or are you dying, perhaps?" I feel my heart freeze in my chest.
Before it explodes with white hot anger.
"What's this? I can sense a spike in your energy." Goshinki clearly directs his attention towards me now as I slowly move to stand, turning to face him with the deadliest glare I could muster. He was right, I could feel a suddenly tidal wave of my energy roaring to life from deep within, the very air around me crackling and sizzling with the charge that it produced.
"How can that be? You were completed depleted before." He was right, and even I didn't know where this energy was coming from.
Frankly, I was so pissed I didn't give enough fucks to question it.
"You messed with the wrong people Goshinki." I state darkly, barely even able to recognize the voice as my own. My vision was flooded with red, everything taking on a hue of that single colour. All I could feel was anger, tinged with an overpowering need for revenge.
And I could hear a dark voice echoing in my ear. Kill it.
I had never felt such overwhelming hate before.
There was no doubt that the change I had undergone when Inuyasha had been incapacitated had everything to do with him and our bond. Could the same be said for him?
"Yua?" Sango's gentle voice pulls me from my thoughts, my hand snapping away from my neck where the bite mark was still effectively covered by the collar of my top. I look over towards her with an apologetic smile, her expectant expression telling me she must have been trying to talk to me while I was distracted by my thoughts.
"Sorry, what was that?" I ask apologetically. Sango frowns slightly at me, her gaze piercing.
"I was asking you about how you are feeling? You've seemed off as well since…" She trails off, and I know exactly what she was talking about. I frown glancing towards where Shippo was sitting a little ways away, closer to the fire by Kirara and sharing his cooked fish with her.
"To be completely honest? I'm a little overwhelmed." I answer truthfully, knowing Shippo was distracted enough at the moment not to eavesdrop. The last thing I wanted to do was cause the boy more worry and anxiety over me. It was bad enough he kept looking at me with a mixture of concern and apprehension in his eyes when I thought I wasn't paying attention. The worry didn't hit me nearly as profoundly as the fact that I had clearly scared him with my own transformation.
"I would be worried for you if you weren't feeling overwhelmed." Miroku states from where he sits beside Sango, his blue eyes carrying the same concern as her own brown ones. "So much has happened to both you and Inuyasha in the past week. The battle with Kagura and Kanna, losing Mayumi, then the battle with Goshinki." I swallow thickly, nodding in agreement. "You've been holding up well."
"We've been holding up well." I reply, frowning. "Those events affected us all."
"Not to the same degree as you. You're the one that lost part of your soul, Yua." Sango responds evenly. "And when we saw you transform…" My mouth drops a little at that.
"I transformed?" I asked in disbelief. I hadn't asked the others what they had seen that day during the battle with Goshinki yet. To be completely honest, I had been so concerned with Inuyasha's transformation to ask what they might have seen from me. "What do you mean?"
"Your eyes went red, almost like Inuyasha's had when he took on his demon form." Sango answers, a small frown on her face. "You also…there was a purple crescent moon on your forehead, almost exactly like…"
"Like Sesshomaru's." Miroku finished, but I had already predicted where Sango was going at the beginning of her description of the mark. My heart thumps wildly at that.
"Why on earth would that have happened?" I ask, though I realize that no one would have the answers.
No one, other than possibly Inuyasha.
"I couldn't say, Yua. Your hair also bled into silver, much like Inuyasha's." Miroku states, his thumb and forefinger coming up to clasp at his chin thoughtfully. "Has anything…changed between Inuyasha and yourself recently?"
I try my best not to blush hotly as the mark on my neck begins to tingle almost unbearably.
"Why do you ask?" I question, instead of outright lying to the monk. Miroku shrugs his shoulders, letting his hand drop down from his chin.
"Well, with you taking on such similar traits to Inuyasha and his dog demon heritage, I thought perhaps there might have been an exchange of energies…" He trails off, his tone unassuming, but the implications clear. This time I couldn't stop my face from heating up, and as a knee-jerk reaction I looked anywhere than at the pair in front of me.
"He didn't." Sango gasps, clearly my facial expression and avoidance being everything she needed for confirmation. Before I know it she's crawling over to me, her hand grabbing at the collar of my shirt and yanking it away from my neck.
The two puncture holes now on clear display to both.
"What was he thinking?!" Sango exclaims, and I hush her sharply when Shippo looks our way. Thankfully the little fox demon is sitting to the opposite side of where my mark is, making it impossible for him to see what Sango was talking about. I quickly shrug the shirt back on as Sango looks at me sheepishly, leaning back on her knees.
"We just…I mean he hadn't meant to but…" I stuttered out, still red-faced.
"Passion can make people do things before thinking it through." Miroku quips in a knowing manner, causing Sango to send him a scathing glare of her shoulder.
"Speaking from experience, monk?" She snaps lightly at him, Miroku giving a nervous laugh as he smiles innocently, rubbing bashfully at the back of his head.
"I bet Inuyasha is hungry." I comment lightly, needing an out from this conversation. I swore I heard Miroku mumble something to the likeness of 'oh, I bet he is, but not for food,' under his breath, but chose to ignore it as I walk over to the fire and grab one of the fish that was done. I could feel both Sango and Miroku's eyes on me as I walk over towards the half-demon, still deep in thought as he stares down at pieces of Tessaiga in front of him.
"Hey, are you hungry?" I ask, offering him the fish. Inuyasha looks up, amber eyes widening just silently in surprise at being pulled out of whatever place he had just been in now.
"Yeah, thanks." He murmurs, taking the fish, before eying me with a frown. "Aren't you going to eat something?" I shake my head, kneeling down beside him on the ground.
"I'm not hungry." I respond honestly, shifting then to sit on my right hip, looking down at Tessaiga as well with a frown now. "We need to find Totosai. Wouldn't he be able to fix it?"
"You should eat something." Inuyasha states instead, causing me to look up at him in slight surprise. He has a concerned look on his face. "I've noticed you haven't been eating since our fight with Goshinki."
"Yes I have." I rebuttal. It's true, I haven't eaten any substantial meals since. My stomach felt like it was tied so tightly with stress that I was afraid if I ate anything too heavy it wouldn't stay down. So I had resorted to snacking on fruits and vegetables along the road.
"Not enough." Inuyasha replies, his voice firm. "At least have some of this fish with me?" His amber eyes are so filled with concern that I can hardly say no, so when he offers the fish to me first, I tear away a small piece for myself. Seemingly satisfied, he takes a much larger bite out of it as I nibble at the piece I had taken. "You've been thinking about our transformations too, haven't you?" He asks then after a moment of silence, his voice quiet. I frown as I look from his broken sword back up towards Inuyasha again.
"I just…don't understand what happened." I answer softly, stomach twisting so painfully that I had to stop eating again, letting my hand with the piece of fish drop down to rest on my lap. "Sango and Miroku just told me I physically changed too, not like you had, mind you, but still…"
"Yeah, I remember that. You had red eyes, silver hair, and…" Inuyasha trails off at that, his frown deepening.
"A purple crescent moon on my forehead." I finish, feeling like my throat was almost too dry to speak. "Miroku mentioned something about energy transfer? Could…could both of our transformations be because of our new bond?" I ask, Inuyasha's gaze flickering from my eyes to where the mark was hidden once more under my shirt.
"I had that thought about that myself." Inuyasha murmurs in agreement. "You didn't look like just any dog demon, but like my brother." He grimaces at that. "I don't know if I like that." He adds dryly.
"Well, I mean, Sesshomaru bears a close resemblance to your Father, doesn't he? So, in reality, I looked more like him than your brother." I give him a dry smile as he scoffs slightly at that.
"I suppose to think about it that way makes it a little better. Not much, though." Inuyasha responds, taking another bite from his fish. "What did I look like?" He asks after swallowing.
"Red eyes, purple irises, purple marking on each cheek." I list off, the memory so vivid for me that it was easy to do. "Your fangs and claws were much larger." I think about making joke about being glad he hadn't marked me with his fangs like that, but thought better of it.
"I remember how I felt." Inuyasha goes on after a moment of silence. "Like killing Goshinki hadn't been enough. I wanted to kill more." His voice goes a little husky with emotion, and so I take my hand, gently placing it on his shoulder and squeezing it. "It makes me rethink everything when it comes to wanting to be a full-fledged demon." I frown deeply at that, eyebrows furrowing.
"I hadn't realized that was still something you wanted to pursue." I reply, trying not to think of why he would want to still become a full demon. Originally it had been to kill Kikyo after Mayumi's murder, but I had thought that maybe, after everything we had been through together, he would have let that go.
"I want to be strong enough to protect you, Yua." He answers, his gaze piercing as he looks down at me with a determined expression. "I'm not ever going to let what happened to Mayumi happen to you as well. I wasn't strong enough back then, but I plan to make myself strong enough now."
"Inuyasha…" I trail off, feeling shocked. "You and I are a team, and I think we're stronger than any demon when we are working together. You don't need to become a full demon to protect me." Silence takes over for a moment as Inuyasha looks away and over towards the river now. I let my hand drop from his shoulder, chewing thoughtfully at my lower lip. "If you still want to become a full demon, however, I will support you." I add softly, not knowing if perhaps he needed to hear that.
"The reason I am doubting it, Yua, is because when that urge to kill consumed me, nearly took over, I wouldn't have given a second thought to killing you and the others as well." Inuyasha admits, his gaze never wavering from it's focus on the river in front of us.
"I-Inuyasha?" I frown, a sense of unease forming as I step towards him. He shakes his head, taking another step back from me.
"Don't come any closer." He snarls at me viciously. "I'm not in control. I can still feel the blood lust thrumming in my veins. The need to kill is…it's…"
"But you did stop yourself. You were in control." I can't help feeling the need to defend him from himself as I look out over the river too. "You didn't hurt me, or the others."
"I was a single thread away from snapping and losing it, Yua. You've no idea how close I came to…" Inuyasha voice wavers slightly, his body tense next to mine. "If you hadn't touched me with your powers when you did, the day could have ended very differently."
"Who's to say that when you use the Sacred Jewel to wish to be a full demon that you'll have those same feelings and instincts?" I ask, Inuyasha shaking his head sharply once.
"I don't want to talk about it anymore, Yua." Inuyasha states firmly, the tone almost coming out like an order. My lips press tightly together to fight back any further comments I had, the piece of fish I had yet to finish still held uselessly in my hand.
Then, the skies go dark.
A single bolt of lightning streaks down from the sky to the ground, and as soon as the flash dims the clouds disperse. In the wake of the lightening strike a familiar bovine-like creature is standing there, looking at us all with three blank eyes.
Mooooooo.
Inuyasha quickly gathers up the pieces of Tessagia, our entire group moving towards the bull that patiently stood in the clearing.
"This is the bull that belongs to Totosai." Miroku correctly observes.
"It came alone?" Sango asks in disbelief, before we quickly find out that, that indeed wasn't was the case.
"Master Inuyasha!" Myoga can be heard crying out, and as we all focus on the bull's nose we can see him bouncing about in excitement, as usual. He quickly leaps from the bull's nose and lands on Inuyasha's, taking his fill of the half demon's blood, much to the donor's annoyance. As per their usual greeting, Inuyasha smacks Myoga before he can finish his snack, the discombobulated flea demon floating down into Inuyasha's waiting palm.
"Well, what do ya know." I mutter, looking down at Myoga with interest as he recovers. "What have you been up to?"
"You were hiding out at Master Totosai's all this time?" Miroku asks in disbelief, to which a throw the monk a raised eyebrow.
Does that really shock him?
Myoga quickly recovers to try and defend his honour. "How rude! You're making me sound like a coward!" He exclaims with annoyance, bouncing up and down on Inuyasha's palm.
"Well, you did run away." Inuyasha points out, sounding hardly impressed. Myoga stiffens, turning to look up towards his Master bashfully, before clearing his throat and narrowing his eyes with determination.
"Never mind that!" The flea demon quickly tries to brush his abandonment under the rug. "Tell me what happened to Tessaiga!" He demands, all four arms flailing around. Inuyasha sighs, shifting to place Myoga on my shoulder then before untucking the pieces wrapped in cloth from his belt. He opens it to reveal the damage, much to Myoga's horror. "What happened to it?!"
"A demon called Goshinki bit it in half while I was fighting him." Inuyasha answers calmly, though it hardly seemed to slow the flea down at all.
"My lord, please! You must take the pieces of the sword and go to Master Totosai!" Myoga implores him, looking clearly concerned over the sword's current state.
"So he can put it back together again?" I ask the flea hopefully. "I was just saying to Inuyasha that we should try and track Totosai down to see what he can do." Myoga starts to bounce up and down in his excitement again.
"Yes, yes, yes. Now hurry, please! There is no time to lose! Get on the bull and it will take you right to Totosai's home!" Myoga states, Inuyasha looking from the flea towards the bull with slight suspicion.
"Really?" He asks doubtfully.
"Yes, now hurry!" Myoga exclaims impatiently, before bouncing from Inuyasha's palm over onto Shippo's shoulder. I chew on my lower lip, Inuyasha glancing from the bull towards our group, eyes scanning over everyone with question.
"Go, Inuyasha. We'll be fine here." Miroku insists confidently. "We'll wait at this site until your return."
"If it had been my Hiraikotsu I wouldn't hesitate to get it fixed." Sango agrees. Inuyasha nods at that specifically, his gaze finally turning towards me as Shippo jumps up onto my shoulder. I give him a small smile, chest already aching at the thought of being separated, even for a little amount of time.
We had hardly been away from one and other since we met.
"They're right. We'll all be fine." I assure him. "I'll set up a barrier to keep anything nasty out."
"Does that include Inuyasha?" Shippo jokes, a large and pleased smile on his face.
Until it quickly turns into a frown of pain as he clenches at the top of his little head, a goose egg soon appearing. Inuyasha is standing close at this point, his hand that had been formed into a fist to hit Shippo quickly relaxing then and cupping the back of my head, pulling me in to press our foreheads together. He takes a deep breath in, both of us closing our eyes for a moment to just simply feel one and other. Too soon he's pulling away, and I feel his nose dragging along my cheek as he does, the skin there tingling at the touch.
"I'll be back as soon as I can." Inuyasha murmurs into my ear, and I nod, unable to form words at the moment with how fast my heart was racing and clenching all at the same time. Opening my eyes as he pulls away fully, a soft smile on his face as he drags his fingers gently through my hair whilst stepping back, I give a small smile in return. He turns and clambers onto the bull, waving to us before turning forward as the bull guides him towards Totosai's home. I reach up, gently placing my hand on the goose egg on Shippo's head, healing it.
"Well, I guess we better get to setting up a more permanent camp." I sigh heavily, turning to look towards the demon slayer and monk. The smile as well, nodding, before each of us sets to our own tasks.
Mine being to create that barrier.
By the time night had fallen we had settled in around the campfire, Shippo having done an excellent job keeping it burning all afternoon and into the evening. Our group, plus Myoga, all sat around it, keeping warm from the chilly night air. Sango sat on one side of the fire, Kirara in her lap, whilst Miroku sat on the opposite side with Shippo in his own.
Myoga, whether it be fortunate or not, had decided on sitting on my shoulder…on the side with my mark.
'Please don't notice it and blurt it out in front of Shippo.' I inwardly groan to myself as he takes his place. Myoga is quick about asking for details on our battle with Goshinki, and seems very interested when we get to the part about Inuyasha's transformation.
"And you're sure that he transformed?" Myoga asks, as if for good measure. I nod, a small frown on my face.
"I'm positive, and so are the others." I answer, leaving out the fact that I had transformed as well and could feel the difference through our new bond.
"Do you think it has anything to do with the Tessaiga being broken?" Miroku asks with keen interest, Shippo also watching the flea intently and waiting for an answer.
If I had scared the little boy with my transformation, I don't doubt Inuyasha had downright terrified him with his.
"I believe it does." Myoga replies, nodding. "As you are aware, Tessaiga is an heirloom that was left to Master Inuyasha by his father. The sword protects him from his enemies, but it has the second purpose of keeping the demon inside of him locked up." Myoga elaborates, but I feel even more confused by his answer.
"But Inuyasha is a demon. A half demon. What is left to be locked up?" I ask curiously.
"Just as Inuyasha turns fully human during a moonless night, so too can his demon blood take over. Inuyasha's death is inevitable once Tessaiga is broken." I feel my heart stop at that, freezing mid-beat, much like it had when I had thought he had died. Myoga continues on, an ominous tone to his voice. "His strong desire to live awakened the demon blood that flows through his veins."
'The amount of sheer will power that must have involved…how deeply he must have wanted to live…and to protect us. His Pack.' I think to myself, somehow knowing that just wanting to live wasn't what had brought him back to us.
It was his connection to us as the Alpha, the deep-seated need to protect our group. To protect me. That's what drove him to fight on, to release himself to his demon side.
'He must have been desperate to allow that to happen, desperate to save us.' I blink back tears at that, heart aching with warmth and deep, profound love for the half demon. 'He plays off to be so tough, to not need anyone, anything, but that isn't true. Not in the least.'
"And even if Tessaiga is repaired," Myoga brings me from my thoughts as he continues, "that demon part of Inuyasha will be even harder to control, because now he has tasted the pleasure of brutally slaying an enemy."
"Yua was able to tame him." Shippo speaks up then, Myoga turning his head to look up at me curiously.
"You were?" He asks, sounding genuinely surprised. I look from Shippo towards Myoga, nodding.
"I touched him with my energy, and he turned back to himself. His injuries, everything, were basically healed. For all intents and purposes, he was back to normal." I answer, shrugging my shoulders lightly. Myoga seemed to look at me suspiciously after that, his little eyes narrowed and his mustache twitching slightly. It took me a second to realize what he was doing, but it was all confirmed when his gaze slid slowly down my neck to the juncture he was standing right beside.
He could smell the claim.
"Well…this is certainly interesting." Myoga comments. "And it changes my earlier theory about his transformation greatly. Indeed, when the Tessaiga broke his demon blood was unleashed, but it wasn't his will to live that kept him from dying with his sword…" Myoga trails off then, slowly looking back up to me with his eyes back to normal. "It was you, Yua. He lived for you." I swallow thickly at that, feeling my throat seize up with emotion.
To think it, to theorize it myself was one thing, but to be told that by someone else…
"What are you talking about?" Shippo asks innocently, a confused look on his face. "What's going on?"
"Nothing to concern yourself with Shippo." Miroku answers smoothly, and I flash him a small smile of appreciation.
I certainly did not want to have the birds and the bees conversation with Shippo tonight on top of everything else.
Inuyasha returned to us by the next day, unharmed all except for a missing tooth. When I asked him about it, his expression soured as he crossed his arms and turned his head away, saying that Totosai had taken it to bind the sword back together.
It seemed like Inuyasha might not have given up his fang willingly.
Knowing that Totosai would hopefully finish the sword within three days, as the sword-smith had promised, we decided to stay in our spot. As night fell and no moon rose, we soon realized just how critical of a time it was going to be for us that night.
"I had completely lost track of time." I sight to myself as I finish filling up our bamboo water containers. Looking around the area, I could see my aura shining brightly from the barriers I was maintaining, even strengthening them for tonight. Returning back to camp, Sango is clearly still fascinated with Inuyasha's transformation into his human form. 'Would rather this than his demon one, obviously.' I think to myself as I gaze at him as well, his raven black hair now framing his face, brown eyes glancing towards Sango with barely concealed annoyance at her gawking.
"I hate this." He finally grumbles, accepting the water from me as I sit down after delivering out everyone else's.
"I know, but we're safe here right now." I respond. "My barriers will keep anything unwanted out, and I'm not having any trouble keeping them up." And I truly wasn't, which even surprised me. I had thought for sure that my powers would have weakened significantly without Mayumi's soul attached to my own.
If anything I felt stronger.
I hadn't voiced this to anyone, not even to Inuyasha, yet.
"All the same, I'll feel better when this night is over and I'm back to normal." Inuyasha replies, before taking a drink from his water container. He sighs heavily then, an annoyed groan leaving his throat before he stands, tossing the bamboo container of water to the side, before leaving the campfire. I frown at that, watching him go, wondering if I should follow, or if he needed some time to himself. I realized that nights like these were hard on him for so many reasons. He hated feeling weak, he hated being human.
I just prayed that he didn't hate it enough to become a full demon still.
Giving it a few moments I make an excuse that I have to use the washroom to leave, though I know I'm not fooling anyone, not even Shippo. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see him sitting on the slopping hill just ahead, far enough away from the others for him to no doubt feel some peace, but still within the protection of my barriers. I walk up slowly, his head turning to look at me as his brown eyes gaze at me with an unreadable look. I sit down slowly on the dewy grass next to him, leaning back on my hands against the incline of the hill to gaze up at the stars.
"We never get to see them like this back where I am from. There is too much light from the city." I murmur softly after the silence goes on, Inuyasha humming softly in acknowledgement, understanding I was talking about the stars. "That's one of the things that I love about this place, about this time." I go on honestly, sighing softly and laying back fully on the grass so I could continue to gaze up at the sky full of bright stars. I can hear Inuyasha shifting beside me, and soon enough he is laying right next to me, his head close to my own as he also looks up at the sky.
"Are you really that happy here?" Inuyasha asks then, his voice quiet. Without hesitation, I answer.
"Yes." I stop at that, feeling no need to tell him that long ago I had felt this way. That whether it had been a conscious thought or not, I had made my decision.
I was never leaving this place, never leaving him.
I feel his hand move beside my own, the warmth of it wrapping around my fingers, cool from the night air. He laces out fingers together, palms touching, and somehow this moment feels just as intimate as any of the heated encounters we had together.
I don't know when I fall asleep laying there next to him, but it feels like only moments later I'm being shifted around, wrapped in something warm that smelled exactly like him, and being lifted. I manage to peel my eyes open just slightly, Inuyasha having obviously picked me up.
"Did I fall asleep?" I ask softly, the swaying motion of him walking as I rest against his chest nearly pulling me back down into a slumber. His brown eyed gaze looks down at me, a soft and warm smile on his face.
"You did, and you were getting cold. I'm taking us back to the fire." He replies, his voice hushed. "Go back to sleep, Yua." I frown, shaking my head and forcing my eyes more open. No, I couldn't sleep, not on a night like tonight, not when he was so vulnerable. I should have never fallen asleep in the first place.
"I'm alright, you can put me down." I assure him gently, but he gives me a doubtful look.
"You don't think I realize you haven't been sleeping at night either? On top of not eating right?" He states evenly, and I feel a blush rising onto my cheeks.
"No, actually, I thought I was doing a pretty good job of not worrying you." I laugh a little at myself. "Apparently not." He stops then, just short of where the light reached out in it's ring from the campfire, Miroku and Sango still awake and alert by it, whilst Shippo and Kirara had fallen asleep curled up with one and other.
"I need you to take care of yourself, Yua, so that I can relax too." Inuyasha states softly, and I look back up to him, chewing on my lower lip and nodding. I felt a small amount of guilt wash over me, even though I knew it wasn't his intention to make me feel like I was being selfish. He gently sets me down on my feet then, waiting for me to get my balance before letting me go. I move to unwrap his fire rat robe off of me, but he shakes his head, reaching out and stilling my hand with his own.
"Keep it on, at least until you've warmed up." He murmurs gently, nudging me back towards the group before I could argue. Miroku and Sango obviously take notice of the material of his kimono around my shoulder, but thankfully refrain from saying anything as Inuyasha and I sit back down with them around the fire. It doesn't take me long to warm back up, and when I do I pass his top back to him, which he takes back wordlessly this time. The rest of the evening is filled with small talk as we all inwardly countdown the hours until we would see the sun rising over the horizon. Some of the small talk ended up getting a little heated at some points however.
"You know, you should really go to sleep, Inuyasha." Miroku speaks up, his tone light. I lift an eyebrow at that, looking towards my half demon lover then.
"Get off me. I never sleep while in human form." Inuyasha scoffs, and I can't help rolling my own eyes at that.
"Too scared to?" Miroku asks slyly then, his face openly showing delight when Inuyasha clearly rose to the bait with an annoyed scoff. Inuyasha leans towards Miroku, a confident smirk on his face.
"Right, I'm scared, so what?" He asks, clearly being sarcastic. Miroku shrugs easily, a smirk still playing on his lips.
"Alright, so long as you're being honest." He replies easily, Inuyasha rolling his eyes and leaning away from the monk then, leaning back against the lone boulder that sat near our fire.
"Listen," Inuyasha goes on, tone suddenly serious, "I have a lot of enemies. If any of them attack me when I'm human like this I don't stand a chance in hell." He replies, leaving the rest unsaid. That he wouldn't be able to protect us as well, if it came down to it. I smile, looking towards the fire.
'It's nice to see him allowing himself to open up to us. Openly admitting to fear is a huge step for him.' I mused to myself.
And then the monk just had to ruin it with his self righteousness.
"Well, there is a good lesson to be learned here-" He was thankfully cut off from going on his little tangent, that no doubt would have wounded Inuyasha's pride more than helped, by Kirara suddenly growling as she unwraps herself from around Shippo.
"Do you sense it?" Sango asks, her own face hard as she stands, looking off into the distance, eyes narrowed. "There is something in the air." I frown at that, allowing myself to calm and close my eyes, feeling out my barrier for any disturbance.
A gasp escapes me when I feel something ripping right through it, like a hot knife through butter.
"Something is out there." I frown, quickly grabbing my bow and arrow as Miroku and Inuyasha scramble to stand as well. I notch my arrow in my bow at the ready, Shippo now awake as well and coming to stand behind my leg nervously as we formed a circle together, all of us back to back.
"Whatever it is, it has an evil aura." Sango states, Miroku humming tensely in agreement as his hand tightens around his staff. The birds in the forest beyond are disturbed from their slumber, screeching in panic as they fly from their nests in the trees, which were quickly felled by the force as it moved steady towards them. A blinding red light races out from the tree line, and I let an arrow fly, my own purple aura shinning bright as the arrows sticks into the ground right before it, causing the being to skid to a halt and the red aura to disappear with a resounding 'crack' from our energies meeting.
I wasn't expecting what we saw when the light dimmed.
At first you could mistaken the demon for a man, his features all very human like, other than his glaring red eyes. Once you looked closer, however, you could see two small horns sprouting from the top of his head, and a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. In his right hand there was a glowing red sword, no doubt the source of his power judging by the similarities between his own aura and the powerful energy exuding from the weapon.
"Which one is Inuyasha?" The mystery demon asks, his voice low and gravelly. He stands from where he had been kneeling, the energy from my arrow having seemed to have knocked him off balance.
"Why? Who wants to know?" Inuyasha demands, and I can feel him step up behind me, his chest pressing against my back. The man laughs coldly, and it's enough to send a shiver down my spine.
"I am Kaijinbo, a master swordsmith." The demon answers lowly, confidently.
"A swordsmith?" Inuyasha scoffs, stepping slightly to the side then so he could stand next me instead. Kaijinbo flourishes his blade in front of us, and my breath catches as the pulse of it's energy washes over me, eyes widening.
I knew that energy. I had felt it only days before.
"Goshinki…" I whisper in disbelief, Inuyasha stiffening next to me.
"Nay, girl, I did not name the sword after the fangs by which I had forged it. Instead, I named it Tokijin. Rather suitable, if I do saw so myself." He chuckles coldly. "And now it cries for a taste of the blood of Inuyasha!"
'But if he forged it with Goshinki's fangs, does that mean that it could break the Tessaiga as well?' I think to myself, suddenly glad that Totosai hadn't shown up with Inuyasha's sword just yet. It would be no good against this foe even if he had, and if it broke again…
Inuyasha might be lost to us forever.
Suddenly the sword pulses again, as if it was a living thing with it's very own heartbeat. We all watch as Kaijinbo slowly lowers the tip of the blade to point directly at Inuyasha. Sango moves, standing with her hand on her boomerang at the ready in front of Inuyasha and I, as does Miroku.
"So you are Inuyasha. The sword has told me so." Kaijinbo states, sounding confident. I frown at that, grabbing another arrow and notching it in my bow, moving to stand directly in front of Inuyasha, acting as his last line of defence. "How disappointing. I expected a demon, and yet I'm faced with a mere mortal." His tone turns condescending, and with the way Inuyasha's back stiffens and straightens, I know he's just as frustrated with the situation.
"Inuyasha, have you ever wronged this swordsmith that you know of?" Miroku asks from his position slightly in front of us and to the left.
"No." Inuyasha states shortly from behind me, his voice clipped and angered.
"You heard the man!" Miroku shouts back to Kaijinbo, who laughs in clear amusement.
"As I told you, it is the sword that thirsts for his blood." Kaijinbo states evenly, and I frown all the more, piecing it together.
"The sword must be possessed by Goshinki's hatred." I state in realization, eyes narrowed in on my target still.
"You admitted to the sword being forged from the fangs of a demon named Goshinki. How did you come by his remains?" Sango asks sharply, her hand tightening on the straps of her boomerang.
"I shouldn't reveal my resources." Kaijinbo replies easily, a wicked smirk on his face.
"I've heard everything I need to." Inuyasha scoffs confidently, moving to step around me once again. "Come at me, Kaijinbo! I'll hack you to pieces!" I quickly shift my foot out and back in front of Inuyasha blocking him from going.
"No you're not!" I glare at the half demon, his own eyes narrowed at me in annoyance. "You're in no condition to take him on, especially not with that sword!"
"Escape while you can Inuyasha!" Sango agrees, before turning and running towards our new foe. Miroku quickly agrees.
"Sango and I will take care of this demon!" He agrees, voice filled with venom, before he too takes off towards Kaijinbo.
"And you are going to stay here, behind me, where I can protect you." I add lowly to him, giving him one last glare to let him know I was seriously, before turning my attention back towards the fight, ensuring my aim was still directed at the demon. I let my arrow fly directly between Sango and Miroku as they bare down on him, his attention momentarily diverted to block my attack with his sword. Sango takes advantage of the lapse of attention.
"Hiraikotsu!" Sango grunts with effort as she sends her heavy boomerang towards the demon, the demon hardly moving as it strategically passes over him.
"Ah, pity about your poor aim." The demon scoffs confidently, clearly unaware that the boomerang was coming back around to instead hit him from behind, as intended. The sword pulses, and at the very last moment, right before Sango's boomerang was to hit him, he swings Tokijin smoothly backwards.
And cuts the Hiraikotsu directly in half.
We're all staring in wide eyed disbelief as the two pieces of bone that had once made up her weapon clatter uselessly to the ground. Miroku is the first to recover from the shock, racing towards the demon.
"You fools!" The demon shouts as he watched Miroku advance, sword firmly in hand.
"I'll admit that your sword is formidable." Miroku exclaims, reaching into his robes as he rushes the demon. He pulled out a sacred seal, sending it flying towards Kaijinbo. "Which is why I have resorted to this!" Miroku's aim is spot on, the spell binding slip landing right on Kaijinbo's face and paralyzing him for the moment as Miroku rose his staff to land the final blow. "Farewell!" He shouts loudly, swinging his staff down too the demon's face. A bright light emits from where their energies meet, the demon falling down onto it's back, motionless. I swing my bow over my shoulder, watching the scene before us intently.
Something deep in my gut told me this wasn't over yet, even as Miroku confidently turned and walked away, and Shippo cheered him on from where he now stood perched on Inuyasha's shoulder.
Then I feel the pulse in the air once more.
"Behind you, Miroku!" Inuyasha shouts in warning, his voice filled with concern as the demon indeed begins to move, raising his sword up above himself with the tip pointed to the sky. The blade was glowing red again, Miroku's own eyes widening as he no doubt felt the flex of power as well. The monk turns sharply back towards Kaijinbo, still laying on the ground even with his sword raised in the air. It's like an invisible force pulls him to his feet through his weapon, my own eyes widening as I allow my energy to flow down into my hands now, rather than reaching for my bow. I tense as Kaijinbo rushes Miroku, the monk dodging just in time as his blade swung down. The demon laughs coldly, hardly deterred as he raises his sword skyward once more, the blade pulsing with Goshinki's energy.
"Tokijin is invincible!" Kaijinbo declares proudly. "No sword can match it! Playtime is over." He brags, laughing.
"He's acting as if nothing happened, even though his head is split open!" Shippo exclaims with fear, and I note that the little fox demon was right in his observations. My brows furrow as I take in Kaijinbo's injury.
'A hit like that should have easily killed him. The sword is providing him with power.' I allow orbs of my energy to gather in each of my hands. "That's because he's being controlled by the sword." I answer Shippo, glancing towards Inuyasha to see his gaze not focused on our enemy, but on the horizon.
It was starting to get light out.
"Come for me, Inuyasha! Or are you completely paralyzed by fear? Will you run and hide like a child?" Kaijinbo challenges, clearly unaware of what was about to transpire in a moment's time. His opponent would no longer be human, but a half demon more than capable of fighting him.
"Inuyasha, don't let him lure you into battle!" Shippo begs him, holding onto his top tightly as if he could physically stop Inuyasha from advancing if he so chose to. I frown, glancing back towards them both.
"I'm not going to fall for any tricks like that." Inuyasha reassures the boy, his gaze now firmly planted on Kaijinbo. "The thing is, that I'm the only one that he's come after." Inuyasha adds, grabbing Shippo by his tail and pulling him from his shoulder, setting him down on the ground. I frown at that.
"Inuyasha…" I trail off in warning, getting ready to divert my energy at a moment's notice and throw up a barrier around him if I had to.
"I'm not going to run away and hide!" Inuyasha shouts in frustration, before taking off running towards the demon swordsmith. I growl in frustration, letting the orbs disappear and instead throwing my barrier up around him to protect him as best I could. Inuyasha hardly flinches, carrying on as if nothing had happened.
"Why does he always have to be so stubborn?!" Shippo shouts in frustration, before suddenly a lightening strike stops both Kaijinbo and Inuyasha in their tracks, the bolt touching down to the ground between them.
'The same bolt of lightening came out of no where three days ago.' I think to myself, body tense. 'Could it be Totosai?' As the light fades, relief floods through me.
It is Totosai, with Tessaiga resting safely on his shoulder.
"Totosai!" Sango exclaims in a mixture of surprise and relief.
"Have you repaired the Tessaiga?" Miroku asks, voice tense.
"I should have known you had something to do with all this commotion." Totosai accuses Inuyasha as he leaps onto the bull in front of the old swordsmith, his expression eager.
"You're late, or maybe you hadn't noticed?" Inuyasha accuses him, reaching forward and grabbing the sword from Totosai's shoulder. "Thank you!" He exclaims impatiently, before leaping back off of the bull and to the ground, Tessaiga now back with it's rightful owner.
"Master, don't do it!" Myoga can be heard suddenly shouting from Inuyasha's shoulder. I blink in surprise at the flea demon's sudden appearance after his disappearance.
Then again, I shouldn't be surprised at all.
"What's the problem?" Inuyasha demands, annoyance at being stopped once again clear in his voice.
"Tessaiga will not transform while you are in your human form and without your demonic powers!" The flea accurately points out.
"It's be a long time since we've met, Kaijinbo." All of our attention is suddenly diverted to Totosai as he addresses the possessed welder of Tokijin.
"I took you for dead, Totosai." Kaijinbo greeted in return, sounding entirely displeased that the old swordsmith wasn't.
"You've been busy crafting another wicked sword, haven't you Kaijinbo?" Totosai asks rhetorically, his gaze fully fixed on Tokijin. Kaijinbo simple laughs.
"Totosai, I shall prove to you, without a single doubt, which of us is the better swordsmith." Kaijinbo smirks confidently.
"Totosai, tell me, are you familiar with Kaiinbo?" Miroku asks then, looking curiously between the elder and younger swordsmith. I lift an eyebrow at the monk's question.
'Well, clearly.' I think dryly to myself, Totosai quickly confirming.
"Yes, he was a pupil of mine." Totosai admits. "I banished him a long time ago for being most unorthodox. He killed ten innocent children for his sword, what a wretched beast." Totosai reveals, my own stomach flipping at the horror of it.
Children? This monster had killed ten children for a stupid sword?
And as if it couldn't get any worse, Totosai continues. "He covered the blade with human blood and oil in order to make it seethe with hatred."
I felt my energy spike at that.
"Evil bastard." I mutter through grit teeth, anger pulsing forth as the very air around me began to snap with charge.
"Draw your sword Inuyasha. I want to crush Totosai's creation before his very eyes." Kaijinbo goads once more, but this time I had, had enough. Before anyone could stop me, before Inuyasha could, I step around them all, pressing my hands together at the heels and allowing my energy to form into a large orb.
"You won't get the chance!" I shout back at him, before letting my energy go with a loud shout. The light was as bright as ever as it raced across the short distance towards Kaijinbo, his eyes widening with shock and fear as it bore down on him. With a scream or horror he is enveloped in my pure energy, screams quickly turning to those of pain as it did. I feel someone grabbing a my upper arm, pulling me directly behind them.
And I get a face full of silver hair.
My breath catches as I realize that Inuyasha had finally transformed.
As the light from my attack ebbs away, it reveals Kaijinbo, wounded but still standing, his sword poised in front of him. My eyes widen at that.
'My attack should have killed him. Probably would have if he hadn't had the sword to protect him.' I frown at that, Inuyasha looking over his shoulder towards me.
"Get back with the others. Now." He growls lowly, the order rumbling deep in his chest. My knees take the inopportune moment to shake slightly.
Oh…I had definitely pissed him off.
Knowing better than to argue at this point, I step back weakly towards the others, Sango coming up behind me and placing her hands on my upper arms for support. We all watch intently as Inuyasha's sword transforms, Tessaiga's true form glinting in the early morning sunlight as he holds it up high and inspects it.
Before suddenly it drops to the ground, a disconcerted cry forced from between Inuyasha's lips.
"What did you do to it?!" Inuyasha demands angrily as he looks over his shoulder towards Totosai now with accusation.
"What? Is there a problem?" Totosai asks innocently, all of us giving him a 'no duh' look.
"It's heavy! I can't hardly lift it!" Inuyasha complains, Totosai nodding easily then.
"I see, I see. It's most likely due to that fang of yours I used to bond it with." Totosai answers, and I can't help chewing with worry on my lower lip as Inuyasha is forced to turn and face his approaching opponent. Seeing the half-demon's dilemma, Kaijinbo laughs as he bears down on him with Tokijin.
"I'm going to slice you in half!" He declares, even as with a great heave of effort, Inuyasha brings Tessaiga up to successfully block Kaijinbo's attack. I feel relief flood through me seeing Tessaiga, though heavier, was also much stronger than before, and didn't even flinch when it met the sword forged from the fangs of it's destroyer.
Perhaps we might have some luck yet.
Hope you liked it! Next chapter will definitely be interesting for more than one reason :). Please go ahead and leave a review with your thoughts, concerns, or any general comments that you would like to make!
Until next time!
T.O.T.
