First, I want to say that this chapter is dedicated to Jingyee1511 and ksavvyx3, whose wonderful reviews kicked my butt right into gear to write at least three-halves of this chapter, if not more. See, told you reviews were fuel. So why don't you people review more if you read this?
OK, whatever… it's not like I write only for reviews anyway, though it is nice to get them LOL
Alright, fine, I'm shutting up now. Happy reading.
Oh, and as always, a million thanks to Amber for edits!
ANONYMOUS REVIEWER:
InuKag4eva: I'm glad you liked it and I hope you'll like this one too. This update quick enough for you? ;)
Tracks for this chapter:
UVERworld: Rush
Breakers:
XxX: change of scene
~ξ~: time-skip
実: Beginning/End of Flashback
[T] and [/T]: beginning/End of soundtrack
Reminder: 'Inuyasha' written normally refers to Inuyasha, while written in cursive (cursive and bold in thoughts) refers to Kagome, the "Gentle Dog Demon". 'Hanyō' written normally means "half-demon", while written in cursive (cursive and bold in thoughts) it means "half-breed".
Chapter 8 – The Iron-Crushing Fang: Tessaiga
Sudden bright light engulfed them, but was just as quick to disappear as it appeared. Inuyasha blinked as he took in his surroundings and his violet eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. They were in mid air above what he suspected to be a normal field, at least from what he could see given that it was surrounded by a fog so thick he could barely see through it. There were many rocks (or probably small mountains, he figured after a while of observing them) scattered all over the place and after squinting his eyes to see better through the fog, Inuyasha realized that what he was looking down at was not actually a field but many valleys which appeared close to each other because he was so high above them. What he first took for a field with many rocks scattered all over it was actually a gigantic mountain chain. The most surprising however was the one, lone mountain that stuck out like a sore thumb above the fog surrounded only by its whiteness in a wide circle, as if the other mountains parted explicitly to make place for it. A mountain that was in actuality a gigantic skeleton clad in armor. The fact that their falling was suddenly stopped by a moving and apparently somewhat living skeleton-bird didn't help the matter any.
"What the…" he muttered under his breath, looking around with wide eyes. He had a feeling nothing could ever surprise him after this. Beside him, Kagome sighed, her eyes staring forlornly at the skeleton the bird was taking them to. Whether it was flying there of its own accord or if Kagome was somehow steering it, Inuyasha didn't know, nor did he bother to ask.
"Well, that's my father's grave alright. At least it looks more like I expected it than the tombstone Myouga was supposed to be guarding," Kagome said finally, her small smile having been wiped off her face. She detected movement in the corner of her eye as something small appeared behind Inuyasha, as if jumping from his back to his shoulder before moving on to her nose. It didn't get that far though as she quickly caught it in her hand, blinking a few times at the insect as if not comprehending why it was there. Inuyasha raised a brow, but before he could ask, the insect spoke.
"I was not supposed to be guarding it, I was guarding it," Myouga replied, obviously proud to be able to say that. Kagome was not impressed.
"Until you decided to run away to find me," she said calmly. "What are you doing here anyway? I would have thought you would have turned tail by now."
"How could you think that Kagome-sama? Have I ever left you when you needed me?" the flea answered, jumping agitatedly on Kagome's palm as he defended his honor. Kagome scowled.
"Do you really want me to answer that, Myouga?" she asked calmly, making the flea instantly cease its jumping as he quieted down. Kagome sighed again. "I thought so," she said as she unceremoniously dumped the flea into her haori like and inanimate object that wasn't very important. Her forlorn eyes turned towards the gigantic skeleton again. "Dad..." she whispered as her eyes roamed the bones, as if she were trying to memorize their every aspect, which unbeknownst to Inuyasha was exactly what she was doing, for it was the first (and as the hanyō was aware probably the last) time she got to see her father in any shape, be it his human form, demon form or the gigantic skeleton he was at the moment and would stay for the rest of time. Inuyasha gaped.
"Those bones… are your old man's?" he asked in wonder, his eyes taking in the sight much like Kagome's did, although Inuyasha did it for a different reason entirely. 'No way in Hell! How could something so big even move, much less interact with a human in that way without crushing them? Let alone creating someone as normal-looking as Kagome,' his mind reeled. Beside him, Kagome blinked a few times as she turned to him before her eyes quickly moved back to her father… or rather what was left of him.
"Can't you tell?" she asked surprised. It was more than obvious to her. Who else's bones could they be, really?
Inuyasha huffed and turned away, but his curiosity and wonder quickly overpowered his annoyance and he glanced towards the skeleton again. The bird they were riding on finished circling around it like it was giving them a tour of the grave, only to start another circle around the skull to let them observe the remains. If Kagome really was controlling where the skeleton-bird flew, then she sure was taking her sweet time to lead them where they actually needed to be: wherever Sesshōmaru was right now.
"Even when you say that," he said finally, unable to tear his gaze away from the bones, a shiver running through him at the thought of encountering a creature this size alive. "How was I to know? It's so huge!" he finally exclaimed. Sitting next to him, the silver haired half-demon almost fell of the bird carrying them as she fell back in surprise.
"That's what astonishes you so much?" she finally asked when she sat back up again, her eyes no longer eyeing her father's remains as she concentrated solely on the boy beside her. When he didn't respond, she shook her head. "If that's the only thing you find unnerving, then you've seen nothing yet," she said.
"I just can't imagine it. I mean, I know you're only half-demon, but you look human enough. Hell, Sesshōmaru looks practically human except for a few details too! How can the two of you be children of a guy as big as this?" Inuyasha asked, not really sounding angry for once but just genuinely curious. He regretted his question as soon as it left his mouth though. He didn't want to think how stupid he must have sounded. Kagome however only blinked a few times, trying to process his question before she closed her eyes and sighed again, her shoulders slumping a little. She turned back her head to face forward and glanced at her father's remains again.
"You let appearances fool you too easily," she finally voiced her thoughts as they finished the second circle. The bird slowly started to descend and approached the skeleton. Inuyasha frowned.
"Hey, it's not like I think you or your aggravating half-brother - whose ass I'd love to kick myself, by the way, because he gets on my nerves - are human. I'm well aware of what you are and I'm also aware that he's a bloody yōkai," he barked in an annoyed tone, turning away from his hanyō companion, his frown darkening when he thought back to the silver haired, human-looking demon. Oh yes, he wanted to kick his ass. Badly. But he'd seen enough from Kagome's fight with Sesshōmaru to know that fighting him would be pure madness… unless he had a death wish of course. At least for now.
Kagome didn't answer as they continued approaching her father's remains. They were further away from them than she had thought at first. She glanced briefly at Inuyasha before looking away once more. 'You say you know Sesshōmaru's not human,' the half-demon girl thought with a mental sigh, 'but you don't seem to really grasp the fact that he's a demon either.'
"Her father was a phantom of incomparable stature," Myouga suddenly spoke up, quickly capturing Inuyasha's attention. Kagome glanced at him briefly before looking away, although her twitching ears were more than proof enough that she was listening as well. "And here he is in his truest form, undisguised."
"Undisguised?" Inuyasha repeated. "What do you mean exactly? That he could disguise himself like… make himself invisible or something?" he asked with wide eyes. Kagome almost snorted, but a certain thought turned the sound into a sigh. She didn't look at Inuyasha as she spoke.
"I hope for your sake that you won't find out today what exactly that means," she said quietly, her brows furrowing. She ignored the black haired humans questioning gaze as she lost herself in her thoughts. While Sesshōmaru had never actually graced her with the sight of his true form, she'd seen many other demons do it on more than one occasion. Knowing how strong Sesshōmaru was though, the thought of confronting his demonic form while having a human at her side she needed to protect was not very appealing.
Myouga cleared his throat to regain the two teens' attention as the skeleton bird they were sitting on finally entered the inside of Kagome's father's bones, flying straight through his mouth.
"The treasured sword imbedded in his bones… that is what Sesshōmaru-sama is after," the flea said gravely, staring straight at Kagome with narrowed eyes.
Hearing that particular piece of information, Kagome froze. Inuyasha didn't pay her much attention however, opting instead to focus on the flea. Just as he was about to ask a question however, a deep, angry growl could be heard from the depths of Kagome's throat. Her eyes were narrowed and her lips formed an extremely angry snarl. Myouga sweat dropped before quickly hopping over to what he considered a safer spot: Inuyasha's shoulder.
The black haired priest shouldn't have been impressed by what he heard. After all, this wasn't the first time he'd heard Kagome growl. However, it was the first time he'd heard her growl quite like that. It was deeper and much more menacing than anything he'd ever heard. The bared fangs and the flexing claws weren't helping any either. Inuyasha gulped.
"A sword," Kagome finally growled out, after taking a few deep breaths to calm her anger somewhat. Charging in while blinded by anger wouldn't be the best idea. The pissed off gleam in her eyes remained though. "Sesshōmaru did all that," she said, referring to their encounter with her dearest half-brother a few short minutes ago. "Just to get a fucking sword?" she stressed.
"H-h-hai?" Myouga got out uncertainly, his whole form visibly shaking as the flea broke out in a cold sweat. Kagome snarled at the answer. 'The nerve of him! How can he hold a sword over life, no matter whose life it is? I would gladly kill him if he weren't my brother,' the silver haired inu-hanyō thought angrily as they slowly descended. Her eyes narrowed even more if that was even possible. True, she couldn't kill him because of their blood ties… but nothing stood in the way of just beating him up, did there? 'I'm going to make the bastard pay.'
It wasn't so much the fact that Sesshōmaru tried to kill Inuyasha that bugged Kagome. What pissed her off was that her brother was ready to kill anyone, defenseless or not, just to make sure she gave him the key to the grave. Had he attacked any other living creature (except maybe a low-level yōkai that would get on her nerves and get killed sooner or later anyway), Kagome's reaction would most likely be the same as it was now: barely controlled anger.
"We're almost there… where he is I mean," the half-demon girl said suddenly as she sniffed the air. Inuyasha smirked.
"Alright, then let's go and just…" he didn't get to finish his sentence as Kagome suddenly grabbed him and threw him on her back before jumping off of their ride. She jumped soundlessly from bone to bone, slowly descending the rest of the way down what Inuyasha supposed was the giant skeleton's throat and in the direction of what could only be the belly. "Hey, what's the big idea?" Inuyasha asked angrily as he tried to free himself from her grasp. If there was anything more humiliating than her having to protect him, it was her piggybacking him.
"Just shut up and quit fighting me for once or I'll drop you the rest of the way," Kagome bit back in a whisper. Stunned by her answer, Inuyasha froze on her back. Not because he was scared she'd let him fall (not that Kagome would execute that threat anyway), but because he was wondering why she'd whispered all of a sudden.
The black haired teen got his response when the tunnel they were following further and further down suddenly opened to reveal an open space. Or at least, more of an open space than it previously was. The bones suddenly grew apart, creating a sort of a gigantic, round room. As Inuyasha had guessed, they'd come to the skeleton's belly.
Soundlessly, Kagome jumped over and landed lightly on one of the ribs of her father's remains. She let Inuyasha slide off her back, then pushed him slightly back before following. They lay down on the bone, hiding behind it as they hung between the bone and the armor only a few centimeters away. Inuyasha glanced at Kagome and opened his mouth, but she soundlessly showed him to keep his mouth shut as she peered over the rib they were hiding behind at the inside of the room, where Inuyasha now noticed Sesshōmaru and Jaken were. It would appear Kagome was planning to stand back and watch for a while, though why she'd do that, Inuyasha had no idea.
As for Kagome herself, she was a little surprised her little idea worked out so far. She had actually expected Sesshōmaru to have noticed them by now, either thanks to his ears or thanks to his nose. However, it seemed the eldest son of the Inu no Taisho was too preoccupied with the sword in front of him to notice his surrounding at all. Kagome frowned.
'Something's not right,' she thought as she watched the goings-on below. Except Sesshōmaru and Jaken, there was no one there. Only a small pedestal stood out on the skull-covered ground. A pedestal where an old looking katana was stuck blade down and ready to be taken out, but the golden eyed girl didn't pay much attention to the used, rusted blade. 'Where's that sword Myouga was babbling about?'
"I am finally here," Sesshōmaru suddenly spoke and Kagome's ears twitched on her head as she pushed herself a little higher up to get a better view. Beside her, Inuyasha did the same and they watched together as Kagome's half-brother slowly, with measured steps neared the pedestal. Kagome raised a brow. "To possess the sacred sword imbedded in my father's bones. The lethal fang sword known to kill a hundred yōkai in a single stroke… known as the Tessaiga," the daiyōkai continued talking seemingly to himself as he slowly reached for the sword's handle.
On his perch behind the gigantic bone, Inuyasha blinked while Kagome almost let go of it entirely and nearly let herself fall over in surprise. Her golden eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as they seized up the old sword again. It was a simple, used and rusted katana. It hardly looked sharp enough to slice through bread, let alone to kill as many yōkai as Sesshōmaru claimed with a single swing. For the first time in her life, Kagome actually had a hard time believing her ears.
'This is the Tessaiga? My father's greatest treasure? The thing Sesshōmaru wanted… no, wants to get so badly?' she thought bewildered as she watched her brother's clawed hand close over the handle just above the guard.
"Tessaiga was forged from one of his father's fangs. Being in possession of this sword empowers Sesshōmaru-sama with as much strength as his father," a second voice suddenly spoke up, barely loud enough for Inuyasha's ears to hear from the distance. But Kagome's sensitive ears heard the imp who said those words perfectly well. Her clawed hands closed tighter around the bone she was holding on to without her noticing as another wave of surprise and disbelief hit her.
'That can't be!' she screamed in her mind. As if hearing her thoughts and deciding to prove her wrong, sudden light shone from the hilt as Sesshōmaru tugged on it. The sound of an electric jolt comparable to that of purifying energy could be heard as the stoic demon quickly withdrew his hand from the sword and gazed at it. Even though she couldn't see an injury from where she was, the stench of burned flesh reached Kagome's nose and she blinked. The situation (and the sword in the center of it) suddenly got a whole lot more interesting. Beside the young half-demon, Inuyasha watched with wide eyes, stunned into complete silence himself. 'What the Hell?' he thought as he regarded the happenings below him, his confusion mounting with every second.
Inuyasha wasn't the only one stunned into silence. Jaken stood only a meter or so away from Sesshōmaru, his body completely rigid and unmoving. Had he been facing the two hiding people, they would have seen his big yellow eyes were wide as saucers as he stared at the sword in front of him and his master beside it.
"Can't pull it out?" the imp asked, his tone betraying what exactly he thought of this idea: it should not be possible. 'Not only unable to pull it out,' Kagome thought as she blinked several times. 'He isn't even able to hold it for longer than a very short moment!'
Alright, so there was more to that sword than she believed at first… maybe even more than it would look at first glance. It was after all her father's greatest treasure, and Kagome seriously doubted he'd treasure such a rusted old sword… except if there was a secret to it only he knew about. She bit her bottom lip, but decided to still stay hidden.
"He was ever so cautious," her brother's calm voice sounded in the silent 'room' rather loudly. Kagome titled her head to the side. He didn't seem surprised at all, almost as if he were expecting something like that to happen. "There's a spell on it."
Kagome blinked, her mind working overtime. The sword was suddenly an intriguing mystery. And if there was something Kagome hated, it were unsolved mysteries, especially if they concerned her in any way. This one apparently did, at least on some level, so she had to solve it. She hated being in the dark. 'Spell?' she echoed in her head. Then again, it would make sense in a way. She frowned.
That sword over there was supposed to be her father's greatest treasure. Yet it didn't look like much. Still, if it was only what it seemed to be, why would her father go to such trouble to make sure it didn't fall into the wrong hands? If it's only a rusted, old katana, why go to the trouble of hiding it in his grave? Why hide the key to said grave within her body? And why put a spell on it so that no one could touch it? 'So this is my father's treasure… Tessaiga… Iron-Crushing Fang,' she thought as she gazed at the sword with her sharp eyes. 'It doesn't look like a fang at all, much less one that could crush iron… but since it's dad's treasure there's no way it's just what I see it as. There must be more to it!' she thought with conviction as she turned her head to the by now very much impatient Inuyasha. Sending him a glare that clearly told he was not supposed to do anything rash or stupid, Kagome slowly hoisted herself up onto the rib she'd been hiding behind up until now and stood to her full height. Inuyasha rolled his eyes at her silent order to stay where he was and out of trouble before defiantly hoisting himself up as well. Like Hell he was going to listen to her orders. He didn't follow her just to cower behind a bone.
"So, all that trouble for a sword you can't even touch, much less pull out of the pedestal it's stuck in?" Kagome suddenly spoke up, her mocking tone cutting the air like a knife as she jumped down to the skull-covered ground. She landed lightly barely twenty feet away from her brother, who turned around when he heard her voice. The daiyōkai was undoubtedly also aware of Inuyasha's presence by now, but he did not look up to grace the human with even a look. Instead, Sesshōmaru's cool gaze sought that of his sister. Kagome couldn't help but smirk when their eyes met. "Such a shame, isn't it. And you went to so much trouble to get so far, too," she said tauntingly.
"This is father's final resting place," Sesshōmaru replied coolly, seemingly unaffected by Kagome's taunts. "How dare you disrespect and defile it with your vile presence here, unworthy hanyō. This Sesshōmaru shall put you in your place," he said icily. From his vantage point on the bone, Inuyasha winced slightly, remembering what Kagome told him about her reaction to being called a half-breed. 'Oh, he's going to get it now,' the black haired human thought. Kagome however only snorted, controlling her anger better than Inuyasha ever expected her to be able to.
"Oh please, don't make me laugh, dear brother," she said, spitting out the endearment in a sarcastic tone again. "You're the one trying to rob his grave," she pointed out, though Sesshōmaru didn't seem affected by her words in the least. However, he did open his mouth to retort something, but was rudely interrupted by the last person Kagome ever expected to speak up at this very moment.
"Kagome-sama! Please, draw the sword out!" they heard from somewhere above them. Sesshōmaru turned his head to look at Inuyasha, seemingly noticing only now that the human boy was even there. His keen eyes quickly zoomed in on the boy's shoulder where Myouga was jumping frantically. He had been the one to interrupt their… conversation.
Kagome didn't react to the flea's words and just raised a brow at the request. Sighing, Myouga spoke up again.
"Sesshōmaru-sama was unable to pull Tessaiga out…" he started, but was not allowed to finish.
"Are you saying that whelp can?" Sesshōmaru interrupted calmly as he pointed to Kagome briefly without even looking at her, making the half-demon growl low in her throat. She was no whelp!
"But of course! Kagome-sama was meant to inherit Tessaiga!" Myouga replied confidently. Kagome blinked a few times before gazing up at the flea sitting on Inuyasha's shoulder. Noticing her stare, the tiny yōkai faltered for a moment before continuing. "The fact that the tomb was entrusted to Kagome-sama is proof of that," he said as he slowly retreated behind Inuyasha's forelocks, hiding himself from view. "Now hurry, Kagome-sama! Draw the sword out!" he called again before disappearing completely from the two demon's field of vision, hiding behind Inuyasha's hair like the coward he was. Kagome sighed.
"You didn't sound too sure of yourself there you know. You sure you didn't make that up?" she asked with narrowed eyes, but shrugged and walked towards the pedestal with the sword anyway. She would try to draw the sword out, if only to make sure her father could really have left it just for her. The young half-demon almost didn't dare to believe it, but then again, she only knew her father from her mother's stories. She had been but an infant when he died, but according to her mother, no matter how short he might have known her, Inu no Taisho had loved his daughter dearly and always wanted to do anything he could to protect both her and her mother. And Kagome had no reason to think her mother would be lying about that as of yet.
Stopping only a step away from the blade, Kagome slowly reached out her hand and grasped the handle, her golden eyes narrowing as she regarded the old katana. It didn't look like it was stuck very deep into the stone of the pedestal. As far as she could tell by just looking at it, the weakest of tugs should have been enough to draw it out. Kagome knew better however. After all, Sesshōmaru already tried and failed. She narrowed her eyes, but did nothing to try and move the sword from where it was, just keeping a hold on it instead. For a long while nothing happened and she raised a brow. She gave the sword a gentle tug. Still, nothing happened.
"No! Kagome is immune to the spell which cast off Sesshōmaru-sama!" a nasal voice cut the thick silence as Jaken dropped his Staff of Two Heads in surprise, his yell confirming Kagome's thoughts. Away from the scene and above everyone else, Inuyasha smirked to himself at this turn of events. 'That's gotta be a low blow to the ego,' he thought as he watched on. Sasshōmaru didn't seem to be affected at all, but Inuyasha knew better. He was a guy too, after all, so he could imagine what the yōkai's thought must have been like. 'Not only is she a half-demon, his 'good for nothing sister' as he himself says, she's also a girl. I wonder what his face will look like when she manages to do what he couldn't,' the black haired boy thought to himself as he waited, holding his breath. His eyes narrowed however when Kagome made no further move to take the sword from the pedestal.
"What the Hell are you waiting for, Kagome! Just draw it out already!" he yelled from his vantage point on the rib. Kagome frowned, but didn't turn around.
"Shut up for a second!" she spit out, her narrowed eyes concentrated on the sword before her. "Mindless pulling won't help here any. That sword won't come out like that. There's something else to it."
Inuyasha blinked, but didn't say anything, titling his head to the side in confusion instead. Kagome continued ignoring him, and everyone else around for that matter, her mind concentrating only on the Tessaiga. The sword intrigued her now more than anything else ever had. She just had to figure it out. Somehow she felt… she was supposed to have it. Which meant, she had to figure out how to pull it out.
'There are two possible reasons dad went as far as to hide Tessaiga in his own tomb while entrusting the key to me without my knowing,' the hanyō thought as her eyes roamed the sword without truly seeing it anymore. 'He either didn't want anyone to ever get it and thought I'd be strong enough to protect the key since I was his daughter,' her mind whispered and Kagome couldn't help but be a little happy to think her father might have thought that. 'Either that or he really wanted me to have it,' she narrowed her eyes. Something wasn't right here.
If her father truly wanted her to have it, then she shouldn't have any trouble to pull the sword out, even though it rejected Sesshōmaru. This however was not the case. Kagome bit her lip as her mind worked overdrive. 'That would only leave the conclusion he didn't want anyone to take this sword from here. But then why does the spell accept me when it rejected Sesshōmaru? Shouldn't it reject anyone who tried to take it?'
Kagome shook her head. That didn't make any sense at all to the half-demon. It was as if her father was contradicting himself. She wished she could just ask him what he was up to, but unfortunately, that hadn't been possible for a very long time now. The silver haired girl sighed. What could her father have possibly wanted when he hid the sword in a place this hard to get to and by placing a spell on it that rejected some people and not others while still not allowing anyone to draw it out? What could the strong daiyōkai possibly have been thinking?
Kagome's eyes snapped wide open as a thought suddenly struck her, as if a candle had been lit inside her head. Of course! Her father was strong and this sword was his greatest treasure. If Jaken's words were anything to go by, it was his strongest weapon too. It would only be natural then for the great dog demon to not want just anyone to take this sword. But it would also be natural for a father to want one of his children to inherit his legacy… so long as they could prove themselves worthy of inheriting it in his eyes.
'To draw out the sword… I need to pass a test. If I do that, it'll be easy to take it,' Kagome realized, her grip tightening in the handle in frustration as she suppressed an annoyed huff. 'But what is that test? What do I need to do to clear it?' she thought fervently.
"What else can there be to it than just pulling it out? It can't be stuck that deep, can it?" Inuyasha's voice suddenly cut through the invisible bubble of silence Kagome closed herself in, bringing the half-demon back to the present. "Here, let me try. I'll show you how easy it is," Inuyasha said cockily as he finally reached the ground and started walking towards the pedestal and Kagome, obviously completely forgetting there were two other people there as well. Kagome's eyes however widened and she swiftly released the handle and turned around to face Inuyasha. 'You idiotic moron!' she yelled in her mind as her eyes found her brother and she pounced.
"This Sesshōmaru has done enough by not killing you on the spot for daring to trespass on these sacred grounds that are chichiue's(1) resting place. However, a low and insignificant human such as you will not be allowed to come anywhere near father's most treasured weapon. You will not defile it with your hands," Sesshōmaru's cold and calm voice reached his ears, reminding Inuyasha the daiyōkai was even there. There was an undertone to those words that made Inuyasha stop dead in his tracks before he quickly turned around to face the demon. He was too late however to notice the deadly whip that was already flying at him.
But Sesshōmaru missed. Not because his aim was off, and not because Inuyasha miraculously managed to dodge the attack either. It was Kagome who made him miss by grabbing his wrist as soon as she got to him and forcefully tugging at it. Since the whip always reacted to the slightest of Sesshōmaru's movements, the sudden jerk Kagome provoked made it change its course, enough to miss the dumbstruck Inuyasha and to hit the wall of the grave (made obviously of bone) behind him. A drop of sweat slowly made its way down the side of Inuyasha's face as the violet eyes teen shook himself from his stupor. 'That was much too close… and she had to save me again!' he thought angrily. What the Hell was wrong with him? He never froze and lost his cool like that when someone attacked him, so why did he this time?
Maybe because he was aware that unlike the punches and kicks he was used to fending off in his own time were nowhere near as deadly as one hit from that glowing whip.
Sesshōmaru narrowed his eyes at his sister, his cold eyes telling her exactly what he was thinking. It was most likely something along the lines of 'how dare you touch this Sesshōmaru with your filthy hands, half-breed?'
Wordlessly, Kagome's half-brother raised his hand and swung it lightly to the side as if he was throwing something away. The force of the motion however (even though it did not look like it) was enough to make the young half-demon release her hold and she was unceremoniously thrown to the ground. Kagome wasn't lying around for long though and short three second later she was back on her feet, standing firmly between Sesshōmaru and Inuyasha.
"If you want to fight someone Sesshōmaru, I'm sorry to disappoint, but it's going to be me," Kagome snarled as she readied her claws, her mind cursing Inuyasha's stupidity. Sometimes, she got the feeling the black haired human actually wanted to be killed, considering how he was acting. This was one of those times, but she'd be damned if she let his wish come true. Not on her watch.
Sesshōmaru ignored her however as he quickly sidestepped her, and before anyone knew what was happening, the daiyōkai was standing not an inch away from Inuyasha, claws ready to strike. Looking at him up close, the black haired teen noticed a few details he missed before. Details which made Sesshōmaru definitely more demonic, though he still looked fairly human in Inuyasha's eyes.
For starters, there were two magenta stripes on each of his cheeks and one above each eye. There was also a violet crescent on his forehead, and somehow Inuyasha doubted either of those were tattoos. His nails were short but very sharp nevertheless, which was obvious without touching them. They reminded Inuyasha greatly of dog claws, though this was to be expected if Sesshōmaru was a dog demon. What surprised Inuyasha most however were his eyes – the eyes he had suspected to be exactly as Kagome's when he saw them from a distance. He had been wrong though. Their color might have been the same, but Kagome's eyes were warm and full of emotion, like the eyes of any human. The eyes that were staring at him now however were cold, unforgiving and completely emotionless. Gazing into them, Inuyasha felt like he was staring at a block of ice painted gold.
Quickly snapping out of the trance Sesshōmaru had somehow made him fall into, Inuyasha quickly ducked to avoid the incoming attack. That only led to Sesshōmaru trying to grab him by the shirt to lift him into the air before he could roll away, but the demon was, once again interrupted by his sister who unceremoniously jumped between him and his human prey, pushing said human far behind her. The hanyō snarled.
[T]
"I said you'll be fighting with me!"
"If you insist so much on wasting your worthless life protecting an unworthy human, so be it," Sesshōmaru said calmly as he moved back to regain some space between them. At the same time he called forth his whip. "Though I regret to have to soil this sacred place with the dirty blood of a half-breed such as you, little sister," he added. Much as in Kagome's case, the endearment he used to call her could hardly be called that. Coming from the stoic demon, it sounded more like an insult than anything else. Kagome snarled as she lunged at her brother. "You will now meet the end you should have met eons ago, little sister. And you will meet it with the help of this Sesshōmaru's Dokuhebi no Kei(2)," he said calmly as he sent his whip at her, but Kagome evaded his attack without much effort.
Sitting exactly where Kagome had pushed him, Inuyasha was taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart. For once, he pushed his pride to the back of his mind and was actually glad Kagome was nearby. If she hadn't been there, he would have been dead. But what did he ever do to piss her brother off this much? Except for even existing of course.
Shaking his head, Inuyasha looked up and his eyes fell on the sword which was the reason for this whole mess. The sword that Sesshōmaru couldn't and Kagome kind of refused to try to draw out. Inuyasha furrowed his brows. Whatever made him think that he could pull out a sword that was stuck deep enough for two demons to be unable to draw out, he didn't know. But he did know he could get back at Sesshōmaru, if only by wounding his pride, if he did. That, and he could prove to Kagome that he wasn't useless.
Nodding to himself, Inuyasha quickly got to his feet and started moving towards the sword, mindful not to get the attention of a certain, angered daiyōkai. He didn't get very far however when suddenly a feeling of danger overcame him. He stopped dead in his tracks, then suddenly threw himself to the side as his instincts (at least he believed it were his instincts, or his sixth sense or whatever) screamed at him to move. As he found out as soon as he stood up after rolling a few feet away, it was a good thing he did, for a sudden wave of flames crashed without warning into the exact spot he had been standing at not even a second ago. Narrowing his eyes into a glare, Inuyasha turned his head and saw Jaken who was, once again, swinging his staff in a circle, probably preparing to launch another flamethrower at him.
"Are you that much of a coward that you can't even face me head on and have to resort to dirty tricks?" Inuyasha asked in a low tone as he flexed his fingers. He'd fought the imp and won before, he'd do it again. And he wouldn't even need his sword, of that he was certain. The imp posed no real threat after all, as long as one was cautious enough about that staff of his.
"I will not lose this time! And I'll make you pay for insulting me both times you worthless, despicable human!" the green imp-demon yelled as he struck his staff against the skull covered ground. Already knowing what that meant, Inuyasha quickly leapt to the side avoiding another wave of flames. As the fire died out, the black haired teen quickly ran towards his opponent. Just like he expected him to, Jaken had reacted to that by trying to hit him with his only weapon once Inuyasha was near enough. Smirking to himself, Inuyasha stopped suddenly and used the momentum of his run as he turned slightly to the right, delivering a side-ways kick straight to the female head of the staff. The force of the kick, powered up by the speed of the turn and momentum Inuyasha gained beforehand, was enough to wrench the wooden weapon from the demons hands, making it fly to the other side of the 'room' they were in. Inuyasha's smirk widened.
"Now what will you do, little annoying imp?" he asked as he lunged. He didn't have any bad feelings for attacking an unarmed person. He never did. Most likely because, just like this time, the unarmed person was only unarmed because he somehow disarmed them. Besides, the imp had it coming for calling him worthless.
Just as Inuyasha had thought, the little demon wasn't much of a fighter once he was disarmed, as was proved immediately afterward. Jaken started to run away from Inuyasha's well aimed kicks and punches. He didn't get hit thanks to his own demon speed, but that was all he managed to do. It was obvious to the violet eyed teen what the imp wanted, namely get to his staff to be able to fight back, and Inuyasha would be damned if he allowed him to do it.
It wasn't long before the imp was cornered and Inuyasha almost scoffed in disappointment. For a demon, Jaken sure was easy to beat, especially since Inuyasha had yet to draw his sword. But if he used a blade on a weak opponent such as this… well, were would be the fun in that?
"Well, what now? You've got nowhere else to run. And what was that about making me pay for insulting you, little weak coward? You have yet to act upon that threat you know," Inuyasha mocked him as he slowly advanced on the small demon, cracking his knuckles. His eyes were focused only on his opponent, so he didn't notice the faint, blue glow that started to envelop his fists. But Jaken did and the sight made his already wide eyes widen even more as he understood what was about to happen to him. This was it. He was going to die. Killed by a human. How much more pathetic could he get?
Figuring the imp was going to stay quiet, Inuyasha slowly raised his fist to deliver the final blow that would, at least in Inuyasha's opinion, knock the imp out cold and get rid of the green annoyance for a while. He didn't get as far as actually striking however as he was suddenly grabbed from behind, one hand grabbing on to his readied fist, the other around his waist. Next thing he knew, he was lying on his stomach on what he guessed was the Tessaiga's pedestal, since there were no skulls underneath him, with a second person lying on top of him before she quickly jumped back.
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"You fucking idiot!" Kagome hissed at him angrily as she crouched before him and turned around to face her brother again. But Inuyasha wasn't planning on letting her ignore him.
"Why the Hell did you stop me?" he growled back, somehow thinking better than to start yelling. Kagome looked at him over her shoulder with a look that promised bloody murder if he didn't shut up right now. Her lips were in a fierce, angry snarl and her brows were furrowed. She seemed to have gained a few bruises, but other than that her short fight with Sesshōmaru didn't seem to have made her gain more injuries than those she had already sported when they came to the grave. Her father's skeleton was worse for the wear though, as multiple bones had been literally melted to nothing but white mud.
"Because you would have fucking killed him," she hissed back as one of her claws absentmindedly wandered her left and rested on Tessaiga's hilt. Inuyasha's eyes widened when he saw the second-degree burns on her hand… the same hand that had grabbed his fist before she threw the both of them on the pedestal. Looking down at his hands, he saw a last flicker of a blue light before it disappeared. He blinked. 'I would have purified him with that punch,' the black haired teen suddenly realized. Knowing this only made him angrier though.
"And it would have been a bad thing because…?" he asked angrily, but Kagome didn't grace him with an answer this time. He growled; a habit he seemed to pick up from her rather quickly. "Last time I checked, he was an enemy wasn't he?"
"Just shut up already you damned fool," Kagome cursed at him, her eyes still trained on her brother. "I already told you, Sesshōmaru," she said louder, catching her brother's attention. "Claws off the human."
"He already involved himself by just coming here, little sister. And now, I have more than a good reason to kill him," Sesshōmaru said coldly and Kagome couldn't help but sigh slightly. Her brother was right and she couldn't argue with that. Not anymore. Not after what Inuyasha almost did.
"You're right, he is involved now," she agreed, her golden eyes never straying from her brother's gaze. "That only means I have to make sure he gets out of here alive, though. There's nothing more to this situation than there was before. I only have to protect him," she said calmly. However, her calm demeanor changed and her eyes darted to her left when she suddenly felt something pulse in her grasp. She blinked. The hanyō hadn't even noticed when she grasped Tessaiga's hilt. It was the sword that was pulsing. Kagome didn't know why, but this time, as she held the sword, the feeling was different. She didn't know how she knew either, but she was certain of one thing: Tessaiga wished to be drawn and she would be able to pull it out of its pedestal this time. Looking back to her brother, she saw him smirk in amusement.
"It seems you're attracted to humans more and more, little hanyō," the daiyōkai said calmly and Inuyasha couldn't help but notice something.
"Is it just me, or did Sesshōmaru not use Kagome's name even once during this whole… encounter?" Inuyasha whispered to himself, narrowing his eyes.
"Not only during this meeting. Ever since Kagome-sama was born, Sesshōmaru-sama has never called her by her given name," Myouga spoke up suddenly, making Inuyasha jump slightly. The teen had completely forgotten the flea was even there. The tiny yōkai sighed. "Truthfully, as far as I know, and I think I know a lot where it concerns Kagome-sama, not many people ever used her real name, even if they know it."
Inuyasha couldn't help but remember the way she smiled when she mentioned that he started calling her by her name when they were on their way here. He hadn't thought much of it then, to be honest, he even thought it a bit weird. It was just a name after all.
But could it be that she reacted that way because of what Myouga just said? Because not many people ever called her by her given name? Now that he thought about it, he only heard Kaede say it a few times. Anyone else always called her a demon or a hanyō or something else still. Heck, even the villagers in Kaede's village only ever called her the Inuyasha and never just plain 'Kagome'. Was this the reason she seemed so happy when he started using her name?
Oblivious to Inuyasha's and Myouga's little conversation, Sesshōmaru continued talking.
"Why protect them? Why miss them? Why love them?" the stoic demon said, his voice referring most likely to Kikyo. He probably knew this story after all. Kagome fought hard to suppress an angry growl. She couldn't let herself get blinded by rage. This was what Sesshōmaru was aiming for and Kagome was not going to grab the bait.
"I inherited our father's great power," Sesshōmaru then said as he slowly flexed his claws and walked a few feet forward. Kagome gripped the sword beside her tighter, readying herself. She wasn't sure why, but she was sure she'd be able to draw it and use it. She only had to wait for the perfect moment. "But I did not inherit his merciful heart for human kind."
At these words, Kagome froze and her eyes widened as they slowly traveled to Tessaiga, then to Sesshōmaru, back to Tessaiga and back to her brother again. It all was suddenly very clear. It was so easy to figure out… so easy the thought would have probably never even crossed her mind on its own. The reason why she suddenly knew she could draw Tessaiga… the reason why it repelled Sesshōmaru… it was because…
"A human woman, your mother," Sesshōmaru said with obvious distaste and hatred in his voice. Kagome narrowed her eyes. "Caring for such a thing…" the daiyōkai's voice became an octave lower as he shook his head in disdain. Only a blind person wouldn't have seen what exactly Sesshōmaru thought of Kagome's mother, or of the feelings the Inu no Taisho had for her.
"In the end, the weakness came from such a feeling and made our father like this," the silver haired demon stated coldly, one of his claws showing elegantly the skeleton around them. Then his eyes narrowed and he sent an emotionless look in Kagome's direction. It wasn't even cold or uncaring. It was just plain emotionless. But that didn't make it any better.
"There is dirty blood flowing inside your body. Perhaps that blood is attracting you to humans. My eyes do not care for them, those lowly creatures called humans!" his voice was growing steadily louder and more menacing as he spoke, so that he was almost what Kagome and any other inu-yōkai would consider yelling. He then raised one of his claws, which started to glow green. Knowing what he was up to since he was so far away, Kagome quickly rushed forward before he could fire his attack. Sesshōmaru only jumped back however and sent it at her anyway.
"Dokkasō(3)," he said calmly as the deadly poison sprayed from his claws. His eyebrows rose however when a cloud of smoke and skull remains rose from where Kagome stood. Of course, his poison melted the flying 'obstacles' rather easily, but the makeshift defense had given Kagome enough time to get herself and Inuyasha away from the imminent danger zone.
"That is exactly why Tessaiga rejected you," Kagome's voice came from his right and he directed his eyes in that direction. As he thought, she was there, her human charge hiding behind her, though obviously more because she forced him to than because he actually wanted to cower behind her back. The golden eyed demon didn't pay any attention to the human anymore, though, concentrating only on his sister… who he now noticed was holding a sword in her hand. Narrowing his eyes, Sesshōmaru glanced briefly to the pedestal, not missing the fact that his father's sword was no longer stuck there, before directing his gaze back to the half-demon girl.
'I knew there was more to it than met the eye,' Kagome thought as she allowed herself a quick peek at the sword in her hand before concentrating on Sesshōmaru again. She had drawn it out as she leaped at her brother, trying to (fruitlessly) stop him from sending his poison at them. She had not expected the sword to transform the second it left the pedestal though, so she was quite surprised when after effortlessly slipping it out from where it was stuck, she was holding not a rusted old katana, but a much bigger sword. It was also this sword she used to ram against the ground to make the small cloud to gain a little time, though given the force she struck with, the result was more than she expected it to be.
In this new form, Tessaiga looked almost new. The blade was long and twice the width of Kagome's hand at its widest. Looking at it now, Kagome understood the name, for the blade was in the form of a gigantic fang. There wasn't any visible guard, but there was a bit of fur where it was supposed to be. Demon dog fur which reminded Kagome strongly of her brother's mokomoko, though she doubted it had a similar use as her brother's fur. The only thing that didn't change and was still used and old-looking was the hilt, but that didn't bother Kagome much. The rest of the sword more than made up for it.
"What?" the demon asked with narrowed eyes. From his vantage point behind Kagome, Inuyasha blinked in bewilderment as well as he tried to comprehend what was going on. First Kagome stopped him from apparently killing one of their foes, which made virtually no sense at all, then she and her brother had a heart-to-heart about their father and Kagome's human mother and finally they are apparently going to start fighting again, after Kagome miraculously pulled the sword from where it was stuck, though she said before that 'mindless pulling wouldn't help here any'. Inuyasha was confused.
"You said so yourself," Kagome said calmly as she regarded her brother with a cool stare. "Your eyes don't care for humans. Your heart thinks of them as 'lowly creatures' that are beneath you. That is exactly why Tessaiga rejected you," the half-demon said with confidence as she slowly raised the sword and took a battle stance. She was standing straight, facing her brother. Both of her hands were on the sword's hilt as she pulled it back, holding it next to her temple, the blade pointing forward. "Tessaiga was forged to protect humans!" the half-demon girl stated with conviction, her eyes staring evenly at her brother. "One who does not care for them cannot wield a sword meant to protect them."
"You dare suggest father would make such a great sword for such a low purpose? Do not make me laugh, foolish hanyō," Sesshōmaru answered coldly flexing his claws as he regarded Kagome with an icy stare of his own. 'Like he even could laugh,' Inuyasha thought to himself as he watched things unfold. 'He wouldn't be able to if his life depended on it.'
Kagome only smirked at her brother's words. She was expecting him to say something like that. After all, for him, to make a sword for such a purpose was folly. However, the mindset of the Inu no Taisho was, luckily, not the same as that of his son.
"Myouga," Kagome called without turning around, keeping a steady gaze on her brother just in case. Knowing the daiyōkai, he could attack any time. "When was Tessaiga forged? When did my father suddenly decide he needed a sword such as this?" she asked the flea after a second of silence. One might wonder why she asked. The answer could prove her right, sure, but it could also prove her wrong. Kagome didn't hesitate though. Somehow she knew… she knew she was right.
"Tessaiga was forged after your father met your mother, Kagome-sama," the flea responded from Inuyasha's shoulder after a second of thought. The black haired teen finally rose to his feet and approached Kagome, though he knew better than to try and step from behind her. His pride be damned for once, he wasn't planning on dying today, and Sesshōmaru's gaze was one that promised death, so he decided to stand back and let Kagome handle her brother on her own. She'd done a pretty good job at it so far after all. "I'm pretty sure he had it made with the idea of using it to protect your mother in mind. That's what he used it for," the tiny yōkai continued.
"There you have it," Kagome said calmly to her brother. "Dad made this sword to protect kaa-san(4), and kaa-san was human. What more proof do you need that he'd want this sword to be used only to protect humans?" the half-demon asked confidently. The idea didn't strike her as odd at all, for unlike many other half-demons (though she never actually met any), she was not ashamed of her blood. If anything, she was proud of her heritage, knowing what in the old days people thought of her kind and holding it for true herself. Besides, hating her blood would mean hating her mother or father, and she could not do that. She could not bring herself to hate them, the idea alone repulsed her.
Her mother taught her to protect humans no matter what. In her own eyes, seeing as her father loved a human, it would only make sense if he'd want her to do the same. But apparently Sesshōmaru had a different opinion. Not that this surprised her. Sesshōmaru, being the human-hater that he was, would never agree to such a theory.
"This Sesshōmaru will decide on his own if what you say is true, little sister," Sesshōmaru said calmly as he flexed his claws. Kagome tensed slightly. She knew what was coming next. "After I have seen what a worthless hanyō like you can do with the Tessaiga for the purpose you claim it has been forged."
"Be my guest," Kagome replied calmly. In the next second, the two siblings were locked in a battle yet again… but this time, any thoughts of joining or taking care of Jaken left Inuyasha's mind as he stared at the fight before him.
(1) Chichiue: an honorific for 'father' and the second most respectful one in the Japanese language (I think… 'Otou-san' [literally 'Mr. Father'] is even more respectful after all, isn't it?)
(2) I remembered (rather suddenly) that Sesshōmaru's whip only exists in the anime. He doesn't actually have it in the manga. Still, I thought it was a weapon that kind of suited him, plus he needed to have it anyway to make fight with him a little more interesting since he doesn't have a sword that can actually kill yet. However, in the anime, the whip was named 'Whip of Light' which I didn't think was really fitting. Not because of the whip's abilities, but because of Sesshōmaru himself. Considering how he is (especially at the beginning of the series), that name really didn't seem like the right one, so I allowed myself to rename that whip attack to 'Dokuhebi no Kei', which means literally 'Poisonous Snake's Whip' (which can also be re-organized to 'Whip of the Poisonous Snake' if you prefer). Fits better, don't you think? Especially since I made it poisonous too, and it kind of acts like a snake with how it reacts to the slightest movement of Sesshōmaru's hand.
(3) Dokkasō – literally 'Toxic Flower Claw'. Sesshōmaru's poison attack when his claws glow green or when he sprays the poison from his claws. I read (though I don't remember seeing it in the anime or manga, but then again, it's been a while) that Sesshōmaru can fire large blades of energy similar to Inuyasha's "Sankon Tessō" when using it, so don't be surprised when that happens.
(4) Kaa-san: a respectful form of 'mother' in Japanese, for anyone who didn't know. The most respectful one there is actually, I think (besides 'kaa-sama' and 'okaa-san'/'okaa-sama'). It would translate literally into 'Miss/Mrs. Mother'.
You know, I was actually planning to end the Tessaiga problem with this chapter… but it would seem the tomb-trouble will continue in the next chapter. Uhm… sorry for another cliffie… I guess. I know, I'm evil, but you know what? I enjoy it! Ha!
Oh yeah, and while I'm at talking: virtual cookies and a special surprise if someone can figure out why Kagome thought it such a bad idea for Inuyasha to kill Jaken. Anyone have an idea why that might be? Well, let's hear it :3
Now, if you want me to update soon, you better review. See ya next time :3