Chapter 32: Beginning of the End
December 31st:
A new year. New possibilities. Sesshomaru looked around the street that was overcrowded with humans celebrating. But he saw nothing to celebrate.
He saw every setback as an opportunity to grow stronger. His father wouldn't give him Tessaiga? Fine, he'd find his own weapon. And he had succeeded in acquiring Bakusaiga, a sword of his own with even more power. Humans populating too quickly? He scoffed. As much as he would have preferred things to remain as they were, change was simply a fact of life. Attempting to resist it would have been futile. And he never wasted time on something futile.
From where he sat, he could see Tokyo Tower illuminating the night like a guiding beacon. His hands clenched uncharacteristically. What was one to do when they had no beacon? What if the best path required more than he was willing to give?
His eyes glanced to the side, having seen a shot of crimson high in the sky, heading towards their company building in an odd rush. His brother, what a mystery. How could he bring himself to waste his time protecting people who he would likely never meet again? There were billions of humans, what difference did a few make?
He closed his eyes. No, those were foolish questions. His brother had a human heart, who really could understand their motives?
He pulled his phone out again and read the email from Myoga for what had to be the hundredth time, and focused on a single word: "Successful".
Was there an alternative?
December 31st, almost midnight:
Why was he always running late? Oh that's right. He detoured on another one of Sesshomaru's dumb errands. He sighed. It wouldn't be right to call it dumb, it was in fact a good idea, but he just wished his brother gave him more warning. And who was delivering sensitive products on New Years Eve anyways? Fortunately, the shipment made it to the facility untouched and his presence wasn't needed. Which was why he was finally making his way to Kagome's home, specifically, he was making his way to Kagome's window and letting himself in.
"You know we have a front door," remarked Kagome.
He looked up and saw her in a bright dress. "Yah, but then I'd have to leave my clothes in Goshinboku." He removed the firerat and brushed some snow out of his hair before returning to human form.
"I don't know, maybe you should just leave them on. Souta said some kids were planning to go out in red kimonos tonight like the crimson vigilante."
He raised a brow, "what is it, Halloween?"
She giggled, "no, everyone wore white wigs then."
Inuyasha snorted. Halloween had been… weird. It had only been a couple weeks after the battle with the Shichinintai and most of the adults were panicking about youkai being real. The kids had been enjoying it though, after all, it wasn't as though youkai had done anything to be portrayed as monsters, so they were just 'cool' according to Souta. His plan had just been to enjoy a college Halloween party, but by the end of the night, he'd been out in costume scaring kids, although carefully as not to create a scene.
Beep. Beep. Beep. He pulled out his phone and blinked. "What's with all the sudden messages from Sessh?"
He read them, but they were just confusing. There were several emails indicating they were to Sesshomau, from whom he deduced to be Myoga. "Guess he's been researching how to destroy the jewel."
Kagome walked over to look at the phone. "That's good, has he had any luck?" She looked at the next message which indicated a failed trial. "Darn."
He continued reading. "Huh, I guess Jinenji really is an expert in youkai magic if he's involving him."
Kagome kept reading. "Myoga stole some blood from you? How'd you miss that?"
He growled. "The flea didn't steal it, we made a deal that he'd sneak something out of Sessh's office for me. He misses being able to drink dad's blood and was curious if my human blood tastes good too." He shook his head at the awkward lie. "But it was for Sessh? Lying coward."
Kagome giggled. "Don't be too hard on him. Sneaking into Sesshomaru's office is probably heart stopping enough without having to try to steal your blood."
He made a face in reluctant agreement before smirking reading Myoga's line about him being strong. "That's more like it, dumb flea-." He stopped and reread the next message again.
"What?" Questioned Kagome, looking back at the phone.
"He- how could-" He growled loud enough to make Kagome flinch. "That bastard!"
January 3rd:
He couldn't help the twitch in his eyebrow. His son had 'requested' he come to Taisho Tower to discuss something, despite the risk of being discovered alive. But when he got there, the boy hardly even acknowledged his arrival. Fine, he'd had centuries to get used to his son's behavior, he could wait until he was ready. But that was two days ago! Now, his son was just driving him insane! The relatively young inu was browsing through documents on his computer and growling practically every five minutes. On top of that he was drinking beer, several cans of it. How was he supposed to concentrate on upgrading the Shikon shard vault when something was obviously troubling his son, and not the son that usually drove him frantic?
"Something ails you, Sesshomaru?"
With a barely noticeable startle, said inuyoukai glanced at his father, "it is nothing for you to be concerned about."
His father scoffed, "somehow I doubt that." You're the one that asked me to come here, he silently added.
Sesshomaru glanced back at his screen and remained silent for a moment before finally returning his gaze to his father. "I have had Myoga acquiring information for my search to destroy the Shikon no Tama."
His father groaned in understanding, "I assume you haven't had much success?" There was another silent moment in which the Inu no Taisho actually became curious. "Sesshomaru?"
With a noticeable sigh, Sesshomaru pushed his laptop towards his father. "The last simulated trial was successful."
The Inu no Taisho froze. "Successful?" He had been trying to discover a safe means of getting rid of the blasted thing for centuries. With shaky hands, he looked at the screen and saw a series of emails. The first several were unsurprising, the shards had been around for a while, and both he and the spiritualists had been attempting to destroy them, without success. But the emails continued. Some impressed him with his son's imaginative methods, others just made him believe his son needed a 'training' session. But as he got to the last one, he reread it again. And again. And again. "Sesshomaru?"
Sesshomaru slid one of the beer cans towards his father, "Onigumo already nearly killed you and his band of mercenaries exposed youkai society to the humans. What is next? The jewel brings nothing but misery. You should consider the logic of it."
His father growled, "consider it? Do you know what you are asking Sesshomaru?"
Sesshomaru replied plainly, "what is the alternative?"
"Whatever fascination Onigumo has taken in my son, I will deal with. There are few left in this world that can challenge those of our blood," his father challenged.
"It is not about killing Inuyasha," Sesshomaru answered. "We fell into his trap before. If he had desired you dead, you would have died. Instead he kept you alive for some purpose. His game is not over." Seeing his father's understandable frustration, he continued, "Onigumo only took interest in Inuyasha after he became the Crimson Vigilante."
His father nodded, "I noticed. He'd only ever targeted the company before, not Inuyasha or his mother who weren't involved." He hummed, "According to Kikyo, Onigumo wishes to eradicate all magic. Perhaps he has taken an interest in Inuyasha because he is hanyou? Or as someone of youkai blood using magic openly amongst humans? Onigumo has gone oddly silent, perhaps he is seeing that our kinds can coexist reasonably, despite our magic."
"Are you truly so foolishly optimistic father?" Ignoring his father's growl, he spelled it out, "he intends to start a war. He is targeting Inuyasha, not to kill him, but to destroy what he is. A hanyou, a bridge between both worlds, and even worse, some humans see him as a hero. That is why we must destroy the jewel, before Onigumo or anyone else gets a hold of it."
"But-"
Sesshomaru stood up. "Consider the potential consequences. They can all be avoided if we simply destroy the jewel. Then, Onigumo will hold no power."
"The cost is too high!"
"This way, Inuyasha will not die. The legacy he has created will not die."
The Inu no Taisho went silent. "Give me a few days to double check your work. Then we will speak to Inuyasha about it. I will not let you choose for him."
Sesshomaru approached one of the large windows that overlooked the city. His eyes sought a flash of crimson, one he had not seen since New Years. "It is too late. I caught the supposedly dead priestess' scent on my laptop, though she attempted to use slayer's scent masking gel. Evidentially her skills do not extend far beyond reiki use," he observed. He turned to his father. "Inuyasha's sudden disappearance the last two days would support that she informed him of my discovery."
His father stood suddenly, "disappearance?! Why are you not concerned about this?"
He answered, "the priestess informed me he was busy studying for college exams or possibly blowing off exam frustrations in the North-Eastern youkai mountains. The talkative monk informed me he was in the Southern youkai lands trying to pick a fight to practice with the red Tessaiga. And the slayer claimed he was at the Western Palace. Evidentially, they wished to waste my time."
The Inu no Taisho sighed, unable to disagree with that logic. His friends obviously did know. Or were at least covering for him. He wanted to laugh. He had always been impressed with his son's ability to befriend mostly slayers and spiritualists, even if he never knew it. Although, maybe that was because his son's hanyou nature was always there. He was naturally drawn to others that had their own oddities and they to him. "What benefit does Kikyo hope for from informing Inuyasha of your discovery?"
"I am uncertain as it depends on her motives, whether she actually sides with Onigumo, or her wish to eradicate magic," he answered. "We can only hope Inuyasha thinks things through."
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January 5th:
He walked into the room wincing at the cracking of the door that he closed too hard. "Have you come to a decision, Inuyasha?"
He looked up at the priestess. "I spoke with Jinenji. He confirmed all of Sesshomaru's findings were accurate."
"And?" She prompted.
He looked up at Kikyo, unsure. He still didn't have a clue if he could trust her. Was she truly betraying Onigumo or could she have another ulterior motive? He shook his head. Regardless, it was Sesshomaru who found the answer, he'd confirmed that himself. As long as Kikyo did her part, it didn't matter what her goal was. "Get me Onigumo's final shard and I'll destroy the jewel."
With a soft smile, Kikyo stood. "And the consequences, are you prepared?"
He looked away. No, he thought. How could he prepare? He didn't want this, not one bit. But if the plans Kikyo shared with him were true, then this had to end, and now. Even if he couldn't be sure they were real, given Onigumo's past actions, an awful endgame wasn't much of a stretch. "Yah, I'll destroy the jewel." He took a deep breath. "I'll wish on it to become human."