A/N: So? Wha'd you think? Like the last chapter? Hate the last chapter? It was kinda short…please don't hate me! Anyway, here's the next one, it's a bit longer for you. After this, it's only more chapter and then the new stuff! ^-^ Yeah! I hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inu Yasha and or any of the characters.
"Inu Yasha! Do you still smell Naraku?" Miroku yelled over to his companion. Inu Yasha growled loudly.
"Absolutely. His foul stench is coming from the West!" he yelled back. Sango urged Kirara forward as she carried both her master, Miroku and Shippo towards their destination.
"Miroku?" Sango said only loud enough for him to hear her. He brought his head forward, so he could hear her better. "Isn't Sesshomaru in the West? Isn't he the Western lord?" He sighed.
"Yes. Lord Sesshomaru is the lord of the West." Sango's eyes widened as she thought this through.
"Kagome's been kidnapped by Naraku, and is being held in Sesshomaru's lands? I'm shocked Inu Yasha hasn't transformed," she whispered. Miroku closed his eyes, as though in pain before looking down at their half demon friend.
"Pray to Kami that the Tetsusaiga holds. I fear that Inu Yasha is barely hanging on," he whispered. He nodded his head slightly and Sango looked over closely at Inu Yasha again. His eyes were flickering from their usual amber, to red, and back again.
"We have to hurry," she whispered hurriedly. Miroku nodded and held onto his staff tighter as Kirara began to fly faster.
Blood. There was so much of it. It was dripping down his arm, and soaking the snow covered ground. It burned his throat, and tickled his nose. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes as his father continued to ignore him.
"Father, do you insist on going?" Sesshomaru couldn't help but ask again. Not only did he want the swords, but a small part of him, as small as it was, really did not want his father to die…not here, not tonight…and definitely not by the hands of some human. However, he sincerely hoped that, that didn't show through in his voice.
"Do you intend to stop me Sesshomaru?" InuTaisho stated more than asked. He could feel the blood flowing freely down his side now, but honestly it didn't bother him. He had decided that if he were to die, what better way than protecting those you love most? He kept his back to his oldest son, worried that if he looked at him, the disappointment would show too clearly in his eyes. He had failed his only son, or so he believed, and for that, he could never forgive himself. Perhaps, before he finally left this world, he could leave one more lesson.
"I will not stand in your way, however, before you go, you must entrust the swords Sounga and Tetsusaiga to me," said Sesshomaru.
"And if I refuse? Will you kill me? Your own father?" InuTaisho asked seriously, yet with a slight curiosity, almost mocking to his tone. InuTaisho smirked slightly as he listened to Sesshomaru's silence. The waves crashed beside them, and still Sesshomaru did not answer him. InuTaisho sighed, "Do you desire power so much? Why do you seek power my son?" Sesshomaru raised his chin slightly.
"The path I walk is the way of supreme conquest, and it is power that will reveal the way for me," he said almost angrily. InuTaisho smirked. When had he let his son become so cold? When had he gone wrong? How had his son become such a lethal killer?
"Supreme conquest?" he asked disgustedly, "tell me Sesshomaru, have you someone to protect?" He waited for his son's response with some interest.
Sesshomaru frowned at the question as his eyes narrowed slightly in confusion, and even more in frustration.
"Protect?" he asked, as though tasting the word for the first time. He paused for a moment, unsure of his father's line of questioning. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the waves building, and he faintly wondered at the irony. They crashed to the ground, and he was reminded of how great his father's rule had been, and how soon he was letting it crash around him…and for what? A human. "The answer is no, I Sesshomaru have no need of such," he answered, his gold eyes glowing fiercely in the moonlight.
InuTaisho smirked slightly, and bowed his head minutely. So be it.
Sesshomaru frowned as he mentally shook the memory from his head. It was bothering him too often for his tastes.
'I should have forgotten about you long ago,' he mentally growled at the image of his father that appeared unbidden in his mind, 'go away.' He continued walking, following Kagura's path, and trail, all the while thinking about what she had said. 'My family…' he frowned internally, 'I have no family. I need no family.' He hardened his eyes once more, and strengthened his step. He had no one…he never had…he needed no one…he never would. He paused slightly. 'And yet she said my family.' He growled loudly and strode forward. 'No more.'
InuTaisho sighed in disappointment before looking back up at Kagome.
"So let me get this straight," he paused and collected his thoughts, "one of my sons is in love with a living corpse…and the other…is still a ruthless and loveless killer?" Kagome blinked once and scowled.
"How is it that parents can make things sound so much worse then what they really are?" She shook her head in slight amazement, but then jumped when InuTaisho growled loudly, causing the cell to shake.
"Incompetent! Both of them!" he said angrily. She went silent and glanced at the floor before looking back up at him, "Perhaps…," he paused and she could have sworn she saw him wince, "perhaps I was wrong in my decision." Kagome frowned slightly before clearing her throat.
"Sir?" she asked unsurely. He sighed, rubbed his face with his large hands and then looked over at her.
"The Tetsusaiga and the Tenseiga. I gave each sword to each son for a specific reason. Surely they should have figured that out by now," he said in frustration, "The Tetsusaiga is there for more than just holding Inu Yasha's demon side in check. I left it for him in hope of teaching him something. I knew that as a half demon, life for him would be hard, and would make him hard in turn; I gave him the sword in hope's that with it he realized that it is okay to protect yourself, but it is even better when you are protecting someone you care about." Kagome's eyes softened.
"But…Inu Yasha has learned that," she whispered. He frowned, waiting for her to explain.
"He protects so many people. We travel everywhere! And when someone needs our help, he may complain a bit…but he always helps them. He always makes sure that people can live peacefully. He protects me…and our friends," she said quietly. InuTaisho nodded slightly, but the frown did not leave his face.
"He has not finished. He is in love with the dead," he grounded out. Kagome sighed…she couldn't argue with that. "I suppose Sesshomaru has an excuse too? By now, I had hoped, had wished, that Tenseiga would have taught him something!" Kagome thought for a moment before a face of a little girl with a side ponytail floated across her mind.
"He has!" she said earnestly. He looked up at her doubtfully, but with perhaps a pinprick of hope.
"Pray tell, how?" he asked sarcastically.
"He's brought people back to life." InuTaisho straightened at this. Only people with compassion in their hearts could truly wield the Tenseiga…only those with good intentions could revive someone.
"Who?" he asked curiously. Kagome smiled.
"A little girl. Her name is Rin, and she's really sweet. I don't know that much about her, except for what she's told me. From what I gather, her parents were murdered, and she was killed," she shrugged, "somehow, and Sesshomaru brought her back to life. She follows him everywhere, and he really takes care of her. During the summer, she's always in a new kimono, and during the winter, she's always wearing something warm. I think that Sesshomaru has learned some compassion," she paused before adding, "in his own way." InuTaisho sighed before shaking his head.
"Not good enough. Neither of them. I should have given Tenseiga to Inu Yasha…then he could have his dead lover," he spat, "and I should have given the Tetsusaiga to Sesshomaru so he could reach his supreme conquest." Kagome narrowed her eyes.
"No! You're wrong! You don't see them every day! So how would you know? They've changed! I've known them both for almost four years now, and they've grown a lot," she paused, "even Sesshomaru! And how dare you think otherwise!" she scolded him. He rolled his eyes and looked away from her as she continued her banter. She huffed. Not another one.
She reached forward, and grabbed a chunk of his hair, and pulled so he was facing her.
"Don't act like Inu Yasha! Look at me when I'm talking to you!" she ordered. He glared at her and she sat back with a blink, releasing him.
"Don't touch me," he said simply. She blinked again before smiling.
"And you're not nearly as scary as Sesshomaru," she informed him. His glare dropped as he looked her over once more.
"That is why you are not afraid of me," he stated more then asked. She smiled and nodded.
"That's right! I've faced Sesshomaru numerous times, and still live to tell the tale," she bragged. He smirked slightly.
"An accomplishment to be proud of I assure you," he mumbled. She nodded, and then jumped as a loud explosion shook the cell.
"What was that?" she asked worriedly. She looked around the cell worriedly and watched as some stones broke loose from the sides. InuTaisho shrugged and looked at the walls in boredom. She paused then, frowning at what she felt…or what she thought she felt. "Sesshomaru?" she said confusedly. InuTaisho glanced up at her, cocking a brow when she went silent again.
"What are you-" She held up a hand to silence him, just as another explosion shook the room.
"They're here!" she yelled happily. She stood up shakily before going to the door of the cell. The hall was still dark, but she could definitely feel them. Perhaps they were outside.
"They?" he asked confusedly. Kagome glanced back at him and frowned.
"Can't you feel their auras?" she asked. He sighed.
"Naraku has put a spell on this place. I can sense no one on the outside, and no one out there can sense me. It blocks my demonic aura, and powers as well," he said disgustedly. Kagome smirked as she turned back to him.
"Well, your two incompetent sons are here to save us," she informed him, "We've got to help them somehow." InuTaisho smirked.
"Sesshomaru? Saving me? I'll never hear the end of it," he muttered before standing up, "and if they're so amazing, why do they need our help?" Kagome ignored his last comment and waited to hear anything else, like the smashing of doors. She sighed when she heard nothing more.
"So, it's the barrier that's blocking your powers, like your strength, right?" she asked him. He sighed before nodding.
"Correct." She nodded back.
"If it was gone, you could break this door and get us out of here?" He smirked.
"Easily."
"Excellent." He frowned, waiting for more, but nothing came.
"I do not believe that Naraku will so easily drop this barrier for us," he informed her. She snorted.
"You obviously don't know Naraku. He likes to flaunt. I think that he'll lower it soon, to show off your aura…when that happens, you have to smash the door. It'll happen fast, so we have to be quick to react." She stood back from the door and motioned him forward. He frowned.
"Surely this Naraku could not be so stupid," he said quietly as he stepped in front of the door. Kagome smirked as InuTaisho placed each hand on a bar of the door.
"Not stupid…just full of pride." InuTaisho sighed almost sadly.
"Always a demons undoing," he muttered.
A/N: Yeah! Another chapter done! I hope you enjoyed this one! I really liked writing the InuTaisho, Kagome scenes. They make me smile. Please review! Those make me smile too! ^_^