Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Lady Death. I do own this story. Some of you familar with Lady Death's story might notice some continuity discrepancies in timeline and/or objects. Some things were changed in order for this story to come into being. Enjoy!

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Chapter 7

The Dinner Guest

It didn't take them look before they were at Kaede's shack. They were surprised to see that Lady Death could out fly Kilala. Lady Death wasn't really trying to fly fast, she actually was trying to keep pace with the loaded down nekoyoukai. That and she didn't know the way. Kagome was amazed, but kept her eyes shut most of the way. She was used to being on the back of Inuyasha, and this was very strange to her.

They all landed on Kaede's grounds. Lady Death gently set Kagome down, and then turned her attention to the shack. It was made mostly of bamboo, mud, and reeds. Not much, but cozy enough to remind her of her childhood village. Something came shooting out from behind the bamboo door. It was small and fox like.

"Kagome! You made it! I was so… wor…" His words trailed off as his eyes and senses caught Lady Death. Lady Death raised an eyebrow. Hmm, a child, but not a human child. She thought.

"Inuyasha, do you have an older sister that we didn't know about?" Shippo marveled.

"Baka! She's not my sister!" He growled.

Lady Kaede stepped out to greet them as well, and was amazed at the sight of the white woman.

"Lady Kaede," Miroku said, not missing a beat, "would you be kind enough to set another place for our guest for dinner?"

Lady Kaede said no reply but did nod her head. They went inside, Inuyasha and Kagome, Shippo and Kaede, Sango and Miroku, then Lady Death. She waited behind purposely to see just what it was (or who) had followed them. She had sensed their energy back at the field, but since it posed no threat at the time, she ignored it. Kept her senses alert to it, but paid it no mind.

She parted the bamboo door to the side and went in. She had to duck a little, but it was no bother to her. Once inside, she saw everyone sitting on the floor. Straw mats cushioned them from the ground. In the center was a fire with a kettle hung over it for tea. Kaede's humming came from the cooking room. Lady Death reached inside her cloak with both arms. It undid partly, but stopped at her waist. She undid the peace-tie on Apocalypse and set it by the door. Lifting each leg then, she undid each spur off of its boot and set them by Apocalypse. Inuyasha, sitting by the door, Tetsusaiga cradled against his chest, watched her strangely. Why is she doing that, leaving herself defenseless? He wondered. She regarded him indifferently, and then sat on the opposite side of the door, facing him. They were trying to read each other, it seemed, Inuyasha with one eyelid slightly lowered with the opposite eyebrow raised, Lady Death with her unreadable stare.

After a few moments, Inuyasha was so curious he couldn't stand it.

"Why did you do that—leaving yourself defenseless?"

She calmly blinked, remembering yet another training lesson. Cremator's voice in her mind again, came thru her voice.

"As a sign of respect for my guest and as a sign that I am honorable, my weapons are displayed peacefully. But I am not completely defenseless, poppet. They are by the door, as am I, should I need them."

Inuyasha, wide-eyed and blushing, never thought someone, who was a stranger to him, would know something about honor. He then noticed Sango following suit by placing her hiraikotsu and blade near the door as well. Kagome took her bow and quiver of arrows and hung them near the entrance. Kagome eyed Inuyasha warningly, giving him a silent hint. Seeing as how he was human and, in his eyes, Tetsusaiga was useless right now, he rolled his eyes, grumbled, and placed it by the door as well.

Miroku smiled and snickered to himself, as he was sure Kaede was doing the same in the cooking room, most likely overhearing everything. Kaede emerged from the cooking room with a fresh pot of rice, fish, and tea leaves. She called to Shippo, asking him to fetch the required bowls and cups. He was small, but quick in his task.

Inuyasha kept his eyes on Lady Death, while her gaze flickered between him and sideways towards the door, as if listening for something.

"Lady Death… I'm sorry, but the name is strange… has that always been your name?" Kaede asked. The others stopped dead in their dinner quest. Inuyasha leaned in, eager to hear this. He scooted closer into the circle.

"There was a time, an eternity it seems, that I was indeed, human," she began, her gaze unfocused on the fire. Old memories came to her now, long forgotten. Or so she thought.

"I was born a mortal girl named Hope. My mother was named Marion, and my father was named Matthias. My father was the six hundred and sixty-sixth descendant of the Fallen. Angels they were—the ones who rebelled against God, among them the one who began it all, Lucifer. Driven mad with their lust for power, they all were cast out. Some came to Earth, others went elsewhere, never to be seen again. Many of the Fallen found humans easy to corrupt, and the daughters of Adam and Eve fair. Generations of breeding with the daughters made him, a demon in the guise of a human mortal man…"

Inuyasha perked up at that. Her father was a demon?

She continued. "My mother had a bloodline so pure that it stretched to Heaven. She was mortal as well—a Viking warrior—descended from Valhalla gods and goddesses. She was married before, long ago before I came along."

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Shippo asked. He was entranced, lying on his stomach with his feet in the air, wiggling back and forth.

Lady Death's eyes almost looked like they had tears forming. She sighed and told on.

"Yes, I have two half-sisters, Vandala and Vulnavia, though I haven't seen either one of them in many years… we fought side by side at the Battle of Asgard. Oh, what a glorious battle!"

A smile graced her face briefly, and then faded as the memory did. She continued on about herself.

"My father was a bloodthirsty warlord. Everyone in our village both hated and feared him. He was gone most of the time, fighting in wars. All of the men, young and old, were called to fight for him, including my love, Niccolo. He never returned. When Matthias was home, I used to hear him down in the lower room of the castle, chanting something. I never paid attention much, until the night my mother went to investigate. She went down to the room to the sounds of voices. She overheard voices foreign to her along with my father's. He was sitting around a table, celebrating his most recent victory with a demon hoard."

Her eyes sparked in hatred then. Her audience said not a word.

"My mother overheard of a plot to slay her and I, straight from his lips. Later that night, she waited in bed for him. But she was prepared. A Viking warrior never forgets who they are. She had her sword with her, waiting under the blankets. When my father came in and approached the bed, she ran him thru! She was not fast enough to kill him, and he slit her throat in the very bed they lay in. She didn't know that I saw everything that night—she never saw the tears of a young girl fall. After the last breath left her, my father turned to find me there, standing in fear and horror at what I'd just seen. He swore he would slit my throat as well if I told anyone. So I was his silent captive for years, until the night the villagers had had enough. They came for him on one of his nights that he was down in the room, chanting again. I had to see for my own eyes this time what he was doing. I crept downstairs, but stayed in the shadows so he would not notice me. There, before my own eyes, he uttered such arcane spells as to have the very pit of Hell itself open up. I stood entranced, and then fear crept into my very soul. He was offering the souls of the fallen to the very greedy hoard in exchange for demonic lordship in Hell. It was then that the mob came, demanding their justice. When they burst down the door and came downstairs, I found myself trapped. My bloodthirsty father, or the mob? Either way, I was as good as dead. They slew my father, and then seized me. "The sins of the father will come from the child", the priest who led them told me. They took me to the village square where I was to be burned at the stake as a witch…"

Her gaze shifted up from the fire, as she stared unfocused ahead at her small audience.

"As the flames seared my flesh, I did the last thing I could to save myself. I craved life, and in desperation I uttered the very same arcane spell I had heard not more than an hour prior from Matthias…"

"I conjure thee here, in visible form…", she repeated, but dared not speak the rest. The memory was too painful.

"What happened?" Sango asked fearfully. The memory of her own family, slain, in her mind now.

Lady Death stared around at the group. Some had looks of utter terror, others of sorrow,

After a moment, she steadied herself and went on.

"I entered Hell itself. Stood in front of Lucifer, the Father of Lies. He told me of an upcoming war in Hell, against a new warlord, as he offered me a place by his side. I had grown tired of being a slave, tired of being a 'puppet'. I spat his offer back into his face. It was then that I found myself face to face with the Nameless Wolves. They tried to kill me, but found themselves no mach for my fury. We became fast allies. We explored my new home together, until we found another, Cremator. Former Blacksmith to the Archdukes of Hell. He had been cast out from his village as well by this new warlord who planned to overthrow Lucifer and gain control. None other than my father, Matthias. I made a vow then that none would slay him in this melee' to come but me. Cremator not only became my teacher and mentor, but ultimately my most trusted ally and friend. Cremator was also the one who captured and tamed my warhorse, Vassago. He is as large as your cat creature in her 'transformed' state. We all fought side by side in more battles that I can recall, until we came across Matthias. He claimed to have defeated Lucifer and absorbed not only him, but also his power. 'Remember, in Hell, desire equals power!' I heard countless times and when I had my chance to slay Matthias, I found it all a ruse. It was Lucifer, not Matthias. I tried time and again to defeat him, and each time he eluded me. We battled for years, it seemed. I wanted my life back. He wanted to take a thing so innocent and pure and twist it into his own, my very soul. He even had my mother's soul captive. I became so tired of constant war, bloodshed, and sorrow I had reached breaking point, turning into a full demon and surrendering to the darkness, just so I could finally have peace…"

Inuyasha was stunned. She's just like me—a half-demon! But yet, why does she remain human?

She went on. "Once, while in my full demon form, I came across where Lucifer held my mother's soul captive. She pleaded with me to not give myself over to the dark, and she offered her very soul to free me. I was able to change back briefly to absorb her angelic powers. I needed them in order for us both to be free. Later that night, armed with her powers, I attacked Lucifer in his bed. One by one his defenses fell until all that was left was for me to destroy him completely. That's when he issued his curse:

"You shall never set foot upon the Earth again so long as the living remain."

"With the last of my mother's angelic powers, I was able to hurl him into Heaven's Gate. That is where he met his demise, for only those worthy my pass thru. I was free, my mother's soul was free, and all of Hell became mine. I did not desire it, but now I had the power of it."

Miroku inquired next. "So, then, how did you get here? To the Feudal Era Japan?"

Lady Death crooked her head to the side, eyes narrowing. "Is that where I am? Or came out into? It seems no matter where I go, conflict follows. While in Hell, even though I had claimed it by right of conquest, I had not the respect of the Archdukes, or of those who served them. One of which being a lesser demon named Pagan. He made it his sworn duty to rid me of Hell and claim it as his own. He angered me one too many times and unknown to me as I pursued him, he had successfully set a trap by use of the Nexus of All Things, a gateway to infinite possibilities. I went thru one of the portals in what I thought was my quarry, only to find it a ruse. When I emerged on the other side, I found myself here… finally able to set foot upon the ground."

It became very clear now, to everyone present, just who was the one that set off the energy wave.