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

NOTE: future chapters will contain spoilers from movies 3 and 4, and the rating for language comes into play due to Inuyasha's temper here. Enjoy!

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Chapter 9

Harsh Lessons

"That was IN-CRE-DIBLE!"

Kagome screamed. She had her hands clamped on either cheek, eyes wide with glee. It was she could do to contain herself. Miroku and Sango looked at each other, to Kagome, and back again. Sango's mouth agape, one of Miroku's nerves in the corner of his eye twitched. Kaede and Shippo came out of the shack, beaming with excitement. Lady Death sheathed Apocalypse and joined her… friends. Odd to her they might be, but they had grown on her in such a short time. She glanced from one to the other, taking in each moment, each emotion, until they all stopped and realized one was missing.

"Hey—where's Inuyasha?" Shippo finally asked. Kagome turned to Lady Death while clapping a hand over her mouth.

Oh Cripes!

"Oh, aye." Lady Death remembered her barrier. She snapped her fingers again. From inside the shack the growls of a furious hanyou-gone-human cam bursting out of the door. Inuyasha was pissed and charging with Tetsusaiga unsheathed! Everyone scattered out of the way. All but the Lady. She merely raised an eyebrow.

Inuyasha stopped a mere breath-width away from Lady Death, an untamed fire blazed in his eyes. He had to look up a good bit at her.

"What the fuck was that for—putting me in a barrier? I can take care of myself, you bitch!"

He screamed at the Hell Queen with teeth clenched. Kagome and the others gasped. They had never seen him this mad. Except for the times he was full demon, which were few.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome said incredulously.

"Stay out of this, Kagome!" He snapped at her with an angry glare, and then took a few steps back. Raising Tetsusaiga, he glared back at Lady Death.

"Well? I'm waiting!" he growled.

"It was a necessity for your protection…" she started explaining, but was cut off.

"BULLSHIT! I told you, I can take care of myself!"

He was in a bloodlust rage, and was not going to listen. But neither would she back down.

"NOT while you are HUMAN, you cannot! Lest you forget you are MORTAL in your present state and can be killed. So what was done was in your best interest. Until I return to my Realm, be it by the way I entered or other means, we are stuck with each other. So long as I am here, you are under my protection. Get used to it."

She folded her arms matter-of-factly.

He was not backing off. He stepped up. No one but him was aware that sunrise was approaching in about an hour.

"My present state is about to change, you pale bitch! You call yourself the Queen of Hell? PTAH! You'll see Hell at the end of my blade!"

He charged at her, the katana form of Tetsusaiga over his head. Lady Death's eyes narrowed.

You insist on a lesson, then. So be it!

She let him approach. Within five paces was all he got with his sword. Lady Death shot it out of his hands with a quick blast. It sailed thru the air and landed halfway in the ground with a thunk. Inuyasha watched stupidly and amazed at how fast and with little effort she did that. He raced back to his sword, but as soon as his hand touched the handle, a barrier blasted him off.

"What did you do to my sword?" He screamed, clenching his fists and teeth.

"You do no deserve that blade until you learn discipline, humility, respect, honor, and most of all to STAY YOUR TEMPER! The barrier around the sword is temporary, however, it will now accept no one but myself."

She meant business.

"Over my rotting corpse!" He retorted.

"THAT can be arranged, if you forget so soon who it is you address, Poppet!" That will get him.

"Don't call me that! My name is Inuyasha!" His temper was getting out of hand now.

"Inuyasha! Stop it!" Kagome yelled at him.

"I told you to stay out of this! You can't SIT me while I'm HUMAN, so shut up!" His anger was a wall of red.

Kagome was shocked. She bit her lower lip, forcing back the tears that were welling up. She turned to Sango as one solitary tear fell. She was glad that it wasn't seen by anyone else.

"I can't watch this…" she sobbed and went inside Kaede's shack. Shippo, now sensing her sadness and smelling the tears, joined her inside. Sango, Miroku, and Kaede watched the lesson unfold.

Lady Death continued. "To call oneself a certain name, you must own it, Poppet. As it stands, you own nothing but your garments."

"Stop calling me that!" His head lowered, but his eyes remained on her.

"I will call you whatever I see fit until you can prove to me you own your name, POPPET!"

She egged him on purposely. It was part of the lesson.

"RRRAARRGH!"

He snapped beyond the wall of red and into the blackout. He charged blindly at her, driven by instinct alone. He had his fists balled.

That's it, young one. NOW you are ready.

Her first lesson was to break his temper. She waited until he was a few steps from her before she launched herself up and out of his reach. No matter how hard he tried in jumping, his fingertips barely even grazed her form. It was to her advantage that he was still human for the last hour before sunrise. She taunted him with a smirk, dipping low enough to give him bait, then zipping up again just out of his reach. Blinded in his blackout rage, he lost his rational thought. Detrimental things could happen, and his head wasn't clear to feel his body shift again. The first fingers of sunrise broke over the mountaintops.

B-BUMP! B-BUMP!

His blood stirred in the shift, but it was different this time. A deep, primal growl rumbled in his throat as he changed. Lady Death stayed herself just out of reach and observed.

Ahh, I feel a familiar twinge. Is this his true form?

Inuyasha's growls became roars as he threw back his head, his body surrendering to the change. Lady Death watched with the curiosity of a cat watching its prey. He raised his hands, curling his fingers as claws grew forth from his nails. His teeth grew into the canines of a dog. His ears moved up to the top of his head, becoming pointed and covered with white fur. His hair changed from smoky black to silver. His eyes, normally a hazel brown as human, changed briefly to gold. The whites of his eyes went red, while the iris itself was crimson. The skin surrounding the eyes turned dark, making them look like they were glowing red.

Dark purple jagged stripes formed under each eye along his cheeks. He had gone from human to youkai during his transform. Deep primal growls came from his throat when his change was complete. He lowered his hands and head for a moment, taking in the feel of demonic blood coursing in his veins. It felt good to him, like he was hunting, but hunting what? Movement caught his eyes and he looked up, the figure of Lady Death hovering just out of reach.

Ahh… this must have been my prey. You won't be able to run from me now.

Lady Death took in the look of the creature. She would have to use caution with him while taming his temper. Since his energy was demonic now, she would have to call upon her angelic side to neutralize it, otherwise they could very likely kill each other. She didn't want that, nor did she want to hurt him too badly. He would get battered around, assuredly so, but that could not be helped now. The lesson would continue until he would yield, either from exhaustion or a sword point. She decided to lead him a good distance away from the others. From her vantage point she could see that they were not far from a field. That would do. Away from his sword, and away from the group. Just her and him.

A red blur coming towards her grabbed her focus.

Goddess!

She dodged to the right as Inuyasha's leap sent him passed her left side. He moved too fast for her judgment and his claws found her flesh.

WHICK!

The claws of his left hand stung as they drew blood from her.

"Gawr!" She grunted, clenching her teeth and gripping her side. When she removed her hand, she saw that, indeed, he had drawn her blood.

"You bastard whelp! How dare you strike me!"

"Wazza matter? Can't handle the competition?" Inuyasha's voice was a sadistic taunt, one side of his mouth curled in a grin to show fangs. He brought his bloodied hand towards his face, cracking his knuckles. A low, dry chuckle was heard from his throat.

This is going to present itself as a challenge. She thought. But first to lure him away from the shack. She dipped low towards him but stayed ready. She didn't know how fast he could be.

"You are no competition to me! You are easily felled!"

She swatted his head then quickly darted up. His eyes flashed at her and he bared his teeth.

That should do it. Follow me now!

Sango saw everything and knew she had to act. She knew just how dangerous Inuyasha could be when his youkai blood took over. She ran back to get Kagome.

"Kagome! Come quick!"

Kagome emerged from Kaede's shack, face swollen from crying. She wiped the streams of tears on her cheeks. Noticing the sunrise, she remembered that Inuyasha was moments away from changing.

"What is it, Sango? Where's Inuyasha?"

"Uhh… yeah. About that—he's changed. He's gone full demon!" Sango bugged out her eyes to emphasize the importance of this.

"What! Where's the Tetsusaiga?" Kagome looked around. There, not far away, was the sword stuck halfway in the ground. In the distance was the pair; sometimes it looked like Inuyasha was trying to fly, other times the two would wrestle briefly on the ground before a break would happen. Energy blasts could be seen coming from Lady Death. Every time they hit Inuyasha, his demonic screams would get louder.

I have to get the sword to him.

Without hesitation, Kagome started off towards the sword, but was stopped suddenly by Sango.

"What are you doing—have you lost your senses?" Sango's hand was on her wrist.

"I have to get the Tetsusaiga to him," Kagome said, "it's the only thing that keeps his youkai blood in check!"

"But Kagome," Miroku noted, "Inuyasha is also the only one who can touch it and not get hurt."

"No he isn't. I've handled it before."

The two of them stared dumbly at Kagome. She didn't have time to explain in detail, so the condense version would have to do.

"Before all of us met, there was just Inuyasha and I. Myoga, the flea, cam to us one day to tell us that Sesshoumaru was looking for the matching sword to his and swore that Inuyasha knew something about it and where it was. They fight, not like they don't, and all of a sudden Sesshoumaru pulls this black pearl-thing out of Inuyasha right eye. I'm going 'WTF?' when it turns out to be a portal to the Other World. Sesshoumaru and his toad Jaken go thru, Inuyasha and I go thru, and we end up in a graveyard that holds the skeletal remains of their father! We all end up in the belly of 'dad', and look where Tetsusaiga has been hiding! Right here all along! So they start fighting again, yadda, yadda, yadda, Sesshoumaru tries to take it—no can do. Inuyasha tries to take it—has a little bit more success, but it still won't budge! Stuck in the stone—gee, didn't I read a story like that before? Anyways, I get tired of seeing Inuyasha's butt being whipped, so I get it in my mind to help him. You know, I look back on it now, and it was one of those 'what was I thinking?' moments…"

"Kagome!" Sango snapped her back to the point.

"So I go over to the sword, grab it, and pulled it out with no problems!"

Kagome spread her arms the way a magician does after his trick.

Miroku and Sango eyed each other. Yeah, right.

"I've got to at least try!" Kagome yelled as she took off.

"Kagome, wait! There's a barrier around it!"

Sango called after her, but Kagome couldn't hear it. All she heard near her was the thudding of her shoes against the ground as she neared the sword. Muffled yells from Lady Death and Inuyasha started to become clearer now the closer she got.

"Don't… make this… harder… than… it has to… be!" Lady Death struggled against Inuyasha's advancing claws. She had his wrists; he had her pinned. His right hand was inching towards her throat.

"What makes you think I like things easy?" He said, still in the demonic voice. His claws inched their way closer until the tips were tickling her flesh.

"You want… no… holds… barred? You shall have it!" She rallied her angelic energies, until her fists started to turn white around his wrists. The aura encompassed them both until Inuyasha couldn't take anymore. Then she pushed with aura and body.

"NGUH!"

Her energy gave a short burst as Inuyasha was pushed off. He landed with a thud some feet away. Lady Death stood up and gathered angelic energies again.

I have no choice but to use energy opposing his own, even if I end up hurting him.

She walked the few steps towards him when something sparked her senses away and towards the sword.

NO…

Kagome was a few steps from the Tetsusaiga. It was pulsing, calling for Inuyasha, but its call went unheard as its aura rippled against the barrier. Kagome couldn't see it, as her still developing miko strengths could only sense the energies of those she knew. She hadn't known Lady Death enough yet to have an imprint of her. She reached out a hand towards the sword's hilt, but was rebuffed by blue-white sparks of lightning. She jumped back and shook her hand. It was more surprising than an actual shock. It was like static electricity snapping her fingers.

"Whoa—that was a funky feeling!" She gasped.

But the barrier did more than shock. It not only drew the attention of Lady Death, but also Inuyasha. For a split second Tetsusaiga's call was able to escape the barrier when Kagome got shocked. It was just enough to attract Inuyasha to it. He snapped his head towards Kagome and the sword, a low growl and a rumble from his mouth. He slowly turned back towards Lady Death and smiled wickedly, eyes wide.

Lady Death's eyes flicked from Inuyasha, to Kagome, and back again.

He's going to go for the sword! No, he's going for HER!

As soon as she had that thought, he was off, quick as a cat. She leaped into the air after him.

Goddess—he's too fast! I won't make it to him in time! She focused on Kagome.

"RUN!"

Kagome gasped at the sight of Inuyasha. She had seen him under the influence of his youkai blood before, but never like this. His eyes blazed red as he got closer. Something whizzed over her head. It was the hiraikotsu. Kagome turned on her heel and sprinted. Sango grabbed the giant boomerang as it returned. It had missed its mark, as Inuyasha had dodged it easily. Miroku tried a few sutras thrown his way—he shredded them easily. Kaede fired off a few of Kagome's arrows—he grabbed them all in one hand and broke them. Even Shippo tried with his Fox Fire—all to no avail.

It was either up to Kagome to bring him to his senses with something—her feminine wiles?

Or Lady Death, to bring him to his knees with Apocalypse?

Kagome could hear his growls getting closer, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

The forest—away from the rest. Maybe I can loose him there! She headed towards the tree line, but stopped dead at the edge.

"Don't be a fool, girl!" yelled Lady Death.

Kagome turned around. I t just occurred to her that she did have a weapon, and all she had to do was utter a single word.

Inuyasha had leapt into the air, claws outstretched, ready to pounce upon her. It was like he moved in slow motion.

"SITSITSITSITSIIIIIIT!"

She yelled it five times for all she was worth. Just in case he hadn't heard the first four.

WHAM! SMACK! BAM! BAM! BAM!

The first one said dropped him hard from a leap at Kagome. Momentum carried him forward still as the rest said pounded him face first deeper into the ground. I nuyasha slid like a runner into home plate to rest just between Kagome's right side and the roots of the tree. For a moment everything was still. Kagome stared, unable to breathe while Lady Death landed. Then Inuyasha stirred.

"Uuunnn…"

Slowly, his voice found its normalcy. He raised his head and blinked his blurred vision. He was on his belly; face down, practically embedded head first into the roots of a tree. He shook his hair free of the dead grass and dirt that had anchored itself in there as he slid to a stop. He rose up on his elbows and knees, shaking his body like a dog. There he paused a moment, looking at the tree roots, but really trying to assess just what had happened. His peripheral vision caught the sight of Kagome's shoes to his right, while his other senses caught the energy of someone directly behind him. He gathered his feet under him to try and stand, but the sound of a blade being drawn made him whip around so fast that the tripped on one of the roots. He landed in the small ditch on his back that he was just face down in.

SHINK!

Lady Death had drawn Apocalypse and was advancing towards Inuyasha. As he landed on his back, he scrambled to regain his footing to stand. It seemed the roots of the tree betrayed him with every plant of his feet on them. His eyes were large as they focused first on her face, then the blade tip. A determined look on her face as she met his with the top ridge of the triangular sword as a focus, she brought the blade tip down to his throat. Her eyes never left his. Inuyasha's eyes followed the tip until he couldn't see it anymore, but felt it. He continued to scramble until he was flush against the tree.

Shit! What happened? What did I do?

He swallowed hard; his flesh pressed slightly against the blade tip enough to feel its sharpness. His breath came in quick, shallow gasps. For the first time in his life since he was a pup, he felt fear. The same fear he had when he ran for his life from large demons thru the forest. He ha hid in the hollow of one of the trees until it was safe. Yet here he was again, almost in a tree, fearing for his life.

"Lady Death! Wait! Stop! He might not remember what happened!"

Kagome pleaded, trying to put herself between them. The Queen of Hell raised her offside hand at her, gesturing for silence. The others approached, but kept their distance safe.

Inuyasha couldn't focus his mind to feel hers. All he felt was sheer anger, an incredible focus, and a fluctuation of powers from the want to pity, and the desire to kill. He looked into the pale eyes of his captor, and then she spoke.

"Do you seek Death, Poppet?"

He swallowed again, wishing her blade wasn't so close as to feel it meet his flesh every time his heart beat in his throat. or when he swallowed. He could feel the blade's energy starting to awaken, ready for its mistress' command.

Not a good place to be.

She asked again. "Do you seek Death? For if that is what you want, rest assured I can give you release right here, right now."

His gaze flicked from hers, to Kagome, to the others, and hers again. Kilala had come out of her hiding in the shack in her normal form. She walked up to Inuyasha, meowed, and walked into his lap. He strained his eyes down to see her, but knew she was waiting for his answer like everyone was. His fear subsided a bit as he heard a purr. He met Lady Death's gaze again, and gave his answer.

"No, I don't."

He was able to catch his breath and return it to normal. Kilala's presence in his lap and her purring was calming him down.

Lady Death spoke again. "I see a fire and determination in you that reminds me of myself. But it is raw, unhoned, and untrained. You throw yourself too much to the bloodlust when you loose your temper, and if you wish to best your opponent, that is not the way to go. If you give in to your anger, fear, and hatred, you will become a slave to it."

She lowered the blade tip slightly so it no longer pressed against his throat. He was grateful for that, and listened intently.

She continued. "Swear fealty to me, as my student, under my protection, and I will teach you to take that fire of yours and harness its power to rival nothing your world has seen before. I will teach you to use your mind to outthink, outmaneuver, counteract, or if necessary, kill. I will show you to hone all of your abilities and those of your blade until the two of you are one. From what I have seen so far, the blade calls to you, but there are times when you do not heed it. You rely too much on it as a weapon and not as an extension of you. Thru me, you will learn all of these things. It may be a long process, it may not. But when the time comes to where you no longer need my help, yet ask for it, that is and will be the day you become a Master, and can stand at my side as an equal, as well as earn the title of Lord to your name. What say you to that, Poppet?"

Inuyasha's eyes went wide again. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Here was someone who saw the power in him and was willing to train him! He hadn't had that before, and despite the fact that he wouldn't readily admit it, he did use Tetsusaiga too much as a weapon. He had spent most of his life defending himself and others with a "sword", and not realizing its true call to him. The call that was the spirit of his father that flowed thru his veins and gave Tetsusaiga life.

"You… you would do that for me?" He stammered.

But his eyes and ears noticed something then. The slow pat-pat-pat of a red liquid. His nose picked up the unmistakable smell of a rusty tang. Blood. He saw it dripping from her left side.

"You're bleeding." He said.

He wasn't sure if she noticed, or even felt it. Lady Death turned her offside briefly to look at the wound. There were four parallel gouges and a fifth one at a halfway mark going from her hip up to her ribs. Those marks could only have been made by a set of claws, and judging by the amount of blood that flowed freely, the wounds were deep. Lady Death turned her side back, and fixed him with a different look. It was a cross between admonishment and disgust.

Inuyasha started remembering glimpses then. He remembered feeling his body shift. He felt the surge of youki thru his veins. He tried to catch himself in time, but his adrenaline and bloodlust rage had been too much. He didn't remember it all; it was like he was in a dream. His left hand closed into Kilala's fur, and noticed something on his fingertips and claws. It was dried blood. Some of it was still fresh, like under the claws; the rest of it had already obtained it reddish-brown hue from drying, and was starting to flake off.

"Oh my god!" Kagome gasped. "I'll get the medical kit."

She ran back into the shack to her backpack and grabbed it. When she returned, she saw the scenery hadn't changed. Lady Death still had Inuyasha at sword point, though not so threatening now. Inuyasha was looking from his hand, to her side, and back again. The look on his face was confusion, uncertainty, and disbelief. He looked up again into the pale eyes, his voice shaky.

"Did I… did I do that?"

Her gaze softened a little. She backed Apocalypse off a bit. There was no longer a need for a threat.

"It is nothing. I have experienced worse." She replied, shaking her head slightly.

Kagome approached with the medical kit. She popped it open and grabbed the cotton balls, bandages, and disinfectant. She glanced at Apocalypse, a little uncertain about approaching. It was like looking at a mirror image of yourself in the blade, if you had an identical twin that wasn't matching what you'd expect to see. She had a small twinge of fear that showed in her face, but the reflection in the blade showed back the look she had when concentrating an arrow on its shot before she let it fly. How weird.

"Umm… are you going to put your sword away? Because it'll be hard for me to treat those gouges while dancing around it." She asked nervously.

Lady Death glanced at her. "My sword arm's side is not where the injury is, mistress."

"Yeah well, can you just put it away? It makes me nervous." Kagome said, slightly irritated. She was already kneeling down and readying the cotton balls with disinfectant.

Lady Death returned her gaze to Inuyasha. "You have not given me your answer, Poppet, not yet. So I ask again, what say you?"

He snapped out of his small trance, eyes fixed on hers again. He felt humiliated. Humiliated for snapping at Kagome, for letting his temper get away from him before he changed, and most of all, he had hurt—let alone tried to kill—a complete stranger whose only crime had been protecting him from certain death while Kagura was there. His gaze lowered a bit, showing his shame.

"I'm sorry, for injuring you. I'm sorry for letting my temper get away. Kagome, I'm sorry for snapping at you also. You didn't deserve that." His gaze apologetic to her.

Kagome looked at him, sighed, and smiled. Her smile was an unspoken word of forgiveness to him. He was relieved. He looked again at Lady Death.

"If you are offering to train me how to be a better swordsman, to be one with my sword, then I will forever be your willing and grateful student. Show me what I need, and I promise all of myself in return. My word is my bond. I accept, Teacher."

Lady Death slowly withdrew the sword's point from his throat and held it at a neutral pose between them. She paused a bit, as if analyzing his answer. She lowered her eyelids before responding.

"Mmm hmm… you learn humility quick, Poppet. There may be hope for you yet. But first," she removed Apocalypse's scabbard from her hip, sheathing the sword.

SHTOCK!

"I believe a cleansing in that wonderful stream before the doctoring would do us both some good."

She glanced sideways at Kagome, emphasizing her need to get the blood dirt, and sweat off of her. It would also give her a chance to speak with Inuyasha one-on-one. He just might open up then.

She extended her hand towards him to help him up from the tree roots. He hesitated slightly, and then took her offer.

Suddenly, a brilliant flash of white appeared in both of their minds' eye. They locked gazes, and for a brief moment had the same vision. It was of a fiery nature—a hill engulfed in flames, with the ground opening up into a wide chasm. At the top of the hill was a sword. A sword with a glowing red jewel in its handle. It called to Lady Death, but laughed maniacally at Inuyasha.

"Lady Deaaaath… Mistress… I await you… come to meee…"

"Inuyashaaaa—hahahaha… you pathetic half-breed!"

"AUGH!"

Simultaneous gasps came from both their mouths. They broke contact quickly. They looked at each other with confusion and slight understanding at what had transpired.

To Lady Death, the scenery was none other than Hell. But what was that sword, and why did it call to her?

To Inuyasha, the sword was all-too-familiar, and it had not been completely destroyed. His conquering of the sword was not as complete as he had once thought. This would mean that Sesshoumaru would get involved again. Yes, he would have to talk privately to her about that. About everything. He realized that in order for her to be a successful teacher, and him a successful student, there must not be any secrets between them.

He set Kilala aside and stood up, brushing himself off. He let out a big sigh before looking at Kagome and the others.

They might not understand in what, or why, I have to say.

"We're going to take a walk to the stream, close to where we met. It will do us both some good right now."

Short, maybe not so sweet, and to the point.

"Do you want us to come along?" Kagome asked.

"No, no. Stay here. My 'teacher' and I need to speak about possible… things. But mostly I'm sore—a sliding face plant from five 'sits!' will do that to ya."

He glowered at her with a smirk. She blushed slightly.

"Do not forget to retrieve your sword, Poppet. You will need it to start your training." Lady Death looked his way, a slight smile on her lips.

His eyes lit up, and for a moment, Kagome and the others were sure they had seen Inuyasha smile.

He trotted over to Tetsusaiga, but hesitated. He looked back at his teacher, unsure if the barrier remained or not. She nodded her head, a silent gesture to him that he could hold it again. He grabbed the hilt with no repercussions, and pulled it from the ground. He could swear he heard it sing with release. He returned to the shack to grab the scabbard, almost skipping in his movements.

"Do dogs skip?" Sango giggled in Miroku's ear. Miroku was taken aback—she hadn't showed such… "intimacy" before.

Hmmm… a slight smile on his lips.

"We won't be long." Inuyasha reassured them, and they set off for the stream.