Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.
New Beginnings
[17] First Strike
"He asked questions," Sesshomaru said, not looking in Tezuka's direction. "You answered. He is already involved." He extended his arm out in front of him, gathering his massive amount of demonic energy and centering it. So condensed was the energy, it was even visible to the average human eye and once satisfied with the amount, Sesshomaru reached forward, wrapping his hand around the hilt of a familiar sword. He pulled it out and continued, "He may as well witness and understand what he is up against."
"Oh," Kagome breathed softly, taking a step forward. "That's Tensaiga!" She reached forward but hesitated. Looking up at the demon lord through thick lashes, Kagome asked, "May I?"
Nodding, Sesshomaru placed the heirloom into her trembling hands and watched her run her fingers up and down its length. Although the passage of time was obviously much longer for him than it was for her, it was her journey—her year of isolation—that was harder. He at least had people throughout the years that understood but the priestess was alone. She was thrust back into a world she didn't belong in anymore and had no one to share her experiences with.
The blade's energy pulsed against the priestess' and she giggled at the feeling before handing it back to Sesshomaru. "Here," she said, cheeks flushing with happiness at the mere sight of the blade.
He eyed her for another moment before turning his attention towards their audience making up of the two Echizens and the tennis captain. Thrusting Tensaiga into the ground he said, "As long as you do not step in front of the sword, your safety will be guaranteed." He stared at them, eyeing each individual face for a moment, stepping away only once he was sure they understood just how serious his words were.
"Stupid uncle," the priestess grumbled as she made her way towards the other end of the field across from him. "Everyone's hiding secrets from me. Next thing I know, Naraku's probably going to end up being my dad or something."
Sesshomaru snorted softly in amusement. He was unsurprised that the older tennis player knew more than he let on. When he had first met the older Echizen, he had thought there was something more to the man. "Are you ready?" he asked, fingers twitching in anticipation.
"As ready as I will ever be," the priestess replied. Her eyes snapped forward, gazing into his brown orbs with a look of steel that was only reserved for battles.
He smirked, shedding his seal; the illusion cloaking his body slid off, giving off a faint shimmer as it did so. From behind him Sesshomaru heard a soft intake of breath and his smirk widened. There was a time when just his appearance was enough to send humans scattering into the wind like rodents and with the return of the priestess and rebirth of demons, that time will come once again.
Sesshomaru watched as the priestess took in a calming breath as if to calm her nerves. He knew what she was thinking. Assuming that she was only a replacement for his half-brother, the priestess believed that she's only an outlet for his smothered instincts and that he was only using her to vent out his frustrations. Because of this, he wouldn't go all out when fighting her. This wasn't true. In truth, Sesshomaru didn't think he would be able to escape unscathed if he didn't went all out on the priestess. She had a way of exceeding one's expectation of her. Her powers have grown considerably since he had first seen her, it wasn't going to be an easy spar, whether he went easy on her or not.
The moment she notched in arrow into the string of her bow, Sesshomaru struck. Moving faster than the human eye could follow, he was in front of her in an instant. She was human and Sesshomaru didn't expect her to react. He wanted to land a blow and show her that he wasn't going to hold back. Claws extending, he forced his poison into the surface of his skin and then pushed them out. His whip lashed out crashing into the barrier with a crackle.
Kagome gasped. With a grimace she spun around, strengthening the barrier around her as she did so. Now knowing that Sesshomaru was serious, more serious than she had first thought he would be she pushed her powers to meet his poison. Pink sparks danced around her, eating away at his poisonous whip, forcing the demon lord to pull back.
Satisfied but surprised that the priestess hadn't gotten rusty, Sesshomaru struck again. This time in a more bodily attack; he threw himself at her, claws extended and long silver hair trailing behind him. He gathered his demonic energy around his hand and with it, pierced through her barrier. As powerful as she was, he had hundreds of years of experience. Clutching his teeth at the pain of her powers slowly attempting to purify him, Sesshomaru forced himself forward. He would be lying to himself if he said that he didn't find this exhilarating. Even sparing against his brother for the past five hundred years paled in comparison to the spar he was having right now. It had been centuries since he had been in this kind of fight; the kind that brought all his baser instincts to the surface.
Fight or flight.
Kill or be killed.
This was survival.
The moment his claws pierced her barrier, Kagome was already ready for him. With a grunt, she threw herself to the side, dodging certain death by mere centimeters. Claws slicing into the side of her cheek, Kagome paid it no mind despite the explosion of pain as his poison clashed with her powers. Pink sparks exploded, surrounding half her face, attempting to purify the poison from entering any deeper into her body. Kagome yanked her arrow from its notched position and spun around on her feet to get a better stand. She threw herself at him, throwing all her weight forward and she thrust the arrow into Sesshomaru. Piercing through the thin fabric of Sesshomaru's outfit, their captive audience watched with horror as it lodged itself into the man's shoulder.
The demon lord staggered backwards away from the priestess who cupped her cheeks, forcing her powers into the cut, more worried about the poison in her system than the actual wound itself. She watched as Sesshomaru hissed, his fangs extending and red bleeding into his eyes as he brought a hand up to the arrow. The holy energy surrounding the weapon crackled against Sesshomaru's hand the moment of contact. Without so much as a grunt, he yanked the arrow back out and threw it to the side before turning his complete attention back towards the priestess.
"Aw shit," Kagome whispered. The moment Sesshomaru's eyes tinted red, she knew. Sesshomaru had allowed himself to be wounded on purpose. She should have known he was more like his brother than he admitted. This spar… this fight… he was here for the thrill. He enjoyed putting his life in danger and coming out victorious. He wanted to let his instincts run free, he wanted to relive the federal era. Kagome steeled herself against an attack she knew was coming. Tossing a lock of hair behind her shoulder, Kagome could only hope that Sesshomaru doesn't end up shedding his humanoid form; there was only so much room in the backyard. Not to mention, no barrier—no matter how strong—was going to stop Sesshomaru's true form.
Sesshomaru jumped towards her again, figure blurring with speed as he moved. Sucking in a breath, Kagome narrowed her eyes in concentration. Knowing that she was never going to physically see him, she forced herself to seek out his aura. Feeling an explosive aura appear behind her, Kagome threw herself away from it. Unfortunately, her human speed was no match to his superior one and she cried out in surprise as familiar claws cut into her flesh.
"Fuck," she swore, Inuyasha's vocabulary ingrained deeper into her own than she originally thought it did. This cut was also much deeper than the one he had inflecting on her cheek. Kagome's side hit the ground but despite the stars she began seeing upon impact, she forced herself to keep moving, rolling away from him. They might have only been sparing but Kagome wasn't sure if Sesshomaru would actually prevent himself from killing her even if he could. He did, after all, have Tensaiga handy.
Digging her hands into the soft ground, Kagome grabbed a handful of earth and threw it in Sesshomaru's direction. Distracted from the surprise attack, Sesshomaru hesitated only for a moment but it was enough time for Kagome to roll to her knees, notching another arrow into her bow as she did so. By the time the demon lord had blinked the dirt from her eyes and looked over in her direction, Kagome was ready.
His eyes widened in surprise; the priestess was a lot faster than he had expected. She let go of the notched arrow, her powers propelling it to go so fast that even with his demonic speed, Sesshomaru was unable to completely dodge the attack.
She had aimed for his heart, he realized and it was only thanks to his speed that it only managed to lodge itself into his wounded shoulder. Sesshomaru grunted in pain as the holy-energy infused arrow lodged itself half-way, reopening his already healing wound. Much to his further surprise, the holy energy, upon impact, spread through his body, trying to purify his very being into dust. If he was a lessor demon, there would have been nothing left. The priestess' powers definitely had not diminished since he had last seen her, if anything she is more powerful now than ever before. The powers she had forced into the arrow was enough to bring him to his knees.
Sesshomaru panted, condensing his energy within himself trying to chase away hers. The marking that decorated his cheeks and various areas throughout his body turned jagged and the pounding of his heart increased in speed until he could hear nothing but the blood rushing in his ears. Without his pelt, this was the closest he was going to get to transforming. This, he thought was what has been missing for the past five hundred years.
Whatever Tezuka was expecting, this certainly wasn't it. When Wakagami had first… ordered—for the lack of a better word—Higurashi to fight him, he was expecting more of a spar. With rules. No real harm done to the body. Something that would be stopped at the first sight of blood. He most certainly wasn't expecting Wakagami's sharp-looking nails attempting to pierce a hole through Higurashi's stomach or Higurashi's arrows actually piercing a hole in Wakagami's body. This was something straight out of the fantasy channels!
The aura that Wakagami was further unleashing felt familiar in ways that made him uncomfortable. It made his arm tingle in response, pulsing as he watched he fight in front of him. If his arm was actually "demonic" as Higurashi told him it was, did that mean it'll end up looking like Wakagami's? Claws and markings and all?
Tezuka forced himself to pull his gaze away from the two superpowers and to the two Echizens sitting nearby. Echizen-sama was half-sitting half-lying down in a relaxed manner, a goofy grin decorating his lips as if this was an everyday occurrence. From Higurashi's reaction earlier, Tezuka didn't think that she expected her uncle to be in on her secret but from his nonchalant attitude of the entire situation, Echizen-sama most certainly was. So was Echizen-san, now that he thought about it, who had only smiled and nodded when Wakagami first demanded Higurashi to fight him like she had expected it all along. The entire Echizen family… honestly.
It was only Echizen Ryoma himself who reacted to the situation like any other person would have; with disbelief. Or, at least, with as much disbelief as an Echizen was capable of expressing. Wide eyes with only a hint of surprise was the only indication Echizen gave as he stared at the fight between Higurashi and Wakagami.
Wakagami pulled his arm back again and Tezuka almost flinched as the demon's green poison shot out from under his fingertips. It dripped onto the ground and Tezuka watched with fascination as the grass underneath sizzled and burned. Inui must never get ahold of the poison, Tezuka thought, shuddering at the possibilities of new Inui juice.
Green smoke appeared to spread out from Wakagami and Tezuka found himself having to resist the urge to pull back, further away from the fight. Fortuantely, the moment the green smoke came near the audience, the sword Wakagami had struck into the ground earlier gave off an eerie glow, preventing the poisonous fog anywhere closer.
"You think if he keeps doing that," Echizen-sama commented, "he'll clear enough grass and we can build another tennis court out back?"
"Too close to the first one," Echizen replied. "He'll have to clear out further back."
Pause.
"I guess you're right."
Honestly, Tezuka didn't know what was weirder: The fact that Higurashi was not exaggerating the least bit when she told him her story or the fact that the Echizens were more interesting in building another tennis court than the supernatural fight that was taking place in front of their eyes.
"How did you know about Kagome?" Echizen asked, eyeing his father from the corner of his eyes.
Nanjiroh frowned, looking as if he wasn't going to answer. With a sigh, he finally said, "Well, Kagome's always been special."
Echizen stared.
"Ever since she was born she always had the ability to see things other people couldn't." He frowned thoughtfully and continued, "Well, according to your mom, all babies can do that but Kagome never lost her ability. And there was also that one time that I hurt my knee and man, I thought I was never going to be able to walk again but she touched it and kissed it," he winked as he said this, "and gave it a little prayer. After that it was as good as new." With a sigh, Nanjiroh leaned back and pulled up a piece of grass, placing it into his mouth and chewed on it. "Of course, it could have all been a coincidence and everything. But when Sota—Kagome's younger brother," he added for Tezuka's benefit. "When Sota was born, he was actually a still born and it only took one touch from Kagome and he was alive and kicking. Kicked the glasses right off the doctor's face if I recall correctly."
And Tezuka thought her adventures began when she fell down her shrine's well.
"So when we were told she was starting getting really sick her last year of middle school, we knew something was off. "Like your mom always says, "Kagome meant for something bigger.'"
Ryoma paused. "You know… Sesshomaru?"
Nanjiroh shrugged. "Seen him around once when I was a kid."
Ryoma wrinkled his nose. "He is old," he mumbled.
"You remember his face from a single encounter?" Tezuka asked.
Nanjiroh snorted. "Couldn't forget it even if I tried. It was back when Rinko was chasing me," he said proudly, his tone making Tezuka believe otherwise. "She wouldn't stop staring and kept telling me that his eyes were gold." He gave the demon a look-over. "Guess that's true. Anyway, when Kagome became friends with him during her visits, we knew something was up especially since he was just a kid back then." The demon flew towards the priestess again with another attack, moving too fast to be seen. Nanjiroh turned towards his son and Tezuka with a serious expression. "Think I could take him in tennis?"
Wisely, Tezuka chose not to comment. Instead, he returned his attention back to the spar in front of him and winced upon seeing Higurashi's bleeding form. Various new cuts littered her body and he had no doubt in his mind that they were going to leave a scar upon healing. The demon, on the other hand appeared to be perfectly fine, the wounds he had mere minutes ago were completely healed as far as Tezuka could tell.
Wakagami and Higurashi charged at each other again. Wakgami slipped past her pink sparks, clawed hand darting out and catching the young woman by her throat despite his obvious pain he had to go through in order to do. Tezuka's eyes widened as Wakagami lifted her off the ground, a satisfying look in his blood-red eyes. As Higurashi gasped for breath, it took everything Tezuka had to not say something. Even Echizen-sama sat up in alarm. And just when Tezuka was about to open his mouth to say something, the pink shimmer that surrounded Higurashi expanded, crackling as it touched Wakagami before imploding inwards, becoming white in color.
The demon was forced backwards from the energy of the blast. He caught himself, twisting in midair and managing to land on his feet. Higurashi, on the other hand did not manage to land onto the ground as gracefully, instead crumbling in a heap. She choked, sputtering as she gasped for breath, her hands at her throat. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Echizen tensing up, his hands fisting around the grass beneath him. It was obvious he wasn't the only one wanting to stop the fight already.
A low rumble vibrated the air around them. It took Tezuka a second to figure out it was coming from Wakagami. The demon was growling, the sound low and foreign to his ears. If he had thought the demon was frightening before, it was nothing compared to what he thought of the demon now. Even with the claws and fangs, Tezuka had considered Wakagami to be fairly human-looking but with the continued elongation of both features, it was becoming less and less human.
Higurashi rolled herself into an upright sitting position, immediately picking up her weapons again and notching yet another arrow into her bow. Tezuka watched as she infused the arrow with so much holy energy that the arrow itself turned white, radiating with power. She narrowed her eyes, aiming her weapon at the demon and shifted her center of gravity for a better position. Unfortunately, her left foot caught the uneven ground and she fell down with a yelp, releasing her hold on her string in surprise.
Immediately Wakagami caught the misfired arrow between two fingers just inches from his head. The red bled out from his eyes and he turned his attention towards Higurashi. "That could have killed me."
She groaned, the sound muffled by the ground. "Shut up."
Wakagami tilted his head. "Isn't this how you killed Naraku?"
Higurashi lifted her head from the ground, a touch of dirt marked her nose. "I said shut up!" With another groan she flopped herself over and laid on the ground. "That was the best work out I had since Naraku."
Tossing the arrow to the side, Tezuka watched as Wakagami slowly made his way towards the priestess. "Really?" the demon murmured. "That long?"
Thankfully the match appeared to be over; the two opponents taking their well-deserved break and the Echizens feeling much too lazy to move from their current spot. Tezuka, on the hand, never felt more awkward. Should he sit there doing nothing? Or should he get up, thank them for the dinner and his first supernatural fight and head back home as if it was the most natural thing in the world?
Higurashi hummed in agreement before sitting up with a moan. "I'm sore all over," she complained. She looked up at Wakagami, a slight flush coloring her face. "Could you heal me? Like last time?" she asked, looking herself over. There were fresh cuts and bruises all over her body. Her outfit had also been shredded.
Wakagami raised a single eyebrow, as if questioning her.
Following the demon's line of gaze, everyone found themselves staring at the bloody cut across the top of Higurashi's breasts. Tezuka swallowed hard, remembering the last time Higurashi's would had all but disappeared, healed after Wakagami had… licked her would, leaving not even a scar.
Flushing harder, Higurashi jutted her chin out stubbornly. "I give you full permission to spit on me."
Wakagami huffed in amusement.