CHAPTER 11:
It had seemed like forever since father and son had the pleasure to see each other once again, but the reunion was not going to be a good one. Silence filled the winds void as it rushed through the western lords silver hair. The clouds, that had been covering the moon, began to disperse revealing the bright, full, moon. With the moon being high in the sky the air seemed to shift, that was when Inutaisho finally opened his mouth, and spoke.
"If I refuse to hand the sword over, are you willing to kill me? Your own father?"
Sesshomaru didn't seem very fazed by the question presented. Both of them knew that if it really came down to it, that there very well could have been a battle for the sword, but Inutaisho could not afford to waste precious time like that. For the time that he did have was wearing thin.
"Why do you seek power my son? The power of the fang?" Inutaisho asked, this time wanting to hear an actual response from his own flesh and blood.
"The path chosen for myself is one of supreme conquest, and it is power is what I seek," Sesshomaru said, no hesitation in his voice. The response made the lord scoff at his own son's words.
"Supreme conquest…but tell me Sesshomaru, have you someone to protect?" Inutaisho replied as he turned his head slightly around to get a small look at his son. Sesshomaru's gaze narrowed, taking his claws to the side as if he were going to strike at his father, "I have no need of such nonsense," Sesshomaru replied back with not a lick of compassion with the words.
The two were silenced once more, but Inutaisho could not have the reunion between the two of them be extended any longer. Shifting into his beastly form with a long howl ripping from his chest, he readied himself for what was going to come. He leapt over Sesshomaru and leapt into the thick brush behind him, with Sesshomaru knowing all too well that that was going to be the last time he was ever going to see his own father alive.
In the castle down the mountain, Izayoi was having troubles of her own. She had been placed into the birthing room where only the servents and the maids were allowed in and out of there. All that she had to comfort herself was a small window abover her head, in the room, where the light from the full moon would peak through the cloudy sky and beam down on her.
The pain seemed unbearable. She wanted to wait longer, of course wanting to see her own child being born, but terrified at the thought that the castle was now being heavily guarded. Izayoi wanted to blame herself for these turn of events. She did not want there to be any bloodshed between anyone, even if the intention was pure. She cared for the life of her child, the man she held dear to her heart and the souls of the guards placed all around her. She knew the outcome would not be good, and unless the people on the grounds left, there would be bloodshed.
But in the midst of her thoughts she heard footsteps approaching her room. She didn't recognize them to be any of the maids that had been taking care of her, but those of a man who wore heavy armor.
"Takemaru…" She had muttered to herself as the footsteps drew nearer and finally stopped just on the other side of the satin curtains that lay like a wall between the lady and her guard.
"Takemaru, I beg of you, please do not take arms against him, there is no one that can challenge him and survive. I beg you to take leave of here so that your life can be spared." "Please I beg of you," She said trying to get him out of here. Even though the intentions of the guards were to apprehend the child, once born, and kill it, to Izayoi a life was a life no matter how evil the soul of the character was.
"My lady…I am sure you are aware of the feelings that I have held for you all of this time. And I know all too well that I can never have those feelings returned because your heart has been captured by a demon, and by that I wish to free you from that bond and send you to the other words." Takemaru said to the lady as he lifted the spear that was at his side and thrusting it into the stomach of Izayoi.
Takemaru slowly rose to his feet as he looked at the ground, turned and walked away.
"My feelings for you will never change, and you probably know that," He said before he disappeared into the shadows as he made his way to the front so that he could face the demon that stole his woman's heart away. The kill the monster that made Takemaru kill Izayoi.
As Inutaisho neared the castle even more, it felt like someone had pierced through his chest with a knife. The feeling that something was wrong could not leave him, and that was what drew out his extra anger towards the humans that held his beloved behind walls of stone like a trapped bird, only wanting to fly free. The wounds he obtained from Ryukotsei had yet to stop bleeding. Blood poured from that side of his body as he shifted from beast back to human form, taking tensaiga into the palm of his hands, raising it above his head and thrusting the swords unbelievable power at the front gates, throwing back every man stationed on its outside. Inutaisho yelling for Izayoi to answer is distressed calls.
He ran through the, now broken, wooden doors only to find Takemaru appearing from the shadows.
"You have finally came you demon, a little late though," Takemaru said narrowing his gaze at the man that stood before him. Growls came ripping from Inutaisho's chest listening to Takemaru's unbearable voice. Taking notice of the the actions that were being taken from the weak human.
"Lady Izayoi is not of this world now, I made sure of that myself," Takemaru said unsheathing the sword from his side, to be ready for whatever the demon had in store for him.
"You damn fool!" Inutaisho roared as he sped towards Takemaru with tensaiga at his side.
Both now rushing at one another, it was now only a matter of strength, and who had more willpower to kill the other. But in the clash of the two swords blood came gushing from the arm of Takemaru, having the great lord amputate him with tensaiga.
But Inutaisho had no time to finish off Takemaru right there. Not realizing that it was a fatal mistake.
Takemaru was still alive, And while enduring the soaring pain from his lost arm he screamed out the final order, "take aim and burn the mansion to the ground, with that demon and everyone still inside!"
With that, arrows flew into the air, each lit with a flame, as it hit the cedar home of wood instantly causing the building to catch on fire and burn as fast as dried leaves and as brightly as the summer sun.
Inutaisho smelled the smoke rising from behind him as he quickly searched for his love, her scent slowly disappearing from all the smoke. But it was then that Inutaisho saw a dead body lay on the ground a couple of feet away from him. He recognized it as one of the women who cared for Izayoi, though now a corpse, he could tell that Izayoi was not too far. And he was right.
Heading closer to the room he could hear the faint cries of an infant. by this time the fire had reached Inutaisho and was covering the walls from within the hallway and all of the rooms. But he found her, from where her scent was the strongest, the smell of a flower, only to be tarnished by the smell of blood, her blood.
The broke the wall into the room and saw the burning satin and the cries of the baby being heard on the other side of the curtain. He threw the burning cloth away from the body and saw the women he loved laying there in a pool of her own blood. His voice seemed to waver as her name escaped from his lips.
He sheathed tensaiga back and pulled out the sword tenseiga.
"Carry out my will…" He said to the sword as he saw the demons of the underworld appear around Izayoi, there to take her soul from her body. But Inutaisho swung the blade at the underworlders, killing them.
He looked back at Izayoi's face anxiously. And there it was, the glimmer of hope that he was looking for. Her eyes began to open, and she began to move. Inutaisho had been skeptical about the sword from the beginning but it really had seemed that Totosai had really come through for him once again.
The fire was heating up more now; So Inutaisho reached into his breastplate and pulled from his a red robe. A cloth made from the fur of a fire rat demon.
Inutaisho placed the robe over his woman, looking down at her and the child she held in her arms. He smiled slightly at the face of his other child, another son, another being that he was able to create with the love of his life. But the warm reunion was only short lived. The sound of armor clanking made Inutaisho stand back to his feet. As there, on the other side of the room, Takemaru stood, sword in the other hand, waiting to finally end the battle between him and the demon that stole Izayoi away.
"Run…" Inutaisho said ever so softly. He pulled tensaiga back out of its sheath, knowing too well that this was going to be the final battle, that this was going to be the end of both of them.
"But my dearest…" Izayoi replied as she stood to her feet and looked at Inutaisho. She had hoped to hear a different response come from him. Hoping that they would have been able to all live together, that all three of them would be able to escape safely. But that dream seemed to fade away even further as the two men readied themselves for the final fight.
Inutaisho saw that Izayoi did not want to leave him, even as the ceiling seemed to be collapsing all around them, Inutaisho took a breath and spoke once more. "Inuyasha…" he said as he kept his glare on Takemaru.
"What was that? What did you say you filthy demon?" Takemaru demanded. Izayoi listened as well.
"That is the infants name, the child shall be called Inuyasha," he said with a repetitive tone. Izayoi accepted the name given to their son by Inutaisho. Almost like it was a final parting gift from the great lord to the woman he loved.
"Now go!" Inutaisho demanded, this time hoping he would not have to repeat himself a third time. Izayoi nodded her head and hurried out of the room as quickly as she could. Now all that remained were Inutaisho with his sword in hand and Takemaru standing on the other side of the room.
"How noble of you," Takemaru mocked with a slight laugh. Even with your sure demise here, you still intend of that devil child and Izayoi to survive in a world where they could potentially be killed at any moment.
Inutaisho only smiled and frowned at Takemaru, "You must not know her very well then do you," he said talking about Izayoi. He knew that Izayoi was strong, and that she was capable enough to care for their son and keep them from danger. Though he could not be with her ever again in this life and the next, it was a doomed love from the start but he didn't care.
Takemaru seemed insane now. "How could a damned being like you ever love! You cant hold those feelings! No demon can!" He said ranting and waving the sword around.
Inutaisho didn't give Takemaru the benefit of the doubt. All he could say was, "I may not know what the true definition of love is, so I will leave that to the humans, but I do know one thing though…" He stopped there in mid sentence.
"I am going to kill you here and now" Inutaisho finished as he leapt at Takemaru and Takemaru leapt at the great lord. And from within the flames and rubble that came crashing down upon the two beings Inutaisho's true words rang with the white snow that fell from the heavens,
"I found my happiness."
From the snowy hills which lead to the forest Izayoi turned her head in time to see the building fall to the ground, The scene feeling as if her heart was being shredded. Saddened by the thought of not being able to see Inutaisho ever again. The cries of the infant in her arms made her think otherwise. She needed to be strong now, and not just for herself but for the tiny life she held in her arms. Her son Inuyasha, and in other words a small piece of Inutaisho she was able to keep. That kept her spirits high. All she could do now was look forward to the future, unknowing what the future may bring. She looked toward the demon infested woods, clutching the babe against her breast she wandered in. down the path most traveled, she didn't know where she was going or what she was going to do. What she did know was that the wind began to pick up and the snow was beginning to fall harder. Izayoi needed to find shelter for the two of them.
As the icey wind smacked against her face, the path seemed to fade away as the blizzard rolled in really quickly. Izayoi was becoming terrified that she would not find shelter from the deathtrap.
Izayoi looked to her left and then to her right, she needed some sort of shelter so she could wait out the storm. That was when she spotted a hollow tree not to far from where she was standing. Izayoi rushed as quickly as she could and crawled into the small place inside the tree. It was dry and not as cold in there. She sat on the ground with her back leaning against the bark as she unwrapped Inuyasha from the folds of the kimono. His cheeks were rosey so she knew that she had done a good job shielding him from the cold.
But she figured Inuyasha must have been hungry. So she pulled him against her and let him suck her teet. She smiled as the baby fed, but all her warm feelings froze as she heard footsteps on the frozen land coming towards her. She wrapped the kimono around her and covered the baby with it as it still fed. Her breathing became unsteady as her heart pounded as the footsteps grew near. It could have been anything in the frozen tundra. A demon, a robber, anything and everything was running in her head.
She held her breath as the sound of the snow crunching had stopped. There was something just outside of the hollowed tree, and all Izayoi could do was huddle in the corner in hopes that whatever or whoever it was would not be able to find the two of them.
I am back! I feel bad that it has been so long since I last updated this story. It was mostly because of work and writers block, and also the fact that I took a trip to japan, and let me tell you what Japan is such a beautiful country. But anyway back to the story, I am glad to announce that the story is going to be continued through to Izayoi's death, so there are plenty more chapters that are coming along. Please continue reading and continue leaving comments because I love hearing what my readers have to say about my stories.