I don't own Inuyasha, only my oc characters
Sesshomaru and his group were once again walking along a pathway. He was walking a pace ahead of everyone. Rin was riding on Ah-Un, while Kohaku and Jaken walked beside them. Shiori was gently pulling on Ah-Un's reigns.
"What's the matter Master Jaken?" Rin asked.
"You don't feel it?" he whispered. "With just one incident in Hell, the meido widened. But it's not a complete circle yet….Lord Sesshomaru's heart hasn't lightened either, he just seems more electrically charged. It's kind of scary!"
"His heart is light," said Rin cheerfully. "It's full of kindness!"
"Hmph, where was that kindness when his Mother was criticizing me?" Shiori complained. "Even so…..I still think Jaken's wrong. His heart has become lighter. If it hadn't, then there's no way he could've purified the souls of the dead like that…and his reaction to Rin's death was pure evidence of his heart's transition."
She looked back at the young girl. She was happily singing to herself as usual. She wasn't even affected by the experience in Hell. Shiori was incredibly grateful for that. She couldn't bear it if she knew Rin suffered. Rin, who noticed Shiori starring, made a silly face and giggled. Shiori smiled and turned away.
"You silly girl," she thought. She dropped Ah-Un's reigns and caught up to Sesshomaru. The reigns fell down and popped Jaken in the face.
"Lord Sesshomaru," she called. "How do you intend to increase the strength of your meido zangetshua? It has yet to reach a full circle."
"I don't know," he said flatly. "But I'll figure it out."
Shiori nodded and turned away from him. He lured down at her from the corner of his eye.
"Shiori….."
"Yes, My Lord?"
"Don't you dare do anything else to recklessly endanger your life," he firmly said. "I don't want to have to go back into the Land of the Dead."
"Even after everything…..he would still come to my aid?" she kept looking forward. She was afraid to catch his gaze—but she felt it. "Lord Sesshomaru….why are you doing this to me? Why did I have to fall for you, My Lord?"
"Do you understand?" he asked her.
"I have to tell him now, or it will forever eat it at me…..he doesn't have to feel the same way, in fact, I already know he doesn't. I just have to let him know…before something else happens."
"Shiori…."
"I understand," she softly answered. "But there is….something I need to tell you."
"Oh," his interest was suddenly peaked. "What is it?"
"I'm not sure how you'll react, but I have a dire need to tell you," she said looking at him. "This….isn't going to be easy to say."
He looked at her with curiosity. Never in his life had he ever seen her so nervous. Something was weighing deeply on her soul….and he knew what it was.
"Is she really going to say it now?" he inquired in his mind.
"Lord Sesshomaru…..I," Shiori suddenly stopped talking when she felt something up ahead.
Sesshomaru caught a foreign scent, but didn't pay it any mind. Now that it was the reason for Shiori's silence, he decided attend to it. Up ahead of them, was a child. He had short dark hair and large black holes for eyes. Though he was wearing Buddhist monk attire, it was obvious that he wasn't a monk. He wasn't even human. Shiori sensed that it was a shikigami puppet. The boy stood smiling in the middle of the road.
"Later," Sesshomaru said to Shiori. She slowly nodded in relief.
"Lord Sesshomaru, would you like to learn the secret of what tenseiga is lacking?" the boy asked in an ominous tone.
"What?" Jaken gawked.
"The secret of what tenseiga lacks, you say?" Sesshomaru inquired.
"Doesn't it bother you that tenseiga's meido can't form a full circle yet?" he asked.
"Hey! Who are you? Why do you say such things?" Jaken demanded to know.
"Silence Jaken," said Sesshomaru coolly.
"Eh, I didn't say anything," Jaken gulped.
"Why do you always tell that lie?" Rin wondered.
The boy turned and headed up the path, "follow me if you want answers."
Sesshomaru hesitated before following after the strange child. The rest of the group continued after him as well. He led them through a mountain passage and over a land bridge. The child was eerily silent the entire way.
"Lord Sesshomaru, do you know this child?" asked Jaken.
"I don't," he freely admitted.
"Ummm, couldn't this be a trap?" Jaken wondered. "They could be luring you out with tenseiga's secret in order to kill you…or something."
"In that case, I'll slice them a part," he simply answered.
Suddenly, the child disappeared. He vanished into thin air! Before anyone had a chance to speak, they were nearly struck by an airborne attack. Shiori leapt backwards just in time. Ah-Un quickly flew up with Kohaku and Rin. Jaken barely managed to hang on.
"Meido Zangetshua!" Sesshomaru fired at the bottom of the ledge in front of him. An enormous meido slammed into the mountain in a huge eruption.
"See! I told you it was a trap!" Jaken shrieked.
"Is everyone alright?" asked Shiori. "Any injuries?"
"I think Master Jaken bumped his head a little," said Rin pointing at the enormous lump on Jaken's head.
Shiori blinked twice, "good then, no injuries."
"Why you!" Jaken grunted.
"Did you aim below me on purpose?" called a voice from above Sesshomaru.
At the top of the ledge was a demon with short, spiky hair. Half of his face was concealed with some kind of mask. He was dressed in what looked like a shinigami kimono, but his was far more extravagant. He carried a staff in his hand. It was pouring with negative energy.
"Since the enemy has come this far, I suppose you want to know the secret of Tenseiga Sesshomaru…."
"Who are you?" Jaken demanded to know. He turned to Shiori. "Do you know him?"
"I don't….think so," Shiori responded. "But he's definitely not from the Land of the Living."
"I don't care who he is," Sesshomaru coldly said. "Why do you know of Tenseiga?"
"In the past, I fought against that sword," the man answered.
"What?" said Sesshomaru. "He fought with Father?"
"Although," the man continued, "back when I fought your father, the sword didn't have that form.
"It has a different form? Is that what he's saying?"
Sesshomaru rushed up and sliced at the man with his claws. But the demon dodged Sesshomaru's attack.
"In order to know the swords secret, you intend to fight me without it?" said the demon swinging his staff. "Do not take me lightly! I am Shishinki!"
Everyone looked in horror as a meido hurled towards them. How did he manage to do that? They all escaped the meido's path and watched as it struck the mountain behind them.
"A meido?" Jaken marveled. "Though, it isn't nearly as big as Lord Sesshomaru's."
"Yes, but it's a full meido," explained Kohaku.
"In the beginning, the meido zangetsuha was my technique," said Shishinki. "Your father stole it from me, as well as my face."
He removed his mask and revealed that he only had half his face. Sesshomaru's father must've done that when he used his own attack against him.
"Princess, why do you look so horrified?" asked Shishinki. "Does my face scare you?"
Shiori kept quite as he spoke to her, "It's a pleasure to finally see the one responsible for the Netherworld resolution. You've caused quite the stir. You've overthrown the old Lords of the Netherworld, and you saved your Father from Hell…And speaking of Hell, it seems your Lord has also caused a stir. Slaying one of the Lords of Hell and purifying damned souls just won't due. You've already disturbed the natural balance of things. So I've been sent to exterminate him by the Grand Master of Hell."
"The grand Master of Hell?"
"It's a 2 for 1 deal, you see. I get revenge against my old enemy for stealing my technique and for the Master," he said with an evil smirk. "Of course, I won't kill you…..but it will be fun watching your expressions as your demon lord dies."
"I'm not interested in whatever grudges you or anyone else has against me," said Sesshomaru holding out his sword.
"Do you really think you can beat me with an incomplete sword such as Tenseiga?" shouted Shishinki as he whirled his staff.
"Incomplete? Tenseiga is incomplete?" Thought Sesshomaru, moving out of the way. "What do you know vermin?"
"You want to know?" Shishinki laughed as he placed his mask back on. "Even though you'll soon be dead?"
"It looks like you have no interest in answering me, therefore, I have no further use for you," he fired his meido zangetsuha attack at the demon. It whirled over Shishinki's head.
"Your meido is pointlessly large," he said while casually glancing at the meido. "However, it will never form a perfect circle!"
H e fired a meido into Sesshomaru's. Even though his was significantly smaller, it was much more powerful. It immediately absorbed Sesshomaru's meido. Shiori stared in disbelief.
"It was absorbed. It's because Shishinki's meido is a completed circle….." she thought. She felt familiar presences behind her and looked back. Inuyasha and his group had arrived to the battle scene. They must've come looking for Kohaku. Sesshomaru also noticed them.
"Kohaku!" called Sango.
"Sister?" He turned when he heard her voice, "what's she doing here?"
Shishinki looked down at Inuyasha's sword, "It's….that sword…"
"That's Shishinki!" cried a tiny voice from Inuyasha's shoulder. It was Myouga the flea. "Long ago he fought with your father and lost. He hasn't been seen since."
"Shishinki?" Inuyasha said.
"If Lord Sesshomaru learns about Tenseiga's secret…" Myouga thought. "Oh…this is bad!"
Suddenly, Shishinki unleashed a meido and sent it hurdling towards Inuyasha. Inuyasha grabbed Kagome and dove out of the way.
"You bastard!" he angrily called as he stood up. "Windscar!"
The windscar trailed all the way up the mountain and almost desecrated it. Shishinki appeared in the archway of the mountain. He was smirking down at them all.
"So that was Tessaiga," he noted. "I heard the he had two sons and that he'd given the younger one the Tessaiga. How interesting."
Inuyasha looked over his shoulder, "Hey, Sesshomaru? Why are you fighting this guy?"
Sesshomaru blankly stared at his brother. He refused to say a word. Shiori felt something boiling inside of him.
"What does that mean, Sesshomaru? Doesn't it seem natural that the older brother should have inherited Tessaiga?" Shishinki mocked.
"Why on Earth would he bring up such a topic?" Shiori wondered while floating beside Ah-Un.
"Enough of this useless chatter!" Sesshomaru bellowed while attacking his opponent.
Shishinki countered Sesshomaru's attack. Once again, Sesshomaru's meido was absorbed by one of Shishinki's.
"Sesshomaru, do you know how Tenseiga was born?" Shishinki questioned. "I told you already, when I fought with your father, Tenseiga looked nothing like that. More precisely, Tenseiga didn't even exist. What I actually fought…..was Tessaiga."
"What?" thought Inuyasha. "Tessaiga was the one that stole Meido Zangetsuha?"
"Then Tenseiga is…it can't be…" Sesshomaru was in complete shock.
"That's right, Sesshomaru. Your tenseiga is Tessaiga's…"
"Silence!" Sesshomaru caught the demon off and flung another meido at him.
It was once again absorbed.
"Lord Sesshomaru's meido was absorbed again!" said Kohaku.
"Yes, and it'll keep happening. His meido is still incomplete….it's no match for a full meido zangetsuha," Shiori remarked. "Tenseiga didn't exist before…and Shishinki claims it was tessaiga that he fought against. Does that mean that the swords were once one?"
"Your Father is the one who stole my technique," said Shishinki, "but I don't think he learned to properly utilize it. "Therefore, it was cast off away from Tessaiga as an unwanted technique—into tenseiga."
"So, it's an unwanted technique?" Sesshomaru angrily thought while looking down.
"On top of that," he continued. "The younger brother who received Tessaiga has human scent on him. So a mere half demon was given the original sword, huh?"
"I was rejected by Tessaiga's barrier, forbidden from even touching it," reflected Sesshomaru. "And rather than a weapon, I was given the Tenseiga, a healing sword. It was finally forged into a weapon, and the technique I gained, meido zangetsuha is….."
"Sesshomaru," jeered Shishinki "It looks like you've been completely shunned by your father. So you understand now, what it means for Tenseiga to be an incomplete sword. Because Tenseiga is merely a cast-off piece of Tessaiga, it cannot fire a complete meido zangetsuha! No matter how hard you train!"
He fired a meido straight for Sesshomaru. But Sesshomaru was so distraught, he didn't even move.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" shouted Shiori. "What are you doing? Get out the way!"
Inuyasha quickly jumped in front of Sesshomaru and deflected the meido back with a windscar.
Shishinki smirked, "So the half demon comes to his brother's aid, huh? After I take my time finishing off Sesshomaru, I'll deal with you."
"Shut up! Just be quiet and watch," Inuyasha grunted. Just then, Sesshomaru rushed over to Inuyasha and punched him in the face.
Shiori casually watched the gesture, "Jaken, how many times has Inuyasha been punched in the face by Lord Sesshomaru?"
"I believe I've lost count," he replied.
"Ack, you bastard! What the hell was that for?" Inuyasha barked.
"I won't let you interfere," said Sesshomaru icily.
He quickly lunged at Shishinki with his claws.
"Hmph, it appears you've lost the will to use Tenseiga," teased Shishinki. He fired a range of meidos at Sesshomaru, who avoided them all.
"He can shoot more than one at once?" Miroku gapped.
"He's lost it! He's filled to the brim with an uncontrollable rage." thought Shiori. "This is worse than when Moryomaru mocked Kagura's death. Shishinki has implanted the idea that Lord Sesshomaru's father never cared about him. That he gave him an unwanted technique and sword…"
"Sesshomaru, stop!" Inuyasha shouted at his brother. "If you get hit by one of those meido's, then you'll be a gonner for sure!"
"Father, why would you go that far…just to slight me?" thought Sesshomaru as he rushed towards his opponent.
"You're so desperate that you charge at me without a plan," Shishinki sneered. "Lady Shiori, your demon lord is finished!"
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Shiori cried as he was attacked by another series of meido.
"Stop it, you idiot! You'll be killed!" Inuyasha screeched. Sesshomaru ignored them both.
"Lady Shiori! They're coming straight for us!" called Rin.
"Ah-Un, get back!" Shiori ordered.
The dragon obeyed her and quickly flew back. Everywhere they turned, another meido seemed to open. Shishinki truly was trying to exterminate Sesshomaru. Shiori wondered what her father would have to say about any of this. By now, he had to have known about Sesshomaru's plunged into the shadow realms. She was absolutely sure he knew about the murder of one of Hell's masters.
"How long can you run?" taunted Shishinki.
"You low life," scoffed Sesshomaru. "I have no intention of running away."
"Lord Sesshomaru! Please listen to what I have to say!" shouted Myouga from Inuyasha's shoulder. He sailed over to him on one of Miroku's sutras.
"Huh? Who's speaking?" asked Shiori. She followed the direction of the tiny voice with her eyes.
"It sounds like Old Myouga the flea," Jaken told her. "He was one of the Great Dog Demon's advisors."
"Lord Sesshomaru, your father entrusted you with that sword because of who you are," shouted Myouga. Meido Zangetsuha is a technique that dispatches an enemy and sends straight to Hell. It's not a technique that just anyone can handle. Your father counted on your strength as a full demon. He intended for you to one day acquire the meido zangetsuha and learn to wield it fully."
"For that purpose, he intentionally cast Tenseiga off of Tessaiga?" Sesshomaru vaguely asked.
"An amusing story," Shishinki laughed. "Why didn't the Dog general give Sesshomaru the Tessaiga with the already completed meido? That's what Sesshomaru's thinking, I'm sure of it."
"Uh…well….." Myouga stammered. He didn't have an answer.
"Did you just say all that to be little Sesshomaru even more?" Inuyasha demanded as he squeezed Myouga between his fingers.
"Uh, you must really feel for Sesshomaru…." Said Myouga with strain.
"Myouga, get back," Sesshomaru firmly ordered. He leapt after Shishinki once more. "There's nothing left to discuss."
Sesshomaru's left kimono sleeve was hit with an oncoming meido. It was quickly absorbed into the meido. Shishinki taunted him.
"So, you only had one arm, huh?"
"I've been missing this arm from the start, all because Father left tessaiga to Inuyasha. However I don't feel bitter about it. In the end, it's allowed me to exceed in battle," he thought.
He struck Shishinki's face with his claw, knocking off his mask, "How dare you do that to my face!"
"Tenseiga's secret? I wouldn't want to hear the nonsense you'd spit out anyway," Sesshomaru coldly said. "It would be useless rubbish anyway."
"You and your father will regret what you've done to my face!" he screeched back while swinging his staff.
Inuyasha came running up behind him, his sword was still drawn.
"Get back Sesshomaru!"
Sesshomaru angrily glared at his brother, "I told you not to interfere!"
"Heh, like I'd do that!" Inuyasha swung his sword at the incoming meidos. "Adamant barrage!"
Both of them jumped straight into the air.
"How amusing!" scoffed Shishinki. "I'll send you to Hell as brothers in arms!"
Suddenly, both their swords started glowing with energy. Were they trying to tell them something? They sharply looked at each other.
"Sesshomaru!" called Inuyasha. "Draw Tenseiga! Maybe something'll happen."
"Is Tenseiga telling me fight alongside Inuyasha and Tessaiga? No, it wants me to save him."
"You can't escape in the air!" shouted Shishinki.
"In order to discard the Meido Zangetsuha, Tenseiga was cast off from Tessaiga. And that same sword was given to me….just so I could save Inuyasha's life?"
"Go to Hell!" cried Shishinki, firing another round. "Be sure to take your father's mementos with you!"
"Inuyasha!" cried Kagome.
"There's too many of them this time!" shouted Miroku.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" cried Jaken and Rin.
Shiori could feel her heart crying out to her.
"Whatever Father was thinking when he gave me Tenseiga, I don't care anymore! However, Shishiki, there's no point in letting trash like you live!"
He unsheathed Tenseiga and fired a Meido Zangetsuha. But this time it wasn't an elliptical shaped meido, but a full circle. It was so large and powerful, that it absorbed all of Shishinki's meido. It even absorbed the entire mountain.
"Take that back to your Master," snapped Sesshomaru.
"How is this possible? Tenseiga's supposed to be incomplete?" Shishinki was being absorbed into Sesshomaru's completed meido. He looked and saw the brothers standing side by side—with both swords drawn. He smirked as he was sucked in. "Now I see. What a cruel thing for a Father to do, Sesshomaru!"
The enormous meido closed up behind him. Everyone looked around at the battered landscape. That really was a close call.
"Hey, wasn't that a completed meido?" Inuyasha asked Sesshomaru.
Sesshomaru gloomily looked at his sword before putting it back in it's place. He then stormed off.
"Wait Sesshomaru," Inuyasha called. "You just mastered Tenseiga. Aren't you at all happy? By the time I could think for myself, Dad was already dead. But all that stuff Shishinki said about your sword being an unwanted piece of Tessaiga can't be true. He was just trying to cover up the fact that Dad trusted you when he gave it to you."
By that time, Inuyasha's companions had flown down next to them. They were surprised at Inuyasha's attempts to make Sesshomaru feel better.
"Why do you think that?" asked Sesshomaru over his shoulder.
"Isn't it obvious?" scoffed Inuyasha. "So you won't keep whining about your sword all the time! I'm going to prove to you right here that Tenseiga is Dad's memento!"
"Inuyasha, are you blind?" he questioned. "You and I are destined to fight until our deaths. Never forget that." He walked away from his brother.
"Wait for us!" called Jaken.
Shiori and the rest of the group were flying after Sesshomaru
"Don't you want to say hello to your sister, Kohaku?" Rin asked.
"Maybe next time, let's follow Lord Sesshomaru," he answered.
Sango sadly watched them fly away from above. "Kohaku….."
…
Even after they were miles from the battlefield, there was still tension in the air. Sesshomaru never even said a word. He was still deeply affected by everything. Shiori felt so bad for him. She desperately tried to understand The Great Dog Demon's reasoning for things. She couldn't think of any. What was she to do now?
"Speaking of Fathers….."
She could sense her Father summoning her ever since Shishinki was thrown into Hell. Obviously, they had much to discuss. It seemed she'd have to make another trip to the Netherworld.
"Shiori," Sesshomaru he cheerlessly called out to her. "What was it that you wanted to tell me earlier?"
Shiori looked to find Sesshomaru gazing at her over his shoulder. She couldn't quite read his expression….come to think of it, she couldn't really feel his emotions either. It was as if…he was blocking them from her. Was that it? Could that be the reason she couldn't always sense his emotions? Sesshomaru was still looking at her, waiting for an answer. He was already upset; Shiori didn't want to upset him further. But, his anger was dying down a bit…for the moment.
"It's not important right now, My Lord," she answered turning away.
"You're sure?" he questioned. He knew she was lying, but he couldn't force her to speak if she didn't want to.
"I'm…..sure," she told him.
He turned away from her, seemingly disappointed.
"I do, however, I have something else to tell you," she said. "My Father's summoning me. I have to go to him at once."
"You're going back to the Netherworld again?" asked Jaken. "But why?"
"The Grand Master of Hell," she explained, "is still very angry about Lord Sesshomaru's business in the Netherworld."
"Will he send more demons after Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken wondered.
"Yes, and that's why I have to go now," she answered. "My Father most likely wants me to meet with The Grand Master of Hell. I will act as your representation My Lord."
"Is she saying she'll carry Lord Sesshomaru's burden for him?" Jaken thought.
"But Lady Shiori, won't they try to kill you?" Kohaku asked.
"They might," she responded. "But if I don't go, all Hell will break loose. And I mean that in the most literal way possible. We already have Naraku to deal with, this is just added stress.
"You intend to go alone?" asked Sesshomaru.
"This time, I have to," she said walking away from them. "Don't worry; I won't be long this time."
"Be careful Lady Shiori!" Rin called out to her.
"You better come back this time!" hollered Jaken. "I'm sure Lord Sesshomaru doesn't want to have to come after you."
"Shiori," said Sesshomaru. She stopped walking instantly. "Don't you dare try anything foolish while you're there. If you aren't back….."
"I understand, My Lord," Shiori said.
Earlier, he would've stopped her from going…..but not now. He left Shiori to take care of things. Right now, he had too many things on his mind. He was grateful to at least have other things to distract him from Shiori's safety…but still…..
So, I added the part about Shishinki being from the Underworld. I'm not really sure if he was or not. When I read the part about Sesshomaru slaying the Master of Hell my thoughts were as followed... "Holy Shit, Sesshomaru just killed the Master of Hell! He's so badass...wait, wouldn't that disturb the natural order of death? ...lol does that mean Hell girl's free now?" So I got the idea of using Shishinki as an agent for the Grand Master of Hell :)