Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha

CHAPTER SIX - The Way of the Sword

Karanosuke had been staying in Kaede's village for nearly two weeks and he still had not learned anything of particular use about the whereabouts of his father. Karanosuke was wandering through the village, his thoughts on his long lost father and just how little he actually knew about the man, when he saw Inuyasha and Kyo at the edge of the village. The father and son duo were under the shade of a group of trees, their swords drawn. The two stood facing each other, their blades held out before them.

"They're training," Karanosuke thought to himself. Curious as to what was going on between father and son the young boy hid behind a tree and watched Inuyasha and Kyo intently.

As he and his son trained, Inuyasha listened to the barely audible signs that someone was spying on them. He could feel the demonic aura of his young house guest and he knew exactly who the young spy was and so he decided to do nothing to interfere with the boy, after all he wasn't hurting anything. After he and Kyo had worked for about half an hour Inuyasha decided to invite his nephew to join in.

"Karanosuke!"

Karanosuke jumped slightly at the sound of his name. He'd thought he was being discreet however apparently he'd thought wrong. "Damn," the boy muttered as he stepped from behind the tree. "Forgot I was spying on a half demon."

Karanosuke expected Inuyasha to be angry with him however to his surprise his uncle had a smile on his face.

"Would you like to join us?" Inuyasha asked.

"I don't have a sword," Karanosuke pointed out. He'd learned to fight on his own, battling the demons that had came after him as a result of the human blood that flowed in his veins however he'd always relied on his fangs and claws, as well as the light whip that he'd learned to use in later years, to defend himself from these attacks. No one had ever taught him how to use a sword and he did not even own one.

"That's okay," Inuyasha said, extending a sheathed sword. "You can borrow mine."

Kyo gasped as his father offered Karanosuke the Tetsusaiga. His father had always been very protective of the sword. Very few people were allowed to touch it and here he was offering it to Karanosuke.

Karanosuke took the sword from Inuyasha, not realizing the depths of the gift that the older man had offered him. He had no idea of the sword's history or of the lengths to which Inuyasha would go to protect it.

"Alright then," Inuyasha said. "You and Kyo can spar and I'll coach."

Kyo held up his sword. "Draw your sword Karanosuke."

Karanosuke pulled the sword from it's sheath. He gasped as the sword he held in his hands transformed right before his eyes. The blade of the kitana transformed into a huge blade that strongly resembled a fang.

Kyo's eyes grew large. "I can't believe that happened." The boy turned to face Inuyasha. "I don't understand Father. Why did the Tetsusaiga transform for him?"

"It's because of the trace amount of human blood flowing through his veins," Inuyasha explained. "And because he cares about the well being of mortals."

Karanosuke glared at Inuyasha, his amber eyes flashing.

Inuyasha smirked. "Whether he admits it or not."

"I have no interest whatsoever in the well being of mortals. They do not concern me in the slightest," Karanosuke asserted, holding up the transformed Tetsusaiga and staring at it.

"You lie," Inuyasha said, his tone one of confidence. "The thing about my sword is that it refuses to reveal it's true powers to those who seek to harm mortals. The Tetsusaiga was forged by my father, your grandfather, as a way to protect my mortal mother and the sword can only be used to it's full potential by someone with human and demon blood who feels compassion toward mortals."

Karanosuke decided to cease arguing with his uncle and concentrate on learning what he could about swordsmanship. He had never been trained in the art of the sword and had always relied on his demonic energy whip and, more recently his demon dog transformation, to defeat his enemies. However he decided that it might be a good idea to learn how to use the sword, to broaden his horizons so to speak. Besides, he really wanted a chance to try out his uncle's sword.

"Alright boys," Inuyasha said. "Let's see what you can do. Kyo,"

"Yes Father?" Kyo said.

"Take it easy on him, he's new at this."

"I don't need a handicap!" Karanosuke said angrily.

Inuyasha smiled. "Whatever you say kid."

"Don't patronize me," Karanosuke growled.

"Fine," Inuyasha said, shaking his head at the arrogance of the young boy. "Have it your way. You two fight however you want to."

Kyo raised his sword into a fighting position. "Come on Karanosuke. Let's see what you can do."

Karanosuke raised Tetsusaiga and pointed the blade at Kyo. "Alright, but don't blame me when you get hurt."

Inuyasha grinned at the two boys. They'd only known each other for a couple of weeks and yet Inuyasha could already point out several similarities in the personalities of the two boys.

"Hmm," Inuyasha thought to himself. "It must run in the family."

Kyo made the first move in the fight. He raised his sword and ran toward Karanosuke.

"No patience," Inuyasha thought to himself as he watched his son's head on attack. "Let's see what Karanosuke will do."

Karanosuke stood calmly, facing his foe's attack head on.

"Slightly more patience," Inuyasha thought.

When Kyo was almost on top of Karanosuke he swung his blade in the direction of his cousin's head. Karanosuke used the Tetsusaiga to block the blow and then launched one of his own. Blades of light seemed to leap from the blade and head straight toward Kyo.

Kyo barely managed to dodge the attack, landing on his butt as he jumped to one side to avoid the blades of light, and Inuyasha felt compelled to halt the fight.

"Alright boys," he said as he walked toward the two boys. "I think that's enough for today."

Kyo jumped to his feet and walked toward the spot where Karanosuke stood. Under normal circumstances he would protest the fact that his father had halted the battle after only one attack however he was more concerned with what he'd just witnessed from his cousin. "What the hell did you just do?!"

Karanosuke stared at the blade of the sword that he held in his hand, a look of confusion in his amber fox eyes. "I have no idea."

"That was the Wind Scar," Inuyasha told the boys. "It's one of Tetsusaiga's ultimate techniques."

"That was weird," Karanosuke said. "I can't even describe what I saw, but somehow I knew when and where to swing the sword."

"You saw the spot where the two demonic auras collided," Inuyasha said. "That's the Wind Scar."

Karanosuke sheathed the Tetsusaiga and then handed the sword back to Inuyasha. "Thanks for the lesson."

"No problem," Inuyasha said. "You can join us anytime. And you don't even have to spy on us next time. Just walk up and join us. We don't bite."

Karanosuke rolled his eyes and walked away.

A/N- I apologize for the fact that this chapter is so short but that's just the way it turned out. Hope you enjoyed, feel free to review and let me know what you thought. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.