Jeff and the others burst threw the front doors of the great dog demons castle, where Inu no Taisho had been waiting for them.
" so your finally back." Inu no Taisho spoke.
"yes we made it back here Sagara is doing well, but he needs some where to rest." Jeff spoke to his father.
"of course bring him to the arena to rest then all of you can meet me in my study, I will call the others so we can inform them of what is happening, everyone must be prepared." Inu no Taisho sounded concerned. So the group followed Jeff to the arena into a small room behind the battle ground. Where he laid Sagara down into a spell circle carved into the floor and bound him with chains to the floor.
" what are you doing?" Rukia questioned Jeff as he bound the young boy.
" we cant have him busting out of here when he wakes up before we get a chance to explain everything to him." Jeff explained. " now follow me there's a lot to discuss." the group followed Jeff back up many flights of stairs in complete silence to a large wooden door. Jeff pushed through the door and entered a large candle lit library where Inu no Taisho sat.
" the others should be here shortly." Inu no Taisho stated motioning for everyone to take a seat and wait patiently. After what seemed like a silent eternity the others finally began to pile into the room led by Sesshomaru. Inuyasha, Kagome, Ashley, Rin, Sango, and Miroku.
" you said he wouldn't be here!" Ashley yelled at Sesshomaru.
" I lied you all have to be here." Sesshomaru motioned for her to sit on the other side of the room. Ashley grumbled before taking a seat next to Kagome and Inuyasha.
" well lets start with introductions. Everyone this is Masibu and Rukia they are good friends of mine from a very long time ago. Also there is a boy sleeping right now his name is Sagara. And he is Jeff's son." Inu no Taisho explained watching as Ashley's face dropped. " now listen carefully as I tell you this boys story and his current importance." Inu no Taisho spoke very seriously everyone hushed and listened.
Deep in the heart of japan lost in the early 19th century a small boy lived with only his mother in a small shrine in the woods near the ruins of a once famous religious mountain called Mt. Hatake. The boy was twelve years old now, he was an odd looking boy with long electric blue hair tied in a tight pony tail his bangs cut at level with his deep orange eyes. His pupils unlike other people he had met, reflected three tear drops. This was strange to the boy but he had learned from his mothers upset reactions to never ask about it again. The boys name was Sagara Taisho his mother Saki had bright blue eyes and medium length blond hair. Him and his mother lived happily in the woods away from society and the on going revolution to over throw the current government. Every once in a while travelers would come by Sagara and his mother would chat with them before they got on their way again. Sagara enjoyed this simple way of life he would go out and collect herbs and fire wood all day long or go fishing or searching for food while his mother took care of the house. It had been this way since he was ten years old. That was when he was finally old enough to receive his very own sword. It was an old rusty beat up katana but his mother had told him it was his fathers and he had left it behind, so Sagara was proud to carry the weapon. He had always wondered what had happened to his father but like many other questions he had asked, his mother had refused to answer him instead they seemed only to make her sad. So he avoided those things that made her sad. Sagara walked home from the near by river with a net of fish slung over his shoulder and fire wood under his arm he trotted along quickly in hopes of arriving before night fell or his mother would be upset with him. When he came near the clearing where the shrine resided he stopped. He could hear voices. As he moved closer to investigate he saw a small group of five men standing near the shrine talking to his mother. He watched and attempted to listen in.
One man yelled. " Wench!" threw gritted teeth as he slapped Saki to the ground. That was all Sagara had heard before instinct took over his body.
" Leave my mother alone!" he screamed as he ran toward the man who had assaulted his mother.
" Sagara run!" Saki screamed as she saw her son approaching. But he didn't stop he ran full force at the man only to be kicked harshly in the stomach causing him to fall to the ground in wincing pain.
" kill the boy, and well have our fun with the girl." the man spoke grotesquely. Another man drew his sword with every intention to cut the little boy to pieces.
" please leave him lone ill do anything!" Saki pleaded. Only to be kicked to the ground as well. The man swung at the boy. Only to be surprised when he had disappeared.
"Hogi look!" one man shouted as him and the others all drew their swords and pointing to the young boy who gracefully stood with one foot on the tip of the blade belonging to the man who had just tried to cut him down. The tear drops in his eyes swirling with intensity his sword already drawn and raised. The man looked up in surprise trembling at the sight of the boy. In one swift movement the boy decapitated the man. The others all attacked, Sagara swiftly danced threw the small group of fighters hacking them to pieces as blood splashed across his face and soaked his white kimono. Saki watched in horror as her son cut down four men with no effort at all. Blood soaked he steadily walked to the trembling man who had struck his mother. His eyes still swirling with intensity his blood soaked blade draped in one hand.
"Sagara stop!" Saki screamed in horror as she watched him about to launch and cut down his final foe who stood trembling with fear. This caused Sagara to stop dead in his tracks the man seized his opportunity and ran for his life. Sagara turned to his mother with a look of confusion.
" just please stop." she whispered staring with a horrified expression on her face. Sagara dropped his sword before running to embrace his mother tears falling down his face.
" I had to mama they were going to.."
" I know Sagara I know." she whispered in his ear as she tightly clung to her blood soaked son. Saki gathered up the things Sagara had brought home and went to the kitchen she watched threw the window as her little boy quietly dug graves at the edge of the clearing in the darkness. ( hes a little monster, he cut those men down without a second thought without any remorse he murdered those men evil or not the boy had no hesitation. What is he what kind of a monster did I give birth to." Saki thought as she watched her son placing the bodies into the graves. When he was finished he came inside quickly undressed and took a hot bath he then came out and headed straight for the table where Saki had prepared the fish he had brought home and placed for him. She herself did not eat her stomach was to upset from the dreadful event she had just witnessed. She watched as Sagara happily devoured his food.
" mama why aren't you eating?" he asked curiously once he had finished his plate.
" i'm not hungry tonight Sagara now go to bed." Saki replied. Sagara did as he was told and ran off to bed. Saki on the other hand stood elbows on the table her face slumped into her hands lost deep in her own thoughts. The next morning proceeded as normal Sagara woke up got dressed grabbed his sword and headed out into the woods. His mother sat at the kitchen window and watched him off as she turned to the graves with eyes lost in thought. Sagara walked along threw the woods and came to the stream that he usually rested at and spent most of his day. He cast out his fishing rod and sat down leaning against a rock his sword tilted on his shoulder. He sat peacefully in the bliss of silence lost in his own thoughts. Before long he had fallen asleep napping against his rock, he sat like this for hours. Suddenly he awoke in a panic to a blood curdling scream echoing threw the forest the night had settled in the moon full above his head glowing red as though it had been wounded.. He quickly jumped to his feet with his sword gripped tightly in his hand sweat pouring from his face he ran full speed to his home. When he approached the edge of the clearing he stopped dead in his tracks it had been exactly as he feared. He watched as a large group of about twenty men stood with swords raised in a semi circle around a women who had been beaten down to her knees one man standing at the center seemed to be in charge. The women slowly raised her head, her face covered in fresh blood her eyes full of pain she looked directly to Sagara. When his eyes met his mothers he felt something inside shatter a boundary that had never before been crossed, rage swelled up in his chest.
" run Sagara..." she whimpered before falling completely to the ground, exposing the large slash across her back.
" that's the boy!" the man who had gotten away the previous night shouted as he pointed toward Sagara who stood frozen.
" then kill him all of you at once make sure he dies as well." the leader spoke coldly. Everyman but himself ran toward Sagara with blood thirsty eyes ready to kill. He stood with his hand on his sword frozen still staring at the bloody corpse that was his mother. In the instant before the two who had reached him first made their attempts on his life he quickly drew his sword and cut them down before they ever ever saw him move. This took the others off guard but did not stop them they slowed and slowly surrounded the little boy to approach him from all sides. They could tell he was not a normal boy. Once in position they all moved in at once to attack him swiftly and without thought his body moved dancing threw the barrage of attacks easily dodging every swing of every sword quickly retaliating with a killing blow of his own until everyman but Sagara and the leader of this murderous group lay blood soaked in the dirt. Sagara began slowly walking toward this man. As he did he noticed the man who had escaped him last night crawling toward his leader begging for help, Sagara slowly walked past him stabbing his skull with his sword and removing it without ever looking down at the man, never breaking his gaze at the man who had killed his mother. He continued walking until the man began to clap and chuckle hysterically.
" what brutality and skill you have for such a young man, may I ask who trained you?" the man spoke as though he enjoyed watching his men get cut down. Sagara stood silent staring at this man whom he did not understand. " that is how it is then, so be it, it is customary that two samurai exchange names before battle." he spoke again unimpressed by the boys lack of response. " my name is Tenkin and you are Sagara I believe it was?" the man questioned.
" who sent you here." Sagara spoke calmly.
" i'm a colonel of the Tokugawa samurai army of the Kurisuchi family I operate under general Byakuya." the man said with pride. " a hand so talented with a sword such as yours at such a young age would make a fine addition to our cause, its a shame I have to kill you." the man said now with a serious face raising his sword.
" no more words." Sagara continued to seem calm although his rage had been building up he raised his sword and released it all at once his orange eyes and strange pupils spinning with intensity he lunged at the man who struggled to block his attack. The battle between the two raged on it had begun heavily raining a storm had moved in overhead lightning flashed across the sky almost as vigorously as it did across the eyes of the little boy who fought to avenge his mothers death. Their blades clashed the sound of steel on steel ringing threw the woods. They struggled to push each other back blades crossed they stared into each others eyes almost nose to nose. Suddenly the world appeared different Sagara jumped back off of his opponent who seemed frozen in time they appeared to still be in the clearing but something had changed the storm continued to rage as Sagara watched his frozen opponent but also looked around to figure out what had changed. The world seemed to have an orange tint to it and crows called out for blood as he remembered his goal and slowly approached his opponent again.
" what have you done to me!" the man attempted to holler threw gritted teeth. " I cant move!"
" that's a shame because I can." Sagara spoke calmly as he stabbed the tip of his sword into the mans exposed heart. At that moment the world seemed to collapse and he found himself standing exactly as before he pulled his sword out of the man and looked around to see another man standing at the edge of the clearing which seemed to shift back to its natural shade slowly approaching him. Sagara turned and raised his sword to defend. The man continued to approach he was tall with long silver hair purple strips marked his face along with a crescent moon on his forehead, he carried three swords all appearing to be very different from each other.
" there will be no need for that." the man spoke softly as he looked around the blood stained clearing. " i'm not here to hurt you i'm a friend of your mothers the man spoke sadly as he looked down at Saki's dead body laying in the mud.
" how do I know that." Sagara replied never breaking his guard. " how do I know your not one of them."
" because if I was, I would have killed you when you were lost in the world of your mind." the man seemed to explain as if it was common sense.
" what do you mean?" the boy questioned finally letting down his guard.
" I will explain after, first let us make graves for the the unfortunate who lost their lives tonight." the man spoke again with sorrow as he looked down at his lost friend. He reached down to pick her up but was stopped when Sagara grabbed his arm.
" I will take care of her." he whispered looking down at his mother.
" very well I will deal with the others." Sagara picked up his mothers body and brought her to the back of the shrine he laid her down and began digging he dug as deep as his arms would let him to make sure the mud wouldn't be able to wash the body up he went down about twelve feet to assure himself of this before he laid his mothers body in the hole he looked at her one last time as tears filled his eyes, he began throwing dirt onto her corpse. When he had finished and had marked the grave with a wooden cross he proceeded to the front of the shrine to find the man waiting all the bodies had been buried and he sat on the front porch of the shrine staring into the woods, waiting for Sagara who silently took a seat next to him.
" explain yourself now, who are you." Sagara demanded without looking to the man but instead allowing his eyes to wander around the quite forest looking for anything to focus on except for the man who sat near him.
" my name is Inu no Taisho, and like I said I am a friend of your mothers." Inu no Taisho spoke softly.
" how did you know her." Sagara proceeded to push for answers.
" many years ago me and your father fought a great battle at this very spot that was the day your mother met your father." Inu no Taisho spoke.
" you knew my father?" Sagara questioned in disbelief.
" I did.. unfortunately that was our first and last battle together." Inu no Taisho said recalling the events of that day.
" what was he like?" Sagara questioned.
" hm.. interesting question off of the battle field he was a calm cool and collective young man a gentleman in every aspect of the word. On the battle field however.. he fought with a fierce righteousness in his heart you'd think nothing at all could have ever stopped that man." Inu no Taisho whispered before turning to Sagara. " then he left us, he never knew he had a son although i'm sure he would have been proud you fight with the same intensity that he did." Inu no Taisho finished.
" so why have I never met you before Mr. Taisho? If you know so much about me why do I not know of you?" the boy questioned.
" well I am a busy man. I am lord of the entire western land I haven't had time to come see Saki in many years in fact I've only met you once before... the night you were born." Inu no Taisho said sadly looking at the boy that so much resembled the man he had entered the fiercest battle of his life with.
" I have one more question sir." Sagara said looking him directly in the eyes.
" one more question." Inu no Taisho agreed.
" why do we have the same name?"
" what do you mean?" Inu no Taisho now questioned the boy confused by this statement.
" well your name is Inu no Taisho right? And my name is Sagara Taisho, are we related?" Sagara questioned.
" something like that.." Inu no Taisho answered putting his hand to his heart. " its time to go." he spoke sternly. Sagara also stood.
" where are we going?" he asked curiously.
" to my home." Inu no Taisho replied before walking off into the woods. Sagara stood frozen wondering if he should leave his home to follow this strange man. Quickly he made up his mind that this man must be telling the truth and chased after him.