Author's Note: I'm hoping that this time around I was able to convey the traumatic upbringing Sesshie had in this story. I didn't do such a good job in the first attempt. By no means does his upbringing excuse his behavior, but it is what seems "normal" to him, and why he tries to justify his behavior. It's something that he's going to have to work through. As always, thank you for all the favorites, kudos, follows, and reviews!

~*Flame

Disclaimer: InuYasha & Final Act are all owned by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Viz Media & Madmen Entertainment.

Chapter Thirteen

I don't know where I expected the Mu-on'na to transport to, but it wasn't the dank swamp spread out before me. Skeletal remains of cattle and men alike protruded from the muck. The rich scent of decay was nearly overpowering. But regardless, whatever illusions the Mu-on'na layered over the swamp seemed to be strong, considering how well it was working. I stayed back among the few trees bordering the swamp, still close enough to hear everything, but far enough to be harder to see, waiting to let the Mu-on'na to find the information on Tessaiga.

Inuyasha was held tightly in the Mu-on'na's embrace; most of his face sinking into her flesh. Jaken was supervising the situation, likely to ensure the Mu-on'na didn't drag him too far into her and steal his soul.

"The black pearl in the right…" His voice was soft, muffled by the Mu-on'na, but I could still hear it as clearly as though I were standing next to him. There was something about those words that tickled something in my memory; something from long ago. Jaken too heard the whispered words, being as close as he was, but was at a complete loss at what they meant. He had come too far to give up and fail now.

"The black pear in the right? That's not enough to go on! Find out more!" He demanded, much to the Mu-on'na's distress.

"Jaken-sama, if I delve any deeper, this boy's spirit will be broken."

"So what? Just do it!" I nearly winced, looking around once again for Kagome. She was still missing, but I suspected she wouldn't be for much longer. Especially as the Mu-on'na pulled Inuyasha deeper into her illusion. I wasn't disappointed. As Jaken was busy shouting at the Mu-on'na to hurry, Kagome made her move.

She snuck up behind Jaken as stealthily as if she was in the Deam Realm when we played as children and took the Nintoujou right out of his hands. She then promptly stepped on him, forcing him to the ground. In a move more glorious than I could have imagined, she lifted the Nintoujou above her head, swinging it back down with all her might, sending Jaken soaring over the swamp upon impact. I ignored Jaken as he landed beneath the murky water. Instead, watching carefully as the Mu-on'na ran off, Inuyasha pulled deeper into her flesh as Kagome gave chase.

She had almost succeeded in pulling him free until she tripped over something and fell to the damp earth. I had fully expected her to rise and continue the chase, but as usual with Kagome, she surprised me. She lifted herself to kneel and took stock of the situation. She should be proud. Only arriving a few days ago and already she's showing a better mind for battle than Inuyasha. Whatever plan she devised, I wasn't overly concerned. Not when I felt like Tessaiga was nearly within my grasp.

It was the reference to the black pearl that kept running though my mind. There was something I knew about it… something likely said in passing… something that meant nothing to me at the time… It was infuriating. Before I could continue to lament further, Kagome ran at the Mu-on'na through the water and using the Nintoujou to splash and disturb the reflection holding the Mu-on'na's spell in place. Wise of her. She may not have been able to reach the Mu-on'na in time to save her friend, but she could break the spell, forcing him from the Mu-on'na's flesh. She ran to his side as the dazed look in his eyes cleared and he could finally see reality again.

A vague memory of one of Father's friends came to mind. He was renowned for his jewelry, particularly his pearls. Mother had mourned his loss not long after Father passed as she was never able to obtain a pearl the perfect hue of her eyes.

How utterly devious of him. Using a pearl hidden in literal plain sight. Leaving my spot among the trees, I called out to my brother as I crossed the swamp. Tall grasses parted as I moved closer to the small group.

"I know where the tomb is." Inuyasha turned to look at me as I sprinted toward him, hoping to catch him as unaware as possible. He shouted my name a moment before my hand wrapped around his throat.

"Why you…" He choked out, though I wasn't gripping him too tightly. I just needed him to stay still to avoid causing permanent damage. I looked in between his eyes, only able to notice the slight difference in the pupil of the right one now that I was looking for it.

"I never imagined it would be there!" I smiled, lifting Inuyasha higher in the air to gain better access.

"Very clever… That Father would pick such a place. The black pearl in the right… Father didn't want anyone to disturb his resting place, so he hid his tomb there."

"You…" Inuyasha growled, grabbing my wrist in a futile attempt to dislodge me from his throat. "What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"

"So you were entrusted with the tomb unknowingly." It really was a really perfect hiding place. When Inuyasha claimed not to know where Father's tomb was earlier, I believed him. How was he to know of such machinations at such a young age? It was doubtful that human mother of his bothered to tell him, leaving Tessaiga to be forgotten with the other legends of the Inu no Taishou. "Well then, would you like to visit Father's grave with me?" Without giving him a chance to respond, I thrust out my other hand, using two of my fingers to send waves of youki into his right eye. Kagome gasped in horror; a scream lodged in her throat and I pressed on, ignoring everything but the task at hand.

Inuyasha screamed as I pulled my hand back, pulling my youki taunt. Agonizingly slowly, the pupil in his right eye opened and the elusive black pearl slipped out, glowing under the force of my youki. I watched as it gently glided into my palm, letting Inuyasha go the moment the pearl was safely in my grasp. Finally, after all this time, after searching all over the West, Tessaiga was within my grasp. I smiled, speaking to Kagome for the first time.

"No wonder it was useless looking underground." She kneeled behind Inuyasha, helping him sit up after the extraction, a look of utter shock and disbelief on her face. I looked back at the pearl, still in awe over Father's clever hiding spot. "Visible, but invisible. The true protector of the grave cannot see it. And… it is the black pearl imbedded in your right eye." I wonder if it was Bokusenou or Father that came up with the riddle?

"And just for that… you tricked me with my dead mother's image!" Inuyasha bit through the lingering pain and stood, claws at the ready. I looked at him, wondering what exactly he wanted me to say. It might not have been my plan, but I went along with it in the end.

"It was a joke." Clearly that wasn't what he wanted to hear as he promptly attacked me. Closing my right fist to safeguard the pearl, I lept up and out of the way of his claws. Using a bit of youki beneath my feet, I stayed hovering above him. If it was a spar he wanted, it was a spar he would get. I had the pearl, Tessaiga could wait a moment. Sending out my whip, I snapped at the earth not far from his feet, forcing him to jump away to dodge. If nothing else, this will help him let go of the anger from Jaken's plan. Besides, it was unlikely he would just let Jaken and me leave for Father's tomb. Though it would be a lie to say I haven't missed sparring against him.

He dodged a few times before my whip hit him square in the chest, forcing him to fall back. How disappointing. His reflexes are far slower than they once were. Even if he wasn't up to par, he needed to work on dodging, and the best way to enforce that lesson was a wound that would slowly heal over time; much like how Father would teach me. Adding more of my Dokkasou to the whip, I snapped it out at him, fully intending for it to hurt but not kill… at least not kill someone of his strength.

Misinterpreting my intent, the Mu-on'na leapt in front of my whip, shielding Inuyasha from the blow and the lesson he desperately needed. The light of the many souls she had absorbed escaped from all angles as her body crumbled from her sacrifice. Tattered shreds of kimono fluttered about as her body lay scattered on the ground. As soon as I heard her voice, I used my whip to put her out of her misery; though from the horror on Kagome's face, it looked like anything but the mercy it was. Landing back to the now gore covered earth, Kagome finally had enough.

"Hey you!" The anger in her voice was something I rarely heard and never directed at me. Turning my head, I looked at her in all her righteous fury. She had started running closer, stopping only once she reached Inuyasha's side and Myouga shouted a warning.

"Don't interfere! Or else we'll both be killed!" Myouga jumped on her shoulder, emphasizing his point.

"But—!" She looked at the old flea, likely planning on arguing how she was safe from death by my claws. It was the truth, but it was doubtful Myouga and Inuyasha would believe her. She must have come to the same conclusion as she let it go. But now the time for games was over. Looking around the swamp, I called out for Jaken, even going as far as repeating myself until he came running out from his hiding spot in the tall grass.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" He lifted the Nintoujou like and offering, granting me access to its power. "I have my Nintoujou back!" Kagome gasped in shock, likely unaware of when she lost the staff and when Jaken once again came into possession of it. Clearly we will need to work on her battle field awareness in our next training session… once she's no longer lived with me.

Taking the offered staff, I once more looked at the small black pearl held between my claws. "How I have waited for this moment!" The pearl started to glow possibly due to the presence of the Nintoujou. Dropping the pearl to the damp earth did nothing to lessen its glow. Raising the Nintoujou high above my head, I took a deep breath. Finally, after all this time I would gain the power of Tessaiga. I could protect the West just as Father did before he fell to the seduction of that human. Never again would my people suffer the loss of their loved ones because I was too weak to protect them. I would even have enough time to assist Kagome on her journey. Everything was finally turning out the way it should have centuries ago.

In a rush with more force than was needed, I jabbed the Nintoujou on top of the black pearl. The glow intensified, turning the pearl white and as brilliant as the moon above moments before the head of the old man laughed.

"The old man laughs!" I was too excited to be annoyed at Jaken's habit of stating the obvious. "The tomb will now open!" And open it did. The pearl emitted one last flash of purple light before a portal, a hole in the dimension of the living, opened beside me. I watched in smug satisfaction as the portal swirled, growing in size just enough for Jaken and me to slip through.

The tunnel created by the portal was a swirl of the black, white, and purple colors the pearl had emitted. We quickly floated through the demential shift, spurred on by my youki and the knowledge that Kagome would no doubt follow me. In the blink of an eye, the portal fell away, and I was greeted with a sight beyond my imagination.

The skeletal remains of my Father.

Some tomb. His retainers that carried out his will left his body out for the carrion to feast upon. Did they feel just as betrayed by his actions and used the only means they had to show their displeasure? I knew for a fact that the size of his true form that rested before me wasn't the cause. Grandfather had been much larger, and he was housed neatly inside the confines of the Western Mausoleum deep within the Western Fortress. This so-called tomb was a slap in the face for the one once known as the Inu no Taishou. I'd be lying if I said a part of me didn't feel like he deserved it. But regardless of the reason, I was here for Tessaiga, not to pay my respects.

Continuing to propel us through the air with my youki, we passed over the various crags blocking the way to Father's remains from the ground. They were likely a deterrent for the recently dead that hadn't succumbed to their fate, but not for us. Slipping through Father's open mouth, dodging his cracked and broken fangs, we dropped into what was once his stomach. The bones of his last victims cracked and shifted under our weight but I paid it no mind. Not when I was finally standing before Tessaiga.

The blade was held firmly in a golden pedestal, an artful design of flowing youki a backdrop to the weapon. Clearly, this presentation was meant to be seen. Father had expected someone to come for the fang. Why else have such a setup? Could it be that he was waiting for me to figure out the riddle, to have someone to protect, before granting me the blade that should be my birthright?

"I am finally here. To possess the scared sword imbedded in my Father's bones." A shiver ran down my spine. After all these years, I can not believe the moment was finally here. "The lethal fang sword… known to kill a hundred youkai in a single stroke! Known as Tessaiga!" I reached out, placing my hand on the hilt of the sword, ready to finally claim what should have always been mine.

"Tessaiga was forged from one of his Father's fangs." Jaken spoke in awe of witnessing the completion of our long held quest. "Being in possession of this sword empowers you with as much strength as your father!"

Finally, gripping the hilt tightly, I tried to pull it from the pedestal. But it was not to be. Crackles of lightning surrounded the blade and my hand. I felt my flesh against the rough hilt burn and slowly I pulled my hand away, not wanting to cause more harm to the flesh by jerking it away. Not with the potential for that very flesh to be melted into the hilt.

As it was, the palm was burned, a thin layer of ash coating the appendage down to the wrist. A dark fire remained a moment before turning into smoke and allowing my youki healing to kick in. So, the sword wasn't for me after all. I don't know why I should have been surprised. At the end of his life, Father snubbed his nose at the West. This was right in line with that attitude.

"Can't pull it out?" Jaken was more shocked than anything, his voice quavering with the question.

"He was ever so cautious." Jaken had never met Father, so he had no way of knowing something like this was just par for the course. "There's a spell on it." I suppose I could try melting the podium with Dokkasou in order to take the sword out from the underworld to get around the spell for now.

"Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha yelled, causing me to look away from my hand. I'm surprised they got here so quickly. Looking up into Father's rib cage revealed Kagome clinging to one of the many roots encroaching upon Father's skeleton and Inuyasha leaping down to continue our sparring session from earlier. At least he had the honor not to attack while my back was turned.

"I haven't finished with you yet!" He shouted while pulling back his arm to claw at me. All it did was give me ample time to dodge and cause him to come to a tumbling crash into the bones beneath my feet. Not wanting to trip over his uncontrolled roll, I leapt up to stand on one of Father's ribs.

Considering his less than perfect landing, he got up quickly, looking side to side for my new location. We were youkai, not humans. Did he forget already we had a full range of attack, not just linear? It wasn't that long ago I was snapping my whip at him from the air. I freed a little of my youki to give him a hint, a reminder really to be aware of all of his surrounding. Thankfully, he got the message and his gaze snapped to me.

"This is our Father's resting place. Be respectful!" Not that I really cared, but I knew how riled the taunt would make him.

"You hypocrite! You're the one trying to rob his grave! Now get out of here!" If I was surprised at how quickly they had made it to Father's tomb, I was even more surprised at the appearance of Myouga trying to gain Inuyasha's attention. I would have thought traveling to the underworld would have been too much for the cowardly flea. Following Myouga's guidance, Inuyasha turned to look at Tessaiga resting innocently in the pedestal. He circled around the golden structure, clearly confused why Myouga sounded so excited and I wanted the fang so badly.

"It's just an old, rusty sword! Tes-something-or-other?! Hah! You can't even cut a turnip with this!" I felt my eye twitch a little at the dismissal. That human whore may have kept him from his youkai heritage, but she had to have at least told him stories of our Father. If not her, then Myouga. Perhaps that was why the old flea didn't correct him and instead instructed him to claim the fang for himself.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, you were unable to pull Tessaiga out. Isn't that so?" I stared at the two of them, not liking what Myouga was implying. Father was many things, but he wasn't stupid and he would never have left something so powerful to a son he had never met, never trained, never tested the worth of. At least, the Father I knew wouldn't have. But, how well did I know the male who betrayed the West and gave his life for a human unfaithful to his memory?

"And you say that Inuyasha can?" Myouga was Father's retainer to the very end; wouldn't he know who he had become better than anyone?

"But of course! Inuyasha-sama was meant to inherit the Tessaiga! The fact that the tomb was entrusted to Inuyasha is proof of that!" I couldn't refute that logic, no matter how much I wanted to. "Now hurry, Inuyasha-sama! Draw the sword out!"

"What inheritance?! What treasured sword!" Inuyasha looked away from the fang, almost as if in pain from the very idea that Father would leave him something. What did that woman tell him when he was so young and impressionable? I clearly recall him claiming Father's love for him greater than that of me. How had that changed?

"I could care less about this rusty sword!" He then looked back up at me, eyes full of determination and rage. "But Sesshoumaru!" He took a few steps closer to me, rudely pointed up at my current position. "You've insulted me once too often! Now you'll die inside our Father's grave!" I approved of the initiative, but he still had a lot to learn and far more training needed before he would come close to succeeding. So be it, though. I shall help him work towards this unachievable goal.

He leapt up; the movement preparing for the jump a tell even a child knew better than to make. I had no problems dodging his claws, jumping back down as his attack scraped against the bones of Father's ribs.

"Where are you aiming?" How many times had Father asked me the very thing during our own training sessions? It was almost bittersweet asking that very thing to his youngest within his skeleton. Upon landing I instantly hopped, turning in mid-air to face Inuyasha, who, as expected, chased after me. Each slash of his claws needed only the smallest of movement to dodge. Clearly, he was far too focused on where his opponent was instead of where they would be.

Somewhat expecting it, my feet hit the end of Father's rib cage. Using it as a launching board, I leapt over Inuyasha's head and away from the punch that shattered part of the dried rib and sent Inuyasha to the ground in recoil. To his credit, he got back up quickly, staying in a squat low to the ground for a quick reaction to whatever happened next. He looked behind just as I landed, eyes watching but back facing me. It was not the most ideal of stances, especially should I be a true enemy out for his life.

"Such a childish attach!" He had far too much to learn than what I could teach him during this skirmish. Before I could do any kind of instruction, Myouga was once again trying to pull his attention from the battle. He didn't need more distractions, and Myouga should know better than to give him one.

"Inuyasha-sama! You cannot fight unarmed! Get the Sword!" He looked at the flea upon his shoulder, reprimanding him for speaking during our fight. Though, I wondered if he realized how little danger he was actually in while facing me with Myouga still so close. Had he truly been in danger, the old flea would have fled long ago. But Myouga was not the only one who had something to say during our brief lull in combat.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome's voice echoed through the skeletal chamber. He looked up at her, taking his gaze away from the enemy. Another childish move. We could clearly hear her without looking at her. So, though I yearned to lay eyes on her once again, I refused and keep my gaze on Inuyasha to teach by example. "Just go and draw the sword out!" Her words were like a slap to the face.

She knew I needed Tessaiga for the West. She knew how long I had been searching for it. She knew. Yet, here she was, telling someone else to take it right in front of me. I figured she'd be mad at today's events, but I never expected her to be so spiteful. "Sesshoumaru couldn't do it! Now, if you pull it out with ease, Sesshoumaru's pride will be in shreds! How embarrassing for him!" Inuyasha stood during Kagome's mini speech. And though I was looking at him the whole time, I wasn't seeing him.

All I could see was the betrayal Kagome was placing before me. Using her knowledge of what she learned through over centuries of friendship to hut me far worse than any blow Inuyasha could have landed. She knew it wasn't just the embarrassment of a hanyou accomplishing what I could not; it wasn't just the hit to my pride for failing where my younger brother would succeed; but the humiliation of what the Western Court would say. The humiliation of once again proving myself to be the Western's Folly.

Inuyasha turned back, chuckling at me and finally agreeing to try for Tessaiga. "I see…" He glanced quickly at the podium before glancing back at me with an overly satisfied look on his face. "All right! That'll be really fun to watch." He walked off toward the sword. Glaring, I wondered if he had any idea about the true humiliation Kagome was referencing. He walked right up to the golden dais, hopping on top of it to get closer to the blade itself before confidently gripping the hit. "Hey, I can't wait to see your face!"

Jaken conveniently choose that moment to dig himself out from the bones he must have sunk into while Inuyasha and I were sparring. He was horrified by the scene, as any loyal retainer would be. Inuyasha began pulling at Tessaiga, not yet setting it free, but not being repelled by the spell that prevented me from obtaining the fang. He must have been using all of his strength, as he started growling. Whatever he was doing seemed to work.

A circle of light appeared around Tessaiga as Kagome, in her betrayal, cheered him on. But just as the light started, it slowly faded; blade still firmly in the podium. Kagome, Inuyasha, and Jaken were shocked by the outcome. And though I had been concerned, especially once the light appeared, I wasn't overly surprised. It was likely that Father had another kind of failsafe in place to keep the sword where it was.

"Hey…" Inuyasha's voice was as deadpan as I imagined he looked. After all that talk of embarrassing me, he was the one eating crow. He grabbed at his shoulder, more than likely to punish Myouga in some way. He was the most vocal and so assured it would happen. "I couldn't pull it out!" The flea groaned in pain, asking why. Why it didn't work or why he was being punished didn't matter. Tessaiga was clearly off the table to the both of us for the moment, so we might as well go back to training. Only this time, I wasn't in such a jovial mood. He would pay for his words and slight against me.

"Let's cut the comedy." Taking the offensive, I ran at Inuyasha, slicing the air right before his face to get his attention and put him on the defense. He leapt back before I could grab him and started running, trying to put enough distance between us to take back the offensive. It was a lost cause.

I followed him, grabbing his shoulder and slamming him into Father's rib cage. He grunted and winced in pain, causing me to smirk. He thought this was painful? How I wish he could have trained even one day with Father. Even that short time would have hardened all those soft edges. I raised my right hand, stepping in where Father couldn't as I should have done, and forced up on him once that woman died.

"My Dokkasou will sublimate you!" The sickly green glow of my Dokkasou radiated around my hand, a warning I wouldn't give to anyone else before I thrust my claws at him, aiming for his hair to avoid any deliberating injuries, and to show the youkai world how strong he truly was. He took the warning and jerked to the side, avoiding the spray of Dokkasou that melted Father's rib. He was able to wriggle out of my grasp and leap away before my attack finished boring a hole into the side of Father's skeleton.

Turning my head, I watched as he ran across the bones. If he thought he could get away that easily, he was sorely mistaken. Though he seemed to have finally learned to keep his eyes on his opponent. Using a speed faster than his eyes could or were used to keeping up with, I passed him. "You won't get away." The surprise on his face when he realized I caught up only spurred me further, but at least he reacted quickly and clawed at me. Too bad for him he was too slow. I lept back into the air, summoning my whip and snapping it at him. Unlike the previous whip attacks I sent at him, these were meant to hurt. He blocked the first hit with his arm as he slid to a halt, but the second hit him on the knee, sending him sprawling back, the force making him slide through the bones before coming to a stop.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken chucked off to the side, waving the Nintoujou in the air. "Let me assist!" I wouldn't have allowed it, doubtful of Jaken's ability to train Inuyasha, but I didn't have to deny his request. Kagome took that opportunity to jump from her perch, landing on Jaken and focusing his attention on her. That was for the best. I didn't anticipate him being able to truly hurt her and even if he did, Kagome's shown her true colors. I kept their tug of war over Nintoujou in the back of my mind while I focused all of my attention on Inuyasha.

I hit him a few more times with my whip until he finally got up and started running backwards to be able to dodge other whip cracks sent toward him. But, as what was a common theme in his childish combat, he let himself be distracted by Kagome and Jaken's fight. He not only took his eyes from his enemy, but he even attempted to leave our fray to join hers. Her name was barely out of his mouth when I punched him hard in the gut before backhanding him in the face. His fight was with me and his attention needed to stay here.

He went flying back, landing hard upon the bones and shuttering in pain. Even now, his attention was only partially focused on the threat before him. I let my Dokkasou radiate around my hand once more as I stood before him. He slowly got up and leapt at me head on. My left claws caught him in the gut, the very place I had punched him. His body wrapped around my hand from the momentum and I had to say, I expected better from him.

"This is it!" I lifted my right hand, glowing from Dokkasou once more. The glow intensified as I wanted him to remember this fear so he would grow from it. So that never again he would be stuck in such a dire position as this. "Disappear!" I jumped, forcing him to his back so he couldn't get away again. My knuckles cracked as I waved them in preparation. No doubt he would be livid at only losing his hair, but he likely had no idea what the significance long hair had for youkai. After this battle, he had no right to claim the power he did by having such a length.

I heard Kagome scream Inuyasha's name as I lunged at him, only for a click to echo through the rib cage and her shout of terror change to surprised confusion. I froze, mid-attack, Dokkasou dissipating as the unthinkable ran through my mind. Father wouldn't have made it so only a full human could claim Tessaiga… he wouldn't have been so blinded by that whore to leave such a thing for her.

I turned to look at Kagome, praying Father wasn't that blinded by lust, but I should have known better. He didn't care for either of his sons. Why leave such a valuable weapon to them? Instead, give it to the woman whose charms took the first line of defence from the West. He gave everything else to her: his pride, his loyalty, his protection. Why not his legacy? Bile rolled in my stomach as I watched Kagome hold up Tessaiga, looking at it in wonder. She turned her attention to us and even after everything that happened; I knew her next words were meant for me.

"Sorry… I pulled it out."