"Would you hurry up?!" Towa asked as Setsuna flew them both to their father.

"I'm going as fast as I can," she said, dodging more trees. When a river appeared she went down one side of the enbankment and then up the other, still only hovering a few inches off the ground. One wrong move and she was going to throw them both off balance.

It didn't take long for them to finally reach the battlefield. The smell was overwhelming, something clearly had died a long time ago. She couldn't help but gag as they got closer and saw four people in the middle of a fight. Sesshomaru and Kirinmaru, along with Zero and a woman they had never seen before.

"Who is that?" Setsuna asked.

"Slow down!" Towa shouted, "Don't hit Father!"

Without paying attention, Setsuna crashed both of them directly into Sesshomaru. He had his arms extended out, as if he knew that was going to happen. Setsuna landed in his fluff face first and Towa managed to keep herself upright in his left arm. She kicked Setsuna and said, "I told you not to hit him!"

"Sorry!" she whined.

Towa turned around and put the tenseiga back into it's sheath. "Here's your sword."

Sesshomaru didn't say a word as he let them down and they left the area. Kirinmaru couldn't help but glare at the three of them.

Running for cover, Towa asked, "Who's that other lady with the long pigtails? She kind of looks like Father."

"I can't smell her to tell," Setsuna whined, "the stench in the air is too strong."

They watched as Zero stared Sesshomaru's mother down. "About time you showed up for something," she taunted, "you old bitch."

"In the flesh," she replied.

Zero attempted to trap her in webbing, but with her spells she not only repelled it with ease, but forced it back onto Zero who had to flee in order to not be covered in it.

Meanwhile Sesshomaru now had trouble keeping up with Kirinmaru through the pain and the stench of the blood that covered him.

"Should we help them?" Setsuna asked.

"How would we do that?" Towa asked, gesturing to the fight flying fast in front of them. They watched as Kirinmaru launched a fireball and Sesshomaru cut it in half, his energy exploding through it.

"Maybe I can find the red string of fate between them and then they'll stop," Setsuna said.

"Oh no!" Towa said, holding her back, "The last time you tried to get between their fight you died! I don't want to watch you die again."

Setsuna replied, "I'm not going to jump in the middle of them again." She scanned the battlefield and saw a red string between Sesshomaru and Zero. "I'll be careful this time."

She snuck up behind everyone and put her blade on the red string connecting Zero and her father. It's his fault Rion died! Zero's voice called to her from her inner conciousness. It's all his fault! He could have done something to stop it!

"And what does he say?" Setsuna asked.

I did not know Rion would need protecting, his thoughts said, I did not know full demons could die.

Setsuna cut the red string of fate between them. She watched as Zero froze in place in the middle of an attack, while Sesshomaru dodge another of Kirinmaru's blows, he too stopped.

"It's not his fault," Zero said, stumbling to the ground, "it's not his fault." She finally turned to face Sesshomaru head on. "I blamed you for my niece's death."

"I'm aware," he said in his signature cold fashion.

Kirinmaru turned to his sister and demanded, "What are you scheming, Zero?"

Zero launched some sort of invisible attack against Sesshomaru. He felt a jolt in his heart, a familiar sensation from 600 years earlier. Warmth spread across his entire body from his heart. Everything suddenly felt lighter within him. What was happening?

"There," Zero said, "I've lifted my curse."

His mother asked, "How do you feel?"

"No different than before," he lied.

"You should know your father couldn't lie to me either," she replied.

Sesshomaru didn't bother listening to her, and turned to continued fighting Kirinmaru. I was sure Inuyasha would be here by now, he thought, what is taking that half demon so long?

"Sesshomaru!" A familiar angry voice screamed out. "Wind scar!" Unsheathing tetseiga, Inuyasha launched his wind scar directly at both Sesshomaru and Kirinmaru.

Kirinmaru moved out of the way in mid air while Sesshomaru blocked the attack with his own bakuseiga, proving to him that his own sword really was stronger than his father's. Kirinmaru said, "I never liked that attack. You'd have to be blind not to see it coming straight for you."

"Oh I'll show you," Inuyasha said, dropping all the girls off to the side, then leaping up and shouting, "Adament barrage!"

"You would strike your own brother?" Kirinmaru taunted.

"If Sesshomaru's too stupid to get out of the way that's his problem!" Inuyasha shouted as his power released.

Kirinmaru dodged all the spears, but unknowingly to him, Sesshomaru collected them all behind his back and launched him directly at him from behind. More blood seeped out of his body.

"What is that awful smell?" Inuyasha asked, landing back on the ground and covering his face.

A little girls' voice came from the ground, "Father don't hurt them!" It was Rion, standing beside her was Riku.

Meanwhile, Sesshomaru's mother looked up at the fight and watched Inuyasha attack. So he's the one Sesshomaru's been jealous of all this time, she thought to herself. She turned and saw Rin making her way up to Zero. That human woman better watch herself.

"Zero," Rin said, "I'd like to thank you for reuniting my daughters with me, and finally taking your curse off of Sesshomaru. Can I get a hug?" She took the dagger she hid in her obi and placed it behind her thigh, out of Zero's voice.

"What are you babbling about?" Zero demanded, not bothering to stop her.

"Thank you for everything you've done," Rin said, grabbing hold of Zero with his left arm. With her right hand she brought up the knife and stuck it directly into her chest, following the scars Sesshomaru gave her before.

Shocked, Zero didn't react when the knife went through her chest, just barely missing her heart. She fell onto her back.

"The only reason you're still alive is because I asked Sesshomaru not to kill you," Rin taunted her, "so I'd get to do it myself."

Sesshomaru's mother stepped up beside the two of them and said, "Tell me, Zero, what prophecy did the sacred jewel give you for your death?"

"It said I would die by a mortal's hand," she said, almost smiling.

"It was wrong," Sesshomaru's mother created a powerful yellow lightning blast and ripped through Zero's heart with ease. She screamed until she died. "Good riddance, finally." She touched her meido stone and a meido appeared beside her. A giant black dog from the underworld burst through it and carried Zero's body away inside.

"You really shouldn't take stock in prophecies," she added, "death is the only thing guarenteed." She smiled at Rin and said, "Well dear you're more entertaining than Izayoi."

"Wait," Inuyasha said, landing beside her, "you knew my mother?"

"Izayoi's son," she replied, "do not irritate me with your stupid questions." She stared him down so hard it made Sesshomaru's stares look soft.

Inuyasha flinched. "Yes ma'am."

Having watched the entire display, Kirinmaru, enraged by his sister's death, prepared to attack Rin with his sword. Sesshomaru moved in quickly to the point where Kirinmaru burned through his fur and cut through his arms and torso. Sesshomaru cut through his armor, wounding him as well.

"Please stop!" Rion begged from the sidelines.

Kirinmaru grabbed Sesshomaru by the throat. With his other hand he took his nails and embedded them into Sesshomaru's head. "Show me why you married a mortal," Kirinmaru demanded.

With his power, he looked through Sesshomaru's memories. Unknown to him, Sesshomaru had reached his right arm behind Kirinmaru's back and was slowly melting away his armor-exposing his skin for attack. He held Kirinmaru's wrist and pulsed his poison through it as a distraction.

First, Kirinmaru found memories of Rin as a little girl. He froze. A little girl not unlike Rion. "Rion should have known how to defend herself..." he muttered to himself.

"I wish I did know how," Rion shouted at him from across the field, "but you never taught me!"

Meanwhile, on the otherside of the battlefield, Moroha asked, "Mom, shouldn't we do something to help?" She looked and saw Sesshomaru was making an opening with melting the back of Kirinmaru's armor. That gave her an idea. She slowly moved into position.

"It's Sesshomaru, he'll probably refuse it," she replied, "although, I don't think I've ever seen him struggle so much in a fight before." She hesitated, then readied her bow and released a sacred arrow, "Come on now, hit the mark!" The arrow soared across the field and stopped before hitting Sesshomaru's back. It disappeared.

Towa asked, "Where did it go?"

They watched as it reappeared in front of Sesshomaru and went straight for Kirinmaru.

Kirinmaru stepped back and away, the arrow just narrowly missing him. As he stepped backwards, a sword cut through his back straight through his heart. He finally released Sesshomaru and turned to see Moroha holding the blade.

He gasped, "A quarter demon takes my life?" He fell backwards, narrowly missing Moroha as he hit the ground.

From across the field Riku's body sustains the same damage. "Riku!" Rion shouted in horror as she watched him die. "Father!" She sunk to the ground in tears.

Sesshomaru's mother walked up to her calmly and asked, "Rion, is it your wish to die?"

"Yes," she replied.

Sesshomaru's mother removed her meido stone and placed it on Rion's neck. Rion collapsed as her soul was taken directly to the afterlife, finally able to pass on in peace as she had wanted for many centuries.

"Kagome? Inuyasha?!" A familiar voice shouted from above. It was Sango, Miroku, and Kohaku riding in on the back of Kirara.

"Sango?" Kagome called out, "It's so great to see you again!"

"We've been so worried about you all this time!" Kohaku exclaimed.

As they landed nearby, they ran to each other excitedly. "I don't believe it," Miroku said, "what happened to you two? Where have you been?"

"Inside the black pearl," Inuyasha answered, "visiting my father's grave."

Kagome asked, "How did you know we were here?"

"We didn't," she answered, "the nearby town told us some powerful demons were fighting and were hoping we'd be able to get rid of them. Now I see what was going on."

"Sesshomaru!" Rin said excitedly as she finally ran up to see him.

Sesshomaru's face shifted to surprised. "Stay back!" He commanded. The ground under his feet sunk down and large red chains came up and wrapped around him tight. A hole appeared under him and attempted to drag him down. Dark red flames erupted from it as Sesshomaru held onto the ground, desperate to hold onto life. His own wounds quickly caught fire.

"What's happened to him?" Rin asked, fearful.

"Don't go near him," Sesshomaru's mother commanded, pulling Rin away from the flames, "those are the flames of hell. Kirinmaru's attempting to pull him under or set the entire world ablaze."


Inside the gateway to hell, Sesshomaru left his body and followed the chains down to where Kirinmaru's soul waited. He held the chains caught on fire. "You still blame me for everything, Kirinmaru?" Sesshomaru asked.

"At this point I'm petty," he replied, "you and your family took so much from me all those centuries ago, now I'll return the favor." Sesshomaru struggled to fight off Kirinmaru's angry soul.


"The fire's only getting stronger," Kohaku said as the flames spread across the ground.

Inuyasha took off his robe of the fire rat and quickly handed it over to Kagome and Rin. "Here, you two need this more than I do. What I don't understand is what in the hell is happening." He turned to Sesshomaru's mother who had created a barrier around herself to deflect the heat.

Jaken finally came up from behind them all and asked, "Excuse me, my lady, what is happened to Lord Sesshomaru?"

"It's a death pact," she answered too calmly, "Kirinmaru's unrested soul has opened the gates to hell in order to consume Sesshomaru soul and all. If Sesshomaru can't fight him off, he'll likely end up taking the entire world into hell with him." Everyone gasped.

Kohaku said, "There has to be something we can do." As the flames spread, he noticed his body wasn't taking in the heat. Instead, a pink/purple glow overcame him and protected him. "What's this?"

"You there," Sesshomaru's mother said, "you're the mortal who came to me once and claimed to have life because of the shikon jewel. The flames of hell will have trouble consuming you." She gave him a half smile, almost as if she were telling him he could do something to save Sesshomaru.

Kohaku looked down at himself, glowing, and realized what he had to do. He ran into the fire and came across the hole and the chains holding Sesshomaru back. At first he tried to grab at his wrists, but even without his soul being in his body he was too heavy to lift. Kohaku grabbed Sesshomaru's shoulder piece with his ninja blade and forced him up and out of the hole. The heat of the flames were getting to Kohaku. He brought Sesshomaru's body up, and he stood up and out of the flames, the chains still wrapped around his body.

Then, Sesshomaru began to walk out of the gateway to hell, directly towards the nearby town.

Miroku asked, "How is he moving?"

"That's Lord Sesshomaru's power for you!" Jaken marveled.

"The town is in the danger," Sango said, "Kirara lets go! We have to get everyone out." Miroku and Kohaku went with her.

As they flew away, Sesshomaru's mother remarked, "If this is my son's power, he has surpassed his father."

"Please," Towa said, walking up to her and holding her fur, "is there anything we can do to save Father? There has to be something, do you know of anything?"

"If you cut the chains he'll be free of Kirinmaru's grasp," she replied, "but only a sword not of this world could do that."

Setsuna said, "A sword not of this world? The tensiega! Towa, what did you do with it?"

"I put it back on his belt!" she said.

They all turned and realized that not only was Sesshomaru on fire, so were his swords. There was no way for them to get to the swords without catching on the hell fire.

Rin looked through the flames and knew what she needed to do. She took the robe of the fire rat away from Kagome, "I'm sorry, I'm going to need this."

"Rin, where are you going?!" she asked.

Rin ran up to her daughters and held them tight. "No matter what happens to me, girls, please take of each other, okay? Promise me!"

"What are you planning to do?" Towa asked.

"We promise," Setsuna said, "but what's going on?"

"I love you both so much," Rin said, hugging them tight, "I've always loved you." She turned away from them and ran directly into the flames. The robe of the fire rat didn't offer as much protection from the heat as she hoped it would. It burned as she ran to Sesshomaru's side. She watched his soulles eyes gaze at her, the flames covering his torso and moving upward quickly.

"Mother!" Setsuna shouted.

"Don't do it!" Towa screamed.

Rin ran up to Sesshomaru's side, nearly completely engulfed in flames, and grabbed the tenseiga from him. He put his hand on her shoulder as the fire overcame him. She couldn't believe it, he was dying. She took the sword, scabbard and all, and threw it as hard as she could to Towa and Setsuna.


Inside hell, Sesshomaru struggled to break free from Kirinmaru's grasp, "You failed your daughter."

"What did you just say to me?"

"You should have taught her how to fight," he continued, "how to protect herself, even while so young. I only lived because I protected myself. Rion didn't know how. You failed her. So'unga!"

So'unga, the famous third sword Sesshomaru's father carried, came out from behind Kirinmaru and sliced through his neck. It was in hell alongside them, still with Sesshomaru's original left arm holding onto the hilt.

"Sesshomaru," the sword said, "have you come to claim what's yours?"

Ignoring it, Sesshomaru said, "Lose your head in hell, Kirinmaru, and you're cursed to chase it down for eternity."


Towa picked up the tenseiga and unsheathed it. It was still so heavy, but she didn't have time to hesitate. Setsuna asked, "What are you going to do with that?"

"I have to cut the chains," Towa said, "if I don't, he'll die."

"I'm coming with you," Setsuna said.

Together they ran into the flames. It seared through their clothes and flesh quickly. They watched as Sesshomaru fell over, on top of their mother. They had one shot, and they had to do it now or else it wouldn't matter. Towa raised the tenseiga high over her head and braced herself to cut down the chains of hell. They broke instantly.

The flames disappeared, and the chains went straight to hell. As the heat dissipated, Setsuna and Towa stood in shock, burnt to a crisp. They fell over in pain. The ribbon that had been covering Towa's ears was gone, as was more of their clothes and flesh.

Meanwhile Rin looked up at Sesshomaru's face and saw he wasn't breathing or moving. He was in too much pain from the burns and the poison from Kirinmaru to be able to breathe. "Sesshomaru," she begged, "please stay alive. Please!"

Sesshomaru's mother walked up to the two of them and pulled back his haori. She put his hand on his exposed back and used her powers to heal her son. Sesshomaru took a deep breath as the pain disappeared. He looked at Rin, knowing she too was close to death, then quickly turned around to see his daughters weren't faring much better.

Sesshomaru's mother turned to Rin, her body nearly entirely blackened from the flames. "Hmn," she said, "I've never attempted to heal mortal flesh before." She put her hand on Rin's forehead, and it worked, she healed over quickly as well. She moved on to her own granddaughters.

Rin sat up and said, "Thank you."

"Girls," their grandmother said, "if you're going to save someone's life, it would be best to make haste."

"You mean..." Towa said, "move faster next time?" She looked down and attempted to cover her now naked body.

"No granddaughters of mine are going to walk around like that," she said, manifesting them both brand new kosodes to wear. She wrapped them around them and put hair ornaments in their hair. She turned back to Rin and her son and redressed them as well.

Kagome shouted from the sidelines, "Hey lady! You're Sesshomaru's mother? I can't believe you! You were actually about to let him die? What kind of mother are you?"

"You speak to me mere mortal?" she demanded, "You honestly believe I'd let my son die? HA! Of course I wouldn't. If Kirinmaru killed my Sesshomaru for real, I would have gone to hell and brought him back myself. But that wasn't necessary."

Sesshomaru stood up and asked, "Mother, why is it you decided to bother showing up now after all this time?"

"Zero has been irritating me for ages," she replied, "and I've finally had enough. That and I hated how Kirinmaru was fighting you." She paused. "You owe me a new kimono."

"I'll get you a new one," he said. He watched as she turned into her true form, a giant dog, and flew up into the sky.

Moroha said, "Whoa. Dad, can you do that?"

"No, only real demons like them can do that," he said hastily.

Towa walked up to her father and said, "Here."

"It's yours, I have no attachment to it."

"You don't want it back?" she asked, "But it just saved your life."

Sesshomaru shook his head. "No, Towa, you did."

She beamed. "I did, didn't I!"

Sesshomaru managed to turn away from her before revealing his smile. I finally get to get rid of that useless thing! He thought.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken shouted, running up to them with A-Un in tow, "I'm so glad you're all alright! I never questioned your greatness even for a moment, sire!" Sesshomaru kicked him in the head for that, knowing it wasn't true.

Sesshomaru said, "Rin, let's go home."

"Home?" Setsuna asked, "You mean, back to the forest?"

Rin replied, smiling, "No, silly, he means the mansion he built for us before you were born."

"Mansion?!" Towa exclaimed.

Sesshomaru transformed into his true dog form, and then laid down so Rin and his daughters could climb on. Towa ran to him first, right to his nose, and helped Setsuna on. "Hurry Master Jaken, or we'll leave you behind!" Rin said, grabbing the staff of two heads and pulling him up alongside her. She ran up and over Sesshomaru's head and down his back, rolling around in his fur like it was a field and sighed in relief. "Oh being outside again sure does feel great."

As Sesshomaru took to the skies, Inuyasha said, "Show off."

The wind caught in Towa's face, she stuck out her tonge and enjoyed the breeze. Meanwhile Setsuna was too scared to open her eyes. Rin held on to her tight and said, "It's okay, I've got you." Setsuna finally opened them, and then opened her mouth to let her tonge hang out.

And they were a family once again.