Inuyasha kneeled down on the ancient misty mountain path to help his wife ascend the rocky outcropping. It was a good decision. Shippo outstretched his arms to catch her should she fall backwards when her human feet slipped on some loose stones and moss. He pulled her and the baby safely to the vibrantly green grass above. Rin came next. Sesshomaru waited until the teenager was marching up the trail to make the bound in a single glossy leap. Somehow the dog's massive paws did not leave an impression in the soft soil. A tail nearly swept his face.
"Haul me up!" Souta extended his hand rolled his eyes but he helped the teenager press his feet against the rocky wall to join them. His little brother adjusted his pack while trying to catch his breath. The kid welcomed the chance to escape school on writ of a 'religious pilgrimage' sanctioned by his grandfather but he was slower than the others. It was a long callback to his earliest days with Kagome.
"How long until the next inn?"
"We already stopped at Totsukawa!"
Their travel time was already impeded by Moroha's need to stop every few hours but the humans overruled him again when they passed a mountainside village. He received numerous dirty looks when Kagome proudly displayed her adorable newborn to a grandmother. The humans were brought inside the ryokan to hide from the midday rain. Their human hearing was pitiful but the woman made sure to speak loud enough that he heard her criticisms. He joined Shippo on the bench outside to enjoy freshly caught fish and homegrown rice. The kit offered Sesshomaru a bowl but the dog ignored them both.
"What a beautiful dog! Is he a purebred? I bet he's valuable."
"Look how straight he sits!"
"Did you dye your hair to match your puppy? How cute!"
Even in animal form, his elder brother was the epitome of disinterest. Only his head would move slightly whenever a human dared to approach him. Given his size, it took very little to convince people he was something called a specially trained 'mountain rescue dog' and not a pet. His fur was snow white so 'rescue choppers' could better spot him on the ground, Shippo bragged. The dog was strong enough to pull humans out of mudslides and fight bears!
If only they knew how little patience he has for mortals. Had. Inuyasha pushed his food around his bowl. Shippo headed off a local woodsman before he could ask any questions about the three ancient swords on his hip. Tenseiga had sung a sad song until it had joined its twin on his hip.
What happened, Tenseiga?
"Hachi is scouting the trail ahead so we won't have any nasty surprises. I hope Bokusenō still lives. It has been a few decades since I've traveled to this area."
Rōyakan. Jaken. Ah-Un. Jinenji. The wolves. Myouga. Totosai.
"So you think this demon tree will know how to fix Sesshomaru?"
"If anyone does, it would be a two-thousand year old magnolia. He advised Sesshomaru about the nature of half-demons ages ago. He said that if I ever needed to make a new sword, I should go ask Bokusenō for an offering of wood to make the sheath. If we hurry, we should be able to reach him tomorrow morning? Up there." The kitsune held up a thumb and squinted an eye to measure the distance up the next section. "We should be able to get the girls shelter at the temple then divert on the trail to the tree. The temple went up in the late nineteenth century but they never noticed the old guy."
"You trust him?"
"Bokusenō is harmless unless you attack him. Not like Ninmenka, the tree of human-faced fruits." Shippo made a face. "Totosai trusted him enough to pass Tenseiga to Sesshomaru by him. The old badger didn't want to face him with his inheritance face-to-face. You remember how he was in the beginning."
"Tell me again what happened. Fifty years ago the humans were are war and demons were caught in the middle?"
Shippo leaned back hard against the wooden wall. He watched the villagers simply going about their day while he gathered his thoughts. "Yeah. It wasn't like the Feudal Era, Inuyasha. Humans were done fighting with swords. They built shooting irons and massive cannons and metal ships that shoot fire. They built metal birds that drop oil on cities until entire villages burned to the ground. Every nation was at war. They teach the kids about it at schools now."
"A second 'Great War'?" The images from Kagome's home were familiar to him. Her grandfather had told him some of the stories from that time but he could not wrap his mind around all the tales no matter what the television showed. Entire ships sunk and humans fed to the waters. How could metal vessels float with so much weight? Attacks coming from flying machines too far above to fight fairly. War on a grander scale.
"Those of us who were left rallied behind your brother. He was always the strongest among us. We formed our own force to defend what was left of our territory but there was collateral damage. Shiori formed a barrier to protect our base while we helped the humans defend our shores. Sometimes those of us who could change form would join humans in crucial attacks."
"But what happened to his body?"
"March ninth."
"My wedding?"
"1945. The Bombing of Tokyo." Shippo sighed. "The Higurashi Shrine and the family have always been my priority. Keep Miroku's bloodline alive so Kagome could be born so she could purge the Shikon Jewel from this world. Without Kagome, you wouldn't have Tetsusaiga. Without you learning how to wield the true power of the Tetsusaiga, Sesshomaru would have never met Rin. She would have died in the forest eaten by Kouga's wolves and you would have never awoken. I would have died seeking vengeance against the Thunder Brothers. Miroku would have been sucked into his own Wind Tunnel. So when bombs started to fall over the city, we knew we had to act. I was his second-in-command. Our plan was simple. Protect the Goshinboku. Protect the Shrine. Protect the Well."
"Tenseiga." Inuyasha closed his eyes. The elegant sword whispered to him when he edged the blade from its sheath to study his own eyes reflected in Sesshomaru's fang.
"We gathered what humans would listen to us when the bombing started. They targeted civilian homes, not military installations. Each of us had our duties but Sesshomaru went to the Shrine. Tenseiga's light protected the Higurashi home and the areas nearby from the destruction. Anyone who got to the zone was protected. Thousands who would have died. Some died in the afterwards from starvation and disease anyway."
"So when the Goshinboku protected the Shrine - "
"Sesshomaru's will was enough to leave an echo in the Tree. A memory of the event. It still comes to life when one of Kagome's people are in trouble. He put so much power and will into the barrier that he changed form. We owe him everything." Shippo almost reached out to pet the dog but stayed his hand. Whatever else, the canine still had his aristocratic pride. "Now that we have Kagome and Rin, maybe we can break his curse. I am sure he would like a second crack at that Crow."
Shippo went inside for a second helping. The dog paid no mind to the kitsune's exit, he simply remained in his regal siting position overlooking the territory. He neither fidgeted nor shifted. Sesshomaru was a master of being both unnaturally still and somehow utterly relaxed in his posture.
"Hey, Sesshomaru? Hey." Inuyasha called. Nothing. "For what it's worth, thank you for protecting her, even if you were only protecting Rin."
Inuyasha waited at the entrance to the trail while the others made use of the toilet. The next stretch would not have such amenities. They had been warned that the way to Obako-toge Pass was the hardest section. Sesshomaru stalked along the rock wall at shoulder-level to have a better vantage point. Without exchanging words he knew the dog was impatient to get moving. He agreed! Why did Kagome want to let every granny in the neighborhood coo over Moroha? There was no doubt the kid was cute.
"I bet you'd make some remark about coming down to humans' standards, right? Human sentimentality?" Inuyasha crossed his arms.
They fell to the back of their group on the way up the mountain. Shippo had Kagome's ridiculously overstuffed yellow pack over his shoulder. Souta was obsessed with listening to the kitsune tell stories about their adventures in the old days – particularly the details Kagome would omit. With the others on guard he took a turn carrying Moroha so that Kagome could pay her respects to a statue of Jizo. Newly washed and newly changed the infant smelled sweet but the journey was rough for a little one.
When you are stronger, I will teach you the forest like I taught your mother. How to track, how to find water, how to find shelter.
It surprised Inuyasha how much he looked forward to training his daughter.
The elevation on the trail only grew steeper and steeper as they climbed but they continued to make progress with good weather. The forest was old and mostly untouched by humans. They ascended the winding trails for hours before their next stop. Given the weather he made the call to stop for the night and finish the trail in daylight. The girls collected errant sticks while Sesshomaru supervised. They had a fire roaring before the sun set beyond the cliff went dark. Only the sound of the nearby falls interrupted the silence. It provided plenty of good clean water for his wife.
"Don't forget the flavor packet!"
"I know how to make your food. Men," Kagome noted to Moroha. He sat with his back to a tree's overgrown roots where he could keep an eye on her movements while he ate. Fabric kept the little trickster from rolling anywhere towards the flames. Kagome asked him to help Moroha with training when the dishes were cleared so she could study their day's movements on a map with Shippo's advice.
"Can we go see the falls?"
"Take Sesshomaru with you. He will make sure you don't get lost in the dark. Mind your footing on the edge." Shippo tossed the kids a flashlight each. Rin was first through the bramble with her loyal protector at her heels. Souta followed.
The baby flexed her feet in his palms, he helped her move as gently as possible. Demon hands that could rend and tear as well as any monster. He could still hear the wails of the boy in his mother's arms while Sō'unga ordered him to slay them both, the taste of his own flesh on his tongue. The smell of the fresh blood of human bandits under his nails that he had slaughtered with a demon's rage. The dark joy.
Father gave me the Tetsusaiga to protect my soul from his demon blood. I want my daughter's conscience to remain as pure as it is now.
"I will protect you with my life. I swear it. Do you trust me?" Inuyasha brought her into the safety of his arms. The vibrant color of his coat seemed to fascinate her. She liked watching the ragged end of the knot swing. It was just a game. A powerful yawn wracked her body that affected even his demon constitution. He fought the urge.
"Uh-oh. Did the baby cast a sleeping curse on her big bad Papa? It is past someone's bedtime." Kagome took the baby to the collapsible plumped bassinet. It took very little to get Moroha settled with a horrid little story about an abused girl who made a deal with a demon for a blue kimono and a pair of glass shoes.
"What the hell are you teaching our child?"
"It is a beautiful romantic story about a girl named Cinderella who finds true love!"
"She seduced the local lord with a public dance so she could escape poverty. That's romantic? You didn't dance for me!"
Kagome huffed in response and made sure she settled with her backside toward him. Moroha was well-insulated against the chilly ground in her modern bendy-bed. Sesshomaru and the humans returned no worse for wear. Rin joined Kagome while Souta claimed his on the men's side of the camp. Shippo offered to take first watch. Normally he would have argued but it was no easy task being on constant alert for enemies when they were exposed. It was strangely helpful that his ass of an older brother was never caught off guard even in his dog's form, sitting at the edge of the forest listening and watching.
Fairy tale, my ass.
The world was quiet but he could hear the constant flow of water from the falls. Small animals moved around the forest floor but nothing dangerous to humans. The only potential threat to Moroha was the owl perched above their heads. He stayed tuned to its hoots until it went diving after a mouse that squeaked without hope. He opened an eye when his baby stirred but Shippo handled the emergency diaper change to let Kagome rest.
The kid is braver than I thought.
The morning meant heating water for the girls and preparing breakfast and scouting ahead. First the water was too hot for Moroha's bath so Kagome sat on the mossy ridge to feed Moroha in private. When he returned to call her for breakfast he found Sesshomaru. The girl actually reached out to pet his head as he sniffed at the baby's bare feet.
"Good boy, Sesshomaru. Good boy…"
"That is not a dog, Kagome. He's my brother! I don't want him seeing your...those!"
"For your information, he was keeping me company! Why are you yelling at him? He doesn't like it, do you?" A human hand scratched behind Sesshomaru's ear.
"I wish I had some nice dog treats for you…" Kagome cooed to the demon Lord of the West. He could have fainted when Kagome let Sesshomaru sniff. Did the girl have absolutely no sense?
"Moroha is just a baby. See? Perfectly harmless."
The final leg of the journey led them through Mizugamine Peak so Shippo carried the girls in the form of an enormous brown bear to make up time. It was a relief when they finally reached Koyasan. The quiet little town with its humans was safer than the exposed forest for his newborn. They secured a room for the night at a nearby temple surrounded by pilgrims seeking one god or another that took issue with their four-legged member. Souta followed him into the street to complain.
"Sis needs all this girly stuff? No way! You do it."
"Look. Just go get the supplies and meet me back at the room wouldja? Eejit," he grumbled. The teenager headed towards the local mart for diapers and creams and other items from the aisle he feared. Sesshomaru easily parted the crowd on the road. These mortals had enough sense to realize the hound was not some pet! Given the providence of their summons to this settlement, he felt driven to scope out the landscape. Billboards and advertisements and banners informed passersby about the one-hundred temples on the mountain. One-hundred places where humans made offerings and sacrifices and pledges to otherworldly powers. Plenty of humans were dressed like monks but most lacked the spark of reiki. None had Kagome's flaming aura of purity. A fake priest was handing out papers on the corner to bring tourists to a nearby shop.
"Even Moroha has more spiritual powers than that creep. You sense anything? Shippo says demons are better at hiding with humans now. All they see is a dog and some funny clothes." They crossed the next street to avoid the pungent smells of a vendor selling curry. On every corner there was another temple or a monk or a pretty girl in priestess clothes that smelled wrong to his nose. The clothes were manufactured...not sewn. Kagome's clothes were the genuine artifact. He scowled at a sign advertising for a morning prayer by a temple's resident head monk.
Myōō-in? Why does that name sound familiar?
Sesshomaru stopped at the gate to Muryokoin Temple a half second before him. There was a monk sweeping the front steps who paid no notice to the white tiger perched on a high stone wall. A monkey was perched on the roof. An enormous white snake coiled inwards when it noticed the glowing rat in its path but it did not attack. At least he recognized the rabbit thumping a beat against the simple platform steps.
"Tsukinōsagi?!"
Inuyasha was tempted to release Sesshomaru as a distraction to reach the innocent monk and his family. Kagome's aura was obvious to any halfwit. It was no better than going into the streets and shouting 'eat me, demons'. A pretty kirin brandished its horn at a little hairy goat with a golden beard. Lin?
"Aha! Didn't I tell you about the half-demon? The horny dog tricked the girl into bearing his child!"
"Why you little pest!"
The courtyard went dark when the sun's radiance was blocked by the moon. The human monk finally looked up from his chores at the gathering of god-servants. Humans on the street stopped their daily tasks to alert one another by the sudden phenomena. He pulled his stubborn brother past the boar with golden tusks that blazed alive with unnatural fire. The snake's skin was covered with symbols that began to glow blue while the creature grew to the height of the temple itself. Tsukinōsagi balked at being grabbed but he was impatient.
Kagome. Moroha.
"Listen, dog. Your pack must take shelter at Okunoin! The land is laid with many spells to protect the spirits of humans. They can hide there."
"The graveyard?!"
"All things not mortal are revealed under the eclipse. They must hide! Can't you sense them?" Despite the rabbit's tone, he spoke the truth. The aura of his wife and child shadowed the others. Kagome's soul was revealed. He was overwhelmed by the other sight when his friends ran down to join him on the platform.
"Kagome, hurry! Take the baby and get to Okunoin. Run." The scent of fear didn't make sense until he saw the length of his own claws. He bent over a nearby basin of water to see the truth. Inside he felt like himself but his exterior was menacingly demonic and wild. Is the Tetsusaiga protecting my mind? Tenseiga?
The girl's protestations were interrupted by the combined arrival of the divine servants. She was delighted to greet the dragon-headed horse floating on cloud hooves snorting blue flames into the air. He smelled their urgency. It beat a rhythm into his skull. Without her permission he hauled Kagome and Moroha onto the creature's back. Hadn't sweet Lin protected them from the Crow before? He trusted the silly thing. Shippo forced Kagome's arms through the straps of her bags.
"Inuyasha! I am NOT leaving when I can help! Let me down!"
"I'm trusting you to keep her safe, you hear me? Go!" Inuyasha ignored his wife completely. The dragon-head bobbed. Lin kicked off into the air before Kagome could think twice about jumping. Rin and Souta were next. The white tiger was the only divine servant to wait behind. It was a fearsome animal with long claws and sharper teeth but it bowed its head towards his humans. Of course Rin protested against leaving without Sesshomaru. Is it every human girl or just the ones brave enough to love demons? Can't they see we need to protect them?
"You can smell them too, can't you Inuyasha?" The kitsune waved his hand and the chain connected to Sesshomaru's collar shrank. It was a good move. There was a battle on the wind and they could use any ally. They were coming. Demons with the strength of an unnatural solar eclipse. The humans outside the temple ran when he tried to speak to them. Shippo fared no better with his fox tails and bright green eyes and protruding fangs. Still they started to chase down the demons emerging from newly broken seals. Holy spells on broken tablets. An ancient city full of ancient wards. All destroyed.
"We have to drive them back! Can't one of these monks cook up a barrier spell?"
They set to work cutting through the barrage of hungry demons starting to hunt the unprepared humans. It helped distract him from the panic in his stomach. There was an angry hunger taking hold that he feared under the new onslaught of purple storms overhead. Streaks of lightning burned holes in the ground where they struck. Shippo forced him into shelter to avoid them when the strikes became too much. Even demons dissolved in the lightning barrage. The chaos distracted him but he could smell a demon's handiwork. The smell of the clouds.
Sesshomaru! Where's Sesshomaru?
