A/N: A much, much more lighthearted chapter in which I refuse to let any of you forget that "the modern day" in Inuyasha takes place in 1996.
[Edits implemented Feb 28, 2025]
Chapter 14: Tessaiga and Tenseiga / Daitan Gets a Free Dental Exam
The next morning, Daitan woke slowly from a dreamless sleep, something she hadn't had in the days since Naraku forced her to relive one of her worst memories. She felt very warm and comfortable, and the first thing she noticed was that her father's mokomoko had been draped over her. It rustled slightly when Daitan stirred and stretched, burying her face in its soft fur and breathing in her father's scent. Upon opening her eyes, Daitan found herself in her bedroom. She remembered having cried herself to sleep on the sofa… Daitan smiled softly into the white fur. Dad hasn't had to carry me to my room in a long time.
Daitan turned over to face away from the window, wrapping herself up in the soft white pelt and had almost closed her eyes again before the clock on her nightstand caught her eye. One in the afternoon?!
She slid off her bed and scrambled to her feet, her father's mokomoko tightening around her shoulders when she stumbled on her way to the door. It fluttered behind her as Daitan walked briskly down the hall to her father's study and opened the door—
He wasn't there. That's odd… he's usually here at this time of day…
Momentum lost, Daitan stood in the doorway, nose instinctively twitching and searching for her father. Unfortunately, the mokomoko tightly wrapped around her already had his scent on it and muddled any trails. She attempted to pull it away to get a decent scent of the air, but it stubbornly tightened like a python. Daitan gave up trying to remove it and huffed before she made her way toward the living room, where she had fallen asleep on the sofa. A gentle tug back around her shoulders stopped her in her tracks. Hm? Sesshomaru's mokomoko tugged at her shoulders a few more times, this time more insistently. The garden?
Daitan made her way toward the door to the garden and the fluffy pelt around her shoulders stopped tugging, sliding itself securely around her once more. The sliding door was already open, and Daitan stepped outside. Sure enough, there was Sesshomaru sitting on the porch. He held an old stab-bound book in his left hand, and carefully penciled in notes in the margins with his right. Daitan leaned in to get a look inside.
"What's—" Sesshomaru snapped the book shut before she could see anything, making her jump back. "—that? ...Something important?"
Sesshomaru ignored her question.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, setting the book aside. Daitan's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to it. It didn't have any markings or title on the faded blue cover, but she could see a few colored tabs sticking out from the pages. She sat down carefully next to her father.
"Fine… You've never let me sleep in so late before."
"It seemed to me that you needed it."
"It's… been a rough few days."
They sat in silence for a while, watching the trees sway in the gentle breeze, listening to the sound of trickling water from the stream. Sunlight and shadows painted dappled patterns on the grass and the stone walkways, and fluffy white clouds drifted lazily across the blue afternoon sky. Sesshomaru's mokomoko rustled impatiently, despite the calm expression on his face. Daitan finally broke the silence. Her father had ways of telling her to speak without saying anything himself.
"Do you remember, back in… in Hiroshima," she started, and Sesshomaru tilted his head slightly. "when we got separated?"
The mokomoko tightened around Daitan's shoulders.
"Yes."
"A few days ago, we were chasing after Naraku because he'd kidnapped Kikyo, but we fell into one of his traps… It was an illusion, and—" Daitan's voice cracked a little. She swallowed thickly, feeling her eyes begin to water again. "—I had to relive that moment… all of it."
Tears clouded Daitan's vision and she blinked hard, wiping them away on the back of her hand. She held onto her father's mokomoko and hid her face in the soft fur. Sesshomaru said nothing, and after a few minutes sitting again in silence, Daitan looked up.
His hands had curled into fists in his lap, jaw clenched tight, and it looked as if his eyes could burn a hole in the grass in front of them, the whites of them turning red around the edges. He was absolutely livid.
"Cowardly underhanded tricks," Sesshomaru growled, his voice low. "Disgusting. If I could travel there myself…" he let out a breath, his face relaxing back into a calm expression once more, if the slightest bit more solemn than before. "Continuity, however, must be kept."
Daitan blinked, holding her father's mokomoko up to her face as she stared at him with wide eyes. She hadn't seen a show of emotion quite like that for a long time, and it took her a moment to process what he had just said.
"Continuity…?"
"I cannot intervene with the past," he paused. "Only give you the occasional nudge in the right direction." Daitan's face brightened, a smile growing on her face.
"You mean you'll give me hints for the future? Really?"
"Hn."
Sesshomaru's noncommittal response made Daitan's face fall in a huff. Then she paused as the memory of coming home with an arrow wound in the side of her butt came to mind.
"How do you remember so many things in detail? All of this happened five hundred years ago from your perspective."
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, seeming to mull something over before he replied. He picked up the book beside him.
"This holds a transcription of events that I recall. It isn't perfect, but it gives me some insight into what you're up to from time to time."
"I'm guessing that you won't let me look at it?" she asked. Sesshomaru nodded, setting the book down beside him.
"Correct," he confirmed. "As I said, continuity must be kept, and you cannot know exactly what is in this book. All I can do is give you a slight nudge in the right direction."
Daitan nodded, but she could help the flicker of curiosity inside of her.
"So… if you can give me hints," she started. Sesshomaru raised a perfectly thin eyebrow. "Are there any you can give me now?"
"No. Today and tomorrow, you rest."
And with that, he stood from his spot on the porch and headed back inside, leaving Daitan alone, with only her thoughts and the slight breeze that brushed her cheek.
—-
Sesshomaru's mokomoko refused to be removed from Daitan's person, and it stayed around her shoulders until well into the next afternoon, much like an overprotective security blanket. While Daitan appreciated the sentiment, and it had warded away some of the unpleasant dreams she had been having, it was starting to get a bit stifling. She wasn't a little kid anymore…
Daitan currently sat in the living room with a brush in hand, staring at the page in front of her with a frown. It had been over a century since her father had started having her practice calligraphy, but her impatience with the art form still showed in hasty strokes, disjointed characters, and spots of blotted ink on the page. She frowned harder, but the ring of the telephone in the kitchen made her perk up. The brush lay forgotten on the table when Daitan made her way to the phone, left precariously balanced on top of the ink stone. It still managed to drip another blot onto the page.
Picking up the phone, Daitan leaned against the wall, idly playing with a strand of fur on the mokomoko still wrapped securely around her shoulders.
"Hello?" she greeted, but the only thing she could hear was what sounded like faint arguing. "Hello—"
"DAITAN IS THAT YOU? CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" Daitan jerked the phone away from her ear with a grimace as Inuyasha's voice blasted through the speaker.
"Quit shouting, I can hear you just fine! What are you doing here? …How are you here?" Daitan didn't get an answer immediately, the sound of someone fumbling around on the other end.
"Inuyasha, just give it to me, I'll talk to her!" said Kagome's voice faintly. More fumbling and arguing sounds, a quiet click… and then Kagome's voice came through again, clearer this time. "Sorry about that Daitan, Inuyasha stole Miroku's jewel shard to get here right when I was about to call you, and he wanted to see how the phone worked."
"...Uh huh… well, what's going on? Why is he here?" Daitan asked. More fumbling sounds. Inuyasha started shouting into the phone again.
"Hey, get over here, we've gotten our days off, we need to get going again!"
"Inuyasha, please stop shouting, you're going to blow out my eardrums."
"What he means to say," Kagome again. "Is that we're planning on heading back to the past today. I'm caught up with things at school… more or less… but I won't just leave without you. So are you free?"
Daitan opened her mouth to reply, but choked on air as a third voice came through the speaker.
"Not today. She needs rest." said Sesshomaru. Daitan's face burned with embarrassment, and she shouted down the hall to where his study was.
"Dad, get off the phone!"
"Hn." There was a click as he hung up, and Daitan groaned and covered her face with her free hand, despite no one being around.
"Wha— That was Sesshomaru!" exclaimed Inuyasha.
"Yes, it's almost as if we live in the same house," Daitan's face still felt hot. "But you heard what he said, I can't come today. Tomorrow morning should be fine though, I'll see you then." As she said goodbye to Kagome and Inuyasha, she spotted Sesshomaru making his way to the living room. Daitan scowled at him. A faint glimmer of amusement showed in his eyes as he passed by.
—-
Despite his eavesdropping, Daitan's annoyance at her father had mostly faded by the time she was preparing to leave for Higurashi shrine the next morning. They both stood in the entryway as Daitan put on her shoes and secured her sword to her belt, the sun only having risen an hour prior. When she finished securing her ponytail, Daitan pointed to his mokomoko, which was still around her shoulders.
"You can take this back now, I think I'd look a bit conspicuous on the train." said Daitan.
Sesshomaru said nothing, but after a few moments, the fluffy pelt slid away from her and secured itself once again around his right shoulder.
"Daitan."
"Hm?" she hummed, somewhat absently as she tucked a few stray wisps of hair that didn't fit into her ponytail behind her ear.
"I have a hint for you."
Daitan's face immediately brightened and all her attention was now on her father.
"Is something going to happen soon? Good? Bad?"
"Disguise yourself before you go through the well. When you meet the old man, you will understand." he said simply. Daitan's face fell into confusion.
"The… old man?" she asked, head tilting slightly to the right. "Is this 'old man' dangerous?" Sesshomaru stayed silent for a moment.
"...No. It's what follows him."
Daitan hummed in consideration. She supposed her father was only allowed to give her hints.
"Okay. I'll keep that in mind."
With that, she went on her way to Higurashi shrine.
—-
Only an hour later, after Kagome and Daitan had jumped back down the well together and met back up with the rest of their friends, they were all on the road once again. Daitan watched Kagome's back, remembering what her father said. When you meet the old man, you will understand… Daitan's eyes shifted back and forth, as if this 'old man' that her father had mentioned would suddenly jump out of the bushes. Kagome suddenly turned to look back at her.
"So Daitan, why do you have your disguise up today?" Daitan jumped as Miroku spoke right beside her. Kagome turned to look back at her.
"Yeah, it's a little odd… and I've gotten so used to what you really look like, it's almost weird to see you like this." She said, an eyebrow raised. Daitan smiled, waving it off.
"Ah, just something my dad said… he said that he knows some things about my future, since this is the past for him, and he gave me a hint about something that might happen." she said. Miroku raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.
"A hint about the future, you say? What was it?"
"He told me to disguise myself as human when I went down the well today, and that I would understand when we meet 'the old man'."
Miroku just hummed in thought, his hand coming up to his chin.
"He couldn't have given a little more context…?"
"Well, he did also say that the threat isn't the old man, but rather, what follows him. But he didn't say when it was going to happen either, just that it was soon."
"So there's something dangerous on its way, huh?" Inuyasha had fallen back to listen to their conversation, drawing the others' attention. "And Sesshomaru," he spat out the name. "Told you that?" Daitan frowned, her eyebrow starting to twitch.
"Are you implying that he would lie to me?"
"I wouldn't put it past him if it ended up at least inconveniencing me in some way." retorted Inuyasha, and Daitan was just about to give him a bonk on the head with her sheathed sword when, as if by divine intervention, something happened at that very moment that distracted all of them. Or rather, bovine intervention.
A distant moo echoed through the air, and everyone looked around, confused. It sounded so close… but Daitan couldn't see any cattle in the surrounding fields. As she lowered her sheathed sword, she heard another moo, much closer this time… and it came from above. Daitan looked up in confusion, only for a lightning bolt to descend from the clear blue sky and strike the ground right in front of her. She scrambled back, ready to draw her sword.
When the dust cleared, a cow with three bugged out eyes stood directly in front of Inuyasha, and an old man with a long smithy's hammer sat cross-legged on its back. He had large round eyes that bugged out of his skull as well.
"An old man—!" murmured Daitan.
"Who the heck are you?" Inuyasha asked suspiciously. He hadn't taken out the Tessaiga yet, not seeing the old man as a threat.
"My name is Totosai," the old man replied, eyes fixed on the hanyou in front of him. "Draw your sword, Inuyasha! I'm coming at you whether you're ready or not!" Totosai shouted, flailing his hammer in the air.
"Hmm, I feel like I've heard that name before…" pondered Daitan, standing back with the others and watching as Totosai leapt from the cow's back. Inuyasha drew out the Tessaiga to block a downward swing from the hammer aimed at his face. To everyone's surprise, the moment the hammer made contact with Inuyasha's sword, the blade rang out in a loud, clear tone. Inuyasha slid back a few feet and his grip faltered a little from the resulting vibrations, but he held tight to the Tessaiga.
Totosai landed on his feet and hung his head.
"That sword is singing with such a dull resonance, this kid can't be the one to use it!" the old man groaned. Inuyasha took immediate offense and charged forward.
"Smithy's hammer… Totosai…" Daitan was still trying to figure out why she recognized the name. "I know who he is, it's on the tip of my tongue…"
Totosai whipped out a piece of leather, easily stopping Inuyasha dead in his tracks as he began to furiously sharpen Tessaiga with it.
"What on earth—? The blade's all nicked, what have you been doing, cutting down trees?!" Totosai continued to grumble and sharpen the Tessaiga while Inuyasha stood frozen, completely baffled by the situation he had found himself in.
"Wh—What do you know about it? Who are you?"
"I think that's enough, Totosai," said a familiar voice. Myoga hopped onto Inuyasha's shoulder.
"Myoga? What are you doing here?" asked Daitan.
"Lady Daitan, your–" Daitan cut Myoga off right there before he could say anything else.
"Do you know this guy?" she jerked a thumb at Totosai. Myoga hesitated somewhat before clearing his throat.
"Why yes, this here is Totosai, the very swordsmith who forged the Tessaiga!" said the flea. Totosai nodded, sitting down in the grass and no longer looking as annoyed as before.
"That's just right! I am the man who forged Tessaiga from the fang that your," he addressed Inuyasha. "Father gave to me. Only certain circles of the finest sword-wielding youkai are familiar with my work!"
Inuyasha, Kagome, and Daitan sat down in the grass to listen, though Daitan's thoughts were occupied. Of course, he was the one that forged the sword that Dad got from Grandfather! …Though I don't remember him saying very nice things about him. She was drawn from her thoughts by Totosai's bitter tone as he steadily got annoyed again.
"Now that I've seen the Tessaiga in action, I must say it's being badly misused! It sings such a sad song… To see my work like this…" Totosai grumbled, hanging his head again.
"If you've come to pick a fight with me, just say so!" spat Inuyasha. Daitan piped up from his right.
"He's got a point, Inuyasha, you don't really have any technique when it comes to using the Tessaiga…" she said, narrowly avoiding the fist that Inuyasha swung at her head. "You just kind of flail it around and go wide." Daitan yelped when Inuyasha managed to grab her ponytail and yank hard.
"And what about you, huh? Compared to me, exactly how many youkai have you defeated with those papercuts you call attacks before I swoop in and finish 'em off?"
"It's strategic to weaken them first, you nitwit—" growled Daitan, but Kagome interrupted their little tiff.
"Inuyasha, SIT!"
The hanyou's face promptly met the ground with a bang and his hand released Daitan's ponytail, but not before getting another good tug in to make her wince. Daitan massaged her aching scalp as Inuyasha sat up, grumbling. In front of them, Totosai tsked and shook his head.
"Oh, this is useless, Myoga! The Tessaiga cannot be entrusted with someone as short-tempered as this arrogant whelp!"
"I see what you mean…" Myoga sounded a little sheepish. "It would probably be better if he just gave up the sword than recklessly going into battle with it, trying to rely on the strength he doesn't have the self-discipline to yield."
"Yes, I suppose there's no stalling. I'll have to take the Tessaiga back immediately and melt it down!" at Totosai's proclamation, Inuyasha abruptly stood and pointed the sword in question threateningly at the old man.
"What was that? I don't care if you're the guy who made the sword! It's mine, and I'll run you through with it if you even try!"
"Wait, wait, hold on a second, " said Daitan, attempting to diffuse the situation. She turned to address Totosai. "Sure, he's been mistreating it, but that's nothing that some sharpening and training won't fix, right?" And it's one of the only things he has left from his father. To Daitan's surprise, Myoga seemed to agree with her.
"That's just right. Inuyasha, you haven't been able to solve the mystery of the Tessaiga on your own. You've tried, but you can't figure out how to tap into the power that killed a hundred youkai in one sweep, but Totosai here knows its secret. Perhaps if the two of you got to know one another and cooperate, you could awaken and harness Tessaiga's full strength!"
Daitan's eyes burned into Inuyasha's skull, and she hoped that her thoughts of 'Don't be an idiot don't be an idiot don't be an idiot—' might reach him somehow. Her heart sank when he straightened up and sniffed, dismissing Myoga completely.
"There's no mystery; I'll get the hang of it, I just need practice!" he stated. Daitan slouched a little, sighing in disappointment. Totosai remained quiet for a few moments, thinking something over.
"I understand that you've been collecting jewel shards." Totosai started, a grave expression washing over his wrinkled face. "Who knows how many youkai have multiple fragments of the jewel — you know how difficult it's been to battle youkai with more than one. Don't you want to awaken the Tessaiga's full potential to destroy those with enhanced strength?"
Inuyasha stayed silent. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he thought over what the old youkai said. Sango, who had stayed silent until now, finally spoke up.
"I think you should at least hear what he has to say." she said.
"And besides," Daitan added. "We're going to need that kind of power if Naraku has regained his strength — with every jewel shard he collects, he becomes more powerful, so we should strengthen ourselves in turn."
Inuyasha huffed, but seemed convinced. The Tessaiga shrank down to its depowered form and he slid it back into its sheath.
"So tell me, what do I have to do, Totosai?" he asked. And when do I get to shed my disguise? I kind of like being myself out in the open. Wondered Daitan. Totosai pursed his lips and clutched his hammer a little closer to his body.
"First I must tell you that someone seeks my life!" nobody was expecting that to come from the old man, and Daitan immediately sat up a little straighter. Clearly, this was the other part of what her father had told her that morning.
"A fool barged into my forge and ordered a sword that would rival the power of the Tessaiga. He told me he'd kill me if I refused! I want you to protect me from him—" Inuyasha's hand clamped down on the top of Totosai's head.
"Say please before asking for favors, old man." he grumbled. Myoga hopped up Totosai's sleeve.
"You never told me about this," from Myoga's tone, however, Daitan suspected that Totosai had, in fact, told him all about it. "What did he look like?"
"He had long white hair—" Daitan's stomach started to sink. "—And he wears a cloak made of something white and furry!"
Daitan put a hand to her forehead. It all made sense now, and she couldn't believe she hadn't worked it out before; of course he'd know some things about her future, but only if he was actually present!
"What, another old geezer?" asked Inuyasha. Totosai blew a raspberry at him. "So a young guy then?"
"Inuyasha," Daitan put her hand on his shoulder and muttered in his ear. "Who do we know with long white hair and a fluffy thing on him?"
"And he wants a sword stronger than Tessaiga?" added Kagome. Realization dawned on Inuyasha just as Totosai pointed up at the sky.
"He— He's here!" exclaimed Totosai, bug eyes looking to the sky.
And there he was, just as Daitan had suspected — Sesshomaru, only looking slightly younger than she was used to, descending from the clouds on the back of a two-headed dragon. She automatically tried to make herself look smaller. This would be the first time everyone saw him while also knowing her secret, and she prayed that her cover wouldn't accidentally be blown. It's also the first time he's seeing me again since I cut off the human arm he was using to wield Tessaiga… and when Kagome accidentally shot me in the ass… Daitan cringed, thinking of the memory of her father chuckling at her story. How embarrassing that that's his first ever memory of me…
"Who is that?" asked Sango incredulously, with just a tinge of curiosity.
"Inuyasha's older brother, and," Miroku lowered his voice to a low whisper into the taijiya's ear. "Daitan's father in the future." Sango glanced over at Daitan, who was resolutely not making eye contact with the daiyoukai above.
"I can certainly see the resemblance, even when she's like this…" she muttered. In front of them, Kagome spoke up, addressing Totosai.
"We were right, he is the one after you!"
"Yes, that's it, now protect me!" Totosai clutched Inuyasha's shoulders and tried to hide behind the hanyou. It was then that Sesshomaru spoke, his voice as low as always, but somehow managing to carry down to them regardless.
"Inuyasha, why have you conspired with Totosai to plot against me?" Totosai peeked out from behind Inuyasha and shook his fist at Sesshomaru.
"Because you happen to be evil incarnate?!"
Daitan thought back to her father carrying her to her room when she cried herself to sleep on the sofa, refusing to remove his mokomoko from her shoulders until just before she left home that morning. Evil incarnate… Okay…
"Totosai, it seems you're looking for an early retirement into your grave." threatened Sesshomaru. Daitan risked a glance up and saw that his eyes had narrowed dangerously. Totosai cowered behind Inuyasha.
"I—I never said I was talking about you, Sesshomaru! Why don't we discuss your sword after you battle it out with Inuyasha?" he squeaked, and Daitan momentarily forgot her anxiety over being noticed.
"Heart of a lion, you have…" she deadpanned. Kagome frowned and marched right up to get in Totosai's face.
"You sure changed your tune quick, you're not big on loyalty!" she accused. Totosai immediately put a finger up to his head.
"Did I, uh, I don't remember!" he said, feigning forgetfulness. Kagome made a frustrated groan.
"Oh, I'm sure that's nothing a good hit on the head won't fix…" Daitan said as she approached the old man, cracking her knuckles. Totosai floundered, pressing more into Inuyasha's back. He was spared a bonk on the head from Daitan, however, when Sesshomaru spoke again.
"Totosai, your word is as good as a blood vow to me. Did you hear that, Inuyasha? He will forge my new sword after I kill you off."
At his words, Inuyasha and Miroku leapt into battle stances, and Daitan hesitated slightly before standing with Miroku in front of Sango, Kagome, Shippo and Totosai. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru clashed, sending bits of earth and stones flying. Miroku looked down at his right hand with a considering expression, but Daitan grabbed it.
"No, you can't — even if Inuyasha wasn't in the way, what'll that mean for me if my—" she stopped herself, glancing over at the ongoing battle. The crashes and booms from Tessaiga and Sesshomaru's strikes with his claws should have drowned out any conversation, but she couldn't be one hundred percent sure. "What'll that mean for me if he dies before I'm even born?" she whispered. Miroku nodded.
"I see… what do you think we should do, then?" he asked. Daitan looked back at Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.
Sesshomaru had summoned his whip, and it made abrasive clangs against the Tessaiga when Inuyasha tried to block. He didn't seem to be exuding much effort at all, leaping out of range when Inuyasha brought the Tessaiga crashing straight into the ground and added another cleft in the earth. The terrain was already looking rough, with many deep gouges littering the previously pristine field from their skirmish. Daitan narrowed her eyes.
"He doesn't seem to be making too much of an effort to kill Inuyasha… I noticed that when he showed up before, as well."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Sesshomaru released a cloud of poisonous gas from his claws in Inuyasha's direction. Inuyasha's eyes blinked shut for a moment too long, and allowed Sesshomaru to land a straight punch to his face with his remaining arm. The hanyou flew back, and dust curled into the air where he had landed.
"Inuyasha's so slow it's pathetic!" Daitan had been so concentrated on Inuyasha and Sesshomaru that she flinched a little when Totosai suddenly spoke from her left. "Myoga, why did you lie to me about his ability to use Tessaiga's power?" Myoga waved his tiny arms in an attempt to placate the annoyed swordsmith.
"He used it once, I swear!"
"Yeah, Myoga didn't lie! Inuyasha always ends up sending Sesshomaru home with his tail between his-mmmph!" Daitan had clapped her hand over Kagome's mouth, looking nervously over her shoulder to see if Sesshomaru had heard what the human girl was about to say.
"Do you want him to come after you?!" hissed Daitan. Totosai scratched his head and looked skeptically over at Kagome.
"...Are you sure you weren't dreaming when you saw this?"
Daitan, still holding her hand over Kagome's mouth, replied,
"He really did slay one hundred youkai in one blow, we all saw— Ew, Kagome, did you just lick me?!" she whipped her hand quickly away from Kagome, who looked back at her with a smug expression. Though it didn't last long when she yelped in disgust after Daitan wiped her hand off on Kagome's shirt.
"Well, Totosai, don't you feel sorry for Tessaiga? That famous sword is no better than a wooden club with the way Inuyasha swings it around aimlessly. A sword can live or die, depending on its master." said Sesshomaru, his attention turned away from Inuyasha, who still lay prone. Daitan and Kagome immediately stopped their playful squabble, remembering the danger at hand. Sesshomaru's eyes had briefly slid over Daitan, who shrank back in shame. He wasn't even technically her father and yet she still felt that she ought to be on her best behavior in front of him…
Meanwhile, Totosai nodded in agreement, his eyes closed in thought.
"Hmm, yes, a wise observation, I agree."
"Stop agreeing with him!" Kagome bonked Totosai on the head with his own hammer.
On the ground, Inuyasha twitched a little before grabbing hold of Tessaiga and slowly clambering back to his feet. His legs still wobbled a little as he readied his sword in front of him once more.
"Don't give me that, swordsmith, or you'll really have something to worry about," he growled. "I'm only warming up! Don't be too shocked when you see what kind of power I really have!" Inuyasha charged forward, just as he had before, and Daitan wasn't surprised to see Sesshomaru easily dodging every strike once more. To her eyes, he almost seemed bored.
He let Inuyasha continue to swing wildly at him with Tessaiga for a little while, not even bothering to strike back. After a few more minutes, Inuyasha started to slow down. Sesshomaru, sensing weakness, finally caught the hanyou's wrist and released more poisonous gas from his palm. Inuyasha cried out in pain, and Daitan instinctively took a step forward. It was exactly the same move he had used on Inuyasha the last time he had encountered Sesshomaru, and Daitan knew that the poison, if left in contact for too long, would start to burn away flesh and bone.
"Tell me Totosai, do you still refuse to make me a sword?" Sesshomaru's voice was deadly calm, even over Inuyasha's screams. Daitan's hands shook. She couldn't do anything to help Inuyasha without risking her cover… Totosai put his hand to his chin, pretending to think.
"Hmm… No way!" the old man leapt into the air, puffed out his cheeks, and an enormous plume of red-hot flames jetted out of his pursed lips. A wall of flame separated Sesshomaru from everyone else, and Inuyasha hit Totosai on the head.
"Gee, that was a big help!" he barked. Sesshomaru spoke up from the other side of the flames.
"So, you absolutely refuse?"
"Oh, be quiet, you ungrateful mongrel!" Totosai scolded the inu youkai, pointing his finger. Daitan choked on her shock at the insult, but managed to disguise it as a cough. "You know as well as I that I've already made you an excellent sword! The famous sword that you now wear — the Tenseiga, also forged from a fang given to me by your father."
Daitan's eyes widened as she took in the sword that was, indeed, tucked into Sesshomaru's belt. She couldn't believe she had missed it, she would recognize it anywhere — it was one of her father's most treasured possessions.
"He clearly instructed that the elder brother would receive the Tenseiga, and the younger, the Tessaiga," continued Totosai. "That was your father's last wish, and it is a great sword of swords, no better or worse than the Tessaiga. You should learn to respect and love it!" he scolded.
"Now that I think of it, I've never seen Sesshomaru wield that sword at all in any battles yet…" Miroku mentioned. Daitan's mouth opened before she could stop herself.
"Well, he can't," she said, a little absentmindedly. "It doesn't cut."
Their eyes went wide at her words, and despite Totosai's back being turned to her, he tilted his head curiously in her direction. Thankfully, Sesshomaru was standing far enough away that her voice hadn't seemed to carry over to him as he addressed Totosai.
"Are you implying that this useless sword is worthy of me?" he asked, golden eyes flashing dangerously. It was at this moment that Daitan completely forgot that she was supposed to be keeping a low profile. She couldn't believe that the sword she knew her father held so dear in the future could be so easily cast aside by his younger self. Before she could stop herself, the words started pouring from her mouth.
"Useless…? Useless? Are you some kind of idiot?!" she shouted, and Sesshomaru's eyes snapped over to her. "There's absolutely no equal to the power that kind of sword has, and yet you dismiss it like some common kitchen knife!"
Daitan immediately regretted having said anything when Sesshomaru's eyes suddenly sharpened and he flexed his claws, lip now curled in a snarl. A short scream burst from her as Daitan narrowly avoided being struck by his whip. As she dodged another hit from Sesshomaru's whip, trying desperately not to get separated from her friends, Daitan heard Totosai start to laugh nervously.
"Well, time to take our leave!" the old man raised his hammer high in the air and slammed it down on the ground. A blast of flames erupted from the earth, heading in Sesshomaru's direction and creating a barrier between him and Daitan.
Daitan covered her eyes from the sudden brightness, her skin tingling from the sudden change in temperature. When she opened them, she saw that the entire meadow had been scorched into a wasteland, the fire having been so hot in some places that patches of the earth had melted into glowing lava.
Totosai quickly hopped back onto his cow, beckoning Inuyasha and Kagome to clamber on after him. With everyone else perched on Kirara's back, they quickly flew from the scene, the steam and smoke created from the explosion covering their retreat. Daitan's heart still pounded in her chest as she looked back to just barely see Sesshomaru through the smoke, still standing in the middle of the field. Inuyasha started laughing, looking in her direction.
"Never thought you'd have the guts to say anything like that to Sesshomaru's face!" he cackled. Daitan groaned, covering her face with a hand.
"I can't believe I said that… what's wrong with me…" she definitely felt like she needed to apologize when she got back to her time next.
Daitan shifted uncomfortably behind Miroku. There wasn't much space left on Kirara's back, and she had to hold on tight to the monk if she didn't want to slide off. When she looked up at his face, she could see a little smug smirk at the situation. Daitan scowled, digging her fingers into his ribs, and Miroku's body jerked as he tried not to laugh. Sango briefly glanced back in confusion, but Kagome's voice drew everyone's attention.
"Wow Totosai, I had no idea you had that kind of power!" she said, leaning forward to address Totosai and changing the subject.
"Yes, maybe it should be Inuyasha asking you for protection instead of the other way around—" Miroku was cut off by his own wheeze as Daitan doubled down on his ribs.
"You trying to say that I'm a weakling?" griped Inuyasha, baring his teeth. Miroku couldn't reply as his body was wracked with spasms, trying not to laugh.
"Daitan, stop tickling Miroku, he's going to fall off!" squeaked Shippo from his perch on the monk's shoulder. Daitan shrugged, but stopped anyway, now with a small smile on her face. Totosai paid them no mind, instead looking down and sighing sadly.
"Sesshomaru calls his great sword useless, and Inuyasha is useless with his great sword; how I overestimated both of them." It wasn't long before new lumps had appeared on the old man's head, with Inuyasha fuming behind him.
"I was wondering, Totosai, is Sesshomaru's sword really as powerful as the Tessaiga, like you said?" asked Kagome.
"The Tenseiga?" Totosai stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Its abilities are unlike anything I've ever heard of before. When the Inu no Taisho first commissioned me to make it, I shuddered at the very thought of its immense powers."
Apparently having deemed it safe enough to descend, Totosai's cow began to lower in altitude, making a beeline to the river. Its hooves brushed the tops of trees as it descended, and Totosai glanced over at Daitan.
"In fact, you seem to know a bit about it, young lady, don't pretend like I didn't hear you before!" he said. Daitan paled a little, floundering for an answer as the cow and Kirara touched down at the riverbank. Everyone slid off of their mounts, and all their eyes were on Daitan.
"I— Uh… I don't know what you're talking about!" she said hastily. Judging from his smug expression, Inuyasha was immensely pleased that it was finally her being put on the spot instead of him. Totosai looked unimpressed and he brandished his hammer somewhat threateningly.
"Anyone ever told you you're a terrible liar, girl? Everyone heard you, now speak!" Daitan hesitated, and Myoga hopped onto her shoulder.
"Perhaps it would be best if you just told him the whole truth? I highly doubt you have anything to fear from it." the flea suggested. Daitan sighed in resignation.
"I… guess you're right." and with that, she let her illusion fall.
Totosai immediately leapt back, pointing his hammer at her.
"You— you—!"
"That's right," Daitan sighed. "Sesshomaru happens to be my father."
The old man looked completely flabbergasted, tentatively approaching her to get a better look and still holding tight to his hammer.
"If this is true," he said suspiciously. "Then why did he not recognize you? Attack you, even? Actually, that may not be too out of character for him…" Totosai muttered under his breath. Kagome waved her hand and chimed in,
"The two of us are from the future, Totosai, Daitan here hasn't even been born yet!"
Totosai still looked a little suspicious, but he had found the confidence to get closer, looking at her face with narrowed eyes. He hummed.
"How interesting… yes, your scent is similar… and I certainly see the resemblance…"
Without warning, Totosai's hands shot forward and wrenched Daitan's mouth open to expose her sharp fangs. Inuyasha snorted, doubling over with laughter as Daitan attempted fruitlessly to pry away from the old youkai's surprisingly strong grip. Totosai's giant round eyes examined her teeth, and released her once satisfied, leaving Daitan to stumble backward and land on her backside. Everyone was left in stunned silence. Everyone except for Inuyasha, that is, who was still cackling at her.
"Hey, what was that for?!" she squeaked, hand held protectively over her mouth. Totosai smiled and crossed his arms.
"There are some youkai who have the ability to disguise themselves as another, but they can never imitate another youkai's fangs, that's for certain! It may fool the untrained eye, but I would recognize your family's fangs anywhere! Not to mention," Daitan leaned back as he pointed a finger in her face. "Despite sharing most of Sesshomaru's features, you've inherited the Inu no Taisho's mighty eyebrows!"
Daitan's face burned bright red and she smacked a hand over her forehead to cover her eyebrows. They were, in fact, much… bolder than Sesshomaru's own. 'Not at all ladylike' was what she had heard some of the nobles from other houses giggling behind her back when she was younger. But Totosai wasn't finished, and in the blink of an eye, his hammer came down on the top of her head.
"What were you thinking, girl? You just insulted your own father to his face — young people like you need to respect your parents!" he admonished. Daitan growled at him, but another bonk on the head from his hammer cut her off. "Just because you can disguise yourself as human doesn't give you an excuse to go saying whatever you want! You're still nobility, you should act like it! At least you take good enough care of those teeth… "
"Okay, I get it, old man! Enough about me, okay? Weren't you just badmouthing him earlier? And weren't we talking about the Tenseiga?" she said, attempting to change the subject. Daitan caught the hammer in one hand when it tried to come down on her again, rubbing the top of her sore head with the other. Inuyasha wiped a tear from his eye, still giggling a little. Totosai yanked his hammer out of Daitan's grip with a harrumph.
"It's different with me — I'm much older, and he was the one who barged into my forge with such outrageous demands, I can say what I damn well please!"
Daitan didn't try to argue anymore, just laid back on the grass with a groan. Totosai seemed satisfied with the scolding he'd given her, and sat down on the grass next to his cow a little ways away. When the others began to put together a campfire, Shippo approached the prone inu youkai.
"Are you alright, Daitan?" asked the small kitsune, little hands on her upper arm. His stomach suddenly made a loud rumble, and Daitan huffed a laugh.
"This day has been so strange…" she sighed, then got to her feet. "I think I'll go find us something to eat."
Daitan used her nose to track down a plump wild boar, and she watched it root around in the layer of soil and fallen leaves for a few minutes. It didn't take much time or effort to slay it, and soon enough, Daitan made her way back to camp with the dead boar over her shoulder. Everyone else was still in conversation with Totosai, and she only half listened as she gestured for Shippo to prop up sticks over the fire for roasting the boar on.
"So Tessaiga can kill one hundred youkai in one sweep, and Tenseiga can save one hundred people in one sweep? But how are you supposed to use Tenseiga as a weapon?" Sango wondered aloud.
"It must have the ability to bring back dead souls… such a power could prove very useful during times such as these." commented Miroku.
"I almost called the sword the 'Coffin Cheater,' but opted for Tenseiga instead, it was a little more classy." Totosai explained. His eyes drifted to the boar, which now hung propped up over the fire to cook. "Actually, it was the Inu no Taisho who suggested the name."
"No wonder Sesshomaru wants a new sword, he can't use his," muttered Inuyasha. "He's incapable of feeling kindness for people, let alone saving lives…" Totosai hummed in disappointment.
"It's too bad this isn't working, it was your father's last wish, after all." he said, eyes still fixed on the roasting boar.
"Your brother is so black-hearted."
"He wouldn't be happy with the sword even if he could use it." Kagome said, nodding.
Suddenly, everyone flinched, seeming to realize who sat fully within earshot. Daitan shrugged.
"It's clear he still has to go through some personal development before he becomes the person I know." she said simply. It still stung to hear such things spoken aloud about her father, but she tried not to show it. Shippo's nose twitched, and a little drool escaped from the corner of his mouth.
"Wow, the boar smells really good!" he sighed dreamily, bouncing up and down excitedly in Daitan's lap.
"A well roasted boar indeed!" exclaimed Totosai a little too loudly. "Let's dig in, folks!" Daitan's eyes went wide in shock as Totosai picked up the entire boar and swallowed it all whole.
"Hey, don't eat it all, you greedy pig!" shouted Inuyasha. Too late. Thought Daitan, staring at Totosai's stomach, which showed no sign at all of having an entire boar inside.
As the group started to bicker and Totosai ended up with a couple more lumps on the head, Daitan's annoyance slowly faded away. They've never known my father like I do. She thought, a little smile gracing her features at her friends' antics. I don't really have the right to be so irritated when they only know this time's version of him.
—-
Daitan decided to cast her human disguise once again in the morning. Sesshomaru might still be close by, and she wasn't going to take any chances. Meanwhile, Totosai had decided that it was time for him to leave their company.
The old youkai heaved himself onto his three-eyed cow with some effort, ancient bones creaking and cracking as he did so. Once he was settled cross-legged on the cow, as usual, he turned and bid them farewell. Before he could leave, however, Kagome stepped forward.
"You're leaving us and heading out alone?" she asked incredulously.
"I would have thought that you'd stick around a bit longer, my father isn't really known for letting things go so easily. He could still be nearby." said Daitan, arms crossed. Totosai waved them both off.
"To be honest, Inuyasha's not much protection for me." he said plainly.
"Who cares, let him go," Inuyasha said haughtily, turning his back. "The old geezer would just slow us down anyway."
Totosai paused, thinking. Then, he dismounted the cow and strode over to Inuyasha, grabbing hold of the Tessaiga.
"Give it back! The Tessaiga is useless in your hands, it would be better off as scrap metal!"
Daitan wondered if Totosai had gotten a concussion yet from how many times he had been hit on the head so far, mentally adding on the next few blows Inuyasha inflicted upon him.
"I told you, don't touch my sword!" Inuyasha gritted out.
Totosai quickly retreated back to his cow with a "Don't say I didn't warn you!" and spurred it down the road, soon disappearing from sight. Inuyasha didn't spare him a second glance as he turned and started to walk in the opposite direction.
"Well… he was certainly a character…" commented Daitan. Miroku nodded in agreement.
"And recognizing someone of a certain family by their teeth, like he did yesterday, of all things? The logic in that eludes me…"
"Actually," started Daitan. "There is merit to it." Miroku tilted his head in curiosity, and Sango drew a little closer as the group made their way down the road.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked. Daitan absentmindedly traced her own fangs with her tongue, thinking.
"Well, youkai swords are forged from a youkai's fangs, so it makes sense that a youkai swordsmith would be able to recognize someone by them," Daitan looked down at her own sword, which was tucked into her belt. Miroku let out a little 'ah' in realization.
"And it only makes sense that Totosai was familiar with your family's fangs because he forged Inuyasha's father's— or rather, your grandfather's— fangs into swords."
"Exactly. Because of that, it's also not uncommon for youkai swordsmiths to double as dentists." Daitan's words made Kagome turn and give her an incredulous look, having overheard the conversation. Daitan would have said more then, if not for the rumbling sound that everyone heard coming up behind them.
It was Totosai again, but he was riding much more frantically, and his eyes bugged out more than they already were. Daitan's hunch that morning turned out to be correct — right behind Totosai was Sesshomaru in hot pursuit of the swordsmith.
Sesshomaru's whip struck down right where the cow was about to take another step, and both it and Totosai were subsequently thrown into the air, landing hard on the dirt road. The inu youkai himself approached and flexed the claws of a dragon's hand, which he had attached to the remainder of his left arm. Inuyasha stepped forward, but Sesshomaru's words stopped him in his tracks.
"Stay where you are, or I'll tear you both to shreds." he said coolly. Daitan shrank when Sesshomaru spotted her, but he paid her no heed as his eyes fixed once more on his actual target. Totosai immediately leapt up to run and hide behind Inuyasha, just as he had the day before. Inuyasha let out a 'tch!'.
"You've no intention of making Sesshomaru a new sword, do you old man?" At Totosai's mumbled 'no,' Inuyasha raised his voice. "You hear that?! I've had enough of this bad rap over Tessaiga, so let's finish this, once and for all!"
"Is it ever 'once and for all,' though?" Daitan muttered to Miroku, who shrugged.
The two brothers clashed once again in battle, and Daitan wasn't sure if she could muster up the courage to interfere and face her father in battle another time, should Inuyasha fall.
A/N: Writing about landlines makes me feel old. I frequently forget that there are young people who have literally never seen a landline before. Also, if you're at all interested and would like to see Daitan's character design, I've created a tumblr blog for this fic! I've drawn some stuff for it and I really want to share it with you guys. I know is weird with links, so just get rid of the spaces:
house-of-moon . tumblr . com
One last thing: Thank you guys so so much for reading! I mostly use this fic as an escape from reality, and I've been having a pretty rough go of it lately, so it really gives me the warm fuzzies whenever I see that someone has followed, favorited, or reviewed! And I do get notified when that happens, so I see all of it. Thank you so much :D