InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Drabbles and Babbles ❯ Birth of a Legend ( Chapter 19 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
A bloodcurdling scream split the air, shattering the peace of a calm late summer morning. Deep in the midst of the fire country, a small, isolated forge belonging to an elderly swordsmith still quivered with the force of a tai-youkai lord’s wrath.

“You son of a bitch!”

Toutousai was still a little bit dazed, he’d hit his head against the far wall of his home when Inutaisho-sama had struck him out of reflex. He glanced down at his chest where four gashes were bleeding freely and leveled a stern look at his outraged patron.

“That will most likely leave a scar, my lord.”

“Serves you right,” the angry lord snarled. “You miserable, senile old fart, haven’t you got any better sense than to jump on me like that and yank out my TOOTH?”

The smith sighed, getting to his feet with a wince of pain. He was really getting too old for this nonsense. “And how else did you think I was going to get your tusk if not by taking it out of your mouth?”

Inutaisho growled at him. “You could have warned me first!”

“Eh, I’d say it hurts less if you don’t know it’s coming.”

Still scowling, the young tai-youkai lord got to his feet and stalked over to look at Toutousai’s prize. The gleaming white fang that had previously resided in his upper jaw had been carefully placed on the smith’s anvil. Lying there, it hardly looked like it had the potential to become the fearsome weapon he desired.

“How are you going to make a sword from something that small?”

Toutousai grunted and tapped the fang with his hammer. The fang glowed brightly then expanded until it had grown to the length of a proper katana. He grinned at the wide-eyed young demon. “Trade secret, my lord.”

Inutaisho stared at it, quite entranced by the large, glowing fang. He reached out to touch it and then yelped as Toutousai’s hammer came down on his fingers.

“Don’t touch, boy!” the smith snapped, quite forgetting that he was addressing a powerful demon warrior and the future lord of the West.

“Why not?” Inutaisho stuck his injured finger in his mouth and glowered at him. At the moment he didn’t look like an imposing tai-youkai lord, but more like a petulant child. “It’s my fang!”

“It’s my next masterwork,” Toutousai replied. He glanced up and met Inutaisho’s sullen expression. “If you weren’t a friend of mine I wouldn’t even be taking this commission.”

“If I hadn’t saved your life you wouldn’t even be standing here!”

“Oh quit pouting already.”

“I do NOT pout!”

The smith chuckled. “And you didn’t blubber when I pulled that fang either.”

“Is this how you treat all your customers?” Inutaisho demanded.

Toutousai gave him a sly smile. “Just the ones I like.”

Inutaisho snorted, heading for the door. “I’ll be back in on the new moon,” he said, his natural arrogance fully restored. “You’re sure you can do this? It will be what I want?”

“I’ve been at my craft since before you were even out of your diapers,” Toutousai replied absently, already absorbed in his work. “Trust me on this.”

The young lord left, still muttering under his breath about the whims of senile old coots who had better know what they’re doing. Toutousai ignored him, taking out a soft cloth and polishing the fang lovingly.

“You will be the greatest of all,” he crooned softly, his mind already turning to the complex and difficult process that he would use. This strong tusk would become a mighty and mystical katana, why the possibilities for it were endless. Despite what he’d told Inutaisho, he was well pleased to have this commission. It would be an amazing piece of craftsmanship.

It would become a legend.