InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ It's my Life ❯ Critical Mass ( Chapter 34 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi does. Any original characters that pop up, yes those are mine, but everyone else is again owned by Rumiko Takahashi.


Sesshomaru had no idea of what he faced in the dark. All he knew was that it was large and strong at this point. Not to mention very fast….as it had somehow avoided repeated blows from his light whip. Well…either that or it was simply durable enough to withstand the attack.
He wasn’t sure which thought bothered him more. But he knew one other thing…Inuyasha was wounded. He could still smell the boy’s blood. Inuyasha needed him.

And the creature was still in his way.

Another annoyance. Another delay.

Yet something about the shape in the dark gave him pause. Another incarnation/bastard spawn of Naraku was of little concern surely…after all Naraku himself had fled before him. So why did this creature in the shadow trouble him so?

“And what is your name and purpose beast?” Sesshomaru asked, his voice bouncing off unseen walls.

There was no light of any kind, and even his eyes could not totally pierce the darkness around them. But he had other senses…and they told him that they were certainly underground. That there was water at his feet, foul water at that. Perhaps this was where Naraku dropped his pitiful experiments.
The creature didn’t answer Sesshomaru, but he could hear it moving around. Pity….he had hoped it would be like Kagura…desiring Naraku’s death.
Either way this was taking too long.

Toki-jin trembled at his side, almost as if pleading for use. An oddity at that…the blade had never acted in such a manner before. However, even though he had never taken his eyes off of the shape Sesshomaru suddenly detected movement behind him. He spun around just in time for the very shape he had been watching to slam into his midsection hard enough for his lower ribs to crack.
What was this?! Were there two of them?!

They smashed down in the foul, murky water, Sesshomaru’s ribs protesting greatly as he slid along the ground. He whipped one arm up, digging his claws into flesh. Whatever it was felt solid enough, and cried out in pain as he squeezed. A good sign.

Sesshomaru pushed himself up, no easy feat either as the creature on top of him was quite heavy. A flailer too…as Sesshomaru began to lift he caught a solid swipe across the face.

But despite that he still yanked the creature into the air, twisted, and smashed it directly into the hard stone behind him.

Fazed or unfazed however the creature had enough in it to plant two feet into Sesshomaru’s chest that sent him careening into the opposite wall. Pain shot through him as his ribs splintered even further, and he could taste his own blood in his mouth. The world sharpened as more of his youki leaked into his blood from his core, his anger turning the release valve ever so slightly.

Righting himself with a snarl Sesshomaru’s hand fell upon Toki-jin. The hilt tingled against his skin, yet another oddity. Either way…he didn’t have time to play catch the freak.

Yet something in him seemed cautious, and as he wavered the creature charged again.

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Kagura couldn’t believe her ears. This thin, puny child was actually threatening her? She hid her face behind her fan as she practically exploded with laughter.

“Oh that’s rich…” She forced out between guffaws. “You’ve nary a muscle on you…and you think to face me? A sorceress of the wind?”

Now the boy seemed to become amused by that. He smiled darkly and shook his head.

“Of the wind…feh…But to answer your question. No…this one does not intend to face you. However if you seek to harm the young Inu prince…then he does intend to kill you, you painted cow.”

Kagura snorted. As amusing as all of this was she knew she didn’t’ have that long to play around. Naraku wanted the hanyou bad, and even though she had no desire to see Naraku get anything he wanted…she had long since accepted how little choice she actually had in the matter.

“Well I don’t know who you are or what your connection to the hanyou is…and I don’t really care about him or you either way.” Kagura snapped. “Nut no little teeny boy is going to stop me! Dance of blades!”

Kagura swung her fan, cupping the wind to infuse with her power. The boy would be torn asunder in mere moments.

But nothing happened.

She blinked, staring at her fan in confusion. The wind had never failed her before. She tried once more, calling it forth again.

And…nothing….

She didn’t understand at all. Why did the air feel so…still? So…hostile? And now the boy was flat out laughing at her.

“Hoo boy….” He chuckled. “Daigon will never understand why everyone of you meat sacks says what they are going to do before they do it. But very well…”

Green light exploded from the boy’s eyes, blinding Kagura, and suddenly the wind began to surge and churn. Before she knew it she found herself caught up in a massive whirlwind. The force of it literally tore her off of her feet and into the air.

She twisted and turned, trying to gain her bearings. She could handle this, the wind could not harm her. She was its master….and yet it would not obey.
What was going on?! How was-

“Here’s one for you.” A giggling voice whispered in her ear. “Wind attack. Stabbing the cow to death.”

Caught up in the churning wind Kagura could see next to nothing. But out of the corner of her eye she caught a glint of steel. She screamed as pain exploded throughout her entire body. It was as if somehow had driven hundreds of blades into her faster then a person could blink.

The dusty, violent winds turned red with her life-blood, spraying across the earth like macabre rain. Faster and faster she spun. Helplessly trying to fend off the sharp blade that sought her flesh from seemingly all angles.

Then, quick as it had came, the wind vanished, leaving Kagura tumbling like a rag doll in the sky. So high that she would be little more then a speck to a curious onlooker from below. Her nearly ruptured eardrums caught a slight sound above her. But before her ruined neck could even try to  react to it, two feet planted solidly into her back.

One of top of the other they rocketed towards the earth, Kagura’s now useless limbs flailing in the wind.

The impact was sickening…in more ways then one. Not only did her bones shatter from the force, but her ruined innards partially exploded out of the countless holes in her mutilated body.

The last thing Kagura ever heard before the final drops of life escaped her was bored aside.

“The walk’ll take longer….”

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Inuyasha was in bad shape when Daigon caught up with the others. The  hanyou was down on the soft moss of the forest floor. Still bleeding, still not healing as he should have been. Alir regarded the healer warily. For while Daigon himself had not a spot of blood on his person, his knife was soaked in gore.

‘What on earth was that noise Daigon?” Tren asked. “It sounded as if they sky itself was being torn apart.”

“Sounded like a tornado to me.” The girl, Kagome if Daigon remembered right, added while she knelt next to the fallen hanyou.

Daigon didn’t’ answer as he handed Alir he short blade back, but he did have a question.

“Why have you stopped here? Why is he on the ground?”

Tren regarded the healer somewhat suspiciously for a moment, his snubbed question hanging in the air, before answering dutifully.

“He struggles for breath Daigon. His legs  will not work anymore then a newborns. We tried to carry him…but he is so much dead weight. At times he squirms, spasms and cries out in pain. His movements threaten to tear him from our hands and dash him upon the ground. So we laid him down to rest. He needs attention before we can move on.”

“I fear he is not long in this world.” Alir admitted softly.

“Shut up!” Kagome snapped, tears streaking her face. “you don’t’ know Inuyasha! You don’t know anything!!.”

“Kagome…” The slayer soothed.

“NO!” Kagome protested. “This is nothing! He’s comeback from worse then this! Sesshomaru stuck his whole hand through him and he was fine! I saw it!”

The girl began to root around in her back, removing some sort of white case. First aid it said on the front with some sort of red symbol below.

Ah yes…that was right. Daigon rolled his eyes involuntarily…the child fancied herself as some sort of healer. Yes…that was why Inuyasha had been laid upon the forest floor ON his wounds. Wounds that had not been dressed at all.  Wounds that were still open, that still bled….brilliant…just brilliant.

“Move child.” Daigon ordered as he imposed himself between the girl and the hanyou. A move that she clearly did not appreciate, but he hardly cared. He had a duty after all. One that he had gained skill in centuries before she had even been a itch in her great-grandfather’s pants.

Nor had he forgotten Sesshomaru explain how the frail little girl had been the cause of Inuyasha’s near ruined back. She would do more harm then help with her fumbling and her little toy chest.

Daigon had his own tools. Tools that had been time tested…but she was right about one thing. The wounds in Inuyasha’s flesh should not have hampered Inuyasha so. Painful yes…but they should have healed long before now.

Unless….reaching into his bag Daigon produced a clean cloth and a jar of fluid. Inuyasha whimpered behind his shallow panting as Daigon gently swabbed one of the ragged rips in his flesh. Rubbing an unmarred patch of Inuyasha’s shoulder reassuringly as he dipped the cloth in the jar.

No reaction.

So…a cruel whip yes, but not one laced with poison to keep the flesh from closing.

One by one Daigon checked for everything he could think of, and just like before there was no logical or visible reason for the hanyou’s condition. Any damage was mostly surface, with a few cracked bones in the face.

His heartbeat wasn’t erratic this time, ricocheting around like a Kitsune on cracked candy. But it was weak…slowing….

There were no outward signs…and yet it was clear that his body was shutting down.

But why?

Daigon knew every poison, every toxin, that there was. He knew of substances that the world had long forgotten, and others that it had never known in the first place. And yes…he did know of something that could do what he was seeing. But even then there was a tell, a clue for eyes that knew where to look. In all the world Daigon knew that there was no truly “undetectable” substance. It only existed in fiction as far as he was concerned and yet….nothing.

He knew exactly where to look but when he did…what should have been there was not.

So why?
Why was there nothing?

How could a young body for all intents and purposes be going through what every old man would eventually face?

For only the forth time in his long life Daigon felt helpless.

He couldn’t stop Arne from binding him to his word even though she had clearly cheated, and had even admitted so. He couldn’t’ save little Inu-Taisho from watching his Mother be butchered. He couldn’t save Inu-Taisho from dying as he did…

And apparently…he could not stop this.
Still…as Inuyasha groaned in pain Daigon pushed that aside. There had to be something he could do. People did not just up and die for no reason. Not so young…and especially not those with demonic blood.

There was something he was missing here…had to be.

Just as Daigon leaned over to take Inuyasha’s head in his hands the hanyou suddenly arched up with a straggled, gurgling cry of pain. Daigon put his hand on Inuyasha’s stomach to try and hold him still, and disturbingly it contracted and spasmed under his touch.

None of it made any sense….there were just too many conflicting issues. Too many things that simply did not go together.

Inuyasha collapsed back  to the ground with a weak gasp, his eyes fluttering open and close.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry.” Inuyasha panted weakly.
Daigon shook his head as he ran his fingers through the boy’s bangs.

“No, no…you’ve nothing to be sorry for.”

“It hurts….” Inuyasha whispered in a voice that gave away his age, and filled with a scaling distance that Daigon did not like.

“It’s alright…” Daigon soothed. “Just relax. Daigon is going to help you now.

“Wanna go home…” Inuyasha whimpered distantly.

Home…that ached in the healer. Where was home for the boy?

“Shhh…it’s alright..” He whispered. “We’re going now. You just need to-”

Daigon didn’t get to finish his sentence as Inuyasha went into spasms once again, his eyes rolling back, head thrashing weakly.

From there it was a picture that Daigon had seen thousands of times before. Inuyasha’s  breathing became more labored, his eyes glazing over behind lids that seemed impossible to keep open.

Then he took a breath…released it…and did not take another.

“In-Inuyasha?” The miko whispered fearfully from behind Daigon, her voice trembling.

Daigon felt more then a tiny spark of panic as he watched the boy below him.

He put his hand under Inuyasha’s nose.

No breathing.

He put his ear to Inuyasha’s chest.

No heartbeat.

He pressed the tip of one of his surgical knives under one of Inuyasha’s remaining claws.

No reaction, involuntary or otherwise.

He turned Inuyasha’s head so that the bright rays of the sun went straight into his eyes.

No dilation. No reaction.

Daigon leaned back as he sighed heavily, his hand coming up to the silent boy’s face. With gentle care he closed Inuyasha’s eyelids over his blind, staring eyes.

Inuyasha, the youngest son of Inu-Taisho. Bearer of Tetsusaiga. Brother of Lord Sesshomaru….was dead.

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Sesshomaru had just smashed his fist into the face of Naraku’s shadow beast when he felt it. A sudden rush moving out and away from his heart. A profound sense of loss.

It disorientated him for a moment, causing him to lose where he was. What was wrong? The feeling…he had felt nothing like it since…since…

“Father…” Sesshomaru whispered before his eyes widened with panic. “Inuyasha!”
Sesshomaru whipped his head around, almost searching for his sibling in the dark. But all he found was the creature, and his foul jaws lunging for his face.

“NO!” Sesshomaru screamed in rage, in defiance. He lashed his hand out, digging into the beast’s foul body.

It cried out in pain and he cried out in rage as he used his hand hold to lift it, and drive it head first into the solid stone of the wall.

Again and again, as if he were using a hammer to drive a nail, until the stone cracked and the cavern shook. He released it and whipped his elbow savagely across its face, relishing the feel of cracking bones before he drew the same elbow back, spiking it into the creatures throat.

It clawed at him in defense, but Sesshomaru ignored it, ignored the wounds it opened up on his chest and the useless stump of his other arm.

With a bestial scream of his own he wickedly drove his knee into where a groin should have been. Whether it had one or not he still felt something burst, and the beast wailed in kind.

The urge to kill had never been so strong in him before, and he bit down into the beast, his powerful jaws piercing its flesh.

There was no more time.

He tore into the beast’s body with his teeth, drawn into the animal inside of him like never before. Whipping his head back and forth, tugging with his powerful neck, he shredded its flesh into so much useless pulp before he pivoted and drove his fist into its belly with all his might.

The wall behind them shattered from the impact, rock raining down upon them. Again and again he struck at it,  till his fist plunged unaided by his claws into its belly.  

He twisted again, pulling the beast over his shoulder before hurling it into the air. Watching as it tumbled helplessly towards a large stone jutting up out of the around brought a dark amusement, and chunks  of rock exploded everywhere as it crashed right through.

The primal part of Sesshomaru was delighted to smell blood, even if it reeked of corruption.

And now he had more then enough room.

Sesshomaru’s youki surged from within him as he drew Toki-jin.  The blade seemed thrilled to be of use, a far cry form the defiant and hateful Tetsusaiga, and Sesshomaru took aim.

The creature was just standing as Sesshomaru leveled upon it. Its eyes went wide as he grinned ferally.

“Dragon strike!!” Sesshomaru called out as his power surged down his arm and into the blade. The air around the sword crackled with Sesshomaru’s demonic power as the attack manifested.

But suddenly the creature grinned with its horrible frog-like mouth, and its eyes flashed. For just a moment Sesshomaru saw another grinning face before his eyes. It was the creature whose teeth he had used to have Toki-jin forged, the one who had shattered Tetsusaiga.

It was laughing….and then Toki-jin shone with a different light, the very same one pouring out of the thing’s eyes.

Sesshomaru’s senses screamed a warning…but there was no time.

Toki-jin exploded, and his own power was unleashed upon himself.

Sesshomaru tried to endure, but soon it was his own screams that bounced off the walls. The sword had shattered into hundreds of razor sharp shards…all of which sought his flesh.

They tore into him all at once. His chest, his face, his legs, his throat, his arm. Nothing was spared. They stabbed into his lungs, his stomach. His left eye ruptured, his right ear was torn completely off.

His own power blew him back, hurling him through the air like a child’s toy. A flight that was only stopped when he crashed into solid stone, and even then his unleashed power still tried to drive him through for almost a dozen seconds before finally dissipating.

Bleeding profusely and nearly ruined Sesshomaru collapsed to the ground. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see, couldn’t get his body to obey in any fashion. With mounting disbelief Sesshomaru realized that for the first time since Inuyasha’s Wind Scar had nearly obliterated him…he was helpless….

His own blood ran down his body in rivers, coloring the foul water under him. There  was so much damage…his body ruined…and yet not nearly enough pain…he was far too numb.

Then he heard it….thick and wet, bouncing off the walls of the vile cavern. Someone was laughing.

His right eye had been spared, but the darkness of the place combined with his own blood running down from his torn scalp robbed him of any  semblance of vision. He could still hear however, and he didn’t expect what was coming through.

“So you’re the one Naraku fears so much.” The beast mused, its voice thick and jagged, like tar mixed with glass shards. “Fears so much that he’d actually let me out, knowing full well he’ll never be able to seal me again.”

Clearly the beast wasn’t as brainless as it pretended thus far. Sesshomaru’s pride chafed at its tone, but there was nothing he could do. His body was trying to manage the damage, trying to heal.

But there was just too much….and he was suddenly so tired.

He had expended so much energy, far too much just trying to get to Inuyasha’s side, and now there was so little of him left.

“And to think…despite all that vaunted power…you use a sword made from my brother.” It crooned. “Did you never think that could go wrong?”

Sesshomaru ignored the filth. He didn’t have time castigate himself, didn’t have time to listen to gloating. He had to get himself into some sort of working order, had to fight…had to get to Inuyasha’s side.

Father had managed to pull himself out from under a ruined castle with wounds such as this. Sesshomaru could do no less…even if it meant his death…he had to get to Inuyasha.

He had to.

But….he was just so tired….so very tired. It was so dark…so cold…He couldn’t feel anything any more…couldn’t hear his youkai….couldn’t feel his brother…couldn’t….feel……

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Daigon looked down on the body before him. The sounds of the two women mourning reached his ears as a new wave of guilt and shame washed over him. The girl Kagome wept loud and openly. The slayer Sango wept to herself, quietly…but with no less pain.

But Daigon did not weep. He could not, nor could he rise from his knees. With a shaky hand he managed to push his limp bangs from his eyes. Even with his eyes now closed Daigon could feel Inuyasha’s stare boring into him…and he could not bare it, neither it nor the words it spoke to him. He had to look away, to look to the warm, blue sky.

Failure..

He had failed the boy. Had failed him his entire life.

“…never should have let him leave.” Daigon whispered.

No…it went further then that. He never should have let Inuyasha leave yes, but he never should have let him stay away for so long. Sesshomaru could claim ignorance, but Daigon had known quite well that Inu-Taisho’s youngest had lived through that terrible night.

There were always excuses of course…so much to do. Sesshomaru had been assaulted from all sides, his birthright highly contested. Which Inu-Taisho dead and Sesshomaru so  young, many had felt the West was up for grabs. If not for the aid he had received Sesshomaru would have never held it.
And Daigon had been busy…far busier then Sesshomaru had known.

So he had left Inuyasha to his Mother. Not just because of the turmoil in the castle, and the West in general, but because if Sesshomaru had been slain then a portion of Inu-Taisho’s legacy would live on in secret. Drawing attention to the two of them would have only brought their deaths at that time. But if kept a secret…even if Sesshomaru perished Daigon could prepare the boy to reclaim in family’s lands and home without  fear of notice.

After things had settled down Sesshomaru had not inquired about his young sibling, and Daigon had been afraid to tell him. Not due to any danger to himself but because of the changes he watched Sesshomaru go through.
Gone was the happy, polite, caring prince…and in his stead was a stern, quiet yet sharp-tongued Lord who didn’t’ hesitated to voice his displeasure with his poison.

Even though it had been Inu-Taisho’s wish that the two brothers grew together Daigon had been quite certain that Sesshomaru would harm the hanyou. But even so Daigon had felt the boy would be well. After all Inu-Taisho had made some preparations so that Inuyasha and his Mother would be taken care of in the event of his death.
Knowing this only amplified Daigon’s rage when he arrived at one of Inu-Taisho’s small vacation homes one day. It was just a little keep hidden up in the mountains, but it was well stocked, well fortified, and had everything that one needed within hunting and gathering range. Beyond that it had been staffed with people hand picked by Inu-Taisho himself for their loyalty and expertise.

So one could possibly imagine Daigon’s shock when he arrived there to check on the two only to find that they had been thrown out years ago. The audacity of their smugness had astounded Daigon. They would not serve a hanyou and a human they had said…even though Inu-Taisho had selected them to do just that, totally sure that he could trust them.

And he could…while he was alive that was.

But without Inu-Taisho’s wrath hanging over their heads they had tossed the woman and her newborn child out as soon as they had arrived.

Daigon had been most displeased, and rather then waste time investigating the who’s and what’s he simply channeled what Inu-Taisho would have done himself.

Left quite a mess.

Daigon did not care what their feelings or beliefs were. He wasn’t fond of humans either, and he greatly disapproved of siring hanyou. But they had a sworn duty, and had given their word.

As far as Daigon was concerned the keep, much like Tetsusaiga, was wholly Inuyasha’s. Sesshomaru wasn’t even aware of its existence, and stumbling upon it was practically impossible. Daigon knew that he could depend on his own people, back when he could still approach them safely, to tend to the keep and its young master.

But the problem was that he had no longer known where they were, and Inuyasha’s Mother had apparently taken great pains to avoid being found by anyone who would know who they were.

He really couldn’t blame her, as infuriating as the search had been at that time. Sesshomaru of course could have tracked them down easily if he has chosen to. Their shared blood would pull them closer to one another whether they wanted it to or not. But Sesshomaru barely left the castle in those early days, and he was changing more and more each day.

Again Daigon had feared for the child’s life, and thus had stayed silent on the matter.

And then…came a chance. A chance to reclaim everything that belong to him. But the price had been steep…and a choice had to be made. A choice he hadn’t counted on…and choice he would have never guessed upon.

He could have allowed it to be sure. But as it was often said….Daigon of the Wind was a Bastard….but he wasn’t a fucking Bastard.  

And for that dose of altruism….damnation.

His growth, his pride, his people, his name, his very self….all torn away from him. His very being had been thrown into chaos…and he had to fight for every inch he could gain against the pain and the hovering insanity.

His people would never have him again. His wife…who had supported him during and visited him throughout his indentured service, ashamed beyond belief had spurned him, cursed him.

In one moment, one choice….everything had been taken.

It had taken years for him to achieve some semblance of balance within himself, leaving him unable to do anything over a lost hanyou.

However…it was during that time that Sesshomaru himself had found the young child. Granted found wasn’t exactly the right term. With neither his knowledge nor his consent Sesshomaru’s blood had honed right in on Inuyasha and drew him to the boy.

All had not gone well however, and Sesshomaru had returned in a rage. He had damn near tore the castle apart in the following weeks, and anyone who did not have a death wish had stayed far, far away.

It was a full month later when Daigon had come across  Sesshomaru locked in a massive battle with himself. A Inu could survive, and indeed thrive, by themselves if they had no family at all…but if they did…even one last living member…then the solitude would become unbearable.
Daigon had never really understood it fully. But scent and touch meant everything  to Inu. The way they would great and mingle amongst one another was a near orgy as far as Daigon was concerned. He tended to stay out of those gatherings.

On that day, in that very moment, Sesshomaru had needed Inuyasha so badly it drove him to scream. He had paid a heavy price for leaving the hanyou out in the wild. A price even heavier then his youkai-induced impotency (which in and of itself was something Daigon  had taken great pains to keep Sesshomaru from learning that he knew) Sesshomaru had risked madness on that day, and all it would have taken was one little nudge and he would have gone for the boy.

Once there…even if Sesshomaru managed to toss him away again there were those who would see to the child’s safety.

One little nudge….

However at that time, in that place, Daigon had not felt the least bit inclined…and no other would dare approach Sesshomaru.

He had to endure loss, agony, disillusionment, and more. He was punished, forgotten and damned. Every single night he could hear his fate. When the winds grew strong and battered the walls…to everyone else it was little more then a slightly eerie disturbance. But Daigon could hear it…the ones like him…screaming in their torment, forever thrashing and howling in the wind. The very same fate that awaited him.

He could continue to fade until one day the wind would take him. There would be no rest, no end to pain. He would go mad like the rest, and howl in the storms. No would really know either…one day he would just be gone.
Would he be missed? Mourned?

Those thoughts filled his mind in that pivotal moment…along with another. If only he had repossessed that which Arne had stolen…his fate would not be so dire.

And that truth had forced him to accept another. For while he had always been loyal to Inu-Taisho…he could not claim that Inu-Taisho had been the same to him.

Far before Sesshomaru’s own birth, and after the death of Inu-Toga Daigon had approached the new Lord. Very carefully he had broached the subject, had to be careful not to slur the bitch, her son held her in high regard after all. He explained the situation as best he dared, the object’s true purpose omitted of course…self-preservation habits died hard. But he had stressed its importance to himself, doing his best to will Inu-Taisho to see what it meant to him.

Wonderfully Inu-Taisho had not only been understanding, but also extremely apologetic. He had vowed to find it and return it to Daigon. The healer had of course taken the Inu at his promise, barely able to contain his joy at the thought.

Also rather wonderful was the fact that Inu-Taisho had stuck to it for those first few years, giving Daigon weekly updates whether he asked or not. Unfortunately while Arne was little more then an illiterate brute….she had proven quite adept at secrecy.

Inu-Taisho had stumbled onto dozens of little hidden chambers and bolt-holes out in the wild. Many of these hidden places held all manner of weaponry and treasures. But what many of them were for or where she had gotten them was unknown.

The clod couldn’t write so no information or directions had been left. Unlike her mate, Arne had apparently felt that everything her son needed to know had already been beaten into his flesh by her years ago.

But Inu-Taisho had been undeterred. He would continue to search, and had promised as such.

Then he met Sesshomaru’s mother.
Everything had been put on hold for that whirlwind romance. To which Daigon had understood, despite his anxiety, and Inu-Taisho had continued to look…albeit less diligently then in the past.

Still…progress was being made, and Inu-Taisho had given him leave to search through even their private chambers for that which was his. Daigon had been amazed at the sheer number of hidden tunnels and rooms, and the utter size of the area to cover was nothing short of daunting.

But still he had hope.

And Inu-Taisho had promised.

Even though that which had been weekly had become monthly Daigon had still held hope.

Then Sesshomaru was born.

Inu-Taisho had thrown himself into being a Father with both child-like glee and adult desperation. It was his chance to do right, to try and atone for the mistakes of the past.

Needless to say…anything that was not directly related to Sesshomaru was on hold….if not ignored entirely.

Daigon had carefully prodded Inu-Taisho, knowing full well that if the demon felt he was being pestered, then he would do nothing out of defiant spite.  But Inu-Taisho had reaffirmed his promise, which had lightened Daigon’s heart at first. That was until he realized that Inu-Taisho had decided that the day he had promised upon would be the only day he would actively search.

Monthly…became yearly.

Then Sesshomaru’s mother, Inu-Taisho’s beloved mate, had become ill. Her decline was so rapid it had been shocking.

Even though Daigon had not been a true healer then, and certainly not the royal family’s personal one, he had tried his best to help when Inu-Taisho had asked.

But it had been futile. She had not been diseased nor poisoned. It was a defect, something respiratory that she had carried around all her life.

Inu-Taisho wouldn’t hear of it however. After all…her family was the purest of all the Inu clans.

Which was the problem Daigon had surmised. Everything had become purer…even the tiny problems within their bloodline.

In the end there had been nothing he could do, other then delay it ever so slightly.

Thus the Lady of the West had passed.

Daigon had retreated, giving the family space in which to mourn. He knew he would miss the Lady as well. She had been everything Arne had not, and had done so much to heal his friend Inu-Taisho’s wounds.

It had been his intention to simply keep his distance, unless needed, as Inu in mourning tended to react poorly to outsiders. However in the gloomy hours of that evening…Inu-Taisho had come to call….

Daigon jumped slightly as a door slammed shut. Turning around he was rather surprised to see Inu-Taisho standing there. However it wasn’t just the Inu’s presence that puzzled him, it was also his overall appearance.

The Lord’s upper body was bare, completely bare. Yet not only was he half naked, his blade was as well. The mighty Tetsusaiga was ready in Inu-Taisho’s hand…not something Daigon was used to outside of battle.

The demon’s entire demeanor set off alarms in his mind, and his unease only grew when Inu-Taisho drove Tetsusaiga into the doorway, blocking the inward swinging door from being opened.

Before Daigon could even speak Inu-Taisho started in.

“So….you think I’m stupid eh?” The demon growled.

Now confused personally on top of everything else Daigon struggled for words.

“No…no I do not.” He answered.

He thought Inu-Taisho did stupid things at times, but that didn’t make him unintelligent. But Inu-Taisho simply shook his head as he got the -I know the truth no matter what you say- look on his face.

“Nah…you think I’m some moron.”
Daigon could tell that some sort of cat and mouse was brewing, and he didn’t like Inu-Taisho’s tone.

“What is going on old friend?” He asked. “Why are you here?”

Inu-Taisho drooped his head as he chuckled darkly.

“Well it IS my castle.” He growled before raising his head and leveling a stare upon Daigon that made the wind spirit’s heart jump. “So I can go wherever the fuck I want old friend.”

Now Inu-Taisho  cursing wasn’t exactly anything new, but the venomous tone only served to fray Daigon’s nerves further.

“That is not what I meant.” Daigon stated. “What I-”

“-Why did you let my mate die?” Inu-Taisho interrupted, his voice raw and broken.

Daigon blinked, trying to process the question.

“I don’t…I don’t understand.” Daigon whispered. “I did everything I could to help her.”

Inu-Taisho  pursed his lips and nodded once more, though it certainly was not an accepting gesture.

“Sure…everything….everything except save her.” Inu-Taisho spat acidly.

Daigon’s hackles rose in spite of his concern.

“That is not fair.” He snapped. “I can’t pull miracles out of my ass! I did everything I could for her!”

“Sure….and pure, powerful demons just get sick and die right?” Inu-Taisho growled. “No…no….someone murdered my mate, s-someone did something to her.” Inu-Taisho’s eyes bore holes into Daigon as he  stepped closer. “And you let it happen.”

“I am not your healer Inu-Taisho.” Daigon growled back. “And I did not such thing! How did her Father die? Her uncle?! She carried this around in her…some things you just can’t help.”

“You let my mate die.” Inu-Taisho repeated, never breaking eye contact. “All because I didn’t’ find your stupid little thing.”
Daigon’s hackles rose even further at the mention of that which had been taken.

“Listen to yourself!” He hissed. “Are you drunk?”

“Thought you’d throw a little punishment my way…’ Inu-Taisho continued as if Daigon had never spoken. “All because I didn’t dedicate every moment of my god damn life to YOUR stupid bullshit!”

Then it happened…just as Daigon tried to speak Inu-Taisho stuck out, his fist crashing dead center into Daigon’s face.
The impact sent him tumbling over his chairs and before he could gather his wits Inu-Taisho had advanced. The demon knew just how to hurt him…and used it thoroughly.

It had been the worst beating of Daigon’s life.

Never again did he and Inu-Taisho speak as friends….and never again did Inu-Taisho lift a finger to keep his promise.

And so….on that night, on the anniversary of the Lady’s death and Daigon’s own brutalization, he chose to do nothing.

What the hell did he care? He had done enough, and lost everything to do that much.

Besides…he had figured, Sesshomaru would lose his inner struggle. No demon, no matter how strong, could reject their blood’s demands. Especially not an Inu….

So Daigon had left the raging Inu Lord, knowing full well he would be seeing some other little Inu brat running around in the morning.

But somehow….Sesshomaru had done the impossible. He not only rejected the call of his own blood, he had somehow subverted his youkai entirely.

It was impossible….yet he had done it.

He should have gone mad…at the very least he should have gone mad. Yet somehow he had wrenched himself away from his other half, literally splitting his inner self.

It wasn’t an area of Daigon’s expertise, but the mystics, those who could see ones aura claimed that Sesshomaru’s was torn and ragged. Full of gaping holes worse then any victim of war.

What the consequences of such a thing were unknown to Daigon but Sesshomaru hardly seemed bothered in most cases.

But from that night onward Sesshomaru was the man the would come to know as the Lord of the West. Cold, stern, and yet a possessor of a boiling, violent temper.

In many ways it had been the return of young Prince Ru-Ru….and there seemed to be no going back.

That night had been Inuyasha’s last chance to be brought home…and Daigon had failed to help him once again.

For better or worse Daigon had made peace with the memory of Inu-Taisho, and the guilt had come back with a vengeance once Sesshomaru had made known his thoughts and plans for his sibling. But beyond that…it had been jarring for Sesshomaru to just suddenly switch gears after what? Two hundred and sixty eight years?

At the time it had been strange, Sesshomaru’s then new found hatred of humans. Daigon clearly remember when Sesshomaru had been a teen and had been asked what the thought about humans.

“I don not.” He had said. “Do they think of cattle? No? But they do not slaughter them without due cause either.”

His words and actions had been benign at that time. But even after Inu-Taisho’s death and Sesshomaru’s hatred towards humans Daigon knew the truth.

Sesshomaru didn’t hate humans. He hated ONE human.

The same went for hanyou. Sesshomaru had never declared to be disgusted with them before, and he had actually dealt with a few during his teen years. One hanyou in particular had been a playmate of his during his childhood years.

No….Daigon remembered the exact moment when it had all started. Right when Totosai had presented Sesshomaru with the final portion of his inheritance.

Tenseiga.

Daigon remembered Sesshomaru standing there, staring at the sword in his hand. Totosai had fled quickly, which wasn’t surprising, leaving Sesshomaru to find his own answers to the questions bubbling in his brain.

Then the normally quiet Sesshomaru began to whisper to himself, though too softly for a normal creature to understand.

However words, no matter how soft, were carried on the wind….and Daigon had never been against using his powers to satisfy his curiosity.

“You leave me without your council, your strength. You leave me for a human wench, betray my Mother’s memory….I nearly lose my life and our family nearly loses everything from that…and now…from beyond the grave you slap my face one final time. That which would have allowed me to hold everything easily, Tetsusaiga, and in its place….this hunk of useless tin.”

Daigon had barely been able to believe his ears. Of all things…Tenseiga…useless? Surely Sesshomaru had jested.

But then he learned that Sesshomaru had no idea as to what Tenseiga truly did. The only instruction Inu-Taisho had left his son was a small note informing him that the blade could “Save one hundred lives in one  stroke” With an emphasis on human lives.

But where was Tetsusaiga?

The question had consumed Sesshomaru. Daigon himself hadn’t known, and those charged with carrying out the fallen Lord’s will had never returned.

Where is Tetsusaiga?

In your Father’s tomb, Sesshomaru had finally learned….which had only enraged him further as the location of his Father’s final resting place had been hidden from him.

Which was something people had died for.

“What good does it do there?!” Sesshomaru had raged. “Why?”

“There it will sit until it is delivered to its true owner.”

“Who is that?”

Unfortunately for all those involved Sesshomaru had been painstakingly tracking down the handful of servants who had saw out his Father’s last wishes. They were unknown to him however, and had taken great pains to hide themselves away out of fear of what the young Lord might do.

The one he had discovered hadn’t known the answer to his last question. Nor had he survived its asking…what with Sesshomaru pulling the information from him with his wicked claws.

All the secrecy had not improved Sesshomaru’s disposition, and Daigon had truly feared for the old smith’s life when the servant had confided with his very last breath that Totosai had reforged Tetsusaiga for some special purpose.

Now…Totosai tended to be rather difficult to find, moving around as much as he tended to do when not currently invested in a project, but Sesshomaru then proved himself not against a small trick to get what he wanted.
Word was put out that Sesshomaru had several questions about his Tenseiga and of course it most certainly reached the smith’s ear. There was very little question of if, and instead more of a when.

Daigon had followed in secret when Sesshomaru set out for Totosai’s forge. The smith certainly didn’t deserve to do for simply doing something Inu-Taisho had asked him to do. So Daigon had wanted to be there in the event, very likely event, that Sesshomaru raged out and injured the poor man.

The smith had been there when Sesshomaru had arrived of course, it certainly wouldn’t do to provoke the new Lord’s temper further by snubbing him. However while Sesshomaru did actually have questions about his inherited blade, his true purpose when he laid it in front of the smith had simply been to distract him long enough to get his powerful hands upon the elder smith.

All too late had Totosai realized his blunder. The kind of too late that involved pissed off high born daiyoukai hands around his neck.

Totosai claimed he did not know who was set to receive Tetsusaiga, but Sesshomaru refused to believe him. A smart bet Daigon had figured as he hovered, either to step in if things became bloody or to simply bandage up the aftermath.

Truly seething at this point Sesshomaru had demanded to know the purpose of Tetsusaiga’s reforging…and  with his neck threatening to snap at this point Totosai had wisely answered.
“To restrain the demonic blood within a hanyou.”  

The moment the words left the smith’s mouth it was as if Sesshomaru had been stuck right in the belly. He released Totosai, staggering back against the far wall, and Totosai wisely took that opportunity to flee.

Smart one that Totosai.

“Hanyou…” Sesshomaru had whispered  before flying into a crimson eyed, frothy rage. “THE HANYOU?!?!”

Daigon was almost certain that deep down Sesshomaru had already known who Tetsusaiga had been left for. After all…his Father had but one other living son. But he needed to hear it for some reason.

The scorn and disgust that Sesshomaru held for Inuyasha’s Mother had already been transferred to the boy the moment Sesshomaru gained awareness of his existence. But Daigon was willing to bet that it had been that precise moment where Sesshomaru had begun to truly despise his sibling.

As heartbreaking as his actions were after that…Daigon could not say they were all that surprising. Of all those wounded by Inu-Taisho’s mistakes and faults Sesshomaru had perhaps been betrayed the worst.

Everyone knew that the one thing that Sesshomaru strived hardest for in his life, the thing he cherished the most, was Inu-Taisho’s respect and trust. Everything he did, everything he had ever done, was done to prove himself to his Father.

Inu-Taisho had pushed his son yes, but it was Sesshomaru who had pushed himself the hardest. To be perfect for his Father, who he had idolized beyond words. To be more then just his son. To be his closest ally, his deepest confidant. To be the one person who Inu-Taisho could always count on to be at his side.

But one could not deny…that in his last days….Inu-Taisho had NOT trusted his first born.

It was the truth, plain and simple.

Yet when confronted by that truth Sesshomaru had displayed a very Inu-Taisho-esq trait.
When faced with the truth that once more he could not save the person he loved most, that there was simply nothing that could be done, Inu-Taisho had rejected it. It could not be….simply could not be. It flew in the face of Inu-Taisho’s accepted worldview. To accept would be to change his very core.

So he had twisted it until something fit. From there finding guilt and fault in Daigon and some shadowy, ill-defined, conspiracy.

For Sesshomaru…the idea that his Father not only did not trust him, had lied and hidden things from him, went against everything he knew to be true.

So rather then face it, rather then accept hat perhaps his Father was not all that he had thought the man to be…Sesshomaru twisted it.

Blame could not be laid upon Inu-Taisho. Thus it had to be laid upon the human woman. With her dead…it fell upon her child.

Daigon looked down upon the fallen hanyou, tearing himself away form his memories and observations.

So much suffering…so much pain…and none of it his fault.

At every turn Inuyasha’s life had been twisted and shoved by the choices of other men. Inu-Taisho’s secrecy had set it all in motion. Sesshomaru’s jealousy and pain furthered it along….and Daigon’s own apathy cemented it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Is this what you want?”

“Shut up.”

“Its not fair, not right. Surely you see that oh reasoning one.”

“Maybe I don’t care.”

“Liar.”

“Asshole.”

“Curse me if you wish. But do not drag us all down.”

“Why not? Why should you get to stay if I have to go?”

“Other then the fact that you wouldn’t have made it this far without me in the first place?”

“Yeah…and you had to be kept on a leash that whole time.”

“I did not.”

“Bullshit! You would have killed him!”

“No…I would have devoured you.”

“Fuck you!”

“No, fuck you! But on the subject of killing…well what are you doing right now?”

“And just how do you know you can change anything?”

“I don’t. But I can try…so let me. Let go.”

“Its not…its not like I’m going to go to a better place! Its oblivion!”

“Then you won’t care.”

“Feh….everything’s always black and white with you.”

“Don’t do this.”

“Ha…you begging me-”

“-Don’t do this to him. You know good and damn well who close we are to what we’ve always wanted.”

“I don’t trust him.”

“I don’t either. But we’ll never know….and you’re gonna let that slimy fuck bastard get away with everything he’s done?!”

“…I’m scared.”

“I know…”

“W-What are you doing?!”

“Holding  you…”

“Why? You hate me. I hate you.”

“After so long I would mourn such an enemy.”

“Pfft…now you sound like him. Since when did you get so wordy and polite?”

“Fine…fucking knock this shit off! You’ve been fighting me for a month! Twice now you’ve nearly killed all three of us! And if I hadn’t stepped in during your damn night we would have died!”

“It’s not like I want this.”

“Let him go…we are out of time. You have to let go…I can not hold this much longer.”

“I ought to take you with me….yeah…that’s what I ought to do….”

“You fucking!-”

“-But I guess its not his fault…..I guess….so fine…but god damn it…you had better fucking THINK from now on! Don’t just do…THINK ALRIGHT!?”

“Heh…I’ll try.”

“….Asshole…”

“Weakling.”

“Prick.”

“Coward.”

“Demon-shit slime.”

“Human pus bucket.”

“…You’re gonna miss me.”

“You wish…”

In a small clearing…far beyond the eye…two figures hovered…one cradling the other. But slowly…one’s eyes closed…and like mist before the rays of the sun….faded away.

Leaving only one.

“But…yes….I just might….goodbye weakling.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There was so much to do. Sesshomaru needed to be located. Inuyasha needed to be covered and prepared for transport. They needed something to carry him on or in…and the enemy was still lurking about.

Yet Daigon could not muster the energy to even move. He felt as if he could finally fade right there and then.

The kitsune and Miko continued to weep, each thrown over the fallen hanyou’s body, each clutching at him as if he were their only anchor to the world.

Alir and Tren remained silent, their eyes scanning the trees. Sango the Slayer’s body trembled with the promise of violence and her eyes glimmered with held back tears, but no target appeared to oblige her.

But then…hands flew to weapons while Daigon remained frozen as loud sounds  of branches snapping erupted from above.

“Look out!” A panicked male voice rang out.

Daigon watched with mere threatening whispers of amusement as a purple robed man atop a white Neko came plummeting down to the earth. He recognized the voice from before….the monk from earlier yes? Daigon had forgotten all about him.

The monk just managed to get clear of the neko, leaping off of her back to do it, before she transformed into a much smaller form. The monk hit heard, the rings on his staff whacking him in the back of the head as he lost his grip upon it.

“Miroku?” Sango called out. “Kirara!”

The two remained dazed as the slayer ran towards them, though the neko looked more exhausted then anything, what with her little chest heaving for all it had.

Miroku himself was far better off, only slightly concussed it seemed, and sprang to his feet before embracing the slayer once she neared him.

“Sango!” He cried out. “Oh thank Buddha you’re alright! And Inuyasha? Do we know where he is? Can we-”

He cut himself off as Sango dropped her head into his chest, her eyes sliding to the side towards the fallen hanyou. Miroku turned his head, following her eyes.

“What is-…wha….”

Slowly, the other girl, Kagome, raised her head off of Inuyasha’s still chest. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, her face puffy and sagging in places.

“M-Miroku….” Came her soft, broken whisper.

Apparently that was all that needed to be said, as the monk’s face instantly twisted into a mask of horror and pain.

“No…” came an anguished whisper. “No…no….”

His face turned towards Daigon himself, a question, and a hint of expectation glittering in his eyes.

The healer had no more words now then he had possessed before. All he could do was slowly shake his head. He knew his failure well enough.

“Naraku will pay for this.” Miroku growled, his voice deep and hard enough to give even a seasoned warrior pause. “If it’s the last thing I ever do….”

“Damn right….” Sango chimed in, her voice as cold as steel.

“We need to find Lord Sesshomaru.” Tren prodded gently. Perhaps cruel to interrupt such a moment….but it was the logical truth.

“Yes…” Daigon muttered softly. “Yes of course. He’ll want to kno-”

Whump!

The heavy, dull sound of something that reminded him very much of a hammer hitting flesh halted Daigon’s words.

More fighting?

He didn’t have the energy for anything of the sort. To be honest he wasn’t entirely sure he could stand.

But the sound had seemed so far off….that or muffled somehow.
Still…the others had clearly heard it as well, so he knew he wasn’t simply hallucinating.

Tren and Alir were tight, alert, their eyes scanning the trees cautiously. The two  human’s exhibited similar behavior, back to back, weapons at the ready.

But it was the kitsune and the miko Kagome that held Daigon’s attention. Both were at Inuyasha’s chest, Kagome draped over it, Shippo actually sitting atop it….and their wide eyes were locked together.

“Did you…” Shippo started.

“….feel that?” Kagome finished.

Despite the rain, and the sudden weight of age, Daigon found himself curious as both of their heads turns simultaneously towards Inuyasha’s silent face.

Whump!

“Wah!” Shippo cried out as Inuyasha’s chest heaved, literally shoving the little kit into the air

Whump!…Whump!…Whump!…WhumpWhump!…Whump WhumpWhumpWhumpWHUMPWHUMPWHUMPWHUMPWHUMPWHUMP!

The girl was pushed off of Inuyasha’s chest from the sudden vicious pounding from inside, and Daigon’s confusion grew.

Was there something inside of him? Something trying to force its way out?

He couldn’t think of anything else that would be so…violent. His eyes narrowed darkly at the thought. If that Naraku creature had put some sort of…parasite into the poor hanyou’s body the healer promised himself that he would see to it that the freak was flayed alive. Karma be damned….

The pounding continued as Daigon rose and stepped towards the body. The force of it was more then enough to break a rib…and if something WAS about to explode out of him then…

“Get back.” Daigon ordered as the girl started to crawl back towards Inuyasha.

Then the hanyou’s foot jumped.

…Just a small twitch, a little spasm.

But it had been over twenty minutes since the boy had last drawn breath. More then long enough for any last twitches to pass. If anything he was starting to grow cold so…

“What is…” Daigon muttered as Inuyasha’s right hand closed almost reflexively.

“Inuyasha?” Miroku whispered.

Another spasm followed. But it was more of a full bodied jolt….one that actually moved Inuyasha a foot or so.

And the pounding continued.

“Sounds like a machine gun!” Kagome gasped.

A what?

Daigon looked at the girl, opening his mouth to ask her just what the hell she was babbling about when Inuyasha’s eyes opened.

His whole body arched up with a raspy, desperate gasp….and as he arched higher Daigon could hear things creaking.

With a thick, wet heave Inuyasha collapsed to the ground. He managed to turn over to his side, bloody fluids dripping out of his mouth as he panted weakly, his eyes unfocused and lost.

Daigon blinked….knowing full well the sight before him was impossible.

Yet somehow….Inuyasha was alive.

But something felt wrong…no not wrong but…something was building…something that shouldn’t have been there. Higher and higher it piled, coming in waves off the hanyou. Like a siren shrieking it grew and grew until it reached some sort of apex. A rushing pressure filled Daigon’s ears until finally they popped…and Inuyasha’s unfocused eyes snapped open wide, pupils horribly dilated, and red spikes began to spread out within them.

And then he started to scream.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There was no time for pride. No time for useless thoughts of how it couldn’t be. Nor was there time for self-castigation for stupid mistakes.

He had to fight.

He had to fight the blood loss, the pain. Had to fight the encroaching black hovering at the edges of his vision.

He has to fight for Inuyasha.

Something had gone terribly wrong with his sibling, Sesshomaru could feel it. He had a duty, a responsibility. One that he had ignored for far too long as it was. If anything happened to Inuyasha then it would fall upon his head regardless.

But he was so tired…so weak…

Sesshomaru tried to rise, to stand against the grinning monstrosity before him. But his body failed him…the strength he had always been so proud of gone.

“If it makes you feel any better…Naraku wont live long past you.” It taunted. “Though I might just have to see what he finds so fascinating about that dog eared runt.”

Naraku wanted to defile Inuyasha, had been prepared to do so when Sesshomaru himself had interfered…and could be defiling the poor boy right now for all he knew.

“Stand up.” Sesshomaru commanded, pushing against the fog. “I can not die here. I can not.” But his limbs here dead, he couldn’t even raise his good arm. “As dead as Inuyasha.” He thought despondently

Inuyasha had been ill…and he had allowed his sibling to leave in such a state.  Now that illness had taken Inuyasha…and Tenseiga could not change that. Even if he did survive this…he would only return to a corpse…and then what? Return home and entomb him?

Father hadn’t trusted Sesshomaru with his own tomb, hadn’t trusted him with anything apparently. Was it fair, right and just, that he live with Inuyasha dead?

His strength was a mere whisper at this point, but such thoughts only served to further sap his will.

It galled his pride, the thought of such a creature ending his life, yet…what was the point? Could he live with such shame? To have survived while his family perished once again?

He could live with fleeing from this, with accepting such a loss. He had defeated himself after all….but victory was not his goal in the first place. Yes he had his lands to think of but…

Then Sesshomaru felt it…a tiny explosion within his heart.

It was different then the rending, stabbing crush of before. Disorientating yes…but no pain. It was unlike anything he had felt before…uplifting.
A spark of new life?

Sesshomaru didn’t know. He had felt death before, but had yet to sire pups. His Father had often said he could feel Sesshomaru’s own life, had felt it from the moment he had started to grow within his Mother.

But in this case birth was clearly out of the question so….Inuyasha?

But Inuyasha had died…of that Sesshomaru had no doubts. He had felt the hanyou’s life end.  So what…Daigon….had the healer somehow revived Inuyasha?

“Do you have something to protect?” His Father’s voice rang in his head.

“Yes…” Sesshomaru thought dimly.

He felt so weak…but he still managed to raise his eye as the rotten thing stopped in front of him. He couldn’t raise his arm to fend off his attacker, and on reflex tried to raise the limb he no longer had. All that got him was a slight roll of the shoulder, and the action sent burning pain shooting through what was left.

The stump must have been hit by Toki-jin. But with that side’s eye gone, and him unable to turn his neck, he couldn’t check. The pain was intense, and sent a fresh wave of nausea over him, which in turn sent bile rising up his damaged throat.

“I have to protect Inuyasha.” Sesshomaru affirmed.

That was all there was too it. Nothing else mattered beyond that. No matter how much he was beaten. No matter how much he bled. No matter how his flesh was  stabbed and maimed….he could not give in, could not stop….

Not until Sesshomaru was safe at home.

Father had allowed himself cause to allow death…but Sesshomaru could not.

Inuyasha needed him, whether he knew it or not, and Sesshomaru could leave him to no one.

Through torn lips Sesshomaru snarled at the dark thing as it’s large talons raised high.

“Goodnight….sweet Lord.” It croaked as it’s hands plunged  down.

Against his will…Sesshomaru saw death.

But he could not give up.

“I have to!”

Fiery pain exploded within him, and the sounds of flesh tearing filled the cavern.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Daigon didn’t have a clue as to what was going on as Inuyasha began to thrash upon the ground. His first instinct as a healer was to order him to be held down, but…he had been dead. Daigon was utterly sure of that…it had been over half an hour since the boy had last drawn breath…and no demon, no matter how strong, could go so long without air or blood pumping through their veins.

But something had brought him back….and something was provoking such violent spasms.

The thought that perhaps there was something within Inuyasha, something tearing its way out, occurred to him once more. Which only increased his concern for the rest of the group.

Yes he had a duty, and yes Inuyasha’s health was too come first.

But again…he had been dead. They all watched him die…and other then Tenseiga…Daigon knew of nothing else that could rob death of it’s prize.

It certainly did not happen naturally.

But good natured Tren did not have Daigon’s caution.

“NO! Stay away-” He managed to get out before Tren reached the writhing hanyou, who was still screaming, he hadn’t stopped that yet.

But the second Tren grabbed him it only seemed to ramp up his pain. Inuyasha lashed out, swiping backwards with his left arm. Tren was quick enough to avoid getting his face mushed, but Inuyasha’s forearm still impacted with his chest.

Daigon would have expected the blow to bounce off weakly. He would have expected Tren to stumble back, or perhaps be pushed back. But the one thing he would not have expected to happen…was what did.

Tren’s steel armor crumpled like paper, and he wasn’t just knocked off his feet, he was blasted back like the town drunk being hurled out by thirty of the establishment’s finished.

He went spiraling over Daigon’s head, not stopping until he crashed into a nearby tree hard enough to split it in twain.

“…from him…” Daigon finished softly as Alir ran to his brother’s side.

Clearly the hanyou wasn’t weak….which yet again flew in the face off all logic.

Inuyasha had his arms crossed over his chest, which was still rattling  with the force of whatever was inside. No heartbeat should have ever seen so violent, but it was so uniform that Daigon had a hard time believing a birthing creature could match it.

In short…he had no fucking clue what was going on.

Inuyasha suddenly rolled over, and made a motion as if to push himself up when it happened.

In front of all their very eyes a series of tiny explosions went off under Inuyasha’s skin, the sounds of bones breaking accompanying each. Inuyasha shrieked with each one, thrashing in agony as his body appeared to attack itself.

Daigon watched with a mixture of awe and horror as Inuyasha’s own muscles visibly coiled, and then as smooth as silk, ripped his shoulder clean from its socket. So violent was it that his skin tore like paper, splattering his blood across the ground. The muscles twitched and bulged before yanking back, and the loud pop of everything snapping back to place rang out.

Inuyasha screamed….and then his skin went as fluid as his muscles, flowing over the raw wound like water until everything was new and untouched. In spite of the blood…it was as if it never happened.

The process repeated itself with his  knees, his ankles, his wrists, his elbows…

His body was ripping itself apart and yet…..little more then an hour ago his body had been unable to handle simple damaged flesh. Now it was healing at a visible rate….

The kitsune child slammed his eyes shut, clamping his hands over his ears as Inuyasha’s near constant screaming grew louder and more shrill by the moment.

“Help him!” Miroku near screamed in Daigon’s ear.

“How?” The healer replied in utter bewilderment.

It wasn’t his place to just sit and watch….but he knew good and well that what was  happening before him was impossible, and unexplainable after that.

Inuyasha’s shrieks abated for just a moment as his jaw cracked, then cruelly popped out. Under the boy’s skis Daigon could seen new muscles and sinews curling down like worms as Inuyasha’s jaw seemed to extend, a strange clicking ratchet of a sound following it.

Inuyasha’s insides were literally bubbling like boiling water under his skin, and the sounds of the violent stretching and popping mixed  in with his screams to form a macabre soundtrack.

Ignoring the symptoms, if he could even call them that, Daigon tried to focus on what he could perhaps help with.

Swelling….

Inuyasha’s back, shoulders, neck…fuck…everywhere were swollen and twitching. Yes…that he had the tools to deal with…but how to get close enough?

In spite of the agony he was in, or perhaps because of it, Inuyasha was lashing out at anything that neared him. His convulsing hands came up, clutching at the tree above him. From the looks of it he was going to try and pull himself up form his face-down position, but then two thick, visible lumps ran up his forearms and surged into his hands themselves.

His clawless fingers swelled…then burst like overfilled sausages, tearing another agonized shriek from the boy. Chunks of flesh rained down form his now bloody hands…but while everyone else looked away…Daigon focused.

Because now…from each crimson soaked finger…jutted a brand new claw. Thicker then the old…longer…curved slightly with faint drops of blue under them. From there Daigon watched as the finger-joints popped…another swell…another scream….but before his very eyes Daigon saw a freakish impossibility.

His skin ripped, the muscle surged…and Daigon realized that when it healed over…Inuyasha’s hand was almost double in size.

He blinked….wait….his eyes widened as he realized that the swelling was uniform…and not really swelling at all.

“Oh gods please….” Inuyasha begged, his voice thick and full of pain.

Audible cracking rang out as his back bulged, something snaking around inside. His faint pleading turned into unintelligible gibberish as he dropped back to the ground form his slightly pulled position, his legs spasming hard enough to kick up earth and rock.

A thin line of blood seeped out from his skin, running down his spine. Another crack blew open his back, twisting his limbs and body horribly. The  spieling noise turned into on long scream as the cracking from within grew louder….

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Demon and Thing started into each other’s eyes….demon blinked…Thing didn’t.

With one eye ruined, and the other was blinded by his own blood Sesshomaru couldn’t see hardly at all. But he was still alive obviously…and there weren’t any new holes in his body that he could tell.

Something had halted the Thing’s attack, for he was just standing limply in front of Sesshomaru. But the demon Lord knew he had heard the sound of flesh tearing….and Gods did his arm hurt.

Beyond the burning there was incredible tension. Felt like he was supporting some great weight, which made his elbow and shoulder ache. Which was stupid as Sesshomaru knew his arm was hanging uselessly at his side.

The Thing bubbled in its throat, stirring slightly. It was still alive…so why did it not attack?

Sesshomaru twisted his neck, wiping his good eye on one of the few clean spots left on his clothing. It helped a little bit, and he tried to focus on what was  in front of him.

What he could only assume was blood poured out of a fresh wound in the Thing’s chest….right where it’s heart should have been. The scent of it was vile, raising Sesshomaru’s gorge once more, causing him to gag.

Sticking out of the wound, or in to it more specifically, was a sword.

Sesshomaru was puzzled…a situation not helped by the blood loss he had suffered so far. Had someone come to his aid? Normally that would have galled him, but in this case he was more then willing to swallow his pride if it meant he could get to Inuyasha in time.

He focused on the hand that held the shimmering blade. A eloquent, long-fingered, powerful looking, milky white hand….

Form the angle the swordsman would have to be right behind him….and short.

Very short.

He couldn’t move his neck far enough to actually look, but he couldn’t sense anyone at his back. Could not hear another breathing or a emboldened heart beating.

Attached to the hand was a thick, coiled forearm…which lead to an elbow…and the next thing Sesshomaru knew he was staring at his own tattered clothing…and his own bloody bicep.

Both the arm and the sword were covered in fresh blood…blood he knew the scent of without a thought.

His blood….his arm.

Sesshomaru blinked….his arm had re-grown….but from where came the blade?

He focused on the cold, perfect seemingly steel in his returned hand….and then he heard it. A voice, clear and crisp, within his own mind…within his own soul.

“I’m Bakusaiga. Let’s have some fun...”

The Thing’s arms twitched, and its hands were rising. Sesshomaru gagged as the two slimy hands closed around his throat. Not nearly as powerful as before, but still possessing enough strength to cut off his air. It stared down at him with bleary eyed hatred…hate that Sesshomaru returned ten-fold.

“I’ll kill you…” It gasped.

“No….” Sesshomaru gasped, the blade beginning to spark with new found power…found that filled him and strengthened his own will. “NO…..YOU DIE SLIME! DRAGON STRIIIIKE!!”

It screamed in terror and pain as Sesshomaru’s attack manifested with its chest. Blinding light filled the cave, washing away all vision as surely as the darkest black.

Though could not see, Sesshomaru could hear the thunderous explosion, felt the rock shatter as his power met it head on.

Most importantly…the strangling hands were gone.

Sesshomaru did not know how long he knelt there, returned arm outstretched wit the blade born of his body poised.

He could hear nothing.

Either because there was nothing to hear, or because his attack had numbed his hearing.

But he could feel it….

Soft….fresh air on his face. A stark contrast to Naraku’s thick, heavy miasma. As much as it hurt to breathe…it did clear his aching lungs.

His newborn sword had rejuvenated him slightly, and now his flesh was forcing out shards of the traitorous Toki-jin.

Sesshomaru averted his face with a grunt as more light flooded his vision. He had thought it had been clearing in his remaining eye, but obviously not. His ruined eye itched like mad, a tell-tale sign of healing, and if not for the fact that his other arm was still useless he probably would have rubbed at it subconsciously.

He finally let his returned arm drop, and his new weapon thanked to the ground…after which something strangely gave. He ignored it, focusing solely on his breathing, slow and steady, so as not to aggravate his wounds.

He did not like the idea, but he was going to have to rest where he was for a few minutes, he did not think he could stand just yet. To say nothing of actual forward movement.
Well he could probably fall.

Yes…a bit of rest and then he could search for a way out.

The twin swords Tenseiga and Tetsusaiga remained at his hip, but neither could aid him here. Inuyasha’s inherited blade had already made its point, and while Tenseiga could work miracles on the dead…it could not heal him.

Turning his head slightly to the side Sesshomaru tried to focus on his new blade. Had it truly spoken to him? Or was his mind just playing tricks?

“Bakusaiga.” Sesshomaru whispered, testing out the name.

Odd…yet fitting

As he focused upon it however, he was a bit shocked. It had partly buried itself into the stone of the ground. Entirely by its own weight at that…something that Sesshomaru had to marvel at. To split stone solely with the perfection in its edge, unaided by the strength of his arm….

Another puzzlement pestered his mind. He could see the blade…and the hand that held it clearly, so his vision had returned. So why….

Sesshomaru turned his head back, and was again flooded by bright light and blue fuzziness. The cool breeze was on his face once more and he realize that he was staring at the sky.

There would be no search for an exit….for there was barely any cavern left.

His attack had not only obliterated the creature…it had also punched a hole large enough to put an entire village in.

He had caused serious damage before but this…this was the entire side of a mountain. The only word that came to his mind and past his lips was one that he had not used since he was a mere child marveling at his Father’s awesome strength.

“Wow…” He muttered.


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“Ohgodohgodohgod.” Inuyasha panted in agony as the snake-line continued down his back. His  legs writhed and kicked as it began to bunch up near his kidneys.

But then all attention was drawn off the groaning hanyou as a massive explosion split the sky, and the ground under their feet not only rumbled, it shook violently. A bright light lit up the sky, and Daigon could see gigantic chunks of debris flying over their heads.

A moment later another earth quaking boom rang out, though further away this time.

He didn’t have a clue as to what that might have been, but the shockwave alone had been enough to uproot trees near them…and it had obviously been moving away.

He turned to Tren and Alir, they could not help here.

“Go.” He ordered. “Find Sesshomaru.”

The two hesitated, looking to the hanyou.

“Staring at him isn’t going to fix anything.” He snapped. “Do your duty.”

As the two obeyed Daigon’s mind started to calculate. Without both of them their small group would be more vulnerable to attack…but at the same time Sesshomaru was obviously still in battle.

To lose either one was unacceptable, and even though Daigon didn’t quite know what the cataclysmic light show that had rended the earth had been…his finely tuned Inu-Taisho senses told him that Sesshomaru was at the center of it.

They had to move Inuyasha at any rate…which meant that he had to sedate the boy somehow.

Joy….

Inuyasha had ceased thrashing…his entire body was locked now.

“Please stop…please stop.” Inuyasha panted helplessly.

Nothing else was moving under Inuyasha’s skin. The curled bulge alogn his spine and lower back was still….no better time to try.

But as Daigon went to his bag, his mind whirling with the thought of what it would take to put the boy out, his ears caught the sound of something being stretched.

“Nononono….please…pleasepleaseplease. ” Inuyasha pleaded as his back began to swell.

Things began to rip, the skin giving way to the hidden force.

“Oh god…oh god…oh god it huuuuuuuurrrrrRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTSSSSSSSS!” Inuyasha wailed.

His upper body thrashed wildly, his claws tearing everything they came into contact with. His legs twitched helplessly as his spine began to swell further.

It wasn’t screaming anymore….higher and higher his sharp plea rose until Daigon knew that his throat had started to bleed.  Shrieking…and even that was too mild a word.  Blind, mindless shrieking of pure agony.

Higher….louder….blood spilling form his mouth as he thrash wilder then a man on fire.

Daigon heard a rip, and Inuyasha’s shrieks jumped another level in intensity. A pop…yet another level higher.

Blood poured out from Inuyasha’s back, cascading over his white flesh like macabre silk. In all his life, in all the world that he had traveled….Daigon had never seen or heard of ANYTHING like this.

Another loud, wet pop had Inuyasha’s back arched up far enough to break it in twain as he yowled to the heavens.

“We have to-” Miroku started.

Rrrrriiiiiiiipppp!

Daigon actually jumped at the sound of flesh tearing a second before something exploded out of Inuyasha.

Pretty much everyone assembled was splattered with the hanyou’s blood before Inuyasha collapsed to the ground.

He fell silent.

Either because the pain had finally overwhelmed him…or perhaps because he simply couldn’t scream any longer.

Daigon stared at the boy…his face and eyes were blank and distant. Shock…he was finally in shock.

Safe to approach perhaps butt…Daigon turned his attention to Inuyasha’s blood and ragged back….and his breath hitched in surprise as his mind instantly recognized just what he was seeing. Recognized and then rejected as possible just as fast.

Out from Inuyasha’s back, right from his tailbone, inching further out almost like a slithering snake…was the namesake of the spot.

A great, white, though slightly blood streaked….fluffy Inu Tail.

With every inch it pressed out further Inuyasha let out a small gasp and twitched.

“It looks just like…whatever that thing Sesshomaru has is….” Sango trailed off.

Yes…yes that’s just what it was. But that was impossible.

“It takes over one hundred years for an Inu’s tail to fully grow out.” Daigon murmured. More to himself then to those assembled.

He remembered quite well of little pre-teen Sesshomaru and the small tuft of fur jutting out his back that he had been oh so proud of. To the point of shaking his little bottom around because he couldn’t wag it yet.

But this…too soon…to fast. Neither Sesshomaru nor Inu-Taisho’s growth had been this quick…to say nothing of this violent.
And besides it-Daigon’s mind suddenly switched gears.

Growth….growing….he was much larger now, and at least a hundred pounds heavier…the new claws…the tail. Daigon had never seen anything like this before…but he had seen the effects.

Inuyasha had just gone through two hundred years of mature….in five minutes.

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Sesshomaru cursed as he leaned up against a near by tree for support. He did not want to stop, he wanted to be at Inuyasha’s side. But he had to…even with the added strength that Bakusaiga had filled him with…it just wasn’t enough.

He was so tired…his limbs shaking and weak. His body was still forcing out shards of Toki-jin…and even now he could feel the sharp stabs before a soft metal plink. His thirst had his throat burning, but he hadn’t dared to drink any of the water in or near Naraku’s strong hold.

A familiar scent reached his nose, and his arm instinctively darted out. A high pitched squeal filled the air…and on his newborn blade was the twitching body of a hare.

He almost could have felt pity for it…to have survived Naraku’s taint only to die now. But Sesshomaru was a demon, and such pity’s were far beneath him. His body needed the energy, he needed his strength, and Inuyasha needed HIM.

His former dominate arm was still limp and useless. Having held Toki-jin when it had exploded in his face it had thus suffered a large brunt of the damage. Beyond that he was too afraid to release Bakusaiga for fear his hand would be unable to grip it once more….so he simply raised the body to his lips upon the blade…and tore into it from there.

Fur, bones, organs….he devoured it all. Even the parts he couldn’t really digest, hard as they were, they were still not match for his jaws.

It hurt going down, and didn’t settle well at all…but he needed it. Needed more actually….He scanned the forest floor after finishing…one more…one more and then he would press on. A few moment minutes of rest…but just as his ears detected a hidden heartbeat, another sound filled them.

A sound that chilled his very blood.
It was Inuyasha’s voice…and he was screaming.

It echoed throughout the forest, and despite the pain and weakness…Sesshomaru forced himself to move. His heart pounded in his wounded throat as he pressed on, actually making it somewhat difficult to even breathe. Panting, he stumbled forward on his wounded legs, not even caring about appearances in the slightest. He would gladly suffer a years worth of mockery if it would get him to his sibling.

Inuyasha’s screams grew louder, but that didn’t fill Sesshomaru with any sort of hope that he was nearing the boy just yet.

Where was Daigon? Where were Inuyasha’s guards? Where were his stupid fucking humans?!
What was happening to the hanyou?

And dear, sweet merciful Gods….WHAT COULD MAKE INUYASHA SCREAM LIKE THAT?!

Never once in his life, no matter what Sesshomaru himself had done to the boy, had he ever heard the hanyou wail so shrilly. He pushed onward, but his will far exceed the limitations of his wounded body. He fell, scrapping his face on a fallen log.

Further bloodied, and partial insulted by such a wound, he forced himself to stand. It was excruciating, and fair more difficult then it should have been. What with a useless arm and another death gripping his weapon. But that did not stop him…he stood…made it ten feet….then fell again.

Sesshomaru growled threateningly…though he wasn’t really sure at what or how it would help him. But as he stood once more Sesshomaru heard what could only be described as an explosion. Tree’s snapping, the earth splitting from the force.

He pushed himself forward, lurching towards the sounds of calamity. He was beyond hope at this point, and just knew that Inuyasha was a the center of whatever it was.

“Hold on Inuyasha.” Sesshomaru panted, “I am coming….I am coming.”

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All was quiet now…save for the sounds of Inuyasha’s soft panting. Daigon had to give the human’s credit, not only for not running, but despite the calm and a few hesitant steps, no one rushed in.

Daigon was trying to decide on whether or not it was safe to approach the trembling boy when the ground underneath them exploded.

The monk went flying, and Daigon didn’t’ have the time to react before a writhing trunk smashed into his chest, sending him crashing into a large tree. More sprang up from under the earth, hurling chunks of debris and even whole tree’s flying through the air.

One emerged right under Inuyasha, and the moment it snapped straight it flung the boy off into the air.

‘NO!” Daigon cried out as Inuyasha disappeared from sight. But his words were cut off by a blistering crack across the face.

“You don’t escape me!” A rough voice rang out. “NOT ONE!”

“NARAKU!” Sango howled.

The air flooded with a vile  miasma….and another battle began.

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Agony.

That’s all there was….all that could be felt. Unbelievable pain that drove all rational thought from his mind.

Gibbering incoherently, all Inuyasha could do was drag himself forward along the ground. Childishly trying to crawl away from the pain. From whatever was hurting him so terribly.

Things exploding inside of him…his bones snapping like twigs….his flesh ripping apart like paper.

It was too much.

Blood dripped form his nose, his mouth, his ears, and even his eyes like crimson tears. He was so utterly exhausted…but every time he tried to close his eyes and just die…

Pain.

“Gods please….stop…oh stop…I…I cant….didn’t…d-do….no…” He pleaded and babbled, not even away of what he was trying to say.

He was flattened to the ground, twisting up in agony as his spine stretched and twisted once more. He writhed and kicked, screaming to the heavens once again. It felt like knives were growing out of his spine, driving through his flesh.

But then…through even the crushing pain, a familiar scent somehow caught his attention.

His neck broke, the bones giving way once more to that awful stretching. But even with that he was able to turn his head, and lock eyes on the one who approached.

Inuyasha’s ration mind had long since been buried…but his primal mind still remained.

And it recognized the creature in front of it…and remembered as only a beast can off the pain and suffering that had been inflicted.

It remembered….and through the pain came the rage.

Even as his neck healed Inuyasha partly brought himself up, balanced and coiled on all fours. Something was pulsing inside of him…something that he had never felt before, spiraling out from the very core of his being.

Something was screaming to be let out.

His face shifted…but this time there was no  pain.

Kill.

The creature paused, startled by something. It was speaking to him, useless noise tumbling from its mouth. But Inuyasha was beyond words…and the broke upon him like rain on a mountain.
Something continued to thunder within him. Not clawing for freedom as his old demon had, but simply assuming that which was right.

KILL.

His prey backed up a step, shaking its head in futility to what it was  seeing.

Inuyasha knew his prey’s fear…and it excited him.

The thundering pulse quickened and grew louder. Faster…faster…..he felt tight and confined…as if he were holding a flood behind a closed door.

A flood that was both of him….and held by him.

So he let go….and all the world trembled before the growing twister that was HIM.

KILL

To be continued.

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