Power at Hand

Disclaimer: I don’t own the Inu Yasha series.


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Chapter VI: What’s a Father to Me?


Kikyo glared at Sesshomaru’s retreating form, the grip on her bow tightening. Her attention faltered slightly when her reincarnation stepped into view.

“You can stop now, he’s gone. And I don’t think Inuyasha will be hurt if he could just learn to shut up.”

“Do you care so little for the half breed?”

Kagome blinked, bewildered by the random question before narrowing her eyes.

“I do care. But I also know that Sesshomaru is in no condition to fight even if he’s unwilling to admit it. Or were you so blinded by who he was that you missed his injuries?”

Sango quietly paced around Kikyo, putting a hand on Kagome’s shoulder and looking over at Kikyo.

“Kagome’s right. We need to head back to camp. They’ll know where to find us.”

Shippo hopped into Kagome’s arms as he watched his friends and the undead walk back to their sleeping bags.

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Inuyasha glared at his brother, folding his arms into his sleeves.

“So…what the hell did happen to you?”

Sesshomaru looked back, giving his brother a glare that was only magnified by his missing features. Inuyasha flinched visibly, allowing the demon lord the pleasure of watching his brother squirm. However, now was not the time for amusement, and with an inaudible sigh, Sesshomaru whispered one word.

“Father.”

Inuyasha’s ears perked, almost missing what his brother had said.

“Father? Did you boil your brains with your face? Dad’s dead!”

Sesshomaru snarled, rearing back his one arm and readied himself to strike. The events that passed washed over him, his eyes that would normally be so cold and emotionless flooded over with the weariness that surpassed his time. Slowly, seeming much older than he really once, Sesshomaru dropped his arm and shook his head slightly, his voice never betraying his own disbelief.

“Father. He lives again. He is the one I fought.”

“But…but how? He died…I never got to know him because he…he died saving…”

“Do you think me to be a liar?”

Inuyasha gave a short snort before going back to his original question.

“How?”

The demon lord shook his head slightly, narrowing his eyes in anger.

“That vile…half breed…”

“What the hell is that supposed to-“

“Naraku.”

The dog-eared boy quieted his mild outburst at the mention of his most hated enemy’s name.

“So Naraku has a clay puppet of father then?”

“No. Father is real. And conscious, but unable to control himself…”

The dog demon’s voice trailed off at the vivid memory of his father’s eyes. The golden eyes that were struggling to be free, and the burning red eyes and sent a shiver down the demon lord’s spine. So full of hate and malice…so different than what he remembered as a pup.

“So what did you come here for? Too sorry to beat him yourself, so you came for my help?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, half breed. I came for Tessaiga, not you.”

Inuyasha gave a sharp snort, turning his head in mild disgust over the insult.

“And what makes you think you can have it? You can’t even hold it, so that means you’ll need me.”

With a smirk, Sesshomaru turned to face his brother.

“On the contrary, I have wielded father’s fang rather effortlessly in the past. All I need is to acquire a temporary limb.”

Sesshomaru made a small gesture to the stub that Inuyasha had given him not too long before. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, his ears swiveling in clear displeasure.

“Still doesn’t mean I’m going to just give it to you.”

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at his brother, giving the faintest of shrugs to himself as he debated his next line of action after his healing. Without another word, he turned and stalked off to be alone and gather his thoughts, leaving Inuyasha blubbering a smart remark in his absence.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?!”

“I will return soon for the Tessaiga.”

With that, the demon lord appeared to merely vanish beyond the foliage, his brother still angered by the sudden departure and next to no answers. With a gruff “keh”, the red clad boy turned and headed back to where he left his companions, following their scent back to camp.

Upon his return, Kagome was up and hurrying to him, immediately looking for Sesshomaru. Kikyo and Sango also rose up, the priestess looking for the demon threat, and Sango ready to back Kagome up if words were exchanged between the two mikos.

“Where’s Sesshomaru? He hasn’t finished healing yet. He shouldn’t be out.”

Inuyasha cast an annoyed glance towards his young friend, almost wanting to snarl at her concern over his brother.

“He’s fine. He just went off to do whatever he does. What do you care anyway?”

Kagome narrowed her eyes at his tone, her lip curling at whatever he was trying to insinuate. When she was about to retort, Kikyo’s taunting voice echoed through.

“It does make one wonder where your loyalties lie, Kagome.”

Sango stood in front of Kikyo, hand already on the katana by her side.

“Her loyalties lie with us, and no one would dare question that, priestess. Kagome is a kind heart, and will worry over anyone who is injured and an ally.”

“That demon? An ally? It seems that girl has made you soft, slayer.”

With Sango ready to pull out her lethal blade and Kagome’s eyes widening in anger, Miroku took this moment to intervene before too much damage was done to the already fragile family.

“We should focus our attention on the new threat. Inuyasha, did Sesshomaru enlighten you as to what the power source was? Or what he had encountered?”

Tension still in the air, though subsiding with the current problem being addressed, all eyes turned to Inuyasha as he huffed and looked away.

“Yeah. Father.”

The eyes of his pack widened in fear and disbelief, Miroku being the first to come out of his stupor.

“Father? You mean the dog general?”

“What the hell do you think I meant?”

Sango shook her head slightly, running through her memories and teachings of demons.

“But, didn’t he die some two centuries ago?”

Inuyasha gave a curt nod, his voice betraying his worry.

“Yeah, but Naraku brought him back. Sesshomaru said he’s conscious but not in control.”

The last couple of words were muttered, almost as if the half demon didn’t want his pack to know the shameful truth, but also understood that they had to know. The small troop fell silent for a few minutes, allowing the information to sink in, all relatively unnerved by the turn of events. The great general was renowned for his many battles and the wars he had survived. But most famously was his last stand, having taken down almost an entire army for a single human female that finally ended his reign.

Kagome settled near the fire, her eyes down cast sadly at the story she had been told, wondering how awful it would be to die and be brought back by a madman, and apparently he was forced to attack his own son! Her vision blurred with tears, unable to imagine being forced to attack her dear Shippo. Instinctively, she took hold of her little kit, holding him close to her as if her arms alone could protect her child from the world. Miroku broke through her depressing musings as his soft voice directed to the entire group.

“We need to start planning then. I would like to avoid killing your father if he can be freed, but I’m afraid he’s too powerful to leave under Naraku’s control for too long.”

The monk tiptoed around the subject of actually having to kill the dog general, not wanting to rile Inuyasha over such a sensitive subject. Much to his surprise, Inuyasha merely shrugged, settling Kikyo into his lap.

“Like I care if he dies. I never knew him.”

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Sugimi lay in the dingy cell, his sense of smell long since desensitized by the nauseous stench. His ears heard a light clank of metal on metal as the demoness from before came to bring him yet another pathetic excuse for a meal. Looking at the contents, it was only too obvious that it was to keep him from keeling over a second time, not to provide any sort of real nourishment. He gave a short smirk, standing, forcing himself to his full height to tower over the female. She shrank back, her fan snapping open and shut nervously in her hand. He couldn’t help but notice the light blush that flittered across her face, his male ego stroked by the small, though unconscious, gesture.

“Leave, woman. There is no need for you to linger.”

The wind demoness’ eyes hardened at the dog demon’s harsh tone.

“I thought I could offer you an escape, but if you’re not interested…”

“I’m not interested in any tricks from my enemies. I have suffered enough. Your lies are not welcomed.”

His voice hardened as his vivid memories came to mind, his son nearly dieing by his own claws. He tilted his nose in the air to catch the female’s scent, her whole aura wreaking of deceit, death, and failure. Kagura, seeing the dog demon was not going to budge in his current resolve, bowed lightly before taking her leave. Sugimi sniffed at the “meal”, if one could call it that, and promptly started to eat it once he decided it wasn’t poisoned. Any food was food for the moment, and if it settled the call of hunger, then he’d begrudgingly accept it.

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Naraku gave a small smirk towards Kanna’s mirror, eyeing the wounded demon lord as he appeared to be meditating.

“So the dog did survive…and apparently Inuyasha’s little pet miko attempted to heal him.”

He eyed the bandages that were wrapped around the demon lord’s still bare chest.

“How interesting. How interesting indeed. I do wonder how the half-breed mutt is taking his pet’s ‘concern’. Kanna…”

The small demon child shifted her mirror to view Inuyasha’s crew, exposing their worried glances, though an air of sadness is what caught Naraku’s immediate attention. Tapping the mirror, he watched as the focus came solely on Kagome, eyeing the girl curiously before noticing the couple not too far behind her. The dark demon held back a laugh once seeing Kikyo being settled into Inuyasha’s lap.

“How precious. Such sadness…that should harbor even more hate. One has to wonder…”

He closed his crimson eyes in thought, planning on just how to drag the negative aura of the priestess into his favour. With a wicked grin, he lifted himself up, stalked to the dungeons of his castle, mentally going over his monologue. Sesshomaru is weakened, and it would seem that he will need a week or two to heal. I need to strike down his brother, while the main source of strength is still forced onto the sidelines.

He stopped in front of the cell that held Sugimi, his grin twisting into something maniacal. Sugimi looked up, his golden gaze blazing in pure loathing towards his ‘master’. He had long since finished the meal he had been given, his discarded plate sitting neatly near the bars. He watched as Naraku took his time to pick the plate up, slipping it through the cell door before locking gazes with the former lord.

“Be prepared, my pet. In two days time we will draw out that other pathetic waste of life you call a son. And this time, don’t disappoint me.”

Sugimi’s shoulders tightened, his teeth clenching at the audacity that the half-breed had. Naraku’s voice was cold and hard, but his mind was howling in laughter when he caught how tense the dog demon had become. Go on, my pet. Think on how I will have you kill your youngest son. Wallow in your own self hate… As he stalked off, he took out the bulk of his jewel, fascinated at how the darkness from Sugimi’s heart seeped into the shards within the demon’s body, causing the main portion to blacken in pure corruption.

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A/N: Ok, like I said last chapter, chapter 7 should be posted up in a few days and I hope to get chapter 8 up shortly after that. ^_^

Much love to everyone who's reviewed, I'm so glad that people are liking this story! And if I didn't send you an email on the updates of this story and you want me to, just let me know.