Brother My Brother

Inuyasha had run straight out of the forest and ended up in a large
field. A foul smell came to his nostrils and he searched the area only
to find several individuals of the Wolf-Demon tribe from the mountains
approaching in the horizon. Inuyasha groaned in annoyance as he watched
a dust tornado quickly sprint toward him. Before it reached him, it
slowed and from it emerged his obnoxious rival, Koga, who skidded to a
halt right before the haemonemon.

“Hey there, Mutt-Face,” Koga greeted loudly. “Have you seen a giant
wolf come by here?”

“A giant wolf?” Inuyasha echoed. “What the hell’re you talking about?”

Koga sighed. “One of my wolves got a hold of a Sacred Jewel shard. He
transformed into a huge, vicious monster. We tried to catch him, but
he’s even faster than me now.”

“Well it ain’t my problem,” Inuyasha replied. “Go find your psychotic
mongrel yourself.” Then, something struck him. “No… Miroku!” He turned
and ran back into the forest, with Koga at his heels.

“Hey, where’re you going?” the Wolf Demon inquired. “You think you know
where my wolf is?”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about your damn wolf!” Inuaysha snapped.
“Miroku’s sick and if that thing hurts him…”

“Don’t you dare lay a finger on my wolf!” Koga snarled. “If you touch
him…”

“If that thing’s hurt Miroku, I’ll kill it and you!” Inuyasha
responded. He dashed through the trees until he reached the small
clearing in which he had left Miroku and Kirara moments before. What he
found there made his blood run cold.

“Inuyasha! Please, help me!” Miroku had been thrown onto his back and
was desperately trying to fend off a large black wolf with his staff.

“Hang on, Miroku!” Inuyasha shouted, dashing forward, his claws
outstretched. “Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!”

The wolf barely had time to react before Inuyasha’s claws came slashing
through its flesh. It yelped and moved to the side out of the way.
Inuyasha landed beside Miroku, his claws dripping with blood. Something
shiny caught his eye and he realized that his first attack had ripped
the Shikkon shard from the wolf’s body. Then a horrid stench came to
his nostrils. Inuyasha panicked and looked around, finding, to his
horror, the lifeless body of Kirara laying near a tree. The half demon
felt his blood boil over with rage. He snarled and leapt at the wolf,
who, without the Jewel shard, had returned to its normal size. The wolf
shrieked and ran to hide behind Koga.

“Get outta the way!” Inuyasha snarled at Wol Wolf Demon.

“I won’t let you hurt my kin!” Koga snarled back. “If you want him,
you’ll have to get through me.”

“Don’t tempt me!” Inuyasha growled. “I got no problem slicing your head
off with my Tetsuisga!”

“Inuyasha, please…” came Miroku’s weakened voice. “This senseless
violence will not settle anything.”

Inuyasha turned to him as if just realizing he was there. “Miroku, are
you all right?” The half demon kneeled by Miroku’s side, examining for
the first time the bleeding wounds on his body. The feeling of panic
returned and settled into Inuyasha’s gut as he noted the vast amount of
human blood staining the ground. “Miroku, hang on. I’ll get you some
help.” He went to collect the monk’s body in his arms, but Koga stopped
him by setting a foot on the half demon’s wrist.

“What the hell’re you doing?” Inuyasha demanded. “Move, you mangy wolf!”

“I warned you,” Koga growled. “You hurt my kin. I can’t let you get
away with that.”

Inuyasha glanced at the wolf he had attacked earlier, and noted that it
was laying on its side, bleeding heavily through its gaping wounds.
“Well your ‘kin’ hurt my friend!” Inuyasha snarled. “And instead of
fighting with me about it, why don’t you go get your mongrel some help?”

“It’s too late for that,” Koga said, his throat rumbling dangerous and
his face etched with rage. “He won’t survive and it’s all your fault!”
With blinding fast speed, he lifted his foot and gave a ferocious kick
to the side of Inuyasha’s head. The half demon reeled backwards,
struggling to keep his balance as he got to his feet and grounded
himself.

“You damned wolf!” Inuyasha spat. “I don’t have time for this!”

“Then  make time!” Koga snarled, dashing forward. He lunged at the
half demon, throwing out his fist, aiming to hit the other’s face.
Inuyasha moved to the side, just barely avoiding Koga’s fist as it
slammed into the ground beside him.

“You asked for it!” Inuyasha shouted, pulling out the Tetsuisga from
its sheath. “You’re dead!” He lunged forward, but stopped his assault
upon hearing Miroku’s voice.

“Inuyasha, stop! Kagome certainly would not have wanted this.”

Koga also ceased his attack. “Kagome…” he said. “Where is she? Why
isn’t she with you?” His voice turned angry again. “Aren’t you supposed
to be protecting her? Where is she?”

Inuyasha looked over at Miroku who avoided his gaze. “Nice going,
Miroku.”

“Where is she?” Koga demanded fiercely. “She better not be hurt! She’d
better be safe!”

Inuyasha was at a loss for words. He kept looking from Miroku and Koga
and back again, pondering how he could lie to the Wolf Demon. He did
not, however, expect the truth announced by Miroku.

“I’m sorry Koga,” he said. “Kagome is… Kagome is no longer with us. I’m
truly sorry.”

Inuyasha dared not say anything. He simply watched the Wolf Demon as he
lowered his eyes to the ground, his hands trembling as hun hung at his
sides. Minutes passed, in which the injured wolf lost its life.
Finally, Koga raised his head again. His eyes shone with a fury
Inuyasha had never seen of him before.

“You damned half breed!” Koga snarled. “I trusted you to protect her!”
His ice-blue eyes had turned a brilliant red as he roared and charged
forward. He moved with such speed that Inuyasha failed to move out of
the way in time. Koga’s fist slammed into his jaw, sending the hanyou
reeling backwards. He flew through the air until his descent was
abruptly stopped by a large tree. Inuyasha’s spine and skull slammed
into the trunk, cracking the wood with the force re hre he slid back to
the ground. His senses took leave of him for just a moment, but it was
long enough for Koga to charge forward and throw another fist into
Inuyasha’s gut. Blood heaved up from his body, spilling out of his
mouth. He coughed hard and struggled to avoid the Wolf Demon’s next
attack. Koga’s heel broke through the trunk of the tree as Inuyasha
dodged and rolled away. The hanyou got to his feet, wobbling a bit as
his balance slowly returned to him. Koga attacked again, but Inuyasha
lifted the Tetsuisga in time to repel the Wolf Demon and stop his
assault. The sword’s powerful aura sent Koga flying backwards against
it, and he grounded his feet to stop himself from falling into a tree
behind him.

“Damn you, wolf,” Inuyasha snarled, wiping the blood from his chin.
“You think I meant for this to happen? You think I’d allow Kagome to be
hurt? Do you?”

“Shut up!” Koga shouted. “I don’t care what you have to say for
yourself, you damned half-breed! Kagome is gone and it’s all your
fault!” He came at him again with blinding speed. Inuyasha barely had
time to react before his fist came plowing toward him. The hanyou
dodged and took a wild swing with Tetsuisga, slicing through the flesh
of Koga’s left leg. The Wolf Demon cried out his pain and landed a few
feet away. Koga growled and charged again, but his wounded leg prevent
him from moving as fast as he had earlier. Inuyasha was able to move
and retaliate with another swing of his sword. The blade grazed Koga’s
ribs and the Wolf Demon jumped out of Inuyasha’s range.

Inuyasha grasped the hilt of the Tetsuisga firmly. The look in Koga’s
eyes told him that he would not stop until Inuyasha was dead. The half
demon was left with just one choice. He held the giant sword over his
head and grounded his feet. It’s
either him or me, and it sure as hell won’t be me. The smell of
the wind scraping came to his nostrils and the Wind Scar soon appeared
to him. He braced himself, then released Tetsuisga’s power in one
smooth motion. Koga, who was in the middle of another charge, realized
what was happening and quickly tried to get out of the way. However,
his injured leg hindered his escape, and the blast from the sword came
at him faster than he could move. He jumped, but the blast hit him
before he could fully avoid it. There was a great flash of light, and
Inuyasha squinted against it. After a moment, the light subsided, and
the hanyou looked around him.

He was a bit surprised to find Koga laying several yards away, facing
away from him. He had expected his body to be vaporized in the blast
from his Tetsuisga. Apparently Koga had gotten out of the way enough
for him to avoid being completely destroyed. Still, when Inuyasha
approached the motionless Wolf Demon, he could smell the flesh of the
body and he knew that Koga was dead. Inuyasha walked to the body and
kneeled down, examining lifeless form before him. The eyes were closed,
and somehow Koga looked uncharacteristically peaceful. Something
strained in Inuyasha’s chest and suddenly a giant wave of guilt washed
over him. He saw in his mind that days when he first met Koga, when
Kagome had held the Wolf Demon against her body, protecting him from
the hanyou. Inuyasha’s body shuddered against his memories, and he
stood on wobbly legs, his eyes not leaving Koga’s face. Miroku was
right-- Kagome would not have wanted this. Not at all.