InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Light in Guiding Darkness ❯ Change isn't Always for the Good ( Chapter 11 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: Awww...do I have to? Fine. (Pouts) Inuyasha doesn't belong to me. Aragon does, and Raphael too so buyer beware!!!!Eleven: Change Isn't Always for the Gooddressed slowly, well aware of Naraku's piercing gaze as she stepped into the silky blood red dress lying on the floor below her. She leaned over slowly, seductively, grasped the thin clear straps and pulled the dress over her hips.glanced once over her shoulder where Naraku stood, completely shrouded by the dark shadow there in before tying the straps at the back of her neck. Kikyou gracefully stepped in her shoes and turned to him, her smile fetching and exciting though her hatred burned in her breast. 'Foul little monkey,' she growled to herself as he stepped from the darkness. "Good evening Naraku-sama," Kikyou greeted with a bow.
"Good evening," Naraku responded with a lecherous grin. "You give quite the show my lovely."
"Anything for you my love," Kikyou replied, then took his extended arm and wrapped her own around it. "What are the plans for tonight?"
"Things are in the works my dear," Naraku told her as he led her from her room and down the hallway. "All of Japan is mine; mine to grab and mine to crush should I ever feel the urge. That kind of power is alluring, isn't it Kikyou?"
"Hai Naraku-sama," Kikyou purred sweetly, her curse recoiling at the very thought of touching him in the manner in which he hinted at. Naraku patted her head in response, leaving Kikyou feeling like a treasured toy as Naraku continued.
"Hai, all of Japan belongs to me...and now with Tepes gone, it's all the world. It's a wonderful feeling...but I'm still troubled."
"By what my lord?" Kikyou asked as they stepped onto the outer porch. She gasped in surprise, her back of her hand covering her mouth as she stared at the torch lit field in front of her. Rows and rows of soldiers stood in front of the castle, with Inuyasha marching along the lines barking orders at them. "Naraku-sama, what is all of this?"
"This is my army," Naraku announced with a grand sweep of his hand. "Or, a smaller part of my army. You asked what troubled me, and I shall tell you." His eyes narrowed hatefully, crimson orbs glowing maliciously. "There are those that oppose my rule, our rule. Tepes' armies are handling the ones in the rainforests, but there's a growing resistance in my own land."
"What resistance?"growled loudly, the army instantly looking up and shivering in barely veiled terror.
"Wolves...."
"Wolves? What wolves?" Kikyou asked.
"They hide in the north, and between them and the Slayers they're causing havoc and chaos where there once was calm, assertive dominance-"
'Or ruthless tyranny.' Kikyou remarked to herself.
"But that will stop with them below. Inuyasha!"hanyou appeared almost instantly, bowing on one knee as Naraku descended the stairs. "Hai my lord?"
"Are they ready?"
"Almost," Inuyasha replied. "We're still waiting on the foreigner."
'Foreigner...ah yes, the DayWalker.' "Where is he?"
"I don't know," Inuyasha told him. "But he's here. I can smell him."
"Well, continue with the exercises until he arrives." Naraku dismissed him with a casual wave of his hand, a gestureinfuriated Inuyasha more than any his brother had ever done. 'Self righteous bastar-'
'Inuyasha...' turned around quickly, his scarlet eyes narrowed suspiciously as he glanced around. 'Gah,' he brushed aside after a while. 'I'm hearing things.'
'Inuyasha...don't you think you've done enough...' snarled and turned again, and again found nothing. 'Just what the hell is goin-' "AHHHHHH !"and Naraku turned to the shout, the cry of agony and surprise startling them out of their conversation. "It's Inuyasha!" Kikyou gasped as Inuyasha dropped to his knees. He held the sides of his head, desperately trying to keep whatever it was that wanted out inside.
"It...hurts..." he growled as the other soldiers surrounded him. Somewhere in the crowd he spotted Aragon, having finally arrived at Inuyasha's scream.
"It's going to be alright chap," he heard Aragon say, genuine concern laced deep within his British accent. "Just take things slow and easy."
'Inuyasha...I hear your heart. It..hurts...Inuyasha...' looked up past the pain and the others around him to the starry sky, his eyes widening as a figure floated down to him. He glared at the others, trying to see from their expressions if they could see the thing coming toward them. He tried to shout a warning, but no one seemed to notice as it came closer to his face.
'It's...it's the miko!' Inuyasha realized as the maiden hovered above him. 'Yeah, it's the one from the forest a few weeks ago!'smiled down at him, her dual colored eyes twinkling though her smile was one of sympathy. 'Don't fight me Inuyasha...' she whispered as her sleeve grazed his cheek. 'I can help you... I can heal you... '
"I don't need anyone," Inuyasha snapped. Aragon stepped back in alarm, bottle green eyes scanning the world around him before looking up.
"There's nothing there," he told Inuyasha as he reached for his wrist. Inuyasha jerked away instantly, then winced again before repeating himself. 'He truly believes that something is there,' Aragon realized, completely mystified as the hanyou continued to convulse. 'But who does he see? What's causing this?'couldn't bring himself to look away, both at the threat she was and how beautiful she looked as the stars winked overhead. She wore the colors of the miko but not the uniform, it being a simple white dress with skirts that flowed about them in the swirling breeze. Her ample sleeves fell off her shoulders and continued to gently sweep his face. A red band swept from her fitted waist to the ends of her skirts, with a little red racing around the helm. Her dark hair waved about like the sea in a storm, but it held back and away from him as she reached out.
'Poor Inuyasha...It's not too late you know...'
"Not too late," Inuyasha whispered as his world darkened around the edges. "Not too late for what?"smiled at him, this one a full grin as she touched the tip of a furry ear. 'It's not too late...to change...' winced, then screamed as the pain in his head intensified. Inuyasha blacked out without another word, leaving Aragon, Kikyou and the others wondering about the hanyou's sanity.high ringing of metal against metal could be heard throughout the mountain, the volcanic ash bursting above the cracks of lava in wicked black clouds. The three-eyed cow at the entrance mooed in boredom, then lowered itself to the scorching ground and closed it's eyes. It's ears flicked in the passing wind that whirled past it to brush against the blacksmith's sweaty brow. The ringing reverberated around the gigantic skull at the top, and deep within it Totosai sat engrossed in his work.
"Now let's see here..." he muttered to himself as he held up the sword. He turned it from side to side, his cloudy eyes critical in the sparse light filtering in between the skulls dulled teeth. "Eh," he grunted before returning the sword to his work pedestal. "It needs more work. That damned puppy dented the side of it."'s hammer struck the blade, the metal of the weapon singing under its ministrations before the blacksmith's flames danced over it. A few more strikes and it was done, once again brought up to Totosai's study before the cow mooed in interest. Totosai looked up to scold the animal but paused at the looming shadow standing between him and the sunlight outside his dwelling.
"What do you want?" he called rudely. "How dare you come bother me?! I'm busy!"
"I don't care old man," the voice growled as he entered the skull cave. "I need a sword!"
"And why should I care?" Totosai asked as he returned the sword to it's dark sheath. He carefully propped it against the nearest wall, the red string tied around the sheath swinging back and forth like a pendulum. "Like I said earlier, I'm busy you mangy dog."
"For your information, I'm a wolf you old fart!" the stranger snapped, crystal blue eyes narrowed in fury. "Don't you ever confuse me for some kind of mutt."
"Wolves can be mutts too," Totosai told him before yawning. "I don't have time for this! What do you want?"
"Didn't you hear me earlier? I need a sword ?!"
"Oh, that..." Totosai scratched the top of his bald head, the single lock of hair jerking under the abuse. "Hai, I remember now."
"Yeah? Well what's it gonna be?"
"Ummmmm...no."
"NO?! Why the hell not ?!"
"Oh, well," Totosai shrugged indifferently and reached for another sword. "I don't like you."
"I don't give two shits if you like me you fucking gimp! I want a sword!"
"Why should I make you a sword?" Tototsai demanded, his head tipped to the side curiously. "You've done nothing but insult me the entire time you've been here. You haven't asked me or anything."stranger stopped and thought a moment, the grayish-brown tip of his tail twitching in aggravation. "You're right," he relented with a grit of his teeth. He bowed respectfully, his tail completely haywire behind him as he peered up at the old smith. "Please Totosai-san, would you honor me with a sword?"
"Ummmm....no. Uh uh."
"WHAT?! " The stranger straightened immediately, his claws flexed and ready to strike as red began to bleed into his eyes. "Just why the fuck not?!"
"Simple: You already have a sword."
"What?" The wolf glanced at his hip, where a red sheathed sword hung from his furry belt. "This crappy thing? I got this off a human a few hundred years ago. It's junk."
"Let me see it." The youkai handed it over and leaned against a wall as Totosai inspected it. He unsheathed it and turned the blade toward the sunlight. The light danced along the razor sharp edge but began to pulse when pointed toward its master. "Its previous master was a human? Hmnh! Likely story!"
"Are you calling me a liar you crazy old goat?" the youkai growled, the sound of knuckles cracking in the dim cavern.
"No, I'm not. I think you're foolish, but not a liar." Totosai sheathed the weapon and tossed it back to its owner. "A human might have worn this sword, but I doubt you'd have taken it from him if it belonged to him."
"Whatever," the youkai grumbled. "So you won't make me a sword?"
"Nope. Sorry." He returned to the sword he was previously working on, a broad short sword with a curved blade and a forest green handle. "I think you should learn to work with what you have."
"Fuckin' a," he heard the youkai grumble as he left the cave and began his way down the mountain. "I come all the way from the north to get this old bastard, and he gives me this shit. I swear, I'm killin' Ginta when I get back." The cow mooed again, it's sleep disturbed by the animosity in the air. "Shut up!" he snapped. "Or I'll take you back as dinner!"
"Don't threaten Momo," Totosai shouted before bringing his hammer down on the curved blade. "And make sure you don't take anything from here."
"Like I'm some kind of fucking thief. Gods, I HATE old people!"chuckled lowly, the ringing of his hammer drowning out his amusement as the wolf's scent disappeared from the mountain.glared into the darkness around him, his nose filtering through the air as he tried to decipher where and when he was. "What's goin' on?" he growled irritably. "I hate being in the dark."ears twitched before he registered the sound of footsteps coming toward him. He turned to the sound, still trying to slice through the darkness as he studied the footsteps. They were loud, abusive and commanding, as if the wearer commanded thousands with only a bat of a lash. The shoes clicked on what sounded like marble floor with a tiny metal ring.
"Hey, who's out there?" he called out. The darkness parted with a spotlight of white ahead of him and a sliver of light behind him. Inuyasha himself was still in relative dark, but the light from the two sources gave him the ability to see. "I said who's out there! I'm tellin' ya, ya don't want to piss me off! I'm havin' a real fucked up day."shadow appeared in the sliver of light behind him, the footsteps still coming as the figure approached him. Inuyasha stood ready, his claws raised and extended and a deep growl in his throat. He soon saw the figure of a woman, dressed in a black robe that dragged the ground. Her hood was off her head, long dark hair held behind her by a blood red pin.
"Kikyou?" he questioned, then reached out for her. He started when she passed through his hands, a specter here in this dark land as she walked on to the spotlight. She entered it unafraid and sat down, her left side facing Inuyasha as she stared ahead of her and waited.
"Kikyou? What's going on?" he beseeched softly, his ears turned toward her. She continued to ignore him, her chocolate brown eyes staring straight ahead. Inuyasha moved toward her, willing to shake her out of whatever enchantment she fell into when a steady hand rested on his shoulder.whipped around, then took a step back as Aragon smiled back at him. He stood in a light brown pair of dress pants, a matching vest and a blouse that made him look every bit like the Englishman he once was. "What the fuck are you doin' here?" Inuyasha snapped belligerently. "And where are we?"
"This is your mind," Aragon told him. "The real world is outside, waiting on you to wake up."
"Huh? Are you serious?"nodded. "Very much so old chap."
"Oh. That makes sense then." Inuyasha turned back to Kikyou, the worry on his face softened some as he gazed at her. "Kikyou would never ignore me in the real world."
"Sure," Aragon said with an unseen roll of his eyes. "If you say so."
"What's wrong with her anyway?" Inuyasha asked. "What's going on to make her act like that?"
"Maybe you should look behind you before I answer that."turned and watched as the miko walked toward him, her footsteps soft and light as her white skirts brushed the floor behind her. "What's she doing here?" he demanded, this time not surprised when she walked through him and continued on toward the spotlight. The miko kneeled in front of Kikyou, her eyes looking deep into dark brown as she settled her hands in her lap.
"Well?" Inuyasha snapped after a few minutes of watching the staring contest between the two women. "What's going on?"
"It's like I said," Aragon said as he sat down. He motioned for Inuyasha to sit beside him, his left leg bent as it lay on the ground with his right stretched out ahead of him. "This is in your mind. You're dreaming."
"I figured that," Inuyasha huffed. "What I want to know is why I'm dreaming of that blasted miko?! Why did I see her when I passed out?"thought over it a moment, then sighed. "From what I understand, the miko and the sorceress-"
"Kikyou is not a sorceress!" Inuyasha interrupted.
"Of course she's not. Anyway, your precious Kikyou, the miko, and the darkness that surrounds you representshappening to you."
"Alright then," Inuyasha nodded in understanding. "What's happening to me?"
"Kikyou represents your vampire curse, which is fitting since she's the one that turned you. The miko represents your infection."
"What the hell?" Inuyasha interrupted yet again. "What infection?"
"If I could continue uninterrupted..." Aragon growled softly, his green eyes flashing blue momentarily before resuming his explanation. "Your last encounter with the miko left you with something that is just now surfacing. The infection is trying to change you, and the curse is trying to prevent that change."
"So!" Inuyasha responded. "I don't want to change. I like the way I am."
"It may not be up to you," Aragon told him as he gestured to the two women. "It's up to the stronger and so far things are even between them."two sat silently, still glaring at each other but this time there was a star between them. It flashed between light and dark, the colors varying between light, beautiful lilac to a foul dark purple.
"What's that?"
"That, believe it or not, is your soul," Aragon said simply. "They're fighting over it. That's why it's changing color. The infection is trying to evolve you, and your curse is trying to keep you the way you are."
"What happens if the infection wins?" Inuyasha asked as Kikyou's eyes narrowed. Aragon shrugged. "Now that I don't know."quieted after that, deciding to try to figure things out on his own when a stray thought struck him. "Hey," he called as he turned to his fellow traveler. "You said everything here represents something right?"
"Hai," Aragon nodded.
"So, what the hell are you?"stood and brushed himself off, his slender fingers sliding noiselessly over the suede material. "I'm your sense of understanding, though I don't understand why."
"Me either," Inuyasha grumbled as he followed suit and stood beside the vampire. "So what no-"
"You won't win!" Kikyou snarled, her fangs lengthening as she slammed her hands between her and the young miko. "His soul is MINE!"
"Now," Aragon said as he cuffed Inuyasha's left ear.
"You wake up."
"Son of a b-"Inuyasha jerked awake, the gentle hands brushing through his bangs pausing as he glared around him. He saw Kikyou first, with her looking down at him in concern as he looked to his surroundings. He was back in his room, with he and Kikyou sitting on his bed, Naraku leaning in his doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest and Aragon seated in a nearby chair.
"How are you feeling?" Kikyou asked as Inuyasha sat up. "Not a hell of a lot better," he growled while he held his head in his hands. "Who brought me back?"
"I did," Aragon raised his hand. "Naraku-sama was kind enough to show me to your room."yawned in boredom, the fifth one since Inuyasha's seizure. "What is this Inuyasha?" he inquired as Inuyasha stood to shaky feet. "I can't have my commander fainting like a woman in front of the soldiers."
"I'm...sorry, Naraku-sama," Inuyasha apologized with a bow. "It won't happen again."
"Good. See that it doesn't. Kikyou." Inuyasha frowned when she abandoned his side, leaving him to stand on his own as she wrapped an arm around Naraku's waist. Inuyasha turned away, his hair shielding him from the sight as Naraku smiled. "Do get better Inuyasha."
"Of course. Thank you Naraku-sama," Inuyasha responded as the two left the room. Inuyasha sank down on the bed behind him, his head in his hands as Aragon cleared his throat. He looked up instantly, forest green orbs staring into eyes just a little lighter than his own. "Why the fuck are you still here?" Inuyasha sighed wearily. "Are you enjoying this?"
"There was a strange aura coming from you," Aragon said, ignoring Inuyasha's earlier comment. "And you said something strange outside. Why?"
"Jeez," Inuyasha groaned as he flopped backward. He bounced slightly on the mattress, pure white hair flipping up around him. "Do you know how long it's been since I had an older brother?"
"No," Aragon shook his head. "I don't."
"Well, it's been a long time. I don't need you to decide to take his place."
"I'm not trying to," Aragon assured him. "I just want to know what the aura was. It looked like a battle of sorts."
"That's pretty much what it was," Inuyasha responded with another sigh. "Look, I'm not going to just tell you everything. I don't know you, so I don't know if you'll go runnin' back to Naraku and open your mouth."
"I won't tell anyone," Aragon told him as he slumped further into the chair. "I'm just asking a question."
"Fine. But if I answer it, will you get the hell out of here. The sun's almost up and I need my beauty sleep."
"Of course my friend," Aragon nodded. "Whenever you're ready."
"I'm not telling you all of it, but you were there," Inuyasha told him. His eyes were closed, so he missed Aragon's confused stare as he continued. "You were...my understanding. You told me that something was inside of me."
"What was it doing?"
"Oh no," Inuyasha growled as he sat up. "That's it. Get out."
"But Inuyasha-"
"I said I wouldn't tell you everything. That's all you're going to get cause that's all I'm gonna say. Now get out!"
"Fine. But if you wish to discuss this further-"
"I'll come find you," Inuyasha griped as he pulled a pillow over his face. "Bye."closed the door behind him, his expression thoughtful as he walked down the hallway. 'His understanding?' he repeated as he walked through the sun's warm rays to his room. The castle was quiet around him, the occupants asleep for the day with the castle's human guards stationed at their posts. 'I sense something changing in him, as if a caterpillar inside a cocoon. This isn't the first time I sensed this change, but when...when was the fir-' His eyes widened, the proof his memory provided leaving him stunned and speechless.
'I must speak to the miko,' Aragon decided as he made his way to the castle exit. 'Surely she knows what's happening.'watched as the miko indulged herself, once again deeply immersed in the dream he first found her in. Kagome stared ahead sadly, watching as the other version of herself tackled her sister and pulled them both to the grass.
"Tell me young miko, do you waste every night wishing for thus?"groaned and turned away, her dream continuing without her as she greeted him. "Not you again."
"Yes, it is me again," Sesshoumaru replied drily.
"Why are you here?" Kagome asked. "Is it to torture me? Trust me, I'm in enough pain already."
"I merely wish to learn more about you," Sesshoumaru told her as he sat down on the blanket beside her. They sat in silence, both watching the antics of the other Kagome and her sister while the older adults stood by and laughed. "Is this some sort of fantasy of yours?" he finally asked as the cries of a baby cut through the afternoon air.laughed softly, the sound not nearly as merry as it was intended for as she shook her head. "No my lord. It's what I left behind."
"This awaits your return?" Sesshoumaru replied, his eyes narrowing slightly from an unknown emotion. Kagome shook her head again, but Sesshoumaru continued before she could correct him.
"Allow me to guess, as you humans so like to do. The adults there are you and your future mate, with a infant pup and two others."
"No," Kagome said. "That's my mother, father, sister and brother. At least, I think he would have been a boy. I never told Mama."
"I see." Sesshoumaru nodded, his face as stoic as always. "If that awaits you, then why are you traveling the countryside?"
"I'm looking for you," Kagome huffed. "Remember? Or have you forgotten in your old age?"
"Human, you will do well to respect me-"
"Or you'll do what? Give me a nightmare?" Kagome brushed it off with a roll of her eyes. "Please. There's nothing you can do to me. My life is already hell."
"Then why do you not return to your village?" Sesshoumaru asked, his determination to find out her reasons allowing him to ignore her insolent tone. "If life is so miserable, then return to those who know you."
"I can't!" Kagome shouted, then whimpered quietly. "There's nothing to return to."regarded her curiously, then glanced at her dream before turning back to her. "I do not understand."sighed softly, longingly as she looked back to her dream, watching as she and her sister hugged their mother and father. "My village was a Slayer village."
"What is that?" Sesshoumaru asked as the dream Kagome picked up the tiny bundle in her mother's arms.
"They're what would have been youkai exterminators in your time," Kagome explained. "Except their focus isn't fully on youkai and oni like it used to be. Now it's mainly on vampires and the hellspawn they create when they bite lesser youkai and oni. They infect the lesser ones with the vampire curse and allow the results to run rampant on the countryside."
"I see," Sesshoumaru nodded. "Continue."pulled her knees to her chest, rested her chin on her knees and wrapped her arms around herself. "My father was a Slayer, just like my sister is now. He died a month before my 16th birthday."
"So you are just a child," Sesshoumaru said with a slight smile. Kagome huffed indignatly, her hands automatically flying to her sides as she glared at him. "I am not a child!" she argued as he ignored her. "In your time, I'm old enough to marry thankyouverymuch!"
"You are a child to me," Sesshoumaru responded with a faint quirk of his brow. "However, you are straying from the subject."
"Such a jerk," he heard her mumble before complying to his wishes. "My father, he was with a team of Slayers that night. They were tracking what they though was a single lone vampire. That vampire led them to a few master vampires, ones that are nearly as old as Tepes was. My father died trying to save another man."
"How honorable," Sesshoumaru muttered unimpressed.
"On my birthday, I had this dream. It was about you, saying that I had to come get you, that the vampires were coming and that I needed to leave. My mother made me leave when I woke up and when I returned to the village that night, I found..." She sniffed, her voice thick and hoarse as the dream behind her shifted. "I found...Gods, please don't make me remember."sat by quietly, too shocked to reply as her dream took a drastic turn. Human bodies lay everywhere, smoke rising in the early morning sunlight as the scent of burning flesh assaulted him from Kagome's memory. Everywhere he looked, vacant eyes stared back at him, bloodless bodies lay broken and torn to his unhindered gaze.
"Mother..." he heard her whisper softly. "Oh God, how could I leave you behind?"was her mother he saw last, and Sesshoumaru quickly found himself gazing at the girl in a different light as she reigned herself in and calmed down. "This is what happened to your village?"
"Hai, it is," Kagome nodded miserably.
"And that's why you're coming for me? Because you think I'll help you get your revenge?"
"I can get my own revenge," Kagome whispered darkly. "I don't need your help."
"Then why are you coming for me?" Sesshoumaru asked again. "If not for revenge, then what purpose do I serve?"
"You're going to avenge everyone else," Kagome said aloud. "Yes...that's what you're supposed to do."
"You have not known until now?"
"No," Kagome shook her head. "Not until now. I've wondered but..now that I've said it...it makes perfect sense. Tepes and Naraku have hurt so many people, youkai and human alike, that it would just make sense for you to do what I can't."
"What do you mean?" Sesshoumaru inquired as the scene around him faded. "Miko, do not wake up," he ordered as she began to disappear. Kagome faded away with a sad smile and a wave.
"Goodbye youkai lord," Kagome said as her voice faded into the darkness. "I'll see you again, right?"looked to the darkness around him, waiting patiently for the last traces of Kagome's psyche to leave her dream world before leaving. He stepped out of the mirror gracefully, the helm of his hakamas dragging against the mirror's frame as he stepped onto the plateau below.dropped at his feet, and Sesshoumaru looked down at the decapitated devil before glancing at who threw it. "What is this?" he asked as Kanna glared at him. "Why did you throw this at me?"
"That, Sesshoumaru-sama , is the result of you trying to break out of my barrier," Kanna responded angrily. "He got through it while you were away. I had to ...dispose of him. Why do you keep trying to get out of here?"
"Because I do not need the help of an emotional miko-child," he responded. "I can return to the living world on my own."
"What makes you think that?" Kanna demanded heatedly. Jaken and Myouga cowered to a far side of the plateau, watching as the two creatures glared at each other. "You didn't do so well the last time you were left on your own. When did that change?"
"Just what do you speak of?" Sesshoumaru demanded. "How dare you insult me?"
"It's no insult when it's the truth Sesshoumaru!" Kanna countered, her voice raised an octave higher than normal. "If you were thinking the last time you made an important decision, the world above wouldn't be the way it is now!
"If you had only used your head in your last battle! You would have saved so many lives!"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Sesshoumaru snapped back, his well taught control slowly withering to dust. "I will not be accused of something I have no control over."
"You're senses of honor are screwed up," Kanna rebuked. "You think that, by keeping your warped version of your father's promise, that you'll be honored and forgiven! Well you're wrong! Do you know how many people have suffered because of YOU!!!"
"Quiet wench!" Jaken shouted from the other side of the clearing. "Sesshoumaru-sama doesn't have to answer to you!"
"No, he doesn't," Kanna glared though her wispy bangs. "But what about the subjects he left without a leader? What about the people who's lives have been snuffed out by the vampires? You saw how easily the other Sesshoumaru killed Tepes. Do you mean to tell me that one little hanyou stopped you?"
"This Sesshoumaru does not break his promises-"
"But you have!" Kanna interrupted, then winced as a devil crashed into her barrier. "You promised to protect your people. You didn't. You promised to protect your brother. You haven't. You promised to rule well. You haven't and you didn't. Has it ever occurred to you that everything happening on earth is your fault? That all the suffering that the miko, and hundreds like her have gone through rest solely on your shoulders?"
'She cannot blame me for the faults of the world,' Sesshoumaru decided as Kanna walked away. 'There was no way to prevent this and Inuyasha live. It would not have been possible.'
"What about the Tenseiga?" Kanna's voice whispered to him. "If you had used it, you would have seen the spell the dark miko placed on him. You could have helped him Sesshoumaru, yet you decided to die. That's why you're here, and that's why the gods allowed you to suffer for so long. That's also why you're going back.
"You have to atone, Sesshoumaru-sama. And there is much to atone for..."Chapter)before the complaints start, let me explain. See, in a way, everything that's happened in the living world is Sesshoumaru's fault. I know, he's been dead for centuries but trust me, it'll get explained soon enough. This chapter introduces what's about to happen to Inuyasha, plus the inner struggle he's about to go through. On top of that, there's Totosai, hard at work on two swords. You can just guess who Totosai's visitors were. (Big ups to BelleDayNight for the info!) Here's the intro to the next chapter.'s sister arrives in Kyoto...and Kagome see a ghost...and and her sister reunite...Miroku joins the team...Twelve: Haunted Past!