InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Demon Hunter ❯ The Gate ( Chapter 8 )

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

Chapter 8

Harry picked himself up off the cold, stone floor and looked around. He was standing in the middle of a spacious, underground room. Marble pillars all round him helped support the lofty ceiling a good fifty feet above his head. The walls were covered in artwork of what seemed to be famous battles between humans, demons, goblins, gods, and various other creatures. Time had left the art chipped and faded but not any less impressive. What was most noticeable stood against the wall opposite Harry. There, almost taking up the entire wall, were double stone doors just reaching thirty feet high. Harry was nearly positive that was a gate to hell. The very air surrounding the doors seemed ominous.

A short glowing red light drew his attention behind him. Inu Yasha was just standing up and brushing off his shirt.

“So?” he asked, spreading his arms out and gesturing to the Hall, “What do you think?”

“It's cool...um, where are we?” Harry asked.

Inu Yasha shrugged, “Somewhere in India.”

“WHAT?” Harry cried. “How the hell did we end up half way around the world? What do you mean India?”

Inu Yasha chucked deeply and began walking towards the doors. Harry quickly followed him.

“All nine gates are spread far out around the world. Mine happened to be in Alaska. Anyway, this is what a gate looks like unguarded.”

He gestured to the imposing doors they were now standing in front of.

“Um...does it change if it is guarded?”

“Its...more portable,” Inu Yasha answered awkwardly.

“...O...k.”

“Moving on,” Inu Yasha continued, “When there is a guardian in charge of a gate, and they choose to make it visible, it would be glowing,” he needlessly pointed out the doors again, “as you can see—these are not.”

Harry craned his neck upward, noticing unfamiliar runes chiseled into the cracked stone.

“What do those mean?” he asked, pointing to the runes.

“I dunno,” Inu Yasha said casually. He noticed Harry's skeptical look, “Hey! I don't know everything! I'm still quite young ya know!”

Harry continued give Inu Yasha the same dry look.

“Look, all I know is that they have something to do with the old way to get the gates open. They aren't needed any more; I don't even pay attention to the ones on mine.”

“What about the other guardians?” Harry asked suddenly.

“What about them?”

“Er, well, do you know them?”

Inu Yasha blinked at Harry, “I've met them. I don't really pay attention to them though.”

“Um, why...?”

Inu Yasha looked around, as though making sure they were alone, and silently beckoned Harry to lean forward, “Well...they're...old.”

Harry snorted and then laughed.

“I'm serious!” Inu Yasha chuckled, “I mean the guardian of the first gate has got to be at least two thousand. They're just not much fun to talk to.”

“Are they demons too?”

“Most are. There's a druid in there as well as a Bunyip. But none of them have any human blood in them, which is why I think they don't like me much. Or it could be I'm just better looking than them.”

Harry laughed again, “I thought demons were supposed to be ugly?”

“A lot of demons are. Mostly the lower class though. And purple people eaters. They're ugly too.”

“Riiiight,” Harry replied, “so, um, just out of curiosity, what class are you?”

Inu Yasha blinked for a moment, apparently unprepared for that question.

“I don't have a class I'm... special like that. But a dog demon—specifically one of my clan—is a first class. Maybe one day you'll meet my brother, he's a full demon.

“You have a brother?”

“Half brother,” Inu Yasha corrected, “he really hated me when we were younger. Gave me a lot of shit. I was disowned from the family when I was six, right after my mother died. Of course we get on better now. He's warmed up to me more after he took a human for a mate. I even got him to cut his hair.”

“Mate?” Harry asked. Demon's had some pretty strange customs.

Inu Yasha grinned.

“Harry my boy...” Inu Yasha slung an arm around his shoulder, “I think it's time we had...the talk.”

Harry jumped away from Inu Yasha as though burned.

“I don't need any talks!” he gasped quickly. Inu Yasha threw his head back and laughed.

“Alright, alright...the real reason I brought you here, besides showing you the gate, was because I wanted to see what you can do so far.”

Harry stared at Inu Yasha.

“What do you mean?”

Inu Yasha grabbed both Harry's shoulders and whirled him around. There, not twenty feel away from him, was what couldn't be described as anything other than a demon. It was crouched low to the ground, crawling on all four of its legs, although by the length of its hind legs it would have probably walked on two. The demon wasn't large, reaching about three feet high, but the dry, scaly, red skin, dripping stained fangs, and wide yellow eyes were enough to send Harry stumbling backwards in shock.

“Inu Yasha—!” Harry reeled around panicked only to find no one there. A low growl drew his attention back to the demon. Harry took a few calming breaths. Ok. He didn't have a wand. That was alright. He took on a basilisk with no wand. Of course he had a phoenix and a sword to help him out. Damn. What did he have now? He took a step back and felt something sharp poke his thigh.

Careful to keep his eye on the demon that was now starting to circle him, he slowly lowered his hand into his pocket and pulled out a shard of Sirius's mirror. He knew for a fact that he didn't put that in there, but before he could think on it the demon charged.

Harry dived to the side, doing a bit of a summersault before landing in a crouch. The demon landed in the ground, sliding a bit as it tried to run back at Harry with its fangs chomping on air. Harry let his instinct take over from there. He locked eyes with the demon, quickly slitting his palm with the glass. He twisted his fisted, bleeding hand quickly. The blood glowed and instantly formed a long whip. The demon leaped at Harry. A rush of anticipation flew threw Harry's blood and into the very whip he was drawing back. With a predatory glint in his eye whisked the whip forward, slicing through the demon as it fell with a final screech.

“Yes!”

Harry jumped around startled, the whip in his hand landed on the ground as a few drops of blood. Inu Yasha had dropped out of nowhere.

“Are you insane?” Harry yelled, “You don't just send demons after people like that and then...then abandon them!”

Inu Yasha just grinned, completely ignoring Harry's ranting, and began looking Harry over.

“You didn't even get a scratch,” he exclaimed happily. Despite Harry's anger at Inu Yasha he couldn't keep the smile off his face. The adrenaline was still coursing through his body.

“See? That was fun! Just wait until I get you trained up. You'll be able to take down demons bigger than the gate!”

Harry's eyes widened, “really?”

“O yeah—but you'll have to work hard. No more of this scrawny thing you got going,” Inu Yasha said, gesturing to Harry's lithe frame.

“Hey!” Harry said indignity, “I'm working on it! I run every morning now...and stuff.”

“Good. Keep it up. I'll just add my own training to it.”

Harry groaned. Inu Yasha laughed at him.

“You know—before I even ran into that book I did blood magic?”

“You did?”

“Yep. It was called “blades of blood”. You see what I did was coat my fingers in my own blood, I was usually already bleeding at the time for some reason or another, and I would swing my arm around in an arch, like this,” he demonstrated, “and it would slice through what ever demon was after me at the time.

“Wicked! Can you teach me that?” Harry asked excitedly.

“Sure.”

For the rest of the evening Inu Yasha showed Harry different attacks and moves using blood magic. It was agreed that every morning, after his run, Harry would go to the gate to be trained by Inu Yasha. They would work on blood magic, physical fighting, and every now and then Inu Yasha would let Harry take care of a demon with each one bigger and stronger than the last.