InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fang of the Father ❯ Ryutatsu ( Chapter 20 )

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

LES: Another made up name! An educated (and probably WRONG) guess leads me to believe that `Ryu' means `dragon'. While `tatsu'… I didn't realize where it came from until I realized that it was the same name as the new ride at Six Flags here in Cali. And the symbol of that ride is… a dragon. Funny how these things turn out. Oh! And the winner of my contest is… no one, unfortunately.

Inuyasha: (pumps fist in air) Hell yes!!

LES: For those of you who are curious, it was just about everyone's favorite part. When Kagome rubs Inuyasha's ears and he starts to purr. His reply of `Growling, friendly-like' is from the comic book, Calvin and Hobbes.

“Hobbes: Tigers don't purr. We are too vicious.

Calvin: Then what do you call that noise you make when I rub your tummy?

Hobbes: Growling, friendly-like.”

LES: Oh! And keeping with the spirit of Dog, I will be adding cute dog quotes. Expect them to last a while; I've got a whole book of them!

-“I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts.” John Steinbeck.

Chapter XX: Ryutatsu

(Immediately after the last scene…)

“Inuyasha!” Kagome's voice called from outside. The hanyou instantly pushed himself up from the futon. His ankle wasn't completely healed, so he was forced to hobble outside.

Instantly, he realized that something was wrong. It had been a proper late-spring day, but now the wind had picked up, and storm clouds appeared out of nowhere.

He could feel the charge in the air, but a lightning storm starting so quickly?

Miroku and Sango came outside, and Miroku gave voice to Inuyasha's thoughts. “This storm is not natural.”

Kagome rushed out of the forest, carrying Shippo in her arms, her head held low against the onslaught of the wind. “Inuyasha!” She rushed into her mate's arms. “It just picked up out of nowhere! I smell Yokai, but I can't tell which type!”

“We're about to find out.” Inuyasha pointed into the sky.

As one, the group looked up into the gray sky. “Defiantly a Yokai who controls thunder and lightning.” Sango commented.

“You mean like the Thunder Brothers?” Shippo asked, shivering in fear of the memory of those who killed his family.

“Feh! The Thunder Brothers have been dead for years!” Inuyasha snorted.

Suddenly, a lightning bolt struck the ground, causing the humans in the group to gasp and jump backwards in shock.

A loud roar tore through the land of Inuyasha's forest and Kaede's village. Inuyasha and Kagome's sensitive ears pinned to their heads in order to shut out the noise.

The clouds parted and a large Dragon Yokai descended from the clouds, flashing razor-sharp talons and fangs. It had a long, gray, sinuous body with a thick mane. It was smaller, a lot smaller, then Ryukotsusei had been, but it still spoke of great strength.

Inuyasha drew the Tetsusaiga, ready to protect his pack from a possible threat.

The Dragon Yokai roared out in a deep growl of a Dragon's voice. “Hanyou Inuyasha of the Fang?”

“What do you want?” Inuyasha called up at the large dragon as it landed.

“Did you not wish to speak to the Dragon Yokai Lord of the North, hanyou?” Thunder, lightning, and the wind picked up as the Dragon Yokai's true form melted away to reveal its human form. Its human form was that of a noblewoman, beautiful and elegant. She has piercing purple eyes that were extremely intelligent and cynical. Her hair was steely silver-gray, the same color as the dragon's mane. But, most surprising, were the markings of a Yokai Lord that graced her cheeks under her eyes like beauty marks. “I am Lady Ryutatsu, heir to the late Lord Ryukotsusei, and I have come.”

Everyone except Inuyasha was shocked by the Dragon Lord's human form. “But… you are a female Yokai.”

Ryutatsu turned her piercing eyes on Miroku, her gaze turning cold. “Yokai Lords choose their own heir based on the one they believe most suited to take their place, regardless of gender… or, apparently, purity of blood.”

She didn't glance in Inuyasha's direction, but everyone knew that she spoke of him. Inuyasha snorted. “I ain't gonna apologize for being what I am. Like you said, Yokai Lords choose their own heirs. My old man chose me for his heir when I was barely whelped, and I had nothing to do with the choice. So, how did you know that I wanted to speak to you?”

“Dragon's Sight. All dragons possess the limited power to see the future.” Ryutatsu said. “I foresaw that you would want to speak to me. Also, Yokai Lords share a dim connection. Whenever one wants to speak to another, they will know. I wouldn't have bothered showing up, but I was flying overhead anyway. Why do you seek an audience with me, Hanyou Lord?”

Inuyasha didn't react to the Yokai Lady's thinly veiled insults. It wasn't like he expected any of the other three Yokai Lords to take him seriously. “Has your Dragon Sight shown you about my half-brother's activities?”

“The Former Lord Sesshomaru? Indeed.” Ryutatsu said. “Upon your choosing your mate in a human woman, you gained your father's powers that Sesshomaru had been in possession of. Last I looked; he was travelling the land, hunting down Yokai with Shikon shards. The fool has certainly fallen a long way…”

“If I may, My Lady…” Miroku began. “We believe that Sesshomaru is using the jewel to temporarily increase his own strength. He may be after the power that is carried by Yokai Lords.”

“And you warn me first because you think me vulnerable?” Ryutatsu demanded.

“No.” Sango said. “We warned you first because Dragon Yokai are considered the most powerful of Yokai. It is your great strength that may make you a target.”

Ryutatsu seemed satisfied with that response. The angry blaze in her eyed died down. “I appreciate your concern, but as you said… I am powerful. Sesshomaru would have to be foolish indeed to come for my life. If he does, I'll give him the same treatment I would give any assassin.” She transformed back into her true form.

“Ryutatsu… you father… was Ryukotsusei?” Inuyasha asked.

Ryutatsu snorted. “I had no love for my sire. He was a Yokai Lord who allowed himself to be sealed under the Chouin-Shikon of another Yokai Lord and then killed by a hanyou… no matter how powerful.” She spoke once again in her gender-neutral Dragon's voice. “Our fathers hardly agreed and were mortal enemies. But my father respected yours as a worthy adversary. Hanyou or not, prove yourself as a Lord, and I will afford you the same respect. I shall pass on what you have said to the other Yokai Lords.” With that, Ryutatsu took to the sky once again, roaring loudly as she went and causing lightning to flash across the sky once more.

“So… that was the new Dragon Yokai Lord?” Miroku asked once they were sure Ryutatsu was gone and the weather calmed down. “Beautiful, she may be; but polite, she is not.”

“Trust me; compared to other Yokai, she was civil considering that I'm a hanyou.” Inuyasha said. “A worthy adversary. That's all I could ever be to the other Yokai Lords.”

“Isn't that better than being a stupid half-breed who is only to be made sport of?” Shippo asked.

“Feh.” Inuyasha snorted. “Lots of Yokai and humans have tried to make a sport of me, and now they are dead.”

“Well, I for one, believe that we've had enough excitement for one day.” Miroku said. “Inuyasha, if I may speak with you…?”

Inuyasha blinked in shock, and then mutely followed Miroku a short distance away. Sango, Kagome, and Shippo went to Miroku and Sango's hut so that the two women could discuss Kagome's pregnancy while Shippo colored in the corner. The three newest Inu-hanyous were all out-of-sight. But no one was concerned. They figured out the two adolescents stayed with the silent, nameless pup during his time as a human, so everyone figured that's where they were.

Once Miroku and Inuyasha were at the edge of Inuyasha's forest, Miroku faced his hanyou friend. “Inuyasha, when are you going to build Kagome's house?”

“Huh?” Inuyasha asked, more confused.

“Surely you do not plan of raising your off-spring in that little shack?” Miroku asked.

“Well…” Inuyasha began uncertainly. “No. But… I don't know the first thing about building a hut! I've always slept where I could simply get comfortable and be reasonably protected.”

“It's all right. I figured that's what was causing the delay. I will assist you.” Miroku said. “Since Kagome is now with child, it is high time that you thought about the future.”

“I know… and you're right. I've put this off for far too long. That small hut is fine for just me and Kagome. But our pups are gonna need more room than that.”

Miroku fell silent for almost a minute, with Inuyasha gladly joining in. Finally, Miroku spoke up again. “So, are you nervous?”

“About pups?” Inuyasha asked, and Miroku nodded. Inuyasha shrugged. “The human part of me is nervous. But I guess that's normal. But the Yokai in me isn't nervous, cause I'm born with those paternal instincts and I remember how I was as a pup. So… what else do I really need?”

“That makes sense.” Miroku said. “And, between us men… if you treat your pups half as well as you treat Kagome…” When you're not being an idiot. “… you'll be a great father.”

Inuyasha stared at the ground. Before he had met Kikyo, no one ever said anything remotely nice about him. Even Kikyo's kind words had a sting in the tail, because she complimented the part of him that was half-human while displaying her obvious upset about his half-Yokai side. But Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Kaede… not so much Shippo… they complimented him wholeheartedly.

“I'll never understand you guys.” Inuyasha confessed. “Three years ago, none of you trusted me. Kagome bound me to these damn beads, Shippo trapped my hands under his fox-magic idol, you tried to suck me into your Wind Tunnel… twice, and Sango tried to kill me with her Hiraikotsu for something that I didn't do.”

“A lot can happen in three years.” Miroku said simply. “We learned that even when you bare your fangs, you still care for your friends.”

“Feh!” Inuyasha snorted. This conversation was getting far too mushy for his liking! He only truly let the full scope of his emotions show when he was alone with Kagome, and wasn't ready for his other friends to see his heart.

Miroku sensed Inuyasha's discomfort and wisely decided to change the subject. “So… where should the hut go?”

Inuyasha sighed, and started to lead the way into the depths of the forest that bore his name. “I was thinking…”

LES: Cliff-hanger! (Dodges fruit and vegetables in various stages of rot) Um… just no Brussels Sprouts, please. I hate those. Okay! Another dog quote!

-“The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man's.”Mark Twain