InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fireside Chats ❯ Part Five: Canine Fangs ( Chapter 5 )

Update: A few clarifications added, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

"Sesshomaru?!" Sango braced Hiraikotsu against the ground, prepared to use it as a shield. "What are you doing here again?"

The demon lord's eyes flickered in her direction, but he offered her no other response. "Impressive, little brother. You move very quickly as a hanyou."

"Fuck off, Sesshomaru," Inuyasha growled. "Why are you here again? What, did you forget something last night?"

"Forget?" the demon lord's left eyebrow arched slightly. "I forgot nothing. What I wish to test out was unavailable last night. Come at me."

Inuyasha hesitated for once. Whenever Sesshomaru invited him to attack, the demon lord usually just dodged his first few blows to get him unbalanced. With the area being rather close quarters, having sheer rock walls about three hundred feet high on two sides and a dense forest on another side, and Sesshomaru blocking the way on the only open space, it left little room to maneuver much; if Inuyasha let loose with a Wind Scar and Sesshomaru dodged it, it could possibly hit one of his friends if he wasn't extremely careful where he aimed. And being careful didn't usually go with fighting Sesshomaru. The demon lord was too damned fast for Inuyasha to have time to calculate his moves. "Why should I? You're the one who wants to test something. You can attack me, can't you?"

Sesshomaru chuckled mirthlessly; "What happened to you, Inuyasha? Did you lose your confidence? Or did you finally get some wisdom pounded into that thick skull of yours?"

Inuyasha growled a deep, wordless, feral canine growl of warning. I'll stall him a bit; maybe I can catch him off guard.

Had Sesshomaru had both arms, he might have crossed them, by the expression on his face as Inuyasha refused to move. As it was, the demon lord tilted his head slightly and favored his half-sibling with a hard, appraising stare. Inuyasha's spine tingled in discomfort. The rational part of  his mind became isolated as his brash side started to wake up. Why that arrogant son-of-a-bitch!

Sesshomaru continued to regard his brother with thinly veiled contempt and with stern appraisal. Then, suddenly, between one heartbeat and the next, the demon lords eyes widened and flashed red. An instant later, his gaze was as frigid and aloof as before. But the damage was done.

Searing rage coursed through Inuyasha's body and mind. The rational part of his mind protested. Exactly what did he do?! He flashed his eyes at you! That's not a challenge! But the rest of him didn't care. It was challenge enough.

Cocking Tetsusaiga up at the ready, he launched an assault. His rational side screamed Stop! Stop! He's going to dodge and make you hit one of your friends! but he couldn't make his body obey.

Sesshomaru didn't dodge. Instead, his hand flashed to his waist and drew one of the swords. With practiced ease, he parried the blow. As the two blades clashed, something wholly unexpected happened:

Tetsusaiga lost its transformation.

"What the fuck?!" Inuyasha's jaw unhinged in disbelief, and his momentary distraction was enough to leave him wide open. Sesshomaru gave a might shove, and sent Inuyasha flying backwards. As he hit the ground, his hand loosened and Tetsusaiga slipped from his grasp, clattering across the rocky ground and skidding to a stop just out of reach. Kagome grabbed up the Tetsusaiga, worrying that Sesshomaru was about to attempt to keep Inuyasha parted from the sword so that he would eventually transform into a full youkai.

Inuyasha sat up from where he'd taken a backwards dive into the rocks, looking up at Sesshomaru, expecting an assault. But Sesshomaru simply stood there, his attention now on the sword in his hand. Inuyasha got a better glimpse of its hilt, and realized that it wasn't Tokijin.

"What the hell?" Inuyasha had seen Sesshomaru draw Tenseiga only once, and that was to defeat the poorly-resurrected Panther-demon leader. It had never occurred to Inuyasha that the Tenseiga, a sword that could not inflict even the slightest harm on a living being, could be used as a sword in defensive moves, to block an opponent's blow.

Sesshomaru looked complacent. "If it's not too much for you, throw a Wind Scar at me."

Not too much for me?! Why that -- !

"What the hell are you doing, Sesshomaru? Have you lost your mind?" Inuyasha started to stand.

"Do as I say, Inuyasha!" the demon lord barked angrily. "No damage has been done to the Tetsusaiga; pick it up and throw a Wind Scar at me."

Kagome handed Inuyasha the sword, which transformed the moment the hanyou gripped it.

"I don't know what you're trying to prove, Sesshomaru, but you're really starting to piss me off!" Inuyasha fumed as he raised Tetsusaiga. The demonic energy of the Wind Scar that surrounded the blade started to swirl and with a sharp downward swing, Inuyasha sliced through the Wind Scar's release point. The instant he released the Wind Scar, a terrible thought sprang to mind.

Wait a minute! If he somehow manages to reflect it back at me, like Kanna did that one time, it'll hit my friends too! FUCK! How could I be so stupid?! I don't think the Backlash Wave will work against the Wind Scar, either!

As the four energy blades ripped through the ground toward Sesshomaru, the demon lord raised Tenseiga, waited until the attack was just upon him, and drove the Tenseiga, point-first, into the ground in front of him, slicing through the Wind Scar's vanguard. Instantly, the Wind Scar's energy spasmed and dissipated.

Inuyasha stared in dumb shock. No one had ever so completely annihilated his Wind Scar. Some enemies had withstood it. Some had dodged it. A few had had barriers take the brunt of it. But never had it simply been winked out of existence so completely.

Sesshomaru calmly sheathed Tenseiga. "As I suspected, Tenseiga can reverse or nullify anything the Tetsusaiga does."

Inuyasha blinked. "And? That won't do you much good in battle. Tenseiga is useless in battle, so that trick will do you no good except against me. And you're the one who told me that right know we're neither allies nor enemies."

"When did he say that?!" Sango interrupted.

"Last night, right before he shoved me to the ground and made his getaway."

"We have a common enemy," Sesshomaru said mildly. "That does not make us allies, but I think that it would be prudent to not fight each other at this time." He looked pointedly at Inuyasha. "Besides, you are hardly worth my time. Once you have realized your own full power, then you and I will do battle to the death, and I will have your head as a trophy. Until that time, do not presume to interfere in my affairs, and keep your attentions on your own tasks." He turned away and took a few steps before pausing and glancing back over his shoulder.

"If you doubt the veracity of my words, there is someone who was allied to our father who will counsel you. Follow this forest for two days, and if you are fortunate, you may happen upon a very old demon-tree named Bokuseno. If you treat him respectfully, he will tell you whatever you wish to know about the gifts our father left you. Being that Totosai is unreliable when it comes to being straight with you, I would suggest you take this opportunity. You will need a guide, I imagine. Bokuseno is not easy to find." Then, without another word, he left. Within a few paces, he had disappeared into the forest.

Inuyasha shook his head bewilderedly. "What the hell was all that about?"

"Was that really Sesshomaru?" Shippo asked. "He wasn't nearly scary enough."

"That was him alright," Inuyasha said. "There's no counterfeiting a demon lord like him. But you're right, he was acting unusual."

"Heads up," Kagome said, "Jewel fragments on the move. Coming our direction!"

"I smell wolves," Inuyasha spat. "There's only one wolf around that smells like that."

Miroku and Sango had taken advantage of the down time from Sesshomaru's departure to clean up their campsite. They both paused to look up when Inuyasha growled. From the direction they had come the day before, a dust cyclone had appeared.

"Let me guess," Miroku said dryly. "Kagome senses Jewel fragments, Inuyasha smells wolves and we see a cyclone of dust approaching. Has to be Koga."

last updated: August 28, 2005