InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Forgotten ❯ Tetsusaiga: Battle within the Tomb ( Chapter 31 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Sesshomaru, Inuyasha or anyone else from the hit anime/manga series. Rumiko Takahashi does. I do own all OC's and plot in this story.

 

Part 3: Battle in the Tomb

 

Five days later…

 

Inuyasha stood before the stone construct. Massive boulders surrounded a set that looked like a table, as if they were sentries and on top of the table was a small shrine. The hanyou took a deep breath and stepped forward. Almost immediately a pack of dogs appeared from the sentry stones. Kirara growled then leapt off his shoulder and transformed. The dogs, startled by the swirl of flames and the appearance of a much bigger cat with large fangs, retreated a few steps then came forward and growled again.

 

“Father's protectors, huh?” said Inuyasha. He didn't want to kill the dogs as they seemed to be protecting the tomb but he wasn't to be deterred either.

 

The dogs stopped when a voice spoke up, “Master Inuyasha is that you?”

 

Inuyasha blinked, dropped into a fighting stance, and demanded, “Whose there? Show yourself!” Kirara yowled in agreement. Boing! Boing! Something landed on Inuyasha's nose and pricked it. Staring cross-eyed at it, the hanyou saw a flea sucking away. Whack! He squashed the annoying parasite and let the flattened creature float to the ground.

 

The flea re-inflated once it touched the earth. “Master Inuyasha, it is so good to see how well you've grown,” it said with great cheer as if it hadn't just been squashed. Both Kirara and Inuyasha blinked in confusion.

 

“Who are you and how do you know me?” the hanyou asked.

 

“I'm Myoga, Master Inuyasha. I served your father when he was alive and continue to serve as guardian of his tomb,” replied the flea.

 

Inuyasha eyed the flea then picked him up and held him at eye level. “I'm supposed to believe that a puny little flea like you was left to defend my father's tomb?”

 

“How rude! I may be small but I can still pull my weight around here!” snapped Myoga in outrage.

 

“Which isn't saying much,” muttered Inuyasha.

 

The flea coughed and, in attempt to change the subject, asked, “What brings you here today?”

 

“I encountered some writings left behind that indicated that my father's sword, the Tetsusaiga, was left here. Do you happen to know where it is?” replied Inuyasha. He wasn't about to tell the flea the real reason he had come. His father had gone to great lengths to keep the truth hidden and was it really necessary to inform the whole world of that grim event? To Inuyasha, it seemed too much like begging sympathy from people.

 

“I see, I guess you're old enough to wield your father's fang,” said Myoga looking the hanyou over. “Tetsusaiga is with the remains.” He turned as best he could in Inuyasha's grip and gestured to the shrine on top of the boulder. “The remains are there.”

 

Inuyasha blinked then released the flea who screamed as he fell to the ground. The dogs offered no further resistance as he approached the shrine. He reached into the little wooden construct and pulled out a single black pearl. He felt power radiating from the small gem. Instinctively, he cracked it between his claws. The energy vanished in a burst and reappeared as swirling hole before him. He leapt in and Kirara followed with Myoga riding atop her.

 

Unknown to the trio a fourth followed them in soon after.

 

****

 

Inuyasha fell from the sky, before him lay many skeletons, white mist and steep spires of rock, but towering over all in size and splendor was an enormous dog skeleton in magnificent armor. Kirara pulled underneath him and landed astride her. They flew toward the giant skeleton.

 

“There he is in all his glory,” said Myoga in a tone of reverence. “Tetsusaiga will be buried within his bones.”

 

Inuyasha said nothing as Kirara flew inside the great skull's maw. Here I might be able to make contact with Father. The remains should still have a spirit tie to him. I should be able to send my soul to where he is and speak with him there.

 

They landed at the base of the enormous cavern that was his father's chest. Skulls lined the floor and despite the lack of sunlight, he could still see perfectly. The light source was a golden pedestal, a sword stuck into its center.

 

“Myoga, is that it?” he asked.

 

“It is, my lord,” replied the flea.

 

Inuyasha climbed off of Kirara and walked toward the sword. The blade appeared to be rusted and dull, nothing like any legendary sword he was expecting. Once he stepped onto the pedestal he glance up at the huge cavern lined with ribs then forward at the spine that rose from the other side of the pedestal. Walking passed the sword he put his hand on the bone.

 

“Master Inuyasha! What are you doing?” shouted the agitated flea. Kirara growled for silence then stared at her comrade. She recognized the drop in his heart rate and knew he would soon be in deep meditation. She didn't understand why he did it but he seemed to gain sudden insight the few times he had gone into it. She would not allow the ignorant flea bouncing on her head to interrupt.

 

Inuyasha felt the familiar warmth of stepping into the garden on the border of the spirit world. He opened his eyes but no one was there. Disturbed, he took a step forward and the ground opened up before him. He screamed as he plummeted. Flames roared up on either side of him and the rock walls flew passed as dizzying speeds. He reached out and dug his claws into the sides of the crevice. He cried out and his shoulders strained and his arms threatened to tear themselves free of their sockets. His fall stopped.

 

What-what happened? How did I end up here? Inuyasha looked around. He was certain he was on the border of Hell and these flames were blowing from there. He looked up and saw the distant light from the spirit border. He glanced down and saw the black flames of Hell itself only a few feet away.

 

Any further and I wouldn't have been able to come back at all, he thought in horror. The screams of the damned echoed up to him and as he continued to stare he could see them writhing and toiling in the inferno below. Many reached up toward him, attracted by the light that would never embrace them.

 

I need to start climbing. I can't linger here any longer. As he turned to begin the strenuous return to the surface something familiar caught the corner of his eye. He glanced back at it and froze. A pair of golden eyes stared back at him from a face that was withered and gaunt. Hair that still held hints of silver hung down from the head in tangled, greasy knots. The eyes held no light of hope in them.

 

Inuyasha trembled then reached toward the tormented soul and screamed, “FATHER!” Chains rose from the cavern floor and wrapped themselves around his extended arm. “Shit!” he cried and pulled as hard as he could. The chains pulled back and he felt his grip on the ledge failing. Fearing for his very existence, he reached deep within himself for whatever reserves that could free him from their vice-like grip.

 

He glowed and the chains shattered at the same moment the ledge he held gave out. He tumbled for only a few feet then there was a massive flap and he was hovering in the air above the damned. He looked to either side and gasped. Large white wings spread out from either side and beat the air to maintain his place in it. Not daring to question what had just happened, he dived toward his father rather than escape up the crevice.

 

Something swooped in front of him. Black, molted wings flapped. The creature had long black greasy hair, pointed ears that extended higher than any demons. Talon like claws extended from the ends of his long, gnarly fingers. His bare feet were thrice the length of any human's with the balls far wider than the ankles and talons coming from his three fat toes. A long, furless monkey tail swung back and forth behind him. Ragged furs were all that he wore for clothes. His eyes were green slits splitting blue orbs. A pure-blooded enzeru.

 

Inuyasha pulled back and fled. This wasn't just a damned enzeru from times long gone; this was Satan, the traitor. Satan, like several other enzeru children borne of this world, had chosen to side with Shugotenshi during the Celestial War. However, while the others had truly believed their parents were in the wrong, Satan had joined with them for the sole purpose to use the rebelling faction to remove the more powerful adults so he could rule supreme in their place.

 

The surviving enzeru had taken Satan and created another dimension where all people of wicked nature or terrible deed would be banished to upon their deaths and trapped him within it. He was now the undisputed master of his own domain; getting what he desired had been his ironic punishment. Satan couldn't escape Hell and, furious with his fate, he took it out on any who appeared within his realm. A fitting punishment for those who thought they could bring misery to those around them while alive.

 

All the pure-blood survivors had chosen to remove themselves from the world and had recreated themselves as various gods or spirits or even tied themselves to mortal beings as Shugotenshi had. The fates of all were unknown to the tenko. However, there wasn't any way for Inuyasha to take on a pure-blood, especially one as cold and cruel as Satan, and thus he fled.

 

“Do not think you can escape, Son of Lucifer,” said Satan in the enzeru language. “I will delight in your suffering as your father screams in emotional agony!”

 

Dammit! I can't let him catch me but I can't let him keep Father here either, thought Inuyasha as he flew toward the cavern's only exit. There has to be something I can do. Something that will save him! An image of a rope reaching down into a chasm pulling a person up and out again filled his mind.

 

“Worth a shot,” muttered Inuyasha and he envisioned his power becoming light itself. A light that dispelled the dark and guided the lost to its source, the only rope that could be used in this place. The power flowed within him and a glow appeared in the palm of his left hand. When he reached the exit, he spun and snapped his hand like he was throwing something. The beam whipped out and plunged toward his father's soul. The end plunged into the center of his chest and his whole spirit glowed with the same intensity.

 

“Yatta!” cried Inuyasha. Something erupted from his stomach. Inuyasha looked down and saw Satan's talons sticking out of his abdomen.

 

“Yatta,” agreed Satan mockingly. “You give Lucifer hope which will make the pain even greater when I show you to him. Stupid boy! You should have just escaped.”

 

I won't give up! I can't give up! Inuyasha gasped and focused all his will as he felt his strength fail.

 

“Let go,” said a voice. Inuyasha looked around. “You can still make it if let me go.” The hanyou's gaze shot downward and met his father's eyes. Kenhoshi was the one speaking, telling his son to abandon him in order to escape Satan. Hopeless despair filled Inuyasha and he screamed. A golden aura surrounded him and he was suddenly flying up through the fissure with Satan howling obscenities as his prey escaped beyond his grasp.

 

Inuyasha didn't know what was happening only that something was dragging him back to the land of living. He tried to hold onto the line but watched in horror as the rope thinned until it was no more than a thread. His father's soul was being left behind. I wasn't strong enough to pull him out with me.

 

Then he was back in own body, except he was lying flat on the pedestal with Kirara and Myoga staring down at him in concern. Suddenly ill, he rolled over and vomited onto the skulls beneath. What came up was black sludge that carried the faint scent of his own blood. Kirara stepped over to him and rubbed her chin along his spine. Inuyasha gasped then heaved again. His stomach continued to twist around, a physical reaction to the spirit wound he had suffered from Satan.

 

His right hand tingled. Fearing it was the spell poison stirring from within his marrow, he turned to look at his hand and saw it was holding Tetsusaiga in a death grip. “When did I…?” Inuyasha started to ask but another spasm forced him to turn his head down again.

 

“Master Inuyasha, what happened?” cried Myoga, bouncing in agitation. “After you touched your father's bones you were engulfed in light both black and white then your body arched and you fell backwards. You took hold of the Tetsusaiga as you were falling and the light suddenly disappeared.”

 

Before he could answer Inuyasha's left arm began throbbing. He held it up to look at it and swallowed. The palm of his hand was black from severe burns. Kirara yowled when she saw it and Myoga bounced over.

 

“I didn't even see this before. How terrible! What happened to you, Master Inuyasha?” said Myoga as he examined the damaged appendage. Inuyasha just vomited again.

 

“Indeed, why are you in such a weakened state, cousin?” said an all too familiar voice. The hanyou's blood turned to ice. Kirara glanced up and growled while she shifted her body until she was standing over Inuyasha.

 

“Who's that?” squeaked Myoga bouncing over to Kirara.

 

“Kuromakaze,” whispered Inuyasha. He climbed to his feet using Tetsusaiga as a cane. His vision spun and he swayed then fell across Kirara's back. “Fly!” he gasped. Kirara obliged him and shot straight up. Inuyasha swung an arm around her neck and struggled to find the strength to hang on.

 

“I thought you wanted to fight me, cousin, isn't that why you caused all that trouble? To attract my attention? To invite me to battle?” Kuromakaze asked in a mocking tone. The voice came from every direction at once leaving the three with no idea where he was. Scythe blades spiraled down toward the ascending twin-tale. Kirara yowled and twisted to avoid the deadly rain of steel. Too weak from his near fatal encounter with the evil enzeru, Inuyasha fell off her back.

 

“Master Inuyasha!” yelled Myoga. Kirara yowled and spun around, diving toward the falling hanyou. From somewhere in the shadows, Kuromakaze laughed. The spinning blades reversed direction. The twin-tale got underneath Inuyasha, catching him, and started upwards once more. She could see the rising blades but knew if she dodged them like last time she would throw her rider once more. She increased her speed in attempt to simply out fly them.

 

However, within Kuromakaze's sphere of influence, the scythe blades could move much faster. They caught her as she entered the mouth. She yowled as the blades dug in or sliced through her flesh and she crashed onto the shoulder armor.

 

“Kirara,” cried Inuyasha and he tried to climb off her. “You can't die, leave me behind and go back to Tenji.” The twin-tale growled, rose to her feet, and shook herself just enough to knock Inuyasha back into place on her back. Straining through the pain she rose into the air again.

 

“How very noble of you, but it's going to cost you your life,” said Kuromakaze, still nowhere in sight. Not that Inuyasha could see straight anymore. Kirara shot sideways as the naginata flew toward her. The weapon passed close enough to part her fur with its wind, but even that motion nearly sent Inuyasha flying. The naginata flew on and smashed through the left great fang on the skull of Inuyasha's father. Inuyasha blinked at the fang fell, ricocheted off the armor and vanished into the mist below.

 

Kirara's injuries dramatically slowed her movements. She flew at half her usual speed and strained to increase it, her demon energy was being siphoned off to tend to her multiple serious wounds. Inuyasha saw the scythes flying toward them again and knew Kirara wouldn't survive a second hit. Even if he threw himself off now she wouldn't be able to dodge them. Feeling more pathetic than he ever had in his life before, he buried his face into her fur and waited for death to come.

 

“It's alright,” said a voice from within his soul. “Trust yourself.” The voice sounded familiar but he didn't recognize its warmth and strength. The Tetsusaiga pulsed and Inuyasha felt something like a hand taking hold of his right and strength flowed into him. Tetsusaiga pulsed again. His eyes blurred but a different vision appeared. Swirling winds clashed and where they struck a light glowed. Every instinct screamed strike and he awkwardly slashed the Tetsusaiga at the light. Blades of energy shot forth from the light and flew toward the flying scythes, shattering them.

 

He saw something swoop out of the way of the raging energy. It was swirl of dark energy in his clouded vision, but Inuyasha was certain that that was Kuromakaze. The darkness soared toward him and he knew another attack would soon follow. He focused on the light when it appeared again and struck a second time. The blades of energy flew toward the dark swirl. The wind changed and the blades parted but not before they grazed the energy mass in between.

 

Suddenly the sword flew from his grip. Kuromakaze's kane power had seized hold of Tetsusaiga's blade. Inuyasha's last defense was now in the hands of his hated enemy. The light reappeared, there was a slight hesitation as Kuromakaze figured out what he was supposed to “see” with to land the attack then he struck. The blades of energy soared to him but Inuyasha felt a sudden calm overcome him.

 

Blades of energy, it's still energy, he thought remembering his grandfather's words to him as well as the memory he was given; the image of deadly light being diverted by flowing water.

 

Inuyasha swung his right arm up as he concentrated on the path of the blades and his finger tips. When his fingers aligned with the blades the energy seemed to waver then it swooped up over him following the direction his hand went. Inuyasha brought his arm full circle and when the blades were before him but facing the other direction he released them. They soared toward Kuromakaze who dodged sideways only to find his cousin could still control them. With a yank of his arm, Inuyasha brought the energy blades back under his control and brought them around following Kuromakaze's movements. The evil hanyou dodged and weaved but the energy didn't dissipate. How could it when it hadn't hit anything? With a snarl Kuromakaze disappeared from sight fleeing to the portal where they had entered.

 

“Master Inuyasha! That fellow released the Tetsusaiga!” shouted Myoga. Kirara growled and turned toward the falling blade without prompt. Even with his failing sight, he was able to spot the sword, it glowed gold in his mind's eye. Inuyasha blinked, it glowed the same shade that had embraced him when Satan had been about to capture him.

 

I fell back and caught the Tetsusaiga, he thought. Was that why I was pulled back to my body? Was that the Tetsusaiga saving me? He caught the blade and said, “Kirara, please return to my father's grave.”

 

“Why, Master Inyasha?” demanded Myoga.

 

“Tetsusaiga is a powerful demon sword but the enemy I fight uses celestial powers. A demon sword has no place in a celestial war,” replied Inuyasha. I'm sorry, Tetsusaiga, but I can't stand the idea of you being stained with innocent blood should you be stolen again by him. I'll return for you once the fight with Kuromakaze is over.

 

****

 

At the border of the spirit world…

 

“Ahh! Kenhoshi! What happened? You're a complete mess!” shrieked Izayoi.

 

“Isn't he, now,” said Jounochi as he hauled over a pair of buckets of water. Ginhana was gently stroking Kenhoshi's wounds with a damp cloth. Kenhoshi flinched and just bowed his head. Kohana lifted the heavy bucket and then splashed icy water on the former Inu no Taisho. The dog demon yelped and gasped.

 

“What are you doing?” asked Izayoi running over to the group.

 

“Purification modification,” replied Kohana with a smile. “That way when he is reincarnated he'll be reborn as a priest.”

 

“Why would you do that and that doesn't answer why he's in such a sorry state to begin with?” said Izayoi. She stared at Kenhoshi but he refused to meet her gaze. He was embarrassed enough.

 

“Kohana thought the enma might be more willing to listen to us if we started to do this. Eternal is already discussing the situation with them,” replied Jounochi. Kohana dumped the second bucket on the dog demon to more yelps.

 

“What situation?” asked Izayoi.

 

“Well twelve thousand years is a long time to play the saint, especially in a world where the moral standards change over the generations…” said Jounochi.

 

“Kenhoshi was trapped in Hell until a little while ago. Inuyasha committed a grave taboo in freeing him,” said Ginhana.

 

Izayoi blinked and Sage Katsuya answered her unspoken question, “Kenhoshi has done questionable things in the past not without good reason but the enma weigh the deeds of a person when they are deciding their fates. They rarely if ever consider the reasoning behind it.”

 

“So Eternal has gone to try to tilt the scales in favor of his remaining here,” said Jounochi.

 

“If she is successful in doing this wouldn't that mean Inuyasha would be spared?” asked Izayoi. Taboos in the land of dead were absolute. If his name wasn't cleared of the crime it could not only affect his place in the afterlife but it could curse his life as well.

 

“No, it wouldn't,” said Kenhoshi in a soft voice.

 

“Even if they rescind Kenhoshi's sentence it doesn't change what Inuyasha did. There are ways to beseech the enma to grant a reprieve for a damned soul. Inuyasha took things into his own hands when he freed his father. They do not look favorably on anyone who oversteps the enma's authority,” said Sage Katsuya.

 

“But this could impact more than just him,” said Izayoi. No one said anything. They already knew how far the curse would spread.

 

To be continued…

 

_________________________________________________________________ _____________

So despite what Inuyasha thinks, he really did save his dad but now his soul is in trouble.

 

For those who don't know “enma” is the judge of the dead in Japanese culture. Think Koenma from Yu Yu Hakusho.

 

Yes, Inupapa's alternate name is Lucifer. Really, are you that surprised that he is also known as Lucifer when his surname is Reihane aka Light-wing?

 

Background on the name Lucifer. Lucifer was known as the Angel of Light back when he was second only to God, in fact that is what his name means. He attempted a revolt to take God's place and was cast down into Hell. Some people say Satan and Lucifer are the same person some say they are two different people. In this world they are two different people.

 

Inupapa spent a great deal of time abroad as noted in the first part. Is it really too hard to believe that while he was wandering he may have caused a bit of trouble in the western world which is why their culture sees the name Lucifer as synonymous with traitor and evil?

 

There are multiple languages running around so Inupapa could end up with multiple names. Kenhoshi means “sword star”. Swords didn't exist back during the Celestial War that occurred at the end of the last ice age. So we can say that Lucifer was probably his original name since all the really long-lived characters refer to him by that name. He tarnished his name so bad during his wanderings he must have decided to change it to avoid the hazards of being well known.