InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Glimpse of the Future ❯ Chapter 4

*groans* I REALLY gotta say this again?? NOT MINE! I wish, though . . .

Also, I got a review asking about how the kids are full demons. Well, Just so ya know, it's explained later on!! I promise I won't leave ya hanging, but I'm afraid you're gonna have to indulge in me till then. Sorry!!

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Ch 4 Visitor from the Past

Inside the well house, a figure pulled himself up and out of the well. He looked around, sniffing and listening for any signs of nearby youkai. He had actually done it. He had followed his half-brother and his wench into the future. Sesshoumaru almost smiled as he looked at the Shikon jewel shard in his palm. It had been sheer luck that he had come across those two fools as they made their way to the well, arguing about how the bitch couldn't leave the jewel shards, as they were what let her pass between times. It had been too tempting. Go to the future, where it would only be his brother and the girl, without those other idiots trying to protect them, and defeat him in order to get the Tetsusaiga. Sheer brilliance on his part, if he did say so himself.

He noted his brother and the wenches' scent, but… what was that?? He sniffed a little more. It was very faint, but there nonetheless. More youkai. Sniff, Sniff… Dog demons, to be exact… and full-blood. But what were they doing here with his worthless half-brother? He slid open the door and stepped out, as proud and regal as ever, and much quieter without his usual noisy retainer. He noticed light coming from a building, along with faint voices… and laughter…

He began to walk in that direction, when he heard a man's voice, older than Inuyasha, declare, "Well, why don't we go outside and have a little sparring session, and see how everyone's holding up?" This idea was followed with cheers that Sesshoumaru noticed were coming closer, and so he leapt into a nearby tree, remaining upwind from the nuisances. He made himself comfortable as he waited for the demons to come outside, so he could study his new opponents, or perhaps allies.

First he saw a young man, no, a youkai, come running outside, his long black hair and furry black tail waving in the wind as he ran to the other end of the yard. Sesshoumaru realized he had a perfect seat when he realized that with his position, they would have to actually look for him, plus, he was covered in the shadows. He allowed himself a small smile as he leaned back into the darkness, noticing that he could get a clear view of everyone's profile from here.

This young challenger had black hair and dog ears, but also a tail not unlike his own (only black), and bright blue eyes that looked out from a face with two red stripes across the cheek. Sesshoumaru unconsciously reached up and touched his own stripes, now interested in this young man and his ancestry.

While he had been studying the boy, he had missed seeing the group move into the shade of a building directly under him, so he could not see anyone in the entire group, although he was positive his idiot brother and the priestess was with them. But who else? Who were these other youkai, and how powerful were they? It looks like I get a free demonstration of their strength, he thought cheerfully.

The boy's challenger was… Another black haired Inu-Youkai? Only this one seemed older, and had golden eyes. But the stripes were still there, as was the tail and ears. He tried to remember any rumors he had heard about black-haired dog demons, but could think of none.

He watched as they bowed to each other respectfully, and began their match, which he later learned to be three distinct matches, and no weapons or special abilities allowed, merely hand-to-hand combat.

Interesting, he thought as he watched them move gracefully and confidently. A match was won when either the opponent was pinned, or could be easily killed, such as when the elder youkai placed his claws against the young one's throat, winning him the match. But in the third round, which now served as a tiebreaker, he watched as the young one began to get advice from some fool watching.

"Watch out for both his hands, not just one!" The young one noticed the claws heading his way and leapt back, but not without connecting his foot to his elder's chin. With his older opponent slightly off-balance, the youth spun in mid-air and barely touched the ground before propelling himself at the golden-eyed foe, knocking him to the ground, and placing his own claws at the elder's throat.

He heard laughter spill from below him, and admitted reluctantly that the boy had shown more skill than he had expected. But he also had that voice helping him. He listened to cheers for "Kaedo" and condolences for "Juro". An eyebrow raised as he digested this. So the elder, golden-eyed one was Juro, and the younger, blue-eyed demon was Kaedo? He nodded, accepting this knowledge. He also figured they must be brothers, as remarking the resemblance was.

Calls for Inuyasha to fight almost made the demon lord want to leave until he heard the name of his challenger. "Taisho", they had said. "InuTaisho?" he thought to himself, remembering his father's name. He leaned forward slightly, not enough to be noticed, but enough to get a better look at his brother's foe. His eyes widened slightly when he saw him.

Long silvery-white hair… golden eyes… two red stripes across each cheek… All this one needed was a blue crescent moon on his forehead, and he would be looking at his father, or even himself, at Inuyasha's age.

The match was almost a joke to Sesshoumaru, who wasn't surprised when Inuyasha had trouble keeping up with the demon before him. Then that voice rang out again. "Inuyasha, calm down! Relax! Try to let your instincts take over. Focus on one thing, and just let your body work for itself!"

Sesshoumaru almost snorted, but watched as his brother slowly became more fluid, moving and dodging easier. He was impressed, not because of his brother's apparent improvement, but because of the youkai teacher's advice. He knew it had to be youkai. No way a human could understand dog-demon instincts. The match ended much like the first pair's, in a close tie, but in the third fight, Inuyasha was able to free a hand, and swung it in a slicing move towards the other's neck, stopping centimeters away from the skin.

More laughter rang out, and Sesshoumaru was forced to grudgingly congratulate his brother, although he would never admit it to him or any other person. He sniffed, taking in a total count, and figured only 5 males, one being his brother, and another a human, and 2 females, one human that smelled sweet like cherry blossoms, but also one youkai who also smelled sweet, but with something else in it, like oranges and spice. Would the female youkai fight, or was she merely the teacher? And if so, how did she know so much? His curiosity almost took over him until he heard the human boy's pleas of seeing someone called "Kai" fight.

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"Please?!!?" Souta begged. "We've seen the other three, and Inuyasha!! Can we please see Kai fight?" Souta turned to Kai, who was leaning against the wall, from where she had been shouting advice to her "pupils". Kai smiled, her blue eyes seeming to glow slightly brighter.

"But who will fight her?" Inuyasha interrupted. He personally didn't want to go against her, considering her name, but he also wished to see exactly how powerful she really was.

Juro, Taisho, and Kaedo looked at each other, trying to decide, since one look in the Hanyou's direction showed that he wanted nothing more than to stay out of the ring when it came to the demoness. Juro finally sighed. "Very well," he muttered, "but I know I'm gonna regret this…"

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