InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Into the Fire ❯ His Past Revealed ( Chapter 1 )

Title: `Into the Fire'

Author: Chiaztolite

Rating: R for future lemon, rape, and violence.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Inuyasha… do I really have to say this everytime?

 

Into the Fire

 

Chapter 01: His Past Revealed

 

It was already late at night when the small pack of a taiyoukai, his faithful servant, a human child, and a two-headed dragon pet walked along a path in the depth of a forest. They have been walking since that morning when they left the Western Palace. Rin felt her eyes are getting heavy and her body silently begging for rest. Even though she was riding AhUn, she would not mind a chance to lay her body on the soft grass and sleep for a while. She glanced downward to look at Jyaken who was walking in front of the dragon.

“Jyaken-sama…” Rin whispered, loud enough for the toad youkai to hear. “Where are we going?”

She could hear Jyaken grumbled when he heard her question.

“Shut-up, child!” the small youkai glared over his shoulder and snapped. His eyebrow knitted together forming a deep frown, as he himself did not know where his lord and master were leading them to.

`Judging from our location, it seems like we are on the path to Toutousai…' he thought. `But why does Sesshoumaru-sama want to go see the old sword smith?'

Suddenly, Sesshoumaru looked over his shoulder and said,

“Rin, if you are tired, sleep. I will not stop until I reached our destination.” His words seemed more like a command than a suggestion.

However, Rin was more than gladly to comply. Soon enough, the exhausted girl fell asleep on top of AhUn's back.

“…Sesshoumaru-sama…” Jyaken reluctantly asked, “Would you mind telling this humble servant as to where we are heading…?”

Sesshoumaru kept his silence, and just when Jyaken decided to give up his curiosity, his master answered,

“We are going to see Toutousai. There is a matter concerning Naraku that I have to discuss with him.”

His answer surprised Jyaken even more. Why does Sesshoumaru-sama need that lowly sword maker to help him with Naraku?

Soon enough, they were out of the forest and came to a high, rocky cliff. They were getting closer to the cave where the old sword master resides. Sesshoumaru lifted his gaze to the top of the cliff, where Toutousai's cave is.

“Jyaken,”

“…Y-Yes, my lord?” the toad youkai was in his kneeling position, his head bowed, ready to accept his master's command.

“Ride with AhUn, and keep Rin in your care. Meet me at the top of the cliff.”

After giving his order, the youkai lord jumped up gracefully. With moonlight aiding his way, he quickly ascended to the peak of the rocky hill.

 

Meanwhile, in Toutousai's cave…

 

“Hoy, old man… we just want to know if you can tell us a way to defeat Naraku.” Inuyasha's voice filled with annoyance. “Now that the bastard had absorbed the completed Shikon no Tama…”

His heart was still full of anger whenever he recalled their failure to take the precious jewel from their greatest enemy. He tightened his jaw, both of fists clenched to his side, feeling more determined than ever to defeat Naraku.

Toutousai stared at him, looking stupid as always. He scratched his forehead and said,

“Well… there is a way… But I'm pretty sure you will not like it…”

Kagome stood up and locked her gaze on the old sword maker.

“Please tell us, Toutousai. After absorbing Shikon no Tama, Naraku's power was leashed out of control. We will do anything to defeat him.” She bit her lower lip and whispered inwardly.

It was our fault… We failed to prevent him to complete the jewel… And because of that… She gazed at Sango from the corner of her eye. Naraku had taken the piece of Shikon shard from Kohaku's back. He took the only thing that keeps the boy alive…. Sango had to pay with her brother's life…

Yes, she thought, giving Inuyasha a quick glance. We will do whatever it takes to defeat him, even though it means forcing Inuyasha to go with whatever plan this is… Yes, this is the only way to go… We were not strong enough to stop him even when he is still a hanyou… Not to mention this time he managed to transform himself into a full-blooded youkai…

“Kagome is right, Inuyasha-sama!” a small insect-like youkai could be seen jumping up and down on Inuyasha's shoulder. “You will have to do whatever…”

“Shut up, Myouga-jiji!” In one swift motion, Inuyasha slapped the flea-youkai, crushing him flat with the palm of his hand.

“Well…” Toutousai started saying, when Inuyasha suddenly looked to the cave's mouth. He sniffed the air carefully and let out a low, fierce growl. Everyone looked at him, and he hissed,

“I smell Sesshoumaru.”

Everyone in the cave gasped in shock. Miroku and Sango stood up, taking their fighting stance. Inuyasha drew his sword, Tessaiga, and pulled Kagome closer to him, ready to protect her. Shippou, the little fox demon, squealed in fear and hide behind Kagome.

Everyone waited in apprehension as Sesshoumaru landed on the ground just outside the mouth of the cave. A frown was in his immaculate face and his eyes grew colder as he regarded his half-brother and his whole pathetic pack that was with him. The miko, the monk, the taijiya, her fire-cat youkai-pet, and the kitsune…

Inuyasha grabbed his sword with his two hands, maintaining his stance as he prepared himself for a fight. He yelled at his half-brother, the Lord of the Western Lands,

“What do you want here, Sesshoumaru?!”

The older brother looked at him indifferently as he spoke,

“Silence, half-breed… I have neither business nor the desire to fight you right now. My business is with the old man behind you.”

Inuyasha kept his fighting stance, not willing to lower his sword. His eyes glued to those identical with his own, two pairs of golden orbs full of hatred towards each other. He was not sure if he could trust the taiyoukai's words. After all, Sesshoumaru had tried to kill them over and over again. Why should it be different now? Kagome peered at the cold youkai lord over Inuyasha's shoulder.

“Stay behind me, Kagome. Keep yourself alarmed.” Inuyasha whispered. Sesshoumaru lifted one eyebrow when he heard Inuyasha's whisper, and a sarcastic smile graced his lips.

“Rest assure, brother.” He said with a voice as icy as ever. “I have no interest in killing you, that miko, or any member of your pack. At least not today, not now. As I have said, my business is with the old man.”

Toutousai let out a long sigh, and said,

“Might as well… What I was going to tell you, Inuyasha, also concerns Sesshoumaru. It might be good for the two of you to hear this.”

Everyone shifted their attention to the sword maker with questions in their eyes. Before Toutousai could continue, they could hear a little girl's voice, squealing.

“Ah, Kagome-sama!”

The girl's voice made Kagome turned around, and she saw Rin running towards her. Kagome opened her arms to give the girl a hug.

“Rin-chan…” she called her name. “Are you alright?”

Rin nodded vigorously, then started giggling and chattering until Sesshoumaru's stern voice struck her.

“Rin, control yourself.”

Immediately, Rin stopped her giggling and bowed her head down, looking embarrassed. Kagome stared at the child with compassionate eyes, as she patted her head and gave her a sweet smile. She could not even imagine how it would feel to spend everyday together with the stoic, emotionless youkai lord. However, Rin seems to adore Sesshoumaru so much as she kept following him day by day.

Sesshoumaru turned his head to look at Toutousai and he took a few steps towards him.

“Continue, old man. What was it you need to tell me and this half-brother of mine?”

“Hmm…” Toutousai hummed while Myouga-jiji jumped up and down before finally landed on his shoulder. “First of all, I want to know the reason why you came to me tonight, Sesshoumaru…”

The Lord of the Western Lands frowned at the way Toutousai called his name so casually, but he chose to ignore it.

“I want you to forge me a sword strong enough to defeat Naraku. I will give you my fang for it.”

He could hear Inuyasha grunted at his words, and he threw him a sharp glance over his shoulder.

Toutousai sighed and tried to explain.

“Ever since Naraku absorbed the completed Shikon no Tama, he has become a very powerful youkai. No strength of one youkai can defeat him.”

“I am no mere youkai.” Sesshoumaru's strained voice responded. Myouga jumped to the demon lord's shoulder and said,

“Toutousai is right, Sesshoumaru-sama!” The demon lord regarded at the old flea youkai from the corner of his eye. He frowned as he recognized him.

Is this not the filthy insect that served Father before he died?

“To defeat Naraku, you have to work together with your brother, Inuyasha…”

Inuyasha stomped his feet when he heard this.

“Duh, hello??! Am I having some sort of déjà vu?” Then he started rambling on. “Remember the Sou'unga's incident? It's enough that I had to tolerate this jackass and work with him during that one time, okay?!”

Sesshoumaru smirked and said, “I can assure you, brother, the feeling is mutual.”

Miroku, who had been strangely quiet for the night, stepped up and asked,

“Myouga-sama, are you suggesting that in order to defeat Naraku, we need to combine Inuyasha's and Sesshoumaru-sama's power? Just like what we did the last time?”

Before Myouga or Toutousai could answer, Sesshoumaru stopped them with his austere voice,

“Stop this nonsense at once. There is no way this Sesshoumaru would lower himself to form an alliance with a hanyou.”

He turned his attention back to Toutousai. His eyebrows arched in a threatening way.

“Now, old man. Are you going to forge me the sword or not?”

Once again the old swords maker sighed. He looked around his cave before saying,

“Could you all please listen carefully until I am finished?” No one answered, and he took this as his cue to continue. “To answer your question, Monk,” he looked at Miroku who is still waiting for an answer. “Even if Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru combined their power, it will not be enough to defeat Naraku. Yes, it was enough to defeat the evil spirit of Sou'unga, but Naraku's full blooded youkai power is beyond that.”

“Shit, Toutousai! Then why did you…” Inuyasha started with his grumbling again. But before he could go on and on, Kagome cut him short.

“…Inuyasha,” she said with an overly sweet tone. “SIT!”

The rosary beads around Inuyasha's neck started to glow red, and once again Inuyasha felt his face forced to flush with the ground. “…Shit…” was all he could utter.

Sesshoumaru shook his head in exasperation. There is no way he would stand being together with this pack of imbeciles. For him, being with Jyaken is vexing enough as the servant kept putting his patience to the test all the time. Not to mention working together with these lowly beings…

“To cut my explanation short,” Toutousai continued. “To defeat Naraku, the strength of three most powerful swords in this world has to be combined. The first one,” He looked at Inuyasha whose head still buried in the ground due to the force of the rosary. “Tessaiga, the sword able to kill 100 demons in one swing. The second,” He shifted his gaze to meet Sesshoumaru's golden orbs. “Tenseiga, the sword capable of reviving the lives of 100 demons in one swing. The third…”

“…If you were going to say `Sou'unga', old man… Then it is no use.” Sesshoumaru cut him off. “That sword is no longer of this world.”

“I'm also aware of this, Sesshoumaru.” Toutousai returned the powerful lord's gaze unwaveringly. “I was going to say that the third sword is… Katsujinken.”

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened at once. Katsujinken, he said…?

Inuyasha growled in pain as he rubbed his head.

“What the hell is Katsujinken, old man? And how could this sword match those of my father's in power?”

Toutousai pointed his index finger towards Sesshoumaru, who had put on his indifferent mask on his face, as if he was fully recovered from his shock. However, he could feel his heart still trembling from the sword maker's words.

“I think your brother knows Katsujinken's power the best, Inuyasha, since it belonged to his late mother.”

Inuyasha glanced at his brother with his eyes widened. He was not the only one. At that moment, all eyes were on Sesshoumaru, waiting to see his reaction. However, whatever his feeling is, it was hidden beneath his impassive expression. When he uttered his words, his voice sounded restrained.

“If you knew anything about Katsujinken, old man, you should know that the sword have been missing for 200 years now. I assumed my mother took it to her grave.”

Toutousai scratched his chin and thought for a while before he replied,

“Hmm… I do know something about Katsujinken, though I did not know that. But I do know that right now the sword is in the possession of your sister.”

What he said had everyone stunned even more. Inuyasha stared at his half-brother in disbelief, his mouth gaped open. Sesshoumaru has a sister??

The youkai lord narrowed his eyes as he felt anger started to rise from within him. His voice was sharp and low, fierce and threatening. However, he could not hide a slight hint of quivers in his voice.

“…My sister is long dead.”

Toutousai shook his head in a slow and relax manner, which aggravated Sesshoumaru even more. In one swift motion that stunned everyone in the cave, the taiyoukai had the old man's throat gripped in his hand, his razor-sharp claws started digging in his flesh, ready to drip green liquid of poison into his veins.

“What kind of game are you playing, you pathetic old man…” he hissed angrily between his clenched teeth. “I said, my sister is long dead.”

Toutousai kept his calm, daring expression as he faced the youkai lord,

“That is what you've been told, Sesshoumaru. That is what you've always thought and believed. Your sister is indeed still alive.”

Sesshoumaru could not prevent shock from creeping into his golden eyes. He stared at the sword maker in astonishment before releasing his grip and dropped him to the ground. He turned around towards one wall of the cave, facing no one. He closes his eyes and let the words flowed through his body like a cold stream.

His sister is still alive? Shouri is still alive?? How…?

“…How long have you known?” That was the first time Inuyasha, or anyone else present in that cave ever heard a sliver of emotions in the youkai lord's voice.

Heavy silence filled the cave for a moment before Toutousai responded.

“Not so long ago, I heard this news from the Eastern Land. The land of your grandfather, I might add…I've heard about this inuyoukai princess who possesses Katsujinken. Her name is… Shouri. I remembered right away, that is the name of your sister, is it not?”

Sesshoumaru did not answer. He felt as if a cold wave washed through his entire existence, as her name kept echoing in his mind.

Shouri…

Eastern Land…

…The land of your grandfather, I might add…

 

Without uttering any word, he turned around and walked out of the cave. His head bowed down, concealing any emotions that he might show to anyone. He needed to get away, he needed to be alone to digest all of this new information.

 

After Sesshoumaru had left the cave, everyone's attention was back to Toutousai. Inuyasha was the first one to speak,

“Oy, Toutousai! I didn't know that bastard has a sister!”

This time, Myouga answered.

“It was quite a tragic story, really…” He sighed as he recalled what happened 200 years ago. Kagome kneeled down, awe and curiosity in her face. The thought of the cold, unyielding taiyoukai once had a family he loved touched her heart, surprisingly. Rin moved closer to her and sat on the empty space next to her. Surely this little girl wanted to hear about the missing link that may lead to her understanding her lord's past.

“What happened to Sesshoumaru's little sister?” Sango asked. “And what of his mother?”

Myouga shook his head. “I don't even know the full truth of the story, it's still a mystery.” He looked at the awaiting eyes around him, all filled with curiosity.

“Since a long, long time ago, the western land and the eastern land had always been in conflict. Mostly it is due to land territory. One day, the Lord of the Western Land, InuTaisho-sama, met Isha-sama, the daughter of the Eastern Lord. She was of great beauty, power, and breed, and so was he. They fell in love like it was inevitable.”

“So they got married and had Sesshoumaru and Shouri?” Kagome asked.

Myouga nodded. “Isha-sama loved Oyakata-sama so much she was willing to give up her country to follow him and live as his mate in the western land. They had two children and lived together happily for some years, which seemed like it was going to last forever. But, fates had other plans…” he shook his head in grief.

“The Eastern Lord was furious…” Toutousai continued the story. “One night 200 years ago, he purposely created a disturbance on the far west end of the land, so that InuTaisho-sama would go out of the castle to settle the commotion. But it was a decoy. The Eastern Lord's true intention was to take his daughter and grandchildren back to his land. Sesshoumaru was with his father, so only Isha-sama and Shouri were taken.” There was silence before he proceeded with the story. “A few days later, as InuTaisho-sama was preparing his journey to retrieve his mate and daughter, a messenger arrived from the eastern land bearing the news of Isha-sama and Shouri's death. The messenger showed my lord a necklace: Isha-sama's necklace, her family heirloom that she had vowed never to take off. Therefore, my lord thought that the message was true: his mate and daughter were dead for sure.”

Myouga let out a long sigh. “However, Sesshoumaru-sama refused to believe this grief news, and he begged his father to go and attack the Eastern Palace to reveal the truth. InuTaisho-sama declined his request, and he never attacked the eastern land.”

Inuyasha frowned when he heard this.

“Why not?” he asked. “Why didn't my father go and attack the eastern land? Surely he was not scared of the lord?”

Toutousai lifted his eyes to stare at the ceiling as he scratched his chin, wondering. “Hmm… I'm not sure why InuTaisho-sama did not attack the Eastern Palace. That is still a mystery to me too. But…” He shifted his gaze to Inuyasha. “He knows that Isha-sama loves her country so much, and the last thing she wanted was a war between the two countries. And that is probably why he chose to respect her homeland.”

Inuyasha turned his head away. “Keh!” he spat. “That doesn't make any sense to me!”

Rin who was quietly listening suddenly said in her low voice,

“Poor Sesshoumaru-sama… He lost his mother and sister just like that…”

Miroku looked at the child in sorrow, and nodded in agreement.

“That was a sad story, indeed…”

The silence filled the cave once again, and was broken by Inuyasha's question.

“…So, what's so special about this Katsujinken?”

“It's a very special sword, Inuyasha.” Toutousai answered. “It's a sword that was created on the peak of a Tibetan mountain. The fire used to forge the sword was no ordinary fire, as it was the frozen fire that could only be found in that mountain's crater. The fire was blue instead of flaming red, and freezing cold instead of burning hot. And this…” Toutousai stopped to look at everyone in his cave. “…gave the sword its exceptional power.” He thought for a while before he continued. “I've never seen the sword in action, actually… But I heard it has the power to freeze any enemies, both human and demon, and break them into thousands of tiny shards. It is so powerful that it acquired its name: Katsujinken… The Sword of Victory.”

Inuyasha gazed at the old sword smith in awe. “And a sword this powerful is in the hands of a woman?!”

Toutousai shook his head slowly. “One thing that you should keep in mind is that in the eastern land, females are also required to be strong and powerful just like the males. Therefore, it is not strange that this powerful sword is in the hands of a female. And do not forget that she is not any female. She is the granddaughter of the Eastern Lord, meaning she is their princess. It is not weird for a female youkai of her class to obtain such power.”

Miroku nodded in understanding. “Toutousai-sama…” he said. “You mentioned that Katsujinken once belonged to Sesshoumaru-sama's mother, didn't you? Does that mean that Isha-sama was powerful too?”

Myouga started to hop up and down when he heard the monk's question. “Of course she was! When Oyakata-sama met her for the first time, they were fighting in the woods just outside the boundary of the country. At first, it was her incredible fighting skill, as well as her exceptional beauty that captured his heart.”

Sango sighed, “It all sounded like a very romantic story. Too bad it had to end so tragically.”

“Yes, indeed.” Toutousai nodded. “But if it did not end this way, InuTaisho-sama wouldn't have met Inuyasha's mother and he wouldn't have existed, you know…”

They all fell back into silence. Inuyasha emitted a low grunt as he spoke,

“Is that why that Sesshoumaru bastard hates me?”

“That could be a part of it…” Toutousai answered, as Myouga nodded along. “Well…as far as Tessaiga is concerned…That sword was meant to be his in the first place, you know…”

Inuyasha literally jumped when he heard what the old master said.

“What??! What did you say, old man?!” He yelled as he gripped the top of the sword maker's kimono, shaking him almost violently. Toutousai placed a firm grip on his wrist to stop his assault.

“I said, Tessaiga was meant to be Sesshoumaru's in the first place.”

Inuyasha froze for a few moments before letting his grip go and trashed the old man aside. He folded his arms in front of his red fire-rat cloak, and turned his head away, looking as stubborn as ever.

“Keh! That couldn't be! Father clearly stated that Tessaiga was to be mine, and that dumbass would get Tenseiga.”

“Well, yeah… But when InuTaisho-sama ordered me to make those swords out of his fangs, you were not even born yet, and what he had in mind was to leave Tessaiga for Sesshoumaru and Tenseiga for Shouri.”

Inuyasha turned around and stared at Toutousai rather angrily.

“There was no way my father would've left Sesshoumaru with Tessaiga!” He claimed. “He would've destroyed the whole world if this sword is in his possession!” He patted the sword tied to his waist.

The old sword smith had his eyes glued on the hanyou and right hand tucked underneath his chin.

“Don't you think Sesshoumaru would've turned out to be a totally different youkai if his family was kept intact?” his voice was calm.

His question left everybody pondered. The fresh image of the ruthless and emotionless Lord of the Western Land had left them difficult to imagine otherwise. Sango dropped her gaze to her lap. She felt that she could somehow relate to the youkai lord's pain, as her heart still aches from losing his brother, Kohaku.

The pain of losing someone so precious to you…, she thought as she looked at the night sky outside the cave. I can understand that very well… But Sesshoumaru-sama, now you have the chance to retrieve what has been lost for such a long time…That is one luxury I will never have…

 

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Oyakata-sama: Lord/Master (this is how Myouga refers to InuTaisho)