InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Into the Night ❯ Chapter 13 ( Chapter 13 )

Sesshomaru could move blindingly fast when he wanted to, but he climbed the steps to the shrine with his characteristic stately strut. According to Shinto tradition, the many steps represented a metaphysical journey. A visit to the shrine was intended to be a pilgrimage of sorts. The 133 steps were meant to encourage contemplation and meditation. His younger brother appeared to regard them as a track and field event. The whelp did not possess even a modicum of personal dignity or respect for tradition. When he felt his lips quirk at the mental image of InuYasha hurdling up the stairs, Sesshomaru stopped himself cold. This was about Kagome. Making Kagome his had nothing to do with proving his superiority over InuYasha. He resolved that the whelp would have no place in his thoughts or actions today. Today was all about legitimizing his relationship with Kagome, and making sure his father and Mrs. Higurashi understood that their union was immutable.

The more steps he climbed, the more of the shrine buildings were revealed, silhouetted forebodingly against the blood-orange afternoon sky.

While his father and brother were frequent visitors at the shrine, and didn’t seem bothered by the place, Sesshomaru made a habit of avoiding the shrine and its grounds. It was more than his distrust of Mrs. Higurashi, or her dislike of him. The uneasy feeling could be a result of the sacred rituals that were practiced here, the sutras and prayers and the scent of incense that made his nose twitch and the hairs at the nape of his neck bristle, but he didn’t think so. It didn’t feel like the worship of the old gods of his native land. It felt human, it felt malignant, and it felt like dark magic.

InuYasha was getting impatient. Sesshomaru seemed to have stalled out halfway up the steps. He had come to a halt, and appeared to be testing the air around him. InuYasha assumed the bastard had sensed him in his hiding place at the top of the steps in the shadow at the base of the torii gate.

InuYasha had more than his father’s sword and his animal instincts going for him in a fight. Pops had made sure of that by ordering Sesshomaru to train his younger brother in the tactics of battle. InuYasha smirked. While the bastard had seemed to relish the opportunity to beat the crap out of him, while showing off how damn superior his full-demon ass was, Sesshomaru had not shirked his duty.

Thanks to his brother, InuYasha knew how to handle a sword. He knew how to hide himself, and catch his opponent unaware. He knew to set himself up in a superior position, and wait for the optimum moment to attack. He knew to put his enemy at a disadvantage by using the steepness of the steps and the acute angle of the setting sun against him.

Presently, InuYasha realized that he had a further advantage, and that was that his brother was distracted. Pretty ironic, given the emphasis Sesshomaru-sensai had placed on the importance of always being alert and prepared for enemy attack. He couldn’t begin to count the times Sesshomaru had cuffed him on the back of his head, as a punishment for not being aware of his surroundings.

InuYasha adjusted his grip on the hilt of the Tetsusaiga, quivering with tension. This moment would define his worth. He would wield his father’s fang in battle, defeating the demon that had defiled Kagome. His brother’s blood would wash away the stigma of his shameful heritage and the stain of his own dishonorable behavior toward his intended. The sword pulsed in his grip, responding to the sincerity of his intentions.

InuYasha had planned to hold off his attack until Sesshomaru reached the tenth step from the top, but his plan changed when he saw Sesshomaru assume a defensive stance. The bastard may have grown unaccustomed to combat, but the pulse of youkai that accompanied the Tetsusaiga’s transformation obviously put him on the alert.

The hanyou raised his sword for a downward strike, the most powerful of the seven cuts, and launched himself down the steps.

Sesshomaru recognized the power signature of his father’s fang. It kept him from being totally unprepared for InuYasha’s headlong attack. Evaluating the situation, he felt a moment of gratification that the hanyou had at least learned something from his lessons. Based on prior mock-battles, he calculated that InuYasha’s attack would be fast and powerful, but easily evaded, given his own superior speed and coordination. Crouching and lunging to the side, Sesshomaru planned to turn his opponent’s advantage into a disadvantage. Once the momentum of the attack propelled InuYasha past him, he would force him to submit and disarm him easily.

That was Sesshomaru’s plan, anyway. Somehow, InuYasha’s reflexes had increased to an amazing degree. He felt the bite of his father’s fang in his upper arm.

He had never used his acid whip on the whelp, but waylaying one’s unarmed brother was hardly honorable. All bets were off, and if father had a problem with that, so be it. His body’s reaction to the injury finally caught up with his intellect. The pain washed over Sesshomaru in a burning white-hot flood, and all awareness fled.