InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Road to Remembrance ❯ Ill-Fated Departure ( Chapter 16 )

Chapter 16

 

A loud, resounding boom would have echoed across the tiny village of Berchin were it not for the barrier surrounding the Black Estate.

“For the love of Merlin, boy! Go practice that madness somewhere other than my ruin of a home!” Julian hollered. The portrait closed its eyes as the once beautiful dining hall ceiling caved in.

“Well I'm sorry,” Inuyasha snapped irritated, “It's hard to properly master this if I have no one to practice on! I never thought I'd say this, but I'm starting to miss the absurd amounts of demons trying to kill me.”

Julian grumbled as he opted to shut up and watch his grandson practice the ever troublesome blood magic. Sixty-two years ago he would have been delighted with his heir mastering a rare and forgotten art. But that was before he realized that the magic was purely destructive. Despite this newfound dislike for the magic, he had to admit, his grandson had quite a talent for it. Combine his natural skill with the amount of dedication the boy showed to the book in the last few months and it was safe to say he could stand a fighting chance against his uncle.

“How old is he anyway?” Inuyasha asked, sipping on some blood replenishing potion as he took a break. The boy always carried a flask filled with it on his belt, seeing as he was using about two liters of blood a day.

“Who?”

“Magnus.”

Julian looked thoughtful for a moment.

“I'd reckon...one hundred twelve.”

Inuyasha whistled. He had long since come to accept that wizard humans live much longer than muggles and only grew more powerful with age.

“He must know of you by now. He'll be coming any day now.”

“Let him come,” Inuyasha said cockily. He erected a temporary barrier of blood before letting it drop.

“Do not underestimate him, Inuyasha. He is not afraid to use unforgivables.”

“Yes, I know,” Inuyasha scowled, “I witnessed it first hand as he and his friends killed dozens of innocent people—including you and mother.”

“I hope you are not simply fighting him to avenge us? You know that is not necessary. Now that you have the inheritance there is no way for him to get a hold of it. You don't need to stay here any longer.”

“Keh,” Inuyasha sneered, “Drop it will ya? I'm not going to leave the wizarding world to his mercy...or lack there of.”

Julian beamed at his grandson. He had come a long way since he came to England, even if he didn't know it.

“You do know how proud I am of you, do you not?” he asked, making Inuyasha blush, “Your mother would have been too—”

Another loud explosion rocked the mansion once more, but this time the source was outside.

“That wasn't me,” Inuyasha said lamely. Julian groaned and rolled his eyes.

“I know that! He must have found you already!”

Inuyasha raced to the window and peered outside where he saw a group of about fifty men with raised wands, all dressed in black, assembled outside the manor. The man in the middle of the frontline stepped forwards. He had long grey hair that hung loosely down his back and a black and grey goatee. Inuyasha could tell the man was Magnus because he was sporting the same thick dark eyebrows and high cheekbones Julian had.

“Come on out half-breed,” he called out, his voice surprisingly strong for someone his age. His group of reinforcements tittered around him. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at hearing this and neatly placed his book and Tetsusaiga underneath the windowsill—he would not use that sword on humans. He then complied with the demand by jumping through the second floor window and landing a few feet in front of his uncle. Inuyasha smirked as the wizards gasped, all taking an unconscious step backwards from the demi-demon. Magnus himself seemed to have lost his composure for a moment at Inuyasha's demonic abilities and appearance.

“So,” He said, straitening himself out,” You must be my long lost nephew. I'm sure we do not have to explain why we are here. If you leave quietly and hand over the book we might not have to annihilate this charming little village you've in habited.”

Inuyasha growled at the threat, baring his fangs.

“I'm not going anywhere, Magnus. The book belongs to me so fuck off.”

Magnus's face turned an unflattering shade of puce. Clearly, he was not used to people telling him `no'.

“You have disrupted the peace of these lands, now I demand you to leave.”

“Fuck you! I have done nothing to these lands. You're just pissed because I'm threatening your tyranny around here. The wizarding world is not run by a dictatorship—but apparently your head is too far up your ass to realize that.”

“You obnoxious, little whelp! I should have killed you when I killed your family!” he hissed, refusing to be embarrassed in front of his followers. He cleared his throat, falling back into his calm façade, “No matter. As they say, there's no time like the present.”

His wand flicked upward, hitting Inuyasha in the chest with a purple light before the hanyou could react. Inuyasha coughed as he felt a few of his ribs crack, but thankfully his demon blood lessened the effect of spells.

The first spell shot signaled to the rest of the wizards to start firing. Spells of every color zipped towards him. Inuyasha took the initiative to jump clear over them, flipping in the air while erecting a barrier to keep the spells from hitting him while in mid-air. He landed in the middle of the crowd and spun once on the ball of his foot.

“Extundo!” he cried as he turned, transporting a whip-like blade of blood into the crowd while sending almost all of the wizards to the ground and fatally wounding the ones closest to him.

Many of these wizards were smart, however, and put up barriers before continuing their attack. It went on like that for several minutes. They would shower Inuyasha with deadly spells and he would dodge or block it with his magic before sending out a spell of his own. Slowly, the tides began to turn in Inuyasha's favor as the number of wizards dropped. They didn't have his demonic stamina. With less than twenty men left, Inuyasha began to sense his victory was near.

He dodged a cutting hex, which whizzed past him and hit another man. Not missing a second, Inuyasha used the thousands of tiny droplets of blood currently suspended in the air by turning them into sharp razors and sending them back at the mass. The blood pellets pummeled the wizards like bullets, killing about ten of them.

Magnus erected a barrier just in time, managing to save himself as well as a handful of his men.

“That power belongs to me!” he snarled, enraged, “Crucio!”

The curse hit its target, sending Inuyasha to the ground in a fit of excruciating pain. His screams rang out within the barrier as he felt his insides tear and burn. The curse had not only caught him off guard but also left his neurons in disorder, so when it was lifted he could do nothing before another was placed on him by one of Magnus's men. It continued in a circle; the surviving wizards laughing as they took turns torturing the unwelcome intruder. Inuyasha only spent about five minutes under the curse before Magnus called it to a stop, though to him it had seemed like an eternity in hell. Magnus stepped up to his nephew and leaned down mockingly in his face.

“What do you think Inuyasha, had enough? Should I end your miserable existence right now?” he taunted, straitening and landing a kick in the boy's ribs. Inuyasha, despite trembling horribly, managed to smile.

“So you'd kick a man when he's down would you? And here I thought Blacks were above such acts of cowardice.”

Magnus's eyes blazed with fury at the defiance.

“Clearly you half-breeds don't know when you're beat. Imprudent creature!” He raised his wand to send another curse but stopped at the soft chuckling sound from the body on the ground. Was the boy actually...laughing?

“Are you daft, half-breed?”

Inuyasha lifted his head and looked up at him through hazy, amber eyes.

“You really should have killed me when you had the chance.”

“What are you—”

“Blades of Blood!”

The deadly blades sliced through the remaining men, including Magnus. They barely had time to scream before they fell heavily to the ground in various people.

Despite having just killed humans (something he always loathed doing) he was grinning. That was old school.

The grin was short lived as he slowly picked himself up to his feet and looked around the carnage. The Black Estate—his home for the last few months—had been destroyed; burned to the ground as he was being tortured. He took a shaky step forward, his nerves still not agreeing with him after the beating they took under the pain curse. After a few more steps he managed to control his movements enough to jump to the exact spot where he left his possessions. Both his sword and the book were buried deep in the ruble but intact, most likely due to the spells placed on them. However, he knew in his heart that his grandfather's portrait had not survived.

He looked back at the bodies that littered the ground and thought it best that he took care of them before another wizard stumbled through the wards and spotted them.

“Attero,” he muttered. The bodies of the dark wizards burned, leaving no evidence of the battle except for the blood that decorated the grass. He looked back over to the smoldering pile of wreckage the Black estate had been reduced to. Inuyasha felt his chest tighten as hundreds of memories from his childhood flooded his mind. Even though it was a portrait, a mere imprint of what Julian Black used to be, it still felt as if he had lost his grandfather all over again.

He stood there in silence for a few moments, watching as the sun began to set. The air was warm and breezy and the crickets gave the background a melodic hum. He had done it. He had gotten his inheritance and be ridden the wizarding world of his ruthless and power-hungry uncle. Despite suddenly being alone again with the blood of humans under his claws, he felt at peace with the world and the life he was given. He felt free of his responsibilities. He felt like a child once more.

Heavy breathing and foot steps broke him out of his spell. He turned to see a man, most likely in his forties, with long dark hair and cold grey eyes running up the hill. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes as he passed through the barriers. That meant he was a Black. He fell back into a fighting stance incase he was here to challenge him.

“Oh, God, I got here too late,” the man muttered hurrying to Inuyasha as he looked nervously over the blood littered ground. Inuyasha relaxed slightly.

“What are you babbling about?” he asked, “Too late for what?”

“You killed him, didn't you? You killed Magnus.” It wasn't a question, more of a statement.

Inuyasha regarded him quietly. The man seemed to be upset over Magnus's death but at the same time didn't show any signs of avenging him. Could he have been a follower?

“Yeah, I did. Who are you?”

 

“Canis Black,” the man said stiffly, “Magnus' grandson and the rightful heir to the head of the Black line. I already know who you are.”

Inuyasha understood where this was going immediately. He had read up on noble wizarding traditions during his stay in Scotland. Since he was a grandson to one leading Black and Canis was to another, they were both eligible to take head of the Black line. But since he had killed Magnus, he now was the rightful ruler. Fortunately for Canis, he had no intention of staying around to take control of the noble line.

“It's yours. I'm leaving England anyway.”

Canis looked quite shocked as if he were not expecting that reaction at all.

“You—don't want it? I mean, will you not fight me for it?”

Inuyasha smiled thoughtfully at him, “I have no desire for that kind of responsibility. I plan on going back to Japan, so I'll just leave you to carry on with the Black line for now.”

Canis seemed immensely pleased about Inuyasha's decision and his demeanor changed altogether.

“Well then! I never expected this but I certainly will not complain.”

“Yeah sure, just don't get all power hungry like your grandfather or I'll be forced to come back and take care of you too.”

Canis faltered a bit, his eyes shifting towards the blood soaked pasture under his feet.

“O-of course...”

Inuyasha didn't wait for a reply. He just turned and walked back to the rubble that was once the Black Estate.

 

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Inuyasha stretched his arms over his head and yawned, sitting up on the tree branch he had spent the night on. Today would be the day he left back to Japan. He packed a small sack full of his effects including his book and strapped his fencing sword to his hip right next to Tetsusaiga. The sword was beautifully crafted; a gift from the local blacksmith for saving his daughter from the hands of the soldiers once.

As he walked slowly through the village, his traveling apparel did not escape the notice of the townspeople.

“Inuyasha! Where are you going?” Brenda Spinner asked, stepping out of the tavern and wiping her hands on her apron.

“Back home,” he said it loud enough for the whole street to hear.

“What? Already?” William Ripley asked from across the street, “Why not stay for another night of drinks?”

Inuyasha smiled and shook his head, “Thanks, but no thanks. I've put this off for long enough.”

“Well in that case,” William said stepping up and holding out a hand, “I hope to see you again sometime, mate.”

Inuyasha shook the hand grinning, “Like wise.”

People around the street began stepping up to him, shaking his hands, hugging him and patting him on the back to bid him farewell. He felt overwhelmed by the attention and an emotion of pure delight filled him as he was embraced and accepted by an entire town.

“Have a safe journey, love,” Brenda said, pecking him on the lips rather than the cheek like most of the other women had. Inuyasha blushed a bright red and the much of the crowd snickered.

“Alright,” Inuyasha mumbled, still scarlet.

He left the town in high spirits. He had never, in all his years, expected that so many humans would take to him so well. Granted they didn't know exactly what he was but they truly appreciated him and everything he had done for them. It was almost like being normal...

A shouting in the distance made him stop in his tracks. Staring ahead of him, he could see a figure bobbing up and down the dirt road, simply yipping for joy. He recognized the sent before the man before he came into focus.

“I've done it! Dear Merlin, I've done it!” Nicholas Flamel cried, rushing to Inuyasha, bouncing around in a way someone his age shouldn't have been able to do.

“What? What have you done?” Inuyasha asked. His ears twitched on his head as he heard a sharp rattling noise in the distance.

“The sorcerer's stone! I've got it all figured out! I understand it now!

“Mmmhmm, that's nice,” Inuyasha said, distractedly. He really wasn't interested in hearing about his rock collection. What worried him was the cold chill to the air. It was nearly summer...it shouldn't be this cold...

He let out a gasp as unexplainable fear seized his heart in an iron grip.

“Nick...” he said softly, his amber eyes darting around sharply, “what is that?”

“What is what?” Nicholas asked. But Inuyasha couldn't hear it. Flamel's voice was drowned out by another...his mother's...

“Inuyasha, go! Get out of here! Hide in your grandfather's chambers until I get there!”

“But mother—!”

“GO! RUN!”

“Inuyasha? What's wrong?” Nicholas asked as he saw the boy grab his head with both clawed hands.

Kikyo's voice ringed in his mind.

“INUYASHA!”

The sickening thud of an arrow piercing through his flesh...embedding itself in the tree behind him...

“Oh Merlin, no. Dementors...” Nicholas breathed, feeling the affects as well and whipping out his wand from with in his robes.

“Filthy half-breed! I'll teach you to steal from my garden! Yoko, get the whip!”

“Inuyasha! Inuyasha snap out of it! They're surrounding us—we must get out of here!”

“Lookie here boys! The little hanyou's actually turning human! Hmmm, pretty. Think we can have a little fun with him?”

“Expecto Patronum! Expecto—”

Inuyasha's world went black.

 

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