InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sleeping with the Enemy ❯ Leverage ( Chapter 33 )

Chapter Thirty:

Leverage

 

 

InuYasha stood silently, trying to figure out what his brother was up to. Sesshoumaru was usually coy and degrading but rarely waited long to engage in battle. Whatever he was doing did seem to be affecting the Tetsusaiga, making him wonder why his brother hadn't attempted to attack him yet.

 

“You think you can take my sword?” He challenged. “Let's see ya try it.” Sesshoumaru smirked, and again, the Tetsusaiga began to act strangely. It was as if it intended to use the wind scar, though InuYasha had no intention of doing so. At least not yet.

 

“Problems, InuYasha?” Sesshoumaru asked with a smirk. “If I were here for your sword, I would have taken it already.”

 

“Just like the last time you tried to take it?” InuYasha countered. He could feel the power of the Tetsusaiga building greater but wasn't sure how it could be controlled by anyone else, let alone Sesshoumaru.

 

“InuYasha!” Miroku's voice called out. A moment later the monk was confronted with both brothers, staring each other down relentlessly. Sesshoumaru had no weapon drawn but InuYasha was holding the Tetsusaiga out, prepared to do battle. “Totosai has arrived in the village.” InuYasha could see a satisfied smirk cross his brother's face before he glanced over at Miroku.

 

“What's he want?” Miroku looked at the full demon again, curious now why both he and Totosai's arrivals would coincide.

 

“He wants to speak to you about the Tetsusaiga,” he answered. InuYasha gave 'hmph' then turned back to his brother. Sesshoumaru had still made no attempt to take the sword or attack him and even InuYasha's curiosity was beginning to be peaked.

 

“Why are you here, Sesshoumaru?”

 

“I am here because, half breed though you are, you possess the Tetsusaiga. You also possess father's blood, even if it has been diluted by your human mother,” Sesshoumaru replied. The answer caused InuYasha to pause for a moment and think over what he was saying. Sesshoumaru, unlike Naraku, didn't use sheer manipulation and trickery to win a battle. If Sesshoumaru wanted to kill him, he would want it to be during an honest fight.

 

“What does father have to do with this?” InuYasha questioned as he sheathed his sword. Miroku was still standing silently watching in case his assistance was needed.

 

“Everything,” Sesshoumaru replied and turned gracefully and began walking towards the village where Totosai was waiting. InuYasha followed behind him with Miroku at his side.

 

“Why do you think your brother has come here?” The monk questioned silently.

 

“I don't know,” he answered. “But we better find out.”

 

*

 

"What are you doing here, old man?" InuYasha asked irritably as he entered the village. He was beginning to wonder if he had been put under some sort of spell or if he would wake soon and realize that everything that had happened had all been part of a very strange dream. Not only was Totosai present, but the unmistakable scent of both Kouga and Kagura seemed to be overwhelming him. Not to mention the presence of his brother who was silently standing behind him. The very idea of such a strange alliance of people was almost inconceivable.

 

Totosai's eyes slid past InuYasha to his brother, clearly not overly surprised to see him there.

 

"Master, InuYasha!" Myoga quickly seated himself on the half demon's shoulder. "Totosai was just warning us that Sesshoumaru would be coming."

 

"You don't say," InuYasha quipped as he rolled his eyes.

 

"It's about time you pups stopped your bickering," Totosai interjected and then hid behind Kaede. The old woman raised an eyebrow and then shook her head.

 

"Who're you calling a pup?" InuYasha growled, while Sesshoumaru remained silently disengaged from the rest of them.

 

"Master InuYasha," Myoga began in the most calming voice he was able. "Totosai has come to discuss the use of your Tetsusaiga."

 

"What about my Tetsusaiga?" He questioned. "If Sesshoumaru thinks he's going to take it—"

 

"InuYasha," Miroku said in a soothing voice. "Perhaps we should allow Totosai to speak?" As strange as everything was beginning to seem, the monk realized that if it was possible for Sesshoumaru to take the sword, he would have done so by now. Whatever they were about to learn must have been significant if the demon lord was standing there without argument.

 

"Your father knew that giving either of you too much power would be foolish," Totosai began. "Downright stupid, if you ask me," he muttered in a more hushed voice.

 

"Yeah, well, no one asked you," InuYasha pointed out snidely. The old man's eyes widened as he moved closer to Kaede.

 

“I always forget about those ears,” Totosai mused. "Anyway, your father decided that each of you would have a sword. The Tetsusaiga would protect his younger pup that was half human, while the older, stronger pup would be given the Tenseiga. It would be useless to him until he was willing to look inside himself and find the humanity that his father had possessed."

 

Sesshoumaru remained silent but continued to listen to what were apparently his father's wishes. He begrudgingly acknowledged that Totosai was speaking the truth. His Tenseiga had never worked for him until he had felt a twinge of pity and humanity for young Rin.

 

When Sesshoumaru had left Rin and Jaken, he had sought out Totosai. The sword smith had known his father quite well and he had hoped to gain some sort of knowledge about how he could defeat the demon that had taken the shards of the Shikon Jewel. The sword smith had given him a parchment that Sesshoumaru's father had written when he had commissioned the creation of the two swords. In it, it explained how Sesshoumaru could use the full power of not only the Tenseiga but the Tetsusaiga as well. At first he had been quite skeptical so he sought out his brother to see if it was true. Now, he watched his rash younger brother through narrowed eyes. If he refused to listen to and heed Totosai, even Sesshoumaru would be unable to full fill the power of the swords.

 

"I know that already," InuYasha said impatiently. Sango and Kirara were now standing near Miroku, listening to what was being said.

 

"But what you don't know is that your father had hoped that one day the two of you would get along and carry on his legacy together," the old man retorted. "He made both swords so that neither brother would be able to kill the other, but also so that if you wanted to have full access to his power, you would need to work together to obtain it."

 

"You're saying that if InuYasha and Sesshoumaru learn to work together, they will have their father's strength?" Miroku asked.

 

"Such a power would be almost unstoppable," Totosai replied evenly. "Such a power will be necessary to stop the demon that has the Shikon Jewel." InuYasha turned and looked at his brother. Sesshoumaru's stoic demeanor had not changed but as his eyes met InuYasha's briefly, they seemed to flash something other than complete disdain.

 

"This isn't going to be easy," Sango murmured to Miroku. The monk nodded in agreement and then sighed.

 

"We should leave them to Totosai," he suggested. "I can't imagine either of them being willing to forsake their pride in front of others." Sango nodded at his wise observance. Neither InuYasha nor Sesshoumaru would easily admit the need to work together, for it would mean admitting self weakness. Having an audience would only lead to petty bickering and possibly an unnecessary battle and right now they didn't have the luxury of time on their side.

 

*

 

Kagome ran until her legs and lungs both ached. How had it come to this? She had given Naraku a shard of the Shikon Jewel of her own free will. Just a couple months prior, he would have been the last person she or the other would have wanted gaining even one shard. Now she found herself concerned about his weakness and the fact that InuYasha, would no doubt, still seek his vengeance.

 

'You've gotta get a grip on yourself, girl,' she scolded as she neared the village. If she appeared nervous and disheveled it would draw suspicion from InuYasha. The longer she could keep him from scrutinizing her, the longer it give her to come up with a logical reason for the missing shard. Of course, she could always tell him that she had chosen to leave one behind, in case something happened and she found herself in her own era without a shard. Though the only time something like that happened was when InuYasha, himself, had forced her back through the well for her own protection.

 

The village seemed unusually quiet as she approached Kaede's hut. She peeked inside but found no one inside.

 

'Where is everyone?'

 

“Kagome!” She quickly abandoned the hut and turned to the two small figures that were running towards her.

 

“Hey, Shippo. Hi Kohaku,” she replied in the cheeriest voice she could muster. “Where is everybody?”

 

“InuYasha is out in the field practicing with his Tetsusaiga,” Shippo informed her. Kagome furrowed her brow and looked out towards the open field that lay outside the village. InuYasha had no real reason to be out practicing, unless he was simply in a bad mood. “And that's not all. Totosai's here and Sesshoumaru!” The words left Kagome stunned momentarily.

 

“Are you sure, Shippo?”

 

“Totosai and Myoga are trying to teach InuYasha to stop bothering Sesshoumaru so they can learn to work together,” he answered. “If you thought InuYasha was stubborn when Kouga was around, you should see him with Sesshoumaru!”

 

“InuYasha and Sesshoumaru...working together?” The words sounded completely ludacris even as she said them.

 

“Sango and Miroku told us to stay away but I thought InuYasha might need some help from my fox magic if Sesshoumaru tried anything.” Kagome smiled at the way Shippo seemed to be trying to show bravery in front of his new friend.

 

“Where are Sango and Miroku?” Kagome questioned. The small fox shrugged so she looked to Kohaku.

 

“They were with Lady Kaede,” he said simply. Kagome sighed and then smiled at the two of them.

 

“Well, why don't you guys find something to do that doesn't involve going anywhere near InuYasha,” she suggested. Very few things put him as foul of a mood as his brother did. Once the others returned she would find out what had happened and why Sesshoumaru would be here willingly. The thought left her worried, for Sesshoumaru had already confronted her once about Naraku. What, exactly, he had been told by Naraku, she didn't know. Luckily, InuYasha would probably keep the demon lord away from her as much as possible. The thought brought caused her to frown slightly. She suddenly felt as though she didn't deserve his protection but wasn't sure that she could live without it.

 

*

 

Kouga sniffed out the area and then continued walking through the small clearing outside the village. He had smelled the scent of InuYasha's brother but wasn't particularly interested in getting involved in their stupid arguments. Kouga was accustomed to living in a cave amongst his brethren. Being in a small village so full of humans made him uncomfortable so he had little desire to remain there any more than necessary.

 

Kagome's scent caught his attention and he took a whiff of the air. He could tell that she was nearby so he headed in the direction that her scent was coming from. After only a few moments he stopped dead in his tracks as he came across Naraku, clad in his baboon pelt, waiting silently on the path before him.

 

"Naraku," he growled. The dark lord gave a condescending chuckle.

 

"Kouga," he said in what sounded like an amused voice. "What a surprise it is to find you here amongst your enemies."

 

"Where's Kagome?" The wolf demon demanded.

 

"I'm not here to discuss the priestess," Naraku's puppet replied. "I have a gift for you." Kouga watched him suspiciously. He already knew that he was speaking to a puppet, for there was little to no demon scent on it. "I can give you the revenge that you desire. I can give you the life of the one that killed your brethren."

 

"You killed them!" Kouga bit back harshly as he flexed his claws. Another amused chuckled filled the air as Naraku's puppet stood to it's full height.

 

"Are you certain?" He questioned. Kouga prepared to answer and then looked away. It had been Kagura that had physically killed his kin. It had been Kagura that had deceived him so he would go after InuYasha. She had told him it was because of Naraku but was she really any more trustworthy than Naraku himself?

 

"Kagura's your incarnation, so you might as well have done it yourself," he finally said through clenched teeth.

 

"But you still desire revenge," Naraku coerced. "You still want Kagura to suffer for what she has done to your brethren."

 

Kouga flexed his claws again and looked around the area. He could still smell Kagome's scent but it was further away. She had probably made her way back to the village by now. As much as he wanted to shred the puppet that was standing before him, he realized that it would accomplish nothing.

 

"What do you want, Naraku?" The wolf finally growled dangerously.

 

"Only to help you receive your vengeance," he answered. "And my own." The puppet reached into the long, white robe and pulled out a small piece of flesh that was engulfed in the scent of pure demon.

 

"What's that?" He questioned suspiciously. A silky smile slid across Naraku's face as he held it out for the wolf.

 

"Kagura's heart. It is the only part of her that remains demon and it's what she longs for most in this world." Kouga stood staring at the puppet's hand. A part of him realized that taking it would leave Kagura at his mercy. She would suffer for what she had done to his kin, yet another part of him despised the idea of taking anything from Naraku.

 

"You wouldn't ignore the honor of your clan and the opportunity to avenge their deaths, would you, wolf?" Naraku taunted darkly. Kouga stepped closer and then took the heart from the puppet. Almost instantly, the puppet disappeared and left the sound of Naraku's chuckling reverberating through the forest, while Kouga contemplated what he would do with his newfound leverage.

Author's Note: I am SO sorry for the delay in posting. I've been doing post transplant doctor's check ups and for awhile I was getting blood/platelet transfusions. Not to mention I moved recently and I've just been very busy. This isn't my best chapter, but some significant stuff had to happen here for me to move on towards the end. I think I might enjoy writing a chapter or two of InuYasha and Sesshoumaru trying to work together towards a common goal without killing one another. lol We'll see how that works out. Thank you to everyone that is still reading this and supporting me! I really do appreciate your supportive and kind reviews more than you'll ever know! It's really helped keep me going during a very scary time in my life.