InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Greatest Gift ❯ Inheritance ( Chapter 1 )

xXx

 

`How sad is it that we, the greatest clan of demons to ever exist, are on the verge of extinction? We, who were feared throughout the land by mortals and youkai alike, are so few in number that it is disgusting. We number two. Two-and-a-half, if you count my disgraceful excuse for a half-brother.

 

`That brother of mine… He is the taint on our otherwise honourable family legacy. To imagine, the greatest sin of my father will linger on for eons. It nauseates me. His demon blood, unfortunately, will eventually override his human blood in most respects once he matures. He will be around as long as I will. And forever is a very long time to coexist with your most hated person.

 

`I wish to be rid of him. Each day, he insults my name merely with his existence. That filthy hanyou. I have asked Father time and again that I may have permission to end my brother's meagre existence. All requests have been put down. No excuses. Father continues to hide him and that wench of a mother from me. Many years have passed since the birth of my brother. His mother must have died long ago. Humans are so fragile.

 

`I cannot understand Father's compassion for the half-breed and the human. I cannot fathom why Father, the notorious and renown Inu no Taishou, lowered himself to the level of a mere mortal, allowing himself to be enraptured in such a lowly feeling such as love. What's more, Father, the ignorant fool, expected me to accept the hanyou and welcome him into life. I think I expressed my displeasure and malcontent with that wish on the night of the hanyou's birth. I walked away from my injured father, leaving him to rescue both the pup and the woman alone.

 

`Father was never very good at relationships. His with my other parent is a beautifully articulate example. He destroyed two relationships that were critical to the clan's survival on that one night alone. Both my relationship with him, and his mate's, with whom he was supposed to remain faithful to for all eternity, were shattered that night. My family, ironically, has the only two people with whom I would love to rid the face of the earth of.

 

`We are always in danger of death. Demons live hard lives. We cannot simply recline and live lives of luxury and ease, like humans. We crave danger and excitement. This is probably why demons are steadily vanishing as the human-vermin become more advanced. Nobody likes to share.

 

`Perhaps that is why I detest Inuyasha so much. He is on the receiving end of all of Father's love and devotion, whereas I have been shunned. Father wants me to give up to my fate and seek to mend bonds with both him and Inuyasha. I told him rather icily to make amends with his mate, first. Father, ever the cheerful bastard, laughed and told me I have no choice.

 

`Sadly, he is correct. We who were once the most prosperous demon clan in existence number two-and-a-half. We need the purest heir we can get, and Father has ironically gained a beautiful sense of morals, and deters from getting into any more relationships akin to that which he had possessed with his mate and with Izayoi-hime. He always gives me that disgustingly saintly smile and says that Inuyasha and I are the only hope for the future generation.

 

`“He will have the power to save a great people.” That is what Father had said. “Yet, he cannot do so alone, Sesshoumaru. Choose your allies carefully.”

 

`Is this Sesshoumaru so pathetic that he gets beaten by a mere hanyou infant who has done nothing? How am I supposed to work with him to save our people if we cannot even work together long enough to save each other from ourselves?'

 

xXx

 

The Greatest Gift

 

xXx

 

First Shard: Inheritance

 

xXx

 

It had been raining harshly that night, the normally firm earth had been reduced to loose mud and the once-thought hardy roofs of the village huts were making a point of demonstrating their inadequacy.

 

The torches that lined the dirt roads had been extinguished long ago, cloaking the land in a heavy darkness until the lightning would flash and bathe the village in harsh light for the most fleeting second before promptly returning to darkness.

 

All in all, it was hardly a good night for sleep, in young Kaede's opinion, at least. The young girl had herself buried in a pile of thin blankets and kimonos, shielding her eyes from the terrifying bolts of lightning. Nonetheless, all her attempts at salvation were in vain. No amount of compulsive mantras or prayers or cloth in her ears would effectively protect herself from the ominous cracks of thunder.

 

She trembled in her makeshift bed, wishing that her older sister, Kikyou, was not preoccupying herself with maintaining the general order and was, instead, more concerned with her sister's emotional distress.

 

Sadly, such was not so.

 

Kikyou sat stiffly on the porch of their home, positively chilled to the bone from the rain, but still diligently maintaining her post as she oversaw the soggy village.

 

Under normal circumstances, the miko would not have been required to keep a sharp eye out over her village during a storm. But times and situations were not the same as they were in the not-too-distant past.

 

About one-hundred fifty years ago, long before Kikyou's time, a young woman, a lady of noble blood, had journeyed to the village carrying a small child with the softest white hair imaginable. She had presented the village's current miko of the time, an ancestor of Kikyou's, no less, with a strange object. A jewel.

 

“Keep it safe,” she had said. “For many of impure intentions shall yearn to have it.” The strange infant had released a mournful wail in agreement, and the woman had gently rocked him to sleep, crooning odd lullabies in the soft, downy inhuman ears that were perched on top of the child's white head.

 

The woman knew the miko knew, but explained nevertheless.

 

“My child is a hanyou, a half-demon,” she said. “He was born on the new moon naught but a dozen days ago. And when the umbilical cord was cut, this jewel did emerge from our flesh. I know not what it is nor what it can do, only what I have been told by the great spirit I envisioned on the night of my son's birth.

 

“The spirit told me of the jewel's great strength, that it was sacred, and that it held immense power, and would supply its owner with such. He spoke of how this Shikon Jewel was meant to save a great people, and of how it will bestow upon its rightful owner the greatest gift of all,” she had recalled wistfully. “This Shikon Jewel was meant for my son,” she said. “But he is far from ready to receive it.

 

“Keep it safe,” she said again. “Keep it hidden and safe beneath your watchful eye, miko, for my son will one day return to claim it. Protect it from those of ill intentions and black hearts of malice and greed. The jewel must be purified, and only my son holds the key that allows him to be able to do so.”

 

She then had daintily pressed it into the hands of the miko, entrusting her and her bloodline with the greatest responsibility and legacy they could have ever been given.

 

Kikyou, as the successor to that legacy, held the same burden as her ancestors did generations ago. And she intended on keeping the Shikon Jewel as safe as those before her. It was no easy task, either. Many a powerful demon had sensed the jewel during its stay in the village and had come with the desire of taking it for himself or herself. Every attempt over the past one-hundred fifty years had been thwarted, and Kikyou's powerful line of mikos had yet to drain in its wells of talent. Rather, they were more concerned with whether the young hanyou son of the woman would ever return to claim the jewel as its rightful owner.

 

For understandable reasons, their hope of seeing to the boy's return was beginning to dwindle. Kaede and Kikyou refused to take these details negatively. The two did not want to believe that their clan's duty was all in vain. Kikyou constantly found herself not only reminding Kaede, but herself, as well, that those of demonic heritage aged considerably slower than that of human blood. However, she would realise on miserable days that even that river of excuses was beginning to dry. Demon blood or not, there was no denying that the hanyou would have been fairly mature and ready to relieve both her family and her village of the jewel.

 

If he ever did decide to return, that is.

 

Thoughts like that made Kikyou sad. And the dreary weather only served to further dampen her spirits. She straightened her posture and focused all her strength into scouting the village perimeters psychically.

 

Though there always needed to be at least one person scouting the village psychically at night-time, it was especially necessary that Kikyou would do her share of look out during storms. This was because the record showed that many lesser demons often liked to make strategic attempts at stealing the jewel beneath the layered cloak of darkness, rain, and thunder. Of course, there was always the occasional attack by some kind of thunder demon.

 

Keeping such a peeled, inner-eye open often exhausted Kikyou, but her effort was never in vain. The village people would always awaken safely the following day.

 

Kikyou breathed in deeply, trying to sense as wide a radius around the village as possible. It was a small village tucked neatly in between the hills and the forest. An easy area to cover without too much exertion; even with the dense multitude of life in the forest, Kikyou was easily capable of picking out a demonic aura without so much as batting an eyelash. Tonight, there were no such auras riddled with ill intent; in fact, the whole mile radius around her seemed perfectly safe. She closed her eyes in relief. There was not a single disturbance in the air.

 

`Wait…' She opened her eyes slowly, the hands that were folded daintily in her lap fidgeted slightly, reaching for the bow and arrows that lay beside her. She pursed her lips together, focusing solely on this one anomaly.

 

One of her armed militia noticed her tense and looked up at her from his post curiously. “Kikyou-sama,” he said uncertainly, debating on whether to approach the miko or not. “Kikyou-sama,” he said again. “Is everything all right?”

 

Kikyou glanced at the man carelessly and elegantly rose to her feet, sweeping the bow and its quiver off the ground.

 

“Not quite,” she said flatly. “There is someone - or something - lingering on the western outskirts of the village. Near the forest of the sacred tree,” she explained.

 

“A demon?” An understandable question.

 

Kikyou frowned slightly, unsure of how to accurately describe the essence of the person she had been sensing.

 

“They feel demonic,” she replied truthfully. “However, there is no denying that the presence is that of a human.”

 

“Are they here to steal the Shikon Jewel?”

 

Kikyou's brow creased. “I do not think so,” she murmured. She blinked, dropping her weapons, eyes wide. She quickly made off the porch and hurried to the western side o the village. “He is hurt.”

 

When Kikyou and five of the militia found the poor boy, he was groggy as hell and passing in and out of consciousness.

 

“What happened to him, Kikyou-sama?” one of the men asked, gazing at the deep wounds adorning the boy's body in awe. Blood was making a steady stream down from the large gash in his side. He had already roughly bandaged it by removing his haori and messily tied it in place to help clot the blood, though the cloth was to no avail. The wound was probably poisoned.

 

The boy's left arm was obviously broken as well; one of the bones had broken through his skin, making his arm even more of a mangled mess. His skin was littered with cuts and bruises, as well. The blood had made his long inky-black hair sticky and matted. His breaths were shallow and haggard as he fought to keep his glazed, dark eyes open.

 

Kikyou watched the pitiful boy with a feeling akin to maternal concern. He really was a sad sight, broken and bloody and leaning against the sacred tree of the forest for support.

 

“He must have been attacked by a demon,” Kikyou said logically, moving to help the boy. He had nearly collapsed against her in his attempt to support his own weight. Kikyou staggered as he leaned heavily on her; she jerked her head in such a way that the militia understood that she required assistance.

 

The boy allowed himself to all but be carried back and to be gently laid on a futon in Kikyou's house while she and Kaede tended to his wounds and began the painful process of re-aligning the bones in his arm and running enough blood from his side to cleanse his body of the poison.

 

Kikyou eyed his passive expression with wonder. He had been brutally wounded, and all he was doing was staring out at the clearing storm, gazing mournfully at the moonless sky.

 

He was young, she noted. Very young. He looked hardly past his sixteenth winter. He looked even smaller surrounded by blankets and propped up into a sitting position by pillows.

 

They had just put the finishing touches on his bandages when a quiet voice made Kaede jump in surprise.

 

“Thanks.”

 

Kaede blinked curiously at the boy. He was the one that had spoken, right?

 

Kikyou, looking quite unperturbed, simply nodded and glided back to her post.

 

Kaede looked at the boy's features carefully. He looked like he was asleep. She tentatively stretched a hand forward and lifted one of his eyelids. The boy let out an annoyed huff and snapped both his eyes on the eight year old.

 

“What?” he asked irritably. Eyeing her caustically, the boy wrinkled his nose. “What're you looking at, brat?”

 

Kaede flushed under the scrutinizing glare. “I'm sorry!” she bowed her head hastily. “That was most impolite of me, and I-”

 

“Shut up and tell me your name,” he interrupted with a sigh.

 

Kaede blinked. “I'm Kaede,” she said dumbly.

 

“And who was that wench with you earlier?”

 

Kaede frowned. “Be respectful!” she whined petulantly.

 

“Sure. Like yanking on my eyelid is respectful…”

 

“Hey! I already apologised-”

 

“Name?”

 

“Her name is Kikyou. She's my big sister, and she is not a wench,” Kaede said sourly. “She's the miko of this village and the keeper of the Shikon Jewel.”

 

The boy looked interested. “Shikon Jewel?”

 

“Yeah,” Kaede replied with a nod. “It's this jewel-thingy that's been guarded by our clan for one-and-a-half centuries. It's useless to humans, but it has a lot of power for demons, or something, because demons are always trying to steal it, and it's really annoying and-”

 

“Kid, you're really annoying,” the boy said with a smirk.

 

Kaede pouted. “So are you,” she said with a huff.

 

The boy laughed at this; his was a pleasant laugh. Warm and contagious. Kaede could not help but smile.

 

“Inuyasha,” the boy suddenly said.

 

Kaede tilted her head to the side, not quite understanding. “What was that, mister?”

 

“It's my name, dummy. And don't call me `mister.' That makes me sound old. It's `Inuyasha.' Not `Inuyasha-kun,' `-san,' `-chan,' and it sure as hell isn't `-jiichan.' It's just `Inuyasha.' That is,” a wicked grin spread across his face. “Unless, of course, you want to call me `Inuyasha-sama.' That, I'll accept.”

 

Kaede mercilessly bonked him on the head. “I like the sound of `Inuyasha no baka.'”

 

Inuyasha clutched his head with his good arm, practically spitting fire at the young girl. “You brat!” he growled. “What the hell was that for?! What kind of a host inflicts damage on an already wounded patient?!”

 

Kaede gave him a disinterested look before smiling slightly. It was difficult to see, but she was sure that somewhere beneath Inuyasha's mask of anger, she could see him smiling. Or, at least she hoped that was so. Otherwise she'd be in for quite a pummelling when he was healed.

 

“How about `Inuyasha-niichan?'”

 

Inuyasha lowered his hand from his head and cracked a toothy grin. “That's fine with me, brat,” he said. “'Cause now that you're my little sister, you'll have to listen to and respect me!” he exclaimed with a triumphant bark of laughter.

 

Kaede rolled her eyes as she stood up. “Go to sleep, Inuyasha-niichan,” she said. “You've gotta heal quickly, `cause you look pretty pathetic with all those bandages. Like a mummy. And if you keep with all your weak attempts at movement, you're gonna rip your stitches out.” She waved at him over her shoulder as she walked away.

 

Inuyasha fumed. “You brat! Just you wait! Tomorrow, I'm gonna kick your sorry ass!”

 

Kaede just laughed as she closed the screen door between their rooms.

 

xXx

 

Kaede woke up at dawn, as was her internal schedule. She tiptoed around Kikyou's sleeping form, her sister having only retired to a day of sleep but an hour ago. She briskly pulled open the door to the porch, pulled on her sandals, and made her daily journey to the well in the woods. She would need more water today, so that she and Kikyou could clean Inuyasha's wounds. She skipped along the dirt path as best as she could. The earth had dried slightly, but not nearly enough to keep her feet from getting stuck in the mud with each step.

 

The empty bucket slapped against the backs of her legs as she trotted into the woods. Kaede's eyes lit up when she saw the wooden box-shaped well. She hurried over and secured the rope on the bucket handle and tossed the bucket in, listening eagerly for the bubbling `splash!' the bucket always made when it hit the water. She frowned when a very different sound met her ears. `Clomp!'

 

Kaede furrowed her brow in confusion as she stood on her tiptoes to peer into the well. Her eyes widened when she looked inside the normally deep well, only to find that it was completely dry. She blinked stupidly, thoroughly confused as she pulled the empty bucket back up. Her gaze flickered from the bucket, to the dry well, and back to the bucket. Feeling confused as to how a well could completely evaporate during a thunderstorm, Kaede was left with few options other than to go to the nearby river and get the water from there. A few of the other villagers were already at the river, and nodded their greetings. Kaede quickly filled the bucket, deciding that using running water to fill a bucket was far more easy and efficient than dumping the bucket in stagnant water with the hope of the bucket gaining its fill. She pouted as she walked back home slowly, careful not to spill the water as she moved. `If only Kikyou-oneesama wasn't so particular about us getting holy water,' she thought petulantly.

 

She kicked off her muddy sandals on the porch and staggered beneath the bucket as she shifted its weight to one arm so she could pull open the screen door. She, like before, tried to tiptoe around Kikyou as best she could so she could get access to Inuyasha's room, which was, in reality, just a small area of the one-roomed house they'd set off for the young man.

 

“Inuyasha-niichan,” she called softly, trying to adjust the heavy weight of the full bucket, her knees buckling. “Nii-chan, I have to clean your wounds and change your bandages.” She began nudging the screen open with her toes. When it had been opened wide enough for her to stick her entire foot in, she slid it open with ease. “Inuyasha-niichan! I've brought the water!” She said cheerily, her eyes closed as she sang her news. “You know it was the weirdest thing. The well was completely dried up! I had to double back and go to the river to get water.” She opened her eyes expectantly, awaiting his thoughts on the matter. Her mouth dropped open in shock, because the young man who had frozen upon her entrance into the room was certainly not the dark haired boy she had met the night before.

 

It was a silver-haired demon.

 

The demon blinked his bright golden eyes, his eyebrows raised. He had been stretching out his sore limbs when Kaede had walked in. The girl had looked rather energetic upon entry. When she opened her eyes and had actually gotten a good look at him (he was positive she'd done a double-take), her expression had melted into utmost horror.

 

“Oh god…” Kaede whispered, dropping the bucket, the cool water pooling around her bare feet as she stared at the demon in terror. Her dark eyes were wide with fear. “W-what happened to Inuyasha-niichan?” she stuttered, her small form trembling as she took a step back.

 

The demon quickly raised his hands and waved them frantically, trying to calm the scared child. “N-no!” he exclaimed. “It's okay! Kaede, I-”

 

“What'd you do to Inuyasha-niichan?!” Kaede bellowed as she stomped forward and punched the demon square in the eye. “You better not have eaten him!” she shrieked, effectively knocking him over onto the futon and yanking the demon's shirt open and plainly ignoring the profusion of bloodied cloth bandages adorning his stomach. She pressed her ear against his flat stomach, listening intently.

 

“What the hell are you doing, brat?!” the demon shouted incredulously, visibly wincing as she put pressure on his injured stomach. He pushed her off his aching form with a groan. The little girl fixed him with a poisonous glare.

 

“You ate him, didn't you?! Damn you! Don't eat my friends!” Kaede cried while digging her hands in her obi and pulling out a beaded necklace and quickly forming hand seals; the necklace glowed a violent shade of purple as the beads rapidly disconnected from the string and reformed around the demon's neck. “SIT!” she screeched.

 

“Wait! Wait! OUCH!! MOTHERFU—!! Let me explain, goddammit!” the demon yelled angrily as his body unwillingly slammed itself (none too gently) into the hard wooden floor of the house. “Woman! Lemme talk, for god's sake! I'm a half-demon, and I-”

 

“Why would you eat Inuyasha-niichan?! What'd he do to you?! That's so dishonourable! He couldn't defend himself against a full demon! Not in his condition!” She pushed the demon onto his back and yelled at his stomach. “Inuyasha!” she shouted, “I'm gonna rescue you! Don't panic!”

 

“What the hell are you doing?!” the demon roared in protest, his clawed hands yanking at the magic beads adorning his neck. “You idiot! I'm Inuyasha!”

 

Kaede pounced on his head, yanking forcefully on the demon's odd, puppy-dog ears. “LIAR!” she cried. “Throw Inu-niichan up! Throw up! Throw up!” she shrieked.

 

“OW! DAMMIT, WOMAN! LET GO!!”

 

“Not until you throw him up!”

 

“…Kaede?”

 

Kaede froze in the middle of her vicious onslaught on the friend-eating demon long enough to see the confused expression adorning her older sister's sleep-ridden eyes.

 

Kikyou blinked at the two, not comprehending what had just happened. Her eyes took in the odd scene of her little, eight year old sister beating the life out a very aggravated looking dog demon. “Kaede,” she said again, choosing her words carefully. “What are you doing…?”

 

“He ate Inuyasha-niichan!” Kaede whined tearfully, tugging a little harder on the demon's ears and ignoring his pained complaints.

 

Kikyou eyed the demon inquisitively. “Who is Inuyasha?” she asked.

 

“I am!” the demon shouted, golden eyes flashing with aggravation.

 

“Liar! Inuyasha-niichan is human!”

 

“I told you! I'm half-demon!”

 

“Liar!”

 

“Tell your delusional sister to get her scrawny ass off me!” he yelled. “And what the hell is with this necklace, damn it?!”

 

Kikyou quickly rushed to the demon's side and hoisted Kaede off his back, ignoring her girlish screams of protest. With the girl off his back, the demon rolled back into a sitting position, golden eyes glaring sulkily at Kaede.

 

“Thank god you got the kid off me,” he said, massaging his abused ears with a wince. “I don't think I could have lasted another second-” he blinked in confusion at the notched arrow pointing at his heart. Kikyou's eyes were stony.

 

“Who are you?” she asked sharply.

 

“I'm Inuyasha,” he said again with a sigh as he lazily pushed Kikyou's bow and arrow out of the way, not even bothering to wonder where the miko had drawn the weapon from. “You guys picked me off the edge of the village last night. Bandaged me up and put me to bed.” He raised an eyebrow at Kaede. “Spoke about how yanking on the eyelids of people is not polite.” He allowed a small grin of satisfaction as the recognition dawned on Kaede. “Remember me now?”

 

Kikyou lowered her bow and removed the arrow, taking Kaede's reaction as a guarantee that this was indeed her sister's `Inuyasha.'

 

Kaede furrowed her brow as she stared at Inuyasha's face in a scrutinizing fashion. “I…don't understand,” she said finally. “How did you turn into a demon?”

 

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “I was always a demon,” he replied, slumping back onto his futon and lying on his back with his hands crossed behind his head.

 

Kikyou frowned. “That can't be,” she said softly. “I did not sense that you were a demon. You were human. You possessed a demonic taint in your aura, but you were most definitely human.”

 

Inuyasha sighed tiredly. “I already told you, I'm half demon.”

 

“I don't get it, Inuyasha-niichan,” Kaede whined. “What does that have to do with anything?”

 

“If you'd have let me explain before you started attacking me, maybe you'd understand…” Inuyasha muttered beneath his breath. He sat up again and stared Kikyou straight in the eye. “We hanyous don't like people knowing, but every month, we lose our demon forms and are reduced to being humans for one night,” he said seriously. “From sun down to sun up, we are stripped of our enhanced senses and powers.” He allowed a sly smirk. “We become weaklings.”

 

Kaede clapped her hands in understanding. “I get it!” she exclaimed, looking proud of herself. “Last night, the night of the new moon, was the night you change into a human! And now that it is daytime, you're a demon again.”

 

Inuyasha smiled. “Not bad, brat,” he praised. He turned his golden gaze back on Kikyou, all joking aside. “Kaede told me that the Shikon Jewel was being kept here, and that you were its guardian.”

 

“That is correct,” Kikyou answered, eyes narrowing slightly. `Is he one who desires its power?' she wondered anxiously, hands tightening on her bow.

 

Inuyasha's eyes clouded over. “How interesting,” he mused. He sighed heavily. “It was brought here one-hundred fifty years ago by a woman carrying a hanyou infant, right?” he inquired tiredly, looking at Kaede through half-lidded golden eyes.

 

Kaede nodded. “Our ancestor was told to protect it until the hanyou was mature enough to come back to relieve us of it.”

 

Inuyasha's eyes widened slightly. “What's supposed to happen then?”

 

Kaede shrugged. “Nobody really knows,” she admitted. “The rightful owner is to purify it. Our family plays no part other than to hold onto it until he returns.”

 

“I see,” Inuyasha frowned thoughtfully, and then stood up. “All right, then,” he said energetically. “Fork over the jewel so I can get the hell out of here.”

 

Kikyou blinked, not too surprised. “You want the jewel for yourself? To serve what purpose?”

 

Inuyasha let out an exaggerated sigh. “I'm supposed to take it, right? My mom is the one came here to drop it off.”

 

“I realise that,” Kikyou muttered, quieting her aggravation. “However, what will you do with the jewel?”

 

Inuyasha's serious expression transformed into one of absolute confusion. “I really don't know,” he said flatly. “Mom never told me. Said she didn't know too much about it herself. She just told me to come and get it when I was `mature enough.'” He clearly didn't think much of his maturity, seeing as how he had accentuated his words with bunny fingers. “Keh, like I know when I'm mature.” He stood up gracefully. “So, give me the damn jewel.” He held out his broken arm expectantly, earning an amazed look from Kaede. His injuries had already healed.

 

Kikyou stared at him carefully, looking for a thread of deceit in his smouldering eyes. “Very well,” she said at last, leading him out of the house and toward the shrine.

 

Kaede followed behind Inuyasha, looking at him curiously. He was getting a lot of odd stares and hushed comments from the villagers they passed, but he paid them no heed. Kaede wondered idly if he was perhaps used to such observation. She hoped not. Some of the villagers' whispers were less than complimentary.

 

Kikyou lead them into the shrine and gestured lazily at the jewel that hung on a simple necklace. “The Shikon Jewel,” she said.

 

“This is the legendary Shikon Jewel?” Inuyasha asked incredulously, gawking at the round translucent gem. “What the hell is so special about it?! It looks like a fucking marble!”

 

Kaede giggled.

 

Kikyou frowned disapprovingly at him. “It pulses with more power than any demon I have ever seen,” she said dryly. “Its ability is not to be a shining bauble to present to some woman. It is in its ability to give power to demons.” She watched the hanyou poke the jewel with a claw, obviously not listening to her. She sighed. He was like one of the village children. She doubted this is what his mother had in mind when she told him to return when he was `mature.'

 

“Take it, then,” Kikyou said finally, growing weary of Inuyasha's antics. “If you really are its rightful owner, and there is no doubt about that, then you should be able to purify it upon contact.”

 

Inuyasha pursed his lips thoughtfully. “How will we know if it's been purified?” he asked. “Will it get absorbed into my skin or something?” he looked uneasy at the idea of the jewel (it really was more of a shiny rock, in his opinion) becoming a part of him.

 

“It may get absorbed,” Kikyou replied. “We don't really know what will happen.”

 

“What kind of keepers don't even know bull about the item they're guarding?!”

 

“I'll be able to sense if it has been purified, though,” Kikyou said serenely, ignoring his outburst. “Such is an ability of a miko.”

 

“If you're a miko, why can't you purify it? Demons are the ones that are supposed to be killed by purification! How do I know this thing won't burn me once it's purified?!” the hanyou ranted.

 

“Would Inuyasha-niichan's mama have done something like that to her son?” Kaede wondered aloud.

 

Inuyasha's eyes softened. “No,” he said. “She wouldn't have.”

 

“Then listen to her.” Kaede smiled brightly.

 

Inuyasha nodded and slowly extended a clawed hand and picked up the jewel. His eyes widened as he felt a surge of warm energy pass through his body. He turned to look at Kikyou expectantly. “Well?” he asked. “Is it purified?”

 

Kikyou was using all her self-control to keep from letting her jaw drop. “N-no,” she stammered uncharacteristically. “It's exactly the same…”

 

Inuyasha's right eye twitched. “What?! What the hell are you talking about?!”

 

“How should I know why it didn't work?” Kikyou demanded sourly, losing her temper for what felt like the first time in a decade. “You're the one that's supposed to be able to purify it! Not me!”

 

“Then why is it not purified, dammit?!”

 

“Why are you asking me?!”

 

“'Cause you're the effing miko! Shouldn't purifying shit be under your list of know-how?!”

 

“I can't be expected to know everything!”

 

“Fuck you!”

 

Kaede watched the exchange with hidden amusement. “Inuyasha-niichan isn't very mature at all,” she stated with a giggle, causing both the hanyou and the miko to freeze and look at her.

 

“`Not mature'?! I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S `NOT MATURE'!!”

 

Kikyou furrowed her brow, her sister's words making sense. “That's it,” she said, calming down. “Inuyasha is not mature yet.”

 

“Excuse me?!” Inuyasha cracked his knuckles ominously as he glared at her.

 

Kikyou gave him a piercing stare of her own. “Your mother said you could only purify it when you were mature, and, as Kaede said, you are certainly not mature now.”

 

Inuyasha's pride deflated. “Fine,” he consented grumpily. “Let's say that is the case.”

 

“It is,” Kaede giggled.

 

“Shut up!” Inuyasha growled. He turned back to the stony miko. “If that is the reason, then what am I supposed to do? It took a hell of a long time to find your village, and it's not really all that safe out there for me once a month… And I sure as hell won't be able to tell when I'm `mature' or not.”

 

“Then stay here,” Kikyou said evenly, earning an annoyed `What?!' from Inuyasha. “If you stay here, you can try to purify the jewel each day. It is bound to work eventually.”

 

“But my demon blood slows my aging process!” Inuyasha protested. “It could take years…decades, even!”

 

“Then you would do well to silence that explosive nature of yours as quickly as possible,” Kikyou said sombrely, turning on her heel to leave the shrine and the fuming Inuyasha.

 

Kaede looked thrilled at Kikyou's proposition. “Yay!” she cheered happily, running to Inuyasha and clinging to him like a leech. “It looks like Inu-niichan will be here for a while!”

 

Inuyasha stared down at the ecstatic eight year old girl with a sense of foreboding dread. “Great…”

 

xXx

 

On a hill, a couple of miles away from the village, a demon silently sniffed the air. His sharp golden eyes closed slightly as he took in the scent of the air around him. The land smelled clean, of fresh rain and earth. It brought a small smile to his lips.

 

He turned to leave, his long, silver ponytail shining brilliantly in the morning light as he began to walk away, the three swords tucked into his obi clicking soundly against each other with each step.

 

He blinked at the sharp pain he felt on his neck, similar to that of being pinched. He slapped his neck carelessly, fangs peeking out over his lower lip when he heard the shriek of pain. He plucked the flattened flea demon off his skin and gave him a sceptical look.

 

“Myouga,” he greeted the tiny demon gaily. “You do realise that you wouldn't experience so much pain over the course of your life if you alerted me before you take my blood, don't you?”

 

The flea coughed uneasily, averting his large eyes away from the regal daiyoukai that was addressing him so casually. “Sorry, my lord,” Myouga said sheepishly.

 

The demon laughed pleasantly. “It's quite all right. I understand that it is hard to break habits that have existed for as long as time itself,” he said kindly. “Actually, it is a good thing you are here…” he averted his gaze to the small village that was just within his powerful eyesight. “I need you to keep a close watch over my son,” he said seriously. “I cannot help him effectively and keep Sesshoumaru at bay at the same time.”

 

Myouga nodded. “Of course, my lord!” he squeaked. “I shall be with him for as long as you wish!”

 

The demon lord smiled and nodded gratefully. “Excellent,” he said.

 

Myouga looked at the other demon curiously. “So, he is not yet mature?”

 

The silver-haired demon shook his head wearily. “No, but he was under the impression that he was…” He laughed lightly. “I was like that too, as a child.”

 

Myouga raised his large eyes to the heavens. “Not another one…” he muttered, getting himself squished between the demon lord's fingers for the unwanted, yet truthful, comment.

 

“So how much longer will it be?” Myouga asked, once he had recovered.

 

The demon lord scratched his chin thoughtfully. “About fifty years, I'd wager. Give or take.”

 

Myouga looked rather pleased by this. “That'll pass in an instant.”

 

The demon lord nodded, also looking excited by this. “I know,” he said. “I can hardly wait.” His gleeful expression darkened slightly. “However, mature or not, things cannot happen without Sesshoumaru.” He groaned tiredly. “I'm getting too old for these things…”

 

`Welcome to my world… I have to put up with all three of you…' Myouga thought glumly. But to the demon lord, he put on a plastic smile. “Do not worry, my lord. Things will work out, and you'll be a grandfather in no time.”

 

The demon lord smiled at this. “I hope so,” he mumbled vaguely. Then he laughed. “I just want Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha to have children that'll drive them as nuts as they drove me.”

 

Myouga had to smother his snickers at that comment. `That's what your parents said about you…'

 

Inu no Taishou raised an eyebrow at Myouga. “What?” he asked, completely oblivious to the thoughts passing through the flea's head.

 

“N-nothing, my lord…”

 

Inu no Taishou squished him anyway.

xXx