InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Truth About Cats and Dogs ❯ Totosai's Wisdom ( Chapter 4 )

Recap: After a confrontation with Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and Kirara found a reason to enjoy each other's company, and the two planned a trip to see Totosai to collect the sharpening stone for the Tetsusaiga and a new sword for Kirara.

 

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Chapter 4 - Totosai's Wisdom

 

“You're not scared, are you?” Inuyasha scoffed, as Kirara nervously eyed over the land before them.

 

“No!” she replied indignantly.

 

“Well come on then!” Inuyasha said impatiently, starting towards Totosai's unusual home.

 

Kirara hesitated a moment longer, gulping as she caught sight of an impossibly large vulture demon lurking in a nearby tree.

 

“Hey Kirara, I thought you said you were a warrior!” Inuyasha called back to her. “So start acting like one!”

 

Kirara grunted out a small, feline growl, lifting her chin indignantly. She boldly marched after Inuyasha, drawing level with him as he reached the entrance to Totosai's abode.

 

“Hey old man!” Inuyasha yelled over to Totosai, who was busy forging a sword.

 

“Inuyasha!” Totosai called back over to him. “And Kirara!”

 

“Huh?” Inuyasha grunted, glancing back and forth between Totosai and Kirara. “How did you know she was Kirara?” he asked Totosai.

 

“Only an idiot wouldn't recognise her,” Totosai replied in his usual, gruff tones.

 

“Keh!” Inuyasha snorted, walking deeper into Totosai's workshop, eying the swords on display around him.

 

“You remember me then, Master Totosai?” Kirara said, bowing slightly to the sword-smith.

 

“What?” Inuyasha muttered, swivelling around to watch as Kirara approached Totosai.

 

“Of course I do!” Totosai replied, putting down his hammer and turning to face Kirara fully. “So, Sango was the one to break the spell, huh?”

 

“What?” Inuyasha said again.

 

“Yes,” Kirara said. “Master Totosai, Inuyasha and I have come to collect-”

 

“A new sword?” Totosai interrupted her. “I'm still working on it, but I won't be long.”

 

“What?” Inuyasha yelped.

 

“Oh, thank you Master Totosai.”

 

Kirara gave another small bow to Totosai, who nodded his head at her before returning to the sword he had been working on.

 

“You mean to tell me you knew she was coming for a sword, old man?” Inuyasha asked Totosai.

 

“Sure I did,” Totosai casually replied as he worked.

 

“I think someone got here before us,” Kirara said darkly, before slapping a hand against the side of her neck.

 

Inuyasha walked over to her side, holding out his hand to catch Myoga's flattened form as it frittered downwards from Kirara's neck.

 

“I just came back here to ask Master Totosai if he knew anything about Kirara,” Myoga explained once he had inflated back to his normal size and shape.

 

“That old man doesn't even know whether it's night or day, why would he know anything about Kirara?” Inuyasha sneered.

 

“Master Totosai made my last sword for me, the one I used to battle alongside Priestess Midoriko,” Kirara explained. “But that was a very long time ago.”

 

Kirara grinned, leaning closer to Inuyasha.

 

“Master Totosai was only an old man back then,” she whispered. “Not a senile, withered elderly thing like he is now!”

 

Inuyasha smirked in response, glancing over his shoulder to confirm that Totosai had not heard their exchange.

 

“Intuition is what it is,” Totosai shouted over to them as he hammered away at the sword. “I can always tell when someone is coming to see me, and I knew today I would see the two of you. Of course, your brother is heading this way too, but he moves a lot slower than you do, Inuyasha.”

 

“Huh?” Inuyasha echoed, spinning around to face Totosai. “My brother is on his way here? Why would he come here? He already knows you won't make a sword for him!”

 

“Sesshomaru is on his way here?” Kirara asked, glancing between Inuyasha and Totosai.

 

“Hey Kirara, you're not pronouncing his name properly,” Inuyasha told her.

 

“I'm not?” Kirara responded, tilting her head in confusion. “Is it not pronounced Ses-sho-ma-ru?”

 

“No,” Inuyasha replied, shaking his head. “Didn't I tell you already? It's pronounced jack-ass.”

 

Kirara rolled her eyes, putting on a pained smile for Inuyasha's sake; but to her alarm he appeared not to be joking with her.

 

“Hey old man, you better not be making a sword for that jackass,” Inuyasha shouted over to Totosai.

 

“Nope,” Totosai simply replied.

 

“Well good!”

 

“Does Sesshomaru come here often looking for assistance?” Kirara asked, approaching Totosai.

 

“Nope,” Totosai replied. “He's only been here once before.”

 

“Oh,” Kirara said, nodding her head.

 

“I imagine he's coming here for a new katana, or for some lightweight armour for the girl.”

 

Kirara turned her head to Inuyasha, who shook his head and shrugged his shoulders to indicate that he knew as much about what Totosai meant as she did.

 

“What girl, Master Totosai?” Kirara asked.

 

“The princess,” Totosai replied, holding the sword up above his head to admire his work.

 

“The princess?” Kirara asked.

 

“The princess of the Northern Lands,” Totosai answered.

 

Inuyasha snorted, drawing Kirara's attention back to him.

 

“Are you alright, Inuyasha?” she asked.

 

He snorted again, before starting to laugh.

 

“Inuyasha?” Kirara asked, her frown deepening.

 

Inuyasha did not answer her though, he merely laughed louder and harder, grabbing his arms around his ribs and doubling over under the force of his hysterics.

 

“I don't understand, Master Totosai,” Kirara said, turning back to Totosai.

 

Kirara started when she found Totosai standing as still as a statue, his arms hanging loosely at his side. One hand still held the sword the other held his hammer. He appeared to be staring at something beyond the entrance to his workshop, his stare so intense, Kirara spun around in expectation of finding someone or something there. Just as she was squinting against the mist to confirm there were no movements outside, Totosai suddenly let out a cry that caused Kirara to leap away from him in fright.

 

“What is it Master Totosai?” she asked, turning back to him.

 

“I forgot to dig up my vegetables last week,” he replied, his eyes still staring off into the distance. “I hope they haven't ruined…”

 

Totosai lifted his hand carrying the sword towards his head, scratching the top of his head with two fingers as he continued to hold onto the sword.

 

“Keh, the old man is nuts,” Inuyasha grumbled. “But hey, tell us more about the princess, old man.”

 

Totosai turned his stare to Inuyasha, staring unblinkingly at him until Inuyasha's face scrunched up in frustration - which did not take very long.

 

“The princess of the Northern Lands, old man!” Inuyasha pressed impatiently. “You said my brother was getting armour for her!”

 

“I did?” Totosai said slowly. “I said that?”

 

“Yes, damn it!” Inuyasha snarled.

 

“Oh. Well that's probably because he needs to get a sword for her.”

 

Inuyasha growled, clenching and unclenching his fists in the air and he tried to suppress his mounting anger.

 

“But why would Sesshomaru need a sword and armour for a princess?” Kirara asked Totosai, in the hope of dousing the flame of Inuyasha's temper.

 

“Well, he's only got one arm now, you know,” Totosai replied, before banging the sword back down onto his stone table.

 

Inuyasha made a noise of frustration that sounded like a string of curse words said through a feral, canine growl.

 

“I remember the princess,” Inuyasha began patiently. “My mother told me about her, and I met her a couple of times after my mother died. I know who she is, and I know what she means to Sesshomaru. What I want to know old man, is if my stinking older brother is going to honour his mother's wish and take the stupid princess for his mate?”

 

“Take the princess for his mate?” Kirara echoed.

 

“Yes,” Inuyasha tightly replied. “The princess is Sesshomaru's cousin, their mothers were sisters. Apparently they arranged for the two to join together and take over the Western Lands after my father retired or died.”

 

“His cousin? So she is a dog demon too?” Kirara mused. “How unusual. With the obvious exceptions of you, Inuyasha, and your half-brother, I have never known another dog demon.”

 

“That's because they all live in the Northern Lands now,” Inuyasha explained.

 

“So if we are heading North-East in our search for Naraku, there is a chance we will meet more dog demons?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“He wanted to give her a present,” Totosai suddenly said.

 

Inuyasha pulled a face at the distracted sword-smith before turning his back on both Totosai and Kirara, folding his arms indignantly.

 

“The dog demon princess must be a very powerful demon,” Kirara commented.

 

“Nope,” Totosai replied, clamping the sword with a set of tongs and turning around to push the sword into the fire once more.

 

“No?” Kirara echoed. “How unusual.”

 

“She's weak and sickly,” Totosai continued. “Her mother wants Sesshomaru to take her quickly.”

 

“Oh, her illness is a fatal one?”

 

“Nope. Her family just want rid of her because she's always sneezing and coughing and always in her bed. I suppose they must be sick of tending to her all the time.”

 

“Yeah, I remember her well,” Inuyasha interjected, grinning slyly. “She was a miserable little thing. When I was a kid, Sesshomaru would take her for a walk, since her mother told him that fresh air would make the princess feel better. It was hilarious. They never spoke to each other the whole time. They would walk for a few minutes, before she would start coughing and asking to go back to her bed. Ha!”

 

Kirara smirked in response, a brief image of a sickly dog demon coughing and spluttering all over Sesshomaru's fine clothing flitting through her mind.

 

“She is weak and sickly and she never talks?” she asked, turning to Inuyasha. “Then I think she shall make him a wonderful mate.”

 

“Yeah, you can just imagine Nurse Jackass watching over her while she vomits everywhere in his precious castle!” Inuyasha replied, grinning maliciously as he pictured the princess vomiting over Jaken as Sesshomaru, dressed in a nursing priestess's kimono mixed up her potions for her.

 

Inuyasha let out a short, grunting laughter at the thought.

 

“There we go,” Totosai said, holding up the sword. “It's finished. I'll just get you a scabbard.”

 

“What?” Inuyasha snapped. “Hey, how come she gets a scabbard?”

 

But Totosai ignored Inuaysha's outburst, disappearing into the shadowy depths of his cave-like home to search for a sheath to contain Kirara's new sword.

 

“Stupid old man,” Inuyasha muttered.

 

“We need to get the sharpening stone, too,” Kirara quietly reminded Inuyasha.

 

“Hey old man, get me the sharpening stone while you're back there!” Inuyasha yelled into the darkness.

 

“You know Inuyasha, it wouldn't hurt you if you were to be a little more polite to others,” Kirara pointed out.

 

“Keh,” Inuyasha scoffed, squinting against the darkness as Totosai re-emerged, carrying the scabbard and a stone. “And hey, it worked!” Inuyasha said to Kirara.

 

Kirara arched her eyebrows at him, but he ignored her gesture, walking over to snatch the stone from Totosai.

 

“So this is the sharpening stone for my Tetsusaiga?” he mused aloud.

 

“Nope,” Totosai said, handing the sheath to Kirara. “That's my pickling stone. I need to pickle my vegetables.”

 

Inuyasha groaned, a sweat-drop sliding down the back of his head.

 

“So where is the sharpening stone, old man?” Inuyasha asked through tightly clenched teeth.

 

“It's right beside you,” Totosai replied, pointing at a stone by Inuyasha's feet.

 

“Why didn't you say that sooner, old man?” Inuyasha snapped.

 

“You didn't ask,” Totosai plainly replied.

 

Inuyasha growled, dropping the pickling stone and picking up the sharpening stone by his feet.

 

“Wait a minute…” Totosai said, glancing between the two stones. “Now which one was the pickling stone and which one was the sharpening stone…?”

 

“You mean you can't tell?” Inuyasha roared.

 

“That was just a joke.”

 

“Well it wasn't very funny, old man!”

 

Inuyasha began muttering under his breath, marching back outside.

 

“Thank you again, Master Totosai,” Kirara said to Totosai, bowing politely.

 

“You better take this too, young lady,” Totosai offered, unhooking a body armour plate from the wall. “I think you might need it soon.”

 

“Oh, thank you very much,” Kirara said, taking the armour from him.

 

“And you know, whether Inuyasha likes it or not, his fate is tied to his brother's,” Totosai added. “Their father made sure of that by giving them the two swords of the fang.”

 

“Oh,” Kirara responded, frowning lightly. “Inuyasha won't like that idea.”

 

“Nope. Now off you go.”

 

“Right. Goodbye, Master Totosai.”

 

Kirara hurried after Inuyasha, who slowed to wait for her, frowning as he caught sight of the bundle of metal in her arms.

 

“He gave me some new armour,” she explained, stopping to hook her sword onto the belt of her clothing.

 

“Crazy old man,” Inuyasha muttered. “Come on, we should get back to the village by nightfall, and in the morning you can get your new clothes, and we can start our search for Naraku again.”

 

Kirara nodded, and both started off again, only to skid to a halt as a figure appeared before them at the edge of the trees.

 

“Step aside, you're in my way,” Sesshomaru greeted them.

 

“No way, jackass!” Inuyasha retorted. “You move!”

 

Sesshomaru shifted his eyes to Kirara, staring so intensely at her that she dropped her eyes to the ground to avoid his stare. Inuyasha took a step forwards, and Sesshomaru immediately did the same. Sesshomaru watched Inuyasha for a moment, before again shifting his eyes to Kirara, who had dared to look up at him again.

 

“The ill company you keep never ceases to amaze me, little brother,” Sesshomaru said, slowly moving his eyes back to Inuyasha.

 

Inuyasha opened his mouth to argue back, but stopped as Kirara began to answer his brother herself.

 

“Are you referring to me, Lord Sesshomaru?” she asked, taking two steps forwards, standing next to, and slightly ahead of, Inuyasha.

 

“It was insulting enough to our family name when you started mixing with humans, Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru continued, as though he had not even heard Kirara, his eyes fixed onto Inuyasha. “But travelling with a filthy, lowly cat demon truly is the worst thing you have ever done.”

 

“Hey back off, you stupid jackass!” Inuyasha snapped.

 

Inuyasha took another step forwards, drawing out his Tetsusaiga, to which Sesshomaru responded by also taking a step forwards and drawing out his Tenseiga.

 

“You know that sword is useless against me as long as I have the Tenseiga, you fool,” Sesshomaru reminded Inuyasha.

 

“Damn…” Inuyasha muttered, reluctantly returning his sword to its sheath.

 

Sesshomaru copied his action, re-sheathing the Tenseiga, his eyes moving to Kirara as he did so.

 

“I've had just about enough of your rude and pompous attitude, Lord Sesshomaru!” she spat at him.

 

“For a woman, you talk far too much,” Sesshomaru calmly replied. “You are the one who needs to learn to control and reign in your attitude. You sicken me, cat demon. Your will is to help and preach to everyone you meet.”

 

“Whilst yours is merely to hate and unfairly judge everyone you meet!” Kirara snapped back.

 

“Step aside, cat,” Sesshomaru said smoothly, his eyes narrowing slightly as he spoke.

 

“I will not, dog!” Kirara argued back, clenching a fist in front of her chest. “I am a warrior, and I do not step aside for anyone, least of all a filthy dog like you! Inuyasha?”

 

“Yeah?” Inuyasha responded, turning to Kirara.

 

“Take this,” Kirara said, smacking her armour against his chest.

 

Inuyasha let out an “oof” sound, catching the armour with his free arm, staggering back a step as he tried to balance the armour in one arm and the sharpening stone in the other.

 

“You portray the image of a demon lord of honour,” Kirara said boldly, marching right up to Sesshomaru. “If that is indeed the case, you will not refuse my challenge. Put down your weapons and fight me in your true form, dog!”

 

“Um, Kirara?” Inuyasha said nervously.

 

“Shut-up, Inuyasha!” Kirara snapped over her shoulder.

 

“So be it,” Sesshomaru monotonously replied. “Show me your true form, cat.”

 

Kirara nodded her head, before transforming into her fire-cat form, the form Inuyasha was far more accustomed to seeing. Inuyasha did briefly wonder if it was worth telling Kirara that Sesshomaru's dog form was a little different to Kirara's cat form in terms of size, but since his brother's eyes had already turned red and his transformation had already begun, Inuyasha decided that she would find that out soon enough anyway.

 

Kirara stood, hackles raised, growling confidently as Sesshomaru shot into the air. Inuyasha did a quick survey of the area, calculating the amount of open space around him against the size of his transformed brother, and came to the conclusion that he had to move - and quickly. He leapt backwards and to the side, barely making it out the way before three giant silver paws landed on the ground, causing it to shake so much Inuyasha dropped Kirara's armour and almost fell over himself.

 

As he gathered up Kirara's armour again, Inuyasha watched the scene before him, his eyes widening at what he saw. Sesshomaru had landed squarely over Kirara, trapped her with his giant legs. From where Inuyasha stood, Kirara looked like nothing more than a flea in comparison to his brother. She was looking up at the undersize of his neck, her ears flat against her head, her red eyes wide with fear.

 

Sesshomaru's lips peeled back over his gargantuan fangs, a growl rumbling in his throat as he lowered his head. Kirara leaned back, raising one paw in the air as a stream of thick green venom dripped from Sesshomaru's jaws, bubbling and hissing on the ground next to his single front paw. Kirara let out a small, high-pitched, pitiful “mew”, that even her previous, small cat form would have been ashamed of, before turning around and racing out between Sesshomaru's hind legs.

 

Once she was free, Kirara leapt into the air, flying up over the trees. Inuyasha groaned, closing his eyes as he thought of one other important fact that he probably should have shared with Kirara: despite his exceptionally large size in his dog demon form, Sesshomaru could fly too.

 

As Inuyasha opened his eyes again, Sesshomaru was in the air, his back turned to Inuyasha, hovering over the trees, the venom still dripping from his jaws, bubbling and burning through the vegetation below. Kirara was hovering a short distance above Sesshomaru's nose, facing him and Inuyasha, and apparently frozen by her fear. Sesshomaru snarled, clenching his jaws tightly together, his lips lifting further to show every single tooth in his jaws. Kirara hissed pitifully in response, to which Sesshomaru then let out two short, sharp barks, spraying venom all around Kirara, his breath blasting her hair back and causing her to close her eyes.

 

Even from where he stood, Inuyasha could see the relieved expression on Kirara's face when she opened her eyes again and realised that she had miraculously avoided harm from the venom. Then, to Inuyasha's absolute horror, Sesshomaru growled again, and Kirara took a swipe at his face with her front paw. Sesshomaru howled in pain, losing altitude as his head turned to one side. Kirara was again frozen, only this time apparently in shock at her own actions. Realising Kirara had not only inflicted damage to Sesshomaru, but that she had probably also caused his rage to multiply tenfold, Inuyasha ran forwards.

 

“Kirara!” he shouted to her. “Let's go, come on!”

 

Kirara looked down at Inuyasha, then back at Sesshomaru, who was once more snarling at her. Her eyes doubled in size as she saw the bloody claw-marks below his left eye and the rabid, livid, feral look in his crimson eyes. With another pitiful, miniscule “mew”, Kirara dropped through the air, flying under and past Sesshomaru.

 

“What are you doing?” Inuyasha yelled at her. “Home is that way!”

 

Inuyasha was pointing back in the direction of his brother, but Kirara ignored him, flying straight at him. At the last moment, Inuyasha realised just what Kirara's intentions were, and he leapt up, jumping onto her back just at the moment she began to ascend rapidly again.

 

“He's coming this way, Kirara!” Inuyasha warned her. “I hope to hell you can fly as fast as you can run!”

 

Kirara arced around in the air, starting as she found herself flying straight towards Sesshomaru's open jaws. Using the one advantage she could see that she had, Kirara dove to her right, flying over Sesshomaru's left shoulder. Without his front left paw, he had no way to attack her, and was left to bark helplessly as her as she soared past.

 

“He's turning round, and he's following us, Kirara!” Inuyasha warned as they flew over the trees.

 

Kirara looked down at the treetops, panicking as she saw her own shadow, a small black line with a dot on top where Inuyasha sat, being pursued by a monstrously huge black blob that was rapidly gaining on her. Kirara moaned another pathetic “mew”, this time drawing it out as an expression of her despair, closing her eyes as the sound escaped from her throat. When she opened her eyes again, she almost fell out of the sky at what she saw.

 

Suddenly, the black blob was a long way behind her.

 

Kirara stopped so abruptly, Inuyasha had to grab onto her neck to stop himself from flying right over her head.

 

“What the hell are you doing, Kirara?” he snapped.

 

But Kirara ignored Inuyasha's complaints, turning around to look back in the direction they had come.

 

“Hey!” Inuyasha grunted.

 

In the distance, the giant, three-legged silver dog was still hovering motionlessly in the air, the sun setting behind him, his fangs bared, his large red eyes glowing and venom oozing from his jaws.

 

“Hey, the jackass stopped!” Inuyasha laughed. “He got scared! Nice job, Kirara!”

 

Kirara grunted, watching Sesshomaru for a moment longer before turning her back on him and flying back towards Kaede's village.

 

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“Did you get your sharpening stone, Inuyasha?” Kagome eagerly greeted Inuyasha as he leapt off Kirara's back, landing by Kaede's hut.

 

“Yeah,” he replied, holding up the stone.

 

Behind him, Kirara landed and transformed back into her human form, her face pale and her eyes wide.

 

“Kirara, are you okay?” Sango asked, moving over to her side.

 

“Kirara challenged Sesshomaru to a fight, cat versus dog,” Inuyasha bluntly announced. “Of course, she totally forgot Sesshomaru was a lot bigger than she is, and that he can fly too.”

 

“Forgot?” Kirara asked, her voice shaky. “How could I forget something that I didn't even know in the first place?”

 

“Keh,” Inuyasha replied, shrugging his shoulders.

 

“Did he hurt you?” Sango asked, eying Kirara over in concern.

 

“No,” Kirara assured her. “But I did hurt him…”

 

Kirara lifted up her right hand, wincing at the sight of the dried blood on her claws.

 

“Wow…” Sango muttered, frowning down at Kirara's claws.

 

“Such a hateful, loathsome, irksome, filthy mutt!” Kirara recovered, balling her bloodied hand into a fist and smacking it into her other palm.

 

“He's a jackass,” Inuyasha reminded her.

 

“Next time, he won't be so lucky!” Kirara said confidently.

 

“Well, it's late,” Sango said with a smile. “We should get inside. And tomorrow, we can continue our journey.”

 

“Sounds good to me,” Inuyasha agreed.

 

The others all made their way into Kaede's hut, but Kirara remained behind, her eyes wandering upwards to the star-filled sky overhead.

 

`He could easily have killed me,' she thought to herself. `And some warrior I am, I ran away from him. That's why he spared me. There was no honour in fighting a coward like me.'

 

“Damn!” Kirara cursed under her breath.

 

“Kirara!” Sango called to her from the doorway of Kaede's hut. “Come on, it's getting cold out there!”

 

Kirara sighed, taking one last look at the stars. As she watched, a brilliant white meteor shot across the sky, bringing a small smile to her lips.

 

“Coming!” she called, turning around and jogging over to the hut.

 

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Next Chapter: A scratch to the face was just the beginning of Sesshomaru's bad luck, as Rin, Jaken, Kagura and even Ah-Un all cause more problems for the demon lord. Chapter 5 - Sesshomaru's Threat.