Wings of Prophecy

Chapter 8: Father's Fang

"Are you sure this is the place?"

"Quite positive, Master Inuyasha..."

Inuyasha walked along the path that led to the front gates of the western palace Myoga had brought him to. The palace itself was enormous, even from the air. It had taken them the entire night and most of the morning to reach the castle, and quite frankly, Inuyasha was worried if would even be able to find his way back to the nest from here. He figured his only option would be to get Myoga to lead him back to Kaede's village and then he'd go from there. He couldn't risk exposing the nest to anyone else, especially to some flea demon that he'd just met, not to mention he suspected the insect had loose lips.

"So how is this Lord supposed to know who I am or what I'm here for?" Inuyasha inquired.

"Oh trust me, he'll know..." The flea demon replied nervously.

Inuyasha gave the flea a questioning look but decided not to ask further, he figured he'd find out soon enough anyway. As they approached the front gates, Inuyasha noticed several guards standing atop the walls that surrounded the castle. They were watching him carefully and he could see their tense postures. He figured maybe his wings were causing them to act the way they were since wings on a humanlike demon were typically symbols of immense power. He chuckled at the thought. Him? A powerful demon? While he did have adopted abilities of the fae, he would almost certainly never be as powerful as a full fledged demon.

He stopped at about thirty feet from the gates and waited. It didn't take long before the huge hulking doors were opened, however, he wasn't entirely expecting an entire squadron of guards to rush out and surround him. They had cornered him in a matter of seconds, spears and swords drawn. Inuyasha moved into his battle stance, claws poised and ready to rip and tear. He could hear Myoga whispering prayers and pleas on his shoulder as a tense silence settled over them. The lead guard then  tensed and raised his sword to attack, only to be stopped by a smooth, yet commanding voice.

"Attack him and you will cease to exist..."

The guard stopped, and then lowered his sword, if a little hesitantly. The crowd of guards began to part a path as a figure made its way through them. Inuyasha held his stance, not quite sure what to do so he didn't get himself killed. The male that approached was definitely a full demon, and a strong one at that; his aura screaming raw power. His long silver tresses flowing around him as he walked, his bangs framing his face elegantly. The magenta stripes and blue crescent moon that marked his face symbolized his heritage and made him easily recognizable; as did his golden honey hued eyes. He wore expensive looking white silk robes with red flower markings on the sleeves and collar. He also donned armor with an odd shoulder extension lined with sharp spikes. He had a sword with blue wrapping on the hilt strapped to his side. His expression looked much to be one of indifference, with a hint of questioning to it showing this with his brow slightly elevated.

"I assume you are Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha nodded slowly, still wary of the guards surrounding them.

"I am Sesshomaru, Lord of the West. I presume you are here to retrieve something I guard?" The demon questioned.

Inuyasha didn't answer; only stared, trying to figure out why this demon's presence unsettled him. It was unsettling due to the fact that his aura felt distantly familiar. It was enough to have his stomach twisting into knots and his mind becoming dizzy with theories. He strained his eyes to look down at the flea demon perched on his shoulder, only to find he wasn't there at all. Eyes widening in surprise, he looked around for the annoying insect but couldn't see him anywhere.

The Demon Lord gave him a quizzical look before speaking, "Is something the matter?"

"Uhm no... Not entirely..." Inuyasha trailed off, still glancing around him hoping to spy the flea, but to no avail.

"It would appear that insect has abandoned you for now. How pitiful. No matter, you won't be needing him anyhow..." The Demon Lord scoffed.

Inuyasha raised a brow and was about to ask him what he meant but the demon swiftly turned and walked back into the castle gates. Inuyasha assumed that was his queue to follow. Keeping a wary eye on the guards still surrounding him, he trailed after the demon lord with caution. The male seemed intent on getting to where ever they were going, because he wasn't exactly walking at a leisurely pace. The demon practically sped walk through the various halls of the castle, forcing Inuyasha to jog after him. He'd already nearly bumped into several servants roaming the halls just trying to keep up with the male.

Finally though, the demon stopped at a particularly large set of shoji doors and pushed them aside, revealing the most immaculately kept garden Inuyasha had ever seen. The demon lord had no intention of stopping to admire the garden, only on getting to its center. Inuyasha followed, taking in as much of the scenery as he could being as rushed as he was. The demon lord led him further and further into the garden until they came to a good sized clearing housing a pond with a small island at its center. A rather large sakura tree grew on the island, its ever growing limbs providing shade to a bronze pedestal. As they approached a bridge that arched over the water, it was then that Inuyasha noticed a rusty blade protruding from the surface of the pedestal.

"When the sword was left here, I was told it could only be drawn from the pedestal by its inheritor, the half demon son of the late Dog General," Sesshomaru explained, his focused gaze never leaving the sword.

Inuyasha looked upon the sword himself. His brow pinched together in slight disdain at the sword's appearance. The blade had definitely seen better days, it looked like it had been used to cut down trees and was then left in the rain for weeks. The wrappings on the hilt were faded and torn, practically falling off in brownish chunks of brittle fabric. However, something told him that there was more to this blade than meets the eye and he decided to trust that judgement.

Approaching the pedestal slowly, he noticed that the surface of the bronze began to glow faintly, and the closer he got, the brighter the glow became. When he finally stepped up onto the pedestal, the glow coming from the bronze surface was blinding that he had to squint just to catch a long enough glimpse at where the sword's hilt was. Finding the hilt quickly, he gave it a firm jerk, but the blade didn't budge. Now wrapping both hands around the battered hilt, he gave it another firm tug, only now he kept a consistent upward pull. He could now feel his strength fading quickly and realized he had to free the sword now. With a loud grunt being the result of his effort, he gave one final upward yank and the sword broke free of the shining surface. The glow faded quickly, leaving Inuyasha momentarily blinded; purple spots dancing in his vision.

He stumbled back off the pedestal with the sword still in hand and collapsed onto one knee. He dropped the blade onto the soft earth and took a moment to catch his breath. He felt like all his strength had been sapped in those few moments, like he'd fought a hundred battles with no rest. Despite the enormous exhaustion that threatened to send him into an unwanted slumber, he grasped the hilt of the blade and used it to push himself into a standing position. Once settled, he inspected the blade more closely, only to become startled when the rusty blade became engulfed in a golden light. He nearly dropped it out of surprise, his irrational mind screaming that it was a trap but he held fast. He watched as the silhouette of the blade grew larger and wider. Even stranger still, the blade guard suddenly sprouted fur the much resembled the fur Sesshomaru wore over his shoulder.

The golden light dissipated, leaving behind a much different blade than the one he'd held moments ago. He inspected it closely, finding that the blade was so well kept that he could see his reflection in its surface. It's aura screamed raw, unbridled power that was just waiting to be called upon. He gave the sword a few experimental swings, not noticing that Sesshomaru was taking some interest in his actions.

"That sword was forged from our father's fang. It is one of two forged from the same fang," Sesshomaru suddenly commented.

"Huh?" Inuyasha turned, slowly connecting the dots in his mind. He opened his mouth to reply but Sesshomaru spoke up once more.

"Strange isn't it? Why is it that our father left such a powerful weapon in the hands of a half blood? Why not entrust it to his more powerful heir?" Sesshomaru questioned rhetorically.

"Wait... you mean-"

Sesshomaru smiled devilishly, "Yes Inuyasha. We are half brothers from the same father..."