written by Christine
Chapter 16
Isabo opened her eyes and looked at her sleeping Inutaishou. He looked so at peace. She reached out and softly caressed his face. She rolled onto her elbows and kissed him softly. Pausing briefly, she withdrew, watching him to be sure that he remained asleep. He smiled but didn’t awake. Last night they had made love as passionately as if they were driven by heat. It was only when he couldn’t rise anymore that they stopped and fell into exhausted sleep.
She rose but started shivering the moment she left the warmth of his body. She quickly changed into unicorn form and walked to the entrance. Snow had fallen during the night. Sometime during the night the weather had changed. She changed once again into human form, adorned with sufficient clothes to stay warm. She picked up a stick and wrote on the ground -- "Gone to see the children" – then she gasped and shook as the vision suddenly hit her. The last mark of the final letter traced to her feet as her hand dropped to her side.
The vision was strong and clear. A lesser dragon with a humanoid face on its forehead was rising over a group of Dog demons, and then striking them down dead with a blast of energy. Then the dragon threw another energy ball at yet another group, making them all vanish. A transformed dog demon … (Sesshomaru, she gasped)… attacking, failing, and falling in the path of a deadly energy blast….. Then, her heart froze,.....Inutaishou was lying in a river of blood under the sealed dragon…..
Lastly, a young man dressed in red with long white hair and dog ears charged the dragon, swinging a huge sword at an energy ball and reflecting it back on the dragon, destroying him completely. (InuYasha?)…. But then the vision altered to a white figure, (Sesshomaru?), changing into his dog form and defeating the same dragon.
The vision finally ended. Isabo tripped as she stepped back, landing ungracefully on her rump. Not again, she thought. She looked back at the cave. Somehow, she had to stop it. But how? Whether it was Sesshomaru or InuYasha, the fates hadn’t decided but it was sure, one of them was destined to destroy the dragon, not her. Still, she had to try. If she didn't she would never forgive herself and her love, Inutaishou, would die.
She passed another den of dead bodies, this time fresher and there were signs of fighting back, but the results were the same.
All five of the dens she passed were destroyed; littered with bodies. It was clear now. The dragon, Ryuukoysusei, was out to eliminate all dog demons from this world. This was the method of his revenge against Inutaishou. There was only one den left... home. Isabo was close enough now to hear the fighting. Light was flashing above the rise again and again. Sounds of growling, howling and shouts reached her ears, but it seemed like they were holding their own.
Isabo topped the rise and watched the horror of her vision come to life. Still too far away to stop the events, she could do nothing but race toward the fight. Standing in front of what remained of the clan were her children. Ronan was creating a shield and Ringo was standing behind him, using his power to strengthen his brother. The shield covered everyone else, the remaining of her children and several of her friends were crumpled to the ground, apparently exhausted and in grief. The dens and ground around them were devastated, evidence that Ronan’s shield had withstood several blasts from the dragon already. Ryuukoysusei, on the other hand, looked none the worst for wear. The hillside bore evidence that they had been fighting back long and hard but the dragon did not appear to even have a scratch. Isabo ignored her burning lungs and stretched her legs to run even faster. Her family was still alive. She could still save them if she could only make it in time.
He backed up slightly with a start. Standing in front of the dog’s body, no more than a third of its size, was a Unicorn. Her body was glowing with gathered power and her horn glowing brightest of all. Ryuukoysusei had heard about a Unicorn’s power and had heard that some of them were called dragon slayers. All the Great Dragons were slumbering because of their threat, waiting for the day they vanish from the earth. Still, he thought they were a myth since he had never seen one before today. It looked much too small to be a threat to him. “How could such a puny thing be a dragon slayer?” he said out loud. He powered up again. He decided he would eliminate this one threat to dragonkind right now.
Isabo was trembling with rage and grief. She was too late. She had run all this way and had been unable to save her children or her Dog Demon friends. She didn’t even know if her last son, whom she stood protectively in front of, was still alive. She looked at the Dragon in front of her. Every single devastated den she had passed coming here ran through her mind. This Dragon, this LESSER Dragon, had conducted genocide against her beloved Dog Demons. Unless, by some miracle, there were others that escaped, all the Dog Demons were gone except Inutaishou, the baby InuYasha, and her wounded son, whom she just heard whimper in pain. She had killed Great Dragons for less than that.
The arrogant Dragon unleashed a larger energy blast than the one that destroyed her family. She easily deflexed it right back at him and then leaped to follow the blast in.
The Dragon couldn’t dodge the reflected energy ball this time. He had made it too big. He screamed with the force of it’s impact and with the pain of tearing skin. The Unicorn, as the blast was inflicting it’s burning pain, cut through his skin with her horn like she was cutting butter. She pierced through his heart and then sliced down his body as she dropped to the ground. It was not a killing blow, not for this Dragon, but it was enough to convince Ryuukoysusei that she was indeed a threat to his life. He fled.
“Mother?” he croaked out.
“Shhh.. I’m here,” she said. Her arms gently embraced him from behind as she moved to support his body in a semi-upright position. She rocked him as much for herself as for him, concentrating on him and trying not to think of anything else. She was not ready to let herself grieve yet.
Sesshomaru raised his head and scanned the area. “The others?” he asked, although he guessed the answer. He felt her shake her head. “Where’s the Dragon?” he said with more strength.
“Gone home to lick his wounds,” she said with venom.
“Where’s father?”
“Hopefully somewhere far away from here,” she said.
Sesshomaru looked at her stunned. “He defeated Ryuukoysusei before. He could have prevented all this”
Sesshomaru looked away and his look grew cold. “He’s with his human bitch and his Hanyou spawn, isn’t he?”
Isabo was stunned by the venom in her son’s words. She rose abruptly and let Sesshomaru catch his own balance. “Izayoi is a sweet innocent young woman who loves your father very much. Her son is your brother, Sesshie. He's an innocent child and he's very important. Please don’t reject him.”
“You're defending her? I’ll have nothing to do with either of them. I can’t understand why you’re defending them. They’re the evidence of father’s infidelity!”
“I left him, Sesshie. It was almost six years before he comforted himself with someone else. I didn’t expect him to stop living and you shouldn’t neither.”
“But you’re back and now he’s mated to someone else. The last time I saw you, you told me you still loved him. Are you saying now you don’t love him anymore and are willing to give him up, just like that?”
“I….” she started but then a movement caught the corner of her eye. Her heart skipped a beat as they both saw a streak of white fur flash by. “NO… Inutaishou… DON’T!”
“Mother?…”
“Stay here. Everyone else is gone. I can’t lose you too.” There was a panicked look on his mother’s face as she transformed and chased after his father. He tried to get up to follow but the pain of his injuries returned him to the ground. His mother's powers were only able to patch him up. He was far from healed. All he could do was watch as she chased after his father.
For the first time Sesshomaru feared for his father's life. He remembered their last conversation and a shiver ran down his spine. Now, was he going to lose his father too? Will Akina and he be the last of their kind?
Suddenly Sesshomaru felt all alone, empty. Akina was the only Dog Demon not at home.. InuHaru was dying and Akina had taken him to a sacred place to spend his last days. His Uncle was dead now. Sesshomaru had felt his passing late last night. InuHaru's burial would have been today. It probably saved his sister's life.
The rest of the siblings, along with their mates, had fought side by side with him. Together they manage to hold the dragon at bay until a stray energy blast hit above the nursery den. All the children too young to fight were hidden there. The force of the blast caused a cave-in. The all-consuming grief incapacitated so many of the demons that the dragon quickly got the upper hand. Now they were all gone. There was the hanyou brat but how could his impure blood matter? Sesshomaru felt tears starting to roll down his face which he buried into his hands as the grief hit him. For the first time in his life he sat there sobbing as the falling snow turned into rain.
