They emerged on the other side. It felt strange to have gone right back, considering the danger right now, but the state of the modern era was the thing of nightmares. Sesshoumaru's last words echoed through his mind as he stared at the back of the yokai that had preceded them through the well. His back was to them all. Hiroshi was being held back by his sister, and Kagome aimed her bow at him.
"I'm not sure if you're all incredibly brave or stupid." the yokai spoke up.
"I could say the same for you, you bastard." InuYasha grumbled.
"Watch your mouth half breed." the yokai replied, grumbling.
"Heh, better a half breed than a parasite." InuYasha countered. Tokijin spun around, leveling his gaze at InuYasha.
"A parasite that took down the legendary Taiyokai of the West in a single stroke."
"You used his own yokai against him!" Hiroshi roared. Tokijin smirked.
"I'm simply putting it to better use."
"Son of a-" Hiroshi growled, lunging at Tokijin. The yokai wasn't expecting the frontal attack, and took a step back as the enraged hanyou came at him with his claws extended. InuYasha couldn't blame him, but he could do nothing in his current form. Aiki drew her sword, and lunged at Tokijin.
"Get the sword!" Kagome called, firing an arrow at him. Tokijin laughed mockingly.
"This old relic? If you want it so much you can have it!" he replied, and in one deft motion, he threw it at Kagome like a throwing knife. InuYasha watched in dismay, his human feet too slow to react in time.
Standing before Kagome, seemingly out of nowhere was a tall towering form, or rather an enraged looking Sesshoumaru with glowing blood red eyes on the verge of losing control. He caught the sword by the blade, and in one twitch of his hand, tossed it to the ground.
"You're being careless Miko." he spoke in an odd, eerie tone.
"This is unexpected." Tokijin murmured.
"I would ask for an explanation, but my instincts seem to be overwhelming me with the need to kill you." Sesshoumaru nearly purred.
Kagome was frozen in place, no doubt fear stricken from the transformation taking place in Sesshoumaru. InuYasha looked to Tokijin, whom finally, wasn't smiling. He looked downright nervous.
InuYasha pondered what brought on such an abrupt reaction. Was it that his yokai was reacting to his stolen yokai?
"We can't kill him!" Hiroshi spoke up. Sesshoumaru tore his gaze from Tokijin to look at him, and blinked.
"Stay out of this hanyou," he growled. InuYasha saw Hiroshi visibly flinch at the insult. No doubt he was never spoken to by Sesshoumaru like that before.
"That yokai has stolen your yokai, that's why you're reacting so strongly. It's an act of self-preservation! If we don't get the yokai back to you in the modern era, you'll cease to exist!" Kagome finally found her voice. Sesshoumaru visibly reacted, and he glanced over his shoulder at her.
"The future world you are from?" he asked. She nodded.
"If he dies before we get it back, you die," Aiki spoke up.
"Wouldn't be very fun to be the one to inadvertently kill yourself, now would it?" Tokijin asked.
"Silence!" Sesshoumaru hissed. InuYasha made his way to Kagome's side.
"He somehow used that sword as the tool to extract the yokai. He impaled you with it, and it drained you, leaving you a dying…human." he murmured. Sesshoumaru's eyes returned to their normal amber hue, and his fangs receded.
"Reduced to being a mortal…how disgraceful," he spoke up. For some reason, calm Sesshoumaru was scarier than a visibly angry one…he glanced to the sword lying on the grass.
"I assume that the same process should work to reverse what had been done," he added. Tokijin sneered slightly.
"We're not really sure, but it would be interesting to see what happens." a new voice spoke up. InuYasha spun around to see another yokai walk into the faint light from the shadow of the trees. The giant halberd resting against his shoulder made his stomach twist in knots.
"Are you kidding me??" he spoke aloud. The yokai met his gaze.
"Ah InuYasha, the instrument of my birth, I've been looking forward to seeing you again." The yokai, which was a dead ringer for Bankotsu, said with a smile.
"And I take it you're Banryu." InuYasha murmured. The yokai's smile widened.
"What?" Kagome breathed. The yokai spun the halberd through the air before sticking it into the ground, and leaning against it.
"How can you be here with no yokai to siphon from your wielder?" InuYasha asked.
"You mean that pathetic human whose visage I'm forced to bear? I was born a Yokai, not forged from one." He replied simply. He walked towards InuYasha then, his eyes began boring into his. InuYasha took an involuntary step back, only to back up against a solid mass of Yokai.
"Not a step closer vermin." Sesshoumaru's voice spoke. InuYasha could feel his chest against his back, and the vibration from the low growl…everything was so much more menacing when he was human.
"InuYasha set me free. He is the last being I would ever harm." Banryu said with a smile. InuYasha shivered slightly.
Kagome leveled her bow at the yokai, her eyes narrowed.
"Your friend request has been declined!" she stammered. Hiroshi unsheathed his sword, and Aiki drew her two lethal looking daggers.
"They don't want to share with us." Tokijin spoke up.
"You expected it to go well?" Banryu asked in disdain.
"I'll take all the power I can get." he replied.
"Well then, why don't we see a hanyou about a stone?" Banryu said, walking back to the halberd.
"Don't turn your back on me!" Hiroshi shouted. Banryu glanced over his shoulder.
"I would have to acknowledge you to turn my back on you." he replied, almost bored.
"Return what was stolen!" Hiroshi demanded. Banryu looked to Tokijin.
"Why? It's being put to better use. He was a washed up yokai, it was wasted on him anyways."
Human or not was forgotten as InuYasha's blood boiled, and he made a dash at the yokai, only to be restrained by Sesshoumaru.
"Don't be a fool InuYasha…" he murmured.
"Bastard!" InuYasha yelled.
Tokijin retrieved his sword, and sheathed it at his side.
The two yokai vanished into the shadows, and InuYasha went slack in Sesshoumaru's arms.
"We can't do anything tonight." Kagome spoke up.
"You two have some explaining to do." Sesshoumaru spoke up.
"We already told you everything." InuYasha murmured.
"Not you two." Sesshoumaru snapped slightly. InuYasha glanced to Hiroshi and Aiki.
"Oh yeah, technically, you haven't met them yet." he murmured. Sesshoumaru leveled his gaze at Hiroshi.
"Who are you?"
Hiroshi returned the stare.
"I'm your son of course." he replied.
If ever, EVER InuYasha saw any sort of comical reaction on Sesshoumaru's face, it would be that moment. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. It took every ounce of self-control not to crack a smile let alone laugh. Aiki let out an exasperated sigh.
"What? Was I supposed to ease him into it? You know how he is!" Hiroshi growled.
"Too blunt!" she shot back.
"How are two white wolf hanyou...mine?" he asked.
Wolf, InuYasha always assumed they were Inu Hanyou…
"Adoption. "Hiroshi replied.
"Who sired you?" Sesshoumaru asked, almost…interested.
"We never knew our father and our mother…you knew, know, I dunno, this whole time space thing is confusing me…" Hiroshi grumbled.
"You vowed to our mother on her deathbed you would care for us as your own."
"She was the daughter of some ward you cared a whole lot about." Hiroshi added. They looked at each other and then looked back at him.
"Rin." they spoke in unison.
Sesshoumaru blinked, and a look of realization washed over his features.
"Rin." he murmured.
"We haven't said too much have we?" Aiki asked Kagome.
"I'm not sure, but maybe we shouldn't tell him too much." she replied.
"I know all I need to know." Sesshoumaru replied, crossing his arms over his chest, almost stubbornly.
"Oh, that expression looks familiar." Hiroshi murmured.
"Yeah, better than the almost constipated one…" Aiki agreed.
Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at them.
"Can we please go check on the others now? We kind of have a situation here!" InuYasha blurted.