Secrets of the Cavern
“Oi, Inuyasha, do you know where we’re heading toward?” Kagome asked the hanyou with some doubt.

Instead of going back to wherever they entered from, Inuyasha decided that the best solution to find a way out is to track down whoever brought them there. So they’re moving down the spiral, toward whoever arranged this whole “meeting”.

“Etto… not really.” Inuyasha teased her. “But if we get into trouble, I can always offer you.”

With her emotions unstable, and still cranky from the loss of sleep, Kagome did not wait to say “osowari”.

As Inuyasha’s body involuntarily crammed into the ground, Kagome stepped over the groaning Hanyou with a dignified “hmph”.

Surprisingly Inuyasha didn’t yell at her for sitting him. Instead he waited patiently for the spell to wear off, smirking the whole time. When finally he was able to stand up he dashed toward Kagome and swept her off her feet, quite literately.

“Inuyasha!” Kagome squealed, blushing like a ripe tomato. “What are you…”

“It’s faster this way.” Inuyasha picked up his pace, his hands tightened on Kagome’s body. The speed caused her to lean in and cover her face into his neck.

“Slow down!” Kagome yelled into his ears. Her high pitch caused him to squirm a little, but that smirk on his face stayed. Inuyasha slowed a little, but was still determined to reach the bottom as soon as possible.

When Kagome finally got used to the speed and the wind, she looked up at the hanyou. “Do you know where we are?”

“Not really.” Inuyasha looked around him. “It’s an odd place, and it reeks of youkai. I can also hear some noise coming from the end of this tunnel.”

“Can you tell how many youkai are here?”

Her question smacked some sense into the hanyou, and reminded him that they were still in danger. His smirk disappeared. “The smells are all mixed up, old along with the new. I can tell that a lot of youkai have been here, quite powerful too. But as to a specific number… well, let’s just say it’s too much for our benefit.”

Inuyasha lowered his head and saw Kagome’s face, full of concern and fear. He forced up a smile, “we’ll be alright, Kagome.”

“But I don’t even have my bow.”

Inuyasha’s blank face came back on. “Why would you need your bow?” His voice sounded sweet and innocent, but also made him seem dumb and clueless at the same time. “I’m here.”

Kagome heart skipped a beat, just a little one. She looked into Inuyasha’s amber eyes, and her heartbeat calmed down again. “Un.” Of course, Kagome told herself, why do I need a bow? Inuyasha’s here.

“Will you always be here?” Kagome collected enough courage to whisper out those words. Inuyasha heard loud and clear. He looked into her eyes, eyes full of insecurity. Her gaze caused him to slow down some more.

“Don’t answer me,” Kagome stopped him before his instinct kick in, and say something he’ll regret later. “Nevermind.”

Inuyasha is puzzled by her sudden change of mind. “Kagome…”

“Inuyasha, light!” Kagome suddenly whispered. They’ve finally reached the end of that tunnel and at the perfect time too.

Kagome expected some excitement from the hanyou, but when she looked at him; his face was covered by a fog of confusion. “Nani, Inuyasha?”

Inuyasha set her down on her own feet, his eyes transfixed on the source of light, which doesn’t seem like regular light form the way it was shining. “I… I feel like I’ve been here before.” Inuyasha’s expression shows some anxiety, as though he was terribly bothered by this sudden déjà vu.

“Are you sure?” Kagome looked at the light, which was about thirty feet away from them. It suddenly turned incredibly quiet; the noise they heard when they were further away was gone.

Inuyasha growled at this sudden silence. “Damn it, they know we’re here.”

“Wha…” before Kagome can even finish her shocked reply, another voice interrupted.

The voice was sinister, low, taunting them from afar. “Of course we know you’re here, Inuyasha-sama, we heard you, smelled you.” The voice sounds amused. “You can’t expect to wonder around here unnoticed with the constant conversation you two were carrying, and the distinguishing smell you sent off.”

“Who’s there?!?” Inuyasha extracted his claws and swung his right arm in front of himself to show off his razor sharp nails. His left arm instinctively pulled Kagome closer and blocked her with his own body.

“You don’t remember us?” This time another voice answered him, less sinister, but all the same evil. “You wound us with your words of ignorance, Inuyasha-sama.” The last statement was full of sarcasm and mockery.

Inuyasha kept his eyes focused on the light by the end of the tunnel, he’s sure that’s where the voices were coming from. But he can’t leave Kagome unprotected while they were surrounded by numberless amount of strong youkai. “Spill it, you bastards.” If I can’t go in for a direct attack, then I’ll just have to draw them out. “Come out here and fight me like the shitty cowards you are.”

Several voices laughed from the other side of the light. The sounds were more than enough to send chills up Kagome’s spine. Without realizing it, she pulled on Inuyasha’s right sleeve. Inuyasha looked at her from the corner of his eyes, but she did not look at him. How am I going to fight and protect her at the same time?

“No, you come to us, Inuyasha-sama.” One voice taunted. Another followed: “And bring your human female with you.” Then another: “We have a surprise waiting for you.”

Knowing that he has no other choice, Inuyasha turned to face Kagome. “Kagome, I’m going in, you turn around and try to find a way out. Get Miro…”

“Iie!!!” Kagome protested strongly. “No way am I going to let you go inside by yourself.”

Inuyasha growled at her stubbornness. He gave a little shove to the opposite direction. Kagome not only stood her ground, she also circled around the hanyou and dashed toward the light.

“Kagome! Wait!” Inuyasha reach out and grabbed her, but it was too late, Kagome had passed through and so dragged Inuyasha with her.

The other side of the white light looked just about the same as the spiral tunnel they just traveled through: cold, stiff, brownish, and reeked of youkai. When Inuyasha and Kagome finally entered, they were shocked by the place, and it took them quite a while to regain their voices.

The place was incredible in everyway, and creepy beyond a doubt. It certainly needed some decoration, for it’s nothing but a gigantic cavern. The ceiling was enormously high. Inuyasha and Kagome were standing on what seemed like a small cliff, high above the ground. A very steep staircase connected the entrance to the actually ground. From there, the two were able to seem anything and everything.

The first thing they noticed was the amount of youkai occupying the space. There must’ve been hundreds. Different sizes, shapes, types, and genders sat on flat stone chairs around the cavern in five concentric large circles. In front of each youkai, a small rock made table was placed. On the tables placed goblets and food. All the youkai turned to look at the two intruders with unfriendly expression. It instantly made Kagome regret disobeying Inuyasha.

Directly across from the cliff Inuyasha and Kagome were standing on was a platform, slightly elevated above the ground. On that elevated platform sat four fierce youkai in a horizontal row. Their chairs were made of gold, silver, bronze, and brass. And before them there was one long table. The plates were full of carcasses of animals, and some part of human bodies. Behind those chairs was a large door, high as the ceiling. Two handles meet at the center of the door, and a gigantic key slot is located blow the handles.

The left and right side of the cavern were also doors; large, iron-clad doors that seems impossible to open. Two very strange looking key slots inhabited these doors.

But perhaps the most noticeable thing about the cavern was in the middle of it. In the center of the five concentric circles of youkai was a stream of blood. From above, it looked like a large ring, made of blood. And inside that blood-ring, a small patch of earth remained. On that small patch of earth, three female human were pinned down to the ground. Two of them were young, and the third one was…

“Kaede-Baachan!!!” Kagome couldn’t help but yell aloud. The old miko seemed pretty beaten up. She was pinned in the middle of two other girls dressed in miko robes. The girls seemed knocked out. All of their wrists and ankles were bind to the ground. Kaede apparently heard Kagome’s voice and opened her eyes.

“Run, Kagome!” Kaede’s voice sounded coarse, dried blood stained the right side of her head. “Inuyasha, take her and get out now!”

Inuyasha is conflicted by Kaede’s warning, but he knew they couldn’t just leave Kaede and the other two girls stranded there. Even if he was willing, no way Kagome would. Most of all, something about that place was really starting to bug him. And those youkai sitting across obviously know him, but why doesn’t he recognize any of them? Too much mysteries, and Inuyasha does not like mysteries.

“Kaede-baachan!” Kagome yelled again. “We’ll get you out of here. We won’t leave you.”

Kagome’s persistence seemed amusing to the youkai in the cavern. All of them burst out laughing, their discordant voices ran through the cavern, and the echos rang again and again.

“Shouldn’t you be worrying about yourself?” The youkai in the bronze chair commented. “Humans, always so amusing.” The others burst out again. Kagome flinched a little at their verbal attack on her, for a moment she almost forgot she was in danger herself.

Inuyasha was angered, when the voices died down, he howled at them. “You sons of bitches, who the hell are you? Let the old woman go!”

His ears picked up a whisper: “Who’s he calling old?” from Kaede.

“You really don’t remember us!” The youkai sitting in the silver chair remarked with a sinister hint of humor. “Really now, Inuyasha-sama. Does the name Damedaru ring a bell?”

Inuyasha thought about it for a few seconds then shook his head slowly. His amber eyes are glowing, his chest vibrates with a low growl. He stood in fighting position, in case the opponent sudden attack.

The youkai sitting in the brass chair laughed this time. He leaned slightly to his right and commented to the one in the silver chair. “Looks like the bastard prince doesn’t remember you at all, Damedaru, I don’t blame him.” He then turned to Inuyasha, “How about Jizonomu?”

Inuyasha refused to answer this time, but his response was clear. “Oh, how sad, he doesn’t recollect me either.” His sarcasm pushed Inuyasha one step closer to his limit.

“Enough of this.” The youkai sitting in the golden chair finally spoke. His face and body looked human enough, and in a lot of ways he resembled Sesshomaru. Instead of a curvy moon, he had a full moon in the middle of his forehead. His ears were also pointy. There was no doubt about it, he was definitely an Inu-youkai, and from the looked of it, a powerful one too. In human ages, he would probably be around fifty years old. He looked serious, unlike the other youkai sitting next to him, and they too bear the distinct traits of a Inu-youkai.

The youkai stood up from his chair. That single movement caused all other youkai in the cavern to stand as well. They all looked to him, as though he was their master. The youkai waved his hand, and all youkai bowed to him and sat back down again. The cavern was so quiet that Inuyasha’s low growl can be heard echoing. The inu-youkai looked at Inuyasha and introduced himself to the hanyou.

“I’m sure you don’t remember me, Inuyasha, after all, it’s been ages since I’ve seen you. My name is Yugumi.” He paused to wait for a response, and he got one.

“Yugumi?” Inuyasha repeated, “I’ve heard of that name before.”

The youkai seemed pleased. “Perhaps you remember me. I’m surprised. The last I saw you, you were only three years old.” He walked down from the platform. “I’m your step-uncle, Inuyasha.”

Kagome gasped and looked up at Inuyasha. His expression told her that he wasn’t expecting that either.

“You mean… you’re…”

“Your brother, Sesshomaru’s uncle. I’m his mother’s older brother.” The youkai announced proudly. “I was your father’s chief adviser, second in command of all youkai in the Western lands.”

“Half-brother.” Inuyasha shot back. Now that the shock was over, memories began to come back to him. “I remember now. You look… different.”

The old youkai laughed heartily. He turned to point at the other youkai still sitting on that platform. “Now see if you can remember him,” He pointed at the one sitting in the silvery chair, “Damedaru.” Damedaru snickered. Although he was probably only a few years younger than Yugumi, he acted a lot more immature.

“Damedaru…” Inuyasha repeated after Yugumi. “That…sounds familiar…too…” This is really getting to him. All kinds of memories came flooding back to him, so many that he never knew he had. Damedaru… He thought to himself over and over. He turned to look at Damedaru, and tried to picture his face. Then suddenly…

“You!” Inuyasha yelled with all the anger he could gather. His growl increased tenfold. Without another thought, the hanyou drew out Tessaiga, jumped down from the cliff and dashed right for the platform Damedaru and the other two youkai are sitting on. Kagome tried to stop him, but her desperate cries did not reach him. All sounds and things ceased to exist, except for his current target, which is now within striking distance.

Damedaru leapt out of the way in a flash. It’s clear that this youkai is also an experienced one. He kept afloat in mid-air and taunted the raging hanyou: “It seems like you remember now.” He laughed carelessly, “How did you like living in the wilderness by yourself at such a young age?” It seems like all the other youkai knew the story behind Inuyasha’s anger, but they were greater in numbers, so they all laughed along with Damedaru.

Inuyasha clutched his Tessaiga. Without even looking, he sliced the long table next to him in half. The youkai called Jizonomu and his other companion finally left their seats.

“You bastard, fucking sonofabitch,” Inuyasha cursed bitterly, “I’ll kill you and see if you can laugh anymore.”

“Inuyasha!” At the sound of Kagome’s scream, Inuyasha finally remembered that he had left Kagome alone. He turned sideways and saw Yugumi’s arms around Kagome’s neck, lifting her up midair in a chokehold position.

“Calm down, Inuyasha,” Yugumi said in a commanding tone. “Withdraw your sword and your miko will be left unharmed.”

With no choice Inuyasha put the Tessaiga back into its sheath, but not before he made a mental note to kill Yugumi later, step-uncle or not.

“Better.” Yugumi commented, he slowly released Kagome from his hold and floated down to the ground. Kagome fell on her knees with her hands continuously rubbing her neck. Even though the youkai did not intend to use so much force, it seems as though she would’ve died if he had held on any longer. “Now, Inuyasha, why don’t we make a deal?”

Inuyasha growled once more. He did not reply, but Yugumi went on anyway. “Promise that you will never tell anyone that you’ve seen us here, and never attempt to come back, and we’ll show you a way out of this cavern.”

“No deal, old fart.” If he can’t attack, then he might as well keep up the insults. This got him an unpleasant reaction for the crowd of youkai down below. They all drew their weapons half-way, some even got out of their seats. “I have questions. And I also want that old woman.” He pointed to Kaede.

“Questions can be answered,” Yugumi answered. “But the old miko is staying.”

Inuyasha growled once more as a threat. “We’re not leaving without her. No Kaede-baba, no deal.”

Yugumi stared at Inuyasha for a few moments. But he nodded in the end. “Fine, take your old miko.” He floated over the where Kaede and the other miko were, and with a snap of his fingers, the vines that were holding the miko down disappeared. He somehow managed to levitate the miko and threw her toward Inuyasha. The force caused Inuyasha to fall, and barely managed to catch Kaede. The other youkai don’t seem very pleased very their leader’s decision, but none dared to protest.

“Now do we have a deal?” Yugumi persisted.

“Not quite,” Inuyasha set Kaede down to the ground to let her rest. “I’m not going anywhere until you answer my questions.”

Yugumi waited and looked at his follow leaders, they all had a blank look on their face. No one seemed to care if Inuyasha knew about them or not. “Fine, ask away.”

After gaining the upper hand, Inuyasha relaxed a little. He faced Kagome’s direction, so that if any danger approaches her, he’d be able to prevent it.

“First off, why are you here?” Inuyasha hissed. All his memories of this place came back to him, and he’s trying his best to push them out of his mind for the moment. “Shouldn’t Sesshomaru be here? After all, the throne belongs to him.”

“Your brother… half-brother did not wish to rule, he wasted his time searching for your father’s fang,” Yugumi eyed Tessaiga, “The land was not peaceful, so Damedaru, Jizonomu, and Megira (he looked at the man who previously sat in the bronze chair) came to me and wanted me to take over. It was successful since Sesshomaru was never interested in being Lord.”

“So you overthrew your own nephew?” Inuyasha asked in some disbelief. Although he had suspected a long time ago that the entire family of Sesshomaru’s mother was evil, he didn’t think Yugumi would do something so extreme. The bond between Inu-youkai family members should be stronger than anything else.

“It wasn’t as though he cared.” Yugumi replied with ease. “He only thing he wanted was Tessaiga. The coup was a bloodless one.”

Inuyasha snorted. “Then where are the treasures? And why is the liquid ring blood red now? No doubt you bastards contaminated it.”

“Ah, Inuyasha, your memories are exceedingly well.” The old youkai almost seemed pleased. “You see those miko over there?” He pointed toward the two unconscious girls, still bind on that small patch of earth, surrounded by the ring of blood. “The liquid stream is no longer pure because blood of miko like theirs now occupies the stream. If you had come later, we would’ve started our feast, and killed them along with your old miko.”

Inuyasha saw Kagome’s stunned face. But he had no time to comfort her. “You were planning on eating them?”

Yugumi shook his head in a surprisingly gentleman manner. “No, not eat… absorb. We absorb miko powers. But only the fairly weak one, of course, wouldn’t want to be purified.”

Inuyasha growled with disgust. “Why keep the blood?”

“As backup, in case our hunters fail to abduct any more miko.” Yugumi looked at Kagome. “We were about to start when we heard one of our hunters yell out from the other side that he found another miko. So we sent another youkai to retrieve that miko. But when both of them didn’t return, we figured something was wrong. We smelled the two of you a long time ago, and I recognized your scent. I have to admit, Inuyasha, you surprised me. Seeing you again really brings me back old memories.” His tone was so sincere that it made Inuyasha wants to throw up.

“Spare me.” Inuyasha paused a little to check on Kagome’s expression, and she looked horrified. “What about the offerings my father received when he was still alive?”

“You mean those treasures that were displayed every year during gathering time?” Yugumi pointed to the hundreds of youkai seated around him. “We divided them evenly to those who joined us.”

Inuyasha wasn’t surprised. But he was, however, amazed at the different type of species sitting before him. Back then, only respectful Inu-youkai families came to the annual gatherings. Though his father ruled all species in the Western Lands, the Inu-youkai were the privileged ones. “And Sesshomaru let you do that?”

“Again, he did not protest.”

“But now I do.” Suddenly a clear, sharp voice rang through the cavern. All the youkai turned around and looked up at the entrance. It had surprised them that they had not smelled the intruders’ scents. Perhaps the conversation between Inuyasha and Yugumi was too interesting. But they saw they turned: two new humans, a fierce looking cat youkai, and they all recognized the other youkai, whom stood taller than all others - Sesshomaru.

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