Death: This is my first attempt with Inuyasha. I really, really tried to put this idea off for as long as possible. Since I'm known for not sticking to stories for very long and sometimes not doing a good job at it. But...I couldn't leave this idea alone. And its annoying how one idea would just nag you until you literally go crazy. I had no other choice but to put this up, I hope I don't regret it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. That right goes to the owner, Rumiko Takahashi-sama.
Chapter One – Sesshomaru, Lost in the Mysterious Misty Forest
=3=
The forest around them was dense, the air thick with the smell of moss and trees. And yet, no matter what time of day it was, whether it is sunrise, high noon, or sunset, the mist never lifted. The mist created a bitter cold around the group. This group had been following their leader into this forest for three days now, and during this time there had been no other signs of life.
Sesshomaru, the Daiyokai of the West, led his pack through the forest with calm ease. In all accounts he was usually seen with armor on his person, however to the rest of the pack it was strange seeing him without the armor. And it was even more of a shock, when the reason why was an obvious bulge in Sesshomaru's belly, slightly hidden underneath his fur when curled over his shoulder and around his stomach.
Yes, Sesshomaru was indeed with child. He never spoke as to who the sire was, or if the sire marked him. However, Kohaku, who had been traveling with Sesshomaru and his pack for about six months, knew that Sesshomaru bears a mating mark on his shoulder. Afraid he'd be skinned by poisonous claws, Kohaku never related this information to the others.
And now Sesshomaru was about three months along. During this time his yokai powers were decreasing, concentrating more on creating the unborn life inside of him. And with only Jaken, Kohaku, and Ah–Un to protect Rin, Sesshomaru decided it was time for relocation. But he wasn't heading towards his castle in the West.
That is what Jaken and Kohaku found most puzzling. Surely Sesshomaru should have the child in his own castle? But if not, then where are they going? Jaken had frequently asked this question, and he didn't stop until at some point Sesshomaru landed another swipe at the kappa's head. Since then Jaken remained silent on the matter.
Even though their destination was unknown, each of them trusted Sesshomaru where they're going. But now Kohaku was having doubts.
For three days they've been in this strange forest with mist that never left. It was hard to see even five feet in front of them, and they haven't found any other form of life in this eerie forest. Kohaku felt uneasy about it, there had to be a reason why they haven't seen even the smallest life form in this place, right?
There were no birds chirping, no mice or squirrels scurrying around for food, and there were no deer or bear tracks in sight. For a forest as healthy such as this, wouldn't there be other life forms other than plants? These questions unsettled Kohaku.
"Sesshomaru–sama…do you know where we're going? It seems that no matter how far we walk, we're not going anywhere." The boy finally brought up the courage to ask what was bothering him.
"Hm? Why are you asking Sesshomaru–sama with needless questions? Of course he knows where we're going! He's been leading us on this trail for three whole days! Isn't that right, my lord?" Jaken peered up hopefully at the inu yokai.
However Sesshomaru wasn't in the mood to answer. He was lost in his own inner conflict, and he didn't hear what the boy had said.
'Katsutoshi, is this mist your doing? I have heard only rumors, that you defied mother's wishes to marry a noble demon for a human. Afterwards mother banished you from our family, and you hid in a castle with a village surrounding it. This village was supposedly a safe haven for hanyous, and well protected at that. Is this how you protect your family, Katsutoshi? If so, how do I reach you?'
Katsutoshi happened to be Sesshomaru's older half brother. They shared the same mother, but had different sires. As a strong and beautiful noble inu yokai, their mother was chosen to become a breeding female. She was never to settle down with one mate, and therefore she had mated with the most prestigious inu yokai males.
Katsutoshi was the first son to be born from her. After Katsutoshi, their mother had three females, and then came the birth of Sesshomaru. It became apparent that when Katsutoshi, who had been considered one of the best of her children, that Sesshomaru was just as great.
While Sesshomaru had the strength of his father, the Inu No Taisho, and his mother's beauty, he was clear perfection. His only flaw was the fact he was not born to father children, but rather to give birth. In fear for their son's life becoming miserable, Inu No Taisho hid the secret with great care.
Meanwhile, Katsutoshi was no laughing matter either. Although his strength couldn't quite reach the quality Sesshomaru had been born with, he was fast. It was even a possibility that Katsutoshi was even faster than Sesshomaru. In a sword fight, or any physical fight, Katsutoshi used his speed to his advantage. And he always had a few tricks up his sleeve to turn the tables to his favor.
It was safe to assume that their mother was the perfect breeding inu yokai. So far she has had more daughters and only three sons, but even her daughters were well known to hold their own ground without fear. So the result with a daughter born from Sesshomaru's mother may not be so disappointing compared to other inu females.
As Sesshomaru pondered over the mysterious mist, he stopped. He paused to examine their surroundings. He was sure they had already been down this path. In fact they've gone down this path about five times now. Never one to show concern, Sesshomaru remained calm on the outside.
"Why are we stopping, Sesshomaru–sama?" Rin tilted her head, leaning forward on Ah–Un at her lord.
Kohaku examined the trees around them. Although it was hard to see through the thick mist, he still recognized some of the rocks and patterns on the tree trunks.
"…I think we've been down this road before." the boy stated with concern.
"And how would you know? You've never been here before!" Jaken huffed angrily.
"What about you Jaken–san? Have you been to this forest?" The young demon slayer shot back.
The green kappa frowned, obvious that the answer was indeed no.
"How about this, I'll mark this tree, and if we come by this tree again we'll know that somehow we're walking in circles." Kohaku brought out his kusarigama and made an 'X' mark on a nearby tree.
And with that the group continued on their way. This time Kohaku was walking on foot, trading places with Jaken on Ah–Un. He was hoping this time around he could pay a little more attention to the forest around him.
Not ten minutes later they found the same tree Kohaku had marked.
"That's the same tree, isn't it Kohaku–kun?" Rin furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"Yeah, that's it all right. But this makes it official, we're lost." Kohaku sighed as he sat down on a moss covered rock.
"But what about yesterday? Rin thought she heard a stream nearby." The girl thought out loud.
"Stream? You know…now that you mention it, I do remember hearing something like a stream, or a river. But I don't hear it anymore. We must be far away from it." The young demon slayer slumped his shoulders from false hope.
Suddenly the scent of water filled Sesshomaru's nose. The daiyokai glanced around, locating the source of the scent. For the entire day his nose had picked up nothing but moss and trees, and his sharp sense of smell was never wrong. So where did the water come from?
The scent trail came from his left. Half curious, half frustrated, Sesshomaru warily followed it. He briefly registered Jaken's panic cry as he urged the twin headed dragon after the lord, and Kohaku's quick footsteps to catch up.
It didn't take long for the group to reach a small river. The flow of water was calm, save for a few fish splashing along the shore, apparently stuck. Sesshomaru watched as Rin and Jaken quickly got to work with catching fish, dragging Kohaku with them and giving him pointers.
The daiyokai sat down, comfortably leaning against Ah–Un. Sesshomaru absently rubbed his bulging stomach in silent comfort. Although he had nothing against the growing child inside him, the inu yokai still cursed and damned the sire.
'At this Sesshomaru's one moment of weakness, that damn hanyou had to come and take advantage of me while I was in heat.' Sesshomaru bit back a growl from the memory.
"You know, for a forest that's bare with life, it's strange that it only has fish." Kohaku commented as he caught one in his bare hands.
Yes, it was strange, Sesshomaru silently agreed. In a healthy forest such as this, there should be wild boar and other animals roaming about. Inhaling the air, Sesshomaru found no other evidence of other animals other than his company and the slippery creatures they were trying to catch.
"Sesshomaru–sama! Look how many fish we caught! Kohaku–kun was a great help too! Maybe he could be a fisher instead of a demon slayer, ne?" Rin bounded towards him with a grin, holding up to what could be about ten fish. At the mention of his name, Kohaku nervously looked away, hiding a small blush.
A small smile tugged from the corners of Sesshomaru's mouth. It was enough to make the girl happy, for she neatly set the fish down on a flat rock. Kohaku and Jaken then started gathering fire wood to cook the fish, leaving Sesshomaru to think once again.
'How is this Sesshomaru supposed to reach your castle, Katsutoshi? This mist will not lift, so how can I find my way around? For any hanyous in search for your town, there must be some trick for them to know the way. Or is it because, that I am full yokai, I am lacking what hanyous have to find you?' Sesshomaru closed his eyes to calm his emotions, once again blaming the one who marked him.
'Curse you, Inuyasha.'
=3=
Some miles and miles away, Inuyasha sneezed. And rather loudly, to note. The rest of the group sent a worried glance at the hanyou. Annoyed, Inuyasha stomped his foot to the ground like a small child throwing a tantrum.
"Keh! C'mon, guys, it's not like I get sick! I'm fine! So stop looking at me like that."
"Yeah, but you rarely sneeze Inuyasha." Shippo commented from Kagome's shoulder.
"So? Something just, I don't know, tickled my nose or something." The hanyou scoffed.
"Tickled your nose?" Sango gave him a disbelieving look.
"Ok, fine! I sneezed. You happy?" Inuyasha snarled, crossing his arms across his chest defensively.
"Not really. But you know, you've been behaving…stranger, than usual." Miroku nervously chose his words carefully. "Has something happened recently?"
"Like what? We've done nothing but slay demons and trying to track down Naraku and his new minion, Byakuya." Inuyasha's frown deepened. He'd been rather impatient to locate the two mentioned villains for some time now.
"Well, maybe something that occurred three months ago? You did disappear for about a week." Kagome noted. "And Myoga did mention that it was the mating season for inu yokai."
"Keh. For your information I didn't do anything!"
'But damn it, if only they'd stop pestering me about what happened already! I don't want to even remember that incident.' Inuyasha inwardly growled.
Even if the hanyou didn't want to remember, the events from that week always snuck their way into his head. No matter what, he couldn't forget. He couldn't stop the memories flooding through him, always haunting, always taunting him.
'Why can't I just forget it ever happened? I mean, yeah, it was great. I got to see him whimper and beg like the dog he is, but still. Why can't I forget that encounter? Every time I close my eyes I see his face. Each time I see my reflection in the water, I see his eyes staring right back. It's like he's haunting me or something!'
Inuyasha was brought out of his inner conflict when Kagome pulled on his arm. Annoyed, the hanyou turned and was about to snap at her when something else caught his attention. Straining, Inuyasha sniffed the air.
"Uh…Inuyasha? Don't you want to see what food we can get from this village before continuing?" Kagome tilted her head up at the hanyou. One of his ears twitched, not really paying much attention.
'That scent…it's faint but…'
"Oi! You're not heading towards the coast, are ya?" One of the villagers called out.
"Yeah, why? Is there something we should know?" Miroku blinked.
"That's the way to the forest with a mysterious mist. No matter the conditions, the mist will never lift. And anyone who enters that mist, never come out!" The village man warned.
"Keh! Sounds like some weak demon using simple mind tricks to me." Inuyasha commented rudely.
"That's not all, there's a rumor going around that in the center of that mist, there's a safe haven for hanyous. The mist is what protects the town!" The man continued.
"Hm…a safe haven for hanyous?" Sango pondered. "I never heard of such a place."
"Do you happen to know where this rumor started?" Kagome asked.
"There's a traveling monk down by the inn. Last I heard, he was going on about some encounter with a demon on its way to the misty forest. Dunno what's so special about that, really. Since he explained full demons are unable to find their way through the mist." The village man shrugged before continuing on with his work.
"Kagome, do you think we should go and see this monk? I mean, it is strange that there'd be a safe haven for hanyous." Sango wondered, casting a glance at the said inu hanyou.
Inuyasha ignored her.
"I think we should. I mean, he could give us good insight on how to find our way through the mysterious mist!" Kagome nodded with a smile.
"I agree. And I'd also like to know more about this encounter he had with the full demon as well." Miroku added.
"You guys, let's just go. I don't want to spend any more time finding out every little mystery that comes our way." Inuyasha blatantly said in a loud voice.
"No, we're going. Who knows, Naraku could be in that town! It is a safe haven for hanyous after all!" Kagome pointed out.
Inuyasha hesitated. But eventually he gave in. As always.
"Well, what are we waiting for? On we go then!" Shippo laughed, as Kirara mewed.
It didn't take long for the group to find the traveling monk. Villagers pointed him out along the way, and it helped that the man stood out from the villagers. The monk was bald with a natural kesa outfit for a Buddhist priest. His rice straw hat sat neatly next to him as he told a story. Apparently the group had come by right on time, for the monk was speaking about his encounter with a full yokai.
"I was on my way back from the town in the misty forest. It was about three days prior, very late at night, when I came upon a strange yokai and his pack." The monk paused for dramatic effect, as the children around him gasped and awed.
"What did the demon look like? Was he scary?" One of the children asked.
"Oh, he was scary all right. He'd send chills up your spine just by being around him!"
One of the girls whimpered.
"And, at first I thought the yokai was a she. The yokai had long hair, and there was a noticeable bulge in its belly, indicating the yokai was with child. What's even stranger is that behind the yokai were two humans. I was about to say something, when the demon spoke, saying in a cold voice, 'You're in the way. Move.' and I knew that the yokai wasn't a she, but a he."
"What happened next?" Another kid leaned forward, excited.
"I stepped out of the way of course. I can tell he was serious, I didn't want to be on the receiving end of his wrath. But then as he passed me, I told him, 'You can't go that way. There's a forest with a mysterious mist that protects a town specifically for hanyous and humans. No yokai are allowed, for the mist will protect the town from yokai'. And by kami, that yokai turned and gave me this evil stare."
The monk narrowed his eyes, imitating an evil stare. Some of the girls squealed and huddled closer while the boys demanded to know what happened next.
"I don't know how long I stood there, frozen. I was afraid he'd slice me to pieces, by either his claw or by the sword at his hip."
Inuyasha's ears twitched with sudden interest. Not many demons he knew would walk around with only one arm and survive.
"Don't demons have two claws?" One of the girls tilted her head.
"Now that's the strange thing. From what I could see, this yokai had only one arm. I didn't realize this until long after the encounter, since I was stiff frozen in fear to pay any attention to the details. But, in what seemed like eternity, the yokai turned and walked away."
That clinched Inuyasha's hunch. He knew that the monk had encountered none other than Sesshomaru. Taking a glance at the others, they came to the same conclusion. But there were a few details that puzzled them.
One, Sesshomaru's only human companion was Rin. So who was the second human? Did the daiyokai use the Tenseiga on another human, saving them from the depths of hell?
And another, more disturbing fact, was that the monk described Sesshomaru as pregnant.
Inuyasha had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Could the child be his? He hadn't seen his half brother since that time. It had only been three months since that incident.
The children went on their own way. It was then the monk realized the group for the first time.
"Oh! For a second I thought you were the demon I saw! You know, you look almost exactly like him. Save for a few differences, I mean." The monk said, sighing in relief.
'He just confirmed it. He did see my brother.'
"Yeah, you met my brother. All I have to say is that you're lucky to survive." Inuyasha snickered, rather enjoying the monk's horrified face.
"I hope I won't have to meet him again. That yokai scares the hell out of me."
"So can you tell us more about this mysterious mist? And the town in the center of it?" Sango decidedly changed the subject for the better.
This seemed to have brightened the monk.
"Oh, the mist is a spell casted by a powerful yokai, who owns the castle in the town he's protecting. From what I understand, there are very few full yokai in that town. The rest of the occupants are hanyous and humans. The powerful yokai uses the mist to divert any demon who tries to enter. And even if a yokai got lucky, there are two guardians who are sworn to the daiyokai. I haven't seen them, but I do remember seeing strange statues of dragons when I left the town." The monk elaborated with earnest.
"Why is a yokai protecting a town full of hanyous and humans? This is rather bizarre behavior for a full yokai." Miroku commented with interest.
"From what I've heard from everyone in that town, the yokai who protects them does it because apparently his wife is human. And one would assume that they already have children. I wasn't given much information about their names, since I was an outsider. They're always nervous with strangers the first few times around, they'll never know if someone came with the intent to slaughter the town."
"It sounds a bit extreme for a yokai to go through such lengths to protect his family and town. But it is understandable, for hanyous aren't exactly respected by humans or yokai." Miroku concluded.
"So how do we travel through the mysterious mist?" Kagome tilted her head.
"I can't tell you the answer to everything." The monk laughed. "However, I can give you one piece of advice. When you're in the mist never trust your senses, always follow your heart."
=3=
Death: Well, that's that. I have a few things to say first: One, I'm sort of going by the manga storyline, but at the same time not. I'm just using the manga storyline as a base, until I get the real plot going down.
1) Katsutoshi: His name literally means "to win cleverly". When I was looking through possible names for this character, this name spoke to me. And after repeating it a few times out loud it stuck. He'll probably appear in the next chapter, if its as long as this one.
2) I know Sesshomaru's mother doesn't really have a name. And, really, I'm sure many of you people don't always like calling her "Sesshomaru's mother" all the time. It's a mouthful, even in writing. So I was wondering, what's a popular name for her in fanfiction? Or if there isn't one, does anyone have any ideas for a possible name for her? I'm good at naming the boy characters, but not so much with the girls.
Oh, and the next chapter will reveal exactly what happened between Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. Down to every little detail. Just thought I'd throw that out as something else to look forward to in the next chapter. Why do you think I rated this story as M?
And thus, please leave a review. Reviews help authors inspire to go on with their stories.