He stood still and was immobile.
He was stone.
Sesshoumaru was barely there. All around him, sakura blossoms fell, swirling in elegant patterns, bending and whirling in orchestrated movements like koi in a pond, a stark contrast to his own rigid stance.
Some small part of him, buried deep and unknown to him yearned to relax, to feel, but Yokai Lord knew control and discipline like no one else. And still he completely stood.
He was lost in his thoughts, as he often was these days. Time flew past him like a stream while he remained unchanged, his beauty never diminishing, and his strength never fading….but now….
Something was happening, Sesshoumaru knew.
He knew not what; expect for the first time after a long time, he felt something. Granted it wasn't something he liked, but it was something. It meant he was alive, flesh and blood. He was a machine still, but not complete led. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about this. Sesshoumaru thought feelings were a burden.
All that said, many things had subtly changed Sesshoumaru, although he would never admit.
As if on water, Sesshoumaru glided down from his perch, his fingers unconsciously brushing over the hilt of his sword where Rin's hair-tie was.
Rin herself….well she was long gone. After a ripe old age, she lived to the fullest as a human. Yet it was another tragedy Sesshoumaru did not allow himself to dwell on. Eternity was a long time to spend feeling loss.
Beneath his feet lay graves. Inuyasha lay at his feet. Funny how he has always wanted him there, but not like this. As Sesshoumaru had learning these past few hundred years, he did have somewhat of a heart.
The rest of his brother ragtag group was here too.
Humans, such fragile things... Meh.
There was one mystery that eluded him. The woman of Inuyasha's. Kagome, he believed she called herself. She had disappeared as soon as Naraku was defeated. There had been a flash of light and then….gone. He hadn't heard of her since.
He didn't care though, he was just inquisitive by nature.
Sesshoumaru nimbly hopped from tree branch to tree branch. He was a being of many talents.
"Lord Sesshoumaru!"
"Jaken." He kept staring straight ahead. Emotionlessly he asked "What is the matter now?"
"A-Lord Sesshoumaru. The yokai… there are lots of yokai heading towards here and—AAAAAA!"
Whipping out from the underbrush, three spiked tails knocking Jaken down like a domino.
The tails, upon thwarting their first victim switched to Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru used his poison whip to cut two of the tails off while searching for the body of the beast.
There. He spotted glowing yellow eyes, burning like ambers in the darkness. Without a thought he dove towards the chest of the beast, planning to stick his hand in and grab the heart. It was an almost poetic way to die.
Right before he could reach in, he felt a sudden sting in his heart. It caught him by such surprise that his body jerked, barely noticeable, but it hindered his motion and the beast took his opportunity.
The gray demon lashed out with zeal. If he defeated the daiyokai he would be well respected. His sharp teeth gleamed demonically and his pain at losing his other tails forgotten, he whipped his last to grab Sesshoumaru's leg.
Sesshoumaru had not lived so long because he was weak, he moved out of the way…but not fast enough because as he left, there was one spike protruding from his ankle.
His face never changed though. Beasts were rabid creatures after all, they didn't warrant a reaction from him. Ignoring the dull pain, the daiyokai went again for the killing blow.
This time… he succeeded.
The gaping hole in the 3-tailed beast oozed purple blood. It had been some type of hybrid.
"Jaken. I will be leaving now. Please head back to the castle to make sure everything is in order."
Jaken looked worried as he eyed Sesshoumaru's foot. "B-But Lord Sesshoumar-" A look from Sesshoumaru didn't let him complete that particular thought.
"That will be all." Feeling throbbing pain in his ankle he jumped up, summoning a cloud under his feet.
Unfortunately, he couldn't get very far. Sesshoumaru wasn't susceptible to normal illnesses, something must really be happening to him. He hadn't felt this odd in decades.
He decided he needed a few moments to heal. Usually, he would have gone to Rin who had become somewhat of a magician with herbs. But Sesshoumaru feared this was something serious.
Dragging his suddenly fatigued body he spied a abandoned mansion up ahead. It was in his lands and he knew no one ever ventured this deep in. That gray demon had been foolish and near the border.
He would never make that mistake again.
With what energy he had left, the Demon Lord sank into the courtyard of the abandoned place, dust raising up as his feet touched ground, and nobly made his way towards the closest room.
He reached for the sliding door, mildly surprised at the minute tremble in his own hand. Sesshoumaru, trembling? That was absolutely absurd.
But something was definitely wrong. Even with the odd pain he had been feeling, he should have begun healing by now.
He sat down in the center of the room and the first thing he did was pull own the wretched spike, watching his own blood seep through his clothing. He hated being dirty. He wrapped his bleeding ankle with the ripped part of a kimono he saw lying around.
It looked clean enough. That's what he told himself.
Everything started to become a bit slower than usual. Odd. Before the Demon Lord could protest himself, to make sense and plan his next step, he felt the need for sleep taking over. He could not help but lay down on mokomoko, the fur enveloping him in a familiar embrace.
He fell into the abyss of slumber. Seeshoumaru, for the first time, didn't feel like he was in control.