WARNING (this story will contain the following): Um…probably just OOCness (but of course you silly!)
This was written on request for Jasminegreen. I thought about it and decided a sequel wouldn't take away from the first story so that's why I did this. I won't take requests to make sequels for my other works though
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the Inuyasha characters
Beginning In An Ending
Inuyasha simply stared for a moment. Before him was the western palace, his brother's palace. He and his friends were going to go in with Sesshomaru's body and let them take care of the burial. His brother was…had been a lord. The western lands had to pick a new leader before chaos erupted amongst the people. Inuyasha didn't want to walk through those gates though. Right now…it was like Inuyasha could pretend Sesshomaru was simply sleeping. He was resting since the battle with Naraku had been so draining. Once they gave up his body…everything would become so much more real. Even if the two inu hadn't been close…Inuyasha still didn't want to accept that his brother was dead.
He slowly turned his head when a hand placed itself on his shoulder.
"Are you ready to go in?" Kagome asked.
No, he wasn't. "Yeah," he lied. "Come on."
The first thing that happened was that the guards thought Inuyasha had murdered his brother. It almost turned into a fight but then a man with pale skin and curly brown hair came out.
"Cease this at once," the man ordered the guards. They immediately obeyed. He then turned to Inuyasha's group. "You must be the second son of Inutaisho. My name is Kenshin." He stared at Sesshomaru's body. "So our lord has fallen…please, follow me inside."
As they walked, Kenshin ordered some of the guards to take Sesshomaru's body away. Inuyasha almost protested but forced himself to remain quiet. They were led to a room where Kenshin told them all to sit down.
"Now would you please explain to me what happened?" Kenshin asked, grief clear in his voice.
"Who are you?" Inuyasha asked.
"I was Lord Sesshomaru's closest advisor and friend."
"Friend?"
"Yes. Please, what happened?"
Inuyasha took a deep breath to calm himself. It wouldn't do any good to break down in front of this stranger. "I assume you're familiar with the demon Naraku?"
"But of course."
"Well, we were all fighting him, Sesshomaru too. Naraku attacked and pierced Sesshomaru with a bunch of tentacles. I dealt the finishing blow to Naraku but it was too late, my brother was already dying. After we had one last talk he died."
"I see…it seems odd that Sesshomaru wasn't able to avoid the attack though."
"He didn't avoid it because…because he was protecting his weak hanyou brother, okay?! Kagome was about to be hit so I jumped in front of her. But then Sesshomaru jumped in front of me and took the blow that should've finished me. Everyone was surprised."
"Nobody said you were weak. That was incredibly brave of you to do especially since you didn't expect to be saved. Since my lord is gone, someone new needs to take the throne. Inuyasha, technically you are next in line."
Inuyasha's eyes widened. "No. Everyone in this room knows I would be no good at politics. I wasn't raised for it nor do I have the desire to rule."
"Understandable. Sesshomaru was raised for the position."
"Who's the new lord gonna be then?"
"The court will decide but Lord Sesshomaru had already sorted that out in case something ever did happen. It should be a rather simple decision because of that."
"Who is it?"
"You're looking at him." Kenshin stood up. "Now, the burying of the body shall take place tonight. You are welcome to come, of course. Do you know the location of Rin and Jaken? I'm aware that they accompany my lord during his travels."
"I was going to go find them after this. We'll come back tonight and I'll bring them."
"Okay, Inuyasha. Now, if you all will excuse me. I must take care of some business. Thank you for bringing his body back for a proper ceremony. I will have the guard in the hall escort you and your group out."
"Thanks, Kenshin." With a bow they watched the possibly new lord walk out.
--
"I found their scent," Inuyasha called out to his group. They were in the forest searching for Rin and Jaken. Those two were still waiting for their lord to return, unaware of the taiyoukai's fate.
"Let's go then," Kagome said.
"No. You guys stay here. It will be easier to break the news to them if only I'm there." Everyone agreed so he ran off in the direction of his brother's pack.
Once they were in sight, he took a deep breath before walking through the trees to reveal himself. Rin's eyes looked excited for a moment before turning into disappointment at the figure not being Sesshomaru. She smiled at Inuyasha before noticing something was wrong.
Jaken immediately leapt up. "What are you doing here, half-breed?!" he squawked.
"Shut up, imp!" he yelled louder than he intended to. He didn't need Jaken to make it worse. He was glad when the annoying creature shut his beak. "Now listen…there's something important I need to tell the both of you."
"Is it about Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin asked.
"Yeah."
"What did you do to him?!" Jaken shouted.
Inuyasha shot him a glare that quieted him. "There's no easy way to say this…all of us were battling Naraku. We succeeded in killing the bastard but…not before he took Sesshomaru's life."
Both Rin and Jaken went silent. Their lord…was dead? Impossible. Rin was the first to break the silence.
"You're lying, Inuyasha! Lord Sesshomaru can't be killed!" she screamed.
"I'm not lying!" he told them. "It's the truth! If you don't believe me then go back to his palace and ask Kenshin about it."
"Y-you spoke with Kenshin?" Jaken asked quietly.
"…Yes. The ceremony for Sesshomaru is tonight."
"No! He's not dead!" Rin's screams started turning into cries. "He's not…"
Jaken was still in disbelief. Looking like he was in a trance, he walked over to Rin and pushed her in the direction of Ah-Un. "Come, Rin," he said. "We have to go back to the palace." Jaken stared at Inuyasha. There was no deceit in his aura, no trickery in his eyes. The horrible words uttered from the half-demon were the awful truth. His lord was dead.
"I'm gonna go back there tonight," Inuyasha muttered.
Jaken nodded. As they were about to take flight he said, "My lord didn't hate you like he claimed." With that, the imp and distraught girl left.
Inuyasha watched them until he could see them no longer. He slowly went back to his group. Sesshomaru was gone…how was that possible? How did a vile creature like Naraku kill his brother? It was because he protected me. That still shocked Inuyasha, even after Sesshomaru's apology. He knew what Jaken had said was true. Sesshomaru had admitted it during his final moments. But Jaken wasn't there. Then that meant Sesshomaru showed his changed feelings about his hanyou brother. If Jaken was able to tell then did Sesshomaru talk about it? Inuyasha shook his head. He couldn't imagine Sesshomaru talking that openly with the little imp. Maybe I'll ask him later on tonight.
He met up with Kagome and the others. He was unusually quiet but they had expected it. They left him alone so he could think in peace.
--
Inuyasha was nervous as they all walked through the gates of the western palace. A guard was leading them to where the ceremony was being held. Word had spread quickly about Sesshomaru's death and many were here out of respect for the lord. They were all demons, full demons that were wealthy and powerful. He was nothing but a lowly half-breed. He noticed everyone's glares and whispers. Some believed it had been the "jealous brother" that had killed Sesshomaru. Others simply hated him for his human blood. They didn't like his group either, a mismatched pack of humans and demons. They didn't belong there.
He listened as many of those demons spoke about his brother in front of everyone. They all knew Sesshomaru better than his own younger brother did. A few had even seen his nicer side, Kenshin included among those few. For almost all of Inuyasha's life he had never even known that Sesshomaru had a nicer side. The only part he had ever seen up until earlier this day was the vicious, cold killer. It was the part that had fought with him and tried to kill him. And as much as Inuyasha didn't want to admit it, as much as he thought himself weak for it, he couldn't help but be hurt by that. What had he done that these demons didn't to deserve so much hate from Sesshomaru for so many years? There was no one to answer him though so he just sat and watched silently as these people stood up one by one to talk about the brother he never knew.
After it was over, Kenshin walked up to the group and offered them rooms for the night. Inuyasha was about to protest but then he realized that his friends would probably want to sleep in a warm bed instead of the forest floor. Inuyasha nodded and the humans thanked Kenshin.
"Kenshin," Inuyasha said before he went to his room.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Where's Jaken? I'd like to speak to him."
"I'll send someone to tell him to meet in your room if you'd like."
"Okay, thanks."
--
There was a knock on the door. Inuyasha knew it was the person he had been waiting for. Jaken walked in and stared at Inuyasha for a moment.
"What do you want?" the imp asked.
Now matter how Inuyasha felt, he had promised this to Sesshomaru. He had to do it even though Jaken would probably make it difficult. "Look," he started. "I know all this must be hard on you and Rin…I-I promised Sesshomaru I would watch over Rin. I know he wouldn't want her to stay locked up in this palace but it wouldn't be safe for her to roam around with just you and that dragon thing." Jaken glared at him. "Go ahead and get angry but you know it's true. I know you and me have never gotten along but…I want to tell you that both you and Rin are welcome to join me and my friends."
Jaken looked surprised. "What?"
"There's my offer. You and Rin can join up with us if you want."
"…I'll talk to Rin about it and let you know in the morning."
"Okay."
"Is that all?"
"Yeah…wait. Earlier you said Sesshomaru didn't hate me as much as he claimed. How do you know?"
"You're still alive." Inuyasha glared but Jaken continued. "He always hated you because he thought your father chose you over him. Lord Sesshomaru never voiced this out loud but he believed your father loved you more than him and for that he despised you." Jaken turned around to leave. "Before he was…killed, I think he realized he was wrong and that your father was protecting you like he would my lord had he been in a similar situation." Then he left, leaving Inuyasha to think about what he said.
--
"Inuyasha, I've discussed it with Rin and have decided…she will join you."
Inuyasha stared at Jaken. "Only she will?"
"Yes." He sighed. "My attitude towards you is changing but that doesn't mean I want to travel with humans and half-breeds, strong as you are. I shall stay here at the palace and take care of business here. Rin doesn't belong stuck in a palace though. It will also be good for her to interact with other humans."
"And this is what she wants?"
"It took some time to convince her but yes it is. She still doesn't want to…accept Lord Sesshomaru's death."
"Okay. We're going to leave after breakfast. Will she be ready?"
"So soon? I suppose she will be."
"I'll send Kagome to go talk to her then."
After breakfast, Inuyasha announced that they were leaving. Kagome and Sango went to get Rin while Kenshin pulled Inuyasha aside.
"So Rin shall be traveling with your pack?" he asked Inuyasha.
"Yeah. I asked if Jaken wanted to come too but he said he wanted to stay here."
"That is not surprising actually."
"No, I mean me and the imp have always hated each other. If Sesshomaru let him travel with him though then I figured I could at least give Jaken the option."
"Well, I'm sure Rin will be in good hands. I think Sesshomaru would want no other to look after her." A small smile appeared on Inuyasha's face. "You know you and your friends are welcome here anytime."
"Thanks. I appreciate that and I'm sure the others do too. Say, when do they announce the new lord?"
"This afternoon. It should be decided rather quickly."
"Wow…so you really were Sesshomaru's friend?"
He chuckled. "Yes, as difficult as it may be to believe, Sesshomaru and I have been friends for a long time." He sighed. "I suppose I should say were. It's so difficult to have him gone. I know you two weren't close but…"
"I can barely believe it myself."
Kenshin looked down the hallway. "I believe I hear Rin and your friends coming."
"We should get going then…I think I'm gonna visit Sesshomaru's grave one more time though. Tell them not to come, will ya?"
"Of course."
"Thanks…you know, for everything."
"You're welcome. I hope to see you again when the…situation is better."
"We'll be back. I'm sure Rin would like to come back for a visit too. See ya, Kenshin." He then turned to head outside but stopped. "Hey…why have you been so nice to me and my friends?" A half-breed and humans?
Kenshin frowned slightly before answering. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Inuyasha just smiled slightly before leaving. He stopped walking when he reached Sesshomaru's grave. At that moment, it finally sunk in fully. Sesshomaru was dead. Never again would Inuyasha see him, fight him, talk to him. He was gone.
"How did this happen?" Inuyasha whispered. "Tell me, Sesshomaru. How? I've never been more confused. Apparently, it was obvious to everyone except me that you didn't hate me. At least, not that much. You lied to me, you lied to me! Why?!" Tears were threatening to escape but he just barely held them back "No…I'm not gonna bother thinking why or anything. There's no point…I kept my promise, y'know. Rin is going to travel with me and my friends. She'll be safe, I swear. Good-bye, Sesshomaru. I'm sure I'll be back…Kenshin seemed sincere when he said he wanted us here again." He turned to leave and join his friends but paused. He faced the grave once again. "Sesshomaru, give me a sign so I can move on. Tell me somehow that I'm doing all this right…tell me that I'm not just some pathetic half-breed!" The tears finally spilled. He wanted Sesshomaru to tell him…he needed his brother to tell him. Even if Sesshomaru had never said anything but insults while he was alive, Inuyasha needed to know that things were different now. He knew though that it was useless to demand such a thing. He's dead and I'm still just some stupid mutt…
He was about to walk away when a gentle breeze suddenly picked up. It blew across his face instantly calming him and then he knew. This was his sign. Sesshomaru was letting him know that Inuyasha was doing the right thing and was not a pathetic half-human. He was telling him the things he had never spoken with words. Inuyasha allowed a smile on his face.
"Thank you, Sesshomaru…"
And then, Inuyasha left. He felt more peaceful this moment then he had since Sesshomaru jumped in front of him, costing the demon his own life. It still upset him to think about what could have been but he couldn't help but feel content. He was content with the knowledge that his and Sesshomaru's last moments together were as brothers and not as enemies. And with that, he knew he'd be able to move on.