Levirate Marriage
A/N Hi loves, this story has been in my mind for ages just aching to be written. I honestly had to do a lot of research to get a better understanding of values and traditions we no longer uphold. The title will make sense in time I promise. For those who don't know what a Levirate Marriage is: A Marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow, and the widow is obliged to marry her deceased husband's brother. (Thank you Wikipedia!)
This story will explain why Sesshomaru is the way he is (IMO) Social class, Family honor, treatment of women, and social status will be crucial elements in my story. Please pull up a chair, and travel back to a time where women are mere second class citizens, and honor is everything.
As always I own nothing, just adding my personal spice to the mix. Enjoy!
Chapter 1 : Inuyasha's goodbye
"Inuyasha!"
All I could do was lay overtop his bloody and battered body. As soon as I saw him hit the ground I knew something wasn't right.
"If only I was stronger this never would've happened. I'm so sorry Inuyasha; this is all my fault!" I cried out vehemently at nothing and no one. Tears of anger and self loathing flowed freely down my face. I cursed the Kami's for taking Inuyasha away from me. He was my best friend and my first love. I may have gotten over my love for him, but the loss of someone so dear to me overwhelmed and consumed me. I gently ran my fingers through his once soft and silver locks. Now grimy and stained pink from his blood.
"I'm so sorry." My mind couldn't process anything else as I continued to repeat my apologies.
"Should we intervene? I don't think it's healthy for Lady Kagome to be clinging to Inuyasha's body." Sango shook her head slightly, averting her eyes away from Kagome and Inuyasha.
"No. she needs to grieve, or she may never get the closure she needs. We should set up camp for the night, the sun is starting to set." Miroku sighed sadly before sparing the pair one last glance, and reluctantly started helping Sango set up a meager campsite. Sango hurriedly set out everyone's bedding, while Miroku placed wards around their camp to ward off any nearby demons.
Once finished, Miroku noticed that Sesshomaru had yet to leave. He had been a tremendous aid to them in their battle against Naraku. If not for Sesshomaru they would've lost more than Inuyasha that day. The question remained: why was he still here? He certainly wasn't a member of their band of humans. With Inuyasha now gone there was no reason for Sesshomaru to continue traveling with them. Miroku clenched his golden staff with enough force to break it in half; fear was overcoming him as he did not want to provoke the wrath of Sesshomaru. He carefully made his way to the tree that Sesshomaru had chosen to lean against.
Sesshomaru heard the monk approaching before he smelled him. For the briefest of moments his face revealed a look of disgust before his mask surfaced once more. The monk was in desperate need of a bath; he smelled of sweat, sex, and fear. He hoped the monk wouldn't get too close as he could only stand the offending odor for so long before lashing out.
"Lord Sesshomaru, if you don't mind my asking, is there a reason you are still here? With Inuyasha no longer with us I assumed you would've already left." Underneath Miroku's robe, his knees were knocking together in fear which caused Sesshomaru to smirk slightly.
"Monk, this Sesshomaru's business is his own." "I wasn't trying to invade your privacy, My Lord, but with everything that has transpired here tonight I assumed our temporary alliance had ended." "Enough questions Monk. This Sesshomaru's reasons are his own I have business to attend to with the Miko." Sesshomaru snarled and bared his teeth, threatening the monk to leave him be. Miroku took the hint, bowing respectfully before walking back to their makeshift camp.
Sango had already succumbed to exhaustion, and was sleeping peacefully. It had been a trying day for them all, especially Kagome. Thank Kami Shippo had been shielded from it all. Kagome had forced the fox-kit to stay with Kaede; she didn't want anything to happen to her adopted son.
If only we had known that we weren't ready to face Naraku. Maybe then Inuyasha would still be among us. I don't know if exhaustion or grief made everything fade to black, but I was grateful for it.
A/N
Let me know what you think! I know there are probably questions circling about what exactly happened to Inuyasha. That will be revealed over time, mainly with flashbacks, but also by story telling. Sesshomaru's purpose for being there will be revealed, and remember the terms I explained earlier they will come into play in the next chapter! Sorry it's not the longest, but my first few chapters tend to be that way. If anyone has read Journey from Madness I'm the author of that story, had some email set backs so had to change everything lol.
Please R&R! I prefer constructive criticism instead of just plain rudeness. Grammar natzis are also not in my top 10 list of people I like to hear from, just a friendly warning!
More will be answered soon, I'm almost done with chapter 2 and plan to upload by Monday morning!
