"Have you any idea who killed him?" Inukimi asked, stepping on her son's entrails with a stomach-churning squish.
Inukimi was not one to be easily surprised, and yet, in her mind, she was utterly shocked. Of course, her face kept the foreign feeling hidden with it's stoic mask. Never once did she imagine her own son dying before her, and when she did imagine his death, she could see him dying via disease, or of eventual old age, or perhaps he'd even lose the will to live someday. Not once could she picture him dying in combat.
And yet, at her feet was what had once been Sesshomaru's body, limbs hacked to pieces and entrails spilling out of his open gut. The entire valley reeked strongly of his blood and spoilt venom. His head had been lopped off as well, but unlike his body, it remained whole, delicately rolled aside from it's rightful spot on his neck, silver strands lying on the ground. Strangely enough, the expression worn on the face of the head was a relaxed, at peace one. In his eyes were pools of green venom instead of tears, and a thin trail of blood dripped from his closed mouth onto his chin.
"No, I'm afraid I got here around the same time you did." Spoke the strange demon who stood parallel to Inukimi. With his gently golden skin and navy blue braid, anyone who saw him would recognize him as the Western Lord's aid. He narrowed his lime green eyes to mere slits and smirked, grabbing a fistful of Sesshomaru's sliver locks and scooping the head into his arms. "How interesting is it, that someone finally bested the mighty Lord Sesshomaru in battle."
"Yes, it certainly is rather odd indeed."
Inukimi felt no remorse for her son. Alive, Sesshomaru had been a bastard in every sense of the word. Cold and heartless, unloving and cruel, it was about time he got what was coming to him. Still though, Sesshomaru was a great warrior, even more so than her first mate, Touga. But he was terribly foolish. Sesshomaru refused to mate, and therefore had no heir, no matter how many times that little human wench claimed that he had 'adopted' her. Even once he had developed the Western Empire, he relied only on himself and his own powers to fight his battles. Inukimi figure that he finally met his match, and whatever demon he had fought was simply too much for him.
The male demon turned to glance at Inukimi, who was looking rather disgustedly at her son's bloodied corpse. He Holding Sesshomaru's head in one arm, his fingers ghosted on the light dagger he carried with him at all times. The little blade pulsed at his touch, and his mouth twisted into a thin smirk. "Do you wish to bring him back to life?"
Inukimi scoffed. "Not at all. Personally, I believe that the dead should stay dead." To emphasize her point, she kicked her son's body lightly.
The demon chuckled lightheartedly. "Some mother you are!" He joked, letting his body rock and ripple with his roaring laughter.
"I was no mother, seeing as I never birthed a pup. I simply birthed a killing machine." Inukimi stated simply, pivoting on her feet daintily and beginning to walk away from the carnage. However, on her way out, she suddenly stopped and spoke breathily, without turning around to face the male. "Tell me Taka-sama, who will be the new monarch of the West, upon my son's death?"
"Hmm." The man seemed lost in thought for a moment. He grabbed Sesshomarus' head with both hands, and held it so he was looking directly into the resting face. After a moment and two, he spoke. "I suppose Lord Inuyasha is the only eligible suitor for the throne."
"I see." Inukimi clipped, then took off towards the skies in flight.
The male demon ignored the other's rather rude exit. Instead, his lips met those of the head of the fallen warrior, and he pushed his tongue into the limp mouth. After a while he pulled back, his lips bloodied. He cradled Sesshomaru's head as if it were a baby, and began walking away from the massive carnage, at a steady, calm pace.
"Why do you keep your hair so long? Why don't you where shoes? Why do you still carry around that big scary sword? Why?"
Inuyasha was one more question away from leaning over and squeezing the matching throats of Kanna and Kagura, Sango's twin daughters. Named such after Naraku's incarnations, both of which ending up changing heart for the better, Inuyasha personally believed that the little girls were just as evil as the original Kanna and Kagura had been during their first battles.
"Shut up, guys. Inu-sama's cooler than both of you!" Yelled six-year-old Kyon, Miroku's son. Inuyasha was Kyon's idol, and the little boy couldn't bare to see his older sisters pick on him so.
"Yeah, that's right! I'm coole-hey!" Inuyasha suddenly jumped when he felt hands grab at his plush ivory ears. He about faced right into the attacker, who revealed herself to be Kagome, smiling sweetly with a barrel full of freshly picked berries in her arms.
"I see you're getting along rather well with the kids." She mused, setting down the basket and placing her hand on her swollen belly. She was seven months along, and quite ready to get the little life out of her and out into the world.
Inuyasha simply huffed, turning away from his wife with red cheeks. Kagome chuckled, and set down the basket of berries so she could wrap her arms around him lovingly. Embarrassed, he tried to shrug off the gesture, but only ended up falling over, with Kagome falling on top of him. Her lips met his, and he struggled to get away. The two continued to wrestle, and the children all watched with wide eyes, until a clear and sharply determined voice cut through the air like a knife.
"Hiraikotsu!" Sango shouted, swinging her enormous boomerang up towards... something. Inuyasha couldn't see, so he jumped up, knocking poor Kagome off of him and onto the floor.
Before Sango and Miroku stood a huge demon, with distinct cat-like features. It looked to be some sort of jungle cat, with a mane and massive claws on each paw, but it lacked the wild aura that most demons of this caliber possessed. Unsheathing Tessaiga, Inuyasha stood before the great demon, and swung forcefully, calling out the attack's name loudly and brashly.
"Wind Scar!" He shrieked, aiming it at the demon, only to have it nimbly jump out of the way and disappear into a puff of smoke.
The group looked around, confused at where the demon had gone. What had it wanted? They hadn't really had to fight anything since Naraku's demise, and especially since Sesshomaru established the Western Empire.
"My, my." Came a velvet voice from behind the hanyou. There stood a cat-like demon, with deep blue locks ties back into a long braid. His eyes were narrow and bright, bright green, and they held a strange cunningness to them. "Have all of you no manners whatsoever?"
"Who the hell are you?!" Inuyasha yelled at the demon, who chuckled dryly in response.
"Why, I was the aid to Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Empire. Certainly you are not so ignorant as to not know this, Lord Inuyasha." The demon spoke slyly.
Inuyasha huffed, and sheathed Tessaiga. The odd demon did have Sesshomaru's scent on him, faint as it may be. "What does Sesshomaru want with us?!"
The demon laughed once again, and Inuyasha was finding he didn't much like this demon and his dry chuckles. They sounded like blades scraping against dry stone, harshly being pushed out of his throat quickly. "I'm afraid Lord Sesshomaru won't be wanting anything from anyone anymore. Hah!" Once the demon's laughter started to die down, he spoke more calmly. "I am here to invite Lord Sesshomaru's younger brother to the sacred funeral procession that is to be held at the Western Temple. Your companions may come as well."
Inuyasha took a moment and tow to register the words that were being spoke, and the message finally caught up to him. "Wait... you mean to tell me that Sesshomaru... that Sesshomaru, 'mighty Lord of the Western Empire' is dead?" Inuyasha couldn't take this seriously. Sesshomaru was too powerful even for him to defeat; there was no way that the inuyokai would just end up dead. "Hah!" Inuyasha laughed outwardly, not minding the odd stares that he was receiving. "S-So what finally did him in, eh? What, he just suddenly forget to breathe? Hah!"
"Inuyasha..." Kagome wasn't liking the hanyou's reaction at all. Was he in denial? If Sesshomaru was dead, then this was anything but funny. He turned to the feline demon. "How did he die?"
The demon didn't even bat an eye. "He was slaughtered. Rather mercilessly so, by the looks of it."
This brought Inuyasha back to his senses. He looked at the demon strangely, tilting his head to the side. "Some killed 'im? Someone killed Sesshomaru?" This didn't make any sense to him. Sesshomaru was the most powerful demon he had ever met. There was no way he could've been beaten in battle.
"Yes, it appears so."
The reality of the situation began to hit Inuyasha. Sesshomaru was dead. Sesshomaru was dead. His half-brother (not matter how often he denied being so) was dead. He shook his head lightly, as if to clear it of thoughts. "Um, when is this funeral thingy again?"
The demon smirked at him and his eyes lit up. "Ah! So you do wish to attend? The sacred procession will began this night. Wear any ceremonial robes you may posses, and come with a pure heart." And with that, the demon about faced and left the clearing via taking off in flight. Inuyasha and the others simply sat there, processing the new information.
"Inuyasha. I'm so sorry." Kagome uttered. She could only imagine what it would be like for him. She pictured what it would be like for her if she lost Souta, and it almost made her heart split in two.
Inuyasha, however, flipped his ivory tresses out of his face and folded his arms. "Keh! It's not like I care that the bastard is dead. I just thought it would be cool to go to one of those sacred-demon-something-or-others."
Inwardly, Kagome shook her head. Typical Inuyasha. As Shippou started to give Inuyasha grief about his response, and Sango and Miroku tried to 'comfort' the hanyou, Kagome picked up her basket of berries and began to walk back in the direction of Kaede's village. She and Inuyasha didn't own many ceremonial robes, but perhaps the kimonos they wore for their wedding would do. As she walked, she thought curiously about the gravity of the situation. Sesshomaru was the Lord of the Western Empire. Who would take over, now that he was dead? Perhaps he had an heir; but then again, Kagome highly doubted it. She'd always believed that Sesshomaru was something along the lines of asexual. Maybe Rin would become Empress, after all, the inuyokai had practically adopted her.
Hmm. Kagome arrived at the village, and shook the thoughts out of her head. It's not as if she needed to worry about the issues of the Western Empire.
The Western Temple was immensely different from any built structure any of them had seen, save for Kagome. She could easily identify the architectural design as Egyptian, though she had no idea why it was so. Aside from the looks, the building was also very large, and hundreds of demons - the vast, vast majority of them being purebred, mind you - bustled around the temple, carrying food and huge goblets of fine wine and sake.
Outside of the temple stood the cat-like demon from earlier, dressed in a fine white kimono. In his dark hand he held a golden vase, the contents of it unknown to Inuyasha and the gang. He smiled cunningly again upon seeing their arrival, holding out one arm in a welcoming gesture, the other arm clutching the vase close to his chest.
"Lord Inuyasha! Welcome!" He stated. "Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier today. I am the Great Taka, Lord Sesshomaru's former aid."
Inuyasha simply rolled his eyes. "Great, eh? He sure doesn't look that great." Kagome caught him muttering under his breath.
"Come come, follow me, and the sacred procession shall begin."
The Great Taka led the group into the temple, which, on the inside, looked even more enormous than they could have guessed. Miroku admired the structure, what with the fine silks draped over the walls, which looked as though the were made of gold. In the great Hall, Sango made a wish upon a glorious adamant fountain, which gushed sake instead of water. Kagome could hardly believe her eyes. This was Feudal Japan for Gods' sake! How were these demons able to create such beauty and luxury, in Feudal Japan?!
"Excuse me, Lord Taka." The former highschool girl began, rubbing her swollen belly absentmindedly. A 'Yes, milady?' was heard from the feline demon. "Who built this place? It's designed so beautifully, and from the looks of it, it's not Japanese."
For a split second, one could've imagined Taka's face contorting into a scowl, but it was gone sooner than it had appeared. "I was the one who designed the temple. You see, my dear, I am from a very far away place, and this is what castles looked like there. When the mighty Lord Sesshomaru asked me to build him a castle, I was honored to design it like the palaces from my homeland."
"I see." Was all Kagome could say. In all honesty, one could hardly imagine Sesshomaru living in such a glorious place. True, he was a strong warrior who became a terribly powerful emperor, but he could probably care less about half of the wonderful luxuries that donned the temple.
Finally, after a long while of maneuvering through the castle, the arrived at an enormous dinning hall, which was filled with purebred demons, all drinking sake and chatting among themselves. Kagome was terribly confused. This is a funeral procession?! It certainly didn't look like one to her. Half the demons were drinking sake and were wasted senseless. This was hardly any way to honor someone's memory.
But despite her confusion, she sat down at the great table where she was told, and watched in slight awe as Taka stood at the head of the table, holding the large vase in one arm and a cup of sake in the other. He raised his glass and his voice to quiet the others, and then spoke with such clarity that his voice could cut glass.
"Demons and Demonesses. I welcome you today to the sacred departure celebration of our Empire's own cherished ruler, Lord Sesshomaru." many cast him cold glares at that, as if to say 'Our Lord was far from cherished!'. Taka continued. "I ask you to raise you glass in his memory, and bid him good luck and good fortune on his journey to the next world." The occupants of the table, including Inuyasha and Kagome, Sango and Miroku, all raised their sake-filled glasses (Kagome's being filled with water, of course. Must mind the baby!) and did as they were told. For a moment and two, things were silent, before Taka's face lit up in a smile, and he waved his cup around boldly. "Now let us celebrate, for tonight our Lord will be feasting with the Gods!"
And once again, the table erupted into a flurry of chatter. Demons ate, Demons drank, Demons sang and danced. Kagome's mind absently remembered something she had read about Americans once. In a city called New Orleans, apparently people celebrate death as well.
"So, Lord Inuyasha." Taka faced the hanyou, the sly smile always evident on his face. "How are you enjoying your first sacred funeral?"
Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably under the cat-like's gaze. "You sure are happy about him being dead."
Taka laughed brashly. "But of course! After all, Lord Sesshomaru's moving on to a happier life!" He grabbed the vase, which had been sitting on the table for a while, and held it back in his arms again. He squeezed it tight, and Inuyasha found himself wondering just what the hell was inside that thing. "But tell me Inuyasha, have you given any thought to who might take up the throne in our Lord's absence?"
Inuyasha shook his head roughly. "No. Why the hell should I care?"
Taka looked at him strangely. "Because, obviously, with you being the last of inu-clan now, you are the only one suitable for the throne."
Inuyasha's eyes went huge. "What?! No way am I gonna take Sesshomaru's place!" He yelled at the feline demon. He was happy with his life as it was right now, thank you very much.
At his denial, however, Taka's face grew serious. His lime green eyes became narrow pinpoints, shooting daggers at Inuyasha. "Come now, I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice." Inuyasha's not liking the look Taka was giving him, stood up quickly, only to find that a clawed hand gripping his arm tightly.
"I'm afraid that until you agree to becoming emperor, I cannot let you leave."