As promised, another chapter! Still some set up and a lot of fluff, but hey, character development is important! Next chapter'll definitely have a lot of action so hold onto your seats folks! Onwards and Upwards!
ENJOI
If Sesshomaru thought he was bad about speaking his mind, he paled in comparison to his younger brother. Inuyasha was a force of nature that could not be controlled. Takeru was also a wild boy when he was younger, but Minko could at least settle him down. There was no stopping Inuyasha once he got started. To make things worse, around his twelfth birthday, Minko and Sesshomaru noticed Takeru's aging slow, much like most full-fledged demons. Which meant Inuyasha was catching up to him in biological age. Which meant the two were becoming best friends. Which meant that once one got riled up, the other's energy amplified ten-fold and they kicked off some bizarre chain reaction that could not be stopped once it started. Usually, Inuyasha was the instigater in it all, and for that reason, Sesshomaru hoped to the gods that his brother's aging would slow down as well, because if he became older than Takeru in maturity, all hell would break loose.
Yet despite the chaos of two rambunctious boys and constantly fighting off demons and humans alike, Minko seemed to take it all in stride. Even on sleepless nights, the woman would emerge the next morning bright-eyed and cheerful. It was obvious that Sesshomaru admired the priestess for that, but still, the strange feelings he began noticing three years previous only grew stronger and more violent as Minko matured both mentally and physically. By the time she was eighteen, the dog demon was barely able to contain his growing insanity over not knowing what was wrong with him.
Until Inuyasha made a point to explain it all to him one evening.
"Why don't you just tell her?" the boy asked one evening. Sesshomaru had taken his brother hunting with him (and no, not per Minko's encouragement. He was letting the little boy grow on him, much to Minko's pleasant surprise) and Inuyasha wasn't lifting a finger to help his elder brother skin the deer they had just killed, but rather, he was lying on his stomach kicking his legs freely and bringing up topics Sesshomaru couldn't possibly understand.
"Tell who what?" Sesshomaru asked in a low voice. His tolerance with this insufferable child was beginning to grow thin as he yanked at the slit on the deer's back, trying to shove his hand into the space between the skin and the muscle to tear any connective tissue. Inuyasha let out a loud groan and rolled onto his back as if Sesshomaru was missing something blatantly obvious.
"Minko!" Inuyasha shouted. Sesshomaru glanced up at the boy, still not getting where this was going and Inuyasha puckered his lip as if to pout and explained, "You. Like. Her."
He didn't know why, but for some reason, Sesshomaru's heart began pounding within his chest. The demon looked back down at his dinner and said, "Of course I do. I wouldn't travel with her if she wasn't a suitable companion."
"No, no, no, no!" Inuyasha groaned again. "You use big words, Brother, it hurts my head. But anyway! I don't mean you like her, I mean you like her!"
At that, Sesshomaru paused and sat up a little straighter. "What part of that sentence made any sense?" Sesshomaru asked incredulously. "You just repeated yourself."
"I'm trying to say that you liiiiiiiike her! Are you stupid or something?" Inuyasha asked. If this brat didn't shut up…
"Dragging out a word is not going to make your point any more comprehendable, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru lectured. Inuyasha lost his patience in that moment and rose to his feet. The elder sibling thought the conversation was dismissed until the younger suddenly rammed himself into Sesshomaru's chest, pulling the demon away from his work. The half-demon bounced excitedly in his brother's lap, tugging on Sesshomaru's haori and mokomoko.
"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha whined, "Why can't you just say that you love Minko?"
…..
"WHAT?" Sesshomaru screamed as he leapt to his feet and shoved his brother off his lap. If he were ever to lose his composure, this would be the only time it would happen. "This Sesshomaru loves no woman!"
"Yeah right," Inuyasha teased. "If you don't like her, then why do you two always act like me and Takeru's mom and dad?"
"You're orphans, imbicile," Sesshomaru spat. "And I do not act like a father. Look, just because Minko and I are of the opposite sex doesn't meant that I have feelings for her."
Inuyasha let out a series of small giggles after that and he rolled onto his back and said, "sure it does! I see the way you look at her. And she always turns red whenever you're around!"
"I don't look at her," Sesshomaru said in a low voice. Inuyasha crossed his arms and stared knowingly up at his elder brother. There was a long pause before Sesshomaru hesitantly asked, "…is she really only that red when I'm around?"
"I KNEW IT!" Inuyasha screamed, leaping up to his feet.
"I was asking a question!" Sesshomaru attempted to clarify, but Inuyasha merely danced around in circles chanting, "Minko and Sesshomaru, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes—uh…I don't remember how the rest of that goes…"
"Then be silent," Sesshomaru spat. Inuyasha paused and looked up at Sesshomaru with sad eyes. The sudden mood swing sent a chill of unease up the demon's spine. Takeru once had a habit of giving him those eyes whenever the daiyoukai said something that hurt the boy's feelings. On instinct, Sesshomaru sucked in his pride and said, "I didn't mean to sound harsh, Inuyasha…"
The little boy's lips quivered and his eyes grew large with tears as he whimpered, "Why can't you just tell her you love her?"
With that, the little boy ran off crying to Minko.
Sesshomaru just stood there. And by that point, he didn't care about the raging priestess that would come chasing him down in a matter of minutes.
Had he…fallen in love?
"MIIIIIINKOOOOO!" she heard him whaling as he came tumbling down the hill. The priestess sighed. Oh boy, what did Sesshomaru do this time? Minko barely had time to look up when Inuyasha rammed himself into her, his shoulders trembling.
"What's wrong, Inuyasha?" Minko asked completely out of habit as she stroked his fluffy white hair. The boy sniveled for a moment before both of them looked up. Takeru even stopped what he was doing and the three waited for the silver-haired daiyoukai to come skidding down the hill declaring that he had not actually done wrong.
"Um," Minko started. She glanced down at Inuyasha who also waited expectantly.
"Where is he?" Takeru asked. He then shot Inuyasha a glare and scolded, "Inuyasha! You said this would work!"
"What would?" Minko asked suspiciously. She narrowed her eyes at the two boys as Inuyasha leapt out of her lap and stamped his foot to the ground in a mild tantrum.
"Oh, come on! That trick always works on him!" the hanyou whined.
"What trick?" Minko asked, but she suddenly felt like an idiot. The apple really didn't fall too far from the tree. "You can't mean to tell me that all those times you came running you were faking it!"
Inuyasha let out a snicker, "You thought I was serious?"
"Yes!"
"HA! That's even better!" he spat back, laughing uncontrollably, "I just love seeing him squirm! 'This Sesshomaru loves no one' my ass!"
Minko was so appalled by the boy's use of language that she failed to hear Takeru laugh out, "He actually said that?" as she screamed, "LANGUAGE!"
"Yeah," Inuyasha mumbled, stuffing his hands in his sleeves, much like Sesshomaru did when he grew fed up with something. Takeru, in response fell on his butt laughing but the younger hanyou shook his head and sighed, "I never thought he'd be too chicken to admit it though…"
"Or stupid, one of the two," Takeru added in.
"Or both."
"Boys?" Minko asked, feeling horribly confused and left out, "what are you talking about?"
The response she got were the two most incredulous looks she had ever seen on children's faces before. Obviously she had missed something, but she couldn't figure it out for the life of her. Takeru then looked over at Inuyasha and ordered, "Don't."
Inuyasha then spat out a laugh and began to explain, "Sesshomaru likes you, idiot!"
That made absolutely no sense. "I'm sure he does," she answered. "I can't imagine he wouldn't travel with me for this long if he didn't."
Both Takeru's cringe and Inuyasha's smile fell, and the younger hanyou looked so annoyed, Minko would have thought he had been through this conversation before. "No, no, no, no! I ain't doing this again!" he groaned. He then spoke even slower and moved his hands about as if he were explaining this to an infant: "Sesshomaru. And you. In a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Do you get it or not?"
Minko stared blankly at the boys for a moment. But when the realization hit her, it was the hardest thing to strike her in the head in all her life.
"WHAT?" she shrieked. She tried to laugh it off and say they were just friends. She tried to say that it would never work between them. She tried to think of ways besides the whole "Priestess and Demon" dilemma that would make sense. But each time her mind began processing something sensible, the all to familiar sensation of pulling sweat and an overheated face took over. His long silver hair, his vibrant eyes, his…lean and…muscular body….oh gods! What was she thinking?
Minko hadn't even realized she was sitting down or that her mouth was hanging open when both boys cocked their heads to the side and eyed her curiously. "Minko?" Takeru asked, but the priestess couldn't bring herself to respond.
"I think we broke her," Inuyasha stated.
"Or she could be on the verge of admitting it," Takeru pointed out, concern overflowing his large green eyes. "Look, her face is turning red."
"Or she's broken," Inuyasha repeated. "She would have said something by now."
"Can people actually break?" Takeru asked.
"I dunno," Inuyasha shrugged. "Hey Minko! Are you broken?"
She was too dumbfounded and confused to bother answering.
And, just to make things even worse, her knight in the silver coat came waltzing down the hill with a skinned dinner in tow, but a little too late declaring, "Minko, whatever they said, they are lying and—what did you two do?"
"Nothing!" both boys responded, knowing they were guilty. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes at them but otherwise said nothing. He then glanced over at Minko, slightly alarmed by her red-faced and wide-eyed state. Kneeling down, Sesshomaru placed a hand on the woman's shoulder.
"Minko? What happened?" Sesshomaru asked. The priestess swallowed her courage and looked up at the daiyoukai, trying her best not to choke on the lump in her throat.
"Sesshomaru?" She asked with a weak voice. "Do you…?"
The daiyoukai tensed, anticipating the question and quickly spat, "This Sesshomaru has feelings for no one."
Minko felt her heart stop in her chest, "O-oh. I didn't think you did, anyway…"
He didn't understand why, but for some reason, Minko looked heartbroken in that instance. "What I meant to say was," Sesshomaru began, trying to fix what he didn't know he had broke, "We're good friends."
"Definitely," Minko responded, avoiding eye contact.
"I would lay down my life for you," Sesshomaru added.
"As would I," Minko said quickly, now trying to cover up any mistakes she made.
"But it would never work," Sesshomaru said. "You're my best friend but I don't see anything else."
"And neither do I," Minko said in a low voice, standing to her feet. This time, it was Sesshomaru's turn to freeze in place. He was relieved that they were in agreement, but something about Minko's words felt like a stab in the back. The priestess just walked off blindly not knowing the turmoil each soul had just put themselves in.
There was a long pause of silence even after she left, but Inuyasha being…Inuyasha, he was the first to speak up saying the wrong thing at the absolute wrong time: "Well that didn't work."
Takeru's ears flattened against his head and he narrowed his eyes sighing, "You're telling me…"
It was all Sesshomaru could do to keep from skinning them and serving them on Minko's plate. "What," the daiyoukai began in a low voice, "the hell," Sesshomaru then stood on his feet and folded his arms in his sleeves to keep from digging his claws into their flesh, "were you two doing?"
Takeru and Inuyasha stared up at Sesshomaru with more fear than they had ever felt in their lives, and before either boy could think, they began pointing at each other to throw the other under the demon's foot and save their own skin.
"It was his idea!"
"Takeru made me do it!"
"I was just trying to be helpful but he thought it was a prank!"
"I just liked seeing you squirm is all!"
"You really are a tough guy too much though…"
"See! It's his fault!"
"No it's not! He did it!"
"I was just reeling ya in! He was the one who ruined the plan!"
"I didn't do anything!"
"I don't care who did it, you're both at fault so just tell me what the hell possessed you boys to think that was a good idea?" Sesshomaru roared and the two boys clasped their lips tightly, unwilling to answer. Takeru and Inuyasha exchanged glances before looking down at the ground with sad, defeated eyes.
"We were just trying to help…" Inuyasha sighed heavily. Sesshomaru could feel every muscle in his back and jaw tense when he saw that little lip quiver.
"We're sorry, sir," Takeru added. "We honestly thought you had the same feelings for Minko that she does for you."
And then the pit in his stomach began to form.
"What feelings?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Do you really not know?" Inuyasha then asked his brother, "Minko's in love with you, Brother!"
"But she just said—" Sesshomaru started before remembering the devastated expression on Minko's face as she said the words.
"She was covering it up," Takeru said. "She always covers things up when she doesn't want us to know that she's sad. You're the one who told me that in the first place, Lord Sesshomaru."
The daiyoukai stood there for a long moment, staring off in the distance while two hanyou boys stared expectantly back at him. The great Lord Sesshomaru, the man who, in just four years could make armies turn at the mention of his name. The man who had sworn to despise all half-breeds, the man who refused to believe in love was falling in love with the hanyou priestess herself and taking two others under his wing. Before he had time to think, the daiyoukai took off following Minko's scent, barely registering Takeru's and Inuyasha's wild cheers calling out from behind him. Before he realized what he was doing, Sesshomaru was preparing himself to do the hardest thing he would ever do in his life: fall in love to say goodbye.
Minko ran until her legs felt numb before she slowed her pace to a walk, wandering blindly with her spear in one hand and tears streaming from her face. She was such an idiot! She knew Sesshomaru would never return her feelings for him. He was a youkai, and youkai never expressed human affection. And not only that, but Sesshomaru had sworn to himself in front of Minko that he would never ever accept a mate. He didn't believe in love, not after his parents had split. He even wrote off Lord InuTaisho's feelings for Izayoi as a rebound followed by a struggle to right his wrongs and save his dignity. Minko had accepted a long time ago that she would never be loved by Sesshomaru. At least not the way she wanted to be.
She continued forward, wiping her eyes continuously until she had gotten herself lost and had subsequently stopped crying. She glanced up at the moon periodically, thinking of her father. He had left shortly after Minko's birth and only appeared before them twice during the priestess's infancy. Had her conception merely been a demon's rebound? Had their love been fake? Minko vaguely remembered her mother's warning to avoid love—true love—for there stood a danger of a priestess replacing her love of peace and her work with her love of a man and as a result, she would lose her spiritual powers. But even after Minko's birth, Midoriko retained her powers; at most, they just diminished slightly while the priestess took time to care for her infant daughter. Perhaps there really was no such thing as love…at least love that could be returned.
"But you are wrong, dear child," a woman's voice spoke up. Minko jumped and looked around. There was a soft light shining from behind the trees in the darkness of the evening. The priestess looked around, following the light and she once again dropped her spear at the sight of Auntie Amy, beautiful as ever in her white robes and snow-white hair. "You have turned into a beauty, dearest Minko."
Minko took a hesitant step towards Amy. Her voice was as kind as ever, but the woman's face looked forlorn and…afraid? That couldn't be right. "Auntie," Minko said, "What am I wrong about?"
"There is such a thing as true love," she explained. "You're soul is but one half of a greater being. You are connected to your other half by fate, however, it is too early for you to love, or you will lose your powers. If you continue forward, then your world will vanish before your eyes."
"What are you talking about?" Minko asked. "My feelings for Sesshomaru are not returned, there is no way he could love me and take my spiritual powers away."
"Oh, but how you are wrong," Amy said, almost sounding as if she were weeping on the inside. "You must turn back, Minko! Turn away now, while you have the chance. It is night and my power is fading, but please heed my warning or you will be trapped by Destiny's cold hand. The gods are upon us and they will not cease until Time has filled its course."
As she spoke, her voice faded and her body grew transparent until her light disappeared and Minko was alone in the forest once more. She had every intention to follow her aunt's pleas, but as she turned around, the sound of running water caught her attention and she paused. There was a river nearby…it wouldn't hurt to collect some fresh water while she was out.
No. She needed to listen to Amy. There was no reason for her aunt to have that much power and look that concerned. Minko shook her head. She could get water in the morning when Sesshomaru was with her—
Sesshomaru…
Minko stood still for a long moment, contemplating what to do. Should she go back? Should she listen to Amy? What was she trying to warn Minko of anyway?
Midoriko, it was soft, but the voice was deep and resonant in her ear and caused the priestess to jump.
"Who's there?" she asked, gripping her spear tightly. She lowered her body, ready to attack, but could not sense any sort of threat nearby.
Midoriko, it whispered again, this time the voice was even softer. Almost soothing. Priestess Midoriko, I need you…
And that just about did the woman in. With both a duty and a heart that was just too kind, Minko followed the sound of the voice and approached the river ahead. She thought her eyes were tricking her when she saw a familiar glow off in the distance, and until she pushed through the bushes and saw who awaited her, Minko would have sworn it was Amy.
He stood on the water and was nothing short of magnificent. His midnight black hair had only the faintest blue shine to it and hung at his shoulders, pulled back in a half-ponytail. His face looked to have been carved out from marble which originated from the moon's surface and his cheeks and eyes were lined with light blue markings similar to Amy's red markings, the only difference was the pale yellow crescent on his forehead. Unlike Sesshomaru's mark, this crescent rested its curved end on the man's brow and curved all the way up to his hairline and was only a shade darker than his eyes. Eyes just like Minko's on the last night of Obon. When he opened his mouth, his deep and resonant voice nearly shook the earth and brought the river's tide to Minko's feet: "You've grown since we last met. But I am disappointed to see your heart captured by a demon."
"Then what do you call yourself?" Minko asked, remembering the stranger's voice. "Show me your hand and prove that you are my father. Then please explain to me how a hanyou like me was conceive from a non-youkai parent like you."
"Quite perceptive," the man said. He did as the priestess requested and walked onto the shore to run his long calloused fingers through his daughter's hair. The sensation was so foreign yet so familiar to Minko that she faltered for a moment and took a step back. The small smile that did manage to slip onto his face fell as the priestess did so and the man then explained, "It is true that I am your father and it is true you are half-human, but the other half is of my blood and therefor, not demon in the slightest."
"Oh?" Minko asked, fighting her sarcasm back. She held her spear tip in front of her father and sent traces of her spiritual energy to the blade. "My life blood or not, you have been gone from my life since I was a child and I cannot trust you. I do not even know your name."
Her father let out a chuckle then. His smile was both beautiful and terrifying, nothing warm like Amy's smile was. "I see that my sister has gotten to you. What a shame, and I curse Amaterasu for that. There is nothing warm about the Sun, only a cold and bitter grudge. Though I guess that she thinks no different from me."
"Who are you?" Minko spat, retaking her father's full attention. The man's smile fell and he stepped back onto the water's surface. He lifted his hand and with some invisible force pulled Minko forward with him. She shrieked and anticipated the freezing current to strike her skin, yet no sensation came. When she finally opened her eyes, the priestess's jaw dropped to find her feet balancing atop the water's surface just like her father.
"That is not my power but your own doing," he explained, sensing Minko's suspicion. "Since you do not yet understand, I have no choice but to explain it to you. Despite what you think, you know my name. You always have. There is no child who walks this earth that fails to know it, though they may never remember it as I only rise at the time of dreams. I am the dim light that lets you walk along the night. I control the water's rise and fall. My name, dear Midoriko, is Tsukuyomi."
Minko suddenly felt weak in the knees and she had to kneel down slowly to keep from collapsing. "I'm…" she started weakly.
"You are no half-demon but rather half-god," Tsukuyomi explained. "You were bred with a purpose. Your mother was a strong soul with a cursed fate and as a result that soul crystalized to the jewel you now wear around your neck. She could not fulfill the purpose her soul was born to do, that is why it is your duty as the new Midoriko. Gods can no longer interfere with mortal qualms. My brother proved that fact when he failed to slay the Great Snake properly."
"Great Snake?" Minko asked, alarms going off in her head. She could vaguely remember someone mention a great snake years before, but where…?
"A vile monster has fallen from the heavens and hides in the very depths of Time itself. It is waiting to strike, waiting to climb out of the void and into the present day in order to destroy you—its only threat. You will either accept your fate or run from it and attempt to choose a tainted love. When that happens, Midoriko, the very world you know will disappear before your eyes and you shall suffer a fate worse than your mother." Tsukuyomi stated. Minko struggled to find the words to say but just as she opened her mouth, Tsukuyomi averted his gaze to something behind her and declared, "It is the gods' will, there is nothing that can be done. Not even you can save her, Demon."
Minko jumped and turned to find Sesshomaru step out from the bushes, a dark expression on his face. "God or not," Sesshomaru declared, "That was not the will Lady Amaterasu sent us those years ago and I swear on my father's fang that I will protect Minko from whatever curse you place on her."
"Amaterasu," Tsukuyomi spat, "do you really think one woman can stand against a table of gods? I don't care if she thinks herself our leader or not. And do you really have the gall to swear on a fang your father deprived you of?"
Without knowing why, that was the second red flag that rose in Minko's mind as a warning, the second one after Izayoi's pregnancy years ago. She knew in that moment that what Tsukuyomi said and the warning Auntie Amy had given were not warning nor statement. Oh no, they were much worse. They were prophecies. She would never admit it to Sesshomaru though, there was nothing he could do to save her, and knowing that fact would break his heart.
"I've nothing more to say to you, Midoriko," Tsukuyomi said, interrupting Minko's thoughts. "In time, my child, you will face Destiny, and no demon or god can stop Time's progression."
Just as Amy had disappeared, Tsukuyomi's voice faded and his light dimmed until he disappeared, leaving Minko and Sesshomaru alone in the darkness. The priestess looked down at the water and realized she was still standing on it, letting out a panicked scream, she tripped backwards, her feet sliding into the water as she fell, barely aimed towards the shore. Sesshomaru yelped and jumped forward to catch Minko and he wrapped her arms around her waist in a gentle hug as the woman turned her body towards him and began to cry.
She couldn't speak to him. She was terrified for she knew that if she did, even if Sesshomaru did accept her feelings, Minko was bound to lose her spiritual powers and she would be helpless and Sesshomaru was never one to waste his time.
The silence was agonizing. Sesshomaru wanted nothing more than to tell Minko that there was such a thing as love after all. That if it were the only trace of true love in this world, it was hiding in the most unlikely of places and his heart wasn't fit to keep it. He had to tell her that he loved her. And yet he couldn't. For almost a week, Minko didn't even look at him and it was unbearable. If things couldn't get any worse, rogue youkai were stirring and beginning to run rampant.
The jewel from Midoriko's soul was beginning to emit a terrifying aura and the pure energy that was once encased in it was beginning to become shrouded underneath a darker, much stronger power. And it was attracting the demons. Minko tried everything she could to purify the jewel, but each time she did, the gem just became more and more tainted, so finally, Minko gave up and let it run its own course. Sesshomaru almost considered telling her to get rid of the thing, but he knew full well (and the hanyou boys made a point to remind him) that the jewel was the only thing Minko had left of her mother. There were no heirlooms, no swords, not even a few final words that Minko could hold dear in her mother's memory.
But when Minko fell dangerously ill after an incident with a Water Dragon, Sesshomaru couldn't hold it in any longer. Minko was washing her face by a lake and had commented on the fowl taste of the water, warning everyone else to stay away from it.
"Man, I hope I didn't just poison myself," she half joked, ushering the boys away from it. Something was stale in the air that Sesshomaru didn't like, but when she made that comment, the daiyoukai jumped into full-alert.
"Stay behind me," he ordered, grabbing the priestess by the waist suddenly.
"Wha-?" she started to ask but, just as Sesshomaru predicted, upon sensing his alertness, the massive dragon emerged from the lake and let out an enraged roar, lunging its massive head and incredibly long neck towards the four. Sesshomaru fought it off with his claws and Minko wasted no time in charging on it. She leapt onto the dragon's head with her sword drawn. The dragon in turn let out a roar, covering her in its saliva and it took everything within the dog demon to keep from letting out a scream. To make things worse, as she dug her blade into the beast's head, a bit of its blood spattered on the side of her face before it was purified. Minko leapt back to the ground unknowingly and was about to resume the day as usual when Sesshomaru grabbed both Inuyasha and Takeru and pushed them behind him in a mad panic.
"Minko, stay back for now!" he ordered and received a glare from the priestess in turn.
"So I get covered in demon spit, big deal! It'll wash out, now stop acting like an idiot, Sesshomaru," Minko ordered. She took another step forward and paused, her body swaying slightly and Sesshomaru watched as the woman's face turned a dangerous shade of green. She covered her mouth and held her stomach, backing away from the others for a moment before asking, "What did I do?"
"You covered yourself in dragon spit," Sesshomaru answered, mimicking the priestess. "You'll be fine in a few days, just wash yourself before you get near us."
Minko tried to nod her head in understanding but she began coughing suddenly. Her coughing fit grew worse and worse until she collapsed on her knees and threw up blood and, and…
"Sea foam?" Minko wheezed in horror as she stared down at the mess in her hands. She wretched again and started gagging on bile, tears streaming down her face from pain while Sesshomaru knelt down beside her, panicked with no idea what to do. Sesshomaru had knew that Water Dragons' bodily fluids were mixed with pestilence, but demons and hanyou—especially one like Minko—shouldn't suffer from more than a stomach bug. Not unless…
His heart felt like knives beating in his chest as Sesshomaru leapt to his feet and grabbed hold of a stray tree branch. He dipped it in the water and stirred it, trying to grab hold of something. The stick caught what felt like the side of a fish and Sesshomaru pushed it to shore. All that surfaced were bones and the part of the stick that had been in the water was now charred.
"The dragon outlived the lake," Sesshomaru realized. Very seldom had the dog demon heard of Water Dragons living for so long that they poisoned the water in which they inhabited, killing everything that had been there before. And Minko drank the poison.
"Sesshomaru!" Takeru cried out. The daiyoukai spun around to find Inuyasha crying with Takeru kneeling over an unconscious Minko. Sesshomaru raced over to the three and examined the woman. It would make him sick as well, and Minko would kill him for it if she lived, but it didn't matter to Sesshomaru in that moment.
"Do not touch her," Sesshomaru ordered. Takeru fought back tears but took a step back. "Do you remember that herb garden we passed?"
"Yes sir," Takeru whimpered.
"Take Inuyasha and go there. Tell who ever owns the garden that we need a medley of Sinenso and whichever herb they use to cure stomach-poison. Trade the spices you bought yesterday for that. Inuyasha, I will take Minko to the closest stream. Use your nose to find me. Be quick!" Sesshomaru barely finished before Takeru and Inuyasha both leapt to their feet and took off. He just hoped that those little boys would make it in time.
Once they were gone, Sesshomaru scooped Minko into his arms and ran towards the closest source of running water. All he could find was a hot spring. It wasn't ideal in this situation, but it was the best he could do in an emergency.
"Se..ssho…maru…" Minko gasped, fighting to breathe. Sesshomaru set the priestess down by the hot spring, holding her up in a sitting position on his lap. "You'll…get sick…"
"Don't worry about me," Sesshomaru ordered. "I didn't drink poisoned water, I'll be fine after a few days. But first we have to wash the pestilence off you."
Minko barely had enough awareness to realize what that meant. Her eyes opened in a brief fury and she spat, "I am not taking my clothes off."
"I won't look, I promise," Sesshomaru swore. "If you don't bathe properly, you'll only get worse. Trust me, I've dealth with Water Dragon's poison before…never to this scale though."
"But you touched me," Minko noted. She and Sesshomaru both glanced down at his arms and haori. Both were now soaked in the pestilence from Minko's body. "Don't you…"
"I won't look if you don't," Sesshomaru said, trying to keep his face from heating up. Minko opened her mouth to say something smart back but started dry-heaving, her lips turning blue. Sesshomaru held her in his arms and tried his best to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach that was starting to rise. Minko let out a moan and leaned heavily against his chest, her body becoming more and more limp. "You have to stay awake, Minko. We have to get this off of you."
"Help me…" the priestess whimpered. "I can't…"
Whether she meant help as in saving her life or help with a bath, Sesshomaru didn't know, but he found himself apologizing over and over as he deroped Minko's barely unconscious body and propped her up in the small pool. Sesshomaru then plopped her clothes and his and slid in beside her, holding the woman up by the shoulders.
"Hot…" Minko whined, her voice barely audible in Sesshomaru's ears.
"I know," Sesshomaru said, letting out a small cough. If he fell ill… the daiyoukai shook the thought off and concentrated on keeping Minko conscious. When he felt Minko could hold herself up in the position he left her in, he turned to their clothes and pushed them into the water trying to clean them as fast as he could. He then tossed them out of the water, trying to get them into a hanging tree branch to dry (to his dismay, his haori fell back into the water, but by that point, Sesshomaru didn't care and just tossed it into the grass to deal with later).
Trying to coax Minko into dunking her head under the water to wash her hair without drowning proved to be an even more frightening task. She vomited blood twice on him before he could convince her to go under the water and when she did dunk her head in with him, he struggled getting her to emerge with him, and she started choking on water and coughing up bile when she came back out. Her clothes were mostly dry by the time he pulled her out of the water and Sesshomaru and by that point, Minko couldn't even lift her head, leaving the daiyoukai no choice but to dress her.
"I'm…gn'…kill…'ou…" she grumbled once Sesshomaru leaned her up against a tree. He slid his pants on as she did so and rolled his eyes.
"At least you still have a sense of humor," he noted and received a weak smile in return. Her cheeks were flushed and Sesshomaru placed a hand to her forehead. Her skin was so hot, the demon retracted his hand almost immediately.
"So cold…" Minko complained. Sesshomaru tried to press a cool cloth to her head but she only cried out, and hugged herself, desperately trying to feel warm.
"But you're burning up," Sesshomaru stated. Minko didn't seem to care at all about what her body temperature said and rolled towards the demon, trying to get warm. Not sure what else to do, Sesshomaru pulled the priestess to his chest and he leaned against a tree, listening to the woman's labored breathing and hoping to the gods that Inuyasha and Takeru would get back in time.
Minko fought for two days, going back and forth from alertness and appearing as a slightly weakened version of herself to states of complete delusion and hallucinations, writhing manically in his arms. Sometimes, all traces of Minko would appear lost as she grew more and more mad during those times before she stopped abruptly, falling limp against Sesshomaru's chest and enter a state of comatose. The first morning, she was herself the most, but as the day wore on, the manic episodes grew more and more frequent and lasted longer until she was screaming throughout the night. By the morning of the second day, she was unrecognizable and Sesshomaru could say little to bring her back. By late afternoon, the insanity had ceased but now she was all but conscious. She was recognizable when she would stir occasionally and either exchange a few words with Sesshomaru or vomit blood and bile before her eyes would close again, barely able to breathe. It was during those times of sleep that Sesshomaru was able to speak freely with her. He told her everything. He told her things she already knew, stories that she had already heard, but then he started telling her of his childhood before he met Minko. He told her every horrific detail leading up to his mother's departure.
"It was awful," Sesshomaru admitted at one point. "I know I said Izayoi was a rebound, but he started seeing her before Mother left. And she would let him go. She would ask him to leave even! But Father's not the only one to blame, she had her own string of affairs while he was away. At least my father was loyal to Izayoi. She just never cared. She once told me that Father was delusional for seeking love—true love—from a mate. I don't think there was a loving bone in my Mother's body. She even refused to nurse me when I was a pup, just handed me over to one of the maids and went to meet one of the male servants in their quarters after I was born. I guess that's why I was so afraid to love someone, you know? I didn't even have friends before I met you, Minko. I didn't see the point. Why bother when mating was only for producing offspring or friendships were only to build political alliances and save your own skin, you know?"
He also told Minko about his birthright, Tetsusaiga. When he first returned with his father's sword at his hip, Minko had asked him about it, and he lied and said it was his father's fang. He confessed that lie and even told Minko his father's last words to him.
"The sword I own, it's called Tenseiga," he explained. "While Tetsusaiga can destroy a hundred demons in one stroke, Tenseiga does just the opposite. It can save a hundred lives with a single stroke. He changed his mind at the last minute and bequeathed Tetsusaiga to Inuyasha, hiding it away from me and gave me Tenseiga instead. I know, you probably think this is much better than Tetsusaiga but…Tenseiga is useless in battle. I don't even know how to use it…if you died Minko…I wouldn't even be able to bring you back." Sesshomaru choked on a lump in his throat at that. It was late at night and Minko hadn't woken up for hours. Her struggling heartbeat was the only sign of life she displayed. For the first time in his life, the daiyoukai was really and truly afraid. "Minko, I don't know what I would do if I lost you! If I had had the Tetsusaiga, I could have killed that Water Dragon from afar and you wouldn't have gotten sick—at least not this sick. Or better yet, the fang has an ability to sense danger and I could have stopped you from drinking the water. Minko, I'm so sorry, I—this is my fault. I act like I'm angry with my father for denying me my birthright, but I know that this is my doing. Before he died, he asked me if I had someone to protect. He asked me why I wanted the fang so badly…I made up some stupid lie and delusion for myself that my seeking power was for the soul purpose of conquest and surpassing him. I told him that I had no one to protect, that the Tetsusaiga was a sword for killing and that Tenseiga was useless. Only now do I realize that I was wrong…" Sesshomaru paused when he felt hot tears running down his face. He glanced around, not sensing anyone nearby. Inuyasha and Takeru would not make it. And so, the daiyoukai allowed himself to hold Minko close to his chest and sob for the second time in his life and said, "There was always someone to protect and I let you down, Minko! I'm so sorry…if I had just admitted it to myself and my father…Minko, I broke his heart when I said that! And I probably just cost you your life…and I—I am so sorry. Now you are going to die without ever knowing how much I loved you!"
"Well it's about time!"
Sesshomaru's back stiffened and his entire body tensed as he sobered up and turned his head towards Inuyasha who stood with his hands on his hips grinning wildly. That little brat! Well, at least Sesshomaru had stopped crying.
"What are you doing here?" he spat. Inuyasha's face fell at that.
"I followed your scent!" he explained. "And I found you. Aren't you proud of me?"
Sesshomaru made the mistake of avoiding the question by asking, "Where is Takeru?"
The cat answered his question almost immediately as he came spilling out of the bushes in a made sprint holding a canister of boiled herbs in his hand. "Inuyasha! You can't just leave me, I don't smell like you do!"
The trio wasted no time in trying to get the first sips of medicine down Minko's throat. It took several minutes, but color returned to her cheeks and her eyes fluttered open as she began coughing uncontrollably. Sesshomaru let out a sigh of relief and glanced down at the boys next to him. Takeru was engrossed in greeting his elder sister back from the dead as he began crying and hugging her while she attempted sitting up. Sesshomaru allowed himself a chuckle but his smile quickly fell when he saw the forlorn expression on Inuyasha's face. He didn't realize what was wrong at first, but suddenly the daiyoukai was taken back to a young pup trying desperately to win his parents' approval but was seldom awarded. A pup who later grew up to alienate himself from his mother and break his father's heart. Remembering the few occasions InuTaisho would praise him, Sesshomaru found himself kneeling down and placing a firm hand on Inuyasha's head, ruffling his hair as he did so.
"Good job, Little Brother," Sesshomaru said, tasting the words on his tongue. "You did me proud. And you saved Minko's life."
Inuyasha's ears flicked as the boy bounced and looked up, his grin stretching from ear to ear. "You really think so?" he asked.
"I wouldn't praise you if it weren't with reason," Sesshomaru said, mimicking his father. Then Inuyasha did something the daiyoukai never expected. The little boy lunged forward and threw his arms around his elder brother's neck. Sesshomaru sat there for a moment, dazed and not knowing how to react. But slowly, slowly he wrapped his arms around Inuyasha and held him close. Sesshomaru closed his eyes and sighed. Perhaps this is what it meant to feel loved by your family.
Of course, as Minko started to recover, it was Sesshomaru's turn to get sick and he spent three days fighting to hold down any sort of food. All of which, Inuyasha and Takeru spent reminding Sesshomaru, "you weren't supposed to touch her! Water Dragon fluid is covered in pestilence! Blah blah blah blah blah!"
The day Minko started moving around again, Sesshomaru spent with his head between his knees. He was resting by a tree with his head in his hands and completely miserable when the priestess walked over to him and sat down.
"You okay?" she asked, scooting next to him. "I assume that you aren't contagious."
"I'll be fine," Sesshomaru hiccupped. "And no."
Minko glanced down at her feet, sliding them along the grass for a moment before she looked up at him and said, "Hey Sesshomaru? Um…thank you…for everything. You saved my life."
"It wasn't me," Sesshomaru admitted. "Takeru and Inuyasha were the ones who found the herb garden and brought back the antidote."
"Yes but," Minko began. A blush ran up her neck and darkened her cheeks as she struggled to find he words, and Sesshomaru interrupted her by placing a hand on her forehead.
"You don't have a fever again, do you?" he asked. Minko swatted his hand away in haste at first, but then paused and hesitantly took it back in hers.
"Sorry," she muttered. "And no, I just…I mean, you were the one who told them where to go, and you've been working with Inuyasha and Takeru both on honing their demonic senses. Thanks to you, Takeru can hear a pin drop twenty miles a way and Inuyasha can sniff out just about anything."
"'Just about' being the key word," Sesshomaru stated, the instructor in him coming through, "they still have some work to do before they can manage on their own."
"Regardless, Sesshomaru, you saved my life and…I'm grateful," Minko said.
"Don't be," the daiyoukai replied. Guilt welled up in his chest as he thought of his birthright (or lack thereof) and what had happened to Minko. "This is all my fault."
He barely looked up from the corner of his eye to see the distraught look on Minko's face as she fought for the words to say. He expected something along the lines of, "It's not your fault, you saved my life!" or "Oh, Sesshomaru…" or some sort of fluffed up praise she was so could at coming up with to make you feel better, but what came out of her mouth both shocked him and made him feel worse for a brief moment.
"Why do you say that?" she asked. "Is it because of your father and Tetsusaiga?"
Sesshomaru jumped to alertness so fast his stomach flopped and he had to turn his head away an heave before saying anything else.
"How much did you hear?" he asked, too shocked to worry about what his confessions would lead to.
"Well, that's also why I wanted to thank you," Minko admitted, her face flushed. She looked away as she said, "I think I heard pretty much all of it. Your voice kept me awake, and listening to your stories, the good and the bad, I think that's what kept me alive. And also…what you shared with me…even if I was unconscious, it really means a lot to me that you would open up to me like that."
"Yes, but how much did you hear?" Sesshomaru asked again. Oh no, if she heard what he thought she heard.
Minko fought down a pointed glare in his direction and answered, "Well, for starters, I don't think you let your father down like you say you did. You were angry with him and that is understandable. He was always boasting about you, especially after an argument with him about Izayoi."
"Minko, if you're just trying to make me feel better, this Sesshomaru needs no consolidation…"
"Do you know that you speak in third person whenever you get nervous or don't want to talk?" Minko pointed out, fighting a bemused smile. Sesshomaru looked away as his face heated up and Minko let out a slight giggle and continued, "I didn't realize that until today but anyway, I'm serious, Sesshomaru. He would always walk out of the room raving about you. He would say, 'that boy is ready to compete for dominance at such a young age! He'll make a finer Demon Lord than me someday and it shouldn't take much for him to surpass me!'"
Minko deepened the tone of her voice in an attempt to imitate InuTaisho, but broke out into a fit of laughter as she finished her imitation. Sesshomaru found himself chuckling at that as well. It sounded nothing like his voice, but her choice of words and mannerisms were almost spot on. The daiyoukai was starting to relax when Minko suddenly placed her hand on top of his.
"Also I…" Minko started, looking back at the ground. Her voice shook slightly and her hand trembled as she said, "about the last thing you said, I—"
"Oh, no, you heard that didn't you," Sesshomaru groaned. "Look, I didn't really mean—"
"Sesshomaru, I'm in love with you!" Minko stuttered out as quickly as she could before the daiyoukai could take his words back. She squeezed his hand tighter as the words came out and she closed her eyes, her entire form tense as if she wanted to shrink away. Sesshomaru just stared at her with amazement.
"Y-You do?" was all he could say.
"I know you probably didn't mean it, and I know the whole 'priestess-demon' thing doesn't really work, and…I know I run the risk of using my powers, but I just can't hold it in anymore, I love you, and I don't care what happens to me or my spiritual energy because of it," Minko stated. Somewhere in the daze she put him in, the 'no spiritual powers' alarm went off in his head.
"Why would you lose your abilities?" he asked, completely dumbfounded.
Minko fought back tears as she explained, "A priestess…typically people think they have to be maidens but that is not entirely true. You see, our powers comes from a mixture between a connection with the heavens and clairvoyance which we are born with and our love or desire to protect others. If our hearts lose focus on protecting our people and fall in love with a single man, there is no room for our love of the world that can channel our spiritual energy."
At first, Sesshomaru couldn't see what was wrong with that idea and said, "Well, didn't you always want to be a normal woman?"
"I did, yes," Minko said sadly, and Sesshomaru couldn't help but notice her use of the past tense. "But Sesshomaru…the life of a normal human has no place with someone as strong as you. I would only be in the way."
"But you aren't human, Minko, you're hanyou!" Sesshomaru protested. "Better yet, you're half-god-!"
The daiyoukai held his breath after he let that one slip. Ever since he appeared with that strange prophecy, even speaking of the Shinto gods struck fear in Minko. The priestess trembled and shut her eyes, forcing herself to answer the demon: "And my abilities as a hanyou are directly related to my spiritual energy. Even if I kept some of it, I would be better off living in a village. Even if your feelings for me were returned, it wouldn't work. I can accept that, Sesshomaru. I just wanted you to know. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it."
The priestess stood and began walking away when one final thought came to the dog demon's mind. It was a wild gamble, and he wasn't sure he truly believed in these things yet or not, but there was no denying that he loved Minko any longer and he wasn't going to let her go then. With the wildest determination he had ever felt burning in his chest, Sesshomaru rose to his feet and followed the priestess. He placed a hand on her shoulder to turn her back around, looked intently into her eyes and stated, "There is a way I could share my powers with you, should what you say be true."
Minko blinked several times, her face paling and the corners of her mouth dancing as if they weren't sure whether to believe the news or not. "Wh-what?"
Sesshomaru took a deep breath and willed himself to say, "I don't believe that someone with as big a heart as yours couldn't have room for her world and one insignificant man. But even if your powers were taken away, one: you wouldn't be defenseless. You're one of the strongest people I know and would get along just fine traveling with me. And two: there would be a way for me to share my demonic powers with you. If we were connected somehow, like through this type of bond."
The woman's eyes sparkled and she took a step closer to Sesshomaru, almost eager to hear more. "What kind of bond?" she asked.
"Well," Sesshomaru began, fighting the flush forming on his face, "for example, if we were…mates…"
"Oh," Minko's expression faltered slightly and her face turned bright red. "Sesshomaru, I'm not sure I'm ready for-for that. I mean, what about courting and-?"
"Minko, I don't mean that type of mating," Sesshomaru groaned and the priestess let out a sigh of relief. "There is a special ceremony, an exchange of words that bind mates together. They say that there is nothing stronger than a mated pair. You would have my strength and I would have yours, we'd share some form of telepathic bond—a weak one, I wouldn't be able to read your mind or anything—but we could sense where the other was and you would live for as long as I do."
"That sounds…beautiful," Minko said after a long pause. The word choice was certainly not one the daiyoukai expected but before he could say anything, she placed her hand on his chest and it gradually slid up to his neck. Without realizing it, Sesshomaru slowly placed his hands along her waist and pulled her close. "Sesshomaru, I—I love you…"
The Lord of the West pressed his forehead against his soulmate's and took in a deep breath, enjoying her scent of cinnamon and wildflowers. He allowed a small smile to trace along his lips and he whispered, "I love you too."
And because they were smug little brats, Inuyasha and Takeru just had to ruin the moment!
"Are they kissing yet?"
"I can't tell, I wonder when they'll have pups!"
"Takeru?"
"Yeah?"
"How are babies made?"
"I dunno, hey Minko? How are babies made?"
"You're timing could be a lot better!" Sesshomaru roared, baring his teeth. The boys jumped but didn't run away until he took a step towards them and let out a low growl. Minko in turn let out the sweetest giggle and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Come now, Sesshomaru, they're just being kids is all," she said. Sesshomaru glanced up at her and let out a heavy sigh, standing up straight. The two stared at the boys who were now laughing wildly and running around trying to push each other in the hot spring. Sesshomaru started to scold them to be more careful, but when he saw the smile on Minko's face he held back.
"What are you thinking?" he asked her.
"Oh, just…us. All of us, I mean," she answered. The wind blew softly and she pushed some hair out of her face. "It's funny, how we all came into each other's lives. We're almost like a family. A twisted hanyou family, I'll admit but…it's fun to think about. You have Takeru and Inuyasha who are more like siblings than anyone else is. They play, they fight, and they look out for each other."
"And they say the stupidest things at the worst times possible," Sesshomaru grumbled, but received a light shove from the priestess in response.
"They're boys, Sesshomaru," Minko reminded him before continuing, "Then you have me…well, I don't do much but you need at least one female to keep tabs on everyone. And then there's you: the big mighty protector and the boys' favorite superhero. You yell at them and scare them, but you also praise them and give them something to look up to. Just like a father should."
Sesshomaru had to sit on that thought for a moment.
A father…
"More like a constantly annoyed older brother," Sesshomaru settled with. That at least sounded better. "But I don't think you give yourself enough credit. You're the one they always go running to for help or a hug…or to just tattle on me. You give them a lot of guidance and you make a great mother. But in our situation we can say you're the patient older sister."
Minko let out the brightest laugh at that. "I'll take it," she giggled. She then glanced up at Sesshomaru and smiled, "and then there's us: the soul-mates…or…mates to-be at least."
"Indeed," the daiyoukai agreed. Slowly, the two's hands clasped together and Minko leaned against Sesshomaru letting out a content sigh.
That moment, as they watched the two boys play, was one of that happiest moments Sesshomaru had ever had. Looking back, he only wished he could have remembered that moment sooner for when darker days came and his heart was broken beyond consolidation, had he remembered the happiness he once knew, his life, and his relationship with Inuyasha just might have been salvaged.
A/N: Before anyone sends me reviews saying, "Sesshomaru hates Inuyasha, he would never help him!" A: My story. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha will get to their canon grudge matches when I get to the plot of the canon manga/anime, just not yet! B: For Inuyasha and Sesshomaru to have known each other as well as they did in the beginning of the series they had to have had some sort of relationship that went awry for some reason. Perhaps they got along until Kikyo came into play. Perhaps Sesshomaru didn't find out about Tetsusaiga's hiding place right away. Perhaps Inuyasha said something stupid and Sesshomaru was PMSing that day so they got into a girl fight and wrote horrible things about each other in Regina George's notebook. We just don't know, now do we! This is my interpretation of what happened (with my OC of course) so please refrain from grumpy reviews on that topic. :) But please review! I'm okay with grumpy reviews as long as there is reason and logic behind it, but the supportive ones make my day a little happier! :)
