4 – Sentimentality and the Fiery Sky

"Sesshoumaru!"

He turned at the excited call, watching as Rin bent over something in the dark scattering of rock and muddy topsoil. Her long hair had been swept upward and pinned, the ends of her kimono tucked into the waist, allowing her to kneel without ruining her clothing. Her palms and knees, however, were black with smeared earth and he suddenly felt as though he had been transported backward a dozen years.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Heh. He could still hear that little girl's voice, that enthusiastic cheer. That girl was older now, but the excitement remained, and he moved to see what she had so gleefully discovered. Dirty hands smoothed wet soil aside, revealing a tiny sprig of green that had had the nerve to sprout itself on the face of hell.

"It's … a weed," he informed her, aware that he sounded unimpressed, but he simply could not see the joy in it. "An unhealthy one."

"It's the first plant I've seen here." Brown eyes sparkled happily, then moved to look out toward a horizon that was all morning-blue sky, charred earth, and a broken fortress. "The land is slowly repairing itself, don't you think?"

'Slowly' is hardly the word. Snails maintain a reckless speed in comparison.

"It will likely be another six hundred years before this land can support anything of substance," he replied. He watched with absent humor as she did her best by the weed, moving the rubble out of the way with cupped hands so that it would have better exposure to sunlight. "Are you ready to return?"

Rin got back to her feet, rubbing her hands together in order to loosen the muck, appearing pleased with herself. She fell into step with him and they turned back toward the fortress, caught in the companionable silence he enjoyed, and Sesshoumaru found himself considering Rin's dogged human determination to see brightness in the most dreary things. It was a pattern that had begun years ago in a dusk-stained, shadowy forest, with him, and it had continued, alternately frustrating and amusing, and he attributed it to the human need for optimism. From his observations, it was as necessary to them as air and water and food, and he supposed if any species would need to cling to something so dishonest, it would be those creatures.

Dishonest, yes, but it was a habit of hers that he would never want to break.

The clacking sound of her sandals against rock was then masked by her voice, which was happy, content. "Shinya asked me to thank you."

He did not look at her, eyes trained on the dilapidated fortress that loomed ahead. "And why would that be?"

"For being kind to Kanaye."

He did look at her then. She saw the strangest motivations in the most meaningless acts, and apparently she was spreading this odd behavior to Shinya. "When have I ever been kind to Kanaye? If it did happen, I can assure you it was not intended."

"Yesterday. He was trying to start a fight with you, but you were very lenient, considering …"

"Ah," he answered, certain that if either of those girls had been within hearing distance of the obscene language he had inflicted upon Kanaye, they would not be so quick to pat him on the head like some well-behaved pet. "There were reasons for that. It was not out of any sort of kindness."

"Then what was it?" she asked, looking up at him with interest.

"I will not spill that man's blood in this place," Sesshoumaru said almost regretfully. "He is a loathsome creature and he does not deserve even that amount of respect, but it is not for him that I held myself back."

"Then for your father?"

"In a sense," Sesshoumaru admitted. "This is a place of burial for all of them, even the three survivors."

"What do you mean?"

Sesshoumaru considered that question for himself, as it was not something he knew how to answer concisely. After several moments, he revealed, "My father was born into luxury. As a child he was coddled and praised. He had great talent in military matters, and so he was regarded as a shining example of what an heir should be: intelligent, accomplished, and always in agreement with his father's decisions. He was lavishly spoiled and developed a sense of self-importance to match."

Rin frowned, unconsciously slowing her steps so that Sesshoumaru would keep speaking. "Spoiled? That doesn't sound so much like the Inutaisho-sama I have heard about."

"As I said, this place is a burial site," Sesshoumaru reminded her. "He was fundamentally changed by what happened here. He shed the skin of the spoiled prince, and became the warrior who reclaimed the west. To him, this place created a better, stronger leader."

"And for the others?"

"My father's sister changed in a similar way, but for Kanaye, there was a different result altogether," Sesshoumaru went on, eyes focused on the rocky ground as he recalled his father's distant words. "He was a quiet, serious boy. Since my father was the prized strategic genius, Kanaye was left to himself. His training was not seen as essential, and so he was, instead, extensively educated and allowed to do as he pleased."

"And then Eido came …," Rin murmured.

"Yes. It remade him into a different person. It brought out something dark and angry that festered and grew until it formed the creature you have seen. He was lost during that battle and never reclaimed."

"How very sad."

"You spare him the sympathy that I do not. It is weakness, purely and simply. I have no patience for it or for him," Sesshoumaru brushed off the sorrow in her tone. "However, that man, rabid animal though he may be, was left alone against an army and did not retreat. For that, I will not fight him here."

Her smile returned at his words and she wrapped her arm through his, thin fingers curling about his wrist. Such odd bursts of affection, even when he had said and done nothing to earn them. He supposed it was more of her depthless indulgence for his difficult temperament.

"I think you may have saved Sashe a lot of worry," Rin finally said in a gentle voice. "She really wants this to go well. She's just so happy, it's infectious."

"This is a waste of my time," Sesshoumaru complained. "If her happiness is tied to the success or failure of this disastrous affair, then it is superficial and even more tiresome than she is."

"You're not exactly the sort to want such a thing, so of course you wouldn't understand," Rin teased. "She is very excited and very in love, and she wants to share it with the people that are important to her."

He eyed her suspiciously. "You sound as though you understand her very well."

"Of course I do. When I was a little girl, my father would take my brother and I into the larger cities to sell our fish, and I still remember seeing the wedding trains with the litters that dangled with ribbons and bells and the pretty girls with the white-painted faces. I think most girls dream of having some lavish ceremony with beautiful things to wear and delicious things to eat and the perfect, handsome prince at the end of it all."

"And now?"

She laughed at the quiet dread in his question, turning a mischievous smile his way. "Now I have the perfect prince, at least, but he comes from a people with a very different social code. I think I'm something like a concubine."

He made an amused sound at that. "Concubine, is it?"

"Of a sort, yes."

"Mate is not a good term, I suppose," he agreed. "To youkai, that is a title reminiscent more of a contract than anything else. Because we are so very long-lived, youkai tend not to stay together for a lifetime as humans do. The concept of mates is a union meant for procreation, continuation of a family line and the species." He eyed her with faint humor. "But 'concubine' somehow seems unacceptable, and I intend to keep you longer than I would a mate. To be honest, there is no word to describe your relation to me. At least, not so far as this 'social code' you speak of."

The smile widened. "It's not as though it matters. What I'm called doesn't change anything; words and titles are abstract. I learned that from you."

"I suppose the closest word for it would be the human term. That is a different union. They choose to be together for reasons of companionship as much as anything else."

"You mean 'wife'?" Rin asked, puzzled.

"Is that what you are?" he questioned her thoughtfully. "That is fine. In any case, it is far more acceptable than 'concubine' …"

The mud and grime were diligently scrubbed from her hands and her knees with a rose-scented soap that made Rin crave a warm bath. She washed her face with it as well and then, skin smelling like fresh petals, she changed clothes and descended into a scene of chaos. A glance into the dark entry-way found Kanaye and a very serious-looking Shinya deep in the middle of an intent conversation. Not wanting to interrupt, she went to locate Sashe and a means to make herself useful.

Sesshoumaru evacuated himself completely from the premises, no longer able to endure the shrill madness of the day, and Rin had watched him go with a quiet, bemused sympathy. Even Furu, who she ranked among the most patient of youkai, seemed out of his element. He had given up trying to keep pace with Sashe, and had set himself as spectator over the last minute sewing work Rin and Shinya had been assigned. It was a task neither girl had to perform with any regularity, and so the stitches were continuously stripped and resewn until Sashe stepped in and pulled the garment from their hands.

"You two are rather hopeless, aren't you?" she sighed. She then extended a box toward Shinya who squinted her eyes at the smell and clamped one hand over her mouth and nose.

"It's that disgusting tea."

"In your opinion," Sashe replied loftily, "but it's almost gone, and we'll need it for tonight. Mother says she oversaw the packing of two more boxes of it, but I've searched everywhere and they're not here."

"And you want me to go buy some? Chinese tea in the middle of nowhere in Japan?"

"Chinese tea near the sea that separates us from China," Sashe corrected, her attention so focused that she did not notice when Furu pulled her arm to him and began sniffing it with open contentment. "There are ports on that sea, and where there are ports, there are goods being shipped."

"Shall I turn pirate for you, Sashe?" Shinya questioned blandly.

"That is something I would love to see. If piracy is scheduled for the afternoon, count me in. Rin, too. I'd give anything to have to explain it to her mutt," Furu murmured, smiling boyishly when Sashe retrieved her arm from his grasp. "You smell … pink."

"It's called 'rose', Furu," she explained, gracing him with an indulgent smile before turning a look of fervent seriousness on her sister. She shook the empty box for emphasis. "Do they have this in your city yet?"

Shinya took another look and shrugged. "I don't think so. The city is still gathering population and vendors. For now, it's mostly just the essentials … and plenty of sake." Shinya paused when she saw Sashe's disappointment, then got to her feet, casting a mischievous smile at Rin. "It's all right, though, Sashe. Hokido will have it."

"The human city?" Sashe repeated, frowning. "I don't think---"

"It's enormous and well-supplied. If any place has it, they will. And it's fine," Shinya insisted. "Because of the city's construction, I've had to deal with the daimyou and Hokido on a very regular basis. A visit from me won't be a surprise. There won't be any trouble."

"But they're the ones who---"

"Yes, but that's all in the past," Shinya said firmly, then turned an excited look on Rin. "So … how about it? Do you feel like going for a walk?"

"You want me to go with you?" Rin repeated uncertainly.

"Of course. It's been ages since you've been into a city, right? And I'm willing to bet you've never seen one this large. It's the seat of government and military for the entire region … for the humans, at least. I've been there quite recently, and as far as I've seen they seem untouched by that sickness." She nodded then, as though having convinced herself. "Sesshoumaru's off being unsociable, so why not come along? If the illness has reached the city, I'll be able to smell it well before we enter. You'll be safe, I promise. And so?"

Rin smiled at Shinya's enthusiasm. Of all the youkai she had met, this one seemed the most oblivious to the differences between humans and demons. To Shinya, it was as inconsequential as gender, the subject bored her terribly, and she supposed that was why the girl had sunk into a friendship with Rin without reservation.

Rin nodded, feeling certain that she would be returning that afternoon to an unhappy youkai lord, but the offer was too enticing to pass up. "I'd love to go."

Furu made a face at Sashe. "Are you serious about letting these two loose in that place?" he asked doubtfully. "I can't speak for Rin, but I can tell you … the last time I sent your kid sister off with human money and an errand, she came back empty-handed and in debt …"

Rin supposed they made a very strange pair, walking down the road side-by-side, one raven-haired human girl, one golden-haired demon girl, immersed in a constant stream of chatter. It was rather difficult to miss the odd, unsettled looks they received from traveling merchants and others who passed them on horseback or in creaky carts. After all, when was it natural to find a human and a youkai as such easy companions?

"… and so because I had not seen him in so long, he did not recognize me by sight. Only by scent, and he said …," Shinya paused and affected her best Sesshoumaru impersonation, dropping her voice an octave, "'You smell like your mother and behave like your father. I already know I will not like you.'"

Rin laughed at the horrible attempt. "That was terrible, but they do sound like his words."

"I'm quoting, I swear it. Can you believe the nerve? And what was he like when you met him?"

Rin thought back to that time, trying to find words that Sesshoumaru would not find unforgivable. "He was kinder than that," she admitted ruefully. "But I think I confused him. It was probably a shock to see a little human girl so determined to feed him something."

"Feed him?" Shinya repeated. "What a chore. He loathes everything. I am surprised he is not skin and bone."

"I wasn't sure what youkai ate, and he wouldn't touch anything I brought. It was only later that I discovered how … selective he is."

"Snobby, you mean?" Shinya corrected airily. She looked ahead and gestured to the enormous fortress that sprawled across the plain. It was made of some sort of notched, sand-colored stone and surrounded by spiked wooden gates that looked as though they would take several men in order to open. "And speaking of snobby, it took a very long time to convince these people that I was not a walking force of evil."

Rin grinned. "I suppose it was the ears?"

Shinya gave a snort of amusement. "Something like that. The daimyou is not particularly fond of my father … for valid reasons, I'll admit. He didn't want to have anything to do with me initially. It took months for me to set up trade relations with them. That was my goal, you see," she said quietly, as though revealing a secret. "The relationship between humans and demons has been bloody and hateful for so long, and I'm tired of it. Neither of us is going anywhere, so why not make the adjustment? Part of the reason I pushed for the building of the demon city is because I wanted to force an interaction between humans and youkai that did not include a body count. My family background worked against me, and I think that made me work harder. Hokido still remembers its part in the battle with Eido, and I think they worry that we western dogs have not forgotten."

Rin smiled blandly at a cart that rolled by, its driver turning in his seat to get a better look at them. "Their part?" she asked.

Shinya nodded soberly. "My grandfather secured an alliance with the human leadership of that time. The agreement was that if they saw the northern army coming, they would light the torches in their guard towers and give us a warning. Unfortunately, one of Eido's people reached them and struck a deal: if they let the northern army pass without interference, Hokido would be spared Eido's attention both then and in the future. The humans accepted, and it is that reason that Eido was able to nearly get to my grandfather's doorstep before he realized what had happened."

Rin silently absorbed that bit of history, something in her surprised to hear of humans betraying youkai. For all her life, it had been the other way around, humans attacked by demons and forced to defend themselves through brute force or spiritual magic, and so often ineffectually. She supposed she had something of a prejudice in that regard; whenever she heard of a conflict between demons and humans, her instinct was to assume it to have resulted from the rampant intolerance of youkai. They did, after all, view humans as a sub-species; but, in turn, humans saw youkai as soulless monsters. She looked back over at her companion, who was still contemplating Hokido's visage without expression.

"My father is merciless with humans," Shinya went on. "He has created so much bad feeling, particularly in this region, because the terrible things he does are so often unprovoked and unrestrained. He does not have that instinct within him like most others do, that ability to understand when justice has been done, when one must stop. A slight against him by one human will end in the annihilation of an entire village. It may be difficult to believe, but that was not always so. Hokido and its betrayal turned him from indifferent to a monster, and six hundred years later, he is still fighting." Shinya turned a sad smile on Rin. "He cannot be satisfied. He cannot stand feeling. He cannot move past that point, when Eido came and everything, everyone was destroyed."

"And so you are working to correct what he has done? To offset the damage?" Rin murmured.

Shinya nodded. "It's important to me. Sesshoumaru calls me naïve and that is fine. But hundreds of years from now, I want Kanaye to be remembered as the father of the demon woman who extended her hand to the humans, not just as the hated human killer. Isn't that so very arrogant?" she laughed.

"I think it's a good dream to have," Rin replied honestly.

They passed through Hokido's open gates in a crowd of foot traffic, and Rin noticed the sharp looks they got from sentries who stood at rigid attention, silver-tipped spears in hand. Her senses were quickly immersed into the energy of the massive city, which curled at a slant from one level to the next, each section cut across by carved wooden bridges that spanned water-filled trenches. Hokido was like a living, breathing thing, its sides inhaling near to bursting with human bodies. Wall to sand-colored wall, it was filled with people and stands and shops selling all manner of wares from weapons to farming tools to cloth and jewelry. There were food stands that smelled like steaming rice and sliced citrus fruit and sizzling meat. Rin was quietly relieved to see that Shinya had been right; they did not garner more than a few passing, curious stares, and her demon escort seemed quite at home, familiar with the crowded streets and thoroughfares.

"Are you thirsty? We can find something to drink," Shinya offered, pulling a leather-bound bag seemingly from out of nowhere.

"Human money?" Rin questioned, surprised to see it in youkai hands, and Shinya nodded.

"My grandfather … my mother's father … buys and sells trade that is imported to China. He does a lot of business with humans; he even has human workers! Though he trades in goods, clients often give him gifts of their money, which is mostly useless to us. My grandfather is too polite to tell them that, and so he simply stores it in large rooms within his home. He tries to pass it off on us whenever he can. It just takes up space."

Rin's mouth fell open at that, and she could not help but think back to her early childhood, which had been spent in a one-room shack with a fisherman father who had barely been able to keep her and her mother and brother fed. The idea of simply storing unneeded money was so luxurious, she could not even imagine it, and she said so.

"If Sesshoumaru ever takes you to see him, just ask for some. He'd be so pleased to be rid of it," Shinya said carelessly.

They wended their way through the ground level of the city, then took one of the short bridges to the second tier, which was a good deal less crowded. It was populated by small shops that appeared to be of a higher scale than the ones near the city's main gate. The sun was well overhead by then and shining down with oppressive heat, prompting Shinya to pull Rin to one of the covered vending stalls. She greeted the vendor by name, but he only nodded in return, not appearing overly friendly. In fact, to Rin's eyes, he seemed more nervous at Shinya's sudden arrival than anything. Shinya absorbed the cold reception without comment, dumping a handful of the coins onto the stall's counter before passing Rin one of the scarred, modest cups that held some sort of light-colored drink.

They sipped at them while they walked to Hokido's third level, Rin following in Shinya's wake as they circled to a section of the city that was nearly abandoned in comparison to the lower levels. Rin could smell the stall well before they arrived, that pungent, herbal scent that reminded her of an apothecary. It was operated by an ancient man who rose at their arrival, gnarled, arthritic hands wrapping themselves around the cart's handles. And, again, Rin could see that they were not overly welcome.

"Good afternoon, Yasuo!" Shinya called cheerfully. She reached over and gently grasped one of the startled man's hands, turning it palm-up so that she could deposit the rest of the coins from the bag. "I'm spending my sister's human money today. She doesn't have the sense to know what things cost, and so she won't be getting any of it back. It's all yours, a year's worth of that swelling medicine, right? Just tell me this … I need a certain tea from China. It sort of tastes like cinnamon and orange … or maybe it's cherry and orange? I don't know. I forget. It's positively rancid and so I've only had it once, but she loves it ---"

"Shinya-sama …"

The voice was raspy, fearful, and it riveted Rin's attention. She looked questioningly at Shinya, who stopped mid-sentence and pulled back, preparing to be a good deal more disappointed in this greeting.

"Is something wrong, Yasuo …?"

"You and your friend need to leave right now," he said in a whisper. "Please hurry. The tea can wait for another day."

Urgent. Afraid. Rin's skin crawled at the tone, and she was suddenly hyper aware of just how quiet the street was. She cast a careful look around them and watched with growing nervousness as the shops across the way began to shutter their doors and windows. At the end of the road, a paper vendor pulled the slats down over his cart and quickly rolled it down a sidestreet. She glanced back at Shinya, who seemed more annoyed than concerned.

"It cannot wait, Yasuo. What's wrong? Has someone been bothering you for dealing with me? If so, then the daimyou---"

There was a deadly, whispery sound then, one Rin recognized, but it was so unexpected, so far removed from the cheer of the day, that she was able to do little but watch in amazement as an arrow thumped through flesh with utmost precision, through the back, through the chest, an arrow tagged with a Buddhist sutra. It splattered blood against the weathered wood of the tea stall. A silence fell, pervasive, complete, as though sudden deafness had taken hold, and Rin froze, watching as Shinya bent for a moment and inhaled a choked, surprised breath. Rin's head jerked upward, searching for the source of the arrow only to find a clear blue sky and a humid breeze.

"Yasuo," Shinya reprimanded quietly, straightening, "I'd like a better warning next time."

"Shinya-sama …"

"Shinya." Rin reached out and gripped the girl's arm, pulling her into the shade of the covered cart just as her hearing lurched back into effect. Immediately, her ears picked up the unsteady pound of her heart and the sounds of many heavy feet thumping against the ground. Shinya's head had already lifted, like an animal sniffing out a threat, and they both turned to watch as dozens upon dozens of metal-plated soldiers poured out from the sidestreets and moved in group formation to block their path of escape. There was the movement of shadow, and Rin looked above their heads to the rooftops only to find helmeted archers, their massive bows nocked and ready.

"What is this?" Shinya demanded in a whisper, then repeated it louder. "What the hell is this?!" She pulled free from Rin and stepped into the middle of the street, eyeing the dark faces of the soldiers. Blood soaked its way through clothing, dripping from fingertips to dusty ground. Exhaling a heavy breath, she pulled herself to her full height and regarded the soldiers as though she was about to give them their marching orders. "I have an agreement with the daimyou. I am free to conduct business here without---"

The apparent commander of the contingent of soldiers stepped forward, blunt-nosed and vacant-eyed as he watched the demon girl with dispassion. "Your contract with the daimyou has been revoked," he informed her without preamble.

"I should say so!" Shinya replied with open sarcasm, and Rin felt certain that the girl had to restrain herself from stomping a foot in tantrum. "Does he end all business partnerships in this way? If so, he is very rude, and I can tell you, captain, that I am rather specialized in dealing with ill-mannered men."

Rin watched the confrontation with silent dread; she felt certain that the wisest course of action would have been to accept Yasuo's warning and flee. It wasn't an easily available option now, unfortunately. She was not helpless; she could use a bow and she was somewhat capable with smaller blades, but the fact was that she had left the fortress at Ayakami empty-handed, and now she had no clear idea of what to do. A tea stall was not an armory, and so was rather unhelpful in situations such as this. She felt exposed with nothing in hand to defend herself.

"Yesterday, I had an entire battalion of soldiers destroyed just outside the walls of this city," the captain announced, eyebrows furrowed. "The perpetrator was identified as the dog youkai called Kanaye."

"And so?" Shinya asked icily, though it was fairly easy for Rin to tell that this was new information.

"And so," the commander went on, "it is not the first encounter we've had with him recently. He has long been a nuisance to us, and we have attempted to shield ourselves from him. First with the proposition between my lord and the priestess Zadi, and then with you, and neither have worked in that regard. If our dealing with you and that city is going to bring such trouble to our door, we will end it here. Hokido has withstood demon assault for centuries; allowing this to go unchecked will only invite more, and we are not so afraid of him to let this pass. This is not some farm village to be ransacked in a moment of foul temper."

Rin felt her face grown warm with anger at his words. "Do your children answer for you?" she demanded. "This is laziness."

"My children are not rabid animals in false human form," the captain replied mildly, angling his head as though to get a better look at her. "And 'lazy' or not, this will bring Kanaye to us. My Lord is aware of who you are as well. You are as welcome here as she is."

"She's a human," Shinya said flatly.

"She's a dog demon's whore."

Rin refused to allow her face to change expression, an exercise in calm, considering she felt as though she had just been slapped. She was accustomed to being called names by youkai, but it had been many years since she had suffered any sort of verbal assault from a human, and she felt her stomach churn with shock and anger. She was naïve, she knew, and Sesshoumaru had warned her for years that the longer they were together, the more word would travel, and soon she would find herself outcast from both sides.

"Ohhhh?" Shinya called mockingly. "You are a brave man to say that aloud. And you should know, I control my father about as well as you control your daimyou. There's noth---"

"I do not control the daimyou, but I would die in his place," the captain interrupted with an upraised hand. "It seems you and I are not so different."

There was laughter at that, not the girlish, careless giggle Rin had so often heard, but something darker and more dangerous. Rin took an uncertain step toward Shinya, but then stopped when she felt the very air change; everything suddenly felt shadowy and charged. Shinya lifted clawed hands to the protruding arrow, flesh sizzling against wood as the sutra worked to repel her. But she won in the end, silently snapping off the head and pulling it free.

"So is that it?" she asked, sounding amused as she lifted pale, angry eyes to the captain once more. "It all comes down to laziness, as my friend said. But that's fine. My father is a busy man today, he has someplace important to be tonight, and so I will happily take his place." The voice lowered to a breathy whisper. "But I will tell you, you stupid bastard … you have no idea what you've done."

"Shinya," Rin said in a low, urgent voice. She felt her muscles tense as though she were some battle-worn soldier herself, feeling exposed under the cold scrutiny of these humans who did not even see her as one of them. She glanced behind her, to the river of spears and swords and armor, and then forward once more. Shinya backed toward her, not taking her eyes from the captain, and with deft fingers she unsheathed the light sword she always wore. She extended it to Rin, and then turned to glance back at her friend, smiling faintly.

"You know how to use it, right?"

"Yes," Rin replied softly. Her dread increased as her fingers wrapped around the cold hilt.

"Then I'll cut you a path. Find your way out."

"I can't do that," Rin said firmly, face heating again. "I'm not going to just leave you to this."

Eyebrows rose in response and the smile remained sincere. "Sesshoumaru is already going to be furious that I brought you into this. If I don't return you safely, it will be much worse for me, and I can tell you that I fear his wrath far more than this city's army."

"It would be better if we didn't separate …"

"Then I'll watch for you. Stay close, and don't step away. Try to defend as much as you can, because they have much more experience and will try to unbalance you," Shinya advised.

Distantly, Rin recalled another time very similar to this, when a deeper, angrier voice had given her nearly the same instructions, and had resented every word of it

"I'd really rather you not see me like this," Shinya confided, "but since it's necessary, I'll ask your forgiveness now."

Before Rin had time to answer to that, she recognized the gathering energy and took several measured steps backward until the cart and the shaking Yasuo were at her back. It was the same transformation she had seen from Sesshoumaru, and from Kanaye, but this time it manifested into a golden-furred, snapping dog whose head reached just above the buildings, much to the horror of the archers. Immediately, it provoked a hail of arrows, which prompted a massive paw to sweep them from their rooftop perches like flies being batted away from a picnic lunch.

The sun began its steady descent to dusk. The earth shook underfoot, and as Rin stood in the shadow of a battle-driven canine, she had only a moment to consider how badly this had gone. This was meant to be a short errand on a happy day, but now there were male screams and the metallic smell of blood in the air as claws swiftly carved through life, as well as the sounds of a dog youkai giving in to an explosion of temper that was quickly leveling a city block. But there were so many, and more coming all the time, from everywhere, appearing through the dense haze of dust like disembodied shadows.

Sesshoumaru's face came to mind then, aloof, calm, and as she turned to meet Hokido's oncoming army, lifting Shinya's sword in her own defense, Rin knew that he was going to be very, very angry ….

He was very, very annoyed. A means to escape the rampant stupidity that had infested Ayakami morphed into another source of aggravation. Sesshoumaru was tracked down by one of his sycophants and informed that Namiko, no doubt congratulating herself on her nonexistent cleverness, had dealt with the border's weevil infestation by setting fire to six human villages and their problematic fields. Naturally, the wind had been blowing north-westward at the time.

And so he had told the cringing messenger to inform Namiko that the fire had better be contained by the time he returned from Ayakami, and if it was not, her reign in the east would be cut astonishingly short. Easily handled by a water youkai, correct? Yes, when said water youkai did more with her spare time than filing her claws and soaking up sea-side sunlight.

Sesshoumaru returned to the fortress just as the sun was beginning its steady downward climb, orange fingers stretching into the west in a splash of pink and gold. As he looked up at the sad façade of the ancient building, he saw that every window had been lit up, likely by Sashe in one of her frenzied campaigns against the darkness of the place. Cooking smells were coating the grounds in layers of spices and oils. It made him not want to go inside. The original kitchen area had been destroyed during Eido's assault, and so Sashe had simply improvised and converted another convenient room, one with several fire pits and plenty of table space. Sesshoumaru had been rather displeased by that; a room meant for the repair of weapons had been turned into a kitchen at the whim of some giddy, half-witted girl. There was something very wrong with that, beyond the fact that it was not properly ventilated for cooking, causing the fortress to silently stew in smells that were thick and nauseating.

And it seemed he was not the only one that had fled that fortress. Kanaye was sprawled across the narrow front steps like a corpse left to rot at the side of the road, blocking the entryway. As Sesshoumaru approached, Kanaye lifted his head and eyed him with absent interest.

"Sashe wants one of us to read the ceremony. She says she doesn't care which, but it's supposed to be a highly-ranked family member. We're low on options here. I told her you'd do it."

"I refuse."

"I'll read it in Latin."

"I do not care. It's not as though I'll be listening," Sesshoumaru replied. And indeed he would not be. In fact, he was not sure if he would even attend this ridiculous ceremony. If Sashe wanted a Chinese-style wedding, then she should have stayed in China.

"Damn but you're annoying."

Not intending to reply, Sesshoumaru moved to walk around the sprawled body, but it picked itself up to a sitting position. One hand had the gall to reach out and grasp a sleeve as he walked by, and Sesshoumaru considered snapping the fingers.

"Oi."

"What?" Sesshoumaru asked impatiently, pulling his sleeve free.

"Do you hear fire?"

Sesshoumaru could not stop the sarcasm. "Have you been plotting with Namiko, Oji-san?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind." It was obvious that one would smell fire far before they heard it, and the only thing Sesshoumaru smelled was the sickening conglomeration of cooking scents that were wafting out of the very seams of the building.

"It sounds like that time," Kanaye muttered. "It's irritating me."

Sesshoumaru looked outward across the orange-lit sky, listening intently, but all he heard was meaningless conversation from within and the pounding footsteps of that enormous bear mixed with the lighter ones of the others.

"It is more likely just this place," Sesshoumaru replied. "You've been sulking over it since you arrived. If your mental state is so precarious here, then do us all a favor and leave instead of sitting and wallowing on the steps like some half-dead vagrant."

Kanaye fixed him with a dead stare. "I bought this place, you stupid bastard. Through blood and effort. You will never own it as I will, no matter how long you remain the western lord. It all still reeks of death. I can smell it, even if you cannot."

"You whine like a martyr, Kanaye," Sesshoumaru said scornfully.

"I agree," Kanaye nodded, then his face changed and he appeared thoughtful. "And yet," he said slowly, "I would do it all for you again. I have wondered before if I would have fought so hard if I had known what would come of it. My father's precious territory is in the grasp of you and your intolerable ego and your sneering disdain for all life other than your own. A silent, selfish, moody boy grew up to crush western youkai under his heel … smother them until they all agreed to worship him like some pale, cranky god. To be honest, I quite enjoy that, and so, yes, I am certain I would do it all again."

Sesshoumaru stared mutely. He wasn't certain if that was meant to be more complimentary or insulting, and so he left it alone.

"I like you as much as I dislike you, and I suppose that equals out to me feeling nothing toward you at all," Kanaye added in a tone that was devoid of inflection. "I think that is why I have never felt the desire to kill you, despite the fact that you are a jackass of a degree I have yet to see surpassed."

"What is this about, Kanaye?" Sesshoumaru questioned irritably. It was strange hearing his uncle speak like this, and he was quickly becoming frustrated with the indecision over whether he was being mocked or praised. Neither was particularly welcome.

"You've done passably well … even if you are entirely too lenient with the human infection. Gods above, they're like some festering wound that needs to be cleaned out." Golden eyes slid toward Sesshoumaru, mocking once more. "But I suppose you'd rather preserve your supply of naïve, scandalously young human girls, eh?"

Sesshoumaru's tone became acidic. "Are you looking for death, Kanaye? I wonder, since mixing death-bed sentimentality with your judgment of me is an effective way to find it."

Kanaye made a derisive sound at that, but said nothing else. Or perhaps it was more that they were interrupted when Lien emerged from the narrow doorway, wrapped in a silk kimono. She extended a folded letter to Sesshoumaru.

"It's from your grandfather," she said as he took it from her hands. "Read it and please reply. I'll be returning tomorrow morning, so I'll need it before then."

Kanaye glanced back at her, expressionless. "Tomorrow? Then where is your pack of guard dogs?"

"I chose not to bring an escort this time," she said pointedly. "I didn't ask my father to arrange it because I knew you would only look at them as an excuse to start trouble. And don't look at me like that! I am not so helpless; I can find my way home. It's not very dangerous these days."

There was scornful laughter at that. "You are an idiot," Kanaye claimed. "Some mindless beast would be thrilled to have a Chinese princess for dinner … or worse, ransom you, and you would be completely out of luck, my love, because I would not lift a finger to aid you. You are positively the most helpless woman I know."

"On that we agree," Sesshoumaru muttered absently, flipping to the second page of the letter.

Lien's face became stormy at their mockery, and Kanaye exhaled a worn breath. "I'll walk you home, Hime-sama. Just like the old days, right? Except this is going to be one long, fucking stroll. If anyone is going to get to kill you, it should at least be me."

Lien looked taken aback. "That was … almost kind, I think."

"Don't get too attached," he advised airily. "Your old man needs to buy you a new youkai. Your old one needs repairs."

She ignored that, and went silent. The sun sank enough to encourage the crickets, who began their tentative chirping. And, then, finally …

"Kanaye? Sesshoumaru?"

"Hmm?" Absent, distracted.

"What is it, woman?" Wary, irritable.

"One of you will read the family's part of the ceremony, right?"

"No."

"No."

"Please," Lien requested. "Sashe's even come to me to see if I would do it if the two of you refused. That is rather sad, don't you think?"

Sesshoumaru looked up from the scrawled business ramblings of his grandfather and caught the pointed glance she sent his way. He rewarded it with a faint, mean smile. "You were wise to try this with him, because it will not work with me."

"It is pages long," Kanaye complained, as though that sealed the issue with the finality of a closed book.

"I'll have her cut it down some. Please."

Kanaye aimed a glance at Sesshoumaru. "I'll fight you for the refusal."

"You would be wasting your time."

"You are the reason I did not want boys," Kanaye muttered. "I would have killed you if you were mine."

"Drowned like a hanyou?" Sesshoumaru asked wryly.

"Indeed."

Lien shook her head in confusion. "What are you two talking about?" And then she seemed to recall something, because she turned to Sesshoumaru. "And speaking of children, it's getting late. Would you mind tracking down the girls, Sesshoumaru?"

He looked up. "Girls?"

Lien smoothed back a strand of blonde hair with habitual prissiness. "Shinya and Rin. They went on an errand for Sashe in Hokido, but it's getting late. And don't scowl at me, Sesshoumaru. You know how girls their age are when they're set loose in a city --- although, I don't suppose you do know, do you?"

"Hokido?" Kanaye repeated. He glanced up at Lien as though she had just doused him with cold water, then snapped, "You really have a way of saving the important information for last, don't you?"

On the outskirts of a small, distant village to the north, a half-demon pitched his shovel into the dirt, stopping to wipe his face with a loose red sleeve. His eyes were watering from the smell, his claws were caked with dirt, and there were two more graves left to dig.

Nearby, his monk friend unclasped his hands and rose from where he had been kneeling in the freshly-turned earth.

"Are you going, Inuyasha?"

"Yeah. You'll have to be the grave-digger for the next few days, so don't go catching that shit."

Miroku's eyes were dark and serious. "Then you think Kaede-sama was right?"

"Don't you sense something?"

"Sometimes. Something seems wrong, but … I'm not sure …"

Inuyasha rolled up his sleeves in a huff and reached for the shovel once more. "Heh. I don't need spiritual powers to tell me this disease isn't normal. The body count and the way it's spreading is enough. It started south of here from what I can gather and shot outward in a circle. The center is completely unaffected and do you know who lives in that area? That pointy-eared bastard who lords around like he owns the place."

"So you're going to see Sesshoumaru first?"

Inuyasha nodded as he pushed the shovel back into the moist earth, feeling the last hot rays of daylight as they pounded on his back. "It's been a couple of years and I'm suddenly feeling sociable. I think it's pretty damned interesting that this disease is hitting everywhere except right near him. It could be that his face is just ugly enough to scare off these 'germs' Kagome keeps shrieking about. But I know him, and he may have cooled off over the past couple of years, but he's still the meanest son of a bitch I know. I'm starting with him."

Deep within his subterranean castle, Kuroshi rested on bent knees, utterly calm. It was quiet; he was accustomed to that, the silence that came from a total absence of life. Perhaps that was why he so prized the warmth and insistence of a beating heart. In this place, far below the living world, there were only two sounds: the intermittent dripping of water from cavern ceiling to floor, which gave birth to the stalactites and stalagmites he had watched expand for nearly a thousand years, and then the other, that steady, raucous pounding that echoed within his chest like the drumbeat preceding an execution.

It was not the sound of his heart; that was as peaceful as the rest of him. It was the gate, and it was becoming louder, more demanding with each passing day. He looked down to his pale hands and the bug-eyed creature he had just created. One of his soul-bearers. It gazed back at him with a blank, honest stare. It was not time to whisper that name, though. She was still alive, she did not need a soul-bearer. Not yet. Not again. And he hoped that remained so, but just in case, this one was completely formed and ready.

He had become unbearably selfish. He was doing enough damage. But he would never allow that one to know the grief of eternal separation from someone so loved. It was a feeling Kuroshi knew all too well.

The plain unfolded before them like a dark, feathery sea and the heat of the failing day rose from the damp ground in the faintest clouds of humid vapor. The fortress that surrounded the daimyou's city was well within sight, and it required no honed instinct to see that Hokido had made the devastating mistake of provoking a youkai. About one-fifth of the city appeared to be in flames, and a thick coat of oily smoke hovered overhead. Even from a distance, the high-pitched voices of fearful humans could be heard echoing from behind the walls.

Cursed. This place was cursed. The closer Sesshoumaru got, the more his senses picked up, and the angrier he became … at Shinya, at Kanaye, and even at her for being so hell-damned innocent, swept away in troubles so old that even her most distant Japanese ancestors were unlikely to have heard so much as a whisper of it. The plain reeked of blood, old and new. Of death and decay and raw fear. The very soil seemed to scream an ancient pain that reverberated through his bones.

He had been able to scent her out well before he had even reached the army's lush training fields, and his insides felt as though they were turning outward. He already knew … and it felt as though poison was pouring through his veins, causing his fingers to ache and flex of their own accord.

Kanaye cut past him, and Sesshoumaru turned his head, searching the flaming sky, which cast distracting, undulating shadows. Somewhere, somewhere distant from his attention, his hearing registered the shouts of the humans on the battlements and the sounds of Furu's heavy feet suddenly in his wake. They were nothing he was interested in right now. He had only one goal for the moment, and the rest could … and most certainly would … be taken care of once it was accomplished.

They found them outside the city walls. Darkening dusk and amber flame were enough to highlight the forms of two females, strung from the gate like meat being prepared for the spit. It was enough to jar Sesshoumaru out of his run, a million words and images and instincts crushing through his skull. There was a displacement of something, he could not name it, but the hole it left was filled by something far more malevolent. Justification. He had been right, always. Mercy, kindness, tolerance. Give these things to the humans, the poor, vapid, helpless humans. His father had chanted that as a mantra of charity and forgiveness all the way to the grave.

His father had been so fundamentally wrong.

Sesshoumaru's fingers were stiff and burning as he easily launched himself to the top of the gate and cut her loose, grasping blood-slickened arms in an attempt to keep her from pitching back to the rain-softened earth. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Furu doing the same for Shinya. Heard the bear demon succumb to his southern accent as he muttered several words in a rough voice.

The night was full of a gently rolling plain sprawling to ruin, of the smells of flame and blood, the sounds of his own arteries pumping so loudly they echoed resoundingly within his ears. His right hand was clasped carefully around one scarred leg, the left around her bare back. Like some broken thing. Insubstantial, unprepared. An easy target, but their next would not be so swiftly dealt with. Sesshoumaru looked behind him to the creatures that were as good as deceased, then turned to eye Kanaye, who remained at ground level, wholly focused on Hokido, expression blank as a corpse.

This indeed was Ayakami, and its power to give birth to a devil.

This one seems really long. Old habits die hard and, thankfully, I finished it just before school started. Now comes the fun of juggling fic-obsession with schoolwork! So, yeah, the plot switch has officially been flipped on. And something I've written in this chapter seems really familiar to me. Deja-vu-ish; I feel like I've written it before.

And I've gotta say this for the record: Zadi has not been and is not pregnant. I've done that, so I'm definitely not going there again. Kanaye was trying to accomplish four things in that conversation: 1) Pick a fight; 2) Threaten/Warn about the birth of a hanyou from Rin; 3) Indirectly tell the truth about his fight with Zadi (part of it); 4) Completely mess with their heads. And far more of #4 than anything else.

'Kay! Now that that's out of the way:

New Fan: Well, your chaos has arrived … lol. I've written fights before, but I'm pretty out-of-practice and I think the next chapter is gonna require some bad stuff. Glad you enjoyed him… he's not terribly helpful, is he? Now for the questions!

1) No

2) No

3) Because she knows him well, and what he was saying sounded as though he had done something truly godawful … but she had no idea what it was

4) I agree with you. I don't think he is very merciful, particularly back then. But since I was writing that from Rin's point of view, I didn't think she would agree that she had made him into a good person. She views him as a much better person than he is, and to her, he has always been very kind.

5) Inuyasha will show up in the next chapter. As for when he'll meet up with Sesshoumaru, it'll either by the next chapter or the one right after. And, nope, Rin hasn't had her son yet. If I follow my own timeline, Miya would be about 5 when Rin gives birth to her son, and in this story, Miya is only 3.

FluffyTail: Aww, thank you! Those are some of the best words any writer can read … lol. Fic-writing is such a good way to improve writing skills. I'm glad I'm back at it, since I've been sort of stalling for so long. I've really missed writing these guys … especially now that the intro's taken care of and I can get down to serious, dirty business.

Midnight Lady: No, no … I swear he didn't say that to her … lol. That issue will come out more when she arrives, but it ties into why Shinya got such a bad reception in this chapter. As for her city … hmm, I've already got that plotted out, but I will say it's not there in the future, unfortunately. I'm not sure who Inuyasha's actually going to meet. Well, I can say that he definitely won't be meeting one person. Lol … yes, I tossed in one surviving sister for Inutaisho and Kanaye, and she did go to the "dark side", so to speak, and was involved with a human at one point. But that would have been a long time ago, and so her human guy would be dead. She'll appear in flashback form later on when I get into the details of what happened during the battle with Eido, but I don't think she'll appear as an adult.

Sandpit: Yep, Ashi's not a happy girl at the moment. :) Ohhhh, let me tell you what … if you write that essay, I can so give you a load of material for it … lol. There are several problems with Zadi as a character, and that's due to my own failure … she became something she wasn't intended to be. Quite suddenly, actually. But I often have problems with her myself. It doesn't bother me at all if someone hates my own characters. This is meant to be an 'Inuyasha' fanfiction and they're just here to do their job before exiting. ;) I'm very sorry that she annoys you, but since she's closely tied to the villain in this one, there's not a whole lot I can do. ;)

Ghost140: Yes! Well, sort of. Mine are still a little wacky. They show up … like 3 days later, out of order, and in huge bunches … lol. I'm glad he amused you … lol. Thanks very much!

Burntbanana: Thaaaank you, my dear! I've really been cranking these things out. Four chapters in less than a month. That's pretty darned fast. Sadly, it'll probably have to slow a bit now, since classes start tomorrow. Thanks for dropping by. :)

Teela: Heya! Well, I'm definitely glad you think so … and thank you so much! Lol … yeah, the mental image of that amused me, too. As for him being insane, he's not 'crazy', strictly-speaking. He operates on the same level as everyone else … he just views and reacts to things so weirdly, that he seems pretty wacked out to me a lot of the time. But that's because I often write his dialogue by considering exactly the opposite of what a "normal" person would say, and then make him say that. And you are correct in guessing that Zadi is not pregnant. Kanaye was going off on one of his wacked out tangents. Really, it comes down to him trying very hard to pick a fight. As for Shinya … she doesn't think of humans one way or another. She just doesn't see much of a difference, really. So it's not a particular love either way … lol. More that she doesn't care.