Ok...I reposted this chapter and put Inuyasha's mother's name time. I hate being wrong! Grr. So thanks to all who have reviewed so far, and I should tell you that I might put Chapter Eight up either today (9/21) or tomorrow (9/22)! Enjoy!
"Lord Ryuuhei! Lord Ryuuhei!" A small demon boy ran up to the injured tiger youkai, who was propped up on the ground that was saturated in his blood.
"What is it...boy..."
"There have been three hundred more men killed!"
"And...why are you here, telling me this..." He managed to spit out.
'If I had not been attacked by those damned insects, I might be able to fight...but...I am finding it difficult to fight the poisons. Kami...we could really use Sesshomaru out here right now...'
"Because...my father...he...I was fighting right beside him...and...and...he was gone...I'm so scared!" The boy burst into tears, but Ryuuhei could sense that he was not only hurt and frightened, but also embarrassed at showing his weakness in front of his lord.
"There is no need to feel embarrassed, boy. You lost your father. And you don't look older than twelve years. But this is not the time to feel pain and loss. This is the time for courage. Your people...my people...are under attack by a most murderous and evil villain, who cares not for your feelings, nor my injuries. So you see, I am frightened as well. But I will not let that compromise protecting my people."
The boy, also a tiger youkai, nodded in understanding.
"You will have due time to grieve when we defeat this demon, boy. But for now, you must be brave. What is your name, young one?"
"You...want to know my name, Lord Ryuuhei...?"
"Hai, son. I would like to know your name."
"I...its...Akio...sir..."
"Akio. That is a strong name. Your father chose well."
The boy smiled underneath his tears, which were slowly diminishing.
"My father always said that he picked my name because he knew I'd do something big and great some day."
"And I am sure he was not wrong in his assertion."
Ryuuhei smiled slightly at the boy. He knew he had surprised the young one by asking for his name, as it was rare among royalty, especially youkai, to ask for the names of commoners. But he had felt some sympathy for the child. Losing a father at such a young, impressionable age. And on the battlefield, in such bloodshed, no less. Ryuuhei had known what it was to lose a father. He had died many years earlier, in a battle with a scorpion youkai. Ryuuhei had been a very young man at the time, only ten years old. His mother, Reimi, had told him to be strong...for he was the new ruler of the Eastern Lands...but only after he had been allowed to grieve for a number of days. He still remembered it...the memory was fresh in his mind...as if it had happened the day before.
"My boy..." Reimi walked in on her young son, who was sitting at the edge of his father's futon, crying.
"Mother...Father is gone! And he's never coming back!" The young child bawled.
Reimi smiled sadly, and sat down to embrace the young boy in her arms. Rocking him back and forth, she decided that she would have to tell him of his fate. Being a female youkai, she could not lawfully rule over the Eastern Lands without a mate. And because hers had been killed, she no longer had power of the throne. Her title as Lady of the Eastern Lands had been stripped from her. The only hope of her line's succession was Ryuuhei. And he would have to learn quickly, for if there was no Lord of the lands after a certain amount of days, the next heir to the throne had right to seize it.
"My son...my little tiger...there is something you must do for me now. It has been a number of days...since your father has perished. I realize that you are hurting inside at the moment...I miss your father dearly as well. However, there is something that you must now do."
"Wh...what's that, Mother..." The small boy stared at his mother, eyes glazed with tears.
"When your father was killed, he left you in charge of the territory."
"What does that mean?"
Reimi laughed slightly.
"It means, my son, that you are his successor to the throne. You are the Lord of the Eastern Lands."
"But, Mother...I'm not old enough!"
"You are...but you have not been trained enough as of yet. So...next week, you shall begin your journey to the throne. I am certain that it will not take you long to achieve what your father had set out to do...you are more than capable. Why, in no time, you'll be making laws."
Ryuuhei, as young as he was, knew that something was amiss. His mother was glad for him...but saddened for some reason. He could smell the salt of her tears.
"Mother...what's wrong?"
"Ryuuhei...in order...for you to take the throne...you do realize...I am not permitted to be with you any longer."
She choked out through her now wracking sobs.
"Why not, Mother? I don't understand!"
"I am no longer Lady of the Eastern Lands, my boy. My title has been stripped from me. It is the law."
"But..."
"You will succeed with or without me, Ryuuhei. There is no need to worry."
"I'm scared! What will I do without you or Father here?"
"You will have a council that will guide you through the process...but I am no longer needed. Oh, Ryuuhei. There is no need for you to be frightened...you are a strong young man...and you will get through this. Perhaps someday, I will be allowed to return to see you. And then...we will look back on all of this and realize how petty your worries were. Be brave, my little one."
She held him until the night, when it was time for her to leave, at which time Ryuuhei, remembering her words, did not cry or flinch when she was forced out of the doors of the castle. He never once saw her face again. In the forty years he had been ruler of the Eastern Lands, her name had not been mentioned, and he had searched far and wide for her. He assumed she'd been killed off some time ago...perhaps even when she was forced to leave the castle.
Ryuuhei forced himself out of his reverie when he heard the faint buzzing of insects in the distance.
'Damn it all to hell! Those insects are back!' He thought to himself.
"Lord Ryuuhei! What are those things? They fly..."
"They are Naraku's insects, boy. Run!"
"But...Lord Ryuuhei! Why are you staying? You should be running, too!"
"I can't run anymore, boy. I have been injured. You have smelled this, have you not?"
Akio nodded.
"Then you should know that my time is near. I can no longer defend myself."
"Then I will defend you."
"You speak insanity, boy. You cannot defeat these insects."
"I can if I think I can."
"Stop this foolishness. You will leave. Now."
"No! Because if you die, then who will take over our lands? And who will make the laws that keep us safe?"
"The council will find someone else."
"We don't want anyone else, Lord Ryuuhei! So I'm not leaving until those insects are dead, and you're not hurting anymore!"
Ryuuhei was astounded. No one had refused him before...and lived. He wasn't as cruel as many thought, but he was royalty. When royalty such as he were refused of an order...many suffered on pain of death.
"Very well...then. You have made your choice."
'I suppose my speech of courage did more than I thought.'
Akio prepared himself for battle as he drew his sword from its sheath. His father had taught him to sword fight before he was killed.
"I won't let you down, Lord Ryuuhei!"
Akio charged at the thousands of oncoming wasps with a spirit for victory that Ryuuhei had never seen in one so young. He slaughtered at least fifteen in his first blow, never flinching.
And as the insects kept charging, Akio swung his blade mercilessly.
'I...love...you...' Sesshomaru thought as he held a sleeping Kagome gently in his arms.
'I have not heard those words spoken since my mother was alive.' He looked down at Kagome, a sudden light shining in his golden orbs.
'So why is it that when a miko...a ningen miko...utters them, it touches me like never before? Why is it that my heart races when I see her face? See her smile? It has not been a full week that she has occupied the halls of my castle. But I feel as if I am bound to her.'
She had spoken of him being like her soulmate. A ningen...onna...being his soulmate. Something about that sounded wrong. But when he looked upon Kagome's face, he knew it to be true. How could it not be when it felt so right? It broke all of the traditions he had promised to uphold...and then he thought of Inuyasha's mother. Izayoi. She had fallen in love with their father, and he had accepted her as his mate, breaking Sesshomaru's mother's heart.
"Inutaisho! How could you do this to me? I am your mate! I loved you!"
Sesshomaru watched from the garden as his mother slapped his father across the cheek, screaming obscenities at him until he fought back, at which time he knocked her to the ground.
"I have had enough of your foolishness, onna! You have produced me an heir. That is all that I asked. I never wanted your love."
Theirs had been an arranged marriage. Sesshomaru's mother was a full-blooded inu-youkai, born in the Southern Lands to the lord of that territory at the time. When she had grown older, her father grew ill. Inutaisho was a young man at the time, and was heir to the throne. Sesshomaru's mother was promised to Inutaisho because of convenience...he did not have to search for a mate. One was provided readily. Her father was rid of her and could appoint a new heir to the throne. Inutaisho could produce an heir.
"That's all Sesshomaru is to you, Inutaisho? An heir? Not your son, whom you are supposed to love?"
"He is none of your concern any longer, bitch. You will pack your things and leave my castle at this time, or I will see to it that you are dragged out by your heels."
Sesshomaru ran from the horrible scene, crying. He was only a few years old at the time, but remembered the fight well. His mother had left the castle at that moment, not even taking time to tell her only son farewell. Since then, Sesshomaru had hated ningens. All of them. Izayoi had ruined his life, and had taken his mother from him. She had made his father distant from him, and when Inuyasha was born, Sesshomaru no longer existed in his father's eyes. He was left to his tutors and those who were assigned to care for him. The only time he ever saw his father was when Sesshomaru had done something wrong, such as teasing Inuyasha for being hanyou, or when he had progressed in his training. Then, flashing forward in years, Sesshomaru was a teenager, and his father had gone to fight Ryukotsusei. Sesshomaru was left in charge of Izayoi and Inuyasha, who was only a child, while his father was in battle.
"Niisan! Niisan!" The hanyou ran to the taiyoukai, who was situated in his father's study, signing a few papers.
"What is it that you want, Inuyasha? I am busy." Sesshomaru snapped.
"I want to play with you! You never play with me anymore!" Inuyasha whined.
"I do not have the luxury of playing any longer, Inuyasha. I am no longer a child."
"But..."
"I do not want to play with you, hanyou! Now be gone from my sight, and do not disturb me again!"
Later that evening, Izayoi herself had dared to come visit him in his study.
"Sesshomaru. May I enter?" She knocked on the shoji screen, which had been left open.
"I suppose I will not be able to stop you, onna."
She sat down on the tatami mat beside her stepson.
"I have spoken with Inuyasha today, Sesshomaru."
"What of it." He did not look at Izayoi, for he knew what was to come out of her mouth next.
"He told me that you called him...hanyou." She choked on her own words.
"Hai. I did." Sesshomaru sneered.
"Why...how could...you do that to your own flesh and blood, Sesshomaru—"
"Do not presume to tell me that the little brat is of my flesh and blood, wench! He is nothing to me! Merely a product of Father's and your affair! He has nothing to do with me! Do you understand, bitch?"
Izayoi shrunk in fear as the taiyoukai stood suddenly from the ground and began to shout at her.
"Sesshomaru! Whether you decide to accept Inuyasha or not, he is of your brethren! How dare you deny him the love and respect he so deserves! If your father were here, he would..."
"My father is not here, and I am in charge! I tire of your presence here, Izayoi! You and your son have caused nothing but trouble since you arrived in this castle. You took my mother from me, and brought Inuyasha..." He spat the name. "That brat...into my home. He took over my life, and ripped what little love I had from my father away from me. And you stood by and watched. I have hated you since you arrived. And the hanyou from when he took his first breath. You will not live here long, I promise. I will convince Father to rid himself of you, or I will do it myself. You do not belong here, ningen."
Not long after that conversation, Sesshomaru had received word that the overpowering Ryukotsusei had killed his father. He had immediately called for Izayoi and the pup to come see him in his study.
She was mourning. He could clearly see this, because she'd donned a pure black silk kimono. Inuyasha was dressed in his usual attire, fire rat haori and all. He had no idea of what had happened.
"Izayoi. You have heard the news."
"Hai." She sobbed.
"Then you know that I am now Lord of the Western Lands. You have lost your title as Lady."
She gasped in horror, realizing what Sesshomaru was about to do.
"You will not force us to leave our home!"
"You are partially correct. Only you, Izayoi."
"Wh..."
"You will now feel what it is to lose your only son, as my mother did. Leave, and do not return."
"NO! I will not..."
Two guards had come in, dragging Izayoi away from Inuyasha, who screamed out for his mother.
"Hanyou. You will cease your foolish screeching now." Sesshomaru commanded. Inuyasha cowered in front of his older brother, and on impulse, ran from him, in the direction his mother had taken. Sesshomaru chased after the hanyou, but lost his scent when he followed it outside of the castle and to the cliff. He gazed down below, but the darkness had concealed what might've been Inuyasha's remains from even Sesshomaru's advanced sight.
'Fool.'
Sesshomaru had thought Inuyasha perished until many years later when he confronted him in battle. Inuyasha's mother had died without him ever finding a trace of her, but Inuyasha did not find this out until he was a teenager.
'So many things have changed since that day. And I never thought I could love someone like Kagome.' But she had changed his heart in a mere matter of days. He knew then. He knew that Kagome's words had been the truth. There was no denying it. They were soulmates.
"Kagome..." He whispered. The miko had fallen asleep in the warmth and comfort of his arms more than an hour before, but the day was not yet over, and he still had to go and assist Ryuuhei in the battle against Naraku.
She groaned.
"Kagome." He said again, this time, a little more forcefully. Her eyes fluttered open, and focused on his.
"You are awake. Good."
"Why..."
"Because I must leave soon for the Eastern Lands."
"To fight Naraku."
He nodded.
"But..."
"I know. You do not wish me to leave. You have already expressed this. But I made a promise to Ryuuhei, Kagome. I will not break it. You should know this by now. I am not one to go back on my word."
He placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Sesshomaru..." His name rolled off of her tongue with such ease.
"Those words you spoke earlier. You said you loved me."
Her eyes widened as she thought back an hour earlier.
"Hai."
"You meant it, did you not?"
"Hai." She smiled warmly.
"You do realize that you have not been here a week."
She nodded.
"I don't care. This just feels right."
Sesshomaru then shifted her out of his arms, laying her flat on the futon, placing himself beside her, propped up on his elbow—his other hand placed across her stomach, drawing circles in her kimono with his claws.
"I must leave tonight."
"I know."
"You also know that when a youkai cares for someone, as I care for you...they mate."
She blushed slightly.
"I knew that, hai."
"You are willing to complete this ceremony."
She nodded again.
"Then will you wait for me to return from the Eastern Lands?"
"I would wait for you until the world ended, Sesshomaru." She whispered, aroused suddenly by the caressing Sesshomaru had begun with the palm of his hand, which traveled from her stomach down to her thighs, which were exposed when he pulled back the cloth of her kimono.
"You will never have to wait that long for me." He whispered huskily as he leaned in to place a chaste kiss on her pink lips. She moaned into the kiss, arousing him further. But he knew that it was not the right time to take her. He forced himself to calm down, and broke the kiss slowly. Kagome sighed, running her fingers through his silvery hair.
"Sesshomaru...what will I do here without you around?"
"You will be a mother to Rin."
'Mother...' Kagome thought, suddenly remembering the one thing she had missed the most since leaving Inuyasha. Shippo.
"A mother..." She mumbled. "Sesshomaru...I know...you told me that I could never leave the castle."
"Hai. I did."
"But there is...there is something...I...need."
"And what would that be?"
"Shippo."
"What is this Shippo you speak of?"
"My son."
"Ah. I remember. The small kitsune that travels with my hanyou brother and your friends."
"Hai."
"What of him?"
"I...was wondering...Sesshomaru. Is...is there any way that I could bring him here? I miss him a lot...and he would be a great playmate for Rin..."
"You would have to find Inuyasha..." He growled the name. "...In order to find the kit."
"Hai."
"What suddenly drove you to ask me this?"
"I love Shippo, and he doesn't have a mother or father anymore. I am all he has now...and without me...I'm afraid Inuyasha will teach him to grow up to be just like him. I do not want that."
"I see."
Sesshomaru thought for a moment. He could sense that Kagome was sincere in her pleading with him for her kit.
"You will be allowed to retrieve this Shippo, and you will return with me to the castle. Then...I must leave."
"Oh, Sesshomaru! Thank you!"
Kagome embraced him and placed a kiss on his markings on his cheek.
"We will have to leave immediately."
He helped her off of the futon and then, he rushed her out of the castle. Soon, they were in the skies, on their way to Inuyasha.
"I give up," Inuyasha spat, miserable.
"Inuyasha. You mustn't. She will be found." Miroku attempted to comfort him.
"We've searched for four days, baka. If I were going to find her, I would have scented her earlier."
"Miroku's right, Inuyasha. She might still be around here...we just...haven't come upon where she is yet."
"Don't kid yourself. Someone took her, and she's probably dead now."
"Shut up!" Shippo piped up. "Don't say that about Kagome! She would never leave me alone!" Tears slid down his tiny face, and Sango bent down to lift the poor child into her arms.
"You're right, Shippo. Kagome would never leave you. So don't worry about a thing."
"Feh. You're all so naïve. She ain't comin' back, and that's that."
"Stop being so negative, Inuyasha. She will come back to us. I know that much. She would never leave..." Sango tried to comfort Shippo as she spoke to Inuyasha. Miroku nodded, agreeing with her.
"And Naraku...knows that we have no clue where she is. But if we haven't found her yet...neither has he."
"Yeah right. Whatever."
Inuyasha huffed, as he pouted, sitting on the grass.
'I shouldn't have kissed Kikyo...this would have never happened. But...I love her...I couldn't...not kiss her.'
All of a sudden, he began to see soul-stealers streak across the sky to the forest behind him. And he heard a voice coming from the trees...from the darkness. It shook the rest of the group.
"Inuyasha. You have not found my reincarnation as of yet."
Kikyo emerged from the shadows.
"Speak of the devil..." Sango whispered, loud enough for the undead priestess to hear. She frowned at the taijiya, who raised an eyebrow.
'Kami! That bitch always has to show up at the wrong time!' Sango's mind hissed.
"No...we haven't found Kagome, Kikyo."
"Then I shall help you search for her."
"What?"
"You heard me, Inuyasha. I will help you."
"Why? You hate her." Miroku stepped in.
"That is none of your concern, monk. If it means I can see Inuyasha smile once more, I will help find Kagome."
"Yeah. And then kill her to get the rest of your soul back." Shippo spat.
"You are not involved in this, cub. So stay out." Kikyo hissed a warning.
"I don't h—" Sango placed a hand over Shippo's mouth, causing him to roll his eyes and quiet himself.
"You guys...Kikyo wants to help. And I'm going to let her."
"Why? You know what she really wants, Inuyasha!" Sango shouted. Miroku put a hand on the taijiya's shoulder, squeezing slightly.
"Sango is right, Inuyasha. Kikyo cannot be trusted."
"That's too bad. Because she's going to—"
"Ignore them, Inuyasha. They cannot see that you love me, and that I truly wish to assist you in your time of need. The last of my concerns is my soul."
"Liar!" Sango hollered.
Kikyo did not reply, but merely glared at Sango. Sango returned the glare with full force.
"Well, Inuyasha. I guess Kikyo is coming with us then. But Kami help her...if she comes near Kagome when we find her. I promise you. I will turn her back into clay."
With that, Sango, Miroku, Kirara, and Shippo walked out of the forest and onto the main road, to resume the search for their friend.
Inuyasha and Kikyo soon followed, but after they had a discussion.
"Kikyo. It's been a few days."
"Hai, Inuyasha. It has. I have missed you."
"I...missed you too...Kikyo."
They embraced, Kikyo placing her head on his shoulder.
"Don't leave me again. I love you."
"Oh, Inuyasha..."
'I will have him.' Kikyo thought to herself as he tightened his hold on her. 'I will have him...and my soul. He trusts me too much...the fool. Inuyasha doesn't suspect a thing. And he did not listen to his friends...the taijiya and the monk. They can see me for what I am. But as long as Inuyasha cannot, I will succeed in my plot. And once I retrieve my soul, he will love me...and only me. Kagome...the bitch...will be out of the picture.'
