Hello loyal readers! I've been gone for quite awhile and I do apologize (here is me, hoping for forgiveness- please?)
Anyway, I hope this chapter makes up for the delay, and answers any questions from the previous chapter -notes will also be provided below if there are any remaining questions regarding a center ending from the last upload.-
Please enjoy and many thanks! (and again... i'm so very very sorry *puppy dog face*)
Chapter 8: A Change of Mind
It was of little significance to him what his palace looked like. It's elegance and majesty, and the memorable way of how it was shaped so that when they sky admired the earth it was graced with a royal-purple crescent moon within a marble ring border, meant little to nothing to him. His power was his claim to the western lands; the palace was just an extravagant jewel upon the earth. That was the whole reason of why he had left the task for its design and build up to Jaken, who had foolishly hoped that all the details, from the yoki infused golden gates placed at each cardinal direction along the border, designed with engraved images of dog demons flying over mountains under a crescent moon night, to the expansive gardens within the border and the gravel pathways that separated them before meeting at a courtyard at the front of the palace, would impress his lord. Even the details of the japanese-styled palace, with its cascading seven stories decked with gleaming royal-purple tiling along with the outside walkways and small marble statues of galloping dog demons on top of crescent moons at each corner or peak, were left unrecognized. In fact, for those sparse moment when he did take a look at his retainers work, all he could see was the obvious influence from his mother that Jaken must have taken for advice.
The only real thing he could partially say he enjoyed about its existence was its conveniencey; it was a convenient place to sleep, eat, train, and deal with his increasing responsibilities that came with his new abode, which was turning out to be more useful to complainers underneath his rule than anything else, who now had a place to spill there puny troubles onto him.
He was fond of his peace here and took his responsibilities seriously as many eyes, both from those within his rule and without, were watching to see how his leadership compared to his father. His father, after all, was able to command without a palace. But his father was a general, and Sesshomaru was the lord; far greater things were expected of him, not that he cared much about the views of others, but he be damned if he was not absolute perfection in lordship as he was in his killings. And perfection is incapable of faltering after all. This meant that concentration was needed during his time at home; even a small inclining would have sufficed. So why couldn't he even do that?!
In all his life, which was an extremely long life, he had never encountered an instance where his thoughts were so enraptured, so fixated, dare he say, even a little obsessive, that it was all he could do just to function! Enchanted dreams drifted into his conscious thoughts the moment he awoke, ensnaring him and refusing to let go. Oh he had tried to focus on other things, the path on which his mind had ventured being one he refused to dwell on, but he was failing.
Countless scrolls he had read in his study, and for each countless time he could not recall what he had read because the black ink reminded him too much of raven hair swaying in the wind. The training hall was no better. He moved out of habit rather than conscious skill, like a puppet while his mind wandered to fluttering lips stringing stories of a future unknown. Hunting was of little help as he skulked outside the western entrance and into the pine tree forest that littered the downward slope of the mountain, the momentary mind lapse between the stalk and the kill lasting only a second before he thought of her standing beside a well surrounded by a meadow in a forest.
The frustration only rose as he disposed his kill onto the palace cooks before trekking up the stairs into his private chambers with company at his call. On top of silk, royal sheets the two demonesses moaned and arched with pleasure beneath their lord's body and still this did not erase her from his mind. Worse now was his thoughts as he envisioned it was her who moaned out his name and grabbed at him, her whose face contorted with pleasure he had given her. His ache for her was suffering, and he removed himself from the satisfied demonesses to sit at his table beside the bed-mat and rub the temple of his aching forehead. He had grown tired of fighting his own thoughts and when he heard the cooing calls of the demonesses who pleaded with him to return to bed, his eyes turned red. He did not want them, he did not want to hear their voices; he only wanted her.
"Get out." He said calmly, attempting to keep his rage in check. But they called to him once more, and this time, he could not maintain self control. With a roar he shouted for them to leave his chambers, and afraid for their lives, they scrambled off of his bed-mat and hurried out into the hall way with little to no clothing to cover them. He sighed, falling onto his bed with his forearm resting over his eyes as he tried to calm down while he allowed his thoughts to trail down the path he had tried to avert his mind from; a path full of thoughts and images of the priestess who had bewitched her way into his mind. Drifting into the spell he could recall her with such clarity he could hear her voice through his ears, smell her scent even though she was nowhere near, and see her as though she was right next to him. His breathing slowed and his body relaxed, ready to enter into a slumber where his dreams would revolve around her, the priestess, Kagome.
A rising dream carried an image of her standing in the basking glow of the sun with a gentle breeze flowing past. Her eyes were admiring the man with long silver hair who stood beside her; himself, Lord Sesshomaru. Half awake he could feel his lips pull into a smile, his barely conscious mind attempting to berate him for smiling at all, and especially for smiling because of her. But he didn't care; he wanted the dream to be real. He wanted to be with her.
Then his smile faltered. Once curved lips straightened into a hardened line distaste creeping on the tip of his tongue. How could a demon such as himself even conceive such a repulsive thought? To want to be with a human, especially with a disrespectful, loud mouth priestess such as her?
Ridiculous. I will not allow one such as myself to think so foolishly. He thought to himself. But his yearn for her continued.
She is a lowly human. He attempted to redirect himself again, but he was usurped by the idea that her fragility only made her bravery and strength that much more admirable.
She belongs to my half-brother.
The groan that escaped his lips could not be helped. To think he had to stoop so low to try to get her off his mind as to recognize his brother's 'claim' to her. Even worse to think that this also did not work.
The image of her beside him was searing itself into his mind and memory, refusing to be set aside and in all honesty he didn't want it to be pushed away either. Damn it priestess. What have you done to me?
All too suddenly an image locked in his forgotten memories forced itself forward, taking place of the coveted image that mocked him. It took him a moment to realize the image had changed, their similarities so starkingly alike, but the change was a demoralizing revelation that disturbed him to his very core. The recognizable demon stood proud beside a woman, his hair pulled back into a ponytail and a light hearted smile was on his face. They looked so alike, Sesshomaru and his father, and no doubt if he ever did smile as widely as his father did people would easily believe at first glance that Toga, the great Inu-no-Taisho, had risen from the dead. It was the disgrace he felt toward his father, however, that overshadowed what pride he would have felt over their resemblance.
His father's arm was wrapped around a maiden of long, dark hair and whose belly was round with near birth, the child within her being a half breed and one who would be known as Sesshomaru's little half-brother. She was glowing, and contently had her head resting on his father's shoulder. Truthfully he had never seen a couple as happy as they had appeared to be, and never had he seen his father quite as joyful around his mother as he was around this human. This only made the bitterness in his mouth grow more sour and vile. His father, a demon of high regard and strength, and someone who Sesshomaru had admired greatly, had married and bedded with a lowly human woman; the same woman who was the very source of his father's death! Nothing could erase the palpable disdain and resentment Sesshomaru had felt that day when he finally saw the human woman whom his father had fallen for. Disgraceful.
And then the priestess was at the forefront of his mind once more, her laughter echoing as she looked up beside him, her head resting gently on Sesshomaru's shoulders. The umbrage he felt cooled at the thought his mind provoked, and he despairingly wished that it would not vanish once more. Only it did as the two images began to overlap each other, one crossing over the other over and over again until they blended into one mesh of an image, the like of which forced him out of his drifting slumber and upright with shock. Was it a pregnant Kagome who stood beside his father, or was it a laughing Izayoi who stood beside him?
The answer made no difference because one thing was made all too clear; he was becoming like his father in a way he never intended; He had begun to care for the priestess in a way he never should.
With no one around, he snapped his fangs with a snarl, almost willing to laugh and deny the notion if he hadn't been filled with such shaking uncertainty. Could he really have developed feelings for this woman? How? Either way, his direction towards action was clear; one way or another, he would go to Edo village and demolish whatever relation or connections he had unknowingly made with the girl.
Quickly, he re-dressed, sending out a bit of his jaki towards Jaken. It did not take long for the imp to come to his Lord's door with a rata-tat-tat.
"Lord Sesshomaru?" He squawked. "You called my Lord?"
"Come in Jaken."
The door creaked open into a large, fully furnished bedroom that was large enough for two kings to dwell in. White tile flooring was patterned with a few gold tiles engraved with crescent moons that matched well with the mauve stone walls and arched ceiling. The area of the bed-mat was lifted a single step higher than the rest of the abode, and the bed-mat itself was twice as thick as any other mat in the lands, with dark purple and magenta sheets being of the finest silk anyone could ever find. It laid on top of a simple, silver rug which ran down the step and into the center of the room. Two doors were placed at the opposite end of the room from the bed-mat, one leading to an extravagant bathing area the size of one of the palaces extremely large halls, and the other leading to the dressing room which was, to Jaken's distaste, half the size of the bath. Facing the opposite end from the bedroom entrance was a curved balcony half the size of the room with potted plants and its own coffee table and lounging seats that matched the formal table and seats set within the room beside the bed. All in all, Jaken was very proud of his work, so it disturbed him to see his lord in what appeared to be utter outrage.
"What is the my Lord? Was it the harem girls? I told them only the best for you my Lord?! Oh if I find out they sent anything less there will be hell to-"
"Jaken, I am leaving the palace for the rest of the day. I entrust you to watch over things."
"Of course my Lord! I, your loyal retainer, will not let you down! Oh, but… may I ask where you are going? There is very little daylight left, not that the darkness has any thwarting merits, but-"
"Jaken."
"Y-yes?"
"Be quiet."
"Oh, er yes my Lord." He bowed, while keeping a confused observant eye on Lord Sesshomaru.
He was not sure why he had paused when he picked up his armor, nor was he sure why he decided to put it down, choosing instead to go into the dressing chambers and pull out another, more simple armor piece. It was the same as the other, only the breast plate had no spikes and there was no pauldron over his shoulder.
She had difficulty with the spikes before… He bit his tongue, drawing blood. That shouldn't have mattered to him, and even if it did, he was off to destroy what little there was between them. Grudgingly, he had to admit that there was very, very little.
"Why are you leaving with that suit of armor, my Lord? Is it not significantly weaker than the other? Eh, my lord?"
But he did not respond. All that drove him was the necessity to leave, and to leave now before the worst part of him that wanted to be with the priestess got the better of him. It was also best that he not answer a question he did not know the answer to.
Determined, and more eager to see the priestess than anything else he had in plan, he ignored the squawking of his retainer and exited through the balcony, taking flight into a red sky with clouds rolling over each other like smoke from a cauldron. As he flew, his human form gracefully passing through the sky, the earth opened herself to him. Below on the ground he passed gleaming forests and golden plains; Rivers and waterfalls, both known and hidden were shown to him, and the canyons and mountains that scarred the earth were seen beneath his feet. But he didn't care for the beauty below him, for he had seen it a hundred times over. All he cared about was his nearing destination, and the prospect of seeing the priestess. Perhaps that added to the surprise when he suddenly felt a wave of jaki pass over him, originating from the Edo village, and although he was certain he had never felt this particular jaki before, it felt remarkably familiar, as if it were part of his very core.
Confused and suddenly anxious for the safety of Rin and the priestess, Sesshomaru transformed into a ball of light, taking this form to travel faster than his human form ever could. Once more he was surprised as he neared the village, anticipating a battle only to find that, inexplicably, the jaki and its owner had vanished. Was it defeated? Sesshomaru pondered, knowing that this was unlikely as the jaki was from something far too strong to be rid of so easily. Where did it go then? What was it? Then, as if to add onto his numerous questions and startle, Sesshomaru heard a scream, the kind that stems from extreme pain. Kagome!
He knew it was her, there was no denying it and at her cry out he became stricken with alarm and thought of only her and her name devoid of any formalities accustomed to his nature. He sped, only a few yards left and he would be there.
But as he neared the spot where the scream had originated, he was passed by his brother who lept through the air with a snarl. Immediately, he was aware of his brothers state; Inuyasha had transformed, his demon blood within him in full control so that there was no consciousness or clear thought. Inuyasha was a blank slate, a slave to the whims of his demon bloods desires. But this was something that Sesshomaru would think about later; Right now, he only cared for his wards protection and finding the priestess.
Only one care was satisfied as he peered down towards the village and saw his ward as she comforted the fox kit while a demon cat cared for small, crying children as the monk and slayer argued. They would protect Rin; she was safe. But where was the priestess?
It didn't take long for him to know where she had gone; he didn't even need her scent. Her predictable nature was uncanny. She had gone to the well.
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...can't... hold... back... grin! I'm very content with this chapter. Below are any clear-ups regarding the last chapter (i received some comments about it and would like to clear the air)
The end point in which Inuyasha "blacks out" is actually just a specific POV of his transformation. His own to be specific. It is demonstrating how when he gives into his demon blood, he himself has lost all senses. To summarize, though his body is moving and actions are being carried out, his consciousness has receded and has become dormant while his demon blood has gone full pilot.
Some other extended questions I received will be answered in the next chapter, so please stick around, and I hope to get back on track with this whole update thing- please bare with me-
Many thanks everyone!
