Beautiful Destiny

Chapter 14

Gomenasai! I really don't mean to take so long with chapters, it's just I have a lot of real-life things going on, so I've been really busy. I have been writing down ideas as they come to me, though, and I do have more chapters planned. I just haven't gotten around to typing and posting them. I still don't have Internet either.

I also went back and reviewed my chapters, and found a bunch of mistakes (spelling and otherwise). So, I fixed the mistakes and toned down Sayuri's powers a bit, if you want to go back into those chapters and take a look. Also, I added a few new pictures to the character descriptions on my profile. Ryu has a new (smexy) picture, and the character that's introduced in this chapter, Keisu (creepy) has a picture too.

Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Japanese Vocab.

Ano --- "Um"

Disclaimer: I do not own any Inuyasha character or the series. However, my original characters are my own.

Meeting in the Forest:
Sesshoumaru v. Ryu

The sun had already set and a clear dark sky took its place. Stars dotted the sky in beautiful patterns and drew more attention to the brightly shining three-quarter moon. A brisk breeze blew with the sweet scents of summer nights and the nighttime creatures came out to play, including one ominous figure that chose to lurk on the cliff of the Holy Mountain where he overlooked the world below. The demon god was in a rare mood tonight. Everything was going according to his plan. Soon, he would get rid of the Mitsukai race altogether, along with anyone else that stood a threat to him, including the brothers Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru and their little groups. Even Naraku would have to be taken care of.

Yami didn't trust Naraku. The hanyou had a history of betrayal, and the Dark Lord wasn't about to take any chances. As soon as his plan was near completion, he would dispose of him. Until then, he would have to watch the hanyou's movements carefully. Though, Yami couldn't help but smirk to himself. After thousands of years, he would be the overlord of the world of the living and the dead. Hell would once again walk the earth.

He sensed Sakkaku return and his smirk faded. He sensed the fear and guilt upon the demon, which only meant one thing: he failed. How the lord hated being surrounded by idiots.

"Sakkaku, I trust you have a good explanation why you are not fulfilling your duties?"

Yami didn't even turn to look at the demon, which made it all the more frightening for Sakkaku.

"F-Forgive me, my lord. It was the half-demon Inuyasha…"

"Inuyasha? You couldn't even handle that half-breed?"

"N-No, my lord. He was also there, protecting her… And I could sense Sesshoumaru…"

"So, Ryu has returned to this time as well? Interesting. This may be more trouble than I expected." Yami said quietly to himself. He then glanced back to Sakkaku, who was now on his knees in front of the lord. He narrowed his eyes in disgust at the sight of the weak fool.

"Pathetic." He stated and turned, facing the demon. He outstretched his arm toward him and made a gripping motion with his hand. Sakkaku winced and clenched his chest in pain, his breathing becoming labored.

"… P-Please… my lord! I-I… will not fail you… again!" He gasped for his life.

"This I know, Sakkaku. I will be sending Keisu in your stead. He is far more reliable and powerful than you…" He made his grip smaller, which made Sakkaku gasp in pain. "I should end your pathetic existence here… However," he let go of his grip and his arm returned at his side. Sakkaku collapsed, breathing heavily. "I may have some use for you…"

He approached the demon and knelt down, gripping Sakkaku's throat to bring his ear up to whisper to him. "You will become Naraku's servant. Get as close to him as possible and report back to me any information you learn. Understood?"

"H-Hai." He gasped and Yami let go of him, standing up and turning his back to him.

"Go. Before I change my mind."

"Hai, Yami-sama…" Sakkaku struggled and got to his feet, disappearing in a gust of wind.

"… Are you sure that was wise?" A deep, emotionless voice came from the shadows. "Letting him live?"

"Are you questioning me, Keisu?" Yami glanced with a glare toward the voice.

"… No, my lord."

Yami sighed and turned back to his surroundings. "I know about his infatuation with her. Don't think me a fool, Keisu." He looked up to the moon. "While it is an annoyance, it will not matter in two nights. There's nothing he can do but watch. You, on the other hand, have a job to do. Do not fail me."

"Hai, Yami-sama."

- - - -

There was a sound of soft rustling and footsteps as the Lord of the West walked toward the village the hanyou occupied, toward Sayuri's scent. A colder look than usual was in his eyes, which meant death for anyone who crossed him. If Inuyasha had done anything to Sayuri, there would be hell to pay.

The thought angered him more than anything, and yet he didn't know why. At first he had chosen her because she would be a suitable mother for Rin, one that could protect the child and herself when he wasn't around. But now… he was considering different reasons to keep the Mitsukai girl around. He didn't want to admit it, but he had grown fond of her in the few days they spent together. He wanted to be there to protect her against whatever was foolish enough to try to hurt her. Even Rin had already started to miss her and was worried about her.

Her place was with them… with him.

What was he thinking? He hadn't chosen her for himself, he chose her for Rin. His thoughts confused him as well as his feelings. Why couldn't he get her out of his mind? He sighed in aggravation, not liking what the girl was doing to him. He didn't like the feeling of confusion. He suppressed his thoughts of her as he walked, but the feeling was still there, which just made him all the angrier. Whoever stepped in his way now had to have a death wish.

He stopped suddenly, smelling her intoxicating scent approaching… with the unknown scent from the well. This would be interesting…

- - - -

More sounds of footsteps could be heard running from the opposite direction. Ryu held onto Sayuri tightly as he carried her toward the well, back to Tokyo. She hung her arms around his neck and rested her head against his chest tiredly. She had been through a lot within the past few days and was mentally exhausted. Everything was a lot for her to take in, especially after losing the people that were precious to her, and Ryu couldn't help but feel sympathy for the beautiful girl in his arms. He knew she was tired, but there was still important things she needed to know to prepare her for what was about to come. He just hoped Yami hadn't caught wind of them going back to their time yet. In the condition she was in now, Sayuri wouldn't stand a chance against Yami or one of his top commanders. He would have to protect her.

"Sayuri-hime, are you feeling ok?" He asked, concerned about her well-being. The last thing they needed right now was for her to be sick.

"U-un. I'm just a little tired after everything… the crying really wore me out." She joked, smiling very slightly. She knew he was worried about her, and wanted to make light of the situation.

Ryu smiled sympathetically. "Well, we're almost to the Well, and you can rest when we're home until they arrive. I'll stay with you so we don't have a repeat of what happened last time."

"Un. Arigatou." She said as she closed her eyes for a minute.

He ran a few more steps and stopped suddenly in a small clearing, right across from Sesshoumaru, who looked to him, then to the exhausted girl in his arms. He felt a bit of jealousy in the pit of his stomach. Why was that man carrying Sayuri?

"Sesshoumaru…?" Ryu blinked. It had been years since he last saw the Lord, yet it didn't look like he changed a bit.

Sayuri opened her eyes slowly and looked over to the daiyoukai. She blinked and blushed slightly, realizing he was staring at her in Ryu's arms.

"S-Sesshoumaru-sama… a-ano…" The situation was a little uncomfortable. She hadn't expected to see him, especially with her like that. As if sensing the tension, Ryu put Sayuri down on her feet and she silently thanked him with a glance. She started to approach Sesshoumaru, but he came to her instead. They were just inches apart when he gently touched and caressed her cheek, looking into her eyes like he did before. She blushed from the abruptness, and Ryu shot him a glare. Perhaps he just did it to make Ryu jealous, or perhaps it was something more. An urge he couldn't control.

Sesshoumaru noticed her eyes had a sort of dullness to them, compared to when he first looked into them. This made him concerned.

"… Are you alright?" He asked. A surprising question even to himself.

"U-un. I'm… just going through a lot. I'll be ok." She forced a smile. She didn't want him worrying too much over her. However, Sesshoumaru knew better. But he didn't want to force her to relive anything, so he let it go for the time being. He let his hand drop back to his side and took a step back.

"Rin told me what happened. She was worried about you." Again, he put on his cold demeanor as if nothing happened.

"Gomenasai. I didn't mean to make everyone worry… to be honest, I can barely remember what happened. I know I didn't want her or the others to get hurt, though." She looked to the ground for a moment, making his expression soften.

"Come, I'll take you back. She's waiting for you." He extended his hand out to her and Ryu stepped in, wrapping his arm around her waist. He had enough of watching the two. Sayuri blinked and blushed slightly, looking to Ryu. Sesshoumaru stared coldly at him. How dare he interrupt them?

"Gomen, Sesshoumaru-sama. She's coming back to our time with me. I can't risk her being in this era any longer than necessary. Her life is at risk."

"R-Ryu-kun…" Sayuri blinked. She then looked to Sesshoumaru, who did not look happy. She sweatdropped as she stood there with them glaring at each other. She could have sworn she saw a spark between them. 'Not good...'

"So you are Ryu," Sesshoumaru stated, remembering what Sayuri said about him.

"Hai." He said in a defiant tone, hugging Sayuri to him, making her blink. She really didn't want to be in the middle of those two right now. It looked like they were going to tear each other apart.

"… Release Sayuri. I will take her back to her time, if she wishes to go. There is no need for you."

'He actually used my name!' She blinked and looked to him, and the look he was giving Ryu scared her slightly.

"Ieie. She's perfectly fine with me. I need to talk to her about something private. Besides, I can protect her. Where were you when she needed help after her last battle with Sakkaku?"

Sesshoumaru looked angrier by the minute and Sayuri looked back and forth between the two. A sweatdrop formed on her head. 'Ano… maybe I should get out of the way now…'

Sesshoumaru drew Tokijin out of its sheath and glared at Ryu with an icy cold stare. "Then perhaps we should see who can protect her better. Release her and fight."

"Gladly."

Ryu let go of the horrified Sayuri as his eyes turned from their amber color to crimson. He extended his right arm outward and in a flash of red light, a black katana appeared in his hand. The blade was pure black and the handle and hilt was decorated in a gorgeous red dragon pattern on top of a black background. On the top of the hilt was the sword's name etched in white: "Tsekerumaru". Two outlines of red wings sprouted from his back and the two just stared at each other in malice.

"Another Mitsukai… interesting."

Sesshoumaru ran at him with incredible speed, swinging his sword down when he reached him. Ryu blocked with his katana and pushed him back, running after him as Sesshoumaru gracefully back stepped and blocked as Ryu swung at him. He pushed Ryu back and swiped at him, just barely missing his stomach as Ryu back flipped to his original position. The fight continued for some time until Ryu started using one of his special techniques: Dragon Flame. He held his katana out in front of him and made a hand seal with his free hand, which resulted in flames firing from the katana in a spread. Sesshoumaru dodged easily, but didn't want to use Dragon Strike for fear of hurting Sayuri as well.

Sayuri watched as the fight went on, worried for each of them. She didn't want them to fight each other, especially not over her. She didn't want to see anyone else get hurt because of her.

"Matte! Onegai!" She pleaded, but it didn't seem they could hear her. They continued fighting. She was about to run in when someone grabbed her wrist from behind forcefully. She let out a scream in surprise and the two stopped fighting, looking over to where Sayuri was.

Ryu gasped and Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. They both knew who it was.

"Keisu…"

A tall dark figure came out from the shadowed brush hidden from the moonlight. He gripped Sayuri's wrist and his hand glowed a dark purple. She tried to form light in her hand, but couldn't. Was he suppressing her powers?

"N-Nani?" She breathed.

"Kobanwa, Sayuri-dono…"

It gives me the creeps just writing about Keisu. I picked a picture that suits him perfectly. XD R&R!