All rights reserved by Rumiko Takahashi
Inuyasha's hand fell from Kagome's shoulder as the world around them returned to normal. The inside of the darkened room faded away to trees and falling snow while the figures of Sesshomaru and Akira simply ceased to exist.
The half demon's opinion of his older brother had been in a constant state of flux lately. Just this week he'd gone from hating the bastard to empathizing with him to just plain pitying him.
His thoughts and eyes drifted to Kagome. She had been having these visions for a while now. What would she think of him at this point? Inuyasha patted Kagome on the back. "You okay?"
Kagome's eyes drifted up to Inuyasha. "Yeah, its just that I can never quite get a handle on Sesshomaru anymore. I mean I just can't understand how he got to where he is now. It's like…something's missing."
Inuyasha began to guide Kagome back to the group. "It doesn't matter. We'll just have a few extra questions to ask him when we find him."
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Sesshomaru stood at the edge of the canyon. He was fully content to just look out to the forest that was probably about a hundred meters below him. He had chosen this spot very carefully, not just for its familiarity but for the portal at the bottom of the cliff which would be useful if nothing went according to plan.
He could still hear Rin's sobbing. Kohaku was trying to console her but to no avail. The demon lord slightly regretted not being able to take any of them with him. The conversation was quick and to the point. It had started with silence and ended in Rin's tears and Jaken's protest. Kohaku remained silent, which he had suspected from the beginning. Sesshomaru had made his decision even before he had come here.
Inuyasha or his compatriots would take care of them if the demon lord was to fall in battle, of that Sesshomaru was sure. Even If Sesshomaru managed to kill Inuyasha in his present state the following journey would be far too dangerous for any of them.
It was all for the best. Rin would learn what she needed to survive in a human world from the priestess that Inuyasha seemed so enamored with. Kohaku would be reunited with his sister whether he was ready for it or not. Not to mention Jaken who would be either free or would continue to serve his family through Inuyasha. The imp was loyal there was no doubt about it. But the demon lord still refused to risk Jaken's life in a battle that even he probably wouldn't survive.
Sesshomaru heard Mai as she approached him from behind. "What did you tell them?"
"Nothing that concerns you. Have the preparations been made?"
Mai paused hoping the press the issue but instead decided to drop it. "Yeah, I'll be ready for them."
"Good. They will arrive early tomorrow morning."
"So soon?"
"I'm expecting interference. They will arrive tomorrow, of that I'm certain."
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Kagome walked into the campsite and was greeted with a very strange sight. Miroku and Miki were each pointing their respective weapons at an intruder. Kikyo was staring wide eyed at the intruder with her bow drawn. Shippo was behind Sango who was missing her weapon and had just drawn her katana.
The intruder was a golden haired woman wearing the whitest robe Kagome had ever seen. She smiled at Kagome as she held a still glowing arrow that Kikyo had apparently just fired.
Inuyasha burst into the camp just behind Kagome and drew his sword. "What the hell is going on here?!"
The intruder lightly regarded Inuyasha as her smile deepened. "Ah, Inuyasha I was wondering where you were."
Miki edged closer to the woman holding one of her short swords just a little closer. "Don't ignore me damnit! I asked you a question!"
The woman turned her head to face Miki with somewhat of a look of annoyance. "Please be silent." With that she raised her free hand.
Miki and Miroku gasped as their weapons glowed red hot and fell to the ground.
The intruder dropped Kikyo's arrow and moved into the middle of the campsite. "I'm afraid there has been some sort of misunderstanding. I'm here to speak with you, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha didn't put his sword up but he did relax a little. "Who are you?"
The woman smiled. "My name is not important but if it helps you can call me Eve. And I would appreciate it if you and your friends would put their weapons down."
Inuyasha paused then nodded to the group. Everyone seemed to relax and put their weapons away.
Eve moved to the edge of the camp. "Good. Now that that's settled-"
The woman was interrupted by Sango who cleared her throat.
Eve suddenly looked very embarrassed. "So sorry, here you are." The woman raised her hand and Sango's Hiraikotsu fell from the sky right into the demon slayers arms. "Why don't we all sit down and I can explain why I'm here."
The group slowly sat down while keeping a close eye on the woman at the edge of the camp.
Eve walked over to the tree behind her and placed her hand on its base. The group watched as her hand phased through the tree and pulled out a quaint looking chair. She twirled the chair around and took a seat. "So, any questions before I begin?"
Miki, who was completely unimpressed by Eve's tricks, was the first to speak. "Yeah, what are you doing here?"
"From what I understand you were going to travel to Kenshin's store to find out where Sesshomaru had gone. I am here to transport all of you to Sesshomaru directly."
Miroku shifted in his seat. "Well, that's convenient."
Eve smiled. "Isn't it though? I'm also here to talk to Inuyasha."
"About what?"
"Well, let me start off by telling you what I am."
For some reason the answer just came to Kagome. "You're an angel."
Eve looked stunned. "How…"
"I saw you in a dream. You were with Sesshomaru. I didn't recognize you until now."
Eve stared at Kagome for a moment. "Well that is interesting. What year are you from?"
Now it was Kagome's turn to look stunned. "What?"
"What year?"
"Umm, the year two thousand. How did you know-"
"Please miss Higurashi, do I look stupid to you?"
Miroku leaned forward. "You're and angel?"
"Not exactly but I suppose the term angel would make my presence a bit easier to understand."
Inuyasha immediately interjected. "Look I don't care what you are. You said you wanted to talk to me so talk."
"…Fine, quite frankly I wanted ask you about Sesshomaru?"
Inuyasha sighed. "What about him?"
"Do you know what's going to happen when you finally see your brother again?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna beat him till he answers my questions!"
Most of the group gave Inuyasha a shy smile knowing that the odds of Sesshomaru giving up that easily were very slim.
Eve was not amused. "I'm afraid you've misunderstood the situation. Sesshomaru is waiting for you so that he can fight you."
"So why didn't he come and find me like all the other times."
"…Because Sesshomaru is dying."
The group paused in silence. Inuyasha stared at Eve in disbelief. "What are you talking about?"
Eve sighed. "Let me start from the beginning."
Shifting herself in her chair Eve waved her hand. The group sat stunned as the forest around them disappeared replaced by pure darkness.
"In the beginning there was only darkness. Nothing existed not even matter. At least that was until a great power forced into motion cataclysmic events."
The darkness around them exploded in a giant ball of light sending stars and chunks of matter flying past them.
"This is how the worlds of the universe were formed. And in them forces of unbelievable power emerged. These entities were called the gods. For a time the gods were content to live in a place separate from the universe as it is known but soon the gods grew bored and began to fight each other."
The image of space shifted to a giant battlefield filled to the brim with members of two sides fighting to the death. The battle was so large that the only thing that could be seen was an endless expanse of death and destruction.
"The battle between the gods separated them into good and evil. The gods then separated into separate kingdoms because for all their power they could not stand to be near each other. The war between the good kingdoms and the evil would rage on and off for many eons but eventually they would all come to an agreement that would change everything."
The group was transported to a world of an endless sea.
"The gods decided that the war was too costly and looked for another way to end the conflict. That is when their eyes found Earth. For whatever reason the power that created the universe and the gods created life on Earth which started here in the ocean. Soon the ever shifting world would create more and more landmass and from the sea came the life that had for so long dwelled beneath its surface."
Land crept up from the sea's edge and revealed a dense jungle filled with terrible lizards.
"The creatures that first appeared on this world were different from anything the gods had ever seen before. Over time they watched this new form of life and were somewhat amused. But the universe had other plans for this world and it's inhabitants."
The world around them flashed with a bright light and was then consumed by storm and cloud.
"The gods were horrified with this travesty and soon made plans to prevent such a thing from happening again. Over time the planet became what it once was and life once again crept back into the god's sights."
The clouds parted revealing a barren wasteland that slowly became forest once more. And from the trees came apes.
"These creatures changed as time went on and the gods saw opportunity. In their collective power the gods began to shape life in their image. Soon a group of people came into being. They were called humans."
Slowly the men and women crept from the forest with spears and tattered clothes and began to quickly build homes.
"But the worlds of the gods were not without strife for humans were not the first beings to be influenced by the gods. Within their own kingdoms some of the gods crafted servants resembling the beasts of the earth and the gods themselves. These were called the immortals for they were given the infinite lifespan of their masters. Over time these immortals grew restless and some began to revolt. The gods saw this and began to pity them. So the gods crafted a separate set of worlds for themselves and left the immortals who revolted to their own devices. Those immortals who remained loyal went with the gods to the new heavens that were created while the others took control of the city's around them. Soon they even found ways into the world that the humans belonged."
A bright blue light emerged from the tree next to the human village and from it a being with silver hair and pointed ears emerged.
"These portals to the human world were not meant for immortals to use and many perished trying to cross. But this did little to deter the immortals from venturing forth into this new land and mixing with the humans that the gods so loved to watch. Soon even humans ventured forth into the portals and came to reside within the cities left by the gods. The gods knew that given the choice the humans would leave their home in favor of the immortal's cities and had little choice but to make their presence known."
Gods descended from the sky on fiery chariots bringing the humans and immortals alike to their knees.
"The gods told the humans the story of their planet and offered to watch over them if they stayed in the world given to them. Most of the humans and the immortals that had ventured forth agreed and left the portals as they were. Over time the humans and immortals of this world advanced under the watchful eyes of the gods."
The humans and immortals of the village advanced through time until finally they began to look as if they did in Japan's feudal era.
"The gods, though powerful, did not have the ability to watch over the entire world all the time so they began to influence the fates over which some beings were born. Both sets of gods did this mostly because of the treaty that neither side could influence the world any more than the other. This meant that both good and evil beings would be made. At first the gods tried to use humans but this was met with failure as the humans who were influenced by the good gods turned out evil and vice versa. Some believed that it had to do with the human's chaotic nature. So the gods started to use the immortals that had come to live in this world. One of the first immortals we used was someone that you know very well Inuyasha."
Inuyasha crossed his arms. "Don't tell me. Sesshomaru."
"No, it was your father."
Inuyasha's father appeared. He sat quietly at his desk in the western castle.
"He was of course told of this when he came of age. We told him that he had been born under divine influence and that he was to do much good in this world. He was also informed that his next son would be born under divine influence as well. The only difference was that his son would commit great evil."
Waves of realization washed over him. "My father gave Sesshomaru up because he thought Sesshomaru would be evil."
"That's correct. He wanted to kill Sesshomaru but something in him wouldn't let him. Perhaps it was his inherent good nature or perhaps it was simply that he was unable to kill his own son. Regardless he purposely mated with a woman who's nobility would require him to hide his son's birth."
The image of Sesshomaru appeared. He was young and playing with several other children.
"But this is where things get complicated. Perhaps it was some strange aspect of fate or maybe something that we've simply yet to understand but Sesshomaru, who was meant to be an evil influence in the world simply…well, didn't. Because of the circumstances into which Sesshomaru was born he was forced to raise himself until he was five. He should have shown signs of evil intent but instead he was practically a saint. This was when we knew something was wrong. As a result of his later training he became a little more evened out but this did little to hinder his moral compass. It was not until far later that he began to show signs of moral degradation. Finally after decades of questioning his role in the world he was starting to act like he was supposed to."
Sesshomaru's image didn't shift but instead the children around him seemed to just move away from him. Sesshomaru was left alone sitting next to a building that Kagome recognized as the Nest from his old village. She couldn't help but notice how sad he looked when his friends left.
"But then he stopped. As if he suddenly realized what had happened to him, he just stopped and went back to his old self. He soon left Japan for some time, and I can't express how surprised some of us were at this point. Very few of the divine immortals that we had created had ever left the area to which they were specified to influence. This caused some other gods to become very interested in him. When he left he was constantly exposed to different influences yet he never once faltered though I will admit he hadn't acted in a manner befitting a saint since he was a small child. He returned to Japan much later and soon came into contact with his counterpart. You see Sesshomaru's counterpart was created the same as he was, with evil intent. Unfortunately for Sesshomaru his counterpart had taken his evil influence as bible. The immortal was searching for an artifact that the gods had placed on Earth as a balancing act. Sesshomaru after coming into contact with his counterpart decided to kill him and in the process uncovered the artifact. Well a few unexpected developments later I revealed my self to Sesshomaru and conscripted him to guard the existence of the artifact."
The scene before them melted away and the group returned to the campsite.
"Which brings me to my point. Because of prolonged exposure to the artifact Sesshomaru's body has been breaking down for some time now. So since he's dying he's come up with the idea that he wants to settle the score with you once and for all in some kind of final duel to the death. Which is why I'm talking to you now. In his present condition Sesshomaru stands a good chance of losing his fight to you which is why I've come to ask you if you'll take over Sesshomaru's duties of guarding the artifact's existence."
Inuyasha looked somewhat taken aback. "So you're asking me to fight and kill my brother and then guard some divine artifact that just happens to be the reason why Sesshomaru's dying in the first place?"
"First of all I never asked you to kill Sesshomaru and second its only killing him because he used it. Besides you'd be helping us out a lot, which we can repay you for. For example I could tell you where to find the one called Naraku."
"You know where Naraku is?"
"Of course but I wouldn't just tell you. You haven't done anything for me yet."
"…But why me?"
"Because you were born under the same circumstances as your father. Or haven't you noticed all the good you've been doing lately."
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed and his tone turned threatening. "You've been influencing my life? My decisions?"
"Not me personally but yes in a manner of speaking. You were chosen to follow up on the work your brother has done. This was done in hopes that you would deal with the situation in a less genocidal manner."
Kagome's posture shifted. "Genocidal? What do you mean?"
"It's not for me to say. What I can tell you is that I've been very uncomfortable with the way Sesshomaru does his job. Unfortunately I've had to attribute his behavior to the evil influence that my kind cursed him with. Make no mistake, he is no longer a child and his actions have, in my opinion, been shaped by the world around him. Anyway, all of this is just something to think about. You don't need to give me an answer tonight. Just get some rest and I'll get you to Sesshomaru in the morning."
Inuyasha stood as Eve moved from her chair. "How?"
Eve smiled and raised her hand. The chair behind her disappeared. Eve began to walk towards the campfire. "Silly immortal. I can do whatever I feel like as long as this land's god recognizes my right to be here. All you need to know is that tomorrow will be a very important day for you. So, get some sleep."
And with that the campfire seemed to swallow her up. Once it returned to normal she was gone.
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Author's notes:
Yes, I'm still alive if not a little exhausted. I've had my hands full with school work for a while but I still managed to set aside today for a little writing. Granted I'm just using this story as an excuse for procrastination…I don't want to write another essay today.
Anyway, In the Beginning was really just something I was using to introduce the world that I wanted for the other books Exodus and Testament. So In the Beginning should be coming to a close fairly soon. And by fairly soon I mean there's only a few more chapters left. This part of the story was originally going to be much longer but I decided that certain parts could be explained later in Exodus. So if you've been waiting to see Sesshomaru interact with Inuyasha or Kagome you're about to get your wish…in a big way.
Answer:
The answer is Balder.
