Author's Notes
Thanks for all the reviews guys. I'm really glad that the last chapter made you guys stop and think for a minute, and am also glad that some of you guys agree. I am happy if it affected you in a good way, coz that's the only way in which I meant it.
Thanks for the reviews for the one-shot too. I kind of cut loose on that one, and it worked out well I guess.
I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but my one-shots are really alternate stories to some of the same circumstances that I plan to incorporate into this main story. What I'm saying is that if you did read the one-shots, then you might find some familiarities in this story, and thus, might find some things easier to understand, or predict.
Point to Note/Remember
The chapter dealing with the content of the last chapter is somewhere ahead. I will mention the link (direct flow), in that chapter, so that you'll know for sure that it is dealing with that.
Sesshoumaru – The Path to Destiny
Chapter 35 : Old Man; 'Bokusenou'
"Sesshoumaru! How much further is it?" the miko's voice came distractingly from behind him.
Sesshoumaru momentarily closed his eyes, pushing back the thoughts of decapitation and burning with acid. It was well into the after noon, and the miko who had been quiet for the most part of the day, had suddenly started complaining for a while now. This was certainly new. She had complained before, but this was more sort of whining than anything else. It was downright irritating. Rin was a child, and she never whined.
It was odd though. The whining was sweet to the ears. Her tone softened and pulled on the notes and sounds. If she was just a little more high pitched with that soft touch, someone could mistake her complaining for singing.
'I wonder how well the miko can sing." Sesshoumaru wondered. He no longer thought that sudden thoughts like that were strange, even for him. Anyone who was with the miko long enough, would eventually start wondering about such things. It was inescapable. 'But the damn miko is starting to get on my nerves now.'
Much to his chagrin however, the whiny questions did not cease to come from her. He blamed it on Rin, who was asleep after her lunch. If she was awake, the miko would have had someone else to focus on instead of him. The almost inaudibly muttering Jaken, who was walking a few paces behind him, was not much of a distraction to the miko. He was certain that she would sometimes forget the little imp existed. A lot of people did, well except for Rin.
He wondered whether reminding the miko of Jaken's presence would shut her up, or at least make her stop whining and talk a little less freely. She could do that when they were alone, but not when others were around. On second thought, he realized that he didn't want her to whine when they were alone either. 'Damn Ningens!'
Considering the fact that she had barely spoken a word since the meeting with the two human men, and that she hadn't said anything when they had stopped for lunch either, he wondered whether she may have caught on to what had happened to him earlier that morning. It was not beneath her to notice what most others would miss. But then he remembered, if she did actually realize what had happed to him, it wouldn't be beneath her to tease him about it either. He knew she secretly sought every opportunity she was presented with to find something to tease him with, though he thought that it was just plain insults that were directed towards him. 'Yes,' he thought. 'She would definitely have said something if she knew about what happened.'
However, he also had to consider the possibility that she might purposely be avoiding talking about it. He knew her well enough to know that she was considerate of other people's feelings. He was of course a near exception in that manner. That was partly because he never let anyone else know what he was feeling, except if it was anger. She could never tell what he was feeling, and he usually didn't give himself time to feel. Feelings were just a waste of time and did very little to help with being the dominant power in the land.
'But, she could always be saving it up to tease me about it later.' he thought with an inward smirk. He would just have to wait and see. And if she did know, then he would kill her, or maybe find a way to erase that memory from her, though… he still liked the killing option better than anything else.
"Miko. Cease your incessant whining." he shot back. "We will get there when we get there. Not before."
That shut her up. Well it did for a few moments.
"Sesshoumaru we've been walking for hours since lunch, non stop!"
Sesshoumaru smirked. Humans were so weak.
"Too much smirking doesn't fit you demon."
He couldn't argue there. His smirks had increased in number. 'After the miko came…' he added regretfully. 'Damn miko.'
Sesshoumaru wondered whether he was getting too lenient in his outwards behavior or maybe getting a little too soft. If so, only the miko would know it. It was easy for him to be his usual self with others. They weren't as insightful as the miko. None of them could ever come close to knowing things about him as much as she did. Again, that was a weakness, or rather the miko's strength. There was only one way he could describe the relationship he had with the human priestess, without making him some one was he was not; she was growing on him.
'She is growing on me…?' An infuriated sigh followed the thought. 'Curses!'
...ooo...
It was several hours later, when Sesshoumaru finally came to a graceful stop. He hadn't spoken a word, expect for that one time. Yes, he was still the silent cold type. 'Hm!' he smirked in thought with pride.
"Jaken, stay here." Sesshoumaru ordered. "I will take the miko with me."
"But, but my Lord, why can't I-" A cold glare from his master was enough to stop his complaint.
"Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru. I will stay here with the human child." Jaken bowed his head.
"Come Miko." Sesshoumaru once again walked forward.
Kikyo cast a glance at the sleeping form of Rin, before following her ally, through the woods that were dotted with trees.
She stepped up beside Sesshoumaru when he abruptly stopped in front of one.
"Sesshoumaru, what are-" Kikyo stopped mid sentence when a face appeared on the bark of the tree, her eyes not widening thanks to her trained mindset of never showing emotion, even though on the inside, she was very, very surprised.
She had not got an aura from him at all. 'Was he even demon?' She thought that because he was a tree, and thus connected to the earth itself, and so wouldn't be able to sense an aura even if he was a demon. She wondered how many more strange things she would come across in her travels with the infamous and surprisingly, well connected, Taiyoukai.
"Ahh… Sesshoumaru Sama. To what do I owe the pleasure?" the face asked in a tone that indicated many years of having been alive, coated with wisdom. "And who is this? You have never brought a visitor like this before. Hmm… she is a human. Sesshoumaru… are you ill?"
The old tree, Bokusenou, was a one of the very few living things that Sesshoumaru tolerated enough, not to kill, when asked too many irritating questions. He was the one who was supposed to ask the questions! And he couldn't help but sense a bit of humor coming from the tree. 'Is it because of the miko?' he asked himself.
"Do you know of the miko?" That one question, depending on how the wrinkly old tree answered, would give him answers to a lot of questions. He was smart for a reason.
"I have heard of the miko, but I did not know that she would be this young or this beautiful." the talking tree answered, with a faint smile. "Are you courting her Sesshoumaru Sama? I must say I wouldn't be surprised if you were, it's rare to find such raw beauty after all."
If Sesshoumaru had been anyone else, he would have sweat-dropped, face-vaulted, had uncontrollably twitching eyebrows, or gone red in the face. Since he wasn't, he stood stock still, glaring at the tree, with fury intense enough to burn the entire forest.
Beside him, the miko couldn't stop the slight tinting of her cheeks in a pinkish red. It was not the implication, but the disbelief that, what she assumed was actually, 'a really, really old man', asking and talking about something that… personal, without the slightest regret or hesitation. Didn't he know the meaning of privacy? Of course there was nothing there to be private about, but still, where was his… his… decency? She wondered whether Sesshoumaru was going to make firewood out of him. When she noticed him tense under his silk clothes, she couldn't help a small smile from appearing on her lips. It appeared that he was affected by what the tree said too. 'Is it possible for Sesshoumaru to be embarrassed?' she asked herself. Noticing his glare, she decided that it was impossible.
Sesshoumaru wondered whether to answer the last question or simply ignore it. 'Damnit! Is everybody trying to screw with my head?'
"She is an unintended ally in facing a powerful threat." Sesshoumaru said as monotonously as possible, which was good enough, because neither of the other two felt the anger underneath it.
Kikyo narrowed her eyes at his blunt answer, which did not go unnoticed by the wise old tree.
Bokusenou's features relaxed in another smile. 'So this is the human woman that Shirinousai told me about. Mmm… she has the correct attitude. I can see why Shirinousai was so excited. But, does she have the soul that is needed for this…? Power without a proper soul, is useless after all. I certainly hope that you are right about this old friend… for if not, it could be utter disaster…'
"Ohh? And how did that happen?" Bokusenou, coming out of his thoughts, asked from Sesshoumaru.
"That is not important." Sesshoumaru said evenly, to which Kikyo narrowed her eyes at him again, though he did not notice. Far be it from Kikyo to say it out loud, but Sesshoumaru was being too rude to the gentle tree, for her liking.
"What is important is that she has been given the ultimate power of a miko, going so far as to make her blood have the essence of purity. But she can't control the power, and two days ago, she lost control of her aura, since which she has refrained from attempting to tap into her powers." Sesshoumaru explained curtly.
"Hmm…" Bokusenou mused with a thinking expression. "If her blood itself has been transformed, wouldn't that mean more power than the human mind can handle? She is no demon after all."
"I believe that is why she lost control of her aura." Sesshoumaru agreed.
Sesshoumaru wondered whether to mention a certain fact that he himself was not to sure about. But he decided to tell the tree anyway.
"She claims to have had a nightmare about loosing control of her powers, after the incident of loosing control of her aura."
"Is that true?" Bokusenou asked, looking towards Kikyo with a thoughtful expression.
"Yes." Kikyo replied softly. She was confused as to the reason why Sesshoumaru had mentioned her nightmare. Remembering that Sesshoumaru had been interested in that, last night, she wondered whether there was some significance to it. Apparently, both Sesshoumaru and Bokusenou, new something that she didn't! She was going to have a word with Sesshoumaru about this later. 'He should have told me if he suspected something.' she thought a little angrily.
Bokusenou looked up and gave some careful thought.
"I suppose it is not impossible." he said, looking at Sesshoumaru once again.
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. He was not expecting Bokusenou to side with his suspicions. "But she is just a human." he said coldly.
"What is that supposed to mean Sesshoumaru!" Kikyo asked sharply. She had had enough of not knowing what they were talking about, and now she couldn't tell whether Sesshoumaru was insulting her or not. It was vexing. "I want to know what you are talking about!"
Bokusenou regarded her with a smile. "He meant no insult."
'Yes I did.' Sesshoumaru thought irritatedly. 'And why is Bokusenou covering for me? The old man likes the Ningen too much! Hm!'
Sesshoumaru kept silent, engaged in his own thoughts now that Bokusenou had confirmed the possibility that the miko may have powers which are to be learnt and manipulated much like the way in which demons did. He half listened when Bokusenou explained the way in which demons of powerful blood lines experienced nightmares when they first tap into their aura's and then how the powers grow in tune with their instincts. The miko was fast to deduce that since she did not have demon instincts, her powers would be connected to her emotions instead.
'Smart miko.' was one of the thoughts that found itself among the mass of others in Sesshoumaru's head.
"And why did you not tell me about this?" Kikyo turned to face Sesshoumaru after her conversation with the tree.
Sesshoumaru ignored the smile that Bokusenou why trying to hide, and gave the miko one of his sideways cold glares.
"I only had my suspicions. I was not about to tell you something of which I myself was not sure about. Knowing your temperament, it was the right thing to do, compared to how you are reacting now and how you would have reacted had I told you and I turned out to be wrong."
When Bokusenou saw the fire in Kikyo's eyes, as she returned Sesshoumaru's glare, he smiled again. They reminded him of two other beings that he used to know, a long, long, long, time ago. 'Perhaps you are right Shirinousai.' Bokusenou thought, as he continued to watch the demon prince and the miko. 'Perhaps she is strong enough to do what she must, if she is indeed the one…'
"Old man, what do you suggest she do, if she is to have any hope of learning to control her powers?" His thoughts were interrupted by Sesshoumaru's question, to which the prince earned another glare from the miko. "Her powers are required, if I am to defeat the new threat."
"Hmm…" Bokusenou mused again. "Since we have established for certain that her powers are now greatly linked to her emotions, I suppose you could wait till she eventually gets used to it, and from there on she can slowly start learning to control her powers, until she can control them by mind alone. But, if you are in a hurry, there is a certain flower, that grows on the highest of the mystic mountains, that maybe able to help."
"I presumed that they were extinct." Sesshoumaru said with expressionless features.
"Many think so, but no, they still exist." Bokusenou informed.
"How will this flower help me?" Kikyo asked seriously.
"Getting the flower is in it self a difficult task, but what comes after you have the flower in your position is the hardest part."
"What do I do when we get the flower?"
Bokusenou did what could only be thought of as a chuckle. "Why you eat it of course." It sounded like it was an obvious thing to do.
Sesshoumaru glared at the old man's antics, while Kikyo secretly smiled. Out of all the old demons that she had met, of which the other two were, Totosai and Shirinousai, Bokusenou was the one she liked the most. She noticed that he was the only who Sesshoumaru had not insulted or threatened in any form, even once. The glares were there, but everyone got the glares, expect Rin of course. Bokusenou was both wise and had the charm and attitude of a gentle old soul. He was a grandfather that Kikyo wished she had had. It was also very apparent that Sesshoumaru, actually respected this old demon, and that in it self said a lot of things about Bokusenou and what his character must be like.
"Explain, old man." Sesshoumaru's all business, no-nonsense voice, brought an end to the light hearted atmosphere.
Composing himself, which wasn't difficult because he was a face in a tree, Bokusenou turned serious for once.
"You see, the flower has an unusual property to it. It will put the one who has ingested it, in a state of unconsciousness. Once unconscious, the person will have free roam of the mind, but that is when the juices of the plant create a temporal reality. It will force you to face the darkness within you, which could be one or more. It will usually be something that has brought you emotional pain and deeply affected you psychologically. In other words, you will have to face something that you would rather not, using your memories of what happened to you in the past. However, the risk is that if you fail to win the darkness, then you will permanently be trapped in your mind, never to awaken or regain consciousness. If you win over whatever darkness in your mind however, you will gain good control of your aura, and as a result it will become easy to learn to control your powers. Also be aware that whatever physical damage you endure in your mind's reality, your physical body will also endure. A cut in your mind will be a cut in your flesh in the physical world."
Silence greeted Bokusenou's explanation.
Sesshoumaru carefully considered what had just been said. It seemed to be the best way to get the miko's powers under control. But he could not and would not force her to do it. The choice was hers to make.
Kikyo was looking down at the grassy ground, her eyes following the dance of one single blade of grass in particular. She too was thinking carefully about what Bokusenou had just said. It seemed the quickest way to endure perfect and complete control of her powers. The risk was great, but for the good of all the others who were undoubtedly going to be under the threat of Bakarryuu, it was something she had to do.
Seeing Sesshoumaru's questioning glance directed at her, she only became surer of what she was going to do.
"I will do it." Kikyo said with determination, both the other two feeling the spike in her aura, though she did not.
Bokusenou smiled. "Even though I have known you only a short while, I can safely say that I would have been surprised if you had refused."
Sesshoumaru mentally smirked at that.
'Damn. It would appear as though I am smirking a little too much. But is that a bad thing? Hmm…?'
"Sesshoumaru sama, will you be taking her to the mystic mountains?" Bokusenou asked, once again turning serious.
"Hn.." he voiced in deadpan tone. The other two were used to it so they knew that that was Sesshoumaru's form of a 'yes'.
"Ahh… then you are in safe hands and can trust that your body will be returned to you the way you left it before you entered your mind." Bokusenou smiled.
Though Kikyo thought nothing of Bokusenou's statement, Sesshoumaru got the feeling that there was a hidden or mischievous meaning in there somewhere. But the old man was far too wise and gave out not the slightest indication that he meant something else by what he had said, so Sesshoumaru gave it no further thought, though the glare that was on his face, wasn't leaving; 'just in case.'
"Oh there is one more thing. You must mix the sweet extract of the flower with the water from the one spring on the mountain. It will freshen the mind and ease any tension in the body, helping you to relax."
Kikyo nodded her head as a sign that she understood what had to be done. When she turned to see if Sesshoumaru had anything to say or add, she saw nothing but air in his place. Surprised, she looked behind to find him walking away, his work done. Kikyo let out an angered expulsion of air.
She heard Bokusenou chuckle again.
"I apologize for his," she turned back to look at the receding figure of Sesshoumaru with slight anger, "…rude exit."
"You don't have to." Bokusenou assured with a smile. "He is just being his usual self."
"His usual self is being a cold and arrogant demon." Kikyo said, turning to face the tree again, her voice laced with discreet contempt.
"I won't argue with you there." Bokusenou said in almost a whisper. "But don't tell him I said that."
Kikyo smiled. "I won't, and thank you for your help. It is most valuable information that you have given us."
"You are more than welcome." the talking tree said with another smile. "I wish you both well on your journey. Just remember that, the past is over, and you only have the present and the future. Don't look back, but look forward."
Kikyo absorbed what the wise old tree said, and with a final thank you, she turned and followed the path Sesshoumaru had taken.
'She is quite the interesting one.' Bokusenou thought as he watched her hurry her pace, without loosing her elegance, to catch up with the demon Lord. 'And responsible too. I wonder if she realized that she accepted a small amount of responsibility for Sesshoumaru, when she apologized to me because of him. Hmm…? If she didn't… then this could only get more interesting…"
With that, the face disappeared into the tree. Bokusenou, however, had a feeling that he might be seeing the young demon prince sooner rather than later. He had seen Sesshoumaru talk with reservation and had also noticed that there was something troubling him. He knew Sesshoumaru for a long time now, and he wasn't considered wise for no reason. He was sure; he was most certainly going to get another visit from the Lord of the Western Lands, and this time …it would be without the miko.
Short but important. The next chapter will probably be longer. Hope you guys enjoyed.