Chapter Twenty-Three

The Fury of the Great and Terrible Inu no Taisho

Inutaishomaru was led into his sankin kotai with the help of his friend Traylaymaru and they headed immediately to the halls where the healers were situated. After hearing that his son had been injured, he almost lost his mind and fought with the dark-haired inuyoukai who was doing everything in his power to maintain a strong grip on him. The last thing Traylaymaru needed was for Inutaishomaru to fall flat on his face in front of all the guards who stood watch, protecting the main house and the princess from the cats.

He dragged Inutaishomaru into one of the many rooms and placed him onto the bed. "Wait here. I'll find Akina and find out how Sesshomaru is."

Inutaishomaru fell back onto the soft futon and groaned loudly. His head pounded and his mouth ached in such a way it made the ache in his head all the more painful.

'You did this to yourself.' Taizo snarled.

'You shush.' Inutaishomaru growled loudly at his youki.

'You seemed to have forgotten about my presence. This could have been avoided had you listened to me.' Taizo said.

Inutaishomaru rolled his eyes and lifted his head when Akina entered. Her hands were covered in red stains that were reminiscent of having tended the injured. "Sessh-?"

"He is fine. Sleeping and healing." Akina said as she approached his bed. Her hands quickly started working on his injuries and Inutaishomaru allowed his head to fall onto the futon. He jerked to the side when her hands touched his stomach and he growled.

"Oh, stop. If I don't heal them, they will get infected." Akina scolded, focusing her energy on the worst cuts.

Traylaymaru stood by the bed and snorted. "Who knows what diseases the cats have."

Inutaishomaru's mouth felt like it was swelling up and he swallowed the thick irony slime that seemed to fall into the back of his throat. "Uhg!" He groaned.

'Ew.' Taizo snarled shuddering.

Traylaymaru walked over with a cloth when he saw blood slide out of the side of Inutaishomaru's mouth. Sticking it into the lord's mouth, he chuckled when Inutaishomaru's eyes snapped open in surprise. "Suck on that for a while."

Inutaishomaru shifted again, trying to get away from the burning heat from the healer.

"Sit still, or I'll knock you out." Traylaymaru snarled.

Inutaishomaru glared at the dark-haired youkai and bared his teeth, snarling, but it lost all its effect with the great gaping hole where his fang should have been.

Traylaymaru snorted his laughter back and grinned instead.

Movement at the door caught Inutaishomaru's eye and he glanced over and nodded to Tsukuyomaru and Marioshi who stood in the doorway hesitantly. Waving them over, he indicated the chairs beside the bed and they sat down. Golden eyes turned to one another and glared.

"You stubborn fool. Why didn't you use your claws?" Traylaymaru scolded, as he dragged a chair back to the Inu, pulling another cloth from a table as he passed it, and sat down in front of his friend. Sitting down as his mate Akina worked on the worst of Inutaishomaru's injuries, he applied pressure to the gash in his leg. Once she was finished, she stood up and walked to the other end of the room and started mixing a few things in a mortar jar that sat on a table.

"Ifth noh lihe I haf athy thoith," Inutashomaru mumbled around the cloth in his mouth.

Traylaymaru glanced up and snorted. Pulling the cloth out of Inutashomaru's mouth he waited.

"I sthaid, its noh lyke I had any toush." Rolling his eyes at how much his mouth had swollen, Inutaishomaru took a deep breath to calm his stomach which somersaulted intensely.

"Please stop talking." Traylaymaru forced out as calmly as he could. "You sound like an idiot."

Inutaishomaru growled at his friend, and then directed the glare at the bat and fox youkai on his left. "Noha werf."

Marioshi grinned his response and Tsukuyomaru shook his head. "Lips are sealed."

Inutashomaru nodded satisfied and leaned back on the futon. His head pounded furiously, and his mouth hurt, throbbing sharply. Groaning, he threw his arm over his eyes and took deep breaths, still holding the cloth to his mouth with his other hand, trying to stop the flow of blood seeping through the hole that his fang had once occupied.

Tsukuyomaru leaned his head back against the wall and shifted Nurie into his lap more comfortably. The little human girl was asleep, most likely exhausted from her experience with whatever had happened on the path. Marioshi rolled his eyes and watched the dark-haired Inu talk with a silver-haired female Inu at the other end of the room. She had a stripe on each cheek, the color of the setting sun. The fox realized that these markings must have signaled either the family or the clan they belonged to. She was beautiful, to say the least.

Traylaymaru walked back, carrying the mortar and seated himself back into the chair, and rinsed a cloth in a pan of water he had carried back with him. "Sit up, I need to clean your wounds."

"No eed." Inutashomaru's muffled reply was heard.

"Sit up or I'll make you sit up. You don't know where those cats have been, you are scratched to all hell and I don't need you falling ill due to one infecting." Traylaymaru commanded.

"Oh away." Inutashomaru snarled.

Traylaymaru rolled his eyes, stood up and forcefully lifted Inutashomaru into a sitting position. The silver-haired Inu moaned at the forceful treatment and sat up wavering slightly. His hand dropped the cloth to his mouth and he lifted it to his forehead, while the other hand supported him upright in fear of toppling over. "Oh!" He moaned.

Traylaymaru grunted. "Well if you had sat up when I asked you to, you wouldn't have this problem, now would you?" He stated, shoving the cloth back into Inutashomaru's mouth, stopping all protests.

Inutashomaru glared at his friend, his nose wrinkled in anger.

"Oh stop it already! Sesshoumaru will be fine, he has already begun to heal." Traylaymaru began as he washed the long gashes marring the silver-haired Inu's arms. "What the hell happened to you two anyway? I smell smoke on both of you, traces of blood smell, I also smell a strange scent besides those two on you."

Inutaishomaru suddenly remembered his old friend, Nii. "Nii!" He groaned and twitched as Traylaymaru washed a deep cut on his arm. "Where?"

Traylaymaru frowned, had his lord and commander finally lost all senses? He had not heard that name in several centuries. "Have you lost your mind? Nii is at the Shinden-zukuri, asleep as he has been for the last five-hundred years, fool."

Inutaishomaru was shoved back onto the futon and he grunted. 'No-" He breathed as his stomach somersaulted again furiously. "Awake." He gulped down the bile that rose in his throat.

Traylaymaru furrowed his brows. "Are you saying Nii is awake?"

Inutaishomaru nodded his head, closing his eyes against the bright candlelight filling the room. The light hurt his eyes and he moaned.

"Wait. If Nii is awake, the others?" Traylaymaru felt his heart lift with hope.

Inutaishomaru shook his head. "Only-him-" He breathed softly, his strength ebbing from whatever Akina had placed into that mortar. "Hells-drugged." He gasped out.

Traylaymaru's eyes went immediately to Tsukuyomaru and Marioshi. "Is he saying there was another with you?"

Tsukuyomaru nodded. "A smaller inuyoukai. Silver hair, silver markings, with black. We left him with Nurie and Sesshomaru on the path just before the battle got underway. The dragon brought them here."

Traylaymaru scrambled to his feet and raced out of the room, ignoring the thunk as the chair fell back onto the ground in his haste. Dashing down the halls, he headed to the guards who stood outside the main entrance. Slamming the doors open, he snarled when the two guards whirled around in shock and surprise. "Where is the other youkai?"

They frowned and looked at one another.

"The youkai who brought Sesshomaru here." Traylaymaru snapped.

"Rendromaru ordered him contained." One guard who climbed the steps said.

Traylaymaru grabbed the guard by the front of his haori, snarling. "I want him released and brought to me in the healing wing, immediately!"

Just as those words left his mouth, Rendromaru sauntered up the stairs. "You are only a commander to the guards, Traylaymaru. I am in charge whenever Lord Inutaishomaru is away from the sankin kotai, or he is incapacitated due to injury. You have no say in this matter. The youkai will remain locked up."

Traylaymaru stormed over to the rat youkai. "You fool. Release him now, or you will suffer at the hands of Inu no Taisho when he hears about this!" The dark-haired youkai snapped.

"Oh, he won't hear about this. Not from you or anyone else." Rendromaru sneered in the youkai's face. "We do not know this new youkai and for all I know, he was the one who caused Lord Sesshomaru's injuries."

Traylaymaru felt his anger grow. "You are an idiot."

Rendromaru grinned. "Be on your way. Until Lord Inutaishomaru has regained consciousness, the youkai remains locked up." He waved the annoying dark-haired inu away with his hand. "Begone."

Traylaymaru glared daggers at the rat youkai and snarled, heading towards the healer's wing. That blasted youkai had been given far too much freedom with Inutaishomaru's absence and it was causing all kinds of troubles in the clan. Seeing as the lord had been gone for almost a year before his taking Sesshomaru on his first hunting trip, Inutaishomaru had left everything in the rat youkai's hands. It had weakened their status and created a lot of strife with the guards. Several guards had been expelled from their ranks and replaced with allies of the little weasel.

Shaking his head angrily, Traylaymaru slipped back into the room Inutaishomaru was. Tsukuyomaru and Marioshi sat watching the inuyoukai and then glanced at him. "Any luck?" The bat youkai asked.

Traylaymaru glanced over at Inutaishomaru. "They had him locked up."

Inutaishomaru bolted upright, but somehow he only flopped off the side of the bed as the room whirled dangerously.

Traylaymaru sighed, gathering his friend up off the floor and placing him back onto the bed. "Remain still."

Inutaishomaru pushed Traylaymaru's hands away. "Order him out of there." He said.

"Only you can do that. I have no power here." Traylaymaru snarled.

"Who ordered it?" Inutaishomaru narrowed his eyes.

"Who do you think?" Traylaymaru snorted.

"Rendromaru." Inutaishomaru snarled fiercely which gave Traylaymaru goosebumps.

Traylaymaru quickly went to aid Inutaishomaru who threw off the blanket covering him and helped steady him in standing. "You should wait until you have healed."

"I will not have Nii imprisoned again. He just woke after a five-hundred-year sleep." Inutaishomaru growled his anger building in his rage at the rat youkai's audacity.

'Woah, Woah.' Taizo hissed. 'Calm that raging heart of yours.'

Traylaymaru felt that spark and his hand twitched in startling realization. "You woke your youki!" He exclaimed.

Inutaishomaru gave the dark-haired youkai a wide grin. "Take me to Nii, then I deal with Rendromaru."

Traylaymaru shivered at that smile and suddenly hoped that Rendromaru was fully prepared for the fury Inutaishomaru was about to crash upon him. Tsukuyomaru and Marioshi followed, interested to see what was going to transpire.

'Can we still communicate with them?' He asked Taizo.

'I believe so. If not with Shuzo, with Nii definitely.'

'Then do so.'

Nii's eyes snapped open and he sat up far too quickly. He was in the dark and gasping, he looked around trying to discern where he was. Had it all been a dream and he was still locked within the shadow realm? That familiar tremor of fear rushed over him but he breathed a huge sigh of relief when his eyes fell onto the slight glowing figure of his youki who turned to stare at him.

Shuzo sighed and walked over but stopped and frowned. Something tugged at his consciousness and he turned tilting his head to the side.

'Oie! Bonehead.'

Shuzo gasped and then grinned widely. 'Taizo!'

'The one and only.' Came that amused voice he had missed so much.

Nii gave Shuzo a smirk.

'Where did that bloody Rat put you?' Seihomaru's voice snarled through their link.

'In a dark cell.' Nii crossed his arms and spread his legs out almost pouting at his current situation. His eyes remained focused on the only light in the cell, which was currently his youki.

'We are on our way.'

'Who was that jackass?' Nii asked, glancing around at the long shadows that stretched out right for him.

'A fool who is on his last thread of my patience.' Seihomaru said.

Nii felt his grin cross his face and he waited and then looked up when a clang indicated someone approaching. The door swung open and Nii gasped at the face he was greeted with. "Traylaymaru!" He exclaimed.

"By the Gods!" Traylaymaru breathed. "For a moment, I thought Inutaishomaru had lost his mind when he said you were here."

Nii snorted and gripped the hand that stretched out to help him. He stumbled slightly and grunted as he almost fell into Traylaymaru.

"Don't tell me you're injured too." The dark-haired youkai grunted, using his arms to steady the shorter youkai.

Nii shook his head. "An after effect of being asleep for so long."

Inutaishomaru leaned against the cell door with his arms crossed. "Atrophy."

Traylaymaru nodded with a frown on his face and both exited the cell.

"You are well?" Inutaishomaru peered intently into Nii's eyes.

Nii nodded. "Somewhat. The dark is a bit disorientating." He shuddered.

Inutaishomaru pushed away from his spot and almost tumbled to the floor as a wave of dizziness came over him. Tsukuyomaru rushed forward and caught him. "Seven hells! This is annoying!"

Nii chuckled. His eyes scanned over the bloodstains on Seihomaru's haori and hakama and he lifted a brow. "They sure did a number on you." He commented.

Inutaishomaru growled. "Are you well enough to be my eyes and ears as you once were?"

Nii gave him a startled look and swallowed. "I am uncertain. Going to the shadow realm is not an option." He shook his head firmly. "I can still use the shadows though."

Inutaishomaru frowned. "I have some matters to take care of, and I need your ears for listening."

Nii gulped and nodded. "I'll do what I can."

Without another word, they headed up the stairs towards another section of the main house, and Nii looked all around to take in the long tapestries that hung on the walls, and the many racks that held various weapons on the walls. Every few feet there were small tables that had a candle on it. None of which were currently lit, which cast everything into shadow. It was an eerie feeling for Nii as he fully expected some dark sinister shadow to jump out at him and attack.

Clenching his fists tightly, he lowered his gaze and silently followed the group to a large set of doors.

Inutaishomaru turned to face them. "If you can still use the shadows, please do so. Traylaymaru, I would like you to collect Rendromaru and bring him to me."

Taking a deep breath, Nii slipped through the doors, doing his best to stick to the shadows of the main room that was dimly lit. He could hear his heart beating heavily in his chest as he moved through the darkness. At least it wasn't nearly as dark as the shadow realm which gave him a little comfort. Guards stood at only a couple locations, so avoiding them was an easy task, but remaining in the darkness almost sent Nii into a panic. Shuzo stood beside him.

'Breath, Nii.' Shuzo whispered.

Nii gulped again and nodded. 'Trying.'

Inutaishomaru moved to the large chair that sat at the end of the room and sat down pinching the bridge of his nose. Nii slipped around the room and crouched on the left side where the shadows seemed to be darker and longer. He could feel the chill of the dark cover his skin and he broke out in a slight sweat. His hands shook, but Nii had his youki beside him, whispering to ease that tension.

The doors banged open and Traylaymaru dragged a sputtering rat behind him. Stalking down the long hall, he threw Rendromaru to the ground at Inutaishomaru's feet.

Inutaishomaru remained silent and glared at the rat youkai who was sputtering out apologies and curses at the same time. He dug his claws into the thick wood of his chair for patience and then snarled sharply for silence. This sent Rendromaru onto his face instantly.

"What possessed you to imprison an inuyoukai?!" Inutaishomaru said so slowly that it seemed to be filled with sweet malice that promised death.

The rat stammered in protest. "I-I-didn't-kn-owwww." He wailed loudly which caused Inutaishomaru to wince.

"Enough!" Inutaishomaru snapped.

"Who-i-is-he-mi-milord?" The rat's speech faltered for a moment.

"It is none of your concern, rat!" Inutaishomaru growled. "You have tried my patience of late and I grow tired of your constant excuses."

The rat immediately fell to his face stuttering out apologies and swore that it would never happen again. The rat shook so much, Nii could swear he could hear the teeth rattle. Smirking, he watched the rat cower in front of Seihomaru. It seemed as though the great and terrible Inu no Taisho had learned a few skills while he had been asleep and he grinned in excitement to see just how much Seihomaru had grown.

"If you ever make a decision without my consent again, I will have you expelled from the clan and hunted until you have left the lands of Japan and flee to whatever country that will take a blubbering idiot like yourself. Have my man released immediately, or I'll have your tongue." Inutaishomaru snarled.

Rendromaru instantly sprinted from the room, sweating profusely as he did. Traylaymaru lifted his hand to his nose and gagged. Nii snickered softly, moving out of the shadows as quickly as he could.

"You know he will spend hours trying to figure out who released him, do you not?" Traylaymaru snorted in amusement.

Inutaishomaru rolled his eyes. "A few hours of peace from that simpering fool."

Nii shook his head and rubbed his arms trying to get rid of the chill being in the shadows had left on him.

Inutaishomaru's eyes landed on him and he cocked his head to the side. "Should I be concerned?"

Nii shook his head. "It will take time for me to accustom myself with the darkness again. Being stuck in it for so long just leaves me longing for any source of light."

Traylaymaru rolled his eyes. "So why is it you woke up but the others didn't?"

Nii sat down on a step and sighed shrugging his shoulders.

"It's because he was already out of the physical realm when the twins cast their curse. He did not succumb to the same thing the others did." Inutaishomaru pushed to his feet and sniffed.

Traylaymaru sighed heavily. "So still not any closer to finding a way to break the curse?"

Inutaishomaru clenched his jaw. It was always the same when he came home. Always questions asking if he had found anything new, any new items, how close he was to release his clan. With a sharp aggravated snarl, he whipped around and flipped his chair into the air and crashing into the wall behind him, sending splinters across the room.

Nii jumped and stared at him wide-eyed and Traylaymaru held up his hands in apology.

'Seiho calm down.' Taizo growled at his host. 'If you do not inform others of what progress you have or have not made, you have to realize questions will come.'

'Urusai!' He snarled at his youki.

Taizo winced at the anger that flooded through his pools and he shivered. 'You can't keep doing this, the anger will overwhelm you and it will-'

'Urusai!' Inutaishomaru snapped and Taizo gasped at the huge weight that entered the pools. Trembling from that sudden fear for his host and his own life, Taizo walked over to the tree and placed his hand on it to see just how far this anger was buried.

'This will destroy us both.' Taizo whispered his heart tearing at the thought that his host might just be too far gone for him to bring him back from the brink of annihilation.

'Another word out of you and I will put you back to sleep.' Inutaishomaru snarled fiercely at Taizo.

Taizo sighed heavily and dropped his hands from the tree and he glanced around the pools helplessly. What had happened in the three-hundred years he had been asleep? Sure, for the first two-hundred, he had been awake and had been able to converse with Seihomaru on many occasions, but before his sleep, he had felt a change in his host's desires and dreams. His thoughts had been filled with night terrors and darkness. Shaking his head, he looked up when he felt a presence enter his pools.

Shuzo looked at him with a pained smile.

With a sigh, Taizo sat down and shook his head. 'I don't know how to help him.'

Shuzo grunted and crouched next to his brother. 'You have to get him to remember why he came to the mainland. What spurred him to move his home here. Get him to remember how he wanted to break that cycle of hatred. This anger is going to be devastating to you both.'

Taizo nodded and leaned back on his hands. 'The process has already started. If I don't figure something out quickly, we both will fall. It will consume us both'

Shuzo winced. 'If that happens, you know that hatred will kill you.'

Taizo gave his brother a faint smile. 'I know. If I'm too late, I have failed him.'

'Get him to remember, everyone, and everything. Ask him if their sacrifices were worth it. Lead him to where Kazuki died. Perhaps remembering his father will bring him back. Give him renewed hope. With Nii here now, fresh eyes might be able to spur that hope in him again.' Shuzo glanced over his shoulder at the familiar pull of his own host's tree calling to him. 'I'll speak with Nii and see if we can come up with something.'

Taizo nodded gratefully. 'I am glad to have you here again.'

Shuzo stood and grinned. 'It is good to be once again on the physical plane. I have my own challenges ahead with the terror Nii has for the shadow realm. Even the slightest bit of darkness sends him into a panic.'

Taizo snorted. 'So we have inherited a mess of hosts that need an extra push to overcome their guilt and fear.'

Shuzo grinned wider. 'We can do this.'

Taizo waved to Shuzo has he vanished leaving him once again in a dark pool that shuddered from that anger and rage Seihomaru seemed to now have regularly. Shaking his head, he walked back over to the tree and started filtering through the many memories he could access without sending his host into more rage. With a sigh, he started gathering the fragmented pieces and placed them where they belonged.

Nii flopped down on the bed in the room Seihomaru had assigned to him. Much to Rendromaru's chagrin when he had walked down the hall, he glowered in anger once Nii had emerged from around the corner behind the dark-haired youkai. His thoughts drifted back to the incident in the hall.

Rendromaru glared at them both and pointed his finger at the dark-haired youkai. "You knew where he was the whole time." He accused.

Nii lifted his brow but remained silent. He knew how quickly someone could anger Traylaymaru if they pushed him too far and he grinned waiting.

"Of course I knew, you nit-wit. I told you how foolish it was." Traylaymaru snarled in the rat's face, knocking the hand aside.

"And I told you I was in charge. I also recall telling you that no one was to inform the Inu no Taisho but myself." Rendromaru puffed his chest out arrogantly.

"It is my duty to inform the Inu no Taisho of any and all the happenings around the clan. That includes you Rendro." Traylaymaru snapped, trying to get by the rat youkai but being stopped abruptly.

"You have no idea what goes on here, mongrel." Rendromaru stuck his long pointed nose into Traylaymaru's face.

Nii scratched his nose, trying to hide the smirk of amusement that wanted to burst across his face. "Mongrel? Seriously? And here I thought rats were more creative than that." Nii snorted.

Traylaymaru lifted his brow at the shorter silver-haired youkai. "You are a fool, Rendro. Now get out of my way, or shall I inform Lord Inutaishomaru how you prevented his friend from retiring to his chambers?"

Rendromaru snorted. "Friend my ass. Where has he been all this time? Now all of a sudden he is friends to the great Inu no Taisho? What did he do to earn such renown with our great Lord?"

Nii leaned in close to Rendromaru but wrinkled his nose. "You stink, rat. Perhaps you should retire and bathe to rid yourself of that stench?"

Rendromaru grew red in the face and hissed in anger. "I will be watching you." He muttered softly, moving down the hall bristling in anger.

"Good grief," Traylaymaru grunted.

"What happened while I was asleep?" Nii asked, following the dark-haired youkai again.

Traylaymaru shook his head. "A lot. Inutaishomaru is rarely home. Always out scouting his territories for trouble, and wandering seeking answers for this blasted curse. He keeps everyone at a distance and now trusts practically no one. He has even ignored his mate and pup."

Nii sighed. "There are moments when he seems like the old Seihomaru, but then there is that situation in the great hall where his temper flared. And what is this with him taking on the name Inutaishomaru?"

Traylaymaru shook his head. "It has been like that since we moved the residence to the sankin kotai." The dark-haired youkai opened a door and held it open for Nii who slipped through quickly going to the lone candle lit in the chambers. "Any time someone asks him about or mentions that day, it sends him in a rage."

Nii moved the candle to the middle of the room and sat down beside it. "So tell me about this Rendromaru, why does he have so much control here?"

Traylaymaru grunted and crouched in front of the shadow youkai, his eyes on the candle flame. "He is an annoying little rat who earned Inutaishomaru's trust when he came here with a few gathered items needed to break the curse. Try to stay away from him, because he thinks of this as his clan and not Inutaishomaru's, he spouts out orders to suit his purposes and no one questions him about it because they fear the Inu no Taisho's wrath. Somehow, Rendromaru was able to convince everyone that his word is the law here. Being as Inutaishomaru is gone so much, no one questions the rat." The dark-haired youkai gave a small smile. "Although, as of late, he has been doing things that is making our lord angry, especially when it comes to his son."

Nii rolled his eyes. "Cute little bugger." He grinned.

Traylaymaru chuckled. "Mischievous little shit, you mean. In any case, now that you are awake, perhaps this will calm Inutaishomaru's rage a bit and get him to relax some. Although, I suspect that now that Sesshomaru is home, Inutaishomaru will once again leave things in Rendromaru's hands and be gone soon."

Nii frowned. "Still has that wandering heart." He murmured.

"If he has appointed you as his eyes and ears again, he will want you to watch things closely and report back to him, which is more than any of us can do." Traylaymaru pushed to his feet.

"I am not sure how helpful I can be. The dark terrifies me now." Nii shivered.

"Understandable. You were stuck in the shadow realm and now here you are in a dark castle. Maybe you can get some answers by visiting Inutaishomaru's scrolls."

Nii looked up and sighed. "I can try."

Traylaymaru moved to the door but stopped when Nii pushed to his feet. Turning to stare at the smaller youkai he waited.

"What do people remember of my kind?" Nii asked nervously. The last thing he needed was for someone to make mention of his abilities and that his heritage was of the eclipse inuyoukai.

"Nothing. No one here beside me, Akina, the princess, and Inutaishomaru have any knowledge of you or your abilities. I wouldn't put it past Rendromaru to have already had someone start looking into your past or trying to find any information on you. Because you look no more than seventy, that alone should throw them off. Be alert and be wary, listen and watch. Most of the clan was dispersed when Rendromaru took charge, leaving our allies few and far between. Any documents in regards to you or the clan are no longer here." Traylaymaru nodded when he got Nii's relieved sigh.

"Makes my job a little easier." Nii grinned and rubbed his arms before squatting beside the candle again. "But this lurking in the darkness is going to be a bit of an issue if I can't get over this fear."

Traylaymaru smirked. "You will be fine."

Nii gave the dark-haired an uneasy smile, but he didn't feel at all confident in himself. With a glance over at Shuzo who stood in the corner, he watched Traylaymaru shut the door and then he stood up with the candle and placed it on the side table beside the bed.

Shaking his head after he recollected the conversation he pushed himself into a sitting position. "Thoughts?" He whispered to his silent youki.

Shuzo glanced over at him. 'I have many thoughts.'

Nii rolled his eyes. 'So tell me.'

Shuzo pushed away from the wall and walked over to his host. 'I am going over what I remember from the shadow realm after that shadow ripped you from the physical plane. From what I can gather, it was that shade that had escaped the spirit realm.'

Nii shivered at the memory. 'So where is it now?'

'It either is still in the shadow realm still hunting you, or it has escaped and is now in the physical world.' Shuzo shrugged.

'I have no idea how I lost that blasted thing.' Nii frowned. 'I honestly thought I was going to die in there.'

Shuzo nodded. 'I never gave up.'

'I know.' Nii looked into those lavender eyes. 'You were starting to fade.'

Shuzo snorted. 'I suppose, but I wasn't about to leave without finding you, dead or alive.'

Nii gave his spirit a grateful smile.

'I am also thinking about the current course of events in this era. It's darker and more ominous.' Shuzo muttered. 'With how Seihomaru has changed, that anger is starting to eat away at his heart.'

Nii furrowed his brow. 'And Taizo?' He swung his legs over the side of the bed and flexed his toes.

'He is doing what he can to hold off that blackness but it is a thick spread of destruction.' Shuzo shook his head. 'I was trying to think of some way we can get that to slow or stop altogether.'

Nii stood up and stretched his arms over his head. 'We would need to spark hope again, have him remember what it was he was fighting for.'

Shuzo gave his host a wide grin. 'About that-'

Nii returned the grin.

Inutaishomaru slipped through the doors to his chambers and walked into the gardens where he suspected his mate to be. Suki turned to look at him the minute he entered and she nodded her head in greeting.

"I trust all went well?" Suki asked.

"As well as can be expected," Inutaishomaru muttered sitting on a small bench. "It is far too dangerous to bring Sesshomaru outside the castle."

"I heard he got injured against the cats." Suki walked over and knelt in front of him.

"He is alive." Inutaishomaru wrinkled his nose.

"Were you able to bond with him?"

Inutaishomaru frowned and snorted. "Suki-"

She stood and held up her hands. "I know. You keep us at a distance to keep us safe." Suki rolled her eyes. "It is affecting Sesshomaru. He wants to get to know his father, train with him, play with him. Here he is not permitted to do that with that stinking rat running things when you are gone."

"So do something about it. You are the ruling princess." Inutaishomaru waved his hands in the air.

"I am locked up in here, Seiho." Suki snarled whirling around and waving angrily at the large stone walls. "Rendromaru locks my chamber doors when you leave and has guards posted at all the exits. He doesn't allow anyone to see me, I can't leave the rooms, and when I command him to release me, he ignores the request insisting it is for my own protection."

Inutaishomaru furrowed his brows. That little bit of information was news to him. "I was not aware that he locks you up like a caged animal. But I do prefer that you stay in our chambers and areas I have placed my seals of protection on. With how things are being run, it is far too dangerous for you to wander around aimlessly."

"You need to have someone else in charge." Suki shook her head.

"Who? Traylaymaru commands my army, what is left of it, he ensures the borders are kept safe and my territories that are close by are protected from invasions. I cannot ask him to do more." Inutaishomaru stood up and pulled Suki into his arms. "I have few I can trust left alive, that is why I diligently search for a way to wake our clan." He whispered in her ear. "Nii woke up." He breathed.

Suki whirled around with wide eyes and her mouth fell open. "Nii?"

Inutaishomaru gave a faint smile. "I have assigned him the task of my eyes and ears again. This way nothing will pass by me."

Suki released the breath she held. "I hope you have destroyed all those scrolls about his kind."

Inutaishomaru nodded. "The ones that were here, yes. Any mention of our clan at the Shinden-zukuri and what happened are no longer here."

"Good. Have you discovered the location of the meido yet?" Suki asked seating herself on the bench he had been occupying.

Inutaishomaru shook his head. "I need to locate Shishinki and take back that ability he stole from Nii. He is using it for evil purposes and the destruction he leaves behind is catastrophic."

Suki sighed. "I am tired of being cooped up away from everyone. I get lonely." She whispered.

"One good thing about it is that you are safe from Rendromaru's minions," Inutaishomaru grunted. "If I am not careful we will lose the clan."

Suki nodded. "That is why you need to dispose of Rendromaru as quickly as possible. He has his claws dug into Sesshomaru and our pup is being molded into what he wants. The rat has far too much control."

Inutaishomaru crouched in front of her and took her hands. "I am doing what I can. If I can locate your former guard Ahuri and find Kazuhisa and have them return, then we have a stronger position. As of right now, those I trusted have been scattered and driven out which leaves us weakened."

Suki gave her mate a small smile. "I do not know how to keep Sesshomaru from Rendromaru's clutches."

Inutaishomaru frowned again.

"That was why I had him go with you. Even if it was only for a few months."

"With Nii here, I can have him get close to Sesshomaru and see if he can turn things around. We have to be careful, I do not want Rendromaru to get suspicious and move things faster than we are prepared to deal with."

"I don't know why you don't just dispose of him now, you are more powerful than he is." Suki sighed.

"One on one, yes, but he has the majority of the clan backing him, and against that collective amount of power I have no chance." Inutaishomaru shook his head. "For now, we bide our time. If we let him know of our plans he will dethrone you and either send me packing or assassinate me."

Suki gulped. "Will I be strong enough to hold on?"

Inutaishomaru stood up and pulled her with him taking her into his arms. "You are Hiromoto's daughter, princess of the moon clan. You are stronger than you think, love." He whispered in her ear.

Suki placed her forehead against his chest and breathed in his scent. "I miss you."

"And I you. With Nii here, I have a little hope again." Inutaishomaru pulled back and held Suki at arm's length. "I will be leaving in two days to go search again. I did find the manju and kanju."

"Now you only need the Yata no Kagami." Suki breathed.

Inutaishomaru nodded. "There is one slight problem with that, however."

Suki raised her brow.

"It has not yet been crafted." Inutaishomaru walked over to the flowering almond he had brought back from the mainland of Wa. "There is the matter of the Khakkhara. That monk that carries it is not yet alive and the curse from which he develops has not yet been cast."

Suki nodded. "Nor the pup you father from another."

Inutaishomaru grunted. "That woman has not yet been birthed. There are many things I must be patient for, and yet as the thousand-year deadline approaches for my face off with Ryukotsusei, I fear I will not be able to keep my promise to my clan."

Suki stood and walked over to him and wrapped her small arms around his chest. "You need the meido seki, and the meido placed within the sword you will have made from the red gem. But, if you do that, then breaking that curse on our clan becomes null and void?"

"I am uncertain." He sighed. "We will fall if we do not do these things, and yet if I do I condemn our people to an eternity of sleep death."

Suki shook her head. "There has to be something more that we have missed."

Inutaishomaru frowned. "Perhaps. If you can sneak away I placed a few new scrolls in our meeting place."

Suki nodded and gave him a confident grin. "With Nii here, a fresh set of eyes will be in our favor. What task did you set for him?"

Inutaishomaru smirked. "I have not yet set him on any particular task. Before I leave, I will speak to him."

"Please tell him to be careful. No one should be aware of his heritage." Suki muttered and sighed as Inutaishomaru gave her a firm kiss.

"Trust me." He grinned and walked out of the room.

'You sly little shit.' Taizo growled.

'And you had doubts about me.' Inutaishomaru grunted.

'With how the darkness is in these pools, how was I to know?' Taizo snarled.

'Look deeper Taizo. Once out of this room you will see things differently.' Seihomaru chuckled. 'That is why I had you sleep. I didn't plan to wake you this early.'

Taizo snorted. 'Best if you inform Shuzo and Nii of this. I was concerned that you were turning and I was going to follow.'

'If you can set up a meeting for all of us somewhere, we can devise something in secret. My walls have many ears and the only place that holds any privacy is my private garden that has a seal around it.' Inutaishomaru quickly changed his clothes. 'No one is allowed to enter here, and if Nii were to arrive it would only arouse suspicion.'

'I will see what I can locate for us then.' Taizo snorted indignantly. How his host was able to keep all that a secret from even him, was beyond his comprehension but with the seriousness of what was happening, he understood the importance behind it. A sudden thought came to him then. 'If all this is done in secret, you have a mind reader in the clan.'

'There are a few that work under Rendromaru. He is not aware that I know, and that is why I do not protest Suki being protected and locked in our chambers. With my seal, no one can invade her thoughts. I only hope that Nii can bury what we tell him in the back of his mind so nothing is seen.' Inutaishomaru exited his chambers and headed to the healing wing to check on his son.

Taizo grinned widely. He was not at risk of losing his host, nor in danger of fading into nothing, which gave him a huge relief. The danger his host was placed in, however, gave that relief a short life span.

'I do not want you out in the open while we are here. In the wilderness, I have no issues, so long as it is safe to do so. I would highly recommend warning your brother of this.' Inutaishomaru muttered softly as he slipped through the door where his son was.

'Consider it done.' Taizo realized how delicate this whole situation was and ensured his host he would keep conversations limited. He only hoped that after five-hundred years, his communication portal would not spur its random opening at the wrong moment.

Nii walked down the halls lost in thought a couple of days after he had been released from the cell below, trying to figure out some way he could help his brother in all but blood, but he was at a loss. He stopped and frowned when faint voices reached his ears and he glanced around him searching for somewhere to hide that would not cause him to be discovered eavesdropping. Placing his back against the wall, he slid down it to inch closer.

"What have you found out?" Came a hushed whisper.

"Nothing. There is no information on him at all." Came another deeper voice edged with annoyance.

"Ridiculous. He is what, maybe a hundred years old at most? Did you search all records of babes born in the last hundred years?" The voice hissed.

"I did, there were only half a dozen born. None of them are remotely close to that one."

"Then you missed something. What about the name?"

"Nothing. So either it's an alias, or he changed his name."

"Hmph. Are you losing your touch?"

"If there is something to be found, you know I'd find it." The deep voice hissed.

"Perhaps we have to take a different course. I don't like the arrival of this new inuyoukai. Who is he, where has he been? And how did he manage to escape my assassins I sent out years ago to dispose of those that I cast out?" The voice hissed pondering. "All of Inutaishomaru's allies should be dead by now, the only one I can't touch without setting things off is that bloody pain in the ass Tray. If I took him out now, we would be rushing into things we are not yet prepared for."

"And now this silver-haired stranger." The deep voice muttered. "What are you going to do about him?"

"Oh, I'll deal with him personally. He's weak and has no energy to speak of. I can take him out without breaking a sweat."

"You have to be careful about it. If you kill him and he is, in fact, a close friend of the Inu no Taisho, he will rip you apart." The deep voice said.

"All the information I have gathered on Inutaishomaru is that his clan was wiped out hundreds of years ago by a couple of youkai. The only survivors were his mate and a couple of guards who arrived here at Hiromoto's old home." The new voice added that held a slithering tone to it. "Those guards were already sent away and told never to return."

"If it weren't for the princess, he would have no hold over these people."

"Keep her locked away and isolated. We will come up with a way to eliminate her." The first voice said.

"Don't be stupid." The deep voice said with an edge to it. "He has more power here than you know. He isn't stupid, so don't underestimate him. The fact that he ran off the cats you paid to come here and that they were unsuccessful in killing his pup, means that he is smarter than you give him credit for."

"Did we find out who tipped him off?"

"No word on who it was."

"Traylaymaru never left his post and did not send any message off, so it wasn't him."

"I want you to find out all you can on this new inuyoukai. I need to know what we are up against with his arrival. The fact that Inutaishomaru went into a rage once he found out I locked him up tells me they are closer than Traylaymaru is with him."

"A brother or a son?"

"No, their heritage marks are too different. Actually, find out which house those marks are from. Silver and black."

"Consider it done."

Nii quickly slipped into a room beside him when the shuffling of feet indicated the movement of the ones talking. He placed his hands over his mouth as soon as he felt panic rise in him when he realized the room he was in had no light. It was pure black almost as black as the shadow realm.

Clenching his eyes shut tightly, he tried to regulate his breathing so he didn't give away the fact he had overheard the entire conversation. His hands shook and his knees felt weak, but if he was discovered, who knows what situation he would find himself. Just what world did he manage to wake up to?

He felt arms wrap around him from behind and his eyes flew open in fear but he could hear his youki breathing and whispering in his ear.

'Breath.'

Nii trembled and bit his tongue.

'Close your eyes, Nii.' Shuzo whispered.

Nii felt Shuzo tilt his head back to rest on his shoulder and he swallowed, but his heart began to lessen its frantic beat. For several minutes his youki whispered to him when finally Shuzo turned him to face those lavender eyes. Startled, Nii glanced around and gasped. They were no longer inside the tiny room, but now inside his chambers. With wide eyes, he almost stumbled back when he felt Shuzo's lips press against his and his breath caught in his throat.

'Shh.' Shuzo soothed, pulling back and smiling at Nii.

"You-" Nii couldn't finish his sentence, the fear of that place so intense, he had no words.

'I had to think of something, I know you would not willingly go to the shadow realm, but had I not done so, they would have discovered you.' Shuzo glanced at Nii giving him an apologetic look.

Nii's knees gave out and he fell to the floor, shaking his head. It took him several hours to regain movement in his legs again, and now he was alone. Shuzo had gone back to the pools silently, leaving him to calm his racing heart and renewed terror.