Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters in this fan fiction are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. The original characters and plot are the property of Chiaztolite, who is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary of Previous Chapter:
Kagome reached the underworld and met her guide: Yami, only to find out that she had to wait for 100 years before she could cross the river Styx to reach her resting place because her body had not yet been buried. Sesshōmaru had also reached the underworld from another entrance by the ocean. He found a boat on the shore and, though it looked suspicious, decided to use it anyway. Kagome, unwilling to wait for one hundred years, proceeded on foot to find another way to cross the river.
The Way to Elysium
Chapter 5: Windmills
"My mind drowns
in the possibility
of you and me"
- Perry Poetry-
Kagome felt like she had walked for miles, following the winding curves of the riverbank, eyes continuously searching for a bridge or a path, or anything at all she could use to cross the body of water.
Nothing. There was only water, sand, and soil, and that forbidding wall which served as a constant reminder that crossing the river was merely step one in reaching her resting place.
She wiped her brow, the back of her hand coming away dry. She should have been a sweaty mess by now, considering how far she had walked, but she supposed being dead had its own set of benefits. Her body did not seem to perspire anymore, though unfortunately it suffered still from pain and exhaustion. Her clothing too – the white hakui and the vibrant red hibakama that marked her as a shrine maiden — remained pristine during her trek through wet sand and muddy soil, another perk of being the newest resident of the nether realm.
She stopped and sighed. Her feet ached. Her stomach growled and tightened. Death did not spare her from hunger either, apparently.
Sighing, she stared at the river. She thought she caught a glimpse of a rocky bottom. A few steps brought her to the edge of the river and she saw, just as she thought, that the river was shallow. Or… looked shallow.
Perhaps she could cross the river on foot.
Cautiously, she dipped a toe in, relieved that it felt just like ordinary water instead of… afterlife water, whatever that meant. Slipping in one foot after the other, she waded further towards the middle, and rejoiced when she found the water only reached her midsection.
Suddenly, she lost her footing and sank deep into the river. The rocky bottom gave way to abyss. Arms and legs flailing, she struggled to stay afloat. Cold, slithery things climbed up her legs and pulled her down. She kept her eyes open under water, and nearly heaved when she saw what surrounded her.
The river was full of snakes.
What little liquid left there was black, thick and viscous, and she struggled with all her might to keep her head above the water. The snakes slid across her body, coiling around her thighs, her arms, her midsection. When a large blood-red snake curled itself around her neck and slithered its scaled belly across her lips, she closed her eyes tight, clamped her mouth shut, and screamed the best way she could with sealed lips, under water.
The water simmered. Even with her eyes shut, she could see the virulent green lights from beneath her eyelids. The snakes that shackled her were disintegrated; her limbs were suddenly free. Kicking as hard as she could, she fought to rise above the water.
A hand, strong and sure, reached into the water to grab her wrist, and pulled her out.
Sesshōmaru deposited his brother's human on the riverbank. Immediately, she rolled onto her hands and knees and retched.
She was not a graceful creature, he thought, as he quietly watched her emptying the contents of her stomach. High-level yōkai were naturally blessed with grace both in form and in movements, but he had yet to meet a human who possessed such elegance. Though he could understand his father's attraction to the noblewoman Izayoi, he could not help but wonder… What exactly did Inuyasha see in this woman?
He supposed she had some powers, as he had witnessed her using her reiryoku from time to time during their lengthy battle with Naraku. Her form was not unpleasant, especially now that she had discarded her peculiar former clothing in favour of something more… decent. Were these qualities sufficient for Inuyasha to tie his life so intimately to hers? He simply could not fathom it.
Sesshōmaru waited until the miko looked up and discovered who it was that saved her. Those brown eyes widened in an expression he could only describe as shock. Was she shocked because it was him who had come, or because someone had come at all?
"Th—Thank you," the woman stammered. He did not respond.
"Did Inuyasha send you?" She asked between deep gulps of breath, the back of her hand swiping across her mouth.
He despised stupid questions like this one. "He did not send me," he corrected, because practically nobody could send him to do their bidding. "He asked me to come. I simply obliged."
Yes, how obliging, Kagome wanted to snap sarcastically, still reeling from her mishap at the river, and feeling more than a little stupid. Although… it really was obliging of him to come all this way for her, was it not, when — unlike Rin — she was not a part of his pack?
When she felt calm enough to move, she shifted her position to kneel on the sandy ground. "Sesshōmaru, why did you come?" She asked. "I mean… you didn't have to. It's not your responsibility to bring me back to life."
He was silent at first. And then, he spoke: "Inuyasha offered Tessaiga in exchange for your return."
She supposed, for Sesshōmaru, that offer would be enticing indeed. It made sense. He had wanted Tessaiga for so long, and now, finally, he had a fair method of obtaining it. No wonder he took that opportunity.
He tilted his head slightly to the right as he observed her, golden eyes watchful of her facial expressions. "I can see you failed to understand my meaning," he stated. "What I meant, miko, was that he was desperate enough to offer Tessaiga in exchange for your return. It—" He paused in hesitation. Those golden eyes narrowed. "Resonated."
Resonated?
As to be expected, he gave no lengthy explanation for his statement, but she could guess what he meant by it. Having nearly lost Rin several times, he understood the pain and desperation of losing someone important.
"So, you're saying… you're not doing it for Tessaiga?"
He scoffed. "Wielding Tessaiga now would be akin to walking backwards to reach a destination. I no longer need or desire that blade to fulfill my goals."
As enigmatic as usual, he did not explain what those were: his destination and his goals. But she doubted he would reveal them even if she asked, and they were none of her business anyway. For a moment they were both silent. He – perhaps because he had nothing to say to her, or more likely… did not deign to say anything to her. And she – because they were very rarely alone together, and her nerves were frayed just from this short period of being in his vicinity. The way he looked at her was so disconcerting; it made her feel like a pinioned butterfly. Perhaps it was because she was in a precarious position: being on her knees, while he towered over her in all his… Sesshōmaru glory.
Ignoring his stare as best as she could, she rose to her feet and brushed imaginary sands off her clothing. Thankfully, her clothing remained clean. And dry. "Will I…" She swallowed. "Will I be able to go back?"
"The hanyō certainly wants you to try."
She could still feel the warmth of Inuyasha's hand on hers as she took her last breath. To go back to Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Shippō…
To continue her life in Sengoku Jidai… with Inuyasha.
She straightened her spine in resolve and returned Sesshōmaru's gaze. "Alright," she said. "How do we get out of here?"
Sesshōmaru had thought they could go back the way he came, but at some point after he had rescued the troublesome miko, he noticed the boat had vanished, oars and all.
As the miko was recovering from her ordeal in the river and reminiscing about her old life in the village with Inuyasha, he had been busy thinking about how they would leave the netherworld. The appearance and disappearance of the boat made him a little uneasy. Someone helped him to reach this point, and then took the boat that was given as aid. For what purpose?
"From which direction did you come, miko?"
She pointed towards the opposite direction from where he had come.
"Show me," he told her.
Kagome guided Sesshōmaru through the path she took, back where Charon still stood waiting beside the ferry, back to the spot where she had awakened — no Yami in sight. They explored the area for a while, going round and round like windmills, until finally they ended up at the riverbank — again.
"I can't find any exit," she finally groaned, frustrated.
"That's because there is no exit here." Kagome heard Yami's voice behind her. She whirled around and, true enough, the death god's mysterious advocate stood only a few paces behind them, her crimson-clothed figure framed by two large rocks on either side of her.
Sesshōmaru studied the newcomer, noting the deep red shade of her clothing – the colour of blood – and the spider lily ornaments she wore in her hair. Higanbana – the red spider lily flower - had always been associated with death, so he could deduce her role based on these small clues alone. Furthermore, she had no scent, no aura. How interesting, he thought, considering he was able to scent everything else in this realm, including the dead miko. The water and earth of this realm carried their usual scents just as if they were located above, and the scent of the miko's fear had been so strong, even under water, that he was able to find her in the nick of time.
But this creature had no presence at all.
"I came from the ocean," Sesshōmaru said to the peculiar being. "Is there an exit in that direction?"
Yami shook her head. "Entrance points into the afterlife can appear anywhere along the shores of Oceanus, but you will not find any exits there."
He narrowed his eyes. "You said there is no exit there, no exit here. Do you mean to say there is an exit elsewhere?"
Yami hesitated. "The underworld has only one exit, and it is at the far side beyond the wall, past the death god Haku-ou's palace. It's called 'The Ivory Gate'."
"Has any souls ever passed the gate to return to the mortal realm?"
"Extremely few and far in between, and only with Haku-ou's blessing."
If Tenseiga still possessed the Meidō Zangetsuha technique, Sesshōmaru thought, he would be able to open a portal to the living realm. It seemed now they would be forced to seek out a physical exit to leave this world. However…
He glanced over his shoulder at the monolithic wall towering beyond the river behind him.
He could not brush aside the feeling that he was meant to remain here, at least for the time being. The image of the boat kept reappearing in his mind, reminding him of the possibility that someone had watched him arriving, knew his aim, and was indeed behind all this. Perhaps it was nothing and was only his imaginings, but his instincts were very rarely wrong.
"Yōkai," the crimson-garbed being called him. He looked at her, though he retained his silence. "Are you by any chance planning to bring this woman back to the realm of the living?"
When he did not respond, the female sighed in resignation, as though day after day she encountered foolish mortals aiming to resurrect the dead.
"I don't know how to explain this," she said. "Other than telling you that what you are trying to accomplish is very difficult, nearly impossible." Her gleaming crimson eyes stared at Sesshōmaru. "For you to leave this realm is one thing, but for her," she pointed at Kagome. "For her to leave, it is a different story. Remember that she has died, and the dead belong in the underworld, unless Haku-ou himself decrees her to return above."
By logic, yes, that was how things were supposed to work. But as the wielder of Tenseiga, he knew death was not always so clean cut. During their imminent journey through the afterlife, they might discover a way for the miko to return to the mortal world.
"What lies beyond the wall, female?" He asked.
"Haku-ou's kingdom of the dead and the three realms of the afterlife where the souls reside. Tartarus: a fiery hell for the wicked, Elysium: The Isles of the Blessed for the heroes and noble souls, and Asphodel Meadows, for everyone else in between."
'For the heroes and noble souls, is it?' Sesshōmaru repeated inwardly.
"Which is the way to Elysium?" He asked.
Yami pointed towards the direction of the wall. "It's past the marshes and the Asphodel Fields. Keep to your right, though I cannot tell you any more than this," she said, then looked at Kagome thoughtfully. "But all is for naught if Charon would not ferry her across the river Styx."
Sesshōmaru glanced at the river and at the motionless ferryman, then fixated his gaze on his brother's human.
Kagome felt the sudden heat on her cheeks the moment Sesshōmaru, without so much as one word of warning, lifted her into his arms. This proximity… She had never been so close to him before. Her cheek was pressed against his cuirass armour; the metal warm from his body heat. Her face was so close to his chest, she was able to capture his scent for the first time.
He smelled of the woods. Of crushed pine needles on the forest floor. Of fragrant cypress and smoke. His scent stirred in her head images of waking up on a snowy winter morning in a secluded cabin by the forest, of inhaling the sharp, brisk air after a snowstorm, of a bonfire at a winter festival.
Seconds later, he put her down. The soft fur that was always wrapped around his body grazed the back of her hand. She fidgeted and moved away instinctively.
"Let's go," he said, moving already towards the massive black iron gate.
It was not until then that she realized he had leapt over the river while carrying her, transporting them to the other side of the riverbank. Any concerns over Charon and the passage across the river seemed so ridiculous now.
That was certainly… convenient.
Her eyes caught the figure of Yami still standing across the river. She thought she saw a flash of grin on the advocate's face. Strange, she thought, for the death god's underling to find Sesshōmaru's cheeky action amusing. The grin vanished in a blink of an eye, and she thought perhaps she was wrong after all, especially since they were a distance away.
They were before the massive black iron gates now. Surprisingly, the gates opened with a gentle touch, revealing a landscape of flat meadows filled with tall grass swaying in the breeze. Dark outlines of trees peppered the horizon. The sun – if it indeed was the sun – was shining, but as though through a tinted film. The light was murky, shadowed, casting deathly pallor over everything under the grey sky.
The vista stretched out before them was serene in a cloudy, gloomy, slightly depressing way. The atmosphere did not deter Sesshōmaru however, Kagome noted, as she studied the daiyōkai striding in front of her. He moved with such confidence, as though he had been here before, as though he had made these endless fields his home, as though he knew precisely where he was going. There were bogs and marshes hidden amongst the tall grass, but he avoided them expertly. From time to time, he would pause to scent the air, then continued towards a direction just as surely as he had ever been.
They walked for what she felt was a long time, though she had no way of telling time. The sun did not seem to move across the sky, and the shadows never changed. She let her hands combed through the tall grass that reached past her midthighs, somewhat taking comfort in their soft, slightly feathery textures. When her stomach growled — loudly — for the third time since they entered the gates, Sesshōmaru sighed and stopped. He produced a small rectangular package wrapped in a plain piece of cloth.
"You may have this," he said, handing her the neat package. "It will tide you over until we found a way to return to the mortal world."
She unwrapped the package and found a stack of thinly sliced meat. Truth be told, all dry and black, they did not look at all appetizing.
"They are about the only edibles Jaken knows how to safely prepare," he said. If she did not know any better, she would have thought the explanation was his way of apologizing for the look of the food, and perhaps the taste as well.
Not that she cared. At this point she would eat anything.
She took a bite, and found it tasted better than it looked. They turned out to be meat slices that had been smoked and preserved to make them more suitable for travel. Salty and slightly sweet, they tasted like beef jerky.
"Would you like some? We can share," she offered, holding out the package of the preserved meats in his direction.
He turned away with a scoff and resumed his stride. "You may keep them. This Sesshōmaru requires much less provisions than you do."
She rewrapped the food and tucked it into the folds of her sleeve. Hastening her pace, she made sure to keep up with him, following the yōkai lord as he led them both to some unknown destination.
"Ne, Sesshomaru," she said after they had walked for a few more minutes without words. "What are we doing, and where are we going, exactly?"
He did not answer for a long time. Just when she thought he was not going to answer, he spoke:
"We are searching for the one who raised me."
"Oh. Your father?"
"Hnn. Inu no Taisho might have contributed the seed that led to my existence, but he had very little to do with my upbringing."
It was only one little piece of information, but it surprised her nonetheless that he allowed her this much insight. She wet her lips, hesitating to ask for more, knowing he must despise others delving into the private parts of his life.
Curiosity got the better of her. "Then…" She ventured to ask. "Who raised you?"
"The old King of the Inuyōkai," he said, those golden eyes flashed her a look as if she should have known the answer. "My grandfather."
Author's Notes:
After over ten years of writing Inuyasha fanfiction, I had recently learned that Sesshōmaru's title: "The Lord of the Western Lands" is incorrect. Or at least, it is not canon. The title "The Lord of the Western Lands" most likely came to be because of translation from Japanese to English. "Sesshōmaru-sama" does not necessarily mean "Lord Sesshōmaru". The 'sama' is an honorific to show respect, but there is no equivalent in the English language, hence: "Lord Sesshōmaru".
Needless to say, I felt quite silly.
His father's title also was not "The Lord of the Western Lands", but merely "Inu no Taisho", meaning the "Great Dog General", believed to be trusted with the protection over the general area in the west.
However, in my view, the term "general" implies an army, and fealty sworn to one of superior rank.
Who is this creature with superior rank? I do not think we have ever learned this from the canon universe. I also cannot brush off my curiosity as to why only Sesshōmaru and his mother have the crescent moon insignia on their foreheads, but not his father. Why?
More on this later, ta for now!