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 was forced to wield Bakusaiga to protect Sesshomaru who was severely injured. Because of his injuries, he asked her to kill him and revive him with Tenseiga, so he could be brought back to live with all his powers still intact. Before she managed to do it, someone or something stopped her. Soon he lost consciousness, and it was up to Kagome to protect them both. She erected a barrier, which was holding up until it was not anymore. Inutaisho arrived just in the nick of time to rescue them.

The Way to Elysium

Chapter 14: Someone to Protect - Part One

Somewhere along the shores of the western lands
Roughly two-hundred years ago

Choppy waves washed upon the shore. The moonlit sky rendered the water the deepest shade of indigo, lined with silver. Snowflakes had started to fall, heralding an early winter.

Sesshōmaru stood at a distance behind his father as the latter stared at the raging ocean, at the moon hanging low in the sky above them. His father's two-tailed fur, pinned down onto his shoulders by spiked pauldrons, billowed in the biting wind.

As always, Inu no Taisho had his back turned, his eyes fastened on something else. Always something else. Sesshōmaru felt he was forever staring at his father's back. Never his face, or his eyes.

"Do you insist on going, Father?" He asked.

"Are you going to stop me, Sesshōmaru?"

He watched blood dripping from Inutaisho's hand, staining the white sand below, evidence he had sustained a mortal wound from battling Ryukotsusei. Trying to stop him would futile, knowing he had made up his mind to leap straightaway into another battle, this time to protect his human lover and unborn child.

The pang in his chest was unexpected – he thought he had exhausted all hopes and expectations – but he suppressed the pain.

"I will not stand in your way," Sesshōmaru said. "But before you go, you must entrust the two swords: So'unga and Tessaiga to me."

"And if I refuse — Would you kill me, your own father?"

His grandfather had been more of a father to him than Inutaisho had ever been. Chikatani, a servant, had been more of a family to him than both his parents combined. Truth be told, he had considered killing his father to ensure those swords fell into his hands, knowing how crucial they were to his quest to exact revenge on Zetsubōmaru. But in the end, he could not bring himself to even try.

It was as though, after everything, he was still bound by a false sense of filial piety.

His father's scoff brought him back to the present.

"Do you desire power that much, Sesshōmaru?"

Yes, I do. Every time he recalled himself thrown onto the floor and being held down at the nape, helpless as he stared into Chikatani's lifeless eyes, he renewed his vow to acquire immense power. He understood now that the difference between him and Zetsubōmaru boiled down to one thing: power. Or — in his case: the lack of. His uncle had been strong, while he had been weak.

He swore he would never be held down again.

"Why do you seek power, my son?"

"The path I walk is the way of the supreme conquest, and it is power that will reveal its way to me."

"Supreme conquest, is it." The dismay in his father's voice was palpable.

If I explained, would you try to listen — and understand?

"Tell me, Sesshōmaru, do you have someone to protect?"

"Someone to protect?" He echoed, eyes flinching slightly.

Those words… he felt each one like the back of a hand slapping his face. Chikatani's smiling face appeared before his eyes. Chikatani, drenched in blood as he took his last breath. His chest still pained him, even after so many years had passed.

Foolish, foolish Chikatani.

He hardened himself. "This Sesshōmaru have no need for such a thing."

His father scoffed and started to transform into his true yōkai form, roaring at the moon.

As Sesshōmaru watched the massive dog demon flew away towards the direction of Izayoi's mansion, he wished he could still summon rage at his father. If such strong emotion still existed between them, then perhaps… Perhaps, there was still hope for them. But all the fires of rage had long since burnt out, spent on years of waiting for a father who refused to look back.

And, even knowing this would be the last time they saw each other, his father still refused to look at him. No kind words, no parting remarks.

Not even a good-bye, Father?

The inuyōkai dove into the clouds, disappearing from view. He would never see his father again. Casting his eyes downwards, he felt his heart filling up with grief for just a moment. The rest was just disappointment.

Up until the end, you do not know a thing about me.

Sesshōmaru stood watching the raging ocean, letting the wind tousle his hair and whip the sleeves of his clothes. Even after his father had long vanished, that burning question kept resounding in his head: 'Do you have someone to protect?' The hand that should have been cold from the chilled weather felt eerily warm. 'Someone to protect?' He thought as he turned around and walked away, balling the fingers of his right hand into a fist to rid him the memory of Chikatani's blood. The phantom slippery warmth of the blood coating his fingers remained even after all these years.

"Ridiculous," he hissed.

He would not make that mistake again.

Kagome had expected they would be walking for some time. It had only been several steps before they walked through a misty area and, after a few more steps, they emerged into a massive open space. Bright light blinded her for a few seconds. When her eyes adjusted, she saw they were on a spacious stone terrace, surrounded by several palatial buildings.

They were high above the clouds. She could see more thick, fluffy clouds — a sea of them — beyond the railings that lined the perimeter of the humongous terrace, and endless stretch of blue sky beyond those clouds.

A palace… in the sky?

They passed a large throne-like platform, wrapped in deep red upholstery and gilded in gold. It looked quite feminine, she did not think it was meant for Inutaisho.

It was a place suitable for a Princess to live in. So— this must be…

Realizing that she was lagging behind, she hastened her pace.

"Excuse me, Taisho-sama,"she said as she followed him close. "Did the king send you?"

"The king?" Tōga repeated, turning his head just slightly to catch her from the corner of his eye. "Child, I haven't seen or spoken to King Kaien in nearly a millennia. It was my mate, Sesshōmaru's mother, who sent me."

Sesshōmaru's mother?

She had expected the General's relationship with Sesshōmaru's mother was impaired ever since he begot a hanyō child on a human woman, but she supposed it was presumptuous of her to assume such.

He led her to one of the rooms in the main building — one of the best, if judging from the proximity to the courtyard and the beautiful view the occupant would see if he chose to keep the lattice screens opened.

"This room belongs to Sesshōmaru when he comes to visit his mother," Inutaisho said as he laid his son down on a plush futon on the tatami floor.

Kagome looked around the lavish room. To call this a palace was by no means exaggeration. There were elaborate carvings everywhere, either red-lacquered or gilded in gold. The walls and the coffered ceiling were lined with fine silk that must have been dyed multiple times to achieve their vivid jewel tones before they were embroidered in various detailed patterns. The long stretch of wall across the entrance into his room was made up of a series of screens that would lead to other rooms if opened. Each panel was decorated with hand-painted murals on the silk lining, which — when viewed together — depicted a story, or a legend of some sort.

She eyed the painting of a massive inuyōkai in beast form amid an epic battle. Its four tails made her think it could be a painting of Sesshōmaru's grandfather, though the legend could be much older than even the king.

So— this was Sesshōmaru's mother's residence. It was fitting, considering she was highborn. They were wrong after all, thinking his father's Elysium would be Izayoi's mansion.

She watched Inutaisho unfastening Sesshōmaru's armour so he could check on the extent of his son's injuries, working quickly and efficiently to not waste precious time. She nearly gasped when she saw Sesshōmaru's chest: all black and purple from the massive amount of blood that was trapped in his internal cavities. Inutaisho had a fierce frown on his face and, she must admit, he looked mightily concerned. She knew their father and son's relationship was strained, and she felt outraged on Sesshōmaru's behalf whenever she recalled their conversation about how Inutaisho had not been by his side to protect him when he, as a child, needed his father the most.

But— seeing Inutaisho this way, it did touch the soft spots in her heart and tug at her heartstrings. Just a touch. Perhaps there was hope for their reconciliation after all.

"Taisho-sama," Kagome prompted him when he had not spoken for a long time. "Can you help him? Can you fix him?"

"What happened to him out there?" Inutaisho asked in a grim voice as he took Sesshōmaru's pulse one more time. "His yōki is completely depleted, his beast is dying of starvation, he is severely poisoned, and worst: his heart and lungs are shredded because of multiple broken ribs."

"As you know, we encountered Grief. But before that—" She gave Sesshōmaru's father an abridged version of their struggle against Hunger, and how Sesshōmaru's yōki had been depleted even before then.

"You seem to be in decent condition, miko. How could that be?"

"It's because…" She could feel her cheeks heating up. "Sesshōmaru has been feeding me his blood."

Inutaisho arched his eyebrow so high it nearly disappeared into his hairline.

"My son let you drink his blood?"

She nodded. "When I nearly took a bite of a fruit from the orchard that Limos showed us, he offered me his blood instead."

Inutaisho stared at her, looking quite stunned. "And—" He lifted Sesshōmaru's hand, damaged from multiple bites when he drank his own blood. "What happened here?"

"Whenever his beast gets too close to the surface, his survival instinct drives him to feed from his own hand."

Inutaisho made a sound that sounded suspiciously close to a snort. "If he had succumbed to his survival instinct, he would have eaten you," he said, flicking a quick glance at Kagome. "That would have solved all his problems. But he did not. He chose to feed from his own body to stave the hunger. On top of that, he also let you feed from him."

"So… it wasn't instinct?"

"Oh, it was instinct, alright." He let out a short chuckle. "Just not the survival kind."

He let his hand hover over Sesshōmaru's chest and from his palm, bright turquoise light emanated. Kagome watched in fascination as the light transferred from Inutaisho to his son. Sesshōmaru's body began soaking up the light like a sponge absorbing water. Inutaisho was supplying his son with the yōki that was desperately needed. Almost immediately, some superficial wounds appeared better, and the black purplish tinge around the spider bites – which indicated the presence of venom – began to gradually disappear.

Inutaisho sighed in what she could only assume as relief. Without pausing the transfer of yōki, he studied her.

"Miko, did I not see you with my other son, a while back?"

"Yes, Taisho-sama. I was there with Inuyasha when you took So'unga back with you to the netherworld."

"And are you—" He had a long pause here. "— still involved with him?"

"I was supposed to marry Inuyasha," she replied softly, which earned her an arched brow.

It was not until the words had come out of her mouth that she realized what she had said: 'was supposed to'. Since when did it change from 'am going to'? Not wanting to think about it now, she shoved it to the back of her head for her own musings later.

Inutaisho said nothing, though he started to look at her rather suspiciously, perhaps wondering why she would be with one son when she was about to marry the other.

After a while, he sighed and shut off the flow of energy, as easily as one would turn off a faucet. Kagome noticed that when he stood up, there was a nearly imperceptible sway in his stance. He must have supplied Sesshōmaru with a large amount of yōki for him to experience some adverse effect.

"He has received sufficient yōki to start repairing himself," he said, just before he headed for the doors. "It might take him some time to recover. The damage to his heart is particularly grave, and his beast needs some time to recuperate as well. But with plenty of rest, he should recover fully."

Before Inutaisho left the room, Kagome stopped him.

"Thank you, Taisho-sama," she said. "For coming to his aid when he was in a dire situation. You rescued him, and myself by extension. You have my gratitude." She paused to look at Sesshōmaru, now looking like he was sleeping peacefully. Whatever had happened between the father and the son in the past, these recent events required them to pay him their thanks. "Also for giving him your yōki. I know your relationship with him is… complicated. Thank you for helping him anyway."

He was silent for a moment, and it was difficult for Kagome to ascertain his expression since she was staring at his back. Then, he scoffed softly.

"What kind of a father would I be if I did not go to his aid when he needed me?" He questioned before he departed the room.

Kagome was left to stare at the view of the beautiful courtyard and the stretch of blue sky beyond. What kind of father indeed, she thought in bemusement.

Just like in King Kaien's realm, days in Inutaisho's Elysium turned to nights. By now, Sesshōmaru had been sleeping for two full days. Though it might seem like a long time, especially for a daiyōkai, Kagome knew it was only because he needed time to regenerate himself and repair the severe damage from his last battle. She stayed with him the entire time, just content to watch him while he slept, which was an extremely rare opportunity to begin with. He appeared peaceful; the strains of the past few days melting away from his features.

"Miko," Sesshōmaru's father called from the open doorway. "You have stayed with him for the last two days. I will sit with him now, so you can have some respite."

Kagome smiled thankfully but shook her head. "I'd prefer to stay if I may, Taisho-sama. I would like to be here when he wakes up."

The yōki that Tōga routinely fed him was key to his recovery. Already, his colour was a lot better. The superficial wounds had closed and left his skin unmarred. The purplish-black bruises from the spider venom had fully vanished. The torn flesh on his forearm, a souvenir from being inside Gaudia's bowel, finally recovered. Even his hair had regained its previous gloss and silky texture.

But they knew the most extensive repairs to be done were on his heart and lungs, and on the well-being of his beast. The fact he was still asleep could only mean he was still working on those things.

"Has my son treated you well during your journey here, miko?" The General asked when he came in to watch Sesshōmaru for a bit.

Kagome thought about her journey so far, and everything Sesshōmaru had done for her, starting from saving her from the river of snakes, giving her all the food he had, lending her mokomoko to spare her the hard ground and to protect her from the elements.

Then, the deeds gradually became larger and larger: saving her from getting absorbed into Gaudia, from eating the fruit from Limos' orchard that would bind her forever to the underworld, feeding her his blood when her hunger had been unbearable…

"He has been most kind to me, Taisho-sama," she said. "I made it this far all thanks to him."

"Kind?" Inutaisho repeated, as though in disbelief. He hesitated before he said: "I must say, I am… surprised."

Perhaps this was to be expected — but only from someone who did not know Sesshōmaru other than from the rumours that he was a powerful, cruel, ruthless daiyōkai. But Inutaisho was his father. It pained her to think this nugget of information was enough to surprise the General.

"You are surprised, truly?" Kagome asked. "He is your son. Are you so oblivious to his characters that you are surprised at the mention of his kindness?"

"Miko, the last time I saw him, he was not known for his… kindness." Inutaisho said this in a gentle manner, as though he was trying to rid her of this misconception and tried to spare her from the disappointment.

It irked her immensely.

"Perhaps not the type of kindness you are accustomed to," she retorted. "But kindness takes many different faces. Although Sesshōmaru has his own brand of kindness, and perhaps not show it very often, he does have it."

At least the General had the grace to appear chagrined. "It is my… understanding that he was not very kind to his half-brother."

"The brothers have their issues, true. But, Taisho-sama, do you not realize you contributed much to the rift between your sons?"

First, his eyebrows arched with surprise. Then, he glowered at her. "What do you mean by that, miko?"

"The way you divided Tessaiga and Tenseiga between them. You could have provided Sesshōmaru with clear explanations that would not have made him feel like he had been cast aside and even forgotten. Instead, you trusted your will to a couple of your underlings that, I'm sorry to say, weren't the best at communicating your intentions. And you designed these riddles that —

"Those riddles were necessary to protect Tessaiga from Sesshōmaru, who had desired that sword for years even prior to my death. You must understand how crucial Tessaiga is for Inuyasha's protection."

"I do — and I won't defend Sesshōmaru for his repeated attempts to take Tessaiga. But… this I will say: I know he is not the type to do something without a clear purpose. Although I don't know the full story yet, I am convinced he had been working towards a bigger goal, and that Tessaiga was detrimental to his success, which was why he wanted it so badly."

"His 'supreme conquest'," Inutaisho sighed, rubbing his temple.

Kagome did not know what Sesshōmaru's 'supreme conquest' was, though she did recall one of the first few things the daiyōkai said to her when they started their journey together, when she asked him if he had come to fetch her in exchange for Tessaiga:

'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.'

Which meant she was right — he had been working towards a specific purpose, whatever that might be.

"Well, as I said—" she continued. "You designed these 'riddles' that truthfully, at times, seem duplicitous."

"Duplicitous?" The Great Dog General looked quite taken aback that a mere human priestess had dared to refer to him, and his ways, using such uncomplimentary term.

"Tenseiga and Meidō Zangetsuha," Kagome reminded the General. Perhaps she was risking her own safety by insulting the inuyōkai's honour, but she pushed onward. "He worked extremely hard to perfect the technique, did you know that? It is in his nature to pour everything he had into honing his skills and advancing his weapons, even if that sword was not the one he desired in the first place. He put himself and Rin, the ward he cares for deeply, in grave danger to perfect Meidō Zangetsuha, only to find out your intention had always been for him to hand it over to Inuyasha."

"Miko, there was no malice in the intention. Inuyasha would not be strong enough to complete the Meidō on his own. He needed his brother's help to bring the technique to its full potential."

"Regardless," Kagome insisted. "You purposely hid your intention. He did not discover it until the end. I would call that duplicitous. Wouldn't you?"

Tōga sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "At the time… I feared if I had been clear with my intentions on that front, he would not have helped his brother."

He wouldn't? She would not be so certain about that, but the Dog General's ruse had robbed them of the chance of ever finding out. Sesshōmaru had a habit of being unpredictable. He had lent them aid many times when he did not have to, and would not have benefited from it in any way.

Somehow she had a feeling Sesshōmaru would have done it, even if he had known from the start.

"So— you decided to trick him into doing it. And yet, regardless of how it had come about, he decided to give it away to Inuyasha anyway. In the end, he decided to respect your wishes, so it all worked out fine on your end. But have you considered how it would make him feel? Or, could it be that, like everyone else—" She paused to remind herself that she too had been one of those people in the past. "You deem him incapable of feelings, of emotions, and therefore does not deserve any considerations?"

Tōga drew a deep sigh. "Miko. Though I love my son, he is… opaque. His emotions, if any, are not exactly easy to read. He is that way since childhood: distant, closed off. His mother and I tried to break through, but even as a child he was as impenetrable as a fortress."

He is that way since childhood.

Kagome frowned. "You mean — because of what happened to him in the Southern Isles when he was young?"

The Dog General stared at her, not speaking for long moments, golden eyes burned bright with an unknown fire. Then, his brows furrowed into a thunderous frown.

"What happened to him in the Southern Isles when he was young?" When Kagome did not answer straight away, those amber eyes narrowed slightly. "Miko, if you know something I do not, you shall tell me now."

Should she kick herself for starting this discussion, or berate him for having to even ask?

"I don't know," she said, keeping her tone even, unflinching. "But — shouldn't you?"

Inutaisho shifted his eyes to Sesshōmaru's sleeping form, his eyes lingering on his son's face before he shook his head. His fingers went to clasp his forehead, messing up his bangs. She had to admit: he looked tormented.

"But he never told us anything about it. Nothing! If anything had happened, he should have —"

Something inside Kagome snapped at the obvious ignorance. Coming from his father, no less. Straightening her back, she balled her hands into fists and faced the General.

"But he went to you as a young child, didn't he? Wasn't that your job, as his father, to figure out if he suffered, if he was hurting? You can't say that it was his own fault for not telling you. The failure was yours, not his."

She had stunned Inutaisho into silence. She did not know if the shock was because of the truth in her words, or because a mere human had dared to speak to him that way. And at this point, she did not care which.

She recalled Sesshōmaru's words in Asphodel Meadows, sitting under the tree just before she kissed him: I resented him for not wanting to know.

She lowered her head and sighed. "For someone who claims to be his father, you don't seem to know a thing or two about him."

The General did not surprise her when he left the room.

The things the miko said, as much as they hurt his pride, they rang true. He did not know anything about his son, other than Sesshōmaru's obsession with power and, by extension, Tessaiga.

And, as the Great Dog General who had always strived to live his life honourably, to be called duplicitous… He sighed and rubbed his temple. He did not like it, not one bit. But after hearing her explanation from Sesshōmaru's side, he could not help but admit she had a valid point.

For a father to not know anything about his son… The notion filled him with great amount of shame.

So he went to the one person he thought would know.

It was mightily daunting to face the liege he had not seen in nearly a millennia, especially when he knew – even before their conversation started – the King would be far from pleased with him. Incensed, most likely. Yet, the burning questions in his head conquered any hesitation he felt about his reunion with King Kaien.

The king's realm was, unsurprisingly, the endless stretch of Southern Isles shores. It was night when he arrived. As he looked up to gaze at the thousands of stars peppering the endless indigo sky, he felt a sense of nostalgia. He had not returned to the Southern Isles ever since he picked up Yōhime to escort her to their new home. The western lands, although beautiful in its own rustic way, could not hold a candle to such immense splendour of the Southern Isles.

He found the king easily. His liege was staring at the ocean somewhere along the shore, the four-tailed fur he wore like a cloak over his shoulders swaying gently in the breeze. The King did not turn even though he must have sensed a visitor entering his realm.

The Great Dog General stopped behind the King and lowered himself to one knee.

"My King," he greeted, eyes staring at the white sand beneath his boots.

"Seeing as you are here," the King spoke. "I take it Sesshōmaru and his companion have reached your realm safely?"

"They have reached it. The miko is in good condition. Sesshōmaru is badly wounded, but he is on his way to recovery."

The king turned around when he heard this news. His amber eyes seemed to glow in the darkness of the night. "Badly wounded?"

"They encountered Grief while they were searching for me."

"A formidable adversary for anyone but especially for him, with his unresolved grief over Chikatani's death."

"And yours as well, I believe," Tōga said, lifting his head to sneak a glance at the King's face.

King Kaien did not respond, but something in the way he held his silence, the way his bright golden eyes glowed and flickered confirmed Tōga's long-held suspicion.

"So it is true…" Tōga murmured. "When I heard you passed, it crossed my mind that Zetsubōmaru had used his subjugation potion and sent you to your early death. I did not want to believe the crown prince had murdered his own father to become king, but it was exactly what he did."

A four-thousand-year-old daiyōkai did not just die from merely an illness. At that point, he would have possessed a massive amount of yōki, capable of curing most illnesses and wounds. Most ancient yōkai died because they could not adapt to the ever-changing world or, they simply decided they had had enough, and chose eternal sleep over prolonging their lives.

But in this this case, King Kaien died because of the subjugation potion. All Zetsubōmaru had to do was tell the king — his own father — to lose the will to live.

"He is king for now," King Kaien said. "But it is far from over."

The King began to stroll down the beach and his General fell into step beside him.

"I tried to hold on as long as I could, but no matter what I did, I was not able to break the power of his subjugation," the King said, his eyes seemed to stare at a place far, far away. He sighed wearily. "To think that I left Chikatani and Sesshōmaru alone to fend themselves against Zetsubōmaru… It was disgraceful. Chikatani met such a tragic end because of it."

Tōga recalled Chikatani as a very young servant — a mere pup, and now he owed Chikatani so much for everything the young inuyōkai had done in his stead. If only he could express his gratitude in person, but who knew where Chikatani was now?

"I had wondered when you were coming to see me, General," the King said, glancing at him. "You stayed away for so long. Was it because of your relationship with the human woman?"

The discomfort written on his face must have been the only answer the King needed.

"Hnn. Were it under any different circumstances, I would have called you out and fought you to the death for the dishonour you brought upon my daughter. But — seeing it the way it is…" King Kaien sighed. "The arrangement between the three of you is certainly — unusual, but you all seem to have worked it out for yourselves. If that is the case, I have no objection."

Following a companionable silence, Tōga looked around at the empty beach. Frowning, he tried to sense anyone else in the realm, but detected none other than the King and himself.

"My King, are you here alone? Where is the Queen?"

The King did not answer for a long time, and Tōga did not prompt him. It was not until they had strolled for a while that the King replied: "Although the Queen understands Zetsubōmaru must die for everything he had done, and might do in the future, the part of her that is his mother cannot reconcile with it. She has asked me to let her sleep until the deed is completed."

The deed? The King must have meant the slaying of Zetsubōmaru, the current King of all inuyōkai. Precisely at this moment, Sesshōmaru's words — the ones he uttered that night on the beach — replayed themselves in his head: 'the path I walk is the way of the supreme conquest'…

"My King, what exactly is your plan for Sesshōmaru? His companion, the miko, also hinted something terrible had happened to my son during his life in the Southern Isles."

"She must be referring to the whipping," the King said, ignoring the first question. "There is no way she could have discovered the others."

Whipping? And what 'others'? The General felt his heart sinking into the pit of his stomach from the brutal images that flooded his mind. Thankfully, the King took one look at him and pitied him enough to explain about the whipping.

But the truth was much worse than his own imaginings.

"Ten lashes, my King? With your acid whip?" Tōga's face paled. "He could have died."

"Which is why I whipped him myself," the king replied grimly. "I am not proud of the decision, Tōga. It is one of the most shameful moments of my life. But between the whip and the execution, I choose the whip every time. It was crucial to get Zetsubōmaru and his cronies off the pup's heels. My son suspected too much as it was, and I feared if I had not taken the whip in hand, Zetsubōmaru would find another way to kill Sesshōmaru. An accident of some sort would have been easy enough for him to arrange."

"Why were Yōhime and I not notified about this? There were no letters, no missives —"

"There were many letters sent, but not even a single reply was received," the King intercepted. "I have also sent messengers, none of which returned." He sighed, his eyes were once again staring at the indigo darkness of the ocean. "The truth is, Tōga, Zetsubōmaru had made fools out of us all. When he had control over the kingdom, it was easy for him to intercept messages and eliminate messengers. I thought of sending Sesshōmaru across the ocean, but I could not be certain how much influence Zetsubōmaru had over my kingdom, and which of my guards I could trust with Sesshōmaru's safety. And if I had escorted him myself, would the safety of the rest of my people be compromised? Would there even still be a kingdom for me to return to?" He shook his head at himself. "For a king to have lost control over his own domain — it is beyond shameful."

"My King, you mentioned "others". What else did Zetsubōmaru do to my son?"

The King's bright, glowing amber eyes jabbed him a narrowed look. "You are asking me, Tōga? Have you never asked him? Even the whipping — you mentioned you heard it from the miko. Has Sesshōmaru told you anything himself?"

The question rendered him speechless. The King arched an eyebrow and asked again: "Did you ever bother to ask your son, who spent two-hundred and fifty years away from his mother and father, how his life had been in the Southern Isles?"

"No, my King, I did not." He felt his shame radiating from his scalp all the way to his toes.

"Hnn. I would ask why if I thought the answer would make any difference. Were the western lands so captivating that you completely forgot about your firstborn?"

The King continued strolling while his General trailed behind.

"I could imagine the scene of you first meeting Sesshōmaru," the King continued. "You took one look at him and decided he had become the epitome of the pompous nobility you had come to despise. A true elitist. You mistook his silence as haughtiness. His distance as callousness. You did not spare a thought about what it took that boy to reach the shores of the western lands, to reach you. That perhaps, he was silent and distant because it took him all the strength he had at the time to stand before you without collapsing into a heap of misery."

Tōga lowered his head. "It did cross my mind that… Zetsubōmaru had influenced him, and that my son was growing up to be just like him."

Here, the King stopped and turned to give him a sharp glare. "Then you do not know Sesshōmaru. Or Zetsubōmaru, for that matter." The King shook his head in obvious disappointment and continued his stride. "You and Yōhime were given a chance to start over with your son, yet you did not take it. I find this most disappointing."

"My King, please believe, no one is more disappointed in me than myself."

"If you came here to recruit my help to mend your relationship with him—" The King scoffed. "I cannot help you, and have no desire to do so. You and Yōhime need to figure it out on your own."

The General was chagrined, but he understood the King's utter disappointment with him, and possibly his mate, for having failed so miserably where their son was concerned. He halted his steps.

"Then, without further delay," Tōga said, giving the King a formal bow. "I will return to my son. Not only to check on the recovery of his health, but also to attempt a reconciliation with him." He hesitated before he continued. "Allow me to keep you apprised on my progress."

The King nodded his assent and the General turned to leave.

"When you speak to Yōhime," the king's unyielding voice called out from behind him. "Be sure to tell her I have quite a few things to say to her as well."

The Realm of the Palace in the Sky

The next afternoon, as light breeze blew into the room through the parted lattice screens, Sesshōmaru stirred.

"Miko…"

"Sesshōmaru?" Kagome hovered over him, peering into his face. His fair lashes fluttered and his eyes opened slightly, revealing amber shade that was paler than usual.

"You're… well?" He asked. His voice was low, softened by sleep, as though he was barely awake.

"I am." She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "How are you feeling?"

"…Mn."

He fell back to sleep.

Though his outward wounds had mostly healed, he kept on sleeping. The length of his rest, despite the yōki his father had given him, told her just how severe his internal injuries were.

Her eyes caught sight of his right hand, lying so close to her own at the edge of his bedding. She ghosted her fingers over the many wounds that were still visible, the results of him sinking his teeth into his hand numerous times to stop his beast from consuming her. Carefully, she lifted that hand and brought it to her lips, kissing the bite marks gently before she nestled her cheek into its cusp.

Her heart ached terribly.

Kagome did not see the Great Dog General behind the lattice screens that partitioned Sesshōmaru's room from the corridor. He had sensed a spark of energy and had come to check on his son, but it seemed Sesshōmaru was only awake long enough to check on his companion's well-being before he succumbed to slumber once more. He witnessed the priestess taking his son's wounded hand, kissing it gently and laying her face upon it.

The tenderness of the gesture mesmerized him. It was something he had hoped his eldest son would be able to inspire one day, but to witness it coming from a human woman… Not just any woman: his half-brother's betrothed.

He smiled and turned to walk away.

Even in death, it seemed that Fates still found ways to surprise him.

A/N: I am not in the habit of splitting chapters into two, but when I wrote this chapter "Someone to Protect" in its entirety, the word count was already over 10,000 and kept going up. It seems excessive to post a chapter that is about 12,000 words long.

For part 1, we opened with the iconic scene from the third movie. Implementing Sesshōmaru's backstory into the scene, his father's question "have you someone to protect", to me sounds ignorant, even a little cruel. This scene is one of the main inspirations for this story. So little information was given, and yet we can draw so much from the short interaction between father and son.

I'm sorry Sesshōmaru is not awake in this chapter, but he will be waking up in the next scene. And he will have to face his father.

Inutaisho's character... ~sigh~ I do not want him to be a despised character, but he is just so oblivious to everything at this point. He needs to be redeemable, which is one of my challenges for the next part of this chapter.

As always, it was a pleasure. I hope you had as much pleasure reading the chapter as I did writing it. Drop me a few lines to let me know what you think, if you have an opportunity. Thank you so much for reading!