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: Sesshomaru pressed Yussou to tell him more about Zoichi and the speculations around who is to inherit the title of the Lord of the Eastern Lands. Yuusou continued to evade the questions. Shouri went on her own to visit Ryoshin's camp and learned about his upbringing from his servant, Kishi.
Author's Notes:
Another update - I'd like to keep this momentum going if possible, pushing out shorter chapters as much as I can rather than one gigantic chapter once every blue moon. Hopefully this is enough to keep you interested and continue reading. As always, reviews are most welcomed and even crucial to the development of the story. I'm dying to know what you think :) Thank you so much for reading!
Rulers of Four Directions
Chapter 26: Sleepless Night
Sleepless nights were common for the demon lord Sesshōmaru. Sometimes he had to journey to an important place and a night's rest was out of the questions. Sometimes his head was so filled with thoughts and future plans for his quest for glory that he stayed awake all through the night. Sometimes he just simply did not want to sleep. A yokai of his caliber did not require nightly rest. Naturally, he thought sleeping was a waste of time.
Tonight was another one of those nights, but this time it was beyond all those reasons. Something was nudging at him. Scratching. Cloying. Urging him to disentangle the threads and discover the truths.
He went to check on his pack, whom had been given a spacious room not far from his own, while Ah-Un was housed at the royal stables. Through the slightly open screen he watched them. They were all sleeping; the light of the moon revealed their slumbering forms. Kohaku stirred and opened his eyes, and almost immediately started to rise from his bed.
"Sesshōmaru-sama?" he called out; his voice slightly roughened by sleep.
Kohaku's vigilance was getting more and more honed every day, even during rest, a result of the indirect training the boy had been going through since he became a member of the pack. He was well on his way to become a much better warrior than he had been.
"Go back to sleep," Sesshōmaru said in a low voice. "All is well."
Kohaku nodded. Stifling his yawn, he laid back on his mattress and closed his eyes, falling back to sleep within seconds.
Sesshōmaru slid the screen closed. The weight on his chest did not abate. It was not concern for his wards that prompted the anxiety. Even without checking on them he knew they were safe. Sakki, the Death Advocate herself had declared she was not about to take back something that had already been given, so Rin's life was truly spared.
The moment Sakki's name and face popped into his head, his brows furrowed. What an infuriating creature, he thought, as he tread along the dim corridors silently. Longing for release from the confine of a building, he stepped out onto the courtyard and soared above the stone walls enclosing the palace complex. He flew away, not stopping until he reached the tip of the jagged rock formations that encircled the white dunes. The palace was far beneath him, small but brightly lit with hundreds of lanterns, looking like a bright shimmering jewel in the darkness of night.
Here, out in the open and surrounded by nothing but silent rocks and fresh, cool night air brushing against his skin, he sat down. Just when he thought he could be alone with his thoughts, a change in the air made the hair on his nape stood to attention. Even without turning his head, he knew who had joined him.
"You continue to seek me out," he stated. "Why, Advocate?"
She was as silent as ever. Even when she approached, he could not hear her footsteps; his peripheral vision caught the sight of black kimono sleeves fluttering in the wind.
"Truth be told, I was not seeking you out this time," she said with her usual cold, flat tone. "I…"
When she did not speak for a long stretch of time, Sesshōmaru turned to look at her. She had her strange amethyst eyes fixated on the palace; the wind swirled those inky strands of her hair around her face, but she did not seem to notice.
"Lord Shogo seems to know who I was before I – "She paused again, her right hand touched the strip of black ribbon that encircled her neck, almost as though by instinct. "Before I became the Death God's Advocate," she finished.
"He said you are Sekishi, eldest daughter of Lord Kibari, the last leader of the Black Wolf clan and protector of Kaimon – the sword that can open the Seventh Gate of the Afterlife."
The eyes that stared back at him were vacant, without any spark of recognition despite him laying it out there for her so blatantly.
"You are telling this Sesshōmaru you do not remember any of this?"
"Not one bit."
"You do not know the whereabouts of Kaimon?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Sesshōmaru, are you another one of the demons searching for the sword, hoping to enslave the Runin beyond the Seventh Gate to attain world supremacy?"
"Hnn," he scoffed. "The path of supreme conquest I seek is nowhere so easy or convenient. However, if a foolish creature somehow managed to lay its hands on such a weapon, it may cause future nuisance I would rather nip at the bud."
She shook her head. "I do not remember anything about Kaimon, or its whereabouts. If it has been lost for a thousand years, let it continue to remain so."
Lost for a thousand years… Perhaps if the sword could remain hidden and out of reach for all eternity, all might be well. But… As he fixated his gaze on the Eastern palace, he thought of Zoichi and the dark, ominous feeling that had assailed him ever since he learned the heir to the Southern lands were still, in fact, here.
Alive and well, because of Lord Shogo's compassion at the last minute.
Alive and well, because Lord Shogo's hope that Zoichi would not carry the same curse – or was it power? – his predecessors had.
Not hope. It was a gamble, one that could potentially affect the yokai of all directions, him included. If the wars against the Southern clan had eradicated a whole generation of daiyokai – save his mother, why was Zoichi permitted to live?
Sesshōmaru clenched his jaw. Ridiculous. An errant weed needed to be plucked and discarded lest it choked out the life of an entire garden. A threat needed to be eliminated no matter how innocent it appeared. The fingers of his right hand itched to curl themselves around the hilt of Bakusaiga. Even Tenseiga, usually a calm presence at his waist, pulsed faintly with anticipation.
"How is Rin?" Her unexpected question ended his violent musings. He turned fully to face her.
"She is her usual self," he replied. He nearly raised his eyebrows when he saw the corners of her lips tilted slightly into a hint of a smile.
"Then it is well," she murmured. Her eyes studied the empty stretch of space beside him before she gestured with her hand. "May I?" She asked.
He did not respond, but merely gave assent with a slight dip of his head. Keeping an arm's length distance, she sat down. Neither spoke a word, and only the whispers of the wind filled the silence between them. The lanterns at the Eastern palace continued to flicker, and the sands of the white dunes swirled gently as though in a dance. For a moment, everything seemed calm. For a moment, everything seemed… right.
Right. What an intriguing thought. The only time he had ever felt right was when he first held his sword Bakusaiga in his newly regenerated arm. Other memorable moments in his life were always blemished with some… dissatisfaction over an unfulfilled desire. And to feel this… rightness with a someone such as she — a creature with no emotions, no breath, no scent. What could it mean?
When he remained quiet, she spoke again. "May I see your hand?"
He gave her a sideway look, his only response was the arching of his brow. They both remembered the last time she had touched his hand, she bestowed upon him a flesh-eating curse.
"I only want to ascertain the curse has been removed in its entirety," she said as she opened her left palm, waiting for him to place his hand on hers.
Cautious but composed, Sesshōmaru did just that. The cold of her hand no longer surprised him. Everything about this female — her eyes, her gaze, her voice, her skin — was cold as ice, but he did not shudder. He looked down at their hands pressed together. His was much larger but hers, with the slightly rounded tip of her claws, in his eyes looked so much more elegant.
"The sage did a wonderful job," she murmured. "Not a trace remained."
Her assessment was completed, yet she did not relinquish his hand. And he did not withdraw. The ice-cold touch too, still felt right on his own skin.
"You never answered my question." His low voice broke the silence between them. "Why did you bring Rin back?"
Lashes lowered, she released his hand and turned away. When he had first asked her, she told him she did not know. He did not quite believe her.
"After Rin realized she had truly passed to the afterlife," Sakki finally said. "She cried and cried. Her little heart was breaking into pieces for knowing she could no longer be by your side in this world." She lifted her eyes to gaze at the vista below, but he knew she was not looking. "Rin said over and over: I don't want to die. I don't want to die. Those words… they resonated. I think I begged the Death God Hakuou the same way. That day many years ago, I also begged him to not let me die. He took a pity on me and turned me into… this."
"You brought Rin back to life because you sympathized with her," Sesshōmaru stated. "You saw yourself in her, pleading for a second chance."
He did not need her reply to know he was correct. "Hnn," he scoffed. "I had cast you as a being without emotions, without feelings. Advocate, you are full of contradictions."
After another moment of silence she rose to her feet, jet black hair and kimono sleeves still fluttering about her. She looked like a butterfly about to take flight.
"Sesshōmaru," she called out his name. "The next time we see each other, I will have to kill you." Just like that, she hopped off the edge of the mountain and vanished.
He remained there in solitary, staring at the empty space where she had disappeared, mulling over her parting words that sounded oddly like a promise.
The next time we see each other, I will have to kill you.
Somehow, the anticipation those words aroused in his chest made him smirk.
To be Continued
A/N:
There are many characters in this story and many subplots and sometimes I am struggling to balance them all. Still, I believe Sesshōmaru & Sakki deserve some focus in this chapter, and some alone time, especially when I made no secret that shortly she will "have to" battle him to the death. This is a nice little moment they share before they are on opposite sides again.
Thank you for reading! As mentioned, reviews would be extremely welcomed. It helps me tremendously when I am shaping up the chapters for things to come. See you in the next chapter!