Chapter 27 – To Break

There was chatter going on around the room. Voices of people he knew and they were all talking. Asking. Shouting. Even demanding information about the current situation he was facing, but none of this mattered to him right now.

What truly mattered to InuYasha was the stench of death and old age clinging to the body of his brother. The once silver hair turning blond and then white right in front of his eyes, and dear Kami, his brother's eyes. His brother's once golden eyes like his, turned brown. An ordinary shade of brown.

A human shade of brown.

The markings on the daiyoukai's body were now gone, and somehow his skin became even paler than it used to be. The situation was completely messed up, and as his eyes locked with the miko's blue ones, InuYasha felt fear take over his form.

Fear for his brother's life, something he never thought he would feel during his entire existence.

The questions were still being asked, but the woman that could provide the answers remained silent. She seemed in shock, he thought, and couldn't really blame her for that. Her hand was still grasping his brother's one, and he noticed that on his fingers stood dull nails instead of claws.

InuYasha wanted to run and hide from this sick nightmare he found himself in.

He couldn't though, and as even more questions started being made, he decided to speak and shut everyone up. He was about to get a headache, and that was the last thing he needed right now.

''He's cursed.''

A nod from the miko was the only confirmation he needed, and he gritted his teeth as he thought about what to do. Sesshoumaru had enemies, strong enough to render him useless, so what was happening in that room had to stay in that room. Until his brother either got healed, or died. InuYasha didn't really want to think about the second option, so he chose to focus on the present to distract his mind from the darker thoughts that lurked around his consciousness.

They needed to act, and action kept his sanity in check whenever he was on the edge of spiraling down.

''We need to get his ward and keep her safe, the House of the Moon is under attack and she'll be one of the main targets.'' He spoke, and saw the miko take a deep breath before standing up to talk.

''I'm going to need Kikyou and Miroku to help me now. InuYasha, you will need to stay here in case we require brute force,'' She said while looking at the slayer with pleading eyes.

He had already figured out he would be needed, if not to help the woman save his brother's life, then to at least preserve his corpse so he could have a proper burial. His stomach churned at this thought, and the sickness that took over InuYasha's body made him feel like he would never be able to eat again.

''Sango, I need you to get Rin and keep her safe and together with Sakura-sama and Akio-san. Fill them in with the current situation and they will know what to do, but please don't alarm Rin or make her worried, it will do no good for any of us.'' The miko ordered, making him nod in approval. It would only cause more chaos if people knew about this event, and too much information in the wrong hands right now could mean the fall of an empire before their eyes.

''I'm on it.'' The woman spoke as she turned around to leave, knowing that they needed to act fast, only to be stopped when something jumped on her left shoulder.

''I'll go with her mama,'' The kit spoke, holding tight to the slayer's outfit in order to keep his balance. ''I know how to keep Rin distracted." The miko's eyes filled with tears as she heard that, though none of them fell. There was a hardening of her posture in that moment, InuYasha noticed, and as the slayer and the kitsune left the room, the blankness on the woman's face became even more evident.

''It is my fault, you know,'' She spoke, a humorless laugh leaving her throat as her face hardened. ''Ever since the beginning he allowed me to make my own choices, but I never cared for the consequences of them until now.''

''What do you mean, Kagome?'' Kikyou asked, looking confused. She had always been the naive one deep down, and though at times he found that lovely about her, he could not seem to think that way now. It hurt him to have to explain what was happening, but still he did.

''She's human, and on top of that she's a miko.'' He spoke, through gritted teeth. ''Youkai tend to dislike the mixing of the races as much as humans and priests do, for her to live here meant that Sesshoumaru had to deal with a lot of controversy regarding her stay. This was made by someone who feared he would follow our father's steps.''

It was sickening to think that youkai would go as far as turning his brother into a human so he would not live to mate one, like his father had mated his mother. InuYasha wanted to punch something to let the anger leave his body, and wondered if his father would've suffered from this same fate had he not died in battle instead.

''The weight of my choices became a burden to him,'' Kagome spoke, her voice void of any emotions as she stared at Sesshoumaru's aging face. ''So I'll make this right, I just need a little help.''

''We don't have what we need to break the curse.'' For the first time the monk spoke, frowning. InuYasha knew what that frown meant, and it was usually trouble.

He had spent time around Miroku enough to learn one thing or two about the spells that monks practiced, and though his knowledge was not vast, InuYasha knew that to break a curse meant a lot of ofudas and herbs spent, and in that moment there was none of that in the room.

They would be able to get the materials if they asked for help from other youkai around the shiro, but that would mean people knowing what was going on. If the word got out that the Lord of the West had fallen, the lands they stood in would be flooded in blood in a matter of seconds, for none of the other lords would lose the chance to take control of such a vast territory like the West was.

Doing that was not an option and he felt lost in this situation. For a brief second, the death of his brother stopped being just an option in case things went wrong and turned into the concrete reality in front of him.

''We won't break it, I don't have enough time for that.'' The miko spoke, looking around the room and seeming to analyze the possibilities they had. She seemed to know what to do unlike everyone else, and that brought a spark of hope inside his heart.

Maybe, just maybe, not everything was lost.

''Miroku, I need you to seal this entire wing of the shiro. No one gets in and no one gets out until I say so, and if you can make your spell sound-proof, I would be very glad.''

The monk's eyes widened as he heard that, before nodding and leaving the room. He seemed to understand what the woman wanted to do, and InuYasha frowned as he went over everything he had ever heard Kikyou and Miroku discuss about spells. Beside breaking a curse, there were only two other ways to proceed in this situation, but the path to reverse it seemed as impossible as the one to break. This one required time, and as InuYasha stared at the wrinkles forming on his brother's face, he knew they didn't have that.

That left only one option, one that he knew about but no one ever explained it completely to him, though the name of the procedure hinted what would happen. Kikyou no longer looked lost, and InuYasha knew from the look of her face that she understood what they had to do.

''Who will you transfer it to?'' Her voice broke through the silence, making the other miko turn from facing his brother to stare at her. He had been right, and though he knew no one in that room was the perfect one to perform said ritual from what he overheard in the past, he was willing to do it.

The option of trapping the spell and transferring it to another person required a target compatible to the original one. The curse was meant for a daiyoukai to receive and there were none besides the fallen one around them, but he was half-youkai and bound by blood to Sesshoumaru, that had to add some value. Kikyou glanced at him from the corner of her eye and he nodded at her, ready to offer himself to be part of the ritual, but a shake from the other miko's head shut him up before he could speak.

''It wouldn't work,'' She spoke, also looking at him. ''While he is hanyou and that can mean that the curse will simply not affect him at all because he is already half-human, it can also mean that it will kill him faster than it would kill a fully grown youkai because his youki is not as strong as it could be due to his humanity.''

InuYasha almost felt offended at what she had said, but deep down he knew she had a valid point. Still, he was the closest thing they had to a daiyoukai around, and it wasn't like they could go outside and kidnap one to do this. ''My blood is strong, let me do it.''

''I will not risk your life for nothing, InuYasha.'' She spoke, her resolution crystal clear on her face. Somehow, he knew what her next words would be, though it did not lessen his shock at hearing them. ''I cannot put you in danger when you are the only family the West has left. If this fails, the House of the Moon will fall into disgrace and both of you will die, this will never be an option. I will take the curse myself, there is no other way.''

''You cannot be serious,'' Kikyou whispered, seeming as shocked as he was, though there was something on her hushed tone that made him feel like she too, knew how this would end. ''You have no youki, Kagome.''

''I know,'' The woman shrugged, not seeming to mind the consequences of said fact. ''There is a chance that nothing at all will happen with me because of that.''

''There is a higher chance that the curse will fail to fulfill its original purpose and will adapt, targeting the closest thing to youki that it finds inside your body,'' Kikyou said through gritted teeth. There was fear in her voice though many would not notice it, for it was masked by anger. ''It can go after your reiki and consume it, leaving you either dead or completely powerless once it's done.''

InuYasha could've cut the tension in the air with his own sword had he wanted to, but he could not bring himself to say anything at all. He did not understand fully the risks that were being exposed, but if the woman wanted to do it, he would not stop her. There was an aura of certainty around her that made him believe she would make it work, or that was what he convinced himself of.

He felt like he should say something, even if it was trying in vain to take the miko's place in the ritual, but the monk arrived in the room just in time. It seemed like he had heard everything, and voiced his thoughts as he closed the door behind him.

''Or it will simply try to leave her body and return to the original target,'' Miroku said, looking between the two priestess before nodding at him. ''I would bet on that, actually, which is why if Kagome-sama decides to take the curse, we will have to seal her until we find a way of breaking it.''

''Exactly,'' Kagome spoke, a small smile on her face as she stared at the monk. She seemed relieved to have someone on her side. ''My bet is that my body will simply become a prison for the curse, and I will house it without suffering any major damages until I overpower it with my reiki and force it into vanishing.''

''That is a little bit more risky that what I would suggest you doing, my Lady...'' Miroku spoke, frowning. He seemed to know something that he and Kikyou didn't, and for a second InuYasha thought he would oppose to the plan, but he simply sighed before continuing to speak. ''But I think it might work. What do we need to do, Kagome-sama?''

''I want you and Kikyou to seal me once I'm done,'' The woman simply said, shrugging as she stared at his direction. ''And I want you, InuYasha, to keep Sesshoumaru as far away from me as you can. Since we are betting on the curse trying to return to his body, I do not want him anywhere close to me, even if I am sealed.''

He understood, and nodded in agreement as he stared at his sleeping brother. Sesshoumaru had started to look as if he were on his sixties, and the sight of old age staining his features was nothing but disturbing to InuYasha. Even if all proceeded well and the daiyoukai returned to his original appearance and power, that sight would remain eternally graved into his memory.

''He will most likely wake up after a few hours, until then I ask that none of you leave the room or let anyone in.'' The woman spoke, catching his attention once again.

There was a question haunting his mind though, and InuYasha could not bear to not say it out loud, even if the words that left his mouth sent a cold shiver down his spine. ''What will happen if the bastard doesn't wake up?''

A crooked smile broke through the miko's face, and her voice sounded amused as she spoke her last words, though the worry on her eyes was not masked at all. ''You better get ready to reign then, Lord InuYasha of the Western House.''