Chapter Nine:

Three Points Meet

Sesshoumaru landed lightly in a dark deserted area between two buildings.  His body trembled slightly, and he breathed heavily.  He had taken off out of anger, and momentary claustrophobia from having the humans pressed around him so numerously.

~Baka!~ He scolded silently.  ~What have these filthy ningen done to me?  Never before have those lowly creatures been able to shake me this badly.~

He had thought it would be easy to walk amongst the humans in their large village.  They didn't know what he was, and they left him alone, thinking he was just one of them.  That was the problem.

~I am a youkai lord,~ he told himself, willing his body to calm.  ~I am above them.  They have no right to assume I am equal to them.~

Furious, he ripped the charm off of his wrist and flung it away.  Glancing around the area, he discovered a cracked and dirty mirror, and soon found himself kneeling before it, staring hard at his youkai appearance.  His eyes were red from the frustration of being with the humans.  He traced the markings on his face with his claws, and showed his fangs, as though trying to convince himself of their reality.  Almost as a reflex, he reached for his fur, but his hand met only air above his right shoulder.

~Yet more proof that I don't belong here.  My children have my possessions.  I am just a youkai now.  Takara is the Lady of the West, or she should have been.  Curse this time.~

"Curse it," he hissed, and before he knew what he was doing, he had destroyed the mirror with a flick of his wrist and his whip.  Sesshoumaru stood, and after a momentary hesitation, retrieved his bracelet.  His fury had dissipated, and his eyes had returned to gold, but his lip curled in a nasty sneer at the charm as he repositioned it on his wrist.  He felt the now familiar tingle, and then ran his clawless fingers through long black hair.  His fingers traced around his ear, feeling the foreign roundness of it.  He ran his tongue over his teeth, feeling the absurdly short and blunt canines his mouth now possessed.  His senses were still youkai, and his blood was still noble, but he couldn't use his powers, for poison claws require claws. He felt dirty for allowing the inferior changes to his form.

"I, Sesshoumaru, am a youkai," he said to no one.  "I was born of noble blood, sired by a great taiyoukai lord.  I am not, and will never be, a ningen."

~You are talking to yourself,~ his mind told him.  ~A sure sign of insanity.~

Once again, he cursed the humans for making him lose his dignity. Then, Sesshoumaru heard…

*          *          *

Takara landed in a less populated street and released Rei.

"He is very near," she told the demi-youkai.  "I can smell him close by."

The taiyoukai walked towards the smell, Rei trailing close behind.  She suddenly paused, and turned towards the younger girl.

"I feel I must warn you," Takara said.  "My otousan despises ningen, and hated your jiisan [grandfather], Inuyasha, for what he thought was a disgrace to the family blood.  He will surely smell Inuyasha's blood in you mixed with even more ningen blood, and he will not like it."

"What should I do then, Takara-sama?" Rei asked, slightly hurt by this new information.

"Don't try to hide the fact from him, but just be prepared for any reaction.  He knows already that Inuyasha mated with a ningen and had a demi-youkai son, so your existence will not shock him.  I will try my best to keep him at peace with you."

"Hai."

They then continued, and very soon Takara could sense the presence that was her father just around the corner.  She gave Rei a meaningful look, and then walked away from the building and saw…

*          *          *

~He is very near.~

Inuyoshi ran as though his life depended on it, the hilt of Toukijin grasped firmly in his hand.  The feeling was closer…closer…

It would soon all be over.