"What Could Be"
An Inu Yasha Fanfic by Nozomi
[A/N: Yahoo! One of my favorite authors has finally read and reviewed my story! *glomps on to Kaminari* You guys should read his fic "Hanyou no Kon". I HIGHLY recommend it!
Kaminari: I posted Chapter 4 a few minutes before I saw your review, so you won't be waiting a week. ^_~
Thanks to everyone for their praise!!! *ears flapping* It made me finish this chapter right away, with a lot of heart and soul put into it. I like this chapter best so far, and hope you like it too.
Disclaimer: Inu Yasha and company belong to Rumiko Takahashi. But I would happily accept him as a gift for my birthday…
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Chapter 5: Two Swords, Two Brothers
Solitude agreed with him.
He was standing close to the edge of a cliff, surveying the vast lands below him in peaceful contemplation. It had been quite a while since he's had the opportunity to be alone in silence like this. They had been traveling for a long time, searching out Naraku.
His mind should be clear now, because an enemy had been defeated.
But it was not so. He found that he had more questions left unanswered at present than when he had begun this whole affair. Fingering the hilt of the treasured sword at his side, he wondered once again why his father had given him this fang, and why his half-brother the other one. Couldn't he have done more with the other sword? Didn't it seem that Father bestowed the wrong sword upon the wrong son?
And what the hell was wrong with him? He and his half-brother had been at each other's throats for as long as he could remember. There was such animosity between them over the years that he could not even recall why they hated each other in the first place. In that last battle with Naraku, they had even been able to set aside their differences for a moment and had worked together.
Surprisingly, working together had more benefits than either of them realized.
It had been a fluke, really, that they discovered how two fangs can be wielded separately, but have their powers combined.
He and his half-brother had been ignoring each other, individually attacking Naraku from the front. Naraku, of course, with all the demons he had ingested, was much too powerful for their attacks. They were both surprised that the Bakuryuhaa hadn't taken him down with one stroke. He was weakened, but was quickly regaining his strength.
But Tessaiga and Tenseiga seemed to have realized how strong the enemy was, for they called to each other. Father had been with them in that battle, when he and his half-brother both raised their fangs, and together, they unleashed another ultimate attack on the evil bastard.
The ki that emanated from Tessaiga and Tenseiga was unbelievable. The swords commanded their actions, and from the movement of the wounds of the winds of the Bakuryuhaa, it appeared that Tenseiga was fueling the fury of the Tetsuaiga's destructive power. Tenseiga's winds had formed a smooth counter-clockwise spiral core at the center of the focused ki, and Tetsuaiga's violent winds encircled the spiral core in a clockwise wave. It was looking like a drill with two spinning tips: one on the inside, and one on the outside. None of them had known about this attack. Nothing had prepared any of them for the kind of power that exploded from this combined Bakuryuhaa.
This was what destroyed Naraku.
Funny how one experience fighting alongside his half-brother changed how he felt about him. Oh yes, he still hated his guts and had no doubt that his brother still felt that way too. It would be awhile before that feeling went away.
But the desire to kill him or even beat his face to a bloody pulp no longer felt appealing.
He was not anxious to try rekindling family ties, no… too many things have happened. They would not forgive and forget so easily, both of them being as stubborn as they were. Both of them having too much pride to back down.
He had to chuckle at the irony. Perhaps he and his half-brother hated each other immensely because they were so much alike.
There were other things in common too. Looking over to his traveling companions at the campsite behind him, he let his eyes wander over to her.
She really was beautiful in his eyes. It may be his imagination, but she made his heart feel lighter. Her laughter was sunshine and her spirit was a refreshing breeze in the summer. She sparkled like diamonds.
He would never admit it, but he would always protect her. He would not allow any harm to come to her, and pity the evildoer that tried to hurt her.
Listen to yourself, he chided his thoughts. You're getting soft.
And it was a human girl that did this to him.
Was it because of her? Was this how human women change the lives of their men? He wondered how his father had selected a human for his wife. He wondered how she changed the life of the late Demon Lord of the Western Lands.
He had been a wise and powerful youkai. He had known that his two sons would never come to the best of terms on their own, so he created two swords from his own fangs.
The Tessaiga that could take a hundred lives with one swing.
The Tenseiga that could give a hundred lives with one swing.
And again, he wondered. Wondered why his father had given him this sword, and given his half-brother the other one.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that she startled him when she pulled on his sleeve. He looked at her and gave her one of his rare smiles.
She laughed.
Turning around, he started to walk back to the campsite, then paused in his steps. He seemed to be thinking about something, then he turned to her and offered her his hand. She looked to him in surprise and he was given the joy of watching her eyes light up in pleasure. She took his hand.
"Where are we going now, Sesshomaru-sama?"
He glanced back at the lands below the cliff before focusing his attention back to her.
"Home."
She nodded at him to show she understood, and they walked together away from the cliff. Sesshomaru ignored the look of surprise that registered on Jaken's face-- it was the first time he held Rin's hand as they walked together. It would be a long journey home to the Western Lands, but it would do good to get some rest on familiar territory.
And maybe while he was there, he would find the answers he seeked.
[A/N: Did I make you think it was Inu Yasha doing all the thinking? That was my purpose. Hope I succeeded. ^_^ ]
