Chapter 22
Mia appeared at the doorway just in time to catch Inuyasha by the sleeve as he tried to rush inside.
"Easy easy, " she reassured the half demon, but Inuyasha would hear none of it, not until he witnessed Shura's safety for himself.
"How is she?" he finally managed to ask. Mia relinquished his sleeve and urged him to follow her inside.
"Exhausted, and no doubt hurting very badly," the innkeeper admitted, "that's why you must try and be quiet. I don't want her agitated." Inuyasha followed Mia closely as she maneuvered her way towards Shura's room. He was quick to notice that there was a distinct urgency in the innkeeper's gate and it led Inuyasha to believe that the situation far worse then Mia was letting on.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" the half demon heard himself question. Mia slowed herself to a stop then turned to face Inuyasha. The worry in her eyes revealed the answer long before she did.
"Physically perhaps, though she will never regain sight in her left eye. But…it is not her physical scars that concern me most," Mia paused to brush a strand of her unkempt morning hair out of her face. "Shura told me everything that happened…and…I fear the shock has wounded her psyche beyond repair."
Inuyasha clenched his clawed hands into fists. Naraku's cold strike against Shura's young charge made his heart surge with fury, but that anger couldn't compare with the contempt he felt towards his elder sibling. Sesshomaru, for all his talk of a prideful heritage, had made no effort to come and care for his daughter, his own flesh and blood.
The half demon continued forward as Mia started back towards Shura's room. With Sesshomaru unwilling to be a comfort, Inuyasha felt it was his duty to at least try to act in is brother's place. Shura deserved that much at least. And in any case, he'd rather be there then with Miroku and the others. While he himself had gone strait to the inn, Kagome, Miroku and Sango were relaying the tragic news to Soma's parents.
When they reached their destination, Mia slid open the door a crack, allowing the half demon enough room to peer inside. One glance at the fallen demon sent a shudder down Inuyasha's spine. Shura was lying motionless in bed, as still and quiet as the morning air, no longer bearing any markings or features of her powered state. The she-demon's pale sliver hair was draped loosely in all directions, concealing the remains of a clean, white bandage underneath its wispy strands. The sight of her once regal and elegant form, so frail and helpless made Inuyasha swell with remorse. It was his sword after all, that had helped cause so much of Shura's pain.
"Can I see her?" Inuyasha asked in a barely audible whisper. He was determined to make amends by being the support his niece no doubt desperately needed. Mia looked skeptical at first, but eventually relented when she saw the softness hidden in the half demon's eyes.
"Alright. But only for a little while, and only because you're her family." Inuyasha looked over momentarily in shock. Apparently Mia had not exaggerated when she said her daughter had told her everything. Opening the door further Inuyasha slipped into the room and took a few cautious steps forward. Shura made no attempt to move, or even acknowledge his presence. He took a few more steps. Still no response. Finally when the half demon got close enough, he recoiled to a kneeling position near Shura's bedside and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. This time Shura did react, but her movements were laden with the heavy sluggishness of fatigue. Slowly she rolled to her other side, so her bandaged face fell on her uncle.
"Hey," Inuyasha crooned. It was the only thing he could think of to say. Shura blinked her one good eye slowly, as if coming out of a hypnotic trance. Then with great difficulty, the demoness tried to ease her tattered body into a sitting position. "Woah take it easy," Inuyasha immediately scolded as he tried to stop Shura's attempt, "you shouldn't be moving!" His efforts failed, of course, and in the end Inuyasha found himself tenderly supporting Shura as she leaned against him and placed a hand on her throbbing face. His niece's stubbornness even in such as state as hers, made the half demon recall the thousands to times he had strained the limits of his own body, even after Kagome's numerous warnings, and he found it both ironic and distressing that the tables had suddenly turned on him.
Inuyasha glanced up in surprise when he felt warm droplets strike the fabric on his shoulder. For a moment he remained still unsure of what else to do. There was something different about his niece's tears. They were not caused by pain, but hopelessness. Shura's will had finally been broken. The half demon bit his lip uneasily. Try as he might to think of something…anything to say, he could offer no helpful advice. Words of encouragement of sympathy, they were all useless coming from him.
Inuyasha leaned over and pulled Shura tenderly into his arms as the air was suddenly filled with the sound of her sobs. She did not resist his brotherly embrace, nor did she try and stop her shameful bawling. Instead she meekly buried her face into her uncle's kimono to muffle the hideous sound of her own weakness. Inuyasha rested his head gently against Shura's as she continued to weep away years of pent emotions. He wanted desperately to reassure her. Tell her things would be all right. But in the end he couldn't bring himself to utter such lies. He knew the harshness of reality better then anyone. And now, thanks to Naraku and Sesshomaru, Shura would have to know it too.
When Kagome and the others arrived at the inn, they found Mia in a state of utter frustration.
"It shouldn't be Inuyasha's responsibility to comfort Shura!" she bluntly exclaimed after Kagome inquired why she was so restless. "She told me that she had reconnected with her father, and that he promised to come back for her…" Mia continued to rant as she paced the length of the room. "So why isn't he here! When she needs his support the most!" there was an uneasy silence. No one in the room was overly eager to explain Sesshomaru's true nature to the Mia, especially when she was in such a state.
"Sesshomaru isn't exactly one to be close with his family," Miroku finally answered. Mia paused and tapped her foot in annoyance.
"Well if that's true, then why did he even bother coming back after so long? And go through the trouble of saving her life from poison?" The innkeeper resumed her pacing. "I'll bet he still cares for her well-being, but is to much of a coward to admit it and face up to his duties as a parent." Mia's "matter of fact" tone of voice made Kagome, Shippo and Miroku all gain nervous expressions. They were glad the dog demon lord wasn't there to hear Mia's outrageous claims against him.
"Well even if that is the case," Miroku added in an attempt to get off the topic "I don't see how we can do anything about it. Sesshomaru is an incredibly stubborn demon." Mia froze in mid stride and turned to face Inuyasha's comrades.
"So he's stubborn. So what? That's no excuse for neglecting his child! and it's about time someone clued him in!" Mia looked over her shoulder and her eyes came to rest on the slender form of Ukuri, napping in the far corner of the room. "Ukuri," she addressed firmly. The dragon kit lifted his head the instant his name was mentioned. "Come with me, I need your help," Mia commanded before she headed towards the door. Obediently the dragon kit sprang to his feet and scampered along after his superior. He was followed shortly by Kagome and her friends when they realized the innkeeper's foolish intentions.
"Mia wait!" Kagome called out as they all tried to rush after her "You can't go after Sesshomaru! Its to dangerous!" The lot of them came to a stop once they reached the front porch. Mia had turned once again to address them, the transformed adult Ukuri waiting patiently by her side.
"Dangerous?" she commented, "Dangerous is raising a willful, able-bodied demon sorceress through adolescence." Mia tossed her head lightly "Comforting her father…that should be no trouble." Satisfied she had gotten her point across, the innkeeper hoisted herself onto Ukuri's neck and grasped hold of his flowing, white frills. As the dragon prepared to take off, Mia called out once again to her concerned audience.
"I will return shortly. In the meantime, please keep Shura safe for me." Ukuri filled the air with his brilliant dragon voice before he lifted himself and his rider into the atmosphere. The beast set his teal eyes on Mia as she leaned forward and spoke her commands gently into his fur covered ears.
"Ukuri, use your senses and find me the demon called Sesshomaru. I would like to have few words with him."
A most unusual sound woke Shura from her dazed slumber. It was the
sound of a gathering crowd, and they were coming closer. Moving only her ears Shura listened intently as the voices became clearer. She recognized the slurred mixture of vocalizations as coming from members of her own village. Another sound, this time much louder, arose from the masses. It was the unmistakable bellowing call of Soma's father. Judging by the volume, Shura guessed he and his crowd of followers were waiting just outside the front door of her home.
"Come out you white witch! We know you're in there!" Came Mr. Tye's threat. It was followed shortly by equally angry remarks from Inuyasha's companions, but there words were softer and muffled beyond even Shura's keen senses. As the demoness rose completely to consciousness she became aware of her uncle's piercing yellow gaze. Inuyasha had not left her side even during sleep and now he too had fixed his senses on the chaos brewing outside. Even so, his distraction was short lived once he realized Shura had started to stir.
"Relax," he tried to reassure her. "My friends won't let them come any closer. Just try and rest." Shura fidgeted uneasily under her uncle's stare. As much as she wanted to heed his good advice, her conscience would not allow it. Something deep inside her soul was yearning to comfort the crowd so desperate to spill her blood.
In the same instant Shura felt herself rise to her feet her ears burned with Inuyasha's scolding reprimand.
"What do you think you're doing! You're in no condition to be going anywhere!" the half demon's protest fell on uncaring ears. Weather Inuyasha approved or not, Shura had decided her fate; to meet a demeaning end at the hands of her most hated rival. It was a destiny she had written in blood…Soma's blood.
"Let me be." Shura's reply was soft but serious. "In a few moments, my condition will no longer matter." As she spoke, the silver haired demoness started for the door but she was met half way by Inuyasha who stood defiantly in her path.
"I know what you're thinking," the half demon informed her "and I won't let you go through with it." For her weakness, Shura remained no less composed. She had expected as much.
"It is not your choice to make Inuyasha," came her unwavering response. Inuyasha kept his sights on her.
"But is this really the answer?" he asked. Though he was still stubbornly standing his ground, Shura was not fooled. For deep within her uncle's voice echoed his desperate desire for understanding. The demoness let out a soft sigh.
"It may not seem so," she began "but you and I are alike in many ways. Just as your blood is mixed with that of mortals, I carry within my demon breast a beating human heart. I am a disgrace to my demon peers, and a monster to my human ones." Shura paused for a brief moment to recompose herself before she continued. "For a long time I went on believing that some day I'd find my place in the world, that I'd finally belong…but this day has finally revealed the truth to me. That I have no place, and I never had a right to be here." Shura watched as Inuyasha clenched his hands into fists. Her mindset was hauntingly familiar to the half demon, and he would not stand to see her suffer as he once had.
"That's not true! Shura listen to me I what you're going through isn't easy, and I remember thinking the same things sometimes, but that's no reason to give up! You can find happiness, you just have to try harder…"
"I'm tired of trying Inuyasha!" came Shura's harsh interruption "And I'm tired of seeing my loved ones suffer for trying too." There was an uneasy pause as Shura wiped the remnants of salt from her eyes. "Soma is gone, thanks to my failure, and I will pay for it with my blood. It is the only way for me to apologize for the sorrows I have caused, and ease the pain in my soul." Inuyasha said nothing, only stared vacantly as his niece's words struck him in the core. He also knew the agony of bloodguilt, and for that reason could not bring himself to protest further. He stepped aside, allowing Shura to pass, then followed a short distance behind. There was no fear in her gate as she walked towards the exit, ready to face the crowds that waited there…and quite possibly her own death.