A/N: New chapter. Where's the celebration...!? ;)
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, and I'm glad none of my sadistic reviewers do either. ;) Haha. Jk! But I still don't own Inuyasha…
_Important Note_ There has long been the heated debate of…"Tetsusaiga" or "Tessaiga." [the two ways to spell Inuyasha's sword] I'm using "Tetsusaiga" okay? No use arguing with the author!
Behind the Masquerade
Harsh Honesty
A figure in a dark cape slowly walked through the ground of blood and carcasses, grimacing at the sight of so many dead people. What had happened here?
Looking around, it was pretty obvious that a war had transpired not too long ago; maybe even just an hour or two ago. Corpses were littered everywhere and as she shouldered her sack closer to herself, she could feel a shudder run up her spine. She had never been so close to a battle site before, and now she knew why.
The smell of all those cadavers were extremely nauseating and when she eyed a soldier with a missing head while blood was still dripping out of his neck, she nearly threw up at the sight. But what was totally [and the only thing] intriguing about this death setting was that the two armies didn't even look like they had attacked each other before someone, or something, wiped them all out in one shot.
How gruesome.
She couldn't contain in another shudder when the night's breeze ran through the thin material of her cloak. This wasn't exactly the best place to be at night, especially since she was all alone and a defenseless girl. Looking around for any signs of life or food, she sighed when she realized there was nothing but dead people.
"Oh well…better get moving along then…" she mumbled to herself, and started carefully maneuvering her way past the dead bodies, making disgusted faces every time she saw something hideous.
Next thing you know, someone was going to talk or groan or something…
As if answering her worst nightmares, she suddenly heard a growl and she froze up faster than before you could say "AAAH!!". Shivering from her terror, she slowly turned around to try to locate the source of the growling, eyes as wide as pans and heart hitching all the way up to her throat. Wasn't this like some scene from those horror plays back home?!
Eyeing a bundle of fluffy white and blood, she gulped nervously when she realized that the noise was coming from this supposedly *dead* person. Inching closer, she could see the person lying on the ground with his white bangs covering his eyes, looking immobile.
When she eyed the person's chest rising up and down slowly, she knew that this person was in fact, breathing and alive. Blinking and cursing at her own curiosity, she edged ever closer when she saw the dark marks and lines on the person's cheeks, wondering whether those were wounds from the battle or something else. It was a miracle that this person could have even survived the war that had occurred before!
Walking up to the person, she kneeled down in front of him and poked the person on the leg. "Hey…are you…okay?" she questioned carefully, hoping that this man wouldn't suddenly jump up and kill her or something.
The man's head snapped up faster than humanely possible and he glared over at her, growling in a dog-like manner. She nearly squeaked when she saw the man's deep bloody red eyes and the fangs protruding out of his mouth. When she saw the claws on his hands, she began to regret ever feeling the need to help this guy, and was about to get up and out of there, but something was keeping her rooted to that spot.
He wasn't attacking her…even if he was growling at her…
Pushing her fear back inside of her, she eyed the wounds on his body carefully before taking her sack off of her back. Lying it out carefully on a small clean part of the ground, she opened it up and began searching through her things.
"What are you doing," the man demanded of her when he saw her take out a roll of cloth and a water bottle. "I, Sesshoumaru, don't need your pathetic help."
"Well, you need my 'pathetic' help right now," the girl retorted back and turned onto him when she had all her first aid things out.
"I'll kill you," Sesshoumaru threatened, eyeing her with his half-transformed eyes.
"If you can move yourself first…" the girl answered and moved to kneel next to his left arm, dabbing gently at the wounds running up it. "I could leave you here to rot, you know?"
"I'm a youkai. My wounds will heal itself in a few more hours, so mind your own business," he said, looking away and lowering his bangs to cover his eyes once more.
"Well, a few hours less of pain would be worth me helping you, wouldn't you think?" she asked gently, before ripping a bit of her cape off and bandaging the deep wound on his arm. After finishing binding the material together, she looked kind of content as she started working on the bloody area on his right knee.
Her eye could nearly twitch from the dried blood stuck on his leg, and she poured on some more water on her cloth while trying to wipe the sticky substance away. How could someone have survived with such grisly looking wounds? Oh yea. He's a youkai…
After finishing dressing up his knee too, she smiled up at Sesshoumaru with a look of accomplishment on her face. "Doesn't it feel better?" she asked, while taking out a few mushrooms and a piece of fish from her victuals in her sack. "Here…you can also have some provisions of mine," she suggested, picking up a flat rock on the ground and putting it in Sesshoumaru's lap along with the food.
"Don't bother. I don't like mushrooms," he muttered, giving her a flat look.
She frowned and looked a bit disappointed. "Picky, aren't you?" she questioned before tying up her sack again and standing up. Looking down at the demon, she explained, "Well, I'm sorry but this is the best I could do. I'll hurry to the next town I come by and tell them that you need rescuing or something."
"I already said I'll recover in a few hours," Sesshoumaru repeated, looking slightly annoyed.
"Better safe than sorry!" she piped up and started walking, waving goodbye to the Prince with a happy smile on her face. "Bye Sesshoumaru! My name is Rin!" she added, the smile still present on her face.
"I didn't ask for your name…" Sesshoumaru growled, watching her walk away from the corner of his eye.
"I know!" was her answer, before she continued along her way into the darkness, disappearing into the night soon after.
Sesshoumaru was nothing but hushed as he continued to sit there inert, now staring at his bandaged knee and arm. What a strange girl…
*~*~*
Kagome awoke to some shouting and screaming around the castle outside and she wondered whether she was back home or not. Don't tell her the birds were having a fight right outside her window! Or worse! Don't tell her Kikyou broke another nail!
Blinking her eyes open, she stared around the room and marveled at how the morning light shone in through the balcony and illuminated up her room vibrantly. She had better stop believing that every time she woke up, she was back home. She wouldn't be back home for a while, so getting up would have to change, but who was she to complain?
Getting up, she rubbed her eyes jadedly and listened to the intense debate occurring outside. Curiosity getting the best of her, she shuffled over to the balcony, looking down far below. Her eyes went wide with more interest as she observed two white-headed people growling stuff at each other. Wow…what had happened?
Fully awake now, Kagome ran back inside and quickly changed into a simple dress, thoughts running through her mind in a clutter. The two people down on the grounds had looked like King Komiya and Inuyasha, and by the looks of the sun, it had just rose not too long ago. So what would have caused the two demons to be down on the grounds, yelling their lungs out and waking the whole castle and town up at the break of dawn? Not something pretty she bet.
Slipping her shoes on, she staggered out the door and ran her way down the corridor, making for the stairs. It was a surprise that she didn't get lost in this castle, since it had more winds, turns and twists in it than the number of hairs on her head. No kidding.
Sprinting down the few flights of stairs, she practically tripped [like usual] on the last step and flailed her hands around to do the usual trying to hold herself up thing. The servants and maids dismissed this, unlike the people at Kagome's own castle, and continued on with their chores while oblivious to the roars outside the castle and a princess floundering around in the middle of the corridor. Kagome began to wonder if things like this happened often here…
Running around for a while, she realized that she hadn't been really anywhere around on the first floor, and she didn't know her way out to anything. "Do you know the way to the front door?" she politely asked a passerby maid. Kagome looked surprised as she looked down at the "maid."
The girl was wearing what was the traditional uniform for maids, but she looked about as old as twelve at the most. She was also incredibly pale in the face, but then when Kagome analyzed the young girl more, she found that almost everything about the girl was incredibly whitish. Even her hair was white. That probably indicated that she was a youkai.
"Down this corridor…" the child began, looking at Kagome with incredibly dull eyes. "…Into the main room…then left…"
Kagome laughed nervously, the girl's strange behavior getting to her mental strain. "Thank you," she answered civilly, before making her way down the corridor like the child had directed. At least these directions were simpler to the ones she had gotten from Inuyasha, King Komiya and Lady Komiya the day before! The whole Komiya family seemed to love giving out directions that were extremely hard to follow…
The child maid continued to stare at Kagome's back, even after the princess had disappeared down the corridor. Her scrutinizing eyes watched the aura of the girl flicker slightly, giving no indication of just how powerful she could really be. Did Naraku really believe a girl with such a well…weak aura…would be a threat to him from getting the Shikon no Tama?
Couldn't he just overthrow this kingdom with his power and take over the throne or something? Why mess with all the people? Oh well.
No one would understand Naraku…
She continued on her way, practically gliding down the opposite direction from Kagome.
Kagome walked into the main room and looked around, observing the small details about the room. There was a great chandelier in the middle of the room and stairs winded up at the back of the room to upstairs. A door carved with a picture of a dog demon opened up into the ballroom of the castle and Kagome would have went to check it out, but more yells from outside tore her curiosity away.
Taking a left turn like the girl before had guided, she quickly rushed down the short corridor to the front yard. Several guards were defending the entrance, but they were all stationary and motionless, like statues. Kagome ignored this for the time and sprinted to where the voices were coming from.
Seeing King Komiya and Inuyasha, she decided to not get too close to the father and son. By the looks on their faces, they were both livid and she didn't want to attract any belligerence towards herself. Angry arms were flung in different directions and the two demons' faces were mere inches away from each other as Kagome tried to figure out what to do and what was happening.
Seeing Lady Komiya about ten feet away from the arguing couple, Kagome scuttled over to the Queen with a confused look on her face. Lady Komiya was rubbing her temples and it looked like she had been trying to stop the dispute for some time, but to no avail. Seeing Kagome walking towards her, the Queen put on a weak smile and greeted the princess morning with a nod.
"What's going on?" Kagome yelled over the thundering voices to the Queen in curiosity.
"They're arguing over who's going to go to the High Plains," Lady Komiya answered and sighed in frustration as she continued eyeing her son and husband argue like angry chickens.
"Why?" Kagome observed the two dog demons too.
"An extremely wounded and unconscious soldier was found at our gate this morning, and he had been one of the men from Sesshoumaru's army. We suspect that Sesshoumaru is in some sort of danger, and now my husband and Inuyasha are fighting over who's going to go help and fight," Lady Komiya answered, sighing to herself.
"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome questioned in inquisitiveness, wondering who this "Sesshoumaru" was.
"Sesshoumaru is Inuyasha's brother. No. Half-brother. I'm King Komiya's second wife, you know? Sesshoumaru was the son of the earlier wife and he's a full dog demon, while Inuyasha is my son and a hanyou. But of course, Sesshoumaru is like my own son, so I am about as worried about him as I would be concerned about Inuyasha. He was sent to fight with the wolf demon kingdom about three days ago with about a quarter of our full force and obviously, something happened, although the injured soldier is still unconscious, so he can't tell us anything."
That information took some time to digest in Kagome's mind, as she tried to process the fact that Inuyasha wasn't an only child and actually had an older brother who was off at a war right now. "Why can't they both just go?" Kagome asked in an uncertain tone after a while.
"One of them needs to stay behind and protect the castle. They can't just abandon their kingdom to go find Sesshoumaru. My husband wants to go because he's worried about Sesshoumaru, while Inuyasha insists on going because he wants to prove to his father that he's capable of going to war. You see...Inuyasha never went to war…and his father is scared that he's too inexperienced and would get himself killed with that dense head he's got…" Lady Komiya explained, sighing for the millionth time that morning.
Kagome nodded in silence, and just resumed watching the interesting debate.
"I'm not some ten year old kid anymore, dad! Let me go save Sesshoumaru's hide!" Inuyasha yelled at his father, swiping his hands to try and prove his point.
"And what if the enemy kills you too, huh Inuyasha?! Use your thick head for once and stay behind and guard our kingdom!" King Komiya shouted back with the same force, refusing to let his younger son go off to some unknown situation and possibly get himself killed.
"Well, I do wonder where I got my thick head from!"
"Stop being disrespectful to me, you ungrateful son!"
"Just let me prove to you that I am not a pussy and will not die in the face of danger! You can't protect me like some pup for the rest of your life!"
"I'm actually worried about my own son, Inuyasha! Unlike you, who probably doesn't give a damn whether his brother is dead or alive! So just keep your fat ass back here and let me go and see what happened to Sesshy!"
Inuyasha growled and displayed his fangs clearly, turning around and stomping over to his mother who looked like she had developed another migraine. "Mother! Tell father to let me go to the High Plains!" he demanded, glaring over his shoulder to his father who just glared as fiercely back.
"Ahh, keep me out of this…" Lady Komiya complained, and started walking towards the breakfast table, while continuing to rub at her temples.
"Mother!" Inuyasha called out in aggravation, but Lady Komiya just kept on walking and ignoring her family.
"You still need to hide behind your mother! See how young you still are!" King Komiya yelled in Inuyasha's ear, and the hanyou jumped back from his father.
"I'm seventeen, father! You probably went to war when you were just fourteen or something!" Inuyasha retorted and continued his consistent growling.
"Exactly! I don't want you to get ripped to reality just yet!"
"You already did! Since you engaged me to that girl, whatever her name is! I don't even want to get married off! Even Sesshy isn't married off, so do you hate me so much that you want to get rid of me so quickly!?"
King Komiya clutched his head and twirled around to go stomp back into the castle. He didn't have the stamina to continue this verbal war with his son! His other son could be in danger for crying out loud!
Spotting one of the captains of the soldiers, he ordered in an authoritative voice, "Arrange half of the remaining army to get ready to march to the High Plains. Tell them that they had better get ready for battle if necessary. The remaining half shall stay behind and guard the palace while I am gone, under the command of Prince Inuyasha, you hear me? Now get to it!"
The captain hastily did a salute and rushed off to do as he had been told to, wondering what had happened to the men that had went off to the Battle of the High Plains. Practically everyone in the castle had heard about the wounded soldier found, but no one had any idea what had happened to him and the army.
Inuyasha did a disgruntled groan and turned to stomp off towards the garden. Kagome, the only one not stomping off to some place, decided to follow Inuyasha and maybe try to "talk" with the irate Prince. By the looks of it, Inuyasha didn't look very ecstatic about the whole circumstances.
Running after Inuyasha, Kagome ran for a bit and went in through an arch doorway constructed from ivy. She stopped for a second to gasp and take in all the beauty of the place. The birds were tweeting consistently in this garden, and for once, Kagome didn't find them annoying. Different kinds of flowers were blooming brilliantly and at places where ivy was built to act like a sort of cover ceiling, rays of light would shine through like when heaven's light shone through the clouds.
Kagome never knew a place more beautiful…
Momentarily forgetting about Inuyasha, Kagome just walked around the place, admiring the splendor of nature. Things about this castle always surprised her when she least expected it; it was like some fairy tale.
Looking around when she remembered the hanyou, she spotted a blob of…something…up in a sakura tree. Kagome went to the trunk and looked up, seeing the backside of Inuyasha and she smiled softly. The lights shone through the pink blooms and she could feel the tiny rays of light hit her in the face gently, putting a feeling of serenity through her body. "Hey Inuyasha!" she yelled out, and saw Inuyasha look down at her to just stare for a bit, before adjusting his view back to the sea. "Come down, will you?" she asked politely, but the Prince made no sign of hearing her.
"Why don't you come up instead then?" he suddenly snarled out, without looking down at Kagome.
"I can't climb trees like you can," Kagome reasoned, wanting to say 'BAKA!' but refraining that urge to do so.
"Well then, too bad."
Kagome narrowed her eyes up at Inuyasha, hoping to burn a hole into his head and make him fall from the tree. Her own stubbornness refused to leave him alone and she yelled back out, "Well then, I'll climb it myself and if I break my neck when I fall, then expect to see my very angry parents at your footsteps!" Not that her parents would actually come…
"I don't really care," was his flat answer.
Inuyasha sighed when he sensed the girl trying to get up the sakura tree. What a stubborn idiot…if she really broke her neck…then whatever. He wouldn't care. It would be her own obstinate fault.
Without really realizing, he kept his ears alert and could hear her trying to find a sturdy branch that she could stand on without having it snap. He sighed in annoyance when he felt her already half way up the tree and he could hear her labored breathing. Humans…so weak…
"KYAAAAAA!!!!!!"
Without thinking, Inuyasha jumped off from his perch and leapt down to catch the falling girl. Why was he even doing this!? Wrapping his arms around her tiny waist through mid air, he landed gracefully on the ground with her lifted a few inches off the ground in front of him. Glaring at her with fuming eyes and a deep scowl, he scolded, "You shouldn't climb trees when you possibly can't even climb a ladder!"
Feeling him lower her to the ground, Kagome put on an identical frown to Inuyasha and crossed her arms across her chest. "I so can climb a ladder!" she snapped and looked up at the guy in front of her, enraged that he would accuse her of not being able to climb a simple thing as a ladder.
Ignoring what Kagome had said, Inuyasha barked out, "Why are you here, wench!?"
Kagome's left eyebrow developed a sudden interesting tick. "I was worried! But I guess you don't need my sympathy!" she growled out through clenched teeth. So much for actually being concerned about a dumb jerk like Inuyasha!
"Damn right! I don't need your sympathy or your empathy or your pity or your anything! You're just some stupid little girl who's here for her sister! The sooner I get rid of you, the better! No one cares about you!"
Kagome could feel the tears threatening to break through their barriers and her eyes stung, but she refused to let Inuyasha know that he had stepped on a sensitive part of her. 'No one cares about you!' repeated in her mind, and all the anger in her ebbed away to be replaced with a feeling of emptiness.
Inuyasha noticed the sudden silence from the girl and looked down to see her glazing eyes. Oh no…she better not start to cry…
"You're right, no one really does care about me! But you don't have to take your anger out on me, you dumb jerk! If you were angry that your father didn't let you go off to war, then maybe get it through your head that it was because he cares about you and doesn't want to see you get injured! What kind of father would want to really send their son off to war and see their own flesh and blood get killed!? Just because you want to go, doesn't mean you're right and your father is wrong! You really are a spoilt, stubborn and ungrateful son! Just like Kikyou!" Kagome screamed with all her soul, feeling all her anger flashing out before her. She hadn't yelled at someone like that for a very long time…and it kind of made her feel better inside. Just being able to let her feelings show…
Inuyasha stared at her, dumbstruck. Her words were slowly digesting into his brain and he had realized that…she was kind of right in a way. He had been only thinking about himself and his desire to fight, that he hadn't taken into consideration what his father was really doing. He had been repeating to himself that he was always right and that his father was always wrong, although deep inside, he knew that wasn't true. What a great son he was…
Kagome looked up at the boy with an indescribable look on her face, and saw the truth dawn itself upon his features. She took in a deep breath and sighed. "Do you get my point now?" she gently whispered, feeling him loosen the hold he had on her waist. Why was he even holding onto her waist anyway? Ahh…let go…wait…don't…no…let go…eep…
"Yea…" was his equally quiet response, and he looked down at her with a look that Kagome couldn't identify. He took his hands away from Kagome's waist and missed the look of relief that fluttered across her face.
"Well that's nice to know," she answered, smiling in a strained way up at the hanyou. Taking a big step backwards, she began to walk back to where she had entered the garden. She couldn't stay around in this kind of situation for much longer or it might consume her up. "Bye," she murmured in a small voice, feeling his eyes glued to her back and keeping her awfully nervous. A stunned Inuyasha was certainly more scary than an angry Inuyasha…
Passing the ivy doorway, she turned the corner and suddenly let all the strain leave her shoulder. The familiar ache she felt inside was pulsing through her and she took in deep stabilizing breath to calm it, closing her eyes in somewhat agony. Her chest felt constricted and a tightness was consuming her up from the inside, leaving her feeling internally hurt.
'No one cares about you…' she remembered Inuyasha growling, and she gazed down at the ground with a resigned look in her eyes.
"Maybe he's right…I'll be the shadow to Kikyou forever…" she whispered to herself and continued walking with a gloomy aura wrapped around her.
*~*~*
King Komiya looked intently at the weird man across the table from him that was sipping a cup of tea. "It's done, yes?" he asked, his patience threatening to snap as he listened to the man continue to sip annoyingly from his cup. That noise was getting to become a nuisance to his brain nerves…
"Yes, your majesty" was the croaky answer he got. And then nothing more.
"Toutousai, I don't have time to get small answers. I need to go. Where are they?" he growled, narrowing his eyes over at the old man who looked like his eyes were going to bug out. That was his natural look, mind you.
"Right here," Toutousai answered, and took the two swords from where they had been attached to his belt. Passing the swords over to the King Komiya, he continued to sip the tea, much to the king's annoyance.
Taking the two swords gingerly, King Komiya took out the first one from it's sheath and felt something soothing rush over him. "Tenseiga…" he whispered to himself in awe as he eyed the blade. "One of the swords forged from my fangs…the sword that has the power to save one hundred lives if mastered. The Sword of Life…"
Putting the sword delicately back down on the table, King Komiya held up the other one. Taking it out of it's own sheath, he immediately felt something rush over him like Tenseiga had brought along. But this one gave off a wave of power. Incredible power. But…the sword was rusted. "Toutousai, why is it rusted?" the man asked the older man across the table.
He only got a shrug in return.
Deciding that he wouldn't get much from the old sword forger, King Komiya muttered to himself, "Tetsusaiga…the other sword forged from my fangs. Such a strong sword that on contrary to Tenseiga, can kill one hundred demons in one swipe. The Sword of Death…"
Sighing to himself, King Komiya set the sword down on the table along with Tenseiga and closed his eyes to think about it. What he was going to do…was it going to be right? Giving Tenseiga to Sesshoumaru, if he was still alive, and giving Tetsusaiga to Inuyasha? That would be like giving exactly the opposite to what the two should have, but he decided that it was for the best.
Sesshoumaru needed to learn more compassion for humans and Inuyasha needed Tetsusaiga to protect himself and the one he shall love.
"Thank you very much, Toutousai."
"You're welcome, your highness."
Moment of silence.
"You can go now, Toutousai."
"Until I finish my tea, your highness."
Another moment of silence.
"Leave your tea, Toutaisai."
"But I like my tea, your highness."
Shaking his head and realizing that this conversation was going nowhere, King Komiya got up instead and walked out the door with the two swords in his hand. Time to get ready to march to the High Plains.
Toutousai was left in the dark room with his tea…
*~*~*
Kagome was walking in through the entrance to go eat breakfast, with her eyes pinned to the ground, when she collided with a rough body. Looking up in surprise, she saw King Komiya and righted herself with her hands, dusting herself off and smiling up at the king. "Are you going to go now?" she questioned, waving over to the army that was waiting for him outside the gates.
"Oh. Yes Kagome. Can you do me a favor?" he asked quickly, eager to start on the journey.
"Anything, your highness," she answered, eyeing the two blades he was holding with surprise. Where had be gotten those two blades? Something about them…
Grabbing Tetsusaiga, King Komiya handed it over to the girl swiftly and ordered, "Give this to Inuyasha. It's a sword named Tetsusaiga. Make sure no one else gets it, okay? Tell Inuyasha it's a gift, whatever, and that he has to master the sword as soon as possible."
Kagome quietly took the blade out of its sheath and sweat dropped. "This rusty sword?" she questioned, eyeing the oxidation on the what would have been silver surface.
"If he can use it, it won't be rusty no more," the man replied and looked over to his horse at the front of the ranks of soldiers. "Well farewell!" he bided when he saw his second-in-command wave, and left the Princess before she had time to ask what he had meant by 'if he can use it, it won't be rusty no more.'
A horn blowing was heard as Kagome watched the King leap onto his horse and immediately kick it into a gallop. The soldiers did that too and soon, there was a mighty stampede galloping through the outskirts of the town. Dust was kicked up and Kagome shielded her eyes from the reflection of the armor of the men, watching the soldiers depart with admiration in her eyes.
Soon, the army was just a distant wave of chain mail as Kagome watched them vanish towards the forest and mountains. She hoped that they would have a safe trip there and a safer trip home with no blood shed because what she hated the most was innocent blood sown across the morning grass.
Looking down at the blade in her hands, she gently juggled the light sword in her right hand, before making her way back to the cherry tree. Back to where Inuyasha was. She didn't exactly fancy another meeting with the prince, but since King Komiya had specifically asked her to give it to that jerk, then she guessed that she would have to.
She was brave...she was brave...she was brave...
Strolling past the ivy doorway, she continued to amble past flower fields and blooming bushes before arriving at the flowering sakura tree. As expected, Inuyasha was still sitting up there and observing the riding army with a crucial eye. The usual frown was plastered upon his face and Kagome sighed. He would never wipe that Inuyasha scowl off, would he? It was like his trademark.
"Inuyasha!" she yelled out for the second time that day, feeling history repeat itself.
Like before, Inuyasha responded by looking down at her, but this time, he didn't look back to whatever he had been gazing at before. "Oh lookie, Princess is back again," he muttered, and scratched his head. "What do you want?"
"Can you take me up there, please?" she asked with sugar iced all over her voice. He made no movement to bring her up. "It's important. Your father told me to give you this," she explained, showing him the blade in it's sheath that was in her hands.
Getting his full interest, Inuyasha jumped down and was about to swipe the sword from Kagome's hand, but the girl was faster. Whipping the sword behind her back, she gave a "tsk-ing" finger and looked at the hanyou with a grin on her face. "I'll give you this, if you take me up there," she bargained, pointing to the top of the sakura tree.
If possible, Inuyasha's scowl got deeper, and he mumbled some stuff under his breath that Kagome failed to pick up. "Fine," he grumbled and grabbed her around the waist again, causing Kagome to unwilling turn a red color which in turn, Inuyasha failed to notice.
Taking a gigantic leap to land gracefully on top of the blooming tree, Inuyasha set the girl down on a branch that he was sure wouldn't break, before taking refuge on his own branch a few feet away.
As promised, Kagome threw him the blade and he caught it in his hands, looking down at the sword in wonder. Why would his father give him a sword when he wasn't allowed to go off to war? Taking the sword out of it's sheath, Inuyasha's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Wow…a rusted sword…whoopee…" he answered in a sarcastic tone.
Kagome blinked as she tore her view away from the ocean, seeing Inuyasha swiping the sword around in the air. "It's called Tetsusaiga, or something like that. Your father told me to tell you to master it as soon as possible," Kagome clarified, hoping that straightened some things up for the Prince. "He said that if you can learn how to use it, then it wouldn't be rusty no more."
Inuyasha looked over to the girl a few branches away from him. "What does he mean by that?" he demanded, continuing to swipe the sword around, and wondering how a sword so rusted could be of any use to him.
"I have no idea," was Kagome's answer.
Inuyasha growled when he realized that this sword couldn't even cut off a branch from the sakura tree that he and Kagome was on. What a completely useless blade…
Kagome eyed the guy a few feet away from her with interest, watching him swing the sword around carelessly. Sakura was being blown up from the tree and she watched the tiny flowers cover Inuyasha and herself in a flurry of silky pink to drift off with the breeze. Picking a flower from its branch, she looked at it while twirling it around with her finger.
Sure Inuyasha could sometimes throw the harsh truth in her face, but she was sure he didn't mean it. Somewhere…deep down…inside of him, she was sure he had a soft side to him. Somewhere inside, he cared for his family as much as they cared about him, even if he didn't like to admit it to himself.
Looking at his ears, she giggled. She couldn't deny that what she had said yesterday about his ears, was the utter truth. They were so totally adorable and cute, that it was hard not to just lean over to him and touch them. They looked so velvety soft!
"Hey Inuyasha…" she muttered.
"What!?" was the hot reply she got.
She remained quiet for a while, waiting for him to give her his full and undivided attention. This wasn't long before he realized that she wasn't replying, and he pivoted his head to look at her with that trademark scowl on his face. "Well…?"
She stared at his golden eyes for a bit, before smiling brilliantly and giggled.
"Nevermind."
A/N: *takes in a deep breath* That took me a LONG time to write! I wrote 2000 words more than I would have normally written! I'm just taking a small break. So please remain calm and put those garden tools down, and expect an update for this story in about two weeks! Thank you!
Now…the questions that I used my psychological powers to figure out what you wanted to know! [yea right]
Q. Is this a Rin/Sesshoumaru fic?
A. If you don't swing with this couple, then I'm sorry, but it will eventually be a Rin/Sesshoumaru fic. Probably.
Q. Other couples?
A. Inu/Kag and Mir/San, so far…
Q. How old are the characters? [in appearance for demons]
A. Kagome - sixteen, turning seventeen soon. Inuyasha - seventeen. Kikyou - seventeen, turning eighteen soon. Shippou - eight. Miroku - seventeen. Sango - seventeen. Naraku - Uhh…twenty-two? I guess… Kanna [introduced in this chapter] - nine. Kagura [shall be introduced] - eighteen. Kouga seventeen. Rin - For the sake of Sesshy/Rin…seventeen. Sesshoumaru - twenty. [only three years from Rin…that's okay, right?] Lady Komiya and King Komiya - who knows. Some of the ages are not certain though. Just an outline.
Q. What is Kit's normal updating time?
A. For this fic, usually five days to nine days. PLEASE don't expect me to update TOO fast.
I know you have more questions, but that's all I have time to answer. So see you guys later and review to make me feel better! =) Next chapter - Iridescent Reviving
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, and I'm glad none of my sadistic reviewers do either. ;) Haha. Jk! But I still don't own Inuyasha…
_Important Note_ There has long been the heated debate of…"Tetsusaiga" or "Tessaiga." [the two ways to spell Inuyasha's sword] I'm using "Tetsusaiga" okay? No use arguing with the author!
Behind the Masquerade
Harsh Honesty
A figure in a dark cape slowly walked through the ground of blood and carcasses, grimacing at the sight of so many dead people. What had happened here?
Looking around, it was pretty obvious that a war had transpired not too long ago; maybe even just an hour or two ago. Corpses were littered everywhere and as she shouldered her sack closer to herself, she could feel a shudder run up her spine. She had never been so close to a battle site before, and now she knew why.
The smell of all those cadavers were extremely nauseating and when she eyed a soldier with a missing head while blood was still dripping out of his neck, she nearly threw up at the sight. But what was totally [and the only thing] intriguing about this death setting was that the two armies didn't even look like they had attacked each other before someone, or something, wiped them all out in one shot.
How gruesome.
She couldn't contain in another shudder when the night's breeze ran through the thin material of her cloak. This wasn't exactly the best place to be at night, especially since she was all alone and a defenseless girl. Looking around for any signs of life or food, she sighed when she realized there was nothing but dead people.
"Oh well…better get moving along then…" she mumbled to herself, and started carefully maneuvering her way past the dead bodies, making disgusted faces every time she saw something hideous.
Next thing you know, someone was going to talk or groan or something…
As if answering her worst nightmares, she suddenly heard a growl and she froze up faster than before you could say "AAAH!!". Shivering from her terror, she slowly turned around to try to locate the source of the growling, eyes as wide as pans and heart hitching all the way up to her throat. Wasn't this like some scene from those horror plays back home?!
Eyeing a bundle of fluffy white and blood, she gulped nervously when she realized that the noise was coming from this supposedly *dead* person. Inching closer, she could see the person lying on the ground with his white bangs covering his eyes, looking immobile.
When she eyed the person's chest rising up and down slowly, she knew that this person was in fact, breathing and alive. Blinking and cursing at her own curiosity, she edged ever closer when she saw the dark marks and lines on the person's cheeks, wondering whether those were wounds from the battle or something else. It was a miracle that this person could have even survived the war that had occurred before!
Walking up to the person, she kneeled down in front of him and poked the person on the leg. "Hey…are you…okay?" she questioned carefully, hoping that this man wouldn't suddenly jump up and kill her or something.
The man's head snapped up faster than humanely possible and he glared over at her, growling in a dog-like manner. She nearly squeaked when she saw the man's deep bloody red eyes and the fangs protruding out of his mouth. When she saw the claws on his hands, she began to regret ever feeling the need to help this guy, and was about to get up and out of there, but something was keeping her rooted to that spot.
He wasn't attacking her…even if he was growling at her…
Pushing her fear back inside of her, she eyed the wounds on his body carefully before taking her sack off of her back. Lying it out carefully on a small clean part of the ground, she opened it up and began searching through her things.
"What are you doing," the man demanded of her when he saw her take out a roll of cloth and a water bottle. "I, Sesshoumaru, don't need your pathetic help."
"Well, you need my 'pathetic' help right now," the girl retorted back and turned onto him when she had all her first aid things out.
"I'll kill you," Sesshoumaru threatened, eyeing her with his half-transformed eyes.
"If you can move yourself first…" the girl answered and moved to kneel next to his left arm, dabbing gently at the wounds running up it. "I could leave you here to rot, you know?"
"I'm a youkai. My wounds will heal itself in a few more hours, so mind your own business," he said, looking away and lowering his bangs to cover his eyes once more.
"Well, a few hours less of pain would be worth me helping you, wouldn't you think?" she asked gently, before ripping a bit of her cape off and bandaging the deep wound on his arm. After finishing binding the material together, she looked kind of content as she started working on the bloody area on his right knee.
Her eye could nearly twitch from the dried blood stuck on his leg, and she poured on some more water on her cloth while trying to wipe the sticky substance away. How could someone have survived with such grisly looking wounds? Oh yea. He's a youkai…
After finishing dressing up his knee too, she smiled up at Sesshoumaru with a look of accomplishment on her face. "Doesn't it feel better?" she asked, while taking out a few mushrooms and a piece of fish from her victuals in her sack. "Here…you can also have some provisions of mine," she suggested, picking up a flat rock on the ground and putting it in Sesshoumaru's lap along with the food.
"Don't bother. I don't like mushrooms," he muttered, giving her a flat look.
She frowned and looked a bit disappointed. "Picky, aren't you?" she questioned before tying up her sack again and standing up. Looking down at the demon, she explained, "Well, I'm sorry but this is the best I could do. I'll hurry to the next town I come by and tell them that you need rescuing or something."
"I already said I'll recover in a few hours," Sesshoumaru repeated, looking slightly annoyed.
"Better safe than sorry!" she piped up and started walking, waving goodbye to the Prince with a happy smile on her face. "Bye Sesshoumaru! My name is Rin!" she added, the smile still present on her face.
"I didn't ask for your name…" Sesshoumaru growled, watching her walk away from the corner of his eye.
"I know!" was her answer, before she continued along her way into the darkness, disappearing into the night soon after.
Sesshoumaru was nothing but hushed as he continued to sit there inert, now staring at his bandaged knee and arm. What a strange girl…
*~*~*
Kagome awoke to some shouting and screaming around the castle outside and she wondered whether she was back home or not. Don't tell her the birds were having a fight right outside her window! Or worse! Don't tell her Kikyou broke another nail!
Blinking her eyes open, she stared around the room and marveled at how the morning light shone in through the balcony and illuminated up her room vibrantly. She had better stop believing that every time she woke up, she was back home. She wouldn't be back home for a while, so getting up would have to change, but who was she to complain?
Getting up, she rubbed her eyes jadedly and listened to the intense debate occurring outside. Curiosity getting the best of her, she shuffled over to the balcony, looking down far below. Her eyes went wide with more interest as she observed two white-headed people growling stuff at each other. Wow…what had happened?
Fully awake now, Kagome ran back inside and quickly changed into a simple dress, thoughts running through her mind in a clutter. The two people down on the grounds had looked like King Komiya and Inuyasha, and by the looks of the sun, it had just rose not too long ago. So what would have caused the two demons to be down on the grounds, yelling their lungs out and waking the whole castle and town up at the break of dawn? Not something pretty she bet.
Slipping her shoes on, she staggered out the door and ran her way down the corridor, making for the stairs. It was a surprise that she didn't get lost in this castle, since it had more winds, turns and twists in it than the number of hairs on her head. No kidding.
Sprinting down the few flights of stairs, she practically tripped [like usual] on the last step and flailed her hands around to do the usual trying to hold herself up thing. The servants and maids dismissed this, unlike the people at Kagome's own castle, and continued on with their chores while oblivious to the roars outside the castle and a princess floundering around in the middle of the corridor. Kagome began to wonder if things like this happened often here…
Running around for a while, she realized that she hadn't been really anywhere around on the first floor, and she didn't know her way out to anything. "Do you know the way to the front door?" she politely asked a passerby maid. Kagome looked surprised as she looked down at the "maid."
The girl was wearing what was the traditional uniform for maids, but she looked about as old as twelve at the most. She was also incredibly pale in the face, but then when Kagome analyzed the young girl more, she found that almost everything about the girl was incredibly whitish. Even her hair was white. That probably indicated that she was a youkai.
"Down this corridor…" the child began, looking at Kagome with incredibly dull eyes. "…Into the main room…then left…"
Kagome laughed nervously, the girl's strange behavior getting to her mental strain. "Thank you," she answered civilly, before making her way down the corridor like the child had directed. At least these directions were simpler to the ones she had gotten from Inuyasha, King Komiya and Lady Komiya the day before! The whole Komiya family seemed to love giving out directions that were extremely hard to follow…
The child maid continued to stare at Kagome's back, even after the princess had disappeared down the corridor. Her scrutinizing eyes watched the aura of the girl flicker slightly, giving no indication of just how powerful she could really be. Did Naraku really believe a girl with such a well…weak aura…would be a threat to him from getting the Shikon no Tama?
Couldn't he just overthrow this kingdom with his power and take over the throne or something? Why mess with all the people? Oh well.
No one would understand Naraku…
She continued on her way, practically gliding down the opposite direction from Kagome.
Kagome walked into the main room and looked around, observing the small details about the room. There was a great chandelier in the middle of the room and stairs winded up at the back of the room to upstairs. A door carved with a picture of a dog demon opened up into the ballroom of the castle and Kagome would have went to check it out, but more yells from outside tore her curiosity away.
Taking a left turn like the girl before had guided, she quickly rushed down the short corridor to the front yard. Several guards were defending the entrance, but they were all stationary and motionless, like statues. Kagome ignored this for the time and sprinted to where the voices were coming from.
Seeing King Komiya and Inuyasha, she decided to not get too close to the father and son. By the looks on their faces, they were both livid and she didn't want to attract any belligerence towards herself. Angry arms were flung in different directions and the two demons' faces were mere inches away from each other as Kagome tried to figure out what to do and what was happening.
Seeing Lady Komiya about ten feet away from the arguing couple, Kagome scuttled over to the Queen with a confused look on her face. Lady Komiya was rubbing her temples and it looked like she had been trying to stop the dispute for some time, but to no avail. Seeing Kagome walking towards her, the Queen put on a weak smile and greeted the princess morning with a nod.
"What's going on?" Kagome yelled over the thundering voices to the Queen in curiosity.
"They're arguing over who's going to go to the High Plains," Lady Komiya answered and sighed in frustration as she continued eyeing her son and husband argue like angry chickens.
"Why?" Kagome observed the two dog demons too.
"An extremely wounded and unconscious soldier was found at our gate this morning, and he had been one of the men from Sesshoumaru's army. We suspect that Sesshoumaru is in some sort of danger, and now my husband and Inuyasha are fighting over who's going to go help and fight," Lady Komiya answered, sighing to herself.
"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome questioned in inquisitiveness, wondering who this "Sesshoumaru" was.
"Sesshoumaru is Inuyasha's brother. No. Half-brother. I'm King Komiya's second wife, you know? Sesshoumaru was the son of the earlier wife and he's a full dog demon, while Inuyasha is my son and a hanyou. But of course, Sesshoumaru is like my own son, so I am about as worried about him as I would be concerned about Inuyasha. He was sent to fight with the wolf demon kingdom about three days ago with about a quarter of our full force and obviously, something happened, although the injured soldier is still unconscious, so he can't tell us anything."
That information took some time to digest in Kagome's mind, as she tried to process the fact that Inuyasha wasn't an only child and actually had an older brother who was off at a war right now. "Why can't they both just go?" Kagome asked in an uncertain tone after a while.
"One of them needs to stay behind and protect the castle. They can't just abandon their kingdom to go find Sesshoumaru. My husband wants to go because he's worried about Sesshoumaru, while Inuyasha insists on going because he wants to prove to his father that he's capable of going to war. You see...Inuyasha never went to war…and his father is scared that he's too inexperienced and would get himself killed with that dense head he's got…" Lady Komiya explained, sighing for the millionth time that morning.
Kagome nodded in silence, and just resumed watching the interesting debate.
"I'm not some ten year old kid anymore, dad! Let me go save Sesshoumaru's hide!" Inuyasha yelled at his father, swiping his hands to try and prove his point.
"And what if the enemy kills you too, huh Inuyasha?! Use your thick head for once and stay behind and guard our kingdom!" King Komiya shouted back with the same force, refusing to let his younger son go off to some unknown situation and possibly get himself killed.
"Well, I do wonder where I got my thick head from!"
"Stop being disrespectful to me, you ungrateful son!"
"Just let me prove to you that I am not a pussy and will not die in the face of danger! You can't protect me like some pup for the rest of your life!"
"I'm actually worried about my own son, Inuyasha! Unlike you, who probably doesn't give a damn whether his brother is dead or alive! So just keep your fat ass back here and let me go and see what happened to Sesshy!"
Inuyasha growled and displayed his fangs clearly, turning around and stomping over to his mother who looked like she had developed another migraine. "Mother! Tell father to let me go to the High Plains!" he demanded, glaring over his shoulder to his father who just glared as fiercely back.
"Ahh, keep me out of this…" Lady Komiya complained, and started walking towards the breakfast table, while continuing to rub at her temples.
"Mother!" Inuyasha called out in aggravation, but Lady Komiya just kept on walking and ignoring her family.
"You still need to hide behind your mother! See how young you still are!" King Komiya yelled in Inuyasha's ear, and the hanyou jumped back from his father.
"I'm seventeen, father! You probably went to war when you were just fourteen or something!" Inuyasha retorted and continued his consistent growling.
"Exactly! I don't want you to get ripped to reality just yet!"
"You already did! Since you engaged me to that girl, whatever her name is! I don't even want to get married off! Even Sesshy isn't married off, so do you hate me so much that you want to get rid of me so quickly!?"
King Komiya clutched his head and twirled around to go stomp back into the castle. He didn't have the stamina to continue this verbal war with his son! His other son could be in danger for crying out loud!
Spotting one of the captains of the soldiers, he ordered in an authoritative voice, "Arrange half of the remaining army to get ready to march to the High Plains. Tell them that they had better get ready for battle if necessary. The remaining half shall stay behind and guard the palace while I am gone, under the command of Prince Inuyasha, you hear me? Now get to it!"
The captain hastily did a salute and rushed off to do as he had been told to, wondering what had happened to the men that had went off to the Battle of the High Plains. Practically everyone in the castle had heard about the wounded soldier found, but no one had any idea what had happened to him and the army.
Inuyasha did a disgruntled groan and turned to stomp off towards the garden. Kagome, the only one not stomping off to some place, decided to follow Inuyasha and maybe try to "talk" with the irate Prince. By the looks of it, Inuyasha didn't look very ecstatic about the whole circumstances.
Running after Inuyasha, Kagome ran for a bit and went in through an arch doorway constructed from ivy. She stopped for a second to gasp and take in all the beauty of the place. The birds were tweeting consistently in this garden, and for once, Kagome didn't find them annoying. Different kinds of flowers were blooming brilliantly and at places where ivy was built to act like a sort of cover ceiling, rays of light would shine through like when heaven's light shone through the clouds.
Kagome never knew a place more beautiful…
Momentarily forgetting about Inuyasha, Kagome just walked around the place, admiring the splendor of nature. Things about this castle always surprised her when she least expected it; it was like some fairy tale.
Looking around when she remembered the hanyou, she spotted a blob of…something…up in a sakura tree. Kagome went to the trunk and looked up, seeing the backside of Inuyasha and she smiled softly. The lights shone through the pink blooms and she could feel the tiny rays of light hit her in the face gently, putting a feeling of serenity through her body. "Hey Inuyasha!" she yelled out, and saw Inuyasha look down at her to just stare for a bit, before adjusting his view back to the sea. "Come down, will you?" she asked politely, but the Prince made no sign of hearing her.
"Why don't you come up instead then?" he suddenly snarled out, without looking down at Kagome.
"I can't climb trees like you can," Kagome reasoned, wanting to say 'BAKA!' but refraining that urge to do so.
"Well then, too bad."
Kagome narrowed her eyes up at Inuyasha, hoping to burn a hole into his head and make him fall from the tree. Her own stubbornness refused to leave him alone and she yelled back out, "Well then, I'll climb it myself and if I break my neck when I fall, then expect to see my very angry parents at your footsteps!" Not that her parents would actually come…
"I don't really care," was his flat answer.
Inuyasha sighed when he sensed the girl trying to get up the sakura tree. What a stubborn idiot…if she really broke her neck…then whatever. He wouldn't care. It would be her own obstinate fault.
Without really realizing, he kept his ears alert and could hear her trying to find a sturdy branch that she could stand on without having it snap. He sighed in annoyance when he felt her already half way up the tree and he could hear her labored breathing. Humans…so weak…
"KYAAAAAA!!!!!!"
Without thinking, Inuyasha jumped off from his perch and leapt down to catch the falling girl. Why was he even doing this!? Wrapping his arms around her tiny waist through mid air, he landed gracefully on the ground with her lifted a few inches off the ground in front of him. Glaring at her with fuming eyes and a deep scowl, he scolded, "You shouldn't climb trees when you possibly can't even climb a ladder!"
Feeling him lower her to the ground, Kagome put on an identical frown to Inuyasha and crossed her arms across her chest. "I so can climb a ladder!" she snapped and looked up at the guy in front of her, enraged that he would accuse her of not being able to climb a simple thing as a ladder.
Ignoring what Kagome had said, Inuyasha barked out, "Why are you here, wench!?"
Kagome's left eyebrow developed a sudden interesting tick. "I was worried! But I guess you don't need my sympathy!" she growled out through clenched teeth. So much for actually being concerned about a dumb jerk like Inuyasha!
"Damn right! I don't need your sympathy or your empathy or your pity or your anything! You're just some stupid little girl who's here for her sister! The sooner I get rid of you, the better! No one cares about you!"
Kagome could feel the tears threatening to break through their barriers and her eyes stung, but she refused to let Inuyasha know that he had stepped on a sensitive part of her. 'No one cares about you!' repeated in her mind, and all the anger in her ebbed away to be replaced with a feeling of emptiness.
Inuyasha noticed the sudden silence from the girl and looked down to see her glazing eyes. Oh no…she better not start to cry…
"You're right, no one really does care about me! But you don't have to take your anger out on me, you dumb jerk! If you were angry that your father didn't let you go off to war, then maybe get it through your head that it was because he cares about you and doesn't want to see you get injured! What kind of father would want to really send their son off to war and see their own flesh and blood get killed!? Just because you want to go, doesn't mean you're right and your father is wrong! You really are a spoilt, stubborn and ungrateful son! Just like Kikyou!" Kagome screamed with all her soul, feeling all her anger flashing out before her. She hadn't yelled at someone like that for a very long time…and it kind of made her feel better inside. Just being able to let her feelings show…
Inuyasha stared at her, dumbstruck. Her words were slowly digesting into his brain and he had realized that…she was kind of right in a way. He had been only thinking about himself and his desire to fight, that he hadn't taken into consideration what his father was really doing. He had been repeating to himself that he was always right and that his father was always wrong, although deep inside, he knew that wasn't true. What a great son he was…
Kagome looked up at the boy with an indescribable look on her face, and saw the truth dawn itself upon his features. She took in a deep breath and sighed. "Do you get my point now?" she gently whispered, feeling him loosen the hold he had on her waist. Why was he even holding onto her waist anyway? Ahh…let go…wait…don't…no…let go…eep…
"Yea…" was his equally quiet response, and he looked down at her with a look that Kagome couldn't identify. He took his hands away from Kagome's waist and missed the look of relief that fluttered across her face.
"Well that's nice to know," she answered, smiling in a strained way up at the hanyou. Taking a big step backwards, she began to walk back to where she had entered the garden. She couldn't stay around in this kind of situation for much longer or it might consume her up. "Bye," she murmured in a small voice, feeling his eyes glued to her back and keeping her awfully nervous. A stunned Inuyasha was certainly more scary than an angry Inuyasha…
Passing the ivy doorway, she turned the corner and suddenly let all the strain leave her shoulder. The familiar ache she felt inside was pulsing through her and she took in deep stabilizing breath to calm it, closing her eyes in somewhat agony. Her chest felt constricted and a tightness was consuming her up from the inside, leaving her feeling internally hurt.
'No one cares about you…' she remembered Inuyasha growling, and she gazed down at the ground with a resigned look in her eyes.
"Maybe he's right…I'll be the shadow to Kikyou forever…" she whispered to herself and continued walking with a gloomy aura wrapped around her.
*~*~*
King Komiya looked intently at the weird man across the table from him that was sipping a cup of tea. "It's done, yes?" he asked, his patience threatening to snap as he listened to the man continue to sip annoyingly from his cup. That noise was getting to become a nuisance to his brain nerves…
"Yes, your majesty" was the croaky answer he got. And then nothing more.
"Toutousai, I don't have time to get small answers. I need to go. Where are they?" he growled, narrowing his eyes over at the old man who looked like his eyes were going to bug out. That was his natural look, mind you.
"Right here," Toutousai answered, and took the two swords from where they had been attached to his belt. Passing the swords over to the King Komiya, he continued to sip the tea, much to the king's annoyance.
Taking the two swords gingerly, King Komiya took out the first one from it's sheath and felt something soothing rush over him. "Tenseiga…" he whispered to himself in awe as he eyed the blade. "One of the swords forged from my fangs…the sword that has the power to save one hundred lives if mastered. The Sword of Life…"
Putting the sword delicately back down on the table, King Komiya held up the other one. Taking it out of it's own sheath, he immediately felt something rush over him like Tenseiga had brought along. But this one gave off a wave of power. Incredible power. But…the sword was rusted. "Toutousai, why is it rusted?" the man asked the older man across the table.
He only got a shrug in return.
Deciding that he wouldn't get much from the old sword forger, King Komiya muttered to himself, "Tetsusaiga…the other sword forged from my fangs. Such a strong sword that on contrary to Tenseiga, can kill one hundred demons in one swipe. The Sword of Death…"
Sighing to himself, King Komiya set the sword down on the table along with Tenseiga and closed his eyes to think about it. What he was going to do…was it going to be right? Giving Tenseiga to Sesshoumaru, if he was still alive, and giving Tetsusaiga to Inuyasha? That would be like giving exactly the opposite to what the two should have, but he decided that it was for the best.
Sesshoumaru needed to learn more compassion for humans and Inuyasha needed Tetsusaiga to protect himself and the one he shall love.
"Thank you very much, Toutousai."
"You're welcome, your highness."
Moment of silence.
"You can go now, Toutousai."
"Until I finish my tea, your highness."
Another moment of silence.
"Leave your tea, Toutaisai."
"But I like my tea, your highness."
Shaking his head and realizing that this conversation was going nowhere, King Komiya got up instead and walked out the door with the two swords in his hand. Time to get ready to march to the High Plains.
Toutousai was left in the dark room with his tea…
*~*~*
Kagome was walking in through the entrance to go eat breakfast, with her eyes pinned to the ground, when she collided with a rough body. Looking up in surprise, she saw King Komiya and righted herself with her hands, dusting herself off and smiling up at the king. "Are you going to go now?" she questioned, waving over to the army that was waiting for him outside the gates.
"Oh. Yes Kagome. Can you do me a favor?" he asked quickly, eager to start on the journey.
"Anything, your highness," she answered, eyeing the two blades he was holding with surprise. Where had be gotten those two blades? Something about them…
Grabbing Tetsusaiga, King Komiya handed it over to the girl swiftly and ordered, "Give this to Inuyasha. It's a sword named Tetsusaiga. Make sure no one else gets it, okay? Tell Inuyasha it's a gift, whatever, and that he has to master the sword as soon as possible."
Kagome quietly took the blade out of its sheath and sweat dropped. "This rusty sword?" she questioned, eyeing the oxidation on the what would have been silver surface.
"If he can use it, it won't be rusty no more," the man replied and looked over to his horse at the front of the ranks of soldiers. "Well farewell!" he bided when he saw his second-in-command wave, and left the Princess before she had time to ask what he had meant by 'if he can use it, it won't be rusty no more.'
A horn blowing was heard as Kagome watched the King leap onto his horse and immediately kick it into a gallop. The soldiers did that too and soon, there was a mighty stampede galloping through the outskirts of the town. Dust was kicked up and Kagome shielded her eyes from the reflection of the armor of the men, watching the soldiers depart with admiration in her eyes.
Soon, the army was just a distant wave of chain mail as Kagome watched them vanish towards the forest and mountains. She hoped that they would have a safe trip there and a safer trip home with no blood shed because what she hated the most was innocent blood sown across the morning grass.
Looking down at the blade in her hands, she gently juggled the light sword in her right hand, before making her way back to the cherry tree. Back to where Inuyasha was. She didn't exactly fancy another meeting with the prince, but since King Komiya had specifically asked her to give it to that jerk, then she guessed that she would have to.
She was brave...she was brave...she was brave...
Strolling past the ivy doorway, she continued to amble past flower fields and blooming bushes before arriving at the flowering sakura tree. As expected, Inuyasha was still sitting up there and observing the riding army with a crucial eye. The usual frown was plastered upon his face and Kagome sighed. He would never wipe that Inuyasha scowl off, would he? It was like his trademark.
"Inuyasha!" she yelled out for the second time that day, feeling history repeat itself.
Like before, Inuyasha responded by looking down at her, but this time, he didn't look back to whatever he had been gazing at before. "Oh lookie, Princess is back again," he muttered, and scratched his head. "What do you want?"
"Can you take me up there, please?" she asked with sugar iced all over her voice. He made no movement to bring her up. "It's important. Your father told me to give you this," she explained, showing him the blade in it's sheath that was in her hands.
Getting his full interest, Inuyasha jumped down and was about to swipe the sword from Kagome's hand, but the girl was faster. Whipping the sword behind her back, she gave a "tsk-ing" finger and looked at the hanyou with a grin on her face. "I'll give you this, if you take me up there," she bargained, pointing to the top of the sakura tree.
If possible, Inuyasha's scowl got deeper, and he mumbled some stuff under his breath that Kagome failed to pick up. "Fine," he grumbled and grabbed her around the waist again, causing Kagome to unwilling turn a red color which in turn, Inuyasha failed to notice.
Taking a gigantic leap to land gracefully on top of the blooming tree, Inuyasha set the girl down on a branch that he was sure wouldn't break, before taking refuge on his own branch a few feet away.
As promised, Kagome threw him the blade and he caught it in his hands, looking down at the sword in wonder. Why would his father give him a sword when he wasn't allowed to go off to war? Taking the sword out of it's sheath, Inuyasha's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Wow…a rusted sword…whoopee…" he answered in a sarcastic tone.
Kagome blinked as she tore her view away from the ocean, seeing Inuyasha swiping the sword around in the air. "It's called Tetsusaiga, or something like that. Your father told me to tell you to master it as soon as possible," Kagome clarified, hoping that straightened some things up for the Prince. "He said that if you can learn how to use it, then it wouldn't be rusty no more."
Inuyasha looked over to the girl a few branches away from him. "What does he mean by that?" he demanded, continuing to swipe the sword around, and wondering how a sword so rusted could be of any use to him.
"I have no idea," was Kagome's answer.
Inuyasha growled when he realized that this sword couldn't even cut off a branch from the sakura tree that he and Kagome was on. What a completely useless blade…
Kagome eyed the guy a few feet away from her with interest, watching him swing the sword around carelessly. Sakura was being blown up from the tree and she watched the tiny flowers cover Inuyasha and herself in a flurry of silky pink to drift off with the breeze. Picking a flower from its branch, she looked at it while twirling it around with her finger.
Sure Inuyasha could sometimes throw the harsh truth in her face, but she was sure he didn't mean it. Somewhere…deep down…inside of him, she was sure he had a soft side to him. Somewhere inside, he cared for his family as much as they cared about him, even if he didn't like to admit it to himself.
Looking at his ears, she giggled. She couldn't deny that what she had said yesterday about his ears, was the utter truth. They were so totally adorable and cute, that it was hard not to just lean over to him and touch them. They looked so velvety soft!
"Hey Inuyasha…" she muttered.
"What!?" was the hot reply she got.
She remained quiet for a while, waiting for him to give her his full and undivided attention. This wasn't long before he realized that she wasn't replying, and he pivoted his head to look at her with that trademark scowl on his face. "Well…?"
She stared at his golden eyes for a bit, before smiling brilliantly and giggled.
"Nevermind."
A/N: *takes in a deep breath* That took me a LONG time to write! I wrote 2000 words more than I would have normally written! I'm just taking a small break. So please remain calm and put those garden tools down, and expect an update for this story in about two weeks! Thank you!
Now…the questions that I used my psychological powers to figure out what you wanted to know! [yea right]
Q. Is this a Rin/Sesshoumaru fic?
A. If you don't swing with this couple, then I'm sorry, but it will eventually be a Rin/Sesshoumaru fic. Probably.
Q. Other couples?
A. Inu/Kag and Mir/San, so far…
Q. How old are the characters? [in appearance for demons]
A. Kagome - sixteen, turning seventeen soon. Inuyasha - seventeen. Kikyou - seventeen, turning eighteen soon. Shippou - eight. Miroku - seventeen. Sango - seventeen. Naraku - Uhh…twenty-two? I guess… Kanna [introduced in this chapter] - nine. Kagura [shall be introduced] - eighteen. Kouga seventeen. Rin - For the sake of Sesshy/Rin…seventeen. Sesshoumaru - twenty. [only three years from Rin…that's okay, right?] Lady Komiya and King Komiya - who knows. Some of the ages are not certain though. Just an outline.
Q. What is Kit's normal updating time?
A. For this fic, usually five days to nine days. PLEASE don't expect me to update TOO fast.
I know you have more questions, but that's all I have time to answer. So see you guys later and review to make me feel better! =) Next chapter - Iridescent Reviving