Author's Note: All that's left is the denouement. I hope you enjoyed this wild ride and won't skin me alive for drawing it to an end. It's been a real blast.

Chapter Eleven: Once More unto the Breach

And then, nothing.

Nothing.

Sesshoumaru never stirred. He failed to rise heroically from the ground; restored and burning with righteous anger. Everyone watched the fallen body for any sign of success. Inuyasha was the only one to move. He rose slowly, and rushed to his brother's side, taking his head into his lap and brushed the hair from his face. Sesshoumaru seemed to weigh nothing at all in his lax grip. It made him shiver a little. He remembered that steady figure that once stood in front of his mother, in front of invading armies and never once blinked.

His brother who lost his own arm and never misstepped, never faltered. Sesshoumaru who couldn't die.

"Inu…Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru mumbled. His eyes were open but unfocused as he stared into the darkness. But he seemed to know whose arms held now. "It…I'm not."

"Quiet, Sesshoumaru. No words. No goodbyes."

His brother seemed to smile then. There was blood coming from the arrow wound but Inuyasha knew he could not pull it. He had no skills of healing or comfort. His was a life of war, of battle and power ripped away form lesser demons. His was a life made in the image of a brother who he hoped one day to be equal too. That had always been his dream: to be a full demon.

Like Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru, who now tasting the bitterness of humanity, and laid dying in his arms. Sesshoumaru who shivered from a cold that was not there. "No goodbyes." He mumbled. His head was reaching for Inuyasha's. Sesshoumaru eyes danced wildly in the darkness.

"Save your strength."

Sesshoumaru's face twisted suddenly from pain, or fear. "Rin. Jaken."

Inuyasha looked up, "Safe. Both safe."

His eyes suddenly caught Inuyasha in his gaze, and his face cleared from the fear. Something shadowy danced across Sesshoumaru's face as he stared at his brother through unfocused eyes. His eyes were cool, unconcerned, and his face was a mask. But there was something there, something Inuyasha had only seen once before.

In that day, in the country. When they had been brothers.

Then, as easily as he would to sleep. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, and moved no more. Inuyasha could feel the heart pounding in his brother's chest, slowing down now, as it completed its course. He let the body fall wordlessly, but gently as he rose. He looked up, and met Tama's eyes.

The Fox was staring at Sesshoumaru's fallen frame. Despite it all, Inuyasha thought he saw sadness in the old demon's face. "My business here is done." He began simply. "I have nothing for you."

"But I have something for you!" Inuyasha screamed and attacked.

XXXXXX

"You said that'd save him!" Jaken shouted, turning to glare at Miroku. "You said!"

The Monk shook his head, feverishly. He put his broken hand to his head, and closed his eyes, trying desperately to think and continue the string of events together. Shippo had stood mutely over the pieces of broken mirror, searching for something to catch his attention. Something that would let him understand and see what had gone wrong with this hero's answer. Jaken stood somewhere between despair and anger, his body quaking from rage he could not contain.

Rin clutched to Zen's arms for dear life. Her face was pressed so close to his, she could smell the sea on him, could smell the sea salt and taste the bitterness. Zen held her close to him, to his dead chest and to the silent heart within. She was crying, screaming in silence. Her finger nails buried so deep into Zen's skin she could almost draw blood had he had any. She was only vaguely aware of the mirror image that gleamed at her from his watery skin.

"It should have worked!" Miroku demanded. "It was the only thing that could hold his reflection. It had to kept near him, had to something that was able to capture his soul…"

Rin turned away, burying her face in Zen's chest to block out the nose and cruelty. And something caught her eye then. Something on his skin she had caught but never really saw before…

"What else could have could have done this?" Jaken demanded. "What else?"

"Just a mirror! Glasses, a tray of silver…perhaps…anything to capture an image…"

Rin stepped back and looked up. Zen tilted his head a little, meeting her gaze. He didn't smile, didn't flinch under her gaze. He never even looked away. She looked back down.

"Anything that captures a reflection…" Rin whispered, looking down at his skin. "Like water…"

"I said I'd protect you." Zen said, calmly. "I kept my promise. You can live your life…"

Rin tilted her head, ignoring the others as they screamed to one another. She had already stumbled on the truth they fought over. "You…"

"He would have smothered you. You were just his toy…"

"Lord Sesshoumaru…" She began but the words broken into uneven sobs. "Died because of me."

Miroku and Jaken turned finally, catching note of what was progressing. Miroku's face drained of blood, as he watched numbly the drama play out. Zen's cool face never faltered. "If he loved you as much as you believed," He said. "Then Sesshoumaru's death would be a fitting one to him. If not, he got what he deserved."

"You…" Rin started again, and hugged herself as she fell to her knees, beside the Tenseiga Sesshoumaru had entrusted into her care. "Why…"

"Because I do love you, Rin." Zen said, quietly. "I was human once, now am demon. I can love you as both…"

"Rin." Miroku said, sternly as he took hold of his staff with Jaken following suit. "Step aside."

Zen laughed then, keeping his gaze on Rin who was the only one who mattered or existed to him. "They mean to kill me now." He told her, like one would tell a child a bedtime story. "They can't. You won't let them." He said. He smiled. "Because you love me too. You won't let them kill me."

"Rin, move!" Jaken hissed, as he pointed the Staff. "He deserves this for what he has done! It is my last duty to our Lord!"

"No!" Rin shouted. She picked up Tenseiga and ran to Zen, throwing her arms around his small figure. He smiled at the Monk and the Demon servant proudly, closed his eyes and buried his nose in Rin's shoulders.

XXXXXXX

Tama threw Inuyasha back like a cloth doll. He turned to Nanashi who clung to Kagome around the waist, keeping the human away from the fight. Sesshoumaru's body still breathed and lay unceremoniously where it was dropped. Tama brushed blood from his eyes (not his own) and spat. He howled angrily and advanced, grabbing Inuyasha by the throat and lifting him clear off his feet.

"It's over now!" Tama hissed, tightening his grip. "Do you understand Hanyoi? I have no qualms killing you and if I did, I admit, it would some form of poetic justice: the son of the murdered, killing the son of the murderer. But my quarrel with the Dog General died with him, and my troubles with your brother will pass with him! It's over!"

"Not yet." Inuyasha choked.

"You are symbolic of all that caused that family to fail, do you know that?" Tama hissed. "I should you damn you now just for that."

There was another voice suddenly, breaking through the night like a whip or a dog's howl. It was followed by the creak of bow being bent as an arrow was nooked.

The creature appeared, at first glance, to be Dog but he held some aberrations from Sesshoumaru's sleek, alabaster form. He was tall and dressed in leather like Nanashi, thin robes that formed to his lean frame like armor. He was dark skinned, the color of burnished leather, with cool bright blue eyes. He wore his hair long, like Sesshoumaru's.

At his hip, was a blade that if read would bear the words "Sesshoumaru, of Inutaisho out of Senshomi." In his arms, was a bow, whose aim was expressly at Tama's heart.

"Lord Sesshoumaru's spirit is but a little way above our heads," Tajomaru said quietly, as he aimed. "Biding you or me or both to keep him company."

"I see the night has brought out all kinds of vermin." Tama hissed.

Tajomaru responded by drawing the arrow tighter. "Which of us will attend to our fallen brethren?"

"Send Ryuhoji my regards!" Tama howled as he bounded to Tajomaru. "I have already sent him Sesshoumaru, now I send his brother to keep him company!"

"I am for you!" Tajomaru hissed, and released the arrow.

It met its mark in Tama's chest, downing him for a moment. Tajomaru had another arrow waiting for him as Tama rose. It continued like some absurd play. Unreal and too late to make any difference.

XXXXXX

Rin leaned up and kissed Zen then. It was a weak kiss, a first kiss. A kiss meant as a last, parting gift to one who had come so briefly into a life and had taken so much of it with him. She had given kisses before; to a family she barely remembered, and to flower petals that she pretended were Sesshoumaru's cheek. Those were all chaste, and fleeting but nevertheless meaningful. This was a different sort of kiss; one that marked a passing and a death: not Sesshoumaru's but Rin's. It was that moment, the first of many, when Rin understood that the ways of the elder were dual and sometimes, most times, cruel. She had suffered lost before, great losses, but had never been betrayed. Now she had, and she kissed Zen now; both thanking him for that lesson, and as a gesture to show she had loved him too.

Zen pulled away, and rested his forehead to hers, closing his eyes. Content to be safe in her arms. He paid no attention to Rin's hand between them, as it pushed Tenseiga from its hilt. He barely flinched as she shifted, attempting to lift the sword in such a way that would cause him to stir.

He did jerk, however, when he felt the blade brush his chest.

It was not a deep cut. Had he been any other demon, or it any other sword, it quite possibly would have only made him bleed. But as it was, the blade was Tenseiga, a healing sword, and he was a demon created from death. That made the cut deadly.

He tumbled back from Rin, gasping in pain and staring up at her, shocked. He felt powers stir inside him, the waters that had claimed him as a human so long ago, washing over his head, blocking his lungs. He shook his head, struggling for air as he fell to his knees. His body began to glow blue, as the demons that overtook him them rushed forward for released. He could hear the servants of the dead laughing as they appeared from no where to claim him.

And then, he only thought he heard, the terrible, mighty howl of a dog demon's true form bursting form his spirit, to the surface. Zen felt, or thought he felt, the pure crescendo of the power before it ripped him apart.

And then he felt nothing at all.

XXXXXXXX

Tama stood shakily a few feet away from Tajomaru. Neither one paid much attempt to anything outside of each other. The world was frozen in this showdown. Tama had three arrows impaled at various extreme angles in his chest, and blood was forming from the corner of his mouth. He had lost his whip somewhere during his savage fight with Tajomaru's arrows, and held his axe heavily now, though pointed to the floor. He was struggling to remain upright. Tajomaru stood serenely, even beautifully erect in his stance, arrow aimed for the heart.

"He murdered Ryuhoji." Tama mumbled as he swayed.

"Yes." Tajomaru replied.

"He sent you into exile. Said if ever he saw you again, you would be killed."

"Yes."

"They why do you avenge his death now?" Tama asked. He began to step forward but his strength failed him then, and he slumped to his knees.

Tajomaru adjusted the aim, "I do not avenge Sesshoumaru." He said simply, looking up. Even though they never made eye contact, Nanashi and Tajomaru met each other's gaze. "I do this for the one I love."

"Fine words."

There had been no explosion of light, no tremble of sound and fury. There had been no lights, or fireworks. Children had not cried out for Gods, and old had not wept. There had been no grand ordeal to pull attention away from Tama and Tajomaru to the fallen figure of the Western Lord. No on had noticed the prone body seize up suddenly for air and rise, like a flood or ocean coming to tide. The power, his power, had come to him as easily as a few raindrops, or a phantom pain; and continued till he rose like a monsoon to drown them all.

And now he stood, like a tempest and tidal wave contained, with Tokijin in his hand, walking towards the two that had once been the only things he could dare claim to love in his life.

Sesshoumaru walked towards them, and then between them, with Tama behind him. "But not necessary."

Tajomaru relaxed his arrow and pointed it down, searching the demon's features for any hint of explanation. He knew he would find none. Sesshoumaru's face had returned to its icy mask of cool unfettered hate, and contempt. Tajomaru bit down his hate. "He would have killed you." He told Sesshoumaru simply. "I saved your life."

Sesshoumaru merely stared at him. When he spoke, it was not for Tajomaru. "Go, Tama."

Inuyasha, on the other hand, had stood. He knew the rules had changed now that his brother had returned to full power but he was also just as certain that Sesshoumaru had lost his mind to let Tama live. "What are you doing?"

"Don't you see?" Tajomaru asked, glancing towards him. "…Inuyasha is it?"

"No, I don't understand. What's going on?"

Tama didn't wait for the explanation. The Fox had disappeared into a globe of light and fled before Inuyasha had even replied. This left Sesshoumaru standing alone against Nanashi, Inuyasha and Tajomaru.

"He'd rather his murderer live." Tajomaru said bitterly. "Then give me the right to Tama's blood. Isn't that right, Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru gave him no words. Just the stare.

"Damn you," Tajomaru continued, angrily. "You and your damn pride! You know I had come here with hopes that maybe…"

"I owe you no hope." Sesshoumaru tilted his head, and turned to glimpse Nanashi. "I told you both should I see again, your lives would become mine."

"I do not regret coming." Nanashi interjected. "I had to save my son."

"I am not your son, woman." He returned. He turned again, meeting Inuyasha's eyes, and pausing slightly. He sheathed Tokijin and used his fingers to touch the wound from Tajomaru's arrow. "Had I used Tokijin against Tama, I would be dead now."

"I should have held my fire." Tajomaru spat.

Sesshoumaru ignored the remark and looked up. "Take your bitch and leave, Tajomaru. And to take heart this is the only time I shall be so charitable."

Tajomaru began to counter, but was silenced by Nanashi who walked towards him and embraced him feverishly. They kissed then, in a long sort of panicked kiss as if they were afraid this would be the last time they shared such affection. And then, like Tama, they were gone.

Inuyasha was staring at the back of his brother's head. "What about me?" He demanded. "Is that all I get to, charity?"

Sesshoumaru hesitated, never returning the gaze. He seemed for a moment to want to answer, and flexed his hand a little. Remembering perhaps, an embrace, and a day with a child in the country. Then he let his fingers relax and continued on to his rooms.

"Jaken, Rin." He called. "I have need of you."

Inuyasha watched in stunned silence as the two figures appeared and rushed into step behind Sesshoumaru and disappeared into the bedroom. And this is how it ended: not with a shout but a whimper. The sky had begun to turn purple from the morning light. Within an hour, he'd be demon again, and by nightfall Sesshoumaru would be fit enough to leave. He knew what would happen too.

Sesshoumaru would leave quietly or with a few terse remarks. He could counter them, hatefully but let him go. They would collect their wounded, thank the fates quietly for life, and continue on to Naraku or whatever new villain would seize them.

Nothing had changed.

But somehow Inuyasha couldn't believe that. Something- maybe Sesshoumaru- had changed and changed utterly. And nothing would ever be the same.

Nothing.

He did the only thing he could do under such a realization. Inuyasha turned, and walked back to his group. He was very tired and he needed to check on Sango.