A tale from the past

by Kittymui

...a red one sprung from the corner of her mouth. At that moment, he finally realized what he had done. He held her lifeless body close to him and cried out his sorrow and regret. And then...he woke up. BanXKag.

7. Chapter VI

A TALE FROM THE PAST

-by Kittymui-

CHAPTER VI

-.-

It was mid-afternoon and the sun shone brightly in the clear azure sky. Soft breezes from the North, carrying the smell of Spring, traveled unerringly to the South and made the trees of the forests dance on the rhythm of their rustling leaves.

A certain lord was standing in front of a small creek that signified the border between the Eastern and Western Lands. He wore spiked gray armor around his torso and limbs and several thick green tentacles stuck out of his back just below the ends of his long wavy black hair. His crimson eyes narrowed as they looked at the forest on the other side of the flowing water.

It took him three years to recover from the hideous injury and to create a perfect body using the strong youkai his minions had gathered for him. He couldn't deny that it was a tough process, since one little mistake could end up giving him an imperfect body.

With his new body and strength, he had hoped to take revenge for the trouble and pain he had gone through on the one who caused it. Now, he was so close to achieving his goal and yet, so far away.

A scowl appeared on his face as he raised his hand and moved it forward in the air until a surge of pain suddenly ran via his arm to his entire body. When he looked at his hand, he saw several thin strings of smoke coming from it, accompanied by the sound of something melting in acid.

-SHHH-

'A purifying barrier...' he confirmed inwardly while retracting his slightly burned hand.

It wasn't the work of a priest of priestess chanting nearby. So he thought as he analyzed the pain enveloping his hand.

At the same time, he began to recall the important announcement that came from the Western Lands three years ago, about the dog demon lord taking a human as his mate and adopting the child of the woman as his own daughter.

Back then; he would truly have burst out in laughter after hearing the hilarious news, had it not been for his hideous and repulsive appearance.

Even more stupefying was the rumor afterwards about the princess of the Western Lands being the one who had created the barrier.

But he didn't think it was true.

For the passed three years, he have been doubting the credibility of his minions' reports about troops being completely purified when trying to cross the border and enter the Western Lands. Let alone believing the rumors about a mere human child creating a powerful barrier that was able to purify each and every single youkai of his troops. He thought it was just an excuse thought up by his minions to make their reports about the barrier more acceptable.

But now, there was no other option than believing his eyes.

"Kagura," he called.

Not long after that, a woman appeared from the shadows of the trees behind him.

It was a young woman dressed in a white yukata with dark purple stripes. She had short black hair tied up into a small knot with some small white feathers functioning as decoration around it. Her dark gray eyes, graced with thin red stripes on both eye-lids locked themselves on the lord. Her lips that shared the same color as a rose parted slightly to speak as she walked forward. "What is it this time Naraku?"

Naraku's ears twitched slightly at the lack of respect in his minion's voice but eventually decided to ignore it. "Find the best human assassins and have them summoned to my fortress," he ordered.

The woman smirked. "In case you didn't know, you have chased hem away from these lands the moment you became the ruler, leaving not a single human left. I remember you saying that those creatures were useless trash. Why do you suddenly need their help right now?"

"I don't recall ever allowing you to question my decisions, Kagura," he scowled. "Search in the Northern or Southern Lands if you can't find them here. I don't care what or how long it takes, just get them here at any cost!"

"Hmp, fine!" was her response to his order before she pulled a feather from her hair decoration. She threw it upwards in the sky, creating a gush of wind around her.

In a split second, the white feather transformed into a very big one and carried her into the blue sky.

Naraku narrowed his crimson eyes a little as he watched his underling fly away. 'As insolent as always Kagura. You're lucky that you're still useful to me.' he growled inwardly.

After the feather disappeared out of his eyesight, he turned away from the creek and headed towards his own fortress. 'Don't care how long it takes huh...?' he reviewed his own words. 'Don't worry InuTaisho, I will let you and your pitiful family live your peaceful life a little bit longer...because my next plan will definitely not fail. Even if it takes another 3 years or longer, I will take over your territory and kill your cursed daughter in front of your very eyes.'

-.- meanwhile in the fortress of the Western Lands -.-

"I won't allow it," he growled determinedly.

"Sesshoumaru's right, my dearest, you can't possibly send our daughter away just like that," his mother agreed as she got up from her pillow-seat with her hand supporting her back. "It's too dangerous for her to live outside in the wilderness on her own."

The two of them, together with InuTaisho, were standing inside the demon lord's study. The smooth surface of the furniture reflected the calm diffused afternoon sunlight that seeped through the thin white paper of the circular window frames built in the walls. His mother was dressed in a beautiful pink kimono with dark red embroidered embellishments here and there shaped like bamboo leaves, but no sash or obi could be seen around her middle. The demon lord, who was standing at a distance from her, was dressed in a white haori that was graced with golden edges and a hakama of the same color. Both pieces of garments were held together by a silver sash that was tied around his waist.

And Sesshoumaru was wearing a similar white traditional outfit as his father but with only three red flower blossoms decorating his left shoulder. His long fluffy white tail was draped over his right shoulder and its end dangling loosely behind his back just like his long silver-white hair. With his gold-amber eyes drifting towards the demon lord, Sesshoumaru had an expectant look on his face.

A moment ago, he was still accompanying his younger sister with a walk in the main garden. Until he was suddenly summoned to his father's study. He had suspected that the talk would be partly involving Kagome, since she had to stay behind according to the lord's orders. But he had never imagined that it would be about sending her away from the fortress.

"It's even more dangerous to let Kagome stay inside this fortress, because it is the first place where Naraku will send his troops to in order to kill her," was InuTaisho's reply.

"But the barrier-" she argued but was cut off by the demon lord.

"It's true that the barrier protected us against the attacks by Naraku's troops for the past couple of years and I am very certain that it will continue to do so in the near future," he said. "But it still has a weakness...and I'm sure Naraku had already noticed this."

Sesshoumaru's brows slightly furrowed together. He had to admit that his father was speaking nothing but the truth.

Naraku's attempts to invade the Western Lands failed because he had only sent youkai troops so far. These troops were reduced to ashes by purification once they came in contact with the barrier. But this barrier, created with the power to purify, couldn't possibly fend off those without anything to be purified...

...humans.

Although it is well known that no humans inhabited the Eastern Lands, it does not mean that its lord wouldn't search for possible candidates in the Northern or Southern Lands. Despite his resentment towards the human kind, there was no doubt that conquering the Western Lands would have a higher priority in his shrewd mind, especially when his enthusiasm to conquer the Lands of the West hadn't lessen even for one bit after so many years of failing.

Sesshoumaru was pulled out of his thoughts when his mother spoke again.

"At least let me accompany her to take care of her," she tried.

The demon lord shook his head and walked closer to his wife. "I cannot allow that, Izayoi," he said while lowering his gold-amber eyes to her swollen belly. "Not only would you be unable to protect Kagome in your condition. You would also put the life of our unborn child in grave danger.

"Then...what about Sesshoumaru?" she suggested while turning to look at him.

He shook his head again. "Sesshoumaru has to stay here. He is the heir to the lordship and he still has much to learn before I'm going to entrust anything to him," he told her. "Moreover, there aren't many people who have seen Kagome in person. But almost everybody knows who Sesshoumaru is and how he looks like, so it would be very suspicious. Even Naraku would wonder why the prince of the Western Lands would be accompanying a mere human girl."

InuTaisho put both hands on his wife's shoulders. "I understand your feelings, Izayoi. Kagome is my daughter too and I have tried to come up with other solutions, but this is the best way to protect her as well as the entire Western Lands," he told her. "But don't worry, I have already found someone who can accompany and protect her from any harm. She's the daughter of the famous family of youkai-exterminators."

Sesshoumaru raised a brow. 'A she...?' he thought, almost instantly doubting the capabilities of the soon-to-be guardian of his sister.

But when he saw his mother giving in to the decision, a scowl appeared on his face. 'So it's two against one now huh?' he concluded inwardly.

He immediately turned to the sliding doors of the room. "Hmp...do as you please," he stated coldly as he opened them and disappeared into the corridor.

Not long after closing the doors behind him, he realized a presence standing near him and immediately, he recognized the scent of the individual.

-.-

There was an awkward silence between them as they stood in the small garden in front of Sesshoumaru's chamber.

The more he thought about his father's decision, the angrier he became.

After all these years, he and Kagome had become so attached to each other like real siblings, but now he had to see how his 9 years old sister was about to be sent away. And there was nothing he could do to prevent it.

Maybe he should send someone after her to protect her in his place, but who? After all these years, Kagome was the only one who had succeeded in gaining his complete trust and who had made him starting to belief in the human kind once again.

His train of thoughts was cut off when out of the corner of his eyes he saw the girl next to him part her lips to speak.

"A-are you angry at father?" she asked.

"Don't you know the answer already?" he replied with his eyes locked on something straight ahead, beyond the walls of the fortress.

Another brief silence.

"But you shouldn't be angry at him..." she began again. "It is for my own good...right?"

Sesshoumaru sighed. 'She's only a child...and yet she understood it this far...but how can she possibly cope with this?' he reasoned inside and turned to her.

The yellow flowers on her fresh green yukata reflected the rays of the sun and forced him to slightly narrow his eyes. For a moment, he thought he saw a glimpse of unwillingness on her face (from aside) that was framed by her loose raven-black hair, but it disappeared as soon as it came.

Just when he wanted to ask what her true feelings were about their father's decision, she changed the topic.

"I wonder when our new family member is going to arrive," she said aloud with a small smile on her face and turned to look up at him. "What do you think Sesshoumaru onii-sama? Will it be a little brother or sister?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes softened at the sight of his sister's smile and decided to drop the topic as well. "If I'm not mistaking, it will take another month before the child is born and seeing the shape of mother's belly...it should be a boy."

Her reaction was a pair of widened chestnut eyes. "Ehhhh? You can see that from the shape of the belly?"

He nodded. It was something his mother taught him when she was still alive.

"Tell me! Tell me!" the girl pleaded with excitement.

"When the belly of a pregnant woman is slightly pointing forward, the unborn child is a boy," he explained patiently, while turning back to look at the garden in front of him. "And when the shape of the belly is round, it is a girl."

"Sugoi!" she clapped her hands and laughed. "Onii-sama really knows a lot!"

It felt relieving to see her like this. Somehow, Sesshoumaru really thought she would collapse to the floor with tears in her eyes, but she turned out to be stronger than he expected.

But his thoughts were held back in uncertainty when the laughter suddenly faltered and he turned to her, only to find her face slightly turned away from him.

Sesshoumaru frowned as he caught the scent of saltiness in the air. "Kagome?" he called out to her.

-.-

'Stupid Kagome...you said you would be strong...' she scolded herself inwardly as she recalled what she had decided earlier. She didn't know when she had started to cry but as soon as she realized the wetness on her cheeks, she stopped laughing and turned to look away from Sesshoumaru.

She was puzzled when Sesshoumaru was summoned away, but she was also very curious why her father had specifically ordered for her to stay behind. And that's why she had eventually decided to go to the lord's study.

At first it wasn't her intention to eavesdrop what was being discussed, but after finding out that her father had decided to send her away from the fortress, she couldn't help but hear out the entire story. She couldn't deny that she was shocked, but she knew her father cared for her and that he would do anything to prevent her from getting hurt.

When she caught the name 'Naraku', the vague image of the crimson-eyed man who had tried to kill her three years ago appeared in her mind and sent shivers through her body. According to InuTaisho, he would definitely come to these lands once again to kill her.

Kagome recalled that Sesshoumaru once explained to her about the barrier she had unconsciously created back then; a barrier that prevented evil youkai from entering these lands. He told her that she had brought peace to the Western Lands and she was truly happy that she was able to do that. But after hearing her father say about the barrier having a weakness and that Naraku would probably succeed the next time he plans to attack, she began to wonder if she could have prevented it.

And now, she had to leave because of this. She probably had to do so before she could even meet her little brother, who was still sleeping in her mother's belly.

She snapped out of it when she heard her name.

"Kagome?"

Reacting to Sesshoumaru's voice, Kagome slowly turned to look up at him, only to find herself looking into a pair of widened gold-amber orbs.

By the never-ending tears leaving her eyes, she finally came to realize how scared she actually was to leave the fortress. But before she could turn away again to hide her teary face, Sesshoumaru knelt down and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him.

That moment, as if his comfort was intensifying the sadness in her heart, she burst into tears with her head leaning against his left shoulder. "I-I was thinking..." she said, broken in heavy sobs. "...thinking that maybe I should have made a stronger barrier...then all of this wouldn't be happening..."

"It's not your fault...don't blame yourself..." Sesshoumaru told her, while gently stroking her hair.

"I-I know it's for my own safety...but still...I-"

"I know...Kagome...I know..." he cut her off as he leaned against her head with his cheek.

A brief moment went by with the two staying in the same position and calmness began to return to Kagome once again.

"Do you think...they would let me stay...until our little brother is born...?" she asked with a dry voice.

Her answer was a tightened, yet comforting embrace. "I will make sure you can..." he promised with a determined voice.

-.-

Just as Sesshoumaru predicted, a boy was born one month later.

And Inuyasha was the child's name.

That night, everyone of the fortress had gathered in the large room reserved for ceremonies and some people of villages nearby were present as well to greet the new member of the royal family.

But unfortunately, it was also the same day that Kagome had to leave the fortress in secret.

When someone asked about the absence of the princess, they were simply told that she couldn't attend the ceremony because she was unwell and had to retreat to her own quarters.

But none of the audience noticed, had their attention turned to the slightly opened sliding doors of the room, that two shadows were walking alongside the walls of the fortress at a distance; ready to leave the fortress.

-.-

Kagome halted her steps when she heard familiar voices coming from the room where the ceremony was being held and shifted her gaze to the space between the sliding doors. It was crowded in the room and the chance was little that she could see her family members for the last time before leaving, but she had no regrets.

She was already grateful that they had allowed her to stay another month until she was able to meet her younger brother.

Warmth filled her heart as she remembered how calm the child was when she held him in her small embrace. The innocence on his curious face was something she would never forget about. He had eyes that shared the same gold-amber color as his father and instead of human ears; the baby had two small, white dog-ears on top of his head. Along with this, he had also inherited the beautiful silver-white hair. But unlike those with only blood of the dog demon's flowing in their body, the child had no markings on his forehead, cheeks and lower arms.

"Hime-sama?" a whispering voice interrupted her thoughts.

Kagome turned to look up at the one who was assigned to be her guardian from this moment on.

It was a girl around Sesshoumaru's age. She had long black hair tied into a high ponytail and dark eyes. She was wearing a black outfit with some weapons attached to the sash around her waist. One of them reflected the pale moonlight and looked like a small scythe with a chain attacked to its hilt. Behind her back, the girl carried a huge boomerang that was twice as big as Kagome and only slightly bigger than its owner.

Kagome herself was wearing a dark blue hooded cloak and underneath it a light blue kimono made of a thick and warm fabric. Around her left shoulder, she was carrying a brown bag made of a big cloth, which held some nourishments and money for the journey.

"It is time to go..." her guardian reminded her.

Yes, it was time for her to leave. So she thought as she began to walk again.

She was surprised to see someone standing near the gate when she arrived and it didn't take too long before she recognized who it was.

"Sesshoumaru onii-sama..." she said with a soft voice.

The dog demon walked closer to her and knelt down without saying anything

Kagome noticed a flash of guilt in his eyes and put up a small smile in response. "Don't worry, I'll be okay. Sango-san will be there for me," she reassured him, referring to her guardian.

"But can you promise me one thing?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Promise me that you will protect Inuyasha...just like you protected me..."

Not long after she said that, she suddenly found herself in the arms of Sesshoumaru.

"I'll miss you..." she whispered as she hugged him back.

They stayed like that for a short moment until Sesshoumaru released her from his embrace. From his long sleeve he took out something and held it before her.

Kagome gazed down at his clawed hand, only to find a piece of adornment resting at the center of his palm. It was a simple necklace crafted using a brown leather cord, which strung together three canine fangs with the one in the middle slightly bigger than the other two.

"My mother made it for me when I was little, using my primary fangs," he explained as he placed it into her small hand.

Kagome looped the necklace over her head and shifted its position until the three white fangs were exactly at the center below her chin on top of the cloak. She looked up at Sesshoumaru again and smiled. "Arigatou, onii-sama," she thanked him.

The dog demon gently pulled the dark blue hood of her cloak over her head before standing up and turning to the person standing behind her. "Protect her well. If you let anything happen to her, I will hunt you down and end your life with my own claws," he threatened with narrowed eyes.

"I understand," the guardian replied, her features showing not a single sign of fear.

"Now go," he ordered as he stepped aside and made way for the both of them.

In silence, Kagome and her guardian walked pass the demon prince and left the fortress.

Before disappearing into the shadows of the trees, she paused and turned around to the main gate. To her relief, Sesshoumaru was still standing there, with his eyes locked on hers.

"Take care...Sesshoumaru onii-sama," she whispered softly, not knowing if he had heard it or not.

With his face imprinted in her memories, she turned away and started to walk again, hoping she would be able to return to this place someday soon.

-.-

It was probably easier for her to remember him since there was little chance that his looks would change dramatically. But even for a demon with excellent senses, it would be very difficult for Sesshoumaru to recognize a child in an adult. That's why he gave her the necklace.

Even if there were great changes in her looks and scent the next time they meet, there was no possibility that the necklace would change.

As he watched them walk away, he wondered if she would turn around and look at him for the last time. And much to his surprise, as if she somehow knew what he was thinking, she stopped walking right before entering the forest and turned around.

Carried by the wind, her whispering drifted towards his sensitive ears.

"Take care...Sesshoumaru onii-sama."

As much as he wanted to respond, he knew very well that she wouldn't be able to receive his words with her sense of hearing. And so, he replied inside his heart, hoping she would be able to hear it.

And somehow, he knew she had heard him.

AN: In case you're wondering. InuTaisho wanted to protect Kagome by sending her away from the fortress in secret. So naturally, he and the rest of the people of the fortress would make sure that everybody in the outside world would think that the princess is still within the fortress. Like the demon lord said before, there aren't many people outside the fortress who have seen her, so it would be best if they kept it this way. And it's not like everybody can enter the fortress without permission so Kagome, also known as the pillar of peace, became famous by words with nobody actually having seen her in person. Besides the guards of the fortress, Naraku is basically the only one who is 100 sure that the princess of the Western Lands does exist and that the barrier will disappear if she dies. Hope this clears up a bit.

---

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey everybody! I'm so terribly sorry for taking 15 days to update. But I have good reasons for it and I had announced it properly in the Author's notes of the previous chapter, right? The tests are now officially over and it's time for me to pick up the 10-days pace again. Please be patient with me though as it would be quite hard to do that hehehe. But anyhow, I hope you liked this chapter! Please tell me with a review what you thought of it okay? Thanks!

By the way, Kagome is 9, which makes Sesshoumaru 18 years old (and Inuyasha 0 hehehe).

Greets,

Kittymui

-.-.-

Italic: thoughts
: locations
"...": spoken words
-.-.-.: time gap
-CAPSLOCKED WORDS: noises

-.-.-

Next chapter: Chapter VII

-.-

Although it would sound a bit unrealistic, we will be making a big jump in time between this and the next chapter. In other words, it took Kagura a very long time before she found the right candidates for the assassination of Kagome. But if you think about it, searching the Northern and Southern Lands isn't an easy job, especially when the best of the best is needed. The question is of course...how big will this jump in time be? And more importantly, will Kagura be able to find the individual or individuals she ordered to look for? Please look forward to the next chapter!

-.-

Vocabulary:

miko: priestess
onii-sama: a respectful way to refer to an older brother
sugoi: amazing
hime-sama: hime means princess and by adding the honorific suffix -sama, this is a very respectful way to address a princess
-san: a formal way to address someone by adding this to the person's name
arigatou: thank you
haori: a traditional Japanese clothing worn by men (upper body)
hakama: a traditional Japanese clothing worn by men (lower body)
yukata: a traditional Japanese clothing worn by women during the warmer seasons

-.-.-

REPLIES ON REVIEWS:

Mayukagurl: Thanks!

sakurakitsune14: Thank you for understanding :). I'm happy to know that you like the story so far!

Wake-Robin: I hope this chapter was worth waiting for! I'm glad you liked the chapter!

Yukisora: Thanks!

evilmaniac: Thank you! Hope you liked this chapter as well!

Skitzoflame: Now you know :). Hope it wasn't too cruel of me to do so hehehe.

Inukamisashi: Thank you! I will try to pick up the pace again!

Kyia Star: Hahahaha thanks :). I guess there is a need sometimes to create things that don't make sense, hehehe.

Sirayme: I'm glad you're enjoying it!

azn-sakura17: I've been busy so far with updating this story so I didn't have time to read yours. But after posting this chapter, I will surely check up your fic okay? Thanks for reviewing mine!

Angel of Darkness and Death: Thank you very much :). It is and will stay a Ban/Kag fic, don't worry :). One of the reasons why I decided to highlight the relationship-building between Sesshoumaru and Kagome was because I thought it would be very boring if I only emphasize the relationship between Bankotsu and Kagome. And of course, I wish you a very nice birthday! I managed to update this story on time :) how's that?

x0xprincess-sakurax0x: I'll try to as soon as possible!

InuKagStar: Thank you :)! I've been busy for the past two weeks but now I'm going to try to update within each 10 days again!

Duzzie: I have to agree with you that things aren't going that fast right now, but I'm glad you still like my story so far!

Tamia: Thank you very much! Most of the time I reread my previous chapters to prevent myself from forgetting about things I mentioned before hehehe :).

Posted: 2 February 2005
Last Edited: 2 February 2005
Spelling check: YES

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha or any characters of it. And I do not own whatever elements of this story that seem familiar and had already been used by other creative individuals before. But... I do own the idea of mixing all of these elements together into a new story!