AN: Ah, you can probably tell I'd been concentrating too much on passing a math test myself when I wrote this one.. heh. Oh yes, and did I mention that I hate character limits on chapter titles? (ChencewhyIreuploadedOallthechaptersUwithtitlesGinthetextH)
Chapter Ten - Blossoming Friendships and Broken Families
'Let's see.. If the sine of angle A is .3897..And the length of side A is 42.. And side B is 31.. Then angle B has a sine of…'
"Kagome?"
'What? No, sine is a number, not a person's name.. Wait, what am I thinking?' Kagome shook her head and looked up to see her newest acquaintance bent over her, dressed in familiar red and white miko robes, peering at the mess of symbols and numbers that was Kagome's trigonometry notes.
"Oh, good morning, Lady Maina. Or, I suppose, good afternoon," Kagome said with a pleasant smile.
"What can I say, I'm accustomed to sleeping in," she replied with a matching smile. "If I may ask, what are you doing?" the goddess asked, pointing to the papers and books strewn around the school girl.
"Studying. I have a math test in a few days, and was planning to go home soon so I could have some study time, but with Sesshoumaru around, I doubt Inuyasha will let me go - he didn't like the idea when we were doing nothing at all, actually. So I thought I'd get some studying done while I've got a quiet moment.."
"I understand, I think. What's a math test exactly?"
"Never mind, it requires a long explanation.."
"I mean, is it something dangerous?" Maina asked, joining Kagome on the grass. "Is that why Inuyasha doesn't want you to go?"
"No, no, it's nothing like that. He just doesn't like having to stop the search for the jewel shards for a few days while I'm at home, that's all."
"Ah. He isn't exactly a model of patience, I take it?"
"Definitely not," Kagome replied dryly.
"But I'll bet he expects you to be patient towards him, doesn't he?" Kagome laughed at this.
"How'd you guess?"
"He reminds me of Inutaishou - since we first met yesterday, I've felt a kind of familiarity there. He acts so much like him," Maina explained lightly. "He has that same impatient manner, that same rashness, as his father did." Her face suddenly grew more serious. "He never wanted to wait to do anything. If there was a battle to be fought, he'd rush in right away. He didn't care to wait for his allies to join him, he didn't make plans, he simply went in.. Tell me, Kagome, does Inuyasha do that too?"
"All the time. He's even rushed into battles before on the nights he loses his youkai powers, though we tried to hold him back. For a while, we thought that Naraku might have found out when that night is..," Kagome mused. Maina looked at the ground.
"You must try to get him to be more careful. I've seen the way you act together - you have greater influence over him than anyone else, I think," she said quietly.
"Lady Maina?" Kagome said, confusion in her voice.
"It was that recklessness that got Inutaishou killed, Kagome. He rushed into battle with that dragon, Ryuukotsusei, and didn't take any inu warriors or allies with him," Maina raised her head to meet Kagome's eyes. "He fought him alone. He was already dying of blood loss when Sesshoumaru found him.," she said softly.
"Even when Inuyasha does things like that, and tells the rest of us to stay out of it, we don't listen to him. We follow him whether he likes it or not so that we can help him when he needs us," Kagome said as confidently as she could.
"I'm glad," Maina said, her voice just above a whisper.
"Does Sesshoumaru still consider Inuyasha his enemy?"
"They aren't exactly on friendly terms.."
"So why aren't you hostile to Inuyasha?" Maina stared off into space for a moment.
"I understand the way Sesshoumaru feels toward him. I once felt the same way. But.. Resentment has a way of retreating after a while, and you start to think things through more reasonably.." Maina paused. "I suppose, since Sesshoumaru's come in contact with him, and not in the best of situations, from what he's told me, that resentment hasn't yet had a chance to wear off for him. But I never even saw Inuyasha before yesterday, and so after Inutaishou died there was nothing concrete to remind me, to renew that resentment, other than Sesshoumaru himself…" She turned to face Kagome again. "Besides, I should think by now I'm experienced enough to know that one cannot blame the son for the discrepancies of his father. It wasn't Inuyasha's fault that he was born, or when he was born, right?"
"Right," Kagome agreed softly.
"I know none of you are exactly comfortable with Sesshoumaru being here, but I thank you for helping him. He's certainly not the most pleasant of guests, but," Maina said with a sad smile, "he has his reasons for acting like such an ass most of the time." Kagome smiled.
"You know," she began hesitantly, "I think it was pretty obvious yesterday that Naraku wasn't expecting to fight both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru at the same time. He actually looked intimidated by them. I mean, they're both powerful, but neither has quite been able to defeat Naraku. If they worked together, I'll bet Naraku would be no match for them."
"You noticed that too, eh?"
"Yeah," Kagome said, leaning back onto her elbows, her mathematics long forgotten. "I really wish that Inuyasha could make amends with Sesshoumaru somehow - if nothing else, they could forget their differences long enough to fight our mutual enemy and then fight each other," she continued with a little laugh.
"It would be a grand sight - the estranged brothers fighting alongside one another," Maina said with a smile. "They'd be a more formidable force than Inutaishou himself."
"You're pretty formidable yourself, Lady Maina. We came really close to doing it, to killing Naraku, even with Sesshoumaru out of the fight," Kagome said wistfully.
"Yes, just think - all of us fighting against him, you, Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Sesshoumaru, and myself. We'd pummel that cocky bastard into the ground," Maina considered, grinning with satisfaction at the thought of Naraku lying dead, preferably in pieces.. Suddenly she sighed, becoming melancholy again. "But you know, Kagome, if Sesshoumaru insists on opposing Inuyasha, I'm afraid I won't be able to help in your group's efforts.."
"I understand. You've got your obligations to Sesshoumaru, and you'll stay by his side. Even if he does do something stupid like fight with his brother instead of allying with him to defeat Naraku.." Maina laughed in response, a more sorrowful than amused laugh.
"These inuyoukai really can be a pain sometimes, can't they?" she said wryly.
"A big pain," Kagome agreed.
"Lord Sesshoumaru, if I might have a few minutes of your time..?"
The taiyoukai cast his cold, uncaring glance on the monk. It was difficult to tell if he were still angry about Miroku's earlier discretions, or if he were just in his normal state of indifferent irritation.
"For what purpose?" he asked emotionlessly.
"I wanted to know if you might enlighten me about the battle yesterday," Miroku said, his voice mostly confident, but subtly fearful.
"What is it you wish to know?" Sesshoumaru inquired, not bothering to even sit up to address the monk. Miroku sat beside the bed, keeping a respectful and safe distance, but close enough that the youkai lord could easily see his face.
"All of us are still in the dark about the circumstances of the battle, including Lady Maina. I thought you might have an idea of Naraku's motives, as you seemed to be his target."
"I do not know why she was captured. Or why Naraku let down his guard, allowing me, and obviously Inuyasha, to track him more easily," Sesshoumaru answered simply, now looking toward the roof of the hut.
"More easily? So you were searching for him already?" The youkai turned his head ever-so-slightly, narrowing his eyes at Miroku as if calling him an idiot and threatening his life at the same time.
"He captured my most powerful ally. Of course I was searching for him."
"Yes, yes, you're right, Lord Sesshoumaru. That really was a stupid thing for me to ask," the monk replied, the fear in his voice rising as he tried to mask it with a goofy smile.
"He took her after she'd stepped outside the barrier of her forest, just as I was taking my leave."
"I see. So why were you there?" This only got Miroku a more threatening glare.
"Not that it is any of your concern, monk, but I was there to check the security of my borders."
"Oh, of course.. Lady Maina said that her forest lies on the border between the Southern lands and yours..," Miroku said a bit more nervously. "Do you think that Naraku might have followed you there and waited for you to emerge from the forest?"
"I smelled him only seconds before he took Lady Maina. There was no sign of his presence prior to that," Sesshoumaru answered flatly, focused once again on the roof.
"So, as far as you know, Naraku was not watching you. If that's true, then either he somehow knew of your plans to go to Lady Maina's forest that day, or else he was targeting Lady Maina herself, waiting until she emerged from the barrier to make his move," Miroku pondered. Sesshoumaru grew silent for a few moments.
"No, that cannot be," the lord suddenly said. "What could he have possibly wanted with her? If he was targeting her, he obviously knew what she was, that he could not kill her. And it would do him no good to hurt a creature that heals faster than a youkai."
"Perhaps, then, his aim was psychological harm," Miroku suggested. "If he wanted to use her to serve his own purposes, he would have to somehow force her, correct? And if she could not be hurt or threatened with death, then he may have been trying to break her spirit instead." Sesshoumaru kept his eyes on the ceiling, but almost imperceptibly narrowed them as he listened to Miroku's theory. He remained silent for a long while. Miroku was not sure if this was a signal for him to leave or if the taiyoukai was simply waiting for him to say more, and after two or three awkwardly quiet minutes, he began to get up. The slight rustling of the monk's robes seemed to shake Sesshoumaru out of his reverie.
"He put rock casings over her hands," he said softy, pensively, still staring at the roof beams above him.
"Huh?" Miroku said, settling back into a sitting position.
"They were meant to prevent Maina from using her powers. Naraku must have known about her..," Sesshoumaru trailed.
"Which means he was targeting her," Miroku finished.
"Yes, it seems so."
"A son.."
"Yes, Sesshoumaru…"
"Your son," he said accusingly.
"He's got dog ears, so yes, I'm fairly certain he is," the taiyoukai boomed cynically. He grew silent for a short while before amending himself. "I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru..," he began again.
"It's only been seven months since they died, Father. Seven months since your mate died," Sesshoumaru stated harshly. He turned bewilderingly intense eyes on the taller inuyoukai, his mouth open slightly, revealing the sharp fangs that were grinding together. Inutaishou began to speak, but was taken aback as his perpetually respectful son cut him off.
"She was already pregnant!" he yelled, his golden eyes turning a dangerous shade of red. "The whore was already pregnant when Mother died! When Mai died!"
"Sesshoumaru," he began in a commanding voice. His son, however, paid no heed to his authority.
"Your mate fought for her life and lost! Your daughter was torn apart in her own bedroom!" he thundered. His fangs were growing larger and beginning to hinder his speech as poisonous saliva began to drip from his mouth, burning a small crater into the ground between his feet. "And YOU were off fucking your precious human whore instead of protecting them!" Inutaishou's brow furrowed as he let escape a threatening growl.
The entire valley reverberated with the sound of the taiyoukai's fist against his son's jaw. Sesshoumaru was thrown a good fifty feet by the blow, a sickening crack accompanying his landing. Though he had partially broken his jaw, and probably some ribs as well, Inutaishou had stopped his transformation.
"I am still your father, Sesshoumaru. Do not forget that," he said quietly, turning his back on him and walking away.
Sesshoumaru remained where he was, lying on his side, blood and drool dripping from his mouth. His body would heal, he knew, and his father's anger would eventually subside. It wasn't that which kept him there for so long.
It was guilt.
He was more than justified in what he'd done. It was all true. It had been his father's fault that they'd died, that most of the tribe had died..
But it wouldn't really matter, would it? He could hold a grudge against his father for the rest of time, spit on his grave when he was dead, destroy the kingdom he'd amassed, but it wouldn't matter at all. People would remember him anyway, and he would never forget that the popular opinion was wrong. He could never purge the memories from his mind, and he could never convince any outsiders of the truth. They all thought too highly of Inutaishou already, they wouldn't believe a word of slander from his son, just as they hadn't believed it from his distraught late mother..
"I am still your father, Sesshoumaru…"
He wasn't just feeling guilty. He felt ashamed, ashamed of telling the truth, of saying what needed to be said, because Inutaishou was still his father. And he had been an honorable youkai, years before he discovered his lust for humans. He had been a model leader, a strong father..
Sesshoumaru struck the hard ground with his fist, clenching his eyes shut.
'Damn it all, I should hate the bastard, but I don't.. I can't hate him, even now, even after all this..'
"Hey, wake up, baka!"
Sesshoumaru only clenched his eyes more tightly shut. Inuyasha smirked. 'Well, I tried it the nice way..'
He punched his sleeping half-brother in the head, jumping out of the way as the red-eyed youkai slashed his claws through the empty air. Inuyasha just snickered at his attempt.
"Oh, you're awake I see," he sneered. Sesshoumaru, his eyes golden again, glared at the hanyou.
"It's dinner time," Inuyasha continued with a satisfied grin, "and Kaede says you have to eat."
AN: Ah, yes, Sesshie insights make me a happy little author person. Even if I can't get them quite the way I wanted.
How many times have I warned you about calling me that?
What can you do to me, I wonder? You're a figment of my imagination.
How would you like to find out?
Um... (fidgets nervously) I'm starting to think this was a mistake...
Indeed.
Ow, ow! What the hell are you doing?
Burning some little used brain cells with my dokkasou...
Ow! I thought people couldn't feel pain in their brains!
You and your pathetic human doctors...
Ow! Okay, I give up! I'm sorry, Lord Fluffy... I mean, Lord Sesshoumaru!
...What did you just call me!
Nothing! (cowers)