Title: Behind the Blue Moon
Author(s): SkyFire
For Notes/Disclaimers, see part 1.
/Thoughts/
Italics
oOoOo
Part 4: Sesshomaru
Sesshomaru winced as a stray sunbeam flashed across his face, burning into sensitive eyes and doing nothing to alleviate the throbbing in his head. Quickly, he moved out of the sun and back into the muted light of the green forest shadows. It was only during the last few hours that the light had come to bother him so; he had been fine that morning and the previous day.
He remembered waking for the first time the day before --or was it the second? He seemed to recall vague flashes of what seemed to be memory featuring his new companions-- and the confusion that had assailed him at the sight of the not-unfamiliar-yet-still-unknown faces around him and the unexpected pain in his body.
A rock slide, they had told him. They had dug him out, tended to his injuries. They meant him no harm. One, who had called himself Inuyasha when asked, smelled like both kin and human, and claimed to have been appointed as his guardian and protector by Inutaisho himself.
He didn't know if that claim was truth or not; the scents of both truth and falsehood had been fairly equal when the words were spoken; truth in protection, falsehood in the naming of who charged him with such.
A nearly-silent sigh.
There was nothing to do about the issue until he was convinced either of their sincerity or treachery. In the meantime, he would keep eyes and ears open, watch them for clues to the people behind the faces, to the motivations of each.
He winced again at the renewed throbbing in his head, his hand coming up to rub at a spot between snowy brows.
It would be so much easier to think if his head didn't hurt so much.
Then stubborn pride filled him. He might only be six, but he was Sesshomaru, son of the Great Dog Demon Inutaisho, Lord of the Western Lands and one of --if not the-- most powerful demons in all of Japan. He was his father's firstborn, his heir, and had been brought up as such, had had wisdom and politics taught to him since he was a pup barely able to crawl. Always, he had been taught his place, and the proper way to do everything.
He lowered his hand, straightened himself, lifted his chin to the properly proud degree his tutors had always insisted on. Made a mostly-unsuccessful attempt to push the pain away. Made a slightly-more-successful effort to ignore the pain he could not banish. Made an entirely-successful effort to wipe his face clear of emotion that would show his weakness to anyone who looked his way.
The heir of a powerful demon does not show weakness, and pain is a weakness.
Odd how it throbbed still, though. It had --according to his companions-- now been three days since the accident that had injured him. He had broken bones before, and never had they taken so long to heal. Was it because it was a head wound?
He had seen the stains on the collar of his clothes the day before, enough to know that he had indeed been hurt, and quite badly at that.
Even so, it was an annoyance that he could happily have done without.
While he was on the subject of his clothing, that had surprised him as well. He could not remember his having had that particular ensemble. When had he gotten it? Had that memory been knocked out of his head, along with the reason he had apparently been walking the cliff path?
If that was the case, what other memories might have been jarred free? He had not missed the startled expressions that crossed his companions' faces at times after he said something. What were they hiding from him?
But whatever the reason behind his lapse of memory, he had to admit he loved the clothes; so similar in style and coloring to those of his beloved father. He was sure he must look like a much smaller, much younger version of Inutaisho. A glow of pride ran through him at the thought.
He was shaken from his internal musings as the oddly-dressed girl --Kagome, wasn't it?-- came up beside him and started speaking.
"So... Sesshomaru," she began. "How are you feeling? Does your head still hurt?"
He gave her a look that was a shadow of his infamous cold glare and spoke. "I'm fine," he said, the delivery spoiled by another stray beam of light across his eyes, causing a minute flinch he hoped she hadn't seen.
But even if Kagome had missed the telltale twitch, one member of their party hadn't.
"Why are you asking him?" Inuyasha cut in. "Demons --especially demon lords-- don't show weakness, and they certainly don't admit to it."
"Weakness?" Kagome blinked. Then she turned back to Sesshomaru, a small rattling bottle in hand. "But if you're hurting, I can make it stop. You just have to tell me."
The reply came again. "I'm fine."
"Told you," said Inuyasha.
Kagome just sighed, tucked the bottle away.
The group continued on down the road, pace slightly slower than usual to accommodate the recovering youkai lord-child in their midst.
oOo
It was night.
They had stopped at a village somewhat earlier than was typical for them due to both a sudden, unexpected deluge of rain and the fact that Sesshomaru could no longer hide the weariness that had crept over him over the course of the day. Sopping wet and stumbling with poorly-concealed weariness, the great and powerful Lord of the Western Lands was a sad sight.
At least he didn't give off the same faint wet-dog smell as Inuyasha.
As usual when they stayed in a village instead of the wilds, Miroku zeroed in on the best inn in the village and got the group free room and board in return for the exorcism of an 'ominous cloud'.
Sesshomaru might have been both miserable, his thoughts fogged with pain and weariness, but he wasn't that far out of it. Moving over to Inuyasha, he spoke softly. "What ominous cloud? I don't sense any--"
"Shh," came the quick reply. "Or do you want to stay out in the rain?"
"You mean there isn't--"
"Shh!"
Not long after, the group was enjoying the warmth of both the best room at the inn and a generous feast their host had insisted on after Miroku's exorcism. They were dressed in clothing provided by that same host, their own taken away to be dried.
Sesshomaru only nibbled at his food; the throbbing ache in his head preventing him from eating as he might have.
Odd, though, to eat in such mixed company. Always before, his tattered memories assured him, he had eaten alone or in the company of other full youkai. He had even been taught by father and tutors to use the excuse that he 'didn't eat human food' to escape those situations. But that night it was either eat with them or stay hungry.
Perhaps his father would forgive him that lapse of propriety after he heard the tale.
oOo
Warm and fed, the disparate members of the group settled down to sleep. Soon, the sound of sleep-deepened breathing was the only sound in the room. The warm embers in the fire pit cast an orange-red glow over everything.
Near-silently, a pale figure sat up, pushed the blankets away. Standing, he crept over to the wall where Kagome's bag sat, opened it, searching...
A strangled gasp, stopped before it escaped entirely, was heard as another arm came from behind and reached into the bag, and pulled out the object of his search-- that small, rattling bottle from earlier.
"Can't sleep?" Inuyasha asked quietly.
A brief hesitation. "No. My head..."
The hanyou just nodded, hiding his surprise at his half-brother's admittance of pain. /His head must really be hurting for him to admit it like that./
There was a small pause, a rattle, another pause, then: "Here."
Sesshomaru looked over, saw Inuyasha holding out two small round tablets and a drinking-bowl of water. "What-?"
"Swallow these, wash out the taste with the water. Whatever you do, don't bite down on them. They taste terrible!"
Hesitantly, the youkai took the offered items, looked back up at his guardian, question plain in typically-unreadable golden eyes.
"It'll make the pain go away."
That was all it took, really. Since he already knew that Inuyasha meant to protect him, he knew that it didn't mean he wouldn't feel pain because he was dead. He knew it to be safe.
He swallowed Inuyasha's offering in one huge gulp of water. Satisfied that his half-brother's pain would fade --and that as a result he would stop the tossing and turning that had kept him awake-- Inuyasha went back over to his chosen spot and slumped back down to sleep.
He had nearly drifted off entirely when instinct gave him a hard prod, jerking him to partial --if not full-- wakefulness; something was sneaking up on him...
The 'something' plopped down beside him in a blanket-wrapped bundle, yawned widely, then snuggled into his shoulder.
"Huh?" came the drowsy question. "Whaddaya think you're doing? Get off me!"
But Sesshomaru only yawned. "Can't sleep," he mumbled. He snuggled closer to Inuyasha, eyes going vague before drifting shut. "Better."
Any further protests fell on deaf ears as the mighty demon lord succumbed at last to sleep.
The confounded hanyou stared speechlessly down at the youkai sleeping against him. He looked quickly around the room, his sharp senses telling him that no one else was awake. Thus reassured, he reached over with his free hand, grasped Sesshomaru's slipping blanket and tucked the other in securely.
That task accomplished, Inuyasha settled back down and joined his companions in slumber.
.
TBC...
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