II: Warnings
Author: Nefertili
Fandom: Inuyasha
Rating: PG13
Pairing(s): Sesshoumaru/Kikyou
Genre(s): Romance, Angst, AU, Action
Warning(s): More battle scenes, some violence, fluff... What more can I say?
Disclaimer: None of the characters, except perhaps some, are mine. They are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.
Summary: Two years after IMotC, Sess is challenged to surpass an enemy in recovering a mysterious relic left behind by his mother. But can he protect Kikyou, who now carries his child, at the same time?
A/N: To start off, I would like to give some apologies if the characters are rather OOC, as one review stated. Since this fic is set after the series ended (that is, if it will ever end o.o), I took some liberties by molding the characters according to how, in my point of view, their previous hardships and sufferings had shaped and changed them. So please bear with me if Kiky or Sesshie are not the persons we grew familiar with. And don't worry; I have not really abandoned their old personalities, as you will later see. ;)
Arwen, Dark Sorceress of Fate...if I were to give away cookies, I would have already given you a huge box of 'em! Those were smart answers, and you kinda got the gist on who the lady and lord are; but no, she is not Kikumo. o.o
P.S. Para sa reviewers kong Pinoy, yup, taga-Pisay nga po ako. Paano niyo nalaman? Ganun na ba ako kahalata sa profile ko? O.o
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"Humans in the Western Lands?"
Deer eyes the color of black coal narrowed and the stag's noble head tilted in curiosity and wonder. As a leader of his people, he had heard that the Lord of the West despised humans, and had forbid their presence in his lands. Yet now he sees two of them, a beautiful lady clad in blue and a much younger girl in pastels walking in the woods. They were walking deeper into the forest, away from the stag which continued to watch them from behind some trees.
Ordinary human eyes would not have seen his form camouflaged among the trees, but the stag did not make one move until they were out of sight and their footsteps were but dull sounds to his ears. They appeared to be harmless, but it wouldn't take an experienced youkai to feel that there was something peculiar about the older woman, as though she had a great spiritual power of some sort...
The regal deer cut off his personal musings and went on his way, his ebony hooves not leaving behind a trace of his passing.
...o0o...
"She gets more and more uncontrollable as the days pass, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken grumbled as he sat before his lord in the verandah facing the mountains, breathing in the fresh air of the valley as they waited for their human companions to return.
Sesshoumaru did not reply. He already knew which 'she' Jaken was talking about. Of course, Kikyou... His retainer had been surprised, mortified, even, to see his master wrapped around the little finger of the former priestess just because she carried his child.
'You do not understand, Jaken. I doubt you ever will...' Sesshoumaru thought as he fixed his cold gaze on the green velvet mountains beyond. Jaken, even though he had been Sesshoumaru's servant for most of his life, never shared the taiyoukai's patience. If the silver-haired Demon could stand to be around his mood-swinging mate, his toady retainer would come close to a state of collapse in attempting to walk around her without rousing her temper. Sesshoumaru knew that Jaken still needs to be cautious, as Kikyou still retains much of her miko powers even if she no longer uses them as much as she used to.
But something occupied his conscious mind more than his wife at that moment. Since she and Rin departed earlier, Sesshoumaru had taken to surveying the surroundings as far as his amber eyes could see and as wide as his sharp ears could hear. He could feel something – better yet, someone – approaching. As a Demon Lord, he knew most of the youkai which take abode in his domain, but this anonymous person was foreign, and rather powerful at that. Kikyou and Rin should not be put into danger, and he would not hesitate to take action if this foreigner poses a threat to them.
And even more than that was the voice calling to him...though he could not quite understand its purposes, he strangely felt a kind of anxiety that he had never felt before. The voice spoke in but a mere whisper of his name, but the fact that that tender tone belonged to someone he once held so dear in his heart, nearly as much as he held Kikyou close to his soul, troubled him extremely. And to consider that the said person had long since left the world, or so as he believed, it was utterly unnerving...
But he made no mention of his worries to Jaken. Not only would his retainer be scared, no doubt about that, but personal pride deterred Sesshoumaru from doing so. Would he allow the Lord of the Western Lands to lose face simply because of disembodied voices whispering in his ears?
Out of the blue, Jaken gave a sharp cry of alarm, driving the taiyoukai from his musings. Tearing his amber oculars away from the ranges, he looked before him to see what frightened Jaken so much. Well, he had felt it before he saw it; it was the foreign presence that he had been thinking about earlier, only it stood so much nearer to them now.
With the deadly grace of a Demon Prince, Sesshoumaru stood up before Jaken and drew the Toukijin from his waist to prepare for any combat that might come. But the creature that was standing calmly before the gates of his fortress did not appear to be searching for trouble.
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed slightly as he recognized the shape of their visitor. It took on the form of a stag, though its size was bigger than that an average deer. The wise-looking eyes were dark, and most of its short fur was the color of dark walnut. But its four well-muscled limbs were lined here and there by golden brown curving lines resembling smoke rising from a pinch of incense, contrasting the sharp bends and twists of antlers crowning the creature's head like polished ebony.
Unconsciously, a thorn pierced Sesshoumaru's heart to see a familiar, yet not so familiar presence. His mind could not help but return back to the dark times he and his wife had left behind them, and in doing so remember the image of a woman with long fawn hair and deep green eyes bathed in sunlight, smiling at him while her hands were on a silver-stringed koto.
Kikumo… Sesshoumaru felt the image of his past lover flood his being...she who had restored the left arm that his brother had hacked off. His hand shook ever so slightly as he held on to the Toukijin, but neither Jaken nor the stag noticed it.
For long, inuyoukai and shikayoukai regarded each other, piercing amber eyes surveying coal-black ones, trying to read the intentions of the lesser Demon. However, the Deer Demon broke their eye contact and sank down on its front limbs, bowing its beautiful head before the Lord of the Western Lands in a gesture of deference. When it regained its equally noble stance, in its stead stood a figure of a man no less tall than Sesshoumaru.
"It is in peace that I come before you, my Lord," the male youkai said. Jaken peeked from behind Sesshoumaru's baggy pants to see a youkai in the form of a young man with waist-length golden brown hair tied in a half-ponytail. His robes were dyed in dark shades of red and brown, with flower motifs stitched in gold thread placed at regular intervals on the royal silk. There were black sharp crescent markings above his eyebrows and his deer ears were black-tipped, characteristics universal to all Deer youkai. But the look of wisdom and foresight clear in his eyes proved more than his royal garments that he was of high rank among the shikayoukai.
"I am Isamu, Lord of the Deer Clan," the other Demon continued. Jaken could not help but feel a surge of pride for his master. Here was another taiyoukai, prostrating himself before Lord Sesshoumaru. What other youkai could be as powerful as he? Even this low Deer youkai had to admit that. "I come in behalf of my Clan and my wife, our Queen. If it is your will, please accept whatever I have to say with an open mind."
As a gesture of formality among Demons, Isamu knelt on one knee before Sesshoumaru before standing up again to await the other Demon Lord's reaction.
Sesshoumaru's amber eyes never left the other Demon. Nor did he fail to notice that Isamu carried a naginata whose blade was shaped like a sickle, and he kept his Toukijin drawn.
"In peace, you claim to come," Sesshoumaru replied coldly. "Yet what is that weapon you carry?"
"With all due respect, my Lord," Isamu answered, laying down the naginata on the ground between them to prove that he wanted no bloodshed or power clashes with one of the most powerful youkai known among them. "I did not mean any harm. I need that weapon to defend myself from any assault that might befall me on my way to your abode, but I have no desire to challenge you, Sesshoumaru-sama."
Now that Isamu had called him by his name, Sesshoumaru felt secure within himself to put his sword back to his sash along with his father's heirloom, the Tenseiga. Tucking his hands within his sleeves, he faced the Lord of the Deer Demons, determined to get his reasons for coming by as quickly as possible. Not only was he annoyed that Isamu came without a warning to his place, but also he did not wish the other taiyoukai to know of Kikyou's and Rin's presence for the time being.
"Why are you here?" Sesshoumaru interrogated with his words straight to the point.
Isamu chose to ignore his aloof welcome. He clearly saw that his presence did not particularly please the silver-haired Demon, and Isamu did not want to be in Sesshoumaru's bad graces, both for his sake and the sake of the entire Deer Clan, which he represented.
"An enemy has been sighted at the borders of the Western Lands," Isamu said, choosing to not elaborate the situation further. "They are a horde of youkai-possessed human corpses, but given the chance, they take over the being of any living creature they could come across to. They defile the land as they go, burning trees and killing all plant life with a poison we have yet to find a cure."
Silence followed between them afterwards. Isamu gazed at Sesshoumaru's amber eyes, attempting to read his reaction, but saw only a cool expression glazing his oculars.
"And what do you expect me to do about that?" Sesshoumaru replied, pride radiating from his stately form.
Isamu was both awed and troubled by Sesshoumaru's passiveness and cool exterior. He had risen in status among the Deer youkai because he had mated with their Queen, but he had only been their leader for a short time in Demon years. Isamu was still unsure of his governing skills, but thanks to his wife, he had progressed greatly. Yet Sesshoumaru proved to be a far more sufficient leader than he is, and Isamu felt insignificant before him.
Jaken, who was silent for some time now, suddenly spoke up and took Sesshoumaru's side.
"No youkai who challenges Sesshoumaru-sama shall prevail!" he exclaimed with his croaky voice. "If those youkai-human-corpse rabbles are coming, then let them come! Sesshoumaru-sama will put them in line in no time at all!"
Isamu was unsure if the toady demon was exaggerating, but he replied out of respect, "Then it seems this situation doesn't trouble Lord Sesshoumaru much, and with this assurance, I can take my leave." He took his naginata from where it lay on the ground and prepared to walk away, but Sesshoumaru stopped him.
"What is your purpose for telling me this?"
Rather surprised that Sesshoumaru was interested with that, Isamu once more turned to face the inuyoukai.
"The Deer youkai love the land as much as we love ourselves," he began. "The sight of those demons that defile the land and yet we could not do anything about it infuriates us. The allegiance of your father, the late Inu no Taishou and our late Lord, Hisano, is still bright in the mind of my Queen, and she wishes to revive it. Perhaps, inuyoukai and shikayoukai could once more march in the battlefield as one against a common enemy."
Jaken was about to reply, but Sesshoumaru silenced him. He turned his back on the Deer youkai whilst saying, "You flatter yourselves into thinking that I would give in to your wishes. But be assured that the Dog Clan could stand upon its own feet without the support of its Deer neighbors."
Isamu silently regarded Sesshoumaru, and for a while considered asking the other demon if he knew of the presence of the two humans he saw earlier in the woods, but he interpreted Sesshoumaru's action as his permission to go. Though the silver-haired demon did not see it, Isamu once more bowed on one knee to acknowledge his words.
"Then it shall be, my Lord," he replied. "The Deer youkai have always acknowledged the power of the Dog tribe, and we still do. But our doors shall remain open to you, Sesshoumaru-sama, in case you wish to summon us for this cause."
With that, he transformed back to his deer form and dashed back into the forest with Jaken calling back, "Sesshoumaru-sama does not need your service!"
Sesshoumaru looked from the corner of his eyes into the forest where Isamu disappeared. The Deer Clan had already renewed its allegiances with the Dog Clan earlier than you have thought, in the person of the Princess who carries the name of a chrysanthemum field...
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Awakened by a call from an unseen source, a monster rose from its slumber deep within the woods. Stretching its wings and long clawed limbs, it bared its wide fangs and opened its fearful red eyes as its master finally began to struggle against the seal which imprisoned him for hundred years. Now was the time for some action.
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Yes, finally, Chapter two ends! Don't be disheartened if I update sparingly. I won't abandon this fic! (It's always on my mind, ya know!) :)
