A/N:
Thank you so much for your support! Since there seems to still be a small confusion on the matter - this is a reminder that the plot for this story is generally compliant with the canon manga, and not the anime (For those who like to keep track, that currently corresponds to around chapter 400) The reason for this decision is that I simply think the manga's events are layered a lot clearly and are far more evenly-paced while properly granting the reader with an opportunity to breathe and take in every occurrence, making it all a much more pleasant experience. ^_^
That aside, this chapter came out as a bit of a Sesshomaru character study, and was very fun to explore. Please enjoy!
Chapter Thirty-Four
Early sunlight crowned the trees as the clash of metal against metal tore through the morning's tranquil silence one after the other, echoing in the dense forest and waking all of its sleeping residents with a start, forcing the birds to hurriedly escape the loud occurrence while the sound travelled all the way to the far mountains shrouded by lowered misty clouds, eventually dissolving somewhere distant and unknown.
"Kikyo-sama." Rin said up to the woman sitting beside her, small fingers enveloping the dark cup in her grip containing the steaming tea as its pale haze leisurely rose into the cold air in slow movements, "How long do you think Sesshomaru-sama and Kohaku-kun are going to train?"
Another loud clash sent to the air as Kikyo lowered her gaze to the child.
"Until Sesshomaru deems it as enough, I suppose." She answered, placing her attention once more to the open clearing before her, "Most likely, this is his way of testing both Kohaku's power and spirit."
Tilting her head to the side with interest, Rin followed and directed her eyes to their two companions standing in the center of the open field before them.
"Good luck, Kohaku-kun." She breathed to the air, lifting the cup to her mouth and taking another sip of the delicious tea.
Silent, Kikyo settled her calm gaze onto Kohaku's being, observing the young man as he stood tense, legs spread and firmly set onto the grassy ground in order to grant him with balance as his form slightly hunched forward, expression overcome with both high alert and determination combined.
Gripping onto the weapon in his hand tightly, he clenched his jaw and threw it forward once more in Sesshomaru's direction, only for the attack to meet the unsheathed Tokijin and deflect effortlessly to the air, sending the blade to etch into the moist soil at the daiyoukai's feet.
"Again." Sesshomaru commanded through a low voice.
"Yes!" Kohaku confirmed immediately as he yanked on the chain connected to his scythe, calling back on the weapon and making it fly backwards towards himself, shortly grabbing it with a precise and confident motion.
Then, he hurled the blade once more in his opponent's direction, this time, from a completely different angle.
But Sesshomaru easily read through the course of the new attack, predicting where it would hit and angling his right hand accordingly, blocking the strike from his head and reflecting the movement of the weapon back at its user altogether.
Startled, Kohaku's brown eyes widened with surprise, and he could do little but submit to his fleeting instinct, jumping to the side in order to dodge the unexpected move. The grassy earth cushioned his fall as the blade violently tore through the soil where he previously stood, and his alarmed features soon turned displeased once his mind managed to wrap around what had just occurred before him.
"Your own strike could potentially be launched back at you during battle." Sesshomaru straightened in his place, lowering Tokijin back at his side as his golden orbs fixed on the now sprawled boy laying before him on the ground, "Make sure to always keep that in mind and possess a plan for whenever that happens before you even release your attack."
"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama..." Kohaku answered to the instruction, releasing a deep and disappointed sigh.
Eyeing him for a moment in silence, however, Sesshomaru's frown soon lowered into a deep scowl.
"Pitying yourself will surely get you killed." The daiyoukai urged the boy.
And swallowing harshly to that statement, Kohaku quietly sat himself up and grabbed hold of his lost weapon, climbing back to his feet once again and forming himself into a proper stance before Sesshomaru, shoulders tense and dark eyebrows lowered into a stern frown, eyes firm and ready.
"Again." His master ordered.
With no time to waste, the boy threw his scyte at his target, blades shortly meeting with a loud clang and his attack, as expected, sent flying right back at his direction just like before.
This time, however, Kohaku quickly recovered, yanking on the long chain of his weapon and altering its direction of movement, seizing control of its course and managing to swerve the blade enough for him to grab safely at the hilt, successfully apprehending the situation.
"Wow! Amazing, Kohaku-kun!" Rin cheered from her far seat next to Kikyo, proceeding to flinch with realization and sheepishly cover her own mouth while recalling the need to remain as silent as possible through the current training session.
Pleased as well, Kikyo allowed a genuine, soft smile onto her features.
And her keen gaze did not miss the undeniable hint of satisfaction which crept through the inu daiyoukai's expression, as well.
Composed, mahogany eyes settled onto Sesshomaru's being as he stood proudly, bathed by the soft rays of the morning sun, his impressive features and silver hair elevated under the golden silhouette with the blade of his large sword shimmering brilliantly against its calm surroundings.
Yet and in unforeseen disparity to the grand splendour presented before her, the priestess found her own attention oddly drawn to the unused, humble blade, secured tightly at his hip, instead.
'Tenseiga...' Kikyo mused, tilting her head slightly to the side.
Her thoughts inevitably reeled back, recalling that one night in which she had witnessed Sesshomaru reluctantly reveal its unique abilities, slaying the messengers of the underworld and bringing a dead, nameless youkai back to the world of the living before her very eyes; a divine, holy act and one which she had believed only she was capable of performing.
'The healing sword which was bequeathed specifically to him by his late father, huh...'
And at that moment, watching both Sesshomaru and Kohaku sparring before her like that, Kikyo couldn't help but wonder about a certain curious issue that had been occasionally occupying her thoughts regarding her companion ever since he had shared details of the blade's mysterious origins with her, as well as his concealed, yet most avid confusion and annoyance with the situation as a whole.
But she swallowed that certain desire or now, only raising her chin to her own secret pondering while inhaling the fresh air deeply as her gaze fixed onto the young man before her now, instead.
Wide eyes casted down to his firm grip on the weapon in his hands while Kohaku's freckled features almost overcame with disbelief to the impressive feat he had just managed to successfully perform, a shaky exhale leaving his still open mouth and turning into pale steam before him.
Quickly collecting himself, the boy shook his head in order to clear his thinking, forcing his own mind to focus once more before his master.
"Sesshomaru-sama." He addressed ardently, bowing his head with deep respect, "Thank you very much for this opportunity."
Observing the unnecessarily-honest gesture in silence for a moment through an impassive expression, Sesshomaru lowered his blade once more to rest temporarily at this side.
"Hmph." He breathed, raising his chin before him, "We are hardly finished, Kohaku, as you have yet to land a successful hit on I, Sesshomaru."
The taijiya immediately straightened in response, hastily assuming his battle stance.
"Yes!" He confirmed, determination glinting in his brown orbs.
And Tokijin ascended to the space between them both with a smooth motion, ready to block another upcoming attack.
Somehow and much to his private surprise, however, Sesshomaru found his own mind strangely at ease with the current occurrence, allowing relief to calm the tension between his dark eyebrows and an imaginary, nameless weight to gradually dissipate off of his shoulders.
Before, he would have chased after Naraku's putrid existence with no time to waste, sometimes walking for days on end without as much as a single stop, even, completely consumed by his will to locate the wretched being and annihilate him without a second to spare... and yet, now, here he was allowing something he would have never expected himself to even participate in, halting his search for his loathsome enemy in favour of training this human boy which only recently joined his group.
He had truly gone soft, is the unnerving conclusion which first jumped into his mind.
But much to his disdain, Sesshomaru knew that this was not all there was to it;
Training in this particular manner had somehow brought up a feeling so distant and nostalgic, something that did not even cross his mind for centuries as he had much preferred to shove the memory away, confine it to the very back of his head where the overwhelming sensations could not reach him and potentially sabotage his coherent thinking...
The memory of his late father, and the training sessions they had both took part in during his youth.
Simpler times, now tainted by the knowledge he had possessed, by the decisions and actions which took place, all bringing him into this very spot in which he was currently standing with still so many questions left unanswered.
Golden eyes narrowed as Sesshomaru silently evaluated Kohaku's form beyond the sharp blade of his sword;
Young, short and weak, and yet with that so eager to learn, so ready to better and prove himself...
Lips forming a straight line, the daiyoukai only lowered his head with new intent.
'No... it is not just that.' He noted to himself, watching the boy closely.
There was something else... another unrecognized meaning that triggered the feelings which cursed through him at that particular moment, and Sesshomaru was determined to further explore and shed light on that mysterious truth.
"Tell me," He started, golden gaze fixed on the taijiya as his blade moved aside in order to grant him with clearer view, "What is your business with Naraku, exactly?"
Blinking to the sudden and direct question, Kohaku lowered the weapon in his hand and then inched backwards in his stance.
And sadness effortlessly ripped through his expression, once more.
"...Naraku used both my hands and weakness of mind... to kill nearly all of my family, Sesshomaru-sama." The boy released the information through a low voice, brown eyes casting down to the ground before his feet as the unbearable weight of his words soon lowered onto his body, threatening to pry all of the air out of his lungs, "Therefore, I swore to destroy him at the cost of my own life in order to face them in the afterlife with honor."
Sesshomaru kept his silence for a long moment while processing the information.
Somehow, the words managed to prick that same vulnerable spot, deep inside of him.
"You believe exchanging your life for that cause is honorable?" He tested further.
Kohaku's free hand clenched into a tight fist at his side.
"Yes." The boy answered, trying his best to conceal the uncontrollable shaking of his limbs as he lifted his head back up to reveal his pained expression, "It's the only way for me to reclaim what I lost, Sesshomaru-sama."
But his inflexible resolve granted Sesshomaru with nothing but displeasure.
'Reclaim the honor he had lost, huh.' The daiyoukai echoed, finally deciphering the reason behind his own troubled thinking;
The cause for himself being so bothered by the boy's single-minded perspective ever since he had joined his group, a thinking that not only could be influenced by Naraku himself, but one that ultimately serves as nothing but a vacant way to end his own life, gathering no actual substance behind it.
A flawed logic, and one that in no way could ever grant him with honor.
Yet, he decided to keep this revelation to himself, for now.
"You wish to avenge the lives of your family members?" Sesshomaru asked, lifting Tokijin once more before him, "Then you do not have the luxury of quitting your own before you have successfully mastered your skills."
The hours passed and with them the winter sun gradually climbing through the sky above their heads, soon positioned in the middle of the endless horizon as its subdued rays cloaked the land with a veil of comforting warmth, purifying the chilly air away and inviting the group to begin the preparations for lunch.
"Jaken-sama, wake up!" Rin called to the imp-demon, jolting him from his long and peaceful nap, "It's noon already."
Her green companion groaned something unintelligible under his breath and then squinted at the girl as she passed right next to him, placing her attention on one of the bundles attached to A-Un's saddle above him, her small arms quickly reaching up to untie the heavy package from its high place.
Leaning forward groggily in his seat against the two-headed dragon, Jaken soon prepped himself to his feet using his wooden staff and looked all around him.
"Huh, it is noon already." He repeated, one green hand raised to scratch his bald head.
"That's what Rin said." The girl raised a sole eyebrow in confusion, heaving the bundle to the grassy earth before her legs and shortly sending her hands inside it in order to hunt for the necessary tools she required, "Kikyo-sama went to draw water from the stream, you can help Rin start a fire in the meantime!"
Glancing over to the rest of the camp's area, Jaken's yellow eyes soon grew to their natural wide size as he inspected the quietly sitting Kohaku, focused on some sort of task which he couldn't quite decipher beyond the several stones surrounding the scene and obscuring his view.
But his master's form was nowhere to be seen, and puzzled green features only turned to the busy Rin in response.
"Has Sesshomaru-sama finished with his training of that human child?" He asked dryly, watching her.
Rin nodded, collecting the necessities into her arms.
"Kohaku-kun's already chopping vegetables." She answered with nonchalance, turning on her heel and returning in the direction from which she came from.
However, pure confusion soon spread on the imp-demon's face to the single missing part of the equation before him.
"T-Then... Where is Sesshomaru-sama...?" He whipped his head left and right, attempting to locate his lord's presence, yet with little success.
Hearing that odd inquiry, Rin stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him once more.
And much to the imp-demon's annoyance, she only giggled at his still very apparent obliviousness.
Stern golden eyes watched silently as Kikyo lifted the now completely full wooden compartment above water surface, placing it next to her lowered position on the edge of the calm river as countless drops of liquid travelled down its vertical structure and soon damped the earth beneath it, her fair hand detaching from the tool with a smooth movement, then proceeding to grab at the second, empty one situated next to it, instead.
A gentle whisper of the high leaves rattling against the capricious breeze filled the silence between them, allowing them both to now enjoy the momentary tranquillity in stark contrast to the loud training session which previously took place, with only the sounds of hidden, harmless wildlife now echoing through the depth of the lush forest.
"You have surprised me with your decision to train Kohaku." He heard her suddenly admit to the steady flow of stream below her with a calm tone, unable to see the priestess' expression through the curtains of silky, dark hair draping over her shoulders and chest from her leaned position.
And the daiyoukai only raised his head slightly to her words.
"I am merely eradicating the possibility of that boy becoming a liability to this group." Sesshomaru retorted, observing as the woman before him submerged the container in her hand into the clear water, "Allowing him to realize the error in his thinking is part of strengthening his mind along with his skills."
Hearing that, Kikyo kept her quiet for another moment.
"It is truly a shame is it not? The idea of him wishing to end his life in this way." She voiced her thoughts on the matter, lifting the now second, completely full compartment upwards and allowing the residue drops of water to fall aimlessly back into the flowing river before her, "However, I must admit that you seem exceptionally displeased by it, Sesshomaru."
His eyes narrowed to her sharp deduction.
"Letting that vermin, Naraku, take any more life than he had already did is something that I, Sesshomaru, shall not allow." He explained, ridding his voice from any unique hint of emotion as he straightened his own posture, "There is nothing for the boy to reclaim by stepping down a path such as that, only to lose."
The priestess remained silent as she set the wooden container on the earth next to its double, then rose to her feet with elegance, soon turning to face her companion and granting him with a calm, yet all-knowing gaze.
"And is that the sole reason behind your will to lead him differently?" She inquired, studying him.
Sesshomaru clenched his jaw to that keen, familiar look in her eyes, a look that always managed to transfix him without fail; read right through him with little effort and loosen his tongue before her, luring the words out of his mouth as if a powerful spell had been cast upon him.
And yet, he exerted all of his force to fight against it, keeping his unreadable silence.
Kikyo's following words, however, left him somewhat surprised.
"I see my old self in him, as well." She told him, breaking from his fierce eye-contact to stare into the depth of the forest surrounding them both, "Although for reasons different than yours... ones that I trust you could already tell."
He stared at the woman standing before him, the sun filtered through the trees above creating intermittent patches of light decorating her being, caught partially in her smooth bangs and long locks framing her face, allowing him the glimpse of rare and honest emotion in her features.
And he breathed in deeply to the sight, golden line of vision never detaching from her presence as the weight of her words slowly sunk into his conscious, the concept of himself potentially having another thing in common with this woman crumbling his previous, secret resolve into mere dust.
"This 'honor' which he speaks of," Sesshomaru finally said, prompting her gaze to meet his once again, "That boy's idea of it is warped in itself."
Studying him for a moment through an unreadable expression, Kikyo tilted her head slightly to the side.
"And this type of thinking is familiar to you." She voiced her following theory to the air between them.
His gaze sharpened to her speculation, and the daiyoukai could only raise his chin before her.
"You seem as if you already hold the answers to the questions you present before me, woman." He asserted with telling reluctance, golden eyes fixed on her.
And Kikyo simply blinked to his bold claim, raising her head before him as well and suddenly feeling rather transparent.
"I assumed it had something to do with your late father, yes." She calmly answered, watching him closely.
Hearing that, Sesshomaru kept his intense staring.
And much to Kikyo's surprise, the daiyoukai began striding forward in her direction, sending his sole hand to the unusable sword at his side, pulling Tenseiga from the yellow-colored strap securing it safely in its place and holding the sheathed blade before them both while coming into a smooth stop right before the priestess, both of their forms veiled by the spotty light of the warm sun above.
"A blade which holds no power in battle." He reminded her dryly, golden eyes dropping to the item in his clawed grip, "A slight rather than a gift, and the reason I had even required to search for a substitute in the first place."
Her vision lowered to the sword as well, then shortly settled on the empty left sleeve of the man standing before her.
"In a single-minded way that ultimately only led you to lose instead of gain, huh." Kikyo concluded his point, understanding precisely the reason for his disagreement with Kohaku's resolution, now.
Sesshomaru said nothing as his gaze lifted from the blade to the woman's now close presence, observing her focused expression and the way the sun glistened on her long eyelashes. But he soon noticed a certain intent flashing behind her mahogany eyes, watching as Kikyo quietly raised a single fair hand upwards, slender fingers hovering over the hilt of Tenseiga for a moment, proceeding to slowly trace the purple-weaved binding surrounding it and unknowingly causing the daiyoukai's heart to miss a single beat.
"You have told me before not to seek logic behind it..." She recalled, attention still aimed downwards at her actions, "However, I now believe that a sword meant to save and protect is truly very fitting for who you are, Sesshomaru."
Clearing his mind, dark eyebrows only lowered into a frown at her absurd statement.
"Need I remind you, again, that power is the only thing which I seek?" He protested, exhaling deeply before her, "Protecting and saving has little value to I, Sesshomaru."
But Kikyo simply chuckled to his fairly predictable stance on the matter, lifting her calm gaze up to lock with his.
"You still treat it as weakness." She shook her head up at him.
Lips forming a thin line, Sesshomaru noted the undeniable answer she possessed to his conflict, the educated truth which she knew and was so invariably sure of.
And he patiently awaited the woman's following explanation, interest clear in his expression before her.
"For one who chases battle such as yourself, is it not a far more challenging experience this way?" She eventually reasoned, watching him closely as the hint of confusion crossed his stern features, prompting her to proceed with her view, "After all, you now need to calculate your moves with your charge in mind, thus developing your abilities in a way that could not ever be achieved by fighting selfishly for one's own sake."
Evaluating her unforeseen perspective for the longest time in complete silence, Sesshomaru never broke from her being, fixed in his place and lost in her pools of deep brown as the item held between them connected both of their beings together.
Was it really true that acquiring Tenseiga had indirectly made him stronger, already?
Could it be that his father's decision carried practical sense behind it, after all?
Lifting his head yet maintaining Kikyo's eye-contact, Sesshomaru suddenly felt the tension ease from his shoulders, the feral notions in his mind which roamed so loudly and violently before all settling down with eerie and immediate compliance next to the sole realization which shortly surfaced in his head;
Perhaps and even after all that happened... he was, in fact, right where he needed to be.
Sensing the blade suddenly pulse once under her touch, Kikyo blinked with alert and called back on her curious palm, mahogany gaze lowering to her fingers while those tingled with a strange feeling unlike anything she had ever experienced before.
And as if now free from her unruly trance, she moved back from the captivating closeness of her companion, composing herself as she simply cleared her throat and turned on her heel, remembering the small errand she was tasked with and the two completely full water compartments still waiting patiently on the ground behind her. Without saying as much as a word, Kikyo lowered herself to both wooden containers, lifting them into her arms and rising up once more with a smooth motion.
"We should return." She steadily advised while stepping towards him, finding his gaze once again.
And Sesshomaru kept his unreadable silence to her suggestion, staring at her for another moment and eventually sliding Tenseiga back into his belt using a swift and decisive movement.
Then, he wordlessly sent his hand up once more towards the woman, long, clawed fingers grabbing one of the containers in her possession and relieving the priestess from half of the weight she was carrying.
The next several days passed without a sound, nor trace of Naraku in the air, somewhat alerting the suspicion of both Sesshomaru and Kikyo to their enemy's sudden, uncharacteristic silence. Yet, they chose to proceed with caution rather than remain static, gradually crossing through the land in their journey and soon entering the higher, chilly northern regions of the province spread evenly before them.
"Woah! What's that?" Rin suddenly called with interest, hopping down from the back of A-Un and closer to the edge of a river in order to take a closer look at the submerged remains of a large youkai, with Jaken shortly following in her steps, "Look at those huge bones!"
"Oh – This is..." The imp-demon began, evaluating the unmistakable and huge shell beneath him.
Both the daiyoukai and the priestess paused in their tracks, turning their heads over their shoulder to calmly inspect the occurrence unfolding behind them.
"It is a Meioju." Sesshomaru soon answered to the child's inquiry, placing his gaze once more to the distance.
"Meioju? What a huge shell." Rin expressed her amazement.
And Jaken only nodded with affirmation to the fact.
"It certainly is..." He confirmed, inching back in his stance.
However, before the green youkai could manage to further expand on the defeated beast's characteristics;
"Its armoured shell is said to be the one of the hardest of all youkai." Kohaku explained, stepping forward as well until he reached Rin's side, "It could be made and used as sturdy weapons and armour alike."
"Precisely." Jaken added, closing his eyes, "In the entire world, the one who could probably cut through that armor would have to be someone like Sesshomaru-sama."
"Cutting the shell isn't always necessary in order to kill a Meioju." The taijiya said, prompting the curious Rin to glance up at him, "It's enough to lure the body from its home and then cut through its open, vulnerable mouth with one swift strike before it manages to attack, but that requires near-perfect timing."
"Ohh..." The girl breathed to the information.
And Jaken only crossed his arms with annoyance.
"Fool!" He immediately scoffed and narrowed his yellow orbs up at the boy, "I have never heard of anyone who managed to slay a Meioju with such deadly precision! It is known to be impossibly fast whenever it chooses to attack out of its shell!"
However and much to the trio's surprise, another steady voice shortly participated in their discussion.
"It is achievable." Kikyo calmly determined over her shoulder, seizing their attention and watching the three of them for a single moment before turning to stare once more at the continuation for their path, "With two arrows."
Mouth forming a straight line, Jaken instinctively stepped backwards as both Rin and Kohaku's eyes widened with quiet amazement.
Yet something else soon caught the girl's attention the moment she lowered her gaze back to the stream.
"Ah, there's a missing piece in its shell." Rin detected.
"Oh?" Jaken returned his attention down to observe the dead youkai once again.
"Who do you think did this, Kohaku-kun?" The child raised her head to her human companion standing beside her.
However, the boy seemed as confused as she was, lifting a sole hand to grab at his own chin while pondering his answer.
"There are traces of burns from paper charms." Sesshomaru answered in his stead, resuming his movement and striding forward once again, "This was likely done by a human priest."
Observing him as he walked past her, Kikyo blinked to the yet another unexpected and correct deduction sourcing from someone like him.
And secretly impressed, she only released an amused breath to herself, following in his example and stepping after his distancing form with the rest of their group shortly doing the same, proceeding on their way in this endless journey to locate and defeat their shared and loathsome enemy, wherever that shall take them next.
A/N:
I find it rather interesting that both in the chapter and the episode 'Kikyo's Lonely Journey', the demon which Kikyo killed by the river seems an awful lot like a Meioju; a small, interesting detail that I was more than happy to include in this story.
As always, I thank you for your wonderful feedback, my lovely readers! It never fails to brighten my days and keep my writer wheels spinning.