He slept for two days. On the morning of the third Sesshomaru finally awoke some minutes before the sun peeked over the mountains.
A part of him was surprised to see that Inuyasha and his pack had stayed. Sesshomaru glanced down at his brother, curled up beside him. It reminded him of their first meeting.
As if sensing he was awake Inuyasha blinked. He groaned softly as he tried to go back to sleep. He was too comfortable.
"Where is Hinata?" Sesshomaru asked.
Those ears twitched. And Inuyasha slowly sat up. Wordlessly he stood up and lead the way. Sesshomaru followed on weakened legs. He glanced at his swords carefully placed next to Ah-Un. The Tenseiga was twitching.
Although curious as to why, Sesshomaru left it be to continue following Inuyasha. He was brought to a field of flowers. The sunlight reached outward just as they approached the small grave.
"Rin chose this spot." Inuyasha informed.
Of course she did. Sesshomaru knew it by the amount of flowers. It was no secret that Rin loved flowers.
"So, this Lord Asahi. He was your betrothed? When did that happen?"
Sesshomaru studied Inuyasha. He was genuinely curious. Because he was being calm for once, he decided to tell the story.
"Sometime after father's passing. Not long after we first met. My mother arranged for it, but now I am suspect that she wasn't given much choice in the matter."
"What makes you say that?" Inuyasha tilted his head.
"The fact he's been waiting for so long. Even going so far as sending his brother after me shows he isn't afraid to use force or threats. Even going so far to threaten anyone sharing my blood."
"Heh. It's no wonder you ran away." Inuyasha chuckled. "He sounds like every other out of touch noble lord out there."
"My inner demon was unimpressed by him. Therefore I was unimpressed. I had thought he would have given up by now. It's been years since he sent someone after me." Sesshomaru studied the grave.
"So...You said I left an impression. What exactly will that entail between us?" His voice grew nervous as he asked, his ears lowered.
Sesshomaru stared at his brother. For once his eyes weren't cold or demeaning. No fury or disgust anywhere in his gaze. It was a foreign sight for Inuyasha, but he wouldn't mind to see more of that.
"That's up to you. I know of your relations to that girl. Therefore it isn't just up to me." Sesshomaru turned away to head back to the others.
"I know that! I'm asking what you want!" Inuyasha snapped, making the daiyokai pause.
After a long moment of silence he answered.
"What I want has to wait until Naraku is no longer a threat."
Inuyasha blinked, ears perking. Sesshomaru was being selfless? So much change happening at once with his brother that it was almost as if he was staring at someone else wearing his brother's face.
"Then afterwards?" Inuyasha asked.
"Ask me again when Naraku is gone." Sesshomaru wasn't going to reveal anything else. He continued his slow walk to the others.
After a minute to breathe and calm down, Inuyasha caught up to him. They remained silent as they approached the camp. Most of the others were awake. Rin rubbed her eyes before glancing up.
"Lord Sesshomaru! You're awake!" She greeted with a smile as she ran towards him.
"Rin." He addressed kindly.
That earned several eyes on him. He ignored them. However he couldn't ignore the rigorous tapping of Tenseiga, now violently thrashing on the ground. Everyone watched the sword now.
"What's going on with it?" Kagome asked.
Suddenly to answer her question someone landed in the middle of their camp. The noise and the shuddering ground startled everyone. Those who were asleep screamed in panic. All eyes turned to Totosai on top of his three eyed cow.
"Totosai!" Kagome blinked.
"Oho! I knew it was the Tessaiga that called out to me!" The master swordsmith laughed.
"Actually - " Inuyasha was about to say his sword wasn't the one when the Tenseiga flew straight into Totosai's chest. The old man almost fell off from the force.
"Wait, it was the Tenseiga!?" Totosai exclaimed as he studied the sword in his lap. He looked up at Sesshomaru, finally taking in his appearance.
"You mean to tell me you finally learned compassion?" Totosai was at a loss.
Everyone made a surprise noise as all eyes turned to Sesshomaru. His eyes narrowed at the old man.
"What does that have to do with anything in regards to the Tenseiga?"
"Well, it's to unlock its hidden power. In truth, there is one technique you should have learned before I'm supposed to reforge it. But I get the feeling you haven't figured it out?"
"What technique? All it does is save lives or pass the souls peacefully." Sesshomaru blinked, just as surprised as everyone else.
"That's not all the Tenseiga can do. I don't know if it is my right to tell, your father left clear instructions. But you skipped nearly three steps if the Tenseiga is calling out to me to be reforged." Totosai scratched his head. "Well, this is rather annoying. Either I give this back for you to learn the technique, or I take it with me and reforge it anyway."
"If you're not the one who was supposed to tell me, then who is?" Sesshomaru wondered.
"That would be your mother. So, may I ask what happened? I've never seen you this bloodied up before. Not even when it's a wound from Inuyasha."
At the inquiry Sesshomaru looked away. His eyes hardened to the normal cold expression they all knew. No one wanted to explain such a sensitive topic. So Totosai studied the blood pattern and the current way the brothers were standing.
For once Sesshomaru had his back to Inuyasha. And Inuyasha was behind him and to the side a few feet. Close enough to support Sesshomaru but far enough to give him space. And then considering the source area of the blood, there was only one conclusion.
"...You lost a child." Totosai concluded.
The icy glare made the blacksmith shiver. He supposed some things wouldn't change, even if Sesshomaru learned compassion. Well, this certainly dampened his mood. On the one hand, Sesshomaru finally learned the lesson his father had been trying for years to get through his head. However the cost of such a lesson was overly sad.
"Hmm. I suppose I should take this to reforge then. You can master the Meido Zangetsuha afterwards. I doubt that technique won't just disappear when I'm unlocking the Tenseiga's offensive abilities." Totosai concluded, feeling that this would be the best option.
"How long will the process take?" Sesshomaru asked, voice somewhat dropping the cold exterior.
"Well, it takes a full day to get back to my forge. Then it can range between three to five days to finish. So just to be on the safe side, I would say six days in total. Are you planning to be somewhere for me to drop it off or do you plan to drop by?"
"I'll claim it at the forge in six days time."
"Okay then that settles it. See you in six days. Oh, and Sesshomaru? You might want to visit your mother. Even though you skipped the steps required by your father, it would still be best to see her so she can explain the Meido Zangetsuha ability. I get the feeling you would cut me in half if I tried to explain."
"Don't you have a sword to reforge?" Sesshomaru eyed the blacksmith, who promptly flew off without another word.
"Sesshomaru, do you feel strong enough to travel? And do you wish us to escort you, or are you confident you'll be fine?" Miroku inquired bravely.
He considered for a moment. Sesshomaru knew he can handle himself just fine. However he wondered if Inuyasha should be scolded, Sesshomaru could already see it. And yet he couldn't help but feel a sense of selfishness. It had been years since he last seen her.
"I'll be fine." He made a point to gather Tokijin and placed it at his hip.
"If I may ask, what were your plans with Hinata if she...lived?" Kagome asked.
Sesshomaru didn't look at her as he answered. He didn't even know why he was bothering to explain. But when he began the words flowed through anyway.
"I tried everything short of ripping her out. He didn't mark me. I didn't want to raise a child born out of passion. And Naraku would have taken advantage of her, probably before she was even born. And yet I couldn't get rid of her. She proved to be just as stubborn as we were."
When he had come to realize that, Sesshomaru gave up trying. He accepted the fate of having a child. In a sense he actually began to anticipate welcoming the child. He often wondered on the gender and concluded it wouldn't matter.
"After she was born, I had planned to raise her with my mother at first. Then when she was old enough I would have allowed her to stay with Inuyasha if they so wished it." His words had everyone turning heads.
"You would allow co-parenting?" Kagome blinked.
"It's not like I could keep them separated. He would just barge into the castle and demand to help raise her if I tried to keep them away." His reasoning had merit. And they could actually picture that.
That is, if Hinata had actually been carried to full term.
Kenji was sent on behalf of his brother to take him back. Sesshomaru forced the emotions aside. He made a deal. So long as Kenji held up his end of the bargain then he shouldn't seek revenge.
"So that's what those teas were for." Kohaku recalled that strange phase. It was out of the blue, having never seen Sesshomaru drink or eat anything. And then as suddenly as Sesshomaru started, he stopped.
"So then you accepted the fact you would have a child. And then to have her ripped away from you..." Miroku couldn't fathom the loss.
He could only imagine. And there was no telling how deeply Sesshomaru felt, however it was enough to warrant such a drastic change. The Tenseiga was proof.
"Rin, get ready. We'll be leaving shortly. It shouldn't be too long. I was heading towards my mother in the first place." Sesshomaru had enough.
Although he changed his views, there was only so much he could tolerate. He reached for his armor and expertly placed it on. In the same instance Rin began gathering what little possessions she had.
"Can I say goodbye to Hinata before we go?" She asked.
"Do as you wish." He replied, checking over Ah-Un.
"Kohaku. Are you staying with them?" Sango asked her brother.
He glanced at Sesshomaru, who blatantly ignored the conversation. He was leaving it up to the boy to choose. And the boy understood.
"I'm staying with them. Besides, it's less crowded." Kohaku made his decision, referring to Inuyasha's constant attitude.
"...Okay. You take care. Here, take these." Sango handed him some extra food for their journey.
"Are you sure? I know how to hunt." Kohaku tilted his head.
"Just accept it. We can spare some food." She pressured.
"Thank you." Kohaku added the rations to their small pack.
"Kohaku! Would you like to come with me to say goodbye to Hinata?" Rin asked, having just finished her own packing.
"Yeah. Did you want to pick flowers for her grave?" He nodded, which she excitedly agreed.
As the morning nearly passed Sesshomaru and his pack were ready. He lead the way in an easy pace, one where Kohaku was leading the reins of Ah-Un. This left Rin on top of the two headed dragon, and Jaken walking beside it.
Kohaku and Rin waved goodbye to Inuyasha and his friends. Almost all of them waved back in return. Inuyasha watched his brother leaving with uncertainty in his heart.