A/N I do not own Inuyasha.
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Chapter 7
Sesshoumaru detested human blood. It's appearance, scent... It was all identical. The red, dense substance had been recalling moments of forlornness, leaving him bleak.
Naraku's tentacles of misfortune had reached his household, being dauntless enough to steal a precious thing from him, shattering his dreams of future and awaking a true monster in him.
Sesshoumaru's usual stoic composure had been swept away in an instant, as Rin's dead body had been reflected in his eyes, for the image had clouded his mind and heart completely.
A bursting fire had exploded, resulting in mass slaughters on random creatures, be it humans or demons. The thirst for blood had been going on incessantly for days, until he had encountered an opponent known to him, a subject of his, Tarou. After a fierce fight, the general had been able to bring the great lord to his senses, explaining to him what really had happened.
Sesshoumaru had been sure about the existence of a spy in his household, the assassination of the major part of his trusted, most reliable subordinates and advisers must have been arranged in some manner beforehand. Frankly, he had been ready to abandon the remaining followers and desert his ruined house for the sake of finding a worthy opponent to honourably end his life, for he could not have imagined living without his ray of joy, the deceased little Rin. Amazingly, seeing a familiar face had made him disregard all ridiculous ideas he had had before, allowing him to properly focus on the duties of the lord of the west.
Regarding Rin's death, he had sworn an oath to himself, to avenge the child.
In that arduous period of time, Sesshoumaru's mother had aided him greatly with troops and resources needed to reclaim what belonged to him. Her generosity was unusual, for she had been always avoiding prying in his affairs. The great demon had decided to resolve the issues while training the Rens' girl, her abilities could be crucial in achieving his objectives. His mother had been firmly insisting on enforcing Yuutsuki's duties towards their family. Bothersome as it was, he could not allow the girl's death or harm; his pride would not bear the disgrace of not keeping the conditions of the agreement.
Yuutsuki looked at her face reflecting in the blade of her old sword. There was an extensive, red scratch on her cheek. Washing it had made it better, but the girl was still worried about the scar that could develop afterwards. Her arm hurt with every movement, she had had troubles washing it before. Sesshoumaru had his eyes closed, but he was surely awake, probably deep in thought.
Standing nearby, she ran her tongue across dry lips, observing motionless Sesshoumaru resting against a tree.
Yuutsuki had been curious about what had made him so exhausted, yet had no courage to straightforwardly ask about it.
"Yuutsuki." The girl's heart thudded against her chest. He did not open his eyes, knowing she would listen carefully.
"Your training will be supervised by Ryou, the demon you met before." He said this in a calm voice, as a statement of fact. Since his mother had decided on the mentor, there was no possibility of the girl's death.
"I refuse."
"You cannot."
She stood quite still, her watery eyes staring down at the ground and her fists clenched.
"I will not train with him. He is bound to kill me in no time."
"Take a look at your ring."
Yuutsuki didn't see any point in it, however she obeyed. The silver ring was the same as always, three coloured jewels sparkled like dewdrops in the morning sunlight.
"Ryou's loyalty lies within my mother. My mother's father proposed the alliance between our families. Do not fear for your safety. Do not reject your duty."
She didn't share his opinion; her aching body was contradicting his words. Sesshoumaru's eyes kept closed, his head bent down, hair covering his face and arms loosely resting on the ground. He seemed tired, his voice weary and breathing quite loud and unstable.
Yuutsuki only now comprehended the situation clearly, her family's duty and responsibility.
Naturally, she could not refuse. Helping Kagome was undeniably her aim, albeit the double alliance was forcing her to do more, furthermore the main goal was to destroy Shikon no Tama, currently kept in Naraku's possession, in addition used for ill deeds. Yuutsuki's role was obvious, she felt ashamed it took her so long to figure it out. It was exactly how Sesshoumaru had said, regardless of her pride and self-respect, she had been a subject of his, a subject with a mission to fulfil.
She could not act as she normally would in her world. It was needed to adjust to this world's customs and patterns, so she could successfully finish her duty. The faster it was done, the more beneficial to all party.
Yuutsuki approached him closely and uttered his name, now with the respectable suffix.
"Sesshoumaru-sama."
The demon opened his eyes, still keeping his impenetrable expression. His breathing calmed down noticeably, yet he still avoided any unnecessary movement. Even in such position he looked mighty. Truly like a lord, who wouldn't bend to anyone.
Yuutsuki knelt on the ground, folding her legs underneath thighs, while resting her buttocks on her heels, hands modestly placed in the lap, the back straight. The girl had performed the traditional formal way of sitting.
"Your position is flawless, you were taught well." Sesshoumaru admitted indifferently.
"Thank You. If I may ask, who did you fight with?"
He frowned, not being sure what the girl's point was.
"That is none of your concern." There was no hesitation in his reply.
"Judging from your look and condition you did not resolve it. Do you intend to fight again?"
The demon's jaw tightened and his sharp, golden glance pierced Yuutsuki's dark eyes. He kept silent, clearly not delighted with her questions.
"If the enemy has a shard of Shikon no Tama, let me go with you." She pleaded, withstanding the intense glare.
"You are incapable of fighting. It's a battlefield, there are dozens of enemies."
"Tell me about the one who caused your current state."
"Persistent!" Sesshoumaru hissed out of anger, saying through his teeth.
"My presence is enough to nullify Shikon no Tama. All shards nearby would lose power."
Yuutsuki lowered her voice and focused her sight on the ground, unable to bear his glance anymore.
"I do not have much energy. If I use instant transportation, depending on the fight I might not be able to use it again to return."
The girl smiled. He finally listened to her!
"Tell me about the enemy…" Noticing his annoyed face, she quickly added: "If you please."
The expression did not change, but he did answer her.
"A Naraku´s reincarnation with 5 shards, along with forty strong demons."
The demon got up and stretched his arm towards her.
"Are you ready?"
Yuutsuki nodded and stood up, grabbing his hand. In a second she saw the familiar light of energy accompanying the transportation.
When they arrived, the view left the girl speechless. The area was filled with an ominous aura, loud screams from the last ones still in battle were echoing in the air. Broken weapons and pieces of armour had taken the place that previously had belonged to flowers and plants which embezzled the ground, now tainted with blood. The wind carried the rotten smell of the innumerable amount of dead bodies in the area. She stared at Sesshoumaru aghast, as the great lord of the west stood unfazed by the scenery, an expression of one that had seen much death.
"I am reclaiming my lands, sacrifices need to be done. Watch your back, there are enemies left."
"I should get closer to Naraku's reincarnation."
Yuutsuki was frightened, her hands were trembling, honestly she just wanted to do her part and leave that place. Blood was spread everywhere, torn apart corpses, and inners lying around making the girl nauseous.
Unlike Kagome, Yuutsuki could not sense shards of Shikon no Tama, but due to his heightened senses, in particular the smell, the demon knew well where his foe was. He was striding confidently, his posture dignified whilst entirely prepared to attack. The appearance itself repelled the enemy successfully, thus an image of Sesshoumaru killing somebody was still unknown to her.
He only stopped when they reached an enormous, not smaller than four meters tall creature, with five hunchbacked, human-like shapes without limbs. The body of the demon had similar consistence to a snake, fully scaled in a greasy, transparent substance. The hunchbacked shapes were moving like an octopus's tentacles, all of them in the same way, making the creature even more disgusting.
Yuutsuki felt a familiar sensation, warmth around the silver ring, soon after the three jewels aligned and she already knew: the shards had been nullified.
The foe's power dropped significantly, its shape and size became scrawny as the shards changed into stones, losing their shine.
Using the element of surprise, for the enemy had no idea what had happened, Sesshoumaru set off like an arrow, taking out the same sword Yuutsuki owned and slashed the beast in half, drawing out a furious scream of it.
In the same time the ring returned to its regular shape, and the girl fell on her knees. Nullifying the shards had always consumed a lot of energy, so obviously five at the same time had provoked a great exhaustion to her already injured body.
The creature's body reunited, still able to fight, albeit weakened. The dog demon did not foresee a rapid counterattack, but his astonishing reflexes allowed him to evade it effortlessly.
"As expected of Naraku's reincarnation." Sesshoumaru growled at the unexpected turn of events.
He took out another sword, started to wave it in the air and screamed:
"Soryuha!" Several thunders stroke from the sky, creating a blue, dragon shaped energy that swayed towards the enemy in an instant. Yuutsuki observed the fight in agape, marvelling how powerful Sesshoumaru was.
The attack was partly avoided, but the creature's movements and speed had changed completely, unable to match up with Sesshoumaru's power anymore. Its death was imminent.
The great dog demon was about to finish the beast's life, when a glowing barrier separated it from his venomous claws and the creature vanished along with the other enemies around them.
Sesshoumaru picked up the nullified shards swiftly, and approached Yuutsuki.
"I cannot turn them back, I am sorry if I disappointed you."
The girl had assumed that the great demon desired the shards for himself, seeking power even greater than his.
"I have no interest in it. I only rely on my sword to accompany me."
Yuutsuki was confounded by her previous assumption, so much that she didn't dare to meet the golden eyes.
"Hold on to these." He forced the shards in her hand and yelled very loudly to the space.
"Soldiers, to me!"
In a blink of an eye a group of four demons appeared around Sesshoumaru, all of them kneeling with their heads down.
"There are no enemies left in the area, Sesshoumaru-sama." Yuutsuki recognized Tarou's characteristic tone of voice.
"Tarou, join the other squads, but leave somebody watching over the place until we enforce the borders."
"Yes, my lord!"
They scattered around, leaving the dog demon and the wounded girl alone on the battlefield.
"You look adversely."
Yuutsuki cast a questioning look at him, being uncertain of his words' meaning.
"Your face is pale and your garment is tainted with blood."
He kept looking at her from above. The girl had other outfits left with Inuyasha and the rest, but presently she had no way of retrieving it.
"Nullifying drains out my energy, in addition the landscape makes me nauseous."
Sesshoumaru touched her shoulder slightly and they both disappeared in a sphere of energy.
Yuutsuki was walking among the trees for ten minutes already, but there was no trace of Kagome yet. The sun had already set, and in the air there was a blue, smoky glow of early winter evening.
Sesshoumaru had left her in hot springs, allowing her to refresh herself and thoroughly clean the wounds. Later he had entrusted her with Tenseiga, for her to convalesce before the following day's training with Ryou, although he had clarified he would retrieve it shortly.
Finally, he had instructed her to go back to Kagome, giving her specified directions to the group's location. They were to be in a village, probably exterminating a demon in exchange of food and shelter.
Suddenly Yuutsuki sensed powerful energy, but it vanished a moment afterwards, leaving her under the impression that she had imagined it.
It started to rain, so the girl quickened her pace, hoping to avoid the icy pouring as much as possible.
After approximately a minute, she reached the village, noticing inhospitable stares of its habitants. Her clothing was rather peculiar, moreover it was all dingy and covered in blood. Yuutsuki's eyes were scanning in vain the vicinity for any signs of Kagome.
She decided to ask in a nearby shrine and it couldn't have been more of a correct decision. Inside she was informed in which house they had been staying.
She hesitated before knocking, remembering the last time they had talked. The atmosphere between them had been acrid, mainly because of Sesshoumaru's violent attack. In retrospect she had to reluctantly concede some of her words too harsh, nevertheless her personality overly driven by pride would not allow her to apologise for it.
Yuutsuki knocked twice, awaiting a response.
She heard steps advancing towards the door and just afterwards she was facing Miroku's radiant smile, which disappeared quickly, upon noticing the wound on her face.
"Yuutsuki! Come in."
The monk let her through, closing the door with a fast movement, preventing the cold form getting inside the modest hut. Kagome, Sango and Inuyasha were sitting by a fire, all of them shocked, probably by the state of her clothing and face.
Yuutsuki noticed her backpack in the corner of the room, luckily they had brought it with them.
"What an awful face, did Sesshoumaru beat you up?" Inuyasha asked curiously, with a dumb expression.
"Yuu-chan, you are covered in blood, what happened?" Sango seemed equivalently curious. She got up, putting her hand on Yuutsuki's shoulder in a comforting manner.
"I will be fine in no time, thank you for your concern." She smiled and sat down next to Kagome, reaching for her pocket.
"Kagome, I have something for you." The younger girl looked at her with visible concern in the eyes.
Yuutsuki grabbed Kagome's hand and put the nullified shards on the girl's palm. They immediately flared with the usual, bright violet sparkle, for they had returned to normal.
"Five shards! That's more than what we have now! Yuu-chan, thank you so much!" Kagome hugged the girl tightly, causing pain in her wounded arm.
"Five?" Inuyasha yelled in disbelief, taking a thorough look at the shards, as if making sure they were real. Miroku said just afterwards:
"I hope you didn't get injured while collecting these. Five shards in one day, that's something impressive. How did you manage that? And how did you find us?"
Yuutsuki got warmer, so she decided to take off her coat.
"Sesshoumaru gave them to me, knowing I would bring the shards to Kagome. He even told me your location."
"Sesshoumaru did? That's unexpected." Sango couldn't believe the words. Her beautiful eyes widened in surprise.
"Indeed, seems like we weren't right in our judgement…" Miroku accompanied her.
"Isn't this Tenseiga?" Kagome interrupted the topic. Everyone looked towards Yuutsuki's hip, confirming Kagome's suspicion. Completely puzzled by the fact, Inuyasha asked:
"Why do you have my father's sword?"
"My training starts tomorrow and I need to recover fast. This sword seems to accelerate the process."
"You are saying that Sesshoumaru allowed you to use HIS sword?" Inuyasha's eyes resembled two large, golden buttons.
"Do not get me wrong, as soon as I recover I am to return it."
"I can't belie…"
The monk interrupted Inuyasha's complaining:
"Tenseiga is a demon sword. Does the ring enable you to use any demon sword?" Miroku seemed to be deep in thought, rubbing his chin constantly.
"That's correct, Miroku. Maybe I could even use Inuyasha's sword." She giggled.
"Not happenin'!" Inuyasha replied and everyone burst in laugh.
Within an hour everyone had already eaten and Yuutsuki had changed to clean clothing. Sango had asked her to accompany her to the town's representative to thank him for the hospitality. Later on Sango picked up herbs for Yuutsuki's wounds, claiming that there would be no trace left on her cheek by the next day.
On their way back the girls rushed to the hut as fast as possible, because the darkness was coming on. That afternoon's rain had chilled the air, so that the evening was bleak and gloomy. There were no stars in the sky, and a light, icy drizzle had set in.
To their surprise, there was another person inside the hut.
A young woman in a formal, white kimono, flower patterned, mostly on the bottom and the left side of the garment. Her eyes were dark like a moonless night, matching the thin, black hair barely reaching her shoulders.
"Sango, Yuutsuki, we have a visitor." Inuyasha didn't seem pleased. The girls sat down, constantly ogling the stranger.
"Excuse my rudeness, which of you is Yuutsuki?" A high-pitched voice broke through silence.
Yuutsuki couldn't believe it actually had come from the newcomer's thick lips, for the voice was worthy of a young child.
"What's your business with me?" Yuutsuki threw her a daring glare.
"Nice to meet you. I am Ren Oka. On behalf of my clan, please take me to Sesshoumaru-sama. "
While saying that, she had made sure that everyone noticed her valuable earrings.
"Another Ren? Why do you wanna see Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha spoke wearily, yawning.
Oka ignored the half demon completely, making him evidently angry.
"Why would I take you to him?"
"That is only for Sesshoumaru-sama's ears." Her hands along with red, painted nails covered her cheeks, as if she had said something extremely embarrassing.
"I cannot fulfil your request. I simply do not know where he is." Yuutsuki disliked everything about her, the behaviour, appearance and voice. There was something devious about her, not allowing her to cause positive feelings. Maybe it was the fact, that Oka's eyes were focused only on her ring, making Yuutsuki suspicious about her reasons, and doubting her sincerity.
"Yuu-chan, isn't she from your clan. For sure she means no harm. Just introduce her when Sesshoumaru comes…" Kagome expressed her concern.
"Keh, he won't care to see her. I wouldn't." Yuutsuki really liked Inuyasha's comment, she shared his opinion.
"No way…" Oka became depressed, and apparently Sango felt bad for her, because she comforted her saying:
"We will see when he comes. Yuutsuki, didn't you say you are meeting him tomorrow?"
"If he comes, that is." Sesshoumaru had said he would come, however teasing the snob girl was tempting.
Sango and Kagome proposed Oka to stay the night with them, to which she agreed happily, without any hesitation.
Everybody was already asleep for some time, nevertheless Yuutsuki was awake, she couldn't help but wonder about the situation. She decided to take a walk, to tire herself out.
The night was silent, not a living soul was outside, and the moon still shone with a soft, clear light.
She was strolling for around fifteen minutes, but the bitter cold forced her to think about returning to the hut soon.
"Wait!"
The Rens' girl was running towards her, surprisingly, very swiftly. Yuutsuki decided to ignore the call and kept advancing into the forest.
"I order you to wait!" The squeaky voice cried for the second time.
Yuutsuki did stop walking, not because of the cheeky girl's demands though. She felt the well-known sensation on her finger. There happened to be a shard nearby, about to be nullified. If the trace of it was to vanish, that piece of jewel could be lost forever, for once it transformed into a stone, nobody could sense it anymore.
Deciding on her actions was quite problematic, since she couldn't sense the jewel, she wasn't able to localize the individual with the shard. She could pull off and call Kagome, but there was a probability of the shard approaching from behind. On the other hand it could be a powerful demon, fronting it unaided would be imprudent.
"Finally! Couldn't you hear me calling? You are going to meet Sesshoumaru-sama, aren't you?" Oka was completely unaware of the situation, making Yuutsuki envious of her recklessness, for she sensed quite a powerful demon slowly approaching their location. A fight was unavoidable, the three jewels of the ring aligned. Yuutsuki had seconds to find the demon. And suddenly she caught the sight of it. A pair of bloody red eyes was looking at her, a large ox with messy hair and blue skin moved in their direction.
"If you can't fight, back off! NOW!" She screamed to terrified Oka and ran towards the enemy, firmly holding her sword. The girl noticed the shard, still in the ox's forehead, however already nullified. To retrieve it the demon had to die, it was a rough task though. The ox not only possessed horns, but as well an iron club. The best approach was to attack from behind.
Realising what was happening, Oka screamed fearfully, still standing in the same spot as before. The yell caught the ox's attention, it changed the course, omitting Yuutsuki and going straight for the panicked girl.
It was impossible to stop the ox, a human was going to die in front of Yuutsuki's eyes. The knowledge crept into her brain, it felt like a thunder rattling her bones, clogging her lungs. A great rage took over her, she wished for power, no, for a boundless power to prevent the death.
Yuutsuki ran fast, fast as never before. The ring had responded to her plea, allowing her to stand behind the enemy just before it took a swing at Oka.
The girl pierced the ox with the Rens' sword, splashing its blood on Oka's snow white garment, making her yelp even louder.
Briefly afterwards a sacred arrow hit the ox in the arm, making its body transform into dust, only leaving the nullified shard behind.
Kagome and Inuyasha had arrived. The half demon picked up the shard from a pile of ash that once had been the blue ox, and as well friendly tapped Yuutsuki's shoulder with a smile.
"Good work. You saved her."
"My clothes!" Oka's eyes were filled with tears, and her usual high voice was even higher.
"What do you mean?" Kagome approached her, checking for injuries.
"How will I greet Sesshoumaru-sama now?" Her trembling hands were smudging the still hot blood on her kimono. She placed her furious glare at Yuutsuki and screamed while pushing Kagome away.
"It's your fault!"
Inuyasha, Kagome and Yuutsuki were stunned. Nobody had suspected her of such vanity.
"Shut up woman!" Inuyasha growled dangerously as Kagome shook her head in disbelief.
"Well… If dirty clothes are worse for you than being a mere smear of blood and guts against the grass, I should have let you die." Yuutsuki gave Oka a disdainful glance.
"I'd rather die than disgrace myself in front of Sesshoumaru-sama!"
"I guess this is called being haughty…" Kagome commented Oka's statement.
"Yea, her attitude is naughty…" Inuyasha nodded all serious.
"Inuyasha not naughty, but haughty… It means to be blatantly proud…" They both stared to walk away. Inuyasha put his arm around Kagome's waist, hugging her tightly.
"AGRH… dammit, hard words!"
Yuutsuki laughed and followed them, leaving Oka behind.
She looked at her bloodied arms and laughed quietly.
"A mere smear of blood and guts?" Oka smiled widely, as if she had heard a very pleasant thing. "That's how you might look after Ryou's training…"
The moon made dim, twisted shadows of trees, as her angry gaze focused on the vanishing figures of Yuutsuki, Kagome and Inuyasha.