Sesshomaru's detour had proven itself to be a disappointment. He had found the source of Hotaru's uneasiness quickly enough. A child with no eyes had appeared shortly after Sesshomaru left the others behind. The strange specter had promised to reveal the secrets of the Meido Zangetsuha to Sesshomaru. Instead, he brought Sesshomaru to another one of his father's old enemies. The man had introduced himself, but Sesshomaru had not found him worthy of committing a name to memory.
The demon was strong, to be sure. Sesshomaru even had to acknowledge that he had the more powerful Meido. However, all he seemed interested in was complaining about how his technique was stolen. Sesshomaru had no interest in rehashing the past. In the end, Sesshomaru had to admit that he would learn nothing from this man.
The man still had the superior Meido, so Sesshomaru ended up ripping his head off with his claws. The whole excursion had been a profound nuisance.
When the man was dead, Sesshomaru looked at his body in disdain. Disgusted by the waste of time. He would discover the secrets of the Meido Zangetsuha on his own. He did not need some second rate demon to reveal them to him.
Sesshomaru returned to where he had left Jaken with the children. It was getting dark. Sesshomaru's annoyance only grew when he realised an entire day had been wasted. His wards would surely be sleeping by now. He followed their scent until it changed. He paused to double check. It was faint and distant, but he could pick up the scent of blood, mingled with the scent of Naraku.
He sped up. He had left them behind to keep Rin out of danger. After their ordeal in the underworld, he had tried to be more careful with her. Had that been a mistake? As the scent got stronger, he realised that it was not Rin's blood he was smelling. It was Hotaru's.
Sesshomaru arrived at a lake. It was clear they had spent a good deal of time there. Their scent was strong and spread out. The ground was littered with braided flower crowns, just like the kind Rin had recently learned how to make. There were ashes from a fire that had gone cold several hours ago. There was also a patch of grass that was stained the rusty brown color of dried blood. Naraku's scent overpowered all the others.
From the clearing, it was easy to track the route that they had taken. Naraku left a putrid trail of decay to follow. He must have chased the children for miles.
I shouldn't have left them alone. Sesshomaru thought angrily. I should have suspected Naraku would target them when I was away.
Perhaps it had been a mistake to allow Hotaru and Kohaku to travel with him. Hotaru had proven herself competent and powerful. He had assumed she would be able to protect Rin better than Jaken could. He had not considered the added dangers of leaving Rin in such close proximity to a shard of the shikon jewel.
It was too late for regret. He had accepted the two new children into his pack. Now any threats against them was an act of aggression towards him and must be treated as such.
The moon shone down as he followed the trail into a forest. The destruction increased exponentially.
Has Naraku's power increased this much? Or is this the girl's doing?
The scent of blood grew stronger again. There was more of it, much more, and the scent was much fresher. Sesshomaru picked up another familiar scent as well, his brother. Irritation twinged within him. Inuyasha always had a habit of showing up where he was not wanted.
Finally, Sesshomaru arrived at a clearing. His brother's little band of misfits were sleeping around the low burning coals of a fire. Rin was curled up with the little fox-demon next to A-Un. Jaken was asleep on A-Un's back. Hotaru and Kohaku were asleep a few feet away. Sesshomaru approached them first.
The girl still smelled strongly of dried blood and miasma. Judging by the stain on her kimono, she had been injured quite badly, but her chest was rising and falling steadily. Kohaku was curled protectively around her, he appeared to be uninjured, other than the stink of Naraku's corruption that clung to him.
Sesshomaru checked on Rin. She was sleeping perfectly peacefully. Jaken was sleeping peacefully as well. Sesshomaru scowled. Even if the children had all survived whatever had transpired in Sesshomaru's absence, they had still been injured. Someone would have to be punished for his negligence.
Hotaru woke the next morning and noticed two things right away. First, Lord Sesshomaru had arrived at some point in the night. Second, Jaken's face had been beaten into a bloody pulp.
"Jaken?" Hotaru asked, unsure whether or not the tiny demon was even conscious. His head resembled a pomegranate that had been squashed.
There was a cry of fear and panic. Jaken started bowing profusely to Hotaru.
"I am most relieved to see you have recovered, Hotaru! Please, forgive me for not adequately fulfilling my role as your protector! I swear to you it will never happen again!"
Hotaru blinked a few times to fully process what was going on. Lord Sesshomaru clearly hadn't made an empty threat yesterday. She briefly wondered if Jaken had only survived his beating because she had survived the attack. Hotaru couldn't help feeling guilty. She didn't like Jaken, but her injury was not his fault. She reached out and touched his face; he flinched away. Her hand glowed with healing energy and his face slowly shifted back into its proper shape. The bloody lesions on his skin shrank and vanished.
She looked at Lord Sesshomaru, he raised an eyebrow. He appeared to be more curious about Hotaru's mercy than angry that she undermined his punishment.
"When the fight broke out, I told Jaken to take Rin and escape." Hotaru explained. "He was protecting her, as he should have been."
Lord Sesshomaru seemed to accept this without any further discussion. Jaken started bowing even more frantically.
"Oh, thank you! You are too forgiving! I am indebted to you!"
"Okay, stop." Hotaru said. She did not like this change in character. She had grown quite used to their relationship of mutual enmity. "Can we just move on and never talk about this again?"
"Agreed."
By now, the noise they were making began to wake the others.
"What the hell is all that racket?" Inuyasha's voice grumbled.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin cried out, jumping up from next to A-Un, "You've returned!"
"Oh, look who finally decided to show up." Inuyasha said.
Lord Sesshomaru's face, which had softened slightly as Rin ran over to him, hardened immediately at Inuyasha's comment.
"So, what's up, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha sneered. "I see you added some new kids to your collection."
"Who I allow to travel with me is of no concern to you." responded Lord Sesshomaru, coldly.
"It is when you leave them in the woods and we have to come save their asses."
By now everyone was awake. Sango hurried over to Hotaru and Kohaku.
"You're awake." Sango said, she blinked several times as if she couldn't believe her eyes. "You shouldn't be sitting up!"
"I'm fine. I heal fast." Hotaru replied simply. She wondered what all had transpired after she had fallen unconscious yesterday.
Sango stared at her, dumbfounded. Hotaru was more interested in what was going on between Inuyasha and Lord Sesshomaru. She wondered how they knew each other and where their hostility came from.
Sango proceeded to tend to Hotaru anyways. The older girl went to change the bandages wrapped around Hotaru's torso, only to find that what had been a gaping hole in the flesh yesterday was now nothing more than a particularly tender bruise. Hotaru pulled her kimono closed self consciously. Sango didn't ask any questions, though Hotaru could see about a million of them in her eyes.
"I will give you one warning. Do not meddle in what does not concern you." Lord Sesshomaru told Inuyasha.
"Riiight, next time Rin comes running to us for help, we'll be sure to send her right back to Naraku."
Inuyasha had overstepped, and the reaction was instantaneous. Lord Sesshomaru moved so quickly that Hotaru missed the details of what had happened. Suddenly swords were drawn and the two demons had their blades locked together in the middle of the clearing.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted. Jaken quickly pulled Rin well away from the confrontation.
"Hmp," Inuyasha smirked, "touched a nerve?"
"Do not mistake my restraint from killing you as a lack of ability."
"Yeah right, why don't you shut up before I cut off your other arm."
"Stop this! Both of you!" Kagome shouted. She got between the two demons and forced them away from each other. She was either exceptionally confident or exceptionally stupid.
They both jumped back. Inuyasha sheathed his sword. Lord Sesshomaru did not.
"Sesshomaru, please understand." Kagome said. "Kohaku is Sango's brother. We just want to be sure he's safe."
Lord Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed, finally he put his sword away.
"I'm not a nursemaid. If the boy follows me, it is because he chooses to. I allow it so long as he stays out of my way. What happens to him beyond that is not my concern. Same goes for the girl."
Jaken's face this morning might have begged to differ. Hotaru thought.
Lord Sesshomaru turned and began to walk away. "Stay with your sister or follow me." He said to Kohaku. "I do not care."
Rin started to follow, but paused to look at Hotaru and Kohaku. Kohaku stood, prompting Hotaru to do the same.
"Kohaku," Sango said. "Please, stay with us. We can protect you."
"I know you can." Kohaku replied. He wouldn't meet her eye. "I'll see you around, Sister."
He and Hotaru went to follow Lord Sesshomaru.
"Kohaku, wait!" pleaded Sango.
"I'm sure we'll run into each other again soon." He said. "I love you."
Sango looked like she wanted to chase after them, but she decided against it. As they left the clearing, Hotaru could see the older demon slayer was devastated. Kagome had hurried over to comfort her. Kohaku looked miserable as well. His head was down and his shoulders hunched. His whole face was obscured by a mask of shame as he hurried away from his sister.
Author's Note: Hey everybody, I hope you're still enjoying it. I loved writing from Sesshomaru's perspective. Thank you to everyone who's read this far, thank you for all the favorites and reviews. It honestly means so much to me. Stay safe.