I Do Not Own InuYasha
Aienkien
合縁奇縁
A couple strangely but happily united;
Uncanny relationship formed by a quirk of Fate;
The mysteries of attraction and relationships or bonds between people
II: 36
Year 1308...
Tsuzuki Castle...
Rin was stunned when she woke again and found herself alone, though there was a neat pile of clothes for her in a basket at the edge of the futon, there was a breakfast tray as well, and she looked around for Sesshōmaru. There was a small slip of parchment where he had been sleeping with a short note; war council meeting. Smiling at what he left for her she slowly got up and twisted her hair into a long knot, slipping a tail through before stabbing it with a cleaned hairpin that Kimi had given her, as she sat down at her breakfast. The meal was simple, but it was filling, which was good because she didn't realize how hungry she was. Getting up she got dressed before she dared to leave Sesshōmaru's quarters.
"Rin!" she blinked as she walked out of there to see Tōga waiting for her near Sesshōmaru's private library in her time.
"Tōga," she blinked.
"How are you?" he demanded walking up to her, his hands slid over her arms as his eyes traced over her carefully.
"I'm fine," she said even as he lifted her heavily bruised wrist. "It's not broken," she said as she pulled it away from him.
"Thank Kami," he sighed as he traced his nose over her brow like Kimi had done when she was a child and been hurt.
"I'm fine," she promised. She still felt horrible about killing Muhai, but she was defending herself and she would not dwell on his choices that made her react in a violet matter.
"Rin," he started.
"I will be fine," she promised again. She would survive this, she had protected herself and that was all that mattered to her and Sesshōmaru. Besides, her lord hadn't looked at her any differently than he had before, he had not looked at her with disgust or horror, so she was certain she could survive having actually taking a life.
"Good," he said.
"I'm going to get supplies for Honekui no Ido and leave tonight," she said as she walked past him.
"Sesshōmaru will not like this," he said catching her arm.
"I'm doing this to save Sesshōmaru so he will understand," she said levelly. One day, when she was done saving him, she would tell him what she had been doing and she was certain he would forgive her for everything. She could live with him being mad at her, but she wouldn't survive his death. Rin had known that the moment Magatsuhi had stabbed him in the chest, her world had shattered for a minute when she had thought him dead for real.
"Rin," he started.
"Where is Sesshōmaru?"
"War council with Shikoku and a few other of my generals," he said honestly.
"Where?"
"North west wing," he answered.
"Thank you, I'm going to go speak with Sesshōmaru now.
"That's not wise without him escorting you," he said.
"Tōga," she turned on him then. "You can escort me if it is such a problem for me to walk alone, but I'm going to go speak with Sesshōmaru."
"Very well," he sighed.
Year 1581...
Edo, Japan...
Sesshōmaru leaned against the well as he watched the dark evil disperse from the sky and the forest as the miasma dispersed. Grunting at the exerted efforts he had just taken, which had him grunting while he knelt beside the well.
Fuck!
There was a problem, but he didn't know what sort of problem had just emerged from this accursed well and what it meant for his mate. There was suddenly a new being with him which had him looking up as Fǔ Yáng appeared, his nine tails swishing about as he walked into the clearing.
"You are late," he said.
"I have reasons," the kitsune answered.
"What exactly happened?" he demanded sitting on the lip of the well. "Magatsuhi and Naohi were sealed in here when that damn jewel was destroyed."
"Do you really want to know?" Fǔ Yáng asked.
Sesshōmaru lifted a brow in annoyance as he assessed the fox. He recognized some of the features, though age had changed the fox he could recognize who he was seeing.
"Because you can't seal things like Magatsuhi and Naohi," Shikoku's voice said which had him looking past Fǔ Yáng to his grandfather.
"You can't?" the kitsune sputtered.
"I thought you were leaving," Sesshōmaru said pointedly, which his grandfather ignored.
"Midoriko was playing with forces that she did not understand, same with that miko who sealed the spirits in the well, Magatsuhi and Naohi are not mere spirits, they are forces of life," Shikoku explained. The Honekui no Ido could never contain them if it wanted to, for that is not the purpose nor the design of this well."
"And what is the purpose of this accursed well?" Sesshōmaru asked.
"To be honest, I don't know," he admitted. "It was a gift from Emperor Tiāngǒu for my daughter's mating of their son, and heir. Tōga was the one to discard it, though what it was I do not know only that it came here, and it started creating problems. When Tōga finally located the damn hole this well is from, he erected the well around it and made a guard. I have never known what this is or what it should do, merely that it has created more heartache and trouble than it is worth."
"When did Tōga come to Japan?" Sesshōmaru asked. He had never learned his father's personal history, never finding it of importance to him. Tōga and he had had a complicated.
"Around the same time as the Yayoi people," Shikoku answered. "He is was a the first; he said he was a place called Qi."
Sesshōmaru nodded as he stood up. "Very well, I will speak with the links I have," he growled.
"You could always speak to your father's people," Shikoku said. Sesshōmaru didn't answer this as he walked away from the well, he was reluctant to leave, but if Magatsuhi had been released other, more dangerous beings could also be released. The humans had put thousands of yōkai in that well, and there was the matter of he didn't know what that well actually was.
Kagome was stunned when she saw Shippō appear dragging Kohaku accompanied by a person who looked like Hiten.
"Shippō!?" she shouted.
"Go speak with her, I will take him," the other yōkai said.
"Thank Kami you are safe!" Shippō shouted as he jogged over to her and her children. She found herself wrapped up in a tight hug as Shippō scented her hair like a nervous child; he had done this occasionally as a child.
"What is going on?" she asked as he pulled away.
"Where are you taking Kohaku?" Sango appeared.
"Kohaku merged with Magatsuhi, Sesshōmaru separated them using Tenseiga," he explained. "Sōten is taking Kohaku to the dugeons."
"NANI!?" Sango shrieked as she tried to hand off her baby to him to take after Kohaku but Shippō caught her arm.
"No, you don't want to do that," he promised.
Suddenly there was a pulse of energy as Sesshōmaru materialized and stalked after Sōten and Kohaku.
"Sesshōmaru-sama!" Sango shouted.
Sesshōmaru waved his hand dismissively as he walked up to the giant palace, guards and people were moving out of his way, bowing, giving greetings, and praises as he walked. Kagome was startled at the reverence for which people acted for Sesshōmaru's return as he moved up the steps of the Castle.
"Let me go I have to go speak to Kohaku!" Sango said.
"You don't want to get involved with this, Sango," Shippō said firmly.
"He's just a boy Shippō!" she started.
"By human standards and yōkai he's of mating age which makes him an adult, he is also supporting himself as a taijiya which makes him independent, he will be accountable for this," Shippō stated firmly.
"But!" she started.
"He will be accountable for this, especially because he released Magatsuhi, though we don't know what happened," Shippō said.
"And you think Sesshōmaru will be fair to him!?" Sango shrieked.
"Hai, I do," he admitted.
Kagome was inclined to agree; Sesshōmaru seemed reasonable and fair, or he had been in the last eight years from what she had heard. She doubted that Sesshōmaru would kill Kohaku outright unless Kohaku did something truly offensive to Rin or said something; so she didn't think Kohaku to be in immediate danger. If anything, Kohaku loved Rin a little too much to do something intentional to harm her, but if Magatsuhi had changed that Kagome didn't think Kohaku's prospects looked good.
"Why!?" Sango sobbed.
"Let's go sit, rest we're still learning what's going on. And Ren and Mitsuru need you," Kagome said collecting Sango from Shippō. Shippō nodded to her before he jogged after Sesshōmaru.
"I knew, I knew he was too soft, too sweet," Sango whispered. "He's not meant to be a taijiya!" she sobbed as she struggled to stay upright. Kagome got them back to their seat and they sat with the four babies. And Sango's other children playing with the village kids to keep them calm.
Tsuzuki Castle...
Walking through the inuyōkai territory he walked up to Tsuzuki Castle, stalking through it as he tracked down InuYasha and that monk. He found them in his mother's gardens.
"What did your mate and you do to Magatsuhi?" he demanded sharply, which had both Miroku and InuYasha's heads swivelling to him.
"No greeting for your beloved mother?" Kimi pouted, he snarled loudly. InuYasha's ears flattened on his head, and Kimi reassessing him seriously.
"Magatsuhi!" he snapped.
"We… they were trying to make Kagome make a wish," he explained. "We were, I don't know where, but we were separated and trapped in eternal darkness. It was… there were a lot of demons, and I couldn't get to Kagome. Tetsusaiga pulsed, and I followed it, eventually I found Kagome, Magatsuhi was pressuring her to make a wish and she wouldn't, she kept saying that I was coming, so when I did that, that was when she made her wish. She wished the Shikon no Tama would disappear."
"That was the exact wish?" Sesshōmaru demanded. He wanted to know what exactly the wish was and why Magatsuhi and Naohi were in that well. But to know that he would have to know exactly what was wished for.
"Hai, 'Shikon no Tama disappear!', she shouted it loudly."
"If I ask her she had better have the same answer," he warned seriously. His wounds were aching and the fight with Magatsuhi had been enough to aggravate what receeding Rin had managed of the curse with Kagome's aid.
"What is this about, Sesshōmaru?" his mother asked.
"Ask grandfather, he should be here soon," he stated as he left them in the gardens to go find InuYasha's miko. He followed the out of place spiritual aura in this castle and found her near the entrance of the castle in the public park his people had made for the pups to play. The overwhelming human stench annoyed his nose but he ignored them as he went through the crowd and saw the miko hugging the taijiya who was sobbing hysterically.
"Sesshōmaru-sama!" the taijiya came rushing to him, throwing herself at his feet. "I beg for leniency on…" she sobbed.
"Enough," he stated. "For now the brat lives, miko," he motioned for her to follow him, he left a stunned taijiya behind as he led the miko to a more private part of the park.
"What is it? What's going on? What is this about Magatsuhi!?" she started.
"Silence," he cut her off. "When you destroyed the Shikon no Tama what was your exact wish?" he demanded.
"I…" she stammered as he loomed over her. "I… why?"
"The wish?" he reiterated.
"I wished for the Shikon no Tama to disappear," she said. He frowned as he left her then to go to the dungeons. Sesshōmaru paused when he made it into Tsuzuki Castle and paused as his body trembled with the weakness the wounds were inflicting, it felt like a thousand iron bands were tightening around his body, squeezing the air and life out of him which had him growling lowly.
"My lord!?" Sōten appeared, he growled when she got too close to him.
"Nani?" he demanded.
"Jaken-dono is watching the prisoner," she said.
"Where did you put him?"
"East prisons," she replied.
He nodded as he left her to go speak to Kohaku.
Year 1308...
Tsuzuki Castle...
It was late evening when Rin saw Sesshōmaru appear with a small bundle. Rin looked at several garments, and a container of food. Sesshōmaru set it down.
"Arigato," she murmured.
"You will be wearing the armor," he warned.
"But…" she started.
"It's been cleaned," he said as it seemed to materialize from no where else. Which was startling. Rin looked over the armor, it was meticulously clean, which she found comforting. Before she could protest he was putting it on her, with care.
"Arigato, my lord," she said. Sesshōmaru nodded as he finished securing the arm bands. She smiled as she played with the pearl. "Normally this is the other way around," she said softly.
"Rin," he sighed as he tied the sash.
"I've seen you off to war," she pointed out. "I'll be safe," she promised.
"Hai, you will," he agreed as he finished securing Bakusaiga to her before putting her kaiken in her hand. She put it in her sleeve, and she smiled as they walked out of there.
"I'm ready!" she decided confidently as she let him collect her and they went darting through the air towards the well. She was surprised when they landed there and the sun had set as the stars were starting to emerge. She bit her lip as she neared the well.
"You don't have to go," he pointed out.
"Hai, I do," she whispered, her pearl was heating up under the armor and clothing, she was uneasy with it as she looked between the well and back to him. "I can't fail my lord," she said.
He nodded.
"I'll be back before you know it," she smiled.
He nodded before he spun her back to him and his mouth was crashing down on hers as his claws tangled in her hair and he pulled her closer, her body arched up against his as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her fingers tangling in his hair. Sesshōmaru kissed her like it was the last time, which had her kissing him back with just as much reverence. She enjoyed it as she hummed in delight before his claws traced down her neck to her mark, which made it feel like there was lightning racing through her veins. He pulled away, nipping her bottom lip as he pulled away as his nose traced hers.
"Stay safe," Rin murmured as she traced his stripes before she darted towards the well and leapt down it before she lost her nerve, she felt it engulfing her as brilliant lights around her.
Tōga watched Rin leap down the well before he darted to Setsuna, he saw Izayoi standing on her engawa.
"Rin is fine, she just left," he said landing beside her which had her jolting as she spun on him, her dark eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Where did she go?"
"Whenever she belongs to continue her mission," he answered.
"And you're certain she's safe?"
"Hai, she's as safe as she could be," he admitted.
"How do you know?"
"Because Sesshōmaru wouldn't have let her go if she wasn't safe."
"Thank Kami," she breathed.
"I'll keep you informed," he said as he let energy engulf him and he darted off.
Year 1581...
Tsuzuki Castle...
Kimi watched Sesshōmaru storm out of her gardens in as much dramatics as he arrived which had her two guests looking confused.
"What was that about?" InuYasha asked.
"I do not know, entirely; yet." She admitted as she looked at the two men in her garden. Leaving her garden, she gestured for the attendants to take care of the monk and InuYasha.
Kimi saw her son swiftly vanish from the castle halls and frowned as she looked around, she could feel the Meidō Stone warming on her chest which had her fidgeting with it as she looked around. The last time the stone had acted like this it had torn her soul from her to go retrieve Rin from whenever Rin had been reincarnated.
She frowned.
If Tōga had arranged this to be another test for their son, and Rin was the price to be paid she'd summon his spirit back from the netherworld and she would shred his hide. Also, if Magatsuhi was a threat he would have her to contend with.
Kimi was enough like her father that she would raze the earth where Magatsuhi existed if there was a threat on what was hers.
Still, the Meidō Stone was pulsing and she didn't like it.
