I Do Not Own InuYasha
Ichariba Chode
行逢りば兄弟
"Though we meet but once, even by chance, we are friends for life"
IV: 3
Year 839...
Somewhere west in the Nara Empire...
The onna was shivering violently, so violently it shook him awake and he stared at her, teeth chattering loud enough to alert every yōkai to their presence. Sesshōmaru didn't know what to do, he didn't know how to wake a human which had him gripping her shoulder as he tried to clamber away from her in hopes that she'd wake without screaming. Humans and yōkai did not get along, and humans always seemed to scream in panic whenever they interacted with humans.
The onna jolted awake though with a massive gasp as her eyes flew open wild and she looked around for some sort of threat before she fell back to where she had been laying with her hands over her face. Then she groaned as she dragged them over her face to peer tiredly at him through her fingers, he was surprised the onna didn't have a violent reaction seeing him.
"Ohayō," she yawned as she picked up her wet garments and clambered around him and out of the hole.
"Onna!" he shouted and her head reappeared at the entrance.
"Come on, we need to get you somewhere safe," she said holding her hand out as she smiled. Sesshōmaru frowned a bit, but he reached out for her as he collected his wet clothes. Her hand grasped his and pulled him out of the hole with ease before she looked around, she was pulling on her outer layer.
"These are wet," he said.
"Hai."
"Humans are weak and catch colds when wet," he stated as he pulled his clothes on.
"Some do," she agreed. "But I'll be fine, we're going to figure out where we are and then we are going to be moving. Moving in the sun will dry our clothes," she said securing them as she pulled her knot free and shook her hair out. Sesshōmaru thought the onna was extremely odd, a peculiar one for sure. She finished shaking out her long hair and then twisted it into a knot again, stabbing it in place.
"Here," she handed him the kaiken, which had him blinking as he accepted it. It was a lovely piece, polished ebony, white blade, a strap of purple leather to secure it, and perfectly balanced. Sesshōmaru looked up at her when he felt the yōkai energy pulsing from the blade.
"You're really good with that, and best to be able to protect yourself than to be eaten," she yawned as she secured her fang to her waist.
He nodded as he slipped the fang into the sheath and secured it like she had her fang on his own obi. Rin smiled, he frowned as he slid his hands into his sleeves to stem off the heating of his face as he assessed her.
She looked at the sun, and seemed to be doing some strange human thing.
"That's east, and we came south yesterday, I think, so I think we should continue west," she said.
"Why?"
"Eventually we'll hit Shikoku InuYōkai Pack Territory, or an ally who can get you home, but west would be our best bet," she said.
"If they see you they'll kill you," he said.
"Wouldn't be the worst thing to happen in the last week," she sighed as she rolled her neck, he flinched hearing it crack and pop, even as she then repeated the process on her spine.
"Let's be off," he sighed.
She giggled at that before she walked to his left, like it's where she belonged and offered her hand to him. "Why so solemn?" she asked as he hesitated to accept it.
"You're human."
"Hai," she agreed crouching to his level.
"You're also not," he said softly.
She frowned and shrugged. "Does it bother you?"
"No."
"Then let's not worry about it and just get you home, and I'll be on my way to save my lord," she said. He noticed then that there was the kuroshinju she bore and reached for it. Carefully he picked it up from where it rested and looked at it then at her. He could feel a mesmerizing energy in his fingers and he stared at it seeing a light shadow, blue he thought in could, swirling around in there.
"It's a tool from my lord's father, to save my lord," she said.
"Why?"
"Because that is what I do," she said standing as she took his hand and they started walking. He was very confused about the onna there.
"Onna," he said.
"My name is Rin," she replied.
"Rin," he tested it out shyly, he had never been given a name to call anyone, everyone insisted he did not need to know the names of those around him for he was above them.
"Hai, my lord?" she looked patiently at him as they walked.
"Why are you helping me?" he asked carefully.
"I bear your mark, do I not?" she asked.
"Hai, but I did not mark you," he muttered.
"Ah, well, I'm here for you, Sesshōmaru, I'm always with you, no matter what, or when," she said. "And because I'm always with you, I aid you, however I can, and right now, that's to get you home," she smiled. He liked her smile, it was bright, happy, rather mischievous too. Rin walked, and he kept pace, he could ask her questions on occasion, though he was careful never to ask questions about her human species, despite the nagging curiosity he had about them and her.
Rin was very patient though when he would ask questions, he was surprised at the blooming warmth she seemed to radiate about life and it resonated in his mind. The bond was there, he was surprised, he hadn't known it was possible to bond with a human. Rin though just radiated warmth and love and he was baffled by how freely she gave it as they walked.
The sun was high and the clouds were rolling in swiftly from the east when Rin noted them.
"We should find shelter," she said.
"Humans don't like yōkai," he said.
"Humans?"
"Hai, your kind's pack is there," he pointed to the hill, he could smell their filth and he saw Rin look thoughtful for a second before she pulled off her outwear and draped it over him.
Year 1581...
Tsuzuki Castle...
Sesshōmaru walked through Tsuzuki Castle's halls, when he was intercepted by InuYasha.
"What the hell is going on?" InuYasha barked sharply.
"Move, InuYasha," Sesshōmaru ordered sharply, he was in a foul mood about this mess, and he was livid that Magatsuhi was out and about.
"Not until you explain what the fuck is going on!" InuYasha snapped.
Sesshōmaru growled, letting his inner yōkai flare, which had InuYasha's ears flattening as he stepped out of Sesshōmaru's path. Sesshōmaru walked into his private wing and firmly shut the door behind him so InuYasha wouldn't follow. Alone at last he released a shuddering breathe before walking into his quarters and undressing swiftly because he feel the curse mark acting up. Magatsuhi was out, loose again.
"You don't get to shut me out!" InuYasha bellowed which had Sesshōmaru spinning as he unleashed the light whip, which shattered the wall by InuYasha's head, his brother flinched.
"Leave!" he snarled.
"Not until I know what the fuck is going on!" InuYasha snapped.
"You have no right to demand information!" Sesshōmaru growled as he picked up a different fang, he'd shred InuYasha where he stood.
"I'm not here cause I want to be, you asshole!" InuYasha snapped. "I'm here cause my wife and mate have been displaced because of whatever the fuck is going on, Sango is a wreck because you have put her brother in a prison cell, and Miroku's been forced to coral the humans that have been brought here! I ain't asking for my sake! I'm asking because they need answers!"
"Kohaku unsealed Magatsuhi," Sesshōmaru snarled icily.
"Nani!?" InuYasha balked, his jaw falling open. "That's… Kagome and I... we killed him!" InuYasha balked. Sesshōmaru frowned as he walked to a privacy screen to continue changing.
"Magatsuhi is not Naraku, and Naraku is not Magatsuhi," Sesshōmaru stated as he picked up the clean, bloodless robes, the bandages were holding, but the curse burned. It was more intense now that Magatsuhi was unsealed, at least before the force had been contained in Honekui no Ido.
"What the fuck does that mean!?" InuYasha sputtered.
"Cease cursing, you sound more moronic than normal," Sesshōmaru- said as he started tying his obi and finishing the change which had him walking out to pick his armor. Pulling that on was easier, though his chest was still killing him.
"What is going on?" InuYasha sighed.
"What's going on is Magatsuhi has marked my life for his power. Rin is travelling through time to defy this curse, though she'll have no idea what she's after, no doubt," he muttered that last bit to himself.
"How is that possible?" InuYasha asked.
"Magatsuhi was a spiritual force within the Shikon no Tama, when Naraku decided to submit to the jewel and permit Magatsuhi to borrow his body to have a material body, that broke the jewel's boundaries, when you and Kagaome sealed Naraku within the jewel and purified the jewel within the Honekui no Ido you sealed Magatsuhi and Naohi within the well. Kohaku just unsealed them both," Sesshōmaru said as he finished his armor. InuYasha blinked and Sesshōmaru started collecting his fangs.
"Where the hell are you going!?" InuYasha demanded.
"It appears answers will be in the West," he stated as they walked through the castle again.
"The west?" InuYasha asked. "I thought you were Lord of the West!"
"That is one of the titles," Sesshōmaru said tiredly.
"My lord!" Jiu appeared then.
He looked at the fox as she bowed and he nodded towards her.
"A-Un has returned, my lord, we've taken him to the stables and patted him down, the stable hands say he is well," she said.
"Have A-Un prepared for a long journey west," he ordered.
"Hai my lord," she bowed as she left him.
"What the hell!?" InuYasha sputtered.
"I do not have time for your idiocy, so take it somewhere else," Sesshōmaru ordered as he went to find his mother to discuss the matters of what would need to be done in case his grandmother never let him leave the West. Sesshōmaru dreaded the thought, but his grandmother had been increasingly persistent about him going to the West for his inheritance as of late.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" InuYasha demanded.
"I am going to deal with our grandmother," Sesshōmaru stated. Something which he'd rather never do, especially given the last time he had been there. If Rin hadn't been there Sesshōmaru was relatively certain they would still be there, now he had to go back and he'd rather have all his fangs torn out of his head with his claws and tail.
"Grandmother!?"
"Hai, our father's mother," Sesshōmaru stated. "Mother," he said as he walked into her study, she was discussing a matter with the ookami.
"Sesshōmaru, InuYasha! This is a pleasant surprise," Kimi said. "Today is just full of them, you remember the Eastern Yōrō Tribe's alphas, Kōga and Ayame," she said. "And their daughter Yuki."
"Not today, mother," he motioned.
Now his mother's brow furrowed as she waved the ookami out, Sesshōmaru ignored InuYasha because more than likely InuYasha would be heir here. Father had claimed InuYasha over him after all, so it would make sense that his father would have set up a political infrastructure for InuYasha to inherit when the time came.
"What is it?" Kimi asked when the doors were secured.
"I will be going west, InuYasha will serve as Inu no Tashio if I do not return," he stated.
"West!?" his mother shouted when he turned to leave. "You can't go West!" his mother shouted chasing him then. "You go West and you will never see Rin again!"
Sesshōmaru didn't respond as he walked for the halls, he was well aware of the risks, but if he did not get Chang'e's library there was a chance he would be consumed by Magatsuhi. Or worse Magatsuhi would destroy them all.
Year 839...
Somewhere unknown, Japan...
Tōga groaned as he rolled through the mud and looked around for his pup the destruction was from the fight. The Panther King had landed a lucky blow on his gut and ribs, tearing out half his lung, now he was healed. Looking around he grimaced at the sun filtering down on him, Sō'unga was in his hand, the power pulsing through him to heal him while also draining him.
"You are weak," Sō'unga said.
"Shut up," he growled as he sheathed the sword and looked around the clearing, the damaged, destroyed trees and battered grounds, the broken mountains.
"Sesshōmaru!" he called out for his pup, rubbing his side. The pup wouldn't be too far from him, Sesshōmaru loved him so much and was the admirer Tōga had never expected. His pup worshipped him, and was never far from him; so where had the pup gotten to.
The pup should be here! Looking around the destruction he scented the air desperately.
Sesshōmaru's scent wasn't there! Where was he!? Where was his son!?
"Sesshōmaru!" he bellowed as he shifted forms, scenting for his pup. Kimi and Shikoku would kill him if the pup was missing or dead or worse… Sesshōmaru was the sole heir to two kingdoms, not that Kimi or Shikoku knew about his heritage or his family's kingdom in the West. But no doubt his parents knew about his son.
Tōga desperately hoped that Sesshōmaru had been taken by the Hyōneko and not by his family!
Somewhere West in the Nara Empire...
He was humming as he swept the steps of the temple, he would be returning to Tang China soon enough. It wasn't something that he looked forward to someone coming up his path, which had him frowning a bit as he watched the coming form. The energy was yāoguài in nature which was unsettling but there was no evil intent coming.
"Halt! This is holy ground!" he shouted as he saw the figure skid, shifting from fox to humanoid with nine black tipped, red fox tails, fox hindlegs, and red hair with brilliant green eyes.
"Wu Min?" the fox asked.
"What do you want fox?"
"A favor," he answered.
"And why would I give a favor to a yāoguài?" he demanded.
"I'm a fox not a monster!" the fox defended. "You can call me Fǔ Yáng."
"You're from the West?"
"You can say that for the moment I have interests there," Fǔ Yáng replied.
"And what do you want?"
"I need safe passage for an inu daiyōkai pup and his human mate," Fǔ Yáng said.
"And that matters to me why?"
"Because that inu daiyōkai is Emperor Tiāngǒu's heir," Fǔ Yáng said.
To this Min blinked and looked at the fox again, surprised to see the seriousness of that claim. "And why would they need to be given safe passage."
"A war is coming and if we do not leave, we are dead!"
We?"
"Hai, they're going to need you and me to survive the West," he said.
Rin had Sesshōmaru wrapped up in her over coat and in her arms as she walked through the human village. The pup was unhappy about being disguised, in a human village, and in a human's arms, which had her running a hand over his back. The pup's poor nose.
There was a sound in the crowd, and she saw the humans scream as Hyōneko appeared, Rin ducked into an alleyway then. She clutched the pup closer to her.
"We are looking for a human woman, probably with an inuyōkai pup, anyone who finds them will be rewarded handsomely," the hyōneko shouted, she saw a crude bunch of posters being put up which had her tightening her arms around Sesshōmaru as she crouched lower to the ground.
"Rin?" Sesshōmaru whispered softly.
"We're going to figure this out," she promised as they ducked behind the crates.
"Need a helping hand?" a voice asked, she jumped as she spun around, drawing Bakusaiga on him as she kept Sesshōmaru safely behind her as best she could. Lively green eyes stared at her, which had her tensing, there was a vague familiarity about the face.
"Who are you?" she growled seeing nine tails, so it couldn't be the only other male fox she knew.
"You can call me Fǔ Yáng, we're going to get you out of here," he smiled. "Put these on," he ordered.
"And why should I trust you?" she growled as she held Sesshōmaru tighter to her side, the pup's claws were digging painfully into her shoulder as she felt her lord peering suspiciously over at the fox.
"Well, it's me or the hyōneko, and I at least won't kill you, human," he said. "They will, they just want the pup and you have what they want."
"And what do you want?" Rin asked icily.
"Honestly, something you can't bring yet, come on," he said. "Now or never," he said.
"You lie to me and I'll cut off all your tails."
"I'd expect nothing less," the fox said as they had the cloaks thrown at them. Rin put away Bakusaiga as she pulled on the robes. Sesshōmaru blinked when the kitsune brought a leaf towards him, which had Sesshōmaru snarling dangerously.
"Now it's time for magic or we're screwed," Fǔ Yáng informed her softly.
"Trust me Sesshōmaru," Rin pleaded, they needed to get away from these damn cats before or worse became her reality.
"Nothing more than an appearance spell, and keep close," Fǔ Yáng said. "We're going to get you out of here."
"We?" Rin sputtered.
"We, allow me to introduce myself I'm Wu Min," the monk smiled as he suavely took her hand and gave her a charming smile. Sesshōmaru growled and she was flabbergasted staring at an image of Miroku or one of his sons.
"Good merciful kami save me," she muttered.
"Come on," Fǔ Yáng said as he herded them into the village again, and she kept her head down and covered as they hurried through the streets. Sesshōmaru gripped her hand tightly as they followed the two good Samaritans aiding them.
