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: 23
Year 839...
Spirit Wilds of China...
"Shit!" Rin hissed.
"Nani?" the pup asked as they continued flying.
"We forgot to rescue Wu Min," she muttered sourly. She knew she shouldn't have left in such a hurry, but it had felt important they leave that night. Good Kami she hoped she didn't have to go back for the fool, she didn't know though because she didn't know his ties to Miroku. Sesshōmaru grumbled a bit, shifting as he secured himself and she continued guiding A-Un to where they needed to go. She ached, and was shivering, but the dragon never let up on the speeds they flew.
Zhēnzhū Gǎng Palace...
Shippō stood in the ruination of the courtyard of Zhēnzhū Gǎng Palace, his mate at his back and the monk at his side.
"You were supposed to go with Rin!" he seethed to his oji-san's ancestor.
"Seemed like you two needed me more," the monk chuckled and Shippō growled. Sōten moved through the ranks, fire and ruins like lightning as her power cackled, while his own power rippled outwards with massive waves of kitsunebi as his own tricks destroyed what remained of the forces his mate didn't kill.
"If you remain here, monk, you will die," he stated firmly, intercepting a spear in his claws to glare at the spirit who had thrown it.
"There's worse ways to go," Wu Min chuckled.
"Sōten!" he shouted.
"On it!" she responded, and she appeared in a stroke of power as she intercepted the monk and disappeared in a heavy crack of thunder, lightning racing through the storm.
"Your mate has abandoned you," one of the spirits snarled.
"Not even close," he promised icily as he felt his own power surge outwards and a roar tore through him as he set the place ablaze and followed Rin and his mate. Not even rain could drown the smell of burnt flesh from the air.
Year 1581...
Tsuzuki Castle, Shikoku, Japan...
Kagome found Kimi-sama a few nights after InuYasha and Miroku had left with Sesshōmaru. The Shikoku InuYōkai ruler had been either evading the people of Edo or she had been busy, and Kagome didn't know which it was with Sesshōmaru's mother. The daiyōkai was in a garden though, lounging on a twisted tree over a coy pond as she smoked a pipe, the elegance and lackadaisical indifference the alpha daiyōkai displayed was more infuriating and difficult to understand than Sesshōmaru's icy demeanor.
"Ah, miko," the daiyōkai said looking at her with somber amber eyes which disarmed Kagome.
"Gomen for intruding," she yawned as she bounced the pup on her front gently. "Katsurō prefers sleeping if he's moving."
"I remember those days," Kimi said with a smile of her own. "If you will, you are human, I am not, I am more equipped for the long hours and you look about to collapse miko."
Kagome couldn't even fight the daiyōkai as she collected Katsurō from the sling. Now Kagome only had Nobuyuki on her back, sound asleep.
"My lady? I was wondering if I could ask you something," Kagome yawned.
"About what?" Kimi asked as she expertly started bouncing and swaying for Katsurō.
"Rin," she answered.
"Ah, and what about my protégée do you desire to know?" Kimi asked her.
"Your protégée!?" she sputtered.
"Hai, only intelligent human I've encountered," she chuckled.
"Why would you and Sesshōmaru-sama take Rin, a human, in?" she demanded. It was now a curiosity on her now, between what she had seen for Rin and Sesshōmaru's private quarters, and the reverence with which Rin seemed to be spoken with.
"Rin has always been Sesshōmaru's lady," Kimi stated. "We did not elect to take her in, she's always belonged. Electing to share her with you and your village was at an evaluation of needs. Humans possess needs and information about humans yōkai do not possess. When my son brough Rin here as a child we both sat down to discuss what would be needed to raise her effectively.
"We do not know how her body works, for breeding or growth standards, so I informed my son it would be important she meet and learn about humans. There were also differences in what she could eat, what herbs she could use, what active limitations she could handle, it was important that we understand how different she was from us. It was clear Rin had been raised amongst yōkai, but my limited knowledge of humans made it undesirable for us to blindly wade into raising the human pup. Raising her was the most important task ever placed upon our Pack and our Clan, she was not merely the future lady, but she was an abuse survivor and we would not be inflicting that upon her," she explained.
"Rin was neglected by humans, but I don't think she was…" Kagome trailed off as she thought about it. Rin's fear of humans was something she had never understood, the girl would sooner trust the yōkai than any stranger. According to InuYasha it had taken her years to even feel comfortable in Edo, and she made herself scarce whenever there were visitors.
"Mmm, it seems you are not as all knowing about Rin as you think," Kimi chuckled. "Rin is the most resolute human anyone has ever met, her resolve and determination are unparalleled. But she was a survivor of horrific abuse, I do believe this is why she and Sesshōmaru connected so thoroughly, survivors the pair of them," she murmured as she traced Katsurō's cheek. "Rin was always one of us. From the very first moment she met Sesshōmaru, the first moment she crossed blades with Tiāngǒu, defied Chang'e, attempted to kill toga, defended my son from numerous threats. Rin has repeatedly proven herself more than worthy of being Lady of the Shikoku InuYōkai Clan as well as my Pack.
"I never offered to care for the human, miko, the human was a member of this Pack well before her birth, and as a member of my Pack she is afforded all the rights, liberties, education, wealth and prestige of her rank and status within my Pack. But the foolish girl has never desired anything other than my son, and that is why she is welcomed."
"She's a child," Kagome pointed out.
"When I met Rin, she had threatened to disembowel Tōga, she had a kaiken to his throat and Bakuseiga, and she was a fully grown onna, no mere pup," Kimi chuckled. "I have enjoyed witnessing the pup grow into the onna she was, but realize that the same well which brought you to this era, it took Rin to many other eras, I am certain that the young onna I knew came from this era."
"But you allowed your son to tie the fate of a pup to him."
"I could argue that my pup, for he was once a pup, had his fate tied to a fully grown onna," Kimi countered. "Time is a fickle thing here; their fates were bound long before InuYasha's was to you or the other miko before your existence thought of."
"And you just… accept that!?" she hissed in disgust.
Kimi took a deep breath and looked tiredly at her; for the first time the daiyōkai displayed none of her bravado or façade. "My father, Shikoku-sama, believes that Sesshōmaru and Rin's fates were tied since before they were alive. Tied together in their previous lives. Permitting them to be together, it was never a choice, they were always together. In what capacity is up to them. I merely permitted Rin to live with humans because there were things only humans could teach her."
Kagome stared dumbly at the woman and closed her eyes, she wanted to hate this world for what it did to children and women.
"Understand this, miko, Sesshōmaru loves Rin, Rin loves Sesshōmaru, in the many forms of love that there are in life, but Sesshōmaru would never pressure Rin into anything that she was not ready for," Kimi stated. "And that is all you need to know."
"My lady," Shiori appeared then.
"Hai, Shiori?"
"The Pack deligates have arrived."
"I see, I will greet them," she said tiredly. Kagome was shocked at how weary Kimi seemed as she passed Katsurō back to her before she swept out of the gardens. Shiori bowed to Kimi as she walked out and Kagome sighed.
"May I be of assistance?" Shiori asked walking over.
"Oh, hai, please," Kagome whispered. Shiori carefully took Katsurō from her arm then and smiled.
"He's very handsome," Shiori remarked.
"He is," Kagome chuckled. "Shiori, why are you here?"
"I am a ward or Sesshōmaru-sama's as was the wish of my father," she explained.
"Nani?"
"Hai, my father, Tsukuyomaru-sama, was dear friends with Sesshōmaru-sama, at the time of his demise he wished for Sesshōmaru-sama to take care of my mother and I."
"He obviously didn't," Kagome muttered.
"Hai, he did, when he knew what had happened and heard of my mother and I he sought us out," Shiori murmured softly. "He could not aid my mother, though he saw to her comforts before her death, afterwards, he introduced me to Rin and told me he would take me to a safe home. He did, he brought me to Tsuzuki Castle before the death of Naraku."
"Before!? But we left you safe in the village!"
"Hanyō are never safe, and hanyō of daiyōkai offspring are less safe than normal hanyō," Shiori explained bitterly. "Sesshōmaru-sama and Rin were kind enough to offer me a home and refuge though, and Kimi-sama has been most enthusiastic seeing to my education."
"What happened to your mother, Shiori?" Kagome asked softly.
"She died," Shiori answered. "Infected wound, she received it when we were escaping our village. Sesshōmaru-sama said it was from dirty tools, mostly likely the fishing hook, he saw to her comfort at the end, and laid her to rest here, then he brought my Clan to heel until I am ready to assume leadership."
"He just did that for you?"
"Hai, it was my father's wishes," Shiori explained. "I am most grateful for everything they have done for me and continue to do for me. Sesshōmaru-sama is a patient teacher."
Kagome just sat there stunned. She hadn't thought about the fate of Shiori after they had left the village, she hadn't thought about the continued hardships of a hanyō. She was shocked to learn that Sesshōmaru had been the one to step up, and more startled to learn that Sesshōmaru had once had friends. Though she didn't know if that would be the exact relationship, he possessed with Tsukuyomaru.
It appeared the yōkai world and yōkai society was far more complex than the simple yōkai slain. It was startling to think Sesshōmaru's title wasn't just a self-important title really. When she had first met Sesshōmaru and InuYasha she had thought him a bit self-important, the type to build up his image, and though Myōga said that the Inu no Taishō was real Kagome had not met any formally organized yōkai outside of Kōga's pack or the Hyakkikoumori, and even then it was all very savage and more barbaric than any culture or civilization she knew and studied in school. Kagome would admit that if she had gone to University she would have been tempted to study anthropology simply to see if she could find her yōkai companions.
"Sesshōmaru-sama is a good man by human standards, and a great one by yōkai standards," Shiori murmured softly. "You do not know this because you never wished to truly know it. My lord is not an evil uncaring monster, Kagome, he's rather… thoughtful, in his own way, and he loves Rin very much, he would never do anything to hurt her or unseemly or even against her interests or her will," Shiori stated. "I will help you put your pups to bed, then I must attend to my studies or the entertaining of the other Pack's bitches."
"You mentioned guests earlier," Kagome said.
"Hai, the Shikoku Clan's Packs are sending their most eligible bitches to Kimi-sama," she stated.
"Whyever would they do that?"
"They hope to be a part of my lord's harem," she answered.
Year 839...
Spirit Wilds of China...
They landed somewhere in the wilds and Rin slid off A-Un on shaky knees.
"Rin?" Sesshōmaru called for her which had her looking at the worried pup.
"I'm fine, just catching my breath," she said. Her body ached a bit from when she had hit the ground hard, and now was feeling every bruise and pain, not to mention her head felt like it was rattling a little. "Hazard of being human, I'm a bit more fragile," she sighed.
"I know," he muttered as he slid down to the ground beside her.
"We'll rest for the night, then A-Un will fly us home tomorrow, though I think it'll be a few days flight, I'll do some hunting in the morning before we leave," she muttered. Though she had packed supplies for herself; fruits, nuts and things that wouldn't spoil for a human, but a daiyōkai pup she'd need meet. He'd eat it all no doubt, rather swiftly.
"I…"
"You're a daiyōkai pup, my lord, I'm not going to chance a few days of no food for a growing pup," she chuckled. "We'll have food for you for the flight, and when we return home we'll go for a real hunt," she decided.
"Where are we going to go?" he asked her.
"First, I'm going to go introduce you to an old friend, or new friend?, a friend of ours and he'll advise us on what to do from there," she murmured. Rin didn't know how to go about returning Sesshōmaru to his Clan or Pack, and especially not to his parents. She also knew that Tōga would not take too kindly to a human returning Sesshōmaru. Of that she was most certain. Kimi probably wouldn't care more or less on who returned Sesshōmaru so long as he was returned, but it was Tōga who would probably not take too kindly to her presence.
It was still difficult to think Tōga didn't like humans given his reputation and deep love of Izayoi and his planning for InuYasha. No matter, she could work around Tōga as needed.
"For now, we rest," Rin decided as she sunk to the ground. A-Un collapsed behind her and she chuckled as her dragon friend wrapped around her while his inner fire warmed and dried her from the storm they had flown through. Sesshōmaru slid down beside her and crawled into her lap.
"Humans are fragile and die from being wet," he declared.
"Not quite, my lord, but I won't say no to the warmth," she chuckled as she draped her arms around him. He pulled out the scroll she had hidden in her pack, the one they had worked so hard to steal.
"What is this for?" he asked.
"Well, I'm on a mission for my lord, this is to help me, and it will help me understand this," she said tugging on the pearl.
"Your lord?"
"Hai, my lord," she nodded as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"Will I meet this lord?" he asked.
"I think you'll come to know him far better than I ever will," she chuckled breathlessly. He nodded as he pressed his nose under her chin, and she closed her eyes. He was safe, and kami the relief of that had her tightening her arms around him. There was a pulsing against her chest, but she ignored it in favor for relishing in knowing she had her lord safe and sound with her.
Sesshōmaru-sama in her time was not the cuddly sort, he had tolerated it a lot when she was a pup, but there was only so much he could take. Rather like any inu he valued his personal space. She also feared he was adverse to touch as a whole for reasons she didn't know, this pup though was not adverse to touch yet and was rather happy to cuddle. So she would cherish this.
"Rin?"
"Hai, my lord?" she asked with a tired yawn.
"Are you going to leave me?" he whispered.
"Nani?"
"Everyone does," he muttered.
"Oh no," she sighed. "Sesshōmaru-sama," she tilted his chin up so they could see the other. "I will not always be here with you in your present, but I am always here," she tapped his heart. "Always. And no matter when we are, you can be assured I am with you even when I am far, far away."
"Why do you have to go?" he asked her as he looked at her fingers resting on his heart.
"Because my lord would do this for me, so I must for him, but I'm always yours," she smiled.
"Always?" he asked as he eyed her rather skeptically.
"Forever, I'm yours forever," she smiled honestly. "No matter what lifetime, no matter what chaos is happening, I'm yours."
"Then why do you serve your lord?"
"You'll understand when you're older, much, much older," she promised with a wink. "Now let us get some rest, Kami knows we will need it," she sighed rather tiredly.
"Rin?"
"Hmm?" she hummed.
"Who are you going to meet when we get home?"
"My lord's friend and advisor, he's very wise, Sesshōmaru-sama, you will find his council invaluable," she murmured.
"Oh."
"He's a Magnolia tree yōkai," she murmured. "His name is Bokusenō."
"A tree!?" he whined.
"Hai, but you will be respectful meeting him," she warned sharply.
"Hai Rin," he grumbled.
"Good boy," she chuckled. "Now rest, tomorrow we hunt and leave."
Sesshōmaru nodded as he modeled himself to lay atop her, with his head tucked under her chin. She sighed as she leaned against A-Un, who was wonderfully warm and let her eyes flutter shut. Tomorrow she would have to run for her life again with her lord, but she could not find pain or fault in that. And soon she would see her old friend again, Kami knew she missed Bokusenō, his council for her task would be most welcomed.
Also this was a chance to introduce Sesshōmaru-sama to a trustworthy advisor he could rely on as he grew up because Kami knew Tōtōsai and Myōga were utterly useless to Sesshōmaru. They only served InuYasha and Tōga; and between the two of them they didn't share a single ounce of common sense. They were the blind leading the blind really, she was surprised they hadn't trapped InuYasha in an endless war.
