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: 30
Year 839...
Somewhere Near Akita Territory...
Rin was startled when the light came spilling for them, Sesshōmaru snarled as he gripped her and she lowered A-Un so they landed in the forest. Kimi stood in a tree, no armor on, or weapons displayed. Her hair was neatly done up and her golden eyes were like iced honey as they assessed Rin and Sesshōmaru.
"You possess something which does not belong to you," Kimi stated as her mokomoko started unfurling in a threatening manner. Rin watched the fur being raised, knowing her lord's mother was far more powerful than his sire ever could be. Her mokomoko was the largest and heaviest bit of fur and power displayed, it was a clear sign of her dominance, and few daiyōkai would have pelts like Kimi's, Rin knew that. Even her lord's mokomoko had yet to reach the size of his mother's, though she knew his to be considered large already.
"I do," Rin admitted as she swung off A-Un and bowed low. "Only so I could return him to his mother," she said softly.
Kimi said nothing.
"I found him about to be taken by the hyōnekozoku, I was unsuccessful in my attempts to prevent that, we were taken to Zhēnzhū Gǎng Palace, in Amangawa, in the Tang Empire. There upon Emperor Tiāngǒu and his mate, Empress Chang'e attempted to remove Sesshōmaru-sama from the Shikoku InuYōkai Clan and Shikoku InuYōkai Pack. They named him Prince Jūn Ān and attempted to reteach him in their image. While there I did my best to keep him safe and true, we spent much time planning our escape. Finally, I was presented an opportunity, at the cost of two of our fellow prisoners though, still, the opportunity was too ideal not to take.
"I regret that we left our friends behind, but the safety of my lord exceeded the safety of everyone else, so I took him, and we fled the Tang Empire. The flight was perilous and to prevent our trackers from overtaking us I went north, to the Akita InuYōkai Clan, their Alpha, Odate-sama, was most merciful and kind taking us in from the blizzards and prevailing storms, offering us sanctuary," she explained. "Now that the weather had finally given, I seized the opportunity to track you, my lady, I desired to return you pup to you."
"Rin," Sesshōmaru whispered.
"Sesshōmaru, is this true?" his mother's voice was cold, indifferent, and dangerous.
"Hai, mother," Sesshōmaru answered.
"Then it appears I am in a debt of gratitude to you, human," Kimi said landing softly. "Rise," she ordered.
Rin stood, straightening her back and keeping her head down. "You owe me nothing, my lady, I aided my lord because I would always aid him."
Kimi said nothing to that as she circled Rin.
"I am pleased to have been of service, my lady, and happier still to have aided Sesshōmaru-sama through this perilous time, for I have no doubt the abuse would've been worse. Chang'e is in desire of an heir, and she had determined your son shall be that heir," Rin explained.
"I am aware of her desires, they are not lost on me," Kimi stated.
"Rin was very brave, mother, she fought a kami," Sesshōmaru informed Kimi.
"Your son has mortally wounded Tiāngǒu," she countered.
"I am impressed," Kimi stated. "It is not an easy thing to actually inflict pain and suffering of that kind upon anyone. Head up, human, I like to look people in the eye," Kimi ordered. Rin raised her head to look Kimi levelly in the eye.
It was startling how young Kimi seemed, Rin knew that her lord's mother looked no different now than in her time, but there was something startling different about Kimi now than there was about Kimi in her time. Rin spotted the marks; she knew what they were from even. As a healer Rin had dealt with those marks on other women, it was hard to fathom that they would ever be on Kimi when Kimi was so indomitable.
"I see you have taken good care of my son, he is groomed, fed, protected," Kimi said softly.
"Hai, my lady," Rin nodded softly.
"I commend you for that, he is not an easy pup to care for," Kimi stated.
"He was a delight," Rin said earnestly as she smiled at Sesshōmaru. "It was my honor and pleasure to care for him."
"A pleasure?"
"Hai, my lady, a pleasure," Rin smiled as Sesshōmaru came to her side. She ran her fingers through his hair and smiled as his claws tangled in her kimono. "But that pleasure is at an end as I have brought him to you to be returned before I continue on my quest."
"Don't go," Sesshōmaru whispered as he buried his face in her hip.
"I must insist a return to Tsuzuki Castle, you will be cared for and given provisions before you continue on your way," Kimi commanded. "I will not tolerate anything else," she warned.
"Of course, my lady, your hospitality would be a blessing," Rin smiled as she bowed slightly before putting Sesshōmaru on A-Un's saddle.
"What is that beast?" Kimi asked.
"A-Un," Sesshōmaru answered.
"Empress Chang'e commanded I break him in order to return," Rin explained.
"But you escaped?" Kimi drawled out warily.
"Hai, why break what I could run wild with?" Rin asked with a feral smile on her lips. "I see no point in taming wild beings, they are wild for a reason. It is best to run wild with them than confine them to a wretch half existence of being tamed," she said softly. Her eyes rested on Sesshōmaru as she thought about the truth of her words to herself. She would do anything to run wild and free with her lord, even now, she knew that.
"Unusual belief for a human to possess," Kimi started.
"My father taught it to me," Rin cut her off. "He believed that wild creatures were wild for a reason and it was best to let them be or join them, but never to tame them."
Kimi watched the human hoist herself up with ease behind Sesshōmaru before looking at her. There was a gust of wind and Kimi's sharp eyes narrowed on the mark of her son on the woman before her eyes widened. She would love to say it wasn't possible, but then Sesshōmaru seemed to be composed of impossibilities. For now she would leave it be, if the time should ever come when she needed to intervene she would.
"That is a wise man, for a human," Kimi mused.
"I thought you would like that," Rin chuckled with a soft smile.
"I may come to like you, mortal," Kimi decided good naturedly. "Come, we will go for Tsuzuki Castle," she said as she took the reigns and let her ki envelope them before streaking through the realms for her home. They slammed into the yōkai islands which floated in the clouds. Releasing the reigns Kimi reached up and collected her pup just as Rin slid off A-Un.
"Come," Kimi ordered. "You, care for the steed in the royal stables, release it to the pastures after the care has been granted," she ordered a guard.
"Hai, my lady!" the guard grabbed the reigns and scurried off. Kimi shifted her hold on her son as she dragged her nose over his cheek bone, which had him staring at her curiously. A smile tugged on her lips as she nipped his ear lightly and nuzzled his nose then. Sesshōmaru rewarded her with a shy smile as he nuzzled her back. Pleased he was safe she set him down, gripping his hand tight as she glanced over at the human who was smiling a soft smile.
"You will desire a soak in the hot springs," she decided. "Come along, Tōga has yet to return."
And that, in Kimi's mind, was for the best. She did not desire to deal with her mate's temper at this moment.
Tōga's consorts appeared; Emi, Asami, Yong, and Hyeon-ju all seemed wary, while Hoshi glared daggers at Sesshōmaru; a growl rumbled through Kimi's chest which had the bitches scattering then before she continued guiding them to the hot springs. Rin strolled along behind them, unpretrubed by her surroundings, which was startling to Kimi. No human was ever this at ease or at home amongst yōkai, it went against their nature.
"You do not seem uneasy about yōkai," Kimi remarked as they entered a space to change.
"I grew up amongst yōkai," Rin answered. "My family was killed by humans and yōkai took me in," she explained.
"I see," Kimi drawled out.
Rin didn't explain more than that as they started changing to bath before going for the hot springs. Kimi would admit that Rin was a curiosity, marked up in violent bruises, a few wounds even, but not a mark appeared on Sesshōmaru. That pleased Kimi, it pleased her to know that for once her pup had been safe from abuse.
Year 1309...
Tsuzuki Castle...
Kimi sat in her gardens, her fingers working over a small embroidery pattern as she tried to keep her mind centered. Tōga stormed in looking frustrated and upset.
"How could a female stay with a horrid male!?" he demanded sharply which had her looking up a bit startled at his inquiry.
"I'm sorry, what?" Kimi sputtered as she lowered her work.
"How can a female stay with a terrible male? One that abuses her!?" he demanded.
"I believe you ask the wrong female!" she hissed.
Tōga flinched as he finally paused to look at her, Kimi set aside her work as she rose to her feet. "Kimi… I… it was a long time ago, I was different…" he started.
She held up a hand sharply which had him slamming his mouth shut. "I was unfair," she stated. "I am aware of how much you have changed. Even Emi, Hyeon-ju, and Michi have remarked upon your change of temperament over the centuries."
"I did not mean to wound you, my friend," he said softly as he reached for her.
"Do not touch me!" she warned. "Females stay because rarely is there anywhere else to go, Tōga."
"She shouldn't bear it," he sighed.
"No, she should not," Kimi agreed off-handedly. She didn't know which female had caught Tōga's current fancy, but no female deserved to feel or to be trapped in a situation of abuse.
"Why did you stay?" he asked her.
"Before?"
"Hai."
"You presume much if you assumed I stayed, I merely didn't kill you is all," she countered. "I am Alpha, Tōga. You would do well to remember who bears the crucial rank here. I took it because at the time, it was my duty to protect the other females from you. In the process though I failed our son, so I failed."
"If you could do it all over…" he started uncertainly.
"I'd slit you belly to throat, nail your entrails to the ground and set you afire the moment I confirmed my pregnancy, I would not have endured or subjected my pup to those years," she stated firmly before walking away from him. "If I had done that then perhaps Bashira and Takara would be here instead of in the netherworld."
"Why didn't you?" he asked so softly she almost didn't hear him. His question had her pausing though as she looked firmly ahead of her, not daring to look back at him.
"Because there was a time, Tōga, I deserved your wrath and hatred," she stated softly. "You desired something I could not and would never give, and for that I deserved your hatred."
"What made you…?" he started.
"I am Alpha, you my Inu no Taishō, you are my subordinate, you do not command me," she answered. "And my father informed me if I did not put a stop to it, he would gladly do it for me."
"I never knew," he gulped.
"Of course, you didn't know. I hold you in high esteem now, Tōga, I consider you my dearest of friends," she stated.
"Now." He muttered.
"Now," she repeated.
"Why'd you stay?"
"Where would I go?" she asked as she turned to him. "Oh, I could go to Odate-sama, kami knows he loves Sesshōmaru more than you ever could or would, and he would be pleased to have my company. Or I could have gone to Tsukuyomi-kami, he is always pleased with me. But I am Alpha of the Shikoku, abandoning my Clan, my Pack, it was never an option. Killing you though, I was encouraged to do that."
"Why didn't you?"
"Rin." Kimi answered and saw him flinch violently. "The moment she pinned you to my home wall with her kaiken, I was reminded I was not only your bitch but alpha, and I would not tolerate your shit."
"Did you ever forgive me?" he asked her.
"I forgave you," she admitted. "I just was never stupid enough to forget, Tōga. Even when you did."
"Do you think Sesshōmaru…?"
"What do you think?" she asked dryly as she left him be.
Kimi made it to her private quarters, sliding the door shut before she rested her head on it and closed her eyes. A shuddering breath escaped her lips as she curled her hands into fists. Damn him, she thought bitterly. Damn Tōga! Damn that stupid, arrogant, controlling, ignorant bastard! Turning her head fell back as a breath hitched on her lips before she sank to the ground. Kimi wasn't stupid, or ignorant, she had done a terrible wrong by her pup by not killing Tōga all those years ago. She had done a disservice to her daughters too, not killing their murderer, but at the same time she dreaded killing her son's father. It was all so convoluted and complicated.
Tōga watched Kimi leave and closed his eyes. He knew he had been a wretched mate, but he hadn't ever dared voice that question on what Kimi would've done if she hadn't been so willing to take the punishment. He had known who he had Hunted and beaten, who he had won, he was only surprised she hadn't killed him for what he had done. Tōga walked to where his mate had been and saw what she was working on, it was something simple, delicate, the intricate red stitching on white silks. It was most likely a gift for Sesshōmaru, he thought, especially with the pattern of peach blossoms there.
He should've been better, he thought sadly. Tōga should've been better than Zhìháo had been raised, he knew better. It was why he had come to the East, to escape the legacy his mother and father had inflicted upon him without mercy.
But then again, he thought humorlessly, he never could seem to learn his lesson. Not from his mate, not from his pup and not from Rin.
"Sire!" Myōga shouted which had him looking up.
"What is it?"
"It's Ryūkotsuse Master! He moves his troops to the West!" the flea sobbed.
Year 839...
Tsuzuki Castle...
Sesshōmaru was sleeping soundly in his room again, Rin carefully crept out of the room before sliding the fusuma shut as softly as she could walking down the hall, she was careful not to hit any of the squeaky boards she knew in her time and made her way to the garden. Kimi was sitting there in the snow, her fingers wrapped around a teacup as she looked up at the crescent moon.
"Lovely night out, is it not?" she asked playfully as she tilted her head towards Rin.
"It is," she admitted as she walked into the snow, keep her arms wrapped around her for warmth.
"Do you know what the meaning of the crescent moon is to my Clan?"
"No, my lady, I have yet to be informed of it," Rin admitted.
"We serve Tsukuyomi-kami," she whispered. "We serve the kami of the moon," she murmured with humor. "My father said he was so impressed with the Shikoku that he named our Clan after my father, and permitted us to run wild here. He was so impressed with my father he bestowed a mark, a mark of divinity upon his line. We are the purest of pure for daiyōkai, there will never be another so pure or powerful, and that is what this mark means," Kimi mused as she tapped her brow.
"I didn't know," Rin said softly.
"It is a Clan secret," Kimi replied. "Do you know what that mark is, Rin?" Kimi asked tapping her mating mark lightly.
"Hai, my lady," Rin nodded.
"And yet you bear it," Kimi drawled out.
"He asked if I would like to have it, and I could not deny him, not when I had dreamt of him for so long," Rin murmured. "I was so alone, so very alone, and I missed him, I missed my dream friend, so when he offered I could not refuse."
"You do know what it means."
"Some, I will admit I do not know everything about it," Rin said resolutely.
"You are his equal," Kimi said softly. "What is his is yours, and what is yours is his, You bear his power, his strength, if the time should ever come to you, you will have the resources to fight back, to fight with him, as his equal, you are his mate."
"I see."
"Why do you bear the mark though, that is not the mark a pup would make," Kimi accused then. "That is the mark of a grown daiyōkai."
"It is a long story, my lady, and perhaps, when it is over, I will share it," Rin offered.
"I do not trust you," Kimi warned.
"I do not expect you to," Rin admitted.
"And yet," Kimi drawled. "You are here."
"I am here."
"Why?"
"Because I did not trust that if I returned Sesshōmaru-sama to his father that he would make it home in one piece and after all the hells we had gone through to escape I would not tolerate him being returned in anything but pristine condition."
"I see."
"A-Un is for Sesshōmaru-sama, tomorrow at first light I must go."
"Tōga will return tomorrow, his spies have sent word to him by now and he will be here later tonight or near the dawn."
"Why are you telling me that?"
"So you're prepared for his wrath, you will not escape it," Kimi warned her. "Rest well, Rin, if you should survive Tōga then I will be pleased to welcome you to my pack."
"And if I should not?"
"You will be too dead to care about your fate at that point."
