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Rest now my children

For soon we'll away

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"Of all the things to say after being unconscious," Kagome laughed shakily as she knelt down beside him and gently stroked a few hairs out of his face, "You pick that."

"I...I k-know m-my pri-priorities," Inuyasha hummed hoarsely as he closed his eyes, "T-the b-bastards. T-they w-want you. C-can't t-take m-my eyes o-off you f-or a s-second."

"Because of her spiritual powers?" Yasumori asked curiously as moved back to give the couple some space and Inuyasha weakly shook his head with a weary bemused sigh.

"S-she can..." Inuyasha coughed slightly and cursed under his breath before continuing, "D-damn. Can't t-talk for s-shit."

"Language my lord," Yasumori chided with a roll of his eyes, "What would your mother have thought?"

"W-wouldn't know s-seeing h-how she was m-murdered and all," Inuyasha scoffed acidly, "I-if you h-had d-done your j-job then t-that..."

"Is that why you ran?" the general sighed heavily as he began collecting the newly emptied vials, "Because we failed to protect Lady Izayoi?"

Inuyasha blinked sluggishly as he tried to figure out exactly what was being asked. The general's face was defeated and resigned - almost knowing like that somehow explained everything and yet nothing all at once. Which made no sense unless...oh god dammit, was he trapped in this hellhole because he ran away as a child?! Who wouldn't have run in that situation? The only other person he trusted in this godforsaken place had told him that he needed to leave because the poison had been meant for him. Obviously the elder had been right since here he was being poisoned by forces unknown. Yes, he was well aware that whatever was happening to him was because someone had been lacing his food. Antidote had a very specific and rancid taste. That and it made sense. Why he was never sick unless he was here. Why some days were worse than others. The almost predictable pattern to it - a few weeks before the new moon getting progressively worse. That was part of why he always hated turning human. Everything was always worse when he was human whether it was illness or pain and all of his childhood memories of those nights were filled with both. There was always an expectation that being human would equate to having a bad time.

For all those reasons, Inuyasha believed the general's question was an asinine one.

"T-they were t-trying to k-kill me," Inuyasha replied scathingly - a condescending aspect to his tone like that statement made his explanation obvious, "A-and n-no one k-knows w-who k-killed her and n-now..."

"Who told you there was a plot against your life?" the general interrupted anxiously as he almost pushed Kagome out of the way, "Was it a servant? Or a vassal perhaps?"

Inuyasha shied away from the general as he cast an alarmed glance at Kagome.

"W-wasn't there o-one?" the half-demon asked stupidly as the miko rolled her eyes.

"There was clearly one. They're poisoning him now," Kagome huffed in frustration, "He probably assumed, correctly, that..."

"N-no," Inuyasha interrupted her gently, "S-someone d-did t-tell me."

Sighing almost victoriously, the general gestured for him to continue before groaning when Inuyasha merely stared at him like he was insane.

"Y-you w-want a name?" Inuyasha asked awkwardly as he tried to prop himself up on his elbows, "W-why?"

"I spent years of my life searching for you," the general sighed exasperatedly as he leaned back on his heels, "Years. I thought you may have been abducted. Or killed. It was my job to protect you and you slipped through my fingers. I have a name I believe is behind all of this. I simply want you to confirm it."

Inuyasha tried to wrap his hazy mind around this new information but failed miserably. The high pitched ringing in his ears combined with the increasingly overwhelming nausea was making it hard to focus on anything. Mouth parted slightly, Inuyasha panted as he fought the persistent urge to pass out. Even as these unpleasant sensations washed through him, Inuyasha felt an odd need to protect the elder who had found him that day. Who had taken him out of the room where his mother's body still lay. It had been a sick thing to do. Putting a child in the room with his mother's dead body. It somehow made everything more traumatizing and he never understood why the guards had brought him back there. Or was it a guard? Yeah, the guy had been unfamiliar but he'd been dressed like one and the fortress had many people he didn't know. Mother had kept the list of people who handled him very short yet under the circumstances, Inuyasha hadn't questioned an unfamiliar face.

"Y-you p-put me with h-her body," Inuyasha finally managed as his arms shook from the effort of keeping him propped up, "A c-child with..."

"I most certainly did not," the general huffed defensively, "You were to be put in my quarters under guard until a culprit could be identified. That is where I left you. Who brought you there and more importantly, who removed you?"

Kagome was having trouble figuring out who had it right and who had it wrong. Inuyasha, on the one hand, was obviously either going to puke or pass out or both. Amber eyes glazed over as his skin began taking on a greenish tinge. The general was a newcomer and his whole story seemed a little too convenient. It would be all too easy to deny doing something terrible like putting a grieving son in a room with his mother's corpse. Blaming it on someone else. Chalk all those memories up to a simple misunderstanding.

"T-that's n-not..." Inuyasha tried before his head lolled and the tiniest bit of spit up suddenly cascaded over his lips. Now it was Kagome's turn to push someone out of the way and she did so with a little more force than necessary. Gently guiding Inuyasha onto his side, Kagome searched frantically for someone to catch what she imagined was about to be a waterfall of vomit before jumping when the general procured a pitcher just in the nick of time.

XXXXXXXX

"Let go of me," the boy hissed angrily before gasping and stumbling when his mother did just that - the momentum he'd been building up backfiring as he fell onto his back in the center of the courtyard.

"Fine," his mother snapped - her voice controlled and eerily quiet, "We'll do it your way then, Ena."

In a burst of soft white light, the boy felt himself being sucked through the earth before reappearing in what he recognized as his mother's room. Realization hit him full force.

"How did you do that?" the boy accused as he anxiously patted down his tiny body, "We were just in the courtyard and..."

"You are not the only dead being in this world," his mother explained patiently as she slid open the door and peered around before shutting it behind her, "For millennia I have let you do whatever you pleased but now is not the time for reckless behavior. They're noticing your absences."

"What do you mean 'they'?" the boy scoffed, "The staff or..."

"The council," his mother interrupted softly as she knelt down on her futon and patted the space beside her, "They want you to replace the new lord."

The small child snorted derisively, "They want to put a servant boy on the throne? Give me a..."

"An heir," she corrected and he unsteadily got to his feet, "One they didn't see fit to recognize until it suited them."

"I don't understand," the child breathed as he shook his head against this new information, "You always told me I was a bastard."

"And you are," his mother sighed heavily - her hands wringing atop her lap as she began explaining, "I wasn't married to that man - if you could even call him that. He was cruel and..."

"But if I'm a bastard from some 'man' then why does that matter?"

"That man was the lord ," his mother corrected, "And he died without fathering any other children. Lest you forget, Inuyasha too is a bastard child and yet he was in the line of succession. The council thought the circumstances surrounding your existence were unseemly until they were left with no alternatives. They intended to place you on the throne and were taking action to do so before..."

"Before you killed me," Ena snarled - his dark eyes flashing in anger, "You killed me and then probably yourself because..."

"That worthless excuse of an elder offered you to that...to that beast," his mother hissed angrily - glaring up at the ceiling as her fists balled up in rage, "Offered you up as a sacrifice to save their own skins when she didn't even care about..."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"That...that beast came demanding Inuyasha," his mother hissed, "Met with the council and everything like she was somehow civilized. Something about her son was seeking an audience with his brother. Likely story. But those bastards sent him off to god knows where and then brought you up instead."

"Why?"

"She wanted Inuyasha for a purpose and those...those cowards thought it was to have him be placed on the throne. Which made no sense given what she was saying but...," she continued as she trembled with anger before letting out a shuddering sigh, "In any case, they said they already had you and had no intention of 'forfeiting' your birthright to a demon."

"So she killed everyone?" Ena asked breathlessly before glancing at the door, "But they're not dead. No one is dead except...well except us."

"I heard her say something about a grave," his mother mumbled as she furrowed her brow, "And then the screams started so I ran. I thought...I didn't want you to get tortured over...over something they did. You weren't a pawn for them to play to save their own skins."

"So you killed me?" the boy laughed skeptically, "Like being this was better than being banished here? Thousands have years have passed. Thousands and I've spent all that time trying to..."

"How was I to know she was simply banished them to this existence? And it has been a long time but you're being dramatic. Time passes differently here," his mother clipped back defensively as she met his hardened glare, "In any case, by the time I realized my mistake, we were both dead by my own hand. I had no right to stop you from living your life as much as you could. From escaping this place. But now Inuyasha has perished and joined us in this purgatory. Or else that beast trapped him here as well. The council is looking for you again."

"I brought Inuyasha here," the boy chimed in awkwardly, "I didn't know who he was. His friend is here too."

"So he's alive?" his mother breathed in a horrified tone as she scrambled to her feet and rushed towards the door, "Inuyasha is...oh merciful heavens, what have I done?"

XXXXXXXX

A small group of man and a few of their wives lingered in the courtyard - waiting for the mother and her very special son to go elsewhere. There could not be any association until Inuyasha was dead. No hint that the mother may be involved. For someone who had at one time been so opposed to the idea, she had turned out to be quite the ally. Which was fortunate seeing as how their former accomplice had been arrested shortly after that demon's whore was out of the picture. The arrest had thankfully been unrelated - a simply theft gone wrong in the marketplace - but it was enough to place the servant under suspicion and have him banished from the palace. A murder of a meaningless peasant would do that. A murder of the lord's sister would have resulted in death.

"I don't hear her anymore," one of the woman whispered anxiously as she glanced towards the courtyard, "I think they've gone far enough now."

"Indeed," an older man huffed as he adjusted his robes and sighed, "So you say Yasumori has discovered the demon is being poisoned?"

"Ieyasu dismissed the danger that it would be traced back to him which means he's laid the foundation for it to be traced back to one of us," the slightly disheveled vassal who had accosted said man a few hours eariler huffed in frustration, "We need to remove him. Now."

"Now Hiryuu, Inuyasha trusts Ieyasu," the older man argued, "Looks to him for guidance. If Inuyasha has been poisoned, he'll most likely appoint Ieyasu to find the culprit. There is no reason to assume Ieyasu will then point the finger at us."

"Inuyasha may trust him but Yasumori does not," a young pretty woman sighed, "When Lady Izayoi died and Inuyasha was found to be in his company, Yasumori was extremely suspicious."

"Yasumori has little sway over the council," a round faced teenaged boy chimed in as a older version of himself nodded in agreement, "Even if he voices his suspicions, the other elders will dismiss his claims."

"I'm not sure," an elderly woman finally chimed in, "It is an open secret the other elders dislike him. They may see it as an opportunity."

"You are all focusing on the wrong details. We need to move fast," Hiryuu hissed as he squared his shoulders, "The selection has been delayed and Inuyasha is weak. We need to finish him off. You all know his time is coming."

"You suggest we kill him on his human night," the older gentlemen hummed as he stroked his beard, "You know he has taken that woman into his bed. She didn't seem willing when Yasumori procured her. She could be useful to that end."

"I'll approach her at breakfast," one of the wives offered - her slick black hair and dark eyes reflecting the moonlight as she glanced at the others with a hopeful smile, "Feel her out a bit. Make sure she can be trusted."

"If she's not, she'll be easy to get rid of," Hiryuu scoffed, "The fact that she spread her legs and let a demon possess her disqualifies her from the selection in any case. She'll be thrown out."

"Unless he has married her in secret," the older gentleman opined, "Inuyasha has not kept his disdain for the selection process a secret. This girl may be his way of getting out of it."

"Let me talk to her," the wife offered again, "I'll be very discreet."

"Ieyasu has suggested we meet for tea tomorrow afternoon," Hiryuu sighed exasperatedly as he glanced at the wife who clearly wanted to be helpful, "Find out what you can before then."