Blanket Disclaimer: The writer does not own any characters created by Rumiko Takahashi but like everyone else wishes she did. All original characters or concepts are the author Inuma Asahi De's (with the exception of historical figures).
Chapter One Hundred
Hidden Truths; Obvious Lies
An owl hooted outside the room where Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru still stood neither man so much as flinching from the sound. Both brothers stared at one another, their identical golden eyes shining as they took the other in. The sound of Sesshoumaru's even breathing intermixed with Inuyasha's already erratic breaths created a strange sympathy in the darkness. The owl hooted in the distance once more and Inuyasha's ears twitched from the sound involuntarily. His older brother's prophetic words echoed in his head as both ears tweaked, each syllable surrounding Inuyasha with their impossibility.
"What they did to you."
He brought a hand up to rub over his mouth as if the action could help him calm his breath; it didn't.
"What they did to me."
He inhaled sharply and brought his hand away from his mouth to cover his eyes. "What they," He started to repeat only to have the words become lodged in his throat as he tried to even comprehend them. "Did to you?" He pulled the hand down over his face roughly and looked right into his brother's eyes. The lack of emotion he found in the other man's visage made him shake his head and growl. "What the hell?" He stepped back and gripped the Tetsusiagia in his hand firmly while glaring at the older man. "They—they never did anything."
Sesshoumaru closed his eyes at his brother's words, his expression so contained that it too seemed impossible. "Are you," He began carefully as he opened his eyes once more but not to look at his brother. "Sure?" The word came out of his mouth, a tiny wisp; a suggestion more than a question. His eyes turned to the candle watching as it flickered from his words as if he had spoken them right beside its flame.
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and shook his head as he took a step away from his brother. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Have you ever asked yourself," Sesshoumaru's golden eyes moved from the candle to his baby brother. "Why Myoga and Totosai never once suggested you come back here?"
"They never wanted me to—th-they knew," Inuyasha stuttered even though he thought the answer was obvious. "That you—you were here—that you had overthrown Otou-san and that," He hesitated as Sesshoumaru stared at him blankly, listening patiently with a look on his face that seemed to say he knew Inuyasha's words were false or better yet misguided. "You—you wanted me dead."
"I told you," Sesshoumaru closed his eyes as if asking for patience. "Things aren't as they seem."
"You tried to kill me!" Inuyasha threw back into his brother's face as his mind screamed and screamed with the memory of that last day in Nippon so long ago. He could see the look of horror on his mother's face, he could feel his brother's grip as Sesshoumaru yanked him out of his mother's protective grip, the scent of his father's blood dripping from Sesshoumaru's once white clothes, and then darkness as his young mind lost consciousness. "You yanked me out of Okaa-san's arms," He yelled in his brother's face as his nose was filled with the phantom memory of his father's blood. "You stank of Otou-san's blood!"
"I know." Sesshoumaru spat as his eyes narrowed, pain surfacing in the irises only briefly before they went cold and emotionless once more.
Inuyasha felt a lump form in his throat and for a moment he felt as if he were a little pup once more, mourning the death of a father he barely knew. "You killed our father." He bit out the words as his mind exploded with pain. "You sentenced my mother to death!" He gasped as his chest ripped his heart breaking. "You let my mate—my—my Kagome—," He bit into the side of his lip until the copper taste of his blood spilled into his mouth. "Disappear—you have done everything to me—every pain I've ever known is directly connected to you," He spat bits of blood actually crossing the room and splattering on the futon and Sesshoumaru's crossed legs. "They did nothing!"
"They did everything!" Sesshoumaru suddenly roared, his body springing upwards to his full height seeming to tower over Inuyasha even though the other man was by far taller.
Legitimately startled Inuyasha stepped back once more coming to stand on the porch. The coldness of the air hit him and he inhaled sharply as he stared at the ferocious eyes of his brother. Anger was seeping off of Sesshoumaru's every limb in such a way that, had Inuyasha been anyone else, he would have panicked from the sight. As if were, the younger dog demon merely gritted his teeth, his anger, his pain, and his hatred for the man in front of him fueling his next words. "You're lying."
The older dog demon growled slightly, whether it was directed towards Inuyasha or towards himself was hard to tell. "I'm not." He finally whispered but didn't make eye contact with his brother just yet. "This is the truth."
Inuyasha shook his head slowly back and forth as his mind was bombarded with emotions and thoughts he didn't want to have nor hear.
"I should listen to him." A part of his subconscious whispered and he resisted the urge to growl.
"I shouldn't even be wasting my time—I should be looking for Kagome." Another part of him countered angrily.
"She's been spirited away—," The voice of reason quickly jumped into the argument, sounding pitiful as if knew how pointless the argument was. "There's nothing I can do for that."
"Find mate." The demon in him joined in, growling low and dangerously in the back of Inuyasha's psyche where it was sealed away by the power of his father's fang.
Bombarded by these voices Inuyasha began to hyperventilate, his breath coming in giant gasping waves as the voices continued to speak quickly and almost all at once. Loudly, they argued, screaming at one another about what he should do. "Shut up." He whispered as he brought his hands up to his head, holding in the pain.
Unaware of his brother's internal conflicts, Sesshoumaru frowned thinking the words had been directed towards him. "Otouto," He chose to ignore his brother's quiet plea choosing instead to try to calm the man down and make him see some sort of reason. "Listen to me—," He paused and forced himself to say the next word. "Please."
"We should listen." The pitiful voice of reason in Inuyasha's head responded, the sound putting the half demon over the edge.
"Damn it!" Inuyasha growled without further thought as he slammed his one hand into the side of his head, beating at his temples. His claws nicked his flesh as he hit himself and Sesshoumaru sprang forward automatically and without thought.
"Stop that!" He commanded as he grabbed his brother's hands yanking them away from his temple furiously.
Instantly, Inuyasha snarled at his brother and threw him away, his eyes large and hurt and golden. "Don't touch me." He demanded as he glared at the man, a cold breeze blowing straight threw his clothes as he began to pant. "You're just—," He panted his heart racing and pounding against his rib cage. "You're trying to confuse me."
The older demon actually stepped away, confused by his brother's jumbled words. "What are you—?"
"No!" Inuyasha interrupted his brother, stepping away from him as he allowed insanity to consume his mind. "You're lying—distracting me from her." His eyes darted left and right as he looked for any possible means of escape, needing to leave, needing to find her. "I need—I need," He backed up a little more, his feet growing dangerously close to the edge of the porch. "To get to her."
"Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru eyed the edge of the porch, his eyes focused on his brother's feet just in case he, literally and not figuratively, went over the edge.
"Shut up." Inuyasha demanded, this time speaking directly to Sesshoumaru and not the voices in his head, as he unsheathed Tetsusiagia, the sound of metal scrapping against the sheath loud in the quite night.
Sesshoumaru instantly stepped backwards, his hands instinctively reaching for his own blade but freezing the second he realized Inuyasha's sword had not transformed. "Inuyasha—listen to me." He spoke carefully as he stared down the blade's curved edge. His eyes darted between the blade and his brother's feet, watching both vigilantly as he shifted his weight into the balls of his feet preparing himself to either dodge an attack or grab his brother as he fell. "You need to calm down."
"Don't tell me what to do." Inuyasha hissed from between his clenched teeth. "I've had enough of your lies." He bit the words out even as a nagging feeling jumped down his throat. "He doesn't smell of lies."
"Please, Ototou—." Sesshoumaru tried once more but was automatically interrupted by the sword pointing right towards his heart.
"Don't call me that." He snapped as he side glanced towards the garden at his back as if just now realizing he was in the open air. "Kagome needs me." He thought to himself ignoring his own lack of logic, the trees behind him catching his eyes. "She's more important than anything." He took one last step backwards, the ache in his heart was pulling him towards the edge of the porch and despite the fact that he couldn't do anything, (and he knew deep down inside that he was powerless to help her) he felt the need to, at the very least, try.
"Mate—."
His demon whispered and he closed his eyes in response. Instantly images of his wife, his mate, consumed him: her smile, the twinkle of her grey eyes, the slight dimple that popped up when she laughed. "You're more important than finding out if Sesshoumaru's telling the truth or not." His eyes snapped opened and he glared at Sesshoumaru, a hatred he was just beginning to question popping up in his expression once more. "I don't have time for this—Kagome needs me."
"Inuyasha." The older demon actually looked annoyed as he narrowed his eyes at his brother. "Don't be ridiculous, there's nothing you can do—you can't enter the world she's in."
"That may be so." Inuyasha glared at his brother darkly, his eyes becoming a darker and darker gold with each moment. "But if I didn't try what kind of mate would I be?"
For the first time in perhaps his whole life, Sesshoumaru felt completely stunned into silence. He stared at his brother, his eyes blinking a few times in wonder as the other man actually smirked but there was no mirth in the sight.
"That's what I thought." He spoke bluntly as he shook his head and turned on his heel. The cool moon hung in the air high over his head and he wetted his lips with his tongue as he looked out into the night. "Goshinboku—that tree—I should try there." He nodded once sharply as Tetsusaiga pulsated in his hand almost like it was trying to agree with his feelings. "I at least—I at least have to try." Not having to give it anymore thought, he shifted his weight onto his toes and sprang from the porch into the nearby brush.
"Damn it" Sesshoumaru growled slightly under his breath as he too shifted his weight and started off after his brother.
Irritation built up in his neck as his bare feet (he, of course, had not been wearing his shoes inside; that wasn't proper) hit the coldness of the slightly snow covered ground. It had been many years since Sesshoumaru had run bare foot and running bare foot now was just as unpleasant as he remembered. The back of Inuyasha's haori came back into his vision within seconds and the older demon narrowed his eyes.
"He's really moving." He thought absently as he pushed off the ground and up into the trees in order to gain a better visual on his brother.
Ahead of him, tearing through the underbrush, Inuyasha panted, his body still drained from his earlier transformation and the ailment which is a broken heart. If he was honest with himself, he would have admitted that he knew his actions were futile but he didn't care. "I have to find her." He told himself as the branches of the Goshinboku began to form on the horizon. "I have to—I need her."
"Do you have something to live for Captain?"
Her words were loud in his mind, loud and full of truth so deep that it would haunt him for the rest of his life.
"Yes." He whispered as he sprinted clinging to that one thought as his haori caught on the trees around him and the underbrush. The cold wind stung his face with every step, his body begging for the warmth that was Kagome, the warmth that was her laugh, her smile, her voice, her body against his in the dead of night—the warmth that gave him a reason to live.
"Do you have something to live for Captain?"
Inuyasha forced his eyes to stay open even as his answer consumed his very soul. "Only you."
-break-
Sango moaned slightly as she turned onto her side, a slight pain in her lower midsection followed by a kick to her ribs making her grunt as her eyes fluttered opened. The room was dark as she brought her hand upwards to rub at the spot where the baby had kicked. Almost immediately, the kicking started again intensifying slightly as her hand became almost a play toy for the child. Shifting uncomfortably, Sango huffed and growled, an odd pain in her lower back making it uncomfortable to lie down. With a deep breath, she pushed herself upwards on the strange bed, the baby kicking all the while.
"What's wrong with you?" Sango grumbled as the baby's kick shifted as she spoke, magically coming from the other side of her belly in such a strange way that she furrowed her brows in confusion. "I may never have been pregnant before but there's no way you're that flexible." She muttered to herself as she allowed her hand to move towards the new location until she became a catching mitt for the disgruntled child within once more.
For a few minutes she sat in silence, allowing the baby to kick her hand as the pain in her back began to lessen. Her eyes drifted closed with exhaustion and still sitting up she allowed herself to drift as the baby kicked. A slight cramping sensation in her lower abdomen replacing the pain in her back, however, made her eyes snap open within a few seconds.
"I can't win." She moaned as she dropped her hand away from the kicking child towards the new pain. She rubbed at it gingerly, pressing into her hard belly until it began to ebb, becoming nothing more than a slight dull ache. "Thank god." She sighed in relief as she dropped her hand away from her stomach and shifted a bit to get more comfortable. "There's no way I'm laying back down tonight anyway." She commented to herself and brought her arms up over her head to stretch.
The bedspread shifted beside her and she glanced down in time to see Miroku looking up at her with barely opened eyes. "Sango?" He mumbled and yawned but didn't move any further, his eyes not even bothering to stay opened as he reached for her blindly. His fingers connected with the side of her stomach and the child within happily changed its target from its mother's hand to its father. "Baby's awake."
"I noticed." Sango muttered sarcastically as Miroku's hand gently massaged over the baby's kicking feet for just a second more before it began to still, the man falling into sleep once more. "Oh—go ahead and sleep." Sango mumbled as she watched Miroku's eyes force themselves back opened. "I'm fine awake—alone—bored."
"Yeah?" He smiled at her lopsidedly, his messy loose hair falling into his face as he snuggled back down into the blanket happily. "Than—ks." He slurred over the word, his eyes closing the second it left his mouth.
The woman frowned as his breathing evened out as quickly as a child's. "Apparently sarcasms lost on you when you're half asleep." She pursed her lips but didn't say anything else as she stared at the man's sleeping face jealously, wishing he was still awake. "He could have at least protested a little." She huffed and brought her hands up, crossing them over her giant stomach. "No—my sweet Sango," She mimicked him sardonically even as Miroku's tiny snores began to hit the air. "Bearer of my child—I'll stay up with you." She muttered to herself as she reached down and grabbed the edge of Miroku's chin making the man's lips move. "I want to—I love you so." She scowled as he grunted in his sleep and swatted at her hand as if she were a gnat. "Jerk."
She huffed as the word left her mouth and turned away from her husband towards the little futon that rested just on the other side of the room. Draped across the bed, limbs strewn every which a way and mouth wide opened as he snored, was the tiny Shippo. She smiled at the sight as the little boy tossed and kicked in his sleep, muttering to himself in a nonsense language she couldn't possibly understand.
"Ma-," The boy grumbled as he threw one hand up in the air before flipping himself over onto his stomach. "Riko—," He smiled charmingly even as a bit of drool dribbled down his chin and onto the strange pillow's surface. "Chan."
"I understood that." Sango commented dryly but couldn't stop herself from smiling none-the-less. It had been a while since she had watched the young kit sleep, primarily because he had been bunking with primarily Myoga and Totosai lately. "Considering I'm pregnant and Kagome and Inuyasha are newlyweds it makes sense." She resisted the urge to yawn and the baby in her stomach practically started to dance making her groan. "If I was Shippo I wouldn't want to share a room with either circumstance." She stretched slightly as her mind began to wander, turning slowly towards Inuyasha and Kagome. "I wonder how their training went today?" She glanced towards the door at the thought as if part of her expected to see them suddenly.
A servant had informed them (by talking with Miroku in broken Nihon-go) that Inuyasha and Kagome would both be coming home quite late, so late in fact, that they shouldn't expect to see them. The whole thing seemed to be a bit odd but Miroku had reassured her that it was entirely possible. Inuyasha and Kagome were both undergoing challenging training in order to defeat something with inconceivable power, according to Sesshoumaru and Rin. So it was only natural that the two would be working exceedingly hard around the clock.
"Still," Sango rubbed her stomach gingerly as she stared at the doors, which lead to the garden. She could just see the moon through the paper panels, soft and luminescent. "Something about it feels—off." The pregnant woman bit the inside of her cheek at the thought but didn't allow herself to contemplate the issue further. Or better yet, was not able to. Quite suddenly, she felt a large kick from the baby and immediately grunted from the pain of it. "Ouch." She complained as the child continued hitting, punching and kicking almost violently right against her bladder. "Dear lord don't punch my bladder!" She grunted as the urge to pee overwhelmed her suddenly. "Not good."
Kicking the blanket off her feet as quickly as she could Sango scooted herself off the futon below her hastily. Before she could even surmise how to go about standing up without Miroku's help, however, she heard a strange small pop and then the heat of a liquid sensation between her legs. An instant sick and dreadful realization hit her that she couldn't even begin to explain. It was as if she knew, without having to be told, that she was not in fact wetting the bed like a toddler but instead experiencing something ten thousand times more terrifying.
"Oh my god." Sango whispered as her hands began to shake and her heart began to thud in her chest. "Miroku—." She whispered as the rush of fluid changed to a trickling sensation that was almost immediately replaced by that same cramping from before, a tightening she couldn't explain. "Oh god—not now." She thought as she reached behind her, grasping desperately for her husband. "Miroku." She called out again, her voice surprisingly calm as she finally came in contact with part of her husband.
"Huh?" Miroku started to open his eyes just as he felt fingers clamp down on hair. "Ow!" He screamed as Sango yanked him up and out of bed by his bangs. "What the fuck?" He screamed as she dragged him around, chunks of hair tearing out of forehead as he fought back the urge to scream.
Completely ignoring her husband's pain, Sango practically dropped him onto the mattress. "You need to get the midwife." She spoke without preamble as she shook away loose strands from her hand without a second thought.
Mouth a gap in silent horror, Miroku brought shaking hands up to his forehead feeling for the bald spot that now rested there. "Dear lord." He moaned as he felt the wetness of blood, tears pricking his eyes as he glared at his wife. "What the hell, Sango?"
"What's goin' on?" Shippo sat up on the other side of the room, his green eyes half asleep as he looked at the two.
Not even bothering to look towards her husband's horrified face or Shippo's sleepy one, Sango took a deep breath. The tightening in her lower abdomen shifted turning into a strange pressure that had a slight after effect of something akin to a normal cramp. "Get," She began to pant a bit as the pain started to radiate from her lower abdomen to her back. "The—," She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes as the pain intensified for just a moment before turning into the weirdest sensation of her muscles tightening up once more until it felt like her whole body was tightening. "Midwife."
Still reeling in pain Miroku looked at his wife like she had grown a second head. Perhaps it was because he was half asleep or, better yet, because of a (comparatively speaking) lower pain tolerance, that he didn't notice the tightness in his wife's voice or the strained look that covered her face. Either way, it was definitely a lack of judgment on his part that lead him to ask the proverbial question: "Why?"
"Because," Sango exploded as she reached for him grabbing his collar and shaking him just as the pain finally lessoned in her stomach, relaxing as her anger took over. "I'm in labor you idiot!"
"Labor!" Miroku felt his stomach immediately fall into his ass at her words. "Oh—okay—I—um—!" He jumped up as he managed to just disengage himself from his wife's angry fingers. "Midwife—got it," He yelled as he scrambled across the room practically falling flat on his face as the feet were tangled up in the sheets. "Damn it!" He cursed as he drug himself across the floor, kicking the sheets off as he went.
Growling slightly to herself Sango rolled her eyes and said a silent prayer for strength. Her face scrunched up as the weird sensation of the baby seeming to nervously punch at both her bladder and her ribcage made her nauseas and she closed her eyes. The sound of shifting to her right made her eyes snap open and dart in the direction of the unwelcomed noise just in time to see Shippo staring at her like a deer caught at the end of a hunter's bow. The little boy tried to smile but didn't even come close to succeeding as Sango narrowed her eyes at him, a deadly glare covering her normally mellow features.
"What are you looking at?" She snarled in Shippo's direct watching as all the color drained from the boy's face instantly.
"I'm gonna go help—Miroku." He quickly explained, not even bothering to answer her question, before rushing towards the opened screen door from which Miroku had disappeared only moments before. "Wait for me!" He yelled down the hall as he scrambled on all fours across the slick wood floor, his feet nearly sliding out from under him in his haste.
"Good." Sango rolled her eyes at the sight as her heart continued to pound in her chest.
Sitting alone in that one moment, the silence of the night all around her, she felt (as much as she hated to admit it) scared and desperately alone. For just that one moment, images of her mother popped up in her brain and she found herself silently wishing the dreadful woman was actually there. Before the thought could burden her heart too much, however, the image of the woman so like herself disappeared and she found herself thinking only of one person, the person she wanted with her as she entered this terrifying experience.
"Kagome—." Sango whispered as the sound of footsteps quickly rushing down the hall met her ears. "I need Kagome."
-break-
Kagome stared at Izayoi in front of her as if she were seeing a ghost that should not exist. The woman was exactly as Kagome had always seen in Inuyasha's memories, when she had been privy to them, of course. "She looks exactly as she did—when she died." The very thought made Kagome feel an ache form in her heart, her thoughts turning to the pain this woman's death had caused her husband.
The older woman smiled as she took in those grey eyes studying her with such bizarre certainty that it made her chuckle. "You look like you've seen a ghost." She closed her eyes at the suggestion, the joke hanging in the air between her and the other miko.
Kagome flushed instantly and turned her eyes away from the woman feeling awkward and out of place. "I never thought—." She started to say but closed her mouth as she shifted from side to side.
"That you would meet your in-laws?" Izayoi's brown eyes opened, the warmth in them making Kagome feel somehow inadequate next to this woman.
"Yeah." She answered plainly feeling stupid the second the words left her mouth. "I mean—I figured one day—maybe," She laughed slightly as her mouth ran away with her, taking over her. "When I die but—I never thought—in my life time you know, since I'm currently alive," She looked directly at the woman and, even though she knew it was inappropriate, continued on. "And you're not because you're dead," Kagome winced and managed to laugh ineptly as she held up her hands quickly struggling to correct herself. "I mean—well—you know you're dead—I don't have to tell you but—I'm gonna stop talking now."
The older miko looked at Kagome with that same tranquil smile on her features, although one of her eyebrows did rise delicately as if amused. The look made Kagome lower her body down slightly as her face began to grow even redder than it had been moments before.
"Um—." She opened her mouth trying to think of anything she could say to recover. "Nice," She stuttered slightly and looked down at the ground, staring at the greenery below her feet wishing it would swallow her whole. "To meet you?" She raised her head and tried to smile but the look instantly dropped as a strangled snort permeated the air. Her eyes quickly jumped towards the maker of the sound just in time to see Inutaisho's face contort into a line of laughter.
The barely contained line of laughter traveled within seconds to his golden eyes (so much like his sons, for good reason) coating them with barely contained mirth. "Dear lord," Inutaisho mumbled behind her as he struggled not to burst into laughter. "Our son married you."
"I noticed." Izayoi lost her composer as well, the tranquil expression on her face replaced by a giggle that she tried to cover up with a hand over her mouth but the action was completely useless. "I can't believe—oh god, I mean I knew but—." Izayoi continued to laugh while Kagome stood across from both her in-laws feeling tinier and tinier by the minute.
"Oh my god," Kagome closed her eyes wishing she could disappear by sheer will alone. "What's wrong with me?" She slapped one hand over her eyes as the continued laughter made her knees simply give out so she could sink to the ground in a puddle of her own humiliation.
As if she had spoken out loud Izayoi's voice suddenly entered the air as controlled as it had been only moments before. "Nothing's wrong with you Kagome."
The younger woman opened her eyes instantly blinking back her own confusion. The sound of approaching feet made her raise her head and her eyes widened in surprise as Izayoi knelt down right in front of her.
The older woman reached out her hand and gently touched Kagome's cheek caressing it lovingly with the tips of her fingers before allowing them to trail her jaw until they were under her chin. Skillfully they raised Kagome's face upwards so that the skilled miko could look Kagome directly in the eyes. "Such beautiful gray." She commented softly as she stared at the startled doe eyes of her daughter-in-law. "I've know these eyes for a long time Kagome."
"You have?" Kagome whispered not sure what else to say as she looked back at the other woman, the spot where Izayoi's fingers rested feeling cold, unnaturally so.
"Yes," She dropped her hand and shifted her weight slightly so that instead of kneeling she was on her knees. "I knew them the very moment Inuyasha was born." She explained, fondness creeping into her vision as she mentioned her son's name. "The second I held him in my arms, I saw everything that would happen in his life," The contentment in her voice was so reassuring that Kagome instantly forgot her embarrassment, allowing it to drift away sweetly. "Including meeting you."
"Just like Rin said." Kagome thought as she silently nodded her head at the woman waiting for her to continue on. "Izayoi saw everything before it happened—she knew." Behind her Inutaisho shifted as if uncomfortable, the action catching Kagome's eye only momentarily before Izayoi reached up her hand, the flicker of her fingers catching Kagome off guard.
The tips if her fingers were glowing with an ethereal whiteness, glistening like the sun at dawn. "It is because I know you Kagome—that I summoned you here," She motioned briefly backwards with her chin towards Inutaisho. "With his help of course."
"You're going to train me," Kagome bit her lip slightly as the glow from Izayoi's hands disappeared making her feel strange, almost dizzy. "Right?"
"Truthfully Kagome." Izayoi pushed herself up from the ground her hand falling to her side as she looked backwards towards the Goshinboku behind them. "I've been training you with Inutaisho's help," She looked over her shoulder at Kagome, her dark brown eyes deep and brooding almost. "All along."
"What?" Kagome pushed herself up onto her feet as well, her amazement clouding her eyes from the strange look Inutaisho was giving her. Just barely, she recognized a strange emotion floating in the air but as quickly as she felt it, it was gone. Still, she couldn't help but registered it even if only on a subconscious level. "Guilt."
"With Manten," She started making her way towards the tree, Kagome following without so much as a thought. "At the mouth of the Mississippi, at the pond in the New World." She looked over at Kagome, her chestnut eyes dancing with a strange sort of mirth. "When you were with Jiniji." She stopped underneath the otherworldly shade of the Goshinboku, the branches above her casting a shadow over her face. "My soul—Inutaisho's soul—we were beside you during it all."
"But," Kagome hesitated only a moment as she tried to wrap her mind around everything she was hearing. "I never saw you—I only—I only saw him."
Izayoi nodded as if the information was not surprising and reached over to feel the trunk of the tree causally. "That's because—when Inutaisho died, I anchored his soul to the living world." She explained as she gently massaged the tree's trunk lovingly. "I couldn't do that when I died so I can no longer cross between them but he can."
Kagome tilted her head to the side completely baffled by what her mother-in-law was trying to explain to her. "Pardon?"
"I," Izayoi spoke slowly being sure to enunciate in an almost mocking sort of way. "Anchored his soul." She paused as Kagome gave her a look that seemed to say she was still completely lost. "I guess I have to explain this more bluntly."
"Be nice," Inutaisho commented from behind her, his voice making Kagome jump slightly. "She's never been trained properly, she knows nothing of these things."
"I know that." Izayoi pouted like a small child but sent Kagome a look of apology all the same. "I blessed a single seed from a sacred tree and when I planted it here, the first water I gave it was with his death blood." She smiled sadly at the trunk of Goshinboku as she explained. "By doing so," She raised her chin and looked up into the branches. "I connected a part of his soul to the earthly realms indefinitely." She nodded as the explanation finished and turned back towards Kagome, looking at the girl almost expectantly. "I knew it would be best to create such a stable anchor—so I could help you, through him."
"Okay." Kagome nodded with acceptance at least understanding what Izayoi had done. "Rin did say she planted the sacred tree about four hundred years ago," Kagome lowered her chin as the thought ran through her mind. "That matches up with what Inuyasha's told me about his childhood," She looked up towards Izayoi again looking at the woman as she seemed to patiently wait for Kagome to process the information. "And since she could see the future, she would know to do something in order to get in contact with me—still." Kagome licked her lips as she searched her mother-in-law's face. It seemed to be almost blank in an eerie way. "I get that but—how did I get here then?"
"Sacred trees are like portals to the worlds beyond Kagome." Inutaisho suddenly cut in before his wife could even start to respond to the question. "There are many places like that on earth—the pond in the New World for one."
Kagome turned backwards, looking at the man as he spoke. Absently, she heard Izayoi huff behind her and turned just enough to see the woman cross her hands over her chest as if annoyed. "She seems so young." Kagome thought absently even as she realized how young Izayoi had really been when she died. "She was younger than my mother is right now—she was only—eighteen when she had Inuyasha, my mother was in her twenties when I was born." Her mind started to drift towards another thought, a far more dangerous one. "How old will I be—when—?" She inhaled sharply and pushed the thought away not allowing it to come to fruition.
"Through it we were able to communicate with you more openly." Inutaisho continued on not aware of Kagome's thoughts as some people might have been. "As your strength grew, however, we were able to use you as a portal—it was quite handy really."
The young girl managed to nod and turn away from Inutaisho, looking at the ground as a fill ache began to settle itself in her forehead. "My head's gonna explode." She told herself as she brought up a hand and rubbed at her temple as she grunted from the slight pain.
"Don't worry on such things Kagome—it's not important." Izayoi interjected before Inutaisho could add anything else to the conversation. "What is important is your training." She reached forward and planted a hand on Kagome's shoulder as she spoke. "It is nearly complete—except for your control."
"That's what Rin was doing." Kagome mumbled as she dropped her hands and looked at the older woman with pursed lips.
"I know—that was the original plan but things change." She dropped her hand automatically and looked away from Kagome in such a way that Kagome felt, for just a moment, uncomfortable as if there was something she was missing. "The kind of control you need to learn," Izayoi started, still not looking at Kagome directly, her eyes perched on the tree studying it as if at any moment it might turn purple. "Rin was not going to teach you."
"What kind of control do I need?" Kagome asked allowing the strange behavior of her in-law to wash away from her for now. "I can always think more on it later—for now this—training—in more important than anything."
"You need to practice how to control your powers," Izayoi inhaled once deeply, her shoulders seeming to roll back as she brought her face back around, looking at Kagome openly once more. "—so you can kill."
-break-
Rin leaned against Goshinboku's trunk, her eyes dulled as she listened to the tree moan with the wind. The cool summer night air touched her skin and she bit her lip feeling as if she didn't deserve such a nicety. Turning her head sideways, her cheek resting against the edge of the tree's trunk, Rin sighed. The ruff bark bit into her skin and she welcomed the dull pain, accepting it as a punishment for all she had done.
"Gomen naisai." She whispered into the bark of the tree apologizing for the pain she had inadvertently caused her brother-in-law. "I'm so sorry." She repeated in English as she closed her eyes, little tears beginning to swell under her eyelashes.
The wind around the tree picked up as her whispers hit the air. The warmth of it running through her hair made her eyes flutter open. A lone tear jumped from her lower lashes onto her cheek and she narrowed her eyes instantly. Pushing her body away from the tree, Rin reached up and rubbed the tear from her cheek. Her kimono shifted as she moved, the sound of the fabric rustling becoming lost in the sound of the leaves shaking above her head. The wind had started moving faster, flowing through the clearing with greater and greater speed.
Confused, she raised her chin upwards looking through the branches of the tree towards the waning moon. It was difficult to see through the branches, the waning circle broken up by the giant brown logs and their green leaves. Suddenly, the wind dipped down rushing towards her and she smiled brilliantly from the touch.
The wind encompassed her, an enchanting array of emotions flowing overt her: sadness and regret mixed with undeniable kindness, joy and a strangely beautiful contentment. Rin touched the ground as her eyes closed soaking up the riches of those tender emotions as they wrapped around her securely. Clawed fingers buried themselves in the rich earth and she pushed herself upwards eyes still closed. Her heart beat picked up in her chest and she closed her hands into fist feeling the dirt under her claws scrap against her skin.
Suddenly her eyes snapped opened as her mouth fell with a realization she couldn't quite comprehend. Brown irises instantly meet the world, taking in a soft iridescent light that had not been there before. It flowed all around her, wisp and trails of it translucent before her and yet so real. Her hands began to shake from the sight and her breath hitched in her throat as the wisp of light began to gather combining, becoming thicker right before her eyes.
"A soul." She barely managed to even think the words as the soft and now denser light weaved itself once around her, touching her skin with its cool warmth, the same as the summer air. The emotions she felt from it doubled and the tears that had barely touched her lashes began to double as she recognized the sensation of these emotions in a way Kagome was even not able to. "Kae—," She tried to say the name but it failed her so desperately that she instantly bowed her head low to the ground as a sob lodged itself in her throat.
"Shh." The gentle sound, motherly in a way, entered the air within seconds.
The sensation of a hand found its way to Rin's head, petting her softly. The pure gentleness of the sensation made the half demon's eyes snap opened once more. The soothing noise continued in her ear, the sound making her heart clench with even more remorse. The hand (that impossible hand) moved from her head to her back, rubbing over her spine with all the affection of a mother, even if she was much older than the spirit in question. Almost afraid to raise her head, Rin slowly looked upwards. The light she had seen only moments before now was a standing figure, translucent in the dull moonlight.
She recognized the body instantly, the curve of old age, the short stature from being hunched, and the face, covered with far more wrinkles than she seemed to remember. The eyes and lips were lined with them, consumed by them, making the face look far older than it had ten years before when she had first laid her eyes on the woman before her; in the same room she had first laid eyes on Kagome and Inuyasha.
Sesshoumaru and Rin sat side by side in the middle of the room, the ink painting of Rin hanging behind them as they stared across the small table at the strange woman. She had seemingly come out of thin air, appearing on their shores as if by magic with the name 'Inuyasha' on her lips.
"Who are you?" Sesshoumaru asked in English, a language that Rin had not been able to understand at the time.
"I—," The woman hesitated, her old joints creaking as she adjusted her position on the ground. "I am a friend of Inuyasha." She nodded her head as if she had to actually think of her relation to the man. "I was told I might be able to find him here."
Sesshoumaru glanced at Rin, translating the words into hasty Nihon-go before he looked at the old woman again. His chin lifted a little higher, a sign of subconscious feelings of superiority. "Why are you looking for him?"
Kaede looked down at the ground, the strange eye-patch, which covered one eye, drawing Rin's attention. Her old, yet much younger, hands reached up to touch the patch, caressing it oddly. "I just need to speak with him, that's all." She explained reluctantly, although why she was so reluctant was hard to tell.
Sesshoumaru nodded his head once and looked back at Rin carefully, catching her eye. "Kanojo wa," He raised an eyebrow as he spoke, his own curiosity peeking with each second. "Yosoku no hitodesu ka?" He asked bluntly and Rin felt her heart lodge in her throat.
Rin blinked, the memory fading in favor of the present but the connection between that past and the person before her now glaring. "The person Izayoi predicted." Rin translated now into English, his question ten years before hitting her hard in the chest. "Is this her?" She inhaled a shaky breath already knowing the truth. Just as it had been back then, ten years previously, before her now was the woman Izayoi had predicted. "The woman who would bring Inuyasha back to us—the woman to give the compass to."
Pain exploded in Rin's chest as the soft old face stared into her own. She looked so old, so much older than ten years before but those eyes hidden amongst the wrinkles were still as knowledgable and deep as they had been before, except for their color. In the place of what had once been a bright blue Shinigami eye was a hazel one that matched Kaede's true irises. It was an eye Rin had never known.
"Your eyes," She mumbled as she looked at the ghostly image with uncertainly. "They're human."
"Yes." The reply floated in the air, a feather light noise that gently touched Rin's very soul. "I am a Shinigami no more—."
"Kaede-sama." Rin finally managed to say the name allowing it to break away from her as if she were losing part of her own soul.
"It's been too long," Her voice whispered back sounding so much like Kaede in life that it was almost unnatural. "Rin-sama."
The pain in Rin's chest doubled as the realization from months before crept up in her throat. "It's true—you—I'm so sorry." Rin whispered as she dipped her head down towards the earth, pressing her forehead into the soil, remorse flooding her body. "I didn't—when this started—I never thought we'd lose you." She sobbed as she spoke, her tears touching the ground, mixing with the dirt and filth beneath her.
"Rin-sama." Kaede's whisper was gentle in the warm air, the sound instantly calming the turmoil within Rin's body. "We knew this would happen," Kaede replied back as her body began to form, an ethereal glow shrouding her. "It was—preordained."
Rin took a shaky breath as she tried to calm the aching gnawing feeling in her chest but nothing seemed to ease such a pain. "But—I had—I hoped—."
"That fate could be changed?" Kaede whispered speaking the words that Rin could not even attempt to utter. "Unfortunately, Izayoi's predictions seem to be—," She stopped speaking just long enough for Rin to finally raise her head a smudge of dirt on her crinkled brow. "Unstoppable." Kaede chuckled as she spoke, but the amused sound was hollow. "Everything she spoke of has come true." The old woman spoke as matter-of-factly as possible, as if she were merely commenting on the weather and not something as innately impossible as a woman predicting a future so perfectly. "She knew that Inuyasha would find Kikyo, that she would die, she knew that I would try to find him afterwards, she knew that a miko would be waiting for him on Port Royal, she knew that miko would need the compass to see the jewels." Kaede shook her head as she hesitated for just a moment. "So—she used the fact that I would be searching to set her plan in motion. She gave me the compass, she gave you the directions—she even came up with the lie for them in the beginning so that Inuyasha would ease into the idea of coming back here," She smiled the sight so strange on her calm face that it made Rin uneasy. "And she knew—that after all that I would die—after everything I would die."
"Gomen naisai." Rin apologized even though in her heart of hearts she knew this was not her fault. None of it was, she had only been enacting on orders as she too had been told to, yet (as she sat in the dirt now) she couldn't help but see her folly.
"There's nothing you could have done Rin." Kaede reassured smiling at the girl thoughtfully as she glanced towards Goshinboku. "Isn't it funny," Her breathy voice caressed the air. "When I came here ten years ago it was just to track down Inuyasha." She allowed her ghostly hand to drop away from the tree, the smile on her face disappearing with thought. "The mambo gave me these eyes to find him—that was all." She glanced towards Rin, the beauty of her natural brown eyes glistening as the energy of her spirit manifested around her, a soft white. "I bet she never realized what was in store for me here—what Izayoi knew that she did not."
"I wish—sometimes I wish that none of this—that this didn't have to be." Rin whispered as she resisted the urge to grasp one of Kaede's hands, to touch her and hold her. "But that's impossible." Her heart clenched in her chest realizing that was the absolute truth; she could never touch Kaede again. "Can't we—can't we change it?"
"I've met the vessel of the Shikon no Tama, Rin." Kaede spoke carefully as she looked down at the broken girl. "Just like Izayoi predicted I would—." Kaede shook her head and snickered slightly as if something was funny in a morbid way. "He's a monster Rin, a true monster." She closed her eyes and breathed in softly before allowing them to flutter opened. "He is what needs to be—," She paused and glanced towards Goshinboku, looking at it as if seeing it for the first time. "Changed."
"Changed?"
"Destroyed." Kaede corrected but there was something in her tone that seemed contradictory. "It is—more important that—that the jewel is destroyed, we have to make sure that happens," She reached out towards the tree as she spoke, gingerly allowing her ghostly hands to hover over the bark without touching it. "Even if," She sighed heavily as she spoke, bringing her hands away from the tree, her shoulders slouching slightly. "Izayoi's predictions are hard to accept."
"I know." Rin hung her head feeling both ashamed and, honestly, a bit empty inside. "I had—I hoped we could change it—," She gulped, trying to get rid of a lump that had suddenly jumped into her throat. "Change how this—this ends."
A strange look crossed Kaede's face that Rin didn't quite understand. "Tell me Rin," The sound of her voice jumped into the air suddenly but her lips didn't once move. "Do you really want it to change?"
Rin furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the girl confused. "What do you—," She paused and bit her lower lip in thought. "Mean?"
Kaede chuckled but there was absolutely no mirth in the sound. "Shinigami eyes show us many things," She felt her heart pull in her chest and she closed her eyes tightly. "Things we don't want to know."
"Is there a way—a way to change this?" Rin asked quickly the words coming off her tongue in hasty pants as she stared at Kaede.
The old spirit didn't answer, however, her neck twisting to look behind her at something Rin could not see. "It's almost time for me to go." She spoke with eerie calm that didn't seem to belong within the context of such a conversation. "Before I leave, I have a favor to ask." She whispered as she reached her hand outwards, the ghostly appendage extending forth towards Rin. As if by some greater supernatural power, a small letter emerged from the edge of her fingertips, solid and pliable. "Take this letter," She instructed just as Rin's hesitant fingertips began to reach out for the letter. "And listen closely. This is of the utmost importance."
Rin's wide eyes searched the old woman's face as the denseness of her ghostly figure began to seemingly evaporate becoming more and more lucent with each second. "Kaede?" Rin's eyes fell to the letter, the solid quality of it compared to the fading Kaede making it look intimidating.
"Take it." Kaede instructed, urgency surfacing in her voice that seemed odd after the tranquility of their earlier conversation. "And give it to Kagome when she returns."
Sniffling slight, Rin felt herself nod and her fingers grip, the solid visual of the letter becoming reality as it met her hands. She pulled it to her face instantly, staring at it as if it were a figment of her imagination and not real. "Is this—from you?"
"Yes." Kaede looked down at her, those giant doe eyes that seemed so childlike compared to the rest of her features boring into Rin's very soul. "She must read it Rin." The urgency in her tone doubled just as the features of her face seemed to wash away from the rest of her body, fading into the darkness of the night. "Goodbye."
"Kaede-sama!" Rin reached for her but it was too late, her clawed fingers meet nothing but air, exactly as they had mere hours ago when she reached for Kagome.
Her heart ached in her chest as she gripped the letter, crumbling it slightly in her hand as she stared blankly at the place Kaede had stood only moments before. Shaking, her eyes fell to the letter looking at it with morbid curiosity. It looked plain and unassuming, an off white piece of parchment that had been manipulated into the form of a normal envelope. Drawing it to her face, she smoothed the crushed edges, her eyes falling on the graceful loop of elegant calligraphy.
"Nani?" She mumbled as she studied each winding loop so carefully that her eyes actually traced the swaying movements of each letter until they widened in understanding. "Kagome O'Lionsigh." The importance of the name made her heart ache a little and she shook her head as she allowed her hands to drop to her lap. "Izayoi has her—she's trying to change the inevitable, isn't she?" Rin shook her head slowly a feeling of barely contained despair rushing throughout her. "Can we really change it? Is it really possible?" The wind caught the edges of her long hair just as the sound of crashing leaves and twigs reached her ears making her jump and fling herself around.
Within seconds, a flash of red threw itself through the underbrush followed by the glistening edge of a sharpened blade. Rin flew to her feet in response, shoving the letter into the edge of her obi as she stared at her panting brother-in-law with huge round eyes. Tetsusaiga was drawn, facing right towards the Goshinboku threateningly as it gleamed in the partial moonlight. The man's golden eyes were narrowed into slits, dangerous slits that seemed to say everything his mouth was incapable of even attempting to form.
"Inuyasha-sama?" She called but noticed instantly that the demon was not paying her any mind what-so-ever.
The dog demon drug his feet from the snow covered ground towards the warm air that surrounded the sacred tree, his eyes never leaving it as he panted. Dark circles under his eyes showed the tiredness that was reflected in the hunch of his back and the droop of his shoulders. "I'm gonna cut it down." He spoke without looking at Rin (it was debatable whether he was speaking to her or not in the first place) as he twisted the sword in one of his hands, spinning it on his wrist as if he were ridding it of nonexistent blood.
"Why?" Rin's voice nearly died in her throat as she spoke the words completely baffled just as Sesshoumaru entered the clearing. The older man looked at his startled wife calmly, a hint of apology in his vacant eyes. "What's going on?" Rin mouthed towards Sesshoumaru as she looked back and forth between her brother-in-law and husband completely perplexed.
"If I cut it down—," Inuyasha continued, speaking more to himself than anyone else in the clearing as he approached the tree, tightening his grip on the sword as he moved. "She'll—," He stopped only a few feet away from the trunk licking his lips as if he were nervous about something. "Maybe she'll come back."
"That's—." Rin tried to speak but was interrupted by her husband stepping more predominantly into the clearing, his golden eyes squarely focused on his younger brother.
"Insane." Sesshoumaru finished for his wife as he gracefully crossed the clearing towards his brother, his body seeming to glide between the orchard's trees. "If you cut it down," He spoke evenly as he stopped, standing only a few feet behind Inuyasha. "She might never be able to come back." He finished as he absorbed the warmth of Goshinboku's mystical air, the warmth making him feel strangely lethargic.
Exhausted and heartbroken Inuyasha shook his head violently as if he were trying to shake his brother's word off. "I have to do something."
"There's nothing you can do." Sesshoumaru supplied evenly as he glanced towards Rin. His golden eyes were unemotional and yet to her somehow pleading as if begging for assistance.
Rin shrugged her shoulders as she tried to figure out what she was supposed to do in this situation. "I barely know what's going on." She thought to herself as she looked at her distraught brother-in-law. "Inuyasha—," She stepped towards him, her feet shuffling as she picked up the edge of her kimono. "You need to calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down!" He threw back towards her as he pulled the sword upwards, lining it up with the tree as if he were about to carve into it.
"Inuyasha—," She stepped towards him, her hands extended outwards as he growled fiercely at her in return.
Sesshoumaru took a step forward as if to stand between them as he had before but she shook her head 'no' without even looking at him. The action was enough to make Sesshoumaru stand still but not enough to make his body unclench as he stared at his brother, waiting for any indication that his mate was in danger.
"I'm sorry." Rin continued on as she approached the half demon before her, watching as his eyes grew darker in color, not demonic but pained. "I know—I know you're hurting so badly right now." She spoke at a whisper as she finally came to stand beside him, her hands touching his shoulder. "Let me—take some of that pain," She whispered as she looked at those practically pleading molten eyes. "Onegai?" She smiled as she looked at him not waiting for any permission as she massaged his tense folder with the tips of her fingers before she closed her eyes.
With a deep breath, she allowed herself to lower her protective barriers. Instantly, she was hit with a wave of psychological and emotional turmoil followed by a deep cataclysmic throbbing, which started in her stomach before jumping into her heart. Her fingers tightened on Inuyasha's shoulder as both lost the ability to stand. Their bodies fell towards the ground, both landing on their knees as they leaned against the other. Rin gasped from the ache in her chest, her lips trembling as her eyes were overwhelmed with tears that Inuyasha could no longer shed.
Beside her, Inuyasha breathed in a deep slow breath as he felt remotely calm for the first time since he had awakened maybe an hour before. The intense pain that had encompassed his whole body began to dissipate ever so slightly and he allowed Tetsusaiga to slip from his fingers as he turned his eyes towards the tiny Rin.
"Arigato." He managed to whisper as he leaned into her slightly, her calming motherly milky scent making him calm even further as he closed his eyes, unable to keep them opened.
Rin only managed to nod in return as she closed her eyes and leaned into him as well, her hands shaking as they reach subconsciously towards her obi. She placed her hands directly over the spot where Kaede's letter to Kagome rested, the connection to the woman's name making some of Inuyasha's transferred pain lessen just a bit.
"Rin," Sesshoumaru's voice entered the clearing, the man standing apparently right behind them. "Daijobu?"
"Genki desu." She nodded as she raised her head upwards and sent her husband an only slightly strained smile.
Beside her, supporting himself against her side, Inuyasha opened his eyes back up, the ground blurring as his vision slowly returned. "What," He whispered, his voice hoarse enough to make him clear his throat. "The hell," He finally managed to say as he looked up at Rin, his eyes peering just slightly over her so that he also saw his brother. "Am I supposed to do?"
Rin reached around and rubbed Inuyasha's back, the fabric of the fire rat surprisingly soft to her fingertips. "You could listen." She offered up gently watching as the dog demon's ears twitched slightly but he didn't say anything. Rin started to open her mouth to add to her thought but Sesshoumaru raised his hand silently before she could speak. The woman nodded at the silent request and waited, her eyes turning back to the younger demon, her hands continuing to rub gently.
For several seconds the three basked in the silence of the night. Birds roosting in the warmth of Goshinboku's branches rustled and tweeted slightly as they drifted between sleep and awake. In the distance the sounds of faint music, as if someone was playing to themselves or to a child to help them sleep, drifted on the wind. It seemed so calm and natural and gentle and mocking.
Feeling unexplainably tired, Sesshoumaru finally decided to break the silence by releasing a strange and uncharacteristic sigh. Bringing his hands up to his face for just a moment he rubbed his hairless chin before lowering himself towards the ground casually sitting beside an upturned root from Goshinboku.
Inuyasha stared at his brother over Rin's shoulder not quite sure what to say as he watched the older man lean against the soft bark of the tree in the dirt, body somewhat slouched. The demonic lord looked so strange not sitting on his knees with his body rigid and solid, straight-backed and with squared his shoulders. His somewhat naturally narrowed gold eyes looked towards Inuyasha expectantly and the man frowned, taking in the out of the ordinary sight. Sitting before Inuyasha now was not the brother he remembered, the one who had been majestic and regal and perfect, the one he had worshipped as a child but been hated by in return. This man, in front of him now, was a stranger he had never met and was almost scared to become acquainted with. Shaking his head, the younger demon pulled himself away from his sister-in-law, managing to send her a soft yet strained smile in appreciation for her affection.
"I'm listening, Sesshoumaru." He started slowly as he looked at Sesshoumaru not quite certain how to word what he wanted to say. "What you said before—about what our—my," He shook his head feeling flustered as he tried to think of the right way to identify his parents. "My mother and our father," He finally settled on as he looked Sesshoumaru straight in the face. "Did to us? What did you mean?"
Sesshoumaru tilted his chin slightly downwards in contemplation, his eyes closing briefly before he opened them again with a sigh. "It's complicated." He spoke clearly even with his monotone. "You have to understand the state of the kingdom at the time Inuyasha." He raised his head once more and looked at his otouto, taking in the sordid expression that graced his younger brother's face. "Our father left—for a hundred years he was gone and I was in charge." He lifted his hand and pointed it at his chest as if Inuyasha needed to see as well as hear his words. "The people—the generals, more importantly, grew used to me."
"So," Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably, breaking eye contact with his brother to look towards the little candle. The light was dimming as if it were about to flicker out of existence. "They knew he would return and he did, so what's so important about that?"
"You're right, they knew he would return," The demon lord paused intentionally, needing Inuyasha to soak in what he was about to say fully. "What they didn't know was that he wouldn't be alone."
Inuyasha remained silent from the words; he knew what they meant.
"My father had returned with a mate." Sesshoumaru glanced towards Rin as if even he needed reassurance to tell this tale. She nodded at him once and looked away, she already knew what was about to be revealed. "And he already had one." He whispered as the clearing seemed to suddenly become even darker, the blackness of the story manifesting in their environment.
The ears on Inuyasha's head twitched instantly, information he had never heard suddenly jumping into his psyche. "What?"
"My mother Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru snorted, the sound so similar to Inuyasha's own snort that the younger demon winced. "She was alive—she still is." A bit of malice touched the older man's tongue as he spoke but he disguised it behind a strictly kept monotone. "Our father brought your mother here and claimed her—despite having another mate—a mate the generals loved."
"You're kidding?" Inuyasha shook his head as he racked his brain trying to remember if he had ever once thought about whom Sesshoumaru's mother had been. "I always assumed she had died." He told himself as this piece of his infamous life puzzle wedged its way into place. "What happened to her?"
"She stayed in the palace for a year or so before leaving." Sesshoumaru actually shrugged as he spoke, his expression virtually vacant. "I haven't seen her, honestly, since she left—no love lost."
"She didn't," Inuyasha brought a hand up to his face as he tried to process everything he was hearing. "She didn't care?" He asked as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
"The only person she ever cared about was herself." Rin spoke suddenly, a bitterness jumping into her voice that made Inuyasha's ears actually drop to the back of his head. "She was cold as ice."
"I see." He nodded, accepting the information easily as truth. Honestly, it was something he should have at least speculated at long ago. Turning his attention back towards his brother, he licked his lips, staring the other man straight in the eye. "I guess that's where you get it." He commented mockingly, waiting for Sesshoumaru to send him a bit of a growl but the sound never came.
Where Inuyasha expected to find anger, regret seemed to jump in its place. Sesshoumaru leaned against the tree trunk heavily, tilting his chin upwards to look at the silent sky above. The stars twinkled above their heads, the colors shifting through an impossible spectrum of light. "I wasn't always like this." He whispered into the night air, his voice smooth as he controlled it expertly. "I was more like our father once."
Surprised, Inuyasha looked immediately towards Rin his trust in her far greater than that of his trust in his brother. Just the look on her face, so calm and accepting, told him that this was truth and, for now, he chose to believe in her. "I'll put my faith in Rin—and believe for now." Turning back towards Sesshoumaru, he stared at the man for just a moment watching as the tired eyes studied the universe above them. "What changed you?" He asked pushing down his own skeptic thoughts about whether a change had ever really occurred.
"You." He closed his eyes as if he didn't want to see the look on Inuyasha's face as he continued. "You were born."
"I know," Inuyasha cut Sesshoumaru off before the man could send another unintentional (or, perhaps, intentional) insult. "Me—the half breed." He tried to keep the anger out of his voice and for the most part was successful; however, he couldn't stop his hand from gripping onto Tetsusiaga harder, the leather of the handle straining under his grip.
"At the time it was highly frowned upon." Sesshoumaru continued on ignoring the sound without even blinking an eye. "It was almost acceptable to have a full demon mistress and a few—illegitimates," He threw in, mumbling the word with a careful clear of his throat. "But a human and a half demon whelp?" He frowned darkly, his face actually turning into a dark line that Inuyasha could see despite the candle having gone out. "That was spitting in the generals faces."
Inuyasha bristled at his brother's words and growled as he glanced towards his sister-in-law. "How things have changed." He rolled his eyes as he spoke, allowing his sarcasm to seep into his voice.
"They have changed." Rin supplied as she sent Inuyasha an apologetic frown. "Four hundred years is a long time to live with hate in your heart."
Inuyasha felt his heart clench at the familiarity of her words, images of his wife jumping into his mind. Suddenly, Rin's face was replaced by Kagome's, her grey eyes gleaming with understanding and compassion for the entire world. They were so clear, so unclouded, so—, "Kagome." He inhaled sharply and unable to look at Rin any longer, Inuyasha tore his eyes away and back towards his brother. "What's any of this got to do with what they did to us?"
"The generals wanted to take the kingdom away from Chichiue—they viewed him as unstable because he had a human wife and half-demon son." Sesshoumaru explained ignoring the tortured expression that had crossed his brother's face momentarily. "They tried to keep it secret but Chichiue knew even before you were born that they were plotting." The demon lord shifted as he spoke, his eyes darkening with the information, hatred forming in the inherited irises. "Chichiue had to react—he had to protect us, protect the kingdom," The sound of his normally unemotional voice became mocking almost as if he were repeating something that had been said to him long ago. "—insure the kingdom stayed in the family line."
"So," Inuyasha furrowed his brows and looked towards his sister-in-law briefly but she was looking away, almost refusing to make eye contact. "What did he do?" He asked bluntly as his eyes turned back towards his brother.
For several seconds, Sesshoumaru didn't say anything, angry lines that looked so unnatural on his stoic face overtaking him. He growled deep in his throat and his eyes darted towards Inuyasha, all the hatred for their father building in his dark volcanic eyes. "He made me pretend to hate you." The words left his mouth with such venom that Inuyasha felt his breath leave his throat in a rush.
"What?" He managed to say as pushed himself up to his feet and backwards away from his brother and away from Rin.
"Chichie said," Sesshoumaru continued on as the anger in his face doubled from the memories from long ago. "If they think you hate this child, then the generals will see safety in the kingdom." He spoke with such accuracy that it was apparent these words were real, quoted directly from their father's mouth. "They will obey you, naturally anticipate you taking the throne, and they won't attack until your command."
Inuyasha opened his mouth to say something in response but found himself unable. It seemed so impossible. All his life he had thought this man hated him, hated him so completely. "He tried to kill me for heaven's sake." He told himself even as an inkling of doubt began to build up in his mind. Images from his childhood began to build in his head, his brother popping up in front of him with strained smiles and regretful eyes. Shaking his head he tried to make sense of the sights but found himself so bogged down with Information that he couldn't help to process it all.
"I hated him for that." Sesshoumaru went on not bothering to wait for his brother to say a word. "I absolutely hated him." The demon looked down as he tried to gain control of his own anger that was bubbling just under the surface of his well controlled features. "But he was right in a way. A few years passed and I played along." His voice grew monotone once more as he regained control of his emotions easily, years of practice making it far too easy to hide behind his mask. "The generals were holding secret meetings and calling me into them, begging me to rebel against Chichiue in a demonstration of loyalty."
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes in complete disbelief as (at least he thought) the puzzle began to fall perfectly into place. "So you did." He accused memories of Sesshoumaru coated in their father's blood springing into his mind, replacing those few images of his regretful eyes instantly.
Having stayed pretty much quiet throughout the conversation, Rin chose this moment to interject knowing her fellow half demon would only believe the words that came from her mouth as far as all of this was concerned. "There's more to it than that Inuyasha-sama." She whispered as she reached out and touched the sleeve of his haori pulling down on the material as if to pull her point into place. "Sesshoumaru-sama told them—Izayoi-sama and Inutaisho-sama—kept them informed about everything."
Inuyasha blinked as he took in her words. "You," He tried to form a sentence but it seemed impossible as he looked from Rin to Sesshoumaru with crazed disbelief forming in his eyes. "You told them?"
"Yes." The older demon nodded once, his eyes blank as he continued. "But Izayoi already knew."
"She sees the future." Rin supplied the unnecessary information, the emotion in her voice too lacking. "So she already knew—what you were destined to do—."
"And she knew what had to happen to get there." Sesshoumaru added as he finally, for the first time in several minutes, looked at Inuyasha in the eye. "She knew I had to be in control of the kingdom, I had to be lord, and that wouldn't happen unless I gained control of the generals. And—if the generals rebelled without me that might not be possible." He maintained eye contact with Inuyasha never once looking away from his brother. "They knew—that they had to strike first and I had to prove my loyalty to those bastards."
Inuyasha's eyes grew huge as he began to understand what Sesshoumaru was implying. It seemed downright impossible, improbable, and unbelievable but he knew that it was logical. The image of Sesshoumaru covered in blood haunted his mind and he felt bile rise up in his throat.
"There were two ways to prove my loyalty absolutely in the eyes of the generals." Sesshoumaru closed his eyes disengaging from his brother as pain actually formed on his face. "The first was to kill you." He brought his hands up towards his face covering his eyes as he whispered the last words. "But that of course wasn't an option—you had to be protected above everything else."
Inuyasha felt his stomach twist violently as he stared at his brother in absolute disbelief.
"So our only choice was the second option," Sesshoumaru gained control expertly once more as he pulled his hands away from his face and looked at his brother with such honesty in his eyes that Inuyasha had to take a step away. "I had to kill our father."
-break-
"Kill," Kagome took a step back and looked at Izayoi as if she were crazy. "I can't do that!" She protested her eyes darting between her father-in-law and her mother-in-law desperately. "I can't kill anyone."
"I'm afraid you will have to Kagome." Izayoi sent her an apologetic smile, her eyes appearing unnaturally dull as she looked toward Inutaisho as if wanting his reassurance.
"Things aren't as simple as they were." Inutaisho supplied softly as he looked from his wife to his daughter-in-law carefully. "Kagome—the people you helped, Onaconah, Kouga, Jinenji—," He trailed off for a second as he seemed to sort out his own thoughts. "Their antagonist were nothing compared to what you have to face."
"You mean," Kagome reached up towards her neck where the Shikon had rested for the better part of a year before she purified it. "The shikon?"
"And the man it controls." Izayoi added with a firm shake of her head.
"Sesshoumaru and Rin said something about that." Kagome tilted her chin downwards in thought the grass beneath her feet swayed in the otherworldly breeze that surrounded her. "The shikon is controlling someone—it's a part of them."
"Yes." Izayoi looked her straight in the eye adjusting herself so that her feet were planted more firmly against the ground as if prepare for an attack. "Someone you know—knew."
"Who?"
"Naraku." Inutaisho supplied this time not holding back the name for anything.
"What?" Kagome's eyes grew wide and her stomach feel into her heels. "Naraku?" She shook her head slowly back and forth as the image of that boy sitting in her mother's parlor on Port Royal filled her brain. "He's just a—." She stopped as the image shifted revealing the sadistic smile of the man as he had pinned her to the ground in the back hallway of the Shikuro months before. She could still see those dark, pitch black eyes staring at her with such evil venom dripping from their pupils that she had nearly fainted from the sensation overwhelming her. "He—." She wrapped her arms around herself shaking as she heard his voice just in the back of her mind.
"I killed your father."
She gasped as the sound of her voice made her heart split and ache. "He killed my father." She barely got out the words as she looked straight towards Izayoi, pleading with her to hear her voice. "He killed him."
"It was the jewel inside him Kagome—it controls him." Izayoi nodded her head, sending Kagome a pitying look as she stepped towards the other woman slowly. "It makes him dangerous Kagome." She spoke carefully, each word drawn out and contained. "Absolutely dangerous."
The repetition hit Kagome's stomach, the girl automatically understanding and nodding. "So—that's why you want me to kill him?" She whispered even as something about her own words made her feel somehow dirty.
"Yes." Izayoi nodded and sent Kagome a reassuring smile. "It's the only way to stop him."
"But," Kagome brought a hand up to her mouth rubbing nervously as her other hand wrapped itself around her waist as if protecting her from some evil. "It's wrong."
"He killed your father." Izayoi shook her head at Kagome, her eyes coating with confusion as she looked at the younger girl.
"I know." Kagome instantly agreed but something inside her pulled painfully at the thought. "But—can't I just purify the jewel in him like I did before?" She looked at Izayoi desperately, pleading for any out she could possibly find. "Wouldn't that solve everything?"
"It's not just the jewel Kagome," Izayoi explained, reaching forward and grasping Kagome's hands in her own to reiterate her point. "The jewel simply exacerbates the natural evil within him."
"Still," Kagome gulped as a panicked lump jumped up her throat that she could only just explain. "I purified others—people." She desperately grasped at anything that could stop her from performing such an atrocious act. "I could—."
"Naraku is too far gone Kagome." Izayoi looked her dead in the eye, unapologetically. "If you don't kill him," She spoke each word slowly and deliberately, wanting them to sink into Kagome's very soul. "You're dooming the world to die."
"But!" Kagome tried desperately even as Izayoi's grip on her fingers double, pulling her down.
"He will destroy it." She spoke sternly, ripping her hands away from Kagome's own fingers so that she could grasp Kagome's shoulders instead. "He will." She bit out the words as she shook Kagome slightly, trying to reiterate her point. "And purifying him—trying to—will not make a difference." She grasped Kagome's shoulders harder, pressing her fingers down.
Kagome swallowed hard as she looked at Izayoi's stern expression, the pain in her shoulders making her but her tongue. The urge to argue was overwhelming but something inside her was clouding her judgment in that moment. "Why—why does it bother me so much?" She asked herself as images of Naraku's cold face jumped into her mind, a seed of hatred bubbling in her heart. "He killed my father." She told herself as she tried to comprehend her own feelings. "That should be reason enough—shouldn't it?" She told herself, her love for her father clouding her eyes as she opened them once more.
"Are you ready Kagome?" Izayoi asked automatically as she looked into Kagome's opened eyes, studying them, looking for any self doubt that may be within them.
"It's for the greater good, right?" A voice in her head whispered even as another tried desperately in the background to be heard. "Your eyes Kagome—don't let them be cl—." Kagome blocked the voice out pushing it down for now as she allowed the other voice to guide her. "I'm—," She hesitated only a moment as she looked at Inuyasha's mother. "It's his mother," She told herself as she looked at those disarming doe eyes. "She knows—I can trust her—she knows more than I do about all this." Kagome inhaled deeply pushing down all her own turbulent feelings of doubt with surprising ease. "I'm ready." She spoke firmly without even the slightest quiver in her voice.
"Then," Izayoi dropped her hands away from Kagome's shoulders and looked behind herself towards the silent Inutaisho. She made eye contact with the man only briefly before he pulled his eyes away, looking instead at the Goshinboku. She frowned for only a second at the obvious snub but let it go as she turned back towards her new apprentice unhindered. "Let's begin."
End of Chapter
Please Review
A/N: It is now time for Kagome's training to truly begin but it seems her training will not be the kind one would expect for a Miko. Inuyasha's training meanwhile is at a bit of a standstill, isn't it? In its place, it seems, we are instead entering into a strange world of lies that Inuyasha has been told since he was a child. I guess the only questions that remain are: what is the truth and why was it hidden for so long? Until next time…
P.S. liberty-of-mind has created a great sketch dump of last chapter. It is absolutely fantastic and I really appreciated her hard work! If you want to view the picture you'll have to go to a very deviant site on the internet (wink wink) and type in her user name. It is awesome, so I recommend you take a look!
Bonus Point:
What do you think the sex of Sango's baby will be? (Hint: this chapter gave you some insight into the answer(s)…)
Last Chapter's Bonus Point:
The answer is Feudal era (Warring States is acceptable as well) and Sengoku Judai! Congrats to the winners!
TachiMakoto, InuLuna19, Glon Morski, AriaLuvsInu, SweetStareshine, Guest, atem4321, Leomae, Cagome, kan78, anime4eva222, Heavenly Eclipse, AidyanWarrior, shadowdancer261, Dream Out Loud 18, love INUYASHA and kagome, InuHanyou Jamie, Tigra22
Next Chapter:
Sesshoumaru's Mask
See you then!
UNEDITED
POSTED
6/19/2014