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Kagome stretched her still sore muscles releasing the leftover kinks in them while she yawned and sat up from her sleeping mat. The futon was rolled with little enthusiasm and placed in a corner near the entrance of the cave.
Today would be the day that she would be reunited with her Sesshomaru, and yet a weird feeling had her cagey instead of joyful at the prospect of his return. 'I hope all is well with him,' she wondered as she walked the short distance to the river for her morning ritual bath, and now some light exercises were added to the mix that included stretching, skipping and a fast jog up and down the river; the exercises had helped to alleviate the soreness in her muscles when her training had begun initially, but know it was strictly for fitness purposes.
Tora was nowhere in her sight or senses and she figured that he went to hunt for their morning meal. She sat for awhile in meditation and then got up and did what had to be done, preparing herself for her scheduled departure.
Dressing in the only set of clothes that she had left that was not torn and blood stained from her rigorous and sometimes brutal training with that pretentious, arrogant and workaholic cat, the thought had her seething, but the results were favorable causing her to smile; now she had full control over her powers, and her reiki had grown immensely from the workout and deep concentration that had to be employed for her to achieve her goals. "Kagome," the sound of her name had her exiting the cave and moving in the direction of the sound towards an open fire and beside the cat.
"Taizo please drink the potion, this will be the last time that you will have to endure the bitter taste and cramps," his grandmother urged him on sweetly and smiling as she placed the bowl to his lips. His nose scrunched up in distaste as the liquid was brought to his lips with its unpleasant scent and frothy grey look.
The contents of his stomach churned and he gulped harshly trying not to regurgitate his breakfast; it would make grandmother unhappy and he did not want that. Pinching his nose he inhaled deeply and downed the foul liquid in one drink, his eyes watered and he sucked with earnest on his tongue trying to rid of the stain and foulness of the concoction without much success. "See, it wasn't so bad now, was it?" his grandmother asked as she handed him a cup of water.
The pains in his stomach started almost immediately after he drank the water, doubling him over and he cried out in anguish, "mother please help me!" She ran to his side after watching the interaction between her son and his grandmother who had fed him the poisonous liquid. "My belly hurts so bad mother…Please make it stop," he mumbled and cried.
The distress and tears coming from her child faltered her resolve and the lid on her eyes and feelings lifted causing the well of her emotions to burst, and she cried and hugged her son so tightly to her bosom so that he gasped out loudly in discomfort. 'Maybe mother is wrong and Sesshomaru is not guilty of siding with the humans, and in turn will bring about the end of demon kind,' she reasoned internally as the pain and sobs shook her child's body violently.
It might be best, she thought if she abandoned mother's plans and leave with Taizo, because watching him suffer was killing her very quickly. 'I cannot do this, I thought I could but I can't. I cannot stand by and watch my son suffer for a cause that I am not so certain now is the right one.' Her thoughts were tension filled and as her son's tears soaked through her kimono she decided that, this was it, no more would she let her child abide with so much pain because of mother's need to dominate Sesshomaru, and using his own son against him no less was just too much; there had to be another way.
The sobs subsided and his breath evened out and soon he fell asleep in his mother's comforting embrace. Resting him on the bed she got up to go but Taizo grabbed onto her arm and looked sadly into her eyes and asked. "I am going to die, aren't I mother?" and he closed his eyes and fell back asleep immediately, leaving her speechless and torn with incomparable grief that had her crying in her palms silently. She left his bedside after she had calmed and went to find mother who was sitting in her study. She didn't bother to knock because she knew that lady mother was aware of her presence.
Turning the copper knob of the door handle she pushed the door half open and stood in the doorway with distress plainly written on her features. Lady Harumi was not surprised by the visit or the sadness of the female. She had raised both Seira and Yasu who now stood before her and knew their personalities very well, and had prepared for such eventualities; because nothing would spoil her plans to save her people.
In times of war casualties was a reality that had to measured, the means justified the ends. Nodding slowly she got up from her seat and approached the open doorway and Yasu. "Let us go and partake of the morning meal child," she said and walked by the younger demoness. "Mother, please wait," and the regal demoness stopped and gazed at her adopted daughter. "We need to talk," Yasu said almost pleadingly.
"Very well then, we can talk while we eat." And she continued forward alone until she heard the first footsteps of the female as she approached the kitchen. Taking a seat at the table lady Harumi waits for Yasu so they both could eat.
Breakfast was served after they were seated, and mother ate heartily while Yasu picked sparingly at her meal, her mind was on her sick and terrified child and she just could not erase those thoughts causing her appetite to vanish. Chewing on a small piece of venison she asked. "Mother can you not find another way of dealing with Sesshomaru than through Taizo?" she paused briefly with her head hanging low and did not see the angry scowl that swept across lady mother's face. "He is in pain, and I cannot do this to him anymore…I am sorry mother but I cannot help you any further," she said softly and hoping that mother would understand.
Clucking her tongue she replied a little annoyed. "Yasu my child, the plans cannot be changed, it is far too late. The council of lords convenes tomorrow and there I and the other lords who oppose my son's idealism will make our stand." The young demoness looked at her mother figure in disbelief and sighed but kept silent. "Why are you surprised, do you really believe that I would change the plans of my hard work and others to suit you?" She said and laughed spitefully.
Yasu pushed the chair hastily away and stood looking into the cruel eyes that she had not noticed before now was the devil masked as her mother. "I will not let you destroy my son, you said that the potion would make him a little sick so that Sesshomaru would have no choice but to side with you…But that is a lie, isn't it?" She asked with her voice shaky and eyes brimming with tears.
"You are naïve if you think that a sick child would bring my son to his knees, he would easily sniff through that deception and I have no intention of making that a possibility. Your son's sacrifice is for the greater good of us all." Shaking her head from side to side in shock and at her own stupidity, she declared. "You are going to kill him, make him a martyr for your cause. How could you deceive us all like that…mother?" And she cried tears of distress and of fear and sat back down hopelessly, because lady Harumi would never allow her to leave now.
She grunted to Yasu; it was close to an answer that she would get. The young demoness held her face in her palms and cried brokenly for her children and herself, she was used to aid the nobles against Sesshomaru in their fight for dominance and leadership that would see the victor forging ahead into the future.
Lady Harumi continued to eat her morning meal with a wandering mind as her ward cried, and she thought back to a time when she first met the young demoness. The land was ravaged by war, demon clans against each other fighting for prominence and the spoils of war, and it was a time when she was still tied to the Inu no Taishio who was Sesshomaru's father.
He had found her as a small child along with Seira and had brought them to her for fostering. Their entire village was raised to the ground and they were the only two survivors among the rubble. She had welcomed the idea because Sesshomaru was thirteen summers old and was spending less and less time with her, and the attachment of boy to mother was gradually being severed. He relished and yearned for the times he would spend with his father, and ignoring her completely.
Slowly and with purpose she reclined her chair and got up after finishing her sustenance, and walked over to her sobbing daughter. Stroking the demoness's fine whitish blonde hair she remarked. "I am sorry my daughter, hurting you was never what I wanted but I have little to work with," Yasu looked up with teary eyes at the only mother she had known from she was six years old, and then closed her eyes as the demoness's hands clutched her jaw and neck tightly, waiting on the inevitable.
She heard and felt the jerk as her head was snapped to the side forcibly, frightened and dying eyes flew wide open in awareness and staring in the face of death, eyes which would never close as death took away the light leaving darkness and emptiness in its wake. "I am sorry Yasu," the demoness whispered and walked away leaving thelifeless limp body resting on the chair.
Sesshomaru watched her as she sat by the river's edge totally absorbed in her thoughts that she did not sense his presence. He was still feeling out of sorts by the many mishaps since returning to his home, but the thought that he would see her today lifted his spirits. His friend Tora had sensed him from a far off and had joined him in mid flight where he was updated on her progress, he was pleased at the vast improvements in her skills as a priestess and as a fighter. But now here he stood waiting on her to notice him so that he could see that incredible smile that would make her eyes sparkle at the sight of him.
She had unbraided her hair and had on a thin dress the color of the summer's sky, which suited her perfectly with her mildly tanned skin and deep blue eyes. Her head tilted back as a wave of wind blew in her face, and the scent of rain in springtime and pinewood assaulted her nose. She got up in a rush and turned in the direction where the most sensual scent was emitted and gazed into the eyes of her love. "Sesshomaru," she beamed happily and ran to him as his arms opened accepting the love of his life that was missed achingly by him.
Yasu - peaceful princess/prince