Remember
Chapter 4
Whispers of War
Flashbacks
'Thoughts'
(Inner Youkai/Deity/Spirit)
./\.
"Leaving so soon?" Tatsuya walked into the room the daiyoukai and human were staying, finding the young woman packing the few items they had with them.
"Yes, I wish to see Lady Katsumi." Touga replied.
"That would be good idea. Aside from that, staying in one place too long will be a grave mistake." Tatsuya added. "There is a storage room down the hall to the left. Take what you need."
"Oo, I'll be right back! Thanks!" Rin said, darting out the door. The panther directed his attention to the daiyoukai.
"Ayumi has told me much about her last night. An interesting creature she is."
"That is strange. I heard many noises last night, but none of it was conversation."
"P-pardon?!" Tatsuya sputtered in disbelief. Was he, the panther king, being teased by Touga, the former dog general of the west?! But the daiyoukai only looked at him with a blank expression. "A-as I was trying to say—" The look almost made him feel as if he had gone mad and imagined the statement. "Rin shares her own trouble. Many youkai go after her, to get to Lord Sesshomaru. Combine that with the dangers you are also facing… I do not doubt your strength, but it is much to take on. Ayumi just wants to be sure Rin will be alright."
"She will not be harmed."
"I don't know, you must be rusty—"
"Nothing will happen to her." (No one will touch her.)
"I'm sure you will try to protect her, but are you capable—"
"(Do not doubt my abilities.)" Tatsuya stared at him, before pointing to the daiyoukai's hands. They were fisted with his long claws digging into his palms and piercing his skin, his stripes were jagged.
"Can you protect her from yourself?" Rin came back into the room that moment, and immediately felt the tension in the room.
"Is something wrong…?" She asked looking back and forth between the two youkai.
"No, we were simply having a conversation." Touga replied, though his eyes did not leave Tatsuya's.
"Yes, nothing to worry about." Rin continued to look between both of them, obviously not believing a single word they said.
"Okay. I'm done packing now…"
"I will let Ayumi know." The panther left the room. Rin took this chance to examine Touga, and gasped when she saw the blood on his hands. She grasped his hands, palm-side up,
"What happened?"
Touga quickly brought his hands back to side, "It is nothing." Rin ignored him and grabbed one of the many clean wash cloths that were set out for them yesterday. She grabbed one of his hands again and patted the cloth of the small wounds. Most of them had already healed.
"I don't why you won't tell me. It angered you, whatever Tatsuya had said." She moved to his other hand, cleaning off the last of the blood.
"He questioned my abilities." Rin hummed in response, throwing the stained cloth in a basket.
"Why did that anger you?"
"I am not—" A light knock on the door interrupted their conversation.
"Rin?" It was Ayumi.
"Come in!" The older woman was all smiles when she entered. She bowed a bit to Touga as a greeting before asking,
"I wish to have a quick word with Rin, if that's alright with you?"
"Of course." Touga replied, leaving the room.
./\.
Rin was in currently in a river, the water lapping at her calves, with her kimono rolled up and make-shift spear in her hand. Touga was watching her, seated with his back against the bark of a large tree. It was around mid-day and the young woman mentioned that she was starving; they had decided to take a small break from the non-stop traveling. The daiyoukai resisted the urge to smile whenever he heard the petite woman rant when she missed the fishes with her spear.
"Do you need assistance?" He teased, enjoying the site of her "insulted" face.
"I am quite capable, thank you." She replied in cold, haughty tone, before playfully sticking her tongue out to the daiyoukai. She tried throwing her spear once more, this time pulling out with a large fish on one end. "Yes!" She cheered, making her way out of the water and towards Touga.
"Very impressive." The daiyoukai commented as the female spiked the fish and put to roast. Rin smiled knowingly at the inuyoukai, she saw he was trying to get a rise from her and this time she pointedly ignored him. She noted Touga's personality was beginning to show, and she was enjoying it. Rin did not know if it was him being more comfortable around her or if because more of his memories had surfaced. 'Maybe a combination of both.'
"Will Lady Katsumi be happy to see you? Tatsuya did not seem worried that we were heading that way."
"My last memories of her are a blur but do not feel negative, but the majority of them throughout Sesshomaru's life are…" Touga trailed off, and Rin continued.
"She seems like a nice woman. The resemblance between her and Sesshomaru is uncanny." The daiyoukai nodded. The two continued to sit in silence, enjoying the sounds of the crackling fire and the calm river. Just as Rin was about to grab her fish, she suddenly ended up standing, against Touga's back. She briefly wondered if the daiyoukai was able to move faster than even Sesshomaru.
"Someone is coming." Touga growled, his eyes set on the trees in front of them.
"Do they feel angry?" Rin asked silently, hoping they do not run into trouble.
"No… but urgent." Touga replied. The young woman peeked over the inuyoukai's shoulder, and saw a red and silver blur heading towards them.
"Inuyasha!"
./\.
Lady Katsumi was having trouble containing her wrath. This was disgraceful, barbaric, far below the standards of traditional youkai warfare and she expected more from the Imperial Dragon clan. In front of her home, the center of her domain, a pike was stabbed through the dirt with a body hanging from the wood, impaled. The body was covered in gashes, beaten beyond recognition, but they all knew who it was.
"Hideki…" The fox youkai was at her side, her crystal eyes wide with pain. "No…"
"Tamotsu!" A hawk youkai stood to attention.
"Yes m'lady?"
"Wake my son. He needs to see this."
./\.
Finally, he finally caught up to them.
Inuyasha was not surprised when Rin barreled towards him and pulled into a suffocating hug—when the hell did she get so much arm strength?—What had surprised him, was his father. There, standing only a few feet away. It was real. He was there, looking at him, at each other. He felt Rin let him go and run towards the fire, something about some fish.
"Inuyasha…?" Touga took a step forward, a hand rising towards him. The hanyou instinctively took a step back, and the daiyoukai returned to his original position, crestfallen. 'Fuck.' Inuyasha thought, he didn't want to start off on a bad foot but… What the hell was he supposed to do?
"Uh… Hi…" Inuyasha greeted, not wanting to come across as a complete asshole. "Uhm…" The hanyou scratched the back of head, his other hand on his hip. "So… you're alive."
"I am." 'No shit, Inuyasha.' The hanyou mentally scolded himself. Suddenly, Touga slapped his own neck, and looked down on his palm.
"MASSSTTERRR! It's been so long. You're alive, you're alive!" Myouga was hopping in excitement on the daiyoukai's hand. The flea did not catch the look on his face.
"A flea? Who are you?"
"Wh-who… wha…" Myouga's eyes began to sprout waterfalls, and fell to its knees. "After all we have been through, master! You don't remember me!?" Inuyasha snickered at the flea's torment; his father's bewildered face was also priceless. Rin returned, standing beside the daiyoukai as she looked down at Myouga.
"Aww, Myouga, it's okay." She lined up her palm next to Touga's and the depressed flea crawled over to the petite hand. "I'm sure the more time you spend with him, the more he will start to remember." She placed her other hand on his father's shoulder. "He'll be fine." She whispered with a smile, his father smiled back—and Inuyasha did not like this exchange at all. Rin directed her attention towards him. "Come here! You look tired, sit with us!" He was hesitant, but took up the human's offer.
./\.
"This is not work of the dragon clan."
"It's possible when you consider they may be playing with tigers and hyenas." Lady Katsumi stated, before ordering her men. "Take it down. Give him a proper place to rest."
"What do you know?" The female inu-youkai was glad her son was thinking straight, for now.
"That our enemies have abandoned their lands. Hideki was to investigate the Imperial Dragon Clan; he is the only one who returned dead. I have already sent more men to continue his investigation."
"If what you say is true, you are sending those men to their death." Lady Katsumi was fully aware of the risks.
"We must be certain before we act."
"And what do you know of father?" The female youkai inhaled deeply, she hoped this conversation could end in a civil manner.
"He does not remember a thing. His memories are purged. Some of his memory appears to be returning, according to Tamotsu, but he is far from whole." She could not gauge how her son was taking the information in, but his aura was still calm. Now came the hard part… "Your human, Rin, is with him as you said. She joined him of her own accord and is unharmed."
"Of her own accord…?"
"Yes, she found him injured from a recent battle and helped him recuperate. Do not tell me you are surprised. You know the girl will help any creature needing assistance, and she did not want to settle in that village." She watched her son carefully for any cracks in his mask, unsurprised when she found none. He was so perfect, wasn't he? Touga made sure of that.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"So you do not kill your father in a blind, youki-driven rage that will leave you just as empty as you are now. You have come far from what you once were just a few years ago, my son, and despite that you have all the reason to hate your father… You would not be here without him." Lady Katsumi replied with the harsh truth, removing a sheathed sword from her side. It was Bakusaiga. "Do not taint this blade, Sesshomaru, nor the meaning behind it." The male daiyoukai took the sword from her hand and strapped it to his side next to Tensaiga. Her son appeared to be ready to retaliate—
"M'lady, Lord Sesshomaru. I apologize for interrupting." A black inu-youkai had walked up to them, bowing before continuing. "It is about the Western lands. The south eastern border is being attacked by weasel youkai, but they are not dying."
"Explain."
"The soldiers continue cutting them down, but they just get right back up. They appear more mindless than usual, we suspect possession but it does not explain their sudden ability to regenerate." Lady Katsumi frowned; she hoped this had nothing to do with her missing stone. She observed Sesshomaru and could tell he was weighing his options.
"Your lands need you, Sesshomaru." And Lady Katsumi would hope he would listen.
./\.
"And I totally destroyed him with the backlash wave."
"It was Inuyasha's first time using it!" Myouga chimed in.
Touga's eyes widened, "It was? You defeated Ryukotsusei with your first backlash wave?"
"Y-yeah."
Rin had never seen Inuyasha embarrassed before, and she couldn't help but giggle at his expression. She continued munching down on her fire-roasted snapper as the three males continued with stories about Inuyasha's adventures. She studied the daiyoukai as he spoke and listened to his youngest son. Rin could see the shine in his eyes, that of a proud father. It was a nice change from the darkness that would dull his eyes when he thought of Sesshomaru.
'Sesshomaru.' That was the only thing missing here.
"And you are able to contain all those powers in this blade? How?"
"You mean it's not supposed to?"
Rin could see Inuyasha relaxing around his father as they conversed more, smiling when both of them shared a laugh. It was at the expense of an enemy, but it was still bonding! Her gaze shifted to Touga again, hyper-aware of how handsome the daiyoukai looked when he was smiling. His fangs peeking out of his curled lips, his silver hair shining in the afternoon sun, his tan skin—
"Rin, if you keep looking at my old man—" "Old man!?" "–like that, I think I'm going to have a heart attack." Rin snapped her eyes to Inuyasha, her cheeks reddening at being caught staring.
"I don't know what you mean, Inuyasha." She was proud of how straight she was able to state that, but there was no hiding from an Inu's nose.
"Uh huh, you're lucky I'm feeling merciful today." Inuyasha shook his head, and changed topics. "So how'd you end up with him?"
"I found him inquired in the forest near the village—"
"I think we might need to plan an intervention about your constant desire to pick up dangerous youkai."
"I-I don't do it often." "Horse crap."
"She told me she had met Sesshomaru in a similar manner."
"Yeah." Inuyasha nodded, "Did she mention she also did the same with a hawk, spider, and a freaking viper? All youkai. Shit, she also helped one of the daiyoukai from Ryukotsusei's clan."
"I d-didn't know!—" 'Wait, how does he know that one?'
"I almost lost my shit when Sesshomaru told me. How she ended up not dying after that, I'll never know."
Rin 'humphed' and crossed her arms, "I'm only trying to help."
The four of them continued, chatting for another hour or so before deciding to continue on to their destination. "So where are you guys headed?"
"We're going to visit Lady Katsumi!" Rin exclaimed. Myouga jumped off the human and began hopping over to Inuyasha, repeating 'Nope, nope, nope' along the way.
The hanyou looked at the flea oddly before asking, "Who's Lady Katsumi?"
Touga replied this time, "Sesshomaru's mother." Inuyasha paused in his step,
And promptly turned around. "See ya!"
"Where are you going, Inuyasha?" Rin asked, confused by his behavior.
"I don't think it would be a good idea for me to stroll up to Sesshomaru's mother's home. In case you both have forgotten, I'm from a different mother, after Sesshomaru."
A sudden roll of youki made the group stop in their tracks and raise their eyes skyward. A ball of light sped above them, heading west at an incredible speed. Rin watched till it was out of her sight, letting go of a breath she didn't know she was holding. It had been Sesshomaru, she was sure of it.
./\.
The group stopped traveling at sundown as usual, nearing the border of Lady Katsumi's hefty territory. Rin was able to convince Inuyasha to stay with them, but she had a feeling that he didn't need much convincing to stay by his father's side. The flea also decided to stay despite his fear of Lady Katsumi.
"We must be careful, Lady Katsumi has many ground dwelling youkai that protect her borders. It would probably be best to sleep in the trees tonight." Myouga announced, perched on Touga's armored shoulder. The daiyoukai nodded, before turning to Rin.
"Are you hungry?" Rin shook her head, though she was a bit hungry, she knew it would be dangerous for her to find food alone and she did not want to bother either of the stronger males.
"There's a hot spring nearby. I haven't bathed in days." Inuyasha mumbled, heading south of camp.
"I will join you. Myouga, stay with Rin."
The flea hopped over to Rin's shoulder, "Yes, Master!"
"You will be alright?"
She blushed under his concerned gaze, "I'll be fine!"
./\.
It was finished.
Sesshomaru stood among hundreds of corpses, Bakusaiga gleaming with the blood of his fallen enemies. The daiyoukai had been in battle since mid-morning to nightfall due to the sheer amount of youkai he had to cut through. His soldiers were useless against the regenerating abilities the enemy possessed, only his sword was able to bring the small army down. He wiped his blade off on the clothing of a lifeless body, before making his way to the leader he slayed.
There was nothing particularly special about these youkai, aside of how quickly they can reproduce and expand their population in limited time. If they were not too busy eating their young, and living their entire lives in a youkai state, perhaps they would amount to something greater.
The demon lord stood beside the large carcass, a strange aura emitting from it. Weasel youkai, like most demons, did not naturally have the ability to regenerate. That particular skill was generally found in reptile and certain insect youkai. With the tip of the blade, the demon lord stabbed through the protruding stomach of the fallen demon, revealing a black shard. The daiyoukai removed it with his free hand, inspecting the piece of stone in the moonlight. Sesshomaru's golden eyes narrowed when he saw a glimpse of the netherworld flash back at him.
A shard of the meidou stone.
./\.
"Hey, Touga?" Rin whispered from her tree branch, to the one below where the daiyoukai sat. Inuyasha was sleeping a few trees down, with Myouga probably somewhere in his hair. It was the middle of night; the young woman was having trouble sleeping in the tree, plus the chances of her seeing Sesshomaru were multiplying, leaving her extremely nervous and very awake.
"You have not slept." The daiyoukai's voice reached her ears.
"It is... difficult to sleep up here." The only times she was ever up in a tree was when she was hiding for her life.
"Come here." Confused by the request, Rin blinked and looked down; the daiyoukai was staring up at her, his golden eyes appeared to be glowing in the darkness. He was reaching out to her, and she accepted his hand before sliding off her branch and landing on his. Touga pulled her towards him, resting her back against his upper body before he loosely wrapped his arms around her small waist. "Better?"
It certainly helped with the constant feeling of falling, but now Rin's nervousness was tenfold being in the arms of the daiyoukai. Not trusting her voice, she merely nodded, hoping the darkness covered her hot face. Touga exhaled softly, relaxing his back against the bark as his eyes slid closed.
Their current position did not phase the daiyoukai at all. It seemed Touga did not have the same strict reservations about personal space that Inuyasha and Sesshomaru had, she pondered if that had to do with lack of memories or just how he was. With a mental shrug, Rin tried to focus on getting some sleep, shifting a bit to get comfortable against the inuyoukai and resting her head on his shoulder.
Both were completely unaware of the comically-wide eyes that watched them, and the flea that fainted and fell off the hanyou's shoulder.
./\.
"I will return, there is no doubt."
Lady Katsumi did not understand how her former mate accomplished it. She thought him mad when he first told her, the night he gave her instructions on what to do with the meidou stone and Tensaiga's purpose. He knew he would not survive the fight with Ryukotsusei and save his human mate, and he would not dare ask her or Sesshomaru for help.
'You knew how the future played out for both of your sons; you knew you would return…' Her yellow-gold eyes watched the night sky; she stood in the center of her massive gardens behind her home. 'How, Touga?'
"M'lady." It was Tamotsu, the hawk youkai who was in charge of watching over Touga.
"What are you doing here, Tamotsu?"
"Touga and his human companion, Rin, are heading this way. They also have two new travelers with them."
"Here? Are you positive?" The female inu-youkai was breathless, to see her former mate again… "Who is with them?"
"I overheard them speaking about their destination, m'lady, they are still traveling on foot. The hanyou son, Inuyasha and the old flea, Myouga are now with them."
"The hanyou…? Coming here?" Lady Katsumi's brows rose, either Inuyasha was very courageous or very stupid. "Very well. Have the servants prepare rooms for three."
'This will be quite interesting.'
./\.
End of Chapter 4
Author's Note: OMG, three chapters, three days. Is this real life? Maybe you are all allowed to get a bit excited, lol.
This chapter is bit short compared to the others, but I reallyyyy wanted it to end there. So yeah. :P
Thank you Mary and redsky for reviewing! And omg, redsky, you crazy. I can't believe I still have an old reader around. That's insane! You need like an award or something!
Remember to read and review, I would to hear feedback from everyone. :D
Reviews are loved! ;3
