Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Bleach.
It was fall in the Feudal Era. The forests were dyed in reds, yellows, oranges, and browns as leaves began to change and blanket the ground in their vibrant colors. The air held a distinct chill to it that served as a warning for winter but still remained pleasant on the skin. Especially after the unnaturally hot summer that year had brought. Fields all over were being harvested, the yields predicting winter's effect for every village.
This time found Inuyasha and his pack travelling in the northern regions. They currently found themselves walking through a vibrant forest with mountain peaks just barely visible through the thinning canopy of leaves. The brightness did much for the spirits of the weary travelers, especially after their last encounter with Naraku. Inuyasha, in particular, for he knew exactly where he was and was eager, yet apprehensive, to arrive. Guilt loitered around the edge of his thoughts, threatening to attack him, at having not thought to come back to this place since his awakening. It was stupid of him and he hoped, oh how he hoped, that the one he was looking for was still there. He knew he deserved an explanation.
As they neared the edge of the forest the hanyou had to forcibly make himself seem uninterested in the human village visible a short distance away. That in itself wasn't too difficult considering he couldn't care less about anyone living there. The thing he was interested in lay outside of the village. Pausing he scanned the area, but did not find the little hut he had hoped he would find. It was foolish, he supposed, to think that something that had seemed so close to falling down fifty years ago would still be standing then. Still he had hoped and he remained hopeful that who he was searching for was still somewhere.
" What's got you so excited, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, noticing the lack of a scowl on his face.
" I'm not excited."
" Uh huh." Her sarcasm didn't go unnoticed but, uncharacteristically, he decided to ignore it. Instead walking quickly towards the village.
As they entered they immediately noticed the decorations hanging around. Paper lanterns and charms were hung around houses and from roof tops, draping down over walk ways. A large fire burned in the middle of the village, many people gathered around eating food and sharing in various forms of merriment. Some danced, some talked, some laughed but all seemed equally joyous.
" It would seem as if we've walked into a festival." Miroku commented, eyeing two young women as they danced. Sango promptly smacked him in the head with her hiraikotsu. Nursing the growing lump on his head he sheepishly turned to an older man walking nearby and gained his attention. " Excuse me, sir, what exactly is going on here?"
" Oh travelers, are you? Well lucky for you, isn't it. We're in the middle of a festival as you can tell."
" What is it in celebration of?" Sango asked.
" Many years ago a demon from the mountains plagued our village. It attacked our townsfolk, raided our livestock, and destroyed our fields. In an effort to appease the demon we offered a sacrifice at a shrine at the base of its mountain and ever since we have not been bothered by it."
Sango scowled, unknowingly matching Inuyasha's look. " Only one sacrifice gave you years of peace from it? Normally demons would require many to stop attacking."
" It was no ordinary sacrifice, you see. It was a boy that had dealings with demons, with hair too white and eyes too bright to be fully human. Some say he had the blood of a demon in his veins, others that he had sold his soul to one. It's only natural that the beast would be satisfied after devouring a demon's spawn such as he."
Inuyasha's blood ran cold. " What was the boy's name?" the unnaturally quietness and dread in his voice immediately set the others on edge.
" Pardon?"
" The boy-what was his name?"
" I can't say I remember what they said his name was. Hits-something or another, I believe."
For a moment the information seemed to still the hanyou, but in truth it was like a hot knife to his chest; They had sacrificed Toshiro to a demon. He didn't want to believe it, couldn't fully grasp it. How could anyone look at the lonely, out casted, orphaned boy and allow a demon to devour him? He should have been there to protect him, to save him, from that horrible fate. Guilt grabbed a hold of him, images from memories assaulting his mind, each bringing their own wave of guilt and remorse. " You bastards." Fists clenched and jaw clenched he leveled a heated, infuriated glare on the man.
Pictures of Toshiro whenever he came to visit, his relief and ill contained happiness in his expression when the hanyou first came into sight, flooded his thoughts. " You bastards!" His yell disrupted the merry villagers, their attention turning to the scene before them.
He recalled all the times he'd come to find Toshiro injured, from small bruises to broken bones. All dealt by those living in the village. The boy had always been awfully thin because they refused to feed him. Had lived alone far away from the village because they had exiled him. " How can you live with yourselves!? Celebrating the murder of boy that had done nothing to you!"
" Inuyasha, calm down." Kagome tried, laying a hand on his arm. He shrugged her off, advancing towards the crowd of people.
" None of you even know his name, know anything about him, but you left him to die at the hands of a demon and you celebrate it! Just to save yourselves!" He remembered the pain, the loneliness etched into the young face, aging it well passed it's years. Inuyasha knew that the boy had such a kind heart that he tried so hard to hide from the cruelty he was met with.
And he remembered, so painfully clear, the fear and desperation in his teal eyes the last time he'd seen him. " You disgusting excuses for humans!"
" Wait! Inuyasha, please take me with you." The young voice cracked, choked with panic and desperation from an unknown threat. His skin pale and eyes wide, fear and apprehension gnawing at him.
" What's gotten into you? You know I'll be back in a week or two." A large, clawed hand ruffled his hair affectionately, oblivious to the dread eating away at the boy's nerves.
"You're worse than any demon!" the villagers had grouped together, cowering and afraid, unknowing in what to do in the face of the enraged hanyou. Inuyasha clenched his eyes shut, a growl ripping from him as he suppressed the desire to destroy the village and kill everyone in it for what they were doing. For what they had done. " You deserve nothing less than what you made him suffer through!" Again he advanced, the crowd flinching, panic beginning the set in.
Kagome, Sango, and Miroku rushed forward, stepping between the villagers and Inuyasha. " Stop Inuyasha." Miroku said, holding his staff out in front of him. The hanyou tore his gaze away and to his friends in front of him. They didn't know, couldn't understand what they had done. Toshiro was more than some sacrifice and here they all were, celebrating his murder like it was a holiday. They deserved death, to be tortured like they had slowly tortured Toshiro throughout his whole life. Then be ripped apart and left to die with no one to help them.
Fiery amber settled back on the people of the village, " If I ever hear of this festival taking place again… I will come back. And I will kill all of you." It was not a threat, but a promise that he intended to keep. With that he stalked off, leaving the terrified villagers and his confused friends behind as he headed towards the mountains.
It wasn't long before he found himself running as fast as his legs would carry him towards the shrine. He could smell the damp, decaying wood but the scent of a demon was not present. Emotion continually tried to choke him but he fought it down, maintaining his anger instead. When he finally arrived the sight that greeted him in front of the shrine filled him with grief but also gave him a sense of pride.
Bones were strewn about, from passed meals no doubt, but in the center was the skeleton of a large, serpent-like demon coiled and slightly buried in the damp dirt. Vines had long ago grown along the height of the remains. Near the front of the towering skeleton was a set of small human bones, dirty and fractured, but neatly laying. There was no scent of blood or death, but he hadn't thought there would be. It had been fifty years after all. Despite this he knew, without a doubt, that the human bones laying in front of him were Toshiro's. Staring at the remains he fell to his knees, apologies spilling from his lips for having failed to protect the one that was like his own little brother.
Kagome found him, hours later, sitting in front of a freshly dug grave. A large oval shaped rock placed at the head with the name Toshiro Hitsugaya etched carefully into it. She kept quiet, knowing this was something delicate and painful, and simply sat beside him. After giving her respects quietly, she waited until he spoke.
It took nearly half an hour but finally her patience was rewarded. " His name was Toshiro. I found him in the forest one day before I ever met Kikyo. He was…different than any human I'd come across before then. Especially for one so young. I made sure to visit often and check up on him after that. We even had a deal that when he got older I was going to take him away from that village and traveling with me. He had white hair and the brightest eyes I've ever seen, some combination of blue and green that was both but neither at the same time. That's all that was really different at first glance, but it was enough for them to hate him. He never did anything to deserve it." He paused before shaking his head with a growl. "I should have done something."
" You couldn't have known what was going to happen." Kagome remained silent but laid her hand on his, gently squeezing it.
" But I should have! I was leaving like I always did just days before Kikyo sealed me to the Goshinbaku. He knew, he must have known something. He seemed so much more persistent about going with me, desperate to not be left behind but I didn't pay attention to it." He'd been begging for help, for Inuyasha to save him, but had too much pride to ask. He'd hoped, wished, prayed for Inuyasha to just take him away but he hadn't and had instead excepted his fate.
Inuyasha gave an empty laugh. " At least he took the asshole with him." Kagome turned to look at the old demon carcass towering behind them.
" Seemed like one strong kid." She commented, trying to coax Inuyasha into talking more. And he did. He told her more about Toshiro and multiple tales of their hunting trips, demon exterminations, and training sessions. He spoke of conversations and silence held under countless moons and of the brotherly bond that bloomed over many days. Inuyasha recounted times from his past with Toshiro for hours until he found that he felt better, less burdened by loss and guilt.
" Thank you, Kagome." He whispered to her sleeping form draped over his back as he walked towards the scent of his friends. Behind him the grave faded from sight, a small bundle of daffodils resting against the stone marker.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter and will stay tuned for the next. I'd also love it if you would leave a review telling me what you think.
~MusicFantasi