Chapter notes:
"When a man loves, he seeks no power, and therefore he has power.""
This chapter dedicated to : Divine Rose, sfdmoment and elusivequeenbee
For you guys always been there for me (^_^) Love you all!
The Lily of the Valley signifies "The Return of Happiness"
Disclaimer: The depictions of the characters in this story are completely fictitious. In no way does this represent the views or the story arcs as envisaged by the original copyright owners of this franchise and its characters. The ownership if the characters and the original concept are sole properties of Rumiko Takahashi.
Chapter 19 – My Guardian Angel, My Father
Aito runs as far as his short legs can take him and as fast as his stamina lasts. He needs to get away from the hut, to get away from Jaken, his mother and Ryuuki.
He knows the little imp will have now started to compare him to Sesshoumaru. About him being the Taiyoukai's weak son who neither has the strength of the demon lord nor the appearance like that of the western lord's.
Aito doesn't need all those insulting comparisons. He admires Sesshoumaru with all his heart and all the time just wishes to grow up to become as strong as him. But who would have guessed that this very important and respectable lord is his father.
Why? The boy bites his inner lips hard enough to realize that he is indeed facing reality. He is hoping dearly that what he had heard earlier was just a dream. It is not that he doesn't like Sesshoumaru as his father but the boy is having a hard time to sort all the puzzles clouding over his small weak head.
Why mother never told me about Lord Sesshoumaru? He whispers painfully. All the time when he had barely reached 2 years of age, when he needed his father's support, Rin never revealed any information about Sesshoumaru.
The boy would constantly inquire about his father but most of the times his mother would only advice him to not grow up hating his father and would only imply that he is a strong man, never explaining about his features or how he looked like.
Aito feels tired, but he won't stop if the thoughts are still alive in his head. He wishes to keep running and let the winds blow away the annoying doubts and riddles.
Why Lord Sesshoumaru wants to hide my identity? What have I done to shame him that he wouldn't even want me? Why did he just keep quiet in the village when the village boys bad mouthed me about not having a father? WHY? What have I done to make my own father hate me that much?
The boy shuts off his sunset eyes tightly and shakes his head heavily to get rid of every single word that was heard behind the bushes.
Is Sesshoumaru, Aito's father?
His small hands clench into tight fists as his legs continue pacing.
Yes Aito is the son of the great dog demon Sesshoumaru.
The boy increases his speed shaking his head violently to discard the voices in his head of his mother.
Yes Aito is the son of the great dog demon Sesshoumaru.
As Rin's voices become stronger and clearer with each of her words getting absorbed through his head, flowing into all the veins in his body, Aito pauses abruptly. With both of his hands pressing firmly at the sides of his ears, the boy shouts at the top of his lungs.
"WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?"
The boy drops to his knees and breaks down. It is strange that at this moment he could hear his own voice echoing into his ears. His wet sunset eyes lifts up to scan the surroundings and notices he is surround by thick trees.
Finally, all voices seem to vanish. He is no longer hearing the leopard demon's question or his mother's answer anymore. All he can hear now is the foliage swaying in the wind and the music of the trees dancing along with the wind.
The boy sniffs heavily and desperately wipes away the tears from his eyes with his hands. He lowers his gaze onto his lap and remains in this position for some time.
Outside of the thick forest, an apprehensive mother is searching desperately for her beloved lost son. Knowing that she has stepped quite far off from the hut, braking her promise to the demon lord, Rin is ready to face whatever harm that may come her way for her son's sake.
The girl curses herself for not revealing the truth earlier to her son. If only she had chosen to tell the boy about Sesshoumaru, this mishap would not have happened. She swears she will end her life immediately if something happens to the boy. There is no way she is going to forgive herself anymore after what she has done.
Firstly, she has avoided her son's queries to know about his father's identity. Secondly, she has separated the boy from his father since birth. Last but not the least, she has let the bond between the father and son grow too deep without revealing the truth.
Rin stops in her tracks and tries to catch her breath. Her heart is beyond anxiety and she thinks she will go crazy any moment. Her mind wanders back to the day which took place 5 years ago.
"If only I had a little courage to speak to Lord Sesshoumaru after the incident, perhaps today's disaster would not happen." Her hands clench into tight fists and she shakes her head vigorously.
"No, this is not the right time to talk about what had happened, I need to walk faster and find Aito." with one of her hands pressing firmly onto her chest to check on her heart beat. She inhales deeply and exhales out to regain more stamina before continuing on to run deeper into the thick forests with hopes of her lord returning earlier than he had promised.
Back in the centre of the thick forest, Aito shifts his gaze from his laps and docks his head high up to the blue skies. He sniffs the air around to take in the scent from the surroundings and realizes the humidity has changed and the temperature has slightly dropped.
Guilt rushes in as the boy realizes he has been away from his mother for quite a long while. Although there are still many unanswered questions, he never wishes to make his mother worry about his safety, never intends or plans to hurt his poor mother in any way. Besides, he had promised the demon lord to stay within the hut areas.
He is determined to start moving back towards his house and hopes to reach before the sun sets, it is at this moment that the boy's sensitive ears pick up movements in the nearby trees.
Aito rolls his eyes to the left and gets ready to avoid whatever attack that might be coming his way. Carefully, by drawing on all the senses that the Taiyoukai has taught him to use, he feels the presence of a few demons in vicinity. Sniffing the scents of the demons, his lack of experience prevents him from recognizing the type of demons that are now approaching him.
The boy turns abruptly to his left, slowly a demon walks out from the trees.
"Oh my, oh my, look what we have here brother. A human kid that doesn't look like an ordinary human at all." Aito sends a deadly glare to the demon who is now visible in front of him. The boy scans the features on the demon's face and realizes it resembles a tiger. Soon after another demons walk out from behind the tiger demon. This one appears to be a hyena demon.
"So boy were you the one who was shouting out loud in the middle of this forest? I am surprised though that such a tiny being like you would have such a strong voice."
The tiger moves closer to the side of Aito and kneels down to observe him intensely. The boy shows no sign of fear and doesn't even step back as the tiger inches his face close to him.
"Such a brave little kid, do you not fear I will devour you little one?" He smirks but Aito pays no heed to whatever the tiger is murmuring. The boy then turns to take his leave but stops short as he hears hissing coming from his back.
"How dare you not pay attention to me kid! What a useless human being!" The tiger raises his right hand with his sharp claws ready to pierce the kid but a voice interrupts him from behind.
"Hold on buddy, this boy may turn out to be more interesting than you would have thought." The hyena steps in and firmly places his hand on the tiger's shoulder.
"I fail to see anything interesting about this boy except for his manners, it is getting on my nerves." The tiger narrows his eyes and replies furiously.
"Clam down my friend, look at his appearance. An ordinary human does not have white hair even though his sense may betray his appearance, I strongly suspect the kid is a half demon." The hyena states in amusement while the tiger taps his finger on his chin in a thinking position.
"Who are you kid? How dare you make noise and disturb us while we rest" Another voice comes from the back of the demon duo and it sounds even more enraged than these two. The tiger and hyena demons split into two to make way for the lion.
"I didn't know you were all sleeping. Besides this forest belongs to no one person, I have the right to do what I want here. But since I have disturbed your rest then I apologize, sorry." Aito turns once again and walks away from the trio. Deep inside his heart, he knows he has caused trouble and needs to get away from this forest as fast as he can. But before the boy starts to runs, the lion demon leaps into the air and flies past the boy to lands in front of him blocking his way.
"You are not going anywhere boy. If your useless mother didn't teach you some manners then I shall do that on your father's behalf." The lion smirks malevolently at his own statements but Aito is not happy to hear it.
"Do not insult my mother! You have no right to teach me anything!" The boy yells and he earns more disdainful smirks from the trio.
"Ah, I see that you need a little smack on your butt kid. Don't worry I won't use much force. You will feel less pain." With that warning escaping from the lion's mouth, he leaps high up into the air and prepares to charge down at the boy with a loud roar that awakes every single living thing in the forest. Aito bares his teeth in fury ready to face his strong opponent.
The ear piercing roar sends chills all over Rin's body. She stops in her tracks with her heart pounding fast out of worry.
What was that sound? Could it be Aito?
The girl covers her parted mouth at the thought of her son being in danger. Quickly she runs as fast as her legs can take her in the direction of the roar.
Oh god, please don't harm my poor son. I pray for my son's safety with all my heart.
Back to the hut,
A concerned green toad is wandering in front of the hut hoping Rin would come back with Aito in time before the demon lord returns. His mind can't rest peacefully because he alone has to take the responsibility for not watching over the kid properly and letting the boy to sneak away so easily. Of course he isn't entirely blaming himself but knowing his lord's protective acts over the kid, Jaken knows well he will be punished before he is even allowed to explain.
"Arghhh! Lord Sesshaoumaru is going to kill me!" The green kappa shouts out loud without noticing the demon lord who is now standing right behind him.
"Jaken!" The green toad gasps as he turns slowly to see the taiyoukai right behind him. He instantly falls on his knees feeling it is better to reveal everything before the demon lord asks for it.
"My lord, Aito has run away from the hut and now Rin has gone to search for him. They have been away for quite long and Rin wanted me to inform you that she wants my lord to search for her as soon as you returned." The green toad's head falling on the ground while explaining the situation.
"Why did Aito suddenly run away?" Sesshoumaru asks curiously.
"Because that Ryuuki showed up and talked something about my lord being the father of the boy. Aito and I were hiding behind the bushes when the conversation between the leopard and Rin took place." A small bead of sweat is visible on the side of the imp's face.
"Why did you not stop him?" Sesshouamru growls in anger.
'My lord I didn't realize that the boy sneaked away until Rin found me out. I am sorry my lord, rest assured that I will help to find them safely even if I have to lose my life." The little kappa buries his head into the ground asking for forgiveness as he notices that the Taiyoukai has walked away.
"If something happens to them I will kill you." With that the demon lord turns into a golden orb and disappears into thin air.
Jaken dumbfounded by the Taiyoukai's statement, he gulps in fear praying that Rin and Aito will return safely.
Back into the forest
As Rin approaches almost the centre of the thick forest, she can hear the evil giggling of men and some strange words like there you go boy and that's the way boy. Her large hazelnut eyes widens in dread knowing it has to be her son. As she crosses the last group of large trees which reveals the centre of the forest, the first scene she witnesses is that of Aito's body being flung at the nearby tree with full force.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO." Rin screams at the top of her lungs causing all three demons to turn their attention onto her.
The girl then speeds to her son's side and helps the boy to sit up. Her heart is petrified as she spots a small blood drop on the side of the kid's mouth. She wraps her hands around the boy's body while sending a deadly glare to the demons.
"How dare you hurt my son?" She yells with her loath filled gaze fixed on each demon's face. The hyena just merely chuckles in joy, the tiger watching the girl in awe while the lion scans the girl intensely full of interest.
"Ah here's the mother of the boy. Oh my look how pretty she is." The tiger voices out with the hyena nodding in agreement. The lion demon takes the initiative to move closer to the girl's side.
"My lady, this is some misunderstanding. We are not hurting your son. It was him who disturbed us at first and when we slightly warned him, he paid no heed. This is merely a lesson for the boy." The lion demon explains in a very put-on gentlemanly manner trying to calm the girl down with an agenda. The hyena and the tiger chuckle at their buddy's intentions.
"He is only a kid! You don't have to use such strength." Rin bawls as she cradles her son closer to her chest. "I should be the one to teach him not any low life strangers like you." Rin states firmly while she watches Aito regain his strength and slightly pull away from his mother.
"Is that what you call power, lion? That hardly scratches my skin. My father is way supreme than you!" Aito shoots a humiliating glare with a petulant chuckle. Rin's eyes widen in astonishment while the lion's blood boils in his vein. His face trembles in seething rage while his hands now clench into extremely tight fists.
"Why you damn kid! Who's your father? Summon him out for a challenge and let's prove who the almighty demon is!" The incensed lion growls causing the girl to pull her son closer.
"Aito, don't mess with them we have to go now. Please my dear son." The boy doesn't pay attention to his mother at all. Instead he rises on his feet and laughs out loud; Rin follows her son and stands up with one of her hands supporting the back of her son.
"Listen lion, my father is the great dog demon of the west. Lord Sesshoumaru!" He proudly declares it with his chest puffed out with pride. His mother smiles sheepishly at her son's statement. He's accepting Lord Sesshoumaru
The hyena and tiger demon's jaws drop immediately. Of course the kid may be lying but as they both compare this tiny boy to the Taiyoukai, they find some similarities between them. Both demons step backwards slightly with their mouths now trembling in fear.
Upon noticing his buddies retreating a little bit, the lion turns furiously to face the two.
"Cowards! How can you believe this boy's statement? Do you think Sesshoumaru would have gone this low to take a human as his mate? Just look at your surroundings, the demon lord is nowhere to be seen." He turns away from his buddies and walks closer to the mother and son.
"I suspect that he was just having fun bedding with this wench and then later abandoned this useless half breed." The lion laughs out whole heartedly with those insulting allusions. Aito is now foaming furious. He doesn't know why the demon lord left him but he detests the way the lion is making fun of the Taiyoukai and his mother.
Rin reaches out with her right hand and slaps hard on the lion's face. The hyena and tiger are taken aback by the girl's bravery
"Lord Sesshoumaru will never leave us behind!" She rebuts vehemently.
That is it, the lion has run out of patience. The fact that he has just been slapped by a human girl is really humiliating for his pride. He grabs the girl's neck and slaps each side of her face before throwing her on the forest floor right in front of the hyena and the tiger.
Aito's eyes pop wide open appalled and enraged. He dashes towards the lion and wraps his arms around the lion's legs and sinks his teeth on the demon's skin.
The lion demon swings his legs forcefully. The boy is flung towards yet another tree with his back hitting hard on the tree and drops onto the grass.
"NO!" Rin wails out loud, her heart is crushed at the sight of her son being hurt again and again.
"You two stop the girl from interrupting me. I shall kill the boy before we have our way with the wench. Who knows Sesshoumaru might even be pleased with what we have done, to wipe out the half breed and the human girl." With that instruction, the hyena and tiger demons hold on to Rin's arms to forbid her from running to her son's side.
As the lion demon steps closer to where Aito lays, the boy sits up with his head lowered to face the ground. The lion smirks but pauses his steps as he spots the boy's body pulsating. He is puzzled and hesitates for a moment before he attempting another step forward, again the kid's body keeps pulsating.
Slowly, Aito cocks his head up and faces the lion with totally different features on his face. His sunset eyes have now turned red, his bare teeth are now turned into sharp fangs. His human ears changes into pointed ears with each pulsation rippling through his body. Finally 2 magenta strips stand out proudly on both sides of his face as he is now fully resembling the great dog demon Sesshoumaru with his demon scent overtaking his human scent.
Rin watches her son changing in amazement. She has never seen her son transform before. Although she is well aware that Aito is half demon, he would only bare his sharp teeth whenever he's angry. He would never change his appearance in such a way even though he was out of control when the village boys insulted him.
Both the tiger and hyena's grips loosen around Rin's arms. They are blown away with what they have just witnessed.
"The boy is indeed the son of the Taiyoukai, Sesshoumaru!" Both declare in unison. The lion snarls irately at the duo and steps forward closer to the newly transform kid.
"Ah, a little pup huh? But you know what?" Instantly the lion transforms into his true form and now stands in front of the displeased boy.
"I can devour you just easily with my current form." With that the lion charges at Aito with his large paw smashing at the place where the boy stands. Rin has to look away as it is too awful to watch.
To the lion demon's surprise, he misses the catch and as he lifts his paw up the boy is not there. He roars fervently and turns to his back to find the boy is now charging from the behind. Instantaneously, the lion raises one of his paws to smack Aito's small body and sends him crashing into the ground hard enough to cause the kid to cough some blood out immediately.
The tiger and hyena demon's knees weaken, watching their buddy almost kill the son of the western lord. Both have taken a step back slowly, soon they sneak out from the scene as the lion doesn't pay attention to them. Both hide as fast as they can in the nearby bushes to save their lives by having no part in what is about to happen.
Rin runs to Aito's side as the demons sneak away. She helps her son to sit up and checks on Aito's body vigorously. The boy's eyes stay red and he lets out a furious growl in dissatisfaction
"Aito, please listen to me, you have to run now don't bother to come back here. You have to go now before the lion devours you. I can not afford to lose you. Please my son! I beg you." Rin pleads to her son but unfortunately the boy hears nothing from his mother. His demon blood has overtaken him completely and all he wants now is to defeat the lion.
Before Rin continues on with another request, Aito stretches out his left hand and pushes the girl hard enough to send her sliding a few meters away. Rin gasps at her son's behaviors, she has no clue about what happened to her son just now.
"Aito, why are you not able to listen me? What had happened to you my son?" The girl whispers hopelessly as tears rolls down and wet her cheeks in agony.
The lion watches on bewildered at how the boy pushed his own mother away. Is he loosing his self control? But why? Discarding the silly question away, the demon is now positioning himself and ready to charge again on the kid. This time he plans to double the strength by aiming to pin the boy down and rips off his head. He wants to kill the kid fast and clean.
Aito is now on his feet again, the lion demon leaps high up into the air and growls precariously at the boy beneath him. The boy returns the same growl but with lesser intensity.
Rin knows what is going to happen next, she can't afford to hesitate anymore. If her son is going to die, she will gladly join him. She instantly gets on her feet and runs to her son's side. She embraces the boy firmly and shut her eyes tightly to accept whatever fate had in store for them.
The lion spots the girl and instantly diverts his attack to land a few meters away from the girl and her son."You spineless cowards, get back here and hold this wench or I will kill you both myself!"
The two cowardly demons emerge from behind the bushes and retake their hold of Rin's arms while she wiggles to get free.
"It is too early to do away with her just yet" vilely smirks the lion. "Now to get back to what I was about to do, Ah yes..."
The lion summons his focus and strength to leap into the air and launches a downward aerial attack on Aito. He almost reaches onto the ground for his prey but in one swift moment the lion is flying hard in the opposition direction. Time appears to slow down as the time lapse facial expressions of the Lion reveals his face grimacing from some sort of deep pain. Next thing the lion experiences is of crashing hard into a rock wall.
The hyena and tiger demons are clueless as to what just happened. They look on with blinking eyes in complete confusion.
The hyena is launched high up in the air with his facial expressions suggesting a blow right in the rear, The hyena is left hanging lifeless high up in the trees.
The tiger demon struggles to make sense of what just happened in the last 1 split moment. Before he can make sense of it all the tiger demon whirls away straight into a tree, hard enough for the tree trunk to crack. The tiger demon tries to clear its blurry vision by shaking his head a couple of times.
The cracking tree truck falls right on top of the tiger's already thrashed head.
A flash of whooshing light rushes by. Rin and Aito are nowhere to be seen.
Damn you! Not again! They escaped again! The lion curses without knowing his life is the main issue at this moment.
Sesshoumaru's sensitive nose has picked up his son's demon scent. He knows he has to be quick. If Aito is releasing his demon scent then he is definitely in grave danger. And on top of that, he can sense a great sense of fear and despair from Rin.
As the demon lord arrives at the centre of the forest, his jaw drops as he sees Rin is being held by two demons while Aito is facing his imminent death at the hands of the evil lion demon charging at him from the air. He speeds up to lightening proportions hurling the lion away from Aito and then disposing Rin's captors. He then grabs Aito and the girl and whisks the duo away.
All this happens in mere split moments.
Rin feels strong arms wrapping around her body and feels like being lifted high up into the air. The girl shoots her eyes wide open and finds out she is in the arms of the Taiyoukai. Relief fills her heart and she instantly leans her exhausted body close to the demon lord's chest with her head resting on his right shoulder.
Sesshoumaru reaches another side of the ground leaving the foolish lion demon in a conundrum searching for his prey's whereabouts. He then places the girl and the boy on the grass and observes them intensely. Damn it! They are hurting so badly. The Taiyoukai is fisting the forest floor hard enough to leave a mark.
"Rin, are you alright? Talk to me!" Sesshouamru asks anxiously as he shakes the girl's shoulders gently. Rin pulls away a bit to look at her lord's face. She manages a weak smile before biting her bottom lip struggling to hold her tears.
"It is alright Rin, everything is fine now." He strokes her back tenderly to calm the girl down.
"My lord, I don't know what is happening to Aito, he doesn't seem to be listening to me. And, he is transforming! I don't know what to do as when I try to get close to him, he pushes me away. I feel like he is not recognizing me. Please help Aito my lord." The girl explains agitatedly as she loosens her hold around the boy to let the demon lord check on her son.
Sesshoumaru isn't surprised to see his son in this form; in fact he has witnessed the same transformation a month ago. But what worries him now is, he could sense a strong hatred radiating from the boy. The sight the he wished not to see is finally happening. What is happening to the Taiyoukai's son now is exactly what happened to Inuyasha back in those days. His full fledge demon blood has overtaken him and he recognizes no one.
"Aito, look at me!" Sesshoumaru growls with both of his hands placed on the boy's shoulders as he stirs the kid gently.
"Are you listening to me son? Tilt your head up and look at me!" The Taiyoukai increases his voice as he snarls at the boy. Rin gasps at her lord, she has never seen Sesshouamru speak with such a high voice before but she couldn't care less at this moment, she just wants her son back.
Aito relaxes his tense mouth, he can hear a heartwarming voice calling out for him. The voice owned by this person who is so dear to him. As he tries hard to regain control over his body, he shakes his head aggressively and looks up to see his beloved Lord Sesshoumaru eyeing him with great concern.
Father. His inner soul cries out loud.
Sesshoumaru is relieved to see his son's eyes return to their usual sunset color. He sighs, although the features are still visible on his face, he knows the boy has returned to his own self now. He turns to face the girl and ensures her that her son is fine. It is at this moment, as he looks straight at the girl's face, his heart shatters into a million pieces.
"Rin! What happened to your cheeks?" Sesshoumaru gently brushes each side of the girl's face. Rin remains silent; she's just feels too tired to even mention what happened earlier.
"Did that lion slap you?" He asks infuriated. Rin only nods slowly with her gaze falling on her son. Sesshoumaru's hands clench into tight fists. There is no way this lion is going to get away after what he has done to his Rin and son. He pulls the girl, who is holding onto her son, close to his chest for a comforting hug and kisses the girl's temple before releasing the duo.
"Stand back Rin." He warns gently and walks away from the duo. Rin watches on carefully with her son still under her embrace.
The confused and clueless Lion is still at it, searching for the boy or any traces of the girl. The Taiyoukai emerges into a shade. His presence is immediate picked up by the Lion demon. The lion is tensed and irate at the same, unable to make out who the owner is of that silhouette.
"So it was you who stuck the first blow, Come out and face me in the light, or would you like to stay in the shadows like a coward?" the Lion tests the waters by provoking the silhouetted stranger.
Sesshoumaru with his emotionless expression steps out from the shade to reveal himself. The Lion demons instantly transforms.
The Taiyoukai is now facing the lion's true form. He dares to even laugh out whole heartedly hurling insults at the demon lord.
"Ah, Sesshoumaru it is my pleasure to see you here. So the only heir of the great dog demon Lord Inu no Taisho has successfully followed his path by falling for a human? Pity you dog. Both father and son will be meeting their tragic ends. I could have treated your girl a bit gentler if only she was obeying me but it looks like she chose the harsh way."
Enough with the repulsive words, Sesshouamru immediately transforms into his true form and is now in the same size as that of the lion. He roars menacingly as in threatening the lion.
Aito's weak eyes watch on as his most respectable Lord transforms into a giant white dog with his fluffy fur that look as smooth as the flowing water. He blinks his sore eyes a couple of times until a few tiny beads of tears stream down his cheeks.
"M-my guardian angel is-is m-my father." The boy whispers softly as its almost unheard. Rin hears every single word clearly as she tightens her hold around her poor son. Her chin is now resting on top of the boy's head with her eyes now gazing at her lord.
"You will pay the price for wounding this Sesshoumaru's mate and his heir." Are the last words to escape the Taiyoukai's mouth and he leaps into the clear blue skies. The lion demon follows suit leaping high into the air.
The Lion goes in first with a strong paw attack aimed at Sesshoumau's face. The Taiyoukai effortlessly blocks the paw with the edge of his paw and then instantly returns a full-on paw strike to the Lion's nostrils with his other paw, sending the lion crashing down to the forest floor.
First blood is drawn by Sesshoumaru, giving the lion a bloody nose.
The Lion roars ferociously unable to bear the humiliation of this blow to his nose. He charges forward at the stationary dog demon. Sesshoumaru waits for the pounce from the lion and slides right underneath the airborne lion, scratching the under belly of the lion using his poison claws.
The Lion howls in agony. But unwillingly to give up the loosing fight, the lion lunges for the Dog's jugular in a last gasp attempt. Sesshoumaru Leaps into the air and rams his head into the face of the Lion demon as they crash onto the forest floor.
The lion demon tries to reposition himself but Sesshouamru is fast enough to pin the lion down and immobilize him. The great dog demon of the west smirks in his true form at the sight of the fearful lion who has obviously started to smell the end of his life. Without further wait, Sesshoumaru sinks his fangs at the side of the lion's neck, sending him back to his human form. Blood is pooling on the forest floor as the lion struggles to stand up.
As Sesshouamru returns to his human form, he draws out the Bakusaiga and swings with full force in the direction of where the lion lays. Rin covers her son eyes, for what he's about to witness is truly gruesome. Rin is not expecting this but Aito does something which is more gruesome than the imminent scene. The boy reaches out his small hand to push his mother hands away. The girl gasps but chooses not to impede her son's wish.
With one blow from the Bakusaiga, the lion is shattered into a million pieces as it disappears into the thin air like the dust being carried away by the warm breeze.
The Taiyoukai acrobatically rotates the sword in this his wrist 3 times and sheaths his Bakusaiga resulting in a metal on metal slicing sound. He then smirks victoriously at himself. He then turns and walks back to his precious family. Kneeling down in front of his tired son, Sesshoumaru glares seriously at the boy.
"Just what do you think you are doing? Do you know what kind of danger you were exposed to by running away this far off? You're not only risking your own life but your mother's too." It pains the Taiyoukai's heart to bash his son with such a raised voice, its harsh but he can't control himself.
If he reached here a minute late, he would have probably lost both of them forever. The tenseiga is unable to revive the girl for the second time.
Aito remains silent; he only stares at the demon with his poor puppy eyes seeking comfort. He soon sniffs heavily. With his lower lip poking out, the boy cries silently with tears uncontrollably streaming down like a ravine.
Rin presses her right hand on Sesshoumaru's hands, he looks up at his precious ward and sees her shaking her head weakly indicating him to stop scolding her poor pup. The demon lord nods and returns his gaze onto his son.
The Taiyoukai lowers his head close to his son and presses his lips on the boy's forehead. My poor son. As Sesshouamru is about to pull away from the boy's face, a pair of short arms instantly wraps around the demon lord's neck stopping the western lord from moving away. The taiyoukai smiles at the boy with his claw finger brushing off the tears away from his small face.
Sunset eyes cross with golden orbs, as the kid continues sniffing. A short silence falls with the boy's hands still tightly wrapped around the demon lord's neck.
"Let's go home now; I need to check on your injuries." Sesshouamru tries to pull his son's arms away but the boy protests, refusing to loosen the grip. The taiyoukai stares confusedly at his son's behavior. Before he attempts to speak the boy surprises both his father and mother with a single word escaping from his mouth.
"Father." Sesshouamaru golden orbs widen with his mouth parting slightly. Rin's hazelnut eyes glasses over with unshed tears with such a sweet word escaping from her son's mouth. She has gone through much of hell and pain for this long just to wait for this beautiful reunion.
"Father." Aito's weak voice is calling the demon lord again. Sesshoumaru remains silent; he has been waiting long enough just to hear this precious word from his son. He sighs in relief as now he is able to proudly announce to the world that this Sesshoumaru of the west has a son.
"Are you really my father?" Aito's sudden question stabs both Sesshoumaru and Rin's hearts.
"Yes Aito, you're always my proud pup." The Taiyoukai whispers softly.
"Father, father! I really have a father and he is my guardian angel who watches over me in my dreams. He is now standing in front of me. Aito..." The boy's eye lids feel extremely heavy as they half cover his eyes.
"Aito finally meet father. Ai-Aito feels extremely happy." The final words fade away as the boy's arms loosens around Sesshoumaru's neck and falls onto his mother's chest.
"AITO!" Both Sesshouamru and Rin call out in unison as they watch their son faint.
Chapter end notes:
Another 2 weeks for an update, sorry for the wait. Both Mr Beta and I took turn to get sick lol. I recover pretty fast but Mt Beta had high fever last night that why we were a bit delay. But don't worry we are closing to the end. (^_^)
My Beta asked me one very simple question. He asked: Do I hate Rin? I told him no, because she loves Sesshoumaru too much to even think about spoiling his future. Yes she makes mistake with Aito part but I can never blame this poor girl. Now you guys decide, do you hate Rin?
Next chapter : Forgiven and Reunion
Chapter 21 : Intimate
Congratulation to Zuma12121 – You're the 200th reviewer of Lily of the Valley.
Thank you for your reviews and support (^_^)
Do you wish to take a break from hurt/comfort and read something relax and fills with romance and fluffy? Check out Divine Rose's story – Moonlight Night
Want to read some drama/romance story? Check out Sfdmoment's story – Inseparable
Or you wish to have something to laugh? Check out elusivequeenbee's story - His Human Pursuit
Anonymous reviews reply:
Jolie: Hello Jolie, thank you so much for staying with me. Sorry for another long wait. LOL Poor Jaken huh? Everyone seems to predict he will be in trouble. haha Yes, the disappearance is more important than Ryuuki's scent. But I will include that in next chapter, not this one though, I don't know how to mix scene so I will do it one by one. Enjoy this chapter and thanks for being with me. (^_^)
Naala: Naala dear, lol am a big meanie eh? XD But if I continue writing it will probably reach 10k of words LOL
Actually about Sessh/Inu, I do plan to write a bit about them. Let's see how it flow, I am not sure I can squeeze in everything in 4/5 chapters since I target to end this in 25 episodes. Thank you so much for your support, it mean so much for me. For this support itself, I will try my best to end this Lily perfectly!
This chapter will have a bit of scene like in chapter 11. Take a look and tell me what you think. They will get to know more about Aito pretty soon. A trip needed (^_^) Awww Ryuuki is such a loveable character for everyone. Oh! I didn't think about the twist until you mention it! Oh yea, now I notice it lol Well I always see Rin as angel, so I make Ryuuki thinks the same (^_^) I hope you like this chapter. And we are almost there to the end. Couple of more things to reveal then we are done. Until then take care dear. Cheers!
Phantom prince: Muah hahahahahah your review was awesomely awesome! Thank you so much. I love you! *hugs*