*Here is another short chapter. More coming soon - and thanks again for your kind reviews.*
Inuchiyo looked up as Sesshomaru entered, and for the first time, her face held a look of true fear. Though I could feel the life draining out of me, I knew this was my chance to deal back a blow - so I struck her with my claws, as hard as I could, across her right eye. She screamed with pain, as blood rushed down her face. I could see I had actually torn into it. I growled, and tried to transform myself - but that blade, which I later found out was an ancient tool meant to draw power, was draining me rapidly. I knew that I was going to die, yet I stood. I decided to fight to the death.
Of course, Sesshomaru rushed straight for Inuchiyo before I could fully rise - yet Inukaito rushed in front of his sister, to protect her. They both transformed into their inner beasts - and as they did so, the hut fell away in ruins, the fire within catching to much of the grass roof. Sesshomaru was larger and stronger than Inukaito, but he seemed unable to catch him. They swiftly darted around us, slashing at each other's throats.
Inuchiyo, though angered by her injury, didn't transform. It was then that I realized that she was unable to do so. That must be the reason she had decided to follow me here - her real purpose was to steal my abilities!
Inuchiyo, a product of heavy inbreeding, had excellent powers of the mind, and was reasonably fast. However, she had little to no power in battle - her father had greatly exaggerated her skills to the Inu no Taisho, in hopes of forging a marriage alliance. I smiled, and she looked at me strangely. It was then that I attacked.
I was slow due to injury, but I was still able to deal her some blows - first her leg, then her arm, then her eye again, more deeply this time so that I knew it was sightless forever. She screamed terribly in pain. However, she screamed much louder when I grabbed a bundle of burning straw that had once been my father's roof, and put it gently on her evil face, blowing into it to fan the flames. Her skin began to burn - how weak, I thought. This was why she took her brother everywhere - she had no chance in a fight.
He, hearing her screams, rushed quickly to defend her - but Sesshomaru-sama used that opportunity to slash deeply into his back. Inukaito howled in agony as Sesshomaru's poisoned claws cut deeply. At this instant, Sesshomaru left him to concentrate on Inuchiyo. Transforming back to his humanesque form, he rushed to where she was burning, easily put his hand between the flames, and picked her up by the throat.
"You... you were supposed to be fighting with my father in the East..." she managed to choke out.
"I was," he said, and I was surprised to hear the intense emotion in his voice - a mixture of hatred, anger, and sadness - an emotion I have never seen him express at any other time - other than with you, Rin.
"I was fighting alongside your father. Until my mother came to me herself, in the flesh, and made it clear that we had been betrayed," he growled, fury in every inch of his being. "Your father intended to kill my entire family and seize control of his power, the Palace, and his lands. You knew this, though, didn't you?" he asked her, rhetorically. "The fact that my father was unable to sense this is a shame to our entire house. I intend to correct his shame through absolute destruction of the two remaining members of your clan." What Sesshomaru said was not entirely true - at least not yet - as Inuchiyo's father was still alive, fled from the battlefront. Knowing the Inu no Taisho's weakness for beautiful young youkai maidens, her father had decided to attempt to assassinate him through a tryst with one of his most trusted she-fighters. After an untimely - and seemingly accidental - death, he would "grudgingly" assume command of the West. It would have worked, but the Inu no Taisho did not get his name and his station for nothing. Inuchiyo's father had reckoned without the strongest force in the palace. Inukimi, the most important member of his house, caught the rumor in foolish gossip, and was able to expose her brother's true plot. She was also able to discern what had truly happened to me - though she was too late.
Inuchiyo's father was found a few seasons later, attempting to amass a new army since his entire family and house had been completely destroyed. Of course, the Inu no Taisho took his head and put it upon the gate of the Palace, as a warning.
As the meaning of Sesshomaru-sama's words sank in, Inuchiyo cried out in fury and pain, though her cry was quickly cut short by the sound of Sesshomaru-sama choking her fiercely. Inukaito, who was still badly wounded, had sat to the side, watching warily. He knew that if he attempted to attack Sesshomaru-sama directly, Inuchiyo would certainly die instantly. Instead, he decided to go for me.
I could feel the last part of my strength dissipating, but I refused to give in. Standing, I growled fiercely at Inukaito's approach. He jumped at me, and as he did, I felt the cursed bone blade slide swiftly out of my body. Once it was no longer sitting in my stomach, blood gushed out of me, pouring upon the ground. Sesshomaru-sama's attention immediately went back to me - and as he saw my sightless eyes, he dropped Inuchiyo upon the ground.
Knowing they were outmatched, the two of them fled. Inuchiyo was gravely injured, and Inukaito was not much better off - Sesshomaru-sama's poison was beginning to work its evil. He gave them no chase - the first time in his life that I ever remember him doing so.
Instead, he came to me, catching my corpse. I had died as soon as the blade was withdrawn - for it took about half of my power, as well as part of my soul. Unfortunately for Inuchiyo, it had not taken every bit of my being - so I was not completely absorbed into her, with the remaining parts of my soul cast out, as she had hoped. Instead, it is as though I were divided in two - part of me wanders, the other part is locked within her. To this day, that is the cruelest part of my fate - the knowledge that that whelp holds a great portion of my power.
Sesshomaru-sama held my body for many days, without moving. This is a traditional sign of respect to a proper mate in our world; to say I was deeply moved was an understatement. I watched, acutely aware of the strangeness of looking upon my own likeness. I wished desperately to be held by him, but it was something I was never to experience again.
He took my corpse and buried me beneath our maple tree circle in the garden of the Palace. This was, once again, something reserved for a recognized mate - so in a way, he was flouting his father's will by doing so. However, his father never said anything about it.
I was never spoken about in the Palace ever again - though one time, a few seasons after my death, Inukimi-sama came to my grave and laid the comb that I used to use for her hair upon the stone marker.
Sesshomaru left the Palace, and until he left you in the village, he never went back. He helped his father with his final war, but spent most of his time alone, learning the craft of battle. It was during this time that he truly began to embody his name, the "Killing Perfection."
I have always followed him since, and I always shall.
...
Sensing that Inuyuki had come to the end of her story, Rin sat still, in shock. She would have been crying if she'd had a physical body - but she couldn't. To think that all this time, Rin had believed herself so unfortunate in losing her family - Inuyuki had lost that, and much more. Worst of all, she had to hang around the Earth like a spectre, never finding peace.
There were a few tenuous moments of silence before Rin was able to speak. "I... I can't even imagine your pain, Inuyuki. I'm so sorry Inuchiyo did this to you."
With somewhat blank eyes, Inuyuki replied, "I thank you for your empathy, Rin. But I'm sure you see that I was very naive and foolish in so many ways - and you must, in the future, learn from my mistakes. After all, you have a tendency toward naivete yourself."
Somewhat defensively, Rin replied, "How do you know? You've only just met me."
The first somewhat real smile Inuyuki had shown Rin crossed her face, and the illumination of her beauty was nearly blinding. "Indeed? You seem to forget, Rin, that I told you I have followed Sesshomaru-sama since we were parted. Of course I know you - I have watched you grow up. In a way, I was very glad to see you with him."
Rin simply stared, embarrassed at her lack of logic.
"You see," Inuyuki continued, "Sesshomaru-sama became much, much colder and more heartless after my death. He never took another mate - well, other than you - again, and he became very, very ruthless. Of course, Inuyoukai are supposed to be ruthless, but unlike others, he never derived joy from his power - he was simply driven by a blinding need to become stronger. It nearly consumed him.
"But then you came along - and even though he himself didn't see it, he began to soften and become more like the youkai he was before I died. You helped reawaken that inside him, Rin, and for that I'll always be thankful. After all, I got to watch you grow up too - and even though you never could see me, I felt as though I knew you."
"But how could you possibly feel no animosity toward me?" Rin asked. "Weren't you upset that I was alive and you were dead?"
Thoughtfully, Inuyuki replied, "No. I might have felt that way if you'd arrived a hundred years before that, but not now. I am at peace with my situation. Though it may soon change," she said, looking at Rin pointedly.
"Huh?" Rin asked, after a few seconds of silence. "What do you mean?"
"I think I may know the way to get you back to your body, Rin. It will not be easy, and some sacrifices will have to be made."
Excited, Rin said, "Why didn't you say so sooner? How do we do it?" Her childish excitement was somewhat lost when she saw the dull look in Inuyuki's eyes.
"I believe, if I use the remaining power I have with me, that I shall be able to put your soul back into your body. However, you will never, ever be the same. It is likely that some of my memories will slip to you - so the agonies I've suffered in the past will become part of you, as well as the joys. I'm also not sure what your life will be like - it's possible it will be much shorter, or much longer, than it was originally going to be. And," she said, looking sharply into Rin's eyes, "In a way, we shall be bonded, possibly forever. It may be that my soul will separate from yours after death, but it also may not. Which would mean that you may not be able to go to the Underworld after death. It is something that you must consider carefully."
"No." Was Rin's flat answer.
Surprised, Inuyuki said, "But Rin, you didn't even consider it! I told you to take your time and think about it."
"I can't." Rin said, sadness in her voice. "Of course it would be wonderful to be with Sesshomaru-sama again, but how could I do that to you? You didn't say it outright, but I know that by doing this, your soul will never, ever find peace - it will simply be stuck inside me. You've suffered too much. I don't want you to suffer any more."
There was a moment of stunned silence on Inuyuki's part. "Rin, you just met me - how is it you are so concerned with my well-being? This was the naivete I was talking about - this is what shall-" she was going to say "get you killed," but that was obviously a nonsensical thing to say, "keep you from going forward."
"But Sesshomaru-sama-" Rin started, before Inuyuki uncharacteristically cut her off "-Loves you for your naivete, I know, Rin. But what I was trying to say is, you are not judging me correctly. I am youkai - not human. I relish the thought of helping you, which is very unlike a youkai - but at the same time, I do have an ulterior motive."
Rin simply narrowed her eyes, confused again.
"I know that if you become alive once more, you have a chance to get yourself to Sesshomaru-sama, and help to destroy Inuyuki. For now that I've spoken to you, I've seen how we can destroy her." Smiling, Inuyuki looked at patient Kikou, who barked at her happily.