Hello my faithful readers! So I did get to one hundred reviews which makes me very happy. Only two reviews for that chap and very few hits, but I understand that it may be from how late I was which I can understand. So this chapter WILL deal with a strange event between Healo and Yamikura, and should hopefully get them to the Imperial Lands. Also this chapter will have a lot from Kagome's POV. I really do want to get this story done before the new year, but that may not be possible. After it is finished I will take a few weeks and make sure that I have all the events in proper order for the prequel which should have longer chapters which should make it easier to read. Special thanks to Kaihaku No Iroke who gave me my 100th review. Also want to thank chica blanca for their review. I know what you mean about Healo; he has a horrible time doesn't he? Well I'm afraid that things aren't going to be getting any better anytime soon. So here we go…
CHAPTER L
CONFRONTING THE PAST
Healo's POV
The Northern Lord sighed wistfully as they finally stopped for the night near a rushing river. The humans gladly dropped unto the soft grass and just enjoyed a peaceful moment without any movement. Soon they stood again and began to prepare for sleep while the guards began to set up a perimeter. Healo glanced at Inuyasha who had already fled into a nearby tree for solitude. The demon lord slowly approached his brother's perch with the attention of saying something, anything to make the hanyou feel better about his recent harshness.
Healo silently stood beneath the strong tree with a calm expression on his face; he knew that it would be best to let his brother speak first. The stubborn hanyou's ears flattened, but he did not so much as glance in the Northern Lord's direction. Sensing that a more direct approach was necessary, since Inuyasha was well known for his extreme privacy with personal matters, the demon lord leaped nimbly into a branch a few feet away from his brother. He took a moment to just study the young hanyou; how he had missed his brother. For most of his adult life Inuyasha had been his brother/son, and that had been lost when the hanyou had decided that he needed to make a name for himself.
The Northern Lord's eyes softened as he said quietly, "Inuyasha, please look at me." The hanyou obeyed, but his amber eyes were filled with the fake annoyance that he used to cover his immense discomfort. Healo couldn't help but to smile; it was so typical of the hanyou he had raised. Inuyasha had never been good at personal moments. Finally the demon lord lowered his gaze and said kindly, "Inuyasha I want you to know that I didn't mean to snap out at you today." Before the Northern Lord could say anything else his brother interrupted rudely, "Heh. I know that that wasn't your fault."
The demon lord glanced sharply at Inuyasha and found that he was staring at Yamikura with a knowing glance. Embarrassed that he had realized that the sword held influence over him; the Northern Lord turned to glance at his companions who were beginning to drift off to sleep. However, after a few moments Healo turned back towards the hanyou and said, "Inuyasha if something should happen to me I need you to promise me something." The hanyou tensed at the serious tone of his brother's voice; whatever he was going to be requested to do he wouldn't like.
However, the Northern Lord did not wait for his brother to respond before continuing neutrally, "Yamikura is a very dangerous weapon; if the time should come when I become addicted with its power you must kill me." Inuyasha's eyes widened in horror, but the demon lord pressed on, "If that should happen or I die fighting against Naraku I want you to make sure that Kagome gets back to her own time." The hanyou's expression became confused and he asked, "Why?" Healo smiled slightly and answered smoothly, "Sesshomaru will not take no for an answer; my death would remove the last thing preventing him from taking her as his mate."
Inuyasha nodded with understanding as a fierce light came into his eyes. Healo had been wise to mention the Western Lord; it certainly helped spur on the hanyou's resolve. However, the demon lord was not finished and so continued calmly, "I also wish that you would consent to care for your nephew, if death is my fate, at least until he is old enough to take up the throne himself." Inuyasha's face had been neutral through most of the statement until the last part when he asked sharply, "What?" The Northern Lord smiled and clarified, "Sesshomaru can not stand Sulam because of Avia, but Magus will not become Lord of the Northern Lands until after Sulam is crowned emperor. The Northern Lands cannot go more than a century without a lord."
If possible the hanyou's eyes widened further as he asked incredulously, "You want me to be a lord; you can't be serious." Healo laughed at his brother's expression and replied slyly, "Don't be too eager; this is only if something unforeseen should happen to me." Inuyasha's amber eyes cooled as he pointed out calmly, "Well this isn't actually unforeseen is it? You think that something bad is going to happen to you don't you?" The Northern Lord's dancing eyes smoothed as he replied firmly, "I do not believe that Naraku will be able to destroy me, but there is another danger." He glanced down at the cursed sword to emphasize the point; Yamikura flashed angrily, its master could not be killed until she was released. The sword relished the knowledge of what its mistress would do when she was freed; mankind would pay for the crimes it had committed against her.
However, Healo ignored the sense of rage that flowed from the cursed sword and continued speaking to Inuyasha until the time for his watch came. As the Northern Lord silently watched his surroundings his mind again wondered to a certain miko. The demon knew that she didn't love him; how could she? For one Kagome had only known him for a very short time, and besides Kikyo had been right about one thing, Inuyasha still held her heart. However, he didn't feel bitterness over this; it was only natural after all, but neither would he quietly surrender. Love was not something that one could turn on or off at will and his feelings for the miko were certainly not weak.
The Northern Lord smiled slightly as he saw her move out of the corner of his deep blue eyes. However, the miko merely rolled over and continued to dwell in the blissful state of sleep. Healo frowned slightly as he realized how long it had been since he had given his tired body a chance to truly rest; perhaps once his watch was over he could try again. 'Besides,' he thought with certainty,' if I keep my mind focused on pleasant things then maybe I won't disturb everyone else's sleep.'
His hours passed swiftly and the Northern Lord finally found himself preparing for sleep underneath a large tree about ten yards away from his mate-to-be. Healo swept his ebony hair back behind his shoulder as he rested his back against the solid trunk and slowly allowed his eyes to close; thoughts of Kagome dancing in his head. However, as the demon lord slowly drifted into the land of dreams Yamikura pulsed darkly. Its chance had finally come; if the demon lord refused to gather dark energy then he would just have to be forced…
Kagome's POV
Kagome was enjoying her sleep very much since she definitely needed it after traveling for full-demons for so long. The miko relaxed as her dreams continued peacefully, but she knew that when she awoke she would have to deal with it all again' the pace, the mission, and three certain brothers. If she were honest with herself she knew that the irritating hanyou still held her heart despite what he had done to her, but she knew that that could change. It was all so confusing all three were obviously trying to gain her attention, but Inuyasha refused to admit anything. Actually Healo was the only one who was being overtly obvious about it.
The situation was so confusing since she certainly appreciated the Northern Lord's attention, but a part of her felt that to Healo she was probably a replacement for his first love. Kagome knew that her heart would not be able to take another betrayal of that kind. Even more confusing to the young woman was the Western Lord. She didn't understand exactly why he wanted her to be his mate; surely there were others that would be a far better choice. However, so far Sesshomaru had chosen to be silent on the issue so the miko would just have to wait and see if she could unravel that mystery.
However, the young woman was awakened from her thoughts by several loud voices saying things that she didn't understand in her sleepy state. Finally as she stood up carefully she heard Magus say sharply, "My lord he still hasn't come out of it. Something must be wrong." Before she had processed what was going on she heard Inuyasha interrupt angrily, "Damn it! Its that sword. What is it doing to him?" Kagome turned just in time to see the angry hanyou being tossed into the air by the power of the barrier that sprang up to protect Yamikura.
The miko ran quickly over to the tree where the others were all crowding around the Northern Lord, but she paused when she finally saw him. He was lying back against the trunk as if asleep, but his eyes were wide open and their bright shade told her that he must be looking back on his past again. However, Kagome immediately realized that something was wrong when she noticed the dark glow that was radiating from the cursed sword. As she was watching him Magus glanced at her and said, "We just found him like this a few minutes ago, but he isn't responding to anything we try."
After a moment the Western Lord said calmly, "It must be Yamikura, but no one can touch it." Everyone was surprised when the hanyou said loudly, "What about Kagome? Would her powers be able to break through the barrier?" The miko smiled grimly at the statement and stepped forward before anyone could stop her. As her hand closed on the sword it was unable to push her away, but her vision blurred as she realized that the sword was pulling her into the Northern Lord's memory…
Cliffhanger! I am so so SO sorry about the delay for this chapter which was simply inexcusable. I thank you all for the patience you have had with me so far and I promise not to give up even if it does take me along time. I still want to try to finish before the new year, but it probably won't happen by then with the rate I seem to be going at right now. However, soon I'll be out of college for a few weeks then I may be able to speed type and post much faster so that I can finish. After that I will take a couple of weeks to collect myself for writing the prequel. So anyway, what did you all think of this chapter? I wanted to put more detail into but I was SO late. Still next chapter will have a lot more since it is one of my favorite parts, but my favorite part is yet to come. Anyway next chapter hopefully up within a week, but we all know how well I've done with that. Don't worry we'll be at the end before you know it. Next chapter will be Healo's temptation so to speak. What will he do??? Read and find out. Don't forget to review.