Chapter 8

The roar tore the sky, shook the earth and ripped the air. The growl was brimming with misery, with anguish and the trees pelted the forest shedding the leaves as a token of grief. The howl silenced the night in to a lamenting graveyard and the castle trembled with remains of bitterness.

It was an hour after the transformation, it was an hour after the human pet vanished in to thin air in the middle of the forest, it was an hour after the great Lord's rush out from a political alliance to witness the awing transformation of his son and it was an hour after which the whole of West was ordered for a search of the little human girl.

Even Inutaisho was unable to detect her scent. Sesshomaru was in a state where no amount of coaxing would make him transform to his humanoid state. Inuyasha was sneezing, no longer from the powder, but from an hour of whimpers and tears. Inukimi had to restrain herself from lashing out at the guards who had failed to guard the chibis in the first place. Miyatsu had taken back Miroku to his room when the poor kid had almost turned blue from cold and fright.

"Sesshomaru, stop it right now!" Inukimi ordered, her fangs gritting against each other, her claws were clinging on the huge mass of silver fur of her son's tail. Her heart was pounding; she never thought he would get this attached towards a human girl who was with him for just six months. The situation was never depicted, it was never prophesied and each passing second only brought multi-folds of miseries. Her only aim was to tame him a little so that he would be in a state to empathize the citizens when he takes over the crown, but never did she realise that he would get even more formidable.

"NO!" There was the same roar again form Sesshomaru, the one fuelled with sorrow and anger. His vision was blurred and all he could do was to blame Inuyasha who had taken her out to the forest in the first place. There was another booming roar and a series of barks that no longer made any sense to anyone. It took solid two hours of convincing for Sesshomaru to change back in to his two legged self.

The eyes that were well versed in giving a cold stare were now terrified in fear. The narrow slits turned in to a large orb of spilling gold, almost as big as Inuyasha's . The Lord and the Lady of the West were in their knees trying to cajole him to sleep. But Sesshomaru was too shaken to hear any words of endearment from his parents. His ears were strained trying to reach out to even a slightest tingle of his pet's breath in the ether. His lungs were maxed out from inhaling rapidly, to detect her sweet aroma, but all he could get was the wet scent of forest and saltiness from his half brother's tears.

Sesshomaru refused to cry out like a whimpering baby. He refused to allow the saline waters to brim over his eye's rim, his arms ached, his legs were begging to hit the ground to have a good rest but the child demon refused to give in, refused to cave in. He wouldn't rest until his fingers could feel the tangles of her ebony hair, he wouldn't sleep until his ears could bleed from hearing her stupid giggles again. He vowed to the heavens above in a howl that he would destroy everything in sight if she isn't in his arms when he is done with this maddening search.

The Lord was weighed down and his brain couldn't help but point out that this should have been done by someone who hated humans and who would rather see her own son in agony than being in close wraps with a human girl. His heart clenched and he lowered his head in guilt when he realised that he doubted his own mate over this fiasco. It was she who first suggested such an idea and there would be no ways in hell that she would even do such an act. She was the Lady of the West and she had such an honour that would never allow her to bend down to a lower act

Inukimi's eyes met the calculating gaze of her mate and her anger spiced up when she understood the intent behind his stare. Her eyes narrowed in to a threatening slit that seemed sharper than her own claws. Her heart clenched when the reality sunk in, when she saw through the accusation that was perched in his eyes. What more does he need? It was true that she despised the woman her mate had bedded with, but she loved the son the woman bore. Wasn't that enough proof that she was the Lady of the West who would never kill someone innocent? Was she being portrayed as an evil witch who would shatter the happiness of her own son?

She smirked when she smelt the guilt being oozed out from the Lord's pores. Her eyes turned cold and she gave him a stare that would have set him in fire if looks could indeed kill.

In the midst of all the chaos, Inutaisho straightened a bit when his sharp ears picked up soft foot steps against the lush palace grass. His eyes searched for the intruder, his nostrils flared when it was a human scent. His elder son turned sharply, trying to look in the darkest of night with a tiny hope dancing on his lightened tawny iris.

"Who are you human?" Inukimi asked, her voice was filled with the needed authority and she stood her place as the Lady of the castle would. The Lord's heart swelled up a bit in pride when he spotted his mate tall and strong, shining radiantly under the kiss of the moon.

"My greetings! I'm a miko and I'm here to clear out the confusion that has been encased upon all of you." She said and her attire was blended in colours of red and white, her hair was tied loosely near her nape, her shoulders were bearing a dozen of arrows and an old bow.

"And what do they call you Miko?" Inutaisho asked, his eyes were hard for an instant and turned warm when he failed to detect any malicious intention from her scent. Her eyes were dark raven and she had a stoic look that told him that she is here for her said work and nothing more.

"I'm called as Kikiyo. I travel from the South, my path was altered when there was a shift in the time realm"

"Time realm?" Miyatsu asked when he rejoined the gathered group in time to hear the introduction of the priestess.

"Some would call it a paradox, but the only information that you need to know is that the human girl who you ordered a search for doesn't exist in this timeline. Her stepping in this time zone had sent the dimensions for a toss. The implication was disastrous that it was necessary for the Gods to step in, to restore the loss and to put everything back in its own place."

"To put Kagome back in her own time" Miyastu finished the unspoken conclusion. He could see the smallest of dilution in Sesshomaru's eyes. The Lord and the Lady didn't know how far their eldest understood but then could only see the light from his eyes fade away in grains. They knew that he realised he would never be able to see his ever chatting pet again.

"Is there anything that can be done, any exception that can be used to bring back the human child?" Inukimi questioned.

"There is nothing that can be done. It was a knot tied by the heavens and it would never come unfold" The priestess said, turning back to continue her journey. Her work here was finished and she had matters to attend to back at her place.

"Kik-yo?" She heard a small child calling out to her, tugging the ends of her fabric. Her eyes looked down to witness a chibi hanyou clad in red. His tears looked as if it would never get dried, his lips quivered and the small silver cones in his head was well buried under the silver silk, afraid to come out and hear the world that was now in loss of a giggle that he had come to adore.

"Pweese, bring back Kagome. Pweese. You can take all my toys" He said, his hands were raised to swear his heart to the deal that he had optioned to the priestess. The young priestess's breath faltered when she took in the mess and the heart break the young child had faced. Her warm heart went out to the little hanyou who looked absolutely tattered and butchered. She bent down to carry him in her arms and brought him close to her chest. She couldn't help but feel as if there was a strong connection to the hanyou in her previous birth. She felt indebted on seeing his tear stained face, she felt heavy on seeing his pleading eyes that looked like a molten jewel under the whispers of the silver light.

Her iris swayed away, only to land on a matching pair. The full demon child was lost, his frame shuddered and his tiny palm was fisted. The child was bleeding from a broken heart, his claws had ripped the tender skin of his inner palm and he hasn't even noticed that his hands bled and remained fisted.

"Is there anything that can be done miko?" Inutaisho repeated his mate's previous question. It wasn't late when the priestess realised with a surprise that the whole family needed the young human girl of different realm. The West wanted their human to return to their abode.

Sesshomaru could feel a warm tingle in his heart. It was Hope and it frightened him with enough intensity when he realised that he could never let go of his pet. He needed her; he wanted her to follow him around. He wanted her to annoy him to the core; he wanted her to demand his fur as her bed and he wanted her to want him back.

"There is one thing that can be done" Kikiyo said and she felt her attire being gripped tightly by the small child in her arms. She could see the love for the human child in the eyes of the hanyou and her wavering determination to help the Lady and the Lord of the West only grew stronger.

The air seemed lighter now, bathed in the breaths of hope and light, the miko announced that she would be able to bring back the human child, happiness had a free reign over the West and everything was perfect for a moment.

"But, the person from the other realm must be willing to let go of their time, there must be a strong will and desire to return to this continuum. Only when the desire to live in this zone is more, the person can be brought back by my spell". Kikiyo said and looked hard in to the depth of the golden eyes of Sesshomaru. She could feel the intensity and the determination through the fire in his eyes, as if assuring her without any intended words that his Kagome would return back to him even without the slightest of hesitation.

"She cannot sleep without Ses'mru. She will come. I'm her puppy" Inuyasha announced happily, his palm fisted and pumped in the air. His heart raced and the saddening curve in his lips turned out in to a full grin. He could finally see the dawn and it meant that Sess'mru wouldn't kill him for bringing out Kagome in the first place. It wasn't his fault and the remorse from his chest lifted when it was too clear that the Gods were the ones who had take her away.

"It's not that easy as it seems to be" Kikiyo announced, hating the rider she was going to place that would most likely shatter their hope.

"What is it?" She heard the elder of the children asking her. It was the first time that he had spoken to her and Kikiyo could already tell that his adoration to the lost girl was more and any unfortunate turn out would render him in to a missile.

"Shifts and travels through the time is complex. At times, it would result in memory loss. From what I have gathered from your subjects, she was here only for half of the year. Her memories of living here wouldn't be that deep and there are chances that she would never remember anything from this realm. If she fails to remember her life here, there won't be any desire to live in this zone"

The words were sharper than any poisonous whip, his shin gave up and his knees hit the ground. His fur curled up around him, as if securing him, as if promising him the barest of warmth. But his little heart thudded inside his chest, as if willing to explode, as if breaking in to thousand shards if his pet confirms that she has no memories of him.

The tiniest of saline drop crept over from the confines of his lashes as if abiding the laws of gravity, the drop rolled down over the swell of his face leaving a trail behind.

"She will not forget me" He said.

He promised to himself that she would come back to him, she would never him, her master. He knew it. His glossy eyes shimmered under the glow of the night. His throat swallowed back the threatening tears. He wouldn't cry. He would see her soon, he would be able to pull her pigtails soon and when she comes back to him, he was gonna chain her to him and would say "There! Now the Gods wouldn't take you back to anywhere"

"I know she will come" He said and finally gave in, his lids closed succumbing to the welcoming embrace of cold and darkness.

~.~.~.~

A/N : My poor Sesshy! And cheers to Inuyasha's big heart for his promise to give all his toys.

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