Chapter 9
Silence was indeed deafening. The usual crispy whispers from the leaves were missing, even the slightest of howls from the winds refused to increase its notch to another level. The hollowness crept in and resided in the ether. The strange smells of melting candles in the shrine seemed to irritate Inuyasha's nostrils. But the toddler was matured enough to bite his tongue and hold his complaints at the bay. The golden rays of summer shine peaked through the woven cottons drapes, a circle beam of light danced on the wall of the temple and the hanyou quickly learned the art of shadow puppets. The dawn was born but the night's heaviness on them weren't lifted. Yet!
Sesshomaru was stirred from his black out few hours before entering the shrine and crouched down at such celerity when he sensed something foreign. He immediately knew that they have crossed the borders of the West, as his home land lacked anything remotely related to holiness. His golden orbs had an ornate of red veins criss-crossing under his lashes. His royal marking itched and he just wanted to snuggle with his trailing fur. But then the priestess had gone ahead and murmured his pet's name. All the weariness left him unscathed, he was in full alert and it took immense control in not lashing out with wrath when Inuyasha kept hovering so close and sniffing everything that was on their way.
So Sesshomaru did the next best thing to scare of his half brother. He turned with such a hostile look, flared his nose and narrowed his now red iris. Inuyasha promptly fell down and ran to hide behind the holy lady. Sesshomaru always looked angry, but an angry Sesshomaru looked pure evil. And the best laid out strategy for Inuyasha was to use the human miko as a defensive shield.
"Coward" The eldest of the sibling sneered at him and Inuyasha duly snuck out his tongue. Apparently the youngest one had a death wish; either that or he was just a complete lunatic. Sesshomaru's rage was in peak, brimming from within and he crouched low in his fighting stance to make the world Inuyasha-free once for all.
"Shh!" The miko lifted her palm, effectively silencing the entire room. She was now in the end of Sesshomaru's glare, but she never faltered in her routine. Her chin was up and she narrowed her eyes towards the little fabric that had once belonged to the human girl whose fan base was surprisingly wide. She could feel the harmless tug of the hanyou on her attire and she unleashed her powers to open a temporary portal in the mid air.
Inukimi could only stare at the strangeness in the room. She was heavily displeased with the way her son was acting. This was sickening, and the Lady of the West could sniff out the family trait. How the most important men in her family had their heart ruled by mere humans almost made her feel worthless. She could only hate them more with a sudden intense. There was a power surge from her son who had aimed an attack on Inuyasha and Inukimi hadn't even moved a muscle to discipline him.
When the helpful miko had raised her palm, the Lady was hit with a wave of regret and remorse. She failed in her duty as a mother. She could now see how the hatred had stated to overtake the love in her heart. She cursed her suddenly delusional mind and prayed to the heavens above that the pet should be returned intact to her son. She was in no position to deal with another heart break in the family.
Sesshomaru who had come with a much needed peace with Inuyasha, made a move towards his mother. He felt lost, vulnerable and those were the feelings that had crawled in when his father had abandoned him. His mother who seemed cold towards many was the only source of warmth he could get during those lonely nights.
"Mama" Sesshomaru tugged his mother's fur. Inukimi's heart swelled with a strange weepiness. It had been years since he had referred her in that way. She wanted to gather him in her hands and lift him up but the lady knew that her son would never want to look week. Cuddling him in front of Inuyasha would only hurt his pride and she chose to grace him with a look that would offer him the support he needed.
"Sesshomaru, you have such a little faith on your subject. No son of mine would be defeated, even if the battle is against the time itself" She said with a voice of crystal and clear. He gave a firm nod and looked forward with a hope painted on his young face. Inutaisho was all the more proud of his mate and his eyes swam through the distance to witness the tear in the timeline with fisted palm. The room was filled with the miko's power and he could feel the subtle kindles of purity curling with the tiny hairs on his skin.
'Strange. Her energy sign is almost similar to Kagome' He pondered. He could feel the same questioning stare from his Lady and shook his head with no clear solution coming up. There was a slight mirage, a sense of stillness encased them and a serene silence followed. A sudden fountain of mauve hues from the mirage made Inuyasha to duck further, behind the red skirt of Kikiyo. He could almost taste the ripple in the air and he just couldn't wait to see Kagome. However, he doubted that Sesshomaru would leave her anywhere near him once she is back.
He pouted.
It wasn't fair. It wasn't his fault. Wasn't that already established? He could still feel the annoying look his brother kept sending him.
There was a crackle and a definite gasp from the miko. The Lord and the Lady had to pry their eyes away from the unfolding portal to give the required attention to Kikiyo's gasp. She was startled and her normally expression less eyes seemed to be wide with an overt realisation.
"What is it?" Sesshomaru asked, the look on the miko had him in knots. There was a strange churning in the pit of his tummy and he was sure that he was gonna chain his pet to his claws. She is never leaving him again once she crawled back to her rightful place beside him.
"She is my incarnation. I don't understand" There was a clear sense of confusion floating in the eyes of Kikiyo. While incarnation is the normal process in the universe, there usually isn't one without a reason behind it. She couldn't help but wonder the necessity in having her own incarnation in the future.
"Well, I don't care. Just bring her back" Sesshomaru yelled.
"Sess'mru! You are a big meanie!" Inuyasha yelled and a dual of staring had commenced between the brothers. The battle was immediately ended when there was an evident growl from their sire.
"She had erected a powerful wall around herself without intending to do so. I couldn't break in to her defence and bring her back!" Kikiyo informed the troubled group of demon who looked unbelievingly lost.
"What else can be done?" Inukimi asked. She was the only one who seemed little rational among the four. Her look was calculative and cold. She had never lost any type of war before and even though she had once lost the priority in her mate's life, she knew it wasn't something that can be defined as a synonym of battle.
"I could weaken her defence wall. She hasn't raised it intentionally. But I don't know if her memory is still intact. If anything goes wrong, it could lead in to a series of serious consequences" The miko announced. She could almost feel the sadness seeping out of Sesshomaru. His eyes grew large and a second later he fumed.
"She will remember me" He repeated once again. His resolve to get his pet back was alarming. Even though the miko had first thought that the very concept of a human pet was demeaning, she could see that the human girl was more than that.
She was not just a pet. She was the pride and joy of the West.
There was a high pitched crying from the mid air and Sesshomaru instantly knew that it was Kagome. He looked in to the circular tear in the air and could see a faded image of Kagome crying her eyes out in the middle of what seemed to be a room full of stuffed toys. He had to fight his urge to reach above and wipe that saline drips that blotched her tiny pretty face.
Inuyasha cheered and gave a loud, strong fist bump. It never occurred to the hanyou the he was standing too close to the miko and any movement from him would hinder her process in trying to bring back the reason of his merry. There was a slight whimper from Kikiyo and her knees hit the ground when the hanyou punched her leg, her concentration faltered and the portal closed with a loud thud. The specks of violet sparks died in a beat.
Three pairs of golden eyes narrowed at Inuyasha.
There was a loud snarl and a strong demonic aura was curling the one demon who had finally lost it. He saw red and he wanted nothing more than to chew the half breed until he begs and bleeds to death.
"Die" Sesshomaru declared and moved towards the mortal enemy who had managed to cause him pain and only pain.
"Uh-oh" Inuyasha's lower lip quivered and closed his eyes with his tiny palms.
'Yup! I'm gonna die. I never got to say goodbye to Mir'ku! And I didn't even have my breakfast!' The hanyou had his last thoughts hovering over certain dark haired girl who was always there to save him for the past six months. He could almost feel the oncoming blow from his brother.
He braced his heart.
'Bye Papa'
"PUPPY!"
There was a shout from a distance that froze everyone, including the death that had almost brushed the younger son of the West.
~.~.~.~
A/N: Whahahahha! Um, I'm not that evil! I could never let the adorable Inuyasha die, even though he defines trouble.
