Chapter 9

Sesshomaru had no idea how long he had been sitting curled on the pile of blankets. His tears had stopped some time ago. Now he just felt numb. But it was better than feeling afraid. He stared at the wall, unseeing, his tail still wrapped tightly around his body. He ran his fingers through the fur on his tail, absently grooming it with his claws. It was repetitious, mindless, and comforting.

After a time, Ichiro closed the heavy volume he had been reading from and rose to his feet. He glanced at the pup whom he hadn't heard a word from since his last defiant statement that his father would be coming to rescue him. His tears and sniveling had also ceased a while ago and he'd been completely silent since. Sesshomaru's eyes were hard as they shifted to him to follow his movements. His entire small body radiated anger and hatred. Ichiro smiled inwardly. Such a prideful, stubborn pup. He didn't mind if the pup hated him. He'd forget his hatred and be compliant soon enough. As he moved throughout the hut, Ichiro chatted as if they were old friends.

"You have no idea how long I have prepared for this," Ichiro said conversationally. "It took me centuries and travel to all sorts of distant lands to find the necessary spells. Even more time to study and learn them. Tampering with memories is a delicate business. It is something most will not even attempt. Cowards. The rewards are more than worth the risks!"

He took a heavy wooden box down from a shelf and placed it on the table. He opened it. The inside of the box was padded and a sphere about eight inches in diameter was nestled into it. It appeared to be made of clear glass and dark bluish-purple smoke swirled within its depths, coiling and moving almost like a living thing. Ichiro ran his fingers lovingly over it.

"Luckily in your case I simply need add a few, not remove any. Yes, just memories of me being your father's most trusted advisor and friend. And yours. It took me so long to create this; many centuries of study and effort. And many failed attempts. More than once I wondered if I wasn't striving for the impossible. But then, at long last, I succeeded. This is the repository that holds all of your new memories, Sesshomaru. Carefully crafted just for you. Once I'm finished, you and I will be old and dear friends. Much more so than those others you travel with."

He shook his head and gave Sesshomaru a half-smile. "I've made it a point to learn about you in recent years. I've heard that you hate humans. I can't blame you. Such weak and pathetic creatures they are. Yet you travel around with a bunch of them? A priestess, a monk, and a demon slayer at that. What an odd choice of companions. Not to mention the child and the half-breed. I would have pictured you surrounding yourself with other demons at least, not vermin. Perhaps your father had more of an influence on you than I originally thought."

He considered that for a moment. "Or are you simply using them? Studying them and learning about them in order to destroy them later?" That seemed much more likely given the rumors he'd heard about Sesshomaru over the years. Yet it didn't ring completely true. He shrugged it off as unimportant in any event. It wouldn't matter soon.

"I've heard much of you over the years since I left the West," Ichiro continued. "You are quite the accomplished warrior, are you not? Trying to increase your own power so that one day you can hope to rival your father. He did leave quite the reputation to live up to, didn't he? Though I have no doubt you'll be up to the challenge. We are a lot alike, Sesshomaru. We despise weakness. Your father made our clan weak with his peaceful ways. Negotiating with humans and lesser demons? Pathetic. We could crush them without a second thought. We should demand their obedience, not beg for their friendship! You are a daiyokai - the greatest of our kind. Together, you and I will restore the glory to our people that has been eroded away."

With a last loving look at the orb, he closed the lid to the box securely and replaced it on its shelf. He moved about the hut, gathering several containers into his arms. "I have preparations to make outside, pup. Behave yourself while I'm gone."

Sesshomaru ignored him, turning his face away and staring at the wall petulantly. He scowled at Ichiro's amused chuckle as he left. His sharp ears picked up the sounds of Ichiro moving around outside the hut. He finally uncoiled himself and stretched his cramped muscles. He hadn't understood a lot of what the other yokai had been saying. He understood the words, but not their meaning and certainly not the intensity behind them. But he hadn't liked the way he had spoken, the gleam in his eyes made Sesshomaru uneasy. He wanted nothing to do with Ichiro's schemes, whatever they were.

A quick check at the window showed the barrier was still in place around the hut. Turning away from the window, his eyes scanned the interior of the hut, looking for anything he could use to aid his escape. He wanted to get back to Inuyasha, who smelled familiar, like family. And Rin, whose cheerful smile made him feel happy. The others also had been kind to him and cared for him and Inuyasha, even if he wasn't certain who they were. Except for the loud and obnoxious little green imp. Sesshomaru would be just as glad not to see him again. He hadn't liked the way the little demon had tried to order him around and grabbed at him constantly, trying to lead him.

He caught sight of his father's swords on the shelf where they had been placed. If he could get ahold of one of them maybe he could use it. He ignored the fact that they were bigger than he was and he really had no idea how to use a sword, focusing only on his new goal. He looked around the hut for something he could stand on to reach the high shelf. He went to the table he had used to climb to the window. Grasping it around one leg, he heaved. Gritting his teeth, Sesshomaru pushed with all his strength.

A few minutes later he sat with his back against it, panting with exertion. He scowled at the uncooperative table. It had barely moved. He looked up at the swords again, pondering. There were several shelves below the one on which the blades sat. They didn't look particularly sturdy but he was small and light. He began scaling the shelves, digging his claws into the wood to anchor himself as he climbed. A few minutes later he had succeeded in reaching the swords. With a grin of triumph, he jumped down. He landed with a clatter as the swords fell from his grip and skittered across the floor. He froze. Satisfied that Ichiro either hadn't heard or didn't care what he was up to, he retrieved the swords.

He was confused to why neither sword smelled as if his father had handled it recently. Rather, they smelled like him and Inuyasha and been holding them. It didn't make any sense to the pup. With a shrug, he drew the one that carried his own scent first. He frowned. The blade appeared dull. He cautiously ran a finger along the edge. It was dull. Brow furrowed, he pressed the blade hard against his palm. It didn't so much as scratch him. He drew the other blade, the one that smelled more like Inuyasha. It was even worse. The blade was not only dull but nicked and rusted.

Sesshomaru sat back on his haunches, confused. Why were the swords useless? He was certain his father wouldn't have carried around dull and useless blades. He was positive he had seen one of the blades transform into a magnificent fang-like sword in his father's hand. He examined both more closely. They were definitely Father's swords. Made from his fangs, the blades themselves carried his faint scent. He waved the blade around. Nothing. He replaced it in the scabbard and drew it again. They both remained dull pieces of metal. A low growl of frustration escaped from his throat. What sort of trick was this?

He spent the next half hour trying to figure out the swords. He tried putting them in the wrong sheathes, drawing them again and again, waving them in the air, banging them on the floor, even gnawing on the hilts in frustration until his fangs began to ache. Nothing. The swords remained useless hunks of dull metal. Fed up, he shoved the useless swords away with an angry growl.

Getting to his feet again, Sesshomaru looked around the cluttered hut. He found nothing else he could use as a weapon. He examined every crack he could reach in the walls. The barrier protected them all, even if he could widen one enough to squeeze through. He looked up at the box that contained the strange orb high up on its shelf. If he could smash it then Ichiro couldn't use it and would let him go, he reasoned. There was no way to climb to it. He tried anyway, getting as close as he could and leaping for the shelf. Fortunately, he was extremely agile and didn't injure himself when he missed and fell to the floor. After a particularly hard landing, Sesshomaru gave it up. Ichiro had been careful to keep the precious container out of reach.

Turning his thoughts to escape once again, he considered digging beneath the wall. The floor was nothing more than packed dirt. It didn't take long before abandoned his efforts as his hands began to ache. He had barely marred the floor with his claws. The earth was too well packed for him to dig through and he only succeeded in getting his clothes and hands dirty.

Sesshomaru sat down, worn out and frustrated, wiping a hand across his face and leaving a streak of dirt across his nose and magenta stripes on one cheek. Ichiro had seemed confident that his father wouldn't come for him. Up until now Sesshomaru hadn't doubted that his father would come. As the hours had worn on, however, a tiny bit of doubt began worming into his mind. Maybe Father really wasn't coming for him? But why? Even with Father was cross with him he never abandoned the pup. Had something happened to him, preventing him from coming? Sesshomaru pictured his father, tall and strong and powerful and couldn't imagine anything that could possibly harm him.

Fear and loneliness began taking their toll. His child's imagination began picturing various scenarios, each one worse than the last. It was almost a relief when Ichiro returned. It distracted him from his worried thoughts and was something real for Sesshomaru to turn his rage onto.

Ichiro returned carrying several rabbits he had caught. They had already been skinned and gutted. He glanced about the interior of the hut. His gaze fell on the swords on the floor, the disturbed earth along one wall, and Sesshomaru's dirty clothes and smudged face and his frustrated expression. He smirked.

"I see you kept yourself entertained while I was gone."

Sesshomaru bared his fangs as Ichiro chuckled. Ichiro set the rabbits down and crossed to the hearth. He tossed a couple pieces of wood onto the fire, building it back up to roaring flames. The meat was placed on skewers which he then set over the fire. He was well aware of the gold eyes that were watching his every move, just waiting for an opportunity to strike or escape.

Wrapping his hand in a piece of cloth, he was able to grasp Tessaiga and return it to the shelf it had occupied earlier. Curious as to why the pup hadn't tried attacking him with the swords, he drew Tenseiga. He raised a surprised eyebrow at the dull blade he held. He returned the sword to its sheath and placed it on the shelf as well. The Fangs were powerful swords and it only made sense that Inu no Taisho had placed some sort of safeguard on the blades to prevent them from being used by anyone else. He suspected Sesshomaru would be able to unlock their power once he was returned to his normal stature. Ichiro picked up a pail that sat near the door. He emptied the water it contained into a basin and set Sesshomaru in front of it. He tossed a rag at the pup.

"Wash your hands and face. You're filthy."

Sesshomaru complied as he caught the expression that clearly said if he didn't obey, Ichiro would do It for him. He dipped the rag into the tepid water and wrung it out. He scrubbed it over his face, removing the dirt he had smudged across it earlier. Setting the rag aside, he washed his hands, working the dirt out from beneath his claws. He dried his hands on his clothes and his face with his sleeve.

Shortly thereafter, the rabbits were cooked. Ichiro held out a skewer towards Sesshomaru. The pup ignored him.

"Eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"Eat. You're going to need your strength tomorrow."

"No."

Ichiro sighed. "Eat. Or I'll force it down your throat."

Reluctantly, Sesshomaru picked at the food. Ichiro watched him until he had eaten enough to satisfy the older yokai. Once he was cleaned up, Ichiro pointed to the pile of bedding where Sesshomaru had spent the afternoon sulking. "You should get some rest."

"Not tired."

"Suit yourself." Ichiro picked up the bucket and left the hut to go to the stream for more water. As he exited the barrier, a tiny speck fell unnoticed from his clothing.