43. Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others
The 48 Laws of Power
Robert Greene
A key component of great power is reputation. Sesshomaru's hand twitches at the thought of wielding a new blade.
Kaijinbo hadn't even tried to hide his eagerness after taking hold of the dragon's head. Rancid white saliva foamed around his mouth as he assessed its fangs. In three days, he vowed, and Sesshomaru left him to it.
Sesshomaru deliberates his priorities for the next three days, but Myoga and now, Jaken interrupt his planning with frantic warnings against Kaijinbo.
"Did you see him, milord?" Jaken's misjudged others many times in his life, but it's a personal policy never to trust crazy eyes. "I don't think we should trust someone so clearly deranged!"
"You're in luck, Jaken." Sesshomaru returns to his thoughts. "You don't have to trust him." A headache begins to form when he realizes that it's time to visit the Panthers again.
Itching to chime in, Myoga evades being flattened when Sesshomaru claps his hand to the side of his face.
"Lord Sesshomaru, you will regret entangling yourself with Kaijinbo." Myoga buzzes close enough to Sesshomaru's ear to get his point across, avoiding the occupational hazard zone. "And considering the origin of that infernal dragon's head—"
Sesshomaru stops walking and Myoga zips away, landing on Jaken's shoulder. Power begins to ooze from Sesshomaru, enough to disrupt their surroundings. The other demons around them freeze in place, his demonic aura spreading through the area like pestilence. Claws extended, he rounds on Jaken and Myoga with lethal intention.
"When and if I require the two of you telling me what to do, I will ask. That outcome, however, is unlikely." Sesshomaru's voice distorts into the tenor of his dog form.
The markings on his face mutate, jagged slashes that fray in conjunction with his fury. Even at his most vexed, Jaken is not used to him straying from his cool demeanor to such a degree. Slowly, he becomes unrecognizable. His aura eradicates all breathable air. Jaken's eyes go wide, tears evaporating from them like steam.
With all of their empire-building, it was easy to underestimate the toll on Sesshomaru; the constant expectation for him to live up to Toga.
The road hasn't been easy since Tessaiga was lost to Inuyasha.
Self-mastery is the only thing that gets Sesshomaru through the day. On one of the rare occasions that Toga was home from his military duties, he had explained to Sesshomaru that only a fool gives away his head. No one has the power to make you angry. It's a choice. But the way Sesshomaru feels himself slipping can't possibly be a choice.
"My Lord," Myoga gasps, the poison discoloring him, "please. If you do not abate your anger, we will surely die."
"Quiet, louse!" Jaken snaps, shaking Myoga out of the feeling of dying. "And forgive me, Master."
Jaken's throat tears when he speaks. The demonic aura melts his tongue. When he looks at Sesshomaru, he sees the one who can stand above all demonkind and he resolves to aid him along that path as much as he is able.
Enduring the poison, he finds the strength to rise. When he kneels, Sesshomaru immediately reverts, the siren's song of unbridled rage just an echo now.
"Let's go, Jaken" is all he says.
Myoga can't feel his body, still numb from Sesshomaru's lingering poison. The only thing apparent is the instinct to escape a predator.
Ever since granting undeserved mercy to Onigumo, Kikyo trusts when people show her they're crazy the first time. The red-eyed woman dipped out of the shop the second Kikyo had looked at her. Glancing at a stranger shouldn't be enough to put her on full defense, but Kikyo can't help feeling she's seen the woman before.
Collecting herself, she has a laugh at Kagewaki's expense. A pile of rejected fabric lies on the floor. She applauds the merchant's ability to keep a smile on his face. Kagewaki's steps are restless. He moves from one textile to the next shaking his head.
Each of the rejects had highlighted aspects of Kagewaki that Kikyo feels she has memorized–blue deepened the warmth in his eyes, green brought out his sun-kissed skin, and white played up the gentleness that naturally reveals itself despite his position as daimyo.
"Perhaps if I knew what you were dressing for," she suggests, rubbing the cuff of an embroidered jacket, "I could be of more assistance."
His thoughts begin to settle at the opportunity to lighten the load that weighs heavy on his conscience. Despite having advisors, they speak only from the interests of his retired father who can't seem to part with the throne. Kagewaki can never seem to get his own point across.
"If you don't want to tell me, it's fine." Kikyo backs off when he takes too long to say anything.
In a world that takes so much, she allows others their secrets. She continues fingering the jacket, heavy as armor. Embossed flower petals travel up to the elbow, perhaps too distracting for whatever he wishes to communicate.
"It isn't that," Kagewaki sighs. The fatigue of whatever he's holding onto begins to show around his eyes. "Honestly, I'd love an unbiased listener but I don't want to put you in danger."
Kikyo laughs again. Danger's been her daily bread as far back as she can recall. She's tried outrunning this truth, and failed miserably. The Universe will keep teaching the same lessons until they're learned.
"All right then." Kagewaki laughs with her. His shoulders relax just from the sound of her voice.
Double-checking the empty shop, he stretches forth an arm, inviting Kikyo to sit with him. A long silence settles between them before he leans in speaking so low Kikyo comes closer to hear him.
"There are murmurings that the Prince of the West, Sesshomaru, is restoring the Great Dog Demon's territory." Kagewaki stops to look for the shopkeeper, but he has set himself apart from them, determined to find something to sell Kagewaki. Kikyo bites her lip, urging Kagewaki to continue.
The mention of Sesshomaru washes over her like ice cold water. Just after her death, a great war erupted between humans and demons, devastating both populations despite the humans' victory.
With Naraku looming, she struggles to believe that Sesshomaru is establishing himself for the purpose of contending with mere humans. But what can she base this on other than a few chance encounters? Presuming to understand the intentions of demons is a road on the fast track to hell. Kagewaki's voice anchors her back to the present before she goes any further down the rabbit hole of her thoughts.
"This spells calamity for my people in the East," Kagewaki goes on, certain of every word coming out of his mouth. "I hear that he has gained allies with great fervor. I have no choice but to wage war against him and crush him before he becomes too powerful."
And then, Kagewaki's appearance shifts. No longer the gentle man she's judged as innocent, but a warlord dead set on protecting his people at any cost.
A sickening feeling takes hold of Kikyo. Her thoughts drift back to Sesshomaru, knowing there isn't a chance he would back down if challenged. Before she can formulate a plan, a rumbling of demonic power creeps into her awareness. The shopkeeper emerges with black fabric for Kagewaki. Noting his resuscitated interest in clothing, Kikyo uses the chance to excuse herself.
"I'd like to explore the other shops while we're here," she says, edging away. Kagewaki waves her on.
The lie tastes like ashes in her mouth but considering the many humans in the area, handling the situation as quietly as possible is ideal.
She works through the crowd, masking her urgency until she reaches a dead end. The demonic aura pulses stronger as she's on the move. Guiding her hand, she latches onto the direction of its vibration. The pale energy of a barrier manifests, swallowing her hand. She steps through it into an alleyway in the demon merchants district.
When a group of demons pass, she presses herself against the wall of the alley but her access back to the other side is cut off. Sighing, she peers out of the alley at the stalls teeming with goods she can't begin to see the value in. Everywhere she looks are races of demons she's never seen.
Walls of linen separate each stall. Staying flat against the wall, she eases her way to the unattended stalls nearby. She pulls the linen down, draping herself with it.
None of the demons nearby could be her mark, all of them emitting weak auras. Focusing, she locks onto the signal that had pierced beyond the barrier. She keeps her pace leisurely until the recognition makes her legs numb.
He's too far away to see clearly but he doesn't need to come any closer for her to know it's Sesshomaru.
Seeking out Kaijinbo yields the added bonus of new recruits. At every stall they pass, there are pledges of allegiance to Sesshomaru and demons falling all over themselves with gifts to give. If only Kaito had been so amenable, he thinks.
The blatant brown-nosing would normally upset Jaken were it not for the quality of the gifts.
His feet have started to blister from all the walking but he presses on, excited to rummage through everything once they're home. Sesshomaru pauses at a stall selling potions and plucks a lavender-tinted bottle from the selection.
"Drink this." Sesshomaru chucks the bottle at Jaken who nearly fumbles it trying to hold onto their loot.
The potion goes down like swamp water but the poisoned phlegm coating Jaken's throat finally drains. His eyes well up but he blinks it away. The remaining effects of Sesshomaru's poison filter out of him as if nothing happened.
"Thank you, milord." Jaken marvels at Sesshomaru who's turned his back. Shouldering their gifts with renewed strength, Jaken follows him with a spring in his movements.
But his strength begins to fade again the moment he sees a cloaked figure standing in the center of the road. The other demons are sure to keep their distance but it doesn't stop them from almost breaking their necks looking.
"Great," Jaken says, having reached his limit for weird people today.
"I know this scent." Sesshomaru gravitates towards the cloaked figure who begins to close the gap.
The dark blue robes on his pale skin suit him far more than what he normally wears. He looks more like a man than a demon. Kikyo considers Kagewaki's agenda. Factoring in the added threat Naraku poses puts a deep wrinkle between her eyebrows.
"We meet again," she says, confirming that blue is in fact his color.
"So we do." Sesshomaru glances at their surroundings. "Although this isn't a place you should be."
"Perhaps." The makeshift hood of the linen begins to slip back on her head and she pulls it down. "I sensed a destructive demonic aura."
Sesshomaru recalls his near explosion, still raw from the feeling of forgetting himself. Such power could destroy the East, West and everything in between, Kikyo knows. She searches for a reason to keep him in her presence, but she doesn't need one.
"So what will you do now? I can't help but feel you're just waiting for the opportunity to strike me down," Sesshomaru says, walking forward.
She falls in stride beside him. Jaken catches up from far back, ear-hustling.
"Hello there, Jaken," Kikyo says, taking him by surprise.
"If it isn't the wench. You seem to turn up wherever my Lord is." Despite his griping, Jaken turns back to mourn all of the shops that were on his list.
"Pure coincidence," Kikyo notes, humoring him. "Perhaps it is the two of you who happen to show up wherever I am."
Sesshomaru ponders their frequent encounters. As much as the stage is set for them to be enemies, he'll only consider her one if she makes the first move. There are worse individuals to constantly run into.
"You wish," Jaken snorts, managing to shake his staff at her while overloaded with parcels. "What in creation would we need with a dead priestess?"
"Jaken," Sesshomaru's voice makes his heart stop. "go find something to do."
Jaken wants to protest but he's pushed his luck enough. He heads for the other shops as consolation but not without glaring at Kikyo.
Sesshomaru and Kikyo forge ahead, drawing attention from everyone they pass. Walking amongst demons comes with a tranquility opposite of the human merchants and shoppers. They all seem content to just look at Sesshomaru. Having been by his side, Kikyo had almost forgotten he's far from approachable.
"It seems you've made a name for yourself." She hasn't stopped fussing with her covering but inciting a mob of demons she has no quarrel with could endanger the humans on the other side of the barrier, so she endures it.
At that moment, they walk by a group of female demons who cut off their conversation to gaze at Sesshomaru while also trying to catch a glimpse of Kikyo beneath the linen.
"It's been this way for as long as I can remember." Sesshomaru doesn't glance in their direction.
Incessant shows of loyalty and interest solely on the strength of his father's reputation had colored Sesshomaru's childhood. The only genuine interactions involved those who wanted him dead.
Despite knowing both his sons, Kikyo can't get a feel for who Toga was. His memory is overshadowed by the might of Tessaiga.
"You don't seem very pleased with that," Kikyo intuits, ignoring the demons' whispers at their backs, "which begs the question of why you're picking up where your father left off."
Sesshomaru could easily say it's his birthright. And though that's true, his 'why' reaches into the depths he usually avoids.
"Demonkind has lost its way," Sesshomaru says, amused that he hears more of his mother in his words than his father. "So afraid of dying out, we've resorted to warring amongst ourselves. I aspire to a better reality."
More times than she thought possible, she's misjudged him. His nature, so pronounced by seeking power, had, at one time, lulled her into a one-dimensional perception of him. But then he saved her life. When she looks at him, she sees more than he's willing to reveal, but it's there nonetheless.
"And do you only consider demons in your aspirations?" she probes him, Kagewaki's resolution runs on a loop in her head. "What of humans?"
"What of them? I've no interest in humans," he says without hesitation.
Kikyo audibly sighs, drawing a look from him, but he misinterprets her reason.
"However," he adds, looking away again, "I suppose you surprise me as far as humans go."
Before she can speak, a shockwave of demonic energy envelops the entire district, resulting in a tremor. The ground ripples and Sesshomaru and Kikyo collide. It's gone as quickly as it appeared.
Steadying Kikyo on her feet, Sesshomaru turns in the direction of Kaijinbo's shack, a satisfied smirk on his face. If that display was any indication of the power that awaits him, it's only a matter of time before the West is restored.
"It cannot be!" Kikyo's head darts around, hands fiending for her bow and arrow. "That was Naraku's aura."
Sesshomaru doesn't meet her eyes. So many consider him evil-incarnate, but Kikyo thinks his true flaw is his honesty.
"You know where that aura came from, don't you?" she asks in a way that compels him to look at her.
"My new sword," Sesshomaru admits, disliking the seed of shame she's planted in his heart and mind. "Not that it's any concern of yours."
"You would wield a sword made from a part of Naraku?" Aghast, her death wounds start to howl. The pain burrows deep into her bones and she pulls away from him.
The chill of her judgment replaces her presence. Sesshomaru fortifies his stony, vacant exterior, refusing to explain himself to anyone, especially a human.
Kikyo implores him one more time to help her understand why he would resort to what she can only define as a desperate act, but he leaves her hanging. Masking her disappointment, she agrees that it is no concern of hers. No demon is any concern of hers unless it's staring down the length of her arrow.
Focusing her spiritual power, she searches for the barrier's exit. Once she hones in on it, she quickly starts heading in its direction.
"You have no right to judge my actions," Sesshomaru says before she gets too far away from him.
But Kikyo keeps walking, a silly sensation blossoming from the belief that perhaps she could begin to understand him. It's the lesson that she, for whatever reason, refuses to learn.
When she returns to the shop for Kagewaki, she finds him waiting outside with Hitoshi. Kagewaki lights up at the sight of her, breaking his discussion with Hitoshi to meet her halfway. Kikyo smiles with only a fraction of her heart, her mind still with Sesshomaru.
"Lady Kikyo! Did you find anything to your liking?" he asks. She shakes her head as Kagewaki rolls out a sketch of the outfit he's commissioned. "Take a look."
Kikyo pores over the design, dismayed by the black robes and sea-green embroidery, the colors of demon slayers. But she forces another smile. And then, the skeleton of a plan starts to take root.
Wars only cause more of the death they claim to prevent. Such devastation would only serve as a banquet for the likes of Naraku to feast on and grow stronger. Her sense of duty won't allow her to casually observe.
"My Lord, do you have need of a spiritual advisor? Given our discussion earlier," she says, lowering her voice as she notices Hitoshi looking on, "I believe I could be of service."
Kagewaki takes her hands with the joy of a long-awaited prayer being answered, nodding again and again before accepting her offer.
"With you, Lady Kikyo, our victory is assured."
She manages the most genuine smile she can under Hitoshi's watchful eye, and hedges her bets on finding a way to change Kagewaki's mind.
