EIGHTH BLOOD

Chapter 115: Sixteenth night

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Sixteenth night moon
Ever so slightly
The darkening begins.

—Matsuo Basho, 1693
(Translated by David Landis Barnhill)

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The voice led him to a cave at the base of some sea cliffs.

Sesshoumaru travelled east with the storm, all the way to the coastline of Musashi. He hadn't planned on staying, until a familiar-sounding melody drifted along the shores of the bay. It was a song he'd heard thousands of times. The song was a favourite amongst the castle's wet nurses, and his mother had hummed the tune once or twice whilst they'd been hiding underground, but it was less common out in the wilds.

The singing seemed to be coming from inside a cave on the western side of the bay. It was well disguised amidst the rocks, but the entrance was just large enough to accommodate his build and stature. In fact, the interior itself was surprisingly spacious.

When he passed under a row of slimy-looking stalactites, it dawned on him that he had been here before. Hundreds of years ago, his father had brought him to this very cave with the intent of lengthening the amount of time he could hold his breath. At least, that was what he'd told him. In reality, the great general had taken his son to New Moon Cave to meet an old friend of his.

Sesshoumaru suppressed the memory and continued his trek downwards through the rocky tunnel. Seaweed hung from the walls like banners drenched in blood, and the ground was littered with tidepools of varying size and depth. One wrong step and he would be up to his chin in seawater.

Unlike most sea caves, which were at the mercy of the tides, this particular cave was only accessible once a month—specifically on the night of the new moon, as its name suggested. It was an anomaly. But then so was the ancient creature that resided in the deepest depths of the cave.

Wet sand crunched beneath his boots, the noise a harsh contrast to the gentle singing that was becoming louder the further in he ventured.

Eventually, he made it to the end of the tunnel. A dais had been erected generations ago to honour the deity of this region. Sesshoumaru climbed the dais steps and examined the yorishiro, which was a piece of sparkling red coral. A yorishiro was supposed to act as a conduit for divine spirits and deities. He had come across plenty of them throughout his life, but only two had ever displayed explicitly supernatural qualities. This piece of coral was one of them. The other was the Tree of Ages in Inuyasha's Forest.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you. My Kamui is too powerful for a mortal such as yourself."

Sesshoumaru turned to face the speaker. "I am no mortal."

"You are all mortals in the eyes of the kami."

The water sloshed as the deity swam towards the edge of the pool. Just like last time, he had taken the form of a giant sea turtle. His bronze skin shimmered in the dim light of the cave – like the surface of a coin – except the texture was more akin to dried leather. His shell, on the other hand, was perfectly smooth and coated with precious minerals such as emeralds and lapis lazuli.

"I remember you," said the deity. "You're the son of the Inu no Taisho. You've grown so much that I almost didn't recognise you, but I never forget a face."

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "Why have you summoned me here, Sea God?"

"I did no such thing."

"But the voice—"

"Was not my doing."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Then who is responsible for it?"

The Sea God pointed a flipper at something behind him. Sesshoumaru turned and saw a blue light shining in through a crack in the wall. He walked towards it slowly, prepared to leap out of the way at any given point. The closer he got, the clearer the singing became.

"The space between our worlds is getting thinner by the second," the Sea God explained. "Travelling there and back again no longer requires the presence of a yorishiro. Mark my words, Son of Touga. If this is allowed to continue, the results will be catastrophic."

The Dressmaker had said something along those lines, too.

The boundaries between worlds are collapsing.

She seemed to think that the cracks were a side-effect of the Radiant One's consciousness being split into two vessels instead of just one, but Inuyasha had a different theory.

The way I see it, there are two likely outcomes. Either the portals are breaking down from overuse, or the hole itself is getting bigger over time. Meaning—

Something is trying to force its way through.

"What lies beyond this wall?" he asked, laying a hand flat against the cracked stone.

"A wound in the fabric of reality," replied the Sea God.

He'd figured as much.

"Where does it lead?"

"I haven't the faintest idea."

His hand curled into a fist. "Forgive me for desecrating your place of worship."

The Sea God chuckled. "Do what you must. But take care not to bring the ceiling down on us. I may be a deity, but even I am not immune to being crushed by falling rocks."

"Hn. Neither am I."

Sesshoumaru punched the wall, causing the cracks to multiply until the whole thing eventually collapsed under its own weight. The light surged as the rock crumbled away to reveal a rotating blue disc where the wall had once been.

The song drifted into his ears – clearer than ever now – as he shook the debris from his knuckles and waited for the dust to settle. It didn't sound like his mother's voice, but there was no way of knowing for certain without checking every possible variable, which was exactly what he intended to do.

"Proceed with caution," the Sea God warned. "The path before you is incredibly unstable."

"Your concern is wasted on me," Sesshoumaru said. "I understand the risks associated with traversing the schism perfectly."

"Even so, I urge you to be careful. I too wish to know whose voice it is and where it is coming from, but it isn't worth spending the rest of your days stranded on some unknown world a billion miles from here. Not only would you be alone and at the mercy of the cosmos, but your loved ones would miss you terribly."

He didn't doubt that for a second. Rin and Jaken would be heartbroken, as would his mother and Ah-Un. His absence would leave Kanetsugu, Kannika and Nagisa in a difficult spot, but they'd be all right. Even Inuyasha would miss him to a certain degree, but he'd get over it, as well. With time, they all would. Octavia, on the other hand . . .

I want us to live.

It wasn't the first time she had prioritised the needs of strangers over her own, or lied about her feelings for his benefit. She had always been so much stronger than him in that regard.

He knew something was wrong the moment he passed through the portal and into the schism. Dark spots marred the once uniform landscape, and the surrounding lights grew dimmer as he travelled further away from the entry point. Come to think of it, there had been some discolouration when he and Octavia had travelled from her homeland to the crescent-shaped island in the middle of the sea, but not like this.

He wouldn't linger. He just wanted to know what was on the other side. That was all.

The end of the path was signposted by two glowing lanterns. Standing between them, Sesshoumaru took in the new sights around him. He seemed to be on the grounds of some sort of estate. A thick wall surrounded the perimeter, blocking out the rest of the world, and the mansion towered over him like a mountain. Icicles dangled from the eaves above what was presumably the main entrance, and the ground was covered in a light dusting of snow.

The mansion's occupants smelled human and were presumably quite wealthy if the sheer size of the place was anything to go on. It reminded him a little of his mother's shiro—minus the waterfalls and wisteria trees.

The singing was coming from a smaller annexe building that was attached to the main complex by a single connecting corridor. He marched towards it purposefully, intent on figuring out the identity of the mysterious singer by any means necessary.

There were no guards around, so he snuck in easily enough and followed the music to its source. A young woman with long, silky black hair was sitting alone beside the firepit, singing to herself. For a human, her voice was actually quite pleasant.

The song was called The Traveller's Lullaby, and it was one of the oldest and most beloved songs among his people.

A song of comfort on the wind
Will ease the broken heart within
A lullaby for the weary traveller
In sleep you'll soon discover

The path that brings you home again
Where joy and laughter fill the air
Your troubles will be swept away
Erased by restful slumber

She was holding something. Sesshoumaru craned his head to try and get a better look, but the angle obscured his view.

The singing stopped. He held his breath as the woman tilted her head sideways to meet his gaze. His eyes widened in unison with hers.

The universe had a funny sense of humour sometimes.

The woman's shocked expression slowly morphed into one of neutrality. Her calm aura infuriated him. Didn't she know who he was? She should be terrified. If not for herself, then for the child asleep in her arms.

Sesshoumaru turned to leave.

"Wait," she said, hugging the babe to her chest as she rose to her feet. "Don't go. Please."

He paused his retreat.

"It's you, isn't it? You're the one they call Sesshoumaru. I've heard a lot about you. My name is—"

"I did not come here to engage in pleasantries," he cut her off sharply.

"Oh. I see." She sounded disappointed. "What have you come for then, my lord?" When he didn't respond, she lowered her voice and asked, "Are you here to kill us?"

"No."

"Then why—"

"I followed the sound of your singing."

He glanced at her from over his shoulder. She seemed confused by the admission, but refrained from questioning him about it.

He considered ending the conversation there, when the baby opened its eyes and whimpered pathetically. Sesshoumaru had been avoiding looking at it up until now, but he couldn't resist lowering his gaze to the small bundle of cloth in her arms.

A tiny face was poking out of the fabric, haloed by a mane of pure white hair. Thick tears tumbled down the baby's cheeks like boulders rolling down a hillside, and its gums were coated in a layer of sparkling saliva, creating the illusion of teeth. Sesshoumaru balled his hands into fists when Izayoi planted a kiss on the child's brow and resumed singing.

Beyond the hills of solitude
Where hope and courage beckon thee
You'll find the way to peace at last
And your journey will be done

The path that brings you home again
Where joy and laughter fill the air
Your troubles will be swept away
Erased by restful slumber

The crying persisted.

Izayoi flashed him an apologetic look. "Apologies, my lord. I think he's hungry. Please excuse me for a moment." She turned to preserve her modesty and loosened her kimono.

Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow. "Doesn't he have a wet nurse?"

She laughed as if he had just said something incredibly foolish. "No. The others are all too scared to come near him. They won't even sleep under the same roof as him, never mind touch him. I feed, clothe, and bathe him all by myself."

Guilt coiled around his heart and squeezed. "How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-one."

Was that all?

She's only a couple of years older than Octavia, he realised with a sharp intake of breath. The thought of her being in the same situation that Izayoi was currently in disturbed him greatly. Humans weren't supposed to outlive youkai. It wasn't natural.

And yet here she stood.

"Why do you ask, my lord?"

"No reason in particular." He waited until she had finished feeding her son and refastened her kimono before speaking up again. "The song you were singing is of demon origin. It is well-known within the circle of Daiyoukai nobility, but not beyond it. Tell me, how did a human such as yourself come to learn it?"

She smiled warmly. "Your father taught it to me. When I was pregnant, he used to lay his hand on my stomach and sing to me. He had a beautiful voice. But I bet you knew that already."

He hadn't, actually. It was yet another secret that his father had kept from him.

Inuyasha broke the tension with a burp. Izayoi giggled and dabbed at his mouth with a cloth. His gold eyes scrolled around the room languidly, before eventually falling on Sesshoumaru.

It was like being run through with a blade.

The baby's lips parted in a fish-like manner, and his ears jerked upwards as he held Sesshoumaru's taut stare. This wasn't the monster that had killed his father, nor was it the abomination born of an ungodly union between two opposite species.

He was just a baby.

The others are all too scared to come near him. They won't even sleep under the same roof as him, never mind touch him.

"May I?" he asked, expecting to be shot down straight away. Surely she wouldn't be stupid enough to leave her only son at the mercy of someone like him—

"Of course," she said. "Nothing would make me happier."

He hoped his panic wasn't obvious when she carefully lowered the child into his arms. Inuyasha seemed startled at first, but the fear was soon replaced by what Sesshoumaru assumed was curiosity. The hanyou's eyes were comically large as he peered up at him from under his snowy bangs. Sesshoumaru wondered what was going on in that tiny brain of his.

"He likes you," Izayoi noted with a smile. "It must be your scent. He's never met anyone like him before."

Sesshoumaru scoffed. "He is more human than youkai."

Her smile faded. "But not human enough."

She wasn't wrong. Hanyou were hated by both humans and demons alike. Their lives were fraught with pain and misery, and many died without ever reaching adolescence, usually from exposure or from being hunted down and killed. Sesshoumaru had witnessed the extent of this cruelty first-hand whilst secretly keeping tabs on his younger brother during the years after his mother's passing. Countless villagers had turned the whelp away after seeing his ears and claws, and some had actively chased him out of their territory with spears and farming tools.

The wilderness was no safer. Animals and lesser youkai attacked him frequently, but the most dangerous threats to his well-being were thirst and hunger. His youkai blood prevented him from freezing to death in sub-zero temperatures, but the snow meant that foraging for food was no longer an option, and he'd been a poor hunter at first. If Myoga hadn't been there to guide him, he likely would have starved to death.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Izayoi whispered. "I can't help but feel a little responsible—"

"I am the one who should be sorry."

She blinked in surprise. "Whatever for, my lord?"

He didn't answer. How could he when the woman standing beside him had no idea that he wasn't the man she thought he was? The Sesshoumaru of this timeline was too wrapped up in his own grief and anger to realise the events he had set in motion by refusing to acknowledge his younger brother's existence. He didn't care that the hanyou would go on to spend several human lifetimes surviving by the skin of his teeth. All he cared about was finding the Tessaiga and using it to escape the constraints of his father's enormous shadow.

Inuyasha yawned and dropped his head onto Sesshoumaru's chest. His brows lifted when he realised that the boy had fallen asleep on him.

Smiling, Izayoi reached across to stroke her son's ear. "I love him more than anything in the world," she said. Her voice sounded strangely tight when she spoke again. "When I'm gone, I hope he remembers me."

Sesshoumaru stiffened. Rin had said the very same thing to him not so long ago.

If I die one day, will you always remember me?

He passed the baby back to Izayoi wordlessly and turned towards the exit. He had been gone for long enough.

"I cannot return," he stated coldly.

"I understand."

"Tell no one of this interaction. Your life may very well depend on it."

"I would not betray your trust, my lord."

To his surprise, he believed her.

Sighing through his nose, he craned his head sideways and said, "He will never forget you. Everyone dies eventually, but a memory lives forever. I know this . . . I know this because I have not forgotten, either."

Her eyes shone with tears. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru."

He stole one last glance at Inuyasha – who was still blissfully asleep – before leaving the same way he'd entered.

Fortunately, the portal hadn't closed yet, though it seemed smaller than it had been when he'd first arrived. He strode through it without looking back and didn't stop moving until he was back in the pit of New Moon Cave. He turned around just in time to witness the gate collapsing in on itself. In the end, all that remained was an empty alcove full of dirt and rocky debris.

The pool where the Sea God had been prior to his impromptu journey through the schism was similarly empty. Sesshoumaru shifted his gaze to the stone dais that had housed the yorishiro. It was on the ground in pieces.

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Author's Corner

Fun fact: the name Izayoi translates to 'sixteenth night' and is an abbreviation of Izayoizuki, meaning 'sixteenth night moon'. This is a reference to the lunar month where a full moon typically occurs on the fifteenth night, meaning that the sixteenth is when the moon begins to wane. When the moon rises on the sixteenth night, it has been known to wait until after the sun has fully set, hence the use of the term 'izayou' (of which the modern pronunciation is 'izayoi'), which means to hesitate.

For those of you who don't know, New Moon Cave is an existing location in the Nintendo DS game Inuyasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel. The gameplay is absolutely atrocious but I really liked the game's unique plot and characters. The constant references to various Japanese gods and deities (both fictitious and taken from actual mythology) definitely didn't hurt, either. The terms 'Kamui' and 'yorishiro' are very important to the game's lore, so I recommend checking it out if you're interested. I think there are some playthroughs of it on YouTube if you don't want to buy the game and would rather just watch someone else play it.

Shout-out to victoriarogue for consistently reviewing each chapter! This was one of my favourites to write, so I hope you all enjoyed reading it. ❤️ (P.S. Please forgive my awful songwriting. Music isn't exactly my strong point lol.)