Chapter 61:

'Okay Shiroi-san. I'll be in charge for now.' Arisa carefully ordered, to which her shikigami abided.

'Understood.'

"What is it now!?" Kagome complained as they felt another overwhelming presence behind them.

Inuyasha and Kagome turned around to see who it was, and were surprised to see Sesshomaru there. Sara was surprised as well, who was now on top of her huge crow.

Sesshomaru-sama? What is he doing here…?

He looked up at Sara with a dull expression, but Inuyasha immediately accused him of being in cahoots with her about stealing his Tetsusaiga and charged at him using his famous 'Iron-Reaver Soul Stealer' technique.

The older brother stopped him in ease by grabbing his wrist with his poison covered claws. Sara smirked as she took that as a sign that he was supportive of her.

"Sesshomaru-sama! Please hold him down!" she screamed, but he quickly released Inuyasha and attacked her instead with destructive poison needles. Her giant grow was smoothly shattered, causing her to fall on the ground, much to her disappointment. Nevertheless, she willingly went closer and knelt down in front of him.

"Damn you!" Inuyasha shouted back, to which Sesshomaru hissed.

"Shut your mouth, Inuyasha. This is none of your business."

"Hell no! She stole my Tetsusaiga and it's only natural for me to get it back!"

Sesshomaru simply dismissed his younger brother's blabbering and faced Sara.

"Please take this sword and put an end to Inuyasha." She confidently said while offering him the Tetsusaiga.

"You are mistaken." He replied curtly, to which she looked up with an upset expression.

"Do you really think that I wanted the Tetsusaiga?" he continued to say.

"Did you not…?"

He paused, then once again countered her with snide remarks.

"I do not need any assistance from you just to defeat Inuyasha."

With that, he took a few steps away from them and vanished in a beam of light, leaving Sara depressed and clueless.

'Should we continue to follow him?'

Shiroi asked Arisa the moment Sesshomaru had disappeared from the cliff.

Although she felt happy that Sesshomaru went after her to turn her down, she still had the feeling that it was not yet over. She was about to answer, when her attention was caught by a shimmering light from the place. She was alarmed to see Sara almost crystallizing Inuyasha, and much to her relief, Kagome came to the rescue and fired a sacred arrow towards the necklace that Sara was holding. The necklace broke and the effect had stopped. She was thankful for that, and she relaxed.

Her relief was short-lived though, as Sara had escaped right after. She quickly had a notion to where she the woman was headed to.

'Arisa. What do you plan to do?

'O-oh, yes. We'll follow him. But we need to get there before Sara does.

'As you wish.'

Shiroi was able to track down Sesshomaru, and found him heading towards a deep forest.

'Arisa, would you like to switch places again?'

'Yes please.'

Sesshomaru quietly approached a certain tree, and it reminded him of that time he got wounded from Inuyasha's sword. He then started a monologue of few words.

"…after my arm had been cut, I escaped and landed on a castle ground flocked with soldiers. And I remember venting my rage on them. Then…I sought rest on this nearby turf."

Shortly after, Sara emerged from the trees, happy with what she has heard.

"You've finally remembered, Sesshomaru-sama."

He expected her to be there, but he looked at her with a vacant expression as she went near the tree, and sat under it.

"I wandered beyond our gardens...and I call it luck because I saw you here. You were cursing Inuyasha and you wanted the Tetsusaiga. And just then, your little companion had arrived, fretting over your condition out of worry. He called you Sesshomaru-sama, and I was elated to finally know your name."

"…I thought I heard the sound of a flute."

Sara's face brightened as she reached for the flute in her breast pocket, and played the tune she knew.

"Yes…after picking flowers that I wished to give you, I played my flute from a spot not far from here in order to convey my blooming feelings for you."

"…"

"But things turned out badly as my father had accused you being a trespasser and a monster that would take me away. I met him along the path together with his army, planning to take you by surprise. I tried to stop them, but I failed."

Sesshomaru didn't retort. Instead, he silently recalled what she was referring to. A group of soldiers suddenly surrounded him and directed their weapons at him. The leader chattered that he was prying on his daughter and that he will never allow it. It irked him as he had no idea what he was talking about. He was simply resting under that tree, recovering from the cut that his arm sustained.

Jaken tried to defend him, but he scolded him and deemed that he could handle them all.

Soon, multiple bullets were fired towards him but with his enhanced agility and senses, he was able to block all of those with accuracy using his toxic whip. It terrified most of the soldiers and they started running away from him right after. Concluding that he had no chance against him, the leader, which was Sara's father, also surrendered in fear.

"It wasn't too long before Asano Castle burned down. And the one who did it was my father. He was petrified of you so much that it drove him insane."

The dog demon remained silent, but Sara continued to say her thoughts anyway.

"After praying for the repose of my father's soul as well as our comrades, I went to a convention and became a nun, deciding that I will keep my feelings for you a secret. But, I was hit by an incurable disease and my days were numbered. I accepted everything, until Inuyasha appeared. I suddenly had regrets, and that's when I started seeing apparitions. They offered me a chance to meet you once more, and I sold my soul to them. Thus, I was reborn."

Her eyes glinted in red as she stood up and approached Sesshomaru, with the Tetsusaiga in her hand.

"What my father did to you is unforgivable, and he deserved that. I could never atone for what he did, but please acknowledge all what I've done until today."

Sesshomaru stared at her with lack of concern.

"So that is your true form."

He stated matter-of-factly that it caused Sara to gasp nervously.

"What do you mean, Sesshomaru-sama?"

But before he could answer, Inuyasha suddenly appeared and launched his signature attack, only to be deflected.

"So you're gonna get in the way, Sesshomaru!?" Inuyasha snapped.

"I believe I told you not to interfere." He replied flatly and turned his attention to Sara again.

"And I said no until I get my Tetsusaiga!" he answered back and aimed his 'blades of blood' at Sara which successfully hit her shoulders. But, it released a number of demons that were enough to tie him down.

She was about to strike him with her transformed arm, only to be parried by Sesshomaru as well. She was completely astonished by it.

"Do not reveal any more of your disgusting nature to me." He declared and quickly sliced her in half with his Tokijin. Her image was destroyed, shifting into an ogre-face creature; and many demons came out of her, covering the whole forest.

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