"Do you ever wonder what the point is?" Inuyasha asked with one leg lazily draped over the other, his fingers intertwined behind his head acting as a pillow. He stared up at the tree leaves above him filtering out the hot summer sun while Kin'u and Gyokuto ran circles around him giggling and playing.
Sango stopped scrubbing the shirt she was washing and wiped the sweat off of her forehead with her forearm. "Hm?"
"Gah, forget it." Inuyasha muttered and tried blowing his sweat drenched bangs off of his forehead.
Sango took a deep breath. The excessive heat was making everyone irritated and exhausted, especially because by this time in the season the heat was usually tapering off as they got closer to fall. Instead of snapping and asking him to repeat himself, she rested her hands in the water and looked over in his direction. "Point of what?"
Inuyasha's foot began bouncing at Sango's question. The faintest hint of clouds passed over the sun but it wasn't nearly enough to provide any relief from the sweltering day. By staying silent he hoped she would give up and go back to what she was doing.
"Point of what, Inuyasha?" Sango pressed as Miroku sat down next to her with Hisui.
Stupid he reprimanded himself for speaking out loud.
"Well?" Prodded Miroku while bouncing Hisui in his lap.
Defeated, Inuyasha sighed. "Life."
Sango and Miroku exchanged a worried glance.
"Forget it," Inuyasha huffed before turning over on his side and closing his eyes.
"Inuyasha," Miroku rested his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder as he sat down next to his friend. "What's the matter?"
Inuyasha rolled over onto his back and watched as another faint breeze rustled the leaves above him. Three years ago his life was a constant adventure; he had a sense of purpose: new places, new people, new demons. Now his days were spent laying around essentially being a babysitter. Occasionally he was summoned to defeat a low level demon who was being a nuisance to nearby villages or help in the fields, but other than that he mostly laid in this spot.
In tandem Inuyasha and Miroku jumped to their feet when they sensed a demonic aura coming their way. Out of habit Miroku reached for his prayer beads that sealed off his wind tunnel, but silently scolded himself for relying so heavily on the curse that used to be in his right hand. Quickly he found a sutra hidden in his robes and rested it between his pointer and middle fingers. Inuyasha removed his hand from Tessaiga's hilt when he noticed that Kagome's scent was mixed in with Sesshomaru and Ginto's.
"Hi guys!" Kagome waved with a big smile on her face once the dust settled from their arrival.
"Kagome!" Sango and the girls cheered as they ran over to give her a hug.
"Feeling sorry for yourself," Sesshomaru said more as a statement than a question, examining Inuyasha with a look of disgust.
"What the hell do you want?" Inuyasha snapped back with a fang showing under his curled lip.
Sesshomaru looked over to the happy reunion happening just steps away from him. "Follow," he ordered. Inuyasha and Miroku looked over to the girls and hesitated for a brief moment, but reluctantly obeyed.
"I am entrusting Kagome in your care," Sesshomaru informed them once out of ear shot.
"Oh are you-"
"Silence!" Sesshomaru demanded while displaying his fangs. Although he said it low enough to be undetected by the average human ear, it seemed as though every demon in the area froze at the harsh tone. "I expect that you will protect Kagome with your life, if it should come to that," he warned. "Take her to Yakurodokusen the master of potions…"
"Why don't you take her yourself then?" Inuyasha smirked defiantly.
All too familiar rage was building inside of Sesshomaru. There was nothing he wanted more than to defeat the disgrace of a hanyo brother standing before him, but he knew he was better than that. Hanyo's acted out of control; powerful daiyokai's like him were the definition of control. "Kagome requested that she go with the three of you."
The four men looked over to Kagome who was standing with Sango and her girls laughing and smiling. A smile tugged at the corners of Sesshomaru's lips as he studied her. The color finally fully returned to her once pale and near death body. Her eyes sparkled with life and joy as she smelled all the freshly picked flowers Kin'u and Gyokuto brought over to her. There was no denying that her aura brought peace, calm, and happiness to those who were fortune enough to be around her.
"I'm sure Granny Kaede would be more than willing to babysit for us," Miroku smiled. "We would love to spend the day with our dear Kagome, wouldn't we Inuyasha?"
"Uh. Y-Yeah," Inuyasha stammered.
Without another word Sesshomaru took off and headed toward his next destination. Ginto began to follow, but he hesitated and with a sigh landed softly on his feet. "Listen," he glanced between Inuyasha and Miroku with a serious look on his face. "I'm sure I don't have to point out how big of a deal this is, Lord Sesshomaru trusting that you'll look after Kagome and keep her safe." Miroku nodded, returning Ginto's serious gaze. "I'm sure none of us want a repeat of what happened last time," Ginto looked to Inuyasha expecting him to react to his near death experience at the hands of his own brother, but he looked indifferent. "For all of our sakes, please keep her safe."
Miroku put a hand over his heart and nodded. "We will do everything in our power to keep her safe, Ginto. Please thank Lord Sesshomaru for entrusting us with this important task."
Ginto nodded, appreciative of the monk for taking this so serious. "Bye Kagome, have fun!" he called over to her as Ah-Un scooped Ginto up and flew him towards Sesshomaru.
"Please thank Lord Sesshomaru for entrusting us with this important task," Inuyasha mocked with his eyes crossed and tongue sticking out. "You make me sick."
Miroku laughed at Inuyasha's impersonation and clapped his hand on his back, "A little sucking up never hurt anyone, my friend." They both walked toward the sound of Kagome's laughter that was floating through the small village like a beautiful song.
::::::::::::::::::::::::
"Do you need help, my Lord?" Ginto asked after hours of walking the dense forest in silence. The thick foliage rose high above them, providing a canopy of shade that made the forest floor about 10 degrees cooler. It was eerily quiet, not a demon in sight or to be heard. Tenseiga rattled in protest and pointed north east. "I'll take that as a no," he chuckled. The sword stopped rattling as they approached an ordinary looking tree and Sesshomaru rested his hand on its sheath. Both men stopped and stared at the tree that Tenseiga led them to.
"Bokuseno," Sesshomaru's deep voice summoned.
At the sound of his name, the tree bark groaned as it rearranged itself to form a tired looking face in the center of the tree. "Ah, Sesshomaru," the face slowly blinked its small sleepy eyes, "it has been awhile."
Ginto slightly cringed at the lack of Lord before Sesshomaru's name and expected to see his claws thrash in the trees direction, but to his surprise his Lord just merely nodded. "Tell me about Tengu."
The tree chuckled. "Oh yes. The inu-yokai your father believed your mother should have been betrothed to. I have not heard that name in quite some time."
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. "Explain."
Bokuseno's eyes lit up at the memory of the great dog demon. "Your father had a hard time accepting his fate. He wanted to marry for true love. Companionship. When he discovered Tengu's bloodline and learned how your mother and him were once a clan, he begged her father to reconsider the marriage. Offered all of the riches he could get his hands on; offered to lead an army to fight in any battle he wished. Unfortunately, her fathers incessant greed for power and his fathers insistence for him to continue the bloodline with a powerful inu daiyokai family did not allow for his wants and desires to be honored. He believed his destiny was being taken from him, but little did he know…your mother was part of his destiny."
Ginto glanced at Sesshomaru from the corner of his eye. Next to him stood one of the most powerful Lords known to man and demon alike. More than likely he surpassed the great dog demon in power, though Sesshomaru would never allow the thought to be spoken. Fate is the reason the powerful Lord Sesshomaru was roaming these lands.
Bokuseno continued on, "Eventually, as you are aware, fate brought him to the love of his life, Izayoi. Even if he experienced it only briefly." Sesshomaru cast his eyes down toward the ground. "Not long before Inuyasha was born your father finally understood his fate and came to accept it. He fulfilled his destiny of producing a strong and powerful Lord to rule the Western lands, but he also produced a son that was from his own desires. Love."
Despite being a demon, Ginto's eyes had the faint trace of tears brimming his eyes. Tales like this were never shared about the great dog demon. Fate is the reason for so much suffering.
His tears quickly reabsorbed when Sesshomaru spoke.
"I asked about Tengu. Not my father."
Bokuseno's deeply arched eyebrows raised. "I see your heart is still as cold as ice, Sesshomaru. What is it you would like to know?"
"Why now?"
"You know, Sesshomaru, I have to admit I myself am curious why you're here. You've never been one to check up on your opponents before battling them. What's changed?"
Ginto hid a smirk at the old trees question. Things have changed alright.
"Answer the question," Sesshomaru demanded impatiently.
"You are all connected, you know." Bokuseno chuckled. "You. The great dog demon. Tengu. Inuyasha. Izayoi. Takemaru."
Sesshomaru's ear flicked at the mention of Takemaru; the mortal who was in love with Izayoi and who was responsible for the slaying of his father.
"You have a big challenge coming, Sesshomaru." Bokuseno warned. "One of the ultimate lessons your father wanted you to learn. This is part of your destiny. Due to your fathers wishes, that is all I am able to tell you in regards to that."
Instinctively Sesshomaru looked to his Tenseiga. Father. The anguish he felt when he learned that he was only entrusted with meido zangetsuha to work on its technique before passing it to Inuyasha and Tessaiga. He then looked to his left arm. It wasn't until he lost his attachment to Tessiaga that his arm regenerated with his powerful Bakusaiga.
Sesshomaru nodded before slowly flying between the trees with Ginto as they made their way out of the forest.
"Your father could only control so much, Sesshomaru," Bokuseno's voice drifted through the trees barely above a whisper. "Not everyone is granted a happy life." When Ginto looked back to where the old magnolia tree stood, the face contorted back into regular looking tree bark and he once again stood silently among the vast forest around him. The other trees somehow began whispering around them. Not everyone is granted a happy life they warned.
Author's Note:
Hi friends!
I've missed you! And this story! I've been in the thick of reading lately... I just can't get enough. In the anime/mange realm I highly recommend My Happy Marriage. I watched the anime last summer (Netflix) and devoured it! I read volumes 1 and 2 of the light novel because it covers season 1 of the anime. In the fantasy world I read A Court of Thorns and Roses. Typically I avoid popular books but I actually really really enjoyed it. So far there's 5 books in the series and they're all waiting for me on my dresser! I refused to start a new one until I did a chapter here though.
Back to our story!
I had a different idea of how this chapter would go, but this is where it landed. I thought I was going to have Kagome's adventure AND Sesshomaru's in one chapter, but my brain decided otherwise tonight. Just felt right. It's funny how sometimes what I have planned and what happens can change so much despite me being the one who's writing it. Although I hate to admit I let the story sit with just a few paragraphs for longer than I would've liked. I really made myself sit down and write tonight, and now I'm half asleep trying to get this published! ha.
I hope you all have been enjoying the warmer weather! I can't believe we're in June already. Time really does fly by.
Until next time!