In any other circumstance, Sesshoumaru would've been worried. Outside of his recent betrayal, he knew his brother; his lackeys were nothing short of power-hungry. Now that his head was clear, the webs burned away by her power, he could feel the land crying out for help.
How long had this been going on?
He had the vague memory of a conversation with Jaken, the toad going on about a large number of wishes being granted that he had no recollection of. Had that been recent? Or a dream? It was hard to tell the difference right now. He dodged a blow, swiping low in retaliation.
Byakuya's expression was bored, as if this was a waste of his time, and youki weaved through Sesshoumaru's fingers. He was beyond forgiveness now. He could ignore an attack on his person, but Meikyuu was sacred.
"Did you think it would go unnoticed?" he asked, his pelt snapping at his brother's heels. "That it would go unpunished?"
Byakuya scoffed. "If not for your little pet, you wouldn't have noticed anything." An odd gleam entered his eyes. "And faded into oblivion." He rolled over the fur, attempting to slice off a piece with his sword, but Sesshoumaru retracted it in time, and it coiled around one leg.
"Was that your intent from the beginning?"
Setting both feet on the floor, Byakuya tilted his body away, his hand clasped tightly around the hilt of his blade. "My intent, dear brother, was to rid Meikyuu of the weeds that had been poisoning it for centuries. Even before your ascent to the throne."
A pale brow rose in disbelief. No one had ever thought to go up against the former king. His power was unyielding, his influence far-reaching. Only the queen had gone toe-to-toe with him. Sesshoumaru's eyes flickered toward the other end of the room, reiki licking at his heels, but a storm of lotus petals had him quickly turning back.
Byuakuya clicked his tongue. "Now, now. We can't have that. She's distracted you enough as it is." He launched himself forward, using the petals to expend more power, but Sesshoumaru knew of his tricks, the flowers going up in flames as he landed a blow to his arm. Byakuya grunted, spraying him again to give him enough time to get out of the next swipe.
Sesshoumaru could sense his frustration, and a smirk slowly crept onto his face. "It seems I was not the only one to underestimate her power."
Byakuya's dark ponytail swung side to side in agitation. "She doesn't know when to quit. It's been most annoying."
"Only for those wishing to denominate her," he mused. "Is it not a delightful quality?"
His brother rolled his eyes. "That would be a turn-on for you." He extended the arm holding his sword, eyes narrowing. "Why didn't you just let her go? None of the others affected you this much."
"None of the others put up so much of a fight," he replied wistfully. "They either accepted their fate or gave up. She did neither." He took a deep breath, energy seeping up from the ground and into his limbs. "It is a shame you paid them so little attention. You would have saved us both a lot of time." Vines wound down his arm, weaving together before receding to reveal a gleaming sword.
Outlines of the vines had embedded themselves in the metal, emerald light shining through as he held it up in front of him. There was a pulse as Meikyuu responded, and he flew forward, refusing to give his brother the chance to run away. He'd started the fight, but Sesshoumaru would end it.
He felt the kit shift, but Sesshoumaru was undeterred, remaining focused on Byakuya. They'd received the same training in their youth, and his brother's skills were many, but he had been too quick to move on to the next skill, progressing well enough but never mastering each technique.
They were meant to be connected, to be used as a basis for battle, but Byakuya was too focused on conquest, appearing to progress quicker than his older brother yet never surpassing him. Sesshoumaru had sensed the resentment but chalked it up to sibling rivalry. And when he'd been named the king's successor, Byakuya had only praise and words of congratulations.
He'd thought nothing of it at the time, too focused on shadowing the king and training for his new role. There had never been any argument from anyone within the king's court—they all knew better than to contradict his ruling—but Byakuya had voiced the need to travel, wishing him good luck before disappearing into the mist. He'd checked in now and then, sending word that he'd made friends within the neighbouring cities, but their correspondence had never been consistent.
Not until her.
Everyone in Meikyuu had felt the repercussions of his defeat, and it had taken a while before he'd been able to rebuild the trust of its residents. His number one priority, as had been emphasized by his predecessor, was that of protector. He'd also emphasized the encouraged brute force and retaliation by any means necessary, but Sesshoumaru had rarely seen the need.
The rescued babes had been hidden at first, but as their numbers grew, so did their need for power and sustenance. The land had never complained, offering up room and power whenever needed. He'd seen the most resistance from Jaken, but he'd been quickly silenced—by the kit, no less—and had begrudgingly accepted that they all had their uses around the castle.
The heat of foxfire warmed the back of his neck, and though he hadn't been worried, the rest of the tension washed away. He hadn't been the first, but Shippou had accepted his power better than most, latching onto it like a lifeline. He'd barely needed any training, preferring to do most of it himself as he tested the edge of his abilities.
It was no wonder he'd done the same when she'd appeared.
Youthful, emerald eyes had blazed as fierce as flames when questioned about his participation in the coup, but Sesshoumaru had heard whispers of her name from Bokuseno's glade. There was never anyone there when he visited, and the old magnolia tree was tight-lipped on the best days, always speaking in riddles and reversed questions. Sesshoumaru always ended up speaking more about his infatuation with the woman, claws flexing in disappointment when no new information was to be had.
The smug bastard.
He'd known there'd been a small group of them and that Shippou's name was at the top of the list, but while their actions could be seen as a betrayal, Sesshoumaru had been intrigued by their loyalty—to an outsider, no less.
She was a human. She had power, but it was uncontrolled and untrained, leaving sparks in her wake as she made her way through the labyrinth—all to rescue a brother she had wished away in the first place. Humans were so flighty. He was more than willing to grant their wishes—it was his duty to do so—yet as soon as their troubles were dealt with, they immediately tried to take the wish back, begging him to return their missing person.
He always allowed them to run the maze, offering them the chance to save the one they'd wished away, but they never made it further than the outer walls. And once they returned to the human realm, they quickly forgot about the whole encounter.
Not her. Not Kagome.
As soon as the name formed within his mind, butterflies took flight, iridescent wings brushing against his skin before wrapping him in a chrysalis of warmth. Blue eyes had stared up at him the moment he'd appeared, quickly narrowing when she realized why he was there. She'd known the lore, had heard the stories from her grandfather, yet she'd still wished her brother away after a particularly rough night of babysitting.
She'd regretted it instantly, as they all did, but she'd just as quickly vowed to get him back, jogging toward the front gates without even a backward glance. He'd watched her from the top of the hill, a pale eyebrow raising when she'd come across Jaken and hadn't immediately blown him off. Much to his chagrin, she'd even patted his head, offering him thanks before heading inside.
She'd been surprisingly free of fear, even at such a young age, each step heightening her determination to retrieve her brother. He'd even intervened a time or two, taunting her resolve, though it was more for his own curiosity than anything else. But he'd indulged too often, pushed too far, and when they faced each other, the clock chiming at the end of her journey, she hadn't hesitated to put him in his place.
Years later, he could still taste the sting of her defiance, manifesting her image within his dreams as a coping mechanism. He'd never been beaten before, but it was more than that. She lingered, vestiges of her power skittering between blossoms and blades of grass, never allowing him to be rid of her, and Sesshoumaru soon found he wasn't as resistant to it as he claimed.
It was why he found himself in Bokuseno's glade so often, why her allies had gone unpunished aside from being confined to the castle grounds. Why he'd succumbed to the lure of sleep, even though he knew how volatile his power was as soon as his eyes closed. She became an addiction, from which he knew he'd never recover, as she was too far out of reach.
How wrong he was.
He couldn't remember much before her arrival, or even after. There was nothing notable about her, aside from her flippant attitude about being in the dungeon, but at the time, it wasn't out of place. Hakudoushi and Kanna hadn't steered him wrong before, and if an intruder required time behind bars, then so be it.
But the strange pull had refused to leave him alone, drawing him down into the bowels of the castle to confront her. She'd continued to be obstinate, but the moment he'd moved toward the edge of her cell, she'd been on her feet, dragging him away from an unseen threat. He remembered her disappearing through the floor, though it was hazy, but it was the scent of her blood that cleared his senses. It sparked something within him, and the next thing he knew, she was laid up in his bed.
He hadn't even trusted her with Jinenji, refusing to let her out of sight unless he was fulfilling a wish. A wish that he could've sworn was real. But even as he tried to picture the culprit, his mind resisted, pain shooting between his temples.
A soft chuckle sounded to his right, and his pelt shot out automatically, meeting nothing but air. "What's the matter, brother? Is your power failing you? Perhaps you should allow those better suited to take over." The snap of his pelt stopped Byakuya from speaking, vines springing up between the floor tiles.
"It seems Meikyuu disagrees," he said cooly, eyes refocusing. He found Byakuya encircling him like a shark. The stripes on his face were dark but out of place, and Sesshoumaru raised his sword again. "You do not deserve those marks."
"I deserve them more than you," he sneered. "You've squandered your power since birth. Meikyuu is meant for more, and I won't let you hold it back anymore." There was a pulse behind them, and her power overflowed, brushing against his feet like the waves upon the shore.
Sesshoumaru breathed her in, knowing she'd won over her adversaries, and he tilted his sword in Byakuya's direction. "Even if I fall, others will take my place. Regardless of how much power you have syphoned, Meikyuu will only acknowledge those who call to it. You have never listened long enough for it to speak."
His brother paled, hands shaking. "She's delayed your death long enough!" He jumped into the air, lotuses blooming along branches of lightning as they struck the ground. "It doesn't matter that she's real. It doesn't matter that she's here. You will be the one to suffer the consequences."
Sesshoumaru sidestepped each blast, the space between them shortening each time, and soon, he was caged in, amber eyes glaring. Electricity crackled between the lotus blooms, forcing him to his knees even as the floor cracked with more vines. The land was crying out, refusing to go quietly, refusing to obey someone so unworthy.
Another lightning strike had the lotuses blooming, creating an impenetrable dome of power. Byakuya's hands remained raised, and Sesshoumaru's hair moved toward him as if in a vacuum. "I'll rid you of your burden. You won't have to worry about supplying the land with anything, and we'll all be better for it." But as he stood there, his brow furrowed as Sesshoumaru remained intact.
He shifted his position, the lotuses twisting but remaining colourless. The air was strangely clear, and Sesshoumaru dragged the scent of citrus into his lungs before he got to his feet, forcing the dome to expand. "It seems your tricks have run their course, brother."
"Impossible. Even fully conscious, we are linked. Your power is mine." The wind increased, but it only served to whip silver hair around Sesshoumaru's head. "And when I am covered in the markings, no one will question my rule."
Sesshoumaru smirked, allowing Byakuya to struggle for a moment, as was his right. He didn't even bother with his sword, his sleeves rustling to reveal his marks still very much intact. "You have lost. There is nothing more for you here."
"I'll absorb your entire body if I have to!" The land shuddered, the ornate chair crashing to the ground. Sesshoumaru paid it no mind, keeping his eyes on his enemy. It was no longer his brother that stood before him but a threat.
He would've sighed if the moment called for it. "It is a shame you did not study the rules of the fae. The intricacies of power exchange are one of the first things they caution you against."
"What are you talking about—" Byakuya didn't move quickly enough, and an arrow embedded itself into his chest.