A sullen evening wrapped itself resentfully around the sky. The stars that night shone mutedly, as if tired of shining their light. For the first time, a natural chilling wind blew over the castle. The gold, reds and browns of autumn were fading into the bones of winter. In a month or so the castle would likely be covered in a layer of snow.
Sesshomaru stood outside his castle, breathing in the sharp, cold air. His gaze was reluctantly dragged over to the willow trees and the stream, the place that would now always remind him of his first kiss with Kikyo.
Kikyo was gone. After their argument she had taken her bow, some arrows and left. It did not sit comfortably with him, he grew increasingly worried that she would run into danger. Whether it be a demon, or more of those unscrupulous Samurai.
'You are using these people to hide from the truth,' she had said to him. Kikyo had called him a coward, an insult he had never been accused of before. Kikyo had told him he was hiding behind excuses to avoid facing the strength of his feelings. She was not wrong, but he could hardly admit that to her now.
Sesshomaru fervently wanted to go after Kikyo, but until he could figure out what he was doing, he did not know what he would even say to her if he did find her. For now, he hoped that she would make her way to Inuyasha. He felt the familiar twinge jealousy at the thought, but at least she would be safe with his brother.
And now he was due to go to his mother's banquet. He had never been one to attend social events, but he could honestly say he had never felt less like going to a party than right now.
Sesshomaru felt agitated and guilty, if he could not go after Kikyo, he wanted to be left alone to brood. But it was no good, he had things he needed to accomplish tonight. Sesshomaru looked up at the navy blue sky- he was already late.
Huffing with discontent, Sesshomaru rose slowly into the air, his mokomoko fur trailing around him. His air-light clouds spilled under his booted feet. He flew upward and into the night, his silver hair flowing behind his back, until he was above the clouds that hugged the land.
After half an hour or so of flying, his mother's castle came into view, nestled within the overcast mist of the heavens. Lady Sora's castle was much larger and much more majestic than Sesshomaru's. It was more of a palace really, with many red painted tiers of walls and buildings. Lady Sora had a vast number of servants and guards patrolling the grounds, more than Sesshomaru had. This might have been because his mother was thousands of years old, and so had collected more of a following. Or it could have been because his mother simply treated her minions far better than he did. His mother coveted opulence and luxury, and happy, well-treated servants certainly would help in this regard. Whereas Sesshomaru usually ignored his underlings, preferring to spend his time alone. Around the palace, brightly coloured demons milled about in groups.
Sesshomaru flew closely up the almost endless stairs to the pinnacle of his mother's palace. Lady Sora's plush crimson throne, where she usually received him, was devoid of her presence. Instead, a gaggle of demonesses laughed and shrieked, sat squashed together in his mother's seat. The heavy scent of sake hit his nose. Natsu sat in the centre of her women, exactly where his mother would have placed herself. Natsu wore an elaborate silk kimono in salmon pink, with a pale blue obi trimmed with gold thread. Gilded seashells adorned her brassy hair.
Sesshomaru nearly fell out of the sky in his efforts to swerve upward and out of the ladies' view. He was not in the mood to be swarmed by Natsu and her entourage. He hastily vaulted over the women and to the back of the building behind them.
Sesshomaru alighted at the back of the foremost building, safely hidden from Natsu's view. Further into the palace the cold air melted into a warm breeze, likely some spell his mother had cast so her guests could enjoy the gardens. Sesshomaru could see why she had gone through this effort. Pine trees were dotted around historic ruins and there was a large open space that looked like a training ground. A red painted bridge led away to some beautiful gardens including a lake and some odd looking blue trees.
Multiple long buildings were neatly strewn amongst the misty grounds in an almost endless array.
All of the palace doors were open, with high ranking demons walking around in their finery. Some demons stopped to point at Sesshomaru as he walked by, Sesshomaru glared at them openly and they quickly moved on.
Sesshomaru strode into the front building by the back doors, up the stairs and through the open doors. The rooms inside were massive and a marvel. The walls and doors were painted a rusty gold, decorated with swirling green trees and prowling orange tigers. His mother had an impressive fan display on one wall, though they were difficult to see with all the jostling demons ambling about. The fans were splayed and painted so brightly they looked like pinned butterflies. Another wall held a flower arrangement of chrysanthemums. Another wall held a collection of calligraphy masterpieces.
The inner doors were also open and showed various entertainment in the multiple different rooms. A group of ogres sat in the corner of one room, struggling to pick up food with their massive yellow claws. Low-born demons danced in some of the labyrinth-like rooms, whilst nervous looking demonesses twanged on shimasen guitars. Probably their only way into such a high ranking event was as entertainers or servers. In the adjacent room to his left, what looked like a theatrical play was being performed by a bunch of kitsune demons in blank white masks, set behind a stage of cloth of gold tapestries.
Sesshomaru walked around the different rooms, impressed by the efforts his mother had made. In each room low black lacquer tables sat everywhere with a myriad of delicacies on offer. The austerity of the samurai age had never touched the demon courts. Light, fluffy rice cakes were piled on golden slabs. Kobe beef, golden oysters, large chunks of sashimi, shark, squid and lobster were all available to pick at. Bottles upon bottles of Kyoto sake stood to attention, ready to be poured into the miniature clay drinking cups beside them.
On his right, in a wide circular room, two hefty looking Kappa demons wrestled each other ferociously. In one of the further, darker, deserted rooms a ghostly demoness with a split mouth stared out hungrily.
Sesshomaru spied through the various open sliding doors and saw his mother sitting in her throne room. She was clad in a magnificent traditional kimono of cream, with silver trees and a dark blue obi. She had some fine white-wood ornaments holding up her silver tresses. Her meido stone hung heavily around her slender neck. Lady Sora was surrounded by admirers and servants, and looked like she was thoroughly enjoying the attention. Not far from her he spied Subarashi, sitting in the centre of a gang of male demons around one of the tables. Subarashi was throwing sake into his mouth, looking smugly superior.
Sesshomaru felt horrendously out of place. More stares and awe were being directed his way the further into the palace he went. Keen to avoid both his mother and Subarashi, Sesshomaru ducked into one of the quieter rooms. The space around him looked to be mainly dedicated to food. He went over to one of the lacquer tables and grumpily began picking at a plate of squid.
"Lord Sesshomaru," A soft voice said behind him.
Miyu, Subarashi's wife, was sitting behind him, cross legged amongst silk cushions. She was a woman of quiet countenance, so still and tranquil she was barely noticeable amongst the general hubbub. Miyu was a gifted demoness, possessing an ability most humans and demons alike would cherish. She had the sight, the ability to glimpse into the future. Miyu was a painfully thin demoness, with long chestnut brown hair and large, wide eyes that glowed a vivid lilac.
Miyu sat alone, in a completely unflattering and dull kimono the colour of a potato. It was as if, unlike the other demonesses, she had more pressing matters on her mind than what she was wearing.
"Lady Miyu." Sesshomaru responded, sitting down opposite her. He had only met her a few times, but he found her company more tolerable than most. She was a quiet, respectful woman, and that suited him fine.
Miyu gave a shallow smile. "You're not dressed for this exuberant occasion you know."
Sesshomaru almost smiled back. Like he could be bothered to dress up for anything. "It must have slipped my mind. How long has it been Miyu?"
"A hundred years perhaps since I last saw you."
"At least."
Miyu was Natsu's mother. Rumour had it that Miyu would at times see terrifying visions of the future, visions that would rock her mental wellbeing to the core. Sesshomaru suspected that Subarashi had anticipated that Miyu's visions would be invaluable to him, and he had married her quickly. Not bonded like Mikata and Tsumetai, just a usual marriage. Subarashi would never make himself vulnerable in that way. Unfortunately Miyu's talents were sporadic and vague. Her visions were few and far between, and most were flashes or isolated pictures. It seemed Subarashi had resolved this bad move partially by deciding to completely ignore his wife most of the time.
Miyu stared at Sesshomaru with her pale eyes, like she was seeing right through him. "Would you like a palm reading? You've dodged so many of your mother's parties I've never had the opportunity to delve into your future before. I've read every other palm in this room."
Sesshomaru's lemon eyes surveyed the perimeter with mild interest. Despite the clusters of demons left and right, there was a sadly obvious circle of space in between Miyu and everyone else. Sesshomaru could not imagine that the demons that received a poor or ominous reading would take it too kindly to her in the aftermath.
Sesshomaru gave Miyu an eloquent ghost of a grin. "Perhaps that's why everyone's giving you a wide berth."
Miyu said nothing, but held out one thin, dry-looking hand out expectantly. Sesshomaru surveyed her hand consideringly, but did not take it. "I'm sure Subarashi would love to know what my future holds," he said slyly.
Miyu looked through the open doors and into the throne room. Lady Sora's imported batch of wine had arrived and she and Subarashi were poring over the wooden barrels.
"He always says my visions are too narrow. A feeling. One event. Never the whole picture."
Sesshomaru raised his silver eyebrows at this, but relented and offered over his striped claw. He was curious to see what she would say, what she would see.
"As you wish," he said. Miyu grasped his hand in her colder one.
For several seconds nothing happened. Sesshomaru had expected her to inspect his palm with her fingers, but she merely stared at the natural bumps and creases of his claw, until her vision became unfocused. Sesshomaru watched as her eyes and mouth went slack for a few moments. Her eyes widened at whatever it was that she saw, and she snatched her hand out of his quickly, looking troubled.
"I saw…you…In pain and anger. Your heart riven with grief. You were covered- covered in blood," she said in a distant, slightly shrill voice.
Sesshomaru frowned. That did not sound good.
"What else did you see?" he asked.
"Nothing else. Just you. Covered in blood and devastated," she said, blinking back into reality.
"Interesting," he said in an unconcerned voice. Though in truth her words had lodged a nugget of worry into his chest. If Miyu had seen him in a torrent of grief-driven rage, that did not bode well.
Who in his life was going to die? Rin? Kikyo? Jaken? Even Inuyasha?
Sesshomaru stood up a little awkwardly, he had more understanding now for the demons avoiding Miyu. No doubt she had dumped a fortune telling of doom on more than one door.
"Enjoy the rest of the banquet Miyu," he said finally. Miyu smiled sadly at him and nodded, gently expecting his sudden wish to distance himself.
"Heed the warning written on your skin, Sesshomaru. Wherever you tread, a dark path lies ahead of you."
Sesshomaru walked away from Miyu swiftly. Miyu theoretically should have been the jewel of the demon court. But her gift doubled as her curse and his mother had become the queen bee instead. He wondered if Miyu minded this twist in her own fate. Or if, like him, she cared nothing about the opinion of the masses.
Sesshomaru wended his way back towards the throne room, past a giggling flock of phoenix demons, who stared at him with their strange, bird-like eyes. Sesshomaru ignored them imperiously. He supposed he really ought to at least greet his mother. If she did not see him she may assume he had not bothered to show up. If that happened he would never hear the end of it.
He did not make it that far however, as Subarashi and his cronies stepped in his path. Sesshomaru groaned inwardly.
Subarashi was slightly taller than Sesshomaru, with shoulder length hair the colour of seaweed, with a green smudge of a moustache beneath his nose. His eyes had a turquoise glow about them, not dissimilar to his daughter Natsu's eyes, like water moved within his irises. The water dragon wore a sakutei in a very fine, dark purple silk. He wore a kanmuri headdress. His sword, named Ocean Blight, hung from his hip tied by a leather belt.
Subarashi gave Sesshomaru an arrogant smirk. His servants stood by his shoulders and were grinning also. Subarashi had come to the banquet with several of his own southern servants. It was not necessary. Lady Sora had plenty of palace servants to attend every demon here. But Subarashi liked to look popular and threatening.
"Sesshomaru! You made it! Some of us thought you wouldn't show," Subarashi said. His breath stank of sake and brine. The way he said it, he and his demon crew had been talking about him behind his back. Was Subrashi saying this to rile him?
Sesshomaru was too irritated to be polite. "I can think of a multitude of places I'd rather be right now," he replied scathingly, thinking of Kikyo and Rin.
Subarashi's men guffawed at his cold words. Subarashi nudged his thugs and gave them a stern look until they lumbered off obediently.
Subarashi gave Sesshomaru a wintry smile. "So! You've met my daughter now. Isn't she a beauty?"
"She's a handsome woman," Sesshomaru replied impatiently. "So Subarashi, still intent on your massacre? You're putting a lot of effort into killing a mere score of humans. Can you not find a more deadly opponent to target?"
Subarashi smiled, but the gesture did not reach up to his icy, watery eyes. "Oh but they need to be targeted. Who knows what they could do in massive, organised, unaccountable numbers. And they are being organised, right now."
"Some might call you fixation cowardice," Sesshomaru said smoothly, rather enjoying watching Subarashi struggle to maintain his patience and temper. No one else would dare goad him like this. Sesshomaru watched with satisfaction as Subarashi swallowed down his natural retort and scrambled to find more civilised words.
"But the wise would call it pre-emptive. This plan will benefit all of us. And anyway, it is high time you rejoined us," Subarashi said in a heavily measured voice.
"What makes you think I want to join this charade of yours?"
Subarashi looked past Sesshomaru, his gaze peeled for any servants that might be bringing sake his way. "The fact that you are standing here now. Well, you never were much of a team player, but given your current situation with the North and the East…I thought you'd appreciate my deal."
Sesshomaru scowled at Subarashi. "There is no deal Subarashi. I am not a whore in a whore house to be bartered off to your daughter at your say so," he snarled. And the moment he said those words he knew he meant them. He was the Lord of the western lands, he was done being cowed by his own feelings.
Subarashi stared at the dog demon, momentarily speechless. Then his face hardened.
"I see. Then I will have no choice but to ask…other demons instead," he said slowly.
Sesshomaru squared up to Subarashi, who took a step back smartly.
"If you aid my enemies Subarashi…You will regret it," Sesshomaru said in a quiet , menacing voice. The demonic energy between the two pushed and fizzled. The demons nearby noticed this, and hurried away into other rooms. A furious light lit Subarashi's turquoise eyes for a second. Then, he gave a disgusted scoff and stormed off, pushing demons from his path unceremoniously. Sesshomaru watched him go with amusement.
Intimidating the water demon would hopefully keep him at bay for some time. He would just have to kill Tsumetai, Mikata and Hokai before Subarashi got his balls back and reached out to them.
Whilst Sesshomaru had kept himself busy threatening Subarashi, the atmosphere of the banquet was subtly changing, becoming rowdier and rowdier, with drunken dancing and singing. He had not been at the banquet long and he was already heartily fed up.
Sesshomaru decided that he would quickly see his mother, then he could take his leave. Making his way over to his mother.
Lady Sora was still languishing in her throne room; she looked like she had barely moved an inch since Sesshomaru had arrived. Her throng of party- goers had dispersed significantly.
The highly anticipated imported barrels of wine had been set up by his mother's chair so she could pour for herself without having to call a servant or move too much.
As Sesshomaru got closer, he noticed his mother was half-slumped in her chair. Whatever wine she was drinking, she had managed to get ruby droplets of wine on her cream kimono. The droplets were splattered on her chest like blood. It was not like his mother to appear so…sloppy.
At his approach, Lady Sora shooed away the remainders of her entourage. They all staggered away, looking worse for wear. One rather corpulent demon with feathers for hair even planted a slobbery kiss on his mother's cheeks. Sesshomaru waited for his mother to scratch the demon's eyes out, but amazingly Lady Sora just laughed. Sesshomaru had never heard his mother laugh before.
Sesshomaru stood before his mother in greeting, and his mother gave him an unusually friendly smile. She pushed a goblet of claret liquid into Sesshomaru's claws.
"It's called clover wine, from a country across the sea to the west. One of my bird demon friends managed to get hold of a few barrels," Sora said, inspecting her own ornate goblet. "They don't drink from small, clay cups like us. They drink from these 'giblets'.
"I think they are called goblets. And who are they that you're speaking of?" Sesshomaru said, taking a cautious sniff from his cup. A pungent smell of mingling grass and honey hit his nose. Lady Sora gave an uncharacteristic casual shrug, as if she did not particularly care.
"You are late you know. You missed the cherry blossom viewing this afternoon. The trees I have outside are a wonderful blue hue. Why didn't you come earlier?" Sora said, taking another enthusiastic sip of her own clover wine.
Sesshomaru gave his mother a pitying glance. "Did you really think I would stand around looking at flowers?" He brought the goblet to his lips and took the smallest swallow. A strong honey taste permeated his mouth, laced with something musky. It was an incredibly strong wine, heavier to the palate than sake.
"It's tradition! The blossoms looked beautiful."
Seesshomaru rolled his eyes. "A foolish tradition. But if it means so much to you mother, I will look at them later."
Lady Sora smiled happily, swaying a little in her seat. She had clearly been serving herself generous helpings of wine all evening. Sesshomaru sipped his clover wine again, hovering by his mother awkwardly, wishing he had boycotted this place and gone to look for Kikyo. Whenever the priestess was absent, he found himself dwelling on her. Wondering where she was, how she was feeling. If he would ever see her again.
Lady Sora was peering at her son blearily. Sesshomaru had never seen her looking so drunk. "You look so sad..what's wrong?" she asked in a morose tone.
Sesshomaru bristled automatically at her question. "It's nothing," he said shortly, busying himself with his wine by taking a long draught. The wine was sending small, relaxing rushes through his veins. Not unpleasantly so.
Despite her blurred and drunken state, Lady Sora's eyes still held a shrewd streak.
"It's that priestess isn't it? You're in love with her," Sora mumbled. She stated this as a fact not a question, but oddly did not sound too disdainful or upset. "Your father…I loved him at first. Though in hindsight I was never very good at showing him how I felt. He was the strongest, most handsome demon of the court." Sora's expression suddenly became sad and hard at the same time. "And he betrayed me, for that human woman. It broke my heart to see him fall in love with someone else."
Sesshomaru blinked and stared at his mother with a slow incredulity. His mother never spoke like this. She was akin to him, cold and merciless with no inclination to speak about her emotions. It was like talking to a completely different person. Someone softer. With feelings.
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, disconcerted by his mother's behaviour.
"It is none of your business mother…And I would suggest that you slow down on that wine," he said harshly.
He expected her to snap out of it and give a scathing retort, but the sad look on Sora's face was replaced with an unnerving, springing smile. She ignored his advice about the wine and took a long swallow, the corners of her mouth wet. Sesshomaru shook his head, drained his own cup and bid his mother goodbye. He did not want to talk to her about Kikyo, but neither could he deny what his mother had said. Ever since he had met Kikyo he had been infatuated with her, he wanted her physically and emotionally. He could not deny that he was in love with her. He had never been in love before, and his first action had been to push her away by any means.
As he walked away, a mild euphoria sizzled up his spine. Sesshomaru blinked, confused and tried to force the feeling away. His veins and mind were wriggling like a snake pit. Feeling weird, Sesshomaru decided to indulge his mother and view the garden. Perhaps some fresh air would help the growing buzzing in his head.
Sesshomaru gazed around him and noticed he was not the only one that was flustered. Some mountain hags had fallen into a heap on the floor, crying with laughter. Inside, the phoenix demon had somehow set fire to the calligraphy display. Some cat demons were brazenly napping in a heap by the doors that led outside to the red bridge.
Sesshomaru was no fool. He realised that probably every banquet had clandestine liaisons and inappropriate behaviour. But the demons around him had lost all control of etiquette. They were so intoxicated they could not even put out a fire.
Another relaxing rush hit Sesshomaru hard like a wave, he shook his head numbly.
He needed some fresh air desperately. Sesshomaru walked slowly out of the palace and across the red bridge, heading for the lake surrounded by his mother's prized blue cherry trees. He had expected the lake's waters to be quiet and still, but smooth ripples and light splashing emanated from it. Some water demons called Ningyo glided beneath the surface.
A flat wooden bridge led out to an intricate, small walled pagoda in the centre of the lake. Wood pillars propped up the tiered, upturned roof tops. It was a perfect secluded spot with no demons present (apart from the drifting Ninygo). Sesshomaru made his way up the flat bridge onto the pagoda. The air was warm and thick.
His mother's servants had even taken the trouble to scatter some floor cushions depicting the waves of the ocean. Someone had placed a pitcher of the strange clover wine inside the pagoda with three goblets next to the cushions. Without really thinking, Sesshomaru poured himself another small cup.
Sesshomaru sat down amongst the cushion as another sweep of unidentifiable bliss smacked into him. He sighed, wishing more than ever that Kikyo was with him.
Writers note: Hi everyone I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have finally seen Inuyasha the final act! It was very hard to find online I've never suceeded in finding it before, and reading a summary doesn't really cover everything. I wish I had seen it before starting this story as I probably would have changed a few things. But hey ho nevermind! Happy Easter to you all!