InuYasha Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Breathless ❯ Winged ( Chapter 57 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, Inuyasha or anything else you recognize. I don't even own my mum; she owns me. Naoko Takeuchi is the author of Sailor Moon as Rumiko Takahashi is the author of Inuyasha.

 

 

Chapter Fifty Six.

 

 

`Winged'

 

 

“Well,” Totosai said as he walked towards his mount-cow a couple of hours later, before sunset “if you people don't need anything else, especially you Sesshoumaru,” he emphasized at the Taiyoukai, “then I will be taking my leave”

 

 

The Demon Lord only threw him a glance that clearly said `About time'. Totosai internally sighed.

 

 

“As for you, my dear,” he said turning towards Usagi, “it has been a great pleasure. I really hope to see you again… Anyone who have stayed with Sesshoumaru for more than a hair's breath and still kicking by the end of the day deserve my most profound admiration”

 

The comment made Usagi laugh whilst the Inuyoukai growled warningly at the sword-smith. “It can't be that bad,” she replied giggling.

 

 

“Oh, believe me,” the elderly man insisted, “it is… If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to request the help of an old man”

 

 

“Thank you, good sir...” the young girl said with a soft smile, and then tilted her head to the side in gentle question. “Why are you being so kind to me, though?”

 

 

“Because” he began “whoever my Great Master approves of, this Totosai approves of as well,” he gestured towards Tenseiga and the young girl blinked.

 

 

She was sure she had heard the Taiyoukai snort.

 

 

“Tell good bye for me to the children and that crazy toad-youkai of theirs, will you?”

 

 

“Alright; good bye, Totosai!” the girl waved kindly as she watched him depart, “It was nice meeting you as well!”

 

 

Once she and the Demon Lord watched the blacksmith's youkai cow fly farther and farther away, back to his infamous mountain and finally away from their sight, Usagi thought she heard Sesshoumaru snort again at her side, and began fidgeting with her fingers.

 

 

“He is… a very interesting old man”

 

 

“For you, perhaps he might be. As for myself, the less I see of him the better,” he murmured as he quickly twirled around to walk away from there, relieved to have finally gotten the aggravating sword-smith out of his hair.

 

 

She turned to follow.

 

 

“Is it true, though…what he said?” the young woman asked in thought as she walked behind him, back towards where they had left Rin and the others, “Tenseiga used to be your Father's sword?”

 

 

“It was one of them,” he nodded “…one of the two. The other one, Tetsusaiga, is currently in my brother's possession”

 

 

“Oh? You have a brother?” the girl raised her eyes to stare at his back, “I didn't know that”

 

 

“There are a lot of things you don't know about this Sesshoumaru…aren't they woman?”

 

 

“…Right”

 

 

For the next few minutes they just continued walking in silence, till Usagi finally took note of something.

 

 

“Wait, Sesshoumaru… aren't Kohaku and the others supposed to be in that way” she pointed in the other direction they were going, since she seemed to realize they had already passed the others behind.

 

 

“We're not going back to them just yet,” was his curt reply, though he didn't stop in his steps.

 

 

The now silver-haired girl had to lift up the skirts of her voluminous dress in order to be able to run after and catch up to him. “Where are we going?”

 

 

“Not far…” he answered curtly once more, but then added as an afterthought, “I want to test something”

 

 

“Huh?” the statement once again made the girl pause and blink, but she didn't say anything else. Rushing to catch up with him for a second time, she figured she'd be finding out what this was about soon enough.

 

 

---

 

 

“So, what `is' this about?” she asked again as they stood facing one another in a distant clearing of the forest.

 

 

“Pay attention,” he told her solemnly as he unsheathed his sword, “Watch” Turning to face the side, he raised the sword high in the air before giving it a powerful swing, “Meidou Zangetsu-HA!” Not a second later, a gigantic dark crescent-moon-shaped rip appeared in the air, swallowing a good portion of the trees in front of them, as Usagi watched in complete mystification.

 

 

“That is…”

 

 

“That's right,” Sesshoumaru nodded, looking at the newly-made empty portion among the grove. “This is Meidou Zangetsu-ha, the technique that Shishinki attacked you with… the technique I also have with this Tenseiga” he turned slowly to face her again. “I wanted to make sure the sword was truly fixed and that it could still perform it; it's strongest, deadliest attack. However, I also want to know another thing: can you deflect it?”

 

 

Usagi's mouth opened wide.

 

 

“…What?”

 

 

“Can you deflect it?” he repeated, as if talking to a small child, “Can you overpower this Meidou Zangetsu-ha?”

 

 

“…Why are you asking me that?”

 

 

“Stop answering my inquiries with another question”

 

 

“I don't know… I suppose I could try; but I'm not sure. Why… why are you asking that type of question?” her tone belied interrogation.

 

 

“Because I'm trying to figure out what is it that both Naraku and the masked youkai want from you,” Sesshoumaru said in his trademark flippant manner. “So far, the only thing I can think of for Naraku being after you and this Shishinki wishing your death is if you hide a way to counter back the attack that both this Shishinki have in common, the Meidou Zangetsu-ha… Or had you by chance thought of anything else?”

 

 

The hidden sarcasm inwardly made her flinch. She shook her head. “No… as far as I know, that would be a good enough stimulus,” she lightly shrugged. Then her eyes fixed more intently on him, attentively “But that isn't the only reason you've brought me here, isn't it? …Just to ask me that? You could have asked me this at the camp…” she trailed off.

 

 

`Hn, are her people's recent deaths what's made her more observant?' he wondered to himself, `she seems somehow… changed'

 

 

It was true. After the entire ordeal with the dead villagers and getting finally accustomed to the idea that she would have no choice but to stroll around in a dress, she suddenly seemed more at ease with him. As if the whole incident had caused her to grow more comfortable around him. It was subtle things like the way she lightly smiled and the way she unconsciously leaned towards him more whenever the two were addressed by another, like Totosai.

 

 

He didn't know what to make of this; was it because of gratitude? He'd already told her not to thank him: he'd revived those villagers for his own reasons; therefore there was nothing to truly thank him for. That aside, he couldn't decide whether the change suited him or not, but he wondered if she'd taken any notice of it, though the way she conducted herself made him rather skeptical.

 

 

On the other hand, now that being with him no longer seemed to be considered by her to be a problem, unconsciously o nor, he'd realized that she was still disturbed by something. Something else was bothering her.

 

 

But if it wasn't him, if being forcefully made to stay by him with his group against her will was no longer problematic, then what else was making her unsettled?

 

 

And why on earth was her being unsettled bothering him? When the hell, and how, had he actually started considering her less like an unwanted captive and more like a member of his pack, enough to show some semblance of care? Was it because now he didn't see her like an enemy, as she now had her own credible grounds to dislike, and she'd also officially expressed her own dislike… for Naraku?

 

 

…The way she no longer looked like she took any deep real offense to his most crude comments?

 

 

Since when had he been so easily biased?

 

 

These were all the issues that had the Taiyoukai wondering.

 

 

He resolved to answer her outwardly at last. “I wanted to test the Meidou Zangetsu-ha still worked as it should” He decided to come out with what was bothering him. “Not that I find your newly-found motivations for wishing that the vile hanyou be hunted questionable, or your relinquishment of the perspective of a more outsider spectator” he raised his head, “but didn't you once say you believed in giving people another chance? …The opportunity to start over? …Has the massacre on your loved ones suddenly made you change your prospects about that?”

 

 

Looking at the way her gaze dropped, he could tell the subject made her uncomfortable.

 

 

“No, I haven't really changed my views on that; it's just… it's my duty” the bangs of her hair hid her face from his eyes, “and I can't shrink away from it. Once I find this Naraku person, I will do what I must. I'll evaluate his case and then it will be up to me to decide his ultimate fate”

 

 

Obviously, such and affirmation would make Sesshoumaru mad. “You…” he began coldly “you think you have the power, what it takes to even harm Naraku?”

 

 

She leveled her gaze with his. “There's still a lot you don't know about me”.

 

 

Not conceited…

 

 

Her aura exploded around her…She was being deadly serious.

 

 

The idea truly made him appalled.

 

 

“I don't know yet who you are, woman, or what exact kind of powers you possess” he growled, “but no matter what this `duty' you say is, or what he's done to you, Naraku is `my' prey first” He glared at her, “He's wronged this Sesshoumaru many times in the past, long before you came, therefore it is I, not you, whom shall decide his fate when we find him…”

 

 

The new inflexion in his voice belied warning. Usagi lifted her gaze.

 

 

“You really hold quite a big grudge against him, don't you?” she whispered, her eyes sad. “No matter what he's done, you shouldn't hate him though. Hatred is a dangerous thing, Sesshoumaru… nothing good will come out of it”

 

 

“Don't concern yourself with this Sesshoumaru's feelings, wench” he snarled, still angry “you're threading a dangerous path here, woman. Don't presume to interfere in matters that do not compel you”

 

 

She sighed. “I did not want to get involved… but no matter what my wishes are, I've been thrown into the middle of this with no regards to my will” she explained with deject in both her voice and posture. “I don't know what this person's done to you in the past, Sesshoumaru, or what is it that he wants with me, but the moment he went after those people another part of me, which has to do with what you would call my `miko priestess duties'… it has returned to full application mode…it's become impossible for me to step aside”

 

 

“So you're saying…that `you' will be the one to defeat him?” he quirked an eyebrow, sounding sarcastic again. “The only one who would properly do it?” The way she spoke, it almost sounded like she was purposely `trying' to make him laugh.

 

 

…Or may be even pity her, perhaps.

 

 

Unnerving.

 

 

`How quaint' he thought to himself.

 

 

“I…” her shoulders slumped as she continued, unaware of his musings, “I am tired of enemies with a scheme against me going after the ones I care about,” she embraced herself with her pale naked arms “I can't bear to be the cause of their suffering… Others are always suffering because of me” Immersed in her own worries she forgot to whom she was talking. She grew anxious and anguished. “I must stop him!! …I must--”

 

 

`She's definitely seeking pity' “What a foolish thing” he snorted. “Sometimes, woman…you talk like you want others to think you're the condemned holiest center of the goddamned world” he murmured quite dismissively before turning from her in a very dignified manner and then starting to walk away.

 

 

Apparently, it was time to go back with the others.

 

 

Usagi just stood there for several seconds, watching him go with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide, as if struck by sudden revelation.

 

 

…It was… as if she'd been waiting for someone to say those words to her, for her whole entire life.

 

 

…As if the fact that someone had finally said them to her made her oh, so relieved. Not so alone with her burden anymore.

 

 

Even happy.

 

 

Just what she needed. Incredible…

 

 

He was right; he was absolutely right.

 

 

The irony…

 

 

For the first time in her life, someone had told her that, what she did not need to be. Feeling in a better kind of spirits now, as she followed, she couldn't help but smile at his back.

 

 

It was already sunset.

 

 

---

 

 

It was early into the night when, a few hours later, the group of traveling monks with their companion miko made their way inside the village, inspecting their surroundings, some of them still somewhat fearfully.

 

 

There didn't seem to be any fatal victims around. The leader of the monks creased his brows.

 

 

“What happened here?” Ungai interrogated the few inhabitants that were passing by his group, some of them carrying other wounded, tired-looking people. One of the ones being carried was an unconscious elderly woman dressed as a Shinto priestess.

 

 

“A demon attack, Lord Monk,” one of the two villagers carrying the woman answered. At the sight of her, Ungai looked meaningfully back at Hitomiko. “This is Kaede-sama, she's the village's priestess; she's been poisoned with a demon's venom. Can you help her?”

 

 

“Lady Hitomiko here is a priestess as well, she will help her” Ungai responded. “It was a demon attack, you say?”

 

 

“Lots of them, Houshi-sama…” the other peasant who'd been helping carry the old lady replied, looking very tired. Meanwhile, they had laid the older woman on the ground and let the younger miko come to tend to her. “They came out of nowhere, thousands of them. We didn't have the time to defend ourselves”

 

 

“Then how come there aren't any dead people around? Have they already been buried?”

 

 

“That's the strangest thing” the first one interjected, “after the demons were gone, there were so very few survivors… I was one of them. I looked all around me, and all around me all of the others were dead, but then…” he let out a breath, not sure if they would believe him.

 

 

“Then what?” the wizened monk prompted.

 

 

“There was this huge, intense light covering the entire village… I just had to shield my eyes, it was so bright!” the man exclaimed, mystified. “When I looked again, the dead people were all standing up, like nothing had happened!”

 

 

“You mean, they were resurrected… by a great light?” the monk questioned, dumbfounded. Was this light what some of his partners had felt, that greater youkai presence? “Where was it coming from?” he asked, worried.

 

 

“I… I don't know” the villager admitted. “I just saw… all that I could see was this group of people, a winged woman… and when the light was gone, her hair and clothes had changed!”

 

 

“…A winged woman?” the Shinto priestess, Hitomiko, paused for a moment in tending to the older one on the ground before her to stare up at the three men rather peculiarly.

 

 

They all stared back at her, the two peasants nodding whilst the monk stayed silent, till she finally asked.

 

 

“…What did that winged woman look like?”

 

 

To Be Continued.

 

 

A/N: Another chapter that requests your true honest opinions, I had to rewrite it almost twenty times this time (resigned sigh).