InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Lifetime Loving You Part 2; The Path to Osaka ❯ Reflections ( Chapter 15 )

Disclaimer; Inu-yasha is not mine!

~~~~~

I'm sorry it's been so long, guys! I had some really bad roommates this past semester and had no time to work on things. I even thought I didn't have any inspiration or drive to write left in me when I got back.

…and then I got this review;

“Kagura is dead and so should this story. I find your handling of rape disgusting. You do realize some people NEVER recover from rape. Did you know there is only a slim chance of a woman conceiving during rape? My guess is no, you don't.

Well, lets go to some more general canon issues. Like. According to Takahashi (the woman who writes Inuyasha) Sesshoumaru is the most powerful demon in Japan. Kagura couldn't lay a finger on him. Period. And if you've been reading you manga. Which, you obviously haven't you'd know she's in love with him. Further it's unlikely a spell could effect him to the extent where he'd fuck Kagome. But, awww... they had a baby which Inuyasha can only control her blood. *pukes*”

And then I said…it's time to post another chapter! Thanks for the inspiration, Anon, sorry I'm not letting the fic die and that I started it before Kagura died in the manga, but hey the rest of you who are still reading, thanks for all your comments, and I'm sorry for the wait.

However, just don't bash me in order to make me write the next chapter okay? LOL

~~~~

Chapter 15; Reflections

More than 300 years ago…

(Sesshoumaru)

I remember it clearly the first day I met Mari-na. She was young and head strong, always looked to do what the other male pups were doing when she arrived in Osaka with her father.

I hated her from the very moment I met her. I was some where between an older pup and becoming a fully grown dog demon. Possibly 100 years old, a teenager as humans would call their young.

In this date in time the tribe was still alive, my father's heart still belonged to my mother but they were slowly started to despise one another, and I was far different from the dog demon I am today. I was still very much a pup and care free. I was immortal with no fear or worries of what would happen to me or my life ahead of me. Inu-yasha did not exist and my life was complete with my fellow brethren, Ryoichi, Shima, and Yasuo.

Ryoichi wanted to become a warrior like his father, Ryo. He practiced using his claws from day to night if he could to make himself stronger. Usually those that fell victim to his pray would be the trees out side the castle.

Shima enjoyed the rocks on the shoreline much like his mother. He wanted to be the first to find the lost tribe of water dog demons that were fabled to have died over 500 years ago in the far south. Like his name, he truly was an island dweller.

Yasuo was the most peaceful of us all. His power laid in his mind most of all, and believed that he would become a great warrior by using great amounts of concentration. Mind over matter.

Then, there was I, or who I used to be. I was cocky, thought myself as invincible (though I still do in some ways today), and was determined to become the equal to my father. Though this could never truly be since my father inherited the trait of the phantom, the key to my entire way of life.

I would not marry the Star Dog, the female chosen to be a Phantom Dog's mate. Instead I would find ways to make our blood ties stronger around the other tribes by mating with a female of a different tribe. Not like it would matter. She would be joining my tribe and the male gene over powers that of a female's family line. My young would still be of wind power essence, just stronger with the mix of another tribe's bloodline, and the stronger they got, the more chances of there being a Phantom trait showing in a future generation.

Though this varies from family to family. My father was not a royal blood to begin with. His trait came into being when his father was merely one of those that lived in the tribal grounds. No one expected him to be the next leader of the tribe. Yet, neither had they ever expected one as powerful in his leadership as he was until the attack that destroyed us all.

All dog demon tribes were united as one, a common goal that my father made possible and kept close watch over until he betrayed his own blood and bore a child with that mortal woman.

Before that though, times were good for the dog demons of this land. We were at peace, unified as one tribe under my father's keep though each tribe had it's own leader. The Earth, Sky, Fire, and our tribe the Wind dog demons all unified under my father, which was why they named him Inu-taisho. I knew him by no other name.

When of I was mentally the age as that of a mortal's teenage boy, and had the figure of one too, it was time for me to discover who would be chosen to be my mate until one died. Course I was given the choice to choose my bride after my first one died, but the first one was always chosen for you by your parents or by the elders of your tribe.

Unfortunately, for me, the elders picked my bride.

“Of all the crazy things in this world, your father actually allowed the elders to pick a mate for you?” Ryoichi said as we climbed our favorite tree in the gardens. He hung upside down by his legs and looked at me as I dazed out at sea with my chin on my knee and my other leg hanging down.

Yasuo shook his head. “It is how has been done every year when the time comes for the heir to seek out his first mate. The elders even picked his mother do you not remember?”

Ryoichi looked at his friend. “I see that relationship falling apart every day. Arranged mates are not good for our kind. That's why I am glad I'm free to choose.”

Shima jumped down from a branch and looked at them both. “Shame on you both. Sesshoumaru will never be fated to be placed with an unworthy female. I believe the elders are just and true when they choose.”

Ryoichi shook his head. “Lady Shiami was chosen from all others as the best of the tribe to be Lord Inu-taisho's mate. She was guaranteed to bear worthy children of a Phantom Dog. That was all they promised.”

I turned to look at them. “Do not talk of my mother so poorly! She will stand by this tribe and as will my father. They will not abandon all reason for their personal gain. That is the honor of a dog demon's blood.”

Shima looked at me and crouched down beside me. “So you would sacrifice a life of happiness and joy only to mate with one chosen for you, because it's your duty?”

I looked at him dumbfounded and then looked away.

A moment later I turned to them and looked them in the eye. “They tell me they have chosen a female from the Sky Dog Tribe. Their princess!”

Instantly all three gasped and tried to dig their claws into the tree. “Her? They picked Mari-na to be your mate?” Shima questioned.

I looked at them confused. Yasuo crawled toward me. “They say her aura is that of a beast indeed. They say her behavior will never be tamed and thus she will never be wed.”

“Seems that they have decided to force her to marry for the good of their family. The dragons in the north have not been kind to the sky dog tribe at all. Some say they have been enslaved in dragon lands there, others say that they are eaten alive,” Ryoichi snarled as he tensed his claws in front of me to frighten me, but failed.

Shima shook his head. “I hear that Mari-na is ugly as well. They say she is fat and eats feasts of food for a tribe of 2,000 demons all in one day. Not to mention, she is not a lady at all. Her father never expected her to marry so he made her a warrioress. She now protects her tribe and only sees fit to protect her tribe alone.”

Ryoichi smirked at us all. “I hear she has a soft spot…for mortals.”

All of us gasped. Ryoichi shook his head. “She's a shameful excuse for a mate. I would express your disapproval the moment she arrives, and then perhaps the elders will rethink their decision and put you with someone more worthy?”

I shook my head. “All these things do worry me, but I do not believe them.” I hopped down from the tree and walked on the ground with my kimono sleeves covering my arms as I crossed them and whipping my long braid of silver hair to the side. They followed me a moment later and they stopped me.

“But the human thing is true! What would you say to a female who cares for humans?” Ryoichi moaned.

Shima and Yasuo nodded as they waited for my answer. “You would not want shame to be brought on your bloodline, Sesshoumaru. Mortals only bring shame to demons and their tribes,” Shima told me.

“Aye, and if that shame is passed on, one could fall of a mortal and bear a hanyo child. Such dirty blood would shame you and your father's name even in death,” Yasuo added.

I looked at them all and then up at the palace as I watched my father walk along the walls. He seemed sad those days. Lost and incomplete, and not as strong as he used to be. Those were the days before the name “Mika” was known to me…before Inu-yasha came into my life to forever shame my name.

But…they were also the days I learned the name of someone else as well.

“Here!” I said to her as we sat on the wall watching the sunset.

“What's this?” she asked as I held out the white flower to her.

“It's a promise.”

“For what?”

“To protect you from danger.”

“I don't need protection from a boy like you.”

I remember looking at her face for only a moment. “Useless, Female!”

“Stupid, Boy!”

The next day she left with her father to return to the north…and the name Mari-na was forgotten to me when my father died. And the name Inu-yasha haunted me…

…And then she came back into my life.

~~~~~~

(Inu-yasha)

I don't get it!

What could she possibly see in a guy like that?

What could he possibly give her that I couldn't?

And even as these questions came to me, the answers and doubts came even quicker. I began to fear everything about what the future might hold for me, and somehow it seemed I was looking into the hole of a lonely abyss.

As the journey continued to Osaka I jumped over the trees to watch to be wary of what might lay ahead of us, and to make sure we all stayed on the right path.

I tried to stay focused on my goal, but Kagome's scent kept reaching my nose.

`A life of dreaming of being with Kikyo and my own child…or a life of dreaming…of being warm in your arms?'

My words were true, I didn't know which life I was regretting more, but with each passing moment, I found myself regretting not being closer to Kagome. Even last night as I slept in the trees, or at least tried to, I couldn't help but watch her as Kitsumi snuggled into her body for warmth…and watching Kagome shiver as she tried her best to keep her child warmer than she.

I wanted to jump down from the tree and wrap my body around her and Kitsumi. I wanted to stop all of the cold air from getting to her…from getting to me.

I missed it…I missed those nights when she was pregnant and I could sleep beside her peacefully, even as a human. I wanted her scent to fill my chest with warmth again. She had given me the true understanding of what it meant when the one you love is like the air you breathe.

…Oh Gods, did I just say what I think I said?

“Inu-yasha!”

I turned my head to look back as I watched a blur of pink come through the light mists, reaching for branches as she tried to cross each tree with caution.

I jumped back over to her and shook my head. “What are you doing here, Squirt? You know your mother would kill the both of us if she found you up here.”

I picked her up with my teeth and placed her on a more secure branch at my side and sat dog style. This was something new too…I was actually carrying Kitsumi like a pup…but somehow it just felt natural to me.

She sat dangling her legs over the branch at first. “I want to be with you. Mother's busy helping Master Miroku…” she paused to catch her breath, “and Sir Tai with those that…can't catch up.”

I looked back and sighed, “I'm so used to being on the movie that I keep forgetting I'm with a larger traveling party now.”

Kitsumi watched me as I relaxed a bit on the branches to wait until I knew everyone was closer to us. It was then that Kitsumi began to study me more, and then with great haste brought her legs up bent at her sides and her hands in front of her feet, like a dog.

I looked at her for a moment and turned one ear upward with a strange look on my face. Sure enough, Kitsumi did the same trying to move her tiny flopped pink ear.

I bent down toward her. “Just what are you doing?”

Her ears bent flat to her head as she raised one hand up from off the branch. “Umm, playing copy cat?”

I flicked my ears, slightly annoyed, and she copied. I snorted and sat up straight, but the air from my snort blew against her face and made her giggle. I looked back at her from the corner of my eye as she laughed.

I rolled my eyes and looked back and tried to see if I could smell anything. Kagome's scent seemed the faintest which meant she was far behind.

As I continued to sniff the air, the sound of another nose sniffling loudly could be heard.

I looked at her and watched as she rubbed her tiny nose on her sleeve. “Whacha sniffing for, Inu-yasha?”

I paused for a moment. “A Scent…”

I jumped one branch over and Kitsumi panted as she crawled over the unsteady branches to catch up with me. “What scent? I don't smell anything!” she whined.

“I'm trying to catch your mother's scent.”

She stopped and looked up at me as she crossed a few rickety limbs. “You don't want me to be with you?”

I looked back at her and sighed, “Kit…” I crawled over to her and picked her out of the branches again the same way as before, setting her down. “Why would you want to be with me right now anyway?”

Kitsumi's pink ears flicked for a moment before folding down sadly. “Because they other's don't wanna play with me. And Kohaku and Kara are too busy helping their parents, and so is Mommy.”

I sighed, as I watched those sad puppy eyes sink into my soul. I groaned to show my weakness and she perked up slightly.

With a cocky smile I leaned down to her, “Fine, you can stay!”

She squealed in delight and almost fell off the branch. I grasped her kimono in my hand and pulled her up as though I had the tiny fox in my grasp. She grinned innocently and widely as possible. “But you have to promise me you'll stay out of trouble.”

She nodded hastily and then began gasping for breath, and I almost panicked until she suddenly sneezed in my face. I snorted wildly and looked at her and she rubbed her nose again.

“Feh should have seen that coming.”

I put here down on the branches again as she sneezed again, and groaned.

“That's what you get when you over sniff.” I told her as I shook my head.

Kitsumi rubbed her nose again. “But you said you could smell Mother? I want to be able to do that, too.”

I looked at her not completely sure how to react. “It takes a long time to get a keen sense of smell, Squirt. You'd do better to try and do things at shorter distances and try memorizing them. Scents of demons are the first and fore most to learn.”

I jumped down and on to the path, and Kitsumi followed taking her time as she landed on a rock. “Okay, so you're gonna teach me how to sniff out demons?”

“Nope,”

Kitsumi's ear perked up and she raised her brow, “Huh?”

“First we work on memorization.”

~~~~~

(Kitsumi)

“Eww, gross!” I said covering my nose with the best of my ability to try and keep out the stench. “I think I'm gonna puke.”

I looked with tears in my eyes at the pile of demon dung before me, and then up at Inu-yasha.

“Lesson number one, where you smell demon dung the strongest means that a demon is close by.”

“So, is there one?” was my nasal question.

Inu-yasha shook his head with a half smile. “Nope this one's about a day old, most like he's not in the area.”

Inu-yasha began to move on, and I crept around the dung and ran in front of him. “How d'you know it was a boy?”

He snorted as he walked on, “They smell the worst, and they are also the most dangerous.”

Our next stop was on the edge of a pond where Inu-yasha had me sit on a rock not far from shore. “What are we doing?” I whispered, only to get hushed.

“Keep quiet.”

I looked back down into the water. “I smells like mold.”

Inu-yasha folded his ears back in annoyance. “You want to learn how to do this or not?”

“What are we looking for?”

“I'm trying to teach you how to use your nose to get food.”

“Oh!”

There was silence for a long period of time. “Why do we have to be quiet?”

“So the fish won't know we're here!” he spoke harshly.

This time I showed my own annoyance and splashed my hands in the water. “Well, why didn't you say anything?” I yelled back.

“Because if you're not quiet the fish won't get close to you.”

Just then a voice came through the mists. “What's all the shouting about?”

We both gasped at the sound of my mother's voice and saw Tai mounted on his horse and Lady Sango at her side with Miroku, Kohaku, and Kara looking at each of us like each had two heads.

We each stuttered out our excuses, until we saw my mother's eyes roll and the party passed us by with the other villagers following. “Inu-yasha, aren't you supposed to be scouting ahead?” Shippo chanted.

~~~

(Inu-yasha)

I felt a pulse build in my fist as I sent a threat toward him and he took cover in one of the baskets on Tai's horse.

I finished growling as I watched Tai ride up to Kagome's side. “I think Inu-yasha might be tired, Milady. Perhaps I should take lead for some time until he is ready to lead again?”

Kagome smiled gently to him. “Thank you, Tai, that would be a lot of help seeing as Inu-yasha's preoccupied.”

Sango nodded, “I with you on that one.”

I growled before settling for sulking on the edge of the pond as I heard Miroku sigh, “Some things just never change.”

Kitsumi looked up at me, and I snorted, “What are you looking at?”

She winced a little and then glared back at me, and then turned her nose up and walked right past me. “Who needs a stupid nose anyway?”

I groaned as I watched her return to her mother's side. `And she says she reminds her of me…Feh…'

~~

Night came quickly upon us and everyone quickly set up camp. I sat up in my tree eating the left over re-cooked pork meat that we had saved from the night before. I watched Kitsumi from my tree that night, knowing I was looking at a miniature Kagome with dog ears. `She's just like her mother…stupid as ever…'

I discarded the bone left over from the meat and then leaned up against the tree. “Oh needs `em anyway…”

I soon stared off into space until a voice cut through the soft hustle and bustle to get to bed.

“Moon so bright
Night so fine
Keep you heart
Here with mine
Life's a dream we are dreaming

Race the Moon
Catch the wind
Ride the Night `till the end
Seize the day, Stand up for the light”

I turned over on to my belly to look down to the voice I knew all too well. I watched as I held on to the tree as Kagome rocked Kitsumi in her arms softly. Kitsumi's mouth opened wide for a moment before closing and her eyes grew heavy.

“I want to spend my lifetime loving you
If that is all in life I ever do.”

I watched as Kagome stretched out beside Kitsumi as the sleepy child began to curl into a tiny pink ball. I couldn't help but smirk a soft smile as I watched them. Kagome ran her fingers through Kitsumi's hair and she sang softly to her, and somehow the softer she sang the soft it seemed to get around the camp.

“I will want nothing else to see me through
If I can spend my lifetime…loving you…”

I watched as Kagome slowly went to sleep, and as I watched her the song sang through my head eventually helping me to fall into a deep sleep.

I didn't know how long I had been out until I stirred and finally sat up and leaned against the tree. However, do to my movement, a piece of bark from the tree I was in came loose and tapped Kitsumi on the forehead waking her.

It was then that she discovered it was hard to sleep with a snoring samurai sleeping not to far from her mother's side.

She grunted as she tried to cover her ears and snuggle in closer to her mother, but it was of no use.

It was then with an exhausted sigh she looked up and saw my foot dangling from the limb I slept on. She frowned for a moment and then sadly looking down and then up again, she slowly crawled her way to the tree and climbed until she could grip my kimono and vest. Kitsumi only made me stir enough to open one eye to see what was going on, and as I turned my head and opened both eyes halfway I found a pair of platinum ones looking right back at me with the most pathetic look imaginable.

With a groan I didn't even bother to ask why, but untied my vest and threw it over her. I brought my other leg up and cradled her to my chest. “Go to sleep, Squirt,” I groaned.

With a little sigh I felt her relax in my arms, and then a tiny nose burry itself into my breast. “You smell like tree bark and mommy's medicine.”

I snorted and sighed as I slowly fell back into a deep sleep. Even though it wasn't Kagome, it was still a small part of her…the best stubborn part of her.

~~~

There you guys go! Sorry for the long wait! let me know what you think!