InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bloodlust ❯ Sword and Transgression ( Chapter 14 )

The next morning's breakfast found Sango still disgruntled with Miroku, who avoided speaking to her and instead made a courageous attempt to engage Sesshomaru in conversation. The Taiyoukai was surprised, as both his human guests had been disinclined to speak to him, and he still maintained his cold reserve with all those around him but his mate and their adopted children.

"Lord Sesshomaru, if you don't mind the question, I wondered what you planned to do with tetsusaiga. The sword is still in my possession, but I have no use for it, and by rights it belongs to you now that InuYasha is dead."

Sesshomaru blinked thoughtfully.

"I really don't know. I cannot use it without inflicting pain on myself, and there are no other part humans in this family. I would, however, be interested to se if Kagome could wield it."

"I am youkai too, Sess-chan. What would be the difference between you trying to use tetsusaiga and me trying to use it?"

Miroku addressed himself to Kagome before Sesshomaru had a chance to answer.

"Kagome, InuYasha told me that when he and his brother first came upon tetsusaiga, neither he nor Lord Sesshomaru was able to pull it from the rock it was embedded in, but that you were able to do so. He also told me that when Sesshomaru attacked you with his dokkasou, tetsusaiga protected you can you came out of it unscathed."

Kagome nodded, and he placed his hands together sagely, nodding as he continued.

"Then it stands to reason that somehow tetsusaiga was accepting of your youkai blood, just as it rejected Lord Sesshomaru's. Your blood has not changed, just your awareness of it and the controls upon it."

"Do you think that because of this it will let me wield it? That isn't very useful; I haven't the faintest idea how to use a sword."

Sesshomaru looked suddenly thoughtful.

"Houshi-Miroku, bring tetsusaiga to the larger dojo. I am beginning to have a stinging impression that InuYasha's mother was not the only Lady of the Western Lands that tetsusaiga was made to protect."

Kagome and Sango followed Sesshomaru to the dojo, and Kagome flushed hotly when she remembered the last time she had `trained' there…and she could tell by the slightly amused smirk on Sesshomaru's face that he was remembering as well. She was spared from the comment she knew was coming by Miroku's sudden and timely arrival, and he held out the sword to her gingerly, as though he expected whatever violent energies it would expel might touch him as well. She picked it up out of his hands, but there was no reaction at all. The shattering, lightening-blue electricity that always engulfed and burned the hands of those with demon blood who dared to grasp tetsusaiga did not touch her, nor did anything happen at all. Sesshomaru nodded.

"Unsheathe the blade."

The rusted, scarred katana slid easily from its sheath, and the sword pulsed with a faint gold light, but did not transform. Kagome sighed in frustration and shook her head.

"It didn't transform the last time I had it either. In fact, it wouldn't even transform for InuYasha until he was trying to protect me. I don't think the magic works unless it is used to protect humans."

Sesshomaru gestured for her to sheathe the sword, and sat gracefully cross-legged on the floor, thinking. Sango shrugged eloquently and sat across from him, followed by Miroku. Kagome curled herself into Sesshomaru's lap, and laid the tetsusaiga on the floor between the four of them. Sango's eyes narrowed as he stared at the offending sword.

"Tetsusaiga was not meant to protect humans."

Kagome blinked.

"What?"

"You weren't human. You were never human. It only transformed to allow InuYasha to protect you. The sword's original purpose was not only to protect a human, but to protect a human who was considered the Lady of the Western Lands. We have always assumed that the nature of the sword's magic was geared to protect only InuYasha's mother and humans by association…but does it not make more sense if the sword was made to protect any Lady of the West?"

Sesshomaru's head shot up to look at Sango, and he nodded slowly.

"I think you may be right, Lady Sango. It is possible that the sword recognized in Kagome that she would one day be the Lady of these lands - the true nature and depth of tetsusaiga's magic is known to none now living but Toutousai, and it is rarely that one can manage to make him reveal any secret of the sword. But - if the purpose of this blade is to protect Kagome, and it is my duty as her mate to protect her, than with that intent I should be able to wield it as well as she."

He lifted and drew tetsusaiga smoothly, and was hit by no painful blast. The blunt blade shimmered and pulsed in his hand, but did not transform completely. Miroku stared at the sword, surprised at its reaction to the youkai lord.

"Apparently you were correct, Lord Sesshomaru. But why will tetsusaiga not transform?"

"Most likely because she is in no danger."

His eyes lit slightly with amusement, and he laid Toukijin and Tensaiga by Tetsusaiga's side.

"The difficulty now becomes that it appears I have too many swords. Kagome, I will teach you to wield tetsusaiga properly, as soon as we figure out how to make it transform without putting you in mortal peril."

He actually scowled at the blade, and Kagome laughed.

"You keep doing things I'd never imagine you doing, Sess-chan."

"Things such as…?"

"Giving up tetsusaiga."

"There is not much point in carrying a sword with me that may only be used in your presence, my mate."

She sighed and wrinkled her nose.

"As to that, I don't think it must be only in my presence, Sess-chan. InuYasha used tetsusaiga against demons and sent me away, or used it to protect Sango and Miroku and Shippou while I was in my time."

He looked with a new interest at his father's fang, until Jaken ran into the dojo screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Lord Sesshomaru! The leader of the dragon clan has taken the human girl!"

Sesshomaru had Jaken pinned against the wall by his throat in an enraged blur in moments.

"You were charged to protect my children!"

The words were nearly a roar, and the dokkasou melted through his claws. He ignored Jaken's screeches of pain, and left his body lifeless on the ground. Sesshomaru flung the clinging drops of poison from the tips of his claws where they burned small holes into the wall. He turned quickly to Kagome and the two humans and tied Toukijin and Tensaiga to his waist sash.

"You will stay here and watch the kit. I do not doubt that they will not hesitate to snatch him as well once they learn I am gone in search of Rin."

Kagome growled, and hefted tetsusaiga.

"Sango and Miroku are well enough able to defend Shippou. I come with you, Sesshomaru. She is also my daughter."

His eyes grew slowly clouded with his youkai, and he nodded swiftly, tendrils of youkai mist gathering under his feet, and she ran to stand beside him. They flew off quickly, and Sango stared at Miroku with wide eyes, trying to ignore Jaken's body on the dojo floor.

"I think we had better go get Shippou…I don't want to know what he'd do to us if we let whoever got Rin get Shippou."

Miroku winced.

"Forget Sesshomaru, I would hate to see what Kagome would do to us. But where is Shippou?"

"No idea, but I suspect probably Kagome and Sesshomaru's chamber. It's where the scent of them is strongest. He really sees Sesshomaru as his father…if the situation weren't so serious, it would be funny."

"Mmm yes, I would say so. What do you think we should…do…with Jaken?"

Sango shrugged and walked out of the dojo.

"Kagome told me that Sesshomaru kills him all the time. I almost feel bad for the little toad - almost."

Miroku snorted, and then paused in midstride.

"Did you just say he kills Jaken all the time…?"

Sango looked back at his confused expression and giggled slightly.

"He has Tensaiga after all."

"Ah. That would explain it."

She shook he head in guilty amusement, and they came to the doors that led to Kagome and Sesshomaru's bedroom. Sango looked around nervously and knocked softly on the doors. They were tugged slowly open by a sniffling and tear-stained Shippou.

"'Kaasan?"

"No Shippou, just us. Kagome went with Sesshomaru to find Rin. What happened, Shippou? Jaken ran in and said that a…dragon clan leader?...had taken Rin, but we weren't able to get any more out of him before - "

"Before `tousan killed him?"

The kit giggled.

"'Kaasan says not to laugh, because Otousan should not kill Jaken all the time…but he still does and it's funny."

Sango grinned, glad to see him laughing despite the macabre reason behind it.

"Rin and I were playing in the big garden, the one that's kind of a like a big field. And then out of nowhere there were two dragon youkai…one took Rin, and the other came after me, but I used some of my fox-fire to burn its claws, and then I turned into a little mushroom and waited for them to leave. Jaken sort of ran around in circles for a while, and then went to find `Tousan, and I came here after I heard `Kaasan leave with `Tousan."

Sango nodded and sat heavily on the edge of Sesshomaru's bed, and the kit hopped into her lap.

"I thought…I thought that after all the shards were collected and Naraku was gone that everything would calm down…that maybe we might have a little peace."

Miroku sat beside her and rested an arm gently across her shoulders, staring at the unmarked center of his palm where the Kazanaa had been.

"I thought the same thing, Sango…but I do not think our quest will be truly over until the shikon is gone, and that can not be hurried. To use the jewel selfishly in order to lighten our own burdens would be unworthy after all we have done to place it back in Kagome's hands, where it belongs."

They sat in contemplative silence for a while, until finally Sango roused herself from torpid introspection and turned a meaningful glance towards Miroku.

"I don't know about the two of you, but I could definitely use a good meal. Shippou, I've never seen a servant around, but Sesshomaru must have some somewhere…it would be impossible to take care of this castle otherwise. How do we get dinner when Sesshomaru isn't here?"

Shippou scrunched up his face and leapt lightly down from Sango's lap.

"Okaasan didn't tell you? Most of the cleaning is youkai magic, but `Tousan has servants too. There are whole servant quarters behind the kitchens…that's usually where you can find someone if you need them. But…you might be a little surprised by how they don't look."

Sango exchanged a quizzical look with Miroku, and followed the kit to the kitchens.

"Why would we be surprised by how they look? We've seen some horrible looking youkai…"

Shippou shook his head.

"Not how they look, how they don't look. You can't see them, only sometimes, and not all of the way even then."

"Do you know why we can't see them?"

Shippou nodded.

"'Tousan told `Kaasan and me once, when we were in the library. He showed us some really old scrolls with pictures on them. See, a long time ago, even for youkai, there was a war between the lords of the four lands. The lord of the south captured a dark miko and forced her to cast a spell on some of his soldiers, to make them undetectable so that they could enter enemy territory and make sneak attacks. Only, since he had made the miko do it against her will, she made the spell so that they soldiers could never hold a weapon again, which made them completely useless for what the southern lord wanted them for. That's how the problems between south and west got started; Otousan's ancestor heard of what the southern lord had tried to do, and united with the other two lords against the south. The soldiers who were spelled by the miko mostly died in the final battle, but the ones who were left had nowhere to go. Youkai who can't fight are pretty useless. `Tousan's ancestor made a pact with the other youkai lords never to try to use them for battle, and took them in as servants - they've been with his house ever since."

Miroku nodded.

"I remember hearing something about that war…and that certainly explains some things, but how do we ask for dinner if we can't see them?"

Shippou shrugged.

"They can see us just fine. You just sort of…talk to the air. And sometimes, if you don't look straight on, you can see a little shimmering spot in the air, and that's where they are. I'll go tell them to get us some dinner, I know how to find them!"

Sango sat at the long dining table with Miroku and he shrugged slightly.

"I always knew Sesshomaru wasn't very social…but invisible servants is going a little far even for him."

Sango giggled, and Shippou jumped onto the table and skittered across the polished surface, looking at them with an odd expression on his small face.

"Are you mated now?"

Miroku blinked slowly and carefully, and Sango turned bright red, until Miroku smiled suddenly and looked directly over her head.

"What about it, my lovely Sango? Will you be the wife of this humble monk?"

"You foolish Houshi…I told you long ago that I would."

Shippou bounced up and down on the table in exuberant satisfaction, and neither one of them noticed the dishes that seemingly floated to the table.

Sesshomaru and Kagome followed the dragon-smell, sickly sweet scent rising from the ground they passed over, from the cloying poison that dripped unnoticed from Sesshomaru's claws. He could smell fear, and the musky-thick scent of the dragon clan, and the faint salt of Rin's tears. His eyes flashed red at the last, and he pulled Kagome closer to his anger-taut body. She wrapped the comfort of her arms around him, and her voice was soft and soothing.

"We'll find her Sess-chan, bring her back safe and have vengeance."

He growled, deep and dangerous.

"There will be much vengeance, and dark blood spilled. No one harms what is mine."

The sun set in a blaze that reflected his wrath, and the night boiled close around them. The dragon scent grew suddenly thicker, and Sesshomaru dispersed the mist under their feet, and noticed with burned pride that they were still within the boundaries of his lands.

"Sesshomaru, why would they take Rin? What does this dragon clan have against you?"

He stared grimly ahead.

"I told you what happened to my father."

"Yes…but you said nothing of a clan of dragons."

"The dragons provided the poison that InuYasha's mother used to kill my father. The youkai council traced it to them, and I personally destroyed half the clan. They are seeking vengeance they have no right to desire."

Kagome breathed the darkness, anger at this dishonor burning in her eyes. A massive winged shape resolved itself into a mostly human youkai, but with clawed and scaled wings.

"Foolish dog, you came after a human.

It sneered.

"How like your father you are, after all…"

The golden youkai whip Kagome had so seldom seen him use flashed twice, and the dragon youkai fell in severed pieces to the ground. Sesshomaru felt the dragon clan press close from the shadows, and the brittle rage in his voice made even Kagome shudder.

"You dared touch what is mine. You will die."

Oh yea, Sess-chan gets to be his badass cold killer self…I love it. Had to fix up Sango and Miroku, I felt bad for neglecting them…and things that may seem useless filler in this chapter may have more meaning than you think ::hint hint:: Yay for people who read and review ::hint hint again::!!