InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Confrontation II: Trials and Tribulations ❯ Laden Hearts ( Chapter 7 )

A/N: The concept for the flashback was taken from chapters 7 and 8 of `Half-Breed', written by Janine C. Funk. Originally it is told from Inuyasha's point of view, so I felt it necessary to tell it from Sesshomaru's point of view this time. Thanks Janine, you are an amazing writer!! You guys really need to check that fic out!! I want to send out a special thanks to all of you that followed me from Confrontation I. Thanks for sticking with me. I know this was quite a flip and you still don't know what to expect or where this is headed exactly, but hang in there and trust in me (grins), you won't be disappointed.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone, nor claim ownership to anyone with the exception of Kanomaru, Joudama, Susamajii, Reinto, Teela, Mana, and Rinji.

 

Chapter 7:

 

Laden Hearts

 

 

The mood at the breakfast table was somber at best. It had been two days since the little hanyou was attacked; two long days since his laughter had rang through the halls of his parents' home.

 

Kagome sat beside Inuyasha, Sango beside her yet across from Miroku with Shippo next to him and Rin opposite him with Sesshomaru at the head and to the immediate left of his mate.

 

The group with the exception of the stoic lord had tried small talk, but failed miserably. All thoughts were focused on the little four-year-old heir to the Western Land and his mother, who they were seeing outside of the room for the first time since the night Sesshomaru brought the boy home.

 

Rin had simply refused to leave Kanomaru's side. She told everyone that she didn't want him to wake up and not have someone there with him. Whenever any of them offered to sit with him while she took a walk or ate, Rin would just shoo them away, with one excuse or another.

 

Sesshomaru had tried on several occasions to get her to take a brief walk with him, or to join Kagome and Sango in the bathhouse, but she adamantly refused. In order to get her to the table for breakfast, he had to pick her up and carry her downstairs. To still the anger he felt radiating off of her once he had her at the table, he promised her that once she had eaten a full meal he would not stop her from returning to their son's bedside.

 

Inuyasha had ventured into the room just before dawn to find a dozing Rin and an absent Sesshomaru, but he didn't worry about that. He only paid attention to his nephew's heartbeat and his even breathing. He spared a moment to lay his hand upon the boy's sweating brow and to say a silent prayer for his well being before turning and heading back to his sleeping mate. He later informed his pack that Kano was indeed improving and he should awaken soon.

 

Of course all interested parties were happy to hear the news, but upon Rin and Sesshomaru's unnatural appearance they all quieted, each of them no doubt wondering why the Inu Lord was so uncharacteristically carrying his mate over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

 

After the Lord and his obviously displeased mate were settled, the group sat in uncomfortable silence until one of them could no longer stand it.

 

“Sesshomaru, do you think this was a random attack?” the Houshi inquired bluntly. That of the young lord, it would seem, only dulled his curiosity.

 

All eyes looked at him, but he paid them no mind. Feeling as if he should elaborate on his line of questioning Miroku added, “I only ask, because from what Shippo has told me. The Praying Mantis seemed to only want Kano. Am I wrong in assuming that if it was looking for nothing more than a meal, it would have gone after Shippo as well?”

 

Sesshomaru glanced coldly at him from the corner of his narrowed eyes. “My son's name is Kanomaru. When you speak of him, state it correctly, or not at all.” He had always loathed it when anyone shortened his heirs' name. Had he wanted to name the boy Kano he would've done so, but he didn't! Therefore it was only right that his son be called by his given name! `Baka'

 

Inuyasha grunted, but didn't chime in. He knew that no matter how much his brother seemed to relax or accept him and his human companions, that stick up his ass would always remain as it was.

 

“Please forgive me,” Miroku stated with a quick bow of his head. “Do you think it was specifically after Kanomaru?”

 

Sesshomaru sighed softly. The truth was, he didn't have a clue. It could have very well been a planned attack initiated by a higher demon, or it could have been just a lowly demon looking for food that stumbled upon the pup. He honestly didn't know and truth be told, it didn't matter. The end result was the same.

 

For the past two days he had been spending the wee hours of the morning while his mate slept, tracking swiftly through his lands. He eviscerated any demon he encountered that did not have some kind of treaty or alliance with him. In his mind by doing this he was showing the demon population that he was still a force to be reckoned with and would not stand for any sort of attacks on his bloodline.

 

He had heard from one of the demons, an overly large lizard youkai, that the praying Mantis had crept in from the southern border. Unfortunately that little bit of information was not enough to save the lizards life. The Inu Lord had already figured that out. He knew full well what sorts of demons sought refuge in his lands and what lay elsewhere. The only question now, was why did the Mantis cross this far into his border?

 

`Why indeed?'

 

Of course Sesshomaru would not share this with anyone. This was something that he would handle himself, with little to no interference from anyone else.

 

`I must pay Bokusenou a visit.' The Inu Lord knew that if anyone knew something about this, or what may lay ahead, the ageless tree would know and would without a doubt tell him. Quieting his thoughts he decided that the Monk's question did not require an answer as he elegantly lifted his teacup to his lips and took a sip.

 

“Feh, Miroku, the runts a hanyou, it doesn't take much to make anything attack him,” Inuyasha stated as he finished the last of his soup with a loud slurp. He wasn't intentionally trying to be boorish, but he wasn't about to mince words either.

 

“Inuyasha,” Kagome reprimanded softly, while trying to inconspicuously pinch him in his side.

 

“Wench, keep your hands to yourself,” he replied loudly while playfully pushing her hand away. Scooting a little ways away from her, he continued, “Like I was saying, being a half-breed means that he's fair game to the bigger and stronger demons out there. Hell, even the weaker ones that are trying to make a name for themselves.” He may have said it in a joking tone, since Kagome was unintentionally tickling him, but everyone present knew it was no joke.

 

Sensing the rise in his mates' scent, Sesshomaru snapped, “Watch your tongue!”

 

“Keh, you can choose to skirt around the truth if you want, but do you think anyone here knows about being a half-breed more than me?”

 

Slightly bowing her head in her mates' direction, Rin whispered, “Milord, its fine. He's only stating the truth.”

 

Sesshomaru's face softened, he wanted more than anything to just reach over and pull her into his lap and hold her close to him, until all the pain she was feeling evaporated. He wanted to tell her that everything would be okay and that he would make sure that this never happened again, but he was Lord Sesshomaru, it just wasn't in his nature. “Rin, if you're done, I will not keep you from our son.”

 

“Of course,” Rin responded with another slight bow. Standing to her feet she then proceeded towards the stairs. Stopping before she ascended them, she glanced over her shoulder at her guests and her husband. Her tiny hands clasped tightly at her side, she turned to face them, the hanyou in particular. “Inuyasha, how did you survive? Did…did this sort of thing ever happen to you?”

 

All eyes turned toward the hanyou in question.

 

Of course Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kagome were well aware of the type of childhood the hanyou had. They also knew that it was a severely sore spot with him. Sesshomaru, however, had never inquired as to anything that may have happened after saving him from the humans that had locked him away to die in their dingy cellar too many decades ago.

 

Flashback

He tore through the village following the scent of his half brother. The young lord didn't know why, but he felt an overwhelming need to see to the boys' health…his welfare, if only this once.

Sesshomaru cut down any and everyone that stood between him and his 5-year-old brother. For the first time he didn't think of Inuyasha as a half-breed or as his fathers' vile mistake. He only saw his bloodline… His relative being tortured like a common mongrel…killed slowly by humans. This he would not allow. If the boy was to die it wouldn't be now and not by the hands of these human swine!

Blood curdling screams, and shouts wrapped around him as he proceeded through the village. His green whip lashing out angrily before him and then there was silence…deafening unearthly silence. No more cries of pain or for mercy, just deafening…stifling silence.

Sesshomaru stood before the decrepit cellar door that was to serve as Inuyasha's prison and later his tomb. He grimaced, anger rippling through him. Bending down he quickly tore off the arm of a nameless faceless man that he had killed only moments earlier and used it to remove the ofuda they had placed on the door to keep the boy locked in.

`You placed it there; it's only fair that you remove it,' he thought hatefully.

The Inu Lord's golden orbs narrowed suspiciously as they adjusted to the dark. Making his way slowly down the stairs and towards the prone body of the little hanyou, Sesshomaru let loose a growl of absolute rage. The pup was dirty, actually grimy…filthy and covered in his own excrement. Every inch of him from head to toe was covered in something. If it wasn't feces, it was dried blood.

The Inu Lord shuddered slightly as he slowly knelt beside the scrap of a body that looked nothing like what he had remembered on his last visit to Musashi. Gently lifting the semi-unconscious child's head, he felt for a temperature, checked his labored breathing, and listened intently for the boys' weak heartbeat.

`Filthy ninjens!'

Deciding that it would be best if he got him out of there and into a cleaner environment, Sesshomaru quickly lifted Inuyasha's frail body and wrapped him in his Mokomoko-sama, before turning and leaving the now barren village in shambles and not one whimpering soul, be it a child or an adult alive.

End Flashback

 

`I took him to a cave and I fed him. I stayed just long enough to know that he would survive that encounter. I told Inuyasha the he poisoned our linage with is human blood. I told him… That was the first time that I told him that he was the chink in father's armor…father's one weakness.'

 

Sesshomaru tried to quiet his rampant thoughts. After all even if some part of him sought to change the past, it would be nothing more than an impotent desire. `What's done is done,' the Inu Lord thought as he turned in the hanyou's direction and patiently awaited his response.

 

Inuyasha's eyes darkened slightly. What did she want him to say? That it was a bed of fucking roses! A walk in the fucking park! It was like picking flowers or chasing butterflies! His mind was running a mile a minute with disrespectful things that he could say, until he felt a gentle hand grasp his forearm and squeeze.

 

Sighing, he crossed his arms over his chest and repeated her question out loud, “How did I survive?” His mind screamed for him to be nice, to not bite off the innocent woman's head. Breathing deeply, he hissed through clenched teeth, “Barely.”

 

Sensing Inuyasha's fury slowly building, Rin quickly whispered with a deep bow, “I…I'm sorry I asked. I didn't mean to dig at old wounds.” Righting her stance, she continued as she turned back towards the stairs, “I was just wondering…if…if Kanomaru didn't have his father and myself… Well his father, would he be strong enough to survive?”

 

Inuyasha inhaled and looked away from the woman. He didn't want to think about that, because the truth of the matter was all it took was a blink…the shifting of the tides…a lunar cycle and Kano's little world would crumble down around him. Standing up abruptly, the hanyou stepped away from the table and started towards the door but stopped. Glancing over his shoulder he huffed, “Don't be stupid, the runt will never have to go through what I did.” He then proceeded out the front door before anyone could stop him.

 

The hanyou didn't say that because he truly believed it; he said it because he felt; perhaps that's what the heartbroken woman needed to hear.

 

Perhaps he was right.

 

Sesshomaru glared daggers into his half-brother's back as the door closed softly behind him, but said nothing. `Pfft, common sense, doesn't seem to be common with that moron!'

 

Sensing the tension, Kagome tried to cover for her mate, “He…he didn't mean it like that, Rin.” Standing to her feet the Miko quickly rounded the table and ran towards her younger friend and relative. “He just doesn't have any particularly happy moments from back then.” Wrapping her arms tightly around the woman's neck Kagome finished, “Inuyasha was right though. As long as Kano…I mean Kanomaru has us…all of us, he'll never have to endure what Inuyasha did. We're family and family always stick together.” Smiling at her friend the Miko stepped back and bowed quickly before retreating out the door behind her mate whom she hoped hadn't traveled to far out of her range.

 

Sango had been sitting quietly just listening to the other's talk, but now with Inuyasha and Kagome gone, she felt a tad uncomfortable. Like perhaps she and her husband who seemed to be most comfortable in his current reclining position, should leave the Lord and Lady alone for a while.

 

At that moment Joudama squirmed in her lap. “Mama, Damy hungry.”

 

“I bet you are,” Sango replied softly, as she stood to her feet and bowed excusing herself. “Miroku and Shippo, perhaps you should come help me.”

 

“I don't want to. I think I'll go feed Ah'un, since Kano…Kanomaru hasn't been able to do it,” Shippo stated as he turned and looked toward Sesshomaru, hoping that the demon lord would approve and not reprimand him for doing something that only his son did.

 

Sesshomaru nodded his approval then took another sip of his swiftly cooling tea.

 

Stretching his arms over his head, Miroku yawned and turned to his wife with a brilliant smile, “I suppose if you ask me nicely, I can help.”

 

Sango rolled her eyes but her daughter giggled and clapped her hands happily. “Daddy come…daddy come,” the little girl sang happily as the recovering lech swept past his wife, taking his daughter in his arms. Turning to face his host and hostess he bowed, “Please excuse us. It seems that the jewel of my eye desires her belly to be filled.”

 

Sesshomaru nodded but once again said nothing as the Monk and the Ex-Slayer disappeared into the kitchen.

 

It was hard for Rin to see the Slayer and Monk playing happily with their child while her own lay prone in their bed. As soon as they were gone she turned and tried to proceed up the stairs and back to his side. She stopped when her mates' voice hummed in her ears.

 

“You sure have a way of clearing a table.”

 

Rin turned slightly and glanced at her love, `Is he trying to be funny? Surely I'm hearing things.' Stepping down off the step she asked, “My love, did you say something?”

 

“May I have a moment of your time, Rin,” Sesshomaru inquired softly as he pushed his cushion away from the table and turned to face her.

 

“Of course my love,” she replied, while walking quickly towards him, one hand out stretched for him to take.

 

Taking her hand, he pulled her gently on to his lap. It had been quite sometime since he had done this, with Kanomaru always around to intervene. Situating her so that his right arm cradled her back and her legs were bent elegantly across his, he leaned in and inhaled, `Still as fresh as spring rain.' Sesshomaru wasn't sure if he was trying to sooth her tortured mind or his own.

 

“Love, is there something that you wanted to say,” Rin asked. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the comfort of his embrace, she just wasn't particularly used to him holding her so close when they were where they could be easily seen. And more importantly she really wanted to get back to her son.

 

Burying his face in her thick soft mane, Sesshomaru inhaled deeply letting her scent, her aura wash over him. `Yes, I definitely made the right choice choosing this human…this woman for my mate,' he thought, tenderly stroking the back of her head.

 

Rin giggled softly at the feel of his nose rubbing gently against the side of her ear. This was definitely something new…something that she secretly hoped he would do more, once things with their son improved. “My love,” she stated while gently resting her open palm against the side of his face.

 

The Lord of the Western Lands pulled away from his mate so that he could stare directly into her eyes, “Rin, do you trust me?”

 

She stared at him, searching his tired golden eyes for some sign of just what he may have been thinking, “With my life. I trust you with my life…my blood. Please, my love, don't ever doubt that.”

 

He didn't know why he felt the need to ask her that. He already knew she trusted him. Perhaps it was his need to know that with all that had happened, she would not begin to doubt him.

 

If he were truthful he would've admitted that he needed to feel that overwhelming faith that she had in him when she was younger. He needed to know that in her eyes, he was still what allowed the sun to rise and set. He knew these things were selfish…narcissistic and made him appear to have a God complex, but he was Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands, he was allowed to have that complex!

 

Closing his eyes Sesshomaru allowed himself one moment of weakness while enjoying the feel of her soft hand against his skin. The tips of her gentle well maintained finger nails running slowly across the outline of his youkai strips and her thumb…her glorious thumb tracing sensually along the line of his lips. Enticing him…egging him…pushing him in a direction that neither one should be going.

 

Forcing his mind away from her gentle ministrations, he stated softly as if in a daze, “Rin, this Sesshomaru apologizes…”

 

Cutting him off, she placed a chaste kiss to his inviting lips, “It is not your fault, my love. I do not blame you. I could never blame you.”

 

Opening his eyes, he stared into her dark orbs as if seeing them for the first time. `Is that what I needed to hear?'

 

“Da…daddy”

 

The moment was broken, as both parties stared happily up at the little hanyou that stood at the top of the stairs, one hand clutching his bandage stomach while the other rubbed his sleep hazed eyes. “Mommy,” he whispered while taking a blind step forward.

 

“Kanomaru,” Rin said excitedly as she jumped to her feet and ran up the stairs to her son.

 

He'd awakened to the sound of hushed voices and relief that he was not in the clutches of that monster, but he was confused. How did he get here? Who saved him? But more than anything, he wanted to know why that thing had hurt him.

 

Letting his mom take him into her arms Kano hugged her neck as she kissed him feverously all over his face while holding him tight to her breasts, “Sweetie you should be in bed. Your wounds have not healed.”

 

“I…I…Mommy it hurts. Why did he do this to me? Did I make him mad,” Kano whispered as he hugged her tighter, tears filling his eyes.

 

Rin stopped in her tracks. She knew he would ask these questions, but how would she answer them? What would she tell him? Was there anything that she could say to him that would dull the pain?

 

“Mommy why? Tell me what I did,” he pleaded again as tears began to trail down his cheeks.

 

Sitting down on the steps that she had begun to descend, the young mother pulled her only son closer to her and began to slowly rock him. “I'm so sorry baby. Mommy's sorry.”

 

“Why mommy? Why are you sorry? You d…didn't hurt me,” the sobbing boy stuttered as he sloppily tried to wipe away his tears with the backs of his hands.

 

Tears clouded her vision as she softly kissed the crown of his head, “I know baby, but I'm still sorry. I wasn't there to protect you.”

 

Sesshomaru couldn't stand the sound of their sobbing, nor take the smell of their tears. His sons' innocent plea to know why he had been dealt such a blow was too much for him to take. Standing to his feet he walked slowly towards them.

 

He didn't have a clue as to what he would say to the pup, but he knew that it was time for Kanomaru to understand just what it meant to be a hanyou. He had tried to protect him from all things, but perhaps this was one thing that no matter how much he tried; he just wouldn't be able to.

 

Caressing the back of his sons' head in a gently manner. Sesshomaru stated in a soft tone, “I'll take him.”

 

Sparing another moment, Rin kissed Kano's cheek and wiped away a few of the tears that trailed down his cheek. Glancing up at her husband, she wanted to argue, but knew to do so would be nothing less than disrespectful. “You go with your father. I'm going to prepare some of your favorite stew for you to eat when you come back, okay.” She hated feeling so helpless, but perhaps this was not something for her to fix.

 

Sniffling lightly, Kano nodded and reached for his mentor. Instantly he was soothed by Sesshomaru's powerful aura. His mind quieted and if he listened just right he could've probably heard his youkai sigh contentedly. At last he felt safe. “Father?”

 

“Yes, Kanomaru?”

 

“I thought I wouldn't see you again.”

 

Turning from his mate he walked towards the door. Sesshomaru had no idea what he would say to his son or how he would put the boys' mind at ease, but he would try. “You shouldn't think such ridiculous things.”

 

Until Next Time… (Please don't forget to give me your .02 cents.)