InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Confrontation II: Trials and Tribulations ❯ Cracks In The Foundation ( Chapter 20 )

A/N: All characters will be walking that fine line of OOCness. First let me begin by apologizing for the late update. I've been a little more than side tracked with the preparations for my move. I think I'll probably be updating 1 more chapters before the updates stop for like a month, so that I can give myself sometime to settle down in my new home. Oh and thanks to everyone that voted for me. It's because of you that I won 2nd Place Best Canon for the 1st Quarter of 2007, so thank you!!

 

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to anyone, with the exception of Teela, Mana, Rinji, Reinto, Kanomaru, Joudama, Masotako, and Susamajii.

 

Chapter 20:

 

Cracks In The Foundation

 

Sesshomaru sat idly in his office, his son on his lap. Before the child had so unceremoniously barged in, he'd been contemplating the proper way of getting rid of Susamajii and his clan.

 

He'd only come up with one idea, but it depended heavily on Susamajii taking the bait. Anything else, would no doubt lead to war. He had no problem going to war, but any good leader would try to avoid it at all cost, especially when there was so much that could be lost.

 

After the debacle with Rin and Teela earlier that morning, he knew that he needed to be rid of them as soon as possible.

 

Sesshomaru had no plans whatsoever of breeding with Teela or any other youkai for that matter. Unfortunately, he could tell from the look on Rin's face and the manner in which she spoke to him, her mind was working overtime. So if only to salvage her sanity, he needed to get these demons out of his home and away from his family.

 

He'd heard from Rinji that Susamajii had been holed up in his room all day, but there was no report given to him in regards to the other two demons. This caused the Inu Lord to wonder for the millionth time, `What are they up too?'

 

“Don't write on that,” Sesshomaru stated softly, noticing that his son had begun to doodle on one of his more important parchments.

 

“Sorry,” the little hanyou murmured as he sat the brush down, leaned back against his father's chest, and sighed.

 

Sesshomaru could tell the little boy was bored. Perhaps if he were anyone else, he would make up some silly game for them to play, but he was Sesshomaru, Lord of the West, he would do no such thing. Instead he queried, “Why are you in here, Kanomaru?”

 

Shrugging his shoulders, the little hanyou replied with another sigh, “I'm bored.”

 

The Inu Lord thought that over for a moment then stated, “The sun is still out, why don't you go play outside with the fox kit?”

 

“He's not my friend anymore,” the child replied seriously.

 

`That again,' Sesshomaru thought. “Perhaps you should work on that temper of yours,” he stated, thinking out loud.

 

“He thinks because he's older than me and a full demon, he can order me around. So I told him to sleep outside in the barn with Ah and Un,” Kano added while crossing his arms across his undeveloped chest in a huff as if saying, `and that's final'.

 

“Hm,” the Inu Lord grunted. Sniffing lightly, he continued, “Kanomaru?”

 

“Yes, Daddy?”

 

“Why do you smell like that?”

 

“Like what?” the little boy replied, sitting forward and picking up the brush again.

 

“Like a human that isn't your Mother.”

 

Shrugging his shoulders, Kano stated, “Mommy told Aunt Sango to watch me. She said she needed some time to herself.”

 

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at the back of his son's head. Why would Rin, knowing the situation here, allow someone else to take care of his heir? He didn't care that it was a very able-bodied demon slayer. No one was to watch his son, with the exception of Inuyasha and Rinji. “When was this?”

 

Dipping the brush in the ink, Kanomaru began to doodle once more on the parchment Sesshomaru had just told him not to write on as he responded, “This morning, after she saw that woman touching you.”

 

Sesshomaru glanced out his window in order to make sure that he was right about the time. As usual, he was. It was well into the evening hours and still Rin hadn't come for Kanomaru. “Have you eaten?”

 

“Yes, Aunt Kagome fed me.”

 

Standing his son up, Sesshomaru stood slowly to his feet. “Come,” he stated as he strolled towards the door.

 

“Where are we going, Daddy?”

 

“To find your mother, you need a bath.” There's nothing Sesshomaru hated more than people and/or things that didn't smell like him or Rin. So for his son to be smelling like a ninjen, one he was not related to, really didn't sit right with him, but more importantly, exactly where the hell has Rin been all day?

 

“Do we have to bother Momma? You can give me a bath, can't you Daddy?” the little boy asked optimistically.

 

“This Sesshomaru does not bathe his pup. That is a woman's duty.”

 

Kanomaru sighed. He knew he couldn't fight his father the way he would his mother, so he tried a different route, “I'll go find Aunt Kagome. She likes bathing me.”

 

“No. Your mother will be the one to bathe you.”

 

“I can bathe myself, Daddy. I'm a big boy, remember?” he stated hopefully. Kano knew he should just tell his dad that he'd already seen his mother, but he couldn't. He'd promised her that he wouldn't tell anyone that she was upset or that she had been crying.

 

It had happened after he'd told Shippo not to come back in his house. He'd gone to his room to make sure the sly kit hadn't snuck in through one of the other doors when he stumbled upon her. She was curled up in one of the corners of his room rocking slowly as she cried. He immediately approached her and wrapped his small arms around her as best he could, but that only seemed to cause her to cry even more. In the end, he'd told her that he was going to get his dad, but she made him promise that it would be their little secret.

 

“Out of the question,” Sesshomaru stated, while sniffing the air lightly. Catching Rin's scent, he turned quickly down the corridor, his son hot on his heels.

 

Noticing his father heading in the direction of his room, Kanomaru dropped to ground and started groaning, “Awwww! My tummy hurts! Awwww!”

 

Sesshomaru turned on his son, now sprawled on the floor rolling slowly from right to left, and then back again. Scenting the boy, he could smell no sign of illness.

 

“Daddy it hurts! My tummy hurts really badly! Please take me to Mana-sensei, she'll make it go away,” he cried, though his eyes were bone dry.

 

Sesshomaru berated, “What foolishness is this, Kanomaru?” He knew from his son's scent that the boy was healthy, but what he didn't know was why he was trying to fain sickness. “Stand up!”

 

Hearing the demanding tone in his father's voice, Kano immediately froze mid roll. He couldn't let his father find his mother in the condition she was in, but he didn't want to disappoint him either by acting like such a little child. What was he supposed to do?

 

Turning on his heels, the Lord of the West proceeded down the hall without looking back, but stopped as a very distinct, rather venomous scent floated towards him. “Kanomaru, behind me,” he ordered.

 

Without question, the little hanyou jumped to his feet and darted behind his father who had stopped and was seemingly waiting on someone that was approaching out of the darkness. “Daddy, what is it?” he questioned softly.

 

Receiving no answer, Kano sniffed the air himself and immediately tried to bury himself deeper into the folds of his father's hakama. He didn't know who it was or what it was, but he could smell the stench of the person's scent and feel the coldness of its aura and it caused his little spine to quiver.

 

Smelling his off-spring's scent spike dramatically, Sesshomaru stated softly so that the other demon, coming towards him at a slow pace, couldn't hear, “You will show no fear.” He was okay with the little hanyou hiding from Susamajii's line of sight, but he refused to allow the demon even an inkling of a chance to call his heir, weak!

 

“Lord Sesshomaru,” Susamajii stated mildly as he stepped slowly out of the darkness of the hallway and into the light.

 

Sesshomaru's face remained impassive as he stared at the demon that matched his height inch for inch. “Why are you traversing through my home?”

 

Susamajii lied, “I seem to have lost sight of my companions. Have you seen them?” He knew full well that Reinto was in route to Musashi and the forest named for the hanyou, Inuyasha. He also knew that Teela, at the moment, was in her room stewing over their most recent conversation.

 

Sesshomaru stared at the youkai, a look on his face that clearly stated that he had no time for these games.

 

“I'll take your silence as a no,” Susamajii stated while tilting his head a little to the side. He could smell the hanyou pup and knew that he was somewhere behind Sesshomaru, but he couldn't see the boy at all. “Why do you hide your pup from me, Lord Sesshomaru?”

 

The Western Lord replied with disdain, “Is your business with me or him?” Sesshomaru was not one to hide anything. However, in this instance he was not even slightly inclined to parade his pup around in front of this monster.

 

If he saw him, he saw him, but it wouldn't be because Sesshomaru wanted him to.

 

`A little of both, I have to admit,' Susamajii thought with a smirk. “Hide him now Lord Sesshomaru, but one day, he and I will meet.”

 

“That will not be today, Susamajii,” Sesshomaru replied coldly.

 

“I see,” the cunning youkai replied with a slight bow of his head. Turning to leave, he stopped and asked, “Have you given any thought to what we discussed? Maybe then you won't have to resort to such pathetic measures.”

 

Sesshomaru glared at the demon. He knew exactly what he was insinuating, but with Kanomaru here, he couldn't allow this sniveling coward to get the best of him. His only response was, “Hm.”

 

With a light nod of his head, Susamajii stated, “I see,” and turned to leave. He was well aware that Sesshomaru wasn't considering anything he'd said. He only asked in order to play the role of someone that cared.

 

“Susamajii, I have, however, been thinking about something else,” Sesshomaru stated knowing that he was about to gain the upper hand on this conniving wretch.

 

He'd been thinking about this since the day he first met the one called, Reinto. The youkai was just too familiar to him, so he did a little research in order to figure out exactly who he was and whom his lineage stemmed from.

 

Watching the Southern Lord turn towards him slowly, Sesshomaru began, “I've been thinking about your cohort, Reinto.” His face as expressionless as ever, he continued, “Is he really from the South, Susamajii?”

 

The Southern Lord turned, his eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't respond. He would wait and see exactly what it was that Sesshomaru `thought' he knew.

 

Not being one to mince words, Sesshomaru continued, “It seems that Reinto's lineage extends directly from Masotako. You do remember Masotako, don't you?”

 

Masotako had been a fierce Inu youkai, rivaled only by his close childhood friend and ally, Inu Taisho. He'd ruled over the middle lands, when they were a united front many, many centuries ago. He'd ruled for so long that most youkai hadn't a clue as to exactly how long that might have been. Upon his death, his land was divided into four, each piece given to one of the remaining four Lords of Japan. The southern territory received the biggest lot, for reasons unknown.

 

The only reason the land was divided, instead of passed down to his surviving heir…family, as was the natural process, was there were none. It was said that his pup…his only heir and his mate were beheaded and their bodies tossed into the flames that destroyed his home.

 

Sesshomaru remembered clearly how his father tore through the four corners of Japan seeking out the killer or killers of his ally and friend. They were never found.

 

He also remembered the agonizing howl that tore through the West on the day that the news was delivered to them. Masotako was the youkai Inu Taisho had chosen to rule in his stead should anything happen to him before Sesshomaru was of age and vice versa.

 

He'd only met the demon, Masotako, on three occasions, but upon seeing and scenting the youkai called Reinto, Sesshomaru made it a point to search through his father's scrolls.

 

What he found, he knew would give him the upper hand, regardless of Susamajii's plan. Hidden deep within the scrolls, he found the name of Masotako's only heir and an in-depth description of his youkai markings.

 

“Masotako?” Susamajii mimicked, turning to face the white lord. He hadn't heard that name in centuries and quite honestly could have gone a few more centuries before hearing it again.

 

“His murderers were never caught. Do you know anything about that, Susamajii?

 

“Exactly what are you insinuating, Sesshomaru-sama? Surely, you're not trying to say that Reinto is related to him or that I had anything to do with Masotako's demise. Perhaps you are too young to remember this, but Masotako and my father were allies.”

 

Sesshomaru knew he was lying. Ignoring the Southern Lord's claim of innocence, he stated, “Take your secrets back to the South, Susamajii. They have no place here.”

 

The Southern Lord almost shouted, his fist clenching repeatedly, “How dare you insinuate such a thing! Are you that terrified of loosing your title to these lands that you would dredge up disgusting, farfetched conspiracy theories about me?”

 

“This Sesshomaru insinuates nothing.” Smirking coldly at the agitated youkai, which was something he rarely ever did, the Western Lord continued, his eyes narrowed slightly, “How did Reinto come into your employ, Susamajii? Did you even wait for Masotako's body to grow cold before you took what was never yours to begin with?” Watching the demon squirm under his line of questioning, he finished as he took a step forward, “Does he think…you rescued him?”

 

Stepping back, Susamajii declared heatedly as he turned, his face flushed, “You have overstepped your bounds, Lord Sesshomaru.” He didn't know what else to say. He hadn't expected Sesshomaru to dig up dead and buried bones, especially none of this magnitude.

 

Sure he'd been the one that delivered the finishing blow to Masotako, but it wasn't his plan, it was his father's. That aside, the truth was, regardless of the reason, in the end, he had killed the Lord of the Middle Lands and taken his son.

 

`If this got out… If Reinto found out… If the Lords of the North and East found out… If Sesshomaru has evidence, I…I wouldn't…'

 

These were all things that Susamajii could not face just yet. The past was the past and the past was dead, as far as he was concerned.

 

He'd done right by the boy, Reinto, when the plan was simply to kill him along with his mother and father. Instead, he'd sheltered him, and protected him. He taught him everything he knew and more. Damn it, he'd done right by the boy, how dare this piss ant of a Lord try to destroy what he'd created…what he'd made?

 

The Southern Lord's mind was frazzled for the first time, in an extremely long time. The only thing he was certain of was that he had to move up his plans in order to get the hell out of the West before everything blew up in his face.

 

Watching the demon's quick retreat, Sesshomaru knew without a doubt that Susamajii had definitely taken the pup. However, before he would be able to legally exact revenge for Masotako, he needed to find proof that the Southern Lord had something, if not everything to do with the murders.

 

Turning on his heels, he took hold of Kanomaru's hand and headed towards Rin's scent.

 

So lost in their own private thoughts, neither demon was aware of the tiny pair of transparent emerald green eyes that had inconspicuously watched the entire altercation. She would be sure to use this to her advantage.

 

Nearing the door of his son's quarters, Sesshomaru slowed his pace to almost a hesitant stroll. Why hadn't he noticed this earlier? Had he been so lost in his own thoughts and problems that he missed the point when something within his mate, shattered?

 

He could smell the salt of her tears that were now stale in the air around him, and he could feel the ravaged edges of her aura as if it were a wounded snake lashing out, determined to protect what was left of its life.

 

Sesshomaru had never felt anything like it. It was as if Rin was falling apart. It felt like… It felt like she was broken…internally…emotionally broken, for lack of a better word.

 

Reaching for the door, he hesitated for a brief moment, not sure if he really wanted to face what was on the other side, but knowing that he couldn't avoid it either. She was his mate, he should've recognized that she needed him; he should've known that she was hurting.

 

Sliding the door open slowly, he peered into the room, his face stoic, but his eyes…they held something they had never held before, fear.

 

Rin sat on the edge of Kanomaru's bed, her head down, her shoulders slumped forward, she seemed withdrawn, and utterly unreachable as she stared down at what he knew was the portrait of him and her, when she was pupped with their son.

 

He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but he couldn't. Quite honestly, he'd never been good at caring, or rather showing that he cared.

 

Pulling his son around him, Sesshomaru pushed the boy in her direction, but noticed that even he was reluctant to approach her.

 

Kanomaru held tight to his father's hand. He didn't want to go to his mother. Not when she seemed so unavailable…so detached…so damaged. Stepping back, he stared up at his father, silently pleading with him to not make him disturb her.

 

Sesshomaru stared down at his son, a concerned frown marring his handsome features. Shifting his gaze to his mate, he swallowed.

 

Why was this so hard? Why did something as simple as asking her if she was all right, feel like he was being asked to traverse through molten lava?

 

Clearing his throat, he called, “Rin.”

 

She must not have heard him, because she didn't move a muscle, just sat there staring at the picture, a soft sad smile on her dreary face.

 

Sesshomaru swallowed again. He hated, actually despised having to deal with anything concerning emotions. He'd always felt it was a waste of his time…his energy, but this was his mate…the mother of his heir. How could she be a waste of his time? How could he even entertain the thought that her feelings were a waste of his energy?

 

Releasing his son's hand, he stepped forward and called again, “Rin.”

 

She looked up this time, her eyes sad, her face streaked with dried tears. She tried to smile, but he could see straight through it. He could tell that for some reason, her heart was…breaking.

 

`What happened? I know this isn't about this morning? Surely, she knows better than...' he thought, but she interrupted him, her voice soft…weak.

 

“My love, will you remember me always?” she inquired softly.

 

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes as he stared at her trying to figure out why she would ask such a thing. Was she planning on going somewhere and why were her eyes pleading with him to understand something that he just could not comprehend?

 

He distinctly remembered a time long ago, when she was just a child. She had asked him something similar to that, but that was to be expected, wasn't it? After all, neither of them knew that years later they would be mated with a son.

 

“Rin, are you…okay?” he asked stepping forward again.

 

She smiled softly up at him, but didn't respond. Instead, she turned her attention to her son…her beloved. “Come give momma a hug,” she stated softly while opening her arms to him.

 

Stepping forward, Kano whispered as he neared her, “I didn't say anything, Momma. It's still our secret, okay?”

 

Rin smiled, her eyes shimmering with tears that wanted to fall…desperately needed to fall. Wrapping her arms around him, she hugged him tight against her in an attempt to block out everything around her. This was all she needed, her son, the one thing that no one could take from her, the one thing that she didn't have to share.

 

Sesshomaru heard what his son had said. `What does he mean by `he didn't say anything? Does that mean he knows why she's acting like this? Are they keeping secrets from this Sesshomaru?' he thought incredulously.

 

Pulling back, Kanomaru smiled softly up at his mother as he ran his small hands lightly over her cheek and wiped away one of her tears. “Momma, Father says that this Kanomaru needs a bath. Will you bathe him?”

 

Rin nodded agreeably as she smiled down at him. Standing to her feet slowly, she took his hand in her own and walked towards the door. She walked as if there was no one else in the room, just the two of them.

 

Sesshomaru stopped her. “Rin, this Sesshomaru asked you a question.”

 

She looked up at him, her eyes sad, filled with pain and yet she still tried to smile. “Did you?”

 

“Are you all right?” Reaching up to brush her tussled hair away from her face, he noticed that she flinched away from his touch.

 

Stepping back, she replied softly, “This Rin will be, she is sure of it.”

 

Sesshomaru picked up on her cryptic reply, but decided that he wouldn't push her right now. He'd wait until tonight when they were alone in their room, when the other occupants of his home were asleep and then he would demand that she tell him what had brought about this change.

 

Stepping back, the Inu Lord stared around the room that his son rarely ever used as Rin and Kanomaru disappeared out the door.

 

Walking slowly over to the picture that Rin had been gazing at, he smiled, honestly and genuinely, smiled. `I will not allow these demons or your thoughts to take you from me, Rin,' he thought as he picked up the picture and placed it back in its spot.

 

Though his thoughts were of one that would not give up, he couldn't shake the feeling that for some unknown reason, she already had.

 

Until Next Time… (Your .02 cents are greatly appreciated.)