InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Daughter of the West ❯ A Battle Between Brothers ( Chapter 10 )

[A/N: I have a question that I would really love to ask Rumiko Takahashi if I ever got the chance. When she came up with Kikyo's character, did she mean for her to seem like she was constantly having her period? Anyway, let me know what you think about that. Should be interesting. R and R please!]

Daughter of the West

Chapter 10: A Battle Between Brothers

Sesshomaru gently set Rin down on the ground and stood, looking in the direction from where the haunting melody was coming from. He had not heard it in years, but it was still burning fresh in his memory. He hadn't even thought he'd ever hear it again.

"It has to be Kimi," he thought, his features racked with disbelief. But there was just no way. He had thought Kimi had died all those years ago. "Someone must have learned it from listening," he said t himself, giving a kind of reassurance. It made his heart ache to hear the song played once again, and yet he could go over every note in his head. He was too far away to smell whoever was playing the tragic tune, but he could hear it well enough that it seemed she was right next to him.

After a few moments, Kimi stopped playing and wiped a tear from her eye. "What's the use?" she asked herself silently. She turned; just beginning to stand up, and she saw a silver-haired form standing over her. For an instant, she thought that her prayers had been answered, but she quickly realized that it was only Inu-Yasha.

"I'm sorry," she said, her tone as cheery as she could get it, "Did I wake you?" Inu-Yasha shook his head simply, but there was still a slight look of concern on his face. "I heard you playing a minute ago. It sounded really nice," he complimented, trying to get around the awkwardness of the moment. Kimi sighed a little. "Thank you," she replied, thinking that he must of thought a funeral precession was going through. Finally, Inu-Yasha got out what he wanted to say.

"Kimi, are you alright?" he asked bluntly. She tried to nod in response, but she couldn't bring herself to it. She couldn't bring herself to lying to someone who had helped her so much. She could feel a tear welling up in her eye. "I just…" she said, wiping her tears away, "I just don't know anymore, Inu-Yasha. I haven't seen him in gods know how long…I mean, I thought he was dead…but he's not. He's out there somewhere. Alive. My Sesshomaru…"

She started to cry a little, and Inu-Yasha put his arms around her. He didn't care much for talking about Sesshomaru, but oddly, from going through the situation with Kikyo, he knew exactly how she felt, and for him, doing anything but trying to comfort her would seem wrong. She was his sister-in-law.

Then, an amazing thing dawned on Kimi. Standing there in Inu-Yasha's comforting arms, she realized that she had never been held like that, except by Sesshomaru. She immediately pulled away and gaped at him slightly. "You're his…brother, aren't you?" she asked questioningly. Inu-Yasha smirked a little and pursed his lips to hide it. "Took you long enough, didn't it?" he asked. She sneered a little. "Thanks. My brother-in-law, em? And you didn't even bother to tell me. Great, now I'm keeping two secrets from my daughter," she hissed, a flustered expression on her face.

Inu-Yasha watched her slip her ocarina back into her yukata, then storm off.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! I hate when things get fucked up like that," he growled at himself. He breathed angrily through his nose for a moment, and then quietly sat down on the already dewy grass, looking up at the moon and stars to clear his mind.

There was a mystical, serene quality to the night sky. "I wonder if she's really telling the truth about her and Sesshomaru," he thought.

Sesshomaru walked quietly, trying not to wake Rin, who was still asleep on the ground. He knew it was foolish. But he had to see where that haunting music was coming from. Only one person knew that song, and that was Kimi. He stopped in his tracks, trying to use common sense.

"Kimi's been gone for years," he thought, "But…it's the only possibility. She's the only one who knew that song." He looked up at the sky. Just like the night we met…

He took a few more steps, and then he heard the child behind him stir. "Sesshomaru…-sama? Where are you going?" she asked in her small voice. Sesshomaru sighed slightly, not giving an answer, so the girl asked again. "I need to take care of something, Rin," he stated curtly. The young girls eyes watered up a little, although he could tell they were only crocodile tears. "Will you take Rin too?" she asked, her face looking like she was threatening to cry. "I'll be back shortly," he said. For a human girl, she had certainly grown on him.

As he walked, small, hesitant steps turned to long strides, and they became lengthy bounds. He was determined to find out where the haunting melody was being played. He was assuming it was just someone who had come up with a similar melody, but his mind had been filling in the unfamiliar spots. He had already traumatized the villagers, and even if it was only one of them, the frightened looks on their faces would be enough to boost his morale.

Inu-Yasha still sat against the wall, his eyes slowly trying to shut. Every once in a while, a breeze would blow through, waking him up until the next. He sat, a blank look on his face, his eyes focused on a single star. He stared for a moment, but then he smelled a familiar scent drawing nearer at an incredible rate. A scent he hated. Sesshomaru's.

Inu-Yasha grabbed his sword, which was still tied securely in his belt, and started moving. He'd head Sesshomaru off; keep him away from the village. He had already killed off most of their soldiers, and he wasn't even going to let him near the poor place. He wouldn't get his friends involved, either. If he was in trouble, he could play his trump card. Even though he doubted what she was saying, Aikina was living proof that they had to have had something, but if there was still some kind of spark, well…

Sesshomaru ran, now almost at full speed. His plans to find where the song had been coming from had been put on hold. He could smell his younger half-brother speeding towards him, right into his hands. "He must have picked up my scent. Perhaps his demon side is beginning to rub off on him," he thought, stopping. A few moments later, he saw a flash of red, and in an instant, the hanyou leapt at him, although he easily sidestepped the hasty attack.

"So, little brother. You've finally decided to come after me. Is this another one of your suicide attempts?" Sesshomaru asked tauntingly.

"Can it, Sesshomaru, you scum!" Inu-Yasha yelled. Sesshomaru sighed in response.

"Make this quick, half-breed," he growled, a deep scowl forming on his face, "I have important business to attend to."

"Sorry, but I think you're gonna be a little late. It's time you pay for what you did to that village," Inu-Yasha hissed. He quickly drew the Tetsusaiga, and it immediately transformed into the giant fang. The only reason he had decided to use it was so he could make his brother jealous, no matter how little it worked anymore. He ran his finger over the blunt edge of the sword and snarled, although it didn't even cause Sesshomaru to blink.

The full-demon cracked his knuckles, and when his brother swung his sword at him, he leapt out of the way and hit him with his whip of light. He struck him again, this time causing him much more pain then the first.

Inu-Yasha gritted his teeth together, no even letting out a hiss of pain. He spun around, only to be struck this time in the face. He gabbed his cheek, and could already feel the burn mark forming. "You'll pay for that," he growled. Sesshomaru smirked a little. "Insolent fool. You're fighting worse then you usually do," he said acidly. Inu-Yasha took a step back, snarling at the full-demon before him.

Sesshomaru whipped at him again, but his half-breed brother dodged his attack. Inu-Yasha leapt with his sword again, but Sesshomaru dodged it, only having a few hairs cut. As Inu-Yasha moved away, he caught him in the gut with his knee, knocking the wind out of him as well as sending him to the ground. Inu-Yasha coughed a little, failing to notice his demon brother leering over him, claws dripping with potent venom.

"No…" Inu-Yasha growled as Sesshomaru drew nearer, "Don't do it!" The full-demon snickered a little. "What? You expect mercy? Mercy is for the weak. I though you wanted to be a big, strong demon like your big brother," he hissed, his voice like burning metal. Inu-Yasha got up on his hands and knees, glaring up at Sesshomaru.

"It's not mercy I seek, Sesshomaru. I'm actually doing you a small favor," he snarled, "I have some information that you may be able to use." Sesshomaru looked skeptical, but he again kicked his half-brother in the gut, half in amusement, half in interest. "Talk, half-blood," he growled at the writhing form on the ground below him. Inu-Yasha snickered a little. "Well, I see you don't really care that I know where your wife is, Sesshomaru," Inu-Yasha said mockingly. Sesshomaru gaped for a moment, a look of sheer shock on his face.

"How dare you speak of Kimi!" he snarled, a disgusted expression on his face. Inu-Yasha grinned a little. "So, I see you know her, ne? Quite interesting that---" Inu-Yasha choked for air. Sesshomaru had put his foot down on his neck.

"How…dare…you!" he yelled, putting his foot down even harder. Inu-Yasha gasped, his breath quickly running low. He could almost see a tinge of a tear in his elder brother's eye as her pulled the Tokijin from its sheath. "How dare you joke about such a thing. I guess it is true, that half-breeds have no regard for others!" he raised his sword, and though her were about to behead his younger half-brother.

Kimi's eyes shot open, although she had only been asleep for a moment. She had been awakened by an aching feeling in her heart, as if Sesshomaru were nearby. She stood up from her futon and looked around. She looked through the draped window, and saw that Inu-Yasha was gone. "Must've gone back inside," she thought. But the sinking feeling was still there. She quickly walked to the side door of the inn and walked outside. There was an eerie silence, but she was convinced there was something going on that she didn't know about. "Sesshomaru…I know you're out there," she thought, "I'm coming!" In a burst of anguish, desperation, and the thoughts of being reunited with her beloved Sesshomaru, she started running with all of her strength, the only thing that she was sure of being that she was moving forward.

As Sesshomaru swung his sword down at Inu-Yasha, he grabbed the Tetsusaiga with his free hand and swiftly blocked the Tokijin, creating a torrent of sparks. Inu-Yasha rolled out of the way, and as so as he did, Sesshomaru's blade made contact with where his neck had been. Inu-Yasha rubbed the already bruised area of her neck in relief and slowly stood. Sesshomaru was still glowering fiercely at him and he lifted your sword. "You will regret the moment you ever spoke her name, Inu-Yasha," Sesshomaru hissed. He swung the Tokijin at his half-brother again, and he swiftly dodged, despite the weight of his sword. Sesshomaru prepared to strike the hanyou again, until he heard someone run up behind him.

"Sesshomaru, stop!" a female voice yelled. He recognized the sound of that voice immediately, gaped slightly, and turned around. "K……Kimi? It's…impossible…"