InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Forgotten ❯ To Wed Power... ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Sesshomaru or anyone from the hit anime/manga series “Inuyasha”. Rumiko Takahashi does. I do own all OC's in this story.

 

618 years Before the Search for the Jewel Shards

 

Chapter Five: To Wed Power…

 

I don't know when Kaiyoshinju decided it was her duty to look out for me and my future. Noriko, though, was obsessed with marrying power, of becoming the next Lady of the Western Lands, and I was her perfect “match”. With these two opposing views and the great power behind them I guess it was inevitable they would battle. I think my interference that first time caused the situation to develop into a feud that would reach through the centuries and claim more than Kaiyoshinju, Noriko and myself.

-Sesshomaru

 

Kaiyoshinju stood on a cliff overlooking the sea. Waves crashed against the base and the gentle breeze smelled of brine. Her long, dark hair, restrained as it was by the white ribbon, still managed to flutter. Her blue kimono and hakama waved in the wind as well. The dragon hanyou's thumb rubbed against the staff the tenko had created for her years earlier. It appeared no different from other holy staffs, but this one had been crafted to keep her formidable demon power in check.

 

`It's been so long,' she thought, gazing at the sea. `Almost thirty years, but what is three decades to a demon anyway. Certainly not long enough to have forgotten what happened.'

 

She turned away from the ocean and looked inland. The castle in the distance showed no sign of the destructive wave coming ashore. Aside from the youth of the trees, one really couldn't tell anything horrific had occurred here.

 

`But people remember even if the earth forgets,' she thought, staring at the castle. `Will I be welcomed or ostracized when I return?' Sighing, she began to walk toward it.

 

*************

 

“Why must you always go out alone and leave me behind?” asked Noriko in a whiny voice, grabbing Sesshomaru's arm when he tried to pull away.

 

“Even my father desires solitude at times,” he replied, once again trying to move away from the young bitch demon. Sesshomaru despised her. She clung to him, whined constantly, and was always chasing after, never leaving him alone.

 

Noriko sensed she was losing him. She clung to him because otherwise he would never even notice her. She despised her behavior, but nothing else caught his attention. Now she realized the very actions that had made her stand out from the other girls was driving him away. Determined not to lose him, she tried a different tactic, one that she was much happier to use.

 

The young bitch demon reached over, slid her hand around the back of his neck then pulled his face down toward hers. An explosion of emotions and sensations ripped through him when her lips met his, blanking his mind and freezing his body. His base instincts wanted to follow up, wanted to explore Noriko's body to the fullest. Higher thought barely reigned in the lust and he tried to pull away.

 

Noriko was having none of it. Sensing victory, she took her right hand off his arm and slid it into his kimono. Her claws lightly traced the muscles of his chest as the left pushed his head down, deepening the kiss. His hands came up and gripped her shoulders. Before he could push her away, she wrapped her right arm around his waist, and then turned so he lost his balance and fell on the grass with her on top of him. Now he couldn't go anywhere.

 

Her lips parted with his and Sesshomaru stared into Noriko's eyes. Her ice-blue gaze met his and a small grin split her lips. Her left hand joined her right in counting his ribs inside his kimono which had opened partly in the fall. Panting, he tried to push her off, but his body's desires now ran in direct opposition to him and he couldn't move. Noriko nipped his jaw, licked his chin, and sucked on his throat. Her hands made their way down his waist.

 

A startled gasp caused Noriko to freeze. The young bitch demon slowly looked up then growled in rage. Kaiyoshinju at least had the grace to blush. Lost in her own thoughts, the dragon hanyou had been oblivious to everything until her eyes finally registered what was in front of her. Now it felt as if her heart was being ripped in two.

 

Reason reclaiming control of his body once more, Sesshomaru sat up, knocking Noriko back. His kimono slipped off his right shoulder as he turned his head to look at her. Violet eyes on the verge of crying met his golden gaze then she looked away.

 

“Excuse me,” she muttered then hurried past them, vanishing into the trees. Noriko glared at the trees for a moment then returned her attention to Sesshomaru only to see him stand and, while straightening his kimono, running after the departing hanyou.

 

Her shock quickly became anger and she thought, `Damn that wretch!'

 

************

 

Kaiyoshinju started running the moment she was out of sight of the pair. `Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I am so stupid!' Tears began to fall, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. `I know I never had a chance with him. I know he would eventually find someone, but why did it have to be Noriko?'

 

Blinded by tears and bitterness, Kaiyoshinju didn't realize she had come upon the beach until her feet splashed through sea water. She stopped and stared at the ocean as the waves crashed on and around her. The sea breeze once again tried to entice her hair to dance. Water crawled up her hakama causing the fabric to cling to her legs.

 

`I only imagined that look of gratitude, didn't I?' she wondered when the image of Sesshomaru staring at her after he sat up floated across her mind.

 

“I had a feeling you'd be here,” said a feminine voice filled with disgust. Kaiyoshinju glanced over and saw Noriko standing on the sand. She blinked in confusion when she noticed that the only footprints on the beach belonged to her. Unnerved, she turned to face the young bitch demon.

 

“As a sea dragon the ocean is where you will always flee to when troubled,” said Noriko.

 

“What do you want, Noriko?” demanded Kaiyoshinju.

 

“What I want is for you to stay away from Sesshomaru; he's mine!” replied Noriko as she flexed her claws.

 

“Yours?” the dragon hanyou hissed. She raised her staff and said, “If he was really yours you wouldn't be here telling me to stay away from him. If he was really yours you would have nothing to fear, especially from me! I know I'll never be anything but a loyal vassal to him. I've known that for a long time.”

 

Sesshomaru stopped at the tree line when he heard voices beyond. Peering past the trees, he blinked in surprise to see Noriko speaking to Kaiyoshinju. `What's going on here? How did Noriko get past me?'

 

“Hmphf! So you understood your place all along,” Noriko said with a smirk then turned to leave.

 

“Why do you desire him? Why do you desire him so much that you would chase off potential revivals like this?” asked Kaiyoshinju. Noriko turned and they stared into each other's eyes for several moments.

 

Then the bitch demon smiled and replied, “Power.”

 

“Power?”

 

“Yes, power. The power of the Lord of the Western Lands is great but not just because of his position. Lord Kenhoshi holds a great deal of supernatural power that lies beyond that of a demon and, as his son, Sesshomaru has this great power as well. My family is the second most powerful in the dog tribe next to Lord Kenhoshi. A merging of the families will give our clan the strength to not only rule the west but all of Japan. Not only would the lesser demons be under our control but the humans as well.”

 

Sesshomaru felt his insides grow cold. It was clear Noriko only planned to use him for her and her family's objectives. He was nothing more than a means to an end. As much as he despised her before, he now loathed her completely

 

“You're forgetting the tenko,” said Kaiyoshinju, her expression, her tone, blank.

 

“They have great power, yes, but they never were able to expand their influence further east than Kyoto. Such a concentration of strength shows weakness in itself. What can they do? The only ones that could possibly stand up to the Dog General is the lording family that resides in Kyoto by that human emperor's order. It is not a family that is known for its size. Our combined might will be greater than theirs. So they will either accept the change in power or die.”

 

“Power, you said,” said Kaiyoshinju. “The Lady of the Western Lands should be one who can play the same role as Lady Ginhana, that of a bridle to restrain and control the power the lord possesses. If you became the lady you would be the whip to drive him forward until he died of exhaustion.” She moved into a fighter's stance. “That is something I cannot allow!”

 

The dragon hanyou launched forward, striking with her staff. Noriko leapt to the side, narrowly dodging the blow. “You think you possess the power to defeat me?” asked the young bitch demon then she laughed. “I told you I come from the second most powerful family in the dog tribe. And I'm not talking about demon power either.”

 

Kaiyoshinju swung her staff sideways. Noriko ducked and came up claws first. The dragon hanyou jumped back then smashed her elbow into the side of the bitch demon's head. Noriko used the blow to spin around, bringing her claws up. The tips of her fingers crackled with blue energy. Kaiyoshinju's eyes widened in horror and she summoned a spiritual barrier.

 

It shattered when Noriko's claws hit it. The sapphire energy struck the staff and knocked the dragon hanyou back. Little bits of lightning traveled up and down the staff, but it stayed in one piece. However, Kaiyoshinju, stunned, couldn't defend against the next blow. Noriko bore down, eager to finish her opponent when a hand gripped her wrist. Looking up, she gaped in shock at Sesshomaru's cold expressionless eyes. Then, he backhanded her and she went flying.

 

“So this is what you are,” he said in voice devoid of emotion. “And this is how you see this Sesshomaru.” Noriko forced herself off the sand where she sprawled. Sesshomaru turned his back on her and reached down to help Kaiyoshinju to her feet.

 

“Lord Sesshomaru-” she started but was cut off by his curt statement.

 

“Leave now or perish by this Sesshomaru's claws.” He glanced back, his expression still ice. “This Sesshomaru does possess the power to slay you.” Noriko fled, she didn't want to find out how serious he was.

 

“Why did you interfere?” asked Kaiyoshinju, looking down at her feet.

 

“Why do you care who I marry?” Sesshomaru asked in return as he tilted her face up to meet his golden gaze. The dragon hanyou said nothing, stunned by his use of “I” instead of “this Sesshomaru” when he spoke to her. The pair stood there in silence for what seemed like an eternity, Sesshomaru patiently waiting for her to answer his question. The answer, when it came, was the last thing he expected to hear.

 

“Because I love you,” she said. “But I know that you will have to choose a more appropriate bride when the time comes. I know I can never be your wife. However, I feel the only way I can love you is to protect you from girls like Noriko who only see you for your power and not for you. In that way… In that way…” Tears began to gather at the corners of her eyes and she ducked her head to hide them.

 

She turned away from him and said in a broken voice, “Forget it, just forget everything I said. It really isn't any of my business who you marry.”

 

“Perhaps you're right. One day I will have to marry someone the court believes is suitable,” he said, and then she felt his arms slide around her and his cheek press against her ear. “But that day is a long way off and until then I can be with whomever I want.”

 

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Chapter Six: The Howling Wind of Betrayal

 

Yuki witnesses Sagara killing Yahiko. Now she, Ayume and Inuyasha are in mortal danger.

 

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*Sounds of screeching tires and thunderous crashes follows the end of the chapter.* Wait! Wait! Sesshomaru is falling for a hanyou?! Don't get excited people, the story is just beginning. We still have a ways to go before the ending.

 

*Sob! Wail! Sob, sob, sob! Wail!*

I've lost all my readers! No body commented on the last chapter! I didn't think it was that horrible! I know most of you want me to continue with New Dawn, but I'm having a little trouble in figuring out how to proceed!

*Wail! Sob! Wail!*

I promise to try to get the next chapter up! Please don't abandon me!

*Sniff.*