InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Forgotten ❯ In The Rain ( Chapter 39 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Black Wren 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Hentai / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.20.2013 | Pages: 6 | Words: 11.4K | Visits: 153 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Hentai / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.20.2013 | Pages: 6 | Words: 11.4K | Visits: 153 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, Sess homaru or anyone from the hit
anime/mang a series. Rumiko Takahashi does. I&nbs p;do own all OC‟s and plot in this
story.
Chapter 29: In&n bsp;the Rain
149 years before t he search for the jewel shards.
At that moment, I hated him. I hated father. I hated everyone for putt ing in that
position of humiliation and& nbsp;defeat. I now had to bow to s omeone who I still saw as a
puppy.& nbsp; Worse, he was showing everyone that&nbs p;he was already superior to me as he&nb sp;
took a stronger stance than I had&nbs p;ever conceived of taking. Did he have no doubts?
Did he have no fe ar? How could I accept this as Chi chiue‟s final will?
-Sesshomaru
The rain came down and the th under grew more distant. The entire ass embly was
frozen with horror. Bakusaiga held its position then fell from Sessho maru‟s slack
fingers. The dog demon collapsed against the ground. ;The sword had failed to
strike its ;target; its blade sliding harmlessly off Inu yasha‟s right guard. The
h anyou stared down into his brotherâ€&Yu ml;s face; Sesshomaru‟s failing sight held his gaze
a moment. Then ;he coughed and closed his eyes. Inuyas ha‟s expression remained
impassive&nb sp;as he watched his brother lose consciousne ss. Then he straightened,
pulling his&n bsp;left blades from Sesshomaru‟s che st.
“I told you to&n bsp;worry only about yourself and to come&nbs p;at me like you meant to kill me,
Aniue,†said Inuyasha in an empty voice. His eyes were once again t heir normal
white with golden irises. &n bsp;“Yet your sword held not th e slightest trace of murderous
intent &a circ;€“ baka!†He turned a nd began to walk away.
â ;€œChichiue!†Naomi cried as she broke free of her shock and ran to ward her father.
She placed her ha nd on the final wound. “C hichiue, answer me please!†No < br> response. “Chichiue, donâ&euro ;Ÿt leave me!â€
â&euro ;œEnough, Naomi-san.†Naomi whipped& nbsp;around to glare at the lady elder o f Kou.
Most people would have take n at least one step back if not mor e at being fixed with
a gaze as&nbs p;hate-filled as hers, but not the lady elder. She returned the enraged gaze with a cold one of her own. &ac irc;€œThere is nothing to be done about it,†the lady elder
said.&n bsp;
“You‟re the&n bsp;one that insisted on the fight!â€&n bsp;snapped Naomi. The elder made no response only continued staring at her.
Himawari walked on silent feet as&nb sp;she approached her fallen betrothed. She& nbsp;knelt
at his head and whispered, mo re to herself than anyone else, †œWe must attend to
Sesshomaru-samaâ&eu ro;Ÿs wounds. We must take him ins ide where he can dry off and get warm. We must get him some good ;food so he can recover his strength.â& euro;
“Himawari-samaâ€&b rvbar;†inquired Naomi, turning toward ;the young woman. She froze
at the sight. Himawari‟s golden eyes& nbsp;were wide with a look of madness cl ouding
them. “Himawari-sama,⠀ she said again then nodded and sm iled. “You‟re right,&n bsp;we
need to take Chichiue inside the& nbsp;cave and provide for him.†She flexed her youki in
warning, she&nbs p;didn‟t believe Himawari was stable& nbsp;enough in mind to accept their
argu ments and Naomi didn‟t want to&n bsp;hear it either. Even the lady elder remained
silent. To her surprise, ;Raiken came over and helped carry the f allen lord inside the
cave.
* ***
Inuyasha stared up into t he clouds. I really shouldn‟t&n bsp;be surprised by the rain.
Rising&nb sp;heat does create clouds and storms. The lightning flashed in the distance as ;
the rain continued to pour over the&nbs p;hanyou. Sesshomaru‟s aura was ;filled with
malice. I thought he had taken me seriously. Yet his sword&a circ;€¦
Inuyasha thought back&nb sp;to the moment when Bakusaiga had bitten&nb sp;into his
shoulder. His expression, h is eyes, were focused with a killerâ&eu ro;Ÿs glint, however…
Th e sword, the moment it penetrated flesh, ;had slid up instead of forward. And&nb sp;
again when he slashed my side†¦ That blade should have had no& nbsp;problem in cutting
bone yet it fail ed. He closed his eyes for a momen t and took a deep breath then
exhal ed and opened his eyes. They say i n kendo that a sword is a reflection&nbs p;of the
wielder‟s heart. Masters of the sword can read a person&n bsp;just by crossing blades. If
that&nb sp;is true then Aniue‟s heart an d mind are facing in opposite directions.&nbs p;
“Baka ga!â&euro ; said Inuyasha with a growl. His fists clenched in suppressed rage. â&e uro;œYou
can‟t win anything&nbs p;if your heart and mind are not one.&ac irc;€ He slashed with his right fist and the wind scar flew from the& nbsp;tips slicing through the trees. â €œDid he half-ass
his way through& nbsp;this entire battle with those fool rebel s?†He slashed with his left&nbs p;
and tore up more forest. Pain sh ot from his shoulder and side sobering h im.
He stood there for a mome nt waiting for the burning agony to fade . That wasn‟t
very nice&nb sp;of me. He probably was fighting his& nbsp;hardest the whole time. He may not
even be aware of his unconscious p acifism. He suddenly began laughing at the idea.
“A passive Sess homaru! Who knew there was a Buddha&nbs p;hiding within such a
fellow!†h e said while still laughing, ignoring the&nbs p;pain rolling from his side.
Once he got his dark hilarity under control, he looked around for a place to si t. The
hanyou found a boulder and& nbsp;settled on it. He settled into a&n bsp;meditative seat then
closed his eyes ;and began to calm his mind. He ne eded to be settle his troubled
feelings& nbsp;if he were to determine the next st ep.
****
Himawari washe d Sesshomaru‟s wounds and dressed&nbs p;them. Despite the obvious
opinion of& nbsp;the others she was convinced he wasn&aci rc;€Ÿt dead. He couldn‟t&n bsp;be! She knew
many had envied h er position as Sesshomaru‟s fianc&Ati lde;©e and had been scorned by the
jealous. At first she had been hor rified by the thought of being his wife. The demon
lord was always so ;aloof and cold when addressing anyone. ;She, like so many
others, had seen ;Naomi‟s quirky comments and fearless behavior around him but
had dismissed&n bsp;it. She had the notorious Kaiyoshinju&nb sp;as her mother and was a
powerful ;dragon herself, plenty of reason for Sesshom aru to turn the other cheek.
However, after Naomi had bullied her father&n bsp;into accepting her, Himawari had
found&nb sp;Sesshomaru was very different from her exp ectations. Once she had
acclimated to&n bsp;his chill, Naomi had gotten that part&nbs p;correct in her plan, she began to
see the subtle differences. Signs of u ncertainty and fear buried beneath the fa&Ati lde;§ade
of strength and indifference an d she found herself desire nothing more than to be
his support and assurance.&nb sp; It wasn‟t until he nearly&nb sp;died protecting her from
Norikoâ€&Yu ml;s rage that she realized she had grow n to love him. Now that was all&nb sp;
threatened.
The lady elder of&n bsp;Kou approached her as she packed the ;last wound. She wished
Naomi were ;with her. The dragoness would have bee n welcomed support when
dealing with the lady elder. However, Naomi was out&nbs p;looking for Inuyasha. He
hadn†Ÿt returned since defeating Sesshomaru and&nb sp;he had his own injuries that
needed&n bsp;to be treated.
“You&n bsp;do understand this changes everything, Himawar i-san,†said the lady elder.
&nbs p;
Himawari turned to address the elder&n bsp;more properly. “With all d ue respect, Lady
Elder,†she said in a quiet voice, her bottom lip t rembling. “I don‟t&nbs p;believe it does.â€
â&euro ;œSesshomaru-sama is no longer the lord ;of this clan,†said the lady eld er.
Himawari shivered. â€&o elig;I believe I was promised to Sesshomaru-s ama not the clan
lord,†she said.
The lady elder narrowed her& nbsp;eyes at her ward and said, †œThat will be for the new
lord&nbs p;to decide.†The lady elder tur ned and walked away. Himawari shuddered.&nbs p;
****
For Sesshomaru, the&n bsp;journey back to consciousness was riddled ;with pain. His
entire body burned ;and every breath stabbed him with fresh ;agony. He tried to
breathe as lit tle as possible to reduce his suffering. ; The dark void of
unconsciousness was&n bsp;a more tempting place than the waking&nbs p;world. He might have
stayed there&nbs p;if he hadn‟t heard a voice&nbs p;calling to him. There was level of&nb sp;
desperation in the voice, though it w as soft. Sesshomaru wanted to know who& nbsp;it
was but that meant returning to& nbsp;consciousness and the pain to do that.&n bsp; He thought
of ignoring it but it continued to speak and finally settled&nbs p;on awaking enough to tell
them to ;be quiet. As he rode the waves of agony, he was finally able to understan d
the words. The voice was no ;longer speaking to him but to others. & nbsp;It sounded like
an argument.
“You must let him go, Hima wari-san,†the dried voice sounded lik e the lady elder of
Kou.
“No! My place is with Se sshomaru-sama. I need to stay here and& nbsp;care for him until
he is well again!†It was the voice that&nb sp;had been calling; Himawari.
&ac irc;€œIt‟s been more than a full day. He isn‟t even& nbsp;breathing,†said another of the e lders.
Sesshomaru wanted to huff in&nbs p;indignation but that would just have caused more
pain. Of course, he was ;breathing! He felt like he was being&n bsp;jabbed with a hot
poker every time&n bsp;he inhaled. Which was why he was&nb sp;trying hard not to inhale
deeper than absolutely necessary.
Aggravated, Sess homaru forced himself to take the final steps into awareness and
opened his eyes . As soon as he did his lungs ;decided to expel all the blood that had
been filling them. Instead of get ting to tell the elder off he started&nb sp;coughing. Fire
lanced through his to rso with every painful hack. He rolled& nbsp;over, which brought
another wave of ;torment, as he continued his coughing fit.&n bsp;
He felt himself plunging back into the void when a cool hand touched&n bsp;his back. The
pain dropped into&nbs p;the bearable, keeping him conscious. His&n bsp;coughing persisted for
several more minut es before stopping. His chest heaved, d rawing in breath after
painful breath. & nbsp;Exhausted, he lay on the floor helpless, wanting to be left alone. A
pair of hands lifted his head and laid&n bsp;it on a warm, soft lap. With h is nose broken,
he didn‟t s mell much at the moment, but he was ;certain it was Himawari. A cool,
moist cloth was laid across his forehead ;and eyes.
Naomi let herself feel& nbsp;relief when she saw her father coughing& nbsp;then had used her
power to ease&nbs p;his strain. Through her celestial magic&nb sp;she could feel the intensity of
his&n bsp;agony. Even after a full day, he&ac irc;€Ÿs hardly recovered, she thought. & nbsp;She glanced
up and glared at Inuyas ha. He had returned only a few hou rs ago. It was still
pouring rain& nbsp;outside and he was soaked through. ;The elders of Kou had stopped
him after he entered and spoken with him in& nbsp;private. She didn‟t know w hat he had
been discussing with them&nbs p;but after the parted he hadn‟t said anything more only
watched Himawar i tend to Sesshomaru; his face expressionless .
“It seems you ;didn‟t kill him as we thought&n bsp;you had, Inuyasha-sama,†said the lady
elder of Kou. It sounded almo st as if she were ridiculing him. Naomi‟s lips pulled
back as ;she fought a snarl. Sesshomaru wasnâ& euro;Ÿt nearly so restrained, though it
sounded pathetic coming from him. He&nb sp;didn‟t have the strength of l ung to force a
more intimidating growl.& nbsp;
“Why would you have& nbsp;thought that?†said Inuyasha gazing&nb sp;coolly at the elder.
â€&o elig;Then you knew he wasn‟t dea d?†asked the lady elder. Naomi& nbsp;shifted her gaze
between the two. < br>
“Your tone is bordering&nb sp;on insulting, Lady Elder,†said Inu yasha, his gaze turning
frigid. â €œOf course I knew he wasn†Ÿt dead. I deliberately missed his ;heart in the
final attack. If I&n bsp;had intended to kill him he would be dead.â€
“Your ;tone is insolent for addressing an elder,&nb sp;young one!†stated the lady elder.& nbsp;
Inuyasha crossed his arms and ;spoke with the voice of calm authority, ;“You now
officially possess a& nbsp;new Inu no Taisho. By your rules,& nbsp;by your customs, I have been
chosen to rule this clan. I may be younger than you, but you will now show& nbsp;me the
same respect you held for&nb sp;the former Inu no Taisho. Anything l ess will be
insulting.†Everyone in the cave stared at him. Fire&n bsp;appeared on the floor around
his fee t and flowed up his legs to his tor so. It wove and danced, entwining befor e
and behind him. His wings spread and the fire began to fill the ent ire cavern, his
eyes glittered in the&nb sp;dark.
“I will not ;be pushed around by any of you. Y ou may advice me but at the end of& nbsp;the
day I will be the one maki ng the decisions,†stated Inuyasha. &n bsp;“And when I‟m done,
Noriko and her traitor followers will&n bsp;either be begging for my mercy or le ft to feed
the crows.†;The hanyou turned to regard his brother ;when he heard Sesshomaru‟s
chok ed laughter.
Sesshomaru‟s laughter was filled with bitterness and half& nbsp;mad. He held his left
hand to his face and hissed through gritted tee th, “You must think me a p athetic
fool, a weakling, to say such.&n bsp; Why not just finish me off? W hat good am I to you,
Inuyasha-sama?&aci rc;€
“Chichiue!â€&n bsp;exclaimed Naomi. She heard the insulting tone woven into the
honorific.
&nb sp;
Inuyasha gazed at him for a moment,&n bsp;but no anger was evident in his eyes .
Instead, sadness echoed from their&nb sp;depths. “Otoutou is just fi ne or Inuyasha. No. I
abandon&nbs p;that name. I now realize that that&nb sp;man perished yesterday, a peaceful end
to death that took far too long.â&eur o; The hanyou turned back to the c lan and said, “I am
now&nb sp;to be called Kakiboufuu. I will not& nbsp;accept you calling me Inuyasha from now& nbsp;
on. Understand?†He turned back to his brother. “An iue, you‟ve done the best you&nb sp;
could possibly do. I‟ll ;leave it to you to figure out the flaw that cost you your victory.
T he only thing I have to say on the& nbsp;matter is: Oyaji was an incompetent fool when it
came to fatherhood.â€&nbs p;
Kakiboufuu began to walk away wh en Sesshomaru called to him. The hanyou
turned around and raised a questioning& nbsp;eyebrow. Sesshomaru was sitting up
despite the pain and protest of his dau ghter and betrothed. “You neve r answered
why you spared me.â€&nb sp;
Kakiboufuu sighed and turned away&nb sp;but replied, “Why? Because I was conceived
for no other purpose&nbs p;than to protect you. At first, I ;thought that meant supporting
you, but after our fight yesterday, I realized the&nbs p;truth. The only way I can protect&nbs p;
you is by taking away your title. ; However, that is the only thing I&acir c;€Ÿm taking.
Everything else ;is yours to keep.†He threw&nbs p;a withering glance at the elders before&nbs p;
continuing forward.
Sesshomaru stared at him as Naomi tried to puzzle ou t what her uncle meant.
Then she&n bsp;caught Himawari in the corner of her ;eye with an expression of relief on
her face and stifled a gasp. She ;glared at the lady elder who followed K akiboufuu
as he walked toward the genera ls. She must have approached him about& nbsp;taking
Himawari-sama as his wife. She was going to give the girl to h im because she
believed Chichiue was fin ished. Dead or alive he was no lon ger the lord. Naomi
suppressed her ;growl outrage.
Her uncle h adn‟t accepted. Naomi decided s he could like her uncle. He had st olen
her father‟s title but ;had spared his life. He was also not going to take away
anything else&nbs p;from him nor humiliate him further. H e wasn‟t intimidated by the
elders as well. Maybe everything will be alright.
“The first&nb sp;thing we need to do is find a mo re appropriate place to settle. If anyo ne
has any ideas, I‟m open& nbsp;to suggestions,†said Kakiboufuu.
Sesshomaru glared at his brother as&nb sp;he smoothly began issuing commands after < br> several ideas for a base were brought&nbs p;up. Kakiboufuu‟s words had fl oored him. His
purpose was to prot ect me? Ridiculous! If anyone is doing the protecting it‟s me! &n bsp;
He stood up despite the agony in&nbs p;his chest and staggered to the cave en trance.
“Sesshomaru-sama, you& nbsp;mustn‟t move!†cried Hima wari.
“I need air,⠀ he snapped more harshly than he i ntended.
“But itâ€& Yuml;s raining,†said Naomi, standing up. She reached toward her father but&n bsp;he
pulled away from her grasp with&n bsp;a flinch.
“Itâ& euro;Ÿs just water,†he snarled a nd kept going. He caught his brother&ac irc;€Ÿs gaze from the
corner of&nbs p;his eye but the look was unreadable. < br>
The rain was ice cold, biting him to the bone. Two steps outside ;the cave and he
was soaked through.&nbs p; The only good thing about it was ;that the burning fire of pain
dropped&n bsp;significantly. He continued walking in t he gloom, he didn‟t know for&nbs p;how
long, unable to see very far and not caring. The rain seemed strange ly familiar but
he couldn‟t ;place where he had been in such a rain before. After awhile he leaned
up against a tree that appeared out of the gray, threw back his head and screamed.
All his frustrations, all his despair poured out of him.
& acirc;€œWHY?†he shouted at the& nbsp;heavens, at his father‟s dead&nb sp;soul. “I‟ve tried&n bsp;so hard to
be the son you wante d! Why did you choose now of all&n bsp;times to have a child to
replace&nbs p;me? When did you give up on me?& nbsp; Why did you allow for this humilia tion?
Did you even care about how& nbsp;I felt? WHY DID YOU ABANDON ME?&ac irc;€ Sesshomaru
collapsed to the ground and struck it again and again wit h his fist ignoring the
lightning bolts& nbsp;of pain shooting up his arm. &acir c;€œI hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I –
Hate – You!â€
“Sesshomaru,†said a soft&n bsp;voice; a familiar voice that had once&nbs p;been a great comfort
to him. He& nbsp;looked up and gasped. Standing before&n bsp;him, awash in an otherworldly
light, ;stood Ginhana, his mother.
**** < br>
Back at the cave, Naomi and Hi mawari were pestering Kakiboufuu. After
Sesshomaru had left he positioned himself by the entrance and spread a fiery wing&nb sp;
across it, preventing anyone from leaving. Naomi and Himawari had wanted to go
out and bring Sesshomaru back, but&nb sp;Kakiboufuu refused to let them. He w asn‟t
even listening to the m, having turned all his senses inward a nd channeling them
into the gray world&n bsp;beyond.
“She‟ s arrived,†he muttered.
&a circ;€œWho‟s arrived?†d emanded Naomi, fearing the worst.
“It‟s alright,†he muttered barely aware of what he was& nbsp;saying or being asked.
â€&oe lig;She‟s the only one heâ&euro ;Ÿll listen to.†The women looked at him in confusion but
Kakiboufu u said no more.
****
Sesshomaru stared at her unmoving, his gaz e unwavering, too shocked to even
speak. Her long pure silver hair, one sh ade darker than his own, hung down her&n bsp;
back and locks framed her delicate f ace. A purple crescent moon with a ;star in its
center rested in the m iddle of her forehead. Two pink stripes graced each cheek.
Eyes of a ;supernatural shade of green peered into his& nbsp;golden ones. Her kimonos
were of&n bsp;shades of pale green with silver leaves&n bsp;patterned across it. The robe was < br> sheer gossamer.
“Hahaue!&n bsp; Impossible!†he gasped, but it&nb sp;couldn‟t be a fake. The ;woman was
unaffected by the rain that&n bsp;continued to fall around them. She stepped closer and
leaned down to embrac e him. Her rich scent of wildflowers&nb sp;and grass fields
engulfed him and he& nbsp;felt centuries of barriers breaking apart.&nb sp; “Hahaue!â€
&nb sp;
He was achild again needing comfort a nd assurance after a terrible day. No&n bsp;matter
how tough he acted back then& nbsp;some of things people said or did t o him or around
him had hurt him&nb sp;deep inside, seeding doubts and clouding h is spirit with worry.
His mother h ad always been able to sooth his aching& nbsp;heart and reassure him of his
worth. The only one who understood his& nbsp;troubled heart. He leaned into her ;body
drinking in everything of his belo ved mother. Her arms were as warm as he
remembered and the rain seemed&nbs p;to fade from awareness.
†œSesshomaru, my precious boy, youâ€&Yu ml;ve had a hard time of it,â€&nbs p;she said while stroking
his hair. &nbs p;
He buried his face into he r kimono and shuddered. “I&aci rc;€Ÿve missed you, Hahaue. Iâ&eu ro;Ÿve
missed you so much.â€
“I know, my precious ;one, I‟ve missed you, too,â&eu ro; she said. “I‟ m sorry my death
caused you so much pain. I‟m sorry it destro yed your love.â€
Sesshomaru was still for a moment as he thought&nbs p;about what she meant then shook
his&nb sp;head slightly without pulling away and sai d, “It didn‟t do a ny such thing,
Hahaue. It was a&nb sp;doomed relationship from the start. We&nb sp;should never have gotten
involved with&nbs p;each other.â€
He could fee l her sad smile as she said, â&eur o;œAre you sure it was a complete mistake?â€
Sesshomaru thought abo ut it then realized what she was referri ng to. He thought
of his draconic& nbsp;daughter, her sunbeam smile, her tinkling&nbs p;laughter, her melodious
voice, even her&nbs p;obnoxious habit of bowling him over with&nb sp;every greeting and when
she was overl y excited. In those centuries of darkne ss she was his only salvation;
the only source of light for his despairing soul. “No,†he whispere d. Then the pain
began to surface, the newest and most devastating wound t o his soul. The
confirmation of al l his fears that his mother could no&nbs p;longer deny.
“Why?â&eu ro; said Sesshomaru his voice cracking with&n bsp;hurt and frustration. “Why ;did
father do this? I‟ve& nbsp;tried so hard to be –.&aci rc;€
“Shhâ€&br vbar; My child, you‟ve done&nbs p;enough,†she said and she kissed&nbs p;the top of his head.
â€&oe lig;You‟ve done enough.†;
“Why, why was I&nb sp;replaced?†he demanded, raising his ;head to look at his mother his
eye s glittering with barely suppressed emotion. “Why am I not strong enou gh to
protect my people? Why shoul d Otoutou have all the traits that I&nbs p;require to do
that?â€
His mother tightened her hold on him an d shivered. Horror flickered through her&nbs p;
eyes a moment before she closed them.& nbsp; “Please, don‟t en vy your brother. His is a
cruel&nb sp;fate,†she said.
Sesshomaru&n bsp;pulled back and glared at Ginhana. “Cruel fate? How is his a „cruel
fate‟ when& nbsp;he was born possessing everything I lack ? What do you mean by that?â&euro ;
he demanded. His anger stilled a t the look of sorrow that filled her&nbs p;face.
“We are forbidden to speak of it, but I can say ;this much,†she replied. â&eur o;œHe is being
forced to walk a&nb sp;lonely road, one that is filled with jagged rocks, bare-foot. His
suffering has just begun and I shudder at what&aci rc;€Ÿs yet to come.†Ginhan a pulled him
into her embrace again ;and he allowed her, confused by her wor ds and a bit
troubled by them as&nb sp;well. “You‟ve suffe red more than enough, Sesshomaru. Just
relax and let him take it from you. There‟s nothing you can d o to save him, now.â€
& acirc;€œWhat was Chichiue‟s rea l reason for siring another child at the end of his life?â€
Sesshomaru&nbs p;asked, unable to let it go. He n eeded answers or he would be forever
tormented by the possibilities. â€&o elig;Did he truly find me unworthy?â€&n bsp;
“Sesshomaru, your father&n bsp;loves you with all his heart. He&nb sp;wanted to save you.
Everything he&nb sp;did at the end was to save you,â ;€ she replied.
Sesshomaru re mained quiet for several minutes in his mother‟s warm embrace. His
mind turned over what she had revealed to him and his insides went cold. “If that
is true then what is Inuyasha to him? Was Inuyasha nothing more than a
sacrificial offering?&aci rc;€ he murmured. Ginhana tensed.
He leaned back and looked his moth er in the eye. She met his golden& nbsp;gaze with her
emerald one; her trou bled expression was not reassuring. He closed his eyes,
coming to a decision.&n bsp; “I can‟t do t hat,†he said. She blinked at&nb sp;him. “I can‟t allow
Inuyasha to walk that path alone.& nbsp; Even if I can‟t protect&nb sp;to him, I can at least help
him. I‟ll walk that path with& nbsp;him even if it must always be a&nbs p;step behind. I‟ll tend
h is wounds when they become too great and I‟ll carry him when he can ‟t go on.†He
looked down at his hands. â€&oeli g;I need to share it or I‟l l end up being nothing more than
a& nbsp;coward, running from the pain like a&nbs p;little child.â€
“ Sesshomaru.â€
“Iâ& euro;Ÿm the oldest!†he shouted n ot looking up. “This should&nb sp;be my burden but because
Iâ€&Yu ml;m lacking in ability and spirit heâ& euro;Ÿs being forced to carry it. If I can‟t do this much
then I‟m better off dead!â&eu ro;
“Sesshomaru,†she said again. This time he glanced&nb sp;up. His mother was smiling
that ;warm smile he remembered from so long a go. The one that seemed as if the& nbsp;
sun had come down to earth. & acirc;€œI‟m proud of you. You are a good boy. I know t his
decision means you will suffer too,& nbsp;but I am glad you are making it.&ac irc;€ She took his
hands into ;hers. “In the battles to ;come, that child will need your quiet s trength
more than even he knows.â€
“You‟re alw ays so kind, even to those who are not your children,†said Sesshomaru with a small smile.
Ginhana&nbs p;leaned forward and kissed his forehead and& nbsp;whispered, “He would have
been my child if I had lived, Sesshomaru . I will be eternally grateful to Izayoi for
bravely bearing him in my&nbs p;stead. I know how much you wanted&nbs p;a little brother.â€
Sesshomaru& nbsp;blinked, blushed then huffed. â€& oelig;Ridiculous!â€
Ginhana smiled&nbs p;even brighter and said, “Now that‟s my boy.†The ;light from her
body grew dimmer and&nbs p;she faded away. Then all was left&nbs p;was the gloom and the
rain and th e memory of her scent. Sesshomaru bent& nbsp;in two, feeling her loss as
keenly& nbsp;as the day she had died, but this&n bsp;time there was no one to hate.
****
At the cave Kakiboufuu dropped his wings allowing Naomi t o pass. She ran out
into the rain without a second glance. Himawari stared at him wondering why he
had let the dragoness through. The barriers ;between the living and the dead had
been reestablished and he could no longer&n bsp;sense any spirits nearby. Unbeknownst to all, after calming himself, he had ;spent the entire night before opening the&nb sp;
passage way between the two worlds. & nbsp;He couldn‟t cross nor could ;he speak with the
spirits, his punishme nt for freeing a damned soul, but he&nbs p;could still summon them.
He had hoped Lady Ginhana would respond; Sesshomaru looked as if he needed her
guidance,&nbs p;the only one who could. It was o ne small thing he could do for his brother
after what he had done.
&nb sp;
He had no idea of what had passe d between the two or how Sesshomaruâ&eu ro;Ÿs decision
would impact their lives& nbsp;from then on.
_________________________ _____________________________________________________
Not a lot going on but I felt a slow chapter after the battle was nece ssary. I wanted
Sesshomaru coming to&nb sp;a decision about his brother and I th ought him getting to
speak with his ;mother again was a nice touch. It ;allowed him to express a lot of
hi dden emotions.
Since Ginhana was t here when the problems surrounding Inuyasha w ere discussed
so she knows whatâ€& Yuml;s in store for him.
I li ked being able to get into Himawariâ&eu ro;Ÿs head and I hope to get more&n bsp;chances. The
next chapter might get a bit disturbing. Kakiboufuu is going& nbsp;to be making some
really cutthroat decisions.
Chapter 30: The Lin e of Tyranny
Taking leadership is one thing. Maintaining it is another . Kakiboufuu assumes the
title Inu ;no Taisho but it is a position that&nbs p;demands absolute ruthlessness. Does he
have what it takes to walk the line&nb sp;of tyranny without harming his own people?
anime/mang a series. Rumiko Takahashi does. I&nbs p;do own all OC‟s and plot in this
story.
Chapter 29: In&n bsp;the Rain
149 years before t he search for the jewel shards.
At that moment, I hated him. I hated father. I hated everyone for putt ing in that
position of humiliation and& nbsp;defeat. I now had to bow to s omeone who I still saw as a
puppy.& nbsp; Worse, he was showing everyone that&nbs p;he was already superior to me as he&nb sp;
took a stronger stance than I had&nbs p;ever conceived of taking. Did he have no doubts?
Did he have no fe ar? How could I accept this as Chi chiue‟s final will?
-Sesshomaru
The rain came down and the th under grew more distant. The entire ass embly was
frozen with horror. Bakusaiga held its position then fell from Sessho maru‟s slack
fingers. The dog demon collapsed against the ground. ;The sword had failed to
strike its ;target; its blade sliding harmlessly off Inu yasha‟s right guard. The
h anyou stared down into his brotherâ€&Yu ml;s face; Sesshomaru‟s failing sight held his gaze
a moment. Then ;he coughed and closed his eyes. Inuyas ha‟s expression remained
impassive&nb sp;as he watched his brother lose consciousne ss. Then he straightened,
pulling his&n bsp;left blades from Sesshomaru‟s che st.
“I told you to&n bsp;worry only about yourself and to come&nbs p;at me like you meant to kill me,
Aniue,†said Inuyasha in an empty voice. His eyes were once again t heir normal
white with golden irises. &n bsp;“Yet your sword held not th e slightest trace of murderous
intent &a circ;€“ baka!†He turned a nd began to walk away.
â ;€œChichiue!†Naomi cried as she broke free of her shock and ran to ward her father.
She placed her ha nd on the final wound. “C hichiue, answer me please!†No < br> response. “Chichiue, donâ&euro ;Ÿt leave me!â€
â&euro ;œEnough, Naomi-san.†Naomi whipped& nbsp;around to glare at the lady elder o f Kou.
Most people would have take n at least one step back if not mor e at being fixed with
a gaze as&nbs p;hate-filled as hers, but not the lady elder. She returned the enraged gaze with a cold one of her own. &ac irc;€œThere is nothing to be done about it,†the lady elder
said.&n bsp;
“You‟re the&n bsp;one that insisted on the fight!â€&n bsp;snapped Naomi. The elder made no response only continued staring at her.
Himawari walked on silent feet as&nb sp;she approached her fallen betrothed. She& nbsp;knelt
at his head and whispered, mo re to herself than anyone else, †œWe must attend to
Sesshomaru-samaâ&eu ro;Ÿs wounds. We must take him ins ide where he can dry off and get warm. We must get him some good ;food so he can recover his strength.â& euro;
“Himawari-samaâ€&b rvbar;†inquired Naomi, turning toward ;the young woman. She froze
at the sight. Himawari‟s golden eyes& nbsp;were wide with a look of madness cl ouding
them. “Himawari-sama,⠀ she said again then nodded and sm iled. “You‟re right,&n bsp;we
need to take Chichiue inside the& nbsp;cave and provide for him.†She flexed her youki in
warning, she&nbs p;didn‟t believe Himawari was stable& nbsp;enough in mind to accept their
argu ments and Naomi didn‟t want to&n bsp;hear it either. Even the lady elder remained
silent. To her surprise, ;Raiken came over and helped carry the f allen lord inside the
cave.
* ***
Inuyasha stared up into t he clouds. I really shouldn‟t&n bsp;be surprised by the rain.
Rising&nb sp;heat does create clouds and storms. The lightning flashed in the distance as ;
the rain continued to pour over the&nbs p;hanyou. Sesshomaru‟s aura was ;filled with
malice. I thought he had taken me seriously. Yet his sword&a circ;€¦
Inuyasha thought back&nb sp;to the moment when Bakusaiga had bitten&nb sp;into his
shoulder. His expression, h is eyes, were focused with a killerâ&eu ro;Ÿs glint, however…
Th e sword, the moment it penetrated flesh, ;had slid up instead of forward. And&nb sp;
again when he slashed my side†¦ That blade should have had no& nbsp;problem in cutting
bone yet it fail ed. He closed his eyes for a momen t and took a deep breath then
exhal ed and opened his eyes. They say i n kendo that a sword is a reflection&nbs p;of the
wielder‟s heart. Masters of the sword can read a person&n bsp;just by crossing blades. If
that&nb sp;is true then Aniue‟s heart an d mind are facing in opposite directions.&nbs p;
“Baka ga!â&euro ; said Inuyasha with a growl. His fists clenched in suppressed rage. â&e uro;œYou
can‟t win anything&nbs p;if your heart and mind are not one.&ac irc;€ He slashed with his right fist and the wind scar flew from the& nbsp;tips slicing through the trees. â €œDid he half-ass
his way through& nbsp;this entire battle with those fool rebel s?†He slashed with his left&nbs p;
and tore up more forest. Pain sh ot from his shoulder and side sobering h im.
He stood there for a mome nt waiting for the burning agony to fade . That wasn‟t
very nice&nb sp;of me. He probably was fighting his& nbsp;hardest the whole time. He may not
even be aware of his unconscious p acifism. He suddenly began laughing at the idea.
“A passive Sess homaru! Who knew there was a Buddha&nbs p;hiding within such a
fellow!†h e said while still laughing, ignoring the&nbs p;pain rolling from his side.
Once he got his dark hilarity under control, he looked around for a place to si t. The
hanyou found a boulder and& nbsp;settled on it. He settled into a&n bsp;meditative seat then
closed his eyes ;and began to calm his mind. He ne eded to be settle his troubled
feelings& nbsp;if he were to determine the next st ep.
****
Himawari washe d Sesshomaru‟s wounds and dressed&nbs p;them. Despite the obvious
opinion of& nbsp;the others she was convinced he wasn&aci rc;€Ÿt dead. He couldn‟t&n bsp;be! She knew
many had envied h er position as Sesshomaru‟s fianc&Ati lde;©e and had been scorned by the
jealous. At first she had been hor rified by the thought of being his wife. The demon
lord was always so ;aloof and cold when addressing anyone. ;She, like so many
others, had seen ;Naomi‟s quirky comments and fearless behavior around him but
had dismissed&n bsp;it. She had the notorious Kaiyoshinju&nb sp;as her mother and was a
powerful ;dragon herself, plenty of reason for Sesshom aru to turn the other cheek.
However, after Naomi had bullied her father&n bsp;into accepting her, Himawari had
found&nb sp;Sesshomaru was very different from her exp ectations. Once she had
acclimated to&n bsp;his chill, Naomi had gotten that part&nbs p;correct in her plan, she began to
see the subtle differences. Signs of u ncertainty and fear buried beneath the fa&Ati lde;§ade
of strength and indifference an d she found herself desire nothing more than to be
his support and assurance.&nb sp; It wasn‟t until he nearly&nb sp;died protecting her from
Norikoâ€&Yu ml;s rage that she realized she had grow n to love him. Now that was all&nb sp;
threatened.
The lady elder of&n bsp;Kou approached her as she packed the ;last wound. She wished
Naomi were ;with her. The dragoness would have bee n welcomed support when
dealing with the lady elder. However, Naomi was out&nbs p;looking for Inuyasha. He
hadn†Ÿt returned since defeating Sesshomaru and&nb sp;he had his own injuries that
needed&n bsp;to be treated.
“You&n bsp;do understand this changes everything, Himawar i-san,†said the lady elder.
&nbs p;
Himawari turned to address the elder&n bsp;more properly. “With all d ue respect, Lady
Elder,†she said in a quiet voice, her bottom lip t rembling. “I don‟t&nbs p;believe it does.â€
â&euro ;œSesshomaru-sama is no longer the lord ;of this clan,†said the lady eld er.
Himawari shivered. â€&o elig;I believe I was promised to Sesshomaru-s ama not the clan
lord,†she said.
The lady elder narrowed her& nbsp;eyes at her ward and said, †œThat will be for the new
lord&nbs p;to decide.†The lady elder tur ned and walked away. Himawari shuddered.&nbs p;
****
For Sesshomaru, the&n bsp;journey back to consciousness was riddled ;with pain. His
entire body burned ;and every breath stabbed him with fresh ;agony. He tried to
breathe as lit tle as possible to reduce his suffering. ; The dark void of
unconsciousness was&n bsp;a more tempting place than the waking&nbs p;world. He might have
stayed there&nbs p;if he hadn‟t heard a voice&nbs p;calling to him. There was level of&nb sp;
desperation in the voice, though it w as soft. Sesshomaru wanted to know who& nbsp;it
was but that meant returning to& nbsp;consciousness and the pain to do that.&n bsp; He thought
of ignoring it but it continued to speak and finally settled&nbs p;on awaking enough to tell
them to ;be quiet. As he rode the waves of agony, he was finally able to understan d
the words. The voice was no ;longer speaking to him but to others. & nbsp;It sounded like
an argument.
“You must let him go, Hima wari-san,†the dried voice sounded lik e the lady elder of
Kou.
“No! My place is with Se sshomaru-sama. I need to stay here and& nbsp;care for him until
he is well again!†It was the voice that&nb sp;had been calling; Himawari.
&ac irc;€œIt‟s been more than a full day. He isn‟t even& nbsp;breathing,†said another of the e lders.
Sesshomaru wanted to huff in&nbs p;indignation but that would just have caused more
pain. Of course, he was ;breathing! He felt like he was being&n bsp;jabbed with a hot
poker every time&n bsp;he inhaled. Which was why he was&nb sp;trying hard not to inhale
deeper than absolutely necessary.
Aggravated, Sess homaru forced himself to take the final steps into awareness and
opened his eyes . As soon as he did his lungs ;decided to expel all the blood that had
been filling them. Instead of get ting to tell the elder off he started&nb sp;coughing. Fire
lanced through his to rso with every painful hack. He rolled& nbsp;over, which brought
another wave of ;torment, as he continued his coughing fit.&n bsp;
He felt himself plunging back into the void when a cool hand touched&n bsp;his back. The
pain dropped into&nbs p;the bearable, keeping him conscious. His&n bsp;coughing persisted for
several more minut es before stopping. His chest heaved, d rawing in breath after
painful breath. & nbsp;Exhausted, he lay on the floor helpless, wanting to be left alone. A
pair of hands lifted his head and laid&n bsp;it on a warm, soft lap. With h is nose broken,
he didn‟t s mell much at the moment, but he was ;certain it was Himawari. A cool,
moist cloth was laid across his forehead ;and eyes.
Naomi let herself feel& nbsp;relief when she saw her father coughing& nbsp;then had used her
power to ease&nbs p;his strain. Through her celestial magic&nb sp;she could feel the intensity of
his&n bsp;agony. Even after a full day, he&ac irc;€Ÿs hardly recovered, she thought. & nbsp;She glanced
up and glared at Inuyas ha. He had returned only a few hou rs ago. It was still
pouring rain& nbsp;outside and he was soaked through. ;The elders of Kou had stopped
him after he entered and spoken with him in& nbsp;private. She didn‟t know w hat he had
been discussing with them&nbs p;but after the parted he hadn‟t said anything more only
watched Himawar i tend to Sesshomaru; his face expressionless .
“It seems you ;didn‟t kill him as we thought&n bsp;you had, Inuyasha-sama,†said the lady
elder of Kou. It sounded almo st as if she were ridiculing him. Naomi‟s lips pulled
back as ;she fought a snarl. Sesshomaru wasnâ& euro;Ÿt nearly so restrained, though it
sounded pathetic coming from him. He&nb sp;didn‟t have the strength of l ung to force a
more intimidating growl.& nbsp;
“Why would you have& nbsp;thought that?†said Inuyasha gazing&nb sp;coolly at the elder.
â€&o elig;Then you knew he wasn‟t dea d?†asked the lady elder. Naomi& nbsp;shifted her gaze
between the two. < br>
“Your tone is bordering&nb sp;on insulting, Lady Elder,†said Inu yasha, his gaze turning
frigid. â €œOf course I knew he wasn†Ÿt dead. I deliberately missed his ;heart in the
final attack. If I&n bsp;had intended to kill him he would be dead.â€
“Your ;tone is insolent for addressing an elder,&nb sp;young one!†stated the lady elder.& nbsp;
Inuyasha crossed his arms and ;spoke with the voice of calm authority, ;“You now
officially possess a& nbsp;new Inu no Taisho. By your rules,& nbsp;by your customs, I have been
chosen to rule this clan. I may be younger than you, but you will now show& nbsp;me the
same respect you held for&nb sp;the former Inu no Taisho. Anything l ess will be
insulting.†Everyone in the cave stared at him. Fire&n bsp;appeared on the floor around
his fee t and flowed up his legs to his tor so. It wove and danced, entwining befor e
and behind him. His wings spread and the fire began to fill the ent ire cavern, his
eyes glittered in the&nb sp;dark.
“I will not ;be pushed around by any of you. Y ou may advice me but at the end of& nbsp;the
day I will be the one maki ng the decisions,†stated Inuyasha. &n bsp;“And when I‟m done,
Noriko and her traitor followers will&n bsp;either be begging for my mercy or le ft to feed
the crows.†;The hanyou turned to regard his brother ;when he heard Sesshomaru‟s
chok ed laughter.
Sesshomaru‟s laughter was filled with bitterness and half& nbsp;mad. He held his left
hand to his face and hissed through gritted tee th, “You must think me a p athetic
fool, a weakling, to say such.&n bsp; Why not just finish me off? W hat good am I to you,
Inuyasha-sama?&aci rc;€
“Chichiue!â€&n bsp;exclaimed Naomi. She heard the insulting tone woven into the
honorific.
&nb sp;
Inuyasha gazed at him for a moment,&n bsp;but no anger was evident in his eyes .
Instead, sadness echoed from their&nb sp;depths. “Otoutou is just fi ne or Inuyasha. No. I
abandon&nbs p;that name. I now realize that that&nb sp;man perished yesterday, a peaceful end
to death that took far too long.â&eur o; The hanyou turned back to the c lan and said, “I am
now&nb sp;to be called Kakiboufuu. I will not& nbsp;accept you calling me Inuyasha from now& nbsp;
on. Understand?†He turned back to his brother. “An iue, you‟ve done the best you&nb sp;
could possibly do. I‟ll ;leave it to you to figure out the flaw that cost you your victory.
T he only thing I have to say on the& nbsp;matter is: Oyaji was an incompetent fool when it
came to fatherhood.â€&nbs p;
Kakiboufuu began to walk away wh en Sesshomaru called to him. The hanyou
turned around and raised a questioning& nbsp;eyebrow. Sesshomaru was sitting up
despite the pain and protest of his dau ghter and betrothed. “You neve r answered
why you spared me.â€&nb sp;
Kakiboufuu sighed and turned away&nb sp;but replied, “Why? Because I was conceived
for no other purpose&nbs p;than to protect you. At first, I ;thought that meant supporting
you, but after our fight yesterday, I realized the&nbs p;truth. The only way I can protect&nbs p;
you is by taking away your title. ; However, that is the only thing I&acir c;€Ÿm taking.
Everything else ;is yours to keep.†He threw&nbs p;a withering glance at the elders before&nbs p;
continuing forward.
Sesshomaru stared at him as Naomi tried to puzzle ou t what her uncle meant.
Then she&n bsp;caught Himawari in the corner of her ;eye with an expression of relief on
her face and stifled a gasp. She ;glared at the lady elder who followed K akiboufuu
as he walked toward the genera ls. She must have approached him about& nbsp;taking
Himawari-sama as his wife. She was going to give the girl to h im because she
believed Chichiue was fin ished. Dead or alive he was no lon ger the lord. Naomi
suppressed her ;growl outrage.
Her uncle h adn‟t accepted. Naomi decided s he could like her uncle. He had st olen
her father‟s title but ;had spared his life. He was also not going to take away
anything else&nbs p;from him nor humiliate him further. H e wasn‟t intimidated by the
elders as well. Maybe everything will be alright.
“The first&nb sp;thing we need to do is find a mo re appropriate place to settle. If anyo ne
has any ideas, I‟m open& nbsp;to suggestions,†said Kakiboufuu.
Sesshomaru glared at his brother as&nb sp;he smoothly began issuing commands after < br> several ideas for a base were brought&nbs p;up. Kakiboufuu‟s words had fl oored him. His
purpose was to prot ect me? Ridiculous! If anyone is doing the protecting it‟s me! &n bsp;
He stood up despite the agony in&nbs p;his chest and staggered to the cave en trance.
“Sesshomaru-sama, you& nbsp;mustn‟t move!†cried Hima wari.
“I need air,⠀ he snapped more harshly than he i ntended.
“But itâ€& Yuml;s raining,†said Naomi, standing up. She reached toward her father but&n bsp;he
pulled away from her grasp with&n bsp;a flinch.
“Itâ& euro;Ÿs just water,†he snarled a nd kept going. He caught his brother&ac irc;€Ÿs gaze from the
corner of&nbs p;his eye but the look was unreadable. < br>
The rain was ice cold, biting him to the bone. Two steps outside ;the cave and he
was soaked through.&nbs p; The only good thing about it was ;that the burning fire of pain
dropped&n bsp;significantly. He continued walking in t he gloom, he didn‟t know for&nbs p;how
long, unable to see very far and not caring. The rain seemed strange ly familiar but
he couldn‟t ;place where he had been in such a rain before. After awhile he leaned
up against a tree that appeared out of the gray, threw back his head and screamed.
All his frustrations, all his despair poured out of him.
& acirc;€œWHY?†he shouted at the& nbsp;heavens, at his father‟s dead&nb sp;soul. “I‟ve tried&n bsp;so hard to
be the son you wante d! Why did you choose now of all&n bsp;times to have a child to
replace&nbs p;me? When did you give up on me?& nbsp; Why did you allow for this humilia tion?
Did you even care about how& nbsp;I felt? WHY DID YOU ABANDON ME?&ac irc;€ Sesshomaru
collapsed to the ground and struck it again and again wit h his fist ignoring the
lightning bolts& nbsp;of pain shooting up his arm. &acir c;€œI hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I –
Hate – You!â€
“Sesshomaru,†said a soft&n bsp;voice; a familiar voice that had once&nbs p;been a great comfort
to him. He& nbsp;looked up and gasped. Standing before&n bsp;him, awash in an otherworldly
light, ;stood Ginhana, his mother.
**** < br>
Back at the cave, Naomi and Hi mawari were pestering Kakiboufuu. After
Sesshomaru had left he positioned himself by the entrance and spread a fiery wing&nb sp;
across it, preventing anyone from leaving. Naomi and Himawari had wanted to go
out and bring Sesshomaru back, but&nb sp;Kakiboufuu refused to let them. He w asn‟t
even listening to the m, having turned all his senses inward a nd channeling them
into the gray world&n bsp;beyond.
“She‟ s arrived,†he muttered.
&a circ;€œWho‟s arrived?†d emanded Naomi, fearing the worst.
“It‟s alright,†he muttered barely aware of what he was& nbsp;saying or being asked.
â€&oe lig;She‟s the only one heâ&euro ;Ÿll listen to.†The women looked at him in confusion but
Kakiboufu u said no more.
****
Sesshomaru stared at her unmoving, his gaz e unwavering, too shocked to even
speak. Her long pure silver hair, one sh ade darker than his own, hung down her&n bsp;
back and locks framed her delicate f ace. A purple crescent moon with a ;star in its
center rested in the m iddle of her forehead. Two pink stripes graced each cheek.
Eyes of a ;supernatural shade of green peered into his& nbsp;golden ones. Her kimonos
were of&n bsp;shades of pale green with silver leaves&n bsp;patterned across it. The robe was < br> sheer gossamer.
“Hahaue!&n bsp; Impossible!†he gasped, but it&nb sp;couldn‟t be a fake. The ;woman was
unaffected by the rain that&n bsp;continued to fall around them. She stepped closer and
leaned down to embrac e him. Her rich scent of wildflowers&nb sp;and grass fields
engulfed him and he& nbsp;felt centuries of barriers breaking apart.&nb sp; “Hahaue!â€
&nb sp;
He was achild again needing comfort a nd assurance after a terrible day. No&n bsp;matter
how tough he acted back then& nbsp;some of things people said or did t o him or around
him had hurt him&nb sp;deep inside, seeding doubts and clouding h is spirit with worry.
His mother h ad always been able to sooth his aching& nbsp;heart and reassure him of his
worth. The only one who understood his& nbsp;troubled heart. He leaned into her ;body
drinking in everything of his belo ved mother. Her arms were as warm as he
remembered and the rain seemed&nbs p;to fade from awareness.
†œSesshomaru, my precious boy, youâ€&Yu ml;ve had a hard time of it,â€&nbs p;she said while stroking
his hair. &nbs p;
He buried his face into he r kimono and shuddered. “I&aci rc;€Ÿve missed you, Hahaue. Iâ&eu ro;Ÿve
missed you so much.â€
“I know, my precious ;one, I‟ve missed you, too,â&eu ro; she said. “I‟ m sorry my death
caused you so much pain. I‟m sorry it destro yed your love.â€
Sesshomaru was still for a moment as he thought&nbs p;about what she meant then shook
his&nb sp;head slightly without pulling away and sai d, “It didn‟t do a ny such thing,
Hahaue. It was a&nb sp;doomed relationship from the start. We&nb sp;should never have gotten
involved with&nbs p;each other.â€
He could fee l her sad smile as she said, â&eur o;œAre you sure it was a complete mistake?â€
Sesshomaru thought abo ut it then realized what she was referri ng to. He thought
of his draconic& nbsp;daughter, her sunbeam smile, her tinkling&nbs p;laughter, her melodious
voice, even her&nbs p;obnoxious habit of bowling him over with&nb sp;every greeting and when
she was overl y excited. In those centuries of darkne ss she was his only salvation;
the only source of light for his despairing soul. “No,†he whispere d. Then the pain
began to surface, the newest and most devastating wound t o his soul. The
confirmation of al l his fears that his mother could no&nbs p;longer deny.
“Why?â&eu ro; said Sesshomaru his voice cracking with&n bsp;hurt and frustration. “Why ;did
father do this? I‟ve& nbsp;tried so hard to be –.&aci rc;€
“Shhâ€&br vbar; My child, you‟ve done&nbs p;enough,†she said and she kissed&nbs p;the top of his head.
â€&oe lig;You‟ve done enough.†;
“Why, why was I&nb sp;replaced?†he demanded, raising his ;head to look at his mother his
eye s glittering with barely suppressed emotion. “Why am I not strong enou gh to
protect my people? Why shoul d Otoutou have all the traits that I&nbs p;require to do
that?â€
His mother tightened her hold on him an d shivered. Horror flickered through her&nbs p;
eyes a moment before she closed them.& nbsp; “Please, don‟t en vy your brother. His is a
cruel&nb sp;fate,†she said.
Sesshomaru&n bsp;pulled back and glared at Ginhana. “Cruel fate? How is his a „cruel
fate‟ when& nbsp;he was born possessing everything I lack ? What do you mean by that?â&euro ;
he demanded. His anger stilled a t the look of sorrow that filled her&nbs p;face.
“We are forbidden to speak of it, but I can say ;this much,†she replied. â&eur o;œHe is being
forced to walk a&nb sp;lonely road, one that is filled with jagged rocks, bare-foot. His
suffering has just begun and I shudder at what&aci rc;€Ÿs yet to come.†Ginhan a pulled him
into her embrace again ;and he allowed her, confused by her wor ds and a bit
troubled by them as&nb sp;well. “You‟ve suffe red more than enough, Sesshomaru. Just
relax and let him take it from you. There‟s nothing you can d o to save him, now.â€
& acirc;€œWhat was Chichiue‟s rea l reason for siring another child at the end of his life?â€
Sesshomaru&nbs p;asked, unable to let it go. He n eeded answers or he would be forever
tormented by the possibilities. â€&o elig;Did he truly find me unworthy?â€&n bsp;
“Sesshomaru, your father&n bsp;loves you with all his heart. He&nb sp;wanted to save you.
Everything he&nb sp;did at the end was to save you,â ;€ she replied.
Sesshomaru re mained quiet for several minutes in his mother‟s warm embrace. His
mind turned over what she had revealed to him and his insides went cold. “If that
is true then what is Inuyasha to him? Was Inuyasha nothing more than a
sacrificial offering?&aci rc;€ he murmured. Ginhana tensed.
He leaned back and looked his moth er in the eye. She met his golden& nbsp;gaze with her
emerald one; her trou bled expression was not reassuring. He closed his eyes,
coming to a decision.&n bsp; “I can‟t do t hat,†he said. She blinked at&nb sp;him. “I can‟t allow
Inuyasha to walk that path alone.& nbsp; Even if I can‟t protect&nb sp;to him, I can at least help
him. I‟ll walk that path with& nbsp;him even if it must always be a&nbs p;step behind. I‟ll tend
h is wounds when they become too great and I‟ll carry him when he can ‟t go on.†He
looked down at his hands. â€&oeli g;I need to share it or I‟l l end up being nothing more than
a& nbsp;coward, running from the pain like a&nbs p;little child.â€
“ Sesshomaru.â€
“Iâ& euro;Ÿm the oldest!†he shouted n ot looking up. “This should&nb sp;be my burden but because
Iâ€&Yu ml;m lacking in ability and spirit heâ& euro;Ÿs being forced to carry it. If I can‟t do this much
then I‟m better off dead!â&eu ro;
“Sesshomaru,†she said again. This time he glanced&nb sp;up. His mother was smiling
that ;warm smile he remembered from so long a go. The one that seemed as if the& nbsp;
sun had come down to earth. & acirc;€œI‟m proud of you. You are a good boy. I know t his
decision means you will suffer too,& nbsp;but I am glad you are making it.&ac irc;€ She took his
hands into ;hers. “In the battles to ;come, that child will need your quiet s trength
more than even he knows.â€
“You‟re alw ays so kind, even to those who are not your children,†said Sesshomaru with a small smile.
Ginhana&nbs p;leaned forward and kissed his forehead and& nbsp;whispered, “He would have
been my child if I had lived, Sesshomaru . I will be eternally grateful to Izayoi for
bravely bearing him in my&nbs p;stead. I know how much you wanted&nbs p;a little brother.â€
Sesshomaru& nbsp;blinked, blushed then huffed. â€& oelig;Ridiculous!â€
Ginhana smiled&nbs p;even brighter and said, “Now that‟s my boy.†The ;light from her
body grew dimmer and&nbs p;she faded away. Then all was left&nbs p;was the gloom and the
rain and th e memory of her scent. Sesshomaru bent& nbsp;in two, feeling her loss as
keenly& nbsp;as the day she had died, but this&n bsp;time there was no one to hate.
****
At the cave Kakiboufuu dropped his wings allowing Naomi t o pass. She ran out
into the rain without a second glance. Himawari stared at him wondering why he
had let the dragoness through. The barriers ;between the living and the dead had
been reestablished and he could no longer&n bsp;sense any spirits nearby. Unbeknownst to all, after calming himself, he had ;spent the entire night before opening the&nb sp;
passage way between the two worlds. & nbsp;He couldn‟t cross nor could ;he speak with the
spirits, his punishme nt for freeing a damned soul, but he&nbs p;could still summon them.
He had hoped Lady Ginhana would respond; Sesshomaru looked as if he needed her
guidance,&nbs p;the only one who could. It was o ne small thing he could do for his brother
after what he had done.
&nb sp;
He had no idea of what had passe d between the two or how Sesshomaruâ&eu ro;Ÿs decision
would impact their lives& nbsp;from then on.
_________________________ _____________________________________________________
Not a lot going on but I felt a slow chapter after the battle was nece ssary. I wanted
Sesshomaru coming to&nb sp;a decision about his brother and I th ought him getting to
speak with his ;mother again was a nice touch. It ;allowed him to express a lot of
hi dden emotions.
Since Ginhana was t here when the problems surrounding Inuyasha w ere discussed
so she knows whatâ€& Yuml;s in store for him.
I li ked being able to get into Himawariâ&eu ro;Ÿs head and I hope to get more&n bsp;chances. The
next chapter might get a bit disturbing. Kakiboufuu is going& nbsp;to be making some
really cutthroat decisions.
Chapter 30: The Lin e of Tyranny
Taking leadership is one thing. Maintaining it is another . Kakiboufuu assumes the
title Inu ;no Taisho but it is a position that&nbs p;demands absolute ruthlessness. Does he
have what it takes to walk the line&nb sp;of tyranny without harming his own people?