InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Forgotten ❯ Sorrowful Reunion ( Chapter 52 )
[ 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: 8 | Words: 15.0K | Visits: 151 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Hentai / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.20.2013 | Pages: 8 | Words: 15.0K | Visits: 151 | Status: Work In Progress
Part 2: Sorrowful Reunion
Kakiboufuu came upon the shipwrecks some time after midnight. Despite the
darkness&n bsp;and his poor night vision, he was ab le to see among the ruined ships were&nb sp;
many bodies. The Taisho gritted his& nbsp;teeth as sorrow filled him.
I wasn’t in time, he thought&nbs p;in despair. “Hotaru, take me down. I need to see them.â€
She set him down on one of th e overturned vessels then shrank and settled& nbsp;on his
shoulder. With a few p uffs, she sent out numerous blue ghost l ights to light the
area, allowing them&n bsp;to see the remains more clearly.
&nb sp;
A pale hand twitched as the light&nbs p;settled on it. It hung over the railing of a half-
submerged deck of a&nb sp;nearby wreck. Hotaru picked up Kakiboufuu and carried him
to the vessel. &nb sp;In the light, he recognized the facedown&n bsp;Raita. Half his body was
below ;the dark water that claimed much of the deck and none of the light
penetra ted. Kakiboufuu took hold of the railin g to stabilize himself as his feet came& nbsp;
to rest on the slanting deck. ;Hotaru remained perched on his back as the junk’s
remains groaned and& nbsp;sank lower.
“General ;Raita,†he called he as reached down and shook the older demon’ s
shoulder. Had he only imagined t he hand had moved?
“ Taisho?†The man’s head rose and clouded blue eyes peered up&nb sp;at Kakiboufuu.
“Raita!&acir c;€ Kakiboufuu took hold of his ar m and pulled him higher onto the deck&nb sp;as
water threatened to cover the gene ral’s head. The general easily slid forward. Too
easily for demo n that was as big as Kakiboufuu and ;wearing armor, especially with
Kakiboufuu on ly possessing a human’s strength.&nb sp; The Taisho glanced down and
struggle d to swallow the bile rising in his ;throat. General Raita’s ribs were exposed
to the night and nothi ng remained below. Only, the daiyokaiâ €™s powerful life force
kept him&n bsp;awake when he should have been long gone.
“Forgive… my rebellion…†Raita g asped. Kakiboufuu knelt and bent over t he fallen
general, pressing his head aga inst Raita’s.
â€&oe lig;There is nothing to forgive,†said the Taisho. “Go to the&n bsp;other side with the pride
and honor& nbsp;of being one of the Taishoâ€&trade ;s greatest generals.†Hotaru sang&nb sp;a song of
death and the light le ft the general’s eyes forever. Cursing his own ineptitude,
tears sting ing his eyes, Kakiboufuu drew his wakizashi&n bsp;and cut Raita’s black and < br> gray hair before pushing the remains in&n bsp;the sea. He tied the tresses and&nb sp;tucked
them within his kimono to take back to the temple. A growl made& nbsp;him turn.
“I& nbsp;thought another demon had appeared but I was wrong,†said a light alto.&n bsp; From
behind a capsized hull, a ;large twin-tail fire cat floated forward. &n bsp;On the feline’s
back was&nb sp;a young woman in a black, form-fitting&nbs p;outfit and red armor. Her dark
h air was tied high in a ponytail and ;she held over her shoulder her weapon, a
haraikotsu. She eyed him with co ncern but seemed to have dismissed him a s a
threat.
“What&nb sp;are you doing here?†he growled,&nb sp;disbelief and anger mixing with his sorrow .
She missed the malice in hi s voice as her eyes scoured the wrecks&n bsp;seeking out
possible opponents. â& euro;œI was hired to patrol this area&n bsp;every full and new moon when
these&n bsp;foreign ships passed through. Iâ€& trade;m supposed to protect them from demon&n bsp;
attacks but tonight I was late. &nbs p;I came straight from another assignment tha t took
me longer than I expected. & nbsp;I hit the water demon first to try& nbsp;to free the ships from
her control& nbsp;but that just caused them all to sl am into each other. Even then, the ;
other demons were determined to sink th e ships. They ignored me completely as& nbsp;
they focused breaking the hulls of& nbsp;the remaining vessels. It made killing& nbsp;them
easier but, in the end, I ;failed to save the ships. My commissio n’s blown!â€
Kakibo ufuu had heard enough, rage and hate fil led him and all he felt was the urg e
to slaughter the woman before him.&nbs p; He could too easily see the scenario& nbsp;she had
described. Kaiyoshinju had ;been hit first in a surprise attack. &n bsp;Without her, Raita
and his men lost& nbsp;their one chance of surviving. The ;fact they had succeeded in
sinking ever y vessel was small consolation to the gr ieving Taisho.
Sensing his intention,&n bsp;Hotaru beat her wings as he leapt in to the air. The twin-tail
lunged s ideways to avoid the attack, nearly dismounti ng her startled rider.
&aci rc;€œKirara!†cried the woman be fore she felt the rush of air and r ealized she was under
attack.
The firebird turned and Kakiboufuu took hold of the demon slayers ponytail,
dragging her off the feline. She cried out to her companion again as she was
slammed against the hull of a capsized&n bsp;boat. She drew her sword and slice& nbsp;through
her hair before the man cou ld bring his sword down, sliding down th e hull then
leaping to another large&nbs p;piece of wreckage.
“Wha t’s wrong with you?†she shouted toward the deranged man. Kirar a came up
beside her companion but felt shaken inside. While she knew she& nbsp;had to defend her
friend, Kasumi, s omething about the attacker was familiar. &nb sp;It tickled at her
memories, plucking at the fog within her mind. A fog& nbsp;that had appeared the day
she had&n bsp;been left with Kasumi and her older sister.
Kasumi placed her h and on Kirara’s mane, ready to& nbsp;leap atop her if the man charge
again. She didn’t understand ;the true reason for Kirara’s h esitation to attack him.
It didnâ €™t matter, Kasumi, as a demon sla yer, was reluctant to attack humans.
Kirara’s reluctance seemed natura l when facing a human opponent and was&n bsp;desired
by the village and her fathe r. She was a demon and they had&nb sp;been leery of letting
her join them&n bsp;in the village, fearing she would attack& nbsp;them as they slept. It had
ta ken a great deal of time and explanation for Kasumi and her older sister to ;win
their father over.
She l ooked to the man standing atop the hull. In the ghost light, she could see his
wild eyes filled with rageâ&e uro;¦ and grief. Her cutoff hair ;remained in his right hand
and the ;wakizashi in his left. She noticed the sheath on his right hip and realized&nb sp;
he carried no other weapons, a samura i with no katana. Her mind flashed ;upon
that long ago day in the fiel d. That day when Kirara had come t o her. That
samurai also had no&nb sp;katana and a wakizashi that rested on ;his right hip.
“Itâ ;€™s you,†Kasumi gasped before& nbsp;Kirara knocked her onto her back as ;the man
lunged swinging wildly with his short sword. “Matte!â€& nbsp;she screamed. This has to be
a misunderstanding, she thought. â€&oe lig;Kirara, is that him?â€
“Mrrrreeee.†Kirara&nb sp;ears folded back and Kasumi felt the twin-tail’s sadness.
Though, K irara was still uncertain, it was enough ;for the demon slayer.
â€&oe lig;Matte!†Kasumi cried again as Kira ra was forced to dodge the manâ€&t rade;s strike again.
However, Kasumi no ticed the strikes were aimed at her and& nbsp;not Kirara. It would be
faster&nbs p;for him to attack the flying cat but&n bsp;instead he aimed only for the human on
her back.
I have&nb sp;to get close and stop his movements, she thought. “Kirara!†she cried,
trusting the feline understood&nbs p;her intentions. Kirara charged and Kasumi& nbsp;pulled
her haraikotsu over her shoulder, preparing to block the man’s&n bsp;sword.
Among the ruined junks, another pair of eyes watched the battle , debating whether
or not to interfere.& nbsp; Keima, a young inuyokai with rich brown hair, amber eyes and
two red stripes that came from the corners of hi s temple and ended at the inner tips&nbs p;
of his eyebrows, gripped the broken de ck of a ship that floated along the ;outside of
the group with one hand.&nbs p; The other held the body of his u nconscious comrade.
His comrade was&nbs p;Raita son, Raiyo. Raiyo had charged t he female demon slayer
after she had&nbs p;cut down his father. Realizing the na ture of the threat and with their
t wo greatest warriors down, Keima and the ;others had focused on sinking the
remai ning vessels and condemning their hated cargo to the bottom of the sea.
Ke ima had been clipped by her weapon, brea king three of his ribs and collapsing a& nbsp;
lung. The impact had thrown him&nb sp;off the deck but his foot had tangled in the
rigging and it twisted, sna pping as he plunged into the water.
Once in the water, Keima had sunk two more vessels before diving below th e
surface to dodge the demon slayer&acir c;€™s haraikotsu. As he had swum& nbsp;to find a concealed
area to surface , he bumped into Raiyo. The other demon was unconscious and
missing his ri ght arm; his left leg was badly mauled.& nbsp; He had grabbed hold of Raiyo
and returned to the surface. Keima had& nbsp;then realized they were the only ones&nb sp;to
surface, all the others had been&n bsp;killed. However, the remaining vessels w ere either
sinking or burning. With&nbs p;the primary mission fulfilled, Keima had re mained
hidden among the debris with Raiy o hoping the demon slayer would leave. < br>
The demon slayer had prowled for&nb sp;some time while the waters remained lit&nb sp;with the
burning vessels. Once the&n bsp;fires had gone out she had disappeared&nb sp;but Keima wasn’t
convinced s he was gone, he feared she was waiting&n bsp;for survivors to come out. While waiting for the light of day to come& nbsp;and banish her cover, he failed to see the arrival
of the Taisho. It& nbsp;wasn’t until the demon slayer&n bsp;had returned and spoken that he
real ized someone else was here.
K eima knew the Taisho turned human on the night of the new moon but he had&n bsp;
never seen him as a human. Hot aru’s presence was the only clu e that told him the
identity of the man fighting with the demon slayer. &nb sp;Now he wished to help his lord
b ut feared to leave the unconscious Raiyo ;alone. He also feared he would do ;worse
than help, that he would actually hinder the Taisho’s fight. &nb sp;Still debating, he
gasped in horror w hen the feline finally charged. Cursing ;his indecision, Keima
pulled Raiyo around&nb sp;to the front of the deck and finally& nbsp;onto it. With Raiyo out of
th e water, he launched himself at the demo n slayer just as she pinned the Taisho&n bsp;to
the hull of another junk.
&n bsp;
Kirara bit the right arm of the ;man as Kasumi slammed her haraikotsu into&nb sp;the
sword-wielding left. The man cri ed out but kept his grip on the wak izashi. The
firebird screeched and rele ased her hold on him as the twin-tail&nb sp;drove them into the
hull of a ca psized vessel. Kasumi dismounted midflight a nd brought the haraikotsu
between her an d her opponent. Pinned beneath it, the& nbsp;man couldn’t move.
S he drew her own sword and pressed the&nb sp;blade against his exposed throat but didn& acirc;€™t
cut. “It is you,†she said. â€&oeli g;You were Kirara’s original owner.& acirc;€
“I never rea lized you were a demon slayer,†h e hissed. The phoenix hovered above
them screeching in distress. If she a ttacked, she would only burn her own mas ter.
Kasumi ground her teet h and opened her mouth to ask the q uestion she should
have asked from the&n bsp;start.
“Taisho!â€&nb sp;
She turned her head and saw&nbs p;the young inuyokai flying toward her. ;I knew there
was still a demon her e, she thought. Keeping a knee pressed& nbsp;to the haraikotsu, she
pulled her&n bsp;hand out of the strap, reached into her pouch and threw two pellets at
the demon.
“Kirara, stay! †she commanded. She didnâ&euro ;™t want the twin-tail being caught by& nbsp;the
poison powder.
â€&o elig;Keima! No!†screamed the man&nbs p;underneath her at the same time. The& nbsp;pellets
exploded and the inuyokai tried& nbsp;in vain to pull back from the cloud . He raised his
arms to his f ace, trying to cover his nose with the&n bsp;fabric of his kimono. “Kei ma!â€
A sphere of light ;flashed across the sky and Keima vanished&nb sp;within it. A broad
piece of hul l bounced where the light settled then d isappeared. In its place stood a
s ilver-haired demon with golden eyes. Sesshom aru had his arm wrapped around
the younger demon’s waist. Keima l eaned forward and coughed up blood, the catch
having pushed his broken ribs furt her into his ruined lung. Soranoko appe ared a
moment later and noticed Raiyo&nb sp;laid out on the deck. She flew low and pulled him
onto her feather,&nbs p;before returning her attention to the demon slayer.
Kasumi cursed her bad&nbs p;fortune. These two new demons were fr esh and one was a
wind user. Her haraikotsu would be useless against the&n bsp;wind sorceress unless she
was able t o catch the demon off guard. The n ew dog demon raised his left hand and&nb sp;
she saw his nails glow. She cur sed again as she tried to figure out&nbs p;a way to escape.
She didnâ&euro ;™t need to stay any longer, with the ships gone there was nothing to prot ect
anymore. I should have just he aded home once I confirmed the ships wer e lost, she
thought.
†œRemove yourself from atop my little br other and I will let you leave this ;place
unharmed,†stated the silver&nb sp;inuyokai.
“Your little brother?†she repeated, incredulous. She turned to face the man,
outrag ed. “You’re a de mon?â€
“Half,â&eur o; the man snapped.
â€&oelig ;What is your game? Why did you gi ve Kirara to me back then? Was it& nbsp;all just
lies?†she demanded.&nbs p; Kirara had been nothing but loyal and true from the first day.
She ;couldn’t be part of some elabo rate demon plot. Surely if that was&nbs p;the case, the
trap would have already& nbsp;been sprung.
The manâ€&trade ;s face softened, losing its anger as so rrow took hold. “Nothing I&nbs p;said that
day was a lie. I didn’t know you and your sister were demon slayers.â€
&acir c;€œInuyasha, what are you talking abou t?†hissed Sesshomaru.
â&e uro;œWhy are you raiding these ships?â € Kasumi snarled.
“T hat’s none of your business, sl ayer,†snapped Soranoko as she brought her fan up
to strike.
& acirc;€œThese ships are bringing foreign&nbs p;weapons to our enemies,†replied Kak iboufuu,
talking over Soranoko. â&euro ;œIf the enemy is successful in gatheri ng enough it will be the
end for&nb sp;my people and our allies.â€
&nb sp;
Kasumi’s eyes widened as she absorbed his statement. His eyes didn& acirc;€™t waver as he
stared at&nb sp;her. Kirara rubbed her head against the woman’s shoulder in sympathy.&nb sp;
“Your enemies? These are the same people who killed your wife and nearly killed
Kiarara years ago?&ac irc;€ she asked, though she knew the&nbs p;answer.
“Maybe you ;should learn more about your would-be employ er before accepting a
commission from so meone,†he said quietly.
Ka sumi raised her fist and slammed it into the hull. “I’ve been tricked into taking a
side in a war. We aren’t suppose d to get involved in wars. Weâ&eu ro;™re just supposed to
slay problem&nb sp;demons. Damn it!â€
&acir c;€œHurry and go,†said Kakibouf uu as he looked away. “Be gone before the sun rises.
Now&nb sp;that you know the truth, donâ€&trade ;t interfere any further.â€
Kasumi rose and pulled herself onto Kirara,&n bsp;freeing the man. She settled her haraikotsu across her back and looked down on the man called Inuyasha.
&acir c;€œGomenasai,†she said. &acir c;€œI think understand now what you&nbs p;were trying to do. You
didnâ&eu ro;™t wish for Kirara to fight anymore. â€
“Just hurry ;and go,†he said as he sat up. He didn’t look at her further but she
sensed his grief. “Dawn is coming.â€
“Right,†she said and Kirara rose into the air. The twin-tail stared at the man and
meowed&n bsp;in sadness. She still couldnâ€&tra de;t remember him clearly but her heart ached
nonetheless.
“Taish o?†gasped Keima in confusion.
&n bsp;
“Inuyasha, what are you doi ng?†demanded Sesshomaru as the demon& nbsp;slayer rose
higher into the air.
Kakiboufuu refused to look at his&nb sp;brother as he sat up. Then the water around the
vessels began to boil.& nbsp; Jets of superheated steam broke the&nbs p;surface, launching the
scorching vapor ;and water tens of feet into the air.&nb sp; The heated water soaked into
the&nbs p;hard wood faster and the wreckage rapidly&n bsp;lost its buoyancy.
Soranoko& nbsp;shot up into the air to escape the& nbsp;geysers. With the wood they stood upon
steaming with the rising temperature,&nb sp;Sesshomaru expanded his demon aura
around& nbsp;him and Keima and joined the wind s orceress.
“Taisho!â€&nbs p;shouted Keima.
Sesshomaru looked back . The blasts of water had forced H otaru back and now all
her attempts ;to return to Kakiboufuu were thwarted by&nbs p;the unpredictable
eruptions. The Taisho&nb sp;clambered higher onto the capsized boat, b ut the shifting
weight and unstable sea& nbsp;was causing it to rotate back up. & nbsp;Kakiboufuu struggled to
remain on top&nb sp;as boiling water fell all around him. ;
If he falls into the water n ow, he’ll not only sink because of his armor but he’ll bo il
alive, thought Sesshomaru in terror. “Soranoko!†he shouted and then shoved the
injured brunette dem on toward her.
She caught&n bsp;and settled Keima on her feather then&nbs p;turned back in time to see
Sesshomaru& nbsp;diving toward the boiling sea. â& euro;œSesshomaru-sama!†She attempted&nbs p;to
clear a path for him but the&n bsp;air currents surrounding the leaping pillars&n bsp;of hot
water clashed with her wind,& nbsp;killing it before it could part the ;steam.
Sesshomaru bit back cries of pain as a geyser erupted before him.& nbsp; It wasn’t a direct
h it, he had pulled up short, but the ;steam and air temperature crisped his skin&n bsp;to
the muscle in an instant. T his is like lava, he thought in horror,& nbsp;and Inuyasha is
only human right no w. Never mind falling in, heâ€&tr ade;s being burned alive at this
moment! Despite the urgency, he couldn†™t dive through the geyser to get to his
brother. It would be his&nb sp;death.
Soranoko saw the ship&nb sp;roll over in a sudden violent move, a new geyser blasting
from beneath it.&nb sp; “Taisho!†she screamed&nb sp;as the young man was thrown. As ;if in
slow motion, she saw Kakiboufuu&n bsp;fly back and directly underneath him the& nbsp;water
began to boil as another jet& nbsp;prepared to erupt. Sesshomaru was too&n bsp;far away to
reach him and the v ery human Taisho was about to take a&nbs p;direct hit.
Haraikotsu whistled its&n bsp;distinct sound as it spun through the&nbs p;air and came up
beneath Kakiboufuu jus t as the geyser broke the surface. ;It hit the giant
boomerang along its&nb sp;flat side and drove it up and against the Taisho. They both
were launch ed high into the air. Kirara appeared&n bsp;and Kakiboufuu fell across her
back as Kasumi caught her weapon. She then&n bsp;threw her weighted chain at
Sesshomaru,&n bsp;wrapping his wrist and then holding tight as Kirara rose into the sky
pullin g the demon out of the death trap o f boiling jets.
Sesshomaru hadnâ& euro;™t seen his brother get thrown or& nbsp;rescued and was taken by
surprise w hen the demon slayer’s chain wo und around his wrist, pulling him up. &n bsp;
He flew up several feet before he&nb sp;realized what had happened, by then Hotaru had
circled around and gripped his ;armor. The firebird had seen Kakiboufuu&aci rc;€™s rescue
and knew it was ;Sesshomaru that needed to be saved now. ; When he felt Hotaru
catch hold of him and carrying him higher, he refrain ed from pulling on the chain.
He&n bsp;glanced back and saw the last of the junks sinking below the waves.
“Inuyasha,†he hissed in&n bsp;grief.
“It’s all right.†Sesshomaru looked u p at the demon slayer’s call.&n bsp; “I already have
him,â ;€ she said. In the predawn light, he saw his brother leaning against her. She
was holding the chain that&nb sp;bound his wrist. He shook the chain& nbsp;off and she
retracted it with an&nb sp;expert snap of her wrist. Soranoko f lew over to join them.
â ;€œWhy?†demanded Sesshomaru.
&n bsp;
Kasumi looked at the man in disbelie f as he glared at her. I guess&nbs p;I should be
surprised as well, we ;are enemies. “I made a m istake and while I can’t bring& nbsp;back
the dead I can save the l iving,†she replied.
The si lver-haired demon looked as if he was go ing to say something else but the
w ind sorceress hit him on the head with&n bsp;her fan. “It was poorly&nb sp;expressed, but we
are grateful,â€&nb sp;she said as the inuyokai glared at he r. “He just doesnâ€&trad e;t like to admit
sometimes just how&nbs p;much he loves his baby brother.â€&nbs p;
“I kindly ask that ;you refrain from antagonizing Sesshomaru-sama whi le Raiyo and
I must ride with you,& nbsp;Soranoko-san,†said the brunette in&nb sp;an even tone even as his
alarm g rew.
Kasumi just stared at the&nbs p;group then glanced down at the churning&nbs p;water below. “I
hate to interrupt, but do you know what†™s going on with the sea? Is ;it the enemy?â€
â€&oe lig;Whose enemy?†snarled Sesshomaru, he&nb sp;couldn’t believe he was even ;having a
conversation with a demon slay er. However, she had saved Kakiboufuu s o he
decided he had to be civil&nbs p;while she was here.
â€&oel ig;Kirara was the best thing that ever h appened to me,†snapped Kasumi. “She got
me through some h ard times and has been the best friend&n bsp;and partner I could ever
ask for.&nb sp; If I had known that the guy hir ing us was part of the group that k illed her
original partner and nearly ki lled her, I never would have taken the&n bsp;commission. I
would never have made her fight former comrades like that. &n bsp;Since I know now, I’m
not going to take anymore commissions from&nb sp;them and I will be informing the rest
of the village of my decision. &nb sp;I’m sure Otou-san will understand my reasons.â€
Sesshomaru&nb sp;regarded the feline then reached out his&n bsp;hand to touch her head. She†™s
under a spell, he thought as&nb sp;he moved his fingers through the fur. It was probably
placed to keep her from following him when he left. The woman demon slayer
stared at him&nbs p;with earnest eyes and he sighed. He&n bsp;looked down at the raging
geysers. < br>
“It’s not th e enemy. She must be regaining consciou sness,†he said with a grimace. < br>
Kasumi blanched. “You&nbs p;mean that water demon is doing this?⠀ It didn’t help when&nbs p;
she noted that both inuyokai and the&n bsp;wind sorceress had gone equally pale.
“Demon slayer, hand the ;Taisho over to Sesshomaru-sama and then leav e here as
fast as you can,â€& nbsp;said Soranoko. Kasumi glanced at the&nb sp;wind sorceress.
“Kaiyoshinju&nbs p;isn’t a water demon, sheâ&eu ro;™s a sea dragon, and she typically&n bsp;is not
reasonable first thing in the morning.â€
“You&nb sp;mean there’s a time where sh e’s actually reasonable?†mut tered Sesshomaru
as he contemplated the entire group running for it.
It&nb sp;was his comment more than the wind so rceress’s that spurred Kasumi to&nbs p;move.
Kirara floated closer to the&nb sp;silver-haired inuyokai. The man looked as if he had
swallowed something bitter&nb sp;as he let the demon slayer approach. He concentrated
his youki around himsel f and the firebird released him. He&nbs p;reached out his hands
and took his&nbs p;human brother from her. The young man groaned and hissed as his
burnt an d blistering body was shift and move.
Sesshomaru ignored the pain that sho t up his own arms when Kakiboufuu made&n bsp;
contact with the seared flesh. The& nbsp;Taisho looked far worse than he felt.&nb sp; Blisters
were rising on his right&nb sp;cheek and neck, his eyelids were red and the surrounding
area was swelling, a nd Sesshomaru could feel were the fabric ;was wet and hot.
â€&oe lig;I know this won’t make amen ds for my error but maybe it can ma ke you both more
comfortable until your& nbsp;wounds heal,†said the demon slay er, holding out a small jar
to him. “It’s burn oint ment.†Sesshomaru looked at it t hen at her before taking the
jar. < br>
“Now hurry and go,â& euro; he said. “With Otouto&nb sp;like this, he won’t be able& nbsp;to stop
Kaiyoshinju from pursuing you.&n bsp; So it’s best if you w ere out of sight before she
surfaces.&ac irc;€
Kasumi nodded and she& nbsp;and Kirara flew fast away from the area as the sky
lightened.
Se sshomaru watched her go until they had v anished from his sight. He was
rel ieved by how fast she could move for&nbs p;within five seconds of her disappearing, Kaiyoshinju burst from the water with all& nbsp;the subtleness of an erupting volcano. & nbsp;
Sesshomaru was concerned for the welfare of Keima and Raiyo as well as his& nbsp;
brother’s but leaving without&n bsp;waiting for the sea dragon at this p oint would invite
further trouble.
;
The woman rose into the sky and th e water swirled in a large whirlpool as& nbsp;the sea
rushed to fill the void&nbs p;left by her departure. She roared and spun around, looking
for her prey, ;oblivious to the presence of Sesshomaru and& nbsp;Soranoko. After a minute
of her&nb sp;fruitless scanning, she slowed her movements&nb sp;and her glowing red eyes
returned to& nbsp;their normal violet.
Only then&nbs p;did Sesshomaru feel it was safe to att ract her attention. “Kaiyo, if you
are done,†he called, & acirc;€œwe need to return to the c lan.â€
She whipped around&nb sp;so fast, her knee length black hair f lew around and smacked
her in the f ace. “Weren’t you&nbs p;imprisoned?†she snapped. She looke d around again
and asked, â€&oelig ;Where’s the enemy?â€
&nb sp;
“Gone,†he replied ig noring her first question. “So are the ships and we need to
return so we can treat the injured. &nbs p;We have a ways to go as it is&nbs p;and we’ll be
brushing passed& nbsp;enemy territory.†He settled Kak iboufuu so he was resting on his
Se sshomaru’s bent knee, freeing the&nb sp;demon’s left hand. He pushe d his youki to
move him forward thr ough the air then turned his attention t o his brother. It
would be up ;to the others to follow or not.
&n bsp;
Unscrewing the jar, his nose told hi m it was indeed simple burn ointment, th ough
he found it surprising he had already accepted the demon slayer’s& nbsp;final gift. As
much as he hat ed her kind, with her standing before hi m, he couldn’t deny her
si ncerity. And the injury to his brother& acirc;€™s face concerned him the most.& nbsp; Once
sunrise came, Kakiboufuu would&nbs p;return to being a hanyou and his injur ies would
heal cleanly. However, the&nb sp;damage to his eyes was troublesome.
& nbsp;
Kakiboufuu had already shown a limit&nbs p;to recovery that wasn’t normal&nbs p;for a hanyou.
While most of the& nbsp;time he covered his scars with hypnotic& nbsp;flames, hiding them even
from the c lan, Sesshomaru had seen the extent of h is past injuries. The flesh of his ;
entire right arm up to his neck an d down his side was warped and dark.&nbs p; The right
arm was two inches sho rter than his left. The fingers were&nb sp;stunted and the skin
was rough like&n bsp;weathered wood. Though, he was able ;to use the arm in combat to
strike and block, Sesshomaru knew the right pu nch had only half the impact power
of the left. He knew it had everyt hing to do with the injury he received&n bsp;when he
was a child but he stil l wasn’t certain how far it&nbs p;affected him.
The scar of the near fatal injury he suffered when& nbsp;his wife was killed was a tight
knot of twisted flesh and Sesshomaru had&nb sp;felt the bone beneath was in a simila r
poorly healed state. Serious inj uries, even away from the right side mig ht not heal
well and Kakiboufuu had ;suffered these burns while in his human ;state. With the
injury to his eye s having the potential to be permanent i f not treated right away,
Sesshomaru was grateful for the burn ointment.
He rubbed his finger in the g el and applied it the seared lids. ;With careful
precision, he slid a nail& nbsp;between the lids and felt the melted&nbs p;flesh part with
minimum resistance. H e gently slid the ointment underneath and&nbs p;onto the eye
itself. Kakiboufuuâ&eur o;™s left hand clenched and crush Sessh omaru’s fur cape. His right&nb sp;
hand gripped the armor and he growled fiercely but didn’t move his&n bsp;head where it
lay against the fur.&n bsp;
“You’re cons cious,†stated Sesshomaru as he began& nbsp;to treat the left eye.
Kakibo ufuu’s right eye blinked and te ars appeared, rolling down his blistered
cheek, a good sign. “I a m,†he said. “I ju st didn’t know how to say I couldn’t open
my eyes.â € He growled again as Sesshomaru s liced the other one open and applied
the ointment to it. Within seconds of Sesshomaru finishing, the hanyou blinked
both eyes as tears slid down his face.
Sesshomaru said nothing as he&nbs p;spread the ointment to the blisters on ;his brother’s
cheeks. There&n bsp;had been note in Kakiboufuu’s&nb sp;voice that suggested something other
than& nbsp;embarrassment. However, Sesshomaru was still angry with his brother for
leaving ;the clan without an escort even if he&n bsp;hadn’t known he was going t o be
turning human. Once the hanyo u recovered, Sesshomaru was still going to&nb sp;flog him
within an inch of his l ife, though somewhere private, of course. &nb sp;Naomi would make
certain no one eaves dropped this time.
“You&a circ;€™re going to pound me, arenâ ;€™t you?†said Kakiboufuu, soun ding very much like a
sad child and not an indignant Taisho like Sesshomaru ;expected. The taiyokai said
nothing&nb sp;but kept rubbing the ointment on his face. The hanyou kept blinking
despite& nbsp;it having to be painful to move his eyelids so much.
“T here’s this old oak at the ;top of the waterfall that produces some ;springing
branches, the kind that are g ood for making fools wise,†said Kakiboufuu.
Sesshomaru paused a moment& nbsp;and asked, “Why are you te lling me this?â€
â€&oe lig;Because,†the hanyou replied, â&e uro;œI should be punished. I shouldn&a circ;€™t have gone out by
myself&n bsp;like that. I should have taken you& nbsp;with me. I should have brought Nao mi.
It was wrong to put those ;spells on you.â€
â€&o elig;If you understand that then why should&n bsp;I-†Sesshomaru started to respond. ;
“Because you have to!&ac irc;€ snapped Kakiboufuu. Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder
but the others w ere far enough back that they wouldnâ&e uro;™t overhear. He turned back
t o regard his brother. Kakiboufuu was st ill blinking rapidly and Sesshomaru added
more ointment to the lids to help prev ent them fusing. Still his brother didn ’t stop
blinking. Sesshomaru&n bsp;wondered about it a moment but he ha d more pressing
issues.
â&eu ro;œWhy?†he hissed.
&acir c;€œNo one should be above the law ,†explained Kakiboufuu. â€&oel ig;You told me not to risk
myself u nnecessarily. You told me I would put&n bsp;the whole clan at risk if I did.&nbs p; By
not taking an escort, I put&n bsp;myself at risk, new moon or not. &nb sp;But worse, I betrayed
your trust by&n bsp;putting a spell on you that could ha ve endangered you if the enemy
decided&n bsp;to attack the temple then. You woul dn’t have been able escape much less
fight and Himawari and Naomi would have been similarly doomed just because
they could leave your side. It&nb sp;was wrong and I should be penalized f or that.
“I am not so old to be arrogantly believing I& nbsp;am right all the time. I am n ot so
powerful that I require no es corts if I head into dangerous areas. &n bsp;I am still a child
in many ways and I will need guidance for many decades to come. Therefore, I
must ;have consequences for when I make such mistakes and the more potentially
disastrous& nbsp;they are the steeper the penalty must&nb sp;be. As my older brother, in the ;
absence of my father, that is your ;responsibility. You said it yourself, now&n bsp;you have
to follow through with it.& nbsp; I can’t promise there won ’t be times it wonâ€&trad e;t bother me. I
can’t&nb sp;promise that I will always yield when ;you think I’ve erred but you&n bsp;have to
trust yourself to know when& nbsp;I have and to save me from myself.& nbsp; I’ll look out for the&nbs p;
clan, so please, look out for me so I don’t destroy it.â€& nbsp;
Sesshomaru stared at his brother,& nbsp;his face emotionless. What brought this on? he
wondered, though he agreed with everything Kakiboufuu said. Then his&nb sp;mind
finally interpreted the strange, elus ive note in his brother’s voice as the hanyou
finished. Heâ&euro ;™s afraid. Did this experience scare& nbsp;him that badly? No, he’s& nbsp;faced
death before, so whatâ€&trad e;s the difference now?
â€&o elig;Inuyasha, you’re terrified,â€& nbsp;he stated.
Kakiboufuu stared then& nbsp;flinched as the sun broke the horizon&nb sp;at last. He shuddered
and his a ppearance changed, black hair turned silver, his ears climbed back to the
top of his head and, as his eyes blinked and watered, they returned to their usual&nbs p;
gold. The jagged purple stripes sprea d across his cheeks and his fangs and&nb sp;claws
extended. The hanyou turned hi s head to watch the sun rise even a s his eyes
streamed against the intense& nbsp;light.
“Inuyasha,†said Sesshomaru, trying to prompt his b rother to respond to his
accusation.
“I am terrified,â&euro ; he said after another long moment of&n bsp;silence. He didn’t take hi s
eyes from the sun. â€&oeli g;I’m terrified of the dark. &n bsp;The absolute eternal dark.â€
“Blindness?†gasped Sesshomar u. Now it makes sense. He feared& nbsp;he had lost his
sight and didn&acir c;€™t want it to be true, that&aci rc;€™s why he wasn’t sayi ng anything earlier and
why heâ€&t rade;s trying so hard to keep his eyes&n bsp;open right now. He’s petri fied of being
blind.
Sesshomaru&nb sp;asked in an even tone to not betray&n bsp;his thoughts, “Aren’t&n bsp;Tenko trained
to fight even when dep rived of their senses?â€
&ac irc;€œI was,†replied Kakiboufuu ;in a quiet voice. “I can go one hour before I tear the
blindfold off. When I was with my ;master, Kakiboufuu Akira, he tried to train& nbsp;me
in blind fighting for days at&nb sp;a time. I panicked every time and&nb sp;tore the blindfold off
or filled the& nbsp;cave with ghost lights because I couldn& acirc;€™t stand not seeing. He wo uld
get so mad. He even used a hypnotic spell on me to make me f orget how to open my
eyes.â€
Sesshomaru was stunned. He had&nb sp;never thought of Kakiboufuu Akira as cruel , yet
there was no other word to&nb sp;describe doing that to an apprentice who&n bsp;clearly suffered
from a phobia. &ac irc;€œWhy would he cast such a spe ll on you?â€
“ He wanted me to overcome my fear,â&euro ; replied Kakiboufuu. “While I was in exile I
trained with a ;blindfold but I could only do it for&nb sp;an hour before I couldn’t ta ke it
anymore and pulled it off. &n bsp;I don’t know why I fear&nbs p;the dark.â€
The pair flew& nbsp;on in silence as Sesshomaru considered h is brother’s confession. His < br> maturity swings wildly. One minute he&nb sp;can be the poised and calm leader we& nbsp;
respect, the next he’s sel fishly doing what he wants heedless of t he consequences
that may occur. I& nbsp;can only believe he was mentally aged&nb sp;too soon by the demands of
his h uman clan.
Humanoid demons like do g and wolf demons aged at the same rate as humans until
they reached adoles cents. Then the demon’s growth rate would slow as did their
emoti onal maturity. They weren’t re cognized as full adults by their communities& nbsp;
until they were eighty years old. & nbsp;Humans, within Tenji, were recognized as ;full
adults at eighteen, though, beyond ;its borders the age was much younger. & nbsp;
Sesshomaru knew his brother was only&nbs p;fifty-five. That seemed old to Tenko but to
the inuyokai he wasnâ€&trad e;t even sixteen.
Sesshomaru&nbs p;thought about the many events that his ;brother had been exposed to.
The hard training under Kakiboufuu Akira would ha ve begun when he was still a
child. The war began when he was about&n bsp;twenty-one, not even thirteen in demon years. He had met and loved his ;dead wife somewhere in the next decade or so.
Fourteen at the oldest. &nb sp;Exile swiftly followed, wandering alone with&nb sp;an enemy
trying to locate and destroy him. Then he found his way to&nbs p;his father’s clan and
was&nbs p;forced to assume leadership of a divided&nb sp;clan and make harsh decisions to bring&nbs p;
it under control. Not even sixteen&nb sp;to the inuyokai and he had dealt with so much.
It all fit. K akiboufuu, despite being half human, had the& nbsp;developmental rate of a
demon. The swings were understandable when put into&nbs p;proper context. It only
made Sesshoma ru kick himself for the umpteenth time f or being too weak to hold
the clan& nbsp;together himself. For not knowing what& nbsp;he needed to know to stop Norikoâ& euro;™s
revolt. His brother may h ave been young but he had the training&n bsp;and the talent to
control the other& nbsp;inuyokai. That he was needed before&nbs p;he was ready still hurt
Sesshomaru. &n bsp;The taiyokai should have at least been&nb sp;able to hold things together
until Ka kiboufuu had matured fully.
â ;€œAniue, I’m all right n ow, I can fly on my own,†sa id the hanyou, drawing
Sesshomaru from h is inner thoughts. Still full of self-h ate for his stupidity and
uselessness, t he warning glance he speared his brother ;with was more potent then
he was u sed to. Kakiboufuu blinked once, eyes w idening, blanched and cringed. It
was&n bsp;the first time Sesshomaru had ever gotten Kakiboufuu to cringe with just a
s ingle look. At any other time, he would have been pleased but, right then, ;he was
too annoyed to care.
To be continued…
Kakiboufuu came upon the shipwrecks some time after midnight. Despite the
darkness&n bsp;and his poor night vision, he was ab le to see among the ruined ships were&nb sp;
many bodies. The Taisho gritted his& nbsp;teeth as sorrow filled him.
I wasn’t in time, he thought&nbs p;in despair. “Hotaru, take me down. I need to see them.â€
She set him down on one of th e overturned vessels then shrank and settled& nbsp;on his
shoulder. With a few p uffs, she sent out numerous blue ghost l ights to light the
area, allowing them&n bsp;to see the remains more clearly.
&nb sp;
A pale hand twitched as the light&nbs p;settled on it. It hung over the railing of a half-
submerged deck of a&nb sp;nearby wreck. Hotaru picked up Kakiboufuu and carried him
to the vessel. &nb sp;In the light, he recognized the facedown&n bsp;Raita. Half his body was
below ;the dark water that claimed much of the deck and none of the light
penetra ted. Kakiboufuu took hold of the railin g to stabilize himself as his feet came& nbsp;
to rest on the slanting deck. ;Hotaru remained perched on his back as the junk’s
remains groaned and& nbsp;sank lower.
“General ;Raita,†he called he as reached down and shook the older demon’ s
shoulder. Had he only imagined t he hand had moved?
“ Taisho?†The man’s head rose and clouded blue eyes peered up&nb sp;at Kakiboufuu.
“Raita!&acir c;€ Kakiboufuu took hold of his ar m and pulled him higher onto the deck&nb sp;as
water threatened to cover the gene ral’s head. The general easily slid forward. Too
easily for demo n that was as big as Kakiboufuu and ;wearing armor, especially with
Kakiboufuu on ly possessing a human’s strength.&nb sp; The Taisho glanced down and
struggle d to swallow the bile rising in his ;throat. General Raita’s ribs were exposed
to the night and nothi ng remained below. Only, the daiyokaiâ €™s powerful life force
kept him&n bsp;awake when he should have been long gone.
“Forgive… my rebellion…†Raita g asped. Kakiboufuu knelt and bent over t he fallen
general, pressing his head aga inst Raita’s.
â€&oe lig;There is nothing to forgive,†said the Taisho. “Go to the&n bsp;other side with the pride
and honor& nbsp;of being one of the Taishoâ€&trade ;s greatest generals.†Hotaru sang&nb sp;a song of
death and the light le ft the general’s eyes forever. Cursing his own ineptitude,
tears sting ing his eyes, Kakiboufuu drew his wakizashi&n bsp;and cut Raita’s black and < br> gray hair before pushing the remains in&n bsp;the sea. He tied the tresses and&nb sp;tucked
them within his kimono to take back to the temple. A growl made& nbsp;him turn.
“I& nbsp;thought another demon had appeared but I was wrong,†said a light alto.&n bsp; From
behind a capsized hull, a ;large twin-tail fire cat floated forward. &n bsp;On the feline’s
back was&nb sp;a young woman in a black, form-fitting&nbs p;outfit and red armor. Her dark
h air was tied high in a ponytail and ;she held over her shoulder her weapon, a
haraikotsu. She eyed him with co ncern but seemed to have dismissed him a s a
threat.
“What&nb sp;are you doing here?†he growled,&nb sp;disbelief and anger mixing with his sorrow .
She missed the malice in hi s voice as her eyes scoured the wrecks&n bsp;seeking out
possible opponents. â& euro;œI was hired to patrol this area&n bsp;every full and new moon when
these&n bsp;foreign ships passed through. Iâ€& trade;m supposed to protect them from demon&n bsp;
attacks but tonight I was late. &nbs p;I came straight from another assignment tha t took
me longer than I expected. & nbsp;I hit the water demon first to try& nbsp;to free the ships from
her control& nbsp;but that just caused them all to sl am into each other. Even then, the ;
other demons were determined to sink th e ships. They ignored me completely as& nbsp;
they focused breaking the hulls of& nbsp;the remaining vessels. It made killing& nbsp;them
easier but, in the end, I ;failed to save the ships. My commissio n’s blown!â€
Kakibo ufuu had heard enough, rage and hate fil led him and all he felt was the urg e
to slaughter the woman before him.&nbs p; He could too easily see the scenario& nbsp;she had
described. Kaiyoshinju had ;been hit first in a surprise attack. &n bsp;Without her, Raita
and his men lost& nbsp;their one chance of surviving. The ;fact they had succeeded in
sinking ever y vessel was small consolation to the gr ieving Taisho.
Sensing his intention,&n bsp;Hotaru beat her wings as he leapt in to the air. The twin-tail
lunged s ideways to avoid the attack, nearly dismounti ng her startled rider.
&aci rc;€œKirara!†cried the woman be fore she felt the rush of air and r ealized she was under
attack.
The firebird turned and Kakiboufuu took hold of the demon slayers ponytail,
dragging her off the feline. She cried out to her companion again as she was
slammed against the hull of a capsized&n bsp;boat. She drew her sword and slice& nbsp;through
her hair before the man cou ld bring his sword down, sliding down th e hull then
leaping to another large&nbs p;piece of wreckage.
“Wha t’s wrong with you?†she shouted toward the deranged man. Kirar a came up
beside her companion but felt shaken inside. While she knew she& nbsp;had to defend her
friend, Kasumi, s omething about the attacker was familiar. &nb sp;It tickled at her
memories, plucking at the fog within her mind. A fog& nbsp;that had appeared the day
she had&n bsp;been left with Kasumi and her older sister.
Kasumi placed her h and on Kirara’s mane, ready to& nbsp;leap atop her if the man charge
again. She didn’t understand ;the true reason for Kirara’s h esitation to attack him.
It didnâ €™t matter, Kasumi, as a demon sla yer, was reluctant to attack humans.
Kirara’s reluctance seemed natura l when facing a human opponent and was&n bsp;desired
by the village and her fathe r. She was a demon and they had&nb sp;been leery of letting
her join them&n bsp;in the village, fearing she would attack& nbsp;them as they slept. It had
ta ken a great deal of time and explanation for Kasumi and her older sister to ;win
their father over.
She l ooked to the man standing atop the hull. In the ghost light, she could see his
wild eyes filled with rageâ&e uro;¦ and grief. Her cutoff hair ;remained in his right hand
and the ;wakizashi in his left. She noticed the sheath on his right hip and realized&nb sp;
he carried no other weapons, a samura i with no katana. Her mind flashed ;upon
that long ago day in the fiel d. That day when Kirara had come t o her. That
samurai also had no&nb sp;katana and a wakizashi that rested on ;his right hip.
“Itâ ;€™s you,†Kasumi gasped before& nbsp;Kirara knocked her onto her back as ;the man
lunged swinging wildly with his short sword. “Matte!â€& nbsp;she screamed. This has to be
a misunderstanding, she thought. â€&oe lig;Kirara, is that him?â€
“Mrrrreeee.†Kirara&nb sp;ears folded back and Kasumi felt the twin-tail’s sadness.
Though, K irara was still uncertain, it was enough ;for the demon slayer.
â€&oe lig;Matte!†Kasumi cried again as Kira ra was forced to dodge the manâ€&t rade;s strike again.
However, Kasumi no ticed the strikes were aimed at her and& nbsp;not Kirara. It would be
faster&nbs p;for him to attack the flying cat but&n bsp;instead he aimed only for the human on
her back.
I have&nb sp;to get close and stop his movements, she thought. “Kirara!†she cried,
trusting the feline understood&nbs p;her intentions. Kirara charged and Kasumi& nbsp;pulled
her haraikotsu over her shoulder, preparing to block the man’s&n bsp;sword.
Among the ruined junks, another pair of eyes watched the battle , debating whether
or not to interfere.& nbsp; Keima, a young inuyokai with rich brown hair, amber eyes and
two red stripes that came from the corners of hi s temple and ended at the inner tips&nbs p;
of his eyebrows, gripped the broken de ck of a ship that floated along the ;outside of
the group with one hand.&nbs p; The other held the body of his u nconscious comrade.
His comrade was&nbs p;Raita son, Raiyo. Raiyo had charged t he female demon slayer
after she had&nbs p;cut down his father. Realizing the na ture of the threat and with their
t wo greatest warriors down, Keima and the ;others had focused on sinking the
remai ning vessels and condemning their hated cargo to the bottom of the sea.
Ke ima had been clipped by her weapon, brea king three of his ribs and collapsing a& nbsp;
lung. The impact had thrown him&nb sp;off the deck but his foot had tangled in the
rigging and it twisted, sna pping as he plunged into the water.
Once in the water, Keima had sunk two more vessels before diving below th e
surface to dodge the demon slayer&acir c;€™s haraikotsu. As he had swum& nbsp;to find a concealed
area to surface , he bumped into Raiyo. The other demon was unconscious and
missing his ri ght arm; his left leg was badly mauled.& nbsp; He had grabbed hold of Raiyo
and returned to the surface. Keima had& nbsp;then realized they were the only ones&nb sp;to
surface, all the others had been&n bsp;killed. However, the remaining vessels w ere either
sinking or burning. With&nbs p;the primary mission fulfilled, Keima had re mained
hidden among the debris with Raiy o hoping the demon slayer would leave. < br>
The demon slayer had prowled for&nb sp;some time while the waters remained lit&nb sp;with the
burning vessels. Once the&n bsp;fires had gone out she had disappeared&nb sp;but Keima wasn’t
convinced s he was gone, he feared she was waiting&n bsp;for survivors to come out. While waiting for the light of day to come& nbsp;and banish her cover, he failed to see the arrival
of the Taisho. It& nbsp;wasn’t until the demon slayer&n bsp;had returned and spoken that he
real ized someone else was here.
K eima knew the Taisho turned human on the night of the new moon but he had&n bsp;
never seen him as a human. Hot aru’s presence was the only clu e that told him the
identity of the man fighting with the demon slayer. &nb sp;Now he wished to help his lord
b ut feared to leave the unconscious Raiyo ;alone. He also feared he would do ;worse
than help, that he would actually hinder the Taisho’s fight. &nb sp;Still debating, he
gasped in horror w hen the feline finally charged. Cursing ;his indecision, Keima
pulled Raiyo around&nb sp;to the front of the deck and finally& nbsp;onto it. With Raiyo out of
th e water, he launched himself at the demo n slayer just as she pinned the Taisho&n bsp;to
the hull of another junk.
&n bsp;
Kirara bit the right arm of the ;man as Kasumi slammed her haraikotsu into&nb sp;the
sword-wielding left. The man cri ed out but kept his grip on the wak izashi. The
firebird screeched and rele ased her hold on him as the twin-tail&nb sp;drove them into the
hull of a ca psized vessel. Kasumi dismounted midflight a nd brought the haraikotsu
between her an d her opponent. Pinned beneath it, the& nbsp;man couldn’t move.
S he drew her own sword and pressed the&nb sp;blade against his exposed throat but didn& acirc;€™t
cut. “It is you,†she said. â€&oeli g;You were Kirara’s original owner.& acirc;€
“I never rea lized you were a demon slayer,†h e hissed. The phoenix hovered above
them screeching in distress. If she a ttacked, she would only burn her own mas ter.
Kasumi ground her teet h and opened her mouth to ask the q uestion she should
have asked from the&n bsp;start.
“Taisho!â€&nb sp;
She turned her head and saw&nbs p;the young inuyokai flying toward her. ;I knew there
was still a demon her e, she thought. Keeping a knee pressed& nbsp;to the haraikotsu, she
pulled her&n bsp;hand out of the strap, reached into her pouch and threw two pellets at
the demon.
“Kirara, stay! †she commanded. She didnâ&euro ;™t want the twin-tail being caught by& nbsp;the
poison powder.
â€&o elig;Keima! No!†screamed the man&nbs p;underneath her at the same time. The& nbsp;pellets
exploded and the inuyokai tried& nbsp;in vain to pull back from the cloud . He raised his
arms to his f ace, trying to cover his nose with the&n bsp;fabric of his kimono. “Kei ma!â€
A sphere of light ;flashed across the sky and Keima vanished&nb sp;within it. A broad
piece of hul l bounced where the light settled then d isappeared. In its place stood a
s ilver-haired demon with golden eyes. Sesshom aru had his arm wrapped around
the younger demon’s waist. Keima l eaned forward and coughed up blood, the catch
having pushed his broken ribs furt her into his ruined lung. Soranoko appe ared a
moment later and noticed Raiyo&nb sp;laid out on the deck. She flew low and pulled him
onto her feather,&nbs p;before returning her attention to the demon slayer.
Kasumi cursed her bad&nbs p;fortune. These two new demons were fr esh and one was a
wind user. Her haraikotsu would be useless against the&n bsp;wind sorceress unless she
was able t o catch the demon off guard. The n ew dog demon raised his left hand and&nb sp;
she saw his nails glow. She cur sed again as she tried to figure out&nbs p;a way to escape.
She didnâ&euro ;™t need to stay any longer, with the ships gone there was nothing to prot ect
anymore. I should have just he aded home once I confirmed the ships wer e lost, she
thought.
†œRemove yourself from atop my little br other and I will let you leave this ;place
unharmed,†stated the silver&nb sp;inuyokai.
“Your little brother?†she repeated, incredulous. She turned to face the man,
outrag ed. “You’re a de mon?â€
“Half,â&eur o; the man snapped.
â€&oelig ;What is your game? Why did you gi ve Kirara to me back then? Was it& nbsp;all just
lies?†she demanded.&nbs p; Kirara had been nothing but loyal and true from the first day.
She ;couldn’t be part of some elabo rate demon plot. Surely if that was&nbs p;the case, the
trap would have already& nbsp;been sprung.
The manâ€&trade ;s face softened, losing its anger as so rrow took hold. “Nothing I&nbs p;said that
day was a lie. I didn’t know you and your sister were demon slayers.â€
&acir c;€œInuyasha, what are you talking abou t?†hissed Sesshomaru.
â&e uro;œWhy are you raiding these ships?â € Kasumi snarled.
“T hat’s none of your business, sl ayer,†snapped Soranoko as she brought her fan up
to strike.
& acirc;€œThese ships are bringing foreign&nbs p;weapons to our enemies,†replied Kak iboufuu,
talking over Soranoko. â&euro ;œIf the enemy is successful in gatheri ng enough it will be the
end for&nb sp;my people and our allies.â€
&nb sp;
Kasumi’s eyes widened as she absorbed his statement. His eyes didn& acirc;€™t waver as he
stared at&nb sp;her. Kirara rubbed her head against the woman’s shoulder in sympathy.&nb sp;
“Your enemies? These are the same people who killed your wife and nearly killed
Kiarara years ago?&ac irc;€ she asked, though she knew the&nbs p;answer.
“Maybe you ;should learn more about your would-be employ er before accepting a
commission from so meone,†he said quietly.
Ka sumi raised her fist and slammed it into the hull. “I’ve been tricked into taking a
side in a war. We aren’t suppose d to get involved in wars. Weâ&eu ro;™re just supposed to
slay problem&nb sp;demons. Damn it!â€
&acir c;€œHurry and go,†said Kakibouf uu as he looked away. “Be gone before the sun rises.
Now&nb sp;that you know the truth, donâ€&trade ;t interfere any further.â€
Kasumi rose and pulled herself onto Kirara,&n bsp;freeing the man. She settled her haraikotsu across her back and looked down on the man called Inuyasha.
&acir c;€œGomenasai,†she said. &acir c;€œI think understand now what you&nbs p;were trying to do. You
didnâ&eu ro;™t wish for Kirara to fight anymore. â€
“Just hurry ;and go,†he said as he sat up. He didn’t look at her further but she
sensed his grief. “Dawn is coming.â€
“Right,†she said and Kirara rose into the air. The twin-tail stared at the man and
meowed&n bsp;in sadness. She still couldnâ€&tra de;t remember him clearly but her heart ached
nonetheless.
“Taish o?†gasped Keima in confusion.
&n bsp;
“Inuyasha, what are you doi ng?†demanded Sesshomaru as the demon& nbsp;slayer rose
higher into the air.
Kakiboufuu refused to look at his&nb sp;brother as he sat up. Then the water around the
vessels began to boil.& nbsp; Jets of superheated steam broke the&nbs p;surface, launching the
scorching vapor ;and water tens of feet into the air.&nb sp; The heated water soaked into
the&nbs p;hard wood faster and the wreckage rapidly&n bsp;lost its buoyancy.
Soranoko& nbsp;shot up into the air to escape the& nbsp;geysers. With the wood they stood upon
steaming with the rising temperature,&nb sp;Sesshomaru expanded his demon aura
around& nbsp;him and Keima and joined the wind s orceress.
“Taisho!â€&nbs p;shouted Keima.
Sesshomaru looked back . The blasts of water had forced H otaru back and now all
her attempts ;to return to Kakiboufuu were thwarted by&nbs p;the unpredictable
eruptions. The Taisho&nb sp;clambered higher onto the capsized boat, b ut the shifting
weight and unstable sea& nbsp;was causing it to rotate back up. & nbsp;Kakiboufuu struggled to
remain on top&nb sp;as boiling water fell all around him. ;
If he falls into the water n ow, he’ll not only sink because of his armor but he’ll bo il
alive, thought Sesshomaru in terror. “Soranoko!†he shouted and then shoved the
injured brunette dem on toward her.
She caught&n bsp;and settled Keima on her feather then&nbs p;turned back in time to see
Sesshomaru& nbsp;diving toward the boiling sea. â& euro;œSesshomaru-sama!†She attempted&nbs p;to
clear a path for him but the&n bsp;air currents surrounding the leaping pillars&n bsp;of hot
water clashed with her wind,& nbsp;killing it before it could part the ;steam.
Sesshomaru bit back cries of pain as a geyser erupted before him.& nbsp; It wasn’t a direct
h it, he had pulled up short, but the ;steam and air temperature crisped his skin&n bsp;to
the muscle in an instant. T his is like lava, he thought in horror,& nbsp;and Inuyasha is
only human right no w. Never mind falling in, heâ€&tr ade;s being burned alive at this
moment! Despite the urgency, he couldn†™t dive through the geyser to get to his
brother. It would be his&nb sp;death.
Soranoko saw the ship&nb sp;roll over in a sudden violent move, a new geyser blasting
from beneath it.&nb sp; “Taisho!†she screamed&nb sp;as the young man was thrown. As ;if in
slow motion, she saw Kakiboufuu&n bsp;fly back and directly underneath him the& nbsp;water
began to boil as another jet& nbsp;prepared to erupt. Sesshomaru was too&n bsp;far away to
reach him and the v ery human Taisho was about to take a&nbs p;direct hit.
Haraikotsu whistled its&n bsp;distinct sound as it spun through the&nbs p;air and came up
beneath Kakiboufuu jus t as the geyser broke the surface. ;It hit the giant
boomerang along its&nb sp;flat side and drove it up and against the Taisho. They both
were launch ed high into the air. Kirara appeared&n bsp;and Kakiboufuu fell across her
back as Kasumi caught her weapon. She then&n bsp;threw her weighted chain at
Sesshomaru,&n bsp;wrapping his wrist and then holding tight as Kirara rose into the sky
pullin g the demon out of the death trap o f boiling jets.
Sesshomaru hadnâ& euro;™t seen his brother get thrown or& nbsp;rescued and was taken by
surprise w hen the demon slayer’s chain wo und around his wrist, pulling him up. &n bsp;
He flew up several feet before he&nb sp;realized what had happened, by then Hotaru had
circled around and gripped his ;armor. The firebird had seen Kakiboufuu&aci rc;€™s rescue
and knew it was ;Sesshomaru that needed to be saved now. ; When he felt Hotaru
catch hold of him and carrying him higher, he refrain ed from pulling on the chain.
He&n bsp;glanced back and saw the last of the junks sinking below the waves.
“Inuyasha,†he hissed in&n bsp;grief.
“It’s all right.†Sesshomaru looked u p at the demon slayer’s call.&n bsp; “I already have
him,â ;€ she said. In the predawn light, he saw his brother leaning against her. She
was holding the chain that&nb sp;bound his wrist. He shook the chain& nbsp;off and she
retracted it with an&nb sp;expert snap of her wrist. Soranoko f lew over to join them.
â ;€œWhy?†demanded Sesshomaru.
&n bsp;
Kasumi looked at the man in disbelie f as he glared at her. I guess&nbs p;I should be
surprised as well, we ;are enemies. “I made a m istake and while I can’t bring& nbsp;back
the dead I can save the l iving,†she replied.
The si lver-haired demon looked as if he was go ing to say something else but the
w ind sorceress hit him on the head with&n bsp;her fan. “It was poorly&nb sp;expressed, but we
are grateful,â€&nb sp;she said as the inuyokai glared at he r. “He just doesnâ€&trad e;t like to admit
sometimes just how&nbs p;much he loves his baby brother.â€&nbs p;
“I kindly ask that ;you refrain from antagonizing Sesshomaru-sama whi le Raiyo and
I must ride with you,& nbsp;Soranoko-san,†said the brunette in&nb sp;an even tone even as his
alarm g rew.
Kasumi just stared at the&nbs p;group then glanced down at the churning&nbs p;water below. “I
hate to interrupt, but do you know what†™s going on with the sea? Is ;it the enemy?â€
â€&oe lig;Whose enemy?†snarled Sesshomaru, he&nb sp;couldn’t believe he was even ;having a
conversation with a demon slay er. However, she had saved Kakiboufuu s o he
decided he had to be civil&nbs p;while she was here.
â€&oel ig;Kirara was the best thing that ever h appened to me,†snapped Kasumi. “She got
me through some h ard times and has been the best friend&n bsp;and partner I could ever
ask for.&nb sp; If I had known that the guy hir ing us was part of the group that k illed her
original partner and nearly ki lled her, I never would have taken the&n bsp;commission. I
would never have made her fight former comrades like that. &n bsp;Since I know now, I’m
not going to take anymore commissions from&nb sp;them and I will be informing the rest
of the village of my decision. &nb sp;I’m sure Otou-san will understand my reasons.â€
Sesshomaru&nb sp;regarded the feline then reached out his&n bsp;hand to touch her head. She†™s
under a spell, he thought as&nb sp;he moved his fingers through the fur. It was probably
placed to keep her from following him when he left. The woman demon slayer
stared at him&nbs p;with earnest eyes and he sighed. He&n bsp;looked down at the raging
geysers. < br>
“It’s not th e enemy. She must be regaining consciou sness,†he said with a grimace. < br>
Kasumi blanched. “You&nbs p;mean that water demon is doing this?⠀ It didn’t help when&nbs p;
she noted that both inuyokai and the&n bsp;wind sorceress had gone equally pale.
“Demon slayer, hand the ;Taisho over to Sesshomaru-sama and then leav e here as
fast as you can,â€& nbsp;said Soranoko. Kasumi glanced at the&nb sp;wind sorceress.
“Kaiyoshinju&nbs p;isn’t a water demon, sheâ&eu ro;™s a sea dragon, and she typically&n bsp;is not
reasonable first thing in the morning.â€
“You&nb sp;mean there’s a time where sh e’s actually reasonable?†mut tered Sesshomaru
as he contemplated the entire group running for it.
It&nb sp;was his comment more than the wind so rceress’s that spurred Kasumi to&nbs p;move.
Kirara floated closer to the&nb sp;silver-haired inuyokai. The man looked as if he had
swallowed something bitter&nb sp;as he let the demon slayer approach. He concentrated
his youki around himsel f and the firebird released him. He&nbs p;reached out his hands
and took his&nbs p;human brother from her. The young man groaned and hissed as his
burnt an d blistering body was shift and move.
Sesshomaru ignored the pain that sho t up his own arms when Kakiboufuu made&n bsp;
contact with the seared flesh. The& nbsp;Taisho looked far worse than he felt.&nb sp; Blisters
were rising on his right&nb sp;cheek and neck, his eyelids were red and the surrounding
area was swelling, a nd Sesshomaru could feel were the fabric ;was wet and hot.
â€&oe lig;I know this won’t make amen ds for my error but maybe it can ma ke you both more
comfortable until your& nbsp;wounds heal,†said the demon slay er, holding out a small jar
to him. “It’s burn oint ment.†Sesshomaru looked at it t hen at her before taking the
jar. < br>
“Now hurry and go,â& euro; he said. “With Otouto&nb sp;like this, he won’t be able& nbsp;to stop
Kaiyoshinju from pursuing you.&n bsp; So it’s best if you w ere out of sight before she
surfaces.&ac irc;€
Kasumi nodded and she& nbsp;and Kirara flew fast away from the area as the sky
lightened.
Se sshomaru watched her go until they had v anished from his sight. He was
rel ieved by how fast she could move for&nbs p;within five seconds of her disappearing, Kaiyoshinju burst from the water with all& nbsp;the subtleness of an erupting volcano. & nbsp;
Sesshomaru was concerned for the welfare of Keima and Raiyo as well as his& nbsp;
brother’s but leaving without&n bsp;waiting for the sea dragon at this p oint would invite
further trouble.
;
The woman rose into the sky and th e water swirled in a large whirlpool as& nbsp;the sea
rushed to fill the void&nbs p;left by her departure. She roared and spun around, looking
for her prey, ;oblivious to the presence of Sesshomaru and& nbsp;Soranoko. After a minute
of her&nb sp;fruitless scanning, she slowed her movements&nb sp;and her glowing red eyes
returned to& nbsp;their normal violet.
Only then&nbs p;did Sesshomaru feel it was safe to att ract her attention. “Kaiyo, if you
are done,†he called, & acirc;€œwe need to return to the c lan.â€
She whipped around&nb sp;so fast, her knee length black hair f lew around and smacked
her in the f ace. “Weren’t you&nbs p;imprisoned?†she snapped. She looke d around again
and asked, â€&oelig ;Where’s the enemy?â€
&nb sp;
“Gone,†he replied ig noring her first question. “So are the ships and we need to
return so we can treat the injured. &nbs p;We have a ways to go as it is&nbs p;and we’ll be
brushing passed& nbsp;enemy territory.†He settled Kak iboufuu so he was resting on his
Se sshomaru’s bent knee, freeing the&nb sp;demon’s left hand. He pushe d his youki to
move him forward thr ough the air then turned his attention t o his brother. It
would be up ;to the others to follow or not.
&n bsp;
Unscrewing the jar, his nose told hi m it was indeed simple burn ointment, th ough
he found it surprising he had already accepted the demon slayer’s& nbsp;final gift. As
much as he hat ed her kind, with her standing before hi m, he couldn’t deny her
si ncerity. And the injury to his brother& acirc;€™s face concerned him the most.& nbsp; Once
sunrise came, Kakiboufuu would&nbs p;return to being a hanyou and his injur ies would
heal cleanly. However, the&nb sp;damage to his eyes was troublesome.
& nbsp;
Kakiboufuu had already shown a limit&nbs p;to recovery that wasn’t normal&nbs p;for a hanyou.
While most of the& nbsp;time he covered his scars with hypnotic& nbsp;flames, hiding them even
from the c lan, Sesshomaru had seen the extent of h is past injuries. The flesh of his ;
entire right arm up to his neck an d down his side was warped and dark.&nbs p; The right
arm was two inches sho rter than his left. The fingers were&nb sp;stunted and the skin
was rough like&n bsp;weathered wood. Though, he was able ;to use the arm in combat to
strike and block, Sesshomaru knew the right pu nch had only half the impact power
of the left. He knew it had everyt hing to do with the injury he received&n bsp;when he
was a child but he stil l wasn’t certain how far it&nbs p;affected him.
The scar of the near fatal injury he suffered when& nbsp;his wife was killed was a tight
knot of twisted flesh and Sesshomaru had&nb sp;felt the bone beneath was in a simila r
poorly healed state. Serious inj uries, even away from the right side mig ht not heal
well and Kakiboufuu had ;suffered these burns while in his human ;state. With the
injury to his eye s having the potential to be permanent i f not treated right away,
Sesshomaru was grateful for the burn ointment.
He rubbed his finger in the g el and applied it the seared lids. ;With careful
precision, he slid a nail& nbsp;between the lids and felt the melted&nbs p;flesh part with
minimum resistance. H e gently slid the ointment underneath and&nbs p;onto the eye
itself. Kakiboufuuâ&eur o;™s left hand clenched and crush Sessh omaru’s fur cape. His right&nb sp;
hand gripped the armor and he growled fiercely but didn’t move his&n bsp;head where it
lay against the fur.&n bsp;
“You’re cons cious,†stated Sesshomaru as he began& nbsp;to treat the left eye.
Kakibo ufuu’s right eye blinked and te ars appeared, rolling down his blistered
cheek, a good sign. “I a m,†he said. “I ju st didn’t know how to say I couldn’t open
my eyes.â € He growled again as Sesshomaru s liced the other one open and applied
the ointment to it. Within seconds of Sesshomaru finishing, the hanyou blinked
both eyes as tears slid down his face.
Sesshomaru said nothing as he&nbs p;spread the ointment to the blisters on ;his brother’s
cheeks. There&n bsp;had been note in Kakiboufuu’s&nb sp;voice that suggested something other
than& nbsp;embarrassment. However, Sesshomaru was still angry with his brother for
leaving ;the clan without an escort even if he&n bsp;hadn’t known he was going t o be
turning human. Once the hanyo u recovered, Sesshomaru was still going to&nb sp;flog him
within an inch of his l ife, though somewhere private, of course. &nb sp;Naomi would make
certain no one eaves dropped this time.
“You&a circ;€™re going to pound me, arenâ ;€™t you?†said Kakiboufuu, soun ding very much like a
sad child and not an indignant Taisho like Sesshomaru ;expected. The taiyokai said
nothing&nb sp;but kept rubbing the ointment on his face. The hanyou kept blinking
despite& nbsp;it having to be painful to move his eyelids so much.
“T here’s this old oak at the ;top of the waterfall that produces some ;springing
branches, the kind that are g ood for making fools wise,†said Kakiboufuu.
Sesshomaru paused a moment& nbsp;and asked, “Why are you te lling me this?â€
â€&oe lig;Because,†the hanyou replied, â&e uro;œI should be punished. I shouldn&a circ;€™t have gone out by
myself&n bsp;like that. I should have taken you& nbsp;with me. I should have brought Nao mi.
It was wrong to put those ;spells on you.â€
â€&o elig;If you understand that then why should&n bsp;I-†Sesshomaru started to respond. ;
“Because you have to!&ac irc;€ snapped Kakiboufuu. Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder
but the others w ere far enough back that they wouldnâ&e uro;™t overhear. He turned back
t o regard his brother. Kakiboufuu was st ill blinking rapidly and Sesshomaru added
more ointment to the lids to help prev ent them fusing. Still his brother didn ’t stop
blinking. Sesshomaru&n bsp;wondered about it a moment but he ha d more pressing
issues.
â&eu ro;œWhy?†he hissed.
&acir c;€œNo one should be above the law ,†explained Kakiboufuu. â€&oel ig;You told me not to risk
myself u nnecessarily. You told me I would put&n bsp;the whole clan at risk if I did.&nbs p; By
not taking an escort, I put&n bsp;myself at risk, new moon or not. &nb sp;But worse, I betrayed
your trust by&n bsp;putting a spell on you that could ha ve endangered you if the enemy
decided&n bsp;to attack the temple then. You woul dn’t have been able escape much less
fight and Himawari and Naomi would have been similarly doomed just because
they could leave your side. It&nb sp;was wrong and I should be penalized f or that.
“I am not so old to be arrogantly believing I& nbsp;am right all the time. I am n ot so
powerful that I require no es corts if I head into dangerous areas. &n bsp;I am still a child
in many ways and I will need guidance for many decades to come. Therefore, I
must ;have consequences for when I make such mistakes and the more potentially
disastrous& nbsp;they are the steeper the penalty must&nb sp;be. As my older brother, in the ;
absence of my father, that is your ;responsibility. You said it yourself, now&n bsp;you have
to follow through with it.& nbsp; I can’t promise there won ’t be times it wonâ€&trad e;t bother me. I
can’t&nb sp;promise that I will always yield when ;you think I’ve erred but you&n bsp;have to
trust yourself to know when& nbsp;I have and to save me from myself.& nbsp; I’ll look out for the&nbs p;
clan, so please, look out for me so I don’t destroy it.â€& nbsp;
Sesshomaru stared at his brother,& nbsp;his face emotionless. What brought this on? he
wondered, though he agreed with everything Kakiboufuu said. Then his&nb sp;mind
finally interpreted the strange, elus ive note in his brother’s voice as the hanyou
finished. Heâ&euro ;™s afraid. Did this experience scare& nbsp;him that badly? No, he’s& nbsp;faced
death before, so whatâ€&trad e;s the difference now?
â€&o elig;Inuyasha, you’re terrified,â€& nbsp;he stated.
Kakiboufuu stared then& nbsp;flinched as the sun broke the horizon&nb sp;at last. He shuddered
and his a ppearance changed, black hair turned silver, his ears climbed back to the
top of his head and, as his eyes blinked and watered, they returned to their usual&nbs p;
gold. The jagged purple stripes sprea d across his cheeks and his fangs and&nb sp;claws
extended. The hanyou turned hi s head to watch the sun rise even a s his eyes
streamed against the intense& nbsp;light.
“Inuyasha,†said Sesshomaru, trying to prompt his b rother to respond to his
accusation.
“I am terrified,â&euro ; he said after another long moment of&n bsp;silence. He didn’t take hi s
eyes from the sun. â€&oeli g;I’m terrified of the dark. &n bsp;The absolute eternal dark.â€
“Blindness?†gasped Sesshomar u. Now it makes sense. He feared& nbsp;he had lost his
sight and didn&acir c;€™t want it to be true, that&aci rc;€™s why he wasn’t sayi ng anything earlier and
why heâ€&t rade;s trying so hard to keep his eyes&n bsp;open right now. He’s petri fied of being
blind.
Sesshomaru&nb sp;asked in an even tone to not betray&n bsp;his thoughts, “Aren’t&n bsp;Tenko trained
to fight even when dep rived of their senses?â€
&ac irc;€œI was,†replied Kakiboufuu ;in a quiet voice. “I can go one hour before I tear the
blindfold off. When I was with my ;master, Kakiboufuu Akira, he tried to train& nbsp;me
in blind fighting for days at&nb sp;a time. I panicked every time and&nb sp;tore the blindfold off
or filled the& nbsp;cave with ghost lights because I couldn& acirc;€™t stand not seeing. He wo uld
get so mad. He even used a hypnotic spell on me to make me f orget how to open my
eyes.â€
Sesshomaru was stunned. He had&nb sp;never thought of Kakiboufuu Akira as cruel , yet
there was no other word to&nb sp;describe doing that to an apprentice who&n bsp;clearly suffered
from a phobia. &ac irc;€œWhy would he cast such a spe ll on you?â€
“ He wanted me to overcome my fear,â&euro ; replied Kakiboufuu. “While I was in exile I
trained with a ;blindfold but I could only do it for&nb sp;an hour before I couldn’t ta ke it
anymore and pulled it off. &n bsp;I don’t know why I fear&nbs p;the dark.â€
The pair flew& nbsp;on in silence as Sesshomaru considered h is brother’s confession. His < br> maturity swings wildly. One minute he&nb sp;can be the poised and calm leader we& nbsp;
respect, the next he’s sel fishly doing what he wants heedless of t he consequences
that may occur. I& nbsp;can only believe he was mentally aged&nb sp;too soon by the demands of
his h uman clan.
Humanoid demons like do g and wolf demons aged at the same rate as humans until
they reached adoles cents. Then the demon’s growth rate would slow as did their
emoti onal maturity. They weren’t re cognized as full adults by their communities& nbsp;
until they were eighty years old. & nbsp;Humans, within Tenji, were recognized as ;full
adults at eighteen, though, beyond ;its borders the age was much younger. & nbsp;
Sesshomaru knew his brother was only&nbs p;fifty-five. That seemed old to Tenko but to
the inuyokai he wasnâ€&trad e;t even sixteen.
Sesshomaru&nbs p;thought about the many events that his ;brother had been exposed to.
The hard training under Kakiboufuu Akira would ha ve begun when he was still a
child. The war began when he was about&n bsp;twenty-one, not even thirteen in demon years. He had met and loved his ;dead wife somewhere in the next decade or so.
Fourteen at the oldest. &nb sp;Exile swiftly followed, wandering alone with&nb sp;an enemy
trying to locate and destroy him. Then he found his way to&nbs p;his father’s clan and
was&nbs p;forced to assume leadership of a divided&nb sp;clan and make harsh decisions to bring&nbs p;
it under control. Not even sixteen&nb sp;to the inuyokai and he had dealt with so much.
It all fit. K akiboufuu, despite being half human, had the& nbsp;developmental rate of a
demon. The swings were understandable when put into&nbs p;proper context. It only
made Sesshoma ru kick himself for the umpteenth time f or being too weak to hold
the clan& nbsp;together himself. For not knowing what& nbsp;he needed to know to stop Norikoâ& euro;™s
revolt. His brother may h ave been young but he had the training&n bsp;and the talent to
control the other& nbsp;inuyokai. That he was needed before&nbs p;he was ready still hurt
Sesshomaru. &n bsp;The taiyokai should have at least been&nb sp;able to hold things together
until Ka kiboufuu had matured fully.
â ;€œAniue, I’m all right n ow, I can fly on my own,†sa id the hanyou, drawing
Sesshomaru from h is inner thoughts. Still full of self-h ate for his stupidity and
uselessness, t he warning glance he speared his brother ;with was more potent then
he was u sed to. Kakiboufuu blinked once, eyes w idening, blanched and cringed. It
was&n bsp;the first time Sesshomaru had ever gotten Kakiboufuu to cringe with just a
s ingle look. At any other time, he would have been pleased but, right then, ;he was
too annoyed to care.
To be continued…