InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Happy Place ❯ The Truth of It All ( Chapter 4 )

"I don't think about us much anymore
And frankly the topic has become a bore
And you don't come up much in my conversations
And I don't think about you on vacation
But when it rains
That's when I remember
I remember you"
-- The Rain Song; Continental Drifters - Vermilion 1999; the Bangles, Doll Revolution 2003

The soft pitter patter of rain resounded throughout the small hut. Sesshomaru looked around in disgust. It had been abandoned at some point. Dust covered nearly ever inch of the floors, irritating his nose whenever they moved around it. It swirled up, causing him to sneeze. Inuyasha and Jaken had fared no better. The only one mostly unaffected by the dust had been Rin.

'At least humans have one good quality,' he conceded to himself, 'although it is a small one and not always favourable.'

Sesshomaru stifled a sigh then looked over to where his brother slept, Rin curled up next to him. Jaken slept in a corner opposite the two. The entire day had passed and Inuyasha had not spoken a single word. To say it unnerved him would have been an understatement. It flat out scared him.

'It's like he's been placed under a spell or something,' he mused.

"And there, you would be right," a feminine voice commented. Sesshomaru slowly turned around. Behind him stood a human woman of medium height and long, golden tresses. Her brown eyes sparkled at him and she was clad in a low cut shirt and short skirt, much like Inuyasha's miko. How she managed to get inside the hut, he didn't know and it unnerved him.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he growled.

"Who I am isn't important," she replied, smirking slightly. "It's what I've been doing that is. You're right. Your brother has been placed under a spell at the request of a certain demon."

"And I suppose that there is a way of removing this spell, hai?"

"Hai, there is," she nodded.

"And how is the spell broken?" he demanded quietly.

"By seeing what only the blind can see. Hearing only what the deaf can hear and saying only what the mute can say," she stated simply.

"That makes no sense, woman," Sesshomaru growled. "It sounds like a bunch of trickery to me."

"It makes more sense than what you might think, Lord Sesshomaru," she replied. "After all, Inuyasha has already seen the colours the world has to offer. He has heard the sounds of laughter and of tears, and he has said the harshest things to the ones he cares about. Imagine now, if you will, what those colours must look like to him now, what those sounds must be like now, and the things he feels he'll never be able to say now."

Sesshomaru paused. He couldn't imagine not being able to see the world or the colours that it held. He couldn't imagine not being able to hear anything - a defenseless demon was a dead demon. "You don't believe me, do you?" she inquired lightly, amusedly. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes.

'She's amused. No, she's more than amused.' He flexed his hand.

"I wouldn't think of it, Lord Sesshomaru. Your brother was no match for me and my sisters when we stripped of his ability to see, hear, and talk. You will be no match for us, either. Do not anger our lord. When the time comes, the spell will be removed but not until then."

"Who is your lord?" he demanded quietly. "At least let me know that." 'So I can have a little chat with him,' he added silently. Again, she smirked.

"All in good time, Lord Sesshomaru. All in good time."

She took a step back, her form wavering then vanishing. He gazed at where she had stood, understanding coming quickly.

'A projection spell. That's why I wasn't able to hear her or detect her scent. Crafty and audacious but not like Naraku. He'd be out to kill Inuyasha, not to teach him a lesson. Oh, little brother, who have you angered this time?'

Carefully, he made his way towards Inuyasha and Rin, settling himself next to them. The hanyou had started to toss and turn a little after a few moments and Sesshomaru moved closer. If Inuyasha could have moaned, he was certain that he would have.

'I'd forgotten about the nightmares he used to have, especially after Father passed away . . .'

Tentatively, he reached out and touched Inuyasha's forehead. He quieted down at the light touch, settling back into a deep slumber. When it appeared that he'd stay quiet, Sesshomaru glanced towards the covered window, a silent war raging within.

`Why is it, little brother, that whenever I try to forget about you and what you've stood for all these years, something has to remind me that you were loved by our father? Perhaps a little more than what he loved me . . . I hate thinking about you, Inuyasha. I hate talking about you but yet I can never seem to escape you. Why have you cursed me as such? Why?' Softly the rain poured down, bringing back memories of times long forgotten . . .

* * *

"You confronted him?"

"Hai, my lord. I have."

"And?" came the prompt.

"He wished to know your name, my lord. I told him in good time."

"Good," the silver-haired demon nodded. "Things are progressing nicely. When we will be ready to move to the next part?"

"Whenever you give us the word, my lord."

"Good," he smiled. "Very good."