InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Heaven and Earth ❯ The New Sesshoumaru ( Chapter 16 )

Chapter 16: The New Sesshoumaru

 

Inside the hut Mahoutsukai had Sesshoumaru sit down on the futon she had arranged in the middle of the floor. She had various items strewn around it. “I'll need to take some of your hair as well, my lord.”

 

He sat on the futon and turned so she could cut some from the back of his head. The witch took the strands from himself and his brother and braided them together, tying them with a black ribbon. She placed them in the small bowl by her feet and poured different oils and potions from the bottles over the hairs. The room became filled with an unpleasant, pungent odour. Sesshoumaru watched, becoming slightly nervous. “What are those things?” he asked.

 

“It's better if you don't know,” she replied as she took a small packet and sprinkled the black powder into the mixture. The reaction was almost instantaneous, a sizzling sound was heard and the hair burst into flames. Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose at the stench. He watched as the hair was consumed within the dark liquid, the flames not really dying out, it was more like they were being absorbed into the pool.

 

“Lie back,” the sorceress commanded. She looked down at him for a moment. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?” she asked him softly.

 

“Yes, it needs to be done,” he returned firmly.

 

“Very well.” She took out a small dagger she had in her kimono, and turning his head to the side to expose the bite mark, she cut diagonally from one fang indentation to the other, making an X that oozed blood. Sesshoumaru hissed and squinted his eyes closed at the sting of the knife on his sensitive neck. The witch took the bowl of liquid and began to chant, passing her hand over it a few times. She then poured the liquid over the cut she had made and watched as it mingled with Sesshoumaru's blood and seeped into the wound, crawling into the opening like it had a mind of its own.

 

Sesshoumaru's body began to feel warm, his neck felt like it was burning and he moaned out between his gritted teeth. A few seconds later he sat up and vomited into a larger bowl the witch had the presence of mind to have available. She held it under him as she put her other hand on his forehead to help hold him steady until he was done.

 

Sesshoumaru could feel the potion race through his veins, making him feel hot and cold simultaneously. An unpleasant, painful feeling followed growing in intensity until everything hurt all at once, making him scream out. It felt like his very soul was being ripped from his body.

 

The witch continued to hold him, tears of sadness slowly tracking down her cheeks. I'm sorry baby; this is going to be so hard for you.

 

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Inuyasha's feeling of dread had intensified the further away he walked from the hut. Finally, he stopped, unable to push the feeling away any longer. “I've got to go back,” he stated.

 

“You heard Sesshoumaru, he doesn't want us to be there,” Sango said as she looked at the hanyou suspiciously.

 

“He's in good hands with Mahoutsukai,” soothed Miroku. “I'm sure we'll see him in no time.”

 

“It's just not right. I did this to him and then let him go, now, I'm doing it again. I should be there for him; it's my fault this happened. I can't leave him to deal with this on his own. He's still my brother no matter what,” he told them. “You guys just go back to the village without me; I'll bring Sesshoumaru when it's over.”

 

“Go to him, Inuyasha,” Kagome intoned quietly. She wasn't happy about it but she understood. She would not have wanted her own brother to go through something like this by himself either.

 

“Kagome, how can you allow this?” Sango asked surprised.

 

“Because I have a brother too,” she answered her friend, her eyes sad but determined. Sango's eyes widened and understanding came into her heart. Even though Sesshoumaru would no longer look on Inuyasha as his mate, they would still care for each other as brothers and that was something Sango didn't want to change.

 

She looked at her half demon friend. “I'm sorry I was so hard on you and Sesshoumaru,” she apologized with her head down. “I don't want you to stop being brothers. I know you guys got a chance to be that while he was human. I can't be with my own brother but I still love him. I would not want to lose Kohaku forever.”

 

Inuyasha looked at his friends glad they understood his need to go help his sibling. He turned and ran back as fast as he could to Mahoutsukai's hut.

 

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The terrible howls he heard coming from the hut made his heart leap into his throat and he crashed through the door.

 

“Sesshoumaru!” he yelled out.

 

Mahoutsukai was in front of him in a flash, pushing him out the door and closing it behind her. Thank goodness my hinges are strong, she thought to herself.

 

“Don't come in,” she told him forcefully. “Your presence will only make this harder on him.”

 

“Stop this now, I don't want him to do it,” he ordered the witch, trying to get by her.

 

She gripped his arms firmly, “I can't. Once the spell has been invoked it won't stop till the end.”

 

“What do you mean `till the end'?”

 

“Either your brother will come though this or he'll die,” she said.

 

“Die? You never said he might die,” Inuyasha exclaimed angrily.

 

“He is weaker than he should be but I still think he has enough strength to make it. He has to let go of you and if you're in there, he won't be able to. In that case he could very well die.”

 

Inuyasha looked at her in shock, “I can't just stand by and do nothing, not when he's in such pain.” They could still hear the cries and moans coming from inside the hut periodically.

 

“There is nothing you can do now. Wait out here and help him when it's over. He'll need your support then.”

 

Inuyasha sat on the ground; tears began to course down his face. What have I done? I don't want this, he didn't want this. Why did I make him do it? He had no answer for himself but the feelings of guilt and loss were beginning to overwhelm him and he began to sob.

 

Mahoutsukai gave him a hug. “I'm sorry for you both. I know this is hard, but I'll help him to my best ability. Please, just stay out here, don't make it more difficult,” she whispered into his ear.

 

He nodded and watched as she went back into the hut, his heart sore listening to the cries of his brother.

 

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Hours later the wails from the demon lord finally dwindled to whimpers and then had stopped. Mahoutsukai had to put up a barrier around her hut to keep the hanyou out. He had not been able to handle the pain he could hear coming from his brother and had tried to come in again. She had had to use her magic to force him back out. She was worn out, having to listen to one brother scream outside the hut while the other screamed inside, trying to maintain the barrier from the hanyou's attacks until he had exhausted himself. She knew there was nothing she could do to stop what had been started and she was angry with herself as well. I should never have agreed to this. They were meant to be together.

 

Sesshoumaru's senses and instincts knew his mate was near and he had tried unconsciously to hold onto the bond between them and his psyche had finally had enough, going into shut down mode. That part of himself that he had pushed down years ago rose to the surface and decided it was time to be done with all this. The trauma of being mortal, the misery of being away from his mate for so long, the weakness of the starving body and the agony he had just endured pushed Sesshoumaru over his limits. His other self decided to put this stubborn demon in a nice, secure place in his mind and intended to keep him there.

 

The new Sesshoumaru opened his eyes to look at the woman above him. He had absolutely no idea who she was, and in fact, had no idea who he was and why he felt so sore and tired.

 

“My lord,” the witch said, watching him carefully. “How are you feeling?” She was surprised to see his eyes had changed color. They were gold, but not the bright gold they used to be. Now they were dark, like tarnished metal and empty looking, it frightened her slightly.

 

“I feel…hurt. Was I in a battle?” he asked.

 

“Yes, in a way.” She looked at him quizzically as she noticed his empty stare. “Do you not remember what happened?”

 

“Not really,” he intoned flatly. He tried to sit up but his head started to spin and he lay back down. “What happened and…and who am I? Funny I can't seem to think of who I am. Did I hit my head or something?”

 

“You are Sesshoumaru, lord of the western lands. I am the sorceress Mahoutsukai. You came to me to remove a mating bond.” She didn't elaborate, but just let that small amount of knowledge work itself into his brain for a moment.

 

He stared back just as blankly as before. “A lord, eh? Why would I want a mating bond removed?” he asked her.

 

Oh dear, she thought. He doesn't remember anything. This is definitely not good. She knew there might be side effects of this but she sure wasn't expecting him to lose himself so completely. She could only hope it wasn't permanent.

 

Just then they both heard the yelling coming from outside the hut. Mahoutsukai had forgotten momentarily that the other one was still out there.

 

“What's that noise?” Sesshoumaru asked. “Who's out there?”

 

“That is your brother, Inuyasha” she answered hoping that he would remember him.

 

“I have a brother? Is he a lord as well? Why isn't he coming in?”

 

She looked at him with worry creasing her forehead. “I can go get him, bring him to you if you wish.” Maybe seeing his hanyou brother would shock him back.

 

“Yeah, sure, that would be okay, I'd like to meet my brother.”

 

Mahoutsukai got up and went to the door, releasing the spell that held the half demon out. He fell though the door of the hut, this time breaking the hinges, the door falling flat on the floor. He better fix that the witch thought, irritated.

 

“Where is he? What's happened?” Inuyasha was just about in a panic when he couldn't hear his brother any longer. He was sure he had died and it was tearing him apart.

 

“He's further inside and awake. He wants to see you but…” She didn't have time to finish as the hanyou ran by her and sat down beside his brother. Sesshoumaru looked at him curiously and slightly confounded. “You're a demon,” he stated.

 

“What's wrong with you? Of course I am, well, half demon anyways.” Inuyasha gave his brother a weird look, something was different about the way he looked, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

 

“Am I half demon too?”

 

Inuyasha gave Sesshoumaru a surprised look. “Wha…?”

 

“He's lost his memory, he doesn't know who he is,” Mahoutsukai said, coming up to sit on the other side of the confused demon. She had brought him a drink of water and he took it gratefully, downing it quickly.

 

“That's good, my throat is really sore,” Sesshoumaru sighed out, rubbing his neck. “Can I have some more?”

 

“Sure, I'll be right back.” The witch got up and went to get him a larger cup.

 

“You don't remember anything?” asked Inuyasha.

 

“Not really. You didn't answer my question.”

 

“What question?” Inuyasha asked, noticing that his brother was not as formal in his speech now.

 

“Am I a half demon too?”

 

“No, you're full demon, Inu demon. We had the same father but different mothers.” Inuyasha tried not to let his worry show.

 

“Oh.” Nothing rang a bell for Sesshoumaru and he really didn't recognize the white haired boy before him but he saw the look of concern cross his face. “Was I really sick? You look very worried about me.”

 

“Of course I'm worried; you don't remember anything, stupid.”

 

Sesshoumaru gave him an irritated glare, “You don't have to be mean about it.”

 

It then hit Inuyasha what was different about his brother other than the way he was acting and talking. His eyes were different. They were sort of blank looking and a dark gold.

 

“Why are you staring at me like that?” he asked his puppy eared brother.

 

“Uh…no reason,” Inuyasha mumbled back, looking away quickly.

 

Mahoutsukai returned with a tall cup full of water. Sesshoumaru drank half of it down in one gulp as she held him up so he wouldn't choke. Finished, she laid him back down telling him to get some rest and pulled Inuyasha away.

 

“Why can't he remember anything? What did you do?” Inuyasha was angry and upset, mostly at himself for making his brother go through with this. He wanted the old Sesshoumaru back.

 

“I'm not sure what's wrong. It could be that his mind just couldn't handle anymore. He fought hard to hold the bond between you. I'm not even sure if the spell worked.”

 

“Damn it!” exclaimed Inuyasha. “This is my fault; I should never have made him do this.”

 

“I'm sorry, but your brother did what he thought was best for you, he didn't want to be a burden to you. He told me that you were…confused as to what you wanted.”

 

Inuyasha looked at her in misery. “I know what I want now,” he said softly. “I love him, I want him back. Can't you fix this?” he asked hopefully.

 

“No, there is nothing more I can do. He can stay here and rest until he's ready to travel but the best one to bring him back to himself is you. Can you stay with him?”

 

“Of course,” stated Inuyasha. Fuck everybody else, I'm not leaving him again, he thought to himself.

 

“Be careful what you do, he's in a fragile state. He doesn't know the mating mark was from you.” Mahoutsukai told the young man. “Don't push him to fast or you'll risk losing him. And for heaven's sake, make sure he eats.”