InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Into the Fire ❯ In His Shoes ( Chapter 6 )

Title: Into the Fire

Author: Chiaztolite

Rating: NC-17/M for future lemon, rape, and violence

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Inuyasha

 

Souryuha: Dragon destruction (one of Sesshoumaru's fighting techniques)

 

Into the Fire

 

Chapter 06: In His Shoes

 

Inuyasha and his friends had been on their journey to the Mountain of Gods for two days now. None of them are familiar with the eastern landscape, so they let Shouri led the way. There were no clue of Naraku or any of his minions, and their journey had been peaceful so far.

They all noticed that the inu princess was very quiet. She was a solitary figure and kept her distance from the rest of group. With her winter white kimono, her long silver hair, and her cold demeanor, it was as if they had Sesshoumaru among them. They could recognize Katsujinken among the two swords tied on her waist, since they had seen what it looked like that day in the shrine. However, they had not the chance to see its power, or the princess ability to fight since they had not encountered any enemy yet.

It was almost sunset and they had been walking through a vast meadow for the whole day. Finally, the meadow ended and they came face to face with deep, dark forest, densely filled with large trees. The forest was strangely quiet, as if it had no inhabitant whatsoever, yet it radiated an eerie aura. Shouri stopped at the edge of the woods, glancing towards the group over her shoulder.

“…Let us camp here for the night.” She said. “It is dangerous to enter this forest after sunset. We shall proceed tomorrow.”

Kagome stepped forward. She could feel her heart shrinking as she observed the woods before her. “There is an eerie feeling about this place… What is it…?”

“The Forest of No Return…It is a dangerous place. A lot of fierce and powerful youkais reside inside this place” the princess answered. “It is a seven-day journey to get passed this forest, then we will arrive at the foot of the Mountain of Gods.”

“Shouri-sama,” the monk called her. “I have heard a myth that this mountain is a holy place, and therefore no one could enter except its inhabitants. How are you planning to get us in there?”

Shouri lowered her gaze. That had been her main concern as well. No matter how she looked at it, they had no way to enter the holy mountain by themselves.

“I do not know yet.” She honestly answered. “But we will figure out a way.”

Soon after, the sky darkened and they started to prepare their camp for the night. Shouri sat quietly near the fire while the others were busy gathering food. As a full-blooded youkai, she did not require to eat much. It was not like she would eat human food anyway. The thought of Sesshoumaru filled her mind as she watched the fire. It had been two days since he left the palace. They started their journey at dawn the next day, as planned. Her grandfather and Yuusou had insisted that she took a servant to care for her needs, but she refused. A servant would only get in her way, since she did not know what to expect from this pack, their journey, and their enemy. So far, they had not encountered any foe or any clue regarding this demon Naraku. The group talked about him a lot, so she was able to gather some information about the enemy they were going to fight. According to their story, they would need Tenseiga, together with Tessaiga and Katsujinken to defeat him. But now, Sesshoumaru had disappeared. The hanyou was rather glad of this situation but the others seemed a little worried. He was a powerful taiyoukai indeed and his fighting skill would no doubt provide a big advantage for them.

She sighed as she sat in front of the fire, one of her knees pulled up against her chin. She realized that she missed him now. After 200 years being apart, she had the chance to be together with him, but she lost it because of her own foolishness. Her eyes were moist with tears every time she recalled those cruel words she said to him, and the time when she tried to kill him with the poison needles. She felt so out of place among the humans she had to travel with, and she truly wished that he was here with her. There were so many things she wanted to tell him, and her heart ached when she thought she might never have a chance to see him again. Her cheek was warm with tears as she whispered his name.

“…Sesshoumaru nii-sama…”

Quickly she wiped her tears as she sensed the group approaching, bearing some fishes that they caught in a nearby river. She shook her head when they offered her some. Quietly, she observed the hanyou who was supposed to be her half-brother. She had noticed a pair of triangular dog ears on top of his head, a proof that he was indeed a hanyou. Not only those, the youkai scent in his blood was somewhat faint as well. Her heart still hurts whenever she recalled what her grandfather said. Her father did not come to search for her and her mother, but instead took a new mate and had a child together with her. On top of that, he was willing to die to save them, but neglected his own wife and daughter. She did not know how she felt about the hanyou. A part of her insisted that she should loath him, since he was a part of the reason why her mother died in vain. She had wondered what he was wearing around his neck. Soon after they left for their journey, she found out that it was some sort of sacred rosary that emitted pink light and forced him to flush with the ground every time the miko uttered the word `osuwari'. She found this rather amusing. Well, they were somewhat an amusing pack. Every so often, the perverted monk would try to grab the taijiya's bump and they would engage in a small fight. She made a note to herself that he would have his wrist cut off if he ever dared to try that shameful action to her. She had thought a few times to ask them about her brother, but they seemed to either hate him, or fear him. No, she shook her head. They would not be able to satisfy her curiosity.

“Shouri-sama,” the monk grabbed her attention. “Do you know a lot about this Mountain of Gods?”

She shook her head. “Unfortunately I do not know a lot about it. I have never been there myself.”

Inuyasha noisily chewed his portion of charred fish. He mumbled with his mouth full. “So what's so special about this mountain anyway? Why is it called `holy'?”

“According to an old legend, it is where a family of very powerful youkais with powers to open the gate to the afterlife resides.” Shouri explained, her eyes never left the crackling fire in front of her. “They live in a castle on the peak of the mountain, hidden by thick mists. They hardly ever showed themselves to outsiders.”

“Is that why the mountain is forbidden for others?” the taijiya joined their conversation.

“There is a very powerful barrier surrounding the mountain…” she said. “We have to find a way to get around it…”

Soon after supper, the humans were exhausted and they went to rest under the nearby trees. Shouri remained near the fire. She was neither tired nor sleepy, so she decided to keep guard for the night.

“You can go ahead and rest.” She told the hanyou who was still sitting in his spot. “I will keep watch tonight.”

Inuyasha snorted at her words. Even after Shouri was with them for a couple of days, he still could not trust her. If Sesshoumaru's blood also flowed in her veins, then it proved her to be dangerous. He would not take the risk to let his guard down and give her a chance to slaughter them all at night.

“You're wrong if you think I'd give you a chance to attack us while we're sleeping.” He growled. A thin smile curved across the inu princess' lips.

`How ridiculous…' she thought. If she had wanted to kill them all, she would have done it long ago. But there are things that she still had to do, and these strangers might prove to be useful in the near future.

“Rest assure.” She told him. The fire made her emerald eyes glittered. “I have no intention to kill any of you… yet.”

“Keh! You're more like that bastard than I thought you were!”

She showed no reaction to his retort. They both ignored the presence of each other for a while, until Inuyasha broke the silence.

“Oy!” Shouri was getting quite aggravated with the way the hanyou addressed her, yet she made no remark of it. “Do you…” he asked her slowly. “…remember Father?”

She arched one eyebrow at his question. She could feel his gaze on her, though she kept her eyes at the burning fire. She did not want to answer him at first, but when she glanced over to him, she saw something in his eyes that was not there before. She could not even pinpoint what it was she saw.

`Longing…' A little voice spoke inside her heart.

“A little…” she answered at last, with a voice softer than she wanted it to be.

“Oh, so you got your memory back?”

She nodded. A slight smile appeared on her lips when she recalled the blissful memories of her life in the west. Back then, she only knew happiness and warmth of a family, a luxurious feeling that she never experienced ever again in the east. Even though her life as the eastern inu princess could not be considered as miserable, but it was also far from warm, far from happy. But of course, her memory of happiness was taken away, and she could not miss what she had forgotten. Her cold and stern grandfather, even though she knew he was not cruel by nature, did not know how to love or how to show kindness towards his own grandchildren. It was quite a miracle that her mother had turned out to be a tender, loving youkai when she was alive. The only solace she had after Isha died was Yuusou, whom she called `Nii-sama' for 200 years.

“…Umm…” The hanyou brought her back from the realm of her thoughts, causing her to turn to him. His pointy ears were flushed against his skull, and he looked a little embarrassed and uncomfortable when he said,

“…I'm sorry your mother died because of all this…”

His words stunned her. Although a part of her knew that he said that out of pure good intentions, still she could not help but feeling insulted. She hated the fact that her mother had become the victim of the entire situation, even though she did not know who to blame anymore. She hated him because somehow he played a part in causing her mother's death. She hated that the hanyou, the very source of her unhappiness, felt the need to feel sorry about what happened. How pitiful…

“Why should you feel sorry…” she said dryly, noticing that wrath had bled into her voice. “My mother was dying from an illness around the time Father went to save you and your mother. If he had come to save my mother, you would not have existed. So why should you feel sorry, hanyou?”

“Whatever!” he barked at her. “All I said was that I'm sorry you had to loose your mother that way! You don't have to be such a bitch about it!”

She gave him a sardonic smile as she rose to her feet. “I used to think that my father was the strongest taiyoukai ever lived…” she started to walk away, cool wind tousled her long, silver locks. “Inuyasha, you and your mother gave him such a pitiful death…”

After she left, Inuyasha could not help but to let an ironic smile curved on his lips. Sesshoumaru had said the very same thing not so long ago…

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Shouri did not realize that she had dozed off for a while. She was still leaning against the bark of a tree when the some noises woke her from slumber. The hanyou and the little kitsune were fighting again. She had noticed that this ridiculous brawl happened at least three times a day. It always started with them making fun of each other, then the hanyou would loose his patience and hit the youkai child. Shippou would cry in an instant, forcing Kagome to say that one word that would make Inuyasha hit the ground. Shouri shook her head slowly, thinking how she ended up with these clowns.

Right away, she sat up when she saw the girl in the strange garb approaching her. Shouri looked at Kagome with suspicion in her eyes. She had something that looked like a large paper cup in her hands. Her smile was wide when she extended her hands and offered the cup.

“Would you like some breakfast, Shouri-sama?” she asked.

“No…” Shouri shook her head, before stiffly adding, “…Thank you.”

Kagome was a little bit stunned to hear a `thank you' coming out of the ice princess' lips. She quickly nodded, and left her alone to go back to her friends. Shouri looked up to the clear blue sky, thankful that it is at least a beautiful morning. Her gaze shifted to the border of the dark forest, her heart slightly fluttered at the sight.

`At last…' she thought. `We are about to enter the Forest of No Return… Soon enough we will reach the Mountain of Gods…'

 

Inside the deep, dark forest, a toad youkai and a little human girl were following a tall taiyoukai with long, silver hair. Their two-headed dragon pet was tailing behind them. The child was observing her surrounding in amazement. Yes, the forest was scary, filled with incredibly tall, old trees. However, she could not feel safer since her lord and master was with her.

“…Sesshoumaru-sama…” Jyaken dared himself to ask his master carefully. “Is this really the way to the Mountain of Gods?”

The taiyoukai did not answer. He was deeply lost in his thoughts. He had heard about the mountain, and he was quite convinced that he had to go through this forest to reach the its foot. He was more concerned about how to pass through the barrier, since no outsider is allowed to enter. There was another that occupied his mind.

`Shouri…' he whispered inwardly. He could feel his heart grew colder whenever she was in his mind, whenever he recalled their last encounter. His jaw slowly tightened. He had made up his mind to completely forget about her, and thought of her as dead, just like before he went to see Toutousai. But… she would not leave him alone. Her silhouette was still in his mind, driving him furiously mad. He shook his head firmly to rid the thought of her.

`She is dead to me…' he said to himself. `She is only a good-for-nothing inu princess from the east, one of my enemies…'

 

Shouri looked around the forest with a somewhat wary feeling. It was strangely quiet… Too quiet… There were no birds chirping, no rabbits or squirrels, nothing… Only the sound of silence.

“Stay close behind me…” she whispered to the group behind her. She was sure they would get lost if they ever parted. All the trees seemed similar in shape and height. Ones who had never been inside this forest would not be able to recognize their path, and would surely get lost at once. Then, shadows of bloodthirsty youkais would lurk in the dark, waiting for the right moment to kill, or eat them alive. She looked up hoping to see the sky, wondering around what time of day it was. Is it noon yet? Or has sun started to set? The leaves of the trees were so dense it covered everything. She could see sun rays fell between the trees, but those were all the source of light they got. Everything else around them was as dark as night.

Inuyasha felt quite uneasy himself. He could feel the strange, eerie air around them. He sniffed the air, tried to sense something moving, or any presence around them, but he could tell none.

“Miroku,” he whispered to the monk walking next to him. “Don't let your guard down… I sensed some danger, even though I can't tell what it is yet…”

The monk nodded in understanding. He stared at the inu princess who was walking at the front, hoping in his heart that she did not bring them into the forest as a trap.

 

 

The Mountain of Gods…

 

Inside a castle on the peak of the misty mountain, Naraku was watching the mirror of vision held by Kanna, one of his youkai creations. Slowly, his lips curled forming a vicious smile as he watched Inuyasha and his group moved through the forest. They still had a long way to go before reaching the foot of the mountain, giving him ample of time to run his ploy. His body shuddered in excitement as he imagined the two brothers' blood adorned the walls of his palace.

`Let them come…' he mused.

They had failed to prevent him from completing the Shikon no Tama. They had failed to prevent him from transforming into a full-blooded youkai, the most powerful demon of all. He had no doubt that soon enough, he would be able to take pleasure in slaughtering these foolish creatures. His eyes narrowed as he caught a glimpse of a female youkai in Inuyasha's pack, one whom he had never seen before.

“Who is the female?” he asked the young white-haired youkai sitting next to him, Hakudoushi.

“Sesshoumaru's little sister.” This other incarnation of Naraku answered in his usual calm demeanor. His exterior might appear like a young child, but his sadistic and violent nature could be compared to his creator.

Kagura, who had been standing quietly in the corner of the room, moved closer to watch the mirror. `Sesshoumaru's little sister?' she mused, her eyebrows knitted forming a deep frown. `How could it be possible?'

She gasped when she saw her. His features were clearly resembled in this female inuyoukai, proving that she was undeniably his sister by blood. She heard Naraku emitted a low chuckle. His deep violet eyes were still staring at the silver-haired female, a devious grin was on his face.

“This is interesting…” he uttered. “Very interesting…”

`What the hell is he planning now…?' Kagura thought to herself, her eyes never left the newly-transformed youkai whom she hated so much. She would give anything for somebody to kill him. She did not think she would ever have the chance to free herself from him when he consumed the completed Shikon jewel. But now, there was a thin ray of hope that Inuyasha or Sesshoumaru might defeat this demon, and she would be free just like the wind, just like what she was meant to be. Free like the wind.

Naraku turned to face her, catching a glimpse of her watching him with an intense expression on her face. He smirked inwardly, as he could guess what she was thinking the whole time. He knew he should have killed her a long time ago for her disloyalty and her many attempts to help his enemies to defeat him.

`But not yet…' He reminded himself. `I can still use her… Just a little longer, and I will get rid of her…'

“Kagura,” he called the wind-user. “Have we found him yet?”

She nodded. “He is traveling with his companions. They just entered the forest from the south…”

Naraku smirked. He had a very interesting plan to gain more power this time. The power strong enough to conquer the whole world… And he would enjoy watching all those who opposed him suffer and die in the process…

“Good…” he said with a foul smile. “We will soon pay him a visit…”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were quite lucky to find a river, Shouri thought. At least now they would be able to rest for a while and refill their water supply. She hopped onto a big rock in the middle of the stream. She knelt down and let her fingers dipped in the crystal clear water. She cupped some water with her hands and wet her face. The feeling of cool water against her skin was indescribable, causing her to once again thankful for the stream they found. She looked up to the orange-colored sky and noticed that it was just a couple of hours until sunset. They had time to continue their journey until they found a safe place to rest for the night. She had no worries about it, since she remembered there were quite a few deep caves suitable for camping.

She was about to hop back to the riverbank when she heard sounds coming from the other side. Her ears twitched as she noticed there were two different voices. Those voices and the owners' scents are familiar, yet she could not quite place who they were. She turned to check on the rest of the pack who were sitting under the tree on the riverbank, resting after a full-day journey. They did not seem to notice what was happening. She decided to check on the situation herself, and hopped to the other side, quietly approaching the source of the noises that had captured her attention.

There were movements coming from a group of bushes before her. She stood there, silently waiting for two creatures to show up. They were rather loud, proving that they could provide no peril to anything or anyone. Soon enough, a small, green youkai flew from behind the bushes and landed on her feet. His face bowed down as he kneeled in front of her.

“Where have you been, Sesshoumaru-sama?!” the youkai squeaked. “We have been looking all over for you!”

A deep frown appeared on Shouri's face. Her brother kept a servant who could not even differentiate his scent from others? Really? This is just absurd…

The toad youkai was followed by a little human girl wearing a yellow-orange checkered yukata, and a two-headed dragon trailed behind her. The girl stared at her with questions in her eyes as she recognized that the tall, slender youkai standing before her was not her lord, Sesshoumaru.

“Get up, Jyaken-sama!” the girl told the kneeling youkai. “It's not Sesshoumaru-sama!”

“Eh?!” the youkai looked up and let out a high-pitched shrill that pierced Shouri's sensitive hearing. “You're not Sesshoumaru-sama!” He pointed at her with his two-headed staff.

“No, I am not.” She told him with her velvety voice. “How did you come to think that I am your master?”

“Our apologies, Shouri-sama…” The little girl spoke to her. So the human child recognized her. “We saw your silver hair from a far and thought that you were Sesshoumaru-sama…”

The green youkai gaped his mouth as he recognized her. Once again he shook his staff at her, yelling with his shrilly, annoying voice.

“Yes!! You're the witch who tried to poison Sesshoumaru-sama!”

His retort made Shouri cringed. `The witch?' She thought to herself. `How rude!' She had two choices then: she could kill him right there where he stood and eat him for supper, or leave him there for other youkais to eat. She shook her head sadly. Alas, he did not look appetizing enough to eat. She might as well just hunt a squirrel, or eat charred fish like the humans.

“Get away from us, witch!” Again he insulted her, still shaking the staff like it was going to do him any good. “Or this Jyaken will show you the power of…”

Before he could finished whatever he was going to say, Shouri went down on her knees and smacked his head with the sheath of her sword. A big, rounded swell appeared on the top of his tiny head.

“Just shut up.” She said calmly. “Now, will you tell me where my brother is?”

Jyaken glared at her angrily. “How dare you still call him `brother'!” he started yelling again. “You're lucky that he let you live! It's not everyday that Sesshoumaru-sama let someone who tried to kill him go just that easily!”

She smacked him one more time, a little harder than the previous one, before he had the chance to ramble on. “Just answer the question.” She said, still maintaining her calm demeanor.

“We don't know where he is, Shouri-sama.” The little girl told her. “We got lost and he was nowhere to be found.”

Shouri stared into the big brown eyes of the human child, her heart wondered how come her brother traveled with a human. She sighed and rose to her feet.

“Oh well…” she said, brushing dust off her pristine white kimono. She looked at the girl. “It does not matter. If I take both of you right now, he will surely come anyway.”

She turned around and beckoned them to follow her. When she sensed their hesitation, she glanced over her shoulder and said,

“You can venture into the woods all by yourselves for all I care… But let me warn you, it is not safe in there. There are a lot of flesh eating youkais nearby…They will not be so hesitant to eat a weak youkai and a human girl.” And she was not lying. After hearing those words, those two followed her back to where she came from with a more voluntarily attitude.

 

They proceed with their journey into the woods until the sun went down and they were surrounded by complete, silent darkness. Fortunately, they found a spacious cave for all of them to spend the night. The humans lit the fire close to the mouth of the cave, for their protection against wild animals and youkais. Shouri took her place slightly deeper inside the cave, further away from the rest of the group. She leaned her back against the rough, rocky wall of the cave, quietly watching the little girl whom she knew as her brother's traveling companion. Why and how the girl ended up with her nii-sama was still a mystery to her. She was quite certain that her brother would sooner or later search for his wards. She purposely left their traces back in the riverbank and all over their path to the cave. He would find them in no time. All she had left to do was to wait.

The little girl came to her with a big smile on her face, a bowl of water was in her hands. “Here you go, Shouri-sama.” She said, offering the bowl to her.

Shouri stared at her blankly for a few moments, not knowing whether to accept her offering. At last, she extended her hand and took the bowl from the girl. She lightly sniffed the clear liquid before taking a sip. She sat the bowl to the side, and looked at the child, around seven years of age, who was still watching her with big, curious brown eyes.

“Your name?” She asked her, slightly surprised with her own curiosity towards this young creature.

“It's Rin, my Lady…” the girl answered her, a big grin on her face. “It was Sesshoumaru-sama who gave me that name.”

`Rin…' she repeated the name inwardly. `How unbefitting…' she thought with a deep frown. The meaning of her name was `cold', but this little girl sparked warmth and kindness.

“Is there anything else that you need, Shouri-sama?” Rin's deep brown eyes were still watching the beautiful female inuyoukai. Funny, Shouri thought to herself. Why is this girl treating her like she was her master? She was expecting a more spiteful reaction, like what the toad youkai gave her. Did this girl not hate her for what she had done to her lord?

“No.” she simply answered. “You can go now.” She had expected the girl to leave and join the humans around the fire, but instead, she stayed. Shouri started to feel uncomfortable having her there, her prying brown eyes were still observing her.

“What is it?” she finally asked her.

“Shouri-sama, do you hate Sesshoumaru-sama that much?”

Rin's question stunned her, even though she kept her cold mask to conceal her true emotions. She kept her mouth shut, and the girl took this as a cue to continue.

“Is that not why Shouri-sama poisoned Sesshoumaru-sama? Why? Does Shouri-sama really hate Sesshoumaru-sama that much? Rin knows that Sesshoumaru-sama and Inuyasha-sama try to kill each other every time they meet, but…”

“Girl,” the inu princess cut her short. “Do you ever stop talking?”

Rin immediately shut her mouth. She hid both of her arms behind her back, looking embarrassed with her head bowed down.

“It's just…” she whispered softly. “Sesshoumaru-sama seemed so eager to see Shouri-sama again after 200 years. Even though he did not show it, but Rin knows! That day, Sesshoumaru-sama was standing in front of the old tree, thinking about Shouri-sama…”

The old tree?

Shouri's heart fluttered as she recalled the tree outside the palace where they used to play on. The tree held many of her most cherished memories, and her heart filled with warmth when she learned that her brother still kept it the way it was. With this thought in her mind, she could not help but letting a gentle smile curved on her cherry lips.

Rin watched her with awe, secretly wished that the princess would smile more. She looked even more beautiful with the gentle smile on her fair face.

The familiar scent of a certain taiyoukai caused Shouri to sit straight up, her eyes watching the cave's mouth. She noticed the hanyou also smelled the same scent, as he was now on his feet with hand touching the hilt of his sword.

“It's Sesshoumaru…” he growled.

Inuyasha glanced towards Jyaken and Rin, as he cursed his decision to agree to let his half-brother's wards stay with them for the night. He should have known that Sesshoumaru would come for them for sure, judging from his previous experiences. His half-brother's enemies had learnt about his weakness: the human girl. Many times had they tried to abduct her, yet Sesshoumaru never failed to save her and slay whoever dared to cause her any harm.

Shouri rose to her feet, preparing herself to face her brother. But this time with a different pairs of eyes, with a change of heart…

 

Sesshoumaru landed on the mouth of a cave, shadows of the night covered his whole body, concealing him from sight. He had been following his companions' scents all the way from the riverbank and they brought him to this cave. His heart had been restless, as he also recognize Inuyasha's and his pack's scents. And besides that… he also smelled apple blossoms, which he identified as Shouri's. There was no mistake about it, she was the one who took his wards. He clenched his teeth as he slowly moved out of the shadows, revealing himself.

“…Sesshoumaru…” Inuyasha's tight growl greeted him. The hanyou was ready with Tessaiga unsheathed, clutched tightly in his two hands. Sesshoumaru ignored him and looked pass his shoulder, towards the wench whom he thought was his sister. She had changed her usual blue kimono to a white one, with long flowing sleeves and blue ornamental pattern embroidered along the edges. The lower part of her kimono had a slit on each side, to allow for free movements during her fights. She stood there quietly, just a few feet away from him, and all he wanted to do was to rip her head off for all the disappointment she had caused him to suffer.

“It was you who took them…” a voice as cold as ice reached her ears. A statement, not a question. She was fighting her own yearning to run to him. Her body spoke of silent wish for him to take her into his comforting embrace like he used to do when they were younger. A thousand words of regret were at the tip of her tongue, yet her voice was choked. His hatred for her burned so strong she could feel her heart torn apart, and it stopped her from going to him. Her pride told her to hold back her tears and so she did. She just stared at him with chin lifted up, forcing herself to play a part.

As for him, he matched her pride in every single way. Flame was in his golden orbs as he laid his eyes on her.

“You have some nerves to show up before me again, wench…” he hissed, taking step by step, slowly narrowing their distance. He could feel his claws lengthen at the sight of her. He knew he could strike her and end her life right there, and therefore she would be forever dead to him. But an emotion called affection, which he thought had vanished from his heart a long time ago, somehow found its way to crawl back in and dwell in the deepest, untouched part of his so-called heart.

`She is no longer your sister…' he reminded himself. `As you are no longer exist for her…'

The group watched in horror as he got closer and closer to her, his last step brought him just inches before her. She looked up as she realized how tall he was, how much he resembled their father. Unwillingly, she let her guard down, letting a sliver of emotion flickered in her misty green eyes.

Sesshoumaru frowned slightly as he thought he saw something in her eyes, even if it was just for a split second. Whatever it was, he chose to ignore it. Without shifting his gaze, he called his two wards.

“Rin, Jyaken, we are leaving.”

He held his eyes on the female standing in front of him for another moment before he warned her in his chilly voice,

“The next time you ever showed yourself to me again, wench, I will not be so forgiving…”

Shouri kept her head up high even though she was bleeding inside. She stared at her brother's back with bleak eyes as he walked away, washing his hand off of her existence. She knew she had to stop him, to say something to make him stay. She opened her mouth, ready to call his name. She did not have the chance to even utter a word when they all heard a deafening roar just outside the cave. Shouri cursed herself for not sensing the danger that was now in front of them: they were being attacked by a ferocious youkai. She moved a step towards the opening, slightly narrowing her eyes to catch a glimpse of the hungry creature outside. Eight pairs of strangely large, yellow eyes stared back at her. Then she recognized the creature: Orochi youkai, the legendary eight-headed giant snake.

`Of all times…' she thought warily. `We have to face the most dangerous monster in the forest…'

Inuyasha also stepped forward and now stood next to her. They all looked up to watch all eight-heads watching them. Their heads soared up high in the dark night sky, all eight pairs of yellow orbs eyeing their preys who were now gathered around the cave's mouth.

“What the hell is that?!” Inuyasha yelled, trying to beat the ghastly hissing sounds of the snakes.

“The Orochi youkai…” the monk answered. He stepped forward, moved closer towards the monstrous demon. “Leave this to me…” he said. The snakes were now gathered and watched the human below them, ready to take him as their first kill. In one swift motion, he pulled the pearl string around his wrist, uncovering his hand that contained the curse of the black hole.

“Kazaana!” he shouted, the hole in his palm started to suck in everything in front of them, except the one enemy they wanted to get rid of. Miroku kept resisting with his wind tunnel, but time passed and the snake monster did not get pulled in even one inch.

“It's no use!” Shouri shouted against the rising wind around them. She laid one palm over the monk's arm, forcing him to lower his hand down. “The monster is too huge, you're just wasting your energy.”

“KEH!” the hanyou's snort reached her ears. “A piece of cake like this…” He raised his sword, Tessaiga, over his head. “I'll finish it off in no time! Kaze no… KIZU!!”

Shouri covered her face with the sleeve of her kimono as a powerful surge of energy appeared from where the blade of Tessaiga sliced the air. Whirls of golden lighting swelled and rushed towards the awaiting eight-headed monster, detaching three of its heads.

“Hah! Eat that, you son of a bitch!” Inuyasha yelled victoriously. Then, they learnt that it was too soon to rejoice, as a new pair of heads grew back on each of the decapitated ones. Now, they were faced with eleven-headed snake monster. All heads hissed angrily at them.

“Great…” Shouri said, as she looked up at the now-enraged and more massive creature. “…Now what?”

From the corner of her eyes, she saw her brother leaped out of the cave, heading towards the monster. One of his swords, the one that sparked blue lighting, was grasped tightly in his hand.

“Wait!” she tried to stop him, but he paid her no heed. She gritted her teeth as she watched him hopped on its heads one by one to reach the biggest head in the center of the clutter. She glanced over to Inuyasha.

“Guard the cave.” She simply said. “Keep everyone in your care.”

The hanyou looked a little dumbfounded to hear her commanding tone, but surprisingly, he nodded without saying much else.

Not willing to waste another minute, Shouri went after her brother. The palm of her hand touched the hilt of her sword, Katsujinken, which was tied around her waist. She jumped and jumped, slowly ascending her way to where Sesshoumaru was.

Sesshoumaru had noticed that each of the snake had three eyes instead of two. The extra one was smaller, similar to a small jewel, and located in the upper center of their heads. If his suspicion was right, then the eye would be their weakness. He leaped to the air and landed on the top of the monster's largest head, aiming Toukijin to the slit he found in the center. The monster bellowed in pain when he stabbed its eye with his sword. He jabbed his sword even deeper into its flesh, and thick, black blood burst out of the wound. The largest head of the orochi youkai uttered another deafening shriek as it fell down to the ground, dead. Sesshoumaru still stood on top of it when he looked up and he saw Shouri taking the other heads. He clenched his jaw, his eyes narrowed in anger at the sight of her. He launched his energy whip at her, causing her to leap backwards and fell on top of another snake's head bellow.

“Get out of here!” he howled angrily. “You're only in my way!”

Shouri cringed at his words. She persisted to stand where she was standing, in the middle of the whole disarray of snakes intertwined with each other, and so was her brother. Sesshoumaru kept attacking her aggressively with his whip, as if he was determined to kill her altogether with the orochi youkai. She blocked his attack with her sword, but he would not stop. Again and again, his whip trailed after her.

“Stop it!” She yelled at him. “We can at least work together at times like these!”

He reached for Toukijin and held it in front of his chest. Wind tousled their silver tresses, brother and sister with the same blood but standing in different arenas. His voice was as cold as ever when he said,

“…I have no intention to accept help from an eastern creature such as yourself…” He concentrated his energy on Toukijin, gathering sparks of blue lighting around its blade. “Go to hell…Souryuha!” He aimed his attack straightly at her. She gasped when she felt his fierce aura, and instantly created a barrier to protect herself from the whirling typhoon of youki. Once again, her late mother's sword had saved her life. With his last attack, he managed to destroy several heads, creating even more monstrous snakes for them to reckon with. Shouri gazed at all the ferocious snakes around them, there must be at least twenty of them by that time. She glared at her brother, starting to feel enraged, just like he was.

“Get out of here if you still want to live…” Once again he lifted his sword. Once again he was ready to strike her. All of a sudden, a snake appeared from the darkness behind him, ready to pounce on him with its massive fangs.

“Nii-sama!” her voice reached his ears, and he found himself stunned by it.

Almost that instant, he felt pain washed away his body as the snake threw him aside. He landed on the hard ground, his Toukijin was separated from him. He was on his knees, the snake was eyeing him from up high. His enemy plunged down on him, hard and fast. His lengthened claws were dripping with green liquid of poison, ready to greet whatever was coming towards him.

“…Nii-sama!!” He heard her again, somehow her voice seemed to come from a far away place, yet he heard it so clearly as if she was standing next to him.

With one rapid swing of his dokkasou, he could feel his claws tore the flesh of his enemy. Thick, red blood burst in the air in a gush of torrent. His eyes widened as his keen sense of smelling recognized the scent of apple blossom. The scent of blood was heavy in the air. The scent of his blood, the scent of her blood. Long, silver hair identical to his own swayed before him, and his heart skipped a beat when he realized that it was Shouri's body that was shredded by his poisonous talons.

 

She tried to hold back from screaming when she felt his razor-sharp claws tearing the tender flesh of her shoulder. Breathless, she tried to gasp for air, trying to defeat the throbbing pain in her body as the orochi youkai still standing before them. Katsujinken was stabbed in the ground, creating a barrier to protect both her and her brother. She could feel his claws still jabbed inside her, his presence near, right behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, her vision blurred and she could not see the shocked expression on his face. She shoved him away, winced in pain as his talons were pulled out of her bleeding flesh and broken skin.

“Get away…” her voice hoarse, weakened by the almost unbearable pain she was suffering. He remained in his place, frozen like a statue. With some energy she still had left, she pushed him away, as far as she could. She knew that with her current strength, her barrier would not last any longer. She had to destroy the orochi youkai at that moment. She gathered all her remaining energy in her sword, which started to glow white. The air grew cold as the ground glazed, covered in thin, frozen ice. Sesshoumaru stared at her as he finally understood the reason she pushed him away. He could feel his locks of hair froze as the ice spread, and now covered the entire body of their foe. The orochi youkai stood powerless, motionless, like a grisly piece of ice sculpture. Had he remained close to her, she would have turned him into ice as well.

Slowly, Shouri closed her eyes, letting all the youki left in her body flowed into the sword she had in her hands. Her mind whispered,

`Lend me your strength, Katsujinken…'

Her eyes shot opened. The ice cracked, and as if there was an explosion from within, the orochi youkai was blasted into millions of snow dust. Everything was clean, no reminiscent of their battle remained, except for the blood that was now pooled underneath her. She knelt on her place for another second, before losing control of her body and collapsed. She felt a strong arm caught her, and found her blood-soaked body leaning against her brother's hard chest, drenching his white clothes along with hers. The coldness of his armor was on her cheek as she shifted her eyes up to meet his. Her trembling fingers traced the magenta stripes on his cheek. Her smile was faint, but at last, it was true.

“…Nii-sama…” was all she could utter with her fading voice.

 

 

A/N: Hmm… this chapter turned out to be longer than I think. I had to cut it off and remove the remaining to the next chapter. Coming up next: a new OC will be introduced! Thank you for all who have been reading or reviewing. Please take time to write a review. I'd love to read your opinions to further improve this story.

 

-Chiaztolite-