InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Invitations to Trouble ❯ Slipping Into Darkness ( Chapter 12 )

A/N: Sorry, the first post was rough and I hated it. I like this one a lot better. It fleshes out some of what was going through Sessy's head.

Or rather, who was.

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Ba: "Hey, something came in the mail!"

Ka: "Is it chicken?"

Ba: "Um, no. It's a coupon."

Ka: "A coupon? Let me see it."

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Chapter Twelve

Do you know the reason why there is an increase in the number of births following a life or death experience? Answer: Frankly, the most potent aphrodisiac is the knowledge that this might be your last shot to get laid. What does that have to do with this chapter?

Not a bloody thing.

Enjoy.

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Servants materialized from nowhere, removing sullied sheets and replacing them with fresh ones. In the center of the room, another set of mute bodies whisked the unresisting girl into a lake-sized tub to wash away caked on blood with rare soaps and cover the heavy musk of the youkai lord with precious oils.

Occasionally, one attendant would make a comment about the flawless skin having survived another night with Lord Enjuku, but the nearly inaudible sound was too soft to be considered actual words. When the girl was cleaned to their quiet satisfaction, she was passed along to yet another group who clothed her in the finest and latest fashions before leaving her all alone the cavernous room to await the lords return.

During the entire process, the girl had not uttered one word. Laying back against the lush pillows, Kenami closed her eyes and struggled to remember what a dream was.

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It was nearly noon of the day after he'd marked Kuroi before Sesshomaru finally finished combing the entire forest for his mate and sibling. When his meticulous search had garnered nothing but sore feet and more worry, the young lord decided to go back to the cottage and enlist Kagome's aid in scrying for Inuyasha's youki.

'Although it might make things somewhat awkward when Kagome sees Anbu. The miko knows Kuroi's moon cycle as well as I do, so this girl's appearance could upset her.' Surfing through the fluffy clouds, he dipped quickly and shot towards the ground.

'No matter. I will simply deal with that situation when it arises.' One arm twitched where it was wrapped around the waist of the very girl he was pondering.

For her part, Anbu was having the time of her life. "Wheeee!! I love this!! I didn't know you could fly! You must soar through the air for hours and hours on end, I know I would! Where are we going?"

Instead of answering her, Sesshomaru rudely tossed her aside as soon as he touched down in the clearing in front of the small cottage. If he was concerned about the girl's safety, he didn't show it as he strode towards the house without so much as a backwards glance.

There was no need for concern. Anbu landed like a cat and bounced right after him.

Sesshomaru had sensed the perfect movement with a slight pang. 'The girl nailed that landing squarely, just as Kuroi could have.' With a quiet curse, he berated himself in his mind for thinking of his wife in the past tense. 'She is alive! You just have to find her.' As he pushed open the solid door, he duly noted that it had been re-hung. The sight heartened him, bringing a ghost of a smile to his eyes.

'Inuyasha must have come back, so maybe Kuroi did as well.' A high voice interrupted his thoughts.

"OOHH!! I love this house! It's so cute and everything! Who lives here? Do you live here with them? Where is everyone?"

Once again, Sesshomaru thanked the gods for being a youkai. Otherwise, he feared he would never again taste solid food with the way he'd been grinding his teeth since he'd met Anbu. As it was, he still had to surreptitiously spit out a minute flake of milky enamel. Rather than plunging his hands into the throat behind him in order to cease the noise it was creating, he gave her another quelling look.

"This is my brother's residence. Now be silent girl."

So far, none of his best 'Fear me for the God of Destruction and Vengeance that I am!' glares had even dented that shell of perpetual cheer that the smiling figure wore like some form of gauzy armor forged from clouds with the resiliency of tempered steel.

Anbu merely pouted up at him and said, "But where is he then?"

Good question.

Craning his neck around, Sesshomaru tested the air within the home. 'Kagome, Shippo...' he squelched a building snarl as a particular aroma hit him.

'The ookami yaseo was here, again.' Rapidly blinking, he took a deeper breath. 'Hmmm...now that is curious.' Moving silently through the room, he followed the lead of his sensitive nose. 'There has been a snake youkai here recently and it smells oddly familiar.'

Pausing by the room that Inuyasha and Kagome shared, Sesshomaru went inside. With the first whiff, he immediately wished he hadn't.

'Kami in heaven! I thought Kagome had kicked him out a week ago?!' Pressing the snowy sleeve of his haori to his face helped filter out some of the odor, but Sesshomaru was forced to flee the room in order to get fresh air.

'Inuyasha must have snuck in there while Kagome was gone to do that.' Closing his eyes for a minute, he switched sleeves. 'That impetuous fool must have marked every square inch of that room three times over! I'm surprised he didn't die of dehydration...'

A quiet noise reminded the youkai that he wasn't alone. Instantly straightening, Sesshomaru pinned Anbu with a look that rolled right off her slender shoulders. Since he couldn't bring himself to openly pant before the girl, Sesshomaru settled for a few deep breaths to wash away any lingering smells of his sibling's spoor.

'Idiotic, possessive, temperamental, juvenile, asinine, distrustful...baka boy!' Having run out of derogatory epitaphs to berate the missing Inuyasha with, Sesshomaru had fallen back on Kuroi's favorite.

The taste of it in his mind was sweet and effortless. 'Now I understand why she says it all the time.'

Yellow eyes slid over the dwelling, taking in every detail while studiously ignoring the chattering girl in the center of the room. No one was here and if the scent trails were correct, they had been gone for hours at the least. Kagome, Shippo, Kouga and the serpent's were the freshest, but they were still hours old. Both Inuyasha and Kuroi's were as old as they'd been when Sesshomaru had last dropped by the cottage with Kagome before leaving to search for the pair.

That meant that neither one had returned home since he'd marked his mate.

Inuyasha and Kuroi had not come back.

"Anbu. Come here."

Falling instantly quiet at the commanding tone, the girl looked every inch like a naughty child who was caught by a stern uncle. For a second, a fire flickered behind her ruby eyes but she hid it and came to stand near him.

"Yes Lord Sessho-ech!" A hand of iron covered in porcelain skin wrapped around her throat and lifted her into the air until her feet were no longer touching the ground. Eyes of scarlet and azure burned into hers as the lord felt his world fall apart around him.

"Who are you?"

His mate and his brother were gone. The two of them had possibly fled somewhere together and it might have been because of his jealousy.

In the last bastion of rational thought that his rage swamped mind hadn't destroyed, Sesshomaru knew that the fey creature before him had already professed to having no part in his loss. However, the cloying wrongness of her existence still drove him to the unthinkable.

"Who are you!?" Beyond caring how he sounded, Sesshomaru roared his demand at the pallid face. Anbu kicked and struggled, but she might as well have been attacking solid stone for all the good her blows did her. A cruel laugh proceeded a squeeze that brought her attention back to the necessity of oxygen.

"I do not know who you are or where you came from girl, but I will get the truth out of you if I have to cut you apart to find it!"

Using the kousen, the enraged youkai bound the girl's arms to her sides and held her aloft with it as well. Anbu gasped raggedly against the unusual restraints. Each breath seeming more precious than the last except that now she couldn't escape for this madman.

Half lidded eyes watched her struggle. Sesshomaru felt the tingle of energy gather at the tips of his flexing fingers as he brought his free hand up to chest level. When the build up of youki was sufficient, he speared Anbu through the chest with a glowing filament and took grim satisfaction in the scream that followed.

"S-stop! Don't kill me, p-please!"

"Kuroi suffered an injury like that once and she survived it quite easily so you should be able to as well." Moving closer, the frigid beauty gave Anbu a frosty chuckle. "Since you seem to want to be her, I think I should tell you a little something about the woman you are imitating." With a thought, the glowing strands of the kousen spread out and dangled the weeping girl like a succulent fly caught in the web of a demonic spider.

Sesshomaru gave another mirthless laugh as Anbu tried to free herself.

"My beloved Kuroi can take a lot of punishment before she comes close to dying. I thought you wanted me to explore the similarities between the two of you, so why don't I grant your little wish?" Ruddy irises went black as Anbu's pupils were engorged with fear.

For the young lord holding her captive, the terror that poured forth from her was as heady as water to a parched soul in the desert. 'I believe I might have missed doing this.' From somewhere inside of himself, a small part of him cringed.

Moving even closer, his chest rumbled as he stabbed the girl with the kousen again. "I can make you hurt Anbu, and I think I will. You may look like Kuroi, but I don't feel anything for you other than annoyance over your very existence, so I won't be moved by your tears."

Choking on the blood filling one lung, she coughed out a scream. "Y-you're insane!!"

"Maybe. I have often heard people say that love can cause one to go mad." Torturously extracting the two beams from her flesh, Sesshomaru slid them up to the bound girl's shoulder and drove it in deeply, smiling coldly at her the whole time.

"Now won't you be a good girl and tell me the truth? Who are you?"

A gout of frothy blood shot out her mouth, lending some color to the bloodless lips. "I-I'm telling you the truth! My name is Anbu and I don't know anything about your wife!" The knives of light twisted, eliciting a higher scream than before.

"Stop it!!"

"Tell me the truth and I might just do that. Who are you!?"

"Anbu, my name is Anbu!!"

The burning knives were removed, but cruel fingers fisted in her hair, yanking her head up to look at him. At the contact, she shrieked.

"Are you so far gone behind that mask of yours that you can't even see when someone's telling you the truth?!"

Sesshomaru froze at the perfectly mimicked words dredged from his past.

'No.'

'No, it isn't possible...'

He tore his hand away from her as though touching the sweat-drenched strands could burn him. With a thought, he removed the kousen from around her body as well. Without the support of the whip of light Anbu collapsed onto the floor, weeping hotly and coughing up scarlet phlegm. Dispassionate eyes watched her movements before turning away.

'What in the hell was I just doing?!' Feeling a trickle of his former sanity start to return, Sesshomaru wanted to deny the fact that he might be losing his mind. The sound of crying confirmed that he had indeed been in the process of torturing a virtual stranger.

'For what? Information that she doesn't even know anything about?'

Black blood was caking on the ends of his claws from where the hot liquid had run down the kousen. The clotting liquid was onlyfurther testament to his sudden dementia.

'Oh my god, what the hell is happening to me? I am Lord Sesshomaru!' Stumbling into his room, he wanted to cry out denial of what just happened.

'I am more than these feelings! I control my life, not my emotions!'

Frustration choked him, but if he gave in to the urge to grab his hair the smell of the woman's blood so near his face would make him vomit.

Next to the bed was a pitcher of water and a rag. In the attempt to clean his trembling hand, Sesshomaru knew that he probably spilled more of it than he actually used.

'I have to do something about that girl Anbu. Now, while I still have some control over myself.' Recalling the words he had just heard, he moaned as if in pain. 'Her face, her smell, her smile. Hell, even what she just said echoes Kuroi too much to be just coincidence. But is that any reason to try and kill her?' Supple finger curled into talons as he fought with himself.

"Kami help me, I cannot deal with Anbu as I am."

He was losing his mind and he didn't know if he could get it back. 'I'm trying to be someone that I'm not and it's tearing me apart.'

All the time he'd been spending with humans, the love he felt for his wife and new family, all the myriad emotions that he had only just begun to explore.

'Too much. It's all too much. I can't do this.'

'You fucking coward.'

Sesshomaru hadn't realized that his eyes had closed until they snapped open. Slender brows dipped in confusion at the darkness around him.

'Where am I?'

'You're with me ningen.'

Bristling at the affront, Sesshomaru stood up and began to deny it. A mass of black hair fell before his eyes and shoulder. When he reached up to touch it, he found that the hand in front of his face was free of the wine-red stripes and razor-sharp claws that attested to his youkai blood.

'What the hell have you done to me?!'

From the shadows of the mysterious room the speaker stepped forward.

'I didn't do anything bro. You did it to yourself.'

Gaping at the smirking face, Sesshomaru asked, 'Inuyasha?'

'Not at your service big brother. How did it feel to hurt the woman you love anyway?'

'What are you talking about? That wasn't Kuroi, it was Anbu!'

In another spot of the all-encompassing darkness, a wan light arose to create an eerie spotlight. Bile filled his mouth as the now human lord became violently ill.

'Oh my god...no.'

'Why? Why did you hurt me like this?'

The piteous tone cut through his heart like molten knives. Strung up in the same fashion as before was Anbu. But before Sesshomaru could justify himself to his brother, the white hair darkened to black and the eyes lightened to snow-kissed blue.

All of the wounds he had inflicted on the young woman disappeared but a gaping and ragged hole on her neck replaced them.

Inuyasha touched it gingerly.

'See? You did like hurting her.'

Kuroi/Anbu begged for Sesshomaru to not hurt her anymore.

'Did you have to do this to me Sessy? I love you!' Blood flowed freely down her shoulders and chest, coating her in a sticky coppery flood.

'Did you doubt me that much that you had to hurt me so badly?

'No!! I was following tradition!! I didn't want to do it!'

'Tradition you say? Inuyasha sneered 'Is that what you call brutally attacking your wife now?'

'Shut up! You're twisting it all up! Marking a mate is perfectly acceptable...'

'What the fuck is acceptable about chewing on your wife like an old bone shithead?'

'Stop twisting things around!!' Wiping his mouth, Sesshomaru yelled, 'I did it to protect her! So that she would be safe from other youkai!'

Hot amber eyes watched him. 'You're her husband! YOU are supposed to protect her. YOU are supposed to keep her SAFE!!' Firm lips drew up in a nasty smirk.

'Or are you so pathetic that you need a bite to guard your wife?'

Shaking his head, Sesshomaru once again tried to justify his decision. 'It's tradition!! I had to...'

'NO! You WANTED to! Admit it Sesshomaru. You've become weak since you met her. Too weak to get rid of that fucking ookami and too weak to keep Kuroi safe from him.' Circling around to whisper condescendingly at his brother, Inuyasha stated flatly, 'You deserve to be human.'

'NOO!!!' Youki flowed through Sesshomaru's veins, flushing the silken hair back to its shimmering silver glory. Brandishing wicked claws once more, he growled at his brother.

'I am not weak!! I will protect her!' Deciding to ignore the taunting face, Sesshomaru went to his wife. 'Please koibito, you know that I love you, don't you?' In an effort to get Kuroi down, Sesshomaru reached out and touched her leg. Kuroi arched her back and let loose a wail of excruciating pain as the bone beneath his fingers shattered, splintering through the fragile flesh.

Horrified, Sesshomaru stumbled back. In an instant, Inuyasha had the screaming girl freed and cradled in his arms. Quieting her tears, he turned to glare and growl throaty warnings at his elder sibling.

'See? Everything you do to her hurts her somehow! You can't even make love to her without leaving bruises all over her body.' Sesshomaru gave a guilty start. He'd seen the evidence of that accusation at the river only the day before. Spotting the telling look, Inuyasha's face grew harder.

'She doesn't need you if you can't save her from yourself.'

'I didn't mean to...I forgot how strong I am.' Floundering for any words that would keep them there, Sesshomaru cried out.

'I'm sorry!!!'

Inuyasha paused, both of them staring vacantly back at where Sesshomaru knelt alone in the enclosing darkness.

'I wish we could believe that bro.' As they vanished completely from his sight, the restored youkai heard the hanyou whisper,

'I'm going to take care of Kuroi. I'll make sure you never hurt her again.'

With a scream of despair, Sesshomaru bolted upright from where he had collapsed against the bed. His hands were still stretched out to reach for the two people who had left him behind. Drenched in sweat, he rubbed a shaking hand over his face.

'Was that just a dream?' A strangled sob came from the next room, reminding him that not all of it had been a figment of his fractured mind. Closing his eyes, Sesshomaru pulled himself up onto the bed.

There was only one thing left for him to do.

'Kuroi forgive me.' Laying back against the sheets, the yellow eyes grew pale beneath the ruddy lids as he systematically shut himself off. Ruefully recounting the dream, he wondered if we really was the coward Inuyasha had accused him of being.

'Maybe I am. Instead of facing my demons, I'm choosing to seal them away once more. You are a fool Sesshomaru.'

But in his heart, he wondered what other choice did he really have?

With each exhalation, Sesshomaru chanted and purged his mind and soul of the hard-won feeling and emotions that Kuroi had shown him that he was capable of. It felt like he was killing himself. Sesshomaru was dying slowly as piece by piece as he arranged his world back to the way it used to be.

'To save my sanity, I have to be what I once was?' the tips of his fingers tingled with the memory of bone shards slicing through golden skin. 'If I only knew where you were koibito, if you were truly safe. Then I would gladly die rather than do this to myself.'

But he didn't know and that lack of knowledge was chipping away at the core of his being, making him unstable and unpredictable. It had to stop.

The next breath that left him sent laughter out into the air. For a moment, Sesshomaru swore that he could see it shimmering above his head like a transparent spirit, before it fled from the murky being who had briefly housed it.

'Was that real, or was it only the sun in my eyes?'

With its merry presence gone, Sesshomaru realized that he could no longer see the humor in what he was committing himself to, only the bitter irony of it all.

Joy fled as well, following closely behind its twinned sibling. Without it, there was no sense of satisfaction in accomplishing another step of his dour goal.

As the last, love was the hardest to seal away. Surprise caused his eyes to fly open when a trickle of blood fell from his lips. "Ahh..argh!" Strangling noises issued from his throat as he fought his own body, trying to force it to forget something it would willingly rip itself apart to keep rather than relinquish. With his body shaking from the effort of just sitting up, Sesshomaru felt cold tears slid down his cheeks.

'Please, if I don't, I'll never last long enough to find her again. It's only been one day and I already tried to kill someone!! I have to do this.' A pale hand clasped against his chest, feeling the frantic beat beneath the skin that begged him to fight this sorrow. To fight his despair. Another chilled drop was soaked up by the crisp linen that still bore Kuroi's scent. The lingering smell of peach blossoms completely undid him.

'I can't fight this, I don't know how!!'

Trust in yourself, she would!

Tormented by the memory of the masticated hole he had made on his wife's neck, Sesshomaru refused to believe the new voice that urged him to stop.

'No!' A sob from the next room brought back another memory of the night he'd tried to murder his family because he'd lost control of his emotions. 'What if I hurt Kuroi again?! What if I kill her because I can't stop myself?!' His heart fell silent, knowing that his decision was made.

'I love her, but I can't help her as I am. I have to be what I was.'

The pain receded, but a hollow scream filled him as the warmth and light within him was shut away again. A hush settled inside the small space as he sat there.

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"JAKEN-SAMA!!!"

The cries of soldiers and insistent ring of the alarm bell rang throughout the mansion, reverberating off the walls and sending a minor panic through the already tense guards. As one, they rushed to the gates with spears and swords drawn and ready. The soldiers mounted high on the walls had their arrows already notched as each deadly barb was focused on the two figures below.

It had only been an hour since Mistress Kagome and Master Shippo had arrived, with the young miko bearing the shards of the Shikon no Tama. In that short time, there had been numerous attempts by low-level youkai to break through the magical shield to obtain the magical crystals.

So far, the barrier surrounding the fortified dwelling had kept them out, sometimes obliterating the more insistent ones who it didn't initially repulsed.

Scurrying down the hall on short legs, Jaken wondered what had managed to crawl, fly or lumber its way to them this time.

'It must be powerful to have gotten through the field.' Short legs pumping furiously, he gave a cry as he was pulled up into the air by a large hand. "P-put me down!"

"Excuse me Jaken sir, but I thought that you might need to conserve your energy for fighting." A large yellow eye without any pupil regarded him. Kiso covered the distance from the back of the mansion where the retainer had been to the front gate in no time. Depositing the infuriated little man on the ground, he bent his large frame into a polite bow.

"I meant no disrespect."

Beady eyes narrowed into slits. 'Why don't I believe that?' Huffing once, Jaken turned to climb the ladder that lead to the walkways behind the stone walls. Peering over the edge, he saw only two people. One was hidden beneath a hooded cloak of some kind and the other was crouched on its haunches as if waiting to see what events would unfold.

Jaken was unimpressed.

'Now that one has to be a youkai. Unless ningens have suddenly started to grow cat heads!' The lion-headed being suddenly looked up and revealed milky white fangs in a wide smile. Jaken's heart skipped a beat as he nervously eyed that mouthful of needle-sharp teeth,

'Did I just become a part of some else's dinner menu?' Stubby fingers tightened on the staff as he decided to ignore his own discomfort in order to address the other intruder.

"OI! You are trespassing on the grounds of the Great Lord Yamatsu!! Begone or face the wrath of the Sorcerer Jaken!!" Beside him, a few faces blanked to hide any trace of amusement. Growling at them, the squat man braced his Staff of Heads over the edge of the wall when neither of the distant figures appeared ready to move.

"Jaken, you always were a pompous sack of air. It's good to know that you haven't changed one bit." Highly amused, the voice was muffled by a swath of beige and tan fabric that was heavily layered around the speaker. "Open the door you little toad."

"I am warning you again! Leave or die!" A vein popped up on the green forehead and if it had been a drum, the beat it set as it pulsed would have been a real toe-tapper!

Again, the figures didn't move. "Open the door toad."

Sputtering at the insult, the little retainer leapt right up on the stone and sent out a blast of fire. "Talking Gibberish!"

The aged and wizened face of the old man on his staff opened its mouth and spit out a massive pillar of flame that engulfed the two on the ground. After a few moments, Jaken tapped the wood to stop the assault.

"Humph! Insult the servant of the Inu no Taisho will you? Stupid youkai." Satisfied with his impressive display of power, Jaken got down and prepared to leave. A murmur along the wall stopped him.

"Eh?"

The air within the barrier was suffused with an unearthly light. Luminous and hot, it was managing to make even the rays of the noonday sun that flooded the courtyard seem gloomy. Surreal shadows stretched and grew beneath everyone as the ball of light descended in the midst of a ring of soldiers that poured from the barracks to surround it. The light and warmth of the second sun was abruptly cut off to reveal both the shrouded figure and the lion-headed youkai. The latter glared at Jaken through slightly singed fur.

The retainer ignored the deadly gaze because what had his full attention was the woman who held her. Dropping to the ground, Jaken rushed over to grovel at her feet in abject fear and desperation.

"Forgive this one, forgive this one!! I did not know it was you!!"

At the front of the soldiers, Kiso tilted his head over the sudden transformation. "Excuse me Jaken sir, but who is this person?" Around him, the men murmured agreement with the question.

The staff rudely cracked against the young man's shin as Jaken screamed out to the gathered mob, "Bow down!! Bow down all of you!! You are in the presence of the ruler and sovereign of the Southern Kingdom!!"

When they all hastily complied, Jaken scraped low against the dirt. "Once again, forgive me, but I did not recognize you Lady Niambi." By this time, he noticed that she yet to give him a reply. When he saw where she was looking, his nonexistent chin dropped.

'Why is she paying any attention to that giant fool?'

By this time, the cat-girl had hopped nimbly to the ground and was in the process of washing ash and soot away from her fur. Her mistress was otherwise preoccupied and paid her no mind. Pulling the hood away from her face, Lady Niambi was staring at Kiso. Tilted, warm eyes were filled with sadness and disbelief as she went over and lifted his face with her dark hand.

"Tenshin?"

For his part, the blue youkai gaped at her in honest amazement. Partially because he was being singled out by a one of obviously high birth but mostly because she seemed to know about his father. "What?"

Hazel eyes scanned his features in confusion, "But how is it possible? I had heard that you died Tenshin."

A new voice interrupted Kiso before he could respond. "Tenshin is dead Niambi. The face you see before you is that of his eldest son, Kiso." Followed closely by a chattering swarm of handmaidens, the Lady Shinaki descended the short steps from the main house and approached the ruler of the Southern Lands. "Tenshin has been dead for nearly three centuries Niambi. I'm sorry."

Niambi blinked, "Has so long a time slipped by without my notice?" Seeming to come out of some sort of reverie, she gave the young man one last look. "Yes, it must have. I can see the difference between you now." Releasing Kiso as she regally lifted her chin, she was once again the Lady of the South.

"Shinaki, it is good to see you again. I see that Yamatsu has kept his word to your late husband about guarding the family of his best friend." Brown arms swept up in a hug of long familiarity.

Shinaki smiled and returned it. "Ah no. Actually, the two of us married not long ago. The old fool even proposed while I looked like Kami's grandmother!" Niambi made a small noise that bloomed into a laugh. "You know that Yama has never cared about what the one he loves looks like. For that old dog, it has always been about the flavor of the wine and not the bottle holding it."

"Aye, aye. But what brings you here Hizashi?" The nickname rolled from the violet lips easily, even though the two had not seen one another in centuries. Niambi laughed at it and followed her friend inside the mansion.

Behind them, Jaken dodged the swipe of a clawed hand as Keimba tried to gut him before trailing after her mistress. Grumbling over the rent in his clothing, he glared at her.

"Stupid neko youkai!"

At the doorway the cat hissed proudly, "I am a Bas'ti you blind toad!" before disappearing inside.

Jaken gulped and checked past the hole in his robe for any damage that might have avoided his notice, all the while counting himself as one lucky youkai.

'Bas'ti? Foreign beast-men who were rumored to have been born of one of the old gods? Of course a goddess would keep one of those things as a guardian!' In his mind, it also explained why she had been able to walk away from a full blast from the Staff of Heads without more than a mild toasting.

'They were bred for intense desert lifestyles. It would take volcanic temperatures to faze them! She must be a kitten for her fur to have been even partially affected. An adult would not have been damaged in any way.'

Seeing that nothing was vital missing, Jaken let out a gusty sigh of relief. 'At least all she did was swipe at me.'

In an effort to compose himself, he waved his staff around while calling out orders and dispersing the crowd. When the yard had been cleared, he scurried into the house to see if he could be of service.

A solitary soldier stayed where he was for a moment, staring at the place where the mysterious woman had landed. A black ring of scorched earth clearly marked the area where Lady Niambi had come down. Blue fingers touched a blade of grass and watched it crumble into ash.

'How does she know my parents?'

Rather than disrupt whatever his mother and the lady were talking about, Kiso went uneasily to his bed in the barracks. 'If mom doesn't come to me, I'll go to her later on. How come my father knew the Southern Ruler? Yamatsu I can understand, they served and fought together, but this woman?' Kiso rubbed his chin as he sank into the protesting bunk and muttered aloud.

"This is strange."

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Outside of the window of the little cottage, the world was alive with sunlight and promises as each creature sought its destiny.

Inside the little cottage, the dead arose and striped the clothes from his numb body. Somber and silent, Sesshomaru went to the small closet and pulled out an older robe that was touched with scarlet and white at its sleeves and shoulders. As the silk slid over his lean body, he idly wondered why it felt like armor but put aside the thought as mere folly.

Pants and real armor were then tied and buckled securely while his tail grew and automatically curled back to its former resting place. Sesshomaru absently stroked the downy fur in greeting. A wide sash of royal purple and golden yellow was deftly draped and tied around his waist before the lord inserted the mark of his inheritance, Tensaiga, in the side of the fabric. Dragon-skin boots followed, the last made snug because he had forgone footwear since coming to live with his brother.

'Half-brother.' he amended coolly, 'A half-breed and nothing more.'

Sesshomaru knelt and reached down to the edge of the bed. Beneath the box bed was an ingeniously crafted storage area. When he had first learned that Inuyasha had built both of the wooden frames, Sesshomaru had chided his brother for using the sword that could kill a hundred youkai as a whittling knife.

Right now, Sesshomaru couldn't even remember how to smile. A feathery touch to the corner of the smooth wood caused a hidden catch to release and allow the panel door to swing open. Without hesitation, he reached inside.

Unaware of the momentous transformation which had transpired less than ten feet from her, Anbu had managed to slow her tears to small huffs and sniffles. She was in the process of making a break for the door when something cold fell around her shoulders.

"What?"

"Koimizu!"

A soft purple glow suffused the beaded necklace before she slammed into the floor, pulled to the earth by an invisible force. All efforts to remove the slick beads proved fruitless.

"Wha-what the fuck did you do to me?!"

Deadly and chilled, the eyes that gazed down at her were flat and uncaring. "You will not be going anywhere, Thing. I do not understand why you look like my mate but that rosary will prevent any attempts by you to trick me into mistaking you for her."

Sesshomaru's words were utterly serene as he addressed her. "From now on, you will take the place of my retainer Jaken. After you have gathered some supplies for yourself you will accompany me on my search for my wife. You will do this without question," Eyes of liquid gold promised torment unequalled if she dared to refuse him, "and without fail."

Something yellow and soft arched out and landed at her feet. Anbu picked it up with trembling fingers, "What is this?"

"A kimono. I will not have you wearing my brother's clothes and bleeding all over the expensive fabric it was created from." Sesshomaru seemed to have forgotten that he was the cause of the bloody mess around her. Instead, he went to the doorway.

"It is foul enough to me that you wear the visage of Kuroi, I won't have you sullying anything else within my line of sight."

Disbelief filled Anbu's face and brought her unsteadily to her feet. "You have lost your fucking mind if you think I'll take this from you! How dare you stand there and boss me around like you own me, like-?" Further words were cut of by the press of two fingers against her lips, each one glowing the sickly green of suppressed poison.

The very real threat of having her head melted off within seconds didn't bring the shiver to Anbu's soul, it was the tone of voice that held no kindness or mercy of any kind.

"Because you are within the western lands Thing, and as long as you are in them I do."

{}

Back inside the personal quarters of the Lady of the Western Lands, the atmosphere was intimate and easy. Seated comfortably on a cushion, Niambi accepted a cup of tea and got right down to business by showing Shinaki the scroll that had been the cause of her arrival. "The girl in this picture. I need to find her."

Amethyst eyes widened in curiosity, "But why do you need Kuroi?"

"Kuroi?" Hazel eyes narrowed in disbelief. "That is not her name."

With a delicate snort at the assured comment, Shinaki took a sip from her own cup. "I think I would know the name of my own daughter Hizashi. Kuroi has been traipsing in and out of my front door for the last two hundred years, so I think I should know the child whose diapers I used to change and have watched over since infancy." Spotting the sudden look of grief on the other's face, Shinaki was taken back by it.

The coffee-colored face had grown ashen and drawn. Unable to help herself, Shinaki felt her gaze traveling up to the crown of braided hair and the obsidian figurines that decorated it.

One tiny dark eye winked slowly at her.

Although the sight caused a shudder to ripple through her, Shinaki reached across the small table and took Niambi's hands in her own, her genuine concern for her friend overriding any momentary qualms. Making soothing noises, she rubbed the chilled flesh and tried to transfer her own warmth to the obviously distraught woman.

"Hizashi, what is wrong?"

"I-is she really two hundred years old?" Soft and hesitant, the voice was out of odds with the woman she knew. Shinaki stood and moved even closer.

"Aye, aye. I am positive. What is the matter Niambi?"

Instead of answering, Niambi stood as if to leave and asked her. "Where is Yama?"

Confused, Shinaki rose to follow. "He is stationed at the Western Palace. Yama was waiting there for Sesshomaru and Kuroi the last that I had heard. But Hebiki recently told me that Kagome has informed him that all the children are missing, including Inuyasha."

"Inuyasha?" Niambi paused at the door, one hand falling on a cocked hip. "Who is Inuyasha?"

Sighing, Shinaki went to a drawer and pulled out a small portrait. In the wooden frame was the image of a scowling young man with dog ears, silver hair and amber eyes. Niambi fought a laugh when she saw it.

"He is Yama's pup." it was more a statement than a question. "I can see it in that expression he is wearing!" A nail tapped the ears in the image, "He is a half-breed, Shinaki?"

The lady of the west made a rude face. "Yes, his mother was human. But Inuyasha is much more than his blood!" Huffing once, Shinaki put the picture back and slid a pointed look at her friend. "He happens to be my daughter's best friend so I will thank you not to take that tone of voice when speaking about him!"

Making a dismissive gesture, Niambi rolled her eyes. "Drama queen. If he is a half-breed that is a fact that will not change because of who loves or admires him anymore than the sky will be green tomorrow because a thousand people happen to wish it were so." Brown fingers crooked to beckon Keimba, who had been preparing to take a nap in the corner of the room. The limber child padded over making mournful mewling noises. The sounds vanished with a light scratch behind a tawny ear.

Full lips drew up in a small smile as Niambi faced her friend. "I did not mean to upset you, or to insult Yama's child, Shinaki. I was only stating a fact." The goddess shook out her traveling cloak, instantly removing any minor damage or discoloration before draping it back around herself.

"As much as I would love to catch up on old times with you, it is imperative that I see Yamatsu about an urgent matter." Niambi executed a movement that was both insanely intricate as well as effortlessly fluid. "Thank you for your hospitality Shinaki and I do hope to see you again soon."

Shinaki watched her go with a mild sense of trepidation. When she and Tenshin had been married, the relationship between Yamatsu and Niambi had not been a secret. In fact, for a while, it had seemed that the south and the west would become one providence.

Then the two had gone their separate ways, neither giving an explanation for the decision. Idly, Shinaki wondered if her husband still harbored any feelings for the departing goddess. That thought brought her late husband to the forefront of her mind. With another sigh, she left to go find her son.

"Gods, demons, humans and youkai. Why are we all drawn to one another anyway?"

}

From the garden by her room, Kagome blinked when she saw a woman fly away towards the west. She scratched her chin, "I didn't know there were Africans in ancient Japan." Turning to go back inside, she blinked again.

"…was she carrying a giant cat?"

}

}

}

Ba: "Can we use it? It's for a restaurant!"

Ka: "…no…"

Ba: "Why not? Don't we have money?"

Ka: "…yes…"

Ba: "Then it's settled, let's go!!"

Ka: "…I'll kill myself first…"

Ba: "Buy why?"

Ka: "IT'S TO THE CHICKEN SHACK!!!"

{}

{}

A/N: Poor Ka, I love to torment him.

For those who might be protesting right now, no. I would never have Sessy lift a hand against Kuroi, but if you remember from the first story, she IS a soldier. So of course she would have told him about her time fighting for Lord Yamatsu and any injuries she might have gotten during that time.

Shout out to a reviewer who was kind enough to request one as well as thanks for the others. Few and precious that they are.

I don't mind, if I wanted praise for doing something, I would never have had kids.

Ron Mouse and Masmino! Aka River Otter: Thank you both for the kind words and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

Somnambulicious: Only four cliff hangers? Feh, you should read the novel I'm trying to finish… … you'd know why I haven't finished it yet. Thank you for the kind praise and I look forward to your work too!

Tetsumi: So loyal, so insistent. The best kind of reviewer to have!!

Anchan: You signed anonymously, but I still felt the love.

Circe_Nausicaa: You've been with me since "Silver" and although your name isn't among the reviewers, I know you're there. How? Email!