InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Rulers of Four Directions ❯ Butterfly Night ( Chapter 8 )

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters in this fan fiction are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. The original characters and plot are the property of Chiaztolite, who is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary of Previous Chapter: Lord Shogo, who had agreed to revive Rin, asked his granddaughter to take care of her. With the information gathered from Rikio, a servant, Sesshoumaru learned things about the noble inuyokai of the eastern lands: the first grandson of Lord Shogo, whose name was still unknown to him, and Zoichi, also known as the lord's grandson but was actually a pure-blooded inu from the southern clan. ___________________________________________________________________________ _________________

Rulers of Four Directions

Chapter 08: Butterfly Night

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A lone butterfly was seen fluttering above the quiet white dunes of the eastern palace. Its glittering silver wings reflected the light of the bright moon shining above.

 

The lone butterfly was followed by another, and another. The parade continued until a cloud of silver butterflies was formed in the air. The flap of their wings created faint whispers, though not a single creature was present to hear the symphony. The butterflies, moving in unison, slowly descended to the ground. The moment they touched the surface of white sands, they transformed into a female figure.

 

The female took no time to stop and orient herself, but smoothly continued striding towards the soaring stone walls of the eastern palace. Though the number of silver butterflies had greatly receded, quite a few remained. The remaining butterflies followed her wake, swarming about her long, wavy raven tresses.

 

She stopped when she was only a few paces away from the main gate. Her shimmering amethyst eyes observed the massive double stone doors intently.

 

“... So this is where you have taken her, Sesshoumaru.” She softly said. Slowly, the corners of her crimson lips curled into a smile.

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Inside a chamber somewhere within the eastern palace, Kohaku sat cross-legged on the tatami floor, quietly watching Rin receiving her treatments. The slumbering girl was laid on top of a clean white futon on the floor. It had been at least three hours since the inu princess fed the slumbering girl the antidote to Nemuri Hime. The female inu had been by Rin's side since, diligently checking for signs of her pulse at regular intervals.

Kohaku's eyes were glued on the female inuyokai, Shouri-sama, still mesmerized by how much she resembled her brother. It was truly like staring at a female version of Lord Sesshoumaru, one with much more feminine and willowy figure. She had removed the armour she sported earlier and exchanged her day attire with a fine kimono in the palest shade of blue. The dark azure obi sash wrapped around her waist, decorated with gold and silver threads, was an intricate work of art. She wore her hair loose, letting those glorious silver tresses cascaded passed her shoulder and down to the small of her back.

Noticing the intensity of the boy's gaze, the inu princess looked up to return the blatant stare. Their eyes collided and for a moment, neither one looked away. But Kohaku could not hold his gaze for long. He found yokai, with their jewelled eyes, possessed too bewitching of a gaze that it often turned his blood cold. He had to avert his eyes and cast his gaze downwards to his lap, feeling even more awkward and embarrassed than he already was.

The inu princess remained silent and did not pursue the matter. The boy was staring at her so openly that she had to return the stare. What she had done to deserve the excessive attention, she could not tell. Had the boy thought she was going to devour him, or something along that line?

There was no one else but the four of them inside that chamber: the boy, the green toad, the unconscious girl, and herself. Their lord had apparently ordered his two vassals to never let the girl out of their sights and thus, they remained with her.

Jaken had been silent. Just as Kohaku, he had been observing the inu princess performing the treatments on Rin. Though the toad yokai did not want to be the first to break the utter silence, he could not wait any longer. He had to voice the question that was in his, and undoubtedly Kohaku's, mind.

“How is Rin, my Lady?”

Shouri, who appeared to be lost in a deep thought, provided no answer. Her eyes were fixed to Rin's face, her hand gently clutched the slumbering girl's wrist. With the soft pad of her thumb, she grazed the skin underneath her fingers and carefully explored Rin's veins to detect a pulse, any pulse.

She heaved a deep sigh and parted her lips to answer.

“Her state had not changed since I supplied her with the antidote. She still has neither breath nor pulse.”

“Does this mean Rin is...” Jaken paused to swallow audibly. “...gone?”

“My grandfather is convinced she has not passed to the other side yet. If he said so, then this girl is not yet dead.” Shouri answered.

“Then... there is still a chance to awaken her?” The green toad yokai asked, his voice was laden with hope.

There was a long stretch of silence as the inuyokai regarded the question. Eventually, she spoke.

“Three days of sleeping is a long time, even for a yokai.” Her answer was vague, incapable of satisfying the query of the two wards.

The chamber fell back into deep silence as they all shifted their attention back to the slumbering girl's face. To Shouri, the girl appeared dead. She could not sense any life force within the body. Yet, before she took the girl into the palace, her grandfather had pulled her aside.

“Her presence is dim, but she has not completely crossed to the other side yet.” He had said. “If the antidote does not work, do your best to coax her soul to return from the realm of dreams.”

She could not comprehend why Lord Shogo decided to grant the visitor's wish to get this girl revived. But her grandfather had specifically asked her to “do her best”, and thus her best was what she would do.

She pulled the long sleeve of her kimono away from her right palm, revealing a fair skinned wrist that was gracefully adorned with one magenta stripe. She reached over, letting her right hand hover above the girl's chest. Her palm almost touched the girl's body, but not quite. Slow and steady, she started to channel her youki to her hand, accumulating her energy underneath the palm. Soon after, a glowing blue sphere appeared, filling the empty space between her hand and the girl's chest.

The remaining two creatures watched her, mesmerized with her action.

`Is she trying to bring Rin's soul back with her youki?' Jaken pondered with mouth gaping wide.

Shouri focused to keep her energy steadily gathering underneath her palm. Ever so slowly, she gently forced her youki to enter the girl's body through the chest. She had never found it pleasant to intrude in such manner. It was not a pleasing experience to force entry to the depth of one's unconsciousness to seek the soul. She closed her eyes, trying to sense the presence of the girl. When her eyes were shut, she could see it through her youki: a distant light amidst pitch black oblivion. The small ball light was extremely dim, indicating the weakness of the girl's life force. She let her youki snake deeper, trying to reach the faint light and coax it back to the realm of the consciousness. She could feel her youki nudging something. It felt so delicate and frail that she was afraid of holding on to it. Could it be the girl's soul? She tried to lay her grasp on it, but it slithered away. She persevered, yet it was like trying to cup water within two hands: no matter how careful you were, it would always slip through your fingers.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and withdrew her youki. She had never performed this technique on a human, not to mention one so young and in such a delicate state. If she was not careful, if she used too great a force, she could end up severing the tie between the soul and the body.

She sighed deeply. It was a delicate and perplexing matter. At present, she did not have the confidence to coax the girl back into consciousness. Even the smallest miscalculation could cost a life. She sat still, contemplating her next move. But before she had the opportunity to decide what to do, a voice called her from outside the enclosed chamber.

“Shouri-sama, your grandfather is waiting.”

She glanced sideways towards the entrance to the chamber. The translucent partitions, though closed, had revealed the silhouette of the voice's owner. She nodded silently and rose to her feet.

“I will return.” Those were her last words to the toad yokai and the human boy before she left the chamber.

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“We're here.” The eastern male inu said as his steps halted before the closed entrance to a chamber.

He slid the partitions open without announcing his arrival. Though this action might seem impertinent, yet the liberty of his manner was justified considering the occupants of the chamber were most likely aware of their presence already.

As Sesshoumaru stepped into the dim light of the chamber, he scanned his surroundings. The chamber was spacious with walls lined up with rows of shelving. Those shelving were filled with scrolls, which some appeared so old that their paper had changed colour. In the center of the chamber lay a large teak round table. It was finished in thick coats of black lacquer so shiny that he was sure he could see his reflection on its surface. Behind it sat two inuyokai: the Lord of the Eastern Lands and the mysterious descendant of the southern clan. Lord Shogo, now that he had discarded his battle gear, appeared more relaxed. The southern inu, on the other hand, still sported the indigo armour he wore earlier.

With a penetrating gaze, Sesshoumaru regarded the southern inu. It was the first time the young yokai lord had encountered a dog demon from a clan other than east and west. An interesting creature indeed, he thought. If this one creature could be considered as an archetype of all southern inu, then their brothers from the south would all possess bright red markings on their face.

Sensing the intense gaze, the object of his attention returned the stare with a pair of piercing golden eyes. An invisible spark appeared when their gaze collided. Through unspoken words, Sesshoumaru could tell the southern creature's gaze did not bear any friendly intention. The feeling was mutual.

“Have a seat, Sesshoumaru.” Lord Shogo said, breaking the locked gaze of the two inu. If the lord had noticed the unpleasant exchange between the two, he showed no awareness.

After standing motionlessly for a few moments, as if waiting for something, Sesshoumaru approached the empty side of the table and lowered himself to the soft tatami floor. The station he had chosen was directly opposite the southern yokai with the unfriendly gaze, though the display of emotion bore no effect on him. His grandfather was on his right, although due to the vastness of the table, the distance between them was more than an arm's length.

Lord Shogo waited until the last inuyokai in the chamber left standing took the seat across him before he said to his newfound grandson,

“This introduction is long overdue but I would like to introduce you to other surviving nobles of our kind.”

He gestured to the male inu sitting across him.

“My eldest grandson, Yuusou. He is the son of my first born, your mother's older brother.”

Sesshoumaru regarded his cousin, who gave him a pleasant nod and a smile, from the corner of his eye. Refusing to return the friendly gestures, the yokai lord kept his cold, impassive facade as he waited for Lord Shogo to proceed with the introduction.

“And,” The lord continued, his hand gestured towards his right. “My second grandson, Zoichi. He is a native of southern lands, but has been placed under my care since he was only a few days old.”

As Sesshoumaru noticed, Lord Shogo did not explain further how and why this Zoichi creature was placed under his custody. And it was clear to him that the elder lord preferred to keep the subject out of their conversation. Sticking to his silence, he decided not pursue the matter further.

A silhouette appeared beyond the enclosed entrance to the chamber accompanied by a scent as familiar as his own. He did not need to guess who was about to join them around the table; that scent just gave it away. Seconds after, the translucent screens parted once more, revealing the female inuyokai: his sister.

“Lastly...” Lord Shogo said as the female approached the table and took her place between him and the southern inu. “My granddaughter, Shouri, the youngest of all of you.”

“My apologies for keeping you waiting, Grandfather.” She said, her voice silky smooth, earning a nod from the Lord.

Sesshoumaru recognized the undisguised affection in Lord Shogo's eyes as the elder regarded her. The pale blue kimono she wore, undoubtedly weaved from the finest silk, complemented the colour of her hair perfectly. He realized she was quite tall for a female. Her physique, now revealed with the absence of her armour, was slender but without signs of frailty by any means. It was definitely a desirable quality on one who was expected to have at least decent martial art skills.

Lord Shogo's eyes shifted from one grandchild to the next.

“As you may have guessed,” He started, his hand was already gesturing towards his left. “Our visitor is Sesshoumaru, the Lord of the Western Land, my third grandson. He is the son of Lady Isha, my youngest and only daughter.”

Sesshoumaru cared not for the responses from the two male inuyokai when Lord Shogo relayed his identity. His gaze was utterly fixed on the female's face. Though she kept her facade unruffled, he could capture her discomfort dancing in those pair of amber eyes when their gaze momentarily met. Whether or not she could recognize him as her closest kin was difficult to determine from the short-lived gaze.

“How is the human girl's condition, Shouri?” Lord Shogo asked, after a brief moment of silence.

“Her soul has travelled deep into the realm of dream.” She replied. “Not a strange occurrence considering she has been sleeping for three days.” She raised her gaze and stared at her grandfather.

“Did you try to coax her soul as I instructed you to?” Lord Shogo asked.

“Yes...” She answered as she twisted her fingers on her lap. “I let my youki enter her chest and tried to capture her soul sphere, like how you thought me.”

“... And?” Her grandfather inquired further. “What happened?”

“Ah...” Her fingers now played with the string of the tassels that tied around her obi belt. “It was as if her soul sphere was slippery... I tried to capture it but for some reasons it kept slipping away. And I felt it was not wise to force her, as her life force was extremely weak.”

“What is the meaning of this conversation?” Sesshoumaru asked suddenly. A deep frown appeared on his forehead. “What on earth did you attempt to do to Rin's soul?”

“Nemuri Hime is the kind of substance that pushes one's soul away from one's body through the act of sleeping.” Yuusou explained. “As time passes, the soul will eventually detach itself from its host, causing death. When one is fed the antidote to the poison, the separation would be stopped and the soul will slowly reunite itself with the body. But, in the case of your ward, the time of separation has been too long. Her soul has travelled too deep into another realm for the antidote to restore. The only possible way to revive her is for someone to insert youki through her chest and slowly coax her soul back to the realm of the living.”

“Is such a thing even possible?” Sesshoumaru asked, the frown on his forehead deepened. This was the first time he had heard of such a technique. It sounded very similar to the technique of high priests or priestesses who were powerful enough to cure humans with their spiritual power. But he had never heard of a yokai inserting youki into a creature to physically reach its soul.

“It is an extremely high level and rare skill but yes, it is possible.” Yuusou answered. “But, a soul is a delicate thing. If the coaxing is not done properly, the little bond left between the soul and the body may be destroyed. Should it happens, death is an absolute consequence.”

Sesshoumaru flinched slightly when he heard the talk of death. Rin's death?

“I heard the Lord of the Western Lands does not sympathize with humans...” A sudden voice grabbed his attention. The voice came from an unexpected source: the previously silent southern inu, Zoichi.

“And yet, you seem so concerned about this one human girl and even came all this way and forced our lord to cure her.” The male continued. “Why is that?”

“I do not see why you are so concerned with who I sympathize with, as it is none of your business.” Sesshoumaru retaliated with his icy voice, eyes narrowed dangerously as he heard the impertinent question.

The southern inu opened his mouth to strike back, but Lord Shogo's deep voice stopped him.

“Zoichi,” The lord called. “I have agreed to assist Sesshoumaru to revive his ward, and I certainly cannot go back on my words. We shall not discuss this again.”

The lord's words ended the verbal hostilities between the two, though their eyes still held no understanding for each other.

“I am quite perturbed.” Lord Shogo suddenly said, already making a move to rise to his feet. “Sesshoumaru, I shall go and check your ward's condition.”

The lord left the chamber without another word spoken. Sesshoumaru remained seated for a few more moments but eventually, he too lifted himself up and followed his grandfather.

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Sesshoumaru stood motionlessly outside of Rin's chamber, waiting for Lord Shogo to complete his treatments on Rin. He had his back towards the entrance to the chamber, his eyes were fixed to the bright moon shining above. It was no longer a night of the full moon. Yet, the silver circle of light still appeared round and as he noticed, unusually bright. It was a night of the strange moon.

The sounds of sliding partitions being opened and closed prompted him to turn around. Finding himself standing face to face with Lord Shogo, he gave a slight nod to regard the elder.

“It took quite an effort, but I managed to coax her soul to remain closer to her body.” Lord Shogo told Sesshoumaru, fully aware of the younger yokai's unspoken question.

“I'm afraid it will not be easy.” The lord continued. “I could not complete the process all at once, as her light is dim and her life force is draining. To apply force altogether would have severed the frail bond between her soul and her body. I shall try again tomorrow.”

Sesshoumaru had been listening to his grandfather's explanation in silence. A question, one he had been anxious to ask and yet could not pronounce, was at the tip of his tongue. What had stopped the query from escaping his lips? To think that Sesshoumaru, the great Lord of the Western Lands, actually feared the answer to a simple question was ridiculous, if not laughable.

“...Could...” The first word finally rolled off his tongue. “Could she be saved?”

Lord Shogo did not answer for a moment. His eyes did not leave his grandson's face throughout the long stretch of silence.

“She is safer now, since I pulled her soul sphere closer to the realm of the living.” He said at last. “However, only time will tell if she could truly be saved.”

Slowly, Sesshoumaru nodded. It seemed he would have to be satisfied with such uncertainty. At least Rin is safe, for now.

The elder lord's eyes lingered on his face, observing every ripple of emotion underneath an impassive mask. Finally, the lord spoke,

“Walk with me, Sesshoumaru.”

Lord Shogo did not wait for his grandson to voice approval. He turned around and started to tread the long open-air corridors of the eastern palace, followed by the slightly bewildered young yokai. He did not halt his steps until they both arrived at a spacious roofed veranda that protruded from the outer edge of the corridor. It was a viewing platform, available for one to admire the expansive pond stretched out in front of it.

“Tell me,” Lord Shogo said. “Is your mother well?”

“We do not interact much.” Sesshoumaru answered. “But from what I saw three days ago, she seemed her usual self.”

“I see.”

Lord Shogo kept his eyes fixed on the pond, seemingly entranced by the blooming water lilies that covered almost half of the water surface. Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, let his gaze lingered on the elder lord who appeared to be lost in musings. From where he stood, he could only view his grandfather's profile. With his eyes, he traced the graceful curve of the lord's forehead, that sharp and passionate golden eye which had not lost its lustre even after 3000 years, that well-shaped nose, those full lips and well defined chin, the fine jaw line and elegant pointed ear.

Not even a single creature was present anywhere around them, and the time seemed perfect for a private conversation. There were plenty of queries in the young lord's mind, yet he decided to narrow them down to one single question he deemed most pressing.

“You...” He started, earning his grandfather's full attention. “You know who Shouri is to me, do you not?”

Lord Shogo turned his head sideways to stare straight into Sesshoumaru's eyes. Slowly, a thin smile was spread on his lips. He turned around so he could fully face the younger lord.

“Yes, of course I do.” He answered calmly. “But the real question is, do you?”

A frown appeared on Sesshoumaru's face when he heard the same question returned to him. He uttered no response, but waited for the lord to proceed.

“I cannot comment on why your mother decided to leave Shouri here immediately after she was born.” Lord Shogo said, shifting his gaze back to the surface of the pond. “But ever since, I have raised her as Yuusou's younger sister. I made her believe his parents, who died in battle many years ago, were also hers. I made that child believe she was orphaned since she was very young.”

His sharp gaze was once again returned to his grandson's face.

“I will not deny you the right to be Shouri's true older brother.” He said, a stern edge had suddenly seeped into his voice. “But decide if you can live with the responsibilities and the privileges of being a brother for the rest of your life. If you decide you cannot be her brother, then leave her and never look back. Worry not, there are those here who love her dearly.”

“So you wish her to live life as is, ignorant of her true lineage?”

“Ignorance is bliss.” Lord Shogo said. “I would rather her believe she was orphaned by death than by desertion. I will not sit still and let her learn that she has a living mother and a living brother who do not want her.”

“Think well, Sesshoumaru.” He warned, his eyes affirmed the solemnity of his intention. “Only tell her if you are fully convinced you want her as a younger sister.”

With narrowed eyes, Sesshoumaru repeated Lord Shogo's words inwardly.

`Only tell her if...'

Wait.

His gaze held a certain flicker when he came to a sudden realization.

“By that, you meant...” He started to confirm his suspicion.

“Yes.” The lord cut his words short, his voice held the never-ending composure. “If you want her, then you shall be the one to tell her.”

Sesshoumaru was quite perturbed by his grandfather's intention. The elder had decided to have him as the bearer of the news. To have the lord, or someone else, relay the truth of their blood tie was one thing. To accept her as his sister was one thing. But to actually be the one to deliver the truth, to ask her to be his sister, was completely different.

But before the young yokai lord could decide how he felt about it, he sensed a sharp change of energy in the air. The shift was so obvious that his head jerked with alarm. He looked up to the sky, eyes narrowed as he focused his senses to detect the source of the sudden surge of energy. Once he ascertained the location of the source, he did not delay his departure.

He leapt above the gardens and walls within the eastern palace, his swift legs carried him closer and closer to his destination. The energy that had caused the turmoil felt both foreign and familiar to him. Though he could not yet identify the owner of the energy, he could tell it was deliberately exerted to attract his attention. It was an unspoken challenge.

His intuition brought him to a spacious inner courtyard within the palace, surrounded on three sides by tall protective stone walls. His eyes widened when he found the source of the disturbance.

It was a female, perching on top of the soaring stone wall at the opposite end of the courtyard. He recognized those wavy raven tresses, that pearl white alabaster skin, those twin amethyst eyes, that face that was both exquisite and eerie. She was mysterious female who had appeared in the deep forest during his journey to these lands.

When the female glimpsed his presence, she slowly rose to her feet. Still perching on top of the stone wall, she stood high above him with the bright silver moon as her backdrop. For a moment they both stared at each other in tense silence.

“My name is Sakki...” The female spoke, much to Sesshoumaru's surprise. She had been so stingy with words during their last encounter, but she voluntarily gave him her name this time. Yet, the reason for the polite gesture was beyond him.

`Sakki.' He repeated the name silently. He was well aware that `The Killing Intention' was the true meaning of that name.

“Sesshoumaru,” She called him, a smile slowly graced her face. “The girl will die tonight...”

Lord Shogo stood a few paces behind his grandson. He too had sensed the sudden shift of energy in the air earlier, prompting him to follow his grandson's lead to where the culprit was. The energy felt strange, even unnatural, and not the kind he normally encountered during the long years of his life. But even those long years could not prepare him for what he saw then. It was certainly a sight he had never expected to see in his lifetime.

“That is...” His eyes widened as he murmured in disbelief.

-To be continued-

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This is the end of chapter 08. Chapter 09 will certainly be interesting. I'll work very hard to deliver the next chapter as soon as possible. Again, thanks to all the readers. Please review, I'm dying to know what you think so far.

-Chiaztolite-