InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sesshoumaru's Secret Life ❯ My Brother, My Sister ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5: My Brother, My Sister

 

Sesshoumaru stood outside the hut looking out into the forest in the pre-dawn hours, everyone else asleep. She could sense the presence of her brother nearby but knew he too was asleep. She soon found him in a tree just slightly to the right of where she was, lying in a half reclined position amidst the branches. His arms were wrapped around the Tetsusaiga, his mouth agape with his hands curled gently in his lap. A ghost of a smile played across her lips looking at his peaceful face. She frowned slightly and turned her attention back out into the forest, her mind full of conflicting thoughts.

 

She was trying to decide what to do now that this group knew her secret. I could kill them. It would be easy. They would not even know they were dead. The idea of killing them all in their sleep, although initially attractive, seemed more the act of a coward and Sesshoumaru was no coward. She also had a flashback of her father telling her to always be honourable. Killing them like that, especially after the aid they had given her, would definitely not be honourable.

 

Another thought struck her as she stood quietly contemplating, a very tempting thought. She could leave the western lands in her brother's hands take Rin and leave to start a new life, one without constant strife and danger. Perhaps, just perhaps she could live as what she was, instead of the façade that had been forced upon her.

 

She smiled at the thought of the little human girl, so sweet and innocent, an absolute joy. Sesshoumaru knew she probably allowed the girl to get away with more than she should but she couldn't help it. She never wanted to be like her mother, controlling, overbearing and cruel. So she indulged her in certain things but she still managed to instill in the child a sense of obedience by being fair and patient. So then, didn't this girl, her adopted daughter, deserve a settled home instead of this constant trekking? She had already lost her human parents; did she deserve the worry of losing her demon one as well?

 

Even though Sesshoumaru was arrogantly confident in her strength and abilities, the battle with the spider had taught her a simple truth. No matter what, there was always someone stronger. It had taken four of them to defeat the hanyou; she knew now that she would not have been able to do it on her own.

 

The demoness sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. She had still not come to any kind of a decision on what to do. Tempting as the thought of just letting everything go and saying the hell with it, she had developed a sense of honour and responsibility to her heritage and to those affected by it. Her brother was untrained in matters of state, wild and impulsive. He was not anywhere near ready or capable of leading the western lands.

 

The task had become harder over the years, even for her. The humans seemed to be taking over. She gave a disgusted grunt, they bred faster than rabbits and their fear of her, of what she was, caused them to attack her castle more and more over the years trying to drive her and all demons out. She doubted her brother would be able to defend what had belonged to their father against them; sometimes she wondered how long she would be able to hold the western lands. Inuyasha had such a weakness for the humans, perhaps it was his own human blood that sympathized with them.

 

She gave a heavy sigh again. Perhaps it would just be best to gather her retainer and daughter and head back to her castle. She could just leave it in the hands of her brother and his group if they would keep her identity secret or not. She would just have to deal and cope with the consequences, something she had been doing all her life.

 

Inuyasha opened his eyes and watched his sister as she stood looking out into the forest. He noticed that she didn't move and he would have thought her a statue except for her silver hair that blew gently in the breeze and the unmasked emotions that flitted across her face. This surprised him, only ever having seen cool disdain reflecting in the golden eyes, now he saw worry and fatigue in their depths.

 

His breath caught in his throat when he saw her smile. She...she's beautiful, he thought in awe. It quickly disappeared and he wondered what it was that she had been thinking about to make her smile like that and wished she would do it again.

 

He felt a surge of protectiveness towards the demoness when he noticed her bring her hand to her still healing stomach. She seemed to be in discomfort and it worried the hanyou. He hopped down out of the tree and came to stand beside her.

 

Sesshoumaru didn't even blink when he appeared at her side. She just lowered her hand and glanced out of the corner of her eyes at him and then returned to contemplating the woods.

 

“So what will you do now, little brother?” she questioned him. “You do realize that you are the lord of the western lands, being father's only male heir.”

 

Inuyasha hadn't thought about it. He looked at his sister in surprise at the notion of it. “I don't want the western lands,” he informed her. “Is that what you're worried about, that I'll stake a claim on them?”

 

“It would be your right,” she answered back as if it was not a concern to her.

 

Inuyasha wasn't sure how to respond to that. Me, a lord? he questioned. The thought made him gloat a bit, he could take over his sister's place and there would be nothing she could do about it, in fact she would have to bow to him. But the thought of leading a territory, of having that much responsibility daunted him. It was bad enough having to protect the four members of his pack as it was, could he protect a whole kingdom? He thought not nor did he want to try. He still had to deal with what they were going to do with the Shikon Jewel. They only needed the final three shards to complete the thing but he was unsure of how they were going to get the one shard from Kohaku without killing him. And Kouga, would the wolf just hand over his two shards? He frowned, in much the same manner as his sister, at these thoughts.

 

“I don't want the western lands,” he repeated firmly.

 

They stood in silence for awhile longer. “So is that why you pretend to be a boy, because of father's lands?” Inuyasha asked.

 

“Father needed a son, mother made sure he got one,” she replied simply.

 

Inuyasha felt a chill go down his spine, even though Sesshoumaru had shown no emotion on her face there was a timber of hate in her voice that he didn't miss. How long has she had to do this? He wondered, feeling intensely curious about his sister's life.

 

“You said that you told me, what did you mean by that? I don't remember you telling me anything like this,” he proclaimed a bit indignantly.

 

“You would not, you were only an infant.”

 

Inuyasha looked at her with large, round eyes. “Sesshoumaru, what in the hell are you talking about?”

 

“I came to you when you were but a few days old,” she explained. “I came to kill you, but I found myself…” she hesitated slightly, “telling you my secret instead.”

 

Inuyasha had the thought that there was more to it than that but he didn't know how to ask her to explain more. It shocked him that she had not killed him when she had the chance. She had certainly been trying for quite some time to do just that very thing.

 

“So…you're going to go back to the western lands,” he half asked, half stated.

 

“Yes, it is my duty,” she replied and for a second she looked as if the weight of the world had fallen on her before she hid it behind the uncaring mask she always wore.

 

She glanced again at her brother, “You will not tell of what I am? Women are not supposed to be lords,” she informed him.

 

“None of my business, you seem to have done a good enough job, why should I interfere,” he replied. He hesitated for awhile then asked the question that had been bothering him the most. “Why did you save me? I mean Naraku could have killed me, just like you always wanted, so…”

 

“Perhaps I did not want you to die,” she answered still looking straight ahead. Perhaps I have never wanted you to die, she thought to herself.

 

Inuyasha was shocked at the statement. He could hear the honesty in her voice and he was pleased that she really didn't seem to want his death any longer. Maybe there's some hope for us, to be a family, he thought hopefully.

 

Her wound gave another twinge of pain and she began to raise her hand to it but stopped herself. It was bad enough that everyone knew what she was; she did not want to further embarrass herself by showing that she was weakened.

 

Inuyasha noticed the slight change in her placid expression and saw her start to hold her stomach. She's still in pain. She should be resting, not standing out here in the dark. He again felt the urge to protect his sibling. “Let's go in, the sun will be coming up soon and the rest will be getting up. We should try and get a bit more sleep,” he suggested. He watched as she turned to head back, walking a lot slower than was normal for her. He resisted the urge to help her seeing as she probably wouldn't accept anyways.

 

“Will you stay for a couple of more days?” he asked and then quickly added. “I mean just until you're healed.” Inuyasha really wanted a chance to get to know his sister better, he had a feeling that maybe she wasn't as bad as he had always thought. A sister, I have a sister, he thought with astonishment, it sort of really just becoming real to him.

 

She gave a nod, “Just until I am able to travel,” she answered before stepping quietly into the hut and settling herself on the futon, wrapping her long boa around her. She watched as her brother took a seat by the door, holding his sword and looking out into the brightening sky. She closed her eyes knowing again that she was protected and fell back asleep.