InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Seven Feudal Fairy Tales ❯ The Blood of the Father ( Chapter 15 )

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi and other associated companies.

 

 

Chapter 15: Blood of the Father

 

 

The sudden, cool flood of air nipped at Kagome's body as she emerged from the tent flap. She gasped lightly, her goose-fleshed skin missing the warmth of the summer evening it was in only a moment before. Before her were a set of stone stairs leading up to the open air of a forest. Leaves of gold, red and brown fluttered down to rest upon the steps. From the size of the leaves she could at least count on not being tiny like in the last story or at the very least she hoped. Glancing over her shoulder, she looked behind her to find an earthen wall where she had emerged, the way back to the last tale gone.

 

“I guess we're free of that one,” she said quietly and laughed.

 

“Hn,” the small figure on her shoulder grunted mildly. He sat cross-legged with his hand tucked into his haori coat, staring ahead at the waiting stairs. The school girl smiled at the appreciative tone that had snuck into his reply, however subtle it may have been and silently wondered if she was starting to understand him better or if he was simply relaxing his guard more and more around her. Maybe it was both. “Proceed, miko.”

 

“I-I'm sorry,” she mumbled, his words having startled her from her musings. She looked up into the sharp azure of the waiting sky in the opening above, rubbing her hands together half out of being cold and half out of nervousness. Then she stepped forward, rising up the gradual incline steadily. Sparks of silver and blue swirled around the tiny tai youkai as she neared the top and with an easy bound, he leapt from her shoulder onto the final few steps above her. With one last bright flash, his tall form blocked the stairs before her, his full height returned.

 

Kagome frowned at the transformation. In a strange way, she had been silently enjoying having the youkai lord sitting upon her shoulder. He was so much less intimidating when he could fit into a pocket, not to mention his fur pelt was keeping her neck warm.

 

He looked about his person, inspecting everything carefully until he was satisfied that all was in proper order and then proceeded up the last steps into the crisp air above. The school girl quickly followed, now truly lamenting the loss of her scarf as a cool breeze caressed her bare skin.

 

They emerged into a small orchard in the throes of autumn, the skeletal limbs of the trees fanning out around them. Sesshoumaru looked about cautiously, listening for anything menacing, but only finding the melodic songs of the few birds that remained behind for the coming winter. Contented, he looked down at the miko next to him who was busily scanning the surroundings for any trouble as well.

 

“Hn.”

 

“What?” she replied, returning his gaze with her own and a crooked brow.

 

“It is simply refreshing to see you taking notice of the world.”

 

“Eh?”

 

“In my experience, many say they will grow stronger when they're caught in a moment of despair, but all too quickly forget their promises when their lives are no longer in danger.”

 

“Oh,” she exclaimed softly and then blushed, “I've been guilty of that all too many times before. But this time, it wasn't me who was going to pay for my mistakes. It wasn't me who was going to suffer, because I wasn't strong enough. I can't let that happen again.”

 

“Hmm,” he murmured, his eyes still locked on her, almost as if he was inspecting her face as he had inspected himself a moment earlier, examining the resolve hidden behind her eyes. She shifted nervously under his stare, feeling like she had walked into class and found out there was a test she wasn't prepared for. He quirked his mouth slightly into a satisfied frown and with a nod he turned away, passing through the naked trees. “Very well.”

 

“W-what?” Kagome mumbled, walking after him. Why did he always have to be so damn cryptic?

 

“This Sesshoumaru shall benefit you with his knowledge, so that you may be less weak.”

 

“R-right now?” she blurted out; her voice flustered, although she inwardly took note of his remark about becoming less weak instead of simply stronger.

 

“No,” he replied, as he slipped between the reaching branches, their shed leaves crunching under his footfalls. “This Sesshoumaru does not wish to stay in this story for long. The last was made exceedingly long from many distractions.”

 

“Do you know what this story is already from the poem?”

 

He remained silent, his pace slowing as he thought. The school girl sighed happily at his slackening speed, swiftly closing the growing distance between herself and the demon.

 

“It is not important,” he said finally. Kagome opened her mouth in protest, but closed it without a word. Instead she watched the back of his head, his silver hair swaying with each stride. Everyone had their secrets. He could have his.

 

“Well, no distractions, then?” she remarked slyly, a smile growing on her lips. “Maybe I won't have to worry about being slapped for your transgressions this time.”

 

“This Sesshoumaru is not responsible for your inability to dodge,” he replied boredly, toying with a stray lock of hair that had loosened itself from the rest.

 

“I wouldn't have had to dodge if you hadn't gone exploring when you dressed her.” He shrugged slightly, letting the hair go to join its brethren.

 

“It was a necessary act in aiding her with her dress. She should be honored by my attention.”

 

“I bet,” the school girl sneered, crossing her arms.

 

“You were warned that the hime was unpredictable with her behavior a moment before. It is your fault you were assaulted.”

 

“Th-the kiss?” she stuttered, her cheeks flaming red at the memory. “How was I supposed to dodge that? I didn't know that was what she was going to do.”

 

“Hmm,” he answered, raising his brows, “This Sesshoumaru would not have been snared so easily.”

 

“Look, if I knew she was going to try and kiss me, I would have gotten out of the way.”

 

“A sword is quicker than a slap and a kiss is far slower than both, yet you could not move. It is amazing that you have survived thus far in your journeying in this era. My half-brother must have his work cut out for him.”

 

“Hey, I can get out of the way if I need to!” she exclaimed, anger rising in her voice. She'd enjoyed drawing him out of his self-imposed shell with a little teasing, but this wasn't how she had expected it to go. “No one is going to kiss me again without my consent.”

 

“So you say,” he responded nonchalantly, waving his hand dismissively in the air.

 

“Ha,” Kagome laughed confidently as a new thought snaked into her mind. This debate was hers now. “I bet you couldn't kiss me if you tried.”

 

“Hn?” he murmured questioningly at her remark and looked back over his shoulder at the glowing expression on her face, her pride over her triumph dazzling in her sepia eyes. Then in whirl of air and leaves, he vanished. Her breath caught in her throat as she felt something warm at her back. Deftly, but gently he grasped her shoulder from behind her back and bent the miko into his elbow, cradling her against his arm. Slowly he stooped over, her rapid breaths hot and moist against his ear as he moved closer to hers.

 

“It does not seem you were able to dodge, miko,” he whispered softly into her ear, his lips nearly brushing.

 

“I-I thought you di-didn't like humans,” she stuttered, angry at how husky her voice had become.

 

“This Sesshoumaru does not hate humans,” he continued with his whisper, “I simply do not care for anyone who disrespects me, human or youkai alike. Their species does not matter when they offend my person.”

 

“B-but,” she stammered, her skin growing bumpy with his warm breaths at her neck. “Y-you hate Inuyasha for being a hanyou.”

 

“I detest Inuyasha for not respecting the noble blood he was blessed with,” the tai youkai responded, leaning away to catch her eyes with his own. “He sought that jewel which you now seek to gather. With it, he intended to wish away his youkai blood, to renounce that most precious of gifts from his father. It disgusts me. He does not deserve the Tessaiga.”

 

“A-are you going to try and take it from him again?”

 

“No,” he answered after a pause, releasing the miko from his arm, “I will respect my father's wishes. This Sesshoumaru does not need the strength of that fang to prove his worth. It was not always my intention to steal it from that whelp either. If our battles have taught him to use that sword wisely and to respect the heritage in which he was born to, then my duty is done and all that was loss was worth the price.” Kagome's eyes traveled down to the emptiness where his left arm should be.

 

“Was it really worth it?”

 

“There are no regrets in this life. To live in vengeance and lament is to ask for an eternity of suffering. This Sesshoumaru is too proud to walk such a path.”

 

Finished, he brushed past her, following the vague trail that began to form through the trees. Kagome stood stunned for a moment, digesting everything that had just happened, sorting through the feelings that swarmed her all at once. Nothing was as simple as it seemed. No one was a simple as they seemed either.

 

Quietly they traveled on through the orchard, the youkai lord guiding the way. Time dragged on slowly in the silence, driving the school girl into an internal frenzy and not so subtly reminding her of what it was like to travel with Inuyasha when they first began hunting for the shikon shards. Shippou's arrival had been the only remedy and she doubted presently anyone would be joining in their journeying through the fairy tales. She thought about trying to chat up Sesshoumaru again, maybe even teasingly, but after the last conversation she found herself more than a little reticent. It really was easier when he was only Inuyasha's more violent, older brother.

 

Soon the trees broke into a narrow, dirt road. Without a pause in his step, the tai youkai leapt off the top of the steep embankment onto the hard packed earth below. Kagome quickly followed, sliding down the loose soil sideways to keep from stumbling all the way down. Dirt and small rocks spilled into her low cut shoes, eliciting a scowl from her lips when she reached the bottom. Carefully, she slipped a shoe off, dumping out its unwanted contents as she limped along behind the demon. As she absently emptied the second one, her face met soft, fluffy and familiar fur.

 

“Pbfft,” she sputtered inelegantly, rubbing her nose at the ticklishness. “What's wrong?”

 

“Scent,” he answered inattentively.

 

“Scent?” She stared up at him questioningly, furrowing her brow. She really was tired of his cryptic remarks. Ignoring her, he stood motionless, his nose slightly raised and his normally shallow breaths deep. He inhaled sharply through the nose, divulging the air of its mysteries. The trees, the soil, the world; none of it revealed itself from his efforts, but there was a scent. Somewhere.

 

Swiftly, he bounded down the path towards the smell that coiled in his nostrils. The closer he moved the clearer it became. It was living, a beast perhaps. No, it was a youkai. The rolling hills of the farmlands gave way to a small town nestled in a valley. He sprang through it nimbly, the old, wood houses and markets whipping by him in a blur. Ignoring gasps and cries of astonishment from the inhabitants, he leapt onto the rooftops, gliding effortlessly over them. It was close.

 

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

 

Kagome sprinted down the road, hoping that it would lead true to the youkai lord who had long since disappeared from view. Quietly she cursed in her mind, her breaths too hard and ragged for her to express them outwardly. In the closing distance, she saw the regular shapes of buildings of a nearby village. Down the remaining hill she ran, stopping at the town entrance to catch her breath. After a few minutes of heaving, she stood up, noticing the muttered confusion and gossip of the few villagers standing in the street.

 

“Sir?” she called out to an old man leading his bay pony laden with a produce wagon.

 

“Yes, my dear,” he replied, his voice raspy with age. “A mature woman like you shouldn't be out running, though. You could hurt yourself.”

 

“Mature? I'm not old,” Kagome spoke out, her brows furrowed in anger.

 

“Then, neither am I,” he laughed, patting his horse on the nose. The school girl stared at him for a while, sure that she had seen him somewhere before.

 

“Have you seen a tall, white haired man in armor running through here?”

 

“Hmm…,” he responded, stroking the gray, wispy hairs on his chin. “I haven't seen a man in armor, but I did see an old man with white hair running like a demon through here not a few moments ago. Damndest thing.”

 

“That's probably the one,” she said thoughtfully.

 

“Then follow the road all the way to the end. If he's going anywhere, it's there.”

 

“Thank you,” the school girl replied with a bow and then without a pause, she ran down the street. The buildings and people sped by her, their murmurs and calls deaf to her ears. Ahead in the distance, near two, isolated homes stood her quarry, the silver and red of the tai youkai.

 

“Sesshoumaru-sama,” she cried out as she neared, stumbling to a stop a few feet before him. “What's wrong? Why did you take off so fast? Sesshoumaru-sama?”

 

Wary of his silence, she slowly walked up next to him, biting her lip as she moved past his back, seeking his face. She rounded his person and looked up into his firm expression. His jaw was set and eyes hard beneath his unwavering glare. Turning her head to follow his eye line, her own eyes settled on the white form of a dog sitting still on a dusty, worn porch. It looked proud and wild, as if it were nothing more than a tame wolf. Its honey eyes staring back gently under the youkai lord's fierce look.

 

“What's going on? Who is that?”

 

“Shiro-sama.”