InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Suffer The Fray ❯ Torn ( Chapter 12 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I hold no claim to InuYasha...Rumiko Takahashi does. Bummer.

A/N: Reviewer Acknowledgements- Lucifer Spades, blackr0s3, Sassa, unistar, wlp0604, Knittingknots, moussajinx, Cynbad146, Koolkat191, & Langus (I'm flattered that you read it all at once..hehe). Once again I humbly thank you for all your praise and criticism. This is my most popular fic to date, and I'm truly inspired by all the encouragement. I love you guys...or girls..hehe. Read on and enjoy!

Reux

It lingers here more strongly than in the forest. His gaze scanned along the tops of the cliffs, scrutinizing every nuance in the craggy rocks. The impressive canyon held more deadly perils that the woodlands, but nothing was going to stop him from following the scent into the alleyway of rock.

"Are we really going to travel through that canyon, Milord?" Jaken clutched nervously at his staff.

Sesshomaru ignored his cowardly servant and started along the graveled canyon floor. Naraku's scent hung on every precipice of rock along the cliff walls and he wasn't about to abandon its trail now that it had intensified. The wind screamed along the canyon top like a banshee's call, ruffling the shimmering fur of his stole. It reinforced the high level of alertness he'd deemed necessary for this hunt. Naraku is a timorous hanyou, resorting to traps and puppets to carry out his deeds. It would not shock him in the slightest if he tried to bottleneck him into a dead-end. And instead of giving me the respect of his face, he'll send one of his various minions in his place.

Jaken skittered along behind him. "Milord, I do not like the feel of the air here. It speaks of a menacing presence." He glanced around. "I don't think it is safe here."

His pleads received no response as the Dai-youkai continued to stride through the formidable corridor of rock. His keen sight absorbed everything it saw without conscious thought on his part. It was an ingrained lesson to 'see' everything and nothing, noting only objects of importance. The landscape was bland, painted in muted shades of gray and taupe. It was this unpretentious atmosphere that made him pause at the sight of a single lavender flower sprouting up from all the gravel littering the ground- a single bright point on a canvas of the unvaried.

Sesshomaru stared at the flower, but his mind's eye saw something much more vibrant and vivacious. He saw something that was too exemplary to be compared to a mere plant with colored petals.

He saw Rin.

Unwilling to abandon his objective, he resumed his graceful, ground-covering walk. It was the same walk she'd had to ride on Ah-Un in order to keep up with. It had taken him more time than he ever thought he'd spend on a ningen to ignore her absence from his company. Even when she'd been asleep her bearing had made Jaken's ceaseless chatter seem maddeningly mundane. And she always seemed drawn to me, even that first time in the woods when I was wounded. The same snarling threats that had sent a great many youkais to their retreat had amused her into fits of laughter. Rin was a fearless enigma that he couldn't possibly begin to comprehend.

The empty sleeve of his left arm brushed against the hilt of the Tenseiga and he shut his eyes from the monotonous view. Rin had been the first being he'd ever wielded his father's sword on because he desired to. I saw her lying in ruin and knew I would use the blade before it had called out to me. He'd thought his reason was to repay her for her aid, but now, as he traveled without her, he knew differently.

He'd wanted to take her away from her dire situation and protect her.

Sesshomaru halted silently and reached across his lean body to grasp the hilt of Tenseiga. The sword slid smoothly and noiselessly from its sheath and glinted in the predawn light.

"Milord, why have you drawn the Tenseiga? Is something the matter?" He toddled around his master to gaze into his face. "Lord Sesshomaru?"

The tall, Inu-youkai regarded the blade stringently. His father had commissioned for two swords to be forged from his fang- Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga. A blade to kill and a blade to heal. Even after all these years it still makes no sense to me. It was vastly perplexing to still not be able to discern his father's reasoning for bestowing him with such a mystifying heirloom. He may have underestimated the power of the Tenseiga, but he was no closer to understanding now than he was back then, as to why he was given it. Angling it back into its sheath, he brushed past Jaken's muttering form.

The wide, boulder laden canyon began to narrow as he continued to track the wavering scent of Naraku; so narrow that they passed under a good many natural bridges of stone. Every so often another passageway would appear crookedly, but the smell didn't stray from the main hallway of rock. It was quite a while before invisible pockets of the youkai's scent clung to the outcrops and Sesshomaru knew without a doubt that he was being led into a presumable trap.

He strode past a particularly dark crevice in the rock face and stopped abruptly. Naraku's stench was almost overpowering now. Sesshomaru turned his head to eye the crack and knew, absolutely, that what he'd been hunting had finally been found.

"It is ridiculous that you have to resort to such measures to find this youkai, Milord." He strolled right past his unmoving master with his eyes shut. "His lack of honor is astounding."
"Is that so?"

The voice crawled out of the crevice and washed over them like an icy caress, eliciting a yelp from the imp. "What was that?!"

Sesshomaru smiled and closed his eyes in a manner that said he should've known. "Show yourself."

The chill actually froze the morning condensation on the rocks into a crystalline haze with his laugh. "As you wish, Lord Sesshomaru."

Jaken glanced expectantly at his master. "Do you know this 'thing', Milord?"

The Inu-youkai turned to greet his prey with a mild expression on his face. You have not disappointed me, Naraku. It did not surprise him in the slightest to see an adolescent boy step from the darkness. He contrasted the dark veil of shadows with his pale opaqueness, fair in almost every sense of the word. But shining behind the placid exterior lurked a soul as black and tainted as his eccentric creator. Sesshomaru was not fooled by his light lavender eyes. They were as cold as the frost on the walls.

As if in response to his observation, the boy grinned. "He was right. You weren't fooled by my appearance."

"Who are you?" Jaken stepped closer and waved his staff.

The boy answered his question, but his eyes were locked with the amber ones lined by fuchsia. "I am Hakudoshi.' He twisted his head to the side and grinned wickedly as he watched from the corner of his eye. "And you must be the great Sesshomaru."

"How dare you mock my Lord!" The imp hopped forward angrily. "You shall pay for your impudence!" He raised his bizarre staff, preparing to stamp it into the earth. "Taste the wrath of the Staff of Two Heads!" He jerked the weapon downward.

"Stop."

The imp nearly fell over pulling up from his attack. He dragged himself up from his crumpled position and turned confused eyes to his master. "Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Do not interfere."

"But Milord, he has disrespected you in your presence. It cannot go unpunished."

Sesshomaru glared disdainfully at the smirking child. "The insolence seems to be an inherited trait."

"Why, Lord Sesshomaru, I am flattered." He continued to grin sardonically.

Sesshomaru watched him preen under his gaze and felt his ironclad patience yield to his frustration. "Did Naraku honestly believe he could lure me into his clutches like a meek lamb?"

The smile faded and his face finally grew serious. "He sent me with an uncharacteristic warning to be cautious. He said you were no ordinary youkai."

"Hm, I see." He smiled softly. Perhaps he is not as foolish as I thought.

"Although," He crossed his thin arms. "I have yet to see anything worth worrying over."

That ignorant observation had him laughing. "Stupid boy." He lifted his hand and allowed his claws to glow green in the morning light. "By sending you as his minion, Naraku has admitted just how expendable you are to him." He smirked. "You are nothing but a hapless pawn in his scheme."

Hakudoshi glared hatefully at him. "It is true that I have incurred his wrath before, but I am no longer unhappy in my role as his right hand." He took a relaxing breath. "He has given me what I wanted and I am content to do as he bids."

Sesshomaru flexed his claws. "And what is it that you desire, boy?"

"To slaughter everything in my path." He grinned greedily, like a child given free reign in a candy shop. "And he has given me the most fruitful destination!"

There was something sinister in that grin, more so than he'd shone before. Sesshomaru lowered his hand and relaxed his features. He addressed him with a cool blankness that masked his thoughts. So far they had avoided the actual reason for this orchestrated meeting, but his instincts told him that he'd finally unearthed it. Narrowing his tawny eyes, he stared coldly. "Explain yourself."

The incantation named Hakudoshi smiled, showing perfect, white teeth. "My father has told me stories of the great Inu no Taisho. He said that he was Lord of the Western Lands up until his untimely death." He gave a clearly false frown. "Then the Lands were passed down to his full-blooded youkai son," He gestured to the Inu-youkai opposite him. "You, Lord Sesshomaru."

His audacity ignited a blazing rage inside him that nearly sent him snarling. Securing that billowing wrath made him clench his jaw, but he otherwise remained unchanged. An almost inperceptible ripple splashed along his aura. "And?" He had no worries about his self-control.

The pale boy sighed. "You are quite the powerful youkai if you can swallow your true form so easily. Your father's blood must be great if you can control yourself so finely." He shook his head sadly. "It is no wonder that I was so readily thwarted by Inuyasha. His hanyou power is stronger than most full-blooded youkais."

Sesshomaru allowed his calmly raging aura to brush against the boy's. "You are avoiding my question."

Hakudoshi staggered back a step, but shrugged off the lash of power. "Naraku has allowed me the power to call every youkai I wish to annihilate the Western Lands of Inu no Taisho's son." He spat it out spitefully. "I will destroy your father's precious Lands and every being within its borders until I am standing amid the ruins of your fortress and gazing upon your dead body."

Sesshomaru couldn't contain his amusement. He raised his hand to caress his shimmering ruff. "Do you truly believe that leading an army of petty youkais will be enough to defeat me?" He allowed him to see just how little he thought of the second-hand youkai. "Only the doomed are that foolish."

"You underestimate Naraku's power."

"It is not his power. It is yours."

He glared wildly. "Your lands will fall, Sesshomaru."

His patience was great, but it was quickly draining away. "It would not do well to threaten me, boy."

Hakudoshi smirked. "I may be a boy, but I am not finished with this little threat."

The Inu-youkai growled lowly. "Oh, really?"

The teenager seemed to regain most of his control. He squared his shoulders and held out an arm to the crevice he'd entered from. "I would like to introduce you to someone."

Sesshomaru watched silently as a tiny girl slipped silently from the cliff side. He immediately sensed an emptiness about her aura. It was if she didn't have one. He decided it was fitting, considering her lack of color and personality. And life. She stopped just as mutedly beside the adolescent and his keen eyes fell onto the mirror held between her delicate hands. As they drifted over it absently, he felt a strange pull deep inside him. Something was dragging at his heart as if...Well, well. He smiled in a very unfriendly way. "I'm not sorry to disappoint you, but mirror tricks will not effect me."

Hakudoshi merely shrugged. "I did not think they would, but can you fault me for trying?" He waited for a response, but when it was clear he wasn't going to get one, frowned. He glanced at the girl. "This is my eldest sister, Kanna. She was the first of us, followed quickly by Kagura- whom I'm sure you've met before."

"She is more powerful than you."

He huffed. "Yes, she is. You were correct about the mirror. Kanna has the power to absorb souls, rendering her victims to her mercy."

Sesshomaru flicked a glance between them. "A puppet master." No different than her pitiful creator. He hardened his golden gaze angrily. "She cannot help you."

"No, I don't think she will. But," He pointed at the mirror. "I have something to show you."

Kanna stepped forward and held out her mirror, no hint of emotion anywhere in her face. Sesshomaru glanced at the mirror but didn't feel the pull he had before. Instead, his reflection blurred together until it was unrecognizable and shifted into something else. At first it appeared to be nothing more than a swirl of color, but the image stilled to reveal a tall woman standing amid a rainbow blanket of flowers.

Her back was to them, her long hair flowing behind her in the breeze. Her kimono was drab, ragged and threadbare, but it didn't distract from the radiant glow of her skin in the sunshine. Sesshomaru watched her sift through the flowers- smelling them, touching them- and it was a very familiar gesture. It was one he'd seen before. But where? She knelt in the soft soil, uncaring that it dirtied her kimono, and picked a pair of lavender flowers. She slipped gracefully to her feet, turning around as she did so. His heart beat faster as she reached up and placed the flowers to accent the lone lock of ebony hair tied off on the side of her head.

It was the simple smile on her face that had his eyes widening with recognition. Tamping down his suddenly haywire reactions, Sesshomaru calmly surveyed the young woman striding through the flower patch. Everything suddenly made sense in his mind and he knew, without a doubt, that he was tied to her no matter how hard he tried to dissuade himself.

It seemed that Rin was much more important than he realized.

He watched silently as she strolled along the path, pausing to lift up the harmless black snake that tangled amongst her slender ankles. He hadn't realized how much a ningen could age in five years. The young sprite he'd given away was literally transformed into a woman. It was that moment that he understood what it meant to be immortal- five years was a nothing more than a blink in his existence. He studied the changes in her. Kimonos were meant to conceal a woman's shape, but the tattered one wrapped around her only seemed to accentuate it more. Her boyish build was gone, replaced by soft curves on a long, tenuous frame. Her face had gotten leaner, revealing high cheekbones, a softly curved jaw, and bewitching honey-colored eyes. Rin caressed the slithering creature's head before releasing it into the tall grass beside the path.

"Judging by your reaction, I'm willing to bet you remember her."

Sesshomaru wrested his eyes to the boy. "What exactly are you threatening me with?"

"Young Rin has grown into quite the enchanting woman. Her beauty is beyond compare."

"Do you have a point?"

He grinned devilishly. "My father, Naraku, has seen the rarity of her kind of beauty and has decided to take her for himself."

Sesshomaru suffocated the conflicted emotions rising inside him. He did not need to lose control. "Why would that matter to me?"

"Naraku assumed that you were still acting as her guardian. If that is your attitude, then he will enjoy having a woman in his bed again."

His instincts drove him to draw Tokijin without a conscious thought. He didn't understand what was driving him to attack, but it was as if being controlled by something more powerful than his own thoughts. That bewildering want to defend his claim consumed him until it was all that his mind could see. The strength of his rage called on something he hadn't touched in centuries. It called his bloodlust like a pet to its master and he could taste the metallic flavor on his tongue. His amber gaze fixated on Hakudoshi and he wanted to see him bleed. He wanted it more than he wanted to kill Naraku. Tokijin's blue aura swirled into a blazing red as he pointed it at the boy. "He will not lay a hand on her."

Hakudoshi noted his crimson gaze and sent Kanna and her mirror away with a stiff-armed gesture. "Then you do admit to having feeling for a ningen."

"What I feel is irrelevant. I have claimed her as mine and I will kill anyone who challenges it." His inner dog howled for release, but he pushed it down. He pushed it down until his mind could mellow his rage. The blazing red of his eyes subsided and he lifted Tokijin above his shoulder. "I do not take kindly to threats."

The boy met his gaze, but it was somewhat weakened. "It does not matter whether or not you like it, but those are the choices laid out for you." He staggered under the weight of the rage. "You can either save your Lands or save the girl, Rin, but you cannot do both."

"Do not assume that you can give me orders!" Sesshomaru brought Tokijin down with all his might, blasting a path that led straight to the boy. The brilliant blue light was blinding as it crashed against the swirling barrier surrounding the child. The two powers battled and the air crackled with the energy, streaking out to singe the rocks around it. He could see him struggling to resist, but in the end he yielded. The flaring cerulean energy smashed through the barrier, tearing at the adolescent's body. Dust coated the air and despite its thickness, he could smell the blood. The boy, however, was still alive.

Although his blood was still seething, it was momentarily satisfied as the air cleared. Hakudoshi was slumped against a boulder, blood and tissue splattered across his clothes from his mutilated right arm. He was laughing shakily, mostly from shock. Sesshomaru narrowed his chilly eyes, holding Tokijin at a skyward angle. "Do not believe for a second that vermin such as you can give me ultimatums."

Hakudoshi grimaced as he propped himself up on his remaining elbow. "It is only an ultimatum if you wish it to be."

"Naraku will regret the day he thought I could be used as a tool in his arsenal. I am not some sentimental fool to be thought idly of and I do not take orders." Twisting his wrist, he sent the shining blade of his sword into the gravel floor. The blue energy screamed forth, carving a trench in the earth and shattering the walls around them. Hakudoshi gave a muffled cry as he was buried by the rubble.

Jaken yelped from his half-hidden position behind him. "Oh, Milord! The canyon is collapsing around us! We'll be crushed!"

"Hardly." He knocked away a rock that strayed too close with Tokijin. He had complete control over the blade and its power would only go where he wished it to go- in this case, Hakudoshi. "Get up, Jaken. We're leaving."

The imp hastily scrambled after him. "Most impressive, Milord. You killed him so easily."

Sesshomaru stalked through the craggy corridor. "He escaped."

"But he threatened your Lands, Milord. How could you let him get away with such behavior?" He trotted beside him. "And trying to leverage you with that worthless woman, it was complete madness."

The Dai-youkai's hand clenched around Tokijin's hilt as he whirled, pressing the tip of the blade into his servant's throat. "I would suggest silence."

Jaken nodded. "Of course, Milord. My deepest apologies."

He hung back as he swung past and fell in step behind him. Sesshomaru paid him no more attention. He slid Tokijin back into his belt. Naraku believes I can be manipulated like a lowly ningen, but he is sadly mistaken. His thoughts drifted between the two sides of his threat. Rin's face pulled at him strongly, and the implications Hakudoshi raised enraged him.

But he could not abandon the Western Lands and he knew without a doubt that there was where Naraku would strike the hardest.

Rin's enchanting features frowned at him, tears sparkling in their warm, honey depths. Closing his own tormented eyes, he pushed her away. No, I cannot. He swallowed thickly and turned his gaze to the West. I am sorry, Rin.

A/N: Yay...a chapter entirely on Sesshomaru. I just couldn't help myself. Comments from the peanut gallery are warmly welcomed. XD.