InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sword of Supreme Conquest ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

Author's Note: For those of you who haven't read Incomplete a lot of this chapter isn't going to make sense to you. If you'd like to get the scoop please read “Incomplete” chapter 9. For those of you who can't be bothered to read it for yourselves, Minako was Sesshomaru's first human mate. She died while giving birth to their daughter many, many years ago.

 

 

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For one horrifying moment he was transported back to that night…the one he'd long since ceased to think about. Everywhere around him there were whispers and shadows but the only thing he could focus on was the smell of blood. The scent of the crimson liquid was so thick it seemed to drip from the walls and pool around his feet.

 

 

He couldn't remember walking into the room or the journey to get there, but suddenly she was before him, illuminated from the dark by some unknown light. Her pale and lifeless body had been discreetly covered with a thin silk sheet and the child…their child…rested lifeless in the safe embrace of her arms.

 

 

“Minako?” He whispered her name but the only thing that answered him was haunting silence. The room tauntingly echoed his calls back to him, a cruel reminder of just how alone he was. In a single moment he'd lost everyone and everything he'd ever cared for.

 

 

Taking her hand in his, he caressed it between his palms before reverently bringing it to his lips. He brushed his lips across her knuckles in a humble kiss and was instantly repulsed by the feeling of her cool skin against his own. There was no blood coursing through her veins and no warmth to her touch; it'd been sucked out of her along with the life that'd once radiated from her.

 

 

As he took in the eerie stillness of her form, he thought that even in death she was beautiful. Her dark hair hung around her face in great waves that accentuated her delicate features. He allowed himself to shed one solitary tear, and then another quickly followed until they were running in crystalline streams down his cheeks.

 

 

He'd never imagined it would end like this. It'd never occurred to him just how much he needed her until it was already too late. Sucking a moan of grief back inside his heart, he gently placed the sheet over her face and left her side to begin his solitary journey into the unknown.

 

 

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It was Inuyasha's frantic shouts that drew him begrudgingly back to the present.

 

 

“Do something! You can't just let her die like this!”

 

 

Sesshomaru stared contemplatively at his brother's human form. His dark eyes no longer bore the delicate amber colour of their heritage and yet they burned fiercely with his determination to save her. And though his face was twisted with a scowl of anger and frustration, caused by his lack of action, he could smell the panic and fear hiding just beneath the surface. He waited a moment longer and just as expected the boy's angry façade melted away until he looked just about ready to grovel on his knees.

 

 

“Please...,” he begged softly, his voice losing its edge, “please don't let her die.”

 

 

Sesshomaru felt his heart harden at his brother's words. He'd never forgiven him, not even after all this time. Seeing him standing there now, wearing that same horrified expression, brought back all of the bitterness and resentment he felt towards him on that day in a fresh wave. It took all of his self control not to flay him where he stood. He doubted if he would ever be capable of forgiving him - he was too proud to humble himself that way and truthfully, the idea didn't interest him all that much.

 

 

Tearing his gaze from Inuyasha's stricken face he gazed down at the face of his mate. It was like she'd come back from the dead; a ghost to haunt him even now. Turning his back on his brother he laid her body gently onto the floor and drew the sword from its sheath at his side. Closing his eyes he concentrated his power into the blade once more and placed it overtop her chest as he'd done for Ronin.

 

 

Inuyasha's eyes grew wide as he realized that the fang in his brother's hands wasn't Tenseiga but the very sword they'd come searching for. The bitter disappointment he felt at knowing they'd failed in their mission was easily overtaken by his frantic concern for Kagome. All he cared about now was what was going to happen to her. They could worry about coming back for the damn sword later.

 

 

The air in the hut grew heavy with the weight of Sesshomaru's power; it seemed to come alive and crackle like electricity as his blade pulsed and glowed ever brighter. Inuyasha watched in silent fascination as he used his fang's power to return life to Kagome's body. He'd never denied that his brother was powerful, but it wasn't until this moment that he was finally willing to admit to himself the vast difference in their abilities. What had Tetsusiaga's power ever been compared to this?

 

 

Sesshomaru's golden irises flashed red for a split second before he brought the blade singing through the air and down across her body. A gentle blue flame engulfed her form momentarily and then quickly dissipated into nothing. Breathing heavily, the Lord of the West collapsed to one knee and clung to his blade for support.

 

 

“It has been some time since I've used this sword to heal,” he explained in a quiet voice as he attempted to regain his composure. He turned his head to watch his half-brother's reaction and saw that his face was frozen into an expression of mixed shock and awe. “You are human,” he commented casually as if only just noticing his altered state.

 

 

Inuyasha merely nodded his head dumbly. He took a couple of tentative steps towards Kagome's body and knelt at her side. He let out a great sigh of relief when he noticed the steady rise and fall of her chest. Cradling Ronin, who was thankfully also fast asleep, in one arm he used his other to lift her head and place it upon his lap. At one time she'd done this same thing for him and he figured it was finally time he returned the favour.

 

 

“That sword of yours seems pretty powerful. What else can it do?” he inquired as he watched Sesshomaru collapse wearily against the far wall out of the corner of his eye.

 

 

Sesshomaru held the blade out in front of him and tilted it back and forth into whatever light still streamed in from the open door. It glinted and shone with a power that emanated from its core and resonated gently against his palm. Ignoring his brother's question he posed one of his own.

 

 

“Inuyasha…if you could choose between being as you are now or becoming half demon once more, which would you decide?”

 

 

“I'd become a half demon of course,” the boy replied without hesitation. “I can't protect Kagome like this. Human bodies are so frail.” He looked down at Kagome as he said this and the meaning of his words wasn't lost on the Lord of the West. He watched the small smile that lifted the corners of Inuyasha's mouth as he used the edge of his blunt, human fingers to gently brush the damp bangs off her forehead.

 

 

Sesshomaru watched this exchange for a moment longer before he closed his eyes to contemplate his next move. He knew what he should do but the residual anger still tainted his heart and urged to him to leave things as they were. Perhaps they'd be better off if Inuyasha remained human? As much as he loathed the very thought of it, he still clearly understood what he had to do. Time and history would find a way to keep events in order. In the end, he didn't really have a choice. If he didn't do it now, there would be another way somewhere down the road and the end result would be the same.

 

 

When he opened his eyes again his eyes met with Kagome's peaceful expression and felt his features soften with a long buried sadness. He almost pitied her and his past self. They had no idea what lay in store for them. My beautiful mate…,

 

 

She loved him, he could see it in her eyes and it radiated from her body like a warm glow, but she would betray him. He closed his eyes against the memory of her tears and the feeling of her hands clinging desperately to his robes. He heard the sound of her voice cracking as she sobbed apology after apology and with a shiver he forcefully pushed the image out of his mind.

 

 

Pulling himself upright, he stood over Inuyasha and rested the tip of his blade on his shoulder. He gave his brother a silent nod before he regretfully concentrated the last of his power into it.

 

 

Inuyasha gasped with surprise as he felt the warmth of the sword's electric fire engulf his body. He felt himself steadily becoming stronger from the inside out and closed his eyes against the transformation. A smile came to his lips as the intoxicating demonic power flowed and pulsed through his veins. When the transformation was finished he felt as if he'd been reborn. He opened his eyes and breathed deep to fill his lungs with the many scents he'd been denied as a human; the raindrops resting on the rich green leaves outside the door, the rich, damp soil freshly upturned by the rain, the rotting wooden floor, Kagome's blood, the mingled scents belonging to the child in his hands, they flowed through him simultaneously so he felt truly alive and complete once more.

 

 

Looking up at Sesshomaru he bowed his head in gratitude as his mouth lacked words to express how he felt. In response the demon let out a weary sigh and collapsed against the wall, resting his shoulder against the rough wood grain for support. He brushed off Inuyasha's look of concern with a silent shake of his head before he slowly sheathed his sword once more.

 

 

“Why?” Inuyasha asked as he flexed his clawed hand in the dim light.

 

 

Sesshomaru shrugged carelessly and rested his temple against the wall. “It had to be done.”

 

 

Inuyasha's brows drew together at his cryptic words but he decided to leave it alone. He was finally a half demon again - he didn't need to force any answers out just yet. For now, he was happy to accept things as they were and be thankful. He looked up with surprise when Sesshomaru spoke again. It was so rare that he talked to him willingly, much less without provocation or accompanying threats of death and mutilation.

 

 

“She will die. A few years from now…I will be unable to save her.” His voice held a strong undertone of pain in it though his features betrayed no emotion at all. Just like a mask, his face hid all too well the true heart of the being beneath it.

 

 

“I didn't shed a single tear for her,” he continued slowly, each word agonizingly extracted from his lips. He couldn't explain why he felt the sudden urge to tell his brother everything, but he realized that another opportunity such as this would not present itself again.

 

 

In some twisted way he felt it important for Inuyasha to realize that he too was just a man. Perhaps that was why he was exposing the darkest secrets of his heart into the desolate atmosphere of the hut. He had his weaknesses and his faults, the same as any other. The façade of perfection he'd maintained for so long weighed heavily upon him. It'd exhausted him and worn him down without mercy until he found himself in this tiny, decrepit excuse for a shelter, sitting next to the half brother he'd always detested, his long dead mate and his child. The fates couldn't have played a crueller trick if they'd tried.

 

 

“I could not weep for her. Am I truly such a heartless creature? I loved her and yet even now I cannot mourn her loss. I could save her even though I vowed always to protect her. I killed her, the same as if I'd made that last fatal blow with my own hand.”

 

 

Flexing his claws before him in the fading light he looked away from them with disgust. This hand…the very same that cast her out…, he added in a mental side note.

 

 

“I cannot ask forgiveness for such a thing. I can't even meet her gaze without being consumed with self loathing for my cowardice. It's best that I leave now before she regains consciousness. I don't deserve the love I see in her eyes.”

 

 

Inuyasha stared hard at Sesshomaru and tried to hide the shock that resonated through his body. When had his brother become so pathetic and why was he telling him all of this? What did he hope to accomplish by telling him that Kagome will die? Unless…he wanted him to somehow stop it?

 

 

“Look, I don't know why you're telling me this,” he began, his voice sounding harder than he'd intended. He tried to force himself to remember that this was a different time and obviously things had changed between them, but it was still hard to keep his long held resentment at bay. “What I do know is that Kagome loves you. As much as it pisses me off and drives me insane, she's always going to love you. Whatever happens in the future isn't going to change that. If I know Kagome like I think I do, nothing you say or do could ever turn her against you, so you can take this self pity bull that you're blabbing on about and shove it right back up your uptight ass.”

 

 

It took a few calming breaths before he felt his anger subside. His brother's words had gouged at his heart like a dull spoon. Didn't he realize that he would give anything to trade places with him? He would sacrifice his own left arm or leg or any other part of himself if it meant that when Kagome woke up it would be love for him that shone in her eyes and the child in his arms was theirs. To see his brother so broken could only mean that something seriously bad was going to happen to them, but for now couldn't he at least pretend to be happy? Couldn't he at least try to show that he appreciated her love, as undeserving of it as he was?

 

 

Sensing the anger behind his brother's words, Sesshomaru decided to take his leave. Staring down at the pair on the floor and the child between didn't sit right with his conscience and he wasn't sure he could keep himself from harming them if he stayed any longer. His heart though, his heart longed to stay. It'd been so long since he'd held her in his arms that they still burned from where her body had rested against them.

 

 

With a frustrated snarl he turned his back on them and made for the door. “You will take care of her.” It was a demand, not a request.

 

 

Inuyasha nodded his silver head and shot him a defiant glare. “I always do.”

 

 

Sesshomaru held his brother's gaze for a lingering moment as he weighed the conviction behind his words. Indeed… As he turned to go his eyes landed briefly on the long discarded sheath discarded carelessly on the floor. What were they doing with it? Though the sight of it troubled him, he kept his mouth shut and disappeared silently into the night.

 

 

In the wake of the rain a cool breeze swept through the hut, taking with it the mingled scents of blood, pain and tears. It washed away his scent along with the others, sweeping it out into the starless night so it was as if he'd never been there at all.

 

 

Author's Note: At least this one didn't end in a cliffie! Yay! If you have a minute please leave a note and let me know what you think of it. I'll appreciate it mucho lots :)

Thanks to everyone for the nice notes about my last chapter. They were really very sweet and much appreciated!