InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tears of the Moon ❯ The Maiden Sitting by the Pond ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Two: The Maiden Sitting by the Pond

A young Sesshoumaru wandered around his father's estate. His father had just brought home a human lady. But the Lady Ebony did not appear to like Sesshoumaru very much. "Okaasan*!" the young youkai called, hoping his mother could hear him. "Okaasan! Where are you?"

Lifting his nose towards the air, he sniffed. Catching his mother's scent toward the east, he ran for her immediately. Inside the cave, he could see his mother sitting with a woman, a look of pain contorting her lovely features.

"Okaasan!" he called out happily.

Lady Yukisora looked up, and smiled sadly at her son. "Sesshou, darling, what brings you out here? I thought you were greeting the new lady?"

Sesshoumaru cocked his head to the side. How could his mother have found out about the Lady Ebony? She had not been introduced to her yet. "I do not like her, Okaasan. She smells of fish and sweat."

His mother held out her arms, and Sesshoumaru ran into them. "And besides, Okaasan, I wanted to be with you. Today is our special day, remember? You're going to tell me my legend!"

"Of my darling…" The youkai lady weeped, tiny teardrops dripping down her cheeks. "Oh my dear, sweet darling…"

Sesshoumaru was alarmed. "Okaasan?!"

"Okaasan has to leave, my sweet Sesshoumaru."

"L-leave? Leave where?"

"It's best that I do not see you ever again." the Lady sobbed, trying her best to compose herself. "But, before I go, I have one final task to do for you. What sign would you wish for? The symbol of your inheritance to the Western throne?"

Sesshoumaru thought hard, and a picture of a crescent moon came to his mind. "A crescent moon, Okaasan."

"A crescent moon." Lady Yukisora repeated softly, a bittersweet smile tugging at her lips. "Of course." She touched her son's forehead and golden light emanated from her hands. When she removed them, a moon laid in their wake.

"Hold this sign to you heart, my darling." She whispered, and swept from the cave, her kimono fluttering behind her.

Sesshoumaru, shocked that his mother had left, jerked out of his seat. The gnarly lady his mother had been with held him to the ground.

"Not now, sweetling." She said, smiling a frightful smile his way. her teeth had all gone black from the lack of attention, and some had fallen out. Her face was just as hideous: old, wrinkled, with warts all over her face.

"Who are you? How dare you touch me? I command you to let me loose this instant!"

"It's in your fate, my sweetling." She said, smiling at him again. "You two are never to meet again."

"LET ME LOOSE! THAT'S RIDICULOUS! OKAASAN! OKAASAN!!!!!!"

~*~*~*~

Rushing through the night sky, Sesshoumaru felt the winds gently caress his face.

Shaking his head as though trying to get his thoughts out of his mind, he wondered why he would think of that day in a time like this.

He growled slightly, as he remembered how he had lost control that day. After his mother's disappearance, Sesshoumaru had trained his control until he was possitive that he would not loose control like that again. And over the years, he had taught himself how to never care for another like he did for his mother ever again.

Ever since that day, he never smiled again.

Through the centuries, he had searched far and wide for any signs of his mother, to no avail. As he flew through the air, the woman's words returned to him.

"You two are never to meet again."

~*~*~*~

"Calm down, my Prince." The old lady replied calmly. "My Lady Yukisora has instructed for me to tell you your legend.

"Dochirasama de irasshaimasu ka*?!" Sesshoumaru asked sharply, eyes glaring hard into hers.

"I am the one gifted with the Sight." The lady stood up for the first time. Even Sesshoumaru, who had been young and ignorant then, could sense the ancient powers emanating from her body. "Will you listen now, Master Sesshoumaru?"

Disgruntled and defeated, the little pup settled down. "Talk fast."

"I, Emikukami, am here to tell the fortune of Sesshoumaru,

future Demon Lord of the Western Lands."

Eyes closed, hands light touching his, she spoke. While her voice had been light and misty before, it now is low, deep, and rumbling. It was as thought someone was speaking through Emikukami instead.

"The Prince of the Western Lands, born into the third generation of the royal Taiyoukai* family, shall have a destiny like no others to his ancestral line. His marking and his destiny shall mirror one another. During the night the sixteenth moon and star aligns, destiny shall overtake reality. Times of great peril arise for both the Prince and the Kingdom.

"Sesshoumaru, future Lord of the Western Lands, hear my prophecy and remember it well. For the winds of change is blowing."

~*~*~*~

That was nothing but a bunch of dog dung. Were the thoughts of the Lord as he flew over the treetops. Gritting his teeth, he jumped to the clearing.

Sniffing the air of scents that do not belong, he headed towards the west. The roaring of a waterfall could be heard, and the sweet chirping of a nightingale. The chirping stopped, however, when it sensed the lord's presence.

"What's wrong?" a voice asked. Sesshoumaru stopped, when he heard it. never had he heard such a heavenly sound. Who had voiced it? "Do you feel something?"

Stepping out of the shadows, as though her question had been his cue, Sesshoumaru's eyes widened slightly when he caught sight of the girl sitting there. The surrounding seemed to dim as his eyes locked onto hers.

Her dark hair looked softer than the silk of a silkworm. Her eyes the most beautiful of diamonds. Skin as white as ivory, with the most well made gown ever created. Sesshoumaru thought he caught something on her forehead. But she shook out her hair, and it disappeared behind her brushing bangs.

"Who are you?" she asked, and Sesshoumaru growled his delight.

"Who are you?" He wanted to hear her voice again. he never wants her to stop talking.

"Me? You can say I'm your ordinary ningen girl."

~*~*~*~

Eyeing the stranger carefully, Kagome did some calculations in her head. From what she's sensed from him so far, he didn't want to attack her.

But judging from the ki* that's emanating out of his body, she knew he was no human either. "Me? You can say I'm your ordinary ningen girl."

The demon smirked, this being the first time he'd changed his expression since their whole encounter. "Really?" he remarked dryly, sarcasm dripping out of his voice. "Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"Because you're no human yourself?"

Kagome's heart was hammering. her stranger was tall, slender, and more graceful than any being she had ever seen. Truly, he could have been a god.

His long snowy hair tumbled past his waist, and ruffled as the night air teased its delicate strands. His kimono was made from the finest of silk, so Kagome knew he was no poor young chap. And from the armor he's wearing, Kagome could deduct that he's a warrior.

His eyes were a beautiful golden amber. His face white, and smooth. Two crimson stripes slashed the sides of his face. And his forehead-

His forehead boasted of a blue crescent moon.

Kagome's breath came in short gasps, as she eyed the moon on his head. It was the complete opposite of hers. While her's is white, his is a dark blue. While hers was pointing to the right, his was pointing to the left. But there's no mistake-

It's a crescent moon.

"What's that symbol for?" she asked, pointing at his forehead.

"Are you royalty?"

"Yes, I am." Was the simple reply. Kagome was once again shocked into silence. In the past, the many gods that approached her boasted of their power and status in Ecclesia*. This stranger, however, made no show of telling her more than she asked.

"What is your name?" he asked suddenly.

Smiling wryly, Kagome bounced his question back, just has he had done before. "What's yours?"

His eyes narrowed, and Kagome knew then that he's not used to people taunting him. just what type of person is he?

~*~*~*~

Somewhere in heaven, lightning was threatening to erupt onto earth, as a shadowed figure raged. "What is Kagome doing down on Earth? Has she lost all sense?!"

The many gods trembled beneath, fearing the rage of their Father Universe. The largest and most powerful of all gods in Ecclesia, InuTaisho-sama was the most feared god in all of heaven. He wear authority and respect like a cloak, and his dark eyes shimmered like the many stars.

Tonight, however, his eyes were like the rages of an exploding star.

"Please, my love." A gentle voice rang out, soothing everything in its wake. "Do calm down. You and I both have known Kagome has been restless in her kingdom."

Mother Earth stepped toward her husband, and sat him back down onto the throne. Her features were curvy and scrupulous. Her eyes the most gentle and loving ones you would ever have the fortune to gaze upon.

Settling down, and taking deep breaths, the High Lord tried to prevent himself from further frightening his subjects. "Well? What will we do now? We cannot have my daughter running about on Earth."

"If my lord may…" A voice called out.

InuTaisho turned his head toward the left. "Speak, Naraku."

A tall man, muscular and pale, came forth. His long wavy hair and bangs hid his red eyes from view, but everyone in the room can tell he was just as upset by this news as is with InuTaisho. "Why not send someone to bring Kagome back?"

"And who," the lord bore down on him, "shall I place this task upon?"

"I am most willing, my lord."

InuTaisho shared a look with his mate. Both knew that Naraku had harnessed feelings for Kagome for some time now. Both also knew that if Naraku was allowed onto Earth again, he would be causing trouble beyond belief.

And yet…

Higurashi-hime nodded at her husband. Turning back to the kneeling god, InuTaisho boomed. "You have our permission, Naraku, to descend down upon Earth. You may do as your nature dictates. But be warned, if damage comes too often, you will find that my brethren and I will be most displeased."

"Of course, my lord."