InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Guardian Cu' ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

The Characters and World of InuYasha belong entirely to the admirable and talented Rumiko Takahashi. I in no way lay claim to them or make any money off of them.
Cu' the Guardian, aka GinCu' is mine, so is his meadow and the plot of this story.






Chapter Four


As still as the aged and mossy tree trunks surrounding the clearing from where he watched a bloated orange-faced moon slowly rise above the leafy canopy, so stood the Lord of the Western Lands. He was straight, tall, a pale haired, pale robed figure which at first glance might have been mistaken for some fantastic statue long abandoned to the wilds. Seemingly oblivious to everything around him, he only very slightly turned an impassive face up toward that equally impassive Lady of the Sky. It of course would have been a fatal mistake for any creature happening upon the scene to think this elegant being as some sort of easy prey, an unsuspecting target distracted by the enchantment of the moonlight. In fact, the Moonwatcher was, as always, very much aware of everything going on around him. Under the current circumstances an intrusion would probably even be welcomed, since it would give him the pleasurable opportunity to kill something. Although it was still very early in the evening already only one annoying thought had the courage to keep dashing about like some overly stimulated kitsune in his mind.

' I, am bored '.

Nothing ran, waddled, slithered, crawled or slinked in his current location that was remotely worth the time or effort to annihilate. He hadn't sensed another strong youkai near him in hours except for one promising aura just after sundown that abruptly disappeared without a trace. No scent of blood, no scent of fear. It had been there one moment and gone the next, with the sudden loss of so promising a target bringing him up short in his tracks. Certainly there was nothing walking around in this forest, other than himself, capable of dispatching what he had been hunting earlier without spilling so much as a drop of blood.

' Irritating '.

'...and I am still bored '.

A distinctly menacing sound, that could only be described as knuckles slowly cracking, effectively silenced a chorus of nearby crickets as the dry rustle of leaves and low growing bracken signaled the sudden evacuation of several small creatures inspired to hurry off for a safer haven far from this particular clearing. The knuckle cracking was followed by an idle flick of the same hand, a burning sizzle as thick, acrid smelling liquid sprayed out toward the skittering retreat and a couple of high pitched squeaks slipping from the dieing throats of a pair of evacuees who didn't run quite fast enough. Slyly the corners of the perfect mouth set in that perfectly impassive face curled into what might have been uneasily called a smile at the audible proof of a hit. At best it was only a ghost of a smile though, quickly fading as the face once again settled into a pale, unreadable mask.

Since there appeared to be nothing here even remotely worth fighting at the moment, the very bored Lord entertained the idea of taking his hunt away from this singularly uninteresting woodland tract to seek someplace with a bit more promise and readily available prey, what those worthless humans usually referred to as 'greener pastures'. Mulling over which direction to take he continued to gaze fixedly at the moon, noting that it's earlier orange tint had already subtly faded into a dazzling silver white.

“ I am still bored,” he directed that statement directly into the shining face of his uncaring, high flying companion, then found it oddly strange to feel almost disappointed when it didn't answer. Truthfully very few creatures ever said anything to him at all, unless it was to make some ill advised threat against his life, followed by the obligatory screams and perhaps the occasional plea for mercy...if they lasted long enough to plead. As solitary as he now preferred to be, it wasn't unusual for him to completely forgo conversation for days, even weeks at a time, simply because no one lived long enough around him to hold a decent conversation with. Reflecting that perhaps even he might need the sound of an answering voice, rarely, since he was now trying to make idle conversation with, of all things, the moon he turned to a new and for him novel thought.

' Perhaps what I need is someone to take my mind off being bored '.

The idea of having a companion, no...a retainer flitted lazily around in the back of his mind. Yes, maybe a servant....someone to blindly follow him around, run tedious errands, fawn over his every idea, hang on his every word and loudly announce his presence to all so no one would be so foolish as to stand in his way....No, there would be fewer things to kill if they realized he was approaching, forget that part. If a totally impassive face could show disgust in that moment the Lord's certainly did, simply at the irritating notion of some subservient toady constantly tripping about underfoot. Of course, like that other overstimulated kitsune plaguing his brain tonight this idea too took on a life of it's own and refused to be summarily banished.

A servant...a servant..someone to verbally abuse, physically terrify, someone to step on, over or kick out of the way whenever he felt like doing so. Some one who would be happy to be told to 'Shut Up'. Someone he could threaten to his heart's content and punish without impunity. A ghost was resurrected as the sly smile curled up slowly on the corners of his perfect mouth once more.

Having finally decided which direction to head in, the Lord abruptly whirled to the left, took a single step forward and stopped as his nose detected a familiar scent wafting by on an errant night breeze.

Someone to threaten, terrify and punish with impunity. For that he didn't need a servant. A certain unfortunate halfbreed would provide him with the perfect distraction on this otherwise dull evening. Of course it was a shame the annoying bastard wasn't really of any size to put up a decent fight yet. Still, paying the little beggar a miserably painful visit would be more diverting than just standing around in the dark making idle comments to the moon.

“ Little Brother,” he whispered walking with unhurried steps and trusting an exquisitely keen nose to lead him straight to his target, “ This Sesshoumaru has been remiss, we have not seen each other in a while.”



“ Another?” the Guardian graciously offered the child still sitting on his knee the fifth fish of the evening.

InuYasha nodded his head rapidly in acceptance, grasped the trout with small clawed fingers, then asked almost timidly, “ But aren't you going to eat any of them?”

“No,” Cu' smiled, “ cooked them all for you.”

Breaking into a wide grin, the child bit into the trout with no less relish than he had displayed on the four others before it. Remembering some of his manners he managed to get out a sincere “Thank you, GinCu' Sama,” between bites.

“GinCu' will do fine. No need to give me any extra titles, Child,” Cu' glanced around the clearing, noticing how disturbingly quiet the surrounding forest had become, as he waited for the inevitable.

Laying the fish across his lap a moment, InuYasha cleared his throat, hesitated then asked shyly, “GinCu', what was my father like?”

Senses extended to appraise the aura of their approaching guest, Cu' gave the child a warm smile as he replied, “ He was intractable, but astute enough to compromise when it was called for, wonderfully clever and an exceptionally formidable opponent against any foolish enough to challenge him. For a warrior he was quite wise and he adored your mother.” Cu' reached down and poked at the campfire with a stick to stir it up a bit. “He took his duties as a Protector very seriously. It cost him dearly in the end, but I know he felt the reward for his sacrifice to be more than equitable.”

“ Do you think,” the little boy chewed his bottom lip a moment trying to fight back his natural shyness, “ he would have liked me?”

“ He would have loved you InuYasha.”

“ Even,” the silver bangs flopped in front of his wide eyes as InuYasha hung his head before continuing his next question,” Even though I'm a hanyou?”

“Well, he liked me well enough and I certainly wasn't anything as special to him as his own son.” The sight of Cu's rakishly wiggling ears caused the boy to break into a happy chuckle.

“You're funny,” InuYasha grinned as he snapped off another bite of fish.

“ The last time I saw him was right before he met your mother.” Cu' ruffled the hair between InuYasha's upright ears. “ It was really quite charming, the way they met..”

“ Really? What happened? How did they me...” Like some frightened animal made suddenly aware of the shadow sliding before a stalking predator the boy stiffened, ears swiveling to catch any hint of sound, nostrils flared to hone in on the direction of the scent he had just detected. “ Youkai,” fidgeting nervously, his child's voice sounded hoarse as his throat constricted with fright. “ My brother is coming this way.”

“I've been expecting him for quite a while.” bending down the Guardian whispered reassuringly in the boy's white furred ear, “ You need not be afraid of him this time. He cannot hurt you with me here.”

“ But what if he hurts you, GinCu'? He can be really mean.”

“ I don't think it will actually be any problem. Your brother may be misguided but he is not stupid.” Cu' smiled as InuYasha scooted even closer into the shelter of the Guardian's right arm. It was sadly revealing just how close to the border of starvation this child actually was in that, even though the little fellow was frightened almost to the point of panic by the presence of his older brother, he still resolutely clutched the remains of that half eaten trout against his thin chest in a proverbial death-grip.

Cutting his eyes over in the direction InuYasha kept staring at, Cu' watched as a tall,elegant figure stepped with deliberate slowness from out of the shadows and into the circle of light cast by the campfire. As pale and ethereal as a living shaft of silver moonlight the figure advanced only a few paces, lifted his pointed chin and stared down at Cu' disdainfully through narrowed golden eyes.

“ This Sesshoumaru sees that filthy hanyous seem to have a way of attracting one another.”

Slowly lifting his head Cu' regarded the young Lord of the West with a look of undisguised amusement,“ You were never cruel as a child, Sesshoumaru. Exactly when did you first decide terrorizing infants to be an enjoyable pastime ?” A lesser being's face would probably have been tempted to melt into a smoking puddle on the ground by the venomous glare shot back at him across the clearing for that remark. As it was, not only did the boy next to him try to plaster his trembling body further into Cu's right side, a sudden noticeable fall of leaves showered down over the camp, causing the fire to flare up with the added tinder.

Sesshoumaru's searing yellow eyes betrayed all of the turbulent emotions his beautifully composed face did not. “ You are GinCu', that miserable hanyou who first cast my father into the path of his human whore. This Sesshoumaru finds it perplexing that the blight of your existence has not come to a deserving end by now.”

“What ever happened to, ' Uncle GinCu', what present did you bring me?'” Giving InuYasha's shoulders a reassuring squeeze he then added, sotto voce, “Your brother was a great deal more amiable at your age.” Of course such an obvious whisper did absolutely nothing to placate the seething temper of the Inu Youkai who had already taken another step closer to the fire.

“ That abomination born out of my sire's dotage merits no display of fraternal affection from this Sesshoumaru. He is no brother of mine. Perhaps the wisest course would be to rid the world of both of you now to spare it further contamination.”

“ He..he's gggetting really..m..mad,” stuttered a very small voice from behind the overhang of Cu's wide sleeve. “Watch out..for his whip, he won't give you any warning...it comes right out of his hand.” Although the deceptively serene Inu Youkai still appeared relaxed and not yet poised for combat, the Guardian nodded in quiet acknowledgment of the youngster's warning.

In one fluid move the Guardian swung the boy off his lap as he rose to his feet and placed himself between the brothers. “ What have you been doing to this child to make him fear you so?”

The surprising quickness of Cu's action's made the young Lord pause to reassess his gray haired opponent. Unwilling to smile at the revelation that perhaps he had actually stumbled upon a more worthy opponent than originally thought, Sesshoumaru's gaze cooled as he closely inspected the adult hanyou for exploitable weaknesses while formulating how best to initialize an attack. “The fact that the brat fears me may be the only intelligent response he finds himself capable of,” his tone was disarmingly flat and dispassionate.

“Jealousy is a very ugly emotion and one certainly belittling to the eldest son of my esteemed old friend.” Cu's hands were folded in front of him as he stood squarely facing the Inu Youkai. A pair of sharp clawed hands firmly clutched his right pants leg as InuYasha peeped from behind him, the trout now abandoned on the ground between small dusty feet. “It is a shame upon you Sesshoumaru to vent your anger on this boy. I would suggest you curb such future impulses lest you learn what true anger is.”

“It is unwise to threaten a full youkai, hanyou.” All trace of turbulence had disappeared from Sesshoumaru's yellow eyes, leaving them eerily flat and cold as he prepared to strike. Cu' reflected how much he was reminded of one of the great hooded snakes of the mainland as the Youkai prepared to attack his prey.

“Were I what you believe me to be, I would likely be more afraid of you than your young brother for he is yet a child and doesn't realize what a monster you are striving to become.” Cu' breathed slowly in, a deep cleansing breath. He displayed no modicum of respect to the young Daiyoukai Lord, evidencing not even the slightest hint of fear as he continued to regard him with a steady gaze.

“Half brother,” the Youkai snapped. The fact that this impertinent hanyou continued to insist on staring him straight in the eye offended him to his core.

“Were I a hanyou, you would no doubt...” the sound of cracking knuckles drifted across the campsite “...defeat me quite easily..”

“First you...” his right hand, fingertips glowing a shimmering light green with newly released poison drew back to hang poised in the air at shoulder level, “.....then I rid myself of father's unforgivable mistake....”

“...but I am not a hanyou,” the Guardian released his restrained aura and the world abruptly slowed down for the angry young Lord of the West.

The clearing around the campsite was flooded in a soft white light which entirely leached all color from everything except the three figures standing by the fire. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened as he staggered almost imperceptibly under the sudden force assaulting him. Enclosed by a warmth that made even the ends of his long hair seem to tingle, the Daiyoukai's mind flashed with the known potential of a million possible futures and a million possible pasts. It was as if for one instant he held on to true omnipotence, all seeing, all hearing, all knowing and then it was gone. Only the gray clad figure of Cu' with his shinning silver eyes, sheltering a frightened InuYasha, stood before him. Open mouthed, Sesshoumaru stared back at him, unable to summon the will to move, his right hand hanging limply at his side with no trace of poison gilding his claws.

“ I harbor no designs to harm you, Child,” Cu' stated quietly, “My only goal is to set your feet back on the path you have strayed from. It will take time, but you will prove true. I put you into this life to slay monsters, not to become one.”

Transfixed Sesshoumaru watched the gray haired man hoist InuYasha into his arms, cradling the boy's head on his left shoulder. Stepping right through the fire, Cu' walked slowly over to stand before the young Lord, his silver eyes seeming to glimmer like hard sunlight on still water. He spoke, but though no sound left his mouth the Daiyoukai could hear him quite clearly, “You will not kill your brother, Sesshoumaru. It would be to your future misfortune and sorrow to destroy a being having so much value to your heart. He is here for a reason as are you.”

Pupils dilated to the point that the irises seemed little more than bright golden rings encircling a pair of black voids Sesshoumaru stood, entranced by the glittering eyes and the silently moving lips of the man before him. Vaguely he was aware of the covert gaze of his bashful sibling as he peeked out from the safety of GinCu's arms. A melodically hypnotic song sung by soft voices continued within his head, every syllable sinking into some long abandoned corner of his soul. “ Protector InuYoukai, watch over him until he can stand on his own, test him as he grows older to strengthen him. Learn to cherish what you presently disdain so that the promise of blood may be fulfilled that you may surpass your father.”

Bending forward, Cu' pressed his lips against Sesshoumaru's forehead, right in the center of the crescent moon above his eyes. “Is my meaning now clear in your heart my Sesshoumaru?”

Eyes still dilated, the young Lord nodded his head only once. “Yes,” he replied simply,” I now understand.”

“ You may be on your way, Child,” Cu' said with a warm smile before turning, stepping back across the fire and resuming his seat on the log. No trace of the white light remained, with the immediate area now reduced to only a study in chiaroscuro lighting by the glow of the tiny campfire. By the time Cu' made himself comfortable, the graceful figure of the young Daiyoukai had already disappeared back into some deeply shadowed recess beneath the trees.

Feeling a shift of the weight in his arms, Cu' turned to find himself caught by a bright yellow, round eyed stare.

“You kissed Sesshoumaru....” InuYasha's voice held all the disbelief so evident on his awestruck face.

“ It was entirely filial, InuYasha...”

“Yeah, but you Kissed....Sesshoumaru...” wrinkling up his nose the boy made a sour face, “YUCK!”

“Do you want this last fish?”

The sour look faded immediately. “ Uh..Yeah.. please...”

Snagging the last trout, Cu' gave it a couple of quick cooling waves and stuck the side of the fish into the boy's gaping mouth. Hopping down to sit on the log next to his hero, InuYasha munched away happily feeling an unaccustomed sense of relief at the fact that, although he had actually been in close proximity to his very contentious older brother, the skin on his back and his butt was still comfortably intact.

“ Feeling better now that he's gone?”

“ Uh huh,” Light silver hair danced in the firelight as the boy bobbed his head vigorously. “ He scares me. Always does things that hurt..like snapping..” This time, Cu' was thankful to see the fish flake spray projected out over the fire. Who, he wondered had taught this child how to stuff his mouth and talk so clearly at the same time without choking. The chewing, talking and spraying continued. “....my ass with that damned whip of his.”

Blinking Cu' glanced down at the boy, thinking he may only have imagined hearing a whisper of the adult soul peeping out again.

“ That asshole must sit around nights just thinkin' up shit to do to me.”

No, definitely not his imagination. “InuYasha, would your dear mother wish to listen to ...” Cu' arched an eyebrow meaningfully.

Round cheeks flushing red, the silver head hunched down between a pair of skinny shoulders, the white tips of the boy's ears folding down as well, “ No...I'm sorry. Mama wouldn't like me talking like that. But that bast...”

“InuYasha...”

“ Oops,” Abashed the boy finished up the rest of his fish in silence. Doing a quick scan of the ground, he spied the half eaten one dropped earlier, triumphantly retrieved, dusted off and ate it as well. Once every fish spine had been scoured as perfectly clean as possible, the boy gathered up the bones, dug a neat hole between the roots of the oak tree and buried them. Dusting off his tiny hands, he then walked back over to plop down in the dirt at Cu's feet.

“Those fish were very good,” he said, wistfully eying the ring of the campfire just in case another had been accidentally overlooked.

“Still hungry?”

Sighing, InuYasha nodded.“ Yeah, I'm always hungry. It's way hard trying to find things to eat sometimes.”

“Well, I guess you should take care of this for me then,” Cu' pulled a large rice ball wrapped in a dark green leaf from a deep pocket in the skirt of his coat. Another pocket yielded up a small skin of what proved to be water sweetened with honey.

The boy's eyes lit up as he thanked Cu' for these special treats before settling back to make short work of them. “Where did these come from, GinCu' ?” he asked once he had drained the skin and ferreted out every single grain of rice. “ I don't remember your coat having pockets before.”

“ I'm a magician,” Cu' told him with a broad wink.

“ Have to be,” InuYasha snickered, ducking his head out of Cu's immediate reach, “ to get Sesshoumaru to hold still long enough to kiss him...” The Guardian's arms proved to be long indeed, since he didn't duck quite fast or far enough and received a good natured thump on the head anyway.

“ Runt, would you let that rest? In peace?”

The youngster rolled over on his side, giggling merrily and holding the top of his head.

They both sat watching the fire as the white faced moon sailed serenely up to her apex for the night. As the night turned chillier, Cu' added some more wood to the fire to coax it back to life. InuYasha crawled up on the log to snuggle back up to the Guardian's side.

“ GinCu',” the shy child's voice was back again. “ Can I stay with you?”

“ No, I'm sorry, but that isn't possible, InuYasha.”

“ If I promise not to be any trouble?”

“I know you would be no trouble, but where I must go at this time, you cannot.”

“ Oh...” there was a deep sigh followed shortly by an even deeper yawn.

Reaching over, Cu' picked up the child sat him in his lap and encircled him within the protection of his arms. Little fingers ,careful of their sharp tips, stroked the soft material of Cu's wide sleeved shirt gently.

“It, feels like my Mama's favorite silk kimono...” another yawn. “ I miss...Mama..”

After kissing InuYasha's forehead lightly, the Guardian rested his cheek on top of the silver haired head, staring into the fire with eyes reflecting moonlight as he kept watch over the boy for the rest of the night.



Several hours and many miles later, a young Daiyoukai Lord realized with a start that he was doing nothing more productive than loitering next to a very small and noisy brook while staring raptly, like some love struck nitwit, up at the moon. Blinking, he tried to remember exactly when he had stopped walking, then wondered where in the Seven Hells that the damned brook had come from, since according to his last conscious memory he had been nowhere near any water at all.

He remembered tracking the scent of his half brother through the woods, but whatever elusive spoor of the hanyou he had followed earlier was now long lost to him. Looking around he found that besides the rock littered brook, none of his present surroundings even held any familiarity for him at all. The young Lord of the Western Lands actually snarled to himself in irritation at the fact that there was a good portion of the night he could offer no accounting of. Here in this strange grove, next to a bubbling woodland freshet, the Lord's face actually darkened into a vicious scowl, if only for a moment, as he determined that yes, the moon that had risen regally to greet him earlier, was now sliding below the ridge of the western mountains framed so picturesquely between the trees. Somehow he had missed her entire journey.

Again he cast around for InuYasha's scent.

' He was near...'

Still unable to find even a trace, he glanced once again around the clearing, glared at the stream, at the fast disappearing moon and sniffed with distaste at the fact the sky was already coloring to pink in the east. He would have to torment InuYasha some other time. The stupid hanyou was innocent, slow and generally proved quite easy to catch once he discovered the boy's track. Yes, maybe he'd run across him later in the day, make it a difficult proposition for the little idiot to sit down comfortably for the rest of the week.

The ghost smile played around his lips as the Lord idly stoked the rich pelt draped over his right shoulder. Then he began his unhurried walk, his pale and perfect face composed into it's unreadable mask,framed in moonlight colored hair.

' Irritating.'

'I'm still bored. '