InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Ruins of Heaven ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

Morning dawned, crisp and clear, over Solace. Those who weren't already awake were getting up to greet the day.

 

Solace was located in the valley near the mountains. To the north rested Crystalmir Lake, a favourite place the town's youth to hang out at. There, they would learn how to swim and handle a boat. It was also the place where young men would take would-be girlfriends for picnics . . . and a little more.

 

To the west of Solace was Darken Wood, a place said to be haunted. According to rumour, those who entered were never heard from again. Very few ventured there.

 

To the east were the plains of Que-teh and Que-shu, home to several tribes of barbarians. The humans living on the plains were mistrustful of most other races, including unfamiliar people from their own race. They valued loyalty and honour above all else.

 

Finally, to the south of Solace was Qualinost, home of the Qualinesti Elves. As with most of the Elves on Krynn, the Qualinesti believed themselves to be superior among all the races, including their Elven brethren.

 

Solace was unique among other towns. Like all towns, Solace had its bakers and its metalsmiths, grocers and armorers, and an Inn. Unlike other towns, only the smithies were on the ground. The rest of the buildings, including the Inn, had been built among the trees, and had been among the trees since the days of the Cataclysm. Life had gone on after that and would continue to do so.

 

It was in Solace that a group of unlikely people had joined forces. For what purpose, they didn't know and wouldn't know until much later in their quest. That knowledge was for the Gods alone. They were traveling together, a half-elven warrior, a kender, a dwarf, two barbarians, a Solamnic Knight, a third human fighter, and his wizarding twin. That's all they knew.

 

The leader of the small group, a tall man with reddish hair, slightly pointy ears, and a beard (the half-elf), had just called a halt. They had just gotten started, after packing their gear together, so they hadn't gone very far, when the half-elf squinted his eyes and quickly surveyed the area.

 

“Something wrong, Tanis?” came the quiet inquiry.

 

“Yeah,” he murmured, nodding. He frowned as he looked around. “I thought I saw something.”

 

“Where?”

 

His eyes focused on the field of tall grass to their left, his eyes narrowing. The grass moved again, as if there were something or someone hiding there.

 

“There,” he nodded.

 

“Do you want me to check it out, Tanis?” the kender inquired.

 

Tanis hesitated. He really didn't want to send the diminutive and inquisitive kender towards a potential threat yet he also didn't want to scare anyone who might just happened to be taking a rest in the field. The half-elf drew a deep breath then started to give his okay.

 

“You won't find anything there,” a cool voice stated. “He's already moved to another hiding spot.”

 

Startled, everyone whirled around to see who had spoken, their hands going to their weapons. Behind them stood a tall man with long, flowing silver hair, and pointed ears. He wore dark robes, had two swords hanging on his left, and what appeared to be a very large piece of animal fluff hanging off his right shoulder. If it hadn't been for the blue crescent moon, two reddish-purple stripes on each cheek, and the man's golden-amber eyes, Tanis would have sworn the stranger was of elven blood. Yet he wasn't. Tanis could tell. Something about this stranger had him greatly unsettled.

 

“Won't find who?” he finally ventured to ask. “And who are you?”

 

“My little brother,” the stranger replied in the same cool tone. “And my name is Sesshomaru. You would do well to remember it.”

 

His eyes traveled over each member of his party, as if he were trying to determine each person's threat level. At least . . . that's how it appeared to Tanis. But a little voice whispered to him that it wasn't the case. This Sesshomaru, he possessed a great power. If he had wanted them dead, they wouldn't have known what had hit them. He'd been able to sneak up behind them without giving himself away. Then Sesshomaru's eyes traveled back to the field but not in the same spot that Tanis had been looking at. Before they knew it, Sesshomaru had moved from behind them to the field. A squawk caught their attention as the silver-haired man picked up a young boy from the tall grass. In fact, the boy's cry of surprise had been their only indication of Sesshomaru's location. Stunned, they could only watch as Sesshomaru strode towards them once more, the boy grasped tightly with one arm.

 

* * *

 

By no means at all was Sesshomaru happy. He'd gone to Edo for the sole purpose of tormenting Inuyasha. Get the hanyou riled up so he could smack him around for a bit. That had been all. And things had been going rather well, in Sesshomaru's opinion. Inuyasha, as always, had been easy to rile up and this occasion had been no different.

Then Inuyasha had made the comment about their father. For some reason, it had irritated Sesshomaru. Maybe it had been because InuTaisho had died for Inuyasha and Izayoi . . . or maybe it had been because of Rin. Either way, Inuyasha's blatant disrespect for their heritage upset him. He couldn't let it go unpunished.

 

The hanyou was meant to hit another tree . . . not fall into that strange, magical pool. Instead, his brother had entered that emerald green water and never resurfaced. Once it had swallowed his brother, the water had gone after him. It had sprouted water tentacles after forming a wall. Sesshomaru had evaded it the best he could but to no avail. The water came crashing down around him, making him feel as if he were drowning. His senses had tingled and so had his body, but he'd sunk deeper into the shimmering depths, despite his attempts to free himself. He'd lost consciousness, figuring himself to be dead. The same as Inuyasha.

 

'This was not what I was expecting,' he scowled to himself, tucking Inuyasha under his arm and walking back to the group of mortals. He couldn't say all of them were human. Some of them were . . . different. Mortal but not human. Sesshomaru glanced at the child he now carried.

 

He'd awoken to sunlight in his eyes, birds chirping . . . and his brother's scent all around him. Both of them were very much alive but the hanyou had undergone a very serious change. Instead of the loud-mouthed, arrogant brat he'd grown accustomed to dealing with, the hanyou was now a child of about eight years. He no longer carried the Tetsusaiga and the rosary that had been around his neck had disappeared. Gone from Inuyasha's eyes were any traces of hatred and anger. They had been replaced with happiness and a childlike wonder . . . the way they had been before Sesshomaru had cast him out.

 

Then there had been the changes he had undergone. He still had his swords and his fur stole. For that he was thankful. But his kimono and armor were gone. He now wore deep black robes . . . and a strange new power surged through him. It felt familiar yet foreign. But he hadn't had a chance to test it. Inuyasha hadn't strayed far from him and chosen to return the moment he'd come to. The hanyou had no recollection of what had happened and had no idea of how they had gotten to where they were. All the boy had been able to say was that it wasn't home.

 

'Not like home, indeed,' he sighed as he unceremoniously dropped Inuyasha to the ground. The female of the group stared at him, as if shocked that he'd be so careless with such a small child. He met all of their gazes as he would anyone else's . . . that of a demon lord. He couldn't kill them. Not yet. Not when they could be of use to him. They knew the land. He didn't.

 

“We will travel with you.”