InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Secrets of the Shinju (Part I): Sesshoumaru's Stolen Memories ❯ Guilt ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter Ten

Guilt

That evening they stopped later than usual to make camp. They had been talking to one another most of the day. Kagome had told him many of her own childhood memories, and he listened intently. He then asked her more questions about his brother. At first he seemed very bitter when he spoke of InuYasha. But Kagome found herself telling him about Kikyo. "Naraku, the demon who wants your memories and the shinju, made InuYasha and Kikyo believe they had both been betrayed by the other. Kikyo pinned InuYasha to a tree for fifty years and she died hating him. He still loves her to this day." He noted sadness in her voice as she said this last part.

"You say you are this priestess's reincarnation, yet you say she walks the earth as we speak. How is that possible?" Kagome sighed and told him how Kikyo's body had been brought back and she now possesses part of her own soul and feeds off the souls of others. "Yet my brother still loves her?" Kagome nodded. "And her only desire is to kill him?" Again Kagome nodded. Sesshoumaru walked silently in his own thoughts for some time, before he decided they needed to make camp.

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Again Sesshoumaru found himself with the blue-eyed girl. She was laughing and they were running towards a village together. Sakura stopped shortly and he nearly ran into her. In front of them were a half dozen human children. Both demons stood frozen. Their fathers had given them strict orders to stay away from humans, even children.

Suddenly one of the children ran towards them. He was slightly younger than them, maybe six or seven years old. He looked at Sesshoumaru and pointed at his ears. "Why are your ears pointy?" Sesshoumaru stood there, not sure what to do. The human walked close to him and again spoke. "Can I touch your ear?" The human did not wait for a response. He reached out and quickly touched the young demons ear. The boy then gave Sesshoumaru a huge smile. "Come on, play with us!" The human children all approached Sakura and Sesshoumaru. After a few moments all the children, both human and demon were frolicking in the grass. Sesshoumaru looked up and noticed his mother watching from a distance. She had a smile on her face. She had always told Sesshoumaru that humans were not bad, and now he believed her. The human children had not tried to hurt him. He was enjoying playing with them. Suddenly he heard shouts coming from the way of the village. He looked up to see many adult humans approaching. He grew nervous and went to Sakura's side. She too stood still, not knowing what the humans were angry about.

His mother was there almost instantly. She stood between the humans and the young demons. The humans were shouting at her, while she tried to explain that they had not tried to harm the children. One of the human children fell down, and his mother instinctively moved towards her to help her up. What happened next was hard for Sesshoumaru to comprehend. A male human, apparently afraid his mother was about to attack the child, lunged at her with his sword. Sesshoumaru saw his mother lurch in pain and let out a small whimper. Being so close to the human child, she refused to let out a growl. She stumbled backwards and looked at the human. He stood with a look of shock in his eyes. He rushed for the child and pulled her away from his mother. The humans all quickly fled and Sesshoumaru and Sakura ran to his mother. She was bleeding, and looked up at him. "I'm fine, Sesshoumaru. That man didn't mean to hurt me. He thought his child was in danger. Any parent would do the same thing." He began to cry and his mother reached out to him. She pulled him down so that she could hug him. Moments later he heard a growl and turned to see his father standing over him.

Sesshoumaru woke abruptly, trembling slightly, though he wasn't sure why. He looked over to see Kagome asleep with the large cat. He had a desire to wake her and tell her of his dream but chose to let her sleep. He again tried to sleep, but he was overwhelmed with the smell of his mother's blood. He found himself growing nervous and stood. He began to pace slowly, not knowing why he suddenly felt agitated. The cat had awoken and was watching him intently. She could sense his tension and looked as though she were ready to attack him. He glanced at her and walked in the opposite direction, feeling trapped all of the sudden. He then heard Kagome's voice. "Sesshoumaru what's wrong?" He turned to see her quickly getting to her feet a look of concern on her face. She came to his side and again asked him what was wrong.

Kagome noticed a frantic look on Sesshoumaru's face. It had frightened her. It reminded her of the animals she had seen at the zoo back home. They paced their small cages trying to find a way out, made nervous from all the people watching them.

She put her hand on his arm and he turned to face her. She saw panic in his eyes. "What's wrong?" He looked down at her for a moment, calming his own body. "My mother; she was attacked by a human. It was my fault. Sakura and I were playing with human children, though we had been told not to. When their parents came my mother was stabbed." Kagome looked up at him with pity. Now she realized that Sesshoumaru had always felt responsible for his mother's death. "My dream ended suddenly, I don't know what happened to her." Now she knew why he appeared so frantic. His dream stopped before he could find out what happened to his mother. He was again overwhelmed with the scent of his mother's blood. It was as though it were still here, on him. He turned from Kagome and began to walk away.

She followed behind him in silence. He was again walking fast, as though he were trying to get away from something. "Sesshoumaru, please stop!" He stopped walking but did not turn. She walked around him and stared up into his face. "Please come back to camp." He slowly turned and walked back the way he had come, Kagome by his side. She sat next to him when they returned to camp. She could feel his sadness. She reached over and took his hand, hoping to comfort him. He sat there staring at the ground, reliving the scene in his mind over and over again. Finally, he decided to try to get more sleep. She moved back to Kilala and he again lay on the ground using her bag as a pillow.

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Again he was young. He sat in their home at his mother's bedside. He could smell her blood, but it had lessened now. He was there for some time watching her sleep, before she finally opened her eyes slightly. When she spoke her voice was soft as though it took all of her strength to speak. "Sesshoumaru, the human today did not mean to attack me. He did nothing wrong. A parent's first and only priority is protecting their children. I would do the same to protect you." She reached for his hand and held it. He could tell she was in pain. He sat there holding her hand for hours. Again she was asleep. He could tell something wasn't right.

She once more opened her eyes but was having trouble breathing. "Sesshoumaru, I love you. Never forget that." Her eyes closed again and moments later she died. He sat there crying until he heard the door slam shut behind him. There stood his father. He walked to the bed and saw his mate dead. He roughly grabbed Sesshoumaru by the upper arm and spun him around. He then back handed him across his face. "You should not have been near humans! Your mother is now dead because you disobeyed me!" He shoved Sesshoumaru to the ground and left the room. Sesshoumaru scurried back to his mothers side sobbing. He hugged her and continued to cry until he heard Sakura's voice behind him. "Sesshoumaru?" He turned and saw her. She ran to his side and hugged him. They both sat there and cried for his mother.