InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ This Sesshoumaru Needs Not A Mate - ON HOLD ❯ PART THIRTY ONE ( Chapter 31 )

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

DISCLAIMER - The ownership and general brilliance that is the original Feudal Fairy Tale remains the property of its honored and rightfully revered creator Rumiko Takahashi without whose brilliance, we would not have fodder.

Quotation: The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunnaby Charles Wolfe. 1791-1823

Reviews are fuel.

Edited By: Meara

Part Thirty-One - This Sesshoumaru Needs Not A Mate

“No useless coffin enclosed his breast,

Not in sheet or in shroud we wound him;

But he lay like a warrior taking his rest

With his martial cloak around him.”

Like a necklace of teardrops in warp and weft, the spider spun gossamer fibers of death. His unsuspecting prey, as yet unknown and irrelevant, it was but a meal, nothing more.

Darkness.

Devoid of light, devoid of feelings, cold despair surrounded him as he floated into consciousness. The irreligious darkness made light by the kindness of a soft feminine voice.

“Onigumo…Onigumo,” echoed the voice in the irreligious gloom that had cosseted his being for so long. How long had he slept? There was pain here, but not of the body. There was remorse here, but no rebuke. Instead, he felt overpowering empathy, love and compassion. Here was finally light; a chance to atone for a wish unrequited in his heart.

“It is time.” she said, her voice engendering warmth within as a part long severed was felt once more.

`Kikyou?' his mind whispered as he was pulled back, back into the depths. no longer in despair. He was not alone. There too was another entity, keeping vigil; waiting.

He was no longer alone.

sks

Rin ran through the fog, unheeding of her steps. She ran, her face streaked with tears, away from what she thought she had known, crashing through the brush, uncaring of the jolt of pain to her calf, and the warm trickle of blood.

She was alone again.

sks

The blood curdling screams of the Ookami Prince echoed through Naraku's stronghold, reaching the main hall.

Kagura wince in empathy, imagining him slumped against the cold, slick walls covered in his own blood.

She had no doubt that Hakudoshi was enjoying his task of torturing the Wolf Prince, taking extraordinary pains to make the removal of the shards, as excruciating as possible.

Naraku had not been himself all morning, obsessed with the small shaft of light within the otherwise dark jewel.

More than once Kagura had heard strange sounds coming from his chambers the night before as though possessed calling out Kikyou's name in strangled voice. It was then he had finally reabsorbed Akago, to no avail, and Hakudoshi's terror.

It was strange the expression on Akago's face as she handed him to the Dark Lord; serene. The thought imparted to her as the small body left her arms. “Choose.”

The point of light within the jewel dimming briefly, as Naraku's cackle echoed within his chambers. His glee short lived when the point of light returned with a vengeance, perhaps even brighter.

Kouga was now bearing the brunt of his anger and frustration under the hands of Hakudoshi in a sudden fit of pique.

No, Naraku was not himself. With the re-absorption of his heart, something had changed.

Mindful of her words, not wanting to raise either suspicion, or ire, the Wind Sorceress unfurling her fan and gagging his mood, spoke.

“If my Lord pleases, perhaps I should go…”

Naraku cackled knowingly, opaque blood red eyes trained on the nervous female in his midst.

“I don't think so, Kagura. You will remain at my side, if you value existence.”

Kagura bowed deeply, her jaw stiffening. The constant reminder that she was nothing more than a puppet beholden to him, irked.

“As you wish, my Lord, I was merely attempting to expedite matters. Kohaku is taking too long.”

“Is he?” was the sibilant response as he toyed with the jewel between clawed fingers.

“Ahh well. It changes nothing in the end, Kagura. Unlike you, he is not deceitful, at least not knowingly. Whatever the pathetic machinations you had with that Miko will come to naught. I have plans for you; painful plans. No Kagura, you will remain by my side until your end.”

What passed for a heart stilled in the sorceress' chest.

For the first time, unguarded ruby eyes rose slowly from behind the fan to meet that of blood red tinged with malice.

All she had ever hoped for was freedom; the freedom to ride the wind. She would, in the end, have to choose as Kikyou foresaw. It had come to this.

Kagura blinked as his expression shifted and Naraku's eyes refocused beyond her, shutting her out.

In that single moment, she had been rewarded.

Amidst the anger, the hate, and the malevolence of his gaze, there was a glimmer of uncertainty.

He, the Dark Lord, was afraid. Something held him captive.

“Hakudoshi! Hurry, we must meet them in the glen,” Naraku snarled as he brushed past her, heading for the dungeon.

She knew then with certainty nothing mattered.

Freedom could be found in many ways and so contented herself with watching the gathering mist that slowly crept up the hillside from the direction of the Western Lands.

It might have been a trick of the light, but it had an amber glow; a soothing, presence, reminiscent of the tiny unquenchable light within the jewel.

sks

“It's time.” Aiko murmured sadly, clutching his gnarled hand in hers. The little Guji inclined his head as they stepped off the porch and headed towards the reliquary.

“Will he remember?”

His gimlet eyes looked up at his daughter-in-law, a thin smile on his lips.

“He is the Taiyoukai. He was trained for this. They all were, whether they realize it or not. All was for this.”

“Yes, but will he remember?! Kagome's life hangs in the balance. If he has not adapted sufficiently…” There was desperation in her tone, something the Guji had never heard in his daughter before. He squeezed her hand in reassurance.

“Remember this. Nothing can withstand the fearless heart, the bonds of kinship, wisdom tempered with a goodly dose of compassion, and the greatest of all; love. Real love, Aiko, knows no bounds and defies even death. Evil wilts in the presence. It has no means of understanding outside its barren scope of conquest for conquest's sake. There in lay its flaw.”

sks

There was the distant sound of thunder coming closer with each careful step he took.

Sesshoumaru's predatory instincts were on full alert. Rin had seemingly disappeared, though moments before the child had been in front of him, though shrouded in mist.

The talisman upon his chest stung as it had done in the reliquary that fateful day. His vision blurred as a distant memory came through of a little girl in a check kimono, laying flowers on forgotten graves.

"Lord Sesshomaru, when I die one day, I was wondering....would you....would you always remember me?"

It had been such a foolish question the little ningen had asked. Not worthy of an answer from one such as he and yet, at this moment it resonated.

Naraku had chosen the battle ground quite carefully it seemed. This had been the dark hanyou's purpose when Kan'na had delved into the deepest recesses of Rin's mind to find her weakness.

“Rin! This Sesshoumaru commands your immediate presence. He is not amused!” bellowed the Taiyoukai, as his resonant baritone echoed through the hidden glen she had thought her secret place.

Sesshoumaru knew she frequently came here to lick her wounds when in dispute with a command issued by Jaken.

The White Prince had found her lying amidst the fragrant wild flowers one afternoon when Jaken had been in hysterics unable to find her. While the little kappa nursed his newly acquired bruise from being jettisoned across the honmaru (having lost the tiresome child), the Taiyoukai had gone to retrieve her.

Stealthily, the Taiyoukai had guarded her as she wended her way home to the shiro later that afternoon. Her way marked by the falling petals of flowers she could not resist carrying back to the shiro as peace offerings.

He had kept her secret.

Everyone merited privacy, even a human child.

It was of no consequence that this had been his secret hiding place as a pup, sparing the young lord the company of Izayoi and her unwanted attempts at mothering the heir apparent.

The amulet's sting lessening with the unbidden thought of his ward's question, Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed in understanding as another small presence made itself known to his senses.

The little fox had been following him.

Finally the pieces had begun to fit as he unsheathed both his katana and walked forward into the pearlescent amber gloom in search of his ward. He slowed to accommodate the cowering figure behind whose jyaki spiked with each crack of thunder.

sks

Kagome stood in the outer courtyard watching the preternatural gloaming about her, doing her best to ignore the frustrated growls of Inuyasha as he did his best to intimidate the young youkai guard.

She sighed. Right now, she needed to focus. At least she knew Shippou was safe. He would have found Sesshoumaru by now. Coming events were casting rather long shadows - timing was everything. This much her father had instilled in their brief conversation. She would have to retrieve the remaining shards from Kaede soon.

“I want to know where the fuck the Wolf is!” Inuyasha growled in the face of the befuddled guard, who came to report the Ookami's absence from the shiro.

Under the Hanyou's livid glare, the youkai's formerly good spine had become gelatin.

“Inuyasha, please, not now,” Kagome said between gritted teeth as she turned on her friend.

“Don't `Inuyasha' me, woman! This moron lost the Wolf! I'm amazed this shiro has stood so long with the idiots Lord Fluffy have around here. They can't guard shit!” he said gruffly.

Kagome rolled her eyes and sighed.

Though Inuyasha lived for drama, very rarely had his instincts been wrong. It would not do to tell him that Kouga was held captive by Naraku for the second time. She could only hope against hope that he remained alive.

“Has it occurred to you that Kouga might just have left of his own accord?” She could sense a recent presence that did not belong to the shiro. Someone else had used an amulet similar to that Sesshoumaru wore. It could be anyone, even Inuyasha.

`She is being weird.' Dark brows danced beneath white bangs as Inuyasha studied her face.

Valiantly the Hanyou fought the urge to both brain the quivering guard for his incompetence and scream at Western Lady, whose natural gullibility had on more than one occasion found her at the business end of a youkai's claws, not excluding his half-brother's.

Her eyes pleaded with him to control his anger.

“Yeah…well, I can't smell Kouga's stench anywhere and where the fuck is your Lord? We ain't got all day to stand around and wait on him and his stupid brat. That kid's always given me the creeps.”

Kagome smiled at her friend, who blinked in disbelief at the sudden change in her demeanor.

“Must be the runt.” He pointed at her stomach with a gruff expression. “Moody, just like Lord Prissy Pants.”

The Miko sighed with relief. All the yelling meant only one thing. Inuyasha was worried about Sesshoumaru and Rin, though he was loathe to admit it.

Sun-kissed eyes took refuge under silver white bangs at the protracted silence and appraising look of gentility from his friend of many years.

`Definitely hormones,' he thought.

“I'm prolly over-reactin'. Don't worry, `kay?” the Hanyou shrugged self consciously, folding his arms within his sleeves and crouched.

“You go rest, or whatever pregnant women do other than eat. I'll bring your idiot back and the kid if they aren't back shortly.” he mumbled, sniffing the air.

Times like this Kagome knew she truly loved Inuyasha and could never imagine life without him. Beneath the gruff exterior lay a heart of gold to match those warm eyes that had initially held her captive.

“Love has many faces Kagome. There is the love of kindred, and the love that transcends and brings creation. Time, observation and intuition will tell you which is which. One will give you balance, passion, joy and tranquility but not without some work. The other will be as brother, but will not be your soul's mate. Through you, both will find balance and their true purpose. They remain unaware.”

Kagome smiled, feeling a warm familiar presence in their midst, unseen and unfelt by either the youkai or the Hanyou, her friend.

She reached down and yanked a handful of silky white ear, kissing Inuyasha's cheek as he rose.

“I love you too, Inuyasha, never change. Get the others. We will all go to find them.”

“Kay?” The hanyou blushed with embarrassment and mild confusion. “What's gotten into ya?” he retorted, secretly pleased at her sudden show of affection. It felt different, like the sister he never had, and was glad of it. “I knew he'd turn you all weird and shit,”

Kagome just smiled, enjoying the blush of his cheeks before turning, leaving the way she came. Miroku, she needed to find Miroku before the battle. She cast her eyes above as a foreboding crack of fork lightning, the color of Prince Kouga's eyes lit the skies.

Naraku was on his way. Inuyasha would sense it soon enough.

Inuyasha's ears twitched in confusion as he watched his friend's retreating figure. The sudden intake of breath beside Hanyou, eliciting a growl as Inuyasha turned to face the shivering guard, whose reprieve was over.

“It's lightning. Don't go shitting your hakama!” he snarled into the young demon's face, before abruptly turning and heading for his quarters.

Inuyasha could feel the hairs rising on the back of his neck; His father's words returning to him.

“Even now, he teaches you, Sesshoumaru. Sometimes, the good of the many is paramount to selfish desires. I would have thought you would have learned this by now under the guidance of your Mate.”

Naraku was near.

Something was definitely off, no matter how much Kagome tried to hide it. He and Sesshoumaru would handle this. The others didn't need to be involved.

“Don't fuck this up, Sesshoumaru. We're supposed to do this together. Father said so.” Inuyasha snarled in irritation as he sprinted through the honmaru towards the outer gates.

sks

Miroku quietly rewound the ancient parchment with care and returned it to the box with the Taishou seal, handing it back to the fire youkai.

Green eyes scrutinized the sharp angular plains of the Priest's profile. The Houshi's face bore a contemplative look, feigning pre-occupied with the rising gloom beyond the window. The sudden shaft of lightning, the color of his eyes, allowed him to see through the dark opalescent fog. A swift movement caught his eyes in the distance.

“Inuyasha! Damn it!” he slammed his staff into the tatami.

“It is as it should be.” Tatsuo assured.

Miroku rounded on him.

“He could die. They all could. I can't live with that!”

Tatsuo lowered his eyes. “True, we all may. Imagine then, what it is like for those who have waited for this day for many, many centuries.”

The Houshi sighed. The discipline of years willing his feet to remain in place as he watched his friend's back grow distant in the fog.

“I've suspected for some time now. What is… is. Just wasn't sure how.”

“If there were another way…” Tatsuo began weakly.

Miroku raised his hand. “There is no need. Who else knows of this?”

Violet eyes fell on two beings in the courtyard practicing. He unarmed and she wielding her Hiraikotsu expertly, both oblivious to cool amethyst. To the untrained eye, they were merely two warriors engaged in mock battle. It was her body language that gave it away. No question in priest's mind, this was a mating dance.

The Priest's eyes narrowed with unaccustomed jealousy.

“She loves you, Miroku.” Kagome said, standing companionably by her friend.

`When did she arrive?'

The Priest gave a sidelong glance at the woman that had entered on silent feet.

“You are becoming more like him each day.”

An arm reached around the Houshi's waist and he in turn squeezed the small hand that found his.

“Diplomatic as always, Miroku, I'll take it as a compliment that you just called me a sneak.”

Kagome could feel the beat of his heart within the afflicted right hand and the shallowness of his breath.

“I did no such thing, my Lady. I was merely making comment that you mask your presence well.”

“Right...you learn a hell of a lot more this way, this Kagome has found, she chuckled self-deprecatingly, ignoring the lump within her throat as she fought back tears.

Miroku snickered at her self reference.

“He is gone after them,” Kagome offered. “It's almost time for us to join them.”

Standing side by side, the friends watched the ghostlike figures in the mist, in the eternal dance that had but one conclusion.

“I'll take care of them. You have my word, Miroku.” she whispered, barely able to speak as her throat constricted with suppressed emotions.

Firm lips graced her right temple with a feathery kiss. Kagome closed her eyes willing the unshed tears to remain in abeyance. There was no time for this.

Tatsuo cleared his throat as the friends of years made their own peace.

“My Lady, Kaede-sama wishes to speak with you.”

“I know, Tatsuo. I know.” Kagome closed her eyes and embraced her friend tightly, refusing to relinquish her hold. It might well be her last opportunity to do this.

Miroku's strong hands held her shoulders and gently moved back from her embrace.

Sparkling amethyst assumed their usual lewd twinkle.

“It's going to be okay, my Lady. Don't worry so much. I've got it well in hand,” he assured twiddling his fingers meaningfully.

The Western Lady groaned at the pathetic pun. Kagome gasped, blinking in shock as she felt a pinch to her rear.

“Miroku!” Kagome sputtered. “I'm a mated woman.”

Glaring at his finger tips with mock horror, he shrugged.

“They have a mind of their own, my Lady.”

“I could tell Sesshoumaru, better yet, Sango.” Kagome genuinely chuckled, waving a reproachful finger at the Priest doing her best to look suitably irritated, though a smile came to her lips.

The smile faded from her face as she turned to face Tatsuo, who met her eyes in knowing.

Never was it lost on Tatsuo, how each member of her tachi strove to put the Western Lady at ease.

She was their Naobi, their fulcrum. Balance had to be maintained, regardless.

sks

Leaving the shoji to their chambers slightly ajar for Kaede, the Priestess eyed the quiver's contents and the bow that lay on the palette with trepidation.

Kagome's trembling fingers moved over the cool shaft of the arrow. It looked no different in appearance than the others in the quiver but for its hallowed fletching. The feather had been divided into three. She could feel the energy it radiated through her fingers and up her arm.

“I can't do this...” Kagome pleaded with the unseen, falling to her knees as the tears she had managed not to shed in the presence of Miroku finally burst forth, her body trembling with chocked sobs.

“Please, please I'm not strong enough,” she moaned dejectedly, curling her body on the tatami, taking comfort in the scent of fresh linen below her head.

The Priestess blinked in confusion, as a whisper of silken cloth brushed her cheek. She was lying on the robe he had worn the night before.

Kagome felt very much alone without her Taiyoukai.

She hugged the material tightly, burying her nose in its softness, wishing for his presence but knowing he could not come to her aid. They would have to go to him, but it was not time yet.

Like the wings of a captured butterfly, she felt the soft fluttering within her abdomen and as the eerie warmth overtook her.

Satori was giving comfort as best she could.

The Miko caressed the gentle swell of her belly.

“Thank you little one, but what if I blow it? Have you thought of that little Miss?” she cooed at the sentient being, between sniffles.

Kagome eeped as she felt a resounding kick from within her abdomen that stopped her breath and sent a tremor through her entire body.

“Ow, that hurt!” she yelled indignantly, rising to a sitting position and glared at her stomach in annoyance, temporarily forgetting her self pity.

Like her father, Satori did not take kindly to repeating herself, nor did she, apparently, engage in protracted bouts of woe-is-me. She was a Taishou after all.

“You are definitely his pup,” Kagome said sarcastically wiping her eyes on her sleeve. “Fine.”

Without missing a beat, the reassuring warmth returned.

“Hmmmm, right…too late, I'm telling your father on you.”

Kaede and Tatsuo stood watching the entire exchange at the entrance of the Taiyoukai's private chamber, a gentle smile on her weathered face.

This child/woman held all their fates.

Dark eyes looked up slowly at them both with a sheepish half smile.

Kagome rose gracefully from the tatami with her finger tips, unaware that she glowed with the same amber opalescence as the fog without. Kaede felt it this time.

Tatsuo was right, time was slowing as it had done the day before when they had discovered the ancient chamber below.

Kaede looked to Tatsuo, who bowed and left understanding the unspoken request, as Kagome took her hand and lead her in.

The dignified healer slid the shoji closed behind him. He could only hope the Taiyoukai had taken the next step of his own volition. Everything rested on that simple realization.

A child would lead him.

sks

Shippou ran as fast as his small legs would carry him behind the Western Lord who he had lost in the sudden mist. They had to find Rin. The sudden clap of thunder, made him scream as a flash of white loomed before him.

Up, up, up he looked into the amber gloaming into livid citrine.

“The Thunder Brothers no longer exist. You are a warrior. Act it or return to the shiro with your tail between your legs.” snapped the Western Lord, turning on his heels and cutting through the mist.

Shippou gulped back his fear and followed, imitating the Taiyoukai's careful steps.

`How did the Lord know his true fear?'

sks

They crashed through the bushes, her arm in a vice like grip. She could hear it now, the sounds of air born demons on the hunt as yet not visible. She stumbled over an outcropping. They had been going up for some time now, never once stopping to catch a breath.

“Where are you taking Rin?” the little girl cried as she was dragged, kicking and screaming. `Something is wrong with Master Jaken.'

“Be quiet!” snapped the little kappa, his claws digging into her palm in warning.

“Master Jaken, please. You're hurting Rin!”

“Stop your pewling or I'll kill you here,” the kappa hissed throwing her to the ground at another's feet. The buzzing in her ears intensified as the fog lifted about her with a sudden wind. She was surrounded. Nothing had prepared her for this.

Up, up, up she looked through her tears into a pale face with blood red eyes.

Naraku cackled at the terror he saw there within her own, his voice echoing in the gloom like a sentinel welcoming the Taiyoukai whose jyaki he could feel approaching rapidly.

Kohaku looked on dispassionately at the small girl. `Where is Kagura?' He dared not ask. There had to be a reason Hakudoshi had intervened altering the original plan.

sks

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Inuyasha snarled sweat pouring down his face as he prepared to strike once more. This barrier was unlike anything Tessaiga had encountered. Naraku had grown stronger in his mountain keep.

All he had left was the Adamant Barrage.

He could see them, Sesshoumaru in the lead and Shippou behind his hakama quivering in fear. Neither registering his impotent protests; neither aware what was in front of them as they walked through the haze and possibly to their doom.

“Fuck!”

sks

“They are darkening.” Kagome clasped the cool shards in her palm and closed her eyes, they pulsed.

“Yes child, he has all but...”

“These and Kohaku's... I can feel it,” she whispered, something was different.

“You feel the connection?” Kaede asked carefully, placing her own gnarled hands over the soft young ones.

Kagome's eyes snapped open as she searched Kaede's face without seeing her. “Yes, but he hasn't won yet, Kaede. There is a light in the portion he holds, just as father said, an unquenchable light that has gotten stronger.”

The elderly healer's eye became guarded as Kagome watched her with a flat cool expression in the usually kindly gaze.

“Tell me now. It may well be our last opportunity to speak of this.”

With a deep exhalation the elderly healer sighed.

“Ye were never alone, child.”

“Meaning?”

“Remember these words when ye raise the bow.”

Kagome groaned in frustration. This is worse than talking to her father or mother.

“Thanks for nothing!” Kagome snapped stalking to the shoji with quiver and bow.

“Good luck.” Kaede murmured to the retreating figure who disappeared down the passage.

“You did well, Lady Kaede. She will remember.”

Kaede turned to the amorphous being that hovered beside her.

“Kagome was always willful and quick to anger as a child. Her instinct to protect those she loves is her strength as yet untapped. She will be tested, but she will not fail.”

The elder healer chuckled mirthlessly. “What of Sango …”

“Your function and that of the others left behind is to protect the shiro. For them, the day has begun and they will not feel the passage of time beyond the gates, nor the barrier surrounding this castle.”

Bottle green eyes looked down at the Miko with gentility.

Kaede shivered, feeling the hidden flames only hinted at in the severity of his gaze that brooked no argument. He had no intentions of answering about the slayer.

Naraku was not the only formidable being in the Sengoku Jidai this day.

“She does look like you, but for the eyes.”

“Intentional, sometimes it is best that the enemy does not recognize who they truly face, until the pivotal moment.”

sks

Author's Note

The final chapter is now thirty-two. My apologies, but it flows better that way and ties into the final chapter of its epilogue Sesshoumaru's Mate: A Valentine's Story that much better.

I sincerely hope you have enjoyed this chapter as much as I have enjoyed writing it..

Until next time…