InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Together in Tokyo ❯ A Promise to Be Kept ( Chapter 16 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: SilentTaiyoukai 
Sesshoumaru gets help from an unexpected source.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 03.02.2010 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.6K | Visits: 439 | Status: Work In Progress
Sesshoumaru gets help from an unexpected source.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 03.02.2010 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.6K | Visits: 439 | Status: Work In Progress
Two little stones that stood side by side like warriors in combat. Two little stones with the names of the deceased that lay beneath carved upon them with a youkai poison. Two little stones that he had visited every year for the last hundred years. Two little stones buried deep in the forest, protected by a ring of statues honoring the warrior’s Kami.
Most of the fox statues were broken and overturned. The statues had been there long before the graves. Once he stumbled upon the little plot of statues, all in circle and sitting in a small clearing of lush moss, he knew it would be the spot he would lay his comrades to rest. One fox, the largest of the statues, still stood watching over the graves of the fallen demon warriors just as it had stood for a hundred years. Just as it had probably stood for a century or two even before that, yet not a scrap of moss or a single wayward vine marred it. To Sesshoumaru’s keen eye, the statue never seemed to decay at all. He was not surprised, considering the aura of holy power that surrounded it. Over the last few years, in which Sesshoumaru had traveled extensively and confirmed his suspicions that he was last of his kind, the power in the statue had only increased.
He could feel the power in it swirling anxiously upon his visit this year, so when the statue was consumed by a aura of white light Sesshoumaru did not do so much as bat an eye. The figure crouching upon the head of the statue was incorporeal at first, no more than a transparent outline of a man. As the light dimmed, the person before him solidified, and Sesshoumaru was left face to face with a bearded youth with a cloth sack slung over his broad shoulders. The clothes he wore were something that could be seen on a peasant, but Sesshoumaru knew this man was anything but a poor human. His hair was of the purest white, while his eyes were an unusually potent blue. The aura he exuded was pure and powerful, and Sesshoumaru immediately knew that his own power held no comparison. Sesshoumaru had never encountered anything like it before.
Sesshoumaru’s hand instinctively went to Bakusaiga’s hilt. The white-haired youth waved a hand at him.
“Draw not your sword my warrior, I have no ill will against you,” the youth chuckled. Sesshoumaru’s hand slowly fell away from his weapon.
“Who are you?” Sesshoumaru questioned, his eyes narrowed dangerously.
“I think you know the answer to that question.”
Sesshoumaru growled, but the man’s smile did not falter. He ran a hand through his beard and laughed again. Sesshoumaru noticed there was a large ring on his finger. The stone reflected the strange color of the man’s eyes.
“I have no business with you,” Sesshoumaru said, turning away from him, away from the graves of his brother and the kitsune.
“Sesshoumaru,” the bearded youth said almost musically, shaking his head. “So arrogant, even to a Kami who would assist you.”
“Assist me?” Sesshoumaru scoffed. “I need help from no one.”
“I have been keeping watch on you each time you visit here, my warrior. I can see everything that goes through your mind. Those are your friends’ graves, are they not? I happen to know that you made a promise to them, and I want to help you keep that promise. It would not be honorable if you didn’t do so.”
Sesshoumaru’s eyes widened. He was appalled that the Kami would even insinuate that he would not keep his word, but even more appalled to know that not even his innermost thoughts were secret from the likes of him. He smoothed his expression.
“You mean to imply that I would not keep my word?”
“I did not say that,” the Kami chuckled, “I can see from your thoughts that you are honorable. But, given your current state, you will face many obstacles. The world has changed, Sesshoumaru. It is no place for the likes of youkai anymore. It is no place for even a Kami like me. Soon humans will stop believing in us altogether. We are in similar positions, and you are the last of my youkai warriors. That is why I want to help you.”
“And how do you propose to help me?”
“This,” the Kami said, and held out his ringed hand to Sesshoumaru. “I can disguise you as a human.”
It seemed that every statement out of the Kami’s mouth was intended to make to him angry. If this man had been anything other than a Kami, Sesshoumaru would have surely lunged at him and drawn his sword over his throat.
“A human? This Sesshoumaru will never,” the taiyoukai nearly snarled.
“Do you have any other choice? You cannot live among humans peacefully as you are. Stay as you are and you will have no way of getting close to the miko,” the Kami reasoned.
Sesshoumaru was not a fool. The Kami was right. Even in the few times he had come in contact with humans recently, he was not met with the respect and fear he was used to. Humans were more willing to stand against him, to have his head as a souvenir for the last of youkai-kind. They had seen his kind fall, and all of the fear he had commanded in them seemed to fall with it. He refused to spill the blood of such fools. He no longer yearned for the kill like he had as a pup. Taking lives to restore their fear of him seemed pointless. Perhaps in time their fears would resurface on their own, but as the Kami said, it would be more of a horrified disbelief than any real fear. Anywhere he went, whether in the present or in the miko’s time, he would be met with some sort of opposition. In that way, his task would not be an easy one. Disguising himself, integrating himself into their world as one of their own, was an adequate plan, however unsavory. And accepting this Kami’s aid did not mean there would be no consequence to him.
Dealing with Kami could not be unlike dealing with demons. The Kami would want something in return.
“This deal cannot be without consequence to me,” Sesshoumaru said.
“How insightful of you,” the Kami said. “With an aura as strong as yours, the ring will not work. You must relinquish most of your power to me, and so long as you own the ring it will be mine to keep. If you should take the ring off your finger, you will resume your true nature, but your power will not return to you. You must will me to return your power, and when you do, it will be our parting gesture.”
The Kami slipped the ring from his finger, holding it up into a thin sliver of sunlight. He turned it in his fingers, letting it glisten there for a few moments.
“Do you agree?” he asked.
Yes, Sesshoumaru thought to himself, and even so the Kami heard his answer.
With a delicate flick of his wrist, the Kami tossed the ring to the taiyoukai, who moved to snatch it from the air. As his claws were closing around it, all of his muscles seemed to lock in place. The ring floated just above his palm, and Sesshoumaru was a prisoner in his own immobile body as the ring erupted in a spectrum of light. Red, orange, yellow, a rainbow flashing across his vision, drawing his aura out of his body. He felt hollowed, empty, like a piece of his very being had been torn away. Right before his eyes, his claws were shrinking into blunt human nails. The ring placed itself upon his finger, and all of the colors clouding his vision vanished into it, all except that too vibrant blue.
Sesshoumaru fell to his knees under the weight of his own armor. The weight of it was simply too much. He could feel a gathering of demonic power still inside of him, but the Kami had taken much more of him than he had anticipated. He looked at up the smiling Kami and growled, but it sounded strange to his ears. It was too human. He immediately noticed his vision was impaired. Everything looked so dull through human eyes.
He watched as the Kami pulled out a lock of his own hair, dropping it upon the head of a smaller fox statue. The statue crumbled to reveal a living fox concealed within it.
“Remember what I have told you, Sesshoumaru,” the Kami said, and in the same flash of white in which he appeared, he was gone.
Sesshoumaru took on the task of removing his armor, casting it aside. He kept his swords at his hip. With what little demonic energy he had left, he would still wield them if need be. He ran a hand through his hair, and his fingers came away covered in loose black strands.
As Sesshoumaru stepped from the clearing, Inari’s fox followed. Many years later as he sat and told this tale, he would not tell the miko of such a thing.
Most of the fox statues were broken and overturned. The statues had been there long before the graves. Once he stumbled upon the little plot of statues, all in circle and sitting in a small clearing of lush moss, he knew it would be the spot he would lay his comrades to rest. One fox, the largest of the statues, still stood watching over the graves of the fallen demon warriors just as it had stood for a hundred years. Just as it had probably stood for a century or two even before that, yet not a scrap of moss or a single wayward vine marred it. To Sesshoumaru’s keen eye, the statue never seemed to decay at all. He was not surprised, considering the aura of holy power that surrounded it. Over the last few years, in which Sesshoumaru had traveled extensively and confirmed his suspicions that he was last of his kind, the power in the statue had only increased.
He could feel the power in it swirling anxiously upon his visit this year, so when the statue was consumed by a aura of white light Sesshoumaru did not do so much as bat an eye. The figure crouching upon the head of the statue was incorporeal at first, no more than a transparent outline of a man. As the light dimmed, the person before him solidified, and Sesshoumaru was left face to face with a bearded youth with a cloth sack slung over his broad shoulders. The clothes he wore were something that could be seen on a peasant, but Sesshoumaru knew this man was anything but a poor human. His hair was of the purest white, while his eyes were an unusually potent blue. The aura he exuded was pure and powerful, and Sesshoumaru immediately knew that his own power held no comparison. Sesshoumaru had never encountered anything like it before.
Sesshoumaru’s hand instinctively went to Bakusaiga’s hilt. The white-haired youth waved a hand at him.
“Draw not your sword my warrior, I have no ill will against you,” the youth chuckled. Sesshoumaru’s hand slowly fell away from his weapon.
“Who are you?” Sesshoumaru questioned, his eyes narrowed dangerously.
“I think you know the answer to that question.”
Sesshoumaru growled, but the man’s smile did not falter. He ran a hand through his beard and laughed again. Sesshoumaru noticed there was a large ring on his finger. The stone reflected the strange color of the man’s eyes.
“I have no business with you,” Sesshoumaru said, turning away from him, away from the graves of his brother and the kitsune.
“Sesshoumaru,” the bearded youth said almost musically, shaking his head. “So arrogant, even to a Kami who would assist you.”
“Assist me?” Sesshoumaru scoffed. “I need help from no one.”
“I have been keeping watch on you each time you visit here, my warrior. I can see everything that goes through your mind. Those are your friends’ graves, are they not? I happen to know that you made a promise to them, and I want to help you keep that promise. It would not be honorable if you didn’t do so.”
Sesshoumaru’s eyes widened. He was appalled that the Kami would even insinuate that he would not keep his word, but even more appalled to know that not even his innermost thoughts were secret from the likes of him. He smoothed his expression.
“You mean to imply that I would not keep my word?”
“I did not say that,” the Kami chuckled, “I can see from your thoughts that you are honorable. But, given your current state, you will face many obstacles. The world has changed, Sesshoumaru. It is no place for the likes of youkai anymore. It is no place for even a Kami like me. Soon humans will stop believing in us altogether. We are in similar positions, and you are the last of my youkai warriors. That is why I want to help you.”
“And how do you propose to help me?”
“This,” the Kami said, and held out his ringed hand to Sesshoumaru. “I can disguise you as a human.”
It seemed that every statement out of the Kami’s mouth was intended to make to him angry. If this man had been anything other than a Kami, Sesshoumaru would have surely lunged at him and drawn his sword over his throat.
“A human? This Sesshoumaru will never,” the taiyoukai nearly snarled.
“Do you have any other choice? You cannot live among humans peacefully as you are. Stay as you are and you will have no way of getting close to the miko,” the Kami reasoned.
Sesshoumaru was not a fool. The Kami was right. Even in the few times he had come in contact with humans recently, he was not met with the respect and fear he was used to. Humans were more willing to stand against him, to have his head as a souvenir for the last of youkai-kind. They had seen his kind fall, and all of the fear he had commanded in them seemed to fall with it. He refused to spill the blood of such fools. He no longer yearned for the kill like he had as a pup. Taking lives to restore their fear of him seemed pointless. Perhaps in time their fears would resurface on their own, but as the Kami said, it would be more of a horrified disbelief than any real fear. Anywhere he went, whether in the present or in the miko’s time, he would be met with some sort of opposition. In that way, his task would not be an easy one. Disguising himself, integrating himself into their world as one of their own, was an adequate plan, however unsavory. And accepting this Kami’s aid did not mean there would be no consequence to him.
Dealing with Kami could not be unlike dealing with demons. The Kami would want something in return.
“This deal cannot be without consequence to me,” Sesshoumaru said.
“How insightful of you,” the Kami said. “With an aura as strong as yours, the ring will not work. You must relinquish most of your power to me, and so long as you own the ring it will be mine to keep. If you should take the ring off your finger, you will resume your true nature, but your power will not return to you. You must will me to return your power, and when you do, it will be our parting gesture.”
The Kami slipped the ring from his finger, holding it up into a thin sliver of sunlight. He turned it in his fingers, letting it glisten there for a few moments.
“Do you agree?” he asked.
Yes, Sesshoumaru thought to himself, and even so the Kami heard his answer.
With a delicate flick of his wrist, the Kami tossed the ring to the taiyoukai, who moved to snatch it from the air. As his claws were closing around it, all of his muscles seemed to lock in place. The ring floated just above his palm, and Sesshoumaru was a prisoner in his own immobile body as the ring erupted in a spectrum of light. Red, orange, yellow, a rainbow flashing across his vision, drawing his aura out of his body. He felt hollowed, empty, like a piece of his very being had been torn away. Right before his eyes, his claws were shrinking into blunt human nails. The ring placed itself upon his finger, and all of the colors clouding his vision vanished into it, all except that too vibrant blue.
Sesshoumaru fell to his knees under the weight of his own armor. The weight of it was simply too much. He could feel a gathering of demonic power still inside of him, but the Kami had taken much more of him than he had anticipated. He looked at up the smiling Kami and growled, but it sounded strange to his ears. It was too human. He immediately noticed his vision was impaired. Everything looked so dull through human eyes.
He watched as the Kami pulled out a lock of his own hair, dropping it upon the head of a smaller fox statue. The statue crumbled to reveal a living fox concealed within it.
“Remember what I have told you, Sesshoumaru,” the Kami said, and in the same flash of white in which he appeared, he was gone.
Sesshoumaru took on the task of removing his armor, casting it aside. He kept his swords at his hip. With what little demonic energy he had left, he would still wield them if need be. He ran a hand through his hair, and his fingers came away covered in loose black strands.
As Sesshoumaru stepped from the clearing, Inari’s fox followed. Many years later as he sat and told this tale, he would not tell the miko of such a thing.