InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Yellow Brick Road ❯ Burning Bridges ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3: Burning Bridges

Sesshoumaru was quickly replaying everything he knew about the girl crumpled before him. There had to be some detail that he previously accounted for as being insignificant. How he had let this fester so long under his nose, he did not know. Wait that would be a lie. He wanted nothing to do with the wench before him; she was a headache that could rival his mother. The only reason he begrudgingly agreed to protect her was his brother. His brother had offered not just a truce, but also all an out submission to Sesshoumaru as alpha of all inu.

Inuyasha’s submission was vital in being able finally to demolish the rebel threat. With the second son of Inu no Taisho submitting to the domain of the West, the sibling rivalry could no longer be used to fuel the rebels’ cause.

When his father had taken a ningen as a mate, uproar was heard across the lands. All knew that discord would be the only thing left for the general’s house. So the question became, how could inu youkai be considered strong when the foremost house was divided within itself? There were those that believed it to be impossible. Thus, they united and rebelled against the house of the moon.

While his father constantly fought against them to regain the stability to his domain, it became clear that Izayoi was with pup. Shame hung on all inu for to their top house a hanyou was to be born. Then shame became heavier as Izayoi was stolen from the Citadel. All within the walls ignored her pleas for help; her mate was off defending his domain from an outside threat, Ryuukotsusei. Sesshoumaru was defending the domain from minor thieves to the south.

He held no respect or love for his sire’s mate, but his honor would not have allowed her to fall into enemy hands. No matter how inadequate he thought, she still held the honor of the title Western Lady, which was her title. It was punishable by death not to protect her, as all within the walls of the citadel learned that night. The only ones spared that night’s massacre were the wet nurses and the pups.

After he had disposed of those who failed to protect their Lady, he searched to inform his sire. His father was livid. In his rage, the great general did not realize quite how devastating his wounds were. His only thought was to save his mate and unborn pup.

Sesshoumaru refused to join his quest. He could not leave the pups unprotected any longer. Many had died that night in the name of the Western Lady, his father just one of them. The choice he made that night saved the pups at the citadel from death at the hands of dragons looking to avenge Ryuukotsusei.

Staring at his father’s back, he was not even allowed to look at his face one last time before he rushed to his death.

“Have you someone to protect?” The question ripped at his honor and pride. Yet the worst blow was not dealt to his honor and pride, but to the image he had built of his father. How had his father forgotten that he had not one, but many to protect? His father did not see that his own selfish actions and choices left so many to fend for themselves. Had mother truly been that terrible?

Well the answer to that was yes. She had been the one that ensured his sire could not claim an inu as mate. Mother believed that she was the only one deserving of the title. She had been the one to bare a strong heir and daughter. In her mind, these were reason enough to displace any uppity bitch that tried to get close to her claim. She would not allow herself to be cast aside like some whore.

She dealt with the antics of the Great Inu no Taisho for over seven centuries; she believed him to be hers. She viciously set examples of the bitches that would warm his bed, thereby leaving hers cold. When she realized that he would not be returning to her any time soon, she left him with only the choice of human filth to sate his needs. She thought herself ingenious, for no self-respecting youkai, let alone a tai-youkai, would form a lasting bond with a human.

Sesshoumaru almost laughed when he remembered the look on his mother’s face when she learned the extent to which his father would go to free himself of her. Oh, the old bitch had destroyed the southern and eastern gardens in her rage. His father would have allowed her to continue in the palace, but she dared to go after the sakura trees that were being planted as a mating gift for the new Lady.

Father sent her to an island in the south, stating that she could not return until she had learned her place. When she began to protest, he stated that there were several whorehouses more than willing to take a troublesome breeder off his hands. She left. When the Western Lady was taken, no one could prove that she was connected.

Even though she was never proven to be involved, Sesshoumaru still believed it prudent that Izayoi and Inuyasha leave the domain until the rebels could be exterminated. Izayoi’s life was hard because of her hanyou son, yet she could blame neither her son nor her deceased mate. She blamed Sesshoumaru, and infested Inuyasha’s mind with how horrible he was. Any strife they faced was because Sesshoumaru did not know what honor was and turned them out in their hour of need.

Izayoi, her stupid, feeble mortal mind could not understand that while his mother bore him, he was not his mother’s son. He would not put her or his brother above the need of those in his domain. She was a princess and expected all to bow down to her because of her birth-rite. She never understood how different ningen and youkai were in that respect. To youkai rank of birth made it easier to obtain one’s goals, but one still had to prove that they were worthy of what they held. It was not his fault that the wealth he supplied her human family was put towards their comfort and not hers.

Sesshoumaru believed that no further proof was needed of his brother’s stupidity when the baka got himself pinned to a tree. The moron had been following around the Shikon miko like a lost puppy, and he could not foresee that there was no way for the ending to be anything but tragic. Some miko she turned out to be too. She allowed herself to be killed by a hanyou, after only watching the Shikon for two short years.

Glancing at the miko that was his current source of headaches, she was still bowed to the floor in front of the shelves of scrolls. Wondering why she had not left, he finally realized that the shadow continued to try to soothe the miko. Truly, the scent of self-loathing was not at all pleasant when mixed with her natural scent.

She should smell of orange blossoms and spring’s late evening rain shower. The crispness of her scent was resonating on the palate to hint at the power the little creature held. This had been the longest he had ever been in the same room with her. Her scent had now saturated the air, forcing him to learn it for all of its nuances.

The more he dissected it the more he wanted to growl in contentment. He could not find anything within it that annoyed him. No one’s scent had been this calming, this intriguing, and dare he say enticing. Yes, now while he quietly reflected on of the current state of affairs, he would admit that her scent was enticing. Not surprising considering how many youkai with a sensitive olfactory wanted to be near her.


Yes, this infuriating woman-child might make one wish to strangle her every few minutes, but at least one did not feel the necessity to bath the stench off one's self. For a ningen, she smelled amazing, better than even many youkai.

His head snapped in her direction. He sniffed the air again. It could not be. Rising he stalked over to where she was still kneeling.

“Stand.”

She immediately complied, baring her neck to him. It had been one of the first protocols taught to her upon entry to the citadel. If anyone were to order her to stand before them, she needed also to bare her neck. This would help them understand that miko before them was not a threat; even the youngest of pups would understand the gesture.

Pleased at how much a natural motion it had become to her, he bent down. Placing his nose centimeters from the junction of her neck and shoulder, he inhaled deeply. Yes, it was there, or rather not there. Eyes narrowing, he needed to speak with Inuyasha, NOW.

“Follow.” Stepping gracefully out of his study, he walked down the open hallway heading towards the training grounds. Inuyasha would be there to assess the effects this morning’s battle had on their forces. She followed a respectful three steps behind, so none could even begin to assume he was following his father’s lead.

H e had made it halfway to his destination, when a scent hit him that he would be more than happy not to smell again for another century or five. The aristocratic bitch rounded the corner, immediately bowing her head and baring her neck.

“Sesshoumaru-sama.”

“Mother.̶ 1;

She raised her head, eyes focusing on the one behind him. “I see that he has finally found a use for you. Good, the soldiers are in need of a good release after today’s victory.”

Kagome’s head remained bowed, but her aura flared at the insult to her virtue. “Breeder-sama, the soldiers would more than likely find insult in their reward being a lowly ningen.” Kagome straightened her posture and looked the bitch in the eye. A challenge was being issued. Sesshoumaru hoped the miko’s biting tongue would make an appearance. If she could goad the elder inu into physically harming her, then Sesshoumaru could be free of the troublesome bitch. “Perhaps, one should be sent to them that has firsthand knowledge of carnal pleasures. No, breeder-sama, you are right…” Kagome’s pause caused all to wonder what would come out of how her mouth next. “…they would not appreciate an old bitch that refuses to learn new, or even decent, tricks.”

There was an eerie silence that fell over the hallway. Kagome’s stance never wavered as the “old bitch” lunged at her. Sesshoumaru was still slightly in awe of the audacity of the miko’s last statement, that he did not move in time to block his mother. Her claws were breaking the surface of the skin on her neck, when the shadow shot out from Kagome’s hair, and attached to the bitch. To all that witnessed the display, the shocking thing was that the shadow was not hiding from the light.

“Hn.” Sesshoumaru was staring down at the sight of his crumpled mother’s form on the ground.

Kagome rushed to pull the shadow off the demonness. Her tone was one of scolding as she said; “Now, little one, if you don’t have to hide from the light, then that means that one is too dark for one as young as yourself.”

She then pushed the shadow within her clothing, bowing her head. Her neck was bared to him, awaiting punishment for her role in the spectacle. He had not seen anyone put his mother so effectively in her place. She had never once used his mother’s name, but rather her much despised title. He was sure if she had tried that tactic without him standing there, the miko would be missing a tongue. Finally, she had hinted at her lack of ability to please her bed partner. Oh, that was too good. For centuries his mother had endured those types of side comments from the other bitches of the domain who commonly believed that it was her inability in the bed that failed to gain her the title she so desperately wanted.

He was not going to punish the miko for beating the uppity bitch at her own game. In fact, he respected her for being able to say to the bitch’s face what so many only said in barely audible whispers. No, she had defended her pure virtue against one who had long since been lacking any form of virtue. She had brought pleasantness to a day that had been filled with anything but that.

Turning to the members of his mother’s usual entourage, he ordered them to see to her care. She would have to be dealt with for bring harm to that which was under his protection. He proceeded to the training grounds, the miko three steps behind.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

When he reached the field, he noticed with satisfaction that Inuyasha had ordered forms to be practiced, in order to calm their minds from battle. All the soldiers had a since of apprehension about them. It was probably due to the fact that not more than an hour and half ago they were on a battlefield enclosed in shadow youkai.

Sesshoumaru noticed that the miko was humming the same haunting tune that the shadow had used earlier to calm her. She walked passed Sesshoumaru and into the ranks. Almost every youkai that she passed had shadows skitter from him to her. When she finally returned to stand behind him with her head bowed, the tension that had been in the field before was gone.

Inuyasha came walking with a look of utter rage on his face. Sesshoumaru had allowed her to gather those things. He knew how dangerous they were, and he let her collect them up as if they were wildflowers in some field.

“Sesshoumaru, how can you let her near those things?!” Kagome was impressed that he had refrained from cursing, but the drop of the honorific in front of the soldiers was dangerous. To Sesshoumaru’s credit, he looked on at his brother with a bored expression.

“The failure here is the entrance of the shadows within the keep.”

“Feh. I knew they were there, that is why the grounds have a ring around them. I am not as stupid has you assume. The soldiers were going through forms to clear their minds, making them less vulnerable to attack.” Inuyasha’s voice had lowered considerably. Halfway through his speech, he turned his attention to Kagome. He side glanced to Sesshoumaru waiting for permission to approach her.

Sesshoumaru nodded his head to his brother, and then began to take a more detailed visual account of the soldiers. Inuyasha stepped in front of Kagome and began to chastise her.

“What were you thinking, stupid? Do you have any brains left in that head of yours? Those things are beyond dangerous. You have never faced an evil of their magnitude before.” His voice was soft, but it grew in volume, as he did not get a response from her. “Wench, are you listening to me? How am I supposed to protect you, when you run off and do stupid things like this all the time? I am surprised that you have not been killed yet. First, your dumbass shows up at the battle this morning, and then you go skipping into the middle of it. Wench, who does that? A moron, that's who!“ She stood perfectly still, head bowed. She knew she deserved this for making her friend worry. “And what the fuck do ruby slippers have to do with anything? Wench, I swear, I don’t see how you could possibly be the reincarnation of Kikyou.”

Kagome’s head shot up, eyes narrowing at him. He was right to yell at her for entering the battle when she was supposed to stay in the gardens. He was right, only a moron loses focus on the battlefield. She deserved to be reprimanded for that, never mind that she knew the shadow would come into play in this battle. Never mind that she knew the leader of the rebels would be making an appearance to gloat over his victory. Never mind that she had saved every western soldier on that battlefield. What she did not deserve was the comparison to the precious Kikyou.

No, she would never be as good as Kikyou. She was not dead and idealized in the hanyou’s mind. She was just Kagome; okay maybe sometimes she was wench. However, the point still stood that she was not Kikyou.

“Sit boy. Let the dead rest in peace.” Her biting tone informed the hanyou then she would not be civil if he decided to pursue the current line of insults.

Inuyasha’s ears flattened as he backed away from her. His shame and rage came off him in waves; why did she have to point out that he had failed Kikyou twice. She knew how much it hurt him that he could not protect his first love from Naraku, not once but twice. He looked at Kagome and began to growl. How dare she, when he always came running to protect her? ‘Feh, see if I go after her next time she decides to run away.’

Sesshoumaru took this time to intervene. He did not need them to show their antics in front of the soldiers. It would cause too many problems for Inuyasha, because the little miko always managed to get the better of him.

“Inuyasha, you tell this Sesshoumaru why the miko no longer has the scent of humanity.”

“What?!” Inuyasha just gave an incredulous look to his brother, while the miko returned her head to the bowed position.

“My lord, he never noticed the change in scent.”

Sesshoumaru ignored the miko’s comment while he watched his brother step forward to inhale the miko’s scent. “Kagome, when did your scent change?”

“Upon the death of Naraku. It is the reason I still stand before you.”

Sesshoumaru noticed that he and Inuyasha were not the only ones taking interest in her responses. As he was about to open his mouth, he noticed that the miko had placed a barrier around them.

“My apologies, Sesshoumaru-sama, but the answer you seek few should hear.”

“Miko, why do you no longer smell of decay?”

She laughed slightly. Sesshoumaru’s eyebrow arched, “Is this a humorous subject?”

“No, my lord, I find it funny that the scent of humanity is equated to the stench of decay.”

“Hn. Wench, you are avoiding this Sesshoumaru’s question.”

“It was the wish. Inuyasha before you start, the Shikon no Tama did not vanish, but was absorbed.”

“Absorbed? What the hell are you talking about Kagome?”

“I failed to reach it in time to stop Naraku from making his wish. When he did, he managed to taint the jewel fully. Midoriko’s soul lost the battle and was destroyed. She held off the greatest evil known for well over a millennium, and all it took was one bumbling idiot girl from the future to destroy her soul.”

“Kagome you are not making sense. If Midoriko’s soul was destroyed then the jewel should not exist anymore. Not to mention we shouldn’t be standing here anymore.”

“Inuyasha, please understand that I did not hide this from you to hurt you,” her eyes pleaded with him to remain silent while she finished her tale. Before she began to talk again, she closed her eyes so that she did not have to face the pain she was about to cause him. “Naraku’s wish destroyed Midoriko’s soul. Nevertheless, before Naraku could merge with the existing youkai’s soul in the jewel, I purified his heart. Naraku used his last energy to stop me. When Sango tried to block the tentacle from my body, it pierced through where the jewel originated. The ring was complete, with the jewel in the center. I purified the ring Naraku and I created around the jewel, however I could not tighten it. Naraku’s wish and connection with the youkai soul were transferred to me. My soul refused to leave my body. It knew that there would only be a stalemate inside the jewel itself, so the wish cast off my mortality. My body became the physical embodiment of the jewel, my mind, heart, and soul the new battleground of the age-old war of the Shikon no Tama. It was only a day later that I began to understand.”

“What the fuck? You’re saying you’re the jewel?”

“Yes and no. I cannot be used the same way the jewel could. I am not a bauble to be coveted. I am an incomplete Kagome.”

“Miko, what do you mean by incomplete?”

“It was Kikyou’s last betrayal.” She opened her eyes, the tears shining bright in them as she looked only at Inuyasha. “She never trusted that I could accomplish the duty she failed. She believed me less than her because I was never properly trained. When she died, she told me it was now my duty to ensure the jewel was purified and Naraku defeated. She set me up to fail. Inuyasha, that light we all saw after her death, was her refusing to give back the piece of my soul. Yes, Inuyasha it was my soul. She had already died; furthermore she had already chosen death.”

“Shut up, Kagome. Just shut up.” His voice was tight; the two others within the barrier could hear the barely contained rage.

“No, I’ve held my tongue too long. I have suffered because she was unable to walk the correct path. If fifty-eight years ago she had trusted you not to betray her, she would have lived. You would have never been sealed. She chose revenge over forgiveness. She failed her duty, but worse than that she tainted you.”

The rage that Inuyasha was so desperate to contain boiled over. Grabbing Kagome by the shoulders, allowing his claws to dig into her flesh, he leaned down so that his nose was a hair’s width away from hers. “Bitch, you don’t know nothing about it. Why don’t you keep you trap shut until you find a better use for it. I don’t know why I ever bothered protecting something as weak and useless as you. It must’ve been that you reminded me of Kikyou. The only thing I regret is degrading her memory by comparing you to her. I am done!” He turned and walked away from her. The barrier she was holding up let him pass without any resistance.

Sesshoumaru watch the exchange between hanyou and miko. By her scent, he knew that the miko was not deceiving his younger sibling, but it was the determination that seemed out of place. He began to suspect her goal when she purposely angered Inuyasha to the point of lashing out. What she said to the hanyou right before Inuyasha passed through the barrier.

“I release you, Inuyasha. Live…for yourself.”

Sesshoumaru knew she was planning something that she did not want the hanyou to be responsible for. Curious.

“Miko, what was the wish?”

“To be the most powerful being of all. I fight the youkai soul within me for the right to carry out that wish within this body.” She turned from the spot where Inuyasha was last visible, to Sesshoumaru. For the first time he noticed the silver ring around the outside of her sapphire colored irises. “I am losing. Kikyou left me without a complete soul. It is much easier to tempt something that is already mourning the loss of a piece of itself. She did not mean for this to happen, she had no way of knowing. It is hard to see beyond yourself, especially when death is looming…

“He says that I don’t know but I do. I know more than any one person ever should. The youkai soul at first thought that I was weak and could easily be overpowered. It was right in a way, but never managed to get complete control. The training I received at the southern shrine helped. I learned how to maintain control of the ki within me. Therefore, my enemy changed tactics. Every taint within this world that the Shikon no tama was connected with I have been forced to experience.

“I never knew rage could be tasted on the tongue, hate so blinding, despair so drowning, regret so suffocating, fear so paralyzing, and love so treacherous. I never knew. I never wanted to. My heart is heavy with the sins of those I never met. My soul is tainted with my own sins that I failed to guard against. I have lost. It is only a matter of time.

“My lord, the price of your domain’s unity was my protection. It was not a fair price. I am nothing. No one would think ill if you sent a lowly ningen out to fend for her own, when she committed such egregious actions against your mother, when she betrayed the trust of her first protector. I am nothing.

“Please my lord, let me walk the path that allows me to become the nothing I am. Let me lead the banished home. Let me become the source of nourishment that ensures they will never stray from that home again. Please my lord, do not protect the damned.”

His eyes were tingeing red as he asked, “What happens when the youkai changes tactics again? What will stop it when it gains control of your body, with nothing but shadows around?”

“He is what they were created to devour. Midoriko did not believe, so she failed. I have the faith that will end this struggle.”

He did not look at her as she begged to take care of his problems. He did not care for the logic of her words. No, she was saying he was not strong enough to protect her. She was telling him to forsake his honor for the easy path. She was denying that he was her alpha. She was denying him. She had no faith in him, he who had proven himself for over nine hundred years.

The bitch would learn her place. She would learn what it meant to have the protection of an alpha. She would learn what it means to insult the honor of that alpha.

“Bitch, know your place. It is below this Sesshoumaru. You never beg your alpha to go back on his honor. For your transgression against this Sesshoumaru, your life is now mine.”

She dropped the barrier and walked away. Floating back to him was her voice, “I am no dog. I have no alpha.”

The silence on the training grounds was deafening. He lunged at her from behind. His claws cut all the way through the back of her kimono, leaving four angry claw marks on her back. She fell forward onto to her hands and knees from the force of the attack. Before she realized she had changed positions, she was rendered immobile by him. He had forced her head down to the ground, pinning her neck beneath one foot. Both her wrists were grasped tightly in one hand, her arms perpendicular to ground. He had crossed her legs at the ankles, holding them in place by smashing the ankles with his other foot. His free hand allowed his poison to drip from his claws inches from her face.

“Submit.”

“No.”

Hi s acid formed, striking her bare back. “Submit!!”

“I cannot.”

He stuck again. “I am ALPHA! SUBMIT!”

She never cried out in pain. She could feel it, but she could not let him win this. He had to be given a way to redeem his honor when she left. With all the courage she had, she said, “I am human.”

The snarl was feral; causing the on looking soldiers to retreat quite a distance. The miko was as good as dead. They hoped she lasted long enough to sate their lord’s rage so that none of them would fall this day.

Sesshoumaru began to feel the shadows trying to defend their prize. Flaring his jaki, he was not sure how many he could take before it would be a pointless battle. However, he would not back down with the miko. She had to submit.

Alarms went off in his senses as he felt the rising holy powers. She was beginning to glow a soft pink.

‘Is the bitch stupid enough to test her powers against this Sesshoumaru? She is in no position to fight. Fine, if she wishes for her education to be taught strictly, then I will oblige.’

He was preparing to viciously reminded her of her inferior position with his acid whip, when a sharp whine from his inner beast gave him reason to pause. Usually the beast snarled and growled its approval whenever his civil side decided to educate opposition through pain and death. Now it wanted no part of it.

Sesshoumaru studied her rising holy powers more closely. She was not challenging him with her power, merely encasing the shadow so that they did not influence the outcome of this duel. Therefore, she was now placing him as the protectee, not protector.


She whimpered, “I don’t understand.” The powers focused around her hands started to swirl with a dark purplish black color. The taint was beginning to affect her use of her powers. If she was tainted this much, then time was of the essence. “What must I do? I don’t understand.” Her whimpering made her sound like a young pup that had lost its parents.

His rage stilled instantly upon the hearing of her making those noises. Really, the girl was too stubborn for her own good. “Miko, submit to this Sesshoumaru as your alpha.”

She whimpered again. She did not have the instincts to understand what it meant to give someone the alpha status over you. She knew that path ahead was going to be a difficult one, but was hers. She had earned the right to walk it because of her failures. Fine, she accepted that. What she did have a clue about is how an alpha would play into the scheme of things.

She could not. “My burdens are mine.”

“Miko, if you don’t submit then this Sesshoumaru will be forced to prove his superior status through other means.”

That did not sound good. It also sounded very public. No, public demonstration never went well for her in past, and there was no reason to believe that this time would break the trend. For the first time in five years, she felt powerless. With one last whimper, she sealed his fate.

“I submit my alpha.”

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*