InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Whispered Dreams ❯ Reminiscing ( Chapter 3 )

* Whispered Dreams *

By: Youkai Yume

Yume: (groggily comes in) Oh. . .I feel awful.

CF: Aw, wassamatter? Tummy hurt?

Yume: No. My lil' brother got me sick. I think this is his way of getting revenge on me when I wouldn't stop nagging him about covering his mouth when he coughed.

CF: But he should!

Yume: That's what I said! (cough) But THEN he glared at me, and coughed all over my dinner when I wasn't looking!

CF: Oh wells, Yume needs to keep up Yume's strength, much homework and fanfics to work on!

Yume: (groan)

CF: (pat's Yume's head sympathetically)

Disclaimer: Please be kind. Rewind! ---Over to the first chapter's disclaimer. ^_^

Chapter 3: Reminiscing

How many nights had it been? How many weeks---or months had passed since the young demon prince had last looked into those sapphire pools? `Nearly a year. . .' Sesshomaru thought to himself. It had seemed so long ago when he had laid eyes on her under the pale moon. So long ago when he had first heard her sorrowful song.

Sesshomaru remembered even now, her soothing words, and gentle touch. Or. . .perhaps he only THOUGHT he remembered her. . .

Night after night he had waited for her. Coming whenever he could to the burnt down shrine, or the old well in the clearing. It seemed so fruitless to him now. For it had seemed that no matter how long he waited, she would not return. Sesshomaru himself was starting to question if she even existed in the first place.

Perhaps it was because at the time, he had yearned for a friend so much, that he had seen what he only wanted to see. Or perhaps she was only an illusion from an old spell that had long faded away. What does it matter now? All that really remains that she, KAGOME, had faded away.

It wasn't long until Sesshomaru had stopped coming. . .stopped believing. And since then, the feeling of complete and utter emptiness had also returned into his soul. Though, he could never really get the memory of the spirit of a girl out of his head. On some lonely nights when he had sat on the balcony railing of his room that overlooked the Western Lands, he could still hear the haunting melody float softly into the air.

And although the sound of her voice often triggered an unknown feeling inside of him, he had remained seated on the balcony. Staring off into the flickering stars, and convincing himself that it was all a part of his imagination. That he really was not hearing her, and that again, he only heard it because he only wanted to.

She was the dead. She didn't belong to this world in the first place. How and when she died should not matter to him anymore. The girl, Kagome, no longer existed. End of story. Case closed. There was no more to be said. But the fact still remained. . .the aching never stopped.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^

"Sesshomaru, be respectful to the Lord," Inutaisho reminded his son as they were being escorted to the main room by a servant. The little prince narrowed his eyes at his father, and turned away.

"I don't know why I need to show respect to a HUMAN," He bit back, bitterness plainly in his voice. Inutaisho put a hand on his shoulder, and Sesshomaru looked up expectantly at him.

"I will have none of that. We are here on business, despite his being human. Do not forget that your mother is human." Sesshomaru shrugged his hand off of his shoulder and glanced back to the woman behind him.

Izayoi, his father's second mate, with flowing black hair and dressed in an elaborate seven layer kimono, followed closely. Her stomach was slightly enlarged, bearing his father's child, and his half-brother. He growled softly. Already he could smell the pup's tainted blood. Sending a cold glare back at the woman he turned his head once more to the Taiyoukai of the West.

"She is NOT my mother," Inutaisho gave him a softened look, and he could see the hurt and betrayal in his golden eyes. He did well to remind him of who HIS mother was. The demon lord sighed. It was no use, his son simply would not accept his choice of a mate. And since, he had felt Sesshomaru drifting farther away from him, and something change within the child. The loss of light in his eyes.

He knew that he bore a certain grudge for him choosing a human mate so soon after his first mate, Ayeka's, death. Lids closed over tired eyes. It still hurt when he thought of her. Inutaisho truly DID love her. He tried everything he could to save her when he had found out she was dying. But all was lost in the end. He watched helplessly as his world crumbled around him, and the life left from her violet orbs.

Devastated, he had sought comfort in the arms of a ningen hime, and ended up falling in love with her. Perhaps it was because he wanted to rid himself of the feeling of pain from his soul so quickly, that he had been hasty in his choice in a new mate. But he did not regret it. He loved Izayoi too. But he would never stop loving Ayeka, despite how he had tried to forget her painful memory. Sesshomaru could not---or rather, refused to see that.

Since his joining with Izayoi, his first son had stopped calling him father, and started calling him "Lord Inutaisho" instead. He had given up on making the young prince understand. `Someday he will see. . .'

Sesshomaru kept his gaze glued to the ground. The ever-restless feeling of wariness was always with him. He could feel Izayoi's stare boring into his back, and resisted a growl. She was his stepmother. There was no denying that fact. But in the demon of a child's soul, he knew she could never replace his REAL mother. He had never accepted her, and never liked her. Never.

To do so would betray the memory of his mother, and unlike his father, Sesshomaru was faithful to Lady Ayeka. She was a sign of weakness, as far as he was concerned. Upon Izayoi's arrival, the young prince thought his father weak, sympathizing with humans, caring and merciful towards them. A trait that he was sure a Western Lord should not have.

The reason they were here, in the castle of a human lord, meeting with him, and negotiating on terms of alliances and friendship, was because of said weakness. SHE had caused it all. It had been HER idea. Sesshomaru peered at his stepmother out of the corner of his eye. SHE had made the great Lord of the Western Lands resort to human aid. He didn't really resent humans all that much. . .It was SHE who he hated.

Internal conflicts and thoughts had ceased when the servant who had been leading them stopped in front of an elaborate shoji door. Bowing, she slid it open and gestured for them to enter.

"This way, Inutaisho-sama." Sesshomaru followed behind his father, wrinkling his nose slightly at the scent of humans. Glancing around the room, he had to admit that their palace wasn't that bad for ningen construction.

"Please be nice, Sesshomaru," Lady Izayoi said softly to the demon prince. He only scoffed at her, and averted his gaze elsewhere. Ahead of them, sat the Lord of the small province. He wore an intricate kimono of crimson and gold, and his face was aged, but still young, with a somewhat cheerful gleam. His hair was black, with streaks of gray here and there, tied in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He smiled in a friendly manner at them, and his brown eyes shown with a wise, and yet boyish look.

"Welcome, Inutaisho-sama, to my home! I must say it is an honor," He spoke, rising from his seat and bowing politely. "I am Lord Sota, and I am truly grateful that you have agreed to discuss our joining of alliance."

Inutaisho and Izayoi both bowed in return, and only Sesshomaru remained in the same position. He only glared. He would not bow to a human. This didn't seem to bother Lord Sota however, and in fact he only smiled at him.

"The proud, demanding type, huh? I like that in a person," He said casually. Bending down a little, he whispered into the prince's ear and whispered, "Mind giving some of it to those other pricky aristocrats?" Sesshomaru had to keep from smirking. Perhaps this "Lord Sota," wasn't as bad as he thought. As he straightened up, he gave a small wink to the demon prince, and faced Lord Inutaisho.

"A fine son you have, Inutaisho-sama, and a lovely wife as well," He complimented. Sesshomaru watched as his father nodded, pulling from his hoari a scroll.

"You wanted to form an alliance, do you not?" He asked.

"Yes! I am most grateful that you have decided to answer my message," Sota said enthusiastically.

"Actually, it was Lady Izayoi's idea to agree," Inutaisho added, and held out his hand. Izayoi placed her hand in his outstretched one and smiled at Sota.

"I see, then I believe it is you who I must thank, milady."

"No thanks needed," She answered humbly, bowing.

"Well then! Let's get to business. . ."

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

He sighed, it was a rather boring matter to the young demon. Sesshomaru had left the grown-ups to discuss with their matters to take a look around the castle. Although he got strange looks and whispers when he passed by humans in the corridors, he only gave them a cold glare and ignored them.

His explorations had lead him to the library, not as impressive as his own back own, but it was fairly nice. He noticed that the books looked untouched, and although there were many, he was almost sure that it was rarely used.

Sesshomaru's fingers swept over the rows of books and scrolls, and his golden eyes skimmed over the titles. Picking one up every once in a while, he casually looked through them. He could read, it was required of him, and his mother had taught him.

He looked over to where the fireplace was, and a smile graced his lips. The memory of when his mother used to have him curled in her lap, reading to him in their library. That was how he learned, and although he wasn't very good at it, it was more than most could accomplish. Sesshomaru was sure he could've learned more if only she hadn't. . .

Shaking his head he placed the book back on the shelf. No, he would teach himself. Glancing back to the fireplace, he found himself approaching it. Looking into the hearth, he stared at the remaining embers of the fire from supposedly the other night. Golden orbs slowly lifted up to a painting that hung just over the fireplace, and upon laying eyes on it, his breath became caught in his throat.

`Kagome. . .' There she was, forever immortalized in the image of the portrait. He was sure it was she, the girl in the painting had the same raven hair, same soothing smile. . .but what really made him so sure was the sparkling sapphire eyes. Yes, it was indeed Kagome.

Long forgotten memories and emotions overwhelmed him, and he couldn't help but let out but let out a raspy sigh. She was real. Here was the proof. She wasn't someone he had dreamed up. As he continued to stare at the image, he noticed that beside her was a small boy of about six or seven clinging onto her hand. He was giving off a wide, cocky smile and his brown eyes glittered with energy.

He was familiar in someway to the demon prince, but he paid not much heed to the boy, and instead focused his attention back to the girl that he had thought to be faded from his memory so long ago.

How long he was staring into her blue pools of beauty he wasn't sure, and it seemed he had lost all track of time. As if his hand had a mind of its' own, Sesshomaru found himself reaching out to touch the canvass. Perhaps by doing so, he could feel her skin, something that he couldn't do a year ago. . .His fingers were mere inches away from the painting. . .

"Ah, so this is where you are, Prince Sesshomaru." His hand withdrew almost instantly upon hearing the voice. His head turned to see Lord Sota at the library door. "I am sorry if I startled you, but your parents are looking for you."

Sesshomaru said nothing, turning back to the portrait. He had been so engrossed in his discovery that he had not sensed the human lord approach. Footsteps echoed in the room and pretty soon, Sesshomaru was standing side by side with Sota.

"She's beautiful isn't she?" He started suddenly. When the demon prince said nothing, Sota continued. "It's been so long. . .I still miss her. . .she really was beautiful. In more ways than one."

He chuckled weakly, causing Sesshomaru to look up at the aged lord.

"She probably would've laughed at me if she heard me saying such things about her. Especially since all I ever did was bicker and tease her about what an ugly old wart she was. . ." He mused, gazing affectionately at her face. "What I wouldn't give to tell her otherwise now, and hear her laughter once more."

Sesshomaru glanced at Lord Sota as a look of longing came over his face, and sadness flickered over his brown orbs. He realized something then.

"That's you, isn't it?" It was the first time that he had spoken to him, and Sota jumped at his voice. He looked down at the little prince as he pointed to the small boy in the picture. Sighing, he nodded.

"Yes, I suppose that is, when I was a child," Sesshomaru became thoroughly confused at this. That must've meant that this painting was done a long time ago, and the girl in the picture should be an old woman---if she were alive. This brought up another question.

"Who was she?" Sota scratched his chin thoughtfully, and gazed softly down at the demon of a child. He was slightly surprised to see him so interested in a painting, but nonetheless.

"Kagome? She was my elder sister. . ."

* End Chapter *

Yume: This chapter was short as well, but oh wells. And Yes! Sota is a grown up in this fic! Around 40. . .old. . .Sesshy's like 13 or so now.

CF: The plot thickens! Stick around as Sesshomaru goes and confronts Kagome once more!

Yume: Yup! Oh, and this is an important note to all of my fans from "ForgetMeNot" I'm sorry to say that I won't be able to update this weekend for that fic. Due to the current writer's block that I have on it, AND the pressure of Final's week, it will take longer than usual to update. Sorry, a girl's gotta study if she ever hopes to pass.

CF: Yume will try to make it up to! Kap-king! ^_^

Review Responses:

~Fanfiction.net

anonymous; Silver Mystic; fluffy's 1 girl; DarknessGuardian; TigerPrincess1; AngOfDeath2U; Blue-Saiyan-Angel; Sakura Chou Reyuuen; ladihouki; Ranmagirl7; K-chan16; Silver-Blue-eyes; amyfushigiyugi; MidnightDragonShadow; Lady Kaela; Reine Keri, THANKS AND I'M COMING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

Eidolon Griffin: Well, I guess with those hypotheses tested, it's confirmed that yes, she is indeed dead.

Dreamcatcher5: I'm thinking that I'll make him go through his teenage years as well.

Familia-Ficz: lolz, thanks for the review! Hey. . .(pssst) Got anymore of those half-naked pics of Sesshy? ^_^

Mistress Fluffy: Hey, once you pop you just can't stop!

Lone-black-tiger: Awww,(hands a hanky) better?

Vixen Jinxie-chan: Yes, poor them! Sessho is thirteen now. It's been a year since he last saw her. Wonder how they'll take it.

Perro: Thanks! I'm a slave to your reviews. BTW, I hope you feel better soon! PLEASE DON'T DIE! Yume would miss Perro too much. . .CF sends get well cards and tons of chocolate! ^_^

Kiwi93089: Sorry, I'm still kinda keeping everyone in the dark here, aren't I? Don't worry, all will be revealed in the next chapter!

Aira^o^: Thanks for reading, and I'm glad you didn't leave me for ForgetMeNot either. Yup.

DarkPyroPlanet: Thanks for all the support. CF: Emerald! It is I! CF! CF wishes happy holidays and. . .Yume: Hushies! My time! Thanks for the suggestion, but I have other things planned. You already know that.

Helen: Thanks! CF has stopped being such a hog and actually let me have some chocolate this time! ^_^

~Mediaminer.org

lil sesshi; Eqlipse_Moon; Miyumi; yasmin; Amethyst; THANKS!

Venomous Angel of Hades: I truly enjoyed your review, and I was aiming for all of those things while writing. And send the evil youkai on! I embrace the pain!

iram (wackoramaco87): You guessed it! And all will be revealed in the next chapter!

END NOTE!

Yume: After finals, I will be updating a lot, so bear with me. Oh, and my stories are also on AccessInuyasha.com now, so go and check out the site! It's one of the best places to visit for Inuyasha stuff!

CF: Well, that's all for now! See yaz!

Ja Ne! ^_~