InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Gathering the Pieces ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Gold eyes stared dully at the ground in front of them, studying the crude grave marker for hours. Filthy, tangled silver hair fell into them, and was ignored. A single tear followed the dried paths many others had made down a dirt covered cheek.

The tall demon sat slouching back against a massive tree, looking on almost lifelessly at the small mound of dirt that obviously his what could only have been a small child. Sesshoumaru hadn't moved from that spot for days, and it was beginning to show. His entire being lacked it's usual lustre, his aura had diminished greatly, and he didn't react in the slightest way as passing demons took in the pathetic sight he made. He hadn't eaten since he had sat down at her grave, and his quickly thinning arms and waist were strong proof of the toll it was taking on the once proud demon.

The tired eyes fell closed as, for the millionth time, Sesshoumaru heard her scream ringing in his ears. Yet instead of blocking the sound out like usual, he only sat there, allowing the memory to torture him as it pleased. He no longer had the energy to care.

~~ "Sesshoumaru-sama!" The terrified scream rang through the field. The silver warlord struggled to rise from beneath the countless demons holding him down, fighting desparately to break free, panic rising in his throat as the possessed boy neared Rin, who was sitting on the ground a few meters from him. Even as he went full demon, the weight holding him down grew harder. Naraku knew his strength, and had been prepared.

"Rin, for the last time, get OUT of here!" He ordered, fear and desparation heavy in his terror-stricken voice. A slight wave of relief hit him as she finally listened, standing and backing away, but he froze as the boy form the demon slayer's village attacked at that moment. "RIN!" He looked away just before the little girl was struck down, feeling hot tears stinging his eyes at her pained cries, his gaze landing on his shattered Tensaiga.~~

A few days after she'd been killed, Seshoumaru still kneeled in front of her grave, oblivious to the battles that had gone on just a ways away from him. His brother had defeated Naraku, and they all had left him there, which was what he wanted. He never wanted to see his brother again; Inu Yasha had robbed him of the chance to avenge Rin's murder.

Miroku made his way from the well, no real destination in mind. What was he to do now? The entire group had split. Kagome had gone home, with the promise to visit every now and then. Inu Yasha and Shippo had gone to live in Kaede's village to protect it and Kikyo's grave from further attacks. Sango had gone back to her village to rebuild and start over, and had made it very clear she had wanted to do so on her own.

Little did she know, Miroku had no problem letting her go. Truth be told, he'd never really cared for her in that sense. He'd really loved her as he loved Kagome, as a dear friend. He'd just never had the heart to tell her that.

Actually, he hadn't had the heart to tell any of them that, or the other little secret he'd been hiding from everyone his entire life. He kind of had to; Miroku highly doubted anyone would've let him bless their temple if they found out he would have preferred to share the room with a prince, rather than a princess.

Letting out a sigh, he rested his staff against his shoulder, glancing down at the hand that had once held the dreaded Wind Tunnel. Now that Naraku had been killed, it was just a normal hand once again. A slight frown crossed his face as his thoughts turned to the fight, and he remembered a certain scene that had shocked all of them.

The image of Sesshoumaru clutching the slain body of the child that had always followed him, tears running down his cheeks freely, begging her to wake up, still haunted the monk. Even Inu Yasha had fallen silent at the heart wrenching sight. The demon lord had looked so defeated and ruined.

Miroku often wondered if it had been right to leave the youkai there, without even asking if he'd been alright. Inu Yasha had made a good point about preferring to keep his head on his shoulders, but in the state Sesshoumaru had been in...

After a few hours of walking, Miroku found himself back at the battle site, looking arond at the withered trees and black grass. Suddenly wondering if the demon lord had left the place they'd last seen him, Miroku headed into the nearby woods.

Around a mile off of where Rin had been killed, Miroku came across a sight that was even worse then the one tha had been burned into his memory forever: A worn out, filthy, near dead shell of the once formidable lord was kneeling at the foot of a small grave below a huge tree. His breath caught in his throat as he took it in, and found himself wanting to cry as well.

Gathering up his courage, Miroku started forward slowly, approaching the too-still demon. He stopped a few feet away from the frail form.

"S-sesshoumaru?" He asked quietly, tensed, ready to bolt. However, the youkai lord didn't even acknowledge him. <Is he even still alive? It's been four days since the battle... has he been here this entire time?> The barely noticeable shift of his shoulders every few seconds proved to the monk that the silver demon was still alive, if barely. Stepping forward a little more, Miroku spoke slightly louder. "Sesshoumaru." When he still got no answer, he grasped the last of his courage and knelt down beside the youkai, laying a shaking hand on his shoulder.

Feeling a weight on his shoulder, Sesshoumaru managed to lift his head and look to his right. The monk that had accompanyed his brother was at his side. <Then my brother has come back to finish me off, has he?> He thought emotionlessly. He was actually thankful for this. He hadn't the energy to take his life on his own; his slowly festering wrists proved that. Realizing the monk was speaking to him, he opened his mouth to respond, and a line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth before he collapsed.

Miroku was stunned and horrified. Sesshoumaru's eyes had been horrifingly dull when he had looked at him at last.

"Jesus, Sesshoumaru, how could you let yourself get to this point?" He asked quietly, his fear suddenly replaced with concern, which surprised him. The brother of his friend tried to answer him, but apparantly even this little action was too much for him, as blood began trickling from his mouth and he passed out. Miroku now kneeled on the ground, supporting a demon he had pitted his life against several times, who was now out cold because he had exhausted himself from mourning the one human he'd loved. <How do I get myself into these situations?>

Sighing, Miroku managed to hoist the youkai onto his back, which was further proof that the demon was in bad shape, and froze. <What am I doing?> He thought quickly. <I'm about to aid the sworn enemy of one of my friends, someone who was tried countless times to kill me.> Feeling Sesshoumaru shift, he looked over his shoulder to see the demon had curled his face into the monk's shoulder, a grief-striken look on his once proud face, and instantly knew he was doing the right thing.

After saying a quick prayer to the little girl, and managing somehow, with a demon on his back, to put up several wards to keep demons from the grave, he set off to a nearby village to gather some medical supplies. <Inu yasha's going to kill me.> He couldn't help but think with a slight smile.

A strong throbbing pain brought Sesshoumaru out of his comatose state, and he forced his eyes to open, wincing as the pain came flooding back again. Turning his head to the left, he was surprised to find he was inside a building, and was on soft blankets. At a third bolt of pain, he turned his head the other way, and felt a stonger wave of surprise hit him as he saw the monk again. However, this wasn't what surprised him. What surprised him was the fact that the monk was currently cleaning out one of the countless wounds on his waist, his chest already wrapped snugly in bandages.

The monk must have sensed he was watching him, for he glanced over at Sesshoumaru at that time, and didn't seem surprised to see him awake. "I was wondering when you were going to come around. The herbs I'm using sting quite a bit. But then, this IS the great Sesshoumaru we're talking about. A little pain isn't going to bother you, right?" He said in a quiet, and slightly taunting voice. Sesshoumaru just frowned slightly. "I suppose you're wondering why I'm even bothering to help you. Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not really sure."

"You should have let me die." Sesshomaru managed to hiss out in a cracked, hoarse voice, another line of blood falling from his mouth. Miroku frowned, narrowing his eyes.

"And you shouldn't be talking. You're weak enough as it is." He set the cloth he was using to clean off the blood from a wound aside. "How could you let yourself become that bad?" Sesshoumaru only closed his eyes, looking away again, then stiffened, sitting up quickly.

"Rin! Why did you take me awa-" He cut himself off, doubling over and clutching his waist, excrutiating pain crashing into him over and over as he collapsed to the floor again, his arm soaked in blood from his sides.

"Dear gods..." Miroku muttered, running his hand through his hair. "Why are you so worked up over that little girl? She was only a-"

"DON'T!" Sesshoumaru snapped out, glaring at the startled monk. "Do NOT say she was JUST a human!" He grit his teeth, struggling to stay conscious through the pain. "Don't ask me to explain what I mean, just know this... Rin is the closest thing I have EVER had to a daughter... and nothing you say will convince me that she was otherwise." He gasped out, before falling limp again, breathing heavily, his eyes clenched shut.

Miroku sat beside the now sleeping demon, staring at him for the longest time, stunned at this new revelation, then only shook his head, beginning to change the now bloodstained bandages. <I'm never going to figure you out, am I? The last time we met before we took on Naraku, you wanted nothing more than to kill our entire group, and was more then capable of doing to. Now, it seems you could care less what happens to us, and you can barely sit up on your own. That little girl is responsible for this drastic change in you. Could she have affected you that badly?> Miroku paused. <Could you have loved her that much?>

It took the better part of an hour to completely treat the youkai's entire torso. The monk then turned his attention to his arm. Lifting up the tattered and blood stained sleeve, he froze once more at what he found. Sesshoumaru obviously hadn't planned to live without Rin. A festering wound was forming on his arm, in the shape of a long cut running down the length of his remaining limb, and two shorter cuts intersecting it at his wrist.

"He tried to kill himself..." Miroku felt tears stinging at his eyes again, then shook his head and got back to work. His arm's injuries weren't as serious; it was mainly the suicide attempt that he had to treat. After getting rid of most of the infection, he wrapped the entire forearm, tossing the ruined sleeve aside. He then instinctively turned to treat the other arm, and stopped, finding himself facing what was left of the youaki's left arm. "And this must be where Inu Yasha..." He began, his hand gently brushing over the shoulder. <For two brothers to hate each other enough to be driven to this...> He thought sadly, shaking his head and removing the ruined sleeve.

~

Feeling light hitting his eyes, Sesshoumaru winced, then opened them, looking around groggily, finding it was morning.

"Where... oh..." Quickly remembering where he was, the lord felt depression hit him once more. For a moment, he'd thought everything had been nothing more than a terrifying nightmare, and he'd wake to find Rin curled up him. <I have to return to Rin now.> Was the first thought on his mind. However, his entire chest kindly reminded him that he wasn't going anywhere. Feeling tears of frustration building up once more, he fisted his hands, then paused, his eyes opening, as he heard light breathing coming from beside him.

Slowly turning his head, he found the monk laying beside him, asleep, a roll of bandages still clutched in his hand. <He... stayed beside me... all night...?> As he stared at the monk, the sun continued to move slowly, hitting the young man laying beside him.

The warm light woke the monk from his sleep, and he opened his amthyst eyes to find himself face to face with sunburst gold. Blinking rapidly, he could only stare back for a few moments. There wasn't a hint of madness or hate in those eyes for once, only calm and curiosity, and to his surprise, he couldn't break his gaze. Then Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and looked away, and Miroku shook his head.

"I see you've decided to return to the land of the living." He said softly to the youkai, who didn't answer. Letting out a sigh, Miroku stood, heading outside.

Sesshoumaru heard him leave, and contemplated heading back to Rin, but once again his injuries forbade him from moving. <Looks like I'm stuck here until I'm healed.> was his bitter thoughts as Miroku stepped inside again, holding two trays. "You're lucky this village is so small. The only reason they let me take you in to see their healer is because they've never heard of Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Planes." Sesshoumaru frowned, his eyes still closed.

"That is no longer my title." He muttered quietly. Miroku raised an eyebrow, then let it go, setting one of the trays down beside the demon.

"Here, you haven't eaten in four days; you must be starved." But once again, the former lord ignored him. Letting out a sigh, the monk only shook his head, beginning to eat his own food.

Later, after Miroku had finished his food, and Sesshoumaru had let his grow cold, the monk began to change the bandages. Sesshoumaru turned to him after a moment.

"Where is Inu Yasha?" Miroku looked at him, then thought for a moment.

"Last I saw him, he was in Lady Kaede's village with Shippo." Sesshoumaru frowned in confusion.

"He's not here?" Miroku shook his head. "What about the two women you are always seen with?"

"Kagome went home, and Sango went back to rebuild her village."

"So you are alone now... why didn't you go with any of them?"

"None of them needed me. Also, I kinda needed time away from the group. I think we all did. The battle with Naraku affected everyone pretty badly." He turned to the youkai. "So what's got you so talkative all of a sudden?" Sesshoumaru looked away again, staring out the window.

"I was hoping Inu Yasha had come here with you, to..." He trailed off, closing his eyes. Miroku paused, frowning slightly.

"To kill you?" The demon's silence was answer enough. Miroku shook his head, continuing to change his bandages. "And how is killing yourself going to help anything? It won't bring back your child." Sesshoumaru stifffened, turning his head to glare at Miroku, but it didn't get the desired effect, as Miroku only glared back. Turning away again, Sesshoumaru ignored him for the rest of the hour it took to change his bandages.

When he finally finished with the bandages, Miroku left Sesshoumaru alone once more, a fresh plate of food beside the silver demon's shoulder.

Stepping outside, he turned to the village healer. "I thank you again for allowing us to stay here." The healer quickly bowed.

"It is all this humble healer can do, to thank you for removing that ominous black cloud that was over our village." Miroku smiled weakly, clearing his throat.

"Think nothing of it." He quickly grew serious once more. "How long do you think it will take him to heal?"

"If everything goes right, it will take a week. However, if he does not start to eat soon, he will not last three days." Looking back at the small building, Miroku thanked the healer again and headed to a nearby stream.

Kneeling down beside the water, the monk washed his face off, then sat down beside it, thinking deeply. <Kagome said she'd come back in a few days. When she returns, and the others reunite, and I am not with them, they may come looking for me. If Inu Yasha finds out I've been tending to his brother...> He closed his eyes, not wanting to think of what the hanyou would do.

"That gives me three days to get Sesshoumaru healed enough that he'd be able to stand an attempted attack from his brother. Though, apparantly, that's exactly what he wants..."

Sesshoumaru opened his eyes as he woke up from a fitful sleep, and turned his head to see the monk had left more food for him. Not interested in the food in the least, Sesshoumaru turned his gaze back to the window, staring at the sky. His thoughts drifted to the fight, and at hearing Rin's scream once more, threw the blankets off of himself. Forcing himself to sit up, he managed to get to his feet, his one arm leaning heavily on the wall as he headed to the door.

"Rin..." Ignoring the abysmal pain lancing through him, he opened the door, stepping outside, wincing at the bright light of the day greeted him by giving him a horrid headache. Fighting off the incoming wave of nausea, he wrapped his arm around his waist, heedless of the fact that only the lower half of his kimono remained, the upper half having been cut off. Unfortunately, what little energy he had left him at that moment, and he fell back against the building, sweat rolling down the side of his face, his eyes closed.

"Hey... you managed to get up." Lifting his face, he scowled as he saw the monk was standing in front of him, holding a bowl of water. "As impressive as that is, your energy would be better spent eating." Letting out a worn out sigh, he allowed the human to take his arm and place it over the monk's shoulder. His weight now half supported, Sesshoumaru made his way into the building again, sitting down on the blankets once more, staring at the floor.

Miroku watched him for a moment, then took a cloth, soaking it in the water and holding it out to the youkai. "Here, your face still has some dirt and blood on it." Sesshoumaru looked at the cloth, then up at the monk, and didn't move, his eyes still emotionless. Blinking, Miroku decided to take a chance.

Moving slightly closer, he hesitated for a moment before gently beginning to clean off the youkai's cheek. He was relieved to see the demon only raised an eyebrow, instead of breaking off his fingers, which was what he was expecting. Swallowing slightly, he moved to the other cheek, gently wiping off dirt and blood until he could see the stripes on the sides of Sesshoumaru's face. He then moved on to clean off Sesshoumaru's forehead, unearthing the crescent moon shape that adorned the skin there. He took a little more time on that area, studying the mark.

Sesshoumaru remained still the entire time, watching Miroku silently, fighting to stay calm, and not burst into tears, as he wanted to. Rin had often cleaned his face this way, and the monk's soft touch was reminding him greatly of the small child.

He fought to keep from flinching as the monk's touch moved up to his forehead and brushed over the crescent mark, that area being more sensitive then normal. He relaxed after a while, surprisingly enjoying the feeling after a while.

After a few minutes, the young man's eyes met Sesshoumaru's, and the former lord could have sworn he saw a very light blush form over his cheeks. However, he blinked, and the blush was gone, so he assumed he was hallucinating from lack of food.

The missed meals must have been taking their toll on him, for Sesshoumaru was beginning to realize that the monk wasn't as ugly as most humans appeared to him. He actually found the monk to be slightly attractive. The youkai brushed off the feeling with a slight frown, however, not because Miroku was a male, that wasn't a problem. He just plain refused to develop feelings for another human. Especially one who made company with his half breed brother.

The entire time Miroku was cleaning off the youkai's face, he felt the demon's gaze locked on him. A time or two, he dared to meet it, but he always ended up looking away from the hard eyes. However, one time he looked at the former lord, and he was surprised to find Sesshoumaru was actually looking at him in a... kind way. The expression suited Sesshoumaru so well that Miroku found himself blushing as if he were caught staring at his lifetime crush.

The moment that thought entered his head, though, he looked away, his blush disappearing. <That's ridiculous. Having a crush on a demon. It's absurd. Not only does he hate humans, but he's capable of crushing me in an instant. Normally anyway. In this state, he's about as strong as a... a human...> Pausing, Miroku looked back at the demon, to find his gaze had shifted, and he was now looking at the ground again, depressed expression back in place.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, he finished cleaning off the Sesshoumaru's face, then stood, stepping outside again and leaning back against the wall, folding his arms. "His wounds seem better already, but that won't do him any good if he doesn't snap out of it. His wounds could be perfectly healed tomorrow, and he'll still die soon, if he doesn't start eating." He muttered to himself. "But.... how do you cheer someone up, after they've lost their first and only child?"