InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ My Devotion ❯ Half-Bitter Blood ( Chapter 17 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: SakuraAnkh 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 02.17.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 251 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 02.17.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 251 | Status: Work In Progress
17 finally! Sorry it took so long, but my teachers and parents fail to realize the sheer virtuosity of writing fanfiction. Can't they understand that for every day I don't write fanfiction, a kitten dies? They're all like: Clean your room and Do your homework or else. So then I respond: Let me write my frickin' fanfics or else. How do you like me now! But seriously, read, enjoy...and then review.
Disclaimer: Yeah, haven't done one of these in a while...they're so boring...yawn...oh yeah, I don't own any of the characters I use in the story except Mihii, Takachi, Caspian, Masako, Fumiko...
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“Finally awake? Good. You were unconscious for a while. I was starting to worry.”
“Who are you?”
“Lord Takachi of the Phoenix demons.”
“You can’t be Lord,” she laughed. The thought seemed absurd. Caspian was Lord of his people. Then again, Caspian didn’t quite possess the decorum of a Lord, so maybe Takachi did speak the truth.
“Caspian is not the rightful leader of our people.”
Before, she would have thought only of escaping this place. But Sesshoumaru told her that when in unfamiliar surroundings, it is best to find out as much as possible about the situation. So she pushed for answers. “What do you mean?”
“Caspian’s just a power-hungry traitor.”
“What does this have to do with me? Why did you kidnap me?”
“I was hoping that you could assist me. If memory serves, Sesshoumaru is Lord of the Western Lands now and you are mated to him. Am I right?”
“Yes. And he will come for me.”
“I know. Caspian will come as well to try and finish me off. He will follow Sesshoumaru because he will not be able to track me as fast as your mate can track you.” Rin analyzed his aura. It was filled with grief, but not greed like Caspian’s was when he took her hand. It was then she decided she could trust him.
Rin’s barrier dissolved. “Well, if you needed my help, all you had to do was ask.”
Takachi almost fell over. “I’ve never seen a woman so willing to be bait before.”
“Well, if I’m going to help you, I need to know more about the situation. How did this happen?”
“It was just after the Tempest of Flames during my first year as ruler. This is the time when all Phoenixes travel to the Ashlands to consumed in fire and born again. Caspian was a young general in my army, and even then his greed was palpable.”
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“Where is Caspian?” asked my sister. I had told her to keep a close watch on him. “Didn’t he come with us?”
“He started with us, but I haven’t seen him lately.”
“Stay here. I’ll find him.”
I traveled for a while; just backtracking across the route we’d taken. I eventually met up with Caspian and told him if he separated from the tribe again, I’d exile him. He didn’t take the news well and picked a fight. He tore my clothes and bloodied me running towards the Ashlands. I was going to follow him until he yelled back that I might want to check on that mate of mine.
Something in his voice was insane. My mate was a white hawk demon, so she couldn’t accompany us to the Tempest of Flames. It was the first time I had left her alone. I ran towards my home and found it still smoldering, embers shining brightly.
I trudged through the burnt remains of my house until I found Camilla’s remains. She had burnt to death, consumed by the flames from Caspian’s restoration. I almost went insane with grief, but revenge kept me rooted to reality. I buried her and waited for my tribe to return but they never came. By the time I went back to the Ashlands, they were gone.
I eventually found them, but Caspian had convinced them that I was dead and taken my place as leader. I had lost everything in one fell swoop. Since my people could do nothing, I began recruiting humans, mostly bandits, as a makeshift army for the day when I would kill Caspian and take back what was mine.
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It had been a long while since she’d been there, but she had been there. The burnt carriage and dead guards she’d traveled with were proof of that. Sesshoumaru picked up Hinotsume with a growl and slipped it into his obi next to Tokijin. Then he began sifting through the scents of blood and fire to find the subtle and familiar scent of wildflowers.
His ears twitched as they picked up the slightest sound of moving air and his nose forfeited the sweet scent it had found for the treacherous one of Caspian.
So the fool was following him? Fine. Let him think his presence was unknown. Besides, Sesshoumaru was curious of Caspian’s motives.
So Sesshoumaru followed Rin’s scent through the sky where it mingled with that Phoenix’s to an abandoned human village. It was abandoned, but not long ago, there had been men here. He walked through the stench to the greatest home in the village. He walked towards the courtyard where his mate’s scent led him, but he could still smell Caspian and the other Phoenix there.
There she was in her barrier, waiting for him. He crossed the distance between them slowly and she waited patiently for him to come close before letting down the barrier between them and jumping into his arms.
“Sesshoumaru,” she whispered, “I’m so sorry to have worried you, but I assure you that I’ve come to no harm in my stay here. Beware Caspian, not Takachi.” He looked at her bemusedly, but trusted her judgment and would play along.
Just then, Caspian burst through the doors to the courtyard. “Lord Sesshoumaru. You have what you came for; I will take care of Takachi.”
“Takachi stole my mate. I will kill him.”
“Sesshou–” he started until a talon shoved its way through Caspian’s chest.
“How does being stabbed in the back feel you son of a bitch? Does your breath catch in your throat?” Takachi whispered into Caspian’s ear before pulling his hand out.
Caspian fell to the ground, sputtering blood. With the last of his energy, he burst into flames, leaving a pile of ash on the ground. Takachi swept it up and into a bone jar before handing it over to Rin.
“Thank you.”
“No. Thank you, Lady Rin.”
She smiled warmly at him before sealing the jar closed and purifying and strengthening the bone jar. Caspian wouldn’t rejuvenate unless the seal was broken, and with the one she had made, that could take a very long time.
“Rin…”
“Sesshoumaru I–”
“Don’t do that again. It’s not safe. Especially not now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I believe an explanation is in order. I’d love to give you one in my lands, because frankly, I’d like to go home now,” interrupted Takachi. Sesshoumaru shot him one of his usual cold glares. However, he had no intention of going back to the council and he didn’t want to go back to the Western Lands to hear Jaken’s annoying squawking a second earlier than necessary.
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Heron looked up from the scroll she had been reading. It was the scroll of her family line, and when Caspian returned to take her hand, it would change so much. She felt shivers run down her back at the though of that traitorous pig mating with her. She knew that he had probably killed Takachi, but when he didn't return after their persistent waiting on her order, the rest of the clan begged her to stop leading them on falso hope and marry Caspian to provide a Lord once more. Then she heard a familiar voice outside. It couldn’t be. He was dead. But there it was again.
“Brother?” she asked herself, running out to see what could be a figment of her imagination like so many times before. Her face grew blank with disbelief when she saw him.
“Takachi?”
“Heron.”
She immediately ran into his arms and kissed him on the cheek. “Brother, I thought you were dead. Caspian told us priests killed you.”
“I’m sorry I was gone so long Heron, but I had to get rid of Caspian for you.”
She croaked out a laugh between her sobs of happiness before hugging him tightly. “Promise me you’ll never leave me again.”
“I promise little sister. But, we have guests to take care of for now. Lord Sesshoumaru and his mate, Lady Rin.”
“Oh,” exclaimed Heron as she wiped at her tears, “I did not even notice you. Please forgive me. Azura,” she motioned to one of the servants that had gathered to witness the return of the rightful heir. “Please show Lord Sesshoumaru and Lady Rin to a room.”
“Yes, my Lady. Please follow me,” Azura said, bowing low.
When they reached their room, Rin assured the servant girl that there was nothing they needed and that they would be present for lunch with Takachi in an hour before closing the door and being spun around forcefully by Sesshoumaru.
“What was that for?”
“You need to be more careful. What were you thinking?”
“I was just trying to help Takachi.”
“I won’t have you injured because of your desire to help.”
“I said I was sorry.”
“Rin, don’t you realize…but I suppose you wouldn’t yet.”
“Realize what?” He turned away from her, “Tell me.”
“You’re carrying my child,” Rin’s eyes grew to twice their size. She supposed this would happen eventually, but given light of recent situations, her decisions in the last 24 hours seemed overly rash. “You can’t afford to get into trouble. It’s just dangerous.”
“I didn’t know, but I promise to be more careful.”
He seemed satisfied with this and relaxed some.
She remembered the voice calling out to her from earlier and wondered if that was her maternal instinct to protect the child growing within her. And she wondered, why had she transformed again?
“Sesshoumaru, is it common for human women to transform when they are pregnant?” she asked shyly.
“No.” He looked at her with a questioning gaze that dared her not to explain.
So Rin explained in detail how her blood had started to flow with demon energy and the voices she’d heard. Then she explained how everything turned red and she forgot everything up until being in the abandoned village. When she finished her tale, Sesshoumaru was silent, even for him.
“Interesting…” He opened the door and walked out with Rin following him. He wasn’t sure how or why these changes had overcome Rin, but he knew someone who would. Besammit, a cougar demon and a distant cousin of the panther demons, was an expert in blood and it’s effects, but she also dealt in it. Later, he would leave Rin home and pay her a visit.
----------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------
...H eron, Besammit, oh yeah and that freaky demon from the early chapters. ;)
Author's Note: So when you review this time, tell me if you think the end of this chapter was kind of iffy, 'cause I did.
Disclaimer: Yeah, haven't done one of these in a while...they're so boring...yawn...oh yeah, I don't own any of the characters I use in the story except Mihii, Takachi, Caspian, Masako, Fumiko...
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Half-Bitter Blood
Rin woke up with a splitting headache. When she opened her eyes, she saw that a purple barrier encompassed her on all sides.“Finally awake? Good. You were unconscious for a while. I was starting to worry.”
“Who are you?”
“Lord Takachi of the Phoenix demons.”
“You can’t be Lord,” she laughed. The thought seemed absurd. Caspian was Lord of his people. Then again, Caspian didn’t quite possess the decorum of a Lord, so maybe Takachi did speak the truth.
“Caspian is not the rightful leader of our people.”
Before, she would have thought only of escaping this place. But Sesshoumaru told her that when in unfamiliar surroundings, it is best to find out as much as possible about the situation. So she pushed for answers. “What do you mean?”
“Caspian’s just a power-hungry traitor.”
“What does this have to do with me? Why did you kidnap me?”
“I was hoping that you could assist me. If memory serves, Sesshoumaru is Lord of the Western Lands now and you are mated to him. Am I right?”
“Yes. And he will come for me.”
“I know. Caspian will come as well to try and finish me off. He will follow Sesshoumaru because he will not be able to track me as fast as your mate can track you.” Rin analyzed his aura. It was filled with grief, but not greed like Caspian’s was when he took her hand. It was then she decided she could trust him.
Rin’s barrier dissolved. “Well, if you needed my help, all you had to do was ask.”
Takachi almost fell over. “I’ve never seen a woman so willing to be bait before.”
“Well, if I’m going to help you, I need to know more about the situation. How did this happen?”
“It was just after the Tempest of Flames during my first year as ruler. This is the time when all Phoenixes travel to the Ashlands to consumed in fire and born again. Caspian was a young general in my army, and even then his greed was palpable.”
------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
“Where is Caspian?” asked my sister. I had told her to keep a close watch on him. “Didn’t he come with us?”
“He started with us, but I haven’t seen him lately.”
“Stay here. I’ll find him.”
I traveled for a while; just backtracking across the route we’d taken. I eventually met up with Caspian and told him if he separated from the tribe again, I’d exile him. He didn’t take the news well and picked a fight. He tore my clothes and bloodied me running towards the Ashlands. I was going to follow him until he yelled back that I might want to check on that mate of mine.
Something in his voice was insane. My mate was a white hawk demon, so she couldn’t accompany us to the Tempest of Flames. It was the first time I had left her alone. I ran towards my home and found it still smoldering, embers shining brightly.
I trudged through the burnt remains of my house until I found Camilla’s remains. She had burnt to death, consumed by the flames from Caspian’s restoration. I almost went insane with grief, but revenge kept me rooted to reality. I buried her and waited for my tribe to return but they never came. By the time I went back to the Ashlands, they were gone.
I eventually found them, but Caspian had convinced them that I was dead and taken my place as leader. I had lost everything in one fell swoop. Since my people could do nothing, I began recruiting humans, mostly bandits, as a makeshift army for the day when I would kill Caspian and take back what was mine.
------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------
It had been a long while since she’d been there, but she had been there. The burnt carriage and dead guards she’d traveled with were proof of that. Sesshoumaru picked up Hinotsume with a growl and slipped it into his obi next to Tokijin. Then he began sifting through the scents of blood and fire to find the subtle and familiar scent of wildflowers.
His ears twitched as they picked up the slightest sound of moving air and his nose forfeited the sweet scent it had found for the treacherous one of Caspian.
So the fool was following him? Fine. Let him think his presence was unknown. Besides, Sesshoumaru was curious of Caspian’s motives.
So Sesshoumaru followed Rin’s scent through the sky where it mingled with that Phoenix’s to an abandoned human village. It was abandoned, but not long ago, there had been men here. He walked through the stench to the greatest home in the village. He walked towards the courtyard where his mate’s scent led him, but he could still smell Caspian and the other Phoenix there.
There she was in her barrier, waiting for him. He crossed the distance between them slowly and she waited patiently for him to come close before letting down the barrier between them and jumping into his arms.
“Sesshoumaru,” she whispered, “I’m so sorry to have worried you, but I assure you that I’ve come to no harm in my stay here. Beware Caspian, not Takachi.” He looked at her bemusedly, but trusted her judgment and would play along.
Just then, Caspian burst through the doors to the courtyard. “Lord Sesshoumaru. You have what you came for; I will take care of Takachi.”
“Takachi stole my mate. I will kill him.”
“Sesshou–” he started until a talon shoved its way through Caspian’s chest.
“How does being stabbed in the back feel you son of a bitch? Does your breath catch in your throat?” Takachi whispered into Caspian’s ear before pulling his hand out.
Caspian fell to the ground, sputtering blood. With the last of his energy, he burst into flames, leaving a pile of ash on the ground. Takachi swept it up and into a bone jar before handing it over to Rin.
“Thank you.”
“No. Thank you, Lady Rin.”
She smiled warmly at him before sealing the jar closed and purifying and strengthening the bone jar. Caspian wouldn’t rejuvenate unless the seal was broken, and with the one she had made, that could take a very long time.
“Rin…”
“Sesshoumaru I–”
“Don’t do that again. It’s not safe. Especially not now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I believe an explanation is in order. I’d love to give you one in my lands, because frankly, I’d like to go home now,” interrupted Takachi. Sesshoumaru shot him one of his usual cold glares. However, he had no intention of going back to the council and he didn’t want to go back to the Western Lands to hear Jaken’s annoying squawking a second earlier than necessary.
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Heron looked up from the scroll she had been reading. It was the scroll of her family line, and when Caspian returned to take her hand, it would change so much. She felt shivers run down her back at the though of that traitorous pig mating with her. She knew that he had probably killed Takachi, but when he didn't return after their persistent waiting on her order, the rest of the clan begged her to stop leading them on falso hope and marry Caspian to provide a Lord once more. Then she heard a familiar voice outside. It couldn’t be. He was dead. But there it was again.
“Brother?” she asked herself, running out to see what could be a figment of her imagination like so many times before. Her face grew blank with disbelief when she saw him.
“Takachi?”
“Heron.”
She immediately ran into his arms and kissed him on the cheek. “Brother, I thought you were dead. Caspian told us priests killed you.”
“I’m sorry I was gone so long Heron, but I had to get rid of Caspian for you.”
She croaked out a laugh between her sobs of happiness before hugging him tightly. “Promise me you’ll never leave me again.”
“I promise little sister. But, we have guests to take care of for now. Lord Sesshoumaru and his mate, Lady Rin.”
“Oh,” exclaimed Heron as she wiped at her tears, “I did not even notice you. Please forgive me. Azura,” she motioned to one of the servants that had gathered to witness the return of the rightful heir. “Please show Lord Sesshoumaru and Lady Rin to a room.”
“Yes, my Lady. Please follow me,” Azura said, bowing low.
When they reached their room, Rin assured the servant girl that there was nothing they needed and that they would be present for lunch with Takachi in an hour before closing the door and being spun around forcefully by Sesshoumaru.
“What was that for?”
“You need to be more careful. What were you thinking?”
“I was just trying to help Takachi.”
“I won’t have you injured because of your desire to help.”
“I said I was sorry.”
“Rin, don’t you realize…but I suppose you wouldn’t yet.”
“Realize what?” He turned away from her, “Tell me.”
“You’re carrying my child,” Rin’s eyes grew to twice their size. She supposed this would happen eventually, but given light of recent situations, her decisions in the last 24 hours seemed overly rash. “You can’t afford to get into trouble. It’s just dangerous.”
“I didn’t know, but I promise to be more careful.”
He seemed satisfied with this and relaxed some.
She remembered the voice calling out to her from earlier and wondered if that was her maternal instinct to protect the child growing within her. And she wondered, why had she transformed again?
“Sesshoumaru, is it common for human women to transform when they are pregnant?” she asked shyly.
“No.” He looked at her with a questioning gaze that dared her not to explain.
So Rin explained in detail how her blood had started to flow with demon energy and the voices she’d heard. Then she explained how everything turned red and she forgot everything up until being in the abandoned village. When she finished her tale, Sesshoumaru was silent, even for him.
“Interesting…” He opened the door and walked out with Rin following him. He wasn’t sure how or why these changes had overcome Rin, but he knew someone who would. Besammit, a cougar demon and a distant cousin of the panther demons, was an expert in blood and it’s effects, but she also dealt in it. Later, he would leave Rin home and pay her a visit.
----------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------
...H eron, Besammit, oh yeah and that freaky demon from the early chapters. ;)
Author's Note: So when you review this time, tell me if you think the end of this chapter was kind of iffy, 'cause I did.