Disclaimer--I do not own Inuyasha or any of the persons, places, names, objects, or beings associated with the show. All rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, Shogakukan, and their subsidiaries. I just play with the characters.
I'm sorry for such a delay. Yes, I have a myriad of reasons, but none of them are good enough to justify taking so long to get out this chapter. Please, thank Nikkie23534 for kicking my butt into gear even though I've been distant even via e-mail. Enough rambling--on with the story.
The Tenseiga did not pulse; Sesshomaru could not see the messengers of death.
The Western Lord tightened his hold on his mate, unwilling to let go even in death. Looking to his side, his eyes found his sword. He had been hoping that the sword would grant him this one request, but it was not to be.
His mate was dead.
Inuyasha was truly gone from this earth. It was unfathomable to Sesshomaru. He cradled his beloved, staring at the face that had haunted his dreams for a decade. The face of the one person who had given him a family and a purpose beyond power for the first time in his life. It did not seem real. In fact, had he not witnessed his brother's last breath, he would have thought the hanyou was merely sleeping.
But he was dead.
Sesshomaru did not cry. He could not shed tears. The devastation he felt did not have a physical manifestation. His soul was rendered in two, never to be whole again. There was a crushing pressure on his chest, as if a dragon were sitting there. The tension in his body threatened to overwhelm him, taking away his sanity and leaving only a shell of his former self. No mortal pain had ever hurt him as much as his mate's death. His spirit was crushed, pulverized beneath the weight of his lover's corpse. He just wanted to die with Inuyasha, to curl upon the bed with his beloved and will his heart to stop beating. Sesshomaru could not breathe, speak or move. He could only sit on the bed clutching his cherished one to his chest.
Inuyasha was dead.
He did not know how long he lay upon the bed holding his mate. It could have been only a few seconds or minutes, but to Sesshomaru it felt like years. Time ceased to exist. His children were unimportant. The Western Lands were worthless to him at this moment. Each second that passed felt like an eternity to Sesshomaru. It marked time without his mate, time that took him farther and farther from the love they shared. Time that he was alone.
Forever apart.
Sesshomaru had never thought he would feel such emotion for anyone, let alone his half-breed brother. At best, he used to see him as a nuisance; at worst, he wanted to kill him. Hell, he only bedded him to keep other opportunistic youkai from mating Inuyasha and trying to claim the Western Lands. As much as Sesshomaru had hated Inuyasha, he was not about to have anyone outside of his family have any say over their father's legacy. As time went on, however, Sesshomaru found himself fond of Inuyasha, and then, amazingly, he discovered he loved him. It was a deep, all consuming love. A devotion that went beyond normal convention, even those of the demons. He loved Inuyasha beyond all reason, and he could not begin to contemplate ever loving anyone as much as he cherished his beloved Inuyasha.
Sesshomaru would never take another mate.
That thought came out of no where. He knew that as sure as he knew that Inuyasha would be upset with his decision. He couldn't fathom binding himself to another. Sesshomaru would never love anyone the way he loved Inuyasha, and he would not degrade himself or the memory of his mate by entering into a mockery of their relationship. It was still soon after Inuyasha's death, but he knew the idiots that he called courtiers and counselors would be after him to make an alliance as soon as the grieving period ended. They had never approved of his mating Inuyasha, and he knew more than a few of them would be glad to hear of the hanyou's demise.
They could kiss his ass.
As he thought on these things, Sesshomaru felt an all-encompassing anger well within him. It was not fair! He should not have lost his brother so soon after their mating and in such a manner. They had only been mated for twenty-two years—even his parents had the luxury of being together for over 400 years before his mother died in battle. He would not accept defeat. He would do whatever he could to resurrect his brother.
It was on this determination that a certain unseen spirit counted.
The moment Inuyasha's spirit passed to the land of the dead, his youngest son awakened with a gasp. Inuginsenshi knew something was wrong. The air around him felt cold and foreboding with an unnaturalness that screamed at him. His head popped up, and he looked at his sister, wondering if she had roused him. Izayoi was asleep next to him, her gentle snores washing over him. Gin glanced around the room, searching for his other siblings. The twins were curled up together in the corner nearest the door, while Mareo and Kameko were asleep on the floor. All was quiet in the room, so Gin realized that whatever awakened him was not in that room. Carefully, he eased off the bed so as not to disturb Izayoi. Tiptoeing across the floor, he deftly avoided his slumbering siblings as he made his way to the door.
It would be difficult to get the door open without disturbing the twins. They were sleeping only a few feet away from it and positioned in such a manner that they would stir at the slightest noise coming from it. Inuginsenshi held his breath as he slowly turned the doorknob. Inch by inch, he moved the door until there was just enough space for him to slide through to the other side. Closing the door once again, he looked around him. Most of the hallway and the rooms off them were dark, but there was a sliver of light around the corner.
As Gin moved toward that light, he felt himself weighed down with dread. He just knew the light was coming from his parents' room, and that it wasn't a good omen. The little boy tried to tell himself that he was being silly, that everything was fine, but after his mother's earlier announcement, he knew that wasn't the case. Rounding the corner toward his parents' room, Inuginsenshi's sense of dread increased and he stopped still. He couldn't feel his mother's spirit any more, and what he could feel from his father was even more disheartening. Despair, pain, and bewilderment radiated off the youkai. As scared as Gin was, he knew he had to walk into that room and help his father. Something was telling him that all was not lost, and though Gin didn't have think that he was as good as his other siblings, he had learned not to ignore his intuition. Steeling himself, the little boy approached his parents' door and turned the knob.
White.
Everything was pure white. It seemed that no color existed in this place. Inuyasha opened his eyes, or what could pass for them, and found himself floating along a sea of emptiness. Well, it was not empty so much as it was filled with nothing. He looked down at himself and realized that he was no longer in his body. Where he once had arms, legs and a torso, there was now only a vague outline filled in white. Inuyasha immediately recognized what had happened.
'I died,' he thought.
He had expired, and left his mate and children behind. While he did miss their company, he could not say that he did not enjoy the peaceful environment in which he currently resided. He looked around himself and discovered that the nothingness that he thought surrounded him was actually a sea of spirits, all moving toward one place—Horai.
Horai palace was where the spirits of the dead went for judgment in the afterlife. All of those deemed worthy were allowed to remain within the palace and its surrounding areas, existing in serenity and tranquility for the rest of eternity. Those souls not judged deserving were reincarnated for another chance at life. Inuyasha knew that he had little hopes of staying within the harmony of Horai. He had committed unspeakable horrors during his life and had taken many lives, but he could dream. He didn't want to leave this place to face the horrors of life once again.
As he reached the steps to the palace, two familiar figures stood out. Even though they no longer had their bodies, Inuyasha would know them from anywhere. The midnight blue eyes twinkled with mischief while the calm cinnamon ones smiled serenely.
"It is good to see you again, Inuyasha," Sango stated.
"We have missed you, my friend," Miroku added.
Inuyasha nodded. It was good to be home.
Sesshomaru had no idea what could be done about his mate's state, but he was not about to accept Inuyasha's death. The Tenseiga had not pulsed, meaning that he would be unable to wield the sword to revive his beloved brother. Briefly, he considered calling in Kimi and asking her opinion, but he hastily rejected that idea when he realized that she would only tell him to cope with his grief. That was unacceptable. He needed real answers, not conjecture and theory, so that ruled out asking any of the mystics that resided at the palace. His thoughts kept returning to the sword. Tenseiga was the key—he just had to figure out how to use it.
Sesshomaru carefully laid his mate upon the bed pillows. Pulling the sword from its sheath, Sesshomaru inspected every inch of the blade. It still appeared to be the same useless sword he thought it was when he first received it. It was shiny with well-sharpened sides that could cut nothing save the messengers of death. No pulse emanated from the sword, and Sesshomaru could not even feel its customary tempo. Tenseiga, like Tessaiga, had a heartbeat that it kept up regardless of the situation. Until now, that is. The normal beats of Tenseiga were absent, seeming to leave at the same time that his lover departed this world.
Interesting.
If Tenseiga and Tessaiga were linked, could that mean that Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were linked as well? Could Sesshomaru use his connection to his brother/mate to call him back from the afterlife? It was worth the effort, even if it was futile. Having no other options, Sesshomaru decided to explore this lead. Settling himself next to Inuyasha, Sesshomaru picked up one of his beloved's hands, holding it between both of his own. Regulating his breathing, Sesshomaru slowly slipped into a meditative state. So insistent was he upon saving his mate, he didn't hear his youngest child slip into the room.
Inuyasha was glad that he was reunited with Sango and Miroku. He had never told anyone, but he missed those two dearly. Although the beginning of their relationship was rocky, he considered the huntress and the monk to be his closest friends, almost family. Staying with Sango and Miroku would make eternity (or however much time he had in the afterlife) much more bearable.
"What are you two doing here?" Inuyasha asked, realizing he was the only spirit who had personal guides waiting for him.
"Why do you think we are here?" Miroku asked.
"I dunno. If I did, I wouldn't have asked you," Inuyasha sniped.
"Well there were a lot of things you didn't know when we were alive and you didn't ask us then, so why ask now?" Miroku replied.
"Maybe because we're dead now and there are no women to distract you, jackass!" Inuyasha grumped, crossing his arms.
Laughter rang out around them. The two male spirits turned to their female companion to find her doubled over, holding her stomach. Her chuckles continued as they stared at her like she had lost her mind. A few minutes later, Sango had regained her composure and straightened, mirth still evident in her eyes.
"You two are so stubborn sometimes," she smiled. They just looked at her.
"Why am I the only one who has people waiting for me?" Inuyasha asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.
"Because you're not supposed to be here," Sango answered, all traces of glee absent from her face.
"I'm not?" Inuyasha questioned, confused. He'd died, right?
"No, you're not," the monk replied, getting to the task at hand.
Time was running out.
That's all for now. I make no promises, but things should be better from now on. I think we've all realized that I can't keep a schedule for anything, so I'm going to force myself not to neglect one area of interest for another. Somehow, I got sucked into Harry Potter fandom and have several one shots for that series to post as well. Don't ask--I swore I'd never touch the books and now I'm an avid slasher.