I Do Not Own InuYasha

Chapter 2

It had not taken him long to find the Higurashi army, it had not taken him long to even tear them apart. All it had taken was a few well-placed strikes and he was left standing in the carnage of a hundred strong army. The sole survivor was scrambling away from him, desperate to escape and that was when Sesshōmaru slowly started towards the human.

The bodies were strewn about, their limbs splayed, their blood painted the ground and their putrid scent wafted through the air.

Every move he made was slow and deliberate as he walked across the carnage for the sole survivor.

The human was scrambling back, making terrified sounds which were a bit of an excitement to his inner yōkai, though he was disappointed in the battle. If such an elegant display of carnage could be thought of as battle. Eventually he found himself before the human and caught his throat when the human gained the courage to use the naginata in his hand.

"You are to deliver this to Higurashi-tono," he stated icily as he produced the scroll he had been instructed to send to the humans. "Do you understand?" he hissed glaring at the human.

"H-H-Hai," the human stammered. Handing the scroll to the human he dropped the man and walked for the forest. What a pitiful waste of a day, he would rather have been doing anything else than playing messenger for his father. However, like a dutiful son he had fulfilled the orders, and now he was free for the rest of his day.

Now alone he looked back at the carnage before light enveloped him and he whisked himself away from the battlefield. It had been a while since he had been in the mortal realm and he was curious what, if any, changes these mortals had thought of.

Rin was working quietly on her herbal remedies, making slaves and ointments today, which left her little workspace heavy with the scent of herbs, and honey. She had tried to mask some of the less appealing scents with honey, or peaches; she had found both scents to be better for masking some of the more pungent smells than flowery scents. Though she did like utilizing sakura blossoms for soaps for the village women. Right at this moment though she had no scents to mask the salves or ointments because she was busy making them at this moment. It wasn't easy work, and she was finding the heat of summer was getting to her. But the moment the Tanabata Festival was upon them she would have no time to work.

"Oba-san!" a voice shouted, and she set aside her work as she started wiping her hands and leaving her work hut.

"Hai?" she called in response wiping her brow to see her niece standing there with a bedragged traveler there behind her. The onna looked beaten and bruised and in dire need of care, and a bath.

"Rin," her brother, Ken'ichi greeted holding his daughter up in his arms. Nanami smiled at her.

"Can I help you?" she asked as she continued cleaning her hands and drying them on her apron.

"She's the local healer," her brother said.

"Arigato," the mystery onna gasped before her brother waved her off and started walking away then.

"Can I help you?" Rin repeated as she neared the onna.

"Not me, but… my daughter," she started then stopped.

"Whatever it is I will try to help," Rin assured the woman.

"My daughter, she's… hanyō," the onna whispered. "Please! I beg you!" the onna dropped to her knees as her brow pressed into the dirt. "Please! She needs help!"

"Get up this minute," Rin hissed as she started helping the onna to sit onto her knees, as the onna was sobbing now. "I help hanyō," she stated firmly. "Let me grab some supplies then we'll go to your daughter," Rin said as she stood.

The onna was now sobbing hysterically as if in relief and terror, Rin was up though and grabbing every salve and ointment and medicine ball she could think to pack, along with needles, threads, and even a small knife that the smith had reluctantly forged for her so she could cut open some wounds to better heal them. Once she was packed Rin was out, her hair braided over her shoulder before she helped the other onna to her feet.

"Where is your daughter?" she demanded.

"This way," the onna gasped which had Rin hurrying after the onna through the fields and into the forest, they wound their way through the trees before they came to an abandoned hut. Rin hurried after the onna into the ramshackle building, not thinking about if the place would collapse on them with one good gust of wind as she looked around. The little girl was laid out on tattered blankets and obviously feverish.

"Good Kami," Rin muttered as she wound her way over to the girl.

The hanyō had bronzed skin, violet eyes, and hair as white as snow, she was rather beautiful, and very weak.

"What is her name?" Rin asked putting her pack of supplies aside to start her examination of the child.

"Shiori," the onna answered.

"And what is her father?" Rin asked.

"What does that have to do with anything?" the onna demanded sharply.

"Some herbs don't help certain animals, same with yōkai bases for hanyō," Rin explained as she listened to the girl's heart, it was beating steady, but weak, her breathing was difficult, and she felt unreasonably hot for a hanyō.

"Hyakkikoumori," the onna whispered.

"I see, I'll be careful," Rin promised as she undid the tattered clothes and saw the source of the little girl's problems. The infected wound was red and puss, it was bitter in scent and good Kami what had they tried to do to this little girl.

Rin worked swiftly; happy she had grabbed the bottle of sake as she started there. The onna moved her daughter's head into her lap as Rin worked.

"And when did you receive this?" the shōgun whispered as he stared at the Shikoku InuYōkai Clan's ultimatum.

"Yesterday, my lord," the messenger trembled.

"Leave, now," he ordered and once alone stood there trembling.

The message was clear, his daughter or the world would be razed where they stood. If the yōkai were coming to the mortal realm, he had no choice but to submit, no one would be able to stand against the feared Inu no Taishō or his pup.

No one could tame such wildness or their savagery.

Rin finished her care of the little hanyō, who's breathing had deepened since Rin had drained the wound of puss and infection and was now gently sewing it up. The little girl hadn't woken up once, her mother was standing fretfully to the side watching Rin like a hawk.

"Would you mind telling me what happened?" Rin asked as she carefully did her finest stitches so the little girl wasn't horribly scarred for the rest of her life.

"We… we fled our village a moon cycle ago, and the people were relentless, and we never slowed or looked back," the mother said.

"I see," Rin hummed as she finished knotting the stitches before cutting the thread.

"I…"

"I do understand, however, Shiori can't keep running," Rin said softly as she cleaned off her hands with the water the mother had retrieved, before she dried them and started dressing the wound. "I'm going to ask you stay with my father and I for the time being," Rin informed the mother.

Now the mother tensed and looked around wildly.

"Is her father coming?"

"Her father did not do this to us!" the mother hissed.

"No, I wouldn't think so," Rin admitted. "Yōkai, despite being more animal like, are not unnecessarily cruel to their young, if they're like their true form animals then they are more inclined to protect their young. Only humans display this sort of deprived savagery."

"Then what do you care about her father?" the mother asked relaxing a little.

"I ask because he'll probably be coming for you, and Shiori," Rin stated. "And it would be better, for you and Shiori as well as him, if you are in one place. It makes it easier to hunt you two down for him," she offered.

"You… you do not assume that he's going to harm us?" the mother whispered in disbelief.

"Why would I?"

"Everyone's hated her for being a hanyō, for me being with a yōkai…" the onna murmured. "And those with sympathy said it just caused more trouble, and I do not want trouble brought to your doorstep…"

"If anyone has a problem with your daughter being a hanyō they will have to deal with me," Rin stated firmly. No one in the immediate area would stand against her, she was the local healer and respected for that ability. She was also revered in her own quiet way, but Rin wouldn't turn anyone in need of aid away, it wasn't in her nature. Her family was more than accustomed to this nature of hers. "Whatever trouble that comes my way I will handle, but I will not see an onna with an ill daughter; hanyō or not; left to starve because of events no one has the right to judge."

"You know, he loved me," the mother whispered.

"Nani?"

"How do you know he loved me?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't follow," Rin admitted.

"Shiori's father, he loved me, how did you know?" she asked.

"Well, yōkai are living creatures, and even if they are not like us and more akin to an animal they love, animals love with pure intent," Rin said. "It is not a stretch to think a yōkai could love a human or a human love a yōkai in return."

"Not everyone would agree with you," she smiled bitterly.

"It is not for me to judge, you are here now, and need help so I will lend my aid as best as I can."

"Arigato," the onna smiled.

"Whatever love was between you and Shiori's father resulted in Shiori and is she not a blessing?" Rin asked.

"Hai," she smiled. "I must inform you that when the time comes, he will come for us."

"That is fine, you can remain with us until then," Rin said levelly. "Now, let us get your daughter to my home where she can rest properly," Rin said.

"I'm Shizu," the onna said.

"I am pleased to know you Shizu," Rin smiled as she carefully gathered up Shiori and handed her off to her mother, so the dressings weren't messed up. Once that was done, she was gathering up her supplies before walking out of the ramshackle hut. Rin also pulled a spare clothe and wrapped it around Shiori's hair before they darted out into the woods. Rin did not think about the demented evil required to harm a child, any child, of any species.

It did not take long to settle mother and daughter in her father's home, though her father was a bit unsettled at her actions, he was outraged on Shiori's behalf for human's harming the little girl and informed Shizu they could stay as long as they desired so long as they did not cause trouble. Her father's definition of trouble was setting fire to the fields and theft or poisoning the animals, if there was trouble from the local villagers he'd handle it.

With that in effect Rin lounged on the front steps of her home with her father, both of them sipping tea while mother and child rested in their home.

"Your mother would be very proud of you," her father said after a while.

"I hope I've made her and you proud," she admitted looking at her tea.

"You could do no batter in my mind," he promised firmly.

"And if I were like Shizu and bore a hanyō, would you still be proud of me?" she asked.

"You always did bring home strays, and loved them fully, I could not be anything but proud of you for following your caring nature," he promised.

Kagome gaped at her father and the ultimatum; the ultimatum sent from a daiyōkai no less.

"I refuse!" she shouted.

"There is nothing to refuse," her father stated as he turned to her. "We could not stand against him even if we should have a thousand strong!"

"But… what of Hōjō?" she sputtered. She would marry Hōjō, he was everything she wanted in a husband, she would not be pulled into this ploy a yōkai had set up to obtain the Shikon no Tama.

"You will do this," her father reiterated as he looked at her.

"Hai," she whispered as she bowed lowly, and fought back the tears, this wasn't fair! This wasn't fair! She would not be a pawn for yōkai to utilize, the Shikon no Tama was precious, it was not meant for yōkai.

Standing she left her father before she ran for her gardens to weep. This wasn't fair! She wasn't supposed to be the bride of a yōkai! A yōkai who had a reputation of cutting whole villages without mercy or thought, she wouldn't do it. She wouldn't! Kagome pulled out the Shikon no Tama then and stared at the jewel, she knew what she would have to do.

Without hesitation she left her gardens and ran to her rooms, she would protect herself and the Shikon no Tama no matter what her father thought. Her name was Higurashi-hime, and she would not let this jewel fall into the hands of a monster!

Kagome was hasty in gathering supplies.

Hōjō had heard of the ultimatum from the InuYōkai Clan, and he had been utterly appalled! A gentlelady such as Kagome-hime could not marry a brutal yōkai just because it was the whim of such a beast! And not when his own interests also lay in the onna as well.

Hōjō would admit that he had possessed a massive interest in a union between his clan and the Higurashi clan, they were of similar philosophies, and same principles. A union between his clan and the Higurashi clan would prove to only have profit! He could not permit a beast as unclothed as a yōkai to lay claim to the gentle Kagome-hime. He would go speak with her about eloping, immediately.

Hōjō was certain his father would approve of such a match as well!

Hurrying through the halls he was startled when he was slammed into by a smaller woman and blinked.

"Kagome-hime!" he gasped.

"Hōjō-sama!" she sputtered as he released her which had her bowing to him. "Gomen," she murmured.

"Nonsense, I was just… why are you dressed in such rags?" he asked noticing her kimono for the first time. Kagome stood up straight then as she blinked at him.

"I…"

"This is perfect, allow me to steal some guards clothes and we will escape together!" he decided.

"You… you want to run away together!?" she sputtered.

"Hai, you are the most noble and gentlest of ladies I have ever met, I would be amiss not to offer you my protection or my love," he admitted.

She smiled brightly.

Sesshōmaru was quietly lounging in a tree watching the fish of the lake below. He would have killed to have a decent cup of tea and a book to lounge here, this was a beautiful time to just relax. It wasn't often he was away from his sire, and it wasn't often he could let his guard down, and though he had not let his guard down right now, he couldn't help but relax.

His inner yōkai was lounging in the dying sun, relishing it, and he was enjoying the quiet. It was nice to listen to the birds flutter about and sing, and life to be preparing for the night. There were humans in the far distance, but he could ignore them. Soon enough he would have a human he would be obligated to care for.

Admittedly he did not have a use for any bride at this point in his life, and he did not know what he was going to do with the human. When Izayoi had lived they had talked, she had dreamt of living in Tsuzuki Castle, to be a princess of poise and prestige, and she had disdained all thoughts of having anything less than the best and finest things. As a foolish pup, besotted with a fickle human, he had sought to give her everything. However, in the end, she had found more of what she desired with his father, which disgusted him greatly.

This human he was to wed would probably be terrified of him, and probably wish to have nothing to do with him.

Perhaps he could arrange for the human bride to remain with her father and he to take the Shikon no Tama to his father and everyone would be pleased. He would be alone once more, but such an arrangement was not uncommon, or at least he did not think it to be uncommon, females remaining with their sire for home and protection was a sign of a weak mate, but humans appeared to prefer the arrangement. He could settle for that; it would probably be best for the human.

Sesshōmaru wondered if he was destined for eternal solitude. He did not appear to be a loveable creature by some flaw in his nature. His father did not love him, only utilized him as a full blooded daiyōkai heir, doting and loving InuYasha instead. His one love had come to fear and hate him. All other prospective females, outside of mating season heat, seemed to find him lacking in some way. And what few peers he possessed always seemed to keep a distance from him.

After he helped his father make InuYasha a full blooded daiyōkai he was leaving, he decided. There was no use for him in any of the lives around him, he would forge his own life, and perhaps he would find a worthy mate who would not fear him and desire him