Disclaimer: Inuyasha and its characters are created by Rumiko Takahashi, not me, but the new plots are mine. This fanfiction has been written for entertainment purposes only and without intention of infringing upon any copyright.
Title: A Simple Legacy
Author: elle6778
Category: Inuyasha
Genre: Action/Drama
Summary: Sesshoumaru/Kagome. Inuyasha's erratic youkai transformations forced Kagome to seek help from Sesshoumaru.
A/N: It took me forever to think up a title, and I'm still not sure it's appropriate! This is my first Inuyasha story, so I hope you'll not be too harsh if I messed up some facts. Some are actually deliberate, in order to push the story in the desired direction, but others are probably just my ignorance.
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A Simple Legacy by elle6778 - Chapter 1
The atmosphere of tense anticipation cloaked the Higurashi residence. Occupants in the house rushed around in preparation for the long awaited moment. In the main bedroom, a woman laid on sheets which were previously crisp, but now drenched with her sweat. The light in the room was shining bright into her eyes.
Too bright, the woman thought as she continued to pant in exhaustion. She took a deep breath, trying to relax as coached by the elderly woman standing over her. Vaguely, she wondered if she should have taken her husband's advice and gone to a hospital with all the modern amenities instead of insisting on having a traditional birthing.
"Soon. Your baby will be with you soon," the kindly midwife said to her with a smile.
Unable to speak amidst her pain, she nodded.
"Now push."
Gritting her teeth, the woman strained and bore down, trying with all her might to force the baby in her womb out into the world. Then she fell back, dragging in deep gulps of air. This was her first baby, and she had been warned that it might be difficult.
The midwife stroked her forehead gently. "Again."
Groaning, she pushed again.
And again until she lost count of how many times she had tried.
In her exhausted state, she dimly registered the sudden flare of bright light. Brighter than the overhead lamp. Brighter than anything she had ever seen before. So unnatural, she thought fleetingly.
She frowned as she heard a hushed voice in her mind.
'...filled with love...grow pure and strong... best of both worlds... eighteen of years...'
Then, a sudden comforting warmth surrounded her just moments before the pressure in her womb receded and a loud wail pierced the air.
Whoops of joy from her father and her husband filtered through the bedroom door.
She lifted her head, smiling a little as the midwife placed the bloodstained baby on her chest. Joy lit up her eyes as she looked down at her firstborn.
The midwife's eyes were suspiciously damp. "It's a girl."
"Kagome. I'll call her Kagome."
***
The reddish streaks from the west signaled the rapid approach of dusk. Long shadows reached across the dirt path, ever stretching as the sun sank lower and lower in the horizon. Encouraged by the light breeze, the trees appeared to be whispering to each other. The only other sound present was the muted footsteps of Rin, Jaken and Ah-Un.
Sesshoumaru's steps, however, were inaudible.
In the relative silence, the sound of the commotion in the distance immediately caught Sesshoumaru's attention. His head tilted up a little as he let his senses sweep the distance and then immediately stiffened when the scents registered.
Inuyasha and his companions were near.
It sounded as if they were fighting. Sesshoumaru frowned, slightly perplexed as he did not detect any youkai aura. He could only detect the stench of dead youkais in the air, no doubt those who had been killed by Inuyasha.
So who was the hanyou fighting with?
Torn between curiosity and his distaste of having yet another pointless encounter with his hanyou half-brother, Sesshoumaru stood rooted to the same spot until he felt a hesitant tug on his loose white sleeve.
"Sesshoumaru-sama?"
His eyes lowered to find Rin staring up at him expectantly.
A bright smile flashed across the human girl's chubby face. "Are we stopping? Rin can pick flowers?"
Without replying, Sesshoumaru lifted his eyes to stare in the direction of the noise. He guessed it would be beneficial to see what that idiot was up to. It would only be a short detour after all.
"Come," he stated in a firm tone. He did not need to look back to see if the rest followed him. He knew they were.
They always did.
***
They stood facing each other in the clearing next to a rock cliff.
Kagome eyed the white-haired hanyou in front of her with trepidation. She was dismayed at the speed at which he had regained his mobility after her earlier subduing spell. And now, he just stared at her with nothing but hatred in his blood-red eyes. The stripes under them made him look more menacing than usual. He bared his fangs at her, but his feet remained unmoving while his chest heaved up and down as the result of his erratic breaths.
Not far from her, Sango, Miroku and Shippou were lying in various positions on the ground as the result of the last fight. They were still alive, a fact which brought great relief to her.
Kagome turned her attention back to Inuyasha. She was tense, and she was ready to bolt. But she knew that she had no chance of outrunning Inuyasha.
Inuyasha had lost himself to his demonic side again. She had tried to talk him out of it, but he was not listening. She had subdued him using the rosary around his neck for what seemed like hundreds of time, but he was quick to bounce back. Each time, the recovery time became shorter than the previous. It was as if the rosary was losing its hold on Inuyasha's youkai blood. She was beginning to lose track of how many times this had happened in the last few weeks. It was just getting worse. And each time he had lost it, it seemed harder to control the transformation.
She did not know what to do anymore.
This time, it had been the fight with the tiger youkai which had served as the catalyst for Inuyasha's transformation into his youkai self. The tiger youkai, fortunately for them, was splattered in many pieces across the ground, the Shikon shard which had been embedded in his back now safely in Kagome's possession.
Her eyes flicked up the cliff, where the tip of a deceptively rusty looking katana was embedded in the rock face. Tetsusaiga was too far up for her to reach, and without it, reining in Inuyasha's youkai would be next to impossible.
A vicious snarl sounded, instantly pulling her attention back to him.
"You betrayed me, Kikyo," Inuyasha spat venomously.
Kagome froze.
Inuyasha was so far gone that he could not distinguish between her and Kikyo? A bubble of anger appeared inside her, pushing past her fear and steadily grew. She was sick of being compared to that woman.
"It's Kagome, Inuyasha. I'm not Kikyo," she gritted out slowly.
His red eyes flickered, and Kagome felt a flutter of hope in her heart. Perhaps she was getting through to him after all. Then she saw recognition flare in his eyes. To her alarm, he streaked forward so fast that she did not even have a chance to blink before he grabbed her in his arms.
"Kagome." The way he said her name gave her shivers, and it was not of the pleasant kind either.
"Inu...Inuyasha?" she stuttered uncertainly.
He was holding her close. Way too close. She could not breathe. He was crushing her. What did he think he was doing? It occurred to her that the gesture would have been sweet if it was the real Inuyasha, and not his youkai, who was holding her.
He licked her neck; one long drag of his wet tongue from the base of her throat to the back of her ear.
Kagome stiffened instantly. Her mind went into lockdown.
"OSUWARI!!!"
He smashed down onto the ground, temporarily subdued by the spell. A furious growl sounded, muffled against the ground.
Her chest heaved as she gulped in a lung full of air, staring down at the hanyou laying prostrate next to her feet. She took a few hasty steps away from him.
"Get a grip, Inuyasha!" she yelled at him, her hands clenched beside her. She could not believe he had done what he had just done, youkai form or not.
Another growl came from him.
"OSUWARI!" she yelled again, just in case he had managed to break the hold of the spell.
Just then, he growled even louder. Kagome jumped in surprise as a flash of white appeared in the periphery of her vision before it solidified into a clear form.
Sesshoumaru.
The youkai lord stood a few meters away from them, looking down at Inuyasha with an undisguised expression of disgust. Kagome groaned in dismay. This was not what they needed at this point.
Unable to get up, Inuyasha tilted his head to the side and shot the youkai lord a scathing glare. "Sesshoumaru...I'll kill you!" he growled murderously.
Kagome cringed at his tone, flicking a fearful look at Sesshoumaru. The full-blooded youkai who was Inuyasha's half brother would surely not take Inuyasha's words too well.
"You're a disgrace." Sesshoumaru's tone was icy, his derision unmasked.
Riled at the other man's words, Inuyasha snarled and continued to struggle against the hold of the rosary. Kagome's eyes widened in panic when he suddenly broke loose and jumped to his feet. This time the rosary's spell barely lasted a minute.
Unperturbed, Sesshoumaru's lips just curled into a sneer.
Kagome blinked and at that instance, both of them charged at each other.
Stepping back, she looked between the two brothers as they swiped at each other using their claws. Her expression contorted with worry and fear. There was no way she could subdue to Inuyasha now. To do so was to hand Inuyasha on a platter to his full-youkai brother. She could do nothing but watch helplessly.
She looked around, hoping that Sango or Miroku would wake up. But they were still lying unconscious on the ground. Then she caught sight of her bow and arrow out of the corner of her eyes.
Or maybe there was something she could do.
Quickly, she ran towards her bow and arrow and picked them up. Stringing the arrow against the bow, she focused her attention on Sesshoumaru. The tip of the arrow glowed slightly.
Then she released it.
Unfortunately for her, Sesshoumaru seemed to have anticipated her attack and fluidly dodged out of the way. Inuyasha, in his rage continued to charge at his half-brother.
Cursing her bad luck, Kagome frowned as she continued to watch them fight, her bow hanging forgotten from her hand. Inuyasha's swipes were wild and uncontrolled, in complete contract with Sesshoumaru's calm, deliberate moves. None of Inuyasha's attacks connected with the youkai lord. But Sesshoumaru did not appear to be attacking as much as he could.
Her brows furrowed in puzzlement. It was becoming blatantly obvious to her that Sesshoumaru was holding back. But why?
Before she realized it, Sesshoumaru had sent Inuyasha flying. The hanyou impacted against the rocky cliff, near Tetsusaiga, sending debris flying around him. And then Inuyasha slid down into a crumpled heap on the ground, his face buried in the rubble next to his katana.
Kagome let out a horrified scream as she rushed towards his prone body. "INUYASHA!"
Crouching down next to him, she slowly turned him around. His eyes were shut. Bloody scratches adorned his face. To her relief, he was still breathing. Quickly, she dragged the untransformed Tetsusaiga closer into contact with Inuyasha, hoping that its presence would bind the demonic side of her friend.
"Sesshoumaru..." she growled in anger as she noted the damages on Inuyasha.
She spun around to give him a piece of her mind just to find herself staring at an empty spot where he had been standing earlier. Darting around the area, she tried to find him, but the youkai lord was nowhere to be seen.
He was gone, she realized in irritation.
***
Sesshoumaru stood at his window, staring out at the vast landscape spread out in front of him. His stone castle had been erected at a strategic location, at a high point where he had the advantage of being able to keep his surroundings in his sights. A dense forest surrounded the castle, forming a natural barrier that was reinforced by spells and an additional invisible barrier he erected.
He appreciated beauty. And his compound in the Western Lands was beautiful. A small stream weaved to the east, its calming gurgling sound audible to him even from this distance. The hot springs at the back of his castle was the source. The garden was carefully tended by his servants, and as a result, plants and flowers of many hues brightened the landscape.
His mind went back to what he had seen that morning. He could not stop thinking about it.
Inuyasha's youkai had broken loose, but Sesshoumaru had seen no reason for him to attack his traveling companion like a rapid dog. And his own wench, at it. Sesshoumaru's lips curled a little in disgust. The hanyou's self-control was non-existent, and it brought dishonor to the family, hanyou or not.
But what happened to cause it? What made Inuyasha lose control so completely?
Why didn't the stupid hanyou hold on to Tetsusaiga instead of leaving it stuck in the rock cliff? Surely he knew what would happen if his youkai blood calling out to him.
It was baffling to say the least.
Sesshoumaru turned away from the window and padded back to his desk. He had more important things to do than to waste time thinking about his half-brother.
***
Kagome found Inuyasha sitting in a tree at the outskirts of Kaede's village.
Since she had found him missing from the mat in Kaede's hut an hour earlier, she had been looking all over for him. He had been out cold for almost a day, a rare occurrence for him. His body had not healed, Kagome thought in irritation, and he should not be wandering around.
She was about to scold him when she detected the flash of pain in his eyes. Instantly softening, she sighed. Inuyasha always felt remorseful after he regained control.
"Inuyasha," she called out gently.
He remained seated on the tree branch.
"Come on, Inuyasha. You're not going to recover if you don't rest."
He finally turned to her, the anguish in his eyes unhidden. "I'm sorry, Kagome." His voice was gruff, like he had to force the words out.
She smiled at him. He was so different when he was like this. "It's okay, Inuyasha. It's not you. It's your youkai."
He looked away from her. "But that youkai is half of me. It IS me. I don't understand why you're not angry."
Kagome felt her heart twist. Inuyasha was really beating himself up over this. Yes, she had been furious. But now, her anger for his manhandling the day before was already gone, replaced by her overriding concern for his health.
She sighed wearily. "Come on down, Inuyasha. We can talk about this inside."
She waited, and then released a breath of relief when he dropped down from the tree and followed behind her as she walked to Kaede's hut.
Inuyasha stepped in close behind her as she entered Kaede's hut. His fingers accidentally brushed against her arm and she froze involuntarily. Sneaking a glance at him, Kagome found him wearing a hurt look.
It had not been her intention to flinch away from his touch. But she had encountered the amorous side of his youkai too many times. It was beginning to affect her feelings for him. If she had to guess, his demonic side was torn against his previous hatred for Kikyo because of the sealing, but that side also desires Kagome, but could not separate the two in the jumbled mess of his mind.
She tore her eyes away guiltily and continued to the mat where Sango, Miroku, Shippou and Kaede were sitting sipping tea. She was aware that her relationship with Inuyasha had begun to get strained as she could not help but be wary of him. She sensed that his youkai was always close to the surface nowadays and it was so easy to provoke it. And the last thing she wanted was to be ravaged by a youkai, Inuyasha or not.
Nowadays, she never quite knew how she was supposed to trust Inuyasha to protect her from youkais when he could not even protect her from himself. It occurred to her that she needed to get stronger to protect herself, and she had no idea how to go about it. Miroku and Sango could only help so much. And she did not want to endanger Shippou.
She supposed she could use her unpredictable miko powers if anything really got out of hand, but she was worried that she might accidentally hurt Inuyasha beyond repair, especially when he was in his youkai state.
Sitting down between Shippou and Kaede, Kagome poured a cup of tea for herself and one for Inuyasha.
All of them were at their wits end. They had no idea how to deal with it. The demonic side of Inuyasha was also gradually overcoming Kagome's subduing spell, which made it even more difficult for her to keep herself safe.
"We need to do something about this," Sango broke the silence, flicking a meaningful look at Inuyasha.
A low growl sounded from his throat. His eyes were hidden behind his bangs. "I'll get it under control."
Miroku raised an eyebrow. "Like how you did yesterday, huh? You almost killed Kagome because you thought she was Kikyo."
"I know she's not Kikyo!" Inuyasha snarled, jumping to his feet.
Kagome sighed wearily. "Look, Inuyasha. We'll think of something, alright?"
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as he clenched the hilt of Tetsusaiga tighter. "I'll find a way to control this. You just stay out of the way."
Rolling her eyes, Kagome retorted flatly. "Yeah, sure. You're doing great by yourself."
A sucking sensation suddenly brought her attention to her own neck. In reflex, she slapped the offending pest just to find a squashed flea youkai floating down in front of her.
"Myoga!" she exclaimed in surprise as he popped back into his usual rounded form.
Inuyasha grabbed the diminutive flea youkai between his thumb and forefinger. "What are you doing here, Myoga?"
The youkai bowed lightly. "It seems that you're having problems with your youkai blood, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha dropped Myoga carelessly and crossed his arms. "Keh. Nothing I can't solve."
Kagome sat straighter, suddenly feeling like the wise old youkai might be able to shed some light on the problem. "What do you know about this, Myoga?"
"It's Tetsusaiga."
***