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Suffering and Rebirth	By : scattered-dimensions Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > Sessh?maru/Kagome > Sessh?maru/Kagome Views: 8853 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters. This is for fun not monetary gain.

Chapter List
- 24
- 25
- 26
“There once were rumors of a dark Miko that travelled the lands shrouded in strange energies, lonely and immortal.”
The weathered voice of Lord InuTaishio’s old friend rode the wind around them as they approached the ancient glade.
“Whispers were heard that she sought the power to avenge her broken soul after leaving the service of her Lord.”
InuYasha held up a fallen tree that had splintered from its trunk blocking their path. He waited for everyone to pass before letting it drop back into place.
“The wind carried chants and herbs of an ancient mixture that only the oldest spirit youkai knew. He took on an apprentice in his elder years. Taiki’s voice has not been heard since.”
Rin gasped and her eyes widened in recognition of the name.
“Then there was the father of all shapeshifters and the creator of the purest barrier, Yoshio, who spoke of a sad, beautiful woman that came to him for guidance. He too faded from the wind.”
InuYasha could see the bare branches of Bokuseno through the thicket, his aura so strong that it stifled the entire area.
“Now, there are voices speaking of insurrection and the mysterious absence of the Western Lord. These voices do not whisper, they shout.”
InuYasha pushed through the last of the underbrush and stood before the old youkai magnolia tree. Bokuseno’s face emerged from the bark, his sharp eyes staring studiously at the hanyou.
“Tell me, Master InuYasha, do you know what has become of your brother?” There was no decorum in the greeting.
“Keh, half-brother. Why do I have to keep telling everyone this?” He retorted with a snort folding his hands in his sleeves.
Bokuseno’s demeanor never changed. Rin brushed past him and bowed low to the tree youkai.
“Bokuseno-sama, my Lord has been cursed and sent through the Bone Eater’s well with the Shikon Miko Kagome.” The young girl explained getting straight down to business.
The gnarled roots of the tree shifted and soil fell away as they rose from the ground seemingly of their own accord.
“I see, little one. Come, sit, sit. There is much to discuss.” The ancient tree invited motioning with his upper branches to the roots that were now still.
InuYasha remained standing, but took up a post in front of his seated charges with Ah-Un covering his flank. They were in the Western lands and had been attacked not two hours ago. Destination reached or not, he needed to stay on his guard. Something was definitely brewing around here and it had the locals all up in murderous arms.
“I take it you know who Noriko is?” InuYasha asked his eyes darting about warily.
“She was your father’s most trusted advisor and had been granted longevity by your grandfather. Yes, I know her. She has walked this glade many times, though I have not seen her in nearly 500 years. She is the one who cursed the Western Lord.” Bokuseno said knowingly.
“And you know where the Bone Eater’s well goes, right?” The hanyou asked gruffly and he caught Rin giving him one of those bone chilling glares.
“I know it is a portal to the future and I also know that it has been sealed.” The tree confirmed.
“Pardon me, Bokuseno-sama, but how would you know that?” Rin asked her features openly curious.
“Such manners. It seems Lord Sesshomaru has taught you well.” Bokuseno’s eyes cut to InuYasha, who just glowered back defiantly, before turning them back to the girl. “You have to understand that we trees speak to one another and the Bone Eater’s well is made from the Goshinboku. We talk from time to time.”
“That is very interesting. Thank you…You mentioned a demon named Taiki…” She continued.
“Yes, the one who found the cure for demons.” Bokuseno answered cordially, clearly enjoying his conversation with the little human girl.
“But I thought that was a myth. The scrolls I read were so ancient and Lord Sesshomaru had never heard of such a thing.” She commented with a furrowed brow and the magnolia tree chuckled.
“He educated you well, indeed. Taiki stayed in hiding, a hermit hidden away from the world of man. If they were to gain possession of such a power and learn to wield it, then us demons would have been extinct centuries ago. If a demon had need enough to find him, they would.” He explained.
“Why would anyone make something like that?” Shippo asked from Rin’s side.
“Not everyone wishes to be what they are, kit. Some youkai do not want to endure centuries worth of loneliness and, more often than not, persecution. For those who wished to live one lifetime and die as a mortal does, Taiki held the answer.” The tree answered sagely.
“Did Lady Noriko take his power like Lord Masahiro’s?” Rin slid down from her perch to stand beside InuYasha her attention focused on Bokuseno’s creased face.
“That she did, but it was only after she spent several years under his tutelage. The potion of mortality had specific ingredients that had to be cultivated a careful way and it involved an understanding of dark magic. Blood was also an ingredient, but as for the rest, this old tree knows very little.” Rin nodded, her face serious as she took in everything she was told.
“So you know Sesshomaru’s mortal?” InuYasha interjected.
“The Goshinboku told me. Noriko had originally wished retribution upon your father, but Lord InuTaishio died before she could return to the West. I’ve heard whispers of her whereabouts, but not of her actions until a lunar cycle ago. The wind carried her waning lifespan to me and I knew that she had found the Dog General’s sons.”
“Yeah, she did, but Kagome ran in the middle of it when she cast the damn spell...Hey, wait just a freakin’ minute, if you knew that the wench was coming after us why didn’t you say anything?” The thought hit InuYasha suddenly and just came tumbling out.
“You talk to trees, do you?” InuYasha growled and looked away from the amused youkai.
“The ancient texts said that the spell had no cure.” Rin nearly whispered her head hung low with her bangs hiding her face.
“Indeed, child, that is true. The spell was meant to dispel youki permanently, completely irreversible, but if Kagome was involved in this act, her powers were the ones taken.” The tree concurred gently.
“You mean Sesshomaru is in Kagome’s time with all those humans still the same iced-up asshole he was here?” InuYasha asked horror-struck.
“No. You see, InuYasha, the spell was meant to seek out the strongest aura, such as the youki of a demon, purifying it and leaving behind the demon’s weaker senses, turning him mortal. It was a spell only to be wielded by a very powerful youkai, but Noriko is a human Miko who wielded youki. Her spiritual powers acted as a deterrent and sought out Kagome’s reiki. From the information I have gathered about the incident, Kagome shielded Lord Sesshomaru from a blow that would have killed him. Currently, he is only temporarily incapacitated.” Bokuseno replied with a heavy sigh at the foul language used in his sanctuary.
“How am I supposed to get her home if she doesn’t have her powers?” InuYasha’s shoulders drooped and his ears flattened.
Rin threaded her fingers through his and gave him a sympathetic smile.
“There is a way. The Tree of Ages holds a magic far older than even me. Its origin is saturated in the blood of demons from a time when man was still young. This spell was a blood born ritual as well and it used up most of Noriko’s stolen demonic energy. It is only her reiki that remains. The key is in the dark Miko’s blood, but there would need to be a simultaneous surge in power from the other side of the well to invoke a response. Her weak powers alone are not enough. Lord Sesshomaru’s youki would suffice, but it will only work once.” The tree said giving everyone in the grove hope and lifting a terrible weight off of their shoulders.
“So how will I know when to bleed the wench?” InuYasha asked coldly making Rin gasp and pull her hand away.
“Use your father’s fang, pup. Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga are brothers, just as you and Sesshomaru are. There is no fabric of time and space that could separate them fully.” The branches of the youkai tree swayed in the breeze almost as if they were punctuating Bokuseno’s explanation.
“Got it.” InuYasha’s face did not give away the internal moral battle raging on the inside.
“Umm, Bokuseno-sama, there were four marks on her.” Rin asked meekly, not wanting to leave anything untouched and not wanting to offend, either.
“I would very much like to speak with you at length, little one. When Lord Sesshomaru returns, have him bring you to visit. There is much I could tell you that you could not find in any scroll.”
Rin smiled brightly and nodded.
“Now, onto your question…Lord Masahiro gave the remainder of youki as a gift. You know of Taiki and then there was Yoshio, a demon she seduced by careful manipulations of the heart, and of course, Lady Avaka…”
Three mouths fell open in astonishment. Shippo looked between the tree youkai and his companions wondering who this Lady Avaka was.
“Sesshomaru’s mother…but why?” InuYasha asked unbelievingly.
“Most hearts hold shadows that no compassion could dare touch and that female’s heart is as black as they come. It was no secret that she was greatly humiliated by your conception, though InuTaishio did not care. He had found his true mate in Lady Izayoi, your mother. So enamored was he...Avaka, on the other hand, had painstakingly groomed Sesshomaru to become the next Taiyoukai and she has held onto her position of power even to this day. The union between your father and mother threatened that. It is possible that she and Noriko were once in league with one another, two females betrayed by one male.”
“Keh, I don’t see why. Totosai said that my father cared for Noriko. That meant that everyone knew he didn’t love her. So what if he fell in love with my mother?” InuYasha grumbled defensively.
“He cared for Noriko as a friend, yes, but there was a time when your father was young and the pressures of being a Prince weighed heavily upon him. Noriko and your father were very close in his younger years. They joined in the most carn…”
Jaken dropped his staff and clamped his hands around Shippo’s ears the same moment InuYasha’s eyes widened and his hands flew to the sides of Rin’s head.
“Okay, okay. I get the idea. Is there anything else that we need to know that doesn’t involve…that?” InuYasha asked giving Rin a nervous smile when she tilted her head up to look at him questioningly.
“Just one more thing, Master InuYasha. The other lands have noticed Lord Sesshomaru’s absence. There is dissention floating about. When he returns, he will not be himself. Should he be attacked and killed, all the lands will be put on the brink of war.” Bokuseno cautioned.
“Keh, his mother will protect him.” InuYasha said sarcastically, letting his hands drop from Rin’s ears.
“We shall see.” The elder tree’s voice began to fade as did his face until there was nothing but the textured bark of the trunk and the sound of the wind through the branches.

Shippo and Jaken jumped down from their roosts. Jaken fumbled around in the leaves looking for his staff, mumbling about Lord Sesshomaru and something about death while Shippo jumped up onto InuYasha’s shoulder.
“Are you really going to do it, InuYasha?” Shippo asked referring to killing Noriko who was now prone and defenseless.
InuYasha looked to Rin who was assisting Jaken in his search.
“I honestly don’t know, Shippo. It was different when she was shooting balls of reiki, but now she’s all old and frail. It would be murder.” InuYasha replied sadly.
“Found it, Master Jaken! How’d it wind up way over here?” Rin exclaimed handing the Staff of Two Heads over to the elated kappa.
“Thank you, Rin.” He said hugging the wooden youki cane with a silly smile.
“I’m going to get some of the dried food out of Ah-Un’s saddle bags, Shippo. You make sure nothing happens to them.” InuYasha said, his voice solemn and carrying none of his usual bravado.
“Yeah…sure thing.” Shippo replied picking up on his friend’s mood immediately and hopped down to let the hanyou retreat.
Ah-Un nuzzled InuYasha’s fire-rat haori, their eyes sad. He gave them both a half-hearted pat and sighed pushing his fingers into his sleeves to stroke the golden wedding band.
He loved Kagome more than anything, but could he really slit someone’s throat that couldn’t fight back? There was a piece of him that said do it, that she deserved it after all she had done. Noriko had murdered Kami only knew how many beings and was responsible for taking away Kagome’s spiritual powers, the very powers that had led her to him in the first place. If it hadn’t been for them, he’d still be rotting away on the Goshinboku.
The larger part of him was saying that he couldn’t do it. He had committed murder only once in his life and it had been because his demon blood took over. He had no memory of it, but saw the aftermath first hand, had washed the sickening blood off of his claws. Most of the bandits had been fleeing and even though they were despicable men, he regretted it. He remembered the looks on his understanding friends’ faces when they told him it was okay, that he hadn’t been himself, but it wasn’t okay. Those men died by his hands.
Noriko was no different. If he did this, it would make him the monster he never wanted to be and Kagome would never look at him the same again. She would be back where she belonged, yes, but would she keep her promise to him if she knew? Would she regret coming back?
InuYasha hung his head and trudged to the bags hanging off the saddle. He pulled out a sack full of cured meat and one with dried fruits. There wasn’t much left in the water skin, but it would tide them over until they could make it back to the river. He marched back over to the seated group and handed out the rations, nibbling on his own without an actual appetite.
He looked at Rin and then dropped his head. She had been so angry when she found out he’d lied to her, but forgave him by the end of the next day. Her nature was so loyal and honest. She loved Lord Sesshomaru just as much he loved Kagome. It was plain as the nose on his face.
Her reaction to his apathetic question had not escaped his notice. If she were to be so against the only option to bring back her Lord, then InuYasha didn’t want to even think about what Kagome would do. A very thorough sitting would be the least of his worries. She might even break their bond completely. He couldn’t live without her, but it seemed that it might happen either which way he went.
There was no way he could make this decision on his own. He needed to talk to Kaede. She’d know what to do.

A/N: I made a serious omission in the first paragraph about Sesshomaru’s thoughts in Chapter 24. I’m very sorry about that, but I fixed it thanks to Rua bringing the mistake to my attention.
I was in a hurry and had some formatting issues, but I do proofread my work before I post it, though I’m not perfect, obviously. ^_^ Sometimes the words just run into one another or I miss something altogether. If you see anything that needs correcting feel free to let me know.
So thank you Rua for your heads up. ^_^
Also to Beautifulstorm1991 for your encouraging words,
And to Luminari_Lilium.
Nobody got hurt when the ceiling caved in. The kids were at grandma’s. We live in an older house and the ceiling tiles had water damage. When we got to banging around on one side of the room they just fell. My amazing hubby fixed the leak in the roof and we put up the new ceiling. It looks pretty good and was done not a moment too soon because it’s raining outside. Lol.
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Suffering and Rebirth