All That Remains by Aida
How it came to be
Disclamer: I do not own any characters from the Inu-Yasha series it belongs to RumikoTakahashi.
A/N: I am reposting my first fan fic after reconstructing it. Life took a nosedive. But I am back and decided to start fresh with no rush on chapters and the only promise I make is that the story will be completed. Feel free to P.M. if you have any questions.
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With dawn just teasing the horizon the breeze moved through the valley, hinting at the warmth that would soon follow. Standing alone on the cliff overlooking his lands. Maroon lined lids slant over gold irises caught in a distant memory.
78 years ago.
"I wish to remain in the western lands."
And it was so.
There was the predicted reaction of outrage, how dare a human miko sit among them at the Lord's high table freely giving word on all topics of trade, defense, politics, food stores, laws, and even alliances among the provinces. The first human among them and youngest by far. Singular in her notions of progress, she laid foundations for a future more profitable than they could ever imagine. In debates about their northern borders to wistful musings on flowers her words proved to be predictably unpredictable with such an air of Kagome it left others in clouds of bewilderment.
The sun had passed the horizon with the last remaining darkness of the night only just visible in the distance. Yet, he remained unmoving in his pose. No longer willing to fight the past. He allowed it to consume him and the early morning light that caressed his pale skin was replaced with the sight of her.
"I understand that disease is not as much of a concern to demons as it is to humans, but I assure you demons are not invincible, I have gone over the numbers here in the West and the birth rate has been decreasing steadily over the past 500 years. By preventing the occurrence and spread of the diseases that do affect the demon race it will only aid in your preservation. The practices that I have laid out here in the fortress support my claims. Have the ordinance written and taken to every village, irrelevant to the race of its residences. Arguing invalid points due to your wounded pride is shameful Hiro-san." Her blue eyes lit from within and further arguments were swallowed behind closed lips and sharp fangs.
The ordinance was spread throughout the lands and when her predicted pestilence came to pass the West remained and benefited from the gifts sent by the other lands seeking aid.
No longer were the last vestiges of night clinging to the hour. There was only the sun high in the sky standing witness to the unmovable Lord standing before her. His shoulders just as strong as they had ever been. Time only ever kept moving forward.
From her presence and brazen behavior rage grew to a festering boil till she was taken by a nameless shadow in the night. It was through her own strength that she returned to the fortress.
"They thought to remove your weakness Lord Sesshomaru. Less you fall into the same black pit as your sire, foolish. To believe you would allow emotions and selfish desire to cloud your eyes and swing your sword. Not that such emotions on your part are held for me." Her eyes rolled upwards as she collapsed into his waiting arm. His healer confirmed what his nose had told him. Rape. Torture.
"I wish to remain in the western lands."
Just days after her return, minutes after her awakening she shot down his ideas of returning her to his brother. That was the day the respect in his eyes for her was swallowed by admiration. "Then you are, from this point forward under my protection Miko."
Broken and bleeding she proved her worth, whatever resentment was felt once she returned was easily overcome. The walls whispered of her power to overcome her captors. His servants whispered of her ever present smile. His soldiers whispered of her strength.
The early evening hours were kind to the land, gentle sighs hung in the air from nature that basked in its blessings. Good fortune. It was a tangible thing, the earth was robust with health and vitality. The demon Lord remained as he always had, steadfast and strong in the face of such opposition. His choices he had no desire the change, he was Lord of these lands.
His one duty was to protect and serve his people to the best of his ability. His life was but one and his people were many. His servitude to his title remained unblemished, perfection to the point of incomprehension to others. This argument of ages past rang hollow in his pointed ears.
"Lord Sesshomaru, I believe that the lack of females going into season is the main factor for demons not making it to the future." She was sitting on the open window sill of her room looking at the moon. The last of her child-like appearance had melted away, her hips flared nicely into well toned thighs. Her feet that would have once kicked back and forth, now crossed over one another.
Twenty five years old; indeed.
"All the females I have examined are the same, it's like their fallopian tubes have just decided to go on vacation." Her sleeping robe was loose allowing just a brief tease of the delicate swell of flesh underneath as she adjusted her position to a more relaxed one.
"The humans remain unaffected though, perhaps I should inspect some the males here in the castle, just maybe I missed something."Her eyes lit with determination as she stared directly into his. Blue met gold in a blazing stand off. One unaware the challenge they presented, the other accepting said challange. A breeze from the open window tangled in her hair and bombarded his nose with her fragrance, her fragrance of fertility.
Perhaps it was the setting or perhaps the topic of discussion. Whatever the cause, that was the night the admiration in his eyes coiled with desire.
Time had slipped by, the sun now hung low in the sky with the colors of the sunset reflecting off his silver hair as it blew in the breeze. The once blue sky was washed in a storm of flaming oranges and majestic purples. This was a hostile take over, the night would not be ignored. Time will progress. Eyes of molten gold slid open enraptured not by the beauty of the sky, but by events that had long since passed.
"Lord Sesshomaru I have grown tired of the chase. I know what I am and as you have stated my status of being human can not be overcome. What is my life compared to millions? I will give all to you that there is room to be given."
The chase had lasted two years, his frustrations were mounting.There was no room for a human Lady of the Western Lands, no room for hanyou heirs, no room for there to once again be a target on her back. There was only room in his bed.
"You accept the restraints on my station." The timbre of his voice remained unbodied but steadfast in its resignations.
She moved across her chamber, removing her sleeping robe as she went."With you is where I belong, otherwise the well would not have allowed me back after we defeated Naraku. It is my duty to save the demon race, we are all ponds in this game of Fate. In return, all I wish for is stay where I belong. If we humans are so temporary to demons than I accept this temporary privilege."
Her bitter resignation was more sour in her words than she had intended, but this was the point of no return.
In her nudity it was impossible for him to ignore her scent, her scent lacking fertility. So he kissed her with fire and fed her the words he would never say. As they moved together as one the fire raged , him burning her from the inside as they joined. The embers grew to an inferno that blocked all thoughts in her mind. There was only him and her and the need for this moment. Where she ended and he began was more than just a point of connection.
She breathed him in and swallowed him down, it still wasn't enough. If only time would stop. She burned him in return, burned him from the outside as he drowned in her love. Her nails cut her passion into his back without her consent. If only for this moment, he was hers and hers alone.
His eyes, like the setting sun had never seen such beauty. He played her passions well and took all that she gave. His claws marked her with his cresent knowing it was for not. So his fangs sank into her flesh and in the moment of completion he allowed himself to believe that she was truly his. There was no room for humans in the world of demons.
There was only room in his heart for her.
It was almost over, the setting sun was no longer visible, but it's light still shone. He was caught in the middle, with darkness behind him and light before him. The magic moment that iwas neith day nor night. At least, that's what she referred to it as.
Chest expanding, he was left gasping for breath. The air surrounding him was tainted with the smell of her, her moans and cries of pleasure still whispered in his ear. It had taken six years of her in his fortress for him to be awarded the taste her flesh, he was selfish. Knowing she deserved life, a life he was unable to give.
The silver in her hair was more charming than he would have ever thought such a thing could be.The admittance of such was his secret to keep. Her laugh lines never faded. She was no longer beautiful, or so that's what was whispered by the young males in the fortress. Still he visited her chambers at night and gave her all that he had to give. When her chest was bared for his eyes the bittersweet sight of his markings on her would clench his chest like nothing else could. And Just like that, another would be added. She called them her consolation prizes.
All those seated at the high table had grown in wisdom to listen to Lady Kagome, her advice had never led them astray. The rulings of the Western Lands were shared between her and the Honored Mother. The understanding that the Lord got to keep his valuable human at the price of never being able to mate her, the policy insured by her permanent infertility.
After all, what was a few decades of her presence compared to the longevity of their lives. Peace in the West was a sure thing.
Prosperity for demons was won over the medicine people of the main land that sought to cleanse the Earth. Their curse casting and ground poisoning days were over. Looking back it should have been simpler to solve. Demons by nature were directly connected to the land and by poisoning that, you poison the demons. Factor in the raising human population taking more land and there is no mystery. The reproduction problems for demons had been overcome and their numbers were growing.
Where there once was a young Miko and demon Lord running in the gardens, there now was a demon Lord walking an elderly woman down a paved path. Eyes once vibrant blue with life now look on unseeing in their glazed blindness.
The walks had ended, although his nightly visits to her chamber remain unchanged. Her passions had died away along with her mobility. Her smile remained.
"Sesshomaru I wish to remain in the Western Lands." He shrugged off her ramblings, her grasp on the present had become less and less reliable as the year progressed.
Ninety eight years old, hn.
He ignored the scent of death, it did not belong with her. Her wrinkled skin was just as smooth as it had once been, her hair still as black as the night that surrounded them. Perhaps if he clung on just a little tighter tonight she would grant him just one more day, one more sunrise.
The moon was high, as high as it was when she took her last breath the year before. She left him. He didn't remember sinking to his knees, it didn't matter anyways. As his final goodbye, he called out to his mate and pleaded for her to return.
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A/N : All edits are as good as I can make them, thank you everyone that took the time to read or reread this first chapter I would like everyone to know I appreciate the silent reviewers just as much as the ones that leave comments.