Waking up to a nightmare by Natalia

Aftermath

Hello, dear readers!

so... after many requests, I decided to add more to my one shot: Waking up to a nightmare. I don’t know how long it will be, how many chapters since this was first planned as a one shot so... I apologize! Updates will be sporadic since my life is busy at the moment! thx for the attention and hope you enjoy!

IMPORTANT! A big thank you to Philosophy Blue for help! I am very grateful! Hugs!

p.s. thx for those who voted for me!

 

 

Day 106.

 

“Incompetent fools!” Sesshomaru snarled at his shivering lieutenants.

To think he had bestowed upon them the great responsibility of leading his forces, even if for a medium level mission. They had disappointed him to a degree that went far beyond that of the task he had entrusted them with  Both of the idiots were inus, which almost made it worse. First, he glared at the elder, a common red inu, then switched to the younger, a silver inu. They cringed, averting their eyes and presenting their necks to him in meek submission, but to little avail.

“How could you, two seasoned warriors, lose one pregnant female… and a human one at that?Each word was enunciated with spite, the dog demon forcing his anger into each syllable in an effort to reign in his youki, which churned around him in a tumultuous mass. “Furthermore, she was weak from being kept in a lab and shoved into a battle!” He finally managed to leash in his infuriated energy, saving the lives of the weaker soldiers in the vicinity.

“Forgive us, Milord,” breathed the red inu, still maintaining his submissive position. “We were attacked on the road to the fortress and while we fought them, she simply disappeared!”

“H-he is r-right, Lord Ses-Sesshomaru,” stammered the silver inu, and Sesshoumaru felt ashamed to share his race with the cowardly being who trembled under his gaze. “It was as if she completely vanished into thin air. Nothing was left behind: no scent, not even a trace of energy!”

Sesshoumaru pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation, his anger morphing into frustration. “Has Takeshi managed to find out some information about her, at least her name?” he asked them, already knowing the answer. He simply wanted the information confirmed.

“The facility was totally levelled and nothing survived. Shippo kept digging in the database but couldn’t find anything,” answered the silver inu, looking pointedly at his partner.

The red inu, Kiyoshi, gulped and added, “We have a theory that even the Order didn’t know about her. This operation was a secret one...” He wanted to say more but was interrupted by a loud gasp from Shin. His silver hair bristled with energy.

“How could I be so stupid! She was a miko! And approximately 158 girls believed to be mikos disappeared in the last two years!” he looked at his partner and asked him. “You felt her aura too didn’t you? When we transported her to the car? But she didn’t hurt us. She was strong, the sharpness of her aura even changed the air around her.”

“Yes, I felt she was a miko, no need to shout it to the world. This is a secret operation,” sighed his partner.

“Idiots,” muttered Sesshoumaru, for the first time in his long life wishing he could cover his ears like a pup and not listen to the imbeciles that crowded his life. “Did you think General Takeshi and Shippo didn’t already research this trail?” he asked ominously. They averted their eyes.

“We will try to locate new volunteers of the Order, this way we might find a way inside to find more information.”

“Yes, I heard there is a recruitment center at Tokyo University,” confirmed Kiyoshi with a nod.

The ring of the phone broke the silence. Sesshoumaru put his hand on the phone. “Then get out of my sight. Dare to show your face to me only when you have results.”

“Yes, Milord!” Both inus scrambled toward the door, glad to have escaped with only a tongue-lashing.

 

Day 208.

 

Nursing the cup of sake in his hand, Sesshomaru mused over his life. He was one of the strongest youkai alive, and he was a powerful leader with his people’s respect and support. He had riches beyond imagination and the female population adored him, throwing themselves at his feet (or paws, it depended on the situation at hand). Even human women, as violently against ‘bestiality’ as they called it, were naturally attracted to him… like a moth to a flame, it seemed. After all, he was their natural predator. Ah, humans...

Once upon a time, he had hated them; absolutely abhorred the dirty creatures. That was until Rin showed him a different side to the lowly race he had always looked down on. Slowly, he begrudgingly acknowledged his half-brother’s pack. Even after all this time, he remembered them. The slayer duo, the monk and her.

The Shikon Miko.

Kagome.

He even remembered her name, a rarity for such a short-lived race that winked our like fireflies in the vast span of his life. He remembered that she had had blue eyes.

Inuyasha and his pack never spoke about her after that last battle that destroyed the evil hanyou and vanished the treacherous Jewel from this world. He tried asking a few times, but every time he did, Inuyasha’s eyes blurred and his ears flattened to his skull. He himself saw her disappear in the Jewel’s glow, never to return, so he believed her dead.

One episode gave him doubts about it. He remembered it like it was yesterday.

Inuyasha was drunk. It was the anniversary of the battle. 25 years passed already. Rin was married and pupped again, so he spent more time next to the village. That and the villagers, including his ragtag pack, felt his presence necessary.

“Thank you for your presence,” spoke the monk with a bow. “It is a great honour, your Lordship. Even now, no one can deny  that without your part in the battle, we would have been lost to the void.” His wife, the slayer, surrounded by her numerous pups as well as Rin and Kohaku’s progeny, nodded, her posture still proud even as her hair steadily became white and her face lined.

A sadness still lingered in the air and the kitsune sighed.

“Only one of us is missing today...” he said quietly. Inuyasha looked toward the forest with a deep sadness in his eyes.

“I hope she is happy wherever she is,” he sighed softly, then shook his head.

“No, she must be happy; she’s strong and easily loved. She’s probably married and has lots of kids...”

Even Sesshoumaru felt a tug on his heart. He knew Inuyasha hoped he would be the one to sire her pups. Alas, that it was not to be. However, something was odd... “You speak as if she is alive, Inuyasha,” he said, brow raised in question.

The hanyou sputtered and after a few minutes finally crossed his arms on his crimson-robed chest with a huff. “Keh, I know she ain’t dead. There were others that needed her.”

Sesshoumaru wanted to ask more but the hanyou had other things in mind.

“Man, I’m starving,” he said loudly, although they had eaten an hour ago. “Let’s go eat!” He hopped toward the centre of the village where a feast was awaiting them.

The war between the Order and youkais started ten years later. The so called: “Order” was an alliance created by holy people with the sole intent of wiping out the youkais once and for all. They did not care if they were children or adults, weak or strong; the hatred that festered in their ‘holy’ hearts called for a blind and total annihilation of the entire youkai population.  His pack, determined to protect the innocent, fought by his side, but as the years passed, they all were taken one by one. The first to go was Rin.

His sweet Rin... He gulped a big gulp of sake to numb the pain.

She died protecting her third grandchild. The Order didn’t care that she was human. They hated everything aligned with youkai. In fact, the ones allied with him suffered even more. It was then he started really understanding what regret was.

After a bloody battle where they’ve lost half of their forces to the reiki charged guns, the monk gave his life for his pack.

He died with a smile on his face, proud to protect the ones he loved, thanking him for allowing him to fight alongside him. He felt it was an honour. Sesshoumaru felt it was a waste. No, not he, his death. Despite his ripe age, his soul shone with a dazzling brilliance as it soared into the sky, becoming one with the stars.

Tenseiga didn’t call him back. This was telling everyone that he was at peace, that he died proudly and didn’t regret his sacrifice.

When the young ones started dying, Sesshoumaru decided to save them from this massacre. Under the cover of the night, he took the youngest pups, human and youkai and transferred them to a continent that the humans now called America. They were drugged and forced to flee, even though he knew their hearts were strong and they wished to fight. He couldn’t allow that. They needed to survive.

Inuyasha and Kohaku fell on that night.

The howl that erupted from his chest was thundering. He roamed the land in his true form and single-handedly slaughtered a camp of mikos and monks. His silvery white fur was soaked scarlet under the cold, gray moon. His blood ran hot and thick through his veins, yet his heart was cold. It was then he learned something more about humans.

Sango didn’t flinch or shy away from his terrifying, true form.

Instead, she curled in the garden in the clothes that remained from her family and smiled a sad, little smile.

“I will mourn in my way. I will cry for you because you cannot,” she whispered and did exactly so. She cried, howled in agony, asking the skies why they did what they did. She remembered every name, chanted pleas to Gods both old and new. He blessed the freed souls and cursed the damned ones full of hate.

The next day she disappeared, only to return after a month, with a complete plan of the fortress that created the guns.

“I killed them. I killed them, Sesshoumaru-sama, and do not have even a spark of regret burning in my heart,” she had said. “Kagome would have understood, maybe.” She handed him the map and the info she stole.

It was a turning point for them. They learned of many secrets, including reiki charged bullets and talismans with black magic.

Sango died with a scream of victory, claiming the life of the one to cut her belly with his shinto staff. She was buried with honours, just like Inuyasha.

Putting the already empty sake cup on the glass coffee table, he looked at the sword that his brother left him with words to protect her.

Who, he didn’t understand, but had an inkling, even knowing it was impossible.

Shaking his head of vision of old, his mind returned to the problems at hand.

Shippo returned after 180 years with a company of youkai who were trained and ready to battle. They remembered their slain pack and were eager to fight. Even though he was reluctant, they quickly were included in the resistance. Shippo proved to be brilliant with transformation amulets and protection spells. His help was tremendous, allowing them to be included in the human population and blend, thus gaining power and money needed for the war.

They were having the upper hand when the humans started using experiments. It was disgusting in his opinion and the fact that they used his seed to create a pup to manipulate it, boiled the blood in his veins. He scowled as his mind unhelpfully supplied him with the details of that ugly and shameful day when they first used the aphrodisiac then attacked him. He knew what that smell was when he first inhaled it, but it was already too late. The ones to presume to manipulate him, along with the wench who attempted to seduce him, all paid for their transgressions with their lives.

Even from just the recollection, Sesshomaru could feel his claws elongating, the glamour spell faltering under the wave of his enraged youki and he prickled the skin of his palm to reign in the transformation. No, he didn’t feel the pain, only the smell of his own blood calmed him down.

Somewhere in the world, there was a female who had his pup. He didn’t even know if the pup was alive. His chest gave a painful tug. Even though the pup would be hanyou, it was his! Besides he knew now that hanyous were strong in their own ways. Inuyasha and Shiori proved that long ago.

He had no mate or heir. The war took care of that. He felt a twinge of pain at the mention of pups. Rin’s death was a hard blow for him. He considered her his pup and didn’t take a mate or sire an heir afterwards. All around youkais were killed or ran away toward other continents. Not that Europe was safe for them. His mother was the last silver inu female. She went missing when the war started, never to be seen again. The castle that was floating in the sky disappeared alongside her. He was truly alone. So when he heard that Takeshi found a possible pup he felt... content, but wary at the same time. A miko! A miko was pregnant with his pup and was lost. What if she killed the pup? Or abused it? What if she gave it to the Order? So many unanswered questions.

Yes, she was running away from the facility but who knows her reasons? Or where was she now?

A knock on the door interrupted his musing and he ordered in a tired voice:

“Enter Shippo.”

The Kitsune entered and closed the door behind him. He still kept his hair red and eyes green, even if he was noticeable in Japan. His spells were strong and he refused to hide another part of himself. Sesshoumaru himself kept his hair silver and didn’t change the color of his eyes. He didn’t care if it was risky. He made enough sacrifices covering the marks of his proud heritage and cutting his claws daily.

“Drinking your worries away Sesshoumaru?” teased the kitsune, but then his face became serious and he sighed. “I feel useless,” he mumbled clenching his fists.

“I can’t find what I am looking for, no matter how hard I try. One would think it should be easy to track humans down in these days, even a female still attending school,” he sighed, tracing his fingers through his red hair.

“A human female?” asked Sesshoumaru and Shippo’s eyes turned pensive but then he shook his head. He was hiding something, but Sesshoumaru decided to let him keep his secret. He would tell him when he felt like it. They were pack and didn’t keep secrets, except when they weren’t certain about information. Maybe he had a lead but wasn’t sure and didn’t want to give false hope?

“Anyway, I have a theory, but I will need to stay in Japan for a few weeks,” announced the Fox and Sesshoumaru arched his brow.

“Look, it may be a goose chase but I have to try,” he assured him.

Sesshoumaru didn’t like having his pack away from him, but he had an important deal in New York. He had to meet the Lord of American youkais for a peace treaty. Obviously, his presence and participation were necessary. He knew Shippo was strong but when his pack consisted only of five individuals, only one of his blood through Inuyasha, he was protective of them. Inuyasha... Remembering how he lost Inuyasha always sent him into a melancholy mood.

“Sesshoumaru, I know how to take care of myself,” Shippo said and he only measured him with a look.

“Hn.”

“I will take care of myself,” emphasized Shippo in a warmer voice, assuring him.

“See that you do,” Sesshoumaru voiced his command in a levelled tone.

“I may need some money to buy an estate...” the kitsune started and Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow.

“Do you intend to mate?”

“No, it's just an old shrine that was recently sold!” exclaimed the younger youkai.

“Why would you need a shrine?” he asked and the kit squirmed under his gaze. He was hiding something. But he would allow him this secret. For the meanwhile.

“The Goshinboku...” he finally whispered and Sesshoumaru understood. The connection to his brother that he treasured even now.

“Very well, you may proceed,” he started writing a sum on the page in front of him.

“This is the maximum amount you can spend,” he added and Shippo nodded.

“I won’t disappoint you.” The Kitsune exited the office, leaving him to his affairs.

They had a troubling time ahead of them.