Chronicles of the West

It is so good to be back! I really missed my readers. I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful audience, who wants to read without being tied to the chair! Thank you so much. I do apologize if some details have slipped, I will try very hard to keep from doing that.

Chapter One Hundred and Four

Toga stood just inside the door of Aislin's chambers. She stood near the hearth, looking at him with wide eyes. "Will he find her?" she asked softly. Toga grunted, Aislin had a knack for uncovering secrets. Stepping inside, he kicked the door closed, "Kurama is good at finding things. Taisha will be no different" he told her.

She nodded, "And the plan worked?". He crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her. He was soaked to the bone, but she didn't mind, happy to have him with her once more. He kissed her shoulder, "Yes, your paintings made the shikigami quite lifelike. It did work".

She smiled happily, "And the blossom is safe". He shook his head, "It is gone, Tohru wished on it to keep it from the enemy" he replied. She turned in his arms, feeling a tremor flit through him. "Toga?" she asked softly, lifting her face to see his eyes closed tightly, his expression pained. "Toga are you hurt?".

He shook his head, "No. Not me" he rasped. He turned from her, divesting himself of rain soaked clothing and heavy armor. Setting his sword aside near the wall, he raked his hand through his long hair, pulling the tie free. Damp silver hair swung down past his backside. He strode naked to the bathing chamber, leaving a confused Aislin in his wake.

She hurried after him, finding him sitting in the steaming water, his arms cushioned on his bent knees, his head resting on his arms. "Toga" she called to him, causing him to peer up at her from over his arms. She stood at the edge of the bath, "What has happened? You are scaring me".

He held one hand out to her, water dripping from his sharp claws, "Come to me". Aislin untied her obi and slid her robes from her body, then she waded to where he sat. She laid her hand in his and he put it on his shoulder. His arms wrapped around her hips drawing her closer.

She felt him press his face against her lower belly. "Toga, "she murmured, "You are shaking". He growled softly, "Aislin" he said quietly, "We lost Taima today in the battle". Before she could ask how and why, he placed his fingers to her lips. "I don’t know why she was there, only that she was. She fought Aislin, gods she fought so well. She'd never fought before".

Aislin stroked her fingers through the damp locks lovingly, as he went on, the whole story pouring from his lips. Like the torrential fall of rain beyond her windows, so too was his voice. His grip tightened on her then. "So the enemy is gone and Taima with them" she whispered, "She is a hero then, a wonderous hero".

Toga pressed his cheek to the curve of her abdomen, "I understand now Aislin" he said softly. She blinked down at him, "What's that?" she asked. He turned his face into her stomach then, "Why you wanted to wait. I didn't want to think something like this could happen. Not to our house". Aislin sighed sadly, she would miss Taima, although she hadn't known her well, only met her once.

"What can I do?" she asked him softly then. He lifted his head to meet her eyes. "Just let me hold you, let me touch you" he whispered. And so she did. Let him cling to her like a drowning sailor to a lifeline. Let him cuddle against her long hours later, stroked his hair and murmured comfort to him.

In the early hours of morning he was still silent and staring out the window, lost in thought cushioned in her arms. She had fallen asleep a few hours ago, but he could not. He kept replaying the incidents of the battle. Could anything have been done differently? Did it really matter now? Why did victor seem so hollow without her?

Perhaps at some point they had taken advantage of the fact that Taima was with them. She'd been isolated for so long from the others and he guiltily thought of the few times he'd really thought of her on his journeys. She had been a member of the family but somehow seemed distant, almost unreal.

He clenched his jaw hating the feelings of guilt and doubt that washed over him. He didn't want to be to blame for such things. None of them did, but deep down he knew. They all were. They could have taken a more active interest in her but they hadn't and now she was gone. Dead and gone.

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Inuyasha crossed the room towards the bed, his bath dampened hair hanging down his back. Kagome was sprawled across the bed, the linens in disarray and he knew she must be restless. He sat beside her on the bed, stoking claws through inky black hair, "I'm sorry Kagome" he whispered to her sleeping form, "I have failed as a mate and as a father". In her herb induced slumber, Kagome's fingers twined in his hair holding him close. As if her actions alone denied that fact.

He curled his arms around her, knowing that tomorrow they would wake to a world saved, and a world shattered. He never thought he'd outlive his offspring, and it was a pain that he'd never felt, one he wasn't sure he could overcome.

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Satoru was silent, staring into the dancing flame that flickered from the lamp. Ippiku sat on his shoulder, silent and subdued. His usual humor forgotten and cast aside in light of the day's events. His aqua eyes downcast. What would they do now?

Satoru pondered his sister's actions. He retained a part of her soul within himself, he knew that. So it seemed, that he now knew which of them was stronger. Taima. Not here, not entirely gone. It could mean any number of things, but which one was true?

He rubbed his hand over his face, as if he could wipe away that odd numbness that had settled over him. Ippiku barely noticed the smooth movements. He made a mental note to steer clear of Inuyasha in the morning. Instead, he offered his best hopes and wishes for Taisha's safe return.

Victor stood in the doorway, his left arm bandaged heavily. "Satoru?" he asked. The demon's gaze lifted from the flame to meet his own. "Victor" he said softly, "You should be resting, your injuries are still fresh". Victor shrugged, then grimaced at the sting which resulted.

"You should also be resting Satoru" he pointed out, "I know that you feel confused and helpess right now, but you are going to wear yourself out, you have been wounded as well". More than anyone knew, he thought. Satoru sighed, "Perhaps you are right".

He rose, his tall frame unfolding from his high backed seat and he moved to the door. Ippiku fluttered to the tabletop. "Good night lord Satoru" he said quietly. Golden eyes fell on his diminutive form, "Good night Ippiku" came the soft reply.

Victor took Satou's arm and together they walked the dimly lit halls to their chamber. Both exhausted and in pain, emotional and physical. Sleep was not long in claiming them, but pleasant dreams were not to be in the cards for them.

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Sesshoumaru sat propped against the pillows, his gazed fixed on his wife. Ayeka had been pacing restlessly for over an hour. Every so often she would move the window and look out as though she might pierce the darkness of the night with her gaze.

"She will be fine" she told him, Sesshoumaru lifted one finely shaped brow. He was well aware of that fact and it seemed that Ayeka paced and babbled to make herself believe it. After several moments of his silence she turned her green eyes to him. His expression was dark and dangerous. "Sesshoumaru?" she asked. He blinked, his gaze moving to her face.

"Do you have faith in Kurama's abilities?" she asked, her voice a whisper, as though to speak it aloud would cause his failure. Sesshoumaru nodded slowly. Her hands were twisting her obi into a wrinkled mess of silk, "Then why do you wear such a look?" she asked.

Sesshoumaru didn't want to tell her, knew he would anyway. "I was contemplating the enemy" he replied, "I wonder if all is truly done. I saw them fall true, but Naraku seemed to fall several times and yet the bastard lived". Ayeka's eyes widened, "Do you believe that they yet live?".

Sesshoumaru shook his head, "No I believe that they are dead and that is what concerns me. Do I believe a truth, or what I want to?". Ayeka had never seen him doubt, as he did now. She moved to his side, staring at him from the bedside.

"Please don't" she whispered, her fingertips reaching to caress his silver hair, "If you begin to doubt then I am lost". He captured her fingers in his own and tugged her towards himself. She sprawled against his chest and he rolled them to pin her beneath him. "I will not allow you to be lost Ayeka. I will find what is true" he told her.

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Shippo looked at Daishi, she'd been reading for hours. Almost frantically flipping through books before tossing them aside for a new one. Whatever she was looking for, she didn't tell him. Her green gaze skimming over words, her bows furrowing in question.

Shippo was glad they had made it through the fight. It had been a campaign of deception. Aislin's paintings of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru making shikigami that moved with Taisha, while he and Daishi had shifted forms to be seen commanding troops on the battlefields. All the while the real Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had lain in wait near the shrine.

"Daishi" he said at last, as the stacks and piles of abandoned material rose around his little mate, "What are you looking for?". She blinked and lifted her head as though she'd forgotten he was there at all. Snapping a book shut with a heavy sigh, she rose to her feet.

"Part of her soul remains" she said suddenly, "Which means that she is not lost. I just don't know how to take her from Satoru without harming him and risking her". Shippo frowned, "I think you should leave well enough alone" he told her. She sniffed, " Taima would not have taken such a risk lightly" she reminded him, "And if she meant for it to be the end, then why not have her entire soul intact when she passed?"

Shippo threw his hands in the air, "I don't know Daishi! I don't know. All I know is that I lost my sister today and I'm not certain how to proceed from here. My mother is devastated, my father not much better and now you speak to me in riddles that I can't solve".

Daishi blinked at his outburst. She moved to stand a breath away, "Shippo, I'm sorry" she whispred to him and his hands fell. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face to his chest. "I just can't help but think… that maybe we are missing something. Something she left behind".


Chapter One hundred and Four

Taisha awoke with a soft groan, feeling soft moss beneath her and a hard heat at her back. She blinked at her surroundings as they came into focus. She was in a cave, it had not been a delusion or a dream. She shifted and an arm tightened around her waist, drawing her closer to a hard chest. A clawed hand covered one bare breast.

She wriggled trying to get loose but fell still at the soft rumble of a growl that came from her companion. Kurama. Yes, that made sense. The blurred images of a silver haired savior. Behind her Kurama nuzzled in her soft hair. She rolled over to face him and he allowed that small measure of freedom. They lay nose to nose, his hand slid down to rest on the hollow of her hip. It was at that moment that she became glaringly aware that they were both completely naked.

She tried to sit up and cover herself but Kurama pulled her back down against him. "Stop squirming" he told her in a tired voice. He had discipline, but gods knew not that much. She blinked, "Kurama?" Pale golden eyes opened on her, "I would hope that you'd not want to wake up in such a state next to anyone else".

She frowned, "What happened?". Kurama sat up and sighed. No more resting. Stretching deeply, he recounted the events for her. Taisha lifted her hand to her head, remembering bits and pieces. She'd been so confused, and felt some measure of it still. Like she was walking around with her head stuffed with cotton.

Kurama watched the play of emotions across her face. "So you came to find me" she deduced. He nodded, "Your father and brother were set to come but I convinced them otherwise" he replied. Green eyes cleared and locked on him. "Convinced them otherwise?" she asked. Kurama grinned, "Yes Taisha", he told her, "There are things that must be settled between us. This is the best time to do so".

She felt heat touch her cheeks, "What must be settled?" she asked, her heart skipping a beat to thud heard in her chest. Kurama growled softly, gaining her attention again. "You being mine" he told her. Her mouth suddenly went dry. Kurama went on, "What I shall expect of you and what such a decision means".

Taisha cocked her head, feeling the haze clear. "Decision" she said, "Your decision". Kurama nodded and began to tick off the list of things that would need to be done. With each passing sentence Taisha felt her control return and her anger. "Your decision?" she repeated.

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. The words she'd always wanted from Kurama and he wasn't asking her opinion at all. He was acting as though she had no power of her own and was merely a pretty trinket for him to keep. Most men in this day and age were like that, she knew. She'd always thought him different.

Kurama looked over at her in question. "Why such an angry tone?" he asked her, "I would have thought you would have been pleased by this". She growled at him and his silver ears flickered, "Pleased?" she cooed in a sweet voice, "Oh, I would have been pleased," she assured him, "Had you asked me".

Kurama watched her rise to her feet, all female fire and indignation, "You think you can decide for me?" she demanded. He blinked, "You love me Taisha" he told her as though it explained everything. She laughed then, "I do, yes, but that doesn't mean that I am willing to be your possession Kurama. Have you forgotten that I am a taiyoukai in my own right?"

He now rose as well, frowning at the female he had decided would be his. "I have forgotten nothing" he informed her, advancing on her, "And you will be mine". She snorted, "Do you love me?" she asked then. His golden eyes went wide, "I have claimed you haven't I?".

She shook her head, "That wasn't my question Youko Kurama" she said quietly, sadly "I asked if you loved me, for if you did, you'd understand why I am not pleased at the moment". She turned and began to search for her clothing, it was ruined and hung from her fingertips in tatters. Much like her heart at the moment. Well, she thought with a small sniff, she wouldn't be wearing that home.

Kurama said nothing, merely picked up his long overshirt, handing it to her. Her anger towards him was nothing compared to the disappointment in her tone, the sadness in her eyes. "Taisha" he began, but she held up her hand for silence. She couldn't listen to him right now. Doubting all that had passed between them to this point. "Please Kurama" she whispered, "I just…want to… go home".

He nodded and pulled his clothing into place. Feeling like the biggest fool in the world. Had he not once cautioned her father against such actions? How long ago it seemed, and now history was repeating itself and the youko was the fool.

Together they moved though the cavern to where Ah-Un rested. He watched them with large eye and snuffled softly when they approached. "Time to go home" she told the dragon and he rose, uncurling himself and ambling out into the open, stretching long limbs. The sunlight stretched before them.

The journey back as silent, Taisha's back ramrod straight and Kurama felt as though a great divide had sprung up between them. Did he love her? Yes. Could he tell her? Not yet. He wasn't certain he was ready to reveal so much of himself. He supposed he'd taken for granted that she knew it to be true. He was a damned fool.

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Sesshoumaru hugged his daughter to his chest tightly, inhaling deeply of her scent to make himself certain that she was there. Safe and in his arms. He blinked, her scent was the same. There was no intimate scent of the fox.

Ayeka hugged her daughter tightly, tears spilling over cheeks, "I was so worried for you" she whispered. Taisha nodded and smiled sadly, "I know, I'm sorry". Sesshoumaru allowed the others to have their greetings, and his golden eyes fixed on the fox who stood to one side.

Taisha smiled wanly, "I am so tired" she said then, "I think I just want a hot bath and to rest a little". Her mother nodded and led her child down the hall. She called for hot tea to be brought to Taisha's rooms immediately.

When the others were gone and well out of earshot, Sesshoumaru spoke, "I notice that my daughter is not mated. Does this mean that you have changed your mind? Perhaps discovered that you are out of your depth?" he asked.

Kurama glared at him, "No" he spat back, "I found myself overcome by doglike tendencies". His hands curled into tight fists at his side. Sesshoumaru had rarely seen the fox so agitated. "Doglike tendencies?" he asked. Part of him knew that Kurama was about to insult him, but he had to know.

Kurama nodded, "Yes, I pulled one suited to the great Sesshoumaru-sama" he replied, his distaste more than evident in his tone. Burning gold eyes pierced the fox, "Explain yourself" Sesshoumaru demanded. His daughter had looked crushed, defeated, and that was unforgivable in his eyes.

Kurama sighed, "I have misstepped with Taisha" he admitted. Hell, he might as well confide in in the dog lord, if anyone could understand the matter at hand, it would be him. Sesshoumaru took in the tense line of the kitsune. Kurama looked just as defeated as Taisha had.

The great inu lord began to wonder just what had happened between them. With an impatient motion of his hand he beckoned the fox to follow him. Kurama did so without question. Together, they walked the halls to the tall door of Sesshoumaru's study.

Once inside, the door firmly bolted, they sat, silent and staring at one another. Neither was willing to break it seemed. Reaching behind him to the shelf, Sesshoumaru plucked up a carafe of sake and set it before them. Pouring two cups, he passed one to the fox. "Tell me what has happened and we shall make sense of this madness" he said then.

Kurama told him all that had happened. His silver ears pressed flat against his skull by the end of his tale. Through it all Sesshoumaru sat, stoic and silent. How he wanted to laugh at the kitsune's problems, snicker at the proud and arrogant fox in his heartache. He found that he couldn't.

He, who had felt similar frustrations and no small amount of jealousy because of the male before him could not laugh. Instead, he steepled his fingers and rested his chin upon them. "You have indeed misstepped Youko" he said quietly, his tone understanding.

Leaning back in his highabcked seat, he studied the silver fox. "Do you love my daughter?" he asked bluntly. The ears flickered and the golden eyes that peered up through a silver fringe of bangs revealed as much. Sesshoumaru traced his claws on the desktop, "You didn't tell her that though".

He grunted then, "Of all people, I would not have expected this type of trouble to hound you" he said. Kurama blinked up at him. Sesshoumaru gestured to the painting of his wife on the far wall, "After all you are the one who counseled me in similar matters".

Kurama had the grace to look away at that point. "I suppose that I could tell you that I feel you are too old for her" Sesshoumaru said, "Or that I dislike you". Kurama growled softly and Sesshoumaru set his cup aside, "But then we both know that age matters little to our kind and if I disliked you as much as I should, I would have killed you long ago".

The kitsune sat silent and Sesshoumaru stood, "Proud women cannot be taken Kurama" he reminded the fox, "They must be won. Tell my daughter how you feel and make her smile again, or I will skin you. I dislike chaos in my home. Knowing Taisha she will rain it down in force". Then he left the fox to finish his sake alone.

Kurama sighed, and belted back the strong drink. Feeling it run like warm silk down his throat. Not taken, but won. He had known that all along, and somehow, in the middle of this madness, he'd lost sight of that. Lost sight of the best way to steal his prize. The heart of Taisha.

He knew only too well that sometimes, just loving wasn't enough. There had to be respect and honesty, and compromise. His eyes lifted to the smiling visage of Ayeka staring down at him from her lofty perch on the wall. He chuckled then, "Should have known".

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Inuyasha untangled himself from Kagome slowly, not wanting to wake her. The first golden red rays of light were peeking into the tall windows. He drew the drapes shut to block them out. Kagome needed rest and he would see that she got it.

The herbs she'd been given should keep her locked in the realm of dreams for a few hours yet. She'd tossed and turned like as errant wave, whimpering through the night. Inuyasha had finally pinned her beneath one half of his body to keep her still.

He pulled his clothing on and plucked up the message from Taima. He'd be taking this to Satoru this morning. Taima had left words for him in it. He pressed a kiss to Kagome's brow and left the room, leaving orders with the guards in the hall that no one was to wake his mate.

He found his son in the library, the place he'd expected. Daishi was with him, as was Victor. They sat quietly pouring over texts. Cups of strong, steaming tea before them. Satoru looked up at his father as he entered. Daishi and Victor rising to bow slightly. He waved them off, he hated court manners. "How is mother?" Satoru asked softly. Inuyasha's ear twitched, "Still sleeping. Probably for a few more hours at least". Satoru nodded, his golden eyes dropping.

Inuyasha sat down at the long table, "She left word" he announced. All eyes fell on him then. He held the crumpled bit of parchment out to Satoru. His son took the message and read it, then he read it again, and again. His eyes growing larger each time.

"What?" Inuyasha demanded, "Why are you making that face?". Satoru blinked and read it aloud. Daishi's teacup clattered to the floor. Victor leaned forward, "What is going on?" he asked. Inuyasha shrugged and grunted. Daishi was on her feet and had all but draped herself over Satoru's wide shoulder, reading along with him.

Inuyasha growled at the sudden light that lit their eyes. "Damn it tell me what the hell is so interesting to you" he demanded. Satoru blinked and looked up at him, he looked…shocked. "Did you read this father?" he asked. Inuyasha nodded, "Yeah, but I didn’t see anything in there to get all excited about".

Daishi chuckled, "No I don't suppose you would". He blinked at her, was she being flippant with him? Folding his arms over his chest he lifted his chin. Whatever they were thinking couldn't be bad, not really. They were practically glowing and looked ready to laugh out loud. "Start explaining".