The Life After

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Inuyasha all but flew out of his bed. He slammed the door open and screamed into the face of the unlucky one that had been banging on his door, “I am getting fucking sick and tired of waking up to banging every damn ass time I go to sleep!!!” Normally the dog did not go to sleep in the afternoon, but ever since Sesshoumaru had come pounding on his door, it seemed that random demons would attack the village every time he tried to rest. He had hardly gotten any sleep since then, and every time he took a nap some other trouble would arise. It was obviously just a bad week for sleep.

“Alright, maybe another time then,” and with that the face, which had not quite come into focus of the purified demon’s sleep laced eyes, turned and walked away. The man could just make out another form beside that one, also moving off. The voice, however, was one he knew all too well.

“RIKI!!!!” he roared, tackling his son to the ground, “You’ve come to visit!!!” Uki had been standing innocently by, chuckling behind his claws, but Inuyasha had not forgotten his nephew. “Don’t think you’re off the hook,” the older demon’s claws sunk into Ukiyomaru’s hakama, yanking him off of his feet and dragging him into the giant hug he was bestowing on Riki.

“Dad, come on! I can’t breathe,” the older hanyou was tearing at his father’s arm, trying to escape. The younger, however, seemed quite ready to just wait it out.

Finally the purified demon stood, releasing the boys, and running his fingers through his own thick hair to loose the dirt he had just acquired in it. The hanyou princes rose as well, brushing off the backs of their clothes.

Riki turned a sarcastic eye to his cousin, “I don’t think he much missed us, Uki. D’you?”

“You two know you’re in heaps of trouble, right?” Inuyasha smirked out of the corner of his eyes at them.

“What do you mean?!” they gasped simultaneously.

“Abandoning the great Sesshoumaru’s lands, just to visit me? When you’d given your word to watch over it? I don’t have the balls for that one, my friends.”

The older of the hanyou boys did not miss the tremor that shot through his best friend, but he brushed it off with a wave of his hand and a confident smile, “Kouga’s doing it for us. I don’t see why it’s such a big deal.”

“Kouga?!” this brought roars of laughter from Inuyasha, “You let the wolf watch over my brother’s domain? Whahahaha! Brilliant. Brilliant! Please let me be there when Sessh finds out. I would love to watch him pound you into the ground.”

Riki knew this was more than his Uki could take. He shoved his father, “Shaddup!” whirled around, and pulled his cousin close, “Don’t listen to him. You know Uncle will understand. Dad needed a visit. We’ve been with Uncle so long, and Dad’s lonely too. He won’t be mad. I promise,” his fingertips were digging into Uki’s shoulders through the kimono.

“But we did promise… at least, I did,” the young man’s eyes were filled with tears at the thought of having betrayed his father’s trust.

Inuyasha hadn’t realized he would have such a deep effect on his nephew. He had just been joking, as he always did, at least since Riki had begun rubbing off on him. “Don’t worry too much, really. I was just kidding. Sesshoumaru’s a lot different from when he used to try to cut my head off.”

Uki still didn’t look completely convinced, and Riki moved his hands off of his cousin’s shoulders to pull him into a firm hug. This only proceeded to upset the younger hanyou, as he began to shiver in nervousness. Riki, of course, took this to still be distress over the supposed plight of the Western Lands that was surely implanting itself firmly in Ukiyomaru’s mind. Thus, Inuyasha’s son clung to his best friend even tighter, whispering, “Hush, now, Uki. You know I wouldn’t have asked you to come if I seriously thought we’d get in trouble. Even if Uncle is pissed, I’ll just say I kidnapped you, and bring you back all tied up just to prove it.”

The younger dog was not entirely registering every word that was being said to him. He found himself once again enraptured by Riki’s smell, the feel of his skin, the brush of the other’s breath against his neck. The boy gulped, slowly lifting his claws to rest on his cousin’s back. He ran his fingers gently up and down, reveling in the feel of skin beneath the thin kimono. “Riki…,” he did not know what else to say.

Inuyasha took it upon himself to clear his throat then. He was used to the boys being very close, but this, to him, looked like a step in a very wrong direction. “Come on, you two. I’m going to make some tea, and you’re both going to explain to me this crazy business my brother is up to.”

“Oh, no more tea, Dad!” Riki moaned, pulling away swiftly.

Uki’s lips seemed to work without even asking his mind for reassurance, “Tea would be nice,” he was certain his mouth had almost said ‘I love you, Riki’ or some such life altering thing, but it had behaved. He followed the whining hanyou and his father into the hut.

Inuyasha argued back with his son, “I don’t like the damn stuff anymore than you, but we’re gonna drink it anyway.”

“But Mom’s not even here to make us! Can’t we skip it?!”

“Tea is good for your soul.”

“Maybe I don’t want a healthy soul!”

“Maybe you want a good thrashing with the Tetsusaiga?!”

“… I’ll drink the damn tea.”

“That’s what I thought you said.”

Sesshoumaru’s hands were shaking against the hilt of Tenseiga. This one swing led up to everything. Then there were all the questions. What if he couldn’t make the Katta-ukiyo work again? What if he couldn’t change Rin’s soul? What if he couldn’t come back? That last one was less of a problem. He was certain the boys would be fine, handling his domain and everything with ease. The taiyokai certainly had no qualms about being trapped with Rin for eternity. He took a deep breath. Putting it off was not going to change anything. Lifting Tenseiga high in the air, he released a perfect circle of the Meidou. Looking over his shoulder, not knowing if he was afraid he was being watched or nervous that he would never see that world again, the dog demon took his first step into the darkness of the Underworld.

It was familiar. He had been here before. Last time, when he stood on this crumbling path, it had been Rin and that Kohaku by his side. No, never mind that. He would not think of the last time he almost lost his Rin. Now was a time for moving forward.

His boots made hardly a sound, though the gentle tread echoed across the darkness. There was nothing but the path, and it seemed that no matter how far he followed it, he was getting nowhere. Impatience was coursing through him. How was he to find Rin if this dreadful darkness never ended? There was no place where the path diverged; it simply went on straight into the darkness. This time no demons came to hinder his progress. Nor did his mother offer him an easy way out. There was only nothing.

For what seemed like days, he walked across the emptiness. Occasionally he would begin to run, but he soon gave up the notion. There was no point in going faster towards nothing. Perhaps it had only been a few hours, but he could not tell. There was nothing to judge the time against. He did not grow weary from the journey, at least not physically. The strain, however, began to take its toll on his mind. Sesshoumaru was furious and miserable, hopeless and impatient. Finally, he fell to his knees, “Please, my Rin. Show me some sign of where you are. Help me to find you. I have come to take you home. Someone. Please… Guide me.”

The response was not his sweet mate’s voice, nor was it some evil beast finally noticing his presence. For a moment it was only silence that echoed back. Just as he was about to release a hopeless sigh, a haunting echoing melody drifted across the expanse of nothing. This was a sound he knew he had heard before. The great demon was on his feet in the blink of an eye, reappearing swiftly forwards on the path every few steps. He stopped suddenly as he came to a figure on the road ahead of him.

The woman, as it appeared to be, had long black hair that framed her face, but was pulled into a high ponytail at the back of her head. She had red ties and bows in her hair. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed quite focused on what she was doing. The long yellow kimono she wore, with many layers of pink and various colors, swept far past her feet. She looked very regal, and Sesshoumaru knew she spoke with such a voice, though there was kindness in it as well. The task she was completely lost in was the one that sent the beautiful song across the darkness. There was a flute pressed firmly to her lips, and her fingers danced across it in a flowing rhythm.

“Lady Sara,” was all he said.

For several minutes, she played on. He did not move, did not pressure her to speak, but simply waited for her to finish. In time her fingers stilled, and she slowly placed the flute within the chest of her kimono. It was only now that she lifted her blue eyes to him. “Lord Sesshoumaru,” was her only reply.

The taiyokai was slightly lost. He did not know what precisely he should say to her. Was it she who was seeking his help, or had she already decided to offer him assistance? Having been the one to kill her, he could not help but feel partly as though he owed her something, even if he had been saving her from the demons that possessed her at the time.

The human seemed to realize he was not going to speak again. She smiled softly, eyes shutting again, “Have you come all this way to watch me play my flute in the Netherworld? Just as you asked me to?”

The demon lord let out a soft noise of surprise. He had quite forgotten the last words he had spoken to her.

“Perhaps you have finally decided to return my feelings, and have made such a long journey to spend eternity with me, here?”

Sesshoumaru’s mouth swiftly moved to quell such thoughts, but she was too fast for him.

“I am not blind, Lord Sesshoumaru. You are not dead. I am also well aware you are not here for me. So, tell me: why won’t you speak your quest?” she had turned now, facing away from him. She paused for a moment, but, when he still did not reply, she began to walk further up the path.

Instantly the dog was in front of her, “Rin.” Sara met his eyes. “I am here for Rin, but…” he could hardly bring himself to admit that he was having difficulties saving her, once again.

“But you cannot find her,” the woman offered gently.

“It is quite hard to find anything here,” Sesshoumaru added, as if that made it all right for him to be unable to complete his task.

“I found you.”

“Well, it is obvious you have had more time to learn this place than I,” he turned his face away.

“You have not changed,” she chuckled once, “Follow me. I know whom you seek. She speaks of you often.” Sara had begun walking straight off the edge of the narrow path. Sesshoumaru was wary of following her, but as she lifted her flute and began to play again, he realized he trusted her. He stepped easily off of the path, and found that there was solid ground beneath his feet. The demon could see nothing but an empty chasm beneath him, and yet it was no great feat to follow the human across the darkness. He allowed his mind to stop replaying his fears, and instead let it float away on Sara’s beautiful, haunting notes. The nun’s soul walked easily through the blackness, the taiyokai following slowly.

Sesshoumaru stood out so brightly in the darkness, his white clothes and silver hair glowing against the black. The many souls about him that he could neither see nor sense reached out shaky hands towards his pulsing Tenseiga. He was like a beacon of hope to their misery. Just the presence of that life-saving sword was enough to ease their fears. Several of the lost souls found peace and were able to move on as he walked along the invisible path. Sara’s lips formed a smile around her instrument as she watched the happy, vanishing souls that the dog would never know of.

Riki sipped noisily and annoyedly at his tea. Damn, but he hated the stuff.

Ukiyomaru drank deep, slow breaths of it, letting it flow down his throat and warm his worries away. It reminded him of peaceful days in the field of flowers at the castle, when he would sit calmly in his mother’s arms, his father nearby. They would drink gently at their tea, as Riki would chase Jakken, Ah-Un, or anyone else nearby around the field. He really never had enjoyed the drink. Uki leaned backwards now, on the floor of Inuyasha’s hut, letting the memory of his mother’s kimono sink into his back, the ghost of her arms wrap around his shoulders.

On some of those long ago days, he would crawl into his father’s lap instead. Sesshoumaru had always had a hard time admitting how much his family meant to him, or doing anything even remotely fatherly for his Ukiyo. He loved his son and enjoyed spending time with him; the taiyokai was just not accustomed to being so open about it. The young hanyou could feel his father’s shaky hands reach out to awkwardly ruffle his hair or pull him into a brief, but sturdy hug.

Inuyasha was poking angrily at the fire, finding no more joy in the tea than his son, but wishing greatly to do whatever he could to remember his Kagome.

Ukiyomaru lifted his eyes over the rim of his cup to stare at Riki’s fire-lit features. The flames danced within the hanyou’s golden eyes, and the younger man continued letting the liquid flow down his throat as he watched the shifting glow upon his cousin’s face.

The purified demon was currently running all the things they had told him through his head. He was not entirely sure if he agreed with their decision to allow his brother to do as he pleased. Though he certainly could not blame Sesshoumaru for wanting Rin back. This annoyed him most of all, because ever since having become friends with his brother, it greatly confused him anytime he sympathized with the once heartless man. Inuyasha was not ready to believe that he actually cared about his brother. He also did not like the slight jealous twinge that shot through him over the idea of Rin’s return. If she were to remain dead, perhaps he would be able to spend more time with his brother. Reclaim the wasted years that they had spent fighting, to form a relationship they should have had all along. Sesshoumaru was his brother, and the more he watched his son and nephew; the more he wished he had been able to form such a bond with his own sibling. Inuyasha stabbed at the fire with his poking stick again.

Riki was glaring at his cup. Why wouldn’t it just be empty already? He had not noticed how lost his father was at the moment. Ukiyomaru had. The younger hanyou leaned over with near Sesshoumaru speed, swiping his best friend’s cup and pouring it into his own. He had replaced the now empty cup in his cousin’s hand and returned to his previous seated position, before the older man even realized his cup was now just as he had wished it to be. The younger was already sipping at his newly acquired drink, when his uncle finally looked up.

Inuyasha turned his face from his son, who sat beaming at his cup, to his nephew, who surely should have finished his tea by then. Even for him, it was not a hard connection to make. He decided to ignore it, however. It was the same trick the boys had been using for years, and yet it always seemed to surprise and thrill Riki.

The older hanyou jumped to his feet, his long ponytail swaying from high on his head, “Well, Dad,” he yawned, “It’s been great, and we’ll do something awesome tomorrow… but we’ve had quite a long trip, today. Mind if we get some sleep?”

The purified demon turned to his nephew, waiting for an agreement.

Ukiyomaru sipped at his tea.

Inuyasha shrugged then, “I suppose that makes sense, though it’s always something sneaky with you, Riki. Go on. Get. The guest hut should be prepared, like always. You’d better not be planning on staying up half the night, making trouble. I’ll have great plans by the time morning catches up. So don’t you two dare be all tired. Besides, the girls need a break from all your womanizing, son.”

Ukiyomaru twitched. It was a twitch that his father had mastered, and the other two dogs did not notice it.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Riki waved a hand impatiently at his father.

Both demons turned to Uki. Both waited for him to say something, to make a move, anything.

Ukiyomaru sipped at his tea.

Leaning over to his son, Inuyasha whispered, “Is your cousin all right? He’s been acting pretty weird today.”

The young man just shook his head, “He’s been like this for a while now. Don’t push it, though. Something’s bugging him. He’ll come around when he’s ready, and not a moment before.”

The younger hanyou’s pointed ears twitched, but he said nothing. It was impossible to know if he’d heard any of it or not.

Riki bent down, getting eyelevel with his best friend, “Uki?” he said cautiously, “You ok? Wanna go to bed, now?”

Ukiyomaru sipped at his tea.

The older hanyou had about as much patience as his father. He swiftly tore the cup from Uki’s hands, tossing the contents unceremoniously on the floor, ignoring the indignant shout from his father.

“My tea.” Riki’s cousin did not appear to deem it necessary to respond with anger or any other emotions. The words were stoic.

“Dammit, Uki! I’m sick and tired of your emo shit!” he threw the cup at Inuyasha, who was barely able to find the grace to catch it. Riki grabbed Ukiyomaru by his kimono, hauling him up off the floor. The younger man’s feet dangled slightly off the ground, but he still was not looking at his cousin with anything more than glazed eyes. When Riki did not receive any of the responses he was looking for, he threw Uki over his shoulder, and waved at his father, “I’m gonna go deal with this. See you tomorrow, Dad.” He turned on his heel and stalked out of the hut, door slamming behind him.

Inuyasha stared at the closed door for a moment, just blinking. Finally he turned to clean up the dishes, “There is something very strange going on with those two. And I really just think I’m going to stay out of it.”

Sara’s flute stopped echoing quite suddenly. Sesshoumaru nearly ran into her, but managed to stop his steps in time. “There,” Sara smiled, “See that light?” Indeed, far in the distance, a gentle light flickered. It looked almost like a fire, except for the ghostly pale blue color of it all. The human turned to her beloved, “You should have no problems getting there on your own.”

The taiyokai glanced at the nothing beneath his feet, not quite so sure himself.

“I must go now,” she smiled gently, walking away past Sesshoumaru.

“Wait,” his stoic voice convinced her to pause, “Must you really leave?” He did not really need her help anymore, even if he was nervous of walking across the canyon himself. The demon simply felt as though he owed her even more. She loved him, and he could not even return that after all she had done for him.

She smiled, looking over her shoulder, “I am the one that guides the souls. At least for now. I cannot help you any longer, Lord Sesshoumaru.”

“How can I thank you? How can I possibly do anything to show my gratitude for everything you have done for me?”

“I was able to express my feelings for you,” her blue eyes glistened with a sad distant love, “that is enough. Fare well, Lord Sesshoumaru. Please, do not forget me.” She began to walk away again.

“I will not forget you, Lady Sara.”

As the taiyokai stepped away over the darkness, the beautiful melody of her flute danced back to him. If he had looked over his shoulder, he would have seen only the glowing orb of a soul, but still the flute sang back to him. He would not know that the music came from within his own heart.

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8/25/08

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the characters of Inuyasha. I do not own Naraku, Inutaisho, Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, Jakken, Rin, or Ah-Un. I also do not own Ayame, the Elder, or Kouga. Nor do I own the lunar rainbow promise. I do not own Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Kirara, or Shippo. I do not own Kohaku, Hachi, Kaede, Kikyo, or Urasue, Totosai, Sara or ANY of the characters or happenings from Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi is the wonderful creator and owner of said characters, manga, and show. I do not make money off of her characters or this story. Anything that is not owned by her is still owned by the people who own the Inuyasha show and movies. I give them credit for their work as well. I do not make money off of their ideas or episodes. This Disclaimer applies to this and all following chapters. Also, please note that the manga was not finished when I'd started this, so um I didn't know a lot of crap and just made stuff up. So let's pretend this is a magical world where Inuyasha ended very differently. ^^; BESIDES we ALL know that Sesshoumaru SHOULD have taken Rin to the castle.

HOWEVER!!! Riki and Uki are MINE ALL MINE!!! *hugs them* And anyone who tries to steal them away will have Sesshoumaru's wrath upon them!!! XD

Author's Note: YAY more chapters! And there's more where this came from. I LOVEZ my Uki and Riki so adorable. Any of you sick of Uki's emo shit? Riki is too. Let's see how he deals with it! =D

Thanks: orran_ainmire thanx so much. you inspired me to write another chapter! =D