The Life After

Comments & Disclaimer at End cuz this website hates me
Also I guess we’ve begun on the whole YAOI warning thing. ^^;

As Sesshoumaru and Rin stepped out through the Meidou, the taiyokai looked back and noticed that his precious mate had become a glimmering orb of light. It was as he expected, that was how most souls looked when they tarried in this life. “Follow me, Rin. We must collect your bones and grave soil.” He began to walk towards his castle, and the glowing soul, though unable to speak, followed dutifully.

They had only gone a short ways, when a strange snakelike creature with three sets of tiny spider-like arms floated past him. Sesshoumaru almost did not notice it, but at the last second it glinted past the corner of his eye. In a flash, the dog demon lord whirled around and lopped off its head with his claws. Suddenly he and his beloved’s soul were surrounded by the creatures. They flanked him, and the demon was forced to dash from one side of Rin to the other as these snakes attempted to take her for themselves. Their red glazed, empty blue eyes stared at him, unblinking. Strange gills and fins lined their heads, and they floated easily, their long bodies twisting and waving as they fought to claim Rin’s soul. Just as the dog was beginning to lose his patience and attempt to destroy all of them with a spin of his glowing green whip, a voice sounded.

“Shinidamachū. Enough. I would not wish to lose you all.”

“What do you have against me? If I thought for one moment you were actually a danger to my Rin, I would kill you immediately,” Sesshoumaru’s claws were wielded, poison dripping and glowing from his fingertips. He all but danced from one side of his love to the other, not truly believing the creatures had been called off.

The voice continued, feminine and hollow, but no one emerged, “I sense Urasue has returned. This is a grave mistake, Sesshoumaru. I implore you to kill her immediately. What you seek to do… it really is not an existence.”

He understood then. These were soul collectors, the very ones that Inuyasha had described to him. This could be only one person attacking him. “I did not ask your opinion, wench.”

Now the woman stepped out from the trees. She was glaring viciously, her long, flowing back hair tied loosely behind her. Her brown eyes were slightly closed, as if in a state of constant sadness. She was dressed in priestess’ garb. “This is a fool’s errand. Hand over the soul and go destroy the demon you have brought back to life.”

“I have no reason to listen to what you say. Why would I give you Rin? If, for some insane reason, I decided not to return my Rin, I would never hand her over to the likes of you. I would rather her suffer a thousand painful deaths, before such a fate as you would give her,” his fingers reached out then, loosely cupping the glowing orb of a soul that he loved, allowing it to float against his hands. He pulled it closer, holding it to his heart, protectively.

She glared for a moment longer, before pulling a long bow from her shoulder. She set it with an arrow, which glowed a bright pink as she aimed it at the demon lord. Without a word, she loosed it. Unfortunately for the undead woman, it was an attack he had seen and defeated before. Just as when Kagome had sent a purified arrow towards him, Sesshoumaru caught the weapon easily between two fingers. This was something that Kikyo had never seen before, someone actually evading her arrows. She gasped, quite obviously shocked. With a swift burst of poison, the arrow melted away in his grasp.

“If it were not for the fact that my brother stays his own hand against you, I would kill you. However, it is not my place. That decision remains in my brother’s hands, and I will not interfere. Do not follow me, or I will definitely harm you at least,” moving the hand that had dealt with the priestess’s attack to hold his Rin’s soul again, he turned to leave.

“Sesshoumaru! Kill Urasue! This is my plea to you!” she was distraught, trying to repent, he assumed, by saving human lives. Yet, the irony was thick around her, as she fed off human souls.

“Do not preach to me, soul stealer. Tell me,” he looked over his shoulder, “just what happens to the souls you take? Do they ever find peace? Or are they doomed to an eternity inside your own black heart?”

She grunted, glaring darker. One of her shinidamachū curled about her in comfort.

“I repeat. Do not follow me, oh former lover of my brother.”

Kikyo could do nothing but watch as he stalked away with his Rin held lovingly in his hands. She reached up a sad hand to run her fingers across one of her demons. Her heart shook with the words he had spoken, but she refused to believe any of it. She had never been evil while she was alive; she certainly hadn’t resorted to such things now.

Ukiyomaru’s body was half covered by blankets, a pillow lying over his head. His face was turned to the side, barely to be seen beneath the cushion. The young dog’s breathing was shallow and shaky. His body shook with the tears that had coursed through him until he had once again fallen asleep. The setting sunlight slipped through the window of the guest hut, throwing his shadow against the wall.

Riki had pushed open the door silently. He now stood just above the bed, watching the shaking form of his cousin. His brother? There were so many questions racing through the older man’s mind. Questions both for himself and for his Uki. He wanted to go back in time, before any of this had happened, to when it had been easy to clasp the other dog’s hand and call him brother. Inuyasha’s son sighed, pulling his ponytail tighter. What was he supposed to do now?

Slowly the elder hanyou climbed onto the bed, placing one knee on each side of Ukiyomaru’s torso. He slipped the pillow off of the young man’s head. Easing his fingers beneath Uki’s hair, he lifted his head and pushed the cushion underneath it. The boy sniffled in his sleep, shuddering again. Riki’s fierce claws gently brushed the long bangs out of his cousin’s eyes. He wondered vaguely, what exactly would it be like to see Ukiyomaru how the younger man saw him? Sesshoumaru’s son was certainly devilishly handsome, though in a much less in your face way than Riki’s good looks. He was not particularly strong or muscled, merely lean, but with a great look of intelligence in his face. He was certainly not undesirable, and when the older boy really thought about it, was it that far of a jump from how he currently felt about his cousin to where Uki’s feelings lay? He knew nothing would be worse than losing his brother, that he would give his life for the hanyou in a second.

Softly the older man ran his thumbs across the boy’s pink face stripes. Instantly a shiver shot down Uki’s spine, but it was a low moan that escaped his lips. The young dog’s bangs fell apart at the center, clearly showing off his brilliant blue half moon, and Riki leaned over, placing a tender kiss against it. The older demon’s long ponytail hung down over his shoulder as he balanced over his cousin. He wished for a moment that he was looking into those loving brown eyes, so very different from his own golden ones. It really hadn’t been that terrible sharing such a brief kiss with his Uki. It definitely hadn’t felt wrong. Wasn’t Uki right? Wasn’t it just love? He already loved the younger man, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to crush the boy’s heart. Could they possibly even be the same as they were now, with Ukiyomaru’s feelings broken and hidden, and Riki trying to pretend he didn’t notice? No, he would not be able to break his brother, but could he really just slip into a deeper love with him? So many questions, he didn’t want to dwell on them. The dog only wanted to stare at that soft sleeping face. To run his fingers over Uki’s lips, instead of his own this time. What had he tasted like again? Was it Rain or some other earthy flavor? For some reason this question lingered at the front of his mind. He leaned gently forward.

In his sleep, Ukiyomaru felt a sudden pressure, a closeness. The warmth and smell of it all was familiar, and somehow it tore through the overwhelming pain in his heart and soothed him. He whimpered softly, but found that the pressure was strongest over his lips. Slowly, allowing the warmth to slip through his dreams and pull him awake, the younger hanyou blinked his eyes, allowing whatever it was to come into focus.

A smile spread across the older man’s face, there were those eyes so full of love and emotion that he had wanted to see. He slipped his tongue out, running it over the seam of the lips he was currently kissing.

The younger dog gasped, he certainly had not expected that wonderful feeling to be the lips he so longed for against his own. In the instant he sucked in air, Riki’s tongue found the opening to slip inside his mouth. A blush shaded over Ukiyomaru’s cheeks, completely hiding the stripes in its own brightness. Electricity shot through him every time his cousin’s tongue moved against his own appendage. Finally the older hanyou pulled away, though only a fraction of an inch. Their noses still bumped with the shuddering exhales that shook through them, their breath mingling between them.

“I don’t know,” Riki began, still breathing hard, “I don’t know if I love you like you love me.”

At this, Uki’s eyes widened, and he looked absolutely terrified.

“But,” the older continued, making sure their eyes were locked, “but I think I can in time.” The first smile in a very long time painted itself across the younger boy’s smooth features. “I know… I know I’d at least like to try.”

“Thank you, Riki!” he wrapped his arms around the man that hovered over him, burying his face in his shoulder. The older demon supported them both, still stationed on his hands and knees.

“I love you, Uki… and, no matter what happens, I want us to be together. Ok?”

“Luv you too, Riki. So much! And I already told you: I’m not going anywhere. You and me! Y’know?” Ukiyomaru pulled away enough, so that he could lift his hand.

Riki smiled up at him, clasping his hand, balancing on his other limbs, “You and me. Forever.” Slowly he released the younger’s hand, and the boy leaned backwards into the pillows again. The taller man leaned over again, gently pressing his lips to Uki’s. The boy started, but swiftly laced his hands around Riki’s head, pulling him deeper into the kiss. It did not take long for their tongues to begin to dance and fight, a sensuous tango that was swiftly making the older hanyou agree that this whole love thing was a pretty good idea.

The younger dog gave a swift push with both of his feet against Riki’s legs, sliding them out from under him. In the same instant, Uki’s hands pulled the other’s arms away from him. With nothing supporting his weight, Riki fell to the bed; his body flush against the smaller boy.

Not about to be dominated, the older hanyou rocked his hips, so perfectly aligned with his cousin’s. Ukiyomaru gasped, eyes slipping backwards in his head, though his fingers kept enough consciousness to pull Riki even deeper into the kiss. The taller man slipped his fingers just under the edge of the younger’s kimono, but was suddenly forestalled by a shudder that passed through him.

“Riki?!” his cousin gasped.

“No,” he smiled gently, “It’s nothing. I’m just… a bit tired. Didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Me either,” Sesshoumaru’s son admitted sheepishly, “Nightmares.”

“Mm,” the older dog was not surprised, “Just like when we were younger. You started having nightmares every time we didn’t spend the night with each other.”

“ ‘S cuz I need you, brother.”

“Need you too,” a yawn escaped him, “Maybe we should pick this up in the morning?”

“Yeah. Probably,” the younger demon chuckled once, rubbing his fingers over the shadows under the older man’s eyes.

Still smiling gently, Riki began to disentangle the other from the blankets. Finally succeeding, he slipped under them as well, pulling the covers up over their waists. He rolled onto his side, Uki turning to face him, and wrapped an arm around the younger boy, pulling him close, “Good night, my Uki.”

The older hanyou’s strong arms embraced his cousin, and the younger quickly moved to cling to his beloved, “Nite… my Riki,” the tiniest of pauses, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” and just before Ukiyomaru slipped away into a dreamless sleep, he could have sworn he heard the older man whisper “I think I always have.”

Urasue clapped her hands together, casting off the dirt that clung to them. She looked proudly up at her rebuilt kiln. Just inside of it lay a body made of clay. The old demon heaved a sigh, “All this effort. It really doesn’t seem worth it. I’m not sure I’d mind being killed again, if it means I don’t have to work this hard.”

“I can arrange that quite easily,” the voice was like ice, though he knew Rin would chide him if she’d possessed a voice at the moment.

The woman laughed nervously, turning to face the taiyokai, “Lord Sesshoumaru! I didn’t hear you there! I was just joking. Honest.”

He did not respond, and only the wind sounded across the mountain, blowing through his long silver hair and across the long fur that wrapped around his shoulder. Finally, when she was certain he was about to kill her anyway, he held out a hand to her. Warily she reached towards him, and he dropped some soil and bones into her outstretched palm. “I believe you said you required these items.”

“You’re quite right. Now, about that soul…”

The dog pulled his other hand out from behind his back, and in it balanced the glowing orb of his lover.

“Well done!” Urasue’s eyes glistened greedily, “I was not certain you could do it.” She turned quickly to add the bones and grave soil to her clay body.

“Just one more task,” the demon whispered, looking at the soul in his hands, “Do you trust me, Rin?” She did not answer, but did not float away. He held her out, so that she could support herself, and then he drew his sword. “Please, Tenseiga. Do not fail me now. After all this hard work. Bring my Rin back just one final time,” he wielded it towards his mate, “Katta-ukiyo.”

For a moment nothing happened, but suddenly Urasue was frozen in mid-step. The soul tore open and a timeline shot forth. It was certainly much shorter than Enmei’s had been. Pain shot through Sesshoumaru when he realized that he could quite clearly see the end of it, a large date circled, stating “Died.” “Not for much longer, my love,” he reminded himself, turning to walk towards the beginning. There were so many circled dates, he noticed, and most of them had his name. It seemed that Rin found almost every moment she’d spent with him to be important. The thought touched him, and he hoped that his own soul had as many circles with her name upon them.

He saw one in particular that caught his interest, “Met Sesshoumaru.” He could not resist the urge, and reached out a claw to touch it. Swiftly a bubble revealed itself, showing his own injured form against a tree, and a very young Rin leaning out from the forest, looking at him in interest. Quickly, the dog touched the circle again, dismissing it. Enmei was right; this was as dangerous as looking at his own life. It would be so easy to just sit there and watch all those happy memories. The demon lord took a few steps further towards the end; it would be awkward to have a child Rin.

Sesshoumaru paused at another date, “Ukiyomaru’s birth.” The demon winced. He should have been present for that. If only he had known. He reached out and pressed a claw against that circle as well. There was a rather round Rin, looking down at a tiny bundle in her arms. Blankets were wrapped around the small figure. Two large brown eyes peeked up from the chubby face. The baby Ukiyo rubbed at his eyes and reached up tiny fingers towards his mother. Sesshoumaru’s heart skipped a beat. He had missed that, all of that. Never seen his son as a baby, never watched him take his first step, never heard him speak his first word. All of that was here, hidden in away in Rin’s timeline. It could not possibly take that long to go through and watch all of these important moments. Ones that he should have liked to have been present for; ones that tore him apart for having missed. The taiyokai had not even known about his son, before that young face had looked up at him from a sudden unexpected hug, before the boy had saved his life. Just a few moments more, just so he could see all that he had been robbed of by his own mistakes. “Ukiyo,” the dog whispered, tears welling up in his eyes.

Just as he began to turn back towards the bubble showing Ukiyomaru’s first moments of life, Enmei’s voice sounded in his head, “Do not waste away your life looking back. It is always better to look forward, though there is far less certainty to see.” Sesshoumaru was shaking with his own indecision, but he managed to press his trembling fingers against the bubble to send it back into the timeline. He moved swiftly, though unsteadily, to a date that declared “Saved by Ukiyomaru and Riki, Party in Their Honor, Sesshoumaru Returned,” and he wielded his sword again. Tears spilled from his eyes as he decided on the future of his Rin, instead of the past of his son that he would never know. The demon lord brought Tenseiga down straight through the date he had found. He waited, expecting it to do as Enmei’s had. Instead, he was thrown backwards with the force of the entire lifeline shrinking itself before that moment he had chosen, but the timeline had no more moments to add to its own end. Sesshoumaru rose, looking fearfully at the end that was now flickering between “Now” and the date she had passed on. The entire life was much shorter than before.

“Surely,” he whispered, “Surely as soon as Urasue has worked her magic, Rin’s lifeline will be added to… it is simply because she is still a soul that it is confused.” He wished he was as certain as he sounded, as the timeline faded back into his mate.

Then time restarted, and Urasue finished walking to her kiln and adding the final ingredients, Sesshoumaru noted that Rin’s orb of a soul looked no different. It was still floating about though, circling him lovingly. The dog prayed that was a good sign. The old demon stalked back over, scythe over her shoulder, “I will need the soul, now,” she held out her wrinkled old hand.

“If anything goes wrong,” he growled, “I will kill you.” He did not mention that he would probably also try to kill himself, as he was certain that any mistakes would have been from his moments in Rin’s timeline.

“Yes, yes, I’ve heard it already,” she waved a hand at him in annoyance, “Now hand it over.”

Slowly and nervously, Sesshoumaru ushered his Rin towards the old woman. Urasue swiftly reached out and grabbed the soul, though not actually touching it. She held it before her like the dog had, more just guiding it between her hands than anything else.

“In you go,” she smiled, waving it towards the clay body. Rin went in easily enough, obviously trusting in her husband’s plan. The female demon then used her powers to light a fire, before sealing off the kiln.

“Now what?” the taiyokai had stepped up beside her.

“Now? Now we wait,” and she had turned to prepare for her departure from Japan.

“Wait?! For how long?!” Waiting made him nervous. He much preferred taking action. It had been easy to race from his brother, to Urasue, to Totosai, to Enmei, and to the Netherworld. Just sitting here and hoping for the best? That was pure hell to Lord Sesshoumaru.

“I’m not sure,” the old woman pondered, placing a finger to her lips.

“WHAT?!”

“Well, sometimes it takes only a few hours, others take a day or two. We’ll just have to wait, Lord Sesshoumaru. Alright?”

After glaring for a bit, he sighed, “Fine.” The demon lord sat down in the dirt and stared miserably at the kiln as Urasue finished packing. For Rin, he could wait.

The old female demon looked back at the taiyokai for a moment, noting aloud, “Are you crying, my lord?” She always seemed to say ‘lord’ as though it was distasteful.

He reached up to rub away the dampness from his eyes, “No… I was just… just thinking of my son.” Somehow, deep in his heart, he understood that the Tenseiga would never allow him to use the Katta-ukiyo again. Even if it would be so kind, he knew better than to open up the timeline. I’m sorry, Ukiyo, he thought silently, vowing to make it all up to his son in the future.

The taiyokai had not stayed at the castle long enough to even notice that his son and nephew were absent, nor to see the Wolf Elder lounging in his precious hot springs. He had simply grabbed the soil and bones and fled. Sesshoumaru pondered how his child was doing, but did not dwell on it long. His son had always been one for making good decisions. The dog returned to staring up at the closed kiln, awaiting the moment his Rin would come back to him.

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8/28/08

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: Woot! I finished another chapter! Hope it’s still up to par. ^^; I think I was losing my SesshyxRin gusto so to speak, and was focusing too much on my deep love of Uki and Riki. LMAO. Ironically when Ukiyo resurfaces in Sesshy’s mind, I find that I wrote a much better chapter with him and Rin. Was adding Kikyo too much? I’m considering her making a reappearance, but I’m not sure. I never liked her too much. Oh when she was alive I love her immensely, and pity all her misfortune, but once she’s undead? Well she can just stay dead for all I care. Nasty bitch. *is done ranting* Gomen. ^^; P.S. I keep changing the format of my comments, cuz if I don't do it just right, aff doesn't always post the whole thing! T_T this time it wasn't showing my thanks, and I wanted that up most of all!

Thanks:

I love you people who review! I worship at your feet, and your comments give me the strength to write on! Arigato! Domo arigato!

orran_ainmire

Yours is the comment that I received late last night that forced me to set aside the book I was immersed in and finish this latest chapter. I almost cried. I was so happy for review! =D See I was terrified that my Uki and Riki obsession and the obvious path they were headed down was turning people off! Some people are so un~yaoi friendly, and sadly, since starting this story I have been drug down the path of yaoi from which there is no return. ^^; lolz. I’m so glad the chapters are as good as I hoped. I was so terrified that my writing style may have changed to the point where I was being too descriptive, or trying to hard to word it “correctly”. Thank you for encouraging me otherwise.

ZOMFG someone else who loves my Uki and Riki as much as me! *hug tackles* That’s wonderful. I love them so. I’m glad you too! My little angsty, emo puppehz. I’m so glad it’s all coming out the way I hoped. Thank you, thank you. I’ll try to update again this evening. At the very latest, tomorrow. Domo arigato

Archfiend

Yours is the comment that I received just now this morning, that makes me haul my computer off to work, and sit and type all day to print out another chapter! X3 lolz was the yaoi that obvious? ^^; my newest obsession, and even though I began this story (three years was it? O.o gomen) with little yaoi knowledge, after the several long breaks, I have become completely addicted to yaoi and it just rubbed itself so easily off upon my Uki and Riki. I’m so glad it hasn’t turned you off, and that you think I wrote it well enough! =D I was afraid I was being too emo. T_T As that is how I am lately in life. lolz.

That is also true I suppose, about that whole thing being worthless if Rin was not saved…. and honestly? I forgot all about Urasue. I was soooo focused on the technique and then my precious Enmei (another of my fav OCs). Do you think having Sara there was too much? I dunno, I just thought it suited the moment. Also, would having Kikyo make another appearance a little later on be pushing it?

Honestly, I do not know most things that will happen next in my story. I had only a few notes from last year, things like Enmei is a swan and Sara’s in the netherworld. Everything else I just make up as I go along. So do not despair! I know little more than you do. Hope you liked this chapter! <3