Troubled Waters

A/N: I wanted to warn those who read this chapter, extreme violence towards a child in this story. It was a hard one to write.

Toshio glared back at his nephew, never had Sesshomaru dared to disrespect him in such a manner. He knew his mind was blown, that was the only reason Toshio let him get away with his crass speech towards him. Sesshomaru’s eyes wildy danced at the sight of his son’s room, the room he had locked for years. He was beginning to unravel in front of everyone. Thai ran down the hallway, she grabbed her brother by his arm while ordering passers by to leave the area.
“You have got to calm yourself.” She whispered to him. He could not bring himself to speak.
“I didn’t know that you would be back so soon.”

“That is not the point!” He yelled. “How could you Thai....how could you allow Zimorah to violate me like this?”

“Sessh, it wasn’t her....it was me, me and uncle Toshio. I took the key from your study and gave it to her.” Thai paused. “ She was so scared, she did not want to do it”

“Why?” He spit the question out.

“Because, Sessh.....its time. You have shut down, you have carried this around by yourself way too long now!” Thai’s voice was soft, her eyes were watery. “I hate seeing you like this......you are my brother and I love you.”

“I-I deserve to......was all my fault.” He answered with his head down.

Thai walked over towards him, she placed her arm around his shoulder. “Thats just it Sessh, its not your fault, how long can you keep taking the blame?”

“I should have never left InuTaisho alone....I knew he was at that curious age.....I wasn’t thinking.”

“Sessh, you have before, nothing like that ever happened. Any other time, you would come back to find him playing in the river or something......he just.....it was just one of those things, children do not listen to their parents all the time.” She stopped to wipe her face. “You remember the countless times we wandered off as children?”

“What about Tsumi? I let her down....I was so fueled with anger, set on revenge.....I was not there for her......I could have prevented her from ta-“ The overwhelming feeling of grief, came over him, he was unable to finish his sentence. Thai embraced him.
“Come on, let us get some air” She took her brother’s hand.

“What about Zimorah?” He was worried. “I cannot loose her.”

“And you won’t, she is in shock but she is very much alive. Our uncle is with her, he knows exactly what she is going through.” She lead him outside.

Toshio let out a sigh of relief as Zimorah drew a long breath. He knew she was okay. Her eyes were still closed, more visions invaded her head. She saw the same man throw the child on the ground as all the drunken men laughed. A sinister grin formed on the man’s face as he watched the boy cry and pleaded with him to take him to his father.
“I’ve got something for you demon!” He whispered. The man dragged the child behind a large tree. The rest of the mob was quieted by the child’s screams. They knew what the man was doing. Most of them laughed it off while a few were disturbed.

“He...thats just....I never realized how much they sound like human children.”

“Whats this, Seto....you feel pity for that little monster?” One of them asked.

“Maybe Kaede was right. He is just a small child......What Tahjiri is doing, its just wrong.”

The sounds of the boy’s whimpering was too much for Seto. He handed his sword to one of the men. Before he could do anything, Tahjiri stepped from behind the tree, he left the child lying there, helpless and in shock.
“Who’s next?” He joked.

“He did not deserve that, you sick bastard!” Seto yelled at him. “I thought you just wanted to rid our village of demons, I could see you going after his father but......” His voice trailed off.

“But what...that little monster has no real feelings.....he just wants you to feel sorry for him. If we let him go, he’ll grow up to be evil, like that damn Sesshomaru.. You do remember he killed our brother?”

“Yeah, I remember our dear brother tried to invade his village .....he let his hatred for demons blind his judgement.”

“I want to make him suffer, just like our brother did and I will use this mut to do so”. Tahjiri spat out. The drunk, angry mob, cheered at his bitter words.

Seto shook his head at his brother and the others. He knew the unlimited, violence, that this would lead to.
“You know that once Sesshomaru and his henchmen find out, there will be no mercy on ANY of our lives...He’ll bring death to our whole village!”

“If I can cause one ounce of pain within his soul, it will be worth it.”

“I will not be a part of this and I’m taking the child” Seto said as he gently picked InuTaisho up.

Without any thought what so ever, Tahjiri struck his brother with the same brick he hit Kaede with. Seto hit the ground, dropping the child. With all the strength he had, he attempted to crawl away. Tahjiri stepped on the child’s back.
“Die demon!” He yelled as he ran his sword through his shoulder. The child screamed as he turned over, is eyes full of tears. He looked at Tahjiri as he laughed at his pain.

“Yes, thats it, cry monster, I want to see you suffer.” He stabbed InuTaisho was once more in his right shoulder. The boy cried at the sight of his own blood, running down his arms. The other men joined in, kicking him, laughing as he cried.

“No!” Zimorah cried out, she moved her head slightly. Still unable to open her eyes. She wanted the visions to stop, tears flooded her face. Toshio watched her, he already knew what she saw.

“MOTHER.........FATHER!” InuTaisho’s loud cries were unanswered. All he received was laughter, hatred....he was being tortured for something he knew nothing about. The rest of the men stopped. They knew he was at death’s door. Quietly, they all stepped back, all but Tahjiri.

“Stop, he will die before sunrise....let the child be!”

Tahjiri ignored their pleas. He strolled towards the boy, he smiled at the blood pouring out of him, the cuts, the footprints all over the child. He noticed the child’s struggle for air, his little golden eyes were still open. With tears in his eyes, InuTaisho asked,
“W-Why?” It was all the three year old could get out.

“Just you remember, as you die out here all alone......your father Sesshomaru, he did this to you....he might as well killed you himself” Tahjiri spat on the child and walked away. The mob followed him, they were all quiet, it was too late but they had second thoughts about what they had done.

There he was, in the cold night air....all alone. His only experience with mortals, so horrific. He wondered why they hated him so, he wondered why his mother had such compassion for them. All the child wanted, was to get home to the loving arms of his parents. Kaede, struggling to get to her feet, noticed him, hidden in the tall grass. She was still injured.
“Oh, no! What evil have they done to you?” Her voice was weak. She wrapped him up in a blanket she had with her. Inutaisho just laid there, still, quiet. She was surprised he was still breathing. A human child would have never been able to stay alive after all that torture.

InuTaisho looked up at Kaede, his eyes were alomost closed. His weak, little voice pleaded with her. "Home....please...take...me...home." Kaded looked at Seto, her heart was broken for the child.

“We must get him to his father”. Seto struggled to get to his feet as well. They knew the child was going to die eventually, the least they could do, was to get him home. Regardless of Seto’s injuries, he was determined to bring the child to his home. He felt so guilty. ‘If only I had stopped this sooner’. Was all he kept thinking. The two mortals were silent on the way there.

Zimorah seemed to be in a deep sleep, still Toshio was not worried. He knew she had to find out everything that happened. He did wish the poor woman did not have to go through this however. Her visions brought her back to Sesshomaru’s home. She saw him walking around with Tsumi. She felt their feelings of restlessness and worry. Sesshomaru kept telling Tsumi that their son was okay, that the guards were out searching for him. Deep down, he to knew something was wrong, he could feel it. Tsumi was standing near the doorway, the sun would soon be up and she had not slept at all. She raised her head at the sight of two unfamiliar figures at the gate. Before Sesshomaru knew it, she took off, running to the gate.

“Kikyo......no, its... Kaede. What, you should not be here, now is not the-“ Tsumi’s sentence was cut off cold. She noticed Kaede’s tears as she gently knelt down to place InuTaisho on the ground. At first, she was in shock, she stood still....her grey eyes began to fill with tears. She fell to the ground and let out a blood-curdling howl. She picked up her son, his body was lifeless, still she rocked him as if he was alive. Sesshomaru ran to her, he stopped once he saw his son’s limp body. His face was emotionless but his eyes...the hurt, anger......it was all in his eyes.

Thai ran outside, pushing through the gathering crowd. Her eyes widened at the sight of her little nephew, wrapped up in a blanket. His scent told her of his death. Thai swallowed hard to fight the tears that wanted to break free from her eyes. She motioned for one of the guards to take InuTaisho and make sure hes prepared for burial. She knew Tsumi should not see him this way. Her brother was unable to move, unable to speak. Thai approached the weeping mortals.
“You are hurt. What happened?”

“I ...I tried so hard. He was just a young pup.....he did not deserve to die this way.”

Thai knew how Kaede was. She was not like her sister, she was sincere. While she was not sure of the man, she felt his guilt, she knew he was injured for attempting to help her nephew.

“ You gave my nephew comfort in the hour of his death. I will see that your lives are spared when we come for them. Once your injuries have been tended to, leave....warn those savaged humans that death will come to their village.” Thai walked away from them. Her words cut like a sharp sword.

Sesshomaru managed to gently place his hand on Tsumi’s shoulder. In anger, she jerked away. He was confused. She jumped up, her cold glare was enough to stop his heart.
“What did you do?” She was crying.

“Tsumi, I-“. He didn’t know what to say.

“What..did.. You...do? What evil did you cause to make someone do that to him?” She started hitting him, her claws were wildly swinging at him. He tried to grab hold of her wrists

“Ts-Tsumi, stop....I don’t know......please stop!”

“WHAT did you do?....My baby is dead now......what did you do?....Answer me Sesshomaru!” She slapped him.

He was in shock. His did not even notice his uncle clearing everyone from the area. Thai, with one swift swoop, picked Tsumi up. She knew she needed to get her alone and calmed. As Thai walked away with Tsumi in her arms, the woman was still yelling.

“What did you to?!.......What-“

“Sssh.....calm down”. He heard Thai whisper as she took her inside.

Sesshomaru did not shed any tears. Even when InuTaisho was buried, no tears. Everyone waited for him to cry but he didn’t. He was just so angry, all he could think about was killing someone. He laid awake at night, thinking of the many ways the end each and every person’s life who caused his son pain. His uncle was very worried about him. Thai felt the same way her brother did, she wanted those men dead. She was not as far gone as he was, there was something down right scary about her brother...he stopped speaking all together, he did not eat but neither did Tsumi. Weeks had gone by, finally, Sesshomaru broke his silence.
“I am ready.......they must die, now!” He got up from the table, all his henchmen along with Thai followed him.

The demon lord was so set on revenge, he had not began to realize Tsumi’s pain. She needed him and he was never there. Their whole relationship fell apart, she never wanted to go through life without the love of her mate and she couldn’t go on without her son. Tsumi made one more attempt to open herself up to Sesshomaru, she looked all over the village for him. Tears running down her face, she soon learned that he left to avenge the death of their son. He did not so much as bother to speak with her about any of this. She was unable to deal anymore. While one of te servants prepared her bath, she sat down to write a long letter to her mate, she was still crying.
Slowly, she stepped into the steaming water. Her long, dark hair fell to the ground. As she closed her eyes, flashes of her dead son’s body haunted her. Tsumi sobbed into the water, her pain was unbearable. Her blurred vision spotted a sharp object. She wiped her face and reached of it. It was the same knife her son cut his figure on weeks before he died. Tsumi studied the knife for what seemed to be hours.

Zimorah started to toss and turn at the sight of what she was seeing.

Tsumi smiled when she heard her son’s laughter.
“InuTaisho” She whispered. “Mother will see you soon.” She cried out as she dragged the sharp knife across her wrist. Her blood poured out like the tears from her eyes. Tsumi closed her eyes, she was going to join her child.
“Forgive me, my Sesshomaru.” That was the last thing Tsumi whispered. One of the young servants found her in a pool of blood and water.

“NO!” Zimorah jumped up, she was shaking and crying, her eyes opened and she finally let go of the fabric. She didn’t quite realize she was awake, she violently swung on Toshio.

“It is over now child....It is alright, everything is alright now.” His voice was calming.


Toshio helped Zimorah out of the room. She was still light-headed, more so then she should have been. He lead her outside where she could take in some fresh air. Zimorah took a few sips of water.

“Are you alright now?”

“Oh...Toshio....It was horrible. I saw everything. Gods, no wonder Sessh hates mortals. Here I was thinking it was all because of InuYasha but its way, way deeper then that.”

“Yes....I only wished it was because of InuYasha and his mother.”

“How?....My gods, how can I face him now?”

“Just be there for him. Listen to him, like you do now. Talking about this is something he has never done. He had a sort of nervous break down after Tsumi took her life. Thai had to take over his ruling for a good while. After he came back to himself, we all knew he was not the same. He completely cut that part of himself out, I cannot explain it.”

“Hmm...I see” Zimorah shut her eyes for a moment. She felt nauseous.

Toshio looked at her and smiled. “So, when are you going to tell Sessh you are with child?”

“Huh?” Zimorah thought she was but was not sure. “You mean I- I am?”

“Well you cannot expect to be with one another as such as you two and not be with child”. He laughed.

“But....what if he doesn’t even want this child now. With all that has happened-“

“Sssh, don’t worry about that. Its been fifty years now, trust me, you two will be fine.”

Toshio helped Zimorah up from her chair. She found herself wandering around and noticed Their bedroom door was open. She sighed at the sight of him sleeping. She was about to walk away.
“Zimorah, please...don’t go.” His voice sounded sleepy.

“Oh, well I thought-“

“I know. I was sleeping but I heard you walking around”.

“Oh.” She said shyly. There was silence. He turned around to face her.

“There is that silence again.” He joked. Zimorah smiled at him. Him knew she knew everything now. He sat up once she reached for his hand.


“Sessh, I’m so....so sorry. I-“

“Please, don’t.....I know you did this for me. Thai told me the reason.” He said, letting out a sigh. “There is not a day that goes by without thoughts of my son....or Tsumi. I feel like I could have done something to-“

“I love you so much.” That was the first thing that popped into her mind.. “You have to know, none of this is your fault, their destiny was written, long before you knew them, long before they knew.”

“I love you as well, I would have traveled the same road to help you.” He told her as she caressed his face. “Thank you...for loving me, for understanding my pain.”

He leaned in to kiss her. The couple talked almost half the night away. Zimorah did a lot of listening, Sesshomaru needed to talk about this and she knew it. They laughed and cried together. Never did he feel so free, it was like this heavy weight was off his shoulders. That alone was enough to make him love her forever. They both grew tired, as he was holding her close to him, she informed him of her pregnancy. Toshio was indeed correct, Sesshomaru was pleased. In the back of his mind, he already knew she was carrying his child, he just wanted to hear it from her.