Duty Bound by Aurora

Chapter 1

Title: Duty Bound
Author: DawningAurora
Prompt: Wonderland Challenge.
Genre:Tragedy, hinted-Romance
AU/CU: Alternate Universe; Post-series.
Rating: K+
Warnings: Character assassination and death.
Word Count: 1,410
A/N: This is part of the Dokuga Wonderland! Challenge. This followed the heels of Snowflakes and Sesshomaru, I did it in a day. Summary: Can Sesshomaru thaw the frost bite of dreams consigned to ashes and perhaps cradle the stirring hopes for a new dream?

......

"Do you believe that duty can be inherited?" he asked her, one winter morning. Sesshomaru looked intently into the dull bronze gaze of the miko before him. She tilted her head in a fashion reminiscent of a bird and looked quizzically back. He raised a brow to signal his impatience.

"I.. I think so," she stuttered, a tad unsure.

"Then you will consider joining this Sesshomaru," he said, his words holding the ring of a command to them.

"That is kind of you Sesshomaru-sama," she said wearily.

Sesshomaru frowned slightly while waiting for her to add something. The miko was proving to be the most difficult of them all to deal with. Long past were the days where he planned to destroy his foolish little brother and his troupe. The Tajiya and the Houshi were safely settled within the borders of the lands he claimed as his, despite being less than thrilled about it.

"I can teach you to wield the Tetsusaiga," he offered.

She stilled at the mention of the sword that hung by her hip-side. She turned towards the meadow before her, fingering the sword-hilt as she watched the erratic spiral of snow.

"I don't want to wield it," she told him quietly.

"Then what do you want?" he enquired, as his youki flared in a tangible show of irascible temper. She looked at him, vaguely unimpressed and utterly unafraid.

She had been like this since then. The aftermath of the final battle with Naraku. After they had escaped, Naraku had, in a desperate final bid, unleashed a powerful but decidedly diminutive beam of light at the distracted Sesshomaru. Inuyasha had managed to knock him out of harm's way but he had received a glancing blow from the beam. The patch of flesh the beam had caught began glistening with an unearthly scarlet hue. Inuyasha- being his usual self-had dismissed the wound, consigning it to the care of his demon heritage.

The celebrations afterwards were subdued. They had waited for weeks together for even the remotest scrap of news that Naraku had escaped or, that he had yet another incarnation which was unknown to all but himself. There was no such news. Slowly they began to relax.

The children began to frolic about the forests, collecting flowers in Rin case or aspen leaves to be imbued with kitsune magic in Shippo's case, lovingly dubbing them their 'wonderland'. As spring receded to the lushness of autumn, they took to the lane that led them to Kaede's village, singing nonsensical songs about love and its effects on the now brain addled lover; which had even drawn a disbelieving and disturbed stare from Sesshomaru.

Amidst the now enormous and bustling group, the signs of disaster began to fade into the background. Inuyasha had been growing steadily quieter, his oft boisterous antics growing less frequent. He began to eat a lot less as well. Kagome saw it all and pretended not to worry, he was Inuyasha after all, and he always pulled through in the end. Not even the promise of unlimited ramen could incite his appetite. He was always off by himself. The others simply attributed it a difficulty in adjusting to the newness of the peace time situation and restlessness.

Until the night of the full moon, when he was forced to return to the village. He returned to wait out the moon. The sight that met them during the transformation was not one they were likely to forget.

Inuyasha the hanyou had a rather robust build; faintly slender yet solid. Inuyasha the human was painfully gaunt; more bone than flesh. They could not hide their fear at the sight or horror at the fact that he had hidden this from them. He revealed the true menace behind Naraku's conspiratorial final attack.

The wound that Inuyasha had received had turned into a mottled purple. The wound pulsed with an almost choking evil. Kagome's attempts at purifying it had done nothing but accelerate it further. In Inuyasha's hanyou form, his demon heritage did nothing but slow it down. In Inuyasha's human form, Kagome's attempts merely sounded a death knell. Armed with the knowledge that there was nothing they could have done, they huddled around him; protectively and possessively as he tried his best to lift their spirits.

The night passed in a splash of celebration, as though they were trying to condense a lifetime of happiness into a single night. There was always time for grief and grieving.. after..Close to dawn, he rested his head on Kagome's lap. She threaded her fingers through his lack lustre locks and waved away his apologies.

Heralded by bird song in the pre-dawn hours, Inuyasha died.

Kagome sat unmovingly with his head still on her lap and her fingers still threading through his hair. Sesshomaru-sama returned to the village to take care of the fune-.. of everything.

She stood beside Sango, untouched by tears, before the scene in front of her as she consigned abstract dreams of her future to the still smoldering ashes of his pyre.

It had been winter then too, she remembered looking at the meadow that held a headstone ringed by a snow-free area and a similar trail.

She had seen six winters since then. Six winters safeguarding the Tetsusaiga, which Sesshomaru-sama had entrusted to her. Six years during which he had attempted to finagle her into looking a little more alive, a little less like a shadow of her former vivacious self. One might wonder why a lord such as himself might bother but he that was something he asked himself to no avail.

He had accompanied her to his brother's grave, a silent and watchful presence that stayed long after she did. He was the source of the kimono she burrows into during the winter months. He had offered to teach her how to use the Tetsusaiga but she claimed her fingers, long used to the weight of a bow, would not budge.

Perhaps it was time for a change, she thought to herself as she studied his profile from beneath her lashes. It would not be so bad to wander the lands for a while. Sesshomaru-sama, though not the most amiable of companions, was not so bad to be around.

But would he mind? She asked herself, with a furtive glance at the stone.

She walked home that day, alone again. She tossed and turned in her sleep, haunted by memories and hunted by guilt.

Winter had softened its bite considerably, spring was approaching. Sesshomaru-sama sat a little ways away, seeing him brought his offer to mind. Kagome looked at the grave again.

A silver-white butterfly that had settled itself on the tombstone rose and flew towards her. It held the patterns of a golden magatama* it. It was shaped just like the beads Kaede used to subjugate him! It rested for a minute at the corner of her lip before fluttering away.

A half strangled name on her lips and a startled gasp as she fell to her knees was enough to help her decide. She rose with solidifying conviction.

Thank you, Inuyasha.

With wordless gratitude, she turned towards Sesshomaru and whatever the future might hold.

........

Aurora's Note-This is my second entry for the Wonderland Challenge. I had no intention of Inuyasha dying in the fic when I first started out. It was actually supposed to be about Sesshomaru and his father and a discourse about duty.

Sesshomaru is the kind of youkai who would feel his sense of responsibility deeply and also that since Inuyasha's death was his fault, he had to make amends.

Also, I believe that first loves should stay immortal. Just like Kikyo did, just not in a "I'm going to kill you because you killed me" kind of way. ;P

*Magatama- comma shaped beads used in prehistoric Japan as jewellery before becoming religious or ceremonial objects by the end of the Kofun Period.

As always, a critique, commentary, compliment or perhaps pointing out a few flaws with the story, is always appreciated