Hope in the leaf

Sesshomarus revenge

Sesshomaru led me down the winding path until nightfall, the sky above bellowed with thunder clouds: rain threatening to fall. "We're here." He spoke up looking into the woods. My eyes followed where he looked, nothing but thick dense trees. "What? I don't see anything." I peered around him looking at the brush. He scoffed and waved his finger in the air a zipping sound following the point of his finger nail. Once his hand waved over the area another trail appeared. "Wha- what?! Was that some sort of genjutsu you had placed on this path?" I asked shocked by what my eyes just witnessed. "Yes." He replied bluntly and walked along the trail leading down into the woods. *I don't understand? Genjutsu makes the victim see illusions but... how was it placed when no one was around. And how is he powerful enough to place a genjutsu anyone will fall victim too?! It's as if he's... not human.* I racked my brain trying to think of how this was possible. How he possessed such powers, and if he was even a human man. I had heard stories before about demons within people, Naruto himself was one of those men. But the idea of a man actually being a demon.... is it possible? Maybe Seiryu could answer my questions. He was after all one of the divine dragons, and he spoke of him before like he knew him.

I followed Sesshomaru along the path a little ways longer until a small house appeared from behind the trees. It sat shrouded by giant trees, limbs canopied over it shielding it from above. A river ran beside it, it looked very well maintained to be out here with nothing surrounding it. "Wait here." He spoke to me as he continued walking. I stopped in my tracks and watched as he slowly approached the house he appeared to be making handsigns as he walked. When he arrived at the door it opened without him touching it. He looked back at me and motioned me to come towards him. I hesitantly walked forward until I stood directly in front of him. "We will be staying here for the night, tomorrow we will make our way to the neighboring village. You will be safer there." He spoke as he walked into the small house. I followed him inside, it was clean. Not a speck of dust could be spotted inside. I looked around until my eyes landed upon a bed, only one bed. I guess my eyes lingered far too long because Sesshomaru approached me and stood next to me, cutting his eyes at me harshly. "Don't worry, the bed is yours. I won't be sleeping with you." I turned red at his words *dammit Kagome here you go again letting your face read your emotions* I scratched my head and looked up at him backing up "uh yeah, course. I wasn't thinking that!" He looked down at me furrowing his brows. "I wouldn't want to sleep with you anyway, so keep those thoughts out of your head." I choked on my words as I turned bright red. *WHAT! WHAT IS HIS PROBLEM ASSUMING I WAS THINKING THAT!*

I watched as he moved towards the door "Wait!" I called out to him and he stopped turning to face me. "You told me you'd tell me about your arm."

He stood across from me quietly with his same emotionless expression, if he was caught off guard by my sudden words he did a damn good job of hiding it. "So you wish to know that badly?" He asked narrowing his eyes breathing in. I took a shallow breath and shook my shoulders "well yes. I would like to know more about you at least. If I'm going to be your prisoner." I waited for him to rush towards me and intimidate me again. Or say something about how I'm not his prisoner, but instead he scoffed almost laughing and mumbled under his breath "so it shall be" before he walked out of the door.
As soon as he made his lackluster exit I sighed deeply letting down my guard and turned around looking at the small house. I walked towards the bed and sat down on it: crossing my legs. I placed my arms down letting them rest on my legs while my fingertips touched. Closing my eyes I began to call out for Seiryu. I could see myself inside the mental world, the darkness surrounding me as the sound of my feet tapping against shallow water sounded around me. "If you can hear me I would like to speak with you please." I asked standing looking ahead at the thick ominous darkness. "Kagome, my defiant vessel. What makes you think I wish to speak with you?" He replied to me almost instantly, sounding very irritated. He had every right to be though. I put us both in danger the moment I stepped foot out of the village. My life was not the only one on the line, but his too.
"Look I'm sorry ok, I know you're angry with me. I know I've put us in danger. But it needed to be done. I had become too comfortable in the leaf anyway. I needed to leave and get away from" I stopped myself remembering why I left before shaking his image out of my head. "I needed to get away from the security of it all. I'll never get my revenge that way." I clenched my fists at my side looking around once more. "Kagome you are a fool! Such insignificant squabbles caused you leaving. You remind me of a baby throwing a tantrum, not able to handle things like a true shinobi. You let emotions overrule your senses and because of this you have endangered my life. If Sesshomaru hadn't found you, you and I would both be dead. This conversation is over." His voice rang loud around me, his tone scared me. I wanted to argue. His words angered me more but in a way. He was right. This whole thing. My leaving. Have I been covering up my leaving with revenge for Orochimaru, is that really why I left the village. Or is it just because of this sickening love.

In that instant I was pulled from the mental world and came to real time. I looked outside the window of the house, sunset had begun. Standing up I paced around until I peered outside to see Sesshomaru sitting near a campfire. I walked outside to inspect the situation more. Something about the distance between him and the fire irked me, he was too far away to get any warmth from it at all. I looked at him puzzled as I inched closer. "I thought we talked about staring already?" He said twitching his eyebrow in aggravation. Pausing and averting my eyes I made my way to sit on a log closer to the fire. There was a brief silence before he spoke up looking into the fire. "I guess you wish to hear how I lost my arm then?" Glaring over at me catching my eyes I slowly nodded in affirmation. He huffed and gazed deeply into the fire as he began to speak.

"My Brother and I were once part of the great swordsmen of the lands, he was a brilliant shinobi......The best around.....I admired him greatly... His courage, strength, humanity, everything about him I envied. Everyone knew his name. The powerful Tōga, or as he was more commonly known Inu-No-Taisho......
One day along our travels we were ambushed, outnumbered greatly by enemy shinobi. This had happened many times before. And every other time we would succeed, together it seemed nothing could stop us. But I- I was sloppy that day. I grew careless. And because of my carelessness my brother was struck in the heart. He died protecting me. In my anger as his body and sword fell I slaughtered the entire village we were in at the time. But nothing filled his loss."

I looked across the fire at him. Sadness was painted along his face as he slowly closed his eyes. "I'm terribly sorry. I know what it's like to lose someone so precious to you..... but if he died.... then how did he cut off your arm?" I asked slowly not wanting to offend him in his state. He opened his eyes looking across from me. "When my brother died I carried his body and sword back to where we were born. All the other members of our clan were buried there, and I made sure to do the same with him. I gave him a true burial. And as I mourned his loss, word of his death traveled. The great Tōga had died. And thus began the spread of evil once more. My foolishness continued as I sit in darkness day after day mourning him. His sword by my side a constant reminder of his death. And in that state, my brothers body was stolen. As I tracked the man who took it I knew it couldn't have been anyone other than Orochimaru, but what he wanted with my brothers body I did not know. I figured it must have had something to do with one of his sick experiments.......When I found Orochimaru however, what he had in mind was far more wretched. Orochimaru wished to use my body as a vessel. And the only way he could defeat me and make me submit to him was with the help of someone far more powerful than me. Orochimaru could never defeat me on his own. Instead he used a reanimation jutsu and brought my brother back from the dead. In my anger I tried going for Orochimaru to strike him down but my brother was no longer my brother. He was a puppet. And his only intent was to kill me. In the fight that lasted 12 hours he severed my arm. Until I finally drove his sword through his heart long enough to reach Orochimaru. Unfortunately he managed to escape before I could kill him. This is why I seek revenge against him. For what he did to my brother, and for what he has done to me."