Brave Hearts (Sesshomaru Fanfiction)

8. A Wolf's Death

The wolf lord stumbled into his palace bedroom, breathing heavy and still clutching onto his bleeding arm. He snarled to himself. 

Damn that Sesshomaru. 

Using his good arm, he pounded his fist against the wooden wall, growling. 

“I know you are here, Hana, that scent of yours is unmistakable. Or have you suddenly lost all your confidence since the day you’d actually had the audacity to attack your own father?” 

He looked over at the set of open doors that led to the balcony overlooking the tribe. Dark red curtains billowed in the night breeze, and behind those curtains stood the shadow of a person. Something about this pleased him. 

“You should know that the dog demon refused to fight me,” he began walking closer to the open doors, “and I’m rather angry about that.” 

Suddenly, the wolf demon began chuckling. His chuckles eventually turned into laughter as he neared the shadow, raising his good arm and bearing his claws. 

“I think it’s about time you paid for all the pain you’ve caused your father…and your entire tribe…” 

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“He’s gone mad…” 

This was what Hana thought to herself as she stood on her father’s balcony, in a state of shock from looking at the aftermath of his madness for too long. 

“But…why?”

After asking Koga to take her back to the Southern Wolf Tribe, she’d thanked him when they’d gotten far enough and ensured him that she could make it own her own the rest of the way. He then left, turning back the way they’d come and waving a hand in the air dismissively. 

“Have it your way then. Just try not to get yourself killed. I don’t want Sesshomaru blaming me for your death,” were his last words to her, and he was gone in a matter of seconds. 

Somehow, Hana had managed to enter her father’s place without encountering any guards. The palace had been practically empty – something which had given her an ominous feeling. Entering her father’s room she discovered that he too was nowhere to be found. She couldn’t quite decide if she’d felt more relieved or disappointed, but a part of her told her that the latter was more likely. 

He’d probably gone to find Sesshomaru, and had probably taken all his men with him.

But that thought had immediately been dismissed as Hana stepped further into her father’s room and the smell of smoke began filling her nostrils. Her eyebrows puckered at the strange smell. That was when she had looked over at the set of open doors that led to the balcony. Somewhere out in the distance there was a bright reddish-orange light, as if something was burning. A feeling of dread had suddenly come over the wolf demon, and she rushed out the doors to stand on the balcony. Her eyes widened at the sight. 

Most of the tribe was on fire. 

Deep down inside her, something told her that her father had something to do with this, though because of this, she felt that she couldn’t even call the man her father any more. She grabbed onto the balcony rail, her heart racing. 

It had been the voice of her father that broke her out of her trance. 

“They were beginning to challenge my authority…and even question my sanity. So I showed them all…the way I’m about to show you.” 

From the sound of his voice, he was close, but Hana hadn’t been able to react to this until she felt a sharp pain in her left shoulder as her father sank his claws deep into her flesh. She cried out, taking a hold of her father’s hand and pulling it out of her skin, enabling her to quickly spin around and shove her father a good distance away from her. Holding onto her bloody shoulder with her right hand, she stared, surprised, at the man standing before her. He stood with a grin on his face, his long brown hair disheveled and her blood on his fingers. His other hand was…missing. Something told her that Lord Sesshomaru had something to do with that.