Brave Hearts (Sesshomaru Fanfiction)

10. This Strange Feeling

Hana had fallen asleep again.

The fact that she could fall asleep practically anywhere and anytime had never failed in amazing him.

He watched her for a moment as she lay peacefully, her chest rising and falling with each calm breath she took.

After a moment of pondering, he had decided to leave her be. Sesshomaru then set off – where he was headed, he wasn’t sure. Maybe, he simply wanted a walk, or maybe he hoped that he would find a worthy yokai that was foolish enough to challenge him. (The wolf demon had been foolish, yes, but he was weak, and was not worth Sesshomaru’s time.)
Besides, he hadn’t been able to test his might in a while.

As he left, he hoped that Hana’s being asleep could keep her out of trouble for a while – she had a habit of getting herself into bothersome situations.

It hadn’t been long before Sesshomaru got exactly what he’d desired. He hadn’t even been walking for that long when, not one, but two demons stood before him. The two were rather unpleasant looking, and also, they seemed to tower over the dog demon. But neither their height and size nor their ugly appearance mattered to the daiyokai.

“Sesshomaru, what a coincidence” growled one of the ogre-looking demons, “I thought I smelled you.”

“Hn,”

“My brother and I have long awaited the day we’d be able to taste the blood of the great ‘Lord of the West’,”

“The only blood that’s going to be spilled here is yours.”

Calmly, Sesshomaru reached for his Tokijin.

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Her father was dead. He’d been dead for over two days now. Hana was sure of this. So why was she now standing in front of that very man who was supposed to be dead?

She was dreaming again, wasn’t she?

She stared blankly at her father as he stood before her, a disapproving look on his face. The fact that it was a dream calmed Hana a bit, though the vividness of it all still made her uneasy.

“So, you wish to punish me even in my sleep?” Hana sighed.

A sly smile crept across her father’s face. It remained there for a minute or so, and then disappeared.

“My daughter,” she heard him say in that, familiar, low growl, “It amuses me that you don’t even realize how much alike we both are.”

Hana knit her brows as she tried to make sense out of what her father was saying – as she tried to make sense out of what this dream was all about.

“You’re delusional,” she said, causing him to let out a loud laugh.

“So you’re telling me you feel no guilt for killing your own father, the man who brought you into this world – the man who raised you?”  

Surprise hit her.

“My blood will always be on your hands.” As he shot her a sly grin, his words seemed to echo, and everything began to fade to white.

She opened her eyes and stared at the sky that seemed to have become overcast sometime during her slumber. Hana sat up, sighing.

With a slight frown on her face, she looked around. She’d expected to have found Sesshomaru sitting somewhere near, staring thoughtfully and uninterestedly at something, or for him to have gone for Rin and Jaken already. Instead he was nowhere to be found.   

Suddenly, she missed him.

There was a low rumble – something that reminded her of a wolf’s growl. Examining the sky – and the grey clouds that seemed to be slowly coming toward her – she eventually realized that it had been thunder. She couldn’t remember the last time it had rained. 

Hana got to her feet, stretching a bit and looking at the clouds. Along with missing Sesshomaru, there was also another feeling that seemed to be slowly overwhelming the wolf demon. She soon began to realize that feeling was connected to her dream. The feeling that was plaguing her heart most at the moment was guilt. She supposed her father had succeeded, for she was now beginning to feel extremely guilty for what she had done.

He was her father (he was crazy, but still her father) and she had slain him.

 The thunder from above began to rumble menacingly, and there was a faint breeze blowing all around. The scent of rain filled the air. To Hana, the atmosphere seemed to match the sudden sorrowful feeling in her heart quite well. She felt her heart drop.

As the thick, grey, storm clouds slowly rolled in, it seemed as if it was becoming harder for her to hold back the few tears that were forming in her eyes. One question flowed through her mind:

Why?

Why was she suddenly so saddened by the death of her father – by the fact that she had been the one to slay her father?

He’d done such horrible things, and yet she felt stricken with grief.

Though at the moment she mourned his death, she knew that she would never be able to forgive him for the things he had done. Like all the other times of trials that she’d experienced, she knew that this one would also pass eventually. This was what she told herself.

She knew that this feeling would not last a long time, because although the only person related to her by blood was now dead, she knew that she still had people that were dear to her – Lord Sesshomaru, for example.

At the thought of him, Hana felt a flicker of happiness and hope amidst the sadness in her heart, and though tears had now been freely flowing down her rosy cheeks, a faint smile appeared on her face.

She also had Rin and Master Jaken, and it seemed that she and the wolf demon, Koga were slowly becoming acquaintances.

She wasn’t alone.

And, as if to confirm the thought that she’d just had, she felt a hand on her right cheek, followed by a thumb brushing away one of her tears. She turned slightly and found Sesshomaru looking down at her. Even after so much time had passed, she could still never get used to the moments when he was rather affectionate towards her. She supposed that they were his way of ensuring that she would never forget that he did have feelings for her.

“Lord Sesshomaru, you’re back,” She looked surprised.

He removed his hand from her face, looking up at the overcast sky, thoughtful.

“I am assuming that the cause of your tears is the death of your arrogant father. You should know that he brought his death upon himself,” were Lord Sesshomaru’s words of comfort.

Lord Sesshomaru’s tone had been a bit cold, but, nonetheless, she supposed that he was right – her father had brought it upon himself. She wiped the tear stains from off her cheeks, taking a deep breath. She looked at Lord Sesshomaru who still had that thoughtful look on his face. He appeared slightly disheveled (only slightly) and there were traces of blood on his haori, though the blood didn’t seem to be his. A part of her wondered if he was injured in anyway.

She looked him in the eyes and said “You were battling someone, weren’t you? Are you… hurt?” She blushed slightly as she asked him the last question.

The strange feeling which had caused her heart to feel heavy was slowly disappearing, being replaced by the much more familiar feelings she had for Lord Sesshomaru – her love for Sesshomaru.