The Long Road to Freedom 2: Fire on the Water

Fairytale's End

1551, late-Muromachi Period, Musashi

The Great Dog Demon Sesshoumaru had never even conceived that so much could happen so short a time; at least, not to him.

Tessaiga, his arm, Naraku's machinations, the revival of Rin and Kagura's desire for freedom; all these things and more had amounted to the single most eventful year of his life. As he once again departed the old miko's village, he reflected.

More enemies than he could keep count of; so many close calls and dead ends. That bastard Naraku had wasted so much of his precious time, trying to manipulate this Sesshoumaru, putting the human girl Rin in danger of turning him on Inuyasha. His death had been inevitable from the moment he began to weave his web; and now Naraku and the Jewel of Four Souls were both gone from this world.

Sesshoumaru recalled Kagura, how she had struggled against her master, and in the end obtained her freedom, but also lost her life. He'd respected the female's tenacity and own cleverness, how she'd stood on her own while still in chains. Even now, these three years later, he would bear no insult to her memory.

Between the sorceress and Rin, Sesshoumaru had developed something akin to compassion, had come to understand fear and the sadness of loss, the value of life. While where his Rin was concerned it came easily, he still struggled to apply these things in respect to others he had no consideration for. While he still had a ways to go, it had already been a long journey.

So, too, had been his ascension. All his efforts had finally come to fruition during his battle against the evil spirit Magatsuhi. Something had changed when the being had run him through and cocooned him in bits of flesh. His life on the line, and having already suffered devastating blows to his pride, Sesshoumaru had cast it all aside; his father's intentions, the Tessaiga, everything he still clung to fell away as his own will, his own power raged to the fore.

From within himself came the strength to regenerate his lost arm, and the manifestation of his very nature, his own sword, the Bakusaiga. Armed with a weapon truly his own, Sesshoumaru had, finally, surpassed his father and freed himself from the past, had, at last, become a true daiyoukai. With Rin settled safely in Kaede's village, for the time being, he was free to venture forth to the darkest places, to root out the powers that resided there, and to truly begin forging his own empire.

***

Unbeknownst to Sesshoumaru, Kintsuke had felt it in that very moment he had nearly died and instead ascended; a stirring in her lower belly where his youki had been so long ago. It flared and pulled, an echoed memory, urging her to finally return home.

All things considered, she found no reason to stay. Lake Tai had, like herself, recovered completely. With no sign of or word from Shu-Ting or the others, she was alone in this country. She'd achieved what she'd come here to do long ago, and now, nothing was left.

Without fanfare or ceremony, she packed up only what she needed, including the scrolls she'd collected from the fortress, and began the long trek back to Japan.

***

1552, late-Muromachi Period, Spring, Musashi

It took Kintsuke some time to reacclimatize to the language and mannerisms of her native country, finding quite the surprise in the new weapons the humans had here and there. The sounds from these new firearms were horrific, the stench tolerable-for her, at least-, and unlike their earlier incarnations, the 'matchlocks' were effective. She chose to take, instead, the road less traveled back to Musashi, avoiding the road that ran through the capital of Kyoto.