Inuyasha: Come What May

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"You won't believe what I saw," he's trying to whisper, but the excitement fills his voice with a level of volume that prevents him from doing so. It doesn't help that the throne room is empty enough to cause an echo to the sound of a pin dropping.

His excitement un-phases Lady Kimi, who sits on the single large purple pillow in front of him. She looks elegantly prestigious sitting there, her body straight and royal-like, but her eyes are full with the upmost boredom. Before Lord Inutaisho had even arrived this morning she'd looked like this—at least from what I could tell at the breakfast table.

After breakfast I was too weak to play outside, so instead, I decided to see if I could follow our almighty Lord around the Palace without being seen. I've done well so far with only a peek or two by the guards—at which I quickly rushed into the shadows to get out of view. I had lost him for a few minutes before I spotted him again heading for the throne room.

The room is so large and empty of furniture that even if I could get in without being spotted by him, I would surely be spotted afterwards; so I crawled into a tiny crawl space within a closet in the hall and poked a hole through the screen to watch and hear them.

"I don't care, Taisho." Distaste rolls off her in waves with the single sentence. It has me shuddering.

"You don't understand!" He raises his voice; his temperament quickly diminishes into sudden irritation. "She has the power of resurrection! To my knowledge, all she could do was heal, but she can bring the dead back to life!"

My mother.

I was six when I first saw it myself. I was sleeping in bed when I was woken by a bang at my window; rolling out of bed and looking down from my two story high window, I saw my mother holding a little white bird whose feathers were covered in blood. Seeing the little bird, I realized the blood on the clear glass just above me and my heart broke for the little creature. I shouldn't have kept the window closed that night.

And while I was panicking my little heart away, down below I saw my mother shine a brilliant white. She whispered something I couldn't hear and closed her eyes.... Seconds felt like minutes as she stood there holding the bird in the glowing light and then suddenly!

The bird perched up on her palm, looked at her, and then flew off in the opposite direction of my window. My mother was smiling, but she looked different—weak almost—as if it drained all her energy and a part of her life. She spotted me watching her and later that day explained to me what happened.

"Yes, I can bring animals back from the dead, but with it I can lose my soul in the process." She had said. "You see, demons rule the other side, good and bad ones, ones that lead to the light and ones that devour souls. If they see me, a living being, they would either possess me or devour my soul."

I had asked her if she'd ever done it on another person. She said she had tried, but she failed. She too was about to be taken. Demons crave people's souls more than animals—ours are more corrupted with sin and hate, while animals are instinctual and innocent.

Kimi rolls her eyes at this new knowledge as if it's nothing more than old news.

In shock, Inutaisho throws his hands to his sides and his mouth gapes open when he talks, "Do you know what this means? The possibilities of power are endless! Just imagine how powerful Lahona will be!"

"I don't care!" She snaps. Her voice echoes throughout the room and down the halls. Retorting from the little hole I was peeking through, I hold my ears until the ringing stops and when I do I feel my ears perk below my palms. I can hear a shuffling at my side, I glance over my shoulder, heart racing thinking it's a guard but I smile at the sight of Sesshomaru.