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Curiosity - Chapter 6 - "Things Change... But I Am The Same"

"Uh, what happened to me?" Touga spoke as he attempted to get up, only to end up back on the ground.

"Keh, guess it's going to take a while to get my strength back." He took a look at the area surrounding him, amazed at how barren the land was. What had happened while he was... dead? "I remember trying to watch over my family after I left this world. But, I ran out of energy... I couldn't hold the connection to this earth any longer." Touga's eyes widened slightly as many thoughts ran through his head at once. Had this plain been what was left of the great fire which overtook the castle? What had happened to his family? Were they safe and unharmed? If only he knew...

Sesshomaru watched his father's face closely, easily identifying all of the emotions that ran across it. After a few moments, Touga finally schooled his features, making himself looked calm and collected. But his scent told Sesshomaru otherwise. Nervousness and fear laced his scent, and he knew exactly what his father was afraid of.

"Father, we must leave this place at once. The portal won't stay open much longer."
Touga jerked his head towards his eldest son with a start at this statement and was even more surprised when he heard what came out of his mouth next.

"This is not the real world. We are in what some would describe as you final resting place, your grave." When he finished speaking, he noticed that his father was standing shakily in front of him. "Now, let us make our leave."

Both Inuyoukai turned the east and made their way to the rapidly closing portal. The first few miles were spent running, for Touga had to get the feel of his body again. When they reached mile ten, he suddenly released his inner beast and made his way to the portal even faster while he left Sesshomaru in the dust.

"Ahhh... It feels great to be alive again!"
He and his inner beast thought in unison. As the portal came into view he could see out the corner of his eye that Sesshomaru was following him using his youkai energy ball. So he went ahead and entered the portal, knowing that his eldest would follow him.

Moments later, both were back by the mountain side that housed the portal. Touga immediately reverted back to his humanoid form and took in the clearing around them.

"Not much has changed since I was last here. You did well Sesshomaru, your grandfather would be proud." He looked at Sesshomaru with a face of approval for the way he used the ancient portal. Meanwhile his nose was working over time scenting the area for possible threats. When he discovered there were no impeding threats, he turned back to look at his son.

"He has become colder since I last saw him. My son is so like his mother..."

But, he couldn't muddle over the similarities between his eldest and his mother now. At the forefront of his mind was the need to know how his true love and youngest son were. He had to find out what had happened to them while he was... dead.

"Sesshomaru, we must head off towards the village so that we may find them!" Sesshomaru knew what village his father spoke of, for that was the only one he talked about more often than others. Touga turned and was about to leap off in the general direction of said village, but what his son said next stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Father, she is dead."

"No... no... she can't be..." As soon as the word "dead" came from Sesshomaru's mouth the world around him froze. No sounds could be heard from the forest surrounding them,. Even the trees looked as if they were wallowing in sorrow of the news. Ever so slowly, frantic looking amber eyes turned to meet the stone cold amber of his son.

"What do you mean 'she is dead'? I know she escaped the fire!" With the last sentence a flood of memories decided to flow through his mind.

"I was protecting her... that's right. I fought off the man who killed her so that she could escape. What was his name? Taki.. Tama... Tako.. Takenmaru? That's it! Takenmaru of Setsuna! Could he have gone to finish the job after he killed me? No, I know I killed him, I remember watching him fall. Or did I?"

A look of pure horror crossed his face. What if it was all his fault that his love was now dead? The more he thought about it, the more it angered him. The anger took control of him so badly that it made him see red. Those red eyes turned again to his eldest son, with a look that demanded answers.

"What happened to her! To your brother! Did she not escape as I thought she had! And what of Takenmaru?" Touga voice was deep when he asked the questions, which showed that his beast had just about taken over his body.

Even under the questioning of his fathers beast, which most demons would be frightened of, Sesshomaru stood his ground. He was not afraid of his father as many others were, but that didn't mean that he didn't want to set Touga's beast off on a wild killing spree either.

"Your human escaped exactly as you ordered her to. No one went after her if that is what you are insinuating. She died of an incurable illness within her village four years after your untimely death. As for my HALF-brother, that fool has still managed to somehow stay alive." That last bit of information was spoken just as the others. But Touga knew his son, he could tell there was an underlying meaning to what he had said about Inuyasha. One that could only be described as hatred for his brother, and this thought infuriated him.

Only a second had passed before Sesshomaru saw shards of rock flying out in front of him caused by his father's fist slamming into the rock wall behind him, the fist mere centimeters from his head.

"WHY DO YOU SPEAK IN SUCH A WAY TO ME?" Touga's beast roared in fury. Only then did he truly notice that something had changed. With such a close view of his son's face he could tell that he had aged. No longer did it hold the look of a boy, his son looked like the man he now was. It as then that his brain made the connection that it had failed to make when he had first awoken.

"How long?"

How long had it been since he had breathed? Since he had set eyes on the world? Gazed into his love's eyes?

He had to know, he just had to. Was there a possibility that Sesshomaru knew where Inuyasha was? Where his true love was buried? Touga was determined to bring his broken family back together again. "I will not rest until she is back in my arms, safe and sound."

Slowly, Touga pulled himself back from the wall, but by only a couple of steps. He gave his son a look that meant if he didn't answer him there would surely be trouble. With that, he let those two minuscule words tumble from his mouth...

"How long?"

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