Yuinou, the Gift of a Broken Friendship

Homugi had run outside of the shrine to look for water for Meioshi. Yuko gave her directions to the doctor's funeral home, where a freshwater well could be found, and said she could choose any gourd or pot to hold the water. As long as Meioshi drunk the waters from there, she would be able to transition back to a human within a shorter amount of time. The blue merle beauty didn't argue with the girl. Yuko stayed by Meioshi's side as the doctor laid on her stomach to rest on a bed of herbs. As monstrous as she looked by appearance, she was still a gentle spirit and was careful not to destroy the more fragile of her plants. She even took her time to lick Homugi's wounds clean and watch them heal. Seeing that the nurturing side of Meioshi was still in there made Homugi more determined to return the doctor's kindness. Although Homugi wanted to be in Yuko's position, she was the only one who could fight that man if he returned, so she sniffed the air for fresh water and raced to her destination. It wasn't until she came to the stream Yuko had described that she was able to see the sky turning lighter to signal the dawn approaching.

Standing next to a tree, she leaned on its trunk and looked at the property in its entirety. It was so calming. Nothing like the graves found in the middle of beaten paths or forests. Even graveyards looked ghastlier than this place. Maybe it was the sound of the waters in the stream or the rising sun as a soft wind blew across the grass or the flowers twitching their blooms as they were being dressed in morning dew. When she caught the sight of the well, she slowly walked over to its direction like she was drawn to the serenity of the place. The scent of a familiar presence caught her attention. She emitted a low growl before turning to the presence and gasping with genuine surprise. It was Sesshomaru!

"Why are you here?" he asked quietly.

"For Meioshi. She's... thirsty," Homugi answered, locking eyes with him.

"She's not so incompetent that she can't get her own water. Where is she?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Safe with me," Homugi replied, narrowing her eyes.

"She's not your pet. You can't keep her locked away," Sesshomaru said.

"She's not locked away," Homugi said, walking away from him.

She'd rather get the water and go than listen to anyone from the House of Inu try to lecture her about her relationships with other people. It took her some time to decide on going rogue and finding the doctor, but she threw out her maiden's kimono and dressed more like the doctor to do so. She vowed to be of better use to someone who appreciated her and to prove that she was more than a reject for herself.

"Then she has your scent, no?" Sesshomaru questioned, making Homugi stop and sharply turn to him. When she started growling again, he turned on his heel and said, "She should be easier to find."

"She doesn't want to be found! Leave her be!" Homugi challenged.

"Is that why you abandoned the House of Inu? To not be found?" Sesshomaru asked, silencing the spotted beauty. "This is why you will continue to face shame. When things don't go your way, you throw away your honor and betray your entire heritage for your own selfish ambitions. All your hard work and persistence is what made you such a valuable asset. You were worthy before. Siding with the witch devalues you."

"Siding with Meioshi has been my greatest honor because I at least get to be me again!" Homugi shouted. "I don't have to use her to satisfy anyone's rules or judgments like you! I only ever wanted to ensure the safety of my people like every other soldier, but I have to live in your shadow day in and day out as your rejected bride just because you decided to grow a pair of balls at the dinner table for a night! Oh, but I guess your father's trials taught you a bit of humility as of late, didn't it? What a joke! Yeah, you get all the fucking glory for turning down traditions, but girls like me have to be looked down on because of boys like you. It's hard enough being pressured to uphold all these forsaken standards, to be a perfect doll, to be treated as this item only to be looked down upon when we do everything right. We're seen as wrong! Explain to me how when we've been trained to do what stupid men like you want! I have to be compared to demeaning women when I just want to do what's right for everyone according to the law and what's best for us all! I'm not your pedestal to stand on so you can look better than the rest! I thought... I thought you were my friend. I thought... I thought you believed in our dreams to make things different..."

Sesshomaru was quiet at the memories plaguing his mind. They used to be friends until that fateful dinner night. Homugi was probably her most beautiful then. He didn't admit it aloud, but he thought it back then.

"I should've known you were fickle," Homugi said to herself, stomping off to get the water.

"I am not fickle," Sesshomaru argued, narrowing his eyes.

"You're not the man I looked forward to being with either," Homugi retorted. "I suppose that side of you is only reserved for your human girl, isn't it?"

"You keep Rin out of this!" Sesshomaru growled.

"No problem," Homugi responded, making Sesshomaru turn slightly. "I'll stick with the woman who doesn't give a damn about what you think of her. I'd rather be that than your discarded trash. You can keep your child. Only a child can bring out the best in another broken child."

"Only hell's monsters would ever fall for someone like either of you," Sesshomaru insulted.

"I'd rather be with a monster if you're the only example of a man that's left," Homugi shot back.

"Unlike you, I care about the kind of man I'm going to be."

"Unlike you, I cared about you when you were already the man should've been!" Homugi admitted, crying and silencing Sesshomaru. "I was fine with marrying you because I at least got to be with someone who was my friend first! You were going to be a great man and a great leader! That's what you wanted to be! That's what you always wanted to be. That's what I thought you were going to be, but you were so wrapped up in downplaying your father's legacy that you got power-hungry and started wandering around aimlessly. The pride you had in our heritage when we were younger became your downfall when you took your own self-righteousness and laced it with your obsession and hatred for whatever was going on behind closed doors. What was once regarded as an accomplishment among all inu youth became your arrogance. We may not have gotten to live out life a little longer before deciding who to marry, but I was willing to learn to love you the way our parents learned to love and respect each other. What was so hard and so wrong about being willing to at least learn to love me? Were we ever friends to begin with or was I always your tool? Just a piece of equipment only meant to do your bidding... Lord Toga was a lot of things, Sesshomaru. We all know that. You didn't need to be him for us to love and respect you. Those trials he put you through should've told you that. I could have told you that. Senpai could've told you that. Rather than listen to anyone else, you chose to do things your way to satisfy your ambitions. You had to be or to have him. I didn't have anyone to console me. There were no more ambitions for me to have after you rejected me. Working for the House of Inu has been a nightmare. That's why I left. No matter how hard I tried, I would always be thrown aside. I just wanted to be a living, breathing, worthy woman again. Just this once. If all I have to do is fetch a pail of water for an injured human woman, then I'll do that and find joy in that simple task. I am more than that witch's protector. I am more than a demon girl. I am Homugi the Blue Merle Thorn, a woman warrior who takes pride in being an inu... but never under the house's rules. I don't know what you have to do... to be the man I once looked up to or the inu I would have been willing to serve till death. But your actions have said a lot if a loyal, downtrodden wretch like me would rather serve heaven and hell's outcast than someone like you."