InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale Twice Told ❯ A Man of Principles ( Chapter 12 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of  their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. In other words, I don't own and I make no money from this.

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“I nuyasha!” Kikyou shouted; there was a pistol in her hand, which she was pointing at him.

“K-Kikyou!” Inuyasha exclaimed. “What are you doing?” What was wrong with her?

“Why did you betray me, Inuyasha?” Kikyou shouted again, her face contorted with rage.

“N-no Kikyou,” Inuyasha yelled back, “I didn’t betray you! It was Naraku – he’s the one who has brainwashed you against me!”

“You’re lying!” she raised the pistol; her face was oddly mobile – it was blending into and out of another face he had seen somewhere, outside an orphanage a long time ago. Kouga! He remembered the name. Kikyou laughed. “Die, Inuyasha!”

She pressed the trigger.

Inuyasha fell to the ground as the bullet hit him square in his chest; but strangely, he felt no pain. The world seemed to be moving around him in a slow motion. He was paralyzed, unable to move. Blood was gushing out of his body and on to the pavement. A black miasma was smothering him, strangulating him; a curtain was coming down upon his senses. But something made him fight for his life, claw his way out of the hypnotic sleep that he was succumbing to. Someone was in mortal danger. He could not abandon her. She was fighting off an unknown assassin.

“Kagome!”

Inuyasha woke up with a start. His lips were parched; beads of sweat had formed upon his forehead. His wife was anxiously peering down into his face, his head still cushioned on her lap. Sitting bolt upright upon the grass, he frantically scanned his surroundings, searching for the danger he had sensed. A sliver of a moon had risen in the sky, casting a deadened, yellowish glow. A slight breeze was blowing. All was peaceful, all was calm.  

“What’s the matter, Inuyasha?” Kagome asked anxiously.

“N-nothing, just a bad dream,” Inuyasha replied, shaking his head. His heart was still hammering. ‘Was it really a nightmare? It seemed so real – almost like a movie.’ He shook his head again. ‘Kikyou would never do that to me. I’m being paranoid without any reason.’

“I’m sorry you’re suffering so much because of my mistake,” Kagome said forlornly. If only she had informed him sooner.

“It’s okay, it’s been taken care of,” Inuyasha said a little thoughtlessly. His thoughts were still stuck on his weird dream.

Kagome bit her lip. “That man who came to visit today – I haven’t seen him before. Who was he?”

Inuyasha looked at her inquisitively. “Just an acquaintance. Why do you ask?”

“Something about him gives me the creeps,” she shivered slightly. “I don’t think he came with good intentions. Inuyasha, how much trouble are you really in because of my stupidity?”

“I told you not to worry about it,” Inuyasha said, his tone harsher than he meant. “You won’t have to see that man again, so just chill.”

The girl silently nodded her head. Seeing her looking pale and shaken, he felt a little guilty for his off-hand replies. In all probabilities, he was upsetting her over nothing. Taking a deep, calming breath, he grinned at her sheepishly. “I’m sorry, there’s a lot going on in my mind right now. And on top of that I fell asleep on you!”

Kagome gave him a small smile. “It’s okay, you probably needed that. It has been one hell of a day.” A slight blush crept into her cheek, barely noticeable in the sickly moonlight. “Besides, I liked watching you sleep.”

It was half-dark, clouds flitting over the moon and obscuring the little light it provided, so Kagome did not notice the smile that appeared on her husband's lips at these words. ‘After all those nights I’ve spent watching you sleep…’ But before he could complete the thought his stomach growled, hungry for food. Kagome giggled.

“Let’s go inside and have dinner.” She pulled at his sleeve.

“Yeah, it’s quite late,” he looked at his watch whose hands were pointing to eleven, “They’ve probably even finished by now.”

Brushing the twigs off his coat, Inuyasha took Kagome’s hand in his and made his way back through the grove of eucalyptus. He couldn't suppress the smile that formed on his face as she trusted him to lead her down the barely visible path, the way she simply held his hand and let him guide her from memory. Things were finally looking up for him.

A quick shower and a change of clothes later, they were passing through the dimly-lit hallway towards the dining room, when they noticed the lights were on in the parlour – somebody was watching the television. Kagome and Inuyasha looked at each other, mystified. Who could be watching the television so late? They entered into the room to see Lady Taishou sitting in her couch. To Inuyasha’s immense surprise, Mukotsu’s face was upon the screen.

He took a step forward, leaving a stunned Kagome behind. There was a blast – his car was blown to pieces – his lover was murdered on the dock – this followed closely in the heels of his betrayal of Ryuukossei’s Party – Ryuukossei had denied his involvement in the matter. What the hell was going on? He had promised to protect Mukotsu but he hadn’t anticipated Ryuukossei to be acting so soon. He looked at Lady Taishou, who returned his bemused gaze.

“Where is Sesshoumaru?” Inuyasha inquired.

“In bed. He had asked not to be disturbed tonight.” Lady Taishou replied.

Tonight of all nights, Inuyasha thought irritably. Unless-

A scene floated in front of his eyes. Sesshoumaru escorting Mukotsu out of the house, talking to him, shoving a phone into his hands…The scene dissolved but another took its place. A phone vibrating, Sesshoumaru picking it up, and then putting it down, the expression upon his face…he had seen that expression many years ago, when his brother was still a student leader. There had been some nasty business with an opposition leader. Of course, it could never be traced back to Lord Taishou. He had enough clout to cover his tracks.

Something exploded inside Inuyasha’s head. While it was true that Mukotsu only wanted protection from Ryuukossei, the fact remained that Inuyasha had not been allowed to keep his word in the spirit in which it was given. This was the second time during the campaign when Sesshoumaru had slighted him – basically, discarded him as no more than just a titular head of the Party. But at that moment he was not even concerned about that.

No, what riled him, enraged him, was the fact that his Party, his father’s Party had started doing what his father had hated the most, had given his life fighting against. Corruption, lies, deceit, violence, murder – he hated the words with the very core of his being. And now he was in the middle of them – his hands practically dyed with them.

Somebody has to pay.

He did not notice when he had left the parlour, climbed the stairs and banged open the door to his brother’s bedroom. His first realization was coming face to face with the object of his hatred.

“What the hell did you do to Mukotsu?” he thundered.

Sesshoumaru got out of bed, looking maddeningly, infuriatingly calm. A part of Inuyasha’s mind pointed out that he was probably expecting the outburst.

“How dare you come inside my room without knocking?”

Inuyasha chose not to answer. This was not the time to follow etiquettes anyway. It was too late for that.

“I promised to protect him! I gave him my word!” he yelled instead.

“Your word has no value without the backing of your clan.”

Again Inuyasha let the barb slide. His pride and ego were secondary here. A man had lost his life.

“You had no right to kill him!”

“I’m not answerable to you.”

Inuyasha could not believe his own ears. Would his brother not show even the slightest remorse after mercilessly erasing not one but two lives from the earth? What gave Sesshoumaru the right to play God?

“Like hell you're not!”

Rationality was eclipsed by rage. The whole scene looked like a nightmare to Inuyasha. He did not even know when he had grabbed Sesshoumaru’s sleeve and when Sesshoumaru had lashed out, throwing him against the dresser where he slid to the ground. It was when Kagome ran into the room that memory returned to him. Anger still overrode everything else, but he was aware of what was happening now, with Kagome leaning over him worriedly. She had evidently been following him. She leaned over him protectively, her face grave with concern. Her touch was as soothing as a gentle breeze.

“You are nothing but a mere face of the campaign,” Sesshoumaru was ranting. “Your job is to look pretty and attract the crowds. Don’t try to be the brains behind the organization.”

Inuyasha stood up, wiping blood from his lips. Goaded as he was, he would not let Sesshoumaru deviate from the main issue and start a battle of egos.

“You gave the man your word and reneged on it! What difference is there between you and Ryuukossei? This is not how Oyaji wanted to run this country – by violence and terror. He wanted fair elections-”

“I don’t want to hear about Father from someone who isn’t even worthy to mention his name.”

Inuyasha frowned. This time Sesshoumaru had hit below the belt.

“What do you mean by that?”

Kagome was clutching Inuyasha’s arm, trying to prevent him from doing something stupid. He glanced back at her briefly. Was she taking Sesshoumaru's side? Choosing him? Her worried gaze met his and all he saw was concern. He brushed the thoughts aside as Sesshoumaru began to speak once more, his words only further inflaming his temper.

“You are the vile product of an unholy union between my father and a common whore! A whore who was in the service of Ryuukossei before she could latch her tentacles into my father. It was because of her that father was killed, that Ryuukossei has been persecuting us for twenty-five years. You and your mother are the reasons why my life was ruined!”

A part of Inuyasha was wondering why he was even listening to his brother. The right thing to do would be to take a cudgel to his head and smash his brains. But another part, the part that had idolized his older brother growing up, wondered if there was any truth to what he was saying. Why would Sesshoumaru lie to him? He might be cold or imposing or even authoritarian, but the fact remained that he loved Inuyasha. He was always protective of his little brother – perhaps overly so. ‘No matter,’ the son’s voice subdued the brother’s, ‘No matter how much he loves me, he will not stand and insult mother!’

“Don’t you dare insult my mother!”

Again Inuyasha launched himself at Sesshoumaru. Again Sesshoumaru shoved him off. Kagome caught him, keeping him from hitting the wall.

“Your mother was a whore and so is your wife. One man doesn’t suffice for her…or shall we say, you are not man enough for her?” Sesshoumaru hissed again, spitefully.

Inuyasha saw red. How dare he cast aspersions at Kagome’s character? When he himself had treated her so shamefully, was treating Rin so shamefully now! His eyes went to the livid bite marks on Rin’s exposed arms and neck. Has he become an animal?

“Shut your mouth and leave Kagome out of this!”

Sesshoumaru snorted derisively. “Oh yeah? Why don’t you have a chat with her about the antics she’s up to while you are away?”

Too far! Kagome's gasp and the way she stiffened against his back only added to the rage he felt as the words left Sesshoumaru's mouth and penetrated his brain. Red clouded his vision once more, his only thought being whether he should just use his fist to smash his brother’s face in or bring his pistol from his room and blow his brains out. His face twisted, a snarl escaping his throat as his hands clenched at his sides. Using his fists was sounding better and better.

“Stop it!”

All eyes went to the door. Lady Taishou was standing there, white and shaken.

“For shame, Sesshoumaru! Is that the way to speak about your stepmother? Your sister-in-law? Is that the education I’ve imparted to you?”

“Stay out of this, Mother.”

“Apologize to your brother right now. And to Kagome.”

Sesshoumaru just stood silently, his face a mask of ice once again.

“Don’t put me to shame for being your mother, Sesshoumaru,” Lady Taishou almost pleaded.

Inuyasha snorted. He knew his brother was too far-gone to care about family or morality or even decency. It was as if the brother he had grown up with had suddenly been possessed by a ruthless demon. Still shaking with hurt and anger, he dusted his robe off and strode out of the room, brushing past Lady Taishou without a word.