InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Beyond Friendship: Be Who You Are ❯ Unexpected Wounds ( Chapter 7 )

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

Chapter 7 – Unexpected Wounds

 

Inuyasha woke up the next day feeling as though a team of construction workers were hammering iron inside his skull.

 

“Urgh,” he groaned, moving his head slightly and grimacing at the pain.

 

Slowly, he opened his eyes, and was immensely relieved to find that the room was dimly lit. There were no windows open; curtains were drawn over them and across what Inuyasha assumed were semi-transparent doors.

 

Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he looked around the room with growing alarm. It was beautifully, though simply decorated and Inuyasha remembered he had been in Sesshoumaru’s room last night, drinking wine.

 

He forced himself to sit up in bed, ignoring the blinding pain in his head. He looked around the unfamiliar room with growing alarm. Sesshoumaru’s room…he’d spent the night in Sesshoumaru’s house? And the wine…

 

Passing a hand across his throbbing forehead, he fell back onto the pillows. He’d gotten drunk in Sesshoumaru’s room…they’d been talking about Naraku…and then…

 

…and then what?

 

He couldn’t remember. He couldn’t feel any suspicious stickiness in his pants; and his ass wasn’t sore - so it was reasonable safe to assume nothing had happened between them, though he couldn’t say he was surprised. Sesshoumaru did not seem like the type to take advantage of a drunk guy. But if he tried to strain his memory too much at this point, his head felt like it would explode so he let it be for the time being.

 

Wetting his dry lips with his tongue, Inuyasha’s eyes wandered over the room and landed on a glass of water on a bedside table. Taking it gratefully, he swallowed the whole amount in a couple of gulps, then regretted it as his sensitive stomach twisted in protest at the sudden onslaught.

 

Taking a deep breath, he threw off the covers and wandered over to the curtains. Each step sent a pounding pain through his head – when was the last time he’d had a hangover this bad? Arms weak with sleep tugged the heavy curtains apart, then immediately pulled them back as the harsh sunlight did nothing for his headache. Judging by the intensity of the sunlight, it was close to or just past noon. Damn it! He’d missed school.

 

Not having the courage to brave the sunlight once more, Inuyasha made his way towards the door, praying that the rest of the house was as dimly lit.

 

It wasn’t.

 

“Oh fucking hell,” Inuyasha muttered, shielding his eyes with his forearm, squinting to see where he was going. The house was very well lit with natural light, although it was at a pleasant temperature, not as hot as it probably was outside.

 

“Inuyasha-san,”

 

Inuyasha turned at the vaguely familiar voice. It was the servant from the night before.

 

“Oh hey,” Inuyasha turned to him fully, relieved at not having to wander about the huge-ass mansion alone. “Where’s the kitchen?”

 

Inuyasha could tell that the servant tried to keep his face impassive but this confusion showed on his face.

 

“The…kitchens?” he asked tentatively. The young Lord’s...companion wanted to go to the kitchens so early in the morning? That was a first.

 

Inuyasha frowned at the look on his face. “Uhhh…yeah. I’ll go make myself some coffee if that’s ok,” he stated hesitantly, wondering if he was disturbing the household.

 

“Oh,” the relief on the servant’s face was apparent and he gave Inuyasha a small smile. “If you would wait in the dining room, Inuyasha-san, I will have the coffee right over. Or perhaps you would prefer to have it in the guest room?”

 

Inuyasha scratched the back of his hair, belatedly realizing that he hadn’t bothered to look into the mirror before he wandered about the mansion. He most likely had a very serious case of bed hair.

 

“Uhh…no that’s alright,” he muttered, embarrassed. “I’ll…just wait in the- the dining room.”

 

The servant bowed. “Very good. It is to the right of the living room.”

 

Inuyasha nodded awkwardly then made his way down the stairs and to the room the servant had indicated. But when he reached it, he paused at the doorway, unsure.

 

Sesshoumaru sat alone at the table, a breakfast plate and a cup of coffee in front of him, reading the newspaper. Inuyasha had no idea of what to say to him now, after having confessed his darkest secrets to the demon. He didn’t remember Sesshoumaru’s reaction to what he’d said; all he remembered was the roiling emotions that had come back the previous night as he recounted what he’d tried to keep buried for so long.  What had Sesshoumaru thought of all that? He hadn’t meant to reveal that much; but once the dam had broken, everything had just sort of rushed forth.

 

“Inuyasha,”

 

He jerked out of his thoughts as the demon prince called his name.

 

“Umm…hey,” he murmured, unable to quite meet his eyes. He looked away, down, and then frowned, momentarily distracted from his misery as he glanced down at his clothes. He was wearing pajamas…pajamas that were not his…

 

“Your clothes were wet,” Sesshoumaru interjected, correctly interpreting his confused look. “I had them washed. I hope you find these acceptable for the time being.”

 

Inuyasha nodded. “Thank you. Sorry about spilling your wine.”

 

Sesshoumaru didn’t correct him. If the boy didn’t remember that it was his own blood that had stained his clothes, he, Sesshoumaru, was certainly not going open that particular can of worms.

 

“Please sit,” Sesshoumaru invited, eyes straying subtly to his right hand, which had been injured with the shattering of the wine glass. It was completely healed; there were no scars. That rate of healing indicated that the hanyou came from powerful demon parentage.

 

Inuyasha shuffled self-consciously to the chair opposite his boyfriend and sat down, looking down in surprise at the cleverly made chair that drained the tension out of his back and neck as he relaxed into it. Huh. Who knew chairs apart from bean bags could be so comfy?

 

A servant walked in with a tray containing a pot of coffee, a mug, sugar cubes in a bowl, milk and cream. He couldn’t help smiling despite his physical discomfort and the awkwardness of the situation. There was nothing like the aroma of fresh, hot coffee early in the morning.

 

“Take that away,” Sesshoumaru ordered. Inuyasha turned surprised eyes on his boyfriend. Since when had the demon prince begun to order him about?

 

“What the hell-“ he began as the servant bowed to the master of the house and retreated with the tray.

 

“Water is best after a hangover,” Sesshoumaru explained, interrupting what promised to be the beginning of a tirade. “Coffee will agitate your stomach.”

 

“No it won’t!” Inuyasha insisted, glaring. “There’s nothing like coffee to get rid of a hangover.”

 

Sesshoumaru stared back at him coolly. The servant returned with a jug of cool water and a glass. The demon and hanyou continued their match of wills while the servant placed the water in front of Inuyasha. Inuyasha’s eyes wavered, torn between defiance and a sense of guilt. Finally, the guilt won and the half-demon yielded, lowering his eyes to the glass of water in front of him. He brought the glass to his lips with a grimace and slowly took a sip.

 

Surprisingly, the cool water felt good. Inuyasha scowled half-heartedly at the demon Lord.

 

“Bully,” he muttered, partly angry at being bossed around and partly relieved as it didn’t seem as though Sesshoumaru hated him.

 

Sesshoumaru smirked, giving him a you know it look and Inuyasha looked away, pretending he hadn’t just lost that little contest.

 

“So why aren’t you at school?” he asked, giving the casually dressed prince an appreciative once over. This was the first time Inuyasha had seen the other look so relaxed; it was nice. And, of course, the demon looked good in just about everything although he did seem to have a marked preference for white.

 

Sesshoumaru shrugged slightly and Inuyasha took that to mean that he had bunked school for no particular reason.

 

“You know we’re gonna get in trouble,” he reminded Sesshoumaru, wondering how he could be so nonchalant. This particular school was famous for it’s intolerance of any hint of insincerity.

 

Sesshoumaru seemed amused by that. “No, we will not.”

 

Inuyasha’s eyes narrowed. “Why not?”

 

The demon Lord raised an eyebrow. “Do you wish to?”

 

Inuyasha squinted at him, half exasperated. “Of course not! It’s just-”

 

“Sesshoumaru-sama.”

 

Both turned around as a demon came in and bowed low.

 

“What is it?” Sesshoumaru asked.

 

“Sumimasen, Sesshoumaru-sama,” the servant bowed again and held out an open silver cell phone. “Nagataka in the south east is-“

 

Inuyasha looked on in surprise as Sesshoumaru frowned thunderously and stood up.

 

“I apologize, Inuyasha. I need to take care of this. Please excuse me.”

 

Inuyasha nodded and Sesshoumaru took the phone and walked out of the room.

 

Inuyasha sat silently at the table for a few seconds, looking around, and then he grew impatient. Standing up, he headed out into the living room. It was as beautiful and elegant as the rest of the house but what struck Inuyasha the most was that there were no pictures on the wall. Sure, there was art – bizarre looking probably very expensive art – but no photographs. But he wasn’t in the mood to appreciate strange pictures right now. He wanted to get rid of his headache. Maybe he needed more sleep…but he doubted he would be able to go back to sleep now that he’d woken up.

 

He glanced surreptitiously at the demon Lord talking over the phone in low tones. He didn’t seem like he would be done any time soon. He could probably shower and get dressed in the meantime.

 

He turned back again, eyes searching for the familiar servant. Inuyasha found him standing at a respectful distance. Inuyasha had hardly taken two steps in his direction before the older man bowed and hurried towards him.

 

“Is there something you need, Inuyasha-san?”

 

Inuyasha nodded. “Is there a shower I can use?”

 

The servant bowed again. “Of course. It is attached to the guest room. This way, please.”

 

“Uhh that’s ok. I’ll find it, thanks,” Inuyasha assured him, then headed back up the stairs.

________________________________________________________________________

 

A half hour later, Inuyasha walked back downstairs, in much better spirits than before. That was, he had to admit, the best shower he’d ever head, with the fancy dials and the awesome soap. His head was much better now, with the combination of hot and cold water, and he was dressed in a shirt and pants that were his size. The servant had tried to explain as delicately as possible that the house kept a spare set in case of emergencies. Inuyasha didn’t think too much of it, figuring it was another rich guy thing.

 

“So what’re we gonna do the whole day?” Inuyasha asked, walking towards the demon Lord sitting in the living room. He was sitting on the steel grey coloured couch.

 

Sesshoumaru gave him a once over. These clothes fit Inuyasha a lot better but for some reason, he wanted to see the hanyou in his clothes, even though they were far too big for him.

 

“I had thought we could go out into that forest you seemed so attracted to. If you are feeling up to it, that is.”

 

Inuyasha’s face brightened. “Oh man, that’s a great idea!” He’d thought they would do something boring all day, like watch T. V. or movies or something but this was so much better.

“When can we go?”

 

Sesshoumaru seemed amused by his eagerness. “Would you not like to eat something first?”

 

Inuyasha reddened, remembering he’d not had breakfast. “Heh…yeah that’s probably a good idea. But I’ll eat after a while if you don’t mind. My stomach’s not quite settled yet.”

 

Sesshoumaru nodded. “Of course.”

 

Inuyasha walked over to the couch and sat down next to the demon Lord, facing him. Like everything else in the house, the couch was also extremely comfortable, made out of some strange soft material, probably imported. Like the rest of the house, this room was very modern. Inuyasha didn’t meet Sesshoumaru’s eyes, instead preferring to fidget with the corner of the cover of a magazine lying next to him. He didn’t want to broach this topic but if he remained silent, it would just be an unpleasant elephant in the room for the both of them, ruining their day. Best to get it over with.

 

“So…what happened last night?”

 

Sesshoumaru sighed internally. He would have to face the question some time.

 

“How much do you remember?” he asked in return.

 

Inuyasha shrugged, embarrassed. “I was telling you…stuff and- and then I got really drunk and everything is just…really blurred.”

 

He took a deep breath.

 

“I remember I was really pissed at you for- for some reason and- and I wanted to attack you-“

 

Although he knew that rationally, he had absolutely no reason to be angry with him. From what he could remember, the demon Lord’s reaction had been of acceptance rather than anything else.

 

He watched Sesshoumaru’s face closely for any reaction to what he said, wondering if he’d actually done it or if it was just in his head. It was difficult to separate the two when he was that drunk. When Sesshoumaru didn’t say anything, he had to ask.

 

“Did I? Attack you, I mean?”

 

Sesshoumaru tilted his head to the side slightly, eyes amused. A few strands of his silver hair fell over his shoulder. “No, you did not, Inuyasha.”

 

There was something in his face that made Inuyasha think he wasn’t being entirely truthful.

 

“Hey look if I did, I’m really sorry, alright? I didn’t hurt you, did I? I’m sorry-“

 

“Inuyasha,” Sesshoumaru interrupted. “I am unharmed.”

 

Well that was true enough, although it was endearing how the hanyou thought he could hurt him even when intoxicated.

 

Inuyasha bit his lip and looked away. He didn’t tell him the other vague images that he had of the previous night. Of Sesshoumaru grabbing him and cutting him and saying…all those things that made him so hot and then blood…

 

But that was probably just the colour of the red wine messing with his head. There was no way Sesshoumaru actually did all that. It was just one of his more vivid fantasies, that’s all. He’d said too much already, about all his sick, twisted desires. Sesshoumaru probably just wanted to forget the whole thing. He didn’t quite remember if he’d told the demon Lord about how he fantasized about him…god, he hoped not. But he didn’t want to make an even bigger fool of himself by asking.

 

“So..uh..”

 

He scratched the back of his hair, suddenly very, very embarrassed.

 

“Look, I’m really sorry about all this. I-I shouldn’t have…you should never have to-“

 

“Inuyasha,” Sesshoumaru cut him off again. “It is alright. I asked, didn’t I? I wanted to know, and you told me. You have…nothing to apologize for.”

 

Inuyasha looked at him incredulously. “But all those things I told you-!”

 

“I asked,” Sesshoumaru reminded him again. “It was difficult for you to recount those memories. You are not ready to talk of it again. It is fine. We can talk about it when you are ready.”

 

Inuyasha nodded slowly, unsure. Was this guy for real? Was he still dreaming or high something?

 

“Really?” he tried one last time. “There’s nothing you wanna ask me or-?”

 

“No,” Sesshoumaru assured him, looking away from him, lost in his own thoughts.

 

They could avoid the topic all they wanted but Sesshoumaru knew that the cat was out of the bag now. The secret that the hanyou had confided in him was too big to pretend as if it didn’t exist and whatever had happened that night, even if Inuyasha didn’t remember it, it didn’t change the fact that it had happened. If there was any chance they would work, they would have to acknowledge that their relationship was far from normal. Sooner or later, they would have to come to terms with that…

 

…but not right now.

 

________________________________________________________________________

 

“Wow…” Inuyasha whispered, unable to take his eyes off his beautiful surroundings.

 

After eating, Sesshoumaru had suggested they walk through the forest. For humans, it might have been considered a hike since the forest was not entirely level; there were mountains surrounding the small town at the outskirts of the forest and deep valleys. But Sesshoumaru did not intend to take Inuyasha so far inside. For as far as they were going, it might as well be considered a walk. Besides, no humans were stupid enough to enter this forest.

 

Sesshoumaru had led him to a beautiful clearing a little way inside the forest. Inuyasha had since been rooted to the spot, slowly turning in place, neck craned towards the sky that he could see peeking out from amidst the tops of the trees. The afternoon sunlight coloured them blue and green and Inuyasha was charmed. The forests in his hometown were nowhere near as beautiful or vast as this one.

 

Sesshoumaru, to Inuyasha’s surprise, had gracefully lowered himself to the ground under a tree. He would have thought a prince, used to living in such luxury would feel queasy about sitting on the dirty forest floor but that didn’t seem to be the case. So Inuyasha was free to enjoy the peace and beauty of the forest without the demon hovering over him.

 

After a while, when Inuyasha glanced at the demon Lord to find that he’d closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the tree trunk. The rays of sunlight coming in through gaps in the trees beautifully framed the silvery form of the resting prince and Inuyasha found that he could not take his eyes off of him. He committed every aspect of the scene to memory; years later when he remembered his relationship with the demon prince of the Western Lands, he was sure that this would be one of the things he would never forget.

 

In the quiet of the forest, his headache was now down to a dull weight in his head. But the quiet and stillness of the forest soon brought forth thoughts he’d rather not think about. They’d avoided the topic earlier on but they would have to address it sooner or later. How was their relationship to go ahead, especially the physical aspects? Earlier, when Sesshoumaru had kissed him, he hadn’t felt anything – no passion, no arousal. He couldn’t very well expect Sesshoumaru to hurt him when they were intimate; hell, he didn’t even want that! He’d probably break it off himself if Sesshoumaru tried some crazy shit. But of course, he wouldn’t. Sesshoumaru wasn’t that kind of a guy.

 

Leaves rustled gently as a soft breeze picked up in the forest. There were soft sounds of birds calling to each other. Inuyasha glanced once to make sure Sesshoumaru’s eyes were still closed, then placed on hand on the trunk of a tree and hoisted himself up, climbing swiftly to the tallest branch.

“Oh,”

 

He was disappointed. This wasn’t the tallest tree in the forest, then. He’d misjudged it. He could just see trees in front of him, not the fringes of the forest. It was an incredible experience to stand on the tallest spot and see everything below for miles.

 

“Inuyasha?”

 

Ah crap! The demon had woken up....he hadn’t wanted Sesshoumaru to see him climbing random trees like a monkey.

 

“Eh…just a sec,” he called, trying to see his boyfriend but there were too many leaves in the way. “I’m coming down-“

 

“No need.”

 

“Eeep!” Inuyasha jumped, then cursed at his idiot of a boyfriend now floating at his eyelevel. “Baka! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

 

Sesshoumaru seemed amused. “Were you frightened?”

 

That just pissed Inuyasha off all the more. “Grrr! Of course not, you idiot! I was just…I didn’t expect you to come up here. I told you I was coming down.”

 

“Hmm,” Sesshoumaru floated over to his branch and touched down gently. Inuyasha marveled at how the branch didn’t even sag under his weight. It was as though he weighed nothing at all.

 

“Why are you up here?”

 

Inuyasha looked away from him and out at the trees stretching in front of him. “I thought I’d be able to see the whole forest from here but I guess there are too many trees taller than this one.”

 

Sesshoumaru shook his head slightly. “This isn’t that kind of forest. You won’t be able to see the entire forest no matter what tree you climb.”

 

“Oh,” Inuyasha said, “So it’s not a flat land, huh? Some part of it is at a height?”

 

“Yes,” Sesshoumaru replied.

 

They stood there in companionable silence for a few moments. After a while, Inuyasha glanced sideways at Sesshoumaru.

 

“Why did you say this forest is dangerous? Doesn’t look like there are any demons or even animals around.”

 

Sesshoumaru also turned away from the view.

 

“There are,” he assured Inuyasha.

 

Inuyasha snorted. “If there were, we’d have been attacked ten times over by now. Demons don’t appreciate strangers in their territory.”

 

Sesshoumaru smiled slightly. “I am not a stranger.”

 

The half-demon frowned. “But I am,” he pointed out.

 

“I don’t think you understand,” Sesshoumaru told him lightly, turning towards the view again, of the sun slowly travelling lower in the sky. The wind gently picked up his silvery hair, tossing the strands gently in the air. “They will not dare attack anyone who is with me.”

 

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at what he considered an over-arrogant statement.

 

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s how it is,” he said skeptically.

 

“But that is exactly how it is,” Sesshoumaru said, his voice soft and almost hypnotic. “I know almost everything about you, Inuyasha, but do not assume you know anything about me.”

 

Inuyasha turned his head towards him, startled. The demon almost sounded pissed.

 

“You’re right,” he agreed, turning back towards the view. “I don’t know anything about you. I just meant that I know at least that much about demons, that’s all.”

 

He missed the way Sesshoumaru’s eyes widened slightly and his hand clenched reflexively at his side.

 

He doesn’t want to know, Sesshoumaru realized then, with startling pain. He doesn’t want to know more about me…