InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Brother My Brother ❯ Chapter 4

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

"Master Sesshomaru! Master Sesshomaru!"

Jaken was making his way through the dense forest of trees as fast as his short legs could carry him. This is horrible! Master Sesshomaru will surely see to my immediate demise! Despite this chilling thought, Jaken continued his race against time, desperately calling for his master to appear before him. He had run for many minutes before he tripped on a stray tree root and went tumbling down a hill and landed in a fast moving river. Jaken struggled to the surface of the water, coughing and sputtering as the river quickly washed him downstream. He was not a very good swimmer, and the rushing water tossed him every which way until he felt something grab him and lift him out of the river. He coughed and gasped for air before being dropped to the ground. He looked up to find Sesshomaru standing over him, a rather displeased look on his face.

"Jaken," he said in a cold tone. "Where is Rin? Did I not instruct you to watch after her while I was away?"

Jaken sputtered for a moment, then bowed at Sesshomaru's feet in a submissive manner. "Master Sesshomaru, please forgive me! The girl wandered off on her own and I was unable to find her! I searched and searched, but all I found was that wind sorceress, Kagura. You remember her, don't you, Master Sesshomaru? She had an evil glint in her eye, so I ran back to find you as soon as I could."

"You left Rin." A statement, not a question.

Jaken gulped. "I'm sorry, Master Sesshomaru! I didn't know what else to do! Surely I would have been killed had I stayed there!" He looked up, but Sesshomaru was no longer standing before him. Jaken turned, looking frantically for the demon, but to no avail.

As soon as Sesshomaru had heard that Rin was in potential danger, he left in her pursuit. He would allow no harm to come to her. He sped through the forest at a high speed until he picked up Rin's scent, along with Kagura's. Sesshomaru growled low in his throat as he came to a complete and abrupt stop just ten feet from the pair.

"Oh, Lord Sesshomaru," Kagura smiled at his arrival. "We've been expecting you." She held Rin harshly by the arm and the young girl cried in fear and in pain. Sesshomaru's blood ran cold.

"Unhand her if you wish to keep your life," he growled.

Kagura's smile widened. "Draw your sword, Lord Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru's hand went to the hilt of the Tokijin. "Do you wish to die so much?" he inquired.

"Lord Sesshomaru…" Rin whimpered. Kagura tightened her grip on her arm and she squealed in pain.

"This girl is waiting for you to save her," Kagura said. "Why do you make her wait so long? Draw your sword and we will have a battle."

Sesshomaru pulled the Tokijin half out of its sheath, his eyes never leaving the red glowing orbs of Kagura's. He was suspicious of her intentions, nervous that she may hurt Rin, and curious as to what she was planning. These conflicting emotions hindered him from taking any further action.

"I'm afraid, Lord Sesshomaru," Rin whispered. The statement made his blood boil with rage at the wind sorceress. Rin was a fearless girl. How dare Kagura frighten her in this manner? He pulled the Tokijin the rest of the way out, only to have it ripped from his hand by an unseen force and sent spinning to the right.

"What…?" Sesshomaru snarled, following the Tokijin's path with his eyes. The sword was caught by a hand belonging to a figure some thirty feet away.

"Really Lord Sesshomaru," the figure said. "Do not act so surprised. The sword was created from a part of me. Why would I not be able to control it myself?"

"Naraku." Why had he not been able to sense him approaching?

Naraku stepped forward, examining the Tokijin in his hand. "You have done well taking care of this sword," he said. "It is a formidable weapon." He looked up at his female incarnation. "Kagura, kill the girl."

Sesshomaru's eyes turned blood red upon the command, and he charged relentlessly at the wind sorceress. Naraku came at him then with the Tokijin in hand. Sesshomaru was just barely able to avoid being cut through with it as he jumped to the side. Kagura laughed wickedly and tossed her feather into the air, then jumped on it with Rin in hand, and flew off. Sesshomaru made to follow, but Naraku charged at him again.

"In order to save the girl, you must first defeat me," Naraku proclaimed, pointing the sharp blade of Tokijin in his direction. "Should you fail to do that in time, the girl will surely be killed."

Sesshomaru growled. "You have signed your very life over to me then." He attacked at top speed, venom dripping from his claws. He brought his arm back and slashed through the air where Naraku had been mere seconds before. When his claws came in contact with nothing, he stumbled slightly, taken unaware of Naraku's speed. It had been some time since he had had an opponent with powers and skill that rivaled his own. He quickly turned around, but not quickly enough to prevent the Tokijin from breaking into his armor, shattering it into pieces that fell to the ground.

"You are much too slow, Lord Sesshomaru," Naraku stated, holding the sword horizontally with both hands. Blood began dripping from the fingers that held the blade. "The girl's future is not in good hands at all."

Sesshomaru growled and charged again, this time drawing out his Whip of Light and lashed out at him with it, but Naraku blocked the whip with the sword and went on the offensive. Sesshomaru dodged quickly enough to avoid being run through with his own sword, but the very edge of the blade scraped against the flesh of his abdomen.

"You might as well surrender now Lord Sesshomaru," Naraku sneered. "You cannot possibly defeat me. You may as well accept the fact that the girl, and yourself, are doomed."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and growled threateningly. "You will not defeat me," he snarled. "I will destroy you, Tokijin or no." He lashed out with his Whip of Light again, but the whip crashed to the ground, etching long fissures into the hard surface of the earth. Naraku avoided the lashes and leapt up faster than Sesshomaru was able to follow and ran him through the torso right up to the hilt of the Tokijin. Sesshomaru gasped in surprise and pain and froze, shocked.

"You--" was all Sesshomaru could manage before Naraku pulled the sword out, then drove it into a different area of his abdomen, all the way up to the hilt. Sesshomaru gasped again, the pain overwhelming his body. Naraku stabbed through him again and once more before the injured demon fell to his knees, his blood staining the ground beneath him. Naraku laughed triumphantly, then drove the sword into Sesshomaru's back, causing him to shout out in pain before sinking the rest of the way to the ground.

"That was all too easy," Naraku stated, pulling the Tokijin out again. "Once you lost your cool exterior, you were taken down with no effort." He drove the sword into Sesshomaru's ribs, then pulled it out again. The demon's blood spurted in all directions. "Now Kagura will kill the child as you did not succeed in defeating me."

Sesshomaru struggled to say something, but was overcome with an upheaval of blood. He coughed, the red liquid pouring from his mouth as it was from his gaping wounds.

Naraku smiled. "I believe I will hang onto this sword. It is a powerful weapon indeed. And what else is it that you have at your side?" He kicked Sesshomaru in the back, rolling him over onto his stomach, and retrieved the other sword in his possession. "I will take this one as well."

As soon as the Tenseiga left his side, the pain doubled in intensity and Sesshomaru's entire body shuddered against it.

"Any other demon would be dead by now," Naraku observed. "Still, you have not much time left. Farewell, Lord Sesshomaru." He turned and began walking away, but noticed a small figure waiting in the bushes. Naraku smirked, then ran the figure through with the Tokijin as well. Jaken fell dead with one strike of the sword.

Sesshomaru struggled against his pain ridden body and his exhausted mind. He would not allow Naraku to get away with what he had done. He had to pay for his deeds. But even these determined thoughts could not keep the demon conscious for long. Despite his best efforts, Sesshomaru slipped into a dark mental place, no longer aware of his body nor the pain he was in. He had no earthly idea of how long he stayed unconscious, but he came out of it at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Don't tell me you're dead. Wake up, you bastard."

There was a kick to his side and Sesshomaru grunted in agony.

"Oh good, you're still alive. Listen, I need your help. I know it's weird that I'm asking you of all people, but it's my only choice. This is the only way I can save her."

Sesshomaru listened to the voice, struggling to identify it. It was familiar for sure, though he could not place it at first. Another kick to his ribs brought him more into consciousness and at the next words spoken, he realized who it was immediately.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

Sesshomaru opened one eye and gazed up at his younger brother. "What do you want?" he managed to struggle out before coughing up more blood. The cold look in Inuyasha's eyes lessened then, as if he had just realized that Sesshomaru was injured.

"What the hell happened to you?" the half-demon asked.

Sesshomaru could not answer. He was coughing and heaving up more blood onto the ground which was already covered in the stuff. Inuyasha groaned in annoyance and knelt down beside him.

"Look, you're gonna be okay, aren't you?" he asked. "Because I need you to use the Tenseiga to heal Kagome."

Sesshomaru did not answer again, and Inuyasha realized that he had fallen unconscious. "Damn it all," he swore. "Of all possible times for you to get your ass kicked." He sighed. He did not like the idea of helping Sesshomaru, but he did need his assistance. It's for Kagome, he assured himself before grabbing a handful of Sesshomaru's long silver hair and pulling his bloodied body up. He draped him over his shoulders, then bounded out of the area as fast as he could. Naraku's scent was heavy in the air, and he did not like it one bit.

A matter of minutes later, Inuyasha arrived at the secluded cave he had left Kagome in. He had decided to leave her there when he sensed Naraku nearby, as he wanted to prevent her from getting hurt. So he had continued the search for his brother on his own. Now he had returned and Kagome was lying still in the same place he had left her. He let Sesshomaru down on the stone floor then rolled him over on his back to get a good look at his injuries. It looked like he had been stabbed several times over in different places and had lost a great deal of blood. Inuyasha was no expert in medical treatment, but he did know he had to stop the bleeding as fast as he could. He took off his outer kimono and ripped it into several pieces. He dressed his brother's wounds as best as his inexperienced hands could, then sat back and watched him for a while. When Sesshomaru still did not stir and the night was beginning to set in, Inuyasha left the cave and found several pieces of wood which he brought back and made a fire with. He then sat next to Kagome, rather proud of himself for knowing somewhat what to do in the situation, and waited for Sesshomaru to wake up.