InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Brothers After All ❯ Chapter Five: Tears and Blood ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"Brothers After All"

by: Banshee Puppet

Chapter Five: Tears and Blood

Kikyo was not hiding. She sat quietly on a flat rock beside the lake and waited, and when Sesshomaru entered the clearing, placing the shell that was now Kagome beside a tree and saying, "sit down and stay put," which the girl did without hesitation, she turned her head and smiled with sweet venom at the taiyoukai. "I thought the great Sesshomaru would have found me sooner," she said, standing.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened. "Ka-gome?" he whispered it, unable to keep the shock out of his expression. His eyes shooting back at the doll-like girl sitting under the tree, and then back at Kikyo.

Kaede's words came back to his mind. `You will know her when you see her,' she had said. `Kagome is Kikyo's reincarnation,' she had said. `The dead miko,' she had said. This woman wasn't supposed to be alive, and she smelled of clay, the body of a doll, but her soul. . . Kagome's soul was inside of that doll. And they looked so much alike, so much. . .

Determination set in his jaw and he drew out the toukijin. "Give Kagome's soul back, or I WILL take it from you," he demanded.

Kikyo gave a small smile, like she was humoring some small child, which only enraged him further. "By all means, come and take it," she said sweetly, stringing an arrow through her bow and holding the weapon up lazily.

`So Kikyo stole Kagome's soul again. Now it makes sense,' Inuyasha thought from his perch on a nearby tree branch. He wasn't really sure how he felt about any of this. `Feh, like I care,' he told himself. But he did care. He wasn't sure why, but he did care. What happened here today, it was. . . important to him. It. . . mattered.

Sesshomaru sneered. `Simple, right. She's nothing at ALL like Kagome. Sweet and too-talkative. Nothing at all like Kagome. Nothing,' he told himself as he charged, dodging her arrow easily, but when he moved to strike, he got a look at her face, and in it's shadow, a memory of a smiling Kagome there, waving happily at him. He dove back unthinkingly, protecting the one he loved and shook his head with a disgruntled growl. `It's not her! Idiot! She's the one who made her like. . . like. . . ` his eyes shot over to the girl sitting beside the tree, just staring at him. `LIKE THAT!'

Anger flooding through him, he charged again. This time, she was fiddling with the hem of her short skirt, the first time she told him she had to go home for a few days. And he couldn't strike.

Again. Asleep on the washroom floor.

Again. Holding up something that looked like a little octopus with a pair of chopsticks and daring him to eat it.

Again. Leaning in to kiss him for the very first time.

Disgusted with himself, and angry with the dead miko who was now laughing at him, he fell to his knees and punched the ground, balling up dirt in his fist, eyes wide. `I can't do it. . . Why can't I do it? It's not her but. . .' "Kagome. . ." the name whispered out, and he hadn't even realized he was crying until he heard the name, half-said, half-sobbed, as crystalline tears fell down on the earth in front of him. He slammed his fist into the ground. "I. . . I can't do it," he whispered. "She. . . she reminds me of you. She's not you. . .but. . . KAGOME!!!" he let out a mournful howl and sat back on his knees, looking over at the doll sitting beneath the tree, tears streaking down his cheeks.

He turned to Kikyo, disgusted and broken, and said gravely, "Just kill me, I don't want to live without her. . . I can't, really."

Kikyo looked down at him and laughed. "Awfully WEAK of you, Sesshomaru."

"I know," he tried to make his voice a little more steady, but just couldn't, and he didn't care just now about anything, really. "She makes me a weaker man. But it's okay. As long as it's her, I don't want to be strong," he said softly, turning his head to look at the doll beneath the tree that was once his Kagome what he presumed would be one last time. "Please," he whispered to her. "Forgive me."

And he gasped when he saw a tear rolling down her cheek, her lips quivering ever so slightly. Her mouth opened, as if trying to speak, but nothing came out.

`Sess,' she thought hard. `Sess!' her mind called out as she watched Kikyo lace another arrow in her bow, unable to do anything. And a piercing scream broke the air as the arrow was released. . .

Inuyasha clutched his heart as he watched his brother break down. `This is what I wanted,' he told himself. `THIS is what I wanted? How heartless. How cruel. This. . .' he watched, horrified, as Sesshomaru begged Kikyo to kill him, and Kikyo's smirk said she would be more than happy to oblige. His mind screamed at him as his body flung him into motion. `THIS ISN'T WHAT I WANT AT ALL!!!!'

Before he knew it, he was shoving Sesshomaru out of the way and just barely missing getting pierced by Kikyo's arrow himself. "Idiot!" he hissed at the stunned, tear-streaked face before him. "Just go protect your woman. I'll take care of Kikyo."

"Inuyasha. . . but. . ."

"Just shut up and do it!" Inuyasha hissed.

"Hello, Inuyasha. So we meet again," Kikyo commented.

"Yeah," he returned, scowling. "For the very last time, Kikyo."

Inuyasha extended his claws, but was stopped by Sesshomaru's hand. "Inuyasha."

"Didn't I just say. . . " Inuyasha was about to snap at his older brother again when he saw him holding the toukijin out towards him.

They exchanged a look, like a silent conversation, and with a smirk, Inuyasha took the demon blade.

"Thank you," Sesshomaru whispered. He would forgive him everything, for what he was doing here now. So he did as his brother wished, and moved to Kagome's side, pulling her close to him and watching as Inuyasha charged.

Inuyasha couldn't avoid that arrow and he knew it, so, jaw set in determination, he made his decision. `It doesn't matter, even if I do die. I'm taking you down with me, Kikyo,' he thought, and charging down visciously, he swiped the toukijin through the air visciously. . .

Kagome gasped, clutching tightly to Sesshomaru's arm. "Inuyasha!" she called out as he fell limply to the ground. The couple hurried to his side, kneeling beside him.

"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered.

"I. . . I'm sorry, Kagome. I was just. . . so mad."

"Shh. . . don't talk," she said, as Sesshomaru, frowning slightly, took his brother's hand in his own.

"You're an idiot," the elder said flatly.

"Feh. And you're a softie," Inuyasha returned as he smirked up at his brother, who smirked back.

"Hai. I am," Sesshomaru answered softly. `And you're dying,' he thought. `Why did you do it?'

"Because," Inuyasha said. "Seeing you crying like that, so sad and broken, it hurt, Sessho----maru. . . you, made me feel what you were feeling. We're brothers, after all."

"Yes," Sesshomaru whispered, brushing some blood streaked hair from Inuyasha's eyes. "Brothers," he replied softly. "Always. . . now be still or your wounds will only get worse."

But Inuyasha knew he was dying, he laid his head back and stared up at the many-hued stars, coughing up a bit of blood. `If I could take it all back,' he thought. `I want to take it all back. I shouldn't have wished to become a demon. If I could do it again, my wish would be. . . so much different. I would wish, instead, for my brother's happiness.' A shooting star passed by his blurring vision, and coughing up blood again, he thought. "I wish. . . for my brother's happiness." And his eyes closed on the waking world, to a serene and gentle death.

"Do you think they found her yet, Kaede-baba?" Shippo asked.

Just then, a bright light lit up the Western Skies, more brilliant even than the sun itself, and with a small smile, Kaede answered. "Yes, Shippo. I believe they have."

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well, one more chapter to go! This story has been so sad! But don't worry, I promise a happy ending. It's been my plot since the very beginning! Hehe. TTFN.