InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Brothers-in-Arms ❯ Changing Associations ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: The only claim I have on these characters was made in the Live Journal community 30Shards, whose story prompts serve as a basis for this tale. In point of fact, the inu-brothers belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

 

Dedication: My thanks to Racing Stripes for serving as beta.

 

Date: 05.03.08

 

Brothers-in-Arms by Ginger Bits

Chapter 7: Changing Associations

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Touch. Touch? His touch… What the fuck did Sesshomaru mean by that? Shit, he could be talking about almost anything. As Inuyasha struggled against the heaviness of eyes and limbs, his mind wrestled with his half-brother's final comment of the evening. Why would I need to get used to it? I know exactly what the bastard's touch feels like. He'd known the searing heat of Sesshomaru's whip, felt the rake of furious claws tearing his skin, and endured the blinding sting of poison. There was only one thing he associated with Sesshomaru's touch—pain. With my luck, he's gonna say I need to build up a tolerance to his poison, and tomorrow I'm in for a world of hurt.

 

Almost without his consent, Inuyasha's body drew up in a protective curl, recoiling against the memory of the time Sesshomaru had punched straight through his midsection. Even a century later, he remembered the sickening agony of being perforated. Sighing, the hanyou made a conscious effort to unwind, stretching back out on the ground and willing away the unpleasant memories. It ain't gonna come to that again. Things have changed.

 

So much change… Inuyasha's drowsy mind wandered. One choice, and all the peace and stability had been stripped from his life. I had it good, for once. Damn, I must be crazy. Today was the worst he'd endured in decades, and these last weeks with Sesshomaru were like a drought. Feast or famine. It hardly seemed fair that a hanyou, caught between two different worlds, could never seem to find the middle ground. My life has always been about extremes. All or nothing. The way things looked right now, the oncoming years would be bleak ones. It'd been a long time since he'd been in this position.

 

Even when Kagome was taken from him, he hadn't been truly bereft. Far from it. Miroku, Sango, Kohaku, and Shippo had surrounded him, refusing to let him lose himself in grief. Miroku had always been demonstrative, and Shippo clung to him with a desperation the hanyou understood. Sango's affection took on a definite maternal quality as she grew older, and he'd submitted to her fussing with unconvincing exasperation. Kohaku was a good kid—too shy, but thoughtful in unexpected ways. They'd become family, and Inuyasha knew enough of hardship to know just how precious his place in their lives was. The last several decades had encompassed many more good things than bad, but thanks to Sesshomaru, that was about to change. There was pain coming, but he was stronger now; maybe he was even strong enough to stand alone.

 

Was it the right thing to do—leaving my chosen family for the sake of my only living relative? Will it be worth getting used to this old, lonely feeling again? Inuyasha's eyes blinked open, and he watched Sesshomaru, who was gazing impassively at the full moon. He might as well have `do not touch' stamped on his forehead, right under that fancy crescent of his. The taiyoukai had appealed to him as family, calling on their shared bloodlines in his request for assistance. Family? Keh. He might only be a hanyou, but he'd carved out a place to belong in this world, thanks to his friends. That was what family was supposed to feel like—not this. This was misery, and apparently, misery wanted company.

 

Touch. He's gonna touch me. Inuyasha tried to envision Sesshomaru throwing a friendly arm around his shoulder as Miroku had often done, but the very idea was ludicrous. That will never happen. He supposed his half-brother's plans could involve some new lesson in inuyoukai communication that required touch. There might be some kind of… I dunno… a greeting I gotta learn? I wonder why the asshole's making such a big deal out of this. Inuyasha closed his eyes and sighed, folding his arms over his stomach. The simplest answer was that, to Sesshomaru, this was a big deal.

 

Their new association was changing both their lives. Alliances go two ways, so it's affecting him too. Suddenly, it occurred to Inuyasha that Sesshomaru might be dreading whatever came next even more than he was. If the very thought of his touch means pain to me, I wonder if it's the same for him. I've landed my fair share of blows on the bastard. The hanyou tried putting himself in his half-brother's place, but found he couldn't. There was simply no way to guess what was going through Sesshomaru's mind. He shows little and betrays less.

 

This time, when Inuyasha glanced towards his ally, the taiyoukai turned his head and met his younger sibling's seeking eyes. Nighttime had widened the pointed slashes of his pupils into black marquises, but the effect did nothing to make Sesshomaru's gaze more open or his thoughts more accessible. Pale gold caught and held the hanyou for the beat of several heartbeats, then silently returned to their contemplation of the sky. I don't know anything about the bastard. Not really. I wonder… if that will change too.

 

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Shard 5, Memories

840 words