InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Burning Secrets ❯ Chapter four ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter Four

 

Miroku knew instantly where Inuyasha could be found, and didn't bother looking anywhere else. Sure enough, Inuyasha didn't bother looking anywhere else. Sure enough, Inuyasha was there, sitting in the same tree as the previous night, though on a lower branch this time. He had already started the process of laying into his arm, tainting the beautiful knife he held so dear.

 

“Inuyasha?” Miroku called hesitantly, not wanting to cause the hanyou to fall out of the tree. When the other didn't respond he said, louder, “Inuyasha, either you are coming down here to me or I'm going up to you. Either way we're going to talk.”

 

He still got no reply, so he stuck his staff in the ground and started to climb the tree. It had been years since he had done something like this, however, a fact that clearly showed. When he was nearly to Inuyasha's branch he lost his grip and would have fallen if not for the hand that grasped him tightly by the wrist.

 

Glancing up he saw Inuyasha hanging over the branch above him, an arm extending down to his dangling body. The hanyou pulled him up and onto the branch with only a little trouble. Once up there Miroku settled himself beside Inuyasha on the thick branch, leaning back against the trunk. Inuyasha waited until the human was completely still before taking to his blade again.

 

“Inuyasha, may I see your knife?” Miroku asked softly, knowing that this method wouldn't work even before the words were out of his mouth. And, as he'd expected, it didn't work in the least. The only evidence that Inuyasha had even heard him at all was the deepening of the boy's glare as he dug into his arm with the bloodied edge of the dagger. Frowning at the failing of his former strategy, Miroku reached for the knife. He realized his mistake at once. Inuyasha growled deep in his throat, a sound threatening enough to make Miroku hesitate.

 

This hesitation lasted for only a mere second, though in it Miroku reworked his plan of action. This time instead of going for the knife again and most likely losing his hand along with it, the priest grabbed his friend's right arm, gripping the slick limb tightly. The hanyou hissed in pain but did not pull away from him- nor did he loosed his grip on the knife, either.

 

“Does it hurt, Inuyasha?” he asked stiffly, earning a deadpan glare. Of course it hurt. That was part of why he did it, of course. “Why, then? If it hurts, then why do you do this to yourself?”

 

He wasn't expecting an answer, so when Inuyasha responded in a hushed, ashamed voice, Miroku almost didn't hear him through his shock.

 

“It's what I deserve,” he hanyou said cautiously. Miroku gaped at him, barely managing to stammer, a gaping, “Why, Inuyasha?”

 

“I need to be punished.”

 

The answer was so simple, so…sensible, that the priest didn't know why it should surprise him so much. He had already known this, and yet at the same time he was so stunned he could barely formulate his thoughts.

 

“Punished for what?” he prompted as he gathered his thoughts up, trying to make sense of what he should already understand.

 

“Because I hurt Kagome again. I always make her mad or upset or cry.” Inuyasha's voice because soft, barely a whisper at all. “And because…”

 

“Because what?” Miroku asked, catching the hanyou's eyes. Inuyasha smirked then, and his face sent chills down Miroku's back. This wasn't the smirk that the hanyou normally wore. This one was so full of raw- and negative- emotion that it rivaled even the best of Sesshoumaru's death glares. It was so cold, and at the same time so burning hot, that Miroku wanted to look away, couldn't look away.

 

“Because I thought I was worthy enough for her to care about me, even thought I know she doesn't. The only person she cares about is that Hojo man from her time.”

 

Miroku had to strain to hear the other boy's words and what he did hear sent white-hot anger coursing through his veins. Without thinking he released the hanyou's wrist, wrapping his arms around the boy whom he had come to consider one of his closest friends. He held Inuyasha close to him and while the dog demon didn't exactly move to hug him back, he didn't really fight him over it, either. As they sat there together Inuyasha's grip on the knife loosened and the red stained blade fell to the ground where it stuck deeply in the soft soil, sinking almost to the hilt. It wasn't until Miroku himself started to drift off that he noticed how far into sleep Inuyasha was falling.

 

“Um, Inuyasha, I really hate to spoil our little friendly bonding moment and everything, but I really don't fancy spending the night in a tree, especially when my only companion is a man. Nothing against you, of course, but I would much rather spend the night with a beautiful woman, such as the lovely Sango.”

 

A smile spread across Miroku's face as he felt Inuyasha's body shake with silent laughter. True, the moment had changed, but it was far from spoiled after all.

 

“What's the matter, houshi, you too weak of a human to sleep in a tree?” Inuyasha smirked as he pulled back, and this one was one of his usual smirks, not like the one that had crossed his face before. Miroku grinned, encouraged by this. He gasped as Inuyasha grabbed him suddenly around the waist, jumping off the branch without warning.

 

When they touched the ground Miroku walked over to his staff, muttering about not having enough notice before being forced into suicidal lunges to the ground. He did not, however, comment about how the dagger disappeared quietly into Inuyasha's bright red clothing. They walked side by side back to Kaede's, a companionable silence enveloping them. Neither worried over what to say because at this point there were no words required anymore. All that mattered was that they both understood.