InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Cursed ❯ Used_Part 2 ( Chapter 11 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Tayala_Anamore 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense / Romance / Drama / Comedy | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 10.05.2011 | Pages: 5 | Words: 8.5K | Visits: 627 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense / Romance / Drama / Comedy | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 10.05.2011 | Pages: 5 | Words: 8.5K | Visits: 627 | Status: Work In Progress
A/N: Okay guys, shit's about to get real so go put your big boy panties on.
Approximate ages for this chapter:
Sesshomaru: 14
Onigumo: 18-20
'Thoughts'
“Speaking”
Chapter 11: Used_Part II
‘Why isn't he drinking his tea?' he thought to himself as he looked from Onigumo's half empty cup to his own freshly filled one.
He took a sip... it tasted fine to him…Very good actually. So why wasn't Onigumo drinking any?
'Maybe it's cold or something... or maybe he doesn't like tea?... But then why would he have brought it? Maybe he's just not thirsty... that's probably it. He'll drink it when he's thirsty again... God, how many cups have I had?! He must think I’m some kind of glutton!'
Sesshomaru frowned down at his own cup of tea and set it aside. The last thing he wanted was for his date ('I can't believe I'm on a real date!') to think he was selfish or greedy.
“Something wrong with the tea?”
“Oh no.” Onigumo said with a smile and a chuckle. “I'm just not that thirsty. To be honest I got here a little while before you did so I actually had a few cups before you arrived.”
'Okay. See how much sense that makes?! Stop being all paranoid!'
Sesshomaru nodded in understanding but never the less let his cup stay where it was by his side. He let out a contented sigh and closed his eyes, raised his head and looked up to the millions of stars in the sky.
It was a secret pleasure of his. There were many a night when he could be caught sitting by his window late at night, gazing at the sky above with calm, dreamy eyes. He could spend hours just thinking about it: how many stars where there? Why could he only see them at night? How far away were they? How did they get there in the first place? If he were standing right next to one, would it still be so small?
Yes. Sesshomaru loved to star gaze. For some reason he couldn't put into words, looking up at the sky at night, gazing at the millions of sparkling stars and getting lost in the depths of the vast amount of space there always seemed to be, it filled him with a sense of such peace and wonder...
Sesshomaru took a long, deep breath and allowed his eyes to fall shut once again. He sighed softly as he lowered his head to face his date once more, wanting to tell him about how much he loved this time of night, when he froze in shock, his eyes nearly popping out of his head: Onigumo was kissing him!!!
It came out of nowhere! Before he could even open his mouth to say anything Onigumo was already there, pressing his lips to Sesshomaru's!
It was so shocking, Sesshomaru even forgot to breath for a few seconds. He was quick to gain his composure however and soon even started kissing back, his eyes falling to half-mast.
The kiss itself was hard to describe. Onigumo had obviously done this before because he knew exactly how to position their heads so that they didn't bump noses or anything and he also had the most perfect pressure: firm, but soft, allowing Sesshomaru the freedom to move as he pleased without giving any room to move away.
Sesshomaru experimented a little, switching between pressing a little closer and harder or lighter against Onigumo’s lips and the older man let him test out this new experience all he wanted.
Sesshomaru slowly started pressing just a little more firmly, silently deciding that while the feeling of someone else’s lips against his wasn’t an altogether pleasant sensation, he certainly didn’t hate it, and unconsciously let his lips part just a tiny bit. It was enough though for Onigumo to deepen the kiss some more and gently thrust his tongue into Sesshomaru's mouth.
Sesshomaru could scarcely breathe at the feeling of someone else’s tongue in his mouth for the first time. His stomach was already doing uncomfortable flips with just their lips touching but now his whole body was starting to tingle in a not so wanted way. He could feel heat rising to his face and neck. His lips felt so sensitive and warm that he nearly gasped with every little move Onigumo made and even though he kind of wanted to stop… part of him kind of wanted to continue.
Onigumo's tongue was slowly making its way around Sesshomaru's mouth, seemingly mapping out all the contours and textures, touching Sesshomaru's tongue...
Slowly, so, so slowly, Sesshomaru worked up the nerve to move his tongue against the other.
It was... weird. Feeling someone’s tongue with his own... it was wet and kind of slick... it wasn't the most pleasant feeling... but he could tell Onigumo was enjoying it immensely if the low, guttural groans he could hear (and feel) coming from his throat were anything to go by... so maybe it was just Sesshomaru's lack of experience that made it seem so weird?
He hadn’t hated the kiss in the beginning so maybe he just needed more practice before he started liking this part too.
Onigumo started to pull back slightly as he brought his hand up to cup the side of Sesshomaru's face. They finally broke apart with a subtle pop and pressed their foreheads together. It wasn't until now that Sesshomaru realized he hadn't taken a breath in what must have been minutes and greedily suck in as much air as his lungs could handle. He slowly forced his eyes open, never having even noticed when he let them close, and looked at his partner.
Onigumo was in a similar state, only his breathes were much more controlled and even. His lips were shiny and ever so slightly swollen. His eyes were only at half-mast and looking at Sesshomaru in much the same way Sesshomaru was looking at him and the young demon could only imagine that he was seeing a similar expression on Sesshomaru's face.
Sesshomaru could feel Onigumo's thumb beginning to caress his cheek in a loving manner and leaned into the touch, only slightly surprised by the older man’s low, quiet voice in his ear.
“Sorry... couldn't resist... you just looked so...” he leaned in closer and placed a small peck on Sesshomaru's lips. “... Beautiful...”
Sesshomaru smiled shyly and attempted to duck his head but the hand still holding his face gently wouldn't let him and instead brought them closer once more to place another light kiss on the younger man's lips, and another, and another until once again they were joined at the mouth and seemed in no hurry to separate.
Sesshomaru liked this more than before. There was no tongue this time, which was fine with him, but it was so much more intense than last time.
The kiss was firmer and slightly more insistent but still good. Sesshomaru could feel himself growing hotter and hotter, his stomach was doing flips again and luckily this time he remembered to breathe.
Onigumo traced his hand down from Sesshomaru's cheek and to his chest; pressing lightly but not letting up and slowly Sesshomaru let himself be guided to the ground with Onigumo above him. He was tempted to ask him to stop if only because he was beginning to feel like this was going too fast for him but at the same time this was a more comfortable position to be in then sitting up and the last thing he wanted was for Onigumo to think he was just a scared little kid... he decided not to say anything and just go with the flow. Onigumo would never do anything to hurt Sesshomaru, he was sure of it. He would stop if Sesshomaru asked him to.
Onigumo leaned further over top of him, placing his hands on either side of his head and kissing him with abandon. They were both hard of breath by now and Sesshomaru instinctually wrapped both his arms around the older man's neck.
It didn't take long before he could feel Onigumo's tongue licking at his lips, trying to get him to open up. Sesshomaru grimaced at the thought of doing that again and hesitated but Onigumo was insistent. Eventually, he let the man invade his mouth once more. He figured this was something he was going to have to learn eventually anyway... and maybe he could learn to like it...
Sesshomaru resisted the urge to try to spit out the slimy appendage invading his mouth. He forced his eyes closed as tight as he could and tried to ignore the intense feelings of disgust at what the other man was doing to him and the total sense of wrongness that he was letting it happen.
Onigumo moaned and Sesshomaru could feel the vibrations of it going down his throat. He could feel the wetness of the other man’s saliva trailing down one side of his cheek when he began kissing the younger demon more forcefully and Sesshomaru tried to hold his gag reflex in check when he realized he was swallowing spit that wasn’t his.
Sesshomaru tried to push the man off him a little. He was too close and he was couldn't breathe and the bigger man was crushing him with his body. He squirmed and wiggled a bit, trying put just a bit of space between the two of them but when he moved his hands from around Onigumo’s neck to his shoulders to give the other a push, the bigger man just grabbed his wrists and pinned them up above his head. It happened so fast Sesshomaru didn’t even have time to react.
Sesshomaru tried to pull his head away to ask him to back off a bit but no matter which way Sesshomaru moved his head, Onigumo’s followed, his lips never once leaving Sesshomaru's.
Sesshomaru was beginning to feel small tendrils of fear in the pit of his stomach and tried to force Onigumo’s tongue out of his mouth so he could speak but all that got him was another groan and suddenly the bigger man started grinding his hips down against Sesshomaru's pelvis!
Now he was starting to panic. He reasoned with himself that Onigumo probably didn't realize he was taking things too far but it did little to sway his growing doubt. Sesshomaru started to thrash and buck and finally managed to get his mouth free long enough to speak.
“Onigumo! Please! Stop! I don't want to do this anym-” he was silenced by a vicious back handed slap to the face.
Onigumo held tight to the smaller boys wrists with one hand while he grabbed a fist full of thick silver hair and pulled, bringing Sesshomaru's face real close to his and making the younger cry out in shock and pain.
“Well that's just too damn bad slut! I didn’t hear you complaining before.” Onigumo's hot breath ghosted across his face as small droplets of spittle landed on his cheeks. Sesshomaru grimaced in equal parts alarm and pain as the man accented every other word with a hard tug on his hair. He stared up at the man in wide eyed disbelief and unrestrained despair as a malicious smile spread slowly across the other man’s face. “You started this, and now you're gonna be a good little dog and finish it!”
Onigumo pulled roughly on Sesshomaru's hair forcing him up and slammed his lips down onto the other boys so hard Sesshomaru felt his lip split open and the coppery taste of blood invaded his mouth along with Onigumo’s slimy, unwanted tongue.
Sesshomaru groaned in pain and tried to buck the man off him, only succeeding in accidentally grinding his groin against the very aroused crotch of the man above him. Onigumo moaned in pleasure as Sesshomaru’s sense of dread only grew.
The young demon bucked harder, trying to kick and get his arms out of Onigumo’s hands but only managed to arouse the bigger man more! And he was still only using one hand to restrain him! It wasn’t like Onigumo was that big of a man and Sesshomaru, while he was still a child, did have his natural demon strength and should have been able to get away from him by now.
Onigumo laughed into the kiss as Sesshomaru tried, uselessly, to twist and turn his way out from under the older man, and let his free hand trail down from Sesshomaru's neck to his chest and into his haori, grasping at his chest and rubbing his thumb over a nipple.
Sesshomaru jerked sharply and screamed into the kiss, shaking his head back and forth both trying to dislodge the other from his face and as a poor attempt at denying what was happening to him.
‘This can’t be real! This can’t be real! This can’t be real! Why can’t I fight him?!’
Sesshomaru felt that hand slowly slide down his chest and onto his stomach, moving the fabric of his shirt open along the way and exposing his skin to the cold night air.
Onigumo squeezed Sesshomaru’s wrists harder as his other hand kept going lower. When Sesshomaru felt the tips of his fingers dip below the ties of his hakamas he gave one final mighty jerk, surprising the bigger man enough to free his hands.
Sesshomaru lashed out with his claws, just barely managing to scratch Onigumo’s cheek. The dark haired man shot up in shock and sat back on his haunches giving Sesshomaru just enough time to scramble out from under him and try to get away.
He squirmed out from between the bigger man’s thighs as much as he could and rolled over onto his hands and knees trying to crawl far enough away that he could free his legs to get up and run. Just as he was about to stand he felt a hand on his ankle and with a mighty tug once again found himself on the ground with a much bigger man on top of him, sitting on his legs to keep him from running.
“Na ah ah. Not so fast baby. We’re not done playing yet!” Onigumo playfully growled in his ear and Sesshomaru winced as the hot, moist breath hit his skin.
Sesshomaru clawed at the grass, trying to pull himself away to no avail. A scream was ripped from his throat as he felt Onigumo tugging and pulling down his pants but it wasn’t until he felt the finger trying to probe between his nether cheeks that it really hit him… this was really happening…
Sesshomaru could no longer hold back the tears of fear and shame and let them run unhindered down his face as he begged the man to let him go.
“No! Please! P-please don’t! Please! Let me go!!”
His words were near incomprehensible in his panic and between sobs but he knew Onigumo understood: it just made the man that much more excited.
Sesshomaru rolled over to his back once more, effectively preventing his pants from moving any further down his hips.
Onigumo went for his wrists once again, pinning them to the ground in much the same way as before and just as before Sesshomaru struggled with all his strength (which he noticed with great horror was quickly leaving him) as Onigumo watched in pleasure, a twisted smile filling his face in a way that made the young demon cringe and struggle all the more. This time, however, he could move his legs.
Sesshomaru kicked out with his knee, landing the best possible blow he could have wished for. As soon as he made contact the older man was on the ground writhing in pain.
Sesshomaru scrambled up and started running not even pausing as he held his pants up and tied them back together, and ran for all he was worth.
Sesshomaru paid no heed to the tree branches tearing up his clothes and scratching at his face and arm nor the bushes or roots he tripped over time and again.
His lungs were on fire, his legs were shaking and he could barely see where he was going through his tears but not once did he stop or even slow down. Sesshomaru knew that he was running purely on adrenalin by now. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep it up but he hoped and prayed to whatever god was listening that he lasted until he got back home.
Even when he could clearly see the palace through the trees he kept on going, not caring if he ran into the guards meant to be patrolling the gardens as he ran through or if he shoved one of the visiting nobles out of his way as he shot down the halls.
Sesshomaru was nothing but a blur as he bolted around the palace, down hall after hall and up one flight of stairs and then another. He kept going till he saw his room, threw the door open, rushed in and slammed it closed, locking it securely behind him.
Sesshomaru crumpled to the floor, landing on his knees and forcing big, wheezing breathes into his burning lungs and trying to slow his pounding heart. Sesshomaru covered his mouth in an attempted to silence himself as big, uncontrollable sobs racked his whole body.
There was a knock at his door that sent Sesshomaru all the way to the other side of the room in the blink of an eye, his heart nearly beating out of his chest in the pure, unadulterated fear that just coursed through his body from that single sound.
‘No… gods no… please, it can’t be hi-’
“Sesshomaru?”
Sesshomaru breathed a sigh of relief. Never in his life had he ever felt so relieved to her his father’s voice.
“Sesshomaru, open the door. I know you’re in there.”
Sesshomaru slowly inched his way towards his door, still a little fearful of opening it because somewhere in the back of his mind it was really Onigumo tricking him. He reached out with his hand and timidly touched the lock on the door frame, hesitating for a second before quickly unlatching it and shooting back across the room, standing with his back to the wall and facing the door.
He only just remembered to wipe at his tear stained face as InuTaisho slid open his door and stepped inside.
InuTaisho eyed his son with no small amount of suspicion and worry. Sesshomaru’s clothes were torn and tattered, covered in dirt and in some places blood from what he could only assume were scratches and cuts from running into tree after tree. His hair was a mess, tangled and filthy. His head was bowed low, his eyes cover by his bangs and though the man could tell his son was trying to hide it, the boy was shaking so hard InuTaisho was shocked he was still standing.
The part that worried him the most however was the way Sesshomaru was backed up against the wall, the smell of fear and shame and tears coming off him in waves and InuTaisho knew that if he were able to see his son’s eyes right now they would be a blazing red.
The youkai lord slowly closed the door behind him, not once taking his eyes off his son and slowly brought his hands up in front of him, letting Sesshomaru see them both, and cautiously took a step closer… and another and another, inching his way to the distraught young demon huddled by the wall like a terrified animal on its last leg. When he was just a couple more steps away, he spoke for the first time, trying to keep his voice as calm and soft as he could.
“… Sesshomaru…. Son… it’s okay… you’re safe…”
He leaned forward just a little and was unsurprised to find the boy’s eyes just as he had expected them to be; a bright, angry red. He carefully reached out with his hand as a pained whimper left Sesshomaru’s throat. InuTaisho could see the youths chin start to wobble as he gently placed his hand on the boys shoulder and stepped closer, giving a little tug to pull the boy towards him.
That tiny tug was what did it: Sesshomaru practically dove into the safety of his father’s strong arms, wrapping his own arms around the thicker man’s waist and clung to him with desperation. He couldn’t have stopped the tears from falling all over again even if he tried.
InuTaisho wrapped him up in his protective embrace, clutching him tightly to his chest, all the while telling him everything was going to be okay.
“It’s all okay. You’re safe now. Everything’s going to be okay now, I’ve got you. Daddy’s got you Sessh… you’re okay…”
Neither of them knew how long they stood there like that but it was a good while before the tears stopped and Sesshomaru’s death-grip on his father finally loosened up just enough for the demon lord pull back a little bit and really look at his son.
At some point, one of InuTaisho’s hands trailed up and started stroking through the strands of Sesshomaru’s hair gently, soothingly. He brought both his hands up to cup Sesshomaru’s face and softly wiped the tears from his cheeks and was happy to note that his eyes were no longer the vibrant blood red that they were before. He silently breathed a sigh of relief and filed it away for a later conversation. There were more important things to talk about right now.
Sesshomaru let his father drag his face away from the bigger demons chest, trying his hardest to stop crying, but he couldn’t bring himself to look his father in the face nor could he force himself to let go of his robe.
“Sesshomaru?...”
At the sound of InuTaisho’s gentle voice Sesshomaru let his eyes shoot up to the bigger man’s face for the briefest of seconds, long enough to let him know he heard him, before bringing them back down to stare at the chest right in front of him.
“Sesshomaru… tell me what happened.”
No matter how softly it was said, Sesshomaru recognized it as an order. An immediate rush of shame and renewed distress come over him so suddenly, it nearly knocked him off his feet. He felt his lip start to quiver once again despite his best efforts and tried to turn away from the strong, powerful man in front of him, not wanting his father to see him such a pathetic state all over again, but the strong hands on either side of his face wouldn’t let him.
InuTaisho firmly held his face in his hands, not letting his son hide from him. He wiped away the remaining tear trails with the pads of his thumbs and released a growl from deep in his throat. Not in anger, but to let his scared young son know that he was safe and protected here. To let him know his alpha was there to protect him now.
The second Sesshomaru heard that growl, an instant sense of relief washed over him. He wasn’t out in the middle of the forest, alone and helpless against an enemy that wanted to hurt him. He was safe in the arms of one of the most powerful demons to ever live.
Sesshomaru took a deep, stuttering breath.
“…. I-um…. I-I was m-meeting someo-one… I mean, m-met someone t-tonight… for a date….” Here he had to stop to compose himself and try to steady his breath. “W-we ate… and had tea…. a-and o-other stuff…” Sesshomaru could bring himself to say what the “other stuff” was and for the first time that night looked up at his father through his bangs, silently pleading with his eyes not to make him actually say it. InuTaisho nodded his understanding and Sesshomaru released a big sigh of relief.
“B-but… h-he wanted t-to d-do more than that… and I-I asked h-him to s-stop… b-but…” Now completely hyperventilating Sesshomaru had to stop. His lungs were burning, he couldn’t breathe and he seemed to be only a few seconds away from keeling over.
InuTaisho quickly embraced his son, rubbing soothing circles on his back with one hand and holding the younger’s head to his chest with the other putting them in a very similar position to what they were in before.
“It’s okay boy. You can stop there. It’s okay. Sssshhhhhhh.”
It was a few seconds later, when Sesshomaru had calmed his breathing enough to speak again, that InuTaisho heard a faint mumble coming from his chest.
“What was that?” he said, softly.
Sesshomaru backed up an inch or two from his father and hesitantly repeated what he’d said in an unsure, shameful voice.
“…… He um… h-he didn’t rape me…. I….. I-I got away.”
He quickly buried himself back into his father’s chest, sniffling and clutching harder than before, almost as if he expected to be pushed away.
InuTaisho just held him tighter and dropped a kiss the top of his head. He leaned down to whisper in his ear.
“I'm proud of you.”
He could feel Sesshomaru’s shoulders sag in relief and nuzzle his face into the center of InuTaisho’s chest before suddenly pulling back again, this time actually looking the bigger demon in the with fearful eyes.
“I think he did something to me!” He said desperately, only just remembering the way he seemed unnaturally weak during the whole thing. “I don’t know what! But I couldn’t fight him. It was like he stole all of my strength and used it to attack me. I-I couldn’t do anything!”
“Sshhh Sesshomaru, it’s okay. Calm down for me.” InuTaisho recognized Sesshomaru’s voice getting thick with emotion and wanted to comfort him before he could break down once again. For the first time in a long while, he unwrapped his arms from around the boy but didn’t lose contact, placing his hand on the younger’s back and leading him slowly toward the door. “We’re going to go the healer and have him check you over, okay?”
Sesshomaru nodded shakily and gripped onto his father’s sleeve tightly. “O-okay.” He said shakily. Honestly, he would have done anything his father asked of him right then if it meant the older demon wouldn’t leave him alone. More than anything, he desperately didn’t want to be alone right now.
InuTaisho lead him to the door and out into the hallway, sustaining physical contact with him the whole time. Sesshomaru kept his eyes trained on the ground, his head down and shoulders hunched. InuTaisho didn’t think much of it, thinking the boy didn’t want to see anyone else who might be roaming the palace despite the time.
The palace healer wasn’t that far of a walk from Sesshomaru's room, being two levels down and then right at the end of the hall, but it seemed to be taking longer than normal to get there. Sesshomaru had been steadily slowing down the farther they walked and after just five minutes Sesshomaru was leaning so heavily on InuTaisho that he was near carrying the boy.
“Sesshomaru? Are you alright son?”
InuTaisho stopped and turned to the young demon. By now he had one arm wrapped tightly around the boys waist and was clutching at Sesshomaru's limp forearm dangling from around his shoulders, trying to keep him as upright as he could.
Sesshomaru looked at him with glazed eyes. InuTaisho would be surprised if he was even able to see anything at all. Just as that thought passed through his mind, Sesshomaru’s eyes rolled to back of his head and his entire body went limp in a dead faint.
InuTaisho wasted no time in lifting the unconscious demon child into his arms and bolting the rest of the way to the healer’s office.
‘No way in hell am I going to let Sesshomaru suffer anymore tonight.’
What could have been a three minute walk down the hall turned into a two second run before InuTaisho burst through the doors to the palace infirmary and gently placed Sesshomaru on the first examination table he could find.
InuTaisho paused only briefly to check his boy was still breathing, noticing that his heart was beating abnormally fast in the process, and ran to other side of the room to the door leading directly into the healers bed chamber.
Not even stopping to wake the poor man up, the demon lord grasped the man by the bicep and dragged him out of his bed and into the other room.
“Fix him!”
The young man barely had time to register that for some odd reason he was no longer in his bed and his arm was being crushed by some sort of angry yeti when suddenly the yeti started yelling at him… and shaking him…
“HAKEEM!!!” InuTaisho yelled and shook the man, angry that he was just standing there looking confused when his son was possibly dying before their eyes.
At the sound of his name being yelled in his face, Hakeem finally seemed to understand that this was indeed happening and the western lord needed his help. He blinked a couple of time, trying to clear his blurry vision.
“What happened my lord? What do you need?” he asked, voice still raspy from sleep.
“FIX HIM!!” InuTaisho shouted once more, this time indicating his passed out son on the table just in front of them with his unoccupied hand.
Hakeem looked from the still boy to his livid father and stared at the man blankly.
“… Yes. I believe you mentioned that before but just what exactly is it that needs to be fixed… and furthermore, how do you expect me to do anything about it at all if you do not release me?”
InuTaisho decided it best to overlook the snarky healer’s attitude (for now) and released the man to let him do his work. The slightly irritated peacock demon walked up to the young prince and began to examine him while InuTaisho explained as best he could.
“Sesshomaru’s been poisoned. I don’t know what with but he said it took away his strength and he just passed out a few minutes ago.” The Demon lord finished his explanation in one breath and gasped in much needed air when done. He hurriedly walked over the other side of the table to stand at his son’s side, giving Hakeem as much room as he was willing.
Hakeem nearly rolled his eyes at the lack of information he was given. ‘I'm not a miracle worker!’ The loss of his strength was still something to go on though, however small. He leaned over the inu and took a sniff. He smelled his hands, clothes and breath. Nothing.
So now he had two things to go on: odorless and loss of muscle strength. Despite how small the list was, it actually narrowed it down quite a bit. There were many things that were odorless and many things that could cause a decrease of strength but not many things that could do both. Now there were only a few things he needed to check to confirm what it was that was ailing the young prince.
Hakeem took one of his small, sharp claws and walked down to Sesshomaru’s foot, InuTaisho watching anxiously the whole time. The healer poked Sesshomaru on his big toe in a sharp, quick jab. Nothing happened where normally the body would instinctually jerk away, even subconsciously. He then walked back up the table and checked Sesshomaru’s tongue. Upon seeing it was still its normal color the healer then checked his pulse. He was hard pressed to hide his shock when finding that the boys pulse was beating so fast he could barely keep count.
Hakeem nodded, certain he knew what was ailing his young prince now, and decidedly ignored his panic-y lord. Hakeem very gently lifted one of Sesshomaru’s eye lids, not surprised when he saw the boy looking right back at him.
“Hello Lord Sesshomaru.” He spoke calmly, instantly shutting the older demon in the room up with a single glance before turning all his attention back to his patient. “I know you’re probably scared right now, but everything is going to be okay. I have an antidote right here. I'm going to put it in your mouth and help you swallow. We will have to do this a couple of times though and it will take a few minutes before it starts to take effect, but it will work and we’re going have you up and back in bed in no time.” He gave the boy a light smile and a reassuring pat on the shoulder, before letting the boys eye lid fall shut once more.
InuTaisho looked gape-mouthed from his son to Hakeem and watched the other man walk over toward one of the many cabinets on the walls.
“He’s been awake this whole time?!” he said in shock.
Hakeem opened one of the cabinet doors and pulled out a small brown sack.
“I don’t know about the whole time. You’ll have to ask him when he can talk again.” Hakeem walked back over to the waiting demons and set the sack down on the table next to Sesshomaru. InuTaisho watched him intently as he opened the bag and pulled out a small black bean.
Hakeem carefully opened the child’s mouth and placed the bean on the back of his tongue. When Sesshomaru’s mouth fell closed the healer began gently massaging his throat until he was sure the bean had been swallowed before repeating the process five more time under InuTaisho’s watchful gaze.
When he was satisfied with his work, he placed the sack onto a nearby counter top and took Sesshomaru's pulse once again.
InuTaisho still watched him and had been for more than a few minutes now, but he was near the end of his tether and if he didn’t get some answers now, he was liable to kill something and Hakeem, being the only other living thing in the room besides his own son, was the obvious choice. He had just started biting the inside of his cheek in an effort to keep quiet just a little longer when the healer looked up with a slight smile.
“His pulse is a little slower than before. It’ll be slow going but it is getting back to normal. That’s a good sign. He should start regaining his muscle function soon as well.”
InuTaisho’s entire body sagged in relief. He hadn’t been willing to admit to himself how truly terrified he had been. He felt a wave of relief wash over him, knowing that Sesshomaru was going to be okay but couldn’t revel in it for long as it was quickly followed by anger and a morbid sense of curiosity: anger that someone had the gall to do this to his own pup and expect to come out of it still breathing and curiosity about what he could have possibly used to poison him. Their breed was naturally immune to nearly all poisons and the few they weren’t immune to, that he knew of, didn’t cause anything like what happened to Sesshomaru.
“What type of poison was it?”
“Oh, it wasn’t a poison…” Hakeem said absently not really paying attention to the two other demons in the room anymore as neither one of them were in a life or death situation anymore. He was looking through his cabinets on the other side of the room, trying to remember where he’d put that one bottle when he froze mid search. It was a testament to how long he had known the demon lord that he could feel the man’s eyes burning the back of head and could practically hear them silently asking ‘Then what the hell was it?’.
The healer quickly turned back to his lord and began explaining before it became more than just his eyes burning a hole in the back of his head.
“Sesshomaru ingested something called Yowameru. It’s not a poison.” He explained calmly and held up a hand when InuTaisho tried to protest. “It’s actually not that dangerous at all. It’s usually used by healers and we even have some here I just can’t seem to find it.” Hakeem spared a glare at his medicine cabinet just behind him, as if was plotting against him to make him look bad in front of his lord. “Yowameru is a powder made from the root of a plant grown near the base of mount Hakurei. It’s used mainly as a muscle relaxant and, not many know this, but it also has a numbing quality so it’s usually given to people in severe pain from an injury to help relax them and take some of the pain away. There’s never very much of it so it’s usually very hard to come by. Normally, it wears off on its own after a couple of hours and the most it’ll do is put you to sleep for a while but in Sesshomaru’s case, the powder was infused with dark miko magic. Pure miko magic, as you know, would usually kill a demon, but in Sesshomaru's case all it did was enhance the effects of the powder to the point of total paralyzation. Now, the reason this all seemed to happen so suddenly just a few minutes ago was because the amount of adrenalin pulsing through his body was giving him a false strength so he could keep going, keep running. But, when he got to you and finally felt safe, the adrenalin wore off and the all the effects of the powder and the magic hit like a punch in the face. The magic will eventually wear off on its own as will the Yowameru powder.”
InuTaisho couldn’t fight the man’s logic. Everything he said was making sense, not that it made him feel any better about the situation, but knowing a little more about what had happened did help. During the healers little speech, the demon lord had moved over to the raised table Sesshomaru was resting on and took a seat near the boy’s head. He had once again started threading his fingers through his son’s long tresses without even realizing it and now took the chance to look down at the young inu and was startled to see a pair of golden eyes looking back at him.
InuTaisho jumped off the table but kept his hand on Sesshomaru’s head in a comforting gesture.
Sesshomaru grimaced at the taste in his mouth from the beans Hakeem had fed him. He had passed out in his father’s arms earlier but he had been awake ever since he was placed on that table and heard everything the other two had said. Now, the upside to that was that he knew what the hell had happened and why he had really collapsed. The down side was that he now knew that this was all his fault… and he had to tell them… they had to know…
Sesshomaru tried to sit up but managed little more then moving his head an inch off the table top before he knew he wouldn’t be able to make it the rest of the way. Luckily he was saved the embarrassment of falling back onto the table by the other two occupants of the room, who noticed what he was trying to do and immediately rushed to stop him.
“You’re much too weak for that right now my prince.” Hakeem said gently as both he and his father softly pushed him back down.
He didn’t fight and instead tried his hand at talking, managing only a soft, lisping whisper as his tongue still had yet to get used to working again.
“-‘S my Faull.” He said softly.
InuTaisho nodded, thinking he was asking about what had happened in the hall when he’d collapsed. “Yes Sesshomaru, you fell in the hall but-”
“No, no!” Sesshomaru interrupted, speaking as loud and as clear as he could while looking each of them in the eye in turn, willing them to understand. “E’s my faull! My faull!!”
He franticly looked back and forth between them, pleading with his gaze. Hakeem seemed to understand first and his eyes widened slightly in surprise and what the younger demon could only assume was pity. Sesshomaru nearly sighed in relief.
“Sire, I think he’s trying to say that… it was his fault.” He shot his worried eye from his patient to the demon lord.
InuTaisho immediately looked back to his son and adamantly denied it but stopped when the boy started furiously shaking his head.
Sesshomaru’s mouth felt like it was filled with cotton and his tongue and lips barely even felt attached to his body, but he had to try to tell them what happened! They had to know it was all his own stupid fault!
“G-ve hm tha pawdr.” He said as best he could while attempting to point to Hakeem’s medicine cabinet. The same one he had been searching through just a few minutes prior. “Munthss n‘go. Sed,” he tried to swallow in an attempt to get the thick/cotton feeling out of his throat and tried again. “Sed ‘e ‘eeded et fo’ t’ip.”
Despite the heavy lisp and even through the difficulty moving his mouth, InuTaisho and Hakeem both seemed to finally understand what he was trying to tell them. They looked at each other in poorly concealed shock.
It seemed to hit them at the same that Sesshomaru had given the Yowameru powder to his attacker months ago because he had said he needed for some trip he was taking. Both Hakeem and InuTaisho didn’t really know how to react. They stared at each other, both seemingly looking for an answer from each other that neither could give.
InuTaisho recovered first and turned back to his son. Sesshomaru wouldn’t look at him, much like back in his room but now took to looking at the opposite wall instead. The demon lord could practically hear the thoughts running through the boy’s head and knew he had to tread on light feet. This wasn’t the strong willed, playful young man he had been hours earlier, this was a frightened, scarred little boy who was terrified his dad would be mad at him for something he thought was his fault.
Sesshomaru didn’t want to see the disappointment on his father’s face or the betrayal on Hakeem’s that he was so sure he would see should he turn around and so faced away in shame after he’d told them the truth. He just knew that as soon as they recovered from the shock that they would both turn angry and accusing eyes on him and he just didn’t know if he could take that after everything that already happened that night. He felt their gaze return to him and couldn’t stop himself from tensing up in fear and worry.
“Sesshomaru…” InuTaisho spoke calmly. “Now, you look at me.” The older man gently turned the younger’s face to toward him by his chin until he had no other choice but to look at him and InuTaisho nearly crumbled at the despair written all over the boy’s face.
Much in the same way he had done before, he held Sesshomaru’s face firmly in his hands and looked him right in the eye.
“This was not your fault Sesshomaru.” He spoke slowly and clearly, putting conviction behind every word. “He asked you for a favor and you trusted him. You were just trying to help a friend and there’s nothing wrong with that. Okay? This. Was. Not. Your. Fault.”
Sesshomaru felt such immense relief, all he could do was nod slightly in agreement, not willing to argue right then. He glanced at Hakeem and saw him nod in agreement with what InuTaisho was saying and was momentarily overwhelmed with happiness that they weren’t angry with him either.
InuTaisho, satisfied enough with Sesshomaru’s acceptance, released his son’s face and instead placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as he turned back to the healer.
“Thank you Hakeem. Sorry for disturbing you so late. We’ll take our leave and let you get back to sleep now.”
Hakeem nodded, only now letting himself feel how tired he truly was. “Yes My Lord. I’ll come by tomorrow and see how you’re doing my Prince.” He said, looking to Sesshomaru as InuTaisho lifted him into his arms and started toward the door.
Sesshomaru nodded silently as he rested his head on his father’s strong shoulder and closed his eyes.
The trip back to Sesshomaru’s room was silent and short. It seemed like only seconds before he was being gently set down on his bed. InuTaisho pulled back the covers and placed over top of him. He silently kissed Sesshomaru’s forehead and was just about to take his leave and let the boy rest when a much smaller hand shot out and gripped his sleeve as tight as it could (Which wasn’t very much at all given his current state). InuTaisho looked back at his son, whose head was turned away but none the less he could still see the worry lines on his brow and the way he was biting his lip. He could tell Sesshomaru wanted to ask him… but he just couldn’t get the words out.
InuTaisho knelt down next to him and whispered softly to him. “Sesshomaru?...” When he got no answer, he continued, asking the question Sesshomaru couldn’t. “Do you want me to stay with you tonight?”
Sesshomaru hesitated all of two seconds before nodding vigorously. InuTaisho allowed himself a small grin as he lifted his young son and moved over more toward the center of the bed, giving him room to slip beside him. InuTaisho wrapped his arms around the boy who immediately grabbed hold of his robes and buried his face in the bigger chest.
InuTaisho held him tight as Sesshomaru ever so slowly drifted off to what InuTaisho was sure to be a troubled sleep. He never let go, even when his mate and one year old pup came in the middle of the night and got into the bed with them. Neither asked questions. Izayoi knew that her mate would tell her later and simply laid down on the other side of Sesshomaru and wrapped her arms around her mate and her step son. Inuyasha didn’t even hesitate to snuggle up with Sesshomaru and his parents.
InuTaisho didn’t ask how they knew where he was and he didn’t question them about their lack of questions for him or why they decided to stay with them or why both of them came looking for him and Sesshomaru in the first place. All he knew was there, surrounded by his family, it had never been so easy for him to fall asleep.
O.M.F.G!!! That took for-freaking-ever! I never intended it to take nearly a whole year for me to update and I can’t apologize enough. It’s been hectic and I’m sorry but, as much as I love writing, I do have other responsibilities, you know? :/ Being an adult sucks… I wish I was twelve again.
Next chapter coming soon though.
Review please!!
Peace! Love! Yaoi!
Converting /tmp/phpURWazq to /dev/stdout
Approximate ages for this chapter:
Sesshomaru: 14
Onigumo: 18-20
'Thoughts'
“Speaking”
Chapter 11: Used_Part II
‘Why isn't he drinking his tea?' he thought to himself as he looked from Onigumo's half empty cup to his own freshly filled one.
He took a sip... it tasted fine to him…Very good actually. So why wasn't Onigumo drinking any?
'Maybe it's cold or something... or maybe he doesn't like tea?... But then why would he have brought it? Maybe he's just not thirsty... that's probably it. He'll drink it when he's thirsty again... God, how many cups have I had?! He must think I’m some kind of glutton!'
Sesshomaru frowned down at his own cup of tea and set it aside. The last thing he wanted was for his date ('I can't believe I'm on a real date!') to think he was selfish or greedy.
“Something wrong with the tea?”
“Oh no.” Onigumo said with a smile and a chuckle. “I'm just not that thirsty. To be honest I got here a little while before you did so I actually had a few cups before you arrived.”
'Okay. See how much sense that makes?! Stop being all paranoid!'
Sesshomaru nodded in understanding but never the less let his cup stay where it was by his side. He let out a contented sigh and closed his eyes, raised his head and looked up to the millions of stars in the sky.
It was a secret pleasure of his. There were many a night when he could be caught sitting by his window late at night, gazing at the sky above with calm, dreamy eyes. He could spend hours just thinking about it: how many stars where there? Why could he only see them at night? How far away were they? How did they get there in the first place? If he were standing right next to one, would it still be so small?
Yes. Sesshomaru loved to star gaze. For some reason he couldn't put into words, looking up at the sky at night, gazing at the millions of sparkling stars and getting lost in the depths of the vast amount of space there always seemed to be, it filled him with a sense of such peace and wonder...
Sesshomaru took a long, deep breath and allowed his eyes to fall shut once again. He sighed softly as he lowered his head to face his date once more, wanting to tell him about how much he loved this time of night, when he froze in shock, his eyes nearly popping out of his head: Onigumo was kissing him!!!
It came out of nowhere! Before he could even open his mouth to say anything Onigumo was already there, pressing his lips to Sesshomaru's!
It was so shocking, Sesshomaru even forgot to breath for a few seconds. He was quick to gain his composure however and soon even started kissing back, his eyes falling to half-mast.
The kiss itself was hard to describe. Onigumo had obviously done this before because he knew exactly how to position their heads so that they didn't bump noses or anything and he also had the most perfect pressure: firm, but soft, allowing Sesshomaru the freedom to move as he pleased without giving any room to move away.
Sesshomaru experimented a little, switching between pressing a little closer and harder or lighter against Onigumo’s lips and the older man let him test out this new experience all he wanted.
Sesshomaru slowly started pressing just a little more firmly, silently deciding that while the feeling of someone else’s lips against his wasn’t an altogether pleasant sensation, he certainly didn’t hate it, and unconsciously let his lips part just a tiny bit. It was enough though for Onigumo to deepen the kiss some more and gently thrust his tongue into Sesshomaru's mouth.
Sesshomaru could scarcely breathe at the feeling of someone else’s tongue in his mouth for the first time. His stomach was already doing uncomfortable flips with just their lips touching but now his whole body was starting to tingle in a not so wanted way. He could feel heat rising to his face and neck. His lips felt so sensitive and warm that he nearly gasped with every little move Onigumo made and even though he kind of wanted to stop… part of him kind of wanted to continue.
Onigumo's tongue was slowly making its way around Sesshomaru's mouth, seemingly mapping out all the contours and textures, touching Sesshomaru's tongue...
Slowly, so, so slowly, Sesshomaru worked up the nerve to move his tongue against the other.
It was... weird. Feeling someone’s tongue with his own... it was wet and kind of slick... it wasn't the most pleasant feeling... but he could tell Onigumo was enjoying it immensely if the low, guttural groans he could hear (and feel) coming from his throat were anything to go by... so maybe it was just Sesshomaru's lack of experience that made it seem so weird?
He hadn’t hated the kiss in the beginning so maybe he just needed more practice before he started liking this part too.
Onigumo started to pull back slightly as he brought his hand up to cup the side of Sesshomaru's face. They finally broke apart with a subtle pop and pressed their foreheads together. It wasn't until now that Sesshomaru realized he hadn't taken a breath in what must have been minutes and greedily suck in as much air as his lungs could handle. He slowly forced his eyes open, never having even noticed when he let them close, and looked at his partner.
Onigumo was in a similar state, only his breathes were much more controlled and even. His lips were shiny and ever so slightly swollen. His eyes were only at half-mast and looking at Sesshomaru in much the same way Sesshomaru was looking at him and the young demon could only imagine that he was seeing a similar expression on Sesshomaru's face.
Sesshomaru could feel Onigumo's thumb beginning to caress his cheek in a loving manner and leaned into the touch, only slightly surprised by the older man’s low, quiet voice in his ear.
“Sorry... couldn't resist... you just looked so...” he leaned in closer and placed a small peck on Sesshomaru's lips. “... Beautiful...”
Sesshomaru smiled shyly and attempted to duck his head but the hand still holding his face gently wouldn't let him and instead brought them closer once more to place another light kiss on the younger man's lips, and another, and another until once again they were joined at the mouth and seemed in no hurry to separate.
Sesshomaru liked this more than before. There was no tongue this time, which was fine with him, but it was so much more intense than last time.
The kiss was firmer and slightly more insistent but still good. Sesshomaru could feel himself growing hotter and hotter, his stomach was doing flips again and luckily this time he remembered to breathe.
Onigumo traced his hand down from Sesshomaru's cheek and to his chest; pressing lightly but not letting up and slowly Sesshomaru let himself be guided to the ground with Onigumo above him. He was tempted to ask him to stop if only because he was beginning to feel like this was going too fast for him but at the same time this was a more comfortable position to be in then sitting up and the last thing he wanted was for Onigumo to think he was just a scared little kid... he decided not to say anything and just go with the flow. Onigumo would never do anything to hurt Sesshomaru, he was sure of it. He would stop if Sesshomaru asked him to.
Onigumo leaned further over top of him, placing his hands on either side of his head and kissing him with abandon. They were both hard of breath by now and Sesshomaru instinctually wrapped both his arms around the older man's neck.
It didn't take long before he could feel Onigumo's tongue licking at his lips, trying to get him to open up. Sesshomaru grimaced at the thought of doing that again and hesitated but Onigumo was insistent. Eventually, he let the man invade his mouth once more. He figured this was something he was going to have to learn eventually anyway... and maybe he could learn to like it...
Sesshomaru resisted the urge to try to spit out the slimy appendage invading his mouth. He forced his eyes closed as tight as he could and tried to ignore the intense feelings of disgust at what the other man was doing to him and the total sense of wrongness that he was letting it happen.
Onigumo moaned and Sesshomaru could feel the vibrations of it going down his throat. He could feel the wetness of the other man’s saliva trailing down one side of his cheek when he began kissing the younger demon more forcefully and Sesshomaru tried to hold his gag reflex in check when he realized he was swallowing spit that wasn’t his.
Sesshomaru tried to push the man off him a little. He was too close and he was couldn't breathe and the bigger man was crushing him with his body. He squirmed and wiggled a bit, trying put just a bit of space between the two of them but when he moved his hands from around Onigumo’s neck to his shoulders to give the other a push, the bigger man just grabbed his wrists and pinned them up above his head. It happened so fast Sesshomaru didn’t even have time to react.
Sesshomaru tried to pull his head away to ask him to back off a bit but no matter which way Sesshomaru moved his head, Onigumo’s followed, his lips never once leaving Sesshomaru's.
Sesshomaru was beginning to feel small tendrils of fear in the pit of his stomach and tried to force Onigumo’s tongue out of his mouth so he could speak but all that got him was another groan and suddenly the bigger man started grinding his hips down against Sesshomaru's pelvis!
Now he was starting to panic. He reasoned with himself that Onigumo probably didn't realize he was taking things too far but it did little to sway his growing doubt. Sesshomaru started to thrash and buck and finally managed to get his mouth free long enough to speak.
“Onigumo! Please! Stop! I don't want to do this anym-” he was silenced by a vicious back handed slap to the face.
Onigumo held tight to the smaller boys wrists with one hand while he grabbed a fist full of thick silver hair and pulled, bringing Sesshomaru's face real close to his and making the younger cry out in shock and pain.
“Well that's just too damn bad slut! I didn’t hear you complaining before.” Onigumo's hot breath ghosted across his face as small droplets of spittle landed on his cheeks. Sesshomaru grimaced in equal parts alarm and pain as the man accented every other word with a hard tug on his hair. He stared up at the man in wide eyed disbelief and unrestrained despair as a malicious smile spread slowly across the other man’s face. “You started this, and now you're gonna be a good little dog and finish it!”
Onigumo pulled roughly on Sesshomaru's hair forcing him up and slammed his lips down onto the other boys so hard Sesshomaru felt his lip split open and the coppery taste of blood invaded his mouth along with Onigumo’s slimy, unwanted tongue.
Sesshomaru groaned in pain and tried to buck the man off him, only succeeding in accidentally grinding his groin against the very aroused crotch of the man above him. Onigumo moaned in pleasure as Sesshomaru’s sense of dread only grew.
The young demon bucked harder, trying to kick and get his arms out of Onigumo’s hands but only managed to arouse the bigger man more! And he was still only using one hand to restrain him! It wasn’t like Onigumo was that big of a man and Sesshomaru, while he was still a child, did have his natural demon strength and should have been able to get away from him by now.
Onigumo laughed into the kiss as Sesshomaru tried, uselessly, to twist and turn his way out from under the older man, and let his free hand trail down from Sesshomaru's neck to his chest and into his haori, grasping at his chest and rubbing his thumb over a nipple.
Sesshomaru jerked sharply and screamed into the kiss, shaking his head back and forth both trying to dislodge the other from his face and as a poor attempt at denying what was happening to him.
‘This can’t be real! This can’t be real! This can’t be real! Why can’t I fight him?!’
Sesshomaru felt that hand slowly slide down his chest and onto his stomach, moving the fabric of his shirt open along the way and exposing his skin to the cold night air.
Onigumo squeezed Sesshomaru’s wrists harder as his other hand kept going lower. When Sesshomaru felt the tips of his fingers dip below the ties of his hakamas he gave one final mighty jerk, surprising the bigger man enough to free his hands.
Sesshomaru lashed out with his claws, just barely managing to scratch Onigumo’s cheek. The dark haired man shot up in shock and sat back on his haunches giving Sesshomaru just enough time to scramble out from under him and try to get away.
He squirmed out from between the bigger man’s thighs as much as he could and rolled over onto his hands and knees trying to crawl far enough away that he could free his legs to get up and run. Just as he was about to stand he felt a hand on his ankle and with a mighty tug once again found himself on the ground with a much bigger man on top of him, sitting on his legs to keep him from running.
“Na ah ah. Not so fast baby. We’re not done playing yet!” Onigumo playfully growled in his ear and Sesshomaru winced as the hot, moist breath hit his skin.
Sesshomaru clawed at the grass, trying to pull himself away to no avail. A scream was ripped from his throat as he felt Onigumo tugging and pulling down his pants but it wasn’t until he felt the finger trying to probe between his nether cheeks that it really hit him… this was really happening…
Sesshomaru could no longer hold back the tears of fear and shame and let them run unhindered down his face as he begged the man to let him go.
“No! Please! P-please don’t! Please! Let me go!!”
His words were near incomprehensible in his panic and between sobs but he knew Onigumo understood: it just made the man that much more excited.
Sesshomaru rolled over to his back once more, effectively preventing his pants from moving any further down his hips.
Onigumo went for his wrists once again, pinning them to the ground in much the same way as before and just as before Sesshomaru struggled with all his strength (which he noticed with great horror was quickly leaving him) as Onigumo watched in pleasure, a twisted smile filling his face in a way that made the young demon cringe and struggle all the more. This time, however, he could move his legs.
Sesshomaru kicked out with his knee, landing the best possible blow he could have wished for. As soon as he made contact the older man was on the ground writhing in pain.
Sesshomaru scrambled up and started running not even pausing as he held his pants up and tied them back together, and ran for all he was worth.
Sesshomaru paid no heed to the tree branches tearing up his clothes and scratching at his face and arm nor the bushes or roots he tripped over time and again.
His lungs were on fire, his legs were shaking and he could barely see where he was going through his tears but not once did he stop or even slow down. Sesshomaru knew that he was running purely on adrenalin by now. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep it up but he hoped and prayed to whatever god was listening that he lasted until he got back home.
Even when he could clearly see the palace through the trees he kept on going, not caring if he ran into the guards meant to be patrolling the gardens as he ran through or if he shoved one of the visiting nobles out of his way as he shot down the halls.
Sesshomaru was nothing but a blur as he bolted around the palace, down hall after hall and up one flight of stairs and then another. He kept going till he saw his room, threw the door open, rushed in and slammed it closed, locking it securely behind him.
Sesshomaru crumpled to the floor, landing on his knees and forcing big, wheezing breathes into his burning lungs and trying to slow his pounding heart. Sesshomaru covered his mouth in an attempted to silence himself as big, uncontrollable sobs racked his whole body.
There was a knock at his door that sent Sesshomaru all the way to the other side of the room in the blink of an eye, his heart nearly beating out of his chest in the pure, unadulterated fear that just coursed through his body from that single sound.
‘No… gods no… please, it can’t be hi-’
“Sesshomaru?”
Sesshomaru breathed a sigh of relief. Never in his life had he ever felt so relieved to her his father’s voice.
“Sesshomaru, open the door. I know you’re in there.”
Sesshomaru slowly inched his way towards his door, still a little fearful of opening it because somewhere in the back of his mind it was really Onigumo tricking him. He reached out with his hand and timidly touched the lock on the door frame, hesitating for a second before quickly unlatching it and shooting back across the room, standing with his back to the wall and facing the door.
He only just remembered to wipe at his tear stained face as InuTaisho slid open his door and stepped inside.
InuTaisho eyed his son with no small amount of suspicion and worry. Sesshomaru’s clothes were torn and tattered, covered in dirt and in some places blood from what he could only assume were scratches and cuts from running into tree after tree. His hair was a mess, tangled and filthy. His head was bowed low, his eyes cover by his bangs and though the man could tell his son was trying to hide it, the boy was shaking so hard InuTaisho was shocked he was still standing.
The part that worried him the most however was the way Sesshomaru was backed up against the wall, the smell of fear and shame and tears coming off him in waves and InuTaisho knew that if he were able to see his son’s eyes right now they would be a blazing red.
The youkai lord slowly closed the door behind him, not once taking his eyes off his son and slowly brought his hands up in front of him, letting Sesshomaru see them both, and cautiously took a step closer… and another and another, inching his way to the distraught young demon huddled by the wall like a terrified animal on its last leg. When he was just a couple more steps away, he spoke for the first time, trying to keep his voice as calm and soft as he could.
“… Sesshomaru…. Son… it’s okay… you’re safe…”
He leaned forward just a little and was unsurprised to find the boy’s eyes just as he had expected them to be; a bright, angry red. He carefully reached out with his hand as a pained whimper left Sesshomaru’s throat. InuTaisho could see the youths chin start to wobble as he gently placed his hand on the boys shoulder and stepped closer, giving a little tug to pull the boy towards him.
That tiny tug was what did it: Sesshomaru practically dove into the safety of his father’s strong arms, wrapping his own arms around the thicker man’s waist and clung to him with desperation. He couldn’t have stopped the tears from falling all over again even if he tried.
InuTaisho wrapped him up in his protective embrace, clutching him tightly to his chest, all the while telling him everything was going to be okay.
“It’s all okay. You’re safe now. Everything’s going to be okay now, I’ve got you. Daddy’s got you Sessh… you’re okay…”
Neither of them knew how long they stood there like that but it was a good while before the tears stopped and Sesshomaru’s death-grip on his father finally loosened up just enough for the demon lord pull back a little bit and really look at his son.
At some point, one of InuTaisho’s hands trailed up and started stroking through the strands of Sesshomaru’s hair gently, soothingly. He brought both his hands up to cup Sesshomaru’s face and softly wiped the tears from his cheeks and was happy to note that his eyes were no longer the vibrant blood red that they were before. He silently breathed a sigh of relief and filed it away for a later conversation. There were more important things to talk about right now.
Sesshomaru let his father drag his face away from the bigger demons chest, trying his hardest to stop crying, but he couldn’t bring himself to look his father in the face nor could he force himself to let go of his robe.
“Sesshomaru?...”
At the sound of InuTaisho’s gentle voice Sesshomaru let his eyes shoot up to the bigger man’s face for the briefest of seconds, long enough to let him know he heard him, before bringing them back down to stare at the chest right in front of him.
“Sesshomaru… tell me what happened.”
No matter how softly it was said, Sesshomaru recognized it as an order. An immediate rush of shame and renewed distress come over him so suddenly, it nearly knocked him off his feet. He felt his lip start to quiver once again despite his best efforts and tried to turn away from the strong, powerful man in front of him, not wanting his father to see him such a pathetic state all over again, but the strong hands on either side of his face wouldn’t let him.
InuTaisho firmly held his face in his hands, not letting his son hide from him. He wiped away the remaining tear trails with the pads of his thumbs and released a growl from deep in his throat. Not in anger, but to let his scared young son know that he was safe and protected here. To let him know his alpha was there to protect him now.
The second Sesshomaru heard that growl, an instant sense of relief washed over him. He wasn’t out in the middle of the forest, alone and helpless against an enemy that wanted to hurt him. He was safe in the arms of one of the most powerful demons to ever live.
Sesshomaru took a deep, stuttering breath.
“…. I-um…. I-I was m-meeting someo-one… I mean, m-met someone t-tonight… for a date….” Here he had to stop to compose himself and try to steady his breath. “W-we ate… and had tea…. a-and o-other stuff…” Sesshomaru could bring himself to say what the “other stuff” was and for the first time that night looked up at his father through his bangs, silently pleading with his eyes not to make him actually say it. InuTaisho nodded his understanding and Sesshomaru released a big sigh of relief.
“B-but… h-he wanted t-to d-do more than that… and I-I asked h-him to s-stop… b-but…” Now completely hyperventilating Sesshomaru had to stop. His lungs were burning, he couldn’t breathe and he seemed to be only a few seconds away from keeling over.
InuTaisho quickly embraced his son, rubbing soothing circles on his back with one hand and holding the younger’s head to his chest with the other putting them in a very similar position to what they were in before.
“It’s okay boy. You can stop there. It’s okay. Sssshhhhhhh.”
It was a few seconds later, when Sesshomaru had calmed his breathing enough to speak again, that InuTaisho heard a faint mumble coming from his chest.
“What was that?” he said, softly.
Sesshomaru backed up an inch or two from his father and hesitantly repeated what he’d said in an unsure, shameful voice.
“…… He um… h-he didn’t rape me…. I….. I-I got away.”
He quickly buried himself back into his father’s chest, sniffling and clutching harder than before, almost as if he expected to be pushed away.
InuTaisho just held him tighter and dropped a kiss the top of his head. He leaned down to whisper in his ear.
“I'm proud of you.”
He could feel Sesshomaru’s shoulders sag in relief and nuzzle his face into the center of InuTaisho’s chest before suddenly pulling back again, this time actually looking the bigger demon in the with fearful eyes.
“I think he did something to me!” He said desperately, only just remembering the way he seemed unnaturally weak during the whole thing. “I don’t know what! But I couldn’t fight him. It was like he stole all of my strength and used it to attack me. I-I couldn’t do anything!”
“Sshhh Sesshomaru, it’s okay. Calm down for me.” InuTaisho recognized Sesshomaru’s voice getting thick with emotion and wanted to comfort him before he could break down once again. For the first time in a long while, he unwrapped his arms from around the boy but didn’t lose contact, placing his hand on the younger’s back and leading him slowly toward the door. “We’re going to go the healer and have him check you over, okay?”
Sesshomaru nodded shakily and gripped onto his father’s sleeve tightly. “O-okay.” He said shakily. Honestly, he would have done anything his father asked of him right then if it meant the older demon wouldn’t leave him alone. More than anything, he desperately didn’t want to be alone right now.
InuTaisho lead him to the door and out into the hallway, sustaining physical contact with him the whole time. Sesshomaru kept his eyes trained on the ground, his head down and shoulders hunched. InuTaisho didn’t think much of it, thinking the boy didn’t want to see anyone else who might be roaming the palace despite the time.
The palace healer wasn’t that far of a walk from Sesshomaru's room, being two levels down and then right at the end of the hall, but it seemed to be taking longer than normal to get there. Sesshomaru had been steadily slowing down the farther they walked and after just five minutes Sesshomaru was leaning so heavily on InuTaisho that he was near carrying the boy.
“Sesshomaru? Are you alright son?”
InuTaisho stopped and turned to the young demon. By now he had one arm wrapped tightly around the boys waist and was clutching at Sesshomaru's limp forearm dangling from around his shoulders, trying to keep him as upright as he could.
Sesshomaru looked at him with glazed eyes. InuTaisho would be surprised if he was even able to see anything at all. Just as that thought passed through his mind, Sesshomaru’s eyes rolled to back of his head and his entire body went limp in a dead faint.
InuTaisho wasted no time in lifting the unconscious demon child into his arms and bolting the rest of the way to the healer’s office.
‘No way in hell am I going to let Sesshomaru suffer anymore tonight.’
What could have been a three minute walk down the hall turned into a two second run before InuTaisho burst through the doors to the palace infirmary and gently placed Sesshomaru on the first examination table he could find.
InuTaisho paused only briefly to check his boy was still breathing, noticing that his heart was beating abnormally fast in the process, and ran to other side of the room to the door leading directly into the healers bed chamber.
Not even stopping to wake the poor man up, the demon lord grasped the man by the bicep and dragged him out of his bed and into the other room.
“Fix him!”
The young man barely had time to register that for some odd reason he was no longer in his bed and his arm was being crushed by some sort of angry yeti when suddenly the yeti started yelling at him… and shaking him…
“HAKEEM!!!” InuTaisho yelled and shook the man, angry that he was just standing there looking confused when his son was possibly dying before their eyes.
At the sound of his name being yelled in his face, Hakeem finally seemed to understand that this was indeed happening and the western lord needed his help. He blinked a couple of time, trying to clear his blurry vision.
“What happened my lord? What do you need?” he asked, voice still raspy from sleep.
“FIX HIM!!” InuTaisho shouted once more, this time indicating his passed out son on the table just in front of them with his unoccupied hand.
Hakeem looked from the still boy to his livid father and stared at the man blankly.
“… Yes. I believe you mentioned that before but just what exactly is it that needs to be fixed… and furthermore, how do you expect me to do anything about it at all if you do not release me?”
InuTaisho decided it best to overlook the snarky healer’s attitude (for now) and released the man to let him do his work. The slightly irritated peacock demon walked up to the young prince and began to examine him while InuTaisho explained as best he could.
“Sesshomaru’s been poisoned. I don’t know what with but he said it took away his strength and he just passed out a few minutes ago.” The Demon lord finished his explanation in one breath and gasped in much needed air when done. He hurriedly walked over the other side of the table to stand at his son’s side, giving Hakeem as much room as he was willing.
Hakeem nearly rolled his eyes at the lack of information he was given. ‘I'm not a miracle worker!’ The loss of his strength was still something to go on though, however small. He leaned over the inu and took a sniff. He smelled his hands, clothes and breath. Nothing.
So now he had two things to go on: odorless and loss of muscle strength. Despite how small the list was, it actually narrowed it down quite a bit. There were many things that were odorless and many things that could cause a decrease of strength but not many things that could do both. Now there were only a few things he needed to check to confirm what it was that was ailing the young prince.
Hakeem took one of his small, sharp claws and walked down to Sesshomaru’s foot, InuTaisho watching anxiously the whole time. The healer poked Sesshomaru on his big toe in a sharp, quick jab. Nothing happened where normally the body would instinctually jerk away, even subconsciously. He then walked back up the table and checked Sesshomaru’s tongue. Upon seeing it was still its normal color the healer then checked his pulse. He was hard pressed to hide his shock when finding that the boys pulse was beating so fast he could barely keep count.
Hakeem nodded, certain he knew what was ailing his young prince now, and decidedly ignored his panic-y lord. Hakeem very gently lifted one of Sesshomaru’s eye lids, not surprised when he saw the boy looking right back at him.
“Hello Lord Sesshomaru.” He spoke calmly, instantly shutting the older demon in the room up with a single glance before turning all his attention back to his patient. “I know you’re probably scared right now, but everything is going to be okay. I have an antidote right here. I'm going to put it in your mouth and help you swallow. We will have to do this a couple of times though and it will take a few minutes before it starts to take effect, but it will work and we’re going have you up and back in bed in no time.” He gave the boy a light smile and a reassuring pat on the shoulder, before letting the boys eye lid fall shut once more.
InuTaisho looked gape-mouthed from his son to Hakeem and watched the other man walk over toward one of the many cabinets on the walls.
“He’s been awake this whole time?!” he said in shock.
Hakeem opened one of the cabinet doors and pulled out a small brown sack.
“I don’t know about the whole time. You’ll have to ask him when he can talk again.” Hakeem walked back over to the waiting demons and set the sack down on the table next to Sesshomaru. InuTaisho watched him intently as he opened the bag and pulled out a small black bean.
Hakeem carefully opened the child’s mouth and placed the bean on the back of his tongue. When Sesshomaru’s mouth fell closed the healer began gently massaging his throat until he was sure the bean had been swallowed before repeating the process five more time under InuTaisho’s watchful gaze.
When he was satisfied with his work, he placed the sack onto a nearby counter top and took Sesshomaru's pulse once again.
InuTaisho still watched him and had been for more than a few minutes now, but he was near the end of his tether and if he didn’t get some answers now, he was liable to kill something and Hakeem, being the only other living thing in the room besides his own son, was the obvious choice. He had just started biting the inside of his cheek in an effort to keep quiet just a little longer when the healer looked up with a slight smile.
“His pulse is a little slower than before. It’ll be slow going but it is getting back to normal. That’s a good sign. He should start regaining his muscle function soon as well.”
InuTaisho’s entire body sagged in relief. He hadn’t been willing to admit to himself how truly terrified he had been. He felt a wave of relief wash over him, knowing that Sesshomaru was going to be okay but couldn’t revel in it for long as it was quickly followed by anger and a morbid sense of curiosity: anger that someone had the gall to do this to his own pup and expect to come out of it still breathing and curiosity about what he could have possibly used to poison him. Their breed was naturally immune to nearly all poisons and the few they weren’t immune to, that he knew of, didn’t cause anything like what happened to Sesshomaru.
“What type of poison was it?”
“Oh, it wasn’t a poison…” Hakeem said absently not really paying attention to the two other demons in the room anymore as neither one of them were in a life or death situation anymore. He was looking through his cabinets on the other side of the room, trying to remember where he’d put that one bottle when he froze mid search. It was a testament to how long he had known the demon lord that he could feel the man’s eyes burning the back of head and could practically hear them silently asking ‘Then what the hell was it?’.
The healer quickly turned back to his lord and began explaining before it became more than just his eyes burning a hole in the back of his head.
“Sesshomaru ingested something called Yowameru. It’s not a poison.” He explained calmly and held up a hand when InuTaisho tried to protest. “It’s actually not that dangerous at all. It’s usually used by healers and we even have some here I just can’t seem to find it.” Hakeem spared a glare at his medicine cabinet just behind him, as if was plotting against him to make him look bad in front of his lord. “Yowameru is a powder made from the root of a plant grown near the base of mount Hakurei. It’s used mainly as a muscle relaxant and, not many know this, but it also has a numbing quality so it’s usually given to people in severe pain from an injury to help relax them and take some of the pain away. There’s never very much of it so it’s usually very hard to come by. Normally, it wears off on its own after a couple of hours and the most it’ll do is put you to sleep for a while but in Sesshomaru’s case, the powder was infused with dark miko magic. Pure miko magic, as you know, would usually kill a demon, but in Sesshomaru's case all it did was enhance the effects of the powder to the point of total paralyzation. Now, the reason this all seemed to happen so suddenly just a few minutes ago was because the amount of adrenalin pulsing through his body was giving him a false strength so he could keep going, keep running. But, when he got to you and finally felt safe, the adrenalin wore off and the all the effects of the powder and the magic hit like a punch in the face. The magic will eventually wear off on its own as will the Yowameru powder.”
InuTaisho couldn’t fight the man’s logic. Everything he said was making sense, not that it made him feel any better about the situation, but knowing a little more about what had happened did help. During the healers little speech, the demon lord had moved over to the raised table Sesshomaru was resting on and took a seat near the boy’s head. He had once again started threading his fingers through his son’s long tresses without even realizing it and now took the chance to look down at the young inu and was startled to see a pair of golden eyes looking back at him.
InuTaisho jumped off the table but kept his hand on Sesshomaru’s head in a comforting gesture.
Sesshomaru grimaced at the taste in his mouth from the beans Hakeem had fed him. He had passed out in his father’s arms earlier but he had been awake ever since he was placed on that table and heard everything the other two had said. Now, the upside to that was that he knew what the hell had happened and why he had really collapsed. The down side was that he now knew that this was all his fault… and he had to tell them… they had to know…
Sesshomaru tried to sit up but managed little more then moving his head an inch off the table top before he knew he wouldn’t be able to make it the rest of the way. Luckily he was saved the embarrassment of falling back onto the table by the other two occupants of the room, who noticed what he was trying to do and immediately rushed to stop him.
“You’re much too weak for that right now my prince.” Hakeem said gently as both he and his father softly pushed him back down.
He didn’t fight and instead tried his hand at talking, managing only a soft, lisping whisper as his tongue still had yet to get used to working again.
“-‘S my Faull.” He said softly.
InuTaisho nodded, thinking he was asking about what had happened in the hall when he’d collapsed. “Yes Sesshomaru, you fell in the hall but-”
“No, no!” Sesshomaru interrupted, speaking as loud and as clear as he could while looking each of them in the eye in turn, willing them to understand. “E’s my faull! My faull!!”
He franticly looked back and forth between them, pleading with his gaze. Hakeem seemed to understand first and his eyes widened slightly in surprise and what the younger demon could only assume was pity. Sesshomaru nearly sighed in relief.
“Sire, I think he’s trying to say that… it was his fault.” He shot his worried eye from his patient to the demon lord.
InuTaisho immediately looked back to his son and adamantly denied it but stopped when the boy started furiously shaking his head.
Sesshomaru’s mouth felt like it was filled with cotton and his tongue and lips barely even felt attached to his body, but he had to try to tell them what happened! They had to know it was all his own stupid fault!
“G-ve hm tha pawdr.” He said as best he could while attempting to point to Hakeem’s medicine cabinet. The same one he had been searching through just a few minutes prior. “Munthss n‘go. Sed,” he tried to swallow in an attempt to get the thick/cotton feeling out of his throat and tried again. “Sed ‘e ‘eeded et fo’ t’ip.”
Despite the heavy lisp and even through the difficulty moving his mouth, InuTaisho and Hakeem both seemed to finally understand what he was trying to tell them. They looked at each other in poorly concealed shock.
It seemed to hit them at the same that Sesshomaru had given the Yowameru powder to his attacker months ago because he had said he needed for some trip he was taking. Both Hakeem and InuTaisho didn’t really know how to react. They stared at each other, both seemingly looking for an answer from each other that neither could give.
InuTaisho recovered first and turned back to his son. Sesshomaru wouldn’t look at him, much like back in his room but now took to looking at the opposite wall instead. The demon lord could practically hear the thoughts running through the boy’s head and knew he had to tread on light feet. This wasn’t the strong willed, playful young man he had been hours earlier, this was a frightened, scarred little boy who was terrified his dad would be mad at him for something he thought was his fault.
Sesshomaru didn’t want to see the disappointment on his father’s face or the betrayal on Hakeem’s that he was so sure he would see should he turn around and so faced away in shame after he’d told them the truth. He just knew that as soon as they recovered from the shock that they would both turn angry and accusing eyes on him and he just didn’t know if he could take that after everything that already happened that night. He felt their gaze return to him and couldn’t stop himself from tensing up in fear and worry.
“Sesshomaru…” InuTaisho spoke calmly. “Now, you look at me.” The older man gently turned the younger’s face to toward him by his chin until he had no other choice but to look at him and InuTaisho nearly crumbled at the despair written all over the boy’s face.
Much in the same way he had done before, he held Sesshomaru’s face firmly in his hands and looked him right in the eye.
“This was not your fault Sesshomaru.” He spoke slowly and clearly, putting conviction behind every word. “He asked you for a favor and you trusted him. You were just trying to help a friend and there’s nothing wrong with that. Okay? This. Was. Not. Your. Fault.”
Sesshomaru felt such immense relief, all he could do was nod slightly in agreement, not willing to argue right then. He glanced at Hakeem and saw him nod in agreement with what InuTaisho was saying and was momentarily overwhelmed with happiness that they weren’t angry with him either.
InuTaisho, satisfied enough with Sesshomaru’s acceptance, released his son’s face and instead placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as he turned back to the healer.
“Thank you Hakeem. Sorry for disturbing you so late. We’ll take our leave and let you get back to sleep now.”
Hakeem nodded, only now letting himself feel how tired he truly was. “Yes My Lord. I’ll come by tomorrow and see how you’re doing my Prince.” He said, looking to Sesshomaru as InuTaisho lifted him into his arms and started toward the door.
Sesshomaru nodded silently as he rested his head on his father’s strong shoulder and closed his eyes.
The trip back to Sesshomaru’s room was silent and short. It seemed like only seconds before he was being gently set down on his bed. InuTaisho pulled back the covers and placed over top of him. He silently kissed Sesshomaru’s forehead and was just about to take his leave and let the boy rest when a much smaller hand shot out and gripped his sleeve as tight as it could (Which wasn’t very much at all given his current state). InuTaisho looked back at his son, whose head was turned away but none the less he could still see the worry lines on his brow and the way he was biting his lip. He could tell Sesshomaru wanted to ask him… but he just couldn’t get the words out.
InuTaisho knelt down next to him and whispered softly to him. “Sesshomaru?...” When he got no answer, he continued, asking the question Sesshomaru couldn’t. “Do you want me to stay with you tonight?”
Sesshomaru hesitated all of two seconds before nodding vigorously. InuTaisho allowed himself a small grin as he lifted his young son and moved over more toward the center of the bed, giving him room to slip beside him. InuTaisho wrapped his arms around the boy who immediately grabbed hold of his robes and buried his face in the bigger chest.
InuTaisho held him tight as Sesshomaru ever so slowly drifted off to what InuTaisho was sure to be a troubled sleep. He never let go, even when his mate and one year old pup came in the middle of the night and got into the bed with them. Neither asked questions. Izayoi knew that her mate would tell her later and simply laid down on the other side of Sesshomaru and wrapped her arms around her mate and her step son. Inuyasha didn’t even hesitate to snuggle up with Sesshomaru and his parents.
InuTaisho didn’t ask how they knew where he was and he didn’t question them about their lack of questions for him or why they decided to stay with them or why both of them came looking for him and Sesshomaru in the first place. All he knew was there, surrounded by his family, it had never been so easy for him to fall asleep.
O.M.F.G!!! That took for-freaking-ever! I never intended it to take nearly a whole year for me to update and I can’t apologize enough. It’s been hectic and I’m sorry but, as much as I love writing, I do have other responsibilities, you know? :/ Being an adult sucks… I wish I was twelve again.
Next chapter coming soon though.
Review please!!
Peace! Love! Yaoi!
Converting /tmp/phpURWazq to /dev/stdout