InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Debt ❯ Lessons ( Chapter 3 )

 

 

Lessons

 

The trees whipped by at break-neck speed, preventing any meaningful visual assessment of his surroundings. Not that it mattered; Inuyasha was so familiar with the path he so urgently travelling, he could have travelled it in his sleep.

That Sango had always been trouble: trying to kill him, trying to steal his sword, trying to kill her brother and herself.

And now she had tried to kill Rin.

Naraku had twisted her heart from the first moment she met him, and had never let go. Inuyasha should have known that simply killing the bastard wouldn't free her. After Tessaiga's theft, she had even warned them that if Naraku tried such a trick again, she'd fall for it a second time. She had been right.

Damn that woman.

Naraku had told them that at some stage they would want to kill Rin. This is what that vile monster had planned from the moment he had completed the jewel - not only to break the bonds between hearts during his lifetime, but beyond it as well. Sango was the perfect weapon: her death would devastate a lover, a brother, and permanently estrange two barely reconciled brothers.

Damn that bastard.

And it would lead to a war between brothers, Inuyasha knew. Lingering near the well, hoping beyond reason that it would restore the path to Kagome's world, Inuyasha hadn't meant to overhear Sango's confession to Miroku. He had seen her leave northwards, the monk's determined chase, and he had known then that he had to follow. If he didn't, not only would Sango die but Miroku - either by trying to save her life or avenge her death - would die too. Inuyasha was the only one that could protect them from Sesshoumaru - by turning his brother's wrath on his own head instead.

Damn him for being such a sentimental fool. And damn Sesshoumaru too.

Such hollow thoughts sank into his heart with leaden force. Over the past year, it had become clear that his father had wished upon his two sons a legacy of compassion. He hadn't wanted them warring because of jealousy and hate, but now they'd be driven to war by compassion for their respective human companions. How the hell did this twist fit into the old man's grand plan?

A flash of metal focused Inuyasha's attention on the trees ahead, enough for him to spot the billowing purple robe. He had caught Miroku. Now, if only he could catch—

`Do you think me a coward?' Sango's strong, clear voice resounded through the trees. `Don't take me lightly!'

`Sango, no!' Miroku's anguished cry stilled the wind itself as Inuyasha landed heavily beside his friend. A familiar deep whistle heralded Hiraikotsu's flight, but Inuyasha needed only a moment to see how long the throw was, and why.

Beautiful in her anger and pride, Sango faced not Sesshoumaru, but his back. Having upheld her vow to accept her fate, his indifference now was more than her self-respect could bear. Hiraikotsu's target was a solid patch of earth just beyond the dog youkai that would interfere with any simple departure he wished to make. She had no intention of being ignored.

The flash of white silk brought Inuyasha's attention back to his brother, the sleeve fluttering through the air as his left hand lashed out, the bone weapon landing with a powerful thud that reverberated through the entire clearing. The now unhindered daiyoukai continued along his path, disappearing amongst the trees like a fading wraith, and leaving behind the certainty of Sango's life within the width of the space that separated her nose from the still-quivering Hirakotsu - a mere inch.

The silence was disturbed only by the soft rustle of cloth, as Sango numbly sank to her knees. Although Miroku looked no less shaken, Inuyasha couldn't bring himself to focus on them, instead staring in the direction Sesshoumaru had vanished. Something had happened, somewhere a decision had been made and Inuyasha had completely missed what the trigger for that decision had been. Sesshoumaru was the only living blood relative he had, but at times was almost a stranger to him. He had spent more time around his brother in the past year than in the rest of his life combined, yet Sesshoumaru remained a mystery. Once more he had assumed he understood his brother. Once more he had miscalculated.

He had never been more grateful to be wrong.

 

 

FIN.