InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Double Vision ❯ Chapter 27 ( Chapter 26 )

The moon was not yet near full, but it was very bright. The sky was so black it looked almost blue, adorned with swirls of stars like Chinese fireworks. Sesshomaru stood in the middle of a meadow, in a clearing in the middle of a great forest. He watched the moonlight reflected off a still, silent lake. His mother was an oracle, but he could not rely upon her to tell the truth. She had seemed so forthright. If she was truly helping Kagome as she claimed, it would be one of only a very few times he knew her to play such an active role in earthly affairs. Did she too see a connection between the way Inuyasha treated Kagome and her own mate’s abandonment of her and her son? Perhaps it was the involvement of celestial beings that had garnered her interest. He did not know her precise relationship to the kami. Maybe it was not that she wanted to help her son and his new mate, but was involved in a pissing match with some heavenly rival. He strode regally across the meadow, toward the mirror-like lake. Kneeling by the edge of the pool, he let his gaze rest on the reflective surface. He breathed deeply, taking the frigid air slowly in through his nose and filling his great lungs, imagining the air filling them slowly up until he could breath in no more. He breathed out, very slowly, through his mouth. When his lungs were completely empty, he breathed slowly in again, taking in even more air this time. He did this again and again, clearing his mind of all things. He did not share his mother’s ability to enter a trance state and travel through time and space, but he did bear some small ability to see visions. It was a very weak and unreliable gift, which he did not even consider a power, more like an annoyance. He stared blankly into the shining water. Though he gazed and meditated for a long time, he was not granted any great revelations about the identity of his enemy, who allegedly resided in Hell. He saw the moon and the stars glittering in the dark water, the shiny blue-black surface reminding him of Kagome’s hair. He thought of the warm, clean smell of her hair, and when a vision appeared to him, it was reassuring. Kagome lay sleeping close to the hissing glowing logs of a homey campfire, cuddling moko-moko, snug and warm in their cave. It comforted him that she looked so peaceful and rested. He had been sure she would be distraught at his leaving her so soon after claiming and marking her, for such was not the proper way of things. He had even feared that she would take off on her own, either following him or attempting to return to Edo without him. If anyone had a right to feel insecure and untrusting, it was Kagome. But there she was, his mate, safe and sound, waiting for his return.

He loved to hunt on nights like this, when the moon lit up the forest and his prey was especially active. The snow was not deep enough to restrict the movement of the large boar and deer that were his chosen prey, so he would have good sport as well as sustenance this night. He transformed into the form of a large, silky dog, and began coursing through the woodlands. He zigzagged between trees, chasing scent trails, bounding over small rivers and hills with a single leap. The largest wild boar was to him as a rabbit would be to a mortal dog. First he brought a stag to ground, grasping it by its withers and shaking it from side to side, breaking its back. He ripped out its throat and lapped up its blood. He left the carcass behind, searching for the scent of his next prey. When he was very young, the things he had to do to sustain his physical body repelled and disgusted him. He eventually came to the realization that the forests and grasslands were filled with smaller predators and carrion-eaters, which made good use of the meat he left behind. He had concluded that he was a part of nature, simply one of the biggest predators hunting in Japan. As a beast, or in his dog form, he reveled in the thrill of the hunt and the taste of blood. He took much prey that night, finally falling into an exhausted slumber in a little hollow, his nose tucked beneath his fluffy tail.

Sesshomaru awoke the next morning, and decided it was time to begin looking for Inuyasha. The boy had a lot of explaining to do, and the demon lord was seriously tempted to finally put an end to his miserable existence. Which would leave Rin’s pup without a father. Right. Remaining in his canine form, he began his hunt much as he had searched out his prey the night before, coursing from side to side in a much larger pattern than he used to look for food. His nose picked up innumerable scents, sifting through them for any trace of his half-brother. It took a full day of hunting before he came upon his brother’s scent. He had been traveling on a trade road which led eastward. Sesshomaru returned to his humanoid form, and followed the road in the direction of what appeared to be a fairly good-sized town. The quality of the road was exceptional. He dug the heel of his boot into the roadbed. It was made of clay and gravel from a quarry, hard-packed and well-banked, resembling the Roman roads Sesshomaru had traveled when exploring the Continent. Most Japanese roads were functional and utilitarian. This road was clearly overbuilt. Surely even the most prosperous town would not make the investment in time and money required to create such a feat of engineering. Even the most wealthy daimyo would choose to spend his money and available labor force in other ways. Entering the town, he found the scent of his brother and his companion, the monk, everywhere, all paths leading to what appeared to be the town’s principal inn.

He was met at the door by an elderly man, who bowed deeply, and inquired of his needs. Sesshomaru described his brother, inquiring if he was a guest of the establishment. He was led to a private room and asked to wait. A remarkably pretty and fit young man brought him a pot of green tea and a delicate cup. As the man was pouring tea, Sesshomaru tried to place where he had seen him before. Sesshomaru’s natural inclination was to identify people and places by their scent, and he did not quite recognize this young man’s scent. His face and form were annoyingly familiar. Sesshomaru noticed that he was wearing lip paint, rouge, and had accented his eyes with the dramatic and lavish use of kohl, and that is when he realized who he was. Sesshomaru raised the teacup to his lips, eyeing Jakotsu with interest. Just then, Inuyasha came rushing into the room. “So dear brother, you continue in our father’s footsteps. You send your undead mate to her grave, marry her reincarnation, impregnate her other reincarnation, and yet that is not enough for you. You feel the need to summon an additional concubine back from hell to warm your bed. Father would be truly impressed with your prowess.”

Inuyasha held up his middle finger, giving himself time to frame a suitable response. “At least I’m not an impotent loser like you, Sesshomaru. I bet you’ve never even bedded a woman.”

Sesshomaru gracefully extended one elegant claw. Inuyasha laughed hysterically. “Try it, asshole. Your powers won’t work here.” Inuyasha hoped this was true. His own powers did not work there, he was only assuming that his brother’s wouldn’t either. He was right. He wasn’t expecting it when Sesshomaru lauched himself across the room and delivered a bone-breaking uppercut which landed perfectly on his jaw. Jakotsu flattened himself against the wall, screeching in glee “They’re fighting over me!”

Inuyahsa managed to land a few punches of his own, only to receive a knee to his groin followed at lightning speed by a rabbit punch that took him to the floor. His brother might not have use of his powers, but he clearly still kicked ass.

“Why, Inuyasha?” Sesshomaru cried in a hoarse voice. He punched Inuyasha in the nose, which began bleeding profusely. “Why? Punch. “Why?” Punch punch punch. Followed by a slap delivered to the right cheek, then a backhand to the left. Inuyasha would soon have two black eyes to set off his broken nose and jaw. The odd thing was, Sesshomaru did not really intend it as a rhetorical question. If Inuyasha could tell him why he had done such things, it might finally explain to Sesshomaru what his father had been thinking when he abandoned him and his mother. Sesshomaru was panting in rage. Jakotsu was laughing and crying at the same time, the battle-hardened mercenary who had literally been through hell, twice, driven to a state of gleeful hysteria at all the emotional drama.

Inuyasha just lay there. Even if he were capable of speech, what could he possibly say. Sesshomaru was Rin’s adopted father after all, and no one could deny that he cared as deeply for the girl as if she were his own natural offspring. He had every right to beat the crap out of Inuyasha. Obviously he had crossed paths with Rin, and knew she was pregnant and that Inuyasha was the father.

‘Why?’ thought Inuyasha. ‘Why?’ He wished he knew himself. It was like he was looking for something, and every time he was sure he had found it, he suddenly realized that it wasn’t what he was looking for after all. He was just a stupid mutt, but even he knew that sounded really bad. Like he had never really loved them at all. But he had loved each of them, at the time. He still loved them, all three of them, when he was man enough to admit it and not cheapen it with his habit of belittling and demeaning them. This need to devalue them was like an irresistible compulsion. He hadn’t verbalized it yet with Rin, but the thoughts were there. That she wasn’t half the woman Kagome was, that she lacked her compassion and wisdom, that she couldn’t understand him because she hadn’t been there as a member of his pack, fighting Naraku. He wanted to blame Rin for not having Kagome’s long, long legs, for not knowing how to prepare the noodle dish that Kagome had created for him because he had craved ramen. He hadn’t hesitated in telling Kagome how she wasn’t a wart on Kikyo’s ass. He knew he had tormented Kagome for years, telling her she wasn’t as pretty, as good with the bow, or as powerful as his first lover. And it was hard to admit, because he held Kikyo up to the world as having been the ideal woman, but her love had been cold. She had treated him like a pesky little puppy, regarding him with haughty amusement, as if she were so much better than him, a mere half-breed.

When he and Kagome were finally reunited, and joined in marriage by Miroku, the whole village of Edo witnessed his vows to love and cherish her. He was sure he had finally found what he was looking for as he lay in her arms under the God Tree. He was going to try so hard to please her, to be a good husband. He was going to start fresh and treat her right this time. Kagome’s goodness and love would make it possible, where he had failed with Kikyo because she was self-righteous and superior.

His brother had appeared several weeks after the wedding. Kagome had called out to him, her voice full of joy. She called the bastard “brother”. He tried to tell himself that it was natural for Kagome to feel a connection to his brother. How many times had Sesshomaru stepped in to save her when Inuyasha was off with Kikyo? A small jealous voice in the back of his mind whisperd “He’s so much stronger than you, so handsome, and he’s a lord, not a dirty little half-breed. You’ve seen how he looks at her.” So instead of reassuring her when his brother snarled at her, he just had to start ripping her a new ass, and that night was the first night since their wedding that he didn’t lay with her under the god tree.