InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fetch ❯ A Game of Chance ( Chapter 12 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: Dog Boy and his friends (and enemies) are not mine. Yet. But see, there's this little world I've discovered, and lawyers have no say there, and... yeah. Anyway, in this world, I don't own.

A/N: A little fluff, a little funny, and a lot of angst in this one, as we head towards the confrontation with Naraku, and Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru reach a grudging agreement. Sort of.

---zZz---

Chance.

One word, lots of meanings. To Inuyasha, chance had been a bastard. It liked playing games with him. First, chance had sent him Kikyou. Now, while he'd been thinking she was a good thing, for the last fifty plus years, it turned out that he'd been fooled. Badly.

By chance.

Then, chance had, for once, sent him something nice.

Kagome.

Then it had promptly turned around and fucked him over again, by sending him Kikyou - again. And he'd been stupid enough to think that chance was being good to him when that happened.

Now, chance had well and truly screwed him. This time, it had taken Kikyou away, which, considering what he'd found out about her, was probably a backhanded good deed. But the bad part was...

It had also taken Kagome away.

And handed her to that fluffy bastard, Sesshoumaru.

Now, that was the worst slap in the face of the whole thing. Because chance seemed to love his asshole of a brother. Everything that could go his way, did. Leaving Inuyasha out in the cold. He'd gotten the full youkai blood, their father's title, wealth, the good looks, and now Kagome, too.

What had Inuyasha gotten? A sword that could kill a lot of youkai... and a bad relationship with chance.

Now, he had to watch his bastard brother's self-satisfied, gloating face, as he practically purred under Kagome's attention and affection. He stared ahead at the path through the trees bitterly. The only way he'd get rid of the bastard now was if he died in the battle with Naraku...

And he was almost willing to help that idea along. Say if the asshole got injured... he could kinda, accidentally, of course, send a few wind scars his way, making sure he couldn't escape or anything. Oh, he'd be sorry when it was all over... and Kagome would eventually get over it.

After all, she really wasn't in love with the fucker or anything. It was just 'cause the jerk was paying her so much attention. That's all it was. Couldn't be anything else - she'd always loved him - and she would again... as soon as pretty boy disappeared.

With a disgusted snort, he flicked a glance back at his brother, and glared.

He was staring at his Kagome with that look - again.

Horny bastard.

---zZz---

Chance.

For Sesshoumaru, chance was a very good thing. He'd always had the luck of the devil, so to speak, and after the other night when Kagome had taken him off into the woods, he'd been in high heaven. The onna was just too good to be true.

Yes, indeed, chance had really gone to extreme lengths to please him this time.

It was absolutely amazing just how far chance had gone to provide him with this opportunity. First, it had drug Kagome back here, five hundred years into the past. Then, it had made sure that she survived everything that was thrown at her, all while slowly teaching her about her power, and letting her access more and more of it.

And it had gone to extreme lengths to get his attention on her. From pulling his father's fang in his grave, to throwing herself in front of that baka hanyou, letting him get a good whiff of her intoxicating scent, and a front seat to her sense of loyalty. Loyalty, for an inu, was a big thing... and she was about the most loyal being he'd ever run across - youkai or ningen.

That said a lot.

Then, to top it all off, even though, in the beginning, he'd tried to kill her, chance had arranged for her to be the single most forgiving person that had ever been born... and plopped her right into his lap, letting her fall in love with him.

Had anything better than her ever existed?

Not according to chance.

Unlike that idiot brother of his, he wasn't stupid enough to throw away a gift of that magnitude after it had been dropped in his lap - and so, he would be the one to end up with the miko, and his brother would end up with a... well...

A sword.

Sesshoumaru glanced ahead towards Inuyasha, catching sight of the fang, then looked down at his miko...

No contest. No regrets. He'd won this game of chance. Let Inuyasha have the damn sword...

He'd taken the chance, and gotten the girl.

After all, no sword could do for him what she'd done the other night...

Too bad for Inubaka he'd never know the difference.

---zZz---

Kagome shivered again as she felt the dark look Inuyasha cast back towards them and wondered at it. She knew his hatred was aimed at his brother - that was no odds, but for some reason, this time, she felt as though it were different. This time, there was more than simple, idle musing about that hatred. It was as if he was planning something.

And that could never be a good thing.

With a quick glance upwards at her daiyoukai's expression, she nodded thoughtfully. Those looks of Inuyasha's were not being returned by Sesshoumaru - in fact, from the look on his face, Kagome could easily guess just exactly where those thoughts were, and she grinned ruefully. Despite the fact that that had been the first time she'd ever done something like that - and she was still blushing about it - apparently she'd done extremely well, because he couldn't seem to forget about it.

She giggled, then and smiled at him as he looked down at her, then looked up and caught Inuyasha's glare on them again, and frowned at him.

"Inuyashaaa... if you don't stop that infernal glaring I swear to all the kami I'll 'it' you. I don't like dirty looks, especially when neither I nor Sesshoumaru has done anything to you to deserve it."

"What?! It's Sesshoumaru, Kagome, or have you forgotten? That bastard has tried to kill me for years, and now its okay that he did because he's acting all lovey dovey towards you?!" He folded his hands in his haori and turned his nose up in disgust, sarcasm ripe in his voice. "He's just a horny bastard, and apparently, he thinks you're an easy lay."

Kagome's eyes widened at that, and she gasped. Pulling away from Sesshoumaru, she stomped up to Inuyasha, who now had his ears laid back and a comical look of 'oh, shit' on his face, and glared into his eyes.

"SIT! Sit, sit, sit!" Tears started in her eyes, then, and she glared into the new hole in the road that was strangely reminiscent of various other craters dotted here and there around the countryside.

"Listen to me, you jerk! I am not easy! If I was so easy, then you and Miroku would have gotten lucky by now, don't you think? But you haven't. Like I'd want you to touch me anyways, after you've been doing kami knows what with a dead body! That's called necrophilia, by the way, you BAKA!" Turning on her heel, she stormed off into the tree line, trying to get a little space to compose herself.

The entire group was lined up behind the hanyou shaped, groaning crater, staring down at him, and Inuyasha didn't even look up. He knew better.

Sesshoumaru barely resisted the urge to kill the half-breed right then and there. He had upset his intended... that was an unforgivable mistake - especially because of the things he'd said. He crouched down in front of the fool.

"Listen, and listen well, you imbecile. I will not tolerate you upsetting her, do you understand? I will not see her tears. If you make her cry again, I will personally make sure you visit hell. And I won't let you take your 'dead body', either - I'll send you there alone." He stared down at his brother, anger making his eyes flash red.

"You are the biggest fool the kami ever created, Inuyasha. This Sesshoumaru is not a fool, however... which is why I have a living woman, and you have a ceramic toy. Or did." He chuckled, then. "You have no idea what you missed out on, bakayasha... no idea whatsoever. And you never will, either. Her, and all her talents, are mine. Mine."

Standing back up, he glanced down into the hole again, then looked at Miroku. "I will go find Kagome - all of you will wait here for our return."

Miroku and Sango exchanged glances, and he nodded as the youkai Lord turned and followed his intended into the trees, disappearing silently under them.

Everyone then returned their eyes to the hanyou, and glared.

Shippo, still sitting on Miroku's shoulder, twitched his tail, and said, "I'm glad Kagome got over the idiot, you know? Lord Sesshoumaru will treat her better. Plus, he's not stupid." He eyeballed the now growling Inuyasha and turned his nose up at him.

"Forget it, Inuyasha. You might be stronger than me, and faster, but I'm smarter. You'll never manage to get away with whatever you're planning."

The group laughed at that and walked off into the meadow alongside the road, leaving a fuming hanyou to try to get the dirt out of his fire rat - and the mud off his face.

---zZz---

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the meadow waiting, and finally, with loud growls and cursing, the hanyou decided they may as well stay where they were for the night, ordering everyone to set up camp.

Not really wanting to argue, the group went ahead and did so, while at the same time avoiding contact with the angry Inuyasha. After a little while of this, he decided he was tired of the group's avoidance, and also tired of waiting for Kagome and the asshole to get back - so he went looking.

Not the best idea he'd ever had.

It didn't take him long to find the two of them, and what he saw almost sent him to the ground in shock. Sesshoumaru was sitting with his back against a tree, Kagome curled in his lap, with her fingers gently twining a lock of his silver hair around their tips. She looked more relaxed than he'd ever seen her, and his brother looked... happy.

Inuyasha dropped down behind the shrubs he was hiding behind, and stared, unable to believe his eyes. Sesshoumaru had never had an expression like that on his face.

It wasn't like the guy was grinning, or smiling widely, or anything like that. His face was still calm, straight... but it was considerably softened from its usual diamond hard lines, and you could tell he was well content with being exactly where he was.

Looking down for a minute, Inuyasha wondered if Sesshoumaru had ever been content before... truth to tell, he didn't think so. That thought led him to wonder why. He was the Western Lord, coveted by youkai bitches everywhere, so how could he not, in all his time on this earth, have found someone that would make him happy?

Where things actually not so great for his brother? He really didn't want to believe that - he didn't want to have any sympathy for the bastard.

His ears perked when he heard his brother start to speak.

"Tell me, Kagome - what you did the other night for this Sesshoumaru. Exactly where did you learn such a thing?" His voice was stern as he remembered just how good she was at it. "I know you told me that you'd never done such a thing before, but this Sesshoumaru finds it rather difficult to believe that you have never had any experience."

She looked up at him from her place in his lap for a long moment, no expression on her face, and he was beginning to get a bit nervous, when she finally let out a rather smug grin.

"So I was that good, was I?" As his eyes narrowed in demand, she laughed. "Alright already. I told you I'd never done that... but I know about it, and a lot of other things. Like that little trick I pulled that stopped you from... well... you know." She blushed, then. "There's a lot of knowledge out there in my time, and it isn't hard to access it."

Brow raised as he considered her answer, he suddenly looked up, staring at the bushes across from them and growled, loudly, and with obvious anger.

When Kagome turned her head, she blushed to see Inuyasha standing there, his face dangerously enraged.

"What the fuck did you do to him, Ka-go-me, huh? Must have been something really good, for this bastard to have enjoyed it that much."

Kagome face flushed, then, again, but this time, with anger, and she clenched her teeth, glaring up at him and ignoring the growling Inu still holding her.

"And what, Inuyasha, makes you think it's any of your business what I was talking about?" She narrowed her eyes in fury and pursed her lips. "What goes on between Sesshoumaru and I is none of your concern, so don't ever come to me and demand explanations again, got it?!"

And with that, all Inuyasha's patience ran out. He literally couldn't take anymore. Despite the fact that his currently growling brother looked happy, he wasn't about to let it go. This was his Kagome, and he would never, ever, give her up.

"Stand and fight, Sesshoumaru. I'm challenging you right here and now. I'm not willing to let Kagome go, so if you want her, you're gonna have to kill me." Inuyasha's expression had gone flat, blank, and Kagome was horrified.

Sesshoumaru stood, and setting Kagome carefully to the side, looked down at her suddenly panicked expression.

"I have to fight him, Kagome. He's challenged me for mating rights." His eyes by this time were more red than gold, and Kagome whipped around to stare at Inuyasha.

"What the hell are you doing?! You can't fight over me like I'm some kinda dog bone or something!"

Inuyasha glanced at her and shrugged. "You promised to stay with me always, Kagome, and if Lord Stuffy here wants you, he's gonna have to kill me - because I'd sooner be dead than lose you. It's as simple as that. I could never let you go and be alone again." His eyes looked dead already, and Kagome's heart wrenched.

Sesshoumaru stopped growling at that, a questioning look on his face, but before he could say anything, Kagome threw herself at the hanyou, tears in her eyes.

"Inuyasha! How could you think something like that? I would never leave you alone again! Just because I'm with Sesshoumaru doesn't mean I'm leaving you." She pulled away a bit, looking up at him with drowned eyes. "But to fight him for his rights over me? Inuyasha, that's just crazy! You don't see me as a mate - you never did. And I love Sesshoumaru just as much as I do you - just in a different way."

"If that's true, then why have you been so distant with me lately?" he asked, quietly, and with a great deal of pain in his eyes.

She glanced at Sesshoumaru, who was standing silently, merely watching, then back at Inuyasha. "Only because you've been pushing me away with your combative attitude. I know you've had a lot on your mind lately, but..."

"Still, Kagome. Do you really think he is gonna let you have anything to do with me after he's got his mark on you?"
Sesshoumaru spoke up, then. "I am well aware of how my miko views you, Inuyasha. I will do nothing to upset her - including shutting you out of her life." His brow raised haughtily, then. "However, I will not allow you to challenge my place as her mate."

Inuyasha looked at him suspiciously, eyes narrowed, and Kagome nodded softly. "Just think, Inuyasha. Being with Sesshoumaru would make me family... wouldn't it? And if I was with him, you could be sure I wouldn't be going home after we kill Naraku, too."

He stared at his brother for several long moments, still tense, and finally, his shoulders slumped, and he turned away as her arms fell from around him, nodding. "Yeah, sure, wench. If you say so. But we both know he hates me - so I'm really not sure I believe that he won't keep you from me." He shrugged, then, voice bitter, he said, "Guess it doesn't really matter though, does it? Not like I'm not used to it, since he's pretty much taken everything I've ever had away from me. The only thing I've got is Tessaiga - and we all know how hard he's tried to get that."

When he finished, he walked away, and Kagome looked from him, up to Sesshoumaru, who stared at his brother, seemingly deep in thought.

Suddenly, before Kagome could even open her mouth, Sesshoumaru thrust her behind him hard, drawing Tokijiin and telling her to stay down. She looked over from her spot behind him, and her eyes widened as she saw Inuyasha.

He'd pulled Tessaiga and was twining the wind scar around the blade, before swinging it in their direction... and her mouth hung open in shock as Sesshoumaru whirled and grabbed her, leaping out of the way with a snarl.

Still in shock, she watched as the energy from the sword traced over the spot they'd been standing in - way over, and looking up, she gasped out as she realized why.

"Sesshoumaru! He wasn't attacking us! Look!" She pointed, and he followed her finger as he settled them to the ground only seconds after the whole thing had begun.

"Saimyousho." His voice was flat with disgust. He'd been so concentrated on his brother, he hadn't noticed Naraku's hell bugs - but Inuyasha had, and had reacted quickly.

Inuyasha reversed Tessaiga, and slid it into its sheath. "Yeah. That bastard's close - he's playing games and taking chances now, which means he's ready to strike... and I don't think he needs to find out about you and Kagome. He's enough of a pain in the ass as it is." He turned and continued on out of the clearing. "I'll be back at camp."

Kagome stared wide-eyed at the place the saimyousho swarm had been, then looked up at Sesshoumaru. "Wow. That was..."

"Hn." He looked thoughtfully off into the distance for a moment. "Naraku is close by, then. Much closer than before." He looked down at her. "Come. We should return to the others. With the dark hanyou so close, everyone should stay together."

She nodded as he pulled her with him into the tree line.

Yeah... close. She shivered, then, remembering the look in Inuyasha's eyes. For one instant, one moment in time, she'd wondered if he really wanted to kill his brother so badly, that he'd kill her, too, just because she was there.

She was glad the answer was no.

Sesshoumaru stared ahead of himself, senses searching everywhere around for any hint of danger.

If that fool thinks to lay a hand on my miko, he will not have to worry about going to hell...

Because this Sesshoumaru will bring hell to him.