InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Haishin: A promise to meet again ❯ Kumon(Torture): My Brother, My Rival, My Injured Pride ( Chapter 1 )

Haishin: A promise to meet again.

Disclaimer: Okay, you know what? I don't own Inuyasha, I don't even own my own car, hell I don't even have my liscence. What's that say for you? Pathetic right? Damn straight. Now leave me be.

Authors notes:

Back for more torture I see? Or could you just not keep your eyes off this chapter?
Nah, my guess is your a masochist and just want to suffer.. *sweatdrops*

Either way, I'm sitting here listening to Chevelle "The Red" and currently working on another story as i post the chapters to this story. Go figure.

I think my writing's improved since the prologue don't you?

Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and find out then, remember, any kind of comment would be greatly appreciated..

^*^

The wolf adolescent watched as the ten year old moved with grace and fluidity through moves that he himself had taken much longer to master. The younger boy, he remembered quite fondly, had been stuck in a state of despondency those few years back, swearing on all that was holy he'd never be able to `get it'.

But here he was, at 10 years old, at an adult's skill level, in half the time, with double the strength. The child was unusually strong for a halfling, he mused silently, perching on a branch and guarding from afar his protégé.

Tensing his muscles to drop from the branch, Ookami stopped and watched as the younger boy froze midway through an `Outward wrist turn' and went into a now familiar defensive position. Both sensed the rapidly approaching intruders, yet unfortunately only one was able to do anything about it, the one that was about to be pummeled.

Terror flared through his senses as the familiar teenagers bore down on the younger boy, leaving barely any room for defense, though he was holding up…barely.

"So, this is the one that the young wolf-lords child has been with for the past few decades is it? Pathetic," a taller boy spat, crossing his arms over his chest and laughter rang out as the younger halfling was thrown backwards.

"Oh, would you look at him Chen? He's tryin' to fight. Where'd you learn those moves Hanyou?" another queried as Inuyasha managed to successfully perform a forward foot sweep on one of the smaller boys. An almost excited glimmer flickered in his eyes as he watched the younger boy carefully.

"Ookami-sensei taught me." Inuyasha cried, stumbling backwards from the older boys, claws flexed, for all it's worth.


"Ookami, our Iki Ookami? Teach filth like you, he'd never!" the one named Chen scoffed, gracing a hand over his katana, watching in unbridled amusement as the white haired Inu child's eyes widen slightly.

"He did too!"

"Even HE wouldn't go that low…" another added with a snicker and stepped forward, pulling the boy forward roughly, earning a cry of pained protest.

"Lord Ooki-Ikkitousen's son would NEVER, in his right mind, converse with a half-breed like you, and an Inu halfling to boot!" another kick sent the child reeling backwards and to the ground.

Ookami struggled in vain to find his voice, but found, to his dismay he was stunned.

"He would, and he did, he's taught me for a really long time! Ever since we met in the woods!"

"He taught you out of pity if anything you little brat!" Chen snapped, then paused, the silence working to make Inuyasha, as well as Iki, very uncomfortable. "I've heard of you, Inuyasha. Halfling Inu Youkai, child of the `Great' Lord of the Western Lands, and the filthy Ningen woman! Worthless little wretch!" he spat and Inuyasha flinched in response, stumbling for a reply that just would not be found.

"You-you're...you've got to be.."

"Remember this you filthy little whelp, if he sheltered you, it was not out of friendship, it was out of pity. Fitting, yet more than you'll ever deserve, you are a disgrace to ALL Youkai! Now-" his words were cut off by a very brutal kick to his back, sending him to the ground.

"Leave him alone Chen…" Ookami muttered in a warning tone, seeming to have appeared out of no where.

"You dare treat Chen like that?" the other older teen demanded and cracked his knuckles threateningly.

" Watch who you speak to, Kounshai." He demanded then turned to Inuyasha, who peered at him, pain filling his amber eyes.

All that work to gain his trust, and finally get him to open up…gone… he thought as he gazed helplessly at the child he called friend.

"Ookami sensei…is what they say…is it true?" Inuyasha whispered backing away from the group who was snickering and helping their leader to his feet.

"Say it's not true Ookami, please say it's not true," the younger of the two pleaded and stepped forward slightly, hand wrapped tightly around his stomach, in an attempt to dull the pain. Blood swelled and trickled down his cheek in a thin stream of crimson from a point under his left eye in a shadow of scarlet tinted tears.

Too slow was the older boy to reply, as Inuyasha staggered back again. "I trusted you!" he cried, and again the older boy found himself unable to speak.

"I trusted you…" he murmured closing his eyes then looking up to the darkening forest ceiling above.

"It's not-" a howling sound drowned out his protest and a bright flash of light blinded them, sending both flying backwards to the ground with simultaneous thuds.

Almost immediately after, a terrible sound could be heard, as the sickening crunch of bones and slashing of flesh echoed throughout the area. Before any screams could be let out, 6 teenagers crumpled to the ground, blood pooling around their lifeless bodies.

Ookami opened his eyes and saw, through blurry vision, three very unfamiliar figures. All were covered in shadows, eyes glinting dangerously from their spots. One kneeling next to an apparently unconscious Inuyasha, another, red eyes glinting murderously in his direction, and the other…

A wave of hatred and malice swept through his senses before a flash of red and white gave way to black as extreme pain seared through his mid-section and engulfed his senses.

With a gasp he looked down and saw a glint of silver, which soon disappeared, as it was pulled painfully slow from him with a nauseating sound, which echoed hollowly in his ears.

Falling weakly to his knees, the half conscious wolfling was vaguely aware of the warm dampness at his hands, and the bitter taste lingering in the back of his throat. A slow glance at his fallen student brought the sight of a half conscious child being held closely by a shadowed figure. The boys eyes fluttered open and scanned the area in front of him, before landing on Ookami's. Once brightly lit amber eyes, were now dull and lifeless, back to their former appearance...

A flash of recognition swam through him as he finally recognized the scent of the three mysterious assassins. With the agonized accusation of, "Traitor..." slipped from his lips before he sank to the ground into eternal darkness.

====

Finding myself startled from my reminiscence I looked around, trying to locate what exactly had pulled me back to reality and was perturbed when I found Kagome examining me closely

"What?" I barked and she flinched almost imperceptibly.

Silence fell between the two of us, and I watched as she mulled over her words, "Are you ok Inuyasha?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I muttered irritably, eyes shifting away from her own inquiring gaze.

"Well, it's just-you've been so quiet lately..." she trailed off now uncertain of where the conversation was going.

"Though you must admit," Shippou cut in from his perch on Kagome's shoulder, raising a finger and smiling like the idiot he truely is, "it has been a lot more relaxing without him being his loud and obnoxious self."

Shrugging off his silent insult I roll my eyes and glare at him half-heartedly. "Forgive me, would you rather me be back to my…'loud and obnoxious' self?" I muttered sarcastically and stepped ahead, smirking as Shippou relaxed, now convinced I was going to do nothing. Only then did I move and swiftly shove him off of Kagome's shoulder and to the ground.

"Hey!" he cried indignantly and I merely scoffed quietly before turning around and glaring at Sango and Miroku who had been watching the exchange with curiosity. "What are you two looking at?" I snapped and they exchanged silent glances before deciding to speak their minds.

"It is true Inuyasha, you have seemed quite distracted lately." Miroku said, choosing his words carefully.

"Keh..."

Sango nodded her assent and cast a curious glance my way. "Think about it this way Inuyasha, you can't deny it, for nearly the past week we seem to have gone at an almost leisurely pace."

"Or as leisurely as you can get with him around..." Shippou piped up from somewhere out of my view.

"Yeah, and I know you're not doing this just to give us a break, so what gives?" Kagome finished hands on her hips.

With a soft snort I shook my head and took a quick leap into the air, landing a good 50 feet away from the others and fell back into thought.

"You have some nerve," I accused bitterly to the thoughts in my head, "After all this time, can't you just…" I trailed off, flexing my claws then clenching them into fists with enough pressure to break skin. Bringing my hands up I watched in absent fascination as droplets of blood formed and trickled down my wrists from already healing wounds in tiny streams of crimson. Thankfully, that minor loss of self control was enough to ebb my anger, and the odd memory that had been bombarding me moments before had drifted back to its spot somewhere in the back of my mind.

Frustrated I let out a curse and then growled under my breath, faintly aware of my ears twitching. Suddenly I felt a soft yet swift pressure on my shoulders and a startled yelp escaped from my throat before I could stop it.

"What the hell?!"

A startled laugh worked to slightly calm my now ragged nerves, "Oh! Inuyasha, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I thought you'd notice I was here," a pleasantly tired voice accompanied the laugh.

I felt my eyebrows rise in surprise as I realized who it was that had startled me. It was only Kagome. Kagome, who was out of breath and leaning against my shoulder for support?

Suddenly her words set in and I bristled, the heat rising to my face in embarrassment. "Like hell you scared m-" I started to yell in protest, but broke off halfway and jerked away from her grasp roughly watching her right herself quickly then mask a look of concern with surprise.

A faint hum of a memory echoed in my mind at my actions and left thoughts buzzing through my mind, drowning out momentarily sounds from the outside world, and causing me to miss Kagome's question. Chikusou! Leave me the hell alone. I all but pleaded before looking up with a start.

"Inuyasha?"

"What?" I snapped feinting disinterest and crossing my arms.

"What's the matter with you lately. You've been so quiet…not to mention agreeable. And you seem so distracted; you're really starting to worry me. Are you getting sick?" she inquired bringing her hand up and gently setting it on my forehead.

For a moment I gazed blankly at her before snorting, "woman, there's absolutely nothing the matter with me, I'm not sick. I really don't see why you're so worried." I defended, mildly disgusted at the absent tone and shook my head, bringing her hand down with my own and setting it at her side.

Silently she gaped at me, and then found her voice, "A-are you sure? Because you know…we could always set camp up now and rest, I mean-"

"There is no way in hell that we're doing that!" I yelled furiously cutting off the offer and all but stumbling away from her concerned expression. "There's nothing wrong with me anyways, damnit woman, get off my back!"

"Inuyasha…wha-" I halted her words with a sharp thrust of my arm and stood motionless for a moment.

With a twitch of my ears I vaguely noted the rest of the group hurry and catch up to us, but that was the least of my concerns at the moment. Something was wrong…

"Inuyasha, what's wrong?" Kagome questioned in a whisper that only I could hear.

"Demon," was the only response I gave for the moment.

"Huh?"

"I smell a demon, a very familiar demon…" I paused eyes narrowing, letting my hand rest absently at the hilt of the Tetsusaiga. "What in the seven hells is he doing here?" I muttered to myself.

"Who?" Shippou asked curiously from somewhere behind me, but I ignored him.

"Sesshomaru...and human blood? I never imagined he'd do something as petty as torturing a human." I muttered softly and vainly attempted to shake off the eerie chill that ran down my back at my own words.

Without warning a powerful explosion caused the ground to shudder beneath us and I flexed my claws absently.

"Alright, let's get this over with." I spat, and leapt swiftly into the air, leaving the others behind and bounding from one tree to the next.

For a minute or so, I could sense nothing but the wind rushing through my hair, feet pounding occasionally on dusty ground or tree limb, and the blood pounding in my ears before I came to an abrupt halt a meter or so directly away from a small clearing near a village. "Nani?"

There I found myself witnessing the most unusual face-off, my older brother, and a scruffy looking human, who was currently barely avoiding total annihilation.

Medium length ebony hair trailed down in a loosely pulled ponytail, was now slashed and singed with spots, as well as smattered with blood and dirt. His outfit was that of a traveler, simple red and blue, and lightly armored, which was looking just as bad, if not worse than how he was holding up as he barely managed to dodge another attack. Now if only I could see his face…

I watched in mild amusement as he stumbled and fell backwards to the ground, crimson liquid sleeping from a newly created gash at his side.

Feh, pathetic….I thought to myself and watched as my older brother took a leap into the air and came crashing down with his Dokkasou, but missing by mere millimeters, and on purpose?

Now this was interesting.

A few moments later, the sound of labored breathing hit my senses as Kagome and the others caught up, then stopped suddenly, all staring in confusion at the scene before them as Sesshoumaru was now grabbing the human and pulling him up by his neck roughly, a sickly green glow emitting from his hands, yes…that fool was indeed in for a lot of pain.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome whispered urgently. "You've got to help him!"

Or not.

"Like hell I will. Whatever that bastard brother of mine wants to do in his spare time, is his business. It's not my place to interfere anyways." I said smugly, failing to hide the touch of bitterness that seeped in at my words.

"Inuyasha…" she started dangerously, "I know you aren't just going to let that man be killed," she said in a scolding manner and my ears drooped slightly.

"Bu-" I argued feebly only to have her cut me off.

"Inuyasha, if you don't help him right now, I'll…I'll never forgive you!" she exclaimed in such a manner that caused me to step back slightly. Both of us knew that wasn't really true, but it worked enough to get myself moving, lest I find myself being painfully reacquainted with mother earth, repeatedly.

Scowling I shrugged my shoulders, "fine, fine…" I mutter and absently flick my thumb over Tetsusaiga's sheath, jaunting forward, noting that neither seemed to have caught on to our appearance.

When I got a little closer, I stopped at the look that I caught flash in Sesshoumaru's eyes. Something akin to bitter hatred was burning in his usually emotionless gaze as he muttered something inaudible to even my ears and threw the teenager to the ground roughly.

"Now you die, before you bring about anymore suffering," he said louder and brought his hand up, glowing the familiar green as he lunged forward.

"Oh no you don't!" I interjected from the sidelines and propelled myself forward in a swift motion, shouldering the already on his feet human out of the way.

With a gasp I felt Sesshoumaru's sharp claws pierce in my chest in a rather familiar way, and for a moment time stopped. Biting pain consumed my senses, as the full effect of his Dokkasou took effect, leaving me with nothing but terrible nausea and dizziness. The dim clearing dissolved into blackness as spots danced across my vision.

The pain eventually dimmed into an odd tingling sensation, and for a moment all I wanted to was to give in to the warmth that unconsciousness was offering…

"Inuyasha!" Kagome's terrified voice worked to bring me back to reality enough to keep myself from losing consciousness just yet.

"Damn…" I muttered, a bitter sarcasm meshing with the pain in my voice as I looked up at him, and grunted when, with a swift movement, he pulled his fist from my body, a look of almost unnoticeable shock in his eyes.

"Inuyasha," he said, backing up and regarding me with an unreadable expression, eyes glancing back to the human now getting to his feet again. "Leave. Now. This is none of your business," he demanded in a tone reminiscent of years past.

"Sorry, `big brother' but I can't let you just go around terrorizing weak, pathetic humans like this." I paused in an attempt to catch my already fleeting breath. "Besides-ugh-it doesn't seem to fit your persona very well." I threw his way, cringing inwardly as my legs threatened to give way.

In the silence that followed I brought my hand to my chest and pulled away, gazing at it as blood trickled down in thick streams of scarlet, disappearing into my haori sleeve. My other hand hovered over Tetsusaiga, obediently waiting for the right moment.

"Be that as it may, this does not involve you, therefore you have no right to interfere with my business. Now leave,"he ordered in a voice much like when I was little.

And I told you, you're not going to get to him, unless you go through my first, you hear?" I ground out through clenched teeth, pushing the bile rising in my throat, and drawing a transforming Tetsusaiga out, stumbling backwards at the force, and pointing it at him.

Agonizing silence fell throughout the battlefield as I watched him flex has hand and regarding me in a condescending manner, before it disappeared to the airily emotionless ways I was used to.

"So, what's it gunna be?" I ask softly.

In a swift motion, avoiding the fang and surprising me, he moved forward and slapped me, claws gracing my face enough to draw blood before he jumped back, flicking his wrist and glaring at me meaningfully.

Stunned was the only way to describe what I felt at that moment. "Kon'aro!" I spat furiously, a look of indignation plastered on my face at the action.

"Damnit! What the hell did you do that for?!" I snapped, ignoring the searing pain in my chest, and concentrating on stamping out my ever rising anger.

"I should think you would remember, or have the years degraded your memory Inuyasha?" he queried in what I took as a taunting manner.

"Kieseru!" I snapped and he merely raised an eyebrow.

An eerie silence fell once more between us, as the face off continued, till he brought his hand down and glanced at the human again, the hatred flickering in his expression before fading.

"Have it your way, little brother," he paused and backed up. "Wretched being, you have been saved this time. Do not expect fate to be as merciful when next we meet. I will not tolerate you walking on this plane of existence much longer."

Turning he began to leave, before stopping and facing me momentarily. "Oh, and, Inuyasha…I suggest you have your human wench tend to that wound, as it wasn't meant for you, it was aimed to kill. Next time, little brother. Do. Not. Interfere." He advised, "I will not hold myself responsible for any `accidents' that may occur from your rash actions in our next confrontation."

With that, he left, and I felt my grip on Tetsusaiga slipping. Again my eyesight swam for a moment, leaving my very unbalanced. The situation no longer tense I let my legs finally give out on me and sank to the ground and the small puddle of blood that had formed below me.

"Inuyasha!" I heard Kagome cry out again as the others ran forward.

"Kuso, that fucking hurts…" I muttered, grip firm on the fang, kneeling on ground.

"What happened Inuyasha?"

"Yes, what did he say?" Miroku finished Sango's question softly before moving to check on the human.

"Nothing important…he's just pissed I wouldn't let him kill that weakling." I said motioning to the teen behind us before getting woozy.

"But, I don't get it. Why would he want to…oh! Inuyasha!" I faintly heard Kagome's voice before the Tetsusaiga retransformed, and I collapsed face first on the ground, the pain overwhelming my senses.

My last thought, before darkness overwhelmed me, was the utter humiliation of having been slapped like a little pup in front of the others.

What an embarrassment.

^*^

There it is folks..
Oh, and for those of you who don't know Japanese.

Most of those words were curse words..

Kieseru - Fuck you!

That's about it. *nods*
anyways..

Review onegai. *bows*

^^