InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kiss the Rain ❯ The Decision ( Chapter 2 )

Wingzero: Ah. I finally got around to typing up another chapter.

Inu Yasha: About time!

Wingzero: >.>U Keep this up and I'll pair you with Naraku. *glares at the hanyou* And you're going to be the uke.

Inu Yasha: *shuts up*

Wingzero: Much better. ;.; Nothing belongs to me except for the twin fox youkai.

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"Good morning, Inu Yasha," Sesshoumaru said curtly. He was trained to be refined and act like royalty. After all, he was heir to the Western lands.

"Nothing is good about this morning," Inu Yasha grumbled as he glared at the rain. It was then he noticed his current state. He narrowed his violet eyes and glared at Sesshoumaru. "You could have taken advantage of my weakness, but why didn't you?"

"I agree with you nothing is good about this morning, and I have told you last night," Sesshoumaru answered a bit irritated that he had to repeat himself. "Dawn isn't too far away."

Inu Yasha said nothing in return. He only glared at the wall and cursed himself for showing his weakness in front of his brother. Now Sesshoumaru knew when to strike, the new moon. The hanyou cursed inwardly. He hated being human. There were so many emotions he had to deal with and a lack of strength.

"If you're worried, you might be attacked I'll defend you," Sesshoumaru stated as if it was an every day thing.

"I know you're up to something," Inu Yasha said, narrowing his eyes. He didn't trust his brother before, but now he seriously doubted himself. It was like a part of him wanted to trust his older brother and a part of him couldn't forget what Sesshoumaru had done to him in the past.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it last night," the youkai lord said, completely exasperated. He wasn't in the mood to fight with his younger brother. It was strange what the rain can bring. The rain brings life to plants and animals. It also brings destruction, but who would have thought it would bring two feuding brothers together?

"Feh," Inu Yasha retorted with his usual comment. He then turned his glare to the rain, as if it was going to stop it.

"Whether you like it or not, we're stuck inside this cave unless you want to become a soaked puppy," Sesshoumaru commented with a smirk. He liked teasing his brother even when they were younger. It was fun to get the hanyou riled up. "Besides, you're wearing my spare clothing. I don't want the smell of wet puppy on it."

Inu Yasha growled with irritation. He hated being called a puppy when he considered himself to be an adult, even if he didn't act like one. Suppressing his urge to pound his older brother into a bloody pulp, he settled on glaring daggers at the youkai lord.

"As if you can hurt me with that pathetic glare," Sesshoumaru chuckled lightly, which caused his brother to glare harder. He reached over to where the fire rat haori was drying. It wasn't dry enough for him to wear. The youkai pulled his make-shift blanket, which happened to be his traveling cloak, around him and walked towards the mouth of the cave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Inu Yasha inquired. As much as he hated it, he needed his brother to protect him or at least until his demon blood return. He had no clue when dawn will arrive, as dark clouds covered the sky.

"I'm going out," was all Sesshoumaru said. He fastened his traveling cloak around him and stepped outside into the pouring rain.

Not less than ten minutes later, Inu Yasha felt that familiar sensation. His demon blood was returning to him. His brother was right. Dawn was not far away. He hated when his brother was right, but this time it strangely was good Sesshoumaru was right.

`I'm going to smell like him,' he thought dejectedly. Maybe he should take a bath or swim in a lake after this. He wandered over to the place where his haori was. His brother had touched it not too long ago and he doubted the youkai lord wasn't truthful. Upon touching it, he knew it wasn't dry enough to wear.

White ears drooped as he thought about Kagome. Rainy days weren't depressing with her and the others. He glanced around the cave for something to amuse him. It was then he noticed his brother's traveling pack, still lying on the cave floor.

His first instinct was to rifle through it, but then again his brother had been nice to him, which was very unusual. The least he could do was give him his privacy. If Sesshoumaru was going to kill him, he would have done it a long time ago. He slumped over with a bored expression on his face. This was incredibly boring. It was also way too early for him to sleep.

Inu Yasha decided to further explore the cave. In the back, there was a small tunnel that led to three different sections. Good thing he had his enhanced sight back or he would have been stumbling around in the dark.

The closest one branched to the left from the tunnel. It was too small for the hanyou to move around comfortably, but it was the right size for one annoying fox youkai. Inu Yasha attempted to move around, but he ended up hitting himself several times on the walls.

The next one branched off to the right. It was at least three times larger than the first. Surprisingly, there were no stalagmites or stalactites. The walls seemed unnaturally smooth with a few scratches or cracks every now and then. His golden eyes tried to make sense of the marks, but it was too confusing and he wasn't known for his intellectual skills. A few small streams started from either holes in the ceiling or walls. The water fathered in a depression on the floor.

The last cavern was larger than the other two combine. Off towards the back, a small pond had two streams, one coming in and one going out. A mini waterfall echoed throughout the room. Unlike the other two, this part contained a few stalagmites and stalactites. A pair of which were connected to each other near the center of this cavern. The ground was mostly smooth with a few rough areas. He made a mental note of where they were.

If Inu Yasha and crew had to relocate, this would be the perfect area. They had one large cavern for the main room. Shippo will take the smallest one. Miroku and Sango would share the one next to it. He and….. Who would be with him. He still had to figure that one out.

After fully inspecting this room, Inu Yasha came back to discover his brother cooking what appeared to be fish and a few pieces of fruit laid nearby. "What are you doing?"

"I'm cooking," Sesshoumaru replied with his cold voice. "What does it look like I'm doing?" It was blatantly a rhetorical question. His golden eyes never left the fishes being cooked over an open fire. Before the hanyou could even open his mouth to ask, the youkai answered his silent question. "This food isn't for me."

Inu Yasha just accepted it and sat down near the fire. His brother was gone for a long time, in his opinion. `Was he trying so make up for the past or was it a trap to lull me into a false sense of security?'

Sesshoumaru turned to look over at his unusually quiet brother. There had to be something on his mind other than food for he never saw his brother this serious outside of battle. "What are you thinking?" He didn't make a witty comment as it wouldn't get him the answers he was seeking.

The puppy paused in his train of thoughts to answer his older brother. "I was thinking," his voice trailed off. He didn't want to accuse his brother without concrete evidence. Maybe he should ask vague questions. "Why are you being nice to me now when you haven't in the past?"

Needless to say, it was irritating how Inu Yasha kept asking the same question, but he figured he might as well answer it. Sesshoumaru knew the hanyou wasn't thinking about it, but instead using it as an excuse as there was something much more personal. "People change; I change," he said calmly under his younger brother's scrutinizing gaze. He knew they were both treading on thin ice as their relationship was extremely strained. "I've changed since we last met."

Inu Yasha blinked several times while trying to digest what the older youkai said. He couldn't believe his brother, out of all people, would be saying this. "I guess it would be natural to change, but it hasn't been a long time."

"You believe in your own truths," Sesshoumaru started. "Then someone comes and shatters your world into thousands of pieces. You realize there is more to this world than yours."

`Wait a second here,' Inu Yasha thought in a panic but didn't show it. `First my brother is being nice to me and now he's giving me advice? The world as we know it is coming to an end and I didn't even get to pick! It's not fair.' "Are you saying you have a special someone in your life?"

"One could say that," Sesshoumaru answered with a knowing voice. "Now that you know I'm not trying to kill you, what do you really have on that tiny brain of yours?"

`WHAT!!!!' Inu Yasha knew he was caught. There was no denying it now as his brother was very serious about it. He even let the insult slip. He wasn't about to bring up his women troubles to his brother. In fact, he would rather talk to Kaede about it. "It's none of your business."

Sesshoumaru handed over the cooked fish to Inu Yasha while he tried to piece together the scraps of information he had on his brother. `From what I remember, he always had that miko around her even if she wore rather unusual clothes. I find them to be too short, but she doesn't seem to mind. She had been able to break through my brother's barriers for he was willing to be severely injured to protect her. He tolerated her more than the others. I wondered what happened to the one before her.' He paused in his train of thoughts. `She too was a miko, but strange circumstances caused them to turn against each other. She was supposed to be dead and her reincarnation accompanied my brother, but there she was with a part of the future miko's soul.'

Both dog demons were used to the silence unlike some humans. Sesshoumaru was lost in his thoughts. Inu Yasha focused on the food he was eating. He didn't want to initiate another conversation with his brother.

"Who are you going to chose?" Sesshoumaru inquired out of the blue while gazing on his brother.

"What… what… what do…. What do you mean?" Inu Yasha stuttered. Oh gods, he wished he could run off or find some nice hole to hide in. Why did his brother have to be smart?

"Which one: Kagome or Kikyo?" Sesshoumaru stated as if it was the most known thing in the world. He smirked when he saw his younger brother squirm and fidget under his gaze.

Inu Yasha knew he couldn't lie. The nose told all. "I don't know." His brother said nothing but waited for him to continue. "That's why I was caught in the rain. I was thinking who I should pick."

Tapping his chin the youkai thought about he said. No wonder why his brother was caught out in the rain. Last night was his human night and he was deep in thought, which surprisingly wasn't about food or fighting. "You do know how we inu youkai pick our mates?" He received a nod in response. "Then you know what you must do."

"The only problem is they have the same soul," Inu Yasha scowled, folding his arms across his chest. It would have made the decision easier if they didn't, but no fate was against him, as usual.

"That does pose a problem," Sesshoumaru said, leaning against the wall of the cave. "It would seem you need to listen to your heart than follow your instincts." He couldn't believe those words came out of his mouth. `Gods, am I going soft???'

"How can I tell the difference between my heart and my instinct?" The hanyou asked curiously. He wasn't able to tell them apart. `How do I know if I love her of is it a silly crush as Kagome would put it?'

"I'm not the person you should ask," Sesshoumaru stated with amusement in his voice. "My future mate should be able to tell you. He's somewhere around here."

Inu Yasha tilted over in shock as he was previously sitting down. He would never think his brother swung that way. "You're not interested in women and why did you say future mate?"

"First of all, I have no interest in women, not after what I have been through," the youkai lord informed him. It was hard to keep the female youkai population at bay ever since his father died. They wanted to mate with the youkai lord of the West as he needed heirs. Some fathers pushed their daughters towards him, in hopes of marrying them off. "As for the future mate, I plan to court him. The only problem is his older brother. He tends to be overprotective."

"Knowing you, your future mat is youkai," Inu Yasha concluded. His brother confirmed it with a nod. "I'm guessing it's not inu." He was right again. "Wolf." No. "Jackal." No. "Coyote." No. "Cat." No. "Tiger." No. "Fox." Yes.

"As to your earlier question, who can you live without?" Sesshoumaru questioned. He had no idea where this came from but a tiny voice in his head told him to ask. `Perhaps, it was my conscious telling me.'

Before Inu Yasha knew it, he was explaining his entire situation to him. His brother nodded his head every now and then to show he was listening to every word. He only opened his mouth to clarify some thing or another.

"My suggestion is simple," Sesshoumaru announced. He sat in an upright position. "Let Kagome move on if you choose Kikyo or you'll have to move on."

That simple statement hit Inu Yasha harder than Hiraikotsu on Miroku's skull. It was worse than being stabbed in the stomach. He had to let go of Kikyo or allow Kagome to choose her own mate. As much as he wanted, he could only have one girl at his side.

"Who could you live without?" Sesshoumaru asked when he saw his brother frown.

`Who could I live without?' Inu Yasha pondered this question over and over. He had been able to live with the knowledge Kikyo was gone. Just as his relationship with Kagome was about to blossom, Kikyo stepped into the picture. Compared to Kikyo, Kagome was like the sun. In contrast compared to Kagome, Kikyo was a steady rain. His thoughts went back to the times he waited for Kagome to return from her time. He never felt that way with Kikyo before. When Kikyo was gone, he was doing other things. When Kagome was gone, he was usually in his favorite tree sulking or out hunting for his food.

"Have you made your decision?" Sesshoumaru asked, after seeing his brother in deep thought.

"Yes, I have," Inu Yasha said with a steady voice. "Um thanks for everything. I guess I owe you." He found it rather awkward saying it to his brother.

"Then tell her before it's too late."

Golden eyes widened as the implied meaning sunk in. "You knew all along?"

"You're always simple minded," Sesshoumaru chuckled. It wasn't hard to know whom the hanyou favored. "I could have told you, but you needed to discover who for yourself."

Inu Yasha gave a mock growl. "You love to make my life more miserable than it already is."

"That is one of my reasons for living," Sesshoumaru teased before he became serious. "There are some answers in which you must find on your own. I cannot make your decision nor anyone else. You do understand?

The hanyou nodded his head. He knew what he had to do.

`I will tell her.'

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Wingzero: Can you guess who he picked?

Inu Yasha: >.> Why can't I know?

Sesshoumaru: *smirks* Such a simple minded mutt. Can't even guess who he picked.

Inu Yasha: Then tell me!

Sesshoumaru: No. I value my sanity *pause* and my health.

Wingzero: *smirks evilly* True.

Inu Yasha: *pouts* NO FAIR!!