InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Learning to Live Again ❯ Schism ( Chapter 14 )

A/N: Sorry this took me so long to update. I know I said that I had a lot of it done, but with some things that have happened in earlier chapters, I've had to scrap some of the stuff I have had written since May. Thanks for the reviews! You guys are great!

 

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Inuyasha. But the Bengals, Colts, and Steelers did win their football games on Sunday, so it's okay that I don't own Inuyasha.

 

Chapter 14- Schism

 

Kaede had finally managed to get Inuyasha and Sesshomaru calmed down enough so they weren't trying to kill one another and studied her sister.

 

The girl, Rin, was absently brushing the bangs away from Kikyo's clammy face. A gentle voice sang to the gasping priestess.

 

Shippo wanted to join the girl, but didn't want to upset Kagome or Inuyasha. So he stayed put, playing his gameboy while sitting on Inuyasha's shoulder.

 

Inuyasha sat in the corner, next to Miroku's fallen body. Sango must have really hit him hard this time. He had been out cold for an hour and still showed no signs of waking up. Inuyasha reached down to his neck to check his pulse. Kagome was next to him, but she had said nothing. She tried to keep her mind blank.

 

Kaede had told her that part of the reason why Sesshomaru was so uneasy, was the fact that he could sense Kagome's hostility toward Kikyo.

 

The tension in the hut was so thick a chain saw couldn't cut through it. Either of the brother's could snap because of nothing at any moment.

 

The only sounds in the room didn't help things either. Inuyasha's knuckles were continuously cracking, Sesshomaru was endlessly growling, Kikyo's labored breathing seemed to rile up everyone, but the most irritating sound was Shippo's gameboy.

 

“Tell me, Lord Sesshomaru, when was the last time that Kikyo had food?” Kaede broke the vocal silence, halting the other sounds.

 

“She had some souls about three days ago.” Jaken replied.

 

“Nay. I am not referring to souls, but to human food.”

 

Sesshomaru blinked. “I was not made aware that my mate required human food.”

 

The others sat there in shock. Neither had they.

 

Kaede regarded him for a moment. “Aye. Kikyo told me that she required human food the night after she met ye, Lord Sesshomaru.”

 

“It's true, Lord Sesshomaru. I was going to eat dinner with Kikyo last night, before you came home.” Rin informed her lord.

 

Sesshomaru closed his eyes. He felt like a fool, because he hadn't known that she required food to survive.

 

“Here ye are, Lord Sesshomaru.” The old priestess handed him a bowl of stew.

 

The demon lord was careful to only spoon feed his mate broth. She was too far weak to chew anything. When she was finished, he sat the bowl aside. A growl ripped from his lips when he suddenly grew aware of all the eyes regarding him.

 

“Keh!” Inuyasha scoffed turning his head away from Sesshomaru and Kikyo. He couldn't believe that Sesshomaru was being so gentle and, dare he think, loving with Kikyo. The whole display made him sick.

 

Sesshomaru wasn't supposed to be the one holding Kikyo.

 

He was.

 

Inuyasha was confused. He loved Kagome, but he loved Kikyo too. Perhaps it was time to let Kikyo go. Maybe Miroku had been right when he said that Kikyo was the past while Kagome was the future. It was time to let go Kikyo. It wasn't fair to Kagome, Kikyo, himself, or even Sesshomaru. Kikyo and Sesshomaru had obviously found something in each other. Sesshomaru might have his heartless bastard moments, but if was a totally heartless, he wouldn't have come all this way to help Kikyo.

 

Sesshomaru looked at Shippo. The strange noises that were coming from the thing in the fox demon's hands were grating on the demon's nerves. “You will cease that at once.”

 

“Hn.” Inuyasha hadn't heard Sesshomaru say anything to Shippo.

 

“What did you just say?” Sesshomaru's head snapped toward Inuyasha.

 

Inuyasha shook his head as he looked at his brother, confusion on his face. “What?”

 

“Are you mocking this Sesshomaru?”

 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. “You're not going crazy are you?”

 

“Shippo, turn off the game.” Kagome told him.

 

“Old woman,” Sesshomaru said.

 

“Aye, my lord?”

 

“Look after my mate. I must speak with my brother.” He gently laid Kikyo on the mat next to her sister. His eyes were cold, but held the promise of pain. He had dealt with his disrespect long enough. Now he would show him who was the alpha.

 

Inuyasha was jerked to his feet with a hand in his hair, out of the hut, and into the forest.

 

“Get off me, you fucking asshole.” He fought against the stronger demon. Inuyasha was suddenly slammed against a tree by Sesshomaru.

 

“This Sesshomaru has had enough of your games, pup.” He snarled in Inuyasha's face.

 

Inuyasha stared at him with a blank face. Usually he worked hard to get Sesshomaru to act this worked up. Inuyasha hadn't done anything to deserve this treatment. If he had taunted Sesshomaru to act like this, he would be amused.

 

Since it was not provoked, Inuyasha was actually kind of afraid.

 

Sesshomaru was a loose cannon, alright. Part of Inuyasha had always thought his brother was nuts, but he just ignored it. Now he knew that Sesshomaru was a lunatic.

 

“The disrespect you have shown me in the hut, in front of them, will not be tolerated. You are to also stay away from my mate.”

 

So that's what all this was about. It was all about Kikyo. He should have figured that one out by himself. Sesshomaru was threatened by Inuyasha. He thought that Inuyasha would try to steal his mate. Sesshomaru knew that Inuyasha and Kikyo were lovers in the past. He also knew that the two of them loved one another. “You can have Kikyo. She is my past…”

 

Inuyasha's hands reached up to grab Sesshomaru's wrists as he dug his claws further into Inuyasha's throat. “Don't refer to my mate as yours.”

 

“KikyoispartofmypastandKagomeismyfuture.” He said it in one breath as he felt himself growing faint.

 

Sesshomaru opened his hands and dropped Inuyasha into the snow. He glared down at the half demon. “Tell your mate to cease her attacks on my mate.”

 

“Kagome has never attacked Kikyo. It's the other way around.”

 

“You may be correct, half breed, but I have heard the things that little bitch has said to Kikyo. I have heard what you have said to her. Despite what you may think you understand about me, Inuyasha, I have a strong bond with my mate. I can feel her emotions, whether or not, I acknowledge this is my own choice, but I know that pain she has felt from your treatment of her. The pain the girl caused with her spiteful words. I know how she feels about you. You know she loves you, and this Sesshomaru is aware of that.” Sesshomaru crouched down in front of Inuyasha. “Make no mistake, little brother, if you harm or try to take my mate from me, I will not only kill you, but all those pathetic wretches that you call friends. I will start with Kagome.” He rose to his feet and turned away.

 

Inuyasha rose to his feet and brushed the snow from his clothing with his back against the tree. He had had enough of Sesshomaru. If the bastard was insecure, that was his problem, but the threatening was really pissing him off. “You know, just because you don't have any friends, doesn't mean you have to kill mine.”

 

Sesshomaru froze and turned around to walk back to Inuyasha.

 

Inuyasha watched warily as he approached. Sesshomaru was totally unreadable. Sesshomaru stopped when just a few inches separted their bodies. The demon's head dropped down until he stood nearly nose to nose with his half demon brother.

 

Inuyasha's eyes widened in shock as he stared into Sesshomaru's eyes. For one horror filled second, he thought that Sesshomaru was going to kiss him. “What the hell are you doing?”

 

“Know this, abomination, the only reason you still live is because of her. If not for the undead priestess, I would have killed you by now. You live because she doesn't want me to kill you.”

 

Before Inuyasha could blink, Sesshomaru stepped back a foot and back handed him across the face.

 

Sesshomaru smirked when his younger brother screamed from the pain of the poison filled claws ripping into his face.

 

Blood mixed with poison dripped from Inuyasha's face as he stared in shock at his brother. Of all the things he had done to Inuyasha, Sesshomaru had never just casually backhanded him before.

 

The small part of Inuyasha that yearned for his older brother to care for him. The hope that he held that all of his brother's cruelty and hatred was an act shattered in that moment. Inuyasha always hoped that somewhere inside his brother's icy heart was a spot just for him. Even if Sesshomaru cared for him because he was a part of their father, that would be fine. Now it was abundantly clear that Sesshomaru saw nothing worthy of any emotion other than hatred in him.

 

Sesshomaru walked back to the village satisfied. He had finally put the little bastard in his place. He hoped Inuyasha wasn't as stupid as he thought he was. Sesshomaru's step faltered as the scent of salt from where he had left Inuyasha.

 

Inuyasha's cheek burned even more as the salt water tears mixed with the open wounds. He tried to stop from crying. Much worse things had happened in his life than realizing Sesshomaru truly hated him. This shouldn't be making him cry. Part of Inuyasha loved Sesshomaru despite everything the demon had done to him. Sesshomaru was his brother and he cared about him a lot. He carried the same adoration for Sesshomaru that many younger brothers carried for their older brothers. It wasn't hero worship or anything like that, but it really hurt to know his brother only wanted him alive was so he could kill him later.

 

He didn't even see his brother as the demon walked back to him. Sesshomaru's hand grabbed Inuyasha's chin and jerked his head up. He watched in fascination as his proud and brash brother had tears rolling from his eyes. “You are far more worthless than a new born pup, Inuyasha.” Sesshomaru smiled when he said the words.

 

“You sonofabitch!” He pushed off the tree and tackled Sesshomaru to the ground.

 

Inuyasha punched Sesshomaru twice in the face, before the demon rolled over and punched him a few times. Their fight was much more hand to hand than many of the fights they had had. Both of them were working out their frustrations on the other. Sesshomaru being stronger and larger, had the advantage. Within no time, he had Inuyasha on his back and pinned under him as he pummeled the half demon's face with his fists.

 

For as inhuman as the two brother's appeared, their fight looked like a very human one. There was a lot of hair pulling and punching.

 

Sesshomaru was about to rip Inuyasha's throat out with his bare hands when something penetrated his back. With a snarl, he whirled to face the small priestess clad in blue pants and a heavy green shirt. She held a bow in her hands and stared at him in defiance. Sesshomaru bared his fangs at her when the arrow in his back began to burn. “You little bitch.”

 

“Kagome! Run away!” Inuyasha yelled.

 

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and began to stalk toward the interfering bitch. Kagome stood frozen where she stood in the darkness. The only way she could see Sesshomaru was from his glowing red eyes. She had fired the arrow blindly, praying that she didn't hit Inuyasha. She knew that Sesshomaru was very likely to kill both of them.

 

“You have interfered for the last time, little girl.” Sesshomaru moved to grab Kagome, but suddenly he was stopped. All three of them watched as two glowing white soul collectors tightly wrapped around Sesshomaru.

 

Inuyasha could see Ah-Un carrying Kikyo coming toward them. Sesshomaru saw the same thing and became even more enraged than he had been. “Make them release me at once.” He commanded.

 

“You promised me that you wouldn't kill Inuyasha. And you can't kill Kagome either.”

 

“It is unfair to change the rules in the middle of the game, mate.” Sesshomaru informed her in a cold voice.

 

“This is not a game, Sesshomaru, and you act as a fool to treat it as such.”

 

“Do you dare imply that this Sesshomaru is a fool?”

 

Inuyasha and Kagome were silent as Inuyasha moved toward Kagome. Both listened to the conversation, but decided it was wise to not speak.

 

“Release me at once, Kikyo!” He actually shouted at her. That ungrateful bitch! After all he had done to make sure she was okay and this is how she repaid him. By saving Inuyasha and his whore, she had showed him where her loyalties truly lie.

 

“No.”

 

“I am your master! You will release me now!” Blood ran from his nose and lip as he stared at her.

 

“I'm sorry, my lord.” She walked over to him and grabbed the arrow. He thought she was going to pull it out, but he was wrong.

 

Kikyo knew there was no way to reason with Sesshomaru in this state of mind. He would have killed both Inuyasha and Kagome, if she hadn't followed Kagome from the hut. Her small hand wrapped around the arrow and she shot enough purifying energy into her mate to knock him out cold.

 

The snarling demon lord fainted in the grasp of the two soul collectors.

 

Kikyo knew there was going to be hell to pay when he woke up, but hopefully they would be home when he awoke. “Thank you, Ryu and Sakura. Can you please put Lord Sesshomaru on Ah-Un's back?” She watched as her two most loyal friends placed the Sesshomaru on the dragon.

 

“Rin! You little brat! What did I…Lord Sesshomaru!” Jaken and Rin ran to them. “What happened?” He glared from Inuyasha, to Kagome, and then to Kikyo.

 

“Come on, Rin and Jaken, we will bring our lord home now.”

 

Somehow all of them managed to fit on Ah-Un's back and she looked at Inuyasha and Kagome. She was still very weak, but she was getting stronger every moment. “Please tell Kaede that I said thank you. Goodbye.”

 

They watched as they flew away into the night.

 

Kagome feared for Kikyo. Sesshomaru was one scary guy. “Do you think he will hurt her, Inuyasha?”

 

“Probably. Sesshomaru is really brutal. He probably won't destroy her, because she is his mate. The only thing he would probably kill her for would be if she fucked around on him or something.”

 

“Let's go back to the village and I'll clean your wounds.” Kagome told him as she turned away.

 

Inuyasha watched long after they had vanished.

 

“Inuyasha?”

 

He shook his head as he turned toward the village. “What have you gotten yourself into this time, Kikyo? Not even I can save you from Sesshomaru now.” He whispered into the night.

 

A/N: It won't be as long in between chapters next time. I hope this was worth the wait, but something tells me it wasn't. There are probably less than five chapters left in this story, before I move into the sequel. Check out my new Sess/Kik story “Hate is Thicker Than Blood”, if you haven't already. Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks!