InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Liar ❯ Healing... ( Chapter 3 )

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

Liar
By daiyumi

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahasi does.

Pairing: Kouga/Sesshoumaru

Summary: Kouga is taken care of by the group while he recuperates. Sesshoumaru contemplatesc and apologizes to Kouga. Or more like sulks over what happened, denying the fact that he was at fault and blames Kouga.

Warning: Language. Sesshoumaru-ness in general.

Dai Note: Sesshoumaru will be talking to himself a lot in this chapter/ thinking. Sorry for the long wait, writer's block- again! It's surprisingly short. Meh- next chapter will be interesting enough with all the little tidbits to make up for it!

Dai Thanks: Any and all reviewers for being OVER-patient and continuing to read the story. Thank you!



Chapter 3 Healing...

Miroku wasn't sure of how it happened, but somehow, he felt that he was at fault. Surely, he was at fault. If only he'd -- no, that probably wouldn't have worked either. Scratch that idea. So, sulking at the same tawny, thatch walls of the small hut he'd been stuck in for hours, his mind wandered again. Maybe if he had listened; Inuyasha would still be up and alert, being rude and obnoxious, as was his usual self. Instead, the hanyou lie passed out on the floor next to Kouga looking rather miserable.

Letting out a fresh breath of air, he dug his chin deeper into hands that were quickly beginning to cramp from being in the same position for so long. His legs, spasming, pleaded with him to uncross them from their intertwined placement; and he felt like crap. To top everything off, Miroku was plain bored.



o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o



“Come on Kouga, it can't be that bad...” He made sure his tone remained nice and
soothing, nonthreatening in every way.

“Then why don't you try drinking it monk!” The feisty male growled out, when
offered the medicine in the small grey bowl.

“Miroku, stop talking to him and just give him the damn medicine!” A third, more
rambunctious bellow half-yelled.

“Inuyasha, I'm trying to-” The calmer voice reasoned again.

“Try harder! I don't wanna hold this fleabag all day!”

The sounds of their voices slowly faded and blended into the background of the
atmosphere. Busy arguing at each other, Inuyasha, distracted, let his guard down
momentarily. Taking a chance, Kouga bit down on the arm restraining him sharply.
The arm holding him down abruptly loosened.

Inuyasha looked down at his darkening sleeve that new tears adorning it in shock.
The shock wore off too soon, yelling about how he would kill Kouga if it was the last
thing he did. Thrown forward out of sheer surprise, Kouga managed to grasp the
shallow bowl of smelly liquid from the slack grip of Miroku.

“...Kill you-” Inuyasha saw the bowl and its contents aiming for him. His eyes
widened and without his conscious control, instead of his mouth closing, it opened
in anticipation of the concoction. His mind managed to catch up with his body,
and he moved back just a few millimeters, the liquid splashing its way into his
orifice. He tried spitting out what he could, if anything, the taste beyond horrible. It
overwhelmed his senses making him choke, frantically trying to get the contents
from his system. He fell to the floor with a loud thud, passing out.

Kouga, feeling the effects of the day really take their toll, his energy left him. Unable
to hold himself up any longer, he fell on top of the stunned hanyou, unconscious.
At least the wolf seemed to be smiling, in his delirious dream.



Kaede's meandering about in the hut, brought Miroku back from his short reminisce. She scuffled through her many herbs and medicines, only picking out what was suitable, sitting those things off to the side. His eyes wandered over to the sound of her wringing out a damp cloth into a small bucket of water to place atop Kouga's forehead; the hut otherwise uncomfortably quiet. Kouga had acquired a slight fever overnight, with no other previous symptoms as to why, other than the obvious wounds that still were taking too long to heal with what little energy he had left. Now that he lay unconscious, he was much more docile, making it that much easier for them to administer the proper medications to aid in his healing. They'd had to re-wrap some of the deeper cuts with new bandages overnight, as they had been reopened. Inuyasha would recover in about an hour or so-- according to Kaede-- with no real harm done, other than his sense of smell being deadened for a while. That too, would return within no time.

Close to another minute of watching Kaede tend to Kouga, Kagome walked in with Shippo, bringing another bout of extra supplies with her. She looked tired from the extra, unplanned trip to her time, and from carrying Shippo on her shoulder most of the day. The little kit hopped from her shoulder onto the ground next to Inuyasha's slumbering form the minute they made it inside. Looking over his secret idol he frowned, he was only slightly concerned afterall.

“Kagome, is Inuyasha going to be okay?”

“Yes Shippo. He just needs to rest a little.” She consoled him with bags under her eyes.

He smiled when he actually believed it, and chuckled, his mood turning devious.

“Must have been some pretty strong medicine --he looks dead!”

He poked the slumbering hanyou to satisfy his curiosity, as children wont, giggling. Inuyasha's ears flicked in response, audibly growling in his slumber, making Shippo jump in fright, adding to the effect.

“Kagome -- Inuyasha's trying to eat me!”

She turned and held the small kit when she heard his frightened yell, shaking her head as he was already at it again, sticking out his tongue at Inuyasha. 'Children... no matter if they are demon, human, or both; they are still all the same.'

“Shippo.” And she couldn't help but smile.


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Bokusenou's forest. He always felt at peace there. Sesshoumaru, in his younger years he would go there to relax and just think. Now however, his mind was at war with itself. So, he supposed it was still the same in a way... just not with the internal struggle plaguing him.

'Kuso... How did I let it come to this?'

There was no response, it's not as if he was really expecting one anyway; his inner beast, as unpredictable as it was.

'Ah~ How could I so easily forget?'

His eyes nearly shut in annoyance as he remembered.

'I let my inner youkai take over and it-'

His eyes briefly flashed red in anger, a trademark of his nearly extinct clan.

'-made the foolish decision of marking Kouga as its intended.'

He frowned inwardly, his trademark pokerface never faltering.

'But still, even as I tried to stop it...'

He suddenly stopped mid-thought feeling something tug at his senses. He eyes moved quickly, critically surveying his companions, then surroundings making sure that they were safe. Noting nothing in particular, he resumed his bothersome thoughts. Feeling it suddenly again, it didn't seem to be coming from anywhere immediately near him. When it happened a third time, Kouga flashed across his vision, and suddenly he knew.

“You can feel it can't you?”

“...” Ah -- so you are here then.

“Your mate is calling out to you, yet... he doesn't even know it.”

His gaze hardened, before he cast his eyes to the side – as if he were in a conversation with a real physical person in his immediate front – in dismissal, his scowl finally beginning to show.

“I... have no mate.”

An uncomfortable, incertain silence followed as his youkai didn't respond back.

He looked upwards into the sky, tilting his head back and closing his eyes. The feel of the wind was welcomed, his hair being tousled out of place like the rest of him. He didn't bother to put it back in its usual place behind his ear. Still, his eyes that had been shut for a while, did not open even when he felt Rin's presence near him; or when her frail, human hand tucked his flyaway hair behind the shell of his elfen ear.

“...”

Only did he do so when Jaken, his vassal, stuttered about, ruining his peaceful silence -- the first he'd had the entire day. Rin's sweet laughter, somehow, didn't quite irritate him in the way that Jaken's shrill, shattering squawking did.

“Jaken.”

The little imp jumped a mile, blenching when Sesshoumaru angrily spat his name, filling the bothered lord with smugness.

“Y- yes milord?”

Suddenly, the toad felt very small in his master's presence.

“Watch Rin.”

And without another word, he walked to the edge of the clearing. Jaken's not unexpected questioning forcing him to halt, again in irritation.

“Yes Lord Sesshoumaru. But where are you- ack!”

The taiyoukai never missed, even facing in another direction quickly leaving the site. He resisted putting a hand to the minute nagging feeling at the back of his mind as the strange feeling only seemed to grow. It's not that he cared or anything of that sort... he would just go and visit the aforementioned wolf out of mere curiosity. Yes that was it. He was merely curious. Because something else would mean... 'Nothing, because there is no other reason.'


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


“I had the weirdest dream.”

Inuyasha had out of the blue rose up around the middle of the day without warning, yawning and stretching from the long nap. He paused and scratched himself with one leg raised – just like a dog would. Bringing his leg down from the awkward yoga-like position, he crossed them and folded his arms together sitting in an 'Indian style' position; he continued.

“So anyway, Shippo was in it. I dreamt the same exact thing happened to me, and while I was unconscious, the little annoying brat was pestering me. It felt so real.”

“Oh, it was just a dream Inuyasha! You know how funny those can be!”

Kagome rubbed the back of her neck, fanning one arm in front of her; dark wavy lines emanating from her form. Inuyasha seemed to contemplate it for a moment, shrugging as he seemed to reach no particular conclusion.

“Eh. I guess so.”

Kouga stirred; his eyes riving open suddenly, the dark center dilated. No sooner had his eyes opened, the contents that had been brewing in his stomach lie rotting on the floor. A nauseous grimace held his face before pitifully falling into another fitful sleep. Inuyasha scrunched up his nose in disgust, even though he couldn't wholly smell things --yet, seeing Kouga's puke more or less made him want to repeat the action. He turned away quickly from the sticky puddle, making a gagging sound. The rest of the group inside obviously cringing at the foul sight, volunteering to get a bit of fresh air for a while. Someone had to do it and, well – that made it no less repugnant to Miroku who opted to clean up the mess. Kaede had left a little while before Inuyasha arose, leaving no one else brave enough to wipe anything up. Someone had at least retrieved Miroku an unsoiled cloth to tidy the sticky wolf up, the vomit trailing down the side of his face.

“Alright Inuyasha, I'm going to take a break, can you watch him for a while?”

“Wait! I don't want to be stuck in here all day with this fleabag.”

“Kagome and the others should be back in a little while.”

Miroku looked tired and he hadn't been making any lewd passes at him the entire day.

“Feh, I'll watch him.”

“Thank you Inuyasha.”

That left Inuyasha alone with Koga and no one else. Ans so, it couldn't be helped, his gaze that lingered on the prince's slumbering face. Kouga was truly an attractive sight, once cleaned up of course; a product of incredibly good genes. He would never inflate the wolf's already impressive ego any more than it was though by telling him. His eyes went back to examining different details on Koga's face, to things that weren't noticeable unless you were really close or actually paying attention. The hair that was plastered to his forehead from sweating, his restless movements, he noticed; the youkai looked sick. The fact of which, was weird because youkai simply didn't get sick. At least he hadn't heard of it before, which wasn't saying much since he'd been ostracized by them for the majority of his existence. He knew that he didn't get sick, unless he was human, and then the very next day he was healed of that ailment because of his youkai blood which confirmed that youkai didn't get ill. That reason alone made the sight of Koga vomiting, shocking. Still, youkai weren't invincible, many died by the blade of his sword. That showed they were very capable of getting injured. Kouga looked sick and they didn't know why, but maybe it had something to do with that mark he'd seen on his neck.

What had the wolf gotten himself into?

“Hmph. Stupid wolf.”


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


It was nighttime when Kouga became conscious and was aware of his surroundings, when he'd found that he was alone within the same hut he'd been trapped in. Mild surprise flittered across his mind, as he'd originally thought they'd never leave his side. He ran his shaky, weakened hand through his hair that had been taken out of it's ponytail. 'Why would anyone --probably Inuyasha...' He looked around for his bandana, and when he couldn't find it, scowled. 'Just great.' His heavy fountain of dark hair cascaded down his body in rivulets, contrasting sharply against the bandaged sections of his body. He stood slowly, the bandages sticking to his skin, at least his clothing was still in sight, folded neatly in a corner. He slipped them on and stepped out of the hut without a word.


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Sometime, along the duration of his walk, he'd come to think about Sesshoumaru. Mainly when the scenery became faded and blurred together, which was at the moment, everything in sight. The forest looked the same no matter where he turned. That was yet another reason he enjoyed living in the mountainous terrain of his home. He held his hand to his stomach, when the dull ache that had been bothering him since he left Kaede's village became intense enough to become a problem. He put his other shaking hand to the tree next to him and dry heaved. He stopped short of walking forward when he felt a strong presence overpower any other urges, and looked up at the figure standing in his immediate line of vision.

“Sesshoumaru.”

The angelic creature blinked, standing out amid the plain scenery of the trees.

“This Sesshoumaru understands that things,” His eyes slid off to the side catching a small rodent scurry off to the side of them. Though mundane, he concentrated on the rat – on anything but the look in Kouga's eyes. “May have gone too far...” With a flick of his wrist, his hand moved his moonlight-infused hair, and as if to add emphasis, “It was not intentional.”

Kouga choked on a retort and fumed. “Not intentional!”

The effeminate youkai simply raised an eyebrow with a short look his way, and a short nod of dismissal. “Yes.” Damn it, that was the best he would get for an apology, and even then the inuyoukai didn't really consider it that.

Kouga balled his hands into tight fists. The pent up frustration of having to endure what he had in the past days caught up with him, mixed in with the embarassment of Inuyasha's group seeing him weakened like they had. “You break my fucking ribs, nearly mar me for life,” He exaggerates further by flourishing his hand down his body at the bandages. “And fucking raped me in front of a human! Next thing I know, I wake up feeling like I got the shit beat out of me, in some human village with Inuyasha's gang -- at that -- breathing down my neck...”

Sesshoumaru only half-listened, studying the grass with an intense stare. He felt reluctant to identify the emotion festering within his chest as guilt. When he noticed that Koga had finally stopped talking and was glaring at him again, while approaching it was too late. His eyes widened as Kouga reached forward with haste and kissed him. Stumped, the warmth of the ookami's mouth silenced his warring, confused mind. When an intense feeling floods him, he tries to push it away. 'What is this feeling?'

He didn't know why he did it, but kissing the taiyoukai made him forget just how much of an asshole he could be sometimes. Could it be because he wanted to see if there was anything behind that beautiful unfeeling face? The press of lips responding just as urgently reassured some part of him, and he became bolder. His anger dissipated and he moved his hands to touch, as did the other. When he pulled away, a look of satiation shown on the others face. “I missed you.” He turned away prematurely, embarrassed. When his fingers brushed the bite marks on the side of his neck, fidgeting under Sesshoumaru's lustrous gaze, he looked up from the ground recalling being questioned about them. “Is this what I think it is? Because it would help to explain why I feel so shitty. You could have at least asked first... I thought you didn't want anything serious.”

When he looked back up from the ground, that mask was there again and the taiyoukai seemed even more distant than before. He took a long pause before he answered in a monotone voice.“That too was a mistake.”

Kouga froze, hurt, and all of the feelings from before returned. “A mistake! Heh. Was fucking me a mistake too?”

His only answer was the slow narrowing of his amber eyes.

“I might as well have just whored myself off to that hanyou brother of yours. At least he would have the decency to show some fucking emotion. Fuck you, you pampered asshole!”

Sesshoumaru couldn't stop the rage that clouded his thought process. Kouga's smart retorts would tend to do that at times. His hand mechanically found it's way to Kouga's half-bandaged throat, pressing him up against the tree so fast that the wolf’s head collided with it at so great a force that it cracked down the center.

“Urgh! Rough just like last time babe? Does taking me against my will get you off that much?” His head throbbed from the impact so painfully that he groaned.

Sesshoumaru's nostrils flared, "They are here looking for you." He carelessly dropped Kouga onto the ground, disappearing into the thick trees.
Catching his breath, before he was able to say anything, Inuyasha and the others emerged through the green foliage. He quickly spun his head to face everyone, at their sudden appearance.

"Where the hell have you been you mangy wolf?"

Kouga was obviously upset about something. He was leaning back on one arm in his haphazard position on the ground. The bandages around his neck were burned on the torn edges where they separated, and smoke arose from them. Where the trace amount of skin was visible on his neck a bruise was forming, and prickles of blood formed on the darkening area. Inuyasha looked in the direction he saw Kouga facing when he first emerged and lain eyes upon him. His gaze was laced with suspicion as the area reeked too much of his brother.


-------



Ginta and Hakkaku headed for the only place that they could think of that could possibly have any answers, in search of their prince, Kaede's village. Breaching the perimeter of the woods, they tried to keep their profile low, aware that demons weren't exactly accepted by humans so easily. It no less stopped the looks and stares from the wary villagers of their unwelcome presence. They instinctively moved in closer to one another and jumped when their shoulders brushed against the others, both moving into a complicated looking stance. Seeing that it was only each other, they sighed loudly and noisily made their way to the home that smelled the strongest of Kagome. When they reached the house, the door readily opened with everyone inside staring out at them, greeting them. To say that they were surprised was an understatement.

“How?” Ginta was the first to speak.

“Yeah, how'd you know it was us?” Hakkaku scratched his head, one hand on his hip.

“I smelled ya. Demons have sensitive noses remember? What do you want anyway?” Inuyasha looked his normal unimpressed, impatient self standing at the doorway.

“We're here for Kouga, have you seen him around? It smells like he's been around here.”

Inuyasha stepped aside, revealing Kouga sitting cross-legged, arms folded with a miffed pout.

“Prince Kouga!”

The two oversized pups ran inside, encasing him in bear-hug that made him short of breath. Ginta, nose already buried in his leaders neck, sniffed deeper. His face came up puzzled, as did Hakkaku's.

“Why do you smell different?”

Kouga paused.

“You almost smell like your...”

“Shh-” Ginta covered Hakkaku's mouth with both hands, shaking his head.

“What?!” Hakkaku's voice came out muffled.

“We need to take him to see healer first.” Ginta hinted at his closest friend, Kouga looking back and forth between them.

“Anything you can do to get this mangy wolf out of our hair!” Inuyasha gladly offered his parting words at the prospect of Kouga at long last leaving.

“Ch. It's not like I want to stay here mutt. I'll be back later for my woman.” With that to grate on Inuyasha's nerves, he left his farewell in the form of his infamous whirlwind of dust, along with his two flunkeys to boot.


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


The lone figure shrouded in white came to stand some ways away from the scenery, undetected among the dense forestry. He closed his eyes tightly and looked toward the sky again. 'Chichue.' Sesshoumaru noticed with great relief that the feeling from before had gone away, that uncomfortable feeling that spread through him when they were together. When he was near him.

The cool breeze that slowly passed by him, it too was very distant. When nothing but the fleeting wind was left still blowing in the space where he no longer remained, carrying the sound of his whispers along with it.

"I don't need you..."





Chapter Four Summary: ... or Heartbreak? (i.e. Jerk Alert!)

Sesshoumaru doesn't think that he needs Kouga, so he finds different ways of proving
so. He foolishly ends up hurting both himself and Kouga. Also, an old "friend" of the
dog youkai's pops up. *cough* sleaziness ensues! *cough*