InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Nothing of Importance ❯ Segment Four ( Chapter 4 )

Getting his brother to stay on Uhn and Ah's back had taken some figuring out but Sesshomaru had managed, thanks to Jaken. The imp had found some vines and suggested that they use them, without Sesshomaru even asking him and without complaint. He used a spell to strengthen them so Inuyasha wouldn't break through them as they traveled, of course, his resourcefulness surprising Sesshomaru somewhat. The taiyoukai had known the toad to be a bit of a schemer, coming up with plans that almost always worked, but this . . . this had astounded Sesshomaru.

 

With the enchanted vines, Rin and Jaken secured Inuyasha to Uhn and Ah's back while Sesshomaru held him in place. Once he was satisfied his brother wouldn't hit the ground and that they had a more than sufficient supply of water, they set off for his father's ancestral home.

 

As they walked, Sesshomaru stayed close to his brother, constantly glancing at the younger one. Except for an occasional whimper or moan, Inuyasha barely made a sound. His tongue hung partway out of his mouth, another sure sign that his brother was ill and dehydrated.

 

`This isn't right . . . he shouldn't be this sick . . . he shouldn't be sick at all . . . his youkai blood should ensure that,' Sesshomaru frowned, brushing his hand against his brother's burning cheek. Then another thought struck him. `Unless it's his youkai blood that's making him sick.'

 

It wasn't unheard of, now that he remembered. He, too, had been ill like this once, just after his father had died. There had been a feeling of injustice at that time, especially after Izayoi's confession to him. Sesshomaru remembered as much.

 

`And it had been the knowledge that Inuyasha was safe from him that saved me,' he thought morosely. `Now, it's happening to Inuyasha . . . I've failed him somehow. But how? How did this happen?'

 

A groan coming from Inuyasha caught his attention and his eyes snapped back to the half-demon. His brother had started to sit up a little more, his arms wobbly and threatening to give out. Glazed amber eyes stared around in confusion.

 

“What's going on?” Inuyasha croaked out, one hand rubbing his chest.

 

“I'm taking you home,” Sesshomaru replied. “You're ill and I can't take care of you without assistance.”

 

“Home? You're taking me back to Edo?” the hanyou blinked.

 

“No,” he shook his head. “I'm not taking you back to Edo. I'm taking you back to the palace.”

 

“What?” Inuyasha's eyes widened, and fear spiked the air. Instantly, he started squirming to get away. Sesshomaru grabbed him. The vines were meant to keep Inuyasha in place while he slept. They weren't meant to take any sort of punishment from someone who was awake. “No . . . I can't go back . . . I can't . . .”

 

“You have no choice, little brother. I cannot care for you out in the wild. Not while you're ill.”

 

“You don't understand,” Inuyasha stated, still struggling. “I can't go back . . . They're going to be there . . . they're always there . . . they'll hurt me . . . I can't . . .”

 

“Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru growled in warning. “You're going back and that's final.”

 

Pain filled Inuyasha's eyes as he stared, stunned, at him. Sesshomaru stared back, his face impassive. He wasn't going to give in. It was time Inuyasha stopped acting like a child.

 

“Why do you hate me so much?”

 

The question, and Inuyasha's hurt expression, took him by surprise, to say the least. He found himself at a loss of words. There wasn't anything he could say. So many years of fighting and trading insults had done an irreparable amount of damage to both of them. Silence fell over them as every step they took brought them closer to their childhood home. Then a strange rumbling noise interrupted the strained quietness and Sesshomaru found himself smiling, if only a little bit. His golden gaze trailed to the young girl that had traipsed ahead, her cheeks tinged pink. She'd been the distraction he needed, if only for a second or two, to collect his thoughts.

 

“Jaken . . .”

 

“Yes, milord?”

 

“Take Rin to get some food.”

 

“Yes, milord,” the toad murmured, bowing slightly. For once, his retainer complied without complaint or protest. Sesshomaru watched them and waited until they were out of sight and earshot before looking at his brother.

 

“I could ask you the same thing, Inuyasha. Why do you hate me so much?”

 

The hanyou's lower lip trembled, his body too dried out for tears.

 

“Because . . . because you let them hurt me,” he managed to choke out. “You . . . you didn't stop them . . . you did nothing to help me . . .”

 

Sesshomaru cupped his cheek, knowing he had only gained this tiny victory over Inuyasha because of his fever. His own expression had become mournful. He knew that his brother wouldn't believe, not after so many years of believing otherwise, but he had to try.

 

“I didn't know, Inuyasha . . . otherwise, I would have . . . I'd have killed whoever for touching you like that . . .”

 

“No . . . you wouldn't have,” Inuyasha whispered. “They told me . . . you knew . . . that you didn't care . . . that you said the only thing I wasn't good for anything else . . .”

 

“That was a lie,” Sesshomaru growled. “I never would have said that about anyone. Especially you. I would have never let that happen to you. Ever.”

 

Indeed, how this had happened still eluded Sesshomaru. Inuyasha had showed no physical signs of either being molested or raped . . . except his change in attitude. And he was very certain that he would have heard Inuyasha screaming, despite how soundly he'd been sleeping . . .

 

“Kami,” he breathed, his entire body going cold. His hand dropped, shock washing over. He'd been sleeping while his brother had been assaulted. Somehow, whoever had gotten to Inuyasha had somehow managed to ensure that he wouldn't know. “That's . . . that's how come . . . I never knew . . .”

 

“How could you have not known, Sesshomaru? They violated me every single night until I ran away . . . Tell me why should I believe that you had nothing to do with it?”

 

Sesshomaru's raised his head so that his eyes met Inuyasha's, parts of his icy facade melting.

 

“Because I went through the same thing as you did . . . Father was my assailant.”