InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Nothing of Importance ❯ Segment Seven ( Chapter 7 )

“Why did you . . . `sit' Inuyasha, little miko?”

 

Sesshomaru's golden gaze traveled to the strangely dressed girl as she blinked, confusion lighting her face.

 

“Huh?”

 

He fought back a sigh. Humans could be dense at times. Too dense. He often wondered how they survived.

 

“Inuyasha claims that you . . . `sat' him . . . just before he became ill . . . and it had to with `that stupid wolf,' as he put it. Why?”

 

A low growl caught his attention before she could respond. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and cast his sharp gaze at the wolf who had interrupted his conversation with the girl. Something about the wolf himself was familiar, as if he'd met him somewhere before . . . not counting the time said wolf had saved his young ward. No, it was something else. Something from the past.

 

`Doesn't matter,' he thought, growling in warning himself. `Not now.'

 

The wolf obviously took his growl as a challenge for he stopped and bared his fangs even more, his blue eyes flashing ice.

 

“Are you threatening me?”

 

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at him. Either the wolf was incredibly dense . . . or he was paranoid. However, it mattered not to Sesshomaru. The wolf was on his lands. Respect was due.

 

“Might I remind you that you are on my lands and traveling in my presence?” the daiyoukai stated coldly. “If you do not hold your tongue, I will be forced to remove it. Painfully. A display of respect is in order.” Having said that, he turned his attention back to the strangely dressed miko. “I'll ask you again. Why did you `sit' Inuyasha?”

 

A scowl passed over the girl's features and she folded her arms in defiance.

 

“I don't see how it's any of your business,” she spat. “Since when were you ever concerned about Inuyasha anyway?”

 

Sesshomaru resisted the urge to vaporize her where she stood. He narrowed his eyes, his lips drawn into a thin line. Before anyone could register what had happened, Sesshomaru stood in front of the miko, his hand grasping her chin in a bruising manner.

 

“Let Kagome go!” the wolf hollered, but Sesshomaru paid no attention to him. He kept his eyes solely on the girl.

 

“As I suggested to the wolf, a display of respect is in order. Now answer my question.”

 

“Because he was starting a fight with Kouga,” she blurted out, her eyes wide.

 

“So? That is no reason to sit him.”

 

“Forgive me for saying so, Lord Sesshomaru,” the houshi interjected, “but there are times it is necessary for Inuyasha to be sat, especially when he's fighting with Kouga.”

 

“How so?”

 

Already, irritation flowed through him. While he knew for a fact that Inuyasha was often brash and arrogant and would pick a fight with just about anybody, the boy had also spent a great portion of his life living as an outcast. In their society, it was kill or be killed. If the wolf was sniffing around what Inuyasha deemed to be his then his brother had the right to defend it, jealously if need be.

 

“Because it's ridiculous!” the miko exclaimed. “Kouga's a friend and an ally! We can't afford to lose any time in our search for Naraku!”

 

For some reason, the miko's words didn't sit right with Sesshomaru. They felt . . . off somehow, though he didn't know how or why. Dismissing it for the moment, he focused his gaze on the miko once more.

 

“And what was the reason for this particular fight with the wolf?”

 

“I don't know,” she shrugged. “I wasn't there when it started.”

 

Barely containing his growl, Sesshomaru then narrowed his eyes at the wolf who had gotten his brother “sat,” as the ningens had so eloquently put it.

 

“What was the reason for this fight?”

 

The wolf youkai narrowed his eyes at him, a scowl lighting his features.

 

“Feh, like I know what goes through Mutt-face's head all the time. I just know he was acting crazy and took a swipe at me before I could even say anything to him.” Then the wolf's expression became somewhat thoughtful and he frowned. “Though, come to think of it, he wasn't acting like himself, either. His eyes were a bit glazed over . . . like he was sick or something.”

 

He then tilted his head, his gaze landing on the unconscious hanyou, a motion Sesshomaru had seen only once before in all of his long years. It was in that moment that he knew. He knew why the wolf had seemed so familiar to him yet hadn't. It was all in the eyes. The wolf's eyes lacked something that his father's had contained when looking at Inuyasha . . . and, with a sick stomach, Sesshomaru knew what it was. He also knew who one of his brother's assailants had been and why his brother had attacked the wolf that last time, for the similarities were far too striking.

 

The former leader of the wolf tribe had raped his brother when he was a child.