InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ One Can Only Wander For So Long ❯ A Story Told ( Chapter 9 )

Illustration:

www.mediaminer.org/fanart/view.php/156704

Author's Note - In this chapter Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru have a bit of dialogue. Please don't be upset that I've got Sesshoumaru able to understand him. Well... If you *are* upset about that fact, you should have stopped reading a while ago, when I had *everyone* showing pretty obvious OOC tendencies... But we'll just make it a known point that since Sesshoumaru is an inuyoukai, he would be able to understand a dog, especially since the so-called dog is really a hanyou stuck in dog-form. And I *really* appreciate readers questioning aspects about my story, it makes me think harder about the plot coming up, to make sure things are explained FULLY, and nothing is left to wonder about. ...I only wish I had thought of Kagome having Buyo with her for a little cat-dog love-hate interaction once Inuyasha came about... *sigh* ... Ok, on with the story, and sorry about the long A/N, once again. **falls over** This chapter is nearly twice as long as any other I've posted! I just couldn't stop writing, but I had no reason to break it in half, either.

`This is thought' - Or in Inuyasha's case, it's our translated version of what he says.

"This is speech"

~~~ Signifies a change in the point of view.

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One Can Only Wander for So Long

By Alesyira

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Chapter Nine - A Story Told

"Kagome! It's Rin. How are you?" came a soft feminine voice on the other side of the line.

"Rin! I'm doing well! So much has happened lately. I've painted quite a bit as well, and have some new pieces I think you might like to see." Kagome replied cheerfully. Rin contacted her only once every few months, and when they finally got together, it was always a nice little tea-party while they talked about her latest pieces. If she didn't have such a busy life, traveling around the world for fresh material, they would definitely get together more often.

Rin was a highly recommended art dealer who had been in the business for a very long time, accumulating many high paying contacts. According to Rin, it was how she met her extremely handsome husband. Everywhere she went, that man went with her, not that Rin minded, of course; he was drop-dead gorgeous and seemed to give into her every whim.

Kagome laughed as she heard Rin shooing her husband away from the phone. "How is Sesshoumaru? He sounds like he's being nosy. Has he not found any good pieces to drool over lately?" Kagome's style in art was what got her involved with Rin, for her husband absolutely loved the landscapes Kagome created, and had purchased over half the pieces she had ever sold.

Rin laughed at her remark. "He *is* being nosy right now, Kagome." Kagome heard a soft slapping noise followed by Rin's muffled voice, "Really, you need to go do something else, dear! I'll do it again if you keep that up!" Rin sighed into the receiver. "Anyways, I hope you're free today; we're going to be passing through some time after lunch."

Kagome smiled to the dog looking up at her in curiosity. "Yeah, I'm free, like always. I've been expecting a visit from you for a while now. Should we plan lunch, or just tea?" They continued their small-talk for a few more minutes before hanging up. Kagome raced out of the kitchen to the library and straightened up her workspace, then went to the small stack of works she had propped against the wall and flipped through them, pulling out a few incomplete pieces and setting them aside.

She took one of the dog paintings, which both Kagome and her new pet seemed to really like, upstairs to hang later in the guestroom, but placed the rest of them on the top of the stack, so they would be the first Rin would see. His unusual fur and eye color made for a very interesting art subject, and Kagome knew that there would be more than enough people interested in taking the pieces off her hands. It was a good way for her to add to her trust fund, anyways, so she took advantage of it.

Having a few hours before Rin and Sesshoumaru would arrive, Kagome spent some time making Rin's favorite lemon tea-cakes, and then she lounged on the couch with a book, her new dog curled up peacefully at her side. She ran her fingers through his soft fur and awaited the arrival of her friends.

Upon opening the front door to welcome the two of them in, Kagome found her mouth hanging open in quiet shock. "Rin! What did you *do* to your hair??" Rin smiled at this and hugged Kagome tightly, then took her husband's hand, leading them both inside as Kagome gaped at her. Rin's usual waist length ebony tresses were now cut nearly as short as her husband's neatly trimmed hair.

"Decided to try something new," she shrugged, grinning widely. "It'll grow back someday." She leaned over to whisper conspiratorially in Kagome's ear, "he misses his hand-holds though."

Kagome's eyes widened as the caught the innuendo, blushing a fierce red. "Rin!" Rin snickered at her naivete, then nodded to Kagome's library.

"I see you have a new friend," Rin commented, noticing the dog standing in the middle of the room, watching them intently. His gaze seemed to be focused on Sesshoumaru, who had yet to say anything. Sesshoumaru was staring back at the dog with the same unwavering gaze, and Kagome immediately noticed the odd tension in the room. Rin looked up at her husband and touched his arm lightly in question.

Sesshoumaru opened his mouth to speak, hesitating before saying, "Inuyasha..."

Rin snapped her attention back to the dog staring at them, mumbling, "...my god..." while Kagome looked on in confusion.

"What...? Rin? What's going on? Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru allowed his gaze to flicker to Kagome's lost expression for a moment before returning to the white dog before them. He let out a small sigh before walking into the library and kneeling in front of the dog. Kagome raised her eyebrows when he started talking to the dog in a very low voice, and could do nothing more than nod dumbly when Sesshoumaru said they would be outside for a moment. "Rin, what's this about?" Kagome turned her attention back to her friend, who was looking a bit pale.

Rin bit her lower lip and took Kagome's hand. "Let's sit down with that tea, alright? This is going to be a long, strange story." She smirked. Rin's eyes lit up in a delighted gleam as she inhaled deeply. "And I think I smell those damned good lemon cakes..."

~~~

Inuyasha was, to say the least, shocked when he saw his half-brother walk through Kagome's front door. He knew Sesshoumaru would recognize him by scent alone, and had probably realized he was here even before getting to the door. He had marked the property as his territory, and no youkai or animal had dared come near the grounds the week he had been here. He growled lightly at his brother as they stepped out the front door, `What the hell do you want with me now?'

Sesshoumaru's expression changed slightly as he turned to regard his cursed half-brother. The barest hint of amusement sparkled in his eyes as he spoke. "It has been... what, almost fifty years since I last saw you, and you greet me as such? Typical, Inuyasha. I would have thought this much time in solitude would have taught you a valuable lesson." Inuyasha visibly rolled his eyes at his brother's remark. "Well, since you so politely asked, I am merely curious as to how you have been. I don't suppose you have managed to come up with any way to remedy your situation, have you?" At Inuyasha's annoyed huff, he knew the answer. "That monster really deserved what came to her, I suppose." Sesshoumaru said quietly as he looked down at Inuyasha, waiting for a response of any kind.

`Something's up with that girl, Sesshoumaru,' Inuyasha growled low, changing the subject. His thoughts had quickly turned from the despicable creature that ruined his life to the wonderful one that was keeping him in heaven. `We've shared some pretty... intense... dreams. And I'm positive that they are very similar, if not exactly the same between us.' He lifted his gaze to look at his brother, waiting for a sign to elaborate.

Amazingly enough, none came. "I see," were the only words that came from his lips before he sat down on the front steps, lacing his fingers in front of one knee. "This is common with our kind, Inuyasha. Common, I mean to say, between mates with a strong bond. But," he turned to regard his half-brother's canine features before continuing, "...never before claiming them as a mate... You haven't..." he hesitated, the expression on his face twisting a bit in a smirk, "...claimed her yet, have you...??"

Inuyasha was mortified. His jaw hung open for a moment before he barked out, `What the hell kind of animal do you think I am??' Inuyasha's jaw snapped shut for a split second before he corrected his outburst. `Jesus, Sess, I may be a dog, but I'm not like that!' If Inuyasha could blush and fidget, he would have blushed and fidgeted. Instead, he took to pacing around on the deck, shooting glares at the back of his brother's head every few steps.

Sesshoumaru's eyes lit up in a wicked, teasing gleam. "But she might enjoy..." he started.

`I'll rip out your throat if you finish that statement, dear brother.' Inuyasha snarled at him.

"I was only goading you. Calm and sit with me. I haven't been able to tease you in a few decades, allow me that moment." He chuckled softly, shaking his head at his brother's reactions. "You are half inu-youkai, those activities shouldn't bother you *that* much, anyways."

Inuyasha had no idea what to say or think. Almost fifty years had passed since he had last spoken with or seen his brother, and he could never remember him ever teasing or cracking jokes, let alone laughing. `That woman made you soft, Sess,' he finally managed to spit out.

"Perhaps, but I've never been happier, even after all this time. I suppose I can say the same for you now as well, am I correct, Inuyasha? There would be no other reason for you to be here for long. Especially considering you are sharing such intimacies with that woman, prior to mating her," he observed.

Inuyasha let out a breath and slumped to the deck next to his brother. `She does make me happy, Sess. She spoils me rotten. I mean, if I'm to be a damned dog forever, I'd be happy being her `pet' for as long as she lived. She's known I'm not just a dog for a while now, but I know she doesn't understand this situation like she might need to. I suppose Rin is in there, spilling my `cursed by a selfish woman' bit...' He wanted to smile at his next thought, but found he couldn't as dread overcame him and his ears flattened. `You know, she's gonna be pissed at me when she finds out what I am.'

Sesshoumaru smirked at his brother. "Perhaps. I take it you've taken advantage of your situation." At Inuyasha's silence he chuckled then stood, dusting his hands. "I'm glad to see you are well, little brother. Let us go inside to see what she has learned." He paused a moment before adding, "I do have one more question about your dream, when do they happen?"

`Once the first night I was here with her, about a week ago. It was the most intense one we shared. Since then, I've seen very small pieces of similar dreams, but... since I've slept away from her, I haven't had such a vivid one...' Inuyasha explained.

"I see..." Sesshoumaru looked lost in thought for a moment before turning to open the door for both of them. "I'll look into this more later."

~~~

Not ten minutes had passed before Sesshoumaru came back in the house with `Inuyasha', as he had been called. Kagome had just sat down with Rin in the library, the tea-cakes and beverages set out on the small table before them. Kagome poured her friend a cup of tea and handed her a small cake before getting her own. She ate her treat slowly as she watched the expressions on her friend's face, waiting for an explanation of the odd exchange that had just occurred in her foyer.

"I never thought I'd be telling anyone about this after all these years, Kagome," Rin started to say, hesitation in her words. Sesshoumaru took a seat next to his wife and she poured him his own cup of tea, looking carefully at the dog that curled himself up at Kagome's feet. Inuyasha looked up at her expectantly for a moment before Kagome smiled down at him and held a piece of cake out for him to take from her fingers.

Rin chuckled at the exchange between the two, then continued, "I never thought to see the day Inuyasha was expecting to be hand-fed by a woman."

Sesshoumaru's mouth tilted into a slight grin as he propped his chin up on his palm. His eyes twinkled with mischief as he said, "Kagome, I must tell you... your new `pet', Inuyasha, isn't quite the innocent dog you think he is."

Inuyasha growled low at him as Kagome asked, "What do you mean by that, exactly?" She looked down at Inuyasha and scratched his ear gently. His growl died almost instantly and Sesshoumaru almost laughed. "Inuyasha..." he muttered in a voice so low only the dog could hear, "I can't believe you let her do that," he scolded.

Kagome caught an odd mix of whines and soft growls coming from Inuyasha before he became silent again. Sesshoumaru looked up at Kagome and began again, "I doubt you'd believe this, but Inuyasha is my half-brother."

Kagome looked at him, disbelief and a bit of confusion etched into her face. "Ok..."

Rin smiled down at Inuyasha before saying, "He's been under a curse for half a century. My husband, Sesshoumaru, as you know, is an inuyoukai. They share the same father, but Inuyasha's mother was a human, born around the turn of the century. He is a hanyou."

Kagome pursed her lips and looked down at the dog, slight annoyance crossing her face. "...Uh huh..." She sighed, thinking, `You little shit, you've been milking this `dog' thing the whole time, and I totally bought it.' She caught sight of those adorable white ears flattening - he knew he was in trouble. Still annoyed, she reached down to scratch his head, relieving both of their tension at the same time.

Rin smiled and said, "This is going to be a long evening... I suggest we order pizza."

Over the next few hours, Kagome's view on the whole matter changed rather drastically. Rin started at first with the shocking news that she had met Sesshoumaru nearly sixty years ago, and that they had been mated soon afterwards. Rin still looked barely twenty, so Kagome was a bit unnerved by this information.

Rin took another bite of her cake and chewed carefully, collecting her thoughts. "Inuyasha was a rude little hanyou - a complete brat with no respect or regard to emotions. But he absolutely handsome, and so of course, he caught the fancy of a lovely young lady by the time he was of age. She pursued him for nearly a year, and she never seemed to understand he had no interest, until he finally got around to verbally turning her down, in front of her family, nonetheless. We understand her feelings were hurt, but she was quite dense when it came to understanding him. We still don't know what exactly caused her to snap, but it wasn't even a month later that she attacked him. He, at some point during the scuffle, was hit by her arrow, and he changed into a dog almost immediately, followed shortly afterwards by her disappearance."

"He's been a dog for fifty years, and you guys still haven't found a way to fix him?" Kagome looked between the two in disbelief. Inuyasha huffed in annoyance as Sesshoumaru cleared his throat.

"We... aren't a very close family, Kagome," he said finally.

"But he's your brother. That means nothing to you?!" She demanded angrily. Inuyasha nudged her fingers, and as she looked down at him once again, he licked her palm and nuzzled it in a quick gesture of comfort. Kagome sighed and looked back up at the youkai, apologizing softly.

Sesshoumaru continued after a moment. "At first, we did try to find the source of the curse. We knew the woman had to have been the one to cast the curse, but when we discovered she had died in a horrible accident, we simply had to accept the fact that it would be nearly impossible to break the spell. Looking at the bright side..." he looked chidingly down at his brother at this, "We thought it would be a good, sobering experience for him. He needed to grow up. And," he paused at this, "amazingly, it seems he has."

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Disclaimer - Of course, I don't own the Inuyasha characters.

Yikes! Ok, so I know none of us are really accustomed to seeing Sesshoumaru being a tease, or him wrapped around Rin's little finger... But bear with me; some things need a face-lift when we're dealing with certain couples... Did Kagome take his curse too easily? I'm not sure if she should be shocked to all hell, pissed beyond belief, or just like she expected it to be the case... Her reaction won't be until *after* the next chapter, though, we have to take a look at who is behind this big mess before we do anything else.