InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pride (In the Name of Love) ❯ Chapter 16

Pride (In the Name of Love) 16 / ??
Written by Jezz-Ra
Warnings - Not all warnings apply to all chapters. Yaoi, Het, Rape, Lemon, Violence, Language, Torture, Angst, Incest, Dark (at times). It's a massive story, folks, it's got a little bit of everything.
Disclaimer - I don't own Inuyasha, don't make money off it. Wish I did.

Sidestories can be found under my author profile at any of my archive sites.
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// blah // indicates thoughts.

A/N - Mm. I wasn't planning on writing a chapter today...long night at work and all. But here it is anyways. If it is substandard to my usual, forgive me, for I am sleepy. Zzzzz....
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Rin yawned, poking at the television remote and snuggling back contentedly into Mokomoko-sama. Kagome returned to the living room a minute later with a couple sandwiches - peanut butter and jelly. Rin squealed in delight at the new food and munched it carefully. Her time here so far had been an amazing learning experience.

Kagome had treated her like a sister. They went to a place called a 'mall' where Kagome got Rin some new clothes and some make-up. They had gotten their hair done, and Rin now had a few pairs of earrings too. Everything in this world was so new and exciting!

Kagome, for the most part, was glad that experiencing her world was so distracting for the younger girl. Rin had been very upset and quiet for the first day or two of her stay. It hadn't taken long for Kagome to draw her back to her usual, hyper and overly-cheerful self.

The only dark point had been when Kagome had gently tried to get Rin to leave Mokomoko-sama behind. She had feared for a moment that the girl would actually attack her if she tried to lay a finger on it - she hadn't realized Rin possessed such a fierce glare and hadn't expected her to take up a defensive posture. The issue hadn't been brought up again.

Kagome got up when she heard a knock at the door and headed to see who it was. She was more than a little surprised to see Inuyasha. "Inuyasha!"Inuyasha grinned slightly and returned the emphatic hug he abruptly became the victim of. "Heya, Kagome...how are things?""They're fine. Rin's been great company. How are things on y our end?"Inuyasha fidgeted a bit. "Er...well...that's sorta why I'm here. We kinda need your help."Kagome blinked. "We?..."Inuyasha stepped back and glanced down the hall a little ways. Kagome peeked her head out the door and her jaw practically hit the floor as she let out a strangled squeak at the unexpected sight of Sesshoumaru.

"Y...you brought him here?!"

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed a bit. "I can get by without your aid, miko." He abruptly turned on his heel. Inuyasha scowled and hurried over to intercept him. "Kagome, don't worry about it. You know I wouldn't endanger you. And we don't know how to get this collar thing off. I was hoping you'd have some sort of...y'know, future thing...that could deal with it. Sessh can't go around forever with it on. ""Alright...I...I'm sorry. I guess I over-reacted. I was...surprised. Last time I saw you...""I was most probably endeavoring to harm my brother, yes. Things change."

Kagome frowned a bit. His voice wasn't quite as imperial as she remembered, and there was something infinitely sad and broken about his eyes. They were dull. He carried himself as if he was simply resigned to his fate and was not doing any thing out of a desire to do it, but merely because the situation was in front of him. "Come in. I'll bet Rin will be happy to see you..."

Sesshoumaru flinched and froze mid-step, as if the prospect of seeing the girl was something he desperately wanted to avoid. Inuyasha gave him a nudge (which earned him a icy glare) and the taiyoukai straightened his spine and strode into the room.

It only took him a split second to locate Rin and he paused to examine her, blinking slowly. Rin was dressed in a form-fitting pair of light blue jeans and a dark blue, silky shirt that hung off her shoulders. Her hair was done up somewhat elaborately, carefully pinned and styled. He blinked slowly, carefully filing the mental image away as a smile twitched his lips. She was curled up contentedly with his mokomoko.

Sesshoumaru's smile turned to a slightly mischievous smirk. Inuyasha and Kagome glanced at each other and shrugged.

Rin hadn't noticed them re-enter the room, though she blinked when the end of Mokomoko lifted and brushed ticklishly across the back of her neck. She pushed it away absently, still watching the strange picture-box on a table across the room.

Mokomoko rubbed against her neck again, while the other end slithered around to tickle her stomach. Rin blinked and giggled, pushing at the furry length. "What are you doing, Mokomoko-sama? This is the first time you've moved on your own...behave."

Sesshoumaru couldn't help but smirk at his ward's attempt at a stern, chastising tone. With another thought from the taiyoukai, his mokomoko abruptly curled around the girl and plucked her off the couch. Rin let out a surprised shriek as she was turned around and set down. Her shriek turned into a sharp cry. "Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Inuyasha hadn't realized humans could fly, but he found himself revising that opinion when he saw Rin launch herself at Sesshoumaru from across the room. She hurled her arms around Sesshoumaru's waist and hugged him tightly. Sesshoumaru blinked slowly and then hesitantly rested his hand on her head. "Rin."

"Oh, Lord Sesshoumaru, I was so worried!" The tears in her big brown eyes tugged at the taiyoukai's heart and he absently flicked them away. Rin blushed at the motion, before looking up at him. "What is that?"

Sesshoumaru frowned deeply as he realized she referred to his collar. "It is nothing. I am here to have it removed." The taiyoukai paused, slowly reaching out to trail his fingers through the thick furry length of his mokomoko. "I see you have taken good care of this. This Sesshoumaru is grateful."

Rin nodded vehemently. "Oh yes. I brushed him and pet him and made sure nothing hurt him." Rin's gaze caught sight of Sesshoumaru's long and slender...and clawless...fingers. "Lord Sesshoumaru, where are your claws?"The taiyoukai turned his back abruptly, not answering her. His voice was tight as he looked at Kagome. "You will make arrangements that I may have this removed immediately?"Kagome nodded. "Yes...I don't really know who to call but there has to be someone in the phone book..."Sesshoumaru nodded and, before anyone could stop him, he strode out to the balcony and leapt up to the roof.

Rin blinked, looking somewhat stung. "Sesshoumaru-sama is angry and hurt...Rin is sorry."

Inuyasha grinned half-heartedly. "Eh, it's not your fault, kid. He's just...really sensitive about some things right now. He was in a bad place and got very hurt. He's still sensitive about a lot of things. You know how...prideful...he is, you have to."

Rin nodded slightly, still looking dreadfully upset for her lord.

"Well, his pride got destroyed. You don't...." Inuyasha sighed. "Don't blame yourself. Watching him tease you a minute ago is the first time I've seen him smile in...maybe ever. He's not trying to upset you, he's just having a hard time dealing with things. Alright? Just...try and help take care of him, but don't make it obvious. If he thinks we're pitying him it'll just hurt his pride worse."

Meanwhile, Kagome had been flipping through the phone book and making some calls. "Alright, I found a metalsmith willing to take a look at that collar. I already warned him that it has a pretty stout electrical current in it, but he said he had some laser cutting tools that should work without him having to actually touch it."

Inuyasha blinked, his ears twitching. "Er...well, shit, as long as it works I don't care how he does it. "

"Lord Inuyasha?""Yeah, kid?""Now that Sesshoumaru-sama is going to be home again, will you be staying with us? Oh, please say you will!"

Inuyasha blinked. "Heh, it's more like...Sessh is staying with me. He's letting me be Lord for a while while he...er...takes a break and recovers. So yeah, I'll be sticking around."Rin beamed in delight. "That's wonderful!" She blinked. "Oh! I should have given Sesshoumaru-sama Mokomoko-sama back...!""You've got time, kid."

Kagome stared at Inuyasha. "So you're REALLY going to do this whole...brotherly love thing? And Sesshoumaru is too?"

Inuyasha nodded seriously. "Yeah, we're gonna give it a go. He's...I have a lot to learn about my brother. And a lot to relearn. And..." Inuyasha paused, but Rin seemed to have become distracted by the television again. The hanyou lowered his voice. "He needs me, Kagome. Or someone. And there aren't a lot of volunteers. If I leave him alone I'm afraid he'll kill himself."

"He's really that bad? Sesshoumaru, suicidal?""You didn't see what that bastard did to him."

"I'm glad. You might want to get him if we're going to make our appointment. Its going to be expensive...and I don't know how to explain Sesshoumaru's more...er...inhuman features. So it's probably going to cost extra."

"Well, Sessh has a nice little sack of gold hidden in that haori of his somewhere. Couple coins and you'll have more than enough of your paper money stuff with extra. Though he was a bit miffed he couldn't pay for bus fare with it."

Kagome giggled at the thought. "Oh dear...Rin, hun?"Rin blinked. "Yes, Lady Kagome?"

"Do you think you could call Sesshoumaru so we can get going?""Sure!" Rin immediately bounced out to the balcony. "Lord Sesshoumaru! Lady Kagome says it is time to leave!"The taiyoukai dropped to the balcony wordlessly a moment later. Rin caught his sleeve shyly and he turned, slowly arching one elegant eyebrow.

"I ... need to give you Mokomoko-sama back."

Sesshoumaru smiled slightly. "Thank you, Rin." The girl beamed as the warm, furry length of the mokomoko uncurled from her and slithered its way back to Sesshoumaru. She felt briefly disoriented as it separated from her, but it passed quickly. Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, was much more deeply affected, letting out a contented sigh and resting his head against it, eyes slipping shut. Rin couldn't help but grin wider at the sight of so much obvious contentment on her beloved Lord's face - he wasn't one to show such emotions!

Sesshoumaru seemed to remember this fact a moment later and his expression snapped to a purely impassive, unaffected gaze with the flick of some internal switch. Rin almost giggled at how quickly he switched gears, but she knew better. Before they joined the others to head out the door, Sesshoumaru paused and looked Rin over. "These future clothes...suit you." Without another word, he strode forward.

Rin blushed deeply, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest. After all, it wasn't every day one got admired by Lord Sesshoumaru, let alone complimented! Feeling as warm and fuzzy as she had when she had curled up with mokomoko, she quickly fell into step in her usual place behind Sesshoumaru as they rejoined Inuyasha and Kagome, heading out the door.