InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pride (In the Name of Love) ❯ Chapter 40

Pride (In the Name of Love) 40 / ??
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.
Archived at - inu.adultfanfiction.net, fanfiction.net, and mediaminer.org ::: Anywhere else, ask!
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// blah // indicates thoughts.

A/N - Mmmm, days off, yummy...*rolls around with it* Mmm... of course, I'm suffering power brownouts as I settle down to write this...if I have to restart, oh, I'll be angry. XD

Vyperbites, love...I just have to say...your review made me giggle. A lot. XD Nice thing to read when I first woke up. I wish AFF had a way I could respond directly to each review like FFnet does. Mediaminer doesn't have a reply feature either. Boo. Or I'm just a blonde and don't know how, thats possible too.

I do not know how this strange Love ... Trapezoid... that Sesshy is involved in will turn out. I really don't. I tried thinking about it and my brain short-circuited and I ended up sidetracked.

I leave you all with this. (and the chapter.) 1 x 0 = 0. 2 x 0 = 0. Therefore, 1 = 2. *twitches* *explodes* Sorry, but that's been bugging me all night.
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"So, tell me again about this flower you need for the antidote."

Sairex sighed and huffed at some loose strands of hair. He had finally gotten sick of the bandages and torn them off - the wounds were tiny and the light didn't bother his eyes just yet. He did hope his sight would return, and soon - being blind was dismally inconvenient and debilitating. Being mindblind, however, when he was so used to dipping into his spiritual powers...oh, that was so much worse.

"Miroku...its a long trip, it'd be dangerous, and da chances of it ztill existing are very tiny."

"Yeah, well, I'll be damned if I don't at least try. And if you don't help me, Buddha as my witness, I'll travel across the entire world and bring back an armload of every single flower that grows on the surface of this earth. Since that'd take a lot more time than I'd really like and be horribly inconvenient, not to mention wear out my footwear and my legs, it'll make things easier if you just tell me what I'm looking for and where to go."

Sairex snorted. "You probably would, at dat. I vould LOVE to zhow you a map, but I can't zee. I'd love to draw you a picture of da flower, but..." The raven hissed a bit in annoyance before taking a deep, calming breath. "Alright. Da flower grows in da mountain peaks. A good...mrrr...on foot...probably tree month journey vest of here. Da flower itzelf is vhite vith blue veins. It has four tapered petals. It grows on a vine. Careful of da thorns, its a carnivorous plant and mostly feeds off youkai blood, but I don't tink it'd make much of an exception for you just because you're human."

"Ok...how many do you need?""Vell, a nice section of vine vith a dozen or so flowers vould be perfect. But Miroku...I don't tink you're going to find it. And dat's a long trip."

"Well, it would be, if I intended to walk."

"You can't fly."

"No, but I live in a castle with a demon lord that knows how to teleport."

Sairex smirked. "You ARE crafty..."

"Yeah, well...hopefully Sesshoumaru will see fit to help me. Besides, the trip might do him some good, get a little fresh air and whatnot. Either way, I'll be back as soon as I can be. I won't let you suffer here alone for long."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Miroku found Sesshoumaru standing in the dining hall staring warily at a strange bottle sitting on the table, his golden eyes wide. It was mostly filled with some sort of bubbling dark brown liquid. Miroku glanced at it, then at Sesshoumaru.

"Sesshoumaru-sama..."Sesshoumaru nodded, still staring at the bottle. "Drink some of that."

Miroku eyed the bubbling, fizzy substance. "Er...what is it?"

"I am not sure."

"And you expect me to drink some when you do not know what it is? I'm sorry...but..."

"I did already. It is something Rin brought."

Miroku hesitantly lifted the bottle before taking a small drink. His eyes widened and he nearly dropped the bottle. He had never tasted anything so sweet, and the way the beverage fizzed was entirely foreign to him, although not entirely unpleasant. He quickly set it back down and stepped back to join Sesshoumaru, eyeing it skeptically. "Well, it's definitely very strange...but not bad."

"It cannot possibly be natural. What sort of fruit produces a juice such as this?"

"I don't know. Nothing I can think of...but if the humans of Kagome's time drink it, it can't be too dangerous."

Sesshoumaru nodded, half tempted to poke the Pepsi bottle with the tip of his sword to see if he could get it to froth angrily again as it had when he first opened it. He slowly recapped the liquid and noted it did not seem to mind that as much as it had minded being open. "Why do you seek out this Sesshoumaru, monk?"

"Sairex told me he knows what poisoned him, he...recognized the smell. And he knows what to do to make an antidote, but the plant I need to get is about a three month journey one way for me. I...don't really want to be gone for half a year to look for something that could be used...well. Now."

"So you wish me to take you there that you may search."

"Please.""I owe the raven much. I will do this thing for you."

"Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama." Miroku bowed his head humbly, very grateful, although he was surprised to hear that Sesshoumaru felt he owed Sairex - not so much that Sesshoumaru felt that way, but that he would openly admit it.

"One moment. Follow me." Sesshoumaru walked down the hall a short way to where Rin was arranging things in her room. "Rin. Come." He then turned and strode down the hallway towards the main door.

Miroku blinked as the girl immediately dropped what she was doing and scrambled after Sesshoumaru, falling into place a step to the left and three steps behind him, beaming widely. // Well, he certainly has HER trained... //
Once outside, Sesshoumaru took Rin's hand and then extended his other to grab Miroku by the arm. "Close your eyes, it will be less disorienting and I do not wish to waste time with you being ill."

Hurriedly, Miroku complied. He felt a sudden lurching shift and a nauseating sensation of being pulled in too many directions at once. It stopped quickly, however, and the air around him was suddenly bitingly cold. He found himself plunged into knee-deep snow. The sudden chill made him gasp and snap his eyes open.

They were standing on the peak of the tallest mountain in the range, actually on top of the highest rock. It was really quite dramatic, and the view was breathtaking. Miroku wondered if the dramatic pose came naturally to Sesshoumaru or if he actively planned such things out. He decided he didn't care and began his search.

"Rin. We are here to pick flowers."Rin's eyes widened hugely, as if Sesshoumaru had just given her the best present in all the world. She did SO love picking flowers...but Sesshoumaru-sama had never seemed to care about them before. And now, here he was, making a special trip out just for that? Rin squealed in delight.

"They are well hidden. Be careful, and do not touch them when you see them. Let us know." Rin nodded happily and bounded off.

Miroku watched the girl bounce off through the snowdrifts, although she never actually went out of sight. She was always within range, as if she had some built-in perimeter alarm that would not let her get more than a certain distance from Sesshoumaru. "Was it really a good idea to bring her?""If there are any flowers to be found...Rin can find them. I speak from long experience." Sesshoumaru responded with a slight smirk before setting to the task of searching himself.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Toga paced back and forth in agitation before sighing, willing himself to calm down. He stripped off his armor and his sword belts and dressed in a pair of light sleeping pants. He unbound his hair and brushed it out, then brushed his mokomokos too. He set down his comb and stared at his bed, suddenly feeling absurdly lonely. He had learned from Sairex that Miroku had went to Sesshoumaru to ask for some assistance, and since his elder pup was not present, Sesshoumaru must have granted his request.

Toga scowled and stalked out of his room, letting himself wander the halls. He found himself standing in Sesshoumaru's room, although he didn't really know what he intended to do there. He was soon staring into space, lost in thought.

He almost didn't sense the danger that appeared behind him in time. Something in his head suddenly screamed at him to move, and he obeyed his instinct, diving forward to roll across the bed just as a vicious whip of black energy sizzled through the space he had just occupied. An enraged, slightly lisping voice yelled after him.

"SESSHOUMARU! YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO ME!"

Toga blinked and then smirked to himself as he turned. With his hair down from behind, and in Sesshoumaru's room no less, he supposed the mistake would be easy enough to make.

The sight of the being in front of him put him on his guard. The creature was just inhuman enough to be disconcerting. It looked somewhat stretched, the limbs and features a bit too long and skinny. The creature's otherwise smooth face had been clawed and torn, the flesh horribly burned and melted. // Sesshoumaru's poison...so he must have had a run-in with this creature in the past. //

The cloaked creature gasped when he realized his mistake. "You are not Sesshoumaru!""No, more's the pity for you. I do not take kindly to those that would attack my pups. Who are you and how did you run afoul of my son's claws?"

The cloaked demon hissed. "Jormandar, Lord of the Northern Circle. Your son is a most disobedient whore and saw fit to attack me. Oh, he will regret it, Inu no Taisho. He simply should have done his duty willingly."

Jormandar realized that the low rumble reverberating through the floor of the castle was originating from Toga. The taiyoukai's eyes had flushed crimson and he was growling terribly, fangs bared. He barely managed to get out of the way as Toga leapt with a feral roar.

Toga missed, but the moment his feet hit the ground he sprang again, reversing his direction with shocking agility and speed. Jormandar was prepared, however, and a sharp crack from his black whip connected with Toga's chest. His flesh split and a sizzling, burning pain erupted through him...and Toga ignored it, not stopping or slowing in the slightest. His claws connected with the retreating demon's arm, tearing his flesh to ribbons and spilling his dark black blood to the floor.

Jormandar howled and lashed out again, his pupilless black eyes narrowing. No matter how many injuries he gave the ferally enraged inu, however, Toga did not slow.

The circle demon knew he was unprepared for this. He had taken precautions against what he knew Sesshoumaru would be capable of, but things had gone so wrong. He had thought his opportunity at hand! Sairex was out of commission and unable to stop his carefully tailored spells he had woven through the room - spells specifically tailored to Sesshoumaru, he remembered with a painful scowl - the demon was alone... how could he have been so foolish? He let out another howl as Toga's claws tore massive lines down his chest, narrowly missing his throat.

"Do not think this is over!" he finally spat, his form vanishing as he let his body drop out of the physical world back to the shadow-world of the Black Circle.

Toga howled in rage as his prey escaped him. He stood for a long moment, chest heaving. The only sound was the steady drip of blood to the floor. Slowly, the crimson drained from his eyes. He had been too slow, too weak...he should have been able to crush the other demon like a miserable gnat.

// Oh, my Sesshoumaru...// he thought with a painful wince. This creature had dared try to force himself on his son, dared call him a whore?! // I'll destroy that entire damn realm...I will slay every foul wretch that breathes that tainted air...and this Jormandar will be the first to feel my claws again. //

Toga felt inordinately weary and heavy. He growled softly as he took a step towards the door, his mind made up on his course of action. He would avenge his pup of this insult and the grief this creature had caused him.

He never did make it. Another half step and he faltered. Golden eyes that had long since lost any ability to determine features of the darkening, spinning room slowly rolled back into his head as the ground rushed up to meet him.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Inuyasha scowled. He had just come back from patrol, and was eager to talk to SOMEONE. But he couldn't find anyone. Sairex was in bed sleeping, and he wasn't about to bother the injured raven. Miroku was nowhere to be seen - that was odd. His father wasn't in his room, and neither was Sesshoumaru for that matter. // They must not have went to bed yet. // Inuyasha was well aware that his father's fierce protectiveness wouldn't allow him to let Sesshoumaru out of his presence during the night when he slept, no matter how many issues he may have been having.

But if they were still awake, where were they? Much to Inuyasha's surprise, Rin's room was empty as well. // Did they all go out on a trip and not let me know?... Well, Sessh might have but the old man wouldn't just abandon the throne without at least TELLING me... //

It was about then that he smelled blood. Inuyasha's heart skipped a beat as he drew his sword and tore down the hallway towards his brother's room. He skidded to a stop and stared in numb horror, unable to move for a moment as he looked at his father laying face down in a slowly expanding pool of blood.

Inuyasha let out a howl and threw down his sword, hurrying over and dropping to his knees. A slight sense of relief tugged at him as he realized his sire was both breathing and had a heartbeat. His body was covered in deep lashes that smelled faintly of burnt flesh. Some of them had laid him open to the bone.

Carefully he lifted Toga from the ground, surprised at how heavy he was. Apparently, his father had been taking regaining lost muscle mass very seriously. The hanyou moved as quickly as he dared, trying to jostle the wounded inu as little as possible. He screamed at the first servant he saw to get the healer and have a room prepared, and the horrified maid tore off to do just that.

Inuyasha was getting very tired of his friends, family, and loved ones being targeted and hurt and the castle guard not stopping ANY of them. Ever.

It was time to call in some help from an old friend.