InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pride (In the Name of Love) ❯ Chapter 57

Pride (In the Name of Love) 57 / ??
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...nothing too exciting to report here, really. This chapter isn't as good or as early as I wanted it...I got shanghaied when I got out of work and forced to do my mother's job for four hours...and I hurt. Terribly. So a somewhat poor update is better than none, I figured. ^^
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Kouga's ears twitched and he scrambled off the bed and dove towards the window at the sudden howl echoing across the courtyard. This had the unfortunate side effect of depositing Inuyasha rather roughly on the floor, nearly on his head, since the hanyou had been more or less on him at the moment.

"Ack! What the HELL...""Shut up, mutt...!" Kouga growled. "We're under attack!"

Inuyasha was on his feet in a moment. "By what?""Shit, I don't know...some sort of deranged demon. And there was some sort of explosion, took out a wall."

"How the hell did it get in?""Beats me! The perimeter was tight, the wolves should have noticed something...and its not like rabid demons are much good at sneaking over walls and past that damn flower-vine-thing your brother planted!" The vine in question had actually taken quite well and now covered most of the eastern wall and around parts of the north and south, providing a beautiful but deadly barrier.

"Fuck..." Inuyasha snatched up his sword and bolted out of the room. Kouga shot past him a moment later, rushing to aid his wolves.

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

Both Toga and Sesshoumaru flinched and shot to their feet the moment they heard the distant rumble of an explosion.

"What the hell was that?" Toga demanded, scrambling for a shirt and then cursing as her pants, which had fit her male body just fine, slid immediately down over her much narrower hips.

Sesshoumaru would have been far more amused - and interested - had the eerie noise of the wolf howls not caught his ears. "It seems we are being assaulted. Again." The younger inu snatched up his sword belt and headed for the door.

"I can't go out there like this..." Toga growled in frustration.

"Then remain here. I will attend the matter."

"Oh no. I am NOT helpless..." With a defiant growl, Toga kicked the offending and largely worthless clothes to the side and transformed into her full demon form, bounding out the door. Sesshoumaru was hot on her heels.

The younger taiyoukai passed her easily, however, when the faint scent of blood caught his sensitive nose. Human blood. Rin's blood.

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

The four of them reached the room at roughly the same time. Kouga shot into Sairex's room and was thrown back as another explosion rocked the room. Eerie green-blue flames hungrily consumed anything flammable. As it turned out, several of the things in Sairex's supplies were not only flammable but highly explosive. Some things were releasing various colors of smoke, none of which the inus or Kouga cared to test breathing.

The wall leading outside was almost completely obliterated. Sesshoumaru dove at the pile of rubble and began tearing things off of it.

After regaining his feet, Kouga leapt outside and skidded to a stop, Inuyasha right behind him. The twisted fox demon was surrounded by a ring of snapping, wary wolves and a few wolf demons. Several lay injured and more than a few were dead. Of the injured, most were fatally wounded, with snapped spines or torn throats.

Inuyasha hefted Tetsusaiga and glared at the mutated beast. "I don't know how you got in here, you bastard, but I'll--" Slowly, he stopped dead, sniffing, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"What the hell are you waiting for?" Kouga demanded, taking a cursory sniff himself.

Around the scent of wrong and bloodlust, Inuyasha detected the familiar scent of his kitsune companion. "Shippo?..."

"How can that thing be...fuck...you're right..." Kouga stared in disbelief.

"That is your kitsune friend?" Inuyasha and Kouga jumped at the deep growl of Toga's voice. Inuyasha nodded once.
"I think so. I just don't know how..."

Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru finally succeeded in finding Rin. The girl was much battered and one arm was clearly broken in several places. However, she was alive. She had been close to the wall when it had fallen, and the base of it had kept most of her body in a narrow hollow, preventing her from being crushed. Her eyes flickered open after a moment and she gasped, tears filling her eyes. "Rin..."

"S...Sesshoumaru-sama...Rin is so sorry..."

"Hush. What happened here?""Shippo and I made a potion and he drank it and it turned him mean...then he tried to eat me."

Toga had heard and seen enough. With one powerful leap, she dove over the wolves and tackled the snapping fox to the ground. Shippo clawed and bit and thrashed wildly, but eventually the much heavier inu - with the help of Kouga and the other wolf demons, held him subdued. Inuyasha scowled and then delivered a sharp blow to the back of the raging kitsune's skull with the hilt of Tetsusaiga, and the beast mercifully slid into unconsciousness.

Rin had slid unconscious again herself, and Sesshoumaru lifted her carefully. "We need that damn raven to come back. For now...throw the fox in the dungeons and make sure he can't escape until we find a way to...fix this."

Kouga was kneeling next to a badly torn wolf, tears stinging his eyes. Inuyasha gently rested a hand on his shoulder, offering what support he could. "Come on...I'll help you get them to the healers or...or whatever you need to do."

With everyone else appropriately distracted, Toga slid away. After all...they were demons, and even with the disguise of an inu body, if they focused on her, they'd notice the female tone of her scent. Her boys were taking care of the situation, after all, and would be fine without her.

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

Miroku eyed the walking corpse of the bear demon warily. Sairex seemed entirely unalarmed, however. "Don't vorry zo much, love. I promise, it's entirely under control." Even as he spoke, he was murmuring and making swift, practiced gestures. A portal opened in the air before him. "And here ve go. Ztay close to me, but fly like 'ell if zometing happens."

"Something better not happen."

"Never know." Sairex made another gesture and the bear zombie shambled to the portal and started heading through. The explosion was almost deafening, and the beast fell, charred, the front half of it obliterated. Sairex smirked. "Told you dere vould be a trap."

"How do you know there isn't another one?"

Sairex paused, then kicked part of the bear's dismembered body further into the portal. There was no ensuing destruction. "Ve're clear."

Miroku shuddered and ruffled his feathers, crouching down tighter against Sairex's shoulder where he was perched. He really didn't care for the shadowy atmosphere or the hovering sense of impending doom of the Circle. Sairex, however, seemed right at home. He scooped Miroku into his arms against his chest and took off at a run, bouncing lightly off rocks and fallen tree limbs. Despite the raven-demon's speed, the journey took some time and he was breathing hard as a tall castle came into view.

"What is that, Sairex?"

Sairex grinned a bit. "Mm. Home."

Miroku stared at him. "You have a CASTLE?"

"Vell...I don't use it much. I vasn't able to. Zetsukosei's ztupid binding usually kept me from being able to get here." Sairex walked up the empty drawbridge. The moat below them seethed with dark, bubbling liquid. At the gate, a pair of massive obsidian statues, armed and armored, barred the way. However, one word from Sairex and the constructs animated and stepped to the side to admit him.

Miroku was in awe. The castle was dark - everything in the Circle seemed to be - but it had an air about it that just seemed to fit the crazy raven. If he had lips, he probably would have been smiling.

The two entered the throne room. Almost immediately, a small black form screeched and flew at Sairex's face. It was another raven.

"Ezkrai! Ouch, ztop dat!" The raven was screeching and pecking at him angrily. "Look, calm down...I zaid I vas zorry for being gone zo much..."

The raven calmed slightly and sat on Sairex's outstretched arm, although Miroku had the impression the bird was extremely indignant and put out.

"Ezkrai, dis is Miroku. Miroku, dis is Ezkrai, da Vatcher of my cas..." He was cut off by a sharp screech from Eskrai. "Vell, of course he looks just like me. He's borrowing my body." The raven narrowed her eyes indignantly and cawed at him. "Oh, don't be dat vay. He's my mate."

Miroku had the urge to back off as the raven hopped and screeched. Sairex rolled his eyes. "Don't mind her, Miroku, zhe just vorries about me....vhat? Ezkrai, don't be dat vay. If I vanted a raven, you vould be da first I vent to, I promise. Miroku usually is not like dis, I promise. He's human."

"She can understand us?" At Eskrai's withering glance, Miroku huddled down a bit further.

"Oh, yes. Ez, you just have to get used to dis....he's not going avay."

Miroku hopped down next to the angrily glaring female raven and then bent one wing and swooped into the most dramatic bow he could muster before speaking in his most serious tone. "My beautiful Lady Eskrai...it is a pleasure to meet you. I am so sorry that my presence causes you any undue distress. If I were not so smitten with your Lord, I would surely do all I could to pursue a noble creature such as yourself. It would be an honor to have you bear my...eggs."

Sairex's eyebrows shot up as he stared at Miroku. Eskrai seemed to consider this, ruffling her feathers and gazing at Miroku suspiciously before calming down significantly, making a soft little chirp. Sairex burst out laughing. "Vell, I know dat...how do you tink he lured me in?"

Eskrai chirped smugly and Sairex blushed. "You are a dirty bird and I zhould punish you for dat. Honestly, you don't even have half da parts required for dat zort of ting, vhy do you tink like dat?....Vhat? No, you most certainly are NOT bearing his eggs! Da only one dat vould get to do dat is me, zo you just keep your claws to yourzelf."

"You can lay eggs?""Er...vell, no, but it vas da point of da matter. Eh? Oh, quiet, you...go make yourzelf useful and get me my cryztals."

Eskrai tossed a loving coo Miroku's way before flapping off, vanishing down a dark hallway. Sairex rolled his eyes and huffed.

"You have a lovely retainer.""Maybe I zhould take back my bird form before you get too many ideas. It zounded like you've used dat line before, about egg-bearing."Miroku did his best to look serene. "No, I can safely say I have never asked that of another."

"Vhat zort of monk are you, exactly?"

"I am offended by the nature of your question."

"No you aren't. You know vay too many very...unmonkly tings."

"And you love each and every one of them. I am a man of the world and learned many things in my pilgrimage."

Sairex snorted. "All in da name of your Buddha, I'm zure..."

"I seem to be able to make you scream for the gods. And it IS a monk's duty to help spread religion."

Sairex blushed deeply. "Bah, maybe I zhould have let you have Ez...da two of you are going to make me burst blood vessels...."