InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pride (In the Name of Love) ❯ Chapter 68

Pride (In the Name of Love) 68 / ??
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!
Questions or Comments? - Email me at megami_no_remon@hotmail.com
Update List - If you wish for new chapters of this story to be e-mailed to you directly, please send me an email and I'll add you to my update list! Chapters will be mailed as soon as they're ready to go! If you are on my update list, I still appreciate reviews at any of the usual sites I post to!

// blah // indicates thoughts.

A/N - I would just like to remind people that I am as yet incomplete in my official knowledge of the IY series. While I do (as of yesterday =D) now technically own the entire anime, I haven't watched it all. (Working on rectifying that too, but my DVD player is stupid and I don't like sitting at my comp for so long with the way it's set up...). I've read thru volume 36 of the manga.

So sometimes I make mention of things or don't make mention of things that did or did not occur. There is no excuse for this save ignorance of the truth - forgive me. I AM (now that I have monies and the ability) working on fixing it. So please, be gentle. I may screw up. On occasion, however, you can consider it artistic license. ^^ I DO change SOME things to suit my purposes, although I try to keep those things relatively minor in nature. Like...I heard about Sesshy getting his arm back AND a new sword but...as I don't know the details, that was an event I chose to negate.
--------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------

Miroku cursed inwardly as his mind rapidly processed the scene before him. He cursed mentally as he made up his mind what he had to do. // Oh...Buddha, save me... // He lunged a moment before Toga did, catching the inu lord under the chin with his staff and holding on tight just as Toga sprang with a feral howl in the direction of Inuyasha. The monk had no illusions that he could overpower the inu - even taking him completely by surprise, Toga was simply far too strong for him.

But Miroku had seen the wild, crimson-eyed, unfocused rage suddenly aimed at Inuyasha. He knew in his heart that whatever had happened, there was more to it than met the eye. He couldn't even begin to fathom why Inuyasha would ever try to cut down Sesshoumaru, but he had faith that there had to be a good reason. He didn't hope to stop Toga, but he DID hope that he could hold him just long enough for the initial burst of unthinking anger to burn itself out.

Toga snarled viciously, reaching behind him and catching Miroku by the hips with his claws. He hoisted the monk over his head and sent him flying in Inuyasha's direction. The hanyou's eyes widened as he saw the human missile coming at him and he did his level best to catch Miroku. The impact wasn't pleasant for either of them and sent them both crashing to the ground.

However, it was enough. Toga's rage took a backseat to his grief and horror and he flew to Sesshoumaru's side, skidding to his knees. A low, keening moan tore itself from the depths of his soul and he hovered between wanting to clutch his broken pup to him and not wanting to risk damaging him further.

Sesshoumaru was, horrifically, still alive - it was easy to tell, considering that his chest was blasted open to the point where his erratically beating heart was visible. One lung and, in fact, the better part of his left side was simply gone. What was left of the taiyoukai was a burned and shredded mess laying in a veritable sea of blood.

Inuyasha, after quickly making sure Miroku wasn't too damaged, flew over to his fallen brother, tears in his eyes. "Oh god...oh, SHIT, Sessh...." It belatedly occurred to him that it still appeared that he was the one that did this as his father's wild, grief-torn gaze flicked to him. "I didn't...fuck, he did it himself...we were...we were just joking around and then we got to his room and...and he flipped and started saying all sorts of shit and attacked me...then grabbed my sword and teleported right in the middle of it...." Inuyasha was glad that his explanation was more or less complete - he was far too choked up to speak further.

Miroku winced, leaning heavily on his staff, before hurrying inside to find the castle healers.

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

The next two days were long and mostly silent. Toga had Sesshoumaru put in his own room to rest. The inu patriarch spoke to no one and indeed was more or less unseen. Sesshoumaru, incredibly, did not die from his wounds but the healers weren't hopeful. They were stunned that he lived at all, and expected him to breathe his last at any moment. There was nothing they could really do for him.

One of them finally informed Toga that it boiled down to time, luck, and Sesshoumaru's will to live. At that, Toga simply broke down and wept, carefully cradling Sesshoumaru to his chest.

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

Sesshoumaru glanced around in a distant, fuzzy sort of confusion. // Where am I? // Everything around him seemed to be ghostly and unreal. Physical sensation seemed a mere memory. // Is this death? //

He noticed with a start that there was ...something... coiled in the shadows at the edges of his vision. Something dark and indescribably awful. He couldn't focus on it, but he could clearly feel the malevolent presence. It was there, lurking...waiting...but for what?

A further look revealed to him that his surroundings were familiar, now that he could begin to focus on them. Slowly things drifted in and out of his vision, like a room glimpsed through a thick and shifting fog. A voice startled him out of his attempts to figure out where he was. His first thought was that it was Sairex - the heavy and strange accent was the same. But no, this was a female voice.

"Let go, Zezzhoumaru."

"Let go?" Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes as he attempted to pick out the speaker. But no...this shifting, confusing place prevented him from seeing much of anything.

"Of life."

"I am not dead, then." It was more a statement than a question.

"Not quite. Vere tings normal, you vould have been taken to da Nethervorld by now and you vould be dead, yes. Ve have taken care of da imps, however. You are betveen life and death."

"I see...why would you do this?"

"Ve are giving you one final chance to zave your family and your lands. Your father is ztubborn and refuses to allow you to accept our terms, zo ve give da choice to you instead."

Sesshoumaru squinted, beginning to get the hang of this strange misty mirror-realm. Slowly the form of his companion swam into view - first a dark silhouette and then in ever-sharpening detail. Karalichala was pretty much what he expected. She was beautiful in the deadly way a striking snake is beautiful. Her hair was long and wavy, gleaming black to match her feathery wings. Her eyes were a pale shade of yellow and glittering with malice. She was quite pregnant, as well - far more so than Sesshoumaru would have guessed from what he know of the situation.

"Ah. You are the one that assaulted my advisor."

Karalichala stared at him. "Dat does not matter. Vhat matters is your choice. Ve are villing to give you dis last chance...or ve can vait until your vounds overcome you and take you from hell itzelf. Let go. Vhy do you cling to life vhen you vere zo recently looking for a vay free of it?"

Sesshoumaru was silent. Something about this did not sit right with him. "If you can have me anyway when I do die, and my wounds are truly so grievous that you are assured I have no choice but to expire, why do you bother to offer me this choice at all?"

Karalichala smirked. "Jormandar is impatient. And make no mistake, you ARE dying. It vill not be long."

Sesshoumaru didn't answer. He had finally begun to train his vision to see the room before him. It was his father's room. With a start, he realized he could see himself. He was standing across the room from his own body.

"Dis offer vill not last long. Let go, damn you, I have better tings to do dan vait around for you."

Sesshoumaru didn't even hear her. Karalichala blinked at the expression on the inuyoukai's face.

Sesshoumaru stared, unable to even begin to keep his expression controlled. Seeing his own body, mangled and wrapped in bandages, was hard enough. But that was nothing compared to the jolt he received when he caught sight of his father.

Toga was clutching him brokenly. Tears were streaking down his face and his body was quivering slightly, even as he slowly ran his fingers through Sesshoumaru's hair as he had always done when trying to comfort his pup. His expression was grief-torn, and he looked like his world was a heartbeat away from ending. In a way, it was.

Sesshoumaru was shaken to the core. He had always thought his father to be ultimately invincible. His previous death had been nothing but a fluke, or perhaps even a carefully laid plan to make sure his sons learned what they needed to of life - Sesshoumaru would not have put it past him.. He was more powerful than any other demon to walk the earth...he was a god made flesh, and the sun rose and set on his shoulders. With his hands, he could make or break the world. With a thought he could make all the creatures of heaven or hell bow to him.

And he was crying. For him.

Something clicked inside Sesshoumaru then. His spine straightened and a brilliant spark flared in his sunfire eyes. Slowly a smirk twitched his lips. The smirk widened into something of a grin as he whirled to face Karalichala. The raven squinted at the proud, defiant creature before her.

"This Sesshoumaru chooses to live."

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

Miroku sighed heavily as he slowly made his way across the courtyard. His meditation had been uneventful and his legs were sore from where Toga had clawed him. // Could have been worse... I'm lucky he didn't kill me. //

The monk headed towards the door when something in the sky caught his eye. Something small and black...and speeding towards the very courtyard in which he stood. // Sairex! But how can it be, to cover that much ground in so short a time...//

The raven careened towards the courtyard and barely slowed his momentum near the ground. Miroku suddenly had the distinct impression that it had been more of a fall than a dive as the bird hit the ground, rolling head over tailfeathers several times and transforming as he went. It was, indeed, Sairex.

Sairex came to a halt by smacking into a wall, though the wild roll had stopped much of his momentum. He lay on his back, not bothering to move, his chest heaving and his eyes rolling. Miroku was next to him in an instant.

"Sairex! Sairex, are you alright?"

The raven forced his eyes to focus, his voice coming out as a mostly ineffectual croak on his first attempt. "Vater...need..."

"Dear Buddha, what's wrong? You're exhausted!" Miroku scooped Sairex up, saying a silent prayer of thanks that the raven was so lightweight. He carried him inside, gritting his teeth against the nasty little spikes of pain in his thighs. He set Sairex down in the nearest chair and scurried off to get him a drink.

After managing to down some of the water, Sairex climbed to his feet, trying to quell the tremors of exhaustion in his muscles. Miroku scowled and sat him back down.

"Miroku...I need to zee Toga."

"It...it can't wait?" Miroku frowned deeply. He already knew the answer - Sairex wouldn't have pushed himself so hard if it was something that could have waited.

"No...I vill be fine. Vhere is he?""He...he's in his room. With Sesshoumaru.""Vell, I'm afraid I'll have to interrupt."

Miroku caught the raven by the shoulder. Sairex didn't miss his grave expression. "It's...nothing like that. It..." Miroku sighed. "Sesshoumaru is dying."