InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pride (In the Name of Love) ❯ Chapter 75

Pride (In the Name of Love) 75 / ??
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 - No news. Although I do have a response to Ardy1 from Mediaminer. I appreciate your review and do not quite consider it a flame, as it was well thought out and you made your points well. I will contest some of them - especially in regards to Sairex. Sairex could NOT have been female and had things work out as well - there are vital reasons he had to be a he. His relationship with Miroku was not gratuitous catering to yaoiness as it happened under rather unique circumstances, considering they had a very intimate bonding experience while sharing a body.

I'll concede Inuyasha and Kouga being gratuitous, even if I can logically see reasons for it to occur. That was just a 'might as well' for me. There aren't a lot of major female characters in IY and I wanted both of them to be running about. Yes, I could have written one of them with Kagome but it was important that she was in her own time for...various things. Neither Inuyasha nor Kouga would work well with Sango. The only other female tangled up with the lot of them is Rin, and I still have plans for her.

As for Toga and Sesshy...I understand your argument about it being a different level of incest and an abuse of power. I like to think that Toga was extremely careful to make sure he WASNT doing anything that was unwanted and Sesshoumaru WAS conscious enough, despite his lofty opinion of his father, to fully understand the implications of things before they began. That doesn't make it any less taboo, but...I don't know. I rather enjoy it and think it works for my purposes.
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Several largely uneventful days passed. Inuyasha had spent a lot of time showing off the castle and things to her, proud of his new home and status even if he would never have admitted it. For him, at least, it was a return of something like normalcy. He realized he had dearly missed his friend's presence after she had returned home.

Kagome had been stricken at the story of what had happened to Shippo. Sairex - in one of the very brief times they saw the raven that week - assured them he had things in the works to fix him, it just took time to make things and he wasn't sure what he needed to make, exactly, so there was a lot of trial and error.

Neither of them saw Miroku at all. In fact, no one short of Sairex did. It was if the monk had pulled some sort of vanishing act. Inuyasha had demanded of the raven to know what was going on, but Sairex's look had been deeply pained and he had finally said that it was Miroku's place to tell them and not his. In light of his expression, Inuyasha let it be. Sairex returned to his room, where he had been working slavishly on researching all he could find in relation to curses and the removal thereof.

Toga had taken over as much of Sesshoumaru's care as he could figure out and kept prodding Kagome to show him more. Even though it wasn't easy for her to explain all the futuristic equipment she'd brought back - especially since she had only the barest knowledge of it herself - she had made the effort. She knew he was only trying to help and thought his devotion to his puppy was sweet.

Toga's 'help' had produced some problems, however. There had been the problem with feeding Sesshoumaru. Toga would not allow her to feed him any of the things she'd brought - they smelled rather awful and a quick taste had proven his sense of smell was dead on. Kagome had tried to explain that it was about the nutritional content and since it was going via a tube straight to his stomach it wouldn't be tasted anyway, but Toga would have none of it. He had compromised when she brought a 'blender' from her house. While it looked absolutely dreadful, Toga decided liquefying some good wholesome meat and blood for his pup was a far better choice. Kagome ultimately agreed - he was probably right. Good solid demon food would do more for him than human food.

The medication - which Kagome would NOT let Toga try despite how growly he got at being denied the ability to test it to protect his Sesshoumaru - also seemed to take effect. Things had held steady for a couple of days, which was an improvement in and of itself instead of Sesshoumaru's slow decline. Then his healing had slowly begun to kick back in. Now, several days later, Sesshoumaru was more or less whole. Kagome had decided he was healed enough that he didn't need the oxygen and had unhooked it.

Toga was ecstatic to see his pup recovering - albeit slowly. His deep and rather frightening depression lifted, and he actually took to making a few trips around his castle again, even if they WERE short and saw him hastening to return to Sesshoumaru's side. He made his gratitude to the miko for these strange, if noisy and somewhat terrifying, machines and remedies well known. Kagome had blushed and tried to wave it away, but Toga would have none of it. He was disappointed she wouldn't live with them in the castle or accept her own land nearby to do with as she wished, but he reluctantly accepted her need to go back home.

The morning came after about ten days of tending when Kagome and Toga decided Sesshoumaru was back in one piece. The fluids and feeding tube had to stay due to the fact he had yet to awaken from his coma, but his body was once again whole. His fever had vanished, his breathing was even, and his wounds had mostly closed up. He was still injured and shouldn't be moved, but he no longer was in need of life support.

The big question was, however....when would Sesshoumaru wake up ? Kagome had not really wanted to mention the fact that some coma patients never DID come out of it and there was no way she or Toga could force it. All they could do was wait.

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

Sesshoumaru was glad to see the machines leave. They had really rather creeped him out, in all honesty, because he could not explain them. They did seem to work, however, and he smugly watched as his body slowly turned from it's collision course with doom and began to repair.

Karalichala was agitated and angry. Her hold on Sesshoumaru's soul was growing severely strained. The more his body repaired, the more it tried to draw him back. Sesshoumaru had been looking at her suspiciously of late when she would appear, and she didn't know what he was planning. Her visits were about more than taunting him of course, she had to maintain her spell and it was easier to refresh the strength of her binding in person.

Her own energies were severely taxed as it was, however, due to her pregnancy. Her spells had sped things up tremendously, but it meant that the babe was taking its toll on her energy at a horribly accelerated rate and giving her no chance to recover. She was feverish and strained...and that was probably why Sesshoumaru caught her so off guard.

Sesshoumaru had first felt it that morning...a distant pulse, a beat in his chest. No...it wasn't in his soul...it was in his body! He tentatively felt the link, and was thrilled to find it held. It was time to take the risk.

Karalichala didn't even bother taunting him. She was pale and sweating, her cheeks flushed and her eyes distant as she went through the motions of sustaining a spell that she barely could manage. She didn't understand when Sesshoumaru suddenly squared his shoulders and gave her a smirk...and then vanished. "V...vhat?..."

The impact as he hit her from behind jarred the breath from her. She had no chance to regain it, however, as his arm latched around her throat, choking her. She felt her consciousness slipping as she frantically clawed at Sesshoumaru's arm. Sesshoumaru paid her no heed, just mentally reached for the connection he had felt earlier, grimly determined.

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

Toga was shocked enough when Sesshoumaru's eyes slowly flickered open. He almost tripped over several things in his haste to practically pounce on Sesshoumaru. His pup, however, was trying to weakly tell him something, and it wasn't hard to figure out what.

Laying unconscious on the ground was Karalichala. Sesshoumaru had brought her with him.

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

Sesshoumaru was sure something had went wrong when everything went dark and he felt all his strength evaporate. But he felt the steady thud of his heart, felt his chest rising and falling...felt solid things all around him. He hadn't expected that he would be so weak when he returned, but he supposed it was only to be expected. It was a supreme effort to open his eyes, and it took them a moment to focus.

He saw his father leap up and scramble towards him. He wanted to tell him that he had to deal with the raven demoness - he had refused to let her go as he yanked himself back into the real world and had felt her be forced to come with him. He was far too weak to do something like speak, however, even if he didn't have a tube down his throat.

Toga noticed the raven demoness' presence and paused, eyeing her in surprise for a long moment. His gaze flicked back to Sesshoumaru. Toga decided he had never seen a sight half as beautiful as those golden eyes looking back at him, even half-lidded and tired. He took a knee next to the bed, his hands slowly closing over one of Sesshoumaru's. He felt tears of relief slipping from his eyes but he didn't bother to hide them. "My Sesshoumaru...oh, gods..."

Sesshoumaru smiled at him with his eyes before exhaustion reclaimed him and he fell into sleep. A normal sleep, not the comatose slumber he had succumbed to previously.

Toga didn't move from his position for a long time, silently offering his thanks to all the powers that be before his gaze shifted to the room's other occupant. After a moment's consideration, he rang for a servant and then sent the servant to get Sairex.

Sairex was clearly exhausted himself, but his sleepy expression shifted through an incredible spectrum of shock, hatred, confusion, and many more all in the span of a few seconds as his eyes stayed locked on Karalichala. "How?..."

"My Sesshoumaru brought her back with him."

"He voke up? Oh, tank da gods. I vas...I didn't tink he vould."

"Neither did I. I did not want to admit it, but I knew he was fading. I owe the priestess much for bringing these things...and you and your monk for thinking of it."

Sairex's expression clouded a bit at the mention of Miroku and Toga didn't miss it.

"You know, Sairex, even though I've been in here I've heard things. What is going on with you and Miroku?"

"I....I really zhould be taking care of her right now..." Sairex knelt next to Karalichala, looking her over slowly. "Mm. It looks as if zhe zhould have da child very zoon."

"Sairex."

"Mm?"

"Do not dodge my questions."

The raven sighed. "If I don't find a vay to get rid of it, and zoon, he vill die."

"I understand that...we knew this. Something changed, however, because you're both acting strangely."

"Ve assumed he had at least a couple years. Dat is no longer da case."

"How long?" Toga frowned.

"A month and a half, at da most. Possibly less. That was da uppermost limit of vhat I could zee for him."

"Damn...oh, Sairex, I'm so sorry..."

"Hn...he's not dead yet. Zave your zorries for later. I vill...take care of dis."

"Oh, allow me. Would you like her in a dungeon or elsewhere?"

"In one of da healer's chambers, actually...but vell tied. I do not vish her to escape, but I do intend to keep my child and it vould not do to risk it."

"Fair enough." Toga bent down and scooped Karalichala up. "Sairex...get some rest. You look exhausted. Before you protest, let me remind you...your mind is quite sharp but not if you're tired. You will ultimately get more done if you step back and rest a bit rather than try to force something out."

"Mrr...I know. Tank you, Toga. You yourzelf have zome tings to do...Inuyazha has been looking over tings in your...ahem...incapacitation of late."

Toga looked vaguely guilty for a moment. "Oh. I see." His look turned contemplative and slightly dark. "Do you think it was him?"

"Vhat, dat attacked Zezzhoumaru? No. I believe it is as he zaid. Jormandar attacked you vith a zpell meant for Zezzhoumaru a vhile back. It vas ztupid of me not to tink to check for leftover traces of it."

"You can't think of everything. Now go rest. I will take care of this." Here Toga jerked a thumb in the direction of Karalichala.

Sairex nodded and sketched a quick bow. "Of course. Inuyazha can fill you in on vhat has occurred of late. Don't be too hard on da boy..."

"I do not intend to if his innocence is as you say. I know that most of his past trouble with Sesshoumaru was largely Sesshoumaru's doing. I love my eldest, but that does not mean I am blinded to his nature. Away with you, bird!"

Sairex smiled slightly. "Alright, Alright, I'm going...get zome rest yourzelf. You look like hell."

"Always with the flattery..." Toga chuckled and then headed off to drop off his newly acquired prisoner.