InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pride (In the Name of Love) ❯ Chapter 83

Pride (In the Name of Love) 83 / ??
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.
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// blah // indicates thoughts.

A/N - Another little twist of sorts, though not quite so evil as before. Lol...the last one I did just to be mean, y'know. Sif I'd make Sairex actually a bad guy. Tempting as the thought was....lol. See an additional note at the end of this chapter.
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Kagome flashed Inuyasha a sunny smile as he made his way into the room. "Hey, Inuyasha...mm, why did you change your clothes?" Inuyasha wasn't wearing his Fire-Rat robes, and that was generally a noteworthy occurrence.

"Ah...kinda got dirty, figured I should wash em and not come to dinner all messy." The hanyou flashed her a bright smile, and barely restrained a relieved sigh as she apparently accepted this answer.

Soon the rest of the usual dinner party had filed into the room. Toga and Sesshoumaru entered and took their seats. Sesshoumaru was very studiously not looking at anything but the table in front of him, his expression roughly as revealing as a rock. Toga sipped at a cup of tea, using the mug to hide his amused grin. Inuyasha cast the occasional sly glance towards the two of them but didn't say a word.

Kouga walked in and plunked himself down next to Inuyasha. He turned a curious, rather surprised expression on the hanyou as he gave a slight sniff, his eyes widening. His mouth opened to comment, but he stopped dead as the most murderous glare he had ever seen was shot at him from Sesshoumaru. He wisely decided to not comment.

Kagome peered at Sesshoumaru in concern. "Sesshoumaru, are you alright? You look exhausted. Have you been pushing yourself too hard again?"

Sesshoumaru twitched ever so slightly and Inuyasha shoved a much-too-large bite of food into his mouth to muffle the laughter that really wanted to burst out at Kagome's innocent inquiry. Sesshoumaru's answer was grated out as if keeping his tone level was horribly difficult. "This Sesshoumaru is fine."

"Really?" Kagome frowned, but Toga interrupted smoothly.

"I thank you for your concerns for my Sesshoumaru, Lady Kagome. He has had a busy day and is merely tired. I assure you, he was not unduly stressed, and it is nothing a nice nap will not cure. He, on the other hand, looks as though he may require some attention..."

Kagome shifted her gaze to look where Toga had turned to look. Miroku was leaning heavily on his staff as he made his way into the room.

The monk sighed wearily and sank into a chair. "Mm...food..."

Kagome stared. Miroku had bandages almost everywhere, it seemed, and looked utterly exhausted. "Miroku, what the hell happened to you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Or will be." Miroku presented a small metal box wrapped in his rosary from somewhere in his robes and set it on the table with a brilliant grin. "In this box is my wind tunnel. It is no longer on me. Sairex was successful in moving it." His friends let out a collective gasp of joy and surprise and almost all started talking at once. Miroku related the story of all that had happened and explained that Sairex had pretty well chased him out - the raven was insistent that Miroku needed food and rest.

Sesshoumaru was horribly glad the attention was off of him and he risked the very slightest of glances in Inuyasha's direction. The hanyou was still grinning hugely and eating like a wild beast. Sesshoumaru twitched again and angrily stabbed at a piece of meat on his plate, almost jumping when Toga's hand came to rest on his arm. His gaze flicked over to his father. Toga simply gave him an affectionate, calming smile. Sesshoumaru let out a breath and forced himself to relax. Even still...he had the feeling it was going to be a long meal....

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

Something was teasing the edges of Sairex's senses, but the exhausted raven could hardly distinguish reality from fiction anymore. But this white light...no. It couldn't possibly be real.

"You called to me, Scion of the Dark. And yet you now ignore me. Indeed, you are on the verge of collapse."

"Kaa..." Sairex struggled to sit up straighter, his yellow eyes narrowing. He didn't FEEL like he was out of it...but it was getting so hard to tell. He spoke in his native tongue, knowing she would understand him if she was real...and if she were a dream, what did it matter? "Why...would you answer my call...? Did you not fear I may destroy you?"

"I have come to destroy YOU, although I must know why it is you chose to call me. I only came because I could feel your aura...you, who have always been so carefully concealed or too dangerous to fight...you are on the verge of death or worse."

Sairex's vision didn't want to cooperate, but he forced it to. Slowly he took in the sight of the female before him. She was a beautiful creature, surely. Her skin was very pale, almost the same shade as her long and oddly feathery white hair. A pair of stripes graced either of her cheeks - the larger top one was a vibrant yellow and the smaller one beneath it was black. Gleaming white wings were folded at her back, and she was dressed in a flowing, gossamer white gown decorated with gold and onyx. Sighing, the raven closed his eyes. "Kill me if you will. I am not certain I will be able to win my battle regardless. But hear me first."

"Why should I hear you?" the demoness' soft voice asked. "You, who are steeped in the blood of your kin?"

"They were wicked and needed to die."

"You are wicked as well, Sairexannaras, but in different ways."

"So be it...but if you kill me, egret, does that not make us the same? I killed my clan for the evil inherent in them. If you kill me for the same reason, you are no different than I."

"Never accuse me of being the same as you or your kin, dark one."

"I accuse you of nothing, egret. Merely wish you to grant me a request before I die. It is one that will sit well with you, I assure you."

"I will hear you." The demoness shifted her pristine wings ever so slightly before sitting down in a chair. Sairex propped himself up against the wall where he had collapsed moments after Miroku left. He was surprised he had had the strength to stay up until his lover left...

"War is coming to this land. The east will at least in part ally with the west, although I fear for dissent amidst the ranks. Kanjiro's mate will not sway the hearts of all her people, not when the rivalry between the two lands has been so marked. The north will march in force...Shirizu's people were fanatically devoted to her."

"It was a sad day for my people when she was murdered at the hands of the very inu lord I fear you are to ask me to protect."

"Toga was innocent. Believe me or not, but it is the truth. Jormandar of the Circle manipulated Kanjiro and caused the whole mess. The war coming here will cause the death of countless innocents. Toga is a living legend, and his sons are mighty as well. They will take down hundreds of demons or humans on their own."

"This is as you say, dark one."

"You can stop the north, egret!"

"And reveal myself? My clan? We are few, thanks to the persecution of your own. You yourself have killed my brethren, Sairexannaras."

Sairex sighed. "I was young and foolish. I did as my father demanded. I apologize, even though it is not enough. But damn it all...I know there are only a few of you...and I do not care what you do to me. Get your vengeance, then, if it makes you feel better...but stop the north. Do not let so many die needlessly. Shirizu loved her people."

"My sister took many needless risks. It is a wonder she was never discovered for what she was."

"Honor her wishes for her people to live in safety and happiness, then!"

"By defending a bloodthirsty warlord and his wicked son?"

"Toga is not bloodthirsty...he expanded his empire thousands of years ago and united many smaller tribes...and now the West prospers. He crushed all the small tribes to unite them and now overlooks all of them. It was for their own good, ultimately. He does not wage war against the other kingdoms!"

"And his son? This Sesshoumaru? He is rather cold and ruthless. The deaths of many are on his head."

Sairex sighed heavily. "I ask it in defense of them, yes...but you will do it in defense of your own."

"I am not so attached to the humans and demons of the realm as my sister was, nor am I keen on the defense of this inu lord. If the north and south march on him in combination, with or without the east, the West is likely to fall."

Sairex hissed in frustration. "Damn it! You would let so much blood be spilled when you have a chance to stop it?! I thought you and yours were all about peace and healing and love!"

"And sometimes, to protect that peace, war must be waged. I am still not certain I believe your tale of this inu lord being innocent of the death of my sister. Nor am I sure that stopping this war would be for the best, ultimately. It may be that the death of the last of the House of the Inu no Taisho would be a boon. But for the sake of my sister and the land and people she loved...I will see. She would not wish them to die in her name or for her memory. I will...test...this inu lord. If he is not wicked, as you say, then I will make a decision from there. You ask much, for me to reveal myself."

"Conceal your nature as Shirizu did. Surely you have the power to do so."

"You...do not beg me to spare your life, raven?"

"No."

"Your request is selfless and made for the right reasons. I do not trust you, but I would not even have spared a second thought to assaulting any other of your clan. You are dark, but you are different than them. So your life will be in the balance. Should this inu and his children pass my tests...I will reveal myself to the north and halt their participation in this war. Without the north to back them and virtually no support from the east, the south may think better of an attack. Should the inu fail my tests...you will be the first to die. In testing them, I test you as well."

The demoness walked over, pulling a small white feather from her wing. She set it on Sairex's chest, just above his heart. The feather flared with a brilliant golden light before sinking into his flesh. Sairex let out a pained hiss as it vanished.

"Is your faith in your friends so strong, Sairexannaras, that you would risk yourself for them? You trust yourself to what they may do when pushed to the extreme, as I test their mettle and their soul?"

"Yes. I have faith in them. So did Shirizu. You know she had feelings for Toga. We both know why she would not allow him to court her, she could not reveal what she was. But if it had been otherwise..."

"My sister made several decisions which I could not agree with. But yes. I know. It is one of the other reasons I consider this." The demoness paused, her tone lightening slightly. "Raven...you are dying with or without my assistance in the matter. I will not need to kill you."

"I know. I cannot...physically keep up with this battle. It may be better to die and save my soul than lose it in sustained combat. Will you...pass along a message for me?"

The demoness paused for a long moment before kneeling over him and bending down, brushing her lips to his forehead. Sairex stiffened as a flood of white light seared into him from the contact, burning through his veins and into his mind. The feeling slowly subsided, although he could still sense another presence in his mind. This one was bright and shining, wholly unlike Karalichala's darkness. "I will pass no message, raven. I have instead granted you my aid in your struggle. You no longer fight alone. You will survive, and you will heal. Now rest. You are badly drained and exhausted. Whatever magics you worked...you overextended yourself foolishly."

"I knew I was giving my life to save that of the one I love. I only prayed it would not fail. It did not."

"I am glad. You will recover. I hope you are right, in regards to your friends..."Sairex smiled faintly. "I trust in them. Thank you, Aziraphe." With a sigh, the raven finally succumbed to exhaustion.

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A/N - Aziraphe is a heron demoness. Based off a snowy egret, to be more precise. They're quite pretty birds, really. The whole thing here is...Shirizu, the northern lord, was mentioned to be a bird demoness although no one knew much else, not even what manner of bird. She was actually one of these heron demons in disguise. In disguise because her little clan was in hiding from their enemies, and should she be revealed for what she was, they would realize that some of that clan still lived and it may bring about the death of her people. Sairex's clan were enemies with the herons, as the herons were pretty much their polar opposites. Where the ravens of his tribe practiced curses and necromancy, the herons were healers and whatnot. Aziraphe is Shirizu's sister.

And yes, Sairex was going to die. He drained too much of his energy with the whole wind-tunnel thing. That aside, he may have died anyways. Karalichala was ripping him up and his body just couldn't take much more.