InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pride (In the Name of Love) ❯ Chapter 85

Pride (In the Name of Love) 85 / ??
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 - Wrote and posted a brand new sidestory yesterday. "All my Life to Sacrifice". Starring Sesshy and Toga back in the day when Izayoi (Inuyasha's mom) came on the scene. Also has some Pride-version Sesshy characterization. Go on, check it out...you can find it under my profile.

This chapter is a little short cause I got home late today. @_@ Tomorrow's might be a bit late cause I might be going out....blah blah, life happens, etc etc. LOL. But since I got an extra 13 page story out for y'all yesterday, I don't feel too badly about skimping on this one.
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The village was burning. In some ways, it made Naraku gleeful. He had finally had enough of this...this ridiculous farce he was participating in. He had rampaged through the village and fought the humans off with frightening ease. He pillaged and plundered and destroyed whatever he could not use.

Why, then, was he so discontent? His mind was screaming at him angrily for giving in to his desire to act like a bandit, although he could not fathom why he found the idea so despicable. He did not morally object to anything he had done...so why should it seem so wrong?

Cursing angrily, he kicked at the horse he had taken. He wanted answers....but where to get them?

Naraku picked a random direction and rode. Perhaps the next village would prove to be less...maddening. For sure, he would not be caught dead in a damned field again...

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

Aziraphe eyed Toga and Sesshoumaru warily. The two of them were asleep and looked relatively content. But despite the barrier rendering her invisible and hiding her scent, if she got too close to the bed, Toga's body would start to stiffen reflexively.

She let out an exhausted mental sigh. So far, her examination had turned up dozens of surprising twists, most of which worked in the inu's favor. All the places she had visited within Toga's borders had shown civilization in various degrees of wealth...but there were no broken-down slums or impoverished communities begging for food. There seemed to be no major demon threats anywhere even close to the borders either - none of the demons dared risk challenging the Inu no Taisho or his sons!

While not all the people had much direct contact with Toga or his House, she had been unable to find any but a single community that had any enmity for their inu overlord. Intrigued that she finally had a lead, the heron demoness had questioned the lord. The cause for their hatred for Toga had stemmed from the fact that they had been successful slave traders, but when the inu clan had found out about their trade, they had shut them down, harshly, and left them barely with the means to survive.

Aziraphe learned, too, that Sairex had been right. Toga and Sesshoumaru both would crush any rebellion within their borders, but neither had tried to expand their lands. They were content with what they had. Border relations had been more or less peaceful on all fronts.

The heron turned her attentions more towards the castle itself. She found, to her shock, that the inu patriarch treated those that lived with him as his equals. He took meals with his hanyou son and, even more amazingly, a human girl, a priestess, and a monk!

Aziraphe had been a bit surprised to realize that she recognized the monk and Toga's hanyou son, albeit distantly. Rumors of the duo and their demon slaying of the past few years had spread far and wide. And was this priestess really the Shikon miko? Astonishing....

In the basement she had run across a mutated fox kit. This child was the one that had accidently gotten into things, then. Aziraphe took to her knees and murmured softly. Her hands glowed with a soft white-blue light as she slowly began purging Shippo's system of the potion. It took far more work than she had thought it would, but it was worth it to see the adorable creature back to himself and breathing easily. Come morning, she would have his friends release him.

The first one Aziraphe had chosen to look into was Rin. It was easy for her to see the devotion in the young female's eyes. The girl was very expressive and open. Her mind was as much an open book as her personality, although it failed to provide Aziraphe with any deep insight. This girl was utterly smitten with Sesshoumaru. She loved him and worshiped him. Simply because her opinion was so unbrokenly pure, however, Rin was largely out of the running as a source for information. She would be too biased.

Aziraphe had almost gotten herself caught when she had slowly slid herself into the human monk's dreams. Sairex's mate...she had about enough time to realize that he was truly good at heart right before she backed out of his mind as if all the hounds of hell were on her heels. Was it even POSSIBLE for one mortal to have such lecherous thoughts?!

Cheeks still flaming, the heron demoness had sighed and decided to attempt the most complex part of her task. She would need to test both Sesshoumaru and Toga. She would do so in dreams - she did not wish to cause them any genuine suffering.

She decided to test Sesshoumaru first, figuring the younger of the two would be easier. Cautiously she had approached him and sent out delicate feelers into his mind. The turmoil there had made her recoil sharply. The poor pup was recovering from severe trauma and his mind was still a twisted, tangled knot of chaos. // A dream may be disastrous to one with a psyche so unstable...the poor thing. How long has he suffered?...//

And so...that left Toga...and put her in her current predicament. He had gone to bed and snuggled up contentedly with Sesshoumaru. Despite the fact that he was obviously resting fairly peacefully, she couldn't get close. Even in sleep, his senses were acute and on a hair-trigger. Aziraphe had the feeling that if he was awake this would have been easier. He would have dismissed the tickling at his sixth sense as nothing if his eyes and nose and ears could not confirm a presence.

// If only there was a way I could convince you I am not here to bring you harm...but if you know I am here, it may affect the validity of my test. Perhaps if I put him more deeply to sleep? //

Aziraphe slid closer to Toga. She noticed when he tensed, but she continued her slow approach. She needed to touch him to work her spell. Then hopefully his mind would relax along with his body and she could get on with things. It seemed to be almost a formality now, really...all evidence spoke in his favor.

She continued to move with infinite slowness, relaxing every time Toga tensed up too much. She was close...only another couple feet and then she could lay his mind to rest.

The heron demoness had made few mistakes in her life and with her craft. She was a healer, primarily, and on the side she could manipulate dreams or interpret them. She knew several ways to soothe the injured, to relax a body or mind that they may rest better.

She made a dreadful mistake then, and everything happened at once.

Just as her fingers brushed against Toga's skin and she murmured her spell, he flew awake. His hand shot out automatically to snatch up Sounga. However...her spell had taken some effect. His mind, his willpower, was lulled into a more relaxed state...and Sounga seized the opportunity to lock it down and take him over. Toga's roar was truly vicious and feral, but he couldn't seem to get himself under enough control to beat back the hellish sword's power.

Sesshoumaru stumbled backwards in sleepy shock as Toga jerked upright and roared. He struggled to figure out what was going on, and his confusion gave way to alarm when he caught a glimpse of his sire's eyes, crazed and glowing crimson. "M...my Lord Father?"

Toga lunged forward, Sounga leading the way. Sesshoumaru dropped back, letting himself fall right off the bed rather than be sliced in half. "What...?!"

// KILL! GIVE ME BLOOD! //

Toga snarled viciously as he mentally beat at himself, fighting off Sounga's will. // DAMN it, what's WRONG with me?! //

Aziraphe was horrified. // What have I done?! That sword...what...?! //

// Foolish inu...the spindly wretch whom gave me back to you underestimated the strength of your will...but now that I have overcome you, I will keep you chained. // Even as the sword spoke to Toga's mind, thin dark tendrils slithered from the hilt and coiled up Toga's arm before burying themselves into his skin, digging into his flesh.

Sesshoumaru's eyes got even wider. Could...Sounga could not POSSIBLY be taking over his Lord Father...Toga had held the thing dormant for gods only knew how long, how could it suddenly be so strong?!

Toga howled as the tendrils burrowed further into his body, working their way up through his chest. He felt a numbing, piercing ache as they drove upwards....and bit into his brain. His senses dulled and abruptly, he felt as though he was watching from afar as his body moved on its own accord.

// It seems this Jormandar is good for something after all. You are mine at last, Inu, and I will make you regret ever caging me. For far too long, you have held me in check...and now I will paint your castle red with the blood of all those you love.//

Sesshoumaru saw the blank look in Toga's crimson eyes, and his alarm grew as thin trickles of blood started flowing from his ears. And then he did not have time to worry, for he was in a desperate battle for his life.