InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pride (In the Name of Love) ❯ Chapter 94

Pride (In the Name of Love) 94 / ??
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'm almost at 250k words. @_@ 400 some odd pages. And no true end in sight, although I've thought about possible endings. If I DO end it, though, chances are good I'll launch immediately into a direct sequel. XD And all this started on March 21st. o.O... I had nothing written before hand. This doesn't even mention the four sidestories I have posted and the one that I'll PROBABLY be posting later today (was going to post it last night but got distracted, it didn't get finished, and it's going to be longer than I thought.) AND there is ANOTHER sidestory I had been working on before that but I shelved it in favor of the one I'm doing now, which is a thank-you of sorts to a couple fabulous people.

Maybe I need to get a life, eh? XD Ah well. Writing this and reading reviews is about the only thing that makes Jess happy. I feel connected to people, in a strange way. Love for you all!
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Toga slowly came to a stop as a massive, dark stone structure loomed in the distance. He felt the strangest tingling back on his shoulders and heard Sairex murmuring softly. "What are you doing?"

Sairex didn't answer immediately - he finished his chant first. "Vell. I am zhielding us from detection as much as possible."

Toga nodded and then crouched lightly before bucking his shoulders, launching a rather surprised raven a few feet in the air off his back. Before Sairex's indignant and surprised cry even finished, however, Toga had slid back into his humanoid form and caught him in his arms, a roguish smile on his lips.

Sairex blushed brightly and gave Toga a mock glare. "Kaa, you could have at least varned me."

"What fun would THAT be?"

Sairex swallowed a bit. "Yes, vell...you might want to...y'know...put me down."

Toga appeared to consider it for a moment before setting the raven back on his feet. In reality, he was trying NOT to think about his current actions involving Sairex. Things were just coming back to him so easily. What was it about forbidden relationships that drew him like a moth to flame, anyway? It wasn't as if he or Sairex had any intention of being together like that again. They both had their own paths to follow.

Sairex squinted before reaching up and snapping his fingers in Toga's face. The inu blinked before grinning sheepishly. "No time for daydreaming, dog."

"Right, of course. That is the place?"

Sairex frowned. "Yes."

Toga stared at the castle, feeling the rage simmering deep within him starting to build. In this place was the creature he had fought before...the creature that had caused him so much grief...the creature that had masterminded the scheme that had almost taken away his Sesshoumaru.

Sairex saw the shift in Toga's demeanor, heard the low growl building in his chest. "Toga...ztay calm, if you can. Dis place vill be full of traps. I do not doubt you can cut down da rank and file monsters here. Zo can I. But please."

"I will not do anything overly foolish." Toga grated out before drawing Sounga. "How will we enter?"

"Mm. Vest zide, troo dat vindow."

The two set off. Toga bounded swiftly and silently from rock to rock, and Sairex did much the same, using long leaps and the occasional short flight to keep up with the inu. Sairex motioned for Toga to stop when they reached the window. Sharp yellow eyes studied it before the raven picked up a small rock and tossed it towards the opening.

There was an immediate flash of red light and the rock melted to slag, dripping slowly from the barrier. "Kaa...dis vas not unexpected..."

"Well, front door it is."

"Are y ou crazy?!" Sairex hissed.

Toga smirked. "Sometimes. Besides, if these windows are warded thus, do you not suppose they ALL are?"

"Vell, it is likely."

"Can you dismantle this barrier?"

"No."

"Thus...door it is. And I see only one."

"This is a bad idea, Toga...a bad idea."

Toga shrugged and bounded off the wall, sword in hand. Sairex sighed inwardly and jumped to follow him. // We're both going to die at this rate... //

The inu patriarch stopped as he approached the gate. Two massive obsidian figures flanked the gate. Giant axes were clutched in glassy stone hands. Toga tossed a glance to Sairex.

"Golems."

"Alive, then."

"Animated, yes, but I don't tink you can call dem technically alive. I'm not ztrong enough to cut dem, but I can distract one vhile you chop up da other."

Toga nodded. "Good enough for me." With a determined growl, he sprang at the golems, leading with a vicious stroke of Sounga.

His attack caught the automatons by surprise, and he managed to sever an arm and put several deep gouges into one before they began their counterattack. Sairex dove in to distract the second. His tonfa-style blades whipped in with vicious and rapid strikes. The unconventional blades gave the raven something of a slight advantage - they had a different range of motion and strike style than normal swords, thus making his combat routine far less predictable. Still, for all that, he hadn't been lying. His blades chipped away at the beast but were not causing any major damage.

Toga attacked his target viciously. The construct grated and whirled, but eventually was dismembered to the point of being immobile. He whirled, his blood thrumming in his veins at the sheer glee of being in real combat. For all his cool, level-headed nature on a day to day basis, for all his dislike of war and general practice of peace, Toga reveled in a good fight. It made his blood sing. The strike, the dodge, the parry...the blood and victory...he was born for it.

Toga paused only briefly to watch Sairex. He was so used to seeing the raven buried in a pile of books or working some spell or another that he tended to forget that Sairex had extensive training with physical combat as well. Truly, he was a thing of beauty and grace.

"You going to ztand and vatch me all day or you going to destroy dis ting? I can just fly avay, you know..."

Toga grinned and leapt into the fray. The construct was slow, and by the time it realized it needed to switch targets because Toga was far more a threat, the fight was nearly over. The golem fell over with a thunderous crash.

"Vell...zo much for ztealth," Sairex sighed and followed Toga into the courtyard.

The inu paused. Something was wrong. He could feel it quivering at the edges of his senses, but he couldn't see or smell an enemy. Golden eyes narrowed as he glanced between the many doorways leading into the main building. "Do you sense that, Sairex...?"Sairex nodded, slowly taking up a position at Toga's back. "Yes...but I don't know vh--aaaack!"

Toga jerked around just in time to see the ground open up, clawed and rotting hands clutching the raven's ankle and trying to drag him down. A quick strike from Sounga severed the grasping limbs, although they still seemed to be moving of their own accord, trying to dig dirty claws into the raven's skin and squeeze hard enough to break bones.

Sairex managed to get free before he got more than a few scratches. However, all around them, the ground was erupting as things began clawing their way free. Along the edges of the walls, light flared in the stone eyes of gargoyles, and the beasts launched themselves skyward.

"Vell. A velcoming committee."

Toga nodded, not looking terribly disappointed at the prospect. He lifted Sounga, and Sairex saw the ghostly hell-dragon curling in the air around the blade before Toga released his Dragon Twister at the clamoring horde of undead.

The battle was on in full. It seemed however many of the rotting things they killed, however, that no progress was being made Any undead that wasn't fully obliterated continued to twitch, as parts or wholes drug themselves along the ground towards the intruders. Sairex bounced from target to target, hovering a few feet off the ground and using his wings to propel him about, too fast to catch. The ground was soon littered with twitching corpses.

Toga let out a surprised growl as something caught tight hold of his mokomoko and hauled him skyward. Gold eyes flickered up to see a pair of screeching, hideous gargoyles. A low growl in his throat became a roar as he twisted and lashed. Unlike the undead and the golems, these creatures seemed to be actually alive and felt pain. Severed and grasping claws were more than enough to make them drop the enraged inu.

Sairex was forced to change tactics when one diving gargoyle clipped his left wing. He didn't think it was broken, but he was assuredly ground-bound for the moment. Again he closed with Toga, putting his back to the inu Lord's and breathing hard. "Dere is just no damn end to da tings!"

Toga grunted in agreement, dispatching another set of assailants. While the creatures were weak and easily defeated, their sheer numbers and undead nature was starting to wear on the two demons. The undead fought with complete disregard for pain or self preservation. Even as the inu watched, several of the slashed corpses were struggling to rise, and more were coming from the ground. "Damn it all..."

"Toga!" Sairex suddenly yelled. The inu started to turn just as Sairex hit him full force. The unexpected tackle was enough to knock him to the side, although he managed to keep his balance. He didn't need to question why Sairex had felt the need to act as he did, however. Directly where he had been, several tiny silver lashes cracked through the air, each no more than nearly invisible threads.

Toga whirled, fighting off the latest wave of attackers as his gaze darted about to locate their new attacker. His eyes bled crimson as he caught sight of Jormandar in the castle doorway, safely behind his barrier. The long-limbed demon eyed him back calmly, hands raised and fingers spread.

"Welcome to my castle. I must say, I'm surprised to see you both."

Sairex whirled his blades desperately as Jormandar's fingers twitched forward again. There were several metallic clinks as another set of nearly invisible lashes were blocked. The raven suddenly felt something biting like a line of fire around his ankle...right before he was jerked off the ground. He had missed one. Jormandar's fingers flicked again as a wide grin of amusement split the deformed demon's face, and he sent a fresh set of threads at the ensnared raven.

Toga roared as a horde of undead attempted to bury him, throwing the disgusting things in all directions. He cast a glance to Sairex and saw the raven suspended in midair, thin lines of blood at his wrists and ankles.

"Damn you, Jormandar..." Sairex hissed, struggling against the bonds.

"Much to my chagrin, you are essentially immune to my typical attacks, Kinslayer. Most creatures lose all control of their body and become mindless puppets for me to use as I will."

"Zorry to disappoint." Sairex bit back a gasp as the silvery threads constricted around his wrists, forcing him to drop his swords. His eyes snapped open wide, however, when Jormandar jerked his hands to one side. Sairex found himself suddenly sailing through the air directly at Toga.

Toga saw the incoming raven-shaped missile and dropped Sounga, catching the bound bird in midflight as he was knocked backwards, hitting the ground with a thump. Sairex appeared somewhat dazed from the fall, but Toga had an idea. He was not about to lose this opportunity. Jormandar's eyes widened a bit when the inu set the raven to the side and Toga's hands latched onto the threads around Sairex's ankles. The inu grinned ferally even as the razor-sharp threads bit deeply into his hands and jerked sharply.

Jormandar stumbled forward and nearly landed on his face with an angry yell before the wires went slack and vanished from Toga's fingers. "Curse you, dog!"

Toga roared and darted forward, loving the sudden wide-eyed terror in the puppetmaster's face. Jormandar scrambled backward and made a mad dive for the doorway, clearing it just before Toga landed. There was a tremendous crackle of energy as the inu hit the barrier hard.

Despite the sudden rush of burning pain, Toga clenched his teeth and growled, trying to force his hand through the barrier. His growl became a roar. Oh, dear gods, this wretched thing that had caused him and his so much pain was RIGHT THERE and he COULDNT REACH HIM!

Sairex closed his eyes, aware that there were monsters closing in on him from all sides, but unable to move his hands or his feet. Tendons had been severed, and he knew he was bleeding dangerously. He would heal, provided he stopped the bleeding and had a couple days of rest. He knew he was going to lose consciousness soon, and he couldn't afford it. He concentrated on contacting Miroku.

Toga growled in rage and abandoned trying to reach Jormandar, instead scooping up his sword and moving to defend the fallen raven before he became lunch. He slashed at the monsters viciously as the portal home swirled into being, with eyes blazing in incarnadine fury and the bitter taste of failure burning in his throat.