InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pride (In the Name of Love) ❯ Chapter 114

Pride (In the Name of Love) 114 / ??
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 - Heh heh heh heh heh. That's all I'm going to say.
Sesshoumaru - *glances at Jessi* My Lord Father?Toga - Yes, my Sesshoumaru?Sesshoumaru - I have decided that there is no dishonor in running away. *grabs Toga and runs for the hills*
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A week passed slowly, and all the trauma slowly settled down.

Toga was healing well, but lack of sleep had driven him to hallucinations and waking dreams. However, his outbursts were far and few between due to the largely mind-melting effect the morphine was having on him.

Sesshoumaru spent a lot of his time sitting in his father's room. He never actually was within touching distance - for some reason, the taiyoukai seemed almost afraid to touch his sire - but he would sit and watch him quietly. When he wasn't watching over his Lord Father, Sesshoumaru would drift silently around the castle grounds. He did not bother with his typical elaborate outfit and instead simply wore an unadorned white kimono. He seemed almost like a ghost.

While he was mostly sane, Sesshoumaru was prone to relapses or long periods where he would not respond to any outside interference. He was extremely jumpy and nervous and tended to twitch on occasion. He often had to be coaxed into more public areas of the castle - Inuyasha was instrumental in that. Sesshoumaru was much more relaxed around Inuyasha and would even sometimes tease his brother. While it never lasted long, it was at least a step in the right direction. The relative peace and quiet in the castle helped calm the paranoid taiyoukai tremendously.

Rin had finally been allowed to see him, although it had been a bit rough on her to see her beloved Lord so...fragile and edgy. However, he was still Sesshoumaru...and in the end, that was all that mattered. Her sunny smile and genuine affection was enough to bring a quavering smile to Sesshoumaru's lips - after all, who could resist Rin? Sesshoumaru truly was shocked to see what an unbelievably gorgeous woman his little ward had grown into.

Her smile also did warm and fuzzy things to him that he didn't really know how to deal with immediately. He carefully shelved those sensations as needing future exploration, but...not right now. For now, he was just happy to be back with the people he cared for.

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

Sairex grinned in triumph and began loading a great many things in a satchel. Miroku caught the look of almost mad exaltation gleaming in his mate's eyes and offered a nervous smile.

"What are YOU so excited about?""Oh, I've finally figured out dis time zpell, I tink."

Miroku blinked. "Really? After all these years?"

"I tink I found vhere da problem vas. But I need more room dan vhat I have in here to zet up all da focal points and tings I need for dis ritual. Ve are going out to da garden. It vill take me da better part of the day, but I tink I can do dis."

Miroku smiled. "Well, good."

"I can't have any interruptions...vould you take Ali to Kagome and ask if zhe vill vatch over her and den meet me out dere?"

"Of course. This should be interesting, at the least." Miroku smiled and headed off to bring his daughter to Kagome.

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

Miroku blinked when he saw Sairex's preparations. The raven was painstakingly tracing runes and symbols inside the edge of a massive circle he had drawn. Every rune he traced glowed a faint purple. The circle contained another circle within it, and a large pentagram within that.

The circle took a long time for the raven to perfect, and he paced around the edges and redrew several symbols before he was satisfied. That done, he began setting up candles and crystals in various patterns around the edge. Miroku watched in fascination.

"How did you ever figure this out?" the monk asked when the raven paused for a breather.

"Eh? Dis isn't part of da zpell. It's just a...focal ting. It vill help me channel properly and increase da power of my actual zpell."

"Oh. It looks very impressive."

"Tank you. I've alvays been good at dis zort of ting. I am going to ztart da zpell itzelf in a minute...hopefully it vorks. If not, it's back to da books."

"How will you know if it works?"

"Vell, I von't be able to zee anyting in your future anymore if you aren't part of time."

"Oh. Well, I suppose that makes sense."

"Have a zeat, get comfortable. I have a rather lengthy chant I'll have to do. It vill take a vhile." Sairex smiled and set a cushion in the middle of his circle and then sat down lotus-style on it.

Miroku settled down on a nearby bench, interested in watching his lover work. Sairex took several deep breaths and then pulled out the amulet he had worked on crafting, setting it in front of him. The raven then steepled his fingers and closed his eyes before beginning a quiet chant in his native tongue.

The chant was rhythmic and soothing. Miroku watched as the minutes became hours. One by one, the crystals around the edge of the circle began to glow with an inner light. Sairex made no movements at all, merely continued the quiet string of words.

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

"Damn it, ya mangy wolf, get back here!"

"Not on your life, mutt!" Kouga crowed and darted down the hallway. The two of them had been in a rather heated scuffle over the last piece of a rather deliciously prepared boar tenderloin. Kouga had managed to snatch it and took off before Inuyasha could retaliate, and their wrestling had turned into an all-out chase throughout the castle grounds.

Kouga leapt out an open doorway into the courtyard, the hanyou hot on his heels. Really, they both knew how this would end. This sort of thing always had a predictable conclusion. Eventually, something would happen that allowed Inuyasha to catch the faster wolf. Whatever their scuffle had been about would be briefly scrabbled over and almost always forgotten as their wrestling turned intimate and became a wild round of animalistic passions.

The wolf tore across the courtyard, ducking into one of the gardens. Inuyasha was right on his heels, he noted. He returned his gaze in front of him and let out a startled curse, his arms shooting out to either side and pinwheeling as he struggled to stop his forward momentum to avoid running full into the middle of a brightly glowing purple circle he suddenly came upon.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Miroku's eyes flew wide and he leapt to his feet as he saw Kouga come flying in. He saw the wolf demon skid to a stop, barely avoiding Sairex's circle. Sairex's eyes snapped open. However, the wolf's almost-successful attempt to stop was rendered moot as Inuyasha slammed into the back of him, launching Kouga forward. Kouga, in turn, crashed fully into Sairex and sent them both tumbling backwards. Sairex's chant was broken off into a startled yelp as he was bowled over. "Ack! Kouga!"

All hell broke loose.

Sairex's eyes flew wide and he clamped his hand over his mouth in horror, but it was far too late. There was a blinding flash and a deafening explosion as all the crystals around the edges of the circle exploded, sending razor sharp shards in all directions. The runes in the circle flared into violent flashes of blue-violet light, and Kouga let out a startled yell that was cut short.

Inuyasha drug himself to his feet and shook his head hard, trying to get the ringing out of his ears. Miroku and Sairex were doing the same.

Sairex was the first one to wave away the dust and smoke that the explosion had caused enough to see what had happened. The raven fell backwards unceremoniously, eyes huge. "Kanann kahbahlla, vhat have I done?"

Miroku and Inuyasha finally managed to see what the stunned raven was looking at.

Kouga was sitting in the middle of the circle and blinking slowly, not seeming to fully comprehend what was going on around him and looking around with wide eyes. Confused and not liking all the smoke, the wolf demon burst into tears.

Inuyasha gaped for a long moment before turning to Sairex. "You...you made him into a little kid!"

It was true. Inuyasha could only gape in stunned disbelief as the suddenly tiny wolf toddled over to him and held up his arms, pleading silently around his tears to be picked up. The hanyou bent over automatically and picked Kouga up, rubbing his back and trying to get the little wolf to calm down.

Sairex shook his head with a soft moan. "Dear gods, vhat...how could I make zuch a ztupid mistake?"

Miroku stared, flabbergasted. "But...I thought I was supposed to be the target..."

Sairex scowled. "You vere...right up until I zaid his name instead and my zpell got cut off before it vas finished. I've never...I'm not zome fledgling vizard, I can't believe I'd botch dis zo badly! Losing concentration is one of da vorst tings to do vhen messing vith powerful magic...and letting da zpell go awry is even vorse."

Inuyasha stared at Kouga. The wolf, now feeling better, was playfully chewing on a thick lock of Inuyasha's hair. "Can you...can you fix him? Or am I stuck with my mate like this until he grows up again?"

Sairex rubbed his temples. "I...don't know. I'll do vhat I can. I'm drained right now." The raven slowly scooped up the enchanted amulet and frowned darkly. "Zo not only do I not know if da real zpell vorks, I have to figure out another problem. Lovely."

Inuyasha sighed and extricated his hair from the wolf's mouth. "Keh...well...worst case scenario, he'll grow up again eventually...it could be worse."

Miroku smiled feebly. "Heh, he's right, Sairex...I think..."

The raven nodded and headed back towards the castle, not bothering to answer and still kicking himself for making such a, in his mind, rookie mistake. // It isn't that simple. I don't know what I've done to him. Have I simply de-aged his body or have I sent him back in time? If he's still the same, just physically young again...then things would be fine as he grew. But If I truly de-aged him, reverted him to a point mentally as well as physically...then he will be different. He won't have any of the experiences that made him who he was...he'll no longer be the same Kouga. Oh, hells, what have I done....? Gods, I might as well have killed Inuyasha's mate, if that's the case! //

Miroku sighed and gave Inuyasha a sympathetic hug before scurrying after his mate. "I'm sure things will work out fine, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha looked at the yawning little wolf demon in his arms. "Heh...fleabait, you make a cute kid, but I really gotta say...that chase didn't end anything like I thought it was going to."

Kouga gave him a toothy grin and snuggled up against his chest, yawning and curling his tail around his belly.

The hanyou sighed and headed back in towards his own room. "Figures. Well, I guess it would be about my turn to have something crazy happen...everyone else has had trouble, why not us, eh? Keh. Guess you can always play with the monk's kid if they can't fix you and I'll just...wait around until you get older to get my mate back...unless that bird comes up with a solution. See what happens when ya try to steal my dinner? Serves you right. It was food that ended us in this crazy relationship in the first place..."

With a slight smile at the memory, Inuyasha put the little wolf in his bed and then stretched out next to him, wondering how the hell he was going to explain this one to everyone....especially the wolf tribe's Council of Elders.