InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pride (In the Name of Love) ❯ Chapter 116

Pride (In the Name of Love) 116 / ??
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.

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// blah // indicates thoughts.

A/N - This chapter encompasses....page five hundred. FIVE HUNDRED. o.o.... And here I meant this, originally, to be like...eh, 10 or 12 chapters long, a little practice fic for my first debut in writing Inuyasha fanfics...
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Sesshoumaru jumped sharply when he woke up, snapping fully awake in an instant. His eyes darted about wildly as he tried to assess the situation. He slowly calmed down as he realized reality seemed to have remained much like it had when he had last seen it, before falling asleep.

Toga's eyes had opened when he felt Sesshoumaru jerk, but he said nothing since his pup appeared to be calming down rapidly. He let his eyes slip shut again and began slowly stroking Sesshoumaru's hair, rumbling soothingly deep in his chest.

Sesshoumaru sighed softly, grateful that reality seemed to be just as he had remembered. "Mm...what time is it?"

Toga shrugged ever so slightly. "I'm not sure...I would say early afternoon, if I had to hazard a guess." The inu blinked a bit as his stomach growled. "Mm. And much as I don't want to get out of bed, I'm starved."

"Hn, you'd survive..."

"Only if I ate you. And while you certainly are delectable... you could use something to eat yourself. Besides...I regrettably have a lot of work to catch up on."

"This Sesshoumaru can assist you." Sesshoumaru forced down the blush that was threatening to overtake him utterly.

Toga smiled. "Thank you. It is appreciated." With great reluctance Toga pulled himself to a sitting position and groaned. "Ugh...My muscles are so stiff. How long have I been laying here?"

"From what I have gathered...roughly ten days."

Toga blinked. "Well. I imagine that would be why, then. Ten days? Hn. I don't remember much of anything."

"The miko drugged you and kept on drugging you until the raven's spell broke and you fell asleep. Even though you were awake, you were certainly not aware."

Toga nodded and stood up, stretching and wincing a bit. "Mm. I think a bath is definitely in order. Then food...and then I can play catch-up."

"I have done much of the paperwork, so it is not as bad as it might be otherwise. You are not so far behind."

"Then join me for a bath and breakfast."

Sesshoumaru nodded and gathered himself a change of clothing as his father did much the same. The two of them made their way to the baths, pausing only so Toga could tell one of the passing servants to pass along the word that he was awake, aware, and resuming his duties immediately...and to prepare a late breakfast for himself and Sesshoumaru. The servant scurried off to relay her message, and the two inus carried on to the bath.

Sesshoumaru sank into the water with a smile. He wondered idly how he could ever have fought against taking baths when he was a tiny pup and was grateful that he had grown out of that particular quirk. His smile faded a bit as he got his first real look at the healing scar on Toga's abdomen. // That must have been dreadful... and no one has told me how he got this injury. With as wide as it is, its a wonder he did not die. // "My Lord Father?"

"Yes, my Sesshoumaru?""How did you come by such an injury in the first place?"

Toga cringed inwardly. So his pup really didn't remember, then. But how to answer him? Sesshoumaru would accept a lie as truth if it came from him, but he would be quite put out if he ever learned the actual truth on his own...not to mention that having the knowledge broken to him poorly could be devastating.

Sesshoumaru frowned at his father's silence and obvious reluctance to answer. "I assume you would rather not tell me."

"That is true. However, I will not lie to you. You...thought me a hallucination sent to torment you as so many had before me and struck me with Sounga."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened and his jaw dropped a bit. HE had...with Sounga...?

"I do not blame you for it, my Sesshoumaru. It was not your fault."

Sesshoumaru frowned deeply, looking down at the water. "It is a miracle you did not die, judging from the magnitude of what has yet to heal after ten days."

Toga bit his lip. It was one thing to let Sesshoumaru realize he was the cause of a more or less healed injury, but to share THAT little gem of information...that he had actually KILLED him...well... "Everything has worked out alright. I am here, alive and whole. Soon I'll even be fully pretty again."

Sesshoumaru snorted at that. "Pretty?"

Toga bat his eyelashes and pasted on his most winning smile. "Well, yes."

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and splashed at Toga. "Yes, that will surely make the other demon lords cringe. The Inu no Taisho, prettiest demon in all the West. Yes, this Sesshoumaru can already feel their trembling."

Toga chuckled. "Eh, well...maybe I'll just stick with being the most powerful."

"Good. Besides, this Sesshoumaru is far prettier than you could ever be."

Toga squinted at Sesshoumaru. "Hn...brat."

"Oh, hush and turn around so I can wash your hair." Sesshoumaru smirked.

Toga huffed good-naturedly and did turn, enjoying being tended to immensely. "Well, you'll be even prettier when we get a little more meat on your bones. You are entirely too skinny at the moment."

Sesshoumaru sighed. "I am aware. I have...other things that I need to tend to as well." His gaze was drawn to the lurid red scar of Tsetsukosei's bite. "Actually, in thinking on it, I dearly wish to tend to the removal of this scar today, should the raven be able and willing."

Toga nodded. "That would be fine. If you have more or less kept up on the paperwork then I can certainly handle the remainder on my own."

"Yes. Good. I will...feel better once this is off of me and I am free to be appropriately labeled."

Toga chuckled and turned, catching Sesshoumaru by the chin and leaning in to give him a brief but intimate kiss. "And I shall be quite pleased to do so in the very near future, I assure you."

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

Breakfast was a quiet affair, considering it was just the two of them. Everyone else had already eaten earlier in the day. Afterwards, they parted ways. Toga went to his office to dig into the remaining work and Sesshoumaru headed off to talk to Sairex.

Towards evening, Toga had a surprise visitor. He was almost done for the day when a small knock sounded on his door. Curious, the inu set down his pen. "Enter."

The door was shoved open and Aliana came in, hauling with her a small box and a stick she had decorated to resemble Miroku's shakujou. Toga struggled not to chuckle at the sight of the tiny demon dressed up in monk attire. This time, Ali had foregone her bedsheets and actually taken one of Miroku's robes from his closet, even though it was far too large for her.

"Uncle Toga?"

Toga smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Yes, dear?"

Ali marched around the desk to look at him. "You look better. You are not sad anymore."

With a grin, the inu patriarch leaned over and scooped the little demoness into his lap. "No, I'm not. I was sad because my Sesshoumaru was missing. But now he is home and everything will be alright."

Ali beamed at him before opening her box. It was filled with her carefully drawn ofuda. Toga eyed the colorful talismans with an arched eyebrow.

"What are you going to do with those?"

"Well, I'm a monk." Ali nodded sagely and set the box on the desk before pulling out a small stack of her crayon-drawn ofuda. "And you're a demon, so I'm supposed to exorcize you because that's what monks do."

Toga blinked before nodding seriously. "Oh, I see...but why would you want to exorcize me? Do you think me a bad demon?"

Ali blinked as she began sticking the talismans on Toga. "No...I like you. You're a good demon."

Toga watched her apply more of the brightly colored tags to him, biting back his amusement. "I see. Well, if you like me and think me good, why would you wish to exorcize me?"Ali blinked. "'Cause....cause....exorcizing is good for you. Uncle 'Yasha says so. He said I should do it every day and then I'll be a strong demon too!"

Toga blinked a few times before chuckling softly. // Exorcizing is good for....oh. Exercising...exorcizing...ah, children...// "Oh. Well, carry on, then."

Ali leaned in conspiratorially. "But I do have a very powerful charm that I can use and say 'Demon Begone' and make them go poof with my monkey powers."

"Monkey powers, eh?"

Aliana nodded seriously and lifted up a particularly impressive looking talisman. Toga eyed it and nodded gravely.

"Of course, I see."

All eyes turned to the door as Sesshoumaru walked in. The taiyoukai adjusted the bandages on his shoulder slightly before stopping dead and taking a good look at his father.

Sesshoumaru blinked several times. His father was covered in brightly drawn scraps of paper. He looked absolutely ridiculous.

Toga smirked. "Hey. This is nothing compared to some of the things I went through when YOU were a pup."

Aliana squinted at Sesshoumaru for a moment. She didn't know him very well. She turned her gaze back towards Toga and whispered rather loudly to him. "I'll show you the power of my demon-begone charm!"

"I don't think that'll be necessary..." Toga began, but the girl was already up. She made an elaborate series of gestures which probably meant nothing - but she thought they looked properly impressive- and lifted her charm.

"Demon begone!" Ali cried happily and whipped the thing at Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru's eyebrows arched incredulously as the paper hit him, rolling his eyes up some to see where it had impacted on his forehead. His expression abruptly became one of shock and perhaps pain. There was a bright flash of light...and Sesshoumaru was gone.