InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pride (In the Name of Love) ❯ Chapter 141 ( Chapter 141 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Pride (In the Name of Love) 141 / ??
Written by Jezz-Ra
Warnings - Not all warnings apply to all chapters.  Yaoi, Het, Rape, Lemon, Violence, Torture, Language, 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.
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// Blah // indicates thoughts.

A/N - Ah, yes, poor Sesshoumaru.  Well, he did ask for it after all.... and he SO should have explained the rules BEFORE arming his crafty little devil of an opponent.  Suppose I should pay up to all the people that bet she'd win, eh?

And thank you again to all my lovely reviewers... so many old names still reviewing this beast after its resurrection...I'm flattered.  Truly.  Much love!

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Sessh oumaru had a deep, vast, newfound respect for his Lord Father.  How in the name of all the powers that be had the elder inu dealt with him when he was a pup?  His Lord Father had always treated him with total respect and taken him completely seriously no matter how absurd he was being.  And when they had gotten into practice fights in the arena, his Lord Father had always made him feel like he was an opponent that presented a true challenge.

Of course, now that he was older, he could better translate those small, mysterious smiles of affection and good humor in ways he couldn't have when he was young.  Toga had always had an air of mirth about him and a definite sparkle in his brilliant golden eyes.  For a demon, the inu patriarch had the patience of a saint.

Sesshoumaru had always tried, subconsciously or openly, to be the very image of his Lord Father.  It was a goal he had striven for his entire life, based first on a child's hero-worship and grown into a  soul-deep yearning to be half as great as the amazing being that his sun still rose and set on.  He knew he had set an impossible goal for himself, but Sesshoumaru liked to think he was at least, maybe, making a little progress.

Despite his best efforts at emulating his Lord Father, however, Sesshoumaru wanted to scream and rip out some of his glorious silvery hair.  Attempts at patience and that inner good humor had gone up in smoke.   Nothing could have prepared him for this round in the arena with Sairex and Miroku's daughter.

He had learned - surprisingly painfully! - that the little demon girl was faster than he had thought at first.  Her wings were still far too small for flight, but she used them instinctively to propel herself forward or slow her momentum, to shift herself in a new direction from impossible push-off points.  She lacked control and grace, but Sesshoumaru could fully appreciate how devastating she could be when she got older.  He had seen Sairex fight, the way the raven used his wings to keep in motion more than his feet even when he was on the ground.  He could halt his momentum or redirect it in ways that even Sesshoumaru had to envy.  He himself was still bound by the laws of gravity and was committed to  whatever direction he chose to leap in until his momentum had played itself out, and he could regain his center of balance and spring off again.

Of course, it was a trivial thing to keep up with Aliana when he was giving her his full attention.  Indeed, any time he tried to look away, she would lunge at him and try to clobber him with her staff.  Ordinarily, he would of course have trained his full attention on the little beast, but...

The girl had magic.

It had started out with the one small shadowy beast that had bitten him in the back of the leg with startlingly sharp teeth.  Dozens of the fiends flitted about in the arena now, none bigger than a small dog,  and no two seeming to have the same shape.  They all looked like the drawings of a child - short-limbed, mostly featureless black shapes with blank holes for eyes and disturbingly wide triangle-toothed smiles cut off the paper and blown up into three-dimensional life.  

These fiends seemed to be going about their own business.  Some were sleeping, others just milling about.  Some chased others around.  Some fluttered about on impossibly small wings.  However, any time Sesshoumaru dared to so much as glance away, they would dive at him to attack.  Even a successful attack did nothing but cause the tiniest pricks of pain or much larger spikes of aggravation.  Their teeth were not enough to get through his armor - they barely managed to pierce his clothing - but they hung on with stubborn tenacity.  His claws would make short work of the beasts, as would a solid whack from the wooden sword he had snagged at the beginning of the battle.

Of course, Sesshoumaru had long experience with battles against multiple opponents, even taking into account the fact that he was usually fighting to destroy and not trying to be exceptionally mindful of his opponent's frailty - he could kill the girl with one solid strike, practice sword or not.  His light whip and poisonous talons were entirely out of the question.

All of this, Sesshoumaru could have overcome.  

Losing their sparring match, however, was something he wasn't prepared to cope with.

He was still on the ground, ignoring the pile of fiends that were gnawing at his armor, although he did reach out to smack one away that tried to chew at his hair, staring towards the ceiling in disbelief, a snarl twitching his lips.  One moment he had been ignoring a new wave of Aliana's little fiends...and the next he couldn't move.  Rather than latch on to him, the little monsters had bitten into his shadow, tugging it back.  He attempted to smash one and his arm halted its progress mid-swing, to his surprise.  Some of the demons had their teeth in his shadow's arm, holding it in place.

Sesshoumaru's shocked golden glare had snapped up to demand an explanation of this little demoness just in time to see her thrust her hands forward.  Before he could respond fully, an overwhelming wave of mind-numbing exhaustion had overcome him.  Shadow-bound and sleeping he had fallen to the floor after getting cracked over the head one more time with the girl's staff.

Had Sesshoumaru thought to erect any of his typical defenses or gripped some of his battle awareness around him, he knew this never would have happened.  How was he to know he'd need to shield himself, though?  He had come into this whole thing treating it as an indulgence, an amusement.  His Lord Father's words burned unbidden in his mind, and his cheeks blazed at the thought he'd have to relay how things went.  // Famous last words, my son.   I recall several occasions where you caught me by surprise. //  Oh, his Lord Father would be very, very amused at his expense... // This Sesshoumaru is NEVER having pups. //

Sesshoumaru scowled as he climbed to his feet, ignoring the girl's triumphant cheering.  Her spells had only lasted for a mere moment after hitting him, even with all his defenses down.... but in a real battle, that would have been a moment too much.

"Yay!  Do I win, Uncle Shomaru?!" Aliana bounced over towards him eagerly.

Sesshoumaru let out a low, dangerous growl, although he kicked himself mentally for it a moment later as he saw the girl recoil in wide-eyed surprise,  her amusement gone in a flash of fear.  Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself.  It wasn't her he was mad at, after all.  

"Yes.  You won our match."

"Does this mean I get to be queen then?"  Aliana's smile had immediately switched back on.

Sesshoumaru's spine stiffened and he barely restrained from letting out another snarl of horrified shock and surprise.  "What?"

"Well, you're Lord of the West and I beat you."

Sesshoumaru turned away, aware of the sound of wood splintering.  He glanced down at the practice sword still clutched in his claws, now shattered from the force of his grip.  "I'm not reigning Lord, you would have to defeat my Lord Father."  Oh.  Oh, dear gods and all that was holy.   Losing his lands to a child for even a moment?  Oh.  Oh fuck, no.  NO damn way....

"Ok!  I'll have to wait until he gets back, though," the little demoness mused.  "But you can all still live here!"

"How generous," Sesshoumaru ground out through his teeth, ready to break something.  Maybe he could get into a much more satisfying sparring match with his brother and work out some frustrations.  Yes.  Yes, that would be wonderful.

Sesshoumaru's mounting, thunderous rage was shelved when the doors burst open and a panting Kouga stumbled into the room, taking a knee in uncharacteristic and immediate respect.  "Lord Sesshoumaru, please, I need your help right away."

Sesshoumaru's eyebrow hiked, some of his ire melting as curiosity replaced it.  Usually, the wolf was as much of a barbaric cretin as his brother.  This display of proper respect was completely unexpected and instantly convinced Sesshoumaru to take him very seriously.  "What is it?"

Kouga's eyes flicked over to Aliana for a moment and he held his silence.  Sesshoumaru followed the direction of his gaze before turning to the girl.  "You may continue your lessons with this Sesshoumaru at another time, girl.  Go get cleaned up and play with Rin for a while.  I have things to take care of."

Ali considered for a moment before beaming at him, bouncing over to throw her arms around his legs in a brief hug before bounding out of the room, her little shadowfiends bursting into dark smoke and vanishing as they followed her out.

"Stand and speak, wolf," the taiyoukai finally grated out, unable to repress a twitch of ire at the sight of the little beasts.  Kouga knew better than to ask, however, and got right to the point after taking his feet.

"Inuyasha and I found Miroku and Sairex.  They're both very badly hurt and we don't know if they'd survive being drug back here on foot.  Inuyasha sent me back to ask if you'd do your instant moving thing and come get them."

"Teleport."  Sesshoumaru couldn't resist filling in the appropriate term, although he was already heading for the door after tossing down the remains of his practice sword.  "I will have Kagome prepare to treat the human monk and get the castle's healer to prepare to tend Sairex.   Where did you find them?"

Kouga scurried to keep up with Sesshoumaru's long strides.  Even though the inu's tone was level, he was moving urgently.  Kouga knew he'd die before admitting an ounce of feeling towards Sairex or Miroku, but he couldn't hide EVERY trace of his concern, obviously.

"We found 'em at the bottom of a hill.  Well, my wolves did, but...that's a moot point."Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes, his tone acidic.  "Oh, of course.  There is only one hill in all of Japan, I now know exactly where I need to go to retrieve them."

Kouga's tail lashed indignantly.  "Dammit, I'll give you better directions when we're ready to leave, alright?  You don't have to be an ass."

"Ware your words, wolf."

"You know that technically you don't outrank me by much, dog.  You aren't reigning Lord, I'm a king, AND I'm mated to your brother."

"Oh?  Be that as it may, I am still Heir to the reigning kingdom of these lands, and your people have sworn service to our crown.  Only one outranks me, and it is NOT you."

"You're so damn much like your brother," Kouga huffed after a moment.  "You just use bigger, fancier words and you're a damn sight more fatal about it."

Sesshoumaru growled, a clear threat and warning in his tone.  Kouga wisely backed off, although he knew there was a time in the not-so-distant past that he never would have DREAMED of openly insulting Sesshoumaru with or without any degree of sincerity.

Sesshoumaru's expression went back into its typical aloof, icy mask as he swept into Kagome's room without knocking since the door was open.  "Miko."Kagome blinked.  "Oh...hi, Sesshoumaru, Kouga.  What's up?"

"The outrunners have found your human monk and my chief advisor, but they are badly wounded.  This Sesshoumaru is going to retrieve them.  Alert the medical staff of my castle and have a place prepared for them.  Demonic healers will do little for your human friend, and you will do little for Sairex, so make sure everything is prepared on both ends."Kagome gasped at the news before scrambling up.  "Yeah, of course.  I'll have everything ready by the time you get back.  Please hurry, Sesshoumaru!"  She was out the door in a flash.

Sesshoumaru nodded to her as she departed before turning to Kouga.  "Directions, wolf.  I can not transport myself without a clear destination in mind."

"Right."  Kouga immediately began to relay instructions to Sesshoumaru, and when the inu taiyoukai was satisfied he knew the area the wolf spoke of, they were off.
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