InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Remnants of the Spider ❯ Prelude to Reconcilliation ( Chapter 38 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Lady Sianna 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 11.11.2009 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.0K | Visits: 291 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 11.11.2009 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.0K | Visits: 291 | Status: Work In Progress
Remnants of the Spider
Prelude to Reconciliation __________________________________________________________________ ______
“What are we hunting anyway?” A slightly impatient voice broke into the unusually passive silence that had nestled so stealthily between the brothers.
Sesshoumaru’s answer was preceded by a small scowl. “Nothing if you do not lower your voice.”
The hanyou returned the scowl with one of his own but refrained from making a barbed comment, opting to huff lightly instead. The night was quiet and the air was comfortably cool after a long hot day. As far as the hanyou could tell, there wasn‘t anything worth hunting in this area; Sesshoumaru seemed to believe otherwise.
Within a reasonably short period of time, Inuyasha realized that their course had circled back over itself and that they were now heading toward the spring where the girls were bathing. “Umm, Sesshoumaru… why the hell are we heading back--?
“Silence!” the demon lord interrupted his tone quiet and hinted with a note of urgency. He stretched out his arm preventing his sibling from taking another step as he too came to a halt. Before the half-demon could question him again, Sesshoumaru continued, “There is a bat youkai approximately fifty yards from where we stand.”
With the distance that separated them Inuyasha had not noticed the creature’s presence. Flaring his nostrils slightly, the boy scented the air thoroughly before turning back to his sibling with a furrowed brow. “It’s just a low level demon,” he intoned, his voice hushed but mocking, “I could take it out with both hands tied behind my back.”
Sesshoumaru’s eyes remained fixed straight ahead where presumably the demon awaited them. “The creature is more powerful than you believe.” the inu lord returned flatly. “And besides, that is not the point. Our objective is not merely to destroy the demon but to hunt it.”
Inuyasha gave him an odd look. “What the hell’s the difference?! Either way it’s gonna end up dead!”
Irritation became evident in the light crease of the daiyoukai’s brow. “I should not have expected one such as you to understand the intricate art of hunting.” he said mildly disgusted. “It is not always necessary or wise to simply charge into a fight, especially when you are unaware of your enemy’s capabilities.”
“You may not think much of my abilities as a half-demon, but I can smell it Sesshoumaru. That thing wouldn’t give me any trouble let alone the two of us!”
His brother looked at him then, a surprisingly intense frown marring his normally calm face. “Again you are missing the point!” the elder male all but growled. “It is unwise to rely on your sense of smell alone. Had the creature been downwind, you would not have been able to detect its presence at all.” he paused and looked away before continuing, “Every demon, even half-breeds such as you emit youki. It is this, not the demon’s scent which tells of its true power.”
“Humph,” the hanyou snorted petulantly, “I ain’t never had any problems befo--”
“Concentrate!” Sesshoumaru cut him off. “Detecting demonic auras is something that should come natural even to a half-breed like you. It is difficult to imagine how you have survived thus far without having mastered such a fundamental ability.”
Inuyasha felt his claws digging into the palms of his hands as he shot a murderous glare at his elder sibling. Nearly everything that bastard said to him was laced with insults! It wasn’t his fault he was a hanyou!! He had never, would have never chosen to be born this way! To humans he was a monster, and to demons he was an abomination, a halfling whose blood was “tainted,” or “impure.”
All his life he’d had to deal with the sneers, the rejection, the looks of pure revulsion, and worse still those who wanted to rid the world of his existence because of something he himself had no control over. Was it too much to ask that he should at least be accepted by his only living relative??!! It was only his promise to Kikyou which kept the hanyou from drawing his sword against his brother right now!
“Block out all your other senses.” Sesshoumaru’s voice broke the silence again. “Do not scent the air and do not rely on your hearing. There are auras all around us, each one exuding a unique energy signature. Such energy is produced by every living creature and even some forms of vegetation.” the demon lord looked at him again, his features having relaxed into that of bland indifference. “There may be occasions when you cannot rely on your external senses and it is necessary to read the auras of creatures around you in order to detect danger.”
Turning away from the elder inu, Inuyasha focused his attention straight ahead in the direction he knew the demon to be. Feeling uncertain and a little odd, he closed his eyes and attempted to block out all sounds and scents. He felt really silly at first and had some trouble keeping his mind from wandering. Surprisingly, Sesshoumaru did not disrupt or reprimand him, the daiyoukai simply waited in silence allowing him time to focus and concentrate.
Within a few moments, the hanyou drew his senses in as close as he could and focused only on the sound of his own breathing and the combined scents of himself and Sesshoumaru. It took a few more moments, but soon he was even able to block much of those from his conscious mind. It was then that he noticed a faint… buzzing, or maybe… a vibration? It was something he couldn’t really explain, but there was something in the air; something he could feel all around him. With effort, he attempted to locate its origin.
“I think…” he began slowly, his eyes still closed and a heavy crease marring his brow. “I think I can feel your energy.”
“It is not my energy you need to focus on.” the demon lord intoned flatly.
Refusing to rein in his youki for the sake of the half-demon’s concentration, Sesshoumaru watched as the boy became frustrated and a low growl began to grind from his lips. “Concentrate!” the elder male demanded again bringing his brother’s display of displeasure to a halt.”
“I’m tryin’ okay!” Inuyasha barked out impatiently. “I’ve never done this before.”
Deciding not to agitate the whelp further for now, Sesshoumaru withheld further comment and instead focused on the now slowly moving demon ahead of them.
Inuyasha’s heart suddenly began to race when he felt a strange sort of shift in the energy around him. “I--I can feel something!” his quiet but faintly excited voice broke the silence again. “It’s moving!”
“That is the demon we are pursuing.” Sesshoumaru confirmed.
His eyes still closed, Inuyasha attempted to block out all the other energies around him to focus solely on the bat demon. Sesshoumaru was right, he realized almost immediately. The demon was more powerful than he had realized… bigger too! It still probably wouldn’t give them much trouble though. As he continued to focus on the creature’s particular aura, he vaguely realized how amazing it was to obtain such information on a demon he could not even see.
Suddenly, a light gasp escaped the hanyou and he immediately opened his eyes to look straight ahead. “It’s getting away!” he declared with hushed urgency.
Before the half-demon could ready himself to pursue the bat, Sesshoumaru’s outstretched arm stilled him again. “It will not escape.” the daiyoukai refuted decisively. Turning to see his brother’s slightly confused face he continued, “As of now the demon is unaware of our presence. If you wish to keep it that way, you must first conceal your youki.”
Normally, Inuyasha would have been more than prepared to simply run in, draw his sword and take the demon out with one clean slice, but something about what he was doing now… it felt different, but at the same time it felt almost natural too. It was difficult to put into words, but he could feel the anticipation thrumming through his veins in a way he never had felt before. The half-demon nodded his understanding. “How do I do it?”
Sesshoumaru stared at him for a long time, almost as if assessing the hanyou’s worthiness of the information requested of him. Just as he was about to loose his patience, Inuyasha felt the demon move again. “It’s headed toward the girls!” he announced warningly, a menacing look in his eyes as he turned back to where the demon was.
“There is time.” the daiyoukai told him, his gaze having shifted in a similar direction to that of his sibling‘s. “It will not reach them before we can get to it.”
“How do I conceal my youki?” Inuyasha asked again, his features set in a dutiful frown. Glancing at him, Sesshoumaru realized that he had never seen this type of diligent compliance in his brother before. The boy was so focused on the hunt that he probably didn’t even realize how well he was accepting instruction from his elder. It was strange how responsive the whelp could be when something was of interest to him. There might just be hope for him yet.
“Focus on the feel of your youki.” the demon lord instructed.
“I’m not sure I--”
“It is your youki which causes Tetsuaiga to transform.” Sesshoumaru interrupted. “Touch the sword’s hilt but do not transform it, merely concentrate on the feeling of transferring your power into the blade.”
Giving a curt nod, Inuyasha followed his brother’s instructions. After a couple of false starts where the blade nearly transformed, the hanyou seemed to get the hang of it. His eagerness to get to the demon before it could get to the girls was probably the crucial element which allowed him to focus and master the skill with relative expediency.
“Now that you have a feel for your own demonic energy, it should be fairly simple to rein it in so as to avoid detection.” He gave the boy a firm look then. “Instead of pushing your energy into another medium, you will draw it in so that it is exuded no further than the surface of your skin.”
Inuyasha nodded mutely and turned his attention forward again. Sesshoumaru did the same unconsciously trusting his brother to track the movements of their prey while he focused on the feel of the hanyou’s demonic power. He could still feel it but it was gradually decreasing. The boy had clearly never done this before as Sesshoumaru could feel him struggling. The energy was being withdrawn in unsteady leaps and bounds, but eventually he was able to draw it so close that the demon would not detect him until the hanyou was already close enough for it to see and hear. By then it would be too late.
“Now...!” The daiyoukai ordered abruptly. Without another word, the brother’s simultaneously took off. With his peripheral vision, Sesshoumaru could see the hanyou’s hand drifting toward the hilt of his weapon. “No swords!” he ordered sternly. Inuyasha did not answer, but his hand left the hilt of his sword to trail behind as he leaned into a hasty sprint.
Without being instructed to do so, Inuyasha began to separate from his brother, his intent to circle around their prey to surround it and prevent the creature’s escape.
Feeling somewhat impressed by his sibling’s display of natural instinct, Sesshoumaru slowed his pace slightly to allow the boy to gain ground. Because of his personality, it was a little surprising to see the hanyou take the role of the ferreter. If his instincts continued to guide him, Inuyasha would travel in an arc around the youkai; one large enough to disallow premature detection but small enough to strike quickly if necessary. He would circle around and flush the demon out into the open where Sesshoumaru could deliver the final strike. This was a common hunting strategy among inu and wolves and it was typical that the youngest of the hunting party would act as ferreters. As there was no way Inuyasha could have known this, it was apparent that he was acting on instinct alone. It would be interesting to see if he followed through with the unspoken strategy.
Inuyasha’s feet moved quickly, almost soundlessly across the cool grass. His heart was drumming wildly as exhilaration coursed through his entire body. He had never hunted this way before, but a force he could not identify helped to guide his actions. The demon was to his left now and as far as he could tell, the creature either did not know or was not concerned about his presence.
‘That’s right’ the hanyou thought darkly amused, ‘Just keep doing what you’re doing, I‘m not even here.’
Making good use of his near limitless energy supply, Inuyasha added a burst of speed to his already swift pace. In no time at all he was in position and with one final bound, he pushed off the ground to land in a large elm tree. Apparently the demon had heard his landing, as one large ear swiveled in his direction. Practically holding his breath, Inuyasha peeked through the tangled web of leaves and branches to observe the demon.
Resembling an enormous rat, the creature sat on its haunches in a spacious clearing. Its wings were folded back against its disproportionately long arms while its short dark fur glimmered faintly in the moonlight. It was as still as a stature save for the occasional flaring of its oversized nostrils. The hanyou was unable to determine what the demon had been doing before he arrived, but now it seemed frozen in place. Its small black eyes stared straight at the ground as its ears began to rotate in seemingly random directions.
A small half smile appeared on the half-demon’s lips before he launched himself from his hiding place. As he tore through the air, he made a swiping motion with his right hand sending several wind blades straight toward the bat. Unfortunately, the youkai had anticipated the attack.
With deceptive speed for its large size, the demon leapt away paying no heed as Inuyasha’s wind blades exploded on the ground before it. The bat’s large mouth opened wide displaying impressive fangs before a series of sharp squawks burst from its throat. Rings of energy, visible only because they warped the air around them and created distortion in the surrounding scenery, rushed forward with the creature’s high pitched calls, the first one hitting Inuyasha directly and sending him crashing into the tree from which he had sprung.
Grunting with the bone jarring impact, Inuyasha crumpled to the ground. As his body was still buzzing with adrenaline, the hanyou hardly noticed the sprinkling of leaves which had been dislodged with the impact and righted himself quickly. Like rings of smoke, the nearly invisible halos of energy only grew larger as they moved away from their source. Realizing this, the hanyou knew that he no longer had time to simply jump out of the way. Instead both his claws, almost of their own accord, slashed through the air; first the right and then the left. A showering of wind blades shot forward shattering the bat’s energy rings and making their way toward the creature itself.
Far more alert than it appeared moments ago, the bat spread its powerful wings bringing them forward in one swift, powerful sweep. The resulting rush of air caused Inuyasha’s wind blades to disperse before they could reach its body. However, impressive that the creature’s speed and agility was, its efforts still would not see it to a new day.
Still distracted from having diverted the wind blades, the bat was unaware that someone else was closing in from behind, and only too late did it realize that the creator of said wind blades was rapidly approaching from the front. It never had a chance to escape…
One on either side of the demon, the brothers leapt into the air. Right claws at the ready, Inuyasha’s tore through the demon’s throat while Sesshoumaru’s severed the small portion of spine at the base of its skull. Barely touching, the tips of their claws scraped against one another’s before the demon’s head was separated from its body in a spray of thick dark blood. Still moving forward with the force of their momentum, the siblings passed one another in the air before landing in the field, opposite of where they started. The demon didn’t even have time to make its last anguished cry before its muscles went limp and its body toppled over to sprawl onto the grass.
When his feet were solidly on the ground, Sesshoumaru turned back to evaluate the fruits of their combined efforts. Rising from his own crouched landing, Inuyasha did the same. Upon inspection of the demon, both quickly discovered that they had each delivered a lethal blow at the same time so neither could take full credit for the kill. Instead of inciting either one to anger for what they normally would have perceived as unnecessary interference, the discovery was oddly… unifying.
Almost at the same time, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru looked up, their similarly colored eyes meeting over the bat’s carcass as the scent of blood flooded heavily into the air.
Inuyasha could not explain it, but at that moment something changed between him and his brother. The daiyoukai did noting but stare at him, but there was something deep in his eyes which, if the hanyou was seeing correctly, looked bizarrely similar to approval. It was something he had never seen before, most especially with Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha hardly knew what to make of it.
“Hn.” the daiyoukai’s quiet murmur disrupted the silence between them.
“That was… incredible…” Inuyasha said with breathless elation, his voice so quiet it was as if he was talking to himself. His racing heart gradually slowing to a normal pace, he again looked down on their fallen prey.
‘We did this… me and Sesshoumaru… together.’ he thought somewhat dazedly.
“You did not prove to be as useless as I had anticipated.” the elder demon intoned blandly before he lifted his hand and began to methodically lick the blood from his fingers.
“Keh,” said Inuyasha, a small half smile on his face. “Guess I should take that as a complement.” he added somewhat sarcastically. Really though, he realized that he spoke the truth. That was by far the least insulting thing Sesshoumaru had ever said to him. Turning away, the hanyou kneeled and wiped the blood from his hand onto the grass. A part of him wished to mimic his brother’s method of cleansing, but the human in him balked at the idea of ingesting blood. Since he’d never done so anyway, he decided there was really no reason to change the habit now.
Once his hand was cleaned as much as the damp grass would allow, Inuyasha rose to his full height, folded his hands into his sleeves and looked to the sky. There was a large dead bat youkai on the ground behind him, and the air was thick with the sickening smell of blood, but the hanyou had never felt more at peace in his life. His brother, the demon he had once seen as his greatest enemy stood just a few feet away from him and for the first time since he could remember, Inuyasha did not feel the bitter strife that usually accompanied his presence.
The placidity was definitely a foreign sensation to him, but, but given time it was a feeling he thought he could get used to. __________________________________________________________________ ______
When the girls returned to camp they were welcomed by the scent of roasted pork. A generously sized wild boar was held in place by bare, strategically placed branches over their small fire.
The females exchanged a wary look when they saw that Inuyasha, not only was no longer sulking, but was in fact tending the meat. Miroku, who was sitting quietly near the fire looked back at them and seeing their twin expressions of confusion shrugged lightly. Apparently he was just as baffled as they were. Placing her bathing supplies back into her traveling bag, Sango quietly took a seat near her husband while Kagome passed them both by and making her way to the side of the fire nearest to Inuyasha. Deciding not to tempt fate, the miko nearly bit a hole in her tongue to keep from questioning his suddenly improved mood.
“Hi there.” she said with a bright smile. “Looks like you did some hunting.”
“Yeah.” the hanyou answered with a small smile of his own. Using a pointy stick, he poked the meat again before sitting back on his haunches to watch it cook.
Looking down on him, Kagome could not help but notice how peaceful he looked. His placid appearance was only enhanced by the glow of fire which bathed him in warming tones of orange and gold. Even his eyes seemed to sparkle in a way they never had before. It was as if he gone to sleep and awakened truly rested for the first time in his life. She was pretty sure she had never seen him so seemingly content, especially in the presence of his brother.
“You are late.” the afore mentioned brother spoke up from a distance away. Tearing her attention away from Inuyasha, Kagome pivoted to see Sesshoumaru sitting at the base of a tree. One of his legs was bent at the knee while the other lay unfolded against the ground. He wasn’t even looking at her, but instead staring off into space.
“I am not.” she refuted halfheartedly.
“Your diminutive size suggest that it should not take a great deal of time to bathe.”
“Well, the spring was really nice and warm and we kinda… hey wait a minute!!! Diminutive size??!! Are you calling me short?!”
He looked at her with a raised brow, a hint of amusement evident in the faint quirk of his lips. “Are you suggesting that you are not?”
Glancing over his shoulder, Inuyasha sighed wistfully as he watched the lighthearted argument unfurl. Turning back to the meat he realized that it still hurt to see them together, but now it wasn’t the burning sting of jealousy, but more of a dull ache of a squandered opportunity.
Admittedly, a part of him still wanted to tear them apart, but now he could no longer dredge up the resolve to act upon it. He could only hope that in time he would be able to do as Kikyou said and truly let go. Kagome had moved on and even though he still cared a great deal for her, it wasn’t right for him to try and stand in her way.
He smiled to himself feeling a bit sad, but strangely liberated at the same time.
The hanyou wasn’t sure how long he sat that way, but the sound of sizzling pig fat immediately drew his attention back to the present. Poking at the boar again he quietly cleared his throat and announced, “Dinner’s ready!” __________________________________________________________________ ______
Prelude to Reconciliation __________________________________________________________________ ______
“What are we hunting anyway?” A slightly impatient voice broke into the unusually passive silence that had nestled so stealthily between the brothers.
Sesshoumaru’s answer was preceded by a small scowl. “Nothing if you do not lower your voice.”
The hanyou returned the scowl with one of his own but refrained from making a barbed comment, opting to huff lightly instead. The night was quiet and the air was comfortably cool after a long hot day. As far as the hanyou could tell, there wasn‘t anything worth hunting in this area; Sesshoumaru seemed to believe otherwise.
Within a reasonably short period of time, Inuyasha realized that their course had circled back over itself and that they were now heading toward the spring where the girls were bathing. “Umm, Sesshoumaru… why the hell are we heading back--?
“Silence!” the demon lord interrupted his tone quiet and hinted with a note of urgency. He stretched out his arm preventing his sibling from taking another step as he too came to a halt. Before the half-demon could question him again, Sesshoumaru continued, “There is a bat youkai approximately fifty yards from where we stand.”
With the distance that separated them Inuyasha had not noticed the creature’s presence. Flaring his nostrils slightly, the boy scented the air thoroughly before turning back to his sibling with a furrowed brow. “It’s just a low level demon,” he intoned, his voice hushed but mocking, “I could take it out with both hands tied behind my back.”
Sesshoumaru’s eyes remained fixed straight ahead where presumably the demon awaited them. “The creature is more powerful than you believe.” the inu lord returned flatly. “And besides, that is not the point. Our objective is not merely to destroy the demon but to hunt it.”
Inuyasha gave him an odd look. “What the hell’s the difference?! Either way it’s gonna end up dead!”
Irritation became evident in the light crease of the daiyoukai’s brow. “I should not have expected one such as you to understand the intricate art of hunting.” he said mildly disgusted. “It is not always necessary or wise to simply charge into a fight, especially when you are unaware of your enemy’s capabilities.”
“You may not think much of my abilities as a half-demon, but I can smell it Sesshoumaru. That thing wouldn’t give me any trouble let alone the two of us!”
His brother looked at him then, a surprisingly intense frown marring his normally calm face. “Again you are missing the point!” the elder male all but growled. “It is unwise to rely on your sense of smell alone. Had the creature been downwind, you would not have been able to detect its presence at all.” he paused and looked away before continuing, “Every demon, even half-breeds such as you emit youki. It is this, not the demon’s scent which tells of its true power.”
“Humph,” the hanyou snorted petulantly, “I ain’t never had any problems befo--”
“Concentrate!” Sesshoumaru cut him off. “Detecting demonic auras is something that should come natural even to a half-breed like you. It is difficult to imagine how you have survived thus far without having mastered such a fundamental ability.”
Inuyasha felt his claws digging into the palms of his hands as he shot a murderous glare at his elder sibling. Nearly everything that bastard said to him was laced with insults! It wasn’t his fault he was a hanyou!! He had never, would have never chosen to be born this way! To humans he was a monster, and to demons he was an abomination, a halfling whose blood was “tainted,” or “impure.”
All his life he’d had to deal with the sneers, the rejection, the looks of pure revulsion, and worse still those who wanted to rid the world of his existence because of something he himself had no control over. Was it too much to ask that he should at least be accepted by his only living relative??!! It was only his promise to Kikyou which kept the hanyou from drawing his sword against his brother right now!
“Block out all your other senses.” Sesshoumaru’s voice broke the silence again. “Do not scent the air and do not rely on your hearing. There are auras all around us, each one exuding a unique energy signature. Such energy is produced by every living creature and even some forms of vegetation.” the demon lord looked at him again, his features having relaxed into that of bland indifference. “There may be occasions when you cannot rely on your external senses and it is necessary to read the auras of creatures around you in order to detect danger.”
Turning away from the elder inu, Inuyasha focused his attention straight ahead in the direction he knew the demon to be. Feeling uncertain and a little odd, he closed his eyes and attempted to block out all sounds and scents. He felt really silly at first and had some trouble keeping his mind from wandering. Surprisingly, Sesshoumaru did not disrupt or reprimand him, the daiyoukai simply waited in silence allowing him time to focus and concentrate.
Within a few moments, the hanyou drew his senses in as close as he could and focused only on the sound of his own breathing and the combined scents of himself and Sesshoumaru. It took a few more moments, but soon he was even able to block much of those from his conscious mind. It was then that he noticed a faint… buzzing, or maybe… a vibration? It was something he couldn’t really explain, but there was something in the air; something he could feel all around him. With effort, he attempted to locate its origin.
“I think…” he began slowly, his eyes still closed and a heavy crease marring his brow. “I think I can feel your energy.”
“It is not my energy you need to focus on.” the demon lord intoned flatly.
Refusing to rein in his youki for the sake of the half-demon’s concentration, Sesshoumaru watched as the boy became frustrated and a low growl began to grind from his lips. “Concentrate!” the elder male demanded again bringing his brother’s display of displeasure to a halt.”
“I’m tryin’ okay!” Inuyasha barked out impatiently. “I’ve never done this before.”
Deciding not to agitate the whelp further for now, Sesshoumaru withheld further comment and instead focused on the now slowly moving demon ahead of them.
Inuyasha’s heart suddenly began to race when he felt a strange sort of shift in the energy around him. “I--I can feel something!” his quiet but faintly excited voice broke the silence again. “It’s moving!”
“That is the demon we are pursuing.” Sesshoumaru confirmed.
His eyes still closed, Inuyasha attempted to block out all the other energies around him to focus solely on the bat demon. Sesshoumaru was right, he realized almost immediately. The demon was more powerful than he had realized… bigger too! It still probably wouldn’t give them much trouble though. As he continued to focus on the creature’s particular aura, he vaguely realized how amazing it was to obtain such information on a demon he could not even see.
Suddenly, a light gasp escaped the hanyou and he immediately opened his eyes to look straight ahead. “It’s getting away!” he declared with hushed urgency.
Before the half-demon could ready himself to pursue the bat, Sesshoumaru’s outstretched arm stilled him again. “It will not escape.” the daiyoukai refuted decisively. Turning to see his brother’s slightly confused face he continued, “As of now the demon is unaware of our presence. If you wish to keep it that way, you must first conceal your youki.”
Normally, Inuyasha would have been more than prepared to simply run in, draw his sword and take the demon out with one clean slice, but something about what he was doing now… it felt different, but at the same time it felt almost natural too. It was difficult to put into words, but he could feel the anticipation thrumming through his veins in a way he never had felt before. The half-demon nodded his understanding. “How do I do it?”
Sesshoumaru stared at him for a long time, almost as if assessing the hanyou’s worthiness of the information requested of him. Just as he was about to loose his patience, Inuyasha felt the demon move again. “It’s headed toward the girls!” he announced warningly, a menacing look in his eyes as he turned back to where the demon was.
“There is time.” the daiyoukai told him, his gaze having shifted in a similar direction to that of his sibling‘s. “It will not reach them before we can get to it.”
“How do I conceal my youki?” Inuyasha asked again, his features set in a dutiful frown. Glancing at him, Sesshoumaru realized that he had never seen this type of diligent compliance in his brother before. The boy was so focused on the hunt that he probably didn’t even realize how well he was accepting instruction from his elder. It was strange how responsive the whelp could be when something was of interest to him. There might just be hope for him yet.
“Focus on the feel of your youki.” the demon lord instructed.
“I’m not sure I--”
“It is your youki which causes Tetsuaiga to transform.” Sesshoumaru interrupted. “Touch the sword’s hilt but do not transform it, merely concentrate on the feeling of transferring your power into the blade.”
Giving a curt nod, Inuyasha followed his brother’s instructions. After a couple of false starts where the blade nearly transformed, the hanyou seemed to get the hang of it. His eagerness to get to the demon before it could get to the girls was probably the crucial element which allowed him to focus and master the skill with relative expediency.
“Now that you have a feel for your own demonic energy, it should be fairly simple to rein it in so as to avoid detection.” He gave the boy a firm look then. “Instead of pushing your energy into another medium, you will draw it in so that it is exuded no further than the surface of your skin.”
Inuyasha nodded mutely and turned his attention forward again. Sesshoumaru did the same unconsciously trusting his brother to track the movements of their prey while he focused on the feel of the hanyou’s demonic power. He could still feel it but it was gradually decreasing. The boy had clearly never done this before as Sesshoumaru could feel him struggling. The energy was being withdrawn in unsteady leaps and bounds, but eventually he was able to draw it so close that the demon would not detect him until the hanyou was already close enough for it to see and hear. By then it would be too late.
“Now...!” The daiyoukai ordered abruptly. Without another word, the brother’s simultaneously took off. With his peripheral vision, Sesshoumaru could see the hanyou’s hand drifting toward the hilt of his weapon. “No swords!” he ordered sternly. Inuyasha did not answer, but his hand left the hilt of his sword to trail behind as he leaned into a hasty sprint.
Without being instructed to do so, Inuyasha began to separate from his brother, his intent to circle around their prey to surround it and prevent the creature’s escape.
Feeling somewhat impressed by his sibling’s display of natural instinct, Sesshoumaru slowed his pace slightly to allow the boy to gain ground. Because of his personality, it was a little surprising to see the hanyou take the role of the ferreter. If his instincts continued to guide him, Inuyasha would travel in an arc around the youkai; one large enough to disallow premature detection but small enough to strike quickly if necessary. He would circle around and flush the demon out into the open where Sesshoumaru could deliver the final strike. This was a common hunting strategy among inu and wolves and it was typical that the youngest of the hunting party would act as ferreters. As there was no way Inuyasha could have known this, it was apparent that he was acting on instinct alone. It would be interesting to see if he followed through with the unspoken strategy.
Inuyasha’s feet moved quickly, almost soundlessly across the cool grass. His heart was drumming wildly as exhilaration coursed through his entire body. He had never hunted this way before, but a force he could not identify helped to guide his actions. The demon was to his left now and as far as he could tell, the creature either did not know or was not concerned about his presence.
‘That’s right’ the hanyou thought darkly amused, ‘Just keep doing what you’re doing, I‘m not even here.’
Making good use of his near limitless energy supply, Inuyasha added a burst of speed to his already swift pace. In no time at all he was in position and with one final bound, he pushed off the ground to land in a large elm tree. Apparently the demon had heard his landing, as one large ear swiveled in his direction. Practically holding his breath, Inuyasha peeked through the tangled web of leaves and branches to observe the demon.
Resembling an enormous rat, the creature sat on its haunches in a spacious clearing. Its wings were folded back against its disproportionately long arms while its short dark fur glimmered faintly in the moonlight. It was as still as a stature save for the occasional flaring of its oversized nostrils. The hanyou was unable to determine what the demon had been doing before he arrived, but now it seemed frozen in place. Its small black eyes stared straight at the ground as its ears began to rotate in seemingly random directions.
A small half smile appeared on the half-demon’s lips before he launched himself from his hiding place. As he tore through the air, he made a swiping motion with his right hand sending several wind blades straight toward the bat. Unfortunately, the youkai had anticipated the attack.
With deceptive speed for its large size, the demon leapt away paying no heed as Inuyasha’s wind blades exploded on the ground before it. The bat’s large mouth opened wide displaying impressive fangs before a series of sharp squawks burst from its throat. Rings of energy, visible only because they warped the air around them and created distortion in the surrounding scenery, rushed forward with the creature’s high pitched calls, the first one hitting Inuyasha directly and sending him crashing into the tree from which he had sprung.
Grunting with the bone jarring impact, Inuyasha crumpled to the ground. As his body was still buzzing with adrenaline, the hanyou hardly noticed the sprinkling of leaves which had been dislodged with the impact and righted himself quickly. Like rings of smoke, the nearly invisible halos of energy only grew larger as they moved away from their source. Realizing this, the hanyou knew that he no longer had time to simply jump out of the way. Instead both his claws, almost of their own accord, slashed through the air; first the right and then the left. A showering of wind blades shot forward shattering the bat’s energy rings and making their way toward the creature itself.
Far more alert than it appeared moments ago, the bat spread its powerful wings bringing them forward in one swift, powerful sweep. The resulting rush of air caused Inuyasha’s wind blades to disperse before they could reach its body. However, impressive that the creature’s speed and agility was, its efforts still would not see it to a new day.
Still distracted from having diverted the wind blades, the bat was unaware that someone else was closing in from behind, and only too late did it realize that the creator of said wind blades was rapidly approaching from the front. It never had a chance to escape…
One on either side of the demon, the brothers leapt into the air. Right claws at the ready, Inuyasha’s tore through the demon’s throat while Sesshoumaru’s severed the small portion of spine at the base of its skull. Barely touching, the tips of their claws scraped against one another’s before the demon’s head was separated from its body in a spray of thick dark blood. Still moving forward with the force of their momentum, the siblings passed one another in the air before landing in the field, opposite of where they started. The demon didn’t even have time to make its last anguished cry before its muscles went limp and its body toppled over to sprawl onto the grass.
When his feet were solidly on the ground, Sesshoumaru turned back to evaluate the fruits of their combined efforts. Rising from his own crouched landing, Inuyasha did the same. Upon inspection of the demon, both quickly discovered that they had each delivered a lethal blow at the same time so neither could take full credit for the kill. Instead of inciting either one to anger for what they normally would have perceived as unnecessary interference, the discovery was oddly… unifying.
Almost at the same time, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru looked up, their similarly colored eyes meeting over the bat’s carcass as the scent of blood flooded heavily into the air.
Inuyasha could not explain it, but at that moment something changed between him and his brother. The daiyoukai did noting but stare at him, but there was something deep in his eyes which, if the hanyou was seeing correctly, looked bizarrely similar to approval. It was something he had never seen before, most especially with Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha hardly knew what to make of it.
“Hn.” the daiyoukai’s quiet murmur disrupted the silence between them.
“That was… incredible…” Inuyasha said with breathless elation, his voice so quiet it was as if he was talking to himself. His racing heart gradually slowing to a normal pace, he again looked down on their fallen prey.
‘We did this… me and Sesshoumaru… together.’ he thought somewhat dazedly.
“You did not prove to be as useless as I had anticipated.” the elder demon intoned blandly before he lifted his hand and began to methodically lick the blood from his fingers.
“Keh,” said Inuyasha, a small half smile on his face. “Guess I should take that as a complement.” he added somewhat sarcastically. Really though, he realized that he spoke the truth. That was by far the least insulting thing Sesshoumaru had ever said to him. Turning away, the hanyou kneeled and wiped the blood from his hand onto the grass. A part of him wished to mimic his brother’s method of cleansing, but the human in him balked at the idea of ingesting blood. Since he’d never done so anyway, he decided there was really no reason to change the habit now.
Once his hand was cleaned as much as the damp grass would allow, Inuyasha rose to his full height, folded his hands into his sleeves and looked to the sky. There was a large dead bat youkai on the ground behind him, and the air was thick with the sickening smell of blood, but the hanyou had never felt more at peace in his life. His brother, the demon he had once seen as his greatest enemy stood just a few feet away from him and for the first time since he could remember, Inuyasha did not feel the bitter strife that usually accompanied his presence.
The placidity was definitely a foreign sensation to him, but, but given time it was a feeling he thought he could get used to. __________________________________________________________________ ______
When the girls returned to camp they were welcomed by the scent of roasted pork. A generously sized wild boar was held in place by bare, strategically placed branches over their small fire.
The females exchanged a wary look when they saw that Inuyasha, not only was no longer sulking, but was in fact tending the meat. Miroku, who was sitting quietly near the fire looked back at them and seeing their twin expressions of confusion shrugged lightly. Apparently he was just as baffled as they were. Placing her bathing supplies back into her traveling bag, Sango quietly took a seat near her husband while Kagome passed them both by and making her way to the side of the fire nearest to Inuyasha. Deciding not to tempt fate, the miko nearly bit a hole in her tongue to keep from questioning his suddenly improved mood.
“Hi there.” she said with a bright smile. “Looks like you did some hunting.”
“Yeah.” the hanyou answered with a small smile of his own. Using a pointy stick, he poked the meat again before sitting back on his haunches to watch it cook.
Looking down on him, Kagome could not help but notice how peaceful he looked. His placid appearance was only enhanced by the glow of fire which bathed him in warming tones of orange and gold. Even his eyes seemed to sparkle in a way they never had before. It was as if he gone to sleep and awakened truly rested for the first time in his life. She was pretty sure she had never seen him so seemingly content, especially in the presence of his brother.
“You are late.” the afore mentioned brother spoke up from a distance away. Tearing her attention away from Inuyasha, Kagome pivoted to see Sesshoumaru sitting at the base of a tree. One of his legs was bent at the knee while the other lay unfolded against the ground. He wasn’t even looking at her, but instead staring off into space.
“I am not.” she refuted halfheartedly.
“Your diminutive size suggest that it should not take a great deal of time to bathe.”
“Well, the spring was really nice and warm and we kinda… hey wait a minute!!! Diminutive size??!! Are you calling me short?!”
He looked at her with a raised brow, a hint of amusement evident in the faint quirk of his lips. “Are you suggesting that you are not?”
Glancing over his shoulder, Inuyasha sighed wistfully as he watched the lighthearted argument unfurl. Turning back to the meat he realized that it still hurt to see them together, but now it wasn’t the burning sting of jealousy, but more of a dull ache of a squandered opportunity.
Admittedly, a part of him still wanted to tear them apart, but now he could no longer dredge up the resolve to act upon it. He could only hope that in time he would be able to do as Kikyou said and truly let go. Kagome had moved on and even though he still cared a great deal for her, it wasn’t right for him to try and stand in her way.
He smiled to himself feeling a bit sad, but strangely liberated at the same time.
The hanyou wasn’t sure how long he sat that way, but the sound of sizzling pig fat immediately drew his attention back to the present. Poking at the boar again he quietly cleared his throat and announced, “Dinner’s ready!” __________________________________________________________________ ______