InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Six Feet ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Sesshomaru stared out at the darkening nighttime sky, the last rays of daylight disappearing on the horizon, and a cool breeze picked up. It tugged gently on his clothing and hair but he paid no heed to it, just as he paid no heed to the sun as she made her descent. His thoughts were on his surroundings, taking in the usual nightly noises and listening for any youkai that might think to even attack his young ward . . . and going over the most recent of events that had happened with his brother.

The fact that the boy had gone missing did not surprise the daiyoukai. Inuyasha had done the only thing that he could think of, which was run away from the problem at hand. Sesshomaru thought it to be cowardly but then it had also probably seemed more preferable than hanging around the ningens who had claimed to be his friends. He couldn't say that he blamed the boy for needing to get away.

'It is still something he deserves,' he told himself, his gaze straight ahead. 'He should have known better than to trust a group of ningens.'

It had been the same discussion he'd had with himself since he'd walked away after witnessing the miko's declaration for the wolf over his brother. There really wasn't any way that someone, other than his mother and their father, could have ever loved Inuyasha the way that he craved to be loved. How many times did Inuyasha need to be betrayed by those who claimed to love him and care for him before he finally learned his lesson?

However, no matter how much he tried to tell him that Inuyasha had deserved what had happened to him, a small part of him felt . . . guilty. Inuyasha, whenever he'd been hurt before, had always reacted in anger and had always, always vented his rage in some form or another. This time, he hadn't. He'd taken off, pain clouding his aura . . . a broken spirit.

In a way, a small part of Sesshomaru was upset over what the miko had done. All it had taken was for her to choose a wolf over his brother to break Inuyasha. He had wanted to be the one to break his half-brother's spirt, to destroy the hanyou as he had been by the miko. It felt like a rather small injustice to Sesshomaru and it left him somewhat angered.

Still, his reasoning felt off . . . misplaced, for some reason, and Sesshomaru didn't like it. It didn't seem possible that someone as strong as Inuyasha could be broken so easily . . . and it didn't seem like he even truly deserved what had happened to him, either.

'Did he truly deserve to be hurt like that, though?'

That was the question that kept nagging at Sesshomaru. Did anyone deserve to be truly hurt like that? Inuyasha had bled for the miko. Sesshomaru knew as much for he'd been one of many to shed that blood. He knew that, if she had asked him, Inuyasha would have ripped his heart out for her. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her, yet she'd done this and now it bothered him when he told himself that Inuyasha had deserved it. It was making him crazy trying to answer that question. Then, as his gaze drifted across the small camp, his eyes landed on the form of a small girl who had somehow integrated herself into his life. The moment he saw her, he knew the answer to his question. His brother had not deserved what the miko had done. No one did.

* * *

The fire had nearly gone out. Hakkaku and Ginta had gone to get more firewood, to ensure that no one in the camp grew cold, leaving the camp silent except for the soft breathing of the sleeping ningens and kitsune. It left Kouga alone and awake, to deal with his restless minds and his thoughts.

Things had not turned quite as he planned or hoped. He had wanted to be there when Kagome finally told Inuyasha the truth. He had wanted to rub it into the hanyou's face that the pretty young miko had chosen him, a full youkai, over a tainted half-breed. Granted, that had not been the reason why Kagome had chosen him over Inuyasha but it still would have been nice to flaunt.

However, Kouga had not counted on hearing about Inuyasha's reaction to Kagome declaring her love for him over the half-breed. At first, he'd been happy that she'd finally told the hanyou off - it meant that he could come around whenever he wanted, as often as he wanted, without Inuyasha chasing him away. Kagome's declaration had cemented things, had made his heart swell the love and admiration that he'd felt for her since he'd first realized what a gem she truly was. Then, after he and Kagome had chased down Naraku's scent, he'd learned of Inuyasha's reaction, had seen first-hand the anger that the taijiya and monk had at Kagome for having them keep silent on the matter. The tension between the three ningens had lessened some since then but hadn't completely disappeared. Not like Inuyasha had.

'And chances are, Naraku's the one behind Inuyasha's disappearance . . . dammit, this can't be good.'

A small part of Kouga felt guilty over what had happened and a bit responsible for Inuyasha's capture. If he'd insisted as hard and as often as the monk and taijiya had that Kagome tell Inuyasha about them sooner, the hanyou wouldn't have flipped out and taken off, only to be captured by Naraku. He knew that Inuyasha would be hurt by this. He knew it, just as everyone else had known it yet he, too, had remained silent about it. Of course, if he'd said anything to Inuyasha about it, it would have been met with disbelief from the hanyou. Kouga knew that. But that small part of him also questioned Kagome's loyalty. After all, for the longest time, Kagome had insisted that she loved Inuyasha. She'd defended him against Kouga on occasion and had always traveled with him, had continued to travel with him after she'd made her decision. How she'd manage to keep it a secret as long as she had baffled the wolf leader and if she was capable of keeping secrets from Inuyasha . . .

'No,' he violently shook his head, ruthlessly shoving away his doubts and that small voice bringing them up. 'No. I can't doubt her. I mustn't doubt her. She's going to be my mate. She'll be the one to bear my strong children. I can't start doubting her now.'

Kouga glanced down at the young girl resting her head against his chest and smiled. He would never doubt her. She was a good woman, she had a very kind and brave heart . . . She'd forgiven him of his crimes and that was more than what most humans had ever done for him. Hell, she'd been able to put up with Inuyasha's shit and that said something. Kouga knew that the hanyou could not have been easy to deal with. He idly stroked her cheek then nuzzled her.

“Don't worry, my love. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll make you happy. I swear it.”

* * *

 

Naraku stood in the door to Inuyasha's room and gazed at the still form of his nemesis, watching as the boy just lay there, his chest rising up and down with each breath that he took. As he'd done so many times in the past, he studied the silver-haired male, taking in his appearance once more. Of course, Inuyasha still remained topless from when he'd taken the boy's haori and yukata off some time before. The only thing Inuyasha done after that was roll onto his side. Naraku couldn't tell whether the natural-born hanyou was awake or sleep but then decided it didn't matter. He rather liked what he was seeing at that moment.

Quietly, though he was certain Inuyasha knew that he was there, Naraku crossed the distance between them and knelt next to the boy. He sat there for a few moments longer, taking in some of the smaller details that he'd never been able to see before. As he gazed at the boy, taking in those small details, Naraku reached over and began to run his fingers through that silvery-white mane, noting its soft and silky smooth texture as he did so.

'So soft . . . needs to be washed, though . . . and brushed . . . I'm sure it'd be even softer then . . .'

Naraku tilted his head some as his fingers continued to comb through Inuyasha's hair, envisioning what the hanyou's hair would look like washed, brushed, and pulled up into a topknot similar to his own. He smiled as the vision greeted him, pleased that it made Inuyasha look rather princely. His mind, however, didn't stop there. It washed the dirt and tears from his face and the rest of his body, clad him in the finest of silk kimonos and hakamas. The colours of the clothes didn't matter. Whatever his mind conjured up, his nemesis looked absolutely stunning.

As he continued to mentally dress and redress Inuyasha, he recalled that he had never seen Inuyasha out of his usual red haori and hakama. The red clothing had become a part of the inu hanyou, just as the Tetsusaiga had as well. To take any part of that away from him would sever whatever ties he had with his friends and to his past . . . at least, he believed that they would. He had no sure way of knowing.

'Of course, I can always find out,' he thought to himself with a grin. He sent a mental call out to Kagura and waited for her to appear, still running his fingers through Inuyasha's hair. Within a few moments, the wind demoness appeared in the door.

“Yes, Naraku?”

“I want you to prepare a bath for myself and Inuyasha. Make sure that there are plenty of soaps and linens there for the two of us. And grab some of my clothing from my room. Something for myself and for Inuyasha . . . pick whatever you like.”

 

“Pardon?”

Naraku knew that she wasn't being disrespectful in questioning him. He knew it. He'd shocked her, after all, with his request. Disbelief radiated throughout her form. However, he didn't like his orders being questioned and he quickly turned his gaze towards her. Kagura immediately bowed and took a step back, her eyes wide with fear.

“As you wish, Naraku.”

The wind demoness quickly hurried off to carry out his orders, allowing him to return his attention back to the heart-broken male laying next to him. He continued to stroke and pet Inuyasha's hair as he waited for his creation to return. The more he thought about what he wanted to do, the more determined he became to actually get it down. He didn't expect a fight from Inuyasha. The hanyou had not been very responsive to anything he'd done over the last few days. It had irritated Naraku to no end for he couldn't figure if Inuyasha was trying to mess with him the same way he was trying to mess with Inuyasha. This time, however, he wouldn't mind. Not when he could still use it to his advantage.

'I think it's time we let your friends see how well you're doing, Inuyasha. Let's see how they react to receiving this clothing you've never been without.'

* * *

 

Inuyasha sat quietly, patiently waiting for Naraku to finish doing whatever it was he had decided to do. Currently, that happened to be brushing his hair out and trying to get it pulled up, which was not an easy task. His hair had always remained in a constant state of tangles from running around so much. Before Naraku had tried to get his hair to behave, it had been a bath, in which he had allowed the dark hanyou to wash and dry him completely. Following the bath, Naraku had dressed him in some fresh clothing . . . silks, by the feel of them. They felt . . . light against his flesh and foreign. He'd grown accustomed to the warmth of his fire-rat haori, had vehemently refused to wear anything else because of the value that the clothes held to him yet . . . there he was, dressed in fine silks, having allowed his nemesis to do this to him. For some reason, though, he just couldn't bring himself to care.

“Almost done,” came the soft purr as Naraku continued to brush and tug on his hair. “Then you can see for yourself what it is that I've accomplished.”

“Mmm,” was about the only thing that Inuyasha could even muster to say to his enemy. Deep down, he knew that Naraku didn't care about him, that the dark hanyou was using him in some grand scheme and would eventually use it against him. That was just how it worked with Naraku. He didn't care about anything except his only personal gain.

'At least . . . at least I know I'm just a pawn to him . . . that he'll just toss me to the side once he's done with me . . . what he's always done . . .'

Such thoughts would have normally angered him. He had hated Naraku, ever since he had learned that he'd been the one to kill Kikyou over fifty years ago and had pitted her against him back then. There hadn't been anything more that he had wanted than to simply kill the bastard for that and retrieve the Shikon no Tama in the process. Now . . .

Now he took a small bit of comfort in that knowledge. If anything wouldn't change, it would be Naraku's feelings towards him. He could count on the dark-haired male to use him for whatever twisted scheme, just so that he could suffer a little more.

'That's all I'm really good for anyway,' he thought as he tried to console himself a little more with that knowledge. 'To be used and tossed aside . . . like trash . . .'

Within a few moments, the tugging on his hair had ceased and Kanna, Naraku's void incarnation, was walking towards them.

“All finished,” Naraku stated triumphantly. “Take a look.”

Inuyasha raised his head to see his reflection in the mirror. However, he didn't notice the way his hair shimmered and glistened like the finest of silver. He didn't notice that the dark shades of blue and violet brought out the colour in his eyes or how much he looked like his father at that moment, if he had known. All he saw was the pain that had entered his eyes. All he saw was the sadness that had come from the betrayal that had become his life. All he saw was a shattered husk of who he once used to be . . .

With a tired sigh, he closed his eyes and wished for the death he knew that had to be waiting for him.