InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Suppression ❯ Chapter 13 ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 13

 

Sesshoumaru sat up with a start, knocking Inuyasha off his chest where he had been sleeping.

 

“What's going on?” the hanyou asked groggily. Inuyasha wiped his hand over his face to try and wake up a little more.

 

“Just a dream,” Sesshoumaru sighed out dejectedly. He hated waking up like this, the dreams were bothering him less and less, but still, when he had one, it left him feeling small and terrified for a few moments before he could gain control over himself.

 

“Want to talk about it?” Inuyasha questioned, sitting up fully.

 

“Not really,” Sesshoumaru intoned dully. “It's just more of the same.”

 

Inuyasha sat behind his brother and began to massage his tense shoulders. He leaned forward and gave his sibling a light kiss on the side of his neck. “You know I'm here for you, you can tell me anything,” the hanyou comforted.

 

Sesshoumaru smiled, “I know,” he returned. The taiyoukai closed his eyes and let his brother sooth out the knots and kinks from his shoulders and neck.

 

They stayed that way for a few minutes more, relaxing in the comfortable silence and listening to the birds as they woke from their slumber. Inuyasha stopped rubbing his brother's shoulders and draped his arms over them, clasping his hands in front of the taiyoukai's chest. “Feel better?” he asked.

 

“Yes,” Sesshoumaru replied, as he put his hand over his brother's combined pair. “You should get going before the others come looking for you.”

 

“I know you don't want me to bug you about this, but why don't we just combine our groups? It would be a lot easier.”

 

“Inuyasha, I've told you, no,” Sesshoumaru returned a bit testily. He was getting so tired of this same argument.

 

“It's been over a month. Don't you want to be with me?” Inuyasha scowled, he too was finding this whole thing bothersome. Trekking back and forth between camps was a nuisance as far as he was concerned and he didn't understand why Sesshoumaru was so adamantly against being with his friends, and by association, him.

 

“It is not that and you know it,” Sesshoumaru stated with annoyance. “Besides, how do you think your friends would react to the two of us? I assume you still haven't told them.”

 

Inuyasha's face flushed with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. “They don't have to know every little thing I do, you know,” he groused.

 

Sesshoumaru snorted derisively, “No, but this is not a little thing now, is it?” The demon lord stood from the comfort of the blankets they had put down on the soft ground the night before. He looked down as his sibling who was staring at the blades of grass in front of him. The taiyoukai sighed at the sadness he could see hiding behind the anger in those golden eyes. “Be content with what we have,” he said softly, reaching his hand out to help his younger brother to his feet. “Being able to trust in someone, to show my emotions, it's all very new to me and confusing. Be patient with me, otouto.”

 

“Alright,” Inuyasha sighed out, his anger leaving him. “I'll wait for now, but we do need to talk about what's going to happen with us. I told you before that I wanted more than just sex.”

 

Sesshoumaru nodded and began to dress himself. He hugged his brother before he could leave. “Don't be angry, Inuyasha. Give me some time.”

 

“I'm not angry,” Inuyasha stated. He leaned over and kissed his brother softly on the lips. “I love you,” he whispered when they parted. The hanyou then left, wondering if his brother would ever be ready to say those words to him.

 

 

 

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“What do you mean you're leaving?” Inuyasha asked his brother as they lay nude in the thicket of tall grass.

 

Sesshoumaru sat up and began to dress. “I have duties to attend to in the Southern Lands. I have a meeting with the lord there,” he explained patiently.

 

It had been almost three months since the brothers had become lovers, and this would be the first time that the two would be separated for more than a couple of days. The taiyoukai still refused to join the hanyou's group, much to his younger sibling's aggravation, but they managed to spend almost every evening together until the sun would rise and Inuyasha would again return to his friends.

 

“How long are you going to be gone?” Inuyasha questioned a bit quietly.

 

“No more than a week.” Sesshoumaru looked over to his pouting brother and smirked. “Are you going to miss my lovemaking that much?” he teased.

 

“Sesshoumaru!” Inuyasha yelped out with a hot blush rising to his cheeks, causing his older brother to laugh. This was something that the taiyoukai was now capable of. He had been learning, since being with his brother, to let down his defences and not be afraid to show his emotions, to let others know his heart. The half-demon never got tired of hearing that deep, husky sound and he smiled in spite of his embarrassment.

 

Inuyasha sighed, his grin disappearing, knowing there was nothing he could do about it. His brother was still Lord of the Western Lands and had certain responsibilities that demanded his time and attention. The hanyou figured his sibling had probably put off things he should have taken care of earlier in order to meet with him most nights. He picked up his clothing and began to dress as well, his back turned to the taiyoukai. The hanyou was still a bit disconcerted that they didn't seem to be moving forward in their relationship. They had still to talk over things and he was surprised when he felt a strong arm encircling him from behind, breaking him out of his thoughts.

 

“I'll miss you too, otouto,” Sesshoumaru whispered into his ear. The demon nuzzled the hanyou's unruly hair aside and gave him a kiss on the back of his neck before releasing him.

 

Inuyasha smiled happily at the tenderness he received from his brother, deciding he could wait until the taiyoukai returned to talk to him.

 

Sesshoumaru watched as his hanyou brother gave him a wave and walked away, back to his friends and his search for the shikon shards before turning himself to head back to Rin and Jaken so they could be on their way.

 

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Sniffing the air, a young adult wolf demoness popped her head up from the meadow of tall grass where she had unsuccessfully been trying to dig a rabbit out of its hole. She had definitely caught the scent of a human. She looked around, her yellow/green eyes landing on the small human child that was happily and ignorantly picking flowers.

 

Normally, the ookami would have not hesitated to hunt down and eat a human, especially if they were on their own, but this child reminded her of her young sister who had only recently passed away. The human even wore her hair the same way, in a small ponytail on the side of her head.

 

The black haired wolf stood so the girl would be able to see her and walked towards her, curious as to why such a small child would be out in the middle of nowhere on her own.

 

Rin's hand froze before she could pick the flower she had been going for, her eyes going large as a twinge of fear ran through her. She straightened and warily watched the wolf demon approach, her heart tripping in her chest like a running rabbit. She was just about to turn and flee back to Jaken when the ookami stopped and tilted her head in curiosity in a very canine and puppyish way.

 

“Are you lost, child?” the demoness asked. She stopped moving towards the little girl when she sensed the child's nervousness. “I won't hurt you. Do you need help to find your way home?”

 

“No, I know where I am,” Rin answered. The small girl was beginning to calm, but was still hesitant to trust the ookami, even though this wolf didn't seem to want to hurt her. Rin looked around the meadow to see if any others were around.

 

“I'm the only one here,” the ookami explained, noticing how the little girl's eyes darted around nervously. The wolf bent over and started picking some flowers, keeping her movements non-threatening so as not to further alarm the wide eyed girl. “What's your name?”

 

“Rin,” the little girl answered as she watched the demoness pick the different colored blossoms, holding her own bouquet close to her chest.

 

“I'm Shorai,” the wolf answered. She picked a large blue flower and held it up for Rin to see. “This one's nice, don't you think?”

 

Rin smiled and walked over to the female wolf, her naturally friendly temperament taking over, allowing her careless demeanour to return. “It's very pretty,” she agreed and began to pick flowers with her new friend.

 

Now that the human female was closer to her, Shorai could definitely see the similarities between this human child and her young demon sister. Both had dark hair and eyes, they were about the same height and age, and both had that wonderfully innocent smile. The ookami's eyes stated to water as she thought of her little sister.

 

“Is something wrong?” Rin asked when she noticed the tears in the wolf's eyes.

 

“You remind me of someone that I miss, that's all,” Shorai answered, quickly wiping her face and passing Rin the blue flower. The child tucked it into the middle of her growing bouquet.

 

“If you miss them then you should go see them,” Rin replied, pleased at her logic.

 

Shorai put her hand on the child's shoulder and gave her a sad smile. “She's dead so I can't see her anymore.”

 

“Oh,” Rin returned her happiness now subdued.

 

“Don't be sad,” Shorai told her. “She's in a good place now and I'll get to see her someday when it's my turn to cross to the other side.”

 

“Really?” Rin asked, thinking of her own parents. “Do you think I'll get to see people I miss when I die?”

 

The wolf demoness gave the child an inquiring look. “Yes, I'm sure you will,” she answered patting the child's shoulder. “But we don't have to worry about that for a long time yet. Now, who are you picking all these lovely flowers for, your mother?”

 

“No,” Rin answered sadly. She soon perked up. “They're for Lord Sesshoumaru,” she said with a smile.

 

Ah, her mother must be the one she's missing, the ookami thought, realizing that Rin's mother must be dead. “Lord Sesshoumaru?” Shorai questioned. “Never heard of him.” That didn't surprise the wolf, she really didn't keep up on which human was in power in which lands. I wonder if he's her father. Funny this child would be out all alone if she's the daughter of a lord. I wonder if she ran away. I guess it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on her.

 

Shorai suddenly stiffened, lifting her head and sniffing the air, her thoughts interrupted. She could feel the aura of a demon, a powerful one and it was approaching fast. “Get behind me, Rin,” she ordered as she prepared herself to protect the little girl. As the demon advanced towards her, the wolf growled, baring her teeth and standing between the white haired male inu and her little friend, her heart pounding in her chest. His aura is so strong. I hope I can keep him from hurting Rin. She was really starting to regret not taking a weapon with her when she had left her pack, especially when she noticed that this demon had two swords hanging at his side.

 

“Lord Sesshoumaru,” Rin cried out happily, running out from behind the demoness to greet her lord, holding out the bouquet of flowers she had picked. “I picked these for you. Shorai picked the blue one,” she told him.

 

Shorai stood up from her defensive crouch, blinking in confusion, the hairs on her black tail smoothing back down. That's Lord Sesshoumaru?!? “You know this demon, Rin?” she asked as she warily took stock of the handsome inu who had taken the flowers from the child and was now looking at her.

 

“Yes, this is Lord Sesshoumaru, he takes care of Rin,” the little girl told her, giving her a toothy grin. “Oh, this is Shorai-chan,” she announced, remembering her manners and introducing her adoptive father to her new friend.

 

The two canines stood staring at each other; Shorai in perplexed befuddlement, Sesshoumaru in silent appraisal. Leave it to Rin to make friends with anyone and everyone, the demon lord thought. “You tried to protect her from me,” Sesshoumaru stated. He had been mildly impressed by this, as she had to have known that there was no way for her to defeat him, yet she had put herself between him and Rin, growling and snarling as if she was the child's own mother.

 

“My apologies, my lord,” Shorai returned, remembering her own manners. She bowed respectfully before the demon lord, thankful that she wouldn't have to fight him after all. She knew, though, that she better do some schmoozing if she didn't want to anger this powerful lord. “I did not know she was yours.”

 

Sesshoumaru glanced around the meadow, ignoring the comment. “Where is the rest of your pack?”

 

“I don't have a pack,” Shorai stated as she straightened from her bow. She pushed her long, black hair back behind her. “I'm a lone wolf.”

 

Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow at her in disbelief, even as an inu youkai, he knew that lone wolves were always male, but he decided it really wasn't his business. He looked at her for a moment longer; off handedly thinking she was rather pretty before he turned without saying a word. He started back to the campsite where he had left his green retainer and Rin when he went to speak to the lord of the Southern Lands.

 

Rin began to follow her master and then turned to wave goodbye to her friend. Even she didn't miss the sad look on the ookami's face and the little girl frowned in thought. She ran to catch up to her lord.

 

Shorai sighed as the two disappeared into the forest and out of sight, the little girl running to catch up to the demon, who was still holding the spray of flowers. She realized that she had been hoping that the child had no one to go to so that maybe she could have stayed with her. Well I guess I better find something to eat, she thought, suddenly feeling very lonely. She left the meadow to continue to hunt.

 

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Rin sat quietly by the fire, putting the flowers in a small vase that she carried with her, tucked into her kimono. She always picked fresh flowers to put in it so they would always have something pretty to look at when they camped. She was currently twirling the blue flower that her wolf friend had given her in her fingers with a thoughtful and sad look on her face.

 

“Is something the matter, Rin?” Sesshoumaru asked, noticing how quiet his little girl had gotten since they had returned to the camp. He was planning on spending the night here and then travelling the rest of the day tomorrow to get back to find his brother. The meeting had taken longer than he had expected and he missed his sibling quite a bit since they had parted.

 

“I was just thinking of Sho-chan,” Rin replied, giving the wolf a nickname. She came over to sit by her lord. “She doesn't have anybody to be with her.”

 

“I am sure she will be fine,” Sesshoumaru stated.

 

“Don't bother our lord with such foolishness,” Jaken squawked, overhearing the conversation. He wasn't entirely sure what they were talking about, but it sounded like it had something to do with that wolf demon Rin had run into. His lord had been most displeased with the toad for not keeping a better eye on the little girl and allowing her to wander off on her own. He rubbed the back of his head where the large lump was still painfully throbbing away. “The wellbeing of a dumb wolf is of no concern to Lord Sesshoumaru,” he stated forcefully.

 

“She's not dumb,” Rin cried out, angry at the toad.

 

Sesshoumaru gave the imp a sharp look, which quieted his green mouth in a hurry. He bowed and shuffled off out of head smacking range.

 

Rin was quietly sniffing, looking at the ground.

 

“Perhaps we shall see if we can locate her tomorrow,” Sesshoumaru offered to stop the small girls tears. He leaned forward and wiped her face with the sleeve of his haori.

 

Rin looked up at him with a huge smile and gave her lord a big hug. She passed him the blue flower which she still had in her hand. Saying goodnight to him, she went off to her blanket.