InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Duty Of Blood ❯ who's that guy? ( Chapter 1 )

I do NOT OWN INU YASHA! I'm only borrowing him for a bit. Oh yeah.. Since this is my first Inu fic, I felt that I should warn you lovely readers.. Lol.. I can't keep angst up for longer than 6 paragraphs. Be prepared for major mood swings, falling OOC, and some very strange humor…. Oh yeah.. And I apologies ahead of time for my horrible spelling. What ever my spell check didn't recognize (if I didn't know how to spell it) I ignored. If you notice any miss spells, let me know and I'll try not to repeat it.

The Duty Of Blood
- By Caliko

Chapter One

Sesshoumaru took a shallow breath and gently closed his eyes. When he opened them, the pain was masked - still present, but hidden as befitting the great Demon Lord of the Western Lands. Almost carelessly he moved out of the shadows of the wisteria tree and into the moonlight. "Duty. Only duty."

Kagome felt fear, but not because the taiyoukai was there. For the first time since she had met him, she wasn't afraid of what he could do to her. He was acting stranger than normal, but she could feel no malice coming from him. Silently, she waited for her brother in law to say what needed to be said.

"We met on the border of my lands. I have been doing nothing but patrol them since Naruke attacked my stronghold when I was away." His eyes grew dark, his tone brittle. "If I had been more diligent, Rin and Jaken would still be with me." Then, aware that he had once again allowed his emotions through, he bit his lip and closed his eyes. After a moment, he met her startled gaze, once again in control. "Inu Yasha hadn't been aware of it, either. Naruke murdered them three weeks ago when he attempted to take over my territory."

"I'm.. I'm sorry…" It didn't seem like enough, those two small words. Sesshoumaru was not one to come in search of comfort, but still, he was in obvious pain.

He nodded, then went on. "I have not been myself." He smirked derisively. "Foolishly, I allowed my brother to prick my anger with his loose tongue, and I attacked him. I should have known better. Naruke hadn't been totally beaten back, just weakened. I knew that he would still be in the area, waiting for his chance to finish his attack. But I was not concentrating on that - I was too busy trying to make Inu Yasha eat my claws."

"What happened, Sesshoumaru? And where's Inu Yasha?"

Instead of answering her, he took something out of his belt. Then, dropping it at her feet, he turned his head away from her face. "He's dead."

She shook her head in denial, refusing to believe him. "No, he's not! I would have felt him die!" She insisted, grabbing his sleeve. "Damn you! Look me in the eyes and tell me that Naruke killed him!"

"Stupid Woman. If Naruke managed to kill him, I wouldn't have bothered to come her! Inu Yasha proved himself to me today! He…he sacrificed himself to make sure that Naruke stayed dead!" He shook off her grasp then paced in front of her. "I can't even tell you what he did! Do you know how annoying it is, to not KNOW how my brother did what he did? I can tell you the physical movements… he cut his hand and rubbed the blood down the blade. Then, he raised it in the air, as if he were going to use Bakryuha… only.. It wasn't. I have no idea what he did, psychically, to change the attack. Only.. When it went through, neither Naruke nor Inu Yasha lay on the ground. They were.. Gone."

"Gone? Then he might still be alive!" She looked up, hope returning to her eyes.

"No…I don't think so. Nothing, not even a full-blooded demon could have survived that. If Inu-Yasha had, he would have made sure that I knew it."

"But… you haven't seen his body…"

"Sister…" The word felt like grit in his mouth. He hated calling this human that! "He's gone. Gather yourself together, if only for your children's sake!" He snorted, then shook his head. "I will await you inside."

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Meanwhile….

"WHERE THE FUCK AM I?" Inu Yasha cursed, straining his eyes to see past the white haze. He brought his hand up and pushed his hair back, as if that would help, only to freeze when he caught sight of his wrist. "Son of a bitch!" He blinked, then gazed at his arm in confusion. Slowly, convinced that he was imagining things, he touched the purple stripes that ran over his skin. "What's going on?"

He brought the clawed hand up to his head, feeling the difference in his ears. Touching his face, he could feel how the skin was raised slightly over his cheeks, and he knew that stripes had appeared there, as well. "I look like Sesshoumaru…" He wasn't sure if the thought made him happy or scared the shit out of him. His brother was a bit.. Pretty for his taste.

"Inu Yasha!" The voice called from the haze, sounding almost familiar. "Where are you, Boy?"

He stayed silent, unsure if he should answer. He didn't recognize where he was, who that voice belonged to, or any distinguishing landmarks except for that damn fog. More to the point, where did his Brother and Naruke go? He thought that he killed the evil Hanyou, but this entire scene could be another one of his tricks.

A form came out of the fog, a light gray man-shape that became darker and more distinct as it came closer. Suddenly, it stopped, looking directly at the lost hanyou. "There you are, Boy!" The form said, walking faster. "Why didn't you answer me?"

Inu Yasha gaped as the fog seemed to roll away a bit. The man was an Inu Youkai, about the height and build of Sesshoumaru, but older. Instead of his brothers youthful face, this man looked as if he were middle aged. He had gleaming silver hair and magenta stripes almost exactly like the taiyoukai, but favored black instead of pristine white.

"Who are you?"

"Who do you think I am, stupid?" The old man growled as he pulled himself up to his full height to glare down on 'the boy'. "Can't you remember what your own father looks like?"

Once again, the Hanyou blinked. "My father's been dead since I was a brat." His voice was slow, unsure.

"Inu Yasha, Inu Yasha, Inu Yasha.. You are old enough to know that dead doesn't mean much to a Youkai."

"I get it now." The Hanyou mumbled, ignoring his 'Dad'. Narrowing his eyes, he said, "This is just another one of Naruke's tricks. Well, You can shove it up your ass, Naruke! I already killed you!"

Inu Yasha began to walk away, leaving a very pissed off Youkai behind. Quicker than he could hear, the taiyoukai blinked out only to appear in his son's path. Without hesitating, he reached out, boxing his ears. "Don't you DARE walk away from me, Boy! Do you know how many time's I've saved your ass these last seven years? Do you know how hard it was to put that girl in your path, so that you can finally get the balls up and tell her you loved her? Do you know just how difficult you've made my life..er.. Death? No. Of course you don't. After all, the only thing you've been able to understand is fighting, fucking, and eating!" He punctuated each word with a poke on the hanyou's red haori. "Well, I'm going to fix that. You want out of this prison? Well, I won't tell you how until you earn it!"

Nodding, he pasted an evil grin on his mouth and began to drag the boy back the way he came. "There are a few.. Tasks that you have to complete before I help you get back home."

TBC

What.. You thought he was DEAD? Oh no.. I had a much more.. Sinister idea in mind for him. Anyway, I'm sorry it's such a short chappy. All I can say is that this is the first original fic I've written in almost a year, and I'm writing it instead of doing my history hw. (Did I mention that I'm a history major in college, a wife and mother, and that I own my own auto repair shop?) In other words, I'm trying!!!!! **Glomp's world** Read and review.. It keeps me inspired to write more….