InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Forest That Bore His Name ❯ Chapter Four - Truth and Choices ( Chapter 4 )

~~Chapter Four~~

Truth and Choices

Naruku's gaze flicked to the hanyou still frozen on the floor, before returning to meet Sesshomaru's. “I would never have expected you to seek the pleasures of a hanyou. Your reputation would lead one to believe you cannot stand their presence, let alone their company.”

Sesshomaru kept his gaze neutral but disgust rode along his voice, “I would never be interested in such…entertainment.”

Naraku shrugged, “Pity. But if you are not,” his voice turned dangerous, “then what are you doing in my private quarters?”

Sesshomaru remained silent; he had no wish to defend his actions and could think of nothing else to say.

At his continued silence Naraku stalked into the room, the expression on his face reminding him of the cat who toyed with the mouse. Sesshomaru did not like that expression one bit. And as Naraku continued to slink he had a horrible urge to step back. His guards, however, were not as reserved and moved away from Inuyasha to surround him, keeping their gazes locked on Naraku.

Naraku finally stopped next to Inuyasha, placing himself directly behind Sesshomaru; a place Sesshomaru did not trust him to be. He carefully took a few steps forward before turning to face him once more.

Naraku had placed his hand on Inuyasha's head, slightly stroking his silver tresses. And that's when inspiration struck. “I am curious as to how you discovered such a…specimen.”

He saw the delighted spark in those sickening eyes and he knew he had him. “But you just protested interest in such fun.”

“But I can see the benefit of the trade.”

Naraku let out a delighted laugh, “All business I see,” while Inuyasha tried not to look up at Sesshomaru in shock. Never in all the tales he had heard about him and in the decade he himself had spent in his company had he ever heard a whisper of Sesshomaru showing anything but disgust about the trade in flesh; an enterprise he considered too beneath him. Maybe he really didn't know his former half-brother.

“It's actually very easy, I simply watched the orphanages.”

Cold swept Sesshomaru's veins, “The orphanages?”

The maniacal light seemed to brighten as Naraku reveled in his own brilliance, “I simply put a watch on several orphanages and looked over the prospects when they arrived.” He shrugged, “It took a while but eventually this one came into my sights.” The hand in Inuyasha's hair moved down to wrap loosely around the back of his neck; the grin on Naraku's face - self-congratulatory.

Sesshomaru, however was feeling less and less pleased with himself; in fact, his feelings were fast approaching horror. His gaze fell once more on Inuyasha, who was trying very had to go unnoticed, but since he was the current subject he wasn't being very successful. His gaze remained fixed on the floor in front of him, his ears still pinned to his head and he hadn't moved at all since Naraku had entered the room.

“If you wish to set up a trade in such goods, perhaps a partnership could be arranged.”

Sesshomaru immediately sneered at such an idea, but merely said “Perhaps.”

Again that indifferent shrug, “Very well; maybe I should pursue it on my own.” He looked down at Inuyasha, “An interesting prospect, isn't it Inuyasha.”

Inuyasha responded immediately, but his voice was soft with pain and horror, “Hai, Otou-san.”

Sesshomaru's world lurched. The truth smacking him in the face.

Oh gods.

He needed to leave. Now.

He tried to console himself with the fact that Naraku knew nothing about Inuyasha's origins; for that sadistic bastard would have certainly used it in this meeting, but it was little consolation.

Sesshomaru didn't bother with formalities; he simply turned and left the room. Aiko and Haku hesitating a moment before following after him. He didn't have to look down to imagine the disapproving gazes they were both sporting. They certainly didn't agree with leaving one who they, at least, still considered a charge. But he didn't care, Inuyasha was not his responsibility and his current fate didn't change that. He was not the one who'd slept with a human whore and impregnated her with that bastard hanyou. It didn't matter that death had been the only thing to stop his father from fulfilling his duties. It was still his father, and not him who had failed.

And if he kept telling himself that he might even believe it one day.

~~~~~

Inuyasha lifted his head slightly to catch a final glimpse of Sesshomaru's retreating back, a final swish of the guardians' tails and they were gone. Naraku's touch lingered on his nape for a moment before he stalked once more to the door. He gave a final glance back at Inuyasha still seated on the floor.

“Do not forget that I'll be back in a few days, you should be ready for me.” He smiled, wholly predatorily “Then we shall have some fun.”

With that parting shot he was gone, returned to his party; leaving the hanyou with a single choice pounding through his brain.

Inuyasha remained where he was, long after the last sounds of Naraku's departure faded away; letting that choice bounce between his ears, trying to view it from every angle.

He slowly came back to himself, still without an answer. But as he looked around the room, a room that had been replicated so many times, in so many places; he suddenly felt as if he was drowning, drowning in memories and horrors that played like some demented home video behind his eyes, overlaying every surface. A shudder ran through his frame and he let his chin drop to his chest, squeezing his eyes shut before bringing his hands up, pressing them against his eyelids until sparks played in the darkness.

He let out a shuttering breath, He would not cry, before slowly bringing his hands down from his face once more. He had to leave, no matter what the price, in any coin, be it gold or blood, he had to leave. The decision swept through him brushing away any lingering doubts; they would not help him now.

Inuyasha took another steadying breath; he needed to figure out a plan. So he stayed where he was, trying to give his body a bit more time to heal before he had to move again. He heard the sounds of the party die down and when a servant came in to deliver food he feigned unconsciousness until they left.

It was time to act.

He began to climb to his feet, when the oddest sensation shot through his back. Pain he could ignore but this wasn't pain; it was like someone had grabbed his lower back and tugged. He sat back down in order to twist around, the rest of his back protesting, and look at the sticky, distorted mess behind him. It took a bit of staring to figure out that it was a tail; his tail. Admittedly looking rather pathetic and the worse for wear but still there. Inuyasha now knew where the pain that had finally made him pass out had come from.

It occurred to Inuyasha that this was probably his mark of adulthood. Had Naruku been so desperate to see it he'd ripped it out early? Gods, how many fetishes could one person have, but decided that wasn't worth thinking about. Ah well, he'd just have to be careful with it. He slowly pried the tail away from the towel, snipping hairs here and there, till finally he no longer had terry cloth trailing after him.

He got slowly to his feet and, step by tottering step, made his way over to the bathroom, dragging a towel off the racks and climbing into the shower. He let the water run down his back, but not pound on it; instead using a cloth on his back and tail. He didn't dawdle in the shower, much as he wanted to, but finished as fast as possible.

Moving a bit easier now, he went back to the closet, snatched up a pair of jeans and deciding against putting a hole in them, pulled them on, tucking his tail inside them. He also grabbed a t-shirt and his haori; putting the haori on over the shirt, before completing the odd look with a rain coat. Inuyasha shuffled back to the bathroom door, locking it on the inside then pulling it shut with a snap; his habit of secluding himself in the bathroom when his father was away would serve to delay the start of a search. He then left the closet once more, snatching up a spare sheet on his way out and proceeding to rip it in half, folding one half inside the other, which he tied into an impromptu bag before going over to his, now cold, dinner.

He put the meat, potatoes and bread into his makeshift sack, not bothering himself about stains and topped it off by downing the soup in a few large gulps. Inuyasha then made his way over to the shoji screens that blocked the entrance to the stairs, shoving them aside; before giving the room one final look.

Nothing looked out of place, the blood stained towels the only testament to what had gone on in this room, would be cleaned up by a servant soon enough. And the last bit of his presence in this room would be washed away.

With no further thought he pushed himself past the threshold and shut the door behind him.

~~~~~

Sesshomaru paced around his study; the two guardians watching his progress back and forth across the room, both wearing identical looks of disapproval.

What was he supposed to do? Even if he wanted to take Inuyasha from Naraku, which he didn't, he couldn't just demand the boy's removal. He was legally adopted, wasn't he? That thought made him pause. Perhaps he'd been kidnapped.

Sesshomaru snorted, disgusted with his attempt at deluding himself. No, someone like Naraku would have had no problem getting their hands on an orphaned hanyou the legal way. Sesshomaru forced himself to stop pacing, disgruntled that he was letting this get to him so much.

But he would not be able to push this aside as he had done nearly a century ago, when he had let the hanyou get carted away. And it was not only his conscience that would bother him. Aiko and Haku had barely forgiven him the last time.

And now…well. He was surprised they were even being this patient.

There was no help for it, he needed advice; the council of the one person who could safely call themselves his friend.

He needed to speak with the miko.

~~~~~

The hewn rock surface was rough under his fingers as he slowly made his way up the darkened staircase. The scent of the outdoors was getting stronger as he went until he finally came to a large oaken door, the Nippon style shoji screens being abandoned in favour of more insulating wood.

He turned the handle, finding it to be miraculously unlocked, before stepping out onto the open balcony. It was set in what appeared to have once been a small cave, its mouth framing the view.

He stepped to the banister lined edge, looking for way out, when a biting wind whipped through the cave causing him to shiver slightly, his wounds prickling in discomfort, until he mastered himself.

He finally spotted a tree rooted where the banister met the mountain. Making his way to it he climbed gingerly up and over the banister, wrapping his hands around the small, but stable trunk, before looking around. The ground was fairly steep but below him more trees clustered and he could probably lower himself from trunk to trunk.

Slowly, he reached out to the next tree, stumbling slightly and feeling the heart stopping sensation of freefall; before his hand wrapped around the new tree and he jerked himself to a stop, his back causing him to hiss in pain before he righted himself.

He continued down along the mountainside, until about a hundred meters below the balcony, he finally came to a small breadth of even land; apparently the working of the forest dwellers for it snaked into a narrow path that disappeared around the mountain.

He sighed in relief. This would make things a lot easier and safer. Once he followed this to the western side of the mountain, he would be in familiar territory and much better off then if he'd had to descend to the bottom. He picked his way along the path, trying not to use his arms too much so the marks wouldn't sting.

And from one instant to the next he was there.

Inuyasha stopped and looked around. The forest looked no different here then from where he'd come, but he felt it. It was incomparable to what was, but five feet behind him.

This was home.

It was a bittersweet moment when Inuyasha felt the forest open to him, whispering its long forgotten secrets, enticing him to run along its hidden paths. He let that feeling envelop him; snake up his spine and sooth his nerves. He wanted to whoop with joy, but suspected his body would be less then grateful; so instead settled for a small, quiet smile, before hitching his pack a little higher and continuing on.

The wind on this side seemed calmer as well, a gentle breeze rather than the approaching gale of the other side. And when he looked back from where he'd come he saw his own trail was being quietly wiped away. Like trying to watch a flower bloom, it was slow and subtle, but he could see where already all traces of him having been, were gone. Inuyasha's smile widened a little. He'd be alright; he could do this.

He resumed his trek once more, using landmarks to situate himself within his mental map. He was on the eastern most borders of his ancestors' lands. If he headed directly west he would be able to find plenty of shelter and food; all he would need to be careful of was avoiding the personal grounds of both the temple and Sesshomaru's home. From there it would be clear sailing to the western border, putting a good distance and no clues between him and his father.

The trail he was on began to slope down into the valley and he stuck to it, remembering the boulder made shelter that was nestled on the valley floor. It would be a good place to rest. He was already panting and he was sweating far too much for his liking. Bringing his hand across his brow, he noticed how clammy he seemed to feel.

I guess I'm not doing as well as I thought. But he stubbornly trudged on, until, finally, the tree guarded boulders came into view. It was exactly how he remembered it. He collapsed next to the entrance, taking off his small pack and shoving it through the entrance before following in after it. He unwrapped the food, but set it aside in a crevice that he cleared of leaves, wanting to be sparse with his supplies in case it took him longer then expected to find other food. He then unfolded the other sheet and wrapped both around himself. He tried sitting against the wall to rest, but the scream of his injuries advised against that, so instead he settled down in the generous layer of leaves, grateful for the warmth stored there and let a dreamless sleep envelop him.

~~~~~

A/N: I want to thank Dracavia, my beta, for aiding in my obsession with grammatical perfection.

I'm sorry for the huge delay and yes I do have a plan for this story already its just a matter of writing it down.

And I know I'm going to get questions on this so I'll try to head them off. No Inuyasha doesn't realize what his tail means; he just thinks that it's another of Naraku's fetishes, which it is, just not the one he's thinking of.

Finally, I must thank the spurt of reviewers who popped up at the end of last month. I had written the first half of this chapter months ago and hadn't touched it since then those reviews came and it got back on my mind until I finally sat down and wrote the rest today. So a special shout out to tinkrbell3, SilenceoftheHeart and Korune. I will definitely get the next chapter out faster (won't be hard) and thanks one again to all those who have read.

Disclaimer - I don't own Inuyasha and company.