InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Prophecy ❯ Wherein the Farce Continues ( Chapter 53 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: mshutts 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Psychological / Hentai | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 12.06.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 2.1K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Psychological / Hentai | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 12.06.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 2.1K | Status: Completed
The Prophecy
By: mshutts
WARNING: incest
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters here-in except for Sturaki
* * * * *
Chapter 52: Wherein the Farce Continues
He followed his mate and brand new son into the room. The priestess his little brother appeared to be so fond of had awoken in the time they were gone so now they were facing the entire rest of Inuyasha’s pack. He decided to, once again, allow his mate to take the lead. After all, these were not his friends that they were talking to, but rather his brother’s.
He watched in hidden amusement as the humans in Inuyasha’s pack looked between the three newcomers and then exchanged glances amongst themselves. It was obvious that they found something objectionable, but Sesshoumaru was at a loss as to what exactly it was that they disapproved of.
After all, it was highly unlikely that the humans were aware of the mating yet. They did not have the senses needed to tell. He supposed that perhaps they were still displeased with his prior treatment of the priestess. However, if they were expecting an apology of any sort for the act, they would find themselves sorely disappointed. He was not about to apologize for something he felt that girl-child had coming.
In fact, thinking back on the matter, he took a step closer to his mate just in case she decided to try that stunt again. The whole time he had been pondering this, the silent staring had continued. Even the kitsune was not making a sound as if he was aware of the importance of this as well.
A glance at Inuyasha’s face showed that he was at a loss for words to explain and Sesshoumaru was once again struck with the feeling that they were making much more out of this than should be.
Finally, the miko opened her mouth. “How dare you choke me?!” she screamed, pointing an accusing finger directly at him.
He could feel his ire beginning to rise again and would have taken a step forward if it were not for his baby brother taking a step between the two of them, so he was standing with Sesshoumaru at his back. “Leave him alone, Kagome,” came the surprisingly calm statement which was immediately answered by the human girl’s shrill voice.
Sesshoumaru merely stared at his little brother’s back while Inuyasha argued with that girl over whether or not she should drop her issue with the demon lord. Sesshoumaru found himself in a state of confusion. Was his baby brother defending him? This made no sense to him. Why would his younger brother, despite being his mate, defend him? Why would he even feel the need to? Did Inuyasha feel he was incapable of defending himself?
The more he thought about it, the more the implications were getting to him. How dare his mate, his BETA, imply that he was in need of protection? How dare he imply that he could not stand up to this little slip of a girl and win? He came back just as she was screaming at Inuyasha that she had bruises on her neck and his little brother was scoffing that it was better to be bruised than dead.
Having enough of this, Sesshoumaru put his hand on his young mate’s shoulder and moved him to the side, out of his way of the priestess. And, looking straight into the eyes of the still fuming girl, he calmly stated, “It is my right as alpha to protect my mate in any manner I so choose.” He had expected that to be the end of it, but he felt a sudden wrench on his arm and found himself facing his furious brother.
“What the hell are you doing?!” was spat in his face.
Feeling put out that his mate required an explanation for something so simple, Sesshoumaru merely looked at him balefully. Apparently fed up, Inuyasha shouted, “Don’t give me that look! I was handling it! And then you have to come in here and been all, ‘I am the alpha, I am always right’ and screw everything up!”
Becoming annoyed at his little brother, ‘who was HE to lecture HIM anyway?’, he coldly stated, “You were handling nothing. You were arguing with that wench of yours and getting nowhere.”
“I was getting to it! You didn’t even give me a chance to try!”
“You were wasting time,” Sesshoumaru replied calmly, refusing to allow his young mate to bait him into a yelling match as he had with the human girl.
“Feh! That is the last time I ever help you with a problem.”
“I did not have a problem, nor did I ask for your assistance.”
“You didn’t have a problem?!” Inuyasha glared at Sesshoumaru, pointing a single finger at him in scolding. It was giving Sesshoumaru the urge to rip it right off his hand, but his little brother just kept going. “Listen here, you asshole…”
Thankfully for Inuyasha’s finger, Miroku spoke up before the statement could be completed. “You two are mates?”
Both the youkai and hanyou turned to the monk with blank looks, their argument forgotten. Sesshoumaru watched the monk squirm under their joint looks, mildly entertained. Meanwhile, his younger brother was being as eloquent as always and said, “Hungh?”
Clearing his throat, the monk restated his initial question, “Inuyasha, are you mated to Lord Sesshoumaru?”
Sesshoumaru turned to see what his mate’s response would be. To his shock, Inuyasha’s cheeks tinted pink and he turned his gaze from the monk’s before saying, “That’s what he said, isn’t it?”
“But…but, why?” asked the slayer.
“It wasn’t like it was planned or something,” Inuyasha mumbled. “It just kind of happened.”
Sesshoumaru looked at his mate curiously. It hadn’t been planned? He had thought they had both put a good deal of thought into this. Perhaps he was wrong. No, he couldn’t have been wrong. There was no way he could have possibly misread everything that had happened in the past month. True, neither he nor his brother had been overly pleased with what fate seemed to have planned for them at the beginning, but now they had both accepted it as inevitable.
Wait, perhaps that was what he was referring to when he said it had not been planned. It had not been the way they had thought their lives were going to be until just a short while ago. Up until recently, he never would have even considered his brother as potential mate material. Determining that that must be what he was referring to, he brought his attention back to the conversation only to find that the priestess was in tears.
“Ka..Kagome, don’t cry,” he heard come from his little brother. Looking over, he saw a slightly panicky look on his face.
“What do you want me to do?! Laugh?!” came the near-hysterical response.
“No, but stop crying. It’s not that bad?” came the questioningly hopeful reply. Sesshoumaru momentarily wondered who he was asking.
“Not that bad? Not that BAD?! How can you say that?! You mated with your brother! Your brother! How could you do anything so…so…so DISGUSTING?!” Sesshoumaru turned his hard gaze to the priestess who had stopped crying and was now raging. “Oooooo! SIT BOY! SIT! SIT!...”
She most likely would have continued to chant the ‘sit’s had Sesshoumaru not appeared in front of her and backhanded her at that moment. That did it. She not only tried attempted to hurt his mate and possible pup AGAIN, she insulted their entire relationship! How dare that vile human even think she could do these things and get away with them. He would make her pay.
Still furious, he walked over to where she had fallen to the ground after hitting the wall, unconscious, trying to calm himself the whole way. He kept a steady chant of ‘Inuyasha doesn’t want me to kill her. Inuyasha doesn’t want me to kill her.’ going through his head the whole way, but it was only helping marginally. Truly this was a human who deserved to die.
For the second time today, she had hurt his mate. His poor mate who was already weakened from having been sick for so long. It was unacceptable. Some recompense must be made. And to think, he had been considering letting his little brother deal with them. That was out of the question now. There was no way he would leave his obviously naïve baby brother to their mechanizations.
These humans had to get out of his sight immediately. He had had it with all their hysterics. And if they were going to treat Inuyasha in such a manner, then they could very well just leave and never return. It was not as if they were needed here in the first place. He could oversee the care and well-being of his mate just fine on his own. After all, they were in his home, they were under HIS sufferance.
With these thoughts in mind, he drew upon that loathsome priestess only to be stopped once again. “You had better have a good reason for stopping me,” he snarled out to that damnable witch. ‘Would it really be so bad to just kill her?’ he wondered to himself, feeling the itching desire to shred something.
“Indeed I do,” came the serene reply. “Do you think your mate would forgive you for killing this girl?”
“He would get over it. Now move.”
“I’m afraid I cannot do that, Lord Sesshoumaru. You are not in your right mind at the moment,” she said in that matter-of-fact voice of hers and he felt some of his rage at the situation in general focusing in on her.
“This ‘girl’ as you say has harmed my mate twice in one day when he is already in a weakened state. If he is with pup, she might have also killed that pup. And yet you stand here and dare to tell me not to kill her? After everything she has done?” Sesshoumaru asked his voice and youki raising, thoroughly outraged.
It was then that a soft sound reached his ears. “Sesshoumaru, help me.” It was barely there at all and had he not been a demon, or perhaps had it been someone else’s voice, he would not have heard. But it still managed to call him back and he found himself once again completely dismissing the female’s presence and appearing back at his brother’s side.
Pulling his younger brother up, he asked, “What do you need?” while once again cradling the smaller body on his lap. He did not call for Jaken to retrieve more rabbits this time since something instinctual was telling him they would not help. So, he just did what he could with his youki, no matter how little that actually turned out to be.
All he received in response to his question was his mate burrowing his head into his chest and clutching to his outer haori. Realizing that Inuyasha had most likely simply wanted to be held and comforted, perhaps even looking to waylay him from extracting vengeance upon the miko for the moment if he was that aware, Sesshoumaru simply held his younger brother and allowed him to do as he pleased.
All in all, Sesshoumaru was quickly growing sick of this cycle they seemed to be stuck in. His brother would argue with that wench, she would ‘sit’ him, Sesshoumaru would attack her, Inuyasha and Sturaki would keep him from killing her, and he would have to comfort his weakened mate. Again. It was getting old. He did not wish to have this ever happen again, but the only way to insure that was to either kill the priestess, which everyone kept thwarting him in doing or get rid of those damnable beads around his mate’s neck.
As he was thinking on this, his thoughts drifted to the rest of the half-demon’s pack. Perhaps they would know of some way to assist in this matter. Checking on his mate once again, as Sesshoumaru had decided it would probably be best to have this conversation without his little brother being cognizant of it, he was grateful to note that the combination of the weakened youki, mating season, and most likely his own presence had seemed to have once again sent his mate to his happy, dreamlike state from earlier.
Satisfied that Inuyasha was momentarily down for the count, Sesshoumaru turned his attention to the others in the room. Observing them, he decided it would be best to question the one with the spiritual energy. Besides, the monk seemed to have the most sense of all of Inuyasha’s companions. Having made up his mind, he said, “Monk,” and waited to receive his complete attention before continuing. “How do you remove these cursed beads from my little brother’s neck?”
The looks on the other members of his baby brother’s old pack grew wary all of the sudden. Sesshoumaru did not like this new development. Why would they be wary of such an innocent question? Unless they liked the idea of that girl-child being able to hurt his mate as well.
The thought made his temper begin to surface again. And, whereas just a month ago he would have questioned why he cared about how his baby brother was abused, now he was only focused on the fact that this was HIS mate that was being abused. He was the only one with the right to decide what form of punishment Inuyasha deserved or even if, in fact, he was in need of punishment at all.
Could it be that his ‘pack’, his so-called ‘friends’ agreed that he was in need of regular punishment? He did not hear of any of them being punished in such a way. Maybe that thought it was fine because he was a hanyou. Or perhaps they were afraid. Maybe they felt he needed a leash.
As if in confirmation of his suspicions, the slayer uncertainly asked, “Why would you want to do that?”
He felt his anger level rising even higher. The priestess was not the only one who needed to die, obviously. How could his baby brother put up with this insult? How had he not killed them all already? Why was he still protecting them, even now, even knowing that she could be killing their pup in her arrogance? Did he truly care so little for himself? For their pup?
If that was the case, he would have to be the one to keep a watch out for him. It was his duty as the alpha to protect his mate and pups from harm after all. He tried to ignore his youki commenting that he had thus far failed miserably in that regard. He also tried not to look down at the body of his mate that was draped over his lap, a testament to how badly he was doing in this, possibly the most important duty he would ever have.
Feeling his own anger and shame at allowing this to happen to his mate again while he was right there, Sesshoumaru leveled a glare at her, replying, “Either you tell me how to remove them or I will kill the priestess.”
“Now, Lord Sesshoumaru, I am sure we can work something out,” the monk said in what he supposed was intended to be a soothing voice.
Sesshoumaru was not in the mood to be coddled. He switched his icy glare to the monk and stated coldly, “There is nothing to work out. Either it is gone or she dies.” Indeed, that was the only acceptable course of action. These events could not be allowed to occur again.
“Regrettably, the only one with the power to remove the necklace is Lady Kagome. I do not have enough strength myself to remove the enchantment. So, you shall have to wait until she arises once again to make your request.”
Realizing that the monk was most likely telling the truth, at least to the extent that he was aware of it, Sesshoumaru dropped the matter for the time being, although he still allowed it to stew in the back of his mind. He idly wondered how long it would take the priestess to reawaken so he could make his demand of her.
Dismissing the humans in the room as being not important enough to pay attention to, he had already turned his attention back to his mate when the monk made an inquiry of him. “Lord Sesshoumaru, if I may ask, why did you choose to mate with Inuyasha?”
Weighing the pros and cons of telling this human anything, Sesshoumaru decided that the question had been phrased respectfully enough that it deserved some type of response. And so, he answered, “My youki was interested in his.”
“That’s it?” asked the demon slayer in disbelief.
He favored her a blank look and stated blandly, “Nothing more is necessary.”
“How can you base an entire mating on that? That’s ridiculous!” she exclaimed.
“It is the demon way. I would not expect a human to understand.” Sesshoumaru was beginning to lose his patience with this one as well. What was it about his baby brother that attracted people with the most annoying personalities to him? Then again, his little brother was rather annoying in his own right, perhaps that was the reason.
“It may be true that a human would not understand,” commented the monk cautiously, “but Inuyasha is half-human. Did he not have any problem with this arrangement?”
“That is none of your affair,” Sesshoumaru responded, hoping this entire line of questioning would just be dropped. The last thing he needed was a reminder of the fact that he had yet to convince the human half of his mate that being his mate in the first place was a good idea. The youkai lord saw the monk make a barely perceptible nod to himself and wondered at what he was agreeing with.
“Have you considered the possibility that this might have all been a plot against you by another, Lord Sesshoumaru?” continued the monk in the same cautious tone.
‘Plot?’ who had said anything about a plot? Was this human simply grasping at straws because he could not stomach the thought that Inuyasha was mated to him? If so, Sesshoumaru would have one more person to add to his list of those that needed to die.
However, at the same time, this monk appeared to be concerned and possibly raised a valid point. Perhaps it would be best to take stock of his situation as he had been taught so long ago before jumping to conclusion in the manner his little brother was better known for. Turning a sharp eye on the human, he inquired, “And who would stand to gain from this ‘plot’, human?”
“Perhaps your great father, my lord,” came the reply. He watched the demon slayer turn her eyes to the monk and gasp in shock while contemplating the merit of the monk’s statement.
It seemed absolutely absurd at first glance but, perhaps… “Why would you think such a thing, monk?”
“It is simply that your great father seems to have put so much effort into making sure that his esteemed sons would… be accepting of one another’s presence.” At the sharply raised eyebrow, the monk elaborated quickly, “For instance, he set the two of you to the task of sealing Sounga, knowing full well that you had to work together to do such a thing. Have you considered that this entire occurrence might be along similar lines?”
“Are you implying that I, the Lord of the Western Lands, would not be capable of finding my own mate?” Sesshoumaru took back his previous thoughts. This human spoke just as much rubbish as the rest of the them. To imply that HE would be unaware of when his youki was calling out to his mate… He briefly wondered how attached his little brother was to this one.
Seeming to sense his own impending doom, the monk hurried to allay the youkai lord’s concerns. “Not at all, my lord. I am sure you are quite capable of finding your own mate. I would never dare to question you on such a matter. It is only that, up until a month ago, you were trying to kill each other. I had been given to understanding that this was not the normal state of affairs between two who are intended mates. Perhaps it is simply that I am human and do not fully understand the nuances of the demon mating practices. Please forgive me if that is the case.
“However, Inuyasha is my friend and, as such, I feel a duty to him to see that he is in the right mating for him. After all, up until a few minutes ago, I had thought the Lady Kagome was to be his mate.”
“WHAT?!” Sesshoumaru raged at the monk, unconsciously tightening his hold on his mate and beginning to pet said mate’s hair with his hand in an attempt to keep his weakened mate from responding to his agitation. He had been listening to what was being said and silently acknowledging that the human did have a few valid points to himself when the idiotic human made that statement. It was much akin to waving a red flag in front of a bull. “You claim to care for him and wish him to be in a good mating. And, yet, you believe he should be with that priestess?!”
“Hey! Kagome and Inuyasha love each other! They should be together!” shouted the demon slayer.
“They LOVE each other? Surely you jest, human,” Sesshoumaru scoffed even as his fingers continued to brush through Inuyasha’s hair. It was if he subconsciously knew that it would be best for his young mate not to awaken for this conversation. “If that girl-child felt even an ounce of this so-called LOVE of yours, would she treat my mate in such a manner?
“Would she continually abuse him in the way she does? Would she put him under a spell and hurt him whenever it struck her fancy? If this is the LOVE you humans are so keen on, I do not see why anyone would wish it,” Sesshoumaru finished coldly, glaring at the demon slayer whose face was getting more red with each passing word.
Sango began to rant, “That’s not how it is at all! Kagome is kind and caring and she’s always trying to take care of Inuyasha! It’s…”
Interrupting the demon slayer, Sesshoumaru inserted, “She takes care of him by slamming him into the ground? Even I do not believe that lie.”
“Well, maybe if he would watch his mouth a little more often, it wouldn’t happen as much!”
Sesshoumaru’s eyes narrowed and it was only the presence of his young mate’s soft hair under his hand that stopped poison from seeping into his claws. “You dare to suggest that my little brother, the son of the Great Dog General, should be chastised by a HUMAN CHILD for the way he speaks?!”
Evidently noticing that his companion was seconds away from losing her head, the monk hastily cut in. “My lord, my lady, perhaps we should postpone this discussion until a later time. After all, both the Lady Kagome and Inuyasha don’t seem to be in the best of shape at the moment.”
Realizing that the monk did have a point, Sesshoumaru once more looked down to his baby brother who had somehow managed to stay asleep in all the ruckus and checked his youki levels. ‘Back where they should be,’ he noted with satisfaction and pulled his own youki back into himself, however, he did not withdraw his hand.
Ignoring the demon slayer who had run over to the miko at the comment from the monk, he looked to his new son. Apparently, the kitsune had been worrying at Inuyasha for the duration of their conversation. Glad that at least someone was on his side about things, Sesshoumaru didn’t bother to tell the kit to move.
Sighing to himself, the youkai lord wondered how in the world he had allowed himself to get caught up in this ridiculous mess in the first place. Looking down again, his eyes softened minutely. There was his answer of course, he would do it for his mate. After their past, it was the least he could do.
* * * * *
Hey all! I’m not dead yet. I am however, very busy. Insanely so. I have a newborn boy, that brings me up to 3 kids under 4. I’m also going to be moving shortly. Not quite sure when the next chapter will be out. I thank you sincerely for your patience with me. As always reading and/or reviewing is very much appreciated.
On a side note, I have a side story to this one that I put up on fanfiction dot net and mediaminer dot org called ‘Bedtime Story’. It takes place something like 7 years down the road and is more… cute… I suppose. Just in case you’re interested. Hopefully, I will be putting up a new chapter for you soon.
By: mshutts
WARNING: incest
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters here-in except for Sturaki
* * * * *
Chapter 52: Wherein the Farce Continues
He followed his mate and brand new son into the room. The priestess his little brother appeared to be so fond of had awoken in the time they were gone so now they were facing the entire rest of Inuyasha’s pack. He decided to, once again, allow his mate to take the lead. After all, these were not his friends that they were talking to, but rather his brother’s.
He watched in hidden amusement as the humans in Inuyasha’s pack looked between the three newcomers and then exchanged glances amongst themselves. It was obvious that they found something objectionable, but Sesshoumaru was at a loss as to what exactly it was that they disapproved of.
After all, it was highly unlikely that the humans were aware of the mating yet. They did not have the senses needed to tell. He supposed that perhaps they were still displeased with his prior treatment of the priestess. However, if they were expecting an apology of any sort for the act, they would find themselves sorely disappointed. He was not about to apologize for something he felt that girl-child had coming.
In fact, thinking back on the matter, he took a step closer to his mate just in case she decided to try that stunt again. The whole time he had been pondering this, the silent staring had continued. Even the kitsune was not making a sound as if he was aware of the importance of this as well.
A glance at Inuyasha’s face showed that he was at a loss for words to explain and Sesshoumaru was once again struck with the feeling that they were making much more out of this than should be.
Finally, the miko opened her mouth. “How dare you choke me?!” she screamed, pointing an accusing finger directly at him.
He could feel his ire beginning to rise again and would have taken a step forward if it were not for his baby brother taking a step between the two of them, so he was standing with Sesshoumaru at his back. “Leave him alone, Kagome,” came the surprisingly calm statement which was immediately answered by the human girl’s shrill voice.
Sesshoumaru merely stared at his little brother’s back while Inuyasha argued with that girl over whether or not she should drop her issue with the demon lord. Sesshoumaru found himself in a state of confusion. Was his baby brother defending him? This made no sense to him. Why would his younger brother, despite being his mate, defend him? Why would he even feel the need to? Did Inuyasha feel he was incapable of defending himself?
The more he thought about it, the more the implications were getting to him. How dare his mate, his BETA, imply that he was in need of protection? How dare he imply that he could not stand up to this little slip of a girl and win? He came back just as she was screaming at Inuyasha that she had bruises on her neck and his little brother was scoffing that it was better to be bruised than dead.
Having enough of this, Sesshoumaru put his hand on his young mate’s shoulder and moved him to the side, out of his way of the priestess. And, looking straight into the eyes of the still fuming girl, he calmly stated, “It is my right as alpha to protect my mate in any manner I so choose.” He had expected that to be the end of it, but he felt a sudden wrench on his arm and found himself facing his furious brother.
“What the hell are you doing?!” was spat in his face.
Feeling put out that his mate required an explanation for something so simple, Sesshoumaru merely looked at him balefully. Apparently fed up, Inuyasha shouted, “Don’t give me that look! I was handling it! And then you have to come in here and been all, ‘I am the alpha, I am always right’ and screw everything up!”
Becoming annoyed at his little brother, ‘who was HE to lecture HIM anyway?’, he coldly stated, “You were handling nothing. You were arguing with that wench of yours and getting nowhere.”
“I was getting to it! You didn’t even give me a chance to try!”
“You were wasting time,” Sesshoumaru replied calmly, refusing to allow his young mate to bait him into a yelling match as he had with the human girl.
“Feh! That is the last time I ever help you with a problem.”
“I did not have a problem, nor did I ask for your assistance.”
“You didn’t have a problem?!” Inuyasha glared at Sesshoumaru, pointing a single finger at him in scolding. It was giving Sesshoumaru the urge to rip it right off his hand, but his little brother just kept going. “Listen here, you asshole…”
Thankfully for Inuyasha’s finger, Miroku spoke up before the statement could be completed. “You two are mates?”
Both the youkai and hanyou turned to the monk with blank looks, their argument forgotten. Sesshoumaru watched the monk squirm under their joint looks, mildly entertained. Meanwhile, his younger brother was being as eloquent as always and said, “Hungh?”
Clearing his throat, the monk restated his initial question, “Inuyasha, are you mated to Lord Sesshoumaru?”
Sesshoumaru turned to see what his mate’s response would be. To his shock, Inuyasha’s cheeks tinted pink and he turned his gaze from the monk’s before saying, “That’s what he said, isn’t it?”
“But…but, why?” asked the slayer.
“It wasn’t like it was planned or something,” Inuyasha mumbled. “It just kind of happened.”
Sesshoumaru looked at his mate curiously. It hadn’t been planned? He had thought they had both put a good deal of thought into this. Perhaps he was wrong. No, he couldn’t have been wrong. There was no way he could have possibly misread everything that had happened in the past month. True, neither he nor his brother had been overly pleased with what fate seemed to have planned for them at the beginning, but now they had both accepted it as inevitable.
Wait, perhaps that was what he was referring to when he said it had not been planned. It had not been the way they had thought their lives were going to be until just a short while ago. Up until recently, he never would have even considered his brother as potential mate material. Determining that that must be what he was referring to, he brought his attention back to the conversation only to find that the priestess was in tears.
“Ka..Kagome, don’t cry,” he heard come from his little brother. Looking over, he saw a slightly panicky look on his face.
“What do you want me to do?! Laugh?!” came the near-hysterical response.
“No, but stop crying. It’s not that bad?” came the questioningly hopeful reply. Sesshoumaru momentarily wondered who he was asking.
“Not that bad? Not that BAD?! How can you say that?! You mated with your brother! Your brother! How could you do anything so…so…so DISGUSTING?!” Sesshoumaru turned his hard gaze to the priestess who had stopped crying and was now raging. “Oooooo! SIT BOY! SIT! SIT!...”
She most likely would have continued to chant the ‘sit’s had Sesshoumaru not appeared in front of her and backhanded her at that moment. That did it. She not only tried attempted to hurt his mate and possible pup AGAIN, she insulted their entire relationship! How dare that vile human even think she could do these things and get away with them. He would make her pay.
Still furious, he walked over to where she had fallen to the ground after hitting the wall, unconscious, trying to calm himself the whole way. He kept a steady chant of ‘Inuyasha doesn’t want me to kill her. Inuyasha doesn’t want me to kill her.’ going through his head the whole way, but it was only helping marginally. Truly this was a human who deserved to die.
For the second time today, she had hurt his mate. His poor mate who was already weakened from having been sick for so long. It was unacceptable. Some recompense must be made. And to think, he had been considering letting his little brother deal with them. That was out of the question now. There was no way he would leave his obviously naïve baby brother to their mechanizations.
These humans had to get out of his sight immediately. He had had it with all their hysterics. And if they were going to treat Inuyasha in such a manner, then they could very well just leave and never return. It was not as if they were needed here in the first place. He could oversee the care and well-being of his mate just fine on his own. After all, they were in his home, they were under HIS sufferance.
With these thoughts in mind, he drew upon that loathsome priestess only to be stopped once again. “You had better have a good reason for stopping me,” he snarled out to that damnable witch. ‘Would it really be so bad to just kill her?’ he wondered to himself, feeling the itching desire to shred something.
“Indeed I do,” came the serene reply. “Do you think your mate would forgive you for killing this girl?”
“He would get over it. Now move.”
“I’m afraid I cannot do that, Lord Sesshoumaru. You are not in your right mind at the moment,” she said in that matter-of-fact voice of hers and he felt some of his rage at the situation in general focusing in on her.
“This ‘girl’ as you say has harmed my mate twice in one day when he is already in a weakened state. If he is with pup, she might have also killed that pup. And yet you stand here and dare to tell me not to kill her? After everything she has done?” Sesshoumaru asked his voice and youki raising, thoroughly outraged.
It was then that a soft sound reached his ears. “Sesshoumaru, help me.” It was barely there at all and had he not been a demon, or perhaps had it been someone else’s voice, he would not have heard. But it still managed to call him back and he found himself once again completely dismissing the female’s presence and appearing back at his brother’s side.
Pulling his younger brother up, he asked, “What do you need?” while once again cradling the smaller body on his lap. He did not call for Jaken to retrieve more rabbits this time since something instinctual was telling him they would not help. So, he just did what he could with his youki, no matter how little that actually turned out to be.
All he received in response to his question was his mate burrowing his head into his chest and clutching to his outer haori. Realizing that Inuyasha had most likely simply wanted to be held and comforted, perhaps even looking to waylay him from extracting vengeance upon the miko for the moment if he was that aware, Sesshoumaru simply held his younger brother and allowed him to do as he pleased.
All in all, Sesshoumaru was quickly growing sick of this cycle they seemed to be stuck in. His brother would argue with that wench, she would ‘sit’ him, Sesshoumaru would attack her, Inuyasha and Sturaki would keep him from killing her, and he would have to comfort his weakened mate. Again. It was getting old. He did not wish to have this ever happen again, but the only way to insure that was to either kill the priestess, which everyone kept thwarting him in doing or get rid of those damnable beads around his mate’s neck.
As he was thinking on this, his thoughts drifted to the rest of the half-demon’s pack. Perhaps they would know of some way to assist in this matter. Checking on his mate once again, as Sesshoumaru had decided it would probably be best to have this conversation without his little brother being cognizant of it, he was grateful to note that the combination of the weakened youki, mating season, and most likely his own presence had seemed to have once again sent his mate to his happy, dreamlike state from earlier.
Satisfied that Inuyasha was momentarily down for the count, Sesshoumaru turned his attention to the others in the room. Observing them, he decided it would be best to question the one with the spiritual energy. Besides, the monk seemed to have the most sense of all of Inuyasha’s companions. Having made up his mind, he said, “Monk,” and waited to receive his complete attention before continuing. “How do you remove these cursed beads from my little brother’s neck?”
The looks on the other members of his baby brother’s old pack grew wary all of the sudden. Sesshoumaru did not like this new development. Why would they be wary of such an innocent question? Unless they liked the idea of that girl-child being able to hurt his mate as well.
The thought made his temper begin to surface again. And, whereas just a month ago he would have questioned why he cared about how his baby brother was abused, now he was only focused on the fact that this was HIS mate that was being abused. He was the only one with the right to decide what form of punishment Inuyasha deserved or even if, in fact, he was in need of punishment at all.
Could it be that his ‘pack’, his so-called ‘friends’ agreed that he was in need of regular punishment? He did not hear of any of them being punished in such a way. Maybe that thought it was fine because he was a hanyou. Or perhaps they were afraid. Maybe they felt he needed a leash.
As if in confirmation of his suspicions, the slayer uncertainly asked, “Why would you want to do that?”
He felt his anger level rising even higher. The priestess was not the only one who needed to die, obviously. How could his baby brother put up with this insult? How had he not killed them all already? Why was he still protecting them, even now, even knowing that she could be killing their pup in her arrogance? Did he truly care so little for himself? For their pup?
If that was the case, he would have to be the one to keep a watch out for him. It was his duty as the alpha to protect his mate and pups from harm after all. He tried to ignore his youki commenting that he had thus far failed miserably in that regard. He also tried not to look down at the body of his mate that was draped over his lap, a testament to how badly he was doing in this, possibly the most important duty he would ever have.
Feeling his own anger and shame at allowing this to happen to his mate again while he was right there, Sesshoumaru leveled a glare at her, replying, “Either you tell me how to remove them or I will kill the priestess.”
“Now, Lord Sesshoumaru, I am sure we can work something out,” the monk said in what he supposed was intended to be a soothing voice.
Sesshoumaru was not in the mood to be coddled. He switched his icy glare to the monk and stated coldly, “There is nothing to work out. Either it is gone or she dies.” Indeed, that was the only acceptable course of action. These events could not be allowed to occur again.
“Regrettably, the only one with the power to remove the necklace is Lady Kagome. I do not have enough strength myself to remove the enchantment. So, you shall have to wait until she arises once again to make your request.”
Realizing that the monk was most likely telling the truth, at least to the extent that he was aware of it, Sesshoumaru dropped the matter for the time being, although he still allowed it to stew in the back of his mind. He idly wondered how long it would take the priestess to reawaken so he could make his demand of her.
Dismissing the humans in the room as being not important enough to pay attention to, he had already turned his attention back to his mate when the monk made an inquiry of him. “Lord Sesshoumaru, if I may ask, why did you choose to mate with Inuyasha?”
Weighing the pros and cons of telling this human anything, Sesshoumaru decided that the question had been phrased respectfully enough that it deserved some type of response. And so, he answered, “My youki was interested in his.”
“That’s it?” asked the demon slayer in disbelief.
He favored her a blank look and stated blandly, “Nothing more is necessary.”
“How can you base an entire mating on that? That’s ridiculous!” she exclaimed.
“It is the demon way. I would not expect a human to understand.” Sesshoumaru was beginning to lose his patience with this one as well. What was it about his baby brother that attracted people with the most annoying personalities to him? Then again, his little brother was rather annoying in his own right, perhaps that was the reason.
“It may be true that a human would not understand,” commented the monk cautiously, “but Inuyasha is half-human. Did he not have any problem with this arrangement?”
“That is none of your affair,” Sesshoumaru responded, hoping this entire line of questioning would just be dropped. The last thing he needed was a reminder of the fact that he had yet to convince the human half of his mate that being his mate in the first place was a good idea. The youkai lord saw the monk make a barely perceptible nod to himself and wondered at what he was agreeing with.
“Have you considered the possibility that this might have all been a plot against you by another, Lord Sesshoumaru?” continued the monk in the same cautious tone.
‘Plot?’ who had said anything about a plot? Was this human simply grasping at straws because he could not stomach the thought that Inuyasha was mated to him? If so, Sesshoumaru would have one more person to add to his list of those that needed to die.
However, at the same time, this monk appeared to be concerned and possibly raised a valid point. Perhaps it would be best to take stock of his situation as he had been taught so long ago before jumping to conclusion in the manner his little brother was better known for. Turning a sharp eye on the human, he inquired, “And who would stand to gain from this ‘plot’, human?”
“Perhaps your great father, my lord,” came the reply. He watched the demon slayer turn her eyes to the monk and gasp in shock while contemplating the merit of the monk’s statement.
It seemed absolutely absurd at first glance but, perhaps… “Why would you think such a thing, monk?”
“It is simply that your great father seems to have put so much effort into making sure that his esteemed sons would… be accepting of one another’s presence.” At the sharply raised eyebrow, the monk elaborated quickly, “For instance, he set the two of you to the task of sealing Sounga, knowing full well that you had to work together to do such a thing. Have you considered that this entire occurrence might be along similar lines?”
“Are you implying that I, the Lord of the Western Lands, would not be capable of finding my own mate?” Sesshoumaru took back his previous thoughts. This human spoke just as much rubbish as the rest of the them. To imply that HE would be unaware of when his youki was calling out to his mate… He briefly wondered how attached his little brother was to this one.
Seeming to sense his own impending doom, the monk hurried to allay the youkai lord’s concerns. “Not at all, my lord. I am sure you are quite capable of finding your own mate. I would never dare to question you on such a matter. It is only that, up until a month ago, you were trying to kill each other. I had been given to understanding that this was not the normal state of affairs between two who are intended mates. Perhaps it is simply that I am human and do not fully understand the nuances of the demon mating practices. Please forgive me if that is the case.
“However, Inuyasha is my friend and, as such, I feel a duty to him to see that he is in the right mating for him. After all, up until a few minutes ago, I had thought the Lady Kagome was to be his mate.”
“WHAT?!” Sesshoumaru raged at the monk, unconsciously tightening his hold on his mate and beginning to pet said mate’s hair with his hand in an attempt to keep his weakened mate from responding to his agitation. He had been listening to what was being said and silently acknowledging that the human did have a few valid points to himself when the idiotic human made that statement. It was much akin to waving a red flag in front of a bull. “You claim to care for him and wish him to be in a good mating. And, yet, you believe he should be with that priestess?!”
“Hey! Kagome and Inuyasha love each other! They should be together!” shouted the demon slayer.
“They LOVE each other? Surely you jest, human,” Sesshoumaru scoffed even as his fingers continued to brush through Inuyasha’s hair. It was if he subconsciously knew that it would be best for his young mate not to awaken for this conversation. “If that girl-child felt even an ounce of this so-called LOVE of yours, would she treat my mate in such a manner?
“Would she continually abuse him in the way she does? Would she put him under a spell and hurt him whenever it struck her fancy? If this is the LOVE you humans are so keen on, I do not see why anyone would wish it,” Sesshoumaru finished coldly, glaring at the demon slayer whose face was getting more red with each passing word.
Sango began to rant, “That’s not how it is at all! Kagome is kind and caring and she’s always trying to take care of Inuyasha! It’s…”
Interrupting the demon slayer, Sesshoumaru inserted, “She takes care of him by slamming him into the ground? Even I do not believe that lie.”
“Well, maybe if he would watch his mouth a little more often, it wouldn’t happen as much!”
Sesshoumaru’s eyes narrowed and it was only the presence of his young mate’s soft hair under his hand that stopped poison from seeping into his claws. “You dare to suggest that my little brother, the son of the Great Dog General, should be chastised by a HUMAN CHILD for the way he speaks?!”
Evidently noticing that his companion was seconds away from losing her head, the monk hastily cut in. “My lord, my lady, perhaps we should postpone this discussion until a later time. After all, both the Lady Kagome and Inuyasha don’t seem to be in the best of shape at the moment.”
Realizing that the monk did have a point, Sesshoumaru once more looked down to his baby brother who had somehow managed to stay asleep in all the ruckus and checked his youki levels. ‘Back where they should be,’ he noted with satisfaction and pulled his own youki back into himself, however, he did not withdraw his hand.
Ignoring the demon slayer who had run over to the miko at the comment from the monk, he looked to his new son. Apparently, the kitsune had been worrying at Inuyasha for the duration of their conversation. Glad that at least someone was on his side about things, Sesshoumaru didn’t bother to tell the kit to move.
Sighing to himself, the youkai lord wondered how in the world he had allowed himself to get caught up in this ridiculous mess in the first place. Looking down again, his eyes softened minutely. There was his answer of course, he would do it for his mate. After their past, it was the least he could do.
* * * * *
Hey all! I’m not dead yet. I am however, very busy. Insanely so. I have a newborn boy, that brings me up to 3 kids under 4. I’m also going to be moving shortly. Not quite sure when the next chapter will be out. I thank you sincerely for your patience with me. As always reading and/or reviewing is very much appreciated.
On a side note, I have a side story to this one that I put up on fanfiction dot net and mediaminer dot org called ‘Bedtime Story’. It takes place something like 7 years down the road and is more… cute… I suppose. Just in case you’re interested. Hopefully, I will be putting up a new chapter for you soon.