InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Prophecy ❯ The Kotodama Rosary ( Chapter 55 )
[ 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: 04.19.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.1K | Visits: 1.7K | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Psychological / Hentai | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 04.19.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.1K | Visits: 1.7K | Status: Work In Progress
The Prophecy
By: mshutts
WARNING: incest
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters here-in except for Sturaki
* * * * *
Chapter 54: The Kotodama Rosary
Miroku could not believe how incredibly horribly this was going. He glanced from Kagome being taken care of on the floor by Sango and the Lady Sturaki to his often-time best friend, Inuyasha, being held in the arms of the demon who, although having been their mostly enemy the entire time the monk had known him, was apparently his mate. How had it gotten to this?
Thinking back, Miroku still could not figure out just what was going on. He had not wasted the time they had been there before Inuyasha had come to see them. He had spent the entire time in meditation, attempting to remember anything that he could to help his friend. Unfortunately, for all the time he spent in this pursuit, it was apparent it was all for naught.
The one thing that he had never even considered since he did not see it as a possibility, that of the two of them being MATES, was evidently the one he should have been most concerned with. He shook his head thinking on how he had missed the signs the first time he had seen the two together earlier in the day. Now that he knew what he knew, it was obvious what had been behind the gestures. He could not believe how oblivious he had been. Then again, he supposed hindsight was twenty-twenty.
Sure that Kagome would be fine, Miroku continued to observe the couple in front of him. Or should he say 'family', he wondered, taking in the way Shippo was inexplicably hanging close to them. In fact, Shippo had not left Inuyasha's side once since they entered the room. Could it be there was something else going on he did not know about?
Mentally shaking his head, Miroku put his mind back to the first issue again. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's relationship.
If one had asked him a day ago, he would have said that they only grudgingly put up with each other when they were absolutely forced to. But now… now they were mates. They were bound to one another. And from what Sesshoumaru had said, it wasn't even forced. And yet… Inuyasha had said it wasn't planned. Perhaps there was some dissention between the two.
In all actuality, despite the shock, if this was truly what Inuyasha wanted, he would accept it. However, the more he was finding out about this, the more he was wondering if Inuyasha had even been given a choice in the matter. The way Sesshoumaru had neatly side-stepped any question over whether Inuyasha wanted this or not was enough to lend credence to this doubt.
Looking at them carefully, Miroku realized with some annoyance that Sesshoumaru had angled Inuyasha's body in such a way that his face, at least, was shielded from view. How was he supposed to know how his friend was doing if he could not even see his face?
Thinking back on the way that the half-demon had hit the floor and then not immediately gotten back up again just a few minutes prior, Miroku felt even more of an urge to find out just how his friend was faring. And so, being mindful of the youkai lord who had been just short of homicidal a moment ago before he had managed to redirect his attention as well as the volatile demon slayer to his right, tending to Kagome, he carefully stood. He had to see how his friend was doing.
Slowly moving around the immobile figures, he was very careful not to make any sudden moves. The last thing he wanted was to startle the irritable youkai into killing him. When he finally reached a vantage point from which he could see Inuyasha’s face, he let out a silent sigh of relief. He wasn’t dead yet.
And then, he really looked at his friend. What he saw was a shock. Sesshoumaru was apparently patiently stroking his younger brother’s hair. And Inuyasha, Inuyasha was just lying there, looking sound asleep, in his elder brother’s arms.
Miroku gazed upon the scene contemplatively. This was different. He had been unsure what he had been expecting, but this was not it. This behavior seemed to be completely at odds with the way that the siblings normally acted. He contemplated whether mating really changed a person so much. And, if it did not, he found himself wondering if it was a spell nevertheless despite what Sesshoumaru had said against that idea. After all, there were few spells that the person being affected was aware of while they were in the thrall of it.
As he observed, trying to glean more information in support or against this theory of his, he heard a soft sound from the side. Glancing over, he noticed that Kagome was once again rising. He gave an almost imperceptible nod. He had known she would be just fine, if not a little worse for wear.
Hoping against hope, he watched her ascend from her reclined position and turn her head to face the dog demons again. ‘Here comes round three,’ he thought to himself sardonically while settling in for the show.
- - - - -
He had just been checking on how his mate was doing and was quite pleased with the current state of things when he heard it. That damnable wench of his younger brother’s was back in the land of the living. His eyes darted over to her and narrowed. Why couldn’t she have just died already?
Or at least stayed out longer. His poor mate was still out of it, she should be as well. At least, that was its current line of reasoning. And the fact that she was quite obviously NOT suffering the way his mate was, made him even angrier. In fact, if it had not been for the fact that his young mate was still recovering in his lap, he would have been tempted to knock her out again. As it was, he was sorely tempted to see just how well her human flesh would stand up to his whip.
Surely a few scars wouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience. Or maybe a missing limb or two or three. He was sure that humans could handle being limbless. He could manage with only one hand just fine. It’s not like she was any good in battle anyway. It wouldn’t be a great loss. She would still have her eyes which his younger brother had seemed so adamant on having the use of in the past.
Thinking of the use his baby brother had for her reminded him sharply of why they were in this predicament in the first place. Perhaps he would allow her to keep her limbs and simply remove her throat. That would stop the commands. There was a niggling voice in the back of his head commenting that losing her throat would actually kill her and he cursed to himself for forgetting how frail the human body was even momentarily.
Then again, maybe he could claim innocence. He wondered if any of them would believe that he was unaware ripping out that human’s throat would kill said human. Glancing around, he decided that that was unlikely. Once again, he cursed his youki for forcing him into making that damnable promise to himself.
If he had not pledged to attempt to make amends to his mate for what had happened in the past, he would be able to kill the priestess without even blinking an eye. But no, his youki had made sure he had felt guilty for the first time in his life over what he had seen in the problems Inuyasha had already been having with their mating. He had even grudgingly accepted responsibility since he had to admit that the problems were almost entirely the youkai lord’s fault in the first place. And then he had vowed, even if it was only to himself, that he would try to make it up to the whelp. Though why his youki had chosen this issue to start with, he didn’t know. What he did know was that he couldn’t just kill her and be done with it. And it was severely grating on his nerves.
However, she had to be dealt with. This could not be allowed to continue. There was the possibility that his mate was now carrying his pup. In which case, allowing her to continue on in such a manner was much too dangerous. Not that he was willing to allow this insult to his father’s blood to go unpunished in any event.
But in order to deal with her properly, he needed her in his reach. And moving himself was out of the question so long as his mate was in need of him. His mind went back to the whip he had considered earlier. Its use would require letting go of his mate. For some reason, he was not pleased with that thought. He promptly blamed it on his youki getting stronger during mating season before moving on, mentally cursing over having been defeated by his own instincts.
Then his thoughts drifted to his fur. He could use it to man-handle her in much the same way he had been using it on Inuyasha the past few weeks. There would just be one small difference. He wouldn’t have to concern himself with how rough it was being. A minuscule smile appeared on his lips as he narrowed in on the priestess. Yes, this had potential.
Without a second thought and faster than any could interfere, he had the priestess wrapped up so tightly in his fur that she was most likely having trouble breathing. Not that he cared one bit. He pulled her towards him and his mate and forced her face down on the ground none to gently.
“Tell me, human, how do you like it on the ground?”
The way he had her there she could barely catch a breath, let alone speak. He ignored this as well.
“No response? And yet you so seemed to enjoy it when my mate was in this position. Pity. Such a weak little child who wishes she could have power.
“It’s pathetic really. You think you have power. You fancy you have the right to do as you choose simply because you have some spiritual energy.
“What a waste of space. Give me one good reason not to end your existence this very moment, you wretched being. Your end would only mean good for me.”
He felt a shock go through his fur and raised a brow. Evidently the miko had decided to attempt using her powers against him. He weighed his options, he could either tighten it for her impudence or allow her to think that she might stand a chance, purification energy or no and loosen it slightly. Deciding that he had had quite enough of her antics, but also noticing the purple tinge to her skin, he settled for tightening the hold for a moment and then releasing it enough for her to breathe but not be free.
He watched impassively as she gulped in a breath only to have her scream, “Inuyasha!” before he was able to clamp down on her again. Of all the nerve, calling to his mate whom she had just injured in hopes that he would save her. Obviously she had not yet learned her lesson.
He was so focused on dealing with the wench that he failed to notice that she had, in fact, awoken his young mate. That is, until he heard, “Sesshoumaru! Let her go! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” while simultaneously becoming aware of said mate pushing out of his lap and trying to manually remove the fur from the miko.
Not loosening the hold in the slightest, Sesshoumaru looked dispassionately at his now-standing and wide-awake mate. “I am eliminating the threat,” he responded, standing himself, effectively bringing the immobile priestess up with him.
“Knock it off! She can’t breathe!” Inuyasha was yelling at him like he should have cared one way or the other while still trying to unwrap the miko. Sesshoumaru merely looked at him. As far as he was concerned, his younger brother should be happy she couldn’t breathe. If she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t talk. If she couldn’t talk, she couldn’t use that incantation of hers.
“Come on, bastard! She’s just a human! If you choke her long enough, she’ll die!” Did his younger brother think he was an idiot? Of course he knew that. In fact, he probably had a better idea of just how long it would take for such a thing to happen than the inuhanyou did.
He could see his young mate’s expression getting more desperate as he refused to budge on the issue and Inuyasha found out first-hand just how ineffectual his claws were against Sesshoumaru’s defenses. He found himself mildly curious as to just what his younger brother would try next to attempt to save the miko from him.
“Fuck! What do you want me to do?!”
Considering that perhaps this situation might have some merit in helping to teach his baby brother to be more diplomatic, Sesshoumaru calmly told his panicked mate, “You could try asking.”
Sesshoumaru wondered just how large his mate’s eyes could possibly get before his brother endeavored to collect himself and asked, “Sesshoumaru, would you release her?”
Judging that it was good enough for a first attempt, Sesshoumaru replied, “Of course, little brother,” and loosened his hold on her whereupon the girl fell right into his younger brother’s arms.
He was not happy with this particular turn of events, but then, the girl was not exactly able to stand on her own at the moment either. So, perhaps it was for the best. He watched his mate attempt to soothe the ruffled miko with distaste. She should have known better than to challenge him.
He then cast a look at the other occupants of the room. The monk was standing and convulsively clenching his staff between his hands and the demon slayer, who was standing as well, had one hand on her own large weapon with her cat standing at her feet. However, neither was currently making any aggressive moves and so he ignored them. The kitsune, his new son, he reminded himself, was watching the proceedings with wide eyes, edging closer to Inuyasha than to him which was perfectly understandable given the circumstances. And then, there was the seer who was still sitting on the ground where the priestess used to lie, looking completely unconcerned with the proceedings.
Turning his attention back to his mate and the priestess who looked to be in slightly better shape now, he asked, “Are you ready to be reasonable now?”
If anything, the miko’s face turned even redder than it had been while she was being choked. “Am _I_ ready to be reasonable?! You’re the one trying to kill me all the time!”
“If you did not act in such a manner that invited these types of interactions, I would not see the need to treat you as such,” he answered blithely.
“WHAT?! I have done NOTHING to warrant this treatment!” she shrieked. Sesshoumaru wondered how his younger brother could put up with it on a regular basis in the back of his mind, however, the rest of him was enraged.
Despite the fury boiling in his blood at her self-proclaimed innocence, he kept his voice steady and ice-cold. “You have done nothing to warrant this treatment? Are you so sure of that, little girl?”
Evidently not realizing the danger, she plowed forward, “Of course I am! I have done nothing to you! And you keep trying to KILL me!”
“You have done nothing to me? You fail to understand your situation, little miko.” Sesshoumaru took a step closer to her. “You are in MY home, under MY sufferance. Not only have you failed to show me the respect such a situation demands, you have attacked MY mate.”
“What are you talking about? I haven’t ATTACKED anybody!” he could tell by the look on her face that she truly believed that to be the case. But he also saw his mate flinch slightly out of the corner of his eye at these words. His youki did not like that response and neither did he.
His expression hardened further even as his voice got colder. “You have attacked no one? What do you call this ‘sit’ command of yours then?”
“But, that’s not an attack, that’s just…” she began.
“That’s just what? It throws my mate into the ground. I would call that an attack.”
“But… it’s not an attack,” she continued to defend. Sesshoumaru could not believe she was seriously trying to get him to agree with her that the incantation was not an attack. “It’s a way to keep Inuyasha in line…”
His little brother backed away from her rapidly. “A way to keep me in line? What do you think I am? Your fucking pet?!” The hurt showing in his mate’s eyes was almost too much for his youki to bear. It wanted to go over and comfort his mate immediately. But, he held his youki in check for he knew that this had been long in coming and decided he owed his mate at least this much.
“What? No! Inuyasha, I don’t think of you as a pet!”
“Then what?! What makes you think that YOU, of all people, should have the right to ‘keep me in line’?!”
“You’re so mean! You’re so rude! You don’t know when to stop! I HAVE to keep you in line! No one else will!”
“Who the fuck do you think you are?! You are NOT my mother! You are NOT my master! You are NOT my mate or my alpha! Hell, you’re not even my sister! You have NO business trying to dictate how I act!”
Sesshoumaru stood back silently and watched Inuyasha get more and more worked up. He wondered in interest if the hanyou was going to kill the miko FOR him. There would be quite a bit of poetic justice in that, he decided. It would be a good end to this mess and he would like to see it very much.
And then he saw the tears begin to fall on the wench’s face. He almost rolled his eyes. So she was now going to try playing the sympathy card. He had seen it done many times over the years. Pathetic.
He wondered if his younger brother would fall for it or not. Then he came to the conclusion that it was no matter. If Inuyasha fell for it, he would simply have to be the one to put that girl-child back in her place. He had done it for centuries with courtiers. He could definitely handle one human.
“What is your problem, wench? Why are you crying NOW?”
“I…I thought… I thought I was your friend,” she sobbed out.
Inuyasha sighed. “Of course you’re my friend, Kagome. But being my friend does not mean you have the right to tell me how to act. How would you like it if I did that to you?”
“IF you did it to me?! You do it to me all the time! You’re always demanding I come back here to look for jewel shards no matter what else I’m supposed to be doing at the time!” Evidently the tears had been exchanged for anger yet again. Simply watching this human’s mood swings was enough to make Sesshoumaru dizzy.
“Those are important!”
“So is my school!”
“Feh! I don’t come to your skool and drag you away! I take you from your house! Half the time you aren’t doing anything but sitting on your ass!”
Watching the interaction between the two of them, Sesshoumaru stepped closer. This was beginning to look like one of the incidents where she would use her incantation. He would be damned if he allowed her to use it again. As he saw her getting more and more angry, he prepared himself to reach out at any moment and was glad he had for not a second later, she started to say that fucking incantation of hers. However, this time he was fast enough and had her completely wrapped up in his fur before she could get out more than the initial sound.
He pulled her closer to him so that she was looking him directly in the eye and gave her his coldest look. “Listen to me, you little whore, the only reason you are alive at the moment is because for some incomprehensible reason, my mate actually wishes for you not to die. However, I am not as lenient as you seem to believe me to be. Should you continue to attack my mate, I WILL kill you, regardless of what my mate’s wishes may be.
“Since you are apparently incapable of listening to reason when you are free, I will tell you this now. You will remove that collar from my mate or I will kill you. It is really quite uncomplicated. Even someone as simple-minded as you can surely comprehend these instructions.”
He then gave her freedom for her arms and hands but kept the rest of her wrapped tight and moved her towards where his younger brother was standing with his jaw dropped. “You will remove it now or you will die. Choose quickly.”
As soon as the beads were lifted above his brother’s head, Sesshoumaru threw the miko to the side and ripped the beads out of her hands in one motion. He ignored the slayer and monk running to the aide of the fallen miko and instead focused on the beads he was currently holding. For such little things to cause so much torture. He quickly placed them in a hidden pocket in his clothing.
He then turned to leave the room, grabbing his younger brother by the arm on route, ignoring the yelling behind him and the struggling from his young mate. It was not his concern whether or not the humans were pleased with him. They were lucky he had not left that wench in worse shape. And Inuyasha was not going to be left alone with such treacherous beings.
As for Sesshoumaru, he was off to find his sorcerer. The humans may have thought this was the end of the affair, but as far as Sesshoumaru was concerned, the priestess’ punishment was only just beginning.
* * * * *
You know, there should be a law against having this much fun writing a chapter. Especially when said chapter deals with the torment of one of the main characters in the show. And here I was, trying to make Kagome not that bad, just annoying. Oh, well. The best laid plans and all that. Hmm, I wonder what Sesshoumaru wants with the beads. Any ideas?
Thank you as always for reading and/or reviewing.
By: mshutts
WARNING: incest
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters here-in except for Sturaki
* * * * *
Chapter 54: The Kotodama Rosary
Miroku could not believe how incredibly horribly this was going. He glanced from Kagome being taken care of on the floor by Sango and the Lady Sturaki to his often-time best friend, Inuyasha, being held in the arms of the demon who, although having been their mostly enemy the entire time the monk had known him, was apparently his mate. How had it gotten to this?
Thinking back, Miroku still could not figure out just what was going on. He had not wasted the time they had been there before Inuyasha had come to see them. He had spent the entire time in meditation, attempting to remember anything that he could to help his friend. Unfortunately, for all the time he spent in this pursuit, it was apparent it was all for naught.
The one thing that he had never even considered since he did not see it as a possibility, that of the two of them being MATES, was evidently the one he should have been most concerned with. He shook his head thinking on how he had missed the signs the first time he had seen the two together earlier in the day. Now that he knew what he knew, it was obvious what had been behind the gestures. He could not believe how oblivious he had been. Then again, he supposed hindsight was twenty-twenty.
Sure that Kagome would be fine, Miroku continued to observe the couple in front of him. Or should he say 'family', he wondered, taking in the way Shippo was inexplicably hanging close to them. In fact, Shippo had not left Inuyasha's side once since they entered the room. Could it be there was something else going on he did not know about?
Mentally shaking his head, Miroku put his mind back to the first issue again. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's relationship.
If one had asked him a day ago, he would have said that they only grudgingly put up with each other when they were absolutely forced to. But now… now they were mates. They were bound to one another. And from what Sesshoumaru had said, it wasn't even forced. And yet… Inuyasha had said it wasn't planned. Perhaps there was some dissention between the two.
In all actuality, despite the shock, if this was truly what Inuyasha wanted, he would accept it. However, the more he was finding out about this, the more he was wondering if Inuyasha had even been given a choice in the matter. The way Sesshoumaru had neatly side-stepped any question over whether Inuyasha wanted this or not was enough to lend credence to this doubt.
Looking at them carefully, Miroku realized with some annoyance that Sesshoumaru had angled Inuyasha's body in such a way that his face, at least, was shielded from view. How was he supposed to know how his friend was doing if he could not even see his face?
Thinking back on the way that the half-demon had hit the floor and then not immediately gotten back up again just a few minutes prior, Miroku felt even more of an urge to find out just how his friend was faring. And so, being mindful of the youkai lord who had been just short of homicidal a moment ago before he had managed to redirect his attention as well as the volatile demon slayer to his right, tending to Kagome, he carefully stood. He had to see how his friend was doing.
Slowly moving around the immobile figures, he was very careful not to make any sudden moves. The last thing he wanted was to startle the irritable youkai into killing him. When he finally reached a vantage point from which he could see Inuyasha’s face, he let out a silent sigh of relief. He wasn’t dead yet.
And then, he really looked at his friend. What he saw was a shock. Sesshoumaru was apparently patiently stroking his younger brother’s hair. And Inuyasha, Inuyasha was just lying there, looking sound asleep, in his elder brother’s arms.
Miroku gazed upon the scene contemplatively. This was different. He had been unsure what he had been expecting, but this was not it. This behavior seemed to be completely at odds with the way that the siblings normally acted. He contemplated whether mating really changed a person so much. And, if it did not, he found himself wondering if it was a spell nevertheless despite what Sesshoumaru had said against that idea. After all, there were few spells that the person being affected was aware of while they were in the thrall of it.
As he observed, trying to glean more information in support or against this theory of his, he heard a soft sound from the side. Glancing over, he noticed that Kagome was once again rising. He gave an almost imperceptible nod. He had known she would be just fine, if not a little worse for wear.
Hoping against hope, he watched her ascend from her reclined position and turn her head to face the dog demons again. ‘Here comes round three,’ he thought to himself sardonically while settling in for the show.
- - - - -
He had just been checking on how his mate was doing and was quite pleased with the current state of things when he heard it. That damnable wench of his younger brother’s was back in the land of the living. His eyes darted over to her and narrowed. Why couldn’t she have just died already?
Or at least stayed out longer. His poor mate was still out of it, she should be as well. At least, that was its current line of reasoning. And the fact that she was quite obviously NOT suffering the way his mate was, made him even angrier. In fact, if it had not been for the fact that his young mate was still recovering in his lap, he would have been tempted to knock her out again. As it was, he was sorely tempted to see just how well her human flesh would stand up to his whip.
Surely a few scars wouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience. Or maybe a missing limb or two or three. He was sure that humans could handle being limbless. He could manage with only one hand just fine. It’s not like she was any good in battle anyway. It wouldn’t be a great loss. She would still have her eyes which his younger brother had seemed so adamant on having the use of in the past.
Thinking of the use his baby brother had for her reminded him sharply of why they were in this predicament in the first place. Perhaps he would allow her to keep her limbs and simply remove her throat. That would stop the commands. There was a niggling voice in the back of his head commenting that losing her throat would actually kill her and he cursed to himself for forgetting how frail the human body was even momentarily.
Then again, maybe he could claim innocence. He wondered if any of them would believe that he was unaware ripping out that human’s throat would kill said human. Glancing around, he decided that that was unlikely. Once again, he cursed his youki for forcing him into making that damnable promise to himself.
If he had not pledged to attempt to make amends to his mate for what had happened in the past, he would be able to kill the priestess without even blinking an eye. But no, his youki had made sure he had felt guilty for the first time in his life over what he had seen in the problems Inuyasha had already been having with their mating. He had even grudgingly accepted responsibility since he had to admit that the problems were almost entirely the youkai lord’s fault in the first place. And then he had vowed, even if it was only to himself, that he would try to make it up to the whelp. Though why his youki had chosen this issue to start with, he didn’t know. What he did know was that he couldn’t just kill her and be done with it. And it was severely grating on his nerves.
However, she had to be dealt with. This could not be allowed to continue. There was the possibility that his mate was now carrying his pup. In which case, allowing her to continue on in such a manner was much too dangerous. Not that he was willing to allow this insult to his father’s blood to go unpunished in any event.
But in order to deal with her properly, he needed her in his reach. And moving himself was out of the question so long as his mate was in need of him. His mind went back to the whip he had considered earlier. Its use would require letting go of his mate. For some reason, he was not pleased with that thought. He promptly blamed it on his youki getting stronger during mating season before moving on, mentally cursing over having been defeated by his own instincts.
Then his thoughts drifted to his fur. He could use it to man-handle her in much the same way he had been using it on Inuyasha the past few weeks. There would just be one small difference. He wouldn’t have to concern himself with how rough it was being. A minuscule smile appeared on his lips as he narrowed in on the priestess. Yes, this had potential.
Without a second thought and faster than any could interfere, he had the priestess wrapped up so tightly in his fur that she was most likely having trouble breathing. Not that he cared one bit. He pulled her towards him and his mate and forced her face down on the ground none to gently.
“Tell me, human, how do you like it on the ground?”
The way he had her there she could barely catch a breath, let alone speak. He ignored this as well.
“No response? And yet you so seemed to enjoy it when my mate was in this position. Pity. Such a weak little child who wishes she could have power.
“It’s pathetic really. You think you have power. You fancy you have the right to do as you choose simply because you have some spiritual energy.
“What a waste of space. Give me one good reason not to end your existence this very moment, you wretched being. Your end would only mean good for me.”
He felt a shock go through his fur and raised a brow. Evidently the miko had decided to attempt using her powers against him. He weighed his options, he could either tighten it for her impudence or allow her to think that she might stand a chance, purification energy or no and loosen it slightly. Deciding that he had had quite enough of her antics, but also noticing the purple tinge to her skin, he settled for tightening the hold for a moment and then releasing it enough for her to breathe but not be free.
He watched impassively as she gulped in a breath only to have her scream, “Inuyasha!” before he was able to clamp down on her again. Of all the nerve, calling to his mate whom she had just injured in hopes that he would save her. Obviously she had not yet learned her lesson.
He was so focused on dealing with the wench that he failed to notice that she had, in fact, awoken his young mate. That is, until he heard, “Sesshoumaru! Let her go! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” while simultaneously becoming aware of said mate pushing out of his lap and trying to manually remove the fur from the miko.
Not loosening the hold in the slightest, Sesshoumaru looked dispassionately at his now-standing and wide-awake mate. “I am eliminating the threat,” he responded, standing himself, effectively bringing the immobile priestess up with him.
“Knock it off! She can’t breathe!” Inuyasha was yelling at him like he should have cared one way or the other while still trying to unwrap the miko. Sesshoumaru merely looked at him. As far as he was concerned, his younger brother should be happy she couldn’t breathe. If she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t talk. If she couldn’t talk, she couldn’t use that incantation of hers.
“Come on, bastard! She’s just a human! If you choke her long enough, she’ll die!” Did his younger brother think he was an idiot? Of course he knew that. In fact, he probably had a better idea of just how long it would take for such a thing to happen than the inuhanyou did.
He could see his young mate’s expression getting more desperate as he refused to budge on the issue and Inuyasha found out first-hand just how ineffectual his claws were against Sesshoumaru’s defenses. He found himself mildly curious as to just what his younger brother would try next to attempt to save the miko from him.
“Fuck! What do you want me to do?!”
Considering that perhaps this situation might have some merit in helping to teach his baby brother to be more diplomatic, Sesshoumaru calmly told his panicked mate, “You could try asking.”
Sesshoumaru wondered just how large his mate’s eyes could possibly get before his brother endeavored to collect himself and asked, “Sesshoumaru, would you release her?”
Judging that it was good enough for a first attempt, Sesshoumaru replied, “Of course, little brother,” and loosened his hold on her whereupon the girl fell right into his younger brother’s arms.
He was not happy with this particular turn of events, but then, the girl was not exactly able to stand on her own at the moment either. So, perhaps it was for the best. He watched his mate attempt to soothe the ruffled miko with distaste. She should have known better than to challenge him.
He then cast a look at the other occupants of the room. The monk was standing and convulsively clenching his staff between his hands and the demon slayer, who was standing as well, had one hand on her own large weapon with her cat standing at her feet. However, neither was currently making any aggressive moves and so he ignored them. The kitsune, his new son, he reminded himself, was watching the proceedings with wide eyes, edging closer to Inuyasha than to him which was perfectly understandable given the circumstances. And then, there was the seer who was still sitting on the ground where the priestess used to lie, looking completely unconcerned with the proceedings.
Turning his attention back to his mate and the priestess who looked to be in slightly better shape now, he asked, “Are you ready to be reasonable now?”
If anything, the miko’s face turned even redder than it had been while she was being choked. “Am _I_ ready to be reasonable?! You’re the one trying to kill me all the time!”
“If you did not act in such a manner that invited these types of interactions, I would not see the need to treat you as such,” he answered blithely.
“WHAT?! I have done NOTHING to warrant this treatment!” she shrieked. Sesshoumaru wondered how his younger brother could put up with it on a regular basis in the back of his mind, however, the rest of him was enraged.
Despite the fury boiling in his blood at her self-proclaimed innocence, he kept his voice steady and ice-cold. “You have done nothing to warrant this treatment? Are you so sure of that, little girl?”
Evidently not realizing the danger, she plowed forward, “Of course I am! I have done nothing to you! And you keep trying to KILL me!”
“You have done nothing to me? You fail to understand your situation, little miko.” Sesshoumaru took a step closer to her. “You are in MY home, under MY sufferance. Not only have you failed to show me the respect such a situation demands, you have attacked MY mate.”
“What are you talking about? I haven’t ATTACKED anybody!” he could tell by the look on her face that she truly believed that to be the case. But he also saw his mate flinch slightly out of the corner of his eye at these words. His youki did not like that response and neither did he.
His expression hardened further even as his voice got colder. “You have attacked no one? What do you call this ‘sit’ command of yours then?”
“But, that’s not an attack, that’s just…” she began.
“That’s just what? It throws my mate into the ground. I would call that an attack.”
“But… it’s not an attack,” she continued to defend. Sesshoumaru could not believe she was seriously trying to get him to agree with her that the incantation was not an attack. “It’s a way to keep Inuyasha in line…”
His little brother backed away from her rapidly. “A way to keep me in line? What do you think I am? Your fucking pet?!” The hurt showing in his mate’s eyes was almost too much for his youki to bear. It wanted to go over and comfort his mate immediately. But, he held his youki in check for he knew that this had been long in coming and decided he owed his mate at least this much.
“What? No! Inuyasha, I don’t think of you as a pet!”
“Then what?! What makes you think that YOU, of all people, should have the right to ‘keep me in line’?!”
“You’re so mean! You’re so rude! You don’t know when to stop! I HAVE to keep you in line! No one else will!”
“Who the fuck do you think you are?! You are NOT my mother! You are NOT my master! You are NOT my mate or my alpha! Hell, you’re not even my sister! You have NO business trying to dictate how I act!”
Sesshoumaru stood back silently and watched Inuyasha get more and more worked up. He wondered in interest if the hanyou was going to kill the miko FOR him. There would be quite a bit of poetic justice in that, he decided. It would be a good end to this mess and he would like to see it very much.
And then he saw the tears begin to fall on the wench’s face. He almost rolled his eyes. So she was now going to try playing the sympathy card. He had seen it done many times over the years. Pathetic.
He wondered if his younger brother would fall for it or not. Then he came to the conclusion that it was no matter. If Inuyasha fell for it, he would simply have to be the one to put that girl-child back in her place. He had done it for centuries with courtiers. He could definitely handle one human.
“What is your problem, wench? Why are you crying NOW?”
“I…I thought… I thought I was your friend,” she sobbed out.
Inuyasha sighed. “Of course you’re my friend, Kagome. But being my friend does not mean you have the right to tell me how to act. How would you like it if I did that to you?”
“IF you did it to me?! You do it to me all the time! You’re always demanding I come back here to look for jewel shards no matter what else I’m supposed to be doing at the time!” Evidently the tears had been exchanged for anger yet again. Simply watching this human’s mood swings was enough to make Sesshoumaru dizzy.
“Those are important!”
“So is my school!”
“Feh! I don’t come to your skool and drag you away! I take you from your house! Half the time you aren’t doing anything but sitting on your ass!”
Watching the interaction between the two of them, Sesshoumaru stepped closer. This was beginning to look like one of the incidents where she would use her incantation. He would be damned if he allowed her to use it again. As he saw her getting more and more angry, he prepared himself to reach out at any moment and was glad he had for not a second later, she started to say that fucking incantation of hers. However, this time he was fast enough and had her completely wrapped up in his fur before she could get out more than the initial sound.
He pulled her closer to him so that she was looking him directly in the eye and gave her his coldest look. “Listen to me, you little whore, the only reason you are alive at the moment is because for some incomprehensible reason, my mate actually wishes for you not to die. However, I am not as lenient as you seem to believe me to be. Should you continue to attack my mate, I WILL kill you, regardless of what my mate’s wishes may be.
“Since you are apparently incapable of listening to reason when you are free, I will tell you this now. You will remove that collar from my mate or I will kill you. It is really quite uncomplicated. Even someone as simple-minded as you can surely comprehend these instructions.”
He then gave her freedom for her arms and hands but kept the rest of her wrapped tight and moved her towards where his younger brother was standing with his jaw dropped. “You will remove it now or you will die. Choose quickly.”
As soon as the beads were lifted above his brother’s head, Sesshoumaru threw the miko to the side and ripped the beads out of her hands in one motion. He ignored the slayer and monk running to the aide of the fallen miko and instead focused on the beads he was currently holding. For such little things to cause so much torture. He quickly placed them in a hidden pocket in his clothing.
He then turned to leave the room, grabbing his younger brother by the arm on route, ignoring the yelling behind him and the struggling from his young mate. It was not his concern whether or not the humans were pleased with him. They were lucky he had not left that wench in worse shape. And Inuyasha was not going to be left alone with such treacherous beings.
As for Sesshoumaru, he was off to find his sorcerer. The humans may have thought this was the end of the affair, but as far as Sesshoumaru was concerned, the priestess’ punishment was only just beginning.
* * * * *
You know, there should be a law against having this much fun writing a chapter. Especially when said chapter deals with the torment of one of the main characters in the show. And here I was, trying to make Kagome not that bad, just annoying. Oh, well. The best laid plans and all that. Hmm, I wonder what Sesshoumaru wants with the beads. Any ideas?
Thank you as always for reading and/or reviewing.