InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Waning Moon ❯ Bath ( Chapter 24 )

24. Bath

The sun is shining, though the sky is mostly grey and speckled with blue. Inuyasha is patiently waiting for Sesshomaru to return from where ever he'd decided to go when he wasn't visiting Inuyasha; he'd said he would three weeks from three weeks ago and Inuyasha has counted down the minutes until his older brother's return. He should be there in only a few more.

It has been raining, though Inuyasha is glad that it has stopped. But the ground is drenched and Inuyasha's bare feet are muddy, now caked in dark brown mud. He cautiously hopes that there isn't anything else mixed in with the dirt, despite his mother's claims that animal poop is good for the skin.

He allows his feet to swing, back and forth, back and forth and thud dully as he sits on a large, moist log and clasps his reddish purple ball to his skinny chest. His mother had given it to him for his eighth birthday and Inuyasha has yet to grow tired of it.

White, fur covered ears perk when he hears ragged breathing and Inuyasha jumps up and around, to find Sesshomaru limping into the clearing.

His already large golden eyes widen further, "Sessho?" Inuyasha asks worry making his voice sound strained; this can't be his brother, Sesshomaru is invincible! "Is Sessho alright?"

He doesn't receive a reply as Sesshomaru stumbles and Inuyasha quickly leaps from the log and over to his brother who is clutching at his left side. The smell of his brother's blood is overwhelming, but the young half-breed refuses to look weak in front of his wounded brother. Had he been attacked? Inuyasha wonders idly as Sesshomaru lowers himself to his knees.

Inuyasha stares intently at Sesshomaru's face. There is dirt smudged over his chin and his nose as though he'd wiped sweat from his face and replaced it with mud. It is then that Inuyasha realises that his brother's torn, bloodied, silk kimono is soaked, just as his hair is. They stick to them both uncomfortably and after carefully peeling away the hair stuck to Sesshomaru's cheek, he hesitantly speaks.

Inuyasha's voice is soft, "Sessho?"

"I am fine, little brother. There is a spring nearby. I am in need of rest." His words come out as ragged pants, ones that shake his frame and make Inuyasha's heart freeze from fear.

The little boy nods, before he clutches at his brother's kimono and carefully tugs him along. He can't support or help Sesshomaru with anything more than he is doing now; he is too little, too weak and he is afraid. He hasn't seen a wounded person, not from battle.

It takes them twenty minutes to reach the small hot spring, much slower than what Sesshomaru would usually take to travel anywhere. Inuyasha announces its appearance; Sesshomaru has kept his head down, as though it hurts to lift it.

Once again Inuyasha places himself at Sesshomaru's side as the demon Lord lowers himself to the ground unsteadily before he begins to peel away the few pieces of armour still hanging off him and sheds his kimono. Inuyasha is watching unabashedly, even as Sesshomaru slides into the small pool of warm, weird smelling water.

Inuyasha eyes a large gash that runs along his brother's right shoulder, right down to his left hip. He winces, “Sessho doesn't that hurt? Maybe you should wait…” He says hesitantly.

Sesshomaru sighs, “I will be fine, Inuyasha.”

The half-breed nods and sighs and he eyes Sesshomaru's hair with wonder; it was so white, so shiny, then his stomach tumbles, “Do you want Inuyasha to wash your hair, Sessho? There's blood in it.” Inuyasha pointed to his brother's mane, carefully and jittery as he crept nearer. “Does blood stain?”

Sesshomaru regards Inuyasha with an even stare from the corners of his eyes. He doesn't move and Inuyasha almost asks if Sesshomaru can; his wounds look like they would hurt, Inuyasha is amazed his brother had managed to make it to him on time. “I do not think so. You may clean it.”

Inuyasha is instantly sitting behind Sesshomaru's head. His brother must lower himself so that he has his chin in the warm water, before Inuyasha can wash it properly. Clumsily, the half-breed attempts to reach and comb the blood out of Sesshomaru's hair. He cannot reach. Inuyasha frowns menacingly.

Without a thought of doubt, Inuyasha is yanking off his own clothes, and is surprised to see that Sesshomaru is staring at him with a look of disbelief (which was indicated only by the slight widening of Sesshomaru's eyes), “Sessho is it alright if Inuyasha comes in?”

“You may.” Sesshomaru says, returning to his usual stony faced silence as he again relaxed in the water. Inuyasha carefully slid in, eyeing his brother as he swiped away the grime and blood and pressed the two sides of his larger wounds together, wanting them to seal and disappear.

“Why was Sessho fighting?” Inuyasha asks softly as he carefully paddles to sit behind Sesshomaru; the rock is warm beneath the water and Inuyasha takes a moment to wiggle and squirm and smile before he gingerly tugs on his brother's blood drenched hair.

He begins to rub at it, and peels the blood away, before he must start rubbing it between his palms. Sesshomaru doesn't seem to mind and Inuyasha feels a strong surge of pride submerge him as he continues to work on Sesshomaru's hair. He dunks the few strands he has been washing under the water, before starting his cycle again.

“You know that this Sesshomaru is the Lord of these lands. As such, it is my duty to protect them. I have silenced the uproar the cat demon tribe were causing; they do not agree on our family's rule over these lands, they seem to think Father stole them from them.”

Inuyasha's ears are perked and he listens intently, “Oh. So Sessho has to beat up enemies all the time?”

“No. Some tribes grow too confident. The cat demon tribe will not defy me again.”

“Did they defy Father?”

“No.”

Inuyasha has finished the hair he'd grabbed and he reaches for some more, repeating his actions again, he frowns at a particularly stubborn flake of blood. Distractedly, he asks, “Hey Sessho, why did the cat demon tribe defy you and not father.”

“I am still a child by demon standards. They think me weak.”

“They don't think Sessho's weak do they?” Inuyasha joked and giggled, pausing in his rubbing. “Do other people think Sessho is weak? You're not weak are you, Sessho?”

Sesshomaru doesn't pause in his grooming, and Inuyasha watches with curiousity as Sesshomaru skips all his stripes while he bathes, “The council that rules Japan, is made up of four Lords (one for each of the four lands), their generals and closest advisors. We all stand under a common Lord who rules over the whole of Japan. They believe I am too young to be Lord, I shall prove them wrong." Inuyasha pauses in his ministrations as Sesshomaru dunks under the water and takes some of his soaked mane into his own hands and begins to scrub at the blood also. He continues as though he is speaking to himself, attempting to make himself believe what he says, “No. I am strong. I would not be Lord if I were not.”

There is a long silence as both boys concentrate on getting Sesshomaru's hair back to it's usual sparkling white from the top of his head, to the bottom of each strand. Inuyasha's liquid sunshine eyes flicker between clean hair in his hands and his brother's head. He then speaks again, softly, "Does Inuyasha have to fight to protect Sessho's land when he's older?"

Sesshomaru turns slightly, to look over his shoulder, "You will not."

"Oh," Inuyasha lets go of Sesshomaru's hair, "Okay. Sessho's hair's done."

Sesshomaru nods, "Quickly wet your hair, Inuyasha, I will wash yours."

Inuyasha grins, and dives under the water, careful of his ears that are lying flat against his head. He blinks up at Sesshomaru cutely as his brother strokes each white ear before rubbing and brushing his fingers through his little brother's hair. Inuyasha feels very relaxed as his brother does so, like when his mother rubs his ears when he goes to bed. He sighs and dunks under the water again at Sesshomaru's command.

The half-breed stared at his brother, surprised to find his brother's gash gone. Completely, as though it had never been there. "What happened to Sessho's cut?"

"Demons heal quickly, quicker in water."

"Oh. Why?"

Sesshomaru moves to step up onto the bank of the hot spring, before he wrings his hair out and combs his claws through it, "I do not know."

"Will Inuyasha heal quickly like that?"

His brother doesn't miss a beat and continues brushing his hair, his eyes on Inuyasha's still nude form. "You're half human. You will not heal as quickly as I do." Sesshomaru flicks his hair back over his shoulder and reaches for his bloodied kimono, "Get dressed, Inuyasha."

The small boy nods enthusiastically, "Okay!" When he'd managed to get himself completely dressed, he is quick to rush after his brother, who is striding towards their clearing. Inuyasha has already begun telling his brother all about his mother's new medicine and how disgusting it is.