InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ What Matters the Most ❯ Choose ( Chapter 57 )

A/N: Hey everyone!

Sorry if this chapters up a little late... got a bit backlogged. Not to mention the fact that I’ve received a couple of not-quite-death-threats about what to do in this chapter... that did make it a bit harder to decide on what to write. ^_^ Lol, hopefully I’ll make it out of the end of this chapter alive though, whatever I’ve done... If not... well, then, I guess this is the end of the story. Lol ^_~

-Lokelanie04 - Lol, thanks! And yeah, I know what you mean about it being detachable-- I fought out that arguement a while ago... but there is almost proof somewhere by Rumiko Takahashi that says it’s a tail. Of course, she also says it’s not a tail, so it’s a bit confusing. She said that it was originally created as armour or something, but it just stuck, and that it probably is a tail and, while people have claimed to see both ends of it, it is simply detachable from him. Lol, either way, it clearly is some part of him and, while I don’t like to think of it as his tail (I agree-- it’s probably more the fur around his shoulders) that is the most likely thing that it is. ^_^

-CrimsonInHumanBlood - Lol, yeah, it’s hard to imagine Sesshomaru ever getting into a situation like this one... hopefully I’m making it believable though. -- You mean Subjection, Subjugation? Mm. Yeah. Lots of people want me to keep workin’ on it. But I’m not going to. Not for a while yet anyway. I don’t have enough time right now or energy, and I need to focus more on the stories I already have going. Maybe when I’m done with one of them though...

-golden kitsune - Oh, I didn’t mean to make you cry! Oh... now I feel bad. Well, kinda. If it makes you feel any better... well, nope, can’t think of anything that would make you feel any better. A few things that might make you feel worse, but... Mm. Yeah, I suppose Sess could do some real nasty things to him. Then again, torture doesn’t really seem to be his style, does it? Still, if it were, you can only just imagine... *shudders* makes me feel almost sorry for Naraku... Lol, ha! I told you rambling was contageous. Although, yours is one of the shorter rambles I’ve ever seen, but it’s still a ramble, which means... well, it means that you’re probably infected now, and it’s only gonna continue to grow as time goes on. ^_^ Lol. -- They must be happy, huh? Hm. Well, I don’t know, my muses don’t seem to agree with you 100% on that. They love to torture all their fav characters. Lol, makes me feel sorry for Inu. Almost... ^_^

-Tryst/Punishment of the Inu - Lol. Inu Taisho... well, wherever he is, it doesn’t seem to be there, which means he’s not currently much help, now is he? ^_^

-Crazy-Inuyasha-Girl - Thanks so much! Glad you’re liking it! ^_^

-Snowfall - Yeah... I don’t suppose they would tolerate death-threats... (Thank heaven!)... But I think you’ve gotten your point across. Makes me a little bit nervous about posting this next chapter... Lol. Yeah, Inu Taisho seems to have disappeared neh? Though I don’t know how much use he’d be even if he was there... it’d be a choice between he’s son and his grandson’s... Not exactly an easy decision to make, neh? W-ell, I don’t want to kill you, so I guess I better hurry up and get to writing the next chapter... Y’know, you can be pretty scary when you’re like this? Lol. Still, even if you didn’t like it, I’m glad you liked the chapter. ^_^

-FXL-lazy - Aw! Don’t cry! I don’t even have any virtual kleenex to give you! : ( Now I feel bad. Yeesh. Caught between threatening/angry/crying reviewers and my own angsty muses... it’s not a very good place to be. And certainly didn’t make the decision of his chapter any easier to make... -- You’re right, if Naraku takes them it will prove for a lot more angsty twists for people... not to mention the fact that whoever it was will finally get to see a really upset Sesshomaru that they have requested to see. ^_^ Lol, but then again, if he doesn’t take them, then I can have a death for Naraku, and then Inu and Sess happy ending, neh? Hm... Decisions, decisions... Still, glad to hear that, whatever I do, you’ll still stick with the story. Lost a few people after the Naraku/Inu rape before, so if Naraku kidnaps him I’m not sure how many will stop reading as well... their loss though, cause then they’d never get to see what would happen, neh? ^_^ -- >_< Sorry to hear your last test wasn’t very good. I think I did good on my english test (but that’s just a given-- it’s one of the only classes I enjoy) but the rest... well, lets just say I’d rather not talk about them. Lol, I very much doubt I did at all good. ^_^

-fawn of the woods - Awww... that’s not very nice! How am I ever supposed to finish the story if I’m dead? I suppose I oculd always get Sess to revive me, but if I kill him then he won’t be able to do that... what’s a poor little authoress to do? ^_^ Lol. Everyone wants to see Inu Taisho come in and kill Naraku! I don’t get it, why can’t it just be Inu and Sess? *sighs* lol, no, I understand why people want him there. Still, that might ruin everything that I built up last chapter if he suddenly shows up and saves the day, neh? Lol. A suspense piece? Hm. Interesting. I was only really going for angst but... ya, no, suspense is good too. ^_^

-Jubilationqueen - Lol, I’m a girl! ^_^ I think most of the people on this site are probably girl’s... not to be sexist or anything, but I think that fanfiction has simply attracter more girls. Most people I’ve met/talked to on here are girl’s. Even the one’s I thought were guys, so... But I have met some guys on here and seen some good guy author’s... Although most of them don’t read yaoi. Not that that matters but... Anyway, I’m rambling away-- It’s great to know you enjoy my writing and have such faith in me! ^_^ Lol, I have no idea about it, but writing seems to be one of the things that I can actually stand to sit still and do, and people seem to enjoy my work, so who knows... ^_^ Lol. Anyway... I have absolutely no intentions of not finishing WMtM. It is my fav fic that I’ve written so far, so unless I get killed or something serious like that, there’s no reason why I would stop. ^_^ So don’t worry about that... -- Lol, you don’t have to tell me the reason’s behind your rating (though they do help) but I agree-- I most certainly can do better. And I probably will. But it always takes time. I’m already starting to notice some ways that I hope to improve my writing. ^_^ But, considering that this is the first successful story I’ve ever written, I’m not too worried about getting it perfect just yet. ^_^ lol. -- I’m afraid I can’t take your advice though. Just as I let people compliment me, I’ll let them put me down. I might not take it to heart, but you gotta take everything into account, because otherwise you’ll never be able to understand why the people were putting you down in the first place, or how to improve. ^_^ I will, take your advice and keeping writing and (hopefully) entertaining you. ^_^ -- Mm. Yeah, I imagine that Sess and Inu probably should kick Naraku’s ass... although, I’m not too worried about you kicking my ass considering the number of death-threats I’ve received this chapter. ^_^ Lol. Anyway, I’m glad you’re liking this story and, hopefully, my next chapter should be up sooner than this one was, so you shouldn’t have to wait nearly as impatiently for that one... ^_^ Hope you enjoy it! ^_^

-Soma-san - LOL, glad you’re liking it! ^_^ Lol, last chapter was the best? Out of them all? Well, I don’t know, I kinda liked some of the other chapters a bit better, but... ^_^ Lol. Yeah, Naraku is a bastard. But I can imagine him doing exactly what he is doing... after all, he attacked Kikyo so that she would kill Inuyasha and all that other shit, so why not this as well? ^_^ What I can’t believe is how Sess could be so reckless and let this happen in the first place! Oh, I’m so disappointed in him... Lol ^_^

-Tai-san - Lol, yay! Angst! ^_^ Lol, best element you can add to a story! ^_^ Lol, glad you liked the chapter! Sorry if this took a while to get up-- the next one should be up sooner though... ^_^

-MetsukiKaraTen - Lol, yeah, well it’s not exactly an original plot-- having them mated together for who knows what reason. But I still like the idea, and thus this story was born! ^_^ Lol, and now it has you hooked! Hopefully it can keep you that way over the next... 30 or so chapters. ^_^ -- Lol, I’m glad it’s effecting you so emotionally. I like getting deep into the psychology of characters and messing with their heads and seeing who can’t relate to, or at least sympathize with them. ^_^ -- Lol, well I hope you manage to get caught up soon! And that I hear from you again! ^_^

-LizzzA - ^_^ Glad you’re loving it! And of course I’ll update! I’m not planning on abandoning the story. Sometimes it just takes me a week or so to get up... not usually, but sometimes. ^_^

-inutaiyoukai25 - Lol, glad you’re enjoying it! ^_^ Hm. That’s an interesting question... why do I have to stop right when it’s getting good? Hm... I suppose it’s because I just love to keep you guys dangling like that... ^_^ Lol, plus it keeps you hooked for just that much longer. Lol. Still, sorry if I left you at a cliffie. I suppose the bright side of it is that I’m planning on continuing to write the story, and I’m not gonna leave you hanging there for very long, neh? ^_^ Lol. ^_^

-Skullz - Lol, you did it again! I was just about to update, and then suddenly I see your review, and now I have to go back and answer it! Lol. ^_^ -- Hm. Your almost fav fic? Lol, wonder who the competition is. ^_^ -- Yeah, sometimes typos can be annoying-- or a whole bunch of chatroom slang. But, once I’ve translated through it, for the most part I ignore it, and just answer it. If people want to talk like that, then that’s their business. Although, it’s never gonna help them improve their writing... Lol, don’t worry about it. I’m in a ranting mood too. Constantly. In fact, I can’t think of a time when I wasn’t in a ranting mood... so I’m a good person to rant to, and I don’t mind anyway. ^_^ You have to live with my rants every chapter-- I don’t mind returning the favour. ^_^ -- Lol, well I’m sorry if you don’t want me to answer this... afraid I got to that part of the review too late, and I don’t feel like deleting the rest so... feel free to ignore everything before now. ^_^ -- Writing fics. Mm. Well, that depends... do you enjoy writing? And can you handle the responsibility? Lol, cause even though it is mostly a pastime, if you start writing fics and people like them, then, even though it’s not a necessity, it’s still your responsibility to continue updating them. Lots of people start writing fics and don’t update them (though a few have good reasons for it) and it’s annoying as all hell and people eventually will loose interest in you as an author. And if you don’t enjoy writing fics, then your stories won’t come out good so there’d be no point. Lol, on the other hand-- Of course I think you should write! It’ll be great to see some fresh stories out there! A fresh take on the fanfic universe! ^_^ Lol, okay, I think maybe I took that a little too seriously... sorry, just had a big debate with one of my friends about something, and I haven’t quite switched out of argument mode yet. ^_^ Lol. And, for curiosity's sake... why do you think you’re a retard? (Oh, and gomen if this came out one great big blurb-- swear I didn’t mean to do it... >_<)

Well that’s all for now...

Oh, and happy mother’s day to all mother’s out there! Hope y’all are enjoying your special day! ^_^   ~*~   Choose

Sesshomaru grit his teeth together harshly and glared daggers at the demon in front of him.

‘Damn him!’ His mind supplied, as his eyes flickered over to his suffocating pups by the tree, knowing that they wouldn’t last much longer... and there was nothing he could do at present. He had no idea how fast Naraku could move, and he might miss if he attempted to attack, and then what? And even if he did not miss, how could he guarantee he’d be able to get his pups away from the bastard?

Even with Tenseiga, he may not be able to save them.

The sword did not save everybody that died, and there was no guarantee it would his pups. And even should it bring them back to life, how would he get that toxin out of their lungs before it effected them again?

A gentle touch on his arm had him glancing over his shoulder at Inuyasha, who was staring up at him with determined eyes, though Sesshomaru could see the dull shadows of fear and depression flickering over them, shading their golden shade a deep auburn colour that made his heart clench slightly for reasons he did not know.

‘Please...’ His mate whispered softly, hands still clutching his arm, but no longer digging his claws in... just trying to gently move it out of the way so he could get passed. ‘Let me go.’

Sesshomaru mentally let out a curse as he again weighed his current situation.

Dammit!

He was being forced to make a choice in a situation where there was, clearly, no choice to be made.

If he saved his sons, he lost his mate.

If he saved his mate, he lost his sons.

Either his sons were killed, or Inuyasha was taken off to Kami knows where as some sort of concubine for this sadistic, twisted, perverted hanyou...

‘Best choose fast, Sesshomaru.’ Naraku’s voice taunted him, adding to the mix of his inner turmoil, and getting more than a rise out of his youkai as he very nearly lost control of it. ‘I can wait forever for your decision. But I won’t. And I do not think your pups will either.’ As if to emphasize that point, the cloud hovering over his sons seemed to thicken slightly, becoming heavier-- tighter... enough to kill them if he left it very much longer...

‘Sesshomaru!’ Inuyasha cried next to him, panic starting to build in his voice and in his eyes in the form of tears as he tightened his hold on his mate’s arm again. ‘Please! You have to let me do this!’ The half-demon again sunk his claws into Sesshomaru’s arm, yanking roughly and forcing Sesshomaru to look back at him. ‘I am no giving you a choice.’

Sesshomaru stared at Inuyasha-- the cries of their pups still ringing faintly in his ears-- and he felt his entire body going stiff and numb-- his youki silent inside of him for the first time in his life, clearly unable to make a decision in this either.

Slowly, still in a rather numb state, he let the muscles in his arms go lax without even really realising what he was doing, allowing Inuyasha to brush past him and make his way toward Naraku, coming to rest a few feet in front of him.

‘Leave them alone.’ The boy said, his voice softly falling on Sesshomaru’s ears, but filled with that same will and fire he had always admired in his younger brother as he stared in an almost dazed way at the scene playing out before him. ‘I am coming with you.’

Inuyasha paused, and then turned back toward Sesshomaru.

‘Hold her for me.’ He said softly, his eyes incredibly dark as he held the small girl in his arms out to the older youkai, who reached slowly out to take her, only to be stopped when that same silky-smooth voice that had caused this entire mess sounded again.

‘Actually, I think it would be best if she came with us.’ Naraku said, the smirk still evident in his voice. ‘She is my daughter, after all.’

Inuyasha’s eyes closed and his ears pressed tightly back against his head, even as Sesshomaru stiffened before him, his claws cracking in his anger, but there was nothing for it. There were in a compromising situation-- one that, either way, they lost something. And it seemed that this was the only way out of it without bloodshed and death. For the moment, at least.

Because Inuyasha knew Naraku wasn’t planning to harm Tsukiko. The bastard kumo had something planned for his daughter-- had thought of some sort of use to put her to, otherwise he would not have even bothered with requesting she be brought along. So he wasn’t worried that Naraku was going to kill her.

Or him for that matter.

He already had a very good idea what it was Naraku wanted from him, and fucking a dead corpse was hardly the kind of experience he thought the other hanyou wanted out of this.

Opening his eyes slowly, Inuyasha bit back tears as he slowly leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on Sesshomaru’s lips, knowing that he needed to be strong so that Sesshomaru could recover rationally from this... and maybe find some way to save him. And if not, then at least be competent enough to take care of the sons they had just bargained for.

‘It’s going to be alright.’ He murmured softly-- barely above a whisper-- though he found himself unable to meet Sesshomaru’s eyes as he said this... because he honestly didn’t know if it would be true.

The first rape had been hard enough for him to deal with... but, if he ever got away from Naraku again... he didn’t know how well he would recover. It wasn’t like it was a regular battle or just torture... those things he could deal with. But there was something so fundamentally extreme and hurtful about rape... like the bastard had torn into his very soul. And he hated it. It scared him. He didn’t know how to deal with it properly... especially not without Sesshomaru near him. His brother was the only reason he had survived the last one, but, if Sesshomaru wasn’t there... he didn’t know what he had left to rely on.

Gathering what little shreds of courage he had about him, Inuyasha made a move to turn back and face his nightmare, only to have one of Sesshomaru’s hands come up and clasp his chin, forcing him to look back up into his eyes.

‘I will get you back, otouto.’ He whispered, too low for Naraku to hear. ‘I promise. He shall not harm you, or the pups.’

Inuyasha stared hard at his mate, feeling the blood that slicked his fingers from the wounds Inuyasha had inflicted upon his arm as he continued to clasp his chin, and he silently tried to convey to his brother everything he wanted to let him know, while secretly and silently he prayed that, when he turned back around, Naraku would not be there, and this all would have turned out to just be another one of his nightmares.

‘Sesshomaru I--’ He started, but that was as far as he got-- cut off at the next second as something wrapped tightly around his mid-section, yanking him back and away from his mate with a harsh tug.

A small yelp escaped from his lips as he very nearly dropped Tsukiko from the suddenness of this action, only to have more of the same black tentacles that had grabbed him come up to wrap tightly around the pup-- yanking her from his grip as he was hauled back toward Naraku, the tentacles winding around him so that, by the time he reached the kumo, he was completely caught in a full-body bind.

‘As touching as all this is, I can’t have you tainting him too much, Sesshomaru. He does belong to me now.’ Naraku said, his lips still pulled up in his vile, and seemingly never-ending smirk, but there was a dark sort of malice kindling in his eyes, that suggested he was very much enraged by what had just occurred (or almost occurred) right before his eyes.

As if to emphasize his words, Naraku squeezed the tentacles holding his hostage even tighter-- forcing Inuyasha to whimper slightly in pain as his bones creaked together painfully in protest, and drawing a loud growl from Sesshomaru, his knuckles cracking, and his eyes flashing dangerously-- only the potentially fatal situation his mate was now in keeping him from lopping the monster’s head off right then and there.

‘Naraku... please...’ Inuyasha hiss, feeling his head beginning to spin from the lack of oxygen, even as his eyes stared at Sesshomaru... fixating on the way his eyes were flashing rather sporadically to red... the way his stripes seemed to be thickening and lengthening... and he knew that Sesshomaru was very close to transforming... one more push and that would be it... he knew his mate would succumb to the transformation.

Not that he had ever seen his brother transform, but he knew that it would, without a doubt, be a very life-threatening situation for everyone in the immediate area... and he didn’t want to risk his brother hurting or being hurt by someone.

His quiet plea caused Naraku to look up at him, amusement glittering quite clearly in his deep crimson eyes as he gazed harshly at his prey. ‘Inuyasha... so eager to return to my home?’ He questioned, one of his tentacles coming up to trace the side of the silver-haired hanyou’s face, making Inuyasha shudder, but force himself to hold still as the skin of his cheek and jawbone was molested by the vulgar appendage. ‘Very well.’ Naraku said after a moment, apparently satisfied with his response. ‘We shall take out leave of this place... for now.’

That said, Naraku threw Sesshomaru one last smirk, before, surrounding himself in the toxin that had formerly been hovering over Arekusu and Inuko, Naraku took off, disappearing in a cloud of purple miasma, his hell-wasps swarming around him as he left Sesshomaru to stand there and watch, completely helpless, as the kumo took off with his daughter and mate to some unknown destination, nothing but the incomprehensible guilt within him that he had been so helpless... that he had lost his mate to the kumo once again to keep him company. ~*~  

Glossary

Kami - (Or Kami-sama) God

Hanyou - Half-Demon

Youkai - Demon

Youki - A demon’s aura or energy

Kumo - Spider

Otouto - Little Brother. Aniki would be Older brother. ~*~  

A/N: Well, I think Naraku smirked too much in there, but I couldn’t think of anything else for him to do, so you’ll have to excuse that... AND PLEASE DON’T KILL ME! YOU’LL NEVER GET TO FINISH THE STORY IF I’M DEAD! ^_^ -- That’s the only defence I’ve got, and I’m sticking with it...