InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Where the Sun Rises ❯ Copycat ( Chapter 9 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

AN: Well, I am sorry for the long hiatus. A lot has been happening with me, but I'm good now. All right, I guess that's it. Enjoy and review if you like.

"Y'know, I don't think it was the best of ideas to bring Kira along, Miroku," Inuyasha said, scratching the top of his head. "She could really get hurt."

"Oh, don't worry about me! My Miroku will protect me," Kira said, squeezing the monk's arm even tighter.

Miroku raised his head in pride. "Yeah. I'll protect her. She'll be perfectly safe."

Inuyasha shook his head in pity at the false heroics of his friend. As he stepped over a fallen tree, he tried to count all the times Miroku actually protected anybody. He only needed three fingers.

"Inuyasha, how much farther is it?" Sango asked from ahead, pausing and turning to hear the answer.

"We should be there by tomorrow morning," he answered, catching up to his mate. "If we didn't have to stop and rest every hour, we would get there a lot sooner."

Sango snickered as she grabbed his arm and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked. "I agree, but I used to be human so I can sympathize too. I'm sure they are trying to go as long as they can before another break. Be a little more patient. How do you expect to rule the Eastern Lands with a temper like yours?"

"By fear."

"And that's why I'll be there. To make sure you don't."

He looked down at her. "I guess you're right. You do have some sort of power over me."

She reached up and rolled his rosary between her fingers. "I sure do."

"Funny, funny."

The voice of Kagome broke into their conversation. "Inuyasha, we need to take a break."

He rolled his eyes and a low growl brewed in his throat. "We just had a break."

"That was two hours ago!"

Another low growl. "Fine."

He felt Sango's hand grasp his and give it a light squeeze. He didn't say anything, but he did take a seat on the grass, taking Sango with him. Pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her waist, he watched the rest of their group nearly collapse in fatigue. He shook his head in shame and took to nuzzling his mate's neck instead. He was glad that she wasn't a human anymore; she didn't need the unnecessary things humans needed. She didn't need him to constantly save her life or for him to carry her whenever her feet got tired. And she certainly didn't need some stupid two-wheeled contraption to get around. Whenever they were alone or even when he was close to Sango, he was always reminded that he made the right decision in picking a mate. For once, he got something right.

"Inuyasha, I have a question." He stopped his nuzzling to look up and see Kagome standing over them.

"What?"

She nervously rubbed her arm and looked away. "I don't really know how to ask you this, but I figured that if anyone could help, it would be you."

"Okay. Can you get to your question?" A sharp elbow to the side made him wince.

"Well... I kind of... need to talk to your brother about something, and I need you to call him for me."

He threw her a suspicious look. "Why are you so nervous?"

The miko kept her eyes averted. "Can you call him for me or not?"

"What do you want?" the voice behind her made her jump. She turned to see the very youkai she wanted to summon. "Talk."

Kagome glanced down at Sango and Inuyasha before returning her gaze back to Sesshomaru. "We need to talk in private, if that's okay with you."

He sighed lightly and strode off into the thickening trees. "Make it quick."

Kagome scurried after him without another word. When they were gone, everyone was silent. Finally, Miroku asked, "what was that all about?"

"I don't know," Inuyasha answered, letting Sango go and standing up. "But I don't like how suspicious they are being. What could they possibly have to talk about?"

Sango chuckled as she shook her head. "I think you guys are reading too much into this. The two of them having a conversation isn't the weirdest thing that has happened."

"No, no. I agree with Inuyasha. I don't trust this," Miroku said. "I mean, Sesshomaru isn't the first person I'd trust for anything."

"I'm sure you wouldn't," Sango replied, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "But if the two of them want to talk, then we should let them. Besides, I'm sure it isn't anything we should worry about. If there was trouble, surely they'd tell us."

Inuyasha scratched the back of his head, wallowing in thought. "But since they aren't, that should mean there's no trouble. So like I said before, what could they possibly be discussing?"

"None of your business," Sesshomaru cut in, returning from the hidden area of private discussion. "You have other things to be worrying about."

"Such as why you are here, right? I know you couldn't have forseen Kagome wanting to talk to you about whatever you were talking about. I hope you didn't come to help me secure my lands. I don't need your help."

The youkai said nothing as he waited for his brother to finish. "You are right. I did come for a reason, but it was not to help you fight. It looks to me that you have gathered your friends to aid you in that. But to offer a word of wisdom, I do not think it was a great idea to bring your mate to an event such as this."

Sending a glare at Sango, then back to his brother, Inuyasha shrugged. "I really didn't have a choice."

Sesshomaru seemed not to care and continued. "I came here to offer you my help."

Sango, still seated on the ground, looked up at her in-law. "Really? Well, that's very nice of you."

Inuyasha didn't say anything. He gave his sibling a skeptical look. "This is a joke, isn't it? I don't need your help. We can take care of everything ourselves. We don't need you hanging around. You've been doing enough of that."

"I am trying to be patient with you. But you are making it very hard for me."

"I don't care. We don't need your help."

Cutting in by holding up her hands, Sango asked, "is there some specific reason why we would need your help? Is there some information that we don't know about that would cause you to want to help?"

Sesshomaru glanced at her. "I am doing this on my own accord."

"Then you can leave on your own accord too," Inuyasha said, balling up his fists. "Maybe your hearing ain't as sharp as it used to be. I'm pretty sure I told you that we don't need you."

"It does not matter. You are getting help whether you want it or not."

Before Inuyasha could respond, Sango cut in again. "Inuyasha, clearly he's not going to leave. Since he's here, we might as well let him help us. It will make it all the more easier to defeat the boars and take over the land. What's it going to hurt?"

Taking a second to stare at her, Inuyasha answered, "if he helps us win against those bastard boars, he can make a case in saying he deserves some of my land. Then I'll say, 'Go to hell', he won't like that, and we have another fight on our hands."

"Why would I want this terrible land? There is nothing here that sparks my interest," Sesshomaru said, cringing a little. "Trust me, there is nothing here that I want."

"Inuyasha, just let him stay. Besides, we might need to extra help."

Continuing to stare at Sango, Inuyasha kept quiet. It was obvious that he didn't like what was happening, but he knew Sango wasn't budging. He also knew that she had a sort of fondness and trust for his brother, and because of it he would have to endure fighting alongside the youkai. He didn't like it one bit, but over time he learned to heed the hunches of his mate; she was usually right in the end. 'Fine, I'll go along with it. But he better not try anything. If he does, then those boars won't be the only ones to lose limbs.'

Using Inuyasha's silence as approval for his brother's aid, Sango smiled and nodded. "Thank you Sesshomaru," she said, giving her ears a flick. "We really appreciate this."

"Appreciate what you will. Just do not forget that my decision is for my own gain, not yours."

"Well, in that case, then we should get going," Inuyasha sighed, helping Sango to her feet. "With any luck, we can beat the guys in the East before tomorrow's nightfall. With the mighty Lord of the West on our side, we should be victorious in no time."

Not impressed by the sarcastic undertones in Inuyasha's statement, Sesshomaru responded, "you are right. Who knows how many tries it would take you to defeat these horrifying creatures."

Holding a hand to her head, Kagome groaned, "please, do not start fighting. We have to get going if we plan on arriving soon."

"I agree," Sango nodded. "We need to endure this traveling as long as we can without so many breaks. If we arrive earlier than they expected, we may gain an advantage."

Reluctantly, the brothers quieted down as traveling started to resume. After about an half hour of silence, Inuyasha slowly began to drift further and further away from the front of the pack until he eventually reached the back. With Sesshomaru. He could tell Sesshomaru was suspicious of him, but didn't care. He just had to ask. Taking a quick peek to make sure Sango wasn't looking, he whispered, "so what's the real reason you decided to help us?"

Two pairs of identical eyes glared into each other. "What, you do not believe me?"

"Not one bit. I know you too well to believe that you wouldn't help us unless it was for an obvious cause. I know you have a reputation to uphold, and if you were to associate with humans, you would want a justifiable reason. So what is it?"

The elder of the two couldn't immediately reply. He knew Inuyasha was right... he had been found out. And by the half-wit. He took a moment to consult his higher thinking and came to a conclusion. He would tell his reason, only because it was going to be a matter of time until everyone knew anyway. "All right, I will tell you. But you have to keep your mouth shut. Your mate does not need to know this."

"Sango?" Inuyasha said, scrunching his eyebrows together. "Why would she care?"

"Because I decided to mate with the miko."

A forceful whisper barely kept his surprise a secret. "WHAT? Why the hell would you do that for? Are you insane?!"

"Mutual benefit."

"What do you get from it?"

"An heir," Sesshomaru said simply. "I get an heir, and she gets a castle. Just like her friend."

AN: Okay then. It has just been brought to my attention that August 15th will be the one year anniversary for 'When the Truth Rings'. So that means a few things. That means I have a week to finish this fic. I want to be done with it so I can post a special one-shot on that day. I really hope that the ending doesn't seem rushed, so I will do what I can to keep that from happening. Well, I hope you like this chapter, despite my extreme hiatus. But I seem to finally be back on track. Review if you like, and Chapter Ten is on its way!