InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Young at Heart ❯ Father Returns ( Chapter 18 )

 

Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I started a new job, which has demanded a lot of my attention, and most days I get home and I am too tired to write. But here it is finally I hope you all enjoy.

 

Chapter Eighteen: A Demand Left Unanswered

 

Sesshoumaru peered into the brown eyes questioningly. Then at the surrounding people and he released a snarl in warning. Glancing around and lifting his nose to the air, Sesshoumaru tried to pick out his father's scent, and he paused frowning. Sniffing again, he leaned forward to where he had smelt it.

Instead of his father, there stood a small youkai…no a hanyou. Furrowing his brows, he leaned forward more and sniffed again. It was definitely there, a faint trace of his father's scent, but where was his father? Looking back to the brown haired lady, he tilted his head to the side curiously.

“Where's my father?” Sesshoumaru demanded.

The girl sat back and blinked. “You don't remember?” Another girl came up beside the other and knelt down with a look of horror on her face.

“Sesshoumaru?” The scantily dressed girl asked.

“What?”

“Do you remember who I am?”

Sesshoumaru blinked, remember who she was? Just what in seven hells had happened? Looking into his lap, he saw the tattered remains of his hakama pants and he gawked.

“What did you do to my legs?” He demanded, curling his lip.

“You got injured. You ran away.” The scantily dressed girl muttered, and shook her head, warning the others to stay back. However Inuyasha wouldn't hear of it and crawled over, sniffing at his brother.

“And you must tell me why that…hanyou smells like my father.” Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose, pointing at the now stunned Inuyasha. “What do you mean I ran away? Where is my father?”

The girl shook her head sadly. “One question at a time, please?” Folding her hands in her lap, the girl stared at Sesshoumaru for a long moment before answering him. “Your father left you with us.”

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. “My father wouldn't do that!”

“Well he did. He had something dangerous to do, and he left you and Inuyasha with us.” The girl argued.

“Inuyasha?” Sesshoumaru tilted his head.

“Him.” She pointed to the hanyou who stood behind him, confused.

Sesshoumaru peered at him long and hard before nodding. “So why does he smell like my father? And what happened to my legs?”

“You were injured, like I told you before.” The girl said frustrated.

“So my father left me here, and you let me get injured?” Sesshoumaru growled. Maybe that was why he didn't remember anything. Did he hit his head? Lifting his hand to his head, he felt a large knot on the base of his skull and he winced. “You let me get injured?” Sesshoumaru accused.

“Well if you hadn't of run off, you wouldn't have been injured!” The girl raged.

Sesshoumaru blinked. “I ran off? Why?”

“I don't know, I was hoping you would tell us, but you obviously don't remember anything, so what does it matter?” The girl stood up and stalked away, leaving two confused youths and a sighing brown-eyed girl.

Sesshoumaru leaned forward and sniffed at the kimono of this girl and he nodded. “My scent is on you, who are you?”

“My name is Sango.” She replied. “Behind you is Inuyasha.” She waved to the others. “That is Miroku, Shippo, Jaken, Rin, Kirara and Kagome, I think that two-headed dragon is named Ah `Uh.”

Something twanged in Sesshoumaru's brain as she pointed to everyone standing in the clearing, but he couldn't place his finger on what it was. Sucking in his breath, he clenched his eyes shut tightly and released his breath through his teeth.

“What? What is it?” Sango asked, placing her hand on his back.

Sesshoumaru shook his head. “Those names…I know those names. But I don't.” Opening his eyes and lifting his head, he stared into her deep brown eyes confused.

Sango nodded. “Maybe your memory will come back.”

Sesshoumaru sniffed. “So, why does Inuyasha smell like my father?” He asked.

Sango stood up and started to walk away.

“Hey! I asked you a question, you know!” Sesshoumaru snarled. “Come back here!”

Inuyasha crawled forward and crouched down. “Did you hit your head?” He whispered.

Sesshoumaru blinked and stared at the submissive hanyou. “Who are you?”

“Inuyasha.”

He snorted. “I've gathered that much. Who are you?”

“Inuyasha.” The boy grinned.

“That doesn't answer my question.”

“What will?” Inuyasha asked, inching closer.

“Telling me who you are.” Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes.

“I told you that. I'm Inuyasha.”

He couldn't believe it. Why was everyone avoiding his questions on the hanyou? “No I mean why do you smell like my father?”

“I don't know.” Inuyasha sat up and crossed his legs, shrugging his shoulders.

Rolling his eyes Sesshoumaru leaned back on his elbows and sighed. Obviously they were hiding something. Narrowing his eyes, Sesshoumaru promised himself he would find out. Somewhere deep in the back of his mind, Sesshoumaru knew he should know these people from somewhere, but his logic refused to believe it. How could he know these people when he never recalled meeting them before, or even more importantly, why would his father leave him with someone he didn't know?

If they had taken him by force, they had better pray that his father didn't cross their paths anytime soon. He would tear them limb from limb. Smirking, he snarled at Inuyasha who still sat at his side, and the small hanyou jumped and scrambled away.

“Grump!” Inuyasha growled. “Always a grump, never any fun. Stupid youkai.”

“What did you just call me?” Sesshoumaru gawked at the retreating hanyou. Snorting, he looked away and pouted. They were obviously incapable of protecting him, if his legs were as badly torn as the pain indicated. Not to mention his aching back. Smiling slowly, he would definitely tell his father just how incapable they were.

The light sky seemed to darken suddenly, and he furrowed his brows in confusion. Looking upward to the sky, he gaped at the massive black clouds that rolled over the blue. He was suddenly picked up and held tightly in a pair of arms, and he snarled at the girl who held him. It was the same girl who held his scent. Although that was a mystery to him also. Strange thing was he recalled her scent above everyone else's and he wasn't sure why that was.

“Put me down!” Sesshoumaru growled. “What do you think you are doing?”

Sango glared at him, and plopped him beside Rin and Inuyasha on the back of Ah `Uh without a word.

Kagome ran past with a bow and arrow in her hands. “You stay here.” She called back as she flew past them.

Sesshoumaru blinked, and then stared at Inuyasha who also blinked stupidly. The hanyou lifted his nose to the air and then blanched. “I remember that scent!” He declared. “It was the big spider guy, with the weird waving arms.”

Sesshoumaru cocked his head to the side curiously. “What big spider guy?”

Inuyasha looked at him incredulously. “Remember? The big guy you tried to bite?”

“I did not try to bite anything!” Sesshoumaru snorted.

“Did too, and then you threw a stick and I chased it and the spider guy tried to kill us.” Inuyasha sniffed, lifting his nose into the air. “Your haori melted and I gave you mine, and you got it all ruined, cause you ran off.”

Sesshoumaru blinked at the hanyou stupidly. “I don't remember any of that!”

“Keh!” Inuyasha crossed his arms, and lifted his nose higher into the air. There were the sounds of crashing through the trees, and both brother's glanced up with raised brows. Rin gripped the back of Sesshoumaru's remaining shirt, and tightened her fists.

Frowning, Sesshoumaru glanced over his shoulder and snorted. “What do you think you're doing?” Was this little girl a daughter of someone in their company? Peering into her eyes he saw the fear and pain swirl in their depths, and he frowned. Something about those eyes was familiar. What was it? She held nothing but complete trust and devotion in her scent, and it was directed to him. Leaning back slightly, he saw her eyes widen and then she glanced to her right, breaking their eyes contact. Blinking, he swallowed. Did this little human girl know him?

Rin looked down and she shook her head. Sesshoumaru didn't remember her. The shock that rippled through her, brought tears to her eyes and she wiped them away quickly, jumping off Ah `Uh's back, and racing into the bushes. It had happened. The little girl had known the minute Sesshoumaru had woken and glanced around at them. However there had been a small hope that he wouldn't have forgotten her. Didn't he say that he wouldn't forget her?

Brushing the branches back and cutting her arms on them, Rin let the tears fall onto her cheeks. She was alone again, no matter how hard she wished for her Lord Sesshoumaru to remember her, he wouldn't. What would happen if they never found the rift?

Inuyasha scoffed and jumped down also. “Look what you did.” He growled and ran after the little girl. His brother was such a baka. Did he have no feelings at all? The hanyou trudged through the bushes shaking his head angrily. There was something about his brother's eyes that were different from the day before. At first Inuyasha had thought it nothing more then his brother's injury, but now he knew it was something more.

Even not remembering his brother before this, he knew there was a connection between the little girl and Sesshoumaru, but after witnessing that little exchange on the back of the dragon's back, it was like his brother had forgotten everything. Inuyasha skidded to a halt. `Forgotten everything.' Blinking, he sucked in his breath sharply. Just like he had forgotten everything on that morning, so had his brother. Shaking his head clear, he heard the soft cries from the little girl and snorted, breaking into a run once again. He would have to wait to sort through this information later.

Sesshoumaru watched the hanyou race after the girl and he frowned. “I didn't do anything!” He shouted after them. “What did I do?” Pursing his lips, he waited for an answer and got none. Looking at the two-headed dragon he shrugged. “Are you fast?”

Ah `Uh snorted and bobbed their heads, looking in the direction where the crashing was coming from. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and sighed. He gaped when Sango came racing into the clearing quickly, and grabbed the reins on the two-headed dragon without looking to see if she had all members of their party.

Sesshoumaru ground his teeth together. “Hey wait! We're missing those other two.”

Sango stopped and blinked. “What?” She quickly scanned the back of the dragon and found that indeed there were two missing. “Where did they go? We found another rift!”

“A what?”

“Where are they?” Sango snapped.

Sesshoumaru felt his eyes bulge, and he quickly pointed to the bushes where Rin and Inuyasha had run off. Sango nodded and dropped the reins and ran off into the bush, leaving Sesshoumaru alone once again. “Do you have any idea why they are running around stupidly?” He asked the dragon, not expecting an answer, but asking anyway.

The dragon heaved a sigh, and stood still waiting.

“What is this rift? Do you know?” Sesshoumaru pressed, not liking the silence all that much.

The dragon sighed again, getting agitated.

“Do you know why that little hanyou smells like my father?”

The left head turned and snapped its teeth near Sesshoumaru's leg, warning him to remain silent, and Sesshoumaru yelped. “Okay, okay, I get it already!” Pouting, Sesshoumaru crossed his arms, and waited.

Suddenly, Sango raced into the clearing again, with Rin under one arm, and Inuyasha under the other one. She threw them onto Ah `Uh's back and took up the reins again, throwing Sesshoumaru a glare before, pulling the dragon with her. “I will have words with you later, Sesshoumaru!” She snapped.

The youkai felt his eyes bulge again and he gulped. Had he done something wrong? If so, what?

Sango raged on, pulling Ah `Uh through the brush. “You had better pray that this rift is the real one.”

“What is this rift?” Sesshoumaru asked, scooting forward, trying to get out of the hanyou's reach.

Sango snorted, and finally they exited the brush into another small clearing where Miroku and Kirara were fighting side-by-side, trying to ward off Naraku. Kagome shot an arrow and missed the spider widely.

Inuyasha yelped and pointed. “See that's the spider guy! There, right there. See!”

Sesshoumaru swallowed and nodded. “I see.” He stared at the large mangled excuse for a youkai and he smirked. “He's nothing but a hanyou, like you.”

Naraku's head swerved to their direction and he laughed. “I have a feeling that you are searching for this?” He stated, moving to the side, and revealing the purple and white wavering line in the air.

Sesshoumaru squinted and stared at the strange thing curiously. “Why would we search for that?” He asked in all childish innocence.

Naraku laughed menacingly. “I have no idea what happened to cause this little blessing, Sesshoumaru, but I find I quite enjoy this little tirade.”

Sesshoumaru frowned, and then he released a snarl. “You don't scare me!”

Naraku laughed again. “Sesshoumaru, I can kill you without even blinking, when you are like this.”

Sesshoumaru snarled louder.

“You are even injured.”

“So what! You better make sure that my father never crosses paths with you!” The youkai growled.

Naraku seemed taken back slightly by the youkai's words, and he paused. “Do you not remember, Sesshoumaru? This is one thing I will never have to worry about. You being the son of a wicked youkai, I have witnessed some power in you. However my growing power out weighs even yours, with the sacred jewel. Your father will not cross my path, for he is already dead.”

Sesshoumaru froze and felt the blood wash out of his face in waves. His skin grew clammy, and he sucked in his breath sharply. Inuyasha gulped and then looked at his brother for answers. Both brothers seemed to go slack at this information and Kagome shook her head furiously.

“Naraku!” Miroku cried out. “You're going down! Kazanaa!”

`Father? Dead?' Sesshoumaru shook his head firmly. His father was strong; he would never be defeated by a hanyou like this, would he? Looking up, he saw just in time a small fist fly to his face and it connected solidly with his chin, sending his head flying back with a jolt. It felt like his teeth rattled from the impact, and he blinked stunned, bring his head forward again and glaring at the small hanyou pup. “What was that for?” He snapped.

“You lied to me!” Inuyasha wailed, anger filling his voice and tears in his eyes.

Sesshoumaru gaped. “What do you mean I lied to you? What are you talking about?”

“You said father left us to go to battle! How could you lie about father being dead?” Inuyasha whimpered.

“Huh?” Sesshoumaru blinked rubbing his chin. “I have no idea what you're talking about. My father would never fall to a weak hanyou such as him.”

Inuyasha turned his back on his brother and watched in horror the raging battle between the spider youkai and the monk. He turned his head to his right and caught sight of some large wasps, and he gaped. “Bees!” Something deep in his memory made him want to run and hide from these things. His eyes grew as he caught sight of the large stingers and he yelped. “Ahh!” Somehow he managed to maneuver behind his brother and crouch down, seeking protection.

Sesshoumaru blinked and shook his head. “What are you doing? How do you figure I can protect you? Why would I protect you?”

“You're…but you protected me before.” Inuyasha whimpered.

“I did?”

Sesshoumaru turned his eyes back to the spider hanyou and narrowed his eyes. `Just because he said something, didn't really mean it was true did it?' For some reason, Sesshoumaru sensed that this Naraku character was a manipulator and a trickster. It was the look on the hanyou's face that made him untrustworthy. Perhaps he had been lying to them about their father, to distract him.

Snarling softly, Sesshoumaru flexed his fingers, and watched as the humans took on this hanyou by themselves. He had to admit they were pretty brave. Sango was fast. She dodged Naraku's spindly spider legs with ease, and ducked under others. The way the girl hefted that large boomerang left the youkai wide-eyed and bewildered. The weapon was made out of youkai bones, and Sesshoumaru immediately knew she was a youkai exterminator.

The human named Miroku used his staff effectively. He sliced through the arms as if he were cutting through freshly churned butter. The sutras that the monk threw at the hanyou seemed to still him for brief moments, long enough for the monk to dodge an attack and retaliate with one of his own.

The small toad guy named Jaken seemed to be able to keep his own as well. The staff that he carried blew fire and melted the arms easily enough. The fox youkai, Shippo seemed too young to be fighting, but there he was, perched on the strangely clad girl's shoulder, and hopping into the air throwing his foxfire at the tentacles that snaked around the air.

The girl, Kagome fired arrow after arrow, not hitting every mark, but doing a not so bad job of protecting herself. `She's a miko!' Sesshoumaru concluded, seeing an arrow embed itself in Naraku and glow a bright pink. His mouth fell open stunned. Why hadn't he sensed it before?

Shaking his head, he watched stupefied as a large tentacle arm snaked its way towards him and he gaped. He felt four hands clutch him tightly, and his eyes widened drastically. There was no means of him escaping, and he clenched his eyes shut, leaning back so that he took the full brunt of the attack.

The hit never came, as the hissing of an arrow caused his eyes to fly open and he watched as the arm disintegrated before his very eyes. He turned his head and stared at the human girl who stood there nodding at him. Turning his head slightly, he peered at Inuyasha and Rin curiously.

Why were they cowering behind him? He was small like them, but even though he was afraid, he didn't run and hide. Frowning, he knew that the little girl was pretty hopeless in fighting the battle, but what about the hanyou? Surely he must have some protective ability at such a young age? Even the young fox youkai seemed to be able to protect himself in some way.

Snorting, he should talk. He had just sat there and watched the arm descend on him. However, even Sesshoumaru knew his limits. Sensing the youki that surrounded this spider hanyou, Sesshoumaru knew he was well out of his league. The jhaki over powered his own, but he knew if his father was here, he could take out this hanyou without even blinking. Smirking, he glared at the spider angrily.

There was no way his father was dead. His father was Lord of the Western lands, and a powerful Daiyoukai.

Naraku seemed taken aback and paused in his attack long enough for Kagome to shoot another arrow and embed itself into his chest. The spider hanyou howled and dodged another attack and made to crush her.

Inuyasha gaped and jumped off the dragon quickly. “You can't hurt her!” He shouted, running as fast as his little legs could carry him. Sango tackled Inuyasha before he jumped head first into danger, and she threw him back.

Sesshoumaru watched as the battle raged on for a while, before the hanyou seemed to retreat and vanish into thin air, and he frowned. “Where'd he go?” He asked, looking everywhere for the spider.

Sango raced to his side and plucked him off the dragon's back and she placed him before the rift, and Miroku handed him a sword. Sesshoumaru stared at it curiously, before he noticed that Sango was dragging Inuyasha over to his side, against the little guys protests.

“No! No! No! No!” Inuyasha shook his head, planting his heels into the earth trying to stop himself. “I remember what happened last time. Uh Hnn! No way are you going to get me to touch that thing!” He stated to the sword that Miroku held out for him. “Sess, don't touch it, it will burn you again.”

`Burn?' Sesshoumaru stared wild-eyed at the sword in his hand, and promptly dropped it to the ground.

Miroku and Kagome both picked it up and shoved it into his hands. “Take it, or you both will be stuck like this forever!”

“Huh?” Sesshoumaru tilted his head to the side confused. “Stuck like what?”

Inuyasha was shoved forward and he placed his hands behind his back shaking his head firmly. “Uh Hnn! No way!”

Kagome growled angrily. “Take it, or I'll tie it to your hands.” She threatened.

Inuyasha's eyes widened considerably, and he hesitantly reached his shaking hands for the proffered sword. “But, I don't want to!” He whimpered, as the sword was placed into his hands. The swords weight caught him off guard and he flopped down beside Sesshoumaru in a heap, and both brother's stared at the swords wordlessly, as if they were going to bite them.

Both brothers gaped when the swords began pulsing in their sheaths, and Inuyasha immediately scrambled to his feet, dropping the sword. Shaking his head furiously, Inuyasha about faced and darted past the others and out of the clearing.

Sesshoumaru stared after the hanyou, and then at the pulsing sword in his hand. Several shouts from the humans indicated that they were chasing the hanyou through the trees. Swallowing nervously, Sesshoumaru heard a crackling from the rift, and his eyes widened as he glanced up.

Inuyasha's words came back to him in a rush. `Sess don't touch it, it will burn you.' Blinking, Sesshoumaru's eyes fell onto the sword once again, and then drifted slowly against his will upward to the crackling rift. `Crackling, rift, pulsing sword, not good.' His fingers became slack and the sword rolled off his hand and he scooted backwards.

“Oh, no you don't.” A voice snapped from behind him, and he felt strong hands grip his shoulders, preventing him from shifting backwards more.

Sesshoumaru glanced over his shoulder into a pair of angry brown eyes and he gulped. The sword once again found its way into his hands, and he leaned his head backwards, as far away as he possibly could away from his hands and his swords. Due to the short structure of his arms however, he was unable to move far, so instead he turned his head to the side and squinted his eyes for good measure.

He heard shouts of protest from somewhere to his left, but Sesshoumaru refused to move incase the sword did indeed jump out and bite him. Never before had he heard of a sword pulsing before, so having this one firmly placed into his hands, left him feeling slightly vulnerable.

The rift caught his attention again, and he closed his left eye and peered at the glowing pink and purple and white line in the air. He heard a loud snap, and then a hissing sound, and he yelped dropping the sword and tried to scoot backwards, hopefully right through the human who held him in place. Sesshoumaru succeeded in knocking the girl off her feet and onto the ground, and he managed to scramble over her and then position himself behind the human girl.

Sango sighed as she stared at the area where the rift had been, and then back at the youkai who cowered behind her, holding her kimono tightly in his little hands. “Now what?” She sighed.

Miroku and Kagome came back both trying to hold onto a squirming hanyou pup, and they both released sighs of frustration. Kagome released her hold on Inuyasha and the hanyou stood up right and sniffed into the air.

“Oh you are so lucky you don't have that rosary around your neck!” Kagome raged.

Inuyasha flinched, remembering the force of the necklace, and the pain that had issued when she had sat him. Blinking and whimpering softly, he glanced at Sesshoumaru, and grinned remembering that his brother had the necklace now.

Inuyasha grinned wider and stared at Kagome and then stuck his tongue out at her, which caused her to take a step back in surprise. “Why you!”

“What? You can't do anything.” Inuyasha smirked.

Sesshoumaru was completely dumbfounded. The girl looked really angry, and this hanyou was taunting her. Blinking, he watched their exchange and then shared a look with the other human girl who now gathered her feet, and stood up. Rin raced over and also watched, and she shook her head sadly.

Sesshoumaru peered at the small human girl and whispered. “Do you have any idea what they are talking about?”

Rin reached out and pulled something from around his neck and he glanced down in surprise. When had he gotten this necklace? Was this what they were arguing about?

“What's it do?” He asked.

Kagome's glare rolled over onto him, and Sesshoumaru felt his eyes widen. “I didn't do anything!” He protested, holding his hands out trying to hoard off her anger. “It wasn't me!”

Kagome flung her arms into the air and then stalked away with a huff. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her back and snarled softly. Who was she to get angry with him anyways? He was the son of a powerful Daiyoukai, and heir to the Western Lands. How dare she glare at him?

“What's her problem?” Sesshoumaru asked the little girl beside him. But before he received a reply, Kagome shouted out the word `Stop' and he felt his world do a spin.

He was unable to hold in the grunt of shock and surprise when the necklace around his neck pulled him forcefully forward and slam him successfully into the hard packed earth. Lifting his head slightly, he blinked back the tears that filled his eyes at the pain and dust that he felt. The necklace seemed to dim and as he shoved himself upright, the rosary released its spell and he found himself light as a feather.

Sitting up right, Sesshoumaru gasped and tugged at the beads around his neck, trying to rip them from his person. “What is this thing?” He demanded. “Get it off me! My father will hear of this!” Sesshoumaru cried out angrily.

Kagome about faced and stomped over to him, causing him to shrink back.

“Had you and Inuyasha cooperated, we wouldn't have to go through this anymore. But even as you are now, you can't seem to work together at all. Now we have to search all over again and find another rift, and time is running out! Cooperate with your brother and help us return you both to normal.” Without another word, Kagome spun around and stalked out of the clearing, leaving a stunned Inuyasha and an extremely confused Sesshoumaru in her wake.

`Brother? Normal?' Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. “What is she talking about?” He demanded.