InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Bad Week ❯ Chapter 3

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Sesshoumaru growled loudly from his prone position. Pushing back up from the dirt with his arm, his face twisted into a humiliated anger as he spit his words at Kagome.

"How DARE YOU curse this Sesshoumaru ... you vile human!, as he yanked in vain at the rosary which would not come off or break apart.

"I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru! It was an accident! I didn't mean to!", Kagome repented.

Realizing the barrier on the beads could not be broken, Sesshoumaru flared out two poison tipped fingers towards Kagome, "Remove this containment, Miko!"

Kagome stuttered, "I - I don't ... know how!"

Sesshoumaru was angered further by the girl's words. In a surprising move, the normally composed Sesshoumaru crouched down like an animal and leapt at Kagome; snarling like a rabid dog. Inuyasha jumped in front of Kagome with his sword out to protect her; but she had already reacted in her own defense.

"OSUWARI!"

Sesshoumaru fell from the air as the rosary slammed him back into the dirt just inches from Kagome. He roared in anger, clawing his fingers wildly at the girl in an attempt to harm her before his brother grabbed her away. Inuyasha was shocked that Sesshoumaru was so effortlessly reverting to the behavior of a much lower demon!

"Stay away from Kagome, Sesshoumaru! I'm warning you!"

Inuyasha raised his Tessaiga and held it in form, ready to defend Kagome, while the crazed taiyoukai scrambled up to resume his attack. Rushing towards the pair with invisible speed, Sesshoumaru would have surely reached his mark, if it had not been for Kagome's quick recital of the rosary's control word again.

Sesshoumaru clenched his fangs and fought against the holy force that began to overcome his inhuman strength once more. He thrashed against it hopelessly, ripping at the rosary, tearing his own skin apart as the power dragged him to the dirt. Sesshoumaru breathed heavily through bared fangs. He was burning from his emotion. He couldn't believe that a lowly human had been able to control him, a taiyoukai, and then command him to the ground like a common dog. The humiliation was unspeakable, but his behavior was worse! He shouldn't have cared, he shouldn't have lost control so easily. It was if the holy relic around him had somehow provoked his baser self to manifest. Gathering himself up again, he balled his fist and cracked his knuckles. Then with an evil smirk he lowered down again to jump.

"Please stop, Sesshoumaru!", Kagome begged with tears streaming down her face.

The enraged demon, cocked his head and looked at her with complete confusion. In that instant, Kagome's eyes -- even her face -- reminded Sesshoumaru of Rin. "Rin", his own mind spoke to him. Images of the girl ran through his mind. He saw the same expression from Rin whenever she relived the loss of her parents, and her very own horrific death, in nightmares. He had seen so many nights with Rin crying out in her sleep, constantly terrorized by her past trauma. Even though Sesshoumaru had brought the life back to her tiny body, he had never been able to ease her pain.

Taken from his anger by this thought, Sesshoumaru's ragged breathing evened out and his composure returned. Straightening up, the lines of his face relaxed to a smooth mask. He broke his lock with Kagome's eyes, and looked to his younger brother. Inuyasha noted how Sesshoumaru's strange emotions drowned suddenly in an icy expression. The taiyoukai turned himself away from the pair, one who stared in anger and the other in shock. With his usual demeanor he spoke, "Undo this containment, Miko".

Sesshoumaru's countenance had turned over so completely; Kagome felt a small amount of guarded relief. She was more than willing to be cautious of him after such a display, but was confident that his wildness had subsided. She honestly wanted to fix her mistake and remove the rosary from Sesshoumaru, but right now the best thing she felt she could do was get away from him before something else happened. Kagome's eyes darted quickly at Sesshoumaru, "I will talk to Kaede and see what I can do to get the rosary off you".

Sesshoumaru made no acknowledgment of Kagome when she spoke. He continued to face away from the pair who he terrorized so uncharacteristically just moments before.

Pausing for response and not getting any, Kagome sighed, "We should go check on Miroku and the others, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha put away his sword and moved his eyes over his brother's form. The stark white garments and colored silks Sesshoumaru had worn with pride were mud stained from the ground where he had been prostrated; hair tangled with grime and dust. The skin of his neck was torn with self inflicted wounds, the blood drenching the neck line of his haori. The hanyou felt a tad of empathy for Sesshoumaru, who had always been so regal, but it was quickly replaced with a cocky attitude of 'it serves you right'. Inuyasha wanted to say something in this manner to his brother, but decide it was probably best not to start another fight right now. He was worried about Miroku, and he didn't want to put Kagome in any more danger. Besides, Inuyasha was reminded of the discomfort of his own filthiness and wouldn't be put off again from easing it.

"Speak of this to no one, Miko", Sesshoumaru spoke.

Kagome absentmindedly nodded to Sesshoumaru even though he still had his back turned to her. She picked up Miroku's staff that had been left behind during the last battle and walked behind Inuyasha as they passed by Sesshoumaru.

"... and Inuyasha ... keep your wench away from me", he added bitterly.

"Gladly!", Inuyasha snorted.

A short way up the path to her friends; Kagome decided to steal a glance back at Sesshoumaru. She caught him staring at her distantly, his eyes unfocused and dark. An unexpected pang of guilt went through her heart.

"SHIT, Kagome! That was a stupid thing to do. Are you trying to get yourself killed?", Inuyasha scolded.

Kagome punched Inuyasha in the arm, "I didn't do it on purpose, you know. I was trying to put the rosary back on YOU!"

"On ME? What, you don't trust me Kagome? I'm not the one who was trying to maul you back there. If you ask me, that blowhard deserves to wear the rosary."

"It's not about trust, Inuyasha, it's about YOUR problem controlling your temper. Sesshoumaru doesn't go off picking fights with people the way you do!"

"OH, now your taking HIS side?! He was trying to KILL you, Kagome! Or did you forget that?"

"I'm not taking his SIDE! I just think that YOU have a bigger problem with your temper than he does. We both know Sesshoumaru has never acted like that before and it's all MY fault for him being that way. You, on the other hand, were already a mess BEFORE I met you!"

"You were dead without me Kagome! I saved your ass again, and that's not the first time."

"Oh, my hero. As I recall, Sesshoumaru stopped when I asked him too!"

"Well, if you love him so much, why don't you go just marry him?!"

"Oh, that's mature, Inuyasha! But I'm sure it would make you happy if I did because then you could go be with KIKYOU!"

"BITCH!"

"JERK!"

Inuyasha and Kagome both stopped walking and turned their backs to each other with arms crossed in a huff. The duo certainly knew how to push each other's buttons. Especially after the day they had both had.

"Inuyasha, I'm sorry", Kagome said as she relaxed her arms and turned back to face him after a few moments of fuming.

"FEH!", he snorted with his back still to the girl.

"I'm just really tired, Inuyasha. These recent fights with Naraku and his detachments have been very stressful for me. Now, I have the whole rosary business to worry about too. Sometimes I really wish I could just jump back into the well and never come back. Then I could forget about all this trouble forever."

Inuyasha whipped around and grabbed Kagome by the shoulders, pulling her closer. "You can't mean it, Kagome! Would you really just leave me like that? I won't let you go!" Inuyasha emoted.

"Um, I was just saying it to vent Inuyasha. I didn't mean it like that," she blushed at his words and embrace.

Inuyasha release Kagome quickly, sporting a blush from his hasty display of attachment to Kagome. He mentally kicked himself.

"How embarrassing", they both thought in unison.

The moment was broken by a voice calling out to the pair. "Inuyasha! You're alive!"

Kagome and Inuyasha saw Shippo waving from a few meters away. They closed the remaining distance, gladly leaving their awkward moment behind them. Shippo bounced up and down very excitedly to see Inuyasha. "I thought you were dead, Inuyasha!"

"I don't die so easily, kid."

Shippo's face beamed with a smile and he hugged Kagome in happiness instead of Inuyasha, who would likely just bonk him on the head for his effort. The kitsune then led Kagome, with Inuyasha in tow, to the place where Sango sat beside Miroku.

Kirara purred a soft greeting, causing Sango to look up. Her face lightened slightly at the site of Inuyasha alive, and she mustered a small smile. "I'm glad you two made it back. We were worried for a while there after Sesshoumaru came through. He said you were dead, Inuyasha!"

"Feh! Obviously, I'm not."

Ignoring the hanyou's rudeness, Sango continued speaking, "Kagome, Miroku woke up a little while after you left but he is very weak and seems to have a small fever now."

"We need to get him back to the village before night fall, " added Kohaku who looked as if he had never been injured at all.

Eyeing the position of the sun, Inuyasha agreed. "Not a lot of time left, so let's get going."

Inuyasha picked up Miroku careful to carry him on his back, while Sango mounted Kirara. Kagome gathered up all the group's supplies to carry; passing some of that load to Kohaku and Shippo to help ... well, mostly Kohaku helped. Kagome had to stifle a giggle when Shippo tried valiantly to lift a bag bigger than he was. "Carry this bag Shippo." Kagome handed him the first-aid kit with a supportive smile.

Silhouetted by the setting sun, the travelers finally entered the large gates of Kaede's village four hours later. All cheered at the sight of shelter, bathing pools and the smell of hot food.

Inside a hut, Kaede examined Miroku's wound with a frown. The puncture was not wide, but it seemed to be deep. Miroku hardly moved when he was carried to the hut and his damaged robes removed. He was covered in sweat; a fever flushed his skin. Kaede sent each of the concerned onlookers to perform a task to aid her in the care of the houshi, while she quickly washed his face, neck and arms with a cool cloth. Shippo began heating water for sterilization and also gathered extra kindling to maintain the fire. Inuyasha ripped up sheets into strips for bandages; Kagome picked healing herbs from the surrounding area; Sango stood in as an assistant to Kaede, and Kohaku served to hold Miroku down in case he should move from pain or fever.

Inuyasha finished with the bandages and got up to leave just as Kagome came back in with the herbs. "I'll stand watch outside, in case there is trouble, " Inuyasha said to no one in particular.

"It would be better if you took a bath, Inuyasha", Kaede said without jest.

Inuyasha might have been insulted if he hadn't been planning to do that anyway. He left the hut and headed out to the hot spring.

"Shippo. Kagome. Please take Miroku's robes to wash and mend, and then go get something to eat", she said to keep them busy.

The pair exited the hut, leaving the old woman, Sango, and Kohaku to tend Miroku, with a tiny Kirara sitting quietly in the corner.

Kaede took a breath and began the delicate operation of cleaning, packing and dressing Miroku's wound. She used a small knife to cut away some of the dark and dying bits of flesh around the entry site. Miroku moaned in his semiconscious state, and tried to move from the pain. Kohaku held the weak man down easily.

"Hand me a cloth, Sango", the old woman directed. Sango complied, handing a clean cloth to her. Kaede dipped the cloth into a tea of herbs, then used the wet, warmed cloth to gingerly wipe over the freshly cut flesh around the injury. This cloth was effective in cleaning away blood and other debris, and also served to soothe the injured man's pain.

"Sango, pass me those herbs there", Kaede pointed.

Sango reached to the bowl farthest from her but winced when the twisting motion caused pain from her broken ribs.

"Dear! You are more injured than you let on. I will help you after I am done with Miroku."

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me, Kaede. Miroku needs your help more."

"Don't be foolish, child. Your health is just as important.", she scolded, taking the herbs.

After a stern look at Sango, Kaede returned to the operation. She deftly sewed Miroku's puncture and then covered the stitching with a mash of medicinal herbs to heal him faster and reduce pain. "Help me lift him, Kohaku", Kaede said. Using the strips Inuyasha provided, she then wrapped the houshi's torso and secured them with a small knot. She then covered his exposed chest with light, warm blankets. "He must not be moved from this spot or his wound will reopen. Sango, I will tend to you now. Kohaku, you may go join the others", she stated.

Kohaku left the two women without a word. Kirara meowed at the boy, but also got no response.

"He sure is a quiet one", Kaede commented. "Here, let me help you with that", she added as Sango struggled with her armor.

"Yes, Kohaku doesn't speak much since ..." Sango trailed off.

"I understand, child. I, too, lost a dear sibling to Naraku's evil plot."

"Kikyou", Sango said softly.

"Yes ... Kikyou", Kaede paused her examination of Sango, her eye cast down. "I am torn with joy and sadness every time I see her. She is alive, but it is a false UN-life. I wished her to return to me so many times in my youth, and now -- an old woman -- my wish has come true ... Alas, I regret it now."

Sango nodded with empathy and compassion at their similar woe. Both lost their only sibling by Naraku's hand, and both had to watch them be resurrected and used by Naraku for his evil deeds. It seemed also, that both had turned to good now and were trying to stop Naraku. "How strange that they both travel together, as well", Sango mused.

Kaede continued her care by wrapped Sango's ribs with bandages that had been soaked in a glue like substance. They were sticky and cold on Sango's skin, but she knew the wrappings would soon harden and help keep her ribs in place. While the wrappings dried, Kaede took the broken arm in her hands, feeling the fracture with her fingers. Without warning, she expertly reset Sango's broken arm with a loud crack, marveling that the girl never cried out. She wrapped the arm with the same sticky bandages and in a few minutes, all the wraps were hard and dry. Kaede redressed Sango carefully, and created a tight sling for Sango's arm.

Leaving Miroku for a few minutes, Kaede led Sango to another hut. The tired girl entered, sat down on a mat and leaned against the wall. Kirara curled up in her lap and began to purr. "Please rest now. I will send Kagome to get you some food and I will be watching over Miroku myself this night, so you have nothing to fear."

"Would you please tell Kohaku I want to see him, Kaede?"

"Yes, child." Kaede walked out.

"Man, this stain will never come out!", Kagome whined as she scrubbed Miroku's robe.

"Yeah, this demon blood is the worst", sighed Shippo.

"It will have to do for now. I'm sure Miroku will want his clothes back when he wakes up, so I have to start mending them now", Kagome poked a finger through the biggest hole and wiggled it. The two began working on the clothing again when Shippo's ears picked up a rustling sound. He looked towards it and saw a small figure moving away from the village.

"Hey, Kagome. Where is Kohaku going?", Shippo pointed.

"I don't know, Shippo", Kagome pondered as she looked up from her sowing to watched the boy disappear into shadow. "That's weird", she noted to herself.

Inuyasha ran to the natural spring nearest the village with a bar of soap he had stolen from Kagome’s bag. Tearing off his clothes as he neared it, he jumped into the hot water with great enthusiasm. He had just barely started rubbing the dried muck from his body when a voice startled him.

"Have you no consideration for others, hanyou?"

Inuyasha's hairs stood on end and he spun around quickly, confirming his suspicion. "SESSHOUMARU?", Inuyasha was so dirty that he never caught the scent of this brother. His sword and clothes lay scattered where he had carelessly left them, too far to reach. Taking a moment, Inuyasha noticed when he had jumped into the spring, his brother had been drenched by the wave his cannonball caused. The taiyoukai was dripping wet and looked irate. Inuyasha laughed in spite of the danger. “Did you come here to watch me bathe, Sesshoumaru?”, Inuyasha sniggered.

“Why do you assume this Sesshoumaru was here for you, hanyou?”, he replied with a sneer.

“Well, what are you here for?”, Inuyasha asked impatiently. Then it dawned on Inuyasha that Sesshoumaru had been by the spring already, and was likely there for the same reason he was.

“Hmph”, was the reply. Sesshoumaru began to walk away.

“Hey wait, where are you going?” Inuyasha called after him.

Sesshoumaru stopped walking but didn't turn around. Inuyasha saw that his brother was also still very dirty and bloody, and now thanks to him, soaking wet. For some reason, he began to worry about Sesshoumaru’s welfare.

“We'll call a cease fire and no fighting for tonight, OK?”, Inuyasha could swear he saw Sesshoumaru’s shoulders heave in a sigh at his suggestion.

His brother came back to the spring and stood at the edge, doing and saying nothing else. "What's he doing now?, Inuyasha frowned. "Why can't he just stop being so weird?" Inuyasha kept looking, expecting Sesshoumaru to do something. "Well, if he's not going to join me, I don't care". Inuyasha shrugged at his brother’s weird antics and restarted washing himself. He scrubbed his skin and hair until he was covered in suds and then dunked under the water to rinse the soap away. Coming back up, he examined his body and was please that his skin and hair gleamed with their cleanliness. He swam over to a calmer section of the spring to relax his tired muscles in the hot water. Inuyasha closed his eyes; sinking up to his chin in the soothing water. "Aaaaah", he sighed contentedly.

Later, drifting between waking and sleep, Inuyasha heard a soft splash. He opened one eye toward the sound and saw his brother had entered the spring. He watched the taiyoukai scoop up the soap that floated in the water where it had been forgotten. Inuyasha smiled a little as his older brother turned the soap over in his hand and sniffed it. He closed his eye and went back to relaxing.

Sesshoumaru was feeling unusually tired and had no wish to search for another pool, so once Inuyasha had moved to the other side of the spring and went to sleep, he undid his armor and slipped out of his clothing into the water. He took the bar Inuyasha had been using to wash and raised it to his nose. It had a faint, pleasant smell. Sesshoumaru used it to gently wash the gashes around his neck that were inflicted in his haste to remove the rosary. He was pleased at how the soap cleansed the wounds so well, but bothered that they hadn’t healed by now. He soaped up his face and the rest of his body in turn, diligently scrubbing the impurities away. Sesshoumaru ran into some trouble when he moved on to wash his hair, though. The soap that had worked so wonderfully on his skin was not spreading very well over the texture of his hair and he couldn’t lather it with one hand. Sighing, he tossed the bar away and sunk into the water; tipping his head back he raked his fingers over his head, through his hair, to try and loosen the dirt and tangles. When he managed to clean his hair to satisfaction, Sesshoumaru stole a glance over to Inuyasha. He was still sitting submerged to the chin with his eyes closed. The older brother wished to relax in the same manner, but felt it was beneath such a powerful demon to desire rest. “And why shouldn’t this Sesshoumaru do what he wishes?”, he argued internally, "Sesshoumaru should do whatever he wants”, he answered to himself. He made up his mind to join Inuyasha in the calmer waters of the spring.

Inuyasha popped his eyes open again at his brother, following him as he moved beside him, an arms reach away, and sat down. The older of the two stared with expression that conveyed an unspoken challenge of ‘I defy you to tell me to leave’. Inuyasha was far too relaxed to feel threatened and just closed his eyes. Knowing his brother wouldn't fuss, Sesshoumaru also relaxed. The warmth of the water felt so nice against his weary body, that he slowly sank lower and lower until the water line reach his chin, like his brother’s. The heat stealing away his aches and emptying his mind of worry; Sesshoumaru’s eyes closed without him realizing. Anyone who could have seen the pair at that moment may have noted how they both shared the same peaceful expression.

Inuyasha peeked out at Sesshoumaru again and his thoughts turned to him as well. Despite their differences and conflicts, Inuyasha still looked up to his brother. He never told him or anyone else for that matter, that he once wanted to be like Sesshoumaru. The many years of fighting and insults had hardened Inuyasha’s heart against his sibling. The admiration had turned to disdain when he felt that Sesshoumaru truly hated him for not being a pure blood demon. Inuyasha had searched out the Shikon no Tama for that very reason, to become a full demon, so that his brother would look on him with pride instead of disgust. Though lately, and especially today, Sesshoumaru had seemed changed ... more accepting of Inuyasha and somewhat less cruel. He didn't kill innocent humans anymore and even traveled with a human girl. He had rescued Kagome from the Band of Seven; had come to aid them many times in the fight against Naraku; and now, he had saved Inuyasha’s life! It was hard to stay angry at Sesshoumaru after all that he had done. Maybe Sesshoumaru isn’t such a bad guy after all?

The mood was broken when both brothers picked up the sound of footsteps ahead of them. They both opened their eyes in the direction of the sound and watched as Kohaku ran past them without notice and into the woods. "What's that punk up to know?", Inuyasha said.

Sesshoumaru, taciturn as usual, rose up out of the water to the shore and proceeded to dress. His clothing, somehow or another, had managed to clean and repair itself while Sesshoumaru bathed. With great skill and speed, the taiyoukai tied off his robe and applied his armor. Picking up the Tenseiga, he looked back to Inuyasha who was still fiddling with his clothing, "Naraku is here."

... to be continued!