InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Chained ❯ Never Wanted to Fight ( Chapter 41 )

A\N: Bleagh.

Sorry everyone if I’ve taken a little while to update. My computers been a total ass lately, and I’ve been running around like the maniac I am and just haven’t had enough energy lately. -_-

Okay, there’s probably going to be a bit more OOCness in this chapter (if you consider the way Sess has been acting thus far OOC) but again, you’ll just have to bear with it in this story. Gomen!

-Snowfall - Lol, yeah. I was a bit unsure about the fire-horses, but they’re fitting themselves in there. No, Sesshomaru isn’t happy. But he doesn’t need to be happy. He just needs to accept and help his brother. Which is hopefully what I got across in this chapter... ^_^ I don’t know if he feels guilt (maybe) or if he’ll try to “pry information from him” (at least not too soon anyway) but it should be interesting nonetheless... ^_^

-inuyashasramen - Lol, nope he isn’t happy. But, as I said to snowfall, he really doesn’t have to be happy. He just has to help. At least, that’s what I’m trying to get across... but maybe he and Inu can actually learn to be like brother’s again, neh? ^_^

-dancin4inu - I’m glad you like it so much! I’ll try and keep you guys interested in it! About the loose and lose thing though... okay... is this something I did in the story-- a mistake I made-- or... just some random fact? I’m a little confused... (Not that that’s unusual ^_^)

-candace - Lol, wow, you must have been up for quite a while! ^_^ Lol, unless of course you’re skipping over the rants, in which case that would likely cut your time in half. ^_^

-elenacala - ... Okay, well that’s a little weird... this other person above just left like the exact same review as you... Lol, oh well. ^_^ Sorry that you ran out-- I’ll try and get some more pages up soon for you to turn so that you can get your daily fix. After all, I wouldn’t want to be one to deprive you now would I? ^_^   ~*~   Never Wanted to Fight

Sesshomaru was slightly surprised when the scent of his half-brother led him, not to the rooms he had left for the boy to inhabit while he stayed here, but down toward the dojo (which was actually a building in itself that stood a few meters away from the main building).

He narrowed his eyes slightly as he stood silently watching Inuyasha swing the fang Tetsusaiga around. The boy’s moves were undeniably uncertain as he regained the feel of his sword, but he was quickly gaining confidence with each swing he took at the fake training partners and invisible enemies he conjured around him.

The boy had an incredibly artless way of fighting, yet never failed to maintain grace in his moves-- something Sesshomaru had failed to notice before. The fact that he had not smelled or heard his presence yet, was enough to show just how engrossed Inuyasha was in his training.

Drawing his own sword, Tokijin, in a manner that made the blade scrape against the sheath particularly loudly, he stepped toward Inuyasha, who had swung around at the sound, ears flat against his skull, and Tetsusaiga pointed at him, even though a good few feet separated them still.

Inuyasha’s sword lowered slightly as he realised it was Sesshomaru, but he eyed his brother warily. He was never sure what to expect from the taiyoukai-- one minute he would try to slice his head off, the next he may well just show up by accident with no real intentions of fighting. Sesshomaru was something he didn’t understand, and couldn’t let down his guard enough to trust for even a moment. Just because his brother had agreed to let him stay in his home did not mean that he would refrain from trying to kill him.

‘Raise your sword, Inuyasha, unless you plan to fight me with your hands again.’ Sesshomaru said in his cool tone, Tokijin’s demonic aura pulsating noticeably as it yearned to fight with him.

Inuyasha eyed him nervously but did not raise Tetsusaiga. He was nowhere near ready for a fight, especially not with someone as powerful as Sesshomaru, and he did not want to fight the demon lord anyway. Somehow, loosing his memory and regaining it made all the feelings of hate and anger and all the grudges and longing for everyone other than Kagome, Sango, Miroku and the others seem obsolete: He only wanted to make things right again.

‘No.’ He said, though it was weak, and sounded came out more like a question than a statement. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow, and Inuyasha, swallowing his pride, shook his head and spoke again, pleased when his voice came out stronger, with more self-assurance, but still sounding strangely quiet. ’I don’t want to fight you Sesshomaru, I... I never wanted to fight you.’

‘Your actions state otherwise, little brother. Or do you always swing your sword around like an incompetent fool at those you do not wish to fight.’

‘Well you force me to!’ Inuyasha said, his voice shooting up to near-shouting-- the loudest tone he had used in a long, long time, and Sesshomaru was slightly surprised by the outburst. And Inuyasha felt like he should stop, all his senses screaming at him that, no, this was not a smart thing to do, but he had started it now, and he could no sooner stop the words that suddenly started to flow from his mouth than he could stop the blood from spilling through his veins.

‘You started this blood feud, not me!’ Inuyasha said angrily. ‘You think I wanted to be constantly fighting with you for my life over a damn sword?’ He demanded of the slightly stunned Sesshomaru. ‘I didn’t even know about Tetsusaiga’s existance until you mentioned it, and I sure as hell had no interest in it until it was the only standing between me and you and your fangs and certain death!’ The hanyou said heatedly, the anger slowly evening out as it pulsed through him, no longer as hot or as focused in one place, but pulsing through his entire body, and he forced himself to take deep breaths and calm down.

Sesshomaru stared at his brother coolly, letting his words sink in. This was a side of Inuyasha he had never seen-- this strangely remorsefully angry and strangely upset side that was filled with a strange kind of wisdom and truth that Sesshomaru hadn’t thought his brother could possess. It was strange, and he wasn’t entirely sure he liked it. But still, it rose a small twinge of something inside Sesshomaru that he had not felt since he was very young. Guilt.

‘Inuyasha’ he said slowly, then paused as he realised that he wasn’t entirely sure what he was planning to say. ‘I did not accept you into my care to simply try and kill you again.’ He said, deciding to go with the most direct route that would lead them away from this conversation, and, hopefully, away from this version of Inuyasha. ‘And I did not come out here to begin another battle to the death with you-- I was merely going to attempt to train you so that you could handle that sword with some more grace and skill than that of a blind ogre, which is what you currently seem to possess. I am not trying to hurt you.’ He added quietly, strangely humbled by Inuyasha’s outburst.

‘Oh.’ Inuyasha said quietly, dropping his eyes and flattening his ears slightly in submission as recognition that he was wrong in his sudden outburst-- another thing Sesshomaru had never seen Inuyasha do: Admit he was wrong.

‘Now, are you going to raise your sword, or am I going to have to get on my knees in order to battle with you.’

Sesshomaru kneeling before him... that was a novel idea!

The faint traces of remorse in Sesshomaru’s eyes were off-kilter enough to put the poor hanyou into a state of uncertainty, but the very idea of Sesshomaru suggesting he kneel before him was enough to send Inuyasha into a state of utter shock as he stared at his brother wide-eyed.

After a moment of pointless staring, Sesshomaru’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. ‘I am not going to kneel before you, brother, so I suggest you raise your sword or I will be forced to attack your unguarded chest.’

Inuyasha blinked, snapping out of his stupor, and looked at his brother. Something flickered in the hanyou’s eyes, and then the golden depths hardened again, and the small smirk he was so used to seeing was slowly returning as the cockiness and determination returned to his brother’s face.

Sesshomaru’s own face hardened slightly in response as he tightened his grip on Tokijin.

Without warning he started forward, raising his sword above his head to bring down in a mighty slash at the unguarded Inuyasha’s head.

Inuyasha waited until the last minute, then his smirk widened and he raised Tetsusaiga to meet the blow, the swords clashing as dark electricity crackled between them, before Inuyasha roughly shoved back, forcing Sesshomaru a few paces away.

Sesshomaru fell back slightly, before attacking his brother again. And again and again and again. And again and again and again his brother blocked his blows and returning them with equal fervour.

By the end of it, both brothers were tired and breathing hard (though Sesshomaru hid it better and still seemed the composed aristocratic demon that he was) and it was apparent that they were ready to call it quits for the day. Sesshomaru was more worn out than he had been in a very long time, and in desperate need of a bath, however, after seeing the way Inuyasha’s smirk slowly began to develop and finally transform completely into a full-fledged smile, it somehow was entirely worth it.

END ~*~  

A\N: Lol, I think I used the word “strange” about fifteen times in one of the paragraphs up there. It was kinda strange actually...

Well, I think I may very well have destroyed Sesshomaru for people in this chapter, but it had to be done.

He has to get along, at least relatively, with Inuyasha, and that’s all there is to it.

Please don’t kill me! *Hides under desk*