InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ His Brother's Girl ❯ Ongaaru...Debt of Gratitude ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter 9 - Ongaaru…Debt of Gratitude

"Are you crazy brat?!" the hanyou growled thickly. "What would be the point of killing you and letting Sesshoumaru live? He's the one who's after me, and unlike this bastard, I don't do things deliberately for the sake of hurting people!"

"Don't you tell any more lies about Sesshoumaru-sama, you…you…monster!"

Inuyasha laughed bitterly, the red glow of his eyes fading back to blonde as she held him distracted, poised centimeters from the kill.

"That's right…call me a monster while you're still wearing my coat! You do know that while you were napping, he was trying to kill me?! Doesn't that- uh!" Inuyasha's voice broke off in a strangled cry. Defending his actions to the little girl had left him unfocused, and he hadn't noticed that his arm, and consequently, his blade, had steadily traveled several inches to the right of its mark. Without the fire-rat haori to protect him, it had been a simple task for Sesshoumaru to rise up off his back and plunge the first two fingers of his hand through his brother's unguarded midsection.

"Fool! Never turn away from me!" the youkai hissed, retracting his hand with a loud, sickening squelch. He rolled away as the hanyou stumbled to his knees, thrown momentarily off-balance by the shock of the attack. Within seconds, Sesshoumaru had crossed the clearing and was wielding the Toukijin once more.

Rin watched in horror as Inuyasha brought his hand up from the gaping wound in his middle to his eyes, wearing an anxious and yet almost bemused expression on his face as his own blood and Sesshoumaru's poison dripped from his fingertips. As she watched a violent shiver run through his body, she couldn't help but think that maybe it was Jaken-sama who had been wrong. Inuyasha-sama had been so kind to her over the last few hours, and now Sesshoumaru-sama was trying to kill him. Rin couldn't make sense of it. They were both so nice to her, why were they so bad to each other?

"Dirty bastard…" Inuyasha whispered, dipping his claws back into the raw wound. Then, in the blink of an eye, he whipped his hand out in an arc in front of him and sent the droplets flying off of his fingertips toward the steadily advancing Sesshoumaru.

"CLAWS OF BLOOD!" he screamed as the droplets solidified into deadly crimson daggers, hurtling themselves directly at the youkai lord's face. More quickly than Rin's eyes could follow, Sesshoumaru deflected the blades with a blast of energy from the tip of Toukijin and an instant later was standing beside the doubled-over hanyou, his katana resting just above Inuyasha's shoulders.

"You truly are a soft idiot, Inuyasha. You should have killed me when you had the chance. Rest assured that this Sesshoumaru will not be so easily distracted."

Rin looked from one brother to the other unable to comprehend what was happening in front of her. Minutes ago their roles had been reversed and she was sure the hanyou was going to spare not only Sesshomaru-sama's life, but her own as well. Now she didn't know what to think but she did know for certain that the hanyou's life was over. She had seen that look in her lord and master's eyes before and each time someone ended up dead. So she just sat there, her eyes closed to the horror of what was happening; that was, until she heard the voice behind her.

"Well now look what we have here? You know he really is an idiot, Sesshomaru-sama! Must be all that ningen blood running through his veins! See what happens when you're an idiot Rin? You wind up getting yourself killed, that's what! And why…? Why, because you were stupid enough to show mercy to your enemy, that's why! Now watch as Sesshomaru-sama neatly separates the bastard's head from his…"

"Shut up Jaken….."

"Gomen Sesshomaru-sama….!" The toad youkai said as his gloating tone was replaced by his more usual groveling one.

"Rin….leave us now…." The Youkai lord said quietly.

Rin however sat there rooted to the spot as she silently shook her head. Her eyes were wide and she sat there unblinking as she relived the horror of her own family's destruction.

"Rin…."

"Now who's gone soft, eh Sesshomaru? What are you waiting for…if you're going to kill me…then go ahead and do it! What does it matter if the girl's here or not?"

"Shut up Inuyasha…!" The Inu-youkai frowned, as there was something about the way the little ningen girl just sat there staring off into space that bothered him. He knew she had seen her fair share of violence and death in her short life…but why this reaction and now of all times?

"Going somewhere…little brother?" he asked as he caught sight of a bit of movement below him. He brought the blade of the Toukijin a little lower so that it was now a hair's breadth away from the hanyou's neck, and the katana almost sang out its desire to take his life.

Time seemed to slow down to a stop as he stood there poised to put an end to his brother's life, and yet it also felt as if he had experienced all of eternity in a minute as he looked at Rin. Then he realized what it was…he was feeling the same emotions he felt when he saw her dead body lying there lifeless on the ground. And he realized too, with a start, that similar thoughts were also whirling in his head…but this time there was something different. This time instead of the Tensaiga pulsing and calling to him to give her back her life, the Toukijin was pulsing and calling out to him to end his brother's miserable existence.

"What should I do…?" he found himself wondering. "What should I do…?"

The last time he had been faced with such a dilemma, he had listened to the sword in his hand and had found himself with the not-altogether unpleasant addition of Rin in his life. In fact, he had never questioned the desires of his katanas, but had listened willingly, even when it seemed that they contradicted his own desires. One of the key elements to mastering a blade as fine as either his Tensaiga or his Toukijin was knowing how to listen for their song, and striving to understand it was the path to unleashing their true power. And right now, Toukijin was fairly screaming for the hanyou's blood.

The answer seemed fairly obvious. There was no love to be lost between himself and the vile creature on its knees before him, that lowly, debased thing that dared to compare itself to Sesshoumaru, to call itself a son of the great Inuyoukai. From the moment its wretched ningen mother had expelled forth the foul, squalling thing from her loins, the hanyou had been his enemy. He had never questioned this.

What was it, then, that stayed his hand? Surely not the girl? That would not do.

"Jaken."

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama?" The zealous little toad jumped in a show of readiness at his master's command.

"Take Rin away from here." There. If she would not go willingly, she would be removed. He would deal with her defiance later, though gently. She was, after all, still a child.

"Come along, foolish girl!" Jaken grumbled, rather upset that after all of the time and effort he had invested into this moment, that he was going to miss seeing the best part. He tugged impatiently at the long red sleeve of the haori she wore, a trifle disgusted that he had been forced to touch it. The thing reeked of that bastard half-breed, and now so did the girl.

Rin's eyes, wide with horror, never left the violent scene that appeared to have frozen in tableau only a few feet away. She had heard Sesshoumaru-sama's demand, and she now felt Jaken-sama's insistent tugging, but she couldn't seem to move her feet, nor tear her eyes away.

Sesshoumaru-sama was as composed and as beautiful as ever, but it seemed now that there was a coldness in his eyes, one that had been hinted at in the past, when she cared to really look for it, but she had never really seen before, perhaps because he hadn't let her, or perhaps because she hadn't wanted to. Perhaps both.

Poised at the other end of the long, cruel Toukijin was her new friend Inuyasha-sama, who was looking anything but composed as he strove to remain motionless beneath the gleaming blade. His eyes were the only evidence of this struggle; they darted back and forth restlessly, as if trying to figure a way out, an opening for escape, though she understood by now that he wouldn't dream of running.

Seeing them like this, at opposing ends of the blade, Rin regretted with all of her heart that she had ever run off on her own.

Sesshomaru stood there listening to the song the Toukijin was singing to him and he nearly missed it. The faint hum of the Tensaiga that was a delicate counter-melody to the song the Toukijin sang to him. It left him confused as he wondered which blade to listen to, for now he was the one who hesitated and his stupid brother could easily regain the advantage if he weren't careful. So he let himself become cold, numb, unfeeling as he weighed his options. Still his katanas sang on and the Tensaiga was now singing just as loud as her sister the Toukijin. "Who should I listen to…who is telling me the truth…?" He glanced down at his brother below and he remembered all the times in the past he had an opportunity to dispose of him like the worthless thing he was. And yet he also remembered the times when he felt something other than hatred towards the little bastard…

"Damn it Jaken! I said to get her out of here!" he said as he came out of his reverie. "Rin…Go with Jaken…now!" He kept one eye on the hanyou as Jaken struggled to remove the girl.

But Rin refused to go anywhere without knowing the fate of her friend. She knew it was one thing to lay down one's life for their master, but it was quite another thing to ask that master to spare the life of his enemy and take hers instead. So she stood as still and unmoving as the tall Inu-youkai before her, who was now going through the very same thing she had moments before.

"Go!"

"No! Rin-chan can't Sesshomaru-sama!" her mind screamed. "Rin-chan can't! Rin-chan has to find a way to help Inuyasha-sama! Gomen Sesshomaru-sama…but Rin-chan can't let you spill his blood…Rin-chan doesn't know why she should feel that way…but she does!"

"Funny how she's not listening to you anymore…from what she's told me I'd have thought she'd be long gone from here by now…"

"Shut up whelp! Shut up or I will end your worthless life now!" The Toukijin fell another fraction of inch to rest totally on the hanyou's neck and the blade now vibrated with its desire to drink his blood. Just as the Toukijin burned with its desire to end Inuyasha's life the Tensaiga fought to make her wishes known and have him spare that life. Sesshomaru was half tempted to let the Toukijin have her way and then see if the Tensaiga could work her magic on the lifeless form, but something told him that if he did, that would be it for the hanyou.

Sesshomaru closed his eyes silently imploring the girl to move, for he had the feeling the minute she did, the whole thing would be over…one way or another. So he weighed his options in the minutes that felt like hours as all of the hatred he ever felt towards his brother warred with the moments he actually felt something akin to love towards him.

"He will take your place in your father's heart, but there's room inside both, is there not? What does it matter that he's able to give a moment of pleasure to old man? But he will take what is YOURS! And what if he does...he is my BROTHER after all...? Don't be stupid...if he takes it all then you will be left with NONE!" He could see images of the two of them together. Times spent in each other's company; playing ball, sharing a meal, feelings of amused annoyance when his brother would imitate him because he looked up to him. But the one thing that sealed the hanyou's fate was the memory of him falling asleep in his arms full of child-like trust that he was safe from a cruel world because he was there in his brother's arms...

"Get up whelp...and go." He said quietly and coolly as ever. He could have been saying anything from "the sky is blue" to "I hate cheese." for all the emotion he put in those five simple words.

"Nani?" the hanyou said as time once again seemed to move at her normal speed.

"You heard me... you imbecile...I said 'Go'..." Sesshomaru looked at his brother as he rose to his feet. It was a look that said "I will kill you if do anything else but walk away." Then he walked over to Rin.

Inuyasha's hand reached up to rub the back of his neck, trying to wipe away the phantom sting of cold metal pressed against his skin. He would be very surprised if the Toukijin hadn't left some sort of mark back there, and most likely a burn.

'I'm still alive.' he thought in amazement, followed a split second later by 'Why am I still alive?' He stood numbly where Sesshoumaru had left him, watching his elder brother closely in case he should suddenly change his mind and turn back.

Sessshoumaru did not. Rather, he approached the girl, pausing to lightly place his hand on the top of her head for a moment before running it down the back to her neck, where he grasped the red haori by its collar. With a barely visible sneer of distaste, he gave the jacket a firm, upward tug. Rin took the not-so-subtly offered hint and raised her arms over her head so that he could pull it off without damaging her. In the blink of an eye and the sound of rustling fabric, the haori was discarded, coming to land in a rumpled, red puddle a short distance from the hanyou's feet.

"Come Rin." he heard the youkai whisper. "You need to bathe."

Then, as suddenly as he had appeared, Sesshoumaru left the small clearing. Rin immediately followed, pausing only once to turn around quickly and wave goodbye to him, putting her entire body into the effort and flashing him an enormous, gap-toothed grin. Checking twice to be certain that neither his brother nor his toady were watching, Inuyasha cautiously raised his hand and moved his fingers a few slight inches in either direction. Then, going against all of his better instincts in what was a moment of truly unparalleled inspiration, he crossed his eyes at her and stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth. Pressed for time as he was, it was the only way that he could think of to convey his thanks. He was now fairly certain that she was the only reason that he had been spared, and he wanted to leave her with something memorable. It was fortunate for them both that she knew enough not to giggle.

As Sesshoumaru headed out into the forest, Rin turned around just long enough to wave goodbye.

'Sayonara, Inuyasha-sama!' she thought, waving so frantically that were she to use any more effort, her arm might have popped off. 'Domo arigatou!' She would have yelled it too, if she hadn't been certain that it would only serve to further infuriate Sesshoumaru-sama. She hoped Inuyasha-sama would understand. She felt much better about everything when his hand haltingly rose up to wave goodbye to her as well. She stifled the urge to giggle with happiness, then almost lost it a few seconds later when, standing there looking exhausted, bloody and thoroughly disheveled, he started making funny faces at her. She clapped both hands over her mouth just in time, but even then she soon had to turn her back on him. It was just as well. Sesshoumaru-sama was getting a bit too far away for her comfort. Without looking back, she scamper off after her lord and master.

When she had finally caught up with them, things appeared to have returned to normal. Au and Un were plodding along, either head softly lowing from time to time, but otherwise making no other sound or complaint. Jaken-sama was babbling incessantly about something as usual…she didn't bother to tune him in and find out what, exactly. Sesshoumaru-sama was silent, apparently lost in thought. Running up alongside him, Rin fell into step with the youkai lord and looked up curiously at his cool, impassive face.

"Arigatou." she whispered so that Jaken wouldn't hear. His expression did not change, nor did he look at her, or give any other indication that he had heard. In fact, Rin was just beginning to feel disheartened when a shift in her peripheral vision made her turn and look again, catching the tail end of the subtle rise and fall of his chin as he nodded in acknowledgement. Sighing happily to herself, Rin broke into a light trot in an attempt to keep up with his long strides, while humming under her breath the melody to a song that she would never be able to sing out loud in his presence.

'Inuyasha's an idiot and Jaken is too…hm hm hm…'

When he was certain that they were gone, he bent down and retrieved his haori. As it descended over his shoulders, he caught her scent on the fabric and wondered how long it would be before she no longer clung to him. Sighing through his nose, Inuyasha pulled the Tetsusaiga from where it had been impaled into the wet earth and re-sheathed it with the soft, satisfying shick of blade hitting scabbard. Soon, he too would leave the clearing, and after the night he'd just had, he thought that the floor of Kagome's bedroom would be a good place to end up. But for a few more minutes, he stayed on to gaze up at the moon.

THE END