Here is the second chapter! I apologize for the very long wait, but since I'm currently in university, RL is constantly getting in the way of both my writing and my lovely beta – Falling Tenshi, who I thank for all her hard work!
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"I get that this island is far away, but how damn far is it?" Inuyasha was used to traveling, so walking for days was nothing new, but with a youkai who refused to respond to his idle chatter it was damn boring company. He had taken to blurting out random sentences to fill the silence. And to think, it had only been three weeks of traveling. Inuyasha dreaded the following days, or worse, weeks of travelling.
They were walking through the woods. The sun was shining. Everything was good. Except the quiet, everything was perfect. Inuyasha had always liked the silence, but when it wasn't his own choice it was unbearable. It was probably due to all his travelling with the group that made him used to all the noise.
He felt a pang of sadness at the thought of his mismatch group of youkai and humans. Travelling together with a common goal had given his life some kind of meaning instead of merely existing. As well as company and decent fighting partners they also provided a different outlook and opinions on life and happenings. He felt nostalgic just thinking about it, but it was hard for him to shake the thoughts from his mind. He considered the little group his pack, and it was hard to realize that everyone was gone. That they would never again be a pack. Inuyasha felt his ears droop depressingly against his head.
Suddenly, he realized Sesshoumaru was talking. "… even listening to me? Stupid hanyou, can't keep silent. It's a wonder you survived this long on your own…"
"Hey! I know how to be quiet. I have all I need to survive by myself and as you see I have everything intact, unlike someone else I know." It was unkind and hurtful of him, but he wasn't feeling topnotch at the moment.
Fortunately for him, Sesshoumaru seemed to be in a forgiving mood and ignored it. "The most important thing is missing from you it seems, while this Sesshoumaru have all the parts that count."
"I have all the bits I need! I still have both my balls, so you can't accuse of not having any!"
The youkai stopped walking. It was so sudden that Inuyasha walked straight into the slim, muscular back before he could stop himself. He stumbled back like his robes would catch on fire by prolonged touching with the youkai.
"I was implying your brain, dim-witted hanyou. And why would you bring up your scrotum? It has no connection to the conversation."
The hanyou blinked, surprised. It seemed his half-brother didn't know the gruesome fate of the male hanyou that was born. Inuyasha had been fortunate, his mother had spent most of their limited time together in the forest, and on the few occasions she needed something from the village she never left him alone with any of the humans. A time or two he was allowed to play with his most prized toy, a bright red ball on the outskirts while his mother supervised him from a nearby rock where she sat and rested.
On those times the villagers gathered to stare at him and whisper among themselves. He could hear them, though his hearing was not at all fully developed yet. He also knew his mother could not hear them, and the one time he asked about a comment he'd heard, she cried. He didn't ask again.
"You honestly don't know? There is something that my all-knowing older brother doesn't know but I do? The world must be coming to an end."
Inuyasha spun around and eyed the horizon suspiciously, expecting to see the heaven falling downward and the trees going up in flames.
Sesshoumaru sighed. "Would you stop blabbering about things that make no sense and tell this Sesshoumaru what you meant by your comment before I slit your throat?"
"Chill, I'll enlighten you. Every male hanyou that are born are castrated by the people in the village their born to. Since there are mostly male youkai that rape human women, hanyou children are usually born into human villages. All human hate and fear youkai. I think they believe that by cutting of the dick and balls they're weakening the youki of the children. At the same time, they are protecting the women from any future rape."
Sesshoumaru was quiet. For a long moment he just stood there and stared straight ahead. He seemed bothered by what his half-brother had just told him. Inuyasha wasn't certain how he knew, but he could pick up on deep resentment from his brother. He didn't know if it was directed at himself or not, but he was used to being resented and hated by his surroundings so he wasn't too bothered by it.
"What do the humans do to female hanyou? You never mentioned that."
Inuyashas ears drooped. "For some reason, most hanyou that are born are male. The few female hanyou that are born are killed at birth."
The youkai looked disturbed by the information. Inuyasha could smell his unease in the air, it was like smelling a sour fruit.
Sesshoumaru, the hanyou hater, could not be feeling remorse for the hanyou that lost their lives. He was the epitome of an unfeeling bastard. Inuyasha wasn't sure the youkai ever felt anything, and the smell was probably just something in the forest that messed with his nose.
"Humans always think their way is the best. They think that their choices are the right ones, even if it destroys other lives."
"You don't know shit about humans, so don't even pretend." Inuyasha defended his human friends, and the humans in the village who had cared for him, however unwillingly. Those were the only friends and accomplices he had, and he cherished the memories of the happy days they spent together.
The youkai glared at him. "The humans in your little group made you protect them, the miko made you do her bidding by binding you with a spell. However much you want to imagine they treated you as a friend, they were only seeing you as a weapon to use when it suited them."
While he talked, the hanyou got more and more angry. By the end he was practically fuming. "You don't know what you're talking about, bastard. My human friends and I understand each other. We respect each other and each strength that we had together. They couldn't have killed Naraku without me of course. But I couldn't have killed him by myself either, and you weren't there when more power was needed! So don't talk about things you don't understand, asshole!"
Inuyasha was so angry he saw red. He turned tail and stalked away from the path he and his brother was standing on. He heard the youkai behind him take a couple of steps in the same direction, but he obviously thought better of it and stayed put.
He didn't how long he walked, but the sun had sunk to the treetops and the shadows had lengthened considerably. He was still angry, but his rational mind had started to turn over the words of his brother.
Of course his friends didn't use him for his strength. They didn't hate him either. Of course he acted gruff and was very uncouth in his way, but he had never smelled anything other than friendly smells from them, except when they were mad at him of course.
When they were angry at him, they yelled and screamed and cursed. Miroku and Sango yelled often and hit him over the head. Kagome usually yelled at him a lot, a lot more than anyone else did, and sat him. Often. Multiple times in a row. The force of the spell pulled at him so hard that his head, which usually hit the ground first, often hurt and he developed many head injuries if the double visions and migraines were any signs.
But the feelings of anger never lingered, and they never developed into hate or pity. His companions were his family. His very own, twisted little family. God knows he felt more like a brother to all of them than his real brother.
He'd known about Kagomes feelings for him, on a certain level. He knew she wanted and almost expected something more than friendship from him, but he didn't know what. His relationship with Kikyou had been very innocent and too brief for him to really know what he was feeling and even less what she was feeling for him.
He was still very young after all, despite having lived over more than five decades. He'd spent more than half his life nailed to a tree, sleeping. During those years, time had stopped for him. He hadn't aged, physically or mentally. He'd stayed a teenager for longer than he was supposed and the time was slowly starting to catch up to him.
His abilities were still developing and he was honing his skills in battle as often as he could, which wasn't often now that Naraku was gone. It seemed like the whole country was at peace. In the latest year, he had battled no worse than a bunch of bandits that had threatened his village. Not that he got anything for his troubles, only Kaede thanked him for taking care of the villagers.
The sorry lot would probably not have a village to come back to if the bandits had had their way. Apparently all the youkai had heard about his part in offing the spider demon and now most of them avoided the forest and the village.
Other than that, the only enemies he faced on a fairly regular basis were the local wildlife that wandered around the forest and caused trouble for the villagers. Had he been living like Sesshoumaru, he'd probably be as skilled as he could be at his age, but with things looking like they did, he was doomed to a life of a hanyou. Alone, with weak powers and no possessions of his own except for his sword.
Suddenly overcome by sadness he looked around his desolate surroundings. The trees of the forest continued on forever it seemed, almost untouched by time and all alone, just like himself. He was destined to roam the country alone, unwanted and hated by humans and youkai alike.
Sesshoumaru fumed. The stupid hanyou who thought he knew everything. The few times he had visited his little half brother and the strange pack he traveled with he had smelled the hatred of the humans.
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Inuyasha apparently had a very weak sense of smell if he couldn't pick up on the feelings of the humans. Or he was so starved for affection that he ignored the obvious. Either reason seemed plausible to the youkai. God knows he had never answered the hanyous cries for attention when they were younger.
Their father had been a fool for having a pup with a human woman. The outcome was doomed to be a catastrophe. Of course, since the pup had been able to defeat the dark hanyou that even he, the great Sesshoumaru, had been unable to lay a hand on was admirable.
But Inuyashas fate was to spend eternity alone. Due to his youkai heritage, his life would be prolonged, almost as long as any full blooded youkai. This meant that every connection he made with humans was bound to be broken by the passage of time if not before. The hanyou was an unfortunate mix of human and youkai, wanted by neither and hated by all. There was no place in this world for those of mixed blood.
When the youkai became aware of his surroundings again, though he would never admit he had been lost in thought, the sun had set and it was dark. The hanyou had not yet returned and Sesshoumaru wondered if he had fallen off a cliff or met a strong youkai.
He delicately scented the air and strode towards the hanyous location. He walked for a long time, then wondered if he had been mistaken. He scented the air again and growled, speeding up his pace. A familiar scent was mixing itself with that of his brother. Banteki was following the hanyou. Why, Sesshoumaru didn't know. Inuyasha was nothing special.
Suddenly, he could see Inuyasha through the trees. He was sitting with his back against a tree, bleeding from the shoulder. In front of him stood Banteki, with his bloody sword pointed at the hanyous throat. Tetusuaiga lay to the side, knocked away. Sesshoumaru wondered if the sword had tasted any blood before it landed.
He surveyed the scene. His brother seemed helpless and defeated, and he wondered if he should step in or just let the hanyou be killed. It didn't really matter to him either way, but Rin would mourn the loss of a friend, even if she hardly ever saw said friend.
Abruptly, the hanyou dipped his claws into his own wound and leapt forward. "Sankon Tesshou!" The blood he'd soaked his claws in formed arcs that flew through the air at the obviously startled youkai. They connected to his cheek, drawing blood. Banteki reached up his hand to the wound and stepped back.
"For a hanyou, you're pretty feisty. I like that in an opponent." The youkai sheathed his sword. "I would appreciate if you would honor me with a duel."
"Keh, I'll take you on anytime." The foolish hanyou rose and turned to pick up his sword, turning his back to his opponent.
Sesshoumaru could hardly believe the stupid move. One of the first and most important lessons in battle was to never turn your back towards the opponent unless on wanted to be attacked.
In a flash, he stood before Inuyasha, Tokijin in his hand. "Banteki, I recommend you not to fight this hanyou unless you want to be killed."
The other youkai raised a dark eyebrow. "Oh, have this little one been causing trouble for the big bad Lord of the West? I admit, I was intrigued by the lingering smell of you on this hanyou, though his persistence in a fight is what held my interest."
The stupid hanyou was raging behind him, but he paid him no mind. Sesshoumaru remained quiet, just staring at Banteki, just waiting for the next move. He hadn't expected for it to come from behind.
Tetsuaigas sheath, containing the sword, hit him over the head, not fazing him in the least. The dark youkai in front of him laughed blithely. "I knew the hanyou had guts, but to go up to the great Lord himself with a move like that… it's plain insulting, Sesshy."
Sesshoumarus eyes narrowed dangerously. "I have warned you many times before Banteki, not to call me that. My limit is crossed and I will not hesitate to separate your useless head from your shoulders."
"Bastard! What the hell do you think you're doing? I can take care of myself, now move, damnit!" The hanyou was clearly upset, but seeing as how he'd been about to get himself killed by Sesshoumarus most annoying foe, he didn't pay it much mind.
"Are you defending me asshole?" Inuyasha was getting more and more angry, his language becoming more and more dreadful. "I can take care of myself in a fight, bastard! Go the fuck away!"
"Inuyasha, this youkai is the Lord of the East, Banteki. I am positive that if he so wished, you would be quickly reduced to a red stain on the root of a tree."
"You have to be kidding me! I defeated Naraku, this guy's small fry compared to him! Now fuck off!"
Banteki had obviously tired of this banter as he once again drew his sword and leveled it at Seshoumaru. "If you wish to fight, oh great Lord of the West, a fight you shall have. But I will have my fight with the hanyou sooner or later. You cannot stop me, and from the sound of it, you cannot stop him either."
Sesshoumaru said nothing, just glared at his opponent. He got in fighting position and redied (SP?) himself for the coming battle. Inuyasha seemed to sense that this had crossed over into a power battle and that he was out of the equation. He slunk off up into a tree.
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The air crackled around the two formidable youkai. Inuyasha could not deny that the two youkai were more powerful than anything or anyone he had ever met before. But he figured since he had managed to cut the arm of Sesshoumaru, he had a good chance of besting Banteki in a fight.
Both youkai stood still, it seemed like they were measuring their youki against each other. Slowly they started to circle around the tiny clearing, looking as relaxed as ever. The only thing betraying the intention to fight was the drawn swords and the hateful look in both pair of eyes.
He knew from experience that the white-haired youkai would never lower himself to make the first move, he'd learned at least that much from all their fights. The dark youkai apparently knew that also for it didn't take long time of stalling before he came flying at his opponent.
His eyes widened. There appeared to be only two blurs before him one white and one black, intertwined in the battle. But as his eyes adjusted themselves to the speed of the battle he saw that Banteki was constantly moving while Sesshoumaru was mostly staying put and defending against the attacks that were raining down on him.
Inuyasha recognized the strategy. It was one that had been used on him multiple times in their brotherly fights. Sesshoumaru was checking out the moves and hits for flaws. He knew that the exact moment he saw an opening, the fight was over and the opponent would probably not be breathing anymore.
This fight was longer than most he had fought with the bastard though. He wondered why. Perhaps it accounted to the two of them being full blooded youkai and thus having more endurance than he, a lowly hanyou.
Suddenly Inuyasha could see an opening in the dark youkais movements, leaving his side wide open for attack. Strangely enough, he wanted to shout out to his brother, but it seemed Sesshoumaru had also seen the opportunity and he went for it.
With just one fast forward thrust of Sesshoumaru, with Tokijin held securely in hand, it was over. The sharp blade was run clean through the guts of Banteki, felling him instantly. Inuyashas knowledge of the inside of the human body was limited, but he knew some important things were located inside the stomach area.
Banteki sagged to the ground, holding his side and glaring daggers at Sesshoumaru. "You may have won this time, but just wait. I grow stronger each time we meet." A trickle of blood ran down the corner of his mouth, marring the perfect complexion.
Sesshoumaru sneered and sheathed his sword. "I would have thought, as often as you have been spewing those words, that you would have defeated me already. But all you have is numerous words and no ways of making them come true."
Inuyasha jumped nimbly down to the ground. He looked the wounded Banteki, silently admiring the clean cut and mostly bloodless defeat. "Damn. It would have nice if the old man had been around to teach me some moves too. If I knew how to do that, no one would be able to beat me."
"You do not have enough power for that particular move, Inuyasha. It requires more youki than you possess and more physical power than you'll ever have as a hanyou." He looked thoughtful. "Although I suppose, if a hanyou could master that move, it would be you."
Inuyasha was surprised. Praise from his brother? What was happening to the natural order of things?
Banteki snorted. "The great Sesshoumaru, so easily giving praise to a lowly hanyou? My eyes and ears must deceive me."
"Your eyes and ears have never worked properly Banteki. I would suggest leaving now, before I decide to add to your injury." Sesshoumaru glared at the youkai, clearly wishing him dead.
"Yeah, yeah, don't pop a vessel. I just wonder what Sesshoumaru, who loathes hanyou and humans are doing travelling with a hanyou. A hanyou who looks remarkably like himself." The dark youkai looked curiously between Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru.
"Do not trouble yourself with matters that do not concern you, Banteki. Now be gone from this Sesshoumarus sight."
With that, the powerful Taiyoukai of the west turned his back to the other youkai and started back on his course. Inuyasha, he knew, would follow, as he was reeking with nervousness.
Inuyasha hurried after his brother, though he would never admit to anything of the sort. He could feel Bantekis eyes on him all the way. There was something about the dark youkai that had him on edge. Inuyasha didn't like the smell of him when his attention lay on the hanyou.
"Hey, Sesshoumaru, how much farther is the island? I'm feeling an urge to return to familiar grounds."
"Are you looking for something? I know these lands like the back of my hand. I could help, for a price of course."
The voice came from Inuyashas side, very much inside his personal space. The youkai had moved too fast for the hanyou to have heard him, which made him jump quickly to the other side, straight into Sesshoumarus armor.
"Ow, shit! That armor's too pointy damn it." He massaged his shoulder, wondering if the skin was pierced.
A hand was laid on top of his on his shoulder. "I could help you with that too, for free." Bantekis voice caressed the sensitive fur of his ear, making it twitch uncontrollably.
"Jeezes, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Inuyasha batted at the larger hand that lay atop his, but he only succeeded in making Banteki grip tighter.
Then, just like that, the hand was ripped of his shoulder by a growling white youkai with eyes that were shooting arrows.
Without a word, Seshoumaru lifted the other youkai by his arm, flinging him further inside the forest. Then, he just turned and continued walking. If Inuyasha hadn't smelt his agitation, he would never have suspected his brother felt any different than usual.
"Inuyasha, come. We will reach the island sooner if we do not stop and engage in conversation with idiotic youkai."
"For once, I agree with you. Let's go." Inuyasha hurried after his brother, glancing over his shoulder once, seeing the brown eyes peeking out from the brush, burning into his own. He quickly looked back on the road. He felt those eyes on his back a long time afterwards.
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The sun was beginning to rise in the horizon, signaling the end of the night. The brothers had not stopped at all during the night. Sesshoumaru wanted to get to the island as soon as possible, and Inuyasha just wanted to put as much ground between themselves and Banteki.
But Inuyasha could feel the tiredness starting to creep up on him. Though he usually needed about as much sleep as a full blooded youkai the need for sleep got stronger the closer the moonless night got.
He figured it was about one week left before the dreaded night would arrive, which meant he would have to spend his night as a human with his asshole brother. Even though he hadn't been as insulting as Inuyasha was used to, he didn't look forward to the event. Spending the night as a human together with a human hating youkai that was likely to kill him, hurt him, or just spend the night insulting his abilities and making him feel like shit.
But thinking about that could wait. The main problem right now was battling his sleepiness. Inuyasha knew his abilities and the signs of his body very well, since he'd been on his own most of his life. He knew he wasn't going to last much longer.
He stumbled suddenly, having not looked properly at the road, and went down.
"Ouff!" Dirt filled his mouth, just like the old times, and he was suddenly, painfully reminded of all the times Kagome had sat him. He lay still for longer than necessary, relieving the sudden moments in time that would never return to him. At last, he sighed and heaved himself up to his knees. Looking up, he saw his brother staring at him.
"What? Never seen someone stumble before, idiot?" Inuyasha made his way to his feet, feeling a little dizzy. He suspected he would feel that way until he got a little sleep, but he didn't want to stop their journey now. They would lose a day's travelling at most, and he just wanted this to be over with so he could get back to the village and his forest and finally relax and get back to his own life.
"Are you well? You have not been your usual annoying self tonight." If Inuyasha didn't know better, he thought he could see worry reflected in the eyes of his older brother. But he did know better and knew it was just his imagination and the rising sun that was playing mind tricks on his tired mind.
"I'm fine, not that you care, just feeling a little tired after the fight with Banteki back there. I can go on walking all day." Of course, his stupid mouth was working against him, and let out a great big yawn in the middle of his little speech.
Sesshoumaru frowned, thinking hanyous were much weaker than he'd ever thought, if a small fight like this made them as tired as Inuyasha seemed to be. He also thought of every time they had fought as well, not recalling any time when his younger brother became like this, even when they had fought for hours.
"I see hanyous really are as pathetic as they seem."
Sesshoumaru could feel the hanyou glare at him, ears flattening against his head. Inuyasha let out a growl, turned on his heel and started walking away from his older brother. He didn't need this shit! He had enough to worry about, with crazy youkai after him and some little girl that needed saving.
In a flash, his way was blocked by a silk clad, rock hard flesh wall. He glared up at his brother, one of his fangs peeking out from beneath his lip.
"What do you want now, asshole? I'm helping you for God knows what reason, and all you do is insult me! I'm done. I'm going back to the village."
With that said, he sidestepped Sesshoumaru, intent on continuing on his way. The air left his lungs when a pale hand encircled his wrist, yanking it, and him, backwards into Sesshoumarus chest, and the armor.
"Ouch! Holy shit, let me go, you motherfucker! Your armor is making tiny little holes into my back!" Inuyasha knew that at most, his fire rat robe was going to fray a little as the spikes on the armor slid back and forth across it, and Sesshoumaru probably knew that too, but Inuyasha was prepared to say and do almost anything to get away in that moment.
"Hanyou, this Sesshoumaru does not like the tone of voice you are using." The fingers around Inuyashas wrist was tense and the grip was bordering on painful.
"Well, 'this Sesshoumaru' can shove it! I don't care about what you do or think, asshole."
"But you care about what those humans in you former pack think, don't you?" Interestingly, Inuyasha tensed at the words, ears swiveling back, unintentionally showing his interest in the words. "I must say, Inuyasha, you choose the most interesting pack members. The Taijiya was constantly looking for a chance to slay you, although I'm sure you did not realize that, with you weak senses."
"Shut up…" The words were whispered, appearing to be dragged from the hanyou against his will.
"The monk smelled of suppressed hatred, and his eyes always shone of it when he looked at you."
"Shut up." Inuyashas breathing sped up as did his heart rate.
"I must say I sympathize with them, human as they might be, since you are very easy to detest. Even the miko showed signs of hating you once she realized how unnatural your kind is." The words was spit out through his tense lips.
"Shut up!" The hanyou ripped his arm from the clawed grip of his brother with enough force to spin him around, but instead of the expected outrage, Sesshoumaru saw golden eyes filled with wetness. Inuyasha quickly turned around and sprinted away.
He leapt into the trees and continued his journey away from his brother. He couldn't stay with Sesshoumaru anymore, that much was clear. He might be considered a fool for following someone who only insulted him, but the thought about being useless, as Sesshoumaru often called him, was suffocating. A stray thought swam into his mind, that helping his older brother was the only thing that had any worth for him anymore. The little girl didn't deserve to be kept away from her precious "Sesshoumaru-sama" and Inuyasha had been determined to see this through, before becoming forgotten, but now that was impossible.
So he ran, and continued to run until his breath came in pants and the wetness in his eyes had dried. Then he collapsed on the ground, leaned against a tree and tried to calm his racing pulse.
"Well, well, well. See who come running back. Finally decided that the asshole isn't worth it?"
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This was the second chapter! Please R&R, I love feedback! I'm trying my best to make the scene breaks visible, but what I do in the document doesn't show up in the published version. I hope this works.