Thanks to anyone who read chapter one!
As always, the anime is not mine, characters are not mine.
Even though it'll be a while, this is essentially a YAOI (if you hadn't gotten that by now) so beware, and there are SPOILERS!
For those of you here to enjoy it! Enjoy!
He could've been anywhere. As far as he knew, this was no place he'd ever been to. There was nothing here. Nothing but a lone tree in close resemblance to the fated tree he'd been nailed to by a sacred arrow so many years ago. He stood, for he awoke lying down just as he had when he fell asleep. Wasn't it by the river? A faint memory of Miroku talking fluttered by in the distance of this darkened void. The leaves on the tree flared brightly, a soft glow resonating off the trunk.
"Inu Yasha…" A deep guttural laugh ebbed from the tree.
That voice. It sounded so familiar. All at once Inu Yasha stood on guard. He looked around for his sword but alas, it was nowhere to be found. "Who's there?" His voice bounced off the never-ending blackness around him. It echoed back to his own ears, sounding distant and not at all like he knew his voice to be. It was weak, lacking the inflated ego to which he was accustomed to.
The laughter flowed from the tree, like a slight breeze carrying from the roots to the tips of the branches. It carried along the leaves that broke off, flittering all around him. He could feel the laughter like tiny ripples upon his skin. He could feel his own skin shiver. He was scared. No, he was terrified. He was so vulnerable.
"Who are you!?" He yelled, breaking the flowing dance of the leaves around him. Each fell to the ground with an unnatural heavy thump. His entire body started to shake as the ground beneath him began to crumble away. He tried to reach for anything, to grab something to hold him to the only solidarity around him. His fingers couldn't grapple anything and he fell. The cold darkness surrounded him and the light from the familiar tree went out, snuffed out like a candle, and all he could feel was his own voice caught in his throat, ready to break out in a shout for help. Ready and waiting.
"NO!"
Miroku jumped, bolting from his sound sleep. He knocked over his staff which fell to the ground with a very loud clatter, causing Shippo's head to shoot up from his own slumber. "Whoa! What happened?" He yelled, his tail puffing up. Miroku took a look around the shack, noticing that Sango and Kirara were already gone, her bed packed up to make room for the day. He shook his head and took a deep breath to steady his frantic heart beating like a drum in his chest.
"Nothing Shippo, I'm sorry." He yawned and stood, grimacing at the sound of all his stiff joints popping. "Where did Sango go?"
Shippo sat up and shrugged, smoothing out his tail. "She mentioned, last night, that she was planning on going on a trip with Kirara today. I figured she was going to visit Kohaku or something. Where's Inu Yasha?"
At the drop of Inu Yasha's name, Miroku suddenly remembered why he'd woken up so abruptly. He placed his staff back up against the wall and headed for the door. "Sorry Shippo, I'll be back. Maybe Lady Kaede and Lady Rin need some help with their morning chores. Would you mind running over to them for a while?"
As the monk left the shack, he could hear Shippo rustle around and grumble about always being left out but he blew it off and walked briskly down to the river bend to where he'd left Inu Yasha the night before. When he thought back to the shout that had woke him, he could have sworn it sounded like his half-breed companion. "Inu Yasha?" He called out, reaching the top of the small hill leading down to the side of the river.
Inu Yasha was awake. He was sitting up, resting his arms on his knees, and lost in a small reverie. His features seemed oddly calm but when Miroku came closer, he noticed that Inu Yasha had a small layer of sweat coating his skin. He rested his hand on Inu Yasha's shoulder and gently shook him.
"Are you okay?"
It took a moment before Inu Yasha responded. He slowly turned his head, as if he couldn't tear his eyes away from whatever he was looking at. There was no emotion on his face. There was no trace, other than the sweat, that anything had been wrong, or that he'd awoken with a shout to scare anyone in the vicinity of the river. "What? Did you need something?"
Something was defiantly wrong. It didn't take an idiot to realize that something was very, very wrong here. "How's about we go take a bath. Okay?" Mirkou tugged on Inu Yasha's arm, pulling him upward. "You look like you've had a rough night."
Inu Yasha followed willingly. He had no reason to disagree. He knew he was covered in dirty, grimy sweat from his toes to his head. He knew he should say something but he felt a certain sense of calmness nestled deep within his chest. He didn't really feel any certain way. There was a whispering sensation prickling the back of his mind, telling him that he should at least be feeling something, anything, but the overriding sense of emptiness won out and he followed along without saying a word.
When they reached a tiny, secluded spot, Miroku stopped and let go of Inu Yasha's arm. He dipped his fingers in the water to test the temperature. It felt cool but it wasn't freezing so he removed his outer robe, looking over his shoulder to see Inu Yasha just standing and staring off into space. Sighing, he walked over and waved his hand in front of his friend's face. "Inu Yasha? Do you need any help?" He felt like he was talking to a child.
"Do I look like I need help?" Inu Yasha snapped. His face contorted to an expression Miroku was familiar with; a raised eyebrow, a snarl tugging at his top lip, but it faded just as fast as the expression had come. His body had never moved, and his eyes were still dead. If Miroku were worried before, he was defiantly becoming increasingly concerned. When it was clear that Inu Yasha wasn't going to say anything else, Miroku helped his friend undress. Inu Yasha didn't seem to mind. He raised his arms when Miroku moved them to get his clothes off. He stepped out of his pants when Miroku moved his legs. He was like a giant doll.
A sense of creepiness set in when Miroku tugged on Inu Yasha's arm to walk him into the water. He shied away for a moment from the cold sensation on his own bare ankles and legs but Inu Yasha registered no emotion, said nothing about the shock of the sudden cold. Instead he followed Miroku into the water until they were both in waist deep. He stood still when Miroku began to wash him and stared off as if something more interesting behind Miroku's head.
Miroku was half way done when he looked up, raising a raven brow. He looked behind him and saw nothing but the normal greenery surrounding them. A chill ran down his spine and he shivered, goose bumps rising on his skin, but he shrugged it off as he moved around Inu Yasha to find a shallow point to sit the hanyou down on. "Come here Inu Yasha. Sit here so I can wash your hair."
He obliged, sitting down so the water reached just below his collar bone. He continued to stare off when Miroku dipped Inu Yasha's hair back in the water. A shiver ran through Inu Yasha's body and he shut his eyes, leaning into the touch of Miroku's fingers running through his hair. A smile crept over his face, his body relaxing. Miroku peered down; noticing the composed look on Inu Yasha's face and gave a sigh of relief. It may not have been Inu Yasha's normal mannerism to being touched so, but at least he looked a little better than he had when Miroku found him.
He broke away to wash his own hair, untying the small band and letting what little hair he had fall forward. He walked back out to a much deeper part of the water and dunked his whole body under water. It felt cool and refreshing on his face, completely waking him up for the day. He wasn't sure how long he'd been under until he felt his throat start to burn. He busted through the surface of the water and gasped for a tiny bit of air, chuckling a bit to himself. For a moment he had forgotten that he was worried about Inu Yasha. He splashed a little water on his face and rubbed his eyes until he saw tiny black spots in his vision. He turned to look at his companion back at the shallow end but Inu Yasha wasn't there anymore.
"Inu-"
"Right here."
Miroku spun around so fast he almost lost his footing and slipped but Inu Yasha, who had moved behind him, caught his arm to help stabilize him. "Thanks. How are you feeling?" He tried to yank his arm away but Inu Yasha held it tight. His nails started to dig into his skin. He tried to show no pain but Inu Yasha's grip was getting tighter by the second and soon it felt as if his arm would break. "You're h-hurting me."
Inu Yasha looked at Miroku's arm. He could see his own nails breaking the skin, tiny pools of blood cropping up around the points of his nails. He stared, enthralled by the look of it, by the smell of it. He could feel his mouth salivate and a hunger he never knew he had, rumbled in his chest. He leaned forward, bringing Miroku's arm to his mouth, slipping his tongue between his lips to delicately taste the blood and Miroku's skin. He shut his eyes as another shiver ran through his body, this time from the excitement rising deep inside him.
Miroku was scared stiff. His body felt cold, colder than the water they were standing in. His arm stung from the pain and something deep inside pulled, tugging him towards it. He was confused and frightened and his heart started to beat faster, pounding in his ears. Inu Yasha was still mesmerized by the taste and the way his body was feeling as a heat unfolded from within, that he didn't care Miroku had finally started to move, trying to pull away.
He grabbed Miroku's other arm and pulled him close. Their faces were so close that the tips of their noses were practically touching. Inu Yasha let loose a deep guttural chuckle, his breath hot against Miroku's cheek. His tongue slithered along Miroku's chin to his ear, playing with his earlobe. "Open your eyes monk..."
And on cue, Miroku's eyes flashed open, staring at Inu Yasha's face but not at Inu Yasha's eyes. His eyes were someone else's. They weren't the golden hue he knew all too well. Instead they were red, deep as the blood trickling down his arm into the water, mingling into a soft pink. They were altogether familiar, like a faded memory. Miroku stared, completely still with fear. He was waiting, for what? He couldn't be certain. He waited for Inu Yasha to complete a transformation into his demon form but he was still in his half-breed body. His eyes, only his eyes were different; tiny redness in the middle of stark white. These weren't his full demon eyes. They were something else entirely.
"Inu Yasha?"
Yasha laughed again, the deep harshness of it rising in his throat, breaking through, using vocal chords he never even imagined having. He grabbed Miroku by the neck and shoved his head underwater. "Inu Yasha isn't here right now."
I hope you all enjoyed Chapter Two! Please review and lemme know what you think! Please fav this story if you like and would love to be kept updated :D Next chapter will up in a few days!