I do NOT own 'Inuyasha', Rumiko Takahashi does! I just do depraved things to the characters!
"New Moon Fears"
Thank you for all the support! I love all my readers!
Warnings-Language and a freaked-out Inuyasha? It'll be a bit before anything worth a serious warning happens.
Chapter 2: Waking Up
Previously: *The Lord of the West waited patiently for his little brother to wake up.*
Pain and weakness.
These were the first things Inuyasha felt as he slowly woke up. He opened his eyes, blinking when darkness was all he saw. Damn weak-ass human senses! He stayed still and tried to make sense of what was going on. Ok...it was a new moon and he was in his vulnerable human form.
Well, that sucked.
He vaguely remembered fighting a reptile demon that had been saying some very suggestive things. He shivered, feeling nauseous as he remembered smelling arousal on the scaly bastard before his senses had started to fade. Had he killed the demon?...No, Tetsusaiga had reverted as he'd weakened. His hand flicked to his side.
Huh...his Fang was safely sheathed at his waist.
Suddenly, his memory cleared some. A flash of silver and a deep, cold voice.
"Oh, fuck." Inuyasha breathed, feeling fear flood him. His eyes searched the oppressive darkness, but he couldn't see shit. He sniffed the air, knowing that wouldn't do any good to his human form, but it was an instinctive habit.
He kept one hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt, lifting his other hand to the wall behind him. Stone. He was in a cave. Ok, that wasn't too bad. He could follow the wall until he reached the opening. He started to stand, but a sharp pain shot across his chest and stomach. He glanced down, but couldn't see in the darkness. Carefully, he lowered one hand to feel cuts covering the front of his body. He sucked in a breath, hissing in pain when he found a bad one just above his stomach.
The gash was deep, but Inuyasha frowned when he realized he didn't feel any blood on his skin. Something...something strange was going on.
He needed to get out of here!
Trying to ignore the pain, he stood shakily, keeping one hand on the wall for support and guidance. As he took his first step, a deep, smooth voice sent shivers down his spine. "You should not be moving yet, Inuyasha. Where do you think you're going, anyways?"
Inuyasha froze, and he could feel himself trembling as his heart pounded. "Se...Sesshomaru?" He kept his head still, but his eyes searched the darkness frantically. His weak human ears were unable to tell where the voice had come from.
Then the lethal demon's voice came out of the dark again. "Inuyasha, you've gotten yourself into trouble this time. You almost got yourself molested by that reptile vermin."
Inuyasha was shaking as he cringed against the stone wall, doing his damnedest to suppress his terror as he whispered. "Did..did you..?" He was unable to finish, still trying to locate the Killing Perfection in what he knew had to be the darkest cave ever.
Sesshomaru's soft, hypnotic voice reached him again. "Yes, I did save you, Inuyasha, and no, I did not do anything to you while you were asleep. Except get that deeper wound to stop bleeding."
Inuyasha hesitated, knowing that he had no chance of escaping a predator youkai in the dark, especially as a human. He slid down the wall, keeping his back against it as he sat down and pulled his knees to his chest. His eyes searched the darkness in vain, knowing that his weak human eyes probably passed right over the lethal demon.
Inuyasha lifted one hand to his head, stroking his black hair nervously. "You...um..you can see me, can't you?"
The reply was immediate. "Yes."
Inuyasha lowered his forehead to his knees and raised both hands to cover his head. He had always been ashamed of his human night, and now that his perfect full-demon brother could see him, smell him in this pathetic, vulnerable form, Inuyasha felt as disgusting and weak as Sesshomaru had always said he was.
Inuyasha took a deep breath and prayed his voice didn't shake. "Look, if you're trying to freak me out, it's working. Human senses are so weak, I...I can't even tell how close you are. If you're gonna hurt me, you should go ahead, because this is really cruel, even for you." He heard a faint noise and tensed, only to hear that deep voice again.
"Calm yourself, Inuyasha. Relax, or you'll pass out again. You're breathing fast and shallow and your heart is beating too fast."
Almost driven mad by this whole situation, Inuyasha reacted like Inuyasha. He scoffed. "Relax?! Yeah, ok. I'll just relax. It's not like it's my human night and I'm stuck in a dark-ass cave with my only living relative, who just happens to hate every damn thing about me! Why don't you relax?"
A calm voice replied. "Are you using sarcasm on me, Inuyasha? Really?"
Inuyasha felt fear flood him, and he began shaking again. He whispered. "I...I'm sorry."
Sesshomaru's voice had sounded closer that time, and Inuyasha cautiously raised his eyes. Nope, he still couldn't see anything in the suffocating darkness. He had no idea how close the powerful, dangerous demon was. Suddenly, there was a noise close to him. He jumped and ducked his head protectively, squeezing his eyes shut as tightly as he could.
He heard that quiet voice again. "Inuyasha, you can open your eyes."
He opened them just a fraction, realizing he could see light. His eyes shot wide open and he lifted his head.
Sesshomaru had built a small fire.
Inuyasha blinked as his human eyes adjusted to the change in light. He saw that his brother was sitting just a few feet away, watching him with narrowed amber eyes. Instinctively, he started to shift further away, only for the demon to growl softly.
"I would suggest you stay where you are, Inuyasha."
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Sesshomaru saw that Inuyasha had become stone-still when he growled. Wide violet eyes stared at him, and he could hear the pounding heart as the younger male held his breath.
He sighed. "Foolish pup, you need to breathe. Are you trying to make yourself pass out? I know you're afraid, but do you really want to pass out...alone...with me?"
Inuyasha shook his head, black hair fluttering slightly. Sesshomaru heard the human take a quick, shaky breath, and he frowned. "Slow and steady, or you'll hyperventilate."
The fearful violet eyes watched him as Inuyasha gave a tiny nod and obediently tried to steady his breathing. Sesshomaru saw his little brother's eyes flick to the fire and back to him.
"Um...why did you build a fire?" the transformed hanyou asked tentatively.
He replied softly. "So you could see."
Inuyasha hugged his knees tighter to his chest. "I...I'm not trying to annoy you, but..why?"
Sesshomaru realized the younger male looked fearful of the answer. "Inuyasha, being in the dark was scaring you, so I built a fire. Do you think there is a malicious purpose behind everything I do?"
He watched as Inuyasha frowned and turned his gaze back to the fire before replying in a voice barely above a whisper. "No, not everything, just anything involving me. I can find cruelty behind anything you do that has to do with me."
Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow, not sure if he was more concerned or amused. "Building a fire so you could see. Can you find a cruel intent behind that?"
Inuyasha glanced at him, then sighed and lowered his eyes to the cave floor. "Yeah. A couple different ones, actually. Maybe you want me to see your face before you kill me. Maybe you just wanted a better look at what a filthy little half-breed looks like as a filthy little human. Maybe...maybe you're just teasing me; making me think you're actually being nice before you poison me or tear my throat out or finally run me through with your new sword, Baksaiga."
Sesshomaru stared, no longer unsure if he was concerned or amused. He was definitely concerned. "Inuyasha?"
Slowly, those deep violet eyes lifted to his, and he saw that the human's body was shaking as he pressed harder into the stone wall behind him. Sesshomaru frowned.
"Maybe I just built the fire so you could see. So you wouldn't be so afraid." Sesshomaru shifted closer and saw Inuyasha flinch. He asked quietly. "What about saving you from that reptile?"
His little brother's scent spiked with fear as he whispered. "I heard you. You...you told him..that I belong to you. Well, you said 'the half-breed' belongs to you, and I didn't see any others. I...I know you have claimed my life as yours to take, Sesshomaru. You saved me because you're the only one allowed to kill me."
Sesshomaru felt that odd feeling in his stomach again. He tilted his head and frowned, murmuring. "You are more afraid of me than you were of him."
Inuyasha lowered his eyes, and Sesshomaru caught a bitter scent of shame as the pup breathed. "You're scarier."
That odd feeling got worse. Sesshomaru asked quietly. "Inuyasha, do you know what that vermin had planned for you?"
His little brother nodded, not meeting his eyes. "Basically. I...I smelled his arousal before my senses faded, and he was saying some awful things."
Sesshomaru felt his chest tighten. "You know what he intended to do to you, and you still find me scarier?"
Inuyasha shrugged, staring at the fire as though it could get him out of this cave. "I can't help it. You...I don't think you've ever touched me without trying to hurt me. You...you're kinda sadistic; I think you like hurting me. Between that and your claws and poison, it seems like you'd be well-suited to torture somebody. Like, oh, I don't know, somebody you hate for being born."
Sesshomaru moved a little closer and saw Inuyasha's body tense; he was within arm's reach of the younger male now.
"Inuyasha, I am not planning to hurt you, much less torture you." he said softly.
Dark amethyst eyes lifted to his, and he saw the fear and doubt in them. Inuyasha whispered. "Do you really expect me to believe you?"
Sesshomaru moved even closer and saw the human start to lean away. He shifted so he was in front of Inuyasha instead of beside him. Now his little brother had nowhere to go, but was trying his damnedest to back up through the stone wall.
Slowly, Sesshomaru lifted one clawed hand to touch the lock of ebony hair that hung in front of Inuyasha's shoulder. The younger male had frozen, barely breathing and watching him with wide eyes. Careful of his claws, Sesshomaru moved his hand from the silky hair to gently graze his fingertips along a pale collarbone. He heard Inuyasha's heart skip a beat, then start pounding.
He saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. Keeping the fingertips of one hand on the pup's collarbone, he shot his other hand up to catch his brother's wrist. He glanced at the captured hand; from it's position, it looked like it had been aiming to slap him in the face. He looked back to the human, who looked shocked and terrified, and spoke calmly.
"Were you going to strike me? In this form, do you think you are fast enough or strong enough to attempt hitting me?"
Inuyasha shook his head frantically. "No! I..I didn't mean to! It just happened, like...like a reflex! I'm sorry!"
Sesshomaru sensed Inuyasha's overwhelming fear, and saw the wide, dark eyes focus on where the clawed hand was wrapped around his wrist. His little brother cringed and began trying to tug his hand free.
Sesshomaru frowned; he was not holding tightly at all, he couldn't be hurting the human. "Inuyasha?"
The violet eyes snapped shut and the younger male began panting and trembling violently.
Sesshomaru felt that damn odd feeling once again as he realized what his brother was afraid of at the moment.
"Inuyasha, I am not going to poison you."
Eyes still closed, Inuyasha whispered. "Why not? You always do, and...I don't think I'd survive this time."
Slowly, Sesshomaru released the slender wrist. "That is why. I do not think you'd survive, either."
Inuyasha cautiously opened his eyes, looking confused. Sesshomaru met the wide violet eyes and resumed brushing his fingertips over the collarbone. He felt the human shiver when he gently glided his fingers around the base of that pale throat. He lightly traced his claws over the younger male's pulse, and Inuyasha shivered again.
"Scared?" Sesshomaru asked softly, sliding his fingertips up the side of the slender neck, thumb grazing Inuyasha's windpipe.
His little brother trembled and breathed. "Terrified." as Sesshomaru leaned closer.
.
End of Ch 2: "Waking Up"
Poor Inuyasha, scared shitless! That's always fun to write!
Alright, I will probably not be updating every day like I did with 'The Right Choice' but I will update as regularly as possible, and don't worry, I will NOT leave it!