Title: The Unknown

Chapter 3: Fooling with Sesshomaru

ooOoo

The sun slowly dragged its gold face towards the far line of the horizon. The warm air vibrated over a dusty road like a cloud of insects, and the path seemed to extend mercilessly as the day progressed, and as the heat of the dirt burned their feet.

"Gods, how far do we have to go, Inuyasha?" Kagome's face look tired, her clothing was dusted and sweated; a bath in cool water was on the top list of her priorities now, exceeding every other need and wish; now, locating the jewel or finding Naraku paled into comparison with a cool reviving bath in clear waters of a forest river.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome knew that he heard her questions and only decided to ignore her to prolong the walk, "Inuyasha! I asked you a question!" Now her voice cared not only signs of the fatigue, but also a slight irritation. Inuyasha flattened his ears against his head automatically.

"All right, woman, just stop that drama! We haven't even walked for 20 miles today!" He kept complaining, but at the same time, he changed directions to lead them towards a small clearing, where they could start a camp. The spot was cooler than the rest of road, and the tall pines surrounding the clearing offered plenty of cool shadows. "Always tired! How weak can you be? Humans…" Inuyasha mumbled under his nose, as Kagome smiled at the hanoyu. "You know, Inuyasha, you are not all that bad." Inuyasha, pretending not to notice her smile nor her comment, turned his face away from her sight. But she knew, he couldn't hide it from her, even if he tried; he was blushing, and she smiled even wider. Inuyasha

ooOoo

"How far are we from them?" Myoga asked sitting on Jaken's shoulder. The summer heat bothered him heavily.

"I don't know. I think we should be pretty close because Ah-Un caught the smell of his master." Jaken answered the small demon carefully observing the dragon. Ah-Un, sensing Sesshomaru's closeness, whirled his heads around, as if expecting to see his owner emerging from the skies. The dragon flew faster now, and Jaken had a hard time to control the beast. "Easy, Ah-Un, easy…you will see your master soon, but we are not going to him now, not yet." Jaken slowed down the dragon and ordered him to descent near the small clearing. "I think we are close enough now, don't you?" Ah-Un landed delicately on soft forest ground.

"And how far are we from Inuyasha, exactly?" Jaken shrugged his arms at the stupid question of his friend. "I have never met a demon who had worst instincts than you, Myoga." The flea demon had a rotten sense of directions, but he never really worried about it; after all, he used others as the means of the transportation.

"I didn't ask you to comment on my skills, you green fool, I asked how far we…"

"Yeah, I've heard you!" Jaken could only smile under his nose at his friend's reaction, "We are ten minutes from the place where Inuyasha and his companions are starting their camp. Now, we only need to wait for the guest of honor to show up…" He looked expectantly at Myoga. "Are you sure that we are doing the right thing?" He scratched his pointed beak in a nervous gesture, his eyes drilling into eyes of his friend. "If we fail, we may loose everything, our lives being the tiniest price…"

Myoga looked back at Jaken. For the longest time they stared at each other, as if searching for shadows of doubts in themselves. They froze in their tacit exchange of thoughts, their faces strangely solemn and serious. And the moment lasted, their silence disturbed only by the warm wind playing lightly in the trees and the grasshoppers singing their summer melody and drunk with the heat and summer…

"Let's start." Myoga said calmly ending the quiet moment. "We have no time to waste."

ooOoo

"Inuyasha," Kagome stretched lying on the soft green grass, "When, do you think, Sango will be back?" It felt so good to rest, "She should be back by now, right?"

The hanoyu shrugged, "You know that she always takes her time when coming back to her village." He didn't want to say anything else, but he knew how hard it was for the slayer to go mourn all her family and how tough it had to be to leave them behind. "She will be back, Kagome, don't worry," he said with some strange warmth in his voice. Kagome turned her head at him, but this time she couldn't read his thoughts. Was the new tone of his voice trying to calm down her worries, or was it a voice of affection towards the slayer? She kept her eyes on him, but he glazed at the forest not saying anything. His face was blank and empty. The girl stared at him, surprised how alike he was to his brother right now.

She sit up. "What are you thinking about, Inuyasha?" her voice was quiet and shy, "Do you think of Sango?" Her voice shook lightly, but nobody noticed, it was too quiet. I have to stop it…She closed her eyes feeling disgust with herself. She envied Sango the friendship that gave his voice the soft tone when the hanoyu spoke of the exterminator. How wrong it was…

Inuyasha didn't notice Kagome's change of emotions; he ignored her questions, and stayed oblivious of her staring at him. Yes, he was thinking of the slayer, and yes, he thought of her often. But thinking of Sango was only a mean to get to his other thoughts, other memories. Images, where dark eyes of his mother looked at him with warmth and love, and where was no other feelings, but her acceptance and sweet affection. And then he thought of what happened next with her. How her love and life were ended with one thrust of a sword in her chest. And how long it took to heal his own heart and let go of the pain. But, on the other side, did he ever…?

ooOoo

Miroku observed the interaction between his friends. Kagome quieted down, suddenly sad and empty; Inuyasha, leaning against a tree stared at the horizon, blind to anything else. The monk crouched in front of pile of wood that he prepared for the evening and pulled out several branches to start a fire. His thought flew away, and he smiled as he thought of his Sango. Will she be here soon? He felt a shiver of emotions at the image of the girl. Oh, Sango…How he could offer her support and heal her wounds, how he could comfort her and hold in his arms. Miroku smiled sweetly at his dreams…

ooOoo

The group rested in silence, waiting for sun to settle down and the heat to cool off. The sunset painted golden images of clouds on the sky and dresses the forest in orange and red tones. The grasshoppers grew louder, and the friends stayed silent, absorbed deeply in their thoughts, listening to the undying melody of the wind.

"What do you want from me, half breed?" A blood-freezing hiss cut through the afternoon warmth, and eyes of everyone turned towards the source of the voice. The silence deepened as the realization fell upon the group. Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha was the first to react as he stood up placing his hand on his sword. "What is that you want, Sesshomaru?" It didn't seem to be a question, but a harsh command.

"Don't fool with me, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed slightly sparkling with anger. "You are the one who had the audacity to call me here, you answer the question why. And better have a good reason for disturbing my peace, half bred, for my patience for you is running thin…" His voice, cold and quiet, pierced the silence again, however, this time followed by Inuyasha's annoyed snarl.

"Fool," the hanoyu's eyes looked straight into Sesshomaru's, "Why would I want you here? I never called upon you." Saying that, Inuyasha raised his chin up and smirked, "I am afraid, dear brother you were misinformed. Now, you may leave, Sesshomaru." Content with his words, the half-demon waited for reaction of his half-brother.

And he didn't wait for long, for this was enough for Sesshomaru to throw his cool composure aside and attack the hanoyu with full speed and abilities that the demon possessed.

Without pulling his Tojikin from it's sheath, he dashed towards his brother and before the hanoyu could react, Sesshomaru hold him in air by his throat while clasping at his right hand to prevent Inuyasha from pulling out his weapon. "You seem to forget your place, half-breed. The fact that I have been tolerating your pitiful existence for long enough does not mean that you can talk to me as if you were equal to this Sesshomaru." His eyes, narrow as they were, sparkled with red light. "And now," he relaxed his fingers around Inuyasha's throat and let his body fall to the ground, "You will explain the meaning of this…" As Inuyasha was trying to put himself together after the fall, Sesshomaru reached into his sash for a piece of parchment.

"What the hell?" Inuyasha looked puzzled as he stared at the neatly folded paper. "What is that?"

"You tell me! It has your name on it, half breed." Sesshomaru unfolded the paper and put it in front of Inuyasha's face. The younger sibling frowned as his eyes scanned the document, "Feh, it was not me Sesshomaru, you should know better-it is not my handwriting!"

"Inuyasha, what is that?" Shippou could not stay silent as his ears stood high up to listen to the weird exchange of words between the brothers.

"A letter asking Sesshomaru to meet me here today to discuss some family matters." Inuyasha read the letter and his face tensed as he thought of who could write that letter and why. "Sesshomaru," he said in a calmer voice, "it was not me who asked you to come here…"

"If not you, that who?"

"Feh, I don't know! I thought that you were the one who keeps everything under control! But apparently you can't even keep pranks and foolish letters under control! Feh!"

"Watch your tongue, Inuyasha!" Sesshomaru didn't like where this conversation was going.

"I will say what I want, and you have no right, you bloody asshole to show up here and accuse me of stuff I didn't do! Just do me a favor and piss off, Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha yelled, his hand back on the handle of his sword.

"Fine, half-breed, you asked for it!"

"O, yeah?" Inuyasha started with a mocking expression on his face, "And what will you do to me, you stupid heartless pimp?"

"Not much, only kill you." Sesshomaru expression didn't change.

"No, dear brother, the one who shall die today is you."

Suddenly Sesshomaru's expression changed, and he turned his head towards the woods. Sniffing the air, he frowned. Blood…A distinct smell of blood crept into the air and roused his senses; Blood so fresh that he could almost sense its warmth on his skin. The coppery aroma of the fresh mortal combat kept insulting his senses, fed his anger and inflamed his rage. Yes, this smell, this delicious sweet aroma was a perfect addition to the simple scenery of their battlefield. The forest, the abominable troupe of humans and demons, and the smell of blood…This was a perfect setting for him and his low-life half-brother to end their foolish quarrels.

ooOoo

"You are standing on your grave, Inuyasha," this time, no distraction could stop him from showing his stupid brother the consequences of toying with Sesshomaru. A low hiss escaped his mouth as he turned his eyes back at the hanoyu. "Today, you'll die." The sword flashed in his hand reflecting the golden rays of sunset as the demon glanced at the hanoyu with disgust. The tip of his sword pointed proudly towards the sky, his posture threatening with strength and radiating anger, his arm risen in the inevitable promise of death…Confident and ready for the attack, Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes searching for signs of fear or anger on his brother's face, but Inuyasha didn't look at him. In fact, his sword was down, and the hanoyu didn't pay the slightest attention to Sesshomaru's words.

Inuyasha stared at the same spot at which Sesshomaru looked a minute ago. But whereas Sesshomaru wore delighted and slightly fascinated look when he looked at the forest, Inuyasha's face reflected a pure horror of his thoughts. "Sango!" he shouted and, ignoring the fight with the demon, sped towards the edge of the clearing.

"What is happening, Inuyasha?" Kagome observed the whole situation unable to figure out what could move Inuyasha to step out from the fight. "Inuyasha!" She repeated as her white-hair companion stood at the edge of the forest with the sword in his hand but deadly still and focused, as if waiting for something.

"Its Sango…" Inuyasha whispered, "I can smell her blood…she is hurt, Kagome." He turned his head towards Kagome, "Kagome, prepare your healing supplies, fast!" with this, Inuyasha ran towards the source of bloody smell, Miroku and Shippou closely behind him leaving angry Sesshomaru forgotten.

Kagome run. A bag with her medical kit and a bottle of clean water bouncing against her legs as she tried to catch up with her friends. Sango, please be all right! She pleaded in her thoughts, "Oh Kami, please don't let her to be hurt," Kagome whispered over and over small chants of hope. But even they died in her throat, while she realized that everyone stopped now. They all looked at a strange figure, which stood shakily under one of the trees.

What was perhaps a second, but what seemed to Kagome like painful eternity, she stared at the covered with dirt and blood persona. Kagome's hart almost stopped as she recognized her dearest friend behind the veil of thick blood and swollen bruises. Sango half crawled-half walked towards them seeking support of trees. The group looked at her as Sango desperately clenched to a trunk of a young breech, her hands leaving a rusty imprint on the surface of the tree. The woman stood quietly for a while trying to gather some strength. She breathed hard and with effort, her other arm clamped on her belly and covered with the fresh blood.

Kagome gasped and cried something as she run to support her friend, but Sango stopped her with a decisive movement of her palm, "Wait…" she breathed harshly.

"Sango, what has happened, what…" Kagome, still in slight shock, tried to comprehend Sango's message.

"Inu"…Sango attempted to straighten up, but a painful yelp escaped her mouth. "An Inu demon." She breathed hard. Each single attempt to talk was agonizing to the degree that her speech was not longer fluent, but broken into single words, mingled with muffed moans.

"Stop that, Sango!" Inuyasha was the first one to run and take his friends in his arms, dragging her towards the center of their camp. "Lie down, first we have to take care of your wounds!" He tried to act cocky and bossy, but even he could see the extent of her injuries. The slayer was half conscious and bleeding heavily; he could only imagine the degree of her internal bleeding and damages as he looked at the girl with worry.

"No, wait" Sango looked at Inuyasha, her eyes half-closed. "Inu demon…he attacked me…there may be more of them…" the words died on her lips as the remaining strength within her body drifted away leaving her unconscious and broken.

Kagome stared at Inuyasha. He looked back at the girl, the limp form of their friend still clutched in his arms. Hanoyu stared in Kagome's eyes, the argument with his brother suddenly so unimportant, forgotten.

"Kagome," He stared in blue haze of her eyes, "Can you help her?" Something in his voice almost made her cry. A hope and plead, as if the perspective of loosing his friend could break his heart. Kagome wasn't sure if the hanoyu's heart could break if Sango would not recover, but she was sure that her own would die, scattered into million pieces of sorrow and sadness.

ooOoo

A/N: Hey, do you like so far?