Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, nor do I own the title Red—that belongs to various authors' youkai!Inuyasha fics—nor the idea of how to name chapters, which I got from Salome Sensei.
A/N: I thank the awesome nightfalcon222 and Tomatosoup inc. again for beta-reading this story we all enjoy so much. :) Also, for those that don't know, an "Inugami" is a dog god in Japanese folklore. In this story, it is plural and the equivalent to human Shinto followers' "Kami" for inu-youkai, and may or may not be the believed origins of the feudal era's current inu-youkai (meaning their ancestors, who are treated as gods by the Japanese).
RED
4: Gold Light
His leg kept fidgeting, springing rapidly while his hands yearned to tuck themselves into his absent suikan sleeves, the only garment left behind at the castle before his battle, for an inner sense of comfort—to feel complete and find some sort of substitute for her not being in reach. His distracted, sunlit gaze focused on the old hag's hands wrapping various bandages around his mate's ankle, taking note of her actions and methods for future treatment—all of which he would be performing. White cloth tied into a knot applied pressure to the abused joint whereas strands of thick wool were used to thicken its binding, better heal the broken bones. She winced often, biting her luscious lips, driving him insane with lust of two kinds—one a helpless desire for her, and the other the urge to shed Kaede's blood for causing his mate harm.
His mate. She was no one else's but his, and what an astonishing feeling that was…
Everything within him craved for her—his bones shook for her atypical touch, his nostrils seeking nothing but her arousing aroma, his skin tingling for the feel of her silky hair. If not for their bond, her body would've been mangled, pale, sickly with blood loss and twisted with a gruesome expression. It occurred to him a few times that yes, he'd saved an outsider and brought her to their lair, undecidedly on the night of his family's absence. He also understood, however, that his demonic tendencies would not deal with his humane resistance, and would remain in charge of her destiny—something which would hopefully be eternal.
He'd never been promised someone before. He knew he could have been one of the lucky few who could distinguish their soul mate from a common whore, but never had he thought…
All mine.
After his youkai called forth two times during her treatment, he squelched any intent hostility in his nerves, focusing on the tiles below instead. The hag wouldn't have had to assist his mate had he not chased and caused her to fall. Of course, the beast within him did not regret tearing her away from the vial world outside their castle walls, but his mate being harmed in the process?
It made him bite down on his lip in shame.
It was unacceptable in each of his nerve, uncalled for and selfish. There was not one word existing to describe the monster eating his insides, stabbing at his stomach and demanding vengeance. Leisurely bruising his heart, the guilt took sadistic satisfaction in his emotional hurt as he came to the painful understanding that harming her was punishment in itself, yet felt as if it was too little a price to pay for cracking such a wondrous jewel.
Wretched, he was, for showing even the slightest of flaws in the presence of mortals, and mortal women at that. All traces of red venom were gone, the blood dried under his claws, his forehead furrowed into a deep frown as he mused the situation laid out before him by the Inugami, those who tied a red string of fate between him and this beautiful stranger.
Red string… His eyes closed, relishing in the thought. What would it feel like to have her in his arms every day for the rest of his nearly immortal life? Though he didn't know her well, would he ever know her at all? I don't even know her fucking name, he realized with a shake of his silver-locked skull.
She'd rarely spoken, too, he noticed; only in her defense, looking for an escape during their journey to the Western Lands, and to Kaede had her mouth parted and released harmonious song. Fire shown in her eyes, despite the slight sloops of her cheekbones, eye sockets, and jaw, all of which made him question where she came from. A blazing aura was contained within her, fading as they blew air on her, restricting her movements. Yes, he realized: she was upset when he held her life in his hands, and not for the usual reasons, either. This human seemed independent and strong, a straw compared to a pearl in mate terms.
Mates were to be submissive. Despite appearances thus far, Inuyasha couldn't be fooled.
She did not love him automatically as most mates did; it shown in her navy orbs as she stared back at him now, eyes bluntly questioning his reasons and her purpose. He could not read her as well as kanji or even comprehend her sighing and looking back to Kaede, whose whispers he paid no mind to. Thus far, he could perceive her behavior to be that of a true soldier, a healed and spirited individual on the inside yet ready to give it their all and never stop. However, Inuyasha felt as if this was not the case, that there was some key detail he was without. Had it occurred while the red moon still hung in the darkening sky, or—?
"Why?"
Her soft voice caressed his ears for the first time, much different than its rougher, brash counterpart, chasing all of his musings away like the troublesome demons they were. His gaze lifted from the tiles to her sincere face radiating with emotions he'd never witnessed before—not on anyone but his mother's own expression, that was. "Why?" he echoed, the word seemingly foreign to his lips. What was she asking of him? he wondered, eyes narrowing as they took in her still ruffled appearance with a torn warrior's kimono, cuts apparent with the garb bare of armor. He grimaced some at the state those mindless humans sent her into battle with, but drifted his attention to her lips, which murmured words he'd almost missed.
"Why did you spare me?" Her voice had dropped a few octaves, as if expecting—what? An outraged cry and twist of the limbs? Growling and removal of the eyeballs and tongue? Blackness to overcome her as he struck her ruthlessly…?
His frown deepened.
Never.
Topaz met sapphire in a sharply cut hold, and from the honest curiosity—need to know—shining through, Inuyasha nearly fell off his cliff of security and authority, almost allowed himself to be subjected into obeying each of her commands, catering to her every whim. For a small moment, as her crystal orbs elevated with stressed fatigue and determined trauma, his muscles nearly escorted her to the bloodshed outside of the youkai haven, almost set her free from the chains bound to him by fate.
Nearly. Almost.
But not quite.
"Why?" He blinked, the rise in her tone evident and most definitely problematic. Her eyes burned with aggravation as she snapped, "Why did you take me away? Huh? Are you heartless or something, because you didn't look bothered even taking young Hojo-san's life!"
He glowered at her, his torso rumbling in warning. Heartless? his mind echoed fragilely, the words carving further into his heart than he ever wished or she intended. "I could care less," he admitted curtly, his demon idly pondering the cause for her outburst. She dared not take chances and step boundaries while she was unaware of their limits.
Yet from the life alight in her eyes, Inuyasha realized she could care less as well.
Scrambling his conscience for ways to calm his mate, help her adjust to her surroundings, he stared back at her fearlessly, making sure his dominance raged within his gaze. Despite his demonic neighbors, he'd learned many manners from his regal mother, a human who'd once defied the laws of mating and time, and did so to this day. "My name"—breathe steadily, ignore her tangible scent—"is Inuyasha, though I think enough of the assholes here have already said it."
She didn't change her frustratingly angered visage.
"Well?" he snapped, his impatience wearing thin as a balding man's hair, easily cut and tugged out of its frame. "You gonna tell me yours or not?"
Azure clouds struck flared lightning at him, colder yet more heated than she had been during the past few moments. "You're holding me captive," she hissed, "and you expect me to give you my name? What in Kami's name makes me so important that you should care?"
Captive? Captive? He inwardly snarled at the thought of keeping her captive. She was his mate, she was home now, and all she could think was that she was forced into being here, as if the castle had emerged from the hells themselves? Why did her implied rejection and rebellion twist that damned knife deeper into his heart, puncturing his very being and leaving him bleeding below her, open to anything she threw at him, and taking it willing because of this enormous guilt for discomfiting her…?
Did she find his suffering enjoyable? Could she not see the impact and pure fury she was unleashing upon his tattered yet conjoined soul? Though he insisted he shouldn't care, that he didn't care, a lone leaf ruffled through the breezes of his mind:
Did she hate him?
The hanyou's eyes widened as he recalled one more detail once again: she was unaware of mating, did not know of its signs most likely, was clueless to her sealed fate the instant she stepped out onto that battlefield. Something lodged in his throat—his heart, maybe, due to the fierce pounding he felt leave his torso—and his fang scraped against some of his gum, wondering, just wondering how someone should tell their not-yet-loved beloved that their prison was their home all along, and that the captor, the hunter, wasn't using or overlooking her…
That in spite of his lack of choice in this matter, he didn't hate her?
"Inuyasha-hiko-sama…"
He turned angry eyes to the flea behind him whose knees buckled from fright and spine stiffened in precaution. Of all times he had to be interrupted as the moment his mate needed his attention most, the time they needed to sort things out from their apparent tangles of curiosity? How bothersome.
Overlooking the tick of Inuyasha's fingers' crave for anguish, Myouga continued unwillingly, "Pardon me, milord, but there seems to be another death within the castle."
