Disclaimer: Don't own.
Warnings: Yaoi. Mpreg. Inucest. Language. And ahead of time, sorry if some of the words are mashed together. The site seems to enjoy shoving my words together when they obviously don't like it. I'm not sure if they've fixed it yet...
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The Years Later
Seventh Year: Bouncing Back
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Inuyasha wandered around aimlessly as he sighed. Something he had been doing much too often for his own liking. Ichiro and Daichi were in the middle of getting tutored and Yasushi had disappeared. Although he didn't know whether to count that as a blessing or a curse. A blessing because then he didn't have to try and hide that stupid hickey which was plainly visible for all to see or end up trying to explain it to him if he did see it. A curse because he was bored as hell and had no one to keep him company or even talk to. This "home" was more like a prison, restricting his every move.
"Ow! Fuck!" cursed the hanyou loudly as he hopped on one foot. "Argh, stupid piece of junk!" Kicking the offending wall which he had stubbed his toe on, he only ended up injuring his poor toe even further.
However, all curses directed at the wall died on his lips when he heard footsteps.
Inuyasha jumped and began panicking as he saw Yasushi coming from around the corner. Eyes darting back and forth for a suitable hiding spot, he threw himself into the nearest room to avoid bumping into the fox youkai. Hands gripping the door knobs and body hunched over the door, he stilled his breathing as he listened for the approaching footsteps and soft voice.
"Inuyasha-san?" called out Yasushi uncertainly.
He closed his eyes, willing to whatever divine entity that may be up there to keep him from opening this door and discovering his hiding spot.
"That's strange…I could have sworn that I heard his voice…"
Shrugging it off, Yasushi continued onward to his destination, only tilting his head to ponder whether he was losing his mind or if he was just being stuck in this building for too long. "Maybe it was just the voice of a spirit of a vengeful soul…" he considered.
Once the soft steps disappeared, he let out the breath he had been holding. Along with the long string of filthy curses which were usually reserved for people whom he hated. Only in this case, it was a wall. He had never known that a stubbed toe would hurt a million times more than getting stabbed by a sword.
"Why the hell does a wall hurt so damn much?" he swore angrily, wanting to go back out there and just beat the wall to a bloody—err cementy pulp.
"What do you think you are doing here?!" came a screeching voice from behind, only with several squawks of indignation.
Inuyasha turned around to find Jaken standing behind him, staff in hand. "I said, what do you think you are doing here you stupid hanyou?!" the toad screamed, outraged. How dare he just barge into his room uninvited and quite unwanted. If it wasn't for Sesshomaru-sama threatening him, he would have skinned that hanyou alive days ago.
"What the hell does it look like I'm doing here? It's called hiding you green bug."
More squawks left his hanging open mouth. "How dare you talk to me in such a way! You no mannered hanyou!"
"Yeah, well I'd rather be a hanyou than a stupid, annoying little green toad-like imp," he fought back, glaring at his brother's henchman. A really poor choice at that. Upon seeing him open his mouth once more, Inuyasha beat him to the punch. "If you say one more thing, I'll make sure that it's you flying out there in the sky with all the little birdies. How about it? A free, one-way ticket to the land below. Cause we both know that there's no way in hell you're going to heaven."
Jaken snapped his mouth shut at that and paled slightly. How could both brothers toss out such harsh threats so easily? Still! He would not be outdone by this one!
"If you do so, Sesshomaru-sama would have your head on a platter in a matter of seconds!" HA! Take THAT you ignorant hanyou!
"I hardly think that he cares enough about you to come after me."
The imp immediately argued back, waving around his staff to emphasis his point, "I am Sesshomaru-sama's most trusted underling! He cares about me more than he cares about a hanyou with tainted blood such as yourself!"
"Yeah, which is why he never hesitates to kill you if you disobey him or annoy him in any way possible. And by the way, I don't give a shit as to whether he cares about me or not," he lied, ignoring that little voice in his head screaming of the pain of unrequited love.
"That-That-That-He never has though!"
"That's cause you always run away and then come back and yip at him like a little lost puppy, begging for his forgiveness!"
"I do not do such a thing!"
"Yeah you do!"
"No I don't!"
"Yeah you do!"
"No I don't!"
"Yeah you do!"
"No I don't!"
"No you don't!"
"Yes I do—WAIT!" cried out Jaken, too confused to keep up with the argument any longer.
Inuyasha smirked smugly at tricking the toad into admitting it. However, the smirk dropped and was wiped clean at the next indignant squawk.
"Well, at least it is better than being brought into this castle, other than because of Sesshomaru-sama's generosity, because he wanted to make sure that no one would ever know of this secret of his. Sesshomaru-sama is going to take back his children from your filthy reaches and then have you live in hiding for the rest of your life while he raises the children with a much more respectable youkai partner—be they female or male!" He gave a firm nod to back up his accidentally slipped up information. "So that even a dumb hanyou such as yourself can understand, I will even say it in simpler terms. Your children—no, I should say Sesshomaru-sama's children, for you have no right to be a parent—will be raised by Sesshomaru-sama himself along with who ever he chooses to be his mate. Get it now hanyou? You are only here to be hidden away for the rest of your life."
Realizing that there was nothing but silence on the other's side, Jaken chortled amusedly, "Please do not tell me that you actually thought that Sesshomaru-sama would care for you and end up taking you on as his mate!"
The continued silence answered his question.
Jaken collapsed onto the floor as he began rolling around in laughter. "You really—ahahah—You truly believed that! You really are nothing but a stupid hanyou!! Like Sesshomaru-sama would really lower himself to mate with a hanyou!! You are out of your mind!!"
Trying to collect some of his crumbled pride, he, surprisingly, managed to mutter, "Fuck off."
Wiping away the tears induced from the hysterical laughter, Jaken sauntered out, still laughing uproariously.
Too stunned to even move, Inuyasha could do nothing but stand there, staring at the ground with wide gold eyes. He felt suffocated in the room as though the noose of a rope was wrapped around his neck, constricting with every movement his made, no matter how little or unnoticeable. And soon, the words began sinking in. Deeply.
Crumpling into a heap onto the floor, the hanyou leaned against the wall for support, too disoriented to continue standing up. His mind was whirling in a murky haze as he tried to focus his eyes on one spot on the ground. When it didn't work, he shook his head in hopes that the heavily settled blanket of fog would clear from his mind. It did nothing but agitate the mist, causing it to stir and thicken.
The inu youkai could feel a wet sensation pressing against his eyes and did not even bother to rub it away, too dazed. How deluded had he been? To so foolishly cling onto some amount of wish…some amount of fantasy hope when he had been brought here. He should have known better. Should have expected—no known that Sesshomaru bringing him here meant nothing; benefited no one but only himself. How stupid had he been?
No, rather, how stupid was he right now? Sitting here on the floor, immobile and about ready to bawl his eyes out like a child rather than going to face the asshole determined to ruin his life; steal his children from him! Had he really allowed himself to be reduced to this…this pathetic loser? This shameful touchy-feely…woman who turned on the waterworks at every single sentence?
Collecting himself, he wiped away the tears blurring his vision with angry swipes. He was not going to be reduced to this because of a bastard taiyoukai who had a stick up his ass the size of a freaking Goshinboku tree. He was sick of what he had slowly deteriorated into. In front of his own children no less! But what he was most disappointed about was tolerating himself to be so pitiful and feeble. Well, not anymore. Inuyasha was through with playing the sobbing woman—the Kagome of his dysfunctional group! He was going to go reclaim his dignity as a guy dammit!
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"Here are all the documents that we could find relating to this Yasushi character," grunted out Jaken with difficulty as he struggled to place all the files on the desk just a wee bit too high for him. All his earlier laughter was gone now and replaced with a sense of responsibility…and desperate yearning for a chair. His feet and arms were killing him!
Grabbing the stack with ease, Sesshomaru flipped through the first file.
"It appears…huff…that this Yasushi worked here – huff – a few years ago…six or seven to be exact. He was the most respected and finest healer and, surprisingly, he was also a valued and wise advisor on your council," listed off the toad, beady eyes wide in his own astonishment.
He set down the scroll and arched an eyebrow. "Such prestigious status. Do you mind explaining, Jaken, why I was not informed of his absence?"
"Uh that is Sesshomaru-sama…he left the castle one day, saying that he was in search of a rare herb. He was never seen after that again according to this report. I think that he may have run Sesshomaru-sama! A traitor!"
"Hardly. What would I be running from?"
Both youkai glanced up to see the fox in question standing at the doorway, leaning against the frame with a frown. "The door was opened so I let myself in. Hope you don't mind. And if you wanted to know about my past, all you had to do was ask," he remarked sarcastically, crossing his arms. "No need to go digging about without asking."
"As I suspected. That 'politeness' you show to the hanyou is merely a façade," Sesshomaru stated easily. Jaken was stuttering in the background, "How did he—Without being noticed?! Oh hoho what am I saying! Sesshomaru-sama must have noticed him! Yes!"
The fox shrugged his shoulders as he said with a crooked smirk, "I prefer… 'side of that which no one else gets the privilege of seeing'. But you can call it whatever you want. It doesn't matter to me, after all, what a spoiledtaiyoukai says."
"How dare you speak to Sesshomarau-sama lik—"
"Jaken. Leave us now."
The toad, shocked, managed to give a brief bow before running out, throwing a nasty glare to the other presence.
Sesshomaru redirected his attention to the fox and spoke evenly, "Do you mind explaining how you found yourself in the company of my younger sibling and his children." The question was stated, never asked, however he never flinched or faltered for even a second.
"Does it matter? I just happened to fall upon them. That's all."
"I see you are still fond of your useless avoidance riddles and manner," recollected the taiyoukai, sitting back in his chair. He seemed at ease unlike the earlier, brief encounters they had beforehand. Yasushi relaxed as well, sitting in a chair in front of his desk.
"It bothers you, doesn't it? That's why you're asking."
The inu youkai brushed away the prodding question and asked monotone, "What would be your reason for leaving? Your rankings were quite high while you resided here."
"Aw, did ya miss me?"
There was nothing but a glare in return. Yasushi let out a loud, exasperated sigh as he raked his fingers through hair. "Geez, that again? Don't tell me the council members are still poking around that matter? I mean, c'mon. It's been already been three months since I left. They should've already covered it up by now."
"They complained endlessly about losing a valuable asset and ally."
"Those old fools," muttered the fox in annoyance. "All they can think about is their positions and money. That's one of the reasons why I left. They were always fussing and plotting ways to keep their positions and wealth. Old bags."
With a blank stare, he inquired once more, "Tell me why you decided to run off or else I will have you imprisoned."
"Oooh, bringing out the punishment now aren't we?" Yasushi joked, holding up his hands in a mocking gesture, "Now, now. We can talk this out like good little boys and girls."
"Speaknow. What reason would you have to disappear?"
Grimacing, he rolled his amethyst hued eyes at the taiyoukai's demand. "Alright, alright. Fine. Those old bags otherwise known as the council members…they're corrupted to the core. It'd be best if you just got rid of them now before they cause you trouble in the future."
"That does not answer anything."
"Geez, patience is a virtue—one, I see, you still lack and are in serious need," he chided, with a scowl before continuing, "Now as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, those stupid old fools were scheming against me. To get rid of me to be more specific. They thought that I was too young and inexperienced—and uncorrupted. They tried countless times to get me to join them in their own self-indulgences but I refused, naturally. Anyways, those morons finally figured out that it was impossible to try and get me to join the 'dark side' and turned to assassinating me." He paused to recollect his memories.
"The first attempt was when I was trying to heal one of them. The second attempt…oh yes. It took place during a feast. They poisoned my drink only to find out that it wasn't actually mine. And after the third attempt, I was the one who ended up becoming fed up and just left on the ruse that I was out looking for a special healing herb," he finished with an amused look.
Impassively, Sesshomaru retorted with a raised brow, "It never occurred to you to inform me of this insubordination inside of my own home?"
"Not really. What would be the point? Would telling you of the bared lions fangs and claws shake you even the slightest? Besides, I solved the problem and met someone worth my interest."
"You speak of the hanyou I presume."
Yasushi smirked in an all-knowing fashion as he poked, "Ah-ha. So it does bother you. The fact that your little brother has piqued my interest. Hm, I always knew that you weren't capable of being asexual, what with all the youkai throwing themselves at you. But it certainly does explain a lot of things. Such as why you never so much as evenflinched when all those women threw themselves at you. Or the men actually now that I think back."
"Do not think that just because we have known each other for a long while that I will hesitate to beat you within an inch of your life," warned Sesshomaru.
He waved away the threat, unaffected, and corrected the erring taiyoukai, "A long while is hardly the correct term to use to express how long we've known each other. And stop changing the subject. I've noticed that habit of yours hasn't died."
With a deadpanned stare, the inu youkai answered just as detachedly, to prove a point, "It does not bother me."
He shrugged. "If you say so."
"What did you hope to accomplish by coming back here? The council members will undoubtedly be informed of your arrival and they will realize that I have every intention to restore all your previous positions."
Yasushi shook his head. "Don't. I didn't come back because I wanted to have my status restored. I only came because Inuyasha asked me to. Trust me, I had no intentions of ever stepping foot back in here. And since you were always roaming around, I figured that one day, we would eventually meet each other. So without you around, there was really no need for me to come back here. But when Inuyasha asked me to accompany him here…I found a reason to come back."
There was silence on the taiyoukai's end as he chewed over all he had been told.
"Tell me something Sesshomaru. Which is it that bothers you? Which is it that makes you overcome with a speechless jealousy? Seeing how interested I am in him? Or seeing how he's interested in me?" he asked wily, a corner of his lip quirked upward into a mischievous grin.
After a short pause, he questioned, "Can you never speak seriously? Must you always hide it behind your own childish amusement?"
The smirk faltered. "I'm not hiding anything," he insisted, pouting.
"Hmph. To think that you are the wisest of my healers and the advisor holding the second-highest position on my council is truly mind shattering," Sesshomaru challenged, letting the fox off the hook. Just this once.
Yasushi shrugged as he said with a cocky grin, relieving the other of answering his question as well, "What can I say? I'm a people pleaser." An eyebrow raised. "NOT LIKE THAT! You pervert!"
The corner of his lips turning upward into a ghost of a smirk, the older inu youkai countered, "The thought never even crossed my mind."
"I'm sure it didn't. And Jaken's not an annoying ass," he retorted, sarcastic.
Sesshomaru caught himself just in time before releasing a tiny chuckle at that one. Instead, he changed the subject, "I'm assuming that those two tails are false."
"Huh? Oh these? Yeah. I've always been a sucker for cute, fluffy animals with tails. So naturally, I jumped at the chance to have one of my own—only it's two in this case," he answered nonchalantly. "After all, what's better than one tail? Two!"
The taiyoukai let a small, soft chuckle slip by as his lips adopted an amused smirk. Just a tiny upward lifting of the corners of his mouth, but still a smirk nonetheless.
"Ah! Right there!"
Sesshomaru pinned another blank stare at the fox who was currently pointing a finger at him and grinning as though he had just found out that pigs could indeed fly. And drop bags filled with food. A never exhausting supply at that. The nonexistent smirk had disappeared.
"You'refinally loosening up! I thought that all my hard work had gone down the drain when I first saw you! But I can see that I was wrong," Yasushi chirped happily, jumping out of his chair.
All stoicism returned in an instant causing the other to stick out his lower lip in a pout. "If I had said something like that before, you would hav—"
The sound of heavy footsteps rapidly approaching cut him off.
"Oh darn. Well, it looks like I have to go before someone finds out," stated Yasushi with a smile. And with a quick wave, he disappeared through the connecting door just as the front doors burst open, revealing a raged hanyou hell bent on sucker punching a certain taiyoukai a few million times.
"What the fuck was that toad blabbing about?!" asked Inuyasha furiously as he barged into the older youkai's study. Seeing the impassive eyes drifting over to him, which told him that he had captured the other's attention, he elaborated, "What the fuck does he mean that you're going to take Ichiro and Daichi from me and lock me up in some random ass tower and pretend like I don't exist?!"
Regarding his presence briefly, Sesshomaru spoke, "What are you ranting on about, wasting my time."
"That fucking toad of yours said that you're going to raise Ichiro and Daichi by yourself while you stick me in a tower and pretend like I was never born!!" he yelled, livid by his calmness. His calm aura was addicting dammit.
"If you wish to believe Jaken's useless ramblings, go ahead. However, to not bother me with such trivial matters such as this one. I have spoken no words which cover any of those subjects which you spoke of," replied the taiyoukai tonelessly. He was in no mood to deal with him at the moment.
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "So what you're saying is that…Jaken just likes to say a bunch of bullshit that isn't true."
"That would be the vulgar, dumbed down version."
Golden eyes widened. "That fucking piece of—! I'm going to murder him!!" he cursed, before disappearing and leaving the room to fall silent once more.
Sesshomaru looked up from his desk, staring at the door through which Inuyasha had just exited through. The vibrant golden hues slowly trailed a path to the door which Yasushi had used for his 'escape'. They lingered on the elegant wooden plank a moment longer.
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"Ah, Inuyasha-san! Where have you been?" queried a polite, but curious fox youkai. All his earlier playfulness and lightheartedness had disappeared and were replaced with his usual courteous smile. "I've tried looking for you, but to no avail. It seemed like you had disappeared."
"Ya-Ya-Yasushi-san?!" came out the panicked yelp. Inuyasha, who had been so engrossed in his hunt to find the green imp to beat him into a bloody death, neglected to watch out for the oncoming youkai. A hand lifted up to cover the hickey on his neck, involuntarily.
The amethyst hues followed the hand, inquisitively. "Is there something wrong with your neck Inuyasha-san?"
"What? No! Why would you think that?"
"Well…you're holding onto your neck like you're trying to cover something," he pointed out. Seeing the stuttering hanyou, Yasushi gently took the hanyou's arm and pried it away from the neck. He frowned slightly at the sight he was greeted with. Eyebrows furrowed in thought. And at the light sensation of his fingertips running over the raw skin, Inuyasha shivered uncontrollably.
"Uh Yasushi-san, this isn't…what it looks like. I mean, it is but not like – that," excused Inuyasha lamely.
The frown marring his face was swapped with another polite smile. "I take it that things are going well?"
Inuyasha scratched the back of his head, backing a step away. He wondered if 'you're way off the mark' would be a good start to begin explaining how he had acquired this hickey. "There's nothing to go well," indicated the hanyou, hiding the hickey underneath a hand once again.
"Ah, but this love bite seems to speak differently."
The inu youkai frowned. Right now, it sounded as though Yasushi was cheering him on with his impractical relationship with his brother. Hadn't he said something close to a confession just yesterday though?
"Keh, I'm not lying. There's nothing to go well and this isn't a love bite. I can assure you of that. This is more of a 'I have the power to do whatever the hell I please' reminder," he muttered bitterly, rubbing the rough, jagged patch of skin.
Yasushi hid a grin as he mentioned, "But, he wouldn't give you such an interesting choice of a reminder if he didn't think that you may have stepped out of line causing envy to rake her claws through him. Plus, why would he even need to give you a reminder if there's nothing stirring between the two of you."
He…He had a point. But what would Sesshomaru have gotten jealous over? No, wait…could he even become jealous?! And over him???
"Wait…so…" he slowly pieced together, "Is that what your sudden, kinda weird confession was about yesterday?"
The fox youkai grinned. "It was…something along those lines. I'm sorry to have tricked you though. I was only trying to help prove a point."
While Inuyasha would admit feeling a twinge of pain, he could feel a larger, much cooler wave of relief washing over him. However, it was quickly wiped away and replaced as a giddy joy crashed down on him along with a triumphantly devious smirk. The gears of his mind began turning as he started to plan how to use this to his own benefit.
So, this mark was more of a show of a scary possessiveness and jealousy, eh?
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A/N: And there you have it! Kinda messy but…meh, this was what I could scrounge up while having writer's block kicking me in the ass –o–; For this chapter, Inuyasha wasn't really the main focus, despite being the main character, but oh well!
Thank you Silvermane1, wolfluv, midnightsweet, Shadow Vampira, inuyashas honey, EvilAngelofHeavenandHell, Vexed Wench, SoSickOfNyQuil, Kitora, Angel-eyes56, and ying9 for reviewing!! You guys are the best inspiration an authoress could have! And thank you to everyone who added this story to their favorites/alerts list!!
And special thanks go out to inuyashas honey and EvilAngelofHeavenandHell!inuyashas honey, thank you for the advice and I'll keep it in mind! If I ever need someone to help proof, I hope that I turn to you!. :3 And while I loved everyone's review, and they all helped me to beat away writer's block, EvilAngelofHeavenandHell, once again, amazingly long and entertaining review!!. :D It gave me an extra boost and it was just awesome!! I really loved it!. :333 Can't wait for the next one!
In answer to your question wolfluv, Sesshomaru never marked Inuyasha and that mark from the chapter before was just a hickey (sadly XD)
Ah, the year's coming to an end. I hope you guys have all had an amazingly awesome year and made many memories to carry with you throughout the coming years!. :3 Cause 2007 has come to a close and there's no going back! So, let's all welcome 2008 without any lingering regrets guys!!
.: Happy New Years!!. :. :waves and throws around confetti:
