Ten
Inuyasha had stayed up all night, uncomfortable with the pups being out of his sight even though he could clearly smell them, hear their low voices, not even a half mile away from camp. So as Kagome had crawled onto her pallet, curling toward the warmth of the fire, Inuyasha had taken his place at her back, arms and legs crossed on the cold ground, ears high and on alert against anything that went bump in the night. He'd been tense, his body wound tightly and ready to spring into a run at any moment should the boys get themselves into trouble.
He had known that the pups were safe, that there wasn't a creature around that would challenge his agitated youki. It crackled and pulsed all throughout the night, anxious to ensure the safety of its kin. The only disturbance had been when he'd felt his brother's youki nearby, but it'd faded in less than a minute. Inuyasha figured that the inu youkai had been patrolling-these were his lands after all. Inuyasha's youkai urged him to go check on the pups, just in case, but his human side knew that he was being paranoid and that the boys needed this time, that the fact that Shippou had not ran crying back to camp meant that Toshiro had allowed the other boy to stay, to share a very vulnerable part of himself with another. That was monumental in and of itself. Inuyasha had never shared his human night with anyone but his mother, not even with Kikyo, until of course Kagome came along.
He sighed.
He knew he'd been an ass to her, so he was grateful that Kagome hadn't shooed him away from her side when she'd crawled into her blankets the night before. He wouldn't have gone anyway, but still he was relieved. Saved him from another argument.
It was just something about seeing her touch his brother so familiarly . . . it still made him grind his teeth. She should not have touched him that way, shouldn't have touched him at all. She didn't belong to him. He was the only one she was supposed to touch so comfortably, but Inuyasha was too much of a coward to stake his claim. It was his own fault, and it was his own uncertainty that kept him from marking her. He was sure his brother knew that she was his, he was sure that the inu youkai would never disrespect him that way by trying anything . . . But still. Seeing them touch was enough to send hiz youkai on a rampage. He knew he was unjustified in his anger, that it was unreasonable, but that didn't stop him from being an ass.
He sighed again as he caught the small pig he'd been hunting, killing it in one clean swipe. He gutted and cleaned robotically as the sun rose, in a hurry to bring breakfast back to camp so that he could be there when his pups got back.
He froze, claws raised over the pig carcass.
When had he started to think of the brats as his own? He vaguely remembered when his youkai had surfaced the day before, when that feral part of him had claimed the pups as its own to defend. He supposed they were his in a sense; he fed them, and protected them, and made sure they were clothed . . . But was he ready to take on the responsibility of two pups? Could he? . . . Hadn't he already been doing that? For the past five years he'd taken care of Shippou, he'd taught him right from wrong, taught the runt to read and write, taught him to respect those who deserved respect, to defend those who couldn't defend themselves. For the past month he'd tried to do the same with Toshiro.
He never thought he would be a father-he'd never thought he'd live long enough to even entertain the idea. He'd spent a large part of his life running from youkai, fighting off those who wanted to kill him simply because he was born. He had always assumed that he'd be dead before he was ever given the chance to find a mate and settle down. He never allowed himself to imagine having pups of his own, a family of his own.
He did so as he walked back to camp, his kill thrown over his shoulder. In his mind's eye he saw Kagome, seated by their hut's fire, a hand resting gently on her destinded belly. She smiled lovingly at the two boys seated across from her, one with black puppy ears held high, the other with a red tail flicking happily. The image warmed his chest.
After Mother died he hadn't found anything truly worth living for, hadn't had anything worth protecting until Kikyo. Until Kagome he hadn't cared about taking risks in his fights, never cared about making it back home. He hadn't even had a home. Until Shippou -and now Toshiro- he had never felt the protectiveness that encompassed him now. He worried for the kit, he worried for the hanyou pup they'd found. What would happen if he was finally struck down? Who would teach the pups how to fight, how to hunt, how to protect themselves and those they loved? He was responsible for the them, it was his job to make sure he stuck around to ensure they grew up to be the men they were meant to be. He felt the weight of this new responsibility settle heavily on his shoulders.
He wouldn't fail them.
He broke through the tree line and was brought up short by what he saw; Kagome, kneeling by the remains of the fire, smirking down at the two boys who sat attentively in front of her as she explained how to pronounce a word in the children's book she held in her hands. It was almost like his daydream, except where his pup should have been growing, her stomach was flat and toned beneath the bulk of her pink pull over. The instinct to claim her assaulted him again as she responded sweetly to something Shippou said. Inuyasha suddenly wanted more than anything to grab her up and run off to where no one could find them, to mark her as his own.
Her soft brown eyes met his wide ones over the children's heads, and she smiled hesitantly at him. He stared back, the gold in his eyes smoldering and begging at the same time, begging her to forgive his idiotic outburst from the day before, begging her to understand that he needed her, begging her not to give up on him. She nodded minutely and he knew he was more or less understood, he knew that if anything else he was forgiven.
He grunted a good morning to the monk and taijia who came from the opposite side of the clearing, arms full of firewood and faces blazing. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, trying his hardest not to imagine what they could have been doing out in the woods for his best friend to have that stupid grin on his face.
"It's a good morning indeed." The lech hummed, placing his wood next to the pit before taking the rest from his still blushing wife.
Inuyasha scoffed. "Pervert."
He made it to the trio seated in the grass just as Kagome put the children's book down, he hunkered down beside her as she ended her lesson with the pups.
"That's all the for now, boys." She smiled when Toshiro snatched the book up from its place in the dirt. "We'll be heading into the village for our job today, so we won't be having another reading lesson until it's over."
Shippou nodded, used to the routine. Toshiro still stared down at the book in his hands, a look of intense concentration on his round face.
"Can Shippou help me until breakfast is finished? I want to be able to get through this book on my own." He turned dark golden eyes up to Kagome. "Please?"
Kagome blinked at him. "S-sure. If Shippou wouldn't mind . . .?"
She looked to the kit, who gave a fanged smile and bumped his shoulder with the taller boy's beside him.
"I don't mind! You've been doing really well, nii-san. We can go over it during our walk to the village too."
The smaller hanyou blushed but said nothing, nodding to the kit before they both rose to settle again a little whiles away. Inuyasha stared wide eyes at the two boys, at how comfortable they seemed with one another. Shippou sat crossed legged in front of the hanyou, holding the book up as Kagome had, a comically serious look on his face as he began at the beginning again. Toshiro crossed his legs and placed his clawed hands to rest on them, his brows furrowed and eyes focused. They paid no mind to the gaping adults.
"Did I just hear Shippou call him-?"
"Yeah." Kagome cut Sango off, her eyes watering. "Yeah, you did."
Inuyasha smirked at the pups, the warm feeling returning to his chest. His pups. He flicked his gaze to the still smiling woman beside him-his mate. His family. The jewel winked at him and he bit back a growl. Not his, not yet. He shoved his kill into Kagome's hands.
"Get cookin', wench." He huffed before he rose himself and bounded into the tree nearest the boys to watch them.
The miko rolled her eyes, a small laugh in her voice. "Whatever, Dog-boy."
0:0:0:0:0:
"No, but good try. 'H' is silent in rhyme, so you don't have to pronounce it."
Toshiro nodded, committing the information to memory. "Like in the word 'honest'."
"Exactly!" Shippou beamed.
They'd been going over the story page by page repeatedly ever since they'd left the campsite this morning. Shippou was a surprisingly good teacher, Toshiro thought. He was patient. His often flippant mood mellowed during his role as instructor, taking his job to aid his chosen brother seriously. And he never got offended when Toshiro's frustration got the better of him. He let the hanyou figure things out on his own, lending a hand when needed but never being overbearing. Toshiro appreciated it immensely. He knew he wasn't the easiest student, but Shippou and the miko never got upset with him. Neither they nor Inuyasha belittled him for not knowing the things someone his age ought to know, they didn't mock him when he made mistakes.
He was suddenly flashed back to a cold, dark room.
The tatters of his shirt stuck to him like a second skin, his cheek swollen from when he'd been back handed across the room. His ear wept red into his dirty hair familiarly, dripping down his face to mix with the blood flowing from the cuts along his bird like chest.
He panted, recovering from the blow to the head he'd gotten for crying out. His arms shook from holding up his weight, but he refused to collapse. Not yet-there was something he wanted. Something he needed to ask. He knew that he shouldn't, he knew that he was too stupid for it, that he wouldn't understand anything, but still he wanted it. He knew that he'd be punished for asking, but still he had to. He turned dull eyes to the remaining youkai in his room-the others had gone about their day after dishing out their daily dose of torture.
"Can I have a book?" He mumbled, downcasting his eyes quickly when the man turned to look back at him.
"What on earth do you want a book for?" The inu youkai chuckled, rubbing his red stained knuckles on his haori carelessly. "You can't even read."
"I-I'd like to learn." His voice was small, he kept his eyes on the boots of the figure who towered over him. "Other children can read."
The black boots marched up to where he kneeled, still shaking on his hands and knees. Toshiro winced when a sharp clawed hand grasped at his face, pushing into his bruises as he was forced to meet the eyes of his tormentor. The inu youkai glared scornful golden eyes at him, his top lip curled in disgust. Strands of his dark brown hair had escaped his low ponytail, sticking to the green youkai markings on his face with sweat. When Toshiro whimpered the claws on his cheeks pressed in harder, breaking skin and making the ever present smell of blood in the room all the more potent.
"You are not other children." Orochi sneered, his breath hot on the small hanyou's face. "You are barely even a person. You are a maggot. A worthless maggot, who only breathes because Lady Katsumi wills it so. Maggots do not need to know how to read. They need only to be parasites, to gorge themselves off of the backs of others."
Toshiro was tossed dismissively onto his dirty blanket, the only thing in his small room not soaked completely in his blood. He cowered into it as Orochi approached him again, placing a booted foot firmly on one of his hands. The armored inu youkai pressed his weight down and smirked when he heard the just healed bones in Toshiro's hand snap under him. Toshiro bit down into his lip, willing himself not to cry out, knowing that he'd be beaten all over again if he did.
"Do not ask for such a silly thing." Orochi raised his foot, looking smug. "Remember your place. If this happens again I'll be sure to make Lady Katsumi aware, we both know she can do much worse that I."
"Yes, sir." Toshiro mumbled, bringing his broken hand to his chest and casting his eyes down respectfully.
"Good maggot." The inu youkai cooed mockingly, making his way out into the lit hall.
Toshiro exhaled shakily when the door slammed so hard the small lantern on the wall fell, shattering into little pieces and plunging him into darkness. He dug under the grey, hole filled blanket beneath him with his uninjured hand, pulling the piece of parchment no larger than his palm from where it was hidden. Luckily there was no blood on it. He set the small painting carefully beside him as he curled on his side, staring at the beautiful woman with the crimson hair like he did every night. He closed his eyes and pretended he was anywhere else. He pretended that his mother was alive, that he would one day escape from this hell, that there was more to life than beatings and blood. All of these things, of course, were untrue.
"Are you listening, big brother?"
Toshiro blinked, momentarily surprised when he found himself under a bright sun instead of a cracked ceiling.
"Sorry . . . " He mumbled, scratching his cut ear as he tried to shake the memory away. "I'm listening now."
Instead of continuing with the next line of the story, Shippou tilted his head at the other boy. "You ok? You're lookin kinda pale."
"Tch. I'm fine."
"You sure?" Shippou looked behind them to the miko and Inuyasha. "Kagome has medicine in her bag. It's gross, but it helps if you're stomach is u-"
"I said I'm fine, Shippou." Toshiro said a little harder than he intended.
Guilt washed over him at the flash of hurt in the jade eyes of the smaller boy. He needed to work on being nicer to the kit, he was supposed to be his older brother now, not a jerk.
"I'm sorry, kitsune." Toshiro sighed. "I just got caught up in my head again."
Shippou nodded understandably. But he didn't understand, Toshiro thought, no one did. No one ever would. He pushed the memory away again, determined not to let his past life spoil his new one. He wasn't that person anymore, he never wanted to be that person again. Before he could tell the shorter boy to continue his lesson something small and sharp pricked Toshiro's neck, causing him to slap against the skin there in irritation.
"What the hell?"
He looked at the palm of his hand where a small flea youkai with grey hair was flattened. The little youkai puffed back to it's normal size, grinning up at the hanyou and waving two of it's arms.
"Salutations." It said.
"Myouga," Shippou rolled his eyes. "Did you have to stick him?"
"You know this thing?" Toshiro held the little youkai between two fingers, flexing them and ignoring when the flea squeaked in protest. "Can I kill it?"
"No! Please don't!" The flea cried, little drops of sweat forming on the top of his bald head. "I was merely saying hello!"
"By sucking my blood?" Toshiro raised a black brow, flexing his fingers again. "That's rude."
"In my defence, you are rather tasty . . ."
"Oi! What's going on?"
Inuyasha sauntered up to where the boys had stopped, his arms folded into the sleeves of his haori. The rest of the pack followed suit until Shippou and Toshiro were surrounded by the adults, the still squirming flea held tightly in the young hanyou's grip.
"This thing bit me." Toshiro held the old youkai out for Inuyasha to inspect.
"Lord Inuyasha! Save me!"
"Keh! You should learn to keep your dirty stinger to yourself." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "You're lucky the pup didn't squash you."
"I could not help myself!" Myouga wailed. "He looked so appetizing! And his blood, my Lord! I've never tasted anything like it! It's so-"
Toshiro flicked the flea into a nearby pile of snow, a dismissing, "Tch." leaving him as he did.
"Serves you right." Shippou smirked.
Kagome giggled into her hand as Inuyasha plucked the grumbling little youkai out of the snow, settling into a squat and plopping the saturated youkai into the palm of his hand.
"Was there something you wanted, Myouga? Besides to irritate Toshiro."
"Can I kill him?" Toshiro asked again, his eyes trained on the trembling flea youkai with laser focus.
"He's our friend, pest. We don't kill our friends." Inuyasha reached over to flick Toshiro's nose with the index finger of his free hand. "No matter how annoying."
Toshiro crossed his eyes, looking down at the tip of his nose with a disgruntled frown. His ears folded back against his head against his will. His cheeks flamed. He didn't know why, but that poke at his nose bothered him more than ten thumps to the head. He felt scolded, as if he'd been punished. Why did he suddenly feel . . . Ashamed? Why did he feel like he wanted to-to cry? That was ridiculous. It made no sense. He would not cry because of a stupid pluck to the nose . . . Yet still he felt he wanted to. Toshiro forced back the unreasonable stinging in his eyes when he heard Inuyasha speak again.
"Why are you here, Myouga?"
The flea bounced anxiously. "To warn you, my Lord!"
"About?" Inuyasha growled impatiently. "We don't have time for a guessing game, we've gotta get to the village!"
"This is about the village, sire! I have come to learn the nature of the youkai causing trouble. They are hyenas."
"Hyenas?" Miroku repeated, taking a step closer.
The flea nodded his shining head. "Yes. It appears that a clan of hyenas has migrated to the Western Lands in search of new prey. They stirred up quite a bit of trouble in the East, attacking human villages in attempts to kidnap their young before being driven out by Kouga and his pack." Inuyasha growled at the mention of the wolf. "Their alpha is a ruthless female by the name of Leiko."
"Why the fixation with human children?" Sango asked, her arms crossed under her chest, her face hard.
"It is said that she likes to collect them in large quantity, sometimes keeping them for days before she devours them." Myouga said grimly. "She feasts on the young ones and leaves the scraps to her subordinates to fight over. She is a cold and deadly youkai. She is rumored to have even killed her own cubs, along with her mate."
"When was the last attack on the village?" Sango asked, all business.
"Approximately four days ago." Myouga said. "She sends out her clan to attack at night, they bring the victims to her lair. It is rare that she shows herself, she relies on her men to do her dirty work."
"How long does Leiko usually keep the children before she hurts them?" Kagome's eyes widened fearfully.
"I've heard that she keeps them alive up to five days."
Kagome gasped, a fire igniting in her brown eyes. "We may still have a chance, we don't have much time. We have to stop her!"
"We will." Inuyasha rose from his crouch, his free hand closing around Tetsuaiga's hilt. He dropped the little youkai on his shoulder, where he he sat with his legs crossed. "She ain't gonna live much longer to hurt anyone else."
Everyone nodded fierce agreements, Toshiro along with the rest of the pack. His stomach turned in revulsion at the thought of someone preying on unsuspecting, innocent children. Toshiro had been that child. And he had been told that he deserved it. Had been taught that the feeble ought to be prey, that their weakness deemed them no better than dirt, that it was the duty of the strong and able to torment those who could not defend themselves. A month with Inuyasha and his pack and Toshiro knew that everything he'd been taught was a lie. Orochi's twisted grin flashed in his mind's eye and he felt his fury rise all the more.
The pack started moving again, walking quickly through the foliage with newfound purpose. The adults talked battle strategy while Toshiro fumed over how stupid he'd been to believe Katsumi all those years.
"Myouga, where are they holding up? I know you know." Inuyasha said eventually, everyone struggling to keep up with his long legged strides.
The flea gasped the silver hair beside him to keep from falling off. "I actually don't know, my Lord. That was the bit of information I was unable to acquire. I know only that their base is to the North of the current village they have been harassing."
"Fat lot of use you are."
"Such disrespect! I'll have you know that I worked my thorax off for the information I was able to get!"
"Keh."
They reached the village in record time, the sun still in the sky when it came into view. Tired looking women worked in the rice fields, sending wary looks their way as they walked along the long road to the village. Whispers followed them all the way to the it's center.
A crowd had formed, women pushing frightened children behind their backs, hard faced men standing in front them. Toshiro felt unease rise in him. Too many unfamiliar faces, too much tension, too many people glaring at them. Children pointed at his ears behind their mothers, whispering to one another. He bared his teeth reflexively, and then struggled to calm himself when he saw that the rest of Inuyasha's pack were relaxed and stoic. Inuyasha stood at the head of the pack, the miko at his side. The monk and taijia flanked them, Shippou and himself standing in between the two pairs protectively.
A short, grey haired man made a noise in the back of his throat and the humans quieted. They parted their crowd, making a path for the old, frail man. The wrinkles in his forehead weighed down his eyes, he held himself up by an old walking stick.
When he stopped in front of Inuyasha and Kagome he bowed low.
"You must be our saviors." He said in a gravely voice. "Please excuse my people's suspicion, we have suffered many nights at the hands of strangers."
"We understand. We mean you and your people no harm, I assure you." The miko bowed in return, her voice taking on a soft tone that Toshiro found oddly comforting.
The old man nodded. "I am the headman of this village, Futoshi."
The rest of the pack murmured hellos, all except Inuyasha who stared critical eyes around the village. Toshiro didn't speak, because Inuyasha hadn't.
"My granddaughter is among the the children that were captured four days past." The elder continued, his voice raw. "My daughter is stricken with grief and will not come from her bedchamber. She has begun mourning already, but I believe that Emiko still lives. Please, return them to us."
The villagers gathered around the headman murmured quiet pleas moments before men, women, and children bowed low to them. When they rose they all looked to the pack with wide, hopeful eyes. Toshiro felt uncomfortable with the attention, his ears flicking and face heating. He glanced at Inuyasha and saw that he was more or less unfazed by the recognition, and worked to school his own features into one of focus as well when his mentor spoke up.
"Old man," The larger hanyou said. "If we're going to get them back we have to move now. Do you know where the youkai lair is located?"
The headman scratched his grey head. "I know only that they take the children North of here. I do have a piece of armor from one of the youkai, a scrap that one of my men managed to acquire while fending them off. I am sorry I cannot be of more help."
"Keh." Inuyasha growled as he accepted the cloth, quieting when Kagome placed a hand on his arm.
"Don't worry, we have enough to work with. Thank you." She said.
"Thank you, Priestess." He said sincerely. "We will leave you to your work. Should you need anything please do not hesitate to find me."
The crowd dispersed, going about their daily tasks with a little more vigor now that help had arrived. Villagers smiled at them when they passed, children waved to Shippou and Toshiro.
Shippou waved back, Toshiro didn't.
"Since no one knows the whereabouts of the youkai base, I think it's best if we split up." Sango said as the pack turned into a huddle.
Miroku nodded his assent, a hand resting on his chin in thought. "We should scour the surrounding area and meet back here in an hour. If Sango, Kagome and I search with Shippou, Toshiro, and you, we could cover a larger area with three pairs and use your senses of smell to track the hyenas. What do you think, Inuyasha?"
"Fine with me." The larger hanyou grunted, nose still pressed to the armor. "But one hour and no less, the sun will be setting soon and we shouldn't stay separated in unknown territory. If you sniff out the youkai come back to the village and wait for the rest of us. Don't engage alone, we don't know how many of those bastards are out there."
Everyone nodded, Toshiro a little more hesitantly than the rest. This was it, he thought, he was going to face youkai. He was going to help people, he was going to fight. Excitement and nervousness twisted his stomach.
"Can you handle this, pest?" Inuyasha asked, passing the bit of cloth to the younger hanyou.
"Yes." He said as he raised the material to his nose. Dirt. Sweat. Blood. Death.
Inuyasha raised a brow but nodded. "Good." He turned to the pack. "Shippou go with Miroku, Sango with Toshiro, and I'll go with Kagome."
"Why do you get to go with Kagome?" Shippou protested, accepting the cloth from Toshiro.
"Because I said so." Inuyasha thumped him.
"I could always go with Kagome." Miroku suggested with a smirk.
"Over my dead body, lecher!" Inuyasha growled, taking a step in front of said miko. "I'm going with Kagome."
Kagome and Sango sighed.
Shippou rolled his eyes.
"Can we go now?" Toshiro said impatiently.
"Keh." Inuyasha grasped onto the miko's wrist and towed her after him, toward the forest to the North.
The miko shot an exasperated look over her shoulder.
The rest of the pack followed with small sighs.
When they hit the forest's edge they split up, the one's with youkai senses leading the pairs. Toshiro kept his nose to the wind, as Inuyasha had taught him, and sniffed for the unpleasant smell that had clung the hyena's clothing.
He looked momentarily over his shoulder at the slayer and caught her eye, she smiled encouragingly at him. A patch of sun broke through the trees, giving her a small halo and making his face flame. Pretty human. She was soft looking, and warm, and nice and- Not the time! He shook his head, turning toward the wind again and shoving everything but the stench of hyena from his mind. He lost himself in his task, vaguely aware of the taijia keeping close at his back.
They traveled in silence for a while, until they passed through a small clearing and a twig snapped in the distance to their right. Both hanyou and slayer snapped to attention, Toshiro baring his teeth at the trees and Sango pulling Hiraikotsu from it's strap on her back.
"Stay here." Sango said in a voice like steel.
Toshiro didn't have time to protest before she was gone, darting in the direction of the sound. After a few minutes he felt nervousness creep up on him, uncomfortable with being alone in such an unfamiliar place. He should go after her. She was a human. He was supposed to protect her, to fight with her. What if something attacked her? Why was she taking so long? What if-?
"What's this?" An amused voice said from the shadows ahead of him.
Toshiro glared into the trees, at the shape lurking there.
"Show yourself." He growled.
"What are you doing out here all alone, hanyou? It's dangerous around these parts." The figure chuckled, moving into the light.
A hyena youkai. He was tall, but hunched over. A spotted paw-like hand resting on the ground as he stopped. His eyes were two different colors, one a dirty yellow, the other a rusty red. He had a long, jagged scar on his neck, showing above his armor. He smiled widely at Toshiro, his teeth yellow and pointed. The hanyou shifted into a fighting stance, straightening his spine and his ears. The hyena laughed, a whooping, crazed sound.
"Are you going to fight me, puppy?"
"I'm going to kill you." Toshiro said through his clenched teeth, proud when his voice didn't shake.
"You're adorable." The hyena snickered. "You wont't be of much use to Lady Leiko, so I may as well kill you. I think I'll almost regret ending your life."
The youkai pulled a curved blade from the sheath at his waist, the sound of the metal scraping reminding the hanyou that he was unarmed. He glanced quickly at his claws. Not completely unarmed. The hyena lunged with a manic laugh, swinging his blade and nearly beheading Toshiro. He felt a sharp pain blossom on his cheek, tasted the copper of his blood as he leapt a safe distance away. He pressed a hand to his face, letting his blood seep over his claws as the hyena turned to face him with a deranged grin. Toshiro flicked his claws in the direction of the youkai, trying out the attack he'd practiced with Inuyasha only once before.
"Hijin ketsusou!"
Red crescents hurtled toward the youkai, the razors of blood demolishing a tree as the hyena dodged it. His eyes darted to where the hyena landed lightly a distance away and Toshiro quickly pressed a hand to his still bleeding cheek before flinging the attack at the chuckling youkai again. Again he dodged.
"Not bad, hanyou, not bad at all." The hyena said with a fanged smirk. "You managed to kill a tree."
Toshiro growled. "You're next."
"You couldn't kill me on my worst day, you disgusting little puppy."
Toshiro felt his blood boil at the words.
He dived for the youkai with a furious snarl, swiping at it blindly. The hyena blocked each of his attacks with his blade, laughing at him all the while. Toshiro wanted to kill him. Toshiro would kill him. He was not disgusting. He was not-
The hyena brought his blade down in a clean sweep, slicing through the skin of Toshiro's arm like butter. The hanyou jumped away before the sword cut too deep, the pain barely registering in his mind as his vision turned a hazy pink.
"You're getting sloppy, boy. Didn't daddy teach you how to fight? Or was daddy too ashamed of his little abomination?" The hyena chuckled, licking the blood from his weapon lazily. "Or maybe mommy was the youkai?"
Toshiro growled loudly, settling himself into a crouch and almost tasting the hyena's blood on his tongue.
"Oooh I struck a cord, didn't I?" His broken eyes gleamed wickedly. "Did the bitch abandon you?"
Toshiro felt an uncomfortable heat creep up his spine, but was too far gone in his fury to really register it. He felt a burn under his skin, his rage was a tangible thing. He spoke of his mother. He would die. Toshiro would end his life and bathe in his blood. He was going to die. The hanyou prowled toward the grinning youkai, his lips pulled back over his fangs and his ears pressed into his hair.
But before he could lunge again something shot out from the shadows, a yellow band of energy whipping out to wrap around the hyena's neck. Toshiro stopped cold in his tracks and stared, the fire receding in his veins as the youkai gasped at the thing choking him, his multicolored eyes going wide in fear. The band tightened around his neck, burning his hands where he clawed at it desperately. With a sharp pull from the end of the whip the youkai's head popped from his shoulders, bursting into dust along with it's body and landing in a harmless heap on the forest floor.
Toshiro panted disbelievingly, watching with wary eyes as the yellow whip retreated back into the trees. He scented the air, but all he could smell was charred hyena. Another figure moved slowly from the shadows and he tensed.
"You should be more careful." A deep, monotone voice said.
Toshiro instantly relaxed.
"It's you."
Sesshomaru stepped into the clearing, his boots scuffing the remains of the hyena as he made his way toward the stunned hanyou. Toshiro could only stare for a minute.
"What-what are you doing here?"
The Lord of the West raised a single brow, his right hand still slightly glowing.
"Is that how you thank someone who saved your life, boy?"
Toshiro sunk to the ground with a wince, his injuries stinging as they tried to heal. He held a hand to his bleeding arm and sighed. "Thank you."
"Hn."
They stared at each other quietly for a moment.
"They know not who you are," The Inu no Taisho said. "My baka brother and his troupe."
It wasn't a question, but still Toshiro shook his head. "No."
"Will you tell them?"
The hanyou looked wary eyes up at the inu youkai, instead of answering he said, "You didn't tell them."
Sesshomaru scoffed quietly. "This Sesshomaru cares not for your affairs, half breed."
That wasn't always the case. Hadn't been the case mere moments ago, but Toshiro didn't mention that or the other time that they were both undoubtedly remembering. He stared at the ground, wondering why he hadn't pieced together who this youkai was back then.
"She will come for you."
Toshiro blinked at him. "She doesn't care enough to come for me."
Sesshomaru's voice was even, was sure. "She will come for you." He said again.
"I'm not going back. I'm never going back there." He paused. "Will you tell her where I am?"
Sesshomaru turned on his heel as the snapping of twigs neared them. He made his way soundlessly toward the trees again, his voice still devoid of emotion as he said again, "This Sesshomaru cares not for your affairs."
"Thank you." Toshiro said as the Inu no Taisho disappeared, knowing that he could still be heard. "For everything."
"Don't die, half breed." Sesshomaru's voice said from the shadows, "I will be cross if you waste my efforts."
Toshiro smirked as the voice faded, just as Sango burst through the bush with her weapon poised and her teeth set in a snarl.
"Toshiro! Are you ok?" She asked, taking in the blood stained boy and the unmistakable pile of youkai ash with wide eyes.
He pulled himself to his feet, assessing his injuries. His cheek was healing, and his arm had stopped bleeding. He very well could have died, but the Lord of the West had saved his life.
Again.
He stared the place where Sesshomaru had been moments ago, then turned to Sango with a reassuring smile.
"I'm fine." He said before walking off, his nose to the breeze, determined to continue his mission and pretending not to notice the confused look on the taijia's face.