Alright. Bad news. For the rest of the story (or until I have more time) I am only going to post a chapter a week. I know, I know; I'm evil and heartless but if I do not cut something from my schedule, no more stories will be posted again. Ever. So, to avoid that, one chapter a week it is.
To make up for this- or to sooth tempers- I am making the chapters longer so don't flame me. I know it sucks but it's better than nothing. I will try and post every Monday so look forward to it and please don't flame me!
Legal stuff. Read the sign in chapter 1. I don't own Inu Yasha but I really wish I did!
Chapter 6: Overdose and a cranky dog demon
A slightly older Sesshomaru knocked hesitantly on a large wooden door. He was taller this time and that made his age seem more, but his behavior undermined it. He was only ten and had shot up to almost six feet. He paused and listened, growling slightly in annoyance. "Father," he called softly and knocked again. "Father, please come out. Your kingdom needs you!" Sesshomaru ground his teeth in anger and knocked again. The king had been like this since his wife died and though everyone was sad, life had to go on and duties had to be overseen. In irritation, the prince pushed the doors open and strode inside like a small pale storm.
He reached the bed and stood beside it- he was not that foolish to crawl onto it. "Father, please come out." He said again, a note of pleading entering his voice. The figure on the bed did not move, didn't react at all. Sesshomaru sighed and tried again. "I know you miss her Father. I miss her too but she is dead and would want-" Sharp claws gripped Sesshomaru's neck, digging in and drawing blood. Lord Momaru sat up, uncaring that he was now strangling his son.
"You will not speak of her that way! You do not know what she would have wanted! You were not bonded to her, son! I was her mate and knew her better than you ever will!" The enraged king stood, sliding off the bed easily and keeping Sesshomaru high in the air. The prince would not dare attack his father so he put up with it, slowly running out of air. Sesshomaru gulped air but kept his hands at his sides as Momaru crossed the floor of his room. "I will run my kingdom when I am fit to do so. Until then leave me alone." He squeezed his hand, crushing Sesshomaru's windpipe, and then through him out the door. The prince slammed violently into the opposite wall. It was several minutes before he got painfully to all fours, his eyes watering in pain.
He looked at his father, the taller man framed in the huge doorway. As Sesshomaru watched, his father changed shape, becoming the gigantic dog demon that lurked beneath his humanoid form. The prince put a hand to his throat, holding back the tide of crimson liquid. Coughing, tears dripping down his face, he knelt before his father, pressing his forehead into the gritty walkway. "Understood, my Lord." Sesshomaru coughed out.
The giant dog growled at him, its muzzle not two feet from him. "Stop your sniveling and wipe your eyes. You are a prince and it is time you started acting like it. Tomorrow your whole day will filled with lessons and your will attend them, headache or not."
"But father!" Sesshomaru's head left the floor, the plea to rescind the order written all over his face. That many lessons would surely elicit a headache- one that would rival his worst nightmare. "Please, Father, no!" he begged, eyes wide.
Momaru smacked Sesshomaru hard with his massive paw, sending his son tumbling down the hallway and winding in a heap. The prince got to his knees and stayed there. He said no more and did not move until he heard the door to his father's den shut. When all was clear he stood, bleeding from multiple injuries but none of them life threatening. He moved stiffly down the hall, passing shocked servants as he left his father's wing and walked to his own den to clean up. Now that his father had made it clear he would not do anything until he was through grieving, it was up to Sesshomaru to keep the Western Lands in order.
I was surprised, deeply and utterly. I wasn't sure why, but I had always thought that Inu Yasha's father would have been kind hearted, the idyllic father figure, and that Sesshomaru's mother would have been the nasty one. It would have explained his personality easier. I continued to pet the shaking bundle of fur that hid Sesshomaru and was shocked.
A new scene began to play, but it wasn't important. In each, Sesshomaru was trying to help his father move on with his life and each time the prince took some serious abuse. After the initial memory, for lack of a better term, I could see the change in Sesshomaru's personality. Bit by bit he was becoming colder, less emotional.
"During that time you cut yourself off from your emotions," I said, trying to pry a coil of tail away and look the child in the face. It wasn't easy in the semi-darkness and I was extremely worried about poking his eyes out, but I finally found him. His head was buried in my stomach and he was shaking violently. "You became the cold Sesshomaru and stopped yourself from feeling."
He looked at me then. "It didn't hurt as much, after that. I became Sesshomaru, living up to the name entirely." The boy smiled sadly and my heart hurt for him. His shaking didn't cease and after speaking he tried to curl up again. I stopped him though, forcing him to look at me.
"Is this the bad thing you were afraid of? Is this what scares you so?" I asked. It would scare anyone initially, but it was something one usually got over and made peace with. I had a sinking feeling what Sesshomaru was terrified of was something that popped up only in nightmares. The child in question shook his head and reached for me, burying his head under my chin and looking for a way down my shirt. I would not allow that and simply hugged him close.
He was so upset, so terrified of what it was that I decided it was time to call it quits. As he was now he would probably give himself a heart attack and drop dead. He began whimpering, his hands convulsing and catching in my hair and shirt. He was panicked, so close to screaming that it would have been cruel of me to make him tell me. Whatever it was could and would wait. "Sesshomaru, stop! Calm down! Its okay, it's okay!" I repeated it over and over, petting his hair and soothing him. "You don't have to tell me! Calm down!"
It wasn't working and he was beginning to hyperventilate. I tried to think of something-anything- that would work and calm the terrified child. I came up empty and stood. I began kicking at a wall- there had to be a way out, some sort of escape. Sesshomaru and I were dream meshing and that meant I had partial control over the events and environment here. Fine with me- I wished for an exit, wanting a way out of this dream and into some place where we were safe. I wanted it to be behind the wall I was kicking and I wanted it right now! I slammed my foot into the wall and it gave way under the assault. I jumped through the bottomless whole with Sesshomaru held tightly to my chest and called for help.
"So, Lord Momaru began ignoring Sesshomaru after his mother died." Shippo said, surprised.
"He just discarded him?" Sango asked, appalled. Now she could understand why Sesshomaru was so damn antisocial.
Taomaru nodded regretfully. "Yup. While his father downed in self pity and loneliness, the ten year old had to run and protect the Western Lands, had to fix all the problems his father's negligence had caused. Sesshomaru kept trying to get his father back on track but wound up walling up his emotions. It's hard to believe but he used to be a very expressive child- like Rin here!" The youkai ruffled the girl's hair and she gave him a wide smile.
"So the bond can unite two people utterly, but if one perishes the other becomes extremely depressed?" Miroku asked, making sure he had it straight.
"It is indeed a double edged sword." Taomaru said. "Dog demons choose a mate and stay with that person until death- it's why we are extremely choosy with our mates. That loyalty and love can bind the two together so closely that, in the event of a death, the survivor may not be able to live without the other. The bond can occur in other animals- Swan youkai do it, cat youkai do it- but it doesn't happen very often in any species."
"But if that's true," Sango said. "How did Momaru meet Inu Yasha's mother?"
At that moment, the hanyou moved, grumbling in his sleep and shifting position. He didn't look happy and neither did Kagome, rolling half on her side toward Sesshomaru. One hand left Inu Yasha's ears and found Sesshomaru's hand close by. Now that attention had been drawn to the youkai, everyone noticed that he was tossing his head slightly. Rin crawled off Taomaru's lap and perched on Sesshomaru's chest, rising up and down with his accelerated breathing. Underneath her, Sesshomaru's body began to shake.
Alarmed, Taomaru scooted over, picking Rin up in the process with on hand and then checking the distressed sleeper's pulse. "Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin cried, fighting to get back to him and making no headway. "Sesshomaru-sama!" Inu Yasha's ears began rotating, perking up at the shrill voice. The hanyou opened his eyes, yawning hugely and rubbing his eyes. He blinked, still sleepy, and sat up. Freed, Kagome rolled over onto her stomach and opened her eyes a crack.
"What's happening?" Inu Yasha yawned again, his fangs showing clearly as he did so. Kagome sat up next to him, moving extremely slow, and yawned as well. Inu Yasha grinned and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Kagome blinked then shrugged, reaching up to scratch his ears until he purred and pulled away. Miroku, Taomaru, Sango and Shippo stared at the couple and wondered what they'd missed.
"Kagome-onee-chan!" Rin wailed making Kagome and Inu Yasha wince. "Something's wrong with Sesshomaru-sama!" Kagome frowned and crawled over to the youkai, Inu Yasha right beside her. She laid her undamaged hand on his forehead, her eyes closing to half mast. She blinked then frowned, turning to the group to ask a question they would never hear. Her eyes went wide instead and simultaneously, she Inu Yasha, and Taomaru looked upward at the ceiling. The humans looked at them questioningly as Taomaru and Inu Yasha jumped off the bed.
"We're under attack!" Inu Yasha explained and the others immediately sprang to the ground to follow.
"I thought we had a few more days…" Taomaru muttered angrily. "Kagome, See to Sesshomaru and then join us upstairs. Shippo and Rin! You two come as well and leave those her alone." Shippo jumped on Inu Yasha's shoulder, but Rin required more persuading.
"Go on Rin." Kagome smiled reassuringly at the little girl. "I'll make Sesshomaru better and see you in a few minutes."
"Promise?" The little girl asked, huge teary eyes looking at Kagome.
The older girl nodded. "Promise!" And Taomaru, impatient, grabbed the little girl off the bed and strode out the door, following everyone else up to the castle. Kagome watched them leave and returned her attention to Sesshomaru.
I sat there and wondered what to do. I had promised Rin I'd make Sesshomaru better and I didn't have a clue how to. I scratched my head, and tried to think this through. A nightmare usually woke the sleeper up if it was that bad, but Sesshomaru seemed unable to wake up by himself. I shook him and called his name- maybe if he woke up he'd be fine. He winced in his sleep, tossing his head more violently. His pulse was erratic and his temperature spiked. Oh, hell.
"Sesshomaru, wake up!" I said, shaking him. All right; my nightmare theory was out. Had he eaten something… or taken something? Uh oh. I looked around the room, wishing for more light. I slid off the bed and found my backpack, rummaging around until I found my flashlight. Pulling it out I heard something rattle and fall to the floor. I picked it up and clicked on the flashlight and read the label of my aspirin bottle. I had an awful thought and got a memory flash from Taomaru of forcing a handful of pills down Sesshomaru's throat and pinning him until they took effect. I groaned and felt cold inside, moving back to the bed and knocking my pack over in the process. I couldn't worry about it now; I had, quite possible, a dying dog demon on my hands.
I read the back of the bottle and found nothing helpful. 'In case of overdose, consult poison control or doctor immediately' did not apply in this time period. There was no other helpful information on the package and, in frustration, I threw the bottle into the depths of Sesshomaru's room. I kept calling Sesshomaru's name and slapping his cheeks lightly. I should never have taken the meds in front of Taomaru, never told him it would relieve the headache because I was pretty sure that in the youkai's mind what worked for me would work for Sesshomaru. In a way his logic had merit; however, there was a big difference between Sesshomaru and me beside gender- we were two different species. There was heavy warring to pet owners not to leave medication out where their pet could eat it. For animals, medicine like aspirin could cause things like kidney failure and liver damage and eventually death. I didn't know what it would do to a hanyou- or a youkai for that matter- but I hadn't wanted to risk Inu Yasha's life to find out. Now Sesshomaru was answering that question with an answer I didn't want to hear.
God this was not happening! No! Calm down Kagome and think! I continued to try and wake him up, calling verbally and mentally while I thought through possibilities. All right- in the shape he was in before entering the room, Sesshomaru's body shouldn't have digested the aspirin yet. The thought was a hopeful one, but I wasn't happy about what I had to do. I rolled Sesshomaru over, pulling his hair back and making sure his head was over the edge of the bed. I opened his mouth and flexed my fingers, praying that he wouldn't bite my fingers off. "You owe me so bad, Fluffy." I muttered and stuck two fingers in his mouth, shoving them down his throat as far as they could go. The response was immediate and I got my fingers and hand out of the way just in time as Sesshomaru vomited the contents of his stomach.
I looked away- hearing it was enough to make me want to join him. I kept a hand on his hair, wiped my wet fingers on the bed sheets and grabbed the flashlight. I had to make sure the pills were there and I could only do that by looking- the things I do in this time… I searched one of my jean pockets and found what I was looking for. I pulled out a thin hair tie and tied back Sesshomaru's long hair in a ponytail, rubbing his back in small circles as I trained the flashlight on the mess on the floor. I scrutinized the whole thing and could only identify five pills. Five; there had been three times that amount in Taomaru's had before he crammed them down Sesshomaru's throat. Hopefully, his body hadn't already broken down the others and turned them loose in his blood stream.
Err…! I was going to have to continue to get him to vomit until the other pills hit the floor. I sighed, feeling muscles flexed under my hand and I could feel Sesshomaru stirring in my head. I called out to him mentally, feeling him react and claw his way to the sound. His thoughts were murky- sleepy and uncoordinated- but one thought was clear and bright; to wake up. If he was awake he felt that he'd be able to heal himself even if it did mean suffering through his headache again. It was then that I realized that Sesshomaru could consciously direct his healing powers to heal a wound- the operated mostly on automatic but could also be taken control of and directed to specific tasks. The obvious question here was, why didn't Sesshomaru direct that power to get rid of his headaches? Answer: he couldn't concentrate long enough to do it.
Broken healing powers or not, stirring demon or not, the aspirin had to come out of his system. I sighed, put the flashlight down, and crammed my fingers in his mouth to the point I had before. I wasn't as lucky this time and got a little on my hand, making me grimace and hold the hand far out over the floor and away from the bed. Gross; now I know how my mother must've felt every time I was sick and puking my guts into the toilet. I looked at the ceiling, continuously rubbing his back to relax the contracting muscles. In my time, they would pump a person's stomach to get all of the medicine out of his body- in this time though that wasn't available and this was the only way. Fluids would probably help. I was just going to drag the damn bag over so every thing was within easy reach- I had a hunch I was going to need it all. I'll be right back- don't fall and stay still.
I used the bed sheet to clean off my hand- Yah; I was toast when Sesshomaru woke up completely. Nothing to be done about it now. I wiped all the liquid off and slid off the bed, tripping on a can and falling on my butt. I rubbed my tailbone with my clean hand and stood, sweeping the floor with my foot like a blind person sweeps the ground with their cane. I should have brought the flashlight, I thought as I found my bag and put my arm through the strap. I returned to the bed, moving slowly and doing my foot sweep, and climbed back up. I sat the pack down, tipping it over so the contents fell out over the mattress. I picked up the flashlight and checked the floor below Sesshomaru, counting all the pills and doing the math; ten new pills had been added to the floor.
Light was beginning to become an issue. Though the room's illumination remained the same, my eyes were having a hard time adjusting. I wanted the light brighter and wondered how to increase it. I blinked, squeezing my eyes then opening them, and began organizing my stuff now covering Sesshomaru's bed. Beside me the youkai shook his head and pushed back from the edge of the bed. He made a push up motion, trying to sit up I guess, and couldn't complete it. I wasn't surprised- vomiting was tiring; vomiting twice, being overdosed on aspirin, and having the worst migraine in history all in the space of a few hours was completely exhausting even for a youkai.
I grabbed a water bottle and a towel from the piles on the bed and poured the liquid over the latter. I held the wet cloth in front of him so he could see it and he took it, wiping his mouth and tossing it aside. He rolled over onto his back and looked up at me. I grabbed a can of juice, opened it, and held it out to him. "It'll help." I said softly. He frowned at me, blinking repeatedly. He was fatigued and hated it- I could kill him right now and he'd never be able to stop me. It was the main reason he didn't accept the juice.
"What happened?" His voice was small, not weak- just quieter than usual- and I knew he was pissed that he didn't sound normal.
"Drink the juice and I'll tell you." I tried in a sing song voice. He was so angry, so tired and so vulnerable I was surprised he hadn't swiped at me with his claws- he had both hands now; I'd be sliced and diced within seconds.
He snarled at me, rising half up into a sitting position before falling back down onto the bed, frustrated. He panted and I knew he was tapping into the dregs of his energy. I arched a brow and began rubbing his tummy, concentrating my motions on the area the sorest muscles were. Sesshomaru liked it and hated me for it. Damned if you do, damned if you don't- such was my life. If he wouldn't drink, maybe he would eat. I grabbed some chocolate from the food pile and had to pause for a moment and rest. It was such a simple gesture and didn't require that much energy that I blinked in alarm. I blinked rapidly, feeling hot, and looked down at Sesshomaru.
"Ha," he said, lips curving into a cruel smile. "Now you can feel how I feel."
"I already know how you feel!" I snapped and felt dizzy. That bastard! He was feeling so malicious and self-loathing that he was intentionally dragging me down with him. I sipped the juice and ate the chocolate and was able to push him out a bit- not completely, but enough to let me think. That only made him angrier and I smiled sweetly. "You should have drunk your juice." I said but offered him a free unopened can. He was tormenting me- he could open his own damn can.
I sighed- even though Sesshomaru and I weren't getting along, he was still in trouble with that much aspirin. I opened the can for him- he couldn't pull the tab anyway- and handed it back, watching as he sat up and drank it. I handed him some chocolate and ate my own, watching his hesitant first sip of juice. He was surprised and inwardly I laughed. He frowned at me and handed me his drink, which I took in surprise, and picked up his chocolate. Through out it all he continued to use his left arm and this time I laughed out loud.
He growled at me and snarled. "What?" He demanded angrily.
"You have two hands- hold your own damn drink!" I said and thrust the can at him. He looked absolutely livid.
"Bitch! You dare jest-" I tapped his right arm before he could fully launch into his little tirade and he mercifully shut up. He sat there, wonder and amazement naked on his face, as he flexed his arm, clenching and unclenching his hand. "How?"
I pushed his can at him again and he took it. "How are you feeling?" I asked and felt the barrier that I was using to shield myself from him slip a notch. He felt like crap- not that he ever would admit it. I blinked, closing my eyes for a second to rest them and ignore Sesshomaru long enough to check on the others up top.
We weren't exactly being attacked, I noticed, gathering and analyzing the information I was getting from Inu Yasha and Taomaru. Our troops were basically providing cover fire as more reinforcements arrived, a scouting group of the Dark Army right on their heels. I had no doubt that the others could handle it, but… Taomaru, why don't you shake things up a bit underneath the enemy?
I'd love to, Kagome, but I don't have that much directional capability. Huh, could have fooled me. I asked him if he wanted me to give it a try and he was willing. I warned him before I began, visualizing in my mind what I wanted to happen above and around us. I felt my power flare and-
"What in the seven hells is going on?" Sesshomaru demanded, jolting me out of my thoughts and slaughtering my concentration. Instantly I heard a clamor of voices in my head, Taomaru, Inu Yasha and Sesshomaru all arguing at once and ordering the others to shut up, making my head hurt. I let them yell at each other, moving away from Sesshomaru on the bed while he argued with the other two. No, that didn't help either and Sesshomaru intentionally increased the volume, shouting to keep me from using my power. In the light I created, I saw my CD player and grabbed it- if I couldn't ignore them, I'd drown them out.