Oh. Oh my god. I have to tell you all. Go to http://www.katachresis.net/fanfiction and check out the fanart section. (And if you haven't already, and follow the story, check out the ending to Silent Laughter!) Kat has graced me with three lovely pieces, two for SL and one for this fic, and has promised me more. She owns me so completely.
This chapter is dedicated to Kat, because she is a wonderful help when it comes to plot, beta reading, and inspiration. Thank you love. Without you I don't know if this would have ever gotten written. j00 r0x0r!
Other thanks go to Colin and Ophelia for catching my mistakes. ^^
--==--
Miroku reached down to help up the little girl at his feet even as he eyed Sesshomaru's ugly servant. An uncomfortable silence fell as the toad-demon watched him, eyes bugged out slightly. Or perhaps that was his normal expression.
The little girl turned huge, innocent eyes up to him. "Who are you?"
Miroku looked down at her, and was about to answer when the flunky cut him off.
"He is Lord Sesshomaru's concubine." Jaken said it smugly, clutching his staff as he leered at Miroku.
Miroku blinked up at that, and felt a slow blush forming on his cheeks. He narrowed his eyes to glare at Jaken, then turned back to Rin. "My name is Miroku. I am a traveling monk." He bowed to her, shooting one more venomous glare towards Jaken.
She giggled happily, bowing back. "I'm Rin! Lord Sesshomaru is my guardian. Is he your guardian too?"
Jaken snorted. "Rin, come along now. Lord Sesshomaru will be very angry if he finds you've been talking to this..." He groped for the correct word.
"Human?" Miroku asked, smiling wryly.
Jaken attempted something resembling a glare and pulled at Rin's sleeve, drawing her back down the hallway. "Whore," he tossed over his shoulder.
Miroku stood still, clenching his jaw, fists balled at his sides as the two figures disappeared down the hallway, Rin still casting a curious glance back at him.
Whore. The word rang in his head, calling forth a deep, hot rage. He only dimly registered his nails digging into his palms, or the fact that he was shaking. Whore indeed. He closed his eyes against the sudden rush of anger, tried to regulate his breathing. Centering himself, focusing, trying desperately to recall something of his training.
Jaken's accusation disrupted his concentration, choking him, and tasting like blood and metal. He ran through meditation sutras and breathing exercises, but nothing helped. He lost the thread of everything he tried almost as soon as he began. Perhaps he had lost what had been left of his serenity when he had lost his life and his curse.
He opened his eyes. Was that all he was now? The undead whore of a youkai lord? With a deep growl of rage and denial, he turned, throwing a vicious punch at the wall.
It didn't connect. His wrist was caught in a firm grim, inches away from contacting, and he looked up in shock, into the hypnotic eyes of his captor.
The youkai stared at him for a long time, just holding him there, hands hanging in the air. Miroku tried to pull away as his fingers began to tingle from the tight grip.
"Let me go." His voice was flat, emotionless, but he knew that he was trembling, still breathing heavily. He wondered if his eyes were as wild as he felt.
Sesshomaru frowned then, pulled the human slightly closer. "I had thought you would still be asleep." Taloned fingers brushed gently along the side of his face, slid through his hair. Miroku repressed a slight shiver as the nails scraped lightly along his neck.
Sesshomaru sighed, leaning down to place a soft kiss to Miroku's lips. "Ah well. You should not be roaming the halls, however. I'll show you the parts of the palace that you are allowed." The youkai's free hand dropped to his shoulder, smoothing the fabric of the robe, considering it. "This suits you."
Miroku growled, pushing Sesshomaru away violently. "Let me GO, you bastard." He ripped his wrist away with a disturbingly loud snap, ignoring the sudden pain that shot up his arm. Stepping back, he wrapped his arms around himself, glaring at the youkai.
"I. am. Not. Your. Whore."
The youkai's eyes narrowed and he stepped forward, slowly. Miroku stood his ground, still staring defiantly at him. Sesshomaru raised a hand to Miroku's shoulder, gripping it lightly. Miroku shrugged it away.
"Don't touch me Sesshomaru. Ever again."
He hardly saw the blur of Sesshomaru's fist, which sent him stumbling back to fall on the floor, but Miroku knew a vicious backhand when he experienced it. He groggily opened his eyes, shaking his throbbing head slightly to clear it.
Sesshomaru leaned over him, grabbing him by a shoulder and pinning him down, seizing his chin in a rough grasp.
"Do not presume to give me orders, human." The youkai's voice was smooth, controlled.
Miroku growled, stilling. He looked to the side, avoiding eye contact, refusing to acknowledge Sesshomaru. Talons that were no longer gentle, but rather predatory slid along his cheek, down his throat, curving in to grab the front of his robe.
He felt the sharp pain of one of them slicing through the skin at the base of his throat and he closed his eyes, clenching his teeth on the pain.
Sesshomaru pulled Miroku's robes open, leaning down to lap at the blood that welled up on his neck, to suck lightly at the wound. Miroku trembled under him; breath shallow and rapid. Hands slid lazily down his ribs, brushing against sensitive spots, making him jump slightly.
Warm lips, tinted with blood, covered his own. He offered no resistance, allowing Sesshomaru to claim him. Somehow, it suddenly all seemed as if it was happening to someone else. He was shivering, violently, and his head was spinning. His throat was burning, throbbing.
Something was wrong, he thought dimly, and pulled weakly away, drawing a shaky breath. He tried to get his voice to work, to tell Sesshomaru that something was wrong, but his tongue felt thick and dry in his mouth, and his vision was fading.
His last thought, before slipping into unconsciousness, was a particularly vile epithet.
--==--
Sango was, to put it mildly, worried about Miroku's absence. As were Kagome and Shippo. Inu-Yasha was too, but he tried to pretend as if everything was normal. It had, granted, only been a day and a half, but they all knew something was wrong.
They had searched for some sign of what had happened to him, without much luck. They had tracked him up the mountain, but the trail grew muddled, unreadable. His scent mixed with youkai blood, and even Inu-Yasha couldn't follow it after a time.
Sango sighed, kicking a rock, watching it tumble down the sheer face of the mountain. The path was blocked by a substantial rockslide, and she would have to be very careful climbing around it, to not cause another one. Sighing, she adjusted her boomerang, and began her search for stable footing.
When she finally reached the other side, she was panting, bruised, and scraped. She wiped her forehead with her sleeve, sighing, and surveying her surroundings.
It was then that she saw it. A large pool of blood, and a broken string of achingly familiar prayer beads.
Sango dropped to her knees beside it, hardly believing what she saw, her throat tightening. She picked the beads up, examining them. They were stained in blood. She tightened her hand around them, until her knuckles turned white, and stood up, making her way back over the rocks and down the trail as if in a dream.
When she reached their camp, Inu-Yasha, Kagome, and Shippo were already there. They looked up at her expectantly, and she sank down onto the ground next to Kagome, letting her hand open, letting the beads spill out onto the ground in front of her.
There was a moment of stunned silence, and a muffled curse from Inu-Yasha. Kagome reached out, running her fingers over the beads, then caught Sango's hands.
"Sango? Did you find him?" Her voice was urgent, worried.
Sango looked at her, feeling her eyes burn dryly. She shook her head, nodding towards the beads. "This is all I found. And blood... a lot of blood."
Kagome's hands flew to her mouth, and Sango could see her eyes grow moist. "No... it can't be. He can't be dea..." her voice trailed off, and she gathered a sniffling, strangely quiet Shippo in her arms.
Inu-Yasha knelt down in front of them, picking up the prayer beads, and snorting at Kagome. "What are you crying about, woman?" He turned to Sango. "There was no body, right?"
Sango shook her head. "None. But there was also no sign of the void having been open - and without his prayer beads..."
Inu-Yasha shrugged. "Feh." He stood up, slipping the beads into his pocket. "That perverted monk wouldn't die so easy."
Kagome sniffled, looked up at him. "But what if?"
Inu-Yasha cut her off with a growl. "He's alive, stupid." He paused then, looking towards Sango. "And we'll find him."
This chapter is dedicated to Kat, because she is a wonderful help when it comes to plot, beta reading, and inspiration. Thank you love. Without you I don't know if this would have ever gotten written. j00 r0x0r!
Other thanks go to Colin and Ophelia for catching my mistakes. ^^
--==--
Miroku reached down to help up the little girl at his feet even as he eyed Sesshomaru's ugly servant. An uncomfortable silence fell as the toad-demon watched him, eyes bugged out slightly. Or perhaps that was his normal expression.
The little girl turned huge, innocent eyes up to him. "Who are you?"
Miroku looked down at her, and was about to answer when the flunky cut him off.
"He is Lord Sesshomaru's concubine." Jaken said it smugly, clutching his staff as he leered at Miroku.
Miroku blinked up at that, and felt a slow blush forming on his cheeks. He narrowed his eyes to glare at Jaken, then turned back to Rin. "My name is Miroku. I am a traveling monk." He bowed to her, shooting one more venomous glare towards Jaken.
She giggled happily, bowing back. "I'm Rin! Lord Sesshomaru is my guardian. Is he your guardian too?"
Jaken snorted. "Rin, come along now. Lord Sesshomaru will be very angry if he finds you've been talking to this..." He groped for the correct word.
"Human?" Miroku asked, smiling wryly.
Jaken attempted something resembling a glare and pulled at Rin's sleeve, drawing her back down the hallway. "Whore," he tossed over his shoulder.
Miroku stood still, clenching his jaw, fists balled at his sides as the two figures disappeared down the hallway, Rin still casting a curious glance back at him.
Whore. The word rang in his head, calling forth a deep, hot rage. He only dimly registered his nails digging into his palms, or the fact that he was shaking. Whore indeed. He closed his eyes against the sudden rush of anger, tried to regulate his breathing. Centering himself, focusing, trying desperately to recall something of his training.
Jaken's accusation disrupted his concentration, choking him, and tasting like blood and metal. He ran through meditation sutras and breathing exercises, but nothing helped. He lost the thread of everything he tried almost as soon as he began. Perhaps he had lost what had been left of his serenity when he had lost his life and his curse.
He opened his eyes. Was that all he was now? The undead whore of a youkai lord? With a deep growl of rage and denial, he turned, throwing a vicious punch at the wall.
It didn't connect. His wrist was caught in a firm grim, inches away from contacting, and he looked up in shock, into the hypnotic eyes of his captor.
The youkai stared at him for a long time, just holding him there, hands hanging in the air. Miroku tried to pull away as his fingers began to tingle from the tight grip.
"Let me go." His voice was flat, emotionless, but he knew that he was trembling, still breathing heavily. He wondered if his eyes were as wild as he felt.
Sesshomaru frowned then, pulled the human slightly closer. "I had thought you would still be asleep." Taloned fingers brushed gently along the side of his face, slid through his hair. Miroku repressed a slight shiver as the nails scraped lightly along his neck.
Sesshomaru sighed, leaning down to place a soft kiss to Miroku's lips. "Ah well. You should not be roaming the halls, however. I'll show you the parts of the palace that you are allowed." The youkai's free hand dropped to his shoulder, smoothing the fabric of the robe, considering it. "This suits you."
Miroku growled, pushing Sesshomaru away violently. "Let me GO, you bastard." He ripped his wrist away with a disturbingly loud snap, ignoring the sudden pain that shot up his arm. Stepping back, he wrapped his arms around himself, glaring at the youkai.
"I. am. Not. Your. Whore."
The youkai's eyes narrowed and he stepped forward, slowly. Miroku stood his ground, still staring defiantly at him. Sesshomaru raised a hand to Miroku's shoulder, gripping it lightly. Miroku shrugged it away.
"Don't touch me Sesshomaru. Ever again."
He hardly saw the blur of Sesshomaru's fist, which sent him stumbling back to fall on the floor, but Miroku knew a vicious backhand when he experienced it. He groggily opened his eyes, shaking his throbbing head slightly to clear it.
Sesshomaru leaned over him, grabbing him by a shoulder and pinning him down, seizing his chin in a rough grasp.
"Do not presume to give me orders, human." The youkai's voice was smooth, controlled.
Miroku growled, stilling. He looked to the side, avoiding eye contact, refusing to acknowledge Sesshomaru. Talons that were no longer gentle, but rather predatory slid along his cheek, down his throat, curving in to grab the front of his robe.
He felt the sharp pain of one of them slicing through the skin at the base of his throat and he closed his eyes, clenching his teeth on the pain.
Sesshomaru pulled Miroku's robes open, leaning down to lap at the blood that welled up on his neck, to suck lightly at the wound. Miroku trembled under him; breath shallow and rapid. Hands slid lazily down his ribs, brushing against sensitive spots, making him jump slightly.
Warm lips, tinted with blood, covered his own. He offered no resistance, allowing Sesshomaru to claim him. Somehow, it suddenly all seemed as if it was happening to someone else. He was shivering, violently, and his head was spinning. His throat was burning, throbbing.
Something was wrong, he thought dimly, and pulled weakly away, drawing a shaky breath. He tried to get his voice to work, to tell Sesshomaru that something was wrong, but his tongue felt thick and dry in his mouth, and his vision was fading.
His last thought, before slipping into unconsciousness, was a particularly vile epithet.
--==--
Sango was, to put it mildly, worried about Miroku's absence. As were Kagome and Shippo. Inu-Yasha was too, but he tried to pretend as if everything was normal. It had, granted, only been a day and a half, but they all knew something was wrong.
They had searched for some sign of what had happened to him, without much luck. They had tracked him up the mountain, but the trail grew muddled, unreadable. His scent mixed with youkai blood, and even Inu-Yasha couldn't follow it after a time.
Sango sighed, kicking a rock, watching it tumble down the sheer face of the mountain. The path was blocked by a substantial rockslide, and she would have to be very careful climbing around it, to not cause another one. Sighing, she adjusted her boomerang, and began her search for stable footing.
When she finally reached the other side, she was panting, bruised, and scraped. She wiped her forehead with her sleeve, sighing, and surveying her surroundings.
It was then that she saw it. A large pool of blood, and a broken string of achingly familiar prayer beads.
Sango dropped to her knees beside it, hardly believing what she saw, her throat tightening. She picked the beads up, examining them. They were stained in blood. She tightened her hand around them, until her knuckles turned white, and stood up, making her way back over the rocks and down the trail as if in a dream.
When she reached their camp, Inu-Yasha, Kagome, and Shippo were already there. They looked up at her expectantly, and she sank down onto the ground next to Kagome, letting her hand open, letting the beads spill out onto the ground in front of her.
There was a moment of stunned silence, and a muffled curse from Inu-Yasha. Kagome reached out, running her fingers over the beads, then caught Sango's hands.
"Sango? Did you find him?" Her voice was urgent, worried.
Sango looked at her, feeling her eyes burn dryly. She shook her head, nodding towards the beads. "This is all I found. And blood... a lot of blood."
Kagome's hands flew to her mouth, and Sango could see her eyes grow moist. "No... it can't be. He can't be dea..." her voice trailed off, and she gathered a sniffling, strangely quiet Shippo in her arms.
Inu-Yasha knelt down in front of them, picking up the prayer beads, and snorting at Kagome. "What are you crying about, woman?" He turned to Sango. "There was no body, right?"
Sango shook her head. "None. But there was also no sign of the void having been open - and without his prayer beads..."
Inu-Yasha shrugged. "Feh." He stood up, slipping the beads into his pocket. "That perverted monk wouldn't die so easy."
Kagome sniffled, looked up at him. "But what if?"
Inu-Yasha cut her off with a growl. "He's alive, stupid." He paused then, looking towards Sango. "And we'll find him."