Ara~ @.@ Possession is onto it's 35th page. And winding down so quickly. :/ I -believe- there's only one more chapter to go. Frelled if I'm sure of that though, I've got no concept of actually sitting down and figuring things out like that. n.n;
The first chapter of the Naraku/Miroku story arc is pretty much ready to go, all it needs is a direct transfusion of teh sex0r omg. ^^ In case anyone here in interested, I'll (probably) be publishing it concurrently with the end of this fic, so keep an eye out!
In response to one of my reviews, I'd like to point out that Sesshomaru wasn't acting like a girl in the last chapter, per se... just like someone jealous who really didn't want to -admit- he was. (after all, the great youkai lord, Sesshomaru, jealous of a halfbreed? preposterous!)
Finally, uberbetathanks to Colin (even if I ignored your advice on that one line XD;) ophelia, and chloe, all who helped me smooth out some of the kinks in this chapter and keep my continuity. My mind is like a -sieve-. -.-; Last but not least - I make a reference to Sunfreak's Things Worth Dying For! Thanks to Rinlove for that. And those of you who haven't... Go. Read~!
--==--
The remainder of the trip was spent in relative silence. Miroku was still embarrassed, blushing every time Sesshomaru looked at him. The demon couldn't imagine why - it wasn't as if he cared that the monk had lecherous dreams of old women.
Sango and Kagome were also quiet, both seeming to be deep in thought. Probably wondering if his weakling of a brother was alright. He scoffed to himself. Stupid humans and their emotional attachments.
Nevertheless... it was perfect. Finally, -finally- there were no humans babbling at him. Peace and quiet. He could almost forget they were there.
So why was he still so irritated? The question worried at him, as much as he tried to ignore it. He rolled his shoulders, trying to relieve some of the tension, and looked over at the monk, whose eyes were firmly trained on the ground in front of him. His cheeks were still a pale pink.
Sesshomaru suddenly realized that he was smiling faintly as he watched Miroku, and immediately wiped all expression from his face. Shaking himself, he forced his eyes back on the trail, resisting the urge to watch the human out of the corner of his eye.
Though the rest of the journey seemed like an eternity, before he quite realized it, they were in the main hall of Kageki's palace.
He stared impassively at his cousin, wishing that he could deny being related to the milksop. But no, Kageki had the same gold eyes and the same long, shockingly red hair that he remembered his mother had.
Too bad Kageki wasn't half the warrior he should have been, giving his lineage.
Something was wrong though. He had easily ripped through the few guards that his cousin had - however the child was positively beaming with glee, rubbing his hands together like a merchant with snake oil.
Kageki still thought he had the upper hand, somehow.
Sesshomaru watched the other demon closely, wary of any tricks or deceptions he might pull, while concentrating on keeping himself relaxed, serene. Even if the sight of the brat made him want to pummel him.
Kageki smiled at Sesshomaru, a thin, oily smile. "Have you come to surrender to me?"
Whether or not the pup had anything up his sleeve, Sesshomaru had to suppress an undignified laugh at that. Kageki actually sounded like he expected Sesshomaru to hand the title over right then and there.
"Not at all. I'm simply here to retrieve my brother." The youkai kept his reply bland, letting the slightest amount of vague amusement color it.
"B..brother?" Kageki blinked, clearly thrown.
"Yes. Inuyasha is my brother." Sesshomaru heaved a long-suffering sigh as he took in the complete confusion on the other demon's face, and relaxed slightly. "You halfwit."
"How can he be your-he's a human!" Kageki was pale, sweating slightly. He gripped his hands together tightly.
"Halfbreed. Honestly, how have you survived this long?" He shook his head.
"But he... you... aren't you two lov-"
Sesshomaru sniffed, cutting Kageki off. "You are a disgrace to the youkai. Honestly, can't you tell the difference between a human and a hanyou?"
"ME?" The demon sputtered, clearly enraged. "How can you presume to say that, you... you took a filthy little -human- as a lo-"
Sesshomaru's hand shot out, and the younger youkai let out a shrill screech as Sesshomaru gripped his neck tightly. "Shut. Up. Honestly, perhaps I'll do what your mother should have when you were a pup and just kill you right now."
Kageki's eyes bulged as he stared up at Sesshomaru. He struggled, whimpering slightly, choking on his words as he began to babble. "No... I'm s-sorry, cousin, p-please don't, I won't trouble you again..."
The youkai lord stared at him impassively for a tense minute, broken only by Kageki's pathetic sniveling. Then he sighed in disgust. The miserable excuse for a youkai stared up at him, terror in his eyes.
"I suppose it's not worth the trouble." He let go of his cousin, who stumbled, clutching at his throat. "Where is he?"
Kageki only waved towards the interior of the palace, coughing raspily.
Sesshomaru nodded curtly and turned on his heel, motioning for the others to follow him, and started out of the room. But wait, where was the monk?
He glanced behind, to see Miroku kneeling next to his cousin, a slim blade glittering in his hand. He opened his mouth, about to yell at the him, when he heard the low whisper that none of the humans could possibly register.
If you ever cause Shou-sama any trouble again, or if you ever try to kidnap me again... I swear, I'll cut ya." A small, dangerous smile hovered on Miroku's lips, and for a second, Sesshomaru felt his skin tingle in a icy burst of electricity.
Flatly, to keep his voice steady, he called. "Miroku."
The monk looked up, and the knife disappeared from his hand as he nodded and stood up to join them.
--==--
Inuyasha sighed, shifting slightly as he glowered at the door from his battle-ready crouch on the floor. His hands were locked around the hilt of his sword, and his eyes stung slightly.
As if staring at the door would somehow de-ward it. Foolish.
God, how could he have been so overconfident? Assuming it wasn't Naraku that held him just because he had been able to break through one flimsy door. It was just that bastard's style to trick him like that.
He just really,-really- wished he knew what this was all about.
Could Naraku mean to kill him? If so, why hadn't he done it already? Did the bastard want to turn him into one of his stupid puppets? Was he using him as bait?
Both of the last options made the hair on the back of his neck prickle. Death happened. He could accept that. But to be used to entrap, or again hurt his comrades...
He growled to himself. Damn Naraku.
So, he waited, ready for battle. No matter how long it would take the asshole to come for him.
It had been hours. Perhaps he was giving Inuyasha time to grow weak, careless. Perhaps he had forgotten him.
God damnit, his mind was racing. He couldn't stop thinking, re-thinking, making plans, discarding them. At this rate, he was going to drive himself insane. He concentrated on taking deep breaths, trying to let the tension go.
His ears pricked for what had to be the thousandth time since he had been thrown down here. Footsteps? He tightened his grip on the Tetsaiga slightly.
--==--
Sesshomaru hissed as he pulled his hand back from the solid door, muffling a curse.
"What is it?" Kagome peeked around Sesshomaru curiously.
Miroku looked over the youkai's shoulder at the ordinary-looking door. "Is there something wrong?"
"It's warded." The youkai replied tersely. "How Kageki managed -that- trick...."
Miroku grinned. "Isn't it obvious?" The lord's glare told him otherwise, and he smirked. "He paid a monk, Sesshomaru."
The demon snorted. "I didn't know your ilk was so buyable."
"Are you implying Miroku is-" Sango began, poking her head around Kagome, clearly incensed.
"No, he's right, Sango." Miroku cut her off as he pushed past Sesshomaru. He laid his hand lightly on the door. Power hummed under his fingertips. "Some of us are." He closed his eyes briefly, gauging the strength of magic.
Ah, a simple ward. He traced a symbol over the door, grinned in satisfaction at the brief flicker it made as the ward dissolved. "None of the good ones are, however. Lucky for us."
He eased the door open, flashing a triumphant grin back at the rest.
--==--
Someone -was- there, he was sure of it. Inuyasha rose to a battle-ready crouch, clutching Tetsaiga and trying to make out the muffled voices on the other side of the door.
The door slid open smoothly, and he launched himself towards it, snarling. He'd be damned if he wasn't going to go out fighting.
Too late he saw it, his brother shoving Miroku back, flinging up an arm to try to deflect the strike.
The blade fell from his hands, to rest with Sesshomaru's severed arm. He stared at them, shocked, torn between elation and utter confusion.
What the hell was his brother doing there?
Sesshomaru looked down at the bloody stump and sighed. "Well, at least it was the same one."
The first chapter of the Naraku/Miroku story arc is pretty much ready to go, all it needs is a direct transfusion of teh sex0r omg. ^^ In case anyone here in interested, I'll (probably) be publishing it concurrently with the end of this fic, so keep an eye out!
In response to one of my reviews, I'd like to point out that Sesshomaru wasn't acting like a girl in the last chapter, per se... just like someone jealous who really didn't want to -admit- he was. (after all, the great youkai lord, Sesshomaru, jealous of a halfbreed? preposterous!)
Finally, uberbetathanks to Colin (even if I ignored your advice on that one line XD;) ophelia, and chloe, all who helped me smooth out some of the kinks in this chapter and keep my continuity. My mind is like a -sieve-. -.-; Last but not least - I make a reference to Sunfreak's Things Worth Dying For! Thanks to Rinlove for that. And those of you who haven't... Go. Read~!
--==--
The remainder of the trip was spent in relative silence. Miroku was still embarrassed, blushing every time Sesshomaru looked at him. The demon couldn't imagine why - it wasn't as if he cared that the monk had lecherous dreams of old women.
Sango and Kagome were also quiet, both seeming to be deep in thought. Probably wondering if his weakling of a brother was alright. He scoffed to himself. Stupid humans and their emotional attachments.
Nevertheless... it was perfect. Finally, -finally- there were no humans babbling at him. Peace and quiet. He could almost forget they were there.
So why was he still so irritated? The question worried at him, as much as he tried to ignore it. He rolled his shoulders, trying to relieve some of the tension, and looked over at the monk, whose eyes were firmly trained on the ground in front of him. His cheeks were still a pale pink.
Sesshomaru suddenly realized that he was smiling faintly as he watched Miroku, and immediately wiped all expression from his face. Shaking himself, he forced his eyes back on the trail, resisting the urge to watch the human out of the corner of his eye.
Though the rest of the journey seemed like an eternity, before he quite realized it, they were in the main hall of Kageki's palace.
He stared impassively at his cousin, wishing that he could deny being related to the milksop. But no, Kageki had the same gold eyes and the same long, shockingly red hair that he remembered his mother had.
Too bad Kageki wasn't half the warrior he should have been, giving his lineage.
Something was wrong though. He had easily ripped through the few guards that his cousin had - however the child was positively beaming with glee, rubbing his hands together like a merchant with snake oil.
Kageki still thought he had the upper hand, somehow.
Sesshomaru watched the other demon closely, wary of any tricks or deceptions he might pull, while concentrating on keeping himself relaxed, serene. Even if the sight of the brat made him want to pummel him.
Kageki smiled at Sesshomaru, a thin, oily smile. "Have you come to surrender to me?"
Whether or not the pup had anything up his sleeve, Sesshomaru had to suppress an undignified laugh at that. Kageki actually sounded like he expected Sesshomaru to hand the title over right then and there.
"Not at all. I'm simply here to retrieve my brother." The youkai kept his reply bland, letting the slightest amount of vague amusement color it.
"B..brother?" Kageki blinked, clearly thrown.
"Yes. Inuyasha is my brother." Sesshomaru heaved a long-suffering sigh as he took in the complete confusion on the other demon's face, and relaxed slightly. "You halfwit."
"How can he be your-he's a human!" Kageki was pale, sweating slightly. He gripped his hands together tightly.
"Halfbreed. Honestly, how have you survived this long?" He shook his head.
"But he... you... aren't you two lov-"
Sesshomaru sniffed, cutting Kageki off. "You are a disgrace to the youkai. Honestly, can't you tell the difference between a human and a hanyou?"
"ME?" The demon sputtered, clearly enraged. "How can you presume to say that, you... you took a filthy little -human- as a lo-"
Sesshomaru's hand shot out, and the younger youkai let out a shrill screech as Sesshomaru gripped his neck tightly. "Shut. Up. Honestly, perhaps I'll do what your mother should have when you were a pup and just kill you right now."
Kageki's eyes bulged as he stared up at Sesshomaru. He struggled, whimpering slightly, choking on his words as he began to babble. "No... I'm s-sorry, cousin, p-please don't, I won't trouble you again..."
The youkai lord stared at him impassively for a tense minute, broken only by Kageki's pathetic sniveling. Then he sighed in disgust. The miserable excuse for a youkai stared up at him, terror in his eyes.
"I suppose it's not worth the trouble." He let go of his cousin, who stumbled, clutching at his throat. "Where is he?"
Kageki only waved towards the interior of the palace, coughing raspily.
Sesshomaru nodded curtly and turned on his heel, motioning for the others to follow him, and started out of the room. But wait, where was the monk?
He glanced behind, to see Miroku kneeling next to his cousin, a slim blade glittering in his hand. He opened his mouth, about to yell at the him, when he heard the low whisper that none of the humans could possibly register.
If you ever cause Shou-sama any trouble again, or if you ever try to kidnap me again... I swear, I'll cut ya." A small, dangerous smile hovered on Miroku's lips, and for a second, Sesshomaru felt his skin tingle in a icy burst of electricity.
Flatly, to keep his voice steady, he called. "Miroku."
The monk looked up, and the knife disappeared from his hand as he nodded and stood up to join them.
--==--
Inuyasha sighed, shifting slightly as he glowered at the door from his battle-ready crouch on the floor. His hands were locked around the hilt of his sword, and his eyes stung slightly.
As if staring at the door would somehow de-ward it. Foolish.
God, how could he have been so overconfident? Assuming it wasn't Naraku that held him just because he had been able to break through one flimsy door. It was just that bastard's style to trick him like that.
He just really,-really- wished he knew what this was all about.
Could Naraku mean to kill him? If so, why hadn't he done it already? Did the bastard want to turn him into one of his stupid puppets? Was he using him as bait?
Both of the last options made the hair on the back of his neck prickle. Death happened. He could accept that. But to be used to entrap, or again hurt his comrades...
He growled to himself. Damn Naraku.
So, he waited, ready for battle. No matter how long it would take the asshole to come for him.
It had been hours. Perhaps he was giving Inuyasha time to grow weak, careless. Perhaps he had forgotten him.
God damnit, his mind was racing. He couldn't stop thinking, re-thinking, making plans, discarding them. At this rate, he was going to drive himself insane. He concentrated on taking deep breaths, trying to let the tension go.
His ears pricked for what had to be the thousandth time since he had been thrown down here. Footsteps? He tightened his grip on the Tetsaiga slightly.
--==--
Sesshomaru hissed as he pulled his hand back from the solid door, muffling a curse.
"What is it?" Kagome peeked around Sesshomaru curiously.
Miroku looked over the youkai's shoulder at the ordinary-looking door. "Is there something wrong?"
"It's warded." The youkai replied tersely. "How Kageki managed -that- trick...."
Miroku grinned. "Isn't it obvious?" The lord's glare told him otherwise, and he smirked. "He paid a monk, Sesshomaru."
The demon snorted. "I didn't know your ilk was so buyable."
"Are you implying Miroku is-" Sango began, poking her head around Kagome, clearly incensed.
"No, he's right, Sango." Miroku cut her off as he pushed past Sesshomaru. He laid his hand lightly on the door. Power hummed under his fingertips. "Some of us are." He closed his eyes briefly, gauging the strength of magic.
Ah, a simple ward. He traced a symbol over the door, grinned in satisfaction at the brief flicker it made as the ward dissolved. "None of the good ones are, however. Lucky for us."
He eased the door open, flashing a triumphant grin back at the rest.
--==--
Someone -was- there, he was sure of it. Inuyasha rose to a battle-ready crouch, clutching Tetsaiga and trying to make out the muffled voices on the other side of the door.
The door slid open smoothly, and he launched himself towards it, snarling. He'd be damned if he wasn't going to go out fighting.
Too late he saw it, his brother shoving Miroku back, flinging up an arm to try to deflect the strike.
The blade fell from his hands, to rest with Sesshomaru's severed arm. He stared at them, shocked, torn between elation and utter confusion.
What the hell was his brother doing there?
Sesshomaru looked down at the bloody stump and sighed. "Well, at least it was the same one."