-Chapter One - See The Dark-
Sesshomaru bolted through the trees to find Jaken and Rin. Something was wrong. He could feel it. And even if he couldn't feel it, the smell of Rin's blood was a giveaway something was amiss.
The youkai came to the clearing where Jaken was supposed to keep track of Rin to find Jaken out cold in a puddle of his own blood, Rin in the arms of a man who was covered in blood as well, and the dead form of another youkai.
"Rin..." Sesshomaru slowly walked forward to the man and knelt down to see Rin. Jaken would definitely pay later for not protecting Rin properly.
"Is she...?" The man stopped himself when the look on Sesshomaru's face gave him his answer. He obviously cared for the girl. It seemed as though he wanted to cry seeing her hurt like that.
"What happened?" Sesshomaru looked into the mans eyes, demanding an answer.
The man studied Sesshomaru's face. There was something horribly familiar about his eyes, but he couldn't place a finger on it. "I heard someone scream and I found this girl and that youkai there fighting that dead one over there." The man nodded in the direction of the dead youkai, but still kept eye contact with Sesshomaru. "Your girl should be fine if her wounds are taken care of. I think she may be in shock though." What was it about his eyes?
"I'd like..." Sesshomaru mumbled. "I'd like to thank you for saving her."
The man simply nodded, mesmerized by the youkai's golden eyes.
Sesshomaru lifted Rin out of the mans arms and pulled her close to him. "She means a lot to me." He said quietly as he stood up. He had to break the eye contact. The way that man stared at him unnerved him. Yes some part of him he had locked away so long ago, was pleased.
"She isn't yours is she? I mean..." The man sniffed at the air. "You're a youkai and she's human..."
"No. I just take care of her. Is this your cloak she's wrapped in?" Sesshomaru asked, changing the subject abruptly.
"Yes...You can keep it for her. I can get another one." The man smiled. He figured out why he was so familiar. "By the way, my name is Maels." He grinned widely, reveling sharp fangs.
"Sesshomaru." The youkai stated flatly as he turned his back to Maels, picked up Jaken, and began to walk away.
Yes, he was indeed right in his thinking. This youkai was exactly who he believed him to be.
"HEY MAELS!!!! WHERE ARE YOU, YOU GODDAMNED PUPPY?!?!"
Maels eye twitched as he grimaced at the sound of Inuyasha's yelling.
Sesshomaru spun around to face Maels once again. "You're with Inuyasha?" He growled in a dangerously low voice.
Maels rolled his eyes making him seem extremely juvenile. "Unfortunately."
"I see you're as happy as I am to know the half-breed?" Sesshomaru asked, though it was more a statement than anything.
"You're probably happier." Maels said sarcastically. "You are his half brother, right?"
"MAELS!!!!" Inuyasha yelled again. It was obvious in the hanyou's voice that he was thoroughly pissed off.
Sesshomaru nodded once as if further confirming his relations with the hanyou would poison him.
Maels grinned insanely. "You are so much more beautiful than he is!" Then he ran off in the direction Inuyasha was yelling, leaving Sesshomaru staring after him in shock.
"What is he?" Sesshomaru asked himself. This man Maels, he had him completely stumped. Not because was another man telling him that he was more beautiful than Inuyasha. That was true and Sesshomaru knew it. It was that his scent was so...unfamiliar. That's what confused him. 'He's not a human, nor a youkai. Or even a hanyou. What IS he?' He looked down at Rin and smiled softly. "I suppose it doesn't matter much." He said to Rin, though he knew she couldn't hear him in her unconscious state. "I don't plan to see him ever again."
- -
"Where in the Hells have you been?!" Inuyasha barked as Maels ran up to him.
"It's really none of your business dog breath." Maels figured it would be a VERY bad idea to tell Inuyasha that he had a most interesting encounter with his elder brother. And on top of that he helped him by saving that little girl. Yes. It would be a bad idea indeed.
"Whatever. Anyways, Miroku wanted me to tell you..." Inuyasha stopped and stared at Maels who was obviously ignoring him. "HEY! Are you listening to me?!"
"Possibly." Maels smirked, causing Inuyasha to growl and his eyes to narrow dangerously. "Calm down. I was listening. Now what does Miroku want?" He asked just to prove he was listening.
'He's actually paying attention to me...' This caught Inuyasha by surprise. "He said he wants you to get back to camp. We're eating soon." Inuyasha started walking back to where the others had set up camp.
"Sounds good to me." Maels grinned and followed Inuyasha.
"How are your wounds healing?" Inuyasha asked without looking back at Maels.
"I'm flattered you would care enough to ask Inuyasha. But they're still pretty bad."
"I don't care. I just want to know when you're better so I can kick your ass." Inuyasha stated, completely serious. "And it looks to me like it's going to be even longer now." He glanced back at Maels. "So what did you do to get yourself all bloodied up?" He asked, overly annoyed with Maels. One week of dealing with this...whatever he was was enough for Inuyasha.
"I ran into a youkai..." Maels explained. It was probably pointless lying. Inuyasha could probably smell the youkai. He just hoped he didn't smell his brother...
"Obviously you won since you're still alive. But it looks to me like you got pretty beat up, huh?" Inuyasha snickered.
"Not really..."
"Then I suppose you're limping because it's fun." Inuyasha said dryly. "And why are your clothes all torn? Why do you reek of your own blood? Where's your cloak?" He was having entirely way too much fun with this.
"I....urm.... My cloak got ruined."
"And you got your ass kicked."
Maels sighed. "Yeah, basically." Inuyasha was right. He was more beat up than he thought. A horrible stinging all over his body let him know that there were more wounds. Either that or the old ones were re-opened.
"Now I'm going to have to wait even longer to kick your ass."
Maels laughed. "That's really funny. Like you could kick my ass. You're all talk, aren't you half-breed?"
Inuyasha's eye twitched.
"I mean seriously Inuyasha, you talk and talk and talk! I've been here a week now and I haven't seen you fight anything!"
"That's because there hasn't been anything to fight and Kagome hasn't found us any jewel shards." Inuyasha growled through gritted teeth.
"Excuses, excuses Inuyasha. I could kick your ass right now, and I should for you calling me 'puppy'. I don't much like being called names. Understand?" The question was more of an order.
"Feh." Inuyasha crossed his arms as he continued to walk. "Whatever you say." He said, positive that he couldn't be any LESS interested in what this nuisance had to say.
Maels silently lunged at Inuyasha, hoping to shut the know-it-all hanyou down.
As expected (from us who know Inuyasha at least) Inuyasha stepped to the side knowing what was coming, then brought his fist down on Maels' back, and thusly knocking him to the ground with a loud 'thud'. Maels bit his lip to keep himself from crying out in pain. He couldn't let Inuyasha know that he had actually hurt him.
"Like I said puppy. Heal up before I kick your ass. It's not as much fun to watch you cry when you're already hurt." Inuyasha lifted Maels up and flung him over his shoulder.
"I can walk for myself!" Maels protested angrily as Inuyasha began walking with him over his shoulder as if he hunted him.
"I doubt it. I hit a really sensitive spot. Try and wiggle your toes if you don't believe me."
"What?"
"Just try and move your feet!" Inuyasha snapped.
Maels rolled his eyes and tried to move his feet. An easy task, right? Wrong. He couldn't move his feet as much as he struggled to.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!" Maels exclaimed in fear.
Inuyasha laughed heartily. "I told you. I hit a really sensitive spot. And I hit it hard. Don't worry though, you should be able to walk again by morning."
Maels huffed. "I hate you, you bastard."
"The feeling is mutual." Inuyasha muttered as he held on to Maels tighter and ran faster. 'Thanks a lot Sango... Thank you SO much for saving him from those youkai.' Inuyasha clenched his free hand tightly as he remembered the day Sango saved him. 'Why couldn't you just have let the bastard die? He isn't worth this much trouble.' Inuyasha growled quietly.
"Something wrong Inuyasha?" Maels asked in a sickeningly sweet way.
"Not really. Just thinking of how much I hate you." He stated truthfully.
- - - -
Woo! Chapter one. Happy? Just to be mean, I'm not updating until I get at least six reviews for this chapter. I choose six because that is a really neat number. (And it's the first number in 69. XD) So review! Hehehe.
Sesshomaru bolted through the trees to find Jaken and Rin. Something was wrong. He could feel it. And even if he couldn't feel it, the smell of Rin's blood was a giveaway something was amiss.
The youkai came to the clearing where Jaken was supposed to keep track of Rin to find Jaken out cold in a puddle of his own blood, Rin in the arms of a man who was covered in blood as well, and the dead form of another youkai.
"Rin..." Sesshomaru slowly walked forward to the man and knelt down to see Rin. Jaken would definitely pay later for not protecting Rin properly.
"Is she...?" The man stopped himself when the look on Sesshomaru's face gave him his answer. He obviously cared for the girl. It seemed as though he wanted to cry seeing her hurt like that.
"What happened?" Sesshomaru looked into the mans eyes, demanding an answer.
The man studied Sesshomaru's face. There was something horribly familiar about his eyes, but he couldn't place a finger on it. "I heard someone scream and I found this girl and that youkai there fighting that dead one over there." The man nodded in the direction of the dead youkai, but still kept eye contact with Sesshomaru. "Your girl should be fine if her wounds are taken care of. I think she may be in shock though." What was it about his eyes?
"I'd like..." Sesshomaru mumbled. "I'd like to thank you for saving her."
The man simply nodded, mesmerized by the youkai's golden eyes.
Sesshomaru lifted Rin out of the mans arms and pulled her close to him. "She means a lot to me." He said quietly as he stood up. He had to break the eye contact. The way that man stared at him unnerved him. Yes some part of him he had locked away so long ago, was pleased.
"She isn't yours is she? I mean..." The man sniffed at the air. "You're a youkai and she's human..."
"No. I just take care of her. Is this your cloak she's wrapped in?" Sesshomaru asked, changing the subject abruptly.
"Yes...You can keep it for her. I can get another one." The man smiled. He figured out why he was so familiar. "By the way, my name is Maels." He grinned widely, reveling sharp fangs.
"Sesshomaru." The youkai stated flatly as he turned his back to Maels, picked up Jaken, and began to walk away.
Yes, he was indeed right in his thinking. This youkai was exactly who he believed him to be.
"HEY MAELS!!!! WHERE ARE YOU, YOU GODDAMNED PUPPY?!?!"
Maels eye twitched as he grimaced at the sound of Inuyasha's yelling.
Sesshomaru spun around to face Maels once again. "You're with Inuyasha?" He growled in a dangerously low voice.
Maels rolled his eyes making him seem extremely juvenile. "Unfortunately."
"I see you're as happy as I am to know the half-breed?" Sesshomaru asked, though it was more a statement than anything.
"You're probably happier." Maels said sarcastically. "You are his half brother, right?"
"MAELS!!!!" Inuyasha yelled again. It was obvious in the hanyou's voice that he was thoroughly pissed off.
Sesshomaru nodded once as if further confirming his relations with the hanyou would poison him.
Maels grinned insanely. "You are so much more beautiful than he is!" Then he ran off in the direction Inuyasha was yelling, leaving Sesshomaru staring after him in shock.
"What is he?" Sesshomaru asked himself. This man Maels, he had him completely stumped. Not because was another man telling him that he was more beautiful than Inuyasha. That was true and Sesshomaru knew it. It was that his scent was so...unfamiliar. That's what confused him. 'He's not a human, nor a youkai. Or even a hanyou. What IS he?' He looked down at Rin and smiled softly. "I suppose it doesn't matter much." He said to Rin, though he knew she couldn't hear him in her unconscious state. "I don't plan to see him ever again."
- -
"Where in the Hells have you been?!" Inuyasha barked as Maels ran up to him.
"It's really none of your business dog breath." Maels figured it would be a VERY bad idea to tell Inuyasha that he had a most interesting encounter with his elder brother. And on top of that he helped him by saving that little girl. Yes. It would be a bad idea indeed.
"Whatever. Anyways, Miroku wanted me to tell you..." Inuyasha stopped and stared at Maels who was obviously ignoring him. "HEY! Are you listening to me?!"
"Possibly." Maels smirked, causing Inuyasha to growl and his eyes to narrow dangerously. "Calm down. I was listening. Now what does Miroku want?" He asked just to prove he was listening.
'He's actually paying attention to me...' This caught Inuyasha by surprise. "He said he wants you to get back to camp. We're eating soon." Inuyasha started walking back to where the others had set up camp.
"Sounds good to me." Maels grinned and followed Inuyasha.
"How are your wounds healing?" Inuyasha asked without looking back at Maels.
"I'm flattered you would care enough to ask Inuyasha. But they're still pretty bad."
"I don't care. I just want to know when you're better so I can kick your ass." Inuyasha stated, completely serious. "And it looks to me like it's going to be even longer now." He glanced back at Maels. "So what did you do to get yourself all bloodied up?" He asked, overly annoyed with Maels. One week of dealing with this...whatever he was was enough for Inuyasha.
"I ran into a youkai..." Maels explained. It was probably pointless lying. Inuyasha could probably smell the youkai. He just hoped he didn't smell his brother...
"Obviously you won since you're still alive. But it looks to me like you got pretty beat up, huh?" Inuyasha snickered.
"Not really..."
"Then I suppose you're limping because it's fun." Inuyasha said dryly. "And why are your clothes all torn? Why do you reek of your own blood? Where's your cloak?" He was having entirely way too much fun with this.
"I....urm.... My cloak got ruined."
"And you got your ass kicked."
Maels sighed. "Yeah, basically." Inuyasha was right. He was more beat up than he thought. A horrible stinging all over his body let him know that there were more wounds. Either that or the old ones were re-opened.
"Now I'm going to have to wait even longer to kick your ass."
Maels laughed. "That's really funny. Like you could kick my ass. You're all talk, aren't you half-breed?"
Inuyasha's eye twitched.
"I mean seriously Inuyasha, you talk and talk and talk! I've been here a week now and I haven't seen you fight anything!"
"That's because there hasn't been anything to fight and Kagome hasn't found us any jewel shards." Inuyasha growled through gritted teeth.
"Excuses, excuses Inuyasha. I could kick your ass right now, and I should for you calling me 'puppy'. I don't much like being called names. Understand?" The question was more of an order.
"Feh." Inuyasha crossed his arms as he continued to walk. "Whatever you say." He said, positive that he couldn't be any LESS interested in what this nuisance had to say.
Maels silently lunged at Inuyasha, hoping to shut the know-it-all hanyou down.
As expected (from us who know Inuyasha at least) Inuyasha stepped to the side knowing what was coming, then brought his fist down on Maels' back, and thusly knocking him to the ground with a loud 'thud'. Maels bit his lip to keep himself from crying out in pain. He couldn't let Inuyasha know that he had actually hurt him.
"Like I said puppy. Heal up before I kick your ass. It's not as much fun to watch you cry when you're already hurt." Inuyasha lifted Maels up and flung him over his shoulder.
"I can walk for myself!" Maels protested angrily as Inuyasha began walking with him over his shoulder as if he hunted him.
"I doubt it. I hit a really sensitive spot. Try and wiggle your toes if you don't believe me."
"What?"
"Just try and move your feet!" Inuyasha snapped.
Maels rolled his eyes and tried to move his feet. An easy task, right? Wrong. He couldn't move his feet as much as he struggled to.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!" Maels exclaimed in fear.
Inuyasha laughed heartily. "I told you. I hit a really sensitive spot. And I hit it hard. Don't worry though, you should be able to walk again by morning."
Maels huffed. "I hate you, you bastard."
"The feeling is mutual." Inuyasha muttered as he held on to Maels tighter and ran faster. 'Thanks a lot Sango... Thank you SO much for saving him from those youkai.' Inuyasha clenched his free hand tightly as he remembered the day Sango saved him. 'Why couldn't you just have let the bastard die? He isn't worth this much trouble.' Inuyasha growled quietly.
"Something wrong Inuyasha?" Maels asked in a sickeningly sweet way.
"Not really. Just thinking of how much I hate you." He stated truthfully.
- - - -
Woo! Chapter one. Happy? Just to be mean, I'm not updating until I get at least six reviews for this chapter. I choose six because that is a really neat number. (And it's the first number in 69. XD) So review! Hehehe.