Summary:  The love of a man and a woman knows no boundaries.  Be it time or place, the heart will not be swayed.  When two souls meet and recognize their other half, nothing can separate the two.  So it has been; so it is; and so it will always be.

Inuyasha Original Japanese Version © Takahashi Rumiko Shonen Sunday Sunrise Studios

All Fanfics created by Chiruken (me) were written for the sole purpose of shared entertainment and not intended for publication or sale.

Hidden Layers

By:  Chiruken

Chapter 2

"Humor brings insight and tolerance. Irony brings a deeper and less friendly understanding."

-Agnes Repplier-

"Sit!"  The word echoed through the forest accompanied by a crash, yelp and a string of curses as birds took flight from their perches in the trees.  "Sit!  Sit!  Sit!  Sit!"  Each consecutive word somehow gained in volume until finally reaching a deafening crescendo in the form of a furious shriek, the ground reverberating with some kind of impact four more times interposed by pained yelps, but the curses were now replaced by one lone whimper.  "Inuyasha, you jerk!  How could you?!  That was my math assignment!"

Sesshoumaru raised one eyebrow in silent contemplation, wondering what significance that word had in regards to the miko's unmistakable fury and how that same word would create such a resounding crash.  He was also puzzled as to what a 'math assignment' could possibly be.  He felt it must be important to have elicited such a reaction from the human female.

Stepping out from behind a concealing tree he surveyed the revealed scene with increased curiosity.  The hoshi sat with his back to a tree, one knee raised, arm resting on it in a relaxed manner, his staff leaning against his shoulder, eyes closed with an expression of mixed boredom and impatience.  The taijiya stood to his right wearing a similar expression, her large bone weapon planted firmly on the ground before her, her hands folded over it with her chin resting on them.  Her neko youkai sat at her feet, red eyes turned in his direction.  It would only be a moment before it reacted to his sudden arrival.  The kitsune youkai had his tiny arms folded over his chest, young features schooled into an expression of disgust as he gazed at a large crater.  The miko stood looking strangely like she was ready for battle, yet rather than looking at him; she too was glaring at the crater.  He could smell his younger half-brother, but as of yet the hanyou was no where to be seen, though the sounds emanating from the hole in the ground sounded suspiciously like they came from Inuyasha.

Before the neko youkai could alert the group to his presence he removed all expression from his features and stepped forward until he was completely out of the concealing trees and into the small clearing.  "What is a 'math assignment'?"  He asked by way of announcing his presence.  The reaction from the group was almost comical.  The kit shrieked and jumped nearly four feet off the ground, red hair standing straight on end; the taijiya nearly fell over and scrambled to retain her hold on her weapon while the neko youkai transformed to its larger size and growled as its hackles rose aggressively.  The hoshi jumped to his feet his expression revealing his surprise eloquently as he tightened his hold on the staff he still held.  The miko whirled to face him, eyes wide and mouth open in shock.  There was still no sign of his half-brother.  "Where is Inuyasha?"

An odd sound reached his sensitive ears from the crater.  It sounded strangely like a snarl, moan and grunt all combined into one.  He slowly closed the distance, ignoring the humans staring at him and their aggressive stances.  He peered over the edge of the hole and blinked once, his only show of the surprise he felt.  He felt a nearly uncontrollable urge to laugh.

"Inuyasha."  He stated as coldly as he could manage through his amusement, disgusted when his voice wavered in an undignified way.  "What are you doing?"  His lips quirked up into a rare smirk quickly suppressed but not before the miko caught sight of it.

"Um…Sesshoumaru?"  He turned to the miko, eyes narrowing when she took a hasty step back and squeaked in alarm as his gaze fell on her.  "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"This Sesshoumaru has a need to speak with this group, miko."  He replied after a moment.  He returned his gaze back to his brother and noted that he appeared to be trying to rise.  "Are you so clumsy as to have fallen into a hole this size, Inuyasha?"  His voice reflected the scorn he felt for the hanyou's obvious lack of grace, expression in his golden eyes condescending.  "Stop wallowing in your own drool and come out.  This Sesshoumaru has no patience for your idiocy today."

Inuyasha released a string of profanity that threatened to turn his elder brother's ears red.  Sesshoumaru had to give him credit for imaginative phrasing, though he felt the majority of the things the hanyou 'suggested' he do to himself were physical impossibilities.  He listened patiently to the diatribe of insults issuing forth from his half-brother's mouth which was still planted firmly against the ground by all appearances.  There seemed to be no end to Inuyasha's vocabulary, he noted.

Finally losing patience, Sesshoumaru kicked a fair sized rock over the edge of the crater, satisfied when the hanyou's voluble curses were immediately cut off and ended in a yelp.  "Enough, Inuyasha."  He stated mildly, turning away with a final kick to another rock, sending it crashing into the crater as well.  It was petty, he knew, yet when he heard the pained yelp issue forth he was hard pressed to keep his superior smirk hidden behind his customary cold and implacable expression though his eyes revealed his mirth.  He may have put aside his personal vendetta against Inuyasha, but he had every intention of sending little jabs into the hanyou's pride at every opportunity that presented itself.  As long as his brother didn't attempt to sever more limbs from his person, he wouldn't continue in his pursuit of taking his life.

"Sesshoumaru!  Bastard!"  Inuyasha's enraged shout was immediately followed by an attack which the Lord of the Western Lands easily sidestepped nonchalantly.  Another string of curses accompanied several other hastily executed attacks as the hanyou's fury increased.  "What the hell are you doin' here?!"  Sesshoumaru continued to dodge his younger brother's violent attacks.  "Stand still!"

Sesshoumaru thought that it was fairly obvious that if he were to stop moving Inuyasha's claws were more likely to hit their target, namely him.  He felt it would be imprudent to allow such an occurrence to take place and opened his mouth to say as much before thinking better of it.  It wasn't in his nature to state the obvious, even when the poser of the question was too blinded by stupidity that he couldn't see for himself the answer.  Not moving to return the attacks being directed at him, Sesshoumaru simply sidestepped gracefully around the clearing, taking care to keep his distance from his brother's human companions at the same time.  It wouldn't do to be caught unawares, though he doubted they would interfere.  He always felt that it was best to be prepared for every conceivable eventuality rather than being fatally surprised.  "Inuyasha…" He began with deceptive calm as he once again avoided the hanyou's claws.  "You try this Sesshoumaru's patience."

The miko stood off to the side holding the kitsune kit tightly in her arms, wide-eyes following the two brothers as they moved around the clearing.  Sesshoumaru spared her a brief glance as he passed by her before turning his attention once again to the claws closing in on the general location of his chest.  "I-Inuyasha…" Her soft voice caught the youkai lord's attention and held it for a moment, distracting him at the last instant allowing his younger brother to land a blow that knocked him back several feet.

Looking down at the four parallel bloody stripes marring his chest, Sesshoumaru felt the last of his patience leave him.  A low dangerous growl rumbled in his chest before he could suppress it as he looked back up and pinned the hanyou with a glare.  "This Sesshoumaru was not here to do battle, Inuyasha, however…" He paused and put on a burst of speed, maneuvering behind his brother in the blink of an eye, the claws of his left hand at his throat in an instant while with his other hand he held Inuyasha's arm out to the side, away from Tessaiga.  "You go too far."

"Inuyasha!"  The miko's sudden cry caught Sesshoumaru's attention and he looked in her direction.  He could both smell her fear and read it in her eyes.  Gone was the kitsune from her arms and in its place was a bow with an arrow notched and aimed at him.  His golden eyes narrowed in annoyance.  "Let him go, Sesshoumaru!"

"Do you intend to purify this Sesshoumaru, miko?"  He noted that her hand shook on the draw sting, the arrow quivering in her agitation.  "Has your aim improved since last we faced in battle?"  He asked calmly his eyes never leaving her as he felt his younger half-brother stop struggling.

"K-Kagome…" Beneath his hand he felt Inuyasha swallow convulsively.  Evidently the human female's aim hadn't improved greatly or the hanyou wouldn't be quite this nervous.

"Lower the weapon, miko.  This Sesshoumaru has no wish to see Inuyasha purified by mistake on this day."  He was amused by the sudden confusion he sensed in his brother.

"Wh-who says I'll miss?"  Despite her brave words the arrowed trembled violently in her hands.

Sesshoumaru sighed inaudibly.  "Foolish pride is not becoming, miko."  He tightened his grip.  "Tell her to stand down, Inuyasha."

"Kagome!  Put it down!"

"No way!  I can do it, Inuyasha!"

"Put it down, stupid!  You'll hit me!"  At this the wavering arrow straightened, but the aim was now centered on the hanyou's chest.  "Wh-what are you doin'?!"

The miko scowled and Sesshoumaru suppressed a shudder at the look in her eyes.  Her rage was plain for anyone with half their wits about them to see.  "This Sesshoumaru advises you to hold our tongue, Inuyasha.  Your miko is angry."  He abruptly released his hold on the hanyou and stepped aside.  "It is a wonder you have gotten this far in your battle against Naraku.  Divided as you are, this Sesshoumaru would have expected your defeat long before now."

The hoshi stepped forward, hands raised in a gesture of peace.  "What is it that you're here for, Sesshoumaru-sama?"  He asked in a tightly controlled tone, his nervousness clear to see even without the inu youkai lord's acute senses.

"This Sesshoumaru had a wish to speak with Inuyasha and you humans."  He responded carefully, watching the confusion enter the human's eyes.

"Kagome, what's the big idea?!  You looked like you wanted to shoot me!"

"I did!"

"Wh-what?!"

"You heard me!"  Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to cover his sensitive ears as her voice rose and attacked his hearing with the increased volume.

"Why the hell would you wanna shoot me?  Are you stupid or somethin'?!"

"Inuyasha…" Sesshoumaru took a hasty step away from his half-brother's general vicinity at the way her voice lowered and started to remarkably resemble a growl.  It was eerie, he decided.  He could almost swear he saw flames enter her eyes as she faced off against the hanyou.  "Sit!"  She shouted, hands clenching into fists at her sides.  "Sit!  Sit!  Sit!  Sit!  Sit!  Sit!"  Each time she said the word, to the youkai lord's surprise, Inuyasha was slammed into the ground forcefully.  He now had the answer to two of his questions from earlier.  Now he could see what purpose the word had and what had caused the resounding crashes to echo through the forest.

Sesshoumaru stepped forward and gazed down at his brother with a curious expression in his eyes.  "What magic is this?"  He nudged the hanyou with his foot surprised when he didn't move from his position.  He peered closer and noticed something around Inuyasha's neck was glowing.  He crouched down and moved to touch it then stopped, feeling strong purifying magic emanating from what he now saw was a rosary.  "A subduing spell…" He murmured softly before looking up and staring at the miko still glaring down at the fallen hanyou.  He snorted and stood abruptly.  "This explains much."  He turned and slowly approached the miko, pausing for a moment to make certain that one well-placed foot landed squarely in the fallen hanyou's back.

"Why you!"  Inuyasha tried to rise, fighting the residual effects of the subduing spell ineffectually.

"Kagome-sama!"  The hoshi rushed forward to place himself between Sesshoumaru and the miko.  Sesshoumaru ignored him as well as the taijiya who had also moved forward quickly, lifting her large bone weapon into a defensive position.

"This Sesshoumaru has no desire for battle.  Stand down."  He waited for the humans to lower their weapons before continuing.  "Time grows short.  This Sesshoumaru has a question to pose to Inuyasha and you humans."