Disclaimer : I still don't own InuYasha. Do I have to repeat that ? I think not... Two times must be enough...
Author's note : Yo ! Don't worry, I'll shut up and let you read...
Chapter four : The wrath of a demon Lord
Inu-Yasha's POV
It was funny to see his brother struggle like that, Inu-Yasha thought. He could guess that Sesshomaru was trying to apologize for accusing him unfairly, and from the look in the older demon's eyes, he wasn't use at apologizing. And to him, of all people ! "Jeez he must be frustrated !" Inu-Yasha thought. But he didn't say anything. He just waited. He wasn't going to make it harder, that would be very mean of him. At least Sesshomaru was accepting the fact that he may have done a mistake. That in itself was big enough. And now, he even wanted to apologize. Inu-Yasha wasn't going to interrupt him. A similar occasion may never be seen again !
Finally, Sesshomaru started :
- Inu-Yasha, I...
But then Inu-Yasha saw it : behind his brother, just a few feet away, was standing a giant monster, its viscous body covered by many huge tentacles. On top of it was a human torso. Dark and long black hair was crowning the head, and two piercing red eyes were looking ironically at him.
Naraku. Or, more likely, Naraku's pet demon. Why hadn't he sensed its presence sooner ? But before he could think further on the subject, Inu-Yasha saw one of the tentacles rise and launch itself at Sesshomaru's back.
- Sesshomaru, behind you ! he yelled before pushing his brother aside to get him out of the way.
The deformed and sticky member passed right through him. At first, Inu-Yasha was too shocked to think. But then he realized : "I've been pierced !" He vaguely saw Sesshomaru turn and look toward him. The pain came after : he collapsed, and his world fell into darkness.
Sesshomaru's POV
Sesshomaru was standing right and stiff, a cold rage choking him. He could've screamed, or growled, or killed. He could've even transformed into his real demon form. But his anger was beyond that. He felt like ice was flowing in his veins, like there was a knot in his throat preventing him to speak. He looked at his brother's inanimate body lying on the ground, and then at Naraku's pet demon standing behind it, its tentacle still soaked with Inu-Yasha's blood.
Sesshomaru unsheathed his Tokijin. He wondered why he hadn't felt the demon's presence behind him. It made no sense. Even in his weakest state, he could usually feel a demon long before it came in sight. He observed the demon puppet in front of him. And then he understood ; this creature had no scent... and absolutely no demonic aura ! "How can it be possible ?" he asked himself. But there was no doubts : no demonic energy was emanating from this demon. And yet, he seemed as powerful as the other pet demons Naraku had sent them before.
- You look troubled, Sesshomaru, the object of his thoughts suddenly said. Is your brother's death affecting you that much ? How strange...
Sesshomaru tried to refrain his fury at the mention of Inu-Yasha's critical state. He could smell that the hanyou wasn't dead yet, but it sure wouldn't be long. "I'll finish that bastard quickly" he told himself while looking at Naraku's copy.
- Tell me, he asked with the calmest tone he could take, why is it that you don't have any demonic aura ?
- Oh but I have one, the demon said, startling him. It's just that I can hide it.
- I see. Another one of Naraku's little inventions.
The demon grinned. He seemed to be enjoying himself.
- And, Sesshomaru pursued, since how long have you been here ?
- Quite a while, I'm afraid. Your little chat was most amusing, but it was becoming too long, so I had to... interrupt you.
Sesshomaru growled, but the demon continued, not caring :
- I must say you deceived us, Sesshomaru. You were supposed to kill Inu-Yasha, not making up whit him. Naraku is very displeased of you.
The dog demon was trying hard to control his voice :
- Is that supposed to scare me ? I'm not Naraku's slave, I don't have to answer to him about what I can or cannot do.
- How tragic. Then what are we gonna do with your little companion ?
Sesshomaru stiffened. He knew his eyes had turned red.
- Where is she ? he asked.
- With Naraku of course.
- And where is Naraku ?
- I'm not here to give you directions, I'm here to kill you and your brother, the demon answered.
He then looked at the hanyou lying on the ground and added with an evil laugh :
- One done, one more to go !
Sesshomaru growled. He had this urge to beat the shit out of this demon, and what he planned to do with Naruku was even worst, if possible. Those bastards had captured Rin, who was probably scared half to death at the moment, had manipulated him and used him like a vulgar puppet, and finally, this ludicrous demon in front of him had deadly injured his hanyou brother. He suddenly wondered why that last fact bothered him so much... No, it was more than that : Sesshomaru was totally mad with rage. And... it was totally unusual. "I'll think about it later" he thought, "I have more urgent matters to deal with."
He shot a glare at his enemy. After what, without any warnings, he charged. The demon puppet evaded ; despite his oversized body, he was incredibly fast. But not as fast as Sesshomaru. This one whirled round and sliced the air horizontally with his sword, cutting two of his opponent's tentacles in the process. The disgusting demon wailed in pain and threw his other unharmed tentacles at Sesshomaru. The dog demon gracefully jumped in the air, dodging the attack. From his suddenly high point of vue, he noticed that the two tentacles he had cut were regenerating. Not that he was surprised, almost all of Naraku's minions could do that, including Naraku himself. But he was frustrated. The pathetic demon puppet had already made him lose too much of his time. He would have to tear him into shreds. Not that he minded, anyway...
As he landed, his enemy came running... well... it looked more like crawling... toward him, his tentacles moving madly in all directions and his red eyes glowing sadistically. He lifted his arm and threw some weird glowing spheres who exploded all around Sesshomaru. This one dodged to the right, moving away from the explosions. But suddenly, he felt a burning pain in his left side. Looking down, he saw a gaping wound that was already staining his white kimono whit red blood. The fake Naraku must've thrown him something else while he was dodging the explosive balls. But Sesshomaru wasn't worried, this wound was nothing for him. Just when he was about to turn around and face his adversary, he felt himself being lifted from the ground and encircled by one viscous tentacle. It squeezed him so hard it almost made him dizzy. And that's when he felt it : the demonic aura. It was... huge. Powerful.
- Why, Sesshomaru, are you nervous ? the demon asked sarcastically. Am I more powerful that you had first thought ?
Sesshomaru didn't answer. Instead, he tried to free himself from the strong grasp... and found out that he couldn't.
- I'm really disappointed, Sesshomaru, the evil creature pursued. I thought you were stronger than that. I was hoping for a good fight. You're almost making this too easy. But though... not as easy as your brother. The mutt practically threw himself on my tentacle willingly !
And then he began to laugh. Sesshomaru felt his blood beginning to boil. The cold ice that was flowing in his veins disappeared ; now, it felt more like burning lava. His enemy was making fun at Inu-Yasha and it was making him furious... He didn't know why, and he didn't want to know why. All he wanted right now was to dig his claws in his opponent's chest and rip his heart out. He wanted to make him pay.
Sesshomaru tore the tentacle holding him into pieces with his poisonous claws. He jumped a few feet away and shot his most deadliest glare at his enemy. And that... was something really scary. Even the self-assured demon puppet flinched. But he quickly brung himself up, saying with an insupportable grin :
- You look angry, my dear friend. Am I mistaking, or are you really standing up for your hanyou brother ? I must say that I find it quite hard to believe. I would've never guessed that you would one day defend that worthless half-breed !
Sesshomaru was about to retort when suddenly, he heard something : a groan, coming from his left. He quickly turned his head around to see his little brother trying to get up, but completely failing in his attempt. He was obviously in a deep pain, but somehow was still conscious. The demon Lord was impressed, but when he smelled the suffering cloaking Inu-Yasha's scent, and most of all the smell of death, his heart skipped a beat. The knot in his throat became so tight he had difficulties to breath. He was feeling weird... and couldn't put a name on that feeling. But he knew one thing : he didn't liked it. He almost jumped when Naraku's copy suddenly spoke :
- Well, well, talking of the Devil. I thought you were dead already, half-breed. I see you're tougher than I had first assumed. I'm impressed, I give you credit. But I think it's time to finish you off for good, now...
He then began to move toward Inu-Yasha. The poor hanyou was totally defenseless. Sesshomaru suddenly felt something he'd never felt before, and thought he never would : panic. A pure blinding panic. Without a second thought, he rushed forward, merely a blur to anyone else who would've been looking. He raised his Tokijin.
- Don't dare to touch him, you filthy demon ! he shouted.
In a second, he was on his opponent. And in another second, he had lowered his sword, releasing all of its full destructive power. There was a flash of light, and then... nothing. The demon was destroyed. It never had any chances.
A/N : You see, Sesshomaru does care about his brother. It's a radical change. But you'll find out that in my fics Sesshomaru and InuYasha are never enemies, or at least if they are they make up later... It's just that I find it really stupid that they're always fighting against each other. Sorry if some of you disagree with me, but I prefer when they're allies. It's cool to see them act like true brothers...Well, at least now you're warned. OK, so for those who still like my story anyway, prepare yourself for a lot of fluff in the next chapter !