Authoress: aight…I, as usual, will apologize for being so lazy…but my computer/floppy discs have had a thing against me lately, so I haven't been writing as much as I should have…here's what happened…I actually wrote this chapter weeks ago…and as I was about to put it up…my floppy disc died…I mean, it melted while in the drive…I took the bits that were left out of the tower…and then that lil' metal piece on the one end of it (y'know, the thing meant to protect the disc and all)…fell off, its spring went flying…and…all info on that floppy was gone…/cries/ so…twenty pages disappeared…it took me a whole day to write that…but I shall try to recreate that as best as I can…so, here I go!
Inuyasha: that floppy disc had been going to hell for months…why did you still save stuff on it!
Authoress: because…my computer crashes at least once a month…so I'd rather save it to a floppy that has a bit of a chance of surviving the next technological Armageddon I have to go through…/smiles/ PRINCE…1999!…I love that song…hehehe….
Disclaimer: wouldn't it be nice if I owned Inuyasha?…all us Yaoi fanatics would be in heaven…ah, yes…and then there would be Sesshy…minus the kimono and all…hehehe…
Chapter Sixteen
Jaken watched as Yuki paced back and forth, every few minutes his frighteningly calm eyes shifting to the window high above them. The sky was still dark, but from his internal clock, Jaken knew that dawn would come all too soon.
"I'm surprised, Toady…Sesshomaru really doesn't care about all of you, does he?" Yuki wondered, his insane grin widening to show off his pointed fangs. He shifted his hands so that he could lift his tou up and admire it for a moment. "Interesting how easily blood can be cleaned up…but the images…the effects…can never be gone…"
"Yuki-sama, you know you can't harm us…" Jaken stated firmly, trying to convince himself of the same thing as his eyes flickered towards the two unconscious children. From the change in their breathing patterns, he could tell they were waking up. Rin woke up first, sitting up slowly and yawning while she rubbed at her eyes, then looked at Jaken and smiled.
"Jaken…" Rin's voice was filled with questioning as she looked around the dimly lit room, her eyes finally landing on the demon sitting on the opposite side of the room. From his position, Jaken could see the fear in her eyes as the demon lifted up his tou and smirked at her.
"Well…well…this is Sesshomaru's daughter…I wonder how intelligent she is…" Yuki commented nonchalantly as he stood up and took a step towards the ningen. Rin wasn't able to move due to fear, except for the slight shake of her limbs. "I can see she's smart enough to fear me…"
With an almost inaudible yawn, Shippou sat up and his gaze immediately landed on the demon lord walking towards Rin. Shippou quickly assessed the situation, mostly from the feared look Jaken was giving the demon and said demon's smile. We were kidnapped…but why? Shippou wondered as he stood up and took a step in order to stand between Rin and the bat demon.
"Ha…you've got guts, gaki…" Yuki said as he shifted his grip on the curved blade. Shippou didn't even have time to blink before the demon threw the sickle at him. The small fox demon dodged as best as he could, smiling proudly when he stood back up and realized that the blade hadn't hit him. "Not bad…but too slow…" Shippou's eyes widened as he felt the skin on his cheek separate and warm blood trickle down his face. But how? He asked himself as he brought a hand up to touch the wound. It wasn't very deep, but it had already begun to burn terribly. He immediately could tell from the thinness of the cut that it couldn't have been made by the tou that had been thrown at him.
"You've mastered wind?" Jaken asked, his mouth gaping open as he stared from a still-shocked Shippou to Kusarigama. The demon smirked at Jaken's question, then turned to look at the retainer. Jaken was amazed that the demon before him, who he had always seen as an ordinary demon, was able to actually master an element-something that Sesshomaru hadn't even been able to accomplish yet. "It takes…centuries to master elements…how?" Jaken couldn't help but ask, despite his current situation.
"Nearly seven decades of practice, Toady…you and Sesshomaru never thought I'd be able to become equal to you in power…but now I've even surpassed your precious Sesshomaru-sama," Yuki smirked while he jerked his wrist back, pulling on the tou's chain and calmly catching the sharp blade flying back at him. "Wind isn't the only thing, though…fire…water…earth…I've mastered almost everything…and now Sesshomaru will never be able to compete with me. Kind of sad that our last battle won't even be a challenge…"
Jaken stared at the demon, now understanding how the young lord, currently swinging his weapon, had become so powerful. He…made a Final Deal? "How could you make such a deal?" Jaken demanded as he took a step towards the demon, his earlier fear replaced by repulsion.
"Deal?" Shippou echoed questioningly, glancing from Kusarigama to Jaken. He had heard of mastering element, which would allow a person to use that element in any way they wished, but the last demon who had mastered an element…was killed thousands of years ago.
"Hai…the Final Deal…" Kusarigama commented coolly as he smiled calmly at Shippou, which made the small demon's skin crawl. "It is a deal a youkai makes with death itself…"
"You used souls to make the deal! Not any souls, but souls of your own family…innocent souls…now those souls are in hell for all eternity…as where yours will go when you die…" Jaken added, his hands shaking in anger. He had personally known all of Yuki's family and the souls that the youkai lord had used must have been those of his sisters and nephews…who had never killed a being ever. Among demons, it was hard to find a truly innocent soul, which meant that Yuki had to have been stealing his family's souls from birth…killing his newborn nieces and nephews.
"Ah, but my deal included that I couldn't die…"
"That's impossible…" Jaken retorted, knowing that death itself would never give someone immortality, no matter how many souls he would give it in return. The toad couldn't help but shiver, wondering if what the demon lord said was true…and what it meant for his master.
/\\
Miroku rolled over on his side, wondering why Inuyasha was being so loud this morning, but then heard his name uttered by his best friend. The tone of Inuyasha's voice made him sit straight up and realize that he was alone in his bed. Where's Sesshomaru? Miroku wondered as he got up and quickly got dressed.
"Inuyasha, calm down!" Kagome said softly as Miroku walked into the small room and looked at her questioningly. "Miroku…Sesshomaru's gone…"
"…nani?" Miroku asked, glancing over to Inuyasha for confirmation. The demon didn't have to say anything, Miroku could clearly see the bruise forming on his friend's right cheek. "When?"
"Hours…" Inuyasha mumbled as his eyes shifted to the floor. He sounded like he was blaming himself for Sesshomaru's disappearance, but Miroku knew that no one could stand up to his lover when Sesshomaru was in a bad mood. He was fine last night…what happened? "I tried stopping him…he knocked me unconscious…" Inuyasha bit back the additional information, like he had fought back-actually landing a few punches on his anger-clouded brother-and before he had blacked out, Sesshomaru had actually asked him not to follow.
"He went north, right?" Miroku asked softly. Inuyasha could feel his friend's eyes burning into him and knew the sensation wouldn't go away until he answered. With the slightest of nods, Inuyasha looked up and winced when he saw the look on the houshi's face-betrayal.
"We have to go after him," Kagome stated, but was surprised when Inuyasha shook his head. "Why not? Do you want him killed?" She bit her lip when she realized what she had said in front of said demon's lover. She was about to apologize when she saw the saddened smile on Miroku's face.
"He doesn't want us interfering…it's probably better if we stay out of it…" Miroku commented. He couldn't help but feel worthless…he wasn't able to stand against a demon that was, most likely, just as strong as his lover. Miroku wouldn't admit it to Kagome or Inuyasha, or anyone else, but he wanted, just once, to prove his worth to Sesshomaru.
"How can you, of all people, say that, Miroku?" Kagome demanded, glaring at the houshi. He should be the most worried out of all of us…his entire family is in danger! Sesshomaru shouldn't be moving around, let alone going off to fight some demon! She inwardly wished the two men in front of her would stop being such men just for a moment to see that honor didn't matter right now-lives were at stake. "His pride can be damaged a little-"
"Sesshomaru's pride is everything to him," Miroku retorted, harsher than he had planned, and caught his friends off guard. They weren't used to hearing the cheerful houshi so serious. Kagome smiled softly and moved closer to Miroku.
"No, his family is more important than his pride," she replied as she rested her hand on Miroku's and looked up into the ningen's face. She could tell Miroku didn't believe her-or did and just didn't realize that Sesshomaru was doing this to, besides saving Rin and the others, protect Miroku. At the same time, Kagome had a fleeting thought that struck her with amazement-did Miroku even know that Sesshomaru was carrying his children? She mentally shook her head. The houshi could be dense at times-and Sesshomaru could be stubborn-but he had to have realized by now or Sesshomaru told him. In the back of her mind, Kagome couldn't help but doubt that philosophy…from the way Miroku was acting…he really didn't know.
Kagome looked to Inuyasha for help, but he didn't seem to realize the same thing as she did yet, but from the pleading expression she gave him, understanding dawned on him and Inuyasha did the only thing he could-his mouth dropped open.
"Nani?" Miroku asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked from a silent Kagome to his mouth-gaping friend. He hated when people kept him out of a conversation, especially one that got a reaction like that out of Inuyasha when nothing was actually said.
"M-Miroku…did Sesshomaru ever tell you?" Kagome couldn't help but ask as she shifted her gaze to the man. He raised an eyebrow, as if asking her to explain what she was talking about, but Kagome couldn't bring herself to mention what should have been Sesshomaru's duty to tell.
"Kagome…are you feeling alright?" Miroku questioned, true concern in his voice as he watched Kagome glance over at Inuyasha and the demon took a deep breath. "Tell me what? What are you two hiding?"
"Not us, Miroku…Sesshomaru…" Inuyasha stated, then took another deep breath. "Kagome found out a while ago…and…we didn't tell you since we thought Sesshomaru should and-"
"Tell me what!" Miroku demanded, concern filtering into his voice. He began dreading what they were about to tell him-his mind already getting the idea that Sesshomaru was seriously ill and/or injured, which would explain their concern for the powerful demon.
"That Sesshomaru…is pregnant…" Kagome said softly, the smallest of smiles gracing her lips. As soon as the word 'pregnant' came out of his friend's mouth, Miroku couldn't do anything but stare at her, wondering if this wasn't just some kind of terrible joke.
"That's not possible…"
/\\
"So, Toady…the sun's just about up…which one of the brats should go first?" Kusarigama asked gently as he peered down at Shippou, who was using himself as a shield for Rin. The little demon had spunk, and, if he didn't have to die, then Yuki would have taken him as a slave since he wouldn't be much good as a fighter.
"Yuki-sama…" Jaken couldn't think of anything to say, since the whole speech about the treaty hadn't done anything to sway the demon's decision. For the past hour, he had been trying to remember everything he knew about those accursed Deals and mastering elements, but he couldn't think of a way to fight on equal ground, let alone actually kill the demon. Inwardly, he prayed that his master wouldn't come. Considering that Inuyasha and his unborn children were the last of Sesshomaru's family, Jaken would rather have two half-demon children born of his master than that baka Inuyasha ruling the Western Lands. If Sesshomaru was to ever face Yuki, he would most certainly die, Jaken didn't even try denying that fact to himself, which only made his fate inevitable in his eyes.
"What, no mordacious comment? Really, Jaken, you always used to have a clever comeback," Yuki commented, smirking as he lifted his tou up and traced it along the soft flesh of Shippou's cheek. The fox demon was somehow able to force himself to not shake in fear as the unusually warm blade slid across his skin, leaving a pink contusion in its wake. Shippou was surprised that he wasn't actually afraid of dying now, but his fear was leaving Rin without some sort of protection. He didn't put too much faith in Jaken to keep her safe if he was killed first. Shippou's blood ran cold when he heard Kusarigama's next comment. "The girl…that way, you can tell Sesshomaru how exactly I killed her."
Rin whimpered from behind Shippou, tightening her grip of the back of his shirt as she buried her head into his back. Shippou couldn't blame her for being scared out of her wits. This demon was the epitome of evil and any form of death he was planning was certainly going to be long and painful, especially since Yuki wanted it to be memorable.
"You won't harm her…" a deep voice commented from behind Yuki, which surprised the demon lord enough to spin around, clutching his tou to his chest. Jaken was amazed that he hadn't been able to sense the demon, something Kusarigama was surprised over as well, but he realized only moments too late why he hadn't felt his master's presence…there was nothing to sense. Sesshomaru was powerless.
/\\
"Can't you go any faster!" Inuyasha cried impatiently as he slammed a fist into Hachi's back, then grumbled to himself. Kagome looked over to her husband and smiled sadly. Inuyasha was afraid for his brother, and his nieces or nephews as well as Shippou and Rin, but he wouldn't admit it even under torture. It could have been considered a sweet gesture on the demon's part if it wasn't for the fact they were racing to the Northern Lands to save his brother's life. Miroku hadn't said anything since he called for Hachi, which wasn't really surprising. Miroku was usually quiet, but this was very unlike the houshi. He hadn't said anything…he even looked more serious than she had ever seen him. Kagome could only imagine what he felt right now.
Pregnant…Myoga said it is possible for male demons to…but why did he…why didn't he tell me! Miroku wondered to himself as he stared at the sky in front of him. A half hour of flying and he had yet to think of a valid reason for Sesshomaru keeping this a secret. He was bound to find out eventually, so why did his own lover hide it. Simple…he doesn't trust me…Miroku concluded sadly as he studied the carefree puffs of white they sped past in what Kagome and Inuyasha believed to be a rescue mission. Miroku didn't want to get his hopes up-deep down, he had a feeling that all he would find in the Northern Lands was more heartbreak than he could handle. Even if Sesshomaru survived, Miroku would still have to live with the knowledge that the demon was trying to hide the truth about his children. The fact Sesshomaru hadn't told him stung even more than when he had first admitted his love to that heartless demon.
'I cannot say the same?' If he had been willing to carry my children…how could he say that?…and why wouldn't he tell me? All those times he was sick…injured…so tired…I-I never imagined…it could be because of that…Miroku stared out beyond Hachi's head and sighed softly when he saw the towers poking out of snow-covered trees. Completely black, the castle wasn't exactly hidden from sight, but it was an impressive thing; a complete opposite from the almost innocent-looking forest and untouched snow that was reflecting the sunrise.
"Are you still sure about this?" Hachi asked as he began to descend once they were getting close enough to see the demons flying out of the castle in hordes. Miroku didn't even have to think about his answer…or what he was going to go through to find Sesshomaru. All he had to do was imagine not seeing one of those rare smiles on Sesshomaru's face again, and he fearlessly jumped from Hachi's back as soon as he was close enough to the ground.
/\\
"Well, well, Sesshomaru…about time you got here…" Yuki commented, his eyes traveling over Sesshomaru's body. The other demon lord was leaning up against one of the cold stone walls of the room, but not for appearance's sake-he was about to collapse from fatigue, which made the bat demon snicker. "Aw, you're out of breath from running all the way up here? Really, you've let yourself go…" He was going to use the fact that Sesshomaru didn't know he knew about his children to his full advantage.
Yuki looked to Jaken, who hadn't uttered a word since Sesshomaru appeared, which was surprising considering how the little toad would usually never shut up. The inu-youkai pushed against the wall so he could stand up straight, but tottered for a moment before steadying himself. Sesshomaru had a look of absolute hatred on his face, which showed off his uncanny beauty even more than the usual blasé expression he carried. "Let them go," Sesshomaru demanded, his voice raspy from over-exertion. Kusarigama could see that the Lord of the Western Lands was trying to hide the fact he was-painfully-gasping for breath, which made Yuki snort.
"And what will you do if I don't? Wheeze at me? Admit it, Sesshomaru, you can't fight me, let alone actually beat me…" Kusarigama commented, taking a step towards Sesshomaru as he tightened his grip on his tou. He knew Sesshomaru well enough to know that Sesshomaru had a few tricks up his own sleeve and wouldn't have come here if he didn't have a solid strategy to take back his 'daughter.'
"Yuki…" Sesshomaru said threateningly as he placed his hand on his own weapon, his mind quickly taking in the situation before him. When he had hit Inuyasha and told him not to follow, he didn't think he would be so exhausted from running such a distance. He had always been able to travel seven or eight times the distance, twice as quickly, before he even broke a sweat-but, then again, Sesshomaru had forgotten to take into consideration that he had been feeling weaker and weaker as of late. That, added with the fact his entire abdomen had begun screaming in pain when he was about to reach the castle, put Sesshomaru in a bad position, even considering that Yuki was never equal to him in power-only in cunning and ruthlessness when needed.
"One question before I kill you, Sesshomaru…" Yuki stated as he shifted his arm, letting go of his blade's handle, and caught the chains attached to his tou and swung it around slowly. Sesshomaru's golden eyes were on him, studying Yuki's posture and youki as the Lord of the Northern Lands took another step towards him and smiled. "Why did you kill her?"
"A mistake…" Sesshomaru replied without hesitation, but didn't try to hide his regret. Killing his best friend's lover was the single worst thing he had ever done and Sesshomaru had, since then, wanted to somehow make it up to Yuki, but he now knew it was impossible.
"Oh, a mistake? Then it's a mistake my kusarigama slips," Yuki retorted as he, without blinking or shifting his gaze, flung the blade backwards-directly at the pair of children. He was surprised that, in the instant it took him to bring his arm up to throw the sickle, Sesshomaru had analyzed him and predicted his actions. What amazed him even more was that Sesshomaru had the energy left to actually move himself between the two children and the blade.
In only an instant in Jaken, Rin, and Shippou's eyes, Sesshomaru appeared before them and Yuki's blade-which had been in his hand only a moment before-harmlessly clinking to the ground. Forcing himself to ignore the wave pain that hit him as soon as he saw the sickle hit the floor, Sesshomaru looked up at Yuki and tightened his grip on his own weapon. This time, the pain had increased, but Sesshomaru had learned when he was young how to block out pain during a battle…but he couldn't, since he didn't know exactly what the pain was from.
"Fine, if you want to die before them, so be it," Yuki said as he flicked his wrist and the tou flew back into his opened hand. Sesshomaru's instincts screamed for him to move, but if he did, Rin and Shippou would be harmed. The inu-youkai was so concerned over the two children behind him, he missed the slightest hand motion Yuki made, but he didn't fail to notice the searing pain that began in his shoulder, then stretched across his chest. His eyes flickered down long enough to see the reddish stain forming where there shouldn't have been a wound. "Mastery of elements…you didn't expect that, did you?"
Sesshomaru forced himself not to show the other demon his surprise-or his apprehension-when he heard his comment, but instead, stood up straighter and clutched his sword. With one final thought before he dulled the pain in his shoulder, Sesshomaru raced at Yuki with full intent to take the demon with him to hell. An image of a black haired ningen flashed through his thoughts as he was only a step from the crazed demon lord and Sesshomaru smiled.
/\\
"WHERE THE HELL IS SESSHOMARU!" Inuyasha demanded, shaking the poor demon by the neck. As the last of the demon guard left alive, he was the only one they could ask, but the small uma-youkai just thrashed his four hoofed legs about in attempts to free himself. Inuyasha throttled his neck again, but froze when he heard a sickening crack echo through the palace. He looked to Kagome and Miroku and knew his expression was mirroring theirs-apprehension.
Tightening his grip around the youkai's neck long enough to stop its legs from kicking, Inuyasha threw the body into a pile of demons that had already been killed, then flew off in the direction the sound came from.
Kagome and Miroku followed him as quickly as they could, Kagome knocking another arrow into her bow as they ran while Miroku inwardly prayed Sesshomaru was still alright. No, he's fine…he has to be…Miroku scolded himself for thinking of such depressing thoughts. He picked up his speed as he heard a medley of cracks of metal on metal, which sounded louder with each step. Somehow he knew the sound was coming from Sesshomaru's Tokijin, which made his hopes soar in the slightest. If Sesshomaru was able to fight off the demon lord long enough for Inuyasha to arrive, then he might not get hurt.
Somehow Miroku knew that was too hopeful of a thought and his heart fell when he saw Inuyasha had froze in front of an open door, his eyes locked on whatever was inside of it. Miroku raced the last few steps to the doorway and reacted the same way Inuyasha had. Kami-sama…
There was no other thing Miroku could think of when he saw wind swirling around the room. He also could see the youki swirling around a tall, red-eyed demon. The sheer amount of youki radiating off of him made Miroku shiver and take a step back, but he froze in mid-step when he saw his lover. Miroku stared at Sesshomaru in something far from recognition. He had never seen any demon, especially Sesshomaru, in such a state.
Panting heavily, Sesshomaru was struggling to remain standing and the only thing that seemed to be holding him up was his stubborn will. Eyes a shade of frightening red and his markings standing out more than usual, Sesshomaru was an impressive sight, but Miroku was frozen with fear-and concern-when he saw the reddish purple stains streaking across Sesshomaru's chest, arm, torso, and legs. His hair was even tainted the sickening color, but Miroku couldn't bring himself to move…to protect his lover.
"You're too late," the blue-haired demon commented as his eyes shifted from the struggling demon lord in front of him to the three newcomers. He studied the black haired ningen, obviously a houshi from his clothes and staff, and smirked. The man was frozen from the sheer amount of youki in the room, as was the other human, but Sesshomaru's brother was barely able to contain himself as Sesshomaru growled and, somehow, stood back up straight and picked up his sword again. Yuki wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was amazed Sesshomaru had lasted this long, especially considering his wounds and current condition. The demon's heart had almost stopped beating, yet he remained standing, with his sword poised for an attack. Kusarigama had to hand it to Sesshomaru-he was the single most tenacious being he had ever met, which only made killing him slowly more entertaining.
With a glance at Sesshomaru, the once white-haired demon staggered back, a new wound erupting in the center of his chest. Being able to attack Sesshomaru without his old friend able to defend himself was almost boring, but the soft gasp that came from Sesshomaru as he fell to one knee was worth it. Kusarigama tightened his grip on his weapon-having promised himself that the final blow would be dealt by hand-and shot towards Sesshomaru, his target the small amount of youki he could sense coming from the demon's torso.
"DIE!" He cried as he swung the tou in an arc and smirked when he saw the spray of blood coat his face, but his eyes widened when he saw Sesshomaru laying a few feet away from him, only a nick on his abdomen. His eyes shifted back to the being who had taken the majority of the blow.
"I believe you will die before Sesshomaru-sama," Jaken whispered as he brought a hand to his torso and glared at Yuki as the pain finally hit him. Shippou covered Rin's eyes and looked away and didn't let her go until her heard two soft sounds-of something hitting the floor.
"Wind Scar!" Inuyasha screamed as he flew at Kusarigama, actually surprising the demon enough that Yuki didn't have a chance to react. The attack did meet its target, but Yuki only looked down at the deep gashes across his chest-an injury that should have killed him long before his skin was even cut, but he merely laughed. Kusarigama looked up at Inuyasha and quickly raised his hand-he was going to kill the little brat for daring to attack him-but discovered he couldn't move. He looked at where an amazing wind was coming from and his eyes locked with the hate-filled eyes of the ningen.
Yuki snarled, surprised that he had somehow overlooked the fact this human also had an ability over wind, let alone one strong enough to nullify his own. He glared at the human, but was surprised to discover that he couldn't use any other ability against the human-his body had completely frozen.
It wasn't the human's power that froze Yuki, it was the translucent image of a woman standing next to him that had stopped the demon lord. Those large green eyes and small smile were things he could never forget, nor could he erase the memory of her long black hair and three grey dots on her forehead, creating a triangle between her eyebrows. Even her petite body and tiny, almost childish, hands had haunted him for years. His eyes traced along her arm, up to her short fingers that were wrapped around the human's wrist, holding up his arm. The houshi didn't seem to notice her, but the winds began to increase in their strength as the woman's eyes caught Yuki's and he saw something that stopped his heart for a moment.
Forgiveness; she was forgiving him…and Sesshomaru. As if she was speaking to him and only him, Yuki knew exactly what she wanted.
Stop this…you two are like brothers…you've already done so many terrible things in my name…please don't destroy another family…onegai…please come back to me…
Yuki's body began to feel so heavy, as if he was going to collapse, but he forced himself to remain standing, to look at the woman that could only be seen by him. Her smile, her love, radiated off of her and somehow lightened his soul…his body. Yuki couldn't help but smile sadly as he allowed his body to move towards the human and the odd black circle in his hand.
I can never go with you…Yuki thought to himself as he caught a final glimpse of the one woman who had made a difference in his life, then all he felt was a calmness that he had never known.
/(A/N: okay…well…we'll just go off that now…)\\
Miroku watched as the demon, who had been struggling against his wind tunnel just let go for some reason. He didn't have a chance to think about it because as soon as he was sure the demon was gone, he wrapped his prayer beads around his hand and raced to Sesshomaru, dread filling him.
"Please…be…alive…" Miroku prayed as he quickly fell to Sesshomaru's side and picked up the demon's head and cradled his lover against his chest-but he couldn't feel any movement from his beloved. All he could feel as he felt the first tears slide down his face was the warm, thick fluid staining his hands and a despair unlike anything he ever knew encompass him.
/\\
Authoress: Okay…well…I'll leave all of you with that…/smiles/ I'm sorry, but a cliff hanger is needed every now and again…that and I didn't want to go over nine pages in one chapter (which was long overdue, I know…)…blame school…and a lot of other things…/sighs/ ah, the wonders of unconscious flirting…with your best friend's boyfriend…UNINTENTIONAL!
Inuyasha: IS SESSHY ALIVE?
Sesshomaru//silent/
Miroku: IIIIIEEEEEEE! (AKA: no)
Authoress: well, you'll all just have to find out next chapter, which will be our final installment of A Twisted Love (except for maybe an epilogue, but those things don't count)…so, until I get around to finally finishing this story of unrequited love and everything that defies nature, SAYONARA!