Disclaimer: How many of you here watch Inu-Yasha? Please say all of you, 'cause other this will be confusing. Now that we've got that cleared up, how many of you remember those funny credit things? You know, the things that "Give Credit" to the people who actually helped with the creation of Inu-Yasha? And it tell you based off the manga by Rumiko Takahashi (Turns out the YGO creator actually has the same last name)? Believe it or not, I'm not in the credits. Because I didn't create Inu-Yasha, and even more shockingly, don't own it. If I did, Sesshomaru would be in it so much more, because clearly he's the best character… Oh, and I don't own Twister, Trivial Pursuit, or Star Wars…or Operation.
"I vote we call a truce," Tetsaiga voiced strongly.
"Why?" Tensaiga inquired.
"Because surely we must be almost done telling this ridiculous story," Tetsaiga reasoned.
"But I'm enjoying myself!" Tensaiga protested.
"But I'm not," Tetsaiga snapped.
"Are you saying you're more important than I am?" Tensaiga gasped, outraged.
"Of course I am! I was the sought after, fought over, far more powerful one!"
"What did you just say?"
"Oh you heard me."
"For your sake, I hope I didn't," Tensaiga said with more than a touch of malice.
"I give up!" Tetsaiga shouted.
"Give what up?"
"All this damn annoying fighting! Fine! You win! I quit! I refuse to continue on!"
"But," Tensaiga whined.
"No! This is the end! No more! I'll tell the next damn part, and that is all. I am through with this less than witty banter!"
"Fine," Tensaiga sulked. "Be that way."
"I will," Tetsaiga said firmly.
"Jerk."
"Oh shut up."
Chapter 21: And Then Things Draw To a Close
Have you ever experienced a moment when it seems like someone is so disgusted with you they can't even bring themselves to be sick?
Not that I ever have.
Not that it would bother me if I did.
So clearly what I said next had nothing to do with the desperate need I suddenly and irrationally felt to wipe that look off Kagome's face.
Nor any latent sense of denial.
"Er, I mean how dare he kiss me when we'd had such a nice long run of never kissing before this moment?"
I certainly never felt the need to doubt my fabulous lying skills.
Hey look, I almost pointed out. Kagome's fainted.
But I didn't stop myself because I was thinking about how Sesshomaru could ridicule and mock that statement, certainly not then backtracking to reassure myself that Sesshomaru very rarely actually mocked what I said, but even more so did not reflect upon the fact that Sesshomaru and I actually vary rarely spoke with one another, trading the same two or three insults at every random meeting hardly counting as dialogue, and most definitely did not go into a small spell of depression on the fact that we had never had a real conversation.
Nope, never even crossed my mind.
"I think we can rest our case," Miroku said gleefully.
A little too gleefully.
And what was he staring at?
Dammit, Sesshomaru was NOT hugging me!
Oh God, was Sesshomaru hugging me?
"Then perhaps you wouldn't mind leaving now," Sesshomaru said coolly.
Now would be a good time for any singular arms wrapped around younger siblings to be removed from their persons.
I didn't squirm- however, I may have…readjusted a little. You would think that it would be easy to get out of a one armed grip, but…
Not that I was actually having a problem. I was just feeling sorry for the handicapped.
"Perhaps you wouldn't mind letting me go…?" I hissed.
"I would," Sesshomaru said smugly.
The bastard! He was trying to humiliate me! This was another part of his maniacal plot, the one that was full of unexpected twists and turns and sudden diversions to cover up his true intent, but what he was planning was-
Was he going to try and kiss me again?
I narrowed my eyes and prepared to pry myself out of his grip.
Of course, when I say pry, I mean gently remove so as not to hurt him.
Not that I had a problem hurting him.
Not that I thought I could hurt him.
No, I did! I was stronger than him!
I just hadn't proved it yet so as to save him some pride.
Just a moment and I would enact my utterly complex escape plan, which would involve the clever use of the inflatable Rin (alarmingly life like though it was) to use the paper shredder to tear the inflatable Jaken (who screamed quite realistically) into tiny little pieces and then throw them while standing on the ceiling, all the while screaming, er, singing, "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas."
"We'll take Kagome," Sango said nodding, interrupting my brilliant plot. I knew she had been brainwashed by Sesshomaru. She had become part of the plot!
Even Kirara was in on the dastardly scheme, transforming and allowing Miroku, who I could only hope had no knowledge of how the was being used- if Sesshomaru had gotten to all of them- as he less than gently put Kagome on Kirara.
"If when you work things out, you might come and see us," Sango said hesitantly.
Oh yes, she was feeling the guilt get to her now.
But she had to explain! That was not a sufficient warning for what Sesshomaru was planning to do with me!
"Work what out?" I snarled.
Surely even the brainwashed had to understand the value of being forewarned!
"Please," Sango pleaded softly.
What? Did she want the pieces of my body returned to her once Sesshomaru had his way?
Was she leaving me to get raped!
Before I would never have considered it…but kissing me twice in the same day…I repressed a shudder.
Something very wrong was happening.
Damn, if only I could figure out what!
Not that I was feeling clueless in any way, shape, form, or manner.
"I'll consider it," Sesshomaru agreed, reluctantly though. I could see it cost him to even half-way promise something to a human.
But what was he promising, exactly? What were they talked about?
Still, she smiled at him.
Possibly that was what unnerved me most in the last three minutes.
"Thank you."
Though her voicing her gratitude was up there.
"But I make no guarantees," Sesshomaru pointed out.
"It's good enough for me," Miroku said cheerfully.
What was good enough for him? What the hell were they talking about!
"Work what out?" I demanded.
Now I had no problem being ignored for most of my childhood. But right now, someone had better start saying something or it would be Iron-Reaver-Soul-Stealer on all your sorry asses.
"Ah!"
A vein pulsed gently in my forehead. Mindless screaming doesn't constitute a reply.
"Ah!"
More mindless screaming was unnecessary.
"Ah!"
Still more mindless screaming was just damn annoying!
"Shut up!" I snapped.
Hey, Sesshomaru let me go.
Now was my chance to run.
Not that I would ever do such a pathetic thing as that.
"Inuyasha!" Shippo yipped. His voice was kind of grating. "You should be more sensitive to the pain you inflicted upon Kagome!"
I cringed. It was so high and squeaky.
Wait. Didn't I secretly like Shippo even if I pounded on him frequently?
I shook my head very gently. I had never doubted myself before, now was hardly the time to start.
There was only one thing to do in a situation like this.
"I didn't inflict anything on her!" Respond to the last thing hurled at you.
"No," Sesshomaru said. "You were an innocent bystander whom I viciously attacked."
If it had been anyone else I would have said they'd rolled they eyes.
But I knew Sesshomaru didn't roll his eyes. And I hadn't been staring at his face anyway, desperately trying to figure out what he was thinking, and therefore was able to confirm that he hadn't rolled his eyes.
But considering that he wanted to do some really un-brother like things to me (I held back a shudder) he was not going about the right course of action to win me over.
Not that I wanted him to win me over.
Not that I even wanted to think about this.
I should stop, then.
"I was!" I'd heard Kagome talking, once, about how she had to read about defense mechanisms in her health book. She had said something about denial.
I had kind of wondered what it was ever since then. Because clearly I had no experience with it. And she never really defined it.
Speaking of time traveling girls with spiritual powers-
"Inu-Inuyasha," Kagome hiccupped, now standing shakily beside Kirara, crying.
Impressive. Unconscious to sobbing in ten seconds flat. That had to be some kind of record.
"Inuyasha," she whimpered, looking me straight in the eye.
I stiffened. For some reason I had a sense of déjà vu.
"I couldn't even win against Kikyo. If I can't beat myself, how can I even be compared to your brother?" she sobbed.
What was she talking about? How were Kikyo and Sesshomaru connected? Well, besides that they both knew me.
Sort of.
I had to ask.
"What?"
"I should have known that we wouldn't end up together. It was just a stupid schoolgirl fantasy," Kagome sniffled.
Wait. Say that again!
Had Naraku somehow poisoned everyone? Who was next? Would Totosai suddenly appear and propose to me?
"I don't want to see you for a while," Kagome said, trying to wipe her tears away.
"Fine with me," I mumbled.
I wasn't weak, but this was too much. How could Kagome…like…me? Had I ever led her to believe that I liked her?
But that still wouldn't account for Sesshomaru, who I knew I had definitely not given any kind of "signals" to invite his severely misplaced lust.
It had to be some kind of poison. A hallucinogen, maybe.
Did I know what a hallucinogen was?
Probably not…
"But I want you to be happy. So, so do what makes you happy, and then come back and tell us how things went. After all, you're still my friend, Inuyasha." Kagome was still talking and now she was even smiling in what could only be described as a maniacal fashion.
That was not the traditional human reaction to things like these.
Maybe she knew what she had been given, she only needed someone to jog her memory. Well, I was up to the challenge.
"Kagome," I began. It was best to know what she had ingested so we could avoid it in the future.
But apparently even when I was trying to help the rest of the group, my words were less important than they're inane babble.
"Be happy, Inuyasha," Kagome said dramatically. "Let's go guys."
And out they went through the large hole in the wall.
"What the fuck just happened?" I asked no one in particular. Sure, Sesshomaru could have answered me, but he was far to busy staring at me strangely to reply.
"Inuyasha, we need to talk," he said suddenly.
Not that I was paranoid or anything, but that didn't sound good to me.
"About what?" I asked in a totally unsuspicious manner.
"Follow me," he answered, avoiding the question.
Or, more likely, just ignoring the question.
"Those words never end well," I muttered. Again, not in a negative, suspicious way.
For a second it almost seemed like Sesshomaru wanted to say something, but then thought better of it.
Perhaps that was giving him too much credit. I still didn't have any proof that he could actually think.
"Which part of follow me was difficult for you to understand?" he cut into my train of thought condescendingly.
"Why should I follow you?" I challenged.
He glared.
I decided it would be best to follow him after all. Not that I was afraid of him or anything. It just seemed like the thing to do.
Now, having not even been at the receiving end of a cheap ten cent tour of the Western Castle, I couldn't verify exactly how many rooms there were, but I was going to hazard a guess and say that no many of them were used, because it seemed as there was only two hallways that led to anything.
"Ah shit," I cursed.
Sesshomaru looked at me briefly out of the corner of his eye. Clearly it had not also dawned on him that Tetsaiga was still down here.
I could understand. Well, in a very impartial kind of way, having never done this myself. But I had heard how people tended to repress unpleasant memories.
As we neared Sesshomaru's bedroom once more I began to sweat.
I wasn't nervous.
It was hot.
The angry banging noises coming from the other side of the door had nothing to do with it.
"What are you so nervous about, Inuyasha?"
"I'm not nervous," I snapped.
The bastard was smirking! At me! He had no right to do that, when I was about to victimized here! An angry ex-sword on the one hand, a confusing, most likely lust-driven older brother on the other, and I was not in the mood to die today, so…
So you can imagine my mild happiness when Sesshomaru opened a door that did not lead to his bedroom.
I didn't do extremes, after all.
"Come in, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru commanded.
"Make me," I snarled.
And promptly rethought that particular sentence.
"Coming."
But only because I was curious as to what was in the room.
What did crazed demon lords keep in the rooms adjacent to their bedrooms?
"A question for the ages," I murmured, stepping inside.
"What?" Sesshomaru questioned, looking at me oddly.
Well, odder, at any rate. A different kind of odd. I mean-
"What is this? Sesshomaru, what is this?" That was all I could say. That was all I could think. What was it?
What?
"You don't remember, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru said calmly.
Something about that statement struck me as wrong. Mostly that it was a statement.
"Should you be asking me if I remember this or not?" I demanded. For all he knew, the small, child-sized bed next to the miniature dresser and what appeared to be a small pile of toys in the other side of the tiny (speaking relatively, of course, in comparison to the huge room that was Sesshomaru's) was completely familiar to me.
The fact that it wasn't, was besides the point.
"You asked me what it was, so I should hope not or I truly have given you more credit than your intelligence actually deserves," Sesshomaru said, sounding almost irritated. Or maybe amused.
It was hard to tell.
"Oh shut up and just tell me what the hell this is," I snapped.
Why did it seem familiar?
"This was your bedroom," Sesshomaru said simply.
Huh.
Not what I had been expecting.
Well, not that I had been expecting anything. Especially not that.
"What?" I said somewhat numbly.
"Your bedroom," Sesshomaru repeated.
Maybe I was hearing him wrong.
"It was your bedroom," he said again, as if he was reading my mind- which was a practice I did not condone in any way!
"What do you mean by my bedroom?" I had to ask. A slip of the tongue and he might actually be trying to say...die bedroom.
Because clearly Sesshomaru had always had it out for bedrooms.
That was a lame excuse even by my standards. Damn.
"As in the room in which you slept on a bed," Sesshomaru explained coolly, with perhaps a hint of exasperation. "I was under the impression that your vocabulary extended to the use of those two words."
"They do!" I growled. Had he always been so difficult? "But I have never lived in this castle! I would not have a room here!"
Unless this was a freaky shrine Sesshomaru built. Who knew what kind of disturbing fantasy he had been living out!
"Tell me, Inuyasha. Do you ever remember coming here?" Sesshomaru inquired.
This was amusing him! Was this really the time for him to be mocking me?
Unless this entire room was a joke.
But Sesshomaru didn't joke.
Maybe this wasn't Sesshomaru. Maybe this was some shape-shifting demon who was trying to do horrible things to me.
But that wouldn't really explain Tetsaiga and Tensaiga.
But I didn't want to think about how they had explained themselves.
"No," I snarled. Just focus on the moment.
Now, chances are if I tried to leave through the door he would literally stab me in the back. Same scenario with either window.
The only solution would be to fight my way out.
But I didn't want to fight him.
And I wanted to hear what he had to say.
But only in a really vague sense.
"You have no memory of ever coming here, yet as soon as you woke this morning you knew where you were." He seemed to be trying to get at something.
"And your point is?" It wasn't that I didn't know where he was going with this, it's just that I wanted him to say it.
Because I liked hearing him speak.
Where the hell had that come from?
"You have been here before. You lived with me for six months," he informed me calmly, completely collected.
Which was odd since he was completely insane.
"I think I would remember living with you for half a year," I snorted. "If you're going to lie to me, at least try and make it believable. Now how about you let me leave?"
"You were only two when I found you," Sesshomaru said quietly.
I don't know if he meant for me to hear him.
But I did.
"Excuse me?"
"You were only two and you had wondered away from the village you and your mother were currently living in. A demon found you. I think he knew who you were, who your father was. I don't really know, because he and I didn't exchange many words."
"What?" I croaked.
He was insane. He had to be.
"I had been walking through the woods around this castle, not really looking for anything in particular at that point, when a small figure ran into me. It was you, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru continued, staring into my eyes.
I couldn't look away.
I wasn't sure if I wanted to.
"You were bleeding and covered in dirt, but even so I could tell who you were. Then the demon appeared and we fought. I won easily enough, but even so it managed to injure me slightly, a cut to my arm.
"At first I was just going to leave you there to die, but then you looked at me, trying so hard not to cry, and I couldn't. It wouldn't have been the honorable thing to do. So I picked you up, even though you were bleeding from a cut in your arm and several others scattered on your body.
"That would probably be why our blood mixed."
My mouth went dry.
"Blood mixed?" I squeaked. Yes, I admit it, I squeaked. So what of it? Completely called for in this situation!
He ignored me, however.
"I brought you back here and tended to your wounds." Then he stopped.
He couldn't stop there!
"Why the hell did you keep me here for six months? Has it always been a hobby of yours to kidnap me?" I yelled.
Was he trying to promote this ridiculous blood bond idea?
"I kept you here, Inuyasha, because I wanted to see what it was like to be your brother."
That was so far out of what I was expecting.
"Then why did you let me go?" I demanded.
Not that I was- no, dammit, I was upset! I was upset that he had let me go back to a sucky life!
"Because you missed your mother," Sesshomaru responded. "And because there was a demon problem that came up and put you in danger as long as you were with me."
"So you were trying to protect me?" I had intended to yell.
But I didn't. I was too...happy...to hear that to yell.
"Yes."
"Oh." That was really all that could be said.
This certainly explained a couple things.
Like why he had never killed me. Like the scar on my arm that I couldn't remember getting.
But that would also mean I believed him.
Which would mean I would have to buy into the blood bond.
That would mean-
"Inuyasha, I don't know whether or not to tell you if the blood bond is real. I don't care. Chances are it is a foolish human explanation for something that makes them uncomfortable."
"Which is?" I asked stupidly.
"Relationships between family members."
Ah.
I knew that.
"But the fact remains, blood bond or no, I do feel something for you."
My temper flared for a moment/
"Something!"
Lust was something, you know.
"Yes, something. I'm not going to tell you I love you right now, because quite frankly I'm thrown off by this entire situation. But I don't hate you, and I would like you to stay," he said, sounding a little unsure of himself.
That was completely off the scale for un-Sesshomaru like statements.
"Will you?"
He was asking. Nicely.
And I liked it...
"Yeah, will you?" Tensaiga asked, standing in the doorway.
Wasn't he kidnapped?
"I'm back," he said, just for anyone who hadn't noticed.
Great.
"Come on, answer the man!" Tetsaiga prodded.
"Weren't you locked in that room?" I asked blankly.
"The door had no lock."
Right.
I knew that.
"But I am a brilliant actor," Tetsaiga said, smirking. "Need trapped in a lock-less room? I'm your guy."
He was even more annoying than I remembered. The effect of minutes, I suppose. And repression.
"Go away," Sesshomaru commanded, a more demon lord glint in his eyes, because his facial expression hadn't changed even once during this time- it was his eyes that had been unnerving.
"All right, fine, but work it our or I will sic the wind scar on both of you," Tetsaiga warned.
I suspect I looked doubtful, because he felt the need to prove he could.
One word: renovations.
Another word: needed.
And then the two of them bounced off. Literally. And it was just us again, with him waiting for an answer.
"I have things I need to do," I said slowly. "Like finding the jewel shards. I can't just abandon my friends."
There was a pause.
"Then leave," Sesshomaru said, emotionless.
"But," I continued. "I can't just abandon my brother, either. And the jewel shards can always be found later. And-"
I was rambling on and I couldn't stop. I didn't know what I wanted to say anymore.
"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru interrupted smoothly. "Are you staying or not?"
This was the moment of truth. The moment, I suspected, that all of this insanity had been leading up to. And there was nothing I could deny any more. It was a face or feelings moment, or run off like a scared little dog.
I wasn't a scared little dog. And I was sick of bad endings.
"I...I want to stay," I said hesitantly. Of course, there would have to be some provisions to that agreement, but I suppose those could be discussed later, and-
And then it happened. Hell froze over. And Sesshomaru smiled.
Now, it wasn't a gigantic smile, but it was definitely there, and I had never seen him really smile before.
He should do it more often, it looked good.
"Thank you," he said.
I didn't blush. Honestly.
"I'm not doing this for you! I'm doing it for me!" And I was. Which was wierd, because ever since we had started searching for the jewel shards I had kept on doing things for other people. Not that I had ever liked it, but still, this was a nice change of pace.
I felt like there were still loose ends to wrap up, like where we would go from here. And I suppose there was that pesky business of finally figuring out exactly how we felt, but we had centuries, so it wasn't like we were in a rush.
And we had to go and see Sango, Miroku, Kagome, Shippo and Kirara. This must have been what Sango was talking about, resolving this.
Kind of boring compared to the brainwashing scheme, but still.
And of course, we would have to deal with Tetsaiga and Tensaiga, but I that could be put off. For a very long time.
I suppose, too, that I wanted to ask more about what had happened exactly during those six months.
And I was hungry, come to think of it. It had been quite a while since lunch.
I suppose-
"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru said, coming right up in front of me, looking me in the eye again. Huh. We were going to kiss again.
I smiled a little. This time I could even be a totally willing participant.
That was another thing, working out the physical details of this little relationship. That could end up being very important, since-
"Inuyasha," he said again. We were so close, it was like everything was touching but our mouths and- "Inuyasha, stop thinking."
So I did.
Author Notes: Thank you all so much for the reviews! Now, in a completely un-related, completely shameless plugging sort of manner, I am bringing up my Sesshomaru/Inuyasha forum, and am putting forth a request that someone start a new forum thread, and everyone else please try and reply! I'm was hoping that when I made the forum I'd get to discuss some good fics, and the wonderful qualities of the couple with other fans…instead of people who don't read it at all and were just passing through and those who think I'm completely sic for even mentioning it…Now that that's over, we should all celebrate! Finally we can move forward with the plotline! Hojo's ancestor is finally gone, and lo and behold, the next episode actually looks like it might be important to the overall plotline. I know, I was shocked too. –grins- Ah, Hojo's ancestor was amusing, and I didn't mind those episodes so much (there have been much worse filler episodes previously, after all). At any rate, I hope you all took note of the extremely short Tensaiga/Tetsaiga bit at the beginning. It was somewhat of an apology for last week…and this is officially the longest chapter of the story. So I hope you all enjoyed it, and are (for some nearly impossible reason if you hated this chapter) looking forward at least a tiny bit for next chapter, because it's the last one. And then there's the epilogue…and then it's done. Well, there was something I was thinking of doing…but as this author's note has gotten a little longer than I intended, I'll mention it next week. –grins- Clearly I'm not trying to bait you all…And because you all love this story a lot, you all want to review. Even if you, in fact, hate it. That is entirely besides the point.
InuSessyYaoiGirl: It really wasn't…so, what did you think of Sesshomaru's little revelation? At least mildly interesting? Yep, some stupid random Kagome- who wasn't even named Kagome! Akitoki renamed her! That was kind of pathetic. Someday fans will get ahold of an anime company…then things will change –laughs- Hehe, I really liked the part when the girls thought Kurama was a girl. Oh the amusement! I liked Hiei's little blips –sighs happily- Ah, Hiei. And when suddenly you heard Yusuke's voice at the exact right moment. I admit, I screamed a little in joy…I wish Hiei and Kurama had at least been in the same scene together! All right, I have to ask: did the characters look a little funny to you at points? Like Koenma especially, he looked…kind of bad, I thought. –reread what she wrote- Well, I suppose that's enjoy YYH rambling. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
000: There is a reason we call this FANfiction. And as soon as you can point out where I have Sesshomaru and Inuyasha sleeping together in this story, then you can criticize me for making them lovers. Other than that, at least insult me on what I have done, please. And next time, leave a name, unless you're ashamed of you opinion. In which case, refrain from voicing it.
Kera: Here's your update, I hope you enjoyed it!
The best way to pass of a paper on why the book clearly had yaoi potential in it is to claim your paper is on "underlying themes." Thus far, in actual practice, it has worked.
