Sorry, it's taking so long for me to write. I'm not thinking well. I'm reading too much comics, hehe... I want to thank you for reviewing! This one's short and rather sad in my part because I could hardly find the words to express the sadness. I felt my own eyes water. Pathetic, ain't I? Well, I hope I write faster.

Since that day...

Part Four

Walking side by side again, both brothers are clean and dressed miraculously. Like before, Inuyasha tries to be as close as he could, hoping that time would just slow or even come to an end. He does not want to go back, he simply do not. The thought of going back to a normal day of Naraku-hunting is so frightening for some reason.

Perhaps feeling his brother's unease, Sesshomaru tries an act of comfort. He surprises his younger brother by taking his hand. Brought out of his thoughts, Inuyasha looks up at his brother curiously. "When we are about there, I'll go, get Rin, and we'll leave. Afterwards, you can get back to your friends so it won't seem like we were together," Sesshomaru informs.

Somehow, Sesshomaru's words break Inuyasha's heart. They'll have to part sooner than he had expected. Well, he hadn't thought of what his big brother thought about. The hanyou is more concerned with his feelings than thinking about how they are going to escape their friends' notice. The younger brother's face turns solemn, and he wants so much to protest, but what would be the reason for his objection? That he wants to stay with his brother a little longer? That he doesn't want to part? That he loves his brother too much? God knows that Sesshomaru would not accept those as a reason, and Inuyasha understands as well.

Falling back to silence, Inuyasha's mind stirs away from what they have to do and into a state where he imagines what they could do. /We could run away...together. Then we can be together, right? We can do that right now, not go back to the cave and just run away./ There is a part of Inuyasha that wants to tell his brother what he is thinking but he knows exactly what Sesshomaru would counter with and win. They can't. Inuyasha would be leaving his friend's. Sesshomaru would be abandoning Rin. No, they can't. Inuyasha still has to defeat Naraku and make sure all the shards are gathered. He has to stay with Kagome. He has to protect her and telling her about his chaotic feelings would be more than a disaster. He couldn't tell her, he just couldn't, nor could he tell anyone else. They couldn't. Sesshomaru is the Lord of the Western Lands. What disgrace would it bring upon him if this was ever known! Not to mention that there will be no heir either. And if that is not enough, there is still the fact that they are very well blood-related brothers, half-brothers but still brothers. With this one fact, their love is considered an unthinkable sin. It is, and they know, both of them. They can remember stories that were told about sins and people who committed them. They can choose to not believe it, but they cannot forget what is said to them, that these kinds of sins results in an endless purgatory after life. They can say that they are not afraid, that it's just some made up story, they can sacrifice themselves, but could they sacrifice the other? It would be the same answer from both of them. They would try anything to protect the other, so how could they?

So many things go against them. Should they even try? Shouldn't they just let it be and go on with their separate ways? But it is always easier said then done. How can they? When they are apart, they are still remaining in memories of each other. They cannot part. Their paths are already intertwined, and that cannot be changed. And more importantly, it is undeniably that neither of them wants it to change. To be together, that is what they ultimately want. But how! They don't know how.

Inuyasha is so deep in thought that he doesn't notice that they are nearing their undesired destination until he feels that his whole happiness is slipping when Sesshomaru takes his hand away. He jerks, looking intently at his older brother. "Here," Sesshomaru says calmly, his eyes tell no emotions to the ordinary eye but to Inuyasha's which mirrors those same golden pools, he can see exactly the pain of one controlled by an unchangeable destiny. "We stop here," the youkai says informingly, and then as soon as those words were said, he proceeds to walk forward, leaving the hanyou in his place.

There is an overwhelming incompleteness coming over the half-demon as he can only watch his brother's elegantly distancing form. This is probably the only chance that they can try to run away. They can leave right now and forget about everything. Inuyasha's heart beats with pain and indecision. He can swear that the very core of his soul is just yearning to run up to his brother and hold him so tight in his arms that the other cannot slip from his life.

It is such a quick and impulsive decision, even for Inuyasha, as he rushes forward to grab his brother, saying, "No!" He shakes his head, burying his face in his brother's chest. "No, wait," he chants painfully. /Not yet.../

"Inuyasha," he hears his brother say quietly. The youkai doesn't move yet, he himself longing to stay in this position. But if one of them has to be stronger, then he will have to be the one. "Let go," he demands, his tone only a little stern.

"No, I don't want to go back," Inuyasha retorts, his voice almost cracking in a cry. He holds on as tightly as he could, not wanting to believe that their time is over and that they have to part forever. Almost childishly, he says, "Let's not. Let's never go back." /I don't want to.../

"Inuyasha, what are you saying?" the demon lord inquires.

"Run away with me," Inuyasha answers looking up at his brother, his eyes in plea with a vision of the happiness it would bring. He almost hopes that his brother's answer would make that come true.

Sesshomaru's eyes widen at the suggestion, his heart beating rather fast. /Yes, yes, yes, I want to run away with you./

"No," the youkai finally says, looking away. If it is pain that Inuyasha is feeling at that word, he is feeling the same, because in all his life he had never wanted something so much.

Thus, with his heart tugging, Inuyasha loosens his hold, both his hands coming up to his brother's face to touch it softly. His heart is crying, he knows it. For a moment so brief, he leans up to press his lips on Sesshomaru's, but only lightly, barely touching compared to all the others that they have shared just minutes ago but those seem like ages ago.

/I love you./ After feeling the warm flesh, Inuyasha retreats slowly, never taking his eyes off the other, memorizing each detail of the youkai's perfection.

/It just couldn't be real, Inuyasha.../ Sesshomaru's eyes rest on the others, and they unwillingly glance away, the youkai turning around. Walking with a heavy heart, Sesshomaru cannot bear to look back. He cannot bear to see his beloved brother's face. He knows what emotions it will show, the feelings he would see. And if he even thinks about looking back, he might, and everything will go into oblivion because he knows that if he looks back once, he shall never want to turn around again.