Chapter Fourteen: Stupid Kid

The sun was hanging low in the sky, nightfall was quickly approaching while a small fawn grazed in an empty meadow, unaware of the predator watching it with an unforgiving gaze.

The young hunter lifted his bow and soundlessly pulled the arrow back till the very tip of its feather grazed his cheek. He watched the fawn with a type of cold determination that was foreign not him, but never the less he waited perched at the very edge of the forest.

He was soundless and ready to strike, but his heart thundered in his chest, the scent of his anxiety must have carried to the lone deer. It's head snapped in his direction and the suddenness of its movements startled the hunter and without his knowledge, he released the arrow.

It flew through the air and grazed the fawn's side, but didn't penetrate its skin.

The now alert and frightened deer fled into the forest, all the 'hunter' could do was watch his prey frolic out of view.

"Dammit!" He cried as he flung his bow to the ground in pure frustration. "I'm not meant for this!"

The boy dropped to the ground in exhaustion, he hadn't eaten in two days and his archery was better on targets than on moving creatures.

He sighed miserably as he laid flat on the forest floor. "How pathetic…" he moaned "come on Sota you're better than this." he tried to convince himself but was unsuccessful in actually believing his own words.

Sota lived the life of a priest, his life was sheltered and he was never taught to forage or fish or live in the wild, only to pray and tend the fields, his combat training had been going well…but he never finished.

He was a damn fool for going on this journey. He'd be killed by the elements before finding that demon.

The boy's eyes suddenly opened at the memory of that creature, he watched as it took Rin. That wonderful little girl into his claws and dragged her into the forest to be devoured!

"That's right…" he mumbled to himself "I can't stop here…"

Grabbing hold of his bow he used it as a walking stick to keep him balanced. Even if he wanted to turn back he couldn't, he promised his father that he wouldn't return unless he slew the Lord of the West, but far more importantly…he needed to avenge the life of the girl he killed.

The longer he walked the more he could feel his body weakening, but he refused to die, not until he found Sesshomaru.

Sota suddenly laughed and said aloud "Heh…this would be a lot easier if that horse hadn't run off with all my supplies!"

He may have been a hopeless survivalist, but he still had a mission and would not stop until it was fulfilled.

The boy was so determined to keep moving forward, that he hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings or the tensed golden eyes that watched him from a distance.

It had been five days since he left the Shrine, but he didn't feel any closer to finding Sesshomaru. He had no leads, no possible idea where he could be. So he aimlessly wandered the forest, hoping, praying for some sign.

"Hahaha!"

Sota stopped dead in his tracks, he had been wandering those woods wordlessly, the only voices he heard were his own and the memories of the family he left behind.

Tears filled his eyes as he heard the familiar sound of Rin's laughter. That beautiful sound that he would never hear again in this life.

"Haha, come Master Jaken! Haha!"

"Rin! You insolent child, come back here at once!"

'Wait…What?!' Sota's head whipped in all directions with a sudden realization 'That isn't a memory!'

Without thinking, Sota began a full on sprint towards the sound of laughter, her laughter!

Speeding past trees and shrubbery Sota was suddenly in front of a river. A crisp and gleaming stream of water that suddenly reminded Sota that he hadn't had a drink of water in ages.

He whirled his head around, looking in every direction, but he saw nothing.

Sota's hope quickly died out and angrily he scuffed as he brushed an anxious hand through his tangled hair "You idiot…" he mumbled.

Shrugging off his possible hallucinations Sota sluggishly dropped at the foot of the river and took a few long gulps of water, enjoying every splash of liquid against his tongue.

Sota continued to relax next to the deep water, but in his bliss, he was unaware of the demon who watched him from across the riverbank. His golden eyes studying the boy from the base of a large tree.

It was then that Sota felt the sudden demonic energy, the sensation overwhelmed him and nearly pinned him to the ground.

'Such power….w-where?'

The boy's eyes darted across the water and there he found what he had been seeking. Long, snow white hair that stretched to his waist, deadly sharp claws and golden eyes. He looked with a dull and lifeless expression as he leaned back against the tree trunk, unfazed by his presence.

In a sudden surge of power Sota thrusted himself onto his knees, he reached over his shoulder and ripped an arrow out of his quill and readied it on his bow.

"Sesshomaru!" He barked, the fury emanating from his eyes gained the demon's attention. Sota was overcome with an urge to kill the demon before him…yet, he couldn't stop his arms from shaking.

The demon looked the boy over, seeing how he was unable to hold his arrow straight, the scent of his fear was clear in the air.

Sesshomaru suddenly had a small smirk that touched his lips, and that act alone pushed Sota to the brink. 'He has the nerve to mock me?!'

His grip on his bow tightened and the fury in his expression intensified. With a venomous voice, he called out "You…vial creature! I'll make you pay for what you've done!"

Sesshomaru's eyes widened a half portion at the accusing tone this fearful boy bellowed, but he wondered what possessed him to dare come before a Demon Lord with such disrespect.

"And what…" his voice was almost annoyed as he asked, "…have I done?"

Sota narrowed his eyes and growled, "For that girl….you murdered Rin!"

It was then that Sota saw a sudden change in the demon. His eyes turned from dull to angry, his bored expression vanished and was replaced with one of untapped rage, and from his seated position, Sesshomaru was suddenly standing before Sota.

He was startled by the sudden rush of his power and quickly leaped back to try and distance himself, but Sesshomaru was far quicker. He took hold of Sota's arm that was holding the arrow in place, and in the flash of a second, had turned his arm until a loud and painful snapping sound was heard.

Sota cried out in pain, his bow and arrow dropped and when his arm was released, Sesshomaru's dangerous claws dove down and gripped around Sota's fragile throat, lifting the boy till his feet dangled in the air.

Sota tried to cry out but no sound came, he tried to kick at Sesshomaru, but his legs couldn't move, the exhaustion and strain had finally caught up to him and his strength was quickly leaving him.

All he was able to do was stare into the eyes of the angered demon that was quickly stripping the life from him. Sesshomaru scuffed and said "You'll die for your insolence."

His vision began to blur, everything was going dark. 'Am I…dying? I didn't even get…to fight…'

The less Sota struggled, the tighter Sesshomaru's grip became. The question how this idiotic boy even knew Rin crossed his mind, but the answer did not compel him to stop. He would dispose of him and never have to hear such impatience again.

Suddenly, a familiar and despised scent reached the demon, just as a flash of red came crashing down on them. Sesshomaru was quick to drop the boy and leap out of Tetsaiga's wrath.

A crater was left where his feet had been seconds ago, the boy tossed to the side was now gasping for air as he rolled over to his side in agony, but Sesshomaru paid no mind to the boy, his only target was him.

"Inuyasha."

The half demon's ears twitched at the sound of his own name. Causing him to lift his mighty sword from the ground he had just slashed at. His expression was cool, composed, more focused then Sesshomaru had seen him in a long time.

"What brings you here?" Sesshomaru asked, intrigued by how quiet he was. Usually, he would be taunting him with snide remarks and half-thought up puns, but now, he offered nothing but silence.

Using his blade, Inuyasha pointed it directly to the sniveling boy laying at Sesshomaru's feet.

"That one is mine." He stated with all the seriousness in the world, said boy suddenly lifted his head.

Having regained his breath he was shocked by the demon's words. He was tall, covered in red, with the exception of his snow white hair that dropped down his back. Sharp fangs and teeth that would tear him to pieces…but his eyes, they were so solum.

Sesshomaru suddenly snickered "And what business do you have with this weakling?"

Inuyasha remained stoic, which concerned the demon lord greatly. "Not exactly your concern is it?"

Sesshomaru placed his hand on the hilt of Bakusaiga "I'm impressed, little brother. At this point, you would have attacked me brutishly, but it seems you finally developed some manners. I suppose I have your mate to thank-"

Sesshomaru's words were cut off by Inuyasha's fist which collided with his stomach, sending the demon falling backwards. The strike surprising, yet not surprising at the same time.

"Well…" Sesshomaru grunted "That's more like it."

Inuyasha only barred his fangs and barked "I ain't here to fight! I'm here for the kid that's all!"

It was this moment that Sota finally found his voice, he barked angrily "I'd never go with the likes of a demon!" Both demon's turned their annoyed gazes to him at once, causing him to flinch. Before he could say anything else, Inuyasha sped to his side and clocked him over the head, knocking the boy unconscious.

Inuyasha looked back to his elder brother and asked "We done here?"

Sesshomaru paused before nodding "I suppose so. I'm not sure what you intend to do with that boy, but I suggest you advise him to hold his tongue."

"Noted." Inuyasha replied before hosting Sota over his shoulder. Before he departed he asked "How is the little Princess doing anyways?"

Sesshomaru visibly tensed at the mention of Rin, his one, and only soft spot. "She is perfectly safe in my care."

Inuyasha smirked as he began walking towards the forest "Good. If I find out otherwise I'll come back and make you pay."

Sesshomaru didn't bother with a response, he only watched his younger brother vanish into the trees with the disrespectful child. He didn't care who he was or what his reasons were, he simply decided that he wasn't worth the great lord's time.

With that, he turned his heel and began his descent back home.

Aggressively Sota's short canines sank into the grilled fish in his hands, not even waiting for the simmering flesh to cool off before stuffing it in his mouth, bones and all.

It had been days since his last meal and he was going to enjoy every second, even with a glaring Half-Demon across from him.

The moment he woke up the demon didn't say a word aside from 'eat' when the fish was presented to him, which Sota complied gratefully.

He didn't bother asking where he was or why he let Sesshomaru escape…or even why he had helped him. All of those thoughts slipped out of his mind when the delicious, heavenly fish was given to him on a holy stick.

But all too suddenly Sota had consumed every ounce of his meal, stripping the bones clean. Before his stomach was even able to growl, a sudden hand pulled his from the trance he had been in for several minutes.

The demon had roasted two more fish and presented one to Sota.

Naturally, Sota hesitated. This was a demon after all. Demons couldn't be trusted because they held no kindness in their hearts, only darkness and evil. These fish were probably laced with poison, the same poison Sesshomaru spewed from his claws…yet it still looked so good!

Greedily, Sota ripped the fish from his grasp and continued to gorge himself. The demon only sat back, not at all offended by his rudeness, or even if he was he didn't show it.

All the demon did was stare blankly at Sota, it seemed that he had something heavy weighing on his mind, Sota could practically feel a deep sadness that surrounded his aura.

His eyes reflected off the light from the campfire. A magnificent gold no question, but behind it, a deep longing, aching, but for what, Sota could not say.

When Sota had finally finished his third grilled fish, he took a heavy breath of relief and leaned back against a solid tree. That was probably the best meal of his life. But slowly, his eyes reopened to see the same golden eyes staring at him.

At this time he was annoyed by the constant glare, but Sota felt obliged to show some gratitude at least. He did note that his arm had been poorly bandaged, Sesshomaru's attack left his shoulder dislocated and now it had to be held by a broken piece of cloth. The demon surprisingly went through a lot of trouble to save him.

Sitting up straight, he bowed his head and said "Thank you very much for the food."

Silence.

It was customary to stay bowed until the person acknowledges your appreciation, but he said absolutely nothing. Curiously, Sota lifted his head and found an unimpressed expression across the demon's face.

It was then that the demon finally muttered "Keh, Idiot." before turning his head away from him completely.

Blinking several times, Sota asked "what?"

At the sound of his voice, the demon's head snapped back as he barked "I said, IDIOT! You're a stupid little kid that marching into the forest and nearly starved to death for an unneeded revenge! Not to mention you picked a fight with a demon you had no chance of defeating! You. Are. An. IDIOT!"

Sota lunged back at the magnitude of his roar. Not expecting the solum demon to have such an outburst. But it did beg the question 'Why is he lecturing me?!' But he wasn't finished, the demon continued running his mouth

"You selfish, stubborn, reckless, twerp! Does it even occur to you how out-matched you were, it's pathetic the way you were stumbling around in that fight, were you even paying attention during your training?! Honestly, what was going through that empty head, running into a fight with a fucking Demon Lord half-assed! That ain't the way to win, it's the way to die!"

Finally finished with his outburst, the demon settled back into his seated potion and turned his gaze back to the fire, Sota sat stunned and practically pinned the tree behind him.

If words were knives he would have been squired to death just then.

Sota managed to start breathing as the demon visibly relaxed and returned to a more calmed state. Timidly, out of fear of being tongue lashed again, Sota asked "If I'm such an idiot…why did you bother saving me? Why did you interfere in the fight? Why protect me and let Sesshomaru go?"

"Oh for the love of…" he growled, overwhelmed by the series of questions "…is every Higurashi so fucking chatty?!"

Sota blinked and asked in shock "You know my family name?"

The demon stilled, before quickly shutting his mouth, as though he had said too much.

Sota's eyes narrowed as he asked "Who are you?"

The demon turned to Sota, eyes focused as he stated firmly "None of your damn business!"

Sota gapped and shouted "What?! You won't even tell me your name?"

Inuyasha only raised an unamused eyebrow in Sota's direction. Which caused the boy to shutter with frustration, taking a breath he tried again.

"Alright, let me start. Hello, my name is Sota Higurashi of the Higurashi Shrine." He completed his title with a sharp bow, then looked to the stubborn creature, but was only met with silence.

"…Well?"

"What 'well'?!" Inuyasha barked

"You didn't introduce yourself or answer any of my questions!"

"Why the hell should I give you any kind of information, just be grateful that I saved your dumb-ass!"

"That's not good enough, tell me why you helped me!"

*BAME*

"Ow!" Sota screeched "Why did you do that?!"

"Because you're being a stupid brat!" Inuyasha barked back, reclining his fist back onto his lap. "Not to mention annoying!"

Sota rubbed soon to be goose egg on his scalp and grumbled something about his new companion's temper.

Inuyasha scoffed and pulled himself to his feet. Sota turned only to see the annoyed demon looking down upon him, Inuyasha ordered, the sneer still across his face "No more talking, just go to sleep."

At this point Sota had had enough, shifting to his feet (which was difficult with only one arm), standing before the strong demon he barked "Why should I listen to the likes of a demon who won't even tell me anything about him?!"

Only then did he realize how much bigger and stronger he looked. The demon took a step closer to Sota, all the while a deep growl rumbled from his chest.

If his intentions were to intimidate Sota into submission…it was working because Sota instantly began moving back, regretting his provoking him. Inuyasha continued to move forward until Sota was backed up into the nearby tree.

Sota cringed as Inuyasha growls were replaced with a mild chuckle, his large arms crossed before his chest as he mocked "You're just as weak as I thought you were."

Sota's bangs lowered in front of his eyes in defeat. He was weak…so weak he wasn't able to keep himself stable long enough to find Sesshomaru and defeat him in battle…if you'd even call what happened earlier that day a 'battle'.

"I'm aware..." Sota bit out, tired of hearing this demon talk down to him.

"What was that?" Inuyasha chimed

"I'm fully aware of how weak I am! It's because of my weakness that I can't be a proper priest, I can't protect myself or my home…I couldn't even protect a little girl from that fucking demon!"

His breath became labored at his anger as he continued shouting into the night

"I get it! I know how weak I am and I know that I'm probably going to die in these woods, but anything is better than returning in shame! In knowing how much of a failure I am and disgracing the names of my father and sister!"

Inuyasha watched unfazed as tears began rolling down his eyes.

"They deserve more…then a gutless bastard like me! I wanted to prove my strength…to show them that I'm worth something…but I know that I'm not."

When he was finally finished Sota lowered himself to the ground, he was unable to sink any lower until he heard a sudden, calm voice.

"You really are an idiot. Now, what am I going to do with you."

Sota looked up to see Inuyasha shaking his head while running a clawed hand through his fingers, deep in thought. Suddenly awake, he looked back to Sota and asked "Why not just return to your shrine?"

Sota sighed miserably and said "I can't…I made a vow that I wouldn't return without Sesshomaru's head. If I even try my father will kill me."

Inuyasha groaned and barked "Why the hell would you make a pledge like that?!"

Sota barked as he began to whip away his tears "I had to! Sesshomaru attacked my village and killed a young girl who was under our protection! He…he had possessed her, and I was suppose to watch her…but the night of the attack she bolted straight to him…and she was dead."

Inuyasha stared down Sota as he asked "Did you see the body?"

Started by the thought Sota's head shot up as he asked "What? No…" Inuyasha scoffed then asked "then how do you know she's dead?"

Sota was now livid and leaped to his feet "How dare you! That demon killed Rin! I know because my sister Kagome confirmed it!"

Inuyasha's ear flicked at the sound of her name, and for a few moments didn't say anything at all. His face once again became solum and deep in thought. That is until he caught Sota staring at him.

Clearing his throat, Inuyasha continued "If you didn't see a body then you can't confirm a death no matter who said what."

"What are you getting at?!" Sota asked, furious with the words coming out of the demon's mouth. But Inuyasha only bit back "I'm tellin' ya that girl is alive!"

Sota became frozen where he stood. Time had stilled as he absorbed the information that was just given to him and instantly rejected it. "You're lying."

Inuyasha scoffed and asked "What would I gain by lying to you?"

"You're a demon!" Sota accused "Demons lie like it's second nature!"

"So do humans!" Inuyasha stated "And I ain't lying. The girl is alive and safe in Sesshomaru's care."

Sota ran his hand over his tired face, rubbing the temple on the side of his face as he breathed "Alright…say I did believe you and Rin was alive. Why in god's name would a demon have a human girl under his care?!"

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulder "not my place to say, wanna find out then you ask him yourself."

Sota sighed, as vague as ever.

With an injured arm and no real fighting skill, he'd never be able to go up against Sesshomaru in his condition, let alone find him! It was by accident that he found him the first time.

But it hit Sota then, his eyes turned back to the sour faced demon in front of him and asked "You…can take me to him."

Inuyasha's ears turned up as he barked "What?"

Now standing tall, Sota practically ordered "Take me to Sesshomaru. You can find him much faster than I can, and prove to me that Rin is alive. If she's alive then I can return her to our home. I might be able to kill the demon but…I'd do anything to save her."

Inuyasha stared hard at the young boy, his eyes were as hard as stone, but finally, he sighed "You can't seem to get it through your head can you."

Sota half smiled and said "stubbornness runs in my family."

Inuyasha snorted in amusement "You're right there." he said under his breath, the sound barely reaching Sota's ears.

"Alright" Inuyasha agreed, but then very seriously said "I'll take you to see for yourself. But I want something in return."

Sota's head jerked back, was this a demon bargain? If he agreed, would this place a curse on him?!

Taking his chances Sota asked "what do you want in return?"

Inuyasha turned his back to the boy, unable to look at him directly and said with a shaky breath "Take me…to where Kagome Higurashi is."