Updated March 2017 - I changed up quite a few little things in this chapter (updating dialogue, fixing punctuation, the lot)
Thank you Rumiko Takahashi for giving us such a wonderful clay to work with :D
Oh, slight warning - there's a little bit of 'harsher' language in this one, you know Inuyasha and his mouth ;)
Fear
Totosai blew hard on the sword he held at his forge, the flames bursting from his mouth softening the metal enough for him to bang it into the shape he wanted. His hammer shot up sparks as he hit the glowing metal with professional accuracy. So intent in his work was he that he didn't even make a thought to react when an uninvited daiyoukai blocked the light from his cave. He merely blew on the sword again.
"And to what do I owe this wonderful occasion, Sesshomaru-sama?" he said as he struck the metal.
Sesshomaru ducked under Totosai's short door entrance, standing slightly hunchbacked from the low ceiling. Though his position looked uncomfortable, he still managed to keep his cold, intimidating demeanor, "Tell me what you know of a daiyoukai called Inunomaru."
"Mm…who?" Totosai grumbled with a slight snort.
"Answer me," his eyes flamed.
Totosai didn't respond to the threat and kept on with his work, "Inunomaru, Inu…no…maru…hmm…nope, never heard of him."
"Do not lie to me, old man. The blades he wielded could have only been made by you."
"Ah, so you got beat up by some youkai and you automatically think I made the weapons he beat you with. Maybe you should go…"
"…he claims to be my brother," Sesshomaru cut him off harshly.
The hammer went still.
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed, "Your silence contradicts your prior statements, Totosai."
The old youkai put down his hammer and turned around to look at the daiyoukai lord beside him, replying with a slightly mocking tone, "He wouldn't happen to be the splitting image of Inu no Taisho-sama and have more manners than both of you boys combined would he?"
It was Sesshomaru's turn to be quiet. He glowered back at Totosai, voicing his inner disapproval with his eyes.
Clearly happy he had hit a nerve, Totosai continued with a cheerful mumble, "Yes, I made his Tsuingarasu. One of the most fun I've had making blades in a while I might add. It's amazing what you can get out of something so sma…"
"You are wasting my time, old man."
Totosai closed his eyes, scratching his head with a senile smirk, "Yup, definitely more patience than both of you."
"Totosai," Sesshomaru demanded.
He turned back down to the sword on his anvil, "Well, there are more hints that would suggest he is but many saying he isn't. I guess it's just a matter of perspective," he glanced back at Sesshomaru, "The question is, do you think he's your brother?"
The sounds of hammer on metal ticked off the seconds as Sesshomaru remained quiet, thinking of the proper answer. In all reality, he wasn't sure, but he would never reveal that conflict to anyone save his own conscious. After a short while, he finally replied with a quiet, "No."
A burst of flame from Totosai's mouth broke through the brimstone tinted air, "Then he isn't your brother, as simple as that."
"I have had enough of your incessant ramblings. Since you will not give me the information I desire plainly, then I will seek what I want elsewhere," he turned around and exited Totosai's foundry.
"Sesshomaru-sama," Totosai called, stopping him, "If this is really what you want, make sure you are prepared for what you may find. Sometimes one will kill the bull when trying to straighten the horns."
After all of the years he had known Totosai, he had never completely understood the workings of his ancient brain. But, out of all the things he could have done, his use of his own father's words to warn him about delving too deep did nothing but increase his curiosity. Inunomaru had done the same thing not two days before, yet his words were only witnessed between he and the dog general himself. There was some deep reasoning behind all of this, what it was was uncertain, all the same he would get the answers he desired…one way or another.
There were others that could have information on Inunomaru; others that would be easier to persuade. There was one more individual in particular that could be quite helpful. If there was anyone who knew of secrets someone wanted to hide, it would be him.
"One more, one more!...hehe…WEEEEEEEE…" Shippo cheered.
Inuyasha pulled his ears tight to his head, "Could you please stop that?!"
"WEEEEEEE! Why? You've never let me swing on your kimono before." Shippo said as he swung himself back and forth from Inunomaru's kimono sleeve. "WEEEEE…WEEEEHEHE…"
Inuyasha cringed again, "I think you can see why."
Kagome rolled her eyes beside him, "Oh come on Inuyasha, just let him play. He's a kid after all and he never really gets to have fun like he should."
Seeing that Kagome wasn't going to help his predicament at all, he decided to try and change his strategy, "Inunomaru, this was your idea in the first place. Doesn't that noise bug you at all? It sounds like nails on slate!"
"Indeed, but I have no quandary with allowing the child to enjoy himself," Inunomaru said, "You are more than welcome to take him off of my hands if you would like. The noise is not as bothersome when you are involved."
"I'll pass," Inuyasha grumbled. That was the third time Inunomaru had offered to pass Shippo over to him. It wasn't going to work, no way, no how!
His brother smirked, "Very well." He gave Shippo one more big swing, queing another high-pitched cheer from the kitsune hanging off his sleeve and another grimace from the hanyou in front of him.
It wasn't gonna work… "WEEEEE…" nope, never, "WEEEEEEEE…" no No NO!…
Five minutes later, Inuyasha had Shippo swinging from his kimono, looking more annoyed with the world than ever. Shippo, on the other hand, was still cheering and seemed even happier now that he had Inuyasha as a swing.
"Do you ever get tired of this, Shippo?" he grumbled.
"Nope!"
"Five more minutes and I'm done! I ain't gonna swing you around forever and my arms gettin' tired," his try at an excuse was laughable.
"Ten," Shippo argued.
"Five"
"Eight"
"Six"
"Seven"
"Nine"
"Done!"
"Wait, what?"
"Nine more minutes and I'll stop," Shippo grinned triumphantly.
Inuyasha started counting in his head, "But…I…didn…GAH!" he stuck his lip out in a big pout, outwitted by child, perfect.
Kagome laughed out loud and got a wonderful glare from him, "Now don't get mad at me," she giggled, "You got yourself into this mess all by yourself."
He snorted and swung Shippo again, almost getting him to go all the way around his arm. His eyes never left Kagome, "Well, if Inunomaru hadn't decided that Shippo looked bored then I wouldn't be doing this at all!"
She smirked, "Oh you enjoy it."
"Keh, next time you won't be so luck…y…" he looked over his shoulder to gripe at his brother only to find an empty path.
Inuyasha stopped in his tracks, dropping Shippo to the ground.
"Hey, I still had seven minutes left!" he complained.
Inuyasha ignored him, "Miroku, Sango," he said to the couple at the front of the group, "Did ya'll see where Inunomaru went?"
They walked up next to him. "No, we haven't looked back in a while. Not since he finally persuaded you take Shippo," Sango said.
He looked over at Kagome, "Have you?"
She shook her head, "No, but he's so quiet. He could have slipped off anywhere." The worry was already starting to grow behind her eyes.
She had good meaning to be worried to, for Inuyasha couldn't hide his own concern that spread on his face. He already had an idea as to why Inunomaru had disappeared, though he was hoping it was just a bad guess.
Inuyasha looked around behind them, trying to see if he could spot the unnaturally white color of his brother's kimono, or at least a shift in the grass or dirt around them to point out a trail. Unfortunately, there were no visual signs of him anywhere. He closed his eyes and turned his ears in all directions, taking a few deep breaths through his nose.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome said quietly.
"Shh," he said, never opening his eyes.
He could always hear and smell better when his eyes were cut off. The less senses he used, the more accurate they could be. He turned his ears around again and took in another slow breath. His fears were confirmed this time. The familiar sound from the day before filled his ears and an even stronger smell of youkai blood burst through his nose like an iron mace.
His eyes flew open, suddenly dead serious, "I'll be back in a minute."
"I'll come with you," Kagome said as she started to tighten the straps of her backpack.
"No!" she froze. That came out harsher than he planned. He lowered his voice to a calmer tone, "Stay here with the others alright? I won't be long."
"Bu…"
Inuyasha started to run off, "Just stay here, Kagome. I need to handle this myself."
As he widened the distance from the others he could hear Kagome's worried voice reach him through the wind passing his ears, "Something's wrong."
Oh if only she knew.
Inuyasha stopped after a few minutes to see if he could pick up the direction the sounds and smells were coming from. The scent was growing stronger so at least he was getting close. The wind didn't help much for the direction of the smell, but the sounds of Inunomaru's difficult breathing were much clearer, coming off to his left in the trees. He changed his direction and followed his ears.
"Inunomaru!" Inuyasha called out, trying to get a response.
When he got nothing he stopped and smelled the air again, luckily the trees blocked most of the wind so a clear direction was easy to find. There were points of scent on tree trunks where his brother had touched, some larger than others, a sign that he had most likely leaned on them for support. As Inuyasha kept on the trail, spots of blood began to appear in more regular intervals and there were even places where it looked as if his brother had fallen, crumpling the leaves under his weight.
No no no no, this can't be happening, "Inunomaru! Where are you, you stupid bastard?!" he didn't even bother trying to hold in the panic now.
He took off at a full sprint, and would've run the daiyoukai over had the stark white of his kimono not caught his attention against the dark flora. It was all he could do to not fall on his knees, "Inu…no…maru?"
This wasn't the daiyoukai he knew. His powerful façade was gone, faded completely into what Inuyasha could only describe as shattered. His ashen form was slumped up against a tree, leaning off to the side as if he could barely support his own weight. One hand lay limp across his chest and trails of blood patterned down from his nose and edges of his mouth. If it hadn't been for the feeble sound of his breathing, Inuyasha could've sworn he was dead.
He walked up to his brother, too stunned at what he saw to speak. He was perfectly fine earlier! What could have…? Yes, swinging Shippo around for over an hour could take a lot out of someone, but he didn't appear fazed at all. In fact, he had seemed in higher spirits than they had ever noticed before.
Damn you, Inunomaru! Inuyasha scoffed, even after that attack yesterday, you hadn't been this messed up.
Inunomaru cracked his eyes and gave him a cold, knife-like glare, "Why…are you here?"
"Why am I…? What the hell, Inunomaru!" Inuyasha roared, "You disappear without warning and now I follow a trail of your blood and find…THIS! Don't you dare ask me why I'm here!"
"It is…none of your concern…Inuyasha," his voice was unnervingly hoarse, "I…will be well…in a few hours. I just…need to rest."
"None of my concern?!" Inuyasha squatted down and glowered at him, "I looked over that little nosebleed you had yesterday, but I think this is a little worse than that. Tell me what the fuck is going on! NOW!"
His brother broke eye contact, "You…need not worry…about my wellbeing."
"BULL SHIT!"
Inunomaru tried to set up but only managed to roll his head back. He took as deep a breath as he could and closed his eyes, "This…is a normal response…after I use an attack…like you witnessed yesterday."
"Normal?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and cocked his head, "You mean this has happened before?!"
"In…deed"
"How many?"
"Four…if you count yesterday."
His eyes got huge, "Wait…you mean to tell me you've only used that attack four times in your whole life?"
Inunomaru's silence and drop of eye contact confirmed the question.
"And you've ended up like this every time?"
"Not to…this extent"
"What?!"
"A youkai's…physiology…is not made to handle…attacks of that nature. I miscalculated…how much energy needed…I was foolish."
Inuyasha shot up, "Foolish?! You were a complete IDIOT! If we had known what something like that would do to you, we…"
"…would have stopped me?" Inunomaru looked up at him again, dull eyes void of any emotion, "If I had not done…what I did…than all of you…would most likely be dead. It was my choice. I…knew of the consequences…and was…willing…do deal with them."
His ears were flat on his head now. He growled and shouted hard at the ground, "We…we would have figured something out. We always do!"
"Inuyasha"
He growled, anger calming down slightly from Inunomaru's softer tone, "What?"
"Look at me."
He raised his eyes, nothing else.
"I will be fine," his brother's eyes tried to smile in reassurance.
"I don't believe you."
"Trust…can be powerful…when you do not doubt it."
Inuyasha turned and crossed his arms, "Keh, says the guy who ran off without tellin' anybody."
Inunomaru sighed and laid his head back on the tree.
Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder, the anger on his face slowly going back to worry. Normal color was returning to his brother's face, but the remnants of blood that still painted his skin was a bright signal in Inuyasha's mind. The effects of Inunomaru's Meibatsu clearly got worse the more often he used it, and if this was only the fourth time like he had said, and he was already coughing up a lung, then how much worse would it be the next time? Misjudgment or not, the daiyoukai knew what it would do to him and simply didn't care.
Inuyasha turned back to the trees in front of him, vowing then and there that he wouldn't allow this to ever happen again. It was clear that Inunomaru didn't have any concern about his own safety, and this ridiculous lack of fear made him that more dangerous…to others…but especially to himself. Just cuz you're stupid enough to do this to yourself, doesn't mean I'll let you.
"Were the others concerned when you left?" Inunomaru asked about midway through their trek back to the group.
It had been a couple hours since then, but Inuyasha could still remember the fear behind Kagome's eyes. "Yeah, Kagome was pretty worried when I ran off," he said, not able to come up with anything better to say.
"You should apologize to her for overreacting."
"I didn't overreact!"
Inunomaru walked past him, "Indeed."
Inuyasha growled and ran up next to him, "You know, you say that way too much."
"Indeed."
"GAH, really…?"
Although everyone had wanted to follow Inuyasha, Kagome forced herself to think that it was just a brotherly issue and made everyone stay put until they returned. Her brave face fooled no one.
"Kagome, I wouldn't worry so much," Sango assured, "Inuyasha does have a tendency to overly dramatize things, remember?"
She shook her head, "No, not like that. He was really worried this time."
Sango put her hand on Kagome's shoulder, "It'll all be fine, okay? Watch, I'll bet they'll show up any minute now."
"Arguing?" Shippo said.
Sango shrugged, "Probably."
"Inuyasha sulking like a child?" Miroku added.
"Maybe…wait. How are you…?"
"Because they're walking up right now," Miroku said, pointing behind them.
Kagome and Sango turned around just as Inuyasha and Inunomaru came into ear shot. Inuyasha was clearly pissed about something Inunomaru had said, while Inunomaru, though tired looking, indifferently listened to his brother ramble.
The casual sight made Kagome's question jump back into her mind and her anger flare. Why was Inuyasha so worried earlier? And why the hell are they being so nonchalant about everything?!
She jumped up and stomped over to the silver-haired youkai, letting Inuyasha have it first. "You had me worried sick!" she pointed in his face, "You were all freaking out, scaring me to death, and then ya'll just show up all hunky dory, like nothing happened! How dare you do that to me!"
Inuyasha shrunk down, "B…but…"
"And YOU!" she waved her finger in front of Inunomaru's face now, "Why did you sneak off without telling us?! You could have at least given us a 'Hey, I'll be back in a few minutes,' you just flat out disappeared! Explain yourself!"
Inunomaru was speechless. It was downright comical seeing how stunned he was at being yelled at by a girl over a foot shorter than him. He opened his mouth to try and respond…
"No! I'm not gonna hear your excuses. Sit down, both of you!" she yelled again, pointing over at the rest of the group.
Inuyasha almost leapt over to the others, while Inunomaru regained his composure, nodded respectfully, and walked past her, taking a spot next to Shippo, who jumped up onto his shoulder.
"She's scary when she's angry," Shippo whispered.
"Indeed"
Sango and Miroku just sat there, their mouths hanging wide open. Did Kagome really just do what they thought she did?
WOO! You go Kagome! Put those boys in their place XD
-FYI – tsuingarasu roughly translates to 'twin glass'
Till next time ;)