Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashi does!
He sped quickly through the forest in a blur of red, soaring high above the air with each leap, barely breaking a sweat. His nose twitching, keen eyes searching, face scowling in concentration. For the first time in his life, he had decided to think before he act. This was far too important to let his anger guide him.
There was nothing more he would like to do right now than to rip his brother into shreds for his manipulation. But even in his fragile state of mind he knew that he was still no match to him. Their last encounter proved it; he was merely playing with him. This time…Sesshomaru would finish the job, and possibly kill him. He couldn't risk the chance of never seeing his mate again.
Of course, this doesn't mean that he was letting his brother get away with this; he just needed to do it another way.
His journey ended at the sight of a middle-aged woman picking herbs from her garden. He landed in front of her swiftly, causing her to jump slightly and dark eyes to widen in shock.
"Misaki," nodding his head at her, and tucked his hands inside the sleeves of his haori.
She stood up, supporting herself on a wooden cane. "Inuyasha. What do you want?" she queried in suspicion.
"Same thing you want…justice, to fucking make Sesshomaru pay."
At the sound of his name, her mouth pulled tightly back into a snarl, one hand gripping tightly at the cane, and the other curling into a fist.
Inuyasha drew out his Tetsusaiga, transforming it to its magnificent state. "This sword, is a guardian sword from my father, to keep my youkai blood dormant. I need you to make it so that it'll do the same to that bastard, so that every blow would sap away his youkai blood, his strength." He put it back into its sheath, and gave her a pointed look, "Can you do it?"
Her eyes flashed briefly in a violent shade of red, "Yes, and so much more."
"Kagome, honey…you have to eat," her mom pleaded, her voice full of desperation.
She turned away, and curled herself into a tighter ball on the wall-side of her bed. "I'm not hungry," she mumbled in a flat voice.
Her mom sighed and set the tray of food on her nightstand, before sitting down on her bed. "You've been back for a week…and you still haven't told us what happened. I'm worried that you're going to waste away," she lightly stroked Kagome's hair. "My baby…my poor baby. You've always been strong, whatever it is…I know you will get through it."
'But do I want to get through it? Do I want to get over Inuyasha?' She squeezed her eyes; a tear followed a well-worn path down her cheek. 'I wonder if he thinks of me?' she thought as she drifted off to sleep, hoping that Inuyasha will be there waiting for her.
"Sesshomaru," Inuyasha said calmly as he walked though his brother's door.
He stood in front of the large window, back turned towards him; a small smile flickered across his aristocratic face. "What do you want, Hanyou?" he asked.
"To thank you," he replied sarcastically, arms folded confidently across his chest, not even bothering to hold on to his sword.
Sesshomaru turned around, not because of his sarcasm, but by a strange aura that surrounds him, heavy with magic. He stood with a confidence that he had never seen him processed, along with a hint of arrogance.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, "Oh? I assume that the whore is finally out of our land?"
Dropping his cool demeanor, Inuyasha's mouth pulled back into a snarl, he gripped at his Tetsusaiga, nose flaring from anger. "Call her a whore again and you're dead," he warned.
Sesshomaru chuckled lightly, and flexed his claws, one eyebrow arched in amusement; pleased to see he was back to his old self. The other Inuyasha had unnerved him. "Idiot. The only reason why you're still alive if because father willed it. But if you're so eager to die…I have never been able to deny my little brother's wishes." Sesshomaru drew his sword.
Snaring, Inuyasha charged at his brother, ready to pay him back the pain he has caused both him and Kagome.
The two brothers crashed, no longer caring about their promise to their father, fueled by hate, pride, jealousy, and a strong need for revenge. Metal against metal, claws against flesh, blood dying the ground to a gory shade of red.
Sesshomaru fell down heavily and clutched at one of the many wounds on his chest. Try as he might, he found that he could not gain the upper hand by transforming into his youkai form. "How?" he asked in complete astonishment, his question not directed at anyone in particular.
Inuyasha dealt him another devastating blow. "How is not the fucking issue here." He pointed the sword at his neck, pressing down hard enough to draw blood. "The issue is that you called my mate a whore, and I'm just fucking sick and tired of you, brother dear."
She dragged her hand lightly across the board on top of the well, tracing at the rough wood grains and patterns. After Souta had told them that the bone-eater well at the shrine had something to do with Kagome's disappearance, her superstitious grandfather had taken it upon himself to keep what happened to her from happening again, by boarding up the well, and plastering seals and scrolls all around it.
It's been nearly three weeks since she had to leave Inuyasha, three weeks since they'd made love, three weeks since she had last smile. Letting out a cry of anguish, she tore furiously at the seals, ripping a bunch of them off at the same time. Blaming them as the reason why Inuyasha hasn't come for her yet. When she was at last satisfied that each and every last of them was off, she clawed at the board, trying to pry it off with the strength of her hands alone, not caring that they were getting bloody. The wood finally gave away, cracking loudly, splinters flying into the air.
Sobbing loudly, she sank down to the dirt floor, her hands smearing the wood with her blood along the way. "Come back to me Inuyasha…come back, please…" she pleaded, pounding at the ground. Tears fell freely from her eyes, stinging her cheeks.
"God Kagome, what have I done to you?" a strained voice cried out from above.
She froze, a familiar tug pulled at her aching heart. 'Am I going crazy?' She looked up slowly, and was greeted by two amber eyes looking sadly at her from the top of the well. He looked exhausted, his clothes bloody and torn, fists clenched tightly at his sides.
"What have I done?" he repeated to himself again, his ears flattening.
She followed his horrified stare to her hands, and pressed gingerly at one of them, as though she had just realized she was bleeding.
Inuyasha jumped down in front of her without making a sound, closing the distance between them. He couldn't stop looking at her hands, though he was never one to be squeamish about blood. The fact of the matter is that this was his mate bleeding in front of him…he was the cause of this, her pain, her suffering. She had grown frail, and the sparkle of life had almost diminished completely from her eyes. He quickly told himself right then and there that he would spend the rest of his life making it up to her, if she'll let him. 'Will she ever forgive me?'
She stood up; her hand hesitantly touched his face, wanting to make sure he's real, that it wasn't just a fragment of her imagination. She lightly traced a small cut across his eyebrow down to a fading bruise on his cheek.
He caught her hand, examining it carefully, finally allowing himself to touch her. His eyes narrowed to slits, mouth pulled down into a frown at the sight of the blood smeared all over it.
She tried to pull away, suddenly feeling confused and embarrassed by the emotions displayed on his face.
He held on firmly, careful not to crush her delicate wrist with his strength. "I'm so sorry…" he murmured softly and place gentle kisses on her small hand, licking up the blood, cleaning her wounds for her just like what she had done for him. His face softening a little at the realization that the wounds weren't serious, and that some had already begun to close.
Then without saying a word, he leaned in quickly and captured her lips. His lips devoured her hungrily, and his body crushed hers. His lips devoured her hungrily, and his body crushed hers in his grasp. They had been apart for far too long. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and returned his kiss with just as much passion. They reluctantly broke apart, their foreheads pressed together, panting softly, trying to catch their breath.
"Inuyasha…" she began.
He shook his head, and pressed his clawed finger on her lips, hushing her. He folded his arms tightly around her waist and placed his cheek against hers, breathing in her scent. She held on just as desperately, afraid he'd disappeared. "I was a fool. I almost let my pride get into the way of my…our happiness."
"H-how did you find me? God…I thought I'll never see you again," she buried her face deeper inside his embrace, almost disappearing from sight. She felt soothed by the sound of the steady thumping of his heart.
He stroked her hair lightly, fingering each silky strand. "I had trouble finding you for a while. They refused to fucking tell me where they had taken you. I thought I would never see you again. Until today…caught the scent of your blood, it was so strong, calling out to me. I was so afraid that something had happened. I remembered you telling me that you had arrived in my time through a well. I'm sorry I couldn't get to you earlier…I was- "
She cut his rambling off with a kiss. "It doesn't matter…I'm just glad you're here, that this is not a dream," she smiled, gazing lovingly into his eyes.