That does it.
Okay people, let me make this perfectly clear; I've said this from the beginning! :

NO MATTER WHAT IT MAY LOOK LIKE THERE IS NO YAOI OR SHOUNEN AI IN THIS FIC. THERE WILL NEVER BE ANY YAOI OR SHOUNEN AI IN ANY OF MY FICS.

I ONLY DO CUTESY STUFF, LIKE FAMILIES AND FRIENDS AND FIANCEES!

The closest I have ever gotten to writing a lemon is in 'Fear of Love Confessed' which I deleted, to give you an idea of what I write. You tell me what you want in the romance section though and I may give it to ya. Here are the pairings: Miroku/Sango, Inuyasha/Kagome. THAT'S ALL.
Jeez... (Yaoi?! Who do they think I am? Yumi-no-baka?)

Oh, and yes, I have to give Yumi-san some credit for the torture idea. I had been thinking about it, but reading her, um, fic (blush) gave me the real motivation to write an Inu-torture fic.

Okay, enough ranting. On to the fic! Oof.

Oh, and yes, I have decided by popular demand to keep the fic going in real time and only skip ahead a few weeks next chapter, after morning. Hey, don't worry guys, I ain't rushin' this. I want it to be good, and I'm not about to just throw stuff in for the heck of it.

Keep giving me advice, peoples. I listen! And a lot of the suggestions have been reely good... (snnfl) It's so nice to know you care!

Keep the reviews coming! They equal more chappies and lots of motivation!

Chapter Six

Light was there. Light.

It actually existed; he couldn't believe it. There was a light. Nothing big, but the sheer brilliance and purity of its existance was mesmerizing. It seemed to draw him into it, even though he wasn't moving. The color was strange, not anything he remembered. Even with his excellent eyesight this wasn't familiar.

Inuyasha was slipping. He felt...strange, as if a giant whirlpool was sucking him into it, but he couldn't feel or see it. He couldn't feel anything. There was nothing but light, and yet even that wasn't there...

Is this what it's like to die? he wondered. Can't be... I've been dead before, haven't I? No, that was sleep, I think. This is waking... Where is this place?

Suddenly there was no light. Only pain. Red.

He had a body now, but it hadn't been there before. This was agony. His chest had been replaced with hell, legs cold, throbbing with dull pain, his arms stinging him to the point of distraction. An involuntary whimper escaped his blue lips. Thoughts transferred unconsciously to words.

"Nn-Oh...oh no...n-no more... Leave me alone... Just lemme go, let me die... I don't want to be here anymore... N-no more, please no more...No more..."

A soft, cool hand caressed his hot skin, gently wiping the tears from his face to replace them with a wet cloth. "M...mama?" The cold made him shudder reluctantly before settling into the comforting embrace he couldn't see. A familiar scent filled the air, a mix of leaves and wind. But it was followed by a sickening, rotting-flesh smell almost invisible to his clouded senses. A smooth voice flowed through his ears, the command in its deep tones irresistable.

"Sleep, brother. You'll be alright. I'm right here with you, don't worry."

A nagging thought pulled the hanyou into momentary wakefulness.
"The others..."

"I'll protect them for you, little one. Just relax, they are safe," it replied. "As are you." The voice faded away and Inuyasha returned to the place in his mind he had inhabited so long.

Only this time, the light was gone.

~~~

Sesshoumaru was startled awake by a pang of...what? Pain? Guilt?
Sympathy, perhaps?

The feeling lingered in his chest and he decided it must be pain. Slowly he pulled himself up on his elbows from laying facedown on the soft blankets. The cloth that had been clutched tightly in one hand was now at his temple. Part of him registered that he had been moved.

...Inuyasha.

The name cleared the last of sleep from his brain as things came back to him, but it didn't awaken his muscles. The work it took to simply reach the door was inexcusable. (Well, to him, anyway.) Sweat covered his face as his chest gave a lurch. Healing was sometimes more trying than the original wound. His demon powers had kicked in over the last four hours; if he had been human he was sure he'd be dead.

Wait...healing powers?

Yes! That was it! Why had his brother not healed at all? His demon blood should have taken care of his wounds... Had he been drugged? Poisoned?

Another moan took him from his musings and pushed him on toward the door of his sibling's hut. The curtain was closed, but there were a few children standing on a box next to the window. They were trying to see in, whispering. One of them gasped, pointing to the demon as he approached, and they scattered.

After taking a minute to steady himself he looked inside. The miko was asleep next to Kaede, and the fox kit was curled in the pocket of her neck. The monk and his woman were asleep next to each other, Miroku's hand held fast by the demon exterminator as if on reflex. In the middle of the room lay Inuyasha.

The equipment used to patch him up was strewn neatly beside him on a tray. There were bloody bandages and used cloth everywhere.

Sesshoumaru's stomach rebelled once again as the removed pike and pallor of his brother's skin registered in his brain. The demon reached a hand out to the sleeping hanyou. He staggered to the pallet and half-fell into a sitting position next to him, eyes clouding.

"Inuyasha..."

The half-demon stirred at the sound of his name, but did not wake. The blood on his bandages was flowing greater, the stain spreading. "Nn..."

Oh, not again. Why? Why didn't Naraku just kill him? I'll never forgive him for this, I'll never let him forget... That demon will die by my hands, I assure you brother.

"Nn-Oh...no...n-no more... Just lemme go, let me die... I don't want to be here anymore... N-no more, please no more...No more..." Sesshoumaru heart contracted with pain. Gently he pulled his little brother's head up into his lap, wiping the accumulating tears from his eyes.

He wasn't ever really good with pain... He put up a good front, but deep down it really scared him... To be hurt... To die...

God, Sesshoumaru, you idiot! You've been doing this to him your entire life and you never felt anything for it! What were you thinking, you selfish bastard?! What were thinking?!

The demon's teeth clenched together, his jaw setting.

A shudder from Inuyasha's body drew him away from his hate. He tightened his grip slightly, hugging him closer and placing the cold cloth over his eyes.

"Sleep, brother. You'll be alright," he said, trying to convince himself as well as the hanyou. "I'm right here with you, don't worry." For a moment Inuyasha seemed to relax, but something made him stiffen, and his eyes opened halfway beneath the cloth.

His blank, sightless eyes.

"The others..."
The humans. The demon lord replied the only way he knew how. "I'll protect them for you, little one. Just relax, they are safe...as are you."

"As are you..."

Kagome's eyes fluttered open, focusing on the firelight. She realized that everyone had fallen asleep, but someone else was in the room. The miko caught sight of long white tresses, falling from tall, bare shoulders.

Her heart leapt. Inuyasha!?

Sesshoumaru turned to lean down and reposition his brother, revealing a missing arm... That had halfway regenerated? Kagome realized instantly that it wasn't Inuyasha, but the sheer shock of seeing the demon's replenished limb made her momentarily forget the situation.

"Se-Sesshoumaru?"

He turned to her slowly, painfully, a questioning look on his face. "Your- your arm-" she managed, astonished.

The demon looked down and his eyes went wide. There were the beginnings of a forearm protruding from his missing arm, and despite the fact that only three inches of his lower arm were formed, there was an elbow there that hadn't been only a day ago! Sesshoumaru tried dazedly to comprehend this.

I'm regenerating? That shouldn't be possible! Demons heal quickly, but they can't regenerate- How can this be?!

"Sesshoumaru?" He looked up at her from trying out the appendage. "Is it going to grow back?" The look on the miko's face was one of pure happiness. She was relieved beyond words that he wouldn't have to live with the reminder of he and Inuyasha's feud.

"I-I don't know," he replied shakily. But... A flash of Inuyasha's body torn and bleeding flew across his mental vision. He would have done anything just to hold his poor sibling properly, like a parent they'd both never had...

"Have I been granted a second chance?" he murmured.

"Everyone is," Kagome told him softly.

"...Ure...shii..." The demon grinned before slumping against the table and closing his eyes. Kagome smiled at him and placed the two in a more comfortable position so he wouldn't wake up with a crick in his back.

The miko's gaze lingered on Inuyasha's hand clinging to his big brother's arm. Her smile broadened. She kissed the top of the hanyou's head, and placed a blanket over them before laying down.

I'm happy for you, Inuyasha... Now you can both have a family. I just hope you'll be well enough to appreciate it soon.

_
_

I know, It's reely short. But as I've explained before, I have to neglect school to get these out, so... BEAR WITH ME.

Alright, like I said, I am gonna skip ahead, but there will be detailed recounts of what happens during the period of time. (And who here thinks Inu-chan helped Sesshy regrow his arm...?) (^^ Hey, didn't I say I listen to people? You want an arm, you've got an arm, by popular request.)

More Kagome/Inuyasha fluff, less Inuyasha/Sesshoumaru cuteness coming. But it won't be stopped altogether, just evened out. This IS a Kagome/Inuyasha, after all, for the BILLIONTH time.

Too short, I know, but this dang thing needed SOME kind of update before I get mauled by ficcers. Jaa, suggestions? Comments? ENCOURAGEMENT?!

Ahem. Please review! Luv ya peoples!

(Besides, I've heard Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, Kouga, Miroku or any other Inu-guy that you ABSOLUTELY LUV pops out of your computer every time you hit the little button on the left side of this window...)

(Works with girls too, Kagome/Kikyou/Sango/other fanboys!)