You have no idea what your reviews of encouragement about sticking up for myself meant to me, instead of telling to stick it. ^_^ I'm SOOOOOOOOOOO GLAD you agree with me!
Also, thank you Mewzy! I'm like that with a lot of my fics I read; I read them constantly but hardly ever review because I either don't have time, or the computer messes up, or I'm just (ahem) lazy? ^^ I agree with the Bible; I think that, um, consummating (blush) homosexuality is a sin, (especially with multiple people,) but I don't believe being a homosexual is a sin. Sometimes its just the way people are. And hey, recently I came across a few Hiei/Kurama fics that were really sweet! Soul mates and all that... Of course, maybe it was because that author liked to torture Hiei...
I think the reason people like the yaoi and yuri fics is because it means
love without restraint, like not caring about each other's differences. And
I'll admit that is kind of sweet, but still...
(Hey, I'm not perfect either. For example, while I try not to read any kind
of lemon, it happens sometimes. I am sixteen, you know. But I try not to
'cause I know it's wrong. Sometimes they're cute, and sometimes they're
just reely disgusting.)
Geez, I'm turning my author's notes into a religious crusade. Which isn't really a bad thing, but you guys don't wanna read this, do you?
You wanna read....
INU-CHAN STUFF!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! BISHIES!!! ^^
I'll focus on answering peoples questions and the fic; enough chatter about moral dilemmas.
Some Sesshy torture gonna show up... Oh yes, and I'm not letting Inu-chan off the hook yet... 'Member, Naraku is still out there... Hee hee hee...
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Chapter Eight
Damn it, damn it, damn it all--
Sesshoumaru was consumed with the mantra damning everything in life as the pain ate its way down his arm, teeth gritting and sweat beginning to slide down his temples.
The cool shade of the trees helped soften the burning grind in his left arm, slightly soothing the fire shooting mercilessly down from his shoulder. He gripped a newly-formed handless wrist with his right hand, claws biting the flesh relentlessly. The searing heat had been increasing over the past week as the arm slowly but surely began to regenerate, and now all that was left to grow was his hand.
This, it seemed, would prove to be the most painful.
The past few weeks had been mostly uneventful for him; staying by Inuyasha's side and informing him of his situation. Today would mark a new turning point in the half-demon's recovery, and hopefully things would begin to right themselves. The demon lord had made a point of not trying to help him too much, letting him do as much for himself as was physically possible, but he didn't ask any questions of him or mention anything that had happened the month before. He merely ignored the growing ache in his left arm and went on taking care of the weakened hanyou.
They had almost thought he was gone when the moon had disappeared; the demon strength that had sustained him had disappeared and at one point he had even stopped breathing. Thanks to Kaede and Sesshoumaru's knowledge of youkai healing techniques, his breaths resumed and he was brought back to a safe point. Even now the demon lord didn't want to admit how afraid he'd been that they were too late.
Now, waiting in the forest for the human miko to retrieve his brother, another wave of white hot electricity burned him with the intensity of lightning. He let out a hiss as the arm gave yet another twinge.
They'd better hurry up, he thought, jamming sharp teeth into tender gums. I need a secluded place where I can finish this... It's too open here... Getting hot--
"Hrgh!" Sesshoumaru's teeth clenched tighter, digging deeper into skin as a new wave of nausea swept him and heat blasted its way down his shoulder. "Damn it, where are they?" he growled.
~~~
They were nice, he thought, bringing his staff to the front of him while he steadied himself against a rock. I wonder what the little girl looked like.
Inuyasha remembered seeing playful children frequently around the village, but now their faces had all blurred into one person, laughing with several voices. He pictured what she might be like: rosy cheeks, big, wide blue eyes that sparkled and closed daintily when she smiled, two short black pigtails, a cute little laugh that could have stopped the heart of the fiercest of demons.
Maybe she wore a little yellow and white kimono, and had a red ball she liked to chase. Or maybe a stuffed doll, with hay and leaves for clothes and grass for hair. The thought made him laugh, seeing her constructing a tiny doll from leaves and hay trying to make it as perfect as those soft little hands could weave it.
"Inuyasha!" A higher-pitched voice called out to him from the road.
He turned automatically in the direction of his name, ears twitching in recognition. "Kagome?"
A warm hand came to gently cover his arm, the soft brush of hair against his skin tickling as it flicked in the wind. "Are you alright?" she asked, concern evident in her voice. "I couldn't find you in the hut where I asked you to wait for me. I was so worried."
"I'm fine," he assured her. "I just got a little too worked up. I want to try walking without the stick today. Can I try?" A pleading note took his tone up slightly.
"Of course," Kagome replied. "Let's go meet Sesshoumaru and do this." Taking hold of his wrist, the miko walked further into the woods, trailing the half-demon behind her. The dirt path had been carefully cleared for them until they got to the meadow where he'd requested they go, and she sat him next to a tree tied around the trunk with cloth.
"It's so you can tell which way is which," she told him. "This tree is the one nearest the path. It's on your left."
Inuyasha nodded his understanding, but his mind was somewhere else. "Where's Nii-chan?"
"I'm right here," said a somewhat stifled voice from across the clearing. He heard grass crunch under the older demon's feet as he approached them and stopped next to the large tree trunk. His air intake was barely audible, making him sound out of breath, as though tired from running.
"Sesshoumaru, you're flushed," he heard Kagome say. "Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine," he said steadily. "Shall we begin?"
Inuyasha nodded. "Yes."
The first thing they did was position the hanyou straight across from the cloth-tied tree, tying a rope line from one end of the clearing to the tree. Kagome took both of his hands in hers and made him drop the supporting staff. He shook violently, but made no sound.
"Okay, Inuyasha, this is the way we're gonna go," the miko told him. "I'm going to walk with you, and you're going to follow me, then you'll rest for a few minutes and try again. Then, after we're sure you can do it, you can walk by yourself across the clearing to the tree. Alright?"
"Alright," he murmured.
He lifted one foot and placed it in front of the other...
...step...
...step...
...step...
...very carefully to avoid tripping, and slowly he followed her over the grass. "That's it... Just a little more... One more... There." He started a little as his hands left hers, but abruptly sighed as they touched the soft cloth.
"See there? We made it." He smiled at her voice coming from above his head as he sat at the tree's base. "Heh."
She laughed with him and tweaked his ears. "I knew it wouldn't be so bad. Didn't he do great, Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha heard her turn around.
"That was good," came the soft reply. "Let's try it again. My turn?"
Inuyasha's smile broadened. "Uh huh." His expression sobered in concentration as he felt a hand take hold of his and help him to his feet. Again, his balance was a little off, but he managed not to fall. "N--Nii-chan, may I hold your other hand too?" he asked uncertainly. "I can--feel myself leaning..." There was no reply.
The pace of their walk was a little faster this time, and they reached the opposite end of the meadow quickly. Now the hanyou's legs were beginning to tire. He sighed as he sat down. "That felt good," he said happily. "Thanks, Nii-chan." He felt the smile his brother gave him.
Then something happened.
Inuyasha couldn't tell what was wrong; there was a strange burning smell, like leaves on fire, coming from Sesshoumaru's direction. The cry left the demon lord's throat before he could even think about stopping it as the veins on his left arm began to bulge. Steam was rising from the skin.
Kagome's hands were covering her mouth. "Sesshoumaru!"
"Kagome?!" Inuyasha cried, hands gripping the grass. "What's wrong? Kagome? Please, tell me what's happening!"
"I-- I don't--"
"Agh!" Kagome's voice cut off as a choked scream from the demon lord yanked their attention away from each other. His wrist was throbbing tremendously now, about the size of a large rock. Inuyasha heard a loud thump as his brother fell to his knees. "AAHH--"
Kagome's eyes widened in horror as the demon gave a final cry and with a loud and sickening crack the appendage burst open in five directions, blood covering the five fingers that had grown outward from his forearm.
"Nii-chan?!"
Inuyasha had crawled over to where his brother knelt. He wrapped his arms around him from behind, head resting on his back. The hanyou sounded frightened. "Nii-chan, what's going on?"
"Hunh...hunh..." Sesshoumaru's heavy breathing filled the silence, each brother feeling the other's movements: Inuyasha's trembling body against his sibling's back, and Sesshoumaru's heaving shoulders against the younger demon's cheek pressed into his shirt.
Inuyasha called him again after a few, long, agonizing moments. "N... Nii-chan?"
"...Try again, Inuyasha..."
"Hunh?" The hanyou lifted his head from the demon's back, confused.
"Again," he repeated. "I'm fine... I want you to walk for me." Inuyasha wasn't sure what had just happened, but the last thing he'd been thinking about at the moment was walking. He nodded slowly.
"O...okay. Let's go." He can't be too hurt if he's gonna keep going. Right? The hanyou pushed down against the grass to raise himself onto his knees and finally his feet from the ground where Sesshoumaru was sitting. "Can you walk me across this time?"
"Yes." Again a gentle hand covered his... But this time it was followed by another. It was warm, slightly damp, and the skin felt strange, but the two hands held his with an equally firm and comforting grip.
Gradually the two demons made their way over the silent meadow and back to the village.
~~~
"Cool!" Shippou shouted. "You mean he just grew one? Like a... a branch off a tree or something?"
"Basically yes," Kagome sighed. "He had me worried, I mean, it looked like it was about to explode or something. Freak me out."
"Could we change the subject please," Miroku interrupted. "I believe we're making Inuyasha nervous."
"Nervous? Whadda ya mean nervous?" he insisted, trying to hide the uncertainty in his voice. "No nervousness here, nope, nothing. Absolutely nothing.... Um... was it... gross?" Everyone laughed.
"A little," Kagome told him, squeezing his arm. "He sure did a good job of scaring us to death, didn't he?" The assembled group all tried to give the hanyou their assurances that his brother was fine.
Kaede, Miroku, Kagome and the others were all seated around the fire in the priestess' hut, awaiting dinner. Sesshoumaru had asked for them to start without him, but he'd been gone awhile. Kagome guessed that he wasn't going to come; after all he'd been labelled by some as a murderous demon who took no prisoners.
You don't exactly get over that kind of thing easily... Oh well. I'll talk to him later...
A sudden movement from Inuyasha pulled Kagome out of her thoughts. The
hanyou had stiffened suddenly, ears twitching. "Inuyasha?" she questioned.
"Kagome," he said, concentrating intently.
"Yes?"
"...That smell..."
"Huh? What smell?" the miko asked. "Is something wrong?"
"...It smells wonderful. What is it?" Inuyasha could feel himself beginning to drool. "Its that over there..." He pointed, ears twitching faster.
"Hunh?" Everyone looked over to where the ramen was bubbling over the fire. "Inuyasha, it's ramen. Don't tell me you don't remember?" Kagome's face suddenly hardened as she recalled Kaede's earlier words.
"I don't remember smelling anthing that good," he said bluntly. "Can I have some? Please?" The hopeful look on his face made her smile unconsciously. He was just so cute! For some reason her mind wandered to a picture of the Unmother, the reflection of her holding a chibi Inuyasha in her arms. "Sure, help yourself--"
"YAY!" Everybody stared at the half-demon's enthusiasm. "Thank you," he said happily, accepting a bowl and some chopsticks. "Haha!"
"Why do I feel like we're dealing with Rin?" Sango murmured, raising an eyebrow.
Kagome shrugged with a half-hearted smile. She glanced at Inuyasha gulping down his ramen. What else didn't he remember? Did he remember the jewel? Or Kikyo?
Does he remember... what Naraku did to him?
The miko pushed the thoughts away only to be greeting with a pair of puppy-dog eyes (pun intended) sparkling at her and an empty bowl. Kagome laughed as she filled the proffered bowl for him again, but later she knew she would have to ask him what he still knew.
"Yum! Can I have some more?"
"Inuyasha! Everyone else has to eat too, you know!"
"I know, but it's just so good--"
"You're gonna throw up--"
"Oooh... I don't feel so good..."
"You see there?! I told you, that's what happens when you wolf your food- "
"Wolf? Where wolf?"
"Werewolf?"
"Shippou!"
"Oh for heaven's sake-- Inuyasha?!"
"Uh oh."
"S--"
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