The Library
By Anonymous Malink
Disclaimer, I do no own any Inuyasha like subjects in copyrighted form.
Part Thirteen – Of Confessions and Large Stones
Two weeks, four days, seventeen hours, thirty three minutes, and four advanced states of lethargy later, one could definitely said Inuyasha was not any better or any worse. In fact, he was even emptier than before if that was even possible. His views were empathetic at best, and his grades were dropping likes flies. It wasn't material, it wasn't effort, but it was soul. Math and Science based classes were still easy, but English was slipping. Slowly. Death was an effortless slump for him it seemed.
Creativity was one of the things that went away with his lassitude. Along with it was his ability to multi-task, and the enjoyment of once doing things he got fun out of. The saxophone became an instrument of stupor to him, and while most people we're still working at high speed in school, he was slowly winding down. It was of no consequence to him that more than half the school year had yet to evolve before him. He didn't care… in his eyes, he had never cared.
Sesshoumaru had masked Inuyasha's emotions for him, blaming it on mononucleosis, or some weird random psychological disorder than he made up on the spot. It all depends on what kind of mood he was in; technically what mood both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha were in.
Sesshoumaru at this point was ready for a one on one with Inuyasha, and he knew that it would be better than nothing. He had everything prepared. It was time he brought Inuyasha to his house in the mountains, where lied the answer to all his problems.
Of course, there was the fact that Sesshoumaru never was one for patience. He didn't have time for Inuyasha to solve his own problems; Inuyasha didn't have time to lose. Sesshoumaru wanted answers to his own question, and Inuyasha needed some saving. And perhaps, when the time came, Inuyasha would pay him back in kind.
"I don't think this is the best idea you've ever had Sesshoumaru…"
"Stop being whiny. I'm sick of you being so weird lately. It's time to change some things."
Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha left Izayoi's house, heading for Sesshousmaru's car. Of course, it would have been smarter if Izayoi knew about this consciously, and it wasn't midnight. Sesshoumaru knew Izayoi would never let him 'borrow' her youngest for an experiment, (or even for assistance), so Sesshoumaru decided to sneak him out… perhaps more forcefully than the younger brother would have liked.
"Get in the car!"
"I still don't-"
"Inuyasha get in!"
Inuyasha slowly got into the car and shut the door behind him, pulling his suitcase into his lap. Sesshoumaru got into the driver's seat, arranged himself comfortably, and then started the car. "There… you see?"
Inuyasha sighed and rubbed his temples. "Sure… whatever."
They pulled out of the driveway, somewhat more quietly, and proceeded to rocket past the street lights at a lightning pace, seeing as no other car was on the road. One could only wonder why…
No conversation took place at first. In fact, no conversation took place at all, save Sesshoumaru talking to himself and Inuyasha snoring. Inuyasha had fallen asleep soon after getting in the car. The trip to Sesshoumaru's 'house' was a long one. It was in the middle of a country road, in the middle of nowhere, next to a run down Inn, and an old forest. The forest was nice and green, even in the closing fall. Down a little into the forest laid a path, which led to an old stream with a crumpled and decomposing wooden bridge.
As the duo moved farther down the countryside, Inuyasha was bumped awake after rolling over a log. "Almost there?" he muttered half asleep.
"More or less," Sesshoumaru answered, which of course meant no. What else could it mean? More or less? Pash!
Inuyasha promptly fell back asleep in response, and began snoring louder than before. Sesshoumaru resisted waking him, knowing if he did he would face the dreaded 'Irritated Inu,' alliteration aside.
Forty minutes after they left the house, they arrived on the dirt driveway of the small countryside house. It was small and quaint, nothing like the apartment. In fact, one could argue the apartment was nicer. From the outside the building looked like one big piece of decomposing wood, jumbled like a lean-to on a rock. Sesshoumaru stopped the car near the makeshift garage, which apparently used to be a barn, and shook Inuyasha awake without hesitation.
"Inu!" he shouted in his ear, throwing the kid's head against the window. Inuyasha woke instantly as was to be expected on such a brutal waking.
"What?!"
"We're here…"
Inuyasha looked outside at the disheveled building in time to see some crud fall from the gutters.
"How exciting…"
Sesshoumaru hit him upside the head and then got out of the car. Inuyasha stumbled to get his hand on the handle of the car, and then scratched his head as he opened the side door and got out, slamming it behind him, but not before pulling out his suitcase full of belongings for his… weekend away from home.
As they walked toward the house, Inuyasha noticed weird graffiti on the side of the house. Writing like: "Farm for Life" and "Sh00b 2000" was written. He had no idea what this meant, of course, but it was apparent neither Sesshoumaru nor Rin wrote it.
Inuyasha growled mistakenly at a cat which had passed by just as they got to the front door. It was a black cat, which Sesshoumaru waved off. "It's the neighbor's," he said as he got out his keys once more and fidgeted with the lock.
Inuyasha took a moment to look at this building again. The porch they were standing on was made of a strange wood that looks bluish. It had a fence, with bluish wood columns jutting up and protecting them from the overhang crushing them. Three windows surrounded the door, two on the right side and one on the left. Inuyasha looked in one, and saw what he would be sleeping in. It was an exact replica of the apartment inside.
"What the…"
Sesshoumaru unlocked the front door, with one final twist of his key. He casually waltzed in, throwing off his boots and putting his keys on the table. Inuyasha however, stumbled his way in, amazed. The walls were a weird looking shade of color, identical to the walls of their apartment. It was set up exactly such as well. The carpet, the walls, the ceiling, the set up. Sesshoumaru showed him to the kitchen which was identical as well.
Past the kitchen was the bedroom, the guest bedroom, once again, the same.
The bathroom, the same.
The closet… still needed some work.
Inuyasha put his suitcase down on the seat beside the bed. He wanted to look around. It was intriguing how everything was set up. But his mind was sadly still on one track, and he was forced by his legs to lie down on the bed, and go to sleep.
The following morning Sesshoumaru got up very early, around six, while Inuyasha would have remained asleep for a whole lot longer. Whereas the two brothers didn't get along, they were in fact completely different. This disproved many theories about sibling relationships.
It was nearly six ten when Sesshoumaru came into Inuyasha's room and decided to throw a pillow at him. "Wake up…"
Inuyasha stirred but did not wake. Sesshoumaru, annoyed, took up a heavier pillow and once again drove him over the head with it. Of course this too was to no avail, and Sesshoumaru was forced to take up harder measures, measures that involved an air horn…
Twenty minutes following Inuyasha's screams which penetrated the ear louder than that of the air horn, the two had finally gotten ready for whatever Sesshoumaru had planned for them in the morning of their weekend away from home.
With Inuyasha's boots tied on tight, they left the house. Sesshoumaru locked the door behind them as Inuyasha grossly complained about the light and how his ears were going to ring until the end of time.
"Where are we going?"
"Inuyasha stop screaming!"
"… SORRY!"
The two walked down the dirt road into the forest. As they neared the actual forest, they began to talk more appropriately.
"I've noticed your attitude in school dropping, and coming up in different areas. Care to explain?"
"Why do you care...?"
Sesshoumaru sighed as they rounded a corner which led right into the forest. It was cold out, and the wind picked up right as they entered into a large patch of brush. Inuyasha could pick out a strange large tarp covered object in the close distance.
"No reason, I just want to know."
As they cleared the forest path, Inuyasha noticed they were going around a path toward the object. He watched in amazement how they got closer to the object and apparently was much larger than previously anticipated. "Great… here we are. Now we can really start to talk."
"Listen Sesshoumaru, I'm never gonna be comfortable with these stupid talks! Just gi-.. gi…"
They had finally gotten really close to the object, which was now revealed. Sesshoumaru had pulled off the giant tarp, and shown little Inuyasha what it truly was. "Its… its…"
"Quite cool eh?"
"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET A TREBUCHET?!"
"It's not hard. I ordered one off of eBay. It came disassembled of course, but I got it together. The neighbors didn't quite like it when I bull-dozered one of their fences with a boulder though…" Sesshoumaru trailed off a moment before getting back on task. "Anyway, how 'bout we make a deal, again…"
Inuyasha eyed him suspiciously. "What kind of deal!"
Sesshoumaru picked up a large stone and put it in the basket of the large medieval device. "Well," he said as he adjusted the lever, "If you tell me what I want to know, I'll let you use this thing. It really is quite fun."
Inuyasha watched in strange amusement. "Hah, yeah right! That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life! No way!"
"Suit yourself," Sesshoumaru muttered as he pulled the lever, launching the boulder over the trees, clearing right over the creek and the lake, and landing somewhere far in the distance with a heard crack.
Inuyasha gulped and sighed. "Erm..."
"Are you sure?"
Inuyasha shook with excitement. "FINE! Just give me the rock!"
"Not until I get my answers." Sesshoumaru hoisted another rock in the air and got the basket down into position again. "Now… I want the truth. What the hell has been going through your head lately?"
Inuyasha looked down. "dad… now GIVE me the thing!"
"What was that?"
"I said dad, ok! DAD DAD DAD!!!" Inuyasha growled at his older brother. "I've been… thinking about dad lately more than anything else."
Sesshoumaru questioned this. "What about Kikyo?"
"I've tried to forget…"
"Kagome?"
"…"
"Inuyasha?!"
"I'm sick of girls, ok? I'm done with love."
"Love?" Sesshoumaru eyed him carefully. "What does love have to do with anything?"
"With all due respect, I think you know why…" Inuyasha took the stone from his hands and put it in the machine. "It's the principle of things. I remember you saying that…"
He pulled the lever and watched it fly through the sky, grabbing the attention of a few hawks that dove for it on the way down. Sesshoumaru eyed another rock and grabbed the basket again.
"I still don't understand…" Sesshoumaru muttered. "I thought you said you never loved Kagome."
"When did I say that?"
"So you did…"
"…" Inuyasha grew extremely red with this comment. "I'm done with love," he muttered again.
Sesshoumaru sighed for the umpteenth time. "Maybe love's not ready for you," Sesshoumaru suggested. "Maybe you're not ready."
"But… then all those years…"
A silence filled the space of words between the two brothers as Sesshoumaru dropped the rock in the Trebuchet. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes for what felt like the longest time. "Do you know how I know I love Rin, Inuyasha?"
Inu gazed at him questioningly, and yet no words needed to be said.
"Because I would rather see her happy than see myself happy. I would forsake my happiness for her just cause. Forever would I moan in agony and torture to lead her to live without me, if so needed?" He opened his eyes. "Do you understand Inuyasha, that if you loved Kagome, you wouldn't need to be here right now…?"
"I loved her," Inuyasha said, without a shake in his voice. "I know I did."
"So how do you prove this?"
"I will find a way…"
Sesshoumaru smiled. "Love is fickle; you can't really love more than one person at a time. Do you think you can finally leave Kikyo?"
"I don't think I really… ever can…" Inuyasha smiled. "But knowing she's happily at peace, I can try."
Sesshoumaru then did something entirely not expected. He smiled. A faint chuckle past his lips and he smiled all the same as he did when he was a kid and still largely a child. "I hope you're right."
"I know I am." Sesshoumaru fixed his hair and then patted his leg as he walked back for the path. "Come on… technically I am not supposed to be using this after seven."
They walked back to the house with only one more set of words uttered from Inuyasha. "Maybe next time we can use lighter fluid."
A.N. ... W00T!!! Happy Update for Me, Happy Update for Me, Happy Update dear A-non! Happy Update for Me!!! Ok seriously, maybe I can do this. Or maybe not we'll see. Expect something more from me soon. Maybe in April. But sooner than three months.