ch. 2: My Own Happiness
Sesshomaru gracefully came to a somewhat rushed stop as he neared his campsite, hoping that it hadn't been Rin who's scream had echoed through the forest and had put an abrupt end to his and Inuyasha's intimate conversation.
"Jaken," the silver-haired demon called demandingly, looking around somewhat impatiently for either of his two subordinates. "Are you here?"
"I'm by the river, milord!" a familiar yet distressed voice called in return, causing Sesshomaru to silently run to the source of Jaken's voice.
The miniature demon was crouched down by none other than Rin by the river, dipping a strip of cloth in the water and wrapping it around her knee. The young girl appeared to have tears running down her cheeks, but a somewhat angry and annoyed expression worn on her face.
"I told you that I'm fine, Jaken!" she said, her tone whiny and childish yet thankful. She turned to Sesshomaru, somewhat surprised and embarassed to see him.
"What is going on here?" the pure-blood demon asked, his voice adopting a somewhat icy tinge to it. "Why are you crying? Was it you who screamed?"
"My Lord, Rin was searching for you," Jaken explained, trying to calm Rin down by removing the bandages around her knee. "She had climbed up a tree in hopes of being able to see you, but lost her footing and fell from it..."
"I'm sorry, Lord Sesshomaru," the brunet child said humbly, looking down at her feet. "It was me who screamed. You heard it?"
"Yes," Sesshomaru replied, relieved that nothing too serious had occurred. "You are wounded?"
"She scraped her knee," Jaken answered for her, his eyes widening incredulously as Sesshomaru squat down beside the two smaller beings, taking the remaining strips of cloth from Jaken's hand.
"Go prepare dinner, Jaken," the dog demon said, dipping the cloth into the river and pressing it gently against Rin's cut. "I will tend to her wounds."
"M-my Lord! To bring yourself down to this level of servitude..."
"Jaken. My day has not been pleasant. Please don't make me have to kill you."
"I'll prepare dinner right away, milord!"
Sighing, Sesshomaru continued to clean Rin's aberration. Meanwhile, in a small clearing elsewhere in the woods, Inuyasha was hurriedly approaching his own comrades.
"Kagome!" he exclaimed upon seeing his companion's face, relief instantly flooding through his body. "You're okay, right?"
"Of course," she replied happily; she and Sango were sitting by a fire, gazing up at the newly emerging stars. "Sango and I have just been relaxing and telling stories. Where have you been, Inuyasha?"
"Have you seen Miroku?" Sango asked also, stretching her arms. She yawned and reclined onto her back, the soft forest grass cushioning her.
"I was just...getting some fresh air," Inuyasha replied hastily, his mind recalling the kiss he and Sesshomaru had shared not too long ago. "And I haven't seen him. I'll go look for him. I have something to do anyway."
If Kagome hadn't been the one who had screamed, then who had? He figured he might as well check and see if there were no new enemies lurking about around his half-brother's current residency.
"Come back soon," Kagome whispered, her eyes pleading; nodding curtly, the half-demon quickly made his way towards where he knew Sesshomaru, Jaken, and that girl-child they kept around would be staying for the night.
As Inuyasha came to the forest's sacred river, he saw two familiar figures; one, he realized somewhat excitedly, was the ever ethereal silhouette of Sesshomaru. He was bandaging that little girl's knee, but she didn't look hurt at all; she was smiling and laughing, and soon stood up and bowed to the silver-haired demon.
Inuyasha scowled; he was, even though he felt ridiculous admitting it to himself, somewhat jealous of Rin. She had Sesshomaru's attention and apparently, his affection, also. It wasn't everyday that the usually haughty demon would stoop down and bandage some body's wound.
The child soon ran off to what Inuyasha presumed was their main campsite, and Sesshomaru drew himself to his full regal height, casting a glance at his reflection in the pristine river water.
He couldn't help but admit that he was indeed handsome; his eyes traveled further up the expanse of the water and instantly widened as they fell upon the muscular figure of Inuyasha, who stood transfixed as the two's eyes met.
Wordlessly, Sesshomaru fluidly leapt over the river and stepped down next to his brother. He hesitated, then proceeded to somewhat awkwardly wrap his long arms around the half-demon's middle, pulling him in closer and inhaling the woody, spicy scent wafting off of the younger's smooth skin.
"Inuyasha, I know that this isn't the ideal time or place," Sesshomaru began again, trying to recreate the atmosphere the two had been in about an hour prior to their current meeting. "But there is something I still need to tell you."
Inuyasha sucked in a lungful of the moist night air, the stars now out and twinkling calmly in the ebony night sky.
"Meet me by the lake at midnight," the half-demon whispered huskily into Sesshomaru's ear, his voice adopting a sensual tone that neither of the two men had ever heard before.
Goosebumps formed on the nape of Sesshomaru's neck as Inuyasha's hot breath ghosted over his silky skin, which was ethereally illuminated in the pale moonlight, giving the demon an otherworldly glow.
Inuyasha shot one last long, pained look at his older brother before retreating back to his campsite, his heart palpitating in his chest far faster than it ever had before the thrill of a battle the two had shared.
This overwhelming feeling of anxiety and fear of rejection was like some sort of emotional high, and Inuyasha could feel the emotion rocking his body in tumultuous waves as his mind purused the events that had happened before now.
Meanwhile, Sesshomaru stood transfixed and slightly aroused by the bank of the river, his eyes instantly snapping back to their icy, narrowed stature when Inuyasha was out of view, yet still retaining a somewhat blissful glossiness.
He looked the Northern star, his pearly locks gently being tousled by the warm spring breeze that blew through the forest. According to his calculations, there were around two hours until midnight. Two long, horribly impatient hours.
Sighing, the great demon started to make his way back to his own place of rest until he heard a familiar scuffling to his immediate left, the noise causing his eyebrows to arch into his hairline and his fist to clench menacingly by his side, perfectly sharp claws digging somewhat uncomfortably into his fist as he did so.
"Jaken," he breathed in his now rough sounding, violent baritone voice. "I hope you have a good explanation for this."
All was silent in the night until Sesshomaru blatantly withdrew his sword, an action that immediately caused the demon imp to surrender himself from his hiding spot, which was apparently behind a bush to the right of the dog demon.
"Please forgive me, milord! I was only out getting a little more firewood when I saw you with Inuya-," the petite demon began, but was promptly cut off by Sesshomaru's foot swiftly planting a somewhat restrained kick against his head, sending him flying back into the knotted trunk of a maple tree.
"Silence. We will discuss this later." Sesshomaru shot his subordinate a fiery glare that, should Sesshomaru's eyes have been shrapnels of metal, would have chopped Jaken up into a million tiny, apologetic pieces.
Jaken frowned, not at all content with his master's reserved, introverted way of dealing with inconsistencies in his life.
"Lord Sesshomaru," the imp began, his tone calming and somewhat wary. "Certainly you know you can come to me with any problem you might have. I am not one to judge, milord. Especially not you."
Sesshomaru was somewhat taken off guard by the staff-wielder's words, but he soon returned back into his mental shell of apathy, not easily coaxed to submission.
"There is no problem to be divulged," he responded icily, his patience growing thin. He looked to the North star once more; based on the astral positions of the surrounding bodies, only a little over ten minutes had passed since ten o' clock.
"Milord, hear me out! I know there is something wrong, and I will point it out to you if you do not admit it first!" Jaken stated defiantly, crossing his thin arms across his chest.
Sesshomaru was quite honestly getting annoyed, but part of him longed to confess his inner turmoil to his long time companion, and maybe finally get this off of his chest. However, the last thing he needed right now was Jaken acting like he had the authority to tell Sesshomaru what he could and could not do.
"Alright," the dog demon shot back at the smaller male, withdrawing his Tessaiga in the blink of an eye, it's lustrous blade glinting dangerously in the lunar light that bathed the bank of the river. "What is it that I am withholding from you? Be careful with your answer."
Trembling under the threat of the blade's oh-so sharp tip held menacingly against his face, Jaken knew from personal experience that the Tessaiga couldn't harm him.
"You have feelings for your half-brother," Jaken choked out in a forced, high-pitched voice, hardly daring to breathe. "And you hate yourself for it."
Sesshomaru's eyes widened considerably as he slowly lowered his blade, watching in sheer mortification as Jaken breathed a sigh of relief, practically collapsing onto his knees.
"Is it that obvious?" the silver-haired man relented, the overwhelming need to bury his heated face into a nearby tree possessing his body. He honestly could not recall a time he had ever felt this emotion before; he assumed it was 'embarrassment.'
"Milord, it is not obvious at all," Jaken assured him, offering a silent prayer to the Gods that he had been spared for even daring to have this conversation. "I only noticed because I have known you for so long."
Sesshomaru hesisted, then sighed, defeatedly sitting down against the same maple tree he had previously sent Jaken flying into.
"Alright, so you know my secret," the dog demon remarked, his features as calm and serene as they generally were despite his current inner conflict. "Even though, as I said, I had promised to myself to never tell a soul. What do you propose I should do? Although I am hardly inclined towards taking your advice on the matter."
"Well..." Jaken trailed off. "Although it would be in the world's best interest for you to ignore these feelings and forget about Inuyasha entirely, cutting him off completely..."
He hesitated for a breif moment, then continued.
"I believe it would be in your best interest to admit these feelings to both yourself and Inuyasha," he finished quietly, not daring to stare Sesshomaru directly into his champagne orbs.
"The world's best interest that I forget about him?" the silver-haired immortal repeated, carefully thinking over Jaken's words. "Since when had my emotions so affected the world?"
"Many times, milord, like when you saved Rin or aided in the defeat of Naraku," Jaken pointed out, pleased that Sesshomaru was calmly accepting his thoughts on the situation. "But your own happiness is more important, is it not?"
Sesshomaru sat and mulled over his subordinate's statement for a fleeting moment, his eyes adjusting instinctively to the ever deepening night darkness as midnight loomed closer and closer with each second.
If there was something that he knew would definitely bring him that euphoric, secure feeling of warmth and longing in his core again, it was definitely knowing that he would be able to feel Inuyasha's tepid, supple lips move against his once more, and any time that he pleased to feel them.
He wanted Inuyasha; it was as simple and straightforward as that, and Jaken was, although it pained Sesshomaru to admit it, undoubtedly right. He deserved his own happiness.
Sesshomaru quickly stood, causing Jaken to jump in shock at the swiftness of his motion.
Sesshomaru had decided. He would definitely meet Inuyasha at the lake, and he would try to the best of his ability to convey his thoughts to the half-demon.
"And hopefully," the pure-blood demon said to himself, his words causing delicious jolts of arousal to course throughout his body, "I will have him tonight."
a/n: sorry that this took a while! I while get better about updating, I promise. This is basically a build up chapter; the next one will be an important one! heheh. Please, please review!