A/N: sorry for the cliffhanger last chap, the conclusion to said cliffhanger is in this chap so enjoy!
disclaimer: i don't own InuYasha; my OCs belong to me.
Chapter 09: Lungs, Part Three: Moments, Resistance, Extinction
The half-demon looked up from his musings to see the white-haired, pale-skinned form of his first reincarnation walking up to him; his red eyes focused on the silver mirror she held close to her chest.
"Kanna, what is it?"
The girl-incarnation lifted the mirror to his line of sight, the glass of the mirror flashing briefly in an invisible light before the blankness inside of the glass shifted to the scene of the temple he had left a 'scent-marker' at, along with a horde of lesser demons.
His red eyes sharpened and widened slightly at seeing the forms of the two she-wolf sisters and the silver-haired Inu-Daiyokai circling the perimeter of the temple from the thick brush; a small green imp was scurrying straight for the main doors of the temple.
"So they think they have found my whereabouts."
He cackled softly, the mirror's glass flashing again as it focused on the head of the female Okami-Daiyokai, at the tightness in her silver orbs that were trained on the temple before her. "It would be disrespectful of me to not greet the lovely Princess Getsuei for coming so far only to have her life ended before it could ever begin." He drawled, gesturing the girl move aside as he shuffled to his feet nimbly.
"I will not be long, Kanna." He promised calmly, disappearing in a small purple twister of his miasma.
:::::::xXx::::::::
"Behold the Staff of Two Heads!" A wide stream of fire screamed at the first wave of lesser demons; the second wave gave a collected cry and sailed at the boisterous 'diversion'.
Jaken squawked and yelped as he swung the staff and sent another jet of fire at the second wave, scrambling away as the third, fourth and fifth waves launched at him.
"Your imp isn't much help," Getsu deadpanned as Sesshomaru inwardly slapped his forehead in shame and exhaled audibly in agreement, making a mental note to beat the shit out of the imp as soon as this was over.
Korihime sighed and placed an arrow in her bow, aiming at the third wave that flew right at where they had been observing. "Well we were bound to be pulled into this in the beginning," she mused, watching the wave of lesser demons fly closer as she focused her demonic aura into the arrow and bow; the bow and arrow soon obtained a light pink glow before the arrow was fired, sailing at the demons and striking the front one that looked like an eel with large teeth.
The wave of lesser demons screeched in agony as the same pink glow consumed their clustered form and destroyed them easily.
She smirked proudly, looking over at her sister and winking. "I rest my case." She giggled.
She smiled patiently, ears twitching as the fourth and fifth waves screamed at the three yokai in blind rage; she cracked her knuckles and sighed. "So eager to die," she muttered, sprinting past her sister. "Nagareboshi-Kaen!" She swung her left arm out in an arc; a wide arc of blue fire flew at the remainder of the horde, destroying them effortlessly as their remains faded into the air.
The stink of that half-demon stung his nose; his gold eyes sharpened as he distinctly caught sight of a figure moving on the front porch of the temple. He grabbed the shoulder of his fellow daiyokai, gripping her sleeve and earning a look; she followed his line of sight and growled lowly.
"Princess of the Western Wolf Clan, indeed; it's no wonder you are a formidable enough foe, Lady Getsuei." Naraku declared as he stood before the yokai trio and imp, cloaked in the baboon pelt again.
His scent… this isn't a puppet! Korihime thought in surprise, quickly drawing an arrow from her quiver and aiming at the half-demon that hid his face.
Getsu smirked darkly, feeling his claws dig into her shoulder bone as she cracked her knuckles again. "So you finally showed your face to me. Or rather, the skull-wearing face, to be frank." She returned coldly.
Sesshomaru glared stonily at the hooded figure. "Why have you led us here, Naraku?" He demanded.
"I have come to offer my condolences for your loss, Lord Sesshomaru: it's a shame your father passed on… All to sire your half-demon baby brother." He sneered, knowing he'd just hit a nerve with the Inu-Daiyokai.
He fell silent even though his tightened grip on her shoulder bone spoke otherwise; she almost thought his gold stare glinted red at the rims of his eyes.
"How dare you rub salt in the wound of my master!? You disrespectful wretch, you'll pay!" The imp shrieked shrilly before the staff sent a large blast of orange flames at the half-demon.
Naraku laughed as a hive's worth of hornets buzzed around him, acting as a barrier to block the flames from hitting directly. "What's this, I had no knowledge that you three orphans were taking in pets." He drawled lowly.
The grip on her shoulder lightened until she saw him disappear and reappear right infront of the half-demon. "Sesshomaru!" She barked alertly.
"Poison Claw!" He swung the claws of his left hand down sharply on the half-demon's head; the same hornets buzzed angrily and sailed at the Inu-Daiyokai, forcing him to draw back and land nimbly on one foot infront of his female compatriots.
A wave of blue fire screamed at the hornets, burning the majority of them that didn't make it back into the small hive he held in hand; his red eyes peered through the eye holes of the baboon skull to the angered silver stare of the Okami-Daiyokai.
"You still have much to learn, Princess Getsuei. Especially moreso if your fiancé is weak!" Two large insect-looking limbs sailed at the dog demon.
A whip of yellow light snagged the two limbs effortlessly, slightly surprising the half-demon and Okami-Daiyokai; his gold eyes penetrated past the eye holes of the baboon skull to his narrowed red eyes.
"Whatever gave you the indication that I am weak?" Sesshomaru thundered, flicking his wrist and ripping the limbs out, his poison destroying the limbs and making them disintegrate in less than seconds.
Korihime sent the arrow flying, a thick aura of pink making the projectile glow as it was sent at the half-demon that had his attention diverted by the Inu-Daiyokai.
That little brat! Naraku thought before the arrow hit his shoulder; his hornets regrouped and sailed at the younger she-wolf in an angered formation.
"Blackened Wolf Fang!" A wide arc of purple energy screamed at the hornets, destroying them and stalling them from hitting her sister as Getsu stood defensively infront of her, katana drawn and gripped tightly in her right hand.
The half-demon sneered at the trio of yokai before he disappeared in a twister of his purple-colored miasma, slightly surprising them.
"Keep in mind that I will not forget this." Naraku's voice filled the air before the twister faded into the growing thunder clouds overhead.
Three sets of eyes watched the clouds lessen the darkness they held to become that dreary winter-foreboding pale gray before a collected sigh of relief came from the group.
Korihime slung her bow over her shoulder, watching her sister sheathe her katana. "Father was right in bestowing the Mangetsuga to you, onee-chan." She commented with a smile.
Getsu looked at her and smirked softly, nodding. "Apparently so." Her silver eyes traveled to the male daiyokai. "You sure put up a fight." She mused, nudging him.
Sesshomaru nodded back and smirked a little, briefly eyeing the katana at her left hip. "As did you. I had heard stories of your father's fang, the Mangetsuga; yet I didn't know he had bequeathed it to his firstborn daughter." He replied, returning the nudge out of a light playfulness they harbored in and out of their time spent in each other's closeness.
She blushed slightly and rubbed the back of her neck, "yeah, I know, you'd have figured he'd give it to his firstborn son! But Father always told me after each training session that I would inherit the Mangetsuga once I left the clan to form my own someday. Kori-chan was wise to bring it with us: gods know what Naraku would do with my father's fang in his slimy hands." She bristled a little before sighing. "Either way, it'd be wise for us to rest up for the night. Not that fighting hornets and demon hordes was taxing, but still… a little beauty sleep never hurt."
He nodded slightly in agreement, "hn."
Both sisters blinked once at the sight of the two-headed dragon that stood before them.
He deadpanned at their silence, "it's not as if they're going to eat you… I will commend you for bringing Ah-Un though, Jaken." He blinked this time.
Since when did he praise Jaken of all creatures…? What in hell was wrong with him?
He threw a glance at the sisters and inwardly groaned. Of course, he'd been traveling with females… They were making him grow soft.
A low grumble sounded from his inner beast, who sounded displeased by this factoid. The grumble turned into a sort of humming purr as his gold eyes watched the older of the two sisters lift a clawed hand to stroke the underside of Ah's jaw; the dragon chirped in recognition that she was a demon like its master and was also kind.
His ears twitched as he almost thought he could hear her own inner beast purring just like his was doing; she glanced over at him and blushed, steering her attention to the dragon as her sister came forward to pet the head of Un.
Sometimes he wished his beast wouldn't make things so damn obvious.
'Can you really blame me? You and the princess are bonded; it is clear as day.' His inner beast growled in his ears, making a scowl form on his brow at the casual way his beast struck up a conversation regarding such fragile things.
I am well aware of that, I don't need you to remind me. He rebutted patiently.
'So you say but your mind tells me otherwise.' It remarked coolly, almost in a sing-song voice that instantly got on his nerves.
He bristled reflexively, inwardly scoffing. Shut your mouth, he mentally growled at it.
'Come now, it's not as if bonding is a bad thing. Not in regards to bonding with a lovely she-wolf like her… And then there's the issue of your sleeping habits…' His mental snarl quieted the beast's musings.
He cursed the change in weather for the briefest moment, gold eyes roaming to the she-wolf he and his inner beast were debating over; his eyes softened when she laughed as Ah bumped his snout with her cheek playfully.
'You want her more than as a companion, as much as I so wish to mate her own beast.' His inner beast stated in that purring tone again, a sound he realized meant that the beast was being lustful.
You will not interfere, not yet. I will handle mating issues with her on my own terms, not on yours. He snapped with another inward snarl.
It chuckled darkly but obeyed nonetheless. 'Whether you agree or not, we will have her as a mate, and given that Okami-Daiyokai are very rare, you will not want to let her go so easily. Not with that vermin out to consume her powers, body and soul, to do to her what he could not do to her deceased father he took his vengeance out on… Getsuei is bonded and we will protect what is bonded to us. And once mated she will not leave you or I… Her own beast won't allow her to separate from the one who has claimed her.'
It quieted down, finally retreating to the deeper recesses of his conscious.
Sesshomaru stared ahead at the darkness of the trees around them, mulling over what his inner beast had stated, and inwardly bristling like mad at the mere thought of Naraku ever getting his disgusting hands on the she-wolf he was betrothed to. Getsu was his, even though she would stubbornly refuse to believe that she was his property (and she'd probably smack him for calling her as such), and he would slay that vulgar half-breed before he ever got his hands on the female he had bonded with.
"You're going to burn a hole in the trees, you realize." Getsu pointed out, jarring him from his thoughts, as she sat down against a tree and was busy polishing her heirloom fang with a cleaning cloth.
He shook his head softly, throwing her a look before he shuffled to sit with her.
"Kori went to go look for something to feed Ah-Un and Jaken went with her at the insistence that she would need something to beat the fish with if she came across a stream." She informed absently, chuckling at the mental image.
"Hn," he nodded, his mind flashing back to the conversation-and-or-debate he and his inner beast had what felt like hours ago; that's how much he was mulling over what had been said.
She lifted her gaze up from the silver of the fang's blade, looking at his gold eyes to see he was staring into space, deep in thought once again. "Is something wrong? You're being quieter than usual." She wondered quietly.
He mentally cursed her keen senses, seeing her tilt her head to one side, concern beginning to swim in those silver moons of hers. "No, I'm fine." He said dismissively, vainly hoping she would drop the subject and start on another one, a more tedious one to be honest.
But at this point in time he knew Getsu wouldn't be that naive.
"You suck at lying to me." She pointed out, her pout faltering and allowing a concerned line to replace it on her lips. "Look, if it's about your father…" She began, lifting a hand to grasp his hand.
He caught her wrist quickly, slightly surprising her, his gold eyes meeting her worried silver stare. "It's not that." His intense stare softened reflexively as he held her gaze in his, "just drop it. It's not something that concerns you."
That was the worst lie he'd ever told, 'utterly piss-poor' as she had said once.
Getsu scowled reflexively, shirking her hand free to put her katana back in the black scabbard before setting it aside, exhaling and running a hand through her slightly tousled hair, scritching the back of her head. "It sounds like it does concern me, moreso if it's in regards to your sanity." She wouldn't let the subject drop.
Sesshomaru returned the scowl, their eyes locking in a silent squabble for dominance; his beast rumbled at the challenge the feisty she-wolf presented, their earlier conversation returning to the front of his mind. 'Whether you agree or not, we will have her as a mate…'
Damn it all.
"Drop it." He growled, his words moreso an order than a suggestion.
She would have none of it, leering to peer into his angered gold stare. "Make me."
Now she'd done it.
With a soft growl of frustration at his inner beast and restrained lust he felt for the female daiyokai, he had her back-first on the cold grassy earth in less than a second, his arms caging and pinning her to the grassy surface as his claws carved crescents into the dirt on either side of her head.
She blushed brightly and stared up at her captor, ears perking alertly as she saw that his eyes were starting to glint red; her own inner beast growled in her ears as it could sense his was very close to surfacing and taking over his body, the musk of a turned on canine assailing her keen nose.
'Mate.' Her inner beast and his own thundered.
Getsu trembled, looking into his gold eyes. "Sesshomaru," she breathed softly, blushing another shade of reddish pink as he lowered his head to descend on hers.
Sesshomaru rested his forehead against hers, slightly baffling the she-wolf, as he had gained control over his beast once again, keeping it at bay with inward thundering snarls.
She slipped one hand free of his caged grip he had her in and lifted it to gingerly cup his cheek, running her clawed thumb over the maroon streaks on his cheekbone. "You heard what it said." She didn't question him.
He nodded, shuffling to sit on his knees and release her of the cage-like hold, holding her hand to his cheek. "It's not going to have its way tonight." He stated softly.
She sat up a little, her eyes soft at seeing his larger hand cover her smaller one, silver meeting gold. "It'll try again, I know it will; mine is the same." She reminded in the same tone, looking sheepish.
Sesshomaru released her hand to let the hand that had held hers run through her hair, gently pushing locks of her ebony bangs from her slightly-round cheek. "When it does, I doubt I'll be very much in control of things." He mused.
Getsu shrugged, letting him cup her cheek gently. "It's only instinct, right? To… mate," her cheeks warmed at the prospect.
He nodded again, ears twitching at seeing her cheeks burn at the simple prospect of mating. "I doubt you'll be blushing much once the deed is done." He offered quietly, a slight smirk on his lips as he found her shyness towards physical contact to be cute.
She blushed harder and punched his shoulder. "Piss off, at least I don't have centuries-worth of pent-up testosterone like you do, dog breath." She growled.
His beast purred at hearing her growl and surveying how feisty she was behaving, quieting when he sent another inward growl at it. "Now you're not being fair." He quipped, his brow twitching as he dropped his hand.
Getsu smiled cheekily, leaning in to kiss his cheek lightly, seeing his face blank before a slight pink hue dashed across his pale cheeks and his gold eyes blink in confusion at what just happened. "Don't get so huffy, milord." She teased, folding her arms complacently over her chest and sitting back.
Sesshomaru made a face similar to a pout, grumbling at her as his beast growled at her insolence, mirroring her and folding his arms. "Don't be so impossible." He grated.
She giggled, flashing a wide innocent grin. "Haven't the foggiest about what you're talkin' about, love." She said with a shrug.
He growled under his breath at her playfulness, snorting. "Ofcourse you don't, you never are at fault for testing my nerves." He remarked with heavy sarcasm.
Getsu winked and smirked teasingly, reminding him of a fox demon for the briefest moment. "You're learning! Good boy," she patted his head as if he were a puppy.
A vein twitched on his brow and he growled again, eyes shut at her belittling gesture. "Piss off, princess." Sesshomaru ground out.
"Hm, nope, not in this lifetime." She sighed and tapped her chin thoughtfully.
He shot her a stony look, seeing her seem to blissfully ignore it, further fueling his current annoyance with her antics. "You're so impossible." He groaned.
She shrugged again and poked his forehead, flopping back into the grass. "Love it, get used to it." She remarked.
He huffed.
A/N: more fluff lol i actually like writing fluff for this couple, it's cute xD /gets bricked
anyway~ so now both Sessh and Getsu's inner demons are basically biting at the bit to take control of their bodies and let their feelings be shown in the form of mating. having bonded (which is relative to falling for each other, so i've read) it's now become a mental battlefield for dominance in both daiyokai's heads. will they win... or will their emotions outdo them? until next chap! ^^