Chapter 26: Despair
Sesshoumaru smelled him before he was even near the glade, but his feet propelled him forward regardless.
Breaking the treeline, he finally stopped, taking in the sight of his brother's wretched form, slumped dejectedly against the Bone Eater's well. It was clear by the revolting smell that his brother had not deigned to wash himself in days, perhaps even weeks. Even the fur of the Fire Rat–normally self-regenerative–appeared lacklustre. Inuyasha's hair was matted and tangled; extremely unbecoming of one of his brethren.
Sesshoumaru did something that he was never prone to do–he hesitated.
It was clearer now, the fading scent of the miko, as though this was the very last place she had touched before disappearing once more. And, if he was given to believing the fanciful tale that his ward had spun, perhaps it was the truth–that the miko's home truly did lie beyond the well, in another world, in another time. And his brother was the gatekeeper.
The disheveled form of his brother shifted, and the hanyou lifted his head from the weather-worn wood, blood-shot eyes pinning him across the glade.
"Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha spoke, voice roughened with apparent misuse. "What do you want?"
Sesshoumaru let a couple moments pass before walking towards his brother, careful to school his features.
"Where is the miko?"