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Fragments of Broken Pride	By : Areitus Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female Views: 10085 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 9
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- 11
Chapter 10

Sesshoumaru lied on the futon obediently as the miko tended to the his wound. Inuyasha had left the hut, saying he would be back in a few minutes, and that he had to take care of something. The miko gently wiped the thick, sticky blood from the demon lord�s chest, noticing how forlorn his eyes were as they stared blindly at the ceiling. She spoke idly to try and reassure him, �You�re lucky, you know. That arrow could have killed you.�

The demon lord turned his head to the side, �Would that have been so terrible�?�

Kagome�s mouth fell open and her hands froze on his bloodied chest. She hadn�t expected that. Never in a million years would she expect that from him: not the proud, ice-hearted Lord of the West. But he had changed. His aura was no longer that of the proud, arrogant taiyoukai he used to be. Even when he had been defeated and helpless the aura still retained that confident atmosphere, but now� there was none. His aura was now more similar to that of a puppy that had been hit by a car and now lied patiently on the side of the road for death to come claim it. Kagome�s heart reached out to him. She wanted to help him. He�d saved her from a horrible fate before, and now, was there nothing she could do to return the favor to him?

She reached her hand up and cupped his cheek, guiding his face back to her. He didn�t resist at all. He almost seemed as if he didn�t notice. His lifeless eyes didn�t flicker, but only retained their careless stare at nothing. She stroked his soft cheek, �Sesshoumaru, I know you�re in pain, but you mustn�t lose hope. You aren�t alone. Inuyasha is with you and so am I. Don�t let your grief consume you. I know you�re stronger than that, you just have to try.�

The youkai�s eyes narrowed slightly, �If I was truly strong, she would still be alive. This pain inside of me is foreign. I don�t understand it, and my fighting it is a battle I am too weak to complete. In the end� I�ll die just as my father did� degraded by a human heart.�

Kagome�s frown grew with his words. She felt so utterly helpless. She finished tending his wound in silence, not wanting to say anything that would upset him further. As she taped the bandage on, she looked up to see his eyes were closed, though his face remained slightly creased in pain. She leaned down slowly and placed a kiss over the crescent on his forehead. �You weren�t made to love, were you�?� She muttered softly. He didn�t stir.

* * *
A week passed and though the demon lord�s physical heath improved ten fold, his mental state was not improving, and in fact, he began to grow more and more violent. The group had grown accustomed to his solitude and silence in the beginning, but the calm before the storm was beginning to recede. He had lashed out at the others on more than one occasion, mostly Inuyasha, simply because he was always there, but Miroku had been on the receiving end at one point as well, and Shippo had been frightened to tears when the taiyoukai had smashed his talons into the ground and let out a fearsome growl. Though he had not attacked the child, the kitsune thought otherwise, and now avoided the Demon�s vicinity, entirely.

Kagome had though she may be able to help him, and had made time every day to go and see him. She spent a lot of time with him, though he never talked much, she was happy he had never lashed out at her as he did frequently with his brother. She was afraid the first few days simply because she didn�t know what she�d do if he did decide to attack her, and Inuyasha had not liked the idea at all, but as things worked out, she was in good hopes that her spending time with him would, slowly but surely, pulling him back up.

Night had already come and was well into it�s rein before Kagome finally set off to find the Youkai of the West. She had been so distracted today she had forgotten to go visit him. She saw Inuyasha heading toward the hut and puzzled over where the demon lord was. �Inuyasha, where is Sesshoumaru?� she said as she neared him.

Inuyasha pointed and muttered something incoherent before continuing to the hut, seemingly exhausted. The miko was a bit sleepy herself, but she would go visit with the taiyoukai for a bit before heading to bed. As she ventured toward the direction the hanyou had pointed the demon�s figure slowly came into focus. He was sitting on the bank of the coy pond, with a clam air about him.

She walked up behind him, wondering if he had noticed her. He didn�t move at all so she proceeded to seat herself beside him, now able to see his face by the light cast by the moon. She was quiet for a period before she finally spoke, �So were you giving Inuyasha a hard time again? He looked like you wore him out.� She said with a slight chuckle.

Her laughter rang in his ears as he shifted his eyes to her. Her laughter somehow eased his nerves, and he had grown to enjoy her company, though still his melancholy persisted. �Well, I can�t let him think he�s winning me over, just yet.� he said in jest, though his voice still retained every bit of it�s usual seriousness.

Kagome couldn�t stand the sheer seriousness in his voice as he said something so uncharacteristic, and laughed aloud. She stood up and walked down closer to the water�s edge, noticing a few lilies drifting near the bank. She squatted, perching herself just close enough to touch them, and smiled gently at the sweet aroma.

Sesshoumaru�s golden eyes watched her intently, seeming to take a solemn air suddenly. Her perfect smiling face; her tender laughter; the way she was drawn to the soft flowers; they all pierced a hook through his heart and were tugged at it in different directions.

Kagome stood up, noticing his blank stare at her, �Sesshoumaru? What�s wrong?� she said concerned as she approached him and knelt in front of him.

The demon lord�s eyes flickered back to normal as they found her worried visage. In a rare display, he smiled. It was a frail and pitiful kind of smile that held plenty of gloom, but none the less� �You� remind me of her.� he muttered softly as his gaze dropped back to the water.

Kagome frowned and reached for his hand, but he once again shunned the comfort by jerking away. He stood up and turned his back to her, �I�m weary. I think I will retire for now.� he muttered as he began to walk away.

Kagome fumed at his actions, knowing by pushing herself and Inuyasha away he was only doing more damage to himself. She sprang up from the ground and ran around to face him directly, causing one of his elegant eyebrows to arch slightly higher.

�Listen, I know you�ve always been the type to be alone, and do thing on your own, but I really mean it when I say, you can�t be alone right now. You can�t shut Inuyasha out, because you need him. You don�t want to admit it but you need support right now! I want to help you too, so please. Please understand what I�m saying.�

The demon lord knew what the miko was saying, but he couldn�t agree with it, because he�d been devising an entirely different plan on how to handle this.

His golden-yellow eyes were not the same as they had been earlier that week as Kagome looked into them. She had partly expected him to react with violence, as he had been doing recently, but when she gazed into those hopeless pools of despair she felt like he was only sinking farther from her reach. �Sesshoumaru�� she whimpered as she stepped closer to him and thoughtlessly embraced the youkai lord.

His breath caught in his throat as he felt the warmth of her body grip him. His first instinct was to shove her away, but for some reason his limbs felt as if they were numb, and didn�t react to his mind�s directions. He could feel the surge of her holy powers as she held so closely to him, and in was driving his instincts wild to free himself from such a defenseless position. His arm reached to push her away, but instead the agile hand made itself comfortable on the small of her back. He could see the smiling face of his beloved child as his other arm encircle the warm body as well. He lowered his head until his striped cheek rested on the top of the miko�s dark tresses. For the moment he felt like it was another he was holding in his arms, though he knew otherwise, he allowed himself to pretend. He didn�t mind pretending in this instant, he only wished the charade would be able to sustain him forever. Tears built behind his tired eyes, but he would not let them fall. They would not ease his agony or benefit him in any way, so away they stayed until the urge passed over him.

Kagome lifted her face so she could look up into the visage of the damaged lord. His half-lidded eyes did little to hide his forlorn desolation. She reached up and placed a gentle hand on his cool cheek, thinking briefly about how handsome he was. He turned his head away from the touch slightly and diverted his eyes from hers�. �This is inappropriate, miko.� he said softly.

Kagome chuckled slightly, �You can be funny sometimes, you know.� she said as she backed away. She was going to head back into the village and get ready for bed, but before she made it two steps she felt Sesshoumaru�s arm wrap around her and harshly jerk her from the ground. She was beyond startled as they both hit the ground skidding. Her eyes were wide and fearful as she struggled to get to her feet after the demon lord released her. She looked at him with uncertainty and fright, but then realized what was happening when he forcefully pushed her behind him in a protective manner.

Where they had been standing a moment ago, there now stood a female cat youkai. She held her claws at the ready and had a wry smile on her rosy lips. �It�s been a while, Sesshoumaru-sama. You seem a bit down in the dumps. I sat here for half an hour and you didn�t even twitch an ear. I felt for sure that blow would have landed, but I suppose I may have underestimated that hearing of yours.�

The demon lord had little to no reaction to the female�s words, �What do you want, Naomi� He said with the cool voice he used to be renowned for.

The neko laughed, �Isn�t it obvious. I�ve come for your head. In the state you�re in, you�ll be an easy kill, then the Western Lands will finally belong to my family again.�

Sesshoumaru seemed distant as he spoke, �Is that all? Somehow it doesn�t seem as absurd as I remember it being.�

The demoness�s eyebrows lifted in surprise at his words. �Are you really just giving up like that?� she said, �How pathetic. Perhaps you really do need to be put out of your misery then�

Kagome was momentarily stunned and scampered to grab hold of his arm before he advanced, �Sesshoumaru! What are you doing!? Wake up, have you lost your mind?! Don�t give up! You can make it if you just try! Please think about what you�re doing!� she said with apparent desperation in her voice.

The youkai lord pulled his arm free of her, causing her to fall when he did so, �I have thought long on this, miko. Someone like you could never understand my pain. I have nothing left. My desires� my goals� my fortitude has been shattered. I don�t care anymore. My shame is boundless.� He stepped toward the smugly grinning demoness as she flexed her talons. When he attained striking distance he leisurely reached up and pulled his kimono open to expose his chest to the hostile female. �Do what you will, female. This Sesshoumaru will not react.�

Kagome screamed as she ran after him and hurled herself between the two youkai, throwing her arms around his neck, �I won�t let you! I won�t let you do this!�

Both demons were surprised at her outburst, but the demoness reacted differently than the demon lord, �Stupid bitch, you can die with him if you love him so much!� She screamed as she drew her talons back in preparation for the strike, but before her strike landed a grotesque noise resonated, and she looked down to see the demon lord�s venomous talons impaled in her stomach. Her eyes looked pained and she looked at him in despair as she collapsed and ripped her body from his claws.

Kagome trembled as she continued to hold tightly to the youkai. Tears fell slowly from her eyes as her knees gave out from under her and she sank to the ground. Sesshoumaru followed her down allowing her to hold on to him, and feeling a strange relief at her actions. He stroked her back tenderly as he stared at the dying body of the demoness while the miko cried into his shoulder.

�You stupid jerk. You were really� you were�� She muttered incoherently as her fingers dug into his kimono. He touched the back of her head softly and pet her dark locks, feeling her body tremble with sobs.

�You can�t stay with me forever, Kagome. There will be a time when I get the chance while I�m alone.� he muttered as his eyes stared blankly at the bloody mess before him.

Kagome sat back rapidly and planted a hard slap across his face, her teary-eyed face, red with anger, �Baka! You need to wake up! Open your eyes and see, damn it! There is more! There is more to life if you just look!� She screamed as she stood up and made a mad dash for the village, passing a confused Inuyasha in the process.

He arrived where he had last left his brother and was surprised to see the demon lord settled on the ground near a dead female youkai. He approached his brother and knelt beside him, surveying the scene and looking over the demon as well to make sure he wasn�t injured. The only thin he noticed was a read hand print on his cheek, which he thought to be very peculiar. His brows rose as he recalled Kagome running away, crying.

He wanted to ask what the hell was going on, but he just bit his tongue and grabbed his brother�s arm to pull it over his shoulder and help him up. He stood still for a moment observing Sesshoumaru rubbing his reddened cheek.

�Is death the wrong choice then�?� he muttered, causing Inuyasha�s jaw to drop.

�You wouldn�t� You�re too strong for that�� he said as he stared at his brother�s creased face.

Sesshoumaru� frown deepened, �I�m not that person anymore, Inuyasha� This Sesshoumaru� is a weak being.� he uttered as he lowered his head so that his hair hid his face.

�Sesshoumaru�It�s hard now, I know�� Inuyasha whimpered as her pulled his brother into a strong embrace. �Just don�t give in. You can get through this. And I�ll be by your side, brother, so don�t give up.� He said as laid his head on the demon�s shoulder. He smiled as he felt Sesshoumaru�s arms go around him as well and felt the youkai lie his head against his own.
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Fragments of Broken Pride