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And You, My Brother	By : Arianawray Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male > InuYasha/Sessh?maru > InuYasha/Sessh?maru Views: 15027 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters, and I do not make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
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Chapter X: Now, by my sword
Jaken could not believe his ill fortune. First he had spent an entire day run ragged by the human girl Rin, whom he thought he'd washed his hands of, and her insufferable kitsune friend. Humouring the latter was particularly galling, as Jaken had had unpleasant run-ins with him back in the day when Lord Sesshomaru still had the good taste to detest his horrible half-brother's equally unpalatable companions.
Then, when they had finally returned the awful children to the village, and he was on his way again with his beloved lord to search on for the apparition's unknown masters, he had been attacked by the bear oni. A hefty, crazed lump of black fur, wild eyes and claws several inches long it was, and it had charged them in the forest at dawn. He would have been minced in its jaws had Lord Sesshomaru not been there to maim it.
His master had snarled at the oni: "How dare you attack my pack?" But the bear demon, apparently insane, had flown suicidally into an attack on the taiyoukai himself, who had driven it back twice, then when it charged a third time, promptly dispatched it. Lord Sesshomaru had sniffed the peculiar scents emitted by the demon, inspected its corpse and taken the unusual step of heaving the body over Ah-Un's back, after which he had abruptly turned right around and gone back the way they had come.
At the edge of the next forest, he had ordered Ah-Un to wait while he and Jaken went off together, which delighted Jaken – until they turned back into that same accursed village again.
Now, inside the shambles of a hut which the one-eyed miko called home, surrounded by those ghastly humans, the half-breed and that intolerable fox, Lord Sesshomaru described the bear youkai to his unworthy audience: "The odours that arose from its corpse were unusual, and heavy with sorcery. I think it would not be unreasonable to assume that we have seen the first sign of the effects the warlock's potions could have. The oni had marks on its body indicating that it had been restrained and confined for some time. Perhaps it was one of the sorcerer's first tests of the effects of his craft."
"This happened in the next forest?" the monk who had once beaten Jaken to a pulp in an old confrontation asked. "Could it mean that the warlock is nearby?"
"Not necessarily," Lord Sesshomaru said. "It appeared to have travelled a good distance, judging by the scents of many different forests I detected off its fur."
Then his master spoke again, and Jaken's heart sank like a stone into the vicinity of his stomach: "Jaken, you are to assist the houshi and miko as they look into ways of trapping the apparition. Use your knowledge of the occult and what we have learnt these past days, to offer any help they may require."
Jaken almost wept to hear that they would be remaining with these repulsive people, but he held himself in with the thought that if Lord Sesshomaru could do it, so could he. However, his lord's next words left his heart sinking deeper into his entrails and a chill seeping into his bones: "Remain here, or go wherever the houshi and miko take you, until I return."
Wait – Lord Sesshomaru wouldn't be here with him?
Jaken stared in disbelief as his cruel master turned to the humans and said: "If the smells from the oni are indeed the scent of the warlock's potions, I will remember them, and I hope to locate their source more easily. I will also go to the southern bear oni clans to find out what could have happened to their compatriot. Inuyasha, would you be willing to come with me?"
The hanyou's answer was: "Of course."
Jaken's head swam. Not only was his lord not letting him go on what would surely be an important visit to the southern bear oni clans, but he was taking that half-breed instead?
Swamped by the misery creeping over his little green body, Jaken vaguely heard the female demon slayer (he'd thought Kohaku's presence in the past bad enough, but horrors, now he was in the company of yet another slayer, his sister!) say: "The kuma oni are hostile and can be unreasonable. I do not doubt that you and Inuyasha could deal with them easily, but if you require an extra hand, I could go along."
He then heard the monk say with what seemed like unusual haste: "Oh no, Sango, you must stay here with me. I need your help. Sesshomaru-sama and Inuyasha will do very well by themselves, I am sure."
But that was all Jaken cared to take in as he stood in that hut, feeling that the air around him had been pumped full of poisonous vapours that were turning his innards to gruel. The moment Lord Sesshomaru and the worthless hanyou left the hut and were out of the village, he fell face-down on the floor and began to wail.
Rin pattered over, crouched beside him, and said sympathetically: "Don't be sad, Jaken-sama, I will look after you while Sesshomaru-sama is away."
All that did was to make him wail louder.
** *** **
South by dragon they flew, towards the territories of the black-coated bear youkai clans, with the body of the oni strapped to Ah-Un's rump. Sesshomaru held the dragon's reins while Inuyasha sat behind him. They had ridden that way to the meadow too, except that Shippo and Rin had been seated between them then, and Inuyasha had held the little ones securely with his right arm while holding with his other hand an un-spiked portion of the part of Sesshomaru's breastplate trim which encircled his left shoulder, to steady himself.
Sesshomaru had considerately swept his hair to one side the day before and tucked it into his haori so that it wouldn't stream back and lash the others in their faces. He had done the same today as they mounted Ah-Un, and said: "We will fly much faster and for longer than we did yesterday, so hold on to me."
"Will you catch me if I fall?" Inuyasha inquired mischievously.
"I'll consider it when you start falling," was Sesshomaru's deadpan reply.
"Right. Where do you want me to hold you?"
"Wherever you like."
"Really?" he asked, wondering what his brother would say if he wrapped his arms around his waist. But as they took to the air, he settled for resting his hands on his shoulders the way Kagome had done with him when he used to carry her on his back. To grip Sesshomaru's right shoulder, he had to slip his hand under the fur, which kept those fingers perfectly warm throughout the flight.
It took them all the hours of daylight to reach the territories of the southern bear clans, and they descended to earth in twilight, in a warm region of caves, rivers and thick forest. Inuyasha could already smell bear oni all around them, even before Ah-Un's talons touched the ground.
"You've landed right in the heart of their territory, haven't you?" he asked Sesshomaru.
"We might as well get straight to the point instead of wasting our time inching our way in like thieves," was the firm response, as they dismounted.
"What happened to the diplomatic taiyoukai of yesterday and this morning?" Inuyasha asked, one hand on this hilt of the Tetsusaiga as he sniffed the air and looked around them to check if the oni had sent out an advance guard against the intruders.
"I am polite to your friends for your sake and Rin's, and because I respect the courage and loyalty I saw in them when we fought Naraku. I have no such feelings about the kuma," said Sesshomaru, likewise scanning the area for the bears as he unstrapped the oni's corpse from the dragon.
"I appreciate that."
"However, I shall still be polite here, so follow my lead," Sesshomaru added.
"Uh-huh."
They could smell and sense the denizens of this region in the shadows behind the trees and in the caves, and saw flashes of glowing eyes through the undergrowth.
"If you are uncomfortable with my approach, you can head back into the air with Ah-Un while I deal with them," Sesshomaru said to him, as he dropped the oni's body to the ground.
"If you're expecting me to back out like a coward, you'd better think again. I'm here with you, and I've got your back, so don't try to get rid of me."
As the shadows in the undergrowth emerged, some on two legs and others on four, but every one of them seething with bear rage to see the two intruders standing over the corpse of one of their own, Sesshomaru ordered Ah-Un to take flight again and keep out of their way, while he and Inuyasha stood back to back, weapons still sheathed but hands ready to draw them in a fraction of a second.
Sesshomaru spoke clearly to the oni closing in on the spot where they stood: "We have come to ask if any of you know this kuma youkai, and what could have happened to him. I killed him this morning when he attacked my pack and refused to cease his assault despite being warned. The odours that rose from his body after I slew him suggested that he had been driven insane through sorcery. We are attempting to find the sorcerer and prevent him from doing further harm. Does anyone know where this oni might have encountered such a sorcerer?"
"So you killed our brother," snarled one of the bear oni to Sesshomaru's right. It stood on two legs and its features appeared humanoid, but its massive paws and fur were pure animal-demon.
"I would not have done so unprovoked, and I am returning his body to you as an act of goodwill," Sesshomaru stated. "I only wish to know who could have reduced him to the state he was in when he attacked me."
"For all we know, it was you, and you are here for the rest of us!" the same demon growled, and flew at them.
Sesshomaru drew the Bakusaiga, but only used its hilt to counter the oni's attack, sending it flying back into the trees, bruised but otherwise unharmed.
"I don't think they'll see reason," Inuyasha muttered, untying the Tetsusaiga's scabbard so that he could wield the sword without unsheathing it.
"No, but try not to kill them unless you have no choice. We are not here to provoke them further."
"Huh. I think they're pretty much provoked already."
True enough, half the pack that had gathered charged at the dog demons, and the pair drove them back with hilts, scabbards and fists. The bear oni were not unskilled warriors, however, and their repeated charges succeeded in separating Sesshomaru and Inuyasha, resulting in their each being circled by a group of adversaries.
As Inuyasha fended off a frontal attack from two of the bears, another launched at him from behind. He knew it, and was ready to tackle it with a kick, but before he could do so, Sesshomaru unleashed his whip at it from where he was and sent it sprawling. That distraction allowed one of Sesshomaru's own circle of opponents to hurl a cluster of flying, needle-like claws in his direction, of which several lodged in his arm.
"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha yelled in alarm as he saw the claws penetrate his brother's flesh. "I've got it under control! Focus on your problem!"
Chastised by his younger brother, and justly so, the taiyoukai concentrated on his own group of adversaries, and drove them with his whip in Inuyasha's direction, opening a path that would allow him to edge closer to him. Seeing what he was up to, Inuyasha mirrored his tactics, forcing the bear oni towards Sesshomaru, then sending three of them flying with the Tetsusaiga's scabbard and clearing the way for him to take a good leap and stand beside his brother again.
"Don't you dare spring to my defence at your own expense again, Sesshomaru," Inuyasha hissed under his breath, over his shoulder. "I will not be your weakness in battle."
"Understood."
"I am your partner in a fight, not another helpless pack member. I'm not Rin, all right?"
"Point taken," the taiyoukai said, plucking the bear claws from his arm and throwing them to the ground.
As they steeled themselves for a fresh mass assault, an authoritative voice boomed from the caves and froze the bear oni: "Step back, all of you."
The bears obeyed and fell back as a large oni emerged from one of the cave mouths and strode towards the dog demons.
"Sesshomaru – did I hear the hanyou say that name?" the bear leader asked, looming over them on two legs, speaking out of a grizzled muzzle whose black hairs were interspersed with brown and grey, and eyeing them from two ferocious orbs that glowed orange in the night.
"What's it to you if you did?" Inuyasha snarled. "We only came to ask questions, and here we are fighting off an entire pack of you while doing our best not to kill any of you, in case that's escaped your notice. I'm losing my patience and I'll draw my sword very soon if this nonsense doesn't stop."
"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru said quietly, cautioning him to be silent.
"Sesshomaru of the inu youkai," the bear leader said. "I have heard of you, and your father. I believe that one as powerful as you would have no reason to descend to underhanded trickery, so I take it that what you said about our clan-mate's insane charge on your pack this morning is true."
"It is," Sesshomaru said. "We have no motive for coming here other than to find out who could have driven your clan-mate to insanity. The state of his body suggests that he was held captive for a long time and poisoned by sorcery. We want to track down the perpetrator and stop him before he does this to more demons."
The bear leader considered his words for a few moments, then lowered himself onto all fours and summoned two of the other oni to his side. They conferred in lowered tones, in their own dialect, which Inuyasha did not understand.
After several minutes, the bear leader turned back to them and spoke: "This brother of ours has not been seen or heard of by any of our oni clans for three moons now. He was sent on a mission to the northern kuma clans five moons ago. He reached them, and remained in the north for two months, but after leaving them, he disappeared. We can only assume that he was taken captive by whomever you seek on his way back from the north."
"Have your clans heard of any demons that might be associating with sorcerers who use human child-like apparitions to do their work?"
"No," the leader said, after another quick conference with his group. "However, we ourselves saw an apparition in the shape of a human child in our territories some weeks ago, near the fresh graves of some of our warriors who fell in battle against the dragon youkai tribes on our borders. Some of us attacked it, but our claws went right through it – it was completely immaterial, like a spirit. Then it disappeared without a trace. We saw it again two days ago, when it behaved differently, coming up to some of us and seeming to sniff at us – but again, we could not touch it, and it vanished."
Sesshomaru and Inuyasha pricked up their ears at this news about the change in the apparition's behaviour, but did not know what to make of it at this juncture, so they set the information aside as Sesshomaru said to the oni: "We believe that is the apparition used by the sorcerer and demon who held your clan-mate. Do you know if he would have gone along the western or eastern coast to return to the south? That could narrow our search."
"Our clans use the eastern routes to travel between north and south," the bear leader said.
"The forest he attacked me in was close to the eastern coast," Sesshomaru said. "However, the scents of numerous forests on his body suggested to me that he might have been released a long way from there. Would you know if he might have had any other contacts or would have stopped anywhere else on his way back to the south – any place where he could have been when he was seized?"
The other oni looked at one another and shook their heads. "We have no other contacts we are friendly with between here and the north. If he kept to his route, he was likely to have been captured near the eastern coast."
"Very well, we shall concentrate our search in that area to begin with," he stated. "I regret that I was unable to subdue him without taking his life. If any of you remain dissatisfied with my account, we can settle the matter in one-to-one combat after I have dealt with the sorcerer and the demon we believe to be protecting him."
"No. The matter between us ends here. We are satisfied with your account, Sesshomaru of the inu youkai. You and your companion may safely leave."
He nodded to acknowledge the leader's words, and turned to go. Inuyasha, still wary of the bears, kept his face to them and his hand on the hilt of his sword as he moved away. Seeing his actions, the bear leader made a low, throaty sound that they could only assume was the equivalent of a chuckle.
"I keep my word, hanyou," the oni said. "I have said you could leave in safety, and I mean it. You needn't look at us that way. Who is he, Sesshomaru, this companion of yours who doesn't know when to lower his hackles?"
"If my brother is wary," Sesshomaru said, placing a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder to steer him away from the bears, "it is because of his concern for me. He means no offence to you."
It was the first time Inuyasha had heard Sesshomaru freely acknowledge him – without contempt – to a third party as his brother, and he was surprised by how much pride he felt to hear those words. To avoid causing further embarrassment to him, he moved his hand away from the hilt of the Tetsusaiga.
The bear leader nodded, and the group of oni moved back towards the caves, leaving the way clear for the dog demons to leave. Sesshomaru summoned Ah-Un back down, and he and Inuyasha were on their way again. They flew on until Inuyasha judged, by the absence of bear scents from below, that they were beyond kuma oni territory, and said: "Bear claws have poison – we'd better see to those wounds of yours."
"I am healing as we speak. There is no need to worry about me."
"Oh, that's rich coming from you. You're the one who got hurt worrying about me when there was no need to. Now are you going to land or not? If you won't do it for you, how about doing it for me? I'm stiff and aching after flying all day and then having to fight a bunch of stinky bears."
"We will not stop here. I am unfamiliar with these territories, and I have no intention of exposing us to further unnecessary danger. If you are tired, you can sleep against my back."
"I don't need to sleep yet. I'm not such a wimp."
"Even if you do not need it, it will be good for you to rest."
"And if I fall off?"
"I won't let you," Sesshomaru replied, as he coiled his length of fur around Inuyasha's body and his own to keep the hanyou securely tethered to him.
Mmm, nice and warm, Inuyasha thought. This time, he boldly wrapped his arms around Sesshomaru's waist and rested his cheek against his back, using the roll of fur around his brother's right shoulder as a cushion between his face and the hard plates of armour. As he did, he felt the mokomoko tighten in a reassuring fashion about him, so he snuggled closer against Sesshomaru's back and slept as they flew north.
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And You, My Brother