Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

A Heat to Overcome	By : Sparrowhawk Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male > InuYasha/Sessh?maru > InuYasha/Sessh?maru Views: 31291 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 8
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the associated characters, nor do I make any profit from this fanfic. All other characters not associated with the original manga or anime, however, are mine.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Finally I can post the next chapter! But first, reviews!!!!

Vyperbites: Yes, we definitely hate Sesshomaru in the last chapter. Gah! He really frustrated me in that part, but he insisted it had to be in there, so it is. Sending Inuyasha to Kouga isn't a bad idea, it would certainly get Sessh jealous, lol. Maybe I'll have a part like that later on when Sessh is being stupid again. Hmmm .... *evil smile* Thanks for leaving a review!

midnightsweet: Even if you don't quite know how you feel about it, thanks for leaving your comments. The feedback is always appreciated! I hope you continue to read and leave your comments as the story progresses. (:

kougaslover: So glad you're enjoying it! Yes, I'm trying to keep the two main boys as in character as possible. Thanks for reviewing!!

Enigma180: Wow! Thanks so much! It's always flattering to hear when an author's story is someone's favorite. *Bows gratefully*

dela1: Thank you. It makes me happy that you're enjoying it. I hope you continue to read and enjoy!!

Allrighty then, on to the next chapter!!! Ooooh, I'm sooooo excited for this!

Hoo, sorry I haven't gotten the warning up yet, I kind of forgot when I first posted this. There's not much in this chapter, though. Warning: Profanity (that's pretty much a given by now, ne?), and a new character introduction! Woot Woot!

Chapter Ten

The Only Chance

Grunting with effort, Inuyasha rolled Taka over until he could reach the ring of prison keys. The key for his chains weren't there, he knew. Michio had mockingly told him that he kept it in his study where only he had access to it.

Chuckling hoarsely, an action which soon turned into coughing because of the dryness of his mouth and throat, Inuyasha sat down and went to work on the lock on his left wrist with the wire of an earring he had ripped from one of the slavers whose name he hadn't managed to learn. He didn't need the key to get free, not when the chains were so obligingly loose and the locks well within reach. Just because he was human tonight, they underestimated him. While it was true he had never been caught in his human form before, he had often been caught when he was young and considerably weaker. Picking locks was a skill he had had to learn if he wanted to survive. Now there were very few locks that could hold him.

After several long minutes, the lock gave a loud click and the manacle sprang open. The lock on his other wrist came open more easily since he now knew the layout of the inside of it and where, precisely, he needed to put pressure to unlock it. The manacles on his ankles came loose in seconds, followed by the iron collar around his neck. Once free of his chains, he took a few moments to rub warmth and blood back into the areas.

Now to prevent Taka from raising the alarm when the hawk youkai woke up and found him gone. It wouldn't do for him to be caught only minutes after getting free. He wasn't stupid; he knew his legs weren't up for long distance running. He'd have to settle for a slower pace.

Dragging Taka over to the discarded chains, he fastened the manacles on the other man's wrists and ankles and the collar on his neck and then tore a strip of cloth from the hawk's clothes. Wadding it up, he stuffed it into Taka's mouth. It would be hours yet before anyone thought to come and check up on them, not after Taka had already been set to watch him.

Taking up the key ring again, he unlocked his cell door and peered out into the empty hall. Although he hadn't heard any footsteps for some time, he didn't trust his human senses. He knew his ears weren't as acute as in his hanyou form. In fact, it felt a lot like someone had tied a bag over his head. With that in mind, he tiptoed out into the hallway, noting the other metal doors like his own spaced intermittently along each wall. His stomach clenched uncomfortably as he thought of all the other youkai and hanyou who had to be confined within those cells, knowing he could do nothing for them. Memories of his own experience threatened to come to the surface of his awareness, and viciously, he forced them back down. Stopping to free them all was too great a risk, and there was no telling how they would react, whether they were broken enough to alert the slavers to his escape or not.

Voices from around the bend in the hallway up the corridor alerted him to the approach of a couple youkai. Just barely, but it was enough. He darted into one of the darkened doorways of a cell, glad for his darker hair that blended with the shadows.

"Pst!"

Startled, Inuyasha whirled toward the small barred window of the cell door.

"Pst!" the voice repeated, a little louder this time.

Mindful of the youkai walking toward him, now only fifteen or so paces away, he pressed his face up to the bars to peer inside. "Be quiet, boy," he hissed upon seeing the scantily clad cat demon. A foreign type, he surmised. The kid had a dark pattern of spots much like a leopard, but his skin was snow white, as was his hair, and his eyes were a startling electric blue. He wasn't sure of the child's age since cat demons aged differently than dog demons, but it was clear the boy hadn't even had his first heat yet.

"Fuyuki," the neko responded, thankfully softer than before.

Inuyasha didn't respond, tensing as the two slavers passed about two paces from where the half demon hid. All they would have to do was to turn their heads a little and he'd be screwed. He held his breath as they went on their way, arguing loudly about something or other he didn't have the presence of mind to catch.

"That was close," Fuyuki sighed, voice still as quiet as a breath of wind.

Growling, Inuyasha thrust himself away from the cell door and the little cat demon. "Next time keep your mouth shut!"

He regretted the words almost as soon as they were out of his mouth as the child recoiled, tears welling in vulnerable eyes. The boy, Fuyuki, had obviously been abused badly--almost as badly as Inuyasha had--with welts crisscrossing every inch of exposed skin, bruised black and blue so much it had taken Inuyasha a few seconds to realize that was not his actual color.

"Look kid," Inuyasha said, scratching the back of his head and then wincing when his blunt fingernails took off the scabs of his own barely healed injuries. "Don't cry. I don't want anyone comin' to see what's goin' on and findin' that I'm missing. Do ya understand?"

Sniffling, Fuyuki nodded. "Sorry."

He grimaced at the boy's subservient attitude. "Don't apologize to me, kid." Carefully he checked both ends of the now relatively quiet hallway.

"Are you escaping?" the neko asked, stopping him in his tracks. "No one's ever been able to escape Michio before."

"Look, kid, if you rat me out ..."

"I won't! But ... you're human. Do you think you can do it?"

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but the kid only continued to stare at him, wide eyed and hopeful. "Che, guess I got no choice." Checking to make sure the hallway was still clear, he examined the lock on the boy's door and soon found the appropriate key. "Can ya walk, kid?" he asked as the lock clicked and he swung the door open.

"Y-You're taking me away from here?"

"No shit," Inuyasha responded, rolling his eyes. "Can't have you blabbing to the slavers that I'm gone, forced or no."

At least I can save one, he thought as he glanced sadly at the other doors. Fuyuki wouldn't be the only child slave Michio had picked up. There were perverts out there who liked young boys and girls, as he knew well. That, he recalled, was on of the major reasons he'd had to learn to pick locks and recognize what key fit to what lock.

"Come on, kid, let's go. We need to get as far away as we can before they find out we're gone and come lookin' for us."

" 'Kay. Are you my new Master then? What's your name?"

"I ain't nobody's master, kid, got it?" he growled, more angry at the slavers for teaching him such things than at the boy. Ignoring his flinch, he examined the boy's legs, noting as Fuyuki stumbled toward him that he limped on one leg. The injury wasn't worse--was perhaps better--than those that had been inflicted on Inuyasha's legs, though. They were a sorry pair of runaways, but it would have to do. "Name's Inuyasha."

"Inu ... yasha ... sama?"

"Just Inuyasha, kid. I don't do those title things. Makes me sound like an arrogant prick."

"Oh ... uh ... gomennasai."

"And stop apologizing. It's annoying as hell."

"G-Gomen ... no, I mean ... um--"

"Come on, kid, time's wasting." Grabbing Fuyuki by the back of the neck before the whelp could start apologizing again, he yanked him out the door into the hallway. "We're gettin' outa here. Tell me if anyone's coming. Your hearing's probably a lot better'n mine right now."

"Right now?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes again. The kid was too curious for his own good. "Shut it and listen. Is there anyone coming?"

"I ... I don't think so."

"Good. Let's go. And no talking. You're too fricken loud."

"I'm not loud," Fuyuki protested, making Inuyasha groan in exasperation as he practically dragged the neko youkai behind him. "All the other slaves say I'm too quiet."

"Quiet or not, you talk too much. Now shut up and quit referring to yourself as a slave. You're not, neither am I, and neither are those other poor fools who were captured by that bastard and his goons. Got it?"

Biting his lip, Fuyuki nodded. "Hai."

Shit, Inuyasha thought as they wandered hallway after hallway of barred doors. Everything looked identical. I don't know the way out. Damn it. How can I get us out of here? His legs were beginning to hurt more than before, his limp getting worse to the point he could barely lift his foot from the ground. He was cold. The slavers had never provided him with clothes. Why would they? He was less than a pet to them, if that. A pet was at least given a bed to keep warm in.

"Inuyasha ... san ..." Fuyuki said quietly, concern in his soft voice. "Maybe this is a bad idea."

"Shut up," Inuyasha growled, ignoring the boy when he recoiled from his harsh tone. "I'm not giving up. I'm not going back. No one's gonna help me, so I gotta help myself. You can go back if ya want, but I ain't gonna let those guys do whatever they want with me."

How long had they been wandering? An hour? More? His ribs hurt. He was sure at least a couple of them had to be broken. The ankle he limped on was swollen to at least two times its normal size. It was probably broken, too. His ass burned, but it was probably the least of all his pains, though by far the one that made him feel the dirtiest. Maybe it would have been better not to escape tonight. Maybe he was a fool for even thinking such a thing. He was weak, after all. Especially on his human nights.

No! I won't give up! This is the only night I can do it. It's the only night they'll underestimate me. If I go back, there won't be a second chance. If I go back, they'll break me.

Suddenly, Fuyuki stopped. He sniffed the air.

Inuyasha only noticed the kid had stopped when his arm was pulled back by the grip he had on Fuyuki's neck. "Somethin' wrong, kid?"

Fuyuki shook his head. "Not wrong ... just ... different. It smells ... fresh. I think ... well, I think we're close to the outside."

"Do you hear anything? Sentries?"

Pausing to listen for a bit, the little neko shook his head. "I don't hear anything. I don't smell any youkai, either."

Warning bells were going off in Inuyasha's head. No sentries. No sentries. Why was that bad? What did it mean? Crap, he was having a hard time thinking straight. His body ached, his head hurt, he was dizzy and tired and shaking with cold. His legs felt unsteady, as if they'd give out on him at any moment.

"Inuyasha-san?"

"Stay alert. Somethin's not right."

Once he received Fuyuki's nod that he understood, he cautiously unlocked the huge iron door with one of the keys he had stolen from Taka and swung it outward. Silence met them. Keeping the kid shielded behind him--didn't matter that the neko was a full youkai and he a human for the moment--he prowled out onto what appeared to be moss-covered stone. Out of habit, he sniffed the air. It must have rained recently, for there was the faint smell of water and that freshness that was unique only to rainfall in the air. Other than that and the moss that grew on the rock outcrop they stood on, there was nothing else. Nothing to explain the prickle of warning that made his hair stand on end.

He examined their surroundings, turning in a cautious circle to get a better idea of where they might be. Wherever it was, he felt certain it was still in Japan. The plants he could make out in the moonless dark were familiar. Where in Japan they were, though, he couldn't tell. Nowhere he had been before, he was sure. The climate was too cold. Perhaps somewhere to the north. The trees that surrounded the outcropping of rock were scraggly things, though obviously hardy if they could grow upon the craggy slope below the slavers' hideout. They wouldn't provide much cover, though, and that's what they needed if they were to get very far without being recaptured or killed.

"Let's go." He started forward, continuing to drag Fuyuki by the back of the neck.

"Wait! Inuyasha-san, we shouldn't go this way, there's--"

Inuyasha grunted as he ran face first into an invisible wall, bouncing back hard enough to land on his rear.

"... a barrier," Fuyuki finished with a wince.

"Damn it," Inuyasha growled, feeling his nose for any breaks. It hurt, but thankfully he hadn't broken it. "Shoulda known getting out wouldn't be that easy."

"I can ... make it go away," Fuyuki offered.

"What?"

"I can make it go away," the neko said a little louder.

"You can make what go away?"

"The barrier. I ... eat ... barriers."

Inuyasha's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You're kidding ... right?"

Fuyuki shook his head. "I eat barriers. I discovered it when I was five. Michio doesn't know. You can't tell anyone, Inuyasha-san! You can't! They'll take me away again! They'll--"

"Hey, hey," the hanyou soothed the boy. "You don't need to worry. I'm not gonna tell anyone. Don't have anyone to tell anyway."

"You don't have a family?"

Inuyasha huffed, disliking being reminded of that lying bastard. "A brother, though I don't think he could even be called that. I ... did have friends, but ... I can't stay with them anymore." It still hurt to think about.

"Why not?"

He hesitated. He could tell the boy. Fuyuki had trusted him with his secret; it was only fair he give him an equally big secret. But he couldn't trust. Shrugging uncomfortably, he gestured toward the blackness around them. "You'll see in the morning ... if we make it till then."

Fuyuki frowned, but didn't protest. "Hai."

Inuyasha almost wished the boy would argue with him. The single word he said sounded like it had a 'Master' on the end of it. Nothing he could do about it at the moment, though. It'd be weird if he told the kid to argue with him now. Perhaps that sort of rebellious independence would come with time.

He gestured to the barrier, waiting to see what kind of power 'eating barriers' was. Maybe he meant 'absorb.' That sounded much more plausible. He'd never heard of a cat demon that could dissipate barriers without the use of some kind of tool, though--like his Tessaiga.

Fuyuki took a deep breath, aware of the violet eyes on him, let it out, and then sucked in with all his might. The barrier shuddered. Inuyasha stared, slack jawed in shock as the shimmering surface rippled and then began to funnel into the neko child's mouth. The boy kept breathing in, his chest expanding with each second he continued to consume the barrier.

With a last few sparkles of energy, the barrier was gone. Fuyuki wiped his mouth and looked over at Inuyasha was was still staring at him, stunned by what he had just witnessed.

"Inuyasha-san, we should hurry. They'll have noticed the barrier's disappeared."

Shaking his head disbelievingly, Inuyasha limped to where the barrier had stood only moments before and reached out his hand. It met only air. He whistled appreciatively. "You've got some appetite there, kiddo."

"You really won't tell anyone?"

"Nah. Why would I? 'Sides, you'll know my secret soon eno--"

A blaring alarm sounded from somewhere within the underground building behind them, making them both jump. Voices started to rise from beyond the iron door, loud enough even Inuyasha could hear them.

"Escape! The slaves have escaped! Tell Michio-sama and bring out the trackers! The slaves have escaped!!"

"That's our cue," Inuyasha muttered, grabbing the younger boy by the arm as he turned and ran toward the sparsely wooded forest.

Fuyuki yelped as he was dragged backward. Stumbling, he somehow managed to regain his footing and balance, and he quickly twisted out of the ningen's grasp to run on his own. "Inuyasha-san," he panted, watching with concern as the larger man ran, his injured leg and foot dragging behind him.

"If you have breath to talk, then run!" he snapped. "Further in we'll take to the trees."

"The trees? But ... your leg--"

"Damn it, kid, just run! There'll be time for talk later when we're not bein' chased like fuckin' rabbits by a fox!"

And so they ran. With pursuit as persistent and loud as a pack of hounds, they ran. Despite Inuyasha's injuries and the fact that he was human, Fuyuki noticed he could run as fast, and probably as far, as any of the lesser of full demon kind. But his eyes were glazed over with pain and he sweated in a way that made the boy nervous. What would happen to him if Inuyasha collapsed? Could he leave the injured human behind and escape by himself?

Shaking the thought from his head, Fuyuki concentrated instead on running. He didn't want to go back. Before about a week ago, before another slave had taken his place, he had been the favorite play toy of Michio. The things he did ....

The things Michio made him do ....

And the screams ....

He hadn't thought they'd be able to get out that easily. No one had ever escaped Michio's clutches. Fuyuki didn't know how to pick locks like Inuyasha, and he wasn't big or strong enough to fight the slavers. The only thing he could do was eat barriers, a useless ability when he was bound in chains forged specifically to suppress the youki of demons. Before the ningen came to hide in front of his cell, he had given up all hope of ever getting out. He was going to be a slave, and there was nothing he could do about it except perhaps to be as obedient as possible in the hopes that the pain he was put through on a daily basis would eventually lessen. Now there was hope, and he wasn't going to give it up, not even if he had to leave Inuyasha behind.

Inuyasha snarled as he stumbled yet again and had to catch himself against a tree. Why did the moonless night have to be on the same night Kano was put in charge of him? Fucking snake! He swore if he ever saw the slippery, sadistic serpent again he'd rip his fucking eyeballs out of his head!

Panting for all the world as if he'd never be able to breathe properly again, the hanyou forced his protesting muscles into motion. He'd kill Kano.

Sweat trickled down his face and neck, tickled its way down his naked back and thighs. He'd kill that bastard Michio.

Left foot. He'd kill Naraku.

Right foot. He'd kill his traitorous brother.

Left foot. He'd kill the annoying little toad Sesshomaru traveled with.

No time to stop. No time to rest. He must keep going, even though it hurt. He must keep going because it hurt. And just for kicks and giggles, he'd finally finish off that stinkin' wolf, too!

"Inuaysha-san. Inuyasha-san!"

He stopped, groaning when the clumsy motion put even more stress on his injured leg. "What?!"

"I can't hear them anymore," Fuyuki said, eyes narrowed in concentration as he cocked his ear to the wind. "They're not following us."

"Are ya sure, kid?" He cursed the fact that he had to rely on the neko child who probably has as little experience in discerning if they were being followed as Inuyasha had in politics and court manners.

The cat youkai nodded. "I can't smell them either. I think they gave up."

Gave up? Not likely. Not after that little bit of a chase. It wasn't even morning yet. Could something have diverted their attention? Or was Michio just trying to lure them into a false sense of security? Either way, they couldn't stay in one spot for much longer.

"Do you smell or hear a stream or river nearby?" Inuyasha asked, listening for himself, though he knew it would do no good with his now human ears.

"I ... I think I might hear one," Fuyuki answered uncertainly, "but it's a long way from here."

"Can you stand water?"

"I'm not a house cat," Fuyuki replied somewhat indignantly.

The tone from the former slave made Inuyasha smile, but that smile quickly turned to a grimace when he again began to drag his swollen ankle behind him. "Good. We'll travel in the trees for a while. That should throw them off our scent, at least for a time, if they're still on our tail. When we find the river you think you hear we'll take to the water."

"The water?"

"We can use it to wash away our scents and muddle the trail they follow." Grunting, he pulled himself up onto the lowest branches of one of the hardy trees. "Which way is the river?"

"Northeast, I think."

Inuyasha envied the neko's jumping capability as Fuyuki leapt up beside him and into the higher branches. In this part of the forest, the trees were closer together. It was still a strain for the human half demon to leap from branch to branch, but he could do it. Living most of his life in the tops of trees had taught him how to travel them even while grievously injured or sick. Even so, Fuyuki had to pause every few trees to wait for him to catch up. While the little neko traveled with his eyes straight forward, only glancing back to make sure Inuyasha was still following, the inu hanyou kept swiveling his head, listening for any suspicious sounds, watching for a sign of pursuit, testing the air with nose and tongue for the sent of the slavers. Not that he'd be able to sense them before they were already upon them, but it was a comfort to him nonetheless.

Hours later saw them still in the trees, though now Inuyasha could hear sounds of the river. A fairly large one, if the sound was anything to go by, though slow moving.

He groaned as he landed awkwardly on the next branch, his injured ankle taking most of his weight. Gritting his teeth as moisture leaked from his eyes for the pain, he managed to right himself with the air of a branch a little higher than his head and the strength of his arms. The strain on his upper body created a lightning like stab of pain through his ribs and chest, and if not for his grip on the branch, he would have fallen.

A quiet cry brought Fuyuki back to his side, and the kid was soon hauling his arm over his small shoulders. "Are you all right, Inuyasha-san?"

"The river ...!" Inuyasha gasped, letting the cat demon take most of his weight. "How far ... is the river?"

"Not too much further. I can see it now."

Fuyuki pointed a short distance ahead of them. Inuyasha followed the gesture, and almost cried to see the flash of water through the remaining trees and scrub. If they could travel down river for at least a few miles, if they could make it that far, the slavers wouldn't be able to track them any longer. They could find a place to hide until dawn when Inuyasha's half demon powers would return and he could heal. After that they'd be able to travel more swiftly and they could finally leave this nightmare behind.

Inuyasha shivered, not realizing how cold he actually was until he'd completely stopped. Now his skin prickled with it. His fingers were numb, as were his toes, ears, and nose. Only the sight of them still attached to his body reassured him that the appendages were, in fact, still there.

"Inuyasha-san!" Fuyuki exclaimed, alarmed by the heat radiating from the sweating, yet shivering body leaning against him. "You're burning up! Here, let me give you some of my clothes."

"Keep them," he snapped, digging his frozen fingers into the boy's upper arm when he tried to lean him on the tree's trunk to remove his shirt. His teeth chattered as he worked to speak. "I'm ... f-fine. Nothin' ... I haven't d-d-dealt with ... b-before. C-Can't stop. We n-n-n-need to k-keep going. D-Down. G-Get us d-d-d-down on the ground."

Eyes tight with concern for the ningen whose lips were blue and face a sickly white, Fuyuki took the whole of Inuyasha's weight onto his tiny body and dropped out of the tree. Inuyasha fought back a scream of pain when his ankle hit the ground with a solid thud and an audible crack. A tremor from the impact ran through his body, shifting his broken ribs, and rattling his head enough that he swayed with the wave of dizziness and nausea that forced itself through the wall of his determination he had built within himself to keep it at bay.

"You don't look well, puppy," a cold voice broke the silence, causing both the half demon and the full demon to freeze in place like mice caught in the hypnotizing sway of a cobra's eyes.

"Michio ... sama ..." Fuyuki breathed unsteadily. The strength left his legs, and he collapsed to the ground in a heap with Inuyasha partially lying on top of him.

The dark dog demon smiled cruelly. "Fuyuki. I was sure you were better behaved than this. But I have been neglecting you of late, haven't I? Perhaps ... another lesson is in order?"

Blue eyes wide in alarm, Fuyuki immediately prostrated himself on the ground before the inu youkai. "No Master, please! Please don't punish me, I beg you! I was only--"

"Shut up, kid," Inuyasha hissed, heaving himself up off the ground to stand shakily on his half frozen legs and his--definitely--broken ankle. He glared into Michio's smugly amused eyes. "I ain't going back."

"You don't have the strength to fight me, puppy. I won't hurt you if you come back with me now. I'll even give you a couple days to heal before resuming your training."

Baring his teeth in defiance, Inuyasha planted his feet firmly between Fuyuki and the dog demon. It was too much to hope that the kid would be able to run, not after seeing how utterly terrified he was of Michio. For all he knew, Fuyuki would come trotting right back with his head bowed in apology if the dark dog demon so much as looked at him the wrong way. It wasn't he boy's fault. The slavers had programmed him that way.

Michio sighed, and his poisonous whip soon snaked out of his palm, the cruel tips flashing as he struck the ground a few paces from them. "Don't make me drag you back. I promise you, it will not be pleasant."

Inuyasha glared right back into the face of his doom and uttered his typical reply, "Fuck you."

Michio sneered, raised the whip, and struck. Inuyasha caught the blow on his back, protectively standing over the stricken neko. "Get back ... up the tree!" he cried when the whip opened one of the healing lash marks near his spine. "Isoge!"

Eyes wet with tears, Fuyuki scrambled back up the tree he had jumped down from. When Michio came forward as if to try to get at the kid, Inuyasha lunged at him, blunt fingernails raking across the dog demon's face. Desperate, he latched onto the youkai with both hands, refusing to let go even as blows rained down on him, even as the little neko sobbed at him to just leave him and get away, even as his eyes clouded over with unconsciousness and he passed out.

**********************************************************************************************

Definition of Terms

Isoge - hurry!

As for names;

Fuyuki - snowy winter

A/N: Well, there it is! I'm sorry it's such a cliffhanger!! *Whines* Please don't hurt me! I just had to do it. This was the best place I could find to end the chapter. So there you have it, and I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can. Please enjoy and leave a review!!
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A Heat to Overcome