Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

The Lucky Ones
By : isilwath
Category: InuYasha > General
Views: 10828 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.
Chapter List
- 39
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The Lucky Ones
By Terri Botta

Disclaimer: I don�t own
Inuyasha. Sole copyright belongs to Viz and Rumiko Takashi. I�m poor so don�t
sue.

Rating: R for later chapters.
Pairing: Inuyasha/Kagome,
Miroku/Sango
Summary: Sometimes Fate hands
you a gift you never thought you�d ever get, and it�s up to you to accept it
for what it is.
Feedback to:
tci100@psu.edu
Website: http://www.wordsmiths.net/Botta

A/N: This is a long one so be prepared. Take a bathroom break beforehand.

*******

Chapter Forty

When Miroku
woke it was to a world of pain. Literally everything hurt and he felt as if he
had just gone twelve rounds with a bull-youkai and the bull-youkai had won.
Dimly he tried to piece together the picture of his memory, clearing away the
pain-filled haze to sift through the fuzzy images that played on the outskirts
of his muddled mind.
�I remember being angry. Everyone
was so damned excited about Okaa-san�s pup, and I just wanted to scream and
tear something to pieces. Then Aniki came home and��
He flinched
as the memory flooded back. His brother, himself, locked in combat, claws
slashing, fangs gnashing, blood�
�Kami-sama. I attacked Yukio. What
the hell was I thinking?�
More
memories rolled before his mind�s eye, images of smashed furniture and the
kitchen floor dark with blood and coffee, the sound of his mother�s scream
echoing in his head.
�Okaa-san. Okaa-san was there and saw us
fighting� then Otou-san came�� He gasped, his eyes flaring open. �I� I challenged the alpha-male. I attacked
him��
Heed ted to
move but pain exploded behind his eyes and he saw stars.
�I attacked him and he kicked my ass
into next week.�
He let
himself relax for a moment, waiting for the pain to subside, and tried to take
stock of his surroundings. Scent was the first sense he regained and that told
him he was still home, or more specifically in the back yard. He smelled blood,
but most of it was his own with some of his brother�s and father�s laced into
it, and he smelled Tomo close by.
�Tomo is here. That�s right, he was supposed
to come at three to visit with Otou-san and Okaa-san.�
He groaned
and turned his head towards the scent, cracking his eyes open to see the
willowy figure of his older brother leaning over him.
�Don�t try
to move,� Tomo�s light tenor told him. �You�re pretty badly beaten up.�
�Ugh,� was
all he could manage.
A hand came
to cup him under his neck and shoulders and guided him into a sitting position,
then something was being pressed to his mouth and he opened his aching jaw to
accept it. A pill was pushed through his numb lips, followed shortly by a sip
of lukewarm green tea.
�800 mg
Ibuprofen,� Tomo said. �Here, take another. I think you�re going to need it.�
He didn�t
have time to even register her words before she slapped him clear across the
face, raking his cheek with her claws and sending his already pounding head
splitting again.
�I�m in the
middle of a meeting with reps from Daimaru when I get a phone call that my mother
is in the hospital and that you put her there!�
He did not
retaliate or speak, but kept his head down and refused to look at her as blood
dripped down his face from the fresh wounds.
�That is enough,�
Uncle�s voice said firmly, and he cast his eyes upward to see the taiyoukai
standing beside his sister, one hand clamped on her shoulder.
�But...�
Eri argued.
�It is his
father�s responsibility to deal with him.�
Eri hissed
and flashed her fangs. �You are so lucky, you prick. If Mom had lost the baby I
would have disemboweled you myself!�
Her harsh
words actually brought relief and he could not stop the sigh that escaped his
lips.
�So Okaa and the pup are all right.
I�m so glad...�
�Leave him
alone, Eri,� Tomo defended, lightly pushing him forward.
He went
willingly, keeping his head and his ears down, but he couldn�t help but look at
the small crowd gathered in the room, recognizing a number of his siblings.
Aside from Uncle, Aunt Rin and Eri, he saw Izayoi with Tetsukazu, Shippou and
his mate, Hikaru, Asame and Mariko, and he was sure others were on the way but
hadn�t arrived yet. Mama-baachan, Jii-chan, Souta and Kirara were also there,
but seated slightly apart from the others. Yukio was closest to the ward doors,
still dressed in his torn trousers but someone had given him a physician�s
scrub shirt. When their eyes met, Yukio very pointedly turned his shoulder to
him.
�Refuses to look at me. I don�t blame him.
They�ll all turn their backs pretty soon once Otou-san kicks me out of the
pack. None of them will acknowledge me anymore. What I most feared, I brought
down on myself.�
The ward
doors were presented to him and he knew he had to pass through. He had no
doubts that his father waited for him on the other side, but he dreaded what
was to come. He hesitated at the l, sw, swinging doors a bit too long because a
set of hands pressed against the back of his shoulders and pushed him roughly
through. He stumbled and almost fell to his knees, but recovered and regained
his footing quickly. The person who had pushed him through the doors had not
followed and he found himself alone in the stark white hallway.
He stared,
blinking slowly at the too bright walls and tiled floor, wondering which one of
the rooms that lined the corridor was his mother�s. The first room to the left
was marked 301 so he began walking, past the nurses� station, following the
room numbers as they counted up until he saw 326.
�Next one�s Okaa-san�s...�
He didn�t
even get to the door before it opened and he was faced with the crossed-armed
figure of his father blocking the entrance. Inuyasha was still dressed in the
bloodied, ragged clothes he had run from the house in, but it looked like
someone had cleaned and treated his wounds. He tried to look past his father to
the room within, but Inuyasha moved to block his view.
Neither
moved for a long moment, each regarding the other warily. Miroku knew what was
expected of him, but he had no idea if it would be enough. By the laws of the
pack, he had committed horrible crimes and it was ultimately the right of the
alpha to decide his fate and punishment. The very fact that Inuyasha would not
let him see his mother spoke volumes to him, and his already pounding heart
beat faster in his chest. Finally, when he knew he was reaching the limits of
his father�s patience, he raised his chin, bared his throat in submission and
waited. He didn�t have to wait long.
Inuyasha
growled and he felt a clawed hand grab his neck. The fingers were tight but not
painful, nor did they crush his windpipe or the claws cut into his skin. He was
merely being held in a somewhat uncomfortable way for several seconds; then the
hand clamped down.
�This is it...� he thought, willing
himself to be still and accept whatever his father chose to do. �If he means to kill me that is his
right...�
Another
growl came from Inuyasha, low and menacing, but he did not react. An odd calm
had settled over him and he closed his eyes. It was easier than he thought it
would be, but then he was tired. Tired of being second best. Tired of being
rejected by the ones who should love him.
Without
much warning, Inuyasha�s hand switched to the back of his neck to grab him by
the scruff and he was literally dragged down the hallway to an empty room. The
door slammed shut behind them as he was shoved to the cold linoleum floor, the
hand back on his throat and pressing down. Inuyasha was growling again and
snarling above him, the hot th vth very close to his face. He couldn�t stop the
whimper that escaped, but he rolled to expose his belly and further lifted his
chin to bare more of his throat.
�Idiot pup.
You�d let me kill you, wouldn�t you?� his father accused. �You wouldn�t raise a
single finger in your own defense.�
He didn�t reply.
He didn�t need to because the answer was obvious. A moment later he heard his
father sigh heavily, then the pressure on his throat eased up.
�We need to
talk, pup.�
He opened
his eyes to blink confusedly at his father when Inuyasha took him by the
shoulders and dragged him across the floor to the nearest wall. Then Inuyasha
sat down with his back to the wall, gently lifted him under his torso, and
pulled him into a strong embrace. Powerful arms wrapped around him, cradling
him as his cheek was pressed to his father�s shoulder and he was held like a
small child in need of comforting.
It was so
drastically different from what he had been expecting that he didn�t believe
what was happening at first. He stayed perfectly still and silent, afraid to
move or speak lest he discover that it was some kind of twisted joke, but then
he remembered that his father would never, ever be so cruel and hateful.
�He isn�t anything like Her.�
He shifted
a little, bringing one hand up to curl against Inuyasha�s chest and Inuyasha
responded by pulling him closer and tucking him further against his body the
way he used to do when Miroku was just a little whelp.
�Otou?� he
whispered in a small voice.
�It�s okay,
pup. I�ve got you. You�re all right now.�
The words
echoed across time and into his heart. They were the first words his father had
spoken to him all those centuries ago when he was huddled in the cave wet,
wounded and scared, and his father had found him: �It�s okay, pup. Otou�s got you. It�s all right now.�
Suddenly he
realized that he wasn�t being rejected.
�I�m not� He�s not� He�s not
throwing me out of the pack��
The shock
made him tremble. He had been so convinced of his fate that to now be faced
with something so unexpected and unbelievable was difficult for him to
understand. By all rights, Inuyasha should have stripped him of his position in
the pack and told him to get out, but his father had hugged him instead and
told him he was going to be all right.
�All right?
How can any of this be all right?�
It was more than he had dared to
hope for, and more than he deserved. A shiver ran through him, a slight quaking
as his frayed nerves began to go into overload and his mind scrambled to
comprehend how his father could be so forgiving.
�Otou�� he
whispered shakily, struggling to stay in control of his run-away feelings.
:Pup safe.
Pup witaderader-male,: Inuyasha replied in inu-youkai, stroking his hair and
running his fingers over his ears.
The gentle
touch cracked him open and he lost his battle as he began to cry, the dam
holding back his emotions breaking and everything came flooding out. Great,
hiccupping sobs ripped their way out of his throat as he wept bitterly,
surrendering to the torrent of relief and remorse that took over.
:Sorry.
Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry,: he ed, ed, whimpering and groveling for his
alpha�s pardon.
Inuyasha
barked a response, nd and and then licked his temple, and the acceptance only
made him cry harder. He reached for his father and clung to him, holding onto
the bulwark that had always been his safety and protection; the male who would
shield him with his own body and guard him when he was weak and frightened.
�Otou.
Otou.�
Inuyasha
was the only father he had ever known, and he had been so terrified of losing
his place that he had almost brought his worst fears down onto himself. But
Inuyasha knew, just as he had always known what nightmares kept his son awake
or what shadows lived behind his eyes, that Miroku�s problem resided in his
fear of being abandoned and cast aside, and he would not turn his back on him.
After everything, even after he had attacked his brother and the alpha himself,
and sent the alpha-female to the hospital, even after all of that, his father
refused to reject him. His father still loved him.
< sty style='mso-tab-count:1'> �It�s okay,
pup. You�re gonna be okay,� Inuyasha promised, rocking him as he wept.
But it
wasn�t okay. How could it ever be okay when he had been so blind and hurtful?
When he had turned his claws on his own pack, rent and slashed at the ones who
loved him, and repaid their love with anger and pain. He deserved punishment
and exile, not the warm, strong arms of his father wrapped around him and his
tender voice in his ear. He was utterly stunned and humbled by the depth of the
love being shown to him, and he knew he would spend months, if not years,
trying to make up for the damage he had done.
He cried
for a long time, sobbing until the bloody shirt beneath his cheek was soaked
with his tears, and he thought his nose was going to explode if he didn�t blow it
soon. Inuyasha obliged him by reaching up to the made bed next to them and
ripping off part of the top sheet for him to use as a handkerchief, then he
also yanked down the blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders because he was
shivering. He huddled in the blanket, sniffling occasionally, and pressed close
to his father�s chest long after he had run out of tears.
Inuyasha
did not speak or push him to talk or get up. He merely held him tight and let
him cry until he was finished. Lying there in Inuyasha�s arms, he felt a safety
and comfort that he had only experienced when he was cuddled just like this
with his parents' scent in his nostrils and their heartbeats in his ear.
�This is what Yukio was trying to recapture
when he wanted to sleep with Otou-san and Okaa-san again,� he realized. �He wanted this feeling that nothing could
ever hurt him because they were there. Oh, Aniki, I understand. I�m sorry. I�m
so sorry.�
�I�m
sorry,� he choked through hoarse lips, throat swollen from sobbing.
�I know, pup.
I know.�
Sniffling,
he lifted his head and licked his father�s chin, reaffirming Inuyasha�s
position as his leader. The older hanyou responded by turning his head and
nuzzling him gently. The sound for forgiveness did not come, however, and that
one small omission told him that he wasn�t absolved quite yet.
�You�re not
forgiven yet, pup,� Inuyasha said, answering his unspoken question.
Miroku
expected some punishment for his actions, but whatever his father chose to do
to him couldn�t be nearly as horrible as thnishnishment he had thought he was
going to get.
�You�ve got
a lot of reparations to make before you�re back in my good graces.�
He nodded.
�I understand. I�ll do whatever you tell me to do.�
�I�m glad
to hear that. It�s the most intelligent thing you�ve said all day.�
cla class=MsoNormal> He gave a
small chuckle and sighed, closing his eyes, not wanting to lose the feeling of
warmth and acceptance.
�The first
thing you�re going to do is get some help,� his father dictated. �If you think
your mother and I would reject you because we�re having a pup, and believe that
I would slit your throat in cold-blood, you�ve got seriissuissues. I�m sure
Asame can recommend someone, and we�ll go with you when the time comes to work
on your specific problems with us. I don�t want this shit to ever happen
again.�
He nodded.
�Me either. I�ll go. I promise.�
�Plus,
until you�ve got a handle on this, I don�t want you to leave your sword behind.
Part of your problem was you went into a blood-rage and it wasn�t there to calm
you.�
He cringed.
Inuyasha was right. If he had kept Jyu-ichi-Kenshuga with him, chances were he
wouldn�t ever have gone into the blood-rage to begin with.
�I�ll keep
it with me always,� he assured him, feeling the weight of the hilt against his
hip.
�Trust your
sword to seal your blood. It�s what ies fes for you. You didn�t need a powerful
sword for fighting, but you needed a powerful sealing sword to hold back that
youkai temper of yours.�
�Yes. I
know. I�ll remember, I promise.�
Inuyasha
grunted. �The second thing is you�re responsible for the damages.�
�I already
planned to take care of all of it. I�ll make calls tomorrow for the sunroom,�
he replied.
�The third
thing is you will apologize to your mother and do whatever she wants you to do
to make reparations to her.�
He nodded
again. �Of course. Is� is Okaa-san okay?� he asked timidly.
�Yeah. It
was a false alarm brought on by all the upset. They�re keeping her overnight
and will probably send her home in the morning, but they�ll want her to rest and
take it easy until the pup comes; so if I see or hear you doing anything that
will upset her, I will beat you bloody.�
�Yes,� he
agreed.
�The last
thing is you will present yourself to Yukio and submit to him. He is the
beta-male and you attacked him. I am sure he will have a few things he wants
you to do before he accepts your apology.�
He nodded.
He�d expected that. In fact, each of his father�s demands were exactly what he
had anticipated, without the physical punishment or rejection.
�That is
very reasonable. I will do my best, but he is very angry with me right now.�
Now
Inuyasha chuckled. �You have no idea, pup. He may beat you bloody for your
stupidity.�
�It would
be no more than I deserve. I was honestly expecting a much worse punishment
than I received.�
Inuyasha
tightened his grip and held him closer. �I know, and I�m warning you not to
make my leniency with you be a mistake or next time I�ll really hurt you.�
�I�ll try,
but a few cracks in my skull might let in some common sense,� he joked weakly,
repeating something he had heard Inuyasha say on numerous occasions.
�Keh. You
got that t. St. So far you�ve been a bigger idiot than the bitch who birthed
you. A couple of head injuries might rattle that pea-brain of yours enough to
improve your attitude.�
He laughed
faintly at the joke and closed his eyes again. �Thank you.�
�Don�t ever
think for a minute that your mother and I don�t adore you,� his father told him
gently, smoothing his hair again.
He
shuddered and didn�t answer, merely pressed his face further into Inuyasha�s
shoulder and sighed.
�Never
scare me like that again,� Inuyasha warned.
�I�m sorry.
You were scared?� he asked, opening his eyes to peer up at Inuyasha�s jaw.
His father
snorted. �Of course I was scared. You could have hurt yourself.�
�Hurt myself?� �Hurt myself?�
spanspan>�What? You
thought you could beat me? You�ve never seen me fight, pup. I was going easy on
you.�
�You kicked
my ass into next week and you weoingoing easy on me?�
Inuyasha
shrugged. �I was more worried that you�d do yourself harm trying to hurt me.�
He blinked
and furrowed his brow.
�I�ve always heard that Otou was a good
fighter and I thought I�d seen him fight, but now I�m not so sure I�ve ever
really seen him use his power. I�ve only ever seen him use Kaze no Kizu a
handful of times and I�ve never seen the other attacks Tessaiga has. I thought
he�d gone soft over the years, but he took me out with one punch the moment he
knew he had to. I should have paid more attention to my older sibs when they talked
about Otou-san�s battles and fighting
skills. It would have saved me the bruises and the humbled pride.�
�Even when
I�m trying to hurt you, you�re still looking out for me,� he commented.
�Hurt
Yo
You thought you were hurting me? Pup, you�ve got to try a hell of a lot harder
before you cause me any pain,� Inuyasha scoffed.
�But you�re
all bloody...�
�Bah, these
are just scratches. I�ve taken down Naraku, pup. Compared to him, you�re
Myouga.�
�I�m a flea?� �I am?�
�Keh, you
hit like a girl.�
�A girl?
Don�t let Eri hear you say that. She�d try to kick your ass.�
This is my mother and I hurt her. I hurt her and she still thinks of my
welfare before her own.�
�Okaa-san�
Mama� I�m so sorry,� he choked, the tears welling up again.
�Shhhh,
don�t cry, sweetheart. It�s okay. It�ll be okay.�
�And she comforts me. Me who put her in the
hospital and almost sent her into premature labor.�
- 39
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The Lucky Ones	By : isilwath Category: InuYasha > General Views: 10828 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

The Lucky Ones