Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

In Saving You, I Saved Myself	By : CrimsonStained Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male > InuYasha/Sessh?maru > InuYasha/Sessh?maru Views: 9734 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: All names/characters belong to the great Rumiko Takahashi. The only thing I own are my ideas to manipulate her characters to my whims. I make no money from writing this fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
In Saving You, I Saved Myself - Chapter 7 - Pride and Prejudice.
Lucidity came in blurry waves, wrenching the inu from the dark before roughly shoving him back beneath the surface. Thankfully, pain wasn't a contender for his compromised consciousness. Several times he caught glimpses on InuYasha’s friends – the monk, the huntress, and the miko, rarely the fox.
Internally, Sesshoumaru knew he was hurt, that was why nothing was making sense. He didn’t know how he’d come to be around these people, but once he got a hold of himself, he was going to make sure the hanyou knew pain. …Or, at least let him know how severely disappointed he was that InuYasha ignored his request. Damn his conscience for chastising him when he wanted to throttle the half-demon. Damn his pride for needing him to atone. And finally, damn himself for doing it all in the first place!
InuYasha scowled as he finished cleaning Sesshoumaru’s wounds; murky crimson water filled the wooden bowl beside him. He was bereft of words when he found his brother’s wounds nearly identical to the night before. He was not healing like a demon, even a half-demon; he was healing mortal-slow.
What if the anti-venom completely decimated his youki and now he’s actually a mortal?! The irrational thought horrified InuYasha, searching his brother’s face for signs of mortality. Would he show signs of mortality?
“InuYasha?”
The hanyou ripped his eyes from his sibling to the young miko to his left; the sun was just cresting the mountains to the East, casting a beautiful palette across the sky.
“Are you okay? You look a little nervous…” Kagome frowned as she witnessed him swallow hard.
“M’Fine.”
“You don’t look fine…” The miko retorted with a huff.
InuYasha narrowed his eyes, “Well I am, okay?! I’m fine. This is me being Completely. Fucking. Fine.”
He was almost dismayed to turn back and find all of his friends looking at him with identically concerned expressions. Snarling, he turned away from them and back to his charge. InuYasha felt slightly guilty as he heard rustling behind him; he’d woken the human child Rin – and her screechy green sidekick – by accident.
“OH DEAR KAMI! LORD SESSHOUMARU!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, YOU INSOLENT MUTT!”
Perfect, InuYasha growled mentally, his expression sinking deeper as the imp youkai’s cry of anguish swept through the clearing. He supposed they had a right to know of his fuck up as well; his tone bland as he spoke, “He was poisoned. So I gave him anti-poison into his blood. And here we are.”
His ear drew back as there was a moment of silence, a moment of tension while the words truly sank home; then all hell broke loose in the form of an irate kappa, “YOU IDIOT! You insignificant, ignorant pup! HOW COULD YOU DO A THING SO STUPID!! You know yourself that he is a venom-weilder! You put something into his blood to correct an essential part of his being!” He ranted on, realizing the hanyou was not going to deny his claims, “You’ve killed him! Or possibly worse! You didn’t!”
I know… InuYasha grimaced but allowed the attack, he was right. He deserved that in the least, at least Jaken had the balls to yell at him and not try to comfort him for his mistake.
Beside her, she heard her friends objections as Kagome gasped in self-righteous outrage, her gaze narrowing as she drew in a breath to stand up for her friend, only to be beaten to the punch.
“THAT’S ENOUGH!”
Such an explosive voice coming from such a small girl stunned the group into silence as Rin walked forward calmly, determination pinching her face into a pout. She came to stand beside InuYasha, her large eyes peering into her Lord’s twinned, more expressive gaze, “That is not very fair, Jaken-sama. InuYasha-sama is very kind, and warm; he didn’t mean to hurt Sesshoumaru-sama.”
The hanyou’s gaze averted from the child’s, feeling as if she were peering into his very soul with those deep knowing eyes. Her gaze was that of someone old, far from what a child as young as she should be capable of. He would recognize that look anywhere; he’d possessed it as well when he was her age and would forevermore. Eyes that had seen how dismal and dark the world could be; how Life was a cruel and unusual mistress who wallowed in the misery of others.
“InuYasha-sama is worried for Sesshoumaru-sama just like everyone else,” The young girl cocked her head to the side and continued as she placed a small hand on the half-demon’s shoulder, a gentle smile gracing her lips, “He intended to help, not hurt. Surely you can see that as well, Jaken-sama.”
Jaken became absurdly aware of his dry his mouth was. The tone Rin spoke in was a distant cry from her usual bubbly way. She sounded so mature and knowing that he found himself nodding; more amazed at her comprehension of the situation than anything else.
Rin turned back to InuYasha and pulled him into a hug, her thin arms tightening securely around his shoulder before she whispered soft enough for only him to hear, but confidently, “Do not worry, Sesshoumaru-sama will be fine ‘cause he always is. He gets mad at us when we worry for him; so don’t worry so he won’t get mad!”
The sheer naivety of that thought caused InuYasha to smirk slightly as Rin stepped back, a tooth grin plastered on her face, like she’d just told the biggest secret in the world to him.
“Keh, I know that, dummy,” He huffed, but he could admit to himself he felt slightly better.
“Why don’t Shippou-kun, Rin-chan and I go catch some fish to cook for breakfast? I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving!” Kagome suggested, clapping her hands together lightly. She didn’t know what the little girl had said, but she seemed wise beyond her years, and whatever it was had worked; for that she was thankful.
“Okay! C’mon Rin-chan, I can show you my secret-ninja-fish-catching technique!” Shippou boasted excitedly, scurrying towards Kagome while looking back at the girl.
“You’re a ninja Shippou-kun?! I thought you were a fox!”
“Heh, well!” Shippou puffed his chest out proudly, thumbing his nose, “I got more than a few tricks up my sleeve!”
Rin looked at Sesshoumaru, then InuYasha once more before she nodded at Shippou, returning his smile, “Okay! I’d like to see it!”
The trio set off and Miroku and Sango decided to clean up their gear and the clearing before starting up the fire so they could roast later.
InuYasha got to his feet, leaving the area for only a short time to relieve himself, get a cold drink, and return to Sesshoumaru’s side. He felt odd about leaving for too long, and about anyone else touching him. It was a queer discovery that he didn’t know had existed until the night before when he’d snapped at Kagome. What was going on with him lately? Hell if he knew. Guilt. It must be guilt, InuYasha decided.
InuYasha’s eyes widened as he caught golden orbs blinking softly, “Sesshoumaru?”
His sibling’s gaze looked at him wearily, looking past him like he couldn’t focus clearly. Sesshoumaru gave his head a slight jerk to both sides, a futile move. Two, no three InuYasha’s loomed over him, bright and eager- Eager? For what? Sesshoumaru wondered offhandedly; but it didn’t really matter, all that did was that he was tired… just so tired.
“Sesshoumaru? Se—Shit. I lost him.”
“Did he wake up?” Miroku asked from over the hanyou’s shoulder.
He heaved a sigh and responded dejectedly, “For a second or two. Now he’s out again.”
“That’s good though!” Kagome chirped from across the way, ever-optimistic, “That means he’s healing! While yes, it may be slower than normal, but at least he was conscious for a second!”
Come on, Sesshoumaru…. Wake up. InuYasha remained silent and stared at his brother intensely. He wondered if he’d have any permanent lasting damage when he finally did heal.
Sango bumped Kagome’s shoulder and nodded to the two inu’s; both pausing to watch InuYasha brush a lock of hair over his brother’s shoulder. The taijiya glanced back at Kagome and nodded for the bushes, indicating for her to follow.
“Have you noticed the change too?” Kagome spoke gently to her best friend once she deemed them far enough away.
“Indeed… What do you think of his behaviour?” Sango was curious if Kagome felt a bit lonely the past month and a half he’d been gone. Now that he was finally back, all of his attention seemed to be devoted to Sesshoumaru. With good reason, but still; sometimes the heart didn’t take reason into account.
“I think he just feels so guilty and responsible… I think they got a lot closer when they had a common goal; though I am glad InuYasha is reconnecting with his only family,” The raven-haired girl smiled a bit less bright than normal, “Don’t worry Sango-chan, I’m okay.”
The demon-hunter smiled and patted Kagome’s shoulder gently, “Okay. I was just checking. We can always make an excuse to get away and talk if you need, you just let me know.”
“Thank you,” Kagome gripped her friend’s hand for a moment before stepping away, the two walking back in companionable silence. How could she really complain about being a bit lonely when Sesshoumaru was so injured? InuYasha was needed elsewhere, she understood and respected that. She refused to bring anyone down with her troubles when there was someone else so much worse off than herself. That would just be selfish.
InuYasha threw him a look that was completely and total indecent. Sesshoumaru reveled in it. The hanyou slid his fingers forward, knotting them up in the loops of his obi, jerking forward and tugging the material tight across his abdomen.
“InuYasha…” He spoke just above a whisper; what was going on? Such actions were so beyond his brother that he feared speaking too loudly would break the spell and InuYasha would reel away from him again. What had changed? Ginger, spice and earth; InuYasha's scent gathered around him, delectably teasing his senses. It was layered over him, around him, and against his skin. It was driving him crazy.
InuYasha pulled the bandages tight again and sighed softly, trundling the remaining cotton length. His friends gathered a little ways behind him around the cooking fire; it had been two days since ‘the incident’ as he’d dubbed it - and supper was fast approaching. His ears perked forwards as Sesshoumaru turned his head to the side, eyes wide and focused, Is he finally waking up?
Slowly, much too slowly, magenta-lidded eyes cracked open, catching his own. There seemed to be a person behind those eyes this time, a recognizable flicker of his sibling.
“Sesshoumaru,” InuYasha felt a wave of relief cascade through him, a soft smile tugged gently at his lips.
Relief turned to confusion at mach speed when the youkai lifted his hand to the hanyou’s face. It was in slow-motion that he watched his brother lean forward, helpless to move, as his brother brushed his cheek softly past his own before drawing back slightly. Sesshoumaru than gave him the gentlest of pecks.
“What changed?” he breathed against his lips.
Shell-shocked, the hanyou watched Sesshoumaru sit back with the tiniest quirk of his lips and an expression he’d never seen before; something dark, and primal. Then, in the most anti-climatic fashion, Sesshoumaru promptly returned to the realm of sleep. The previously rolled bandage tumbled from his hand and unfurled past his knees as he fell back and raised his hand to his mouth. What... the sweet fuck... Was that…
It was at this moment that there was a heavy thunk and wooden clatter shortly before a metal pan crashed to the ground with the sound of water swishing over the grass. InuYasha burned bright red to the tips of his furry appendages, his ears tucking into his skull, as he realized he had spectators.
Afraid to find out, but resolute to do it, the hanyou slowlyglanced over his shoulder. He would’ve dropped whatever was in his hands again if they hadn’t already been empty as his gaze was met by six others. Jaken had been the only one not to meet his eyes – but that wasn’t by choice. The kappa was currently unconscious himself, flat out on his back with the Staff of Two Heads lying beside him.
“I think… I think that was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” Kagome was the first to break the silence, a flush colouring high in her cheeks.
“I-I I- I don’t, I mean- ” InuYasha scrambled for words uncomfortably as Miroku coughed into his fist to cover his laughter. Both women had their hands near their faces, also flushed, while Shippou, Rin and Kirara openly stared, “I-It was the fever!”
“Mmm, sure,” Miroku recovered quickly, a suggestive glint entering his eyes, “And what exactly, did you say happened these past weeks?”
“N-Nothing!!” InuYasha denied, becoming impossibly hot and stuffy in his clothing. Thinking of everything that happened in said excursion was not helping him, “Y-Youkai do sh-shit like that! Y’know, G-grooming. I guess it’s a comfort thing, or whatever without m-mating bonds and stuff.”
Yes. That just capped off the worst attempt at explaining youkai grooming in the history of all Japan, no – of all the world.
“Oh, InuYasha!!” Miroku pressed a hand to his chestand one to his forehead before pretentiously lamented, “You’ve gone and become a man behind my back! Hurt! I’m so hurt!”
“SHUT UP YOU DAMN LYING MONK!! I DIDN'T SAY THAT!!”
“So hurt! So, SO hurt!!”
“Rrghh!” InuYasha leapt to his feet, fisting a clawed hand as a threat, “You ain’t yet, but yer gonna be when I’m fuckin’ done with ya! I’ll fuckin’ show ya what hurt is!!”
The houshi squealed in fake fear but took off none the less; knowing that though it wouldn’t be serious, if InuYasha caught him he wouldn’t get away without at least a few lumps, “You’re so forceful! Be gentle with me, InuYasha!! It’s my first time!!”
“Stop makin’ everything so so fuking dirty, you hentai!!”
Shippou and Rin laughed boisterously at the spectacle the two males were making, InuYasha chasing Miroku off into the woods who could be heard spouting inane pleas of ‘be gentle’ and ‘it’s my first time!’
“Kagome-chan? Are you…”
The young miko turned shiny eyes onto her best friend, a small grin over her lips; she gushed quietly so not to draw the children’s attention, “I can’t believe that just happened… Did you see that? He kissed him! There’s no doubt about it! Man, Sesshoumaru-sama must really be out of it!”
Sango smiled as best as she could; clearly Kagome was ignorant to the implications that action held, or perhaps she was purposefully ignoring it. The taijiya knew more about demon heritage than that of the future girl, that was to be expected, but she pondered on how much Kagome actually understood the world in general.
Kami love her, but the girl could be a little… dense at times.
“You aren’t… upset?” Sango decided to just choose her words wisely, and root out her answers.
“Of course not! It was halirious! ... And let’s be honest, sexy,” She giggled as if she were telling a secret. Homosexuality wasn’t a huge thing in her era. Siblings, yes, that was a bit weird; but admittedly, she was a little bit of a yaoi-fangirl herself. There was no harm in a little fantasizing, “But you heard Inu, he’s delirious with a fever, he can’t be blamed for the embarrassing things he does in these moments. I mean, come on, it’s Sesshoumaru-sama!”
"On secnd thougt..." She seemed to pause her before adding with a nervous laugh, “Perhaps it is best to keep it a secret... There’s no telling what he’d do if he found out we all witnessed that happen.”
“YOU SICK BASTARD!!” InuYasha’s voice cut into their conversation, drawing their attention to the far side of the clearing where Miroku had dashed off earlier.
“Eeeee!! InuYasha! No means no!!! OOF!!”
Kagome abruptly burst into laughter as her friend’s voice became prevalent from the background. She missed the sympathetic look that crossed Sango’s face as she turned away.
Febrile or not… Sango thought, rubbing her fingers across her palm, There was so much… expression behind his eyes. So much… want, and …Happiness? No… Contentment, perhaps. I can’t be wrong… That wasn’t just ‘grooming’ habits of inu youkai. The way InuYasha acted afterwards was abnormal too… No, I’m not wrong.
The huntress looked back to the sleeping demon, his face smoothed almost peacefully. Truly, the demon lord was a beautiful individual, no one could refute that; but he was also so very controlled. Delusions did not change a person’s personality overall, it merely brought forward what they were truly thinking and feeling inside.
I can’t be… Can I? Sango decided she’d keep a close eye on the two, or rather three since
Naraku stood over a small circular pond, observing his own smiling face looking back at him. He leaned forward and extended his right hand, dropping a large shard of obsidian and a dark shikon jewel shard into the pool. Behind him on one of Kagura’s feathers floated the cold, lifeless naked body of a woman with long ink black hair; overgrown bangs hid a scar bisecting one of her closed eyes, sealing it shut.
The hanyou reached into the folds of his haori and withdrew a small woven bag, dumping the ashes inside atop the water’s surface, watching as the soot slowly began to spread across and drift beneath, sinking into the depths after the black stone.
“Kanna,” Naraku glanced over his shoulder, giving the young girl her cue.
Immediately, the mirror clasped in the apathetic girl’s fingers glared to life, illuminating a blindingly blue-white colour. She slowly turned the object, a high ringing blaring through the small forest alcove. The water’s surface reflected the colour of Kanna’s mirror before the ring of magic tightened into a sphere in the center of the pond, disappearing into the deep before rising once more as a fiery azure orb.
Kanna angled the mirror once more, turning it towards the body; watching as the soul moved, guided by her actions, coming to a stop hovering over the shell. With a soft rebounding echo, the bright sphere dipped into its host. Kagura scowled at the body beside her.
It was a moment more before air rushed into the woman’s lungs, causing her to cough uncontrollably as she pulled herself upright on the suspended hammock. One stormy eye flickered up to Naraku’s as he stepped towards her, accepting his hand to help her onto her feet; completely unabashed by her nudity.
Reaching past her, Naraku took the deep green kimono from Kagura’s arms, tugging it around the woman’s shoulders before smiling darkly, “Welcome back… Riko-sama.”
“This leaves… A rather unsavory taste in this Sesshoumaru's mouth,” Was the first words Sesshoumaru spoke aloud intentionally, levelling his hanyou sibling with a rather impressive glare, considering he’d just spend the last three days in and out of consciousness. By no means was he completely healed, far from it; he was merely recovered enough to stay awake.
“Well what the fuck did you expect me to do?!” InuYasha snapped hastily, a blush settling delicately over his nose, “I injected that shit into you, and you nose-dived to the ground!”
“I’m sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama,” Kagome slunk forward with a cup of freshly prepared tea, she wanted to take some of the blame from the inu hanyou, “I… I was the one that said to give you the needle…”
“Kagome!” InuYasha objected as she bowed low, completely ignored by the Daiyoukai.
“She should be sorry! Poisoning my Liege like that! Stupid mortal—OUCH!” Jaken’s rant was cut off by InuYasha whacking him with a sheathed Tetsusaiga.
“Shut up, Toad,” He bared a fang in irritation, “It was my fault, not hers, I-”
“Sesshoumaru-sama, Sesshoumaru-sama!!” Rin skipped into the fray, her orange and yellow checkered kimono was streaked with dirt as she held out her fisted hand, a small bouquet of flowers presented in it, “I picked these for you especially so that you’ll get better quicker!”
It didn’t matter who you were, big bad Lord of the West or not, when a small child offers you flowers, you take them – and that is exacty what he did. Dexterously maneuvering his clawed fingers between her own, he captured the stems.
“Don’t give flowers to Sesshoumaru-sama! He has no need of such trivial, useless things such as plants, silly girl! That won’t make him heal faster!” Jaken instantly began berating the young human, drawing everyone’s attention, “You mortals and your-ouch!! Huh? What?”
A small pebble had struck him directly dead-centre against his forehead, his gaze dropping immediately as soon as it connected with the inu youkai’s, “I-I, that is, I meant – not to say you don’t heal fast, well perhaps not in this particular occasion – but that even the great Sesshoumaru-sama has his down days. I-I mean, Sesshoumaru-sama is never weak but sometimes even he should rest – but only if he feels like it. Though generally he doesn’t, and that’s okay – but I mean-”
“Jaken.”
“Y-Yes M’Lord?”
“Be silent.”
“R-Right my lord, silent I will be! Yes! Quiet as a mouse! You won’t hear a peep from me – Eep!” He sealed his lips and swallowed hard as Sesshoumaru’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“Silly Jaken-sama!” Rin laughed and rocked back on her heels.
“Thank Kami,” InuYasha muttered, massaging his temples, “That kiss-ass attitude is really gratin’ on my nerves.”
The comment earned InuYasha a glare from the imp youkai, but true to his word he played the bigger person and remained silent (more due to the fact that his life was on the line than anything else).
Feeling an awkward tension seeping into the air, Kagome glanced to the dirtied youngster, and then to her own adopted son, and figured now was as good a time as any to take a bath and sooth her nerves before making lunch. That plus Rin was filthy and Shippou had yet to bathe today or yesterday so they were all do, “Sango-chan, why don’t we take Rin-chan and Shippou-kun to the stream to bathe?”
“Good idea,” The taijiya jumped at the chance to get out of the tense atmosphere, a bath sounded like the perfect thing. Kirara purred in agreement in her arms.
“I’ll come too!” Miroku volunteered, raising a hand and sitting forward eagerly.
The taijiya conked him hard, raising a fist as she threatened, “You’ll stay here.”
“I-Ill stay here!” Miroku repeated sullenly, raising both hands in surrender.
The girls readied themselves and the children, who decided to play tag on the way to the river; leaving behind the four males, one of whom was forcibly partaking in a vow of silence.
Miroku watched as InuYasha began to fidget, sitting restlessly against a tree, staring into the fire that crackled merrily. He turned his gaze onto the apathetic youkai who seemed to glance at the hanyou every so often, his jaw clenching as InuYasha’s fiddling started to irritate him.
InuYasha glanced to Sesshoumaru who was pretending to be impassive, then away; to Jaken, then the houshi, then back again.
Clearly, he has something he wishes to speak about… In private, Miroku expelled a lung-full of air before getting to his feet, You owe me one for this, InuYasha.

“Jaken-sama, would you care to join me for a stroll; it would be nice to stretch my legs a bit.”
“What?! No! Why would I want to—Bluurrgh!!”
“It was not intended as a question,” Miroku thumped the kappa’s head once more with his shakujo for good measure. He felt a little prideful at the look of relief that crossed InuYasha’s face as he made his suggestion. Miroku trudged forward, pushing the small youkai forward with his staff.
The brother’s listened to Miroku’s melodic threats and the demon’s objections fading into the background, both refusing to look at the other.
“You have something you wish to say.”
InuYasha’s ears pulled back, heat rising to his face once more, how was he supposed to phrase it? “Yeah.”
Sesshoumaru blinked lazily, he felt so sluggish and tired; he wished to just peacefully return to the world of lustful InuYasha and soft kisses, the world that only existed when he closed his eyes - it was so much more preferable than the one here where they constantanly fought. Especially now that Sesshoumaru had garnered a healthy appreciation for the hanyou's looks and scent. Speaking of which, he truly was layered in InuYasha's scent. It was as if InuYasha was the only one that had been around him.
Why was InuYasha still remaining silent? “So, speak.”
“I-I will!! I’m just thinking!” He retorted, scowling.
“Oh, so that does happen?”
“What?” InuYasha responded before comprehending his brother’s words; irritation cleared his mind of his embarrassment, “You bastard…”
“I do assure you, that our father was mated with my mother when I was born; you on the other hand…” Sesshoumaru let his sentence die, forcing neutrality into his expression. InuYasha was just so easy to tease.
“Fuck you, asshole! One more word outta you and I’ll kill you!”
“And here I was under the impression that you’d attempted that already,” Just. Too. Easy. He really walks right into it, Sesshoumaru mused, a slight grin curved his lips; one that immediately faded as he realized he’d taken the joke too far. InuYasha curled his shoulders in guiltily, his ears once more dropping low on his skull.
Sesshoumaru was once again forced to revisit the issue of his questionable hilarity.
“I’m…” InuYasha scowled deeper, unable to meet his brother’s eyes, “I’m…”
“It is fine,” Sesshoumaru answered, unsurprised when InuYasha whirled around to look at him in exacerbation.
“It isn’t!” He objected, golden eyes flashing.
“You were unaware.”
“That’s not an excuse,” Was his mumbled response. True, he’d tried his very best to rectify the situation by tending day and night to his brother’s battered flesh, changing bandages and watching over him; but he wanted to do more. He wanted to fix it completely, “Isn’t there… Is there a way that I… Can I…”
Sesshoumaru watched his sibling turn every shade of red he’d known possible, and a few he hadn’t; absorbed in the words stuttering from the hanyou’s mouth, “You’ve started three sentences now and failed to finish even one.”
“Shut up you asshole! I’m trying to ask if I can share my youki too!” InuYasha burst out indignantly.
So predictable, Sesshoumaru grinned as InuYasha once again displayed his spectrum of red flesh, “Yes.”
InuYasha perked up, “There is? How?!”
“Try,” The Daiyoukai responded, watching the array of emotions spanning the hanyou’s face, confusion – thoughtful – revelation – horrified – suspicious – embarrassed. Truly, he wondered what was going through the boy’s head; sure he could read his expressions like an open book, but even he could not keep up with the rampant disarray that was the younger’s line of thought.
“Y-You want me t-to… K… Kiss… you?” InuYasha despised the squeaky quality his tone gained.
Sesshoumaru cocked his head slightly, kiss him? Why would he-Oh. Oh! Yes, yes he had done that, hadn’t he. The youkai supressed the surprisingly strong urge to smile at the youth, he wondered why he’d never realized how much more enjoyment he got from teasing his brother than beating him shitless before now?
Come to think of it, they had always enjoyed good verbal sparring matches before clashing blades – perhaps enjoyed would be the wrong term. It elevated their anticipation of the fight to a higher level.
He suddenly came back to himself as InuYasha glanced away, Sesshoumaru realized he’d been staring back without responding for the last few seconds. The air around them reeked of anxiety, uncertainty and embarrassment.
“Hn,” This will be all too easy, “So you cannot bypass emotional discomfort to help alleviate the duress of pain and lethargy after all.”
“Wai-what?” InuYasha paused, glancing back up.
“Nevermind, it is fine InuYasha. I do not expect your help out of the situation I got myself in,” Sesshoumaru paused theatrically, watching him from his peripheral vision, “Well. Mostly.”
“That’s not true, I do want to help!” The hanyou scooted forward, his honour would not let him back down, even if he did have to… Kiss... Sesshoumaru.
“Are you certain?” The brother’s locked eyes, “You have to truly wish to help. To heal.”
“I do!” InuYasha nodded, determination melted into his features, “Just, tell me what to do…”
The daiyoukai figured this was a win win situation, he’d get to tease his brother and get his strength back. He also saw it as a means of teaching InuYasha another talent from his youkai side, another thing that separated the hanyou from his mortal half. But doing his duty as kin, as an alpha should, was only a third-rate interest.
“If you’re positive… Close your eyes,” The lord guided, watching as the hanyou relinquished control to him unhesitantly. The alpha aspect of him preened at this newfound trust, “Feel deeply, InuYasha; look past your skin, past your muscles and bones. Feel into the very core of your being. You will know, it give the impression of being scalding, but temperate at the same time. Like rapids, that comparable restrained chaos surrounded by calm.”
InuYasha skewed his nose cutely in concentration, he was silent for a moment before Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga pulsed in unison, shocking both inu brother’s, “What was…”
“You willingly brushed against your youkai for a moment,” Sesshoumaru spoke his suspicions aloud, “They were reacting to the rise in your youki signature.”
InuYasha looked slightly dumbfounded before feeling a thread of pride. It made him feel like he had a bit of control over his youkai as he could purposefully draw on its power, “Okay, then what will I need to do?”
Sesshoumaru himself was surprised that InuYasha had grasped his youki on the first try, especially being hanyou. It was very… promising, to say the least, “You need to grasp it; in whatever way, shape, or form you can; then try to expel it from yourself into me through a connection.”
“B-But… How do I…”
“Whatever feels right,” Sesshoumaru responded unfaltering. He was personally beyond teasing his brother now, the anticipation of being able to move freely and fluidly like normal was over-riding his childish want to pick on his sibling.
InuYasha thought for a second before nodding.
“InuYasha.”
The hanyou opened his eyes and peeked back at his elder brother questionably.
“You must truly want to help… I was not falsifying the dangers of passing youki half-heartedly. You could injure us both…” Sesshoumaru wanted to berate himself for sounding like he was trying to turn the hanyou off of the idea, but he had to present the issue before his brother attempted it – in this state, InuYasha was half-likely to actually kill him this time; but this was the only way. Whether it was the anti-venom or the damage that had been done by the hydra, he was not healing as normal; perhaps with a youki-kick-start, his own youki would start functioning accordingly.
Strong willful eyes met Sesshoumaru’s, eyes so like yet unlike his own; InuYasha nodded once more and closed his eyes again.
Search, search, search… Where are you… Deeper… Deeper… The hanyou concentrated on turning in on himself. Dark, everything was so dark, he couldn’t see—Wait, there! There was a speck of light, blindingly bright. The closer he got, the hotter it was; but he expected it this time.
Speaking of blinding, InuYasha felt like his retinas were burning out of his skull, everything was so bright, everything burned – and yet, it didn’t. With unseeing eyes, he mentally reached forward. The river clung to his fingers like honey when he dipped his hand in, his power trying to climb up his arm without any provocation on his part. Thrusting in, his youkai roiled inside his skin, thrummed through his veins; he steadily pushed deep to maintain the level, feeling like he was exhausting his muscles.
Sesshoumaru covered his vibrating blade, watching with unveiled fascination as the wind picked up gently around them, feeling his brother’s power grow exponentially. He actually fought an instictive shiver as their aura's collided, watching serrated purple markings etching slowly beneath the hanyou’s eyes; his fangs pushing slightly past his lower lip, “InuYasha…”
Crimson eyes found his own and Sesshoumaru realized he was holding his breath. Kami the boy was beautiful. How? How had he never noticed? His body and soul, his power; he was beautiful in all aspects. InuYasha always threw himself head-first into everything he did, passionately taking on the world that was constantly against him.
“Now what?” InuYasha’s tone had changed to one more gravelly and was strained with effort. Sweat beginning to mist his flesh.
Sesshoumaru slowly released the air, “Now… You need to figure out how to pass it.”
He watched as InuYasha burned another brilliant red, a sight quite entertaining on the face of his ferocious youkai; feeling that tickling urge to smile once more. He wondered about that awareness, he’d been visited by it a lot recently. Had he truly been so unhappy before now? Or was it not that he was unhappy, but just didn’t have many reasons to smile? Weren’t they but the same concept? Tenseiga resonated hard under his grip as InuYasha fought to balance and control his youki, Tetsusaiga pulsing a steady staccato at the hanyou's side.
“D…Don’t … Don’t say a thing… to the others, got it?” InuYasha looked at him from beneath his bangs, feeling a slight tremor beginning in his limbs. Am I serious going to do this? He inched forwards beside his brother, placing his hands onto Sesshoumaru’s shoulders before pausing to look uncertainly at the ground.
“If you do not have it in you Brother, do not force it,” Sesshoumaru reminded for the last time, forcing himself not to clench his teeth; he was unsure whether he was impatient, anxious or excited – perhaps a bit of all three.
“Grrrgh! Fine! I’m doin’ it!” InuYasha glared at Sesshoumaru, dropping his head closer to the youkai’s. He hovered about twelve inches away, fidgeting nervously and hesitating for a second; he could feel the blood boiling in his face. Unable to help himself, the hanyou reared back with objection, “… … … Well don’t fuckin’ stare at me, dammit! Close your eyes or something!!”
Sesshoumaru pointedly stared a few seconds longer to express his unhappiness before sighing heavily, “As you wish.”
With his siblings gaze now hidden, InuYasha inched forward again. Goddamn, this is so embarrassing! It’s even worse ‘cause he knows it’s comin’, and I know it’s comin, and he ain’t makin’ this any easier on me! DAMMIT!
But… he wanted to help. His brother, Lord High and Mighty, Mr.Stick-Perpetually-Up-His-Ass, was sitting in front of him; bloody and half-naked, punched through like a pin cushion AND couldn’t move; and it was his fault.
It just felt wrong to see Sesshoumaru injured and vulnerable; it left a bad taste in his mouth, and a weird feeling in his chest. He didn’t know why, but he wanted to be the one that was there for his sibling, the one person that the strongest of the strong could lean back on when he was tired. He wanted to believe his sibling could accept his existence as a hanyou – as his brother. InuYasha was just so…tired of fighting.
With that last thought, InuYasha pushed his lips awkwardly against Sesshoumaru’s, fighting to find a way to push the youki through their connection. The situation increased in intensity and distraction as Sesshoumaru leaned into the kiss and nipped InuYasha’s upper lip.
The Daiyoukai smirked as InuYasha gasped, whether in surprise or objection he was unsure, and Sesshoumaru dipped his tongue into the hanyou’s mouth.
That lying bastard, InuYasha thought hazily in an out-of-body sort of way as Sesshoumaru began to draw the youki into himself, He was able to take it from me this whole time! But damn, did the demon know how to kiss. It felt… different. But nice; unfamiliar, but not unwanted. InuYasha pushed away, a bit perturbed by the thought that caused his lungs to spasm for breath and his chest to hitch tightly; he fell back onto his rump with a thud, sucking air in deep and quick, “You… Took it… I didn’t pass… You took.”
Sesshoumaru blinked, taking in the sight of the (delightfully) mussed hanyou; InuYasha’s face was ruddy, but back to normal. His snowy white hair out of place, shining messily in the evening sun.
“Yes. Being an alpha of our kind, I can give and receive power; but not from the unwilling. I must still follow the cardinal rules as well.”
That thought sat with him a bit funny, if Sesshoumaru was an alpha, what was he? Did he get a place in ‘pack’ hierarchy being a hanyou as he was? If not, where did that leave him? All of the questions flooded his mindweighing so heavily that he abruptly put it all aside for the time being and ignored it, “Oh. I see… Well, how… Do you… feel?”

The question felt a bit weird to ask, but seeing how he had just shared his hanyou youki with his youkai sibling, he was curious.
“Adequate,” Sesshoumaru responded. It was a split-second afterward that he wished he’d been more selective when choosing his words.
“Adequate?” InuYasha growled, “What the hell is that s’posed to mean?”
The mood between the two polarized in a blink; suddenly Sesshoumaru became extremely disheartened with and tired with his brother’s presumptions. Everything had been going so well, and once again InuYasha’s mistrust just stomped on it.
“You are taking my words out of context, InuYasha; does everything between us need to be a confrontation?” Sesshoumaru leveled the hanyou with a glare. He was frustraighted of trying so hard and getting nowhere, “Why must you infer my words and intentions as malicious?”
“Because I know you!” InuYasha snarled. He felt a stab of guilt at the glimpse of the expression that passed through his brother’s eyes, almost undetected, before that familiar icy wall slammed into place. Frigid gold met his own, a visible bitterness lingering there.
“Once again, your assumption is incorrect,” Sesshoumaru stated briskly before shakily climbing to his feet, heavily supporting his weight using the tree trunk behind him. The youkai felt rightfully insulted as he forced himself into motion, pushing through his pain with a slight limp as he walked away.
“- How… Do you… Feel?”

“Adequate.”
InuYasha clenched his jaw painfully tight as he observed his brother leaving with a faltering step, Adequate… As in, good but not up to par… He was speaking literally. I took it in the context of my prior thoughts, not as he meant it…
His mind couldn’t force his crumbling pride to back down so he could call out to him, so he could apologize for being wrong.
“Pathetic… I didn’t mean you.”
InuYasha snorted softly into the emptiness of the clearing, feeling slightly annoyed that his consciousness reminded him, Being wrong again, I guess.
He turned his eye onto the red and white haori lying beside him, reaching a hand out to tangle his claws in the material, Huh? It’s no longer ripped. And it ain’t bloody anymore…
Given that it was material made from a youkai, InuYasha supposed he shouldn’t be so surprised. After all, his own fire rat set slowly self-mended as well; it just mended quicker if he stitched it first... ...
Dammit, why did he have to make everything into a fight? InuYasha outwardly sighed again. Thinking about it seriously, Sesshoumaru really had only done things to help, albeit he took a little more liberty with his person than InuYasha had been offering most of the time… But wasn’t that the youkai world? InuYasha supposed the best thing to do would be track down Sesshoumaru and at least give him his shirt so he wasn’t walking around bandaged and half-naked. Even as the thought passed his head, InuYasha clenched his hand tighter; he knew he was lying to himself. He had to apologize. Fuck.
Riko stretched her arms up, popping a couple vertebrae back into place. Naraku had travelled back to the mortal castle with her residing inside his barrier while he’d sent the young girl and wind sorceress to find some jewel youkai named Makoto-sama.
“Kanna, you will commission him to create the jewel we spoke of,”Naraku glanced towards the magi, his crimson eyes alight with some cryptic emotion Riko couldn’t read. It was a look that sat wrong with her, “We will create you a suitable weapon to amplify your spells.”
“Delightful,” She responded in kind, the shikon shard in her forehead pulsed. Something still felt off.
Coming back to herself, Riko narrowed her eyes and let her arms drop. Let’s check in on our friends, She thought; closing her eye and raising her left hand, she placed the tips of her index and middle fingers against her forehead. She began to mutter softly, her words casting a flying incantation in the form of a crow; allowing her to see observe from inside her vessel.
Let’s see what kind of fun we can get up to, She thought excitedly, a slow malicious grin spreading over her lips.
A/N: Yay!! I've updated on schedule this week! I hope you guys enjoyed this weeks chapter! There are some aspects I liked and plan to build off of, and other's that I didn't. As I've mentioned before, I'm flying by the seat of my pants now, and everytime I look back I cringe and wish I could have remembered to add something in the chapters before. Aw well, I'm sure I'm not the only author to think like that.
Personally, I had an ironic little giggle at making Kagome a yaoi-fangirl. I just wanted to elaborate a little here in case I didn't make it clear; Kagome thinks the kiss was totally innocent and unintentional, something that Sesshoumaru would be horrified to find out happened, whereas Sango is clearly having her doubts.
I try to create my stories in a way that would make them most plausible; so while you know that there are cases of incest around the world, it's not easy taking two characters that esentially hate each other(in the beginning) and come to something of an alliance by the end, to make them love one another - while still having it make sense. I wanted to remind everyone before we go further in case I refer back to it - please keep in mind what Sesshoumaru said in the previous chapters. Youkia do not consider incest an issue since the main ethical reason incest is frowned upon was because children created out of these bonds tended to be... genetically defect; so mixing genes became the only acceptable way. Being that as author I have supreme control, I'm making the statement since youkai are not bound by time the way humans are, and are not human at all,their genetic make-up does not collide with each other. That's also why youkai aren't hung up on sexuality, and why 'pleasure is pleasure' since there's no harm in those bonds since they have all the time in the world and dont need to repopulate the species before dying.
Any questions? Good, cause I'm done my rant. Please reveiw and let me know what you think! Seeya next time!

-Crimson
- 7
- 8
- 9
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In Saving You, I Saved Myself