Brother My Brother

Inuyasha fell to his knees by Miroku’s
side. The half demon looked his friend over, his stomach tightening
painfully at the sight of the human’s spilled blood. Miroku weakly
opened his eyes to look at him, the strength having spilled from his
body with his life fluid.

“Miroku,” Inuyasha said, his voice strained and desperate. “Hang
Miroku. Don’t you die on me! Don’t you die!” He grabbed the monk by the
shoulders, desperately trying to assess his wounds. Miroku groaned
against him, protesting the movement of his body.

“Inuyasha, please be gentler.”

“Sorry, sorry!” Inuyasha replied, taking his hands back. “I’m sorry,
Miroku. What should I do? What do you need?” The panic in his voice was
evident and his eyes projected the fear in his face.

“I know not,” Miroku replied softly. “I know not what you can do for
me.”

“Don’t say that!” Inuyasha snapped. “You’re gonna be okay. Just tell me
what I have to do.”

Miroku shook his head. “I know not,” he said again.

“No, no, no!” Inuyasha shouted. “Miroku, I can’t lose you! You can’t
die! You can’t die on me!” There were tears in the half demon’s eyes as
he sank down to the ground beside Miroku’s broken body. “You can’t die
on me. You’re all I got left.”

“I’m sorry Inu… Inuyasha,” Miroku whispered. “If only I could stay
here… Stay here with you…”

“You can, damn it!” Inuyasha insisted. “And you will, you hear me? You
will, Miroku!” Silence was the hanyou’s answer, and an unsettling
feeling overtook him. He raised himself to his knees and grabbed the
other’s shoulders again. “Miroku? Miroku, don’t die on me! You can’t
leave me, you bastard! Miroku!” The monk did not move and Inuyasha
could feel his body go limp in his hands. The hanyou gave a cry of
defeat and collapsed onto the ground next to his departed friend. The
grief overcame him and he let his tears fall freely as his body
trembled on the ground. How could this have happened? In just under a
week, he had lost everyone that was close to his heart. Why him? Why
was he the only one left? Why did they all have to leave him? It was so
unfair, so entirely unfair. He laid there, wallowing in his grief,
weeping more than he ever had before. He did not know how long he
stayed there. All he knew was that the next thing he was aware of was
something hitting him in the back. He grunted once, not bothering to
find the source of his discomfort before he tried to push it away. It
stopped for a moment, then continued with more force than before. The
hanyou groaned and rolled over on his back, blinking up at the source
in annoyance and confusion. The bright sun glared down behind a tall
figure, hiding the source’s face in a dark shadow. Inuyasha squinted
against the light, shielding his eyes with his hand. “Who’s there?”

“Have your half-breed senses left you?”  the figure retorted. “Did
you not ask for my help?”

Inuyasha blinked, then forced himself to sit up, his head throbbing and
his vision blurred. “You’re a little late, Sesshomaru.”

The demon before him shifted his weight. “I can see that. It seems all
of your dear friends have perished.”

Inuyasha flinched and hot tears stung the back of his eyes. He refused
to cry, however. Not in front of Sesshomaru. “They’re all gone,” the
hanyou whispered angrily. “All of them. Everyone I ever cared about.”
Through the course of his speaking, his volume raised and his tone
became sharper. “And it’s all your fault!” He leapt to his feet before
his brother, wavering a bit before regaining his balance.

“My fault?” Sesshomaru inquired. “How, pray tell, is this may fault?”

Inuyasha felt dizzy and light-headed and was not at all sure if he
would be able to defeat Sesshomaru in a fight if it came down to it.
All he knew was that someone was to blame for all of this and his
brother seemed to be as good a person as any. “If you-- If you hadn’t
lost the damn sword, I could’ve saved Kagome and gotten back in time to
save Miroku and Kirara! Sango and Shippo, too! This is all your fault!”
He moved to run his claws over Sesshomaru’s face, but the elder brother
easily caught his hand.

“Have you forgotten the circumstances under which my sword was stolen?”
Sesshomaru demanded. “I told you before that I was attacked by Naraku
who had a dishonorable and unfair advantage over myself. It was he who
took my sword, and it was out of my control.” He let a small amount of
venom drip from his claws onto Inuyasha’s wrist. “So do not blame me
for your petty troubles.”

Inuyasha grunted as he felt his skin burning from his wrist. He tore
his hand away from Sesshomaru’s grasp, causing the half demon to lose
his balance and topple over backwards. He landed uncomfortably on top
of Miroku’s motionless body, struggled for a moment to get off, and
finally ended up laying on his side on the ground. It was all too much
for him and he could no longer hold back his tears. He did not care
anymore, and laid there on his side, curling around himself, and
weeping like a small child. Sesshomaru’s stoic look softened as he
watched his younger brother break down in front of him. Something moved
inside of the demon, and he found himself kneeling by Inuyasha’s side.

“Come on, half-breed,” he said, grabbing the fabric of Inuyasha’s
sleeve and pulling him to his feet. “It will do you no good to stay
here.”

Inuyasha wavered a bit, his head still a bit dizzy and his vision now
heavily blurred from his tears. His weight felt twice as heavy as
normal, and he was forced to lean against his brother for a moment
before regaining his balance. Sesshomaru waited until Inuyasha had
steadied himself, then turned and began heading westward. Inuyasha
followed at a slow pace, his mind blank, hardly realizing what was
happening. All he was aware of then was that someone was with him.
Someone was extending their help to him, and he eagerly lapped it up.
He stumbled as he went along, moaning tiredly. Sesshomaru delayed his
own pace, stopping every few yards to allow Inuyasha to catch up to
him. In this way they traveled for about a mile, until Inuyasha’s
exhausted body could no longer support itself and he collapsed onto the
ground. Sesshomaru stopped and turned to his brother who now laid on
his side once again, struggling for a breath between his agonized
whimpers.

“I refuse to carry you, half breed,” Sesshomaru stated firmly. “Get on
your feet. Now.”

Inuyasha whined, but did not move from his position. Sesshomaru stood
above his brother, looking down at him distastefully. The hanyou moaned
slightly and curled more tightly around himself. His eyes were closed,
his face etched with pain and sorrow, his arms wrapped around his
midsection. Sesshomaru sighed in annoyance and seized the hanyou by the
back of his kimono, lifting his upper torso above the ground. Inuyasha
groaned as he felt himself being dragged backwards behind his brother.
Certainly under normal circumstances he would have protested this
treatment, but now he could care less. His mind and body were too
exhausted to walk on his own, and his brother’s attention was an oasis
in the desert. He relaxed his body and allowed himself to be dragged
over the hard ground, over sharp stones and sticks, all the way into
the forest, deep within the dark trees. They arrived at a small,
abandoned storehouse, depleted of resources and care. The walls were
dirty and misshapen, but still stood against the outside forces.
Inuyasha was dragged inside and dropped in the middle of the floor. The
storehouse had a very old and musty smell to it, and he groaned in
annoyance before turning onto his side and laying a sleeve over his
nose. He closed his eyes and laid there for a moment, attempting to
fall asleep. Then all at once, he realized that he was alone again.

“Sesshomaru?” he called, struggling to sit up. “Sesshomaru, where’d you
go?”

There was no answer, no stirring of the outside to indicate movement.
Sesshomaru’s scent was vanishing on the wind. A heavy, unsettling
feeling placed itself in Inuyasha’s gut. He was alone again, no one
with him no body to help support him, no shoulder to cry on. The tears
returned, stinging his eyes, and he broke down again. He collapsed onto
the floor, feeling overwhelmed and defeated, and finally fell into a
restless, fitful sleep.