A/N: Well, I have NO idea where this popped up from. I just saw the
Tensaiga for the very first time, and it all just came together. This is my
first Inuyasha fic so please excuse any OOCness or discrepancies with the
actual storyline. Inuyasha's in mortal danger, and the only one who can
help is his older brother Sesshomaru. But the real question is. . . does
Sesshomaru 'want' to help? KB, R, E & R!!!
Punctuation: ' ' - Thoughts or Italics (for emphasis)
***
Goodbye, Little Brother
***
The forest surrounding the palace was thick and peaceful, the trees lush with deep green leaves that whispered in the soft breeze. Sunlight shafted through the canopy and cast its golden glow here and there, its radiance illuminating the tree trunks and forest floor and the flurries of dust motes that floated in the air.
The quiet was broken by a loud rustling and snapping, crashes in the underbrush, and a few muffled bellows and roars sounded along with the quick patter of small, nimble feet.
"Get him!"
"Wretched halfling!"
"Come back here, puny pup!"
"Not on your life!" Inuyasha called over his shoulder, what he had meant to be a snarl coming out as a shrill yelp. He clenched his clawed fist, the beginnings of deadly talons only slightly sharp nubs on his fingers. Now they would know he was afraid.
The dog demon heard scornful laughter behind him, and his pointy white ears flattened against his shoulder-length silvery mane. Inuyasha wanted so much to turn and face them, draw out the Tetsusaiga and make them pay. But he had no idea how to use the legendary sword; as far as he knew it was just a useless piece of thin, dull steel, no more effective than a stick for fending off enemies. Not to mention that it was so long he couldn't carry it at his side without it dragging along the floor and hampering his speed. He carried it now on his shoulders, the long sheath braced against his back, one hand clenched at the top of the hilt securing both sword and sheath.
Inuyasha shook his head as he ran, mentally tallying the odds. They were not good. There was no way one little half-demon could take on four full demons, all slightly more than half-grown, all their special abilities and natural weaponry already fairly developed while his were only beginning to emerge. Still, if he were caught, he would have no other choice than to fight to the death. For his pursuers would show no mercy this time, not even for the king's youngest son, and the youngling refused to even consider surrender of any kind, especially since he hadn't done any of the things they'd accused him of doing. Inuyasha suddenly felt a swift, sharp ache in his throat followed by a strange twinge in his eyes, and his vision became blurry. It just wasn't fair! It was always his fault, it was always him! Why couldn't they just leave him be? He'd never done anything to them. . . unless you counted the times when they'd provoked him or forced him to retaliate in order to defend himself. Inuyasha growled at himself and shook off the unfamiliar feeling.
Still, he ran a little faster, becoming a mere blur of silver and lavender as he streaked through the forest.
***
"Little fool. . ." Lazy golden eyes peered out through fine silver bangs at the scene playing out below.
The boy at the window shifted, and the fur of the thick cream-colored pelt cascading over his right shoulder rippled, glossy hairs catching the light. Crimson slashed in twin markings, in stark contrast to his pale cheeks. One clawed hand, this one sporting shredding weapons long and dangerous, rested on the smooth wooden windowsill. The other brushed, ever so lightly, the hilt of the long sword strapped to his back, of which the tip nearly swept the ground. It was a languid gesture, but one full of meaning and true menace. Each of his movements was colored with a quiet, flowing grace, precise and deliberate. As a result, he seemed to move very little, when in truth he simply never wasted a movement, unlike his foolish, hotheaded younger brother. He seemed to still for a moment, as though in thought, fair, elegant face tilted to one side so that his long bangs fell aside to reveal the dark crescent moon on his forehead.
Finally the watcher gave a soft sound that was part chuckle, part sigh, "Well, then. . ."
With that, he vaulted from the window, long silver hair streaming as he dove through the air like a falcon closing in on its prey. A smooth landing brought him lightly to the ground among the rosebushes at the base of the tower, in a crouch, hair falling like a curtain about his shoulders. Without wasting any more time, young Sesshomaru vanished into the forest.
He was unaware of a piercing golden gaze, so much like those of the two young brothers, following his and Inuyasha's every move. A mouth, shadowed but still visible in the darkness of the highest room, twisted into a smile full of. . . something. Something touched those thin lips, so slight it could only be seen and not deciphered. Despite this, the smile was still soft, the lines about the mouth noble.
***
It was surprise more than pain that brought Inuyasha down. The dull 'thunk' of the heavy rock against his skull startled him so much that he stumbled and tripped, sprawling in the dew-dampened grass of the shaded clearing. The small boy slowly sat up, the throbbing in his head only irritating him further. The rock had crushed one of his ears and it lay limp, tattered and bleeding. Inuyasha ignored the blood slowly making its way down the side of his face, baring his teeth and daring his pursuers to come closer.
"Well, well, well, what have we here. . ." the large orange one-eyed demon Duyanrou ran a hand through his tangled black mane that tumbled to the ground, encrusted with some bizarre greenish substance that Inuyasha preferred not to know, "Pathetic little half-human weakling, couldn't even take a rock."
"Go away and leave me alone!" Inuyasha shouted, his ears flattening as he tried to get to his feet before they were on top of him. Unfortunately, he kept slipping on the wet grass.
Duyanrou pushed his broad face up to Inuyasha's smaller one, smirking as the little one cringed away, both hands clamped over his sensitive nose, overwhelmed by the horrible smell blasting him with every breath from the pudgy older demon. Duyanrou gave a sinister laugh and pushed Inuyasha sprawling.
With a growl, Inuyasha righted himself to a low, coiled crouch. The hand on his sword tightened its grip in sheer desperation. There was no other way out of this. "You'll pay for that!"
Another demon stepped forward, the many-headed snake demon Seiyakuu, all of his heads' icy pale blue eyes widening and every one of the horned snouts opening in their eagerness, showing terrifying fangs that jutted outward in a very unnerving way. Venom pearled at their tips, black and deadly.
"How dare you talk back like that, you- SSSSssss!!" his fury trailed off into incoherent hissing. Inuyasha backed away almost imperceptibly as those heads came closer and closer.
Having regained himself, Seiyakuu smiled, a fairly disturbing sight in itself, "Poor little Inuyassssshaaa, runt of the litter. But an unfit wielder such ass you sssssstealing the Tetsssussaiga from our comrade Lord Sssesshomaru iss sssomessing that we CANNOT forgive." The dead finality of tone only those flat, sibilant serpent's voices could give sent a chill down Inuyasha's spine.
The dog-demon refused to be intimidated, however. He'd known this would happen. Inuyasha's older brother had always had his greedy coveting gaze on the Tetsusaiga ever since the two heirlooms had been given them by their father. Things had come to a head this morning, when Inuyasha had been trying to practice with the Tetsusaiga and had accidentally nicked one of Seiyakuu's flailing heads. Inuyasha snorted in disgust; how was he supposed to know the head would be right there, hissing, in his way? Those damn things popped up everywhere! Seiyakuu really should keep better track of his overload of heads.
Inuyasha also knew why Sesshomaru wanted his sword, though these lowly creatures that called themselves Sesshoumaru's friends did not. The Tensaiga could not cut; it could only heal, drawing from the power of the kindness in the wielder's heart. Such a weapon could not have had a more mismatched master than his brother Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru the power seeker.
"Steal the Tetsusaiga?!" Inuyasha spat in Seiyakuu's face, "You know as well as I do that it was my father the King's will that the Tetsusaiga belong to ME!!" With that fiery outburst the silver-haired boy drew forth his sword.
Even dull, the Tetsusaiga might well have inflicted considerable damage to Seiyakuu at such close range, but with unnatural speed, all the heads shot forward. Inuyasha let out a strangled howl as innumerable poisonous fangs sank into his sword arm. The Tetsusaiga clattered to the ground.
Seiyakuu pulled away his heads one by one, wrenching the fangs from Inuyasha's flesh and taking pleasure in prolonging the young demon's torment. Once he'd finished, the cruel pale eyes widened with glee as he stepped away, easily evading Inuyasha's rapidly weakening attempts to swipe at him with his pathetic excuses for claws. The snake-demon chuckled softly as Inuyasha finally collapsed in the grass, trembling fiercely and clutching his wounded arm in agony. Blood spread in a pool about the young demon, tainted with black venom.
"Finissssh him," Seiyakuu told the two who'd stayed back till now, the fire demon Firoma and the demoness Ryushaki, pale slender violet form swathed in a long twist of aqua hair and flowing storm-purple robes.
Desperately, Inuyasha tried to reach for his sword, lying on the ground somewhere beside his head. Normal venom would not have affected him much; he could have fought for days without antidote. Seiyakuu's venom, however. . . Black splotches swam in Inuyasha's vision and flames licked up his arm, while the rest of him seemed to have frozen, colder than ice. Sharp pains lanced up the sides of his skull, threatening to split his mind in half.
'Damn it! That bastard.' the sharp golden eyes dulled as Inuyasha's mind swam in agony.
It wasn't over yet for the little half-demon, however. A red-hot mass suddenly slammed into him, sending his small body flying through the air to crash against a tree. Blood spattered everywhere. The boy screamed as massive needles pierced the ice of his body. Firoma's booming laugh of triumph worsened the horrible pounding in his head.
As Firoma and Ryushaki, and Duyanrou, who'd joined them at some point, continued to beat him to his death, Inuyasha felt the empty void of unconsciousness creeping up on his senses. Then he realized he couldn't breathe.
Inuyasha panicked and half-opened his tightly shut eyes to find that Ryushaki was crushing him mercilessly against the forest floor with her already quite considerable powers.
He quickly closed them again as the pain behind them became unbearable. 'I guess that's it, then. I'm finished.'
Just then two things happened at once. The pressure of Ryushaki's magic ceased, and Inuyasha's groping hand found the hilt of the Tetsusaiga. The pulsing heat of the sword suddenly touched his fingertips, warming him just a trifle. He found that he had the strength to prop himself up on the Tetsusaiga. Inuyasha's vision cleared and he blinked.
'What the. . .?! Sesshomaru!' Indeed, his older brother stood at the edge of the blood-smeared clearing, gazing dispassionately at the four demons that had immediately all fallen still in his presence.
"L-Lord Ssssessshomaru!" it was rare to see all of Seiyakuu's heads stutter, "W-we were ssimply having s-sssome fun with your brother!"
Inuyasha dug his fangs into his lips, feeling warm blood slide down his chin from the corner of his mouth, as Sesshomaru's gaze swept briefly over his broken form. The lazy yellow gaze sharpened and his brother's eyes were narrowed as they returned to the demons. Faint crinkles of distaste lined Sesshomaru's nose. Inuyasha wondered at this, then decided he must be imagining things.
There was a brief, very uncomfortable silence, in which the lesser demons squirmed beneath Sesshomaru's mocking gaze.
"Really, now?" Sesshomaru smirked, "Without me?"
Inuyasha felt the last of his strength drain away at this, and he slumped further against the Tetsusaiga that was already sinking deeply into the soft ground. If his brother joined them, then there was no hope left for him. Not only was Sesshomaru the oldest out of all of them, but his powers had already grown to rival those of the king himself.
Seiyakuu also knew this. The others drew behind him as he replied hastily, "No, of courssssse not, Lord Sssssssesssshomaru. In fact, we were sss- ssaving the final blow for you!"
"Hmmm. . ." Sesshomaru walked forward, the other demons giving him a wide berth as he made his way to Inuyasha, who looked small and forlorn, his robes torn and his bright silvery hair a mess of blood.
Inuyasha shrank away as his brother knelt before him. Sesshomaru chuckled softly as the great honey-drop eyes shied away. An odd grimace of a smile touched the demon child's lips.
"Now, now, little brother," he chided gently, the smile still etched on his face, his bangs shadowing his eyes, "There is no reason to fear me, now, IS THERE!!" Sesshomaru's voice rose in a hunting wolf's cry of death as he rose to his feet and loosed the Tensaiga on his helpless brother in a single swift motion. A blinding flash of rose light forced the other demons to throw up their arms to shield themselves from the sheer brilliance. In the light the echoes of Sesshomaru's cry and Inuyasha's yell of pain wove themselves together.
When the light had faded, the scene that met Seiyakuu, Duyanrou, Firoma, and Ryushaki was thus: Sesshomaru stood over the limp form of his younger brother Inuyasha, so very little and still, shrouded in the grass, the Tensaiga back in its sheath at the demon boy's back. A long tear ran from Inuyasha's left shoulder to the right side of his waist, blood welling through the lavender cloth of his robes. A cheer rose from the four demons.
"Well, done, Sssssesshomaru, my friend!" Seiyakuu congratulated, scurrying forward and bowing as the silver-haired demon child turned from his brother's body, surreptitiously licking his claws clean.
"How shall we, hmm, 'dispose' of the body?" Firoma inquired, eager to make use of his fiery powers in the gruesome task as he'd done so many times before.
Sesshomaru spared a glance back at the scarlet-stained spread of lavender, and his voice was wintry, "There is no need to waste any more of our time on this brat. He is finished. We will leave him here and return to my father's castle. Little Inuyasha will be. . . lost. We never found him, though we searched for a long time." A shadow of a smile finally lifted the hard lips and Sesshomaru's cold golden eyes rose swiftly, noting the assent on the face of each demon. Firoma bowed and retreated to stand among the others.
"Of courssse, you are right ass ussssssssual, Lord Ssessshomaru," Seiyakuu agreed gleefully, "The little half-human fool deservess not the honor of anyssssing more than having hisss eyesssss ripped out by crowssss, and his carcasss ripe wisss maggotss." Ryushaki's delicate features contorted with disgust; she always had been a bit. . . touchy about such matters. Seiyakuu delighted in drawing such reactions from her, and the snake heads chuckled, a strange grating sound burbling from the countless sinewy throats.
Unfazed now, the storm-summoning demoness sidled up to Sesshomaru with all her sleek grace, supple form melting against him. She didn't seem to notice that Sesshomaru recoiled slightly at her touch. Her hair and robes, and especially her hands, with long, wicked curving nails, were still thickly drenched in Inuyasha's blood.
"Then shall we head back to the palace, and 'celebrate', my Lord?" her deep purr rumbled into the long silver hair. Sesshomaru drew away from her, hands clenching and unclenching and eyes dark with warning, but she followed, her long hair clinging to him like ivy sprays. Always her hands sought an opening in his robes, and each time they explored a little deeper, a little more thoroughly, and Sesshomaru's talons were inching steadily towards her heart. . .
In a bizarre twist of fate, it was Duyanrou who saved Sesshomaru from the demoness who was far ahead of her age.
The orange hulk laughed obtusely, reaching out a hand and grabbing one of Ryushaki's slender arms, his bulky fist completely enclosing the pale limb, "While you're at it, Ryu-Ryu, gimme some too." A lecherous grin parted his fat lips, single great eye bulging with lust that would have been infinitely more disturbing in a normal child, as Duyanrou tried to pull the lovely demoness to him.
"WHY YOU-!!!!" Ryushaki screeched in pure rage, purple-feathered wings sprouting from her back as she tore free of Duyanrou's strong grip.
Heavy black clouds rolled over the sun; lightning seared the thick charged air, crackling with Ryushaki's anger as she rose high into the air, wings and arms spread wide and wire-taut. Duyanrou crashed into the forest, thick arms held protectively over his head as lightning thundered all around him. Ryushaki gave chase, and Sesshomaru and Seiyakuu watched as the storm followed until the sun shone again, and Ryushaki's fury was but a speck in the distance. Firoma was long gone, happily annihilating what little of the forest Ryushaki had not destroyed.
Seiyakuu turned back to Sesshomaru, about to suggest they head back, but something in the look on his lord's face made the words die on his lips. He paused in a moment's hesitation, then abruptly made a swift about-face. The snake demon went after the others without a word, soon vanishing into the distance along the wide swathe of smoking, crushed devastation Ryushaki's lightning, Duyanrou's flight, and finally Firoma's childish tricks of flame had cut through the forest.
***
Sesshomaru kept his eyes on the empty horizon for a moment, that seemingly lazy golden gaze missing nothing. The sky slowly darkened to a deep orange, veils of red draped over the endless expanse of gold-twisted shadows. Tiny clouds, fleecy-thin, floating on slips of abyss-deep shadow, clustered loosely, poised as though they were about to race through the sky and plunge around the blinding ball of fire sinking slowly and majestically from the edge of the world, its last and most splendid light flowing across the horizon and casting the landscape part in light, part in shadow. The play of light and shadow never ended. In a few moments the sun would be gone and the moon would rise, and it would all begin anew in the cold silver light, in the courtyard of mysterious night.
A faint groan behind the demon child dashed the dreams from the golden eyes, turned them reluctantly from the endless world back into the present, the here, the now. Sesshomaru turned to see his brother Inuyasha's eyes fluttering open groggily, and watched the young half-demon prop himself up on his elbows, gazing around in dazed confusion. Blood still trickled from the long cut across his chest. Sesshomaru stood motionless, unnaturally tall against the sunset, and waited.
Inuyasha blinked, 'I'm alive?' He looked down over himself in awe. Other than all the cuts and bruises and wounds inflicted by the four demons, which were rapidly healing, somehow even faster than normal, and the new long cut from Sesshomaru, he was entirely intact. And. . .
Inuyasha shook his head in wonder. It was clear, the flames, the ice, the encroaching darkness, the slow death he'd felt advancing inexorably through his veins, all gone. The deadly demon venom had vanished from his body as though it had never been there. But how was that possible?!
The round honey-drop eyes traveled from himself to the Tetsusaiga, still planted in the ground a few feet away. Then they found a long shadow, and rose, completely unexpectedly, to meet the gaze of his brother Sesshomaru. Inuyasha started. But before he could get up and go for the Tetsusaiga, before he could even move, Sesshomaru had stepped forward, a faint smirk at his lips.
"Feeling better?" his voice was soft, tinged with amusement. Inuyasha found himself bewildered, completely taken off guard by the variety of surprises that had exploded into his young world today. He barely noticed the traces of blood - his blood - speckling his older brother's robes and claws. His mind whirled with disbelief. What in the world was this? Why was Sesshomaru still here, when the others had left? Inuyasha looked around, pricking his ears, to make sure they were all gone. They were. Not even a trace of their various magics or odors still remained in the cooling twilight.
Slowly, inevitably, Inuyasha's eyes gravitated back up to meet his brother's. And the young half-demon found himself marveling yet again, at how Sesshomaru was looking at him, really him, the golden eyes set carelessly and yet firmly on his own, instead of looking through him as though he weren't there, or, most infuriatingly, over his head as if he were too low to be noticed. And there was no malice in those eyes. There never had been, but Inuyasha had always detected a subtle something, an aura, perhaps, something not quite right with his demon brother. But now that trace of unsettling feeling was gone, and there was only Sesshomaru, his brother, before him, another being just like him, alive, feeling, and looking at him with no coldness in the lazy golden eyes, almost warmth, almost, like moonlight in a soft balmy breeze.
"Why'd you spare me?" Inuyasha wanted to know, his voice quiet, bemusement in every word. Sesshomaru's gaze never wavered, but his lips were pressed tight, his face hard, unwilling to reply.
Inuyasha bit his lip, wincing as more blood dripped from his chin. He didn't remember much after Sesshomaru had unsheathed the Tensaiga. Come to think of it, why had his brother made to use the Tensaiga at all, when they both knew perfectly well that it couldn't even cut, let alone kill? Why then had Sesshomaru chosen it for his final blow? Unless. . . Inuyasha opened his eyes wide. It couldn't be. This was the brother who had hated him for being different, who'd sided with the others every time to torment him in their twisted games. This was Sesshomaru, black-hearted in every respect, who'd probably stayed behind to finish him off in his own sadistic joy.
It was then that cold reality entered the scene, and Inuyasha's stomach tied itself into a knot. He was immediately on his guard, narrowing his eyes and baring his teeth, backing away from his brother as he sought unsteadily to stand.
"What do you want?" Inuyasha demanded, fearing to know the answer, but keeping up his brave façade all the same. Sesshomaru said nothing, just stood there, the wind tossing his long silver hair, his face shadowed by the last rays of sunlight and his eyes fixed steadily on his brother's. Inuyasha was starting to find that quiet, direct gaze rather unnerving.
Just then he remembered the Tetsusaiga, still in the ground where he'd left it. Inuyasha silently cursed himself for his carelessness. Without giving himself time for hesitation he leaped forward and pounced protectively on the sword, desperately trying to tug from the ground the long sword that was practically taller than he was. Finally Inuyasha swept around with the sword clenched in his hands, a fierce growl rising in his throat as his one good ear flattened into his hair. He vaguely registered that though the sword seemed to be larger and keener and 'glowing' brightly even in the fading light, it was lighter than it had been. Inuyasha didn't take the time to wonder at this. He had other things on his mind.
But before he had time to do anything whatsoever, Sesshomaru had turned away.
"Go now."
"What?" confused, Inuyasha lowered the Tetsusaiga slightly. He immediately raised it again, however, tensing as Sesshomaru turned back slightly, his face completely bathed in shadow and half veiled by the curtain of silver hair, the only hint of his eyes a faint golden glint. The pelt on his shoulder fluttered behind him like a banner.
Sesshomaru didn't reply, only looked for a long moment at the little half- demon toting the sword twice his size with a queer little smile on his lips. And then this time he truly turned his back on his brother for the last time, and strode away without a backward glance.
His last words trailed behind him on the wind, so soft Inuyasha was certain he'd misheard, "Goodbye, little brother."
The Tetsusaiga dropped to Inuyasha's side as he gazed after the rapidly dwindling figure of his older brother. He wanted to run after Sesshomaru, demand to know what the hell was going on, why he was just leaving him like this. But he didn't. Instead, he simply stood there, silently watching the demon child fade away into the distance.
Inuyasha shook his head, silver tresses scattering over his shoulders every which way, pointed ears twitching. The young half-demon knew what he had to do.
Returning the Tetsusaiga to its sheath on his back, Inuyasha turned and strode off into the forest, his wiry frame silhouetted small and slender against the moonrise.
***
Only the piercing golden eyes had witnessed the brothers' parting of ways. The smile had faded to a sad wisp of a memory.
"Perhaps he was truly meant to wield the Tensaiga, after all. . ."
***
A/N: That's it then! To all those of you out there ready to kill me now, yes, I KNOW everyone in this is probably OOC, and it is probably COMPLETELY out of sync with the storyline of the show, but this is set when Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were very young, in case you didn't notice. They had to be a LITTLE bit different. And if you're THAT bothered about the storyline consider it AU or whatever you want. Please review and tell me what you think!! If you don't like it, too bad. I don't care unless you've got some constructive criticism for me. That kind of thing I appreciate. Flame all you want. It'll just spread your own bad name. And warm my feet and fingers. Gods it's cold over here. Ciao!
Punctuation: ' ' - Thoughts or Italics (for emphasis)
***
Goodbye, Little Brother
***
The forest surrounding the palace was thick and peaceful, the trees lush with deep green leaves that whispered in the soft breeze. Sunlight shafted through the canopy and cast its golden glow here and there, its radiance illuminating the tree trunks and forest floor and the flurries of dust motes that floated in the air.
The quiet was broken by a loud rustling and snapping, crashes in the underbrush, and a few muffled bellows and roars sounded along with the quick patter of small, nimble feet.
"Get him!"
"Wretched halfling!"
"Come back here, puny pup!"
"Not on your life!" Inuyasha called over his shoulder, what he had meant to be a snarl coming out as a shrill yelp. He clenched his clawed fist, the beginnings of deadly talons only slightly sharp nubs on his fingers. Now they would know he was afraid.
The dog demon heard scornful laughter behind him, and his pointy white ears flattened against his shoulder-length silvery mane. Inuyasha wanted so much to turn and face them, draw out the Tetsusaiga and make them pay. But he had no idea how to use the legendary sword; as far as he knew it was just a useless piece of thin, dull steel, no more effective than a stick for fending off enemies. Not to mention that it was so long he couldn't carry it at his side without it dragging along the floor and hampering his speed. He carried it now on his shoulders, the long sheath braced against his back, one hand clenched at the top of the hilt securing both sword and sheath.
Inuyasha shook his head as he ran, mentally tallying the odds. They were not good. There was no way one little half-demon could take on four full demons, all slightly more than half-grown, all their special abilities and natural weaponry already fairly developed while his were only beginning to emerge. Still, if he were caught, he would have no other choice than to fight to the death. For his pursuers would show no mercy this time, not even for the king's youngest son, and the youngling refused to even consider surrender of any kind, especially since he hadn't done any of the things they'd accused him of doing. Inuyasha suddenly felt a swift, sharp ache in his throat followed by a strange twinge in his eyes, and his vision became blurry. It just wasn't fair! It was always his fault, it was always him! Why couldn't they just leave him be? He'd never done anything to them. . . unless you counted the times when they'd provoked him or forced him to retaliate in order to defend himself. Inuyasha growled at himself and shook off the unfamiliar feeling.
Still, he ran a little faster, becoming a mere blur of silver and lavender as he streaked through the forest.
***
"Little fool. . ." Lazy golden eyes peered out through fine silver bangs at the scene playing out below.
The boy at the window shifted, and the fur of the thick cream-colored pelt cascading over his right shoulder rippled, glossy hairs catching the light. Crimson slashed in twin markings, in stark contrast to his pale cheeks. One clawed hand, this one sporting shredding weapons long and dangerous, rested on the smooth wooden windowsill. The other brushed, ever so lightly, the hilt of the long sword strapped to his back, of which the tip nearly swept the ground. It was a languid gesture, but one full of meaning and true menace. Each of his movements was colored with a quiet, flowing grace, precise and deliberate. As a result, he seemed to move very little, when in truth he simply never wasted a movement, unlike his foolish, hotheaded younger brother. He seemed to still for a moment, as though in thought, fair, elegant face tilted to one side so that his long bangs fell aside to reveal the dark crescent moon on his forehead.
Finally the watcher gave a soft sound that was part chuckle, part sigh, "Well, then. . ."
With that, he vaulted from the window, long silver hair streaming as he dove through the air like a falcon closing in on its prey. A smooth landing brought him lightly to the ground among the rosebushes at the base of the tower, in a crouch, hair falling like a curtain about his shoulders. Without wasting any more time, young Sesshomaru vanished into the forest.
He was unaware of a piercing golden gaze, so much like those of the two young brothers, following his and Inuyasha's every move. A mouth, shadowed but still visible in the darkness of the highest room, twisted into a smile full of. . . something. Something touched those thin lips, so slight it could only be seen and not deciphered. Despite this, the smile was still soft, the lines about the mouth noble.
***
It was surprise more than pain that brought Inuyasha down. The dull 'thunk' of the heavy rock against his skull startled him so much that he stumbled and tripped, sprawling in the dew-dampened grass of the shaded clearing. The small boy slowly sat up, the throbbing in his head only irritating him further. The rock had crushed one of his ears and it lay limp, tattered and bleeding. Inuyasha ignored the blood slowly making its way down the side of his face, baring his teeth and daring his pursuers to come closer.
"Well, well, well, what have we here. . ." the large orange one-eyed demon Duyanrou ran a hand through his tangled black mane that tumbled to the ground, encrusted with some bizarre greenish substance that Inuyasha preferred not to know, "Pathetic little half-human weakling, couldn't even take a rock."
"Go away and leave me alone!" Inuyasha shouted, his ears flattening as he tried to get to his feet before they were on top of him. Unfortunately, he kept slipping on the wet grass.
Duyanrou pushed his broad face up to Inuyasha's smaller one, smirking as the little one cringed away, both hands clamped over his sensitive nose, overwhelmed by the horrible smell blasting him with every breath from the pudgy older demon. Duyanrou gave a sinister laugh and pushed Inuyasha sprawling.
With a growl, Inuyasha righted himself to a low, coiled crouch. The hand on his sword tightened its grip in sheer desperation. There was no other way out of this. "You'll pay for that!"
Another demon stepped forward, the many-headed snake demon Seiyakuu, all of his heads' icy pale blue eyes widening and every one of the horned snouts opening in their eagerness, showing terrifying fangs that jutted outward in a very unnerving way. Venom pearled at their tips, black and deadly.
"How dare you talk back like that, you- SSSSssss!!" his fury trailed off into incoherent hissing. Inuyasha backed away almost imperceptibly as those heads came closer and closer.
Having regained himself, Seiyakuu smiled, a fairly disturbing sight in itself, "Poor little Inuyassssshaaa, runt of the litter. But an unfit wielder such ass you sssssstealing the Tetsssussaiga from our comrade Lord Sssesshomaru iss sssomessing that we CANNOT forgive." The dead finality of tone only those flat, sibilant serpent's voices could give sent a chill down Inuyasha's spine.
The dog-demon refused to be intimidated, however. He'd known this would happen. Inuyasha's older brother had always had his greedy coveting gaze on the Tetsusaiga ever since the two heirlooms had been given them by their father. Things had come to a head this morning, when Inuyasha had been trying to practice with the Tetsusaiga and had accidentally nicked one of Seiyakuu's flailing heads. Inuyasha snorted in disgust; how was he supposed to know the head would be right there, hissing, in his way? Those damn things popped up everywhere! Seiyakuu really should keep better track of his overload of heads.
Inuyasha also knew why Sesshomaru wanted his sword, though these lowly creatures that called themselves Sesshoumaru's friends did not. The Tensaiga could not cut; it could only heal, drawing from the power of the kindness in the wielder's heart. Such a weapon could not have had a more mismatched master than his brother Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru the power seeker.
"Steal the Tetsusaiga?!" Inuyasha spat in Seiyakuu's face, "You know as well as I do that it was my father the King's will that the Tetsusaiga belong to ME!!" With that fiery outburst the silver-haired boy drew forth his sword.
Even dull, the Tetsusaiga might well have inflicted considerable damage to Seiyakuu at such close range, but with unnatural speed, all the heads shot forward. Inuyasha let out a strangled howl as innumerable poisonous fangs sank into his sword arm. The Tetsusaiga clattered to the ground.
Seiyakuu pulled away his heads one by one, wrenching the fangs from Inuyasha's flesh and taking pleasure in prolonging the young demon's torment. Once he'd finished, the cruel pale eyes widened with glee as he stepped away, easily evading Inuyasha's rapidly weakening attempts to swipe at him with his pathetic excuses for claws. The snake-demon chuckled softly as Inuyasha finally collapsed in the grass, trembling fiercely and clutching his wounded arm in agony. Blood spread in a pool about the young demon, tainted with black venom.
"Finissssh him," Seiyakuu told the two who'd stayed back till now, the fire demon Firoma and the demoness Ryushaki, pale slender violet form swathed in a long twist of aqua hair and flowing storm-purple robes.
Desperately, Inuyasha tried to reach for his sword, lying on the ground somewhere beside his head. Normal venom would not have affected him much; he could have fought for days without antidote. Seiyakuu's venom, however. . . Black splotches swam in Inuyasha's vision and flames licked up his arm, while the rest of him seemed to have frozen, colder than ice. Sharp pains lanced up the sides of his skull, threatening to split his mind in half.
'Damn it! That bastard.' the sharp golden eyes dulled as Inuyasha's mind swam in agony.
It wasn't over yet for the little half-demon, however. A red-hot mass suddenly slammed into him, sending his small body flying through the air to crash against a tree. Blood spattered everywhere. The boy screamed as massive needles pierced the ice of his body. Firoma's booming laugh of triumph worsened the horrible pounding in his head.
As Firoma and Ryushaki, and Duyanrou, who'd joined them at some point, continued to beat him to his death, Inuyasha felt the empty void of unconsciousness creeping up on his senses. Then he realized he couldn't breathe.
Inuyasha panicked and half-opened his tightly shut eyes to find that Ryushaki was crushing him mercilessly against the forest floor with her already quite considerable powers.
He quickly closed them again as the pain behind them became unbearable. 'I guess that's it, then. I'm finished.'
Just then two things happened at once. The pressure of Ryushaki's magic ceased, and Inuyasha's groping hand found the hilt of the Tetsusaiga. The pulsing heat of the sword suddenly touched his fingertips, warming him just a trifle. He found that he had the strength to prop himself up on the Tetsusaiga. Inuyasha's vision cleared and he blinked.
'What the. . .?! Sesshomaru!' Indeed, his older brother stood at the edge of the blood-smeared clearing, gazing dispassionately at the four demons that had immediately all fallen still in his presence.
"L-Lord Ssssessshomaru!" it was rare to see all of Seiyakuu's heads stutter, "W-we were ssimply having s-sssome fun with your brother!"
Inuyasha dug his fangs into his lips, feeling warm blood slide down his chin from the corner of his mouth, as Sesshomaru's gaze swept briefly over his broken form. The lazy yellow gaze sharpened and his brother's eyes were narrowed as they returned to the demons. Faint crinkles of distaste lined Sesshomaru's nose. Inuyasha wondered at this, then decided he must be imagining things.
There was a brief, very uncomfortable silence, in which the lesser demons squirmed beneath Sesshomaru's mocking gaze.
"Really, now?" Sesshomaru smirked, "Without me?"
Inuyasha felt the last of his strength drain away at this, and he slumped further against the Tetsusaiga that was already sinking deeply into the soft ground. If his brother joined them, then there was no hope left for him. Not only was Sesshomaru the oldest out of all of them, but his powers had already grown to rival those of the king himself.
Seiyakuu also knew this. The others drew behind him as he replied hastily, "No, of courssssse not, Lord Sssssssesssshomaru. In fact, we were sss- ssaving the final blow for you!"
"Hmmm. . ." Sesshomaru walked forward, the other demons giving him a wide berth as he made his way to Inuyasha, who looked small and forlorn, his robes torn and his bright silvery hair a mess of blood.
Inuyasha shrank away as his brother knelt before him. Sesshomaru chuckled softly as the great honey-drop eyes shied away. An odd grimace of a smile touched the demon child's lips.
"Now, now, little brother," he chided gently, the smile still etched on his face, his bangs shadowing his eyes, "There is no reason to fear me, now, IS THERE!!" Sesshomaru's voice rose in a hunting wolf's cry of death as he rose to his feet and loosed the Tensaiga on his helpless brother in a single swift motion. A blinding flash of rose light forced the other demons to throw up their arms to shield themselves from the sheer brilliance. In the light the echoes of Sesshomaru's cry and Inuyasha's yell of pain wove themselves together.
When the light had faded, the scene that met Seiyakuu, Duyanrou, Firoma, and Ryushaki was thus: Sesshomaru stood over the limp form of his younger brother Inuyasha, so very little and still, shrouded in the grass, the Tensaiga back in its sheath at the demon boy's back. A long tear ran from Inuyasha's left shoulder to the right side of his waist, blood welling through the lavender cloth of his robes. A cheer rose from the four demons.
"Well, done, Sssssesshomaru, my friend!" Seiyakuu congratulated, scurrying forward and bowing as the silver-haired demon child turned from his brother's body, surreptitiously licking his claws clean.
"How shall we, hmm, 'dispose' of the body?" Firoma inquired, eager to make use of his fiery powers in the gruesome task as he'd done so many times before.
Sesshomaru spared a glance back at the scarlet-stained spread of lavender, and his voice was wintry, "There is no need to waste any more of our time on this brat. He is finished. We will leave him here and return to my father's castle. Little Inuyasha will be. . . lost. We never found him, though we searched for a long time." A shadow of a smile finally lifted the hard lips and Sesshomaru's cold golden eyes rose swiftly, noting the assent on the face of each demon. Firoma bowed and retreated to stand among the others.
"Of courssse, you are right ass ussssssssual, Lord Ssessshomaru," Seiyakuu agreed gleefully, "The little half-human fool deservess not the honor of anyssssing more than having hisss eyesssss ripped out by crowssss, and his carcasss ripe wisss maggotss." Ryushaki's delicate features contorted with disgust; she always had been a bit. . . touchy about such matters. Seiyakuu delighted in drawing such reactions from her, and the snake heads chuckled, a strange grating sound burbling from the countless sinewy throats.
Unfazed now, the storm-summoning demoness sidled up to Sesshomaru with all her sleek grace, supple form melting against him. She didn't seem to notice that Sesshomaru recoiled slightly at her touch. Her hair and robes, and especially her hands, with long, wicked curving nails, were still thickly drenched in Inuyasha's blood.
"Then shall we head back to the palace, and 'celebrate', my Lord?" her deep purr rumbled into the long silver hair. Sesshomaru drew away from her, hands clenching and unclenching and eyes dark with warning, but she followed, her long hair clinging to him like ivy sprays. Always her hands sought an opening in his robes, and each time they explored a little deeper, a little more thoroughly, and Sesshomaru's talons were inching steadily towards her heart. . .
In a bizarre twist of fate, it was Duyanrou who saved Sesshomaru from the demoness who was far ahead of her age.
The orange hulk laughed obtusely, reaching out a hand and grabbing one of Ryushaki's slender arms, his bulky fist completely enclosing the pale limb, "While you're at it, Ryu-Ryu, gimme some too." A lecherous grin parted his fat lips, single great eye bulging with lust that would have been infinitely more disturbing in a normal child, as Duyanrou tried to pull the lovely demoness to him.
"WHY YOU-!!!!" Ryushaki screeched in pure rage, purple-feathered wings sprouting from her back as she tore free of Duyanrou's strong grip.
Heavy black clouds rolled over the sun; lightning seared the thick charged air, crackling with Ryushaki's anger as she rose high into the air, wings and arms spread wide and wire-taut. Duyanrou crashed into the forest, thick arms held protectively over his head as lightning thundered all around him. Ryushaki gave chase, and Sesshomaru and Seiyakuu watched as the storm followed until the sun shone again, and Ryushaki's fury was but a speck in the distance. Firoma was long gone, happily annihilating what little of the forest Ryushaki had not destroyed.
Seiyakuu turned back to Sesshomaru, about to suggest they head back, but something in the look on his lord's face made the words die on his lips. He paused in a moment's hesitation, then abruptly made a swift about-face. The snake demon went after the others without a word, soon vanishing into the distance along the wide swathe of smoking, crushed devastation Ryushaki's lightning, Duyanrou's flight, and finally Firoma's childish tricks of flame had cut through the forest.
***
Sesshomaru kept his eyes on the empty horizon for a moment, that seemingly lazy golden gaze missing nothing. The sky slowly darkened to a deep orange, veils of red draped over the endless expanse of gold-twisted shadows. Tiny clouds, fleecy-thin, floating on slips of abyss-deep shadow, clustered loosely, poised as though they were about to race through the sky and plunge around the blinding ball of fire sinking slowly and majestically from the edge of the world, its last and most splendid light flowing across the horizon and casting the landscape part in light, part in shadow. The play of light and shadow never ended. In a few moments the sun would be gone and the moon would rise, and it would all begin anew in the cold silver light, in the courtyard of mysterious night.
A faint groan behind the demon child dashed the dreams from the golden eyes, turned them reluctantly from the endless world back into the present, the here, the now. Sesshomaru turned to see his brother Inuyasha's eyes fluttering open groggily, and watched the young half-demon prop himself up on his elbows, gazing around in dazed confusion. Blood still trickled from the long cut across his chest. Sesshomaru stood motionless, unnaturally tall against the sunset, and waited.
Inuyasha blinked, 'I'm alive?' He looked down over himself in awe. Other than all the cuts and bruises and wounds inflicted by the four demons, which were rapidly healing, somehow even faster than normal, and the new long cut from Sesshomaru, he was entirely intact. And. . .
Inuyasha shook his head in wonder. It was clear, the flames, the ice, the encroaching darkness, the slow death he'd felt advancing inexorably through his veins, all gone. The deadly demon venom had vanished from his body as though it had never been there. But how was that possible?!
The round honey-drop eyes traveled from himself to the Tetsusaiga, still planted in the ground a few feet away. Then they found a long shadow, and rose, completely unexpectedly, to meet the gaze of his brother Sesshomaru. Inuyasha started. But before he could get up and go for the Tetsusaiga, before he could even move, Sesshomaru had stepped forward, a faint smirk at his lips.
"Feeling better?" his voice was soft, tinged with amusement. Inuyasha found himself bewildered, completely taken off guard by the variety of surprises that had exploded into his young world today. He barely noticed the traces of blood - his blood - speckling his older brother's robes and claws. His mind whirled with disbelief. What in the world was this? Why was Sesshomaru still here, when the others had left? Inuyasha looked around, pricking his ears, to make sure they were all gone. They were. Not even a trace of their various magics or odors still remained in the cooling twilight.
Slowly, inevitably, Inuyasha's eyes gravitated back up to meet his brother's. And the young half-demon found himself marveling yet again, at how Sesshomaru was looking at him, really him, the golden eyes set carelessly and yet firmly on his own, instead of looking through him as though he weren't there, or, most infuriatingly, over his head as if he were too low to be noticed. And there was no malice in those eyes. There never had been, but Inuyasha had always detected a subtle something, an aura, perhaps, something not quite right with his demon brother. But now that trace of unsettling feeling was gone, and there was only Sesshomaru, his brother, before him, another being just like him, alive, feeling, and looking at him with no coldness in the lazy golden eyes, almost warmth, almost, like moonlight in a soft balmy breeze.
"Why'd you spare me?" Inuyasha wanted to know, his voice quiet, bemusement in every word. Sesshomaru's gaze never wavered, but his lips were pressed tight, his face hard, unwilling to reply.
Inuyasha bit his lip, wincing as more blood dripped from his chin. He didn't remember much after Sesshomaru had unsheathed the Tensaiga. Come to think of it, why had his brother made to use the Tensaiga at all, when they both knew perfectly well that it couldn't even cut, let alone kill? Why then had Sesshomaru chosen it for his final blow? Unless. . . Inuyasha opened his eyes wide. It couldn't be. This was the brother who had hated him for being different, who'd sided with the others every time to torment him in their twisted games. This was Sesshomaru, black-hearted in every respect, who'd probably stayed behind to finish him off in his own sadistic joy.
It was then that cold reality entered the scene, and Inuyasha's stomach tied itself into a knot. He was immediately on his guard, narrowing his eyes and baring his teeth, backing away from his brother as he sought unsteadily to stand.
"What do you want?" Inuyasha demanded, fearing to know the answer, but keeping up his brave façade all the same. Sesshomaru said nothing, just stood there, the wind tossing his long silver hair, his face shadowed by the last rays of sunlight and his eyes fixed steadily on his brother's. Inuyasha was starting to find that quiet, direct gaze rather unnerving.
Just then he remembered the Tetsusaiga, still in the ground where he'd left it. Inuyasha silently cursed himself for his carelessness. Without giving himself time for hesitation he leaped forward and pounced protectively on the sword, desperately trying to tug from the ground the long sword that was practically taller than he was. Finally Inuyasha swept around with the sword clenched in his hands, a fierce growl rising in his throat as his one good ear flattened into his hair. He vaguely registered that though the sword seemed to be larger and keener and 'glowing' brightly even in the fading light, it was lighter than it had been. Inuyasha didn't take the time to wonder at this. He had other things on his mind.
But before he had time to do anything whatsoever, Sesshomaru had turned away.
"Go now."
"What?" confused, Inuyasha lowered the Tetsusaiga slightly. He immediately raised it again, however, tensing as Sesshomaru turned back slightly, his face completely bathed in shadow and half veiled by the curtain of silver hair, the only hint of his eyes a faint golden glint. The pelt on his shoulder fluttered behind him like a banner.
Sesshomaru didn't reply, only looked for a long moment at the little half- demon toting the sword twice his size with a queer little smile on his lips. And then this time he truly turned his back on his brother for the last time, and strode away without a backward glance.
His last words trailed behind him on the wind, so soft Inuyasha was certain he'd misheard, "Goodbye, little brother."
The Tetsusaiga dropped to Inuyasha's side as he gazed after the rapidly dwindling figure of his older brother. He wanted to run after Sesshomaru, demand to know what the hell was going on, why he was just leaving him like this. But he didn't. Instead, he simply stood there, silently watching the demon child fade away into the distance.
Inuyasha shook his head, silver tresses scattering over his shoulders every which way, pointed ears twitching. The young half-demon knew what he had to do.
Returning the Tetsusaiga to its sheath on his back, Inuyasha turned and strode off into the forest, his wiry frame silhouetted small and slender against the moonrise.
***
Only the piercing golden eyes had witnessed the brothers' parting of ways. The smile had faded to a sad wisp of a memory.
"Perhaps he was truly meant to wield the Tensaiga, after all. . ."
***
A/N: That's it then! To all those of you out there ready to kill me now, yes, I KNOW everyone in this is probably OOC, and it is probably COMPLETELY out of sync with the storyline of the show, but this is set when Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were very young, in case you didn't notice. They had to be a LITTLE bit different. And if you're THAT bothered about the storyline consider it AU or whatever you want. Please review and tell me what you think!! If you don't like it, too bad. I don't care unless you've got some constructive criticism for me. That kind of thing I appreciate. Flame all you want. It'll just spread your own bad name. And warm my feet and fingers. Gods it's cold over here. Ciao!