SURVIVE

Okay – this was tough writing – almost got a block but its NANO so persevered, but it was grueling writing - EVERYTHING was a distraction. Ahh.. sigh! Well do tell what you think – please. Need help so please review for the sake of tired fingers and eyes. *Hugs all reviewers.

Also its a bit later cause Sparkling Snowfall has helped in editting this chapter – or should I say, nagging irritating and whip cracking! She is totally Miroku in female form, as irritating as she is essential. **lobs showball. Your're the best Snowfall – Thanks! :)

Also thanks Fluffy GC for the kind reminder. :)

Read, review and Enjoy

Chapter 10 : Between wakefulness and sleep.

Golden eyes swept the room, zooming in on the covered figure in Jinenji's lap. Sesshoumaru inhaled, and the scent barrier Jinenji had placed around his patient could not hide the Hanyou's true state from a high level dog demon. His eyes narrowed further.

"Why have you risked the health and welfare of my Hanyou in such a way, Jinenji?" Sesshoumaru asked, his voice mild. His the choice of words, however, caused jaws to drop in the room and demons to look at each other in confusion.

"Mmm...my.. Lord, he.. aaaa.. that is... ummm.. you see... Im sorry!" Jinenji started to cry again, not able to look at his Lord. Guilt came off the horse Hanyou in waves.

Manten, his nerves more than a little shaken by the blatant claim of ownership the Lord had made, quickly took the opportunity, "Lord Sesshoumaru, the Hanyou, during your absence, has become dangerous. He hurt his nurse and sent her into a coma for three days. I had to take steps to make sure he hurt no one else. Since then, he has refused to eat, ignoring my pleas for him to eat and communicate. He has been totally uncooperative, my Lord. The breaking of the collar may have destabilized the pathetic creature, my Lord, or mayhap he simply yearns to return to his home, to his true Masters in the Temple of Light. In spite of the treatment Lord Bankotsu witnessed – the Hanyou has for many years been a loyal servant to the Temple of Light. Given his violent reaction to his gentle nurse, mayhap such treatment was actually warranted. Mayhap the pathetic thing, in his own twisted way, enjoyed it."

Manten was foolish, but not a fool. There was not a hint of a lie about his words. In himself he truly believed every word he said. The nurse did not remember the incident. Manten had totally convinced himself that his scenario was the true one. The Hanyou never begged him for food; Manten had twisted that in his own head to mean that the Hanyou was rejecting his kindness. Demons who could sense when a Demon had lied to them, had to take the pretty Demon's word as they could sense that he was not telling them a lie. And, in a way, that was true. The Demon was not lying to them.

He was lying- just- not to them.

Manten successfully lied to only one person – himself. And when there were no other real witnesses, no other being to nay say him, his lie was the most successful.

Bankotsu's eyes flashed red at Manten. He knew his own truth, he knew what he had seen, and Manten's words enraged him. The black dog's Youki rolled off him, his displeasure clear. Manten cringed from the force. Banksen'O placed a hand on the General's arm. The elevated youki had caused Jinenji to cringe as well, and the cloaked figure shuddered silently in pain. Bankotsu immediately yoked his youki. His eyes however, promised retribution to the demon that had even subtly challenged his words.

Lord Sesshoumaru just stood there, silent and still, unreadable to all in the court. It was not Manten's words that held the Demon Lord's attention, rather it was the Horse Hanyou's reaction to the Demon's words that gave Sesshoumaru a pause. For the first time in the three hundred years he had known the healing Hanyou, he had seen a flash of anger in the Horse's eyes. Sesshoumaru would not have believed it possible. That Jinenji actually had the ability to get angry was interesting and a little amusing, so Sesshoumaru had allowed the little speech. Then, the cloaked figure had shivered and Sesshoumaru's amusement evaporated.

Ignoring inconsequential issues, he went to his Hanyou.

Jinenji 'eeped' in surprise as Lord Sesshoumaru suddenly appeared, crouching down before him.

Sesshoumaru was a little curious. As a Hanyou, the being he has seen had been handsome, his features young, strong and compelling. He wondered how he would look in his weakened state. Most Hanyou were, unfortunately, rather ugly or uninspiring in terms of looks and spirit during the time their Youki receded.

Deadly claws carefully moved the cloak, exposing the Hanyou to his and Jinenji's eyes alone.

Sesshoumaru's breath caught. The human face was smaller, the skin darker, and the short mop of silver hair, was now a luxurious fall of ebony. Sesshoumaru touched the human's cheek. His first impression was of how much softer, gentler the human face was. How beautiful it was - and how fragile.

oooooooo

Inuyasha had been vacillating between consciousness and unconsciousness ever since he turned human. The moment he had actually turned had been the worst, Inu screamed from the the intense agony his human body experienced. The half breed immediately wrapped his energy around the human aspect to take the brunt of the pain from him. Weak – so damned weak. There was nothing; nothing left, no energy to fight, no dreams, no hope, nothing left to fight for. Worse, nothing left to fight with.

They were dying.

And, there was not enough energy left to even take shelter in the sanctuary. As much as they had struggled against it, affected by the drain, all four aspects fell to unconsciousness.

It had been dark, empty, and then a tickle of energy had seeped into the human. Very slowly the tickle seeped inward, into the half breed, and from him to the other aspects. Though the human aspect received the energy first, it was Inuyasha that first forced himself away from the peace of the dark and partially rose to ensure the safety of the other aspects.

Something.. someone was feeding him, energizing him, saving him. Why? Why were they saving him? Ever since he had become a half breed at nine years old, only that old lady had saved him. Was it her? That question bugged him, and he accepted the healing to try and find the answer. Unknown to him as he fought to get back to the light and see who was saving him, he himself stepped away from the silent shadow of death, and his soul was happily returned as death made a silent exit.

He did not have the strength to actually open his eyes, but his sense of smell worked fine. Not the old woman – a Hanyou. He questioned his sanity. Was a Hanyou really helping him?

He sank into himself and gathered the other aspects into the outer sanctuary, feeding them energy as he stroked their long hair. Inu and Yasha both had to fight to stay conscious. They were still too weak. Pup had not responded to the call. Concerned Inuyasha staggered into the inner sanctuary. There on the grass, Pup lay unmoving. They had been too close to death. Inuyasha hesitated.

Sensing the dominant aspects' presence, Pup's eyes cracked open. Pup's body was so heavy, so very, very heavy. He tried to smile and reach for Inuyasha, to stop the sadness he could see in Inuyasha's eyes. Pup only managed to move a few fingers. It was enough.

The collar was no longer there but his mental barriers were weak. Easily breeched. It was a risk, but... they had almost died apart. They had almost left Pup- alone -to die. Inuyasha could not bear it. No matter the risk, he had to take the chance. He would do his best to protect them, but he could bear the separation no longer. He was just not strong enough. He could not take it, not anymore. They had almost died apart, alone.

A strangled cry left his lips and he stumbled forward, gathering Pup into his arms, holding him tight. A rush of memories swamped him, overwhelmed him. Fears, pain, joys, wants, desires, happiness, a sense of being alive, of having a sense of self – all swamped Inuyasha and for a moment. He was almost swept off his feet; the whirlpool of memories pulling him down, trapping him in the past.

Then, he was caught! Hands reached out and held him steady, pulling him to the present. He wasn't alone with his past. As a child, he had somehow created a structure that allowed him to remain intact and sane, by splitting himself, he had saved himself. Inu and Yasha's presence reached around him, held him and drew him to them.

When Inuyasha opened his eyes, the three other aspects were staring at him. For the first time in their lives, all four aspects were touching. It was dangerous, but it was the most amazing feeling that Inuyasha had felt.

He was finally, finally whole.

His voice was rough and raw when he whispered, "We are one."

For the first time ever, four voices harmonized and said "We are one, and I am me."

They stayed in the inner sanctuary for a bit, but then Inu was pulled out towards consciousness. Leaving the other two aspects safe, Inuyasha immediately wrapped his will around the human aspect and rose with him.

They were no longer being fed extra energy and the weakness quickly drained everything from them. They were being carried. It was a careful and a gentle movement – but – it still hurt, and they were still too debilitated to bear the pain easily. They lost their battle to stay awake.

Fear! Inuyasha's mind snapped to vigilance; powerful demonic energy moved around him and fear. Someone was afraid. The Hanyou who was carrying him - saving him – was afraid. Inuyasha blocked all other aspects from consciousness. There was no reason for them to know. Inuyasha did not bother trying to open his eyes. He focused on his ears on listening. The voices were disjointed and far away, but he understood.

The Hanyou was in trouble for saving him. The Hanyou was not allowed to take him to a better place, to stop the pain. But it was okay. Inuyasha could feel the waves of confusion and fear from the Hanyou. That was not right. This Hanyou was weaker than him - and he had done so much for him. Inuyasha forced himself to speak. It was enough. He could bear it, he would survive. The small words drained the last of his energy and Inuyasha slept once again.

Energies pushed at him, demonic powerful. It pressed against the barriers and hurt. All four aspects were forced awake by the pain. Yasha immediately picked up Pup, and plunged deeper into the sanctuary. Having combined, Pup was now much more vulnerable to what occurred to their dominant aspect. This time, the other two would deal with the world. His task was to keep Pup safe.

With Inu conscious and temporarily dominant, the half breed aspect wrapped itself around the human spirit as a buffer. Inu, unable to rely on his other senses the way Inuyasha had done, forced his dark purple eyes open to face the world.

Sesshoumaru leaned closer when the eye lids fluttered. Dark amethyst eyes opened. The eyes were dazed, uncomprehending, mesmerizing,.. and filled with pain. Sesshoumaru felt a growl rise in the back of his throat. At the rolling sound, the human's eyes filled with a different emotion – fear. His eyes darted to the one holding him, and then back at the growling Lord.

Sesshoumaru could almost see the human gathering his strength. A small tongue, darted out to lick dry lips, he swallowed and swallowed again. The human inhaled, and all those simple actions seemed to drain the human. Still the human fought to gather strength, until finally his mouth opened.

"My.. my fault. Punish me.. not him.. please! My fault.." The human's eyes darted to Jinenji to comfort the crying healer. The fear was for the healer's safety, not his own. The words strained his parched throat, he coughed painfully, and that drained the last of his energy. Purple eyes closed once again.

Jinenji wailed ever louder at the soft words, blabbering that it was he who was at fault- he could not let the human die. It was his fault he had to save his patient!

Sesshoumaru was not really paying attention to the horse Hanyou. His attention was still focused solely on the human. He tore his eyes from the fascinating face, and moving the cloak aside, he finally looked at the rest of the human's body. The anger that he had felt when he had seen the fear in the human's eyes returned ten fold.

The boy was not slim – he was starved, his body emaciated and wasting away. His Hanyou, his white Shiro Inu Hanyou, his human... had been starved, while in his care. Some one had hurt what was his.

Sesshoumaru carefully re-wrapped the human. Just as carefully, he put up a shield between the two Hanyou and the rest of the world. Only then did he slowly stand. His tail and his hair began to flare around him as his anger boiled hot. He turned, his whip slashed out, cutting the shoulder of every demon present, except Bankotsu and Bakusen'O.

Commander Kagura and Jakutso were the only ones who managed to stay standing. All the other demons were clutching their bleeding arms, moaning and rolling on the floor.

Sesshoumaru's words were sharper than his whip. "Why was a hanyou in my Palace allowed to starve?"

Everyone froze, their fear thick in the air.

Commander Kagura fell to her knees. "My Lord, I have no excuses. I failed you, my life is yours!"

Jakotsu stepped up, "My Lord, Commander Kagura, and the rest of us were following your orders explicitly, we did not approach the South East tower, nor speak of the one who wore the collar. When Baron Hachiemon had to deal with the matter of the mine collapse, Lord Manten volunteered to care for the hanyou. And, he has been the only one who has been seeing the Hanyou. We have no defense, we were following orders my Lord." So saying, Jakotsu knelt beside Kagura. If the Commander were to be punished he would share the punishment.

"My Lord!" Manten choked out, pain in his voice. "I already told you, the Hanyou choose not to eat. He seeks to divide our Lord from his true followers, to cause distrust. He is sick, evil. He welcomed.. accckkk ahhhh ahhhh!"

The Demon voice was cut off as the heel of Sesshoumaru's boot ground into his hand. "Silence! Kagura, Jakotsu – stand! You were following orders. The true fault therefore lies in the one who gave the orders. For your actions, this Sesshoumaru absolves you!"

Kagura and Jakotsu both stood, their eyes never leaving the bleeding demon whose hand was pinned to the ground by Sesshoumaru's boot.

"You do not smell of a lie, Manten – but – you do smell! You stink of darkness. Though I am tempted, It is the way of the Shiro Inu's to seek justice, not vengeance. Commander Kagura! Confine this piece of filth, do not let his stench pollute the rest of my Palace. This matter will be investigated, and the punishment for the one responsible for this... " Sesshoumaru did not finish the sentence. He did not need to.

Orders given, the whining, crying Demon on the floor was totally beneath his notice, he turned to more pressing matters.

Jinenji's eyes had dried up. He looked with concern at the bleeding demons, but he too had a patient that needed his care much more. "My Lord Sesshoumaru, please let me take the Hanyou to my quarters. None will disturb us there and I will care for him. Make sure he gets better."

Sesshoumaru watched the horse demon hold the wrapped figure almost possessively, and his eyes narrowed. The two were Hanyou, that connection alone made it reasonable that they should be drawn to each other, and now the horse Hanyou would also be saving the other. They would get closer... No. The Shiro Inu Hanyou was his, and no one else was going to be allowed to be possessive of what was his.

Sesshoumaru glided towards the hanyou, bent and took the wrapped figure out of Jinenji's arms. His tail, Moko-moko, flared. Sliding gracefully under Jinenji's cloak, it wrapped itself around the the boy completely, utterly displacing Jinenji's cloak.

Jinenji's eyes widened as he carefully retrieved his cloak; Lord Sesshoumaru's face when he had picked up the human, had been- different. The horse Hanyou could not place the look. It was soft, softer than Jinenji had ever seen, but there was a strange fire in the Lord's eyes as well, a heat that did not bode well for anything standing in the Lord's way.

Sesshoumaru cradled the body. The weightlessness of the form bothered him greatly. "Jinenji, go collect all that you need. Caring for this one is your priority."

Sesshoumaru turned to walk away.

"Umm, my Lord, where will you place him?" Jinenji asked, fearful that Lord Sesshoumaru was going to put the Human back in the tower.

"This young one requires vigilance and a protected area, so that this will not be repeated. You will find him in my quarters." Sesshoumaru said calmly, rather enjoying the shocked expressions all around him as he swept out of the hall, HIS Hanyou nestled in his arms.

-tbc-

Hmmm.. sesshy is going to have MAJOR possessive issues I think. I hope the Inuyasha part made sense, if it doesn't review and tell me where and I'll fix it.