Brother My Brother

The morning sun filtered in through the
cracks of the old store house, falling onto the light skin of the half
demon Inuyasha. He stirred, then slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few
times before he remembered where he was. It took him a moment, however,
to realize just whose chest he had been sleeping on. He jumped
slightly, tightening his grip on the edge of the remainder of his
brother’s armor. He grunted when a hand made hard contact with the back
of his head.

“Watch your claws, hanyou,” Sesshomaru scolded.

Inuyasha raised his head to look at his elder brother. “How long-- How
long have I been asleep?”

“All night,” Sesshomaru responded. “You slept soundly.”

Inuyasha laid his head back down. “Yeah.” The warmth of his brother’s
body was soothing to him. He could hear the steady beating of his heart
and felt the rising and falling of his chest as he breathed. Inuyasha
felt so at peace with the scenario that he wished that would it never
end. He wanted nothing more than to lie there against his brr for for
the rest of his days. But Sesshomaru would hear nothing of it as he
pushed the half demon off of him before rising up into a sitting
position.

“When will you be strong enough to battle with Naraku?” the demon
asked, eyeing his brother.

Inuyasha looked up at him, annoyed at the breaking of contact. “I don’t
know,” he answered. “I’m almost up to full strength now. I’m just--” He
stopped and looked away.

“You’re just what?” Sesshomaru inquired.

“Just… Just a little hungry,” the half demon admitted.

Sesshomaru growled slightly. “You are a nuisance, hanyou.”

Inuyasha sat up, his arms trembling with the effort. “I didn’t tell you
to go get me something. I’m perfectly able to find something myself.
Unless you want to wait on me hand and foot.” He smiled widely at his
brother, his fangs glistening in the sunlight.

“Get off of me, half breed,” Sesshomaru growled, pushing Inuyasha away
a s a strong hand to his face. The hanyou landed on his side on the
floor and flinched in pain.

“Damn it, watch what you’re doing,” he snarled before struggling to sit
up again. “That hurt for crying out loud.”

“I’m tiring of your crying out loud,” Sesshomaru responded. “Stop your
whining and go find something to eat.”

Inuyasha frowned and slowly got to his feet. Without saying anything
more he wobbled out the door and into the morning light. It was a
beautiful day, and for the first time in a long time, the half demon
noticed it as such.  He noticed the sparkling light of the sun
filtering in between the overhead canopy of leaves. He noticed the
energetic calls of the birds dancing from tree to tree, the slight
breeze that rustled his white hair. The smell of velvet flowers soared
to his nose, tickling his sensitive senses.

“Isn’t it a beautiful day, Inuyasha?” Kagome had said to him a long
time ago on a day much like this one.

“What’s beautiful about it?” he had replied, shielding his face with a
hand. “It’s too bright. The sun’s in my eyes, those damn birds won’t
shut up, and the pollen from the flowers is gonna make me sneeze.” He
had crossed his arms inside his kimono sleeves then, sitting beside
Kagome next to a fast-paced river.

She had sighed. “You really can’t see the positive side of anything,
can you?” she had said. “Just sit back and listen and watch. You miss
so much if you don’t stop and smell the roses once in a while.”

Inuyasha had wrinkled his nose. “I don’t like the smell of roses.”

Kagome had groaned in annoyance. “You’re missing the point, Inuyasha.
Look.” She had pointed across the river where a small brown bird hopped
along through the grass. “Look at that bird. At first, you only see a
little brown bird. But if you watch her closely, you see a lot more.”


“Well,” she had begun. “Watch her. What do you think she’s doing?”

The had hanyou observed the small bird pecking at the ground. “Looking
for food?” he had guessed.

“Maybe,” Kagome had said. “Why do you think she’s doing that?”

Inuyasha had given her a strange look. “Because she’s hungry. Why else
would she be looking for food?”

“Well maybe,” Kagome had suggested. “She has hungry mouths to feed back
at her nest. See, she’s not just a little brown bird. She’s a mother.
She has a mate somewhere that loves her. She was once a baby bird
dependent on her own mother and father for everything. She has siblings
somewhere she once shared a nest with. See? She’s much more than just a
little brown bird.”

“Much more than just a little brown bird…” Inuyasha mumbled to himself
as he walked. “She was much more than just a le bre brown bird.” He
walked for several minutes before snappbackback into reality and
remembering where he was and what he was doing. During his vivid memory
of Kagome he had wandered far from the storehouse out into the forest.
An unsettling feeling began setting in when he realized that he was
completely alone. There were no animal scents around him, nund und of
birds or insects anywhere near. All he could sense was a very ominous
aura hanging in the air. Something was coming-- Something was
approaching him. Inuyasha froze in his tracks as he reached out with
his senses, trying to identify the source of the disturbance. The aura
was powerful and demonic and as it came closer, Inuyasha began to pick
up its scent. It was definitely a demon, and Inuyasha was not at all
sure he would be able to defeat it in his weakened state. He began
backtracking through the forest, aiming to get back to the storehouse
where he had left Sesshomaru before the threatening demon could find
him. But before he got more than a few meters back, a rumbling from the
ground knocked him off of his feet. Suddenly, the ground below him
crumbled and dirt and rocks thr through the air as a huge demon
centipede crashed rose from the depths of the Earth. Inuyasha was
thrown backwards several feet until his back hit against a tree. He
cried out in pain before sliding down to the ground again.

“Damn…” he swas has he tried to regain the senses that had been knocked
out of him at contact. The ground shook more, and he looked up to find
the giant centipede towering over him, its many legs waving in the air,
its deadly and poisonous fangs visible as it gnashed its jaws. Inuyasha
barely had time to react before the demonic centipede came charging at
him, but he was able to roll out of the way just as its fangs sliced
through the tree  behind him. His hand went immediately to the
helm of Tetsuisga, but before he could pull it all the way out, the
tail of the centipede crashed into his back, sending him flying
forward. Inuyasha cursed as the Tetsuisga landed several feet away from
him. In his weakened condition, he was a lot slower than he normally
was, and he knew he was going to have to change his usual strategy to
make up for it. But before he could begin his new attack, the
centipede’s tail wrapped tightly around his waist and lifted him off
the ground. Inuyasha struggled against the demon’s strong grasp as he
was brought closer to its dripping fangs, but to no avail. He c not not
move and he was not yet strong enough to fend off this enemy. He was
desperately trying to think of a way to escape when Sesshomaru appeared
out of nowhere and lashed through the centipede’s body with his Whip of
Light. Segments of the centipede fell to the ground with Inuyasha along
with them. The hanyou struggled to his feet as his brother landed
neatly beside him.

“Can I not leave you alone for a moment, half breed?” Sesshomaru asked.

“The thing came out of nowhere!” Inuyasha defended. He extended his
claws, cracking his knuckles as he did so. “But I can take it down now.
Stand back!” He readied himself then leapt into the air toward the
centipede’s head. Sesshomaru had taken a large portion of its body out
of commission, and Inuyasha was certain that he would be able to take
the rest of it out. However, he was not expecting the severed segments
of the centipede to reattach to its body in time to lash out again at
the half demon. Inuyasha tried to dodge, but the fangs came at him much
too quickly. He closed his eyes and braced himself when Sesshomaru
grabbed his waist and pulled him away before the fangs could sink into
Inuyasha’s body. The dog demon landed neatly a few meters away.

“Damn, that’s not an ordinary demon,” Inuyasha said, wiping the sweat
from his brow. “How the hell did it regenerate like that?” As the
centipede moved, the sun caught a reflective surface on one of its
upper torso segments, and Inuyasha realizedt wht what it was. “A…
Shikkon Jewel shard?”

“Of course,” Sesshomaru stated. He leapt straight into the air and came
down with incredible speed toward the centipede’s body. His claws
ripped through its flesh where the sharisteistened in the light and it
came free, sailing through the air and landing on the ground near where
Inuyasha stood. A few slashes of Sesshomaru’s Whip of Light reduced the
centipede demon into nothing more than a pile of bloodied body segments.

Inuyasha walked over to the jewel shard and picked it up. “I forgot how
much harder it is to find these things without Kagome’s strong sense,”
he said before putting the shard in his kimono. He sighed, fighting
back the tears that threatened upon the mention of her name before
walking around the centipede’s disfigured body to find Sesshomaru. He
stopped suddenly when he saw that his elder brother was kneeling on one
knee with his eyes tightly shut. A feeling of panic immediately set in
Inuyasha’s gut. “Are you-- Are you okay?” He went to his brother’s side
to examine him.

“I’m fine,” Sesaru aru responded. But as Inuyasha looked over him, he
came to doubt those words. As the hanyou looked him over, he realized
that Sesshomaru had been injured in the temporary fight. There was
blood trickling down his back, staining his silver hair, and as
Inuyasha assessed the situation, he realized that he had been bitten.
He must have been bitten when he had pulled him out of the way of the
regenerated demon.

“Sesshomaru, have you been…? You’ve been poisoR” Inuyasha said. He
took Sesshomaru by the arm and tried to help him to his feet, but the
elder demon pushed him away.

“I don’t need your help,” he growled before getting to his feet. “I’m
fine.” He began walking back towards the storehouse they had left.
Inuyasha followed after him, wanting to keep close to hide ide in case
he faltered, but not wanting to make him angry either. But only once
did Sesshomaru stumble and it was only slightly, before they reached
the storehouse again. Once inside, Sesshomaru sat against the far wall
and Inuyasha sat on his bed in the middle of the room.

“You sure you’re okay?” Inuyasha asked.

“I’m fine,” Sesshomaru responded sharply.

But Inuyasha could see that he was not fine. He was breathing heavily
and sweat beads were beginning to form on his forehead. As the demon
laid back against the wall with his eyes closed, Inuyasha saw the
creases in his forehead. He looked as if he was in pain. However,
Sesshomaru would not allow the half demon to approach him and Inuyasha
could do little else but lay and watch his brother out of the corner of
his eye. He just hoped that the demon’s body was strong enough to fight
off the poison by itself. He sighed and stared up at the ceiling before
settling into a light sleep. He woke up several times, and each time he
would turn over to face the other way. He was still hungry as he had
not gotten his meal that day, and he did not feel all that tired
considering what he had gone through the last few days. It was not
until evening was setting in that he had enough of his tossing and
turning and sat up. Inuyasha looked around for his brother. Sesshomaru
had moved into the corner nearest the door and had leaned his head
against the old wooden wall. His eyes were closed, but as Inuyasha
watched him, he realized that he was not asleep. The half demon crawled
over, sniffing at his brother in concern. He did not smell like his
normal self, he smelled weak and fragile. Inuyasha reached out to touch
the demon’s hand. It felt cold and clammy to him, and out of concern he
moved closer to his brother’s still form. Sesshomaru’s eyes opened
slightly and looked at him weakly.

“You are not fine, you bastard,” Inuyasha said. “Come on and lay down
already.” He took his brother by the arm and pulled him toward him.
Sesshomaru’s body fell onto Inuyasha’s, and the half demon grunted in
surprise. He struggled against his brother’s weight as he dragged him
over to his makeshift bed and laim dim down in it. Sesshomaru did not
protest, which worried Inuyasha further. He put a hand to his brother’s
forehead. “You’re burning up,” he reported. Sesshomaru said nothing,
but looked up at him with soft eyes. “Sesshomaru, you better not die on
me,” Inuyasha snapped. “Because I can’t lose you, too.” He put a hand
on his brother’s cheek and the demon closed his eyes at his touch. That
same feeling of dread returned to Inuyasha, and he began to panic.
Sesshomaru had endangered his life to protect him. He would not let him
die. “Stay here,” Inuyasha instructed before getting up and leaving the
elder demon alone in the storehouse.