Serpents and Dog Demons

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Chapter 18 : Silent watcher

The attack caught Ban totally by surprise, and that in itself caused the Jagan user a moment of pause. Ban hit the ground hard, He managed to turn. But his attacker in a fluid move, used his own momentum against him and he overbalanced, ending up on his back. Claws dug into his neck, a knee ruthlessly drove into his abdomen and he gripped the hand that had his throat in a choke hold. He was going to crush it, when he froze.

Above him, hair flaring – in a wind caused by his own Youki, a blood red eyed Hanyou glared down at him. The stripes had not yet bloomed on Inuyasha's cheeks, indicating he was not fully out of control. Ban's eyes narrowed in concern, Inuyasha was supposed to be weak, he he been poisoned? "Inuyasha?"

"Traitor!" the Hanyou growled in response "LAIR!" he spat into Ban's face, his claws digging in, the scent of blood filled the air.

"Inuyasha! What the FUCK!" Ban growled in response. Ban's fingers got under Inuyasha's – stopping the Hanyou from choking him. But hew could not get Inuyasha to release the hold without breaking his fingers and Ban hesitated to do that.

"YOU LIAR!" Inuyasha yelled in rage, claws raised to smash into Ban's face. Inuyasha curled his fingers into his palm at the last moment, and his fist solidly smashed down, Ban blocked the blow with his arm.

"Inuyasha what the HELL are you talking about!" Ban yell in desperation trying to get the Pup to respond and not enrage him further. Inuyasha increased the pressure on Ban's throat as he leaned in, his knee dug into Ban's diaphragm, as his fist smashed down again and again. Ban simply blocking the blows. As Inuyasha kept spitting "Liar! Liar! You fucking GOD-DAMNED LIAR!"

Ban kept blocking and yelling at Inuyasha to explain what the hell had gotten him on the edge. But Inuyasha did not let up, getting more and more emotional, his vision blurred as rage and the bitter mix of emotion seemed to swell in his chest and grow, causing his eyes to well, with hot acid tears. "Liar! You are just like all the fucking others!" his fist slammed down, only to be blocked again "Fucking Liar! You SAID you would be here – always!" The fist slammed down, and Ban's head snapped to the side as the blow connected, bruising bone and tearing skin.

Ban's hands went slack and both dropped to the side. The claws at his throat, dug in a little more drawing more blood- but they did no more damage than that. "Bloody fucking Liar!"Inuyasha's fist rained down in punched and back handed slaps. Then just as suddenly as it began it stopped. Ban's left eye was swelling, his mouth was full of his own blood and skin had torn on his cheeks and lips. Ban stared into the Hanyou's eyes that went from red to the normal golden color, and seeing the stark vulnerability and pain in the golden orbs, and Ban found himself wishing that Inuyasha would just have kept hitting him.

Tears tinged with blood ran down the Hanyou's cheeks, his voice broke and he sounded young – desperately young - "Why? Why – do you all leave me? What is wrong with me?" Inuyasha yelled with all the emotions that he had kept bottled up deep inside him "TELL ME! Damn you! Mother! Fath- Grandfather! Sesshoumaru! Kikyo! YOU! Why am I so disgusting that you all leave me? What the hell is wrong with me?" The last words were dragged from a soul that been alone for far too long, that had been hunted and chased, rejected and abused from as far back as Inuyasha could remember.

Ban's voice broke with emotion as he raised a hand to rest on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Inuyasha there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with you, as long as you need me, I'll be with you. I am not going anywhere!" Ban swore softly.

"Fuck YOU! BANMIDOU!" Inuyasha jumped back as if burned, the pain gone from his now rage filled eyes. Fingers curled into fists he stood glaring at the confused and bruised Jagan user. "Get the hell out of here! LEAVE ! Right NOW! Leave dammit! Who the hell wants you to stay if I need you?" Inuyasha spat each word. "Why in the nine hells would I need you – IF YOU don't fucking NEED ME? Leave! Go! Get out of my sight BanMidou! Kilala will guard me, and Sesshoumaru will be here in the morning – so get out of my sight right NOW! I DON"T NEED YOU!" Inuyasha turned away from Ban at the last words.

Before he could even shift his weight to take a step, he was yanked back and slammed against a tree. Ban's control had finally broken.

"Don't need you? Don't need you? Damn YOU Inuyasha – you are the only bloody creature in this whole damned world that I NEED! But you – you have you bloody full Youkai candidates lining up to be your Alpha! You don't need me! Its you who doesn't want ME!" Ban yelled his frustration and rage coating ever word.

Inuyasha stared into the enraged blue eyes, and he could finally see the desires sparkling beneath the surface of the deep blue eyes. Inuyasha crocked his head to one side. "How do you know?" Inuyasha asked, his cool, calm voice contrasted sharply with his earlier over emotional tone. Inexplicably in a lighting change of mood, the hot mix of emotions vanished and that strange happy feeling bubbled to the surface, from somewhere deep within the Hanyou.

"Huh!" Ban replied intelligently, thrown once again by the Hanyou.

"How do you know I don't want you?" Inuyasha repeated patiently.

"You.. you... you.. YOU DON'T!" Ban accused in another example of a smooth verbal response.

"Feh! How do you KNOW that BanMidou?" Inuyasha asked calmly, he reached up and gently released himself from Ban's suddenly limp and confused hold. "You never asked me?"

Ban shook his head sharply, as if to clear it of a sudden fog. He gulped as he looked at the suddenly confident Hanyou, "Okay, Im asking – I want you Inuyasha – more than I can say," Ban put his ego on the line and than dove for the kill. "Do - do you want me?" Ban found that his voice was breaking at the words. The question was so simple, but the answer – that would be everything. Ban's breathe caught, he waited anxiously for Inuyasha's answer.

The smile on Inuyasha's face would have lit the whole forest, "Gee- BanMidou, I don't know." Inuyasha said and watched in slightly malicious satisfaction as Ban's jaw came loose – getting the drop on the Jagan user was addictive, "After all, I have until tomorrow afternoon to decide who is it I need.." Inuyasha smiled cheekily as he turned to walk away, but before taking a step he he turned back, and leaned close to Ban and with a heated needy look in his eyes – that made the Hanyou seem like the most erotic and seductive creature on earth – Inuyasha said, "Court me BanMidou, show me and the world how much you want me, how much I mean to you. Prove to me, BanMidou, Prove to me my own worth!" Inuyasha finished almost wistfully.

Inuyasha's breath was hot against Ban's face, Ban leaned down, but Inuyasha quickly stepped away, as he shook a finger a playful finger at Ban. Without another word, Inuyasha still smiling and with a definitely cheeky wiggle of his butt, stalked confidently back to the camp.

Ban winched a little as a smile stretched out his bruised and battered lips. Damn the pup was cute. And god dammit the pup had him curled around his little finger, and the pup KNEW it! Ban exhaled sharply his dark banks fluttering in his breath. Ban had hesitated only because the pup had not seemed to need him at all once the courtship had begun. His heart pounded with excitement, Inuyasha wanted him to court him. It was all the incentive Ban needed to enter a battle that had a prize worth more to Ban than all the riches in the world put together. Ban would fight for what they both wanted and Ban Midou-sama did not lose a fight.

The tension that had haunted the Jagan user since her found out about Inuyasha's maturity vanished, he reached down, pulled out a long piece of grass and stuck it in his mouth. He looked up a little, his eyes unerringly finding the constellation of his birth. A faint glowing silhouette, and the sparkling twinkle of stars, proved that Ban's inglorious defeat at Inuyasha's hands had not gone unnoticed. Ban did not quite hold back his grin, as he turned and followed Inuyasha back to the camp, his one hand raised to give the Cosmic form of Aesculapius the finger.

-tbc-

Hahaa I sooo enjoyed writing this chapter. Please tell me what you think of the characters. I know its short but the next will be LONG! Weeee next Ban courts Inuyasha! YES! So what can he do... what can he dooo?