A Brother’s Love

A Brother¡¦s Love
By: Sapphire Dragon

Hello, hello, long time no see, eh? Any-whoo this is the second installment of A Brother¡¦s Love. In the few reviews I got people said that the chapter was sad and I had to fix it. Well I this chapter is much kinder to Inuyasha! And I didn¡¦t get to put in Kagome. She¡¦ll be in the next chapter along with Kikyo. Sesshomaru won¡¦t appear for maybe two chapters yet, so he and Inuyasha won¡¦t be falling in love anytime soon. They hate each other and I don¡¦t want to rush their relationship. This chapter was a bitch to write because Inuyasha didn¡¦t want to wake up and Kagome wanted to come early. It was crap but I took my time and viola here¡¦s the finished result. On with the story!
Also this chapter is un-betaed, so ignore my run away commas! ļ

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha. Cause if I owned Inuyasha, Kikyou would have never been reincarnated, and Naraku would be dead by now DEAD! Oh and Inuyasha and Sesshomaru would SO be together. Yay!

Means ¡§talking¡¨
Means ¡¥thinking¡¦

Chapter Two: The Healing Process

¡§Inuyasha! Inuyasha! Where could he be Miroku? He never goes far when there¡¦s a new moon.¡¨

¡§I don¡¦t know Shippo. Maybe he went deeper into the forest. Or he could have gone to visit Kagome.¡¨

¡§I think something bad has happened to him Miroku. W-w-what if some youkai got him or something? He could be hurt or worse, he could be¡K¡¨

¡§Shippo breath! We¡¦re going to find him.¡¨

It was the morning after the new moon. Miroku, Shippo, and Sango were all searching for their hanyou companion. When Miroku went to get Inuyasha for dinner he wasn¡¦t sitting in the God tree like he normally was. Since there was a new moon last night they thought he might have moved to someplace safer. But, when he didn¡¦t show up for breakfast they really began worrying. Deciding to search the forest Sango and Kirira searched the western half while Shippo and Miroku searched the eastern half. So far both search parties had come up empty handed. The monk and kitsune walked deeper into the forest unknowingly getting closer to the clearing where Inuyasha lay.

(Miroku¡¦s POV)

Though I don¡¦t show it as much as Shippo I am deeply troubled by Inuyasha¡¦s disappearance. Shippo is a wreck, I never quite realized how much the kitsune looked up to the hanyou until he almost hyperventilated at the mere thought that Inuyasha might be dead. As much as she tries to hide it Sango is just as worried as I am. I hope our half youkai friend is all right if not for his sake then for ours. If something happened to the inu we would be devastated. I don¡¦t even want to think of how Kagome would react to such news.

We¡¦ve been walking in silence for about five minutes now and I¡¦m getting more uneasy by the second. We¡¦re deeper in the forest than I¡¦ve ever been. Shippo isn¡¦t the only one with a bad feeling now. I stop looking expectantly at Shippo who is cautiously sniffing the air. Kagome really should have let Inuyasha train him. If she had we would have found the hanyou by now. Since the kitsune doesn¡¦t seem like he¡¦s going to tell me what he smells any time soon I guess I¡¦ll have to ask.

¡§What is it Shippo?¡¨

After starting slightly when I spoke Shippo turned to me. ¡¥He must have forgotten I was here. Kagome really needs to let Inuyasha train the pup. If it¡¦s not to late that is.¡¦

¡§I smell blood. A lot of it. I just can¡¦t pinpoint which direction it¡¦s coming from.¡¨

Sighing once again I began to walk forward, Shippo absently trailing behind me. Within moments we¡¦re at the edge of a clearing. I freeze as I see the bloodied figure lying on the ground. Shippo bumping into me snapped me out of my shock.

¡§What did you stop for? The sent was getting stronger.¡¨

As he tried to peer around my still form I snapped into action.

¡§Shippo go back to Kaede¡¦s. Tell her we found Inuyasha and to get some healing herbs ready. Hurry!¡¨

He paled slightly but ran off to do as I instructed. Rushing over to Inuyasha¡¦s still form I drop to the ground next to him. Quickly checking for a pulse I was greatly relived to find one. Giving his naked body a once over I piece together what must have happened last night. Glancing around the clearing I spot his pants, the remains of his fire rat haori and his under yukata. Grabbing the pants I slide them on his still form. Them after gathering the other scraps of cloth and the Tetsusaiga. I take one of his arms and pull until his body is leaning on mine, his arm draped across my shoulders. As I lead the unconscious hanyou back to the village my mind strays to what must have happened last night. Stepping out of the clearing I can only hope Inuyasha is strong enough to recover.

(3rd Person¡¦s POV)

Shippo ran as fast as he could, taking no notice to the scenery blurring around him. He focused on getting to Kaede¡¦s village as fast as possible and ran faster than he ever had. Finally breaking out of the forest Shippo didn¡¦t slow down but, continued to run full-tilt to Kaede¡¦s hut. After passing many confused villagers he skidded to a stop in front of Kaede¡¦s panting. Hurrying inside he looked around frantically. She wasn¡¦t here only Sango was. Looking at Shippo in surprise the demon exterminator felt alarm bells ringing in her head. Standing she asked

¡§What¡¦s the matter Shippo?¡¨

silently dreading the answer.

¡§M-miroku told me to come tell Kaede that we found Inuyasha. He also told me to tell her to be ready with medicinal herbs. Where is she?¡¨

¡§She went down to one of the villagers huts. Some children have fallen ill. You go find her I¡¦ll go meet Miroku. Come on Kirira.¡¨

Once they were outside Shippo ran off to find Kaede while Sango mounted Kirira and flew off toward the forest. They found the monk easily enough he was almost at the God tree. Landing she got off her fire cat and helped a tired Miroku support Inuyasha. After throwing her a grateful look the pair loaded the hanyou onto Kirira and was off. They were silent the entire trip back to the village each lost in their own thoughts. Both understanding the time for questions would come later.

Landing in front of Kaede¡¦s the pair was greeted by the old miko and Shippo. Instructing the pair to carry Inuyasha inside she watch as they carefully lowered him onto a futon. After Shooing the three shard hunters out of the hut the old woman got to work. Treating and bandaging his injuries she worked for hours. The bite marks were easy enough to treat, so were the long scratches. It was the internal bleeding that was the problem.

Finally getting the bleeding to stop she was positive his youkai blood would take over and he would heal without scaring. How his mind would heal was another matter all together. Washing her hands she took one last look at her unconscious patient before shuffling outside to tell the good news to his worried friends.

As soon as she opened the door she was bombarded with questions. Was he going to be all right? What did she think happened? And a very quietly asked is he going to live? from Shippo. Taking the time to reassure them that he was fine and indeed going to live, she turned to the question of what did she think happened. Sending Shippo inside to sit with Inuyasha she moved to sit on one of the rocks that served as chairs outside her dwelling place. Sighing she thought about the question a bit more before answering as best she could.

¡§I think he was raped childe. He had a lot of internal bleeding that took awhile to stop. His body will recover in a few days but, I¡¦m worried about his state of mind. When he wakes he might have let his youkai side free and go on a killing spree. Or he might be a bit traumatized but other wise the same. We shall have to wait till he wakes, then we shall see.¡¨

¡§When should we expect him to awaken Kaede-san?¡¨

Kaede frowned thoughtfully at the demon exterminator as she answered her question. Shrugging she answered

¡§He could awaken anytime now. A few days or a few hours, it¡¦s hard to tell. He lost a lot of blood, more than ever I¡¦d say.¡¨

¡§I don¡¦t think we should tell Shippo yet. Let¡¦s wait until Inuyasha wakes up and confirms our suspicions before we tell him¡¨

Sango nodded her agreement with the monk¡¦s words, so Kaede promised not to tell the young kitsune. Standing up slowly the miko promised to call them the second Inuyasha was awake before shuffling into her hut. Smiling reassuringly at the worried Shippo, who was sitting next to the still unconscious hanyou she started making the stew that would soon be their dinner. Hoping Inuyasha would wake soon.

(Meanwhile at Naraku¡¦s Castle)

Naraku made it back to his castle in record time. He was quite happy with the way his night went. Kagura need to be rewarded for her information. Walking into his rooms he let his baboon pelt fall to the ground. Going to his washroom he stripped then lowered himself into the water. Bathing he contemplated recent events. With Inuyasha out of the way he could get the rest of the Shikon shards easily. Rising from the water he dried himself then dressed.

As he walked into his sitting room he called for Kagura. Settling himself he watched as the red-eyed youkai pushed aside the screen and entered the room. Kneeling in front of him she waited for him to speak.

¡§Kagura you have done well. With your information I was able to temporarily get that filthy hanyou out of our way. Now we must act before he recovers and ruins everything. As a reward for your information I¡¦m giving you a very important job. In tow weeks you will¡K¡¨

Kagura listened to Naraku¡¦s plan her eyes narrowing. It was a very evil plan and if it went the way Naraku wanted the shard hunters would be destroyed. When he finished telling her the plan she stood and bowed before exiting the room, Naraku¡¦s evil laughter floating behind her.

(Three days later, Kaede¡¦s Village)

It had been three days since the new moon and Inuyasha was still unconscious. No matter what Kaede said she couldn¡¦t make the three shard hunters worry any less. Sango was sitting with the hanyou today. Shippo and Miroku, who watched over the hanyou yesterday were still asleep. Setting a cup of tea next to Sango, Kaede sipped her own cup. Suddenly a low moan was heard as the injured hanyou stirred. Sango and Kaede shared a hope filled look as golden eyes slowly opened.

Inuyasha moaned softly as bright light filled his vision. ¡¥What happened?¡¦ Memories of the night of the new moon bombarded him. Shooting up into a sitting position he ignored Kaede¡¦s surprised gasp. ¡¥Naraku, that bastard! How dare that filthy youkai even think of touching me like that? I feel so dirty, so used. He raped me!¡¦ As Inuyasha buried his face in clawed hands Sango and Kaede shared uneasy looks. Once it was apparent the inu wasn¡¦t going to move Sango left the room to wake Shippo and Miroku, while Kaede busied herself by making more tea and beginning breakfast.

Sango returned a few minutes¡¦ later kitsune and monk in tow. Kaede looked up form where she was stirring breakfast, glad for a break in the uneasy silence that had descended on the room. After everyone was served, breakfast was eaten in silence. No one knew what to say to the hanyou now that he was awake. Luckily for them Inuyasha decided to break the silence. Looking up from his meal he glared at them before asking

¡§What the hell are you all staring at?¡¨

That seemed to break the ice. Sango looked relived as she answered

¡§Gomen, if we were staring Inuyasha-kun but we¡¦re just worried about you. What happened?¡¨
¡§Naraku.¡¨

With that said Inuyasha turned back to his meal, ignoring the concerned glances his companions threw at him.

(Three Days Later)

Inuyasha was reclining in a tree thinking about these last couple of days. He knew his friends meant well but at the moment they were just plain annoying. Sango and Miroku bugged him until he finally told them what happened that night. After he had finished his story Sango hot up and hugged him. Of course she had no idea that one of the side-effects of his experience was that he didn¡¦t like to be touched. By anybody. So she was quite shocked when she ended up on her ass, which meant another explanation was in order.

Now they really wouldn¡¦t leave him alone, AND they tried to touch him as much as possible. To help him get over his phobia they said. ¡¥Keh, if anything they were making it worse.¡¦ Thankfully Shippo tired to treat him normally. But sometimes he caught the kitsune staring at him fearfully, like he was going to disappear at any moment. So he spent more time with the kit. It made both of them feel better. He knew Kaede would treat him the same now matter what. And she did no need for him to worry there.

Frowning he turned to face the blue sky with worried golden eyes. He had several things he did need to worry about though. His phobia was one. Would his fear of being touched keep him from fighting? Or would he still be able to protect the others? Then there were his nightmares. How was he going to hide them from Kagome? The wench had a thing for finding out things she wasn¡¦t supposed to know. Kagome was another problem, how was she going to react when she found out? And she would find out between the demon exterminator and the monk one of them was bound to tell her if he didn¡¦t himself. Finally would there be more side-effects from his experience? Were his nightmares and touch phobia the only ones?

Sighing he hopped out of his tree. So many questions but no answers. Walking to Kaede¡¦s he was lost in thought. Slipping out of his thoughts as he neared her hut he broke into a run. Who knew what the answers to some of his questions would be? For now it was lunch time and he was hungry. ¡¥Maybe I¡¦ll take a nap after lunch.¡¦ He mused as he stopped in front of Kaede¡¦s. Entering the hut he sat down with his friends to have lunch. He could worry tomorrow. And worry he would for tomorrow Kagome returned to the feudal era, and their quest for shards of the Shikon no Tama would begin again.

TBC¡K

Yay another chapter finished! :) In the next chapter Kagome returns and we get to see her reaction. And we might even get to see more of Naraku¡¦s plan. What is he planning? I don¡¦t know yet! Some of you may be wondering why Naraku gave Kagura two weeks to get his plan ready instead of one. Well the answer is he underestimated Inuyasha. He thought it would take longer for the inu hanyou to recover so he thought he had more time. Won¡¦t he be in for a surprise? Any way REVIEW! REVIEW!