How the Pain Evolves

I'm back and ready to throw some more Inuyasha/Sesshoumaru action at you! Okay, so no Inu/Sess smut smut yet, but I do get some physical action in here that I think you'll enjoy. I'm sorry it took so long to write this chapter but I was definately in a writer's block and I was starting college and fun shmit like that. Anyhoodle, I hope you enjoy and I thank everyone for all the positive feedback they gave me! You guys are terrific and without you, I probably would have curled up under a rock somewhere and died!!

Crap-Tastically Awesome Comments from fellow Inu/Sess Lovers:

acr1228:
good chapter. Very interesting so far. I'm glad there is no Kagome or Kikyo bashing.

DemonLadySesshomaru:
This is great. A realistic approach to the K-K-I triangle. And Sesshomaru, well, is Sesshomaru. Can't wait for the next chapter.

memorietrail:
more oh please let there be more

Tasha:
Wow...I like this so far. Who gives a crap about Kagome? I hope she burns in hell or dies in this story!!! But other than that, this is very addictive.

darksinistra:
Great chapter. I love the interactions. Inuyasha is being...Inuyasha lol! "Fuck you too, you toad," LOL LOL. That cracked me up. Please continue soon. I am really enjoying it and the story is coming along nicely. I don't mind waiting for the action :P

Lirilith:
A very good begining to what promises to be a nice long story. It's nice to have the story start slowly and not jump right into the smut (although don't get me wrong, smut is always nice!). You are also giving a great backdrop of the relationships between Kagome, Kikiyo and Inuyasha without ignoring it or making them into complete bitches. Yeah, we all want to get to Inu and Sess together, but including the past relationship with the girls makes for a better, more angsty story. -and it also has its wonderful humorous moments. I laughed out loud at the thought of Sess pondering how to explain something complicated to Inuyasha without confusing him! A reason for all that silence around Inuyasha! I can't wait to see the next chapter. Thanks!

And now introducing Chapter 3!!! Wooo!!


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Sesshoumaru climbed gracefully atop the demon’s back, staring down at Inuyasha as one might stare at a particularly disgusting bug. The hanyou sneered up at his older brother, body tense and thrumming with energy. He hopped up on Ah-Un’s rump, legs crossed Indian-style, hands once again hidden beneath long sleeves. With a simple click of the tongue, Sesshoumaru had the demon take to the air, carrying its heavy load of four creatures with it. Inuyasha tilted his head back, enjoying the sudden wind on his face, the sudden weightlessness. Ahead of them, the golden sun was rising to the light blue sky, evaporating the small bundle of clouds that had tried to form. It was almost worth it to be in Sesshoumaru’s company, if only to see the world from this high up, to be so unconnected to everything.

Almost.

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As the castle rose upon the horizon, sharp towers outlined black against the deepening twilight that was soon to be night, Inuyasha closed his eyes. It was almost…painful to see his home, the one he had been banished from all those years ago. Perhaps he had thought himself to be over such silly material compulsions, but the pain in his chest twinged, and that was reality enough to know that some things were never going to be forgiven about his childhood as a half-demon.

The trip had been completely unremarkable. Inuyasha thought he knew even less about his brother than before they came together on this stupid journey. The child, Rin, for one thing. Who was this human? How had she wormed her way into such a cold brute’s heart? Even now, as he sat pondering, Rin lay curled against his half-brother’s body, soaking the warmth from his alabaster skin to ease the chill of the cool wind against their faces. She slept with no fear towards her demon companion, towards the alleged hater of all humans. Inuyasha shifted, stretching stiff muscles and cracking the bones along his spine. It felt good to move, to look at something other than the back of his stupid brother’s head.

Ah-Un descended abruptly, taking one low circle around the peaks of the castle before dropping low into the courtyard, leathery wings drawn back and clawed feet out to absorb the shock of the landing. The minute the demon horse settled its weight onto the ground, Inuyasha leaped off, trying to work the blood back into his tingling legs. Sesshoumaru climbed off more sedately, and appeared to be in no physical discomfort after such a long time of sitting still. The young hanyou looked around slowly, observing the intricately done landscaping, the perfectly placed shrubs and trees, the small brook at the center of the design. It was too…orderly. His soft ears caught the sounds of Rin’s mumbling and Sesshoumaru’s deep voice. Inuyasha turned and saw the little girl cradled in his older brother’s arms, a sweet smile playing across her child-like features. It was…unnerving to see such a deadly creature like Sesshoumaru show such care for a tiny little human like Rin.

“Come Inuyasha.” Sesshoumaru followed a stone pathway that lead to an arched doorway into the castle, Jaken running before him to get the doors open in time not to be squashed by his demon lord’s feet. Inuyasha followed slowly, still trying to take in all the sights and smells of this place he used to call home. The interior was Sesshoumaru, the scent was Sesshoumaru, everything gave off the aura of the demon ruler. The young hanyou walked gingerly behind his brother, sniffing and failing to locate any indicator that he and his mother had once resided behind these walls. Nothing was familiar to him, save the outside of the building itself.

Sesshoumaru paused to transfer Rin to Jaken, and then beckoned Inuyasha to follow him deeper into the household, past lit torches and soft rugs, past dark paintings depicting violent battles and cold-hearted rulers. One painting in particular caught Inuyasha’s attention at once, stopping him in his tracks, dragging his golden eyes forward, locking them onto the face of a dark-haired woman seated beside a tall, pale demon. It was his mother, looking as beautiful as he remembered, looking happy to be tangled in a forbidden love. Inutaisho looked peaceful as well, with one of his arms draped carefully around his lover. Her belly was round with life.

“Father had that painting done shortly before you were born.” A cool voice stated close behind him, its tone revealing nothing about how the person behind it felt. Inuyasha started a little, but did not turn, still entranced by the sight of his mother and father, both so happy to be with one another. His hand reached out, and ever-so-slightly he traced the outline of his mother’s face with a single claw.

“She was…happy to be with him?” Inuyasha asked, then bit his lip roughly, suddenly furious that he had let his guard down with his worst enemy so close behind him. It was all these damn memories, all these damn emotions. The hanyou turned quickly to face his brother, ready to snap something rude so that both of them would forget this moment, but his mouth couldn’t form the words. His brother was looking at him intently, with such a serious expression on his face that Inuyasha was at once baffled by it. The mask had slipped slightly, and Sesshoumaru was allowing his hanyou brother to see a little piece of himself.

The older brother leaned forward slowly, until he was towering above Inuyasha, golden orbs narrowed as the tips of their noses brushed delicately against one another. The young hanyou cringed backward, hitting the back of his head against the stone wall, heart hammering painfully within the confines of his chest. Inuyasha blinked up at Sesshoumaru, mouth parted slightly, breathing in shallow pants as he attempted to flatten himself against the wall, wanting to escape, needing fresh air, anything that didn’t smell of Sesshoumaru, Sesshoumaru, Sesshoumaru. The demon lord lowered his head, locking their eyes together, alike and yet so different. A moments pause, an eternity of locked positions, tense air.

“They were happy to be with each other, little brother.” His voice was deep, soft. With that said, however, Sesshoumaru immediately straightened and walked off, leaving the trembling hanyou in his wake. Inuyasha breathed deeply, almost sighed, and wiped the thin sheen of sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. What the fuck was that? Why had Sesshoumaru gone all weird on him for a second? Inuyasha stepped away from the wall, trying to work the shaking from his limbs, patting his body to make sure there were no wounds or gashes, that he was still intact.

“Are you coming, mutt?” A sardonic voice cut down the hallway, making Inuyasha jump. It was the old voice, the same one that got the hanyou riled up, got him pissed. Maybe he had just imagined the entire event, though why he would envision him and his hated older brother getting so personal with one another, he couldn’t fathom. His clothes reeked of Sesshoumaru, though, and he couldn’t chalk that up to his imagination or hallucination or whatever the hell that had been. Well, if Sesshoumaru was acting normal again, then he was just going to brush it off. No point it bringing it up if, well…if he had just dreamt up the whole goddamn thing.

Inuyasha cast one last look at the painting of his mother, feeling his heart contract painfully at her angelic face, at his father’s serene expression, before following Sesshoumaru down the hallway. His head drooped low, eyes following the small cracks in the stone floor, not wanting to look up and see the mocking hatred behind his brother’s eyes at the emotions flitting across the young hanyou’s face. They traveled in this fashion for several minutes before Inuyasha realized he could no longer hear his brother’s footfalls. As he really hadn’t been paying attention before, it was a miracle that he didn’t run smack into the still figure of Sesshoumaru before him.

“Why’d you stop in the middle of the hallway!?” Inuyasha snarled angrily, taking a quick step back to put some space between them. Sesshoumaru spared him the smallest of glances.

“Why weren’t you paying attention to where you were going?” His older brother quipped almost politely, slender arm snaking out to tug open the door in front of him. Inuyasha was suddenly greeted with the faint scent of himself, of his mother. The young hanyou stepped forward instantly, and peered into the room, already knowing who’s it had been.

It was dark inside, with no torches or any other light source to help his eyes as he peered through the gloom. It had definitely been a child’s room, with old children’s toys and children’s drawings tacked up on the walls. A bed sat in the corner, quilts still rumpled as if somebody had just recently gotten out of them in a hurry. But the room had been unused, had not been touched since the day Inuyasha and his mother had been banished from their home. Cobwebs clung to each corner of the room, and the rug in the center of the floor gave off the scent of mildew. Outside the small hole in the wall that served a window, the sun had finally sunk into the horizon.

“You don’t need to sleep here.” Sesshoumaru spoke emotionlessly, and Inuyasha glanced back at him, wanting to keep an eye on his older brother should he have any more “hallucinations”. “The papers will arrive two days from now. My messenger…has been delayed.”

“What?” Inuyasha exclaimed, spinning around completely to face his brother. “I didn’t sign up to be here two days! I said I’d come because you said I could just sign the papers and leave!”

“You’re here now, so quit your whining. The papers will reach us in due time. In the meantime, you can either stay here or in the guest room beside my room. I do not care to see your face until the papers are here.” Sesshoumaru turned on heel and began to glide farther down the hallway, long hair sweeping carelessly behind him. Before the gloom had enveloped him completely, Inuyasha saw that Jaken had rejoined his master, minus a Rin.

“I don’t wanna see your face either, ugly!” Inuyasha shouted after him, hands balled up into fists, eyes two spitting balls of fire. Jaken’s squawk of outrage echoed eerily down the hallway and Inuyasha pumped himself up, actually anticipating killing the little green toad. This was so stupid! Having to spend two godforsaken days with his stupid, stupid, stupid brother was not his idea of a fun time.

Inuyasha cast a glance back in his old room, noting the musty smell that had begun to creep out through the doorway. There was too much familiarity in the room, too many things that tied him to a past he would much rather forget. And there was no way he would be sleeping in a room that was just a short walk away from Sesshoumaru. That was like cuddling up next to a hungry alligator and expecting it to tolerate your presence. So basically that left him the option of either the hallway or outside. The hallway wouldn’t be a problem, since he was still standing in one, but he had no idea how to get back outside. He really hadn’t been paying attention while there were walking, and his scent was too faint among Sesshoumaru’s that it would be almost impossible to follow back on.

The young hanyou spun back towards the doorway, looking at the small window. Waaayy too small to fit through. He’d get his head outside and then the rest of his body would be stuck at the shoulders. Maybe Sesshoumaru hadn’t gotten very far yet…no, he would not ask his stupid brother for directions out of here. Inuyasha began to walk back to where they had come from, keeping his head high and eyes wide, trying to locate anything familiar, body tense as if expecting some sort of attack. The castle was very quiet, the only sounds being the soft scraping of the hanyou’s bare feet against the cool stone floor.

Everything looked the same, dammit! The walls, the floor...even the goddamn paintings seemed to be depicting the same battle over and over again. Inuyasha flexed his shoulder blades, itching to get out of the castle, wanting to see the sky high above him again. It was disturbing for him to be in the same area of Sesshoumaru, weird to be able to converse with him like he was a normal person and not like he was some cold, bloodthirsty demon. Inuyasha could not even remember a time when the two of them had ever gotten along. It had always been hateful words and fighting…not that Inuyasha was complaining. To have a part of his family speak so politely with him just wasn’t natural.

The half demon rounded the corner, wondering if perhaps he would have to tear the very walls down to get some relief, when a more recent scent of Sesshoumaru wafted towards his delicate nose. He flattened himself against the darkest part of the hallway, knowing it would be useless if his older brother had already caught wind of him, and watched as Sesshoumaru emerged from around a corner and walked quietly through the now-familiar arched doorways and into the courtyard outside. Of course! The only thing that could heed his escape to the outside world would be a certain someone wandering around in the dead of night to do the exact same thing.

Inuyasha took a couple stiff steps forward, eyes straining ahead, head cocked to the side to peer around the doorway and into the surrounding area. Sesshoumaru stood a little ways off, bathed in silvery moonlight, his formal kimono replaced by a simple pair of white pants, their soft-looking material fluttering about slightly in the wind. The demon lord seemed completely preoccupied with himself and his thoughts, especially as he gazed at his new arm, flexed the slender fingers and bunched the corded muscle high near his shoulder. It really was a perfect replica, with no visual signs that it had ever been removed from his body. The young hanyou was lost for a second, observing the way his brother traced the arm with his golden eyes, as if he himself could not believe that it really was there again. A part of their earlier conversation came back to Inuyasha, and he wondered again what sort of woman would approach Sesshoumaru and offer him a new arm. What was the price for it, he pondered…what did the great demon lord have to give up for such a prize?

“Inuyasha.” It was a statement, not a question. Sesshoumaru had sensed him long before Inuyasha had caught wind of his older brother. The young hanyou straightened up, thrusting his chest forward, wanting to look tough and not nervous, sure of himself and not full of confusion. He stepped outside, enjoying the cool wind against his face, the black sky covered in pinpricks of light. The courtyard had taken a mystical sort of glow as it drank in the light from above, making it some sort of fairytale castle where a princess would await her prince each night of the full moon.

Sesshoumaru did not look behind him as Inuyasha approached, so the hanyou took the opportunity to look at his brother up close, to really see him for the first time without having to duck a punch or swing a sword for the killing blow. Sesshoumaru’s back was finely muscled with no trace of fat along his lean form. He was a bit larger than Inuyasha, who had spent a long time going to bed hungry and as a result, his body structure was much thinner than it should have been. The demon’s hair was long, silky-looking, with strands ranging from white to pure silver. Inuyasha stepped to the side of Sesshoumaru, amber eyes narrowed with mistrust as he glanced at the face of his older brother.

“See something you like?” Sesshoumaru asked tonelessly, head tilted back to watch the stars and moon above them. Inuyasha bristled angrily, arms crossing themselves over his chest.

“You fucking wish!” Inuyasha snapped, glaring at the sky, the trees, the ground…anywhere but Sesshoumaru. Once again, that sense of complete and utter strangeness was settling over him, making him wish that he had never agreed to sign the stupid papers. It wasn’t normal for them to be able to stand side by side, like companions.

“Do I now?” Now the demon lord’s voice had turned politely curious, an emotion Inuyasha thought his brother did not possess. Hell, he didn’t believe even for a second that Sesshoumaru had any emotion whatsoever. Inuyasha turned slightly pink at the question, however, and chose not to answer. Their conversation had just gotten weird, just like this damn trip. Everything was fucking weird now.

Instead, Inuyasha muttered something incoherent and stalked by Sesshoumaru, fully intending to leave the western lands and rejoin Kagome and their small group of friends. It wasn’t worth it to hang around here and sign papers about something he didn’t even care about. Not even the memory of his father could keep him here for two full days and nights.

But perhaps the vise-like grip on his wrist could keep him here.

Inuyasha snarled and spun back towards Sesshoumaru, trying to tear his arm from his brother’s grip. He knew it, he fucking knew it. It was a little drawn out for someone so cut and dry like Sesshoumaru, but it had been a big plan to get him alone and kill him in a place where no one would ever be able to find him again.

“Let go, you bastard!” Inuyasha twisted in the iron grip, attempting to draw his sword with his left hand, bending the elbow at a funny angle to get a better grip on its hilt.

“You did not answer me.” Sesshoumaru’s voice spoke coldly from above, sane enough for Inuyasha to cease in his struggles and gape open-mouthed at his towering brother.

“W-what?”

“Do I find myself wishing that you’ve seen something you like?” Sesshoumaru asked again, tone taking on that slight bit of curiosity, the way a refined feline may feel towards something new and exciting.

“What…why the fuck are you asking that?” Inuyasha yelped, cheeks tinting red, amber eyes wide and full of humiliation in their child-like roundness. Again he attempted to free his trapped appendage, which resulted in nothing more than a lot of panting on the hanyou’s part and a faint scowl on Sesshoumaru’s part.

“Do you think that I find you sexually attractive, Inuyasha?” Sesshoumaru’s golden eyes narrowed, the eyes of a predator, a cunning carnivore. He tugged Inuyasha towards his lean, muscled chest, eyeing the terrified hanyou up and down.

“Sex…uall…y…what…?” Inuyasha stuttered, leaning his body back as far as possible, head spinning in all directions for a chance to escape. ‘What the fuck is wrong with him…? One minute he wants to kill me and the next minute he wants to…to what? To fuck me?’ The young hanyou shuddered violently as the thought made its way throughout his mind, leaving a thin coating of slime on his brain. The pain in his arm intensified as Sesshoumaru rasped his elongated claws against the inside of his wrist, drawing blood from his tanned skin.

“That maybe I want to…fuck you?” The demon lord leaned forward, nostrils flared as he took in the scent of his terrified sibling. The tip of his nose tickled one of Inuyasha’s ears, and the hanyou made a whispery cry as he flattened the furry appendages to the curve of his skull. His belly curled in upon itself at his older brother’s words, and suddenly he was more scared than he had ever been in his entire life. He wanted to fight, to be strong, but Sesshoumaru was filling his heart with shame, with terror. The humiliation…

“No…Sesshoumaru…you…“

“Perhaps…that’s what you want?” Sesshoumaru’s free hand ran along the top of Inuyasha’s head, only brushing against the fine hairs that fluttered in the quiet wind. He clamped onto the back of his younger brother’s neck and forced his head upward, joining their gaze, locking them together. “Let me tell you a little secret, Inuyasha.”

Silken lips brushed delicately against one of Inuyasha’s puppy dog ears, breath heating the fragile skin inside. The hanyou whimpered and tried to jerk away, but Sesshoumaru’s grip on the back of his neck held him firmly in place.

“No one will ever want you, Inuyasha. You are just a filthy half-demon.”

The shuddering slowed, stopped. Inuyasha froze, eyes wide and blank. Inside, his emotions had come to a swirling halt. Sesshoumaru released his younger brother and walked away without a single glance back, posture firm and upright as he glided back inside the castle.

Inuyasha stood in the dark courtyard, lit only by the moon and stars staring coldly from above, and thought of Kagome and Kikyo.
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