Brother My Brother

Two days passed and Inuyasha was beginning to get testy. He had never
been the type to just sit around and wait for something. He wanted to
take the initiative and get going, but he could do nothing. He had
already checked Sesshomaru over for the Tenseiga, aiming to heal Kagome
himself, but had not found it. He guessed that Sesshomaru had hidden it
somewhere. I just hope he didn’t get
rid of it. After all, as far as Inuyasha knew, his brother had
never been able to use the sword because of his cruel and dark heart.

Finally, as evening was approaching, Sesshomaru stirred and opened his
eyes, staring up at the ceiling of the cave as his vision came into
focus. He groaned, then sniffed the air, taking in the musty, damp
scent of the cave, and of course the familiar scent of his younger
brother, but also the horrid smell of decomposing flesh. Sesshomaru
snorted, forbidding the smell to enter his nose again.

“‘Bout time you woke up,” Inuyasha growled. “You’ve been asleep for two
days.”

Sesshomaru looked over at him. “Where am I? Did you bring me here?”

“Yeah, I brought you here,” Inuyasha replied with disgust. “Ever think
about losing some weight or something? You’re too damn heavy for
anybody to carry on their backs.”

Sesshomaru growled. “What is this place and why have you brought me
here?”

“It’s a cave in the middle of nowhere and I brought you here because I
need your help,” Inuyasha replied.

    

“My help,” Sesshomaru said. “With what? And why me?”

    

“With Kagome,” Inuyasha answered. “And because you’re the only one with
the power to heal her.”

    

Sesshomaru tested his strength, but found that he was much too weak to
even sit up. “You speak of the Tenseiga.”

    

“What else would I be speaking of?” Inuyasha countered. “Doesn’t look
like you have it, so where is it?”

    

Sesshomaru closed his eyes, mentally replaying the events from the day
he fell unconscious. Naraku had stolen both of his swords and murdered
Rin. He had even smelled Jaken’s blood spilt before Naraku had vanished
into the night. He wondered if the small demon had survived.

    

Inuyasha grabbed his brother by the collar of his kimono and lifted his
upper body up off the ground. “Are you listening? I asked where the
damn sword is!”

    

Sesshomaru flinched as the pain returned to his body once it had been
moved. He placed a hand on Inuyasha’s threatening grasp. “Let… go.”

    

“Not until you tell me where the Tenseiga is,” Inuyasha countered. He
shook him slightly. “Now where is it?”

    

The elder brother grimaced with pain. “I… I don’t have it.”

    

“I can see that,” Inuyasha snapped. “So where is it?”

    

“Naraku,” Sesshomaru responded. “Naraku has it.”

    

“What?” the half-demon exclaimed before dropping Sesshomaru back down
to the ground. “How the hell did he get it?”

    

Sesshomaru’s skull cracked against the stone floor and it took him a
moment to regain his senses. “He and I had a battle in which he was
able to take both the Tokijin and the Tenseiga away from me,” he
replied.

    

“He has the Tokijin too?” Inuyasha exclaimed. “That&7;s 7;s just great. Nice
going, you bastard.”

    

“You imply that I meant for it to happen?” Sesshomaru snarled. “He had
an unfair and dishonorable advantage over me.”

    

“Yeah, like Naraku knows anything about honor,” Inuyasha scoffed. He
turned his attention away from his brother and his eyes fell on the
motionless form of Kagome in the corner. “Now how do I help her?”

    

Sesshomaru followed his gaze. “Exactly how long has she been dead?” he
inquired. “The body is decomposing and giving off a horrible stench.”

    

Inuyasha’s response was a savage backhand to Sesshomaru’s face. “Don’t
say that about her!” he shouted angrily. He got up and went to Kagome’s
side, leaving his brother with a very confused and astounded look on
his face.

    

“How dare you strike me in that manner!” he snarled.

    

Inuyasha paid him no heed. Instead, he picked Kagome up in his arms and
started walking out of the cave.

    

“Where are you going?” Sesshomaru demanded.

    

“You can’t help her, so I have to find someone else who can,” Inuyasha
responded, then walked away.