UnBound Memories

Disclaimer: Don't own the show or its characters. This is my first such fic and would appreciate reviews, but no flames please. Yes, it is yaoi, and that means men together.

This takes place about 5 years after the series and will probably blend things from both the manga and anime world. I am a fan of the show, but if I have made major errors (Aside from some OOC) please tell me.

Chapter 1

"Strange, very strange"

A low growl escaped Sesshomaru as he once again stood opposite Naraku, knowing this really was he, not one of the hanyou's damned puppets. It took all the control Sesshomaru had in his body not to shred the monster before him into pieces with his claws, just to feel the flesh ripping away at the will of his own hand, to feel his claws digging into the half-spider's resisting flesh. He didn't want to bring death to this creature with the skillful use of a sword or even his energy whip. He wanted to strangle the life out of Naraku, or shred the it from him piece by piece, to make him suffer for having ever dared to cross him or to presume that he could manipulate him.

But Sesshomaru knew better.

He remembered too well trying to face off against Naraku when Rin had been captured and he knew this would require keeping that memory fresh, as he was once again facing the genuine article. Sesshomaru had succeeded in hacking the hanyou's body to bits and had nearly gotten himself absorbed in the process. This time, he had to be cautious about how he attacked. He could smell InuYasha's scent nearby, and he did not want to be saved by his baby brother; he could barely bring himself to admit the worthless half-breed had managed to be of any use last time--never did he admit this aloud and never even to himself admit he had actually been saved when Naraku had tried to absorb the demon lord.

"Do you hesitate Lord Sesshomaru?" Naraku asked, his mouth turning up into a smirk as he somehow managed to make Sesshomaru's title sound more like an insult than a sign of respect.

Sesshomaru had his reconstructed Tokijin clutched in his only hand, the sole reaction to Naraku's words a slight tightening of his grip on the sword. Gold eyes narrowed as he saw his opportunity to strike, moving so quickly that the inuyoukai became nothing more than a blinding white blur. The attack was swift, but mid-movement he realized Naraku had been anticipating it. Before he could shift his attack, Sesshomaru found himself engulfed in tentacles, all doing their best to stop the dog demon before he finally succeeded in stabbing Naraku in his still-human heart. Sesshomaru knew that if he couldn't get away, those tentacles could very well mean his end.

So he could not fail.

Sesshomaru had accounted for Naraku's fighting style, just as he was sure his nemesis had studied the lord's and now finally, everything seemed to be coming into place. Yes, Naraku was drawing him in, Sesshomaru was not taken completely by surprise by this, but he had to use the growing closeness as his own opportunity to make an attack. Sesshomaru had Tokijin readied for the kill, barely even noticing when he heard Naraku mutter, "Strange, very strange."

Sesshomaru found his sword making contact with the hanyou, but missing its intended target, as one of Naraku's hands dared to make contact at the crescent moon on Sesshomaru's forehead. "You filthy bastard," Sesshomaru hissed, his body shaking in anger, rational thought that normally would have made him refrain from such language gone, "for your own sake, I recommend you get your hand off me before I cut it off."

"But my lord," Naraku said, once again using Sesshomaru's title derogatorily, "then I wouldn't be able to... Hmm..."

Involuntarily, the inu demon felt his body shiver at whatever power Naraku managed to possess over him at the moment. Sesshomaru struggled to shift his sword, to make it move just those few inches to the right that would wound his enemy's heart, but he found his body unable to move.

"Very strange, dog." Naraku's eyes narrowed as though studying something on a scroll rather than deep within the recesses of the lord's mind. "It seems someone felt it necessary to block your memories." He seemed to be delving deeper, letting out a simple sound of realization. "I had no idea that the late Inu no Taisho had that capability. Very uncommon in your kind." The hand didn't move, but Naraku's eyes looked downward, smugly victorious red meeting furious gold. "Tell me, you tiresome dog, what on earth drove your father to put his block on your mind? Is the great Lord Sesshomaru so weak that he cannot cope with a simple memory? I have truly overestimated you."

Sesshomaru growled.

"Bad dog. I wonder if removing your father's little spell might help to tame you a bit," Naraku said as a searing pain had begun in Sesshomaru's head. He tried to pull away, tried to struggle, but was still unable to move, and every effort he made to gain his freedom managed to make the pain even worse. The inuyoukai could take pain; he had learned a long time ago to ignore pain in all of its forms, but somehow, his face was twisting despite him, nearly cracking the usual bored calm that dominated his features most of the time. Sesshomaru stopped fighting the efforts of Naraku, now only trying not to seem weak, struggling only against a whimper gradually working up his throat. For some time, the proud demon managed to resist the urge to vocalize his pain, but his resistance dwindled, and the whimper became a full-out scream of anguish that echoed across Naraku's compound and through the forest-covered hills.

* * * * * * * * * *

"What was that?" Kagome asked, shuddering at the tortuous cry. She looked at InuYasha, who for a moment didn't move and stood almost frozen in shock. "InuYasha?"

The half-demon looked up at her, eyes fearful, breath coming slowly. "That was Sesshomaru." Then, before even he knew what he was doing or why, InuYasha took off, leaving the humans, kitsune, and the cat demon far behind. He could hear his companions calling after him, but he couldn't stop himself. Something instinctual, some familial bond was drawing him to Sesshomaru, as was his curiosity. The strong demon lord didn't cry like that. He never showed emotion of any kind, and he would most certainly never stoop so low as to show any sign of pain.

Despite the distance he was putting between himself and his comrades, InuYasha could still hear Kagome shouting at him for leaving her behind. Thankfully, she had the common sense not to "sit" him while he was rushing for his brother. Kagome had her insensitivities about InuYasha's reactions to many things--particularly Kikyo--but not family. Family, real family, was something that girl understood, probably better than InuYasha himself.

InuYasha was darting from tree to tree, his feet barely making contact with the leafy treetops as he nearly flew to his brother's side. He was startled to see that Naraku's newest compound had no barrier, not even the thick black haze of miasma surrounding it. This had been a trap, and InuYasha couldn't understand why his usually cautious brother had take such obvious bait. He had smelled the stench of the toad Jaken and even the flowery scent of the little girl who mysteriously followed the older inu nearly a mile back from where InuYasha had abandoned his friends.

Naraku couldn't have captured one of Sesshomaru's followers, and as much as InuYasha liked to call him so, he wasn't stupid. Of course, this didn't account for ego, one trait that Sesshomaru had in excess. Perhaps overconfidence had been his older brother's downfall. It wouldn't have been the first. Sesshomaru had underestimated InuYasha more than once and had already lost a limb for it.

InuYasha stepped inside the compound, but quickly found himself surrounded by the many hoards of demons Naraku kept close by, ready for him to absorb at his need. As they came closer, Inuyasha cracked a smile. These nearly brainless demons were almost a waste of time, as he could easily dispatch of them all with his wind scar. Somewhere, it crossed his mind that if Naraku wanted to become stronger, these demons could only get him so far.

As InuYasha stepped further inside, he could see Naraku and Sesshomaru, the two demons' eyes focused on one another, one looking at the other with intense curiosity, the other trying to keep his eyes from closing as his face controted with suffering. Naraku held the older demon from every side with his tentacles, and watching and waiting for his best mode of attack, InuYasha felt afraid. Naraku seemed to be only holding Sesshomaru, his hand placed on the inuyoukai's head, but Sesshomaru's face was so twisted that it was frightening.

At this moment, the only thing benefiting InuYasha was the intensity of Naraku's concentration on his brother. It didn't even seem that InuYasha's presence was noticed by either demon, and he used this to his advantage as he charged toward Naraku, Tessaiga in the air, ready to attack. With skill, if not grace, InuYasha brought Tessaiga down and hacked off the limbs--tentacles and hand--that currently held Sesshomaru.

"Do not worry," Naraku said as he retreated, "I will return. Your brother has peaked my curiosity."

InuYasha looked at his brother, lying unconscious on the ground. Despite clenched teeth and tensed limbs, the only blood on Sesshomaru seemed to be Naraku's. Hastily, InuYasha had to make a decision: ensuring the safety of Sesshomaru and carrying the unconscious inu to safety or follow after Naraku. He cursed himself for leaving Kagome and the others behind. There would have been no need for a choice, as he could have left some of them with Sesshomaru while he followed. Somehow, concern over the--dare he even think it--weakened Sesshomaru won out, and InuYasha scooped the older demon into his arms bridal style and rushed him away from the false courtyard as it disintegrated like so many before it.

"I hope you appreciate this, you ass," InuYasha said as he came to a halt, seeing the rest of his traveling party running toward him.

InuYasha could see that Sesshomaru had no injuries and his instinctual need to care for the inuyoukai began to fade. InuYasha dropped Sesshomaru to the ground. "Wake up, bastard."

Sesshomaru's eyes opened slowly, seeming to observe InuYasha's group surrounding him, each prepared for possible battle. When the yellow eyes below them fully opened, they flashed with fear and the demon's body tensed.

Then, as quickly as the emotion had appeared, it vanished.

"Unlike some of us," Sesshomaru said as he rose to his feet, making the humans around him tense, "my parents were mated before I was born."

"Ungrateful, arrogant..." InuYasha said as he drew Tessaiga, watching Sesshomaru starting to walk away. "He falls into a trap because he thinks he can defeat Naraku on by himself, then can't even thank me when I save him. I'm a damned savior, and he can't manage a show of gratitude."

"If you are a savior, little brother, then where is the boy?"

"Boy?"

"Yes," Sesshomaru said, looking over his shoulder at InuYasha. "Where is the boy Kohaku?"

"Kohaku?" Sango uttered, advancing toward the demon.

"Yes. He had escaped from Naraku some time ago, and has been traveling as part of my pack for nearly five years. He is now, once again in the hanyou's clutches."

"With you for five years?" Sango's voice held so much hurt that all, save for the cold demon, seemed to feel a twinge of the pain in sympathy for her. "Why?"

"Because I allowed it. Rin is quite attached to him. For some reason, I seem to accumulate human children." Sesshomaru turned away. "Kohaku is within Naraku's grasp, and he might not be if you, InuYasha had followed Naraku instead of trying to get gratitude out of this Sesshomaru."

His pace was slow, but Sesshomaru could hear the quick padding of the demon slayer's feet behind him. He allowed her to overtake him and stand within his path.

"Why? Why did he choose to follow you? I'm his sister."

Sesshomaru looked down at Sango, startling her as they made eye contact. "Your brother was never extremely talkative while in my care, unless it was a Rin, but I know enough to know the boy still holds onto a great deal of guilt and frightening memories. Humans place too much on memories and emotions. If you want an explanation for why he chose this Sesshomaru over you, begin looking for your answer there."

Saying nothing more, Sesshomaru leapt off the ground, transforming himself into a ball of light, though he could still hear InuYasha yell from behind him, "But what did Naraku do to you?"

That was exactly what Sesshomaru wanted to know himself.