In The Blood

"Inuyasha!" Kagome's shrill voice rose up the tree, jolting the hanyou from his dozing. Flicking his ears in annoyance he looked down at the girl below him, giving him a very nice view straight down her top.

"What is it, wench? Can't you see I'm sleeping?"

Kagome scowled at the name and she yelled "SIT!" with her hands on her hips. Inuyasha had a moment of vertigo as he thought oh shit then the floor was rapidly approaching. Slamming into the ground and creating the usual crater he got up, biting his lip for a second when the world spun blurrily, making him dizzy. His head hurt too, falling from such a height definitely wasn't good for him. Spitting out the dirt in his mouth he turned and glared at Kagome.

"What? Don't glare at me, we have to move on! It's not my fault you're tired." The girl pouted at him as Inuyasha scrambled up into standing position and they glared at each other heatedly.

"Hey, hey, sorry to break up the lover's spat but we really do have to move on." The monk's words were ignored by both parties until a searching hand found Kagome's rear. One violent slap and a good deal more yelling later they were all on the road, Miroku rubbing his face and muttering while Kagome fumed and Sango laughed at the monk's misfortune. Shippo chased Kirara around their feet and Inuyasha watched them playing, sticking out a clawed foot every now and then to trip the little kitsune over.

The third time he did this and sent Shippo tumbling Kagome noticed. Another "Sit!" and Inuyasha was face down in the dirt again, hearing the footsteps of his travelling companions continue away without glancing back. Growling as he righted himself again Inuyasha mentally cursed the old hag who had put the cursed beads on him. It meant Kagome could control him, something he resented.

Suddenly a scent caught his attention. Sniffing the air the raced forwards to join the others, where Shippo had stopped playing and was also looking confused and worried, trying to place the scent.

"I can smell Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha said and all four of them turned to him before their faces twisted. Shippo looked scared, Miroku and Sango apprehensive.

Kagome just looked angry. "Why is he showing up now? We haven't seen him for ages, I hoped he'd gone off with Naraku or something."

Inuyasha frowned. "I'd like to know that too. We are far enough away from the Western Castle that he can't just be out hunting. He must be tracking something."

They stood for a few seconds in silence, thinking before Sango exclaimed "Well waiting around isn't going to help us, is it? We have to go now, or stay and prepare to fight him."

"I want to fight him." Kagome said, her voice firm. "We need to find more Shikon Shards and I'm sure there are some in this area. Having him near us will make it harder to get them, we should fight him now."

"Kagome-san...." Miroku said, frowning at the girl. "We aren't strong enough right now. Sango-san is still injured from that fight with the bear youkai two days ago and it's the new moon tonight, so Inuyasha could be in great danger if the fight continues past sunset." All four looked at the western horizon where the sun was low in the sky, golden light spilling over their faces. "It would be a much more sensible course of action to run now and fight another time."

"Whatever decision we make, we have to decide now!" Inuyasha said harshly. "Sesshoumaru's scent is getting closer quickly, he will be here in a few minutes."

Miroku looked at Kagome, as did Sango. Inuyasha stared out to the west where the scent of his brother was coming from, and scowled. Kagome sighed in frustration, but nodded.

"Fine. Lets run away. But we will have to fight him sometime soon, we need the shards from this area." Sango signaled to Kirara and the neko grew until Sango, Miroku and Shippo could sit on her back. Inuyasha bent down for Kagome to climb onto his back and they started running eastwards, away from the approach of Sesshoumaru.

---

"Ah, Sesshoumaru-sama, they have started moving again!" Jaken hopped impatiently at Sesshoumaru's side, his green face frowning as they sped along.

"Do not presume that I am unaware, Jaken. I know they have begun their running." The taiyoukai's voice was cold and Jaken cringed under the dismissal. Rin giggled from her perch on Sesshoumaru's shoulder, clutching the white fur of his tail and smiling as the wind whipped through her hair and the silver hair next to her, mixing them together in the slipstream of their speed.

Sesshoumaru's eyes were unwaveringly fixed on the way in front of them as he ran with sure, steady leaps. He paid little heed to the green blur at his side that was the toad, but he was aware of the light weight of the child on his shoulder and her little hands clutching his fur.

He could tell that Inuyasha and his companions were indeed moving away from them, at a fast pace, but they were no match for his youkai speed. Having to wait for Jaken to keep up was slowing him down somewhat but at his current speed he would reach the filthy hanyou in no more than ten minutes. Coming to a running stream, he saw the tracks disappear and scented the air carefully. Though the humans had been thorough, he could still catch a trace of his half-brother's scent from upstream so began his swift run away from the current, through the trees that ran along the side of the river. Jaken screeched in surprise at the sudden movement but Rin laughed happily at the speed at which they were moving.

He could smell each member of his brother's makeshift pack clearly now. The human demon hunter girl was wounded, he could smell blood from her, and the cat they carried with them was injured also. The monk was physically fine though he could smell an undercurrent of fear in the human male's scent, no doubt caused by Sesshoumaru himself. The filthy miko girl was angry and a little scared, he could tell, but her fear was minimal. Obviously she thought they should be fighting. The baby kitsune they carried around with them was terrified and Inuyasha's scent was tinged with worry, presumably for the child as the hanyou had never feared Sesshoumaru.

Inuyasha's scent was strange. He seemed on edge, but that could be attributed to the chase. No, the thing that was particularly unusual was that his youkai blood was less strong. Normally the hanyou smelt about equally of youkai and ningen, but when Inuyasha transformed to his full-demon state the ningen smell was completely wiped out, only to return when he changed back. At the moment his ningen blood was stronger, affecting his scent and making Sesshoumaru frown inwardly.

He remembered reading somewhere when he was younger than hanyou changed into humans for one night every lunar month, on the night of the new moon. Thinking carefully, he realised that it was indeed the night of the new moon tonight. That meant Inuyasha would be weak and powerless during the darkness hours. He could finally destroy his cursed half-brother, and rid the world of another filthy hanyou.

---

"Hurry up, he's gaining on us!" Inuyasha cursed under his breath. His brother hadn't been fooled by the river trick and was now approaching much quicker than they were moving.

"He's after me." He said in a low tone, causing the others to look over at him from Kirara's back as they ran. "He must know its the night of the new moon. Look, the sun has nearly set already, I can feel myself changing." They were all looking at him. Miroku was frowning and Sango looked worried. He couldn't see Kagome's reaction, her head was hidden behind his own. "You guys have to run somewhere else. I'm not going to let him hurt you."

"No, Inuyasha!" Kagome said from her place on his back. "You can't fight him alone, you'll never win. We'll help you-"

"Kagome." Inuyasha cut her off. "Sango and Kirara are hurt. You guys are both tired and I can tell Shippo is scared. We cannot beat him as we are, and at least this way you guys will escape."

"But-" Kagome began.

"No. I will take Tessaiga and go northwest. You guys continue east and I will follow you once I throw Sesshoumaru off. I've been fighting him since I was a kid, don't worry. If... if I don't catch up with you in two days, then continue to search for the shards."

Running over to the moving form of Kirara he lifted Kagome into Miroku's hands. The two men shared a look of mutual understanding. Miroku nodded. Then Inuysha veered off at an angle away from the track the others were taking, heading northwest. He smelt Sesshoumaru alter his course to follow him and growled. He had been right about Sesshoumaru then.

Speeding up now that Kagome was off of his back, he ran flat out, sprinting from tree to tree so fast he was a red blur. Knowing Sesshoumaru would notice the change in speed he was still surprised when suddenly the other youkai seemed to stop moving completely for a few moments, then continue his chase. Except now the youkai was moving a lot faster as well. He realized that Sesshoumaru must have paused to leave behind those he was travelling with, presumably Jaken and the human girl he carried around. He had never discovered why the child had achieved such a special place in his older brother's entourage.

Tearing his mind away from the puzzle of his brother's non-existant emotions and back to the urgent task at hand, Inuyasha glanced back to see Sesshoumaru approaching behind him, so close now that he was visible through the sphere of light that surrounded him. Breaking into a clearing Inuyasha leapt to the ground and rolled as the long snaking tail of the light whip flicked through the air, snapping above his head.

Smelling the tang of Sesshoumaru's poison claws in the air Inuyasha faced his brother, knowing it was pointless to try and run at the moment, that he would simply be gutted with the light whip.

He could feel his strength fading, the sun lowering over the horizon meaning that his human transformation was approaching fast. He knew that once he was human he stood very little chance against the older youkai. His sense of smell would be practically useless, he would be weaker and his reflexes would dull. If at all possible, he needed to end this quickly.

"I see that those filthy humans you so foolishly call your friends have deserted you." Sesshoumaru's voice rang out from his perch on a tree branch.

"I told them to leave, you bastard!" Inuyasha yelled up at his brother. "They are safer away from you."

Sesshoumaru's face was emotionless but his voice scoffed at Inuyasha. "So you would choose to die to protect them? How pathetic. Typical of a filthy hanyou, with foolish human emotions." The half-brothers glared at each other from across the clearing. Inuyasha was mentally swearing. Every second they spent talking was a second closer to his transformation, and he couldn't afford to wait any longer.

"Even if I'm hanyou, I can still beat you!" He snarled up at Sesshoumaru. "Why don't you come down here and prove me right?"

The youkai raised one perfect eyebrow and jumped to the ground, not making a sound as he landed gracefully. Inuyasha growled at the flawless leap and jumped at Sesshoumaru, claws raised and fangs bared.

But as the sun dipped below the horizon his strength suddenly lessened and Sesshoumaru had no problem knocking the blows away and lifting him up by his throat, poison burning through the skin on his neck. Inuyasha choked and scratched at Sesshoumaru's forearms, blood dribbling from his mouth, but his claws retracted and within no time he was weakly scrabbling with clawless nails. He could feel his ears retreating into the top of his head and new human ones growing on the sides. He knew that his hair was now pitch black and that the eyes he glared at Sesshoumaru with were violet, not amber.

Sesshoumaru watched as his half-brother changed before his eyes. Hair darkened until it was exactly the same colour as Rin's, the claws on his arm changed to harmless human nails and the golden eyes full of fury that he was used to became muted violet. Inuyasha's struggles began to weaken as he lost strength and Sesshoumaru tossed him to the ground, irritated. Usually the hanyou put up a much more rewarding fight, was actually a worthy opponent. This weak ningen was not even worth the trouble.

Inuyasha looked up into the disgusted eyes of his brother and something in him cowered. His human senses were telling him to quake in fear at this powerful creature before him, indeed he could feel his body shaking, but the part of his mind that he mentally labelled as youkai was adamant that he would not just give up, that he must fight. Unfortunately his body was under the control of his human part and he couldn't make himself move.

It wasn't really a surprise when Sesshoumaru unsheathed Tokijin and held it to Inuyasha's neck, close enough to draw blood and so that he could feel the evil energy in the metal. What did surprise him was when Sesshoumaru spoke. He had been expecting to be killed immediately.

"You are pathetic like this, Inuyasha. I was expecting more of a challenge, even from a filthy ningen. Even from you. But it appears I was mistaken. You truly are weak in this form." As he spoke Sesshoumaru bent down, angling Tokijin so that a sideways movement would slit Inuyasha's throat. His eyes burned into Inuyasha's and even through the emotionless mask that he wore Inuyasha could see the disappointment and resentment in his brother's eyes.

With a snarl that would have been much more impressive had he still had his fangs, Inuyasha placed one hand on the Tokijin and pushed upwards, trying to sit up as he wrenched the sword away from his throat. The only reason it worked was that Sesshoumaru hadn't been expecting it, otherwise the blade would have been unmovable. As it was Inuyasha cut his hand and his blood slicked the blade, but that wasn't the most important thing.

That was that as Inuyasha tried to sit up, Sesshoumaru pushed down to keep the other on the ground. With Tokijin out of the way they collided in the middle and Sesshoumaru happened to be at such an angle that his mouth touched Inuyasha's mouth. Now Inuyasha had his mouth open in a snarl and Sesshoumaru was about to say something, so the blood which had smeared Inuyasha's mouth from where Sesshoumaru had choked him was received by Sesshoumaru.

For a second they froze, crushed together, then Sesshoumaru pulled back. He could taste Inuyasha's blood in his mouth, hot and sweet. He frowned. It didn't taste like any human blood he'd had before, but rather sweeter and less foul. Shifting slightly, his kimono moved and suddenly he became motionless.

The shift had caused cloth to rub across his lower parts. And to his shock and horror he discovered he was hard. Not entirely sure what to do about the situation, he absent-mindedly licked his lips clean of the smear of Inuyasha's blood. As the taste hit his mouth again, he felt his groin twitch.

This was not right. He was not aroused by bloodplay, he was sure. He had never taken a mate or a lover but knew that whatever his interests, they did not lie in that area. With the amount of bloody battles he had fought, surely there would have been some indication of any arousal through blood before now? And if it was not the blood itself that had caused the arousal, then it must have been...

The thoughts had gone through his head in an instant and looking down he saw Inuyasha looking confused and angry, but less murderous than he had before. He had a trail of blood running down from his mouth and before he really knew what he was doing he had bent down and licked up the trail, causing another jolt of arousal.

Inuyasha was looking at him in complete confusion now, the anger fading. When Sesshoumaru kissed him on the mouth, his tongue delving into the hot depths to seek more of Inuyasha's blood the ningen started in surprise. But once Sesshoumaru had pushed him back to the ground, his tongue licking the inside of Inuyasha's mouth, he slowly started kissing back.

Sesshoumaru discovered that there was a wound on the tongue, apparently Inuyasha had bitten himself. He used his own tongue to stroke the other's, causing more blood to pass between their mouths. He was very aroused now and knew that he wanted more. Breaking away, he placed the Tokijin to one side and used one hand to pull both of Inuyasha's over his head. The ningen beneath him didn't struggle too much, though if it was the weakness of humanity or the fact that he was still dazed from kissing, Sesshoumaru couldn't tell.

Sesshoumaru lowered his mouth to Inuyasha's neck, biting into the skin and feeling blood swirl into his mouth. It was so hot, so very sweet, he sucked on the bite causing more of the liquid to flow down his throat. He heard Inuyasha moan above him, a raw primal sound that he was surprised a human could make. Licking the bloody bite he discovered that the sheen of sweat that encased Inuyasha's form was tasty as well, and began to lick across his collarbone to the hollow at the base of his throat.

Using his unnocupied hand Sesshoumaru pulled the red material away from the body of his half-brother. Biting the other's neck again he removed the haori completely and tossed it to the side. Then the white undershirt was removed, torn away by his impatient hands. Once the whole of Inuyasha's chest was revealed to him he began licking his way down his torso, pausing to bite Inuyasha's nipple. The bite drew blood and Sesshoumaru licked it away in long, languid strokes of his tongue causing Inuyasha to writhe underneath him.

The ningen's hands were clenched in the soil they lay on and his head was thrust back baring the long lean throat for Sesshoumaru to see. Wondering how certain other parts of his brother would taste, the youkai slit the ties of Inuyasha's yukata and pulled them away, baring the erection to the night air. Inuyasha hissed and murmured. "Sessh..."

Sesshoumaru's head snapped up at such an informal address but bit back an insult or a objection. Right now there were better things to be doing with his mouth. Licking at the very tip he smirked a little at the bitter tang of the precum in his mouth. It was nearly as good as the taste of Inuyasha's blood. Slipping his mouth over his little brother's heated flesh all the way down until he touched the silky black fur at the base. Growling in satisfaction he laughed low in his throat as he heard Inuyasha's cries at the pleasurable vibrations, the laugh only causing another shout. "Mmm...fuck, Sessh!"

Pulling away, he smirked a little. So Inuyasha had a foul mouth when in the throes of passion? Maybe he would try and make his brother emit more sounds like that. Besides, he could feel his own need pressing insistently against his kimono and realized that he was still fully clothed while Inuyasha writhed under him, naked.

Quickly and efficiently stripping down, he carefully laid all the clothes and his armor aside, smiling as Inuyasha whimpered and raised a hand slightly to prevent his departure. Although the sensations would not be as strong, given the lack of senses that humans had, they were a great deal weaker, so he would have to be careful. He did not want Inuyasha dying of blood loss, that was too easy, not painful enough. He would die in the way Sesshoumaru wished, when Sesshoumaru chose.

Sitting on the ground he pulled the limp form of his brother to him and made the ningen straddle him so their heated groins rubbed against each other. The chill night air had already dried the saliva on Inuyasha but the precum they were both dripping slicked them up nicely.

Sesshoumaru held up two clawed fingers to Inuyasha's mouth and the dark haired ningen sucked them in, running his tongue over them and sucking teasingly. Sesshoumaru stifled a groan, imagining what Inuyasha's mouth tasted like right now, what it would feel like to have something more than his fingers in that hot mouth. Taking his claws from between the red swollen lips he pulled apart Inuyasha's behind with his hand and inserted one slick finger into the tight cavern.

Inuyasha hissed in pain and his head fell forward onto Sesshoumaru's shoulder. Pushing another finger in, Sesshoumaru ignored the gasp and the way the hot breath had whispered across his collarbone and curled the two digits, brushing the inner walls off Inuyasha's ass and stretching the tight passage. Inuyasha was smooth and impossibly tight, and when Sesshoumaru brushed across a certain point the cry and the words bitten out made him want to take his brother with no further foreplay.

Positioning his brother above his own need he brought the ningen's ass down, slipping over and holding him incredibly tight. He himself moaned into Inuyasha's neck and licked a path up to the patch of skin behind his human ear, breathing heavily. Slowly, he began moving, shallowly at first and carefully before he pressed against that same point that had made Inuyasha swear before and this time the ningen threw his head back, baring his neck to Sesshoumaru's fangs.

He looked impossibly beautiful like that, Sesshoumaru thought. Both hands gripped his shoulders, so tight he was sure they would leave red marks. His tanned skin as a hanyou was only slightly lighter as a human, but the midnight black hair made it seem lighter than it was. His hair was drenched with sweat, both their hair was, and his tumbled down his back, strands plastered to his arms and across his face. His eyes were closed, but the lashes were as dark as the hair and they fluttered as his eyes clenched shut. His mouth was open in a silent cry, not swearing now, lips parted and surrounding a dark red cavern in which white teeth stained with red were hidden. His skin was slick all over and as Sesshoumaru pulled them together his arousal pressed against the youkai's stomach. His skin was hot, though the night breeze was pleasantly cool, and the great bright full moon shone down on them from above, bathing the whole scene in beautiful white light.

Thrusting in and out of his brother, Sesshoumaru buried his face in Inuyasha's neck, inhaling his scent, the smell of his sweat and sex and blood. Then as Inuyasha suddenly tightened almost painfully and shot his seed between their stomachs the passage around Sesshoumaru enclosed and he tensed, feeling his seed fill Inuyasha up. Biting into Inuyasha's throat at the joining of the collarbone and neck he felt exalted as Inuyasha's cry of pleasure, very like a howl, rose up from the clearing. They rode out the pleasure together and when the spasms ceased Sesshoumaru eased out of the shaking human and laid the body on the grass, now wet and sticky from their sweat and seed.

Looking at the shuddering body of his currently ningen brother, still slick with sweat and with his own seed splashed across his stomach, with Sesshoumaru's seed leaking from his behind, he couldn't bring himself to kill Inuyasha. Perhaps it was because it seemed dishonorable, to kill a man at his weakest and most vulnerable moment. Perhaps because the bite on his throat was dangerously similar to a mating mark, and it was wrong to kill a mate.

Either way, as Sesshoumaru lay down next to Inuyasha, who was shivering now that the night breeze was cooling his weak human body, as he pulled his kimono over the two of them to keep them warm, Sesshoumaru thought that it could be sorted out tomorrow. He was tired and for once, he wanted to sleep. They would settle this in the morning.

---

Inuyasha woke groggily, his eyes feeling reluctant to open. He sat up slowly and something white and soft fell off of him round his waist. Rubbing his eyes he took in his surroundings with increasing horror.

Although his claws were back, meaning he was now hanyou again, he did not appear to be wearing any clothing. He could see his fire rat haori a little way away lying in a mess on the dewy grass, but next to it was also a pare of shoulder plates that looked disturbingly familiar. He took in the grass that he was sitting on, protected from the dew by the white cloth he lay under but spotted with something white and sticky.

Then he took in his sleeping partner. Sesshoumaru lay peacefully on his back, mouth open slightly and breathing low, deep. He looked totally relaxed, more relaxed than Inuyasha had ever seen him, and he looked very beautiful. Both he and Inuyasha were completely naked, they were lying under Sesshoumaru's kimono and Inuyasha registered that his ass hurt.

Stuffing his hand into his mouth to prevent any scream or yell that could wake his homicidal brother up, Inuyasha extricated himself from the kimono and padded across the clearing to his clothes, brushing off the dried seed on his stomach with a grimace. Bending down to get them made him wince in pain and as he dressed he purposefully did not look at the form of his brother lying on the grass.

As he turned to leave, his eyes once again caught the form of Sesshoumaru on the ground. Unbidden, he remembered the previous night. A small smile came over Inuyasha's face. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he had been wanted, appreciated. And... it had felt very good too.

The same small smile on his face, Inuyasha took once last look at his brother before leaping away into the trees. He was sure that he would find Kagome and the others soon, they couldn't have gone far in one night.

A short while after he had left the clearing, Sesshoumaru opened one eye. He had woken the moment Inuyasha had sat up, but had refrained from moving. He had already decided to let the hanyou run away today. There would be other opportunities to kill his brother. And maybe, next time the new moon came around, he might seek Inuyasha out again.

Dressing quickly, he regarded the place where he and his brother had spent such a passion filled night. Smiling, more gently that he had in ages, he turned away and headed off towards where he had left Rin and Jaken.